The immunocompromised community appreciates Zach telling his adventures with his health and how a "simple" wound can be catastrophic for some individuals. Bringing awareness to the topic and empathy for Im comp peeps is the best Zach has done for us all 💖 thank you Mike for talking about this too in a more detailed and educational matter 🌻
As an immunocompromised person myself because of the drugs I have to take, it also serves as a good reminder for us to take even a small injury we may sustain seriously, to be hyper alert to the risk of infection and to be aware of what to do if things don’t feel right. This video is really helpful and I’m happy he’s now much better and able to share his story.
Oh my gosh YES. I can't even get a bug bite that's "no big deal" for other people without urgent care and losing time at work from a ginormous painful blister. Just one example!
Remicaid nearly let me die in 2011. I had a kidney stone that got stuck and I ended up septic and in a coma. I woke up two weeks later. I'm now on Orencia but have been on Embrel and Humira for RA. I'm glad he's doing better!
@@therewillbecatswithgwenhwyfar I've been on Remicade for about two years for UC but am having to switch to a biosimilar BC of government policies. I get so many small skin infections and my skin is so sensitive to all kinds of allergens. My dr said we can discuss switching meds but I kind of worry it could be worse 🥲
@@robo7643 look into the rates of infection with each of the different Biologics. Enbrel worked really well for me for a good while and then I had a baby and it just wasn't enough so we switched to Humira and I never felt like I got a good benefit from it so then we switch to Orencia and I've been on that for goodness 10 years maybe more. Before my kidney infection I had been septic actually the year before also from a UTI. I was on Remicade at that point as well so I think that being one of the earliest of the Biologics, it can be really really powerful. The one I'm on has less of a risk of infection then Remicade. I wouldn't be afraid to try a new drug because they are improving with every generation. Good luck to you and I hope your tummy treats you well.
I love how this entire video is basically Dr Mike predicting what will happen next to Zach or what infection he has, only for Zach to confirm exactly what he's guessed 😂
Yeah, it would be true if it was a live call but there's a lot of editing. I'm not saying Dr Mike doesn't know his job but maybe that's a bit exaggerated
@@lapatti Honestly most of what he's saying is very classical complication so any med student could have thought of this complications as he did (but not explained it so well) C. difficile is reeeeealy common, as well as infection in an immunosuppressed patient. So I don't think he needed to see the video before to found out what was going to happen !;)
I'm a med student, and this story could have been my semester's end exam, lmao. This is one of the most typical infectious disease related case I've seen on this chanel, it's got it all : skin wound in an immunocompromised patient, then infection, followed by antibiotic associated colitis. Very cool and nicely explained !
I absolutely agree. Right now I am studying for my surgery exam in Czech Republic and this case is brilliant way to go through all the theoretical stuff in much more interesting and relatable way. Thank you!! I hope you will make more videos like this :)
Have you ever seen Necrotizing Faciitis? I nearly died from it in Jan 2005. I spent 29 days in the hospital & had 10 surgeries to remove the diseased tissue. I was only given a 10% chance of survival too.
My father passed away from CDiff 2 years ago. It was a random infection, and it took him from us in 3 weeks. I am so glad Zach did not develop a worse case. It is very scary.
I have been a medical transcriptionist for 27 years. You were speaking about the commercialization of healthcare and you are so right. It used to be that doctors were able to treat their patients how they determined best. With the commercialization, now patients are treated based on what insurance deems to be the right treatment (not run by doctors, but by people in finance), so long as it is not overly expensive. Doctors used to love caring for their patients but the changes since they are so stressed about the financial end of it that they have to abide by since they are no longer independent physicians and now work as a corporation, their hands are tied on what they are allowed to do to treat a patient. I have watched this change over the years and it is heartbreaking.
Is commercialization interchangeable with privatization? I've never really heard it used with healthcare but I'm Canadian and we're always being threatened with privatization... Hope that makes sense!
Ugh...I have lung cancer and every 4 months the oncologist ordered a chest, abdominal, and pelvic scan. The third time he ordered it, the nurse told me to only schedule a chest scan because my insurance won't cover the other two. So so sad.
There is a fascinating documentary on UA-cam about the beginning of the commercialization and corporatization of medicine, and insanely enough, it starts with Arby’s, and to a lesser extent KFC. It started around the time I was born (I’m 59). It’s crazy how much the world can change for the worse in one lifetime.
I'm disabled since birth and every few years I have to fight insurance about the meds I take and prove I am still disabled. It's so annoying! Like, I have a chromosomal defect that literally cannot be cured
I have ulcerative colitis and my doctor tried changing my medication but insurance forced me to use another medication (that my doctor knew wouldn’t work) before approving the one i was originally prescribed. I ended up needed my entire colon removed due to my worsening condition…. Due to using the wrong medication……. 🫠
Zach knowing you pointed out his misspelling was hilarious. He’s such a comedic delight in videos but also one hell of an inspiration for us chronic pain people
As someone who is in nursing school and knows a bit about this topic (immunocompromised mom who recently also got C. Diff) I really like that Zach seemed to have took in or researched and put in a lot of accurate info that Dr. Mike didn’t have to go in and explain. There’s a lot of false info on TikTok and other social media, happy he explained and did his research.
while I don't have any conditions that make me immunocompromised, I have enough health issues to have realized that chronically ill people generally do their research a lot more than the average Joe. I don't know why, but every person with a chronic condition I have ever met is just very aware of what could happen and why. It's always interesting to me
@@EmmaThw you’d be shocked, my mom is chronically ill and while she knows some stuff, she still doesn’t do research on a lot of the medical jargon or what not. She is also very much “well the doctor said this” and puts too much trust into doctors even when I have a bad feeling about them. It took her 2 years to finally fire her pulmonologist after I said from the get go I didn’t feel good about him, but then she knows random stuff like why you have to taper off steroids.
@@EmmaThw It's worth noting that it took yeaaaars for Zach to finally get the accurate diagnosis after many misdiagnosis, so he had to learn be his own advocate.
Poor Zach! I appreciate his horror story. I went to Urgent care for a severe nasal infection and it was a long wait! My entire head was on fire, I was praying for a bat or a guillotine. I realized that there was only one doctor in that whole facility. A bunch of nurses, but only 1 doctor. I was like dang. I feel for medical professionals.
As someone who works in the NHS, it’s great to see people with platforms spreading awareness of how hospitals and other care settings are struggling. We get in this job to help people, however the consent under funding restricts this which breaks are hearts. We’ve had a lot of strikes at the moment in the UK, the junior doctors are this week, due to the poor conditions, underfunding and our wages. Something has to change for the future of healthcare and for us to continue giving the best help we can to our patients. Despite all this though, I will always continue to give my patients the best care they need. To my fellow healthcare colleagues around the world, stay safe and positive, you’re doing a great job. I’m glad Zach is all good now and had a great wedding. Also Mike, you should come to the UK!! Would love to see a video of difference and similarities or different healthcare across the world.
Portugal here. First time having covid, had severe cough, SNS (national health are system) sent me to the ER, was left for 6h without seeing a doctor and spiking a fever (38.9C when I got home) with no medicine, because there was only one doctor. Got to a point when I just went home feeling defeated and dehumanised. I just left crying because I just wanted the fever to go down and I had no prediction of when I was going to see the doctor. I 100% support the strikes and fighting for better funding. I love SNS, its just so sad to see it crumble like this. Got home, took paracetamol and slept, went to a semi-private hospital and got an inhaler. I just hope it was through the national system and not a private hospital.
I moved to the UK from the US two years ago. I love and hate the NHS. I love that it's available to everyone, but hate that I have to fight for my health when multiple doctors overlook it and I believe it's due to funding.
@@lalatinavegana I agree, sometimes you have to fight due to the overload of patients, underfunding, understaffed etc. it’s not fair on patients, but hopefully things will get better.
It's cool that you collabed with this and were able to add insights. I have non healing ulcers caused by Scleroderma, so I related to this video way too much. We mostly have infections under control now. Maybe once or twice a year, but for like 7 years straight I was almost chronically infected. I am also allergic to all but 3 or 4 antibiotics. I have had C-Diff so many times. So this was a very familiar video. Glad Zach is doing better and was able to get married.
I praised nurses in the hospital when I had heart surgery. The nurses did everything. When I was unsure they sat me down and talked through it. At midnight I was in so much pain they gave me medicine. They cheered me on when I stood up for the first time in so much pain. Even simply taking me to the bathroom they walked along side of me. They were extra cheerleaders that I needed to get through this crazy time. They help my parents calm down and said we got her we are with you.
Hi! I wanted to let you know how much this comment means to me. I’m currently a nursing student and time and time again people are telling me I’m making a mistake and how much nurses hate their jobs and how hard they work for so little reward. But this comment is truly what it’s all about. Thank you for saying this and giving me the strength to keep going!
