General Medical issues thread

[Pushka]

Oh that's so sad. Sounds exactly like my my brother and me since kids. Most of my issues surfaced as a teenager.

One thing I am hoping is daughter gets into research later in life to find a cure for these diseases.

The thing with auto immune stuff is just when Drs think they have it sussed, another variation shows up. And everyone is so different. The Rheumatologist I see takes great store in blood markers esp ANA, APS markers, the lupus markers, rheumatoid markers and inflammation. If ANA is positive and with symptoms she takes the patients on for life. I reckon with the sero-negative issues it’s because they’ve yet to discover the marker relevant for another variation.

 

[Milboo]

Yep. It is. They didn’t fuse mine as surgery was done by neurologist and they don’t seem to fuse. Orthopedics fuse. Fusion = loss of mobility but it does mean issues down the track as there is no cushion effect of the disc. Hence when I sit on hard surfaces.

Just had remedial massage. There is a nerve trigger point in the middle of the backside - if it was acupuncture they’d put a needle there but massage therapists dig their knuckle in. I could feel it in my big toe - sciatica. Jumped when she did that. But by the end I could tolerate it better and it sure frees up the area.

This time my back hurt as much as it did when I had surgery which worried me as it’s the first time in 30 years it’s been that bad. It was flaky last week but yesterday extreme. The only difference this time was that it didn’t weaken my leg.

I have our son’s Aussie Wedding Reception in a week and I was beginning to think I wouldn’t be there but in hospital. That bad.

Not good that it’s pulled up bad.

I get a reaction on my piriformis too except bizarrely might radiates to the knobbly bit of my left wrist like an electric shock (hence being nervy). It confounds my massage lady due to it radiating up and not down.

 

[Pushka]

Not good that it’s pulled up bad.

I get a reaction on my piriformis too except bizarrely might radiates to the knobbly bit of my left wrist like an electric shock (hence being nervy). It confounds my massage lady due to it radiating up and not down.

It’s better today after the massage and pressure on it which was incredibly painful to start so she kept leaving it and coming back to it. I have another one booked for Monday. Your referred pain is just weird - poor therapist .

 

[suze2000]

Pushka, when you are in MEL I have an excellent remedial massage therapist if you need a recommendation. Though everyone is different - I believe that one therapist works well with some people and others will say they are not as good as others. At least, that's what they tell me where I go, because I am particular about who I book with.

 

[Milboo]

It’s better today after the massage and pressure on it which was incredibly painful to start so she kept leaving it and coming back to it. I have another one booked for Monday. Your referred pain is just weird - poor therapist .

I know! She’s studying physiology and even asked her lecturer about it and they couldn’t make sense of it!

Glad to hear you’re feeling better today and hopefully tomorrow is even better again.

 

[cove]

How come males can grow a forest of hair with eyebrows ,beard , ears and nostrils and have less hair on top of ones head.

 

[JohnK]

The thing with auto immune stuff is just when Drs think they have it sussed, another variation shows up. And everyone is so different. The Rheumatologist I see takes great store in blood markers esp ANA, APS markers, the lupus markers, rheumatoid markers and inflammation. If ANA is positive and with symptoms she takes the patients on for life. I reckon with the sero-negative issues it’s because they’ve yet to discover the marker relevant for another variation.

Yes auto immune issues are different in everyone. What works for one person may not necessarily work for another.

Rheumatoligists gave up on me a few years ago as all they doing was trying to recommend pain management clinics. They've taken an interest again but not sure for how long.

 

[Pushka]

How come males can grow a forest of hair with eyebrows ,beard , ears and nostrils and have less hair on top of ones head.

Well, I’d like to know why such hairs suddenly take on a life of their own. Or why eyebrows don’t grow any longer. I’ve lost most of my eyebrows though thanks to wonky thyroid.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I really need to catch up on this thread as well. However I have a dilemma and thought I would get some input. Some of you would remember Ms FM has had issues with scleroderma which destroyed her leg. Anyway after sending her to Sydney a few years ago to see a guru down there she told me all was well.

I gave her a partly used dendy voucher that I thought we wouldn’t use before it expires on Friday a month ago, but we are going with a friend today and so last night I asked for it back. She couldn’t find it and this morning I thought I would check her top drawer in her desk just in case she had put it in there,

I opened the drawer and there were bottles of methotrexate as well as calcium and folate supplements.

Now what do I do - I want to know what is going on but do I just be honest and tell her I opened her drawer or what.

I know she hasn’t told me because she hates me stressing over her and she is 27 and an adult, but my stress levels are through the roof and so are Mr FMs.

Off to movies soon which should help .

 

[Pushka]

I really need to catch up on this thread as well. However I have a dilemma and thought I would get some input. Some of you would remember Ms FM has had issues with scleroderma which destroyed her leg. Anyway after sending her to Sydney a few years ago to see a guru down there she told me all was well.

I gave her a partly used dendy voucher that I thought we wouldn’t use before it expires on Friday a month ago, but we are going with a friend today and so last night I asked for it back. She couldn’t find it and this morning I thought I would check her top drawer in her desk just in case she had put it in there,

I opened the drawer and there were bottles of methotrexate as well as calcium and folate supplements.

Now what do I do - I want to know what is going on but do I just be honest and tell her I opened her drawer or what.

