The Free Talk Live BBS
Free Talk Live => Serious Business => Topic started by: John Shaw on October 27, 2011, 01:48:42 PM
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In the middle of one right now. (Might be alright at this point.)
Ever had a health scare that actually changed your behavior?
Was it a hard transition?
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Yeah.
About 2 years ago, I was having pains, right in the middle of my chest that would stick around for 3 or 4 hrs at a time. Usually a dull, aching pain, sometimes sharp, like someone sticking an ice-pick in my chest. Thought it might be heart related, but im one of those types that sometimes doesn't want to know if something is wrong with my health. I hate hospitals and doctors offices......... HATE em.
Anyway, it got to be so consistent that I had it checked out. They did EKG, lung x-rays (doc thought it might be some kind of aneurism type thing in the lung, possibly), blood pressure.... all that stuff. Came back after the results showed everything was a-ok and told me I had acid reflux that was starting to eat away at my esophagus, like an upper-ulcer. Told me to cut back on the coffee, smoking and eating starchy foods and I should be ok as long as the damage wasnt to severe. Gave me a prescription for the "purple pill" whatever its called, for acid reflux, I cant remember its name. I decided to not get the prescription filled, but instead followed the rest of the advice and within about 3 weeks, the pain was gone completely.
Pretty much stuck to the low coffee, low starch diet since then and haven't had any recurrence.
Kinda scary though, thinking I might have a heart condition at 40 yrs old.
Hope everythings cool with you too Shaw.
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I hope everything works out.
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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.
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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.
I think that goes along with the fact that liberty types like to feel in control of their own life. When you get a health scare, it makes you feel vulnerable, out of control of things, and with the doctor being the bearer of possible bad news, whats to really like?.
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I don't think I have been to the doctor for myself in over 10 years.
My son had a health scare about a year ago. I liked the doctor we ended up with. I'm a fan of her.
I've had vets I don't like. Some think they are in charge, and you have to let them do everything they recommend, and then pay for it. And they have no problem threatening you with the state.
Some doctors are good and some are bad. Same with nurses.
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I hope everything works out.
Thanks mang.
Long story ahead -
Last week in general was high stress. I spent most of the week somewhere between upset and furious.
Thursday night I was casually putzing on the computer when I suddenly noticed a visual anomaly.
In the center of vision on my left eye there was a circular area that was out of focus and slightly dim. The size was comparative to maybe slightly larger than a golf ball at arm's length. It was also shifting color when I blinked. If my eye is opened, it is slightly orange. When I close it, it turns blue and persisted. The transition when I blink looks sort of like a flash. In low light it is very noticeable. Outside in daylight the effect is drastically reduced, almost nonexistent. If I close my right eye and strain it mostly comes back into focus, but not quite. So I'm thinking nerve problem.
Very disconcerting. Thought I may have been having a stroke, a tumor, a detached retina etc etc. Of course the first fucking thing I do is start looking at websites. All sorts of scary shit. MS, mini-strokes, fungal infections of the sinuses, diabetes, the list is fucking never ending.
One thing that came up was Central Serous Retinopathy. Matched almost exactly my symptoms minus the color shift.
But you know what? I'm not a fucking doctor. But I don't think about that fact. I figure I know better than people who do things for a living because that's sorta how people like us tend to operate.
So Friday we shoot up to Greenfield Village, like I talked about in another thread. I'm 400+ lbs and sit at a desk most of the day. Sure, I go out and buy groceries and clean house and stuff, but I'm outta shape. So I have this vision thing which I think but wont say is maybe a mini stroke and I go walking what is basically a two or three mile jaunt at tourist speed through a spooky haunted village setup. Less than halfway I'm feeling pretty fucking bad. Sore, face and head feel swollen. Kinda dizzy. So I freak out a bit and want to rest several times. Trying my best not to freak my wife out. She can obviously see I'm tired and not well.
Anyway we take a breather and I start to feel a lot better. We finish the walk and have a generally great time. Watched kids and parents all dressed up, THOUSANDS of them, walking though the old timey town. Great fun.
But I know there's a fucking problem and I know the weight thing really has to come to an end.
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.
