Health Problems

Wasn't criticizing was just curious. I wouldn't take any medical advice here as actual.medical advice anyways

Noodleface said:

Wasn't criticizing was just curious. I wouldn't take any medical advice here as actual.medical advice anyways

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Love me som eye-anus. He's got what most docs lack, communication skills, always interesting.
Curious, Noodleface , what are you doing in the health thread then?

Izo said:

Love me som eye-anus. He's got what most docs lack, communication skills, always interesting.
Curious, Noodleface , what are you doing in the health thread then?

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Sorry, I meant in the way like "izo said it's this so it must be". I look for general opinions so I have some idea

Noodleface said:

Sorry, I meant in the way like "izo said it's this so it must be". I look for general opinions so I have some idea

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You're one weird dude, Noodleface - carry on

It's like lawyers saying "this isn't legal advice but"

Sorry if that's not clear

You mean you still let your doctor diagnose you even after FoH has? That's weird man...

uvulitis has to be on the top 5 list of things that are profoundly annoying but not serious enough to go to the hospital on a sunday for.

Kuriin said:

As others have mentioned, aspirin is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication -- the same type of class of naproxen/aleve (the difference with aspirin is it is an anti-platelet aggregrator, taking longer for blood to clot). Chronic use of these medications MAY lead to stomach ulcers and bloody stool. This is why we always recommend our patients to take NSAIDs with food. I am ALL for ibuprofen for bone pain, especially dental pain. Narcotics and tylenol will not touch that.

edit: Hate to say, I do take offense to that iannis . The nurses are there before the doctors and make suggestions to the physicians, especially in trauma centers and teaching hospitals. I will often teach medical students and residents on skills, patho, and drugs.

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It is difficult to overstate the importance of no shit on the walls, though. That's no small thing.

Maintenance and actionable treatment plans, that's nursing. Of course you're supposed to teach. But some people get prickly, both professionals and clients. You know how it is.

Kuriin said:

Yes and no. If it becomes an airway issue -- where the swelling is so profound, then yes, you need to go to the hospital stat.

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dont call me a stat, im a human being!!!

but yeah right now its purely at the annoying phase of having an organ in a sensitive place unexpectedly be three times its normal size. Swallowing is now a process I have to concentrate on to accomplish properly. Oh and my sleep apnea is probably bumped up to severe+ until the swelling goes down. So I suppose there's a danger of me asphyxiating in my sleep tonight.

I've been dealing with some health issues for the past year in a debilitating way and prolly 3-5 years before that as a minor annoyance.

Background: I have some service connecting breathing issues from burn pit exposure in Iraq. No family history of bowel problems.

Issue: Started having some minor anal bleeding towards the end of my enlistment, thought it was a hemorrhoid. Fast forward to last January wife finally convinces me to see a Dr. about it. Get a colonoscopy scheduled and the bowel prep fucking ruins my shit. Severe abdominal cramps to the point where I couldn't walk morning of the procedure. Dr. does his thing and I'm diagnosed with Ulcerative Proctitis and incorrectly with kidney cancer (that was fun). Ended up in the ER a couple of times over the past year when symptoms have gotten out of control.

From that point forward the abdominal cramping has been more or less continuous, I often lose motor control of my lower body and fall, my ears will loudly ring pretty often but most severely just before the pain hits me. Mental fog was a severe issue until I started working with a dietician. Cleaning up my diet and following a LEAP protocol (food sensitivity testing) has helped quite a bit but this is still sometimes a problem. I get a rash on one of my hands that gets worse as my symptoms increase. I don't have the 'urgency' issue that is often paired with Ulcerative Colitis/Proctitis, not really shitting my pants. I was an athlete and lost ~30lbs during the first couple months of this. Outside of these problems I'm ridiculously healthy which I think has worked against me when seeing Drs.

Civilian care has mostly been useless. I've been shuffled around for ~8 months really only being offered pain medication to resolve the issue. I'm currently working with the VA and have another colonoscopy scheduled tomorrow which, if I'm being honest, has me a little shook considering last time, hence the post.

Curious if any of you have experienced or seen this sort of thing before. I feel like my symptoms are atypical for my diagnosis and GI docs have told me they don't really know how to help. Hoping the VA has more for me.

Flobee said:

Curious if any of you have experienced or seen this sort of thing before. I feel like my symptoms are atypical for my diagnosis and GI docs have told me they don't really know how to help. Hoping the VA has more for me.

