Posts by crimsongull20

It’s a shame that’s the specific issue you're facing right in the middle of everything... 😢
The folks at the pain clinics should really be able to give you an answer on this and maybe suggest a few more options.

Lisa Nelson70 said:That’s exactly my point—what am I supposed to do? Until I have the money, there’s no sense in switching doctors... who knows if the next one will be any better? I've had this one for ten years, and the one before her was way worse. Okay, my diagnoses are recent, but all my old records are still with him. My dad is quite sick, too, and this doctor won't even give him the meds the specialist actually prescribed.

Then there was this thing with a relative recently... they sent a woman home after a brain issue, basically telling her to stop acting out... I mean, what can you even do at that point?

I know plenty of similar stories myself. I'm right there with you.

The Patient Rights Association should start a campaign to collect these negative patient experiences. They need to go public with them and keep making a massive scene in the media until things actually change. This is one of the most critical issues in our society, if not the biggest.

In a functional society, a doctor who is negligent, ignorant, or lazy should be publicly shamed, no exceptions.

Lisa Nelson70 said:So, EEG, neck MRI... they don't think I need any more head scans. My GP sent me for the EEG, and the neurologist ordered the neck MRI. Based on everything I told her, she ruled out anything other than my neck being the cause of the headaches. I'm not happy about it, but I can't really do much on my own until I get my finances back on track or find a new primary doctor. Then again, who knows who I'd end up with? Maybe they'd also think everything's been covered.
I forgot to mention I'm entitled to physical therapy twice a year, but my GP won't refer me anymore. I only went once last year; she claims it's unnecessary and tells me to just do exercises at home, even though my physiatrist specifically noted "periodic physical therapy." She argues there's no specified timeframe in the notes, but my neurologist said clearly that the doctor knows full well that means twice a year. But honestly, I'm stuck. Hoping my financial situation improves soon (not working yet) so I can see someone privately, until I find a different GP who might be "better"... if such a person exists.

As you can see, not exactly... I was actually at neurology for something else entirely—a pinched nerve unrelated to my neck—but the neurologist wrote down the neck MRI on the report anyway because I mentioned the headaches. When I got the results back, she just said, "Oh, there are some changes, nothing serious, just take care," blah, blah... and then mentioned the twice-yearly physical therapy.

None of this is surprising. In fact, it's a textbook example of how diagnostics work in the American healthcare system and the typical treatment you get from an American GP. Try saving up enough money to see a private neurologist, pick the best one, insist on a brain MRI, and pray that whoever you see isn't part of the crowd that diagnoses and prescribes after about 30 seconds of intellectual effort. Let's be real, most private practitioners are the same way. It's all the same circle. I've been through over a hundred doctors' offices in the last three years, and in that sample, over ninety percent were like this. The situation is CATASTROPHIC, primarily due to a total lack of—I wouldn't even call it expertise—but basic professional literacy and fundamental ethics.

Until you know exactly what's going on, stay away from those random, "guesswork" physical therapies. They treated me similarly, and it ruined my health.

Until your GP, mine, and hundreds of others start getting fired and permanently banned from practicing medicine due to negligence and incompetence, nothing will change. And it's high time it started happening.

Amy Rivera66 said:Nobody? Not a single word?? Has anyone even heard of a procedure like this? Any info at all...

Even Dr. Plastic Fantastic wouldn't touch that.

Good grief, do you have any idea how much a healthy hip matters? 😵

Maybe try therapy instead.

Lisa Nelson70 said:For the past year, I’ve been dealing with headaches almost every single day. It doesn't matter if my blood pressure is fine or if I've been exercising... sometimes it's just a dull ache, other times it's intense. Every doctor I see just blames it on cervical issues and tells me there's nothing they can do besides taking Diazepam and painkillers.

What kind of scans did those doctors actually run on your head and neck to reach that conclusion? Did they perform a CT or an MRI, or are they just making things up as they go...

Jerry Edwards34 said:spent two hours on my knees yesterday...

Kneeling—with some decent knee pads—is probably the smarter move here.

