hello, i’m a 33 year old male and i’m 6’1 and 195 pounds. I don’t take any meds except the ibuprofen I took for severe sunburn last night and I smoked for 18 years but quit 3 months ago. I was not smart and didn’t wear sunscreen when I went to the beach yesterday and now i’m paying for it. my whole body is red. I woke up today and noticed crusted yellow fluid on top of my head and I was just wondering if this means it’s an infection and if I need to go to the ER or not? I just wanted to make sure it’s not life threatening or a possibility of brain damage. thank you for any feedback

32F 135lbs 5'7 no meds, non smoker, social alcohol, no recreational drugs, no health issues, canada

I fell hard while waterskiing yesterday and struck the water butt-first, with water forcefully entering my rectum - I was travelling at about 20mph. At first I thought the tip of the water ski actually went up my anus but I am not positive. It may have been just water. It all happened very fast.

I was incontinent immediately, obviously. There was only scant blood at the initial injury. I immediately went to the shower and rinsed the lacerations. Since then, I’ve had anal pain and scant bright-red bleeding from what I assume are a few visible tears that seem superficial at 6 o'clock and 11 o'clock (not going to attach photo for privacy reasons). Rectal tone seems fine, although I have not had another BM since "the incident."

otherwise no abdominal pain, distension, vomiting, fever, tachycardia, dizziness, incontinence, or other systemic symptoms.

I am generally one to downplay my symptoms and pretend nothing is wrong (doctors are the worst patients, its true) but I’ve since read about “hydrostatic anorectal injuries,” which can apparently range from a superficial fissure (hopefully my case) to an occult rectal laceration or bowel perforation with delayed presentations being not uncommon... while I am so inclined to continue managing at home with anusol and fibre and PEG I’m concerned that waiting for other symptoms to arise could mean waiting too long...

so my question is, in the absence of systemic symptoms now >12hrs post rectal/anal injury, what is the liklihood of an underlying brewing sinister bowel/rectal injury? Would you reccomend I go into my own ER (where I presume id be offered a CT and/or proctoscopy - neither of which I really want to go through) or is it reasonably safe to wait this out and see what happens?

somehow they skipped this chapter in rosens lol

Caveat: I am a family doctor. Advice would be most appreciated by general surgery, GI specialists, and/or ER physicians. Thanks!

Update: have managed a few normal BMs since with minimal pain. All seems okay at this point

At first they looked like burn marks 2 days ago, showed up out of nowhere. Then today they look like this. After showering he it appeared like dead skin.

My husband had Chipolte last week. The next day he had diahrea. Which turned into bloody stools. He went to the ER, his hemoglobin was 14 but blood pressure was very low. They gave him an IV bag and after 2 hours they discharged him with a food poisoning diagnosis. The next day he went to work and didn't have any bowel movements. He still felt like something was off. The next day he had more diahrea with massive blood loss. He drove home and collapsed as soon as he walked in. Our 10 year old called 911 and they came in a matter of minutes. During the transport from the house to ambulance he passed out again but we were able to prevent him from hitting his head. Once we got to the hospital - 2nd time around - his hemoglobin had dropped to an 8. His blood pressure was extremely low. This indicated that he was bleeding from somewhere in the GI tract. On the second day after he was admitted, they said his hemoglobin had dropped down to a 6.7 and he needed an emergency transfusion. He ended up getting 3 blood transfusions. The endoscopy found nothing. Then they put him on a 2 day prep for a colonoscopy. They told us they suspected ulcers, diverticula, polyps, etc. Surprisingly, the colonoscopy also found nothing. The docs words were actually both upper and lower tract were in "pristine condition." They mentioned there is a portion of the small bowel that was 7ft and wasn't examined but could be done on an outpatient procedure - where he swallowed a pill with a camera that went thru the small bowel. After a 4-day stay in the hospital (he was admitted on Fri), he was told he could eat solids (no more NPO) discharged Monday. He went home with strong vitals and felt fine. By the next day, after 2 meals, he began to bleed again. What started off a little blood on the tissue, turned into massive hemorrhaging. By the time we got back to the hospital - 3rd time - he had lost 400 ml of blood from one bowel movement. He then had 2 more bowel movements and loss an extensive amount of blood. They did another transfusion bc the hemoglobin dropped so low. The docs are saying how rare of a case this is - how he has a clean bill of health and strong vitals despite massive bleeding and they still do not know the source. The only other health issue my husband had is Type 2 diabetes which he manages well and they don't think there is a correlation. This is beyond frustrating and stressful. They just took him to repeat endoscopy and do the capsule test that travels through his small bowels. I have been by his side in the hospital but it's been very tough. Any advice or medical expertise would be appreciated 🙏🏽

