The Medical Thread

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Sounds like ulnar nerve impingement to me.

That was my initial thought, but he didn't mention any radiating pain, nor a difference in sensation along the dermatomes. Another possibility is that he has a minor fracture, which might have occurred if he landed on his outstretched hand with a lot of force while getting into the pushup position. Wouldn't be uncommon.

[barcode120x]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

That was my initial thought, but he didn't mention any radiating pain, nor a difference in sensation along the dermatomes. Another possibility is that he has a minor fracture, which might have occurred if he landed on his outstretched hand with a lot of force while getting into the pushup position. Wouldn't be uncommon.

I looked up that ulnar nerve impingement but I don't think what I have really relates to that. It might be a fracture, but it's odd that it still hasn't healed since. I actually stopped working out a bit prior to when I started to feel the pain and haven't since then. Well I'm heading to my family doctor next week anyway for a physical and I'll let her know about my wrist.

Thanks for the info

[Hiroi Sekai]

Been feeling so...off for the past two months now, and doctors can't seem to pinpoint the problem.

Symptoms include (but don't always appear together) nausea, headaches, lightheadedness, fatigue, tired eyes, numbness in areas of the left arm, uncomfortable burning in chest area, stiff neck, light sniffling (sinuses) and (sometimes) light popping/clicking in the right ear/jaw area.

I've had a head CT, 5 separate EKGs, 7 different blood tests, and a chest X-ray that showed no results. Doctors haven't told me what it is and haven't done much past try to test for GERD and anxiety, both of which obviously didn't turn out. Tried doing a complete disinfecting of my apartment to eliminate the potential of something bacterial with no results. Now my mother is thinking it might be TMJ since my uni homework has me at the computer often. Gotta ask the doc about that in 3 days when I see him.

The nausea and fatigue are the worst. It's the type of nausea where it drives me to force dry coughs thinking I'll throw up, but it never happens. The fatigue comes and goes without warning, ranging from any sort of extremities. It's really been cutting into my school schedule as of late. It's also been cutting down my meals on some days when the nausea is stronger.

Not sure what it is, does this sound familiar? I even had a short period where it felt like the flu, but I got over them and it's back to the regular symptoms again. It's almost two months now, so it's getting really annoying, to be honest.

[MeoTwister5]

Sounds like hyperthyroidism. Did you get thyroid function tests done? Do you have feeling of something enlarging on the front of your throat or say any nodules you can feel when you go through it?

[Hiroi Sekai]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Sounds like hyperthyroidism. Did you get thyroid function tests done? Do you have feeling of something enlarging on the front of your throat or say any nodules you can feel when you go through it?

That's what the doctor thought in one ER visit, so they pulled 5 vials of blood from my right arm to test for it, along with other things, and nothing. I've had a couple of drop-in visits where they felt for nodules/lumps on my neck, and nothing there either. It's just the standard stiff neck that goes away with time and/or rest.

[Addendum] I suppose I should mention this as well. Everything started around mid-December when I suddenly felt a case of tachycardia with a tingling sensation in the left arm and rushed over to ER in case it was a stroke. Seems it was not the case, and it wasn't even anxiety. That was the night I felt my first wisdom tooth coming in for the very first time. At this time, a lot of the tooth has broken through the gumline without any pain in the area (a little natural tenderness, sure), but it's still growing in for sure. Thanks to this illness I haven't gone to the dentist opposed to the doctor yet, so perhaps that might be playing into it somehow?

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by papermario13689

Symptoms include (but don't always appear together) nausea, headaches, lightheadedness, fatigue, tired eyes, numbness in areas of the left arm, uncomfortable burning in chest area, stiff neck, light sniffling (sinuses) and (sometimes) light popping/clicking in the right ear/jaw area.
...
The nausea and fatigue are the worst. It's the type of nausea where it drives me to force dry coughs thinking I'll throw up, but it never happens. The fatigue comes and goes without warning, ranging from any sort of extremities. It's really been cutting into my school schedule as of late. It's also been cutting down my meals on some days when the nausea is stronger.

Not sure what it is, does this sound familiar? I even had a short period where it felt like the flu, but I got over them and it's back to the regular symptoms again. It's almost two months now, so it's getting really annoying, to be honest.

The issues with your jaw could possibly be explained by your wisdom tooth coming in. It's painful and represents a new mass in your mouth, and is causing you to shift how you chew. If you're experiencing numerous occasions of bleeding with the wisdom tooth, it's possible that you're getting a series of infections through the bacteria in your mouth. How is your dental hygiene? Do you regularly floss and/or brush your gums? (Just trying to get a sense of how tough your gums are.)

