General Medical issues thread

[andye]

I seem to get an unusually high amount of tummy issues, with the associated pains and expulsions associated with it. Got it again, had for a day or so just before I arrived back in TLE, then again this morning now that I'm in MRU. Always wash my hands, drink bottled water, use knife and fork to eat, don't eat salad (even when at a high end restaurant that uses filtered water) etc. Is it possible there's some other underlying issue that's laying dormant and gets triggered/pops its head up? Needless to say I'm spending today in bed / close to the bathroom (again) .. ! Annoying. Better check my first aid kit to see if I still have some rehydration sachets left.

Travellers diarrhoea is usually due to E coli or the other common food-poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella and Shigella or viruses such as norovirus and rotavirus You've been careful but can still get unlucky.
Giardia is not uncommon and can stick around for a while
From memory you've got a reasonably exotic travel history which brings a few more things into the mix but these are less likely
People who already tend to an irritable bowel are more likely to get symptoms and it's also good to check your bowel screening is up to date.
In the first instance, getting a stool sample analysed for bacteria with ova cysts and parasites is the first option beyond first aid strategies

 

[MARTINE]

I seem to get an unusually high amount of tummy issues, with the associated pains and expulsions associated with it. Got it again, had for a day or so just before I arrived back in TLE, then again this morning now that I'm in MRU. Always wash my hands, drink bottled water, use knife and fork to eat, don't eat salad (even when at a high end restaurant that uses filtered water) etc. Is it possible there's some other underlying issue that's laying dormant and gets triggered/pops its head up? Needless to say I'm spending today in bed / close to the bathroom (again) .. ! Annoying. Better check my first aid kit to see if I still have some rehydration sachets left.

Whilst your frequent travels and food/water transmitted pathogen exposure may be an explanation — some basic tests re:iron/full blood liver and kidney chemistry could identify something amiss. Speak to dr especially if weight loss or bleeding. Challenging the gut bacteria with frequent gastro can lead to temporary lactose intolerance and persistent symptoms — as can infections such as giardia which need special Rx

 

[Flashback]

Travellers diarrhoea is usually due to E coli or the other common food-poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella and Shigella or viruses such as norovirus and rotavirus You've been careful but can still get unlucky.
Giardia is not uncommon and can stick around for a while
From memory you've got a reasonably exotic travel history which brings a few more things into the mix but these are less likely
People who already tend to an irritable bowel are more likely to get symptoms and it's also good to check your bowel screening is up to date.
In the first instance, getting a stool sample analysed for bacteria with ova cysts and parasites is the first option beyond first aid strategies

Whilst your frequent travels and food/water transmitted pathogen exposure may be an explanation — some basic tests re:iron/full blood liver and kidney chemistry could identify something amiss. Speak to dr especially if weight loss or bleeding. Challenging the gut bacteria with frequent gastro can lead to temporary lactose intolerance and persistent symptoms — as can infections such as giardia which need special Rx

Thanks, have gone done similar diagnostic paths before but didn't turn much up, a few additional items there to try. Let's see if I can get a GP appointment in the 2 week window I have back at home....

I have kefir every day when at home, we have the live (?) culture that Mrs FB makes into a (rather tangy) drink straining through milk each morning to help with bacteria in the gut. Helps when at home but obviously can't take it on the road with me as easily.

 

[Flashback]

Thanks, have gone done similar diagnostic paths before but didn't turn much up, a few additional items there to try. Let's see if I can get a GP appointment in the 2 week window I have back at home....

I have kefir every day when at home, we have the live (?) culture that Mrs FB makes into a (rather tangy) drink straining through milk each morning to help with bacteria in the gut. Helps when at home but obviously can't take it on the road with me as easily.

Hooray! Found an appointment for Thursday late afternoon in 2 weeks, then that hopefully gives me time to go and get any tests done on Friday before I choof off again and can just get the results by calling in. Let's see if they give me the full works that you've both suggested

 

[andye]

There is a rare non-infectious condition called tropical sprue which is much less likely than @MARTINE 's lactose intolerance which comes into the equation with persistent symptoms.

There is a medical aphorism that if you see a four-legged creature galloping past, you say horse not zebra....but if you never consider a zebra you just see stripy horses

 

[Quickstatus]

donate their body after death

Just to be clear
Unlike donating organs where the family has last right of refusal/consent, families and NOK cannot donate bodies - only the person can do that in the antecedent period. However families can object in which case the body is not generally accepted

Also transporting a body long distances will not be accepted - it has be be within a certain geographical area of where the body is going. Basically a body from Bali back to one of the Universities in AUS will be refused.
Must be free of infectious disease - so no go if you died of Ebola or something similar like Covid.
Other reasons: obesity, body had a post mortem, organs removed, bodies are not accepted if more than a day or so after death. too many bodies

And you save on funeral costs.

Can't rely on that because the Universities has last right of refusal on the day of death. So don't spend the funeral costs until Uncle Bob is in a jar.

 

[Quickstatus]

if you see a four-legged creature galloping past, you say horse not zebra

Yeah but then the docs will want to do innumerable tests to determine which is what and to rule out whether it is a Zonkey.

 

[RooFlyer]

Well i learnt something new and scary today. You can catch an illness by merely reading all about it on this thread on AFF.

Tell me about it! I’ve never heard of cellulitis until on this thread, but now I have a suspect case. Had a fall, banged my knee a week ago, probable torn or stained ligaments. Started to get worse than the weekend, so I book an appointment online. GP this morning, scan ( for knee damage) at lunchtime and I’m just waiting to see about knee damage.

