Father suffers from parkinson's, My father has been suffering from parkinsons since 1992, he is 59 years old today and on tablet levodopa and pramipexole. Could anyone suggests other treatments to make him feel better?
View 1 RepliesI have had Parkinson's for 9 years. I have taken Pramipexole for many years . Last October my right ankle and foot became swollen. I was taken off pramipexole and introduced to Madopar. The swelling went down but not completely. Because of an increase in my arm tremor I was prescribed Ropinirole to be taken with my Madopar. My right ankle and foot have become really swollen again and am now not taking the Ropinirole. After 5 days my leg only a little less angry. What medication do I take now.
View 1 Repliesi have had sjogrens since I was 41 years old, I'm now 74 . I've been told there's nothing can be done for it, it's just as I've got older I ache more and get extremely tired,I do go out walking with my dog to get some exercise, have a sit down , then do a few jobs , then sit down and so forth , sjogrens is not life threatening, but it changes your life completely .but it's nice to keep in touch with people who has this horrible condition.
View 21 RepliesI developed excruciating burning in my bladder within the last two weeks. After ruling out a bladder infection, and after doing much Internet research, my symptoms (burning 24/7) seem to match interstitial cystitis. Has anyone received this diagnosis? It appears that the condition is chronic and very very difficult to treat, and that there are no proven treatment. There are treatments but they are pretty extreme (you can Google them under treating Interstitial Cystitis.)
So what a low blow. Can anyone out there help me? I see a urologist for the first time tomorrow. Can anyone tell me what I am in for to cure this horrible burning?
I was having some bleeding for about 3 weeks and it is being investigated now. I had ultrasound, biopsy (awaiting results) but I am just looking for my options. If they find something bad in the biopsy of course it looks like a hysterectomy. But if nothing shows I,m still stuck with the thick lining and bleeding. I have heard horror stories about the ablation, and I have heard its not a good idea with a previous C-section. My doctor thought I may be lacking progesterone or in fact estrogen dominant. I am currently taking progesterone to help with the bleeding for 10 days. It is working well and I feel great, and other symptoms I was having have stopped. Anyone have a D @ C with or without hormone therapy and did it help. I am 47.5 years old and if I can just coast for a few years until menopause I may be able to avoid a hysterectomy.
View 1 RepliesVaricose veins are in some cases unavoidable. Many times, there are ways to naturally prevent and soothe them.
Get plenty of exercise to get your blood circulating, Elevate your legs on pillows daily for 10 minutes or more, Avoid excess weight gain, Dry-brush your legs daily to improve circulation. (This can prevent varicose veins from forming.) Use a natural-bristle brush with a long handle that allows you to reach all parts of your body. Gently brush your legs from the ankles up in a circular motion. Do this before you shower, so you can wash off any dead skin you brush off. Follow with moisturizer or body oil. Don't brush areas with existing varicose veins because you may irritate them.
Take sociable garlic and vitamin E capsules to improve circulation and vitamin C and B-complex vitamins to strengthen your blood vessels, Massage your legs with upward strokes, flushing your blood up to your heart. Use a massage oil made with 3 drops of lavender oil and 1 drop of peppermint oil in a coconut oil base (use unscented coconut oil), or put only the essential oils into a small spray bottle filled with water and spray directly on your legs.
St. John's wort oil helps with inflammation of veins. Avoid sitting for too long, especially with your legs crossed,
Wear loose clothing.
Try acupuncture or reflexology treatments to get your circulation moving and to move any stagnant energy.
After a bath, apply castor oil directly onto the veins. Massage using upward strokes from your feet straight up your legs. Avoid standing for prolonged periods of time.
Apply a cool compress soaked in witch hazel on your legs. Add a few drops of rosemary oil to stimulate circulation.
Flex your feet up and down and circle your ankles to the left and to the right twice a day.
To help varicose veins, make sure you're getting enough of the following:
Calcium-rich foods, since varicose veins are aggravated by a calcium deficiency
Pineapple, to reduce swelling and inflammation.
Berries such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and cherries, as they contain a pigment that strengthens the walls of the veins
Foods high in fiber Plenty of water, to keep your bowels moving.
How do you treat spider veins and varicose veins without vein clinics?
View 1 RepliesMy body has been working on this big toe issue for years. I finally decided to see what it was and what I could do about it.
I have two choices: fusing or a lesser procedure called cheilectomy.
I am looking for feedback from anyone who has had either of these procedures done.
For 11 years I have suffered with this condition. The 1st diagnosis was claudication, 2nd arthritis, 3rd peripheral artery disease, 4th nerve interference from protruding spinal disc , 5 6 7 8 9 10 etc. I have taken every known treatment . Where would you suggest I try next ?
View 1 RepliesI want to start a thread that concentrates on anything that helps - or anything tried that doesn't help.