I went on Weight Watchers. Counted points for my own food rather than buying their prepacked meals. That worked pretty well for me, but I was cooking for two (I do most/all the cooking around the house, unless it's baking. M does the baking.) I had a good bit of success. Lost close to thirty pounds in 12 weeks or so. But it was expensive and M was having major problems with it. Very hard to cook two separate meals all the time. I found I was spending a couple hours a night and maybe a three hour stretch on weekends trying to put together premade dishes that could be reheated. Food became a constant worry and balancing points became sort of an obsession. When Mel's last contract ended we couldn't afford it anymore so I went back to cheap and unhealthy and gained most of it back.
So we talk Friday night about the issue. We decide we're gonna try the Paleolithic Diet because we've got friends who have been having a lot of luck with it. I'm not gonna go fucking blind and die of a stroke at 37 years.
We start Paleo Saturday. Everything seems fairly cool. (Mind you, eye symptoms are still here) Sunday good. Monday good. Tuesday I start to feel shitty. Mild Headache, maybe a tiny bit confused and disoriented, generally fucking tired as hell and mopey. Forgot my pin number at the store for a second. Decided it was my blood pressure and had wife bring home a bunch of aspirin. Took too much and had aspirin OD side effects. Tinnitus etc. That evening we're watching something after dinner and I'm breathing deeply. All of this stuff is scaring the shit out of me and I'm trying deep breathing exercises. I hyperventilate myself.
So now I have Aspirin OD symptoms, eye symptoms, hyperventilation symptoms. Hyperventilation can cause nausea and numbness to the face. Sure, it's not localized, but FUCK I AM HAVING A STROKE.
So I have a near panic attack. Look more online and consider maybe that it was the deep breathing. Try to calm down and numbness goes away. Still generally feel crappy so I go to bed at around 7:30 or so. That night I had to get up to pee like five times and sweated like a mother all night.
Yesterday I wake up feeling even shittier than before. Headache, slight nausea, totally lethargic. I'm starting to think that the high protein, high fat, low carbs of the Paleo diet are gonna kill me dead.
Pretty much spend all day yesterday in bed feeling horrible. Start looking for info about Paleo diet and lethargy. Some dude posted about how he needed more potassium because of constantly having to pee and there being a balance between salt and potassium you have to work out.
I realize that I have changed my diet from probably 90% carbs to probably 5% carbs in one fell swoop and have barely been drinking anything.
So I look up dehydration.
90% of the symptoms are overlapping with all my other combined symptoms.
So at around 3pm I start sipping half a mouthful of water every ten minutes or so. About an hour later I start peeing every half hour. I keep drinking. M gets home with Potassium tabs. I take a couple and keep drinking. Pee breaks get down to every fifteen minutes or so. The quantity of water I drank in that time period wasn't crazy. It was about one liter over four hours. Urine was clear like it had never seen a human body. Found Diabetes Insipidus online. (It's not a sugar thing but a hormonal problem that makes your kidneys kinda ignore water, and makes you drink more to compensate, chronic but not life threatening problem.)
So I decide I have that. Suddenly, without warning.
I am feeling better (Because I was definitely dehydrated and was treating it.) but still felt woozy and out of sorts and my head was feeling weird. Not quite there, all the way. So I finally say yes when M asks me if I'm willing to go to the urgent care joint.
Special note - We have equipment in the house to test sugar levels. I did so four or five times between Tues and Wed. Lowest was in the 80s and highest was 129 about an hour after meal. Highly unlikely that I have T2 Diabetes coming on. It's definitely not a sugar thing.
M has a new jerb and her insurance kicks in Nov 1. This is the reason I haven't gone at the first symptom with the eye. I'm not stupid, but I am cheap and afraid of medical costs. Great timing to be right in the five day period where we're uninsured.
We go to urgent care. I tell the whole story to an intern, who writes shit down. My primary concerns are the visual problem and the peeing every fifteen minutes.
Dude comes in and asks me a few questions. Looks into my ear.
You have a sinus problem. Not draining. I can see it. Your eye hurt when you look up? A little, yes.
He looks into my eye. No problems with back/inside of my eye, or nothing obvious.
He asks me if I have drainage from my eye. I'm not sure what he means but for months my left eye has been goopy and crusty when I wake up.
