tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post995121139564864189..comments2024-03-28T00:36:36.460-07:00Comments on The Tree of Life: The saga of my pancreas..feet..microbiome ..blood.. liver - part 1Jonathan Eisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07953790938128734305noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-43927539782804734542014-05-07T09:19:35.524-07:002014-05-07T09:19:35.524-07:00Jonathan, did you end up submitting before and aft...Jonathan, did you end up submitting before and after samples to the American Gut project? <br /><br />I commenced terbinafine therapy a few weeks ago to temper the damn dermatophytes in my toenails. I have noticed that my GI tract has been unsettled while on the meds so I took a weekend off and it returned to normal. Then after resumption became unsettled again.<br /><br />I am intrigued to find out what effect the terbinafine has on my microbiota. Isn't it true that the vast majority of our microbiota is bacterial, with minor parts of fungi and archaea. My gut may have a higher incidence of fungi (candida) due to my enjoyment of beer.spirithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15008064651633469127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-49336482973410118422014-05-07T09:19:15.841-07:002014-05-07T09:19:15.841-07:00Jonathan, did you end up submitting before and aft...Jonathan, did you end up submitting before and after samples to the American Gut project? <br /><br />I commenced terbinafine therapy a few weeks ago to temper the damn dermatophytes in my toenails. I have noticed that my GI tract has been unsettled while on the meds so I took a weekend off and it returned to normal. Then after resumption became unsettled again.<br /><br />I am intrigued to find out what effect the terbinafine has on my microbiota. Isn't it true that the vast majority of our microbiota is bacterial, with minor parts of fungi and archaea. My gut may have a higher incidence of fungi (candida) due to my enjoyment of beer.spirithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15008064651633469127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-43236148626723132562013-09-19T17:43:59.127-07:002013-09-19T17:43:59.127-07:00Well - the issue is not (at least from what I can ...Well - the issue is not (at least from what I can tell) - cosmetic. As far as I can tell it seems like fungal infections for a type 1 diabetic, with a potential foot problem, are something to try and get rid of. And most of the papers and people I have consulted suggest that the topical antifungals just don't really work. So that is why - after many discussions - we decided to go with the oral AF. But I agree with you that it is best to avoid long courses of such drugs and already discussed with another MD the notion that I would not take the AF for a long time. As for B12 - not sure --- but am not vegan or vegetarian (though for a while I was vegetarian ...)Jonathan Eisenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07953790938128734305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-66161851197088786162013-09-17T21:53:04.962-07:002013-09-17T21:53:04.962-07:00Gudluck! Hope the foci you described are just beni...Gudluck! Hope the foci you described are just benign, and everything works out well for you. Gaurav Bhardwajhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03475559786725199707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-68016265030110478942013-09-17T19:28:20.783-07:002013-09-17T19:28:20.783-07:00I've found that a large spoonful of cough syru...I've found that a large spoonful of cough syrup (the DM kind) taken half an hour before an MRI is very effective; I almost doze off to the headbanger noise.Rosie Redfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06807912674127645263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-12194909657917020132013-09-17T18:50:01.314-07:002013-09-17T18:50:01.314-07:00Well, GRRRR ... see latest update on 9/17 ... not ...Well, GRRRR ... see latest update on 9/17 ... not exactly fine in the full report Jonathan Eisenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07953790938128734305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-88877221017936759022013-09-17T15:46:43.882-07:002013-09-17T15:46:43.882-07:00I felt like such a wimp for begging to get out the...I felt like such a wimp for begging to get out the first time ... Jonathan Eisenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07953790938128734305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-91953689101836024272013-09-17T12:03:01.211-07:002013-09-17T12:03:01.211-07:00Thanks for sharing your story, Jonathan. And you w...Thanks for sharing your story, Jonathan. And you were brave to be in an MRI for that long!KateClancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-70051560975334650222013-09-16T01:21:30.545-07:002013-09-16T01:21:30.545-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fatlottagoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04639653743496623277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-73282848702095073142013-09-16T01:21:03.943-07:002013-09-16T01:21:03.943-07:00 You have been a bit of a victim of modern medici... You have been a bit of a victim of modern medicine.<br />Tinea affecting the skin on your feet can be treated by keeping the feet dry or if this fails by a cream which as a local treatment is much less likely to affect your microbiome. Tinea affecting nails is essentially a cosmetic problem but if it bothers you it can be treated with an antifungal laquer. It is best to avoid long courses of potentially toxic drugs it at all possible. You may have diabetic neuropathy but the other common cause of your symptoms is vitamin B12 deficiency - much more likely if you are a vegetarian or vegan. Is your B12 ok ? - keep us posted.Fatlottagoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04639653743496623277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-55154973351602317302013-09-14T07:59:22.367-07:002013-09-14T07:59:22.367-07:00Great news.
Love this on a lot of levels:
1st) ...Great news.<br /><br />Love this on a lot of levels:<br /><br />1st) No liver problem for Jonathan! Yay!!! (way first and foremost)<br /><br />but also:<br /><br />2nd (3rd and 4th) You posting so openly about anxiety and how it affects us in a healthcare setting. What a gift you give in describing the anxiety of pre-diagnosis, the anxiety of the procedure in a confined space, and the anxiety of waiting for the results. It's not great for ANYONE, but especially hard for someone with anxiety disorder (whether it's general anxiety, claustrophobia, or any other manifestations of anxiety). Karin Remingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02588211019708585382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-56284012111422998422013-09-13T12:16:29.471-07:002013-09-13T12:16:29.471-07:00Great share.
