#medical tumblr

[brunelsblog]

Ezz is bidding farewell.

He says, "I work at Al Shifa Hospital, and it might get bombed in any moment during the day. They bombed many areas around the hospital as a warning but we cannot evacuate all those injured people and refugees. We will keep doing our work until the last breath. We, as the medical team, people need us. Forgive us, Ezz."

[gay-jewish-bucky]

medical side of tumblr, why is the top of the spine called the cervical spine when it's nowhere near the cervix?

[silvermare]

in other news a friend is losing a knife fight in order to win at health today

i'm still laughing and it's been hours

[something-rlse]

chat how to tell the difference between hives and hest rash

[httpiastri]

this is so unrelated to racing but i’ve been having chest pains when deadlifting (and in some other exercises too) recently, so ofc i went to google it and…..

please???? why

(medical side of tumblr, if there even is a such thing, please help me find why i’m having this because it sucks 😭)

[1trilliongrams]

“I Actually Went To Bed At A Decent Hour But Pain Kept Me Awake” and other things I could name my memoir.

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

Maybe everyone already knows this and I’m just an idiot, but the other day I learned you are NOT supposed to clean wounds with hydrogen peroxide because of a bunch of science nonsense that I’m not going to attempt to reiterate but basically it will end up making it a lot harder for your body to complete the healing process? (If science tumblr wants to commandeer this post and explain better by all means please do)

[almaprincess66]

So when I get really stressed from school because of a test or an assighnment I start to feel dizzy and start to have throwing up coughs.

Could this be because in 6-8th grade I used to try and make myself threw up so I wouldn't need to go to my german class because the teacher stressed me out?

[necrotic-warzone]

Hello again medical tumblr. Good news, I have gotten two interviews which I am very grateful for. Any advice for the mmi format?

I'm aware that medical school prohibit seeking out specific information about their mmis so to be clear I'm not trying to do that, I just want to know what preparation strategies worked the best for you, what general tips you have etc

[quixoticprince]

Guys I don't think this kindly stranger is all that nice But yeah, if Medic confessed about stealing their souls in the next pages I don't think anyone would really care

Based on this post thread

[brunelsblog]

HUMANITARIAN CORRIDOR NOW.

[rosescxrner]

What Is Going On? (an essay)

In the spring of 2021, it was 9pm when I passed out in the middle of the kitchen. I’d been talking to my dad about theater and school, and he was teasing me about a crush I probably definitely had on a senior in theater. When I woke up, my head was in the dog bowl, which was probably what saved me from a total head injury. I felt completely fine after, though no one believed me, and my parents promptly scheduled a doctor’s appointment for the next day.

I went to school for the first two hours of the day, and then was shipped off to the hospital for some tests. I learned that while I was unconscious, I’d had what almost resembled a seizure, on a small scale. Of course, the doctors asked if I’d eaten, drank water, or had salt. I had, to all of them, and the initial decision was that I was just a teenage girl who needed more water and salt. Of course, they also made sure to ask about my screentime, because we all know phones and chromebooks cause fainting spells, right?

In the three years since then, I have yet to have a diagnosis. We came close with POTS, but the doctors retracted that statement soon after giving it. Ever since, I’ve felt almost dejected because of my lack of diagnosis. Was this really all in my head, like some doctors said? Was it just that I needed more water and salt, even though those are the two things I consume most now? I wanted answers, so I did my own research. Now, I know self-diagnosing on the internet is frowned upon, but I hope if I come to a doctor with my findings, they might be able to narrow down something.

The first thing I found relevant to my case was CTE. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. In most cases, it isn’t found until the patient is much older than I am, and in all cases, it cannot be diagnosed until after death, when the doctor can formally scan the brain on a personal level. That gave me hope, believe it or not, because that meant CTE was virtually an invisible disease of sorts. You may be wondering, though, why I went to CTE. “Rose, CTE only happens to people who suffer head injuries!” Yes, I know. Believe you me, I have suffered my fair share of head injuries in my short time of life.