Robert Grant84 said:Quick update: my mom's brain is a mess. She had a CT scan, they don't know what happened yet, and now she's in a coma...

😢

Ronald Cox96 said:I need a solid orthopedic surgeon recommendation—someone who actually knows what they're doing—and I need them to take insurance. It’s a sports injury in my shoulder. Honestly, just tell me which hospital is worth my time... I’ve heard the ortho department at the New Hospital is a total disaster. And I really don't have three months to waste sitting in a waiting room. Someone suggested Aritheru over on Petrov, but they don't see patients with standard insurance. I also heard a tip about checking out Božidarevićev, but I can't find a single thing about them online.

Heard some good things about the ortho department over at Hilltop, but haven't been there myself...

steelsailor9 said:Nick?

I did a little digging. Someone mentioned testing IGF-1 at the Endocrinology Lab over on Vineyard ( ). They also do IGF-1 and 17 OH at a private lab in Belgrade... might be worth considering if things are getting urgent. http://www.dr-ristic.com/download/ce...kih_usluga.pdf

Scott Allen10 said:On behalf of the Health moderation team, thanks and good luck with your recovery!

But hey, it's worth mentioning here too... no matter what anyone tells you online, especially when it comes to medical stuff, nothing can ever replace having a real, face-to-face conversation with your doctor. Of course, our whole mod team and the pros working with us will always try to help out with advice whenever we can, whether it's in that specific section or just hanging out in other threads...🙂

Don't mention it. Thanks to you too... wishing you all the best with your work. 🙂

dr_pelo, thanks for such a detailed breakdown.

I don't have any allergies to local anesthetics. Plus, this is a major specialized surgical center—they focus strictly on hernia repairs and apparently always use local anesthesia (if my math is right, they’ve done about 17,000 of these...).

Nerve damage and chronic pain... that's the worst-case scenario. That's what I was thinking, too.
The one time I had an epidural, it took four tries before they actually hit the mark. Then I read some horror stories about people ending up with arachnoiditis from those procedures, so I'm pretty sure I'll never touch an epidural or spinal again.

Thanks again for the reply and the kind words. 👍

Scott Allen10 said:😍...Sure, I can do that too...Hey...

Sure, you can too... 🙂 I can't say I'm surprised... Just more of the same.

Ladies and gentlemen; friends and colleagues,

For anyone looking at an upcoming surgery, just a heads-up: if you check the Health PDF under the Anesthesia/Resuscitation/ICU section, you can actually get expert, straightforward, and free advice on all those questions you're probably too nervous to ask.

Big thanks to the doctors helping us out there, especially Dr. Phil. 🙂

Scott Allen10 said:Thanks for the kind words. Glad this thread might actually help someone out. If only the FBI would give us a shoutout, she’d be our favorite person on Healthline...😁Obviously, you have to remember this is just an online forum... it’s definitely no substitute for talking to a real doctor in person.

Explain the acronym or just drop a link where we're supposed to be singing your praises... 😁
Haven't been around here in years. Just dropping in occasionally... I'm an outsider at this point, so I don't really get what's going on anymore...

In my case, finding a competent doctor in person is basically like an atheist waiting for a vision of the Virgin Mary in a water heater... so I really value any kind of expert advice I can get from a distance... 🙂

Scott Allen10 said:If you want actual advice on nerve blocks, just go talk to the residents at the Mayo Clinic. They live for nothing else but regional anesthesia... eventually they'll probably try performing brain surgery through a block too...😁They rely heavily on ultrasound to pinpoint nerves and infiltration sites. It's just routine for them now... as far as regional anesthesia advice goes, you really can't go wrong there...

