I know a lot of people here probably know of or have heard me talk about my ear problems I had when I was about 10. I also know a lot of people on here make fun of me or give me a hard time or whatever about my girlfriend, and that's cool. We both found out some pretty bad news, today, though. It really could not have come at a worse time for either of us. No, we're not pregnant or anything like that.... Lately, as I've talked about before, I've been having a little ear trouble again. It's been going on for about 3 months. I had a doctor's appointment set up in like December, but I blew that off. This week, though, my ear's been hurting like every day. It's causing me to blow off classes, and normally I'm not one to skip out on classes at college. Anyways, finally, I decided to suck it up and go to the doctor today. Now, what I had before, was called a Cholesteatoma, which is basically a tumor that grows in the middle ear, often eating up bones and whatnot located in it's path. If you read the link I posted, it's usually not that serious, but if untreated, it can be very serious. When I was about 10, I had a "rather extensive" cholesteatoma, which cause some rather dramatic effects to my inner ear. They took out a bone and a half after emergency surgery. I lost 40 to 60% of the hearing in that ear, as well as my sense of hearing direction. I have no problem with that. Now, that these probelms seem to be recurring, I'm just worried that I'm gonna miss too much school or it'll just screw up my college somehow. At 18, I feel this couldn't have come at a worse age. With that said, I'm ready to face whatever is thrown at me. Now, for the other part.... Lately also, my girlfriend has been waking up in the mornings feeling absolutely nauseated. She feels like she's on the verge of throwing up/passing out, and often gets dizzy, etc. She also frequently gets migraines (I guess, in a way, like what Steve Francis used to have). She's been doing this for years. She's been to the doctor's for it before, but everything just kind of got brushed off. Today, she went into the doctor's office cuz she's been really sick as of late, and he ordered all kinds of tests to be done. For starters, she's gotta get bloodwork and a CT scan done. I don't know if this is normal procedure or what, but it scares me. Apparently, while they have no idea what it is, it could be anything from allergies to diabetes to a tumor somewhere in her body. That just scares me. What sucks even worse is that this comes at a time when she needs to be concentrating on finishing up high school, and looking into college. She makes really good grades, and is very bright, so I don't think I'm worried about that part. I'm just scared for what these tests might bring. Maybe I'm just a worrier - I don't know. This just sucks.
Well. Don't know how to say it any other way. But that sucks. Good luck, Hope everything turns up negative for both of you guys.
Pull it together and start worrying if u need to worry after the results. You're plenty young, just start paying attention to your body a bit more. All in all, look at the brightside, I thought u knocked her up and was asking the BBS for advice.
Communicate. Talk to your professors. Have her talk to her teachers. Get your (and her) parents involved. Let them know what you're going through. It's very possible that they can provide some flexibility for you and your gal while you're going through this tough time.
I threw up every morning for two years of high school before we discovered that I had developed an alergy to cats. No great loss, I hate them anyway, dogs rule. Hope you guys both get better soon.
If it really get bad, you can take off like a semester to a year from school, it is not that uncommon among college students. It shouldn't seriously mess up your college study.
you seem like a real nice, caring guy. first of all, there is never an opportune time to have setbacks in life. you (should) constantly be doing something in life but good things and bad things come all the time so try not to worry so much about it. i know this is much easier said than done. definitely wait until you get test results back, trust your doctors and do what's best for your health. my dad has always said, without your health, you have nothing so that should always be your priority. hope you and your gf are okay. take up someone's advice here about talking to your profs, teachers, advisors, parents and what not and tell them your concerns and possible alternatives. they are ppl too who ultimately want you to be healthy and happy so talk to them and it might ease things up on your end if you know they are willing to work with you. good luck!
I had a friend with Chrones when I was in college. He was probably a good 4 years older than I was, but he missed a whole year and a few semesters here and there. The university never withdrew him or dropped him. But you absolutely have to tell your profs, and talk to your advisors and start opening your channels. The more informed your collegiate officials are, the more willing they are to help in any way. Best Wishes!
Eddie, I wish you and your lady good fortune, as you figure out what's going on, and how to treat it. I've been too familiar with health problems (one of the reasons I'm around here so much), and dealing with uncertainties is one of the hardest things to do. Get second opinions. That's the best advice I can give. Hang in there.
Eddie, Sorry to hear about your ear problem, I'm sure it will work out okay for you. About your girlfriend, how old is she? Is she overweight? I agree with her doctor that she needs a more indepth assessment. An MRI is probably appropriate as well as CT scan. The reason I ask about her weight and age is that a condition exists that I immediately though of when you described her condition called psuedotumor cerebri. Its a relatively treatable condition and worth asking the doctor about (espicially if this is a GP and not a neurologist). I hope all works out and keep us updated.
Mine always said the same thing too and I listened. I eat right, take vitamins, excercise daily & keep my weight under control, avoid alcohol, sodas, smoking, & sugar and keep a close eye on my health at all times. I realize that sometimes disease can just sneak up on anyone, but i'm doing my part to minimize my risks.
I 100% agree. I'm the same way with the weight, vitamins, physical, dentist, smoking, cokes, sugars, sweets... The only thing I'm not the best at is getting 8 hrs of sleep a night. I know I'm not invisible but I'm doing what I can and it feels good at the same time. We have longevity in our family so my dad always as long as you take care of yourself, you should live to 90 something too. yeah! feel good story.
As a University official (plus the fact that my wife went through Grad school with Ulcerative Colitis) I strongly concur with this advise.
She's not a stick, but she's not really overweight. She's kind of built for a girl, and has some meat on her. She probably clocks in at about 145-ish, or so. She plays sports and whatnot also.....if that helps.
What was it that Steve Francis had with the migraines and nasuea? Maybe its that. Also, make sure she drinks lots of water. Something like 40% of Americans are perpetually dehydrated and don't even know it, and those can be symptoms of that. My Doctor mentioned to me that most headaches people get are actually from being slightly dehydrated, and often people that get regular bouts of nasuea are actually people who have their blood pressure drop by standing up when dehydrated. Still get all the tests done to rule out anything, but many times things that seem serious are not. Headaches and nasuea are like the most common symptoms of illness there are and can mean anything. Don't get too worried. When people are young its usually not the worst situation when you feel bad. Also, if they can order a CT scan and immediatly rule out a tumor, there is a 99.9% chance those symptoms are not serious and treatable.
Man, first Eddie Griffin, now all this... this just sucks. EWS, I'm sure you'll be ok, but worrying is only an indicator of caring and your girl should be proud. However, worrying rarely makes anything better. I don't know what to tell you but I hope everything works out for you. Maybe it'll be nothing. Hang in there buddy, my thoughts are with ya.
