Posts by Angela Wright

It’s possible you’re dealing with an infected Bartholin's gland. There was actually a discussion about this exact thing on the forum just a little while ago.

Go see a doctor if the swelling increases or if you start feeling pain that doesn't clear up on its own within a couple of days.

Christian Wood63 said:Glucocorticoids spike blood glucose levels, which just creates another massive headache.\
The biggest trigger for high sugar is stress—if you can manage that, you've already won half the battle.
But looking at the specific cocktail of meds she's on and how they interact... well...
Some old-school folks think the "fix" for high sugar is brewing coffee in beer water—basically using beer as the base.
She shouldn't overdo it, though; it has to be gradual because people try to force a sudden hypoglycemic crash.

Unfortunately, beer—or any kind of alcohol—is completely off the table for someone dealing with a brain tumor, especially given the anticonvulsants being prescribed. The warnings on those labels are crystal clear: zero alcohol consumption allowed.
We did manage to bring my mom's sugar down a bit by stripping her diet back to the absolute bare minimum of carbohydrates—nothing with even a hint of sugar in it.
Even though she was only taking one pill of Eglucon a day, her levels hit 18.9 at one point, which basically means she's moved straight into insulin territory.
I don't even want to talk about how cooking has turned into an absolute nightmare; now I’m not just trying to find things she can actually swallow, but everything has to be strictly low-glycemic too.😢 .

Elizabeth Collins60 said:Hey everyone. I’ve been offline for a few days because I’ve been spending most of my time helping my dad through radiation and his treatment schedule. Honestly, it isn't his head radiation that's got me worried—it's this massive lump under his armpit. I wanted to ask how long your loved ones have been on dexamethasone? My dad was doing fine while he was just on the dex, but then his oncologist added Miller, which doesn't seem to be doing much at all. Has anyone else noticed an increased appetite after starting dex? My dad is eating constantly; he just won't stop. He also has this intense redness in his face—has anyone else seen that happen, or is it just a side effect of being on dex for a while?
I’ve known patients who were on steroids for six months straight, but when it’s someone you actually love, all that medical knowledge goes right out the window. Your emotions take over, and you end up stuck in this endless loop of questioning every single procedure and wondering if there’s anything else left to try. One thing I’ve learned, and this community has really helped me realize, is to cherish every single day. Enjoy every moment while things are still good enough to go out together and just be a family in the truest sense. I know that one day, I won't have anyone left to pour my heart out to.
Sending love and strength to you all...

My mom has been on dexamethasone non-stop for a year and a half now. Her appetite definitely spiked, and her face stays flushed red to this day—I’m guessing it’s due to her blood sugar levels. Make sure your dad keeps a close eye on his glucose. If it starts to climb—which it almost certainly will—try managing it through his diet first, or talk to the doctor about something like Glurenorm to help stimulate his pancreas to produce more insulin.
Steroids are unfortunately a necessary evil, and the longer they are used, the more they tend to cause secondary issues and damage😳.

casualgardener13 said:As far as I'm concerned, a solid diet and regular exercise 👍

👍
Those pads👎 are just like anything else sold with that kind of hype. Sure, they might stimulate your feet or give them a little massage, but that's about it. If those things actually worked the way people claim, we’d all be walking around looking like supermodels by now🙄 .

Hey everyone, I stumbled upon this site while trying to weigh in on another thread about pressure sores, and I ended up finding a massive catalog of medical supplies for home care. There aren't any prices listed—which I'm assuming means they're eye-wateringly expensive—but I'm seriously considering picking up a patient lift. My elderly father and I are both dealing with some pretty significant back issues at this point.

mistymoose57 said:Oncology and neurosurgery are two completely different things. Honestly, you're talking a big game for someone claiming to be a "medical professional." Once you actually learn the basics and stop bashing colleagues without having any real insight into the situation, feel free to reach out. ☕

