Posts by ruggeddrifter14

It took until November for my sense of taste to finally come back.

If you've got high bilirubin levels and there's any suspicion of autoimmune hemolytic anemia, that's when they run a Coomb's test.

Donna Castillo14 said:So you're telling me someone on the OB-GYN floor can just look up her entire history, see everything she did there, and find her discharge papers?

If they have access to the medical records archive—you know, where the actual physical charts and history are kept—then yeah, they can. They might see on the computer that she was seen in OB-GYN, but they won't necessarily see the "why," and they definitely won't be able to pull up a discharge summary on a standard terminal. Besides, even archive access is strictly limited... she shouldn't be getting anywhere near that data. And honestly, who’d even bother digging through all that? Plus, only a doctor is actually authorized to open specialist reports anyway.

ruggeddrifter14 said:Back at our hospital in a place like Seattle, the admin staff doesn't have access to your full medical files, but they can see where a patient is staying or where they were treated and during what timeframe. Every employee logs in with their own credentials, but they're restricted to their specific scope of work. For instance, as a technician, I can pull up lab results and see which departments a patient visited or when surgeries happened, but I can't touch diagnoses or specialist reports. The only way an admin would know exactly what was done is if they’re handling billing for specific tests.

I was talking about the major hospital system here.

My bad for using the word "clerk"—let's just call them administrative staff. As for the health department, obviously they aren't handing out results to just anyone. They send everything straight to the doctor who issued the referral. If you want to pick up a hard copy or a transcript of your records, you have to show up in person and pay a fee of maybe $4.75 if I remember correctly... though things might have changed since I dealt with this last year.

Down at our local hospital in Seattle, the clerks don't have access to actual medical records, but they can see where a patient is staying or where they were previously located and during what timeframe. Every staff member logs in with their own code, but they’re strictly limited to what’s necessary for their job. For instance, since I'm just a technician, I can check lab results, which departments a patient visited, and when surgeries took place, but I can't touch diagnoses or specialist reports. The only way a clerk would know the specifics is if they're working on billing, then they'll see exactly what procedures were performed.

Grace Chase97 said:Even if it’s true, isn't it better to just know? That's my take, anyway.😁 I'd want to know.
Besides, let's say you carry the gene for some specific cancer—then you can actually keep an eye on that organ specifically..🤷
My boyfriend got his done ages ago, out of state too. I'm thinking about doing it myself. Either way, I don't see how it could be bad. Unless you're a total hypochondriac who'd rather live in blissful ignorance. In that case, maybe skip it.🤣

I never said it was bad, but there are people who would spend their entire lives stressing over this. Sure, you'll have more control, but then what? If the disease shows up anyway, what's the point? You still can't do anything besides seek treatment.

Chloe Reyes57 said:Sorry if this isn't its own thread, I didn't see one mentioned...
So, asking here because I just walked out of a wedding expo and spotted a company called Cellaviv doing DNA analysis. First time I've heard of them. They do testing for both babies and adults—basically, you give them a saliva sample and they hand you a massive book detailing your genetic blueprint, potential hereditary diseases, general health status, custom diet plans, all that jazz....
Seems pretty cool. Has anyone else dealt with something like this here in the States? From what their reps were saying, the prices aren't crazy, especially if you just do it once and call it a day. What do you guys think? Is it worth the cash?

Honestly? It’s a complete scam... just a quick way to grab people's money. Whatever you carry in your genes regarding disease risk isn't going to change just because you tweak your diet or lifestyle. If you're genetically destined to get hit with a major illness, you'll get it regardless. My husband and I went through that whole famous DNA testing thing years ago because we were struggling to conceive. Turns out we were both carriers for Type 1 diabetes, and since we're both homozygotes, there was a massive chance—basically a guarantee—that our kid would have it. Well, the kid is perfectly healthy. Now, both my child and I carry a highly specific gene for celiac disease; I've got it, she doesn't... yet. If you're already a hypochondriac, this stuff will just drive you insane with info about illnesses that might never even happen. And if you actually need real genetic testing later, you can just get it through your insurance for free, like we did. If you have money to burn and want to worry about nonsense, go for it... otherwise, it's a waste of time.

The thing that drove me absolutely nuts was all that "well-meaning" advice telling me to get as much sleep as possible during pregnancy because I wouldn't get any once the baby arrived... what a joke.🙂

Look, a CVK is there when you need it, not some constant IV drip. The whole point is making sure the catheter gets flushed regularly with heparin or saline so it doesn't clog up. Think about it—if someone’s on a continuous infusion they don't even need, what are we actually doing? Are we just flooding them with saline? How many liters of fluid would a patient end up getting if they were stuck in the hospital for a month? Plus, how do outpatient dialysis patients manage without their lines clogging up every three days? Honestly, just go ask your head nurse those questions. I'd love to hear what kind of answer she gives you.

The urine culture results come back the next day if everything stays sterile. If something actually grows, they have to subculture it on a different medium, which adds another day or two while they run the antibiogram... basically, you aren't getting those results in just a few hours.

You can pick them up at any CVS or Walgreens, you just have to know exactly what you're looking for. If you just walk in asking for "medical needles," you're going to have a bad time because they don't know what you mean. You’ve got subcutaneous vs. intramuscular, and they vary by length and gauge. You need to be specific. Plus, there are all those different ones meant specifically for insulin pens and whatnot.

Ideally, you’d run a full coagulation profile, a CBC, and hit the liver enzymes if we're looking at biochemistry.

So, is he even taking any painkillers?

My husband had a run-in with a spider once. He didn't apply heat to his arm until ten minutes after the bite, so he ended up dealing with swelling and pain shooting down his entire arm for days. He’s crossed paths with that spider twice more since then, but everything stayed fine because he applied heat immediately to the site this time.
Spider venom is heat-labile, which means you need to warm up the bite area right away to stop the toxin from spreading. It hurts like hell. You usually get some bleeding at the wound, and the site starts off white before turning red and bruising. The swelling moves outward from the bite; if it hits a finger, for instance, the swelling can take over the whole arm and reach all the way to the shoulder.
Sometimes you'll see blisters filled with clear fluid at the site, and on top of the pain, there's often numbness. People bitten on the arm frequently say their arm feels so heavy they can't even move it. The swelling usually lasts a few days, though I've heard of cases dragging on for months. Most symptoms stay local, but sometimes you get systemic stuff like dry mouth, cold sweats, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, or even passing out. The venom composition actually shifts depending on gender and the season—males are more toxic, and the venom gets stronger in the summer or during mating season.
Basically, the best fix is to dunk the area in hot water immediately after the bite (as hot as you can stand without burning yourself) until the skin wrinkles, maybe for about 30 minutes, or press it against a hot exhaust pipe. If the wound is large or torn open, you're looking at surgery.
I don't get why they're just now sending your dad in for surgical treatment after three weeks... anyway, hope everything turns out alright.