Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with chronic

How to manage my debt and life as a whole

thegreatcokeolympics — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:34:41 -0800

How do I get my life on track with high debt and a chronic medical condition? So i'm 26 years old and have been completely on my own since i was 18. I come from a working class family who lives in a small dying town with no jobs. I knew if I was going to make something of my life in any way, I had to get out of there. Being so young and inexperienced, it's not like I could get a well paying job to support myself. And it's not like my family had any money to give me.
So 5 years ago, I took out many many loans and used that money to move myself across the country to " the big (and expensive) city" to attend college and hopefully start a new life there.

I also used the student loan money to pay for everything I would need to live on (mainly rent because the dorms were more expensive than studio apts, food, and school supplies) and even then it still wasn't enough, so I also worked full time in addition to going to school full time, just to make ends meet.

On top of this, to make matters more complicated, I also have a chronic medical condition. I have had it mildly since I was 10, but never had it addressed, or even diagnosed as to what it was, since my family lacked health insurance.

It was still fairly mild even when I moved here, but through the years got much more serious and I am now in constant daily pain and have some serious breathing issues. I tried to get health insurance on my own, but no plan would cover me due to the pre-existing condition. So I had no choice but to pay out of pocket for all medical expenses. Of course I had no out of pocket money to spare, so I used credit cards to pay all my medical bills.

And I never had enough credit to pay for anything medical that would truly diagnose me, so I resorted to many expensive pain management treatments only to be left with my condition progressively getting worse.

Now flash to present day, 5 years later, and I am $60,000 in debt from school, $10,000 from credit card debt. The job market is scarce and no one is hiring on staff. I've been taking very low pay freelance gigs which don't even amount to half of my expenses.

Currently, my bare minimum expenses amount to $1150 per month.

One of them being a health plan I pay 400 a month for after puting myself on a long waiting list for a government health plan that teams with private insurers to give coverage to high risk people. With this plan I was also able to finally get the tests I needed to diagnose me, only to discover (upon confirmation of 6 different doctor opinions to be sure) that I need a surgery that will cost a minimum of $30,000 depending on where I get it done, while knowing full well my insurance plan will most likely not cover because it is not a common surgery, though results are typically favorable.

I also pay 400 a month to see a physical therapist who I have been seeing for a year and a half and is the only source of pain relief I have found to help me (Insurance only covers 25% of 12 sessions a year, which I have already maxed out) Then pay 300 a month for my credit cards and 50 for my cell phone. And every 3 months, pay 150 forbearance fee for my student loans. That is it.

I had to leave my apartment and move in with a friend who is letting me stay there rent free until I figure something out. They are also fortunate enough to make a decent living and have been loaning me money to help pay my bills, eat their food, and use their computer. If anything, they've almost become my surrogate parent and it makes me feel like shit for puting them in that position, but I simply don't know what else to do.

I would get a second job anywhere I could find, but not only have those jobs even been hard to come by, but my health simply won't allow it at this point. I am extremely distressed, depressed, and hopeless. The biggest issues of all is the health and everything else seems to stem from it to make all the other problems worse. I don't know how much more bare minimum I can get in terms of cutting my budget when I'm already miserable and in so much pain.

I have considered going on disability, but I don't know if I would count since I still have been able to work, so long as the work isn't strenuous and I don't have to be on my feet all day.

I've considered welfare and bankruptcy but I'm not too sure how they work or if I would have to give up making enough money to pay for everything I need just to qualify. Or if bankruptcy will just ruin my credit enough to never be able to rent again.

I want to be responsible and make the best choice that will benefit me in the long run, but I don't know what that is or where to go. I really need some advice or clarity on this, so anything anyone has to say, please I'd love to hear it. Thank you.

Exorcising the Late Demon?

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:01:56 -0800

How did you overcome a lifetime of chronic lateness? [THE SHORT VERSION: Always late, bad at estimating time. You too? Fixed it? How??? ]

[THE LONG VERSION:]

I'm one of those people who's always late to everything. Everything. Sorry.

I've been this way as long as I can remember -- especially once I got my driver's license and was responsible for my own transportation.

I'm not (especially) disorganized, I don't get a power-high from keeping people waiting, I really do respect people's time. I have suffered personal and career consequences, as well as the internal guilt and shame I feel every time I arrive, flustered and apologetic, to a room full of frustrated faces. But I'm still late to everything. Everything.

