#pituitary tumour

[mistywitcher]

so i haven’t posted on tumblr in ages because i ended up having brain surgery!

tina tumour is gone! it was a rough few weeks following the surgery, but i think im coming out the other side now!

i no longer have cushing’s disease as my surgery was successful! my cortisol has dropped and now i have secondary adrenal insufficiency and have to take replacement cortisol!

i’m exhausted a lot of the time, have headaches most days but i feel better than i have in years stress wise, and so much mentally with it!

[absolutelyfibulas]

Ya boy Dutch needs an MRI

[sillydegu]

Bitey McBiteface isn't feeling well and has taken a break from biting

Bitey McBiteface is behind bars

[healthcareplatform]

https://biiut.com/read-blog/46505_pituitary-tumours-what-are-they-symptoms-risk-factors-diagnosis-treatment-and-mo.html

[transmutationisms]

Genuine question here, how can we increase patient autonomy and handle psychiatric medication for people who are disabled to a point where communication and understanding medication schedules would be difficult? I think a lot of people in my circles have gotten to a point of understanding, yes, anti-psychs can be more detrimental to patients with no positives when talking about a person with psychosis in their 20s who is somewhat able to manage themselves, but have difficulty parsing what would be best in the case of an older person with a neurodigenerative disease, and as someone who is at risk for developing Alzheimer's, I'm not sure what patient autonomy would look like for myself at that stage of life.

alright so, the question of how to increase patient autonomy for those who are mentally incapacitated in various ways is a legitimate one -- this has been a problem in paediatric and geriatric medicine for reasons both social and biological, and also affects disabled/injured/sick people of any age.

the assumption you've attached, though, is that 'antipsychotics' (neuroleptics) are actually in a patient's best interest, and that therefore it might be justified to administer them without consent in cases where it cannot be obtained. this is just incorrect and tells me you didn't read any of the links in my other posts about neuroleptics. these are not drugs that 'cure' 'psychosis' -- they are drugs that used to be marketed as 'chemical lobotomies' for a reason! they are unsafe in the long and short term, and are administered because they make patients compliant (incapacitated, numbed out, chemically dependent). the question of consent is just moot here imo.

to touch on the general question: usually with patients who are unable to consent, what is supposed to happen involves a mix of designated legal representatives, loved ones who are present, professional patient advocates, and the patient's own advance directives. my opinion (& this is common among disability advocates) is that doctors are often overeager to decide patients cannot consent, and will talk over/about them rather than taking the time to try communicating with them in ways they can understand. a person's own legal representation or the hospital's patient advocates sometimes help bridge this gap, but many times these people are also nakedly ableist, and fundamentally it's ableism that is exacerbating this tension.

obviously there will also always be some cases where it's simply impossible to get consent from the patient themself (for example, my uncle had a pituitary tumour that made him suddenly and irreversibly experience a total break from reality, resolved only after his wife consented to surgery on his behalf) -- in those cases, yeah, medicine sometimes means intervening without a direct yes from the patient. but the reality is that many people who are currently considered unable to communicate, choose, or advocate for themselves are in fact capable of a trying to do those things -- they're simply not being granted that right in current social/economic conditions. this often includes people dealing with neurodegenerative conditions btw -- these are incredibly difficult conditions, i won't pretend otherwise, but it is a myth that they completely and instantly rob a person of all ability to formulate preferences about medical treatment or quality of life, or to express those preferences.

[sigmaleph]

hm. i don't quite understand how the four humours relate to the similarly named substances that we do actually know exist in our body

like, blood seems easy, right. we all know what blood is, i have to assume that when Galen or whomstever talked about blood-the-humour they were talking about the red thing that leaks out of your body when injured, even if they wouldn't have understood what it was made of and ascribed it entirely different properties.

but then there's phlegm. there's a real thing called phlegm. i would also expect it to have been familiar as a concept to anyone who remotely paid attention to the human body for the last couple thousand years? we keep coughing it out when sick and all. but then i find this passage in wikipedia:

The phlegm of Humourism is far from the same thing as phlegm as it is defined today. Nobel laureate Charles Richet MD, when describing humorism's "phlegm or pituitary secretion" in 1910 asked rhetorically, "this strange liquid, which is the cause of tumours, of chlorosis, of rheumatism, and cacochymia - where is it? Who will ever see it? Who has ever seen it? What can we say of this fanciful classification of humours into four groups, of which two are absolutely imaginary?"

the two he agrees are real are blood and yellow bile, so apparently he agrees that humours can be 'real' even if the theory of humours says all sorts of weird things about them that aren't true. but then why exclude phlegm? is the phlegm of humours people entirely unrelated to phlegm as in sputum? why do they have the same name, then?

and then there's the biles. yellow bile and black bile. bile is a real thing, and it is yellowish; Richet grants that yellow bile is the same thing as it. Is there anything that could plausibly be matched with black bile in reality, and what is it called?

