General Medical issues thread

[Quickstatus]

@JohnK
Sorry to hear, hope things improve and the evil eye looks elsewhere...

With all your travelling and young daughter, family, do you have enough balance with work and life?

 

[JohnK]

@JohnK
Sorry to hear, hope things improve and the evil eye looks elsewhere...

With all your travelling and young daughter, family, do you have enough balance with work and life?

No balance at all. No spare time to think. No time to relax.

 

[JohnK]

Dad back in hospital. Cannot walk and if he falls down can't get back up. Physio cannot help. Transferring him to Concord to be assessed by neurologists. Won't be allowed to leave unless he can walk unassisted.

Very sad and I'm stuck here and cannot help. Also going to Thailand in 3 days and still struggling to breathe.

But I guess there are people worse off.

 

[Milboo]

Just recently I’d been in a position where I hadn’t had cause to say F*&# cancer.

In the space of the last month a colleague has been diagnosed with breast cancer in her 30s, a woman I know died this week from it (in her 50s) and my friend buried her mother (early 60s). And a friend lost her dog to cancer.

It’s a bit of a reality check for me

 

[Quickstatus]

@JohnK
If you are struggling to breathe you should get it looked at, just go round the corner to emergency department - best way for anyone to help is to look after their own health too

Don’t forget the oxygen levels in aircraft cabin is less than at Concord Hospital - about 25% lower.

(Unless you are flying the 787/350 in which case it’s 20% lower)

 

[cove]

Quickstatus I had not realized that about the air quality oxygen levels on planes. Thanks for telling us.

 

[love_the_life]

Dad back in hospital. Cannot walk and if he falls down can't get back up. Physio cannot help. Transferring him to Concord to be assessed by neurologists. Won't be allowed to leave unless he can walk unassisted.

Very sad and I'm stuck here and cannot help. Also going to Thailand in 3 days and still struggling to breathe.

But I guess there are people worse off.

Hopefully they will get the the bottom of your Dad’s balance problem. At least you should know if it’s something short term or not.
Your brother should be able to hold the fort at home for you while you’re away.

 

[love_the_life]

Just recently I’d been in a position where I hadn’t had cause to say F*&# cancer.

In the space of the last month a colleague has been diagnosed with breast cancer in her 30s, a woman I know died this week from it (in her 50s) and my friend buried her mother (early 60s). And a friend lost her dog to cancer.

It’s a bit of a reality check for me

Very sorry to hear.

 

[JohnK]

Hopefully they will get the the bottom of your Dad’s balance problem. At least you should know if it’s something short term or not.
Your brother should be able to hold the fort at home for you while you’re away.

Wish it was that simple. Brother has his own health issues. Mum's too old and enough issues of her own to be able to take care of dad.

These are the issues we all face when we get older.

 

[love_the_life]

Wish it was that simple. Brother has his own health issues. Mum's too old and enough issues of her own to be able to take care of dad.

These are the issues we all face when we get older.

Are there others who can keep an eye on your Mum and Dad while you’re away?

 

[JohnK]

Are there others who can keep an eye on your Mum and Dad while you’re away?

No. Mum will be ok. She has grand daughter to keep her going. Dad will not be allowed to leave hospital unless he can walk unassisted. It's more than likely osteoporosis that is pressing against a nerve. Surgery may help. Wait and see.

 

[JohnK]

@JohnK
If you are struggling to breathe you should get it looked at, just go round the corner to emergency department - best way for anyone to help is to look after their own health too

Time or lack thereof. Blood pressure today 114/78 so better than the other day.

 

[Quickstatus]

Quickstatus I had not realized that about the air quality oxygen levels on planes. Thanks for telling us.

Most cabin altitude when travelling at cruise altitude is equivalent to approximately Aspen Colorado or Macchu Picchu (approx)

Most people start getting altitude related symptoms at about 8000feet. Which is about the cabin altitude of most modern jets. The carbon fibre jets are around 6000feet - a little higher than Nairobi or Johannesburg

Trivia : JNB is about same elevation as DEN

 

[sinophile888]

Most cabin altitude when travelling at cruise altitude is equivalent to approximately Aspen Colorado or Macchu Picchu (approx)

Most people start getting altitude related symptoms at about 8000feet. Which is about the cabin altitude of most modern jets. The carbon fibre jets are around 6000feet - a little higher than Nairobi or Johannesburg

I frequently suffer from altitude sickness when flying, even PER to MEL. Last month, I flew to MEL on a A330 and felt ill for the last 2 or so hours of the flight. This has been a regular occurrence over many years, sometimes serious enough for me to need oxygen. It occurs when the cabin pressure falls below 800hPa. The return flight from MEL to PER was on QF 9, a 787 Dreamliner. I felt great for the whole flight and even enjoyed a movie. The Head cabin steward checked with the captain for me and he confirmed that the plane's cabin pressure was equivalent to 6000ft. in altitude.

