Page 11 of 29 FirstFirst ... 78910111213141521 ... LastLast
Results 201 to 220 of 577

Thread: I have a medical condition which will be tough to treat, and it means the end of radio (for now)

  1. #201
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
    Reputation
    10110
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    54,626
    Blog Entries
    2
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by MumblesBadly View Post
    Just found a 2017 study that looks at pepsin-in-saliva detection as an alternative to endoscopic examination. Promising but still preliminary. But you probably already knew this...

    The diagnostic value of pepsin detection in saliva for gastro-esophageal reflux disease: a preliminary study from China
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5645897/

    But what I found in the discussion supports what I said above about how the pepsin in your throat causing LPR to develop is due to gastic reflux that isn’t severe enough to cause heartburn symptoms (GERD). And there is even a medical term for it: non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) — and is more common than heartburn.

    Recent studies showed that the PPI test and structured questionnaires did not obtain ideal sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of GERD [4–6]. Endoscopy is not adequate since [b]non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) is more prevalent than erosive reflux disease in the GERD population[:b] [7]
    Bottom line: You definitely have had, and likely still have, some amount of gastric reflux to cause the pepsin to be present in your throat, precipitating the LPR, but not severe enough to cause erosive damage to the bottom of your esophagus.
    This is very interesting. Well timed, as I had postnasal drip type symptoms last night which kept me from sleeping, which are now making me possibly doubt the reflux-related LPR symptoms.

    Or it could be from a combination of factors.

    Recently I have been very focused on identifying the cause of this throat irritation (which is for sure a real thing), and I'd much rather start from a place of information rather than the "throw PPIs and a low acid diet at the wall and see if it sticks" approach.

    (FYI, I've been on a low acid diet for weeks now, with only very minimal improvement.)

    I am going to get this test done.

    I may try a Claritin in case this is mostly adult-onset allergies.

     
    Comments
      
      duped_samaritan: still alive rep
      
      MumblesBadly: Gonna get to the bottom of this damn thing rep

  2. #202
    100% Organic MumblesBadly's Avatar
    Reputation
    94
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    In the many threads of this forum
    Posts
    9,408
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by SysOp View Post
    Jesus Mumbles, do you have stock in the treadmill industry? you come off like a salesman, you've mentioned it about 100 times ITT, give it a rest.
    Acrually, if you go to a number of online fitness equipment sites and buy any high-end treadmill there, you might get a substantial discount off the posted price by entering my PFA username as the offer code. Such as this one:

    https://www.fitnesszone.com/product/...treadmill.html

    PRECOR TRM 835 TREADMILL
    Price: $8,755.00
    Name:  978C8480-623C-47EC-9A46-C62F2E142824.jpeg
Views: 671
Size:  41.2 KB

     
    But don’t hold me to it.

     
    Comments
      
      splitthis: Acrually
    _____________________________________________
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    I actually hope this [second impeachment] succeeds, because I want Trump put down politically like a sick, 14-year-old dog. ... I don't want him complicating the 2024 primary season. I just want him done.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Were Republicans cowardly or unethical not to go along with [convicting Trump in the second impeachment Senate trial]? No. The smart move was to reject it.

  3. #203
    Silver
    Reputation
    138
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    605
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by YUUP View Post
    Just because I don’t update anywhere else
    20/8/18 235 lbs 16 stone 11.
    27/8/18 227lbs. 16 stone 3.

    No sugar, no bread etc weekends still drunk like a fish.
    2/9/18 224 lbs 16 stone.
    9/9/18 221 lbs 15 stone 11.
    cmoney :It would be nice if Mexico could simply get human feces out of its drinking water

  4. #204
    Platinum thesparten's Avatar
    Reputation
    -12
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Posts
    3,590
    Blog Entries
    1
    Load Metric
    65642566
    I don't understand druff?!?!?

    Is this one of those rich person's disease?

  5. #205
    100% Organic MumblesBadly's Avatar
    Reputation
    94
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    In the many threads of this forum
    Posts
    9,408
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Druff, I hope that you didn’t get into the habit of giving your dog hotdog-on-a-stick when you were bingeing on them earlier this year.

    _____________________________________________
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    I actually hope this [second impeachment] succeeds, because I want Trump put down politically like a sick, 14-year-old dog. ... I don't want him complicating the 2024 primary season. I just want him done.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Were Republicans cowardly or unethical not to go along with [convicting Trump in the second impeachment Senate trial]? No. The smart move was to reject it.

