Posts by Ryan Carter52

Got it, thanks so much!

It seems pretty easy enough to pay for, though I guess I'm just not entirely sure where to even start, or what specifically I should be looking for and who the best person to ask would be.

Hey there!

So, basically, since those super smart nurses at my doctor's office managed to lose my old medical file—along with all my childhood health records and a mountain of other paperwork—I'm kind of stuck without even knowing my blood type anymore.
I asked my doctor a while back if she could just send over a lab order for some routine stuff I need anyway (like checking my diabetes, cholesterol, iron levels, etc.) and maybe just test my blood type at the same time, but she kind of brushed me off with some excuse about how that requires special separate testing or whatever...

I guess back in the day, when you went for those standard physicals to get a driver's license, they’d draw blood and give you this little card with all your info and your blood type printed right on it, just in case you were in an accident and needed a transfusion on the spot, but obviously, those don't exist anymore.

So, yeah, what's the easiest way to find out my type? Maybe donating blood is an option, but I think I'd really prefer having something written down for my own records.

Any ideas?

Best to everyone

Olivia Cooper11 said:I don't suppose you have this feeling that people are staring at you like you're some kind of frog, or even worse, a pelican 😉. Personally, I find it absolutely mortifying and I'm desperate to find a way out of it. So, besides jumping straight into surgery, is there really anything else out there?

Well, if you happen to have some extra weight elsewhere, like around your midsection, maybe trying a diet, running, hitting the gym, swimming, or cycling might help, since I think fat burns off pretty evenly across the whole body, but if you're looking to specifically target just the chin area, then I suppose a plastic surgeon might be your only real option.

Edward Mitchell said:Seriously though, you gotta take some pride in that chin of yours 🙂)

👍 That's the spirit!

I mean, we all have it, but I guess who’s actually going to foot an $11,000 or $12,000 bill? $0.00 You better believe it's pricey! 😢
And honestly, I probably need to go back and get my nose fixed again $3333 then deal with gynecomastia $4333 plus maybe a hair transplant for like $5,000, and then laser eye surgery $3667 so if you think about it, that is just a crazy amount of money, almost like I'm some kind of Rockefeller!

analogscout2 said:besides running and swimming, I guess there might be other stuff out there??

I think I’m dealing with the exact same thing, though I guess I'm a bit older than you are.
Doing sit-ups and stuff helps build muscle, but maybe it won't actually burn off the belly fat, so I suppose running is probably the real secret; I usually try to hit about five or six miles at a steady pace for maybe 40 minutes a day, but since I just started, I haven't really seen much change yet, and swimming is also pretty great if you want to work on your chest and shoulders, so if you have access to a pool while it's still summer, you should probably take advantage of that.

I guess the whole trick is just making sure you burn as many calories as you're eating, which you can basically do by staying active—like walking, jogging, riding a bike, or even playing some pickup basketball—just maybe try not to spend the entire day glued to your computer reading this thread while snacking on pizza...🙂

take care and good luck

I totally agree, if you stick with rowing, you’ll probably end up with those abs just like that guy in the Calvin Klein ads 😁
And I guess swimming isn't a bad idea either, since summer is finally here, so maybe just enjoy being young while it lasts, you know? Don't go overdoing it too much yet or worrying about all those different multivitamin gimmicks and stuff...

best,

Back when I was just a toddler, my parents had a procedure done to move one of my testicles down—the right one, I think—around the same time they fixed a Hernia. Everything turned out totally fine, and there hasn't been any issues with fluid or sperm counts at all🙂, so I guess you really shouldn't worry too much about it, since most people say that the other side stays perfectly healthy and does all the work nature intended.😁
If you’re feeling a bit anxious and want some extra peace of mind, maybe you could always just go get a semen analysis just so you can sleep better at night..

best,

I’ve been using that liquid soap from Target, the one with honey and milk, and I guess it just smells really nice on my hands after washing them.
It’s such a pleasant scent, maybe that’s why I like it so much.
I suppose we should probably make sure the little ones learn the importance of washing their hands while they're still young enough to listen, though I wonder how old they actually are right now?

bye

@John Castillo10, I was wondering if you could maybe walk me through what a colonoscopy actually looks like?
And I guess I should ask which kind of specialist you usually see for that sort of thing.