[muppenthings]

Hey, I was wondering if you could maybe elaborate a little bit more on Cetus' gigantism thing.

Absolutely! Fantasy medical talk incoming!

Cetus is a Freshwater mer (this is important xD). As the name indicates, they live mainly in rivers and brackish water (they are capable of breathing saltwater however, they just need time to get used to it). They are much more sensetive to changes in the water than their saltwater dwelling relatives. So a mer living in polluted water for the duration of pregnancy could cause the offspring to be born with genetic mutations. Like Cetus' gigantism.

His pituitary gland (the gland that's in charge of producing, and telling other organs to produce, hormones) is constantly producing growth hormone. It's not because of a tumour or anything, he's just constantly growing. So the humans have to give him medicine to regulate his hormones; by stopping the production of growth hormone. It's a monthly intramuscular injection that he loathes. It does have some side effects. Like the injection causes pain, redness and swelling (only for a few days, but still). The medicine makes him nauseous and gives him abdominal pain and headaches. They also last for a few days.

But Cetus doesn't exactly have a choice. If he's not medicated, he will keep growing indefinitely. Or at least for as long as he's got a food source. But as you can imagine he'd wreak havoc on the entire ocean before ultimately starving. :/

Fun fact: The medication was one of the reasons little Cetus ran/swam away from the humans in the first place. They were experimenting with the medicine, giving him different kinds and such. Unfortunately the different medicine and doses made him feel very sick, the injections hurt and nobody really comforted him properly. So he escaped in a temper tantrum. Then he got lost and just kept swimming. xD

[deanwax]

Chloe

I remember the neon-blue Alizé in the bottle Leftover from the trip down South I walked home from the dinner party on a warm and fuzzy high Then dragged myself back up the hill in the morning The house looked peaceful from the outside when I drove away Later I heard about your mum falling during cleanup Her head almost hit the kitchen counter The tumour was so close to the pituitary gland

(she says brain fluid tastes like saltwater)

I remember the dark shapes of the seaweed on the sand As I privately confess in awkward words, the unfairness How cruel it is that she can’t conceive after trying so hard She’d be the best mum and she deserves her own I don’t remember her saying much It was probably too painful We talk about her job instead Still social work but less stress if she gets it

(your mum is very patient with me)

I remember the taste of carrot cake in my mouth Your mum’s smile as she tells me “I love how she goes,” she says to our friends’ giggling, and it’s true I can’t stop my feet whipping back and forth across the carpet Too-big feelings stick with me for months I take her hand after the Van Gogh exhibit You are showing underneath her sundress I tell her I am so excited that you are coming

(it’s like no time at all has passed)

I remember extra servings at Bort’s birthday The exhilarating swing between confusion and joy What it means that your parents are gone Hello! I am so happy to meet you You are the smallest little bundle, a perfect sweet potato I am gently scolded for hogging the baby But I just want to stare at you like a weirdo And wonder what you’ll do

(it’s true I did hog you a little bit)

I remember my hand is the width of your back You are pale and pink and impossibly warm Every act of eating is pure carnage You are so proud of your little teeths You will probably walk before the year is out I can't wait to talk with you I don't know what kind of stuff you will like yet We're all so excited to see

(Please don't hate me too much as a toddler) (I know you might) (It's okay)

[balthazarslostlibrary]

Thinking about the time when I got a blood test done and the lab technician wrote in big capital letters that I had dangerously low testosterone levels and I should seek immediate healthcare because of the risk of a testicular or pituitary tumour.

Turns out they were using a male range for my hormone levels even though I'd been on E and a T-blocker for over a year. And they just. Didn't check my patient notes.

The next time I had a blood test ordered, my doctor had written 'TRANS' in big red capital letters on the order form so they couldn't miss it and cause another minor heart attack.

