Health scares.

[mikehz]

 Due to asbestos exposure long ago, I used to be required on my job as a stationary engineer to get an annual chest x-ray. One year, I got a call back. “We spotted something on your lung.” I had to go in for a follow-up. Fortunately, it turned out to be scarring from bad allergies and not asbestoses. Turned out, they had just switched to a new, better machine, and the old one hadn’t caught it before.

That was many years ago and there’s been no change since.

My only doctor concern now is that my new doctor is a woman from Nigeria. She’s by far the hottest doctor I have ever had, or ever even seen. Honestly, she could get a job as a model. I’m a bit concerned because on my next appointment my prostate exam is due. I’m afraid there may be a…undo reaction. 

[Cognitive Dissident]

Due to asbestos exposure long ago, I used to be required on my job as a stationary engineer to get an annual chest x-ray. One year, I got a call back. “We spotted something on your lung.” I had to go in for a follow-up. Fortunately, it turned out to be scarring from bad allergies and not asbestoses. Turned out, they had just switched to a new, better machine, and the old one hadn’t caught it before.

That was many years ago and there’s been no change since.

My only doctor concern now is that my new doctor is a woman from Nigeria. She’s by far the hottest doctor I have ever had, or ever even seen. Honestly, she could get a job as a model. I’m a bit concerned because on my next appointment my prostate exam is due. I’m afraid there may be a…undo reaction.  

I've heard that better imaging technology has been thought to cause some of the scares, recently of "increasing" disease in the overall population, where before a lot of things went undiagnosed.

[hellbilly]

As a secondary question out of curiosity-

It generally seems that liberty type people aren't huge fans of doctors in general -

Chime in also if that is true for you.

True, but I'm required to go at least once a year to have my insulin prescription renewed.

Kids go regularly.

Glad your problem wasn't more serious, Shaw. Don't neglect the eye issue (you may remember a PM from me about that topic).

[John Shaw]

As a secondary question out of curiosity-

It generally seems that liberty type people aren't huge fans of doctors in general -

Chime in also if that is true for you.

True, but I'm required to go at least once a year to have my insulin prescription renewed.

Kids go regularly.

Glad your problem wasn't more serious, Shaw. Don't neglect the eye issue (you may remember a PM from me about that topic).

Yeah yeah I'm with ya. Someone close to me does specialty insulin stuff. Some sorta crazy awesome pen things. She has to go to the doctor every couple months or so. I was just noticing a pattern of liberty type people being kinda distrustful or afraid of doctors for various reasons.

As for my current thing, well, it ain't over yet for sure, but it's looking better. Drinking lots of water + sudafed + potassium (And two doses so far of Xanax) seem to be reducing the symptoms somewhat.

S'why I'm keeping interwebs to a minimum right now. Minimizing stress.

Gonna basically watch my eye carefully and if it gets any worse we immediately go to ER or Ophthalmologist, whichever turns out to be the best move.

[latebloomer]

We tried the Rice Diet and I lasted maybe six or eight months. I was miserable and hating life the whole time. I'm sure I was pretty intolerable to live with.

Maybe, if I hadn't also been going batshit from the blandness and the boredom.

Okay, so my story. Not for Shaw, but for the thread:

I'm not a huge fan of doctors. I have to go to a couple fairly regularly, to get my insulin scripts re-written for the year, but have never been great at preventative stuff. I had some minor issues .with depression, but have had this feeling that I wasn't going to make it to 60 (my mom and most of my grandparents didn't), so why try too hard? But lately, I'm thinking, what if I can get my shit together and get healthy? What if I could stick around longer? Oddly enough, deconverting had an impact, too: once you realize that this one life is all you get, wasting it is a terrible thing. So, I don't want to waste it.

We've been doing the Paleo thing since Saturday and I'm loving it. I have energy and better focus and mood already. My blood sugar has started to respond, too, but not steadily. Have to keep an eye on my numbers and adjust my insulin accordingly.

I had an issue over the summer where a slow build-up of a problem became serious. There was a blurry spot in the middle of my right eye. Not like John's. Found an ophthalmologist that took my insurance near my office and got the fun news that it wasn't going away: cataract. I now have an artificial lens (I call it my bionic eye) that, in addition to suddenly giving me 20/20 vision for distance (I've always been nearsighted), does this cool little trick of glowing if the light hits it just right. (The cataract is a result of the diabetes, but didn't have to be, if I'd taken care of myself better. I might have gotten one eventually, but not at my current age.)

