General Medical issues thread

I tried Efudex some years ago and it resulted in huge areas of rash and irritation so I vowed never to use it again

Common side effects of Efudex include:

  • skin irritation,
  • burning,
  • redness,
  • dryness,
  • pain,
  • swelling,
  • tenderness,
  • scaling,
  • peeling (exfoliation),
  • rash,
  • changes in skin color at the site of application, or other local reactions.
  • Other side effects of Efudex include eye irritation (e.g., stinging, watering),
  • trouble sleeping,
  • irritability,
  • temporary hair loss, or
 
Yep Aldara. She's warned that I may not feel that crash hot. Can't be excised due to location on the tip of my shoulder.

They seem to like inconvenient locations.

I’ve done 3 rounds of it and don’t remember feeling off colour. The last round I had to stop as it got too itchy and blistered.

Is PDT an option?
 
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They seem to like inconvenient locations.

I’ve done 3 rounds of it and don’t remember feeling off colour. The last round I had to stop as it got too itchy and blistered.

Is PDT an option?
Wasn't offered. Happy to give this a try. She's hopeful that much of it was removed by the biopsy.
 
Can't say 'Like' to that. But very pleased that things have turned out OK. Bet you gave your wife quite a scare. She was very wise to call someone when she didn't like the sound of your breathing. Glad you are on the mend now. Don't be in too much of a hurry to get out of hospital.

Apparently due to the increased time the operation took I started to wake up before the procedure was complete, so I was given some extra morphine, resulting in an OD which then caused a breathing distress condition necessitating my transfer to ICU.
 
Yes, wife was quite worried by it all. However got out at lunchtime and now just feel a bit tired. Nurses were quite impressed that the 42cm incision was not causing me any pain.Kept askingif I wanted panadol.
Take it easy and remember that often the day after you get out of hospital is the day you feel the worst. :)
42 cm gives pretty impressive bragging rights. :D
 
It's better for these results to be interpreted by someone with knowledge of the tests, know what the next steps are, be there to provide appropriate counseling etc. See above, where Drron and I have talked about troponins - a lay person may get distressed that they "are having a heart attack", while doctors will be more aware of the other causes.
Ah yes good old Troponin.

In 2003 I took dad to Kogarah hospital for his appointment and waited for him to finish. I wasn't feeling well walking to car and back and was short of breath and had pain in chest. It was like this for a few days earlier but now a little worse. My GP was 200 metres away and went to see him. He did a blood test and I went home to slerp and rest.

I woke up ~3:45pm as GP had called. "John you've had a heart attack. Go to ER. Tell them your troponin levels are a little high."

Hospital not far from home and I was there before 5:00pm and told them story. They took me in. Confirmed troponin levels from GP earlier with another blood test and this time a little higher. "John you've had a heart attack. We need to keep you for observation." Troponin did get a little higher in the day and half I was in intensive care. Moved to the ward the 2nd night or 3rd morning.

Angiogram was fine 5 days later and a couple of weeks later stress test showed no damage. "John, you didn't have a heart attack."

I had a heart attack 15 years ago. That I know for a fact.
 
One more day of cream treatment to go this week. Not much seems to be happening so far, though the skin appears a bit whiter outside of the pink cancer spot. This weeks been a bit of a doozy, feeling pretty stressed and not getting much sleep. Keep getting that panic feeling in my chest like a rush of adrenalin.
 
One more day of cream treatment to go this week. Not much seems to be happening so far, though the skin appears a bit whiter outside of the pink cancer spot. This weeks been a bit of a doozy, feeling pretty stressed and not getting much sleep. Keep getting that panic feeling in my chest like a rush of adrenalin.
I wonder if the cream will kick in with a bang? Did you say you had to have several weeks of treatment?
Must be hard with all the house mucking around causing stress - it’s awful. I’ve had a bit of a week of poor sleep too and it is so draining, even though I have the advantage of not having to front up at work, so I don’t wish it on anyone.
 
I wonder if the cream will kick in with a bang? Did you say you had to have several weeks of treatment?
Must be hard with all the house mucking around causing stress - it’s awful. I’ve had a bit of a week of poor sleep too and it is so draining, even though I have the advantage of not having to front up at work, so I don’t wish it on anyone.

It's five days a week for six weeks, so definitely time for to kick in. So desperate for some time off at the moment, work has been crazy. Easter long weekend is much needed.
 
It's five days a week for six weeks, so definitely time for to kick in. So desperate for some time off at the moment, work has been crazy. Easter long weekend is much needed.

I think it takes a few days to get going. Easter will be nice. Two short weeks. And weather looks mild too. I get the panic feeling about 30 minutes after I fall asleep. It’s annoying but I just try think there it is, it will pass. It’s in my head. I don’t get the chest stuff. I can’t imagine the distress of people who have full on mental health issues. It’s a glimpse of a very difficult world.
 
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It was about week 2-3 on Aldara that it really kicked into gear for me.
Reading up on this ointment it appears I can’t be prescribed with it as it ramps up the immune system, something I don’t need It would provoke a flare. I don’t do flares well. I gather that a side effect in some might be that it makes your body feel that it is fighting an infection or some kind of ‘invasion’, which I guess it is, so maybe that feeling is a sign it’s doing what it is supposed to be doing.

It’s hard to gauge genuine side effects in a minority or maybe majority of people because of the legal context. When I first started on Xarelto (anti coag) some of the websites made it sound like I was on the path to massive brain, stomach, or general haemorrhage. Because currently in USA there are significant law suits against it and the lawyers are digging around to find victims. Here in Australia? Nada. Trouble is you don’t hear about the success stories. Just the downsides.
 
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