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M16 with Corona. Chances of being totally fine afterwards?
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As the title says, I'm a healthy 16 year-old boy who has the Coronavirus. Out of my mom, dad, sister and I that all seem to have caught it, I have the worst symptoms (fever, headache, sore throat, diarrhea, chills), even worse than my 50 year old parents, one with bad respiratory issues beforehand.
I guess I would like to know what long lasting effects this could have on my body considering how young and healthy I am. I know it leaves lasting cardiac and lung issues, and I would like to know my chances of not getting any of these issues. If anyone has stats on my likelihood of getting stuff like that, let me know. Thanks!
| 306 |
It will be years before we have accurate stats to the long term consequences of covid 19. In general, the younger you are, the less likely it seems to be of a bad outcome. Chances are overwhelmingly high that you will be fine with no long term sequelae.
| 627 |
AskDocs
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M (24) 6’2 195 pounds. Just had a surreal and horrible doctors appointment
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I’ve been losing consciousness during physical activity and sex. My arms go weak, my head goes weak and I collapse. These symptoms started about a month ago. I went to the cardiologist today and I literally got 5 words into explaining my symptoms before the doctor cut me off, put me up of the table, listened to my heart and told me “you’re perfectly healthy.......anything else I can do for you before you leave?”
I sat there stunned, I literally hadnt even gotten to tell him WHY I was there in the first place and he had cut me off and within 2 min and basic stethoscope examination he was sending me away. I pushed and tried to actually explain my symptoms to him and he cut me off again “you’re perfectly healthy, your ekg from last august was fine” and so I had to tell him “okay but these symptoms just started 3-4 weeks ago. And I’ve been losing conciousn-“ he cut me off again “Anything else I can do for you before you leave?” I sat there in silence, I havent been able to get out of bed much these past few days after my last episode and this “doctor” literally wouldnt even let me tell him whats been happening. He told me I can show myself out and he left.
What the heck just happened? Is this normal? He didnt even check my blood pressure....
| 1,422 |
You need to see a cardiologist that will actually evaluate you - pre-syncope or syncope during exertion in a young person is concerning and probably should be evaluated by EKG, echo, and maybe event monitor.
In the mean time stay hydrated, avoid significant exertion until a cardiologist clears you.
| 914 |
AskDocs
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*SOLVED* After two years of mystery diagnosis and a whole lot of medical bills.
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Original Post:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/comments/dngnf1/need\_advice\_please\_chronic\_sinusitis\_swallowing/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/comments/dngnf1/need_advice_please_chronic_sinusitis_swallowing/)
From old post:
Age: 31, Weight: 188
I do not smoke.
Drinking: Yes. Occasional not heavy.
Medical history: GERD & LPR. Measures have been taken (such as elevated sleeping, not eating late) to manage.
Problem: (In short) swallowing problems, chronic infection
Duration: Now about two years
Medication: Pantoprazole 40mg daily, Flonase once daily.
Hey everyone,
After nearly two years of searching, 40+ rounds of antibiotics, CT scans, MRI's, ultrasounds, and many, many doctors a sinus specialist discovered a 5mm oromaxillary fistula hidden under tooth extraction site #2 (molar, top right rear). This basically is a hole the size of a pencil eraser head from my mouth into my sinus. This was causing severe infections, swallowing problems and a sensation I can only describe as horrifying.
​
I underwent oral surgery and recovery is very slow, but ongoing.
​
I'm not sure if posting a solved story is appropriate here, but I was told this was a very rare scenario and perhaps it could help someone in the community.
​
Cheers.
Edit: seems post has been locked. Any questions just DM me and I'm happy to respond.
Edit: Thank you for the gold. This means a lot.
| 2,255 |
So glad you found an answer and are on the way to recovery.
All the best with your journey
| 226 |
AskDocs
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22F is testing for HIV at 12 weeks (85 days) conclusive?
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I took a test called HIV1/2 Ag/Ab and it came back negative. Do I need to test again at 6 months or is this considered conclusive?
Edit: hey guys, thank you to everyone who took the time out of their day to comment. After reading what everyone wrote, I think my problem is actually OCD/health anxiety and I will try my best to get help for it. Thank you!
| 336 |
Did you have a known exposure? Or are you just testing post unprotected sex?
| 147 |
AskDocs
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Short moment of sharp pain in my heart that happens 3 or 4 times a year?
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For clarification, I am a young, fit, and very healthy man. I have never had any serious health problems in my life (that I'm aware of).
This has been going on since I was maybe 10 years old. Every few months or so, I would be doing normal daily activities, until I feel a sharp, stabbing pain directly in my heart until I stop moving. I breathe heavily for several seconds until it goes away and I continue on with my day like it never happened.
The reason I haven't told anyone until now is because I always thought this is what heartburn was. It wasn't until me and my friend talked about it a few days ago and he went, "What? That's not what heartburn is, bro".
So now I'm here. Again, never had any serious health issues, and I'm also very young and healthy. Any ideas on what it could be?
Edit: After reading several comments and researching, it sounds like Precordial Catch Syndrome is most likely the perpetrator. I'm glad to hear that it's non life threatening! I will be seeing the doctor soon to check it out.Thanks for everyone's input!
| 367 |
Sounds like Precordial Catch Syndrome, completely benign. Get checked if you’re worried though!
| 308 |
AskDocs
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I’m (33f) waiting for a referral to a neurologist and don’t know what to make of my brain MRI. Hope someone can help?
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It’s been about a month since I had the MRI and I’m still waiting to be contacted about the referral. But my MRI was done without contrast as I’m allergic to it. The results state: No fluid collection, hemorrhage, or diffusion abnormality. Mild frontal predominant burden of scattered deep white matter T2 FLAIR hyper-intensities bilaterally. Brain and CSF spaces are not otherwise remarkable. Major vascular flow voids are preserved. No significant extraneous finding. Mild probable chronic micro vascular ischemic and/or hypertensive white matter change. No evidence of prior hemorrhage.
Back in March, while I was on vacation I got really sick. I blacked out for about 5-10 seconds and my mom said I acted drunk for a few hours after that, though I had not been drinking. The next day I was throwing up and had diarrhea and this continued for a couple days while all I could do was sleep. I also lost sense of taste, which lasted a week or two. I did not get tested for Covid. A few weeks later I went to my primary doctor as I was having migraines and feeling dizzy, heart would race, and I’d be worn out. We found out I was severely anemic and my iron was very low. I’ve had 2 iron infusions and been taking iron supplements regularly. Since then I’ve been feeling better to a degree. I’m still having constant migraines and will get dizzy on occasion. There are times when laughing that I will get pulsating on the top of my head and I’ll feel like I’m going to pass out or my vision will change. Sometimes this will happen while doing other things, even sitting, there doesn’t appear to be a pattern.
I’m also starting to see a cardiologist to see if any of my symptoms are heart related. I’m also seeing a hematologist and gyno. I previously (when I was 14) had a DVT with PE. After that they put me on Coumadin and said I had thrombophilia with Protein C deficiency. My hematologist about 2 months or so ago, took me off my Coumadin to get an accurate reading as my initial testing wasn’t accurate. My father is also a hemophiliac. I’m also seeing the gyno as it has been figured out that my blood loss is due to constant, heavy menstruation.
I currently take lexapro 10mg, pantoprazole 20mg, famotidine 20 mg, and iron supplement 325 mg. I am obese, but my blood pressure and cholesterol are good. I know my body is haywire right now, but any help would be greatly appreciated.
Edit: Thank you everyone who has reached out with any info or encouraging words. It’s greatly appreciated!
| 252 |
Fairly nonspecific and can be seen in migraines. Has anybody considered a dural sinus thrombus?
| 83 |
AskDocs
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Possible inhalation of ammonium nitrate? 23M 25F 50F
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Hello everyone. There’s been a huge explosion in my country of a huge stock of ammonium nitrate that caused a cloud of orange smoke. We were advised to stay indoors and close the windows but we unfortunately slept the night with an accidentally open window. We estimate that the window was opened approx. 3 hours after the explosion. I want to honestly know the effect of such gases on my and my family’s health whether there’s something short term (we’re not feeling anything as of now) or long term and how scared should we be about it.
Thank you.
I’m sorry if this isn’t the suitable subreddit. If that’s the case can you guide me to one that fits my question?
EDIT: if it helps we’re about 1.5 miles away from the explosion site
| 855 |
First of all, I'm so sorry about what happened in Beirut and I hope people get the strength to overcome this given the situation that was already bad.
You should check for signs of a respiratory tract irritation which are usually : cough - sore throat - shortness of breath and get urgent medical attention and care if the shortness of breath worsens or If there are signs of suffocation.
For permanent exposition, it may lead on the long term to a renal toxicity.
In any case, you should avoid the use of any AC, fans, ventilation systems for now, try and put wet towels at the base of doors.
Drink a lot of water, and get urgent medical attention if respiratory symptoms worsen.
If you guys can leave the city and be able to rest in a well ventilated area, do so.
Sending love and hope to everyone affected by this terrible event.
| 336 |
AskDocs
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My PCP doctor believes I’m likely for a premature aging disorder, geneticist disagrees. Should I push for more?
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25 year old male.
My doctors notes several ‘severe oddities’ for someone my age in my workup;
At 5 I was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts assumed congenital, no family history of this.
At 14 I had a kidney stone
At 18 I had severe thinning of hair in the traditional horseshoe pattern. NOTE that while my paternal family does have MPB in the family it comes on usually late 30’s early 40’s. My mother’s side ALL the men including her father, but one kept their hair their whole lives and the one has only a tiny amount of thinning. This was me at 20; https://imgur.com/a/sxyDcR9
I have ‘cherry angiomas’ on my scalp, something common in elderly but rare in young people even morseo on the scalp
I have macrocephaly meaning top 2% head size
I take excellent care of my teeth and my dentist always compliments me by saying how clean they are but also says that they look like teeth they look that are as worn as they would expect in a 40 year old not early 20’s. He also said I have gum recession despite great dental care.
Look I know all of these things can happen as isolated traits even the cataracts, I also know we all have oddities that are ‘rare’ in statistics somewhere but this seems like A-LOT of really off things with no family history. The genetics doc seemed to think because I’m otherwise healthy and active etc without issues there’s unlikely to be anything but my doctor didn’t seem happy with that. I guess any input is appreciated. I’m not expecting a diagnoses but this seems like a lot of coincidental occurrences doesn’t it?
EDIT: through insurance and work I get yearly blood CBC and metabolic tests. Always normal or close to it.
I have seen an endocrinologist and I do have a tiny cyst on my thyroid but I understand that’s very common and otherwise have completely normal thyroid functioning. So healthy there.
I have also seen neurology and dermatology as well as had an echo and Holter monitor (not due to issues just investigation) and all was normal. Every doc has pretty much said I show no signs of any health concerns.
Only oddity in blood is low B12
A BIG NOTE my cataracts were lamellar subtype, meaning that they are either caused by trauma or infection at birth or genetics however my type of cataracts are definitively different and easily told apart from the standard age related cataracts, meaning that them being related to an aging disorder is pretty much ruled out.
No other family history of much besides my father had a very severe case of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
| 537 |
I’m not trying to be a naysayer, but I’ve got to admit, nothing there is outside the realm of statistical chance.
For example: Ignore the cherry angiomas - they’re not just ‘possible’ in the young, having a few is almost inevitable by the age of 30. Being bald just means you’d notice the ones on your scalp.
The gum recession could be from over brushing? Much more common in those who pride themselves on their oral hygiene. (Not an accusation, just a thought)
The male pattern baldness, gum erosion plus early cataracts could suggest traits of a collagen disorder, or congenital acromegaly, but nothing major, given you’re otherwise fit and well.
If you/your PCP are still worried, I’d suggest investigating any occult issues, with blood pressure checks, a full blood panel, bone profile, hormones (NB thyroid and growth hormones), vitamin levels, and morning cortisol,
Ultimately, progeroid syndromes are hens-teeth rare, and normally present with severe health issues at <5 years old.
I know you’d acknowledged this possibility, but my personal answer to “seems like a lot of coincidences” would probably be ‘not really.’
| 289 |
AskDocs
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Sister (F13) has inflammation in her brain, can someone give me an estimate of her chances of a full recovery?
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UPDATE:https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/comments/i8ceea/update_my_sister_has_inflammation_in_her_brain/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x
13F, 150-155 cm, 40-45 kg (Estimates)
Current medications: Antihestimenes
Doesen't drink or smoke at all
No conditions
She got a slight headache last Thursday and it escalated to a fever with nausea, with a head that was killing her Sunday. She began experiencing muscle pain in her legs and back around Tuesday. My parents took her to a doctor then and got tested for influenza, which eventually turned out to be negative. She woke up in the middle of the night to Wednesday with a lot of pain in her back and head. She got worse and when she woke up Thursday she had a panic attack. (Deemed by the doctor on the phone) She woke up and couldn't see and yelled out for our mom to come and help her. Her pupils had dilated to a huge size, but thankfully she regained her sight shortly after. She went to the hospital Friday to get tested for all sorts of things. They confirmed she didn't have meningitis, but they saw her tongue being out of control and cramping. By seeing that they suspected her having inflammation in the brain. She got a spinal cord sample conducted and it said she had inflammation in the brain caused by a virus.
Today (Saturday) she woke up and felt a lot better, but she quickly began feeling worse, and eventually, she lost her memory. She didn't know who she was or who my parents were or which school she went to. 8-10 hours later she hasn't gotten her memory back. They conducted an MRI scan, and it showed there was "Irritation" in the brain, but no long term damage YET...
We are currently waiting for the test to show which type of virus it is, and she has not improved as of yet.
Can someone give me an estimate of her chances of a full recovery? I really don't know anything, as I think my parents aren't telling me everything to shield me from bad news.
My native language isn't English, and medical terms can be hard to translate, so please ask if there are any words that don't make sense.
Update: She woke up today and felt a lot better. It felt like she was herself completely, she surprised me by calling me from my moms phone and she just began talking to me. I felt like crying from happiness! But she almost didn’t remember the day before. Her motor abilities (think it’s what it’s called) was fine and she was able to move everything. She could even walk and have great balance, although she was kind of weak and needed my mom to hold her to be sure she wouldn’t fall.
The test has yet to come back, they say the lab is under huge pressure due to covid.
Thanks for all of the support and helpful comments, it has really helped me.
| 555 |
I understand your worries. It is hard to comment without having examined her and seen the test results. Have they mentioned something like ADEM?
Kid's brains are very forgiving and we see remarkable recoveries.
| 366 |
AskDocs
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I woke up this morning to find my toilet seat had turned purple where my butt and thighs touch the seat, but I’m not pregnant (30F)
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Demographic information:
Female, 30 years old, 5’3, 135lbs, I take 140mg Methadone daily for a former heroin addiction that I’ve been clean off of for 17 months, I smoke 5 cigarettes a day, I exercise every single day, I eat healthy including fresh fruit and vegetables every day, I don’t eat any meat or dairy. I don’t take a multivitamin.
I peed many times throughout the night but never turned the bathroom light on so I can’t pinpoint exactly when it happened. The seat wasn’t purple before I went to bed. When I noticed it this morning the first thing I did was check my skin to see if somehow I was stained from fabric and transferred it to the toilet seat. My skin was completely clean. The purple showed up where my skin touches the seat so I know this somehow came from my body and not some external source.
This has never happened to me before. I did a google search to see what I could find out, and I found that this can happen to women when they’re pregnant due to hormones reacting with the seat, but I couldn’t find anything about this happening to women that aren’t pregnant.
I am not pregnant, because I actually started my period yesterday. To sort of complicate matters more, I had sex (with my long term boyfriend) on Saturday August 1st and took the Plan B pill on Monday August 3rd. My period is right on schedule, if that matters at all.
I’d like to also add that the purple stain is ridiculously hard to scrub off. I’ve been spraying it with bleach, letting that sit, then scrubbing hard but it’s barely making a dent. Very slow progress cleaning it.
Does anyone know what caused this to happen? Should I be concerned? Thank you.
| 626 |
NAD. This happened to me once and I definitely was *not* pregnant. I was later diagnosed with PCOS and I guess my hormones were so whacked out for a while that a lot of strange things happened. Not saying you have PCOS obviously, just that hormone fluctuations can do really weird things.
| 509 |
AskDocs
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I had sudden, excruciating pain in the left side of my head for a few seconds, then collapsed. What should I do now?
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20 years old, female.
For the past two weeks, the top of my head has been very sensitive and sore, with varying levels of pressure. At times, it feels like somebody might as well be standing on the top of my head with all their weight. I've also had sensitive skin, pins and needles, etc, allover the rest of my body since I was about 16, on/off.
Last night, it felt like that pressure "slipped" and "hit" my left brow bone. That's the only way I can think to describe it. It felt like something was trying to escape my skull through my eye. It was a throbbing pain and at a certain point, it was almost so painful that I didn't feel it anymore. I thought I was dying.
The pain was radiating through my skull, to my neck and my spine. It then felt like my stomach was floating into my chest, then I began to shiver allover and my legs gave out.
When I collapsed, I fell backwards and hit my head. I saw stars and felt extremely weak allover. I didn't have the strength to stand up, nor to pull myself around.
Since then, I've felt very distant and absolutely exhausted. All of my joints are sore and my brain feels very foggy. I see trails when things move in front of me and I still see stars in my peripheral sometimes. I also notice my jaw tensing by itself.
I'm on sertraline and a vitamin D supplement.
I haven't hit my head or been in any accidents prior to this. I did have some untreated concussions as a kid, but that was years ago. Both my mother and grandmother have MS.
Sorry if this is a bit messy, I still don't feel quite right. I'm happy to add any info I may have missed.
| 455 |
NAD
You should go to the ER and get yourself checked out. Severe headache, seeing trails, and collapsing isn't something you should chance. Get someone to drive you if you can.
| 464 |
AskDocs
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Baby with unknown skin problem
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https://imgur.com/a/5Id7IcM
3 months old female baby, 24/7 crying with constant fever. The doctor prescribed a cream but that didn’t work. It used to be in one leg but later it happened in the other one too. (This is not my baby I’m asking for someone)
| 426 |
Pediatric hospitalist here. Unfortunately, I do agree that this baby should go to a hospital for a thorough evaluation if she has a fever with this. Fevers with any local skin infection make me worry about systemic spread of the infection. If there’s a true fever, we would need to treat more aggressively than topical antibiotics.
| 625 |
AskDocs
|
Ridges in fingerprints separating
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21M.
I play guitar, so that's probably caused it, but I've never seen it before so I'm not 100% certain about it.
On my pinky finger.
[https://i.imgur.com/Q77b8al.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Q77b8al.jpg)
Thanks
Edit: sorry for disturbing some of you! Does look a bit weird tbf. Cheers for the replies
| 406 |
Not a single doctor has replied lmao
| 305 |
AskDocs
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My doctor started talking to me about chakras?
|
I'm 22F. I've been struggling with anxiety for a while, and I had a video visit with my doctor today. She had done extensive bloodwork and basically everything came back normal. She checked a TON of stuff. She recommended a GABA supplement and meditation, yoga, etc, to "balance my chakras." Is this something that's accepted in the medical community? I've heard of chakras, but it's not something I'm super into, and I didn't think it's something that's integrated into western medicine. My physician is an MD affiliated with Stanford University, so she's not a homeopathic doctor or anything like that. Just curious.
| 487 |
Is that all she said? What exactly, to the best of your ability remembering, did she say to you?
Chakras are 100% not a medical topic. However, I could totally see someone talking about "chakras" casually meaning your personality, flow of personal energy (not literal energy, just your demeanor and stress levels), attitude and stress levels. As for recommending meditation and yoga, as long as she wasn't harping on "chakras" these could just be recommendations for you to find a healthy outlet/control for your stress/anxiety levels, kind of like how doctors also recommend exercise for anxiety/depression.
| 516 |
AskDocs
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I (26F) think I have something wrong with my brain chemsitry
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Chemistry*
Im pretty sure im lacking some chemical in my brain or something.
I'm incapable of experiencing sexual arousal majority of the time.
Even the smallest amounts of Marijuana (3mg) makes me paranoid, delusional, and hallucinate. I also crash for days after using.
I lack physiological reactions in general.
Ive had extreme emotions my entire life that are nearly impossible to control, coupled with also having apathy towards things I should feel something by naturally.
About 3 years ago, I started getting hand tremors and they worsen with fine motor movements.
I run into walls and things all the time and when i walk, my gait tends to go towards the side, bumping into people Im walking with versus straight.
Im always fatigued and tired (literally always).
I have poor focus and memory. I ask someone something and then a minute later I have to ask them what i said and what they answered with.
I hyperfocus and zone out constantly, losing all track of time. I get so hyperfocused that I'll forget to eat, ill be reading all my text messages outloud without any awareness, or ill replay scenarios in my head where im talking and I'll be talking outloud the entire time without realization. I also find it really hard to drive without spacing out and have almost done things like drive through solid red lights as a result. Im also missing all my memory from before like 9 years old.
Im kind of starting to think something is up with my brain chemistry..
My doctor thought the tremors might be from caffiene but I only drink one cup (or less) a day and have since I was like 14. I dont drink any other caffeine beverages through the days and am on no medications. Ive never done any drugs outside of Marijuana (extremely infrequent user). The tremors get worse when im experiencing higher emotions too. To the point where i can't really do anything fine motored with my hands because of how bad im shaking.
| 395 |
I'm not sure about your brain chemistry, but you could definitely benefit from some therapy regarding your emotions, which sound pretty distressing.
| 363 |
AskDocs
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Is it normal to get bad diarrhea after drinking coffee?
|
13F here, I was wondering if its normal to get bad diarrhea from drinking coffee. I drank two cups of coffee about 40 min ago, and got really bad diarrhea and gas pains. It also happens to my dad too. I was wondering if should take this more seriously or cut back on drinking so much coffee.
| 413 |
If there's a clear cause and effect; you drink coffee then have diarrhea, I'd consider that something to avoid or at least test out. Drink a cup of coffee instead of 2, then see if it happens. Don't drink any coffee for a week and see if you get it, etc. If the correlation is coffee = diarrhea, just don't drink coffee.
| 434 |
AskDocs
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[21M] I tend to get weird cramps in my crotch area every time I pee after ejaculating if I haven't peed prior to masturbating.
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Hello, I've never really found any answer to this issue so I've decided to ask here. For context I've never had any medical issues or any operations that could be related to this. I'm 178cm tall, ~85 kg, I drink infrequently and smoke weed/hash on a weekly basis. I can't say for exactly how long this issue has been going on for, but at the very least for a year.
So my issue is that when I masturbate with a presumably not-fully-empty bladder (and I don't mean it's full enough to make me remotely NEED to pee), once I pee afterwards I get a pretty strong cramp in my crotch area. I don't feel any pain or burning sensation while peeing and the cramp goes away after a while (curling up in a fetal position when I sleep helps with it). I've never experienced any lingering issues so it's not something I've been overly worried about, it's just annoying but at the same time I'm concerned there might be some unknown underlying issue.
Also, whenever I pee in such cases, it doesn't feel like I've fully emptied my bladder and it feels like there's some left over pee in there and the sensation kinda gets a bit stronger when I stand up - it's like some annoying sort of ticklish sensation. Yesterday night was the most recent time this happened (and just for extra context, I had peed not long before I masturbated so I don't know why I had to go again AND got a cramp). I don't know how long after I went to pee after masturbating as I had decided to sleep and was feeling pretty drowsy, but it was soon enough after to cause a cramp, I guess. I decided to sit on the toilet for ~ 10-15 mins to wait out the cramp and I managed to pee a bit more in short but somewhat strong streams every 5 mind or so, if that makes sense. I'm not sure how relevant this might be but it might help provide more info to help explain why I get these cramps.
