Posts by Peter Rogers

Karen Richardson3 said:When it comes to heading off to college later on, I honestly think it doesn't matter much; you can pretty much get into any university regardless of which high school you attended.

I went the general track myself, and even though it was quite a while ago, back then the distinction worked roughly like this: the humanities tracks would take a third language, but they had way less math and physics. On the flip side, the STEM-focused students would have a much heavier load of math and physics starting in their junior year compared to us in the general track (which basically meant it was more intense for them). We had an extra history period and some other stuff I can't quite recall. It’s worth noting that in my high school, there were actually two different math tracks—one included a second language, while the other was "hardcore" math and science with a massive amount of coursework.

Nowadays, if you look at a place like Cleveland, for example, the difference is more that the math tracks focus heavily on computer science rather than just cranking up the physics.

But honestly, in my book, the general track is the way to go, mostly because I was too lazy to grind through extra languages and wasn't quite as obsessed with math (even though, say, back in middle school, I used to enter competitions and did really well—but that was mostly because my mom pushed me, and I ditched the extra math classes the second I could 😁 ).

Where we grew up in the rural parts of the country, it was simpler because we only had a handful of high schools; one was geared toward the math types, another toward the social science types (though both offered general and math options), and there was a third one that we all kind of considered inferior to the first two (though I couldn't tell you exactly why 😁 ).

In big cities, you’ve got a huge variety of schools, and they’re usually ranked by how well their students perform in academic competitions. My theory is that if the top-tier students all flock to those specific schools, the teachers tend to be more demanding, which creates a situation where anyone who gets in but struggles to keep up ends up having a really hard time.

Anyway, your little girl still has plenty of time ahead of her; hopefully, she'll figure out what she wants when the time comes.
As for me, I actually picked my high school simply because there was a boy I had a crush on going there 🙂😁

Now, being someone who went through the high school system in Cleveland, I’m genuinely curious which ones you're talking about here.
In Cleveland, we've got four main high schools, plus some specialized tracks at the local university and even a program over at the US Army academy, not to mention maybe Adam's if you count the private options... honestly, am I missing any others?

Even at my house, a sixth grader isn't even dreaming about high school yet. They’re way more preoccupied with some second grader in their class 😁
Honestly, an eighth grader is just starting to wrap their head around the pros and cons of the different school options out there.

She hasn't even really gotten out there to experience all the different parts of nature yet, so she can't exactly claim to be an expert on gardening or anything like that just yet, right?

Thanks, northerntiger9!

I’m honestly just thinking about taking on an extra load alongside high school because he absolutely refuses to drop his other school, no matter what I say.
Part of me is secretly hoping he doesn't pass the entrance exams, because if he actually makes it in, I might as well just rent him a room in the city since there's no way he'll have any time to be home anyway.
But am I going to forbid him or try to hold him back? No, I won't.
The kid has every right to quit whenever he decides he's had enough—just like he did back in middle school.
For now, his big plan is to skip most of those elective classes at school, claiming he'll just keep learning a second language through some app, LOL.
Talk about lightening the workload, right?

He’ll probably just head straight into two tracks because he wants to run them in parallel and wrap up his music studies too; honestly, high school didn't give him nearly enough of it to satisfy the itch.
The local prep schools offer that advanced curriculum, sure, but they barely touch on any science or math, so it’s really not even a viable option for him.

Nope.
Not even a hint of it.
The guy would probably need three different college degrees just to cover all his bases and interests at once.
Right now there are 22 different directions to choose from. Talk about overkill, right? haha.
How many can I actually sign up for? Like, 3?

Well, look at me, finally jumping into this thread. I honestly have zero clue what’s actually going on here, so I’m just gonna sit back, scribble some notes, and try to digest everything you guys have already dumped here so I can somehow find my way into this endless cycle of decision-making 😬

There aren't enough words to express how much we appreciate your energy and the sheer effort you put into answering all our questions.
Honestly, what else can I say? Thank you. Seriously.