I’ve been dealing with some similar issues myself, though I'm not entirely sure if it's just hemorrhoids or something else entirely.
There isn't really any burning or bleeding or anything, just this incredibly intense itching after I use the bathroom, though it doesn't happen every single time.
It all started about two years ago with some awful burning and itching that lasted for a whole year, and I didn't really take anything for it besides cutting out spicy foods and soda.
I don't drink or smoke, and then things just seemed to clear up on their own, but for the last four months, the itching has come back—just without the burning part. I can't quite figure out which foods are triggering it since it only happens every second or third time, so I'm pretty sure there's definitely something in my diet causing it.

Do you know if there are any pills or something for this "mild" version? My mom has actually struggled with hemorrhoids for years, so I suppose it might even be something hereditary??

best regards

I guess I just get these things out of nowhere, even without any sun exposure or tanning beds, which is kind of wild since both my parents have them despite not having nearly as many as I do. It feels like I have millions of them, so it’s probably just something in my DNA; maybe we just aren't meant to have perfectly clear skin, at least when it comes to moles or whatever. I've actually noticed about 15 new ones popping up on my face just in the last six months, and they're those really flat, tiny ones that blend right in with the skin. If you ever want to get them removed, you really have to see a dermatologist because they need to send them off for testing to make sure they aren't anything malignant that could turn into skin cancer later in life...

If they're on your face, it might be better to talk to a high-end plastic surgeon, since they'll probably try a bit harder to make sure the scarring stays minimal...

Well, I guess we can just hope for the best. I totally get why you're feeling anxious as a parent, but maybe if you do a little digging and research, you'll be able to sleep a bit easier at night.

I was actually listening to this really great, detailed radio program the other day about autism, and they were mentioning how some parents don't notice those major signs until the child is already four or five, even though it really should be caught by age two. It seems like if things are caught earlier, it’s just so much easier to manage everything and start working on solutions.

Anyway, doctors aren't always right, you know? If you don't mind, I could maybe tell you a quick story from when I was about the same age your son is now,
so there was a bit of an issue with how I pronounced my Ls and Rs, which I think is pretty common for kids,
and my doctor ended up sending me to a speech therapist who worked in the exact same building, just two doors down on the same floor.
So, I head into the session, the parents get sent out to wait, and we just start chatting about absolutely everything under the sun; I guess I just talked and talked for nearly an hour straight while my folks were sitting outside practically falling asleep waiting...
and then, once I finally managed to stop rambling, she calls them back in, and do you want to guess what her first words were?
"What kind of fool doctor sent you here when this kid speaks better than all three of us combined!"

Oh, and I mentioned my little brother earlier for a different reason, but since I'm an only child, I feel like once you get close to thirty, you start realizing how much you actually missed out on by not having a sibling. Parents who grew up with brothers or sisters don't always realize that until much later in life, and then they might say, "Man, we really missed the mark," but it feels too late—though, from what you've said, I don't think that's the case for you guys.

Good luck with the house and everything else, give my best to your wife and the whole family, and lots of kisses to your little angel, or whatever they say back home in my neck of the woods.
Give everyone my regards, but don't mention anything. 🙂

Carol Young20 said:she seems pretty scared of little babies, maybe just because they don't talk or walk yet? I guess she might be a bit obsessed with buttons too, like she can't imagine anyone around the house just putting on a shirt, especially if someone accidentally touches her when there are buttons involved...

honestly, I think all of this is totally normal, so please try not to worry too much.
When I was a kid, I used to get really spooked by the sound of a chainsaw or those creepy masks people wear for Halloween, especially the scary ones.
I suppose every kid goes through their own little phases with fears, but it's probably just a stage and it'll all pass eventually..

