General Medical issues thread

[Pushka]

Father picked up daughter from hospital this morning and brought her here for a little while. She wanted to go over to Maple & Clove (our neighbourhood coffee shop just over the road) for a coffee then she went home for a sleep. Is feeling OK but is not allowed to weight bear yet so is hopping along on her couches again. She has really had her money's worth out of them!

It's been a long haul for her and she must be wondering when it will be sorted. Hopefully this procedure will sort it for good.

 

[rogerkambah]

Father picked up daughter from hospital this morning and brought her here for a little while. She wanted to go over to Maple & Clove (our neighbourhood coffee shop just over the road) for a coffee then she went home for a sleep. Is feeling OK but is not allowed to weight bear yet so is hopping along on her couches again. She has really had her money's worth out of them!

Hope she recovers quickly and can soon toss the crutches.

 

[drron]

Hope she recovers quickly and can soon toss the crutches.

That would be easier than tossing her couches.

Is feeling OK but is not allowed to weight bear yet so is hopping along on her couches again. She has really had her money's worth out of them!

 

[Pushka]

That would be easier than tossing her couches.

Oh. I actually pictured her hopping from couch to couch Seriously.

 

[karen blancfield]

My one and only gallbladder attack occurred days before our Northern Japan trip last month and nearly put an end to it. I risked going but had my gallbladder removed 12 days ago and went back to work today. My doctor knows how important travel is to us .... and with a month in France coming up on 2 Sept, I've just got enough time for a full recovery, 4-6 weeks.
Not sure my travel insurance, via credit card, would have covered it as it was then a pre existing condition .... goodbye gallbladder.

 

[Renato1]

Ah have you thought that the MRI machine doesn't actually do anything and all the weird noises are coming from the headphones?

I had headphones in my last MRI - set to 104.3 Gold FM, which played Phil Collins and the like, but which was overwhelmed by the far more interesting MRI heavy tunes.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[love_the_life]

That would be easier than tossing her couches.

LOL - dashed autocorrect :shock:
She is quite strong for her size but don't think couch tossing is one of her skills.

 

[TheRealTMA]

I had headphones in my last MRI - set to 104.3 Gold FM, which played Phil Collins and the like, but which was overwhelmed by the far more interesting MRI heavy tunes.
Cheers,
Renato

Maybe we should find some "music" that complements the RF tones. Kraftwerk or similar? Maybe that would make it worse though!

 

[wandering_fred]

I think I drifted off to a light sleep a couple of times in the MRI. The percussion added to the "musical" tones mostly kept me awake. Results -- quite acceptable in line with my age. Next line of suspicion is low blood sugar.... But most of the time no one asks me how I feel, it's just that there has to be something wrong that can be worried about.

Just wandering

Fred

 

[rogerkambah]

Had a CT scan on Friday and saw my onco today. Radiologist described 2 small (5mm) nodules and 1 tiny 3mm nodule.
On the monitor could see one distinct nodule and one partially indistinct nodule but the onco said he couldn't see the 3mm one. He decided against surgery due to diminishing size of nodules.

He and I are very pleased with the way the drug has affected the nodules over the last 10 months since commencing treatment. He said I had moved on a long way since he first saw me and the lung tumours had responded to the drug beyond his expectations. It was a year yesterday since I had the renal tumour and kidney removed.

I am feeling quite well ATM and have the option to discontinue taking the drug and see what happens ie how aggressively the tumours regrow, or continue drug taking with occasional drug holidays when I particularly want to not have to cope with side effects.

My taste buds have continued to improve so had a whole baked snapper for dinner tonight with a very nice 2004 Leo Buring Clare Valley Riesling. Time to renew my passport.

 

[love_the_life]

Wonderful news RK. That sounds very promising. Has it been a whole year? (Though probably feels a lifetime to you). So pleased you are feeling pretty well now as some of those side affects were awful earlier I remember you saying. Will you continue on the drug for a while longer do you think?
Sounds definitely like time for a holiday.