I've been prescribed Dapsone, Allegra and Advantan - no improvement after 14 days
I've read that Ultraviolet B was completely successful for 70% of patients after 10.9 weeks and I can email that study to anyone interested. Ultra Violet B is provided by the sun but one person on this forum reported getting worse after spending time in the sun.
70 year old male in good shape been exercising 6 days a week cardio and weights for the past 5 years or so.Last couple of weeks or started to feel discomfort in my neck and jaw while exercising, it would go away when I stopped. Went to to non interventional cardiologist who ordered up an angiogram which I had 4 days ago. Results were Right artery 99% blocked, LAD 70 % and two other arteries on the left also 70% blocked. Interventional Cardiologist recommended CABG surgery because of multiple artery involvement and that the left arteries were not good candidates for stenting due to the position of the blockage.
My non interventional cardio after conferring with the interventional cardio said that I had options other than CABG. Both doctors agreed that my angina was most likely coming from the 99% right block.
Option is stenting the 99% blocked right and the OMT for the rest. A surgeon was also called in for consultation and neither he or the two other Cardios would predict outcomes or give an opinion as to which course of treatment I should follow. Regardless something had to be done sooner rather than later for the right artery. I sent the pics to another interventional Cardio who validated the position of my non interventional cardio that I do have choices other than CABG and that the which ever decision I would make I would probably have a good outcome. So next week I'm going to have the right artery stented and then medically treat the rest of my disease and see where it goes from there.
I also plan to make major changes in my diet to hopefully control the progression of the disease or even possible improve my condition
Anyway, I was at uni and going through a bad time in my life, whenever I get stressed my guts go into turmoil. As a result I was off uni for a week with severe rectal pain and feeling lower than a snake's belly. I booked an appointment with my GP as I had experienced similar symptoms before.
My GP recognised the symptoms immediately, I thought I had piles, she said I was too young so had a look. The digital examination wasn't fun, in fact she said she had never seen anyway change colour so quickly but it was worth it because I was referred to a colorectal surgeon.
I took my sick note back into my tutor and as I was doing a clinical degree, he said straight away that fissures were worsened and sometimes caused by stress. The penny dropped.
As I said I was going through a very very bad time in my life which necessitated me going on antidepressants (Cipralex) for my emotional state. When this was added to wall climbing agony due to fissures I was near breaking point. I remember after one bowel movement almost fainting with the pain, I was lying at the top of the stairs at my mum's house and clawing at the wallpaper with my fingernails - I have had a broken leg and in terms of pain that fissure was far worse, trust me.
I went to see the colo-rectal surgeon a few weeks later, I was terrified, but he was a lovely man, very very considerate. He told me that I had a large fissure that could be helped with an ointment. I told him my background so he talked a bit more openly and said that fissures are an incredibly debilitating condition. He once had a 16 stone rugby player openly weeping on his consulting couch with the pain - I can understand why.
I was prescribed GTN ointment and started using it as directed. I had a slight headache which I could live with, but this was far better than the agony of the fissure and this headache was pretty much gone after the first week. After a week of use the pain from the fissure had also subsided to nothing. After six weeks I went back to the surgeon and I was healed.
I wish that was the end of the story but it isn't, I have probably had four or five bad flare ups since and dozens of other twinges, spasms, bleeds and itches since but I am nowhere near as bad as the first time - I can live with this now. I have seen the surgeon twice since and he has offered surgery but my frame of mind precluded me from that, I was simply terrified.
My GP is very understanding and I can get GTN on prescription whenever I need it. I was prescribed Anoheal by the surgeon as well but this didn't work as well as GTN for me, but I have seen cases in work where this has been incredibly effective.
As I said earlier, I was doing a clinical degree, which I have now passed, so I feel that I am pretty well qualified to offer a bit of advice, so here it is.
1. Go and see your GP. Don't be embarrassed, your doctor has seen dozens of these - they are very very common. If you get fobbed off or feel that you haven't got anywhere, go back and tell him/her that you are not happy and you will go elsewhere i.e. change your GP. Changing your GP hits their bank balance, and as GPs are notoriously greedy, they will do something. Nobody should have to suffer with this.
2. Take something for the pain but NOT codeine. Ibuprofen worked best for me.
3. Drink plenty of fluids and lay off the alcohol while you are healing.
4. Eat lots of fibre and fresh fruit and veg, switch to brown bread and have something like Weetabix for breakfast. This softens stools and makes them easier to pass - less pain and less damage to existing fissures.
5. Use a stool softener, one Movicol sachet daily really really helped me. You can buy these over the counter from your local Pharmacist but tell them what it is for. Alternatively get them on prescription from your GP.
6. Lay off the red meat, there is some science to this as meat increases the residence time in the gut and predisposes to harder stools. This really helped me and I have seen a few accounts here where sufferers also say that.
