Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sickness

Living with transplanted organs and immunosuppressant drugs

jason's_planet — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:28:12 -0800

So what's it like to be the recipient of an organ transplant and having to deal with immunosuppressant drugs? How does your life change? How often do you have to take your drugs? What are the weird details of daily life that outsiders don't know about? Are there any insurance hassles? I have a fair idea of what it's like to be diabetic because of coworkers who have this condition but I don't know anything about the life of organ transplant recipients and I'd like to know more. Any help you could provide would be deeply appreciated.

Quit my job, sha na na na na na?

naturalog — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:05:27 -0800

I'm a grad student (in the humanities) getting over mono. Should I quit my job? I have a job similar to an assistantship in a department unrelated to what I'm studying. It takes up 10-15 hours of my life a week. Between my own coursework, my teaching, and the job in question, I literally do not have the energy to do everything that needs to get done in my life. I've noticed my work performance suffering from this, and I'm often finishing assignments at the last minute not for lack of time management skills, but for lack of times when I have the energy to work on it. Finances aren't a huge issue at this point; if I needed to, I could make things work without the income this job provides (around $400/month).

But here's the catch: because I've had this job since October and had a lot of relevant knowledge coming in, it would be really tough to replace me (especially at this point in the semester) without creating a lot of work for me and the person whom I'm assisting. He is really busy with work-related responsibilities and we're hitting the point in the semester where things aren't going to slow down at all. I don't want to fuck him over, nor do I want to fuck the department over, which quitting my job would honestly do. I also have a good rapport with him and would like to keep up that rapport; I'm concerned that this would burn bridges, especially because I'm solidly in the recovery period of mono and have been for several weeks.

I want to quit my job because I feel like it would let me devote more time to and have more energy for my schoolwork and teaching. But I don't want to leave everyone in the lurch, which, honestly, I would be doing if I quit my job. Temporarily reducing my responsibilities isn't really an option either because everything that I'm doing, I'm doing because he doesn't have time for it but it needs to get done. And my energy level is slowly heading generally upwards, but I also am still dealing with occasional days when I have to sleep for sixteen straight hours to feel like I can do anything but sleep.

So, denizens of MetaFilter, what do I do? Should I quit my job? I don't mind the work (parts of it I even like), the issue at hand is really just the amount of time and energy I have in my life and the way things are working out at this point.

Why do I still feel like crap 2 weeks later?

jrchaplin — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:31:10 -0800

A little over two weeks ago, I came down with what I suspect was norovirus. While the nausea and worst of it is long past, I still feel crappy. Some icky details inside. The bout lasted the typical 24 hours with about 3 days recovery. The first 24 hours were marked by several rounds of projectile vomiting, fever, chills and the inability to keep even water down. The next 3 days were simply recovery ... lots of sleeping, gradually moving from broth and applesauce to more substantial, if bland foods.

Here it is 17 days later, and I still feel do not feel anywhere near 100 percent. Symptoms include multiple body aches and low-grade headache which no amount of ibubrofen helps, on and off ringing in the ears, and, worst of all, general exhaustion. I'm sleeping about 9 to 10 hours a night (I usually get by on 7) and, this past weekend, napped for 3 hours each afternoon (as I did the previous weekend). There have been at least 3 nights where it was closer to 12 hours. I've also found that twice in the past week, I've had low-grade fevers (100.2 to 100.8) which last a couple of hours at night and are gone the next morning.

I'm not having any gastric issues other than some slight constipation; and that my stool is a very pale color.

I've had the flu/stomach bugs many times in the past and don't remember this post/recovery period being this long. I know YANMD, but it this normal?

I am seeing my GP, but the earliest I can get in to see him is a week from today. Have mostly felt this is not worth an ER visit, but over the weekend, I seriously considered it.

What can I do about a sick person who insists on coming to work?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:32:35 -0800

My clearly ill coworker refuses to go home. My coworker is very clearly ill and has been all week. She coughs - no exaggeration - almost constantly. She is obviously congested, she said she was "really bad" this weekend with fever and fatigue. She finally left early (but only an hour early!) yesterday after infecting the office with her coughing all day. I told her not to come back today if she still feels ill because I really don't want to get the flu. She said she didn't want to make me sick. She was there today, same thing. I asked her if she at least had antibacterial hand sanitizer at her desk and she said no.

Multiple people have told her to go home and says she has stuff to do, she's not contagious, etc. As she is on my team, I know there is nothing she has to do that either we couldn't do ourselves or that could wait. However, I am not her manager so I can't force her to leave. People have asked our manager to have her leave and he said he's been telling her and she won't go. So he would have to force her to go, which I think he's reluctant to do because she can be difficult about some things (whole different story). I thought about calling HR, but I like my manager (as well as my coworker, who is otherwise excellent) and as I can't report it anonymously, I don't want to be the one stirring the pot.

