An brusque abode for pathogens (Last Plane to the Doctor's Office)

[hannah]

I've been really tired all week—barely able to keep my eyes open after 9pm. I slept from 10pm to 11am on Wednesday, felt like shit the whole day. No other symptoms, save for the occasional mild sinus headache, which a neti pot can usually alleviate. Might this be allergies? It's really starting to bum me out.

[milesofsparks]

allergies make me SO TIRED, so I'd say yes.

[peacocks]

NPR said that this has been the worst allergy season in a long long time, so it probably is allergies unless you've been sharing a lot of cokes. In that case: MONO! (jk you prob don't have mono)

[Bernard]

ugh sinus

[Anne the Man]

Jesus, fuck Western medicide. These antibiotics for urinary problems make me feel like passing out. I got some acidophilus tablets to combat them, but until that sinks in I get to feel like shit, and have shakes that make me stammer and spell things wrong and have an upset stomach.

[peacocks]

uti's (if that is what you have) are absolute suckfests. It'll all be over soon!

[jm]

I woke up, went to the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and saw my teeth ringed with black at the gumline.  My tongue, it appeared, was also black.  Thinking I had either bled profusely or just otherwise somehow acquired some horrific mouth disease, I brushed my teeth and silently freaked the fuck out for a few minutes, until I remembered I had chewed a couple of Pepto Bismol tablets in the middle of the night.

[peacocks]

I was thinking oreos but alright

[RavingLunatic]

Jesus, fuck Western medicide. These antibiotics for urinary problems make me feel like passing out. I got some acidophilus tablets to combat them, but until that sinks in I get to feel like shit, and have shakes that make me stammer and spell things wrong and have an upset stomach.

I've never heard of that kind of reaction to antibiotics. Is that a normal thing for you when you take them? I actually twice took antibiotics for the express purpose of alleviating the severe bloating and gut pain problems I have. The basic theory is that chronic bloating is caused by small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and that antibiotics clear them out. Nearly all the testimonials I've read from people with similar problems to mine have said that taking antibiotics gives them at least temporary, and oftentimes a more or less permanent, relief from bloating. I had the opposite effect, one which I've never heard of happening. Antibiotics made my bloating and gut pain immeasurable worse, and this latest time it took about four months before I returned to my normal levels of bloating and pain. I couldn't drive any significant distance during that time because sitting down hurt too much. So, I guess I'm saying that I can sympathize with side effects from antibiotics.

[Bernard]

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The legit doctor in question is my friend and I can verify his legititude.

[FreddyKnuckles]

As long as we're advertising, I can handle all of your maryland medical malpractice needs, um, legititudely. *

[alex]

Damn, I have a UTI. I thought my bladder was bad enough without one that I probably wouldn't even notice the different when I do get one, but it turns out that there is a very, very discernible difference.

[G.C.R]

Ow, pain! Drink lots cranberry juice!

[Greg Nog]

Yikes!  Did you get anitbiotics?

[alex]

It may have just been a false alarm; perhaps my bladder was just temporarily disgruntled rather than full-on infected. I'll wait and see how it develops over the weekend before consulting a doctor, and just drink cranberry juice and take cranberry capsulae in the meantime. After a night spent with a hot-water bottle (luckily it's cooled down quite a bit over the last week or two, so it wasn't torture), the pain is almost gone and the frequency of toilet visits has decreased to a level that's quite normal for me.

(I totally brought the hot water bottle to the office today, too!)

Thanks for the sympathy, Greg and Grace!

[coldforge]

Bizarre burning sensation on my fingers. Could be capsaicin, could be scrubbing bubbles. Could be something else. Uncured by: soap, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, high-proof rum. Somewhat concerned.

[peacocks]

[insert super power joke here]

It probably is the oil from the chili peppers.

[jess]

I've also heard milk can be helpful to wash off capsaicin. It also may not be the oil anymore but rather the minor chemical burn from the oil that was on there, so washing more might not help. I'd try some cortisone cream.

[Greg Nog]

If it's capsaicin, it's fat-soluble, so any kind of lipid should work to dissolve it and carry it away.  You could rub your hands with olive oil, canola oil, butter, etc.  Skim milk wouldn't work as well, but whole milk should.

[coldforge]

Capsaicin is also alcohol soluble (and alcohol is recommended for external use), hence the rum. In any case, everything's fine now.

[Greg Nog]

RECCOMENDED BY WHO???

DRUNKS????!>?

?

[YojimboMonkey]

For capsaicin I usually coat my dry hands in dish soap and work them for a couple of minutes before adding water & lathering & rinsing. Since dish soap is good at dissolving oils.

[FreddyKnuckles]

Man, I get so many hand injuries.  Jammed my index finger pretty bad last night at basketball.  It was completely numb till I got home so I didn't think it was that bad but now it is all swollen and purple and painful.  My pinky on that same hand is also deformed from when I broke the shit out of it playing basketball and never got it looked at.

[Em]

Extreme fatigue not correlated with a dip in mood, general achiness, super shotty, somewhat tender lymph nodes, and a history of finding some ticks after being in the woods upstate at a yoga retreat Memorial Day weekend. Doctor decides to treat for Lyme disease until the bloodwork comes back. What do you think LPTJ? Did he get it right, or would you rather diagnose me with mono or lymphoma or something? Has anyone had Lyme disease?

[jess]

I mean, there's not really a good way to know, other than the tests, but if it's mono, there's also nothing to do about it except rest (so rest!), whereas with Lyme disease, treating it quickly with antibiotics is key, because it gets harder to treat effectively as time goes on. I'd guess that if you never had a rash at the tick bite (which happens in most, but not all, Lyme cases), odds are lower that it's Lyme than mono or a mono-like virus, but I would think he's figuring that the antibiotics won't hurt* if it's not Lyme and will be really important if it is.

*yes, they are bad more globally in terms of antibiotic resistance, but this seems like a case when that might be worth it, vs people getting antibiotics for their colds, which is idiotic.