Medical issues and procedures

[Oldgixxer]

Thanks for the kind words everyone,I was very hesitant to post this.

[Scrapula]

I am a pharmacist, so if anyone needs some info on specific meds for any condition, let me know. I’ve worked in hospitals and oncology clinics, but now I am on the software side.

Side note: Mounjaro is a miracle drug and will be a blockbuster. Stocks are already dropping for kidney disease companies like Davita. I went from stage 4 kidney disease, almost at a point of dialysis, to stage 2.

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by Oldgixxer

Thanks for the kind words everyone,I was very hesitant to post this.

It's odd but having a support group of people you don't know helps. We're here for you.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

but why suffer lol?

i get the wait till you need it mentality. but this isn't a self resolving condition

Not sure it's suffering if you prefer the symptoms to dealing with the medication side effects the rest of your life.

[Oldgixxer]

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

It's odd but having a support group of people you don't know helps. We're here for you.

Thank you very much,it's been quite a bumpy road. But since my wife works in the oncology dept of a Big Pharma company she was able to get me an appointment at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Fl,which is only 2.5hrs from us.

The local healthcare in my area sucks beyond anything I've experienced in my life. I am doing the chemo treatments semi-local in Savannah Ga which is 40min drive each way which is easier than doing it at Mayo,however my main oncologist is at Mayo and he's great,any major procedures (such as the chemo port procedure) I take that 2.5hr drive as I won't let anyone local slice or dice me open.

[Chick Webb]

My back and especially neck are a bit of a hot mess. Developed burning pain in right arm Dec '21 and ended up getting a C-5/6/7 fusion in May '22. Took out the discs, substitued some very expensive titanium spacers, and secured the lot with a plate and 6 screws spanning the 3 vertabrae. Recovery wasn't too bad, other than 6 weeks in the horse collar, and the problem was corrected. Couldn't do much of anything for six months, but was back playing golf and riding the bike by Thanksgiving. I'm now sporting even more hardware, as you can see in the pic.

Unfortunately developed new trouble at C-7/T-1 on the left side starting in March and now I've got constant pain behind my left shoulder blade and down the outside of my left arm. Have a C-7/T-1 laminectomy/foraminotomy w/possible discectomy scheduled for a week from today. This one's too low on the neck so they have to go in from the back, which involves a pretty large and deep incision. I expect recovery to be shorter (no waiting on bones to grow), but more painful. Hope to be able to hit the links sometime early next year, god and my surgeon willing.

If there's one thing I've learned as I've aged, teeth and joints were not made to last beyond about 50 years. Getting old is not for the faint of heart.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

tamsulosin is a very effective drug and provide relief for his symptoms. does he have luts ....lower urinary tract symptoms? it will only progress worse causing retention leading to stones and utis. aging is a part of life and medicine helps us not suffer. everything has a side effect.

risk vs beneift

I've been taking finasteride for almost 20 years for BPH. Works well, have no problem urinating. There were some sexual side-effects at the beginning but they passed years ago. PSA test results are usually the same - 1.0.

A positive side-effect is it stops male pattern hair loss, not that I've ever had a problem with that.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

Not sure it's suffering if you prefer the symptoms to dealing with the medication side effects the rest of your life.

hes never tried it to know its side effects. keep in mind most side effects unless over 50% are patient specific and/or placebo

[Oldgixxer]

Originally Posted by Chick Webb

My back and especially neck are a bit of a hot mess. Developed burning pain in right arm Dec '21 and ended up getting a C-5/6/7 fusion in May '22. Took out the discs, substitued some very expensive titanium spacers, and secured the lot with a plate and 6 screws spanning the 3 vertabrae. Recovery wasn't too bad, other than 6 weeks in the horse collar, and the problem was corrected. Couldn't do much of anything for six months, but was back playing golf and riding the bike by Thanksgiving. I'm now sporting even more hardware, as you can see in the pic.

