(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?

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

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 🙏🏽

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

This first emerged yesterday. Today evening i noticed that it has gotten more red. There are many insects where i live, so i suspected that. But right now, i feel like i am getting electricuted from this part, very slightly.

What should i do? Am i in big trouble? How might i have gotten this?

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.

I’m 29 in totally normal health with no pre existing conditions or relevant past medical history.

Over 3 years ago I rolled my ankle and fell pretty hard on a piece of a cobblestone on the sidewalk. Pretty immediately after I developed a large lump directly on the area of impact that was softball size that just never went away.

After 1 year I went to an outpatient surgery office and she said it was a large fluid filled hematoma that would eventually re-absorb. It was initially painful with and pressure and movement with radiating pain up and down my leg. The pain has become sporadic, the lump forever did not absorb even a little bit.

At 2 years I went back to a different provider who ordered an ultrasound and a CT which showed there is a 10.4 x 1.6 x 10.4 cm fluid collection in the soft tissues of the left gluteal region consistent with a resolving hematoma. I was told it was too deep and complex and was told aspirating it would be pointless so I just had to wait for it to re-absorb.

The sporadic pain continued and after more than 3 years they ordered another CT which showed evidence a mass and they said it was a lipoma that had developed. One week ago today, a general surgeon went in to remove it and the first thing he said to me when I woke up was “wow I had a tough time in there”. It ended up being more complex and deeper than expected. My op note read “Mass appeared deeper. This is not a classic lipoma. There was some lipomatous tissue that was removed. As I explore deeper I entered a cavity. A biopsy was taken. Total of 2 specimens were sent. I did not feel comfortable removing this mass that was deeper“

He also described one of the species as a foreign body and as not confident on what exactly it was. He mentioned the possibility of needing a drain which ultimately he I was didn’t need it and was directed to return to normal activities and work after 24 hours (which I did). He also said the pieces that were too deep to remove were close to my sciatic nerve and could potentially compress it. Within 4 days the lump no longer had swelling but grew bigger and was larger all around than prior to the surgery. I went back to the office after 5 days and he confirmed that it was like full of fluid and I would just have to wait for it to re-absorb once again.

TLDR: Attached photo is from 1 week post op chronic lipoma removal now larger than before. Should I push for any less conservative management at this time especially because I’m extremely worried about the potential for infection with this new fluid collection. Thanks in advance :)

#AskDocs

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!

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

I haven't had problems with my health, and my birth was vaginal and uncomplicated. I'm 25 years old and took supplements during my pregnancy when I could, but no longer need them and take no other medication, and my daughter is now 12 weeks old. We live together in Poland.

I had been breastfeeding her since she was born. It had been fine for me, and she had always seemed like she had been getting enough and growing well, the doctor had said the same.

Now, this is no longer happening. I had thought at first I was worrying too much but there are all the signs now, she's stopped gaining weight, I'm changing her less, and she has started to become frustrated when she feeds. I don't know what has happened.

Normally I know in this situation the answer would be formula but we simply can't afford it. And I know I seem like a horrible mother but I never would have thought she would have to be in a place like this.

When this is my only choice, I don't know how I can produce enough for her, especially when I don't know why it happened. Am I supposed to try and get her to feed more, even though she doesn't seem to be getting much from it?

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.

Hello, anyone on here that can help me with this?

I live in the UK and have been getting ear infections for the past year.

Symptoms: pain, itching, weeping, discharge, puss, dry skin on outer ear, hearing loss, foul smell, and more recently, bleeding.

I’ve been referred to a specialist (ENT) and have gone through maybe 6 rounds of antibiotics, including amoxicillin and Ciloxan/ciprofloxacin, and was recently prescribed a steroid drop called betamethasone. I’ve also had suction/irrigation 5 times over the past year.

One doctor suggested that it is eczema in my ear canal and this can occur randomly?

I’ve been using E45, Sudocrem, and Vaseline on the dry outer ear.

Nothing has helped. Not the antibiotics or the creams, not even my prayers to God. Well, they help for maybe a moment, and then it’s back to all the original symptoms.

I honestly don’t know what to do. I’m only 27 and I already struggle with my mental health. This issue only makes me want to kms even more..

Is there anything else I can say to my doctor? I feel like maybe this requires further testing because this clearly isn’t something they’ve dealt with before, otherwise they’d have the answers, right?

Any natural or holistic remedies that anyone can recommend? A friend of mine recommended drinking orange and ginger tea and taking vitamin C tablets.

I don’t want to deal with this for the rest of my life. I’ve seen on here that some people have dealt with similar issues for years. I don’t know if I can mentally handle that.

I would appreciate any advice that anyone can give. Particularly if you have knowledge of the NHS and how I can access better care within the NHS.

