Posts by feralridge3

steelcobra15 said:You can actually qualify for disability even if you’ve dealt with certain conditions since birth. But I'm guessing what you really care about is the car stuff—like getting those handicap parking permits. You can get one once the Social Security Administration determines your disability percentage, but it usually requires at least an 80% rating specifically regarding lower extremity issues. If the percentage is lower or if it's a different type of disability, it might not work out. Since my mom is already retired, there isn't much else she can really apply for besides that.

It doesn't strictly have to be an injury to your limbs to unlock certain privileges. The key requirement is that the overall disability rating hits that 80% threshold.
Take my cousin, for example. From the outside, you wouldn't think anything is wrong with her, but over the years, her various health issues have added up to an 80% disability rating—things like a mastectomy, a hysterectomy, thyroid issues, hearing loss, and so on.
Because of that rating, she’s entitled to use handicapped parking spaces and even gets free passage on toll roads.

Melissa Moore39 said:Where would be the best place to go for a brain MRI—which private clinic should I look into in the greater Chicago area?

Look, you can't just walk into a clinic and demand an MRI, even if you're offering to pay out of pocket. It doesn't work that way. When I had to pay for my own scans, I still needed a referral from a doctor—it's exactly like paying for Temozolomide; you aren't getting that medication without a valid prescription.
You need some kind of medical history to get through the door.
And honestly, once you actually get those images, you have to take them to a specialist anyway.
I’ve already mentioned this before, but they told me my results looked fine, even while my tumor was actively progressing. You cannot trust the raw data; you need a specialist to interpret the images properly.
It isn't catastrophic, really, you just lose your mind dealing with all the red tape, and eventually, you just Google everything until you stop caring. 😉

Personally, I prefer Mayo Clinic.

Melissa Moore39 said:Did you experience any actual head pain during the night while you were sleeping, or was it just constant? I mean—for me, the pain has been relentless for about a month and a half now... and honestly, I'm starting to get pretty scared about the whole thing.

It was constant for me. My sleep was completely fragmented; I’d pass out only when I was totally exhausted, and then wake up right back into another headache.
Are you experiencing any other symptoms, and have you actually seen a doctor yet?
We are off-topic here; we really ought to move this to a different section where we won't be flagged.

Melissa Moore39 said:Did you experience any actual symptoms or issues beforehand? Like, constant headaches or something similar that prompted you to go in for imaging in the first place?

It started with these relentless, pounding headaches—the kind where even heavy-duty Advil didn't touch them. Once I started feeling physically weak and my sense of balance completely went out the window, I finally headed to the ER. Before that, I’d just been seeing my primary care doctor, who kept prescribing painkillers, but nothing was working.
I ended up at the emergency room once, then again a week later, and then a third time just three days after that. Within ten days, I had been through the ER three times. I looked absolutely haggard and exhausted because I'd been dealing with constant head pain for an entire month. They rushed me straight to a CT scan, sent me to a major hospital in Chicago for an MRI two days later, and within two weeks, I was in surgery. And here I am... just fighting to get through it.

Melissa Moore39 said:A doctor told me that once—but I suppose the question remains, why do you go there so often?

It’s about a brain tumor.
When they first caught it, it was via CT, then a couple of days later they did an MRI. Then, a month after the initial surgery, another scan, and then six months down the line, they suspected a recurrence, so we had to do more testing. Now, I have yet another appointment in ten days just to follow up with the neurosurgeon.
The doctors told me I'll be heading in for an MRI twice a year for the rest of my life. 🙄

It isn't harmful—just read HERE to see the facts.

Melissa Moore39 said:Does anyone actually know why they only recommend getting an MRI once a year if there’s no radiation involved? I mean—if it isn't ionizing—why the restriction?

I’ve never heard that before. 🤷
Where on earth did you hear that?
In the last 15 months alone, I've had four scans, and I'm heading back for my fifth one in about ten days.

Brandon Morgan

Have you placed your order yet?
When is it finally going to be your turn?

Brandon Newman95 said:I know. And even if he heads to the ER, he still needs a referral from his primary care doctor. As stupid as that sounds.

That isn't true if they show up when the GP's office is actually closed, like on a weekend. 😉

Brandon Morgan said:I’ll look into what you mentioned tomorrow. And yeah, I’ve got a whole list of people I need to call.
It’s not even about being cheap or trying to save a buck on my health—I just don't have the cash sitting around right now, and my credit isn't exactly stellar either. So, there's no way around it; I’m stuck waiting.
My neurologist actually sent me in because some old issues I had have been getting worse lately. Now my eye won't stop twitching—like, my eyelid has been spasming constantly for over 20 days straight.

And regarding that whole "centralized" thing? Believe me, it’s a joke. It’s anything but centralized. Every single hospital has its own weird policies, its own set of rules, and its own dedicated fax number. With some places, you can still manage to book an appointment over the phone, but with others, forget it. Then you've got the ones where you send a fax and might get a call back the next day, and then there are those that actually reply via fax—which makes zero sense since nobody uses faxes anymore. It’s just a mountain of nonsense. Honestly, the whole system feels like it was designed to kill people rather than help them. You have to go through this massive, exhausting drama just to land a simple appointment. At least, that’s how it’s worked for me.