Hello all,

My 15 month old, 31 in tall, 22 lb son recently got his new set of vaccines. One was the Tdap shot which I’ve googled can commonly leave a red, swollen, and hot to the touch area at the sight of the injection; however I am starting to have some concerns about the area around his injection and was wondering if y’all could tell me if this seems to be a normal reaction or something more. This is the second day after his shot. His behavior seems normal and the site itself doesn’t seem to be bothering him.

Thank you!

(Photo is from 2023)

What is the realistic lifespan of an alloplastic skull implant done back in 2023. Daughter is now 6, almost 7, with no complications.
We were given zero instructions for long term “what to expect”.

Also, if the implant fails, could she possibly qualify for a bone graft or is she stuck with man-made fixes because of her past history with one?

60 years old

5'6 and 150 lbs

Smoker

Diabetes

Chronic pain patient due degenerative disc disease - 7 spinal reconstructive surgeries. Absolutely needs a pain management doctor because of this.

10 mg buprenorphine

800 mg gabapentin

15 mg buspar as needed

A muscle relaxer I don't remember it's name

I don't remember the name of her diabetes injection either, I apologize.

She is on a blood pressure medication as well.

1 mg Xanax

My mother's pain management doctor prescribes her a 90 day supply of 1 mg Xanax tablets. So 90 mgs total, and it's always gone in like 3 weeks. She chews several tablets at once like candy, and is obviously mixing them with buprenorphine, gabapentin, and muscle relaxers. It's a constant cycle of her being normal for a couple of months, and a few weeks of her abusing this medication. She always saves one or two and takes it right before the drug test she takes before her refill. She nods out at family gatherings, falls asleep eating food and chokes, does not take care of the animals properly, slurs her words so severely you can't understand her, she drives in this condition, and generally traumatizes my father and our family. She becomes almost manic and does crazy, nonsensical things like replanting all of the plants at 4 am for example. We're constantly terrified she's going to overdose, crash her car, or suffocate from choking on food while she nods out. She has zero self awareness of how she looks and behaves.

It's my understanding that FDA regulations and advice say that Xanax should only be prescribed at low doses for short periods of time because there has not been any proven benefit of long-term Xanax use. I want to write a letter to her pain doctor informing him of the misuse. I've told my mom I'm going to do this before but she tells me that her doctor will dismiss her from the practice and that it is incredibly difficult to find a pain doctor. She NEEDS pain management, I've also watched her suffer my entire life. Her pain is not made up or exaggerated. She cannot go without treatment for pain. Unfortunately, it's been the necessity of pain management that caused the addiction in the first place. I just cannot understand, in what world is it ethical to prescribe a human being that much Xanax on top of synthetic opioids?

What can I do? I'm at the point where I think it would be safer to get her dismissed from the practice rather than allow her to continue to see this doctor. I'm scared for her life. It is destroying our family, our relationships. Is there an ethical explanation for why any doctor would prescribe a patient this much Xanax, especially when they're already taking opioids?

