Posts by dustymaker642

I have a question; my dad just got back from the doctor with a positive stool test for occult bleeding, and they've referred him for a colonoscopy. He’s planning on getting the procedure done at a private clinic, but I was wondering, if it turns out he actually needs surgery, will the hospital respect the results from the private facility, or are they going to pester him with another colonoscopy and a whole bunch of other tests anyway?

Brian Doyle said:I know this isn't strictly how things are done here, but I would really love to hear from someone with actual expertise who might be able to walk me through this part about fibrosis. My rural family doctor told me the results were normal, but honestly, that word just doesn't sit right with me...
Just once more, thanks in advance. 😉

That word? You mean the fibrosis? Look, until someone who actually knows their stuff weighs in... I'm just a layman, but from what I understand, fibrosis is basically just some tissue thickening, and while I'm sure nobody is ever particularly excited to hear that term, it doesn't necessarily have to mean something bad.

Grace Lewis6 said:Hi
My urine culture came back showing > 10^5 E. coli. I don't have any actual symptoms, though my urine amylase was a little high, but I'm not sure if there's even a connection there.
The antibiogram lists about 15 possible antibiotics, but apparently, only around 5 can be prescribed by a primary care doctor, while the rest require a specialist.
My doctor decided on 10 days of Efox, 500mg twice a day, followed by 10 days of Nolicin, 400mg twice a day.
Does this sound like a solid treatment plan, and should I get a new test done immediately after finishing the meds, or is it better to wait a bit?

To get an accurate check, you really ought to wait about 10 days after your last dose of antibiotics. I dealt with E. coli for a long time myself, and I honestly haven't heard of this specific two-step therapy you were given, though that doesn't mean it isn't effective. To be blunt, at the end of the day, antibiotics didn't do much for me—it was actually garlic and wine that finally helped.🙂

I’m currently three weeks into my pregnancy, and since Saturday evening, I’ve been experiencing some light bleeding from my urethra, regardless of whether I've actually used the bathroom or not. It feels like the opening is somewhat swollen and really irritated, though I don't have any other symptoms aside from needing to pee constantly—which has been happening for the last few months anyway, mostly because the baby is sitting very low in my pelvis. I went in this morning to get some blood and urine tests done, though the urine sample wasn't my first one of the morning.

BLOOD WORK:
Leukocytes
CBC Panel
LYMPH
MONO
GRAU
Erythrocytes
Hgb 133
Hematocrit
MCV
MCH
MCHC
RDW
Platelets
Glucose

Everything is within the normal range; nothing is even close to hitting the upper or lower limits.

URINE:

DIPSTICK TEST
Appearance: clear
Color: pale yellow
pH: 5.0
Specific Gravity: 1.005
Glucose: 0/neg
Ketones: 0/neg
Bilirubin: 0/neg
Urobilinogen: norm
Protein: 0/neg
Blood: trace
Nitrites: neg
Leukocytes: neg

URINE SEDIMENT
Leukocytes: 0-1
Erythrocytes: 3-4
Squamous epithelial cells: 0-1

No bacteria, no yeast, nothing at all...

So where is the blood coming from?

My primary care physician says "it could be anything, or it might be nothing," while my OB-GYN just tells me "it's nothing." 🙄

Please don't let things like this get under your skin... the fact that people are buying these items just shows they're genuinely excited about the baby's arrival and that they actually care, which honestly can't be a bad thing at all. In fact, I think it's quite lovely. 🙂

crimsonfox26 said:Is it actually plausible for just one external thing to pop up and then vanish within a day or two, or am I looking at something else entirely here?

I mean, why wouldn't it be possible? 🤷

Thanks for such a detailed and clear response. 🙂

Maria Fisher46 said:How much time passed between stopping the treatment and providing the samples for the USA tests? And why did you have to do the USA tests three times? Also, what was the urine sediment looking like?

It had been about 20 days from the time I stopped the medication until I gave the samples. As for why I had to go three times, I honestly don't know. 🤷 It seems like whenever I need a urine culture—and I've been needing them quite frequently lately—I always end up having to provide three separate samples over three consecutive days. I don't actually have the results for the urine sediment on hand, because I usually get those after just one sample, and that's typically handled at a different lab here in my city.

I’m honestly not sure I follow the question. They took three vials of blood from you, and now you’re wondering why they needed three instead of just one? It seems pretty obvious that your doctor ordered a more comprehensive blood panel, and when someone says "a broader panel," that could mean anything from a few dozen to even hundreds of different tests. There isn't really anyone on this forum who can give you a definitive answer based just on what you've shared here... asking "what does three vials mean?" doesn't really get us anywhere. 🙂

For a standard CBC Panel, you only need one test tube.

velvetmoose9 said:Most likely.
Actually, I think it depends.

1. Are you actually experiencing any symptoms, and if so, what are they?
2. What was the specific reason for running the urine culture in the first place?

I had a really high concentration of E. coli, so since I'm pregnant, my doctor gave me a referral to double-check that I've actually cleared it. I don't have any symptoms at all, and I didn't even have them back when the initial results came back positive.

I just got my urine culture results back.

On the first day's report, it says: contaminated urine, more than three types of bacteria present. Please repeat the test following our instructions.

Then the second day's report said: rare leukocytes. Physiological flora (10 per 3).

And the third day's report shows: rare leukocytes, culture: sterile.

