Are there any medical doctors here?

[Petra]

So, I had dinner with my mum yesterday. She's been through the mill this past year: major operation on her spine, breast cancer treatments - radiation and chemo - and now she's been diagnosed as being in the early stages of type 2 diabetes.

But, what now concerns me, is that while we were having dinner, she would occassionally wince and grasp one side of her head and complain about the "lightening" in her head. She says it's just a nerve thing or something and fobs it off. I told her to mention it to her doctor, but she says "what can he do, it's nothing"...etc. Stubborn old trout.


So, anyway, what could these flashes that feel like lightening shooting through her head be?

[JoeP]

I can't think of any medics on board, but I'm sure there is one. Meanwhile - migraine? Debilitating and hard to treat, but not necessarily serious afaik. It could be something serious like epilepsy, or minute strokes. Does she have high blood pressure? You should carry on trying to persuade the stubborn old trout to see a doctor...

[inyourhonor]

If you find any, could they tell me how to date one? I mean, what sort of things to expect? What sort of battles to fight or let go? I don't really date "normal" people very often.

^^^for the sake of clarity, I consider "normal" people those who have "normal" jobs, verses being artists / musicians etc.

But he is kind of attractive (well, to me), and we have a lot in common, career paths aside...I'm giving him a chance. He's currently just a senior undergrad. So, because he'll be leaving for grad-school soon, I'm not taking the relationship that seriously. I wonder if he'd like to be a plastic surgeon at Ceder Sinai...

[Legs]

Sorry luna, I'm not a Doctor ~ I just play one on TV

Lightning in the head does not sound good you have to get Mum to the

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by inyourhonor

If you find any, could they tell me how to date one? I mean, what sort of things to expect? What sort of battles to fight or let go? I don't really date "normal" people very often.

Given med school/internship schedules, I think doctors in the early stages probably don't count as "normal" people. I really shouldn't talk, though. All I know about it I read in Robin Cook novels.

[freemonkey]

Originally Posted by lunachick

So, anyway, what could these flashes that feel like lightening shooting through her head be?

Sorry about your mum, luna. Is what she refers to as "lightning" painful? Or hot? Shocks? I don't have any answers, but I'm curious about what she's feeling. Maybe its something related to her her back surgery. Or maybe TMJ. But I agree, she should mention it to her doctor, ASAP.

[ms_ann_thrope]

I'm not a doctor (couldn't hack organic chemistry) but I have lots of experience with different types of headaches, from stress-induced back-of-head tension to icepick-being-jabbed-into-side-of-head (which do cause me to wince and sometimes involuntarily tear up on the affected side, not to mention clutch that side of my skull). I've had 2 CAT scans over the last 15 years for my damn headaches.

After much investigation (and unsuccessful trials of different painkillers/migraine preventatives), the debilitating icepick headaches were attributed my eardrum being ready to explode as a result of a sinus/allergy problem. Who would've thunk it? A new regimen of allergy meds were prescribed and after some fine tuning, problem solved, no more pressure on ear drum, no more wince-inducing icepicks (the 'cocktail' that is working for me is Allegra, Astelin, and Flonase, in case anyone is curious).

Please write down your mom's symptoms, help her keep a headache "diary" (duration, quality of pain, time, place, etc.), and bring all that to the next doctor's appt. They might be able to help her out, and it will help them do so all the more quickly if you can present them with the most detailed history you can. Good luck!

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

Given med school/internship schedules, I think doctors in the early stages probably don't count as "normal" people. I really shouldn't talk, though. All I know about it I read in Robin Cook novels.

I work with physicians and surgeons all the time. My advice: give him up. Actually, run... as fast as you can in the opposite direction.

Being a doctor's wife would be a crappy existance if you put a premium on a stable home life. They tend not to have them. Doctor's wives tend to be career widows and when that isn't an issue, being golf widows is. You'll have plenty of time to take a lover (or several). If you plan to marry a doctor, plan to raise the children yourself, urge a move to a community-law state, and sign no prenuptuals.

Then there is the oversized ego thing, which is hugely over-represented amongst MDs. If you can live with that, the payoff in assets can be quite high with a divorce after his practice is well-established.

[inyourhonor]

I haven't heard much about him being an MD. His sister said he just wanted to go into nursing. But thanks for the info.

yeah, that's kind of how I view most "normal" lives.

[godfry n. glad]

Nursing is another story altogether.

Most nurses I know (male and female) are rillyrilly decent sorts (yeah, there are a few bad ones, but that's to be expected). My best experiences of all are with nurse practitioners and physician assistants. I highly recommend a nurse practitioner program.

[cappuccino]

Yeah...recently I had to let a med student go...he was such a great person, I really liked him a lot...A LOT but I had in the back of my head the fact that he still had two more years of med school, plus three years of residency, not to mention any additional training time for a speciality.

Fortunately we didn't get into anything serious, we just chatted and got to get to know each other, made it easier to let him go. Who knows, I may get in touch with him in five years when he'll be more of a normal person