@@Ailieorz I mean, for every nurse who gives a patient pain medicine at midnight there is probably an overwhelmed resident taking care of 20 patients, checking charts and writing prescriptions, a pharmacist making sure that the right medications are ordered and dispensed and an occupational/physical therapist who can hopefully help patient control pain through means other than medication the next morning. Hospitals don't run because of any one group of people, they run because everyone has a job, works together and supports each other (or that's how they would work ideally).
That was a rollercoaster experience! Happy that Zach was able to get married and is on the road to recovery. It’s always interesting seeing what Dr. Mike observes and anticipates then see it come to fruition in the video.
Thanks Dr.Mike! Have new info from this video to help my case: Got c diff in hospital. At the time dr said don't worry we can put u on “difficule” (antibiotic). My insurance said no to that med. I did get Vancomiacin. Took long taper and a year to feel back to normal. I changed pres. coverage to Humana with Difficule in “formulary” due to high risk of return. Still has to get special approval and can be denied they said. Because of this video i realized why i need newer med. I recently was diagnosed with spondylitis, am immun. compromised. May help me get newer med !! You may have saved another life if i get it again! It’s a superbug that can kill you.
I had sepsis when I was two weeks old, spent a month and a half in hospital and I'm still having chronic complications 25 years later. Infections are no joke, and when he started talking about his fever and everything my heart froze. All I could do was sit there and think "not sepsis not sepsis not Sepsis". Thankfully I was right. Being a sepsis survivor sucks but one of the best things about it is watching someone else be at risk and dodge the bullet. So happy Zach recovered from c-diff and is doing alright
If you don’t mind me asking what type of complications have you had? If you don’t feel comfortable answering I understand no worries. I’m only asking because I had sepsis a year ago as a result of the sepsis I needed heart surgery. Since the sepsis I’ve noticed things that haven’t been an issues pre sepsis. If that makes sense.
@@cheyenneyoon4353 for me it's mostly been debilitating fatigue and pain. However you can look up the term post sepsis syndrome for some extra information
@@cheyenneyoon4353 It probably depends on what stage the sepsis was caught, what infection caused it and probably varies on the person. I had sepsis 10 months ago and my nurse said I probably had 20 mins give or take before I would have started going into organ failure when they figured out I had sepsis. The only difference I have post sepsis is I feel fatigued all the time.
I was recently seriously worried that my insurance wouldn't cover my most recently prescribed medicine, which costs $13,922 per dose, and it is absolutely insane to me how insurance seems to randomly decide when to cover or deny coverage for medicines. Hospitals may be falling apart and made a mistake by discharging Zach without his medicine but that is also on the insurance company for denying coverage of the medicine that was necessary for Zack to leave the hospital.
usually there is a set of "medically necessary guidelines" for certain medications and services. The providers have to submit to the insurance companies that their patient meets those guidelines, or present evidence why they do not, but still need the treatment. I've seen a million auths and they are always missing what is needed. I'm not saying it's a good system, but it's not always the insurance's fault for denying.
My mom sued her hospital and won... because of them dropping her and her being a 2 person assist, amongst a few other issues, had to go to a nursing home at 58 for the rest of her life... Malpractice insurance exists for a reason.
I love Zach so much. He has been through some stuff in his life, and he always comes back strong. Humor is the medicine he didn't talk about, and he has that in abundance. Thank you for sharing, Dr. Mike, and a special shout out to Maggie. Caregiving is not for the faint of heart! Wild applause, mad respect, and congratulations to both of you! 💜
In Sweden the entire cost would have been about 20-30 $ for the hospital and 20 $ for the medicine. I would have had at least 14 days days payed work leave, but probably more (never needed more). We also have excellent hospitals.
Somebody else in these comments says Sweden is going through the same type of issues that American hospitals are, so maybe you are just really lucky with your experiences? I know the one I time I had to go to the ER here in America, I was seen relatively quickly and only had my copay, but I also know that that is *not* the normal experience, I just happened to go at a really good time (that normally isn't. It was 10 on a Friday night, normally that ER had hours long waits at that point. Not sure why that particular moment worked out.)
He’s not wrong that every place has its issues, but to act like America’s healthcare problems are anyway remotely in the same class as Europe’s or Canada’s is so absurd. Our healthcare system is so absurdly effed up and broken.
@@thatpizzalesbian6984 He literally says that American issues are not the same as around the world, but that healthcare around the world is having their own issues. That this is a universal problem that needs addressing. Healthcare for profit is definitely an American issue, but I have friends in the UK who have to wait months for necessary appointments. That isn't good either.
@@kdkorz10211 Maybe it's just me, but I didn't get the impression that he was saying they were at the same level. He was saying there are problems everywhere that need to be addressed. Ours being so much worse doesn't mean nothing's wrong with the rest of them, and taking a quick second to say, "the whole world really needs to rethink how we do healthcare to really take care of ourselves" isn't a stretch.
Zach makes me feel validated, as I have more than one autoimmune disorder. Listening to you makes me feel better about trusting my knowledge of my body. When I feel as though my doctors aren’t listening, I’ve been able to proactively advocate for my own medical treatment. Love seeing you both in a video together!
Dr. Mike over here pre-guessing 90% of the symptoms/reactions/developments before they happen . . . it's almost like he's a doctor or something . . . . Lol, great vid!
I was put in a hallway when I was admitted to the ER for a bowel obstruction. It was genuinely awful. The lady acrossed from me in the hallway had a heart attack. She was just chilling next to the bathroom. Every single room was filled with a Covid patient and they had NO rooms for her upstairs. I ended up with a room after 27 hours in a bed in a hallway just open for everyone to see. People were literally being rushed in with like gunshot wounds directly next to my bed because I was the main hallway. This was six months ago, in a city of about 300,000 people.
As an immunocompromised person, I knew where this video was going before you commented at each point. I’m so glad he had doctors and medicine to help him.
Insurance companies are the bane of my existence. The fact that he has DOCUMENTED C DIFF and NEEDS that med and insurance is like "lol no", is unfathomable
I so feel Zach's pain. Back in 2019 I was diagnosed with C-Diff and I also have an auto immune condition Crohn's Disease. The weird thing is, I wasn't in the hospital prior to that hospital visit and I wasn't on antibiotics so I still have no clue how I got it unless it was just because of Crohn's. I am so glad he was able to get out of the hospital in time for his wedding. Congratulations Zach.
My husband and I got norovirus from a restaurant. We shared fries that must have been made by someone who went poo and didn’t wash their hands. My husband ended up going to urgent care, and he found out he also had c diff! He was very close to needing a fecal transplant. We couldn’t believe how accurate that one South Park episode was. Lol
Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease) have increased susceptibility to C diff infection. Antibiotics cause a shift in a person's gut bacteria, which leads to C diff being able to grow. But patients with IBD already have a shift in their gut bacteria at baseline, making them susceptible without the use of antibiotics.
I love that he’s showing his master knowledge by explaining exactly what could have happened after everything (and what actually did end up happening )
The fecal transplant bit absolutely blew my mind! Reintroducing gut bacteria to the gut through transplant, is a simple idea yet exceptionally genius! As Zach said, I also love medicine!
Lol. Can you imaging being the doctor who 1st invented this procedure tho?...like going up to your coleages/ patient and being like...."Ok...um...this might sound a little crazy....but hear me out...what if we..."🤓😅😶 The patient probably being like "excuse me, you want to do WHAT to me?!"😱🤢😵 And the doctors just like..."wait...hmm..."😲🤔🤯
Having already seen the Zach video, every time Dr. Mike made a speculation, I said, "Just wait". I'm so glad Dr. Mike did a follow up with Zach for additional information edited out of the original video, and the incredible support and sympathy Dr. Mike brought to the situation. ❤
I kind of wish Maggie was mentioned more in the video. She's a pediatric nurse, and Zach praised her multiple times throughout the video how attentive and helpful she was when he was in the hospital.
That may have been done deliberately as a way to respect her privacy, Zach has mentioned multiple times that Maggie isn't really comfortable in the camera spot light. Who knows though, just a thought!
Also that wasn't the point of Dr. Mike's video? Dr. Mike simply reacted to the medical aspect of Zach's adventure and explained it more thouroughly, what would be the point of him just praising his wife?
I am so excited that Dr. Mike responded to this! 👏👏👏 Once I watched the original video, I literally thought, "I hope Dr. Mike sees this!!" I was curious about your opinion about how the initial wound was treated at the ER 😬 Definitely could've gone better. I love that you and Zach followed up on the details!
