#4 years in 3 specialists and all MRI and other test come back normal (there's been other doctors not just the specialists)
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#meme#did I make a meme for this yes#Like doctor I just want to know what's wrong with me#this was three different doctors mind you#Tbh with how Manny people in my family have already been medical study's it ant suprosing tho#one of these days will figure it out#This isn't counting the doctors who didnt know what was wrong but had no further notes#4 years in 3 specialists and all MRI and other test come back normal (there's been other doctors not just the specialists)
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Sometimes breaking down and crying to your primary care physician....works
I was desperate for answers at the end of 2023. I mean, it's been 3 years and I still don't have answers. I had lost all hope, as I was gaining new symptoms, and still no one had any idea what could be wrong. Until I read about MS, and it fit nearly all of my symptoms. I scheduled the first appointment I could to discuss it with my primary. After scheduling it, I realized I had only scheduled a 20 min appointment, and spent 4 hours getting all of my symptoms typed out with dates of when they started, how long they lasted, when they got worse. I typed out a script to communicate to my doctor all of the most important/relevant information in the most condensed form possible. I was ready to be in and out, spend 5 minutes getting him the information, and the next 15 discussing with him the plan of action.
Instead, my doc was pissed that I was even there. I had only seen his NP up until this point and he was so upset that I, a person with so many issues, had come in to see him personally the Friday before his Christmas break. He made sure to spend the first 5 minutes of the appointment interrupting me to express his frustration, and I started to feel like he wasn't going to help me at all.
I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop myself as I started shaking out of fear, and then the anger-override kicked in. I whipped out my symptom list, and his demeanor immediately changed. I told him as calmly as I could in the moment "THAT is my symptom list. Are you just not going to help me?"
He started saying "Well its just that you're going to try and make this appointment take 3 hours—" I cut him off to say "No, I wanted to make this appointment 20 minutes but you just spent the first 5 putting your problems on me." *cues the flood gates* "I've had doctors, nurse practitioners, specialists all innaccurately record my symptoms, if they ever even recorded them at all. I have to walk with a cane, I haven't been able to work for a year and a half, I have NO income, I am just trying to survive and I've been dismissed and not believed over and over again, to the point that it's effected my medical records. It makes EVERYONE think I'm fucking INSANE. I just want some help. I just need some fucking help. I just need some fucking answers. Please."
He started getting in my chart and got to business. He immediately ordered about 8 retests and 6 new ones. He got me a referral to Neurology, ordered X-rays, a swallow test, and MRIs to check for MS.
I went to the Rheumatology appointment I already had scheduled a few weeks later. I felt like the doctor was actually listening to me for the first time in forever. He made a point to record every one of my symptoms as I listed them. He seemed to care. I just came back from my swallow test today. The person performing the test acted like he read through my whole chart and was asking me a lot of questions about my other issues. He asked me if I had the MRIs yet before the test, and when going over the results he said "If it does turn out to be MS, come back to us. We will help you, figure out what works for you."
I've been terrified of being too direct with my doctors, I wouldn't even tell them the diagnosises that I thought it COULD be out of fear of them going "You've just been looking up things on the internet, I'm giving you a munchausens diagnosis." But I was desperate. It was a real cry for help. And thank fuck he saw that. Even if I still don't find answers, I've brought to their attention the mistreatment and carelessness I've been dealing with and they have decided to change that. Hopefully I will be treated like a normal human being and get my symptoms recorded correctly.
#insane slur#tw insane slur#butterfly-casket#disabled#disability#multiple sclerosis#medical malpractice#medical maltreatment#disabled rights#doctor#doctors#PCP#medical records#chronic fatigue#chronic pain#chronic illness
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My blog starts with a good day!
I don’t think it’s a surprise to people that the veterinary profession is full of ups and downs. We start (luckily!) with an up kind of day. At least I left work with a smile.
My morning begins as an easier one. I am on a shift that means I am effectively an extra hand. My responsibility is prescriptions, and I can be taken away from this to put a cannula in, take some blood for a blood test, or be a “bum-stop” (to sit behind/scratch a patients bum while other things happen to them, as a distraction and minor restraint). The dogs I need to do this with are easily distracted with a high-pitched tone of voice and a bum scratch; and the morning goes without a hitch. I call a couple of clients to confirm their prescription requests / let them know they will need a prescription review soon as we haven’t seen their pets in a while; and then at 10:30am, it’s time to start consults.
Most of my consults this morning are for vaccinations. Routine, not presenting for a problem, more an opportunity for pets to have a positive interaction with us rather than be scared; and to catch up with the owners too (so important to so many of us in the current pandemic!). One of these patients happens to be a patient I operated on 10 months ago, for being kicked in the head by a horse, leaving a 1-inch-diameter hole in her skull. It’s awesome to see her doing so well, I have to admit I didn’t even recognise her at this stage, as a full-grown adult with all the fur having grown back on her head. I also see a very charming and well-behaved bulldog, called Angus, whose complicated eye ulcer has healed just a week after me debriding it with a diamond burr. I was able to do this without sedation as he sits so still. He gets 3 treats, and I feel pretty chuffed with myself.
Afternoon consults. More booster vaccinations. We are behind with COVID-19 lockdown having halted us a fair bit, and people having been pushed back a few months, so we have some catching up to do. A couple of them are nervous and require muzzling, but we manage to keep them calm in the consult room, and I don’t hear so much as a growl. I must be giving off calm vibes today!
In my afternoon consults, I come across a cat with constipation. He has been trying his hardest to go to the toilet today but to no avail. He is elderly and is already on laxatives to help this problem. I’m concerned that he now has a brain tumour. His owner reports following questioning, that he does tend to walk round in circles, and to me he doesn’t seem as ‘awake’ as his normal self would. He’s a little wobbly on all 4 legs, but gets around ok. I speak to the owner about my concerns. This is a difficult thing to prove. This would require an MRI but he is 18 years old and on discussion we’re not wanting to send him away to a specialist for an anaesthetic to do this. We choose to help with his constipation. I keep him in one of our ‘cat pods’ for the afternoon and give him a suppository to help the muscle contractions required to pass the firm poop I can feel in his abdomen. He requires a little ‘manual’ assistance - but he appears visibly brighter and happier afterwards. He goes home, owner aware of my worry with him longer-term.
Between consulting blocks, I get handed some flowers, a box of chocolates, and a card. In the card are some heartfelt words from a client I have seen for the last 2 years, as long as I’ve been in this particular job. She thanks me for looking after their dear old mini dachsund. I had diagnosed him with congestive heart failure way back when he was already in his teenage years’ and we had managed it since. Every recheck he’d happily plodded his way in to the consult room to see me, and every recheck we’d check in with each other and talk about making the end of his life as good and comfortable as possible. And he just kept going, kept being happy. He had been put to sleep by one of my colleagues while I was away, and yet the owner had felt the need to thank me personally for all we’d done in the last almost two years. A flash of regret waves over me that I hadn’t been there to say goodbye, but I also know that the time would have been right. It doesn’t happen to me often, but I do hold back some tears as I prepare for evening consults.
Evening consults. These are fairly routine. A limping dog I think will get better with some rest. An ear infection that is likely due to an underlying allergy (we discuss how to get this under control and also how to keep it that way). I see one of my surgeries back from 2 weeks ago. This was a removal of a very large lump. The removal left a very big hole (skin really stretches and pulls apart when you cut it). I used suturing techniques that would take some of the tension off the wound, and it so happens that its worked brilliantly. I’m chuffed. This particular dogs’ nipples now sit more on his side than on his underside, but I don’t think it bothers him too much! He’s super happy to see me, and he no longer needs to wear the toddler hoodie he’s had to wear for the last 2 weeks to protect the stitches that I remove.
All in all, I’ve left the day feeling brilliant. I have a bunch of tulips in my hand, and I know I’ve done good. Not every day is like this, not at all. But it’s days like this that make me realise I’m truly in the profession I’m meant to be in and that I’m fairly good at it!
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Is A Follistim treatment Right For You?
vaginal Canal tightening device.
Content
Do I need a Gp referral For Facelift surgical Procedure?
Femiwand
Which locations Can Be treated With Hifu?
What Is Mole, growth and Skin Tag Removal?
Why Are Cars Facelifted?
Due to its distinctively developed transducer system customers frequently feel very little discomfort throughout the therapy. Any type of unpleasant feelings normally decrease instantly following the procedure. Visual appeal Lab is committed to ensuring your wellness and wellness. During your preliminary Ultraformer III examination, we evaluate your case history with each other to guarantee that this procedure is appropriate for you. However, outcomes may occupy to 3 months to show and also they will certainly remain to improve for approximately 7 months blog post therapy. People may experience skin inflammation for a few days after the session. Some light swelling, prickling or inflammation may happen temporarily.
Less typical impacts consist of small discoloration as well as skin level of sensitivity. The dimension of the treatment area as well as the strategy picked impacts the duration of the HIFU treatment session, which can vary in between 30 and also 90 minutes. We will certainly have the ability to provide you a quote during your appointment. In the past I have actually tried all sorts of systems to assist with my stretch marks and also lower as well as tighten my child stubborn belly after the birth of my youngsters. The only treatment that I have seen outcomes with is the Lipofirm Pro!
What surgery makes you look younger?
A facelift, which is also known as a Rhytidectomy, will give an individual a relaxed and younger appearance. In order to be a suitable candidate for a facelift, an indiviudal should have adequate skin elasticity to ensure the procedure is effective.
This includes moving the handpiece over the area as well as providing pulses of power to achieve the desired result. Your therapy may be a little unpleasant however should not be painful and any type of discomfort must rapidly diminish promptly after treatment. At your appointment, we will certainly take a full case history and also evaluate your suitability for the treatment. We will then coordinate a custom therapy strategy with you, based upon your issues and also what you wish to achieve from the treatment. Very hardly ever one may experience small soreness for a couple of hours after the therapy in addition to swelling or tingling in the therapy location for up to a few weeks. There may also be wounding as well as feeling numb on dealt with areas but this ought to settle 2-4 weeks following the procedure. Ultraformer III has been called the comfortable choice to surgery and also Ultherapy.
Do I required a General Practitioner recommendation For Facelift surgical Treatment?
You might have an MRI scan and also numerous samples of prostate tissue taken. This will give the medical professionals a clear image of where the cancer is in the prostate. HIFU can be offered to the whole prostate when there might be cancer in greater than one area, so that all areas of cancer are dealt with. You might additionally have other tests, such as a CT scan, MRI scan or bone check, to see if the cancer cells has actually infected other parts of your body. A continual surge in your PSA degree can be an indication that the cancer has returned. If your cancer cells does come back, your physician or registered nurse will chat with you about additional therapy alternatives.
Femiwand
A lot of people endure the therapy well while the power is being delivered. Discomfort and also discomfort related to the treatment are temporary and also are just experienced throughout the therapy. A three dimensional alternative to an intrusive facelift, without any cosmetic surgery and no down time. All skin consultations will be done by phone to evaluate your viability.
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After my training course and a little Physio I am entirely back on form. The therapy really helped me get my self-confidence back, as well as the will to begin training once again. Tone, tighten up and also strong skin on your confront with this pioneering therapy.
Results from tests and very early cases in the very first 5 years are extremely motivating with way of living results far better than many various other typical treatment options. The HIFU procedure normally lasts between 1-4 hours, depending on the size of the prostate, as well as is either done under basic anaesthesia or an epidural as well as IV sedation.
Which locations Can Be treated With Hifu?
What Is Mole, wart and Skin Tag Removal?
Our reference campaign deal is valid whatsoever centers for any kind of plan. Share this page to your pal and then get in the coupon code, "FRIEND30" when scheduling your Free assessment. The HIFU treatment is perfect for those individuals who intend to boost their face, tighten up the skin as well as overall battle indicators of aging. Whilst the therapy doesn't harmed, you may experience minor pain throughout the treatment, similar to a light prickly feeling. Did you know that you can schedule your appointment in either of our aesthetic facilities in Nottingham or London? We're devoted to supplying a high quality, personal and also practical solution for each and also every one of our clients, making it as very easy as possible for you to gain access to our very skilled experts. Schedule in at our Nottingham or London facility today, we can't wait to see you soon.
These men will certainly have regular examinations to watch on the cancer that is not treated. Some guys who have focal HIFU have only one location of cancer cells in their prostate. Focal HIFU deals with a smaller location of the prostate and takes one to 2 hrs. It might be suitable for guys who have cancer that requires dealing with in just one location of their prostate. You may have a catheter placed in at the beginning of the therapy to drain pipes urine out of your bladder. A catheter is a slim tube that is passed into your bladder, either with the penis or through the wall surface of your abdomen. You will have a general anaesthetic so that you're asleep during the therapy.
On the early morning of your HIFU treatment, you'll be offered an enema to clear your bowels. You'll additionally be asked not to eat or consume for around six hrs prior to your HIFU. If you're having focal HIFU, you will typically most likely to a testing appointment initially
One of the large advantages of the HIFU Facial is that it's a non-surgical therapy that can be done in a single treatment.
You can see the results quickly, and also the renovations remain to be seen for up to nine months as your collagen is restored.
HIFU is secure, effective and also an excellent solution for training and tightening the jowls, minimizing great lines around your eyes, nose as well as mouth, tightening your skin around your jaw and also neckline as well as reducing hooded, saggy eyelids.
High intensity focused ultrasound is in some cases made use of as a therapy for very early prostate canceror prostate cancerthat has actually returned after radiotherapy.
Rather than surgery, the Ultraformer harnesses ultrasound innovation to radiate energy to the SMAS layer to tighten, lift and plump the skin.
Focal therapy making use of high-intensity focused ultrasound for localized prostate cancer.
It is given as component of a scientific trial, so it is just available in some medical facilities in the UK.
Because of this, it's only readily available in specialist centres in the UK or as part of a medical test.
These tests will certainly help your specialist target the area of the prostate that requires to be dealt with. As Lipo Sculpt offers a Coolsculpt Surrey is reasonably brand-new understanding regarding the long-lasting advantages as well as results is raising daily.
I have constantly been fairly athletic, yet lately because of injury I have actually been not able to educate and as a result my chest as well as Abdominal muscles have actually gone a little bumpy. After visiting the clinic the therapist informed me that due to absence of activity, my blood circulation has decreased and also I have actually established cellulite.
How much does a ponytail facelift cost?
Cost: $8,000–$11,000. The Hair Trick: A DIY ponytail placed just right will yield impressive results too, even if only for an evening.
Transurethral resection of the prostate is a procedure to eliminate prostate tissue as well as improve the circulation of urine. This operation is sometimes used before HIFU to lower the danger of some urinary system troubles after the therapy. Ask your physician or registered nurse which kind of HIFU might be ideal for you. HIFU could be suitable for you if your cancer cells is had inside your prostate. The Content on Our Website does not comprise advice on which you must rely. Professional or specialist advice must constantly be sought prior to taking any kind of activity associating with clinical aesthetic treatments.We make reasonable initiatives to ensure that the Web content on Our Website is full, accurate, and up-to-date.
Why Are Cars Facelifted?
Can a facelift help smokers lines?
Unfortunately, a facelift is not effective at treating those all too common lines around the mouth (smoker's lines). Even patients who do not smoke can develop these lines, sometimes fairly deep. To correct those, a resurfacing procedure needs to be performed.