An extra note is that this happens at night before I sleep so I'd be lying in bed. I've also sometimes woken up to pee with a really full bladder and experienced the same thing but I don't know if it's because of the full bladder or maybe having had a wet dream? I also have a bad tendency to sometimes not drink enough water, especially at night. I have close to 0 medical knowledge so I'm throwing out any info that might be relevant.
I would appreciate any insight or help into this, thank you :)
| 275 |
NAD: This happens to me too, seems to be pretty common. Don’t think there’s anything to worry about tbh
| 86 |
AskDocs
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[26F] recommended for termination of pregnancy in a country where I don't speak the language
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I'm 26/Female/white/5'6/155 lbs/quit smoking five years ago/no alcohol or drug use/no medication outside of prenatal vitamins, fish oil, iron, B12, D, folic acid.
I relocated to Israel a year and a half ago and I do not speak fluent Hebrew or Arabic. I'm 13 weeks into my second pregnancy and was referred for abortion at my ultrasound today due to a "huge edema around the entire fetus", "delicate pulse pattern", and "chest fluid". I can't communicate with any of my doctor's fluently enough to fully understand what is going on. I usually rely more on the paperwork and printouts they give me which I can translate on my own time. Before I schedule a termination date I at least want to understand my body and situation a little bit better. I read about hydrops online but that doesn't seem to be in line with what the doctor said about the edema being *around* the entire fetus?? My initial ultrasound to confirm pregnancy showed the same issue and I was referred to a more comprehensive exam which showed nothing, and now this at 13 weeks. I just want to know the cause and ramifications of edema or what it even really is. And maybe just a name or explanation as to what's going on. My first pregnancy was totally normal and fullterm with only slight anemia that cleared up as soon as I started iron supplements. This pregnancy I've had terrible morning sickness, constant dizziness, pica type cravings, extreme exhaustion, and weakness/pain in my abdomen and legs to the point of feeling like I can't move them. Also of note is that I am Rh negative and received rhogam during my first pregnancy but not after delivery as my baby was noted as also being Rh negative. I would be so appreciative of ANY insight. Just feeling really overwhelmed. Photos of my ultrasounds are included. https://imgur.com/gallery/GzFEXH3
| 779 |
Not a doctor, but fluent Hebrew speaker! Let me translate/communicate whatever you need
| 790 |
AskDocs
|
Strange bleeding from my chest
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Male
Age:25
Height: 5'10
Weight: 155
No medications
Only medical condition is high blood pressure for my age, around 150/100 at the time of the incident, much lower now (130/80).
reposting and hoping to get some more opinions on what this may be
This has not happened since.
I'll preface this by saying I'm ok, this was over a year ago and no doctor has really been able to give me an answer as to what exactly this was, so I decided it wasn't a huge deal, but I'm still very curious what may have caused this.
I was showering with a loofah, and as I was cleaning my chest it felt like something fell off, I assumed it was a scab so I carried on, but then it began to bleed, A LOT. In what I'm guessing were arterial sprays, like in rhythm with my heart beat. In short there was just a pin-sized hole in my chest that caused me to lose enough blood to get dizzy.
[Video of the incident](https://imgur.com/a/mnW6yV6)
I didn't pass out or anything, but it was far more blood than I was comfortable with and only stopped when I plugged the hole with some tissue paper, and even then it would continue to soak through multiple sets.
A year later there's still a small scar that looks like someone stuck a needle in my chest.
If anyone knows what this may have been and/or why it was bleeding in this specific way, I'd appreciate the help, thank you in advance!
| 709 |
Don't know it but holy crap dude...
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AskDocs
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My penis doesn't work properly anymore at the age of only 15, what am I supposed to do?
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15, male, never smoked or drank, and I've never had sex so it's most likely not due to an STD.
I've tried posting about this a couple of times, but each time my post seems to go completely unnoticed, and this has been going on for a few months now so I'm starting to get really worried. Basically, it all begun about 4 months ago when one day,out of nowhere I went to masturbate and I couldn't get hard. Up until that point my masturbation habits and penis in general had been healthy and pretty much the same as everyone I knew. After that day where I couldn't get hard, I didn't wake up with morning wood (which I'd always had up until that point). Over the next couple of days it got a little bit better, but since then I haven't experienced morning wood once, I don't get random erections any more, and when K do manage to get hard my boner goes away if I don't start giving it attention.
Secondly, about 2 months ago a second problem started in conjunction with the others. After one day where I tried edging for a bit too long, my orgasms went form completely normal to having something very wrong with them. Whenever I cum now, it feels like there is more stuck in my urethra to come out, almost like I need to pee, and it hurts a little. It feels like a massive letdown, as I build up to an orgasm and then it feels unfinished. Also, my balls tend to hurt a bit after I finish. At first I thought it might be a UTI or something, but nothing else seems to be wrong with it (peeing is fine) and it would most likely have gone away by now of it was.
If you know what is going on or what to do about either of these proboems, please let me know because I'm really scared. My last resort is talking to a doctor, but I'd prefer not to because it would be an awkward topic to bring up with my parents. Please, please, please help me out here.
Edit: Just want to add, I still have a high sex drive and have tried stopping masturbating to see if it helps, but no luck. I also doubt it is due to psychological issues or other medication as I don't take any and my mental state is fine. Thanks for all the comments :)
Edit 2: Just wanted to say thanks for the reassurance everyone, I'm amazed at how much support I've gotten. After this I've decided to go an see a doctor and possibly try quitting masturbation for a bit. I'll be sure to keep you updated!
| 915 |
You need to see a doctor. If you want it to be less awkward, just tell your parents that it hurts to pee and ask them to not be in the room because it embarasses you.
| 1,135 |
AskDocs
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Shattered femur 2 months ago in DUI crash. Doctor feels neglectful because of the circumstances.
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Here's the x-ray that was taken last week. The accident and surgery were on the 15th of June.
[https://imgur.com/a/dcZowlj](https://imgur.com/a/dcZowlj)
Two months ago I crashed my car after passing out behind the wheel and not wearing a seat belt. I was going around 45 mph and slammed into a concrete electrical pole. This was a DUI crash and a huge wake-up call for me and the direction my life was going. It's really a case of I shouldn't be alive and I'm grateful to even be here making this post.
It feels like because of my circumstances my doctor doesn't have as much compassion for me as his other patients (I've heard him talking to other patients in the room next to mine at my appointments and his demeanor seems to be much more caring for them.) The appointments have not been more than 5-10 minutes with the doc. My first appointment was 3 weeks after the surgery and his advice to me was "use crutches and don't fuck it up". His words not mine. His assistant had been talking to me earlier and said "you probably won't need physical therapy" and no mention about PT from the doc, just "don't fuck it up. Fast forward a month later to last week, the first thing the doctor and assistant ask is "how's therapy been". I didn't even know I was supposed to be going? I told them I hadn't gone but I showed him that I was able to walk and bear weight without crutches but my leg would collapse if I wasn't stiffening out my knee. He then checked my knee and ordered an MRI and said "yea with these types of injuries its common to injure the knee as well". I got my MRI done 2 days ago and will be back to see the doc next week with my MRI results. If this is so common, why didn't they check for this earlier?
As far as the femur goes, he told me that it's just about looking healed. How is that possible? I still feel pain when I move my leg in certain ways, mostly in the inside of my thigh where the bone has split. It feels like the end of it is poking the inside of my leg. To me it doesn't look like it has healed much at all to me so that's why I'm here trying to get some second opinions.
I wanted to ask all this with the doctor but he seemed to get visibly annoyed and already on his way out to the next patient.
&#x200B;
Thank you in advance. I'm genuinely worried about my leg being messed up for the rest of my life and not being able to go back to the outdoor activities and sports I loved to do before this.
| 416 |
Agree with other posters advising you to get a second opinion.
However, I'd expect and get used to very little compassion from future caregivers around this issue. Your experience will likely be less negative if you accept this beforehand and lower your expectations. Orthopedic surgeons are often trauma surgeons, and have to deal a decent amount with the victims of drunk driving. Compassion fatigue is a real thing and it's extremely difficult to get emotionally invested the same for someone who was the victim of a DUI as someone who did a DUI who is only not in jail because they got morally lucky.
| 453 |
AskDocs
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16M It hurts when I ejaculate, today there was orange jelly stuff in my semen.
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So, a week ago me and my family were on a holiday out of my country, for a week. I did not masturbate for the entire week, which was not common for me, because I masturbate a lot. After we came home, on the first opportunity I had, I started masturbating and when I came it hurt a little bit, but I thought that was just because of the week of no masturbation. Every orgasm after that hurt just more and more, and today it hurt so bad I realized it is probably a serious problem. It felt like there is something stuck in my penis, and I was probably correct because today something orange, jelly, came out of it, like 3 or 4 pieces, I can provide pictures. I will for sure go see a doctor but first I just wanted to ask if there's someone who knows what it could be or what to do. Also, I'm a virgin if that helps. Apologies for my bad english, it's my second language.
&#x200B;
Update: I drank a lot of water and peed dozens of times since yesterday. I told myself I'm gonna msturbate tonight and if the problem stayed, I'd tell my parents immediately. It didn't. The pain went away, and now I'm really confused on what to do. I'm still gonna go to the doctors anyway, but some people said in the comments that they had the same problem and after drinking more and eating more healthy, it went away, so that makes me happier. I'll update you after I'll go to the doctor.
| 475 |
It could be prostatitis as well. You have most of the symptoms. The orange is more than likely blood and the other substance is mostly semen but due to the build up combined with the problem, it came out the way it did.
Another equally likely cause is an infection, could be a few different ones. Ultimately, as others have said, get yourself healthier. Starting yesterday. If it's the same or worse in a week, it's time to get your jelly-cumming ass to a doctor.
| 399 |
AskDocs
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2 yr old excessively sleeping, fever, extreme irritability.
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2 year old, Male, white, 28lbs
So my 2 yr old son has been excessively sleepy, like he sleeps and lays down the ENTIRE day except when I wake him to change him, or make him drink and offer food(refuses to eat, only drink). He has had a fever between 100- 104, he is very irritable, violent, acts like he is in pain, has chills, and has thrown up about 4 times..We have taken him to 4 different DRS... they cant find anything wrong. Most of the blood work was normal, urine normal, negative for COVID19, negative for strep, his C-Reactive proteins were kinda High, and his abdomen shows bowel/gastric irritation/inflammation from XRAY.. I have been giving him a multivitamin everyday, and added vitamin D.
Any clue what could be going on? This has been going on for a week now. It started gradually with him being fussy, and now he is straight up biting us, clawing us, yelling, and sleeping 22 hrs a day. Im not even kidding.
My husband thinks im over reacting, but I just feel deep down there is something terribly wrong.
EDIT: His PED did repeat labs today. The labs were the same except his WBC has elevated. New xray is showing more gas and stool than previous xray... PED is admitting him into the hospital in a few hours for further testing and monitoring. Thank you so much everyone for your advice and love! Will update.
Edit: 8/27 Dr. Discharged him. It was the strangest thing, he woke up full of energy... no more symptoms. His blood work confirmed everything was back to normal range. They are really puzzled. He was not treated, just given IV fluids and motrin.. Seattle infections disease center is involved and advising to test for certain things... but it's all negative. We go back to his Dr. Saturday to review more blood work results. They are testing for autoimmune diseases now.
It was like a light switch... he was sleeping the entire day away, moaning, crying, very aggressive if he was bothered, fever, vomiting, and complete loss of appetite... for a WEEK!. ... then went to sleep last night, woke up, completely normal. Glory to God.
| 467 |
In situations like this, I ask a lot of questions before I make a definite plan. That being said, from what I am reading I would probably be treating empirically with antibiotic since a person can have a negative blood culture (I certainly hope one has been drawn) and still be septic. A CBC (complete blood count) also may not always show classic signs of sepsis (this is bacterial infection of the bloodstream) because some infections can suppress neutrophil production (neutrophils are the white blood cells that respond primarily to bacterial infections). Sometimes in children, you have to treat clinically and not according to labs.
The fever curve can be very important. You've told me the range of the fevers, but not how they have run over time. EXACTLY which day did his fever begin. Also what has been his highest fever each day? If his peak temperatures are slowly trending downward, then that suggests a viral illness. However if he is still spiking high fevers on day 4 or 5 of fever, then that's much more concerning.
On which days of illness were the labs performed, and on which days did you go to your pediatrician, the urgent care, and the ER?
Does he have ANY other signs or symptoms of illness, such as red eyes, rash, or swollen lymph nodes?
How much is your son drinking? It's okay if he doesn't want to eat, but he is at high risk for dehydration.
Is he properly vaccinated?
The excessive sleepiness and other mental status changes can be a sign of meningitis (this is inflammation/ infection of the fluid and lining of the brain and spinal cord, and can be either bacterial or viral).
In a situation like what you describe, I normally start empiric treatment with an antibiotic, but ONLY after a blood culture has been drawn). A lumbar puncture should definitely be considered, since this would have to be drawn prior to starting antibiotic. Your son's hydration status should also be carefully assessed, since dehydration may warrant hospital admission.
Credential: I am a pediatrician and practice both outpatient and hospital pediatrics.
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AskDocs
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UPDATE: [26F] recommended for termination of pregnancy in a country where I don't speak the language
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Original post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/comments/ici7ez/26f_recommended_for_termination_of_pregnancy_in_a/
First of all I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you not only to the physicians who responded but also to everyone who upvoted and comment-bumped me for visibility. Obviously the physician responses helped on the medical end, but the simple comment bumps helped so much emotionally. I'm in this country without family (except for my husband and toddler) and sometimes it honestly gets really lonely so having even the tiniest bit of online support meant the world to me. I even want to thank the user who posted anti-semitic comments because your comment specifically helped this hella Jewish woman connect with other Jewish women on this forum who offered hands-on support, validation, and rescoures.
I had a meeting with the specialists in the termination committee today and they diagnosed the pregnancy with cystic hygroma in addition to other serious physical (nasal, respiratory, heart) malformations that would make the fetus 100% incompatible with life. They made it pretty dang clear that I could basically miscarry at any moment, which sounds about right to me as a layman given all this info. We asked about genetic testing/probability of this happening again and they said it's very unlikely, the occurrence of this situation is less than one percent overall. So I've decided to forgo any additional testing like CVS or amniocentesis as a chromosomal defect would just be another issue on the list and not a defining factor in my choice.
So unless nature takes it course, I'm scheduled for an inpatient termination this coming Monday. I can't really find anything online about inpatient terminations, but they gave me the choice and explained that the outpatient procedure would be started with dilation by osmotic dilators and move quickly while the inpatient procedure would use slow, supervised dilation with less trauma over 48 hours. I'm not 100% sure if they meant physical trauma or emotional trauma, as they mentioned some people find it very uncomfortable and impeding (especially with childcare) to do the outpatient dilation and return to the hospital for the procedure. I'd read about osmotic dilation earlier and it really freaked me out so I was super happy to have this previously unknown option offered.
I'm feeling a lot more secure after hearing from everyone in this community, my doctor, and today's specialists. I never in a million years thought I'd be terminating a wanted pregnancy for any reason but I still have thousands and thousands of chances to have another baby just waiting in my ovaries so I'm going to focus on that and also on my toddler who is already my whole world. And I'm thankful in that I've experienced this and can hopefully help women who are in this situation in the future.
Thanks everybody!
*Edit just to add that all the doctors and social workers on the committee and at the hospital we went to spoke near perfect English which was a great relief for me and we did not have to spend money we don't have on an interpreter.
*Later edit to update that the genetic blood test came back early and indicated 1:5 for down syndrome and trisomy 18.
| 1,064 |
I'm glad you got the answers you needed.
Regarding the inpatient termination if you are wanting clarification I think it would be which route are you going:
1) will you receive osmotic and/or chemical dilators and then go on to have an evacuation procedure?
2) will you receive osmotic and/or chemical dilators and then go on to have an induced delivery? Just an fyi with this, people not infrequently require manual removal of the placenta, so they end up having the 'evacuation' portion anyhow (but it would just be the placenta).
Both are safe. Some "feel better" about the second option because they feel like they are just inducing labor rather than actually "terminating". Fetuses in general, but especially a compromised one, have high rates of passing before delivery anyhow though.
Also, you could choose to have genetic testing of any remains (and not do CVS or amniocentesis). But it is one of those things where it's optional and it may not truly change anything for you. This being said, many people like having a more solid answer.
Good luck with everything. You have very good odds of having normal babies in the future.
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AskDocs
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[19F]Experiencing bad pulsating headaches nonstop for the past week and noticed big hard lump growing on side of my neck.
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It is currently 10:38pm as I’m writing this and I haven’t left my bed since 2:30am this morning and that was to let my mum know about the lump.
Today I’ve had no appetite and last time I ate was around 7:30pm yesterday. 20mins ago I got up to use the toilet and as I was making my way out, I collapsed. My body gave out on me so I just laid there for about 10mins until my body gained back conscious. Mind you, my room is directly in front of the bathroom yet I couldn’t even make it past the bathroom door.
I’m not sure if there is a connection but for the past 2/3 weeks my right ear has been really sore but since I always had problems with my ears I ignored it and thought the pain will die down on its own in a week or so but since then I’ve slowly started experiencing migraines straight from hell 24/7. I kid you not, it feels like Mike Tyson is in my head goin HAM. It’s gotten to the point I’m now constantly sleep deprived, lightheaded & nauseous but still I didn’t feel like it was concerning enough to go see the doctor coz I know how busy it is rn and to go in for migraines I didn’t think was fair so thought, “it’s because I’m in bed all day, food will fix it”.
Started having neck pain 6 days ago, did a quick google search and concluded it was poor sleeping posture. Now couple days later and my lips are dry no matter how much water I drink or lip balm I put, they’re constantly dry as well as my throat. Later that night is when I feel a small lump on the right side of my neck in the middle. I thought I was tripping, I could feel something there but convinced myself I’m imagining since it wasn’t visible and brushed it off. Until this morning at 2am, I was trying to massage to help the neck pain and felt really dense and swollen up behind my ear, so I get up to check in the mirror and that when I see how swollen it’s gotten which it wasn’t even noticeable the day before unless I didn’t pay much attention? I feel I would have definitely noticed considering the size. Now like I said I got up about 20mins ago to pee and it’s gotten even bigger and worse in pain and I also just noticed my right ear is bruised.
I know now everything is getting progressively worse quite fast and I should go get it checked but I’m scared it’s more than just swollen lymph node/tumour and the cost considering I’m a permanent resident not a citizen. I’m extremely anxious and stressed, I can feel something is very wrong with my body, I’m always weak and lack energy and idk how to prepare myself to hear the news. I’m not even sure I can walk to the car then from the car to the hospital without fainting. When I stand or walk around my head gets so intense and body goes numb in less than a minute I lose control. Can you guys give me possibilities of what to prepare for so I’m not phased when I hear bad new out loud? I have 2 more days til I go get checked and at this point I think having an idea of what to expect will bring a little peace of mind.
Sorry this post is all over the place, still heavy sleep deprived so I’m going to try sleep now and will check if any replies when I wake
| 486 |
Go to ER. If it is something worse, better get it early than late. Better to file for bankruptcy then be dead. This too will pass..... as someone who has stage 4 cancer and probably not much longer to live with a wife and 5 yr old at home........ I wish I went in earlier to get checked out. Probably would have either saved my life or given me more time.....
| 750 |
AskDocs
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My sleepwalking is getting dangerous. Doctor isn’t sure what to do.
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Edit: thank you all for the advice. I have purchased locks for my fridge and knife drawer, and I have ordered a door alarm on Amazon. My doctor called me back and has referred me to a sleep specialist and I will be seeing him soon. Thank you for the help
Male, 25, 174 pounds, 6 feet, Canada. Non smoker, social drinking (once or twice a month). No other medical conditions.
I’ve been sleepwalking for the past year or so. But recently it’s gotten dangerous. I’ve started making food while asleep, using knives, electrical appliances etc. I told my doctor that I had been sleep walking and doing strange stuff, but she wasn’t really sure what to suggest. She said she would ask her colleagues, but I never heard back. This morning I woke up feeling sick. I went to the kitchen and saw that I had eaten uncooked food with raw meat in it. I’m lucky nothing happened besides a stomach ache, but now I’m really paranoid about what else I might do.
| 695 |
First things first, you have to add some safety features to your home to avoid injuring or harming yourself. Knives and other sharps should be in a drawer, which should have a child lock mechanism on it. If you're eating uncooked food, another child proof lock on the fridge might help. Your door should be locked at night, and your car keys should be in the same drawer as sharps, so you don't drive while sleepwalking. Once winter comes, if this isn't resolved, your coat and appropriate footwear should be easily accessible by the door, to increase the odds that you'll wear them. If you live with someone else, adding a simple magnetic alarm to your bedroom door and window should wake them in time to get you back to bed.
As for treatment, you first have to figure out if there's an underlying cause. A sleep study can be quite useful there, as can knowing if there's a family history at all. If you could know what time the episodes occur, say by having a home security system record you or a roommate wake up to the alarm, that would open some other therapeutic options. There's a few things to try, but treatment depends on wether or not there's ab underlying cause.
| 675 |
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Drs of reddit, what are your beliefs on the future of chronic pain?
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Millions and millions of people suffer from chronic pain that costs society billions of dollars per year and costs individuals massive loss in quality of life.
Opioids are effective in acute pain, but those with chronic conditions and those with central nervous system sensitization face a scary reality that they must endure 40 to 50 years with daily persistent pain that has no physical cause.
I've been seeing scientific articles pop up the last few months showing promising new avenues to local and detect neural pathways that contribute to these types of pain.
I am wondering if any of you medical experts could chime in with your opinions of what the future of chronic pain treatment looks like, and perhaps offer a ray of hope to the millions of us who want our lives back.
Is it unreasonable to hope for a revolution in the treatment of pain in the near future?
Surely the age of using antidepressants and antiepileptics for pain has to end eventually.
Thanks for your thoughts.
| 470 |
I am a doctor with chronic pain and I agree with the poster about needing holistic/mind and body thinking for best treatment. There’s only so much medications or surgeries can do but so much that we as patients can do: stay active, do therapy (physical and/or mental), work on mindfulness techniques and coping strategies. Understanding that emotion and psychology are linked with our perceptions of pain is an enormous step that many of my fellow pain sufferers struggle with. I personally have had far better pain control once my anxiety was better controlled.
Edit: I will no longer be responding to personal stories about pain or the idea that I must not know what “real pain” feels like. For the former, I can’t offer any advice other than speaking with your doctors or finding a second opinion. For the latter, nothing I will say will convince you, nor can you see the meds I take or the implanted stimulator that sits in my spinal column to treat my pain. Believe what you want, but realize you sound a lot like the disbelieving doctors most pain patients hate and have been condescended to.
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AskDocs
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Rage/anger in 3-year-old disappears after taking Benadryl - why?
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3M - Texas - white
My 3-year-old son has always been angry and aggressive. We always have said it’s like he has testosterone just coursing through his veins. Even as an infant this was apparent. We had him evaluated by eci at 6 months and they said he was well beyond all milestones but just seemed like a difficult child.
Our household is extremely docile. My husband and I are so laid back and calm and our 5-year-old is the same way. When my 3-year-old gets angry (often) his first inclination is to flip our coffee table over or throw a chair. Now, before this, I thought that these must be learned behaviors, but he had never seen someone do this. He just inherently seeks out to destroy when he is angry.