Your symptoms appeared during the winter months. Have you been living in that area for all or most of your life? Have you experienced anything like this before? Do you dress warmly and is your apartment sufficiently warm, or are you often feeling chilled? Do you take a multivitamin? If not, how is your diet - are you eating a mixture of proteins and vegetables? The winter months are very dry - are you keeping hydrated? How many times would you say that you go to the bathroom to urinate, and what color is your urine?

[warita]

I have been ill this past week with some lung infection.... loads of semi dry caughing and not much getting better despite being on antibiotics (which makes me suspect it is a virus after all).

But anyways, a few days ago, I had this really massive caughing fit. I couldnt stop caughing for like 10 minutes and suddenly i started feeling hot pain around my ribcage. I suspect I might have torn a few muscles between the ribs. This hurts so badly, I cannot caugh and have trouble sleeping, because no matter how i position myself, it is hurting.

The interesting thing though is, that after this "injury" the first 2 days it seemed to be actually getting better, the pain was slowly getting less, but on day 3 it started returning and that despite the fact I havent been caughing much since the day of the injury (and believe me, I think twice whether I really want to caugh now). And it seems to be getting worse by the day instead of better.

I wonder if it is something to worry about.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by warita

But anyways, a few days ago, I had this really massive caughing fit. I couldnt stop caughing for like 10 minutes and suddenly i started feeling hot pain around my ribcage.

This was most likely the sensation of the muscles tiring out. Your respiratory muscles aren't any different than the muscles elsewhere in your body - if you've ever run for a long time and then felt your legs burning, it's the same mechanics at play.

Originally Posted by warita

The interesting thing though is, that after this "injury" the first 2 days it seemed to be actually getting better, the pain was slowly getting less, but on day 3 it started returning and that despite the fact I havent been caughing much since the day of the injury (and believe me, I think twice whether I really want to caugh now). And it seems to be getting worse by the day instead of better.

Was there anything special about that third day? Did you exercise, carry anything heavy, or do anything out of the ordinary?

One possibility is that you're having chain reactions with your muscles. Basically, your coughing fit temporarily wore out some muscles, forcing you to use secondary respiratory muscles more heavily. Because you were in discomfort, you haven't been able to rest well. Even as the primary muscles began to recover, your secondary muscles are experiencing discomfort, which is forcing you to compensate in weird ways that keep stressing the muscles.

In a worst-case scenario, it's possible that you fractured a rib during the coughing fit. I would not necessarily say that it is likely, though, unless you have some other confounding factors (poor bone density, for example, or a previous rib fracture that hasn't fully healed).

I can recommend cough drops, if you aren't using them already. Some cough drops have a numbing solution in them so that your throat will not feel irritation, which will suppress the urge to cough. Since you are not having mucus buildup in your throat it is safe to use. The packaging of the cough drops that I use advises against taking more than one cough drop every two hours. I would suggest taking them after meals, to prevent a possible choke hazard and to prevent the saliva and food from washing the medication out of your throat.

If the problem becomes severe or continues to worsen over the next 2-3 days, I'd strongly advise seeing your physician.

[warita]

The maximum strain I am getting is when I get up to make myself some tea with lemon and honey or go to use the bathroom. I havent added any new injury to the old one.

Frankly, I dont think it is the rib, it feels like a partially tore a muscle(s) between the ribs. But yeah, it could be as you say.... I will wait a few days to see if it is getting any better.

Caugh drops dont have any effect on me and mucus liquifying medicine either. Both would be of great help, if they actually worked. The only thing that makes my life bearable right now are strong pain killers. When I take those, i can even clear my lungs a little ..... but it took me a few days and some acrobatic experimenting to find a position for caughing, where i feel the least pain.

And I am supposed to be back to work on tuesday. Sigh....

[Hiroi Sekai]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

The issues with your jaw could possibly be explained by your wisdom tooth coming in. It's painful and represents a new mass in your mouth, and is causing you to shift how you chew. If you're experiencing numerous occasions of bleeding with the wisdom tooth, it's possible that you're getting a series of infections through the bacteria in your mouth. How is your dental hygiene? Do you regularly floss and/or brush your gums? (Just trying to get a sense of how tough your gums are.)

Your symptoms appeared during the winter months. Have you been living in that area for all or most of your life? Have you experienced anything like this before? Do you dress warmly and is your apartment sufficiently warm, or are you often feeling chilled? Do you take a multivitamin? If not, how is your diet - are you eating a mixture of proteins and vegetables? The winter months are very dry - are you keeping hydrated? How many times would you say that you go to the bathroom to urinate, and what color is your urine?

There's nothing more with the tooth other than it's there. Sure, it was a bit tender around it at first, but now it's normal. I get at least 2 brushes/flosses in a day too. The gums only bleed if I brush long enough.

