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Update on Alex3619: in hospital but doing well

Bob

Senior Member
Messages
16,455
Location
England (south coast)
Best of luck Alex. Hope you get what you need without too much hassle.

But do remember that if all else fails then a brief course of online CBT (aka FITNET) will lead to a swift 'recovery' (possibly from all known maladies) at six months. (At long-term follow-up it will have made absolutely no difference whatsoever, but that's an unimportant detail.)

(Sorry, I just couldn't resist another dig at CBT!)

Best wishes for swift healing.
 

Overstressed

Senior Member
Messages
406
Location
Belgium
I might be about to go back into hospital to have my leg thingamy surgically removed. Its causing major issues. First, however, I have to convince the hospital. I have a doctor's referral, but the system can be very lame at times. I hope to be going up there to argue with persuade them tomorrow. So I might disappear from PR for a time: duration unknown but not as long as last time hopefully. Removing an orthopedic implant is easier to heal from as I don't have to wait for a broken bone to mend. If I have some warning I might also be able to swing a decent wifi connection for my laptop. At least this time I can organize clothes and not have to wear a hospital gown for nearly two months.

Good luck, Alex! I wish you a quick and good recovery! We're already waiting impatiently for your contributions on this forum.

Best wishes,
OS.
 

Snowdrop

Rebel without a biscuit
Messages
2,933
Good luck to you with this new surgery Alex.
I wish you a speedy and excellent recovery.
Looking forward to seeing you back online.
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
@alex3619

Just tuned in here (I am moving house so not on the forum much).

Hope the system works for you with many hidden bonuses (cute nurses, free anything-worth-having, etc.:D).

Just make sure you get WiFi somehow. We might all just wither up and die of cognitive decline without your posts! :(

But most importantly, make them get your damn leg right this time!

Best,
Sushi
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
The Good, the Bad and the What The?

Just got back from the hospital. I probably don't need serious surgery but that is not confirmed yet.

I took Heapsreal's advice and went to emergency instead of going through normal registration. Very good move. :)

I did have to wait quite a bit, but then was maybe an hour in the docs office first time, had some blood tests, and sat waiting for the results.

Upshot is things are even worse now than a month ago, but he spent time while I was waiting for blood test results ringing around hospital specialists including other hospitals. I am to be closely monitored, and will soon get an appointment for a specialist in the mail. No waiting list, no stuffing around.

The mystery remains though. My brother has haemochromatosis, a high iron disorder, so my iron is watched. I have only one known haemochromatosis gene. The last blood test was bad. This year I have gone from fine to very bad, far too sudden for this to be normal. Which is why I suspected the leg implant. So where is the iron coming from if I have a titanium implant? Do other people get the tooth fairy and I get the tooth fairy equivalent of iron man?

Its a shame I can't give blood, as mine is very anti-anemic. My haemoglobin is quite high.

Bad news is they probably will want to do a liver biopsy. Oh well.

So I am back for now, but once I start treatment for the iron I will probably have another day a week I wont be here much. :(

I have a feeling the coming year is going to be a very long one for me. At least I have all of you to look forward to chatting with. :thumbsup:
 

Sea

Senior Member
Messages
1,286
Location
NSW Australia
Upshot is things are even worse now than a month ago, but he spent time while I was waiting for blood test results ringing around hospital specialists including other hospitals. I am to be closely monitored, and will soon get an appointment for a specialist in the mail. No waiting list, no stuffing around.

The mystery remains though. My brother has haemochromatosis, a high iron disorder, so my iron is watched. I have only one known haemochromatosis gene. The last blood test was bad. This year I have gone from fine to very bad, far too sudden for this to be normal. Which is why I suspected the leg implant. So where is the iron coming from if I have a titanium implant?

Iron can be high if there is infection. Maybe a low grade infection + one haemochromatosis gene is enough to push it up. The doctor is watching my iron carefully at the moment. Mine creeps too high but then comes down again by itself. I don't have any of the haemochromatosis genes they test for, although I know there could be other less common ones involved.

All the best for your specialist referral Alex, I hope you get it seen to quickly
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Iron can be high if there is infection. Maybe a low grade infection + one haemochromatosis gene is enough to push it up. The doctor is watching my iron carefully at the moment. Mine creeps too high but then comes down again by itself. I don't have any of the haemochromatosis genes they test for, although I know there could be other less common ones involved.

All the best for your specialist referral Alex, I hope you get it seen to quickly

Something I have been thinking about is that the liver stores a lot of iron. Pathogens, especially bacteria and viruses, love high iron. So it makes sense there could be liver infection, or something that changes the liver regulation of iron. That is part of why I think they want a liver biopsy. It can tell the two conditions apart I suspect.

The doc also stuck in a quick hepatitis screen today: negative.
 

August59

Daughters High School Graduation
Messages
1,617
Location
Upstate SC, USA
Coincidence I hope, but my liver has gone crazy in the last 6 months. My enzymes have always been well within normal values, but with no change in diet I all of a sudden have a fatty liver with inflammation only in the lobe that is closer to middle of the body.

They just did another Hepatitis panel on me, but it's my third one. Seems like it has been every 5 years they do one and it is always negative. I have no tattoo's, so I expect my last one is negative to. I hope