Posts by mistyhound2

Sarah Kelly51 said:Symptoms: Memory loss, getting lost easily, cognitive decline.
We’ve ruled out Alzheimer, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and all that jazz. Brain tumors? Nope. Mental health issues? Ruled those out too. Most doctors seem to agree it's something physical. We've been running tests for over a year now. Everything comes back "normal." But look, it's obvious something is seriously wrong here.
We're running out of road.
What kind of chemical imbalance could this be? It isn't B12 deficiency, and it's not hormones...
Is there some specialist we haven't thought of yet who actually handles this stuff?

Honestly, it’s pretty ridiculous to drop a highly specialized medical question like this on a bunch of random people online who don't know the first thing about dementia—most of whom probably only know the name Alzheimer. For what it's worth, there are over 100 different types of dementia out there. If you want an answer, go talk to an experienced geriatrician who lives and breathes this stuff, and make sure you give them a full, detailed history. 🙂

Laura James8 said:Look, why don't you try asking your doctor to run some immunology tests? Like, check for ANA (antibodies), C3, C4, anti-dsDNA, and just get a full blood panel done. Seriously, if you aren't finding a way to fix this and it's been dragging on this long, it probably isn't just bad luck. In Washington, D.C., there's an immunology department over at the Mayo Clinic, so just head over there and see what they say.

And why on earth would he need such expensive testing right off the bat? What's the logic there? Aside from mentioning pain, the guy hasn't actually said much else. He probably isn't even bruised or red or anything. I think Charles Edwards8 put it better. 👍

Ryan Doyle6 said:I had the exact same results, and honestly, I was being pretty foolish by just waiting around instead of doing anything besides sipping on some herbal tea. I kept telling myself it wasn't a big deal—just maybe a minor cold or something related to my cycle...
But this morning, I actually screamed from the pain when I had to go to the bathroom. I rushed straight to the CVS, grabbed a sterile container, and turned in a sample for a urine culture and sensitivity test. Now, I just have to grit my teeth and endure what feels like peeing razor blades until the lab results come back...😠
I feel so silly...

Go get that culture done; I really hope nothing bad is going on.😉

No, don't just go running off for a urine culture. We aren't at a local farmers market where you just decide "hey, let's do a culture today." Whether it's necessary is strictly up to the doctor.😉 If it’s an asymptomatic infection, they don't prescribe anything. If a doctor prescribes meds anyway, it usually means they don't know their stuff and aren't following current medical guidelines.😉 (Sadly, those types exist). But since you actually have symptoms, you definitely need treatment. Your doctor kind of dropped the ball here because once you turned in that sample, they should have started you on antibiotics right away (like trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or norfloxacin).

And by the way, a urine culture and an antibiogram are basically the same thing.😉

Cranberry juice is good; I've heard plenty of success stories with it (not from me personally, obviously). That herbal tea is probably fine too. Mixing them? Probably won't hurt. Just thinking about it logically, I don't see why it would be forbidden. Nothing bad is going to happen.

Walter Wilson said:Woke up this morning with this bright red spot right on my eyeball—like, on the white part—that definitely wasn't there when I went to bed last night! As soon as I opened my eyes, I started testing my vision to see if everything was still okay. I think I can see fine, but honestly, there are moments where I'm second-guessing myself... Does anyone have a clue what causes this? Is it an allergy? Maybe just dry eyes from the heater running all night? Or could it be something scarier like eye pressure or even something neurological?! Please, let me know what you think. I’m especially looking for anyone who’s dealt with this before or has any medical/eye doctor experience. Also, does anyone know of any natural remedies for stuff like this? Thanks in advance.

Just leave it alone, it’ll clear up. There isn't really a "treatment" for a subconjunctival hemorrhage. Yeah, it happens, usually from some kind of minor trauma. Looks pretty nasty, but it'll pass.

Sam Hall15 said:Well, there is medical and surgical critical care in the US... but those are strictly the domains of intensivists, who aren't anesthesiologists, let alone internists. In our system, anesthesiologists are truly masters of the ICU, though it isn't impossible for internists to be skilled too, especially if the two departments are physically far apart—say, in separate buildings.
I was a bit confused by that mention of Switzerland earlier... when I used the term "emergentology," I was referring to that funny new label Americans coined because laypeople kept asking them when they’d specialize, even though they've had an emergency medicine specialty for about 30 years now 😁. I meant that specific type of residency, not the one we have here. As a student, I'm actually enjoying my shifts in the ER—the way things work here—but once I graduate, it doesn't sound all that appealing...