With that said...he recently developed a rash/hives all over his body. It has been going on for over a month We were told to give him Benadryl when it flares up. A weird thing has happened after we started giving him Benadryl. It seems to normalize him. His aggression and anger are gone for a bit and he’s just himself. The Benadryl doesn’t make him tired at all, it just makes him normal - sweet, follows directions, not quick to anger, etc.
So, what could this mean? Is there something in his brain that is calmed by an antihistamine? Just trying to understand the mechanics of this and what might be going on.
Not sure if it’s important to note his brothers medical history, but his 5-year-old brother has cancer (ALL).
| 636 |
Antihistamines can actually be used to treat anxiety. Typically we use Vistaril (hydroxyzine) and not Benadryl, but they are very similar medications with similar effects. As others mentioned, antihistamines also have sedating effects which doesn’t necessarily have to mean making people sleepy, at smaller doses it can make you feel calmer but not sedated.
It would be a good idea to discuss these behavioral issues with your pediatrician to see if your son would benefit from any additional interventions. It sounds like he could benefit from additional attention but this is best discussed with your family and your pediatrician to see what fits your family’s needs. I can say not only as a physician but as someone whose sibling had childhood cancer that as a kid having a sibling with cancer definitely affects you, even at such a young age. Your older son’s oncologists surely also have experience dealing with the family disruption that cancer causes and might have some good suggestions and recommendations regarding your younger son’s behavior.
Good luck!
| 695 |
AskDocs
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Accidentally drank a year supply of CBD oil
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28M 250lbs 5'8" not currently drinking or smoking no medications
So last summer I very unwisely drank 5 bottles of CBD oil. Probably like a years supply. In the span of a week. And I can still taste it in my mouth today. It's still in my system somehow and Im wondering if theres anything aside from diet and excerise that could help get it out faster?
**I think the CBD is still in my system because of this gnawing sensation I'm having. If I don't eat enough protein then I start to bleed in rectal area. I've thought for a while its CBD trying to get out of my system causing the gnawing. But it could be something else.
****I got an endoscope and ct scan both of which came back clean. My gastroenterologist straight uo said hes doesnt know. Endocrinologist has prescribed phentermine which has helped marginally.
****I'm not diabetic. Normal alc for a while (5.9) I've taken Ozempic in the past for a couple months but it stopped working
I'm fully aware of the foolishness of my decision - I was in severe pain and was desperate. Any help on the matter would be much appreciated. Thanks
| 481 |
NAD, there's no way that 1 year later it's still in your system. There may be metabolites in your fats possibly but you wouldn't be able to taste it. Odds are it's a psychosomatic thing. Like how you can recall childhood flavours to the point of such clarity you can still taste them. Also there's tons of terpines in foods and spices that are the same as what are found in cannabis so it could be that too. I've eaten a sausage and had a really cannabis like aftertaste in my mouth for the rest of the day just because of the spices in the sausage.
| 594 |
AskDocs
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I would really like to know what's happening to me and if I can stop it.
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Age: 19
Sex: Male
Height: 5'8
Weight: 105
Race: White
Location: FL, USA
Any existing relevant medical issues: No
Current medications: N/A
So this happened to me three times now in the span of a few months. It's a very strange and scary thing so I'll try to explain it the best I can.
I wake up in the middle of the night with these intense chills running through my body. Chills are the only way I can really describe it because I've never felt anything like this before. I'm also freezing cold and sweating hot at the same time - it's a very scary and intense feeling. So after I lie in bed for awhile, trying to make this feeling go away, I stand up and just try to calm down. Then out of nowhere I feel the need to throw up. Now this is the worst part because I've thrown up before but never like this. It explodes out of my mouth and nose and it really hurts. The worst part is I can't breath after for a bit, so I'm just gasping for breath. After all this is over and I clean myself up, I feel fine. I go to back to bed and wake up feeling like normal. Apart from my throat, nose and back of face hurting.
Now the first two nights were the same and went exactly like this. On the third night I was a little more prepared. When I awoke from the chills and realized it was going to lead to the same violent vomiting, I went to the bathroom and tried to do it nicely. I squeezed my nose and tried to just let it out but it didn't work. It still managed to come through my nose, it still was very painful, and I still couldn't breath. After all this, I went to bed and woke up fine again.
My parents thought it was something I ate but I disagreed because I ate different foods on each night. I thought I got bit by a spider or something but now I don't know what to think. I don't think I'm sick because I don't feel sick - the vomiting just comes out of nowhere. It's the intense chills going through my head and body I want to know about.
I would really love to know what is happening to me and if I can stop it. Or maybe just some tips on what I can do differently. Thank you.
| 461 |
One thought I had is this could be an atypical migraine presentation. You don’t need to have a headache to have a migraine, and there are even abdominal/gastric migraines (the brain and the GI system function on similar neurotransmitters). I can’t explain why the vomiting is so forceful, but it might explain why it comes and goes so suddenly.
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AskDocs
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I’m so tired of trying
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20F | taking Wellbutrin, lexapro, gabapentin | diagnosed with severe MDD earlier this year
It’s 4am, and I’m still can’t sleep after taking 6 pills. I thought I was way past all those suicidal thoughts, in all of a sudden, it just feels like too much to bear. Everyone tells me there’s hope, and depression can be cured. I do believe that, but I just don’t see myself graduating from college next year. I’m really afraid of breaking down and living through a living hell next quarter, but I just have this feeling that it’s gonna get worse once the road gets tough. I’m really really tired of trying different kinds of meds or feeding myself with the illusion that depression is gonna disappear miraculously. I no longer see the point in trying, but everything that can be used has been removed from my room.
Is there anything I can take to calm myself down?
| 301 |
NAD, wanted to let you know that I have been you but now I’m 20yrs later. I survived by going to student health services and talking to a therapist. They helped me take small, manageable steps to move forward. You don’t need to be alone in your struggles, please lean on professionals to help you. Also, I am proud of you for reaching out to Reddit. Even if we aren’t your docs, we all support you and want to see you succeed. Sending you love from your future, you can do this.
| 91 |
AskDocs
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I am at my wits end.
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- Male
- 28 years old
- Syrian
- non-smoker
- Contacted Hepatitis around 5 or 6 years ago. Liver almost failed.
- Serious mental issues as a product of prolonged period of duress and threat.
I need to preface first that I am Syrian, have witnessed the events firsthand (though to be fair my experience was nowhere near as horrid as some of those around me) and is still living there. I graduated as a civil engineer some years ago, but only barely due to the issues I suffered from. I'm not sure whether what I suffered from was PTSD or an exacerbated case of ADD but my mental state deteriorated rapidly during the past years.
I had started struggling with memory issues (forgetfulness of basic stuff, cases of tip-of-the-tongue for info that could be critical for what I'm working for that can straight last for a week or more), chronic stress whenever I tried to push myself to work (to the point of getting tinnitus, slight muscle spasms - maybe not to the point of catatonia, but still, tightness of chest and heart palpitation), restless sleep - if I manage to sleep at all - and a hazy mind and lack of focus culminating in ~~psychotic~~ dissociative phases or episodes (can't count past 100 or 200 due to losing train of thought; bouts of complete detachment of reality).
Last year I managed to score an appointment with psychiatrist whom prescribed Seroxat (4 pills a day) Deanxit (1 pill a day) and Limbitrol (once daily) for me.
Treatment had lasted for around 8 months and was pleasant overall. I felt lightheaded, blurry and narcoleptic throughout but that's par for the course. Around July the doctor decided that the treatment was enough of a success and called for me to gradually reduce dosage while keeping me on Limbitrol as it significantly improved the quality of my sleep.
Fast forward to around the beginning of August: We had to pay a huge sum of my and my family's savings to renovate our house after the plumbings got clogged, I am out-of-a-job and work on the internet for minimal pay. I started looking for a job in the handicapped market to no avail (normal jobs don't pay for naught - around 20$ a month - and ones in my line require minimum 2 years of experience which I don't have) as well as started working on a personal venture (a portfolio of written articles which I can use to apply for jobs), but at one point the stress got to me and I completely cracked. The severe stress issues got back, I lost the leash over my thoughts and memory and, pardon the juvenile way I describe this, was reunited with the good 'ol voices.
I'm at a loss here. I'm trying to get my life back on track but cannot possibly hope to do so with a head that screwed. It stings more acknowledging how lucky I was compared to other people I've known who've been through much tougher quandaries yet are moving on with their lives.
I believe therapy would've been a good answer but therapists are at a premium here let alone the fact there are none around where I live. I... I just don't know what to do anymore.
Edit: Thank you everyone for the warm reponse! I'll try and find a group to contact online and ask about PTSD more. I'll also get my blood ammonia levels tested just in case. Hopefully I can update you when, if, things get better.
| 327 |
I don't know what to say and i'm sorry. Just gonna wish you good luck.
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Help me understand what happened to me in the ER
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I will try to include all relevant info and stick to the facts.
I (35F) am a survivor of 2 strokes. I had my 1st one in Aug 2009. Drs couldn't figure out the cause and chalked it up to my BC and told me no more estrogen. Fast forward to summer 2019. I started having "episodes" where one or both my arms or legs would go totally numb. Dr sent me for a MRI in early Oct 2019 and it showed some EDIT nonacute infarcts. Neurologist put me on a blood thinner and told me I should be OK, but scheduled another test(i don't remember now what it was).
Never got around going for that test because I had a stroke Oct. 16, 2019 EDIT (Yes, A REAL STROKE). As I was leaving work, my left arm went completely numb and I couldn't move it. I had mental confusion and word finding problems. Also, I remember my voice sounding really loud in my head.
My husband was with me and had 911 called right away. I remember telling the paramedics and I remember my husband telling them too of my history of a stroke. I arrived at the ER. by the time I arrived, I still had mental confusion and was having trouble responding to the docs and nurses. MY arms and legs were also thrashing about involuntarily.
My husband and mother conveyed my history of stroke to all the docs. One of the many questions they asked me was whether I had been under any additional stress recently and I answered honestly... i had a fight with my husband the night before, but it was over nothing. I have a pretty responsible job as a state judge and can handle my stress. I am as low-drama as one can possibly be.
A neurologist was called to ER to consult. He said "he had seen this before," and, due to my answer about the fight with my husband, he said it was a panic attack/ploy for attention." He said i just needed to "calm down" and I would be fine. I had ABSOLUTELY NO HISTORY of panic attacks or attention-seeking behavior. my husband even ran out to the car to get my MRI scans to show the dr (which we still had in the car frim my appt a few weeks prior.) Despite my mother and husband telling him all this and viewing my scans of the recent mini-strokes, he remained convinced it was psychological in nature. My mom asked him to get me a MRI to see if its a stroke... at least rule it out, but he said it was unnecessary.
I laid in the ER screaming for help for over 3 hours. Eventually some new doc came on the floor (due to shift change?) and said he thought I was having a stroke and that I should get an MRI. Shocker... it was a stroke. They gave me the clot-buster medication but it had been over the 3 hour window...also they did a surgery consult to see if they could get the clot out surgically, but no. I now have significant physical and psychological damage from the stroke.
Considering these facts, did the neuruologist do what he was supposed to do? Is this normal. I'm not looking for a legal perspective. I'm just asking that, considering these facts, did the doctor do what he was supposed to do. If not, what should have happened?
I'm able to provide additional facts if needed. Im just struggling to understand what happened to me and why. And if the doctor did what he should have. I'm trying to understand this from the perspective of the doctor.
I have since been diagnised with antiphispholipid antibody syndrome.
EDIT. All the people calling me liars shows how inappropriate the care I received was. I was in neuro ICU for a few days and in regular hospital a few more. Then didcharged to inpatient rehab for 10 days.
| 609 |
I had a similar experience recently. A nurse taking my history saw “anxiety” in my records, and chalked my chest pain up to anxiety. Doctor agreed and sent me home with instructions to take Tylenol. I went back to the ER three days later. They paid attention this time and ended up removing my gallbladder, as it was not only full of stones, but now quite septic.
The amount of stress added when no one would listen to me about the pain I was feeling was horrible. I felt like I wasn’t worth the time to listen to them, and like they thought I was a liar. I almost didn’t go back in, because my husband bought the “anxiety” diagnosis and thought I was just being dramatic. I am so sorry that this happened to you. You need to call the hospital and ask them to open a review of the case.
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UPDATE: Ovary removed at 14, changed my entire life the moment I woke up
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24 y/o white female-5'7" 200 lb.
Link to the original post [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/comments/hfq6b2/ovary_removed_at_14_changed_my_entire_life_the/)
I received almost 700 upvotes on the original post and I can't tell ya how much that meant to me. I sobbed for hours because I truly thought I didn’t deserve any attention and that I wasn’t “sick enough”. Let me go into a little more detail (hopefully this isn't against the rules) CW emotional abuse: &nbsp;
When my health problems first struck as a teenager, I went from my parents’ golden child to the one that started doing poorly in school, was constantly sleeping, and wasn’t as sharp or bubbly as she used to be. Because of this, I suddenly began to endure countless instances of emotional and verbal abuse along with these new cognitive and physical changes in my body. Like being a teenager isn’t hard enough already, right? I was told I was faking my symptoms constantly, as well as ridiculed on a regular basis for being unable to function like I used to. I internalized this and hated myself for not being able to function like a “normal person”. Even though my family had taken me to medical specialists which I had to literally beg for, and I had received some diagnoses or at least symptom identifications, I still didn’t fully believe they were real because I was told the doctors weren’t being truthful and my parents would ignore any advice they had for me. An example being when I was referred to a hand physical therapist for hypermobility in my fingers, who told my mom I need braces for my fingers who would ask me when I wore them, “do those even do anything?” or “why are you even wearing those?” &nbsp;
After I received so much love and feedback and genuine support that I never received as a scared teenager with no one to comfort her, I was able to finally accept that I really wasn’t faking and deserved medical attention.
I luckily had already scheduled an appointment with a thyroid specialist when I made this post and even though my TSH tested in the normal range, he was willing to try a small dose of thyroid hormone to see if that would make me feel better. After about a week on the thyroid hormone, I perked up and felt like I had before this more recent onslaught of symptoms. I felt my personality begin to emerge again and I had more energy to do smaller tasks, both mental and physical. My skin also is less dry, which has been lovely. A bunch of people here suggested that it could be a thyroid problem, so thank you for that feedback. I was lucky to also have a doctor who was willing to try something to help me out. &nbsp;
I also realized that I have been experiencing other symptoms before this recent onslaught and these symptoms are due to multiple conditions that people have suggested. I was diagnosed with POTS as a teenager and just didn’t think it could be affecting me still. It most definitely is. I have a referral for a chronic fatigue specialist in order to address chronic fatigue and POTS symptoms. I also have had enough energy lately to make appointments for other specialists. I have been seeing a therapist regularly for PTSD symptoms for a few weeks now, as recommended by a few users here if I recall correctly, as well as a psychiatrist, who diagnosed me with ADHD and PMDD, as well as reinforced other diagnoses of bipolar and OCD, which were other suggestions. My psychiatrist upped my stimulant for the ADHD and recommended vitamin B6 for PMDD. I just got a prescription for birth control to see if that will help as well. I also started taking Claritin for potential mast cell problems. I wasn't diagnosed with that one, but I figured daily Claritin, which is a recommended treatment couldn't hurt. Finally, I had low vitamin D and low B-12 when tested, so I also started supplements for both of those, which again, was another suggestion. I think getting treatment for all of these things combined has been helping. I have also learned I have a lot of diagnoses lol, a few of which I already knew about, but was in denial. &nbsp;
I’ve had to quit my job because of this illness which was rough, but I’m slowly getting myself back to being able to work. I take daily walks and do some chores daily to build up strength and endurance again.&nbsp;
It is the most magical thing in the world to be able to not have to cry out of fatigue every time I go to the bathroom or be able to microwave meals for myself or talk to friends or being able to shower on a semi-regular basis. I cried tears of joy for weeks after because there were so many things that I took for granted and am so thankful I can do again. I used to dream of dying and now I dream of living, even if that living is only being able to do a few things a day. If you are suffering from mystery symptoms, the only thing that kept me going were the small things, like watching a youtube video from a favorite youtuber or even lighting a candle next to my bed to make it seem like my world wasn’t collapsing. &nbsp;
I don’t know how to convey this message enough, but I am just so appreciative for this subreddit for giving me all of these ideas, many of which were actually correct and even if they weren’t, showed compassion for my situation, something I’ve gone years thinking I didn’t deserve. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. &nbsp;
TL;DR: A combination of mild, but very significant in terms of symptoms, thyroid dysfunction, as well as POTS, chronic fatigue, joint hypermobility, ADHD, PMDD, trauma, vitamin deficiencies, and mast cell issues caused my symptoms.
| 1,000 |
Did anyone ever mention hEDS/hypermobile type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome? With both POTS and mast cell with hypermobility it is an option that should probably be explored. They are often co-morbid.
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AskDocs
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My niece (20) has become paralyzed from the waist down for an unknown reason
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USA, 20F, 120lbs 5'10" no prior health issues.
Prior [post here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/comments/ieulo5/my_niece_has_become_paralyzed_from_the_waist_down/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Anya is now at Vanderbilt hospital as they run a slew of tests. This is her 3rd hospital in 2 weeks. The paralysis has slowly continued up her torso and is roughly 6 inches higher than it was a week ago, which is affecting her lower organs. They have stated that she has Transverse Myelitis and lesions on her spine. She also has extensive nerve damage. At this point, there still is not a known cause. She had a second spinal tap (the first one at another hospital) and is awaiting those results.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please share your thoughts
| 675 |
Transverse myelitis often has no identifiable cause. Indeed, most of the time there is a trigger, usually a mild viral infection like a cold. Vanderbilt is one of the best hospitals in the world, hang in there. If there is anything that they can do to support healing and recovery, they will do it.
Edit: Transverse myelitis is akin to a multiple sclerosis (MS) of the spine. Some people recover with no problems. Some people have very severe cases and don't recover all the way. In certain people it will be life-threatening. It's impossible to know how this will go. Often times with recovery long periods of rehabilitation and physical therapy will be needed. However, OP's relative is in a very good hospital. I have no doubt they will receive the best treatment available.
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How come testosterone therapy is acceptable for transgender people wanting to present more masculine, but not for cisgender males who may wish they be more masculine?
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This is NOT meant to be an anti-trans post. I am 100% for bodily autonomy and acceptance.
I am merely wondering why men looking for T have to get it illegally unless their free and total T is _really low_, while trans men looking to physically affirm their gender and present more masculine can get a prescription? What is the medical difference between a female (sex) wanting to become more manly and a man wanting to become more manly?
Edit: I personally am not concerned with my masculinity. I merely mean to compare one’s desire to match their ideal masculinity with another’s.
| 828 |
Those who were born female produce minimal endogenous testosterone and so therefore need to supplement with exogenous testosterone in order to transition. Those born male already produce endogenous testosterone. If you are clinically hypotesterone, then you can get it prescribed. However there are significant side effects and drawbacks to giving a person with normal testosterone levels extra testosterone as it throws the natural endogenous hormone feedback loops out of wack. That's why people who abuse T can get gynecomastia, increased aggression, hair loss, infertility and perhaps most famously reduced testicular size.
| 850 |
AskDocs
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1 year old sudden loss of vision
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On Thursday, my 15 month old’s babysitter noticed that she wasn’t making eye contact like normal. At home, I noticed the same thing. Normally, if I look at her and smile she smiles back. But it looked like she was looking right past me. Along with that, she was not tracking objects with her eyes.
I took her to the pediatrician on Friday who was concerned and wanted her to see an ophthalmologist right away. So we did that, she had a full eye exam with her eyes dilated and there was nothing wrong (like far sightedness or strabismus etc) with her eyes. The ophthalmologist was concerned too and called a neurologist who wanted us to go to the ER so we could be admitted into neurology over the weekend.
The ER did a lot of blood work, a spinal tap for fluid (I can’t remember the name- I’m sorry.) and the doctors there just generally said they were stumped.
We are on day 2 of being in the pediatric neurology unit. She’s having an EEG done for 24 hours and hopefully an MRI today. The neurologist says he’s fairly confident she isn’t having seizures but wants to cover everything.
I hope one or both of those things gives us an answer but in the mean time all I have to do is think. What could possibly have caused this loss of vision seemingly overnight? She responds to sounds but not objects. She’s had hundreds of lights (from nurses doctors etc) flashed right in her eyes and she does nothing like you’d expect. They shined a light in my eyes to show me how abnormal it was that she did nothing because I instinctively moved my eyes.
Also... no falls, no high fevers, no recent illness, her birth was normal, she’s developmentally normal.
Does anyone have any idea of what this could be?
| 591 |
Sorry to hear about your daughter. It is hard to know the cause without all the test results at the current time, especially the MRI, as this seems to be something less common. If she looks well in other aspects (except for the vision loss), and has already been evaluated by a pediatrician, ophthalmologist, and a pediatric neurologist, you are doing everything you can, and it seems that everything necessary is being done. Vision requires normal eyes, normal optic nerves connecting the eyes to the brain, and normal function of the visual cortex of the brain, and of course normal response to vision requires good function of the rest of the brain. Generally most problems affecting the eyes affect only one eye at a time, and can be seen by the ophthalmologist (either anterior chamber problems such as cataracts or posterior chamber issues such as retinoblastoma). Problems affecting the optic nerves (e.g optic neuritis) are more often seen in older kids (e.g with multiple sclerosis) and are very rare at 15 months. Rarely, there can be problems near where the optic nerves come together just behind the eyes (optic chiasma) when masses (eg. craniopharyngioma)/cysts push on them and can cause visual loss. It is also rare for things to affect the visual cortex of the brain. I suspect that the MRI will be of help. If it does find something, it might need other specialists (e.g. neurosurgeon) to provide further information on management.
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AskDocs
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"0.12" "M" breathing very rapidly without any other symptoms.
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Age: 12days
Sex: Male
Weight: 8 lb
Race: middle eastern
Duration of complaint: since birth
Location: Kurdistan region of Iraq
Any existing relevant medical issues: 6mm PFO with floating septum pirmum
Current medications: none
Greetings. My 12 days old son is breathing quite rapidly. Sometimes up to 80 breaths per minute and never lower than 60. His chest X-ray came back clean and he doesn't have any other symptoms beside very few nasal flarings . We just had an Echocardiogram and we were told that he has a 6mm PFO with a floating septum. Me and my wife are super worried and we take turn watching him every minute of every night worrying he might give up breathing since it appears so hard for him. He was delivered by Cesarian section at 38 weeks due to severe pain in my wife's back. My question is , what is prognosis for some one with a floating septum primum ? And is there a chance that his rapid breathing might damage his lungs ? Thanks for your insights.
| 362 |
Would like to preface by saying that I am by no means a pediatric cardiologist but would like to just point a few things out before this thread gets filled with everyone and their mother’s opinion about what is probably a situation that is not only very specific but also can’t be answered definitely without specific information.
Based on your description, it sounds like an atrial septal defect as well as a patent pfo. Atrial septal defects are not uncommon and come in all sorts of flavors (primum, secundum) and furthermore there are many subsets of each of these. Many people live with ASDs and do well but some do require correction. The need for closure is out of the scope of this discussion and is to be made by pediatric specialists and often depends on both the anatomy and specific flow measurements within the heart.
