Take care dude
Paradox: When a doctor needs a doctor... - Page 3
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Zariel
Australia1277 Posts
Take care dude | ||
Ghostcom
Denmark4781 Posts
Aura happens BEFORE the pain. Migraine is usually divided into: 1) Prodromal phase -typical symptoms being altered mood, food cravings, hypersensitivity, stiff muscles etc. 2) Aura phase -Per definition develops over a couple of minutes (makes it distinguishable from SAH - in reality, not always so) and lasts for less than 60 minutes. -the symptoms you described 3) Pain phase -should be rather obvious 4) Postdromal phase -the "hangover" so to speak. Interestingly enough, cognitive deficit is rather normal in this phase (which is probably also part of the reason for the leave besides the sleepdeprivation thing) | ||
DKR
United Kingdom622 Posts
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rUiNati0n
United States1155 Posts
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Thingdo
United States186 Posts
I've been suffering from migraines for years so I feel for you. I've never had anything like that happen though, I just get the "normal" symptoms of pain and vomiting. | ||
TheSwedishFan
Sweden608 Posts
As a doctor meeting new doctors, do you think it helps that you in fact are a doctor when you describe your symptoms? As you might be using a different language to describe your symptoms other than what the other doctor is used to hearing from a patient? (hope you understand what i mean)(might be a stupid question ) All people that are hospitalized are afraid that something bad will happen to them. However, being a doctor i assume that diagnosis are quite interesting for you. Do the interest in the possible diagnose keep your mind occupied that you don’t worry as much? Or are/were you affected by your knowledge of all the possible diagnoses that it makes you more worried? Have you noticed that you've got some special care due to the fact that you are a doctor? Do they spend more time on your case and do you get prioritized in some way? | ||
VB_WhiplashJC
Australia64 Posts
When I was first diagnosed it was scary - they really didn't know much about them. They tell me people experience migraines differently with different triggers - even I have different symptoms with different migraines. Usually first I'll get drowsy. Then a finger will start getting numb, and spread to my whole hand, then usually my face. By then I've usually taken my Naratriptan. Sometimes this will end the migraine there and go straight to the hangover phase. I also try to do some strenuous excercise at this point. Could be an old wives' tale but it seems to work sometimes. If I don't or the Naratriptan decides it's not going to do it's thing, next comes the aura. Blurry vision, starting from a spot in the middle and spreading. I'll start having trouble thinking and communicating. Time to try and sleep it off, which the Naratriptan helps with. Next comes the crushing pain. In about an hour I'll be functional again, but still not thinking straight. I'll be very sensitive to light, sound and smell for the next 24 hours (and acutely aware of my brain moving inside my skull), and not 100% for a week. My triggers are bright light, neck pain and caffiene/stress/sleep dep (those tend to all come at once). I used to drink tea every breakfast and red bull for early starts. These days, nothing, which as a student is a bitch. No caffiene also means no chocolate, which is a bummer. Before I started managing my triggers I'd get two a month, now it's down to every 6 months or so. My doctor told me he suffered migraines multiple times a week in his teens. How he managed to complete his education is beyond me. Good luck! | ||
UmbraaeternuS
Chile476 Posts
On August 25 2012 13:29 Ghostcom wrote: Now that I know you are okay, I'll go ahead and correct you a bit: Aura happens BEFORE the pain. Migraine is usually divided into: 1) Prodromal phase -typical symptoms being altered mood, food cravings, hypersensitivity, stiff muscles etc. 2) Aura phase -Per definition develops over a couple of minutes (makes it distinguishable from SAH - in reality, not always so) and lasts for less than 60 minutes. -the symptoms you described 3) Pain phase -should be rather obvious 4) Postdromal phase -the "hangover" so to speak. Interestingly enough, cognitive deficit is rather normal in this phase (which is probably also part of the reason for the leave besides the sleepdeprivation thing) Thanks for that, I didn't notice that mistake. Corrected as of now. On August 25 2012 20:11 VB_WhiplashJC wrote: I'm a migraine sufferer, and so is my doctor. I think you'd be surprised how common it is. When I was first diagnosed it was scary - they really didn't know much about them. They tell me people experience migraines differently with different triggers - even I have different symptoms with different migraines. Usually first I'll get drowsy. Then a finger will start getting numb, and spread to my whole hand, then usually my face. By then I've usually taken my Naratriptan. Sometimes this will end the migraine there and go straight to the hangover phase. I also try to do some strenuous excercise at this point. Could be an old wives' tale but it seems to work sometimes. If I don't or the Naratriptan decides it's not going to do it's thing, next comes the aura. Blurry vision, starting from a spot in the middle and spreading. I'll start having trouble thinking and communicating. Time to try and sleep it off, which the Naratriptan helps with. Next comes the crushing pain. In about an hour I'll be functional again, but still not thinking straight. I'll be very sensitive to light, sound and smell for the next 24 hours (and acutely aware of my brain moving inside my skull), and not 100% for a week. My triggers are bright light, neck pain and caffiene/stress/sleep dep (those tend to all come at once). I used to drink tea every breakfast and red bull for early starts. These days, nothing, which as a student is a bitch. No caffiene also means no chocolate, which is a bummer. Before I started managing my triggers I'd get two a month, now it's down to every 6 months or so. My doctor told me he suffered migraines multiple times a week in his teens. How he managed to complete his education is beyond me. Good luck! Now there are preventive treatments