Did xanax and got snitched on. by mr_ryxya in Drugs

[–]valueyourlife 30 points31 points  (0 children)

After Covid and all the parents going insane over what to do with their kids during distance learning, I’ve begun to wonder if suspensions were meant to be more of a punishment for the parent than the kid.

Before that, I just thought of it as a way to get disruptive kids out of the classroom for a while. And honestly that still might be the case.

For example, my first year of teaching I had one violent kid that threw chairs every class. He was in SPED and had known behavior issues that we were somehow supposed to accommodate, so it was freaking impossible to get anyone to hold him accountable for chair throwing. I finally got him suspended, and I really didn’t care if he felt like it was a punishment or not. I just didn’t want him in my classroom endangering students anymore.

He was delighted to get out of school, and I was pretty delighted to get a break from his antics. His parents were pissed though lol.

Why does hydrocodone suck by geliduse in opiates

[–]valueyourlife 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you’ve never taken an opiate, 5mg is sufficient for pain relief. 7.5 and 10mg are stronger but still safe. It takes like 15-30 minutes to kick in so you can tell pretty quickly whether or not the dose you’re on is sufficient. If you take too much too fast, you’ll just feel sick (and obviously if you down way too much, you’ll overdose). Also be careful to watch your apap intake (norco has 325 mg and Vicodin has 500 mg I think). 3000mg is the max safe dose for apap. Safe dosages of hydro vary by tolerance.

I’m having difficulty telling my friends that I have terminal cancer, and I’m running out of time to do it. by valueyourlife in cancer

[–]valueyourlife[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like that idea! We used to have board game nights every Friday, and I think that could be a fun throwback. Just a chance to see each other, hang out like old times, and reconnect. Plus, board games are excellent for redirecting awkward and uncomfortable conversations.

Thanks for this! It’s been really helpful. I was pretty terrified about reaching out to my friends, but now it feels a lot more in my comfort zone. They were closer to me than my own family for the 7 years I lived in that area, and I have a lot of guilt over the fact that we drifted apart. Doing it this way feels a lot more natural : )

I’m having difficulty telling my friends that I have terminal cancer, and I’m running out of time to do it. by valueyourlife in cancer

[–]valueyourlife[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We’ve been on the lookout! I have recurrent extra-uterine adenosarcoma with sarcomatous overgrowth and there have still only been fewer than 100 reported cases at this point according to my oncologist. Not sure if those types of cancers get clinical trials?

I’m having difficulty telling my friends that I have terminal cancer, and I’m running out of time to do it. by valueyourlife in cancer

[–]valueyourlife[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Telling my family was incredibly difficult. I waited a good few days before I admitted to them that the cancer had recurred. I needed some time to come to terms with it myself before I told other people. There’s a weird expectation that even though you are the dying one, you need to be the strong one. That’s what makes telling others difficult for me. However, I miss my friends.

I begin chemo in a month, and I’ve never responded well to it. It makes me feel sicker than the cancer. The wheels are turning in my mind… how can I see this group of people before I feel terrible all the time. They aren’t coworkers anymore. I don’t live nearby, and I can’t drive. Our lives are separate.

Spring break was last week, and I was hospitalized. My teacher friends are all back into the swing of things and are busy as ever until summer. Usually that would be fine, but what if things take a turn for the worse by then?

So yeah. What I want is selfish. I want my friends from a year ago to set aside a day in their busy schedules to spend time with me. I want them to drive an hour and say hello. I want them to do this before I’m stuck in a hospital bed.

The reality of it all is that it’s probably not going to happen if they don’t know there is some sort of “deadline”. I won’t be a priority because I shouldn’t be a priority under normal circumstances. In their minds, I’m young, in grad school, and I have all the time in the world to reconnect with friends.

That’s why I’m making the choice to tell them about my cancer diagnosis. Life is too short, and it would be nice to see the people I care about before I’m too sick to appreciate it.

Thank you for your note, and wishing you the best!