I was really surprised to hear that so many countries are suffering from the same issues with the healthcare system being strained, even before COVID. I live in Sweden, where healthcare is mostly government funded, and the problems you are describing, underfunded hospitals, people laying in corridors, lack of staff, underpaid staff, hospitals/departments closing and so on, sound exactly like what we are experiencing in Sweden. These problems have been present since a few years before COVID as far as I am aware. I wonder why it is that so many different countries with different systems are having the exact same problems?
Idk why, but an American acquaintance that lived in China showed us pics from well before Covid where the halls in their hospitals were lined with beds and the rooms had more than two beds. They said that’s one of the reasons Chiba had such strict and long lasting lockdowns. They were afraid that their already overwhelmed health system would just be completely devastated if they let everyone not be in lockdown.
I can think of one main factor: the general population is growing, so maybe it's growing faster than the workforce of nurses/doctors/other hospital staff?
At least in Germany the biggest problem is simply how our healthcare staff is chronically overworked (and underpaid) especially now during/after Covid many nurses quit due to burnout. And the worst part is that it’s hard to „simply get more nurses“ because from where? The ones that graduate will burn out eventually too but we also can’t decrease the amount of hospitals…
I know in Canada, people are overworked, some quit, some got transferred, and others retired. My mom's MS specialist retired, and she couldn't get into see someone so they cut her disability pay. I've been on wait lists over a year, and one of my neighbours had a mini stroke and waited about 10 hours, then was told to go home and come back in the morning because it would be even longer before he was seen. I think he ended up seeing his GP instead of waiting at emergency. Someone even died recently because it took too long to be seen. She had school age kids too. I don't know if it's that district or another one, but one of them said they were short 200 medical staff compared to what they should have and were urgently looking for paramedics. It's horrible, especially for people like Zach and I that have chronic conditions that require extra care. That's why I'm scared to ever have a child because I'd need extra care and would most likely have to pay for private doctors/doulas/nurses.
I contracted C-Diff after my kidney transplant because of being immunocompromised and newly on 2 different antibiotics because of the transplant. Thank you for covering this story and showing how easily a "simple" wound can spiral into something much worse! I'm glad that he was able to heal and make it to his wedding!
In August 2022, my 64 year-old husband had brain bleed verified by MRI. The ER had him sit in a recliner in the hallway, and 18 hours later he was admitted, had brain surgery by the most competent neurosurgeon ever, discharged the next day, and has done exceedingly well, for which the family and I are exceedingly grateful.
Open conversation about sickness has helped me learn so much, I appreciate anyone who is willing to discuss their experiences ❤ happy it all turned out good in the end!!!
Serratia can be so dangerous! I taught undergrad micro lab for a few semesters and students all got their own home lab kits since it was on Zoom (this was early Covid). The lab kits were supposed to contain E. coli and S. epidermidis for their experiments. Some students were mistakenly sent S. marcens, one of whom was immunocompromised. She ended up hospitalized for 2 weeks and had to drop the class :(
I saw Zach's video a few days ago. Love the collaboration despite the extremely unfortunate circumstance. Super glad Zach is OK and had his lovely nurse wife, then fiancee, to take care of him.
Zak is such a peach. He's the whole reason I've been able to come to terms with my chronic pain and fatigue and see it as a disability. I try not to let it hinder me, but it's nice to be able to say some days that I'm not OK, even if other people deal with way more than what I do.
our healthcare workers deserve all of the love and respect we can give them. they are so overworked and stressed, i couldn’t imagine doing anything close to what they do. thank you to all those working in medicine, any type of medicine, and please know that there are so many patients rooting for you all.
Thank you for shading this light on the health care system, Dr. Mike. My potential partner works as an X-ray tech in Canada and his hospital is very understaffed. He is always telling me that the stories that he can't even get a break! So, thank you for shading light on this, health care should be accessible to everyone!!!!
As an immunosuppressed and multiply immunocompromised disabled person, Zach's story is exactly what I've been afraid of throughout the ongoing pandemic: ending up in the hospital for some injury or passing issue, only to end up stuck there for gods only know how long due to the kinks in the system. It's happened to me twice before after surgeries in years long before the pandemic, and I can only imagine how much worse it is right now than it was in 2016, or in 2007 (though 2007 was back in the days when I thought those complications might utterly bankrupt me and my family because I was on the verge of being dropped from my health insurance, a constant fear i do not miss).
WOW this video, I don't know why but I was so captivated and intrigued by everything that was being said. This was very easy to understand and sooo educational, I wish this information was spread more. Just the simplest things as a fever, antibiotics, and c-dif. are things that should be common knowledge ! thank you for always keeping things simple and easy to understand 💗🙌🙌🙌
Thankful and grateful for Zach and Dr. Mike for spreading awareness, immunosuppressed here and I almost died too many times from infections and the saddest part that my worst one the hospital didn't take me seriously till I was literally minutes away from sepsis.
I can’t even explain how happy this video made me. Not because Zach got hurt obviously, I’m so glad he recovered and got married. But Zach is my favorite Try Guy (sorry Keith & Eugene) and I adore how open he is about his health journey. As a chronically ill person myself it’s so important and impactful to me when people are open about their health. Doctor Mike & Zach are the duo I didn’t know I needed to see 💚
Thank you so much Dr. Mike for talking about the Immune-Compromised community and for taking us seriously! I’ve lost count of how many people (including nurses and doctors) who think I’m exaggerating, especially when they ask my pain level. Each time I’ve been in the hospital (4 times just last year), I always praise the nursing & cleaning staff. Everyone I had at MedStar Washington (DC), was fantastic! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
SUCH a good vid! As someone with Crohn's disease, I was blown away to hear this stuff openly talked discussed, especially the c. diff! I've had bouts of it, and I'm so grateful to not just Zach but also Dr. Mike for discussing the seriousness of both it and the slew of complications that can come from just being an immunocompromised person, where a "simple infection" is never that simple! Thank you both for such an informative video and for normalizing talking about things I've largely dealt with alone, behind the scenes. You guys rock. ✌🏻☺️
Covid was such a surreal time for anyone working in the ED. I know for myself and so my of my coworkers we will carry so many traumas associated with working conditions during covid. There were times where we had 10 hour long wait times and we felt so helpless watching patients suffer in the waiting room. Inpatient admits we’re held in the ER bed for 36 hours bc there was nowhere to place them in the hospital. Separating scared and crying family members at the door. Spouses and parents having to see their passed loved ones alone with only us to hold on to. Hallways lined with so many patients in makeshift beds. Hospitals not allowed to divert EMS and so many EMS winding up on hours long bed delays to the point where emergency personnel started to discuss patient abandonment measures to get the ambulances back on the road because so many calls were pending. I hope that health care systems learned powerful lessons during those years because it was a terrifying time.
Thank you for being a point of strength during that terrible time and afterwards. Thanks to you, and your colleagues, it was a lot better than it would have been without you. Hope you all the best in the future. Thank you for being a beast and doing what you need to do 💙
I've worked in microbiology. The moment he said he had two infections, and they gave him multiple antibiotics, I said to my spouse. "Oh, he's gonna get c. Diff next."
as a student nurse, i LOVED this breakdown!!!! It highlights a lot of what we should be cautionary of in patient care. Infection prevention & control is so so essential and it's horrible seeing patients suffering from infections that are totally preventable if proper precautions were followed and the patient's condition closely monitored and reported. The healthcare system as it stands now is unfortunately making way for negligent practice, burnt out staff and ultimate harm to patients. And infections are expensive!!! Antibiotics and prolonged in-hospital treatment cost great loads of money and it's so stressful for patients to have to deal with that pressure along with feeling ill
I left the ER/hospital as charge nurse end of August 2022. I loved the ER, stayed during and post covid, couldn't do it anymore. Awesome story shared by Zach and Dr. Mike.
Same in Russia. Government funds are very low, and its the only source of their finances. I live in 6mln city and we have maternal delivery hospital in historic buiding with the black mold on the ceilings.
His conversation about the continued strain on the medical system due to covid/health insurance related things is pretty intense, too. That's a whole 'nother video's worth of analysis.
To put the C Diff stuff into a little more context... I work as a hospital custodian/janitor and for almost all cleaning jobs we drown rags in a bucket of a one-size-fits-all sanitizer which cleans almost anything. BUT When we have a C Diff room, and ONLY C Diff rooms, we have to actively get out what we jokingly call "super bleach" which is this super concentrated soap stuff that is such an important/strong chemical we arent allowed to have it in our closets. It is ONLY in the managers office and we pretty much have to ask for it. If it takes a "super bleach" to just remove it in a room, imagine what it must take to get it out of a body without killing the person as well.