In terms of your child, newborn breathing can often be a cause for concern for new parents. Newborn respiratory rates are hard to count and can vary from time to time (something called periodic breathing). Long story short, keep an eye out for excessive nasal flaring, what looks like tugging in the area around his ribs, or signs that looks like he is struggling to breathe aside from just the respiratory rate. Keep an eye on the color of his hands and feet and around his mouth. Also keep an eye on his alertness - some concerning signs would be sleeping more than normal, not eating, or being unable to feed because of his breathing.
You should, at the very least, be followed by a pediatrician. Often if an ASD is not deemed severe it is something that will be followed with echocardiograms as many do not require intervention. Small defects may close on their own, as do many PFOs.
Hope this helps in some way.
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AskDocs
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Questions about Calorie Needs and Missing Limbs? (21/M)
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I am a 21 yo male, who was born missing my right leg (Amelia), I use forearm crutches to walk, and I have since 6th grade (12 yo). I am a tad on the heavier side than I would like to be (143.5lbs which is overweight) but I am fairly agile and am capable of biking 20+ miles in a single day.
I'm curious as how to go about calculating my daily TDEE with my condition. I haven't had much luck from any fitness professionals and I honestly don't seek treatment for my condition considering that there is no cure, and prosthetics aren't applicable due to the fact that I am missing part of my hip. I have no clue where to go from here, but I'm 40 pounds heavier than in high school and I feel rougher and my joints hurt like mad and I know that intuitive eating isn't optimal for me.
So this leaves me with three questions:
1. How do I calculate my daily calorie needs?
2. Do I need to adjust the amount of calories I log as burning based off the excersize adjustments?
3. Is there a way to properly calculate my BMI besides adding 14% of my body weight to my weight?
My apologies for the random question and if this is the wrong subreddit, I just have no idea where to look for these answers, I've never gotten any helpful answers from nutritionists/coaches and Google is a lost cause for me.
| 387 |
Super interesting question that I don't have the slightest idea about, but upvoting and replying so I can see if you get any good info.
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My 97 year old Grandmom broke her hip, does she have a shot?
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Hi, My 97 year old grandmother broke her hip and refuses surgery. It’s been about a week and a half since the fall and I’m worried that at this point, even if we convince her, it’s too late. She already has bed sores. I call her daily (can’t visit bc of COVID) and each day she sounds worse and worse. My mom is bad at asking tough questions of the doctors and I’m trying to get to the bottom of things. Does she have any chance or recovering and have a decent quality of life. Even if she’s in a wheelchair. Right now I’m just expecting then phone call at any moment. If the worst is coming soon I want to push my mom harder to take her out of the rehab facility and move her home so she can die in the house she worked so hard for. Which is what she wants.
| 570 |
There is no way for me to say for sure without knowing more of your grandmother's past medical history, what her fracture looks like, and what her current state of health is (vitals, blood work, physical exam, etc.). However, I will encourage you to ask the tough questions. Why does your grandmother not want surgery? And what does she want instead? Ask your grandmother what her priorities are in terms of her medical care so her wishes can be respected. You can request a palliative care consult, which are experts in having discussions about goals of care. They are also experts in providing care at home so people can be comfortable in the end of life and have the optimizing quality of life given a patient's situation.
Falls and hip fractures are very, very, very serious in the elderly. At 97 years old, a hip fracture is very concerning. Like I said I can't say for sure, but without treatment she is unlikely to survive and go back to her previous quality of life. Even with prompt treatment, the situation still would have been serious. If your grandmother wishes to decline any further treatment and want to die at home in peace, then I encourage you to fight for that and let your grandmother's wishes be heard. Talk to her and ask her what she wants, in the end that's the most important thing.
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AskDocs
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I (23F) am officially COVID-free but ID doctor said I have reactive arthritis? Is it supposed to be this painful?
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Hi, I am a 23 year old Asian female living in the Philippines. I recently recovered from COVID-19 after testing positive on August 7th. During my brush with COVID (mild case) I had some muscle cramps, fever, and a sore throat. When the two week period was over, I felt better... For like 2 days.
I was in immeasurable pain. My joints hurt so much and I have never ever felt that kind of pain before. My wrists, shoulders, upper back, ankles, fingers and toes were aching. Recently, the pain has been so bad that I have been crying and feel the overwhelming urge to vomit. (Nothing comes out because I have had 0 appetite and barely eat)
I have some red splotchy things on my face and I look pretty pale/grayish. I consulted an ID doctor earlier this week and he said it was post-viral arthritis and that I'd have to wait until it goes away in a month or so. He gave me celecoxib which does not work at all. I have had maybe 7 hours of sleep this week because I wake up crying.
I don't know if I can/should wait that long or seek emergency treatment (and risk reinfection/infecting my parents) But to sum it all up, I'm wondering if it's supposed to be this painful? I'm 23 and have never experienced arthritis so I wouldn't know. My parents tell me to suck it up until the one month period is over but idk if I can. Thanks in advance.
| 550 |
If your pain is not being managed, then do seek help. Don't suffer in silence at home. It's your choice who you go to see: whether that's your GP, a rheumatologist, a pain specialist, etc. I'd advise *not* going to an emergency department because it's very difficult for them to access your medical records and they're far less likely to give you any medication to go home with, that's not really what they're there for.
But anyone should be able to give you a moderate opioid like codeine or tramadol to help you through what must be an awfully painful phase of reactive arthritis. Explain to them you've tried normal pain killers, like acetaminophen and celecoxib but they're not working. Explain to them the pain you're in, your inability to sleep, etc. For a documented acute condition it shouldn't pose an issue for a doctor to prescribe you moderate opioids to help you through this.
I will, add, however, that no matter what medications you get, don't take them alone. If things like paracetamol/acetaminophen and celecoxib weren't working well, don't stop taking them when you get something stronger. Multi-modal therapy is the cornerstone of pain management and means the pain should be tackled with drugs that work in different ways. Even if one isn't enough, together in combination they work a lot better than any of them do individually. Just make sure you don't exceed maximum stated doses of each drug.
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AskDocs
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After dinner last night, I became extremely sick almost immediately after finishing my bowl. Is that too short a timeframe to blame that specific meal?
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Age: 30
Weight 75
duration/location of complaint: 6-12 hours upset stomach
past and current medical history: n/a
current meds: none
I want to know, mainly for kind of a stupid reason that I think I already know the answer to but still going to ask. Last night I cooked something awesome, I made enough for lunch as well.
I also got very very sick last night, it came on extremely suddenly out of nowhere nearly the instant I took my last forkful of Carbonara. After one hell of a rough night on the toilet and the rest of today feeling kinda fragile and tired, I have finally recovered. Given my fragile state at lunchtime today, I left the leftovers in the fridge and ate something else instead. I vowed to throw them out in fact because of course that would be the smart thing to do.
Thing is, I really don't want to toss it out, it was great and I feel like one shouldn't be able to get food poisoning from something, so quickly after eating it. It would have taken maybe 15 minutes to eat the bowl I had for dinner and I was sick instantly after finishing the bowl. On that basis I feel like it probably wasn't the dinner. I know any smart person would just toss it out because who wants to risk maybe going through that all again just for a bowl of pasta, but like, it breaks my heart to toss it out. Is there even an outside chance that it could have been *that* meal that made me sick after so small a timeframe?
UPDATE: Yeh ok, it certainly sounds like it is not unusual for suspect food to make you ill as quickly as this did. That's a surprise to me, I thought it would take some time measurable at least in hours before sypmtoms would develop. I'm going to have to do the smart thing and bid my fantastic pasta farewell. Why hath the pasta gods forsaken me so? And with one of my most cherished dishes to cook. Thanks random internet strangers, you've persuaded me not to do the dumb thing I knew was dumb but was seriously considering just doing anyway.
| 358 |
The only way to be sure is to eat it again. But no, the timeframe is not abnormal.
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AskDocs
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Is it possible I have 2 different terminal illnesses?
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62 yo white male. Hx of bladder cancer 20 years ago. No meds, no injuries. no other illness or chronic conditions. A little heavy 250 5'11" USA Caucasion
I've handled this pretty well until this yesterday. The seriousness just hit me and I am really getting anxious.
About mid June I realized my right hand felt weak. No pain, paresthesia, sensory deficits. Just weak. I realized it had been weak for a few months. Grip strength, wrist flexion and extension, pinch grip, and shoulder abduction. All weak. Difficult squeezing the bulb on a blood pressure cuff and turning the screw. Difficult squeezing toothpaste tube. It came to mind that I had a problem when I noticed myself changing my toothpaste squeeze grip.
I saw my PCP and then a neurologist who did EMG's and MRI of head and c spine. Not much on the MRI besides age related changes and a disc bulge. Again, no pain or paresthesia at all. EMG's showed significant difference right to left UE and LE bilateral decrease. I do not have the EMG report
The neuro ordered exhaustive blood work and 24 hour urinalysis. All reasonable results except the free Kappa lt chains are 32.5 mg/L with normals listed as 3.3-19.4. Free Lambda Lt Chains are 15.3 mg/L with norms being 5.7-26.3. Kappa/Lambda Ratio,S \[H\] 2.12 with normal being 0.26-1.65
Clinical exam did confirm weakness in the right hand compared to the left with the left weak also. Right shoulder abductors were week. On my follow up visit yesterday, dorsiflexors and hip flexors were also "none too impressive."
I have done weekly dynamometer grip strength trials with 20 repetitions on each hand in two different settings. After 6 weeks I am about 6%-10% weaker bilaterally, R>L.
I've been stumbling and bilateral calf and hamstring cramps wake me up several times a night. No falls. Stumbling and cramps progressively worse over the past 5-6 months
Let's not beat around the bush: Is it possible I have both ALS (history and neuro exam) and Multiple Myeloma(Kappa/Lambda ratio)? I have been referred to an oncology/hematology clinic as well as an ALS neuro clinic. Those appointments are at least 3 weeks away. Why, how could I get hit by two massive blows at once?
I am not an anxious person but I really could use some discussion on this. TIA
| 411 |
That’s a lot to take in. Good for you for doing your homework and keeping it together, that can’t be easy.
Yes. It is possible to have both. A quick review of literature shows very rare associations and hypothetical causation of MM/lymphoproliferative disorders and motor neuron diseases.
I’m happy to help with any questions you may have, but I advise you to do your best to stay calm and take notes when you meet with your neurologist and oncologist. One diagnosis would affect the other in terms of prognosis and treatment.
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AskDocs
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Late at night, I'm awake with my eyes closed and can 100% hear someone going through my apartment and can feel someone trying to have sex with me. I open my eyes and no one is there. I moved to an entire new state and it still keeps happening. I don't know what to tell my doctor.
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Age: 21
Sex: Male
Height: 6'1
Weight: 295 lbs
Race: African-American
Duration of complaint: 2 years
Location: N.C.
Any existing relevant medical issues: sleep apnea, high blood pressure,severe OCD, unspecified bipolar 2
Current medications: quetiapine(100mg), sertraline(100mg), Lisinopril(10-15mg)
I'm having this weird issue at night where I'm awake and conscious (with my eyes closed because it freaks me out) and can hear someone going through my apartment and/or can feel someone getting in bed with me, touching my body, trying to have sex with me. Every time I open my eyes and look around, everything is EXACTLY the way I put it when I first fell asleep. It started when I was living in my parents house about a year ago. I moved into a dorm and it happened again. Finally I moved out of state and it still keeps happening. I live by myself now and when I was in the dorm.
I have two primary care doctors, a psychiatrist, and a psychologist but I literally have no way of explaining what's going on. If anyone could lead me to some information it would really help a lot.
edit: I forgot to mention, oftentimes I wake up because I feel someone tap me on my shoulder. I live alone. All my dreams are always lucid and always have the same theme: I travel back in time to talk to my family and friends. I’ve been having that exact same dream for the last 5-6 months.
| 992 |
Given your medical history, it might be your Seroquel is sub-therapuetic at the current dose. This is something to bring up with the psychiatrist. Explain it like you did on this post, they won't look at you any differently.
| 578 |
AskDocs
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How can I secretly get my nephew medical care without his parents knowing? (mental health)
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UPDATE: Thank you so much for all your help, guys. So many good points were brought up and your advice helped a lot. I was up all night mulling things over, and in the morning I decided to tell my sister everything, before the kids woke up. She was glad I spoke up. This morning she drove the girls to school, but let her son stay home. When she got back from school dropoffs she took him out for the day. They went for a drive to the park, got lunch, and talked. When they got home, my nephew had a nap on the couch. I didn't ask what was said, but my sister said things were smoothed out a bit, communication-wise, and she is monitoring his mood. He will try the school counsellor again, and from there we will see what needs to be done treatment-wise for his health. She also said that she explained to her son my choice to betray his trust, and he understands. Still, I will talk to my nephew, explain my choice to tell his parents, and apologise in person for spilling his secret. Just to make sure we are ok. Again, thank you everyone for your advice.
15M, 6+foot, ??kg, Caucasian, no current medication (afaik), no drugs or drinking. In New Zealand.
So tonight my nephew (15m) told me (25f) that he is struggling with what sounds like severe depression.
Long story short, he is struggling with the usual symptoms: low self esteem, constant suicidal thoughts, previous self-harm (once), anxiety, inability to focus on schoolwork, inability to fall asleep, inability to get a decent sleep, and on top of all that, frightening memory gaps. He comes home from school and literally has no answer to the question: *"How was school?"* He doesn't know. He doesn't remember.
My nephew is terrified of speaking to his parents about this. **NOTE:** they are incredible, supportive parents, but he hates to talk about this stuff and he is terrified of starting that conversation with them, because he is worried he will be forced out of his 'bottle it up' mentality. I have encouraged him to speak with his parents, but he adamantly refused. He specifically asked me not to tell his parents because he doesn't feel comfortable talking about it with them.
I don't want to betray my nephew's trust, but I know he needs better care and support than I can provide. I am living with the family at the moment, so I can offer at-home support. However, I think he needs to see a professional. These memory gaps are causing him to struggle in school, it's affecting his friendships, and it's affecting his home life. It's affecting his happiness. He is passively suicidal, but that could change at the drop of a hat. I want to know what I can organise for him without his mum and dad finding out and spilling the beans.. Is he able to get therapy? Does he need parental consent to try medications?
I know this isn't the typical 'AskDocs' question, and I apologise. But I would really appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you in advance.
| 584 |
He could talk to his GP. He’s at the age where puberty is raging and could ask the parents to leave. When I was 15, puberty hit my mental health hard and that’s exactly what I did.
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AskDocs
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I wake up every morning with stiff ankles and have to hobble down stairs without being able to bend them. Is this normal aging or something worth seeing a doctor about? I’m 31.
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Depending on the previous day’s activity (e.g. using a drill or the garden hose for a prolonged period), I also wake up with stiff, sore finger joints. I feel like I’m too young to feel this old, but I also know I’m not a spring chicken anymore. I don’t have any major health problems that I know of (healthy weight, etc.).
What kind of doctor would be best for this type of joint stiffness? I’m nervous the answer will be “take ibuprofen and stretch,” which is not something I want to risk an office visit for right now. I’m also nervous that it will get worse and affect my mobility.
| 372 |
Is the stiffness worse in the morning and get better throughout the day? What part of your fingers is sore?
| 149 |
AskDocs
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Am I obligated to tell family members about what the Doctor does during checkups or examinations?
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For context , I am a 19 year old male and I don't see any justifiable reason as to why I should tell anything about what happens when I am in the examination room. They also ask me things such as what my weight is or what my BMI is. I just see no reason for them to know any of that information.
&#x200B;
Thoughts?
| 428 |
No, you are not obligated to tell them these things. Some examples of when I would consider sharing medical information with family is if you have been told you have an infectious disease that could affect someone in your household, or you have a genetic condition where knowing about risk could affect the care someone else in your family receives.
| 453 |
AskDocs
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I'm such a dumb fucking idiot and it has ruined my confidence (anus)
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So I (22 male) have always been fucked in the head. Starting a few years ago, I started experiencing with anal play while masturbating. Well, it went way overboard and I bought a huge sex toy and basically made it fit in my ass even though it hurt a bit. I'm fucked in the head, yes. Then about 4 months ago I had my anal virginity taken by an old man who surprise fisted me with 4 fingers inside and rotating the hand too. Both of these activities have stretched/worn out the skin around my anus (due to the anus being forced to expand). So now it's like I have excess skin around the asshole (not hemorrhoids).
Now my problem is that I got this loose "extra" skin and my ass falls out a little after I poop. If I squat down naked I can see some skin hanging down behind the asshole where my ass crack is supposed to be. It looks fucking awful and I feel like I'm an 70 year old man with anal prolapse. I already look fucked up and worn out, how am I gonna look when I'm 40? There's no way a medical procedure can fix this. I'm willing to post photos but I really just kinda wanna sleep forever. I don't know how I've managed to ruin myself so much...
I want to start over but that's not possible and it's just over for me. I'm so fucking tired of hurting about how big of a piece of shit I am. I have RUINED my own body. At this point trying to get better is only going to feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. I just wanna fucking cry in bed and stop going to the gym / work / talk to anyone. I really dont want anyone to say "you're depressed so seek help" or something. This is the cause of my sadness. Either it ends or I do.
| 607 |
You'll have to excuse me but right now you don't need coddling. You need tough love.
Realistically, the only thing that will ruin your relationships, future or current, is this terrible attitude of yours and the way you talk about yourself. Your body is not your only worth. You're not stupid. You are however, already engaging in risky sex with and older gent, who didn't even have the decency to ask for consent to being fisted. Your self esteem is shit and you're too busy with your self loathing to objectively look at the situation. Your ass will be fine, and even if not (absolute worst case scenario ever), it's noones business but yours. And when someone cares about you, they absolutely will not give a fuck beyond helping you with your pain. Anyone else should be avoided 100%.
you absolutely need to wake the fuck up from this pity party and treat the issue that, quite frankly, is way more dire.
I'm not a doctor, but I am a mental health professional and your behaviors and words, and absolute focus on ignoring advice and obsession with how much you hate yourself is what will put you in the hospital or the ground. This is a real danger,and no matter how stupid you think you are, no one wants you to fall victim to yourself permanently. Right now is the easiest time to shop for a counselor, since everyone is doing televisits anyways. Go to a GP for your ass, make an appointment to get your head fixed. I am more than willing to find low cost/transportation/ medicaid etc to help you get in a better situation.
Edit: thanks for the awards y'all. Appreciate it. Instead of spending money on awards can I ask yall give the crisis text line number (741741 in the US) to someone you think might need some help? Not enough people know about this as a resource.
| 1,732 |
AskDocs
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I hate it
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13M
Ht 5ft 5in
Wt 125lbs
Caucasian
no smoking, medications or drugs
Duration: Years
No known medical issues
I have this issue where I get motion sickness in open sky. Indoors I'm just fine. Sometimes it doesn't bother me, and other times I don't even want to go outside because it's so bad. It's never gone away. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
| 288 |
History of anxiety? Need physical therapy/vestibular rehab and an ENT evaluation. If anxiety also, then there is an interaction there and the anxiety as well needs to be treated.
| 193 |
AskDocs
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[23M] I'm not officially diagnosed, but my high functioning Aspergers friend keeps hinting that I may be on the spectrum. Help?
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I have a tendency to be very random, and I switch topics on a dime mid conversation, especially if a topic comes into my head that I'm really excited for. I have full blown discussions with myself, arguments with people that aren't there, and just speak general nonsense sometimes. I'm very forgetful, even if I don't mean to be.
At my job, I frequently forget to sign and date things because something will distract me and I'll completely forget to do the simplest of tasks.
Any time I'm given any form of instruction, I immediately get a spike in anxiety even if it's something as simple as "Go deliver this paper to this room. It's three doors down on the left around the corner."
I'm very bad at physically showing emotion (hugs, comforting, etc.) but I know I feel empathy, sympathy, sadness, and excitement for people. It feels like no matter what my head says to do, my body won't listen. I can be almost frighteningly level headed, not crying at funerals or even showing any emotion, I feel almost numb.
I have a hard time transferring what I'm saying in my head to speech, and I sometimes don't hear people, even when they're right next to me despite listening to them, unless I'm looking directly at them.
I'm not one to self diagnose, but I've obviously done a little bit of it myself and my symptoms seem to align with ADHD or high functioning Aspergers, as they tend to share a lot of symptoms. I know I need to seek professional help, but with the current situation of the country and economy, paying for it is easier said than done. Does anyone have any ideas on what it may be..?
| 330 |
You could be, or you could be add-combined type, or... It's normal to be"weird". The question of whether at your age you should seek a diagnosis is whether or not this is negatively impacting your life, and how a diagnosis could improve it. If, for example, the inattention/anxiety is causing you difficulty at work, then a diagnosis could mean you get a medication or therapy that would help. But if you simply want a diagnosis to have one, it could be a long and expensive process with little reward.
| 212 |
AskDocs
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I have/had an IUD pregnancy and need advice
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Update: hcg levels have dropped again to 67. I'm going back tomorrow to test again to ensure they keep falling now. Quite disappointed but guess it's not meant to be. Thank you to everyone for all your support and kind words.
Hello, hoping someone can help put me out of my misery. My (33f) husband (46m) and I have two children and thought we were done. I have had the mirena IUD since our 2 year old was born.
My last menstrual period was early-mid August, but a week after it ended I started spotting and have been since. Hubs and I had sex 28th August. This past Tuesday I woke with cramping that felt unusual, I thought something was wrong with my mirena but thought I would take a home pregnancy test to rule it out. Shock horror it was positive. Initially I was horrified, thought my family was complete but have since come to believe if this ends up being viable we will be thrilled.
Went to the hospital for bloods, hcg level was 99. Went back thursday and levels are 85. Which I think means this is unviable? I have to go back saturday for another test to see if they continue to fall.
My question being, is this a definite miscarriage? Is a slight fall definitely a miscarriage? The spotty stopped yesterday and I feel fine otherwise. Is there a chance this could be visble or do i need to resign myself to this not happening? This is our last (surprise) shot as hubby just had a vasectomy a week ago (typical luck for us).
Also will the iud need to be removed?
And on the off chance this pregnancy continues, is removing the iud or leaving it in better medically?
Thanks you if you've made it this far and for any advice you may have 😊
| 285 |
There's no definite with HCG levels until they are at they are less than 25.
A single fall does not necessarily mean a miscarriage, and under 1,500 a scan might not show anything. You essentially just need to keep doing levels, and a scan at some point if they are not going in a pattern of dropping by 15%, or going up by 63% every two days.
However, your drop has been just less than 15% and whilst I don't know the time between the tests, a continued decrease below this figure can be indicative of an ectopic pregnancy, of which your coil is a risk factor, so the gyanecologist's will likely keep an eye on this. Just so that you are aware.
But common is common, and I would say that dropping figures and spotting probably mean a failed pregnancy, but I wouldn't say it on just two levels if I hadn't seen obvious pregnancy tissue coming away, or a very significant drop in HCG
Regarding the mirena. The mirena can stay in if this is a miscarriage. If not there is the choice to have it removed in the first trimester, with an increased chance of miscarriage. Or, don't remove it and have an increased chance of a second trimester loss
| 204 |
AskDocs
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Is there any place that would want a testicular donation in the US?
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I am a trans woman who is soon going to get an orchiectomy. My question is, is there any place that needs my testicles? I've trued to find a way to donate my testicles, but all I found online were those clickbait "They made $35,000 by donating testicles" when everyone over the age of five knows that's not how organ donations work. Since I'm going to get rid of them anyway, I figure they might as well go to someone who needs them.
| 653 |
I don’t know the answer but it’s a fabulous offer. Good luck with the surgery and the new you .
| 621 |
AskDocs
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Daily diarrhea for 8+ years, no matter what I eat, drink, or take medicinally. Nothing major revealed by tests in the past. 23M, white, overall healthy, no major allergies. Trigger warning: rape mention.
