#oedema

[bethiniancorpuscle]

Oedema - pitting vs non-pitting

Oedema is swelling due to excess fluids in tissues.

In pitting oedema, pressing on the affected area leaves an indentation (that persists after removing the pressure). In non-pitting oedema, the area feels firm to touch and does not form indentations.

Pitting oedema:

The excess fluid is mainly composed of water

Commonly caused by heart failure, venous insufficiency, or nephrotic syndrome

Non-pitting oedema:

The excess fluid consists of water WITH protein and salts

Usually indicates a condition of the thyroid / lymphatic system

Different types:

Lymphoedema is due to a build-up of lymphatic fluid (e.g. due to a tumour blocking lymphatic flow / after removal of lymph nodes).

Myxoedema occurs in hypothyroidism and often affected the pretibial or periorbital area.

Angioedema is localised swelling of the skin and is usually due to allergic reactions. It typically affects the face, tongue, larynx, abdomen, arms, and legs. When the larynx is affected, it may affect breathing, which is an emergency!

Lipoedema is when fat accumulates in subcutaneous tissues - it usually affects the legs/buttocks and almost exclusively occurs in postpubertal females (not the same as cellulite!)

If patients present with oedema, it's always important to test if it's pitting or non-pitting as this helps to determine the cause and correct treatment!

[sciencesolutions]

[stromuprisahat]

There is a myth that finding a lot of fluid in the lungs – pulmonary oedema – is an indicator of a slow death. This oedema is a common part of the dying process for most people: as the heart beats less and less efficiently, normal physiology means that fluid leaves the blood vessels and fills the lungs. So, people who have their heads chopped off will show no oedema in the lungs at all because their death has been so fast. But the opposite isn’t true: a lot of fluid in the lungs does not necessarily point to an agonizingly slow death.

Unnatural Causes: The Life and Many Deaths of Britain’s Top Forensic Pathologist Unnatural Causes (Dr. Richard Shepherd)

[obakanosandoitchi]

when your roomate brings chimney cakes to share so now all you can think about is

"there's cake in the kitchen"

[eyecarenexus]

Diabetes can have a serious impact on your eye health. Diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema are two common conditions that can lead to irreversible vision loss if left untreated.

Early detection is key—annual eye exams are essential even if you’re not experiencing symptoms. At Nexus Eyecare, we use advanced technology to assess and treat diabetic eye disease, helping you protect your vision. Don't wait for symptoms to appear—book an appointment with our expert retinal specialists today!

[littleprincessfawn]

CW. medical post, anxiety, ambulance possibility, venting during a potential emergency, breathing issues

Update: ex has arrived and is assessing me. I seem okay for now but he will stay overnight and monitor me. I'm safe.

Damn it.

I'm having trouble breathing. It feels like when you put a wet face washer over your face and try to breathe through it. I'm not in pain really, and it's not impossible.

It's just hard, and uncomfortable.

A side effect of the leukemia medication I am on, Dasatinib, is pulmonary oedema (not sure how to spell it) so there is a possibility that is occuring for me.

I've called my ex husband and he's bundled up our kid and is coming over. I'm trying to assess if I need an ambulance.

The confounding variable is that I have an anxiety disorder, I get panic attacks. So I'm prone to hyperventilating and shallow breathing in the first place. I'm prone to worrying about dying.

I don't want to call an ambulance out to my house if I don't need it, they are an important resource. But I also don't want to not call them and then have something bad happen.

Calming myself down. Assessing the situation.

Yes I'm having breathing trouble. But you can have breathing trouble with common colds or with pneumonia. So it's likely on that level, but my anxiety and the knowledge that my medication can cause things like pulmonary embolisms and pulmonary oedema is stressing me out.

My ex-husband used to work as a nurse. So he's got some skills at assessing me, and he understands my anxiety disorder as well and how that can interact. He told me I have to assess if I need an ambulance or not though.

I don't think I do. I'm not sure. He's driving on his way and I think he will probably be here in 30 minutes or less. So if the worst happens there WILL be someone to make an ambulance call in 30 minutes time.

Apparently with the oedema it progresses slowly, so if it's that, which it might be, I will have time and go to the hospital tomorrow instead of tonight. I don't want to affect my son's sleep or schooling, I want him to go to school tomorrow and he's already had one night in the hospital in January because of my health issues.

