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Physiology & Medicine / Why do some medications cause cognitive impairment and what else causes it?

« on: 16/02/2010 00:12:44 »

Okay, so now you know I am still alive, and have finally managed to find my way back here, I'd be interested in some answers to the above question, please.  []

Thanks.

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Just Chat! / FAO: Neilep

« on: 28/03/2009 16:25:05 »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw&feature=player_embedded

Hope ewe like it.  []

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Geek Speak / How do I reset cookies to allow me to access webstes that I used to access...

« on: 10/12/2008 00:08:46 »

... but now cannot seem to access, please?

I'm using an old PC with ME as its operating system and Explorer 6 - I think! It seems to have somehow reset various things, and including no longer remembering any of the passwords for forums that previously I had set to 'log-in forever' on.

I also cannot access my service provider email via the server website, and suspect that's now bouncing email due to the amount of spam that needs to be  deleted.

PLease can someone advise me - and in very simple terms, as I'm no techi! Thanks.

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Physiology & Medicine / Why are anti-psychotic, and other mind altering drugs given to people when...

« on: 06/12/2008 20:57:27 »

...they simply have spinal root nerve pain and muscle spasms? E.g.  Diazepam/valium.

I know this does not suit my system at all, and has a very undesirable, negative effect on my head!

I hate being experimented upon by doctors with cotton wool in their ears, so what other similar drugs to try to control the problem need I be aware of, please? The most recent that I was prescribed was Gabapentin... Reptilian brain surfaced on that, too, and the tongue lashed well. I felt very uninhibited, and took a cop to task over something silly and in which he was clearly in the wrong over. Didn't go too far OTT - but could have. Powerless over the first thought - but not over the second. Much more of some of this prescribed junk and the second won't even register before it is too late!

It can't be right, surely, for a drug to affect a person in the complete opposite way to what it is supposed to act,and assuming they are not actually suffering from the condition a drug is primarily designed to treat? Is there nothing around that can calm down inflamed spinal root nerves, so the spasms subside, but without the unwanted side effects?

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Physiology & Medicine / What causes alteration in taste and sense of smell when undergoing chemotherapy?

« on: 06/12/2008 19:49:34 »

What is the actual cause of alterations to one's taste and sense of smell when undergoing chemotherapy, please?

I've just completed my sixth chemo cycle and, whereas at first, I was very aware of an overpowering taste and scent of raw cake mixture, despite there not being any in my vicinity. Yesterday, I happened to be in close proximity to a horse as it let off a prolonged fart. I'm used to that scent, but it seemed to leave me with the taste and scent of some sort  of metallic chemical. Nothing I have ever experienced before or could liken to something else similar.

What is the reason and cause of these scent and taste distortions, please, and do different types indicate anything specific that one should be aware of - i.e. sweet, bitter, metallic, chemical etc.

Today my mouth has been extremely dry and as if I have been consuming something sweet - an unpleasant taste to me, as I generally have a fairly savoury taste preference.

Unsweetned drinks like tea and coffee taste sweet, but more artificial sweeteners, rather than sugar.

Thanks.

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New Theories / What do you think the forensic scientists will conclude regarding the case...

« on: 01/09/2008 13:19:25 »

... currently hitting the headlines, and concerning the horrific murder/arson case involving the Foster family in Shropshire?

I've no forensic qualifications at all, but some knowledge of how criminal minds work, having worked with them.

There are aspects of this case that don't make sense to me, and with the information now in the public domain via news programmes and reports. To me, the evidence simply isn't consistent with it being the work of a criminal gang, I'm afraid.

Yes, have to be careful here what I say, I know, so have shared privately my thoughts on the matter.

I'd be interested in discussing this case further on a private basis with someone who does have forensic qualifications.

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Physiology & Medicine / Why do arthritic joints always ache more during wet or even humid weather?

« on: 02/07/2008 12:23:36 »

That's it... Why do arthritic joints always ache more during wet or even humid weather?

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Technology / How do Body Composition Monitors Achieve an Accurate Result?

« on: 01/07/2008 11:27:58 »

I am intrigued by the results I have been getting from a hand held 'Body Composition Monitor' that I bought yesterday.  (On offer @ £4.99p each from Lloyds Pharmacy at this present time.) I though it might prove useful for the experiments I'm currently doing to try and improve my present state of decrepitude. []

Last night I got the following readings from it:

Body fat: 49.6%; Body Water 35.1% and Body Muscle 47.3%!

Can anyone explain how these machines are supposed to work, please? How can one end up with a total percentage that exceeds 100%?

What - apart from the fact that I am clearly obese  [] - do these readings mean? (I am 56 years old, have limited mobility, am 5'6" tall, large boned - i.e. I have a hand span of 9" and take size 9 shoes  [] ), and weighed 15st 2lbs when weighed last week. I believe my ideal weight should be around 10st.)