Yeah, you have a sinus problem.
Antibiotics, steroids, (Not taking yet because if the eye is something else it could make it worse) and a bunch of Xanax to help me calm the fuck down. Tells me to go see an Ophthalmologist just in case.
BTW -
Blood pressure - 130/90 (Not super but not even in the danger zone)
Heart - Sounds fine. Pulse was 86. Oxygen level normal.
Pee issue started to taper off. So I start antibiotics last night, take another this morning. Feel better. Eye was still packed with goop this morning and maybe a tiny bit blurrier. I go up to the pharmacy and jump through hoops so I can buy a package of fucking Sudafed. Take some. Twenty minutes later I start to feel hot liquid pouring into my nasal cavity and throat. Eye symptoms lessen. I can now, if I cover my right eye, read fairly well. Still a circle that changes color and is blurry, but I can see now. +1.25 readers make it almost negligible. Sunlight or a lot of light in general also also reduces.
Not sure at this point if the issue is totally being addressed, but it's starting to look better.
So here's the deal - I'm am not having a stroke or heart issues. After days of near panic and freakout and creating more symptoms, what I may have had all along is chronic sinusitis. Not 100% sure yet, but I feel better.
Real problem - Sinuses and dehydration.
What I thought it was - everything in the world.
What I learned - Go see a fucking doctor. It cost $50 for the visit and $45 for the meds with no insurance at an urgent care joint, and I feel a lot better knowing rather than chasing every symptom on Earth and wondering if I have MS or a tumor or a stroke or heart failure or what.
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*whew*
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*whew*
Tell me about it.
I won't feel like I'm outta the woods yet until the eye is checked out, but I'm calmer now. Was prolly gonna end up with symptoms of adrenaline depletion if I kept going the way I was.
Right now I just feel somewhat puffy face/headed and a little headachey (Probably) from one eye straining all the time.
Keeping on with the frequent water and potassium tho. Going to 81mg of aspirin once a day like dudes should be doing anyhow.
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Sometimes I'll just be sitting there and my heart starts beating weird and I try jogging in place or doing jumping jacks and it usually stops acting up.
I haven't seen a doctor about it or anything, because, well, fuck that.
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I haven't seen a doctor about it or anything, because, well, fuck that.
I totally get ya but I paid the price this week for that attitude, I'll tell ya.
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I hate doctors and they don't even cost anything worth mentioning here. If they weren't cracking down on all over the counter drugs I probably would see them even less.
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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.
Children get annual checkups, so I'm not against a certain level of precaution and preventative care. I make it in once every couple years.
Other than that, unless there are broken bones, a cut requiring stitches, we never see the doctor.
If there's an illness that doesn't get better with soup, ibuprofen and extra sleep, will talk to a professional after it gets past the 7-10 days of a normal cold/flu.
This drives my hypochondriac child nuts, no matter how much I tell her there is nothing to be done for the standard cold unless a secondary bacterial infection happens.
No bronchitis, no pneumonia, no non-stop vomiting, no doctor.
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Real problem - Sinuses and dehydration.
What I thought it was - everything in the world.
What I learned - Go see a fucking doctor. It cost $50 for the visit and $45 for the meds with no insurance at an urgent care joint, and I feel a lot better knowing rather than chasing every symptom on Earth and wondering if I have MS or a tumor or a stroke or heart failure or what.
Even though I'm very DIY about most things, anybody in my family - including me - having those symptoms would have been dragged to the doctor pretty darn quick.
Glad you came to your senses and saw a doc.
Think you might not be wrong about holding off on the steroids while you see how much can be cleared up by antibiotics, decongestants and anti-inflammatory meds. If it clears up without them, I don't think the side effects of the steroids are worth it.
On a good note, you might find the weight starts to come off a little easier after the big infection is cleared up. Not only does feeding a colony of germs mess with your metabolism, diet and ability to get proper rest, you'll feel more like moving around when you're less concerned about balance issues, eye trouble and passing out.
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(Looks like this is long too, but as with John and me, part of it may apply to you--in our case, dehydration.)
When I first started getting "gonna-die/wish-I'd-die" headaches, I was very concerned. I thought brain tumor, stroke, etc., at first, but they happened for a short time and far apart.