I appreciate this video because my immunocompromised sister recently had cdiff and it's nice to be explained in a simple manner about the concern and potential outcomes if it happens again
I’m currently suffering through my fifth recurrence of CDIFF right now. I’ve had it 3 times since Christmas alone. So I literally feel Zach’s pain on this one. All I did was take antibiotics for a sinus infection in 2016 & CDIFF has been ruining my life ever since. I hope I’m a candidate for FMT soon.
As a MLT I appreciate your in depth commentary along with Zach's narration of the video. Reading the comments a lot of other healthcare professionals agree with this also. I work for a small critical care hospital and we have been experiencing the critical census and under staffing as well. We get treated like an urgent care rather than an emergency room because the city doesn't have an urgent care. It has been much worse post Covid with extremely sick people being hospitalized as well. The burnout is so real. Thank God I got a vacation and decompressed a bit, but it has been extremely crazy for sure.
I feel for Zach. I was recently in the ED for 50 hours before I got a hospital room while I was being tested for C-diff, as I was having similar symptoms to Zach, along with critically low blood volume. I ended up having Typhlitis. I'm glad everything worked out for him in the end.
Im currently a PA student, and hearing about the rollercoaster of Zack's experiences felt like i was listening to one of those case studies they throw at you for practice sometimes where complications are thrown in left and right and your differential looks like a goddamn mess. Im so glad he's feeling better, what a horrid horrid experience to go through :(
Thank you so much for breaking this down even further than Zach did. I thought I got it down when seeing Zach’s vid cuz he explained it pretty well but I didn’t know there was so much more to it. This was awesome. Thanks for doing this vid!
Speaking of high resting rates for a pulse, I was previously on a combination of psychiatric drugs (Depakote, Citalopram & Amitriptyline) which caused my resting rates to regularly be 100-113 (I was literally resting taking those readings). My psychiatrist changed those meds to Quetiapine and Vortioxetine (still on Amitriptyline) and the rates are normal except my chest is cool and my lips are blue most of the time. Sorry for the long winded comment, it just brought back a memory when you were talking about his resting heart rate being high at 94. The chronic pain is so relatable as a fibromyalgia and degenerative disc disease sufferer (I don't let it stop me living life). Great channel Doctor Mike! 🎉
Glad you mentioned osteomyelitis. It is serious and a lot of people don't know this. It destroyed part of my late husband's backbone. It was MRSA. This rendered him paralyzed. He found out in rehab that one other person in the area had the same thing happen to them at the same time.
I was hoping you would react to this!! Such a horrible thing to go through, in what is supposed to be the happiest time of your life! So glad he’s okay now, and able to share this story. Happy wishes to Zach and Maggie!
Many years ago I had a kidney stone that I just ignored and assumed was back muscle pain because I was honestly just dumb lol. I also had a very demanding job and for some reason decided to put my job above my health and just never went to the doctor. Finally after about 3.5 weeks I went to the hospital with a fever of almost 105. Kidney stones caused a kidney infection which then caused sepsis. I spent 5 days in the hospital and left with an IV port in my arm and had to go back to the hospital for IV antibiotic treatments for several weeks after. It was horrible. Doctor said if I had gone another 12 hours without coming to hospital I would have started to go into septic shock and been in even worse shape. Listen to your body and take care of yourselves, everyone!
I had cdiff. I ended up on an extended vancomycin cycle and I loved it. I struggle with ibs and had the most pleasant bathroom visits while on it. When he mentioned the heart rate and diarrhea I knew it was cdiff. I didn’t have a fever with cdiff but despite being severely dehydrated I profusely sweated. It confused my doctor since my temperature was normal.
Now ik Dr. Mike won't see this but imma still post this just in case he does. I'm 14 right now, freshman in high school and I have been watching dr.mike for like 7 months now, I now want to be a Doctor (not sure what kind tho yet) because you inspired me, I know it's not easy, years of medical learning, stressful exams, etc, I have a hard time remembering and memorizing things so this may be hard for me but I will still try, dr.mike ilysm❤ and we need more videos with bear and Sam and Colby ❤😢😃
Dr. Mike, I would love if you could do an episode about endometriosis and how many AFABs sometimes don't/can't get a diagnosis because of medical misogyny and/or lack of care or knowledge in that section of health. Another collab with Mama Jones would be great for this!
Medical misogyny doesn't exist, it's in your head. Doctors tend to be more conservative with women because women usually suffer from hypochondria or are just attention seeking.
it is even more wonderful when you study these bacteria and stuff and start predicting what would happen like what I did throughout the video and it felt good that what I am studying is actually helpful and I will need one day !
I love your content, your intelligence, your engagement, your natural attitude, your voice and your beautiful face ! Thank you for you and for educating us with passion and humour !
Both of my sisters were RNs. God bless 'em. As much as I'd like to help out with the medical personnel shortage, I get dizzy seeing blood, etc. Much respect for our healthcare professionals.
Finding out that he was off immunosuppressing drugs honestly makes a few of his other recent videos make a lot more sense, and I'm really glad that he was able to do some cool stuff while not being *as* worried about covid.
Definitely important to get any bad cut looked at. I sliced my thigh pulling my leg over a metal post around my garden, and ended up getting an updated tetanus (more than 5 years since the previous one) and having it cleaned at an urgent care center. It wasn’t too deep, but it was long, and happened on unclean metal.
Totally agree, I got a very minor cut from a pretty disgusting and rusty metal scrapper (like the painters tool) at work. While it was a relatively minor injury, I disinfected and got an updated tetanus shot as I wasn't too sure how long it had been and would rather be safe.
Lmao this video was like that responsible friend telling u what *NOT* to do and then ur friend calling you to tell u they did exactly what you told them not to do
The immunocompromised community appreciates Zach telling his adventures with his health and how a "simple" wound can be catastrophic for some individuals. Bringing awareness to the topic and empathy for Im comp peeps is the best Zach has done for us all 💖 thank you Mike for talking about this too in a more detailed and educational matter 🌻
As an immunocompromised person myself because of the drugs I have to take, it also serves as a good reminder for us to take even a small injury we may sustain seriously, to be hyper alert to the risk of infection and to be aware of what to do if things don’t feel right. This video is really helpful and I’m happy he’s now much better and able to share his story.
Oh my gosh YES. I can't even get a bug bite that's "no big deal" for other people without urgent care and losing time at work from a ginormous painful blister. Just one example!
Remicaid nearly let me die in 2011. I had a kidney stone that got stuck and I ended up septic and in a coma. I woke up two weeks later.
I'm now on Orencia but have been on Embrel and Humira for RA.
I'm glad he's doing better!
@@therewillbecatswithgwenhwyfar I've been on Remicade for about two years for UC but am having to switch to a biosimilar BC of government policies. I get so many small skin infections and my skin is so sensitive to all kinds of allergens. My dr said we can discuss switching meds but I kind of worry it could be worse 🥲
@@robo7643 look into the rates of infection with each of the different Biologics. Enbrel worked really well for me for a good while and then I had a baby and it just wasn't enough so we switched to Humira and I never felt like I got a good benefit from it so then we switch to Orencia and I've been on that for goodness 10 years maybe more.
Before my kidney infection I had been septic actually the year before also from a UTI. I was on Remicade at that point as well so I think that being one of the earliest of the Biologics, it can be really really powerful. The one I'm on has less of a risk of infection then Remicade. I wouldn't be afraid to try a new drug because they are improving with every generation. Good luck to you and I hope your tummy treats you well.
I love how this entire video is basically Dr Mike predicting what will happen next to Zach or what infection he has, only for Zach to confirm exactly what he's guessed 😂
I was just about to comment this
Almost like he watched it before he filmed this, to make himself sound like he knows what he's talking about.
Yeah, it would be true if it was a live call but there's a lot of editing. I'm not saying Dr Mike doesn't know his job but maybe that's a bit exaggerated
@@lapatti Honestly most of what he's saying is very classical complication so any med student could have thought of this complications as he did (but not explained it so well) C. difficile is reeeeealy common, as well as infection in an immunosuppressed patient. So I don't think he needed to see the video before to found out what was going to happen !;)
@@oliviaaugust5744 L
I'm a med student, and this story could have been my semester's end exam, lmao. This is one of the most typical infectious disease related case I've seen on this chanel, it's got it all : skin wound in an immunocompromised patient, then infection, followed by antibiotic associated colitis. Very cool and nicely explained !
it reminded me of epidemiology simulations definitely
Same, bro
Fr could have made like 10 Step 1 questions out of this
I absolutely agree. Right now I am studying for my surgery exam in Czech Republic and this case is brilliant way to go through all the theoretical stuff in much more interesting and relatable way. Thank you!! I hope you will make more videos like this :)
Have you ever seen Necrotizing Faciitis? I nearly died from it in Jan 2005. I spent 29 days in the hospital & had 10 surgeries to remove the diseased tissue. I was only given a 10% chance of survival too.
