General Medical issues thread

[drron]

Good to hear and hopefully the specialist will be across it. They won't do his knees until a) he lost sufficient weight and b) till after his wife had recovered from her knee replacement and hip replacement which is supposed to happen in 3 months, The weight loss has really helped the pain so I hope he is able to keep it off.

As if on cue today's MJA has yet another new study on Rheumatoid.

Olumiant (baricitinib) is a breakthrough medication for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The drug is a type of janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, which blocks the JAK enzymes driving the pro-inflammatory responses seen in rheumatoid arthritis.

JAK inhibitors are different to traditional biologic drugs and offer many benefits. Biologics take the form of large molecules which suppress inflammation from outside of the cells, and they are given by infusion or injection. This can be painful to administer and the therapy does not work for all patients. In contrast, JAK inhibitors are an oral treatment and represent a huge step forward in simplifying therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Unlike biologics, JAK inhibitors are small molecules which interrupt the enzyme signalling pathway from inside of the cell.

Shown to be slightly more effective than Humira and methotrexate.

 

[drron]

Anti-malarial? I don't recall being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I have ankylosing spondylitis, sacro ilitis, osteoarthritis, tendonitis and bursitis.

She did mention Lyrica and one other medication whose name escapes me but I'm trying to avoid adding long term medications to my body. I see what it can do to dad and I'm trying to avoid the same happening to me.

John Lyrica is for pain of neurologic origin so in your case would help if say you had sciatica as a complication of your spinal disease.Useless for arthritis itself.Just makes you drowsy and confused more likely.

 

[Pushka]

There are new non injection anti dvt meds avail now - ask your GP. Aspirin is less effective than these

Yes I’m on Xarelto. Can only be prescribed if you’ve had a DVT. She hasn’t. I have. She just has the blood markers for potential. And she gets bad migraines.

Now on 250/200 alternating doses of thyroxine.

 

[Quickstatus]

Yes I’m on Xarelto. Can only be prescribed if you’ve had a DVT. She hasn’t. I have. She just has the blood markers for potential. And she gets bad migraines.

Xarelto is rivaroxaban.
There are others which also have the "xx_x...an" moniker but similar restrictions in prescribing
GP will know.

But these novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) generally require an authority prescription.

 

[JohnK]

Lyrica is similar chemically to Gabapentin

Thanks. I'm not interested in Lyrica and definitely no interest in Gabapentin after what it did to dad in hospital recently.

 

[rogerkambah]

Haven't posted on this thread for a while (4 months) and had dropped off the notifications list. See that quite a bit has happened in the intervening period.

I had a CT scan on Friday and saw my oncologist today, who said that he could see no changes since the last scan in June. So,pretty chuffed about that.

 

[Flashback]

Haven't posted on this thread for a while (4 months) and had dropped off the notifications list. See that quite a bit has happened in the intervening period.

I had a CT scan on Friday and saw my oncologist today, who said that he could see no changes since the last scan in June. So,pretty chuffed about that.

Very pleased to hear this. Keep up the good fight!

 

[love_the_life]

Haven't posted on this thread for a while (4 months) and had dropped off the notifications list. See that quite a bit has happened in the intervening period.

I had a CT scan on Friday and saw my oncologist today, who said that he could see no changes since the last scan in June. So,pretty chuffed about that.

Fantastic to hear. Keep doing whatever you are doing as it’s working.

 

[JohnK]

I had a CT scan on Friday and saw my oncologist today, who said that he could see no changes since the last scan in June. So,pretty chuffed about that.

Great news. Wishing you all the best and good health.

 

[k_sheep]

RK that's brilliant. <3 to the immunotherapies!

 

[JohnK]

Can't maintain the diet I did 3 years ago where I lost ~15kgs in 5 months.

Diet was basically ~750 calories before 6:00pm and another ~750 calories for dinner. Some days I would get through on ~1200 calories only and I was losing weight every week.

Poor sleep and depression could be a factor but I can't stop the urge to eat. Some days continuing to eat even when full.

It's a struggle I need to beat.

 

[Flashback]

Can't maintain the diet I did 3 years ago where I lost ~15kgs in 5 months.

Diet was basically ~750 calories before 6:00pm and another ~750 calories for dinner. Some days I would get through on ~1200 calories only and I was losing weight every week.

Poor sleep and depression could be a factor but I can't stop the urge to eat. Some days continuing to eat even when full.

It's a struggle I need to beat.

90% of the challenge is portion sizes, exercise only factors a small amount IME.

 

[Milboo]

Go and deal with the sleep aponea and go on CPAP. Lack of sleep has significant effects on the body, including making it seek fuel from more and more food, and affecting mental health.