Unfortunately developed new trouble at C-7/T-1 on the left side starting in March and now I've got constant pain behind my left shoulder blade and down the outside of my left arm. Have a C-7/T-1 laminectomy/foraminotomy w/possible discectomy scheduled for a week from today. This one's too low on the neck so they have to go in from the back, which involves a pretty large and deep incision. I expect recovery to be shorter (no waiting on bones to grow), but more painful. Hope to be able to hit the links sometime early next year, god and my surgeon willing.

If there's one thing I've learned as I've aged, teeth and joints were not made to last beyond about 50 years. Getting old is not for the faint of heart.

Attachment 3306794

I feel your pain,I'm fused from L2-S1 and C4-6 with a fractured T12

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

Originally Posted by Oldgixxer

I feel your pain,I'm fused from L2-S1 and C4-6 with a fractured T12

damn im 31 and sort of mildy feel your symptoms. imma be fused the fuck up by 60.

still very active but cant outrun time

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by M_Six

My gripe with modern medicine is the dearth of straight answers to simple questions. Way too many generalities floating around out there and I often find that supposed experts are not really. They just repeat the generalities they've been taught in their schooling.

Case in point. "Sodium causes high BP." Well, yes. But why does sodium cause high BP? My brother, like the rest of our family, suffers from elevated BP. Not dangerously high, but enough that he's on meds. So he was told to avoid sodium, which he did religiously. Then he had all sorts of issues caused by a lack of sodium, like muscle cramps. He complained to his doc about the cramps and was told he needs to take in more sodium, which is just the opposite of what he had been told before. I had to explain to him that sodium causes water retention and it's the water retention that elevates BP. He's taking a diuretic, so I made sure he understood that too much sodium is defeating the purpose of the diuretic, but that a moderate amount of sodium is ok. If the doc had explained that to him in the first place instead of just throwing out the "avoid sodium" generality, the whole issue with muscle cramps could have been avoided.

I'm on a statin drug to keep my LDL levels as low as possible to mitigate arterial calcium buildup. But my question to nutritionists as been, "Which foods will *directly* lead to arterial calcium buildup?" I know eggs and red meat and so on can elevate LDL and the LDL elevation causes the buildup. But if my LDL is very low, are those foods still a problem? All they can tell me is the same line about certain foods that elevate LDL. Yes, I understand that. But if my LDL remains below my target level, will certain foods still cause a calcium issue? I mean, what about the almond milk I drink? It has calcium in it which is important for bone strength. Will that calcium somehow end up in my arteries? These seem like simple questions, yet a straight forward answer seems impossible.

Again not a doctor but one of the first lines of defense for HBP is what they call water pills. It reduces the fluid creating pressure and sodium attracts fluid so will counteract the meds and make BP higher.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by Chick Webb

....
Unfortunately developed new trouble at C-7/T-1 on the left side starting in March and now I've got constant pain behind my left shoulder blade and down the outside of my left arm. Have a C-7/T-1 laminectomy/foraminotomy w/possible discectomy scheduled for a week from today. This one's too low on the neck so they have to go in from the back, which involves a pretty large and deep incision. I expect recovery to be shorter (no waiting on bones to grow), but more painful. Hope to be able to hit the links sometime early next year, god and my surgeon willing.

If there's one thing I've learned as I've aged, teeth and joints were not made to last beyond about 50 years. Getting old is not for the faint of heart.

Attachment 3306794

The curvature and flexible discs are like a shock absorber for the spine. When you fuse several of them, it transmits all the force to the adjacent joints (like in the old days when they would put a jacking plug into coil springs to lift a car, and that is where the spring would break). It is very common for people to return to the activities that caused the initial problem, once the pain goes away - then with this concentration of force, the adjacent discs don't last long.

I'd suggest that you find a physical therapist who has experience with back/neck fusions, and have them work with you on posture and mechanics (often some strength/stretching too). They may also have some suggestions about changing some of you current activities that are contributing. And NOT those bozo's at the gym who are 'exercise physiologists' or whatever - a real PT, ideally associated with a hospital that has a spinal cord unit.

