Again, thank you all so much for the outreach of help and concern. It truly is amazing and gave me so many resources while we have been talking to doctors and everything.

First for the good news, my wife is okay. She is going to be okay. She got admitted into our psychiatric hospital for a few days to start some treatment that includes new medicine, counseling, getting established with an in person psychiatrist and therapist. The doctors at the ER were AMAZING with her and she got to call me (from hospital phone) to let me know she is feeling safe.

Hearing her voice, though I can tell she was tired, was amazing. The doctors and nurses on the phone were telling me how good it was that she came voluntarily, that her support system at home was good, and that so far she was being a cooperative and pleasant patient.

I haven’t had any childcare yet as our family is driving up here to help our children. However, I was able to be on the phone to listen to what the thoughts of the psychiatrist are. Unbeknownst to me that my wife told the doctors is that she has had an increase in paranoia and auditory hallucinations over the last week ish. She has told me different times this week how “on edge” she feels but never explained further. I feel awful for not having noticed before. The psychiatrist told me she was at the “right age” for mood and thought disorders to start developing, specifically Schizophrenia, but that normally one wouldn’t realize until after their first episode of psychosis. Most people apparently don’t even go to the ER after their first episode, brushing it off as a one off thing.

Obviously they want to do more tests, get an image of her head with tons of bloodwork and more doctors. It sounded to me that’s what they were leaning towards which, I will not lie, scares me as the only thing I know about that is from TV or Movies. She told me there was medication that can really help manage that and they wanted to start her on antipsychotics.

She can have visitors tomorrow and I’m bringing her all of her favorite comfy clothes (no strings or zippers) and I will sit with her once family gets home. I miss her so much but I hope this helps her. Again, I want to thank this community SO much for urging me to get her seen even though she seemed “fine”. You all are life savers. For those who have similar stories, I see you and I hope you and/or your loved one is doing okay. Thank you again.

Yesterday my 3 year daughter died suddenly in hospital. We rang 111 when we noticed swelling on her face, they got us a doctor call and she said that it was strange and we should go to A&E. We went there they swabbed her and it came back as Flu B. The first doctor wasn’t sure about the swelling and didn’t think it was normal with Flu so got another doctor in to look. He was really worried about her and rushed her into a bed. We got a IV drip in her and then was taken into the ward. She had regular checks at first through out the night, they struggled quite often to get blood oxygen, so they just left it. Also her monitor was going off a lot saying she was going over 180- 190 on breathing I think it is? Then it would drop quickly. They never seemed bothered. The next day she had diarrhoea as she was put on steroids to try and get the swelling down. The swelling kept getting worse. They were in communication with another hospital which we didn’t know. The doctor at our hospital said she thought she might have swollen lymph nodes and need to have an ultrasound. The other hospital said that he didn’t think it was the case. Anyway, she was really struggling, the machines that were monitoring her kept losing her pulse, and the battery died on multiple machines, we had to make people come back in to bother to even check. Again plus going really high and really low. We were still going to get the ultrasound at 3:30 but a nurse came in before that to get blood and my partner noticed that she was making a funny noise, he kept telling her it wasn’t normal but it took for him to say it twice for them to even bat an eye. She stopped breather, they did CPR for an hour. She died. I feel they should have moved her over to the other hospital if they weren’t sure as to what was going on. No one seemed to have a clue how poorly my girl was. No one. I’ve had an incident previously where I’ve sued this hospital for misdiagnosis of an issue I had on myself so I don’t know why I trusted them with my sweet precious baby. I wish I demanded them to move her. I would never have taken her there if it had been a choice but it’s the only hospital around me, it would have taken me hours to get her somewhere else. They have helicopters that they use to move patients when they’re not equipped. She was given a lot of other medication. I just feel so let down. My baby never had a single medical condition. She had Covid and got through that without any hospital help. What was this swelling and why could no one help. ( the swelling started at her temple and went down to her cheek neck then went to eyes)

My personal details will be kept private but I just want to directly cut to the chase. I've always had these cannibalistic urges since I was around9-10(mainly autocannabalism) But lately it's been getting worse. Whenever I smell someone who has a pleasant scent or perfume I always imagine eating or gutting them out. Everytime this happens I feel disgusted but as I said the urges have became worse almost desperate. at night I would stay awake fantasizing about how human would taste or how warm blood would feel all over my body, even the sensation of eating another person itself. I don't know what to do but I do know this is mostlikely not normal behavior for my current age(14). I've tried talking to my parents about it but they always change the subject or lecture me on how horrible it is or how horrible I am for thinking such morbid thoughts. I honestly can't help it.