HIFU treatment takes mins, during treatment it is common to experience some pain as well as a tingling feeling relying on the intensity of the ultrasound. This introducing treatment uses the current cosmetic modern technologies to help tone, tighten and also solid skin on the face, which assists to lower the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as well as leave the skin looking rejuvenated as well as younger. We can quote the rate for treatment after a preliminary complimentary consultationwith you. If the person selects a body contouring therapy, fat cells are gotten rid of using lipolysis.
Ideal cosmetic results are achievable with just one therapy session, the study images below give an instance of the results from HIFU treatment. targets adipose tissue by using high-intensity ultrasound power creating thermal coagulation to fat cells. The energy generated penetrates below the skin surface and creates mobile friction within cells. As aesthetic medication has advanced, ultrasound has verified to be an outstanding tool for a number of medical procedures. Complete Body Care offers innovative Skin Firm treatment for the face and body utilizing High Strength Concentrated Ultrasound. An usual adverse effects of ageing hangs, sagging skin, triggered by the exhaustion of collagen as well as elastin in the dermis. Ecological elements such as sunlight damage and smoking can better decrease degrees.
If you have focal HIFU, you might have low-risk cancer in another location of the prostate that is not dealt with intentionally. You will have routine tests to keep an eye on the cancer cells that is not dealt with. These might consist of PSA examinations, MRI checks, and also prostate biopsies. You might have a few of the adhering to symptoms directly after therapy, or they may establish time later on. Talk with https://southampton.lipo-sculpt.co.uk/ or nurse if you have troubles with erections or other sex-related problems. They can discuss your therapy alternatives as well as organize complimentary therapy on the NHS. Some males have troubles getting or keeping an erection after HIFU.
What is the best face tightening procedure?
Laser resurfacing This is the most effective procedure for tightening loose skin. Unlike the laser treatment described above, this procedure requires some downtime. You'll need to stay home for 5 to 7 days. Laser resurfacing also gives you the fastest results.
If you aren't able to have a basic anaesthetic for health and wellness reasons, you might be able to have a spine anaesthetic to ensure that you can't feel anything in your lower body. With this, you will also be provided some medicine to make you drowsy.
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What Can I expect throughout My Cryopen therapy?
This is since it can damage the blood vessels and also nerves that control erections. For some males this will certainly enhance, but for others this will be a longer-term side effect of HIFU. The following adverse effects can establish right after your therapy. If you have hormone therapy or a TURP before you have HIFU, these can additionally create side effects. Various other males have an additional area of cancer cells in their prostate that is not treated on purpose. This cancer cells is not treated since it is less most likely to spread out (low-risk cancer cells) and it might not trigger any type of troubles.
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It all began with a trip down the stairs...
After having a little look around my little corners of the Internet (we all have them right?) I realised, I haven't actually spoken openly about my injury, what happened, and the emotional pain that followed. I realise that what I am about to write may seem like a long jambled essay - so apologies if I waffle on a bit too much.
In late July 2018, I fell down a flight of stairs in my home. I lived a lone, and I remember the exact moment it happened. My right leg got trapped underneath me and it felt like my body went into shock as I somehow crawled back to the top of the stairs and laid there, while my furry bestie lay her little head on my chest in comfort. In the weeks that followed, I continued life as normal. The only immediate difference being my foot hurt a little (I did fall on it) and whenever I walked for any longer than 10 minutes, my legs would begin to get tired. Not sore, just... tired.
By mid August, I was given the news that the health of my best mate was rapidly deteriorating, and there was nothing more that they could do. In addition to this, my grandfather (the man that had raised me), was also beginning to succumb to his years long battle Alzheimer's / dementia. As luck would have it, I would spend the next two / three weeks sitting on palliative care ward floors, uncomfortable hospital chairs and often not in very comfortable positions just to spend the last few moments with my loved ones.
My best mate passed away on the 3 September 2018. My grandfather passed just a few days later on 8 September 2018. The grief was indescribable. The more emotional I got, the more tired my body became, the more tired my legs would get. Now I could only manage a 4-6 minute walk, then a 3 minute walk.... then just pure pain. It's so hard to articulate exactly what the pain was. I kept describing the pain as coming from my lower back / to the side (but not the hip), so doctors would send me for CT scans, MRI's - with no result.
It was only when I stumbled across a new doctor that started at my medical practice, that I struck gold. First, he was a pain management specialist, so he focused on getting me out of pain first, so he could at least then begin to get me going to seek out answers from other specialists without being out of breath, shaking uncontrollably and on the verge of tears because I was in agony.
It then all came to a head in early October, when I woke up and my legs just simply.... stopped working. Pure panic screamed through my brain as the most basic instruction of 'wiggle your toes' and 'move your leg' was met with no response and so an ambulance (& my mother) were called to take me to hospital for further tests. It was the scariest moment of my life. With the rush of questions going through your head of like, "Is this the rest of my life?" "What did I fucking ignore?" or even the stupider, "I really wish I could have gone for that hike." It's a stupid question because anyone that says that they want to go for a hike is lying, and it's just walking with a fancy name.
When I was discharged from hospital, my parents brought me back to live with them. I couldn't walk without the aide of a walker (then crutches, then walking stick - i slowly graduated), the simple act of going to the bathroom & having a shower was aided by my mother.... and anyone in this group would know, being in your mid 30's and having your Mum having to do any of those things is humbling!
Finally after months of pain, tests - I was referred to a Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist. She. Changed. My. Life. Within minutes of explaining my pain, what was wrong and she had me diagnosed, wearing a pelvic girdle and setting up simple exercises to help get me moving. Despite going into nerve regeneration (in my feet), and still experience periods of numbness, pins & needles. From July 2019, I have been walking unaided and fairly confidently and even managed to go to Japan in December and celebrate the New Year!
Pandemic hits in March, and then in July in a freak turn of events I managed to re-injure myself. 🤦♀️ We have effectively been in quarantine and various stages of lock down since then. I have worked from home since March (blessings), which has just made everything 100 x more emotional! I felt like I'd let so many people down. My support system, my doctors, my specialists - all because I lifted the dog (who weighs 9.6kg) out of the bath tub (ironically, attempting to soothe her sore back) when I could have just as easily asked my partner for help and for some stupid reason I didn't.
So, we've rolled everything back - my pain management routine is back to square one (not as crazy as the first time, but still enough to make you feel a bit blah). Back to the specialists every fortnight, and back to the exercises. I don't know why I was under this disillusion that this injury would be fixed and I'd be magically find forever. Even in hindsight, I can see that's silly - it is silly right? It's something that I'll have to be mindful of... right?
I am not as emotional as I was last week. I am feeling a bit more clear-headed. At the advise of my doctor, I began using the curable app which provided a lot more insight into pain that I could have ever imagined.
Most importantly, (since I am still in lockdown), I am embracing and feeling more grateful of my bubble of my partner & furkids more than ever. So... there's my story (I cut out all the other emotional bullshit, because I think we all tend to find out who the real people are in our corner in these moments of vulnerability, and I am certain there are some people that probably felt I wasn't a good friend to them during these times too).
Again, thank you for letting me blah everything. Share my story and get to read yours.
Today, I feel less alone and I can actually talk to people who relate to the pain and understanding that sometimes it's not as easy as just 'getting up and walking away'.
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Twenty twenty
It is 8th of January 2020.
Honestly, I cant feel the transition of the decade at all (if it was not for the count down on tv2).
Late December 2019 and early January 2020 saw us in such profound situations, an awakening to a humble start of the year, start of the decade.
Fire in Australia, bombing here and there, flood, pandemic, etcetera etcetera.
Through December, my sister suffered from a severe headache, that wont allow her to even stand up properly, affecting her whole head, down to the neck and right shoulder. She depended on painkiller to go through everyday. To make it worst, as a final year dental student, she could hardly attend to her patients. This went on for weeks and the GP suggested her to see a neurologist as they could not detect her problem. She kept on delaying coming back as she feels that she had a lot to complete and on the other hand, she had'nt prepared for any diagnosis.
As she could barely handle the continous and horrendous pain, she flew home and set an appointment with a neurologist at a private hospital (after several arrangements). At this time, I was lucky because my little brother was around, along with my sister's best friend to accompany us. She undergone CT scan and MRI, and was suspected glioma, with diffused hyperintense lesion on the right cerebullar cortex. As laymen, we were so worried with this condition, as the specialist suggested another MRI if the pain persist after some medication, thatvis after two months. However, ibu consulted our cousin and a family friend, and they asked to seek for second opinion.
Allah is great!
Ibu's friend suggested another specialist in a government hospital who subspecialised in neurointerventional radiology. He suggested that my sister come home again by end of that week as her condition may deteriorate fast and January would be too late. So again, she came back in the same month, underwent another set of MRA and MRI and it was confirmed right pica territory infarction. There were necrosis tissues in the blood vessels, inhibiting it to supply blood and oxygen to certain area of the brain. In simple term, its stroke! Stroke? Stroke, people! It's a mild stroke but if goes untreated, could cause paralysis. Condition is not reversible but can be prevented in other places. Once the brain cells are dead, they can not be regenerated. Naudzubillah min zalik.
I have to state that my sister is an active, healthy 26 year old. She goes gym at least twice a week and eats healthily. I mean: she cuts sugar, and drinks plain water most of the time too! What could possibly go wrong? So the specialist referred her to another neurosurgeon for the treatment management. Alhamdulillah, it wasnt a rare case, a lot of older people gets them, but in youngsters, statistically only one case per year.
Now, just as my sister flew back to her place, my son was down with a high fever. This was the last day of 2019. Just four days before, we went for a follow up with a paedatrician on his speech delay at another hospital (the last appointment it seemed, as fahim has overcome his problem, alhamdulillah). We went to our usual outing to the mall on the weekend before too. On the first day of 2020, we went to see a GP as Fahim's temperature didnt subside even after pcm supp. So the GP prescribed diclofenac sodium (NSAID) (yes, wait for it!) besides antibiotic and flu syrup. We happily returned home cause after one whole day, that's the only medication that made Fahim's temperature back to normal. So we continued giving him the supps up to day 4, having used 4 whole supps...
On Day 3, my husband then catch a cold too. His, was different. He could feel the heat and pain, concentrated on the head and eyes area. He shivers a lot and his cold sweats dampens our couch. So the next day, again we went to GP, and he tested my husband for Influenza.. And he was Influenza A positive. We were so sure that he got the virus from Fahim, so the doctor referred us to the hospital. At this time, my good old friend told me not to use the NSAID. And just minutes after, the news spread of acute encephalopathy associated with influenza in small kids and NSAID was everywhere! On whatssap, facebook, news, you name it! We freaked out and worried sick! Even at the hospital, (we chose another government hospital) the emergency department couldnt admit my husband and fahim, but politely gave us quarantine leave for five days and some medication for the whole quarantine time. She said at least 50 positive cases of influenza were referred there daily! Definitely an outbreak. But after 2 weeks if the symptoms still around or the condition worsens, we were to come back to the hospital. Even the supposed medicine for Influenza were reserved only for critical patients. We had to make sure Fahim and Fahmy drinks lotss of water and take PCM timely.
So, quarantine. Seems simple.
When you are in your second trimester, with a toddler and a husband with Influenza A to take care of, its farrrr from simple, ladies and gentlemen.
(At this point I am still contemplating to write on the challenges or not, seems ungrateful and as if I am the only one facing this, but as a wife and a mother, you learn every now and then, forever. So. Here are some for the memories.)
1. Your kid who lovesss medicine refuse to take medicine the time you wanted him to and I literally had to force him with a taek-wan-do white belt that I have. And pcm is 4 hourly.
2. His temperature would stay at 39 degree celcius. Come down around 37.8-9 for an hour, after an hour or 2 of pcm, than you feed him another round of pcm. Back to 1st point.
3. As temperature hardly comes down, you had to "jerlum" a loghat we learned from the emergency medical officer. And this boy refused to place a wet cloth on his head! Whats more, under his armpits or other parts of the body!
4. He refused milk. At one time I thought ok maybe "nak putus susu". I was glad too, but what I did, made him syrup drink in a 300ml bottle, and he survived on only that daily (and some liquid when we feed him medicine). When he woke up zillion times at night, he'll drink from that syrup too. No milk for few days. This worries us too, but 300ml better than nothing.
5. What is clingy again?
6. Your husband's temperature wont come down and he's not his usual self for few days was distressing.
I mean, its a different level of sabr altogether! Honestly, I didnt think I'll survive. Body ache, mentally and physically exhausted. I am definitely not one with the most patience on earth, I admit. Everyday praying for strength and an end to this episode.
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Allahuakbar Allahuakbar Allahuakbar!
After a torturous yet meaningful week, Fahim and Fahmy recovered. Alhamdulillah. Thumma alhamdulillah.
This was a great kick start of our decade.
And Fahim started asking for his milk as usual.
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So people, in 2020,
1. Listen to your body. Dont stress yourself too much. If you detect something unusual, no harm checking.
2. Stroke can happen to anyone, anytime. Lead a balanced life. At least it lessens the risk.
3. Drink plenty of water. Everytime. Better yet.
4. Get vaccinated. Cant stress enough on this. Flu vaccine's available. I had it during last umrah I think. Prevention is better than cure.
5. Sabar sabar and sabar.
6. Cant believe we are in Year 2020! Have a great decade! In sha Allah
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Hey mate, I probably just missed something, but what's up with the stress test and stuff?
I’m glad you asked becauseI love talking about this! It’s going to get very long because I’m dumping all the backstory in here lol.
You probably didn’t miss anything, you’re a newer follower and it hasn’t come up for a while. I’m going to explain a lot of things, some of which you may already understand. I encounter people who have all different levels of background knowledge with this and I always try to be clear without being condescending, I hope I succeed!
I have a congenital heart defect called coarctation of the aorta. This is a narrowing in the artery that exits the heart and supplies the blood to all the other arteries. Not something that should probably be narrow. When I was two my pediatrician noticed a murmur (props to her because it was apparently very hard to hear) and referred me to a cardiologist who diagnosed it. The thing is, it was extremely mild. I didn’t have any symptoms, except some elevated blood pressure. The original cardiologist was very interventionist so we got a second opinion and switched to my cardiologist who I had from that point (in 1998) until 2017 when he finally retired. Great guy. Being a reasonable person, he said there was no reason to repair it yet, so I had yearly check-ups with him, and EKGs and echocardiograms (ultrasound of the heart) and occasionally some other testing (CT and stress test when I was 6/7, blood work to test for a genetic disorder that coarctation is often seen with). This continued until I was thirteen and it was finally time to fix it. I had high blood pressure, but still no symptoms.
Fig. 1: my aorta before my first stent
There are a few ways to repair a coarctation of the aorta. There are a few different surgical techniques, which is the traditional way, or there are some more modern, less invasive choices. Sometimes they will do balloon angioplasty, where they just use a balloon to expand the artery. What I had was very similar, they did use a balloon but the balloon was inside a stent. A stent is basically a little metal tube that starts out collapsed with the balloon inside it and expands as the balloon is inflated. The stent remains with you forever. It provides extra support as the artery heals and helps prevent it from renarrowing.
