Back again. It’s like I had this gut feeling that something was going to go sideways. Basically, I was knocked out via IV, went through a laparoscopic appendectomy, and then someone starts calling my name and I open my eyes. I’m wide awake and just staring. Some voice calls me by name, asking "where are you?" And then, honestly, it felt like pure hell—like it would never end. I couldn't breathe. I tried, but I realized I physically couldn't draw air. I even tried to signal to them with my hand that I wasn't breathing, but I couldn't move a single finger. Then, I felt them pulling a tube out of my throat (I assume the intubation tube), and once that was finally out, I could breathe normally again. I could feel my body, my legs, my arms, but I had zero strength to actually move. Everything went back to normal about 20 minutes later. What actually happened to me? The surgeon tells me it's totally normal, but I didn't even see the anesthesiologist. Why couldn't I breathe? If I was intubated, why couldn't I pull air through that tube? How do they decide when it's time to pull the tube out? And of course, why wake me up only to extubate me immediately? Shouldn't it be the other way around? This whole thing really messed me up. Can anyone with more experience explain if this is actually okay...
Question for the veterans here... I’m heading into the hospital tomorrow, and on Wednesday, I’m having laparoscopic surgery to remove a chronically inflamed appendix. Since I struggle with panic attacks, you can probably guess the kind of mental gymnastics I'm doing right now. Is it even okay to ask—can I request something to take an hour or two before the procedure to just chill me out or lift my mood? About a year ago, my kid had his tonsils out, and I remember they gave him a pill beforehand that left him walking into the OR looking totally high. He was cracking jokes, had no clue where he was going, and doesn't remember a single thing about it.
Anyone dealt with this specific prep before? I scheduled it for next month, and they already sent over a bottle of that white sludge I have to chug the day before the appointment. Does this procedure just focus on the appendix, or can they catch other stuff along the way, like issues in the esophagus or the colon? The reason I’m getting this done is because of some intermittent abdominal pain—right of the navel—and an ultrasound that flagged some potential chronic appendicitis....
Stepped on a rusty nail today. Almost hit bone. Put my full weight on it, too. Blood was flowing for a bit before it finally stopped. Ended up in the ER, where they were pumping fluids into me while I was still wide awake—it hurt like hell. I told them they really should have numbed me up first since we still had to clean the wound... doing that raw is brutal. Got the tetanus shot, and apparently, I need another one in a month. I asked the nurse if today’s shot actually covers the potential infection from this specific injury—like, if there was tetanus on that nail, what kind of percentage of protection am I actually getting right now? Thanks.
Not sure which sub this belongs in, so I'll just drop it here. Following up on my last post where I mentioned my hemoglobin and hematocrit were running a bit high. Saw an internist this morning—EKG was fine, so they sent me for a chest X-ray and spirometry. The report says: PA lung pattern shows increased hypopulmonary markings, but no active pathological changes visible in the lung parenchyma. Heart contour shows slightly prominent aortic configuration (anyone know what that actually means?). Spirometry results: FVC 87.5%, FEV1.0 91.5%—basically normal. Any thoughts?
Sandra Vaughn50 said:Next time, tell us why you actually had the blood drawn. Based on the CBC, I’d suggest repeating the CBC in a month. After that, depending on what we see—especially if platelets stay low—you should probably look into a full workup for thrombocytopenia.
Mayo Clinic T3 will likely be on a separate referral since it involves a radioisotope scan through the Nuclear Medicine Institute.
These reference ranges are bizarre.
How old are you? Which lab handled these tests?
If you’re an adult male, and assuming hemoglobin is measured in g/dL rather than g/L, shouldn't the upper limit be above 17 (or 170) instead of 13.8? Same logic applies to white blood cells (upper limit 13?).
My advice: definitely repeat the CBC. Biochemistry and urinalysis look fine.
It was done in Ottawa, Canada. Labs with these kinds of reference values show up here sometimes.
Can you help me interpret this if I break it down a bit? Why might Hematocrit and Hemoglobin be slightly elevated? Could it just be from working out hard the day before?
Can someone help me make sense of these lab results? I had them done because I started seeing flashes in my right eye. I already went to the ophthalmologist, and everything looked fine—they even checked my retina:
Since there isn't a thread with this title on the forum, I'm starting one myself. I think quite a few people are struggling with this disorder, so let's swap stories. To kick things off, here’s a solid read:
Jessica Fowler4 said:Hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, fatty liver—call it whatever you want. Officially, it's a symptom or a marker for "metabolic syndrome." In reality, it *is* the core definition.
That's a very rigid way of putting it. The truth is, you're constantly sitting with slightly elevated insulin and blood sugar—fasting levels vary depending on how far gone the "disease" is—but the true hyperinsulinemia characteristic of metabolic syndrome shows up after a meal. This is followed by hypoglycemia a couple of hours later.
