Conditions in the book

Kidneys

• Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
  Chronic kidney disease is a description, not a cause.
• IgA nephropathy (IgAN)
  IgA nephropathy is the world’s most common primary kidney inflammation.
• C3 glomerulopathy (C3G)
  Complement is part of the immune system that idles in the background. In C3 glomerulopathy it does not switch off properly, and the leftovers build up in the ki
• Atypical HUS (aHUS)
  Atypical HUS is abnormal complement activation damaging the smallest blood vessels.
• Lupus nephritis (LN)
  Lupus attacking the kidney — one organ’s disease showing up in another’s numbers, and it can be silent until it is advanced, which is exactly why it is screened
• MGRS
  MGUS means a rogue protein and no harm found yet. MGRS means the protein has found the kidney.

Brain, nerves and genes

• SYNGAP1-related disorder
  A single gene, and a test that finds it.
• Down syndrome
  Common, and — past childhood — oddly under-served.
• Migraine (mistaken for "sinus")
  Nine in ten people certain they have “sinus headaches” actually have migraine

Skin

• Lichen sclerosus
  A long-term skin condition, and it is treatable.

Digestion

• The gut as one system, top to bottom draft
  Constipation, diarrhoea, diverticular disease, IBS, straining, haemorrhoids — often one system in different clothes.
• Constipation–diarrhoea continuum draft
  Two problems that want opposite things, on one continuum.
• Diverticulitis draft
  Common, and the standard story is thinner than it looks.

Blood vessels and lymph

• Swelling & neuropathy in the legs draft
  Very common in older people, people with diabetes, and those on chemotherapy — and oddly under-covered. The mechanics are straightforward: the calf muscles work
• Raynaud’s draft
  Fingers or toes that turn white, then blue, then red in cold or stress — small arteries clamping down too hard. Usually harmless on its own (primary); sometimes

Immune system

• The complement system draft
  Complement is the immune system’s always-on alarm and clean-up cascade — useful aimed at the right target, dangerous when its off-switch fails and it turns on y
• Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) draft
  Antiphospholipid syndrome — the immune system makes antibodies that make the blood clot too easily. Clots in veins or arteries, and repeated pregnancy loss, are

Hormones and metabolism

• Diabetes — the whole-body one draft
  Diabetes is treated as a number, but it is a whole-body disease — and a silent one.

One problem, many places

• Statin → muscle damage draft
  Muscle aching on a statin is common and usually mild — worth reporting rather than quietly enduring, because there are several statins and the alternatives ofte
• The gut–heart connection draft
  The heart and the gut grew up wired together and still talk constantly — which is why gut hormones move blood pressure, why a big meal can drop it, and why a “g

Common, and often overlooked

• Nocturnal leg cramps draft
  Common, treated by habit, studied by almost nobody.
• Styes & chalazion draft
  Common eyelid lumps — and the standard advice rests on almost nothing.
• Waking at three in the morning draft
  

Asked about, and not written yet

People come looking for these in their own words. Each is on the list for a chapter; until then, the steps of a visit and the early-warning checks still apply.

• Getting through chemotherapy — side effects from chemotherapy that are not letting up
  Asked as: “chemo side effects that will not go away” · “losing weight during chemo” · “how do I get through this”
• Hardening and narrowing of the arteries — how much of the narrowing in your arteries can be undone
  Asked as: “what is atherosclerosis” · “plaque in my arteries” · “is hardening of the arteries reversible”
• Memory changes and dementia — memory that is not what it was a year ago
  Asked as: “is my memory normal for my age” · “just diagnosed with alzheimer's” · “what happens next after a dementia diagnosis”
• An enlarged prostate and a slow stream — a slow stream, and too many trips to the bathroom at night
  Asked as: “why do I pee so often at night” · “getting up four or five times a night to pee” · “I have to go but then hardly anything comes out” · “my stream starts and stops” · “is an enlarged prostate cancer”
• Prostate inflammation — burning and aching that keeps coming back
  Asked as: “burning when I pee” · “aching between my legs that will not settle” · “it keeps coming back after antibiotics” · “pain when I sit down for any length of time” · “prostate inflammation” · “prostatitis”
• A high PSA and what to do next — a PSA number that came back high, and what to do next
  Asked as: “my PSA came back high” · “does a high PSA mean cancer” · “do I need a biopsy” · “should I watch and wait or treat it”
• Blood pressure and the gap between the numbers — your blood pressure numbers, and the gap between them
  Asked as: “what does the bottom blood pressure number mean” · “wide gap between my blood pressure numbers”
• Depression and low mood — low mood you were told to get over
  Asked as: “is this depression or something else” · “tired all the time and cannot care about anything” · “told it is all in my head” · “can a physical illness cause depression” · “everybody has problems so why can I not just get over it” · “nothing is enjoyable any more” · “is this a character flaw or is something wrong”
• Long-running pain and exhaustion — exhaustion and pain that every test calls normal
  Asked as: “exhausted no matter how much I sleep” · “all my tests are normal but I feel terrible” · “pain all over and nobody can find why” · “worse the day after I do anything” · “why does my heart race when I stand up” · “I crash for days after doing something normal” · “still not right since covid” · “brain fog and I cannot find words”
• Ringing in the ears and hearing loss — ringing in your ears that will not stop
  Asked as: “ringing in my ears that will not stop” · “cannot sleep because of the noise in my head” · “the ringing started after loud noise at work” · “I served and now my ears ring all the time” · “everyone says there is nothing to be done about it”
• Endometriosis and pelvic pain — pelvic pain that has been called normal for years
  Asked as: “period pain so bad I cannot work” · “told bad periods are normal” · “years of pain and no answers” · “pain during sex that nobody will take seriously” · “pain on days that are nothing to do with my period” · “nobody will tell me what is causing my pelvic pain, only what it is not”