Sometimes I despair at my ongoing health concerns, but it hurts me more to see here some more serious maladies among members of my new Doper community. In spite of my problems I feel grateful, and I wish each of you a well-lived life and much improved health.
I’ve been to Johns Hopkins for grand rounds (where they get all the docs in the area to come by for the most difficult cases) twice, and they took lots of pics of my head both times. I’m sure I’m in a medical book or two by now.
Thanks for the tip about the arthritis meds. After poking around on the web it looks like it may be Enbril, which coincidentally is what Mrs Geek takes for arthritis. I’ll look into this some more. Thanks!
My only complaint right now is Endometrial cancer with metastasis to the lymph nodes in my pelvic and periaortic areas.
Well, and all the nasties that come along with radiation and chemo. (radiation is DONE and the first round of chemo went well. Now I’ll be bald with the second round of chemo…but that’s okay. It’ll grow back!)
But other than that…I’m pretty healthy. (a bit of a panic disorder and some insomnia…but I figure they’re okay considering. G)
- **Myopia. **Not so bad though… it’s been about -1.25 in both eyes for the last ten years - I’m 27.
- Dry Eyes Syndrome - when Meatload crooned 'There’s not a Dry Eye in the House- - the bastard obviously didnt invite me. This basically means that wearing contact lenses is a cast iron ho, which makes playing squash in the mornings a bitch too. Ripple effect.
- Epilepsy, although I havent had an episode for about 5 years now. This isn’t I-wanna-look-like-Chubby-Checker-on-Speed epilepsy, its more like waking up, going to the loo to brush my teeth, and waking up three hours later on the floor in front of the sink rubbing my goose egg and going, “Huh? What? Quo Vadis?”
Astigmatism and trichotillomania.
My OCD-related trich is limited to lashes and brows, though I’ve got it fairly well under control. I’ve not had the scalp hair issue, though.
I have essential tremor of the head. It’s a pretty minor tremor; the neurologist I saw about it decided it’s so minor there’s no point in treating it unless it gets worse or I develop a tremor elsewhere. I’ve recently been having a twitch occurring in one finger of my right hand, but I want to be certain that’s not stress related before I go back to the neurologist about it. The test for that will be vacation time next month; if I still have the twitch in the finger after that, I’ll make an appointment with the neurologist.
Last last year I developed lactose intolerance; my symptom is flatulence. So, I’ve been doing some diet modifying and also using Lactaid supplment tablets.
I’ve been near-sighted most of my life.
I have this too, like Enginerd. Unlike suezeekay, I’ve got it in both knees. It’s a real pain, because it won’t let me kneel. (You don’t think that’s a problem? Try getting up without kneeling on at least one knee.) Couple this with Gout and you have a real winner. I wouldn’t wish gout on my worst enemy.
I recently had a total colectomy and got an ileostomy. Apart from that and losing 10 kg during my time at the hospital and being reduced to a weakling who walks with a cane, I’m pretty all right.
I am/was hyperthyroid, and I took some radioactive iodine this past Friday. I normally have a thick head of hair, but I’m (temporarily, I hope) losing it due to this. It’s not noticeable, luckily.
I have mild but persistent asthma. I take meds for it and never have attacks, so it doesn’t limit me much.
I have a bunch of old mercury fillings that are needing to be replaced. Ugh.
A guy from work died last week from some sleep apnea-related cardiac arrest. He was 41, and had three young daughters. 
I turn 43 on Saturday [sigh]. To hell with all this stuff.
I was diagnosed as Bipolar II a little over a year ago. I’ve been so out of control for years that I haven’t worked in a year and a half. This shames me to no end. I also get severe panic attacks (another reason for not working). I know a lot of people with Bipolar Disorder are able to get out there and function… I’m happy when I’m able to go to the grocery store by myself without having a panic attack. I can’t enter Walmart alone because I’ll freak out. I go from alright to panic to massive crying jag in a 2-hour timespan. I also have a tendency to totally go off about something insignificant and I’ve purposely isolated myself from most of my friends because I don’t want to scare them. In my depressed cycles, I’ve made frighteningly detailed plans to off myself come into my head out of the blue. I fucking hate those bad thoughts. Driving the highway leaves me a nervous wreck, or ready to run people off the road. More bad thoughts.
I’ve tried a plethora of different meds or combinations of said medications. Still not in control. I want a new brain.
Oh yeah… I’m really really fat, too. Beyond fat enough to warrant surgery, which my insurance won’t even consider. So I’ll end up paying out of pocket.
You know, before now I never would have talked about these two issues here on the Dope. I was always afraid of a select few people chiding me about my choice to have surgery and not working due to my mental illness (NOT a choice). I guess right now, I just don’t care what they think. They’re not the ones who have to live in this body and deal with my brain malfunction. Fuck 'em.