My father passed away from CDiff 2 years ago. It was a random infection, and it took him from us in 3 weeks. I am so glad Zach did not develop a worse case. It is very scary.
Im sorry for your loss, hope youre healing🤍
Sorry for your loss.
❤
I'm so sorry for your loss. Taken too soon. x
😢
I have been a medical transcriptionist for 27 years. You were speaking about the commercialization of healthcare and you are so right. It used to be that doctors were able to treat their patients how they determined best. With the commercialization, now patients are treated based on what insurance deems to be the right treatment (not run by doctors, but by people in finance), so long as it is not overly expensive. Doctors used to love caring for their patients but the changes since they are so stressed about the financial end of it that they have to abide by since they are no longer independent physicians and now work as a corporation, their hands are tied on what they are allowed to do to treat a patient. I have watched this change over the years and it is heartbreaking.
Is commercialization interchangeable with privatization? I've never really heard it used with healthcare but I'm Canadian and we're always being threatened with privatization... Hope that makes sense!
Ugh...I have lung cancer and every 4 months the oncologist ordered a chest, abdominal, and pelvic scan. The third time he ordered it, the nurse told me to only schedule a chest scan because my insurance won't cover the other two. So so sad.
There is a fascinating documentary on UA-cam about the beginning of the commercialization and corporatization of medicine, and insanely enough, it starts with Arby’s, and to a lesser extent KFC. It started around the time I was born (I’m 59). It’s crazy how much the world can change for the worse in one lifetime.
I'm disabled since birth and every few years I have to fight insurance about the meds I take and prove I am still disabled. It's so annoying!
Like, I have a chromosomal defect that literally cannot be cured
I have ulcerative colitis and my doctor tried changing my medication but insurance forced me to use another medication (that my doctor knew wouldn’t work) before approving the one i was originally prescribed. I ended up needed my entire colon removed due to my worsening condition…. Due to using the wrong medication……. 🫠
Off-topic tho hearing Zach say "my wife" for the first time has me so soft i'm glad the wedding was able to push through they looked so happy
So many likes no comments so weird lol
@@HistoryColourized Hope he doesn't replace Ned 🤓 🤓
@@HistoryColourizedjust realised that 😅
@@HistoryColourizedalso just realising every reply is replying to u …
just reminds me of Ned saying “my wife” over and over and over and over
Zach knowing you pointed out his misspelling was hilarious. He’s such a comedic delight in videos but also one hell of an inspiration for us chronic pain people
As someone who is in nursing school and knows a bit about this topic (immunocompromised mom who recently also got C. Diff) I really like that Zach seemed to have took in or researched and put in a lot of accurate info that Dr. Mike didn’t have to go in and explain. There’s a lot of false info on TikTok and other social media, happy he explained and did his research.
his wife is also a nurse so I'm sure she explained alot of this to him
Yes! Also watching as a nursing student and I love how much info Zach included
while I don't have any conditions that make me immunocompromised, I have enough health issues to have realized that chronically ill people generally do their research a lot more than the average Joe. I don't know why, but every person with a chronic condition I have ever met is just very aware of what could happen and why. It's always interesting to me
@@EmmaThw you’d be shocked, my mom is chronically ill and while she knows some stuff, she still doesn’t do research on a lot of the medical jargon or what not. She is also very much “well the doctor said this” and puts too much trust into doctors even when I have a bad feeling about them. It took her 2 years to finally fire her pulmonologist after I said from the get go I didn’t feel good about him, but then she knows random stuff like why you have to taper off steroids.
@@EmmaThw It's worth noting that it took yeaaaars for Zach to finally get the accurate diagnosis after many misdiagnosis, so he had to learn be his own advocate.
Poor Zach! I appreciate his horror story. I went to Urgent care for a severe nasal infection and it was a long wait! My entire head was on fire, I was praying for a bat or a guillotine. I realized that there was only one doctor in that whole facility. A bunch of nurses, but only 1 doctor. I was like dang. I feel for medical professionals.
As someone who works in the NHS, it’s great to see people with platforms spreading awareness of how hospitals and other care settings are struggling. We get in this job to help people, however the consent under funding restricts this which breaks are hearts. We’ve had a lot of strikes at the moment in the UK, the junior doctors are this week, due to the poor conditions, underfunding and our wages. Something has to change for the future of healthcare and for us to continue giving the best help we can to our patients. Despite all this though, I will always continue to give my patients the best care they need. To my fellow healthcare colleagues around the world, stay safe and positive, you’re doing a great job. I’m glad Zach is all good now and had a great wedding. Also Mike, you should come to the UK!! Would love to see a video of difference and similarities or different healthcare across the world.
Portugal here. First time having covid, had severe cough, SNS (national health are system) sent me to the ER, was left for 6h without seeing a doctor and spiking a fever (38.9C when I got home) with no medicine, because there was only one doctor. Got to a point when I just went home feeling defeated and dehumanised. I just left crying because I just wanted the fever to go down and I had no prediction of when I was going to see the doctor. I 100% support the strikes and fighting for better funding. I love SNS, its just so sad to see it crumble like this.
Got home, took paracetamol and slept, went to a semi-private hospital and got an inhaler. I just hope it was through the national system and not a private hospital.
Thank you so much for all you're doing; an Angel with invisible wings Xx
I moved to the UK from the US two years ago. I love and hate the NHS. I love that it's available to everyone, but hate that I have to fight for my health when multiple doctors overlook it and I believe it's due to funding.
@@christinabellamooreafter finishing some really stressful nights, thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot to us🥹
@@lalatinavegana I agree, sometimes you have to fight due to the overload of patients, underfunding, understaffed etc. it’s not fair on patients, but hopefully things will get better.
It's cool that you collabed with this and were able to add insights. I have non healing ulcers caused by Scleroderma, so I related to this video way too much. We mostly have infections under control now. Maybe once or twice a year, but for like 7 years straight I was almost chronically infected. I am also allergic to all but 3 or 4 antibiotics. I have had C-Diff so many times. So this was a very familiar video. Glad Zach is doing better and was able to get married.
I praised nurses in the hospital when I had heart surgery. The nurses did everything. When I was unsure they sat me down and talked through it. At midnight I was in so much pain they gave me medicine. They cheered me on when I stood up for the first time in so much pain. Even simply taking me to the bathroom they walked along side of me. They were extra cheerleaders that I needed to get through this crazy time. They help my parents calm down and said we got her we are with you.
Hi! I wanted to let you know how much this comment means to me. I’m currently a nursing student and time and time again people are telling me I’m making a mistake and how much nurses hate their jobs and how hard they work for so little reward. But this comment is truly what it’s all about. Thank you for saying this and giving me the strength to keep going!
i deeply wish i could relate
Nurses are amazing and need to be respected and paid way more
Nurses absolutely run hospitals. Not doctors, NURSES!
@@Ailieorz I mean, for every nurse who gives a patient pain medicine at midnight there is probably an overwhelmed resident taking care of 20 patients, checking charts and writing prescriptions, a pharmacist making sure that the right medications are ordered and dispensed and an occupational/physical therapist who can hopefully help patient control pain through means other than medication the next morning. Hospitals don't run because of any one group of people, they run because everyone has a job, works together and supports each other (or that's how they would work ideally).
That was a rollercoaster experience! Happy that Zach was able to get married and is on the road to recovery. It’s always interesting seeing what Dr. Mike observes and anticipates then see it come to fruition in the video.
Thanks Dr.Mike! Have new info from this video to help my case: Got c diff in hospital. At the time dr said don't worry we can put u on “difficule” (antibiotic). My insurance said no to that med. I did get Vancomiacin. Took long taper and a year to feel back to normal. I changed pres. coverage to Humana with Difficule in “formulary” due to high risk of return.
Still has to get special approval and can be denied they said. Because of this video i realized why i need newer med. I recently was diagnosed with spondylitis, am immun. compromised. May help me get newer med !! You may have saved another life if i get it again! It’s a superbug that can kill you.
I had sepsis when I was two weeks old, spent a month and a half in hospital and I'm still having chronic complications 25 years later.
Infections are no joke, and when he started talking about his fever and everything my heart froze. All I could do was sit there and think "not sepsis not sepsis not Sepsis".
Thankfully I was right. Being a sepsis survivor sucks but one of the best things about it is watching someone else be at risk and dodge the bullet. So happy Zach recovered from c-diff and is doing alright
If you don’t mind me asking what type of complications have you had? If you don’t feel comfortable answering I understand no worries. I’m only asking because I had sepsis a year ago as a result of the sepsis I needed heart surgery. Since the sepsis I’ve noticed things that haven’t been an issues pre sepsis. If that makes sense.