7. Try to relax, easier said than done, but try simple things like having a hot bath instead of a shower. If anything helps you, no matter how crazy or off the wall it may sound, carry on doing it. Going out for a drive helped me. Staying active also helps constipation and makes you feel better. Don't stay in and stew - stay positive.
8. Stick to the doctor's directions of any drugs you are given. If you are told to apply a cream for 6 weeks into the anus, then make sure it goes into the anus for 6 weeks. And into the anus means into the hole - not nice, but a lot nicer than the agony from an untreated fissure.
Remember you are not alone, these things can be cured. You will feel terrible and you will feel like nobody else understands what you are going through but believe me, these things are very very common.
And if all the above doesn't help there is a simple operation that can be done on a day case basis that has a 95% chance of curing it for good.
If you are reading this you are no doubt feeling horrible but believe me, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm looking for advice. My 60 year old father (who has had HCV for more than 10 years; previously treated with Interferon but bad side effects) finished his 12 week Sofosbuvir+Daclatasvir (considered same as Harvoni) treatment a month ago. Already first tests after 2 weeks showed virus was Undetected, but yesterday he received his most recent results and he has a relapse of the virus. He is genotype 1, fibroscan result 4 (close to final stage). He is based in Poland and I'm not sure if our doctors are fully informed of the new generation medications and HCV itself.
Is anyone able to give us any advice? We are pretty desperate and my dad is just so depressed as he thought he finally got rid of the virus (he got infected while on an operation in a public hospital) and now it is back...
Are there any specialists that you are aware of I could possibly get in contact with?
A few weeks ago my bf noticed some bumps in his pubic area. He went to the dermatologist and was diagnosed with molluscum contagiosum, which is thankfully not that big of a deal! He got his treated with cryotherapy. Around this time I noticed a few bumps and because of the area they were in, went to an OBGYN for treatment so my bf and I don't keep spreading it to each other. The OB GYN agreed that they were also MC bumps and lightly scraped each one, then applied an acid treatment. That was a few days ago and while the bumps are mostly gone, the skin surrounding each one is dark and almost looks like a scab in color. Is this normal post acid treatment?
View 1 RepliesDoes anyone here relapse after harvoni treatment?
View 3 RepliesBeen on too many different kinds of medication for my seizures from 3yrs to now. Is there any other options besides having surgery to possibly them
View 1 RepliesI broke my fib and tib on January 22nd, nearly 23 weeks ago. The fracture was treated conservatively, in a long leg cast for 6 weeks. After 1 week, x rays showed angulation, and wedges were applied in the cast. This seemed to be successful, as there is no evidence of malunion. After 6 weeks, a sarmiento cast was applied and 50% weight bearing initiated. At 12 weeks, x rays showed healing was being slow and after a further 4 weeks in a second sarmiento cast, at 16 weeks, although there had been some growth, it was deemed necessary to have a further 4 weeks in a Miami cast. At 20 weeks, the registrar was of the opinion that healing was still no adequate, and a CT scan is being arranged. Options suggested if there is evidence of delayed healing, are: bone stimulator or bone graft.
There is no pain on standing although there are some occasional twinges over the fracture when walking. Weight bearing has now been increased on advice, to 70%. I always use a walker.
I am 31 weeks and just found out i have anemia.. Dr said it is really low ... Anyone in the same situation? Any natural options to make the red blood cells go up?
View 2 RepliesHello, I'm living now in a strict country. i'm 7 weeks & 2 days pregnant now and I want to have abortion, please advise me what medical abortion pill I should take & what is the prescription of taking those pills? Please somebody could help. I can't help it on my situation now. I don't know what to do, I really need to do the abortion. Hopefully somebody has idea could tell me what to do.
View 2 RepliesI'm a 36 year old mum of 5... 8 years ago after our 4th child I needed an operation to strip varicose veins on both legs as they were problematic.. Living abroad flights are needed to visit family etc.
We went on to have our 5th child 4 years ago and over the last year they have returned twice as bad as before. They are painful and very ugly.... Starting from my ankles right up to the back of my knees. I'm a fit person, train every day and not over weight. What options do I have other than heading down the surgery route again!! It's starting to affect me as I want to not feel conscious living in a warm country and wanting to spend time with our children in swimwear and shorts.
Many professionals and the charity PD uk sat that you do not die of PD you die with it...BUT The world Health Organisation receive statistica from the UK about the Number of Deaths Caused By PD in the UK...PD is one of the leading causes of deaths in the UK... I haved PD and suffer from anxiety but it occurs to me on a regular basis that the lack of knowledge and information that is presented to us by a community of experts that all disagree is causing more confusion not only for the sufferers of pd , the public also find the whole thing a non starter. It is an illness for which there are no clear up to date definition and is therefore just seen an old person's shaking complaint
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