CH means Switzerland (seriously, Sam, does Google not work for you? 😁) In Switzerland, intensive care is its own distinct specialty, but honestly, that's not really my thing (at least not yet), so I haven't looked into it much.

Scott Allen10 said:So, here's the deal....

In the US, we don't really have a specific residency track for emergency medicine designed just for primary care doctors. Most folks working in ERs basically just finish med school and pick up whatever skills they can on the fly through sheer practice. It usually feels like you're stuck in the ER by necessity, just grinding away until a better specialty opens up.

In the hospital setting, things get even more ridiculous because of some classic American bureaucratic nonsense....
For decades, intensive care has always been the domain of anesthesiologists. In every single American hospital, even the tiny rural ones, the ICU is where you go when you need someone to actually manage your heart and lungs properly. Depending on what the hospital can handle, a patient might eventually be moved elsewhere—like, if there isn't a neurosurgery department available, they’ll ship you over to a facility that actually has one.
Back in the day, anesthesiologists carried the title of specialists in anesthesia, resuscitation, and intensive care.
But then comes that typical American stupidity... Since anesthesiologists are often treated like the "junior docs" compared to the heavy hitters like internists or surgeons, a few years back, an internist named Prof. Gašparović over at Mount Sinai managed to pull this weird power move. He somehow orchestrated a way to strip "intensivist" from the anesthesiology title and handed the newly formed subspecialty of "intensive medicine" over to the internists on a silver platter. And that's despite the fact that, outside of his department at Mount Sinai and maybe one or two other internal medicine wards in the whole country, real intensive care isn't even practiced that way.
It creates this total paradox where my buddy Branko, who has been a total pro working in the ICU for 15 years, isn't technically considered an intensivist anymore. Now, he’d actually have to go see Gašparović for two or three years just to get "certified," even though Gašparović knows ten times less about actual critical care than he does.
Basically, by some arbitrary decree, intensive medicine—which has flowed out of anesthesiology for decades—has been hijacked by a handful of internists who now claim they're the ones qualified to teach it as a subspecialty.

ugh, whatever... Gašparović👎, you mean that internist working in the ICU at Mayo? hm, yeah, I actually took an internal medicine exam under him once. 😁

Sam Hall15 said:I realize this might be a bit of a tangent from the usual forum topics, but I’m assuming the most knowledgeable people are gathered here...
So, does anyone know if there are specific residency programs for emergency medicine or intensive care located in Europe? I'm looking into whether subspecialization is even an option there...
To be clear, I don't mean anesthesia with an intensive care focus or a potential sub-specialty under that umbrella.
Last year, there was some talk back home about specialized emergency training, but it felt more like pre-hospital training—almost at a paramedic level of knowledge and skill, with a heavy emphasis on 👎
It's a tricky subject to navigate, but I would be incredibly grateful if anyone could share some coherent information. Even if it's just a rough idea, I'd appreciate it. 😁

Over here in Switzerland, they have a dedicated specialty for intensive care. Not sure how it works in other countries, though. If you speak German and you're interested, hit me up.🙂

boldbadger40 said:Does anyone happen to know where I can find info on "double vision" (you know, when images overlap or you see double)? Or maybe someone here has dealt with this before?
I've already had a CT scan and a whole bunch of other tests, but the doctors are just scratching their heads—they have no clue why this is happening!
Thank God it’s nothing life-threatening, but it’s incredibly annoying, and nobody can give me an answer...
So if anyone has any ideas or advice at all, I would be seriously grateful!!

Double vision is actually a pretty heavy symptom, so don't mess around with it—go see a neurologist immediately. You need a full neurological exam, and if there's anything even remotely pathological—or even if there isn't—they really ought to send you for an MRI. I don't want to freak you out by listing every single disease that causes double vision, but you need to take this seriously.

Tell us a bit more about yourself... are you dealing with any other symptoms? How old are you? Is there any history of serious illness in your family? Who sent you for the CT scan, and which specialist was it? What did the CT actually show?

Zetta said:I’ve got hypothyroidism (low T3 and T4, high TSH).
With thyroid issues, everything else in your body tends to go haywire too.
I heard some people with a hypo diagnosis take Prozac just to get them back on their feet.
Anyone here dealt with something similar?

Look, if you've got hypo, you need hormone replacement therapy—think Synthroid or whatever else is sitting on the pharmacy shelves around here. Hypothyroidism can absolutely tank your mood and lead to depression, sure, but Prozac is just an antidepressant... in this situation, you really need to tackle the actual cause, not just mask the symptoms.🙂

George Gray3 said:Sia's been hanging out in Mexico at her sister's place for ages now—that's where she does all her songwriting, filming, and... well, whatever else happens behind closed doors. That’s basically where her whole tour kicked off from, too. Honestly, people don't really know what's going on with her because she stays under the radar. And compared to someone like Thomson, it's a totally different vibe.

