General Medical issues thread

[JohnK]

Is that what used to be called 'fluid on the knee'?

The 2 terms seemed to be used together when I was checking Google earlier.

 

[Quickstatus]

Is that what used to be called 'fluid on the knee'?

see "youtube knee effusion swipe test". Its a classic medical student test. Its a fail if a medical student cannot elicit (demonstrate) an effusion in a knee

 

[whatmeworry]

The Surgeon looked at the Knee Film for 2 seconds and didn't look at the report from the imaging place.

Just weird as it was an X ray he had previously seen and I thought he could have taken some easy notes he could have taken from the first visit. Anyway on a good note, he said her lumbar spine was very good for her age.

 

[OZDUCK]

We are having our roof refurbished, including new gutters. Today the contractor was up there knocking a few corners out of the old gutters before high pressure spraying the grimy tiles - and fell off the roof when a piece of rotten gutter gave way unexpectedly.

Luckily, we only live in a single storey house but he fell backwards onto a fibro fence before flipping over and hitting the dirt face first - and missed a decorative steel "spear" on a gate by 1/2 a metre. He had a some small cuts on his face and lips and big bruises on his back but could still walk - very stiffly. My wife washed off the grazes on his back and applied ice packs. He called up his father and went to Emergency. His good fortune has continued as X-rays showed no fractures, he had no concussion and no sign of internal bleeding etc. Last thing we heard is that they had given him some morphine for the pain and wanted to keep him under "observation" for a couple of hours.

Our custom must be dangerous for workers as a carpet-layer was supposed to come today for a final measure - instead of which he fell off his treadlie and broke his hand.

 

[Quickstatus]

The Surgeon looked at the Knee Film for 2 seconds and didn't look at the report from the imaging place.

Just weird as it was an X ray he had previously seen and I thought he could have taken some easy notes he could have taken from the first visit. Anyway on a good note, he said her lumbar spine was very good for her age.

Picture is worth a thousand words essentially.

 

[Milboo]

Physios and Chiros are very different.

A Chiro is focused on a realignment or adjustment of joints.

Physio looks at muscular and joint pain but works on release and mobilising - the massage, stretches, heat, US etc but particularly exercises to build strength and prevent reoccurrence. They're also more inclined to look at the bigger picture and treat the cause not just the symptoms. I see mine to treat knee pain initially so I use it properly and then move to the actual cause which is in my glutes.

Lucky getting the bulk billing - must have had acute trauma, non extension and diagnosis of ??acute tear. That's the only way you get them for knees!

 

[Pushka]

It's been a good news/bad news day.
Good news - Friend with pulmonary fibrosis had a very positve/hopeful diagnosis from the respiratory surgeon. Some more tests but seems it is not aggressive and she is likely to have many more years before it makes life difficult.
Bad news - friend with stage 4 bowel cancer scans have shown a new very large tumour in liver as well as smaller ones elsewhere. Is back in hospital while they decide how to treat it, though it's inoperable. They are trying to keep positve but must be worried. We saw him about a month ago and he was feeling great. They had planned two trips o's in the next few months.

Oh. I’m Sorry to hear that. He certainly looked so well in the pictures you showed me.

 

[Pushka]

For the ultrasound I had multiple specialists reading it as they couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing. Eventually the radiographers at the RAH made the diagnosis rather than the radiographer who took the films as he kept changing his mind. The haemotologist also wanted to examine them and agreed with the RAH people. A picture as they say.

 

[whatmeworry]

For the ultrasound I had multiple specialists reading it as they couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing. Eventually the radiographers at the RAH made the diagnosis rather than the radiographer who took the films as he kept changing his mind. The haemotologist also wanted to examine them and agreed with the RAH people. A picture as they say.

Before they removed part of my mother's bowel, they did multiple images and even with the lower GI scope, it took them a while to work out their were two tumours.

 

[whatmeworry]

This was in a Nursing textbook. It got removed.

 

[junbugging]

Physios and Chiros are very different.

A Chiro is focused on a realignment or adjustment of joints.

Physio looks at muscular and joint pain but works on release and mobilising - the massage, stretches, heat, US etc but particularly exercises to build strength and prevent reoccurrence. They're also more inclined to look at the bigger picture and treat the cause not just the symptoms. I see mine to treat knee pain initially so I use it properly and then move to the actual cause which is in my glutes.