I've tried for years and years to come up with "systems" to overcome this--all sorts of alarm clocks, beeping things, reminders, phone calls from friends, cutesy "put a dollar in a jar every time I'm late" kind of stuff--but nothing seems to work for more than a few days. I *am* capable of self-discipline but I think this issue has a different origin.

Another MeFi thread confirms the root cause of my lateness: I have a very poor internal clock. I cannot estimate how long things will take or have taken. I always think I can squeeze in one more task before I walk out the door. If I look at my watch and see there are 10 minutes before I have to leave, my brain keeps flashing "no problem, you still have 10 minutes" for the next 20--then I'm shocked when I realize the time disappeared. I am an intelligent person but cannot get over the assumption that putting on my shoes, finding my keys, locking up the house, walking to the car, putting on my seatbelt, and starting the car will all occur instantaneously and do not count towards travel time. On the rare occasion that I--through a monumental effort--manage to leave early, I am so proud of myself that I look at my watch, see all of that luxurious extra time, and say "excellent, I have plenty of time to stop for coffee on the way." And of course you know what happens next.

45 minutes ago I sat down at my computer and said to myself "I'll just take 2 minutes to write up this AskMe question before going to bed." How did I not anticipate this? It happens every time.

Even self-awareness and knowing/anticipating my own tendencies doesn't seem to help. If my instinct tells me a task will take 1 hour, I know enough to distrust that instinct and leave myself 3 hours instead. Then the task ends up taking 5.

Those of you who are NOT chronically late: I'm sure this makes no sense to you, comes off as excuse-making. I acknowledge that everything I have written is absolutely stupid. After all, the answer is simple: just leave earlier.

Unfortunately it's been decades and no amount of reasoning or concentrated effort have cured me -- I'm starting to feel that "just leave earlier" is like "just read in a straight line" to a dyslexic person.

But those of you who "get" everything I've written here: has anyone conquered It? How? Tell me everything. Details, philosophy, systems, self-flaggelation, self-help books, joining the army,therapy, whatever worked for you could work for me. This has beaten me my whole life but it hurts people and makes me look like/feel like a jerk. I'm going to conquer it in this lifetime even if it takes until I'm 90. Better late than never?

[Full-disclosure: I was diagnosed with ADD as an adult and am on medication for this. The medication helps in many ways but my time-issues have not changed at all.]

[I do oversleep but that's only a small portion of my overall lateness-habit. I appreciate alarm-clock-tricks but that's not what I'm looking for here]

Thank you

Will the real biophysiopathologicoculprit please stand up?

blisskite triplicate — Fri, 22 May 2009 07:12:55 -0800

For the last ten years or so, I've had chronic pain and mild swelling in (what I think are) my parotids, the largest of the salivary glands. However, my docs beg to differ (sometimes with me and often with each other, it seems). Help me figure out what hurts. HISTORY

Over the years, I've consulted a number of doctors about this pain, and, seemingly, no consensus can be reached among them. It would be one thing if the issue was whether or not the pain or swelling was considered medically significant in their opinion, but it seems that the problem receiving the most attention is determining whether or not it's actually my parotid glands that are the site of my complaint at all. Some feel it's simply neck lymph nodes that remain chronically inflamed, and for this there's not much they can do. Others feel it's the parotid glands and refer me along to various specialists. Who invariably state that it's just a couple of swollen lymph nodes. And so on. It's like a giant sinkhole of confusion for me.

What I'd really like to determine is what the site of my discomfort is called, definitively, so that I might visit a specialist who is comfortable diagnosing and treating this particular issue. So far, I seem to be hearing "lymph nodes" from an ENT, an Allergist, and my GP ...and "parotids" from an Immunologist, one Dentist, and another MD. That, and "twisted sphenoid bone" from one Doctor of Oriental Medicine. The parotid folks referred me to the ENT and the Allergist for treatment; the ENT and Allergist feel it's not a parotid/salivary issue but an issue with chronic lymph node inflammation, probably due to immune system/autoimmune disorders (which I have). The doc who believes it's the sphenoid bone is out of the picture because I no longer live near his practice and cannot seek his treatment.

