Open Question: Please help, this might be serious.?
Alright everybody here is the situation. I’ve been having quick shooting pains through my chest for about 4 weeks now. These pains usually last from about 1 to 4 seconds and are in the left side of my chest. The pains are sometimes in my right side of the chest or shoulders.
So 2 weeks ago i went to a doctor and asked him about it. He said it was what is called “Precordial Catch Syndrome”. I had heard of this syndrome and knew i had it. I’d actually had precordial catch for about a year. He also said the pain from the syndrome usually only last 2 weeks.
Well, it’s now been nearly 4 weeks since it started and im still having the pain. I also feel kind of empty or weak in the left side of my chest. I’m just extremely worried that maybe i have Heart Disease or early signs of Heart Failure.
Any help is appreciated, Thanks
Sincerely Yours,
Josh.

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:41:59 GMT
Open Question: 14 yrs. old wit heart murmur..Help!!?
i am 14 years old with a heart murmur and i was wondering what could be wrong, i started experiencing acid reflux a couple a months ago, and have always had shortness of breath and always being light headed….. i dont know what could be wrong because my cholestrol levels are just about perfect.. i am really confused on what could be wrong…

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:58:36 GMT

Open Question: My heart seems to be beating very hard and fast but only in the evening/night time?
For the past week or two, I have noticed that my heart has been beating very hard and sometimes fast but only in the evening/night time. Also, when I strain for a bowel movement and/or take a deep breath, it seems as if my heart flutters or skips a beat. I have had panic attacks in the past and I am under a lot of stress right now but I don’t want to assume that’s all it is. I am a 36 year old white female…have only smoked/drank alcohol socially (mostly during my 20’s)….mild hypertension (130/90 - not treated). The only real disease that I have is endometriosis and I take 600mg Ibuprofen with 10mg Hydrocodone/Acetominophen once or twice a day. There is a family history of hypertension and my father was just diagnosed with LVH but that’s it. No history of heart attacks. I’m just wondering why it’s happening in the evening/night time. If it was a true heart problem/disease, wouldn’t it happen all the time? I don’t want to have to go to an E.R. and sit there for 6-8 hours so I figured I would take a chance and ask someone here, since I know that there are medical professionals on this site. Thanks very much for any and all suggestions.

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:17:55 GMT
Open Question: medical question… sloshing sound in throat.. ?
Okay so basically an older friend of mine went to a doctor and when they used the stethoscope they heard a sloshing sound on both sides of her neck. obviously it’s blood and they said it could be one of three things. and two of the things are ok and easy to fix and the other isn’t too great and is more dangerous or whatever . however, they wouldn’t tell her what the three things could’ve been. so can anyone possibly tell me what it could be.. ?
i googled it and found something about antibodies that can damage the tissue lining of heart valves, preventing them from closing completely, and thus blood leaks back into the ventricles and atria after contraction and makes the sloshing sound. called a heart murmur. it reduces effieciency of the heart and causes the organ to work harder to make up for the inefficient pumping. increased activity causes the walls of the heart to enlarge and in severe cases, can cause heart failure. damaged valves can be replaced by artificial implants.
so that could fit the description.. and does seem pretty serious, like the third possibility..
does anybody know anything about this type of thing ?
any further predictions or anything like that ?
any help would be great, doctors sometimes don’t tell i guess because they don’t want you to worry about it, but we’d like to know, just to have an idea of what the future might hold..
thank you so much (:
okay that’s more info than wat i had. thanks (: i’ll google some of that other stuff you added . thanks.
and also thanks for your concern and takin the time. it’s actually my nana i didn’t wanna say that right away but yeah. we were just talking about it and i asked wat it could be and she said they didn’t tell her, they probly will eventually, i think they ordered a ct scan on her lungs. idk what exactly’s up. and yeah i just think they don’t want her to be too concerned, i believe they are good doctors, and it won’t get to the point to where she wants a new dr. it’s just new and they don’t want her jumpin to any conclusions i assume.
anywayyy. thanks ! i appreciate it (:

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:39:29 GMT

Open Question: Please read my short story?
this is part of an 18-page story I’ve written, but the rest is kind of in progress. I’m 13. Comments? Any ideas to continue it? Thnx.
It was 1:30 in the morning on a wintry Colorado night. All around the state, people slept underneath thick blankets, safe from the avalanche of snow covering the land like a shroud. All except for a cluster of people huddled together under an overpass not far out of downtown Denver. Among these people was a teenager named Sasha Wett. She was pressed in between her mother, Mrs. Wett, and her older brother, Jerry. The three of them shared a tattered blanket, too skimpy to sufficiently provide warmth for the family. Sasha?s worn shoes poked out from the end of the tiny sheet.
Mrs. Wett blinked snow off her eyelashes and wrapped her arms around both of her children. Sasha was so close to her that she could hear her teeth chattering through her blue lips.
Around Sasha, people slept. Most snored, but some were quiet. Sasha wondered how they could ever sleep in the icy conditions. She knew that she wasn?t able even to close her eyes, for fear of not waking up.
Beside her, Jerry sighed and shivered. Sasha had a sudden flashback of when she was seven. She was gazing out the window down into the dark alley adjacent to the family?s apartment building. There were voices, male, shouting insults and profanities so vulgar that Sasha could only guess their meanings. The voices suddenly grew quiet, and all she could hear were short grunts and occasional yelps of pain. Sasha knew enough to understand that the argument had morphed into a full-out brawl. She turned away from the window, squeezing her eyes shut, trying not to listen. Without realizing it, Sasha was crying, weeping violently, uncontrollably.
?Stop?stop?? she murmured between sobs, placing her hands over her ears. Then it was over, and she could hear nothing from the alley other than the swish, swish of the winner?s pants as he fled the scene of the fight.
The image in her mind switched to one of her parents the day she and Jerry had been informed of the family?s state of financial ruin. At the time, Sasha was eleven years old, and her brother was fourteen. She remembered peeking around a corner into the kitchen, where Mrs. Wett had her head in her hands, leaning against the counter on her elbows. Her shoulders shook as she cried silently. Mr. Wett had his hand on her shoulder. His face, pallid due to the terminal illness (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis-a disease of the lungs) he had contracted, was grave and stricken. Jerry walked up behind her, and after watching for a while, they exchanged cautious glances and walked into the room together.
Mr. Wett looked at them and sighed despairingly. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it quickly. Mrs. Wett, tears still streaking down her face and slowly dripping off her chin, caught sight of them and hurried to embrace them. After a long hug, she pulled back to look them in the face.
?Children,? she began, voice wavering, ?We have bad news.? She bit her lip and paused. Mr. Wett took over.
?We can?t afford to stay in an apartment anymore. Not for a while.? Sasha?s heart dropped into her stomach, and she experienced a sensation similar to that of sinking in quicksand.
?No.? Jerry whispered brokenly. ?That?s?not possible??
?We?ll be okay, we?ll be okay. I promise it?ll be all right. We?ll get better jobs, move into another apartment, and start over. We?re not giving up, kids. We?ll never give up.? Mrs. Wett again, making empty promises. Her words sounded far away to Sasha. Everything seemed to move slower than molasses. Tears blurred her vision.
The next day the family packed their few possessions into backpacks and left, never to lay eyes on the apartment again.
Just weeks later, Mr. Wett took a turn for the worse. He passed away soon afterward.
Sasha tasted salt on her lips. Tears. Looking to her right, she spotted a teardrop rolling from Jerry?s eye; he was crying, too. They hugged each other, sobbing, holding each other as if letting go would cause them both to shatter into thousands of tiny, irreparable pieces.
* * *
Sasha watched the sun rise in the east, casting golden rays of light upon the weary group of homeless men and women. She hadn?t gotten a wink of sleep, and was exhausted from a night of tossing and turning on the cold, hard cement. Jerry and Mrs. Wett were up and about, waking the others from their fitful sleeps.
Sasha watched the members of the group moving swiftly and serenely, folding ragged blankets, eating their meager breakfast rations. The group was a rare animal, a community of the destitute, a society of drifters, a silent army of people whose dismal pasts went untold among their comrades. It was an unspoken agreement; no one wished to share dark memories, only to hope for a brighter future. However, despite each person?s unidentified history lurking behind their reason for joining the unlikely congregation of the unfor
it cut off…sorry:
unfortunate, everyone shared a common circumstance: living in a waking nightmare.
Jerry surprised Sasha by tapping her shoulder lightly. ?Time to move, Sasha. The early bird catches the worm.? Sasha tried to smile, but grimaced instead.
?Jerry?? She asked softly, ?What if one of us dies-you, Mother, or I? I couldn?t stand another death… I couldn?t bear it.? Sasha looked up into his troubled face and saw more than pain in his bright blue eyes.
?None of us will die, Sasha,? He said, taking her by the shoulders and facing her directly. ?You have to believe that. We?re strong. We?ve been through enough. Things will start looking up. Do you hear me??

