Posts by Angela Wright

What do you guys think is actually driving this expansion?
Warfare (stress levels, those depleted uranium rounds scattered all over Canada and likely here too—that infamous fallout), junk food (GMOs and just generally terrible diets), genetics, or maybe the aftermath of Chernobyl hitting its twenty-year mark...?
Does anyone have a pulse on what’s happening in the rest of Europe or globally?
And what's the situation looking like in Canada, Mexico, and the rest of the old region?

This topic has been blowing up lately, and honestly, it looks like the whole mess boils down to expansion issues.

mistyhound2 said: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.

Nothing bad will happen, except maybe you won't get the benefits you're looking for. It's basic chemistry: cranberry juice is acidic and the cranberry tea is alkaline, so when you mix them, they neutralize each other.
Personally, I’m all for getting the culture done. Not every antibiotic works against every strain of bacteria. To me, it's much worse to just chug norfloxacin for ten days only to realize it did absolutely nothing, forcing you to go back, get the culture, find out what you're actually dealing with, and then start a whole new round of drugs... it's just a massive, inefficient circle of hell.👎

Ryan Doyle6 said:Thanks 👍
Right now, I’m sipping on some cranberry juice, and I have to say, it seems to be helping 🙂 The pain isn't nearly as intense as it was yesterday, so I can actually get things done today.
That said, if there happens to be a medical professional here who could help me out with a quick question:
Is it okay to drink cranberry juice and Advil herbal tea at the same time? I read on the tea packaging that you shouldn't consume anything acidic while drinking it, but then everyone seems to recommend cranberry juice, which is definitely acidic. What's the best move here? Should I alternate days—one day for the tea and one for the juice—or just pick one and stick to it?
Thanks.
😉

They don't work together because they basically cancel each other out (the Advil tea is alkaline). Just stick with the cranberry juice since it seems to be doing the trick for you.
p.s. I'm no doctor, but I know this for a fact. Other people on this forum cleared this up for me.😁

Harold Roberts71 said:Ever since I woke up this morning, there’s been this weird buzzing ringing in my head, and honestly, I’m low-key freaking out that I might be having some kind of pre-heart attack situation.

Things have been pretty high-stress lately, though today feels a bit more chill... except for this constant ringing that just won't quit. It isn't like a deafening roar or anything, and my head doesn't even hurt. I’ve dealt with this before, but usually, it clears up after a few minutes. This time? Nothing.

Come on, someone please tell me this is totally normal and I'm not actually dying here.

I've got that same ringing, just like most people on this board. Honestly, just look at the weather we've been having lately. Can you even put a finger on what's causing it?

redgardener5 said:Where can I find trauma services? Thanks a lot.

As far as I know, the trauma department is over at Drašković. If there happens to be a specific unit at Mount Sinai, the lady at the intake desk should be able to point you in the right direction.

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.😉

You can try taking some Advil to take the edge off. It’s an analgesic and anti-inflammatory, so it should help dull the symptoms while you wait to start antibiotics.👍

Susan Roberts said:Thanks for the advice. It’s exactly what my doctor prescribed—Rivanol and some vaginal suppositories. He told me the issue is "fissures," basically just cracks in the skin. If anyone here has dealt with this before, please let me know what actually causes it. My doctor was a bit blunt about it, too; he basically implied I caused it myself, suggesting I was responsible for the irritation through what he crudely called "friction."🙂 🙂 I’m done with him. That’s that. I'm officially walking away. Anyway, I wanted to see if any of you have ever dealt with Ragades or if you've been stuck in the same kind of mess. If you have, please, let it out. Express yourselves. I want to hear your stories. Thanks.

Are you wearing thongs? Because those things always end up causing a mess down there for me.🙄

Susan Roberts said:it wasn't a doctor's prescription....I've tried all sorts of creams like Aquaphor, Cortizone, hydrocortisone, almond oil—everything under the sun—and it just makes things worse.

Go see a doctor. Are you absolutely sure you didn't accidentally injure yourself with some rough toilet paper?
To take the edge off, try using some boric acid solution or Rivanol; just keep some cotton pads soaked in it against the area until the pain and swelling die down a bit. It’s what they use for postpartum tears, so it should work here too. Since this is such a sensitive, constantly moist area, it's basically a breeding ground for bacteria, so you're likely going to need an antibiotic ointment from a physician.

ruggednomad182 said:Ivanica, maybe you should try picking a fight with someone—maybe one of those doctors. Just kidding.
Let me tell you a little story;
A father was watching his young son struggle to move a massive flower vase. The little guy was straining, grunting, and putting everything he had into it, but he couldn't budge it an inch.
"Did you use all your strength?" the father asked him.
"I did," the boy replied.
"No, you didn't," the father countered, "because you didn't call on me to help you!"
Prayer means tapping into "all" of your strength.
I don't want you to think I'm preaching to you; this is just what has worked for me, and what continues to work.