Since the results from the second and third days look perfectly normal, I was wondering if I could just ignore that first one, because honestly, I really don't feel up to doing this all over again. 🤷

I know this might seem to contradict everything I’ve ever posted about pregnancy, but honestly, I’m pretty shocked by how easy this has actually been. No joke. If I hadn't dealt with that bleeding from a hematoma—which forced me to stay on bed rest for a while—I probably wouldn't have even realized I was pregnant. I always went into this assuming it would be an exhausting, grueling experience, but I haven't had any nausea or anything else bothering me at all. Of course, my anxiety over the complications is a whole different story, but physically speaking, I feel fine. I mean, I’m only in my 24th week, so there's plenty of time left for things to go sideways, but so far, the entire pregnancy has been physically easier than just one hour of a heavy period. 😁

I'm currently 19 weeks pregnant and just got my blood type results back today. Could someone please help me make sense of what this all actually means? I mean, besides the obvious fact that I'm B positive.😁thanks.

ABO Blood Group: B

Rh(D) Blood Group: + (positive)

Indirect Antiglobulin Test: negative

HBsAg: negative

Notes: No anti-erythrocyte antibodies were found in the plasma. Follow-up scheduled for week 34 of pregnancy.

Samuel Ross60, there’s really no need for any extra explanation, everything is fine; I was just sharing how things came across to me while I was reading through the thread. Personally, I don't really follow posts in discussions that don't interest me, nor do I ever bother messaging people privately, so I just make my conclusions based strictly on what I can see right here in the topic where I'm actually participating. 🙂

Please don't let this get to you or stress out over nothing. People tend to take things way too personally on these online forums, though they really shouldn't. If someone asks for advice or an answer and I feel like I have something useful to offer, then I'll offer it. But if it feels like that person is just ignoring me or isn't getting what I'm saying, I simply stop replying. It never even crosses my mind to get dragged into huge arguments or engage in long, drawn-out debates via private message; I just write what I have to say on the thread and leave it at that. 🙂

If someone asks what steps to take after a bleeding incident and I've been through that exact same thing, I'm more than happy to share my experience. If that same person decides to go out and jump off a bridge regardless, well, that's their call to make. Our responses aren't just read by the person who originally asked the question while waiting for a reply; they're also picked up by random people searching for terms on Google. Because of that, your advice might end up being incredibly helpful to someone else down the road, provided it's solid advice. 🙂

Samuel Ross60 said:It's fine 🙂
I definitely overreacted for no reason myself! Let's just keep things calm and peaceful. 🙂

As for those people on Fox News, they irritate me more than most, specifically those who act as if they are the only ones not doing the right thing while judging everyone else for their own shortcomings.

~~~Penn positive~~~

Samuel Ross60, I really do care about you, but you're always the first one to snap whenever someone happens to disagree with you. 😉 Not too long ago, you were tearing into some woman on another thread just because she wasn't following your specific advice on bed rest, acting like your methods are the only safe ones and that anything else anyone suggests is going to put the pregnancy at risk. 🙂

Richard Morris43 said:and honestly, what am I supposed to do if you guys are all just walking around with some massive inferiority complex regarding Motherhood 🥳

You know, I really can't stand those women who seem to have this "supermom" complex, where they try to guilt-trip perfectly normal moms with these wild arguments—moms who clearly love their kids, even if they don't intend to breastfeed them until high school or sleep in the same bed until they head off to college.🙂

Look, if we don't establish some healthy boundaries, what we think of as an act of love and care can easily spiral into obsessive behavior that ends up being pretty damaging for both the parent and the child.

I'm not trying to go to the other extreme here by saying that extended breastfeeding or co-sleeping is a perfect foundation for a pathological relationship between a mother and her child—in fact, it can be—but I truly believe the key is finding a middle ground and not judging the women whose version of "middle ground" just doesn't look exactly like ours.😉

You could honestly be experiencing all those symptoms just because of stress and anxiety. I’d definitely suggest getting those tests done that they recommended, but if everything comes back clear from a physical standpoint, it might actually be a good idea to sit down and talk with a psychiatrist or a psychologist. In the meantime, I think it helps to stick to the basics that most people should probably be following anyway: try to eat a healthy, varied diet, stay hydrated, get some movement in, make sure you're getting enough sleep, look after your immune system, and find a hobby or something meaningful to keep your mind occupied. 🙂

mellowranger16 said:I’ll speak for myself here and say things were actually easier for me regarding standing back then. The bigger question is just how you’re feeling overall.
At the end of the day, there isn't a single pregnant woman out there who finds standing around waiting to be a fun time.

Well, I don't think anyone actually enjoys standing around waiting, let alone someone who's pregnant, so I guess I just want to say that everyone's experience is pretty relative; for instance, I personally found one day of my period much harder to deal with than my entire first trimester. 🙂 I'm sure for some people, it's probably the exact opposite.

But, I absolutely agree that people just seem to lack basic manners and social etiquette these days... I walked into a waiting room this morning full of women, most of whom were pregnant, and there was this heavy, dead silence where I offered a polite "good morning," yet not a single person even acknowledged me, let alone looked up. So yeah, you've got all sorts of people out there, whether they're expecting or not.

I’m currently dealing with some pregnancy complications, so I’ve been told to stay off my feet and really just rest, which means I only head out for doctor appointments, lab work, or hitting up the pharmacy. To be honest, I haven't even used my pregnancy status to cut any lines yet; I'm just patiently waiting my turn like everyone else. Of course, you’d think a pregnant woman or an elderly person should get priority, but being pregnant or getting older doesn't necessarily mean you're struggling more than anyone else while standing in line. 🤷 Truthfully, I feel like a woman dealing with heavy periods might actually have a harder time than someone having a perfectly smooth pregnancy, because since mine is high-risk, I physically feel about twenty times better than she would. 🙂 It all comes down to perspective, really. The only thing that truly gets under my skin is when people try to push their way ahead of others.