 

[JohnK]

Great news rogerkambah.

 

[straitman]

Another cold again? Blocked nose. Pinched nerve/muscle mid-right spine yesterday and now better but have another pinched nerve/muscle on lower left side with very limited movement. Very uncomfortable.

This happens so often in winter and it's been a long winter.

You should try being a pilot with chronic sinusitis.

Went to see my skin cancer guy today for my 6 monthly check up. Only 2 SCC's to be cut out this time. That's about 40 Carcinomas all up now

Keep going, you'll catchup one day maybe. My wife had several cutout last week including a biopsy on her nose. She has to go back and get more taken off the nose and with the possibility of needing plastic surgery on it.

 

[Pushka]

You should try being a pilot with chronic sinusitis.

MrP has this. Constant saline irrigation and using the real sudafed before flights is the treatment keeping him going. Thank goodness Dubai pharmacies sell the proper decongestants so we stock up. The stuff they pass off here these days is no better than a placebo.

 

[rogerkambah]

Yes, I'm continuing on the drugs as I want to try and get rid of those remaining pesky little varmints. However the onco is relaxed if I take time out for several weeks at a time if I want to do something in particular and don't want to have to manage the side effects. So, some short travel could be undertaken. While on the medication I need to wait 2-3 hours after awakening to see whether I will be having a normal day or one where I am tied to the house.

Wonderful news RK. That sounds very promising. Has it been a whole year? (Though probably feels a lifetime to you). So pleased you are feeling pretty well now as some of those side affects were awful earlier I remember you saying. Will you continue on the drug for a while longer do you think?
Sounds definitely like time for a holiday.

 

[QF WP]

Awesome news rogerkambah. That must be very satisfying that you can taste food and wine again

On a weird side note, I was working in my office (shop) earlier this afternoon and hear this thud which came from the Florist shop next door. Thought that was odd and listened out for a scream or crying and when nothing, thought she had just dropped something. Heard voices for 20 secs but my spider senses were tingling, so I said to my Practice Manager that I was just going to check it out (she hadn't heard anything).

I walk out my door and as soon as I look in through her front glass window, see the florist on the ground near the door, on her back. Being a former lifesaver, I love the way my mind & body just "kicked in" and I'm in there asking what had happened (there was one of her clients there as well), telling her not to move, then ran back to my office, opened the door long enough to tell my PM to ring 000 and straight back to the patient. [In hindsight, should have used her phone (I'd left my mobile in my office)]. Did the normal DRABC - all was good, not lost consciousness at all, eyes equal and reactive, no blood, no head clash with wall or floor (The story was she had twisted around after saying goodbye to this client and her knee gave way after she said she heard a sound from her knee like biting into a violet crumble). She was embarrassed that she fell in front of a client and that I was now having to helping her. My PM came in and said the 000 operator wanted to talk with me so with her stabilised, I went back to my office to advise what I knew. Paramedics on their way.

Back to her, thankfully she had jeans on, so they were a natural splint but I told her that I hoped she wasn't attached to them, as they'd probably need to cut them off her. Then her shock starts and she is shaking like a leaf and feeling nauseous, so I was waiting to roll her to the recovery position in case that happened (I'd already explained what I would do if needed) and the ladies are giving her a cold compress. Ambo's arrived and I went out to advise them of situation, they roll in, take her pulse and give her the green whistle [methoxyflurane inhaler] (she'd had it a couple of times before) and sure enough, cut up her L leg past the knee.

I was expecting a much worse external view of the knee, but other than a bit of obvious swelling. nothing. She was able to bend it, under ambo instruction, slowly to 45% after half a dozen deep sucks on the whistle, so that's a good sign. Her husband came (we'd rung him whilst waiting for the ambos) and he followed her in the ambulance. Done my good deed for the day.