Fig. 2: coarctation repaired by stent
Traditionally stents were stainless steel. These stents were actually designed for use in the liver, but were also being used in arteries. A few years before I my repair researchers developed platinum stents that were actually designed for use in the aorta. They’re stronger, a bit more flexible/malleable for better placement, and non-ferrous so they don’t interfere with MRI imaging. When I got my first stent in 2010 the platinum stent was approved in Europe but still in clinical trials in the United States. I joined that clinical trial. I got my platinum stent and everything was great! I was back at school in two days. A year later I got my first MRI (which takes two hours, by the way) to check up on it. One of the things they were looking for was an aortic aneurysm. An aneurysm develops when an area of the vessel wall weakens and the blood basically forms a balloon coming off the side. Aortic aneurysms are very dangerous because if they rupture you bleed out very quickly. At this point, in 2011, there had not been any cases of aneurysm in the study. I was the first.
Fig. 3: yikes!
They decided to repair my aneurysm with a second cath procedure. They placed another stent inside the first stent. This stent was exactly the same except it had a waterproof gore-tex coating, basically keeping the blood from the aneurysm and allowing the vessel to heal.
Fig. 4: all better
I’ve had no other issues since then. My blood pressure is a little high (it’s very common for coarctation patients to have high blood pressure even after repair) but I’m basically a normal, healthy person. I’m allowed to do anything and I don’t need any medication. However, I still need to be followed by a specialist to make sure everything is okay. I go in about every two years. I have an appointment with my cardiologist (who is part of a new speciality that deals with congenital heart defects in adults) in March, and since I haven’t had a stress test since 2002-03 and my last MRI was in 2013, she wanted some new information before she saw me. So I had that today. I love the staff at the hospital and it’s always as good an experience as it can be, but it’s annoying.
TL;DR: I have a repaired congenital heart defect called coarctation of the aorta and an aortic aneurysm and it was time for some routine testing.
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Long-term Survival
Month 23, Day 3 I got an MRI last week, showing no regrowth or metastasis, which is the goal. Even though I’ve moved mostly to Medium, because it offers better tracking and, y’know, the whole payment thing (check me out at https://medium.com/@patrickkmc10), I thought I should do this one as a freebie, because this whole “Cancer Survival” black box recorder project wasn’t really ever by or for me.
It’s about you guys.
And that’s why I felt like I should come back to this site, because it’s where I started this whole thing, and, y’know, the free access thing. Assuming I don’t die in the next four weeks (always a distinct possibility when you’re living with The Deadliest Disease Known to Medicine)(TM), I will become a long-term survivor. With no recurrences or metastases, which is almost unheard-of (the average life expectancy of a newly-diagnosed GBM survivor is 24 months, max). I started writing two long years ago because expressive dysphagia is a common end-stage symptom, and I was utterly certain that everything I wrote, created, or said would be my very last.
Thankfully, that level of fear is unsustainable, simply from a physiological standpoint. And, as I went through treatment, I started hearing some stories behind the numbers, that started explaining the horrifying numbers. Things you need to know when your doctor asks if you’re comfortable, if you need a glass of water.
First of all, there’s the very basic fact that almost all cancer survival statistics are badly out of date. You’re working with data that’s usually 5 years old, at least. In the medical world, that’s nearly-obsolete. Also, the average age of the average GBM patient is 68. The global life expectancy is something like 74-ish; not very many 68-year-olds are going to make it ten years; fewer are going to last when they get a cancer diagnosis.
And, as one of my oncologists noted, based on various genotypes, patient tolerances, and other indicators, glioblastoma isn’t some monolithic, single disease, but several dozen distinct-but-closely-related sub-types, and treating it as a single disease with a single treatment does survivors a dramatic disservice..
So, a few things that, even though every survival experience is unique, I feel safe in recommending for all brain cancer patients (”There are dozens of us! DOZENS!”)
1. Start strong - I realized, half-way through treatment (I’m pretty sure I wrote about the slow realization that HWIC’s exhortation that my survival chances were excellent weren’t false optimism, they were a weird Faustian pact) that not everyone gets signed up immediately on the most-aggressive treatment available. You want to start on the harshest course of treatment from Day 1, this disease is not merciful, and you shouldn’t expect or demand any mercy in turn (from anyone).
2. Stay the course - There are, obviously, qualifications and exclusions and disclaimers in that one; if you have a dangerous allergic reaction or sudden platelet drop, maybe reconsider chemo or change it. With that said, if we’re just talking about pain or discomfort or any of the other numerous side-effects; suck it up, buttercup. Cancer is like a bacterial infection - if you stop a treatment course halfway through and it comes back, it’ll be resistant to previous treatments. For a disease like GBM where there are only a half-dozen proven treatments, you don’t want to burn through them.
3. Your homeland is now cancer - One thing I got really lucky in is that I was able to put everything in my life on hold and make cancer survival my full-time occupation. Looking over other survivor stories; I think that’s what’s required. I was in the gym an hour a day and had daily appointments with a variety of specialists at the height of treatment. I think that’s probably what it takes; you have to make every single aspect of your existence about survival. Now, that’s horrible, and unsustainable, in the long-term. But you have to survive the short-term, first, and that does require massive lifestyle and dietary changes. For starters, filling prescriptions and keeping track of appointments took up six hours a week by itself at the height of treatment.
4. Document everything - My life changed in a very weird way when I got on Instagram (the preferred social media for survivors) to take pictures of me in the infusion center. This was my almost non-existent attempt to demystify a disease and process that has a very weird, undeserved mystique around it. You’re literally just sitting around, with a tube in your arm, being poisoned, hoping you outlast the poison and the disease. Then your hair comes out in clumps (thankfully, I had the Stetson well before that, so it was just a case of sighing and rummaging through my closet at that point). So, it was a weird - and inspiring thing - to hear back from survivors, caregivers, and others who’d been touched by this disease. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of that original crowd still above ground, but I feel blessed that they offered what fellowship they could. Cancer is so far beyond the able-bodied experience that it’s existentially isolating. It was an enormous morale-booster to realize that I had to make it, for everyone who didn’t.
5. Look into experimental treatments right away - Even if you’re on a treatment regimen that seems to be working, you want to have a worst-case scenario nuclear option available. It was, possibly, one of the better days of my life when Tocagen announced testing for a recurrent GBM immunotherapy. Even if you don’t need it; it’s enormously reassuring to have an insurance treatment available. One thing HWIC repeated whenever I asked “What if this doesn’t work,” was, “Then we’ll look at other treatment options.” It wasn’t until after treatment that I realized that most people aren’t willing to just go through treatment after treatment until they find something that works; that undoubtedly skews the statistics.
6. It’s going to get worse before it gets better - This is true of all survivors I’ve met, but it’s especially true of brain cancer survivors, since the side effects of treatment - seizures, nausea, balance/gait issues, fatigue, memory problems - also mimic cancer symptoms. Even if, like me, you were completely asymptomatic prior to diagnosis, you’re likely to develop them as treatment progresses. All cancer patients need to recognize that - treatment or no treatment - life is gonna suck for a year (or a few years) after that diagnosis; the question is whether you heal and get better after that period or if that downward trajectory ends with a funeral. If treatment isn’t working, find something else, immediately.
7. Find community - Privilege in America is less about what you get, and more about what doesn’t happen to you. When you get an incurable disease, you’re dropped into the most vulnerable minority in history. And you have to start thinking like minority members - so, intersectionality. Obviously, the biggest, best support group I found was the local AYA cancer support folks, but I found friends in a writing group (I ran into a few of them the other day getting a blood draw), I’ve made friends in another local cancer support group because they - like me - have a genetic predisposition to cancers, and it is beyond comforting to see that, even in a life where No Evidence of Disease is the exception, not the rule; one can live to be 82, and have something resembling a normal life. You’re now a member of the worst club in the world - look for other members.
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Post #1 - Welcome
Firstly, welcome. Whether you’re family, a friend or even somebody I don’t know - welcome to what will be my journey. I’ll be honest and upfront about what’s going on and I’m not afraid to express my deepest feelings.
Will this blog be everybody’s cup of tea? Absolutely not. I’ll give you the heads up now - this will be boring. This will lead down some dark and negative paths (don’t stress, it’ll be mostly positive!). I do feel however that I need to express myself this way and explore my emotions as they clash with what is going on. Sit back, relax and come with me in what will be some light slightly heavy reading.
Where does one start with such a blog? Let me preface this by saying once all is said and done, I will never complain about anything trivial again. Ever. The past six weeks has been an emotional roller coaster - not only on myself but those close to me. I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody I know and I don’t say that lightly!
Where am I at now? Monash Hospital - Clayton. Over the past six weeks, I’ve spent 26 days in hospital across three different stints. It’s currently 22:49 on Monday 15th July and I’m about to endure what will be the most confronting couple of days I’ve experienced in my life... but let’s roll it back a few weeks and fill you in.
What’s wrong? Where and how did it all it begin? Let’s touch over a few things...
Sunday June 2nd - It all started with an immense eye pain one Sunday afternoon. I’d stayed up late into the night to watch Australia’s first Cricket World Cup clash with Afghanistan. Getting to bed at roughly 3am Sunday morning and waking up normally by 10am, I thought this particular Sunday was going to be a stock standard one. I stayed over at my partner Courtney’s house and we went to watch her nephew play football. 4pm rolled around on Sunday and I thought I was suffering from what I thought was a simple case of eye strain - a deep, immense pain in my left eye. After all, my mum, dad and sister all have glasses so I assumed my time was up!
Courtney booked me an appointment at the optometrist for the following weekend and I kept on in my evening assuming this eye pain would settle with some rest.
Monday June 3rd - Waking up Monday morning, the pain was still there. Had it gotten slightly better? Not at all. I continued on my Monday as normal with an incredibly busy day at work and headed around to Courtney’s for the weekly ‘Monday night roast’ courtesy of her mother. Knowing I had a rostered day off on Tuesday, I knew I could sleep in, relax, take it easy and my eye would eventually get better - surely! It has to!
Tuesday June 4th - With the day off, no alarms set I was woken up at 8:30am with the call I was least expecting. My mum was in tears as she somehow bravely blurted that my grandfather had passed away that morning. Poppy was ill and attempting to recover from a recent hip operation he had after a fall - we all thought he’d fight through it and keep battling but unfortunately his time was up and nanny had called him to join her. A man I was so close with, a fighter had suddenly left us. I was in shock, but raced to pick mum up from work. We made the decision to join my family in Bairnsdale - 3 hours away from where I live. Mum and I shared the driving there, no worries in the world. My eye pain was still there - Worse than it had been, but that was secondary this day. I could still see perfectly normal still assuming it was just eye strain.
Wednesday June 5th - As soon as I woke up, I knew something wasn’t right with my left eye. The pain had slightly subsided however my vision just wasn’t right. I can’t explain what I felt that morning. My left eye was still moving as it should however the vision just wasn’t right. I chose to close my left eyelid and primarily look through my right. It was at this moment I just knew it wasn’t an eye strain - it was something worse.
Mum went down the street that morning and I tagged along. Fortunately, Specsavers (Bairnsdale’s local optometrist) was open and they could squeeze me in for an eye check. I knew I had to rule that out before attending a hospital.
Not to my surprise, my vision was 20/20 out of each eye as it had been for my life. The optometrist suggested if I’m having issues, to head to the local hospital - so that I did.
Rolling on into Bairnsdale Regional Hospital at 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon wasn’t exactly on my schedule when heading down to Bairnsdale originally, but that’s what it had come to. The triage nurse saw me immediately and rushed me through to be seen (within 30 minutes and a waiting room full of patients!) The doctor - who was only in his second year out of uni was quick to assess that I was having issues with my third nerve (something that wouldn’t be mentioned again for a couple of days). In consultation with the Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne, it was recommended I leave Bairnsdale immediately and go and present myself to them - a 4 hour drive. With other matters on my mind, I was hesitant to go. My family basically pushed me out the door and it was at that moment that I knew I had to go.
9pm I walk in the entrance to a ridiculously busy waiting room. I present myself to triage and they pull the papers they had from earlier in the day. I thought this may mean I’d get through a bit quicker - boy oh boy I was wrong! Fortunately, State of Origin I was on and that entertained me until 10:30... and from there it was a genuine slog. 11:45pm I walked through the sliding doors and was met by who I can best describe as an overenthusiastic young(ish) Pom who was keen to have a look at me. It was late. I was tired. This bloke was over the top, but my word did he know his stuff! Did that help him diagnose me? No. 2am came around and he sent me home, telling me to expect a call at 9am with plans on what to do next.
Thursday June 6th - Just to his word, a phone call comes in at 9am from the doctor I’d seen only seven hours earlier. He advised I needed a CT scan (at 1pm) and an appointment with a specialist (3pm). The CT scan went well and I assumed I’d be out by 4pm and be able to head to the Sandown Greyhounds for the night as I’d been busy organising a night out over the weeks prior. This all changed when we saw the specialist. She ran her basic tests and ordered an MRI scan ASAP. I got taken over to St. Vincent’s Private Hospital for the scans via an underground tunnel - yes! They exist! My very first MRI scan was done and back to the Eye and Ear Hospital we went. The specialist that I’d seen earlier in the day was rostered on that night in emergency fortunately for me! She got the scan results back and ruled out a stroke and bleeding on my brain pretty early. This was a relief, I suppose. I wasn’t going to die in the short term! It was from here where she advised i’d be required to be admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital that night for further tests over the next few days. It was at this point where I felt helpless. Disappointed and helpless. I was expecting to have a few tests done and go home and continue my life as per normal. I didn’t want to be admitted to a hospital so far away from home. I didn’t want to wait around for tests. I wanted to be home. In my bed. Some normality at least. This is where my mindset had to change and that it did - pretty quickly.
Dad walked with me over to St. Vincent’s and we entered the emergency department. We were told “you won’t have to wait long... they are already expecting you.” Well, once again, what was I thinking? A city central hospital with no waiting in emergency? In retrospect, I was definitely getting my hopes up.
A solid 3 hour wait finally saw me enter through the doors and be seen to. This is where dad left me - for the first time in this ordeal I was alone. Was I scared? I won’t lie. Yes, yes I was. At 24 years old, no idea what’s wrong with me and alone in a major hospital in the city? I think that’s justified.
How’s the eye at this stage? Terrible. In the prior 24 hours I’d developed double vision and my left eye had significantly moved with no ability to control it - as you can see below.
Friday June 7th - 4am I was finally taken to a ward and had a bed to myself. It was on the 9th floor in the ward that generally deals with major bone breaks and reconstructions/replacements. I was wheeled into a twin-share room with an old guy who had just had his hip replaced. In retrospect, I had such a good room in what turned out to be an incredible hospital. The food was excellent, the nurses went above and beyond to make sure you were comfortable and as happy as you can be and in the end, I had a great view of Melbourne.
10am came by and I saw the first of what felt like 100 doctors that day. They were pretty quick to diagnose me with Third Nerve Palsy in my left eye - something I hadn’t heard since I first presented in Bairnsdale two days prior.
Unfortunately, being a part of the neuro team of doctors - things didn’t happen too quickly. Just my luck too, this upcoming weekend was the Queens Birthday long weekend. I didn’t realise or even think that hospitals go on skeleton staff over the weekends and scans don’t get done very quickly... I wasn’t booked in for a follow up CT and MRI scan until Tuesday...
