Medical Questions I'd Like Answered...

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:42 pm

FrankTrollman wrote:Have you had a chest Xray?

No, I haven't. I'll have to talk to him about that on a follow-up, or possibly talk to someone else. If he's convinced the issue is with two ribs being "out of place", he may not want to do one. I hope he's not approaching this with blinders on.

Now, he did note that what I'd be feeling would actually be inflamed soft tissue. He said he could feel two ribs in the back protruding a bit more than the others, which is why I felt it when I leaned on it.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 9:27 pm

RobbyPants wrote:
FrankTrollman wrote:Have you had a chest Xray?
No, I haven't. I'll have to talk to him about that on a follow-up, or possibly talk to someone else. If he's convinced the issue is with two ribs being "out of place", he may not want to do one. I hope he's not approaching this with blinders on.

Now, he did note that what I'd be feeling would actually be inflamed soft tissue. He said he could feel two ribs in the back protruding a bit more than the others, which is why I felt it when I leaned on it.

Wait a minute, did you get your diagnosis from a chiropractor? Please say no.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:19 pm

Kaelik wrote: Wait a minute, did you get your diagnosis from a chiropractor? Please say no.

I just went to a doctor at a practice attached to the hospital near me, and not a chiropractic office.

That being said, I told him my symptoms, he prodded around on my back and announced that two ribs seem to be out of place, and ask if I've ever had any chiropractic adjustments. So, he proceeded to do them. I don't know if this makes him a chiropractor, or a doctor who dabbles in it, or what. I didn't make the appointment with chiropractacy in mind. I guess I'd assumed this process would involve X Rays or other tests.

RadiantPhoenix · Post by **RadiantPhoenix** » Mon May 18, 2015 4:15 pm

When should I start worrying about an ongoing pins-and-needles feeling in my finger?

EDIT: Well, it's gone now.

Count Arioch the 28th · Mon May 18, 2015 8:49 pm

I've been having panic attacks multiple times a week and I can't see my shrink until next month. Does anyone know of things I might be able to acquire without a prescription that would help? Or would it all be a placebo and I'd be better off eating some ice cream or hot wings?

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Wed Jun 24, 2015 12:57 am

So, got a question. Metastatic endometrial cancer. Supposed to have a survival rate of between 70 and 91%, going by
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/586334
and
http://www.cancer.gov/types/uterine/hp/ ... atment-pdq

Is this true? I ask because that's what my mother died of. On a related note, how common is it for patients to contract C. Difficile infections while in hospital?

Makes me wish we'd had the money to bring her to America so we could actually have gotten some fucking diagnostics done, rather than waiting for months only for her to be bounced around between appointments without actual work being done.

She got blown off for months, then they found a baby sized tumor once they bothered to scan her, which didn't take long once they actually bothered to arrange it. Before and after, it was “Oh you’re on the waiting list. It’ll be a few weeks or months, but we’ll see what we can do.” This lead to her death in the hospital, cancer treatments having been way too late.

Of course, the road trip option was never really viable. My passport was expired and there's no way she could've driven herself. But still, being ABLE to pay for a scan at a private clinic could have saved her life. That continues to eat at me, at least a little. They sure did get that scan in a hurry when they felt like it. Shame it was months too late.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:54 am

First off "survival rates" are usually measured in "five year survival" rates. So if something kills you in six years, you still "survived" it.

Secondly, a disease that has 54 thousand new cases and 10 thousand deaths every year is incredible fatal. That's about the statistics for HIV. And third, "metastatic" is the worst category of a cancer, so the people most likely to die from a cancer are the ones who have metastases somewhere in their body.

-Username17

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Wed Jun 24, 2015 9:47 am

Fair enough.

Occluded Sun · Post by **Occluded Sun** » Sun Jun 28, 2015 1:18 am

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:I've been having panic attacks multiple times a week and I can't see my shrink until next month. Does anyone know of things I might be able to acquire without a prescription that would help? Or would it all be a placebo and I'd be better off eating some ice cream or hot wings?

Mint is actually quite calming. So is catnip - it makes humans sleepy rather than playful and stimulated (as with cats). Herbal products are nothing to play around with, as the effective ones are drugs with all of the potential interactions and side-effect issues of any other drug. But both mint and catnip are common and considered fairly harmless. And they're easy to grow - people usually have problems getting rid of the stuff.

Count Arioch the 28th · Wed Jul 01, 2015 9:10 pm

Another question, this one not urgent. My doc put me on lipitor (because I'm fat, you see). I was told to watch out for muscle weakness and unusual muscle pain. Due to the fact I'm in the gym 5-6 days a week working out until I am close to puking I have muscle weakness and pain most of the time. How am I supposed to tell the difference?

