What's Your Ailment?

[sack_peak]

If everyone followed this diet there would be much less illness and disease. He don't sugar coat anything when it comes to nutrition and healthy living.

I wish I've been doing this since grade school.

 

[Kung]

Oh I was diagnosed with diabetes recently! I had pre diabetes and stopped taking my Trulicity because I always forgot. I suddenly had an unquenchable thirst and I had a full bladder every 5 minutes. Went to the doctor and my a1c was over 10. Went back on Trulicity and the thirst and peeing immediately went away. I’m very fat, so I knew it was coming for me eventually.

Speaking of fat, in November I have my consultation for weight loss surgery. I’m leaning toward gastric bypass but I’ll let the doctor tell me what I’m a good candidate for.

You might look into Ozempic. I'm 'overweight' but not obese - or was at the time (270).

Put on Ozempic...and that sh*t is amazing. Lost 50# on it.

 

[thecautioners]

You might look into Ozempic. I'm 'overweight' but not obese - or was at the time (270).

Put on Ozempic...and that sh*t is amazing. Lost 50# on it.

I am on trulicity because I’m on Medicaid and it won’t cover ozempic

 

[Richard8655]

I've been eating clean by cutting out

- animal products
- baked good
- canned goods
- refined ingredients
- refined grains
- sweetners
- alcohol
- fast food
- processed foods
- refined oils
- chocolates & other sweets

Cardio and weights daily...

Sleep early & sleep longer

It helped lower my body fat %, improved blood chemistry & improved blood pressure

Food cost went down as well. Sleep better too

Liquids I drink is just filtered water from my 6yo 64oz Klean Kanteen insulated water bottle. I drink about 8 bottles per day when I'm doing CrossFit and yoga.

This diet is generally what I try to follow too. But some exceptions for me, such as occasional chocolate (dark) and red wine, both of which in moderation have benefits. I'm not sure I agree with the ban on baked foods or anything canned (such as sardines). I think the emphasis should be on avoiding fried foods. But meat (especially red meat) much less or none.

I remember years ago Dr. Fuhrman recommended no coffee, but it turns out later studies showed increased longevity for coffee drinkers (came as good news for this coffee addict).

 

[decafjava]

This diet is generally what I try to follow too. But some exceptions for me, such as occasional chocolate (dark) and red wine, both of which in moderation have benefits. I'm not sure I agree with the ban on baked foods or anything canned (such as sardines). I think the emphasis should be on avoiding fried foods. But meat (especially red meat) much less or none.

I remember years ago Dr. Fuhrman recommended no coffee, but it turns out later studies showed increased longevity for coffee drinkers (came as good news for this coffee addict).

An acquaintance of mine has opened a health blog and one of his recent posts spoke of the virtues of red meat, and certainly paleo people and keto people won't agree with what a poster above you responded to wrote about Dr. Fuhrman's diet. No wonder there is so much confusion.

 

[Richard8655]

An acquaintance of mine has opened a health blog and one of his recent posts spoke of the virtues of red meat, and certainly paleo people and keto people won't agree with what a poster above you responded to wrote about Dr. Fuhrman's diet. No wonder there is so much confusion.

Yes, I try to avoid confusion by going by actual short and long term studies of people's diets and their health. From just about everything I've read, animal meat (especially red meat) is a prime culprit for heart disease and colon cancer, among others. But in addition, I see eating animals as cruel. The meat industry is very clever at hiding slaughtering methods from the public.

 

[Huntn]

You might look into Ozempic. I'm 'overweight' but not obese - or was at the time (270).

Put on Ozempic...and that sh*t is amazing. Lost 50# on it.

I am on trulicity because I’m on Medicaid and it won’t cover ozempic

My understanding is because Ozempic is so expensive, medial entities are trying to limit who is covered by their insurance for it especially for being over weight vs being diabetic. My wife just switched to Medicare with a Secondary and she is getting Ozempic for T2 diabetes.