I didn't see doctors because they were so infrequent. The first happened in '95, then I think the next in '96, then I think I had one in '98 or '99. I thought I'd connected them to flying, because it always seemed to fit, but I did a lot of flying in '97 and never had any symptoms. Thought maybe it had something to do with altitude or hydration (actually, still think it might, though I know what it IS now.) By then, I was married, and these headaches scared the crap out of my wife. I was in good shape (biking 50-75 miles a weekend, and maintenance rides all week, lifting weights, etc.)
We went to an amusement park (free tix from work) and I had a really bad one right after getting off the ride (turns out, first big clue.) I thought maybe it was blood pressure or something, but I was in *great* shape (unlike now.) Then I started having them a bit more frequently--think that was around '00. I'd have them maybe every few months.
Then around '04, I started getting shoulder and arm pain, numbness, and so forth. I thought I was screwing up ergonomically, and did all sorts of things to reconfigure my office. Nothing helped that.
I'd been seeing an osteopathic doctor, and was getting spinal adjustments, because I'd had really bad accidents of various forms. I went one time, and they scheduled me with a different doctor because the other was out of town. Right away, she (stopping for a moment to salute women as technical professionals--the ones that put up with the shit and stick with it--they've been among the best I've worked with) said she didn't think something was right. She sent me to get it scanned (don't remember what kind, but not an x-ray.) It was one of those cheap cash places that does for $150 what you can't get in Canada.
They found out I have a spinal disorder called Degenerative Disc Disease. It explained everything. The thing is, I don't know if I had enough information to see a doctor about it until I had the arm and shoulder issues shortly before that.
Anyway, I spent about $5k (some mine, some insurance) on treatment (cortizone, which I'm not doing any more--don't have insurance anyway, more imaging, etc.) and know what the deal is. The specialist did not tell me anything about managing the pain (don't remember if I asked, but I probably did) but did prescribe physical therapy, for the arm/shoulder. Basically, it was traction, to relieve the pressure on the nerve that goes to the arm. I could have done something with equipment, but instead, the therapist gave me a couple exercises that cleared arm/shoulder thing right up.
Along with that, I had been having headaches more and more often (and still do), to the point where they're about once every week or two, not usually of the gonna-die/wish-I'd-die variety (I'm talking about the ones that make you sick to your stomach from the pain--you move you feel sick.) That's when I tried cannabis. It's been a long 'bout, but I'm learning to use it moderately and at the right times to manage my pain, and I think I'm winning. At least it's not getting worse any more.
I've changed the way I sleep (I have a dorky pillow like the kind people take on airplanes and don't sleep on my stomach at all any more) and if I don't do my (specific) exercises, I don't necessarily have arm pain (haven't had much of that in a long time) but I do seem to have more bouts with headache and spine pain.
I've also noticed, I believe, that it gets worse if I'm dehydrated, and I think altitude (I'm near Denver, and did move a couple years before it got noticeably worse) may have something to do with it--both are "new" here, so the altitude may have accelerated the onset of this. Thus, I'm drinking less caffeine (good for hydration AND calcium, which plays into the bone structure bit) and drinking a lot of water (not coffee, tea) early in the morning. I think that's helping a lot. My theory is the low fluids reduce the pressure in my discs and I get more abrasion in the vertebrae.
I do notice that when I'm in better cardio shape, and have a bit less gut (I'm pretty fat now, and was in very good shape when diagnosed, interestingly) I seem to have less pain (I'm thinking better blood circulation helps.) Interestingly, if I go cold turkey on the cannabis and fast, I also get a pain-free reset (after the first few days, which suck) for quite some time and don't seem to need to medicate for a while. This is the only thing that's gotten me through times when I had to interview for jobs and be able to pee clean. Fortunately, that's not a concern at all for the job I currently have. In addition to cannabis (and first, really), I rely on naproxen sodium, aka Aleve, but otherwise, I don't use any hardcore medicines, except when I get muscle spasms around my spine, in which case I take cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril), which works quite well for that.