I wanted to be on the phone to someone because if I make a voice call I'll be less likely to hyperventilate. My ex's headset isn't working so I couldn't talk to him. It's 10pm here so it's not socially acceptable timeframe to call anyone for a chat.

Part of me is considering asking some of my online discord friends if any of them can talk to me. But that's crazy. And wouldn't be fun for them.

Anyway. I'm almost certain I'm fine. Well I mean maybe I'm not fine. But I don't think I'm at deaths door right this second. I believe whatever is affecting me (if anything is, I mean it could just be that I swallowed water weirdly or something) will not kill me overnight.

But I still asked my ex to come over anyway because I don't want to be alone with these sorts of symptoms. When I asked him he told me he had already started packing.

I'll definitely post again soon because I'm aware me putting my stream of emergency consciousness out into the world could be very stressful to read, I just needed to say it somewhere.

Now I'll rest and sit upright and try and relax and distract my brain from my body sensations.

All will be well. I'm sure of it.

[underneaththatblackblanket]

"The 200+ Symptoms of Fibromyalgia"

(Note: Some symptoms may overlap)

GENERAL

1. Activity level decreased to less than 50% of pre-illness activity level

2. Cold hands and feet (extremities)

3. Cough

4. Craving carbohydrates

5. Delayed reaction to physical activity or stressful events

6. Dryness of eyes and/or mouth

7. Edema (Oedema)

8. Family member(s) with Fibromyalgia

9. Fatigue, made worse by physical exertion or stress

10. Feeling cold often

11. Feeling hot often

12. Frequent sighing

13. Heart palpitations

14. Hoarseness

15. Hypoglycemia (blood sugar falls or low)

16. Increased thirst

17. Low blood pressure (below 110/70)

18. Low body temperature (below 97.6)

19. Low-grade fevers

20. Night sweats

21. Noisy joints – with or without pain

22. Poor circulation in hands/feet

23. Profuse sweating

24. Recurrent flu-like illness

25. Shortness of breath with little or no exertion

26. Severe nasal allergies (new or worsening allergies)

27. Sore throat

28. Subjective swelling of extremities – (feels swollen Bu can’t find anything)

29. Sweats

30. Symptoms worsened by air travel

31. Symptoms worsened by stress

32. Symptoms worsened by temperature changes

33. Tender or swollen lymph nodes, especially in neck and underarms

34. Tremor or trembling

35. Unexplained weight gain or loss

PAIN

36. Abdominal wall pain

37. Bad hip pain

38. Burning Nerve Pain

39. Chest pain

40. Collarbone pain

41. Diffuse swelling

42. Elbow pain

43. Exacerbated Plantar arch or heel pain

44. “Growing” pains that don’t go away once you are done growing

45. Headache – tension or migraine

46. Inflamed Rib Cartilage

47. Joint pain

48. Lumpy, tender breasts

49. Morning stiffness

50. Muscle pain - widespread

51. Muscle spasms

52. Muscle twitching

53. Muscle weakness

54. Pain that ranges from moderate to severe

55. Pain that moves around the body

56. Paralysis or severe weakness of an arm or leg

57. Restless Leg Syndrome

58. Rib Pain

59. Scalp Pain (like hair being pulled out)

60. Sciatica-like pain

61. Tender points or trigger points

62. TMJ syndrome

63. “Voodoo Doll” Poking Sensation in random places

NEUROLOGICAL

64. Blackouts

65. Brain fog

66. Carpal Tunnel

67. Feeling spaced out

68. Hallucinating smells

69. Inability to think clearly

70. Lightheadedness

71. Noise intolerance

72. Numbness or tingling sensations

73. Photophobia (sensitivity to light)

74. Seizures

75. Seizure-like episodes

76. Sensation that you might faint

77. Syncope (fainting)

78. Tinnitus (ringing in one or both ears)

79. Vertigo or dizziness

EQUILIBRIUM/PERCEPTION

80. Bumping into things

81. Clumsy Walking

82. Difficulty balancing

83. Difficulty judging distances (when driving, etc.)

84. Directional disorientation

85. Dropping things frequently

86. Feeling spatially disoriented

87. Frequent tripping or stumbling

88. Not seeing what you’re looking at

89. Poor balance and coordination

90. Staggering gait

SLEEP

91. Alertness/energy best late at night

92. Altered sleep/wake schedule

93. Awakening frequently

94. Difficulty falling asleep

95. Difficulty staying asleep

96. Excessive sleeping

97. Extreme alertness or energy levels late at night

98. Falling asleep at random and sometimes dangerous moments

99. Fatigue

100. Light or broken sleep pattern

101. Muscle spasms/twitches at night

102. Narcolepsy

103. Sleep disturbances