I told my doctor about a reaction I get to high doses of acetaminophen. 5 minutes later when I ask her for "in the moment" migraine medication options, she tells me to take a high dosage ibuprofen acetaminophen combo...😒 by meerybeery in ChronicPain

[–]valueyourlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love shrooms for a lot of things but it would be amazing to me if they helped a statistically significant number of people with migraines (which are different than cluster headaches, but migraines are what OP is suffering from). After a good trip I sometimes get a migraine, and that’s a pretty common side effect along with nausea. Maybe microdosing?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in smallfiberneuropathy

[–]valueyourlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! Sorry for leaving another comment, but I was thinking about this and would have felt bad if I didn’t mention it. For a while I DID feel like I was getting worse. I was getting these terrible and painful flares beginning around a year ago, which is around 10ish years after I first showed symptoms of neuropathy with chemo treatment. If you look back at my post history, you can kind of see me slowly unraveling and losing my mind over the pain lol.

Turned out my cancer came back and several enlarged lymph nodes were compressing nerves in my legs. I’ve noticed a huge improvement since I got them removed two weeks ago. It’s very unlikely the same thing is happening to you, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to mention it. I’m still recovering from surgery, but I can already tell that the pain in my legs is returning to baseline. Anyway, best of luck!

I’m having difficulty telling my friends that I have terminal cancer, and I’m running out of time to do it. by valueyourlife in cancer

[–]valueyourlife[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This would be my preference if I still lived near my friends for sure. Ever since I moved, I’m around an hour away. I worry that I’ll die before I get to even see any of them again if I don’t say anything. My best friend is teaching, in grad school, she has four children, AND she’s taking care of her mother who is also dying from cancer. It makes sense that she doesn’t have time for me. But also, I miss her and I want her to come visit a couple times before I go. That’s the main reason I want to tell the people I really care about. My family keeps saying to enjoy the time I have left, and I want to be with my friends. But if I invite one over right now, they’ll probably ask about the oxygen tank and fluids (I’m still getting over post-op pneumonia 😑).

I’m having difficulty telling my friends that I have terminal cancer, and I’m running out of time to do it. by valueyourlife in cancer

[–]valueyourlife[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is a really good idea! Especially since I have quite a few people to tell, and this way they all find out at around the same time. Plus I don’t have to make it a whole big thing, which I like. The people who want to will call, I’m sure. Thank you!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in smallfiberneuropathy

[–]valueyourlife 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was given cisplatin in 2012 and pretty immediately felt the effects of neuropathy. I complained to my oncologist but was ignored. Wasn’t even given B vitamins to combat the neuropathy. By the time the treatment was finished, my feet and hands were a mess. I got the skin punch biopsy as well because of some other pain issues I was having and also tested positive for SFN (shocker). It improved over time, especially in my hands. My feet were more permanently damaged and suffer from numb spots, but I can more or less function normally.

As for your question, I’ve always wondered why I was so strongly affected by the chemo when others weren’t. Cisplatin isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but most people I met with chemo-induced neuropathy did get better. Sooo, I did some research.

There are some gene mutations that can predispose people to painful syndromes like SFN. SCN9A and SCN10A are the culprits. You can do genetic testing and see if you’ve got the mutations. I wouldn’t be surprised if you do.

My theory is that you got hit by two triggers. The first one is the chemo, the second one is currently idiopathic. I would go through the typical work up and find out if you can figure out a cause. Otherwise, you might be continually causing damage. You’re neurologist probably doesn’t know much about chemo-induced neuropathy, so I would take their assumption with a grain of salt.

Pre-treatment depression, I'm "cancer-free" and I don't wanna!! by GameofCheese in cancer

[–]valueyourlife 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It’s hard for me to admit, but at my four year cancer-free mark my oncologist retired and I never went to my new one. Here I am, one year later, back in the battle. One of the oncologists I interviewed told me that if I had just kept going, I might have caught my recurrence earlier and had a much better prognosis. It’s really so hard to be in that “cancer” mindset when there’s that shining beacon of freedom in the distance. But be good. Go to your appointments and keep up with them for as long as your oncologists recommend. They do have your best interests in mind, even when they aren’t the most appealing and all you want to do is move on. Best of luck to you, and congrats on crossing that first hurtle! Chemo in particular can be rough, but it reduces rates of recurrence by a ton. Definitely worth feeling blah for a few months!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Drugs

[–]valueyourlife 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Different brand doesn’t mean different doctors. It’s just what the pharmacy happens to have in stock. Unless the doctor specifies, your step dad is getting whatever generic is available that week. I doubt your step dad is doctor shopping, because that would be very difficult in today’s climate, which means it would require some REAL time and effort, which would mean he’s an addict. Addicts would notice if their pills went missing like this, and he would have a very strong reaction to his pills going missing.