If that eyelid twitching gets any worse, you should head straight to the ER.
Don't you have anyone who can help you out a bit financially?

Brandon Newman95 said:Look, here’s the deal: everything was processed neurologically—they even ordered a brain MRI because they were worried about MS. But turns out? It was all just psychological.
Getting an MRI at Diagnostic Center 2000 takes maybe ten minutes and $533. Plus, you can usually write it off on your taxes by the end of the year.
If I remember right, everyone raves about Diagnostic Center 2000. Personally, I’m claustrophobic as hell, so it helped having the technician or the radiologist right there in the room with me. I know they do CT scans covered by Medicare too. Honestly, I think even most neurologists trust their results.
Also, Quest Diagnostics—from what I can tell, they're linked with Mercy Hospital. If you pay out of pocket, you get seen immediately; if not, you're stuck waiting depending on what kind of test you need.
Maybe hospitals are more integrated now and can see where there's an opening—since everything is centralized through the system now, things might move faster, or maybe there's some kind of loophole, but feralridge3 might know more about that.
And seriously, why is your neurologist even sending you for a brain MRI in the first place?
Just call every private clinic in town.

I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at here. 🤷
Technically, they can move him up the queue if he pays out of pocket or if he gets admitted to the hospital and they send him off for diagnostic testing. But let's be realistic—they aren't going to admit him unless there is some genuinely serious issue.

I forgot to ask—are you dealing with any major symptoms that would require a CT scan, or has your neurologist expressed any specific concerns about what might be going on?
I’m asking because after my Nemertol treatment, I had to head over to the neurology clinic to get confirmation on a relapse. If you’re waiting on a referral through Medicare, you’re looking at a five to six-month wait, which is just ridiculous. However, if you opt to pay out of pocket, you can usually see someone within two or three days. In my case, I just paid upfront and then filed a claim with Medicare afterward to have them reimburse me. And wouldn't you know it, they actually paid me back.
If my test results had come back perfectly clear, they probably wouldn't have reimbursed the cost, but honestly, I've reached a point where I am no longer cutting corners when it comes to my health. 🙂

Brandon Morgan said:Look, I’m not being lazy, for crying out loud. I'm asking questions. It's not like I'm just sitting around my house all day, staring at a screen and pinning all my hopes on some random thread on Reddit 🙄
And honestly? You didn't exactly make me feel better. I was over at Mercy Hospital for a scan at MIT and they told me everything looked fine too... 😢
Anyway, thanks for the heads up.

My apologies, I think I was a bit harsh there regarding the whole "laziness" comment.🙈
The thing is, maybe those kinds of errors don't happen to them very often. But for me, it was unacceptable because I actually brought in my previous scans; they could have compared them to see exactly where the old tumor was located and focused their attention on that specific area. Instead, they missed a whole centimeter of a new tumor. I had a follow-up with a neurosurgeon scheduled for a month later. If the people at Mercy Hospital had caught that tumor when they did, I would have gone straight to the surgeon immediately. For my situation, speed is absolutely critical because this tumor progresses incredibly fast.😢

I believe someone mentioned to me once that neurosurgeons don't particularly care for the imaging coming out of local clinics like that, mostly because their equipment is outdated and the image quality isn't up to par.😢

Regardless, I suppose what the clinic writes down matters far less than what the specialist actually sees when you bring the scans to them.

Come on, don't just sit there being lazy—grab your phone and start hunting down every clinic's number you can find online. 😉
At Mayo Clinic, the waitlist is three months long. I booked my appointment back in May, and I won't be seen until August.
I tried going to a private facility once, and while they squeezed me in after about three weeks, I wouldn't go back there in a heartbeat. They told me my results were perfectly fine when they absolutely weren't; they completely missed a centimeter of new tumor tissue. 😢
Over at Neuron, you're looking at a five to six-month wait, and they’ll charge you $967 for the scan with contrast, or $3,200 if you want spectroscopy included.
Also, Sun doesn't accept Medicare referrals, so you're stuck paying cash out of pocket there.

Walter Williams33 said:I really want to thank everyone here for all the great advice 👍
It’s been ten days now—just ten days—and I’ve already dropped 6 pounds 🙏
The strategy is simple enough, really—I’m eating less, cutting out all the junk food, and staying incredibly active—I’ve been hitting the pavement for an hour-long run every single day and keeping up with my core workouts.
Starting this coming Monday, I’m also going to begin hitting the local Gold's Gym to round things out.

That’s great, you're on a roll, but what happens when you hit a plateau?
The weight is going to snap right back on you if you aren't careful.

I am always fascinated by people who want a perfect physique overnight, so they throw themselves into these vague, nonsensical diets—which really just means starving themselves for a week or three—only to eventually cave and end up heavier than when they started.

