General Medical issues thread

[Milboo]

oh goody

In what way, feeling sick?

No - never felt ill on it - more so that the itching started.

ETA now thinking about it after reading Pushka's post - I think I felt a little achy, like I was going to get a cold, for a few days but it passed.

 

[cove]

Have two family friends getting scheduled for heart by pass surgery at the hospital I went to 24 years ago. One more had a stent put in his left main artery about 4 weeks ago in Sydney.
I just hope they get thru it and enjoy a long and fruitful life.

 

[love_the_life]

Have two family friends getting scheduled for heart by pass surgery at the hospital I went to 24 years ago. One more had a stent put in his left main artery about 4 weeks ago in Sydney.
I just hope they get thru it and enjoy a long and fruitful life.

Hope all goes well. We have a friend who is to have open heart surgery in May - must be the age for it! My father's bypass did not end well (23 years ago) but he was quite elderly and his heart was in very poor shape.

 

[Pushka]

Sad news today as an identity in SA died suddenly in the gym. Aged 49. Described as a gentle giant, he was heard on Saturday morning radio during the gardening programmes, and hosted the wood chopping events at the Royal Adelaide Show. So young. So sudden.

 

[RooFlyer]

Sitting in comfy 'recovery' chair after a routine ( ie no symptoms) colonoscopy this morning, at Hobart Private Hospital.

Very good experience ( considering!). Pretty much a production line, but nurses all terrific.

The prep is of course a bit ordinary, but for the result you get, absolutely no worries.

Now, what's for lunch ?

 

[Pushka]

Sitting in comfy 'recovery' chair after a routine ( ie no symptoms) colonoscopy this morning, at Hobart Private Hospital.

Very good experience ( considering!). Pretty much a production line, but nurses all terrific.

The prep is of course a bit ordinary, but for the result you get, absolutely no worries.

Now, what's for lunch ?

I did not do well on that prep. Fortunately hadnt eaten much the day prior, and woke on prep day with a bit of a headache. My remedy for that is toast with vegemite, tea and nurofen, which of course being prep day was not allowed. Took one swallow and within 10 minutes it came back, the wrong way. Tried again an hour or so later with same result. Was so ill. I called the Hospital that night (as requested) and said I had done no prep. Felt disgusting with migraine.

Anyway attended and they said no problems, will give you an enema. Well, that was waaaaay better. After the day before the colonoscopy itself was a dream run. Except, the specialist said he would talk with me, as he did with all patients, before he left. He didnt! He forgot.
I called up the clinic a day or so later and was basically told by "those kind of receptionist people" to wait. All i wanted was what he'd promised to do. After two weeks I finally got the report but dont think given it was through the private system (ie $$$$$$$$) that this was appropriate management.

 

[RooFlyer]

A bit surprised to be given a copy of the Specialist's report to my GP and copies of the pictures - in living colour!

Wondering if I should post them here for 'posterity' . (No, I won't ).

 

[Pushka]

A bit surprised to be given a copy of the Specialist's report to my GP and copies of the pictures - in living colour!

Wondering if I should post them here for 'posterity' . (No, I won't ).

Nah. No need. As punishment I'll see you and raise you with hysterectomy photos if you post the colonoscopy.

 

[JohnM]

A bit surprised to be given a copy of the Specialist's report to my GP and copies of the pictures - in living colour!

Wondering if I should post them here for 'posterity' . (No, I won't ).

Didn't they also give you the endoscopy pictures taken with the same probe immediately after your colonoscopy .

 

[Quickstatus]

Prescription glasses - multifocal $500 each pair?

 

[Quickstatus]

They are just bits of plastic.......

.......

Didn't they also give you the endoscopy pictures taken with the same probe immediately after your colonoscopy .

It’s a common request to get the endoscopy done first

 

[Flying mermaid]

This is another thread I am way behind on, but given the collective experience on here, I was interested in some opinions.

My GP has taken me off blood pressure medication. I had a scary episode 18 months ago, when it spiralled into the 230/110 region but since then has been well controlled by 5mg amlodipine. Then it dropped into the 99/64 territory so first my GP got me to cut the amlodipine in half and then go off it totally.

As a result I was monitoring it daily and it has been behaving. However I noticed that my pulse rate was quite often in the low 50s and sometimes 40s. My GP told me to try to monitor how I felt when it was in the 40s. I.e. does it go low when I am tired or do I get tired when it is low. She felt given I didn’t get faint or breathless it wa fine and just the way I am. This isn’t really new as I am sure it’s been like this for years, although never really taken that much notice previously.

