Obsess About Your Symptoms Here
debby -- Sunday, July 07, 2002 -- 01:47:50 AM
This thread is tagged: health, strep, cough
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It's morning. Took a Toridol, things seemed to have calmed down somewhat but not much. Still having problems, not sure if I will hang with work or not. Haven't had the CT scan done because I am a dimwit that felt better and wasn't motivated to call. Funny how motivated I feel today to get to the bottom of this, hmm. I have times when I feel fine, times when I feel I can't stand it.
I did, the place I called doesn't take my insurance so I have a call in to my family doctor. I will get it done. Problem is I don't like my doctors office, they are very disorganized, it took me almost a month to get the results of a pap smear.
It does suck, but you have to be your own advocate. (Of course, you knew that - I just felt the need to point out that it sucks.)
I love my doc Sapphire, wish he had a different staff. They lose things, fail to call clients, etc. It's terrible. They are even quite nice, just incompetent.
VanPear, I am thinking either it's hormonal, a low grade fever or anxiety? I don't know shit though, might be way off base.
Lori, make sure you're eating when you take the Toradol. It can be pretty hard on your stomach, and isn't meant for long-term use. In fact, I think the recommendation is that you're not supposed to take it for more than 5 days. You should also stop taking it and call your doctor if you see black or tarry stools. Gross, but true.
Someone, perhaps J-Ro, has a trick for getting office staff to shape up: she sends a fax to the doctor detailing the problem -- "I have called four times for my test results but have not yet received a call back."
My soon-to-be MIL had a brain aneurysm. The doctor said that on a scale of 1 to 5, it's a 1, and she's talking and everything, so it could have been a lot worse. But I'm wondering how much danger she's in...what kind of prognosis is likely from here out? She's in her mid to late 50s and otherwise in good health.
Van Pear, is your thermostat on a timer? I know somebody who changed her thermostat settings and accidentally set the "sleep" period for 85 instead of 65. And no, it wasn't me.
Symptom -- what I assume are hives clustered on my lower back. I'm thinking they might be stress related, so I'm willing to wait and see if they go away. They only itch when I think about them, and they're not where anybody's going to see them, but is there something that will make them smaller and less itchy? An antihistamine, maybe?
Have you tried just putting cortisone cream on them?
Molly, when I used to get hives it was often in places where elastic was touching, like a waistband. If that's the case, it might help to try to wear something that doesn't rub there. Cortisone cream should help but antihistamines also used to work.
CJ, I thought of my suit waistband causing the hives last night. They are in about the right place except for two that are outside the cluster. And the waist is far to big on those pants, so there could have been a lot of rubbing yesterday.
It's also possible they're an allergic reaction, since I had the suit dry cleaned at a new place, but wouldn't they be more scattered if I were allergic to my suit?
Anyway, I snagged some benadryl from allergy sufferers in the office, so I'll give that a try.
Van, that happens to my friend a lot. She talked to her doctor about it at her last physical and since her health is otherwise good, the doctor said it was probably stress-related. Her doctor also told her some of the things she might find if she did an internet search on her symptoms and explained why she doesn't think J has them. Unfortunately, there's not really anything J can do to prevent it, so she just kind of lives with it.
(Deleted message originally posted by Kathy J on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 -- 01:33:39 PM.)
Dohdee, I don't think so, but it could turn into that!
Louise, it could definitely be stress-related.
Kathy, actually, I weighed about 25 pounds less 1.5 years ago, which started my fertility problems off, but that shouldn't be the issue now.
Sigh. Thanks, all.
Yes, I'm the one who faxes letters. It's a trick that has never failed me. I don't know if every call you make to a medical office goes into your chart, but I know for sure that your letters do. If that's what makes them jump, fine. It might also be that a letter has an air of importance and permanence. I figure the MD's office gets approximately 8 zillion patient phone calls per day, but no letters. You can't just forget about that one letter the way you can forget about a phone call.
I took the Benadryl, and I think the hives are getting smaller, though when I think about them they still itch.
I don't have allergies, and don't know that I've ever taken Benadryl. I'm feeling ditzy and dry-mouthed. Is that the Benadryl, or am I just dumb and thirsty?
That's the benedryl.
I just switched to Claritin to control my hives and love it. I have cold urticaria, which essentially means I'm allergic to the cold. Wonderful, here in chilly western New York. I get hives all freakin' year long.
Grumpy, Bashful...
(Deleted message originally posted by Kathy J on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 -- 03:35:37 PM.)
Hrm. By me, Walgreens brand is a bit cheaper but not much-- maybe 75¢ a pill, which is still obscene.
(FWIW, I like Alavert better than Claritin. Same active ingredient and less side effects for me. YMMV, of course.)
I am the original cheapo, and refused to pay $1/pill for Claritin for the longest time. I finally bought the Target generic (which is about 60 cents) last week and am loving it! Unlike Kathy, the drowsiness never went away for me, and sometimes the benedryl didn't control the hives that well. But the loratidine seems to keep the hives completely under control, I only need one pill a day, and I'm!Not!Drowsy!!!
Anyone want to buy all the freakin' benedryl I have in my medicine cabinet?
I got some Claritin when I was up in Canada earlier this month -- about .80 CAD per pill, so with the exchange rate, it was close to half the US price (about .55/pill if I remember right). I'm kicking myself now for not buying more while I was there.
(Deleted message originally posted by Kathy J on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 -- 03:49:24 PM.)
There are a bunch of bottles of fancy-schmancy water at my desk because the fancy-schmancy resturaunt that brings the bigwigs lunch once a week in return for good press, brings one for the receptionist. Which is me. So far, I've been ignoring them, but thanks to the Benadryl, I'm guzzling one down.
They probably sell these bottles for $8 a pop. Not exactly intended to be drunk in big, thirsty gulps.
mexico is really handy for getting prescription drugs for a reasonable amount. it just is. you have to call, though, if you're going to a smaller town to make sure they will have things on hand.