104. Sleep starts or falling sensations

105. Teeth grinding - "Bruxism"

106. Tossing and turning

107. Un-refreshing or non-restorative sleep

108. Vivid or disturbing dreams/nightmares

EYES/VISION

109. Blind spots in vision

110. Eye pain

111. Difficulty switching focus from one thing to another

112. Frequent changes in ability to see well

113. Night driving difficulty

114. Occasional Blurry vision

115. Poor night vision

116. Rapidly worsening vision

117. Vision changes

COGNITIVE

118. Becoming lost in familiar locations when driving

119. Confusion

120. Difficulty expressing ideas in words

121. Difficulty following conversation (especially if background noise present)

122. Difficulty following directions while driving

123. Difficulty following oral instructions

124. Difficulty following written instructions

125. Difficulty making decisions

126. Difficulty moving your mouth to speak

127. Difficulty paying attention

128. Difficulty putting ideas together to form a complete picture

129. Difficulty putting tasks or things in proper sequence

130. Difficulty recognizing faces

131. Difficulty speaking known words

132. Difficulty remembering names of objects

133. Difficulty remembering names of people

134. Difficulty understanding what you read

135. Difficulty with long-term memory

136. Difficulty with simple calculations

137. Difficulty with short-term memory

138. Easily distracted during a task

139. Dyslexia-type symptoms occasionally

140. Feeling too disoriented to drive

141. Forgetting how to do routine things

142. Impaired ability to concentrate

143. Inability to recognize familiar surroundings

144. Losing track in the middle of a task (remembering what to do next)

145. Losing your train of thought in the middle of a sentence

146. Loss of ability to distinguish some colors

147. Poor judgment

148. Short term memory impairment

149. Slowed speech

150. Staring into space trying to think

151. Stuttering; stammering

152. Switching left and right

153. Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you speak

154. Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you write

155. Trouble concentrating

156. Using the wrong word

157. Word-finding difficulty

EMOTIONAL

158. Abrupt and/or unpredictable mood swings

159. Anger outbursts

160. Anxiety or fear when there is no obvious cause

161. Attacks of uncontrollable rage

162. Decreased appetite

163. Depressed mood

164. Feeling helpless and/or hopeless

165. Fear of someone knocking on the door

166. Fear of telephone ringing

167. Feeling worthless

168. Frequent crying

169. Heightened awareness – of symptoms

170. Inability to enjoy previously enjoyed activities

171. Irrational fears

172. Irritability

173. Overreaction

174. Panic attacks

175. Personality changes –usually a worsening of pervious condition

176. Phobias

177. Suicide attempts

178. Suicidal thoughts

179. Tendency to cry easily

GASTROINTESTINAL

180. Abdominal cramps

181. Bloating

182. Decreased appetite

183. Food cravings

184. Frequent constipation

185. Frequent diarrhea

186. Gerd-like Symptoms

187. Heartburn

188. Increased appetite

189. Intestinal gas

190. Irritable bladder - "Angry Bladder Syndrome"

191. Irritable bowel syndrome - IBS-C, IBS-D

192. Nausea

193. Regurgitation

194. Stomachache

195. Vomiting

196. Weight gain - unexplained

197. Weight loss - unexplained

UROGENITAL

198. Decreased libido (sex drive)

199. Endometriosis

200. Frequent urination

201. Impotence

202. Menstrual problems

203. Painful urination or bladder pain - "Interstitial Cystitis"

204. Pelvic pain

205. Prostate pain

206. Worsening of (or severe) premenstrual syndrome (PMS or PMDD)

SENSITIVITIES

207. Alcohol intolerance

208. Allodynia (hypersensitive to touch)

209. Alteration of taste, smell, and/or hearing

210. Sensitivity to chemicals in cleaning products, perfumes, etc.

211. Sensitivities to foods

212. Sensitivity to light

213. Sensitivity to mold

214. Sensitivity to noise

215. Sensitivity to odors

216. Sensitivity to yeast (getting yeast infections frequently on skin, etc.)

217. Sensory overload

218. Sensitivity to pressure & humidity changes

219. Sensitivity to extreme temperature changes

220. Vulvodynia

SKIN

221. Able to “write” on skin with finger

222. Bruising easily

223. Bumps and lumps

224. Eczema or psoriasis

225. Hot/dry skin

226. Ingrown hairs

227. Itchy/Irritable skin

228. Mottled skin

229. Rashes or sores

230. Scarring easily

231. Sensitivity to the sun

232. Skin suddenly turns bright red

CARDIOVASCULAR (Heart)