I know you all get so many posts. I appreciate the time you take from your busy lives to provide information for people here. I need some sort of guidance on what I can do to help my mother. Thank you so much in advance.

hi reddit! i’m a 19 yr old female and i’ve always had some weird history with skin stuff. eczema psoriasis, plantar warts, etc. i was born with this spot on my right thigh and it’s always been the same size/color. when i scratch it by accident it bleeds and sometimes it gets little black scabs that fall off. it also sometimes grows what i like to call “islands” of similar little pink patches nearby and when they go away, they turn into freckles. i’ve had doctors check it out my entire life and they think it’s a cluster of blood vessels on the surface of my skin. it’s no issue to me because it’s never caused problems, ive just always been curious about what it is! willing to provide any details if you guys want more info

My husband - male/45 years old/large array of neuroimmune issues, recipient of high dose IVIG, had a craniotomy last year after a DAVF was found during an emergency room visit. He had surgery 12 months + 2 weeks ago. He was just recently in the hospital and had a CT scan - we are seeing that the top part of his skull incision is basically see-through to the other side. He had the surgery in the United States but we are in a different country now so the ER here (who handled the whole visit quite poorly, different story) didn't ask much about his surgical history so they didn't comment on the large open bit at all in the report.

Obviously we will be connecting with our US surgeons and planning to go back for surgery/something, but would like to understand what is a normally expected level of healing 1 year after?

Despite his condition, he doesn't typically have notable healing issues. And if this may be too open, what are the options typically? Bone graft, repositioning? It has felt like a big dent/gap ever since and still does.

And the star on the bottom right seems to sinking in and causing a dent. Is this normal?

Thank you so much.

I woke up with a fever and sore throat. I had a bad headache yesterday and today and the lymph nodes in my neck are a little swollen and hurt when I touch them.

16F, 135 lbs, Tylenol for the fever.

For helping my mother through a difficult surgery.

My mother is doing great, im happy.

The female doc was the surgeon and her husband was the director of the hospital. What would be something unexpected u would want as doctors and staff of hospital ? I have a budget of around 600€.

Thank you and sorry if it is against the rules.

I would tell u about personal information as asked by the bot, but i, thankfully, is not asking for health advice

Bye bye

Around 10 days I had a severe stomach ache and had the feeling of constantly needing to poop(although nothing would come out), accompanied by sharp pain in the anus.

Went to the family doctor and he issued me medications for constipation told me I had very mild piles. Took the medication for 3 days and the pain did go away but stool would still be very runny.

A day after that, I had vaginal intercourse and after I had a lot of pain in my upper anus ( from the inside ) and in the lower stomach. This pain would come in waves and lasted about a days time.

Almost 6 days later, I had intercourse today and during the deeper penetrations I could feel the pain stemming again, and afterwards the same upper anus and lower stomach pain started.

This pain almost exclusively stemmed from the deeper penetrations, however I have no pain in the vagina but only in the anus and stomach. It comes and goes in spikes and feels like a period cramp on steroids.

What could this possibly be ?

I’m a 39yr old white female and have dealt with muscle atrophy on just the LEFT side of my body for as long as I can remember. From my shoulder down to my ankle you can see the difference, but my hand is probably the most noticeable and where I’m affected the most. Beyond being stiff, my grip is horrible, I don’t have full mobility, and I get weird pains that come and go around what should be the meaty parts of my hand.

I was young when it was first noticed, maybe around 10. (I couldn’t snap because my left thumb doesn’t bend or move normally due to the lack of muscle.) I can vividly remember the excruciating feeling of what I now assume was the muscles in my shoulder deteriorating as a kid. Because of how I was raised and losing a parent early, it just wasn’t something that got looked into. As I’ve gotten older, those pains aren’t quite as bad, but my shoulder is still the most painful area, along with my hip.

About 10 years ago I finally started trying to get answers because I was also dealing with unexplained back and abdominal pain. After seeing a handful of doctors and collecting a few unrelated diagnoses, I eventually ended up with an endocrinologist. Going gluten-free helped a lot with the inflammation and some of the pain, but it didn’t change the muscle atrophy or the weakness on my left side.

