Why Do Men Often Say “See What I’m Saying?” when Talking?
Just how many people are super annoyed at hearing men repeatedly insert “See what I’m saying” or “Know what I mean” when speaking?
Just why do they do this? (more…)
Ear, Neck, Head Pain that Your Doctor Can’t Figure Out?
Do you suffer from ear, neck or head pain that many doctors can’t seem to diagnose?
There’s a sly condition often missed by doctors that just might be causing your suffering. (more…)
Tingling, Numbness and Pain in Both Hands Isn’t Always CTS
Pain, numbness and tingling in both hands can easily be misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. Another, much less known condition can mimic CTS.
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Sometime in early September 2018, I started feeling pains of tingling and numbness in both of my hands, primarily in the mornings when I’d wake up.
Initially, I thought this was caused by poor sleeping habits, but after occurring several nights in a row I was starting to get concerned.
After about a week, the pain increased, sending a throbbing sensation throughout my hands.
Using terms such as a nerve separation or spiderwebbing explosion, the pain almost always originated from a single point at my wrist.
There was a hot fiery electrical sensation associated with the pain.
Tasks such as opening circular or spherical doorknobs and turning it, or trying to remove the lid off a pickle jar, would usually activate it.
Simple things like brushing my teeth or doing the dishes were arduous.
Anytime I had my hands slightly elevated from my body, my arms felt fatigued.
I decided to see my GP. She referred me to a specialist in neurology.
The neurologist asked several questions. He ran a few tests to reproduce the pain.
Then there was a nerve conduction procedure which was mildly uncomfortable. The second test — an electromyography — was more invasive.
Electromyography. Shutterstock/Roman Zaiets
His test indicated that I had mild carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. I did some research and found it was rare to have it bilaterally, so I was skeptical of his diagnosis.
Not only that, but my symptoms did not feel mild. Sometimes they were downright disabling.
He suggested a cortisone shot in both wrists which could allow for several months of reduced swelling for the general discomfort.
He started off with a cortisone shot in my left wrist. I experienced a cortisone flare; a temporary reaction of increased pain as it binds inside the tissue.
I felt no relief once the reaction from the cortisone subsided.
The neurologist recommended a carpal tunnel release. I was not willing to undergo the surgery to alleviate symptoms of a condition that I may or may not have developed.
My GP decided to refer me to another type of doctor. She suspected the origination might be further up my arm, perhaps near the shoulder joint area.
I met with the specialist; he was engaged as I described the events that occurred, and I felt as if perhaps he knew what I’d been going through.
Next, he performed some tests. Raising my arms straight up in the air, he took my pulse which could indicate a compression at some point from my thoracic spine. There was a noticeable reduction.
He had one of his technicians perform a vascular ultrasound.
Throughout parts of the test, I was instructed to move my arms throughout many positions.
The computer hooked up to the ultrasound recorded the pressure and speed of my blood flow.
The Results Explained
I had a condition known as thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS): a compression of the brachial plexus.
Thoracic outlet syndrome. BruceBlaus, CC BY-SA 4.0/creativecommons.org
This is an area where a network of nerves, including the subclavian artery and subclavian vein, pass through the scalene muscles in the neck, underneath the collarbone and over the first rib.
The scalene muscles the pec minor muscles (chest) are very commonly involved.
When these muscles become overactive, they tend to squish the network of nerves directly exiting the cervical and thoracic spine or between the pec minor and the rib.
The doctor said it can be brought on by a sports injury or automobile accident.
Other times it might be caused by repetitive motions from work or extreme amounts of stress (tightening your scalene muscles unnaturally through periods of emotional trepidation can trigger symptoms).
Some people who suffer from TOS have an extra rib above the first.
This “cervical rib” is a genetic inheritance and present at birth. However, this anomaly is very rare.
The doctor wanted to run a few more tests to rule out other possibilities of cause.
After a CT scan and two MRI’s and an X-ray, the results were negative. I did not have the cervical rib.
The Treatment
I required physical therapy from anywhere between one to six months depending on the severity of my thoracic outlet syndrome, and how well I responded to the exercises. Surgery was not required.
What I required was muscle strengthening and stretching, isolating the proper areas and targeting them.
I found a physical therapist and booked my first appointment.
She showed me some basic home stretches and exercises to strengthen specific muscles. After several months I started feeling some relief.
I continued with the exercises for well over a year, but the biggest amount of relief came within those first few months.
Generally speaking, I don’t have to do the exercises regularly anymore, only when I feel like impending pain just around the corner.
I have since joined a TOS forum on Facebook to connect with others like me.