233. “Click-murmur” sounds through stethoscope

234. Fluttery heartbeat

235. Heart palpitations

236. Irregular heartbeat

237. Loud pulse in ear

238. Pain that mimics heart attack - "Costochondritis"

239. Rapid heartbeat

HAIR/NAILS

240. Dull, listless hair

241. Heavy and splitting cuticles

242. Irritated nail beds

243. Nails that curve under

244. Pronounced nail ridges

245. Temporary hair loss

OTHER

246. Canker sores

247. Dental problems

248. Disk Degeneration

​249. Hemorrhoids

250. Nose bleeds

251. Periodontal (gum) disease

252. Need for early hysterectomy

[darkmaga-retard]

In 2021, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) European drug monitoring system known as Vigibase, maintained by the Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC) in Sweden, received 19,916 reports of eye disorders following administration of COVID-19 shots. Vigibase had never recorded such a big spike in eye disorders until these biologics were introduced into the European market.1

Eye Disorders Reported in Vigibase After COVID Shots

 Although Vigbase does not provide details of the patient’s adverse vaccine event experience, it does provide the name of the disorder.

The following are the eye disorders reported and the number of vaccinated patients who experienced a COVID shot related adverse event: eye pain (4,616), blurred vision (3,839), photophobia or light intolerance (1,808), visual impairment (1,625), eye swelling (1,162), ocular hyperaemia or red eyes (788), eye irritation (768), itchy eyes or eye pruritus (731), watery eyes or increased lacrimation (653), double vision or diplopia (559), eye strain or asthenopia (459), dry eye (400), swelling around the eye or periorbital swelling (366), swelling of eyelid (360), flashes of light in the field of vision or photopsia (358), blindness (303), eyelid oedema (298), eye or ocular discomfort (273), conjunctival hemorrhage or breakage of a small eye vessel (236), blepharospasm or abnormal contraction of an eye muscle (223), vitreous floaters (192), periorbital oedema (171), and eye hemorrhage (169).2

In the United Kingdom’s Yellow Card System, a national database of side effects or adverse reactions to drugs or vaccines, there were similar reports of vaccine induced eye disorders following COVID shots. These reports are reported to have occurred after administration of AstraZeneca/Oxford University’s Vaxzevria COVID vaccine and Pfizer/BioNTech’s Comirnaty mRNA COVID shot, but also included eight reports of eye disorders following Moderna/NIAID’s Spikevax mRNA COVID shot, of which 100,000 first doses had been administered by Apr. 21, 2021 in the United Kingdom.3

[margareth-lv]

Look at her hands as she holds the baby

Her fingers are swollen and the ring looks jammed

Just like her hands in Season 7 when she was pregnant

https://www.tumblr.com/margareth-lv/736131941412241408/i-can-tell-you-for-a-fact-there-has-only

Let's be clear. No, I don't think Caitríona is pregnant in the Season 3 scene after the birth of Baby Bree. There is something else going on in that scene that gives me pause for thought. Namely, Caitríona's finger which, in a natural maternal gesture, is placed in… Baby Bree's mouth. This gesture is so intimate (not only on an emotional level, but also for hygienic reasons) that I find it hard to imagine the mother of this newborn being anyone other than Caitríona.

Can you imagine (if you are a mother) a stranger putting her finger in your newborn's mouth? And not just once, but many times, because I assume the shot in the film is taken many times.

*** *** *** However, it is important to remember that pregnancy is not the only thing that can cause swollen fingers.

Swelling (also known as oedema) in the hands, feet, legs and face is a common and temporary part of the postpartum period for many.

*** *** ***

So I'd like to return to the archly interesting discussion we've had here many times before about 'Claire's' swollen feet and unnaturally swollen face in the scene from Season 3 where Claire prepares to leave with Frank for a meeting at Harvard.

Note: The pictures below are photos I took directly from the screen this morning, as Netflix makes it impossible to take screenshots.

And now for the real bomb. Mind you, I'm lighting the fuse.