Monday June 10th - I’m not going to lie. Mentally I was struggling. Presented to a hospital on Thursday night/Friday morning for what was Third Nerve Palsy and they just left me there over the weekend. No follow ups. No nothing. I didn’t realise how much hospitals shut down over weekends - I certainly do now! I was a mess. I felt lost. I didn’t know what was going on or even why for that matter. My eye was doing something it had never done and I couldn’t control it. I felt helpless and lonely.
Courtney was just getting over a serious case of the flu, so I hadn’t seen her in over a week and it was killing me.
I broke down Monday night after I’d calmed down from what was a good win by my Pies. 8pm came around, visitors were gone and I was there by myself. No clear plan about what was wrong with me or how they were going to fix it. I was an emotional mess.
Tuesday June 11th - Finally. The long weekend was over and didn’t I notice the difference. 7am and the hospital was a hive of activity. My CT and MRI scans were booked in for later that day as well as what will turn out to be my first of many lumbar punctures (LP) - something that scared the life out of me. Mentally, 24 hours later I was doing okay. I could see things progressing...but one thing was playing on my mind. Poppy’s funeral was on Friday and I knew within myself I had to be there to say my final goodbye. I let the nurses and doctors know and they seemed to be okay with letting me out on day leave - however logistically that left an issue. 4 hour drive with an 11am funeral wasn’t going to be possible.
Wednesday June 12th - At this stage, my eye hadn’t got any worse. It was just the third nerve affected and otherwise, I was perfectly fine. The results of my scans and LP came back which showed inflammation on my third nerve (which was expected) as well as a high white blood cell and protein count. This lead the doctors to believe it was due to either inflammation or infection. The doctors pretty quickly leant away from infection as I wasn’t presenting with any other signs so they treated me with an incredibly high dosage of a steroid called methylprednisolone to treat the inflammation.
IV drip for the first lot on Wednesday night and 10x 100mg tablets on each Thursday and Friday.
Thursday June 13th - The doctors agreed to let me out Thursday afternoon providing I had no further reactions to the methylprednisolone. Turns out I didn’t, so they fortunately let me out at 3pm to do what I needed to over the following few days. They were happy not to see me again unless of course things progressed and got worse and organised a follow up scan in two months time. At this stage, the diagnosis was Third Nerve Palsy due to inflammation of the nerve that was treated via steroids and may get better over the following weeks or months - or may not get better at all.
Friday June 14th - Sunday June 16th - Whilst Friday was a heavily emotional day saying my final farewell to Poppy, physically I got through it okay and had no further issues. This was my life now - whether I liked it or not. Deep down I had confidence it would get better in time and I’d have to see St. Vincent’s every few weeks to check up and I was okay with that.
Monday June 17th - I wake up Monday morning at home incredibly sick. What was wrong with me? I didn’t sleep during the night and was having hot and cold flushes, dizzy spells, hallucinations, no appetite and had absolutely no idea where I was. It was the flu, without having the flu or feeling sick. It was such a strange feeling. I started to develop an immense pain in my right jaw - incredibly similar to my eye. I started to worry - instantly. I called the doctor who was looking after me at St. Vincent’s and he wasn’t worried about it. He advised me to go to my GP and just get an X-ray to make sure everything is okay.
Deep down, I knew something was wrong but didn’t know what. I suspected the sickness was the come down from such a high dosage of steroids (which was later confirmed) but this jaw pain felt all too similar and I was scared.
Needless to say, I didn’t go to the GP or get an X-ray purely because I didn’t want another round of doctors looking at me, wasting the prior time at St. Vincent’s.
This continued through Tuesday and Wednesday. Exactly the same symptoms... I got further worried.
Thursday June 20th - Mum was on my back about going to my GP. I was resentful, but booked an appointment for 4pm to get checked out. I was still a mess, but better than I had been. Dad took me to my GP appointment and came in with me. By this stage, I couldn’t chew. I’d lost all strength completely in my jaw - both right and left side. My regular doctor took one look at me, checked my files she got from St. Vincent’s that morning and advised that I needed to head back into hospital - be it St. Vincent’s or Monash Hospital Clayton. She recommended Monash Clayton for two reasons; 1. Closer to home & 2. Well renown Neuro doctors.
I was hesitant, but knew I had to. I was more open to going than I had been a fortnight prior and was happy to be in for the long haul. Mentally, I was in a good spot. I knew something more was wrong and it wasn’t just inflammation. Alas, in I went. Straight to Emergency Department at Monash Clayton.
Friday June 21st - To cut a long story short, to get a bed at Monash Clayton was horrible! I spent a few hours in emergency, followed by 5 hours in short stay and eventually 24 hours in a day ward before I was moved onto a general medical ward. Friday was spent in the day ward with Neuro doctors coming back and forth obsessing over my eye and jaw issues.
I’d bloody done it again. Gone into hospital late on a Thursday... this time I knew not much would happen over the weekend and I was prepared for that.
Monday June 24th - As expected, not a whole lot happened over the weekend. I got moved to a general medical ward and that was it.
Monday afternoon finally brought some news once the Neuro team had looked at me properly. I’d lost my third nerve (which we already knew) and my fifth nerve (jaw) was also shot and gone. Great. I couldn’t eat. I was put on what was called a ‘minced and moist diet’ which can only be described as an unknown meat, minced with gravy with a few unknown vegetables on the side (see below). It was horrible. I didn’t have much of an appetite however what I did have was quickly swept away with the sight of this food.
Over the next few days, more CT, MRI, Ultrasounds and LP’s were done. Blood tests twice daily. I was quite frankly getting sick and tired of getting poked, prodded and scanned only for the Neuro doctors to come in once (maybe twice) a day to tell me there’s no real update and they needed to wait for tests to come back.
Thursday 27th June - During the week, things had progressively gotten worse. I’d lost my sixth nerve in my left eye as well as feeling in my chin (just below my mouth) and started to develop quite a large, painful lump underneath my right earlobe.
Doctors were then forced to act fast. They’d suspected I was suffering from either a virus that hadn’t made itself too known and was attacking my nerves or an auto immune disease that was forcing my white blood cells to attack my own nerves, picking them off one by one.
They did some more tests and sent them to both Brisbane and Canberra to be looked at as Monash Clayton or anywhere in Melbourne couldn’t get the results they wanted.
Immediately, they started to treat me for both of these conditions simultaneously. I was having an anti-viral drip 3x/day every 8 hours for the virus as well as what was called IVIG (derived from blood) to fight the auto immune disease and kill off my bad white blood cells.
I was scared. Every day I was getting worse and I suppose I just wanted to know what was wrong with me. I probably felt most for my direct family and Courtney who all had no answers despite all the tests and scans I’d done previously. They were left in the dark - as was I. 22 days it had been since I felt some sort of normality and it was killing me. The fact they had no answers was slowly eating away at me, but I put on a smile and a positive attitude as I always do. They’ll find something soon. They have to. It’ll come back positive for auto-immune, I’ll get treated and away we go back to normality. I was wrong.
Friday July 5th - This treatment cycle went on for the next week or so. The doctors were happy I wasn’t getting worse, my sixth nerve had slightly returned so they were happy to let me go home. 15 days in hospital this spell. It didn’t feel like 15 days though, not to me anyway. I think that’s probably because of the positive mindset and willingness to stay in until they found what was wrong with me. I’d started to develop muscle aches and pains in my left leg but I thought nothing of it - assuming that was just because I’d been in hospital and confined to a 3x3 room for 15 days!
I’d had a full body MRI scan and ultrasound on my leg the day earlier and they saw something around my stomach they wanted to investigate a little bit further. Before they let me out, we agreed to have a follow up MRI in two or three weeks as well as a PET scan within the next week and a bit to investigate my stomach a bit more. I was happy, the doctors were happy and away I went. Back into the world they call life. I was happy.
Monday July 8th - After spending a relaxing weekend between home and Courtney’s, I had an unexpected call at 1pm. It was a woman from Moorabbin Hospital wanting to urgently book me in for a PET scan and was wondering when I was available. She advised she only really had the following day at 2:30pm available for the next three weeks and advised I need to be there. So I took it. I had no bloody idea what a PET scan was, so as any 24 year old would do, I gave it a Google.
“A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is an imaging test that allows your doctor to check for diseases in your body....”
My heart sunk as I read a bit more. PET scans are generally used to pick up cancers. Wait. What? Why do the doctors want to do this so urgently? They were talking over the next week and a half, so why are they doing it now? My gut feeling wasn’t good. I knew something deeper was wrong but I brushed it aside - my condition despite being unconfirmed was in my mind, still auto-immune.
Tuesday July 9th - I’d never had a PET scan before but I did a YouTube search so I knew what to expect. It was like a CT scan pretty much. They inject the radioactive glucose into you, wait an hour so your body can absorb it and have a scan. Simple.
For the first time in this whole ordeal, something went exactly as I expected it. It was an easy process made easier by the wonderful nurses in there. My PET scan went well and I was happy. I was convinced nothing would show but still had that deep feeling in my gut that something wasn’t right.
I had a call that night and booked myself in for a follow up MRI at Monash Clayton for the following day - once again a few weeks earlier than expected. The woman on the phone said the doctors wanted to rush it through and once again, my gut sank. Something just wasn’t right. Why are the doctors pushing through these scans when we’d only discussed 4 days earlier about having them in a few weeks. Whatever. I’ll go. I have to. I just want to know what’s wrong with me!
Thursday July 18th - 16:32. An unknown number calls. This is how I’ve been getting my scans booked. Is it another one? “Is that Justin?” the gentleman on the other end of the line goes.
“It’s Jason from the haematology department at Monash Clayton. I’m not sure if your Neuro doctors have called you yet, but I’ve just had a look at your PET scan from Tuesday with them. We can see significant areas in your stomach, liver, gall bladder and groin that has lit up which we weren’t expecting. It’s your lymphnodes that have reacted with the glucose and are showing us we need to investigate a bit more. We’ll need to get you in for another LP and we’re going to have to do a biopsy of those lymphnodes to get more of an idea. At this stage, we’re looking at lymphoma as a genuine cause of what’s wrong with you...”
I tune out. I’m still processing his first few sentences. What? You mean they’ve found something that isn’t related to the nerves in my eye? Lymphoma? Isn’t that cancer? I might have a type of cancer? But I’m 24? That can’t be right.
I finish the conversation with him and hang up the phone. I was home with mum and the time. She looks at me and asked what the phone call was about. I break down. I cry. I don’t know how to process the news. I’m a mess for a solid 15 minutes. I eventually get strong enough to tell mum. She breaks down as well. It must’ve been incredibly difficult to hear your 24 year old son may have lymphoma. I call dad and let him know....and Courtney. Other than that, I keep it on the downlow. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. What if it is nothing?
Jason calls back later that night. Pretty much says I have an appointment on Monday for another LP and they want to do the biopsy ASAP. He said not to go to ED at Monash Clayton and just to expect a call at any moment between then and Monday that they have a bed for me. When I get the call, I had to go in. I was okay with this. It wasn’t going to happen for a few days!
Sunday July 14th - Court and I went down to dads for the lunch and catch up with his wife and her kids. It was a great day to forget about the reality of life for a few hours. That was until we went to Coles to get stuff for lunch and I had a missed call from a private number. Without listening to the voicemail, I knew what it was. My gut dropped. I told Courtney and we listened to the voicemail together.
“Hi Justin, we’re just letting you know a bed is available and if you could come into the ward ASAP.”
I’m okay with it. I knew it was coming... then a few minutes later I broke down in the middle of Coles. What hit me? I don’t know. Reality I suppose. I didn’t want to go back in. I knew I had to. I knew this trip was going to be about whether or not I have lymphoma - a type of a cancer. I was scared. I grabbed Courtney’s shoulder and just cried. Cried for a solid 5 minutes. I couldn’t control myself. It just hit me.
I thought I’d wait until they called back instead of making that call to enquire further to bide myself an extra hour or two. Half an hour later, they call and I answer. I was able to arrange an extra four hours until I had to be in there. This gave me enough time to get home, pack a bag and mentally prepare myself to head in.
By 5pm that night, I was in a bed with the lumbar puncture booked for the following day at 2:30pm.
Monday July 16th (Today) - I’m not afraid to say I hate LP’s. Being larger than your average 24 year old, they can’t do the blind and require them under CT guidance. It makes the process easier, but it certainly doesn’t feel as pleasant!
I saw the haematology doctor at 11:30 this morning. He was open and honest with me. Which I appreciated. He basically said up front “We’re 90% sure you have lymphoma. All we are waiting on is the biopsy to come back positive and we can start treatment...which will be chemo...”
That’s about all I took out of the conversation. It hit me. Not hard that I’d cry, but the reality hit me hard. Here I am, apart from overweight, I’m a normal otherwise healthy 24 year old. In the space of six weeks, I’ve developed symptoms I don’t wish upon anybody and getting told the doctors are 90% certain I have lymphoma.
I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy to be where I am at the moment. It’s a funny time in my life. I’m being as positive as I can however I know I’m about to face the biggest battle of my life. In a way, I really hope the biopsy does come back positive - just so we finally have something. Confirmation on something and can start treatment pretty much instantly.
With my biopsy scheduled for between 8:30 - 11:30 tomorrow, I’m not going to lie, i’m shitting myself. Sedate me. Put a camera down my mouth to my stomach. Take tissue samples of my lymphnodes. Sounds like a great Tuesday morning to me. For once in my life I think I’d prefer to be at work!
Realistically, I’m expecting the results back from the biopsy in 24-36 hours from tomorrow morning and expect if confirmed to be lymphoma, to begin my chemo treatment late this week.
As I said earlier, it’s going to be the biggest fight of my life...But I’m ready. I’m not prepared to fail, I never have been. I will beat whatever is wrong with me.
If you’ve made it this far, kudos. It’s now 1:32am and I’m starting to get the tired eyes. As I started, I feel as if I had to start this blog to move forward mentally. Whilst this will be my longest entry I’ll have, it certainly won’t be my last. I assure you of that.
Wish my luck for tomorrow!
Juzz xx
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What is arthritis?/ ¿Qué es la artritis?
Arthritis: (noun) friend, enemy, part of your body, the victim, bully, strong, weak, ally or oppressor?
We talked a lot about arthritis in this blog: about what it is, how it affected me and how you need to take of yourself if you have it. But we never really started how we should have, in the "Tutorial" section of the game. Which is why this post today will bring you your daily dose of facts and nerdiness to further explain a couple of key points:
1. What arthritis is? 2. Who has arthritis? 3. How do you know you have arthritis? 4. Where does it come from? 5. How can you treat it?
Don't worry! Each of these will be short and simple, just like they should be. No medical terms or bad internet connection is going to stop me from delivering the truth to the masses!
And now, without further ado, here we go: What is arthritis?
What is arthritis?
"So.. What is it? What is it?!"I see you yell at your computer screen.
I understand that need for an answer. When I first got diagnosed, being told I had arthritis was relieving for 5 seconds, until I realized I had no clue what I was facing and what was causing this.
Well here is your answer, pal! Grab that popcorn!
Arthritisis a symptom of joint inflammation and stiffness that may develop from a completely separate illness or may be independent as a medical disorder. If it is a disorder, it means that there is a chemical disbalance in your body that chronically or temporarily causes pain in your joints.
See? Simple.
Arthritis is what is known as an autoimmunedisorder, in which your body- aka your white blood cells and antibodies- basically attacks itself in a specific region, in this case, your joints.