Kimbery Ashington was born and raised in Kelowna, BC, and has been residing in the Greater Toronto Area since 2010. She is managing editor at RateRaiders.ca and passionate about helping Canadians navigate the waters of their finances. Check out her article on how to destroy bad credit. Twitter: @rateraiders
Top image: Shutterstock/WSW1985
Should the Huge Birthmark on My Child Be Removed?
Does that big mole on your child have you worried and wondering if it should be surgically removed to prevent cancer?
Are You Feeling Sick and Tired Lately? Muscle Cramps Too?
Have you been feeling tired and sick with muscle cramps, just not feeling right, but your doctor can’t figure out what’s wrong?
Have you had all sorts of tests but they keep coming up normal?
Have multiple doctors actually told you that all your symptoms — even the muscle cramps — are due to stress and that you should just try to relax more?
There’s a very high chance that you’ve been misdiagnosed as suffering from stress or anxiety, or perhaps from not getting enough sleep.
But if you’ve also been experiencing insomnia, this is a symptom, not a medical condition.
What Your Doctor Should Test For
“Celiac disease is often misdiagnosed or left undiagnosed for many reasons,” says Stefano Guandalini, MD, Founder and Medical Director, The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center.
“Primarily, the disease has hundreds of symptoms that can mimic other problems, so if the possibility of celiac is not on the physician’s radar, the tests are not ordered.”
The irony is that the screening test for celiac disease is a simple blood test; nothing at all complicated.
Maybe you’ve heard of celiac disease and believe you can’t possibly have it because:
1) You’re older or 2) Your symptoms don’t include diarrhea or other digestive distress.
Here’s a surprise: Most people with celiac disease do not experience diarrhea or constipation.
Dr. Guandalini continues, “The underlying issue, of course, is that physicians in the U.S., until very recently, were taught that celiac disease was very rare, which we know is incorrect.
“It is part of our mission to re-educate medical professionals about celiac disease in hopes of raising awareness and diagnosis rates.”
The current estimate is that about one out of 100 people have CD. Most people who have the condition don’t have symptoms. They are usually tested when a family member with symptoms is properly diagnosed.
And the symptoms sometimes include feeling more tired than usual, or just a feeling of being sick or not well. Muscle cramps and joint pain are possible.
Feeling sick or tired and having muscle cramps can be caused by many other disorders, but celiac disease can easily be ruled out — or in.
The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center states:
Most physicians learned during medical school that celiac disease was so rare they would never see a patient with symptoms in their entire medical career. Lectures on celiac disease in medical schools, even today, are few and far between.
When your doctor was in medical school, he or she may have heard a 20-30 minute celiac disease lecture during four years of classes. Medical textbooks still contain outdated information.
This is changing, however. More and more doctors are alert to the possibility of this autoimmune condition in a patient presenting with feelings of malaise, fatigue, tiredness, muscle cramps and various other “unexplained” symptoms.
If you’re feeling ill and run-down and have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or anemia, request a blood test for celiac disease, which can cause fatigue, psychiatric issues and anemia.
Over 200 Symptoms
In addition to fatigue, feeling unusually tired and muscle camps, Celiac disease can cause the following:
• Brain fog
• Skin rash
• Dental enamal problems
• Mouth sores
• Tingling/numbness in the legs and feet
• Weight loss
• Bloating
• Gas
• Constipation
• Headache
• Bone loss
• Recurrent miscarriage
Dr. Guandalini is an internationally recognized expert on celiac disease, Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago, and the founder of the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center. His clinical and research efforts have greatly influenced how celiac disease is diagnosed and treated today.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Sources: celiac.org
Lump Behind the Ear in Someone with Down Syndrome: Causes
Parents of those with Down syndrome may be very concerned upon discovering a lump behind the ear of their child (or adult with this genetic condition).
“I have not specifically heard about an isolated lump behind the ear in Down’s patients.,” says Dr. Stacey Silvers, MD, of Madison ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery in NYC, who is board certified in otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat specialty).
“However, an enlarged postauricular lymph node, like most others, is an inflammatory response.”
The postauricular lymph node is located behind the ears.
The function of a lymph node is to drain lymphatic fluid, and those located behind the ears are responsible for draining the fluid from the head and neck.
Dr. Silvers continues, “Down’s patients are more prone to ear infections and upper respiratory infections due to their variations in head and neck anatomy and palatal muscle tone.
This makes Down’s patients more prone to infection, as their anatomical protective mechanisms don’t function as well.
Therefore, the more infections, the more lymph nodes will react and therefore enlarge.”
An infected lymph node is usually, but not always, tender or uncomfortable upon being touched.