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I've been dealing with daily or 2x+ daily bathroom sessions that last 45 minutes-2+ hours for the last 8 years or more. Diarrhea every time without fail, mostly soft and thin in texture. If it's ever hard or formed stool (often accompanied by excess amounts of clear/yellow/green mucus), it's typically soon followed by softer stool. Rarely is it completely liquid in texture, but that does happen a couple times per year.
The problem is that I can't force all the bowel contents out with my muscles at once. I need to constantly wipe, which triggers more and more muscular movement and therefore forces out more contents. The cycle continues until I'm wiping clean. This often causes irritation, sores, and bleeding around the anus.
Within the last 5 years, I've had a colonoscopy and esophago-gastroduodenoscopy that ruled out Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis (which my dad had but is now in remission). I remember being informally diagnosed with a "bacterial overgrowth in my intestines," but was given no further medication, treatment, advice, or anything.
Backstory: (TW: Rape)
I started dealing with this in 2012 as a sophomore in High School (I'm now out of college and a full-time music teacher) while in a same-sex abusive relationship that lasted almost 8 years. I was anally raped many times, as well as sexually assaulted in other ways, so that's what I believe may have caused it in part. (Don't worry, I'm now happily married to the woman of my dreams, after a lot of therapy!)
I've tried probiotic pills and yogurt, meal-prepping bland chicken and vegetables for weeks, elimination diets, allergy tests, etc., with absolutely no positive impact. I have not had insurance since I turned 18 and came off of my parent's Medicaid. I'm recently ensured and want to stop this, as it is causing serious strain on my work life, personal life, and mental health.
Please help me understand where to start and what to look for treatment-wise and doctor-wise, now that I have basic insurance.
| 645 |
NAD, until you can see a physician, you should get a bidet fixture for your toilet and also use sitz bath with epsom salt and warm water a couple times a day for a 10-20min (if it’s feasible).
| 406 |
AskDocs
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28M- I cannot feel my legs anymore, it has been 6 months. The doctors aren't helping, please what should I do ?
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(I am posting this on behalf of my friend because I am very worried about him)
Age: 28 - Male - 155lbs muscular - 5′ 8
Regular smoker - drinks occasionally ( 1 time per week)
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It has been almost 2 years now that I've been feeling some tingling in my feet and arms, kindof like the numbness when you sit in a very uncomfortable position, except this didn't go away with time. Around 6 months ago it started spreading more and more in my legs. I cannot feel temperature in my feet and hands anymore, my legs from the knees down are completely numb, I cannot feel when someone touches me.
I used to be extremely serious about my street workout but I can't do it anymore because I have no sense of where the ground beneath my feet is. I have been injured while doing it before, but I have no idea if it is linked to my numbness, and I don't want to make it worse.
I have visited a doctor 2 months ago. My blood work was normal so he prescribed me some B12 and B6, said to rest and that it should go away . Of course that didn't work.
The second doctor I visited 1 month ago prescribed me anti-depressants because he said it could be psychological, and it's making me feel tired all the time with no improvements.
Those were both general practitioners who didn't give me any other suggestions.
Can you guys please tell me what else to do, what kind of doctors to visit ? What could be wrong with me ? Any suggestions are welcome .
| 321 |
You need to see a neurologist
| 459 |
AskDocs
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Oh, no, is my BUTT falling apart?
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[17, m, 6'6, 320 lbs]
A few days back, I noticed a mild discomfort while laying on my back in the morning. It felt a little bit like my tailbone was stabbing into the crack of my ass, just where the two cheeks split. I didn't think much of it, and it didn't bother me the rest of that day until that night when I noticed it going to sleep again. I ignored it and went to work the next morning.
Throughout the shift, this sensation became more pronounced and acute. It felt specifically as though someone was stabbing me in the ass with a hot knife, right where the crack started, every time I walked, bent over, or, God forbid, sit down.
After work was pretty bad. The rest of my day from then on was agony, getting worse and worse until eventually the only way I could bear the pain was lying on my stomach in bed, with any remote movement of my spine or legs inducing a searing, stabbing pain - right in the ass. Standing up was out of the question.
Today, it's only a little better. I can just about waddle around, stand straight up with my legs together, and lie down on my face. But any kind of leg or back movement still makes my skin sear. I can't even sit down to do work or play games!
Through the highly advanced "set camera timer and bend over" method I got a halfway decent look at the area of my asscrack that hurts most. It's red, inflamed, rubbed raw, and looks a little bit like a hairy vag all in all, complete with (and bear with me) a series of highly troubling, small, black holes like someone's actually been stabbing me with a pen!
What the hell?
I've been keeping the area clean and dry, making sure to get no sweat there if I can help it. That seems to help somewhat but the pain is still immense. What is a guy to do?
| 441 |
You should see your doctor and have it looked at. The area you’re experiencing the pain combined with the hair and the look of an opening or two makes me think this may be a pilonidal cyst. These can get infected and need to drained by a surgeon. Is the area tender to touch or warm feeing?
| 608 |
AskDocs
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Should I bring up my dissociative episodes to my Psychiatrist?
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Yo, I'm a 21 year old white female college student. I'm about 5 foot 6 inches and weigh 211-16 ish. I've been diagnosed with major depressive disorder in the past and so am taking Sertraline HCL 150mg and Quetiapine Fumarate 100mg daily. Besides that, I don't drink and I don't use drugs recreationally, though I do drink a lot of energy drinks.
On top of my depression, I have over the course of my life had over a dozen incidents where I would dissociate and simply lose time. I generally will just be in the middle of doing something, I blink and all of a sudden the task is done and at minimum an hour has passed. I remember nothing from the time lost, and according to my friends I am still responsive, can follow directions, and am capable of engaging in conversation. They've told me that I usually seem a little out of it but nothing extreme.
I've never brought this up to any of the doctors I've spoken with because I am afraid of being committed. I've already been through that once and would rather not go through it again if I can help it. Normally I only get like this every so often, usually right before exams or big projects. I'm assuming the stress of this pandemic plus going to school is triggering them to start again.
I have an upcoming appointment with my psychiatrist, what I'm wondering is, should I bring it up? Is it something to be especially concerned about? Will it get me committed?
| 309 |
Yes you should bring it up. It is not grounds for being admitted involuntarily. It may be part of your mental health issues, but may also require assessment by a neurologist. Your psychiatrist should be able to determine this.
| 277 |
AskDocs
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I [30M] am a body builder and eat the exact same thing every day, why are my poops different each morning?
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Not a medical problem per se, so I’m not sure this is the right place to ask. I am just curious of the inner workings of my body.
I eat the same thing every single day to maintain a caloric surplus. I am weighing about 255lbs and I am 6’5”.
My daily diet EVERY DAY is about as follows (weekends sometimes different)
18oz Chicken
3 cups rice (measured dry)
1 cup chopped spinach
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup baby tomato
1 whole red bell pepper
2 cups orange juice
70g dextrose (intraworkout)
Now I would think with this food being consumed each day my body would process this into the same waste since it’s the exact same substance in the exact same amount. To my surprise: each morning my bowel movements are different sizes and consistencies.
I do not consume anything else besides basic supplementation for biotin and vitamin D + K. I get plenty of fiber (I think).
Water intake is the same with about 16oz per meal (6 meals total).
I smoke a small amount of THC before bed. I do not drink alcohol.
I feel like my “gut biome” would be relatively stable, acting the same each day. What gives? This isn’t a medical issue, just a curiosity that creeps into my head each morning. This morning, I just had to ask someone.
Thanks!
Edit: my mistake, a regular shaker cup is 26oz, not 16. So I drink more water than stated. Also I forgot to add whey in there which I take 4 scoops total, 2 scoops morning and night at the same time
| 519 |
You may be forgetting that what you eat doesn't actually ENTER your body in the way you imagine.
It merely passes through a giant system that extracts certain things it needs and leaves other things it doesn't need to be flushed out.
This all happens on various timelines depending on what the substance is.
It's not that you are CREATING unique poops. It's that your UNUSED MATERIALS look different when it all gets dumped on the sidewalk.
| 743 |
AskDocs
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Why does my vagina stink when I’m having regular sex?
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Sorry in advance for the novel.
23F. Australia.
Medication: Dexamphetamine sulfate 20mg a day (started during the months of celibacy mentioned below). 100mg sertraline is the antidepressant mentioned.
166cm, 53KG
My partner and I are TTC and so have regular-ish unprotected sex. At the start of trying, we were having sex every day to every other day. I kept noticing my vagina suddenly smelt VERY strong. I could notice it through underwear + pants. I did a swab for BV which came back positive and did the course of antibiotics. The smell didn’t go away but it became slightly less noticeable.
Over the next 5 months of having this strong smell, I changed out all of my underwear to 95% cotton, made sure I was washing my vulva everyday with water or mild soap in the shower (which didn’t help the smell at all), continued to take BV swabs which all came back negative, was tested for STI/Ds twice despite only being with my partner and knowing he’s only been with me, started taking daily probiotics. The smell never went away.
Then a couple of months ago, I got onto antidepressants. My sex drive died and we probably had sex twice in those two months. TTC took a backseat while we worked on our mental health and relationship. NO SMELL. AT ALL.
A week ago I weaned off my antidepressants (advised by GP: causing bad side effects and started other medication that was helping significantly, turns out I’m probably not depressed, just have adhd). We’ve had sex 3 nights in a row and all of a sudden this strong smell is back.
My partner doesn’t really have smelly genitals apart from the odd sweaty day, in saying that once I noticed this strong smell on his penis but that was literally once and I’ve been nose on nose with his penis many times prior and since. His cum is normal to me - normal smell, normal taste.
So I just don’t understand why, when we’re having regular unprotected sex, my vagina stinks.
It’s also worth adding, there’s no other symptoms. I’ve had yeast infections, UTIs, chlamydia. I’m pretty good at spotting when something’s not quite right so this is really throwing me off. It’s also ridiculously embarrassing.
Edit: Just gonna add some things here because i can see some of the comments to which I have left replies giving more information have been buried.
1. Getting this out the way first: to the men who have left comments and inboxed me a) being disappointed that a post about a vagina got popular while a post about a penis didn’t, and b) upset that most of the responses were something along the lines of “his semen is causing your pH to go out of whack”.
I apologise that this post caught the interest of many. Believe me when I say that having a post get popular about my stinky genitals was not my intention. Also clarifying that when people say “his semen is causing an imbalance” nobody is blaming my partner. Nobody is saying that like “ugh men are the bane of our existence”. They’re just trying to help me help my vagina to live her best life. I apologise if any of this offends you.
Also I think it’s worth noting that a lot of the comments have been “omg me too” which I think makes this an important discussion to have. I don’t know about other people’s experience, but in mine vagina smell has always been a disgusting taboo. If you have it, you’re dirty, a slut, etc. You’re just supposed to hide it. I’ve never been encouraged, before finally having enough and posting this, to explore the underlying causes. Never mind finding out this is common and there’s an over the counter solution.
I know this is already a long edit but I’m also gonna put here that I find it really funny (and a bit sad tbh) that a few women have commented things like “TMI but mine smells after sex too” after I’ve just given a detailed recount of my last 8-9 months of sexual activity and the funk associated with it. At this point I think we should all accept that for some people, the stank is normal.
2. As said in a comment, my partner and I have most of our sex after night time showers which we take together. This is because we have jobs and a two year old and so sexy time is quite limited. He washes his junk well every day, and so do I.
He does have a foreskin. He does clean under it. Again, I get up close and personal with it regularly and it’s never had an unusual or strong smell apart from the times mentioned above.
3. Strangely, my discharge oder hasn’t changed, and neither has the smell of my knickers at the end of the day.
4. I’ve only been on amphetamines for a month.
TTC means trying to conceive
BV is bacterial vaginosis
| 648 |
I suspect this is because the vagina has a low pH while semen has a high pH. It is likely messing with your normal flora.
You have a few options, obviously some of these will mess with your TTC goal:
1) pull out, no ejaculating inside
2) condoms
3) no sex at all
4) This likely won't help but it *could* : have him wash his genitals before sex
5) Try boric acid vaginal suppositories (safe in the vagina, NOT SAFE taken orally). You could do a combo of boric acid plus lactobacillus probiotics vaginally. If you want to try this you can just buy any cheap lactobacillus oral capsule, but instead place it vaginally. Just place the boric acid and lactobacillus either together or alternating. FYI some people have irritation with boric acid, so beware!
6) There are pH healthy douches which we generally don't recommend but it would be a consideration in your situation. In the United States there is repHresh.
Good luck!
| 579 |
AskDocs
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How does keeping a baby inside during covid affect their immune system?
|
My sister (35F) had her first baby in November of 2019. I have only seen my niece (10monthsF) twice since she was born. :(
Once the pandemic hit, my sister and my niece did not leave their house for anything except her doctors appointments. Neither of them have really been around people in months.. My sister didn't allow any family to visit them which I understood.
Last week I guess they were sick of being lonely and stuck in the house and decided to visit family. Of course they ended up getting sick with fevers. They both went to the doctor and had a negative flu and covid test. I was just curious as to how covid is going to affect babies born in this time that are being sheltered like my niece? How do babies build their immune system? Is there any "safe" way for my sister to help her build a healthy immune system?
Edit: Adding extra information - My sister also had a C Section and was not able to breast feed so my niece was on formula.
Edit: Just cross-posted on r/askscience
| 463 |
I live in Denmark and what they do here is putting their babies outside for naps until about 1year old. If your sister has a balcony or a back yard I highly recommend she puts her baby in a pram, with a harness on of course and have the baby nap outside. In the winter time with a wool onesie underneath, cosy clothes, winter suit and a duvette. I am an immigrant and at first I was mortified when seeing Danes do it. But when I got my daughter I did the same because our nurse advised it and I didn't regret it. I am NOT a medical professional, this is NOT something that I researched scientifically. I'm just a mom, recommending what worked for me and other moms I talked to. Even if it doesn't help with colds etc. it will at least give the benefit of a very restful sleep.
EDIT: It has come to my attention that this comment heavily implies that this practice is scientifically proven. I probably used the wrong words, I didn't do actual research. I only know it worked very well for me and all moms here that I talked to. There are countless articles about it out there, I encourage everyone to do their own research. Here's one of them: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21537988
EDIT2: it's getting very annoying with people acting like I said something super damaging, even putting me in the same box with anti-vaxxers. So I am changing my comment completely, so that there's no more confusion. It's just naps, people. Take it easy.
EDIT3: Now that I edited, people are offended because I didn't specify that if you live in a heavily polluted area with a lot of noise of cars honking you shouldn't put your baby outside for naps. I thought that's common sense. But yeah, don't put your baby for naps outside in any circumstance whatsoever. Look around, make sure the environment is SAFE, clean, somewhat quiet (the quiet part is not a must, but I won't get into it) in the shade if it's sunny outside and do NOT cover the pram with a cloth, especially in the summer. I apologise for not automatically assuming everyone is a moron and need disclaimer upon disclaimer. 🤷♀️
| 202 |
AskDocs
|
My mom has residues from her brain cancer treatment HELP PLEASE
|
So my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer more than 20 years ago even before i was born, she never talked with me about the details of her cancer but from what she told me her cancer developped very quickly and she even had a big tumor on her head, she went through a lot of rounds of chemo therapy and thankfully it got completly eradicated, she then continued her studies and got her degree, for as long as i remebered her she was completly healthy, she was smart quick witted so her brain functions didn't get affected, however these last couple of years, she is now 51 years old, i can feel her brain got a lot slower abruptly, she did some scans, turns out she has a defficiency in white matter in her brain,now for twice a day she gets this sort of mini seizure where her face turns very red and litteraly zones out for a couple of seconds then she goes back to normal, also her brain starts to hurt a little bit when she is either studying or focusing on something, we went to a doctor and he told us there is nothing he can do about it; a very important note she is dealing with a lot of stress because of her side of the family bein very toxic, please tell me what i can do to help her i am afraid i might lose her
| 438 |
"Deficiency in white matter", in radiological language, does not necessarily mean that the cancer has returned. A brain tumor will always leave scars in the brain, even if the cancer is gone. These scars can also be a reason for small seizures.
| 309 |
AskDocs
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How to get doctors to take me seriously?
|
Hi doctors.
age: 15
Gender: Female
Medication: Birth Control for Endo but that's not related. Plus a lot of advil (6 maybe four times a day)
height: 5'6
weight: 150
I'm 15 and I have *extreme* pain every day in my joints. They partly or fully dislocate on a daily bases, I can dislocate my fingers without even noticing for a few hours, and my bones 'pop' contently. My ribs 'slip' out of place and make it hard for me to breath, my ankle will come out partially when I flex my foot wrong, I end up sobbing in pain after walking on hardwoods. You get the idea, I'm a mess.
But no doctor will listen to me.
I even pulled my shoulder out, far enough to see the top of the bone, for a intern (they where short on doctors so intern) and they told me it was growing pains.
I had another doctor who saw me because I was screaming in pain earlier from a hip dislocation (it hadn't happened as much back then, so I had bigger reactions) but because I had put it in at home, she told me it was 'most likely my period or something' and I got sent away.
My aunt has EDS (genetically diagnosed and everything) but my doctors won't even consider sending me in for testing. It's just so incredible frustrating that I can't be taken seriously when I spend to many nights sobbing in pain. My parents believe me, but they can't do much.
I spend almost every night sobbing in pain from this. My doctors keep telling me it's normal, but no one I ever talk so has had this much pain. I know I have at least a okay pain tolerance, because I have played full sports games with broken bones (my jaw when I was 12)
so I really want to know if there is any language or something that I should be using to get a better response? I need someone to validate this pain I am always in, even if they can't do anything. thank you!
\*sorry for the spelling, disgraphia (diagnosed at 7 :p )
edit: Hey guys, just wanted to clear up one or two things. 1. I actually have a Ventricular septal defect so I know my heart is fine. My aunt was diognosed with hEDS at 42 after living in pain her whole life.I know that she got genetic testing but I can't remember if that was at all part of her diognosis. I do have a geniral PD but they have brushed me off, so I was pursuing more specilist doctors. And *yes* I am weening off advil, sorry for scaring everyone with that. Thank you everyone for all of your comments, (most of you) have been extreamly helpfull and validating. Thank you!!
| 431 |
NAD. *Please* **do NOT** exceed 3200mg of Ibuprofen (16 tablets of 200mg, or 4 tablets of 800mg) per day. That is the [**maximum safe amount**](https://www.healthline.com/health/can-you-overdose-on-ibuprofen#complications) for adults per 24 hours--and that dose should be taken *only* under the supervision of a doctor.
And I agree with the previous reply: find a new physician!
| 238 |
AskDocs
|
What is in an intimate envelope from my doctor to my driving instructor?
|
Age: 18 ; Male
Hello,
I went to the doctor today to make some tests in order to being able to do my driving license and he gave me an envelope, which he closed and said I shouldn't open it.
I'm really curious what it says because atfer all it's probably about me or am I wrong there?
I don't wanna know exactly what it says but at least have an idea of it.
| 339 |
If I had to hazard a guess, not knowing about your local laws/rules, it's maybe just for the instructor to be sure you didn't tamper with the results?
| 301 |
AskDocs
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Saying certain words makes my vision go weird
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16M Caucasian, I weigh around 260 , I’m 5’11. I take cetrizine, nasal spray, and montelukast.
I have allergies, anxiety, and OCD.
As the title says, saying some words makes my vision go weird. Everything will tilt downward. Until I stop pronouncing the word. Words like B, D, M, U, V, and Z are ones ive noticed. I used to have no problem saying any of these words. It’s started with the word Z and hadn’t progressed until today.
I have astigmatism and wear glasses
I also have a depth perception I’m sure because seeing some stuff like floors look like they’re tilting up and some things look tilted to me. I’ve never had an issue with this either until months ago. I dont know if this is related or not.
I can’t find anything about this on the web, but it bugging the hell out of me.
| 372 |
Meet a ophtho-neurologist they will love this shit
Edit- shit my bad, neuro-ophthalmologist is the more common way of saying it 😅
| 355 |
AskDocs
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16 and a half and absolutely no penis growth at all. Not exaggerating it looks the same as when i was born
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16m non smoker no meds
so i did the tanner stage thing and it said i was at 2.5 and i have no penis growth at all, not even exaggerating it’s exactly the same as when i was born. Also i have no sex drive, no random erections etc so im worried i have klinefelter or something. For reference im 16 1/2. Should i be concerned?
And dont just say “women dont care about size etc etc” thats not really helpful
| 979 |
Pubic and arm pit hair? Voice drop? Facial hair?
| 485 |
AskDocs
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(a bit graphic, but detailed symptoms) Insane menstrual symptoms taking over my life. Doctors say it's just a bad period, but the pain is like nothing I've ever known.
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(throwaway because this feels a little embarrasing)
**Please** help, I deal with the same crippling pain and symptoms every month and it's runing my life and my relationships with the people I care about.
**PRIMARY COMPLAINT:** Crippling Menstrual Symptoms
——
• Age: 17
• Sex: Female
• Height: 5'1
• Race: White/Black
———
• I do not drink, smoke, or do any drugs
• I am not on any medication
• I am a virgin, but I do masturbate, however I always make sure my hands are clean and I do not keep my nails long
———
• Recently cut artificial sugar from my diet in hopes of relief from symptoms from my approaching period however the pain and symptoms still came
• Have not consciously consumed animal products in about a year, with a few accidental slip-ups from packaged food
• I have had an ultrasound and they found nothing
• I have had *urine tests and they have found nothing
• The pain comes a few days before my period and on the first day of my period and then it's gone
• My stool is not consistent. Sometimes I can't pass everything, most times when I do pass it is a really light brown color and it's not solid. Other times it is a regular brown color and only some solids. *(I'm sorry if this is grossing you out, I just want to give enough symptoms)*
• I take Midol sometimes, but I can not tell if the pills work, either they actually take an hour or two to kick in and they do in fact work or the pain just goes away.
• No one else in my family has menstrual symptoms as bad as mine, they all say they can't relate to how bad my pain is or even throwing up
**BACKGROUND:**
It started in middle school and around the same time every month in gym class and I would get this really incredible stomach pain but I didn't have my period yet. It always felt like I had to go to the bathroom REALLY bad but when I would go there would be nothing to pass.
Then I got my period some years later and at first it was not really painful, they were just mild cramps that I assumed everyone felt and these cramps just felt like normal pain that could be tolerated.
**NOW W/ HORRIBLE SYMPTOMS:**
But then in high school it got much worse.
• The **pain** is like nothing I've ever felt and I am scared every month. It is on the left side of my stomach, and it feels like someone is stabbing me from deep in my stomach. Sometimes the pain from the left stabs the right and sometimes the pain heats my entire body. *I sometimes feel like if I could just cut open my stomach I could just find the issue.*
• Sometimes I throw up, other times I am just really **nauseous**. The first day is easier if I do not eat for the whole day. I feel it is worth noting that one time I tried to break this rule of mine by eating a saltine cracker and in return my cramps intensified and my veins felt like they were being squeezed.
• I have fallen asleep one time from how bad the pain was, but it was only once. Mostly, I am just very weak and it is best to stay in bed.
The doctors say nothing is wrong, but these symptoms are insane and it's just hard to believe they are doing everything they can. I am afraid for my future, of having to call in sick every month to a job I care about because of these symptoms.
Does this sound like anything?