Currently she's waiting to be assessed at Royal Brisbane (still not sure why she wasn't taken to Prince Charles Hospital Holy Spirit Northside Hospital which is 2 kms away), as she has private health insurance and they have an excellent ED (I know from taking my wife there earlier this year). Will be an interesting diagnosis (it was her good knee as well she said ).

 

[JohnK]

You should try being a pilot with chronic sinusitis.

I can only imagine. Blocked nose/ears are not fun at altitude.

 

[Cynicor]

That's great news, mate. Hope you have an excellent holiday somewhere!

Yes, I'm continuing on the drugs as I want to try and get rid of those remaining pesky little varmints. However the onco is relaxed if I take time out for several weeks at a time if I want to do something in particular and don't want to have to manage the side effects. So, some short travel could be undertaken. While on the medication I need to wait 2-3 hours after awakening to see whether I will be having a normal day or one where I am tied to the house.

 

[QF WP]

Diagnosis is a slipped meniscus...I'd only heard of the torn variety so physiotherapist and rest required

On a weird side note, I was working in my office (shop) earlier this afternoon and hear this thud which came from the Florist shop next door. Thought that was odd and listened out for a scream or crying and when nothing, thought she had just dropped something. Heard voices for 20 secs but my spider senses were tingling, so I said to my Practice Manager that I was just going to check it out (she hadn't heard anything).

I walk out my door and as soon as I look in through her front glass window, see the florist on the ground near the door, on her back. Being a former lifesaver, I love the way my mind & body just "kicked in" and I'm in there asking what had happened (there was one of her clients there as well), telling her not to move, then ran back to my office, opened the door long enough to tell my PM to ring 000 and straight back to the patient. [In hindsight, should have used her phone (I'd left my mobile in my office)]. Did the normal DRABC - all was good, not lost consciousness at all, eyes equal and reactive, no blood, no head clash with wall or floor (The story was she had twisted around after saying goodbye to this client and her knee gave way after she said she heard a sound from her knee like biting into a violet crumble). She was embarrassed that she fell in front of a client and that I was now having to helping her. My PM came in and said the 000 operator wanted to talk with me so with her stabilised, I went back to my office to advise what I knew. Paramedics on their way.

Back to her, thankfully she had jeans on, so they were a natural splint but I told her that I hoped she wasn't attached to them, as they'd probably need to cut them off her. Then her shock starts and she is shaking like a leaf and feeling nauseous, so I was waiting to roll her to the recovery position in case that happened (I'd already explained what I would do if needed) and the ladies are giving her a cold compress. Ambo's arrived and I went out to advise them of situation, they roll in, take her pulse and give her the green whistle [methoxyflurane inhaler] (she'd had it a couple of times before) and sure enough, cut up her L leg past the knee.

I was expecting a much worse external view of the knee, but other than a bit of obvious swelling. nothing. She was able to bend it, under ambo instruction, slowly to 45% after half a dozen deep sucks on the whistle, so that's a good sign. Her husband came (we'd rung him whilst waiting for the ambos) and he followed her in the ambulance. Done my good deed for the day.

Currently she's waiting to be assessed at Royal Brisbane (still not sure why she wasn't taken to Prince Charles Hospital Holy Spirit Northside Hospital which is 2 kms away), as she has private health insurance and they have an excellent ED (I know from taking my wife there earlier this year). Will be an interesting diagnosis (it was her good knee as well she said ).

 

[Quickstatus]

Diagnosis is a slipped meniscus...I'd only heard of the torn variety so physiotherapist and rest required

Strictly speaking a dislocation of the meniscus cartilage of the knee joint.
Much more common in females
Caused by a sudden twisting motion of the knee during weightbearing - usually from turning around. Not an injury due to a fall or slip or trip.

Foot anchored on ground = locks tibia against rotation. Rotation of the femur from torso turning catches the meniscus between the femur and tibia to dislocate.
Very painful.
so if the right leg = usually caused by twisting to the left while right leg firmly planted on the ground dislocating the inside meniscus.