💣

Before I got down to the business of taking Netflix shots this morning, I typed "pregnant Claire, season 3" into Google Images. The first few results were... images wit the Starz logo. Smooth calves, smooth feet, no visible veins. And remembering those veins, I went back to film.

Yes, the famous 'Starz Photo Editing Program' had worked again. Many photos of Caitríona's feet on the internet are censored.

Isn't that the best proof you could have that 'there's something wrong with them'?

And the face? Let's talk about the face. What has happened to Caitríona's sharply defined jaw line?

❓

And the back? Let's talk about the back. Surely this is all about "characterising", don't you think?

❓

*** *** ***

Source of censored photos of Caitríona's feet:

[December 13, 2023]

[sidetongue]

Day 5 in hospital.

Today we placed a nasogastric feeding tube. Her protein levels are so low that it is causing oedema (fluid build up) both in her abdomen and throughout her limbs and face. Some of her kidney parameters are worse. She’s too sick to sedate, so she had to have her tube placed awake. They stapled the tube to her face. The tube made her nose bleed. She did not complain once. She is such a brave girl.

My friend and colleague brought in posters that her kids had made. They are up by her cage.

[todayiwrotenothing]

Something that is a big barrier to diagnoses, figuring out what's wrong, understanding medication side effects etc., is the gulf between clinical descriptions and lived experience descriptions.

This is on my mind at the moment because I've only just realised that I'm extra fail right now due to the anti-hypertension drug I've been taking for about a month and a half.

Common side effects (rates from 1 to 10%) are peripheral oedema, dizziness, palpitations, flushing, fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, and drowsiness. Rare side effects (rates less than 1%) are blood disorders, impotence, depression, peripheral neuropathy, insomnia, tachycardia, gingival enlargement, hepatitis, and jaundice.

Pretty standard, right, maybe a little difficult to spot if you already have gut issues, sleep issues, etc. This info is from looking it up myself, as all the doctor told me was that I might get swollen ankles and feel a bit light-headed.

People on forums: THIS DRUG TURNED ME INTO A ZOMBIE I've got extreme fatigue, brain fog, muscle weakness, can't sleep can't think can't function forget everything.

Oh for fuck's sake, that's me right now. I thought I was just having weird burnout and adhd shit that was randomly so bad I had to get signed off work for a fortnight, but the timeline matches up with taking this drug, particularly the dose increase. It hasn't even brought my blood pressure down by much, possibly because being fucked up like this is really stressful ashsgajaksshsgakshfuck

[radioactiveradley]

Can you tell us anything about how CT can be used to find small foreign bodies that may not have a density massively dissimilar from the body they're lodged in? The specific example in this case: Dog is going for a CT to look for a potential cat claw tip lodged in the face that is causing repeated abscesses.

Oooh! That's an interesting one.

TL;DR: there will probably be goo around the claw. We can see goo. If there is no goo and the claw is lodged in soft tissue, the amount of radiation attenuated by the claw and the soft tissue will be distinct enough for us to see. If the claw is lodged in bone and has a similar density, we will still be able to see it, but we will have to modulate the way we read the images, which will cause no extra dose to your poor doggo!

First off, we'll look for any anomalies in the surrounding tissue. Soft tissue might fully envelop a foreign object, but we still expect to see some sort of reaction - i.e., a granuloma, which can either absorb some organic foreign bodies (very freaky! very cool! you can 'eat' splinters that get stuck under your skin!) or encyst them in a capsule-like shield to cut them off from the rest of the body.

All my pictures are gonna be of humans because I know 0 about doggy CT... sorry...

Image courtesy of radiopedia

So, in the above pic, the arrows point to a surgical clip that went walkabout in the body, and wound up encapsulated! How cool is that!

But generally speaking... If the claw is lodged in soft tissue, it will be easy to spot.

The way CT works is, we see how much radiation can penetrate through each separate point within the person/pooch who's lying in the scanner's central bore. These different penetration levels are mapped onto a scale to describe radiodensity, known as the Hounsfield scale, with '0' being water, '-1000' being air, and '+1000' typically being bone.

The gathered values are then composited using greyscale (and. a very funky process that I do NOT have time to get into here but ask me about sinogram tomography later) to create images across three dimensions, with fluid being middling grey (depending on its content), air being black, and bone being white.

