Aya wrote:

What vitamins do you absorb, and what ones don't you absorb?

Oh, I'm really really curious about this too. I used to take vitamins (Flintstones, yeah, I know.. and calcium supplements) but I heard that its pointless to take vitamins because your body doesn't absorb most of them. Is that true? What about chewables vs. vitamins you swallow?

^Going to one when I was younger because of emoness, I found psychiatrist can really suck a lot. My normal doctor is the one that helped me start recovering from depression issues. Psychiatrist can also only work with what they're given with and some people are too self conscious to admit everything they have trouble with. Doctors I find are more "human" so it's easier to open up to them. Psychiatrist seem cold and unloving lol.

Anyway my question: I may be studying to be a nurse but I'm not as knowledgeable as the very intelligent Ms. Gio I have a small patch of tinea versia on my neck (most just call it skin fungus, I get it about a couple times a year) it tends to go away within a couple months time but I know selsun blue helps because of the selenium, so I tried it out and it's working but it irritates my skin badly. Anyway to help with that? I read yogurt is also a good thing... but that's eating yogurt right, not applying? What kind of yogurt should I eat? Anything else I should try? Any specific fungus cream?

Also I noticed my hair is really starting to thin out, I'm to young to bald! Any way to restore it before it gets bad?

Thanks!

Last edited by chrisb (02-17-2010 12:53:29 AM)

KissFromARose wrote:

most doctors are idiots

I've been watching the residents do differentials a lot this term and I've figured out that despite several more years of training, the vast majority of the time, I come to the same conclusions in the same amount of time and often haven't seen as much of the client's chart. I coulda done that shit.

SleepDebtFairy wrote:

Aya wrote:

What vitamins do you absorb, and what ones don't you absorb?

Oh, I'm really really curious about this too. I used to take vitamins (Flintstones, yeah, I know.. and calcium supplements) but I heard that its pointless to take vitamins because your body doesn't absorb most of them. Is that true? What about chewables vs. vitamins you swallow?

You absorb all of them, the question is whether you keep them; people that take 1000x the RDA for Vitamin C when they're sick? They piss all that out. Your body only retains what it requires, and giving it more of something really just gives you more to piss--the danger is in people who overdose to the point of kidney impairment. Bad. But this is far less likely than you not getting enough of something. Loosely speaking, it's very difficult to OD on vitamins (easier with the fat-solubles, ADEK), it's really minerals like calcium, potassium, and sodium that we as nurses/medical folk look at. You'll notice on those multivitamins that 'cover everything' that they never give you 100% of your potassium, calcium, iron...the reason being you OD on those and you get sick, the body is far less likely to piss them out gracefully. To give you an idea--every time your bloodwork is drawn, we look at those. We don't look at how much vitamin C you get unless we think it's not enough. We care about your potassium because your heart stops if you get too much of it.

To answer the question of multivitamins...I take them. The truth is I've never seen a consistent answer as to whether they're beneficial or not--everyone agrees that ideally you should get these things through your diet--pills don't fix a shitty diet, and no, they don't 'absorb' as well. But really, they can't hurt unless you take 10 a day, and for my money I'd rather make sure I get enough of everything. The irony is the stuff you really have to worry about isn't typically in those--make sure you get enough calcium. That's one people tend to fall short on and it doesn't come back to haunt them until later in life. The other frequently under-consumed mineral is iron. And in my opinion, the omega fatty acids should be considered a vitamin or mineral or something just so people would pay attention to them--they're vitally important and a lot of people don't get enough or the right balance of them.

Finally, chewables and not chewables, it's all the same. Chewable or liquid medication absorbs through the stomach faster, but that's not important in vitamins, only that it happens at all.

Shrinks

I don't remember my run-in with shrinks fondly either, but I don't discredit the entire value of the profession based on it. They're overused, improperly used, and often their training doesn't prepare them for reality (kinda like us). The problem with shrinks is they're not like doctors who all have generally the same training--the shrink you use has to suit you and your needs, and people don't realize that you have to shop for a shrink. One person might need a psychotherapy sit on the couch shrink, another (anorexics) benefits more from a behavioral modification approach. The philosophy and methods of the shrink need to match the diagnosis and the personality. This almost never happens.

chrisb wrote:

I have a small patch of tinea versia on my neck (most just call it skin fungus, I get it about a couple times a year) it tends to go away within a couple months time but I know selsun blue helps because of the selenium, so I tried it out and it's working but it irritates my skin badly. Anyway to help with that? I read yogurt is also a good thing... but that's eating yogurt right, not applying? What kind of yogurt should I eat? Anything else I should try? Any specific fungus cream?

