Posts by Angela Wright

Kimberly Martin said:I’m new to this forum, and I’ll be grateful for any help you can give me.

My situation is a bit complicated. I live in one place, while my husband is stationed on a completely different continent because of his job. It’s a relatively recent change. Before he left about six months ago, we were trying for a baby, but we weren't being super intense about it since work had us totally wiped out; by the time we got home at night, we were basically zombies, too exhausted to do anything.
So, those six months of effort didn't result in a pregnancy. I'm 38 now, and I'm starting to feel the biological clock ticking loudly. I saw my OB-GYN four months ago, and everything seemed fine.
Still, I can't stop worrying. Since I'll only see my husband occasionally over the next two or three years—and even then, just for a few days at a time—🙂🙂🙂, I want to be absolutely certain when my ovulation occurs, and more importantly, make sure there isn't an underlying issue with my health.
My cycles used to be pretty predictable, but over the last three or four months, they’ve been all over the place. Sometimes I get my period on day 24, other times it's day 35. It's infuriating!🙂🙂.
Please, let me know which tests I should undergo to ensure I'm healthy and capable of conceiving.
It felt like my doctor brushed me off a little during our last visit, giving me a patronizing smile and suggesting we haven't been trying long enough. Fine, I admit we haven't been "trying" aggressively, but I only see my husband two or three times a year now. I need to know exactly what's going on with my body so I can track my ovulation and actually book plane tickets accordingly.🤣🤣🤣.
One more thing: I'm about 55 pounds overweight, which I've read in many places can hinder conception. I started a diet back on January 1st.
Thanks to everyone for the replies.

First off, I wouldn't recommend a strict diet; instead, focus on regular exercise and clean eating. Cut out refined sugars and swap white bread and pasta for whole grains. Stick to lean proteins like chicken and fish, load up on veggies, and most importantly, stay hydrated. Drastic dieting will just stress your body out, and that won't help anyone.
Unfortunately, even if your periods are regular, predicting ovulation precisely is tricky. My advice? If you're set on dieting, try to time it so you're doing it for at least two months before you're with your husband, ensuring you have regular intercourse during those windows. Also, your husband needs to check his fertility too. If his sperm motility is low, it won't matter how much you lose weight, how perfectly you track your fertile days, or how many expensive flights you book.
For you, the priority is making sure your ultrasounds, Pap smear, and swabs are all clear, along with getting a full hormonal panel via bloodwork—ask your doctor for those referrals.
Your husband should also get a semen analysis to see where he stands.

You’ve already laid out a solid foundation on the psychology of themes.

Hey guys, I just got my serology results back for CMV and EBV. Most of it came back negative, except for the Anti-EBV VCA/EA IgG and
Anti-EBV EBNA IgG. Does this mean that along with my gallbladder sludge, I’m also dealing with mono? What does this actually signify, especially since all my tests were fine back in July before that flare-up? Just as a reminder, my blood work is totally normal aside from the liver panel, and I don't have any of those classic symptoms. Should I be having the baby and my older little one tested too? I’m honestly spiraling here—I’m so panicked about them that I actually felt like I was going to pass out. Both kids were born premature.
I'll deal with it; I already have an appointment set with my internist. Is there any reason I should see a hepatologist as well?

Richard Morris43 said:What actually works to make sleepwalking stop once and for all? Honestly, I was doing this stuff constantly as a kid, but it never really went away. Lately, I’ve been catching myself wandering in my sleep—I’ll wake up in a completely different room or just find random things moved around the house in the morning.
My husband and the little one sleep like rocks, so they never hear a thing I'm doing.
It gives me the creeps, you know? It’s this thing happening that I have zero control over, and I’m genuinely terrified I’m going to end up doing something stupid or breaking something in the middle of the night.

Should I try hypnosis? Or maybe see a psychiatrist?

Answer:

Angela Wright said:There’s a Sleep Disorders Center over at the local Mayo Clinic. I've heard they do pretty solid work.

brightnomad10 said:Thanks for getting back to me so fast. I totally agree—I was talking to my grandmother about this, and she said that’s exactly what makes it so brutal: being surrounded by other patients who are basically at death's door. Personally, I think that kind of environment just drags you straight down into depression; I can't stand hospitals and seeing people suffering like that 😕. That’s why she decided to stay home instead.

I hope you guys can get everything sorted out. Good luck!

brightnomad10 said:Does anyone know about the quality of care at the New Marof hospital? My grandmother broke her hip and had surgery, and now the attending physician wants to transfer her there for a month instead of having her recover at home with a visiting nurse coming by daily. Years ago, I heard the patient care there was a total disaster—like they straight up neglect people. Has anything actually changed lately? I really need some advice...

