I need some good vibes.

[TheMightyFavog]

Guys, I'm kind of worried.

I've been having trouble with gas pains for about a month now, The gas pains are really hurting me right around my kidneys. Couple that with a pain I'm getting in a very personal place, and I'm getting VERY worried. I have no insurance, and I'm hoping this is nothing too bad, but after reading a bunch of medical websites, I've been getting REALLY scared, and all this fear coupled with the fact that my freaking back hurts when I try to sleep is causing me lack of sleep.

I'm going to go to the free clinic on Tuesday, hopefully they can sort this out right away and not have to send me for too many tests.

I'm scared people. Really scared. Please send some love/vibes/wheatever my way please.

Thanks,

TMF

[trof]

1. Best advice: Don't read a bunch of medical websites online.

By doing that I self-diagnosed myself with testicular cancer a few years ago.
A visit to a specialist showed I had a benign condition very common in men.

Best of luck and good vibes.
:-)

[TheMightyFavog]

3. I guess watching my Season six of House is right out, too?

Maybe I should think of my trip to Seattle next month instead... And the joys of flying Delta...

[trof]

4. Naw, you KNOW 'House' is fiction.

;-)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. First step: Stop going to "medical websites," start seeking valid medical advice.

I don't have insurance either.

And I also have things in my overall health that concern mr.

But when it comes to your health, the Web is not your friend.

In your community, there is help. It may require you to swallow a bit of pride or fill out some paperwork or both, but there is help.

Use your computer to find that help...NOT the "medical websites."

:toast:

[freshwest]

5. Gas can be from lack of enzymes, the typical food offenders, food combination or parasites.

Tackle all of those, and make sure you aren't doing anything to inflame yourself with too much acidic or acid producing foods like sugar, black tea and coffee.

Drink all the water you can bear to see if the other problem resolves itself. Carrots and many vegetables calm your system down.

Sending good vibes and hope the free clinic gives you some peace and affordable solutions.

And fear screws with your immune system, so try to relax, I know that's hard when you're in pain. I've had to learn biofeedback to separate the added emotion from pain. Focusing and relaxing your body eases some symptoms.

Love yourself and take care.

:loveya:

:hug:

Edit to add, beware the medical websites because unfortunately those who write them are talking worst case scenarios. Those doctors and specialists are trained for that, so they also look for it because it's their job. I'm not going to make light and hope there is nothing wrong that requires some invasive procedure. It may be something as simple as what I've written, constipation or a kidney stone from what you said. Water is the cure for those. All you can stand until you get relief. Still sending you my best, Favog!

[TheMightyFavog]

6. No coffee? How am I going to get my caffiene fix at work tomorrow morning?

I've given up soda since this whole gas thing started. I've got eleven empty cans staring back at me on my shelf as a reminder of some of what I used to get through in the span of a couple of days.

EDIT: OK, so green tea would be OK, then?

[freshwest]

9. Have coffee or soda if you're ready to flush it out with about 10X as much water. No kidding.

I understand, coffee is one of my vices. I go on and off of it. But I know I'm gonna pay a price with my stomach and my kidneys. For one thing, the acid gets my stomach going, and then I end up eating something to absorb that. It's self-induced illness. If I can't resist, I end up peeing all day too.

I don't think you will get any relief from drinking green tea if it's the caffeine you want. Stick with your coffee, just go with a ton of water to flush it out. And half the time you think you're hungry, you're really thirsty. Drink water first, last, always.

Keep hydrated with fruit and vegetables with high water content to reduce the need for water. And I hope that nothing exotic is going on with you, but try to do those things first and see if you get relief.

Passing kidney stones is painful, but has to be done, if that's what's going at you there. There may be several things going on at once that makes this confusing for you.

There are ways to prevent some of these things, the first one is water and plenty of it. It's the reason for a lot of gastric distress, back aches and headaches, it's all a cascade of symptoms from an overloaded digestive track. And yes, we are what we eat.

Good luck Favog and hope you'll be able to relieve the pain. After years of suffering with stuff like this, I found that I do have more control over my body than I thought. The best doctor is you!

[TheMightyFavog]

10. I don't think it's kidney stones.

Aren't kidney stones really, really really painful, like not being able to get up off the floor and move painful?

What I have isn't that. It's "I'ts not enough to make me yelp out in pain, but god damn, that's really f'ing annyoing when I'm trying to sleep" painful.

[freshwest]

17. That's near the end, in my experience and that of others I know. Still, water helps.

But honestly, don't diagnose yourself, I'm not trying to do it either. Just do a few things to see if it alleviates your symptoms.

[bluesbassman]

7. Healing vibes going out TMF.

Echo what's been said already, get thee to a doc. A wart is one thing, internal pain can be serious. Best of luck to you. :)

[nolabear]

8. I have a suspicion, but don't give medical advice.

Go to the clinic and it'll probably be fine.

[TheMightyFavog]

11. You know whichever way this goes,

whether it's just muscle/back pain, an infection kidney stone or something else... Perhaps this is my body's way of telling me to get off my ass, get to the gym, stop eating crap (Although giving up soda's a start, right?) and start dropping some of this tonnage.

[applegrove]

12. vibes to you.

[sarge43]

13. Vibes, love and good thoughts.

All will be well. Keep us posted.

:hug:

[abq e streeter]

14. Those medical websites scared the crap outta me more than once, when it turned out to be very minor

Including a couple of years ago I looked up some symptoms I was having.Found out they included 4 of the top 5 symptoms of throat cancer. Turned out to be reflux.
Not saying nothing's wrong, and it's good that you're getting it checked out. And your advice to yourself is right on the money. You know what you need to do, assuming this is nothing serious , and I'm sending you my best thoughts and vibes that it's nothing serious.....Exercise, better diet etc... Hard to get going; believe me I know, but once you get going, it can become as much of a habit as being sedentary and eating junk used to be. I've lost almost 50 pounds in the past year ( cut WAY down on carbs due to diabetes diagnosis which turned out to be a blessing in disguise; the pounds just melted away), and I walk (briskly, not just an easy stroll) anywhere from two to four miles, at the very least 4 days a week. And of course, I worked up to that VERY gradually; both speed and distance ...And I'm doing this at almost 60 years old (WHAT???), so never too late. Looking forward to a post from you soon, that you're OK.

[bif]

15. Good vibes and and an amusing story for you

Many moons ago when my dad was in pre-dent school, he started reading the Merks Manual. He was convinced he had almost every disease in the book. My my finally told him to quit reading the damn thing! He's still a bit of a hypocondriac to this day.

[Swede]

16. Vibes for TheMightyFavog.

and good luck on Tuesday.

[TheMightyFavog]

18. UPDATE:

Well, I won't be going Tuesday, I'll be going Monday. The Free clinic is booked solid through the end of next month.
Yes I will be paying to see my old family doctor. (grumble grumble) At least the up front fee is quite reasonable, much less than anticipated, plus he gives out samples a LOT. (Back when I was still on my parent's insurance, I only remember one time after I became an adult where I was given antibiotics and actually had to go to the pharmacy to fill the script and that was because he judged that I needed a second course to take the infection completely down.)

[freshwest]

19. Good news, and great that you can see someone that knows you! Now, just take it easy until Monday!

[TheMightyFavog]

20. Yeah, tell that to my bank account.

But I was told I can arrange to have monthly payments.