[airyairyaucontraire]

learned a new word today, "galactorrhea"

which sounds... sort of terrifying

or maybe a good name for a death metal band with an outer space theme

but actually means spontaneous lactation not associated with childbirth or nursing (can happen to people who've never been pregnant in the first place, cisgender men, transgender women, etc)

it can be caused by hormonal dysregulation or thyroid problems, possibly a tumour in/on the pituitary gland, or as a side effect of some medications (obviously HRT and/or birth control pills, but also certain antipsychotics), but apparently no obvious cause is found in about 50% of cases

flipping heck people's bodies are surprising

[mistywitcher]

something i didn’t anticipate was being able to feel the tumour in my head.

AND THATS FREAKY.

i’ve had this constant low key headache for about a month, and have no realised ITS LITERALLY MY TUMOUR.

tina tumour is not cool.

tina tumour needs to be taken out.

fuck u tina tumour

[absolutelyfibulas]

Longer version of my earlier medical post:

Basically because my TSH levels are normal, GP is leaning towards PCOS rather than Hypothyroid (there is some crossover in symptoms), buuuut my prolactin levels were through the roof so they need to rule out a pituitary tumour - hence the MRI. I also need an ultrasound for PCOS checking, and another blood test in a month or two, but the scans probably won't be until the new year (because NHS).

I also have quite low B12 and folate levels, so I've got medically prescribed supplements for the next month or two, as well as tablets to induce a period. So that's gonna be fun > . >;

That said, while a bit like "ugh more tests :I" it's good to know where we're going! And also that I can be like "well if I feel sleepy that's For Reasons and not me being lazy uwu". Which relieves some of the mental shame load XD

[eightbitpale]

I can’t stop thinking about this. I came back to find this post, because I can’t stop thinking about it.

When I was ten years old, my mother had a surgery to remove a brain tumour the size of a golf ball from her pituitary gland. The surgery had massive complications. She was in hospital for nearly a year. She was critically ill for most of that. But when she got sick, something weird started to happen. Everyone - from family members to random strangers - couldn’t stop fucking complimenting my dad.

I distinctly remember some random adult joking to me (a child!) that if mummy didn't get better soon, daddy was going to find himself a girlfriend. Another person told us he was a saint for not running off with one of the “hot PTA mums” who brought us sympathy casseroles on the weekends.

Now, my parents have always had a remarkably healthy, egalitarian marriage. They taught my siblings and I that it was a basic standard - to be a loving equal with your spouse. And I wasn’t a totally sheltered kid, I knew that not everyone’s family was like that. But fucking hell. Hearing people compliment my dad for not cheating on his dying wife? That was when it really sunk in, that it wasn’t actually the basic standard at all.

Because husbands are, on some level, forgiven when they slack off, when they fuck up, when they cut and run. Wives are not.

And the men who stay might be called saints, but the ones who leave are still totally understandable. We almost expect it of them.

So yes, the “straight men can and will leave their dying wives” phenomenon is real. And according to an alarming number of people, my mother is supposed to be grateful that it didn’t happen to her. Fuck them. Never stay with a man who wouldn’t do the bare fucking minimum.

[crossborderscare]

Life After Pituitary Tumor Surgery in India

Going through a diagnosis of a pituitary tumor can be exhausting, while surgery can help strengthen the body and reclaim one’s life. Understanding life after pituitary tumor surgery is significant for both patients and their families to take extra care—the journey filled with challenges, adaptations, and, ultimately, hope.

The Surgical Journey

The journey starts with monitoring preoperative symptoms and diagnostic reports. Doctors prefer the best approach for smooth recovery. Several minimally invasive techniques are available, such as the transsphenoidal approach, where the tumor is accessed through the nose and sphenoid sinus. The surgery helps alleviate symptoms and remove tumors, which leads to the recovery process. 

Can You Live a Full Life With a Pituitary Tumour

Immediate Recovery

Follow-up is essential after pituitary tumor surgery for close monitoring. Your doctor will monitor several post-operative symptoms, such as headaches, nasal congestion, and fatigue. It is important to consult with the medical team. The hospital stay after surgery may take a couple of days; however, it depends on the patient's recovery. 

Hormonal Changes

Hormonal Changes are one of the common monitoring aspects after the surgery. Low pituitary hormone is a matter of concern because it plays a crucial role in regulating other hormones that affect various bodily functions. To help out with hormonal deficiencies after pituitary tumor surgery, doctors prefer hormone therapy to restore balance. 