Exactly🙄. There is zero teamwork here. It’s the same dysfunctional vibe my mother has been dealing with for two years while battling glioblastoma—she doesn't have a dedicated neurologist who actually tracks her progress or talks to her oncologist. Instead, we show up for appointments, and then the oncologist has to sprint through the halls of the hospital just to hunt down some random on-call neurologist who might be willing to grace us with their presence and look at her scans. Everyone is just waiting for a chance to trip one another up or stab a colleague in the back, but it's the patient who ends up feeling the blade. Sure, the system is a disaster, money is tight, and resources are scarce, but I seriously question the ethics and basic morality of the staff at Mayo Clinic when they can't even maintain professional courtesy among themselves, let alone toward patients who are essentially being processed through a revolving door.
And please, don't try to sell me that tired, out-of-context, incredibly stupid line about how "we're all struggling and it's hard to bond with patients"—it makes me sick! My mother has all the emotional support in the world; she doesn't need it from you! If I, a thirty-year-old woman, can rise above the crushing reality of watching her die without help, then surely every medical worker—who deals with death as a daily, natural occurrence—can manage the same. You aren't gods, and you can't perform miracles beyond human capability, so if you can't handle that reality, stay out of medicine! What my mom needs from you (which God knows you are capable of providing, just like anyone else) is a healthy doctor-patient relationship and a neurologist who finally takes charge of her case before she passes away.😠

darklynx73 said:Alright, does anyone here know anything about these symptoms?

For the last five days, I've been dealing with this twitching sensation. It’s mostly on my left side, just below the left breast. Throughout the day, it feels like a constant tickling, but before that, it felt more like a nerve twitch—exactly like when your eyelid starts fluttering involuntarily. You know that specific sensation where you can actually feel the nerve jumping?
I wouldn't call it pain, per se, but it's definitely uncomfortable. Let's just call it a persistent twitch.
When the sensation hits and I press my palm against the area, I can physically feel the vibration under my hand. What’s even stranger is that you can actually see it happening; the skin visibly trembles.
Otherwise, I feel fine. I'm not under any major stress, my blood pressure is normal, and I have no issues breathing.

What could this be? I thought about scheduling an ultrasound, but I wasn't overly worried at first. I figured it was just some nerve issue that would pass on its own.
But this has been going on for a while now... and since it's right in the heart area, I'm starting to wonder. 😎
If anyone has any insight or has dealt with something similar, please let me know.

Thanks.

I think it's just a muscle twitch, just like when your arm or leg starts jumping. It happens to me too, and it's been going on for years without killing me. If it's really eating at you, just go see a doctor and get it off your mind. 😳

Olivia Ramos66 said:It’s an immunomodulator. But you shouldn't stay on it indefinitely because there have been reports of serious liver damage associated with noni's products.

You really think my mom is going to kick the bucket from liver cirrhosis while fighting glioblastoma?😳
There’s a slim chance, honestly almost zero. She’d be more likely to develop cirrhosis from taking Phemiton than from drinking three small glasses of juice a day. Besides, she takes native propolis, which completely offsets any negative effects from noni's.👍

Olivia Ramos66 said:By the way, we barely talk about noni's here.😬

How can you say that? I’ve already posted about this.🙂 My mom has been taking it for a year and six months now, paired with some native propolis. Honestly, my take is that it’s an incredibly healthy supplement—packed with minerals and vitamins to boost immunity and serving as a powerhouse antioxidant. I’ve heard it’s supposedly 600 times more potent than pineapple. My mom takes it, and I truly believe it helps prevent infections and keeps her digestive system moving smoothly; she hasn't had a single bout of constipation, which is a miracle considering she’s been completely immobile for a year. Beyond that, nothing else has fundamentally shifted—the cancer is still progressing, though it's moving much slower than what we see in other glioblastoma patients. I recommend it, but I would never go around trying to convince people—like those aggressive door-to-door salespeople you see everywhere—that this stuff is a "cure" for cancer. It's a heavy-duty immune stimulant that might just give the body enough strength to work its own magic.

Melissa Kern6 said:My sweetie just took a direct hit right to the eye. I'm really looking for some advice from anyone who's dealt with this before—what should I be doing? Maybe a cold compress or something...
I'll tell you guys the whole story of how it happened in a bit.

