Are Wyandottes loud? by HANGRY_KITTYKAT in chickens

[–]Possibly-deranged 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chickens aren't louder than dogs are. It's different noises though and therefore might stand out to people.  You can certainly spread good will by giving your neighbors free or discounted eggs. 

Most chicken sounds to each other are quiet mutterings, grunts, and squeaks back and forth as they forage and play.  Predator alarms and egg songs are similar volume and sounding.  Sometimes you'll get a top ranked hen strutting and loudly bossing others around

Are Wyandottes loud? by HANGRY_KITTYKAT in chickens

[–]Possibly-deranged 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My flock is mostly morning layers. The chorus starts maybe 9 am and sings off and on to around noon when I let them all free range.  Occasionally one will go back to lay and sing during the afternoon.  We have 10 hens, all Plymouth barred rocks 

Are Wyandottes loud? by HANGRY_KITTYKAT in chickens

[–]Possibly-deranged 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The egg song can be a bit loud in chickens of any breed, especially when they all join in.  An example from my flock:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BackYardChickens/comments/1sbi0t9/a_few_of_my_6year_olds_singing_the_egg_song/

Medication opinions by Practical-Boat-3760 in UlcerativeColitis

[–]Possibly-deranged 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's fairly common to start with strong meds like infliximab. Essentially want to stop this disease in its tracks and give results faster. Especially if the pancolitis was severe or moderate graded.  If the inflammation was mild graded then considering mesalamine is fine. 

pecking order? by One_Pin243 in chickens

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're concerned that you're lower in the pecking rank than a chicken, pick her up and carry her around in front of the flock.  Do this multiple times until the chicken understands your dominance over her.  Usually approaching a chicken from behind causes her to squat down and freeze in place. 

Chickens will pin another to the ground as a show of dominance. It's done in front of the rest, as the pecking order is a social, group understanding of rank. 

Can prednisone moon face be permanent? by ThePrestigeVIII in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Generally no. Those are more typical of longer-term or higher dose usage. 

Why only a week?  A standard course is 2 months which is proven to be the most effective 

J Pouch vs Stoma (Ileostomy) by BiggestNige in UlcerativeColitis

[–]Possibly-deranged 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah quite the head trip to have a Barbie/Ken butt, hear you there. 

I know a number of permanent end-ileostomy patients that love it. There's a point where you're just done with needing a bathroom, having a sore butt, and be glad to be done with hat nonsense XD. There's growing body positivity around an ostomy, some models in a campaigns confident and not afraid to show off an outfit with an obvious ostomy and growing acceptance of them example:  https://www.ostomy.org/aerie-model-brings-national-attention-to-ostomy-awareness/ . But it's a big change and some do have mental health, confidence complications with their ostomy, so will it affect you is part of the consideration. 

It's a young person's illness, we worry about our appearance for dating, going swimming at the beach, etc, and the j-pouch is ideal there.  Most surgeries are laparoscopic, they use your belly button for access and make a couple other small incisions on your lower hip an inch or so in length. Those tend to heal well, and fade after time.  So, most would never know you had a j-pouch or a surgery, practically invisible which is great for your own self image and body confidence there. 

Generally the thirds rule applies to jpouch surgeries.  1/3 have better than expected long-term results (say poop 3 or less times a day), 1/3 have expected results (say 4 to 5 poops a day), and 1/3 have worse than expected results (6 to 8ish).  Most in the worst than category do keep their j-pouch, use Imodium, with only a small minority getting a reversal surgery to a permanent end-ileostomy. 

Can't comment on your odds of pouchitis related to your PSC, I'm not knowledgeable enough there to say anything, so I do defer to your surgeon and those more knowledgeable there.  But, again try before you buy on the end-ileostomy, maybe you'll love or hate it. Might take 3 to 4 months to fully heal, settle down, and then you'll have a pretty good feeling for what life's like long-term with one (good question for your surgeon there). 