DESCRIPTION OF COMPLAINT

The pain/mild swelling is bilateral, with the locus being exactly behind my earlobes in the "hollows" there, extending about 1 cm inferior to that area, and deep within my neck. The pain is best described as a constant and tiring dull ache that feels best when I'm pressing in on it with significant pressure. At times the pain's hard to ignore, other times it's kind of in the background. Visually, you don't notice the swelling, but it is palpable as a hardness distinct from the surrounding areas of my neck. There is no swelling or pain on my face in the mumps-y area in front of my ears, as seen in this photo of parotid swelling.

VISUAL COMPARISONS

Here's a diagram showing a drawing of the location of the parotid glands. Here's another. And another. Two more. And this one. Lastly, here's a cadaver image of the gland. As you can see from each of the images, the location of the parotid gland may or may not include the area behind the earlobe, depending on the source material. Some medical texts indicate that there is no parotid tissue beneath the earlobe, others seem to indicate there is.

For comparison, here are the approximate locations of lymph nodes of the head and neck. Unless I'm not finding the right images, the spot that bothers me does not appear to be a lymph node.

OK

I know YANMD, etc., but...

Any thoughts as to whether this is likely to be a lymph node issue I'm dealing with or a parotid gland issue, from your own perspective? Any similar experiences? I believe this problem began in earnest around the time I got a whole slew of vaccines I was required to get last minute prior to a year spent living in Asia. I was majorly sick in the weeks leading up to my departure and on and off thereafter.

Suggestions as to what kind of testing I should ask for regardless of what the site of the pain is actually called? I'm kind of at a loss and more than a little frustrated not to have made better headway in figuring out how to deal with this yet.

FYI

I'm in my mid 30s, female, I get sick way too often with frequent sore throats/colds (stupid tonsils), and I've got hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's thyroiditis (autoimmune), fibromyalgia, CFIDS, hypersomnia, among other diagnoses I'm not sure whether to trust (IBD, cyclical Cushings, dysbiosis), and, according to my OMD, "several viruses in your blood." My EBV titers are sometimes wacky; sometimes normal. Haven't had much other viral testing. Other usual bloodwork comes back normal. My C-Reactive Protein test (?) came back high suggesting significant internal inflammation (?).

I've been treated variously with prednisone, flonase, anti-histamines, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatories for this complaint over the years to no avail. Acupuncture and herbs for this issue have helped less than I'd hoped, so far. I've been ignoring the pain for the past three years or so, mostly because I wasn't getting anywhere with the various doc visits and the prescribed treatments. Money has also been in short supply at times, making follow up even harder. But I'm really curious and a bit scared about this, since it hasn't gone away or receded at all over the years. Yeah, it's time to figure out what's up.

Thanks for reading this crazy long, involved post.

I can't stop coughing!

prunes — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:41:43 -0800

Chronic cough has bothered me for two years. Five doctors have been unable to help me. I am at my wit's end. Help! As I write this I am suffering from a coughing bout that has kept me up two hours past my bed time.

I developed chronic cough sometime around when I started working in the summer of 2007. I am a healthy white male in his twenties. I feel like I have always tended to cough a little, but it was around that time that things got really bad. Over the course of these two years I have been to five doctors: my childhood pediatrician, two internists, an asthma/allergy specialist, and a pulmonary specialist.

I saw the pediatrician around a year and a half ago. She did not know what I had. She gave me antibiotics (clarithromycin perhaps), nasonex, and advair. These did not seem to help.

My allergist did two lung tests which he thought confirmed I did not have asthma. I was also subjected to a battery of 20+ allergens. I was allergic to 75% or so. But this was during the winter and during that time I was still suffering from my cough, and because of this the doctor did not think it was allergy induced. As a diagnosis by exclusion he thought perhaps I had acid reflux and recommended nexium. This I took on and off but got the flu during that time and so was very bad about taking my meds. I was highly skeptical of his diagnosis, although I admit that after very spicy foods I do cough (but to be fair I also notice my sinuses running heavily). But I also notice that I cough after eating especially bland foods sometimes. It's really hit or miss though.

Things started getting REALLY bad about four months ago. This motivated me to get a physical. I passed this physical with flying colors. I was tested for TB at that time. My doctor also did blood work to test for walking pneumonia, which I had in high school. The test came back negative and noted that I had the antigens. No surprise there. The doctor suggested I take a CAT scan and reiterated it might be possible that I could have acid reflux. The CAT scan came back negative. A "cookie swallow" was suggested for in the future. He noted that when he listened to my lungs as I sang AAAAAA, one chamber sounded as though I was saying EEEEEE, which he thought could be indicative.