**EDIT: In advance, I really, really appreciate the advice and anybody taking the time to read the post.**
**EDIT 2: I almost cried, thank you guys so much for your advice and support!**
**I will leave the post up because it seems I am describing struggles of other women as well and maybe they'll find the help they need scrolling through the comments.**
**My mom has agreed to take me to a gyno. Thank you again.**
| 603 |
ObGyn here
You have endometriosis. Most likey anyway.
If a period is debilitating it is not a bad period, something else is going on.
Endometriosis is where the tissue that creates the lining of the womb spreads to places it shoudn't be. As the tissue expands and shrinks with your cycle it puts pressure and irritation to whatever it is against. Mainly it just causes heavy periods and painful cramps, but it can include other symptoms dependent on where it is located.
The ligaments of the womb - back ache
The bladder - UTI symptoms and occasionally blood in the urine
The bowel - diarrhoea/constipation, pain on passing stool, bleeding
The ovaries/sides of the womb (adnexa) - leg pain, lower abdo pain (dull and achey)
The inner lining of your abdominal wall - sharp sudden pain, sometimes electrical like of it creates scar tissue
The muscle of the womb - severe cramping
It can go other places but these are the most common.
You also tend to also get severe bloating pre period with this conditiom.
There are treatments and these start with contraceptives. Stopping your periods is the best way forward using progesterone pills as it stops the other tissue from growing as well. Sometimes you need more than this but it's a good start.
If it settles with progesterone it is more than likely endometriosis. A laparoscopy (keyhole surgery) can be done to absolutely confirm it, but I've seen people with endometriosis who have had a clear laparoscopy but still have severe symptoms, and this is because the tissue can go anywhere, including deeper from the view of laparoscopy.
It's a common, heavily underdiagnosed disease and early progesterone use can limit the damage it causes. I always recommend this as endometriosis creates scar tissue which can cause fertility issues.
edit: spelling (I'm on a phone, forgive me)
| 679 |
AskDocs
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Am I going to die ? How bad is this ? my doctor said in low voice that , he think my liver is in bad condition. What does this even mean ? please help me , I am counting on you guys.
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So , I am 19 male, who is suffering blood in stool once in a while (like once or twice in a month) for few years now. I have bad digestion , I am malnourished severely, weights 52 kg more of my weight is fat and not muscles.
Everyday I suffer from constipation and indigestion n matter what I tried it never went away. I am also mentally ill , like badly .
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so I went to doctor to get checked up, I had blood and stool examination , he told me to come bac next week to get ultrasound of my liver and bowels .
He said in low voice, that he think there is something bad with my body.
Is this some type of liver failure?
&#x200B;
stats of my blood and poop examination
age-19
race- indian
sex-male
(complete blood count report C.B.C.)
test / result / reference range
1- haemoglobin- - 14.8gm/dl - 12-16 gm/dL
2- total Leucocyte count- - 5600 / cu . mm. - 4000-11000 / cu. mm.
DIFFERENT LEUCOCYTE COUNT
3- Polymorph - 60% - 40-75%
4- Lymphocytes - 33% - 20-45%
5- Eosinophils - 05% - 1-10%
6- Monocytes - 02% - 1-8%
7- Basophils - 00% - 0-1%
8- R.B.C. COUNT - 4.21 mill / cu . mm. - 3.8-6.2 mill./cu . mm.
9- P.C.V. - 41.6% - 43%- 54%
10- M.C.V. - 92.4 fL - 80-100 fL
11- M.C.H. - 31.6 pg - 27-35 pg
12- M.C.H.C. - 36.9 g/dL - 31-37g/dL
13- RDW-CV - 18.6% - 11.6-14%
14- platelet counts - 118,000 /cumm - 150,000-400,000
15- MPV - 12.5 fL - 9-14 fL
16- PDW - 18.6 %
&#x200B;
BIO CHEMISTRY REPORT ( STOOL EXAMINATION )
Serum Creatinine - 0.78 mg% - 0.6-1.5mg%
LIVER FUNCTION TEST
Total Serum Bilirubin - 2.48 mg/dl - 0.2-1mg/dl
Direct bilirubin - 1.35 mg/dl - 0-0.8 mg/dl
Indirect Bilirubin - 1.13 mg/dl - 0.1- 1 mg/dl
S.G.P.T. (A.L.T.) - 38.1 U /L - 5-40 U /L
S.G.O.T. ( A.S.T.) - 59.7 U /L - 8- 40 U /L
Serum Alkaline Phosphate - 236.4 IU/L - 60- 306 IU/L
&#x200B;
CHEMICAL
occult blood traces
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
edit- I would like to say one more thing and that is, some 3 years ago I had ultrasound of my belly, they sad I have some type of intestinal infections, due to financial reasons I could not continue my medications of that infection. So I pretty much ignored it.
I also get constant red colored swelling on my tongue and area around it. Like mouth ulcer but not pimples like bumps on it, it's just constant swelling because of it sometimes even water stings while drinking.
I also get very very sharp pain on the right side of my stomach for like 2-3 seconds , which stops my body completely. but after 2-3 seconds maximum being 5-7 seconds things go back on as usual.
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| 658 |
Where do you live? This sounds like potentially a parasitic infection. Do you drink alcohol?
| 258 |
AskDocs
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Partner has gonorrhea. I don’t.
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32F
Partner has gonorrhea. I don’t.
My boyfriend of two years suddenly started urinating molten lava and got diagnosed with gonorrhea. At the time we hadn’t had sex in a few weeks and I felt no symptoms, but to err on the side of caution I went to the doctor and I tested negative. He insists he hasn’t cheated (of course) however the only reason I’m inclined to believe him is because he had no reason to tell me he had symptoms or tested positive. He volunteered all of that information.
Is it at all possible that he would have had it all along and suddenly started showing symptoms? Is it at all possible I’m immune or a carrier? I know I sound naive and these are ridiculous questions but I’d like to know for sure from a medical professional before I turn my life upside down. Thank you for reading.
| 1,017 |
Yeah... hate to say it, but gonorrhea isn’t like a viral infection that can lay dormant. It usually shows itself within a week or 2 of infection. I’m sorry, but the odds that he’s stepped out are ridiculously high. Im glad that you didn’t end up with it, but it sounds like he’s got some explaining to do.
Good luck to you.
| 1,434 |
AskDocs
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Are you supposed to throw away these $1 light blue surgical masks?
|
32 years, male
Are you supposed to throw away these $1 light blue surgical masks advertised as “disposable” or can you wash/re-use them?
Ever since using them, I’ve just been removing them when back home and putting them back on the next day. But now I’ve been reading that I’m supposed to throw them away as the virus particles can be sitting on the mask?
Can I just throw them in laundry after each use?
Also, any diffeeence between a surgical mask and a cloth mask?
Which one of these is best for a 15 hour non-stop flight? https://imgur.com/gallery/vCHCiQx
| 369 |
They really are disposable. If you wash them they may not filter properly. You should be disposing of them, probably daily.
Cloth masks are meant to be reusable (launder daily). There are studies underway comparing their efficacy. A challenge with those studies is that not all cloth masks are created the same.
| 478 |
AskDocs
|
Aunt was given 1-3 days to live, still here over a month later
|
I’m afraid I don’t know much about this at all other than that my aunt (in her 60s) is ‘riddled’ with cancer, it was all very sudden and after only one chemo treatment she was told she wouldn’t survive another and got put into a hospice, she got given 1-3 days to live and decided to be at home to die, not only is she still here over a month later but she seems to be getting stronger, this is incredible of course but I’m getting increasingly concerned at the mental state of my family members who are taking shifts at looking after her including my 80+ year old gran, not sure what answer I’m looking for here but if anyone could offer any advice or has any insights as to what to expect then please let me know, thanks in advance to anyone who reads this
| 471 |
This is not enough information to say something useful about your aunt. Predicting how long somebody has to live is hard in the best circumstances and impossible over the internet.
Is there a doctor in this hospice to talk with?
| 321 |
AskDocs
|
Girlfriend had 2 seizures after 1 glass of alcohol
|
Girlfriend is early 30’s and female. She can usually drink 2-3 units without getting drunk. On average, she has 1 drink (beer or glass of wine) with dinner with me, once a week. That’s it. She is definitely not addicted to alcohol or going through any withdrawal. No medication either. No family history of seizures or alcohol abuse, or any other medical condition.
She recently had 2 seizures, both times with me.
The first time, she drank 1 glass of wine on an empty stomach. Then after 10 minutes of finishing her drink, she suddenly froze and looked confused for about 2 minutes. She started to pee her pants and didn’t know what happened after she “came back”. We didn’t think it was a seizure because she wasn’t shaking or anything, but now I know that was a seizure because it happened again.
About 2 weeks after that incident, we were having a beer together with sushi. She had drunk about 1/6 a bottle of beer (literally like 3 sips). Then, she started actually shaking and making weird noises while her eyes rolled back— what you’d expect a seizure to look like. I tried to hold her up but she was shaking so violently that we both fell to the ground. It lasted about 45 seconds. She did not pee her pants, but she again didn’t know what happened after.
We went to the doctor but because of COVID-19, we need to wait a couple weeks to run tests. I am wondering if I can get any help or ideas on reddit. Please help, I am very scared. She is not as scared as me because she doesn’t even remember the experience. But I saw and witnessed everything both times and am traumatized. Please help what this could be, and what we should do. Thank you.
More background:
-she was on her period the first time, but not the 2nd time
-this was the first time seizures ever happened
-we haven’t had a single drop of alcohol after the 2nd incident
-the only common factor in both seizure incidents was alcohol
-she is 165cm (5’5) and 51kg(112lbs) not under or overweight
-no mental illness, no medication, no family history
-she is not an alcoholic, nor does she smoke or do any drugs
| 452 |
I’m not a doctor but my partner was recently diagnosed with epilepsy last year. He’s had 3 seizures and I’ve been there for all of them. Alcohol has been one of the triggers as it’s been involved on every occasion. He goes down the morning after a drinking session.
I’m sure doctors on here would have more advice than me, but I recommend your girlfriend stops drinking until she’s had the tests done. If she has another tonic clonic one which is like all the jerking, eyes rolled back, just make sure it doesn’t last more than 5 minutes, (time them!) and that her head wasn’t hit on the way down, if so go to A and E. Let her finish the seizure then put her in the recovery position.
Also, for yourself, it would be worth trying to find ways to relax yourself and not be constantly worried as it’ll take a toll on you. I found the first seziure very traumatic and cried a lot after it happened. Maybe try to talk to someone about it who is not your girlfriend as you don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable about the condition. BUT, it is a horrible thing to see so don’t feel bad for feeling that way either. I found working out helped after my boyfriends last seizure as i needed to release the left over adrenaline I had from when it happened. Whatever works for you.
| 286 |
AskDocs
|
Vomiting 3x/day 3-4 days a week since March. Unexplained, extreme weight gain. Period breaking through birth control for weeks on end. Wth is wrong with my body?
|
Female, 33yo, 5'5" & 280lbs (150lbs two years ago).
On-going conditions/Medication:
- Bipolar (abilify, 2 years)
- Anxiety (lexapro, 3 years)
- Insomnia (trazodone, 3 years)
- GERD (pantiprazole, 3 months)
- Birth control (Apri, 1.5 years total but a 6 month break in the middle)
Issues:
- BLEEDING: Two yearsish ago, I gained 100+ lbs in a year with no diet/exercise changes, and I had a heavy period for nearly 6 months straight. I went to a Planned Parenthood because I had no insurance then and they said its probably PCOS but did not do any testing so I have no idea how concrete that diagnosis is. I started birth control and the issue stopped for some time, but now I've been lightly bleeding (through my birth control) for about five weeks.
- VOMITING: Since March, I have been vomiting 3-4 days a week, at *least* 2-3x per day. This happens shortly after eating, no matter what I eat. I was started on Rx anti-acids which seemed to help briefly and are great for my heartburn but I'm still getting sick. Its increasing rapidly, I've been vomiting 2+ times daily for a week now.
- DIARRHEA/LOOSE BMs: at least 3-4 days per week, 4+ BMs a day. It stops if I take imodium but then I'm constipated so i really hate relying on that so heavily. Its mostly shortly after eating, no matter what I eat,
I've had an upper endoscopy done but they said everything is normal. I was just told to lose weight. I've been trying to for months with a max 5lb change. I exercise several days per week for about thirty minutes per day. I eat a balanced, veggie heavy diet with low carbs and low fat.
I don't know what to do anymore but I refuse to accept that being sick near constantly is "normal"!
EDIT: I should mention, I have had bloodwork and fecal exams done and they ruled out Crohns/UC, bacterial infections, and parasitic infections. My thyroid is also normal.
EDIT 2: Added my low dose birth control to medications. My tests have also ruled out pregnancy and celiac. I have no abdominal pain.
| 397 |
NAD but me and my mom both were on Abilify and it made us both gain a ton of weight.
| 267 |
AskDocs
|
Back tooth abscess infection possibly spread into my sinuses, can’t afford dentist. Can I take pharmacy free antibiotics in the meantime?
|
Male, 24, 165lb
My back tooth filling fell out a few years ago and recently it started to abscess a bit so it’s for sure infected. I know this type of stuff is really dangerous and can spread to your brain and your heart.
I would like to know if I should go to a grocery store pharmacy and get the free antibiotics they have while I save up for the dentist. It’s been infected for about two months and I’ve been keeping it at bay with peroxide and rinses. I know taking antibiotics too early can build you an immunity to them but would this be an exception?
UPDATE: Y’all scared me into going into finding/booking an appointment at low income dental clinic an hour away from me. Went in and got prescribed amoxicillin 500mg and made an appointment for a root canal. All this like two hours after making the post.
It’s hella expensive still even if they’re breaking it down in payments but guess I’ll figure it out somehow.
Thank you to those who responded!
Ps. phuck US healthcare.
Pss. If you for whatever reason want to help a stranger with anything DM me. I would appreciate that.
My bill is coming out to 3k so I genuinely need all the help I can get. Don’t feel obligated to send anything :)
| 674 |
You really need to see a dentist.
If you contact your local United Way branch, you may be able to find out about a dental clinic near you that offers reduced-cost services. If you cannot afford a dentist with a sliding scale, you may be eligible to receive service for free from a free medical clinic. Eligibility for this is based on your income level though. Or you can see if you have a dental school near you and try contacting them.
| 322 |
AskDocs
|
I've lost a significant amount of weight with no good reason and I've had a fever since August.
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33F, 5'8, 155 pounds, white
I'm only on here because of the daily calls and messages from family to go to the doctor. I keep thinking this will stop or just go away and I've been waiting for that to happen but it's not.
In December, I started trying to eat healthier and exercise a little. I started to lose a few pounds a week and was pretty pleased. I was 225 pounds and obviously needed to change my lifestyle a bit. Nothing too drastic though. In March, I began to completely lose my appetite. I mean, I could go a few days where I would hardly eat anything if at all. I just drank tons of water and took vitamins and thought maybe my body was just tired of being fat too and was expediting the process. I wasn't actively trying not to eat, I just really was not hungry. This has continued since March. This summer, when I did eat it wasn't as healthy as it was at the beginning of the year, but weight was still just falling off.
In July, my body just started going haywire. I started getting infections that I've never had before. Hair follicles would get infected and I'd get cellulitis and have to do a round of antibiotics. As soon as I finished, I got my first UTI ever. Peeing blood, the whole thing. More antibiotics. A month later, another UTI AND bacterial vaginosis, another infection I've never had in my life. More antibiotics. Last month, yet ANOTHER UTI and a lovely infection on my face with cysts that had green puss and it was all over and AWFUL. Now, more hair follicle infections. I think I've been on 6 rounds of antibiotics since July. It's just non-stop. I don't have a PCP, I've just been going to urgent care for the antibiotics and calling it good.
In August, my husband noticed I was really warm in the evenings. He'd keep saying I had a fever. I chalked it up to whatever infection was currently going on. When I wasn't dealing with an infection I'd blame it on ovulating, or stress. I just ignored it. About this time I started getting really dizzy too, especially when standing up. I have to hold on to something for a minute and wait for the spots in my vision to go away. He started to get super concerned but I figured this was probably because of my lack of appetite. Just need more vitamins or something.
Now to current. The past few weeks I finally started tracking my fever because I started getting insane fatigue, like somedays I cannot get out of bed. I don't sleep great either so it's just weird. Along with that, headaches. I started taking my temperature daily. Sometimes I have one during the day, but I ALWAYS have one in the evening/at night. It stays between 100-102. I thought maybe I caught COVID, but no breathing problems or coughing or anything like that. Last night I sorta started to put everything together that has been happening since the beginning of this year and I don't know wtf is wrong. I've been taking just about every vitamin including higher doses of C and D, drinking kombucha every day trying to help. I really don't know what is causing all this, and I'd preferably like to wait until this goes away. But my family and my husband have me starting to get worried. Anyways, thank you in advance.
EDIT - I cannot thank you all enough for your responses. I was REALLY not expecting all of this, like, at all. I was really not expecting so many people to say cancer or diabetes... and I realize I need to take it more seriously. I will be trying to find a PCP first thing tomorrow morning. I'll briefly explain my symptoms and see if anyone can take me on as a new patient quickly. If not, I'll at least have labs drawn at an urgent care so hopefully I can give myself and my family some peace of mind. I will update this once I have some sort of idea of what's going on. I appreciate all of the advice you guys have given me.
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I don’t want to catastrophise but you need to get a PCP and see them. You could be diabetic (thirst, weight loss, infections, fatigue). Could be a number of other things as well.. thyroid related, autoimmune condition, or even a cancer. You need to be examined and properly investigated rather than just getting antibiotics. Self care will only get you so far here and I would listen to your family’s concerns if I was you. It may be nothing serious but you won’t know until they’ve run the tests.
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Constantly loud blood - my pulse is projected from my throat/mouth and other people can hear it.
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18F, 170cm 48kg
Heart rate is around 60bpm. Usually my blood pressure is low - normal. Non-smoker.
Here's a recording - https://vocaroo.com/1qv45n1BjsKQ
It is constant, consistent, and very annoying. I recorded that just by opening my mouth wide and holding my phone close. It's like I swallowed a metronome or something. No symptoms of respiratory infection. No phlegm, nose is clear, 0 cold symptoms. No hayfever.
My mum can hear it if I put my mouth near her ear. She says it occurs at the same time as the pulse in my neck.
It happens regardless of the positioning of my mouth, neck, or tongue. It happens whether I breathe or stop breathing. If I expand my lungs to the point of discomfort, it stops whilst lungs are still in that state, but instantly resumes. If I deflate my lungs as much as possible, it also momentarily stops. Otherwise, it is constant. I don't hear any thumping, just this clicking/ticking noise. There is no sensation of thumping or pounding.
Duration - Noticed a few days ago but may have been ongoing prior.
Location - The sound feels like it's coming from my carotid artery at about the space between the ear and the jaw and is projected by my mouth. Geographic location is Australia, where it is currently Spring.
Any existing relevant medical issues - Collapsed chest wall (pectus excavatum, severe) that once compressed and displaced my heart to the left, but now corrected with Nuss early this year. Two titanium bars under ribcage and sternum. I don't know where my heart is now. I had a heart ultrasound about two years ago as part of screening for Marfan syndrome (don't have it) and there wasn't anything of particular significance.
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With your history of pectus excavatum, I suspect you might have some connective tissue disease, and if other people can hear this pulsatile sound I am worried that you might have a vascular malformation or aneurysm. I would seek prompt evaluation by your primary care doctor, and specifically ask about this possibility. You may ultimately need a CT angiogram.
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Feeling I'm like a patient in a bad medical drama 29f, need some advice on how to proceed. My retina is detaching?
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29f 165 5''4' non smoker occasional drinker
Meds:
Wellbutrin 150mg
Losartan 100mg
Propranolol 75mg
Apologies if this reads like a bad medical drama - but I feel like I've lost control of my life/health and I have no idea what to do from here, but I need help, bad. If you can help me in any way, I can offer you reddit awards, custom art pieces, gifts, whatever. I just really really really need some help.
I've been plaqued with severe abdominal pain, dizziness and nasuea, and peeing like every twenty minutes and a ton since last December, BP was high that day too. In my efforts, I have ended up in the ER about 4 times. I went initially when I felt like I was being stabbed, suspected kidney stones. They sent me home and told me to follow up with my GP. GP have me antibiotics and repeated a pee test. Nada. She sent me to gastro, gastro bounced me to gynecologist, gynecologist sent me to urogynecoligist, who sent me to a urologist, who sent me to a new gp who sent me to back to a gastro, then to a rhuematologist and endocrinologist. They all concur that something is definitely wrong, but can't seem to find what it is.
Findings have been rare - some microscopic blood in my pee and that's about it, a lung nodule, and an accessory spleen. Abysmally low vitamin d, which was odd since I took a daily supplement for that. I started taking magnesium with the vitamin d and my levels were fine and I felt much better and slept more easily, the pain was reduced from a stabbing to a pinching and I thought maybe with some time it would go away completely.
After my last specialist appt, I asked my doc about acute cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome. He prescribed me lidocaine patches, which helped a ton. He then decided I had "slipping rib syndrome" and I needed trigger point injections.
He injected me with cortisone in my ribs and a couple days later - I felt fantastic. I forgot what I looked like without bags under my eyes. I stopped taking the magnesium around that time because I had ran out and I wouldn't need it anymore, right? I was a new woman.
But it was short live. After 3 days I started feeling off. By the forth day, I was almost catatonic. I could barely speak, my heart was pounding so hard it felt like my whole body was shaking in time with my pulse, and my blood pressure was 200/124. My partner rushed me to the ER, where they couldn't figure out what had caused my BP to skyrocket out of nowhere. It is generally 120/80, other than the other few times I had gone to the ER.
My BP didn't respond to the labetetol they gave me and they admitted me. My eyes started feeling like there was a stabbing pain, the nurse insisted I was fine and to try to get some sleep, despite my heart rate being 150.
They put me on more blood pressure meds which didn't help, and something for my heart rate. A few days in it spiked again and my vision when totally blurry. It started to come down but my vision never unblurred so I went to the ER. They said it was a migraine and to go sleep it off. When my doc heard it wasn't working after about a week he insisted it was anxiety, although at one of my other stints in the ER they gave mea good healthy dose of Ativan, which much to their surprise, did not touch my BP/heart rate either. He prescribed me Wellbutrin to take for anxiety, which, has actually only made me feel worse. He scheduled an abdominal ultrasound to look for this extremely rare tumor - that I had already tested negative for. They cancelled the ultrasound because he said he ordered the wrong one. He wanted to order an MRI but my insurance rejected it.
My vision never unblurred so I popped into the eye doctor - my retina was detached. I was ushered over to an opthalmologist for emergency reattachment.
My doc said he would call me since he is nights for a while and can't schedule an appointment, and he hasn't called me.
Should I get a new GP? What on earth could possibly be wrong with me. I've been having these weird episodes with high blood pressure and dizziness for years now and I would love to figure it out because it just seems to be getting worse and potentially blinding me.
Anyone who can help me try and piece this all together - I would be eternally grateful to you and any wish of yours that is in my power to grant if you can help me figure out what the hell is going on. My family and friends are terrified because I've been declining rapidly.
| 359 |
Have you had scans done of your kidneys or adrenal glands? Have you had your aldosterone levels checked? Your high BP and the need to pee a lot would make me think there is something going on with your aldosterone and potassium levels.
Primary aldosteronism can present with high BP and general malaise. I have not heard of any connection to PA and retinal detachment, but there is some literature on primary aldosteronism and retinal vein occlusion.