  6. #206
    Diamond hongkonger's Avatar
    Reputation
    706
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    5,640
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by thesparten View Post
    I don't understand druff?!?!?

    Is this one of those rich person's disease?
    If it is, you can rest easy.

     
    Comments
      
      dwai: Fuck. This is fucking terrible. He seemed to be doing ok last I saw him. Shocked and now starting to cry. A great guy he was. Fuck

  7. #207
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
    Reputation
    10110
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    54,626
    Blog Entries
    2
    Load Metric
    65642566
    My current status:

    Weight loss: Success, though it happened unintentionally. My other health problems caused the weight to fall off rapidly (especially in the second half of August), and I've lost 25 pounds. I'm just 6 pounds above my 2009 weight, and just 16 pounds above my 2000 weight. My parents saw me on Sunday, for the first time in a month. They couldn't believe the difference, and they noticed the weight loss immediately when I walked in. My dad showed me a pic of me he took in June, and indeed, I look a lot better now.

    LPR: Thanks to Mumbles for pointing me to PepTest. They test the pepsins in your saliva, and it's done mail order to a hospital in the UK. There is some skepticism of Peptest's usefulness, but overall the medical community mostly believes it's helpful, and in fact might become an important tool in the future for LPR and GERD diagnosis. Why pepsins? LPR is poorly researched and there's a lot of disagreement as to what causes it and what cures it, and it seems that the cause/cures are different for a lot of people (which is part of what makes it so tough). However, a prevailing recent theory is that pepsins reflux into your larynx and start "digesting" it, causing redness/irritation. Then the body reacts to it, sometimes with excess mucous in the area. Both the mucous and the redness cause the frustrating and seemingly never-ending LPR symptoms. Anyway, PepTest looks for pepsins in your saliva, which would indicate that this is going on. For many GERD and LPR sufferers, they get a high pepsin reading, and this is pretty much confirmed.

    I took the test last week.

    My result?




    Yes. Literally zero pepsins were detected in my saliva, in any of the three samples I provided. Zero!!

    So is that good?

    Not really. First off, there's a 13% false negative rate with that test, so that's a possibility. Second, I had to send it mail order across the world, so that increases testing error. However, they insist it's not likely to produce a zero result even if the samples degraded some in the mail.

    Third, even if I believe the result (which I kind of do), that only eliminates the most likely cause of my LPR symptoms (silent reflux), but doesn't tell me what the cause IS.

    So now I'm trying really hard to figure out what it might be, assuming that it's NOT reflux. I have an appointment next week with a laryngologist, which is a specialized ENT doctor who works with voices.

    Why voices? Two reasons:

    1) I have on-and-off hoarseness with my voice since all this started
    2) Many suffering LPR symptoms are singers, teachers, and speakers -- ones who use their voice for a living. While I'm none of those things, I did "abuse" my voice for years doing 4-8 hour radio shows, once per week. This might have been enough to eventually cause damage, especially because I really would feel pain in my throat after shows, but it would typically go away. So this can't be ignored as a possible cause.

    They will be doing a stroboscopy next week. That's a procedure where they shine a camera down your throat and match your voice with rapidly flashing lights, and it is supposed to be best to detect problems in the voice box region. Unfortunately, often many of the issues detected on a stroboscopy can only be fixed with surgery, which I really don't want (but will do if absolutely necessary).

    I will be resting my voice for awhile, which means no radio until this is resolved. Maybe Brandon/khalwat/tradershky can do a show, and maybe I can come on and speak a bit, though I'll have to keep the talking to a minimum.

    More next post...

     
    Comments
      
      MumblesBadly: Maybe you could do the show in Braille.

  8. #208
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
    Reputation
    10110
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    54,626
    Blog Entries
    2
    Load Metric
    65642566
    I have other issues, too.

    I'm not going to discuss them at length at this time.

    I took a 13-vial blood test today (a personal record!), and will be doing a specialized ultrasound on October 1 (there's only 3 such machines in southern CA) to figure out some of these other problems.

    As some of you might have guessed, I also have some anxiety-type issues. I'm not going to go into detail right now. The "anxiety", though, isn't what you think. I do not feel worried about any particular thing (well, except for my health), but this has definitely affected me negatively. I have zero history of any kind of psychiatric issues, never having suffered from anxiety or depression in my life. I am pretty convinced this is all connected to the LPR and other recent health problems. At times it has been severe, though in the past few weeks it has been more moderate, though almost constantly present. Last week, I had a surprising break in these symptoms, and they almost vanished for 4 days, only to return mostly full force on Friday. Damn.