@@cheyenneyoon4353 for me it's mostly been debilitating fatigue and pain. However you can look up the term post sepsis syndrome for some extra information
@@cheyenneyoon4353 It probably depends on what stage the sepsis was caught, what infection caused it and probably varies on the person. I had sepsis 10 months ago and my nurse said I probably had 20 mins give or take before I would have started going into organ failure when they figured out I had sepsis. The only difference I have post sepsis is I feel fatigued all the time.
I was recently seriously worried that my insurance wouldn't cover my most recently prescribed medicine, which costs $13,922 per dose, and it is absolutely insane to me how insurance seems to randomly decide when to cover or deny coverage for medicines. Hospitals may be falling apart and made a mistake by discharging Zach without his medicine but that is also on the insurance company for denying coverage of the medicine that was necessary for Zack to leave the hospital.
I was worried I had to fight insurance to get them to cover my daughter cochlear implant. insurance companies are awesome at denying things like that
usually there is a set of "medically necessary guidelines" for certain medications and services. The providers have to submit to the insurance companies that their patient meets those guidelines, or present evidence why they do not, but still need the treatment.
I've seen a million auths and they are always missing what is needed.
I'm not saying it's a good system, but it's not always the insurance's fault for denying.
My mom sued her hospital and won... because of them dropping her and her being a 2 person assist, amongst a few other issues, had to go to a nursing home at 58 for the rest of her life...
Malpractice insurance exists for a reason.
@@strange4202 glad she won but I'm so sorry to hear how badly that affected the rest of her life ❤
14k per dose??? Wtf! Pharmaceutical companies really are just milking people
I love Zach so much. He has been through some stuff in his life, and he always comes back strong. Humor is the medicine he didn't talk about, and he has that in abundance. Thank you for sharing, Dr. Mike, and a special shout out to Maggie. Caregiving is not for the faint of heart! Wild applause, mad respect, and congratulations to both of you! 💜
Can we appreciate the Mike/Zach edits? 😂❤
That was really well edited! At the end it seem like zack were reacting to his statement, then awkwardly laughed.
Huge thanks to Zach for making the time!
@@DoctorMike ur so informative
Your content is entertaining and helpful, keep it up
@Nik Walters
Frr haha!!
In Sweden the entire cost would have been about 20-30 $ for the hospital and 20 $ for the medicine. I would have had at least 14 days days payed work leave, but probably more (never needed more). We also have excellent hospitals.
Somebody else in these comments says Sweden is going through the same type of issues that American hospitals are, so maybe you are just really lucky with your experiences? I know the one I time I had to go to the ER here in America, I was seen relatively quickly and only had my copay, but I also know that that is *not* the normal experience, I just happened to go at a really good time (that normally isn't. It was 10 on a Friday night, normally that ER had hours long waits at that point. Not sure why that particular moment worked out.)
He’s not wrong that every place has its issues, but to act like America’s healthcare problems are anyway remotely in the same class as Europe’s or Canada’s is so absurd. Our healthcare system is so absurdly effed up and broken.
@@thatpizzalesbian6984 He literally says that American issues are not the same as around the world, but that healthcare around the world is having their own issues. That this is a universal problem that needs addressing. Healthcare for profit is definitely an American issue, but I have friends in the UK who have to wait months for necessary appointments. That isn't good either.
@@kdkorz10211 Maybe it's just me, but I didn't get the impression that he was saying they were at the same level. He was saying there are problems everywhere that need to be addressed. Ours being so much worse doesn't mean nothing's wrong with the rest of them, and taking a quick second to say, "the whole world really needs to rethink how we do healthcare to really take care of ourselves" isn't a stretch.
😱 not us sadly.
"His pulse is kind of high, it's 94"
Me with POTS: I had no idea that counts as high that's my resting heart rate
Me too 😂
I had a rate of 110
my resting heart rate is 112 lmaooo also i think pots means your heart rate is normal until movement?
@@crypticshadowsnot always
I have low blood pressure, so my pulse rate is always high.
As a doctor myself, this entire picture is really concerning.
I'm so glad he recovered so well.
I loved that extra commentary from Zach was looped into this video. love that extra context.
Zach makes me feel validated, as I have more than one autoimmune disorder. Listening to you makes me feel better about trusting my knowledge of my body. When I feel as though my doctors aren’t listening, I’ve been able to proactively advocate for my own medical treatment. Love seeing you both in a video together!
I have like 4 serious health issues that came out of nowhere and all of them could shorten my life quite a lot.
Dr. Mike over here pre-guessing 90% of the symptoms/reactions/developments before they happen . . . it's almost like he's a doctor or something . . . . Lol, great vid!
I was put in a hallway when I was admitted to the ER for a bowel obstruction. It was genuinely awful. The lady acrossed from me in the hallway had a heart attack. She was just chilling next to the bathroom.
Every single room was filled with a Covid patient and they had NO rooms for her upstairs. I ended up with a room after 27 hours in a bed in a hallway just open for everyone to see. People were literally being rushed in with like gunshot wounds directly next to my bed because I was the main hallway.
This was six months ago, in a city of about 300,000 people.
As an immunocompromised person, I knew where this video was going before you commented at each point. I’m so glad he had doctors and medicine to help him.
Zach's "good sir" and "exploding out of my wounded buttocks" are the best quotes from the video 😂
Insurance companies are the bane of my existence. The fact that he has DOCUMENTED C DIFF and NEEDS that med and insurance is like "lol no", is unfathomable
I so feel Zach's pain. Back in 2019 I was diagnosed with C-Diff and I also have an auto immune condition Crohn's Disease. The weird thing is, I wasn't in the hospital prior to that hospital visit and I wasn't on antibiotics so I still have no clue how I got it unless it was just because of Crohn's. I am so glad he was able to get out of the hospital in time for his wedding. Congratulations Zach.
My husband and I got norovirus from a restaurant. We shared fries that must have been made by someone who went poo and didn’t wash their hands. My husband ended up going to urgent care, and he found out he also had c diff! He was very close to needing a fecal transplant. We couldn’t believe how accurate that one South Park episode was. Lol
Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease) have increased susceptibility to C diff infection. Antibiotics cause a shift in a person's gut bacteria, which leads to C diff being able to grow. But patients with IBD already have a shift in their gut bacteria at baseline, making them susceptible without the use of antibiotics.
This is making me scared bc my mama has crohns disease and it turned inti cancer before adn thats gine now but im scsred idk
I love that he’s showing his master knowledge by explaining exactly what could have happened after everything (and what actually did end up happening )
The fecal transplant bit absolutely blew my mind! Reintroducing gut bacteria to the gut through transplant, is a simple idea yet exceptionally genius! As Zach said, I also love medicine!
Lol. Can you imaging being the doctor who 1st invented this procedure tho?...like going up to your coleages/ patient and being like...."Ok...um...this might sound a little crazy....but hear me out...what if we..."🤓😅😶
The patient probably being like "excuse me, you want to do WHAT to me?!"😱🤢😵
And the doctors just like..."wait...hmm..."😲🤔🤯
Zach is such a freaking trooper. He shares all of this with the world and I wonder if he knows how appreciated he is.😊
Having already seen the Zach video, every time Dr. Mike made a speculation, I said, "Just wait". I'm so glad Dr. Mike did a follow up with Zach for additional information edited out of the original video, and the incredible support and sympathy Dr. Mike brought to the situation. ❤
I kind of wish Maggie was mentioned more in the video. She's a pediatric nurse, and Zach praised her multiple times throughout the video how attentive and helpful she was when he was in the hospital.
That may have been done deliberately as a way to respect her privacy, Zach has mentioned multiple times that Maggie isn't really comfortable in the camera spot light. Who knows though, just a thought!
Also that wasn't the point of Dr. Mike's video? Dr. Mike simply reacted to the medical aspect of Zach's adventure and explained it more thouroughly, what would be the point of him just praising his wife?
@@sandraweiss4412 yeah but it’s well known she’s a nurse it’s not a secret
It’s Zach’s experience though
@@ameliesayshola8854she’s a paediatric nurse to be specific, while she may have training for older patients, she typically only works with children
I am so excited that Dr. Mike responded to this! 👏👏👏 Once I watched the original video, I literally thought, "I hope Dr. Mike sees this!!" I was curious about your opinion about how the initial wound was treated at the ER 😬 Definitely could've gone better. I love that you and Zach followed up on the details!
I love how empathetic Dr. Mike is. You can tell how much he really cares about people's health and wellbeing.
