Post your current illnesses here

[JazzFunk]

PS: Also consider other supplements/meds you may be taking as these can often interact with certain medications, often 'innocent' stuff like vitamin compounds and herbs like ginseng n' stuff.

[Dazzyman]

Buster if your getting any form of angina, pain in jaw, chest, shoulders, arm pit or left arm go to A and E. I was diagnosed with reflux and they fecked up 2yrs ago. All my eCGs where fine even after heart attack (blood test showed it) and it wasn't till I had an angiogram they saw how horrific it was in there. Feeling faint and dizzy are also signs so if in doubt call a bloody ambulance buddy x

[ETC]

Balls, having had a great 3 days of a few beers last week my sodding tonsilitis has decided to come back (well Friday to be exact) 2 weeks of antibiotics... Sigh *again*

[MisterBubbles]

Well ive a proper man cold, but a few beers and paracetamol should help.

[Pikate]

got something that has happened a couple of times but need the medical staff of NTSC-uk for a diagnosis

Ok current medication is betablockers, flecainide, asprin & omeprazole all taken for atrial fibrillation and a reflux

The last couple of times ive used interdental brushes on my teeth ive felt faint, sore head, clammy and like general crap and end shaking like mad which is uncontrollable

i should use the brushes twice a week but end up doing it monthly and when i do there is alot of blood coming from my mouth

it can't be coincidence because its happened the last few times - unsure whether im losing too much blood and my blood pressure is going down

anyway diagnose

This could be anything. I imagine if you've been prescribed all these drugs for atrial fibrillation your doctor will have made sure your diet is good (i.e healthy[-ish], well balanced and you're eating/drinking enough) and you have no Iron/Zinc/Vitamin deficiencies?

With you saying you use the brushes monthly it could be that if your last dentist's check-up was a while ago you've developed some kind of gum/tooth pain that you don't realise you have because of the anti-inflammatory affect of drugs you're taking (long-term Ibuprofen courses can cause this but the Asprin could do it in your case) so when you use your brushes you're inflaming an already sore area and causing stress to a nerve... It's a long shot but it would explain the light headedness and the shaking.

Bleeding gums shouldn't cause you enough blood lose to affect your blood pressure so significantly though (shaking?). Unless of course you're gushing blood like an 80s horror film or choking it down or you're in your 90s or it's just not stopping after a few minutes as you'd expect (in which case see your doctor, or just see a doctor anyway, people on the internet are idiots. I mean look at what I post on here... =/)

[Spatial]

I don?t know if this counts for this thread, as I?ve not been properly diagnosed yet (read on to find out why) but I need to vent this somewhere and here seemed as good as any. I don?t really post about things like this because I try to keep stuff like this off the Internet, but I need to put this somewhere to try and clear my head. So sorry Bordersdown crew, you?re going to have to suffer my waffling.

So I?ve got a lot of moles. Not massive Austin Powers style things, there?s some that are the size of a small pea and light in colour. The vast majority are a lot that are smaller ? beauty spots if you will.

I?ve had them for ages and been to see the GP / Dermatologist a few years years ago who said they were all benign and just to watch them. I even paid to have some of the larger ones that were giving me grief with clothing (just rubbing around the waist and neckline) removed.

Fast forward to last month. I?ve been noticing that some more beauty spots have been appearing. Other existing ones were becoming slightly raised or darker. I?ve put it down to exercising over the last two years and losing a load of weight ? a faster metabolism might have something to do with it...

There?s a small one on my arm which has a dark spot in the middle which caught my eye. There?s some on my lower back which are waaaay darker than all the others.

The girlfriend gets a better look at my back than me (insert your own joke here) and she points out there?s two really dark ones on my back that I should get checked as they look different. Or in her words ?If I was to worry about any of the ones you have, it would be those?.

I go to the GP two weeks ago. He?s running late and so is a bit dismissive (he?s like that). He tells me they all look fine. I push the issue because I won?t be happy till I?m referred. I say again I?m getting more and I don?t think that?s normal for someone in their mid thirties. I tell him again the existing ones are getting bigger. Eventually he agrees to refer me and takes a picture of the one on my arm (the one with the black dot). I know from the last time that I can expect an appointment with the Dermatologist in a few months...

Everything was fine until this weekend. I?d put them to the back of my mind when, suddenly, last Saturday I had a bit of a thing about them again. Admittedly I?d had a drink and Take Me Out was on ? I was bored so started looking at them.

I start worrying and obsessing about them... I decided yesterday that I?m going to break out the Macro lens and take some photos, if for no other reason to map their size and any changes (which they say to do and I should have done ages ago any way).

Some photos are taken. I have a look through. Generally they aren?t looking too bad when zoomed in, even the black ones on my back. Close up they?re just a very dark brown and quite even. Nothing looks out of place...

... until I see this one.

Mole.jpg

Fupp, that doesn?t look good. At all.

It?s one of the ones on my lower back and if you read any of the things to look for in moles it fits the definition of every warning sign ? colour, non-symmetrical, border irregularities...

So I?m freaking out. I?m on the net looking for the number for the nearest Private Clinic to pay to be seen ASAP. I ring this morning and the soonest they can fit me in is next Friday...

I?ll be honest, I?m still freaking the fupp out right now. I?ve spent all day literally reading up about skin cancer and how it?s important to catch it early. I suspect (hark at me, the Internet Doctor) that its superficial spreading melanoma. It might already be too late if it?s getting bigger on the surface.

