[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

One of my relatives (Girl, age 21, otherwise healthy) is suffering from lack of sleep. She hardly gets about 4 hours of sleep per day if at all. What medicine could she take? Some doctor prescribed anxit 0.5mg but did not really work.

Try the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q38BBlpCPtE

[pyrodrive]

Originally Posted by rock18

I am getting frequent cold/throat infection and most of them it lasts for atleast a week irrespective of the medicines.
In that one week,two days are very severe and i suffer a lot.

Is it advisable to take OTC tablets like coldact,vicks action 500,otrivin,etc?
Any advise on avoiding getting frequent cold and cough?

If you are having this repeatedly,would suggest you go for a throat swab for c/s,just to rule out a chronic infection.also a possibility of allergic condition has to be considered.
OTC meds are ok if taken very occassionally.evrybody does that.but try to avoid as much as possible and dont take repeated doses

[Sprucegoose]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

One of my relatives (Girl, age 21, otherwise healthy) is suffering from lack of sleep. She hardly gets about 4 hours of sleep per day if at all. What medicine could she take? Some doctor prescribed anxit 0.5mg but did not really work.

Sleeping pills don't work on me.
I had a similar problem, i just stopped sleeping one day.
I'd get an hour of sleep a day. This continued for about a month.
And i was in bad shape.

Self medicated my self with sleeping pills. didn't work [had 2 ativan 2mgs]
quit smoking. didn't work.
quit cycling at night. didn't work.

I also tried these gymming supplements called ZMA [it's some Zinc Magnesium something] that worked [wouldn't put me to sleep, but when i did finally go to sleep, if i was allowed a good 6 hours of sleep i'd get up fresh], but at 1500 bucks a month and me not having a job was too expensive.

but what did work was a change of environment.
kept my phone on silent and refused to even look at my laptop post 8 pm.
I read my self to sleep everynight.

I currently get about 4 - 5 hours of sleep a day,

Originally Posted by rock18

I am getting frequent cold/throat infection and most of them it lasts for atleast a week irrespective of the medicines.
In that one week,two days are very severe and i suffer a lot.

Is it advisable to take OTC tablets like coldact,vicks action 500,otrivin,etc?
Any advise on avoiding getting frequent cold and cough?

I used to have an almost permanent cold. even when i'd take antibiotics like augmentin [prescribed by a doctor] the cold wouldn't work.

started taking a cetrazine and a vitamin C tablet whenever i got the cold.
now i get it sporadically. if i don't get good sleep.

also if i over exert myself for a couple of days and don't get proper sleep i start getting the cold again. but then what more can be expected.

Cetrazine and Vitamin C almost always works for me unless i actually get fever and stuff


Question
I have a constant dull ache in the back. have had it as long as i can remember. fell awkwardly when i was a kid and landed straight on my tail bone. the pain is centered around the lower back about 2 or 3 inches above the tail bone and slightly offset to the left.

Developed a Sciatica problem [sharp pain starting at the tail bone and running along the inner thigh all the way down to the left knee.]
after i fell awkwardly while playing football. It started off as what felt like a groin strain, but didn't give it rest at all. Got fixed randomly again after a bike accident and another football caused herniated disc. took 2 days of complete bed rest and about 8 months of very ginger movement after that for it to get fixed.

Now in addition to the near constant dull ache in the lower back, i sometimes get sharp shooting pains that are very short lived radiating from the tail bone down a couple of inches.

not had an MRI done yet, but planning to get one done after i get surgery on a near complete tear of my ACL and 2 grade 3 cartilage tears in my right knee. Getting the surgery done from Dr. Nicholas Antao. He comes highly recommended from a couple of professional footballer friends.

can anyone recommend a good back doctor in mumbai?
was planning to go to the Behramji hospital opposite central plaza, my friend is getting some alternative treatment [ultrasound, accupressure, accupuncture and some ayurveda] from there.

is it a good place?

In addition to this i had a bike accident and am having problems with my right shoulder.
had an MRI done shortly after the accident because i lost all movement in my Right shoulder for about 3 months.

