Well today I was diagnosed with Shingles. Wooo! Only about 540 cases for people in my age group in the US every year. And, I have a fever of 101.1, and the virus has agitated my asthma so I can hardly breathe. I have to miss a week of work and half a week of school, starting today when I missed a test in multivariate calc. I really hope I don't have to take an "incomplete" in the course, but wow I feel like total shit.

Shingles is a resurgence of the chicken pox virus that usually occurs decades after you first get chicken pox. It really sucks, and I feel like I
m dying! (lack of oxygen and all).

My asthma is only aggravated by viral infection.

Damn, dude. That's really bad.

I dont really have any, and I'll keep it that way. More excercise.

I have allergies.

In the last year or so, I've started to need glasses for close-up work, or reading in low-light conditions.

But my main health problem is MS. My wife has it, and I'm her carer. It sucks.

Wow Tines, i'm sorry. My regards to your wife.

Anyway, a few years ago, I got diagnosed with PNH, which is short for Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria. Basically, I piss blood every second morning, my hemoglobin levels regulate at around 90 (that's bad), so my blood cells can barely carry oxygen, so i'm always drowsy, all the time. I'm at constant risk of thrombosis (blood clotting). It's essentially a deficency of the proteins in the cells in my bone marrow, making them defenceless, causing them to die really fast, so I produce far less blood cells than the average human being.

Yeah, that's my medical issue.

I don't have any real medical issues except poor eyesight and being half deaf, lucky me.
Some of the things you guys describe sound scary.

Damn, slothen! Hope you get to feeling better!

Anyway, I had asthma when I was a child but I "outgrew" it during early adolescence, weird deal. The only time I really get "sick" nowadays seems very seasonal (or at least when there is a radical change in climate). Like from 80 degrees (Fahrenheit for all the weather geeks keeping score ), nice breeze and not a cloud in the sky, to below 40, overcast, ridiculous wind gusts and pouring buckets of rain, or vice versa, within 48 hours. This only happens to me about once or twice a year and can last anywhere between a few days to a few weeks depending how radical the weather changes around.

Recently passed Kidney Stones, about the size of grapes.

Was on morphine though, could've blown my arm off with a .50 and I wouldn't feel anything.

Ive got this

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eczema[/url]

Severe astigmatism (11/20) and bipolar "disorder". I often sleep so long that forget what day it is, and I don't care. Perhaps I need more fiber.

I used to have a 'roid from when I was heavier, but I got that sucker sliced. Now I can ride a bike with the best of them. (Those things hurt like hell. Kids, don't spend too much time on your asses.)

Man we're so filled with diseases. Though technically all I get is Hives often.

Not wussy ass hives either, these motherfuckers travel in big old clumps.

I had migraines nearly every day for 8 years (ages 12-20). I'm not talking about headaches, but lay in a dark room, scream, cry, and pull your hair out migraines. Was pulled out of school at 14, and put on a home program (not "homeschool"). Finally had to quit even that at 16.

Went to doctor after doctor and nobody could find anything to help long term. Had so many pain shots they couldn't get the needle to into my hip anymore because of scar tissue. Finally, they put me on a steady dose of morphine which keeps me really tired and dopey but functional. Apparantly, migraines can be inherited, and nearly every one on my mom's side of the family has them, as well as several on my dad's side.

Man I feel down right healthy next to you pholks.

Man, I just got done taking the 10 hour long Medical Boards Exam, and this is the kind of topic I see here?!?!?!? NOOOOO!!! The test just ended and you guys are already giving me flashbacks.

I'm just going to quote Coach Z by saying, "I have more than two prablums!"

That said, this thread has the best title I've ever seen.

BrikHaus wrote:Man, I just got done taking the 10 hour long Medical Boards Exam, and this is the kind of topic I see here?!?!?!? NOOOOO!!! The test just ended and you guys are already giving me flashbacks.

You know, I did this just for you. Oh yeah, and the rash has turned to vesicles filled with yellow-clear fluid. I've read up on it, and soon that will turn to puss, then blood. Damn I should post some pictures. These things are raised off my skin like half a centimeter.

Periodic episodes of depression and anxiety.

I was pretty much entirely healthy up until this year (barring extreme nearsightedness), but strange things have happened. A cautionary tale...

So, about a year ago, I pried up a toenail while wearing sandals. It got a fungus infection. No big deal.

December, I start a 3-month course of Lamisil to get rid of it. First prescription medication I've been on in 5 years. I'm still convinced that stuff's dangerous in a number of ways.

January, I get a sinus infection.
February, I get an antibiotic-resistant staph infection on my legs. I also start having panic attacks, from at the least a combination of not knowing what was up with the infection and terrible heartburn caused by the Lamisil.

Actually, EM, when you interviewed me for the documentary I was on Klonopin, a sedative. Didn't mention that at the time. Kind of dulls the brain, and addictive, I'm glad I was only on it for a few weeks.

So the infection got resolved, and I went off Klonopin... and ended up unable to sleep for 3 nights. Some more stuff happened, and my stomach healed up from the Lamisil, I missed about a month of work, and now I've been diagnosed with anxiety. Zoloft for that. Seems to be working, the side effects are pretty minimal.

Went to Japan, came back, had another staph infection by the time I got back, and that's where I am now. Antibiotics and antidepressants.

I can't get any doctor to care, but there are a number of people who claim that Lamisil made them incredibly anxious, not to mention a lot of other issues not in the official prescribing information like long-lasting immunological deficiencies. At least I didn't lose my sense of taste. Bad stuff. Causative of all my problems, maybe, maybe not, but probably a contributor.

Still, I think a lot of people here have much worse (chronic) problems. It's amazing in its complexity, the human body.

slothen wrote:You know, I did this just for you. Oh yeah, and the rash has turned to vesicles filled with yellow-clear fluid. I've read up on it, and soon that will turn to puss, then blood. Damn I should post some pictures. These things are raised off my skin like half a centimeter.

If this thing is messing with your asthma, then it must have reactivated in one of your thoracic dermatomes. Hey, you should be glad that it didn't decide to wind up in the most common location.... the face!

Drinian: If it's one thing I've learned in my 8 years of migraines and being prescribed 100 gazillion medications it's that you simply HAVE to look up and research anything that's prescribed to you. Don't rely on doctors. Don't rely on warning labels. Different medicines effect different people different ways.

I've had so many people in my family on medications that screwed them up more than it helped them. Had one on an anti-depressent (can't remember which one, not Zoloft) that after coming off it was going through suicidal depression, anxiety, and physical withdrawl effects. After looking it up online we found forums devoted to people going through the same hell and it was really, REALLY scary.

It taught me to simply research anything you're prescribed, and be careful to watch for anything that happens to you that's unusual (physically or mentally) while on it.