The pulmonary specialist agreed that he did not think I had acid reflux. He observed that my throat was highly irritated and that I seemed to have nasal trip, most likely due to allergies. He thought that because I have been coughing for so long that my cough reflex was worn to the point where anything and everything made me cough. He recommended a full assault. He prescribed me prednisolone, clarinex, singulair, and codeine cough syrup, and recommended nasal irrigation.

This regimen brought my cough to a more manageable level but I still experience bad symptoms. Things will especially flair up when I am trying to go to bed and when I am working out. For the latter the pulmonary doctor prescribed an albuterol inhaler; it flat out does not work. And I can be sitting in my chair beside my bed not coughing but after I do my routine and get into bed I will start feeling like my lungs are wheezing and begin coughing. Anxiety plays a role I think.

I am getting to my wit's end. I feel like my doctor's are blowing me off, but I know of course that they have other patients with life threatening illnesses and that a case of chronic cough, which is so difficult to diagnose, ranks low on their list of priorities. Suggestions?

Looking for a great East Bay GI doc

ElmerFishpaw — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:10:23 -0800

You have Crohn's disease. You live in (or near) Oakland, CA. You're on Blue Cross. You have an awesome GI doctor. Who is he/she? Kaiser has ignored us for long enough and now we're searching for a Blue Cross doctor who wont automatically prescribe Prednisone at any sign of trouble. Someone who will actually remember our name and pay attention to us and maybe even keep track of our case and act interested and try to figure out if theres a way we can take fewer pills and be symptom free. The closer to Oakland the better but any lead is a godsend.

Thank you.

Detox Me!

Sassyfras — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:32:42 -0800

I would like to detoxify myself. How do I go about it? I have suffered from chronic sinus headaches - we're talking daily headaches - they never go away, postnasal drip (yuck!), and a chronic stuffy nose for most of my life. I am also always tired/fatigued.

I wonder if my troubles aren't related somehow to food allergies/sensitivities. So, I would like to clean my slate, detoxify my innards, and just start over. How do I go about doing this? Do I fast? And if so, for how long? Is it still ok to drink water (or anything) during this detoxification?

After I've fully detoxed myself, then what? How do I reintroduce food into my diet? And what foods do I reintroduce and at what pace?

I'm a 32 year old female well within a healthy weight.

deciding to be a parent with chronic illness

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:49:35 -0800

Having kids or not when you have chronic health issues: how did you decide and come to terms with it? I have severe and frequent migraines that have been interfering with my ability to hold work. I'm continuing to try different approaches to sort these things out and I'm trying to stay hopeful in this process. Now in my early 30s, I realize that I really want to have kids and finally believe that I might be okay at it. But I'm also starting to question how possible it would be for me to be pregnant and/or to be a good parent given how often my migraines affect my life. Given the medication I take preventatively and prophylactically, I can't imagine how I'd be able to endure without it for nine months no matter how much I'd want to. And given the needs of any child, let alone an infant, I really wonder how I'd be able to respond with the pain, no matter how much love, instinct, and help are involved.

These doubts and realizations have been hitting me hard lately. I've been open to being pregnant, to adopting, or choosing to not have kids at all, but I think lately it's the thought that perhaps I *shouldn't* have kids because of migraines that is the most painful to sort out. And I don't like the thread of entitlement in that reaction either. My partner would like to have kids but he'd rather see me suffer less; he is unwaveringly supportive. I feel really muddled in this and while of course, this is our decision, I'd really appreciate reading others' honest thoughts on this sort of situation.

This must happen more often than I think? How did you decide to have kids (in any way) or not if you have distracting health issues? How did you deal with medication? What do you wish you had or hadn't done? What perspectives and insights helped you accept your situation and choice? Thank you.

What is a reasonable amount of debt load for someone with a chronic illness?

RobotHeart — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 19:23:57 -0800

What is a reasonable amount of debt load for someone with a chronic illness? I come from a family that doesn't accrue debt, which I realize is a luxury many people don't have, so I haven't had a model for managing debt. Specifics about my particular situation follow. I have vasovagal/neurocardiogenic syncope with pacemaker implanted, and those suckers need to be replaced about once every 8 to 10 years. Also I'm planning to go into a field that, while rewarding and flexible, doesn't make rockstar amounts of money (library science, and I'm planning on a more wired area of the field). I haven't gone back to school for my MLIS yet, but I want to within a year to 18 months. I have a tiny bit of credit card debt that I should be able to knock out in a couple of months.