I'm relatively certain she will be in tomorrow. If she still seems unwell, I am going to point blank ask her to please go home. She will likely refuse again. What can I do at that point? I am already washing my hands a lot and I may tell her not to come near my desk or give me any of the paperwork she normally does because I have never had the flu and I really, really do not want to get it. Or maybe I'm overreacting and if so, please let me know. It would be one thing if it were just a cold, which I wouldn't really care about, but I am a little aggravated that someone who is obviously sick would knowingly spread their germs around when it's something that could be potentially bad like the flu.

Fwiw, I got a flu shot, but the doctor says it can take two weeks to become effective. Also, she is hourly but I know she has PTO.

Is my space heater making me sick or am I just unlucky this year?

Young Kullervo — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:32:32 -0800

I know YANMD, but I am wondering if anyone has been told to cease using a space heater due to chronic pharyngitis or similar illnesses? I have always been a fairly healthy individual but I always come down with ONE fairly awful upper respiratory infection/cold/hay fever/bronchitis when the weather changes in the spring and autumn. That much is predictable. However, this autumn, starting around the beginning of October and ending (hopefully) in early December, I've sick 3 times with, what could have been, chronic pharyngitis or sinus infections/upper respiratory infections that have lasted at least a week or more each. It is also possible I caught every strand of rhinovirus out there within the period of a month because I have been told that this was a particularly brutal year for such things. No one knows. Much like an A student who receives a string of Bs, my initial thought is that "this doesn't happen to ME" so I began looking for possible causes. I am starting to suspect my space heater as a culprit for various reasons.

The first time I came down with the typical symptoms: sore throat, nasal congestion, headache, sneezing, etc. I let it pass without visiting a doctor. Not even a few days after feeling "better" I relapsed fairly harshly after waking up with what felt like a softball lodged in sinus cavity, a sore throat, nasal congestion, headache, and the NEW symptom of blood in my post nasal drip. I finally visited an immediate care clinic and they sent me away with my first ever zpac for pharyngitis (inflammation of the throat). I have no evidence that the zpac was actually necessary or effective because these bouts of illness typically last a week or so regardless, but that is neither here nor there. A few weeks later I woke up yet again with the same symptoms and finally decided to find the cause.

I have not been sick since the 4th of December, but I am thinking there are three things that could have caused this stubborn bouts of illness. Again, still no official diagnosis other than pharyngitis the one time, and every observation below is dreadfully post hoc, but here goes anyway!

1. The vigorous use of a space heater before the onset of symptoms, both at home and in my office. I had stopped using the space heater at home and the office and felt pretty fine over my holiday break. Today I returned to my office and decided to run the heater again because it is flipping freezing in here and I started to feel rather headachey/itchy in the throat almost immediately. Could the abrasive heat from these contraptions be affecting my upper respiratory system? Is this even a thing that happens?

2. Running 3 miles every night in cold weather could also be a factor. I wouldn't run during the illness but after feeling "better" I would start running again and then symptoms returned.

3. It is possible that it has just been a frankly shitty cold and flu season and everyone is getting sick repeatedly and I am no exception. I have been told this by multiple sources, but again my reaction is "But I don't get sick!"

I know my illnesses could probably a combination of all three (and the added bonus of working full-time plus teaching on the side) and I should talk to a doctor about this. I will if it continues for a 4th time but I really just want to know if anyone has had a similar experiences and if their doctor recommended scrapping their space heaters? If and when I do visit the doctor should I even bring it up as a concern? Or perhaps I shouldn't use my exercise or space heater as a scapegoat (because I really like it, my office is cold always) and just cope with the fact that my case is the same as a vast majority's this year? Thanks always!

Mystery Puking

Andrhia — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:24:21 -0800

My daughter throws up after she showers. (And a few other times, too.) It's been going on for nine days. What could be causing my kid's mystery vomiting, and what can I do about it? HELP HELP Dr. MeFi, I'm becoming panicky and don't know what to do.

On Monday Dec. 3, my 10-year-old daughter took a shower before bed, and unexpectedly threw up after she got out. She'd been fine all day up until that point. Since then, she's thrown up nearly every night. On a night when she showers (this is every other night), right after she gets out. Otherwise, she's woken up in the wee hours and been sick. She's had no vomiting at all on two nights. Oh, and she threw up once at the doctor after they did her strep swab.

We were operating under the assumption that it was just some passing virus. Aside from the puking, her head hurts, her throat hurts, her stomach hurts. After a while she started coughing, which turned into a distinct wheeze, which wound up in nebulizing her for a few days.