After my second day of Flucloxacillin my cellulitis is virtually gone.

Got a scrip of that in case redness grows.

 

[tgh]

Did anyone hear anything from admin or the mod team about the privacy question ?

 

[prozac]

I've ended up with orthotics as well.

My podiatrist also made me a section of pool noodle with a wooden dowel through it - I stand on this to try to relieve some of the pain of the plantar faciitis. Spiky ball or even a towel rolled up it a good alternative, depending how severe the pain is at the moment.

Spiky ball has worked for me on the couple of occasions I got PF.

 

[QF WP]

Someone asked me why I shared so much on this thread. Yes, I know I have opened up a bit since about this time last year. Well. here's the thing. By sharing I had a persistent cough drron suggested I needed a chest xray and certain bloods. It probably seemed harmless enough to everyone else, and to me too. For a bloke it was an annoyance, but ultimately it turned into an emergency with my airways closing. My doctor's partner was on duty whilst my long time doc was away enjoying himself on holidays. How inconvenience. He sent me away with antiobiotics! A week later I ended up in hospital in a rush with a battery of tests. My point is we might feel like we we are whinging but we could discover something important and so might other AFFers.

I'd be more comfortable if this thread was only visible to AFF members who have logged in.

I suppose we share to get a second opinion (because of the kindness of the various Dr's that frequent the thread and give their time and general advice), or put in words our feelings and see what others have to say. For some of us (not me ) we have the anonymity of the internet (unless other members have met us, or we have shared our real names in messages etc).

Of course, like you and others, it's always a good idea to go back with information to ask our doctors again. They might think we have been using the internet to self diagnose. but that's not the case here on AFF.

 

[QF WP]

Did anyone hear anything from admin or the mod team about the privacy question ?

Yes, there has been a report and we are reviewing.

 

[prozac]

I suppose we share to get a second opinion (because of the kindness of the various Dr's that frequent the thread and give their time and general advice), or put in words our feelings and see what others have to say. For some of us (not me ) we have the anonymity of the internet (unless other members have met us, or we have shared our real names in messages etc).

Of course, like you and others, it's always a good idea to go back with information to ask our doctors again. They might think we have been using the internet to self diagnose. but that's not the case here on AFF.

Didn't need to go back. My doctor's partner was wrong in his approach to diagnosis and @drron was right. Had I waited a day or two more I would not be posting now.

 

[Flashback]

Not sure how I'm going to make the 2 hour drive up to Port Louis (Mauritius) today, I've been taking loperamide for the past 12 hours now and it's ......... not working

 

[Quickstatus]

Not sure how I'm going to make the 2 hour drive up to Port Louis (Mauritius) today

I hear ya @Flashback

But it gives me flashbacks to when a friend in Palm Beach NSW went for a colonoscopy in Dee Why NSW. This was before Ubers.
As he could not drive himself home post anaesthetic, he decided to take the L90 Bus from Palm Beach to Dee Why for the procedure.
He did not consider that the the bowel prep was still active. He got as far as Mona Vale.

Those who know that bus route will know..

 

[MARTINE]

Yeah but then the docs will want to do innumerable tests to determine which is what and to rule out whether it is a Zonkey.

Unless already outline above thread — the other term for so rare as to be almost non-existent is ‘rocking horse manure’

But as doctors we all know hear hoofs - think horses - but don’t forget the zebras!

 

[Quickstatus]

I've been taking loperamide for the past 12 hours

Sorry a bit late now...

My own unscientific opinion is that its better to let it rip and take the loperamide on day of travel.
That way whatever is causing the bowel irritation has a chance to get out prior to day of travel

doctors we all know hear hoofs - think horses - but don’t forget the zebras!

But what about the Zonkey as a differential? .
Today an unfortunate patient received 3 different potential diagnoses from 3 different specialities.....

 

[MARTINE]

Not sure how I'm going to make the 2 hour drive up to Port Louis (Mauritius) today, I've been taking loperamide for the past 12 hours now and it's ......... not working

Add coeliac screen
Its amazing how many cases get diagnosed in adults — the true test not some Gwyneth GOOPY thing

Post automatically merged: Mar 4, 2024

Sorry a bit late now...

My own unscientific opinion is that its better to let it rip and take the loperamide on day of travel.
That way whatever is causing the bowel irritation has a chance to get out prior to day of travel


But what about the Zonkey as a differential? .
Today an unfortunate patient received 3 different potential diagnoses from 3 different specialities.....

Yes
Multiple diplomatosis can lead to confusion …

 

[Flashback]

Sorry a bit late now...

My own unscientific opinion is that its better to let it rip and take the loperamide on day of travel.
That way whatever is causing the bowel irritation has a chance to get out prior to day of travel

Don't worry - I'm well aware of the let it rip approach, that's why I let it go as long as possible before starting the loperamide, which in my experience doesn't work quickly enough (as has been proven in this instance). I didn't start until 10pm last night. When I last came back from Madagascar I took the let it rip approach for over a week and a half, too - at that point I gave up and it was over to the loperamide .....

Add coeliac screen
Its amazing how many cases get diagnosed in adults — the true test not some Gwyneth GOOPY thing

Had that done just before I turned 20, negative but it did pick up that I had Gastroesophageal Reflux and have been medicated for that ever since.

 

[Quickstatus]

rehydration sachets

Quick DIY rehydration:

1L water
6 level teaspoons table salt
Half to 1 level teaspoon of sugar.
Plus eat bananas to keep up the potassium.

@Flashback when was the last colonoscopy?