There are two types of arthritis: systemic, which affects all of your body, and localized, which may affect one or a few joints.
Now, there are more than 100 types of arthritis and arthritis-related conditions. Next up, a speedy round of the most frequently found types of arthritis in the USA and the UK:
1. Osteoarthritis:your bones and cartilage are compromised and damaged by breaking of the joint, caused by aging.
2. Rheumatoid Arthritis (hi!):your immune system attacks itself, targeting your joints.
3. Psoriatic Arthritis:similar to rheumatoid arthritis, with the addition of itchy red patches on your skin known as psoriasis.
4. Gout:a very painful form of arthritis, which basically collects uric acid crystals in your joints.
5. Juvenile arthritis:similar to rheumatoid arthritis, only that it specifically refers to those patients that are diagnosed before the age of 16 years old.
There are other autoimmune conditions like lupus and fibromyalgia, which are similar to arthritis. However, here we are generous and we share, so they will have their own informative posts soon :)
Who has arthritis?
In one of my first posts, we discussed how people with arthritis come from so many different walks of life and that, because it is an "invisible illness", it is very hard to tell if someone has arthritis just by looking at them.
We also noted that some types of arthritis (like osteoarthritis and lupus) tend to be more common in certain age groups (elders and young adults).
A study by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded the following after a two-year study of the American population from 2013 to 2015:
○ 49.6% of people with arthritis are elderly people ○ 26% of people with arthritis are women ○ 4.4 million with arthritis are Hispanic, followed closely by Caucasians Basically, I fit into almost all the categories, thanks to life. At least I still consider myself young. For now.
This pattern repeats itself across specific types of arthritis. If you do fit these criteria, it's better to do a checkup and seek early treatments. Before it's too late, people!
How do you know you have arthritis?
You can't until it's too late! We're doomed! Bye!
Just kidding. The first step is seeking is, obviously, a doctor if you feel pain constantly, weaker than usual or just not well.
The doctor (seek a rheumatologist for joints specifically) will most likely begin with a normal checkup and an initial joint evaluation. They will examine your hand, knees and feet, and perhaps, arms and legs. They will look for clues such as visible swelling, stiffness or redness.
After that, they may or may not ask for a blood test or an X-ray, depending if they suspect the presence of arthritis in your body. Normal blood test indicators for arthritis are Sed rate (or erythrocyte sedimentation rate or ESR), C-reactive protein or elevated antibodies. If these three are elevated, then there is a fat chance that you have arthritis and it is inflaming your joints right now.
X- rays are mostly to visualize joint damage. Ultrasounds or MRI may show the loss of tissue, fluid accumulation in the joints, etc.
Warning:Doctors will begin treatment rather quickly when arthritis is detected in the slightest. This is because arthritis doesn't play: it gets worse and worse unless you apply anti-inflammatories asap. This is not harmful to you or your health at all, the doctor is only trying to avoid further damage from happening. Of course, further checkups and tests will give you plenty of time to discuss alternative treatments with your specialist.
Where does it come from?
Nobody knows. That is the right answer this time.
Some medical professionals believe that arthritis is caused by genetic mutations that may or may not hereditary. It has been proven by research that arthritis, in comparison to other autoimmune disorders like Type 1 diabetes, is not as hereditarily transmissible as it once was believed to be.
The class II genes, HLA–DR1 and HLA–DR4, are the ones now being investigated and partially blamed to be primary suspects.
However, many believe that lifestyle and environmental conditions can increase the chances of having arthritis. After all, stress, long work hours, pollution, low, and mental illnesses tend to go hand in hand with arthritis patients.
So do not worry that much yet. But always stay ready!
How can you treat it?
I have talked about these two already:Ibuprofenand Paracetamol, queens of the universe, saviors of today and tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow….
You get the point. Normally, if a doctor detects arthritis, they will right away prescribe paracetamol. This is because ibuprofen and other NSAIDs are very common allergens that may be risky to give to a new patient right away, especially when they do not have a complete medical record.
So, if your doctor gets suspicious and gives you a high brow, just take the paracetamol as instructed, inform them of your progress and come back later if you need to. Don't go through the pain without any help! It will only get worse! Trust me!
Aaand there you have it, folks! I hope you learned something today and hopefully will not forget your weekly dose of facts featuring me, the voice of reason. Take care of yourself, go to your checkups and don't worry too much!
Love you! Bye!
References
(1) Sed rate (erythrocyte sedimentation rate). Available from:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/sed-rate/about/pac-20384797
.(2) Robert F. Meenan, Paul M. Gertman and John H. Mason. Measuring Health status in arthritis. Arthritis & Rheumtology. 1980; 23 (2): 146-152. Available from:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/art.1780230203
.(3) David N. Glass, Edward H. Giannini. Arthritis & Rheumatism. Official Journal of the American College of Rheumatology. 1999; 42 (11): 2261-2268. Available from:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/1529-0131%28199911%2942%3A11%3C2261%3A%3AAID-ANR1%3E3.0.CO%3B2-P
.(4) Joseph Lee Hollander. Arthritis and Allied Conditions: A Textbook of Rheumatology. ; 1960.(5) DrAngeloRavelliMD, ProfAlbertoMartiniMDa. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. The Lancet. 2007; 369 (9563): 767-778. Available from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673607603638
.(6) Sources of Arthritis Pain Available from:
https://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/pain-management/understanding/types-of-pain.php
.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Artritis: (sustantivo) amigo, enemigo; parte del cuerpo; víctima, abusador; fuerte, débil; camarada o opresor?
Ya hemos conversado mucho a cerca la artritis en este blog: qué es, cómo me afectó y cómo necesitas cuidarte si la tienes. Pero nunca iniciamos donde debimos haberlo hecho, en el nivel "Tutorial" de este videojuego. Por eso, en este post les traigo su dosis diaria de ciencia y verdades para explicar unos puntos clave:
¿Qué es la artritis?
¿Quién tiene artritis?
¿Cómo sabes si tienes artritis?
¿De dónde viene la artritis?
¿Cómo la puedes tratar?
No se preocupen! Cada una de estos puntos serán rápidos y sencillos de enter, justo como deberían ser. Ningún término médico o mala conexión al wifi me detendrá de exponer la verdad a las masas!
Y ahora, sin más preámbulos, aquí vamos! ¿Qué es la artritis?
¿Qué es la artritis?
"Así que… dinos ya, qué es? Qué es?!"Te veo gritarle al monitor.
Entiendo tu necesidad de una respuesta. Cuando a mi me diagnosticaron, el diagnóstico definitivo de artritis me dio tranquilidad por 5 segundos, hasta que me di cuenta que no tenía ni idea de qué estaba enfrentando y qué lo causaba.
Bueno aquí están esas respuestas también! Agarra tu canchita!
La artritis esun síntoma de inflamación articular y rigidez que puede desarrollarse por una enfermedad totalmente diferente o puede presentarse de manera independiente como una condición médica. Si es una condición, significa que tu cuerpo tiene dolor crónico o temporal articular.
Ves? Eso fue fácil!
La artritis es una condición autoinmune, lo que significa que tu cuerpo- tus células blancas y anticuerpos- básicamente se ataca a sí mismo en una región específica, en este caso tus articulaciones.
Hay dos tipos de artritis: sistémica, que afecta todo tu cuerpo, y localizada, que puede afectar una o más articulaciones.
Ahora, hay más de 100 tipos de artritis y condiciones relacionadas. Proseguiremos con una ronda rápida de los tipos de artritis más frecuentes en los Estados Unidos y en Gran Bretaña:
Osteoartritis:tus huesos y el cartílago están comprometidos y dañados porque la articulación se está deteriorando, es causado por el envejecimiento.
Artritis reumatoide (hola!):tu sistema inmune se ataca a sí mismo, atacando tus articulaciones.
Artritis psoriásica: similar a la artritis reumatoide, pero también incluye ronchas rojas y picazón en la piel, una condición mejor conocida como psoriasis.
Gota:artritis altamente dolorosa, que acumula cristales de ácido úrico en tus articulaciones.
Artritis juvenil:similar a la artritis reumatoide, solo que es específicamente diagnosticada antes de los 16 años de edad.
Condiciones autoinmunes como el lupus y la fibromialgia son otros diagnósticos similares a la artritis, pero que aquí los trataremos con cariño y les haremos sus propios posts informativos :)
¿Quién tiene artritis?
En uno de mis primeros posts, discutimos cómo las personas con artritis tienen vidas totalmente diversas y, por ello, es muy difícil distinguir la artritis solo con mirar a una persona.
También vimos que hay tipos de artritis (como la osteoartritis) tiende a ser más comunes en ciertos grupos de edad (como los viejitos).
Un estudio por el Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluyó lo siguiente después dedos años de examinar a la población estadounidense del 2013 al 2015:
49.6% de personas con artritis son ancianos
26% de personas con artritis son mujeres
4.4 millones de personas con artritis son hispanas, seguidas de los caucásicos
En pocas palabras, yo califico para casi todas estas estadísticas, yupi. Al menos todavía me considero joven. Por ahora.
Este patrón se repite a lo largo de todos los tipos de artritis. Si crees que tu perfil es parecido a lo descrito, es mejor hacerte chequear y buscar un tratamiento temprano. Antes que sea demasiado tarde!
¿Cómo sabes si tienes artritis?
No puedes! Es demasiado tarde! Estamos condenados! Adios mundo cruel!Solo bromeo. El primer paso es, obviamente, ir al doctor si sientes dolor constante, debilidad o simplemente no te sientes bien.
El doctor (un reumatólogo es un doctor para enfermedades articulares) iniciará con un chequeo regular y una evaluación inicial de las articulaciones. Examinará tus manos, rodillas, pies y quizá, brazos y piernas. Se encontrarán pistas como inflamación visible, rigidez o manchas rojas.
Después de eso, te pedirán o no que completes un análisis de sangre o una prueba de rayos X, dependiendo si hay sospecha de artritis.
Los indicadores de sangre más comunes para la artritis son la velocidad de sedimentación or ESR, la proteína C reactiva o anticuerpos elevados. Si estos tres indicadores salen elevados, hay una buena chance de que tengas artritis y esté causando un proceso inflamatorio en tu cuerpo justo ahora.
Los rayos X se utilizan para visualizar algún daño articular. Ultrasonidos o MRI pueden mostrar pérdida de tejido, acumulación de fluidos en las articulaciones, etc.
Advertencia:Los doctores inician rápidamente el tratamiento para la artritis cuando esta es detectada, incluso de manera mínima. Esto es porque la artritis no es broma: solo se pone peor y peor si no aplicas anti inflamatorios de inmediato. Este tratamiento inicial no debería comprometer tu salud en absoluto, pues el especialista solo esta tratando es disminuir el daño lo más rápido posible. Claro que, después de futuras consultas y pruebas, deberías pensar y discutir con tus padres y doctor acerca de la posibilidad de tratar la artritis de otros modos.
¿De donde viene la artritis?
Nadie sabe. Esta vez si es la respuesta correcta.
Profesionales de la medicina creen que la artritis es causada por mutaciones genéticas que podrían o no ser hereditarias. Fue probado en múltiples ocasiones que la artritis, en comparación a otros desórdenes como la diabetes Tipo 1, no es tan transmisible por herencia como se pensaba.
Los genes de clase II, HLA–DR1 y HLA–DR4, son los que ahoran están siendo investigados y parcialmente puestos como sospechosos principales.
No obstante, muchos creen que el estilo de vida y las condiciones medio ambientales incrementas las posibilidades de tener artritis. Esto es parcialmente cierto, pues el estrés, las largas horas de trabajo, la polución, la baja estima y las enfermedades mentales van de la mano con los pacientes de artritis.
Así que no te preocupes mucho de eso todavía. Pero siempre mantente alerta!
¿Cómo tratar la artritis?
Ya hablé de estas dos: Ibuprofenoy Paracetamol, reinas del universo, heroes del hoy y del mañana, y mañana, y mañana….
Creo que ya lo entendiste. Normalmente, si un doctor detecta artritis, prescribirá panadol de inmediato. Esto es debido a que el ibuprofeno y otros medicamentos no esteroideos (AINES) pueden causar alergias, por lo cual es riesgoso en un paciente nuevo sin un historial médico completo.
Así que, si tu doctor se pone sospechoso, solo toma el panadol como indicado en tu receta, informa al doctor de tu progreso y regresa más adelante si lo necesitas No vayas por el dolor sin ayuda! Toma el panadol por ahora! Confía en mí!
Yyy eso es todo lo que tengo para ustedes hoy, amigos! Espero que hayan aprendido algo hoy y no olviden su dosis semanal de información conmigo, la voz de la razón. Cuídense, vayan a sus chequeos y no se preocupen mucho!
Los amo! Chau!
References
(1) Sed rate (erythrocyte sedimentation rate). Available from:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/sed-rate/about/pac-20384797
.(2) Robert F. Meenan, Paul M. Gertman and John H. Mason. Measuring Health status in arthritis. Arthritis & Rheumtology. 1980; 23 (2): 146-152. Available from:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/art.1780230203
.(3) David N. Glass, Edward H. Giannini. Arthritis & Rheumatism. Official Journal of the American College of Rheumatology. 1999; 42 (11): 2261-2268. Available from:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/1529-0131%28199911%2942%3A11%3C2261%3A%3AAID-ANR1%3E3.0.CO%3B2-P
.(4) Joseph Lee Hollander. Arthritis and Allied Conditions: A Textbook of Rheumatology. ; 1960.(5) DrAngeloRavelliMD, ProfAlbertoMartiniMDa. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. The Lancet. 2007; 369 (9563): 767-778. Available from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673607603638
.(6) Sources of Arthritis Pain Available from:
https://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/pain-management/understanding/types-of-pain.php
.
#lupus#lupuswarrior#systemic lupus erythematosus#inflammatory arthritis#gouty arthritis#psoriatic arthritis#types of arthritis#chronic pain#chronically ill#juvenile idiopathic arthritis#invisibledisabilities#disability#fibromyalgia#fibrowarrior
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Hifu Treatment Uk
vagina tightening Up device.
Content
Do I required a General Practitioner reference For Facelift surgical Procedure?
Femiwand
Which areas Can Be treated With Hifu?
What Is Mole, excrescence and Also Skin Tag Removal?
Why Are Cars Facelifted?
exactly How Does A Hifu Facial work?
What Can I expect throughout My Cryopen therapy?
Due to its distinctly developed transducer system clients often really feel marginal pain throughout the therapy. Any awkward experiences generally go away instantly complying with the treatment. Appearance Laboratory is devoted to guaranteeing your health and wellness and well-being. Throughout your first Ultraformer III appointment, we examine your case history with each other to guarantee that this procedure is right for you. Nonetheless, outcomes may occupy to 3 months to show and they will certainly remain to enhance for as much as 7 months blog post therapy. Individuals might experience skin inflammation for a few days after the session. Some light swelling, prickling or inflammation might take place briefly.
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Much less typical results consist of small bruising as well as skin sensitivity. The dimension of the therapy location and the strategy selected influences the period of the HIFU treatment session, which can range in between 30 and 90 mins. We will certainly have the ability to offer you a price quote throughout your assessment. In the past I have actually attempted all type of systems to help with my stretch marks and reduce and also tighten my infant stomach after the birth of my youngsters. The only therapy that I have actually seen results with is the Lipofirm Pro!