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:17:58 GMT
Open Question: Who Are You brother/sister……………..?…..?
A young man looks at himself in the mirror and he asks himself: Why am I here? Why do I do the things I do? What’s my purpose? Another young man looks at himself in the mirror and he tells himself I know why I am here, I know why I do the things I do and I have a purpose in life.
He smiles to himself and feels satisfaction in his heart as he thinks of his lord, ALLAH (GOD). The first young man stares at his seemingly happy face but his heart aches. His heart fills with a dull pain and he is left to wander aimlessly after true happiness. The vital difference between the confidence and happiness of the second young man and the lack there of in the first young man is ISLAM.
Islam is a religion that teaches one to give up their desires and to fulfill the desires of their lord Allah (Praise be to him). People are not truly free until they break free from the chains of inner passions and surrender to the will of Allah. As a Muslim one’s ultimate goal is to please Allah. Thus, a Muslim becomes a fighter and survivor in this world full of temptations and evil.
One must fight and break away from the voice of Satan urging to fall into the traps of evil. This battle against evil does not go unseen. For at the end Allah promises the ultimate prize and glory. This prize is entrance into the doors of paradise. It is this knowledge that drives a Muslim closer to his lord and keeps him away from evil. His heart is filled with happiness as he seeks ways to get closer to the paradise promised him.
A Muslim has a goal, a destination, and a path to follow. He will never be lost as he looks towards Allah and his message. A disbeliever does not have any of these things. He has no one to guide him; he has no destination, no path. He is lost. Yet, he cannot give up on his mission to find happiness. He searches and is filled with answers like, enjoy life while it lasts, don’t worry be happy, and follow your dreams.
In the quest for answers these prove to be unsuccessful and lead down a winding path of turmoil. Without any strong hold on one’s desires a disbeliever defies all limits to enjoyment in life, and is bombarded with problems. Problems he tries to solve by forgetting about them. He tries to forget with drugs, alcohol, and drowning himself in a life filled with ecstasy and pleasure. In Islam, enjoyment in life is a blessing from Allah. However, it is not a driving force in life.
Enjoyment is allowed within the realms of Islam. Allah protects his creation and he cuts harmful things at their roots. An excellent example is drinking. A mother holds the dead body of her three-year-old son as she cries out in pain Why? Why? to the drunk driver who barreled into their car. Another innocent life taken away by drunk driving, and added to the thousands killed each year.
Drinking is the cause of many social problems that plague our society. Islam has not only forbidden drinking, but it also forbids people from buying, selling and transporting any alcoholic related beverages. By having such a full approach against this problem Islam prevents victimization of innocent people, death by liver disease and break up of families. So many lives are shattered as men come home drunk, brutally hit their wives and children, and in the morning cannot remember a thing.
No law mandated against drunk driving or battery can stop these tragedies. The highest authority, Allah, deals with it by making it forbidden and thus preventing any of these things from occurring. He provides an incentive to obey him (paradise the ultimate reward and his pleasure) and a mechanism to make it easy for his creation to follow his commandments (such as the five daily prayers and fasting). Allah, through the Holy Quran, guides Muslims to remain on the straight path, the path that will attain happiness in this world and the next. This straight path can be found in the guide for all of mankind, the Holy Quran.
The Quran is the manual for life. It gives one a focus and a destination. Every single aspect of this life is covered in the Quran. As a follower of Allah’s words one can never fail. The Quran tells of relationships with parents, rights of a wife, rights of orphans, etc. Allah gave mankind this manual and he blessed us with the final Messenger as the most beautiful examples for all of humanity to follow. Islam is the solution. Without this solution a disbeliever will forever look in the mirror and his head will fill with hundreds of unanswered questions. The boundary between right and wrong will become a blur to him. He w ill forever be lost, like he is, now in this evil illusion inspired by temptations and desires. The problems of the world will always entangle him until he submits to Allah, the one God who has created him.
References:
(The Nightmare of Disbelife)
http://fs.harunyahya.net/popup/Download.php?WorkNumber=256&Format=pdf
(A BRIEF ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING ISLAM)
http://www.islam-guide.com/islam-gu