“As ear infections are quite common, most Down’s patients require multiple sets of ventilating ear tubes in their lives,” continues Dr. Silvers.
“A chronically inflamed postauricular lymph node may be expected.”
An NYC expert in ear, nose and throat care, Dr. Silvers has been named among America’s Top Physicians and Surgeons in facial plastic surgery and otolaryngology numerous times since 2003.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Wearing a Mask During Intense or Heavy Deadlifts: Guidelines
You don’t know what it’s like to wear a mask while working out until you do a 5 x 5 RM deadlift. It’s not pretty, but it’s doable. Here are guidelines.
I had to try three different kinds of masks before I found one that fit halfway decently and didn’t irritate the area under my eye.
After about three months of lifting weights at home when gyms were closed, I finally got back into the gym.
Few people were wearing a mask (before mandates). I was one of those few.
It was a no-brainer; wear the mask for the entire workout, including 5 x 5 RM deadlifts – which was my first routine on back day, and they were intense and heavy.
What Deadlifting Feels Like with a Mask
It made me think of what people with COPD probably feel like when lightly strength training or, in more severe cases, when walking across a room.
COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
I also wondered if the feeling was similar to what someone with chronic heart failure feels like.
People with COPD and heart failure aren’t the people you’ll find doing deadlifts.
But it’s food for thought: Wearing a mask while lifting heavy shorts you on oxygen. You’ll be breathing noticeably harder. And I’m referring to wearing the mask OVER your nose, not just over your mouth.
Your mask may get sucked into your face with each deep breath following an intense set. Rather than remove it, lightly pull it out a bit while catching your breath.
Another optiion: After completing each max set, steal away to a corner (rather than near people or in a heavily trafficked area), pull the mask down and gulp air for 30 to 45 seconds.
As time goes on with subsequent gym visits, you’ll find you’ll no longer need to pull the mask off to catch your breath; you’ll be able to do it with it fully on.
But this also depends on the thickness of the mask (mine is thicker than the common blue disposable ones).
It was only after deadlifting 5 RM that I had to (initially) pull down the mask (I soon adapted and only pulled it out to recapture my breath while it was still over my nose).
I had no problem keeping it on while recovering from other movements such as the leg press, tire squats, heavy dumbbell squats and incline barbell press.
The mask did NOT reduce my lifting capacity for any strength training including the 5 x 5 RM deadlft. I killed it my first day back at the gym! You can too with a mask!
Another way to describe deadlifting heavy while wearing a mask is that the feeling is perhaps pretty close to what it’d be if working out at an altitude 2,000 feet higher than what you’re used to.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: Freepik.com, 8photo
When Joint Replacement Surgery Causes a Pulmonary Embolism
What happens when a pulmonary embolism forms after joint replacement surgery?
A piece of a deep vein thrombosis, postop, can break off, travel to the lungs and suffocate the patient.
Joint replacement surgery is a major risk factor for a blood clot that travels to the lungs and becomes a pulmonary embolism, so how is this diagnosed accurately?
Diagnosis of a Pulmonary Embolism After Joint Replacement
“A PE is usually diagnosed with clinical signs, symptoms and radiologic studies,” says Henry Boucher, MD, clinical instructor of Adult Reconstruction, Medstar Union Memorial Orthopaedics, Baltimore, MD.
“Patients may complain of shortness of breath and or chest discomfort,” continues Dr. Boucher.
“Their oxygen saturation level may decline and they may have an elevated heart rate and respiratory rate.”
The joint replacement patient (as well as other surgery patients) are monitored for oxygen intake.
If it dips below a certain level, this triggers a sound alert to medical staff.
“Usually a pulmonary embolism is confirmed by a CT scan or ventilation perfusion scan,” says Dr. Boucher.
What about why joint replacement surgery patients are not routinely placed on telemetry to monitor for cardiac disturbances that can result from a pulmonary embolism — which, from a mathematical standpoint, kills one person every six minutes in the U.S.
Dr. Boucher explains, “Most patients are not routinely placed on telemetry unless there is a cardiac issue, and telemetry itself is not indicated for the routine joint replacement patient for the purpose of early identification of a PE.”
He adds, “Pulmonary emboli can vary in size and many can be asymptomatic or have few outward clinical signs.
“However, a large PE (i.e., saddle embolism) can be rapidly fatal without warning or treatment; fortunately these are uncommon.”
Dr. Boucher’s specialties are hip and knee surgery, replacement and revision, and sports medicine surgery. He has been the recipient of the Golden Apple Award for teaching excellence multiple times.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Do These 5 Things to Add a Decade to Your Life