What surgery makes you look younger?
A facelift, which is also known as a Rhytidectomy, will give an individual a relaxed and younger appearance. In order to be a suitable candidate for a facelift, an indiviudal should have adequate skin elasticity to ensure the procedure is effective.
This includes relocating the handpiece over the area and providing pulses of power to attain the desired impact. Your treatment may be somewhat awkward however need to not be painful and also any kind of pain should rapidly diminish promptly after therapy. At your assessment, we will take a full case history as well as examine your viability for the treatment. We will certainly then work with a customized therapy strategy with you, based on your worries and also what you want to achieve from the therapy. Very rarely one might experience mild redness for a couple of hours after the therapy as well as swelling or prickling in the treatment location for as much as a few weeks. There might also be bruising and also tingling on treated locations however this ought to resolve 2-4 weeks complying with the treatment. Ultraformer III has actually been referred to as the comfortable option to surgery and also Ultherapy.
Do visit my website need a Gp referral For Facelift surgical Treatment?
You might have an MRI scan and numerous examples of prostate tissue taken. This will give the doctors a clear picture of where the cancer remains in the prostate. HIFU can be given to the entire prostate when there may be cancer in more than one location, to make sure that all areas of cancer are treated. You might likewise have other examinations, such as a CT check, MRI scan or bone check, to see if the cancer has actually infected various other parts of your body. A continual surge in your PSA level can be an indicator that the cancer cells has actually returned. If your cancer does come back, your physician or nurse will certainly speak with you regarding additional therapy alternatives.
Femiwand
The majority of people tolerate the treatment well while the energy is being supplied. Pain and discomfort associated with the therapy are temporary and also are just experienced throughout the treatment. A three dimensional alternative to an invasive facelift, with no plastic surgery and also no down time. All skin assessments will certainly be done by phone to evaluate your suitability.
After my program and also a little Physio I am completely back on form. The therapy actually helped me obtain my self-confidence back, and also the will to begin training again. Tone, tighten and firm skin on your face with this introducing treatment.
Arise from tests and also early instances in the initial 5 years are extremely urging with way of living results much better than many other traditional treatment choices. The HIFU treatment normally lasts in between 1-4 hours, depending upon the dimension of the prostate, as well as is either done under general anaesthesia or an epidural and IV sedation.
Which locations Can Be treated With Hifu?
How can you tell if someone had a facelift?
Bald spots in the temple, pulled ear lobes, visible scars that are placed in front rather than inside the ear, wide, cross-hatched appearing scars, and stretched lips are a few other telltale signs of an 'old' facelift.
What Is Mole, verruca and Skin Tag Removal?
Our recommendation campaign offer is valid whatsoever clinics for any bundle. Share this web page to your close friend and after that get in the promotion code, "FRIEND30" when booking your Free appointment. The HIFU treatment is optimal for those people who want to uplift their face, tighten up the skin and also total battle indications of aging. Whilst the therapy does not injured, you may experience small discomfort during the procedure, just like a light irritable experience. Did you know that you can book your examination in either of our cosmetic centers in Nottingham or London? We're dedicated to providing a top quality, individual and also hassle-free solution for every as well as every one of our individuals, making it as simple as possible for you to access to our highly competent specialists. Schedule in at our Nottingham or London facility today, we can't wait to see you soon.
These guys will have routine examinations to keep an eye on the cancer cells that is not treated. Some men who have focal HIFU have only one location of cancer in their prostate. Focal HIFU treats a smaller location of the prostate and also takes one to two hrs. https://luton.la-lipo.co.uk/ may appropriate for guys that have cancer cells that requires dealing with in just one location of their prostate. You may have a catheter put in at the beginning of the treatment to drain pee out of your bladder. A catheter is a thin tube that is passed into your bladder, either through the penis or through the wall surface of your abdomen. You will certainly have a general anaesthetic so that you're asleep throughout the treatment.
On https://la-lipo.co.uk/skin-tag-removal/ of your HIFU treatment, you'll be given an enema to clear your bowels. You'll likewise be asked not to consume or drink for around 6 hrs before your HIFU. If you're having focal HIFU, you will generally most likely to a testing visit initially
You can see the outcomes promptly, as well as the enhancements remain to be seen for approximately 9 months as your collagen is restored.
HIFU is risk-free, reliable and an excellent remedy for lifting and also tightening the dewlaps, decreasing great lines around your eyes, nose and mouth, tightening your skin around your jaw and also neckline and also reducing hooded, droopy eyelids.
High strength focused ultrasound is occasionally used as a treatment for early prostate canceror prostate cancerthat has come back after radiotherapy.
Instead of surgical procedure, the Ultraformer utilizes ultrasound innovation to emit energy to the SMAS layer to tighten up, raise and also plump the skin.
The Ultrasound Treatment HIFU treatment bypasses the skin's surface and focuses totally on the deep, architectural layers of the skin where collagen is deposited.
Focal treatment making use of high-intensity concentrated ultrasound for localized prostate cancer cells.
It is provided as part of a clinical trial, so it is just available in some healthcare facilities in the UK.
These examinations will certainly help your specialist target the location of the prostate that needs to be dealt with. As HIFU is reasonably brand-new understanding regarding the long-lasting benefits and effects is raising each day.
I have always been rather sports, but lately because of injury I have actually been not able to educate and also as an outcome my upper body and Abs have gone a little lumpy. After visiting the facility the therapist told me that because of absence of movement, my flow has slowed down and also I have established cellulite.
How much does a ponytail facelift cost?
Cost: $8,000–$11,000. The Hair Trick: A DIY ponytail placed just right will yield impressive results too, even if only for an evening.
Transurethral resection of the prostate is an operation to get rid of prostate cells and enhance the circulation of urine. This operation is sometimes used prior to HIFU to reduce the danger of some urinary system problems after the treatment. Ask your medical professional or nurse which type of HIFU may be suitable for you. HIFU might be appropriate for you if your cancer is consisted of inside your prostate. The Material on Our Site does not constitute recommendations on which you should depend. Specialist or specialist suggestions ought to always be looked for before taking any type of action connecting to medical visual treatments.We make reasonable initiatives to guarantee that the Web content on Our Site is full, exact, and up-to-date.
Why Are Cars Facelifted?
HIFU treatment takes mins, during therapy it prevails to experience some discomfort and also a prickling sensation depending on the strength of the ultrasound. This introducing treatment uses the latest cosmetic modern technologies to help tone, tighten up and also strong skin on the face, which helps to decrease the appearance of great lines and wrinkles and leave the skin looking rejuvenated as well as vibrant. We can estimate the rate for therapy after a first free consultationwith you. If the client selects a body contouring therapy, fat cells are gotten rid of using lipolysis.
Optimal cosmetic results are possible with only one treatment session, the case study photos below give an example of the results from HIFU treatment. targets fat by using high-intensity ultrasound energy creating thermal coagulation to fat cells. The energy created passes through below the skin surface as well as causes cellular friction within cells. As aesthetic medicine has actually advanced, ultrasound has actually proven to be an outstanding device for several medical treatments. Complete Body Treatment provides sophisticated Skin Tightening therapy for the face and also body making use of High Strength Concentrated Ultrasound. An usual side effect of aging is loose, drooping skin, brought on by the deficiency of collagen and elastin in the dermis. Ecological factors such as sunlight damage and smoking cigarettes can additionally decrease levels.
If you have focal HIFU, you might have low-risk cancer cells in another location of the prostate that is not dealt with deliberately. You will certainly have regular tests to keep track of the cancer that is not treated. These could include PSA tests, MRI scans, as well as prostate biopsies. You may have a few of the adhering to signs right after treatment, or they might create some time later. Speak with your medical professional or nurse if you have problems with erections or various other sexual issues. They can discuss your treatment alternatives as well as organize complimentary therapy on the NHS. Some guys have troubles obtaining or keeping an erection after HIFU.
What is the best face tightening procedure?
Laser resurfacing This is the most effective procedure for tightening loose skin. Unlike the laser treatment described above, this procedure requires some downtime. You'll need to stay home for 5 to 7 days. Laser resurfacing also gives you the fastest results.
If you aren't able to have a general anaesthetic for health reasons, you might be able to have a spine anaesthetic to make sure that you can not feel anything in your reduced body. With this, you will additionally be offered some medicine to make you drowsy.
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This is due to the fact that it can damage the capillary as well as nerves that manage erections. For some men this will certainly boost, however, for others this will certainly be a longer-term side effect of HIFU. The list below negative effects can develop not long after your treatment. If you have hormonal agent therapy or a TURP before you have HIFU, these can additionally trigger side effects. Other males have an additional area of cancer cells in their prostate that is not dealt with deliberately. This cancer is not treated due to the fact that it is much less most likely to spread (low-risk cancer cells) and also it might not cause any type of issues.
#hifu treatment#facelift#fat freezing#femiwand#Cryo#Cryopen#cellulite#Femiwand treatment#skin tag removal#Bucks vaginal tightening#hifu facial#fat freezing service#cryolipolysis#Bodybuilding for Weight Loss#lose stomach weight#fat legs treatment#Anti aging hifu#Mens facelift treatment#Double chin removal#coolsculpting#wart removal#cellulite treatments#Non surgical facelift#body and face toning#Lipo freeze
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Mole, excrescence & Skin Tag Removal In Manchester & Liverpool.
vaginal Canal tightening equipment.
Content
Do I required a General Practitioner referral For Facelift surgical Treatment?
Femiwand
Which areas Can Be treated With Hifu?
What Is Mole, mole as Well As Skin Tag Removal?
Why Are Cars Facelifted?
Due to its distinctly created transducer system customers usually really feel marginal pain during the treatment. Any kind of awkward feelings generally decrease instantly adhering to the treatment. Looks Lab is devoted to ensuring your wellness and also wellness. Throughout your initial Ultraformer III assessment, we assess your medical history with each other to make sure that this treatment is best for you. However, results may occupy to 3 months to reveal and also they will remain to enhance for as much as 7 months post therapy. People might experience skin soreness for a couple of days after the session. Some moderate swelling, tingling or inflammation might take place momentarily.
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Much less common results consist of minor discoloration and also skin level of sensitivity. The dimension of the therapy location as well as the plan chosen affects the period of the HIFU treatment session, which can range between 30 and 90 mins. We will certainly be able to provide you a price quote throughout your assessment. In the past I have actually tried all type of systems to help with my stretch marks as well as lower and also tighten my baby tummy after the birth of my kids. The only therapy that I have actually seen results with is the Lipofirm Pro!
What surgery makes you look younger?
A facelift, which is also known as a Rhytidectomy, will give an individual a relaxed and younger appearance. In order to be a suitable candidate for a facelift, an indiviudal should have adequate skin elasticity to ensure the procedure is effective.
This entails moving the handpiece over the area and also supplying pulses of power to achieve the desired impact. Your therapy may be slightly uncomfortable however need to not hurt and any type of pain ought to swiftly subside quickly after therapy. At your consultation, we will take a complete case history and evaluate your suitability for the therapy. We will then work with a custom-made treatment plan with you, based on your problems and also what you would like to attain from the treatment. Extremely seldom one might experience mild redness for a few hrs after the therapy along with swelling or prickling in the therapy area for up to a few weeks. There might also be wounding and also pins and needles on dealt with locations however this ought to solve 2-4 weeks adhering to the treatment. Ultraformer III has actually been dubbed the comfy option to surgery and also Ultherapy.
Can Botox lift sagging jowls?
5. Tighten jowls. If your jawline has become less defined, a little Botox along the muscles of the jawbone can pull the skin up for a crisp, defined effect. 6.
Do I required a Gp recommendation For Facelift surgical Treatment?
You may have an MRI check as well as a number of samples of prostate cells taken. This will give the physicians a clear picture of where the cancer cells is in the prostate. HIFU can be offered to the whole prostate when there may be cancer in more than one location, so that all locations of cancer cells are dealt with. You may additionally have other examinations, such as a CT check, MRI scan or bone scan, to see if the cancer has infected other components of your body. A continuous rise in your PSA level can be an indication that the cancer has come back. If your cancer cells does return, your physician or nurse will chat with you concerning further therapy options.
Femiwand
A lot of people tolerate the treatment well while the power is being provided. Pain and also discomfort related to the treatment are momentary and also are only experienced during the treatment. Anti aging hifu to an invasive face lift, without any cosmetic surgery as well as no down time. All skin consultations will be done by phone to evaluate your suitability.
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After my training course and a little Physio I am entirely back on type. The therapy really helped me obtain my self-confidence back, and the will to start training again. Tone, tighten and also strong skin on your face with this introducing therapy.
Results from trials and also very early instances in the very first 5 years are highly urging with way of life outcomes far better than most various other standard therapy choices. The HIFU treatment usually lasts between 1-4 hours, depending on the dimension of the prostate, and also is either done under basic anaesthesia or an epidural as well as IV sedation.
Which locations Can Be cured With Hifu?
How can you tell if someone had a facelift?
Bald spots in the temple, pulled ear lobes, visible scars that are placed in front rather than inside the ear, wide, cross-hatched appearing scars, and stretched lips are a few other telltale signs of an 'old' facelift.
What Is Mole, growth and Also Skin Tag Removal?
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/21060-fat-freezing-cryolipolysis/risks--benefits is valid in any way centers for any type of plan. Share this page to your good friend and afterwards go into the discount code, "FRIEND30" when booking your Free assessment. The HIFU treatment is excellent for those individuals that want to uplift their face, tighten up the skin and also total fight signs of aging. Whilst the therapy does not injured, you may experience small pain throughout the procedure, just like a light prickly feeling. Did you know that you can reserve your examination in either of our aesthetic clinics in Nottingham or London? We're devoted to offering an excellent quality, personal as well as practical service for each and every as well as every one of our patients, making it as easy as feasible for you to access to our highly skilled experts. Reserve in at our Nottingham or London center today, we can't wait to see you quickly.
These men will have normal examinations to watch on the cancer cells that is not treated. Some guys who have focal HIFU have just one area of cancer in their prostate. Focal HIFU deals with a smaller location of the prostate and takes one to two hrs. It may be suitable for males that have cancer cells that requires treating in only one area of their prostate. You may have a catheter put in at the start of the treatment to drain pipes pee out of your bladder. A catheter is a slim tube that is passed into your bladder, either with the penis or through the wall surface of your abdominal area. You will certainly have a basic anaesthetic to make sure that you're asleep throughout the therapy.
How do you wash your hair after a facelift?
After the dressings are removed, shower and wash your hair. Use warm not hot water (much as you would wash an infant.) Use only baby shampoo. Let the water run through your hair to remove all dried blood and surgical soap.
On the morning of your HIFU treatment, you'll be provided an enema to clear your bowels. You'll likewise be asked not to consume or consume for around 6 hours prior to your HIFU. If you're having focal HIFU, you will typically most likely to a testing consultation initially
One of the huge advantages of the HIFU Facial is that it's a non-surgical treatment that can be performed in a single treatment.
You can see the outcomes immediately, and also the enhancements remain to be seen for as much as nine months as your collagen is renewed.
High intensity concentrated ultrasound is sometimes used as a therapy for early prostate canceror prostate cancerthat has returned after radiotherapy.