    Some people have suggested that I've always had "anxiety", such as my obsessive need in the past to chase down customer service wrongs and get resolution whenever a company screwed me out of a small amount of money. Others have pointed to my sometimes apparent frustration when WSOP events don't go well. However, I can assure you that none of this was anxiety, but rather just longtime facets of my personality. What I'm feeling now is far different than anything I've ever felt in my life, and it came on abruptly, 5 days after the LPR symptoms came.

    Sleeping, which used to come super-easy for me, has been a big challenge. I used to be able to sleep at any time of the day, and fall asleep immediately. I would wake up feeling rested. I could consume caffeine and fall asleep easily (this part seems to be hereditary, as my parents and siblings can do the same).

    Now I have a hard time falling asleep. Most is due to the LPR symptoms in my throat. Also, while I used to have the ability to go right back to sleep if woken up in the middle, now that's also become much tougher. Not sleeping enough sucks and pretty much makes it impossible to function. Today I did get a good deal of sleep. The prior two days, I did not.

    Unfortunately, the prognosis at the moment is not good, in that it's possible I will never get a solution to any of these issues. Unfortunately, everything I have is not easily cured. LPR especially is difficult to solve, and some people have lived with it for decades without resolution.

     
    Comments
      
      IamGreek: Prayin for you Sir.
      
      Matt The Rat: Get Well Soon

  9. #209
    Silver snowtracks's Avatar
    Reputation
    153
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    501
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    I have other issues, too.

    I'm not going to discuss them at length at this time.

    I took a 13-vial blood test today (a personal record!), and will be doing a specialized ultrasound on October 1 (there's only 3 such machines in southern CA) to figure out some of these other problems.

    As some of you might have guessed, I also have some anxiety-type issues. I'm not going to go into detail right now. The "anxiety", though, isn't what you think. I do not feel worried about any particular thing (well, except for my health), but this has definitely affected me negatively. I have zero history of any kind of psychiatric issues, never having suffered from anxiety or depression in my life. I am pretty convinced this is all connected to the LPR and other recent health problems. At times it has been severe, though in the past few weeks it has been more moderate, though almost constantly present. Last week, I had a surprising break in these symptoms, and they almost vanished for 4 days, only to return mostly full force on Friday. Damn.

    Some people have suggested that I've always had "anxiety", such as my obsessive need in the past to chase down customer service wrongs and get resolution whenever a company screwed me out of a small amount of money. Others have pointed to my sometimes apparent frustration when WSOP events don't go well. However, I can assure you that none of this was anxiety, but rather just longtime facets of my personality. What I'm feeling now is far different than anything I've ever felt in my life, and it came on abruptly, 5 days after the LPR symptoms came.

    Sleeping, which used to come super-easy for me, has been a big challenge. I used to be able to sleep at any time of the day, and fall asleep immediately. I would wake up feeling rested. I could consume caffeine and fall asleep easily (this part seems to be hereditary, as my parents and siblings can do the same).

    Now I have a hard time falling asleep. Most is due to the LPR symptoms in my throat. Also, while I used to have the ability to go right back to sleep if woken up in the middle, now that's also become much tougher. Not sleeping enough sucks and pretty much makes it impossible to function. Today I did get a good deal of sleep. The prior two days, I did not.

    Unfortunately, the prognosis at the moment is not good, in that it's possible I will never get a solution to any of these issues. Unfortunately, everything I have is not easily cured. LPR especially is difficult to solve, and some people have lived with it for decades without resolution.
    Druff my advice is to come back and do 2 hour show max. I think you need to get back to what makes you feel better ..and that is radio, gambling, etc. I really could not read you two pages of health issues. Is a Psycologist Next? Come on Druff! Get back in the saddle!


  10. #210
    100% Organic MumblesBadly's Avatar
    Reputation
    94
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    In the many threads of this forum
    Posts
    9,408
    Load Metric
    65642566
    You might have had a problem with silent reflux earlier, causing the activated pepsins to damage your throat enough before it got severe enough for you to start using alkaline water and inadvertantly lose weight. Since pepsin defrades after about a day, negative results now suggest that you currently don’t have silent reflux. That being said, you probably should avoid returning to bingeing on hotdog-on-a-stick.
    _____________________________________________
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    I actually hope this [second impeachment] succeeds, because I want Trump put down politically like a sick, 14-year-old dog. ... I don't want him complicating the 2024 primary season. I just want him done.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Were Republicans cowardly or unethical not to go along with [convicting Trump in the second impeachment Senate trial]? No. The smart move was to reject it.