New Marof has been renovated and from what I hear, things are running pretty smoothly now. The only issue is that my grandma might get depressed, given how much noise the hospital makes and the fact that so many patients end up there because we still don't have enough hospice facilities. At her age, that kind of mental strain can seriously stall physical recovery. If you can swing it, I’d strongly suggest keeping her at home with a combination of a visiting nurse and a traveling physical therapist. You can make it work if you plan it out.

Look, you can't just judge someone's fertility or sterility based on whether their period is regular or messy. It doesn't work like that. You need to start with a standard checkup with your OB-GYN, and from there, they'll decide if you actually need to run more specific tests.

mistyjackal842, a while back, the Krijesnica association set up some group support sessions for people dealing with grief. You should reach out to them and see if there's anything still available. www.krijesnica.hr

silvercanyon7, the device you're talking about is an infusion pump. These things are chronically in short supply in American hospitals, so they aren't even an option for home health care. They’re incredibly expensive.

hollowridge88, regarding the pain management, the anesthesiologist really needs to titrate the cocktail of meds; they have to show you how to ramp up the dosage because, unfortunately, resistance builds up over time. Your mom might be groggy, but honestly, that’s a small price to pay compared to the savage pain she’s enduring. I’d highly recommend seeing Dr. Loncar over on Draskovicev for pain management.
Regarding the blood draws and chemo sessions, you should ask them about getting her an internal venous port implanted in her chest. She can receive all her therapy through that, and if I recall correctly, they can pull blood through it too. If the chemo doesn't end up burning her hands green, finding a vein might be easier, but still—Heparin, Heparin, and more Heparin simply don't work as well as, say, a cold compress. I know of cases where compresses worked way better than anything else, like using frozen water bottles wrapped in a cloth.

Austin Miller72, the main thing is making sure Mom stays hydrated. If you need to, look into getting a home health nurse out there for an IV drip. As for the nausea, honestly, people find relief in all sorts of things—maybe some air-popped popcorn, a Coca-Cola, or even just flaxseeds soaked in lukewarm water; you let them sit for half an hour, strain it, and drink it. There's plenty of stuff out there, and most people already know what works for them.

vividsailor7 and Nicholas Myers,
thanks for the advice and your takes on this.
So, I went to see the doctor because I had a urinary tract infection, which Ninur cleared up.
Regarding my blood work, I had a full panel done. Aside from CRP and ALP (which hit 244 for the first time), everything else fell within the normal range. My first questionable liver panel was from back in September during the initial flare-up, and this second one was just done now that I finally made it to the doctor for the UTI. I saw the doctor on Friday afternoon, felt that stinging sensation again over the weekend, and then had my blood drawn on Monday.
I've been sticking to a strict diet since September; I’ve actually lost all the weight I gained during pregnancy. My cholesterol and triglycerides are within the normal limits, though I don't know what they were previously since they didn't test them then. This "stinging" I'm feeling is more like a nagging discomfort—just a weird, localized irritation here and there. It’s not an outright sharp pain, but more of a sneaky, dull ache right under my right rib cage, spreading toward my stomach and through to my lower back at the same level.
EDIT
Another thought just occurred to me that might be important. The very first time these symptoms flared up, my abdomen was extremely tender to the touch right under that right rib cage. I had three distinct episodes, and during the last one, the baby actually pressed against that exact spot while I was nursing. After that pressure, everything seemed to settle down—the pain and the tenderness vanished completely. Is it possible that the pressure from the baby caused some kind of deviation in the bile duct, where something got drained out and is now building up again and causing trouble?

Vedro, you absolute legend! 🙂
I’ve been genuinely worried about how you were doing.
Let's grab a coffee once I get back to NYC this spring. I really want to finally meet you in person, lend a hand, and give you a massive heartfelt congratulations.
Enjoy these days and soak up everything that makes our city so special. 🙂

velvetmoose9 said:The enzyme levels have been flatlining for about three months now. It's hard to say for certain, but if there isn't any significant worsening in how you actually feel, there's a decent chance things are stable—and there's really no reason to panic.
That said, you absolutely need to follow up and figure out why those enzymes spiked in the first place and why they aren't returning to baseline. 🤔
The timing is a bit awkward since everyone is heading off for the holidays, but I can tell you for a fact that not just any random internist is going to give you a quick fix or an easy answer.
If your symptoms start taking a turn for the worse, there’s always the option of HS.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend those supplements UNTIL we have a clear clinical picture of what's happening.
Not all my colleagues and I see eye-to-eye on this.