 

[Kung]

My understanding is because Ozempic is so expensive, medial entities are trying to limit who is covered by their insurance for it especially for being over weight vs being diabetic. My wife just switched to Medicare with a Secondary and she is getting Ozempic for T2 diabetes.

Oh yeah, agreed. I'm on it for T2D, personally. With that said, I will also say that having lost 50#, multiple other numbers (BP, for example) have improved, as have other things.

 

[thecautioners]

Oh yeah, agreed. I'm on it for T2D, personally. With that said, I will also say that having lost 50#, multiple other numbers (BP, for example) have improved, as have other things.

I wish I could get ozempic for my T2D but Medicaid just won’t cover it. Plus, Trulicity is working very well for me, so it’s not like we haven’t found an injectable that works for me. Trulicity also lowers my appetite a bit which is a huge perk. I have about 200 pounds to lose and I have lost a little weight recently with the medication.

 

[Huntn]

Chapter 2
Worked out in the gym on Wed, felt ok felt weak, had a headache during the day. Worked in the yard today, felt weak but ok, around noon developed a killer headache. I decided to take my wife’s advice to be examined for a sinus infection headache, but my doctor had no appointments till Monday. So I went to urgent care, gave them my symptoms, the same symptoms, I had given my Dr on Monday . They actually examined me, something my doctor had not done, and boom diagnosis sinus infection. They gave me 2 shots and 3 medications to start tomorrow.
When I got home, through the MyChart app, if you are familiar, I wrote my doctor a message titled “Your Conduct During Office Visit’s”, where I explained to him there were several interactions recently between me and him, where instead of typing notes on his computer, he should of examined me but did not. This guy does not own his own practise but I think is an employee of Houston Methodist. I’m waiting to see what his attitude is, apologetic, or belligerent. That will determine if I stick with him a while longer or go searching for a new family practise doctor. 🤔

Chap 3:
I talked to my Doctor and it did not go well. I will be looking for a new Doctor.
Just curious questions:

• If you told you doctor you felt like you had a stubbed toes feeling , followed by an episode of extreme pain in the forward part of your foot, but it had subsided, would you expect your family doctor to examine and possibly manipulate your foot?
• If you told your doctor you had experienced a week of unusual back pain radiating up through your mid back, would you expect your doctor to say “let’s have a look at your back?”

The worst was the sinus Infection, I gave the symptoms pain, pressure in sinuses, eyebrow, eye, teeth, but they had subsided the day I saw him, but no exam for inflation. The first thing the urgent care doctor did was listen to my symptoms and examine my throat which he obsevered as inflamed. Now I’ll never know if my regular doctor would have seen an inflamed throat, and because I said I was feeling almost normal, technically he has an out, thinking that sinus infections are mostly viral and not bacterial,, but he never said the words I think you have/had a sinus infection. Nothing was said in his notes.

All in all, maybe I’m too old fashioned, but I want a hands on doctor, who if I say some part of my body is or has been bothering me they will actually examine me, not just sit and type in my history. And not that I look forward to any doctor manipulating my genitals, this is the first doctor I have ever seen who has not checked for hernia during my annual physical. 🤔 Is that on outdated standard too?

Chapter 4
i was on a 5 day regimen of antibiocs and prednisone, which ended on Tuesday. On Wednday a significant headache developed primarily in my right sinus area and behind my right eye. Because I am on the outs with my doctor, who by the way, I have dropped and am establishing a relationship with a new clinic, I returned to Urgent Care, and the doctor there was concerned about the possibility of either a cluster headache or temporal arthritis. Apparantly this Urgent Care location could not handle taking blood sample to send off which will make me reevaluate “Urgent Care” as an option. But get this, the “Elite Emergency hospital“ I was sent to, also had to send their blood sample out to a lab! What -the-hell? I seem to remember when hospitals could do their own blood work. My clinic in Minnesota had their own blood work lab. With changes in medicine, I don’t know if they still do.