  11. #211
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
    Reputation
    10110
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    54,626
    Blog Entries
    2
    Load Metric
    65642566
    The weight loss came partially from a change in diet (and amount of food/drink consumed), but actually mostly from the anxiety itself.

    Anxiety is the "fight or flight" mechanism in the brain, and metabolism rises during anxiety episodes. If experiencing heavy anxiety all day and all night (as I was during the last 2 weeks of August), you burn far more calories that way. Since I also wasn't eating much at the time, this caused a 1-2 punch of relatively few calories coming in and a shitload of calories being burned. This burned off my fat very quickly, hence the 17 pound weight loss in 2 weeks. Once the anxiety slowed down somewhat, and I started eating more (though far less than before all of this started), I was still losing weight, but it slowed down. For the most part, my weight seems to have stabilized in the past 2 weeks.

    I'm actually happy that the weight loss stopped (or at least severely slowed down). Had it continued at the rate it was, or anything close, I would soon be underweight and battling a whole new set of problems. This was one of the rare situations where I was better off being fat. It was actually fortunate that I had a lot of pounds to lose anyway when the involuntary weight loss started. (Indeed, I read on
    some anxiety forums that already-skinny people were freaking out big time when they started rapidly dropping weight, whereas I had little to worry about on that front.)

    Ideally I'd like to drop another 20 pounds, which might actually still happen. However, I'm not trying to lose weight at the moment, as I want any further weight loss to be voluntary and controlled, or otherwise I might lose too much.

    For long term health, the fact that I dropped about 25 pounds was actually a good thing, as was the diet change. Ironically, all of this stuff may actually lead to me living longer, though it's a small consolation as I've been miserable for the past month (and will continue to be, until this is solved).

    Regarding the pepsins, I had refrained from drinking alkaline water for 48 hours prior to taking the PepTest, as they suggested. The alkaline water is said to deactivate the pepsins currently in your throat. However, cessation of drinking that water should have still left active pepsins in my throat, given that I should have been refluxing new ones. However, it is possible that the diet changes plus the alkaline water was preventing the new pepsins from getting into my throat, and that the LPR symptoms I'm feeling are from "old" damage already caused. (I know you said something like this, Mumbles, but I'm clarifying further how it's possible that it could have been reflux which I had already taken care of, thus the zero pepsin result.)

    My current working theory is a bit different, though.

    I am of the belief that reflux is not responsible for any of this. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've gone all these years without any reflux problems (heartburn or otherwise), and no one in my immediate family ever had problems with reflux. In fact, my entire immediately family could eat/drink something super acidic and lie down without any kind of symptoms, as could I.

    My belief is that something else has been irritating my throat and larynx for awhile, but it was mild enough to where it didn't cause me much trouble. However, after the irritations worsened over time, finally it became noticeable as a "lump" in my throat, which then triggered all of the subsequent psychological effects from it. I believe that some of this irritation was from vocal abuse -- basically talking 4-8 hours nonstop on radio every week.

    In the months leading up to this, I had some warning signs. My throat was hurting more and more as I'd get to the end of radio. When I'd drink orange juice, I wouldn't feel heartburn, but I would feel the lump sensation in my throat for about 30 minutes (and this sensation would start immediately after drinking it). However, since it went away after about 30 minutes, I shrugged it off at the time.

    My new belief is that highly acidic food/drink would further irritate my already-irritated throat/larynx going down, rather than refluxing up. Kind of the same way pouring acidic liquid over an open wound would sting.

    This would also explain an age-old LPR mystery: For patients who do NOT respond to traditional acid reflux treatment (PPIs, H2 blockers, etc), how come they still seem to benefit from diet and lifestyle changes, such as avoiding eating/drinking less acidic stuff? My theory is that these people were only avoiding further irritating an existing (non-reflux-related) problem by not running acidic food/drink over the irritated areas, thus somewhat improving (but not eradicating) their symptoms over time.

    A very typical LPR partial success story goes, "I tried everything and couldn't get rid of the LPR. Finally I just stuck with the diet and lifestyle changes, and things started to improve somewhat. I still have LPR, and it still impacts my life, but it's more manageable now, and I've learned to live with it."