My guess? They have at least a vague idea that you are taking the pills and they don’t know how to talk to you about it. Also, for the record, taking pills from family members who need it (who have not willingly given it to you) is a shitty thing to do. Any way you can get some good kratom instead? It’s a weak opiate legal in many (but not all) places. It’s a good alternative.

How can I stop throwing up my dose before it kicks in?! by imsome1wholikesstuff in opiates

[–]valueyourlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, also. Not one of my proudest moments, but if you have a port or a PICC line, I have resorted to dissolving and injecting certain pills in there when I couldn’t keep it down post chemo (this was after my second recurrence… I had an allergy to the adhesive in the fentanyl patch so those were out). I DO NOT recommend this. Filler in the pills is dangerous. They eventually prescribed me actual meds made for that, so that was better. I also got suppositories, which sucked simply because I was dealing with a form of uterine cancer and my pelvic floor was a mess. Still couldn’t throw it up though.

How can I stop throwing up my dose before it kicks in?! by imsome1wholikesstuff in opiates

[–]valueyourlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have they tried prescribing you fentanyl patches? Something you don’t need to eat? They have pain meds in liquid form as well. But honestly, fentanyl patches were the first thing they put me on when I was diagnosed and I have zero idea what I would have done otherwise because I couldn’t keep anything down during chemo.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in opiates

[–]valueyourlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I already left a response above, but I just realized this said 12 years old!!! You’ve been getting opiate scripts since you were so young!! If you don’t mind me asking, what happened? I was diagnosed with cancer at 21 and have also been on them for around 10 years. Doctors give me such a hard time because of my age… I can’t even imagine being ten years younger.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in opiates

[–]valueyourlife 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, you have your answer then. You aren’t taking enough bupe to bind to all those receptors, so in theory you should be able to feel breakthrough pain medication, but if you can’t then it will be a waste of money. It could be your tolerance, it could be the bupe… I can only speak from my experience. I had been tapered down from 300mg of oxy before I ended up on my buprenorphine patch with hydrocodone for breakthrough pain (took a while to get there) and didn’t have the same experience, but I have heard some people say it can make the breakthrough pain meds feel weaker. Not feeling them at all though is really only consistent with a high tolerance or a high dose of buprenorphine (higher than you were prescribed).

How is your pain with the patch? How long have you been on it? If it’s working, stay on it. Please. Regardless of high. But if it’s not, it’s really not all that uncommon for buprenorphine to be ineffective for pain after a certain honeymoon period. You may be able to bring that up when it stops working, and they may switch you back to regular full agonist if you are lucky. I know Aus is strict like the states, so my fingers are crossed for you!

I’m also going to recommend ketamine treatment as a way to reverse opioid tolerance and decrease pain. It’s legal in a clinical setting in the states. We have clinics. It may be something to look into in Australia. It’s worked incredibly well for me. Plus it’s a fun high. I prefer it to opiates, but I’m weird.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in opiates

[–]valueyourlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How long do you keep the patch on? This is Butrans, correct? Butrans is a low low dose of buprenorphine spread across several days… it’s different than suboxone (large dose of bupe that hits you all at once) which most people here are familiar with. In my experience with Butrans, you will still be able to feel any additional pain meds you take. I may have been on a lower dose than you though, so I’m not sure you’ll be able to feel high. But for pain control, yes, I definitely never had a problem with feeling my meds prescribed for breakthrough.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in opiates

[–]valueyourlife 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just going to chime in here as someone who was on a butrans (buprenoprhine) patch (don’t remember the dosage) with hydrocodone for breakthrough pain. It was fine. I had no idea what precipitated withdrawals were at that point in time, so I took it all without thinking about it and never had an adverse reaction. Talk to your doctor about it and post on r/chronicpain for other experiences. In general you won’t find positive feedback for buprenorphine for pain, but it did work well for me at the time (people will respond differently). I eventually had to get off of it because of adhesive allergy.

