Blackjack's Thread of Illness and Ailments

[Shyster]

TB is only only still a thing, it may yet become a big problem for the general population in the US because there are some seriously drug-resistant variants in circulation.

TB is particularly vulnerable to the development of drug-resistant variants because it's very slow-growing. A lot of antibiotics don't just immediately kill bacteria. Rather, they work by weakening the bacterial cell wall so that when a bacterium grows or divides, it can't form new cell wall material and basically "pops" like a weakened balloon. Most bacteria try to grow and divide quickly, so if you take an antibiotic for five or seven days or whatever, pretty much every bacteria will try to divide in that window and will end up dying. But Mycobacterium tuberculosis grows very slowly and doesn't divide very often, so people with TB have to take antibiotics for months in order to be sure that the infection has been killed off. The antibiotics used are pretty nasty in terms of side effects (headaches, nausea, diarrhea, muscle and joint pains, sensitivity to light, etc.), so non-compliant patients would stop taking the drugs before the full course because they "felt better" or whatnot, and all that does is kill off the bacteria that are most vulnerable to the antibiotics and leave the most resistant to survive. Here in the US, there's a problem with drug-resistant TB in the homeless population, for example, because a lot of those people are also mentally ill and aren't good at taking their meds, or they'll do stuff like sell the antibiotics to buy drugs.

[King Colby]

I can't stay in the moment. I'm dodint and robbie for sure. I basically just grind through every day as if I am working toward some finish line of things getting easier but then when I step back I realize there is no finish line. And I worry that one day I'm gonna wake up and be 60 and wonder what all the grinding was for and wish I had stopped to take in the journey. It's really a crushing thought

[King Colby]

Bright note, sleep study scheduled. Package coming in the mail by end of month. I don't want to have sleep apnea but part of me kind of hopes that I do and that treating it will solve a lot of my physical and mental issues

[Shyster]

I'm not sure what I'm even asking. I suppose my discontent comes from the natural leveling off that occurs around my age. There are not as many promotions left, there are no more degrees to go after, and I've aged out of a lot of careers and opportunities. The idea that my path is narrowing and my milestones will stretch out and eventually end is just unsettling I guess.

I think all of us of a certain age have had the same thoughts. I certainly have. It was a sort of realization that I'm not really going to face any really new major milestones. I don't need any more education, I have no desire to switch jobs or start a new career (and I'm getting too old to do so anyway), I don't plan on moving anywhere else, etc. I still have 20 years to go before retirement, but I really can't think of any other major changes in the interval. It's just... more of this, along with inevitable further declines in my physical health and strength. We spend so much of our youth trying to meet various goals—graduate high school, graduate college, get a job, get married, get an advanced degree, get promoted, have children, buy a house, etc. I think it's natural to feel a sense of confusion and "What next?" when those goals are met. It took me years after I graduated from law school, for example, before I stopped feeling a vague unease that I really should be studying or doing homework every night, because I'd spent the better part of the prior 20 years studying or doing homework most nights.

I would tell you to go buy a sports car like so many other middle-aged men, but you've already done the heck out of that.

[dodint]

Hah, yeah. Peaked too soon, hence the plane I guess.

[mac5155]

Bright note, sleep study scheduled. Package coming in the mail by end of month. I don't want to have sleep apnea but part of me kind of hopes that I do and that treating it will solve a lot of my physical and mental issues

I have it. I treat it. I must say that it's nice knowing I am reducing my chances of other issues but generally speaking I'm still tired lol

[faftorial]

Bright note, sleep study scheduled. Package coming in the mail by end of month. I don't want to have sleep apnea but part of me kind of hopes that I do and that treating it will solve a lot of my physical and mental issues

Does your wife say that you sometimes gasp for air while sleeping?

[King Colby]

Bright note, sleep study scheduled. Package coming in the mail by end of month. I don't want to have sleep apnea but part of me kind of hopes that I do and that treating it will solve a lot of my physical and mental issues

Does your wife say that you sometimes gasp for air while sleeping?

Yes. A few years ago I would wake up from just having fallen asleep, feeling like i was choking. I lost weight and I stopped noticing it but she told me it was still happening - she'd have never known but for pregnancy insomnia. Recently I've started noticing it again despite maintaining my weight. I'm assuming that means it's progressed, and I also feel like **** all the time.

[mac5155]

My best advice is to get used to the smallest nasal only mask you can ASAP. The whole face ones are not fun. I used to be a mouth breather when I slept and wanted the nose and mouth mask but getting used to a nasal only makes it easier to stick to it IMO

[mac5155]

I use a FP Brevida and it works for me, also the resmed airfit is a good one.

[King Colby]

Do you feel better now that you use it

[Rylan]

dodint was talking about a plane in 2030. That’s where I was commenting. Like. For me to think about something like that that far ahead…never going to happen

what a **** goalie answer...