Yogurt is a Secret Chinese Treatment for vaginal yeast infections, but consuming it hasn't proved helpful in studies and it's impractical for putting on your neck. Also most yogurt is loaded with sugar which defeats the purpose. Selsun Blue is probably the least irritating shampoo product you're gonna get, but you'll see several anti-dandruff shampoos if you look around. If this is rare, my suggestions would be to try getting a 7-day dose of vaginal yeast cream and using the cream if you're super cheap and hate doctors, or going to a doctor and getting a script for a basic nice and strong antifungal cream. Or just grab any sort of antifungal cream from the pharmacy: treatments for vaginal yeast, jock itch, and athlete's foot are all the same antifungals in various preparations. The benefit of using creams is they're less irritating to the skin, and you can mix them with a little UNSCENTED SIMPLE moisturizing lotion to counteract the drying effect that's going to be universal to all antifungals. Of the antifungals, selenium is a strong one, but as you noted, very irritating. It MAY be responsive to lotion after you shower, but I'm not sure. If you're hooked on it, at the very least, use it with cooler water--the heat is making your skin soak it up deeper and contributing to the irritation.

chrisb wrote:

Also I noticed my hair is really starting to thin out, I'm to young to bald! Any way to restore it before it gets bad?

This depends on age, gender, and possible etiology. I've heard the Rogaine products are quite good, but aside from that, a more focused background would be necessary. If it runs in your family, for example. I think these days you're pointed to products like Rogaine as a first attempt by doctors anyway.

BlackRoseVixen wrote:

What does it mean when you feel as though you're itching underneath your skin? I got those, and I hate them, because scratching doesn't help. I actually have to pinch or massage my flesh to get relief.

Sounds like nerve irritation/damage. Does it happen in particular places? Is there redness or soreness? This happens to me around my old incision site a lot because they did such a crappy stitch job. You might also be pinching a nerve by resting an arm on a surface the wrong way or something--think of it as earlier in the sequence of events that puts your arm to sleep. Pay attention to when and where and why and you might notice a trend. Another possibility is that your skin isn't sufficiently moisturized so you're not feeling the surface irritation.

So I got five stitches about a week ago at the base of my pinky finger, on the palm side. It seems to be healing up alright, but I noticed that part of the top of my finger feels really odd--like it's half-asleep or something, and when I poke it or put it somewhere hot I don't feel the pain as much as I do in other fingers (like setting my fingers on the radiator). My paranoid brain screams NERVE DAMAGE OH GOD and I plan to bring it up with the doctor when I get them out. Could it be a serious problem? Is it likely to reverse when the healing is done? Anything I should look out for?

(BTW, I forgot to thank you last time you answered a question of mine--thank you, oh Ohtori medical guru.)

I think I might be teething, even though it doesn't make sense since I'm 22. But, my gum. It itches and hurts for days now Like tooth might be coming out (is it?)

Here's a second very minor health issue I have going on...

What would you suggest for someone who woke up feeling like something keeping his gut bloated (presumably gas, not sure), but that feeling's just stuck there, painfully. For a good 6 hours now.

Giovanna wrote:

Hiraku wrote:

I think I might be teething, even though it doesn't make sense since I'm 22. But, my gum. It itches and hurts for days now Like tooth might be coming out (is it?)

What satyr said. Probably your wisdom teeth. That's gonna be a shitty bill. Lucky for me...I only had one wisdom tooth. The other three just decided 'fuck off we're not forming at all'.

While on the topic of wisdom teeth, is it normal for them to be all 'hi, here I am, we're here... um, kinda anyway', then leave me alone for months on end, only to repeat the process some later time? And, uh, how do you know for sure if they have to be removed? I'd kind of like to keep them. They don't cause pain (except those rare occasions when they decided to push or grow or something), and my teeth are already malformed due to not losing a baby tooth completely before the adult teeth grew in.