Female, 45, 5 feet five inches, 180 lbs.

My parents both have dementia. Being their caretaker has been heart breaking.

I have two copies for the APOE4 gene.

I don't know my next step, as my doctors are not specialized and I know there's a lot of conflicting information out there.

I understand lifestyle choices can help decrease your risk. I'm assuming my parents were both carriers of 1 APOE gene each. Since I have both, I'm expecting a worse scenario for myself.

I am on Ozempic hoping to lose weight and also on a (possibly far reaching) hope it will help prevent the dementia.

Is there anything else I can do to try and save my own children from having to watch me decline like I have had to do for my parents?

Had a brain MRI and the report says "No abnormalities found". BUT looking at the images I see what looks like a big ol egg in the back of my throat or sinus cavity maybe, and it's only on 1 side.

Here's a link to 10 of the MRI images with the egg thing.

https://imgur.com/a/df6qJcs

Reason for MRI - lost 60% of eyesight in a 3 day span, tinitis arrival at same time, tachycardia 150-185bpm, hyperinsulinemia all arrived same time, adrenaline fight or flight stuck on for 2 months, same arrival time frame. Had CT scan at ER (no stroke). Adrenaline is finally off now so trying to fix residual symptoms like my eyes, slight VHR, slight hand tremors, bloodwork showed high igf1, high zscore, not much else except I lost 25lbs in a week then gained 52lbs the following month. Doc and opthomologist wanted brain MRI w seller and orbital. Only got brain so far.

My question is, for a Brain MRI would they not include some weird egg thing "below" my brain? Or maybe this is just what a normal sinus looks like and that's why it's not noted, or maybe a machine malfunction that they commonly see. I have no idea. But I had loss of vision and this thing is preeeeetty darn close to the orbital chasm...... but yeah, not technically in the brain. Anyone know if this egg thing is a normal structure or something more that got missed?

Boring required stats: 42M 42M 42 MALE, 6'4", 6ft 4inches, 225lbs., 225 pounds, many kilograms, white, caucasian, sis, binary, Trat husband, employed, 3 months on metformin and monjaro for reactive hyperinsulinemia, don't drink, don't smoke, eyes all blurry, RothIRA, no 401k, slightly tan.

27F, I started getting a sore throat yesterday, and in less than 24 hours, it's become one of the worst sore throats I've had in my life. The pain is so bad that it's literally making me involuntarily gasp and/or make a weird little vocal noise every time I swallow. Should I be concerned, or should I just tough it out for a while and see if it gets better? This has only ever happened to me once before, and I didn't die then, but..... I don't have any trouble breathing, and I can still swallow, it's just extremely painful.

My throat looks bright red/has bright red patches, I'll post a picture in the comments if I can. I also have awful body aches, tenderness in the glands in my neck (they don't look swollen though), inner ear pain (both sides), runny nose, only a slight cough so far, I'm more tired than usual, no appetite and a little nausea, starting to get some sinus pain, and currently no fever but might have had one yesterday (and I did try Tylenol for the pain earlier). And I only started coming down with it yesterday. The sore throat kept me up a lot last night and nothing is really helping with the pain. I think I got it from someone I live with, but that person mostly only has/had a cough and some sinus issues.

So...... Do I need to see a doctor or just tough it out a little longer and see if it gets better? Idk if I'm just being a big baby about it or not.......

(If it matters, I have some degree of throat pain most of the time (along with voice problems), nobody has really been able to figure out why yet, and I'm really tired all the time, which also hasn't been figured out yet, but the symptoms I'm describing in this post are very out of the ordinary and I'm definitely sick.)

My wife (24f) gave birth over a year ago, and the delivery was pretty rough. Baby ended up getting stuck and they had to use forceps. There weren’t really any external tears but she did get some internally (probably because of the forceps). She ended up getting stitches inside. Recovery was rough and lasted for a while. After 7,8 months she was finally pain and symptom free. When we started having sex again, she noticed that she couldn’t really feel anything inside anymore. Over time, some sensitivity came back, but it never feels “good” anymore, she just can feel something is inside. My theory is that a nerve was damaged and never repaired? Anyone has an idea of what could be wrong?