So he told me he wanted me screened for for temporal artritus, which was of emergency status because it is a serious condition which can cause blindness. My regular doctor could have done the blood test and sent it out. So because of circumstances, I’ll find our what the emergency room is going to cost me on Medicare.They were supposed to get the test results back that night, but they lost internet or so was the excuse and I’m still waiting to find out.

The doctor in the emergency room, prescribed a 10 day regimen of I assume “”big gun” antibiotics Amox/Clav along with a pain killer buta/apap/caf. Taking both, it took a day for my headache to recede, and I’m feeling fairly normal. Today I’ll bug the hospital again for the blood test results. 😳

 

[Huntn]

Chapter 4
i was on a 5 day regimen of antibiocs and prednisone, which ended on Tuesday. On Wednday a significant headache developed primarily in my right sinus area and behind my right eye. Because I am on the outs with my doctor, who by the way, I have dropped and am establishing a relationship with a new clinic, I returned to Urgent Care, and the doctor there was concerned about the possibility of either a cluster headache or temporal arthritis. Apparantly this Urgent Care location could not handle taking blood sample to send off which will make me reevaluate “Urgent Care” as an option. But get this, the “Elite Emergency hospital“ I was sent to, also had to send their blood sample out to a lab! What -the-hell? I seem to remember when hospitals could do their own blood work. My clinic in Minnesota had their own blood work lab. With changes in medicine, I don’t know if they still do.

So he told me he wanted me screened for for temporal artritus, which was of emergency status because it is a serious condition which can cause blindness. My regular doctor could have done the blood test and sent it out. So because of circumstances, I’ll find our what the emergency room is going to cost me on Medicare.They were supposed to get the test results back that night, but they lost internet or so was the excuse and I’m still waiting to find out.

The doctor in the emergency room, prescribed a 10 day regimen of I assume “”big gun” antibiotics Amox/Clav along with a pain killer buta/apap/caf. Taking both, it took a day for my headache to recede, and I’m feeling fairly normal. Today I’ll bug the hospital again for the blood test results. 😳

Chap5
Do you remenber me telling you the screening for Temporal Arthritis was urgent? The blood sample was done on Wed, I was supposed to be notified that night, but the “internet went out”. Called Thur morning no results, Called Friday, no results. Called Sat, talked to a nurse, bitched at her about is this how “urgent tests” are handled by your hospital, you send it out and forget about it, until whenever it show up?? She said she’d call the lab and got them to finally fax over a copy. I picked up the report on Saturday.

Hospital CBC test (bloodwork)

• WBC - critically high
• PLT- high
• MPV - low
• GRA- high
• Creatine high

The test to screen for Temporal Arthritis- This test if the 2 readings were low would rule out TA, but if they were elevated would not confirm, but would not rule it out. More investigation needed.

• SED RATE- high
• REACTIVE Protein— high

So more investigation needed. Remember my original Dr told me there was no test to confirm a sinus infection or an infection? WRONG! My wife had told me that had diagnosed her in a previous time with sinus infection by virtue of checking white blood cell Count. So by virtue of me within the “critically high“ white blood cell count, indicating an infection, I’m happy I am on antibiotics.

So Saturday I called my “new” clinic which has a large network of clinics around Houston, and told them despite their available appointments being a month out, I needed to see a doctor on Monday. This is another possible clue about the popularity of my former doctor, it was usually very easy to get in to see him. 🤔 The new clinic tells me they have a variety of not advertised “work in“ appointments, but they were not allowed to award them in advance, and I’d have to wait and call in on Monday morning, 8am sharp. Well my alarm is set… BTW I’m not feeling completely awful. I do feel off, my lower back has been aching, and I’ve been uncharacteristically been sleeping about 10 hrs . 🥸

 

[Huntn]

I wish I could get ozempic for my T2D but Medicaid just won’t cover it. Plus, Trulicity is working very well for me, so it’s not like we haven’t found an injectable that works for me. Trulicity also lowers my appetite a bit which is a huge perk. I have about 200 pounds to lose and I have lost a little weight recently with the medication.