So, the claw will show up clearly as a different density to soft tissue, especially if it's surrounded by oedema. It should appear significantly brighter (attenuates more radiation) while the oedema will be darker (attenuates less radiation).

However, if the claw is lodged in bone and there happens to be minimal oedema and no telltale damage to the periosteum (the membranous sheathe around the bone) ... we would have to use a funky technique called windowing!

Image courtesy of radiopedia

Here's an example of windowing, using a human head. As you can see, the 'bone window' completely blocks out all soft tissue detail in the brain, but shows a lot more detail - i.e., trabecular patterns and mastoid cells! - within the bone.

Basically, there can be almost infinite Hounsfield units, depending on what you want to look at (if you're looking at, like, titanium, we'll be talking a RIDICULOUSLY HIGH Hounsfield number!) But the human eye can only see approximately

Image courtesy of a basic bitch google search

This is where windowing comes in! We can choose a certain point within the Hounsfield scale at which to generate a new image, focusing on one particular type of material. This is what makes CT so versatile!

If the claw is a subtly different density to the bone, it may not show up on a regular CT image. But by using a 'bony window' that selects a span of Hounsfield units to look at, right up towards the +1000 end of the scale, we can focus on the bone in far more detail, cutting out all extraneous soft tissue. This should give us a good idea of what's going on!

As a fun extra fact - windowing will not up the radiation dose to your poor pooch in any way. In CT, all we need to do is take a single 'picture', which compiles all the radiodensity info about our patient (be they bipedal or otherwise). We can then play around in 'post-production', so to speak, to our heart's content, producing different variations on the same image using windowing! Very nifty trick. :)

I hope that somewhere amidst my extensive rambling, I answered your question! And I hope that doggo gets better soon!

[crossdressingdeath]

Narrator: *You notice oedema - a swelling of the brain causing pressure where it strains against the shell of the skull.*

I love this bit. Specifically in terms of Durge and their medicine proficiency (I assume it's the same for all characters but Durge is the only one who has medicine proficiency at the start), because Durge knowing that this swelling is called oedema means their medical knowledge didn't just come from practical experience cutting up bodies; they actually studied medicine. Imagine Durge with a medical textbook. Modern AU Durge would go to med school. This delights me.

[robbiemd]

I have finally settled after 36++ hours of travel.

The drive that I have to endure ever f*****g time.

I recently traveled from Manila (MNL) to Puerto Princesa (PPS) via 2Go Travel, on board M/V St. Francis Xavier. It had been over 20 years since I last took a sea voyage. I used to travel this way when I was younger, often with my parents and sister, or with my grandparents and cousins. It was a more affordable option than flying. At that time, budget airlines like Cebu Pacific and AirAsia didn't fly to Puerto Princesa, and Philippine Airlines tickets were quite expensive (over PHP 3,000 for a roundtrip fare in the 1990s).

Fun part was still seeing these kinds of sceneries.

It was the perfect time for a trip by sea. If I'd taken a flight, I would have been delayed by 1-2 days due to the global Microsoft glitch a few days ago. The voyage was supposed to leave at 7 pm but got delayed for five hours. Five hours isn't too bad compared to 1-2 days.

Aboard M/V SFX.

Sea travel alone bored me quite a bit. There was no one to talk to, and all I wanted to do was lie down on my bed, read, study, and take notes. A few strangers tried to talk to me, but I was never good at small talk, so the conversations were terminated after a few exchanges. Apparently, sea travel was a lot better when I was a kid.

I arrived at PPS around 3:30 in the morning of yesterday after a 24-hour travel and a 3-hour stop at the Port of Coron.

Port of Coron. 20 July 2024

After more than a month, I met with my dad and mom so I could get my car. I noticed that my father’s legs have progressed to swelling and oedema, which started more than 6 months ago. I’ve already put him in diuretics and had him undergo tests for several tests to rule out heart, lung, and kidney conditions. Everything was fine except for a mild pulmonary regurgitation on his 2D echo. His Ejection Fraction was good. His AV duplex a few months ago was normal as well. In other words, all tests were inconclusive.

So today, I decided to start him on anticoagulants. I should have started him earlier but DOACs are expensive as hell.

“Iinumin mo ba ito kahit 92 pesos per tab?” I asked him.

“Oo, kung kailangan talaga.”

“Sige, ipa-labs muna kita. I need baseline labs para malaman kung pwede sa’yo yung gamot.”