I know she hasn’t told me because she hates me stressing over her and she is 27 and an adult, but my stress levels are through the roof and so are Mr FMs.

Off to movies soon which should help .

Oh. Now there’s a conundrum.

If her intent is to maintain her own privacy about her health then say nothing.

If her intent is to prevent you worrying then that’s long gone so I’d mention it. If her intent is also to assert her rights to make her own health decisions without you attempting to dissuade her then it’s a matter of you knowing but not trying to dissuade her.

Chances are she will know you’ve found out anyway.

My 32 year old niece is doing really well on methotrexate but it doesn’t appear to be preventing other issues occurring. It is helping with issues already present. But she’s now got the same blood clotting issue that I have. Confirmed by a second test this week.

Here is her conundrum. She has tested positive twice to the blood clotting issue. I developed an unprovoked DVT I am being treated. She hasn’t developed a clot. Does she get treated with anti coagulants too? Which are risky. These tests are new, chances are I would have tested positive at her age too but it took 30 years before I got the DVT.

 

[drron]

FM that is a very hard one.But be assured methotrexate is one of the recommended treatments for scleroderma and when you take that you should also have folate as well.You also said she is under a Sydney guru who certainly has prescribed recommended therapy so you should need to stress.But that is easy to say but hard to do.
If the stress levels continue to be high then you should admit to what you have done and the circumstances.From your posts in the past I would think any upset on her part will settle very quickly.

Pushka.There are still a whole lot of things in medicine where we really don't know exactly what to do.Generally though in your niece's situation we do not treat.But it really isn't that new although the name is.Lupus anticoagulants were first discovered in 1947-now known as Anti Phospholipid antibodies.I even knew about them as a med student.Also you don't need to have an associated auto immune disease to have APS.

 

[Pushka]

FM that is a very hard one.But be assured methotrexate is one of the recommended treatments for scleroderma and when you take that you should also have folate as well.You also said she is under a Sydney guru who certainly has prescribed recommended therapy so you should need to stress.But that is easy to say but hard to do.
If the stress levels continue to be high then you should admit to what you have done and the circumstances.From your posts in the past I would think any upset on her part will settle very quickly.

Pushka.There are still a whole lot of things in medicine where we really don't know exactly what to do.Generally though in your niece's situation we do not treat.But it really isn't that new although the name is.Lupus anticoagulants were first discovered in 1947-now known as Anti Phospholipid antibodies.I even knew about them as a med student.Also you don't need to have an associated auto immune disease to have APS.

Yes - at this stage just being treated with aspirin. It was hard enough getting my dr to test for Thyroid in my late twenties - it was almost like she was paying for the test. I was tired but not overweight and had no goiter. Of course that theory is cough - for me. No goiter as the thyroid gland had given up. The first I’d heard of APS/APL was in the last couple of years. Niece and I go to same Rheumatologist which probably exacerbates my Nieces position as she is following in my footsteps. And rheumatologist is well aware of our relationship and laughs when she sees me because she says my niece is mini-me in looks, gesture and even voice.

 

[Pushka]

So here’s a theory @drron . A few years ago I had a snake bite on my foot. I didn’t know it was a snake bite until I went to the Drs and she could see the fang marks. But I was fine. I only went to the Doctors as I’d had this lump on the bottom of my foot and I pressed on it as it was bothering me; it went pop and immediately my foot turned black.

This was 15 years ago. Is it possible that the APS formed an immediate clot and prevented venom going elsewhere?

 

[drron]

That question is impossible to answer I am afraid Pushka.Hard enough at times to know what is going on now rather than 15 years ago.

 

[Pushka]

That question is impossible to answer I am afraid Pushka.Hard enough at times to know what is going on now rather than 15 years ago.

Ok. Let’s make it now then. I come into your office with a blackened foot after I popped something lumpy. You can see fang marks. You know I have APL but no DVT as yet. Do you wonder if the reason the venom didn’t spread is because the APL (antibodies) kicked into action and clotted once venom hit bloodstream?

 

[drron]

But I would need to know the species of snake.Many release an anticoagulant so my thinking would usually suspect a haematoma that you have spread by thumping the lump.

 

[Hvr]

Had some x-rays today for a foot injury caused by assembling Ikea stuff. The x-ray woman said it was fairly common. Also, another x-ray for a potential broken rib.

Combined with the lurgy I'm not feeling well.

Time to roll out some more jokes.

 

[Pushka]

Had some x-rays today for a foot injury caused by assembling Ikea stuff. The x-ray woman said it was fairly common. Also, another x-ray for a potential broken rib.

Combined with the lurgy I'm not feeling well.

Time to roll out some more jokes.

I think hurting your foot assembling ikea has a few punch lines. Did you kick it or something?

 

[Hvr]

I think hurting your foot assembling ikea is the joke. Did you kick it or something?

No, a piece of the desk I was assembling fell over and onto my foot. The piece, a large slab of wood, and my foot were both damaged.

I haven't even opened the bookshelves yet.

 

[Pushka]

No, a piece of the desk I was assembling fell over and onto my foot. The piece, a large slab of wood, and my foot were both damaged.

I haven't even opened the bookshelves yet.

Ouch. Some of their stuff is very heavy. Usually placed on the high shelves too.