As opposed to surgery, the Ultraformer utilizes ultrasound technology to emit energy to the SMAS layer to tighten, raise as well as plump the skin.
Focal treatment using high-intensity focused ultrasound for localised prostate cancer cells.
It is provided as component of a scientific trial, so it is only available in some hospitals in the UK.
These examinations will certainly aid your doctor target the area of the prostate that needs to be dealt with. As HIFU is relatively brand-new expertise concerning the long-term advantages and impacts is enhancing every day.
I have always been rather athletic, but lately because of injury I have actually been unable to educate and as an outcome my upper body and Abs have actually gone a little bumpy. After checking out the facility the therapist informed me that as a result of absence of activity, my flow has actually slowed down as well as I have developed cellulite.
How much does a ponytail facelift cost?
Cost: $8,000–$11,000. The Hair Trick: A DIY ponytail placed just right will yield impressive results too, even if only for an evening.
Transurethral resection of the prostate is a procedure to get rid of prostate tissue as well as boost the circulation of pee. This procedure is occasionally utilized before HIFU to minimize the risk of some urinary issues after the therapy. Ask your physician or registered nurse which type of HIFU could be appropriate for you. HIFU may be suitable for you if your cancer is consisted of inside your prostate. The Web content on Our Site does not comprise suggestions on which you should count. Specialist or specialist advice ought to always be sought before taking any kind of activity relating to medical aesthetic treatments.We make reasonable initiatives to make sure that the Web content on Our Site is total, precise, and up-to-date.
Why Are Cars Facelifted?
HIFU treatment takes mins, during treatment it prevails to experience some pain and also a prickling feeling depending upon the intensity of the ultrasound. This pioneering treatment uses the latest cosmetic innovations to aid tone, tighten and solid skin on the face, which aids to lower the appearance of great lines as well as wrinkles and also leave the skin looking rejuvenated and youthful. We can price estimate the rate for treatment after an initial cost-free consultationwith you. If the individual goes with a body contouring therapy, fat cells are eliminated through lipolysis.
Optimal cosmetic results are possible with only one therapy session, the case study images below supply an example of the arise from HIFU treatment. targets adipose tissue by utilising high-intensity ultrasound power triggering thermal coagulation to fat cells. The power created permeates below the skin surface and creates mobile rubbing within cells. As aesthetic medication has actually progressed, ultrasound has proven to be an outstanding device for several clinical procedures. Complete Body Care offers innovative Skin Firm treatment for the face and body making use of High Strength Focused Ultrasound. An usual side effect of aging hangs, sagging skin, caused by the deficiency of collagen and elastin in the dermis. Environmental variables such as sunlight damages as well as smoking can further lower levels.
If you have focal HIFU, you might have low-risk cancer in an additional location of the prostate that is not dealt with intentionally. You will certainly have regular examinations to keep an eye on the cancer cells that is not treated. These may include PSA examinations, MRI checks, and also prostate biopsies. You might have several of the complying with signs and symptoms right after treatment, or they may create some time later. Speak with your physician or registered nurse if you have problems with erections or other sex-related problems. They can discuss your therapy alternatives as well as arrange cost-free therapy on the NHS. Some guys have problems getting or keeping an erection after HIFU.
What is the best face tightening procedure?
Laser resurfacing This is the most effective procedure for tightening loose skin. Unlike the laser treatment described above, this procedure requires some downtime. Lower Face Lift For Results Buckinghamshire 'll need to stay home for 5 to 7 days. Laser resurfacing also gives you the fastest results.
If you aren't able to have a basic anaesthetic for health reasons, you might be able to have a spinal anaesthetic to make sure that you can not feel anything in your lower body. With this, you will also be provided some medicine to make you drowsy.
youtube
This is since it can harm the blood vessels and nerves that manage erections. For some guys this will improve, however, for others this will certainly be a longer-term negative effects of HIFU. The list below adverse effects can establish right after your treatment. If you have hormonal agent treatment or a TURP before you have HIFU, these can additionally cause negative effects. Various other males have an additional area of cancer cells in their prostate that is not treated purposefully. This cancer is not dealt with because it is less likely to spread out (low-risk cancer cells) and it may not cause any kind of problems.
#hifu treatment#facelift#fat freezing#femiwand#Cryo#Cryopen#cellulite#Femiwand treatment#skin tag removal#Bucks vaginal tightening#hifu facial#fat freezing service#cryolipolysis#Bodybuilding for Weight Loss#lose stomach weight#fat legs treatment#Anti aging hifu#Mens facelift treatment#Double chin removal#coolsculpting#wart removal#cellulite treatments#Non surgical facelift#body and face toning#Lipo freeze
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...there’s nothing wrong
...is what i tend to tell people when they ask what’s wrong with me. Which sounds very half-hearted, but the truth is, i don’t fully understand it, and nor do i enjoy the process of explaining how it works. But here i am; explaining what’s actually wrong with me, and why it’s important for people to know about what’s wrong with you!
November 2016 i was hospitalised with severe abdominal pain, and given as much pain relief they could give me, until i passed out. Morphine was my best friend, and quite honestly the only thing that worked. I was in hospital for about 8/9 days, and then sent home for bed rest whilst i waited for further investigations. I was sent for an ultrasound, which showed nothing - 2 MRI scans, which showed nothing, and a CT scan which showed a cyst on the side of my abdominal wall, and swelling. I was put on a waiting list to see a surgeon.
December 2016, about 5 days before Christmas, i was readmitted to hospital with severe pain again, as the pain relief was doing nothing - they decided to do whats called a Laparoscopy - make small incisions into the stomach, use a little camera, and basically go on a tiny adventure around my abdomen; fun right? So, i anticipated this would tell me what was wrong. Ha, no. They did however removed the cyst from inside me, and drain an unknown fluid from my stomach, which no fucker could tell me where it came from, but ‘don’t worry, we got rid of it’ - super reassuring. I left the hospital the evening of Christmas Eve. 3 days later i was back, due to a seizure, and still recovering from surgery - by this point i knew the A and E staff pretty well, and i was given a nice little bed for the night on the same ward i’d now been to 3 times! I was released back into the wild the next day after a referral to a neurologist.
January, Feb and March - i was admitted probably another 4/5 times for a number of days, and although i’d had 2 other CT scans, and a number of MRI’s and xrays - i was basically only in the hospital for pain relief, as they had no idea what was wrong with me, and neither did i... Early March they made it very clear they wasn’t sure what was wrong with me, as they asked two men in the white coats from the mental health ward to come and assess me. I was unaware that’s where they had come from, i assumed they were other doctors, but i caught on pretty quick from the questions they were asking. At the end of the interview, they LITERALLY said the words ‘the good news is, you’re sane and we wont be taking you today; the bad news is, your doctors still wont know whats wrong with you.’ I was mortified. I knew that i had mental health issues, in regards to my depression and anxiety, i was already taking medication for this - but for doctors to think i was making it up, or going insane, was really hard to take. I got back to my bed and rang my parents and cried/laughed nervously over the phone and couldn’t believe what they had assumed. You’d like to think these people believe you, but turns out, they don’t always.
By the end of March, i’d started seeing my Psychiatrist for my seizures, and i was still no further along at knowing what was causing me so much pain. By July i was having one seizure every few weeks, and feeling much better mentally - however, the pain never went away. Early August i was referred to a ‘pain team’ to help deal with my medication as i was on so much, and a specialist had been checking my notes for a month and when i met him, he was curious about all the tests that were never done. A whole bunch, but he was able to rule out a few within a few minutes of seeing me and assessing my pain.
When they told me i had been diagnosed with what was called ACNE Syndrome, i was both utterly confused, and then relieved. Sounds like the shitty spots i had as a teenager... but i was incorrect. This stands for Acute Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome. Now it’s a very rare diagnosis, mainly because people can get it mixed up with IBS, and other common abdominal issues. So actually there’s probably around 1:2000 people in the UK suffering with it. You’re probably thinking, what the fuck is it - basically in short terms, the nerves in my stomach are entwined with my muscles. Any kind of basic movements will irritate the nerves, and cause me pain. People seemed to think it was a case of, take a bit of medication for a while, and then you’ll be back to normal. The fact is, i’ll probably live with it my entire life - it just maybe wont effect me my entire life. I can only take so much medication, then it’ll be surgery to inject me with anaesthetic to kill the nerves.
Now, I’m okay. Like i’m not permanently ill, i’m not unable to do things, but it’s a matter of coping with pain every day. It’s a chronic syndrome, and my body has to find coping mechanisms to deal with it. The last month and a half, i’ve been dealing with it great; i’ll feel it - but it won’t let me curl over in pain. Today however, it was one of those days. I had no medication on me, and when i finally took some it made me so drowsy i was sent home from work. So yeah, it still effects my life, just not daily like it did a year ago. I’m getting better - i’m just not fully fixed yet.
So for me, telling people at work, and my friends what was wrong with me, was quite hard, because trying to understand it is a bit much, but at the same time super useful, so that when i have bad days like today - they get it, and they aren’t thinking i’m ‘faking’ it, or are clueless. It’s not like being sick and being sent home from work, maybe taking a week off for the flu. I know tomorrow, i’ll be feeling better - as long as the meds work. I run day to day - don’t know what tomorrow will be like. So if you have an illness or a syndrome or a disorder, tell people close to you, and people you work with, and let them in so that they can help you when you need it. Don’t stay silent and suffer on your own.
In the past year, i’ve gone from taking 13 medications in one go, to two; i have gained 4 scars, and probably tripled the amount of radiation i have in my body from all the scans; i have had all the withdrawal symptoms, and come out the other side; i am also not fixed. But i’m okay, there’s nothing wrong with me.
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Spinal Stenosis:Symptoms,Causes & Treatment
What is spinal stenosis?
The spine is a segment of bones considered vertebrae that give adequacy and backing to the chest domain. It draws in us to turn and reshape. Spinal nerves experience openings in the vertebrae and direct signals from the mind to rest of the body. The including bone and tissues secure these nerves. In the event that they're harmed or incapacitated in any capacity, it can affect limits like strolling, leveling, and sensation.
Spinal stenosis is the place the spinal territory cutoff focuses and begins squeezing the spinal string. This methodology is commonly tenacious. On the off chance that the narrowing is immaterial, no signs will happen. A lot of narrowing can pack the nerves and cause issues.
Stenosis can happen any place along the spine. The proportion of the spine is influenced can change.
Spinal stenosis is additionally called:
pseudo-claudication
central spinal stenosis
foraminal spinal stenosis
Sorts of spinal stenosis
Such spinal stenosis are depicted by where on the spine the condition happens. It's conceivable to have more than one sort. The two fundamental sorts of spinal stenosis are:
Cervical stenosis. In this condition, the narrowing happens in the piece of the spine in your neck.
Lumbar stenosis. In this condition, the narrowing happens in the piece of the spine in your lower back. It's the most remarkable kind of spinal stenosis.
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Symptoms
Different individuals have affirmation of spinal stenosis on a MRI or CT check in any case most likely won't have signs. Precisely when they do happen, they customarily start a tad at once and fuel before long time. Manifestations differ subordinate upon the locale of the stenosis and which nerves are affected.
In the neck (cervical spine)
Numbness or shivering in a hand, arm, foot or leg
Weakness in a hand, arm, foot or leg
Problems with strolling and modification
Neck torment
In certified cases, gut or bladder brokenness (urinary criticalness and incontinence)
In the lower back (lumbar spine)
Numbness or shivering in the feet
Weakness near the foot or leg area
Pain or pounding in one or the two legs when you address immense time spans or when you walk, which for the most part energizes when you bend advance or sit
Back torment
Causes
The bones of your spine structure a spinal stream, which ensures your spinal rope (nerves).
Two or three people are conveyed into the world with a little spinal channel. Regardless, most spinal stenosis happens when something happens to confine the open space inside the spine.
Purposes behind spinal stenosis may include:
Overgrowth of bone. Mileage hurt from osteoarthritis on your spinal bones can induce the arrangement of bone spikes, which can shape into the spinal stream. Paget's disease, a bone issue that normally impacts grown-ups, additionally can cause bone abundance in the spine.
Herniated circles. The delicate pads that go about as assurances between your vertebrae will when everything is said in done dry out with age. Breaks in a float's outside may permit a piece of the delicate interior material to get away and push on the spinal line or nerves.
Thickened tendons. The outstanding ropes that help hold the bones of your spine together can wind up being firm and thickened after some time. These thickened tendons can develop into the spinal channel.
Tumors. Unpredictable progressions can shape inside the spinal line, inside the layers that spread the spinal string or in the space between the spinal string and vertebrae. These are unimaginable and obvious on spine imaging with a MRI or CT.
Spinal wounds. Auto collisions and other injury can cause divisions or parts of at any rate one vertebrae. Removed bone from a spinal break may hurt the substance of the spinal stream. Creating of close to tissue following back clinical framework likewise can squash the spinal line or nerves.
Hazard factors
An enormous number people with spinal stenosis are recent years old. Notwithstanding the way that degenerative changes can cause spinal stenosis in more vigorous individuals, different causes ought to be thought of. These solidify injury, characteristic spinal mutilation, for example, scoliosis, and a hereditary sickness affecting bone and muscle improvement all through the body. Spinal imaging can disconnect these causes.
Now and again, untreated ludicrous spinal stenosis may advance and cause perpetual:
Numbness
Weakness
Balance issues
Incontinence
Paralysis
What are the treatment choices for spinal stenosis?
1)Exercise based recuperation
An appropriate program of non-intrusive treatment and exercise is a bit of fundamentally every spinal stenosis treatment process. While the spinal stenosis practices are not a fix, it is enormous for patients to stay dynamic as endured and not become also injured from inertness.
The treating master may guarantee a planned exercise based recuperation program. After a time of dynamic recuperation heading, an impressive number people would then have the alternative to change to their own development program. The key is to begin consistently, and manufacture quality and quality after some time.
2)Medication
Pain relievers. Torment prescriptions, for example, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), naproxen (Aleve, others) and acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) might be utilized out of the blue to support the difficulty of spinal stenosis. They are reliably suggested for a brief timeframe just, as there's little affirmation of favored situation from significant lot use.
Antidepressants. Step by step portions of tricyclic antidepressants, for example, amitriptyline, can help ease persistent torment.
Anti-seizure drugs. Some foe of seizure drugs, for example, gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica), are utilized to reduce torment acknowledged by hurt nerves.
Opioids. Solutions that contain codeine-related medications, for example, oxycodone (Oxycontin, Roxicodone) and hydrocodone (Norco, Vicodin) might be valuable for transient assistance from trouble. Sedatives may in like way be considered watchfully for extended length treatment. Regardless, they pass on the danger of true reactions, including winding up being tendency limiting.
Various medicines may be provided by various specialist in your clinical group.Buy your medicines online now at Indias best online store-3MEDS
3)Steroid implantations
Your nerve roots may get aggravated and swollen at the spots where they are being squeezed. While infusing a steroid drug (corticosteroid) into the space around impingement won't fix the stenosis, it can help decrease the irritating and alleviate a section of the torment.
Steroid blends don't work for everybody. Besides, rehashed steroid blends can debilitate close to bones and connective tissue, so you can essentially get these imbuements a couple of times each year.
