General Medical issues thread

[Pushka]

He told me not to do any exercises that impacted on that toe because it will make it significantly worse.

Medicine gets a lot of stuff right .. and sometimes it can be dreadfully wrong

They were right for me. Given the exercises I was doing but was extremely fit. Grinding bone on bone for exercise will not end well. I used to be able to plank for ages at a time. But that exerted so much pressure on that joint. The pain when doing that was what sent me to get treatment. After X-rays and podiatrist appointment was told it was a lost cause. Walking is fine but it isn't the type of exercise I wanted to do for fitness.

 

[drcam]

This is where becoming a pathologist is somewhat difficult for the general feeling of 'doing good' for humanity. The vast majority of time I am diagnosing patients with the worst news of their lives. Every day when I call other physicians I introduce myself and they think (or often out loud) say "oh noooo". It is so incredibly rare I call to give good news, but I treasure those calls every time.

Still. I know what I do is important. I give answers. I guide therapy. I give reasons for babies' deaths. But I so rarely give good news.

Having once dabbled in pathology registrarship, I did receive good news from a pathologist once. The tumour in my left submandibular gland was just a pleiomorphic adenoma (benign) rather than something nastier like ACC or some other carcinoma. I spent the intervening time in a state of near nervous breakdown.

The other good thing is I can cut VERY thin slices of cake, minimising the calories and maximising the (relative) enjoyment.

 

[andye]

Having once dabbled in pathology registrarship, I did receive good news from a pathologist once. The tumour in my left submandibular gland was just a pleiomorphic adenoma (benign) rather than something nastier like ACC or some other carcinoma. I spent the intervening time in a state of near nervous breakdown.

The other good thing is I can cut VERY thin slices of cake, minimising the calories and maximising the (relative) enjoyment.

But does it ruin your appetite if the raisins are clustered or deformed?

 

[drcam]

"But does it ruin your appetite if the raisins are clustered or deformed?"

TBH I've never thought about it that way. Don't ruin it for me now!!!

 

[Katie]

I had a scan in early July that ended with the sonographer telling me that if I met certain conditions in the future, go immediately to emergency. Luckily, those conditions never occurred, and didn't occur while I was on holidays.

Reviewed that scan with the GP, she sent me to the specialist.
I saw the specialist after getting home from hols, she orders another scan, which I had last week. That scan showed everything to be normal. Yay! The thing I was worried about has shrunk, and the radiologist, etc, are not worried by it at its current size.

 

[Quickstatus]

My friend finally got a diagnosis. He has been unwell, breathless ,fevers, chest pain, lethargy and weight loss over weeks. The symptoms would wax and wane but was progressive . @prozac like you he had an abnormal CXR. He had a mass in his chest which was determined later to be enlarged lymph nodes. In the last week he developed enlarged lymph nodes in his neck.

After other scan including Ct/MRI/PET and biopsy It was NOT lymphoma but TB

Message to medicos: Never forget TB as a differential diagnosis.
Luckily the haematologist discussed the case with the infectious diseases specialist who said don't discount TB

 

[prozac]

My friend finally got a diagnosis. He has been unwell, breathless ,fevers, chest pain, lethargy and weight loss over weeks. The symptoms would wax and wane but was progressive . @prozac like you he had an abnormal CXR. He had a mass in his chest which was determined later to be enlarged lymph nodes. In the last week he developed enlarged lymph nodes in his neck.

After other scan including Ct/MRI/PET and biopsy It was NOT lymphoma but TB

Message to medicos: Never forget TB as a differential diagnosis.
Luckily the haematologist discussed the case with the infectious diseases specialist who said don't discount TB

From the sub-continent?

 

[Quickstatus]

continent?

Born in Cowra but he was in China 30yrs ago for a few months

 

[prozac]

Born in Cowra but he was in China 30yrs ago for a few months

I didn't think TB was something that could develop in Australia. So did it lie dormant for all those years?

 

[drcam]

Absolutely. Even if you get treated successfully for TB, not all the mycobateria may be permanently eradicated. If something happens to your immune system that makes it work less well as before, such as chemotherapy, HIV or even plain old aging, your old TB might get reactivated!

Or you may have had latent TB acquired a long time ago that became active for the same reason.

 

[Quickstatus]

So did it lie dormant for all those years?

Most likely

 

[prozac]

Absolutely. Even if you get treated successfully for TB, not all the mycobateria may be permanently eradicated. If something happens to your immune system that makes it work less well as before, such as chemotherapy, HIV or even plain old aging, your old TB might get reactivated!

Or you may have had latent TB acquired a long time ago that became active for the same reason.

Scheduled for IVig on Friday. Now I am worried about what might come through this generous donation. I used to give plasma in Clarence St (SYD) so I look at it as making withdrawals.

 

[drcam]

I don't think tuberculosis is particularly likely to be transmitted through blood products. Having TB in your lungs is a bit different from having TB sepsis, i.e. bugs in your blood. Those in the latter group would have difficulty physically donating.

 

[Quickstatus]

IVig on Friday. Now I am worried about what might come through this generous donation

IVIG goes through some intricate steps before infusion including pasteurisation, UV radiation, chemical treatments, viral nano filtration.

 

[Quickstatus]

generous donation

Yes, each dose come from over the equivalent of over 100 donors (the batch is made from thousands of donors)

 

[JohnK]

The good news is that wife is clear of UTI for around 4 weeks now. This is now 2nd urine sample confirming bacteria free. We also have 14 day supply of Trimethaprim to be used at first sign of infection. (Still waiting for cystoscopy)

The bad news is that I have signs of inflammation/infection in same area. At least ultrasound excluded anything more serious. Waiting on urine cultures but I'm starting on Trimethaprim as well.

 

[Quickstatus]

Apparently Tb friend now has to go to the TB clinic at Parramatta every day - they give him the pills and watch him take the pills every day. After they think he is compliant he can take them at home but has to submit a video showing he took the pills.

All to combat non compliance which contribute to multiresistance

 

[prozac]

Apparently Tb friend now has to go to the TB clinic at Parramatta every day - they give him the pills and watch him take the pills every day. After they think he is compliant he can take them at home but has to submit a video showing he took the pills.

All to combat non compliance which contribute to multiresistance

Could be worse and sent to the (now closed) sanatorium at Waterfall.

 

[hydrabyss]

Last year did the skin TB test for my transplant work up but was told taking immune suppressants would mean the result would not be accurate as I don't fight infections very well.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

I had some routine bloods done last week before my move to the US. I never heard anything from the GP so assumed all was fine, but just received the results by email and looking like I have some cholesterol issues. Total is at 6.0, with HDL at 1.7 and LDL at 4.0. I've left a message for the GP to email me their thoughts, but not the news anyone wants to receive a few hours before relocating or at the tender age of 30. Oh well. Diet and exercise has admittedly deteriorated with all the travel over the last 9 months, so will try get those back on track promptly. Also some family history to consider. Will need to wait for the GP to understand if there's anything else I should be doing.