We've been to her pediatrician for this twice, now. On Saturday, they renewed her asthma meds and said to wait out the virus. All day Sunday she was fine until... shower time. All day Monday and through the night she was fine, too! We thought we had waited it out! So we sent her back to school yesterday. Then she threw up after her BATH, not shower (See? We were trying to change it up.) And then again after we woke her up this morning. Poor kid.

So today I took her BACK to the pediatrician, and they basically said, 'This is really weird, I guess talk to the gastroenterologist?' and gave me a prescription for Omnicef in case it was something like a sinus infection or pneumonia presenting in a nonstandard way. As loathe as I am to overuse antibiotics... we figure it can't hurt...? And maybe it will help...? But I haven't started it yet.

And she's, you know, mostly fine? You wouldn't look at her and think "That there is one sick kid." She's not perfect, but she's not exactly moaning in bed, either. She was coughing for a little while in the beginning, but that's over, and her lungs are clear as a bell now. No sneezing, no runny nose or congestion, no fever. She's eating well, no bowel problems. What she eats doesn't seem to matter. She's thrown up on chicken soup and kept McDonald's down just fine.

We have not started using new shower products. We've told her to take cooler showers, and again, one incident involved a bath. No new foods or laundry detergents or anything that we can think of. We have a new roof on our house, but it was put on *after* she got sick.

The child in question has a peanut allergy; history of asthma; a mild dairy allergy; and as we discovered after a lengthy investigative process for her two-year recurring stomach aches, fructose intolerance.

It bears noting that the gastroenterologist in question diagnosed her with IBS last year when we were trying to get to the bottom of her fructose-caused stomach aches. "Eat more fiber" was all we got from the gastro, but it just wasn't working (at least she confirmed no celiac, so there's that). In the end we had to take matters into our own hands and do a Serious Elimination Diet. This application of the scientific method led us to self-diagnose and actually find a way to make her feel better. Which she does! Though she misses smoothies a lot.

So basically: If you were her parent, would you give her the antibiotic? Is there anything we can try before we get in to see the gastro? Should we see the same gastro, or someone else? And have you ever, ever heard of an illness like this?! It's just... weird. Really weird.

What art have you seen that addresses illness, healing, or fertility?

bilabial — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:16:01 -0800

What great art have you seen that addresses illness/healing/fertility loss? I've outed myself here today as someone with cancer. That was scary, but I felt like I got a big hug via memail.

I cried a lot today. And realized a few minutes ago that I need to release this fear and anger somehow. And preferably in a way that has a chance of being meaningful down the road.

I've taken and failed college photography, ceramics, ballet, (failed as in received an F) and got a C in singing for non-music majors. I used to make greeting cards, and still have some supplies for that. Of course, I knit. I would totally take another crack at ceramics when the time is right, but I'm hoping to pick up something exponentially less expensive.

So. In hopes of finding inspiration, direction and some solace, I'd like to look at art that has either dealt directly with the theme of illness or healing or fertility, or that helped you through the experience of that. Not death and not specifically child loss, beciase the fertility bit is just something I'm a little worried about, not a known quantity.

Dark themes are ok. I can relate to that. Happy and peppy is fine too, because I miss being happy and peppy. Dance, painting, songs, poems. Throw them at me.

Diarrhea, uh-uh. Diarrhea, uh-uh!

mrfuga0 — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:41:09 -0800

Managed to get some form of sickness in Istanbul. Am I okay now, or should I still go see a doctor? Went to Istanbul in June. Came back and 72 hours later, I had severe diarrhea, cramping, stomach pains, fever and nausea. This lasted about ten days. I took some Imodium on the fourth day, which stopped some of the diarrhea (I also took a Greek remedy of coffee grounds and lemon juice). That was about a month ago. I felt fine after about day ten and continue to feel fine now.

I contracted whatever this was by either eating ground meat (kofte) or a chicken gyro from a street stall (my friends ate everything else that I ate except those things). I also accidentally brushed my teeth with the tap water.

Should I still go see the doctor, now that I'm back stateside? Is it possible that I have something that needs attention and, if so, any ideas as to what it likely was (so I can tell the doctor)?

I invited strep throat to dinner, but he just won't eat!

Strass — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:28:30 -0800

Seems likely I have strep throat. I went to the doctor and they did rapid testing but it came back negative, now they're making a culture to make sure. This will take two days, but since I have all the symptoms of strep (and lack many of tonsillitis), I'd be willing to guess I have strep throat. They haven't put me on antibiotics yet, so it looks like I'm staying sick for a while. What can I eat to keep myself healthy and happy until I know more? Right now all I can fathom eating is cold and melty, but ice cream and yogurt doesn't seem like a balanced diet. What else can I include on my shopping trips? I normally eat fairly healthy, and honestly I would rather not come out of this with that habit broken.

It's quite painful to swallow, and I really am not a huge fan of pain so I want to make this easy on myself. I would love any advice about what to eat and how to get better!