4)Clinical technique
Clinical technique might be required for ridiculous torment or if there is a neurological occurrence. It can direct weight until the cows come home. A couple of clinical methodology to treat spinal stenosis include:
Laminectomy. This method clears the back part (lamina) of the influenced vertebra. A laminectomy is from time to time called decompression clinical procedure since it empowers the weight on the nerves by making more space around them. Now and again, that vertebra may should be related with abutting vertebrae with metal equipment and a bone combine (spinal mix) to keep up the spine's quality.
Laminotomy. This method purges a bit of the lamina, regularly cutting a gap satisfactorily gigantic to mitigate the weight in a specific spot.
Laminoplasty. This method is performed curiously on the vertebrae in the neck (cervical spine). It opens up the space inside the spinal stream by making a rely upon the lamina. Metal apparatus vanquishes any issues in the opened bit of the spine.
Minimally intrusive clinical procedure. Thusly to oversee clinical framework expels bone or lamina in a manner that lessens the underhandedness to approach to solid tissue. This outcomes in less need to do mixes.While blends are a helpful technique to settle the spine and decrease torment, by staying away from them you can reduce foreseen dangers, for example, post-careful hopelessness and disturbance and infection in close to parts of the spine. Regardless of lessening the need for spinal mix, an irrelevant intrusive way to deal with oversee clinical procedure has been appeared to accomplish a shorter recuperation time.
All around, these space-creation practices help reduce spinal stenosis signs. Nonetheless, two or three people's signs remain the corresponding or disintegrate after clinical procedure. Different mindful dangers combine ailment, a tear in the film that covers the spinal rope, a blood coagulation in a leg vein and neurological crumbling.
You can also download the 3MEDS app which provides genuine online medicines at a discounted price.
5)Home Remedies
Several things you can never genuinely ease indications of spinal stenosis include:
Exercise. Consider adjustment - not 100 push-ups. Basically go for a 30-minute stroll each other day. Talk over any new exercise plan with your fundamental thought specialist.
Apply warmth and cold. Warmth loosens up your muscles. Cold patches disturbing. Use either on your neck or lower back. Hot showers are besides commendable.
Practice remarkable position. Stand upstanding, sit on a steady seat, and lay on a solid sheet material. Moreover, when you lift liberal articles, bend from your knees, not your back.
Lose weight. Right when you are heavier, there will be more weight on your back.
In The Near Future
Clinical trials are underway to test the use of stem cells to treat degenerative spinal disease, an approach sometimes called regenerative medicine. Genomic medicine trials are also being done, which could result in new gene therapies for spinal stenosis.
-Vikrant Bhagat
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San Francisco!
Backstory: Several years ago, we noticed (actually my Dad did) that Daisy’s left-arm was growing quite a bit larger than her right. We brought her to her pediatrician and he referred us to some specialists here in Boise. After going through an MRI, ultrasound and other tests - they deemed it a vascular malformation and recommended no further treatment. He did refer us to a few centers nationwide that further specialized in cases like this.
Fast forward 3 years later: we decided to take additional action (nothing seemed worse, but we just wanted to be SURE). We ended up contacting specialists at UC San Francisco to look at Daisy’s arm, and with a 3-4 month lead time, they were able to schedule us for an appointment in July. That made for the PERFECT quick getaway to a new city as part of a summer vacation.
We decided to leave Eleanor at home (they said to anticipate several hours at the hospital) and my parents were able to come out to play babysitter (+ dog-sitter and house sitter). It also helped cut down costs (we didn’t have to buy an additional airplane ticket). It ended up working really well, as she got some pretty rare 1-1 time with her Papa and Mama.
Day 1: a minor flight delay had us land in San Francisco a little later than planned, but we hit the ground running. After taking an Uber and dropping our bags at our hotel, we headed out to wander Fisherman's Wharf for the afternoon/evening. It was SUPER cold and windy (I had looked at the weather forecast ahead of time, but coming from 100-degree dry heat to high 60's was quite the shocker) so walking around helped keep us warm. I bought a multi-attraction punch card ahead of time that we used on our first attraction - a ferryboat tour across the bay! We had some time to kill beforehand so we walked around in search of some yummy food. Eating good seafood was on my trip agenda, and it proved harder than we thought to find a good restaurant. They were either way too fancy, or too greasy-looking. We pretty much just ended up plopping down at the closest place and the food wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't bad. We killed enough time until it was time to board our ferry cruise.
It was COLD and windy but we all had a great time - especially Daisy. She really seemed to enjoy the little excursion. We all had headsets that narrated the tour as we cruised around the bay. I wasn't able to get tickets to visit Alcatraz (I didn't realize how much in advance you had to make reservations) but the cruise took us around Alcatraz Island, underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, past Ghiradelli Square and I'm sure more landmarks I can't remember :) It was a super fun way to check off several items off our list in a short time!
We wandered around Fisherman's Wharf a bit more afterward, went through the gift shops and saw a few sea lions before calling it a day! We splurged a bit on our hotel room, and the room was pretty nice. A king-size bed and a full pullout sofa bed (that Daisy thought was pretty neat) was our home for the next few days :) Darnell and I snuck across the street to Trader Joe's to grab us some snacks for the room and we settled in for the night!
Day 2: we slept in a little bit, but still got up to seize the day (considering we had such a short time in San Francisco, I didn't want to waste precious time) and were up and out of the hotel around 10 AM. We headed to the California Academy of Sciences and it was super cool! Another attraction that was included in my punch card that sounded super unique to the area! It was pretty neat - there was a "real" rain forest, aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum all in one! So we were able to check a lot of our boxes with just one stop! The museum was huge, and we got tired before we wandered around the entire thing - but we enjoyed it. Daisy loved the rain forest, the planetarium was a good place to sneak in a quick cat nap, and the aquarium was impressive. Daisy's favorite part was getting to dissect an owl pellet - cool!
After several hours we were wiped, so we grabbed an Uber back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit before walking to China town to find dinner! We had fun looking at all the cool unique shops, and wandering the fun streets. Darnell did some quick research and was able to find a good Chinese restaurant that definitely did not disappoint! Dim sum was another item on our list and it was super yummy. Daisy is a lover of all things fried rice, so she was satisfied :)
Day 3: The big day (actually it wasn't really a big deal, but it was the reason for our trip!). We headed out to the UCSF hospital campus - such a pretty area! We got there early enough to grab coffee and a quick breakfast before checking in. The entire process and appointment itself was pretty neat. We met with one doctor who walked us through their process, and then an entire team of 12 doctors joined us in our exam room. They did a couple exercises with Daisy, went over her results (they more accurately defined it as a venous malformation) and that the best course of action is just to monitor (not surgery). It was the news we were hoping for/anticipating so that was a good thing!
We headed out to lunch at a super cool spot Darnell found on Yelp - the Old Clam House and it was SO GOOD. Like so, so good :) The restaurant has been around for over 100 years and had a really neat authentic vibe to it. We got an order of mussels and crab and it did not disappoint. Hands down it was the best meal of our trip!
Our last big stop of our trip was a visit to the San Francisco Zoo. I tried to pick activities that Daisy would like, that were also unique to the area. It was a bit of a jaunt out to the Zoo (it was along the coastline) but it was mostly freeway driving so it didn't take much extra time. It was chilly but sunny (and we were well dressed) - the perfect day for the Zoo! We enjoyed seeing the huge variety of animals that we don't normally get to see (the gorilla was super neat!) and spent a good few hours wandering around.
Daisy and I both passed out in the back of the Uber on our way back to the hotel. We didn’t do much on our last night - Darnell and I snuck upstairs to the rooftop hotel bar called “The View” - and it was a pretty spectacular view! Daisy seemed content enough to hang out in the hotel room by herself watching TV. We were all pretty tired at this point, so a quiet night was nice.
We left for home the next morning and got to the airport with plenty of time (so we didn’t have to stress) and it was PACKED. I have never seen a security line SO long (there were actually 3 different lines, all leading up to the next line). I was super glad we got there with plenty of time to spare, otherwise, that would’ve been super stressful.
Unfortunately, when we made it to our gate we were greeted with a delay (that always happens when you’re actually running on time). We kept near the gate, and they kept pushing out the departure time. It created a small domino effect (we would miss our connecting flight) and ended up waiting in SFO for close to 3 hours. Coupled with our later flight out of the connecting airport (another 2 hours) it was a LONG day.
BUT we finally made it home and Eleanor and the dogs (and my parents) were happy to see us. Despite the reason for the trip, we had such a great time! It was so fun to have true one-on-one time with Daisy - I hope it’s a trip she’ll remember for a long time (I know I will!) :)
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yoooo ive been really inactive lately, ive been going through a lot of shit. under the readmore is a bunch of stuff i need to get off my chest/make sense of. just be warned, its really long
you can read it if you want but its mostly complaining and cursing
riiiiight so about 2 months ago shit hit the fucking fan. Ive had problems with my neck thats caused very, very bad headaches for maybe 5/6 years or so. mostly i wasnt able to get anything done about it, being dependent on 2 parents who are both very pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps kind of people.in june though, i started working extra shifts at my job so i could pay for a chiropractor. and it worked, i had no headaches... for about a month. for a month after that the headaches came back, even though i was still seeing the chiropractor. AND FUCKING THEN
i was at work, my last weekend before i went on a 2-week trip to see my mom up in ohio! i was super excited. but also in a lot of pain too. most of the way through my shift i cracked my neck, a little bit too hard. all of a sudden i was floating about a foot over my head, i was getting hot flashes, and the left side of my throat went numb. of course, i panicked, told my manager and called my dad. my dad called his doctor and he said that since my hands/feet/anything werent tingling or anything like that I was alright, but i should still see a doctor. dad decided not to take me to the ER, but I was still goddamn scared. I still am, honestly. of course, this got more complicated. it was a saturday, so doctors offices were closed and wouldnt be open til monday, the day that id leave for ohio. it was a really hard decision but if i didnt get on the plane to ohio, i wouldve had to forfeit the trip entirely. so, i went to ohio and my mom set an appointment for thursday for a doctor.
i waited, we went, and i told my story to the doctor. she didnt do any tests on me, didnt even touch me. just said i had probably hit a nerve and that i was fine, and offered to prescribe medicine which i didnt want. EXCEPT. FOR FUCKS SAKE. the day after i went to the doctor i started feeling this pressure on the side of my throat,right in that fleshy part just underneath the back of your jaw.i thought and hoped it would go away. it fucking didnt. some days were better than others but on some days id be sightseeing with my family and id be silent, standing in a museum looking at The Plane that The Wright Brothers Themselves built, and trying not to panic bc the pressure in my throat was bad and it felt like i couldnt get enough air in. when i told my mom she told me to calm down. that did not help, at all. anyways, the rest of the trip passed and i flew home. EXCEPT. JESUS CHRIST. while i was on the plane, i was having a hard time popping my ear. I didnt have any gum (and i hate gum anyways bc of misophonia) so i ended up spending the entire plane ride moving my jaw to try and pressurize my ear. that, of course, ended up with me doing something to the right side of my jaw that makes it crackle and sometimes pop when i move it. it also hurts sometimes, which is weird bc the only jaw pain ive ever had was when i had all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out at once. with the pressure in my throat though, it was kind of an afterthought at the time
anyways. since doctor #1 really hadnt done anything and i didnt have a primary doctor, i decided to go to the primary doctor my mom and sister went to when they still lived down here with me. its probably a good time to mention that that side of the family is the one im close to and im stuck here in florida for another year while i finish college. anyways. getting to him was a long wait but i got there and told him my story and he ordered some x rays of my neck and bloodwork, and prescribed me medicine. i waited for the tests and waited more for the follow up. looked at everything and told me everything was peachy keen, perfect except for a little bit of degeneration in my spinal vertebrae. it looked like things were kinda (really) out of his area of expertise, so he prescribed me a different medicine and a few sessions of physical therapy and recommended a nose & throat specialist to go to if the throat pressure didnt go away. i am goddamn lucky my dad offered to pay for my medical expenses. Doctor #3 was more or less useless.
on to doctor #3! he’s a neck specialist. i managed to get an appointment pretty quickly with him so i waited to see him. i didnt see him on the day of the appointment, but rather his assistant. she listened to my story (except that i forgot to tell her about the throat pressure thing. i s2g i go featherbrained around doctors) and then tested my arm and leg strength/mobility/general usefulness/whatever. then she ordered an mri of my neck. i waited for the mri, then waited again for the follow up. She, of course, said there was nothing wrong and when i remembered to tell her about the throat thing (which had still not gone away, 2 months later) she just looked kinda confused. she, like doctor #2, prescribed me a different medicine and a month of physical therapy. i think somewhere along the timeline of seeing doctor #3 my jaw started acting up again? i dont remember the exact timing of that but it hurt, and it sucked. my throat also started getting pretty uncomfortable when i talked, like i had to work harder to speak at a normal level. that also sucks when you work in a customer service job
so i managed to rule out that the throat thing wasnt bc of my neck and that my vertebrae werent gonna spontaneously combust or anything, i booked an apointment with the nose & throat specialist, which was on tuesday. by this time i was a damn mess. i still felt at times that i was having a hard time breathing and i really couldnt even think about it without going on the verge of a panic attack. 2 months and NO answers other than “huh, that’s weird” (the physical therapist literally told me that to my face). i had started to do research on my own for lack of anything better. that led me to eagle syndrome! which described exactly what i was feeling! (http://www.livingwitheagle.org/t/es-information-common-symptoms-and-possible-explanations-for-them/1389) and from what i read, there’s no cure! just analgesics and surgery, really. that really, really did not help- if you cant do anything then whats the point, right?
EX-FUCKING-CEPT. right around the time that i figured that out, i started having pain in my chest. i didnt know why it was happening (i later figured out that its bc when i sleep on my side i put too much pressure on my chest and it hurts me where my ribs and my sternum meet. it just decided to act up then). still though, i didnt know that at the time and let me tell you, when your chest starts hurting after youve been having whats more or less a 2-month-long constant panic attack, its goddamn TERRIFYING. i had lost my appetite a couple days before and had not been eating much, so i was weak and my heart was beating weirdly. i asked my dad what to do. he told me to call my primary, and they told me to go to the ER. i asked my dad to take me to the ER. his answer? “no, we’re going to an urgent care clinic”. the urgent care clinic, of course, couldnt do anything, while i sat there crying. (the doctor there, doctor #4, literally told me to just wait to see the nose & throat guy and that “i should try to be more composed when i see him”) meanwhile, when trying to talk about what ive been feeling to my parents, aka several mentions that i feel like im choking, i was just told to calm down. as if everything wasnt crumbling and going wrong.
so i waited until the appointment on tuesday. actually, no i didnt, i went into depression mode(TM), getting nothing done, and ended up in the doctors office an hour and a half before the appointment on the verge of tears. since it was uncomfortable to talk and something just outside of my throat had started hurting a week before, i had typed up my story (named “The Big Clusterfuck” on my computer). doctor #5 did some tests and mentioned eagle syndrome, even though i had only described it in the paper and not named it, and TMJ. he gave me prednisone for a week and told me to come back in a week. i feel bad for the man, i cried a lot.
ive managed to get my appetite back and have started eating again, and spent all of yesterday evacuating florida. i really, really hope the prednisone works. i dont know what im gonna do if it doesnt. if youre religious or do witchy stuff or whatever floats your boat, please send along a prayer or a spell or something. im not as bad as i was last week but im still Not Okay
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