Edit: or it could be a pheochromocytoma
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Awaiting oncology appointment and felling quite scared and havin a hard time finding good info. Can someone please help?
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Age: 35
Sex: Male
Height: 6'
Weight: 171lbs
Race: White
Duration of complaint: Hard to answer. Test result rcvd last week.
Location; North America
Any existing relevant medical issues: Copper Deficiency Neuromyelopathy (detailed below)
Current medications: Baclofen 20mg 3x a day
Valium (for spasticity) 5mg/day titrating up to 10mg 2x a day
Hydrocodone 10/325 as needed for pain
Nortryptaline 50mg/day (nerve pain)
I am suffering with neurological issues resulting from Copper Deficiency Neuromyelopathy. It manifests at abnormal gait, muscle stiffness and spasticity, loss of sensation in feet and sensory issues in both extremities. Parathesia and pain neurological pain in the feet and (to a lesser extent) hands. I use a wheelchair part time and a cane for the rest of the time. I am other wise in exceptional health, especially given my age. <15 drinks per year, no tobacco, no illicits.
One of my neurologists tested my blood and found that I have an abnormal Free Light Chain ratio (2.49 reference range 0.3-1.7). My doctor referred me to Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and I am booked out 7 weeks for my first appointment. My neurologist does not appear to know much more about the significance of this test result than I do. I understand that these abnormal ratios are indicative of myeloma and MGUS: I am looking for someone to offer some insight into how significant these results are, PLEASE, so that I might have some semblance of mind in the mean time.
I have had countless labs done recently and will happily provide the results to any of them. I just don’t want to list them all here because they are so numerous and I do not know which ones are relevant.. Thank you for reading and considering a reply.
-Chris
| 294 |
A ratio of 2,5 is barely abnormal. If you don't have an M-protein I'd be very surprised if you end up having myeloma. My guess is either nothing or MGUS, and the latter is a watch and wait type of ailment.
That said, it is worth looking into because myeloma and related disease are known to cause neurological disorders.
I'm not clairvoyant of course, but I wouldn't fear for my life just yet
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AskDocs
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Solid white stuff in ear(see image attached)
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I’m 19M about 65kg. I do smoke.
The problem started off as an ear infection, I was then prescribed cilodex ear drops.
After a month I noticed white growth in my ear so I went to the ENT department where they did a swab test and removed most of the white stuff in my ear. They then gave me more cilodex and told me to come back in a week.
When I went back they removed more white stuff(really painful), which seemed to have grown back. The dr told me it wasn’t insect eggs or anything like that but wasn’t sure what it was. Another doctor came in and said it was heavily infected and told me to finish the cilodex course and call back if I still have any problems.
https://imgur.com/gallery/xSrkC0t
Here’s an image
Does anyone know what this actually is because I’ve seen two ENT doctors and they haven’t gave me a clear answer. I’m going to have to go back anyway for them to remove it but they are clueless. It seems to really be attached to my ear and it’s really painful when removing.
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Honestly this just looks like dried ear drops to me, but it would be helpful to know what it looked like after it was cleaned out. Are you still having symptoms? Pain? Drainage? Trouble hearing?
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I'm cumming blood
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Hey guys, title says it all. 32 year old male, 180 cm height and 88 kilos. Type one diabetic. Hba1c 7.4 pretty consistently between 6.5 and 7.5.
Saw a dr who put me antibiotics, which didn't resolve it. It went away on its own for a few weeks and now has come back but way worse.
Family history of prostate cancer and ultrasound on the testicles done and aside from a (forget the word, bus varicose vein) nothing abnormal.
Google says dont worry too much but wanted to see if any doctors or urologists could weigh in as I find this horrifying.
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At your age, the only really concerning cause of hematospermia is testicular cancer. That should be ruled out with ultrasound.
It's usually a benign condition which resolves on it's own. In most patients no cause can be found.
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AskDocs
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my brother (19m) tested positive for covid, but my dad (58m) and i (21f) tested negative
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my brother was exposed roughly 10 days ago and tested positive today. we haven't really been doing much quarantining because his friend notified him on Saturday that he was positive (a week after he came into contact with my brother). my brother usually stays in his room, so that's probably why my dad and i haven't tested positive, but im wondering if he quarantines from now for the next 2 weeks, is there any possibility my dad or anyone else in my family turns up positive?
my question is: should we all wait a few more days and get tested again (those of us who tested negative)? how do we proceed? there are 5 other people in my family, my dad and i tested negative, my mom and two sisters will be tested within the coming days to see whether it has spread to anyone else.
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Hi! COVID mitigation person here. You should isolate the COVID+ person from everyone and you all should start a 14 day quarantine. The household is considered presumptive positive, if you test positive or not. If you insist on taking a test, doing so around days 3 and 9 are the best indicator of if you've been exposed. General rule of thumb is the COVID+ person starts a 14 day isolation on the day they received their results. Everyone else will start a 14 day quarantine period around day 10 of the COVID+ persons isolation period. After that, you can consider yourself a time based negative without a test.
Hope everyone recovers quickly!
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18M, Greece. I'm gonna stand up to mum and get myself vaccines. Just which ones?
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^Throwaway ^acc ^because ^personal ^data.
I'm not gonna be getting a flu shot every year, or generally vaccines for low risk diseases, as I wanna keep the confrontation to the minimum (I have a hunch that she will take it personally). I'm not getting every shot there is.
So what are, say, the top 5 most important vaccines to get? A link to an *objective* overview of the most common ones is also appreciated.
Also, in order to know what I'm talking about, I'm reading one of her anti-vax books, so counter-arguments to the common anti-vax arguments will be useful.
Thanks in advance.
| 672 |
The TDAP, MMR, meningitis vaccine, and gardisil are going to be the main ones that you'll need. I'm of course NAD but I had to get a bunch of mine as an adult since my parents didn't take me for my vaccines as a kid so there are probably more that I haven't named but those are some of the basic ones that are important
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Been ill for last 6 years and doctors can't figure it out.
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15m. 155cm, 45kg, Don't drink, smoke, or take any drugs apart from antihistamines (for hayfever). Had a blood test for Vitamins and I’m all good nutrition wise. Pre existing conditions include: Asthma, Severe shellfish allergy.
One thing to note: Throughout all this my school grades have been pretty good, my cognitive ability in that respect seems to have held up.
Yo guys. Been to the doctor more times than I can count with no solid conclusion.
Context:
When I was 4y/o my health was in pristine condition apart from a bit of Asthma. However, I then suffered severe Gangrenous Appendicitis, where my Appendix had swollen so large it actually had pushed by Bladder, and other surrounding organs out of position before rupturing, with it then turning gangrenous. When Doctors asked for a urine sample, it felt like I was pissing a goddamn kidney stone. Doctors were saying I had hours to live. Luckily they were on the ball removing the Appendix, realigning my Bladder, and shoving copious amounts of antibiotics in me to get rid of the infection. Miraculously I pulled through. However, in the months to follow, while my digestive system was healing, I got hit with a series of Bladder infections one after another, which seemed frightening, however the period of time between new infections and old ones began to get increasingly large so I thought it was just part of the process. Soon I stopped getting infections at all and all seemed well.
Fast forward to 2014 when one night (which I remember vividly) I was just going to sleep when suddenly this intense feeling of dizziness washed over me. My bed felt like it was spinning out of control, and didn't feel like I was on earth. This "effect" lasted for about a solid 15 mins before going away, thinking it was a one off, I went back to sleep thinking nothing of it.
The next day was a different story. I was dropped off at school, and was walking to class when out of seemingly nowhere that same effect struck again. I quickly sat down on a bench as to not fall over. Then a new symptom appeared. My entire field of view began to seemingly shake side to side uncontrollably. It was terrifying. Like my eyes were out of my control. After about a minute of constant vision shaking, it finally stopped, along with the dizziness. This "vision shaking" seems to have not left me ever since then, it can happen while I'm on the toilet, in bed, walking, or playing games. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing, it just happens. Around a month later is when a rather difficult part of my life begins. I began to develop broken sleep, sometimes waking up at 1am and staying awake despite feeling tired or having a full sleep and feeling like shit afterwards. Then Nausea entered the scene. I began to just feel sick like I wanted to puke, while never actually puking, nor having diarrhoea or anything to actually indicate me being sick.
This Nausea continued for around half a year. Some days I'd be fine, others I'd sit at the dinner table and want to upchuck. My parents, worried with my decline, took me to the doctor, the doctor saying that it was nothing/just a phase. Then out of nowhere about 2 months later the nausea vanished. I was still left dizzy, with that "Vision Shaking", but hey I was improving. Then just as I mutter those words to myself, another bladder infection gets me out of nowhere. I go on antibiotics, and think of it as a one off.
The next year I get another Bladder infection, going on antibiotics solves the issue yet again. Then my nausea returns. I however refused it to get the better of me and tried to ignore and hide it. I would go to bed every night with a bucket under my bed just in case I actually did throw up (never did). The nausea becomes part of my sleeping pattern. I go to bed, try and sleep, wake up, and sit there begging to throw up, wanting it to go, sometimes crying myself to sleep. Just as if things couldn't get more shit my dizziness and "Vision Shaking" get considerably worse. One thing leads to another, and my parents pick up on what's happening and take me to the doctor. Yet again, I get told that it will go away.
The next year, things began to improve. My nausea improved a great deal (while still lingering) and my dizziness and "Vision shaking" got considerably better. Things seem to dissipate and I start feeling good again. A while passes when I relapse and begin to slip back to how things were. However new symptoms join the crew. Introducing a small stutter and slurring of words, as well as short term memory issues. I used to have such a sharp brain but 2018 did something to it. I feel sluggish, slow, and tired on top of the dizziness and “Vision Shaking”. I could get good sleep or awful sleep and feel the exact same kind of shit.
Fast forward to now, 2020, where more bizarre symptoms have appeared. Remember my bladder? Well now I’ve developed this thing where I feel extremely nauseous, like I’m about to puke, which then disappears completely when I urinate (doctors investigating) On top of that, my hands which never used to shake, have now started shaking. It’s most noticeable when I’m about to put the pen on the page or when I hold my phone. And now the 4 most recent symptoms: 1) While I’m sitting or lying down my legs while being relaxed and still suddenly jolt in one of the muscles around the knee or ankle. 2) This weird twitch in my right foot has appeared which, when it happens, feels like a small electrical current running from my ankle to my toes. 3) The most concerning one. I first noticed this when I was crossing the road. All I remember happening is walking along the street, (with no phone to look at) and suddenly realizing that I had crossed a road despite having no memory whatsoever. I literally was walking and thought, “Wait did I already cross that road?” and looked back to see that I had indeed crossed it without me having any recollection of doing it. On top of this I’ve been experiencing something that could be described as Memory Fog. I think about doing HW or something but then when I get down to do it, I forget what I was actually going to do. I know this happens to everyone, but this has been happening upwards of 10+ times a day. 4) My lymph nodes around my throat feel inflamed/swollen and can stay like that the entire day, making it uncomfortable to swallow.
So that’s me. If you have any ideas, feel free to tell me.
EDIT: I also get this weird numb sensation on my face.
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Please list the specialists you have seen and tests you have had. I’d in particular be looking for a CT abdomen/pelvis with oral/IV contrast and I’d be particularly interested in any result that mentions contrast ending up in the bladder.
My reasoning is this- bladder infections are not normal in men and not normal in anyone without urethritis. I’d be concerned about a fistula connecting either an abscess or your colon/rectum to the bladder and thus providing a route for bacteria to enter an otherwise sterile environment.
Other things that stand out to me is your weight. Which is quite low. Weight loss or inability to gain weight, relapsing–remitting nausea and abdominal pain plus the possibility of a fistula to me is Crohn’s until proven otherwise. Even in the absence of Crohn’s though, I still have a high suspicion for a fistula.
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I have suffered from EXTREME motion sickness for all 25 years of my life. I can’t go in a car, plane or train. Can’t play video game,. I have been repeatedly dismissed as ‘everyone experienced it a bit.’ Any direction on what kind of doctor to see or anything would be so greatly appreciated.
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I am [25F], Caucasian, 125lbs and have experienced this as long as I can remember. If I am in a cars I’ll be feeling like I am going to be sick before we drive 100 feet. I can’t count the number of times I have spent a flight curled on the floor of the flight attendant area crying because I feel so awful. This is with meds. Unless the meds (Dramamine etc.) have me out cold I am in misery. It takes me days to recover. At this point I take Xanax to fly because the idea of getting in a plane gives me panic attacks because of how sick I know I will get.
My primary goal then becomes not throwing up. Once I start, I cannot stop until the entire trip is over.
I have brought this up with several doctors who have routinely dismissed it as exaggeration or that I will grow out of it. I have done the breathing, the wrist bands the pressure, the ice, the meds etc. and the only thing that works is essentially being knocked out.
I feel like I am at my wits end— if I can’t walk somewhere then I don’t really go. I would be so appreciative for any advice.
To edit, I have seen ~10 different gps and 2 neurologists. No one has ever done any specific tests even when asked for the reasons above.
I don’t know a better way to put it but so many many doctors have dismissed it as exaggeration or someone trying to get meds that I am just crying out for someone to take me seriously. I just want to live a normal life—travel, move and operate without having to go through hell and days of recovery each time.
For an example, one time I needed to take a bus to get somewhere about 4.5 hours away. I threw up about every ten minutes (and more) the entire ride, even when it was just bile. I was nauseous for three days after and my abdomen was sore for at least a week. This is every travel for me.
| 808 |
This sounds like a vestibular disorder to me. While it's true that everyone may experience this to some extent, even those people respond to antisickness meds or adjust at some point to the motion. This sounds severe to me.
I would start with an ENT if you can and possibly another neurologist if necessary. It makes no difference if this seems "normal" to them, it is not normal for you and you should not have to suffer or live your life in fear of becoming ill. Someone needs to help you. Please fiercely advocate for yourself and see 100 doctors if you must until someone takes you seriously. It only takes one.
As a last resort, next time this happens ask someone to film you being sick. This will sound nuts, but make sure to film at least a little of your eyes . Sometimes vestibular disorders affect eye movement. It's a long shot, but maybe seeing how severe your illness is and possibly seeing something in your face or eyes may help a provider to not write you off. Unfortunately it is easy as a healthcare worker to assume a patient is playing up symptoms due to anxiety over an alleged condition. It isn't right, but it happens very often. Sometimes you need to wake them up.
Good luck.
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AskDocs
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i think i gave myself mild carbon monoxide poisoning, is there anything I need to do (besides stop the CO/get fresh air)?
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I accidentally left my gas oven on last night. I then slept for 12 hours and woke up with a massive headache. I'm also still super groggy and feeling generally bad. I'm worried that it might be because of CO from the gas oven being on for ~13 hours. I shut off the oven and opened all my windows. Is there anything else i should do? If it was CO poisoning (super mild, obviously, since I'm alive) will the effects just go away on their own?
I'm 21F in Ohio if it matters.
| 462 |
NAD. Please get a PLUG-IN carbon monoxide detector. They are inexpensive and sold universally. I have 3 and got them from different places: Amazon, wal Mart, target. I noticed you said you didn’t think you could get one installed. I simply want to reiterate how important this is for you to have and that plugging it into a standard wall socket is what lots of people do.
Good luck, hope you feel better soon
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AskDocs
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My friend is on the verge of suicide due to her medical conditions.
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Update again!: she is OFFICIALLY getting a cystectomy and ileal conduit construction surgery on May 7th!!! We are extremely hopeful that this will FINALLY help her condition. Due to her outstanding medical debt, I've set up a Facebook fundraiser for her, and I will add the link. Thank you to everyone who commented and reached out, we both appreciate you immensely. Thank you thank you thank you.
[Kelsie's Medical Fundraiser](https://m.facebook.com/nt/screen/?params=%7B%22fundraiser_campaign_id%22%3A481525752996130%7D&path=%2Ffundraiser%2F&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fdonate%2F481525752996130%2F&_rdr)
Update! : As of 1/24/21, we made absolutely no progress with the main hospital (which infuriates me because they have a specialist that does cysectomies and neobladder construction) When we asked to be referred to him, they straight up said "no, contact your urologist". That's the same urologist that said he "thought" it could be eosinopholic cystitis but never ordered a SMEO (the test to confirm it- which I freaking perform!)
She has continued to be treated like actual shit by staff at all of the 3 hospitals she is forced to frequent, and is again, at the end of her rope. HOWEVER, thanks to an empathetic nurse (for once), I was able to get her scheduled with a Dr. O'Conner at Froedtert Hospital in Madison for next month. It's just a consult but if he doesn't think that anyone there can take her on as a patient, he will find someone who will. I cried on the phone to the scheduler when she said that he would consult her case and then she cried too lol. I'll try and update this post once she's had her consult, thank you all for your advice and sweet words. It means more to me, and her, than you will ever know.
Edit: I am absolutely overwhelmed at the responses I've gotten and I don't have the time right now to reply and thank every one of you. At the moment, I'm discussing whether or not I could become her medical POA, and she will be contacting Mayo Clinic to see if their team of urologists can help. We live in a big city currently and the hospital she's at (where I work) is our university hospital. I think we've exhausted all of our options in this town and will be looking elsewhere.
Thank you all so much for your replies, insights, and kind words. I appreciate it more than you will ever know. Hopefully I'll be back to update this with good news🤞🏻
Hi,
As a foreword, I have posted this on two other subreddits including r/SuicideWatch but I want medical advice from an MD/PA/NP etc. because I believe I may not get the answers I need there.
I have to nutshell this (which is immensely hard to do, and I don't have all the information but I will do my best)
My best friend [F] [25] has had rheumatoid arthritis since she was 8. She was doing "okay" up until about 2018, when the biologic (Orencia) she was taking caused her bladder to begin hemorrhaging. She now has bilateral nephrostomy tubes which have been a constant source of pain and infections for her (she has been septic twice in the past year) and her doctors have refused to even entertain the idea of a neobladder until they've run through all their hypotheses since she's 25 and "not old enough" to be considered for that type of procedure.
She has had to deal with some of the shittiest hospital staff I've ever witnessed (some of which occurred at my hospital where I'm an MLS and makes me never ever want to have to be admitted there) where both doctors and nurses tell her that she is not in that much pain/stop crying/you're too young to have these issues etc. etc. I have the receipts of these encounters and have been present for a few of them, and I nearly got physical with some of these people.
She is a candidate for a neobladder and after researching her conditions, I do believe it's the only option that will fix the problem. I was at the hospital with her when her doctor told her that her bladder was basically a gigantic ulcer, "full of pus and blood". He said he was unable to see where her ureters actually entered her bladder due to the scar tissue. He also told her their next step was to consult infectious disease ("they have some ideas" as he vaguely put) and that he wanted to rule out eosinophilic cystitis.
I know there was little to no chance that it was eosinophilic cystitis but I have no idea how to say this to him. This was months ago, and since then she has been hospitalized at least 13 times for infections.
She is literally on the verge of suicide. We just had a very lengthy text discussion where she told me that something has broke inside of her, and she no longer sees her pain being fixed. She has depression, anxiety, CPTSD, and a myriad of other issues beyond the bladder and RA. She admitted herself to the psych ward last year after a particularly horrible string of events (she has had the worst things happen to her besides her health) and now she is dealing with insane medical debt.
My question is, how can I advocate for her? How can I help her get the treatment she needs? How can we tell her doctor that she needs a neobladder regardless of her age? She is literally the exception to the rule. I'm literally at a loss here, and I'm scared I'm going to lose her. Please help.
| 392 |
It sounds like what you’re looking for is a second opinion. I’d suggest collecting her medical notes, radiography images and reads, and going to see another Urologist to discuss their impressions and recommendations.
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black vomit
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I’m 20F, 5’1”, and weigh around 105lbs. Last night I was feeling very nauseous and I threw up twice. I barely ate yesterday but my vomit was black and the second time I threw up it was more of a brown color. I take birth control pills every day. I’m not having a lot of abdominal pain, but it feels more like period cramps, which I’ve been taking ibuprofen for. I haven’t thrown up again since. I’m not sure what I should do.
| 459 |
Firstly, stop taking more ibuprofen.
Ibuprofen can cause further ulceration and even perforation.
Black (or classically describes as coffee ground) vomit is one of the signs of bleeding in the stomach.
Better to go to the ER at the earliest.
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Is it true that the condition of IBS (irritable bowl syndrome) doesn’t actually exist? The gut trouble is actually the cause of an underlying issue that doctors actually can’t find?
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***Typo in the title! Sorry! I meant to say irritable BOWEL syndrome!***
I, 22F, I have had IBS since I was 8. I am really struggling. My gastro has given me scans, blood test, a colonoscopy, and endoscopy, he says I have bad IBS with constipation.
I can’t find anything that actually helps me manage my symptoms. My gastro is out of options for me. I am switching my gastro to someone that specializes in my symptoms, but in the meantime, I am seeing so many people that say that IBS isn’t actually real. It is just something doctors say when they don’t know what is wrong. Is that true?
Edit and update: to all of the amazing, helpful, gracious, and kind doctors and NAD’s that answered this question, I am so thankful. You are all so kind to take time out of your day to reply to me. Since there are so many replies I will answer some of the commonly asked questions here. I was tested for celiac disease and for IBD, colitis, crohns, etc., all came back absolutely normal. I have been scanned and have had cameras in both ends. Just slight gastritis. I have tried the low FODMAP elimination diet for my symptoms and I ended up getting even more constipated because of all the binding foods the diet allows. I did find an at home food sensitivity test that I am going to try from https://www.everlywell.com/products/food-sensitivity/
It got me thinking that I may have a different food allergy I just can’t put my finger on.
I am also fighting to be tested for SIBO. Since my symptoms are chronic constipation mixed with diarrhea, nausea, gas, belching, cramps. However, I have yet to find a doctor that will.
| 545 |
It is a diagnosis of exclusion - which means you exclude all other causes of symptoms - as you have had done with your various investigations and then you can decide that the symptoms are in keeping with IBS. There is a huge correlation between stress/ anxiety/ mood and IBS flare-ups and sometimes we do use medication for anxiety and depression (SSRI, Amitriptyline) to manage IBS.
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Recovering from Covid (Day 6), can I take care of my boyfriend who starts to show symptoms now without risk?
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F34, Caucasian, Swiss, 1.76 m/5.9', 55 kg/120 lbs non-smoker, apart from current covid healthy and athletic
My Covid symptoms are mild to date, it's day 6 in isolation and I hope that I am almost over it by now.
My boyfriend starts to show Covid signs now - can I take care of him in my place without the risk of making his or my own infection worse?
***Update***: Will stay on my own. My boyfriend tested negative (yesterday and also 1.5 weeks prior) even though his roomie is confirmed positive and he saw me the first day I showed symptoms plus he was present at the event where roomie and I probably got infected and spent everyday inbetween with me.
He must be a mutant;) He has blood type O+🤷🏼♀️
| 397 |
The best answer you’re likely to get is ‘probably.’ If you both have or have had COVID you can’t pass on something that the other doesn’t ready have, however there is some evidence that viral load may be a factor in disease severity. For example, healthcare providers sometimes get hit harder by this than others because they’re surrounded by so many positive cases it increases the amount of virus in their system. The extent to which this will happen with two people at different stages of illness is unknown, but probably not significant.
Like the other commenter mentioned, your symptoms may still worsen over the next few day, so make sure you’re taking care of yourself as well.
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Can insomnia be an emergency?
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Because I feel like my brain is eating itself.
36F, endometriosis, non-smoker, rare drinker
I am going on weeks now of getting maybe 1.5-3hrs of sleep a night. I can’t even remember really, because I am so brain foggy.