Thanks. 👍

Hi everyone 🙂

Honestly, this thread caught me off guard. Due to a string of bad luck over the last few years, I’ve spent—and I’m not even exaggerating—thousands of hours digging through medical journals and patient stories on various forums. But I don't recall ever finding this much high-quality, free, and competent medical insight as I have right here. Kudos 👍

I have a question I haven't been able to answer, so I’m hoping any anesthesiologists hanging out here might be able to help. What are the actual risks associated with local anesthesia (specifically genitofemoral and ilioinguinal blocks) during a bilateral inguinal hernia repair? I have a procedure coming up soon at a clinic outside the US where they're insisting this type of anesthesia is the lowest risk option, but I'm still not entirely convinced the dangers are negligible. How much of a risk is there for permanent nerve damage (chronic pain) from this kind of thing, and are there other potential long-term complications?...

Thanks in advance. 🙂

Lisa White54 said:I've always tried to look at it this way: how would I feel if I were the one sick? How would I want to be treated? So, that’s basically how I treat my husband.

If you aren't sick, you can't truly grasp what it feels like or what you'd actually need... You can try to help, sure, within reason, but never assume you actually understand.

Scott Hall3 said:Has anyone here actually tried bladder instillations using DMSO/heparin? I want to know what the real-world experience is like—does this stuff actually take the edge off the symptoms, and if it does, how long does the relief actually last?
Also, has anyone else been brave enough to go through with the potassium test?

Before jumping into invasive tests and procedures, you might want to consider this: interstitial cystitis is often just a byproduct of overactive pelvic floor muscles. Physical therapy specifically for a tight pelvic floor isn't really common here yet... we definitely need to push our therapists to get better trained. If your English is up to par, there's more info in the book A Headache in The pelvis (it should arrive from Amazon in about ten days). It includes self-care tips too. Doing self-massage without professional guidance is tricky, but some might manage... or maybe afford a week of training down at Stanford...

Good luck, everyone. 🙂

Sean Brown86 said:Hey everyone 🙂 just an update. After all the digging, I finally saw a psychiatrist. She thinks my body basically went on strike because of performance anxiety—even though things were fine on paper. Apparently, obsessing over whether I’d play well in soccer caused my system to shut down to avoid potential failure... prescribed some Lexapro. It should hit the nervous system in about 8 days, so we'll see. Really hoping this is the fix... thanks for the support in these threads... 👍

They might help, but honestly? You're probably better off avoiding our local doctors whenever possible. Most of them are either totally clueless or just too lazy to dig deeper. If you can, go get diagnosed at a decent clinic in a major metro area. It's much easier for them to say "it's just stress" or "it's psychological" than to actually do the work required to find the real issue...

For instance, some high-and-mighty neurologist once told me I was depressed and needed a shrink, simply because she couldn't recognize the symptoms of a standard herniated disc. Don't even get me started on the rarer stuff. If I hadn't stumbled upon a competent orthopedic surgeon and a good massage therapist, I probably wouldn't be able to turn over in bed right now, let alone get out of it.

brisksurfer said:I'm with you on this. Even when they told me Dad had maybe a week or two left, I kept hoping they were just wrong. Deep down, though, I knew the goodbye was coming. I can still see his eyes clearly from the day before he passed... we were talking, and he knew I was right there... but then he looked out the window at the trees, almost like he was already halfway to heaven. There’s no rational way to explain it, but that was the feeling. He was gone the next day...

There’s no such thing as being prepared... if I had to do it again, I wouldn't be ready. But I remember holding his hand on that last day, knowing he had to go. It felt like all his strength flowed into me... I just kept telling him internally that I understood, that he should go if it would make things easier... and not to worry about us...

I don't know... I move on, but I feel like I could live a hundred lives and never truly get rid of this pain. 😢((

I knew my old man was leaving the second he handed me that train ticket to Washington, D.C., and headed out to buy it. No idea why or how.

He fell ill the next day and ended up in the ER. Three months until the diagnosis. Eight months until he was gone. And after more than ten years, it hasn't gotten a bit easier than that moment I tucked the ticket into my wallet. 😢

brisksurfer said:Thanks for the reply. I'm just wondering if there's anything out there that might help stop a tumor from spreading further...

Some people claim they had success with this http://www.healthandwellness.com/mushroom-therapy&sp=index.

Others say it did nothing for them, but I haven't heard of anyone actually getting better because of it...