    Don't get me wrong. I think a lot of LPR sufferers do have a reflux issue, even without heartburn. And it's possible that I do, too.

    But I'm strongly suspecting that I'm one of those non-reflux-caused LPR cases.

    In the meantime, I'm still being mostly cautious with what I eat. I'm still drinking the alkaline water. But I'm not going to take any anti-reflux mediation for the time being, as that can bring on other problems and side effects, and I'm now really doubting they will work. (They are said to work poorly to cure LPR, anyway, at least for those like me with no heartburn symptoms.)

    I also have had a longstanding dry mouth problem (dating back decades), and that is also known to cause or worsen LPR. This might explain why the only relief I've found has been from the cheap, over-the-counter Biotene dry mouth rinse, which isn't meant to help with LPR symptoms (even though for me, it does).

    Conclusion:

    If I had to guess, I would say my LPR is from a combination of dry mouth, vocal abuse (radio), and some form of postnasal drip. I believe I've had a minor version of it for years, but only within the last 5 weeks did it flare up to where it became bothersome to my conscious mind. I do not think it's from reflux, but I believe acidic food/drink worsened the condition, as it traveled down my throat. It is not clear to me if this will get better on its own, even with the cessation of radio and eating/drinking acidic stuff. It's possible that I have damaged my throat/larynx permanently.

    Will be interesting to see what the stroboscopy reveals next week.

    As I mentioned before, in addition to the LPR and the anxiety, another set of health problems are also taking place, though these may be temporary. It is possible that the high anxiety and the rapid weight loss temporarily screwed up some things which will eventually normalize, but it's also possible I have a second, unrelated set of problems which were only uncovered because of all the recent tests I've taken. I'll find out more in the coming weeks.

    I've already seen 5 doctors since mid-August, and I will be seeing a 6th one next week. So I'm not just google diagnosing. I'm seeing professionals AND augmenting that with my own research/theory, which is the smartest thing to do in a situation like this. I've also been discussing a lot of this with my brother, though he's a cardiologist, so some of this stuff is out of his field of expertise.

  12. #212
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
    Reputation
    10110
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    54,626
    Blog Entries
    2
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Some people have assumed that I've gotten better because I've been posting more often, and have even returned to making a few sportsbets.

    In some ways, I have improved. But that's more because I've gotten used to everything happening, and so has my brain,

    There's less anxiety than before, because I pretty much know what to expect out of each day. It's shitty, but my brain knows it will be shitty, and has adjusted to accepting that, whereas before I was freaking out because it was all so new.

    Furthermore, I'm learning more and more each day how to deal with the LPR symptoms. I use the Biotene rinse when I feel it getting bad. I also use the Biotene before bed, or if I wake up feeling my mouth is really dry. The head of my bed is now on a 7-inch incline. I also prop two pillows up, whereas before I was sleeping one one flat pillow. While it's kinda uncomfortable and feels like I'm sleeping on the side of a mountain, at least this lessens the choking sensation I was feeling when trying to fall asleep. I'm still having sleeping issues, but not as badly as before. For awhile, I was failing to get more than 6 hours of sleep, no matter how much of a deficit I had, and some nights I wouldn't sleep at all. Now I am getting a combination of good and bad sleep days. I've been able to sleep 9-10 hours on some days when I really need it, and I've even been able to take naps during the day, which I was unable to do for awhile.

    I've also found that some of the fatigue I was experiencing wasn't just lack of sleep -- it was caffeine withdrawal. So I pop a 100mg caffeine pill when feeling lethargic, and that often helps.

    I'm going to go see the Dodgers when they win the NL West and make the NLDS against the Braves (notice I said WHEN, not if). Not sure when I'll feel good enough to travel again, but I'll start with a Vegas trip and go from there. Not anytime soon, though.

    Radio, unfortunately, is awhile away. For radio to return, I'm going to have to knock out most of the LPR symptoms, and I'm not sure when that will happen, if ever. Sadly I have noticed that a lot of talking seems to noticeably worsen the LPR symptoms. I stupidly talked on the phone every day for long periods of time when this was going on, feeling it was therapeutic to discuss this with friends and family. Unfortunately, I think I was just worsening everything, as I noticed my throat was especially bad after those phone calls. Now I'm careful to keep off long phone calls, and to never raise my voice for any reason (tough when you have a kid). I'm hoping that, if this is vocal-related, time will heal this wound.