Maria Fisher46 said:Ma'am,

The labs show positive antinuclear antibodies at a significant titer of 1:640. These antibodies can be found in various systemic autoimmune diseases, but they also pop up in about 3% of perfectly healthy people, or even following different infections, including COVID-19. However, we also know that the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself can act as a trigger for autoimmune issues, and these specific antibodies might actually appear years before the clinical symptoms of a disease even manifest.

All of this makes interpreting this result incredibly complicated. From what you've described, besides the prolonged fever, the girl doesn't seem to have other symptoms, which just adds another layer of complexity to the whole situation. What other results are you waiting on? Have they ordered anti-ds DNA and antiphospholipid antibodies yet? Has a urinalysis been done—specifically checking the albumin-to-creatinine ratio? Was a serum protein electrophoresis performed? And has she had an abdominal ultrasound?

Yeah, because of the lingering fever, she was sent to a post-COVID clinic where she had this consultation with an immunologist.
She used to get stomach aches every now and then, and lately, she’s been complaining about abdominal pain quite often—mostly under the ribs, more on the left side if I had to say. Her weight is normal, she eats regular meals, and she stays active with sports. Even though she mentions the pain frequently, it hasn't actually stopped her from doing her daily activities, so we didn't take it super seriously at first. But we did mention it to the doctor during the visit.
I'm attaching a photo of the tests that were requested.



I honestly don't know what else is missing from the list; I uploaded everything that's been completed in my previous post.
But whenever we call, we just get told that everything isn't finalized yet, so we can't schedule any follow-up appointments.
No abdominal ultrasound or any of the other things you asked about has been done yet.

Maria Fisher46 said:Yes, the results are pretty confusing. Regarding the galactorrhea, it's not uncommon for it to be idiopathic—meaning no obvious cause is found after a full workup. In those cases, treatment options can be offered if the person wants them.

I guess I'll just wait until all the results are in—blood work, endocrinologist, gynecologist—and then we'll see what the overall picture looks like.
What does "treatment" even look like if the cause is idiopathic?

Maria Fisher46 said:Look, ma'am,

Looking at these lab results you've pulled, nothing really adds up. I mean, those ferritin levels just don't scream "iron deficiency anemia." On the flip side, since your sedimentation rate is totally fine, we can't exactly point to chronic inflammation being the reason why your ferritin looks normal. It might be a smart move to get a CBC with a differential and a CRP test, though honestly, I'm not even sure if that's going to clear anything up. There’s also this chance—since you already started taking iron supplements, which maybe wasn't the best call until all your other tests came back (not that such a short time could have skewed the ferritin reading, but it still muddies the water here)—that we could just monitor how you respond to the iron therapy to figure out how much of this anemia is actually due to a deficiency. You might also want to check your reticulocyte count and get a peripheral blood smear done.

From what I can tell looking at that cytology report, it sounds like you're dealing with galactorrhea, basically milky discharge. If your prolactin levels are normal and your periods are still regular, then hyperprolactinemia probably isn't the culprit. Most medical guidelines would pretty much stop right there since that prolactin number is in the clear. That said, I definitely agree that getting a breast ultrasound is the way to go. If I remember correctly, you've already checked your thyroid hormones, so that shouldn't be causing the discharge either.

Thanks.
Yeah, my TSH, prolactin, kidney function, and liver panels are all perfectly normal.
So, basically, absolutely nothing makes sense. 😁

I'm waiting on the breast ultrasound, the OB-GYN exam, and my appointment with the endocrinologist, and I'll try to get those extra tests you mentioned done too.

The discharge hasn't stopped, even after more than a month. Is it really okay to just leave it alone if all the other exams and labs come back normal? I'm so confused. 🤔

Every now and then, I just spiral into this anxious tension because the dizziness is still there—which is the whole reason I went for the initial blood work and TSH in the first place. Now that I'm stressing out about everything else, I'm also noticing these regular headaches in my forehead. They aren't new, but I used to just blame them, along with the dizziness, on my neck issues, not drinking enough water, or PMS... Neither the pain nor the dizziness is unbearable, but the dizziness is actually more annoying than the headache, especially when I'm not even moving; like, if I'm just sitting there and suddenly feel this weird sensation like I'm being yanked to one side.