There is no magic bullet without changing your diet permanently; I'm talking a lifelong commitment, not just a month or two.
To actually lose the weight, you don't need to kill yourself at the local Gold's Gym; you just need to balance your nutrition.
Because of some health issues, I can't really do intense sports, but by sticking to a balanced plan of five small meals a day for nine months, I lost about 25 pounds without even feeling like I was struggling.

Sure, smash burgers, greasy street tacos, pastries, sodas, and massive bowls of ice cream are delicious. 😍
But if you can "survive" without them for a couple of months, resisting those cravings later becomes much easier. 😉

I wear glasses, but lately, my vision has been acting completely haywire. I’ve been dealing with occasional double vision—it even crossed over into triple vision at one point—and mostly just a massive blur right in my central field of vision. 🙄
Because of these intense, non-stop headaches, I ended up in the ER. They sent me in for a brain CT scan, and lo and behold, right next to the visual cortex, they found a 4cm tumor that had been slowly pressing against my visual center, which explains all those glitches.
Looking back now, I realize the symptoms actually started creeping in a full year earlier; I just didn't take them seriously enough at the time. 👎
So, please, just go see your primary care physician and have them write you a referral for a neurologist.

Angela Wright said:The only way to get a truly accurate diagnosis is through a pathology analysis of the puncture or the tissue removed during surgery. A CT scan, PET scan, or MRI can only point toward a potential tumor based on its appearance and location—essentially allowing doctors to make an educated guess based on experience—but pathology is the alpha and omega when establishing a tumor diagnosis meaning the specific typing of the tumor. After all, the type of tumor dictates the entire treatment plan.

That’s just the truth. 😉
When I was first diagnosed, they kept telling me not to worry and that everything would be fine because, looking at the scans, it appeared to be benign. Once the surgery was over and the tumor was sent off for biopsy, we found out the initial "positive" outlook was total bullshit. It was bad. It was malignant. 😠

Melissa Parker37 said:I think I’m going to snap. My father is crying like a little child. I rushed out of work just to check on him, and there he is, sitting at home weeping. I’ve endured so much, but I don’t know if I can handle this...
He isn't in physical pain, but he feels this overwhelming weakness throughout his entire body, and talking has become quite difficult for him. He says he feels anxious, so I gave him some Praxiten.
It’s so hard to watch him like this, and I feel completely helpless. It’s just heavy...

Just hug him and cry with him. 😉
As for him feeling fine physically yet still breaking down, it might be the medication. When I was going through radiation and chemotherapy, I dealt with these sudden, jarring mood swings. One minute I’d be riding high on euphoria, and the next, I’d just crash and burst into tears for absolutely no reason. I just felt the need to wail, so I wailed. 🤷
It was so hard trying to explain to people why I was perfectly happy two hours ago, only to feel like I didn't want to live anymore two hours later.🙄

Carol Newman21 said:Hey,
I really hope you guys handle the treatment okay.
With Temodal, you don't lose your hair, though radiation might cause some issues. But there's a silver lining: they used a targeted radiation device on my dad's rib, which is miles better than the standard stuff because it only hits the specific area needed while keeping the rest of his body—and head—protected.
With that kind of targeted radiation, hair only falls out right where the beam hits, and it grows back incredibly fast. My dad’s hair was already fully grown back after just a month; you can't even tell.
If anyone needs advice, I'm here.
Hang in there.

Tomorrow marks the end of the first cycle.
The very first day, I was vomiting all morning long. My oncologist prescribed some dexamethasone, and by Tuesday I took Reglan and felt alright. I get a bit nauseous in the mornings, but once the afternoon hits, I'm fine. I'm crossing my fingers it stays that way.

Oh, I actually went through head radiation last year after my first tumor, so I'm clear for five years. Maybe the technology will have advanced even further by the time I ever need radiation again—though I'm praying this recurrence is the first and last time.

In my case, the hair fell out specifically in the areas where I was radiated, and honestly, it looks pretty ridiculous right now. Some parts of my hair grew back, but that specific spot from the radiation is struggling. It's thin, and what makes it funny is that it's turned gray, so I look totally patchy. 😁

Terry Rogers said:...my mother used to take raw propolis, beta 1,3 glucan at 500mg, royal jelly, aloe vera, and so on...

I tend to ask rather foolish questions sometimes...
🙄
Surely one shouldn't start everything all at once? 🤷

Right now, I'm taking raw propolis. Honestly, these capsules are revolting. Every time I put one in my mouth and try to swallow it, my stomach just turns. 😲 Next time, I think I'll just get the liquid drops.

And one more thing,
will Temodal cause my hair to fall out?

Angela Wright said:Natural propolis isn't some magic cure for cancer; it’s just a dietary supplement meant to boost your immune system.
My mom was actually taking massive doses—like three sets of five capsules every single day—while she was undergoing chemo and radiation.

But the label clearly says 3-4 times a day. 🤷
I was honestly thinking about just taking one capsule three times a day.