Help From an Afflicted Martial Artist

[Shinobi Teikiatsu]

Hi, I've been practicing ninjutsu for two years and I've been getting quite proficient at it, but I have a problem that I only recently revealed to my sensei.

I have a heart condition, or a lung condition (can't tell exactly) that can best be described as arrythmia.

I went to the cardiologist and they said that my heart is perfectly healthy, not a murmer or affliction in sight.

I told my sempai about this on Monday during training, as it was so bad that I was forced to sit out, and he said that it might not be arrythmia, but a condition with my lungs.

So, my question to you guys is this: Is there any way I can traditionally heal this affliction, short of going to the doctor and getting drugs or a surgery?

 

[tellner]

There might be. But one way or another you need to see a doctor. If there's something wrong with your heart or lungs to the point where it is interfering with normal activity you need to go to a doctor right now.

Your sempai is not a physician. He may know how to hit people and use a sword, but he knows jack diddly squat about medicine unless he also has MD, DO or DOM (Doctor of Oriental Medicine) after his name from accredited universities and medical schools. Do not get medical advice from martial arts teachers or random people from tha Intrawebs. Get it from someone who has spent four years of post-graduate study plus 3-10 years of in a internship and got the words "Board Certified" tagged onto his or her name. Even if we were all physicians we would say "See your doctor." Nobody can diagnose you from reading a few paragraphs. There needs to be a physical examination and possibly lab tests to confirm or rule out the huge number of possibilities.

Maybe some sort of herbal, acupuncture or other treatment will be appropriate. But you will never know until you know what is wrong with you. That means a trip to your family practice physician with stops at whatever specialists he or she suggests.

A lot of people are afraid of going to the doctor because they are afraid of what they might find out and what might happen. If there's nothing wrong it's all good. If there is something wrong it needs to be looked into so you can make an informed decision about what to do.

Now I will do my best to scare the bright green piss out of you. Every word is true. I devoutly pray that you take the warning to heart.

I had a very slowly growing lump on my neck which I ignored for a while. By the time I went to the doctor the Stage IV tumor had taken out the entire thyroid and two of the parathyroids, invaded my esophagus, occupied a large number of lymph nodes, wrapped itself around my vocal cords, compromised several important nerves and was checking with real estate brokers about a second home in my upper chest. The surgeon - who regularly lectures at Sloan Kettering - described the eight hour(!) procedure including the complete neck dissection as "exacting, intricate, gruelling and tortuous". Maybe it wouldn't have been better if I'd gone when I first noticed the swelling. But it couldn't have been worse. If I'd waited because I didn't want to have treatment this letter would never have been written.

A high school classmate was afraid of what he'd hear if he went to the doctor. Besides, he felt fine most of the time and only coughed up blood once in a while. He didn't live to see twenty two. Look up the term "oat cell carcinoma".

 

[shesulsa]

A phrase recently used in a conversation I was involved in was, "Is this the hill you want to die on?"

YOU need to go to a cardiopulmonary specialist/surgeon RIGHT NOW. If you can't finish your workout, you NEED TO BE SEEN. Don't wait. If something requires fixing, you really want to fix a small problem rather than treat or have to live with a bigger problem.

Yes, you should be scared. Yes, you should pay attention to this. No, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

I will not suggest you do anything else. You're in a good part of the country for that sort of thing. Go.

 

[Kacey]

I agree with what they said - go see a doctor NOW! It may be nothing... but then again, it may not, and the longer you wait, the worse it's likely to be. It may be nothing - in which case, you could gain a great deal of peace of mind - but it may be something, in which case you need to know as soon as possible.

A student at my middle school started avoiding school - he told his parents he was nauseous, that he didn't feel well otherwise, that kids teased him, that his balance was off... they focused, as most parents would, on "kids teased him", decided he was trying to avoid going to school, and sent him anyway. They gave him Tums for his upset stomach. This went on for months. Finally, they took him to a doctor; he had a tumor growing on his pineal gland, which had to be treated surgically (that's surgically, as in brain surgery) - had it been caught sooner, when he first started experiencing symptoms, it could have been treated with radiation. He lived - which is good; had his parents waited much longer, the tumor would have grown further, and possibly not have been operable.

GO NOW. I don't know how much more clearly we can say this.

 

[Andrew Green]

I told my sempai about this on Monday during training, as it was so bad that I was forced to sit out, and he said that it might not be arrythmia, but a condition with my lungs.

Real simple thing here. Doctors spend many years learning medicine and how the body works. Martial arts instructors do not. Trust your doctors, tell your sempai to teach martial arts, not practice medicine.

So go to a Doctor, follow their instructions, and forget the "heal it traditionally" idea, this could be a very serious medical condition which requires a trained medical doctor to diagnose. Save the traditional healing for things like joint or back pain, arthritis, and other non-life-threatening things.