Sorry to be so blunt. But there ya have it.
Yup, that was the answer to my Graves. A little RAI put my thyroid back in balance (and the hair loss was temporary – hope it is for you as well).
And as an update on my OP, followup tests showed that my levels are actually fine. Not sure what happened with that first test, but things are looking pretty good. Hope all of you see a positive turn too!
I had a ureteropelvic junction obstruction. You may notice that the information available mostly pertains to infants and children. That’s because they’ve been detecting this problem by ultrasound and correcting it early for about twenty years. I’m 20 :rolleyes: so I missed the cut-off. It was finally diagnosed when I was sixteen, when I developed a massive infection in my right kidney. That was a fun night. Anyway, that’s pretty much fixed now (pyeloplasty), so yay!
Aside from that, I have some kind of aggravated injury in my left knee, which I managed to thoroughly abuse during my sophomore year of high school (soccer and then skiing injuries). It lay dormant for a while, but flared up on a long bike trip last summer. It’s gotten better since then, but hasn’t retreated to the extent that it did before. I feel it when I ride my bike, which isn’t cool, since bicycles are pretty much my life. When it’s not bad, it’s kind of a vague, aching/tugging discomfort just under my kneecap. When it gets bad, I get sudden, immobilizing flashes of incredible pain that seem to start underneath and then wrap up and around my kneecap. Mmm, fun. Do I know what it is? Nope! I think I’m in denial, and haven’t asked a doctor about it.
Inspite of all that description, there’s really nothing else wrong with me. In fact, I feel a bit out-of-place in this thread, since I am actually almost absurdly healthy, aside from those minor bugs. I’ve had some mild depression, but no more than appears to be fairly normal for most people, and I haven’t been on meds for years now.
A chunk of my right brain does not work. It shows up on neuropsych testing and on quantitative EEG, but not on CAT scan. The neuropsychologist explained that this explained my position-sense problems and trouble with math.
I did manage to get a degree in chemistry, and I’m also the only one in my family who can navigate by compass. Probably some other tracts are picking up for the silent ones.
One thing he did predict right on was my extreme clumsiness. I’m good at tripping over intangible objects.
I also tolerate a number of less-interesting afflictions, but nothing else as interesting.
No, no…you must mean we should use bigger letters!
My problems are/were: [ul]
[li]Extreme myopia, happily now corrected by Lasik. I used to not be able to find my way to my own bathroom without glasses.[/li][li]Deviated septum, also surgically corrected, but I still get stuffy more than most people do.[/li][li]Shyness[/li][li]Innumeracy during my school years, closing the doors to many if not most careers I would have like to consider pursuing.[/li][/ul].
All in all I don’t think I have it too bad.
Oh wait…
[ul][li]Shortness[/ul].[/li]
I didn’t realize that until just yesterday when I measured myself on the gym scale* and found I was 5-7 1/2. Damn! I didn’t know I was that short.
*BTW I almost typed that I WEIGHED myself on the gym scale and found I was 5-7. No wonder I had math problems. 
I have mildly complicated Spina Bifida Occulta (or Occult Spinal Dysraphism).
I have tiny, tiny feel with very high arches (pes cavus), and have had sciatic-type leg and back pains since about the age of 5. Recently I developed plantar fasciitis in my feet as a result of the high arches. If I sit or stand for too long I get severe back pain with shooting pain in my legs, and vigorous exercise like aerobics or jogging is out of the question. Thankfully, I have no bladder or bowel problems and no spinal curvature, as it could be a lot worse.
Also severe primary dysmennorrhoea. I can’t take NSAIDs because they cause bronchospasm (although I don’t actually have full-blown asthma), and my current regime of contraceptive pills plus mild opiates isn’t working, so it looks like I’m heading for heavy duty opiate painkillers during my period. It’s either that or having a baby, and at the moment the drugs are preferable.
I have interesting allergies and fun idiosyncratic reactions to drugs. My body doesn’t like most medications.
Penicillens would kill me by anaphylaxis.
Aspirin, Naproxen and most of the heavy-duty non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs make my airways shut down.
Erythromycin (the drug normally used in people with penicillen allergies) causes me to break out in multiple, massive, excruciatingly painful apthous mouth ulcers (canker sores). Last time they extended into my throat and prevented me from eating or speaking for over a week.
Cephalosporins (another type of antibiotic) give me really weird dreams and some pretty severe GI symptoms.
Since using theMerina IUD my periods have stopped. It’s different than most IUDs because it contains a small amount of progesterone that is released locally. Most women experience dramatic lessening of menstruation or ceasing altogether. While IUDs are generally given to women who have had children, it’s not unheard-of for other women to get them too. You might want to ask your doctor about this option.