You need to head straight to an ophthalmologist if there's any vision impairment at all (emergency eye care at the hospital is available over the weekend). If there's bruising—like, if the white of the eye looks bloodshot—the doctor will likely prescribe some drops to speed up healing and prevent infection.

Brenda Rogers said:If anyone's interested, I can try to dig up the specifics.

We all want them!🙂 Please, just spill the details.😳

Jesse Sullivan2 said:19, we're talking about one hand here...
I can't really give you an answer on what kind of pain we're dealing with, since it's not even my own issue...

Good God😁 , when I asked about age, I wasn't implying your own arm was going numb; I was pointing out that in older patients, that kind of sensation is often a precursor to a heart attack. Look, let's get some actual details on the table here. Who are we talking about? How old is this person, and can you give me a much more precise description of what this pain actually feels like?

mellowraven32 said:Her blood work looks great

🙈
I’m looking at this now and honestly, I have no idea how I missed it myself.😕
Alright, I think it's officially time for a nap.😁

So, it looks like we still need to check her thyroid and maybe run some blood chemistry tests.😬

mellowraven32 said:A little bit of red blood isn't even a big deal, which is why people don't mention it. Since her blood work came back normal, those symptoms definitely aren't related to a few drops of blood...

From what I can gather from his wording, he sounds pretty uncertain about the actual color and consistency anyway. Most doctors in the US will immediately order a blood panel regardless, and those results could provide much more clarity. Like I mentioned in my last post, it might turn out to be nothing at all, but personally, any mention of blood in a stool sample sets off alarm bells for me. It’s the kind of thing where you just book an appointment with your physician immediately.

Hmm. When I first started reading this, my mind went straight to the thyroid, too. But once you mentioned blood in your stool, I started thinking it might be some kind of internal bleeding—like a perforated stomach ulcer—and that whole feeling of weakness could just be anemia setting in because of the blood loss. My honest advice? You need to immediately get to a doctor. Internal bleeding isn't something you can just sit around and wait for to resolve itself.
I don't want to freak you out completely, though; there’s still a chance it’s just a thyroid issue combined with something minor like hemorrhoids. But whether it's one or the other, the only way to know for sure is to have a doctor run the tests.

Carol Ramirez said:The doctor mentioned this morning that we should try picking up some kind of kids' vitamin syrup—maybe it’ll jumpstart his appetite. Does anyone have a recommendation? What are your thoughts on that?
I’m sitting here talking his ear off like a fool, trying to stay gentle and keep him laughing. The doctor actually told my guy he’s going to need nose surgery to shorten it because he keeps lying to me like Pinocchio; he just can't find the heart to tell me he hasn't eaten anything, so he makes stuff up instead. Now he's even bored with the Taheebo tea (he's been on it since December 2006, so no wonder), so I've started bringing him little bottles of various different teas so he actually has a choice. Honestly, I'd try a hundred miracles if it meant he felt better..

Pikovit syrup👍
Maybe the Pikovit tablets would work better since they're basically like candy, which might give him a little boost too. We used Pikovit to get our old man back on his feet once upon a time.🙂

Betty Cox30 said:Got it over in Brooklyn. Thanks for the heads-up.😘

👍

northernfox9 said:I'm back after a while, and unfortunately, it's with bad news—it looks like this damn thing has spread to the left lung. The X-ray shows a 5cm shadow that wasn't even there a month ago. Is that even possible? We’ll have the tumor markers back in a week. Also, my dad's knee joints are incredibly swollen, and his feet are so puffed up he can't even get his shoes on. I know someone mentioned this here before, but I can't find the post. Please help, what can we give him to get the swelling down? Maybe some kidney tea or a diuretic?

My mom was on Furosemide, but it kept crashing her potassium levels. Once she started taking low-dose aspirin, her circulation improved and that fluid buildup finally cleared up.
Man, just a heavy day of bad news.😢
Look, don't take that scan result as gospel just yet. Wait for the tumor markers. Who knows, maybe it's just pneumonia. His immune system is already shot from the chemo and radiation. Even > wrote about this.