What?s worse is that I can?t even throw money at this to make an appointment happen any quicker. I'm scared to death. I feel absolutely helpess about this... thing... that's growing on me... growing into me... that I just want it cut off. If it wasn't needed for a biopsy (probably) I'd get a bottle of Vodka and a sharp knife and give it a try myself (although that would be a very, very stupid thing to do - after all, Vodka makes me vomit).

In my mind I can imagine it worming its way through my skin, bits of it breaking off into the blood stream and heading God knows where... my stomach... my kidneys... my brain! I don't want to die of Cancer!

Sorry, I'm freaking out again. I feel absolutely sick with worry. If I have to go like this a week Friday I?m going to be a nervous wreck.

[ETC]

Harley street if money is no object you would probably get seen insta-day or go to a+e you would probably get seen straight away if you are having a panic attack about it (google the hospitals near you to find out which one is the one with the dermatology a+e) good luck though fella hope it's nothing, I was in the same scary place in December with my throat so I know the feeling

[capcom_suicide]

If the A&E option doesn't work, start looking further afield for a clinic. Get a list of clinics closest to furthest and driving 3 hours to get an appointment this week will be worth it. Call you GP too and tell him/her how you are feeling, really do your best to get an emergency appointment NHS or priority appointment Private. Your GP may be able to help here.

Fingers crossed it is nothing mate, keep positive and use your energy on ringing all possible contacts for advice tomorrow. A&E With a skin specialist might be worth a go!

[Spatial]

Well, A&E was a comedic waste of time.

I was point blank told that this is something that they can't deal with and that I would have to wait for an appointment. I was pretty much told off for wasting their time - which was nice.

However, I have this morning managed to get another private appointment tommorow night at another hospital a lot further away. While I'm still freaking out, it's not as much as yesterday.

Thanks for your input guys - really crossing everything I've got that this isn't what I think it is.

[ETC]

I really wouldn't care about being told off, the only person that really cares about your health is "yourself" I don't trust any doctor, nurse , specialist whoever I know me better than anyone and if it don't feel right you better believe that I will push for whatever I think is needed for me to be satisfied. I think a lot of people just take the DR's word for it but having worked in the health service in the past you kinda realise you are one 8 minute time block to them they are not going to remember everything. I make sure I get my time but you do have to be very clear and sometimes quite blunt and firm with them after all who's best interest is your own health. Anyways that was my daft little rant, hope it works out for you Spatial here's hoping you fell asleep on a chocolate wrapper and it's a dried up minstrel or something chin up fella you will be ok

[Fader209]

If you try the doctors again sometimes you can get in after morning surgery. Phone up around 8 ish and ask to be added at the end then you pop in around 10/11am and wait for a bit for a doctor (it won't be your personal doctor but from the sounds of it he wasn't much cop anyway). It saves waiting for a proper appointment which could be 2 weeks away.
When you do see a doctor it is best to play on the problem a bit just so they refer you to the people you really want to see - the government has really tightened down on the NHS so I find they try to save money where ever possible, so if you say this is consuming your life at the moment/ giving you massive anxiety problems/ you have problems concentrating on work etc they should hopefully take it more seriously.
Most important thing is don't worry!

[endo]

It's probably not much help but try not to read too much on the internet. You can end up convincing yourself you've got anything doing that. I'm covered in moles myself and I've had the odd wobble worrying about some of them in the past (one in particular after a nurse pointed it out on my arm when I got some jabs to go on holiday- which was subsequently spent in the shade because I was petrified to go out in the sun). I've had it looked at by several doctors since and they've all OK'ed it, despite it being unlike others nearby, dark, irregular, itches every now and then etc. When she first spotted it I managed to panic myself, mainly through obsessively reading articles about it online. Not a cool feeling and only makes things worse.

I find doctors are somewhat laid back about skin cancer here for some reason, but ultimately it isn't as common here as elsewhere, especially in younger people. My wife's Italian and got loads of moles too. She sees a dermatologist every 6 months and he's only ever too happy to lop things off he doesn't like the look of. Not one she's had removed has been dodgy on biopsy though and I think he's a bit overzealous, but then it's not on the Italian NHS so it's more cash for him.

[NW2013]

I believe the main issue with moles is if you notice them changing. I think they can be all sorts of different shapes and shades but if you notice changes you should get them checked. Even then it doesn't always mean there's something wrong.

[Spatial]

Thanks all. You've helped me to calm down a little bit too - feel much more relaxed knowing that this is going to be looked at sooner rather than later.

[Spatial]

Back this evening and the Dr says it's benign. Gave me a good going over (steady now) and said that none of them are anything to worry about at all. No history of melanoma in the family and the fact that I'm a pasty geek who doesn't like going out doors let alone in the sun, means I'm very low risk.

Apparently you can get changes to moles and even new ones up until your fifties and it's all fine (that's one thing the Internet doesn't tell you!)

We had discussion about the ABCD's of skin cancer and he said that while awareness of your moles is never a bad thing, it's only ever to be used as a rough guide. His surgeries are full of the waiting well (just like me), who are convinced they have something just by following this bit of info, when in fact there's nothing wrong with them.

Not that awareness and using that guide is a bad thing if it saves peoples lives, it's just not to start obsessing about them if they fit the criteria (like I did) but just to go and see a Doctor and get them looked at professionally before you start thinking it's the end (again, just like I did).

It's a massive relief off my mind and while I feel very stupid about panicking now, it was money well spent to put my mind at ease.

Thanks to everyone here who contributed with the positive words too - it's much appreciated