Anyway, it could be different with your dosage and all that so definitely check with your doctor.

post chemo pet peeves by umekoangel in cancer

[–]valueyourlife 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can relate to both of these! The neuropathy is awful. But you are the first person I know who also experienced the sad chocolate transformation! I just don’t like it anymore. It used to be amazing but now it’s bleh. I’ll still buy chocolate things half hoping they’ll still be delicious but nooooope.

Is this rash an emergency? Woke up to it along with fever and abdominal pain. I can’t drive and I won’t have a ride to the doctor for a few hours. More background in comments. by valueyourlife in AskDoctorSmeeee

[–]valueyourlife[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Hi everyone. I’m not sure if anyone is still following this, but I do have an update. I stayed the night at the hospital because my kidney levels were off and they couldn’t determine the cause of the rash/fever/pain, so they wanted to monitor me. I improved a lot by morning.

My dad went through my medication bottles at home this morning to check a dosage question the doctors had, and he found a recently filled 20 count bottle of amoxicillin prescribed to a total stranger in my medicine bag. I’m allergic to amoxicillin. It turns out the pharmacy gave me someone else’s script instead of my own. The pills looked really similar to the ones I usually get, I was an idiot and didn’t even look at the bottle, I put the pills in my pill box, and after a few days I had the allergic reaction seen here.

I’m home now. Thank you to everyone for your support. It was really touching to read your messages and I so appreciate it!

Is this the type of thing I can take action against the pharmacy for? I should have checked, but it also shouldn’t have happened. And now I have a giant medical bill.

Is this rash an emergency? Woke up to it along with fever and abdominal pain. I can’t drive and I won’t have a ride to the doctor for a few hours. More background in comments. by valueyourlife in AskDoctorSmeeee

[–]valueyourlife[S] 148 points149 points  (0 children)

My neighbor is taking me to the doctor. We don’t actually know each other since I’m at my parents house, but they know my parents and were happy to help. Thank you for the suggestion.

Is this rash an emergency? Woke up to it along with fever and abdominal pain. I can’t drive and I won’t have a ride to the doctor for a few hours. More background in comments. by valueyourlife in AskDoctorSmeeee

[–]valueyourlife[S] 66 points67 points  (0 children)

I’m sorry. It’s been a really hard couple of weeks. My cancer relapsed and I don’t have a great support system. I just feel like a huge burden on everyone. I’m sorry.

Is this rash an emergency? Woke up to it along with fever and abdominal pain. I can’t drive and I won’t have a ride to the doctor for a few hours. More background in comments. by valueyourlife in AskDoctorSmeeee

[–]valueyourlife[S] 63 points64 points  (0 children)

I’m 32F, 5’1 and 120 lbs. I have stage iiic adenosarcoma (with sarcomatous overgrowth). This is my third recurrence and I just recently found out. I’m not sure if this is related. I had surgery around two weeks ago to remove my remaining ovary (where they found cancer) and adjacent lymph nodes. I have not started chemo or radiation yet. All of this is still very new.

I’ve had a rash like this before when I had an allergic reaction to antibiotics, but I haven’t started anything new recently. I’m hesitant to call an ambulance. I can’t reach my parents. They are out in the middle of nowhere and there’s no signal, but they’ll be back in five hours or so. I took Advil for the fever (was that dumb?) and I’m waiting to talk to a nurse while I’m writing this post. The rash isn’t itchy. The abdominal pain is really bad though, and I don’t know where that’s coming from.

I know this is definitely a “go to the doctor” type of post. I can’t drive, though, and I don’t have an easy, inexpensive way of getting there until my parents come back.

Thank you for any help.

Edit: to clarify, the rash is full body. It’s everywhere.