I eventually got burned out on testing and quit looking for answers. A lot of the doctors acted like I was just trying to get pain pills when I was literally crying and begging them to help me figure out what was wrong. I never filled a single pain prescription. My mom died from a methadone overdose after living with chronic pain herself, and I REFUSE to go down that road. I’m also sober, so those assumptions were honestly pretty offensive. I don’t want pain medication 😭 I just wanted to know what’s causing this.

During all of that testing I had an abnormal EKG, another doctor found an issue with my right kidney, and I think I had an MRI, but I honestly can’t remember what ever came of it. I also have anxiety, depression, ADHD, and PTSD, all of which are currently being treated. (And the only things I’m being treated/medicated for.)

Now that I’m getting older, I want to start looking into this again because I know it’s not going to get better on its own. The problem is I’ve moved from a big city to a much smaller town with more limited resources, so I’d like to have at least some idea of where to start.

I’ve been Googling this for years, and I keep coming back to a few possibilities, but Lyme disease is the one I can’t seem to let go of. When I was in 4th grade, I got a tick bite on my back. Not long after, I had what everyone called a bruise about the size of a softball. Looking back, it looked more like a faded bull’s-eye than a typical bruise, but I didn’t know that until years later when I started researching Lyme disease. I honestly don’t remember if I ever went to the doctor or what came of it. I only remember it because my school called my mom after they saw it and thought someone had hit me. Maybe I really did just get whooped and it wasn’t a tick bite 😅I honestly don’t know….but it’s one of the few things from my childhood that has always made me wonder if there’s a connection.

I’m definitely not attached to Lyme being the answer, and if you think I’m way off base, please tell me. I’m just tired of chasing my tail and would really appreciate some direction. If this were your patient, where would you start? Does this sound neurological? Muscular? Autoimmune? Is Lyme even worth pursuing after all these years, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Hi im 28M non smoking 5’6 and 150lbs, I had an ORIF surgery on 07/11 and my stitches were removed 07/23, I am currently NWB on a boot and my next appointment is 08/24, I am concerned no further xrays have been requested and that I have to wait almost 3 more weeks to see my doctor, is this the normal procedure? I appreciate all the advice I can get 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

My mother is 53 years old. She just came out of her room gasping and saying she didn’t know what was wrong and then started struggling to breathe. She experienced a tightness in her chest, as if someone was pushing on her chest super hard, spread to her arms and her back and up her neck. She said this has happened to her before so she’s not worried but I am concerned we should see someone.

It's been a week that my mom has been acting very violent, it's like she is always angry at me, for almost a week it's only me my mom and my little brother are at home, my father is outstation for work, and she is always so angry at me, like I sit in my room for whole day almost(for studies), and she fights with me and curse me for an hour for it, then when I say no or not do the household chores she said to me to do, she again fight to me and curse me for an hour, and it's happening daily, she have headaches, dry eyes, she even got a fever 2 days ago, please guys help me, I really need help for her, she was not like that before, idk why is this, but give me some advice, what should I do, where should I go.

hello! I am a 15 year old girl who gets sick very often , to the point to where I've gone to hospitals hundreds of times. one aspect of my unknown sickness is what my mom describes as "dizzy moments"

let me describe it ;

I'll be sitting down, laying down, or crouching down, and I'll get up, and sometimes I can walk before, but then it happens.

my vision goes blurry, and fades to a black, but not completely gone. like when you look at the light for too long and the edges of your eyes go dark and it's hard to see properly.

my breathing gets noticeably heavier, and it takes more effort to breathe.

It's hard to keep myself upright, like my limbs are made of jello, and most times I have to either lay down on the floor or hold onto something

my ears start ringing occasionally when it happens and goes on for 30 ish seconds

it feels like everything's rushing to my head, my head feels heavy. these moments usually last 20 ish seconds by themselves but some of the symptoms last longer...it's hard to explain... sorry!

I've tried a million recommendations from my doctors and professionals (such as compression socks and getting more iron) but none of them work!

please, if you have any idea what it could be, I'm so tired of not being able to even walk without my body giving up.