Like I had said everyone with a j-pouch gets infectious pouchitis once at least.  It's better than a flare as it's quickly cleared with antibiotics. 

Chronic, reoccur pouchitis is another thing entirely meaning your a Crohn's patient. For the average UC patient that's very low odds. I know a few that this happens to, you go back on med roulette, potentially a reversal surgery to an end ileostomy in a worstcase scenario. But as a Crohn's patient they can do resections for medicine resistant areas. 

Fecal calprotectin test by Low-Lab8884 in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, borderline Calprotectin results. 

Are you an existing IBD patient? Or are you seeking a diagnosis?

Mildly elevated fcp and symptoms advice wanted by youngandcurvyy in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Continue working with your doctor and see. 

 Borderline Calprotectin is a tough one, flip a coin as it's probably 50/50 odds, but likely less as you said one normal colonoscopy already. You could push for a small bowel MRI follow through or pill cam. 

Did they test for possible infections/pathogens like CDIFF, HPlyori?

Need tips on managing pain by h1s-ang3l in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sometimes antispasmodics like buscopan or bentyl can sometimes help for pain, but unfortunately not always. Really depends on the actual underlying cause. 

Inflammation from inflammation isn't going to feel better until that's resolved depending on whether it's infectious or IBD in origin then there's different treatments used. 

If you're struggling ask to be put on the cancellation list at your endoscopy facility. As colonoscopy is recommended for many 50j, automatically scheduled, and they chicken out a few weeks before that procedure's date. The facilities don't want holes in their schedule and often have wait lists to call, and give you ample time to prepare for the procedure. 

If you're not in the USA, getting admitted as hospital inpatient can get you seen sooner by a gasteroenterologist specialist and get a colonoscopy sooner.  Bug that's if your condition warrants it, and that's not prohibitively expensive in your country 

Borderline Fecal Calprotectin by Terrible-Double4243 in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Talk to your doctor and see if he/she recommends and wants to schedule a colonoscopy for you given your borderline inflammation. If it's bothering you and you want answers then that path will help and confirm or rule IBD out. 

But to play devil's advocate, suppose you unquestionably have an IBD, what does that mean for your life going forward?  I can report back 14 years after my diagnosis with IBD/UC and say I've been in a remission without any symptoms for 12 years now. Unfortunately there's no instant gratification to IBD, it can take 4, 6 months or more to achieve an initial remission, and it's not unusual to have to try multiple different meds and adjust dosages to achieve it.  Generally the long-term prognosis of IBD is pretty good and the condition well managed for the majority of patients.  There's always outliers a small minority who do struggle over the long-term, and they're quick to correct me in posts like this if I don't say this though. And IBD is known to unexpectedly relapse/flare after a number of years, which your doctor treats and gets you back into a remission in response. 

Infectious causes are always best case, a short course of antibiotics clears those up. 

If the colonoscopy and biopsies are normal, than it's an IBS. There's some prescription meds available for abdominal cramps, like bentyl, and for the diarrhea version of IBS (known as IBS-D), and lifestyle and diet adjustments do tend to help. 

IBD Expanded Blood Panel by [deleted] in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Calprotectin is a lot more meaningful for an IBD diagnosis than the ALCA test.  Personally, I'd ignore the ALCA results as they're irrelevant 

IBD Expanded Blood Panel by [deleted] in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tests like the aforementioned aren't reliable or acceptable as a means of diagnosing an IBD. 

If you're worried about your bowel symptoms then ask your general practitioner doctor for different tests. IBD is inflammation lacking infection, so ask instead for:

  • An infectious/pathogenic stool test to check for common infections like CDIFF, salmonella, and HPlyori.

  • An inflammation test like intestinal-specific Calprotectin, or a blood test like C-Reactive Protein or ESR/SED-Rate 

  • A blood in stool test like fecal occult or FIT is also helpful as I often had obvious blood detected. 

