I just got word earlier today that my stepgrandmother, who has basically replaced the grandmother on my mother's side that I'm pretty much estranged from, is likely going to die of pneumonia. Since I had gotten pneumonia myself and her symptoms weren't nearly as obvious as mine has been, I had convinced myself over the last few days that she was going to be fine. Sure, I was kidding myself that a ninety year old woman had a good chance against an infection that's notorious for killing the elderly. Maybe it was that even though her lungs are only able to naturally intake ten percent of her lung capacity, yet she still tries to get up and walk around so she can "get better." It's hard for me to accept that someone so strong and so willing to live can die.

But something really occurred to me through this. My natural grandmother on my father's side passed away last year. Every time I have been to the hospital for this ordeal of emotions, I'm struck by the professionalism and caring that the nurses and doctors show us. Both times, its been an enormous comfort--not only that you're willing and able to try to make their last days as comfortable as possible, but the simple sympathy you show. That you're willing to walk us through the completely alien process of preparing for the possibility of further hospitalization, hospice care, or the inevitable. I know that there are probably a good bit of you going through nursing or getting your doctorate, or in some part of the process, and I just want to say Thank You.

I just want to thank anyone who works in the medical sector for not getting completely desensitized to the everyday death and tragedy you encounter. Even if it's not always genuine, thank you for showing it. You'd have to be a bit desensitized in order to survive to a certain extent, but thank you for not losing your humanity. Even if you've worked more than should be legal in one day and your feet and head are killing you, thank you for the patience and the knowing smile. Sure, certain case workers who do better with these delicate interpersonal matters are probably assigned to things like this especially, but still. I'm sure they've seen the gamut of human emotion, and some of it has no doubt been put onto you by patients' families too frustrated with their inability to alter fate. You don't get the luxury of acting on your bad day when you tend to the dying, you have to cheerfully go clean up their excrement and give them more meds. And you still go in every day.

Every level of the totem pole and every unconnected member of the medical profession during these times has been nothing but a comfort. The hospice worker who looked after my paternal grandmother came to her funeral and probably cried even more than I did, and offered lots of reassurance to me personally every time I broke my composure. She didn't even know my grandma at her best--only after a stroke had made her permanently disoriented and not completely herself--and she still felt that much. That simply cannot be bought. In addition to Keith Olbermann being totally right about everything concerning this, thank you all for what you do.
It's appreciated.

I got my xray results in FINALLY, but I no longer have a doctor. I don't even know where she went, that bitch. All of the sudden, I went to her office once and someone else was there.
But now, I have my report.

And I don't know what it meeeans.
I have no idea if nurses know, since I was supposed to be seeing a specialist, but they left-ed me.

I have areas of sclerosis in my left wrist, which probably show enostosis.
I also have pleuritis?
...What are these things? I took these tests quite a while back, and since my doctor vanished, she never sent me the results. I tried to look these things up, and just got WUT. The internet is trying to fuck with me.

But I figured maybe you'd have some idea.

The imaging centre is kinda a middle man, and only sends the reports out to the requesting doctor. I happened to be there, and asked about it, and they gave me a brief printout and made me leave.
(I showed up cause I want my x-rays for my wall you see...)

I unfortunately, have the least in depth report ever, and they won't GIVE me the film. It's seriously like, three pages, mostly space, for around 40 x-rays. "There is a region of sclerosis that likely represents enostosis." The mineralization is normal, no soft tissue swelling is evident, no degenerative ostephyte formation or osseous erosion, and the joint spaces are maintained. (which makes no sense to me.) My wrists DO hurt, but the normal one seems to hurt more... (I had all my wrists and ankles, a shoulder, my chest, and more I haven't yet received. Wherever my rheumatologist is, she has them all, that bitch.) Regardless, my wrist is just STUPID and doesn't do things correctly anyway. (I can't really use that hand all too well.) And they've hurt for years, but the other says its normal, and that's the only difference in the two.