I'm praying🙂
I simply tripped over a stone on my own path, but my friends are right here by my side, helping me back up and helping me carry my cross.
I'm feeling a bit better today, and Grandpa really lifted my spirits with some good news.🙂

Dear friends, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the incredibly warm support you've shown me. Honestly, I'm moved to tears. It means the world to know I can be here for you, but please believe me when I say that you have been an endless source of strength for me, too!
Thank you once again!
😘

Matthew Hayes15 said:I’m dealing with something pretty frustrating. I’ve always had irregular cycles—sometimes my period would be delayed by nearly a month—so I ended up on birth control for two years just to regulate things. For health reasons, I eventually had to stop taking them. Since then, my cycle has been all over the place; once it arrived two weeks early, then two weeks late, and now I’m facing a full three-week delay. Honestly, the panic is starting to set in. I’m naturally very thin, and I recently went through a breakup about a month ago, so the stress levels have been through the roof. Regarding intimacy, we were always extremely careful. We used condoms almost every single time, and we even checked them to make sure nothing broke—they never failed us. There were only three instances where we didn't use protection, but even then, he pulled out well before finishing. I’m genuinely terrified of seeing a gynecologist because I’m scared of what they might tell me... Is it actually possible to be pregnant if he never finished inside me?

It's technically possible, but honestly, I think your real issue is being underweight, which throws your hormones out of whack and probably prevents you from ovulating regularly.
Try to be pragmatic here: are you actually going to be any less pregnant if you skip the doctor? For me, the crushing uncertainty would kill me way faster than the actual reality of the situation. Just go, face the music, whatever the answer is, and start dealing with it! That’s what being an adult is about—facing things head-on. It's the mature, serious, and healthiest way to handle this. You’ll feel an instant sense of relief the second you walk out of that office. Focus on yourself and getting your health back on track; that’s the best way to move past a breakup. Hang in there, stay brave, and be smart.😘

Nicole Edwards76 said:IVANICA, the doctor told your dad she only had a year left. You want to know what my neurologist said to me when he looked at my brain CT? He said, "This looks like glioblastoma (I had zero clue what that was), so I’m going to call a top neurosurgeon to see if it even makes sense to put her through surgery just to squeeze out a few more weeks." A FEW WEEKS!!! Those words are still ringing in my ears (that was back in May 2006, and thank God!, my mom is still alive). Then, after the surgery and biopsy, that same neurologist tells us she has three months left!!! I remember how my brother and I walked out of that hospital, hugged each other, and just sobbed like it was raining. Later, when we finally met the oncologist, he threw statistics at us suggesting that, in the best-case scenario, she might live two years. Here’s the thing: statistics are based on a specific group of patients who took a specific drug over a certain period; they aren't a universal rule for every single person fighting this disease. You can find those numbers online easily; we don't need an oncologist to shove them in our faces. What I really wonder is whether there has ever been any kind of systematic tracking for cancer patients here in the US—actual data collection like survival rates and five-year statistics. I’m convinced there hasn't been. To cut a long story short—since I’m rambling and losing my train of thought—when I was sobbing and asking the oncologist if *really* nobody ever survives, he told me that they once showed him a guy where it was claimed he lived fifteen years after a glioblastoma diagnosis. People, just knowing that someone actually survived gave me the strength to fight. That is what doctors should be doing—not talking about miracles, but simply stating the facts: the fact is that people *do* survive the worst cancers. However, they can't tell us that because they simply don't know; there isn't any consistent, long-term national statistical tracking happening. I hope I didn't overwhelm you. Hang in there!

I completely agree with everything you wrote, and you didn't overwhelm me at all. It isn't even about whether the statistics are true; it's about how they are delivered. Because of the way it was handled, it took me six months to wrap my head around it and figure out how to tackle the problem effectively. But that's me—maybe I'm weak, maybe I'm strong... but what about everyone else? Not everyone has the same nerves or the same mental capacity. I always saw my father as a brave, pragmatic, realistic, and optimistic man. Now, I look at him and I don't even recognize him. He is completely crushed and lost. He can't function in even the simplest daily tasks. He is so traumatized. I think that trauma would have been much smaller, or at least easier to handle, if the doctor had served the news differently. Instead, I'm left with a mother who is immobile and a father who can't function without constant prompting (mostly from me), which requires an incredible amount of energy. Not to mention that every single responsibility we used to split between three people has now fallen squarely on my shoulders, on top of this whole situation with my mom.