Giovanna wrote:

Katieryn wrote:

So I got five stitches about a week ago at the base of my pinky finger, on the palm side. It seems to be healing up alright, but I noticed that part of the top of my finger feels really odd--like it's half-asleep or something, and when I poke it or put it somewhere hot I don't feel the pain as much as I do in other fingers (like setting my fingers on the radiator). My paranoid brain screams NERVE DAMAGE OH GOD and I plan to bring it up with the doctor when I get them out. Could it be a serious problem? Is it likely to reverse when the healing is done? Anything I should look out for?

Give it a few weeks. Massage the area gently--actually if you have a vibrator, applying it is the perfect sort of stimulation. Nerves get kind of 'shocked' by incisions and such sometimes, and you really can't assess any permanent change in sensation until it's fully healed.

Righto--the doctor said it might be a bit, but he left out the part about massaging/vibrating. Thanks for the advice!

Unfortunately systemic antihistamines kinda all tend to knock people out as a rule, and the histamine response is what's giving you the itchy. Topical applications tend to have the same effect. As will topical corticosteroids, which frankly, no doctor is going to give you for such an application anyway, given the long term effects on skin. Same deal with systemic steroids--they hesitate to give those to asthmatics who otherwise fall over in wheezing fits.

Frankly, that I know of, your only non-gross-cream option is systemics, most of which are the Benadryls and such. Try experimenting with dosages and seeing if you can find one tolerable to you.

Gio wrote:

I don't remember my run-in with shrinks fondly either, but I don't discredit the entire value of the profession based on it. They're overused, improperly used, and often their training doesn't prepare them for reality (kinda like us). The problem with shrinks is they're not like doctors who all have generally the same training--the shrink you use has to suit you and your needs, and people don't realize that you have to shop for a shrink. One person might need a psychotherapy sit on the couch shrink, another (anorexics) benefits more from a behavioral modification approach. The philosophy and methods of the shrink need to match the diagnosis and the personality. This almost never happens.

First of all, epic fucking truth.  Different problems have different answers - psychology isn't just one answer.  If you have an idea already of what's going on -panic attacks, eating disorder, depression, etc - do a bit of research and see which school of thought has been proven more effective in treating it- if you don't know, try and find someone eclectic enough to give you a unbiased diagnoses first. 


Secondly, TMI WARNING I have a large, dark thing on my back.  It's about 2 mm in diameter and entirely under the skin, but I can feel it as a knot when I run my hands over my back.  It feels like some sort of cystic-blackhead from hell, but I've had it for months and haven't been able to to do away with it.  I've tried rigorous skin-care treatments and good old-fashioned getting a football player acquaintance of mine to pop the ever loving out of it, but nothing works.  Should I try and see a dermatologist?  Am I troll? 

I can pm you a picture of this weirdness if it helps.

Last edited by OnlyInThisLight (02-26-2010 06:45:01 PM)

I've never understood the antibiotics thing. My aunt has bottles of SAVED penicillin and crap. What the fuck are you gonna do with that? When my mom found out, she obviously FREAKED.
Regardless, I'm not giving those damn bacteria a chance to multiply and become immune. (There's already WAY too many kinds of antibiotics I'm immune to thanks to childhood disease. )

And yeah, if its coated or something, or has something filling it that could spill out, I wouldn't cut it open. Mine seem to be just little chalky tablets, but since so many medications of mine say DO NOT CUT but appear to also be chalky tablets, I've become paranoid.


but yay, thanks~

Frau Eva wrote:

I only pop one if I've got something like a bladder infection--something I definitely know what it is and don't need to pay for a full blown doctor visit just to get access to antibiotics. That, and my bladder infections tend to have baffling symptoms that signal more diabetes to a doctor than anything else, so then I'll have to pay for tests that I don't need because the answer is always negative...

DON'T DO THIS.

You're just teaching your particular strain of intestinal E.Coli immunity to that particular antibiotic. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics is a major problem in this country. 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' And bacteria are way smarter and quicker to learn than we are. If you're getting more than two UTIs a year, you need to have it looked at, cultured, and possibly have a cystoscopy and ultrasound. I had UTIs with weird symptomatic presentations. You know what it was? A fucking ovarian cyst the size of a baby. A course of antibiotics should never be less than five days.