My goal when I was younger was to actually have saved money lying around to pay for random medical things as they cropped up, but that is looking less and less possible. :) I get to pay mass quantities of money to health insurance providers because I have a pre-existing condition, and I can't stop health insurance when I'm doing well because of the way the HIPAA continuity laws work.

Currently I am in reasonably good health, paying to COBRA, and working 30 hours a week for a not-terribly-large hourly rate as a temp. I probably will be taken on by the company permanently, but we haven't discussed any raise or health insurance yet. If what I could get there wouldn't work out long-term for me, I think I'd do all right at getting something else better, but I hope it does work out because I really like it there.

I have an English degree and call center experience; maybe is there something from home I could be doing on the side?

I'm living at home, rent-free but giving a lot of service as a caregiver. I also hoped to move out soon. Maybe it's too much to do all at once?

Given all of the above, what should my financial goals for 2008 include, and what should my broader long-term expectations for my economic stability be?

Why is my son's teammate bald?

Sweetie Darling — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:48:20 -0800

[Nosyfilter] What illness/condition would cause a little boy to lose his hair? My son is playing a sport this fall with a child who is bald, I assume from an illness or chronic condition. I don't know the parents well enough yet to ask, but I'm curious what it might be, especially since he is well enough to play a recreational sport with some risk of physical contact or falling. Apologies if this question is in bad taste, but I find myself spending more time wondering about it rather than watching them play.

How do I deal with the depression stemming from a really bad year?

Anonymous — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:56:17 -0800

I have been beset by crappy luck and chronic health problems in the past year. It's been extremely stressful, worsened by the fact these very health problems prevent me from employing my normal methods of dealing with stress. I'm spiraling quickly downward into mood-swings and depression and I don't know what to do. How did you deal with your stressful periods? In the past year, I've contracted HPV, had surgery to deal with the subsequent cervical dysplasia, developed bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infections on multiple occasions, and due to the necessary multiple antibiotic regimens I'm now into the eighth month of a yeast infection that is not even responding to strong anti-fungals. In the past six months I've also managed to pick up ovarian cysts and chronic kidney stones. I have two sports injuries that prevent me from doing any exercise besides slow walking and just found out I have a repetitive stress injury in my forearms. I've had multiple emergency-room trips for some of these conditions, as well as one a few months ago for an absolutely vicious bout of food poisoning. To make matters worse, in the past year I've also been sexually assaulted and a victim of check fraud, both which were a multiple-month legal headache to deal with, not to mention the psychological toll.

My schoolwork is suffering. I'm completely stressed out--I have never had health problems and they're now all piling on at once. I could deal with any one just by itself, but the sheer mass of them is driving me crazy. I get a lot of relief from hard exercise, but the sports injuries prevent any form--really, any form, I've tried. I get relief from sex, but that's only been possible twice in the past three months due to the yeast infections. Can't drink because of the anti-fungals. Can't even bake, cook, pet my cats, or escape to the internet due to the RSI. I've tried coping with ice cream, but that provides short-term relief, long-term stress due the expanding waistline, and I gotta cut that out again in another effort to treat the yeast infection (I was on a meat-eggs-vegetables diet, the infection died down, I included the sugar again and it's come back with a vengeance).

I'm incredibly depressed. I'm getting inexplicable mood swings. I hate my sick, deteriorating body and want to escape it. I want to lie down somewhere and cry. I have had deep depression before, beat it, and have remained pretty optimistic and upbeat--but after a year of this shit I can't anymore. I've joked with my boyfriend that I hope I get cancer, as that would be a sure sign from the universe that it didn't want me in it and I could take it as a cue to just kill myself.

What did you do with your bad luck year? Do you have any suggestions for dealing with the stress (besides meditation--that hasn't worked)? I'm living my life waiting for the next thing to come around the corner and punch me in the face, while attempting to nurse the bruises I've already received. It's no life at all.

8 months, no pain meds - long enough?

egk — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 12:36:46 -0800

Have I given the "no analgesics" strategy long enough to work on my chronic daily headache (CDH) AKA "coexisting migraine and tension-type headache" I have a mild headache, EVERY day.

It became milder after I quit caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, Psudafed and all the foods listed in Buchholz's Heal your Headache.

It became milder still when I stopped using ANY painkillers (I've only ever taken OTC meds) for 3 months (on top of the things listed above).