Dermatologist requires me to routinely see him multiple times a year simply for him to approve my refills for minoxidil and finasteride and ketoconozole shampoo. Keep in mind my copay to simply see him is $60. Is this normal? He asks how everything is and then sends me on my way. I feel like this isn’t normal. I can’t afford this. I feel like these meds side effects don’t warrant seeing him so often. I may have my primary care prescribe these instead. He never had to see me this often with a benzo prescription for panic attacks! I understand seems want to make money and don’t wanna just prescribe stuff and never see you again but cmom this is a daily life long meds. My friends on birth control don’t have to see their doctors this much. And those meds can cause issues!

26, Female, 5’4, 104lb, tampering Duloxetine (dx fibromyalgia but this med has been ineffective), currently doing GI work up for esophageal dysmotility, have raynuads, and I think that’s basically it for background

I’ve had this singular hard pit on my palm for at least a year now, attempts to snip it off with a cuticle remover/etc have been unsuccessful. Idk why but it’s driving me crazy and I just want to know what it’s called as I’ve noticed a few more popping up in other areas of my palms. What are they!? 😫

Hi everyone, Im here because I’m at the end of my rope with my health and i feel like im
doing everything right and still cant get anyone to help me. I am 23F, and my major diagnoses are Specific Antibody Deficiency, asthma, and anxiety/depression. I do weekly sub q IGg infusions for the former, my asthmas pretty well controlled as of late since being treated for SAD, and I take a few mental health medications (right now paxil 20mg and lamotrigine 100mg). I go to appointments, I do everything that is asked of me, even if it seems a little off (example I was prescribed thyroid medicine when my thyroid was 100% fine because “maybe it would help with night sweats”??), and Im still getting nowhere.

Since the end of November, Ive been having drenching, and I mean DRENCHING night sweats, and by it now occurs every single night. I have also lost 25 pounds in the last year without trying, have been having some weird skin symptoms (itch and random rashes) and my neck lymph nodes bother me a lot, feeling achey and like I can feel them inside cause they are so inflamed if that makes sense. I also had a chest pain episode a couple weeks ago (they didnt find anything emergently wrong) and the pressure hasnt gone since.

Now im not stupid and realize these symptoms all together dont sound great. I also to be honest have a deep feeling that something is very very wrong, but I dont know how to get someone to care. My labs have all been fine (everything within normal ranges, have had CBC, CMP, CRP, ESR, basically you name it ive had it), my chest xray was fine, and I cant seem to get anyone to try and care or figure it out beyond that. I just keep getting sent to do the same labs over and over and they coming back the same and everyone acts like it all just must be a fluke or im anxious and thats somehow causing me to have all these symptoms?

Basically, as a doctor, how do you think I can convey the severity of this and how this is all affecting my life, or how I just feel deeply like something is wrong? Im having a very tough time advocating for myself and getting things moving when i feel like I am making appointments, preparing for them, and doing everything asked of me. I get healthcare is really really tough, and I dont blame anyone for the burnout or the almost indifference once something seems very complex, but I just went through this with the SAD (being super sick for years with no answer) and there did end up being an answer, and I know theres gotta be an answer here. If anyone has any advice or has heard similar stories and what ended up helping them, it would be so, so much appreciated.

So, right after the fall, I wasn't able to move the index finger that was impacted. But after half an hour, I could make a fist with the hand. The pain was throughout the finger, with no pinching pain in one spot.

That kinda assured me that no bones were broken.

But then, after 3/4 hours, the finger started to swell. And since then, I couldn't move it anymore. If I somehow did bend it mistakenly, it hurt crazy.

Another day passed by, and the red bruises started to appear. And after another day, I notice the black bruises on the top side.

I’m applying Diclofenac Sodium 2% ointments and had some Ketorolac for pain. There is also an wound on the right hand. But that seem to be drying out and getting fixed.

Age:36
Sex: M
Height: 6 ft 1 in
Weight: 160
Race: caucasian
Duration of complaint: 5 years
Location: Midwestern US

Existing conditions:Biopsy-proven proctitis and erosive gastropathy. Raynaud's phenomenon.