I also think I get dehydration and/or sinus headaches from time to time, and when you have the kind of disorder I have, the stress adds to it, and makes it more problematic. So the first thing I do is make sure I'm hydrated and don't load up on caffeine. I've also had a good experience with aromatherapy--particularly menthol (wintergreen), spearmint and so forth for clear breathing; lavender and rosemary (calming.) Can't say enough about menthol, in particular, and I love the lavender anyway, as it really relaxes me. One more thing--the cannabis doctor's nurse turned me on to "Blue-Emu" topical (unscented) cream. She pointed out that when I am in an office environment and can't use any other medication besides Aleve, it really helps. I was surprised that it does, and use it all the time I have pain. Additionally, I use cold-hot cream (menthol, again) which helps a lot.
Should say these are the kind of headaches you can get after a spinal tap or an epidural patch. They've been described similarly to "cluster headaches," and sometimes migraines (which run in the family, but I was pretty sure they weren't migraines, as they always seemed a bit stress-related and I never had the visuals my family members have described.)
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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!
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I'm not sayin shit.
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I'm not sayin shit.
But you just said "shit."
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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.
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Update on mine -
Glad you're feeling better.
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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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirataki_noodles)
And low-carb blue can Rockstar is goddamned delicious.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.)
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Update on mine -
Glad you're feeling better.
Thanks yo. Still don't have insurance cards but will within a day or so.
Been sorta trying to figure out exactly what the deal is with my eye. I'm not supposed to be self diagnosing (And I won't look up conditions anymore.) but here is what I've found -
What I see it this -
Circular area, out of focus, causing semi double vision because my right eye is fine. Image in left eye is actually smaller than right eye. I didn't notice until yesterday but it's not new. Came with the problem.
So I was sitting there blinking each eye and I see the difference in size.
Now, again, I ain't no doctor but I know a cubic fuckton about optics and the physics of light. I spent YEARS studying cameras. Filmmaker, photographer, owned a darkroom for years, the whole works.
When a light sensitive surface is farther away from the lens, an image gets bigger.
That means that something on the back of my eye has gotten closer to the front of my eye, or the other way around. Shit is smaller. Space between lens and retina has gotten shorter.
There is this blurry rim around the area where things are smaller.
Here's sorta what it looks like -
(http://chattypics.com/download.php?file=Eyesymptom_dywc0jnlxm.png)
There's no doubling of the image in the blurred area but that's basically what it's like. The darkness in the area is much less pronounced than my photochoppery.
So I played around looking at grids and things and squinted and on and on. It's like there's pressure or a really clear swelling at the back of my eye. Macular degeneration would be a completely blurred circle. This is more like an imperfect convex effect.
So as an experiment I grabbed one of the $1 reading glasses we had sitting around, in this case, a +1.25.
Reading glasses are just basically magnifiers.
So I popped the right lens out (Because my right eye is fine.) and tried them on.
Almost perfectly fixes the size of objects in the center of my vision. Or at least it's so close that I can't notice it anymore. Of course the ring of blur is still there, and my peripheral vision is now slightly fuzzy (Because it was fine before and has now been magnified.) but I can see very well at my center of focus, and can read easily again.
So now I no longer have weird semi double vision from seeing two different sized things all the time, and the eyestrain is better.
Major plus until I can get to the eye doctor. Now I just look like a goon with reading glasses and only one lens in 'em.
A +1.25 monocle would be classy as fuck though.
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You have macular degeneration.
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You have macular degeneration.
NO U
But I worried about it for a couple days.
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You have macular degeneration.
NO U
Haha. +1 for you, gotta stay sane with the humors.
I'm not being cold about it, thats just the way it sounds to me. With the splotch and all. It can make you woozy and fucked up, kinda like vertigo.
Sucks, but non fatal.
In any case, you'll get your fortune cookie read in a couple days. I hate sitting in rooms with my ass hanging out of a paper dress.
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Haha. +1 for you, gotta stay sane with the humors.
I'm not being cold about it, thats just the way it sounds to me. With the splotch and all. It can make you woozy and fucked up, kinda like vertigo.
Sucks, but non fatal.
In any case, you'll get your fortune cookie read in a couple days. I hate sitting in rooms with my ass hanging out of a paper dress.
Macular degeneration doesn't leave a clear spot in the middle. Also doesn't happen instantly. This was like, I was looking at the computer screen, and a few minutes later I look again and notice it.