I'd read that I could possibly get rid of the daily HA entirely, so I kept on with the plan to see if I could "break" the daily headache. I'm at 8 months now, but I also get migaines (mostly hormonal) and so I'm handling them without any meds. They aren't terribly severe, but tend to be long - 3 days. This is getting harder to do in the summer when I have more unavoidable triggers (weather, travel).

I am currently taking Nortriptyline as a preventative, I am also on magnesium, B-2, CoQ10 and fish oil.

Nortriptyline seemed to being helping this winter - I had 3 HA free days in a row; but it isn't doing as much for me this summer. Or perhaps I should say that it has a bigger job to do in the summer.

My neuro wants me to try Topomax, and I agreed, but I wanted to wait until I'd given the "no analgesics" strategy more time. I was hoping it would totally break and then I'd avoid the Topomax. I'm beginning to think this was a mistake on my part.

Now that I've read more about CDH, I'm beginning to think it is unlikely that this will totally break, and I'm beginning to wonder if I will even achieve the study's goal of 6 headache free days in a row.

What's the longest anyone ever tried avoiding painkillers? The longest I've seen is one year in this 2001 study http://www.neurologyreviews.com/oct01/nr_oct01_litmon.html

I'm trying to figure out what is a reasonable amount of time to devote to this strategy.

Sick since Nov. How do I get the doctor to pay attention?

Biblio — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:41:30 -0800

I've been sick since November. My doctor seems less than concerned. Now what? I've always been one of those people who gets everything, and in the past few years it's been worse. This November I developed an abscessed lymph node in my neck. Since then, I've been even worse than usual. I've had frequent fevers and chills, body aches and strange nerve pain. My already random periods are almost nonexistent. I ended up in the ER one night with chest pains that seemingly had no cause. Every time I went to the doctors with these symptoms, my doc or the doc on call dismissed them as being "an unknown virus" or sciatica or in the case of the chest pains, a panic attack. I have anxiety disorder, and my panic attacks definitely do not involve chest pains like that.

2 weeks ago I went to the ER with vomiting and a 103+ temp and was admitted for 3 days. They did every test known to man and found nothing wrong except a low platelet count. This is normal for me. After I told him this and recounted some of my other symptoms, like the muscle pains and petechiae, the doc at the hospital suggested that I might have idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, which might indicate some kind of auto-immune issue and that I should see a rheumatologist.

When I followed up with my primary care doc, she didn't seem sold on this and ordered more tests, all of which were normal, except the platelets. She referred me to a hematologist, who I can't get in to see until the end of April. My doc actually suggested to me that "if your family is anything like mine" I'm probably too busy to eat and sleep well and that's why I'm sick.

A week after leaving the hospital I started throwing up randomly. Since this past Sunday I've thrown up every day except today. I have intense aches in my hips and pelvis and shooting pains in my left thigh. If I try to do anything more strenuous than sit in bed I get exhausted and sore and I feel nauseous and feverish.

I have an appointment on Friday with my primary doc. How do I lay all these issues out and advocate for myself? At the very least I think I should be referred to hematologist who can see me sooner. I am just so frustrated and discouraged right now. Any ideas?

How do I deal with these chronic headaches?

cgg — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:34:35 -0800

How do I deal with these chronic headaches? For the last 3 months, I've been suffering with chronic headaches. Just about every day, and often all day, my head has just been pounding. It's affecting every aspect of my life, and I really need to figure out how to deal with this in order to get my life back. It's affecting my personality (with a headache, I'm obviously much more irritable) my relationships (my bf, who although has been extremely supportive, did not sign up to be with someone who's crabby and irritable all the time) and my work performance. As a software developer, it's almost impossible to concentrate on the code, etc with the headache. I hate the person this is making me become, and I need to figure out how to get back to who I was prior to this.

I'm not asking for medical advice - I've been to the doctor, who's been prescribing different pain medications that rarely work and often make it worse (rebound headaches). I've also been to the neurologist, who has started me on Nortriptyline, but that can take up to 2 months to be effective (if it even works). I'm supposed to be scheduled for a CAT scan, but this being BC with our slower-than-molasses health care system, god only knows when that will actually happen.

Instead, I'm asking for advice and wisdom from those who have been there. How did you deal with the chronic pain? Are there any lifestyle changes that have worked for you to minimize the headaches? (My docs haven't really suggested anything, and googling brings up a bunch of quack-ish results). Any tips on how to push through the pain and just get things done? Any other advice?