I honestly don't know how much longer my mind can take this, let alone my body. I'm 30, I'm unemployed, and the longer I delay trying to conceive, the lower my chances become because of my own illness. And then yesterday, while I was bathing my mother, watching her struggle to even hold her head up, seeing how much pain she's in, how hard she breathes, how her entire body feels like a massive burden... for the first time, I truly and sincerely wished for my mother to die, because anything would be better than this. I love her so much that I feel her suffering in my own bones.
I’m being bombarded with questions about whether there’s any point in trying more medications just to extend her life—which really just means extending the agony. Let’s be real: she’s never going to be mobile or independent again. In the best-case scenario, she stays exactly where she is now, which is a level of existence far below anything resembling a decent quality of life. I am sacrificing everything I have for her, but at what point does this sacrifice become toxic for me? I still need to build a life and start my own family. Am I being selfish?
The last few days have been brutal. I just lost an old aunt who was a massive pillar of support and comfort for me. My mom was incredibly close to her; she was basically like a second mother to her. Now, Mom is spiraling into deep depression, and I’m right there in the trenches with her. I know things fluctuate, but I haven't felt this low since the day she first got the diagnosis. Oh God, please give me the strength to get through this.😢

Nathan Turner4 said:I know as soon as I post this, everyone’s going to tell me to go see a doctor, but here's the thing: half my family works in medicine and we live in a small town where everybody knows everybody's business, and I really don't want my parents finding out about this... I've got two issues. First, there's a mole on my penis—it's not huge and it isn't raised above the skin, but I still feel insecure because I doubt many other guys deal with this. Second, lately, it burns when I go to the bathroom and when I ejaculate, I'm seeing this yellowish, gelatinous stuff come out with the semen. I'm terrified that if I don't get this treated soon, it could lead to infertility or something worse. It's important to note that I've never had sexual intercourse or oral sex or anything like that... I'm extremely careful about hygiene, so this really caught me off guard. Thanks for any help...

Is it the mole that's stinging, or is the burning happening inside your urethra? If it's the urethra, you've likely picked up a bacterial infection. Just because you aren't sexually active doesn't mean your hands were perfectly sterile every single time you touched yourself. You're going to have to see a doctor for a urethral swab. It's a pretty unpleasant procedure, but you don't have much of a choice. Honestly, if you reach out to one of those doctors in your family, they shouldn't mock you or give you a hard time.

Timothy Cox2 said:I'm getting a little sleep... averaging about six hours, usually less than that... I've never been great at managing my time... some days I feel like a total wreck... but I know there are people out there who live like this for years and get even less sleep than I do...
eh, but the real question is how?

It's simple: some people are just hardwired that way, with an organism that demands very little downtime. Ideally, we’d all be able to sleep until our bodies naturally decide they're done, regardless of the clock. At the end of the day, the actual number of hours matters far less than whether you actually feel refreshed and ready to tackle the world when you finally roll out of bed.

I mostly agree with what you're saying, but I can't get behind the idea that a doctor or any medical professional should be talking about miracles—especially when they start speculating on why one of us or our loved ones wouldn't be the next miracle case. And then there's that whole bit about statistics.

Miracles definitely happen; spontaneous healings are well-known. But let’s be realistic here: we shouldn't expect a doctor to preach about miracles. If they do, they risk losing all their credibility, looking unreliable and unprofessional.

Actually, he wouldn't lose credibility; if anything, he'd gain it in my eyes. Doctors are human beings and scientists, but even as both, there are plenty of things that remain a mystery. To me, he is what he is: first a man, then a doctor, but he isn't God. He doesn't carry divine authority, so he shouldn't be making bold prognostications like "you have one year left." Whether he's a believer or an atheist, he has to leave room for God or nature to pull a reversal. As a professional, his job is to provide insight and present the statistics, not make those kinds of calls.
What does being "realistic" actually mean? Does it mean clinging desperately to statistics just to preserve professional standing and insisting that a situation is hopeless? If that's the case, then what's the point of medicine or doctors at all? Objectively speaking, we're all going to die eventually anyway. Miracles—medical or otherwise—don't just happen in some parallel universe; they happen every single day right here on this planet. Maybe they don't happen as often as we'd like them to, but they exist. You, me, my mom—we all have the right to believe in that, and no one should be allowed to stomp on that faith right at the beginning. Hope should be the very last thing to die.
What are the odds of someone falling 15,000 feet without a parachute and walking away with nothing more than a broken leg and some broken ribs? A miracle? Is it medical or is it from God? Do you think he cares about the technicalities? He's alive!!

Charles Edwards8 said:It’s tragic, but we just don't have a multidisciplinary approach to cancer patients here in the States, and honestly, I doubt things will change anytime soon. While some clinics offer psychiatric or psychological support, trying to find that kind of care elsewhere is basically a lost cause. Since I work in healthcare myself, I know that even if the desire were there, actually implementing it in practice is incredibly difficult.

