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7877. wabbit - 12/16/2013 12:23:20 AM Oh, Hashke, I was just thinking about him a couple weeks ago.
Received and replied! 7878. alistairconnor - 12/18/2013 2:55:22 PM Congrats on getting your foot back Wabbit!
And yay for Keoni... Judith, I was moved to read your reaction to his surgery - a tribute to the depth of your relationship, I guess. 7879. alistairconnor - 12/18/2013 3:17:46 PM I had my first health scare this year (literally the first in my life, or since infanthood). A couple of renal colic episodes. It seems trivial in retrospect because after extensive echography and CT scans I'm clean as a whistle, nice juicy kidneys, small prostate, etc. Probably just some random stones that went away. But at least it gave me a new level of empathy for child-bearing women, and all people dealing with extreme pain. 7880. judithathome - 12/19/2013 12:39:24 AM I've had kidney stones AND childbirth both and trust me, kidney stones are far more painful...I cannot imagine a man going through either and coming out the same afterward.
Women can and do bear more pain...regardless. 7881. wabbit - 12/20/2013 12:39:08 AM Kidney stones are horrible.
Stitches out, pins pulled and I don't have to use crutches! I'll be in a boot for another week minimum, but that's nothing as long as I'm free of the crutches. Turns out what happened to my metatarsal is unusual enough to be worth a case study. I hope it will be useful for others. 7882. arkymalarky - 12/20/2013 3:42:01 AM Wow! Congrats on ditching the crutches! Will you get to know what they put in the case study? 7883. robertjayb - 12/20/2013 4:25:23 AM Hernia talk reminded me that it's a bit over two years since the surgery that gave me most of my life back after almost three unpleasant years of stumbling and fumbling about looking for a valid diagnosis. A neurosurgeon's physician's assistant persuaded me to have a lumbar puncture test for normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), now being called adult-onset hydrocephalus. Bingo. They pulled out some spinal fluid and within about 20 minutes I was off the gurney and headed to the latrine for a natural whiz then out to waiting to surprise spouse. This was very temporary relief but the gold-standard test for NPH and I was okayed for a shunt implant. Did I want it? As even us sometime-Wisconsinites say, "You Betcha!"
Now I have a lipstick-size device under the scalp behind the right ear. Tubes tap excess fluid in the ventricles of the brain and route it at proper pressure to my abdomen. I don't understand the plumbing but this is where the hernia comes in. About two months after the surgery I developed a fist-sized lump on my belly, an incisional hernia. The neurosurgeon copped to using the wrong sutures. That's okay, doc. Better to err in the belly than the brain.
Healing from the hernia op was much more painful than anything associated with having a hole drilled in my head.
and the initial abdominal incision.
I'm feeling better now than I have in years. Some aspects of the NPH linger, particularly memory lapses and moments of confusion or maybe it's just old age. I haven't had a fall since the implant and I can move well enough to do chores and exercise sufficiently to slowly lose some of the weight gained during my sedentary period. Hauling my fat clothes to a resale shop. And I can drive. Spouse kept me from behind the wheel because "my feet didn't work right."
Getting my life back is not too strong. NPH is rare and primarily, but not exclusively, affects geezers with symptoms that so closely mimic those of Parkinsons and Alzheimers that it is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed (my case).
7884. arkymalarky - 12/20/2013 4:32:35 AM Amazing. 7885. judithathome - 12/20/2013 9:13:54 AM I'll say!!! Robert, you are quite the inspiration for keeping at them until a diagnosis is made.
