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I didn't hear from sis until after midnight, she was stuck at the hospital with a dead car battery and her phone was almost dead too... one problem after another. BIL seems to be in no worse condition than he has been for several weeks, my googling tells me this is likely a subdural haematoma and that it should be treatable. The doctors filled their heads with images of major brain damage but he seems fine?
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BIL has been to the doc several times over the last month or two and has been to the optometrist too, how is it that the first thing I thought of when he complained of terrible headaches these last few weeks was a brain bleed but none of these professionals tweaked to this as a possibility? It doesn't pay to be stoic when dealing with healthcare, better to roll around on the floor screaming whether you feel that level of discomfort or not...
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A cwillie,
The problem with this sort of bleed isn't so much the bleeding as the pressure of the blood on the brain, whether it goes on so long that it destroys anything in the brain. Then the question is what did it hurt and will it recover? Sometimes they do burr-holes to let the blood escape so pressure is off the area. Many recover completely. Now it's day by day.

As to the headaches, yes, this is how even stroke is missed. A headache that is unusual for you is really an emergency room visit because doctors will think "Oh, headache? Take two aspirin and call me in the morning" sort of thing. Why would they NOT think that. 99 and 44/100th of the time that's what headache is.

My Mom's best friend in retirement said to her one day "I have the most AWFUL headache; going to the house to lie down" and that was that. Bad stroke and gone. Problem with headaches is we all get them all our lives and we ignore them. We would be in the ER every week if we didn't.

Same thing with abdominal pain. We know our guts. Then comes that day that the pain is "different". We KNOW it is different, but can't explain how and figure it will go away. Then comes the perforated bowel or burst appendix.

We can't run to docs with every stomach ache and headache and we don't run to them. Then comes the one that wasn't simple. We always want medical folk to know everything. But they don't. Sadly they don't.

If you have something telling you, some little voice, that "this headache" "this stomach ache" is different, listen to it and go to the ER. Because the doc on the phone, now given 10 minutes per patient in- house, will think, you know, you have headache or stomach ache.

I likely seem like a huge apologist for the medical folk. But I was one. Just now reading Dr. Henry Marsh's (neurologist) latest book. He is now a stage IV prostate cancer patient. Book is called And Finally. I have read other memoirs by him. And he talks in this one about the difference being a patient from a doctor--being both at once. Tough way for a doc to learn what every patient he had feels. And if he DID feel that during his career? He could never do it.
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Sometimes even the ER misses it too. My SIL made 2 trips to the ER because of her really bad headache and got basically no treatment, even after she complained of some numbness in her hand. Then my brother came home and found her lying on the bed in her own vomit. She had a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. Doctor reviewed previous ER visits and said it had probably been "leaking" causing the pain and numbness. She beat the odds and lived but suffered 3 strokes post-surgery caused seizures from the blood that leaked into her brain.

She told the ER docs she hadn't had a head injury and the pain was worse than childbirth. They thought she was just trying to get some pain meds...
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Alva,

I totally agree with you about if we feel different, we should see a doctor. Better to be safe than sorry.

I also agree with TN, some things do slip through the cracks and doesn’t get diagnosed.
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When my brother took her to the ER he didn't listen to the nonsense and demanded a cat scan; doctor took one look and started calling for a neurologist. I think we messed up in not sending a more assertive person with her previously; she was too sick to plead her own case effectively.
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Yeah BIL is his own worst enemy, last dr appt he spent more time grumbling about his back/sciatica than his headache (we only know this because sis went along to make sure he was taken seriously🙄). Then when he was asked what the pain was from 1 - 10 and he initially said 10 but when queried if that meant it was the worst pain he'd ever experienced he rolled it back a few points. But seriously, it's not as if his doctor's office doesn't know that this was a man who in the past had been in a car accident and had open heart surgery, IMO they should have never have tried to qualify what he was telling them, especially when the knew he frequently had problems with high INR numbers.
It really was dumb luck that this was even discovered.
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Freaky things happen with our bodies and in general. This is why my doctor said that they refer to it as ‘practicing’ medicine.

Look at my husband’s situation. Fortunately, his doctor caught it with his own eyes and on film. I love that cameras are used in surgery units in the hospital.

My husband went in for a routine colonoscopy. He had four polyps. There is nothing unusual about that in itself. Polyps are common. I had a polyp that was removed during my colonoscopy.

Anyway, three of my husband’s polyps were successfully removed but when the doctor went to remove the fourth polyp it went inside of his appendix!

The doctor said that he had never seen this happen before but he captured the whole incident on film as proof.

My husband hates the prep for colonoscopy. Poor guy is doing the same prep today for his surgery tomorrow to remove his appendix.

The only way now to remove the polyp out of his body is to remove his appendix which has the polyp inside of it.

No big deal about the removal of the appendix because it doesn’t serve any important purpose. It’s more of a minor inconvenience at this point.

My brother woke up during his colonoscopy and freaked out his nurses and doctor by talking to them.

LOL 😆, the doctor wasn’t amused and ordered the anesthesiologist to put him under again.

My friend kept telling her nurse that she could feel the doctor making the incision while she was getting a cesarean section. The nurse said, “That’s impossible!” She said to the nurse, “I don’t care if you think it’s impossible. I am telling you that I can feel it!”

