Posts by bluedriver2

Hannah Nelson52 said:I’ve been thinking about quitting smoking for a long time now. The main thing holding me back is this idea I heard that people tend to gain at least 10 pounds after they stop. Honestly, I don't know if my budget can handle that right now. I know health comes first, obviously, but is there any way to prevent that weight gain?

The perks of actually being able to breathe again are worth way more than whatever extra weight you might put on... maybe.
How to stay lean? Eat actual food, load up on veggies, and hit the gym regularly. Just don't swap cigarettes for donuts...

I don't think people realize just how much produce you can actually cram into your daily diet—if you ease into it slowly to avoid all that bloating and digestive drama—to actually hit some kind of nutritional balance.

So, here's how you can sneak more greens into your day:
1. breakfast
2. snacks
3. lunch
4. afternoon bites
5. dinner

Olivia Ruiz said:Is that too many antibiotics? Are they actually bad for you? 😕

Not really, assuming they were actually necessary.

The main issue is they can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria... which isn't great.

Usually, doctors go with Amoxicillin for kids with ear infections. If that doesn't do the trick, they might move up to Kevin—just watch out for the side effects, mostly diarrhea. Azithromycin (Zithromax) is usually saved for pneumonia or if someone's allergic to penicillin.

Emily Fisher26 said:Regarding probiotics,

As for probiotics, you can just find them in yogurt.

Benjamin Murphy2 said:Look, a chest X-ray is the gold standard for spotting pneumonia. No infiltrate on the X-ray means no pneumonia.

Nah.
Pneumonia is a clinical diagnosis—think cough, fever, what the doctor hears through the stethoscope. You don't always see an infiltrate in the early stages. Plus, those shadows can linger on an X-ray even after the infection is totally gone.
An X-ray isn't strictly necessary to call it pneumonia.

When you're dealing with long-term, uncontrolled high blood pressure, the left atrium starts swelling up. Eventually, the heart takes on this really specific shape...

Sadly, no. They're working on it, but there’s just no vaccine for Hepatitis C out there yet.

Donna Sullivan7 said:Also, I’m pretty lost on how they scale PTSD diagnoses... I hear everything from impulsive types and chronic cases to logorrhea, acute stuff, and random episodes. Plus, it feels like PTSD can slide into addiction way too easily:
A—alcoholism (just a fallout from the PTSD)
B—drug abuse (using substances to cope with PTSD)

-PERSONALITY DISORDERS—I'm not even sure if those stem from PTSD? Though, I guess a personality disorder can just be its own thing anyway.

If anyone actually knows what they're talking about, could you please break down the diagnosis for us? Like, give me the full rundown... and if possible, how much disability percentage each specific type usually gets. Thanks...

Those are two separate issues. It’s true that people dealing with mental health struggles are more likely to develop PTSD after a trauma. Maybe that was your original diagnosis?

Donna Sullivan7 said:Also, I’m pretty lost on how they scale PTSD diagnoses... I hear everything from impulsive types and chronic cases to logorrhea, acute stuff, and random episodes. Plus, it feels like PTSD can slide into addiction way too easily:
A—alcoholism (just a fallout from the PTSD)
B—drug abuse (using substances to cope with PTSD)

-PERSONALITY DISORDERS—I'm not even sure if those stem from PTSD? Though, I guess a personality disorder can just be its own thing anyway.

If anyone actually knows what they're talking about, could you please break down the diagnosis for us? Like, give me the full rundown... and if possible, how much disability percentage each specific type usually gets. Thanks...

PTSD shows up in a ton of different ways. Your disability rating basically comes down to how much you can actually function in daily life and how much those symptoms mess with your world.

Meds help, sure, but psychotherapy is a must... especially on those bad days when things trigger you and pull you right back, even after you thought you’d finally clawed your way out after years. You probably already have a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or at least a primary care doctor...

Then there's what Lisa Kern38 put it like, which sounds pretty harsh: just trying to force yourself into a routine, a job, a hobby, family, friends...

That feeling of being a victim for what you went through (which, in these peaceful times, can feel like a wasted sacrifice) hurts, and it triggers the symptoms all over again. It’s part of the sickness. And yeah, people should treat you with respect—Lisa Kern38 isn't being mean, she's just being blunt—but "normal" people get bored hearing stories about stuff that happened years ago. So, because of their own issues, they start poking at you in their own aggressive way. It’s not your job to fix their behavior. Just try to understand them so you don't lose your cool.

And seriously, find professional help. Hanging out with people in the same boat helps a lot more than you'd think.

Megan Campbell51 said:That wouldn't be a good idea because I still actually want a stethoscope!!!🙂 😵 🙂 😵 🙂 😵 🙂 😵

😁

And what's wrong with one of those cheap plastic kids' ones? Or just grabbing the cheapest thing at the Hospital?
Honestly, based on everything you've told us, sounds like you're doing a great job getting your kid to the doctor and they seem totally fine with it! 👍 Way to go, mama!

Maybe the moderator could change the title...

The real issue here is why kids are terrified of doctors. It boils down to two things. First, pediatricians often lack the time or the drive to actually engage with kids and help them relax, so the kids just end up scared.
Second: parents constantly use "you're going to get a shot" as some kind of threat for when they aren't being "good." So then these kids view routine vaccinations as this ultimate betrayal. Poor kid knows everything was fine, but then they still get poked. 😢

I remember back when I was a student, there was this one—literally the only one—pediatrics professor who was actually "friends" with the kids. Everyone talked about him like he was crazy, but in a sweet way. He’d talk to infants just a few months old like they actually understood him. And guess what happened? The baby feels the chill vibe, stays calm listening to his steady voice, wants to play... even with a stranger in a white coat.

I remember during my rotation in pediatrics, all the nurses, doctors, and moms would just stare at me in shock because I’d act like a total goofball just to bond with the kids. And—lo and behold—it worked. I managed to win over (almost) every single kid, and it didn't even take much extra time.

Honestly, letting a kid hold a stetoskop 3 m Littmann Classic ii S. E. Black edition for a second to play around, or letting them listen to their mom or big sister through it... it makes them settle down immediately. 🙂

Nowadays, when I'm checking kids, I start by talking to them and doing the exam while they're sitting in their mom's lap. I only move them to the exam table at the very end to check the stuff I couldn't reach while they were snuggled up. It works perfectly every time.

The biggest shock of my entire medical training was realizing with my own eyes that a kid doesn't HAVE to cry every single time they visit a pediatrician's office.

That depends on how the doctor acts, but also on the mom (and her mindset). If Mom goes in feeling confident that everything is going to be fine, the kid isn't even afraid of the shot.
One little two-year-old actually thanked me for the shot the other day: "Thank you!" 😲 😲 Because her mom explained on the way to the clinic that the shot was necessary. 🙂

The nurse came running over, totally worked up, almost in tears! 😁 She said she had never seen anything like it. 🤣