I am returning to MEL next week and have booked QF9/10 in an attempt to confirm that the higher cabin pressure suits me. If so, at least I have a pair of flights which will suit me for my frequent trips to MEL.

If confirmed, then I want to try to find how I can get to Europe on only Dreamliners.

 

[Quickstatus]

If confirmed, then I want to try to find how I can get to Europe on only Dreamliners.

Don’t forget the a350 can do similar cabin altitude

 

[sinophile888]

Don’t forget the a350 can do similar cabin altitude

Thanks, that is good to know. Obviously, my research is still in the development stage.

 

[JohnK]

Hopefully they will get the the bottom of your Dad’s balance problem. At least you should know if it’s something short term or not.
Your brother should be able to hold the fort at home for you while you’re away.

Apparently MRI shows quite serious issues around L5 and dad has L5 Radiculopathy or in simpler terms Sciatica. Still very limited movement but he is on Gavapentin(?) and Endone. Neurologists to check on Monday but don't think dad will be out of hospital for a while. Will need physio to be able to walk again and hopefully can avoid surgery.

 

[love_the_life]

Apparently MRI shows quite serious issues around L5 and dad has L5 Radiculopathy or in simpler terms Sciatica. Still very limited movement but he is on Gavapentin(?) and Endone. Neurologists to check on Monday but don't think dad will be out of hospital for a while. Will need physio to be able to walk again and hopefully can avoid surgery.

Hopefully can get it sorted in hospital. A lot of people can’t tolerate endone so I’d be watching his reaction to that.

 

[Pushka]

Hopefully can get it sorted in hospital. A lot of people can’t tolerate endone so I’d be watching his reaction to that.

He has similar symptoms to what I had when I ruptured a disc but I was only in my thirties. I would walk then collapse on the ground. Not dizzy, but my leg would just fold up on me. But then it got a lot worse.

Surgery can be very effective. I ruptured a disc at L5 S1 when I was 32 and felt the pain surge right down my right leg instantly. It was immense and as I was near a corner of the room I just leant into it sobbing in pain and my then 6 year old was terrified and straight onto the phone to call nana. Sigh. Like she was going to help. Anyway I had neurosurgery and while waiting for the procedure I was given the pre op. The surgeon walked past and asked why I was smiling. I told him it was because for the first time in weeks I wasn’t in extreme pain. The pre tests showed I had no muscle strength in my right leg and couldn’t walk. Without surgery I would definitely be in a wheelchair at 32. Surgery located a large piece of free floating spinal disc pressing on the sacral nerve. Surgeons report said I was lucky I had a ‘capacious’ (isn’t that a classic Dr word) spinal canal or I would have ended up in a wheelchair even with surgery. He was so surprised he kept it for me. He also told me that as a result of this finding he changed the way he will deal with younger people presenting with similar issues. He had previously suggested 6 weeks of complete bed rest, no sitting or walking. Now he puts people straight to surgery, although he would have retired by now.

Post rupture and while waiting for surgery I could only lie on the floor to sleep. No mattress as any softness caused extreme pain. I could not dress myself as even lying down I could not do things like put on jeans. I had to go on all fours to get to the bathroom by rolling over carefully onto my stomach.

Interestingly my 32 year old niece who also has lupus had the exact same surgery at the same age.

Anyways it did take me months to recover and thirty years later I still have to take care of what I do with my back but I know the risk things for me are weird, like sitting on wooden seats, standing for a long time on concrete, vacuuming with a barrel vacuum and bending over gardening. I’ve had to develop very strong core muscles to compensate.

 

[Quickstatus]

3 common causes for those symptoms described by @Pushka and @JohnK ’s father:
Ruptured disc material
osteoarthritis causing narrowing of spinal canal
spondylolisthesis (slipped vertebrae)
(There are other causes)

Generally if only pain then avoid surgery. But leg weakness with or without pain = surgery.
Back pain in of itself is not an indication of spine surgery

Interesting we are at out tallest in our 30s. After that we start getting shorter as the vertebral discs lose “plumpness” due to dehydration of the water content inside the disc. All this make the canal (not the main spinal canal) through which the nerves come out of the spine narrower. Then comes osteoarthritis making both nerve and spine canal narrower, and the weakened worn out discs fail so sometimes the vertebrae slip on the one below also causing spinal canal narrowing.

Lose weight is the best help to give spine and staying active with a good core strength