Sick of being sick (1 Viewer)

[RobertR]

Based on purely anecdotal evidence? Five years ago I felt quite sick, and threw up the over the counter medication I was taking. A visit to the ER produced an immediate (and correct) diagnosis of appendicitis. Surgery took place the same night, using minimal incisions (I can't even find the scars), and I was back at work in two weeks. I couldn't be more pleased with how the whole thing was handled. People make mistakes, but I'd have to see solid statistical evidence before I think that doctors are less competent than in previous years.

 

[PhillJones]

It's also an anti-inflammatory, for the same reason so the relief could also come simply from reduced swelling.

If we're playing amateur House, I wonder what would happen if you went off antibiotics entirely and just took the prednisone. Obviously, don't do this without your doctor's say so.

Ask your doctor about cough varient asthma.

I really think you'd get some benefit from chi-gong (my first choice) or a form of yoga that concentrates on breathing techniques. You really can 'strengthen' your lungs with some of these meditative practices, as a complement to your doctors prescriptions.

 

[Chu Gai]

Have the doctors been running tests on you like an upper/lower gi series, testing for TB (some virtually drug resistant strains out there), etc. ?

 

[JoeyR]

See my previous post on appendicitis, btw that was in 1990

 

[RobertR]

Like I said, it's purely anecdotal. It proves nothing about the state of medicine in the 90s compared to previous years.

 

[PhillJones]

Doctors aren't getting worse, they're getting better. Survival rates and successfull treatments are rising all the time, as is life expectancy, infant mortality is falling. There are issues in the medical system but they're more systemic and to do with money, business and insurance companies and drug companies and we shouldn't get into that but the quality of actual MDs is going up all the time.

Some older doctors I've met are total dinosaurs, have no grasp of logic or the scientific method and won't listen to their patients. There are a lot fewer of that type now. Miss-diagnosis is not new. My grandmother was an undiagnosed Celiac for most of her life, the doctors thought she was lying about her diet. You can't differentiate Celiac from IBS or Crohns with a tongue depressor and a stethoscope. You need an antibody test which didn't exist back in 1940. My Brother had colic as a baby, again, they accused my mother of making it up or causing the problem herself. The certainty of doctors of yesteryear was due to the fact that far fewer diseases were recognized. If you didn't fit a textbook definition, you were making it up.

Anyway, Chris, How are you doing today? If I were you, I'd start keeping a journal of everywhere I went, what I ate and how bad my symptoms were. Do the same with any drugs as well. Keep on top of your own data as its difficult for anybody, no matter how smart they are to see patterns in data when they've got 10 minutes to look over it.

 

[Brian W. Ralston]

Not to add to your hundreds of diagnosis already, but...Yeah....I am thinking adult onset asthma or some allergy resulting in respiratory symptoms of sorts. I have had similar longstanding problems and that is what it ended up being. I don't really have asthma attacks in the classic sense where there are attacks where I can't breathe. I just get tightness in the chest and my cough gets worse. (My years of being a trumpet player have developed my lung capacity and breathing strength to be pretty considerable. I could be wheezing and I would do peak flow breathing tests with the doc that were above normal limits for my body type.)

Along with the inhaler usage that is taken as needed...I have also found that regular exercise and cardivascular workouts for me has helped considerably.

 

[Jeff_HR]

I know how you feel! This has been a disastrous year for me healthwise. I start the year with a carotid endarterectomy, then my appendix bursts in May & then an intermitent Back pain problem turns chronic. I've forgotten what it feels like to feel well.

 

[Chris]

Well, to revive an old thread.. so, over the past three years I've seen:

General Practitioner / ER / Oncologist / Urologist / Lung, Nose, Throat specialist..

Still have same cough. Been through 8 seperate runs of Zithromax, a few runs of other antibiotics, a shot of something, numerous cts, etc.

Blah. On Saturday got incredibly sick, vomitting and couldn't stop. Took ambulance ride after collapsing Sunday morning, been in hospital since. They took me off all food & water for last thirty two hours, been on iv only. So far, several runs of levoquin, metronid, flagel, ivs of saline & potassium chloride.

So this afternoon we ma do an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. We'll see how that goes. But being in the hospital for three + days is SUCKING. thank god they have wireless internet and I can direct my employees from here.

 

[PhillJones]

Sorry to hear that Chris.

Good Luck.

 

[JonZ]

Is this constant or does it come in periods? I have a friend who gets ear and throat infections yearly.

"When I cough a lot I will cough up lots of 'slime' I mean buckets of it. Always clear but very thick."

That sounds like a broncial infection to me. Maybe its not bacterial at all, but fungal. Have the biopsied the slime?? (thoughts of ghostbusters in my head after I wrote that)

And because of my uncles recent problems I have to ask this - have you ever been in the military?

Id try to find a good infectious disease doctor.


Another thing to think about is all the antibiotics, are you taking anything to replenish helpful intestine bacteria?(whenever my G/F goes on antibiotics for a length of time, like recently,she takes some stuff called acidophillis, which you can get at the store)


Its so frustrating to have something wrong with you that they cant figure out. I woke up in the worse pain ever in my right foot one morning. I leaned on it screamed and went head first into the wall. Went to the Em Room and was told it was a sprain. Worse. Pain. Ever. They said stay off it. It kept reoccurring for years. And I kept going to doctors. Long story short, 7 years, about 10 doctors later, after all sorts of diagnosis ranging from lyme disease to diabetes I found out its gout(and not a single doctor said gout,a friend of mine did).

They found out when they were looking in my left knee during a torn meniscus operation. My uric acid levels were so high I was in danger of kidney failure which would have meant dialysis - at 32 years old.

BTW, speaking of Lyme its worth checking out as the symptoms are different for everyone and its been linked to everything from chest pain to seizures.

Also maybe as a couple others mentioned earlier - Sarcoidosis which they dont know what causes it but think it can begin with your body fighting off infection and it gets worse over the years damaging the organs it attacks - like your lungs. Its a immune system disorder and known for chest/flu symptom trouble and even nerve trouble. Steroids will make it worse.


Best of luck to you.

 

[Colton]

Chris, just curious - did they put you on oxygen? If so, does it help?