Picture this: someone eats toast with jam (in my book, that's basically pure poison). They digest it. Glucose floods the bloodstream. The pancreas senses the spike and pumps out insulin. But the liver is resistant to insulin because it's packed with fat (which is the official definition of metabolic syndrome), so it doesn't respond correctly. Instead of pulling sugar from the blood to store as glycogen, it does the opposite—it keeps producing glucose via protein breakdown and dumps even more into the blood. The pancreas still sees high glucose despite the insulin it just released, so it cranks up the dose. Eventually, the adipocytes—fat cells—sense the increased insulin concentration traveling through the bloodstream. These fat cells grab the glucose from the blood thanks to that surge of insulin and convert it straight into fat. Since this process is sluggish when the liver isn't functioning right, the pancreas manages to pump out way too much insulin before it reaches a concentration high enough to make those fat cells finally soak up the excess from the entire bloodstream—that's hyperinsulinemia (which causes that post-meal fatigue, since insulin makes you sleepy). Eventually, the fat cells manage to pull enough glucose out to normalize blood sugar, but there's still leftover insulin because the pancreas overshot the mark. Plus, a fatty liver is terrible at metabolizing insulin; once the insulin finishes its job, the liver and kidneys are supposed to clear it, but they're slow to act here. That leftover insulin crashes the blood sugar, triggering hypoglycemia. The symptoms hit hard: intense hunger, weakness, shakiness, and confusion. The body then signals the adrenal glands to stage a rescue mission using adrenaline and other catecholamines. Adrenaline causes sweating, poor temperature regulation (cold hands/feet, hot torso), irritability, and stress. Adrenaline also masks that initial massive hunger pang, which is why people say, "I guess I just got too hungry." Even though the liver isn't responding to insulin anymore, it *does* still respond to adrenaline. The reaction triggered by adrenaline actually creates more glucose by breaking down proteins—and at this stage, we're mostly talking about breaking down muscle tissue! To escape these symptoms, most people don't let it last long; they immediately hunt for more food to fix the feeling. It works instantly, and they can keep doing this for 5-10 years before the real damage starts. They'll joke about it, saying, "Oh, my sugar crashed," without realizing they didn't actually use the energy they just ate—they just locked it away in fat cells and left themselves empty again. So, they eat again, usually reaching for more carbs because fats and proteins don't satisfy them. That's why people stay overweight. They're heavy, yet weak, because every bit of energy they consume gets shoved into fat cells and locked away by hyperinsulinemia, leaving them hungry all over again. This cycle repeats several times a day in metabolic syndrome depending on what they eat. As for what years of this behavior, these hormonal swings, and a half-functional liver do to the rest of the organs? That depends on many factors. Over time, the fat cells themselves will become insulin resistant, the pancreas will crank up production even further, and eventually, the pancreas just burns out. That's Type 2 diabetes. The only cells that can't develop insulin resistance are the retinal, kidney, and nerve cells—the classic diabetic complications. Fat cells can endure insulin resistance for a long time while being packed with lipids, so a person might develop atherosclerosis or heart issues first. For some, a clogged liver might compromise bile production and digestion, leading to IBS. Gallstones can form, and impaired digestion leads to nutrient deficiencies and an overgrowth of "bad" gut bacteria, which brings you back to IBS... and it all started with the liver's resistance to insulin and that first obvious sign: frequent hypoglycemia. We already established that these abnormal hormone and sugar levels have mental consequences, and eventually, all the glands will go haywire, often leading to a psychiatric diagnosis. The kidneys might slow down, the adrenals get overworked, and between the kidney strain and the constant hypoglycemia, it can contribute to something like CFS. And so on.
IMO, this is stuff they should be teaching kids in elementary school. They need to actually understand what’s happening to their bodies when they eat. It shouldn't be a case of a grandma telling them, "Oh, your blood sugar dropped? Just eat some sugar, it's fine." It isn't fine.
If you think I've got this wrong, please, explain yourselves. But I suspect most people dealing with metabolic syndrome will find this narrative hits pretty close to home—it's medically sound, regardless of what the official lab ranges or diagnoses say. I haven't even touched on how stress plays into the mix yet, but that's for another time. I can dive deeper into how this whole thing starts whenever you're ready.
Great post. You hit the nail on the head—I’m living proof. I spent forever dealing with fatigue and hypoglycemia crashes. Doctors kept running the same useless tests and even sent me to a psychiatrist, which is exactly what you pointed out (thanks for catching that). When I first did my glucose tolerance test, the doctor brushed it off as fine, even though my C-peptide and insulin levels were through the roof. It wasn't until I saw a specialist at a private clinic recently that things clicked. She looked at those exact same results and saw the real problem, then put me on Metformin along with exercise and diet changes. One thing I'm stuck on, though... she strictly banned carbs and fats—heavy meats, full-fat dairy, sodas—but you mentioned those are okay? I'd love to hear your take on that if you don't mind... Honestly, I'm feeling pretty rough today because, let's face it, I haven't been following the rules. I have a massive weakness for sweets, salty snacks, jam with margarine, and soda... I have cut back on fats a bit (my triglycerides and cholesterol used to be over 500), and my liver enzymes were high too, though they've leveled out now. It's clear you know your stuff regarding metabolic syndrome, so if the mods allow it, I'd appreciate any advice or insights you can share.
