Medical Questions I'd Like Answered...

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Thu Jun 26, 2014 2:46 am

codeGlaze wrote:Frank might find this amusing,

http://themetapicture.com/this-is-what- ... deal-with/

While that was most certainly hilarious, my brain refuses to wrap itself around the idea that people really are that stupid. It just cannot handle that. I want to cry.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Thu Jun 26, 2014 4:36 am

I am still confused why doctors so far has refused to even consider just walking her into an elevator and monitoring her passing out. They deflect or pointedly ignore the suggestion, but are willing to push stuff like tilt tables or three year implants...

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Thu Jun 26, 2014 4:56 am

virgil wrote:I am still confused why doctors so far has refused to even consider just walking her into an elevator and monitoring her passing out. They deflect or pointedly ignore the suggestion, but are willing to push stuff like tilt tables or three year implants...

because like all "professions" you are taught to regurgitate memorized information from the grade school level onward. people arent taught to think even though Occam's Razor is taught during middle school.

you could just say "fuck em", grab your phone in an elevator the next time and record her response to riding it and show it to them. to me jsut from hearing it sounds like a severe cause of motion sickness which is vertigo thus why i suggested that medicine, or something similar to a g-force test if you watch any videos like that. the pressure being the cause to lack ovygen or the imbalance that shuts down your system in order to prevent you from moving in a way that could cause you to be harmed, so you jsut slump straight down in a location you are safe in currently.

also remember if in USA, you are dealing with the fast food industry. the object is to get someone in, get them on some type of drug, and get them out quickly. not to actually cure anything.

like someone else said, test with her eyes closed and see if that makes a difference. then try with ear plugs that will prevent a pressure change due to the motion of the elevator and car and see if that does anything, then try both, and take your finding TO the doctor and give them to them. if they wont listen to your queries, then they are not there to help you, jsut to take your money and move on to the next customer.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Thu Jun 26, 2014 7:39 am

codeGlaze wrote:Frank might find this amusing,

http://themetapicture.com/this-is-what- ... deal-with/

When I stayed in the hospital, I overheard doctors talking about a patient who felt bad while in her hospital room and phoned the ambulance.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Thu Jun 26, 2014 8:10 pm

Maj wrote:
codeGlaze wrote:Frank might find this amusing,

http://themetapicture.com/this-is-what- ... deal-with/
While that was most certainly hilarious, my brain refuses to wrap itself around the idea that people really are that stupid. It just cannot handle that. I want to cry.

Not stupid so much as ignorant in many cases.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Fri Jun 27, 2014 4:18 am

Starmaker wrote:When I stayed in the hospital, I overheard doctors talking about a patient who felt bad while in her hospital room and phoned the ambulance.

If the patient was delirious from their condition or the medication, they might not have known they were in a hospital. I mean, if you have a hardcore fever that causes hallucinations, you might just think your house is awfully big and full of strangers.

erik · Post by **erik** » Fri Jun 27, 2014 4:50 am

Quasi-related patient quote I enjoyed second-hand.

Patient, a delirious woman on a bed being admitted/transported from the ER: "Have I died? Am I in heaven?"
Nurse (or maybe Transportation): "No, you're at X Hospital. We are going to take care of you"
Patient: "Oh no! I've gone to hell!"

A phlebotomist was on hand for that one when I was on shift. I want to believe it too much for it to have just been a story. That and her personality wasn't one given to creating stories.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:58 pm

About how expensive is it to care for someone in a coma at home?
Assuming that you have no life and can be home almost 24/7.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 8:36 am

hyzmarca wrote:About how expensive is it to care for someone in a coma at home?
Assuming that you have no life and can be home almost 24/7.

Very. People in comas need to have nutrition provided for them in liquid form through a tube and they need special beds and constant massage to keep from getting compression ulcers on their skin. The upfront costs are considerable, and the monthly maintenance is going to run over a thousand dollars plus a tremendous amount of labor.

Remember: you need to be repositioned every hour, which you normal take care of with normal fidgeting. But obviously coma and spinal injury patients do not and cannot do that, so they need 24 hour care. No matter how much of a lack of life you have, no one person can provide that for more than a couple of days. Ultrasoft programmable beds can help some, but you still need to sleep.