How do I stop a cough when cough medicine doesn't work?

mxmm — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 18:05:06 -0800

How can I stop a dry cough after cough syrup, cough drops, and various teas haven't helped? I had a cold a week ago and the congestion and most of the acute stuff has gone away and I'm mostly feeling better except the dry cough has continued on and on and is actually more constant now. I normally would be able to deal with it but I have a shoulder injury and every cough feels like my shoulder is ripping apart!

My cough medicine (Robitussin Lingering Cough syrup) isn't doing anything and sucking down cough drops like mad barely helps. Tried tea and tylenol, too. It's just this constant tickle that causes coughing to trigger. Is there anything I can do to knock this cough out cold or that irritated tickle feeling? Are there stronger prescription strength cough medicines worth seeing the doctor for or something I could inhale? My cough medicine helped when I had a wet cough but why doesn't it work now?

Help me stop gaslighting myself.

Anonymous — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:17:38 -0800

Help me stop gaslighting myself. I need to take better care of myself physically and emotionally, because invalidating my own problems is going nowhere. Personal details:
Female, early 20's, recent graduate, Canadian, lives alone, minimal support network, family lives outside the country, financially dependent on family

The problem:
I have a tendency to blame my behaviour instead of addressing my health issues. My internal narrative of "suck it up, that's just how things are, normal people just deal with it" hampers my ability to prevent injuries and take better care of myself. It's a damper on my quality of life.

I avoid going to the doctor. I don't have a family doctor. I only go to walk-in clinics at the urging of friends, usually weeks after I've exhibited symptoms. I'm uncomfortable around doctors, but I'm still going to the doctor tomorrow because it's likely I'm fighting two separate recurring infections at the moment, and I've been experiencing symptoms for a month. I'd usually let it go, but it's seriously keeping me from fulfilling my obligations to others, which is why I'm going. I don't know how serious it is, but I'll find out tomorrow.

A non-medical recent example of this problem was when my fridge broke. It would stop working for a couple of hours each day, make funny sounds, and food rotted quicker. It made funny sounds for longer periods of time, but I didn't realize that it wasn't working properly, and I ended up eating vinegary food for a while. My brain dismissed the issue as "it's your fault that you're not cooking more often, you can't expect leftovers to taste great", "you leave food out too long", etc. I honestly didn't think about it at the time, until my family stayed with me for over a week, figured out the problem, and bought a new fridge. My parents were concerned that I didn't see the problem.

But it's not the fridge. I do that to my body too. Whenever I feel sickly, I blame myself for not exercising more, and try to sleep it off. I don't buy medicine either. I think my lack of initiative when it comes to medical professionals stems from how my family deals with illness. My mother hasn't seen a doctor in years and often self-medicates with herbal remedies. Or we try to get over illness by "working it off", I can't recall a day when my father took a day off from work, and I'm encouraged to "work it off" too or else I'm just being lazy/being overly dramatic. When I take days off school or work because I'm feeling ill, I feel guilty for being lazy, and for not diagnosing my problem to begin with so I feel illegitimately ill. It sounds bizarre when I type it, but this is really how I've dealt with my health my entire life, which is no why surprise why I'm so prone to being sickly. Looking back, I think so many of my ongoing pains are due to me not taking my symptoms seriously. Example, I took a long time to diagnose my whiplash and to get to a physiotherapist (who only saw me a few times and was expensive for my student budget) And now years later I'm paying with persistent back and neck pain, but my brain just keeps on telling me to suck it up, because other people have been through worse.

It sounds silly, but I'm really miserable. I want to have more days where I feel normal. I have social engagements, volunteer engagements, etc. but I can never commit fully because I feel held back. I'm very good at hiding it from others. I only go see friends when I'm having a normal day, but I'm often at home sleeping 12 hours a day, trying to sleep off another aggravating sinus infection, wondering why I have no energy and why it's I'm aching all over. But it's not like my symptoms are really serious, it's just like I've been living with a persistent cold for four years, but it's making me miserable. I've been able to be alone so much because of my class schedule (or I just skip classes), but I'm transitioning to the 9-5 workforce in a few months, and I'm really worried that this behaviour will hamper my work performance. I've had full-time work in the past, and I've called in sick an average of 3 days per month, and there was a period where I couldn't get to work for a week, but my employers forgave me because my performance improved much after that. But I really don't want to subject any future workplace to this BS behaviour of mine.

And I want to show my family that I can take care of myself, because when they see me being sickly, they think that I'm being immature and can't take care of myself that I must leave Canada and go back to my country of origin where they are living now. It's a topic that they constantly bring up, but they don't see it as forcing me back, they see it as "better opportunities", "being with family". I feel like it's a punishment because I'm inept at setting myself an adult in this country. But I don't want that, because I'm a citizen and I've lived here most of my life. So that's added stress too. My family may seem irrelevant, but they are relevant, especially when it comes to my emotional health and where my self-gaslighting originated from.