P.S. Like I mentioned earlier, maybe just try not to stress out so much and just enjoy these moments with your son while he's still tiny.... and if you're able to, maybe focus on the idea of giving him a little brother 🙂(if that's something you guys are looking into) or whatever else comes along....

best,

It might not be anything too serious, I guess, but I know some folks who had these exact same symptoms and ended up having a retinal detachment, where the vision layer basically peels away from the eye. Usually, they just get surgery and everything goes back to normal, but in any case, I’d really recommend heading straight to an eye doctor for some tests right away. You shouldn't mess around with your eyesight, because even if it turns out to be nothing, you never truly know, right?

good luck.

Hi Betty Thompson26, thanks so much for the detailed explanation and those links.
Unfortunately, contact lenses just aren't an option for me!
Back in 1995, I actually tried wearing hard lenses—an ophthalmologist recommended them because they were supposed to be healthier than soft ones—but I just can't stand them in my eyes. Plus, when I went to get a new prescription about a year ago, they couldn't even get a proper measurement because, apparently, the surface of the cornea gets reshaped after laser surgery, so it's possible I won't be able to wear them at all. Also, my glasses prescription is -3.5, but they measured me at 5.0 for contacts??

So, I was digging through some old records from the laser clinic, and it says this:
Pre-op exam:
IOP: 19mm (both eyes)
Schirmer I: 5mm (both eyes)
Visual Acuity: sc=00 cc=0.60 c=-14.0

8 days post-op:
Visual Acuity: sc=0.30 cc=0.70 c=-0.25
Predicted post-op prescription: -1.50
Optical zone: 5.50mm

Then, my 2008 glasses prescription shows this:
-Prescription: -3.50
-Visual Acuity (0.5 left eye and 0.8 right eye)
-Pupil diameter: 6.5mm

I've been browsing some American forums, and I see quite a few people who went in for a second procedure—some chose Lasik and others opted for PRK—and it seems like everything went fine for them, and they say the halos they used to have are gone.
I guess it all really depends on how much healthy corneal tissue is left after the first surgery to make a second one even possible.
At my first consultation, they told me I could probably go all the way up to -18 without any issues or risk to my eyes, considering how thick my cornea is.
So, I'll probably need to head over to Visumed for an initial checkup just to see where I stand, and then I'll decide whether to go through with the surgery or just leave things as they are.

Hey everyone, I just wanted to start a fresh thread here instead of dragging out my old three-kilometer-long one.
I had Lasik back in April 1999, when my prescription was at -14 (Myopia)
Back then, Lasik was pretty much the shiny new thing everyone was talking about.
After my initial checkup, the doctor told me my corneal thickness looked good enough to potentially clear everything down to zero—so, no worries there, I guess.
Maybe it was because I went without glasses for almost four years, which probably caused my vision to shift again, but about two years after the surgery, I was back to -1.5, and then four years later it hit -3.5, where it’s been sitting for over five years now.
I think I might need to go through the whole process all over again for a few different reasons.

- Getting my vision corrected again
- Poor vision (I struggle with fine details in the distance, and if I try wearing stronger glasses, things just get blurry because the prescription is too high, I suppose)
- Most importantly, the halo effect, which is just this massive glare whenever I look at bright lights.

Looking at the Visumed site, or maybe LensCrafters, they mention you can actually fix that glare and other major issues by using that extra method, V+ or whatever it's called.
So, I have a few questions for anyone who has gone through surgery with them:

- Is it even possible to have another procedure, like PRK, after having already done Lasik eleven years ago?
- Do they usually take care of both eyes during the same visit?
- Can you combine PRK with that V+ method, and would I still deal with the halo effect after getting PRK?
- Do I really need to bring someone along with me on the day of the surgery?
- Roughly how much does PRK cost compared to Lasik at a place like Visumed?
- How long is the wait for an initial consultation versus the actual surgery?
- Which method do you think works better for improving night vision?

Thanks so much in advance for any help!

P.S. I never really dealt with dry eyes or any eyelid issues; everything healed up perfectly fine, though I did use some moisturizing drops for the first three weeks or so, and that was pretty much it.

Best,