(no subject)

[sisabet]

Did you know that retinal detachment can occur spontaneously in the elderly or the very near-sighted?

Spontaneous Retinal Detachment. It could possibly knock Compartmental Syndrome off the top of my chosen Hurt list, just because I like how it sounds.

OH! And I have diagnosed myself with Mostly West Nile Meningitis which, for the sake of simplicity and familiarity, we are calling "Marv."

I actually feel much better, but I know that this is all just a trick, so I don't trust it.

Comments

[vonniek.livejournal.com]

Oh! I have a cooler-sounding disease: Pituitary Apoplexy. Basically, you bleed into your pituitary gland, then you develop a wicked headache, vomiting, double vision, then all your hormone production goes wacky. OK, so possibly not so cool to the people who develop the condition.

I'm glad "Marv" is receding and you are feeling better. *pats sisabet*

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Ohh - it sounds kinda like a band name - GREAT CONDITION!

Now, what is the outcome of it? Do you die if you have Pituitary Apoplexy? What are the odds you develop it while on, say, a mission in space? Or not even in space - just on another planet? Are there predispositions? Is it congenital?

[just-eunice.livejournal.com]

Aha! It can occur after a head trauma! It's caused by an acute expansion of a pituitary adenoma which causes all the hemorrhaging and symptoms above. So yes, a person..we'll call him John, might have an asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic adenoma (and bonus, one of the symptoms of *that* is decreased libido which might be noticed prior to this mission by someone else..we'll call him Rodney.) And if this person experiences head trauma on another planet...well, vomiting and massive headache and vision disruption ahoy.

It's life threatening, but treatable if you stabilize the patient with massive doses of corticosteroids and endocrinologic replacement therapy followed by surgery to remove the tumor after stabilization.

And how much of a dork am I that I actually went and looked all this up?

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Hypochondria...it is almost like fanfiction, in a way.

[vonniek.livejournal.com]

Hee! Someone obviously should work this condition into a fic. Atlantis would be *perfect*. On top of all the John/Rodney bits, it'll also give Carson plenty of chance to freak out and heroically save the day!

The pituitary apoplexy itself is not congenital, but its #1 predisposing condition, pituitary adenoma (usually a benign tumor), can occur as a part of tumor-cluster that can be hereditary such as MEN1 (Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1.) It has rarely occurred in non-tumorous pituitary due to vascular insufficiency during labor & delivery, in which case it is called "Sheehan Syndrome". Neat, huh?

[just-eunice.livejournal.com]

Carson would get to do brain surgery. I am delighted by this possibility. And Rodney would be freaking out. And then they'd have to deal with the whole "I had a *tumor*?" thing. Oh yes, this could so be a fic.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

You know what would suck? Finding out you have a brain tumor right after the fasciotomy on your right leg to treat compartmental syndrome. That would really suck.

What else can we do to John? Come on woman, THINK!

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

::coos over potential SGA Pain::

So, what you are saying is that the Ancient Gene wouldn't stop someone from developing MEN1? Cause that is the most important thing. OH and I don't think Atlantis has covered the Brain Tumor thing yet, and really - cliches are cliches for a valid and real reason. Because they RAWK. Ahem.

[vonniek.livejournal.com]

Nope, I don't think the Ancient Gene would stop someone from developing MEN1. Wait a minute--was there any canon that said Ancient Gene prevented its possessor from developing certain maladies? I don't recall, but I could be wrong.

You know, a brain tumor would be all heartbreaking and angsty and stuff, but the flip-side of that is that John could develop prolactinoma (which is one kind of pituitary adenoma) that can cause erectile dysfunction, hypogonadism (heh), gynecomastia (a.k.a. the Man-Boobs) and in rare cases, causes lactation. It's the stuff badfic are made of. Ahhh, the possibilities!