I guess the other reason why I don't know how to address my health problems is that I use sleep as an escape. If there's problems in any other parts of my life and I can't deal with the stress, I try to sleep it off too. So I'm not sure if I'm feeling sickly because I don't want to face my problems, or because I actually am sick. Best case scenario is that I get tested for allergies, and that explains my ongoing sickliness for the past several years. Worst case scenario is that it's just all my brain and I just have to overcome it behaviourally, but I don't know how. God. I just want to be a normal person in my 20's, I want to trust my self, I want to stop thinking that I'm crazy for experiencing pain, I want to function normally, I want to stop being so goddamn sickly, I want to take care of myself, and I don't want my family to cart me off to another country. Any advice is appreciated. Tough love is okay too (spoiled privileged student problems, maybe this is part catastrophizing, I know I know I know) but I need constructive tips on how to change my behaviour.

A diet of Sudafed and Emergen-C?

quadrilaterals — Tue, 29 May 2012 08:52:00 -0800

I really, really can't get sick right now. I'm feeling some increasing sinus pressure and nausea, but I can't afford to get sick for...the next three weeks.

This week, I cannot miss work at all, and will be working 12+ hour days. I am leaving for two weeks (and change) of international business travel starting Saturday. The events this week at work and during travel are incredibly important to me and will be great, and I don't want to miss them. I absolutely cannot miss work this week, though I can possibly pull some days down to 10-hours (but need to be at full capacity). I'm used to working 10-hour days minimum.

I eat pretty healthy, mostly vegetarian. I just had a relaxing three-day weekend, but am under a fair amount of work stress. I work out 3-5x a week (10k training and weightlifting). I wash my hands a lot. I'm allergic to dust and anything with leaves/pollen; I take Claritin every day.

I've taken some Sudafed and am drinking tons of water, but I really feel poorly. I'm in DC, and the heat is really not great for me, either. I have no time to see a doctor before I leave.

What can I do to keep myself from getting sick these next few weeks? Additionally, I'll be traveling internationally to Italy on Saturday/Sunday, so need to not get ill on the flight or while in Italy.

In search of a malady...

You Should See the Other Guy — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:49:10 -0800

Writing a story... What is a malady or health issue that is 1) hereditary, 2) difficult to diagnose in an unborn child, 3) makes life particularly difficult (mentally or physically) for someone who has it? I have a pregnant character who wants to abort her child because of fear that she is going to pass on whatever it is that she has. However, I do not know what she has.

I think the above sounds a little ridiculous but it's bugging me as a problem that I need to solve before I can "find its cousin", so to speak, and get to what's really going on here.

Thank you!

When there's snow on the ground, I think they call your 'spring allergies' by it's latin term: "the Flu"

It's a Parasox — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:25:43 -0800

I'm a supervisor, and one of my staff was out sick all last week with the flu. This week she is back, but coughing, hacking and sneezing loudly. When asked about it, she stated that she had allergies. I don't want her to infect the office, but am not sure how to pursue the conversation with her. Help? My staff person is an incredibly private person. She also has in the past, when she began to get sick, stated that 'it wasn't that bad', only to come down with something that had her out for a few days. Her taking sick leave isn't the problem - that is what it is there for. Getting her work done in her absence isn't a problem - the team can handle it. Replacing her isn't an issue - she's a strong worker.

But it seems like she is in denial, and sort of defensive about it. A week and a half ago, when she began to get sick, she just coughed all over the office, until final two or three staff people, including myself, convinced her to go home. It was a friday, and she said at the time that she hoped to kick it by Monday, although if you'd heard her, you'd be under the impression that she wasn't accurately assessing the situation. She ended up being out for a week - each day sending emails that she was probably going to be better the next day.

So today, she was back in the office, and coughing up a storm. When I asked her about it, through menthol-y breath, she insisted she had allergies.

I realize that I need to check in with myself about why this is so uncomfortable. Personally, I realize this is a hang up - I hate it when people claim not to be sick, and are sick, and then infect everyone else, in a patient zero situation. Also, I really don't want everyone else in the office to get sick either. On the other hand, if it's allergies, it's allergies. Also, who am I to diagnose someone? But back to the first hand - I know if I get sick over the next few days, I am going to be incredibly resentful - even though I know I won't be able to prove that she had anything to do with it.

I want to wait to see how she's doing tomorrow, but if it continues, or such a situation happens again, what's the best way to approach this? I will check with HR about requiring her to go home, or getting a doctor's note, but I'd like to try to clearly state the position that I want to protect the office, and her. Sometimes you just need to stay in bed and rest until you really are better.