When people actually want to fix something, nothing is too hard! Saying otherwise is just a pathetic excuse to avoid making changes. If doctors were simply given a protocol on how to break news—how to tell someone they are gravely ill in a way that is psychologically digestible—things would be infinitely better.
I can't help but think back to how my dad was treated. Right after Mom's surgery, this doctor just threw it in his face, completely cold, without an ounce of empathy or a kind word. He just told him she wasn't going to make it and had maybe a year left. It makes me sick. My dad was so shaken he collapsed right into his chair. Later, he had to drive home in that state. He has heart issues, and he could have easily had a heart attack from the shock. As if the doctor cared; he just checked a box and moved on. In that moment, the doctor killed any will my father had to fight for Mom's life, because according to him, "it's all completely futile and pointless because the statistics say so."... If that doctor had just said, "The situation is what it is, these are the symptoms, these are the statistics, and I am so incredibly sorry. But please, don't lose hope. Stay strong and do everything you can; miracles happen, and why couldn't your wife be one of them? We will do absolutely everything within the power of modern medicine. Are you okay? Do you need us to call someone to help you get home?" Is that really so damn hard? How much willpower does it take to say that?! How much money does it cost to show a single grain of humanity and compassion?! It would have meant the world to my dad, and maybe he would be fighting harder for her recovery today if that doctor hadn't crushed his spirit right at the start. And my dad isn't the only one; ask anyone on this forum and they'll tell you they've had a similar, if not identical, experience. Doctors are so obsessed with being freaking right; it feeds their medical ego!
Fine, go ahead—take the text I just wrote, you miserable doctors, and recite it to people when you have to deliver bad news. Even if you feel like you're lying, it'll be much easier for people to face the truth! Sometimes people need time to process things, so try dosing your "medical truth" a little more carefully!😠
p.s. Sorry for the harsh language, but it's just a reflection of how deeply I feel about this issue.

Betty Gonzalez30 said:I've got some Geocell sitting around at home, would that actually help? I think it's meant for skin stuff, but I'm definitely not about to just smear it all over my face on a whim.
If not, I guess I'll just go with one of those other options mentioned above...

Geokorton works fine, just make sure you check the expiration date first.

Gerald Hernandez32 said:Ad text:
Mushroom against metastases

Selling dried Ganoderma Lucidum-REISHI medicinal mushrooms. Guaranteed to assist in treating malignant diseases, carcinoma, and metastases. It is the most sought-after mushroom globally due to its extreme healing properties, Igor

Don't fall for this kind of garbage where someone guarantees a cure for cancer. If that were actually true, you can bet your life some ambitious scientist—or more likely, a massive, profit-hungry pharmaceutical giant like Pfizer—would have jumped on it immediately to grab the cash, and that scientist would be walking up to accept a Nobel Prize. People wouldn't be dying from cancer if this worked. The sick, twisted mind behind an ad like this is just preying on the desperation of people who feel helpless, trying to squeeze every last cent out of their misery. Sure, it might serve as a decent antioxidant supplement to help you weather the storm of chemo and radiation, but that's about it.

wiredwolf47 said:Hmm... yeah, I guess I have to weigh in too. Major props and a huge hello to Angela Wright for starting this forum (and thanks for the support).
I also want to point out that beyond the psychological support—which neither patients nor their families can easily find anywhere—even primary healthcare isn't functioning the way it should. A patient doesn't feel like anyone is actually looking out for them with any sense of conscience. After my mom had surgery for colon cancer, she was sent home to recover way earlier than necessary (simply because hospitals are fighting over bed space), leaving her with nobody at home who knew how to properly dress her wounds. The wound got infected, and she could have died before the actual fight against the disease even really started. She was eventually rushed back to our local county hospital, where they've been struggling to get the infection under control for three weeks now.
Of course, if every doctor who touched her were handed a fancy gift or a fat envelope... hmm... that’s not how it’s supposed to work, but everyone fights for their own loved ones.

When I asked if she could see a hospital psychiatrist because she was completely losing her spirit, they told me that wasn't their recommendation.
So what is a person supposed to do???

God, it drives me crazy seeing medical professionals push that kind of "that's not our recommendation" attitude. That exact mindset is a massive reason why treatment fails; they look at your mother as just a "colon case" rather than a woman who happens to be sick, specifically in her colon.
A human being is one single, global organism. When someone is stressed, for example, they might get a headache from the tension. Instead of the doctor helping the patient eliminate the source of that stress, they just hammer them with antidepressants and painkillers.
Sometimes I feel like grabbing a shotgun and taking a shot at those narrow-minded medical heads.😈 😈 🙂