I have bought a Fitbit to help with seeing how my pulse rate is going. Usually overnight it goes down to 40 and sometimes even 38. Mr FM isn’t happy about it, but I honestly feel fine and although I am absolutely not fit, it doesn’t seem to be an issue.

Anyone else have experience with a low pulse like that? For an unfit person - I know athletes can have that sort of rest rate?

 

[drron]

A pulse in the 40s or high 30s can be quite normal overnight.However if it is in the 40s during the day and you are feeling tired when it is you are symptomatic and it should be checked further.
A Holter monitor would be reasonable-monitors your ECG so you can see if it is just a slow rate or are you having a form of heart block or other rhythm problem.

 

[ICUDr]

Ah yes good old Troponin.

In 2003 I took dad to Kogarah hospital for his appointment and waited for him to finish. I wasn't feeling well walking to car and back and was short of breath and had pain in chest. It was like this for a few days earlier but now a little worse. My GP was 200 metres away and went to see him. He did a blood test and I went home to slerp and rest.

I woke up ~3:45pm as GP had called. "John you've had a heart attack. Go to ER. Tell them your troponin levels are a little high."

Hospital not far from home and I was there before 5:00pm and told them story. They took me in. Confirmed troponin levels from GP earlier with another blood test and this time a little higher. "John you've had a heart attack. We need to keep you for observation." Troponin did get a little higher in the day and half I was in intensive care. Moved to the ward the 2nd night or 3rd morning.

Angiogram was fine 5 days later and a couple of weeks later stress test showed no damage. "John, you didn't have a heart attack."

I had a heart attack 15 years ago. That I know for a fact.

Unfortunately medicine isn't an exact science. Which is a pain many times, literally and figuratively

Every test has a percentage of false positives and false negatives and I'm glad yours was the former and not the later.

Your Troponin can go up due to several reasons. One of those being a heart attack. Better be safe than sorry

 

[Flying mermaid]

A pulse in the 40s or high 30s can be quite normal overnight.However if it is in the 40s during the day and you are feeling tired when it is you are symptomatic and it should be checked further.
A Holter monitor would be reasonable-monitors your ECG so you can see if it is just a slow rate or are you having a form of heart block or other rhythm problem.

Thanks. It does get into the 40s in the day as well, but it is usually because I haven’t had a good night’s sleep or something like that, so the tiredness seems to have a cause? This is what my GP wanted me to try and measure - whether the tiredness came from the low pulse or caused the low pulse. I will talk to her about the monitor - not due to see her until next year though.

 

[cove]

When I was recovering from my heart bypass operation the central ward nursing station had the settings of below 40 and above 170 as the heart rate warning levels. That was almost 24 years ago. We are all so very different that’s for sure.

 

[Pushka]

This is another thread I am way behind on, but given the collective experience on here, I was interested in some opinions.

My GP has taken me off blood pressure medication. I had a scary episode 18 months ago, when it spiralled into the 230/110 region but since then has been well controlled by 5mg amlodipine. Then it dropped into the 99/64 territory so first my GP got me to cut the amlodipine in half and then go off it totally.

As a result I was monitoring it daily and it has been behaving. However I noticed that my pulse rate was quite often in the low 50s and sometimes 40s. My GP told me to try to monitor how I felt when it was in the 40s. I.e. does it go low when I am tired or do I get tired when it is low. She felt given I didn’t get faint or breathless it wa fine and just the way I am. This isn’t really new as I am sure it’s been like this for years, although never really taken that much notice previously.

I have bought a Fitbit to help with seeing how my pulse rate is going. Usually overnight it goes down to 40 and sometimes even 38. Mr FM isn’t happy about it, but I honestly feel fine and although I am absolutely not fit, it doesn’t seem to be an issue.

Anyone else have experience with a low pulse like that? For an unfit person - I know athletes can have that sort of rest rate?

Thyroid test maybe?

 

[Flying mermaid]

Thyroid test maybe?

No we have done that - all normal ranges. In fact all bloods are normal apart from a transferrin a bit low (27) and slight neutropenia 1.9 - been like that for a few years.

 

[blackcat20]

Started week 3 of my BCC treatment yesterday. No major side effects so far except for some sweats late last week. The spot is fading and the surrounds are turning white.

 

[drron]

Tiredness per se shouldn't cause a low pulse.But a low pulse rate certainly can cause tiredness.
A common comment by people having a pacemaker in after passing out-I have so much more energy.