Hey everyone, it’s me again, back with more questions about my daughter... honestly, does it ever end? It feels like we're just constantly dealing with something new.

My girl (she's 12) dealt with this lingering fever that hit 101.5°F and stayed elevated for several weeks after she caught SARS-CoV-2. Because of that, we ended up at a post-COVID clinic where an immunologist took her on.
There wasn't really any "major" exam because, honestly, she didn't have much to complain about besides some random bouts of nausea and these quick, passing little headaches or stomach aches.
Since she's been having her period for over a year now, I wondered if maybe that was causing the pains, but given how high and how long that fever lasted, we figured it wasn't just cycle-related—it felt way too intense for that.
The doctor ordered a whole mountain of tests, but since the results haven't all come back in for five weeks now, we're stuck in limbo. We can't even go back to consult with the doctor to get a real opinion until everything is finalized.
So, while we're sitting here waiting for all these pieces to fall into place, I was wondering if anyone could take a look? Does anything in these results look concerning to you guys?








Thanks so much!

Emily Ortiz27 said:The results for protein, albumin, creatinine... they finally came back.
Doesn't look too bad to me, right?
Is it just one value for protein being right on the edge? Does that even matter in this context?





Thanks for all the help so far.

The cytology smear report says: right-side smears show plenty of polymorphonuclear phagocytes and secretion. Left-side smears show no cellular elements at all.

I've still got a breast ultrasound scheduled in about 20 days.
Is there anything else I should be getting done?

Maria Fisher46 said:Hi there,

Given those extra symptoms you mentioned, it’d probably be a good idea to get your serum protein and albumin levels checked, along with an albumin-to-creatinine ratio from a single urine sample.

As for dealing with the galactorrhea, we really need to confirm if that discharge is actually milk coming from the breast. If it turns out to be milky discharge right in the center, and your prolactin levels are normal and your periods are still regular, then the risk of having a pituitary adenoma—which would be tied to everything else you're feeling—is pretty low. That said, it wouldn't hurt to expand the endocrine workup just to be safe.

Also, that glucose reading of 4.1 mmol/L isn't considered hypoglycemia, so it shouldn't have anything to do with the issues you're describing.

Everything else just depends on what those pending results show.

So, the lab results for protein, albumin, creatinine... they finally came back.
They don't look too bad to me, do they?
The only thing is that one protein value is sitting right on the edge of the normal range. Does that even matter in this situation?





Thanks for all the help so far.

So, I just started taking iron supplements—literally only two days ago—but I’ve also got a blood test coming up to check my ferritin levels. Is there any issue with that? Should I pause the supplements for a bit, or would just skipping one day be enough?
I mean, obviously, two days isn't going to work any miracles since a normal course usually runs anywhere from six to twelve weeks, but I figured it's better to ask than to totally mess up the results, right?

Well, look at that—my prolactin results actually showed up sooner than I expected: 135 (normal range is 102-496).

Emily Ortiz27 said:

Hey there. What's up?
Can anyone actually make sense of these results? Like, seriously, do these numbers explain why I’m feeling so dizzy all the time?
So, I've got this 41-year-old woman on my radar. She’s sitting at about 169 cm and 76 kg—so she's carrying a little extra weight, nothing crazy, but definitely in that "working on it" phase. She’s actually pretty disciplined about her diet; we're talking heavy on the veggies, meat, and fish, basically running a solid LCHF setup. On top of that, she stays pretty active physically. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
I don't smoke, but man, I definitely go hard on the booze during the weekends—and honestly, some days it doesn't even take a weekend to get me started.
So, looking at my bloodwork, my hemoglobin and iron levels don't exactly look bottomed out to me, and even though my cholesterol is technically off from the standard reference range, it doesn't feel like it's hitting any red flags, you know? It honestly doesn't feel like an emergency situation on my end. Am I just overthinking this, or should I actually be losing sleep over these numbers and everything else in the report?
I'm definitely going to end up taking some kind of iron supplement again. Honestly, what else am I supposed to do?
Thanks.