From eight feet up, I’ve had a ten-pound, large wooden block fall on my head, had a twenty-to-thirty pound wooden platform shoved into my temple, had a hammer to the side of my face, and many other small injuries like tables being in the way, or knocking into shelves and cupboards. All of this combined, it’s no wonder I have as many headaches as I do, let’s just say. But, too much of my body’s ailments were going undiagnosed, so I felt they may be connected.

In my digging, I found PCS, post-concussive syndrome. It’s where a concussion hasn’t fully healed, and continues to present itself in various symptoms. I’ve only ever had a few concussions, but they suck. Immensely. In 2022, when the wooden block fell on my head, I went back to school the very next day, and showed up to theater, which my director called me insane for. I felt awful the entire time, and by the time we had our post-rehearsal meeting, I could hardly stand on my own. I find myself having many concussive symptoms, but not at the same intensity as if I had had one again. This is normal in most people with PCS, though the ailment itself is very rare in people who have had concussions.

This led me to look into my second issue– body aches, tremors, and tics. The tremor and tics didn’t start until about the time the wooden block hit me, and the aches didn’t start until I pulled my shoulder from pushing a 40lb rolling platform across a stage by myself. My decisions in life are nothing, if not flawed. In my defense, we needed it for rehearsal, and the directors and I genuinely thought I could do it. I just…hadn’t anticipated the actor atop said platform to step down while I was below him, kicking me in the face and popping my shoulder out of place a bit. I don’t blame him for it, he didn’t know I was directly below him. Yes, he could have looked before he stepped, but what’s done is done. 

After researching particular symptoms, I learned that continuous head injuries can, in fact, cause body aches and nerve pain. In one study, 64% of patients who suffered an mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury) reported body pain, specifically in the legs, back, and shoulders. Other side effects of a head injury included dizziness, headaches, loss of memory, and loss of concentration. In the past few years, I’ve noticed my memory and concentration slipping, and it’s always scared me a bit, since memory problems run in my family. It felt odd that it would present so early in life, but I tend to not be someone who thinks rationally when scared. However, combining the suddenness of said symptoms surfacing, and the timing of my first major head injury, it felt like it was finally starting to make sense. That, paired with the simply declining memory and concentration issues, solidified my belief that this was all occurring due to my injuries. 

In many cases of head injuries, people find themselves suffering from tremors and tics, such as twitching uncontrollably. However macabre, I was thankful to these people, because it meant I might have a real reason for suddenly developing these symptoms. In my latest doctor visit on the subject, I was told it was probably anxiety, and that all of my aches and tics were just me being anxious. 

Although I never said so, I was partially offended by this. All of these doctor visits, money wasted, time spent worrying, just for a psych doctor to tell me I was anxious? I’ve never lasted very long with any sort of therapist, whether it be counseling, cognitive therapy, or the latest psychiatrist, because they love pinning all of my issues on mental health. Do I believe mental health can present in physical symptoms? Of course, and it has for me before. But this felt like more than ‘anxiety’. This felt like more than ‘teenage angst and grief’ like people had officially begun telling me. 

Nevertheless, I tried the exercises my psychologist gave me. Hold your head the opposite way when you twitch, hold your hands down when they tremor, force yourself to not twitch so your brain stops doing it. But in the end, all that did was hurt more. Now, something I forgot to mention, was that one doctor diagnosed me with a muscle degenerative disorder, a light version of it. He said I could still function, but that most of what I love doing for theater (drills, power saws, lifting sets) had to go if I wanted to not break myself in half. I didn’t really listen, though I appreciate my directors to no end for trying to force me to take a break when I didn’t want to. I probably will continue to be stubborn, but in moments like this, I truly do appreciate them for what they do for me.

According to an article by Flint Rehab, one can experience muscle weakness and nerve pain after a concussion, from weeks to months to years after. Some symptoms that last after a concussion can also consist of tinnitus (ringing of the ears), numbness and tingling in various parts of the body, and sensitivity to light and noise. Now, is it a coincidence that in the few years since the first injury (and many since), I have developed all of these? I don’t think so, personally. In the past few years, I’ve grown terribly sensitive to sounds, and everything is heightened in a way it wasn’t three years ago. I also find my various limbs in bouts of painstaking tingling, somewhere between numbness and absolute pain. It’s an odd sensation that I’ve never been able to describe entirely accurately, as much as I try. I also, in my defense, thought for a long time that it was entirely normal for people to encounter a ringing sensation in their ears. That one has been happening for a while, probably the second symptom to emerge, right before the persistent headaches and migraines.