-Username17

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 10:03 pm

I imagine there's also a high emotional cost, too.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:25 am

Maj wrote:I imagine there's also a high emotional cost, too.

Oddly, I'm emotionally more stable when I'm in thes ame room as him, in spite of his condition. As soon as I leave I'm overwhelmed with anxiety and become too nauseous to eat.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:40 am

So before I die of a gradual overdose on painkillers, is it possible for a broken tooth to somehow get infected and thus become a medical emergency, meaning as an emergency it gets treated for free at a hospital?

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:51 am

Koumei wrote:So before I die of a gradual overdose on painkillers, is it possible for a broken tooth to somehow get infected and thus become a medical emergency, meaning as an emergency it gets treated for free at a hospital?

Yes. I can't put in links or pictures, but go ahead and image search 'tooth infection.'

-Username17

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:58 am

Delightful! The good news is, it doesn't look like that. But at least that means I can get it looked into, and might be able to get it fixed without either doing a bank job or trying it myself with pliers, a Stanley knife and vodka+codeine as an anaesthetic.

Thanks.

Stahlseele · Post by **Stahlseele** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:08 am

Teeth are fucking dangerous.
Colleague at work had a broken tooth and through that got an infection and heart problems ending in a minor stroke . .

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:13 pm

More like: infections are fucking dangerous.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 3:37 am

I hear you can get bit by teeth. I've never heard of an infection biting anyone. Obviously teeth are much *more* dangerous.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:23 pm

I started doing a minimal amount of exercise a couple weeks ago (vs. my previous 'none whatsoever'), and find that I'm suddenly angrier and more aggressive. Not a lot, but noticeably.
What's the likelihood that those are related?

Count Arioch the 28th · Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:31 pm

Exercise can increase your testosterone levels which can result in increased aggression.

DSMatticus · Post by **DSMatticus** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:42 pm

My diagnosis is steroids. Stop juicing, bro.

More seriously, if you're not used to exercising, it's going to make you sore. If you're in mild pain all the time, it's going to make you grumpy.

Exercise does generate a small, temporary increase in testosterone, and while that'd normally be medically insignificant if all of the stars align I guess it could do something?

Both of those are problems that should take care of themselves with time (as exercise stops making you sore and your body acclimates to the testosterone released by exercise).

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:16 am

Well, personally, I'm gonna steer clear of this "minimal amount exercise". Sounds dangerous.

tussock · Post by **tussock** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:37 am

Prophylactic exercise, mate. Surprisingly easy to get out of the couch potato risk factor category. Just take it easy in the first few weeks to build a bit of a base.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:11 pm

So. Heart bypass machines exist.

Flatlines, even if prompty treated with CPR and drugs, have a 2% survival rate.

So why not use portable machines to maintain bloodflow during a flatline and stave off braindeath?

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 9:15 pm

hyzmarca wrote:So. Heart bypass machines exist.

Flatlines, even if prompty treated with CPR and drugs, have a 2% survival rate.

So why not use portable machines to maintain bloodflow during a flatline and stave off braindeath?

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, just a biology dude.

First, cardiac arrest survival rates with defibrillation are around 30%, which isn't quite as bad. Cardiopulmonary bypasses are major surgery in themselves, and don't address the root cause of the problem of course. Induced hypothermia seems pretty good for preventing damage post-cardiac arrest and is fairly standard from what I can see, and it's of course cheaper, easier, and less risky than installing a cardiopulmonary bypass machine. So, it seems to just be a matter of a better option already being available. Hypothermia and cardiopulmonary bypass do have a nicely synergistic effect though.

In short, a big chunk of medicine is balancing the benefit of a treatment vs the risks, and cardiopulmonary bypass has significant risks and requires significant prep time (so the patient might already be dead by the time you can start that treatment).

erik · Post by **erik** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:55 pm

I am without power at home due to storm and cannot answer as fully as I would like so I will just +1 what Shirtai said.

[edit: power's back on, but meh, stuff I wanted to add is not that important]