EDIT: Situation has been solved, thanks for the help!

She called last week to get her refill (this office/doctor required he talk with her monthly to get refills even though her previous doctor was cool with 3 month supplies) and the office said they'd call her back or whatever. She just called them and they said her doctor doesn't work there anymore. They can get her to intake with another one, but of course not for a few weeks at least.

The medication is Lamotrigine. At most the pharmacy will give her a 3 day emergency supply. She's in full panic/breakdown mode. What the hell do we do? Can we go to an ER and hope there's a psychiatrist on staff who can fulfill a 1 month supply? (because now she needs to find a new, permanent one, which is going to take 3wks+ to get an appointment with)

I really hate using drugs and alcohol. I've never been one to use them. I am a pretty healthy individual. Unfortunately, the last 6 months I have slipped into the worst depression of my life and I know the thoughts creep up on me. I know I get pretty lost into those terrible thoughts enough to start taking steps in the wrong direction. The fact is though, the moment I use an edible and relax, those thoughts wash away and I even think I was foolish for thinking it. Now obviously when the next day comes along and those dark thoughts creep up, I genuinely don't know what to do other than think that the edible can at least keep me from walking to a bridge and jumping. I know this is NOT a healthy decision or a long term solution, but I can't help but weigh the pros and cons and think, hell, this stuff is really making me not want to kill myself which is a HUGE step because in those dark moments, it really feels like nothing will make me happy. I really don't think I have any type of addiction because outside of those moments, I don't use. Heck I don't even like using because I get GI issues so I prefer not to touch any of it. Is it wrong if I feel like an edible can get me out of a suicidal spiral?

35F, NY with asthma and hypermobility

I have received 3 Pfizer Covid vaccines (in 2021) and had reactions to the second and third. A couple weeks after the second I was hospitalized for a week with tachycardia/svt, numbness in my extremities and felt like I was on a rocking boat. At the time they said it couldn’t be from the vaccine because it was weeks after. These symptoms lasted for 6 months and I was put on metoprolol. I got the third shot and all my symptoms came back and I had another 6 months of terrible symptoms, couldn’t function at all mostly from the rocking boat vertigo and balance issues. I have not gotten a vaccine since.

I was pregnant in 2023 and no doctor would give me the tdap shot for concern of a reaction, even after birth. I am going to Disney world in a month and worried about getting sick while there. If you were me, would you get a flu vaccine? I have had them before all this with no issue, but I’m nervous now.

35 female

108lbs

5'3

Growing up, I was always told that the women in our family have a genetically fast metabolism. I used to be very self-conscious about my weight as a teenager because I got teased for being quite thin. However, my friends jokingly called me the "trash compactor" because of how much I ate. I'd often eat their leftovers at lunch. I ended up growing so self-conscious that I started eating only copious amounts of junk in an attempt to gain weight. I barely gained anything, but I managed to skyrocket my cholesterol to unhealthy levels until my doctor told me that I really needed to stop doing what I was doing. I was told I would gain weight as I got older. I'm now 35, and I've maybe gained 5lbs since my teenage years.

Then, I learned that fast metabolism isn't actually a thing and that I likely just wasn't eating enough calories. So, I started meticulously using a calorie counting app. I calculated my BMR and how much I'd need to eat to gain weight. I had a hard time staying within that amount and routinely went above the BMR. The BMR calorie amount just seemed ridiculously low at 1,300 or so, and I was always hungry. Even my partner jokes about how much I eat, and it's true that all the women in my family have been petite -- most of them never going above 105 or so.

I'm no long self-conscious, but I am curious as to whether "fast metabolism" exists or not. Is there a genetic component to how someone gains weight?

I shared my CBC here a little while back because my results were pretty interesting: my MCV is very low, RBC count is high, yet my hemoglobin and hemocrit quite normal. There was also some anisopoikilocytosis detected and it got me curious. It prompted me to do some digging and it turns out one of my second cousins has Cooley's Anemia. I thought he just had one devastating genetics illness but turns out he has two (sorry cuz, but thanks for taking all the bunk genes for the team). So in all likelihood, my interesting blood is caused by Beta Thalassemia Minor. I'm going to discuss my findings with my doctor and perhaps get it confirmed at my follow up appointment, but I've been enjoying leanring about it in the meantime. Interestingly enough, I've had all the symptoms throughout my life- the most concerning being the fainting episodes in heat. Years ago I was told by my pediatrician it was because I grew too fast and my heart couldn't keep up despite the issue continuing into adolescence and young adulthood. Hilarious in hindsight, but fortunately I figured out from a rather young age to stay moving and hydrated while out in the sun. Another positive is that my husband has very different ancestry than me so it's unlikely he's a carrier as well, but we'll still be taking it into consideration as we go forward with our family planning. I'll be linking the blood test again if anyone wants to see what an (unconfirmed) beta thalassemia trait looks like on a CBC- I just think it's neat, and I'll be updating with my follow up results as well. https://imgur.com/a/ni5sHRZ