I was really surprised to hear that so many countries are suffering from the same issues with the healthcare system being strained, even before COVID. I live in Sweden, where healthcare is mostly government funded, and the problems you are describing, underfunded hospitals, people laying in corridors, lack of staff, underpaid staff, hospitals/departments closing and so on, sound exactly like what we are experiencing in Sweden. These problems have been present since a few years before COVID as far as I am aware. I wonder why it is that so many different countries with different systems are having the exact same problems?
Idk why, but an American acquaintance that lived in China showed us pics from well before Covid where the halls in their hospitals were lined with beds and the rooms had more than two beds.
They said that’s one of the reasons Chiba had such strict and long lasting lockdowns. They were afraid that their already overwhelmed health system would just be completely devastated if they let everyone not be in lockdown.
I can think of one main factor: the general population is growing, so maybe it's growing faster than the workforce of nurses/doctors/other hospital staff?
At least in Germany the biggest problem is simply how our healthcare staff is chronically overworked (and underpaid) especially now during/after Covid many nurses quit due to burnout. And the worst part is that it’s hard to „simply get more nurses“ because from where? The ones that graduate will burn out eventually too but we also can’t decrease the amount of hospitals…
@@justabookworm1382 interesting theory and I think that’s definitely part of it. And a quickly aging population
I know in Canada, people are overworked, some quit, some got transferred, and others retired. My mom's MS specialist retired, and she couldn't get into see someone so they cut her disability pay. I've been on wait lists over a year, and one of my neighbours had a mini stroke and waited about 10 hours, then was told to go home and come back in the morning because it would be even longer before he was seen. I think he ended up seeing his GP instead of waiting at emergency. Someone even died recently because it took too long to be seen. She had school age kids too. I don't know if it's that district or another one, but one of them said they were short 200 medical staff compared to what they should have and were urgently looking for paramedics. It's horrible, especially for people like Zach and I that have chronic conditions that require extra care. That's why I'm scared to ever have a child because I'd need extra care and would most likely have to pay for private doctors/doulas/nurses.
So nice to see you covering his story in only the way Dr Mike can. My condolences and congratulations to Zach and Maggy! 🎉❤😮
Honestly lol
why condolences?
I contracted C-Diff after my kidney transplant because of being immunocompromised and newly on 2 different antibiotics because of the transplant. Thank you for covering this story and showing how easily a "simple" wound can spiral into something much worse! I'm glad that he was able to heal and make it to his wedding!
In August 2022, my 64 year-old husband had brain bleed verified by MRI. The ER had him sit in a recliner in the hallway, and 18 hours later he was admitted, had brain surgery by the most competent neurosurgeon ever, discharged the next day, and has done exceedingly well, for which the family and I are exceedingly grateful.
Open conversation about sickness has helped me learn so much, I appreciate anyone who is willing to discuss their experiences ❤ happy it all turned out good in the end!!!
Serratia can be so dangerous! I taught undergrad micro lab for a few semesters and students all got their own home lab kits since it was on Zoom (this was early Covid). The lab kits were supposed to contain E. coli and S. epidermidis for their experiments. Some students were mistakenly sent S. marcens, one of whom was immunocompromised. She ended up hospitalized for 2 weeks and had to drop the class :(
wtf
how did they screw up so badly!!!!
they could have killed her!!
Oh my god
Dang!
Oh nooo! That should’ve been an automatic A!
I saw Zach's video a few days ago. Love the collaboration despite the extremely unfortunate circumstance. Super glad Zach is OK and had his lovely nurse wife, then fiancee, to take care of him.
This video from the try guys channel was so intense. Zach is a great director and this story is a wild unfortunate ride.
Zak is such a peach. He's the whole reason I've been able to come to terms with my chronic pain and fatigue and see it as a disability. I try not to let it hinder me, but it's nice to be able to say some days that I'm not OK, even if other people deal with way more than what I do.
our healthcare workers deserve all of the love and respect we can give them. they are so overworked and stressed, i couldn’t imagine doing anything close to what they do.
thank you to all those working in medicine, any type of medicine, and please know that there are so many patients rooting for you all.
Zach video JUST dropped. Bravo on dr. Mike's team on getting on top of this video to provide commentary. 👏
Thank you for shading this light on the health care system, Dr. Mike. My potential partner works as an X-ray tech in Canada and his hospital is very understaffed. He is always telling me that the stories that he can't even get a break! So, thank you for shading light on this, health care should be accessible to everyone!!!!
As an immunosuppressed and multiply immunocompromised disabled person, Zach's story is exactly what I've been afraid of throughout the ongoing pandemic: ending up in the hospital for some injury or passing issue, only to end up stuck there for gods only know how long due to the kinks in the system. It's happened to me twice before after surgeries in years long before the pandemic, and I can only imagine how much worse it is right now than it was in 2016, or in 2007 (though 2007 was back in the days when I thought those complications might utterly bankrupt me and my family because I was on the verge of being dropped from my health insurance, a constant fear i do not miss).
WOW this video, I don't know why but I was so captivated and intrigued by everything that was being said. This was very easy to understand and sooo educational, I wish this information was spread more. Just the simplest things as a fever, antibiotics, and c-dif. are things that should be common knowledge ! thank you for always keeping things simple and easy to understand 💗🙌🙌🙌
Thankful and grateful for Zach and Dr. Mike for spreading awareness, immunosuppressed here and I almost died too many times from infections and the saddest part that my worst one the hospital didn't take me seriously till I was literally minutes away from sepsis.
I can’t even explain how happy this video made me. Not because Zach got hurt obviously, I’m so glad he recovered and got married. But Zach is my favorite Try Guy (sorry Keith & Eugene) and I adore how open he is about his health journey. As a chronically ill person myself it’s so important and impactful to me when people are open about their health. Doctor Mike & Zach are the duo I didn’t know I needed to see 💚
Love that Zach came on and did some edits with you. So cool you guys talked about this, and it was JUST a react video. Love this!!!
Thank you so much Dr. Mike for talking about the Immune-Compromised community and for taking us seriously! I’ve lost count of how many people (including nurses and doctors) who think I’m exaggerating, especially when they ask my pain level.
Each time I’ve been in the hospital (4 times just last year), I always praise the nursing & cleaning staff. Everyone I had at MedStar Washington (DC), was fantastic! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
SUCH a good vid! As someone with Crohn's disease, I was blown away to hear this stuff openly talked discussed, especially the c. diff! I've had bouts of it, and I'm so grateful to not just Zach but also Dr. Mike for discussing the seriousness of both it and the slew of complications that can come from just being an immunocompromised person, where a "simple infection" is never that simple! Thank you both for such an informative video and for normalizing talking about things I've largely dealt with alone, behind the scenes. You guys rock. ✌🏻☺️
Covid was such a surreal time for anyone working in the ED. I know for myself and so my of my coworkers we will carry so many traumas associated with working conditions during covid.
There were times where we had 10 hour long wait times and we felt so helpless watching patients suffer in the waiting room. Inpatient admits we’re held in the ER bed for 36 hours bc there was nowhere to place them in the hospital. Separating scared and crying family members at the door. Spouses and parents having to see their passed loved ones alone with only us to hold on to. Hallways lined with so many patients in makeshift beds. Hospitals not allowed to divert EMS and so many EMS winding up on hours long bed delays to the point where emergency personnel started to discuss patient abandonment measures to get the ambulances back on the road because so many calls were pending.
I hope that health care systems learned powerful lessons during those years because it was a terrifying time.
Thank you for being a point of strength during that terrible time and afterwards. Thanks to you, and your colleagues, it was a lot better than it would have been without you.
Hope you all the best in the future. Thank you for being a beast and doing what you need to do 💙
You guys are saints.
But it will take full scale collapse of the system before anything is done
I've worked in microbiology. The moment he said he had two infections, and they gave him multiple antibiotics, I said to my spouse. "Oh, he's gonna get c. Diff next."
as a student nurse, i LOVED this breakdown!!!! It highlights a lot of what we should be cautionary of in patient care. Infection prevention & control is so so essential and it's horrible seeing patients suffering from infections that are totally preventable if proper precautions were followed and the patient's condition closely monitored and reported. The healthcare system as it stands now is unfortunately making way for negligent practice, burnt out staff and ultimate harm to patients. And infections are expensive!!! Antibiotics and prolonged in-hospital treatment cost great loads of money and it's so stressful for patients to have to deal with that pressure along with feeling ill
I left the ER/hospital as charge nurse end of August 2022. I loved the ER, stayed during and post covid, couldn't do it anymore. Awesome story shared by Zach and Dr. Mike.
Same situation here in Australia. Over worked and under staffed. Shout out to all hospital staff. Cleaners through to the surgeons.
Same in Germany :(
Same in Russia. Government funds are very low, and its the only source of their finances. I live in 6mln city and we have maternal delivery hospital in historic buiding with the black mold on the ceilings.