    I'm hoping the stroboscopy doesn't reveal some kind of permanent damage which can only be fixed through surgery, because the thought of someone taking a knife to my throat is very scary, and there are all kinds of potential complications. On the good side, I do not have any change in my voice tone, nor is the hoarseness constant. I'm hoping that means the damage is moderate/minor, and that time can heal it.

  13. #213
    100% Organic MumblesBadly's Avatar
    Reputation
    94
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    In the many threads of this forum
    Posts
    9,408
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Glad to hear that the pepsin tests came out negative. Even if some reflux contributed to you developing LPR, it sounds likes you don’t have any at this time. So, yeah, no need for taking a PPI.

    As for other possible factors...

    Dry mouth: Do you notice whether you breathe with your mouth open when sleeping? That can dry out your mouth even with normal humidity in the room, but especially so in drier climates unless you use a room humidifier. Ask Benjamin’s mom to check on that if you are not sure. But you’ll probably know yourselve b/c you would usually feel the dryness of your teeth, especially the front ones, if you sleep breathing through your mouth. In fact, doing so can contribute to tooth decay and/gum problems, as an extended lack of saliva on them can foster them. At least, that’s what a dentist told me years ago.

    Excessive use of your voice, coupled with acidic beverages: The wife of a friend of mine who is a long-time opera singer and voice teacher regularly drinks herbal tea infused with honey to help soothe her throat. She swears by it, but it’s hard to say how much it actually helps versus acts like a placebo. And she also uses a humidifier in the bedroom except when it is naturally muggy.

    In any event, all the best on feeling better.
    _____________________________________________
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    I actually hope this [second impeachment] succeeds, because I want Trump put down politically like a sick, 14-year-old dog. ... I don't want him complicating the 2024 primary season. I just want him done.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Were Republicans cowardly or unethical not to go along with [convicting Trump in the second impeachment Senate trial]? No. The smart move was to reject it.

  14. #214
    Living with Druff must be miserable

  15. #215
    One Percenter Pooh's Avatar
    Reputation
    1375
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    5,738
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Some people have assumed that I've gotten better because I've been posting more often, and have even returned to making a few sportsbets.

    In some ways, I have improved. But that's more because I've gotten used to everything happening, and so has my brain,

    There's less anxiety than before, because I pretty much know what to expect out of each day. It's shitty, but my brain knows it will be shitty, and has adjusted to accepting that, whereas before I was freaking out because it was all so new.

    Furthermore, I'm learning more and more each day how to deal with the LPR symptoms. I use the Biotene rinse when I feel it getting bad. I also use the Biotene before bed, or if I wake up feeling my mouth is really dry. The head of my bed is now on a 7-inch incline. I also prop two pillows up, whereas before I was sleeping one one flat pillow. While it's kinda uncomfortable and feels like I'm sleeping on the side of a mountain, at least this lessens the choking sensation I was feeling when trying to fall asleep. I'm still having sleeping issues, but not as badly as before. For awhile, I was failing to get more than 6 hours of sleep, no matter how much of a deficit I had, and some nights I wouldn't sleep at all. Now I am getting a combination of good and bad sleep days. I've been able to sleep 9-10 hours on some days when I really need it, and I've even been able to take naps during the day, which I was unable to do for awhile.

    I've also found that some of the fatigue I was experiencing wasn't just lack of sleep -- it was caffeine withdrawal. So I pop a 100mg caffeine pill when feeling lethargic, and that often helps.

    I'm going to go see the Dodgers when they win the NL West and make the NLDS against the Braves (notice I said WHEN, not if). Not sure when I'll feel good enough to travel again, but I'll start with a Vegas trip and go from there. Not anytime soon, though.

    Radio, unfortunately, is awhile away. For radio to return, I'm going to have to knock out most of the LPR symptoms, and I'm not sure when that will happen, if ever. Sadly I have noticed that a lot of talking seems to noticeably worsen the LPR symptoms. I stupidly talked on the phone every day for long periods of time when this was going on, feeling it was therapeutic to discuss this with friends and family. Unfortunately, I think I was just worsening everything, as I noticed my throat was especially bad after those phone calls. Now I'm careful to keep off long phone calls, and to never raise my voice for any reason (tough when you have a kid). I'm hoping that, if this is vocal-related, time will heal this wound.

