Doctor Interview Preparation Guide

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Fortunately, there are things that can be done to help with reflux. The most obvious answer is some of the many medications that are available to help reduce stomach acid. Some of the least expensive and most effective are even available over the counter, but should be used after discussing your symptoms with your doctor. There are some medications, such as ranitidine and other anti histamine medications (H2 blockers as they are sometimes called), that can be very effective for many people and have a very mild side effect profile. They are most effective when taken as directed, and the efficacy does tend to decrease if they are not timed appropriately with regards to the meals. Other excellent medications are those that are known as proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, which can be even more effective. The over the counter doses are effective for most people, but in severe cases prescription strength doses can also be used. These medications also have relatively mild side effects, but should be discussed with your doctor. In addition to these medications, lifestyle changes should be tried before any medications. These can be found suggested in many places. Please speak with your doctor.

It is not normal for pain to become so severe and fail to respond in any way to conservative therapy, and so your doctor should discuss this with you in more detail to make sure that there is nothing serious that is causing your symptoms. Neck and muscle spasms can be common in some people with a history of c spine injury or trauma, and can be severe and debilitating. They should not be a new onset symptom for most people, however, unless you have had some precipitating event. Massage and things to help the muscles relax is often a great idea to help with some of the mild aches and pains that we can have from time to time, and the fact that you had no improvement is worrisome. Your doctor may entertain other possible explanations for this pain in addition to trauma and misuse injuries. He or she may decide it is important to get some imaging and complete a physical exam looking for things that might be amiss. Shooting pain can be a concern for nerve injury.

This is a somewhat interesting phenomenon that will take more visits to your doctor to help explain. Your OB/GYN is likely a good place to start, as he or she will be best positioned to help sort out the hormonal element to your symptoms. Another option might be a neurologist or spine surgeon, either of which may be able to help with your symptoms at the level of your neck. An ear nose and throat surgeon may offer some other insight that could be helpful. Whichever you choose, the approach to your problem will likely be different. Primary care and medical doctors are more likely to use lab work and your symptoms to help arrive at an answer, and may use medications empirically to see what helps to make you better. A surgeon, on the other hand, is more likely to listen to your symptoms, complete an exam, and recommend imaging and other anatomic studies that can help to determine what is causing your symptoms. The pain may have a component of something that changes on a monthly basis with your menstrual cycle. This could be a swelling, or even something as simple as a change in the blood flow.

Abnormal bleeding can have many different causes, but you have provided some valuable information. First, we have to clarify where exactly the bleeding is coming from. While vaginal bleeding is perhaps the most likely, both the urinary tract and the GI tract can also be a source of bleeding. Either of those would have different causes and explanations, with infections and small sources of bleeding such as hemorrhoids being among the most common reasons for abnormal or untimely bleeding. With regards to vaginal bleeding, there is a clue that is suggested by the fact that the blood is bright red in color. In general, this can reflect fresher blood that has not started to be broken down. It may also suggest blood that is coming from a source further down the vaginal tract, although that is not necessarily true. There are different conditions that can affect the vaginal or uterine lining and are common explanations for symptoms such as you describe. There are also tumors that can result in abnormal bleeding, and these tumors can be both benign and malignant.

Certainly the thought of carcinoid syndrome is something that crosses the mind in hearing about your symptoms. That is, however, a rather rare process that would be unusual for most people to have. In such a situation, it is good to describe your symptoms and your concerns to your doctor so that he or she can test for the possibility of something as serious or as rare as that condition. There are many other possible explanations, however, many of which are much more common. It is not unusual for some people to have changes of flushing and some of the other feelings that you describe when they are in stressful or unusual situations. Some of this can sometimes be understood in context of the response that some people have to loud noises or fright, ie, they can faint. This reaction is one extreme on the spectrum of a vagal reaction that can occur in some. On a less extreme note, other can have some of the same symptoms you describe without having something as notable as a syncopal episode. There are often things that can be done to help.

There are times that infections can happen in the neck, and these infections can be very serious because of the number of important structures that run through the neck. Some of these include nerves that are relevant to moving some of the muscles of your upper extremities, and others are the very important arteries and veins that run through your neck to and from your head. Often, if people have an infection, they will also have symptoms of an infection, such as a high fever, swelling, redness, etc. These can be more common in those with a history of injecting drugs, as this allows serious and dangerous bacteria direct access to the rest of the body through the arteries and veins. If it has been a while since your last injection, then it may make an infection less likely. Swelling and pain can also happen from muscle spasms that come with poor posture or increased exertion out of the norm. There are also some other possible explanations.

Persistent headaches are not something that can be ignored, as this could be your body trying to send you a signal that there is something wrong. Often, the history and description of the headache can be quite helpful as you attempt to determine what is the cause of your headaches so that you can know how to get better. If your headaches are associated with certain movements, activities, foods, or other triggers, than this can serve as a clue to you and your doctor to help you feel better. If, on the other hand, your symptoms are somewhat predictable and come on in the same way, then it is also possible to use this information to diagnose the type of headache, which then gets you closer to getting some help with your pain and other symptoms. Migraines are classically associated with light sensitivity, nausea and vomiting, and intractable and incapacitating pain. People with migraines may have a family history of them, and they may have an aura, or symptoms that routinely come before the headache and let them know it is coming.

The medication is most likely to be a selective ß2-agonist such as salbutamol, which leads to a tremor, palpitations, headaches and hypokalaemia at high doses. Washing the mouth after administration of inhaled steroids is recommended, no matter what dose is given. Atrovent is the trade name for ipratropium bromide, which is more useful in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than in asthma, although it can be used in an acute asthma attack.

Asthma affects over 5 million individuals in the UK. Approximately 1 million children are affected.

☛ AF - atrial fibrillation
☛ αFP - alpha-fetoprotein
☛ ABG - arterial blood gas
☛ ACE - angiotensin-converting enzyme
☛ ACTH - adrenocorticotrophic hormone