<<<Been reading dozens of possible causes, almost all are temporary or fixable. Macular degeneration is the only one that doesn't get better.
Things that it is more likely to be -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_serous_retinopathy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_serous_retinopathy)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_pucker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_pucker)
One can be caused by stress, the other by inflammation. Both of which I had. Massive inflammation around the left eye because of the sinuses, and massive stress that week.
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Well, those would be preferable, 'eh?
I wear contacts, so even though I don't see regular doctors I usually end up going to some "Eyeland" kinda place, where they peer into my eyeballs with complicated devices.
I always ask the chick if I have a soul. They never get the joke.
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Well, those would be preferable, 'eh?
Yes, and central serous retinopathy can happen in a matter of minutes or hours.
And would possibly explain why my symptoms are getting slightly better rather than worse over time. (Very slowly but noticeably)
But again, I dunno until I see a specialist. So Xanax it is to keep my fuckin nerves down until we know for sure.
The whole thing makes it hard for me to concentrate on anything important right now. It's a major inconvenience. I just gotta be chill and relax.
But one thing is true, I've shared it with a couple peeps... Xanax is fucking therapy in a bottle yo. I can still concentrate and be creative but I don't get all fucking wound up and feisty in the bad way.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirataki_noodles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirataki_noodles)
Aw shit son.
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I use klonapin as you use xanax. Agreed.
I prefer klonapin because it has a longer, mellower activity in the body. (for me) Xanax hits me hard, makes me want nap time.
Klonapin just keeps me from exploding, and I can function better on it.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirataki_noodles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirataki_noodles)
Aw shit son.
I just had that Inglorious Baserds Hitler come crashing through my head. Nein! Nein, nein, nein!!
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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...
What Joy said is true. Also not many doctors bring up the option unless there is something massive and you're in life-altering pain from it. Usually it gets brought up more when women try to get pregnant as well
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I'll take 'em out for ya. I have my Doctorate in Vaginal Studies from the Universidad de Columbia (or Nicaragua, I forget).
I need the knife time to keep up with my CE credits. I've just pioneered a new technique where I spray that black shit in a can into the wound and instantly seal off all bleeding. Its much safer than my old molten plastic technique.
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I'll take 'em out for ya. I have my Doctorate in Vaginal Studies from the Universidad de Columbia (or Nicaragua, I forget).
I need the knife time to keep up with my CE credits. I've just pioneered a new technique where I spray that black shit in a can into the wound and instantly seal off all bleeding. Its much safer than my old molten plastic technique.
I did see some fancy new rubber in a can on TV a few nights ago...
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I'll take 'em out for ya. I have my Doctorate in Vaginal Studies from the Universidad de Columbia (or Nicaragua, I forget).
I need the knife time to keep up with my CE credits. I've just pioneered a new technique where I spray that black shit in a can into the wound and instantly seal off all bleeding. Its much safer than my old molten plastic technique.
I did see some fancy new rubber in a can on TV a few nights ago...
Thats the stuff. Gutter leaks, row boats. Space age polymer.
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I'll take 'em out for ya. I have my Doctorate in Vaginal Studies from the Universidad de Columbia (or Nicaragua, I forget).
I need the knife time to keep up with my CE credits. I've just pioneered a new technique where I spray that black shit in a can into the wound and instantly seal off all bleeding. Its much safer than my old molten plastic technique.
Sounds like it should work just fine! :lol:
I did see some fancy new rubber in a can on TV a few nights ago...
Thats the stuff. Gutter leaks, row boats. Space age polymer.
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I have familial multiple lipomatosis (http://fatdisorders.org/what-are-fat-disorders/familial-multiple-lipomatosis/) (or FML, :) ). It kicked in about a year ago and now I have about a dozen tumors from my feet to my arms (that I know about). I'm thinking I'll get some cut out sometime soon. It's not (generally) anything serious, but it's annoying as hell. I've looking into ways to avoid getting these things and there's basically nothing out there. I'll probably be stuck with them for my whole life.
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That's gotta be difficult to share...
Hope you get get healthier real soon!