There are numerous reports of improved weight following moving to CPAP therapy.

 

[JohnK]

90% of the challenge is portion sizes, exercise only factors a small amount IME.

Can't exercise. Portion sizes are fine. Feel hungry. Can't stop eating.

 

[Pushka]

Can't exercise. Portion sizes are fine. Feel hungry. Can't stop eating.

Portion sizes are fine by what definition? That’s one area that’s easy to cut back. And you still drink soft drink? I’ve found that as soon as I start eating more, then I need to eat more so that’s a sign for me to reduce again. It takes a couple of days to settle back.

Actually both of us ensure we always feel hungry during the day. We don’t eat to schedule. If we don’t feel genuinely hungry at least once a day then it’s a sign to us we are eating too much.

 

[suze2000]

Two things @JohnK - they are right about the CPAP - if you are significantly overweight and especially if you prefer to sleep on your back, you will likely be suffering sleep apnoea. And it causes you to secrete cortisol, a stress hormone which will try its best to defeat any attempt you make to lose weight by changing your body chemistry to encourage it to lay down fat. And sleep apnoea will also make you cranky and miserable in other ways.
Second, and this is the depressing bit, latest research tells us that once you have gained weight, your body's idea of its default weight will reset and it will always try to get you back to that weight by secreting hormones that make you feel hungry. So the depressing bit is (and I'm facing up to this myself at the moment), that if you want to lose weight and actually keep it off, you are going to have to resign yourself to being hungry (as @Pushka above mentions) at least some of the time. It's not cool or fun, I know. There's research being done to try to counteract this, but in the meantime you should know that even a little weight loss, even if you regain it, does bring health benefits, so there's that upside. And the second good news is that self-control is like a muscle, if you exercise it, it gets stronger, so even one act of resisting that hunger after you've eaten will make it easier the next time to resist the urge to eat more. And so on.
I don't know if any of this information will help you, I know it's disheartening to keep dieting and regaining.

 

[Pushka]

Two things @JohnK - they are right about the CPAP - if you are significantly overweight and especially if you prefer to sleep on your back, you will likely be suffering sleep apnoea. And it causes you to secrete cortisol, a stress hormone which will try its best to defeat any attempt you make to lose weight by changing your body chemistry to encourage it to lay down fat. And sleep apnoea will also make you cranky and miserable in other ways.
Second, and this is the depressing bit, latest research tells us that once you have gained weight, your body's idea of its default weight will reset and it will always try to get you back to that weight by secreting hormones that make you feel hungry. So the depressing bit is (and I'm facing up to this myself at the moment), that if you want to lose weight and actually keep it off, you are going to have to resign yourself to being hungry (as @Pushka above mentions) at least some of the time. It's not cool or fun, I know. There's research being done to try to counteract this, but in the meantime you should know that even a little weight loss, even if you regain it, does bring health benefits, so there's that upside. And the second good news is that self-control is like a muscle, if you exercise it, it gets stronger, so even one act of resisting that hunger after you've eaten will make it easier the next time to resist the urge to eat more. And so on.
I don't know if any of this information will help you, I know it's disheartening to keep dieting and regaining.

I totally agree with you about the act of resistance. I do this every time I am tempted by something. I look at it - eg a beautiful French pastry and ask myself if it’s worth it. Sometimes it is, sometimes it’s not. I think about the rest of the meals I’m likely to have that day. If I’m on my own then it means if I grab that pastry, then it’s a very light meal for me that night. If I know I’m going to cook a full on meal as I’m eating with others, then I won’t grab it. It’s a constant ‘battle’ although that’s too strong a word.

Thin people aren’t thin because they are just lucky but because they involve themselves in an active and daily plan about what they want to eat. They feel hungry too.

I an tempted daily by potatoes, esp chips - crisp and hot, chocolate, and pastry. But mostly I resist. Unless I’ve just opened a bag of Haighs frogs, bullets or almonds. So I rarely buy them. Because once they are opened they are gone.

 

[coriander]

Because once they are opened they are gone.

Kettle chilli chips do this to me

 

[suze2000]

...Unless I’ve just opened a bag of Haighs frogs, bullets or almonds. So I rarely buy them. Because once they are opened they are gone.

This is my problem with Mint Slice biscuits. Had to ban myself from buying them 10 years ago. CanNOT stop myself.

 

[Pushka]

Kettle chilli chips do this to me

This is my problem with Mint Slice biscuits. Had to ban myself from buying them 10 years ago. CanNOT stop myself.

Oh yes to both of these too. And twisties!
Try Red Rock Chilli and Sour cream chips. Sound awful but taste divine. I can stop eating those after a couple though.