you can take on a daily basis that prevent migraines from appearing altogether. Of course, you have to avoid the triggers, but it's a lot better than, let's say, 10 years ago. I started on Topamax about 5 years ago and it has done wonders for me. It made me functional again. My neurologist back then decided to put me on triptanes to help with the migraine crisis, but my blood pressure skyrocketed because of it, so I had to stop using it altogether and that's when he put me on Topamax. It was such a change. Of course, treatment isn't like a cooking recipe; patients are not equal to other patients and treatments are different depending from the severity of the migraines, their frequency, etc. On August 25 2012 18:38 TheSwedishFan wrote: Hi, happy you are feeling better. I have some questions: As a doctor meeting new doctors, do you think it helps that you in fact are a doctor when you describe your symptoms? As you might be using a different language to describe your symptoms other than what the other doctor is used to hearing from a patient? (hope you understand what i mean)(might be a stupid question ) All people that are hospitalized are afraid that something bad will happen to them. However, being a doctor i assume that diagnosis are quite interesting for you. Do the interest in the possible diagnose keep your mind occupied that you don’t worry as much? Or are/were you affected by your knowledge of all the possible diagnoses that it makes you more worried? Have you noticed that you've got some special care due to the fact that you are a doctor? Do they spend more time on your case and do you get prioritized in some way? I think it actually helps being a doctor when you describe your symptoms. You tend to be more accurate when delivering the information your colleague needs, because you know what he needs to hear and don't mince around. I was also a bit more worried because I knew some of the possible things that could have been wrong with me and that worried me more, since a lot of them weren't good at all. Luckily I got the best possible scenario, phew. And I'd be lying if I didn't say I think my treating team didn't pay a little more attention to me because I am a colleague. I mean, the neurologist was there waiting for me, got a super-fast MRI, only a few minutes after being admitted into the ER.. . You know what I mean. | ||
Rainmaker5
United States1027 Posts
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3FFA
United States3931 Posts
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Incognoto
France10239 Posts
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WaveofShadow
Canada31494 Posts
I'm just about to start 2nd year of Optometry school and your story fascinated me and I was trying to come up with the diagnosis as well as I read. I'm thinking of posing your scenario to the rest of the class and seeing if they can come up with it. | ||
MrRicewife
Canada515 Posts
thanks man. 5/5 | ||
Piste
6159 Posts
On August 24 2012 17:51 VenomBRA wrote: I had an MRI of my shoulder once, and it was a terrible experience. And I thought the part before the MRI was bad, with this doctor struggling to guide this flexible needle/tube thing from my chest all the way to my shoulder socket, to then inject this VERY THICK contrast substance. But being inside this coffin listening to those loud clicks and bags was very scary. The ear protection was also some sort of headphones, the techs kept telling me all the time it was almost over. Time would not pass. I was trying not to keep my eyes open, as the "roof" was so close to my eyes that it was hard to focus. I kept counting up. From 1 to 100, then back again from 1. And on the next day my chest was full of bruises from the doctor pushing it trying to guide this tube to my shoulder. But hey, at least I didn't need surgery! BTW, I don't know how to call it in English. Help would be appreciated . I had my arm frequently fall off the socket, they called it "luxação recidivante" in Portuguese. Is "recurrent discolocation" the correct English medical term? I always feel very strange being in a hospital as a patient, but I can only imagine what it must feel like to you who is so familiarized to it from the other side, as a doctor. Hang in tight there, you have my thoughts and best wishes. Been to MRI twice, I really don't understand why exactly you're saying it's a terrible experience. Actually I thought it was kinda comfortable in there. So comfortable, that druring the first time I fell asleep. the noise isn't THAT loud, and it doesn't make you feel anything now does it? everything you do is lie still. You're just claustrophobic aren't you? | ||
Sephy90
United States1785 Posts
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Deshkar
Singapore1244 Posts
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beg
991 Posts
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Molybdenum
United States358 Posts
I don't mean to be rude, but from one person who likes to know/explain how things work to another (I'm a chemist), I have an issue with this part On August 24 2012 13:19 UmbraaeternuS wrote: An MRI is actually a machine consisting in a giant magnet which generates a magnetic field (duh) of 1.5 teslas, and without using radiation in any way, provides with very high resolution images of whatever you might need. MRIs do use radiation. They just use radio waves instead of x-rays, or other high energy waves commonly perceived as 'radiation'. It's (very) low energy, as dozens of radio waves are passing through us right now, but it does use electromagnetic radiation (light). Wayyy less harmful than something like a CT scan Again, just trying to help. Now you can explain it to patients like me who ask how all the instruments work =D | ||
HULKAMANIA
United States1219 Posts
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Cyber_Cheese
Australia3615 Posts
On August 26 2012 00:44 UmbraaeternuS wrote: And I'd be lying if I didn't say I think my treating team didn't pay a little more attention to me because I am a colleague. I mean, the neurologist was there waiting for me, got a super-fast MRI, only a few minutes after being admitted into the ER.. . You know what I mean. Sounds like a good idea. Make way for a doctor and he can go back to saving people faster | ||
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