Posts by briskgardener13

I don't think she was actually trying to make comparisons; she was just sharing her own take on things.

Does anyone else get this weird sensation when they eat? It doesn’t matter what kind of food it is, but whenever I swallow, I feel this sharp pain right as it passes down my esophagus. I make sure to chew everything thoroughly, but once it hits that spot just below my throat—somewhere near my chest/lung area—it hits me with this intense, split-second sting. It feels like the passage momentarily tightens up, or like I’m swallowing a dry crust of bread that hasn't been chewed enough. It’s such an odd, scratchy feeling. I’ve actually been dealing with a nasty cold for about two weeks now that just won't quit, and I can't help but wonder if they're linked. My doctor mentioned it might be bronchitis rather than pneumonia, but nothing seems to be easing the inflammation. Does anyone have recommendations for something I could take to soothe this irritation?

redharbor23 said:Oh man, this is just devastating... let's all just hope and pray she pulls through. 🙂

Believe me, I feel it too. Every single second, it feels like my heart is just sinking a little more. I honestly don't know if I'll ever truly get past this, but I suppose we'll just have to wait and see; only time will tell. At this point, I can't even be sure if the doctors are doing everything humanly possible to help her right now...

Kimberly Ward said:Where is this person receiving treatment, how is their condition progressing, and what actually caused all of this?

I wouldn't recommend seeking treatment here in the States; nobody seems to have a handle on how this happened. They only identified the illness after two months of testing, and unfortunately, things are just getting worse. She's being treated with acyclovir injections for herpes, but there hasn't been any improvement yet, which is really heartbreaking.

Elizabeth White97 said:A friend of mine passed away this past Saturday from encephalitis... I don't know all the specific details... 😢

I mean, you really didn't need to share that bit of information to make your point.

Karen Adams2 said:I’ve seen a few cases where people have dealt with this. Generally, they respond well to treatment, but if things aren't handled properly, the fallout can be devastating. What specifically are you looking to find out?

To be honest, I’m less worried about the long-term aftermath right now because we're dealing with a life-or-death situation. My main concern is how quickly someone starts responding to Acyclovir therapy once it begins. The patient is in incredibly critical condition—they were actually in a coma, though they've since stabilized slightly, they are still very much in a fragile state. They've been receiving IV Acyclovir for four days now.

I’ve actually dealt with this myself. Does anyone here have any firsthand experience or advice regarding this particular illness?

Does Nick have any clue what he's talking about?

Does anyone happen to know more about this? Is there a specialist in this specific field of medicine here on the forum? A part of my family is dealing with this, so I figured I'd ask.

Angela Wright said:Look, tumor markers aren't exactly the gold standard for diagnosis.

In my book, treating a woman with radiation based on nothing more than a suspicious cancer finding is a massive, fundamental blunder—it's bordering on criminal negligence. 😱That kind of thing should be reported to the medical board for investigation!😠 At this point, we have no idea what she actually had, let alone what kind of damage that radiation might have inflicted on her body.
Some people working in medicine belong in a slaughterhouse, not a hospital.😠😠😠

The only other thing I can think of is having her see a physiatrist for a full evaluation.

Mom fell into a coma and is currently on life support. It looks like things were much more serious than expected; the cancer is quite widespread, and for fifteen days straight, the doctors at the hospital were basically just guessing at what was going on.

The tumor marker tests came back, and everything looks completely clear.

Angela Wright said:Did your mom get a mammogram or at least a breast ultrasound? Breast cancer that’s spread to the lymph nodes can cause pressure in the neck and even swelling in the arm. On top of that, breast cancer can metastasize to the lungs and bones, which would explain those shadows and the pain you're seeing.
It honestly baffles me how doctors approach things this way—starting radiation based on a "suspicious" finding before they've even confirmed the actual diagnosis.
Have you actually sat down and talked to her primary specialist? What you’ve laid out here is completely disorganized and doesn't make any sense logically. 😕

p.s. She really needs a head CT. If there's a suspicion of cancer and she's dealing with dizziness or can't stay on her feet, there's a real possibility it has spread to the brain. 😢

You need to get in touch with her doctor immediately and demand clear, concrete answers.