Physical Recovery and Rehabilitation

Physical recovery starts with everyday activities. You need gradual steps to regain strength. You can start with walking or stretching, which can aid recovery without overexerting the body. Remember, patients should listen to their body's requirements and work accordingly. If you have any doubts, contact your healthcare provider for personalized advice. 

Long-Term Health Monitoring

Life after pituitary tumor surgery should consist of long-term health monitoring. Regular imaging tests and blood work confirm that there is no recurrence of the tumor and that hormone levels are stable. 

What are the symptoms of pituitary disorder?

These follow-ups are essential for maintaining body health and preventing future challenges. Understanding the journey from scratch will ensure that you are taking the right measures. 

Ask Your Doctor? 

Here are a couple of things you can ask your doctor:

Follow-ups and test requirements after surgery. 

A summary of your diagnosis, tests, and treatment you received. 

After surgery, side effects include what to watch for and when to contact the healthcare provider. 

Suggestion on diet and physical activity. 

Embracing a New Normal

Although life after pituitary tumor treatment is more embracing and good, patients need to take care of basic practices such as meditation or yoga. It gives mental and physical strength together. Additionally, doing new things to keep yourself active and that bring joy can enhance your quality of life.

Key Takeaway! 

The journey of recovery after pituitary tumor surgery includes physical healing, emotional resilience, and ongoing health management. However, some issues can be resolved by understanding and extra care. Having support from medical professionals, close ones, and colleagues can make an impactful difference in overcoming the journey. 

If you are from outside India, such as Thailand, Kenya, or Bangladesh, and looking for the best medical facility for your pituitary tumor treatment, then connect with Cross Border Care. Our dedicated team will help you with each step, from consultation to after-surgery requirements. Embracing each day with hope and determination paves the way for a fulfilling post-surgery life.

Read Also This Blog :-

Cost of Bentall Surgery in India: Factors, Estimates, and Savings Tips

[ssjandtechno]

Just FYI, there are some topical medicines which genuinely could be dangerous to smaller creatures (pets/children) because of differing surface area:volume ratios. There are some topical medicines used in animals which can block certain hormone pathways, which could be a serious problem if a toddler cuddled the cat. Sometimes, though.... There was a case of a castrated male dog who suddenly developed gynecomastia (big boobs), and the vet had no idea why. No gonads to have a gonad tumour on, no other signs to suggest a pituitary tumour, dog not otherwise chubby, development too even and 'normal' to be a mamary cancer... The dog's owner was a menopausal woman taking HRT to manage her symptoms. She was applying topical oestrogen to her thighs. Her dog liked to come and lie his bald tummy across in her lap in the evenings.

I saw a post a little while ago that I'll never find again, but it's still bugging me. It was written like a PSA about proper procedure for applying testosterone gel--mainly, how you're not supposed to let it get on anyone else's skin.

And that's correct. But the post went hard on it, like "please, please be aware of the risks of this medication, it can do so much damage to others if you're not careful, I just think we should be honest about the advantages and disadvantages of medications like this."

It could've been sincere, but it gave me concern-trolling vibes real bad and I can't get it out of my head. So here's my PSA:

Don't slap on your T-gel and then immediately rub your bare bicep on anyone.

Once 2 hours have passed, the remaining amount available to be absorbed is negligible. The med guide says to wash your bicep before you rub it on anyone, but even that's being extremely cautious.

Testosterone isn't poison. If you apply a full dose every day, it still takes months before anything noticeable happens. It's not going to kill someone who accidentally touches your skin for .5 milliseconds.

You do not have to handle T-gel like it's drain cleaner. It's not corrosive. Cis women have testosterone. It's a thing that humans have in our bodies. Avoid getting your medication onto anyone else, but holy shit nothing bad is gonna happen if you forget one time and snuggle shirtless.

T-gel is alcohol-based, so it's best to refrain from being on fire until it has dried thoroughly.

Don't put it on your dick. If you've ever accidentally or on purpose gotten IcyHot on your dick, you have an intuitive understanding of how the skin there differs from bicep skin. Also, the effects of testosterone gel don't localize like that and your dick is fine, I promise.

Don't eat it. I don't know why you'd want to, but don't.

Don't leave the bottle out around little kids on account of little kids being the way that they are, i.e., enthusiastic about potions.