I have tried ambien in the past, it is not for me. I have tried melatonin, and it will get me to sleep, but I don’t stay asleep.
I do the best I can with darkness, room temp, noise machine, etc. you name it, I have tried it.
I do have unresolved trauma from being drugged, kidnapped, and raped in 2017 that causes me a lot of anxiety and depression, so I do realize that that contributes, but I had major insomnia issues before the rape.
I never fell asleep last night. I finally fell asleep around 11:30am and was woken up by a random person buzzing my apt to try and get in my building. I burst into tears and was inconsolable from being woken up.
I desperately need sleep and I am at a point, mentally, where I want to walk into the ER and beg them to sedate me.
I have talked to my doctor about this and she just tells me the same ole “exercise, no screens, no alcohol, etc, etc, etc”. I’m already doing all that...I feel like something is wrong with my brain. Why can’t I sleep? Is there a specific kind of doctor I should go to? Please help.
ETA: thank you all for the responses, I am very grateful! I am, however, feeling very out of it and I don’t think I can reply properly anymore right now. I am taking a unisom, as someone suggested, since I’ve never tried that one before. I will report back how it goes, and reply to your comments properly tomorrow. Thank you for your time ❤️
UPDATE: I FREAKIN SLEPT!!! Words can’t describe how I feel. I know the unisom doesn’t address underlying issues, but right now I am just grateful for the sleep. Thank you all for your kind messages and thoughtful suggestions. I will get back to each and every one of you. I’m taking note of every medicine, supplement, test, disorder, or disease that you all mentioned and will research each of them. I am touched by all of your stories. I think it’s safe to say that insomnia is more common than we think. I will be looking for a sleep specialist to get a sleep study done, a psychiatrist, and psychologist. That’s just to start.
I really, really appreciate everyone.
| 636 |
Not a doctor but i was once awake for 36+ hours unwillingly and I had two young sons in my care - one was breastfeeding every hour or so, so I should have been exhausted enough to sleep and I still couldn't fall asleep! Even when they gave me antihistamines in the ER I didn't fall asleep for a few more hours. I was struggling with post partum hyperthyroidism.
I suggest you talk to your doctor about thyroid testing as thyroid problems definitely contribute to insomnia, depression and anxiety.
I see that you've got anxiety and PTSD which you need help for, I'm sorry you've been through this. Hopefully you can get some help and sleep soon. Take care.
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AskDocs
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Just noticed this on my hand.. What is it?
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26 Years Old, Female, 136 lbs.
No known problems with me besides food intolerances. No current meds. Haven't been diagnosed with anything beside H.Pilori 2 years ago but went away with antibiotics. I live in northern Virginia & don't smoke.
Looked at my hand today (Oct 20th 2020) & noticed these tiny raised bumps all over my right hand. They don't hurt and it is not itchy, I haven't gotten this ever before either. Mostly all over my right hand but noticed a few on left hand as well. Attached a photo: https://imgur.com/a/XJxfAaV
| 286 |
It looks like a sort of contact dermatitis resulting from an allergic reaction. We’re you touching/handling anything different than the norm?
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AskDocs
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I (32F) asked my GP about a referral to a dermatologist to see about getting a birthmark removed. He said he could do it in office. See text for details and images.
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[These are before and after ](http://imgur.com/a/oqzyBMr) of the last two days. The birthmark has always been on my hand. Over the last five years it began to get ingrown hairs that turn in to the scabs you can see in the before picture. My Mom commented on how much the color had lightened and how puffy it'd become, it was flush for most of my life.
How the appointment went: I was placed in the procedure room and vitals taken. My doctor, his nurse, and a nurse that was training were in the room. Doctor leaned the seat up almost vertical and lifted my feet straight out. He then placed some pads in my lap, my hand on top of the pads, and proceeded to numb/iodine the spot. Ill be honest, I looked elsewhere for most of this.. but I saw the sphere shaped birthmark be placed in a specimen jar. Then he commented on how much it was bleeding. It was a lot. He cauterized some, then clamped a spot, cauterized more, another clamp.. I could feel him flopping the clamps back and forth still cauterizing and still bleeding. He cut a few more flaps off after the first stitches. Then rolled the skin and used a larger grade for another layer of stitches. This took almost a solid hour.
He told me the pain would be minimal. Made an appt for 10 days to have stitches removed, and sent me on my way.
Now, I had carpal tunnel release surgery earlier this year on the same hand. Manageable pain, aggravating spot for the three stitches I had, but all in all a decent experience.
THIS PAIN IS HORRIBLE. Inside and under my skin is on fire and tingling. My feeling hasn't returned all the way in my fingertips from CT - so I'm terrified I won't notice the tell-tell signs of nerve damage. On top of that, I can't move my fingers without the excruciating feeling of stitches pulling apart.
The career nurse in my family is saying I should make an appointment with a hand surgeon just to be safe. Does anyone here have an opinion on these pictures and procedure? My Doctor assured me pain would be low, just a superficial wound. Pain is not low.. and that's worrying along with miserable!
Thank You!
| 1,189 |
Yeah, what the fuck. That's not even close to correct. Get a second opinion as soon as possible. If that "doctor" butchered the technique that much I wouldnt trust him/her to know how to prevent infections. That looks much closer to having been assaulted than having a cosmetic surgery
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20 y/o Male: hypo-testosterone ruining my life - what do I do? (PLEASE UPVOTE!)
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This has been something I have been struggling with for a few years now. I was a very late bloomer compared to my relatives. I was tiny--so tiny compared to my brothers and other males in my extended family at the same stage in their life to the point that my father and the rest of my family believed that I was experiencing physiological problems. When I hit puberty around 16, everything was going good for about a year. I grew in height to a normal height, had a good sex drive, and was able to build muscle. At the end of 17/beginning of 18, weird things started happening. I had lost almost all of my sex drive. I went from having sex every week, to only getting an erection once a week, and in addition to that my erections were much weaker and not pleasurable. following that, I began to develop breasts (gynecomastia) despite being very skinny. People would start to often ask me why I had breasts, and it made me insecure. and months after that I began to put on a lot of fat (TOTALING 50 LBS IN JUST FAT!!!), despite eating at a calorie deficit and running almost everyday. I got tested for my hormone levels, and the results came back 350 ng/dl for testosterone. After doing research on this, I found that I am on the very low end in the "concerning" zone, and that I have the target testosterone of a 60 year old male. When I went back to the doctor's office to discuss my test results, a Physicians Assistant came in the room and told me I was experiencing a lot of symptoms and that my testosterone levels were pretty low. She then went on to almost mock me. When asking how tall I was (5' 10"), she even suggested that I was lying about my height?!?!?! She still referred me to an endocrinologist, though, and I have an appointment coming up next month. Any doctors here that are familiar with this type of thing? What will my options be? This whole experience has had a huge impact in lowering my self confidence, making me scared to take my shirt off around others, and making me feel less of a man.
Update: TSH level is 1.6. Upon research, I see that this level is considered “depressed levels” and that this is hypo pituitary function.
FSH level is 3.7
LH level is 2.5
Estradiol is 31
| 805 |
That physician assistant was out of line, very unprofessional behaviour.
Low testosterone can be caused by many different things including medications, recreational drugs and hormonal problems.
It’s worth getting a more detailed hormone panel - gonadotrophins and pituitary profile. It’s worth seeing an endocrinologist - hormone replacement may be of benefit to you.
They’re natural ways to boost your testosterone (exercise, good diet and sleep) which may be worth looking into.
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AskDocs
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My Dentist told me my finger nails are “clubbed”????
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24F 120lbs 5’0” diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety disorder no other known health issues. No smoking, medical marijuana user, no other drugs or medications.
When I went for a dental cleaning my dentist looked at my hands and told me my finger nails were slightly clubbed and logged it into my chart details. [pics of my nails here](https://imgur.com/a/PjTvvEI) (there are my real nails they are just painted these aren’t fake nails or anything) He didn’t explain anything further or tell me I should go get it checked out. When I got home I googled it and it seems like it can be an indicator of serious health concerns. About 6 months ago I was having heart palpitations, chest pain and shortness of breath, had a chest x ray done, wore a halter monitor for 2 days and they told me everything looked fine and that it was just physical symptoms of my anxiety and PTSD. I still have chest pain and palpitations sometimes when I’m very stressed, so I don’t think they were wrong about it just being anxiety. Could this just be how my nails look naturally or do I need to be concerned about this? Thank you in advance
| 343 |
While I agree that your nail looks to have a mild clubbing at worst, I would like to add the anemia can cause nail clubbing. There are numerous causes (and types) of anemia. The most common anemia for young women tends to be iron-deficiency anemia from heavy periods. If you’re really worried, you can ask your primary care provider for a CBC with iron studies (checks iron levels). Do not start any kind of iron supplementation without confirmation of deficiency, since too much iron can cause harm.
Anemia may present as a fast heart rate (tachycardia, heart rate greater than 100 bpm), fatigue, spoon or clubbed nails (koilonychia is the medical term), and pica (persistent craving/eating of nonfood substances, stereotypically ice).
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AskDocs
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18M - I burned my foot 3 weeks ago. 2 days ago it looked great, now it looks like this. Is it infected?
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Age: 18
Sex: M
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 60 kg
Race: white
Duration of complaint: 1 day
Location: left foot
2 weeks ago it looked like [this](https://imgur.com/hFWJUqz)
For the past 2 days, I've been changing the bandage at home. 2 days ago my foot looked like [this](https://imgur.com/fjU98Yz), a lot better than ever before. And now only 2 days later, it [looks](https://imgur.com/j0wWcTU) a lot worse.
Besided the fact that now the bond change is done at home, I started to use my leg properly in the last few days, as the pain reduced I've been able to step on my leg. What should I do? It is currently a national holiday, and the doctors recommended not to go to the ER until Monday.
EDIT: Thank you all for the replies!
Also, I've got enough The Office reference thank you, I wish I could laugh but it really isn't funny for me
EDIT 2:
For those who asked how it happened:
I came back home from my flat and wanted to make some fries so I started to heat up the oil on the stove. In the meantime I went up to my sister's room to talk to her because we haven't seen each other for 2 weeks now. While we were talking I completely forgot about the oil and by the time I left her room the whole house was full of black smoke. When we rushed down into the kitchen the oil was already on fire, burning everything near it. My father tried to throw out anything burning through the main door but he accidentally threw something on my foot (probably a burning kitchen towel) and my sock instantly catched on fire. I pulled it off as fast as I could so it really could have been a lot worse. I tried to kill the flames on my sock with my hand and it also got burned, although not that bad as my foot and it already completely healed up. My feet on the other hand suffered second and third degree burns.
| 437 |
Seems to be healing nicely. Such a large and deep burn takes time.
Doesn't seem to be infected, but vazeline gause has its limits.
You could opt for a silver bandage for local antimicrobial effect. We often use Aquacel Ag, but the best one is probably Mepilex Ag or equivalent (silicone foam with silver).
| 375 |
AskDocs
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Period blood is pouring out of me
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24F, Caucasian, 116 lbs, 5’8”, non-smoker, quit drinking in July, never been sexually active, went off BC (to control hormones) almost year ago due to clotting concerns (family history of multiple strokes), yes I am anemic. Current medications: Ondanestron, Wixela, iron supplements, Vitamin B,C supplements. Also, just had blood work done and thyroid panel and CBC all came back normal. Yesterday was the worst day I’ve ever experienced having a period. I soaked through 3 tampons in just under four hours. Decided to full stop the tampons and put a pad on, whilst doing that decided I need to use the restroom. To my surprise, instead of urine, blood poured out of me for a good ten seconds. I’m not just talking a little bit, I’m talking if you stood over the toilet with a full glass of water and poured it all out. When that was done, I wiped and was met with a clot the size of almost a golf ball. I’ve never had a period like this before. I have no energy, the blood coming out is not a familiar consistency of periods past, and I’m feeling so nauseous and fatigued. I’m calling on Monday to schedule a gynecologist appointment, but would like to hear opinions on what this sounds like to others.
| 587 |
If you’re soaking thru a pad in an hour, hit the ED. And honestly you’re probably justified going now even if it’s not a pad an hour. It’s not your job to figure out what’s an emergency, it’s the doctor’s job.
| 803 |
AskDocs
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32f in coma and pronounced brain dead after complaining of migraines for 3 days. Any chance of recovery??
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EDIT:
Thanks to all who answered. It’s been a long week. I wanted to update after learning more. There were no signs of response to any test, and had a neurologist on the team going through tests. Could not breathe independently. Less than one percent chance of any function returning. Over 50% brain hemorrhage. As an organ donor, she was able to donate her heart!, and help 8 people. But not liver or lungs! Which was the first sign of a problem with liver (for the family, not the doctors). Autopsy showed liver hepatitis, ascites and advanced stages of liver disease (yes at 32!) and apparently at this level brain hemorrhages become more common in younger people. The body loses its ability to blood clot effectively. Etc. alcoholism. I will be doing a post about this with more facts to help create awareness as I certainly had no idea!
Sudden news. Brain bleeding. Coma 2 days, after not waking up at home and calling 911. Now say brain dead and irreversible. Is there any chance this can be wrong? Any reason to try to stay on life support and hope for recovery? I read stories of people coming out of coma's a decade later. How to proceed???? No apparent injury or stroke. Possible fall at work 5 days ago. From fine on Monday to brain dead today. WTF
| 951 |
I'm very sorry, but the criteria for declaring brain death are pretty strict. There is no chance of recovery. It's not just a coma from which one can wake up.
| 1,061 |
AskDocs
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I think my brain is creating false memories with a girl I have never met or seen in my life. Am I going crazy?
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I’m 20 years old. I was born in Southeast Asia but my family migrated to AU when I was young. I only drink and smoke during family occasions and I have never used drugs before. I have been diagnosed with nasal polyps and TMJ, I’ve had them for awhile and both don’t really bother me. I’ve learned to live with the chronic jaw pain and shortness of breath from the polyps blocking my airway.
My main concern is my brain shows me “memories” with a girl I don’t know and haven’t met in my life. She is an artist and I saw her face in an album cover that my cousin shared on Facebook.
Her name is Rosie and in my head, she is my girlfriend; each memory just feels so real to me. For example, I was having a conversation with a friend and I brought up what her and I did over the weekend. My friend got really confused because my girlfriend’s name isn’t Rosie. Well, my brain thinks I do. It’s like I had amnesia and all of my memories are coming back.
The time it would take for me to realise it wasn’t real is very short, like about 2 second after blurting it out.
This literally started when I saw her photo. I didn’t hit my head prior and I don’t have any other symptoms. I haven’t been stressed and I definitely am getting enough sleep.
This is definitely not normal so is something wrong with me? Should I see a doctor ASAP?
| 729 |
NAD. I'd recommend seeing a psychiatrist. This could be a sign of mental illness or potentially problems with the brain. Definitely not normal.
| 523 |
AskDocs
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Traumatic Brain Injury from an ATV Accident (Comatose on Day 15, MRI Below)
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I know there are a few neurologists that frequent r/askdocs so I thought this would be a shot. I'm not looking for a diagnosis, just have a few questions.
**Back story**
My brother, 46 athletic male, was in a rollover ATV/4Wheeler accident 15 days ago. He was riding down a country road adjacent to his ranch and rolled with a 650-pound ATV causing both cranial/facial crushing and accelerate/decelerate brain injuries. He was helicoptered to a Level 1 Trauma Hospital specializing in Brain and Spine injuries. While he raced competitive motocross for most of his life, he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident as he was 2 minutes from his ranch tending to a stuck vehicle. He was breathing on his own at the time of the accident but has not been conscious or significantly responsive since the accident. It happened in front of his wife so she was able to tend to him immediately and call for help. He was breathing but hypoxic injuries were a concern.
Within 24 hours he was placed into a medically induced (pentobarbital) coma and given a GCS of 3. CT Scans showed 17 cranial fractures along with a brain hemorrhage on the left side. Hypoxic injuries and Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI) were the two other things we were not able to confirm but were on the list of concerns of possible injury to the frontal cortex. We knew we would be able to discover these based on an MRI if we could get him stable enough to complete an MRI. After 5 days, coma medication was weened off but Intra-cranial pressure began to spike (ICP as high as 48 for a few minutes) so he was placed back on the pentobarbital for 2 more days. On day 7 of the medically induced coma, he was weened once again off the medication and evaluated every 12 hours. He’s been unresponsive to name calls and noxious pressure to the sternum other than some arm and leg twitches and recently eye fluttering (not opening but eye lid movement). Eyes are fixed and do not respond to light. He coughs, involuntarily, based on ventilator tube changes and suction. His lower body is abnormally postured with stiff legs and pointed toes. Hands are tight, but not so much clinched (based on the research on Decerebrate Posturing). His head is not tilted back. We’ve been here for 5 days now and he was stable enough to get an MRI as his ICP levels have been between 9 and 20. He's currently at a GCS of 4 and has been off everything for nearly a week other than Oxycodine for pain. This sounds crazy but to get a good exam and response, his team wanted him off as much as possible to get an accurate assessment of cognition.
**Here are the impression notes from the CT Scan:**
The right frontal approach ventriculostomy catheter now terminates left of midline, at the junction of the left lateral ventricle/ foramen of Monroe. A small amount of intraventicular hemorrhage on the right has increased since the prior study, likely related to the catheter placement.
There is no hydrocephalus or midline shift.
The intraparenchymal hemorrhage in the left basal ganglia, and adjacent vasogenic edema, are unchanged.
A small chronic infarct of the left caudate nucleus is redemonstrated.
The small amount of intraventricular hemorrhage, in the posterior portions of the lateral ventricles, has diminished in quantity.
**Here are the impression notes from the MRI:**
Persistent right parietal ventriculostomy catheter, with tip adjacent to septum pellucideum. Persistent nonspecific edema and hemorrhagic blood products surrounding the catherter tract.
Persistent focal hemorrhage and edema in the left inferior basal ganglia.
Few additional tiny regions of the susceptibility artifact are also noted in the high right cerebral convexity, and the medial right thalamus.
Additional tiny intra-ventricular hemorrhages in the occipital horns and both lateral ventricles.
I’ve posted his MRI here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIG9M4BkN1A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIG9M4BkN1A) (the first few seconds are still and he does have a PICC line)
**My questions**
Based on what we’ve been told, he’s been diagnosed with Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI) Grade 3 in both the frontal cortex, occipital horns, and the brain stem. They’re not seeing anything that would indicate hypoxic injuries but with a DAI Grade 3, it’s pretty much worst case scenario with or without Hypoxic injury. With that said, does the MRI correspond with these injuries? Based on other imaging I've looked at of DAI Grade 3, I'm not seeing as much "black dots" of injury but that could be from swelling. Is there anything else that I should ask about my brother’s condition as we try to figure out what’s best for him and his family?
Thank you for reading and God bless.
**EDIT:** I just want to give a quick update. After reviewing many of the things that you all gave us guidance on and consulting with his medical team, we made the family decision to seek hospice care. We were concerned that he was breathing over the ventilator so we were unsure of what the next few days would hold and he moved on to the next world just a few minutes later. His body was just unable to recover. He went peacefully without issue.
I want thank you all for your kindness, guidance and support during this post. The world is still a bright and loving place and from my family to yours, I wish you nothing but health, safety and happiness in your future.
I am leaving this post up to hopefully give someone in the future some answers that may help them on their journey.
Here's an image of my brother if you wish to put a face to the story. (I'm not linking to a gfm, just a picture) [https://images.gofundme.com/9tcGbJaNKgXQT-RyGzMEfiKTOZo=/720x405/https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/51856768\_1602551218550051\_r.jpeg](https://images.gofundme.com/9tcGbJaNKgXQT-RyGzMEfiKTOZo=/720x405/https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/51856768_1602551218550051_r.jpeg)
| 805 |
>With that said, does the MRI correspond with these injuries? Based on other imaging I've looked at of DAI Grade 3, I'm not seeing as much "black dots" of injury but that could be from swelling.
Hard to say. They don't mention lesions in the brain stem in the report. The most relevant MR sequences starts at 03:52 in the video, but has a weird windowing: it looks 'overexposed'. You can correct that in radiology software. Where certainly is a lesion in the left side of the brain stem, but I haven't seen the microbleeding there.
DAI doesn't predict particularly well how somebody recovers, unfortunately. The fixed pupils are very concerning. I would order labs to measure the barbiturate level to make sure that doesn't explain his current condition.
| 307 |
AskDocs
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Everytime my bare feet touch the ground I have to take a crap
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I've been dreading to ask this cause its a bit embarrassing lol. I'm 18F 63kg 5'3. Everytime my bare feet touch the ground or any surface I have to immediately take a crap. I usually walk around my house with socks and sometimes in worse days with shoes. I'm not sure what's the connection between the 2, or what's the reason for it. I dont know what answer I'm looking for honstly.
| 607 |
NAD but I have inflammatory bowel disease and for me, going from horizontal to vertical set off my system. Do you only have bare feet in the morning by chance?
| 534 |
AskDocs
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Father[57M] has covid w/ 50% Lung Infection. Right now doctors say he has "Late Cytokine Storm." What is this and what does it mean for his health? Please we are really desperate 🙏🙏
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Google shows research papers. I need a simplified explanation of what this means 🙏🙏
CT Scan shows: CT Severity Score 14/25.
EDIT: They've given him a **Tocilizumab** injection
| 645 |
A cytokine storm is an overblown response of the immune system. The chemicals released by the immune system to fight the infection basically get out of control and start attacking the body’s organs. This can lead some of those organs to fail. Then the biggest problem can become not the coronavirus/infection, but the damage caused by the body’s own immune system.
Edited to add: wishing your father the best in his recovery, and to you during this stressful time.
| 939 |
AskDocs
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I think I might be schizophrenic. Please help, I’m freaking out.
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I am an 18M in college who had never smoked weed before. I tried weed for the first time about 3 weeks ago, and overall I enjoyed the experience. However, I was hallucinating while I was high, which is not particularly concerning but it comes into play later. That first high was about 3 weeks ago off of a dab pen, and I have gotten high a few other times. This weekend in particular I did a lot, taking multiple hits off of a dab pen on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday night. Each time I woke up the next morning I felt fine, until Tuesday morning. I thought I was still high because I was still hallucinating, but the hallucinations persisted all day. Then I woke up today and the hallucinations persisted yet again. I’m only experiencing one type of hallucination, which is the same type I got while being high. My vision turns into what I would call a slideshow when I see something moving, particularly elevator doors or automatic doors or cars passing by. Obviously this is very concerning, and it is very disruptive to my daily life. Tonight I went to bed around about 3 hours ago and I felt panic setting in and my mind started to race with scary thoughts. I haven’t been able to sleep at all. I feel like I’m losing my mind and I need to talk to someone. Do you think this is a serious issue, or will it pass with time? Do I need to see a doctor? Thanks for all of your help.
Edit: Thanks everyone for the overwhelming amount of responses and advice!! You’ve convinced me that I don’t have schizophrenia, but it definitely sounds like I have drug-induced psychosis. I will not be smoking anytime soon, and I’ll stay away from alcohol until these symptoms go away. Thanks again for everything, I appreciate all the responses!
| 591 |
This is likely substance-induced psychosis. Marihuana is very well known for causing psychosis, especially in people that might have a predisposition to it. In most cases of substance-induced psychosis, the psychosis should go away with time once you shop using marijuana and you should be fine after that. I would strongly recommended stopping marijuana altogether. It seems like this is causing you a lot of distress so I would also recommend you seek your doctors help to guide you through this.
| 934 |
AskDocs
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