How can I stop my concerns about declining health?

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 15:31:52 -0800

How can I stop my concerns about declining health? I've had a chronic health condition for some time now. It's starting to erode my confidence in my general health.

Whenever some little physical anomaly happens (e.g. I have a weird sensation somewhere), my first thought is that it's something serious that's due to my health condition. Also, if I'm feeling mentally tired or slow, I attribute it to my health condition wearing me down and making me duller. (In reality I think the effect of my condition on my physical and mental performance exists a bit, but that it's much less than I'm giving it credit for.)

These thought patterns don't go to the point of an obsession, but I am noticeably less confident in my abilities than I used to be. I sometimes feel as if things are falling apart, or that I'm going "downhill." Any recommendations on how I can get my old, carefree state of mind back?

Can't Stop the Acne

Napierzaza — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 21:12:06 -0800

It appears as if I have a acid sensitivity. I get acne fairly often (which apparently according to homeopaths can be from acid) and I also have chronic heart-burn issues that can become very painful. Unfortunately I am not willing to give up coffee, coca-cola or spicy foods. Maybe spicy foods, but caffeine is pretty important to me, I think caffeine pills are less acidic but I always end up strung out after a few months of a consistent periodic dose of caffeine. So is there anything that is cheap and discrete that I can eat to hopefully change the pH in my digestive juices? Is that a junk-science thing to say? I personally don't understand how adding such a weak acid as CO2 dissolved in water could change the amount of acid in my already acid-filled stomach...

How can I end my chronic illness?

b_thinky — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 23:53:52 -0800

How can I end my chronic illness? In October while travelling in SE Asia, I contracted dengue fever. Basically, it's a mosquito-borne virus that makes you very sick for 1-3 weeks typically. Problem is, ever since then I'm always sick with flu-like symptons. I get tired very easily, come down with headaches and often have sore throat, congestion, cough and my athsma kicks up like crazy. And I'm usually a healthy person!

Another problem is my physical condition. I have not gained any weight, but I've done almost zero exercise since becoming sick. My body will feel like working out, but when I get the time to do so I will get one of the above symptoms.

My doctor hasn't been able to do much except give me meds for the symptoms; i.e. a special inhaler or a stronger cough medicine. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do - maybe some home remidies, a vitamin or a new god I can pray to?

Why are some people chronically late?

grumblebee — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 09:53:27 -0800

Why are some people chronically late? I have a hard time understanding such people, because I am chronically early. I know some people are late because they have very busy lives, but those aren't the types that interest me (I can understand why they are late). I'm interested in those folks who are always late for no apparent reason. The type you have to invite an hour before the event actually starts, knowing that this will make them only twenty-minutes late, instead of an-hour-and-twenty-minutes late.

I've theorized that chronic latecomers are people that are so caught up in-the-moment that the smallest thing can distract them from a later goal. For instance, I had a latecomer friend who used to say things like, "sorry I'm late. I was getting dressed to come see you, and then I noticed my guitar leaning against the wall. I started playing a few chords, and before I knew it, two hours had passed..." I've also theorized that some people are really bad at estimating how long tasks will take. They leave at 5:55 because they estimate that it will take them 5 minutes to walk to the cinema for a 6pm movie. Whereas someone better able to estimate durations would allow 20 minutes.

I've know people who are chronically late and also continually surprised that they're late. I know people who swear up and down that THIS time they will be on time. But I know they will be late again, and I'm always right. I've also known a SMALL number of people who say things like, "well, I'll probably be late, because I always am."

I know part of my chronic earliness stems from a world view that things often go wrong. If I estimate that it will take me 20 minutes to get somewhere, I will leave 35 minutes before the event in order to give myself some slack in case the subway breaks down or whatever.

I would love to hear from you latecomers about what goes on in your lives and heads when you are late. I can't vouch for other AskMe folks, but I won't chastise you. I don't really feel like I'm "right" and you're "wrong." We may irritate each other a bit, but it's mostly just a personality difference. I'm really interested in how your minds differ from mine.

Latecomers, why are you late? When you ARE late, do you feel guilty about it? Or do you feel like lateness is just a part of life. Do you feel like people should plan events around latecomers -- should plays always start ten-minutes late? Do you feel like people who are early or on-time (or berate latecomers) are too anal and need to relax?