She already had a head CT and everything came back completely clear. She hasn't had a mammogram yet, but they did run a full-body scan—either a CT or an MRI, I can't quite remember which. As far as I know, the radiation was ordered because of enlarged lymph nodes. We just got the results back from her spinal fluid analysis today, and that was also totally normal. On top of that, they performed a second procedure on her spine over the last three days. We’re still waiting on those results now. I honestly don't know if these doctors are making sense; my mom is in such intense pain that she's been taking heavy doses of Tramadol just for the last two days to manage it. It doesn't look like cancer, and it definitely doesn't look like anything in her head since the CT was clean. Does anyone have any ideas?

Kyle Lee7 said:Well, you didn't mention where it's actually located or which department they're dealing with.
It seems a bit strange to me that they would start radiation therapy before performing a biopsy; typically, you get the diagnosis settled before jumping straight into treatment.
The idea of undergoing radiation first and then doing a biopsy on the glands sounds more like a standard tumor protocol—are you absolutely certain about everything the doctors are telling you?
Are you an adult?
Based on the tests you listed, some of them definitely fall under neurology, such as the spinal fluid draw and the MRI of the head and neck.

He's currently staying in thoracic surgery. And honestly, I might have gotten the sequence mixed up—I think the biopsy actually happened before the radiation started. My mistake.

Does anyone actually have an idea? Or are we all just sitting here empty-handed?

So, I’m looking for some help here. If it’s even possible, I want to explain my mother’s situation. She’s been in the hospital for nine days now without a definitive diagnosis, and she is essentially dying from the pain. It feels impossible that the doctors don't know what's going on, and I don't believe they are hiding anything from us. To give you some background, my 52-year-old mother went to see her doctor because she had a swelling in her neck, her right arm was hurting and tingling, and she just felt terrible overall. Her thyroid wasn't looking right either; some initial therapy didn't help, so they ordered lung scans. She’s a smoker, and the scan showed four or five critical dark spots on her lungs. They prescribed some kind of radiation treatment, which she underwent, and she actually felt fine afterward. Following that, they said they needed to perform a biopsy on some lymph nodes near the lungs. The doctor took samples from six different nodes, but the results came back completely clear and normal—the doctor suggested maybe it looked clean because of the radiation. Ever since then, the excruciating pain started. She’s in constant agony all day long. The pain in her arms and legs is unbearable; she can barely get up if she tries at all. She’s dealing with dizziness and hasn't slept in fifteen days. When I say the pain is intense, I mean it—she describes it as feeling like her bones are being broken whenever we try to massage her. To make matters worse, over the last few days of those fifteen, she’s started seeing double. It’s strange; she sees normally out of one eye, and normally out of the other, but when she looks with both eyes open, everything is doubled. If she covers one eye with her hand, the vision returns to normal. The pain won't stop, it stays just as intense, and this double vision persists. We finally decided to take her back to the hospital because a second biopsy was scheduled, but she was in such bad shape that they couldn't even go through with it. Now, nine days have passed and still no diagnosis? They ran blood work, and almost everything looks fine—her blood sugar is okay, and all the vital markers seem normal. An MRI of her brain was done, and it came back clear. Her neck area also looks clean and normal. Yesterday, they performed a spinal tap—I think it’s called a lumbar puncture based on what I read online—and we are waiting on those results. Meanwhile, she is in this much pain, unable to sleep, and unable to even look at things properly. Can anyone help me? Is a neurologist supposed to be handling this? I forgot to mention that her spinal imaging also came back okay. What am I supposed to do? This is my mother, and she has never been sick a day in her life. When I visited her a few days ago, I noticed a small swollen node on her arm; I checked other parts of her body, but it was only in that one spot. Does anyone have any intelligent advice or suggestions on what we should be suspicious of? I know deep down this is likely something extremely serious. Please, help...