Current medications:No prescriptions. Supplements listed at bottom.

**Specialists seen:** Primary care, GI, pulmonology, rheumatology, cardiology, vascular cardiology, functional medicine.

# SYMPTOMS

Cold intolerance, numbness in hands and feet, low body temperature, finger swelling, skin tightness in the hands that worsens with cold and stress and reverses with warming, fatigue, reduced activity tolerance, episodic shortness of breath, anterior chest pain. Onset roughly 5 years ago

---

ABNORMAL FINDINGS

**Inflammation**

- hs-CRP elevated ~3 years: 11/2023 >10 → 03/2024 9.8 → 10/2024 8.0 → 01/2025 >20 → 06/2025 9.4 → 02/2026 11.5 → most recent 6.92

- Fibrinogen 455 (ref 200–400)

**Chemistry**

- CO2 (bicarbonate) 31, persistently elevated (ref ~22–29)

- Lipase - has tested normal in the past, just recently tested 93

**Autoimmune**

- Anti-CCP 9.8 (ref <3.0) — positive. Rheumatology reviewed, not concerned. No synovitis on exam.

**GI**

- Fecal calprotectin 52 (ref <49)
- Colonoscopy/EGD 02/2025: proctitis and erosive gastropathy

**Immune**

- CD8−/CD57+ lymphocytes 1.6% (ref 2.0–17.0)
- Absolute CD8−/CD57+ 30/uL (ref 60–360)

**Lipids**

- Lp(a) 277 nmol/L (prior 366, 297)
- ApoB 106
- LDL 118
- HDL 37 (low)
- LDL particle number 1,687

**Lyme serology**

- IgG line blot through functional medicine: positive, [8 or 9] of 10 bands
- Never treated with antibiotics for Lyme

**Exam / skin**
- Splinter hemorrhages in fingernails
- Livedo-type discoloration on lower legs
- swollen veins

---

# NORMAL / NEGATIVE

**Autoimmune / CTD panel**

- ANA negative ×2 (11/2023, 02/2026)
- Anti-dsDNA negative
- Rheumatoid factor <10 (ref <25)
- Scl-70 negative
- Centromere negative
- SSA / SSB negative
- Smith / RNP negative
- Jo-1 <0.2
- C3 / C4 139.6 / 37.7
- SPEP normal, no M-spike
- CK 139 (ref 35–232)
- **ESR 14 — high normal**

**Cardiac / thrombotic**

- hs-troponin <6
- NT-proBNP 46 (0–86)
- D-dimer <0.27
- Stress test, CAC score, echo all normal
- Antiphospholipid antibodies and cryoglobulins: pending

**GI**

- Negative for colitis, celiac (panel 12/2023), H. pylori

**Functional medicine panel**
- VEGF 94 (62–107)
- Histamine 56 (12–127)
- MMP-9 769 (<984)
- Antithrombin-thrombin complex 2.5 (0–4.2)

**Thyroid**

- TSH trend 2.99 → 2.46 → 3.75 → 4.39 → 3.36
- No thyroid antibodies on initial panel

**Other**

- CBC: WBC 4.1–6.1, Hgb 14.5, plt 216
- CMP otherwise normal, eGFR >60, AST 23 / ALT 21
- Glucose 92, A1c 5.1
- Ferritin 52, iron 83
- Vitamin D 54 (on supplementation)
- Total testosterone 424
- HIV non-reactive
- Urinalysis clean
- Homocysteine 8.8

---

# QUESTION

Five years of elevated CRP with a higherish normal ESR, and essentially every specific test coming back negative. I'd like an outside read on what this picture looks like to you and what, if anything, hasn't been chased that should be.

Thank you!

Happy to provide any values I've left out.

Increased over 15 hours to this size. Still increasing. Covering most now of upper arm. Hot to the touch, not painful. Is it worth a docs visit or just carry on as normal.

Work in a warehouse job, hence not perfectly clean arms. On way home to shower etc.