The All-Purpose Health Thread

[Nocturnal Submission]

I think that we need a thread for general health-related matters. We have quite a lot of them and they currently tend to go on Mundane Thread II, which just seems a bit wrong. It feels odd to be discussing someone's tests, their forthcoming operation or just health concerns generally amidst less serious discussions. So, let's collect them here. It'll also be easier to refer back to for helpful advice or guidance that posters have offered.

To get the ball rolling, I've received an invite from my GP surgery to take part in a study to investigate the link between genetics and men at a higher risk of developing prostate cancer. Usually, to reassure the potential volunteer that participation won't be a huge drain on their time, the invite and any accompanying literature are quite brief, but I've got an opening letter from the surgery, a 7-page information sheet from the Institute of Cancer Research, a consent form and a 4-page questionnaire, so I'm wondering how much of my time this is going to involve. OTOH, I do believe that it's important to engage with medical research whenever possible so I'm inclined to go along with it.

[Wouter D]

My hay fever has all but died since I had four years of immunotherapy. It was a bit of a slog, but quality of life has improved no end.

If you suffer from seasonal allergies: this therapy is fantastic.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I get hay fever but not particularly severely, thank goodness. The odd dose of loratadine at peak times is usually enough to do the trick. I've seen a few people who get it bad though and it looks very unpleasant when you do.

[hobbes]

I've got a hiatus hernia which makes me out of breath really quickly. I'm the least fit I've ever been because of it. Curse getting old.

[ursus arctos]

The best thing that ever happened for my hay fever was leaving Frankfurt. By the time we did, all three of us were being treated by an allergist, the combination of the green belt and the surrounding hills is deadly.

[Lang Spoon]

Mine has faded to mild sneezy irritation since I got it all a sudden aged 14 en route to Alton Towers- bastard Midlands pollen (I thought I was going to have to scratch my throat out till we got to a chemist). My sister and flatmate are both suffering hateful June right now but.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Me and the boy were on about hay fever the other day. Similar to NS mine is manageable now, with a box of tablets in the car on standby for peak pollen days (of which there have been a few lately) but I used to have it really bad as a teenager. My son is now 20 and has had it quite bad at times, but he's been in Asia for three months and said it never bothered him once, even in rural areas, but it kicked off big time as soon as they got to Holland (they stopped off on the way back between flights). I spent a few summers to in America around his age and I never got it there, again even when travelling in more rural areas.

It's hard going round here of course, particularly now when they are all cutting for silage.

[Amor de Cosmos]

The stuff you did at sixteen bites back at 70. I crushed my right foot doing holiday work over Christmas 1966 (weirdly I can still remember the song playing on Radio Caroline at the time, a true frozen moment.) Anyway, I spend one of my two gym sessions every week working on a variety of balance exercises. Almost all of them are incredibly arduous because my right foot is very slightly out of alignment, presumably has been for most of my life. Until now I'd never noticed it, but it accounts for a battery of minor aches and pains I've had for years. Such as the agonising stiffness I get in my left knee when I can't move it for some time (airline seats are particularly bad.) It's obviously been trying to compensate for the dodgy right foot for decades. So, if you've forgotten the idiotic things you did in your teens, be aware, your body hasn't. Expect a message soon.

[Lang Spoon]

Oh dear

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

When I first went and got proper running shoes a few years ago I had to do the whole thing of running up and down in the shop while a fella crouches and watches you intently. It was all quite disconcerting, but anyway the guy asked if I'd had some kind of injury when I was younger, and wouldn't believe me when I said no, not that I recall anyway. My parents died long ago so I can't even ask them (not that my dad would have remembered anyway, unless it was so severe that it caused him to momentarily lower his newspaper).

[Amor de Cosmos]

Yeah. I did that too. It was when they first picked up that there was some thing "off" about my gait. I'd had a succession of issues, Achilles problems and shin splints, all in my left leg. It took me some time to realise that the generating problem was on the other side.

[Balderdasha]

Ok, I have a job for you guys.

I am currently transitioning from one mood stabiliser to another. My existing mood stabiliser has the good point that it definitely works for me, but it has already contributed to knocking out two of my internal organs (gall bladder and thyroid) and has the possibility of damaging other more essential organs (kidney, liver, pancreas). The new mood stabiliser carries a lower risk to my organs, and it's possible even that my thyroid could recover (the gall bladder has been removed so that's a lost cause), but we don't know if it will actually work for me as a mood stabiliser.

So, over the next three months, I gradually come off one and go onto the other, and have to just watch if my symptoms get worse. I can watch myself, but self-awareness is hard. My husband will also watch and knows me and my symptoms well, but extra eyes would be useful. Ideally, I'd ask other family members to watch, but for various reasons too laborious to go into right now, that's not a possibility.

What I'd like you guys to watch for is:
a) hypomania. Am I posting loads of stuff late at night or early in the morning? I shouldn't be on here after 11pm BST or before 7am BST. Am I telling loads of hilarious anecdotes, or becoming incoherent? Any illusions of grandeur or delusional beliefs?

b) depression. This may be harder to spot because maybe I just wouldn't post. But if I do start sounding bleak, pessimistic and hopeless, let me know.