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I honestly can't offer anything other than support, and tell you not to give up. I've been dealing a mystery illness for 5 years now, I've had a wide range of symptoms that have led doctors to suggest everything from MS to cancer/sarcomas. Years ago I did alot of haz-mat related work, everything from asbestos to minor radioactive cleanups, and plenty of nasty shit in between. Doctors been distracted by that for years. I always took that shit serious, never had any exposure.

My current doc has the opinion it's all traced back to a back/spinal injury at work 5 years ago, which led to my spine/pelvis shifting & degenerating. My spine/pelvis now basically looks like a bad case of scoliosis, my spine started to get really bad a year ago. The pelvis issues are more on my left side, like everything is starting to collapse inward. I have frequent balance issues, I have frequent spastic issues with my hands, like I lose control over them for a split second, same deal with my left leg. My guts and bowels are completely messed up, I really won't go into details there. I even have eye problems, and various cognitive issues. The lumps I have all around my spine and pelvis are supposedly little bits of bone that have migrated a bit over the years. That shit has been terrifying me for years, but apparently its just a weird yet simple explanation, that every doc & test has missed until now. All incredibly painful, and I'm stubborn as fuck and refuse to take painkillers. Just a lot of weed, and I take THC & CBD tinctures as well. Light Ibuprofen use, just for inflammation. I'm at the point now that I can no longer be stubborn, and have been giving in and filling scripts.

Whole lot of messed up problems all over my body, all traced to a back injury 5 years ago, that wasn't properly treated. Every single doc up until now absolutely brainless, and completely ignored it. Guess that's my point, sometimes it's simple things that go ignored, that lead to serious issues that cause a chain reaction throughout your body.

Still don't have full answers yet, the wheel turns slowly here in Canuckistan. Least I know I'm not dying, WCB will be getting an asswhupping though, considering it was their doc that signed off that I just had a back sprain, and ended my claim. Almost not worth it really, I used to make more in a year, than WCB pays out for a lump sum for a permanent disability/limb loss type claims. The medical benefits are worthwhile though, it's like having premium tier healthcare, while all the plebs have to wait for months.

Cynical said:

Whole lot of messed up problems all over my body, all traced to a back injury 5 years ago, that wasn't properly treated. Every single doc up until now absolutely brainless, and completely ignored it. Guess that's my point, sometimes it's simple things that go ignored, that lead to serious issues that cause a chain reaction throughout your body.

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Thanks man. I've had some back injuries over the years and this is something that I hadn't even considered. I'll keep this in mind if my current track doesn't prove fruitful. Appreciate you taking the time to let me know. Hope you get your issues figured out, or at least get your pass to the front of the line.

You're athletic, are you outdoorsy?

There is emerging research about tick borne illness, one in particular is a meat allergy called alpha-gal. I only mention it because it's one of those mystery disease and there is a test for it. You also mentioned that dietary restrictions helped you out more than anything else so far.

But if you're only experiencing abdominal cramping then most likely not. You should be getting swelling in other areas of your body too. Still, it's a name that you could ask a doctor or dietician about.

Alphagal is surprisingly bad. We use meat byproducts in a whole lot of stuff, even when they're not listed. The gel in gelcaps? Meat proteins in those. Ever wonder what "artificial flavoring" means on an ingredient list? It probably means ground pig or cow hooves.

iannis said:

You're athletic, are you outdoorsy?

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Not particularly. I've heard some about Alphagal and it sounds absolutely horrible. For me the diet changes were in response to blood testing for food sensitivites that my dietician had be do. In my case I had 22(!) foods that I was sensitive to. Things like corn, wheat, soy, black pepper. You know, the kind of stuff that means you can't eat anything anyone else cooks period lol. Meat doesn't seem to be an issue for me fortunately.

Flobee health saga continues.

Had a colonoscopy on Tuesday. On Thursday I collapsed at work and started having convulsions. After a ride to the ER via ambulance I'm more or less left where I was last year. Another colonoscopy, another disproportionate physical response from my body. Got another abdominal CT and the cyst on my kidney that had been flagged as possible cancer last year gets flagged again, but I guess it is 2 inches bigger this time.

"Increased size of previously seen right lower renal pole complex cyst with multiple enhancing septa strongly suspicious for renal malignancy. Urology consultation strongly recommended for further management"

Guess its time to see a different Urologist this time. Last one said I was fine, but then again he did spend most of the appointment talking about his sweet new gig on the west coast. Whoops. Would rather be 2x as sick and know what the issue is than be like this and still have no clue. Luckily my work is now 100% on board with me just WFH until shit gets settled.