My wife is getting Ozempic on Medicare with secondary Coverage, but not sure if “secondary“ makes any difference.

 

[Huntn]

Anyone dealing with temporal arteritis?
I am being screened for this, have not yet been diagnosed. But in the meantime, I’ve been given a 30 day RX of Prednazone, a steroid, which is a pick your poison situation, but it a choice of losing bone density vs losing your eye sight. Not a great, but a very easy choice.

Giant cell arteritis - Symptoms and causes

www.mayoclinic.org

Any thought on supplements to reduce bone loss?

 

[Huntn]

Chap 6
Yesterday saw the new doctor. Handed her a typed 3 page note, a timeline of events leading to my appointment with her, including copies of the bloodwork tests, including the screening for Temporal Artritus, which had been taken in the previous week, of which she read. She commented that it did not help with me bouncing around to different medical facilities and I explained that for me this is not the norm, and was a result of me switching doctors. She appeared ok with that.

It took some digesting on her part, but she focused on the concern about Temporal Artritus and the fact that Prednazone relieved symptoms of the headache, but that significant painkillers did not. She repeated the bloodwork screening for TA, arranged for a biopsy, and had me arrange to see my optimist to get an eye exam, dilated eyes.

I am not thrilled to be taking Prednazone for the next 30 days, but let me see, living with the top of my head on fire, living with a daily debilitaing headache focused on temple and eyes, with the likelyhood I’ll loose vision or go blind in time, or instant relief at the cost of losing bone density. 🤔

I’ve researched this a little and there is some medication on the market other than steroids that can be used to control TA. It bothers me that this is considered an autoimmune disorder. I’m looking at strategies to mitigate bone loss I need to get serious about dropping 30 pounds. 😐

 

[Sil3nt1]

Some skin issues I'm fixing right now and kinda bad teeth getting fixed at the dentist once my skin heals more..

 

[Richard8655]

Chap 6
Yesterday saw the new doctor. Handed her a typed 3 page note, a timeline of events leading to my appointment with her, including copies of the bloodwork tests, including the screening for Temporal Artritus, which had been taken in the previous week, of which she read. She commented that it did not help with me bouncing around to different medical facilities and I explained that for me this is not the norm, and was a result of me switching doctors. She appeared ok with that.

It took some digesting on her part, but she focused on the concern about Temporal Artritus and the fact that Prednazone relieved symptoms of the headache, but that significant painkillers did not. She repeated the bloodwork screening for TA, arranged for a biopsy, and had me arrange to see my optimist to get an eye exam, dilated eyes.

I am not thrilled to be taking Prednazone for the next 30 days, but let me see, living with the top of my head on fire, living with a daily debilitaing headache focused on temple and eyes, with the likelyhood I’ll loose vision or go blind in time, or instant relief at the cost of losing bone density. 🤔

I’ve researched this a little and there is some medication on the market other than steroids that can be used to control TA. It bothers me that this is considered an autoimmune disorder. I’m looking at strategies to mitigate bone loss I need to get serious about dropping 30 pounds. 😐

Been following and hope the issue has been identified by new GP so can be addressed and solved. For bone loss before starting any major medication, I'd look to dietary such as increased dairy (cheese, yogurt, milk), sardines, leafy greens, and others. Weight bearing exercises are also recommended, but for me swimming laps was much preferred and helped me lose pounds (not as good for bone density but good for weight loss). I remember you were a longtime swimmer too, so maybe consider returning to or increasing lap swims?

 

[Huntn]

Been following and hope the issue has been identified by new GP so can be addressed and solved. For bone loss before starting any major medication, I'd look to dietary such as increased dairy (cheese, yogurt, milk), sardines, leafy greens, and others. Weight bearing exercises are also recommended, but for me swimming laps was much preferred and helped me lose pounds (not as good for bone density but good for weight loss). I remember you were a longtime swimmer too, so maybe consider returning to or increasing lap swims?