Sometimes, treating family members can be more challenging than treating regular patients. I'm not sure whether it's due to non-compliance or the comfort of being able to share everything, including bizarre symptoms.

See you again next time, parents.

That's them in front of me.

22 July 2024 3:02 AM El Nido, Philippines

[eyecarenexus]

VABYSMO - Macular Degeneration Treatment

If you or someone you know is being treated for macular degeneration or other retinal conditions, you might have heard about VABYSMO. This new medication is now available in Australia and adds to the options for treating Neovascular (wet) Age-Related Macular Degeneration (nAMD) and Diabetic Macular Oedema (DMO). Explore how VABYSMO could make a difference in managing these conditions.

[baratrongirl]

I have been dealing with non-stop health problems since 22nd June or thereabouts and I just want it all to stop.

On 21st June, which was my birthday, I went to an Elder Scrolls Online 10th Anniversary party at the offices of Bethesda/Zenimax in London. I proceeded to catch COVID from being out in public, and spent a week in bed.

On 29th June I was sitting at my computer, still with a high fever, stood up to go to the loo, and something in my right leg tore and I fell over. Couldn't walk at all for several days. Finally got free of COVID, went to the hospital, and they thought from an ultrasound that I'd torn my Achilles tendon. So I got put in a horrible cast and was not allowed to put any weight on the leg at all.

Went to Germany for the ESO Tavern anyway because I figured that accessible hotel rooms would be less stress than my house, which is only accessible for my normal disability and not for "you can't put any weight on your foot at all". Had to inject myself with an anticoagulant called Fragmin because of being immobile, which is super great if you're needle phobic.

Once I got home and saw the specialist, she thought it probably wasn't a tear and ordered an MRI. This showed that actually, I "only" had "thickening and inflammation" of the tendon. So it looks like I "only" tore my calf muscle which is a much less serious injury to heal. (I could dig out the hospital letter with the actual names of the muscles but I frankly don't care enough.)

However, my right leg was STILL rock solid with oedema. (Medical for "swelling"). The calf felt hard to the touch instead of squishy like my left leg. The young doctor that I saw the second time was only bothered about the tendonitis and severe inflexibility of my foot, not the fact that my leg was swollen. And I continued to have pain spikes so bad that my temperature hit 38.0 C and I started puking for probably six weeks after the initial injury.

TL;DR my leg started to get better and then it got worse again. About two weeks ago I noticed the leg was more swollen than ever, and the skin was bright red and very itchy. Took myself up to the hospital again, had a blood test, sat and waited for the results.

My foot turned LITERALLY purple and by the time I got to see the A&E doctor, she just looked at my foot in combination with the blood test results and declared that I had a clot. (Though she was very thorough, carefully checking the entire length of my bad leg against the good one.) They gave me a massive dose of anticoagulants and sent me home to sleep in my own bed for a bit, then I went back the next day and had another ultrasound at a different frequency from the first. (Different frequencies of sound penetrate different levels of tissue). And promptly got diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis.

Blood clots are kinda gross (don't worry, there are no pictures):

Apparently the blood clot is from behind my knee all the way up to mid-thigh. I thought a blood clot was an amorphous, approximate spheroid blocking the vein at a particular place, but it actually fills the entire vein! (Gross!)

Also the main concern with Deep Vein Thrombosis is that bits might break off from the main clot and travel through the bloodstream to cause a Pulmonary Embolism. So the high dose of anticoagulants is actually to deal with bits breaking off from the clot rather than to break down the clot itself! That's why the treatment is 3-6 months on a high dose of anticoagulants.

I was worried about the risk of stroke but that's from blood clots in arteries, not veins.

I'm still annoyed with the doctor in the Fracture Clinic who basically looked at me and saw a fat person, rather than checking that my uninjured fat left leg and injured fat right leg felt the same. Because I had the oedema then. I had a soft, squishy fat left leg and a hard, unsquishable fat right leg.

If I'd actually followed his advice I might have accidentally killed myself. Fortunately I know the medical word "oedema" and knew not to use the special socks which said "do not use if you have oedema".

I am so fucking frustrated. So stupidly tired. I can't work out whether I'm depressed because I'm exhausted or exhausted because I'm depressed. Or whether the two states are orthogonal and caused by something else.

I feel like I've basically missed the entire summer to being sick and mostly unable to move very far from my bed, and the only joy I have is that I live in the UK and have paid nothing for any of this healthcare because it's all funded from our taxes.