I know there's something wrong with my plumbing and/or digestive system but can't get anyone to take me seriously...I can almost "see" hypochondriac floating behind my doctor's eyelids when I see him and answer the "How do you feel?" questions. 7886. Wombat - 12/21/2013 6:32:42 PM I hoped they "comped" you on the hernia operation. 7887. Wombat - 12/21/2013 6:37:57 PM Kidney stone pain vs. any other pain, hmm. When I had a kidney stone the pain was comparably worse than the last time I had a bad back spasm (both many years ago, now--knock wood). The only difference, was that the back spasm made it difficult to move. With the kidney stone, I could change positions and walk. With the back spasm, it would take twenty minutes to go from my bed to the bathroom. And once the stone passed, that was it. 7888. judithathome - 12/21/2013 6:58:48 PM Lucky for all you men, you haven't had to withstand labor pains...trust me, I've had both and they are almost exactly the same...I've had broken bones, slipped discs, scalding burns...labor pains and kidney stones are the ACES of pain. 7889. Trillium - 12/22/2013 12:48:30 AM has anybody seen this Youtube that's making the rounds? Pretty funny
Men in Labor
7890. Trillium - 12/22/2013 12:53:16 AM Robertjayb, I hadn't heard of adult onset hydrocephalus, and it's interesting. Thanks for sharing your experience.
One of my coworkers had a granddaughter with hydrocephalus, and she talked about it a bit... but anyway glad your shunt is working well, and hope your feet do what they oughta, also!
Adult onset hydrocephalus
I've gotten serious about trying to lower my blood pressure, walk every day etc. 7891. wabbit - 12/31/2013 6:19:26 PM Woke up this morning to the news that Dr. Kenneth Edelin had died. He was a young OBGYN doctor and I was a late-blooming 16 year old when I met him. My mother was worried about me and took me to Chelsea Naval Hospital for a check-up. Dr. Edelin was soft-spoken and gentle, and had my mother sit in the office which was connected to the exam room, but not in the exam room itself where she wanted to be. He treated me with respect and not like a child. Sooner or later all girls have to go through their first exam and mine could not have been done by a better doctor.
I was stunned when he was in court three years later. It was my real introduction to politics, and to Boston politics in particular.
RIP Dr. Edelin. 7892. arkymalarky - 12/31/2013 9:04:18 PM A very impressive man. 7893. Jenerator - 1/7/2014 12:03:05 AM Anyone familiar with cetyl-m? I heard that it works wonders for arthritic animals and people. I am hoping to get my mom to try it (she can't take celebrex anymore.) 7894. judithathome - 1/7/2014 11:53:51 AM The only thing I use that has a connection to what is used on animals is Mane & Tail shampoo. 7895. arkymalarky - 1/11/2014 10:17:29 PM rillian, this should be in health (I'll repost there), but we have very few options here and even if you find what you want, being able to get her in would be a huge challenge. Right now she's in the hospital, but she's delirious and cannot do anything without two or three people helping. She's bedfast since Thursday and has to be watched constantly to keep her from pulling out her IV. This all came about just Wednesday night and we haven't been at work since. It's a long drawn out process, that in some ways is just now starting. Up to now family and hired help has been able to live with her at home and up until recently one person could manage to help her. Over the last two or three weeks that has changed dramatically and it takes at least 2 at all times. Now, since Thursday night, she can't even get by with that. The only reason I'm here today is because Stan's brother's there today. Will be back on duty tomorrow. It's just what happens when you get old. She was extremely healthy until she wasn't, had surgery to fix the problem, and lost oxygen during the surgery and got dehydrated and got a uti and it's been a downhill rollercoaster ever since.
One thing that I would strongly advise, is watch doctors in elderly people and the medications they give them, because she was being given the wrong medication (diuretic and bp meds which worsened her dehydration and dropped her already below normal bp), and when she got off of it it was too late and she needed the surgery but it was too little too late. No choices are good ones. The healthcare system in this country for average people is a disgrace and the lack of concern for patients is appalling. My dad, 82, went to an endocrinologist who was rude and unfriendly until he found out Dad was an emeritus.
excuse typos. Voice to text on my phone. 7896. Trillium - 1/13/2014 4:26:00 AM Thanks Arky. Hope things improve. I spent the day helping someone whose flu complications were getting scary... they seem to have resolved tonight.
UTIs can cause confusion. One friend's father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's that came on very suddenly ... turned out it was a UTI instead. The old gentleman was totally delirious, and told his son all about a train trip that he supposed that they were on together. I've had one client insist that his hospital bed was a recliner (he was annoyed because I wasn't getting the feet of the bed to go down the way he expected!) It can be amusing, but needing three people 24/7 is hard. Good luck with it, and I hope she recovers her clarity and comfort.
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