Posts by ambernomad36

Been dealing with abdominal cramps for about a month and a half now. The intense pains finally died down—thank god—but I’ve still got this constant ache right under my left rib cage that just radiates all over my stomach. Went to see my OBGYN and they found a polyp, some fibroids, and a cyst on my left ovary... though I might get a second opinion from a specialist at Mayo Clinic because I'm not sure about the diagnosis. The cyst is about the size of an almond. Had a CA 125 test done and it came back at 7.4 (< 35.0 kIU/L), so I guess that's good? I've got a follow-up in three months.
How's everyone doing? Any update on those pains? I heard someone had their CABG done.
ESR is sitting at 36—(normal range is 5-28)... I guess.
Lymphocytes 3.8 (1.19 - 3.35) — I guess my Lymphocyte count is a bit high... maybe nothing to worry about, but still—not exactly where it should be.
Alpha-amylase 203 (normal range 23-91)—yeah, that’s definitely high. I guess... maybe just something to watch.
Cholesterol is sitting at 8.2 (normal is 0-5)—not exactly what I was hoping to see... maybe just my luck?
Triglycerides at 2.2... and the target is under 1.7—so yeah, I guess I'm officially off track.
HDL cholesterol is sitting at 1.16—just under that 1.2 mark... I guess.
LDL cholesterol is sitting at 6.04... and that’s way over the limit of 3—not exactly great news, I guess.

Everything else seems to be within the normal range, I guess.

Once Dr. Felix saw the results, she sent me straight to an internist... and then things just went nuts. I mean—more blood work, three different ultrasounds in two days? Total madness.

Amylase is dropping... sedimentation is up, the pain isn't letting up, and I'm just exhausted—completely wiped out.
Just had my third ultrasound—my internist isn't exactly thrilled about what he saw. Apparently, the pancreas looks fine, but there's this oval, echogenic mass sitting right above it (cranially to the tail)—about 2.44x2.78 cm and slightly heterogeneous, though it's the same echogenicity as the pancreas itself. I guess we'll see.
Probably worth getting a CT scan of the pancreas and an MRI—plus a gastroscopy and colonoscopy, and checking CA 19-9 levels. Just my two cents, I guess.
These tests were done up in San Francisco.
So, I ended up getting admitted to the Mayo Clinic for two days.

MRI and CT came back clean—plus gastro, endoscopy, and CA 19-9 are all fine too... no suspicious masses or anything anywhere in the abdomen, I guess.

Out of all the tests they ran—I guess—only these specific values came back high.

GF estimate based on the MDRD formula is 99.5 (>60 ml/min)—I guess that's fine.
GFR estimate based on CKD-EPI formula is 101.7 (> 60 ml/min) — looks okay, I guess.
Basophils at 0.11 (0.00 - 0.06)... I guess that's a bit high—maybe nothing, but still slightly out of range.
Neutrophil granulocytes 7.63 (2.06 - 6.49 10e9/L)—just my luck, I guess.

So, after getting discharged from the hospital, these were the diagnoses they wrote down:

Gastritis, I guess.
Heart failure... I guess.
Diverticulosis... man, what a mess.
Post-appendectomy status... I guess.
Post-cystectomy renal issues... I guess? (2010)
Kidney stones in the left kidney, I guess.
Renal cortical cysts... I guess.
Thyroiditis and Hyperlipoproteinemia
Thyroiditis and Hyperlipoproteinemia—I guess.

I'm 55 years old and I honestly feel... 👎

Of course, I'm still getting hit with those intense pains every now and then—they don't last too long, though... so I guess I'm just hoping that maybe, just maybe, I'll actually last a while.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, extra digging, or follow-ups.

slyorca11 said:

ambernomad36 Asks:
Missed the last poll, and I can't even jump in on this one because there isn't an option to vote.

I’m not casting my vote if it just means choosing between two different evils.

Both options are wrong. They both trample on my right to make a democratic choice!

So, your big democratic choice was basically letting everyone else decide for you?

.

Yeah, I guess I just went along with the majority without making a scene—maybe they actually know something I don't... pick your poison, I guess.

slyorca11 said:

ambernomad36 Asks:
Missed the last poll, and I can't even jump in on this one because there isn't an option to vote.

I’m not casting my vote if it just means choosing between two different evils.

Both options are wrong. They both trample on my right to make a democratic choice!

So, your big democratic choice was basically letting everyone else decide for you?

.

Why didn't I vote YES?

Because the UN is falling apart—it just protects some global capitalist elite and doesn't give a damn about social safety nets... and in this country, whatever is left will just be sold off, they control everything from agriculture... you name it.

Why didn't I vote NO?

I'm sick of working my ass off for a boss who pays me five times less than some worker in Germany, especially since he won't give me overtime pay and forces me to work extra hours for free.
And because our healthcare system totally wrecked my life with its sheer incompetence and inability to actually find a real diagnosis.
And because they demand mountains of paperwork for projects that would sail through in the UN without any issues, yet I'm still waiting for an answer.
And because people in my own neighborhood are literally digging through trash!
Because my mom can't even afford a decent life after forty years of hard work!
Because the pension fund I poured money into for years got absolutely gutted!

I didn't even bother voting because I don't trust the crooks who have been robbing us blind so far, nor do I trust those frauds in the UN who'll just keep doing the exact same thing.
They're all cut from the same cloth—it's just that Europeans do it with white gloves on.

Trust me, I'd rather move to another planet at this point than just leave the UN.

So yeah, there's your justice, your elections, and your democracy!

slyorca11 said:Given the mismatch between the referendum results and what the previous poll showed whether to join the EU - final poll, I’m curious about how many actual euroskeptics actually turned up to vote.

I'm starting a new poll here. Primarily, I want to hear from those 550 people who took the last one, though everyone else is more than welcome to join in.

I didn't take part in the last poll, and honestly, I can't even do it now because there isn't an option for my view.

I'm not gonna cast a vote when it feels like choosing between the lesser of two evils... which is just wrong!!

Both options suck and they totally disrespect my right to actually make a democratic choice!