The baby was resting on a nerve that prevented the anesthesia from functioning properly. As soon as the baby moved my friend was no longer in discomfort.

Yeah, weird things happen all the time.
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I have a friend who is extremely curious about the human body. She should have become a doctor!

She told me not long ago that she was invited by someone that she knew in the field to witness an autopsy. I had to tell her to shut up because I really didn’t want to know all of those details! LOL 😆

She was absolutely thrilled to see the autopsy. Oh, gosh I couldn’t. I don’t have the stomach for that.

My daughter’s friend who has a degree in forensic anthropology did an internship at a morgue.

She said that the only time it got to her was when she saw the young children and babies. I could never, ever work in that field. I am grateful that some people can do this necessary work.
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just received a letter from a friend (my mother’s age) who has known me my whole life. it was so full of compassion. wow it made me feel good.

❤️🙂

i’m sending rays of sunshine to you all, on the forum. keep going!
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If you are a Joni Mitchell fan liking I am, please watch the tribute to Joni Mitchell held at the Library of Congress. She received the Library of Congress Gershwin Award. It’s on PBS.

I really enjoyed visiting the Library of Congress years ago. It’s such a beautiful building.
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I swear that my autocorrect is hexed! I proofread and the stupid thing types what it wants to. I don’t always catch the crazy errors. I was tired after getting home from the hospital yesterday.

Should read Joni Mitchell fan like I am, not liking I am. Grrrrrr!
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I am having difficulty with this site. Oh well…if I disappear you will know why.

It keeps logging me out. Also says that my password doesn’t match and so on. I’m not interested in changing my passwords over and over.
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More ghosts and gremlins 😒
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Need, the same thing and more has been happening to me. It is frustrating and a waste of time to deal with. Hope it gets fixed soon.
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ITRR,

I miss seeing your posts. I realize that you are busy, but it is annoying that when you have a few spare moments that you can’t chat on this site. I hope that it’s settled soon.
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I am having such fun this year watching the Final Four games, women's and men's. Nice to have so many underdogs in the games!
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The power went out this afternoon and the boys think my "backup" lights are cool! I have the light bulbs with built in batteries in the kitchen, hall and baths (when you turn the switch on they use the battery if the power is out) and little battery powered night lights in all the bedrooms (turn on when power goes out). They're supposed to last for at least 24 hours but the power has never been out that long; just 6 hours today. I can start the generator for heat but didn't need it today.
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BIL had surgery yesterday to drill a burr hole and drain the hematoma, everything went well and he said he already feels much better than he did. Sis has noticed his thinking was muddled for quite some time now and we will see if that remains or if things will continue to improve.
They said this is so common they have a special clinic that works with people on blood thinners. Of course with hindsight BIL wishes he had opted for the other kind of heart valve, but of course that had it's own set of drawbacks.
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CW, so sorry to hear about BIL! Does he self test his INR? That has made a huge difference for my dh.
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Barb - no, he has to go to the lab for blood work. He pretty much gave up on himself after his heart scare; he doesn't eat well, can go days doing nothing but sit on the couch and sister has his meds put in blister packs in an attempt to make sure he takes them properly, but since the coumadin needs constant adjustment there is no way to be sure he isn't taking it improperly. Unfortunately he's a man who see any attempts to help him as criticism.
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CW, does he (and/or spouse) "get" that the constant adjustment in the Warfarin is because he doesn't eat a consistent diet?
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Sis and I have talked about that Barb but like I said, he doesn't seem to hear or care. God help us if he ends up with dementia, he'll be like all those people on the forum who insist they are JUST FINE, so LEAVE ME ALONE.
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Did anyone see the interview with Neil Diamond on CBS This Morning discussing his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis? Really interesting interview.

Diamond is in his 80’s now.

The story on CBS This Morning after Diamond’s story was wonderful. One of our Chefs here, Chef Shaya has been creating Israeli dishes from a recipe book that was salvaged from the holocaust.

I have eaten Chef Shaya’s creations. They are absolutely incredible!
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tech - glad you have that back up! Here it is candles and flashlights and the fireplace. ^ hours is a fairly long time,

cw -so sorry about your bil and his health troubles, but glad that the draining helped him to feel better. It's hard if not impossible to make someone look after themselves better than they want to. I hear your concern about him developing dementia.

Barb - continuing to pray for you and your dd and her situation

need - Neil Diamond - such a good performer. He had his last show some years ago.
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And have had DEXA scans before and diagnosed with osteopenia. I must be doing something right. Scan today shows strength and density of a "healthy young person"!
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That's from all that good, weight bearing exercise Glad!
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Glad,

Fantastic!

I was always amazed at my mother’s bone scans. They were great! She lived until 95 years of age, fell many times due to her Parkinson’s disease but never once broke a bone.
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CW, from all that weight bearing walking that I had to stop because it has caused IT Band Syndrome! LOL!

I like to think it is that strong, Norwegian breed and bones!

Now stretching to try to get that to loosen up and it does seem to be getting better. Hoping to start some weight work next week. My hips are terribly weak!
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glad - that's great!!! It's not just one thing - diet, exercise, not smoking, not much caffeine for starters. "They" say osteopenia can't be reversed but I could never see why it couldn't. Bones are dynamic and respond to the things above. I suspect genetics help. Stretching will help bones as well.
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