I've been in this city for over 2 years, and this surrounding area for a lot more. Other than some bad bronchitis one year, I'd been sickness-free. Wisened up since the bronchitis and am keeping warm. I'll admit there's been a period where I often forgot to take my daily multivitamin, but as of recently I started up again. Diet's alright- a few instances recently through the nausea where I had to skip meals though. I keep quite hydrated with bottles of water; as such the urine is usually clear.

Not exactly sure. My immune system might have weakened over the years; I've had simple bugs last for months at a younger age. Just hope this follows a similar pattern at this point, since they normally never stayed more than 2 and a half months.

[Kudryavka]

You know how when you're wearing a jacket and it's really hot, like 80 to 100 degrees, and periodically you'll get this "rush" of cold all over your body? It kinda feels like your blood turn into ice water for a few seconds and shoots all over? What is that called?

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[barcode120x]

Just got back from an Orthopedic doctor and it turns out my left wrist is just inflamed, tendonitis, and most likely due to working out as that was the only type of physical change I had done prior to noticing the pain. They did X-rays also which did not indicate any fractures o bone problems. I'll be wearing a splint for awhile and taking some anti-inflammatory meds. It should get better but if the meds don't work, I'll be seeing the doc in 2 weeks.

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by barcode120x

Just got back from an Orthopedic doctor and it turns out my left wrist is just inflamed, tendonitis, and most likely due to working out as that was the only type of physical change I had done prior to noticing the pain. They did X-rays also which did not indicate any fractures o bone problems. I'll be wearing a splint for awhile and taking some anti-inflammatory meds. It should get better but if the meds don't work, I'll be seeing the doc in 2 weeks.

Is that your dominant hand? Don't over use it...

[barcode120x]

Originally Posted by GenjiChan

Is that your dominant hand? Don't over use it...

Fortunately not. Need to that right wrist workin hard to hit some balls.................tennis balls I mean






(I actually do play tennis)

[AnimeFan188]

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[LeoXiao]

k guys I'm not really sure if this is appropriate for this thread but I guess I'll ask anyway.

I've been quite sick for the last few days, and need to get better, or at least well enough to be able to do homework and study for tests.

Spoiler for symptoms and progression:

I started noticing problems the beginning of last week when I had minor headaches and needed more sleep than usual, but there wasn't really anything wrong until Thursday when I got a stuffy nose. This too wasn't a big deal until my head started hurting on Friday and I went to sleep very early due to feeling lethargic. I then slept for more than twelve hours until Saturday, by which time I felt very weak, had no appetite, and my nose was running.
It seemed to to get better that evening and Sunday -- my head hurt a little and I felt weak and cold, but I could function more or less normally. But this morning I woke up feeling about ten degrees cooler than the room actually was, and I had an incredibly intense headache. I went to class but had to leave halfway through as the professor's lecture was making my head hurt even worse. I took a nap to prepare for my next class but there was no effect, my head still hurt like hell. After that class was over I bought and ate some ramen to clear up my nose, then refilled the cup with hot water and drank that. This seems to have eased the headache a little bit, but still when I move or think too hard it hurts again.

Basically: I feel like my head is overheated, likely I've got some kind of fever. What do you guys recommend for this? Should I just keep drinking hot water? Since I can still eat, what should I eat? I need to be in working shape as soon as possible.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by LeoXiao

Basically: I feel like my head is overheated, likely I've got some kind of fever. What do you guys recommend for this? Should I just keep drinking hot water? Since I can still eat, what should I eat? I need to be in working shape as soon as possible.

Does your neck feel stiff, or hurt when you try to turn it in any particular direction? If so, there's a chance that you have meningitis. Depending on your vaccination history and where you're living, that can be a medical emergency. See a physician as soon as possible.

[LeoXiao]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

Does your neck feel stiff, or hurt when you try to turn it in any particular direction? If so, there's a chance that you have meningitis. Depending on your vaccination history and where you're living, that can be a medical emergency. See a physician as soon as possible.

*checks neck

No, there isn't any problem except my headache, inability to concentrate intensely, and chilliness. 70F feels like 60.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by LeoXiao

*checks neck

No, there isn't any problem except my headache, inability to concentrate intensely, and chilliness. 70F feels like 60.

You are most likely running a fever; your body's attempt to raise its temperature explains why you often feel chilled. There are a number of reasons for it but the most common is infection. Lack of neck stiffness doesn't rule out meningitis, unfortunately. Worsening headaches over the course of a week that have been lasting for hours, even through sleep, is a worrisome sign. Are your eyes more sensitive to light than usual?

Has anyone around you been sick with anything? Do you have any bleeding or clotting disorders? I would still strongly recommend scheduling an appointment with a physician as soon as possible; I might even go so far as to suggest heading to an emergency department.