Thanks! My current routine is 2 Days a week in the pool for about 90 min each, and 1 day in the gym, about 2hrs, which includes weight lifting. I’m open to suggestions!

 

[Sil3nt1]

Thanks! My current routine is 2 Days a week in the pool for about 90 min each, and 1 day in the gym, about 2hrs, which includes weight lifting. I’m open to suggestions!

I'm preparing for U.S Army infantry Ranger lol physically early 30s

 

[Huntn]

I'm preparing for U.S Army infantry Ranger lol physically early 30s

Sign me up. 😉

 

[thecautioners]

On October 20 I got surgery for strabismus. Quick 30 minute outpatient procedure that has wholly changed everything about my life. My eyes point straight ahead for the first time. People no longer look at me and think there’s “something wrong” with me. I look so good and can’t stop taking selfies. I can make eye contact with people now. Seriously a miracle for me.

 

[Huntn]

On October 20 I got surgery for strabismus. Quick 30 minute outpatient procedure that has wholly changed everything about my life. My eyes point straight ahead for the first time. People no longer look at me and think there’s “something wrong” with me. I look so good and can’t stop taking selfies. I can make eye contact with people now. Seriously a miracle for me.

Did you notice a distinct change in your vision?

 

[thecautioners]

Did you notice a distinct change in your vision?

No, my vision didn’t change, my eyesight is still bad, but my appearance is 300% better!

 

[rm5]

A whole list of problems that's not worth going over. Stuff I was born with that I'll live with. Plus, I'd feel very uncomfortable publicly discussing my difficulties. I'm okay though.

 

[Macky-Mac]

A whole list of problems that's not worth going over. Stuff I was born with that I'll live with. Plus, I'd feel very uncomfortable publicly discussing my difficulties. I'm okay though.

"I'm okay" is the important thing

 

[Huntn]

Chap 6
Yesterday saw the new doctor. Handed her a typed 3 page note, a timeline of events leading to my appointment with her, including copies of the bloodwork tests, including the screening for Temporal Artritus, which had been taken in the previous week, of which she read. She commented that it did not help with me bouncing around to different medical facilities and I explained that for me this is not the norm, and was a result of me switching doctors. She appeared ok with that.

It took some digesting on her part, but she focused on the concern about Temporal Artritus and the fact that Prednazone relieved symptoms of the headache, but that significant painkillers did not. She repeated the bloodwork screening for TA, arranged for a biopsy, and had me arrange to see my optimist to get an eye exam, dilated eyes.

I am not thrilled to be taking Prednazone for the next 30 days, but let me see, living with the top of my head on fire, living with a daily debilitaing headache focused on temple and eyes, with the likelyhood I’ll loose vision or go blind in time, or instant relief at the cost of losing bone density. 🤔

I’ve researched this a little and there is some medication on the market other than steroids that can be used to control TA. It bothers me that this is considered an autoimmune disorder. I’m looking at strategies to mitigate bone loss I need to get serious about dropping 30 pounds. 😐

Chap7
Oh boy, a setback. This happened last week, went to get my biopsy. I was advised that the clinic did not accept my insurance even though they had scanned my insurance card, accepted me, (someone made a mistake, not me) a doctor had seen me, and they had prescribed medicine to me, and sent me for a biopsy.
I did not realize at the time how time critical it was to get this biopsy in a timely manner and in hindsight, I believe the clinic is liable.

I may talk to a lawyer for advice, but I’m not planning any legal action because ultimately, my understanding is they put me on prednisone which is the primary method of dealing with Temple arthritis and that no harm was done other than the time critical aspect of getting a biopsy could be nullified because if you’re on steroids for too long, the inflammation, the biopsy is looking for may be suppressed, which will require another avenue of determining the best path forward.

After that, went to a new doctor, found Rheumatologist, watched him get angry about how long this had dragged out, and have arranged for a biopsy this week.