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:29:36 GMT

Open Question: what are the diagnostic exams for rheumatic heart disease?

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:52:52 GMT

Open Question: I had open heart surgery 3 weeks ago. Is it ok for me to eat sushi?
I had surgery to close my heart murmur and i’ve been craving sushi for the pass 2 weeks. But i’m not sure if i can eat raw fish.

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:46:54 GMT

Open Question: Should “Risperdal” be given to a bypass patient ?
this patient i know, had a bypass very recently. when he was brought out of the ICU, he started to act weirdly. it took him a couple of weeks time to stabilize. he is normal now. but Doc’s have prescribed “Risperdal” for 45 days. now, i have read in one of the web sites that this tablet should not be given to people with heart diseases and high blood pressure. is this true ?

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:28:05 GMT
Open Question: my dog died of intestinal blockage, feel so guilty?
I had a puppy mill rescue (maltese)for 2 years- she was 9 when I adopted her. became sick 2 weeks ago, threw up a LOT the 1st day- didn’t want to eat, drink, so I took her to the vet after 24hrs. blood work showed electrolytes were whacked out, but nothing showed up in the xrays. vet wanted to be conservative and not do exploratory surgery unless forced, because she was old, had a heart murmur, etc. She stayed there 5 days before coming home, once she was re-hydrated and given antibiotics- vet hoped she would eat in her own environment. She didn’t eat much at all, though, so 2 days later I took her back. 2nd blood test showed beginnings of an infection so we had no choice but to do surgery the next day. Her heart stopped during surgery, and vet found a partial blockage from a piece of foam/rubber. He showed it to me; don’t know where she got it. It’s not from a toy…..didn’t show up in the x rays because it had absorbed fluids.
I just feel terrible. It was almost 12 days from the day she started acting sick, to the day she died in surgery- I just don’t want her to have been in horrible pain that entire time. The 1st couple days she acted very uncomfortable, restless, and whimpered once or twice, but once I picked her up from the vet, she just seemed less active and slept a lot. She was drinking water, and was more alert than I had expected. I hoped that meant she wasn’t too uncomfortable, but to have a piece of foam in your system that long, would that have been excruciatingly painful? The vet said the rubber had moved through almost all the intestines and had stopped 2 inches before her colon. I just don’t want her to have suffered horrible pain for 12 days straight with no relief…….

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Open Question: how serious is heart murmur in my 5 month old kitten?
going to see a cardiologist is out of the equation as it will cost $280 just for an appointment, and we are a low income family.well i heard kittens can grow out of their heart murmur but then yet again i heard really bad things about it… how to tell how serious the heart mumur is without going to the vet? and any minor things we can do to help a kitten with heart mumur?

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:51:21 GMT

Open Question: my cool friend wants to treat me as his girl friend?
a friend who is at least 15 yrs younger to me wants me to have sex with him feeling him as girl he is very soft and cool.he ask me to kiss his lips i kiss them they r very soft.he insist me to sex with him i told him its not good for health it may create sex diseases then he discharges me with his hands.now after 2 months he told me that i was right now he is interested to suck my pennies as he said this is of good size 8inch longe 21/2 inch circular.i allow him to suck which he did very well now he wants to suck my pennies daily i am happily married man cant allow him daily being i used to sex daily with my wife at the same time i did not want to break his heart as he suck very decently what shoul i do how to pacify him that he may suck once or twice a week