One side effect of a head injury does intrigue me, in a bad way. Behavioral issues, mood swings, and personality changes are less common, but just as awful of side effects. This, ladies and gents, brings us full-circle, back to CTE. Many patients with CTE report personality changes, such as sudden lack of motivation (long term), feeling suddenly constantly overwhelmed, and the sudden inability to be entirely self-aware. I haven’t brought these issues to a doctor, for the simple fact that I dread the idea that this one (two, three) accident caused an entire shift in my brain. 

In my past, writing came naturally, easy for me, and ever since that first incident, I’ve found it progressively harder to complete things that used to come so easy, such as writing, art, and basic things like schoolwork. Yes, gifted kid burnout is a real thing, and I do think I suffered it a bit, but I truly do not think this entire sudden lack of motivation and awareness has come from a bit of childhood academic pressure.

I’m not sure what, exactly, this is. Maybe it’s PCS, maybe CTE, maybe something I haven’t found yet. Either way, I wanted to share my story and findings, in hopes that maybe someone will be able to help, or have an idea as to what’s going on in my body.

[53rdcenturyhero]

The type of post that proposed tumblr changes would stop dead. How dare they (who are they selling to that wants this??)

The sequel ‘Skull Measuring for beginners’ is scheduled for 2025.

[inkskinned]

because sometimes there are invisible tests and invisible rules and you're just supposed to ... know the rule. someone you thought of as a friend asks you for book recommendations, so you give her a list of like 30 books, each with a brief blurb and why you like it. later, you find out she screenshotted the list and send it out to a group chat with the note: what an absolute freak can you believe this. you saw the responses: emojis where people are rolling over laughing. too much and obsessive and actually kind of creepy in the comments. you thought you'd been doing the right thing. she'd asked, right? an invisible rule: this is what happens when you get too excited.

you aren't supposed to laugh at your own jokes, so you don't, but then you're too serious. you're not supposed to be too loud, but then people say you're too quiet. you aren't supposed to get passionate about things, but then you're shy, boring. you aren't supposed to talk too much, but then people are mad when you're not good at replying.

you fold yourself into a prettier paper crane. since you never know what is "selfish" and what is "charity," you give yourself over, fully. you'd rather be empty and over-generous - you'd rather eat your own boundaries than have even one person believe that you're mean. since you don't know what the thing is that will make them hate you, you simply scrub yourself clean of any form of roughness. if you are perfect and smiling and funny, they can love you. if you are always there for them and never admit what's happening and never mention your past and never make them uncomfortable - you can make up for it. you can earn it.

don't fuck up. they're all testing you, always. they're tolerating you. whatever secret club happened, over a summer somewhere - during some activity you didn't get to attend - everyone else just... figured it out. like they got some kind of award or examination that allowed them to know how-to-be-normal. how to fit. and for the rest of your life, you've been playing catch-up. you've been trying to prove that - haha! you get it! that the joke they're telling, the people they are, the manual they got- yeah, you've totally read it.

if you can just divide yourself in two - the lovable one, and the one that is you - you can do this. you can walk the line. they can laugh and accept you. if you are always-balanced, never burdensome, a delight to have in class, champagne and glittering and never gawky or florescent or god-forbid cringe: you can get away with it.

you stare at your therapist, whom you can make jokes with, and who laughs at your jokes, because you are so fucking good at people-pleasing. you smile at her, and she asks you how you're doing, and you automatically say i'm good, thanks, how are you? while the answer swims somewhere in your little lizard brain:

how long have you been doing this now? mastering the art of your body and mind like you're piloting a puppet. has it worked? what do you mean that all you feel is... just exhausted. pick yourself up, the tightrope has no net. after all, you're cheating, somehow, but nobody seems to know you actually flunked the test. it's working!

aren't you happy yet?

[accoffee7]

Something silly...

[questions-about-blorbos]

This request was sent to us and we made a poll in response to it. Send any Blorbo-related question you want to our inbox and we’ll make a poll on which people can vote with their own Blorbos in minds