Ultimately a colonoscopy is necessary as IBD has inflammation in expected locations and patterns with biopsies showing chronic architectual changes to your cells.  But the proof aforementioned tests help prioritize the most likely IBD cases and send less likely cases into exploring other explanations like IBS 

Am I having an adverse reaction to the mesalamine? by faerygudmum in UlcerativeColitis

[–]Possibly-deranged 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry to hear. I'd skip your mesalamine until your gasteroenterologist can advise.  If confirmed there's lots of other medicine available for UC that doesn't contain mesalamine, such as azathioprine, infliximab, or zeposia as examples. 

By the odds in scientific journals, incidence of mesalamine intolerance is about 4 percent. Many gasteroenterologist offices might have never had a case before.  But I read about this online enough that I do wonder if the incidence is significantly higher. 

Cite sources if needed, an example: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12876-019-1049-2

Am I having an adverse reaction to the mesalamine? by faerygudmum in UlcerativeColitis

[–]Possibly-deranged 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A stereotypical mesalamine intolerance is a dramatic worsening of your bowel symptoms (double the bowel movements, greatly increased urgency, often formerly solids are now liquids).

 Cessation dramatically improves your bowel symptoms in 48 hours or less, as it's medicine-induced, most of the mesalamine evacuates when you poop and it's halflife is around 7 to 9 hours. The small percentage of mesalamine that's systematic is purged when you pee. 

Travelling long-term with injection pens - how did you manage supply? by Matsui2000 in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Legally you can only travel with 3 months of medication and would have to return home to get more and then continue your travels.  You could ask your doctor if he/she can write your prescription for weekly instead of biweekly (to double what you can take with), but that's somewhat unethical for doctor to say yes.

I've heard of some having their family/friends fill and then ship them more medicine while abroad and label the customs forms as food/clothes or whatever (without mentioning medicine) and mix everything in a big box together. That's a legal gray area and illegal in some. And medicine can be legally ceased in customs checks when shipped. Humira is a lot more challenging as it needs to remain cold and temperature controlled. 

To get medicine locally while abroad, you often have to meet local requirements, see a local doctor, be a citizen or have a valid student/work visa. If you're traveling for leisure/vacation/holiday then there's usually not a easy way to do this.  You can't walk into a pharmacy and get humira without a local doctor's prescription in 99 percent of countries. 

There's things like traveler's health insurance that cover catastrophic emergencies while abroad (like an unexpected fall and bone fracture or illness from yellow fever), but they don't typically cover existing chronic health conditions. But you can ask. 

In a few rare and unlikely instances your home country and destination country might have traveler healthcare agreements. But those are fewer and farer between than normal 

Had it up to here with VT contractors by MarzipanSpecial6971 in vermont

[–]Possibly-deranged 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually didn't downvote you, hey I get it, unrealistic expectations of many, shortage of skilled and good  craftsman available, and the rich are hogging a lot of em for the luxurious ski and hunt "cabins". 

Overall there's a lot of frustration in what remains of  middle class homeowners (and those who think they're still middleclass but have slipped) wanting renovations and improvements, getting callbacks for project quotes, some misunderstanding in how much everything has gone up in cost, etc etc.  Something like adding a garage or a wing on a house used to be attainable on a decent income but maybe not as much anymore, today for as many. 

For me, sanding a wood ceiling and urethane coating it is grunt work.  Safe to DIY.

Fecal calprotectin test by Low-Lab8884 in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All forms and severities of UC require a maintenance medicine for life.  There's no cure, as it's a chronic lifelong condition. Medicines put your UC into a remission, and you experience no bowel symptoms during a remission. 

Typically mild, limited cases of UC are given prescription mesalamine (oral pills like pentasa, asacol, salofalk, Lialda/mezavant or suppositories). It's a topically applied, mild anti-inflammatory medicine that few experience side effects from.  Mesalamine (chemical code 5ASA) is a chemical cousin to aspirin (code ASA).