CatharzGodfoot · Post by **CatharzGodfoot** » Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:05 am

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:Another question, this one not urgent. My doc put me on lipitor (because I'm fat, you see). I was told to watch out for muscle weakness and unusual muscle pain. Due to the fact I'm in the gym 5-6 days a week working out until I am close to puking I have muscle weakness and pain most of the time. How am I supposed to tell the difference?

Because you can't lift as much as usual. Are you trying to kill yourself?

Also, dialectical behavioral therapy for the panic attacks. If you can't get a cheap psychiatrist who does it, try to find a cheap book. It's very 'do-it-yourself', and not 'let's talk about your past', so you can get a lot even out of a book if you take it seriously.

Count Arioch the 28th · Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:51 am

You jelly of my sick gains, brah?

Believe it or not, I'm taking it easier than I did as a kid. I work out 6-7 hours a week, when I was 17 I was doing that in a day... also now that my life doesn't suck so bad I'm motivated to be healthier.

icyshadowlord · Post by **icyshadowlord** » Thu Jul 02, 2015 5:42 am

Anyone have any idea what could be the cause for chronic vomiting?

By chronic I mean throwing up once a day or so. Not a problem I have, but seems like my friend has that going on.

Grek · Post by **Grek** » Thu Jul 02, 2015 5:53 am

Bulimia.

erik · Post by **erik** » Thu Jul 02, 2015 6:25 am

Or another possibility.

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-informa ... facts.aspx

Not knowing any specifics, it seems reasonable to suggest that your friend should get checked out by a doctor.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:08 pm

In general, common conditions are common. If someone vomits a lot, they probably have a common condition that causes vomiting. The obvious would be a hiatal hernia, where part of the stomach is stuck through the diaphragm and food comes up frequently. But there could also be a problem in the inner ear if this vomiting is accompanied by vertigo or an ulcer if this vomiting is accompanied by pain. If the vomiting comes with green slippery stuff, it could be a partial duodenal stricture or compression.

Recurrent vomiting is a frequent enough symptom that it doesn't let you focus in much. You'd need to get more information.

-Username17

Count Arioch the 28th · Thu Jul 02, 2015 8:49 pm

I was going to suggest hiatal hernia or throat strictures as I have both of those and it makes me puke fairly frequently.

Count Arioch the 28th · Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:15 pm

Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to switch to a vegetarian diet for health reasons, what would be a good resource? I prefer a minimum of pseudo-science and moral bullcrap (as I can't read the website when my eyes have literally rolled out of my skull and started rolling down the hall).

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:36 pm

So I've been rewatching Junior, and I understand that abdominal pregnancy is an actual thing that sometimes happens to women and can result in healthy live births, though with a much higher rate of death and birth defects for various reasons.

So I'm wondering, is there any reason why this isn't actually possible? Carefully implant an embyro in a man's peritoneal cavity and pump him full of pregnancy hormones.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:32 pm

hyzmarca wrote:So I've been rewatching Junior, and I understand that abdominal pregnancy is an actual thing that sometimes happens to women and can result in healthy live births, though with a much higher rate of death and birth defects for various reasons.

So I'm wondering, is there any reason why this isn't actually possible? Carefully implant an embyro in a man's peritoneal cavity and pump him full of pregnancy hormones.

Could work. I mean, it would be gross malpractice to try, but it could work. Embryo implantation is quite invasive, and is much like a cancer in a lot of ways. Without the protection of the expendable endometrial tissue, the embyo implantation process is going to tear some of your body up pretty good. You'd stick it in the omentum, but that's still pretty dangerous to the host. Next of course, the amniotic sac would just be free floating in the abdomen without the protection of an actual womb around it, so the risks to the developing baby would be very high.

And finally of course, the host would never go into labor, so you'd need to do a C-section to get it out.

No reputable doctor would agree to be a part of such a plan. Not because it wouldn't work, but because it would.

-Username17

maglag · Post by **maglag** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:35 pm

Speaking of which ,exactly how far away are we from an "artifical womb"? We can already grow organs for adults outside an human's body. Get a tank full of nutrients, something to mimic a womb's walls, put fertilized egg inside, make sure conditions remain stable.

Heck, that's already kinda done with embryoes and everything.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:47 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_uterus

Count Arioch the 28th · Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:42 am

Is there a medically significant reason why a gastroenterologist would need to know my religion or am I safe telling him to munch on my taint?

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:45 am

Diet? But if that's the case, they obviously should just ask about diet. Maybe with "including habits due to religious observances."

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:23 pm

To see if you have a preference for other doctors to treat you?