Here are the remarks from the MRI report:
"The ill-defined soft tissue in the anterior rotator interval, and the thickening of the anterior capsule, are findings, which may be sometimes seen with adhesive capsulitis. No other obvious abnormality is seen. The mild asymmetry of the right AC joint is of uncertain and questionable significance, but may be further investigated, if clinically relevant."

My right shoulder clicks everytime i rotate it.
and the muscles pain [not much, but it's irritating] when i work out and i think because of this my left side is developing slightly better than my right side. my right side was always dominant until the accident.

[prashant.dinkar]

Very Helpful Thread ..

I have a query regarding Blood Pressure . From last 12-15 days my wife is complaining about having headache , feeling lightheaded and dizzy .

I started taking her BP 3 times a day and it will always in range of 93/63 to 107/72 with pulse rate ranging from 70-95 .
I was reading on different sites that it should not be a problem till the time you have symptoms , She tried increasing her water and salt intake but no help.
Any suggestions ? What can be the reason and any possible remedies?

[mroptimist]

Originally Posted by prashant.dinkar

She tried increasing her water and salt intake but no help.
Any suggestions ? What can be the reason and any possible remedies?

Hello prashant.dinkar, Sorry to disappoint you somethings can't be diagnosed or treated online. What she requires is a thorough evaluation and workup for that she has to visit a good physician. She is now symptomatic so she definitely requires a visit to the hospital.

The differential diagnosis list for such symptoms is pretty long. So I suggest a thorough workup. Hope it helps.

[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by prashant.dinkar

Very Helpful Thread ..
From last 12-15 days my wife is complaining about having headache , feeling lightheaded and dizzy.
I started taking her BP 3 times a day and it will always in range of 93/63 to 107/72 with pulse rate ranging from 70-95 .

If that is what is her BP consistently, then that may be what is normal to her constitution. As you may have already read, BP in a person will vary depending on age, physical constitution, mood, resting state, post exertion etc etc (even the person measuring!). Worrisome hypotension is what is seen in acute blood loss or severe infections which are obviously not a problem in your case. Few endocrine(hormonal imbalances), heart ailments and medication history would constitute some of the other usual suspects.

Since there are symptoms, you need to visit a General medicine or Internal medicine specialist (generally referred to as a physician) who will take a detailed history, perform a physical examination and maybe a few investigations to confirm whether the symptoms are really due to low BP or something else and if there are any underlying problems causing low BP.

[callvvijay]

Need some help, please! All of a sudden, I am noticing some black dots (just like moles) in many places all over my body - like both arms, stomach/chest region, back, and even a few in my face. I don't have any pain or itching in those areas.

What could be the reason for this? I suppose it should be some deficiency. Suggestions to stop this from spreading would be great.

Thanks in advance!

[mroptimist]

Originally Posted by callvvijay

Need some help, please! All of a sudden, I am noticing some black dots (just like moles) in many places all over my body - like both arms, stomach/chest region, back, and even a few in my face. I don't have any pain or itching in those areas.

What could be the reason for this? I suppose it should be some deficiency. Suggestions to stop this from spreading would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Please don't panic after reading my post.

What you have posted again can be because of many things.

In medicine we try to rule out diseases which are very difficult to treat like cancer. In view of this it's possible that it could be due to various benign pigment disorders or due to "Malignant Melanoma" which is a difficult cancer to treat. Again let me remind you that please don't panic and get a consultation with your Dermatologist as early as possible.

One more thing I always wanted to comment on (with regard to this thread) was that man (as machine) is entirely different from say automobiles.

Accurate diagnosis of most human illnesses are impossible online (In most cases).

Please do not treat this thread as a replacement to actual consultation with a doctor, no matter how much you would like to avoid them. Not every doctor is bad.

May God give you lasting cure from this condition.

Note: Sign of a good doctor is one who has great degree of suspicion.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by mroptimist

Note: Sign of a good doctor is one who has great degree of suspicion.

Dear mroptimist, how do we know a suspicious doctor when we meet one? My general experience with doctors is so negative that I feel reluctant to approach them and keep procrastinating.

