Posts by Jamie Wells83

This might sound a little ridiculous to some of you—and I get it—but my ENT actually suggested whistling as a way to deal with hoarseness a few years back... and honestly? It actually works. Sure, you might look like a total weirdo whistling away to yourself all day long, but it really does help soothe a raspy throat 🙂

I could use some help here,
Female/34yo.
Instead of typing out my entire blood panel and urinalysis, I’ll just list the values that are actually off.
BLOOD: .
RBC 4.28 (4.34-5.72)
HEMOGLOBIN 117 (138-175)
HEMATOCRIT 0.325 (0.415-0.530)
MCV 78.5 (83-97.2)
MCH 26.6 (27.4-33.9)
MCHC 348 (320-345)
RDW 15.7 (9-15)
PLATELETS 156 (158-424)

K-SE 18 (2-13)

IRON 5 (11-32)
UIBC 75 (25-54)

URINALYSIS:
RBC/HEMOGLOBIN +++ (00-00)
PROTEINS ++ (00-00)
LEUKOCYTE ESTERASE + (00-00)
WBC 23 (00-3)
RBC 405 (00-2)
BACTERIA SIGNIFICANT (0-0)

Context—I have kidney stones. I had ESWL done just four days before this blood and urine work was taken. I also finished a course of antibiotics (Cipro, 500mg twice a day for 10 days) about seven days before the tests.
Look, I'm not worried about the high red blood cell count in the urine—that makes sense given the stones—but I am wondering why my white cell count is up, why there's protein, and how I can have "significant" bacteria when I literally just finished an antibiotic course (which was prescribed preventatively because I have a stent in my ureter). My regular doctor isn't available, and the locum who covered for her basically just told me we'd re-run the urine test in 15 days. To top it all off, I'm dealing with a massive yeast infection that flared up right after the antibiotics. For the low iron, my doctor put me on a supplement twice a day and called it a day. Can anyone break these results down for me? Specifically, is there any link between anemia and kidney stones, and is it possible for my urine results to be this messy because of the stones?
Thanks in advance.

Honestly, there's really no reason to stress out about this... I've dealt with a massive penicillin allergy since the day I was born. Since I'm 34 now, just imagine how many times I've been sick and had to deal with antibiotics over the years. That temp doctor covering for the regular one clearly doesn't have all her wits about her—if she actually told you there's nothing they can give you because of an allergy, she's totally off base. There is a huge spectrum of antibiotics that aren't penicillin-based which work perfectly fine... though, let's be real, you can't exactly go out and buy them yourself without a prescription anyway, so you might as well just relax and stop worrying. I've used various antibiotics to fight everything from pneumonia and bronchitis to UTIs and throat infections—you name it. There are plenty of options out there... Amoxicillin is just one of many.

btw I can't use Celexa either

vividsailor7 said:Look, regardless of the specifics, he needs to stop smoking entirely. Period.
I don't know how old he is, but from what you're describing, this sounds like the textbook onset of COPD.

He's 29... and I already told him not to mess around with this stuff. I told him if it's such a problem, just don't light up that one cigarette, but you know how it goes—he always thinks one won't hurt him. Then, wouldn't you know it, he proves himself wrong by the very same night...

MM is dealing with something pretty similar... he was a smoker for a few years—though he never actually bought his own packs, he’d just "borrow" a couple here and there from me or my mother-in-law—and then suddenly, about two years ago, it started hitting him hard. He’d be woken up in the middle of the night by coughing fits, and in the mornings, it felt like he was coughing up his actual lungs. So, he quit. But every now and then when we go out with friends on the weekend, he'll light up JUST one cigarette, and the second we get home and lie down, he's practically suffocating from coughing and intense snoring (which isn't normal for him). Then, by morning, he’s hacking up a ton of sinus congestion. He doesn't have any allergies—he's actually been tested—and there's nothing showing up for obstructive diseases, so it seems strictly tied to the tobacco. But how? No clue. Is this some kind of allergy that standard tests just can't pick up?