Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 1952

Shown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Medical questions

Posted by Kramer on December 31, 1998, at 20:50:49

Stumbled upon this site...very informative, but also puzzling:Why aren't individuals asking their own doctor to answer these questions for them?

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by Phil on December 31, 1998, at 22:14:36

In reply to Medical questions, posted by Kramer on December 31, 1998, at 20:50:49

> Stumbled upon this site...very informative, but also puzzling:Why aren't individuals asking their own doctor to answer these questions for them?

We are. These are second opinions. Nothing like firsthand experience, you know.

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by michelle on May 31, 1999, at 16:41:53

In reply to Medical questions, posted by Kramer on December 31, 1998, at 20:50:49

>All of a sudden I have sudden partial numbness in my lower left arm and hand. What should I do and why did it happen?

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by janel on March 16, 2000, at 9:35:51

In reply to Re: Medical questions, posted by michelle on May 31, 1999, at 16:41:53

> When I eat anything with refined sugar in it, I almost always have a thick "choking" mucus develop in my esophagus within an hour or so. Some times it is not noticable until I sleep. Then I wake up with mucus that is hard to clear from my esophagus. Also, when I eat refined sugar I almost always don't sleep as well. I will wake up between 2:30 and 4:30 and have a hard time going back to sleep. My dreams will be disturbing and I will have pms type irritability. This has been getting progressivly worse in the past 7 years. I am 48 and I am just figuring out the direct relationship to how I feel and what I eat. I can eat honey and other not refined sugars with little to no symptoms.
These symptoms seam to corruspond with some parimenopausal symptoms. I don't know if this is significant informtion. Thanks for the input.

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by Anne on March 18, 2000, at 12:18:30

In reply to Re: Medical questions, posted by janell brauer on March 16, 2000, at 9:35:51

I wonder if that's why I wake up early and can't get back to sleep, too. Last night I ate candy late and night and I woke up at 4 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep.

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by Deanna on May 18, 2000, at 16:55:32

In reply to Medical questions, posted by Kramer on December 31, 1998, at 20:50:49

> Stumbled upon this site...very informative, but also puzzling:Why aren't individuals asking their own doctor to answer these questions for them?
A lady I know has been to all kinds of Doctors.
And has asked questions. They all tell her the
same thing, they can find nothing wrong with her.
She is in her mid thirty's. And is losing weight,
lots of weight. She still has an appetite.
And is now under 100 pounds. They have run all
kinds of tests. And still can find nothing. I'm
afraid that she wont live to see another year.
Any suggestions that her Doctors may have over
looked? Thank you in advance.

Deanna Locke
Oromocto NewBrunswick
Canada

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by bob on May 18, 2000, at 22:15:01

In reply to Re: Medical questions, posted by Deanna on May 18, 2000, at 16:55:32

I imagine that most of us that know you *should* ask questions of your doctor(s) and know what questions to ask DO actually ask them. Unfortunately, western culture has placed doctors and medicine on such a high pedestal some folk (like how I used to be) never even think that asking questions is allowed -- the doctor knows so much more than you, after all, and not only is right but knows what he should tell you and what he shouldn't or doesn't need to.

[... and, quite frankly, I'm glad my gp didn't mention at my last visit just how much pus was in my ear canal due to an infection when I first saw him ... just hearing him say that it was almost all gone at today's follow-up was gross enough!]

As for Babble, many people find us because this is all new to them and they're curious, seeking out information. Others come because their doctors have had no solutions to offer and are searching more out of desperation. What most seem to find here is an open, supportive, informative environment of **peers**. Some of what people know here comes from the same sources are doctors gained their knowledge from -- whether university classes or reading journal articles and such. Quite a bit of it comes from hard-earned experience.

But the more people ask questions, the more the group comes to know. The average Babblelander doesn't know as much as your doctor might, but as a group we do have a rather large fund of scientific and experiential knowledge.

There is power in numbers.

... and I really haven't touched on the "emotional" support that can be found here.

As for your friend, I guess the only thing I can contribute is that when western medicine fails, naturopaths, homeopaths, or asian practitioners (like acupuncture) can sometimes find answers.

Otherwise -- and I don't mean this as some sort of crass attempt at humor -- all you need to do is look around here for a while for medications that will add 40 pounds to your weight easily (it might be funny if it wasn't so true). If you're friend is anxious or depressed about her condition, they'll also (hopefully) help with that.

cheers,
bob

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by Snowie on May 20, 2000, at 19:09:14

In reply to Re: Medical questions, posted by Deanna on May 18, 2000, at 16:55:32

That happened to my brother-in-law many years ago. He was rapidly losing weight for no apparent reason, and was being treated by a ENT for sinus problems. When he finally reached 135 lbs. and was barely able to walk, we rushed him to a walk-in clinic where a visiting internist correctly diagnosed him with Graves' Disease. He was immediately put into the hospital, and he today weighs a respectable, if slightly overweight, 195 lbs.