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:45:08 GMT
Open Question: How can I help my miniature American Eskimo lose weight?
My dog, Buddy, is a miniature-toy American Eskimo cross, but definitely falls within the height range of the miniatures at about 14 inches tall. His vet said he had to lose weight since he was too heavy at 10.7 kg (about 23.6 lbs) according to their scale, but we measured him up to be about 24-25 lbs on our home scale at around the same time. We measure him at home now (about a month or so later) and he is about 23 - 24 lbs on our scale still, even after cutting back on treats (instead of getting lots he now only gets one or two a day), increasing exercise, and putting him on a weight management kibble. He spends weekdays at my future-in-law’s running around with her dogs (described as Indy grand-prix racing) and weekends and evenings with us after work. I take him for at least 1 - 2 walks (and sometimes 3) ranging in length from 10 minutes to up to an hour (I usually try to make him go for at least 30 to 45 minutes of exercise total in a day, often an hour though). during the week, and on weekends we often go for at least 3-4 walks ranging in length from 10-15 minutes (usually 2 walks) and others (1 or 2 walks) that take a half hour or more, trying to strive for at least 45 minutes of pure walking exercise in a day. He is often very exhausted from this activity and will sleep in the evenings.
This is a lot more exercise than he got before, plus the kibble he is on now isn’t crappy and high fat. We significantly reduced the number of treats he gets, but still isn’t losing weight. At home, we refill his kibble about twice a week and his bowl fits about what his daily amount should be for the food. I just can’t control the free-feeding at the in-laws of cookies and kibble, but it is mainly the milk bones there that can pose a problem (he only eats a small amount of kibble, but if given opportunity will gorge on milk bones) so lately they are taken up when he is there. He does get a homemade supper every day (with occasional skipped days now) which is rice, ground beef, peas, and carrots which is made by the in-laws for their eskie who has had pancreatitis. He gets about 3 tbs of this at supper time heated up.
He does seem to be firming up a bit but his weight on the scale hasn’t changed very quickly.
How can I continue to help him lose weight. Apparently the vet told us to get him down to 16 lbs (is this a good weight for a 14 inch tall Eskie?) but he hasn’t been that since he was less than a year old and still growing, and now he is just over 2. He has the thick, thick double coat of an Eskie which can also make it a little hard to really see how big he is, and it makes it harder to find his ribs just because it is quite thick. If he is wet and his fur is stuck to his body he looks a lot skinnier than he does regularly as his coat is so thick and flowing. His parents were both 12 in tall and 20 lbs.
I really want him to be healthy. I worry about his heart (he had a murmur as a puppy but otherwise heart was fine according to ultrasound), and his knee (which he hurt once playing, nothing serious), and his hips.
He is on the Nutro Ultra weight management diet. While not a perfect food, it is better than a lot of the other foods he has gotten in his life (puppy chow-free, purina one-free). He didn’t like the Eagle Pack Holistic selects food when he was young, didn’t eat it. At least it was free too.
We figured we’d try the weight management food, which we bought at Petland. It seemed to help a little so far, and improved his coat (its even softer than ever!).
This vet that told me he had to lose weight was the jerk who owns the practice who I despise (for various reasons). I doubt he knows much about the breed. Might switch clinics to see the vet who started her own that seemed to know more about them.

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:36:26 GMT

Open Question: Can you paint over black mold?
My parents live in a house where there was black mold growing in the bathroom all over which I believe to be a septic pipe in the bathroom and the land lady had an inspection where the city was supposed to come out and inspect here house because my parents rent so they had to make sure it was up to date well, before the inspection she gets white paint and paints all over it where it is not noticeable at all.I know black mold is dangerous and plus it is in the basement, and in my sisters bedroom on the wall.I tried to tell them to get outbeforee it kills them.My dad already haspulmonaryy lung disease, asthma, and hearts problems and mysister has asthma.They all have been sick and when i lived there I was also sick.I researched it online but yet they continue to live there.I do not believe you can paint over black mold they need to call the health department on her/All she cares about is her rent money and neverr has anything repaired right is always her husband who does everything.I believe the mold will come back.I am afraid it will kill them.I got a skin rash from the mold when I lived there.I got my own apartment now and feel so much better.My question is can you paint over black mold?

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:49:30 GMT