Thanks anyway, everyone. I am currently on Tylenol 3 x250ml, but I wasn't actually asking about metabolic syndrome. I was asking about my blood work in general because I’ve been feeling pretty off lately... excessive sweating, weakness, and things like that.
vividsailor7 said:The only way to actually clear this up is to get an exam. Have the digestive issues stopped?
Yeah, they did. Now it's just that swelling in the gland I mentioned. Sometimes it goes down a bit, then flares right back up, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with chewing.
vividsailor7, could you please help me make sense of these lab results? They were ordered because my right parotid gland is swollen, accompanied by mild pain but no other symptoms. I had an ultrasound of the glands beforehand which stated: "Salivary gland echo: The right parotid gland shows increased volume with diffuse low echogenicity and several intraparenchymal lymph nodes up to 15.5mm showing reactive echoform and vascularization; no cystic or solid lesions found in the parotid region. Other salivary glands—left parotid, submandibular, and sublingual—show no significant changes. Findings indicate inflammatory changes in the right parotid area."
Following this, I was prescribed Augmentin. After three days, I developed severe diarrhea and nausea, so I stopped taking the antibiotics. That same day, I ran a fever of 100.4°F, which broke by that night. Since then, I've had a mild sore throat, congestion, sinus pressure, and a headache—basically feels like a cold—and that specific gland is still slightly swollen. Here are my labs from the day after the fever and diarrhea: WBC 9.6 (Ref: 3.4-9.7) RBC 5.74 (Ref: 4.34-5.72) Hemoglobin OK Hematocrit OK MCV OK MCH OK MCHC OK Platelets OK RDW OK MPV OK
Two months ago, when the gland was also slightly swollen, a doctor suggested I might have mumps, but that clearly wasn't the case since I didn't have the typical clinical presentation.
I’ve got some mild swelling and pain in my right parotid gland, so I went in for an ultrasound. I have the results, but since I can't see my doctor until Tuesday, I was wondering if anyone here could help me make sense of this:
Salivary gland ultrasound: The right parotid gland shows diffuse low echogenicity with several intraparenchymal lymph nodes measuring up to 15.5mm. These show reactive echomorphology and vascularization. No cystic or solid lesions were found in the parotid region. Other salivary glands—left parotid, submandibular, and sublingual—show no significant echomorphological changes.
The findings suggest inflammatory changes in the right parotid area.
My psychiatrist's bio says Paxil..... Since I've been on Zoloft for five years, what's the move? She told me to cut my Zoloft dose in half—something I actually did a while back. The plan is to skip Zoloft for two days, then start taking half a dose of Paxil... and just keep going from there... I heard somewhere that when you switch from one antidepressant to another, you need a 15-day washout period, but I can't remember which types require that (MAOIs, SSRIs)??? Does anyone have more specifics on this??'
nimblecanyon53 said:Look, you can take that personally if you want, but since everything else looks fine in these tests and we've ruled out organic causes, I wouldn't be looking in that direction. 😉
But why does it only happen after a drive? That’s what gets me. I'm just spitballing here, but I can't help worrying it might be something to do with circulation...
nimblecanyon53 said:I don't know, maybe you have astigmatism? Have you actually had your eyes checked?
It could just be simple exhaustion... and by simple, I mean extreme burnout. When you're that wiped out, you get dizzy, your vision blurs, all that stuff—without there being some major underlying medical issue.
If it's scaring you enough to make your heart race or leave you feeling weak, that sounds more like stress or anxiety to me.
I didn't mention that I had a full eye exam with an ophthalmologist about a year ago. Everything was fine, aside from those floaters drifting through my field of vision, but I've dealt with those since I was a kid.
I was going to drop this question in a specific subforum, but posting it here might get me an answer a bit faster.
Basically, after a long drive—say two or three hours—my vision gets blurry once I step out of the car. For example, if I’m looking at a chair, it’s like there’s a shadow hovering over it. It lasts about 10 to 15 minutes and then clears up. This happened last summer too, always right after a long stint behind the wheel. I went for a checkup: everything came back clean. Blood sugar was 4.1 after the episode (I'm not diabetic), heart, lungs, blood pressure—all good. The whole thing freaks me out, though. Once it happens, my heart starts racing, I feel weak, and all that. Any advice? Anyone else dealt with this, or am I just a one-of-a-kind case?
Anyone have some insight here? My doctor put me on Charles Schwab (Citalopram) to help manage some anxiety and depression issues. From what I can see, the price tag is sitting around $47. Does this require a specific prescription, or is there a generic version out there that works with insurance co-pays? Does anyone know the other names used for this type of medication? This is getting ridiculous...