And yes, my chest HATES me. It hates me good. I guess it feels like... there's a cloud in there? It's kinda hard to explain. It also wakes me up at night, and somehow, also makes waking up in the morning difficult. (I've been like this for years.) What's odd to me though, is that it also says that up top in my patient history. I didn't tell them that, I don't know what it is!!

And actually, this worries me, because I apparently have a pericardial effusion that I couldn't complete treatment for, due to it was doing more bad than good. (They decided that year ago after many x-rays, listenings and monitoring me 24/7) They sound kinda conflicting, and dammit, I want a second opinion.

At least I know where my GP is. Guess I should go find a spot in line...

Also, my sister went to her yesterday, and she got tested for anorexia related issues, and diabetes just in case. Too bad the eating more fell on deaf ears. But we're starting to get her worked out.

allegoriest wrote:

"There is a region of sclerosis that likely represents enostosis." The mineralization is normal, no soft tissue swelling is evident, no degenerative ostephyte formation or osseous erosion, and the joint spaces are maintained. (which makes no sense to me.)

There is a region of hardening that likely represents mature bone excess in the marrow cavity. Bone density is normal, no sign of inflammation, no bone spurs (this would have been my first suspicion based on wrist pain and shittiness), no bone loss, and no swelling or loss of fluid in the joints.

In other words, all the things that would make your wrist hurt that would be related to issues with your bone aren't there. The enostosis unless it's doing something very weird shouldn't hurt--it'd be the bone spurs, or osteophytes, that would. My mother has them all along her spine to the point where several vertebra are more or less fused together. My mother takes the absolute upper limit of ibuprofen, tylenol, and codeine. And still wakes up crying in pain pretty much every night. Bone spurs suck.

allegoriest wrote:

Wherever my rheumatologist is, she has them all, that bitch.) Regardless, my wrist is just STUPID and doesn't do things correctly anyway. (I can't really use that hand all too well.) And they've hurt for years, but the other says its normal, and that's the only difference in the two.

Frankly where it relates to your wrists, I don't think the x-rays are helping her narrow down what's wrong with you too much.

allegoriest wrote:

pericardial effusion

pleuritis is to the lungs as pericardial effusion is to the heart

These are probably the same issue, and yeah, it didn't get resolved. What were you getting treated with? If there's crap in the pleural space--whether it's excess fluid, blood, air, whatever, it's gonna hurt until it comes out and the body isn't too good at doing that without a bit of help.

chrisb wrote:

Yay tinea versia is gone but now I have like a huge ass painful burn on my neck from the selenium. Lotions make it burn what would you recommend Gio?

Also what are some good ways to relieve mucus in the lungs, I have an pneumonia.

Leave the skin alone and let it get as much air as possible. Don't wash it. Seriously, let soap from your hair run over it, but that kind of irritation does best left alone--the only thing I'd suggest is aloe. And make sure it's the pure aloe gel, nothing with alcohols or oils or any kind. Test it on your hand--you should be able to feel a breeze through the gel. (As opposed to when you put on more greasy lotions.) Think of it like it's a sunburn. It's pretty much physiologically the same with regards to how you deal with it.

Guaifenesin. This is a regular OTC expectorant you can get at Walgreens or whatever else. DO NOT GET IT COMBINED WITH DEXTROMETHORPHAN. That's a cough suppressant, and you don't want that. You just want to get the mucus up. Take the guaifenesin, and LOADS OF WATER.

If you wanna get hardcore serious, yes you're gonna laff, but lie down and let someone beat on your lung fields.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqWvolJ0 … re=related That's a basic how-to. It's not rocket science though--try to get a little upside down and then beat on the lung fields (anywhere there are ribs). This knocks the secretions around and makes them easier to hack up. If you think this is hogwash, know that years of life are added or taken away to people with cystic fibrosis depending on whether they do their CPT treatments.

hmm. I have this lump in my stomach. It's on the left side, maybe a couple of inches above my waistline. It's not apparent to the eye at all, and I'd say it's about an inch in diameter. It's nothing new, it's been there for years. I don't remember a time when it wasn't there honestly, though I'm sure it hasn't been there more than ten years. It's never changed or anything, same old lump. Except in the last couple of days, I've had some pain right there. Hernia? Tumor? Cyst? Any way of knowing which without an x-ray?