Carol Ramirez said:My dad was doing so much better. After six rounds of chemo, his lung carcinoma had shrunk significantly, and the doctors were actually debating whether to go in for surgery or hit it with more radiation.
But then, out of nowhere, he spiked a massive fever. The difference in his lung scans is night and day—one taken at the start of the week and another at the end. That first one? Phenomenal. Everything looked great. This latest one? A complete disaster; the entire left lung is just shadowed out. They repeated the scan, and it’s the exact same story.
Now we're looking at two possibilities: either he caught pneumonia, or the tumor has detached and is obscuring the lung. It sounds horrific to say, but I am praying to God it’s just pneumonia.
If the tumor has indeed detached, they’d have to remove it via bronchoscopy, but the doctors are warning us that it’s an incredibly high-risk procedure with a major chance of hemorrhaging. Right now, they have him on antibiotics to see if the shadowing clears up if it's just an infection. Has anyone dealt with something like this? What do we do? I'm going to lose my mind; he’s completely crushed, depressed, and won't eat a thing. He’s already dropped 8kg...

Oh man, Carol Ramirez, hang in there.
I know this is heavy, but try to frame both scenarios this way: what happened, happened, and the situation itself is undeniably brutal. However, even though both paths are complicated and dangerous, there is still a chance that things can be stabilized. This is just another roadblock on the track. Remember how risky the chemo itself was? A person can die from those treatments if they wreck the blood counts enough. He faced a situation like that before and pulled through. Don't let the ground slip out from under you now; you've fought such a long, grueling battle to get to this point. Life is nothing but oscillations. Look at how things were a week ago versus today—who's to say next week won't swing back toward being better? Try talking to him using that logic. Personally, I think he’s still on the path to recovery, mostly because he has such a strong, capable granddaughter in his corner.
Stay brave and keep pushing; this is all part of the same fight, just another obstacle standing between him and a solution.😘

Jack Price5 said:Thanks so much for digging this up—I tried Googling it myself, but I couldn't find anything in that massive pile of search results... though could you double-check that link? It seems a little glitchy

Well, I couldn't find it either, even though the URL looks correct, so I’ll just paste the text from the page right here.

During an acute sinus infection, the mucosal lining inside the sinus swells and starts producing excess fluid. This shows up as a pale or slightly darker shading across the entire sinus (look at the left maxillary sinus in Figure 3 and the left frontal sinus in Figure 4). If there's a heavy buildup of watery discharge or pus, you'll see a horizontal fluid level (like in the left maxillary sinus in Figure 5). When things turn into chronic sinusitis, the mucosal thickening can vary from mild to severe, often showing smooth internal edges (as seen in the left maxillary sinus in Figure 4 and both maxillary sinuses in Figure 5). This thickening can end up filling almost the entire sinus cavity. However, if those edges look irregular—with rounded or crescent-shaped bumps, especially if it's happening across all the sinuses—it's more likely due to allergies, though it could also be chronic inflammatory changes (see the right maxillary sinus in Figure 4). You might also see a single, small or large round or crescent-shaped mass, which would be an inflammatory or allergic polyp or a cyst. Sinus infections are frequently accompanied by swelling in the corresponding side of the nasal passage (like the left nasal passage in Figure 3). Chronic inflammation can even cause the sinus bone wall to react, making the bone denser, darker, and thicker (as shown in the maxillary sinuses in Figure 4).
A very common benign tumor is called an osteoma, most often found in the frontal sinus (in the right half of that sinus in Figure 6, appearing as a very intense bony shadow). In the left half of the frontal sinus in that same image, you can see what's known as a mucocele—an encapsulated collection of inflammatory secretion that mimics a benign tumor. Malignant tumors, primarily carcinomas, are quite rare in the sinuses (Figure 7 shows the entire right maxillary sinus heavily shaded, where a carcinoma has destroyed part of the outer bone wall).
To diagnose malignant tumors or injuries in the sinus area, deep layer X-rays and ultrasounds are helpful, but CT scans and MRIs are particularly vital.

Dr. Ivica Ružička