My Health Weblog

Patient: I am a teacher and one of my students was diagonised with swine flu. She recently returned back to school today and I had close contact with her today now I have a head ache and feel hot does t his mean that I now have it I also feel like I wnt to throw up

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Age: 31; Female, New York
Already Tried: Drinking water and eating I also an breast feeding mom should I breast feed tonight my child is 10 months what should I take

Doctor: Hello,
Id like to help you with this but I need more information. How many days was she absent? You said she recently returned to school…how many days has she been there prior to you having this headache?

How old is she?

And what are you feeling besides a headache and hot…do you have any fever?

Please check and tell me what your temperature is.
Thanks for clarifying,
Sincerely,
Dr. james

Patient: It is an after school dance class and she was absent about two week if you count weekends I would say about 14 days. Today is the second day she is back and today is the day I felt the headake I was with her for two hours and then I started feeling th hot about an hour after I was with her. She is 11 years old and I am 31 year old I feel like I am going to th row up at any minute. I am very concerned since I have an 10 month old in the house and it is coming up for the time I breast feed. Should I do that I just took two teaspoons of therau flu my temp is 98.5 ..Continue reading..

Patient: I am a registered nurse who holds a BA in Community Health from CUNY NYC, and a BS in Nursing from Columbia U. in NYC in 1989. I graduated with honors from Columbia. Since that time I have not worked, as I cared for my family. During my time at home, I have done significant and important charity work and have been on the board of a nurses PAC and other organizations. At this point I would like to enter the work force. Any ideas on what a “resume” should look like for me to use in applying for work that is not in bedside nursing?

Doctor: Hi there

What type of job are you looking to attain? (what field) or do you know yet?

Patient: I think that I would like to go into occupational health or some other areas where I would be treating basically well people who are having a problem related to something. Also, I would consider teaching health education in some capacity. I might want to begin part-time if that were possible, but ..Continue reading..

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Patient: I dont know if my question is beyond the expertise of some of the Dr on this board. If not I apologize. I was told yesterday that I am a carrier of the Alpha 1 tris gene. My phenotype is pi mz. I had the test due to elevated liver functions without any cause. numerous MRI ultrasounds and dozens of whacky blood tests. My Dr who is a pulmonary specialist and gp sent me to a liver specialist in mt sinai hospital nyc. Where I was tested. My gp Dr states that being a carrier is of no real risk to me, just that I should not smoke. He said that my body does produce enough AAT My range is 88 mg ref 82 to 169. I read that being a carrier can increase my chances of getting lung disease. I had the flu last week and still have a cough for about two weeks .My Dr says it can take sometime and the cough has nothing to due with my results. The liver specialist said in the report that he has seen in some cases increased fibosis in setting like mine. would the Mri and ultrsound showed this. My alt 93

Doctor:
Thank you.

Your gp is correct, as long as you don’t smoke your chances of developing COPD is not increased. Dr Seersholm wrote a 2004 article that addressed this specific topic. His research showed that people with pimz did not have an increase incidence of lung disease as long as they did not smoke. The reason is because a pimz still has, at a minimum 60% AAT. This is enough to stave of lung disease in someone with A1AT def. The cough, is a response that can last for weeks to even a month or longer. The reason is not the lungs (in this case) but the bronchi. The cough is often the very last thing to leave or get better. This is seen in almost all cases of any respiratory issue. Since your numbers are good I would not worry that all of a sudden you developed a lung disease. As for the liver, the MRI or ultrasound would have shown fibrosis of the liver. Your clotting factors would be out of whack. Your protein would be low. It doesn’t appear that this is the case. I would have to agree with your gp on the lung issue and would say that your hepatologist (liver doc) may have seen some cases of worsening, but I guarantee you this was the ..Continue reading..

Patient: I have old (2005) 25MG effexor and wish to use it,….is it safe? does it change in composition or in strength?

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Gender: Female
Age: 85
Already Tried: Using effexor to reduce hot flashes. Am currently using 80Gm CMPD Progesterone 5% and over the counter Estroven. used these for 30 days with no results, what period of time before I see a change? Very hard and repeat flashes throught the day and night. Any other recommendations? I have not used the effexor only once along with the progesterone. use the P cream twice /day. Hot flashes destroying my life. I can’t believe I am subject to hot flashes at the age of 83 though 85+1/2 HELP !!

Doctor: Hello,

Medications such as Effexor have an expiration date – and drugs from 2005 would now be expired. They lose their effectiveness – so they would not work. The strength decreases and it would do you no good.

If you used this effectively before, you can call your doctor and see if they would represcribe it – they will usually require an office visit, but if it helps – that’s worth it!

Patient: Yes,….the effexor did NOT work before, either, but I was willing to try it aain if it was still good. I have been told over many many yrs that old meds should be avoided.