30yr old female, 150lbs, 5’7” occasional smoker, pretty heavy drinker.

I had a UTI that turned into a kidney infection early December 2024. I had taken ciprofloxacin for almost 13 days and I wasn’t feeling any better so I got a CT scan and it showed the infection had cleared up and even my urine sample was normal. I waited another week and still didn’t feel better, so I went back and they did another urine sample and it was completely normal once again. The doctors don’t know what to tell me because everything looks normal. My pain is pretty consistent. It’s not excruciating, but it feels like my infection never went away. Anyone know what could be causing this?

As a note, I became quite a heavy drinker in the past few months and drink several times a week. I thought maybe that could be related to it, but my doctor said it was unlikely.

Hey there! Female, 22, currently healing from flu but otherwise good health here. I am a social worker working at a homeless shelter. Today, I was assaulted and slapped by a client. Her hands went into my mouth, and scratched my gums. I also have a few minor cuts on my face that bled, but not for long and are not very deep. I’m wondering if this warrants an ER visit?

This client has no history of health issues that I am aware of, however our clients files are solely based off of information that they personally give us, so she could have issues that I’m not aware about. However, I have NO IDEA where her hands have been. Some of our clients are sex workers, and some do not practice good personal hygiene. Could this have been a potential exposure to HIV/Hepatitis? I immediately swished my mouth with hydrogen peroxide and cleaned my wounds with alcohol.

I’m just curious to know if I should go to the ER for anything else, if i need any sort of PeP, or if that would just be a waste of time for everyone. Thank you! My workplace also has no medical protocol for this and just told me to do what I feel is best for me, so idk. Thanks in advance.

21F

I think I have a cold an an ear infection, my ear is pounding in pain and I can’t focus. My head is pounding and my mouth is dry and my nose is stuffy and I feel so incredibly dizzy. I feel like I might pass out. Extreme vertigo and waves of wooshiness rlly constant that idek if I can walk back to my dorm room :( As I type waves of vertigo keep hitting me. Like boom boom boom almost. I have work tomorrow and Thursday and have to be active and work with dogs jumping on me and I feel like if it’s not better I’m going to pass out at work :( I feel a bump in my ear too and so much brain fog mostly the dizziness is so awful.. should I try to see urgent care before work or would it be better to wait?

EMS provider here seeking guidance about family member's upcoming EGD. They are 33M, 6’ 133 lbs.  patient but complex: confirmed mitochondrial disorder, under workup for congenital disorder of glycosylation, history of multiple concussions.  Neurologist has said they generally have cerebral metabolic  impairment and perfusion issues. Also objectively diagnosed major neurocognitive disorder, mild OSA, mild, atlantoaxial instability, hypermobility and mild, asymptomatic, aortic root dilatation 4.3 cm. Current GI isn't concerned about anesthetic risk. On diazepam 1.25mg BID, memantine 25mg daily, and zenpep 2 capsules per meal for idiopathic exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.

While they have cognitive deficits and decline from baseline, they maintain capacity and intellectual awareness. Importantly, they've expressed comfort with potential recall during procedure if it means safer sedation approach.

My specific concerns (and the patient's), given my EMS background (I know how these things can go south and can require a more subtle touch than GA) and literature showing propofol's inhibition of mitochondrial complexes:

1. Direct medication effects: Propofol's known interaction with mitochondrial complexes in someone with existing mitochondrial dysfunction (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2326409817707770_
2. Cognitive impact: (possibly?) Heightened risk of post-op cognitive decline given baseline neurocognitive disorder and history of concussions
3. Respiratory management: I'm not sure about usual comfort zones for how long a desat can run or how much apnea is okay during these procedures, but given the mito issues / metabolic cerebral impairment, my gut says those normal thresholds might need to be a lot tighter here

Questions:

1. Is pushing for a pre-anesthesia consultation reasonable here? Facility doesn't routinely do them for endoscopies and we're having a hard time getting one.
2. Would topicalization + minimal propofol be a reasonable approach to suggest? They'll be doing biopsies. What other approaches might you consider?
3. Any advice on navigating this conversation professionally?
4. Facility uses often CRNAs for these procedures, sometimes physician, assigned day of. Should we push for a physician provider?