This is a little silly and may not be strictly your realm of expertise, but...
What causes ticklishness? Why aren't some people ticklish, while I start writhing almost as soon as I get prodded? Is there anything I can do to be less ticklish?

Even when you've taken you tests, can you continue to answer questions? I find this thread very useful, and informative.

Arki wrote:

Just to quickly chime in on the ticklishness question, I used to be rather ticklish before and then I kind of just decided not to be. And it worked! Not right away (that would have been kind of scary), but with determination and practice. At first I was kinda too proud to admit it still tickles, but then after a while it really did stop to tickle. Sort of in that 'the more you tickle me the less I'm ticklish' way. I wonder if that's because I tried to make an effort or because I simply got older? I know I've had situations where I wish I was still ticklish and somehow the desire for it triggers some sort of lost feeling... If only slightly.

I haven't learned about it in class exactly, but I would assume being ticklish is an evolutionary mechanism, since most non-human things that would cause it NEED TO BE BATTED OFF YOU IMMEDIATELY GET THIS SPIDER AWAY GAWD. Light touch is interpreted very strangely by the body, I almost wonder if neurologically we're in an awkward transitory phase there--we're losing hair, which is for most mammals a fundamental component of light-touch sensation. Our thinning fur keeps us from using it to just wind direction, things around us...and piloerection, or goosebumps, is effectively useless for us though we still have the mechanisms. I almost wonder if our bodies haven't sufficiently altered light-touch nerve endings to compensate for the loss. I can't stand waxing my arms for this reason, they feel numb. And while I'll shave my legs because it's gross, whenever I've been furry, I've had a much larger sensory range.

Guess my take on pubes.

Syora wrote:

Gio, I've been going to the gym three times a week for the past few months, and I've started developing a kink in my knee. I noticed it cracking or popping mostly while working my hamstrings or during lunges. It went away for a bit, and now it's back in the form of a dull ache whenever I'm on the bicycle. I've been told that once it hurts you should start worrying. I've also heard that running is notoriously bad for joints. Do you have any suggestions? I feel like I've been told a mish-mash of mumbo-jumbo and I'm not sure what to think.

As a rule, if it's a muscle, you overworked it. If it's a tendon or ligament, tread carefully, stretch it, and give it a rest. Joint pain is never normal after more than a day or so, although cracking and popping can be pretty normal for some people. I have a couple joints they almost always crack while I work out and I can crack my back, which terrifies Yasha sometimes. I've not worked out in like two weeks now, mostly because I'm lazy, but partly because I'm getting mad because I'm increasingly aware of something wrong with my left hip. When I squat, one leg bends more than the other, and it hurts to rotate the joint out. I actually sometimes hurt lifting the leg from a supine position. This is, frankly, a problem. But in true classic nurse style, I'll give you good advice and ignore it for myself. ;) Being as you have magichappyCanadasurance, I would suggest having it looked at--if the cracking and popping is new for you, a bit of air or debris might be in your joint.

Running is horrible for the joints, but a person's tolerance for it depends strongly on their own physical makeup. Some people can run until they are blue in the face, others can't. Most people are somewhere in the middle; the right shoes, the right pavement, knowing the body mechanics, etc. You're pretty small so running isn't anathema to you on those grounds; if you want to take it up, I would definitely get your knee resolved first, and then do a little research on how to run. I know that sounds asinine, as you've been doing it since you were a kid, but it will make a difference. It's like any other exercise in that it's easy to do and easy to fuck up--people ruin themselves weightlifting, not because they're squatting too much weight, but because their form was bad. Same's true with running.

Fellow bone cracker here...I get to freak people out by cracking my neck, back and other random body parts. Hopefully that is not harmful to me now or in the future??? In your personal opinion how hard would it be for a woman of 25/26 to selectively get sterilized?