I need help in finding a med that will help with these Hot Flashes that are destroying my everyday life !!! If you canot tell me an alternative or answer how long to take the progesterone before I get any relief,…you have not helped me a bit.The Dr seems at his wits end in his attempt to prescribe anything that will help.

Doctor: Regarding your hot flashes: treatment usually consists of Hormone Replacement Therapy. If you’ve tried both oral and transdermal patches and those have not worked – you may want to try the following:

Some research suggests that soy may have some benefit for reducing hotflashes and ..Continue reading..

Patient: Until the past couple of years she was very active, but the fatigue prevents her from exercise, she says. She also has much stiffness in her body and joints. N.B: This is really my sister, living in California; not me. I live in NYC and see her only once or twice a year, and I get worried.

Doctor: Well controlled diabetes should not cause constant severe fatigue. This should be evaluated further by doing blood test. She should have her hemoglobin checked, her thyroid function checked. These are the first two tests that I would like to do in her case.

Regards

Patient: My question is about the swine flu virus. I live in New York (an area where many cases of swine flu have been reported), and I’m about to travel abroad to see my family, which includes a 3-year old kid. Almost all of the cases of swine flu in that country have their origin in someone who contracted the virus either in NYC or on an airplane.

I intend to stay away from them for a few days, just to make sure that I didn’t catch anything in NY just before leaving or on the airplane. My question is: How many days do you think I should avoid having contact with them? What is the incubation period of swine flu? Are 3 or 4 days enough, or should I wait for 7 days (assuming I have no symptoms, of course)?

Also, does one HAVE TO have a high fever to suspect swine flu, or can one have swine flu without a fever? In other words, is NOT having a fever a guarantee that you don’t have the swine flu?

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Gender: Male
Age: 30
State/Country: Massachusetts
Already Tried: I have no symptoms of flu.

Doctor: The typical incubation period of swine flu is around 2 days with a maximum of 4 days in some cases. But is is best to avoid contact with another person for a period of 7 days because it is still thought that a person can remain contagious for a period of about one week or so.

You MAY or MAY NOT have fever. Even if you do not have fever you will have symptoms such as nasal congestion and ..Continue reading..

Patient: Question in regards to the development of cancer. Is it known how long it takes for a cancer to develop?. I had a abdominal ultrasound and abdominal MRI about (3) months ago the MRI showed a very small non enhancing liver cyst about 2 mm in size, the radiologist called the test unremarkable. I also have a spleen hemangioma that has been unchanged for about three years about 1 1/2 cm in size. Every 12 to 18 months I go for a full abdominal MRI for the spleen and I also get a endoscopy every 12 to 18 months for my reflux (NO BARRETTS). I had a colonscopy last month no polyps. My Gastro DR seems to give me alot of testing. When I tell other people that I get some many tests they say how come???. Is a MRI every year excessive
or would this help me catch any problems very early??? Or does it not matter? can a cancer grow out of no where to a stage 3 or 4 in less than a year. everything I read says cancer takes years to develope before symptoms appear. I am 40 male

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Gender: Male
Age: 40
State/Country: CA
Already Tried: mri ultrasounds bloodwork colonscopy

Doctor: I agree with what you are saying. I think that an MRI every year excessive. Even a colonoscopy which is done to screen for cancer of the colon is done every ten years after the age of 50. An MRI of the abdomen IS NOT a recommended test to screen for ..Continue reading..

Patient: My question is about the swine flu. I flew to Europe three days ago from NYC, an area that has had many cases of swine flu. I am now staying at a hotel. I would like to know whether I should go see a doctor, given the following:
- I have an inkling of a cough in my chest – I’m not coughing left and right at all, but every now and then I feel like I *could* cough. But I can hold it in.
- I don’t have a fever at all.
- My nose is a bit runny, but that’s always the case since I have an allergy.
- I don’t feel weak, no muscle pains, no vomiting.
So basically, my only (semi-)symptom is a little occasional dry cough. Should I see a generalist doctor?

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Gender: Male
Age: 30
State/Country: NY
Already Tried: Nothing. ..Continue reading..

Patient: Where in the US is the best hosp. for treatment of amyplasia ?

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Gender: Female
Age: 30
Already Tried: my first try

-Mandy

Doctor:
Hi Mandy. Thank you for asking your question on health.is.edu .

Do you mean Amyoplasia?
Amyoplasia is a sub-group of a condition called Athrogryposis Multiplex Congenita

I would recommend two Hospitals with AMC clinics:

NYC Hospital for Joint Diseases, Center for Children, Athrogryposis Clinic

and

Seattle Children’s Hospital- Arthrogryposis Clinic Quarterly

Dr. Judith Hall is a geneticist who has done extensive research on Arthrogryposis currently sees patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Clinic.

For more information, resources and support go to:

http://www.amcsupport.org/

Good luck to you

James