Fifth Avenue Forum

This is not meant to be a "woe is me" thread, but can be if you are so inclined.

I've seen a lot of sick discussion in other threads and thought we could consolidate.

This morning, I got the call from the dermatologist regarding two mole biopsies. One on shoulder, no problem. The one on the back was determined to be a "severe dysplastic nevus" which basically means that (when combined with family melanoma history) in general that it vastly more likely to become melanoma and requires him to "re-excise" the area and put in stitches for two weeks. I understand the need to "dig deeper" to get the affected cells, but does two weeks seem like a long time for stiches?

Meh, all in all, I guess it's good news that they caught it early.

My cough is better today after trying to hack it through playing street hockey yesterday. Still should probably get it checked out, but am feeling lazy today.

This appears to be the adult version of the Parenting Thread.

So be it. I'm also a parent...and that can be an ailment at times.

My cough is better today after trying to hack it through playing street hockey yesterday. Still should probably get it checked out, but am feeling lazy today.

I rarely seek medical help when I have a cough. Usually wait it out or use Mucinex. But my wife heads right for Urgent Care because if she waits even a day or two, it seems to turn into bronchitis.

It's been around for a week and a half, at least, and I had something similar in January, with 2 or 3 weeks in between. I've also been coughing up crap with it both times, so that's where the doctor could potentially come in.

This appears to be the adult version of the Parenting Thread.

You don't see that as a positive?

I'm pretty dull in the illness department. I'm going on a year since the last time I was sick. I had the flu (a minor bout, thanks to having a flu shot, this time last year). I switched jobs and healthcare providers almost exactly a year ago, and still haven't chosen a new PCP.

The wife gets on me about that all the time. I think she's just going to force a checkup on me.

I too rarely get cold/flu sick.

But in December, seized my back while moving Xmas decorations, just had a root canal and a temp crown put on (the temp crown popped off last Friday) and now the dermatologist thing. To me, it's just routine maintenance for the teeth and skin, but I'm getting old, so it's good to have a check-up now and then.

This morning, I got the call from the dermatologist regarding two mole biopsies. One on shoulder, no problem. The one on the back was determined to be a "severe dysplastic nevus" which basically means that (when combined with family melanoma history) in general that it vastly more likely to become melanoma and requires him to "re-excise" the area and put in stitches for two weeks. I understand the need to "dig deeper" to get the affected cells, but does two weeks seem like a long time for stiches?

Meh, all in all, I guess it's good news that they caught it early.

I had a few removed on my shoulder/ back about 10 years ago, and I think it was about two weeks before the stitches came out. The stitches were annoying as they were constantly getting rubbed by my shirt, so I just got some medical tape and kept it taped over.

Definitely good to catch it early.

you want woe is me? i'll give you woe is me...i used to consider myself a healthy person, but in the last 16 months:

-unexplained recurring liver inflammation. my enzymes are sometimes 10 times greater than the normal limit.
-positive ANA - meaning my cells are attacking themselves. and it was measured very high. for men, this is rare. for women...not as much, believe it or not.
-cystic lesion on my coccyx...which, they think, is nothing, but for a few weeks, i potentially had spine cancer
-chronic pain in pelvic area. suspected an autoimmune disorder like ankylosing spondylitis, but it turns out it's not organic, and i probably just have a screwed up back.
-numb feet/toes...likely related to back issues.
-"hoffman's reflex" which is a thing where the doctor flicks one finger, and it makes one of my other fingers move, involuntarily. could it mean i have a screwed up neck, where my motor neurons are disrupted by a pinched nerve or something? yes. does this sometimes indicate MS or ALS? yes. though that is unlikely.
-and a bout of epididymitis related to a vasectomy. which was...unpleasant.

do i have a definitive diagnosis yet of any specific condition? no, i do not. have some doctors, such as my liver guy and my rheum thrown their hands up and said, "i dunno". yes, they have. am i frustrated as all hell? uh huh.

Lupus?

Damn, dude. That sucks.

You need to see Dr. Gregory House. You are like a whole season in one person.

Have/Had kidney stones all my life, though the last surgery a few years ago(number 3 or so)... should hopefully take care of those once and for all
The whole thick blood thing where I have to get a pint of blood drawn every few weeks kind of blows, but that hopefully isn't too long term.

Nothing compared to what Shmenguin has had though.. jesus.