I’m so glad he got to enjoy his wedding after all that crazy.
His conversation about the continued strain on the medical system due to covid/health insurance related things is pretty intense, too. That's a whole 'nother video's worth of analysis.
I know Dr.Mike is a doctor, but sometimes he picks up on stuff (like the pulse thing) and I'm like...wow, he's really a doctor
Like how cop/detective knew something's wrong when they see something/someone without getting any details beforehand
To put the C Diff stuff into a little more context... I work as a hospital custodian/janitor and for almost all cleaning jobs we drown rags in a bucket of a one-size-fits-all sanitizer which cleans almost anything. BUT
When we have a C Diff room, and ONLY C Diff rooms, we have to actively get out what we jokingly call "super bleach" which is this super concentrated soap stuff that is such an important/strong chemical we arent allowed to have it in our closets. It is ONLY in the managers office and we pretty much have to ask for it.
If it takes a "super bleach" to just remove it in a room, imagine what it must take to get it out of a body without killing the person as well.
I appreciate this video because my immunocompromised sister recently had cdiff and it's nice to be explained in a simple manner about the concern and potential outcomes if it happens again
I’m currently suffering through my fifth recurrence of CDIFF right now. I’ve had it 3 times since Christmas alone. So I literally feel Zach’s pain on this one. All I did was take antibiotics for a sinus infection in 2016 & CDIFF has been ruining my life ever since. I hope I’m a candidate for FMT soon.
I love Dr. Mike's serious assessments and concerns about Zach's situation. Yes, the story is entertaining but we can all learn from this.
Loved the fact that you had a conversation w/ Zach! It made the video even better!
As a MLT I appreciate your in depth commentary along with Zach's narration of the video. Reading the comments a lot of other healthcare professionals agree with this also. I work for a small critical care hospital and we have been experiencing the critical census and under staffing as well. We get treated like an urgent care rather than an emergency room because the city doesn't have an urgent care. It has been much worse post Covid with extremely sick people being hospitalized as well. The burnout is so real. Thank God I got a vacation and decompressed a bit, but it has been extremely crazy for sure.
Poor Zach, he just doesnt catch a break .. hope hes doing better now hes lucky to afford healthcare and have support
I feel for Zach. I was recently in the ED for 50 hours before I got a hospital room while I was being tested for C-diff, as I was having similar symptoms to Zach, along with critically low blood volume. I ended up having Typhlitis. I'm glad everything worked out for him in the end.
sometimes i forget you’re a real doctor and am genuinely impressed by how accurate your diagnoses are
Im currently a PA student, and hearing about the rollercoaster of Zack's experiences felt like i was listening to one of those case studies they throw at you for practice sometimes where complications are thrown in left and right and your differential looks like a goddamn mess. Im so glad he's feeling better, what a horrid horrid experience to go through :(
Thank you so much for breaking this down even further than Zach did. I thought I got it down when seeing Zach’s vid cuz he explained it pretty well but I didn’t know there was so much more to it. This was awesome. Thanks for doing this vid!
Speaking of high resting rates for a pulse, I was previously on a combination of psychiatric drugs (Depakote, Citalopram & Amitriptyline) which caused my resting rates to regularly be 100-113 (I was literally resting taking those readings).
My psychiatrist changed those meds to Quetiapine and Vortioxetine (still on Amitriptyline) and the rates are normal except my chest is cool and my lips are blue most of the time.
Sorry for the long winded comment, it just brought back a memory when you were talking about his resting heart rate being high at 94.
The chronic pain is so relatable as a fibromyalgia and degenerative disc disease sufferer (I don't let it stop me living life).
Great channel Doctor Mike! 🎉
Zach is so good at describing pain. Very entertaining but I feel bad for poor Zach😢 12 days before his wedding 😅
Glad you mentioned osteomyelitis. It is serious and a lot of people don't know this. It destroyed part of my late husband's backbone. It was MRSA. This rendered him paralyzed. He found out in rehab that one other person in the area had the same thing happen to them at the same time.
I was hoping you would react to this!! Such a horrible thing to go through, in what is supposed to be the happiest time of your life! So glad he’s okay now, and able to share this story. Happy wishes to Zach and Maggie!
Many years ago I had a kidney stone that I just ignored and assumed was back muscle pain because I was honestly just dumb lol. I also had a very demanding job and for some reason decided to put my job above my health and just never went to the doctor. Finally after about 3.5 weeks I went to the hospital with a fever of almost 105. Kidney stones caused a kidney infection which then caused sepsis. I spent 5 days in the hospital and left with an IV port in my arm and had to go back to the hospital for IV antibiotic treatments for several weeks after. It was horrible. Doctor said if I had gone another 12 hours without coming to hospital I would have started to go into septic shock and been in even worse shape. Listen to your body and take care of yourselves, everyone!
We are told to put our jobs before our health. So glad you are OK!
I just love how positive he was through that entire experience, glad he’s okay!
I had cdiff. I ended up on an extended vancomycin cycle and I loved it. I struggle with ibs and had the most pleasant bathroom visits while on it. When he mentioned the heart rate and diarrhea I knew it was cdiff. I didn’t have a fever with cdiff but despite being severely dehydrated I profusely sweated. It confused my doctor since my temperature was normal.
awh man I was so sad for him when I watched the video but so happy he was okay. this was a lovely video thank you doctor mike!!
Now ik Dr. Mike won't see this but imma still post this just in case he does. I'm 14 right now, freshman in high school and I have been watching dr.mike for like 7 months now, I now want to be a Doctor (not sure what kind tho yet) because you inspired me, I know it's not easy, years of medical learning, stressful exams, etc, I have a hard time remembering and memorizing things so this may be hard for me but I will still try, dr.mike ilysm❤ and we need more videos with bear and Sam and Colby ❤😢😃
lol Im 14 too and he kinda inspired me to wanna be an animal veterinarian :>
@@Legendary_Starlight I have never heard of animal vegetarian, lol. What is it?
@@imgonnaslay. A veterinarian is just a doctor for animals
@@zrc1514 a vet? If that what u mean?
@@imgonnaslay. Yes. Vet is the abbreviation for veterinarian.
Me, nodding along, agreeing, laughing when Mike laughs, *having absolutely no idea what's happening in any way*
Dr. Mike, I would love if you could do an episode about endometriosis and how many AFABs sometimes don't/can't get a diagnosis because of medical misogyny and/or lack of care or knowledge in that section of health. Another collab with Mama Jones would be great for this!
Medical misogyny doesn't exist, it's in your head. Doctors tend to be more conservative with women because women usually suffer from hypochondria or are just attention seeking.
This is wonderful, I love how well you all get along.
Make sure to rest and take care of yourself, doc.
The video we didn't know we needed!!
Now we need a try guys tell Dr Mike their medical horror stories😂
Or try guys try being doctors with dr.mike
it is even more wonderful when you study these bacteria and stuff and start predicting what would happen like what I did throughout the video and it felt good that what I am studying is actually helpful and I will need one day !
"Many people have seen how much injury (treadmills) have caused." Why did i immediately think of Adam Savage?!? XD
i hope we have good Doctors like you in our country.. God bless you Doc.
Crazy how a glass shard in the leg can lead to this much affects
I love your content, your intelligence, your engagement, your natural attitude, your voice and your beautiful face ! Thank you for you and for educating us with passion and humour !
Lucky for Zach, his wife Maggie is a nurse
Both of my sisters were RNs. God bless 'em. As much as I'd like to help out with the medical personnel shortage, I get dizzy seeing blood, etc. Much respect for our healthcare professionals.
That’s so crazy. All of this started with a bad decision on where to keep a framed photo!
Its a good day when ever doctor mike uploads
Finding out that he was off immunosuppressing drugs honestly makes a few of his other recent videos make a lot more sense, and I'm really glad that he was able to do some cool stuff while not being *as* worried about covid.
Definitely important to get any bad cut looked at. I sliced my thigh pulling my leg over a metal post around my garden, and ended up getting an updated tetanus (more than 5 years since the previous one) and having it cleaned at an urgent care center. It wasn’t too deep, but it was long, and happened on unclean metal.
Totally agree, I got a very minor cut from a pretty disgusting and rusty metal scrapper (like the painters tool) at work. While it was a relatively minor injury, I disinfected and got an updated tetanus shot as I wasn't too sure how long it had been and would rather be safe.
Lmao this video was like that responsible friend telling u what *NOT* to do and then ur friend calling you to tell u they did exactly what you told them not to do
Zach is awesome! Great attitude, which probably helped him get better. I also loved how Dr. Mike was calling the shots before they happened.
Thank you for breaking this down so amazingly!