I am not in any way giving you responsibility for my mental well-being. As I say, I'm just asking for extra eyes on the situation.

Thank you.

[Toby Gymshorts]

A list:

Paranosmia - caused by a youthful amateur Judo incident. Ongoing.

Front tooth crown - caused by a youthful skateboard accident, via an unsuccessful veneer of the damaged tooth which led to a nerve infection, the left side of my face ballooning to twice its normal size, and me personally telling the dentist responsible to "fuck right off" when they tried to charge me for their awful work. Pretty much sorted however residual problems are there, not least that the bloody crown will need replacing soon. Ongoing, I suppose.

Back problems - caused by me managing to tear a muscle completely away from the base of my spine, playing basketball. Couldn't walk at all for two weeks, Couldn't walk properly otherwise for three months. Ongoing.

Knee problems - 75% tear of left MCL. Repaired badly by terrible Cumbrian NHS hospital, by putting me in a groin-to-ankle cast for two months. MCL now healed longer that it should be, leading to my knee being able to bend inwards, in a fashion that apparently makes other people queasy. Cartilage now wearing away in a "V" shape, will eventually snap and at that point they'll think about maybe fixing it. Ongoing.

Ankle problems - both sides. Kept spraining them playing football as a yoot. Didn't want to not play so often strapped myself up (unwise) and played anyway. Ongoing.

The piéce de resistance...

I've alluded to health worries on the Mundane Thread, and in the spirit of oversharing - which has become my M.O., let's face it - I'm experiencing some complications from my long-standing bowel disorders (IBS and Diverticulosis, since you didn't ask).

As my fellow sufferers may or may not attest, years of spending way too much time on the loo will, eventually, come home to roost in the unappealing shape of chronic haemorrhoids. I've been lucky in that mine have been relatively benign for a long time, lucky being a relative concept at this stage.

In the last few weeks I've been bleeding. A lot. To the point where it has become concerning - and so I went to the Docs. I got myself an appointment with a new GP who I'd never met, and who, on Tuesday morning, had the privilege of putting her finger at least 3 miles into my bum (at least, it definitely felt like 3 miles).

The professional opinion is that it's almost certainly internal haemorrhoids, but that doesn't explain the sheer volume of blood I'm losing every time I go to the loo. Which can be as often as 4 times a day, statistics fans. So I'm being referred to colorectal to find out whether it's:

a) best case scenario - internal piles which need to be chemically killed off or
b) worst case scenario - bowel cancer or
c) something inbetween.

In the meantime I'm thoroughly enjoying the suppositories which seem to induce a bowel movement every time I insert them - and, hence, cause more blood loss.

You did ask. Sort of.

[Lang Spoon]

Jaysus. Good luck Tobes. And Balderdasha.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Good grief Toby. That's a hell of a menu.

IBS I know a bit about as La Signora has been a sufferer her entire life. She now monitors her diet religiously, no lactose, no gluten and a selection of other forbidden fruits and veggies on her FODMAP list.

[Toby Gymshorts]

I'm lucky in that I can control my IBS through, basically, sensible dietary choices. No lactose intolerance, no real gluten intolerance to speak of. I know what sets me off and what doesn't, and it seems to work itself out (hur).

This new wrinkle is a doozy, though. I mean - and I apologise for grossness, oversharing, whatever - I lose a huge amount of blood every time.

You can probably understand why I'm a bit worried (and why I choose to worry about it, as per the Mundane Thread).

[ursus arctos]

Toby, I've always been of the view that you can wear whatever the damn hell you want, but after reading that list, I'm thinking that people should be buying you stuff.

Take care of yourself.

[WOM]

It's not widely known, but Tobes travels with an extensive, full-time team of medical personnel. He requires constant monitoring and maintenance, but seems none the worse for it.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Toby, I've always been of the view that you can wear whatever the damn hell you want, but after reading that list, I'm thinking that people should be buying you stuff.

Take care of yourself.

Send trainers.

[Amor de Cosmos]

This new wrinkle is a doozy, though. I mean - and I apologise for grossness, oversharing, whatever - I lose a huge amount of blood every time.

You can probably understand why I'm a bit worried (and why I choose to worry about it, as per the Mundane Thread).

No apologies necessary at all. There's no other language you can use to talk about this stuff, and it is important to talk about. Must of us have probably not done that enough.

[Toby Gymshorts]

It's not widely known, but Tobes travels with an extensive, full-time team of medical personnel. He requires constant monitoring and maintenance, but seems none the worse for it.

I have a minder in TLMG who will often, softly, say "do you think that's a good idea?".

She's never wrong in her assessments.

[ursus arctos]

On their way

[Toby Gymshorts]

eyeroll.gif

[Toby Gymshorts]

Hang on, I forgot my stress-induced psoriasis. That's largely under control these days apart from a patch on my left elbow which steadfastly refuses to fuck off out of it.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Apart from all that, I'm quite the catch, ladies <winks, hopes eye stays in>.