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I have familial multiple lipomatosis (http://fatdisorders.org/what-are-fat-disorders/familial-multiple-lipomatosis/) (or FML, :) ). It kicked in about a year ago and now I have about a dozen tumors from my feet to my arms (that I know about). I'm thinking I'll get some cut out sometime soon. It's not (generally) anything serious, but it's annoying as hell. I've looking into ways to avoid getting these things and there's basically nothing out there. I'll probably be stuck with them for my whole life.
Oh man suck.
Update on mine- Today my vision is much better. Fuzzy ring is still there but less defined and things are clearer in general. The difference in size has lessened as well.
I have an appointment at the eye doc for next week either way.
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Just got back from ophthalmologist.
Serous central retinopathy
Fuck yeah. And it's on the mend yo. So I just have to keep my fucking stress level down and I'm good.
Now I just have to wait a few hours because my eyes are dilated to about ten feet wide and everything glows.
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yea, and you can't focus for shit. no stress means lots of "naps" to me. Whoo Hoo - you folks without kids don't know how fucking awesome that is.
Get well son!
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Again
*whew*
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so, Mike - what's your wife doing while your surfing?
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Again
*whew*
I can't even tell ya. Dude couldn't even see it through the lens thingy so he put me onto this machine that blasted my eye with a really bright red square for a minute or so and showed me the topography of the back of my eye. Was a 3d model that he could rotate around and shit. He was all like "Yep, there it is, looks like a Hershey's Kiss. Barely there." Then he tells me to just keep chill and try not to stress and I shouldn't have a repeat event.
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so, Mike - what's your wife doing while your surfing?
We aren't married. Been together 8 yrs and both have our own homes and like it that way, at least for now.
She's at home doing laundry.
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sounds like a nice arrangement.
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Again
*whew*
I can't even tell ya. Dude couldn't even see it through the lens thingy so he put me onto this machine that blasted my eye with a really bright red square for a minute or so and showed me the topography of the back of my eye. Was a 3d model that he could rotate around and shit. He was all like "Yep, there it is, looks like a Hershey's Kiss. Barely there." Then he tells me to just keep chill and try not to stress and I shouldn't have a repeat event.
Nice
Two working eyes are good to have. Everything changes without em, especially in your line of work.
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Nice.
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Fuck yeah. And it's on the mend yo. So I just have to keep my fucking stress level down and I'm good
You can get a prescription for something that'll help ya if you live in Michigan.
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Fuck yeah. And it's on the mend yo. So I just have to keep my fucking stress level down and I'm good
You can get a prescription for something that'll help ya if you live in Michigan.
Xanax helps me.
Besides, weed just makes me useless for two or three hours. I can't get anything done with that shit. Same reason I don't drink.
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I'm often sober.
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Almost died from hypoglycemia because of an insulin overdose, three times. The third time it actually made me start being more responsible with my 'beetus management. I think the difference was that the first two times I was depressed and sort-of suicidal.
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Gotta watch out for your head. Its a pretty important organ.
My story is pretty stupid. By pretty stupid I mean really stupid.
I was getting rip-roaring drunk with a few friends a while back, and one of the guys has to take out his insulin pump, and check out his blood-sugar level. Me and the other guy start making fun of his lazy pancreas. Then the other guy asks the diabetic to give him a little insulin, to see what it feels like. I knew insulin is potentially deadly, and doesn't produce any euphoric effects. I still ask to get some insulin too. Being drunk makes you do that.
He checks our blood sugar levels, and we high-five each other. Working pancreases! Woooooooo. Then he gets out the stuff, and injects it into us.
"I'm not giving you guys a lot"
"Dude, did you use a clean needle?" I ask.
"Don't worry about it"
Whats that suppossed to mean?
"It means don't worry about it"
"You didn't answer yes or no. I don't know where you've been!"
"Mumble mumble" Then he falls asleep.
I still don't know if he used a new needle on me. I assume he did?
Some time later, and I've let myself go. Stopped working out. Stopped going to the gym. Ate terrible food, and gained weight.
One morning, I'm eating cake for breakfast, and I get this horrible feeling in my insides. It was exactly what getting insulin felt like. I thought I might be coming down with early stage diabetes, so I picked myself up. Lost 20 lbs, and started working out again.