Yes, adult liver is very different ...Great share. <br />Yes, adult liver is very different from young rodent stuff you see in labs - virtually impossible (wearing my biochemist hat) to homogenise, for example. So ultrasound will pick up many signals that are close to uninterpretable, but these need to be double checked. This also illustrates two other issues. The first you pick up on - searching on a single term, like "'hyperechoic lesion" drills down to the worst outcomes pretty fast, whereas your great doctor looks at the whole (a true systems biologist), but obviously want to make quite sure. The second, almost a corollary, is that a little knowledge can be quite frightening.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-45751340798719468472013-09-13T11:26:01.396-07:002013-09-13T11:26:01.396-07:00yikes! Hang in there. You might want to keep in ...yikes! Hang in there. You might want to keep in mind that certain bacterial infections can cause the feeling you described. <br /><br />The microbiome study may pick them up if you took a sample from the numb area on your feet.Sandra Porterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09209950581908760880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-10642260917632204462013-09-13T11:07:04.655-07:002013-09-13T11:07:04.655-07:00I appreciate your sharing this journey, Jon. It w...I appreciate your sharing this journey, Jon. It was similar to mine in some ways, and I read parts of this with great worry, and then great relief at the end.<br /><br />Last year, I had some kind of horrific cervical vertebrae problem---my arms and fingers went numb from time to time (wrong side for cardiac issues) with significant shoulder and neck pain. Heck, I couldn't type for several months. <br /><br />And I had lots and lots of waiting while the doctors sorted things out. First ultrasound, then MRI. And I am pretty claustrophobic, but I don't have anti-anxiety meds. But it worked out fine for me! I was frankly surprised. When I opened my eyes during the procedure, all I saw was the surface of the white tube, a couple of inches away---just as you describe. And since, ahem, I am not small, this had all kinds of psychological impacts. Yet I didn't get super nervous. I too had to hold an arm at a funny angle for an hour. The earphones were worthless, but I noticed that the banging magnets sounded JUST like the intro to the Beatles' "Helter Skelter," and that helped me.<br /><br />Sure enough, I have a blown disk. Neurologist recommended surgery. Scary reading. I made appointment with neurosurgeon for consult. ALL of these things took time. Meanwhile, my symptoms abated. <br /><br />Neurosurgeon met with me, did tests. Second MRI. Neurosurgeon said "I think you are resolved. No need for surgery." I pointed out that my GP and my neurologist were pretty adamant I would need to have disk repair. He laughed. He went over the tests with me.<br /><br />So far, so good. I sincerely BOTH you and I have a calm sail through these kinds of medical waters. Thanks for your update and best wishes to you and your lovely family.<br /><br />-MMMark O. Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13233518474059717460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-68970572247436804172013-09-04T08:01:26.706-07:002013-09-04T08:01:26.706-07:00I miss mySutterOnline. Here if you have tests done...I miss mySutterOnline. Here if you have tests done you only get notified if there is a problem. I liked being able to see all results negative/positive, etc. Morgan Langillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15991960337694557528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-32832334034949016452013-09-01T11:04:22.483-07:002013-09-01T11:04:22.483-07:00Thanks - I know that the most common things are no...Thanks - I know that the most common things are not so bad (error, hemangioma) ... but if you look at papers on the %ages the fraction that are bad things is not so low ...Jonathan Eisenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07953790938128734305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-45055159909254678252013-09-01T10:40:26.050-07:002013-09-01T10:40:26.050-07:00The Google link you provide for 'hyperechoic l...The Google link you provide for 'hyperechoic lesion' looks quite reassuring to me. It says that by far the most common cause is a benign hepatic haemangioma, and the link from this says that most of these are incidental findings on ultrasounds, and they are usually asymptomatic.<br /><br />So here's hoping your worries turn out to be unfounded.Rosie Redfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06807912674127645263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-32060529717614260582013-09-01T05:13:51.926-07:002013-09-01T05:13:51.926-07:00FWIW (and I'm no doctor) my understanding is t...FWIW (and I'm no doctor) my understanding is that imaging of the liver past a certain age will almost always show 'abnormal' features that could be serious, but may mean nothing; not worth stressing out over 'til a doc truly pinpoints something concerning.<br />We've become a nation of medical testing & number addicts -- give anyone over a 45 a large enough battery of medical tests and most will panic over some of the numbers that result... my doc stopped routinely using the PSA years ago because of its unreliability, and I suspect that will be the case for a lot of the testing we use today, where precision & reliability (and even validity) are lacking.<br />Anyway, good luck..."Shecky Riemann"https://www.blogger.com/profile/07065658607024191185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-798189922027001632013-08-30T18:42:26.370-07:002013-08-30T18:42:26.370-07:00If I were you, I would be doing everything I could...If I were you, I would be doing everything I could to nutritionally support your liver while this is going on. Not an expert(yet) though. Good Luck, Skill, etc.Bruce T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15429714527715282213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-77926236997837368822013-08-30T09:59:09.493-07:002013-08-30T09:59:09.493-07:00Sorry to hear about all that.
Hope you are going t...Sorry to hear about all that.<br />Hope you are going to feel better soon!Marcelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05468906449552228640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-27547717097687707352013-08-30T09:11:24.826-07:002013-08-30T09:11:24.826-07:00Thank you so much for sharing your "saga"...Thank you so much for sharing your "saga" here. I am currently going through some medical complications after an <a href="http://criticalcareassessment.com/how-an-ans-test-can-help/" rel="nofollow">ANS Test</a> my doctor ran at my last check up came up with some peculiar results. Hang in there, and I look forward to following the rest of this post as it develops! xoxo<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06048658177329809248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10781944.post-3634598390952613852013-08-30T05:02:30.229-07:002013-08-30T05:02:30.229-07:00good luck!hope everything works out well.have t1d ...good luck!hope everything works out well.have t1d myself and take part in the ubiome thing, so always interested in what you have to say.cheers from germany.<br />tillTillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778503391438388722noreply@blogger.com