So, anyone ever had to have this conversation? Anyone had anyone have this conversation with their boss? Any ideas on how to handle it? I'm in the states, and work at a college, if it matters.

Going now to go grab some vitamin C. I know it won't help, but I can dream.

Being supportive at home and from a distance

stormygrey — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:03:07 -0800

My sweet boyfriend's dearest friend has been diagnosed with Hodgikn's Lymphoma. Last time we saw him he was complaining about a lump in this throat, and saying they didn't know what it was but not to worry, he was probably just getting over an infection. Typical blase doctors, oh yeah forgot to mention, he is five years into a ten year prison sentence for some youthful foolishness. My boyfriend was pretty much devastated ,not after the conviction, but at the sentencing with the mandatory bid. Now after his friend persisted and they ran some tests leading to the diagnosis, he is terrified that after finally reaching the halfway mark, his friend may suffer terribly and ultimatly die behind bars.

My questions are, have you or someone close to you suffered through this kind of lymphoma? What should we expect?

Have you had a loved one in jail or been sick in jail? Is there a way we can help make sure he is getting decent care?

He has been transferred from a facility in Panama City to one with medical facilities in Orlando. We don't have his new contact info yet. We try to write one every week or so and go see him about 3 times a year, but we don't really know yet what visiting priviledges are going to be like at this facility.

How can we support him through mail? (We can send approximately five pages a letter, no maps or anything that appears to be instructions on anything that may possibly be used in a criminal activity. We can also send new, unwrapped books via Amazon)

Of course, I'm struggling also to support my bf, its a hard thing to process and deal with from this distance. I have met his friend after I got on the visitor's list, but I have not known him outside this context.

Before I go under the knife, maybe I could go under the salt water gargles?

telegraph — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:51:36 -0800

What did you do without removing your tonsils that helped reduce the frequency of your bouts of tonsillitis? I have large, craggy tonsils and I tend to get tonsillitis a few times every year. For personal reasons I'm not interested in having them removed, and am not interested in anecdata or real data about removing tonsils -- I'm well aware of the many great outcomes of tonsillectomy for adults.

I am, however, very proactive about my health in other areas and am ready to commit myself to new habits to reduce as much as possible the likelihood of getting tonsillitis again. Some background about me and what I already do:

- I'm a woman in my mid-20s
- I'm a healthy weight, eat a balanced diet, and exercise regularly
- I sleep eight hours per night
- I don't drink or smoke
- I get occasional tonsiloliths, and manually extract them when necessary (when they're big/gross/visible/etc)

So, what have you done, besides tonsillectomy, that helped you have fewer bouts of tonsillitis?

I've been sick forever

windbox — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:52:20 -0800

I'm sick. I'm not getting better. It is ruining my life and relationships. 23 year old male. About a month ago I came down with something resembling the flu - body aches, general malaise, intense fatigue all building up to one miserable weekend with a 101 temperature.

The temperature went away after 24 hours, but the rest of the symptoms remained. Every day. For the past month. I wake up every morning feeling "icky" and it persists into the day, with my lethargy and discomfort waxing and waning throughout the day.

I've been dating a girl that I like a lot for about a month before this happened; I've only seen her 2 or 3 times since. I've had to break plans with her 3 weekends in a row because frankly I just felt like utter crap. I have also had to decline nights out with friends and missed work once. I am afraid that everyone - work, friends, new ladyfriend - thinks I'm bullshitting them and just being a lazy flake-out who doesn't care.

I went to the doctor last week. He basically gave me a once over and told me it was probably just a virus that needs to work itself out, not to worry, to just try and get some rest. I got bloodwork done a few weeks previously and they said they didn't find anything abnormal, so it's not mono or lyme disease or anything like that.

This is bullshit. I'm already getting "rest" and I'm blowing off everyone in my life as a result. Besides getting sleep, eating right, and taking my vitamins what else am I supposed to do? Has anyone else dealt with this? how long before I feel normal again? I see young people in my neighborhood outside, playing sports, going out at night for happy hour, spending time with their girlfriends/boyfriends and just living NORMAL lives and I feel nothing but complete envy. I feel like I'm never going to feel normal again. I don't even remember what it feels like to feel healthy and energetic.

I don't really know what I'm asking here, but has anyone else been through this? Month long periods of unknown sickness? How did you get better? Did you eventually get diagnosed and get it sorted? Any ideas? Anyone?

My mom...my mom.

Anonymous — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:25:47 -0800

How do I deal with my mother's lack of interest/active sabotaging of her own health? My mother, in her mid 60s, has had a long history of neglecting her health. She drinks a bit much, and that has affected our relationship somewhat significantly I think. My father and mother have a pretty strong relationship and rely on each other quite a bit, but my father is extremely compliant and active in his medical care.

