Posts by melloworca6

🤷

I was just making a general point about why some moderators stay on the sidelines during certain threads, or why, even when they do jump in, they don't actually moderate and instead just leave it all to their colleagues.

Emily Martin said:Generally speaking...
Some mods don't even participate in discussions within the most active threads of their own subreddits. They only show up when someone files a user report, or their entire purpose seems limited to deleting the last few pages of a thread.

What’s the point of moderators like that?
What do users get out of it, what does the site gain, or what does the community actually benefit from (besides seeing colored usernames)?

Look, sometimes they just can't keep up, especially if it's a massive, high-traffic subreddit. 🙂

Plus, there's a real issue with moderating a thread you're actually part of. Once you join the fray, people start accusing you of deleting anyone with a different opinion just to protect your own side. It's way easier to stay objective and see the full picture if you aren't stuck in the middle of the argument itself.

They’re just following protocol, so relax. Even if the EEG comes back clean, they’ll probably still send you to see a neurologist if those symptoms don't clear up. If things start getting worse, just head to the ER—they aren't going to turn you away.

KKS - a complete blood count gives you a baseline for how the body is doing overall. It’s a standard test, and while it can be a starting point, it doesn't always tell the whole story. For instance, my KKS has come back perfectly fine every single time, yet my immune system markers have been an absolute disaster.

An EEG monitors brain activity and picks up on irregularities; it's definitely not some useless test.
Electroencephalography (EEG) records the electrical activity in the brain using electrodes placed on the scalp in a specific pattern. That said, an EEG isn't exactly a precision instrument—it can be pretty non-specific. You'll find patients who show "normal" results despite having issues, and healthy people who end up with "abnormal" readings. Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of the population shows an abnormal EEG even without any neurological disorders. An EEG result has to be looked at alongside the patient's actual clinical symptoms. The term "dysrhythmic EEG" is usually used when there are deviations from the norm, but nothing clearly indicating epilepsy. Typically, the advice is to just repeat the EEG after a few months. If someone has a dysrhythmic EEG but isn't experiencing other neurological symptoms, there shouldn't be any reason to worry or stop living their life normally.

Copied from a clinic's website.

I don't know, the whole thing just smells like an allergy to me, especially since your last flare-up cleared right up after taking some Claritin.

(I tweaked your thread title a bit; I'm convinced this is all connected.)

Yeah, looks like I finally put two and two together. 🙂

So, basically, we aren't allowed to give out anything without a prescription during the shift? That’s how I read these regulations.

Great. So I'd have to drag myself to the ER just because of some damn fever, all so a doctor can write me a script for Lupocet. 🤦 Our system is organized so beautifully...

Sophia Nguyen said:When it comes to the essentials, I always pack them for my shifts. You never know when a fever is going to hit you out of nowhere or when you'll just feel like crap. I throw in nasal drops too, because anyone who’s dealt with a stuffed-up nose knows how impossible it is to get any sleep. Look, I’m not trying to be arrogant here, but honestly, some people earn it. You can try to explain things to them nicely, but it's a lost cause.

You mentioned being rude, but I took it as you being rude even to the polite ones who show up asking for nonsense. I agree—I’d probably lose my cool if someone walked in just to buy vitamins or dry skin cream, but I wouldn't be rude if they were actually being nice. You can explain to people politely that you can't do something, and most normal people will actually apologize once they realize they didn't know.

Personally, I'm always polite to everyone, and when someone starts acting like a jerk with me, I feel like ripping their head off. I'm not stupid; if I mess up, I'll apologize. But if someone starts yelling at me after I asked a polite question? Sorry, that’s not how we’re talking.

Sophia Nguyen said:Personally, I have zero patience for stuff like this. As much as I try to be polite and helpful during the day, I turn incredibly blunt and standoffish during the night shift. People seem to think working nights is like working a gas station pump, so they think they can stroll in at 2 AM asking for multivitamins or hand cream. It drives me crazy.😠
Regarding Novocain, I wouldn't dispense it either, nor would I touch any other antibiotic without a doctor's order. A patient claiming they've used it before means absolutely nothing to us pharmacists.
I'm sure Novocain ended up being necessary in the end, but people have become way too entitled when it comes to prescription-only meds. They get incredibly unpleasant when you refuse to give in.
And honestly... I don't get how you even dared to wake up an ER doctor for a "simple" UTI. 😲 You could probably blame the pharmacist on duty for pushing you to take that leap.☕

Personally, I get suuuuper allergic when someone is rude to someone who was being perfectly kind to them—even if that person is five times in the right. If you don't want to do the job, just quit. Don't take it out on others just because they came in asking for something you happen to think is trivial.