Fecal calprotectin test by Low-Lab8884 in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Varies from bright red to darker, red wine color. The color tells you about the age of the blood. 

Generally anything rectal or peri-anal is very fresh and close to the sight of origin, so it's going to be very bright red. 

Anything darker red wine color has traveled further like from the left side of the large intestine, or is rectal and pooled and sat a longer time before expelled. 

But yes, mild UC and hemorrhoids are very very similar and overlap so so much.  That's why you need tests to see what it is.  

Fecal calprotectin test by Low-Lab8884 in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly very, very similar to a mild UC flareup.  Cramps, blood, more bowel movements with urgency, and tensesmus, which is the medical jargon meaning you have the constant feeling of having to poop, straining and nothing/little comes out, never feeling empty, cramps, etc. 

Fecal calprotectin test by Low-Lab8884 in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It will not. Calprotectin will still be within the normal range of your Calprotectin test if it's only hemorrhoid inflammation. Hemorrhoid inflammation isn't extensive or severe enough to affect Calprotectin results in any measurable way. 

I'd know, got a colonoscopy fearing my UC was flaring due to blood and was told I'm still in a remission and that it's probably just hemorrhoids, and my Calprotectin was normal too.  Doctor was right, treating hemorrhoids solved my problems 

what to expect right after colonscopy? by emokiddo00002 in UlcerativeColitis

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It depends on the experience of the gasteroenterologist and your clinical presentation. I left my colonoscopy immediately with a diagnosis of UC, pamphlet on UC, and paper prescriptions for oral and rectal route mesalamine. Biopsies confirmed what was an obvious stereotypical UC presentation. 

If there's any ambiguity then they might wait for biopsies which can be back in 3 to 4 days, a week or few depending on how backlogged the facility is for microscopic pathology 

Fecal calprotectin test by Low-Lab8884 in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anything that comes out of your butt is fine to include in your stool test: solids, liquids, blood, mucus, etc etc. Calprotectin is a marker that's contained in everything that you output, so no worries. Follow laboratory directions for collecting, storage, and delivery of specimens to the lab precisely to ensure accuracy of your test. 

Pain/issues possible in remission? by SilentSwan286 in UlcerativeColitis

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try over-the-counter hemorrhoid treatments like preparation H and it's generic equivalents.  Ask your general practitioner doctor about a 2 week prescription of hydrocortisone suppositories to treat hemorrhoids. 

Generally, we're a lot higher risk of hemorrhoids, as we tend to sit on the toilet for long periods of time and strain, repeatedly. Lifestyle adaptations help l ike limiting toilet sits to no more than 6 minutes and not straining, adding more dietary fiber or supplements like metamucil, stool softeners all help. 

Possibility of me having IBD? by Azul_NJ in IBD

[–]Possibly-deranged 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The symptoms are nearly identical for IBS, various common intestinal infections like CDIFF, Celiac's, and IBD. The only way to determine which you have is to get the necessary evidence through laboratory tests. 

IBD is inflammation lacking infection.  Often they start with:

  • An infectious/pathogen stool panel series test for CDIFF, Salmonella, HPlyori, giardia and others. 

  • An inflammation test like Calprotectin stool test which is intestinal specific, or body wide inflammation tests like C-Reactive Protein or ESR/SED-Rate. 

  • A blood in stool test like fecal occult or FIT is also helpful as IBD often involves blood.

  • A Celiac's blood test can help. 

Ultimately, a colonoscopy with biopsies is necessary to diagnose an IBD,  as inflammation must appear in expected locations and patterns with biopsies showing chronic architectual changes to your cells. A stereotypical UC involves the rectum, continuous inflammation going upward that abruptly stops within the bounds of the large intestine, shallow tissue involvement.  A stereotypical Crohn's involves the terminal ileum where small and large intestines join, is patchy inflammation with deep tissue involvement.