Lucky getting the bulk billing - must have had acute trauma, non extension and diagnosis of ??acute tear. That's the only way you get them for knees!

Nice summary.

Basically, if you want to feel better for more than a short while, see a physio.

 

[Milboo]

Yes - while I get some immediate relief from a Physio session, the body simply has to go through the inflammatory process/ healing cycle and the benefits will ultimately come from addressing the underlying issue. Hence why they hassle you about doing the exercises!

 

[JohnK]

Hence why they hassle you about doing the exercises!

It's great that it helps you but I will never be able to reproduce what happens in a physio session. The exercises are not that simple and can leave, and have left, damage for days.

Inflammation and stiffness is not fun. My upper leg/groin area feels like it has severe stiffness. Struggle to walk after getting up. GP suggested physio. I already walk a lot each day and also don't have time to treat each ailment. So walking doesn't help and a physio will fix the underlying immune disorders and inflammation issues? Don't think so

Running off to physio 1-2 times/week is not gor everyone. Private health fund covers $200/year which is enough for 6-7 physion visits depending on how much the physio charges. That's not going to achieve very much.

 

[Milboo]

No, inflammation and pain is not fun - but get the right tools and it becomes more manageable.

If the exercises are too hard - tell the Physio and get them to break it down to easier ones or give written instructions. Mine always gives a print out to follow at home.

Frankly you just have to make time to see a Physio - everyone is time poor but health and wellbeing has to take a priority and the sooner you treat something then the quicker things get better and you return to your favourite activities.

You don't need to go a lot - a few times in short succession for an acute injury then drop it back to a couple of maintenance and progress visits and that's it. Don't forget too if you have a chronic health issue then you can get a care plan with 5 visits covered ($55 each roughly) by Medicare too.

 

[JohnK]

Don't forget too if you have a chronic health issue then you can get a care plan with 5 visits covered ($55 each roughly) by Medicare too.

I saw that at the GP the other day. I'm not sure what it covers but suffering from diabetes and chronic health issues qualifies me for the benefit but is it one only or yearly? I had the care plan once around 12 years ago. Not sure if still eligible.

Not being negative but I need to start looking at issues one at a time. The current one is the knee.

 

[Milboo]

You get 5 sessions a year - according to my GP and Physio.

I recently used it to top up after I exhausted my health fund limits (which is $700).

 

[JohnK]

You're probably right. I should make use of the care plan for 5 physio sessions.

Mouth feels dry again. Extreme mouth/tongue pain. Not dehydrated. Seem to go through this regularly now. Endoscopy could be the right place to start. Concerned that it's mental which is not a good sign.

 

[Renato1]

Just curious - is anybody stocking up with a few extra packets of Panadiene/Prodiene/Mersyndol etc before codiene becomes a prescription item next year?

It seems ridiculous to me that if I have a pain in my shoulder from having slept on it badly, that next year I'd have to spend several hours to go to a Doctor, when in the past a Panadiene or two would have gotten rid of the pain in a quarter of an hour.

Similarly, if on occasion one can't sleep because of very mild pain somewhere, one has to go to a Doctor instead of just taking a Mersyndol pill with its calmative ingredient. So next year, that's a whole night of little or no sleep, and then several hours at the Doctor next day to get a scrip for Mersyndol.
Cheers,
Renato

P.S. - A packet of 20 Mersyndol cost me $15.60 at a typical chemists. But later a packet of 40 Mersyndol cost me around $10 at Chemist Warehouse.
Astounding the price differences on such items.

 

[Hvr]

Just curious - is anybody stocking up with a few extra packets of Panadiene/Prodiene/Mersyndol etc before codiene becomes a prescription item next year?

With a couple of trips overseas each year there may be an opportunity to purchase a bottle of said pills and having used one or two of them bring an open bottle back to Australia.

 

[Pushka]

I don’t like the codeine based drugs. For pain I take the anti inflammatories like the nurofen. No doubt they will be banned soon too.

Any idea from medics why my ANA keeps rising (doubling) even on plaquenil? I’m not in a flare. Speckled and homogenous.