Case in point: I recently had to pick up some Lupocet during a night shift. If you had been rude to me or my people for coming in for something like that, I think you’d be having a very long chat with your manager. 😲 I had a fever, and my last pill of Lupocet was gone. I couldn't just wait it out. I have certain health conditions that aren't something to mess around with, and I needed to bring that temperature down immediately. Yeah, yeah, I know—you can use Voltaren, Nurofen, Aspirin, whatever. But I can't take those. So, I sent my people out at 1 AM to grab Lupocet.

Serum protein electrophoresis? Yeah, I’ve had that done. They draw blood and look at the levels of certain globulins and some other proteins that might flag something malignant—or so I gathered from my own Googling. Don't quote me on that, though; I could be totally misinterpreting it since all this stuff feels like advanced calculus to me and is honestly exhausting to try and wrap your head around.

Then again, when you're on standard therapy, they're constantly pulling blood for various tests and monitoring everything. It's pretty much the norm. I read somewhere that atypical bacterial, viral, and probably fungal infections become more common because your immune system takes such a massive hit. Have you noticed yourself catching things more often lately?

I’ve heard that over at my clinic, they’re prescribing Remicade for UC and Crohn's, and apparently, people are handling it pretty well—the response to the disease seems solid. Honestly, I haven't a clue if they prescribe anything like that for RA, especially for older patients. I’ll definitely have to check with my immunologist to see if any of her patients are on something like this and how they're actually doing.

Are you taking anything else alongside this, or is it just the once-a-month therapy sessions?

Don't even get me started. 🙂 It's an autoimmune connective tissue disorder. To be 100% sure, I still have to go through a few more tests, but I can't bring myself to move my lazy ass. Most likely it's Sjogren, but it’s hitting my joints in addition to my mucous membranes.

Honestly, what gets under my skin is having to dig through the internet to figure this stuff out instead of just having doctors tell me everything that exists and what the treatment options actually are. Instead of being informed by a professional, I'm finding out online that the antimalarial they prescribe can seriously mess up your eyes, or that there's a substitute you can pay for that has fewer side effects—except you still need a specialist's prescription regardless of how much you're willing to shell out. That's just how it goes. 🙄

Look, you don't sound like you're running some sales pitch (if you think I’m grilling you because you're a moderator here), I'm just trying to get my head around these meds. Honestly, this thread actually got me digging into the whole biologics thing. My only thought is that over here, you basically need a rock-solid diagnosis or some serious political leverage to get them approved, especially since our local hospital system is such a mess and practically facing bankruptcy right now. 😢

But hey, it’s not a bad idea to know this stuff exists so you can actually bring it up when talking to your doctors about these types of treatments.

Wait, how exactly did you manage to get them? And are you dealing with any side effects yet?

So, which specialist are you actually seeing for this? Honestly, just go ask them. It doesn't cost anything to get a straight answer, and frankly, I’m not even sure if they can prescribe this specific thing for your condition. These drugs aren't cheap—we're talking at least a few thousand dollars per dose—so don't expect doctors to just start handing them out like candy.
I'm assuming you'll probably have to deal with some kind of insurance board or medical review committee too. You have to prove exactly why you need it. I know people in my circle who had to jump through all those hoops for expensive chemo treatments, so I'm guessing the approval process for this is pretty much the same deal.

Just go see a doctor, for crying out loud.

It could be nothing, or it could be something serious. Guessing about this stuff here isn't going to help you at all. This has been going on for days now, so just get to a clinic—start with a primary care physician and go from there.

Usually, biologics get approved for kids and teenagers first, or maybe for patients who just aren't seeing any results from other treatments once the disease really starts flaring up. At least, that’s how I heard it worked. 🙂

And look, I’ve had plenty of experience with this. Hormones are still such an under-researched area. I mean, sure, we think we know how they impact certain things, but on the flip side, nobody actually has a clue about their long-term effects. There’s a massive pile of illnesses out there where doctors don't have a single explanation for why they happen—who's to say it isn't just hormones and their imbalances acting as the foundation? 🤷

If I were on the pill, I’d take a two or three-month break just to let my body reset. Purely so I could have some peace of mind. 🙂

Labrić, other people's experiences don't mean a damn thing to you. They aren't some kind of guarantee that nothing will go wrong or that everything will be fine. What does it matter if someone writes about having a healthy baby? We could be talking about how much certain things "didn't cause harm," but those issues can pop up ten, twenty, or thirty years down the line. What happens if you end up with a child who has complications?

Anyway, from what I know, they recommend taking about a three-month break after you stop using it, though I know some girls who didn't wait that long and everything turned out okay. There's something else stuck in my head—I can't remember where I read it, but apparently kids can be more prone to asthma, allergies, and stuff like that. Honestly, that alone would be enough reason for me to take the recommended break. I won't even get into how hormones can trigger anything from tumors to autoimmune diseases. This isn't something to play around with. 🙂