I don’t really feel like this belongs in the Health sub here, honestly. It feels like a giant billboard for every private surgeon out there, just throwing prices and everything else at you... plus, I personally don't think talking about getting breast implants is really the kind of medical issue we should be diving into on this board.
So, when you're looking at blood samples, the standard pH range usually sits right between 7.35 and 7.45... but honestly, there's so much nuance to these metabolic questions that things can definitely swing outside those numbers, whether it’s because of an underlying health issue or just the body's own way of trying to balance itself out through compensation mechanisms...
Douglas Fowler is basically an alternative health guru, so if you're looking for his take, you should probably just check out some holistic wellness sites.
It’s honestly tough to find the right words here because when someone is stuck on a heart transplant waiting list, they’re fighting for their life, and I can only imagine how heavy that feels for their whole family. The heartbreaking reality is that sometimes people just don't make it to the transplant. It isn't because anyone is blocking the process or playing favorites; it’s just that, as brutal as it sounds, a matching organ simply isn't available at that moment. In the US, we work closely with UNOS. Think of UNOS as this massive national network that connects all the different donor registries across the country. In a real-world scenario, if a hospital here reports a brain-dead donor who has been cleared for organ procurement, they send all those critical medical details to a national coordinator to start the search for a match. If there isn't a perfect match within our immediate area—which does happen—that data gets fed into the broader UNOS database, which screens potential recipients across the entire United States. This significantly boosts the chances that an organ will find a compatible recipient somewhere in the country. It works exactly the same way in reverse, too. If a donor's profile at a hospital in Germany perfectly matches a patient waiting in the US, our coordinators get the call, coordinate with the teams, and facilitate everything needed to ensure that organ reaches the patient here. I know it sounds a bit complicated, but I hope that helps clear things up.
One thing that has become more accessible recently for patients in these situations—though currently, it's mostly limited to major centers like Chase or the Mayo Clinic—is something called a VAD, or a Ventricular Assist Device. Basically, it’s an artificial heart or a pump that's implanted to act as a "bridge," keeping the patient stable until a transplant becomes available. Depending on the specific type of pump used, this can buy someone anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Of course, there are very specific medical criteria for whether someone qualifies for this, so it might be worth asking the doctors at the patient's current hospital about this option.
analogviper21 said:What exactly do you mean by transfusion? I’m not quite following... Is there any way to actually get one without a doctor's referral or some kind of official order?
Man, I'm not sure how to explain what I meant... basically, all the stuff regarding blood types and everything else happens at the transfusion departments. If you're hanging out in Indianapolis, you’d probably head over to the local hospital system there to ask around... though, honestly, it'd be pretty silly to just show up unannounced asking for a blood type without having a referral from a doctor first.
So, you go get your blood drawn for a transfusion, hand over your referral, and then whether you actually get your blood type results right away depends entirely on the hospital's internal policy and how much of an emergency it is... You might get the word today, maybe tomorrow, or they just mail the results straight to your house in a few days... Honestly, when things are hitting the fan in a trauma center, the whole process of cross-matching and determining blood types with specific dosage interactions is technically something they can pull off pretty fast if they have to...
You might want to take a look at this site. It covers a little bit of everything regarding radiation and how much it actually messes with you... though I haven't had the chance to really dive deep into all the specifics yet.
Let me guess where this is going... You're probably about to drop a link or some "special deal" on one of those miracle gadgets that supposedly cures everything under the sun, right? And hey, you can even put it on a credit card with monthly installments... blah, blah, blah...
Look, if this thread turns into a sales pitch for those fake medical devices, I'm shutting this whole thing down instantly, and you'll be getting a permanent ban before you can even blink!
Carol Fisher3 said:This is just awful! My husband was at a hospital in New York City yesterday seeing a specialist because he’s got this health issue that needs surgery, so he went in for his first consultation. He brought his referral along, but then the doctor basically tells him straight to his face that with that referral, he can basically do whatever he wants!!!😲 I mean, sure, the guy has a private practice on the side, but when you're visiting him at the hospital while he's on duty, shouldn't they honor the referral?! And the kicker is HE TOLD MY HUSBAND THAT HE'D HAVE TO PAY FOR THE SURGERY TOO!!!!!!!!!!
He hasn't asked for a specific amount yet, but still.... I called a bunch of other hospitals across the US, and everyone just points us back to this one hospital in New York City. It's enough to drive you crazy! So what, do we need both major medical and supplemental insurance now!? What are we even supposed to do!? 😢
Give us some more details...what's the deal here? Like, does he have to pay under the table? To CMS? Or to some third party?....
Thanks for the response, it actually helped calm me down🙏. To clarify, it isn't diarrhea; the stools are formed, I just have four or five movements a day. Once that settles, the pain subsides, then returns later. Also, frequent urination. I saw a urologist—prostate is fine, urine culture came back clean—but I've had insomnia since my hospital stay, so I'm waking up to pee every hour and a half. If I actually manage to sleep, I don't wake up to go. But the insomnia has been there since the surgery. I've been taking multivitamins since I was a kid; we bought them for the little one, but he wouldn't take them, so I started. It's 15 ml for adults. I just take it when it's available in the house.😁😛...I share a bed with my son.🤷I plan to ask the surgeon this week whether I should start antibiotics or just wait for symptoms to show 😢. By the way, what is your medical specialty, if you don't mind me asking?
I’m just trying to live a normal life and eat like a regular person, you know? Honestly, I’m pretty convinced those spring allergies are just a side effect from being on antibiotics, and things should settle down once I get my diet back on track. Most of those over-the-counter syrups are basically just a way for companies to drain your wallet; unless it's a placebo, they don't really do much for you. Those antibiotics I took about two weeks ago aren't doing anything anymore, so don't even stress about the whole "boosting your immune system" thing. Just make sure your kid doesn't cough right in your face or anything, and I doubt you'll have any issues... and look, I'm definitely not a doctor or anything...
Honestly, just stick to what the surgeon tells you. You can pretty much ignore the urologists and GI specialists—they’ll just end up scaring the life out of you for no reason. Going seven whole days without realizing it was appendicitis is a bit of a mess... how did you even wind up seeing a urologist in the first place? People always say the appendix is like a "wildcard in your gut" for a reason... it shows up in such weird, atypical ways sometimes that you're left scratching your head until they finally find the actual cause during an exam. Seeing that long incision and those two or three drains tells me that on top of the appendicitis, you definitely had some level of localized peritonitis going on—you were seriously sick, man. I wouldn't sweat the frequent bathroom trips or that rectal discomfort too much right now. You went through a massive ordeal, and since you were almost certainly pumped full of two or three different antibiotics, it’s totally normal for your system to be acting a bit wonky. Look, this is just my take, but my best advice is to stay close to your surgeon... and try not to stress too much. At the end of the day, you made it through.