Source of the post -chronic pain in pelvic area. suspected an autoimmune disorder like ankylosing spondylitis, but it turns out it's not organic, and i probably just have a screwed up back.

Have you had your chiro take a look at this? Pelvis could be out of tilt.

Lupus?

very good guess...but no face rash. auto-immune wise, they really just said i have to sit and wait until whatever i have reveals itself more. that's the official word from a doctor at UPenn - maybe the best hospital in the area. basically, rheumatology is still a bit of a joke.

Have you had your chiro take a look at this? Pelvis could be out of tilt.

i have MRI's coming up with my ortho. the imaging so far shows that most of my vertebrae may be all smushed together. the L5/S1 gap, in particular is pretty gnarly. need confirmation with a more detailed scan, however.

Damn, dude. That sucks.

You need to see Dr. Gregory House. You are like a whole season in one person.

My liver doctor said if he was me, he'd call Mayo.

They politely declined my request.

This is not meant to be a "woe is me" thread, but can be if you are so inclined.

I've seen a lot of sick discussion in other threads and thought we could consolidate.

This morning, I got the call from the dermatologist regarding two mole biopsies. One on shoulder, no problem. The one on the back was determined to be a "severe dysplastic nevus" which basically means that (when combined with family melanoma history) in general that it vastly more likely to become melanoma and requires him to "re-excise" the area and put in stitches for two weeks. I understand the need to "dig deeper" to get the affected cells, but does two weeks seem like a long time for stiches?

Meh, all in all, I guess it's good news that they caught it early.

I had a spot removed from my forearm in July 2014 and those stitches stayed in for those 2 weeks...and one stitch lasted a little bit longer because they somehow missed it...and I missed it too until I saw it one morning when I woke up, pulled on it, and realized it was a stitch and not just a loose piece of skin falling off.

With regard to the OP, I had to get a cyst dug out one time and the staples were in for 10 days. That was longer than when I had to get my appendix sliced out.

My cough is better today after trying to hack it through playing street hockey yesterday. Still should probably get it checked out, but am feeling lazy today.

aids

you want woe is me? i'll give you woe is me...i used to consider myself a healthy person, but in the last 16 months:

-unexplained recurring liver inflammation. my enzymes are sometimes 10 times greater than the normal limit.
-positive ANA - meaning my cells are attacking themselves. and it was measured very high. for men, this is rare. for women...not as much, believe it or not.
-cystic lesion on my coccyx...which, they think, is nothing, but for a few weeks, i potentially had spine cancer
-chronic pain in pelvic area. suspected an autoimmune disorder like ankylosing spondylitis, but it turns out it's not organic, and i probably just have a screwed up back.
-numb feet/toes...likely related to back issues.
-"hoffman's reflex" which is a thing where the doctor flicks one finger, and it makes one of my other fingers move, involuntarily. could it mean i have a screwed up neck, where my motor neurons are disrupted by a pinched nerve or something? yes. does this sometimes indicate MS or ALS? yes. though that is unlikely.
-and a bout of epididymitis related to a vasectomy. which was...unpleasant.

do i have a definitive diagnosis yet of any specific condition? no, i do not. have some doctors, such as my liver guy and my rheum thrown their hands up and said, "i dunno". yes, they have. am i frustrated as all hell? uh huh.

Amaloydosis.

Amaloydosis.

this is the "you have 1 or 2 symptoms, but not enough to pin it to this" thing i've seen over and over.

also forgot to mention i have patches of leg hair missing. so that's weird.

now...my guess?

-i have a cluster of nerves and whatnot pinched right above my sacrum, which can cause pelvic pain, nerve damage/numbness as well as circulation problems (which the leg hair thing could come from).
-i have arthritis in my neck (verified in xray) causing hoffman's reflex
-in addition to that, i happen to have a benign lesion on my coccyx, which is purely coincidental
-and finally i have fits of my immune system going haywire, which leads to infection vulnerability (epididymitis), liver inflammation...and who knows what else.

i think it's merely coincidence that they all manifested at the same time. or more accurately, i went to see a doctor about one of them, and they all gradually presented themselves then - despite all of them existing for a while. i spent a great deal of time pinning this on a "unified theory" of sorts, where this was all my body attacking itself. but that theory led me to more harm than good. i think it's just a bunch of crap going on separately.

shmenguin, if I had to give my honest advice, just start experimenting with recreational drugs, can't get much worse

Yeah, he wins this thread. (probably not a good thing though.)