My mom, on the other hand, has maybe been to the doctor 3x in the last decade. She never follows up with any appointment or recomendation. She does not take any medications. I really don't know if she knows if she has high blood pressure, whether she has had a pap smear in the last decade or basically anything.

If I ask my mother about it, she starts speaking quickly, saying "I'll go see the doctor" then "I don't want to talk about it" then "leave me alone". I can't say that I'm perfect in communicating with her, which makes me really sad. But she is very, very difficult to talk to about anything like this, quickly changes the subject and usually says "I have to go" and hangs up the phone. This is sort of pattern with our communication in general.

Anyway, I'm not perfect in my relations with her, but would really like to have better communication with her. But I'm not sure where to begin or if there's really a point in trying. I know she loves me very much and is constanly thinking of me, but she also is really good at saying exactly the wrong thing and sometimes I think it's intentional sabotaging of our relationship in the same way that I think she intentionally seems to be sabotaging her health.

Doesn't help that I'm a health professional.

Anyway, my father told me that through a roundabout turn of events he found out that my mom has found blood in her urine recently. She told him that she will go to the doctor, but in truth, she doesn't even have a doctor, and I'm not sure she will. I'm not sure she won't say that she went to the doctor even if she hasn't.

I wonder sometimes if my mother is actively trying to have an early death because her mother had terrible alzheimers and she's trying to avoid that fate. She actively avoids taking walks, exercise and sort of any health promotion activity.

I'm not even sure what my question is. Obviously I'm worried about my mom (who I love, by the way, even though I find our relationship extremely complicated). I just was wondering if anyone has any words of wisdom for dealing with a parent with no real chronic mental issue but is extremely unwise about her own health?

I keep almost-getting colds. Or is it something else?

Metroid Baby — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:30:35 -0800

I've been getting that coming-down-with-a-cold feeling a lot lately, but it hasn't turned into a cold. Is my immune system super effective against cold viruses, or is there some other explanation? YANAD, YANMD. I'm not concerned about this, but I am curious.

The day before I get a full-blown cold, I often get a hint that it's coming: there's a slight itchy/prickly/sore feeling in the back of my nasal passages and throat, and sometimes I'll have very faint, intermittent cold symptoms like an occasionally-runny nose, slight headache, fatigue, etc.

Sometimes, though, my symptoms don't progress past this stage, and after a day or two I'm back to normal. Recently, this has been happening to me more often than usual. I hadn't thought to keep track of it, so I'm not sure how long it's been going on or how frequently it's happened, but it seems like it's been once every couple of weeks for the past few months. (I started feeling this way on the way to work this morning, and my first thought was "again??")

I figured I've just caught and beat several colds, but this has been so common lately that I'm wondering if something else is going on.

I have no known environmental allergies, and it doesn't seem to be environmentally triggered. I usually get one or two colds a year, though I don't really keep track. I don't remember having a full-blown cold since last spring. Overall I am in good health.

Not sure if this is related, but in case it is: I do have a couple of lymph nodes on my neck that are about the size of peas. I had them checked out last fall - no other symptoms at the time - and my doctor wasn't alarmed. I don't know if they've stayed swollen since then or if they've gone down and then back up. For all I know my lymph nodes might have been like this for years. Since then I've had a complete checkup and everything is ok.

Could this be anything other than a series of brief run-ins with cold viruses? Is there anything I should be on the lookout for?

flu during finals blues

elephantsvanish — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:48:07 -0800

Is it appropriate to ask for an extension on a final exam due to flu? I managed to develop a pretty severe case of the flu (constant fever, meh!) during the reading days leading up to my final exams. I've already completed a take-home test, and have a language exam that is non-negotiable tomorrow. But it's my third exam, for geography, that I'm most concerned about.

Would it be reasonable to e-mail my teacher requesting that she let me take the exam from home in a couple of days? I haven't been able to do much reading or studying on it over the past few days, so it will almost certainly go badly if I take it with a fever. My prof is nice and down-to-earth; however, I don't want to appear to be taking advantage of her laxity. I would need to complete the exam from home, so I would suggest e-mailing it back to her in the same period of time afford for the exam period on sunday morning.

Thanks!

What is this sickness called?

dustoff — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 18:44:28 -0800

What is this sickness called? When I get tired and fatigue accumulates over time, I get sick. I have been stressed out a little bit and haven't been sleeping enough for a past week, so I'm sick as I'm posting this... I get a headache, my all body aches, especially lower back and pelvic area, but from head to toe. If it's severe, I would get a diarrhea or throw up. Even if it's warm, I get a chill and sometimes cold sweat. My face feels hot but in fact I don't have a fever. This lasts for about a day, and next day when I wake up I'm okay except I feel a little shaky. I've had this for about 6 times. I just don't know what this is called. No fever, no coughing, no sore throat or any symptom that resembles cold or flu...(or is it a flu? I don't know)

I'm from Korea, and we have a word for that in Korean(몸살), but if I look it up on the dictionary, it says "be laid up with fatigue", or "ache all over one's body (from fatigue/cold)". I guess there isn't one word that refers to this sickness?