One scare I remember was just freaky. I was at work and suddenly was very dizzy - room spinning dizzy. I actually crawled under my desk and started to cry. Someone called my dad and he drove out to get me. My doctor at the time was sort of a quack, but he was the kind of doctor that would see you quickly, call half of your visits "follow-ups" so insurance would cover them, write prescriptions for almost anything (within reason) and write you a note to get out of work. Anyway, he diagnosed me with "vertigo," which is a symptom, not an illness and ordered me to bed for a week, in the dark, with no books or TV. Fat chance (slightly ADD and being still for that long while awake was SO not going to happen). I wised up after another episode and saw an ENT and found out it was Miniere's. A bitch, but less scary having a name to put to it. Luckily, I don't get all the bad symptoms (long-term ringing), just occasional bouts of vertigo that last a couple hours at most.

[Fred]

I only go to the doctor if I think I'm about to die.


My wife threatened to have my son's friends carry me to the car about 15 years ago when I was having a gall bladder attack.  I relented and went to the emergency room.  My gall bladder was full of stones - grew up on the southern cooking dontya know.


Had it removed two weeks later and I've been good ever since.  That pain is hard to describe...couldn't get comfortable standing, laying down, with no clothes on, etc.

I'm thinking about going on the paleo diet myself - could lose about 30-40 lbs. 

I wish you all the best on your road to a speedy recovery John!

[Bill Brasky]

I'm not sayin shit.

[SonicThePorcupine]

I'm not sayin shit.

But you just said "shit."

[John Shaw]

Update on mine -

Feel better after several days of weird draining sensations.

Eye is still wonky but hasn't gotten worse. It's maybe a bit better even. Two days maybe and we'll have insurance and I'll go have it checked out.

[Bill Brasky]

Update on mine -

Glad you're feeling better. 

[BonerJoe]

Keeping on with the frequent water and potassium tho. Going to 81mg of aspirin once a day like dudes should be doing anyhow.

For what? That's for people who eat unhealthy diets with grains and polyunsaturated fats in an attempt to keep their arteries unclogged.

You don't need to worry about that shit once you remove the junk from your diet.

I've gone from 412 to 330 this year basically sitting on my ass on low carb/high fat/grain free weight loss diet. Even with cheating and falling off the wagon for a week or two several times. You can do it, brah. It doesn't even feel like you're sacrificing anything. You can even buy Shirataki noodles if you're that goddamned addicted to pasta:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirataki_noodles

And low-carb blue can Rockstar is goddamned delicious.

[Lindsey]

That's scary, John.  Glad to see things are improving.

I have polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance.  It sucks, I take medicine to maintain, and I'm always trying to lose weight.

The week before last I spent the night in the hospital.  A kidney stone.  No fun at all.  Been peeing in a bucket for days and straining it.  Never found the stone, but I feel better so I'm going to assume it passed.  Had a catheter, CT scan, morphine, and a bonus potassium drip.  The potassium drip hurts like Hell.  You don't want one.

[BonerJoe]

I have polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance.  It sucks, I take medicine to maintain, and I'm always trying to lose weight.

Curious, why not get them removed if they cause so many problems? Between health and hormone issues...

[Laetitia]

I have polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance.  It sucks, I take medicine to maintain, and I'm always trying to lose weight.

Curious, why not get them removed if they cause so many problems? Between health and hormone issues...

Because once they're out, the extra hormones are gone, but so are the ones you need. They try to hold off on that until there's not another option, because of the potential issues with hormone replacement therapy and the increased chances of osteoporosis.

[Laetitia]

That's scary, John.  Glad to see things are improving.

I have polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance.  It sucks, I take medicine to maintain, and I'm always trying to lose weight.

The week before last I spent the night in the hospital.  A kidney stone.  No fun at all.  Been peeing in a bucket for days and straining it.  Never found the stone, but I feel better so I'm going to assume it passed.  Had a catheter, CT scan, morphine, and a bonus potassium drip.  The potassium drip hurts like Hell.  You don't want one.

Sorry to hear you're having such a rough couple of of weeks.

I had both potassium and calcium drips added to my IV while I was in the hospital for 2 weeks for my gallbladder surgery. I could feel the burn when it started, and felt the burning end before seeing the bag was empty.
(yeah, I know, laproscopic gallbladder removal is usually an hour, with a day or two of recovery before discharge. if you have so many stones that they've lodged in your liver and blocked the duct to the pancreas, you're in hospital for a while, with repeat procedures after initial surgery.)