Maria Fisher46 said:So, you've got this mild anemia going on, which might be causing those dizzy spells, but honestly, can we even be sure that's actually what's triggering them? It’s a bit of a "chicken or the egg" situation, right? And then there's the whole bigger question hanging over us—what's actually causing the anemia in the first place? We still need to nail that down. As for the lipid panel, the numbers are running a little high, but nothing to lose sleep over just yet. Still, it’d be a smart move to get those levels back in check by cleaning up the diet and making some lifestyle tweaks before they become an actual problem.

Emily Ortiz27 said:Thanks for the tip, I'm already on it.

Plus, this lower GUK keeps popping up on several consecutive tests, yet somehow the doctor doesn't see any issue with it? Are you kidding me?

They’ve never even bothered to run a kidney function test on me before, so I have absolutely no clue why they're suddenly ordering one now. But looking at the results, I see the levels are a little bit low. Why the sudden interest all of a sudden?

Hey everyone,
I should probably add a bit more context to my question, so I’m asking you all—is there actually any way these lab results could be linked to what's going on, and honestly, how am I even supposed to handle this?

So, I’ve had a regular period for as long as I can remember, but over the last few years, things have gone totally off the rails. My cycle has sped up—now it hits every 25 or 26 days like clockwork—but the actual bleeding is a mess. It always starts out weird, just some spotting and discolored discharge, and then suddenly I'm hit with two days of heavy, intense bleeding accompanied by these massive clots. Honestly, I’m pretty sure those clots are exactly why I'm dealing with anemia. After that chaos, the whole thing finally wraps up around day eight or ten. Just... a total disaster.
Honestly, ovulation can be absolutely brutal. We’re talking about pain that isn't just a little twinge; it can range from several hours of intense, gut-wrenching agony to lasting for a few days straight. Is there anything worse than feeling like you're being stabbed from the inside every single month? It's exhausting.

So, I had my last gynecological checkup about a year ago, and honestly, everything was totally fine back then—Pap smear came back clean, hormones were perfectly balanced, and the doctor basically told me everything looked normal. Everything was smooth sailing.
So, I checked the TSH on that latest batch of bloodwork posted above, and honestly? It looks totally fine. Everything's right where it should be.

So, about two weeks ago—right around when I had my last period—I started feeling this weird, intense soreness in my breasts. It wasn't just a little ache, either. Then, out of nowhere, this milky discharge started coming out of one side, and just a few days after that, the exact same thing started happening with the other breast. What is even going on?
So, I’ve got my ultrasound scheduled, plus they grabbed some three-day discharge samples and drew blood to check my prolactin levels, but honestly? I won't even see the actual results for another month. Isn't that just typical? Why does everything have to take forever?

So, I’m currently sitting in the waiting room for a glaucoma specialist because they flagged me as a "suspect" case, though my eye pressure is actually totally normal right now.

I’m not on any medications at all—barely even touch painkillers, honestly.

I’ve been doing some digging and it seems like this kind of thing could be tied to endocrine issues, or maybe even something going on with my liver or kidneys? That actually made me realize I should probably mention that my estimated GFR came back slightly low.

Then there are these other symptoms I’m dealing with—not sure if they even matter, but who knows? My skin is super dry, my lower legs are incredibly itchy (especially right around the sock line, even when I'm barefoot), that area gets swollen, my under-eyes look puffy and baggy, my eyelids swell up too, and I've got this dyshidrosis on my hands.

Maria Fisher46 said:There's a mild case of anemia present, which could be causing those dizzy spells, though it's hard to say if that's actually the root cause of your vertigo. We also really need to pin down what's driving the anemia in the first place... Your lipid panel shows some elevated levels, but nothing worth panicking about just yet; however, it's probably a good idea to get those under control by tweaking your lifestyle habits.

Thanks for the advice, I'm working on it.

Also—this lower glucose level keeps popping up on several consecutive tests, and my doctor doesn't seem to think it's an issue or anything.