Learning how to trust your immune system

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:24:27 -0800

How do you cure a hypochondriac? A close relative of mine is a hypochondriac. Every itch on her leg must be a blood clot. Every pain in her gut must be appendicitis. Every mole or freckle must be skin cancer. Seems like she's in some sort of pain nearly all the time, and I honestly believe that usually, it's because she's looking for it that she finds it (it's psychosomatic). Sometimes she has phantom pain that moves from place to place, which suggests to me it's all in her mind. Of course, I'm not her so I can't be sure. I trust her but she is a chronic worrier and that frequently clouds her judgment.

Whenever she starts feeling bad she demands that we drop whatever we're doing and look it up online. I can't blame her for wanting answers but it seems like doing this only makes her more paranoid. She finds some rare, obscure disease that matches her vague symptoms and convinces herself that she has it. She can't relax until she's found some sort of assurance online that she's fine. I feel that this behavior itself is the most unhealthy thing about her (and the constant worrying may in fact be shortening her lifespan), plus I'm annoyed at constantly pulling up WebMD at all hours of the day and night.

The funny thing is, when she gets really worked up she decides she has to go to the E.R... but she's deathly afraid of doctors and refuses to make the trip. Then she gets locked into a cycle of fear, where she believes she must choose between dying a horrible death, and getting stuck by needles (a fate worse than death).

How can I help her relax? What should I do when I try to calm her down and tell her she's fine, and she accuses me of not caring or taking her health seriously? I am in a position of caretaker for this family member; I'm responsible for her wellbeing.

Also, is my "don't worry, be happy" approach too nonchalant? When I personally get hurt I tough it out and wait for my body to heal itself. If I've been sick for several days and still show no signs of improvement, then I'll go to the doctor, but not before then. I shrug off every unusual thing my body does, like it's nothing, and I'm usually right. I seem to have great metabolism, a strong immune system, and I bounce back from things quickly. But maybe I'm projecting those traits onto others who are not so resilient. I tend to think my relative overreacts to every little sneeze, but she thinks I UNDERreact. Maybe she's right. There are diseases out there that kill in just 24 hours and my approach wouldn't do anything until it was too late. My relative is deathly afraid that she'll be the victim of one because of my negligence, and I guess on some level I have the same fear (though statistics say there's probably nothing to be worried about). What should I do, for both of us?

AC and Sickness

daninnj — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:11:05 -0800

Going from hot apartment to air conditioned home to hot apartment... Will I get sicker? I live on the top floor of a high-rise apartment building. I rarely use the AC (the heat doesn't really both me; it's usually around 85) but I do use fans during the day and when I sleep. I'm home for about 5 days and going back to the apartment on Sunday. My home is AC'd and the temperature is around 75, much cooler to my skin.

In the mist of the week I developed a frog in my throat and am slightly warm (internally). I know temperature changes aren't the direct cause of sickness but I get like this whenever the temperature changes.

I also start my new job on Monday and I do not want to be sick. Sunday I'm going back to the apartment. Would it be better for my health in the short term to sleep in the hot apartment or get an AC beforehand for my small bedroom?

In what medical circumstances might someone with a terminal cancer diagnosis not appear obviously sick?

Joe Beese — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:35:25 -0800

In what medical circumstances might someone with a terminal cancer diagnosis not appear obviously sick? In a story I'm writing, I'd like a character facing death by cancer in 6 months or less to be able to conceal that fact from a new acquaintance. So their current circumstances should include neither startling gauntness nor chemotherapy recent enough to interfere with a normal female hairstyle. Surgical scars covered by clothing or sudden bathroom visits for vomiting would be OK.

Follow this ONE SIMPLE RULE and repair your immune system!

desjardins — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:19:17 -0800

What is the FIRST thing I should do to repair my battered immune system after a prolonged period of abuse? I've been under a ton of stress lately, my diet is beyond horrible, I haven't been sleeping well, and my immune system has cracked under the strain. I've had multiple upper respiratory infections in the last few months, and my GI tract hates me. The stress is about to be lifted (mostly), and I will soon be in a healthier household and more stable environment.

I have a vague idea what I need to do to take care of myself (eat better, exercise), but it all seems so overwhelming. So I need ONE thing that I should do FIRST. I'll tackle the rest later.

FYI I don't smoke or use drugs, and I rarely drink. I'm a 35 y/o female, slightly underweight.