Thanks so much for your input.
I figured that was more or less the case. Regarding the supplements, I'm not the type to just swallow anything blindly, but I have a strong gut feeling that they might actually help. Luckily, I have some doctors in my extended family who are close with an internist, so I'll reach out through those connections to see what they suggest doing right now. I also have the option to get things moving through my insurance. I'll probably start with an ultrasound this Monday.
Thanks again, and I'll reach out if I hit another wall.

Eric Fisher2, you’re describing some very specific symptoms related to thyroid dysfunction. Your doctor really ought to refer you for some blood work to check your thyroid hormone levels.
This result looks perfectly fine to me.
For instance, if you notice your hands shaking when you hold them out straight in front of you while standing still, or if you're having any trouble swallowing, those are two more distinct red flags to watch for.

velvetmoose9 said:Look, claiming it's just biliary sludge without any cholestasis being the sole reason for those GGT, AST, and ALT levels—especially when they’ve been stuck at the same level for three months without any real movement—is a stretch. 🤔
I don't have the full clinical picture or all the labs, but this absolutely needs a much more serious and thorough investigation; the specialist has every right to push for more testing.
What did the follow-up liver ultrasound show?

I had my first abdominal ultrasound in the ER, and my doctor sent me home with a diet that I followed to the letter. I was supposed to get follow-up liver function tests in the meantime, but since things seemed to have settled down, and I have a baby and a two-year-old at home, I kept putting it off. I finally forced myself to go because I developed a bladder infection, and that sharp stinging sensation started coming back—mostly in the morning when my stomach is empty. I was caught totally off guard; I honestly thought those labs would have normalized by now. For context, I had an emergency C-section at 7 months because I was facing recurrent preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. I was discharged with normal labs, and my levels were monitored regularly and stayed fine throughout the pregnancy. At the ER, they told me the sludge is likely something I picked up during pregnancy, which apparently isn't uncommon.
When I asked my doctor if I should see an internist anyway, she brushed me off, saying there was no point because they’d just tell me the same thing: stick to the diet and wait, since you don't operate on sludge. But now, she’s telling me I need to run liver panels and this other test (maybe for mono) before we decide on a plan. Now she's lecturing me because my results won't be ready until January 3rd. I barely managed to squeeze in an appointment out of order.
Here is the ultrasound report from September 17th; two doctors looked at it, one was probably a resident:
Abdominal ultrasound performed in the ER outpatient clinic shows a distended gallbladder with thickened sediment, but no thickening or layering of the wall.
No focal lesions found in the liver parenchyma, which appears diffusely hypodense, suggesting steatosis; no dilation of the bile ducts.
Morphology of the spleen, pancreas, and both kidneys is appropriate.
No free intra-abdominal fluid.

I spoke with my kids' pediatrician, and she mentioned it's possible something migrated into the bile duct, which might be why my liver is under so much stress.

Honestly, I'm terrified. I have no idea how long I can stay in this state before it causes permanent liver damage. Should I just bite the bullet and go private immediately to get a new ultrasound?

It's also possible that things actually *did* start normalizing during those three months of flare-ups, especially since my bladder infection and the trip to the doctor coincided with the return of that stinging pain. Dammit, I should have gone for that liver panel sooner...

I've been taking Silymarin and Rowachol on my own.

I’ve got some issues with my gallbladder; they found something at the end of September. When I went to the ER, they flagged a lesion in addition to the gallbladder issue—they're calling it fatty liver. My liver enzyme levels were:
AST 104
ALT 217
GGT 515
The attacks have calmed down a bit, so I went back for more tests yesterday, and now they're sitting at:
AST 124
ALT 249
GGT 511
Everything else looks fine—cholesterol and triglycerides are both totally normal.
Basically, my doctor is insisting this can't be caused by my gallbladder, even though I'm starting to feel symptoms again. They're sending me off for hepatitis markers and EBV and CMV serology.
Is it seriously impossible for these enzymes to be this high because of the gallbladder? Surely the ER staff would have mentioned that as a separate issue if it were actually the culprit.

ruggeddrifter14 said:It took a full eleven months before my sense of taste finally came back.

Was that following the first or second dose?

frozenraven85 said:That’s certainly possible, though I sometimes have to force myself to drink more just because I tend to forget about it entirely. I've also noticed my mouth gets noticeably drier whenever I'm feeling stressed.

Stick to drinking from a bottle; you actually end up consuming way more water that way compared to using a glass, mostly because the sensors in your palate don't kick in quite the same way when you're sipping from a bottle. Also, try applying some Purlan ointment to your lips. It’s pure lanolin. Women use it to soothe cracked skin during breastfeeding. It works wonders.

crimsongull20 said:It sounds like that cut is still pretty fresh on you. When things start healing up, they can get incredibly itchy. Just hang in there while your body works through the initial phase.😁

It's only been five months since the cut,😉
I'm just hoping I get at least a little bit of sensation back.