Yeah, and then the singer acts all surprised when the local crowd decides to boycott her show. Like, seriously? If that's where she feels most at home, maybe she should just pack up and move there permanently. It's clearly her "natural habitat" anyway.😁

Tvrtko1995 said:She’s clearly lost her mind in Atlanta!

Ha, ha..........

So I'm sitting around by the Mississippi River (my little getaway spot) the other day, just messing around with some Canadian guys:

"Hey, you guys wanna go see Severina?" (I was just being a jerk because there was a poster in the window)

And Kazo ZEMO goes: "Man, only if we're at the front of the line! And only if she pays us."

God, Tvrtko1995, you're such a skinny little guy.😲 😁

Skattemus said:It’s pretty wild... I mean, back home in America, people treat her like some kind of untouchable icon, worshiping the ground she walks on, but then she actually steps out into the real world and—well, look what happens. Just goes to show you how fake it all is.

🤣 🤣 🤣

Jose Miller3 said:Let's just stop giving advice on stuff we clearly don't have a clue about!!!!!

I mean, seriously? You're out here telling some guy to just go grab steroid eye drops for no reason at all—no doctor, no checkup, nothing. And you're acting like corticosteroids have some kind of magical antibiotic powers or something... 🙄

The real issue is that there's always some self-proclaimed "expert" popping up on this forum🙄 ready to dish out unsolicited medical advice. Honestly, you hit the nail on the head—it's about time someone called it like it is.👍

Brandon Thomas89 said:I went to see my doctor because of this bloody eye. I mean, it was almost entirely red. He just told me—best to do nothing, it'll clear up on its own. Well, three weeks later, it finally started fading.

See? That's exactly it. 🙂 Everyone’s just looking for some magic pill or useless drops that don't actually do anything besides drain your wallet.

Austin Phillips3 said:Ever since I took that hit to the face, one of my scleras looks like a total crime scene—just completely bloodshot—but my vision is actually fine. Does this stuff just clear up on its own, or am I looking at a mandatory trip to the doctor?

Yeah, listen, Austin... if we're talking about a subconjunctival hemorrhage—and based on how you described the impact, that’s likely what it is—then honestly, there's nothing to do. It's just a bruise, plain and simple. It looks absolutely terrifying, like something out of a horror movie, but it's actually harmless. Trust me on this one.😉

The other thing is, if your eye was red because of actual inflammation or an infection, you'd be feeling a whole different set of symptoms. Plus, an ophthalmologist—someone who literally stares at eyeballs all day for a living—would spot that kind of trouble immediately.🙂

Lawrence Wells said:Anone, you clearly don't have a clue what's actually going on here. We've always needed doctors, and we always will. At the end of the day, you just gotta love what you're studying—and make sure it actually puts food on the table eventually.🙂

sure thing...🙂

Eric Robinson81 said:Look, if you graduate med school, you're a physician, not a "doctor" in the academic sense. If you want that PhD title, you've got to grind through more years of study and defend a dissertation.

yeah, and apparently that makes you some kind of expert.😬

genoivianan said:Uh, I was thinking about aiming for medical school next year, but I keep second-guessing myself because I'm just not sure. Now that I'm reading all this, it feels like maybe it's better not even to try since neither my mom nor my dad are doctors. Is that really how it works?
And is it true that if you're feeling unsure, you should just throw in the towel?

Don't let that get in your head. Seriously, my parents aren't doctors either, and I still managed to rank in the top 50 for admissions and made it through the whole grind successfully. At the end of the day, it's about you—your drive, your grit, and how much you're willing to sacrifice. And yeah, obviously... you need a massive passion for medicine. You have to live it, breathe it, and obsess over it constantly, as I’ve said before. Just go for it. Good luck on the entrance exams.🙂

Lawrence Wells said:So, did you actually manage to land a residency?

Of course I did. Honestly, it’s been way easier and less of a headache than back home in the States. Sadly, it's true.👎 But hey, every cloud has a silver lining, right?

Eric Robinson81 said:A ton of people never even land a residency. And honestly, most people don't find work in Washington, D.C.; instead, you have these folks born right in the heart of the city who end up fleeing to some tiny town halfway across the country just to find a paycheck, living miles away from their friends and parents just to make ends meet.

Sadly, this is spot on. 😢 It was actually one of the biggest reasons I decided to pack my bags and leave both D.C. and the US.