Snowie

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by Jennifer on May 25, 2000, at 0:56:33

In reply to Re: Medical questions, posted by Deanna on May 18, 2000, at 16:55:32

> >With all the new meds that come out on the market; and the different reactions individuals have to them; many can find more info among those here than from their MD's. I know my MD had only 8 patients in the history of his practice on Nardil. He gave me quite a bit of info, but it wasn't enough for me. I ended up giving HIM new handouts for his patient's. It used to be that physician's could be knowledgeable in most areas of medicine, but as the amount of scientific knowledge increases, it becomes harder and harder to do. In addition, many American's live under a health care system where they are restricted to certain physicians, whom they may not feel are the best in their field(and everyone wants the best).
As far as your friend, you may think they have tested just about all there is, but that is what they are telling you. Take the thyroid gland for instance. If you run one test like TSH it may come back negative and most doc's will say that's good enough, but with that kind of weight loss, why not do the entire set of thyroid tests, even though the chances are low? I recently saw an endocrinologist who felt my MD had tested all he could over the last 2 yrs. I told him what additional tests I wanted. After rolling his eyes, he agreed. Turns out one was positive and now I go for treatment for Cushing's Disease. Arm yourself with knowledge. Be persistant. I can't tell you how many times I've felt blessed to be a nurse because I know what to ask for. What do non-medical people do? They look here. Good look. Make sure she sees an endocrinologist and gynecologist for hormone tests. Then possibly Internal Medicine MD. If all else fails, email a University Hospital Medical School here in the States and "challenge" them with the problem. You never know what med student will be eager to "problem-solve". Jen

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by Noa on May 25, 2000, at 6:59:00

In reply to Re: Medical questions, posted by Jennifer on May 25, 2000, at 0:56:33

Jen and Snowie have given good advice, Deanna. For more info on thyroid problems, here are some sites:

www.thyroid-info.com
this deals mainly with HYPOthyroid, while what you describe are more HYPERthyroid symptoms. Still, the site owner, Mary Shomon, has a page where members can recommend good endocrinologists, based on their openness and ability to listen to the patient, and not get stuck in conventional thinking, etc., in other words, to be devoted to finding out what is wrong and finding a good treatment.

http://www.thyroid.net/
looks like a LOT of helpful information

http://www.thyroid.org/patient/brochur4.htm
this is the american thyroid association's page on hyperthyroidism

http://www.thyroid.org/patient/brochur3.htm
this is the ATA's page on Grave's Disease

http://www.thyroid-fed.org/intro/patients.html
this is the american thyroid federation site, patient information page

http://home.ican.net/~thyroid/Canada.html
this is the canadian thyroid federation site

In books, there is The Thyroid Sourcebook, by Sara Rosenthal. you can see more about the book at http://showcase.htmlplanet.com/thyroid.html

good luck. Keep us posted.

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by Jennifer on May 25, 2000, at 10:09:48

In reply to Re: Medical questions, posted by Noa on May 25, 2000, at 6:59:00

One more thing. There's a great book called "Screaming to be Heard" by Dr. Vliet. She has offices in Arizona & Texas and specializes in women's hormone's gone awry. Helped me to remember how everything is connected in the body. Also multiple quizzes in the back on: depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, OCD etc to get you started. Jennifer

> Jen and Snowie have given good advice, Deanna. For more info on thyroid problems, here are some sites:
>
> www.thyroid-info.com
> this deals mainly with HYPOthyroid, while what you describe are more HYPERthyroid symptoms. Still, the site owner, Mary Shomon, has a page where members can recommend good endocrinologists, based on their openness and ability to listen to the patient, and not get stuck in conventional thinking, etc., in other words, to be devoted to finding out what is wrong and finding a good treatment.
>
> http://www.thyroid.net/
> looks like a LOT of helpful information
>
> http://www.thyroid.org/patient/brochur4.htm
> this is the american thyroid association's page on hyperthyroidism
>
> http://www.thyroid.org/patient/brochur3.htm
> this is the ATA's page on Grave's Disease
>
> http://www.thyroid-fed.org/intro/patients.html
> this is the american thyroid federation site, patient information page
>
> http://home.ican.net/~thyroid/Canada.html
> this is the canadian thyroid federation site
>
> In books, there is The Thyroid Sourcebook, by Sara Rosenthal. you can see more about the book at http://showcase.htmlplanet.com/thyroid.html
>
> good luck. Keep us posted.

 

Re: Medical questions

Posted by Noa on May 25, 2000, at 16:21:44

In reply to Re: Medical questions, posted by Jennifer on May 25, 2000, at 10:09:48

Jen, thanks for mentioning this book. I had heard about it and meant to look into it, but forgot. It sounds good. Thanks for the reminder.


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