What would be the ideal readings to aim to achieve when using one of these monitors, please?

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Technology / What are the correct names for these little gadgets, please?

« on: 25/06/2008 04:54:33 »

When I was a child, my father worked for the Ordinance Survey and had a little gadget that could be put to his eye and that enabled him to see around corners. He called it his 'pop-eye', but I have never known what it was really called. It amused me greatly when little.

I also had a transistor (or something?) that could be hidden in a room where the adults were talking, and a radio turned into its frequency  so that I could listen in on the adult's talking after being sent to bed. What would that have been and how can I construct another to amuse my grandson with, please. He's only three, but seems fascinated by things like telephones and baby monitors. He has sleep apnoea, and has long since cottoned onto the idea that he can communicate with his dad via his monitoring devices. He thinks it is great fun to yell into it and wake his dad up on all sorts of wildly imaginative pretexts, or to tell quite fantastic stories through it. I'd love to create a little fun and magic for him, so that his voice would come out of a radio.

I've no idea yet whether he will follow the scientific or creative/artistic side of the family, but he does love gadgets, has a very inquisitive mind and nature, and asks lots of questions - often way beyond his years. (Lots and lots of questions that are way beyond me and nearly all beginning with a 'Why?' or a 'How?')

Yes, I know, my father had a very odd sense of humour and strange ideas when it came to toys suitable for kids, and likely little imagined the uses the kids might put them to, but to have one's dad read or tell a bedtime story over the radio, and perhaps when he was in the bath, was one to impress the other kids with at that time, and a great way to baffle one's mother. Very good fun too, and a good way to learn. (Even if things one might have preferred not to learn at such a young age. [] )

Dad never did let me into those secrets, hence why I am asking here now.

Thanks.

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Physiology & Medicine / What are the effects of anaesthetics on the liver, and...

« on: 20/06/2008 18:09:43 »

...can anything be taken to help detox that following surgery, please?

Having been given two general anaesthetics during the past six weeks, I have been saying that I feel toxic, and that my natural body chemistry and things like my biological time clock have gone haywire.

Please can someone explain this and what I might be able to do in order to address it from the physiological and medicine perspective?

Thank you.

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New Theories / Why do some people blow up electrical equipment/computers simply by using them?

« on: 15/06/2008 16:36:06 »

I'm not sure if this is posted in the right place. If not, please move it.

I have just heard that a colleague has blown up yet another of his work's  computers and taken out much of the electrical circuitry in part of the building in the process... for about the seventh time!

In the past, this has always happened at times when he is playing a particular online, and mentally stimulating, challenge game with various colleagues, and not when undertaking his normal work duties. In this instance he was/is challenging me.

While he is offline (and likely even suspended from work ) perhaps it may give me an advantage to better get to know and understand my opponent's Achilles heel?

It might be relevent for you to know that he does have a battery operated prosthetic lower arm/hand. However, it only seems to happen when he gets especially excited and mentally stimulated by planning his challenge strategies.

Thanks.

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Geek Speak / Why does my PC keep running out of memory and how can I increase this, please?

« on: 15/06/2008 00:14:12 »

I frequently get a message to say that my PC is running out of memory and that it is increasing the amount available. It often runs rather slowly, much to my frustration. Is there any way that I can make more memory available in advance, please?

I often have up to 30 windows/message boxes open at any one time, and five or six programmes running at once, which probably accounts for things.

Also, I cannot get the sound to work, even though I am using a TV as a monitor at present, and with integral speakers that I know are not faulty. Any clues?

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Physiology & Medicine / As a doctor of medicine, how does it feel to be powerless to aid a patient?

« on: 13/06/2008 21:40:26 »

Sorry, but the psychologist & writer in me cannot resist the opportunity of a little research of my own. At least you will realise that, when it comes to powerlessness, I can empathise.

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Physiology & Medicine / Can I donate my still-living (but somewhat worn) body for medical research?

« on: 13/06/2008 01:04:46 »

Okay, I'm new here, and at the suggestion of an existing member.

As the title says, and within reason according to my circumstances, I'm willing to offer my living body as a subject for serious medical research in areas that may help me achieve some benefit/s whilst still around to enjoy it/them, and to further research and understanding of particular conditions whilst I'm able to give verbal feedback.

I have quite a complex medical history that includes spinal damage; fibromyalgia and recently diagnosed breast cancer - oh, and I need to lose around 4 stones to aid mobility but without that impacting on pending chemotherapy (following lumpectomy and full lymph node axillary clearance) and fibro associated IBS sensitivities.

My background is psychology related and I write.

Open to genuine suggestions and discussion.


[MOD - Subject heading altered to make it a question, in line with the forum style - CS]