[Oldgixxer]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

damn im 31 and sort of mildy feel your symptoms. imma be fused the fuck up by 60.

still very active but cant outrun time

-L5-S1 fusion 2015
-L2-S1 revision 2017
-C4-6 fusion 2018
-reverse shoulder replacement 2019
Pic of me is recent,after all those surgeries listed above

Don't let anything stop you;all the Dr's said to me you'll never be able to lift again(been hitting the weights since '89) I told em all yup if you say so. I adapted and adjusted my training accordingly,wasn't easy at all but I figured it out.
Was doing great until the cancer. I'll be back
Apologies for the huge pics,I attempted to downsize them

[Chick Webb]

Originally Posted by Maynard

It is very common for people to return to the activities that caused the initial problem, once the pain goes away - then with this concentration of force, the adjacent discs don't last long.

There's no question that my current issues, which were already lurking in the shadows when I had the fusion last May (they were noted in the MRI from 2/22), are partly a function of the new stresses introduced after that procedure. I was very careful about rehab/PT, but that wasn't enough, apparently.

I am, alas, pretty decrepit from T-1 up. Even my surgeon said while reviewing the last MRI that "your neck is a mess". There's narrowing of the foramin on both sides above the fusion - C-4/5 & C-3/4. I would not be shocked if those create some issues eventually. We're just knockin' em off one at a time....

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Scrapula

I am a pharmacist, so if anyone needs some info on specific meds for any condition, let me know.

I have a quick pharmacy question. What is the largest prescription dose of vitamin pee pills that you've ever seen prescribed to a patient? I'm on 120mg of Torsemide (6 x 20mg pills) daily, and am wondering if this dosage is crazy.....

[Scrapula]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

I have a quick pharmacy question. What is the largest prescription dose of vitamin pee pills that you've ever seen prescribed to a patient? I'm on 120mg of Torsemide (6 x 20mg pills) daily, and am wondering if this dosage is crazy.....

Are you taking it for congestive heart failure, liver disease, kidney failure then 200mg is max dose.
As a general diuretic, 20mg twice a day is more normal.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Scrapula

Are you taking it for congestive heart failure, liver disease, kidney failure then 200mg is max dose.
As a general diuretic, 20mg twice a day is more normal.

It's a long story about escaping from our regional trauma center back in 2016 for CHF. Every time that they tried to taper the IV Lasix off and add the pill version so that I could be discharged, my creatinine shot through the roof overnight. The Torsemide pills didn't spike the creatinine, so that's what they sent me home with to die (not a joke).

I bring up the idea of dropping the dose with my cardiologists every year or so, and they are inclined to let the current dose ride since my creatinine is under control. My CHF is also under control, and I'm so dry that my wife is jealous of my skinny legs and ankles.

I was just curious what an unusually large dose was, since my local pharmacy gives me a strange look when I pick up a 90-day supply in multiple large jars.....

[Scrapula]

It’s fine. I have CKD and recently got off of Lasix. My kidney function improved when I started a drug called Mounjaro for diabetes. I agree with keeping your creatinine low. Ignore the pharmacy techs.

[Reborn_]

Originally Posted by Oldgixxer

Was diagnosed with stage 3 testicular cancer August 4th,currently undergoing chemo which really sucks ass. Completely blindsided me. Such is life. I'll be 54 this friday.

Sorry to hear that brother. Hang in there!

And Happy birthday!

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Oldgixxer

Was diagnosed with stage 3 testicular cancer August 4th,currently undergoing chemo which really sucks ass. Completely blindsided me. Such is life. I'll be 54 this friday.

It's been 20+ years since a physician checked my testicles. I assumed it was because older men don't get testicular cancer. Now I'm thinking I need to be a bit more assertive.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by Llarry

It's been 20+ years since a physician checked my testicles.

Don't you check your own

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Llarry

It's been 20+ years since a physician checked my testicles. I assumed it was because older men don't get testicular cancer. Now I'm thinking I need to be a bit more assertive.

Yeah, when I read Oldgixxer's post it made think about it since 54 is not a young man. I now check more thoroughly when soaping up in the shower.