I had once approached a skin specialist for one skin problem. He mulled on it for a long time and then wrote a prescription. I did not trust his diagnosis and did not take his medication, because I thought a good doctor will not take so long to arrive at a conclusion. Is he a suspicious doctor, running through in his mind lots of possible causes?

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Sprucegoose

Sleeping pills don't work on me.
I had a similar problem, i just stopped sleeping one day.
I'd get an hour of sleep a day. This continued for about a month.
And i was in bad shape.

Originally Posted by Sprucegoose

I used to have an almost permanent cold. even when i'd take antibiotics like augmentin [prescribed by a doctor] the cold wouldn't work.

Sounds like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea

Do you also snore when sleeping?

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Sprucegoose, next time you recover from your cold, change your toothbrush. You'll be surprised to see that the cold doesn't reappear for a longer time interval.

Or, leave you toothbrush head dipped in undiluted Listerine for atleast 20 mins everyday.

[midazolam]

Originally Posted by Guite

My general experience with doctors is so negative that I feel reluctant to approach them and keep procrastinating.

I had once approached a skin specialist for one skin problem. He mulled on it for a long time and then wrote a prescription. I did not trust his diagnosis and did not take his medication, because I thought a good doctor will not take so long to arrive at a conclusion. Is he a suspicious doctor, running through in his mind lots of possible causes?

I really feel bad that your experiance with doctors has been bad and you are reluctant now but believe me this should not stop u from consulting a doctor when u actually need to.

In medicine, a lot of diseases have overlapping symptoms and at times it's not possible to arrive at a diagnosis the first time you see a patient. So, a doctor might take some time to prescribe you drugs after being completely sure.

Not taking a medication is definitely not the correct thing to do. If u were not satisfied you should have taken a second opinion.

Note from Support:
Please do not use short forms like u for you.

[mroptimist]

Originally Posted by Guite

Dear mroptimist, how do we know a suspicious doctor when we meet one? My general experience with doctors is so negative that I feel reluctant to approach them and keep procrastinating.

I had once approached a skin specialist for one skin problem. He mulled on it for a long time and then wrote a prescription. I did not trust his diagnosis and did not take his medication, because I thought a good doctor will not take so long to arrive at a conclusion. Is he a suspicious doctor, running through in his mind lots of possible causes?

Doctor who treats you within a minute is definitely not the suspicious variety. Because a vast majority of physicians treat all cases within a couple of minutes we have developed this mentality that someone who opens a book, or someone who procrastinates is perhaps low on knowledge. Most probably it's not the case.

Majority of our health vows can be addressed if the doctor-population ratio improves, health insurance becomes compulsory and doctors are kept on their toes by forcing them to get re-licensed every 5 years or so.

Probably the doctor you met was of a suspicious variety. A good doctor rules out various differential diagnoses before arriving at a final diagnosis and doesn't just assume the first diagnosis which comes to his mind as the definitive one.

I had read somewhere in a book that the doctor whom you don't trust is perhaps the one who will cure you.

Hope I was able to clear some of your doubts.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by midazolam

Not taking a medication is definitely not the correct thing to do. If u were not satisfied you should have taken a second opinion.

I took second opinion, it was quite different. While first doctor prescribed externally applied ointment, second one prescribed vitamin and it worked. BTW, the ailment was a crack and sore (?) on the corner of lip, where upper and lower lip meet.

Originally Posted by mroptimist

Probably the doctor you met was of a suspicious variety. A good doctor rules out various differential diagnoses before arriving at a final diagnosis and doesn't just assume the first diagnosis which comes to his mind as the definitive one.

Thanks for the explanation. Henceforth I wouldn't be suspicious of a doctor who takes his time.

[Sprucegoose]

Originally Posted by bblost

Sounds like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea

Do you also snore when sleeping?

Some say i do, some say i don't [About the Snoring]
And i do get up fatigued most of the time.

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Sprucegoose, next time you recover from your cold, change your toothbrush. You'll be surprised to see that the cold doesn't reappear for a longer time interval.

Or, leave you toothbrush head dipped in undiluted Listerine for atleast 20 mins everyday.

will try that, but i've not suffered from a cold for a long time now, unless i skip on my sleep for a couple of days.

bblost & Tejas thanks for the info