    I'm hoping the stroboscopy doesn't reveal some kind of permanent damage which can only be fixed through surgery, because the thought of someone taking a knife to my throat is very scary, and there are all kinds of potential complications. On the good side, I do not have any change in my voice tone, nor is the hoarseness constant. I'm hoping that means the damage is moderate/minor, and that time can heal it.
    Interesting about your pillow situation. I'm the opposite. If I either don't use a pillow or only one I usually wake up choking and thinking I'm dying. Two and I'm good, or one big pillow and I'm fine. I'll be in Vegas early November with family. I can even arrange a meet up with Mrs. Pooh. That's incentive right there. Feel better.

  16. #216
    Platinum gimmick's Avatar
    Reputation
    463
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    2,665
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post

    In some ways, I have improved. But that's more because I've gotten used to everything happening, and so has my brain,

    There's less anxiety than before, because I pretty much know what to expect out of each day. It's shitty, but my brain knows it will be shitty, and has adjusted to accepting that, whereas before I was freaking out because it was all so new.

    I've also found that some of the fatigue I was experiencing wasn't just lack of sleep -- it was caffeine withdrawal. So I pop a 100mg caffeine pill when feeling lethargic, and that often helps.
    There could be some benefit in taking Xanax few times a week for a short time period even though you've managed without it. Your mind might know that you can have a break from anxiety for few hours if needed but your body might not comprehend it unless you do it a few times. It's a way of establishing control and that itself can lessen anxiety.

    In no way can you treat Xanax like caffeine pills but you shouldn't be too afraid to use it either. Toxicity wise on it's own it's very safe. With dependency/withdrawal wise it still takes months of daily use at much higher doses. In recreational use people seek euphoria and a sense of carelessness. When looking for those tolerance grows very fast and even with no tolerance the dosage is bigger than what would be appropriate for you.

    In your case all you need is disconnecting/suppressing the "fight or flight" reflex. In therapeutic use, besides taking far bigger doses, one way that can cause problems is "taking it when needed" when that's several times a day every day. Even without exceeding the recommended daily dosage, that will create a physical dependency usually with a very strong psychological component at that point.

    Being aware of benzo addiction is very good, but the usual dangers apply less to you because of your personality and non existent history of drug abuse.

  17. #217
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
    Reputation
    10110
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    54,626
    Blog Entries
    2
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by gimmick View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post

    In some ways, I have improved. But that's more because I've gotten used to everything happening, and so has my brain,

    There's less anxiety than before, because I pretty much know what to expect out of each day. It's shitty, but my brain knows it will be shitty, and has adjusted to accepting that, whereas before I was freaking out because it was all so new.

    I've also found that some of the fatigue I was experiencing wasn't just lack of sleep -- it was caffeine withdrawal. So I pop a 100mg caffeine pill when feeling lethargic, and that often helps.
    There could be some benefit in taking Xanax few times a week for a short time period even though you've managed without it. Your mind might know that you can have a break from anxiety for few hours if needed but your body might not comprehend it unless you do it a few times. It's a way of establishing control and that itself can lessen anxiety.

    In no way can you treat Xanax like caffeine pills but you shouldn't be too afraid to use it either. Toxicity wise on it's own it's very safe. With dependency/withdrawal wise it still takes months of daily use at much higher doses. In recreational use people seek euphoria and a sense of carelessness. When looking for those tolerance grows very fast and even with no tolerance the dosage is bigger than what would be appropriate for you.

    In your case all you need is disconnecting/suppressing the "fight or flight" reflex. In therapeutic use, besides taking far bigger doses, one way that can cause problems is "taking it when needed" when that's several times a day every day. Even without exceeding the recommended daily dosage, that will create a physical dependency usually with a very strong psychological component at that point.

    Being aware of benzo addiction is very good, but the usual dangers apply less to you because of your personality and non existent history of drug abuse.
    This exact thing was told to me by two different doctors.

    However, I still don't want to do it, for two reasons:

    1) I hated that lethargic feeling the next day.

    2) I don't think it will do much good. I say this because I've naturally gotten "breaks" from the anxiety through unexplained short periods of time where I felt mostly better. The most recent (and longest) one was from Sunday through Thursday of last week, only to see the anxiety return on the following day (now a week ago). While the break was nice, it didn't do a lot for me long term. Same with the other (shorter) periods where symptoms waned, including the time I did take the Xanax.

    So given that I don't think this is a matter of "breaks" being needed to help get better, I haven't taken anymore Xanax.

    I do agree that my personality and lack of desire to take recreational drugs makes me less likely to get addicted to Xanax than the average person.

    Sadly I don't think the anxiety will be gone until the LPR is gone or mostly suppressed. That's where I'm focusing right now.

