I should have kept my deviated septum

[infinite monkey]

Whiskey too! You know the song "Snortin' Whiskey Drinkin' Cocaine"?

My friend and I tried the whiskey thing. Hey, I was like, a kid.

[Clodfobble]

Had my one-week followup this morning. I learned that the little roll of "gel film," which is made of 100% gelatin, was in fact intended to be put up there in roll shape, and is meant to be a spacer to prevent the passages from swelling completely closed. She said there are actually a total of 6 rolls left in there after surgery, and that they will either come out on their own like the first one did, or she'll remove them at subsequent followups, when they're ready. She did easily remove one from the other nostril, and said she can see the next one up the line in both sides, and they are still firmly gripped by swelling, so they will stay in place for now.

She also referred me to a hematologist, because she thinks my unbridled bleeding warrants further examination. They did run a battery of tests on me back when things were going wrong at the hospital, and everything came back within normal ranges, which makes it that much more confusing. She also wants the doc to look into why my vitamin K usage might be relevant. She told me I need to be a case study, and depending on what the hematologist says, she may begin recommending the vitamin K drops for a few of her other chronic nosebleeders.

She also warned me that almost all Hematologists are also Oncologists, but that I definitely don't have leukemia so don't worry. Whew, good to know.

[infinite monkey]

So I read that really quickly as 'herpetologist' and I wondered for a split second why you'd need a frog doctor.

[BigV]

Interesting--so, not designed to "dissolve". What if you hadn't noticed the one you caught? Would the doctor's count have been off? "um, have you noticed a piece of plastic in your tissue lately? I've taken attendance and one is truant."... eek!

Otherwise, you're back on the road to recovery?

[Clodfobble]

Well, they are designed to dissolve, but only over a period of weeks. She said many patients accidentally swallow one, rather than blowing it outward like I did.

I am on the road to recovery, but slowly (which is the normal pace, I'm told.) I still feel like I got punched in the nose, and my airways are still blocked like a very bad cold. But I am moving about my normal routine without needing naps, and easily picking up my daughter if not throwing her in the air. The neti pot rinses I do 2-3 times a day still result in lots of bloody mucus, and the doctor kindly removed a couple more large clots for me while she was in there. The expectation is I won't be completely back to normal for another two or three weeks.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

She also referred me to a hematologist, because she thinks my unbridled bleeding warrants further examination. They did run a battery of tests on me back when things were going wrong at the hospital, and everything came back within normal ranges, which makes it that much more confusing.

I've mentioned this before when you were having knee problems (I just went back and looked it up) and I know you looked into it a little back then, but crooked finger joints, easy bruising, and now uncontrolled bleeding are all classic symptoms of Ehlers-Danlos. You might want to mention the bruising and point out your crooked fingers when you see this hematologist.

[monster]

oh gawd i just googled that and I have most of those symptoms.

[glatt]

Yeah. A lot of people have some of the symptoms, but it's rare, so it's likely you and Clod don't have it.

It's genetic, so if those symptoms run in your family, that's a much stronger indicator that you might have it. My mom's been diagnosed with it, and I have some joint pain, but not much more than your typical 45 year old. Maybe mine is EDS, or maybe not.

Since there's no cure, the benefit of a diagnosis is being prepared for things like knowing there will be problems during surgery with bleeding and warning the surgeon ahead of time, or knowing that your joints are weak, so you learn how to move to protect them and save them for the future. Stuff like that.

[monster]

right. that's why I don't care 'cause I already have to do those things

FTR the only ones I don't have: Wounds heal well (only bleed excesively internally). No flat feet. No gum disease. no eyeball rupture. other than that i have a full house. My strech marks frighten cosmetic surgeons and my shoulder flexibilty makes physical therpists say "ew"

But what'm''I do? Even if i don't have it, still have to deal with the symptoms. So no point finding out

[Razzmatazz13]

So... big plastic nose goo covered mystery medical device picture doesn't bother me at all... but putting vitamin K drops on a tissue and sticking them in your nose to stop a nosebleed gives me the heebie jeebies... that just doesn't make sense at all.

[Clodfobble]

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about the Ehlers-Danlos thing. So the diagnosis is based on a black-and-white genetic test rather than an assessment of how severe the symptoms are, right?

My symptoms are the same as they've always been (actually better, since my knees aren't killing me anymore now that I haven't been pregnant/breastfeeding in a long time,) so I'm inclined to continue living with the "eh, there's no treatment anyway so there's no point in confirming it" philosophy. EXCEPT... For at least 2 years now, Minifob has been periodically waking up at night with bad leg pain. Sometimes he says it's his ankle, sometimes it's more like his shin area. It's never a muscle cramp, and we've tried to have him checked for fractures but they always just tell me it's "growing pains," even after I tell them that, with the exception of the last couple of months, he practically didn't grow at all in the last two years.

I dunno. Maybe we'll take him to a geneticist at some point. It would be awfully hard to pull him out of Tae Kwon Do, though, if they said he had it. He loves it so much. Have you ever thought about having your kids tested, glatt?

[monster]

Why have him tested, Fob?

[glatt]

We have not had them tested. I'm not even sure how that works, but we've told all the doctors that there's a family history there, and our pediatrician takes it really seriously because our daughter is showing signs of borderline Marfan's Syndrome, which is similar. She's very tall and thin and has some slight sideways curvature in her back. She's probably fine though. Lucky, actually, to be tall and skinny. So it's being monitored probably more than it would be with someone without the family history. So far, neither of the kids show any significant symptoms.

I've got a crooked neck myself, but not bad enough for treatment.

[monster]

Oh, they have looked at that for Hector too.... LONG arms (like Phelps)

[monster]

(he's short and skinny, though)