I've never even had my kidney function tested before, so I have no clue why they ordered it now, but I noticed the results are looking a little bit low too.

Hey there.
Can anyone tell me if these kinds of lab results actually explain why I'm feeling so dizzy all the time?
I'm a 41-year-old woman, carrying a little extra weight (5'6"/167 lbs), but I'm currently working on losing it by sticking to a diet heavy on veggies, meat, and fish... basically an LCHF approach, plus I stay pretty active physically.
I don't smoke, though I do drink—mostly on weekends, but sometimes during the week too.
My hemoglobin and iron levels don't look super low to me, and while my cholesterol is technically off the mark, it doesn't seem crazy high, you know? It doesn't feel like an emergency, but should I be stressing over this and everything else?
I'm definitely going to start taking some kind of iron supplement again regardless.
Thanks.

Thanks, then I totally screwed 😵

I honestly can’t make heads or tails of these latest updates from Medicare regarding how long referrals actually last.

So, I’ve got this gray "A" referral for some lab work over at my local community health center.
To be clear, we aren't talking about those red referrals that come with a specific alphanumeric code; it's just a plain old "A" referral.

Does this thing actually expire in 30 days, or am I good for longer than that?

Maria Fisher46 said:Look, ma'am,

up to 90% of kids between 4 and 8 years old have palpable lymph nodes in their neck. From what I can see here, none of them are even hitting the 2 cm mark, and there aren't any signs of malignancy. The kid has an immune disorder, so obviously, they aren't 100% healthy. We don't fully get the underlying cause yet (ALPS has been ruled out, though, like I mentioned before, there's this whole category of "ALPS-like" disorders—conditions that mimic ALPS but don't show the classic markers, so maybe only genetic testing could actually pin down what we're dealing with). As for the cytology, nothing stands out; hypochromia just means the red blood cells look a bit pale, which might point to lower hemoglobin levels, but you'd need a standard CBC to confirm if that's really the case. All in all, these results are satisfactory. They aren't perfectly normal, but given the circumstances—since there's an existing immune disorder—they're fine. You really ought to sit down with a hematologist and an immunologist to discuss whether genetic testing is necessary for disorders in that immune dysregulation group. I think I’ve already touched on this in one of the other threads you posted in. Honestly, I don't see any other way to figure out the root cause, even though there's a chance the genetic analysis comes back uninformative (and yeah, sometimes even when there is a genetic disorder, it doesn't show up).

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

What’s still eating at me is the fact that my child has some kind of immune disorder, but since it hasn't been clearly identified, it could potentially cause issues throughout his life, or it might never bother him at all. It's such a toss-up, right?

Now that he's 8, some of those nodes have definitely improved, but others have popped up in new spots—specifically around his head area.

Right now, we don't have any real oversight unless his pediatrician decides to keep an eye on things, which usually just means getting blood work done every few months and an ultrasound about once a year.

He was being regularly monitored by hematology at Mayo Clinic, but because his doctor fell ill, we were redirected to communicate via email with another physician. We got exactly ONE response saying we needed to continue monitoring. After that, our subsequent email consultations were met with total silence; we're basically sending in results and just getting ghosted.

I'm honestly lost. Should we keep monitoring him? How often? Who should we even talk to? Should we seek out a different hematologist since we can't get a hold of his current doctor, and the alternative is just ignoring our emails (which, mind you, we didn't even start sending on our own—the department told us to use email)? Or, since the results look stable, should we just stop contacting the hematologists and everyone else altogether?

Because someone mentioned during an earlier visit that a disorder like this could develop into a latent lymphoma, I just can't bring myself to ignore everything and drop the check-ups. I'm terrified we'll miss a major change. But right now, everything we're doing is just based on the goodwill of his pediatrician (who he'll soon be transitioning away from toward a specialist at a large HMO, and I have no clue how they're going to handle his care there).

At the end of the day, there's a lot going on here that isn't even directly related to the thread title, but believe it or not, this anonymous space is the only place where we're actually getting any real answers.