  18. #218
    Platinum gimmick's Avatar
    Reputation
    463
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    2,665
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by gimmick View Post

    There could be some benefit in taking Xanax few times a week for a short time period even though you've managed without it. Your mind might know that you can have a break from anxiety for few hours if needed but your body might not comprehend it unless you do it a few times. It's a way of establishing control and that itself can lessen anxiety.

    In no way can you treat Xanax like caffeine pills but you shouldn't be too afraid to use it either. Toxicity wise on it's own it's very safe. With dependency/withdrawal wise it still takes months of daily use at much higher doses. In recreational use people seek euphoria and a sense of carelessness. When looking for those tolerance grows very fast and even with no tolerance the dosage is bigger than what would be appropriate for you.

    In your case all you need is disconnecting/suppressing the "fight or flight" reflex. In therapeutic use, besides taking far bigger doses, one way that can cause problems is "taking it when needed" when that's several times a day every day. Even without exceeding the recommended daily dosage, that will create a physical dependency usually with a very strong psychological component at that point.

    Being aware of benzo addiction is very good, but the usual dangers apply less to you because of your personality and non existent history of drug abuse.
    This exact thing was told to me by two different doctors.

    However, I still don't want to do it, for two reasons:

    1) I hated that lethargic feeling the next day.

    2) I don't think it will do much good. I say this because I've naturally gotten "breaks" from the anxiety through unexplained short periods of time where I felt mostly better. The most recent (and longest) one was from Sunday through Thursday of last week, only to see the anxiety return on the following day (now a week ago). While the break was nice, it didn't do a lot for me long term. Same with the other (shorter) periods where symptoms waned, including the time I did take the Xanax.

    So given that I don't think this is a matter of "breaks" being needed to help get better, I haven't taken anymore Xanax.

    I do agree that my personality and lack of desire to take recreational drugs makes me less likely to get addicted to Xanax than the average person.

    Sadly I don't think the anxiety will be gone until the LPR is gone or mostly suppressed. That's where I'm focusing right now.
    That's fair. Xanax does very little to cure anxiety. It's just the knowledge you can take it and the benefits of sleep/rest.

    Having natural "breaks" is obv very good since it let's you know that your body can in some circumstances handle with anxiety on it's own even if you don't yet know how to recreate those circumstances. As with medically induced "breaks" it does help you recharge batteries and for most people it makes handling bad days a bit easier.

    Some of the lethargy might have been related to lack of caffeine and the rest likely would go away fairly fast. Oh and apparently PPIs could cause Xanax to metabolize slower.
    Last edited by gimmick; 09-21-2018 at 09:36 PM. Reason: PPIs

  19. #219
    Diamond BCR's Avatar
    Reputation
    2014
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    6,864
    Load Metric
    65642566
    When you actually swallow food, does it relent during the actual swallowing only to return worse after you eat? Like does the food going down provide a momentary relief to that lump feeling, but the after effects make you not want to eat?

  20. #220
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
    Reputation
    10110
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    54,626
    Blog Entries
    2
    Load Metric
    65642566
    Quote Originally Posted by BCR View Post
    When you actually swallow food, does it relent during the actual swallowing only to return worse after you eat? Like does the food going down provide a momentary relief to that lump feeling, but the after effects make you not want to eat?
    No, I don't get any of that.

    Swallowing is fine. Never had an issue with that.

    Eating doesn't relief to the lump feeling. It makes it worse, especially if it's something acidic (which I avoid).

    My current theory is that the food actually irritates my throat on its way down, and not from refluxing back up.

    Picture your throat being red/irritated, and anything passing through will kinda bother it, especially if acidic. That's what I think is going on.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Selling Shares for a Weight Loss Prop Bet
    By chinamaniac in forum Flying Stupidity
    Replies: 623
    Last Post: 11-19-2018, 01:35 PM
  2. How chinamaniac's weight loss thread may end...
    By DonaldTrumpsHairPiece in forum Flying Stupidity
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 12-29-2017, 03:33 PM
  3. Journey to Atlantic City
    By HoodedN in forum Flying Stupidity
    Replies: 56
    Last Post: 12-11-2017, 12:10 AM
  4. abrown83's Weight Loss Extravaganza
    By abrown83 in forum Flying Stupidity
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 05-07-2013, 03:29 PM
  5. Visceral journey: Unexplainable joys
    By Ricky in forum Flying Stupidity
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 02-03-2013, 04:08 PM

Tags for this Thread