[mac5155]

Do you feel better now that you use it

I guess I do, yeah. I feel normal when I use it and when I don't I feel dead tired. Like last night I woke up to piss around 4 and in my stupor usually forget to put it back on. Pretty tired today.

[shoeshine boy]

I've been down all week with an upper respiratory infection. one of the worst I've ever had. went to urgent care the other day and they tested me for all the biggies, all neg. now I'm realizing that I haven't been drinking enough and I'm dehydrated....FML

[dodint]

It'd be super great if I knew which days my "insomnia" is going to pop up. Went to bed at 10pm and fell asleep after 4am. I hate this because I'm almost useless the following day, which just makes my anxiety worse. If I'm not going to fall asleep I'd rather get up and be productive and cross some **** off my mental to-do list. I used to be able to read, single track my mind, and fall asleep that way. But my racing mind is now overpowering that, I'll find myself thinking about completely unrelated stuff and not really absorbing the paragraphs I'm reading. Hate this.

[RonnieFranchise]

Just when I thought I was going to avoid the cough my daughter's had for a week and my wife has had 5 days, started coughing yesterday.

Everyone has tested negative a couple times. It's weird because usually these things don't hit me as a cough right away without some nasal drip or sore throat but... just a bad ass cough.

[robbiestoupe]

Just when I thought I was going to avoid the cough my daughter's had for a week and my wife has had 5 days, started coughing yesterday.

Everyone has tested negative a couple times. It's weird because usually these things don't hit me as a cough right away without some nasal drip or sore throat but... just a bad ass cough.

I had a really weird cough for a couple months. Minute clinic thought it was the beginning of an ear infecting and prescribed antibiotics. Sort of got better but it came back. Ended up being either an allergy or acid reflux. Dr gave me meds for both and they worked, but not sure which one was the magic pill.

[malkintent]

Fair.

I can't sleep at night because I"m thinking about all the boxes all at once. I have to read books to one-track my mind and fall asleep. I wish I was more like my wife in that regard. She has similar goal structures but can shut it off, for the most part.

I read before I sleep, but my issue is more that my anxiety kicks in about trivial bullshit the second I start to fall asleep. I also struggle with staying in the moment, something I've really been working on in therapy too

What a dork.

[mac5155]

Specialist said it was a prolonged gout attack, and hit me with a cortisone shot, which is probably one of the worst types of pain I've ever felt. Almost vomited waiting for the pressure and pain to subside post-shot

So I am on day 4 of the worst attack I've ever had, in my right knee. Indomethacin not doing jack. Broke down and called the doctor and they gave me a 20mg prednisone script. I mean my pain was at a 9 earlier. Took the first dose at 5 and it's about a 6 now. I need to be at a 4 or less tomorrow.

[Ad@m]

Fair.

I can't sleep at night because I"m thinking about all the boxes all at once. I have to read books to one-track my mind and fall asleep. I wish I was more like my wife in that regard. She has similar goal structures but can shut it off, for the most part.

I read before I sleep, but my issue is more that my anxiety kicks in about trivial bullshit the second I start to fall asleep. I also struggle with staying in the moment, something I've really been working on in therapy too

What a dork.

[mac5155]

So I am on day 4 of the worst attack I've ever had, in my right knee. Indomethacin not doing jack. Broke down and called the doctor and they gave me a 20mg prednisone script. I mean my pain was at a 9 earlier. Took the first dose at 5 and it's about a 6 now. I need to be at a 4 or less tomorrow.

Hallelujah. Woke up at like a 2 today. I can resume normal life.

[nocera]

Got the big snip snip coming up Wednesday. Currently feeling like a bit of a death march. Everybody is saying that the anxiety beforehand is worse than the procedure itself so hopefully that's the case.

[count2infinity]

It's not fun... I don't think anyone would tell you it is.

But yeah. Seems for the majority it's no biggie.

[skullman80]

Leading up is worse than afterwards at least it was for me. I didn't even get twilighted cause I had to drive myself home, just numbed up. Getting numbed was the worst pain I felt the whole time, after that smooth sailing.

Recovery was not bad at all...lost of ice the first few days, very little movement. Just do what they say and relax you will thank yourself for it. I had no issues with stitches etc. The biggest anxiety I had was the first release like a week later thought I would see a ton of blood etc, but really not much.

[meow]

Yup. The worst pain is the anesthesia injects. Then the smell of the cauterization. Ice is huge for the first few days. Also, get some tight compression underwear. That was huge for me. Not sure if my boys hang lower than others, but keeping them snug was really helpful. Tylonel and Advil on a cycle.

Also, don’t be shocked by bruising. I think I shared here before than my bruising was about the size of a basketball. Not sure why, but the doctor was it happens sometimes.