Giovanna wrote:

As a rule, if it's a muscle, you overworked it. If it's a tendon or ligament, tread carefully, stretch it, and give it a rest. Joint pain is never normal after more than a day or so, although cracking and popping can be pretty normal for some people. I have a couple joints they almost always crack while I work out and I can crack my back, which terrifies Yasha sometimes. I've not worked out in like two weeks now, mostly because I'm lazy, but partly because I'm getting mad because I'm increasingly aware of something wrong with my left hip. When I squat, one leg bends more than the other, and it hurts to rotate the joint out. I actually sometimes hurt lifting the leg from a supine position. This is, frankly, a problem. But in true classic nurse style, I'll give you good advice and ignore it for myself. ;) Being as you have magichappyCanadasurance, I would suggest having it looked at--if the cracking and popping is new for you, a bit of air or debris might be in your joint.

Running is horrible for the joints, but a person's tolerance for it depends strongly on their own physical makeup. Some people can run until they are blue in the face, others can't. Most people are somewhere in the middle; the right shoes, the right pavement, knowing the body mechanics, etc. You're pretty small so running isn't anathema to you on those grounds; if you want to take it up, I would definitely get your knee resolved first, and then do a little research on how to run. I know that sounds asinine, as you've been doing it since you were a kid, but it will make a difference. It's like any other exercise in that it's easy to do and easy to fuck up--people ruin themselves weightlifting, not because they're squatting too much weight, but because their form was bad. Same's true with running.

Oh I'm so sorry to hear about your hip, I hate it when an ache interferes with exercising. I think your suggestion to research how to run properly without straining joints is a great idea; I have looked up how to run efficiently so that you get the most out of your stride and posture, but I hadn't even thought of that. Maybe I should buy new shoes though, mine are worn ragged. The clinic was totally backlogged (there were 20 people ahead of me), so I decided to go back tomorrow. I hope there's nothing in the joint, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks for the input!

Giovanna wrote:

SexingTouga24/7/365 wrote:

Fellow bone cracker here...I get to freak people out by cracking my neck, back and other random body parts. Hopefully that is not harmful to me now or in the future??? In your personal opinion how hard would it be for a woman of 25/26 to selectively get sterilized?

Honestly, it's not. It's a physical variation. If you crack it and it hurts...problem. Later down the line someone might tell you you don't have enough fluid in the joint, but by the time you hear that, everyone else has joint pain too for every other reason.

Not gonna happen. Trust me. No one, but no one, for no reason, will voluntarily sterilize a 25 year old, especially if she has no kids. I begged my surgeon to cut my tubes while he was in there and he looked at me like I was asking him to eat babies. Tubal ligation is very hard to get without having a couple children already and/or being over 30. I don't blame the doctors for this--it's almost irreversible and women do often regret it if they haven't had kids yet, but because of that, those that truly mean it lose out. I wouldn't even bother asking, to be honest, unless you have some condition that makes it hazardous or a genetic issue you don't want to give to kids.

Pretty much confirms what I have heard regarding sterilization for non medical reasons for females. (Are getting vasectomies easier? ) I think that getting laser endometrial ablation, might help me reduce/eliminate my fertility and periods based on causal research. I just want it for convenience sake; I don't have disabling periods and I guess I might be able to play up a medical condition, slightly shitty genetics. No major known disorders...Unless being a random, hidden asshole counts.

My mom has Cellulitis really badly on one leg and has just been released from the hospital. Her mobility is functional but slow and painful it seems. Any common sense things you can suggest I do around the house to make it safer for her to be alone? I don't want her to fall alone. Me and her husband have to work.

Last edited by SexingTouga24/7/365 (03-29-2010 09:15:06 PM)

Actually, I can answer the vasectomy procedure question. It is almost a trivial thing for men, I'm planning on having it done myself as soon as I can manage. Plus, with men, it's frequently reversible. I'm not sure if it's easier on men just because our tubes are so much closer to the surface or what, but that's how it is.