What are you doing today?

I must say - Weber certainly packs their grills well!!! :)

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Hi to everyone ! I'm back dictating mostly
Surgery was awful and so painful : the surgeon didn't wait long enough for the local anesthetic to kick in because I was the second last before the closure of the ward. I felt everything :4 shots and 3 cuts. Shoulder and neck were so tense and contracted that I still have tension headaches, but little by little I will get back to normal, hopefully
Anyway now I'm done and my hand is straight and I'm start to using it a little.
 
Katbel said:
Hi to everyone ! I'm back dictating mostly
Surgery was awful and so painful : the surgeon didn't wait long enough for the local anesthetic to kick in because I was the second last before the closure of the ward. I felt everything :4 shots and 3 cuts. Shoulder and neck were so tense and contracted that I still have tension headaches, but little by little I will get back to normal, hopefully
Anyway now I'm done and my hand is straight and I'm start to using it a little.
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That's horrible that they messed up the anesthetic - far too traumatic for you - they should have taken the time to correct that before moving on. :(

There has to be a Dr rating system in BC - you should take the time to pass on your feedback. :(

Wishing you have a speedy recovery with no further hiccups!!!! :)
 
Ter-gets ...

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Has some killer deals right now on Apple gear. Scored (wife motivated Dad's Day purchase :D ) a new Series 10 46mm for $116 off ($100 sale + 5% Red Card). Also picked up the daughter a new SE 2nd gen for $161, that's for XIJ on July 5th :p

The S10 is replacing my S5 which is getting a little long-in-the-tooth, it was a mint, but used Swappa purchase years ago, so started with a slightly under 100% battery life which is now not super fantastic.
 
And just so you're not wondering if I made the steaks.

(I do them for 4 hours in the sous vide at 131F, so they're edge to edge medium rare) - then finished them with a nice sear on the grill, dialled up to 600F.

Baby Brussels Sprouts go so well with rib steak. :)

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Katbel said:
Hi to everyone ! I'm back dictating mostly
Surgery was awful and so painful : the surgeon didn't wait long enough for the local anesthetic to kick in because I was the second last before the closure of the ward. I felt everything :4 shots and 3 cuts. Shoulder and neck were so tense and contracted that I still have tension headaches, but little by little I will get back to normal, hopefully
Anyway now I'm done and my hand is straight and I'm start to using it a little.
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That sounds absolutely horrible! Stay on the mend. It's nice to have you back!
 
Katbel said:
Hi to everyone ! I'm back dictating mostly
Surgery was awful and so painful : the surgeon didn't wait long enough for the local anesthetic to kick in because I was the second last before the closure of the ward. I felt everything :4 shots and 3 cuts. Shoulder and neck were so tense and contracted that I still have tension headaches, but little by little I will get back to normal, hopefully
Anyway now I'm done and my hand is straight and I'm start to using it a little.
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That's horrible. So sorry to hear this.

One of the primary principles of any invasive procedure, including the thousands I've performed myself, has always been to establish adequate pain control and to monitor it closely. There are sometimes practical limitations, but most should be doable with not much discomfort by using the right type of anesthesia. I hope you recover quickly!
 
Today I had the 2 weeks after surgery appointment for my hand
I asked the surgeon if it was normal to have so much pain....and of course he said yes," sorry it was painful but if you have a recurrence just come back and see me"......sure....NO way! 😝

I didn't tell him that instead I'm going to have two cycles of radiations - 5 days each with an interval of 6-8 weeks-starting this coming Monday . Tomorrow they will make a custom molded device on my hand to avoid radiation where it's not necessary.
Radiation are the only option with a very good success, statistically from 75 to 85% and no more surgeries.
 
Katbel said:
Today I had the 2 weeks after surgery appointment for my hand
I asked the surgeon if it was normal to have so much pain....and of course he said yes," sorry it was painful but if you have a recurrence just come back and see me"......sure....NO way! 😝

I didn't tell him that instead I'm going to have two cycles of radiations - 5 days each with an interval of 6-8 weeks-starting this coming Monday . Tomorrow they will make a custom molded device on my hand to avoid radiation where it's not necessary.
Radiation are the only option with a very good success, statistically from 75 to 85% and no more surgeries.
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I’ve often thought that doctors should personally experience the procedures we do on patients to get a better understanding of what it’s like from their perspective. Obviously, there are practical limits to this, but it’s useful to the extent that it’s possible.

In my case, I’ve had a fair number of invasive tests and surgeries under local and general anesthesia and conscious sedation. I like to think they’ve helped me become more empathetic. I’ve also learned that people say really weird stuff when they’re partially sedated. One time, I apparently told the surgeon the same story repeatedly, making it shorter with each iteration.

I hope your procedure goes well and is successful.
 
Roller said:
I’ve often thought that doctors should personally experience the procedures we do on patients to get a better understanding of what it’s like from their perspective. Obviously, there are practical limits to this, but it’s useful to the extent that it’s possible.

In my case, I’ve had a fair number of invasive tests and surgeries under local and general anesthesia and conscious sedation. I like to think they’ve helped me become more empathetic. I’ve also learned that people say really weird stuff when they’re partially sedated. One time, I apparently told the surgeon the same story repeatedly, making it shorter with each iteration.

I hope your procedure goes well and is successful.
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Too bad I can't choose you as my doctor 😊.
Thanks to you and to everyone in this thread that still have empathy in their DNA and for the good wishes 💗
 
I have yet another weird malady that the doctors seem disinterested in. I thought i had impacted wax in my left ear, because that’s happened a couple times before, because my ear feels like something is in there, i hear and I feel a fluttering after each time that I speak. In the past that was wax. This time I also feel some mild pain in my ear and head, and sometimes when I get out of bed I lose my balance for a few seconds.