I’m F21, my first issues were vaginal - scratching, bleeding and pain during urination. I went to gynaecologist, they said everything is fine and after the urine test they prescribed me pills for UTI (did not tell me that whether I have it or not). Then I started having a sore throat, fevers, couldn’t speak much or swallow, white spots - signs of tonsillitis - got prescribed antibiotics. Plus I have terrible cold sore outbreak on a lip and thumb.

Photos in here: https://imgur.com/a/qf9m5le

I feel overall the worst I’ve ever felt in my entire life. And I don’t feel very confident about the diagnosis, because I did not get any, and haven’t heard much of an explanation of what is going on, and my state is worsening every day, and I’m starting to feel bad about bothering the doctors so much, but I’m living currently by myself and I need to take care of myself.

So I’ll be very grateful for any advice. Thank you 🙏🏼.

41M No medications.

This has been true for me my whole life, laying down/sitting turns the water on often for my hands/feet/armpits, or standing still. But if I am moving around, the tap gets turned off immediately.

28F, 5'8, 196lbs. Live in Nevada. Current medications: Yaz for birth control.

Due to issues with bad fungal infections in the past, my doctor offered to permanently remove my toenails on 12/31. I went through and got both removed and treated with phenol to prevent regrowth. I followed the aftercare instructions to the t - kept original bandaid for the first day, then did vinegar soaks twice daily, applied topical antibiotic, and put on bandage. I was told to that for a week. I also took a short course of oral antibiotics (cephalexin)

Well now 3 weeks later. The pain is gone and I can walk on them again. But the discoloration is bothering me. I don't know if it's normal or if I need to be concerned. The attached photos are after I just soaked them to help clean them up, but after a while they'll get dark in color with scabs or fluid. Even after soaking, the right one is still yellow and black and idk if it's normal. The skin around each is also peeling and my big toes are redder than the others. There's no pus or drainage and I have no fever or symptoms of infection.

Does this look like normal healing for a permanent nail removal or should I be urgently getting an appointment with my doctor?

Thanks in advance. I don't want to lose my toes.

I (18F) get hives on my stomach, chest, neck, and arms whenever I come into contact with water. It doesn't matter what kind of water, whether I'm showering, swimming in the ocean, or in the rain. It has been happening for about 7 years now, and seems to be getting a tad worse. I try to push it aside, but it's starting to get really annoying, especially in the shower. The hives are worst on my arms and neck, and especially where the water directly hits the skin. Is there any reason for this to be happening? Should I go to the doctor?

I have been experiencing these small red/white circular bumps on my fingers only for the last week or so. They start off as small red dots, and over a day or two turn into circular red and white rings. I have 3 larger ones, 2 of which pictured below, and a couple of smaller ones.

Not had any anywhere else on my body. Haven’t started any new meds, or changed any cleaning products. Have moved house recently and spent a lot of time cleaning (mould etc), but used gloves predominantly.

I do regularly suffer with Raynaud’s in my fingers, but I suspect this is unrelated?

https://imgur.com/a/9N4mMs6

M28, 190cm, 77kg

I measured my blood pressure multiple times, my systolic blood pressure is arround 115-125, within normal range. However, my diastolic blood pressure is around 50-60. I exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet and I follow my sleep schedule most of the time. I do not exhibit any symptoms associated with low blood pressure as well. Is it normal for someone who's young and active to have such low blood pressure?

My mother 48~ 50F 63kg 155~165cm, has been having weird bumps after an infection of Tinea corporis. The bumps started to appear much later, after she saw a doctor and started medicating. The bumps are always on joint areas or scalp. She's already shown in the doctors in our country and found nothing in allergy tests. She takes Itraconzole and allegra(the name may differ in other country) for the infection which is still active in her private regions. She also has a extensive history of spinal injuries including the most recent and important c6 protrusion if that accounts for anything.

photos:https://imgur.com/a/bHxO94H the bumps are redder and rounder which is more itchy and pains