ENT didn’t find wax, tested ear pressure, and prescribed tylenol, saying it may have something to do with the nerve thing in my neck which causes neck pain and numbness in my thumb and index finger (still a few months away from a neurology appointment).

Lately every time I have a medical issue and see a specialist, they shrug their shoulders and point me to a different specialist, and then never follow up. Shoulder surgeon sends me for an EMG, the neurologist reports the results, then nothing happens. My fingers go completely numb, so I see a hand surgeon, who sends me to a neurologist (but this time an appointment takes 5 months). Now the ENT shrugs his shoulders and wishes me good luck. Meanwhile my GP just wants to follow the “order 15 blood tests, yell at me for not getting a colonoscopy yet” script - last time I was in for a physical, I also had a persistent cough, and when I mentioned it she told me I had to pick either the physical or the cough because she couldn’t do both in the same appointment. When I ask for advice on what I’m hearing from specialists and what I should do about it, she shrugs.

Now that I’ve written all this, I just realized doctors really suck. Our friend excepted, of course.
 
Cmaier said:
I have yet another weird malady that the doctors seem disinterested in. I thought i had impacted wax in my left ear, because that’s happened a couple times before, because my ear feels like something is in there, i hear and I feel a fluttering after each time that I speak. In the past that was wax. This time I also feel some mild pain in my ear and head, and sometimes when I get out of bed I lose my balance for a few seconds.

ENT didn’t find wax, tested ear pressure, and prescribed tylenol, saying it may have something to do with the nerve thing in my neck which causes neck pain and numbness in my thumb and index finger (still a few months away from a neurology appointment).

Lately every time I have a medical issue and see a specialist, they shrug their shoulders and point me to a different specialist, and then never follow up. Shoulder surgeon sends me for an EMG, the neurologist reports the results, then nothing happens. My fingers go completely numb, so I see a hand surgeon, who sends me to a neurologist (but this time an appointment takes 5 months). Now the ENT shrugs his shoulders and wishes me good luck. Meanwhile my GP just wants to follow the “order 15 blood tests, yell at me for not getting a colonoscopy yet” script - last time I was in for a physical, I also had a persistent cough, and when I mentioned it she told me I had to pick either the physical or the cough because she couldn’t do both in the same appointment. When I ask for advice on what I’m hearing from specialists and what I should do about it, she shrugs.

Now that I’ve written all this, I just realized doctors really suck. Our friend excepted, of course.
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Sorry for your problems!
There are very few exceptions, I hope you will find one good doctor
 
Cmaier said:
yet another weird malady
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With ear issues, it can be helpful to try to separate things affecting the inner ear from those messing up the outer ear - the boundary being the eardrum.
Technically, there is also the "middle ear", favorite site of kids ear infections, between the eardrum and the scull, the latter containing the inner ear organs, but let's keep it simple.
As soon as you combine ear discomfort with balance issues, that should raise the alarm that something is affecting the inner ear. You also don't mention if you noticed any hearing loss.
What you are describing could be the beginning of Ménière's disease, and I'm a bit surprised your ENT guy didn't pick up on that, unless the balance stuff happened later or whatever. What you describe he did only checked the outer and middle ear. On the other hand, Ménière's is not that common.
Unless I'm missing something, you need a better ENT.
The idea this could be linked to your shoulder/hand problem makes no sense to me - those sound like they could be due to cervical spine or entrapment of the nerve bundle going into your arm.

But remember - free "advice" is worth what you pay for ;-)
 
cbum said:
With ear issues, it can be helpful to try to separate things affecting the inner ear from those messing up the outer ear - the boundary being the eardrum.
Technically, there is also the "middle ear", favorite site of kids ear infections, between the eardrum and the scull, the latter containing the inner ear organs, but let's keep it simple.
As soon as you combine ear discomfort with balance issues, that should raise the alarm that something is affecting the inner ear. You also don't mention if you noticed any hearing loss.
What you are describing could be the beginning of Ménière's disease, and I'm a bit surprised your ENT guy didn't pick up on that, unless the balance stuff happened later or whatever. What you describe he did only checked the outer and middle ear. On the other hand, Ménière's is not that common.
Unless I'm missing something, you need a better ENT.
The idea this could be linked to your shoulder/hand problem makes no sense to me - those sound like they could be due to cervical spine or entrapment of the nerve bundle going into your arm.

But remember - free "advice" is worth what you pay for ;-)
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He told me to go home and use airpods pro to check my hearing, and send him the results (which I did - they were fine - both ears nearly identical, with little to no hearing loss). He claims the Apple results are 99% accurate and it’s a lot cheaper than if they do the test.

The symptoms seem to match MEM, and the physicians assistant sent me a note that sort of suggested it could be that (but she didn’t use the name).


At this point, assuming I don’t get worse, I’ll wait and talk to my new GP and see if she is willing to be a quarterback for me and navigate between all these specialists. I like her - she treated my shingles a year ago when my GP wasn’t available, and I found her much better than my GP (she actually listened, poo pooed my GP’s advice re: blood results which were perfectly normal except for one minor issue that hasn’t changed for me in 30 years, etc.). If not, I may do what my wife did, and go to a concierge doctor. It costs her several grand a year just to join, but she tells me she doesn’t have the problems I am having with Sutter/PAMF.

I guess the real issue is that I have to guess what kind of specialist I need myself, wait 1-3 months for an appointment, then find out I need to wait 3-6 months to see a different kind of specialist every time. It’s like going to the DMV, waiting in line, and when you get to the front they send you to a completely different line.
 
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