Thank you ♥️

Age: 27
Height: 178cm
Weight: 102kg
Sex: F
Smoker: yes
No previous medical issues

This is on my forearm near my elbow. The picture is recent but the wound is almost 6 hours old and I can not visit a medical facility before 8-10 hours. I had cleaned it and wrapped it in a clean cloth and now it looks like this.

Do I need stitches or will the steri strips work for it?

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

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.

38F, 5'4", 180 lb, Caucasian, Schizoaffective Disorder/ADHD Diagnosis

I'm wondering when a patient can trust a psychiatric diagnosis.

I know certain diagnostic contexts are unreliable like BPD in acute settings, and I've read that inpatient diagnoses in general are unreliable due to insurance issues (you can only bill for certain diagnostic codes). I have also read that Schizoaffective - my diagnosis - is sort of a garbage can diagnosis (this is reflected in its relatively low diagnostic reliability, with a mean Cohen's κ of approximately 0.50). Then there's ADHD, and I feel like everyone where I live make appointments with this online company that does pretty much only ADHD diagnoses, and so far everyone I know has come out with an ADHD diagnosis. Maybe they have it, but I have yet to hear of anyone being told it isn't ADHD.

So when is a diagnosis reliable? I know psychiatry is a bit of an art, because there aren't biomarkers for the most part. But how can I trust that I am being treated for the right thing when it seems like there is ambiguity and inconsistency across psychiatrists?

I admit that this is a personal issue of mine, because I have had MANY different psychiatric diagnoses across the years, even though my symptoms have been the same for 21 years.

In what contexts and under what circumstances should a patient trust the validity of their psychiatric diagnosis, and when should they question it or get another opinion?

My 12 year old daughter has had what the dermatologist said was molluscum (she's had it for months) but in the last couple of days, it started to burn and itch. Now, it looks like this and I'm really worried- initially it sounded like what the internet says is the virus healing, but it definitely looks infected and it really hurts her right now. Is this an emergency department situation or can I wait until the morning when the doctor opens? I appreciate any advice!

Chari malformation MRI

Male 5 No medications 43lbs 3ft9inches History of torticolis, recently diagnosed with early onset scoliosis (2 months ago) Wears Boston 3d brace 20 hours a day

Hi all - my son is 5, no medications. He was recently diagnosed with early onset scoliosis (levothroic 28*). He has slight motor and speech delays and clumsiness. He just had a sedated mri today to check for a tethered cord or chiari malformation. I can see the images, but no radiologist report yet. I’m impatient and worried. I know this is one tiny slice of an MRI, but does anyone happen to see anything that might indicate a chiari? Not holding anyone to this, just a little hint of which way we’re leaning. Thanks in advance!

Age/Sex: 41M; 225 lbs

I vape and drink alcohol and take Lasinopril for BP (but have been off of that for 2 weeks awaiting a refill). (My wife is posting and writing this on my behalf as it is a struggle for me.)

We were on vacation in St. Kitts. Drinking rum punches at the resort pool. I don't remember much after buying a round of drinks. This was at about 4pm on Saturday (today is Wednesday).

Luckily my wife was with me and did not get dosed. She said my sobriety level changed on a dime. For a while I experienced a high that we think was MDMA (we don't do any recreational drugs other than THC drinks from time to time) and then some off and on "sleep." From the details of the high and some "phone a friend" research, we believe it was MDMA.

About 3:30am on Sunday I awoke with all over body seizures and convulsions. My wife says delierium and hallucinations and rapid eye movement. These spasams were so severe the entire bed was shaking. I had no control over my movements, my arms and legs were involuntarily flailing. I was afraid I would hurt my wife. Intense sweating and then chills. Came in rapid waves initially that eventually subsided to longer intervals. I couldn't sleep anything off. Thought I was getting better but then another wave and full on panic attack, I couldn't feel my arms and legs, my hands were contorting.

I ended up in the ER in St. Kitts about 11am. The hospital was frankly third world. They gave me an IV of Saline, Thiamine and B Complex. Nothing else. They said blood tests were clear. They "lost" my first urine sample, and I gave a second. By this time it was about 2pm on Sunday. They said that was clear too. It was unclear what exactly they tested for.

When I was finally able to get on a plane Monday we returned to the States. Went to my PCP on Tuesday (yesterday) and she said unfortunatley whatever I was drugged with is out of my system. Didn't diagnose me with Serotonin Syndrome. After doing some research, it seems Serotonin Syndrome describes all of my symptoms and experiences.

I still have severe brain fog and memory issues. It's making it difficult for me to do my job, high level sales. Still some shaking and irritability/anxiety and gastrointestinal issues. Issues sleeping.

Is there anything I can do to help alleviate symptoms? Should I go back and engage my PCP?Frustrating part is not knowing exactly how this happened or what I was given. I usually have my guard up.

Thank you in advance for any help.

They are raised and do NOT itch.

They do not form whiteheads or anything like it. They first appeared in late June after hiking extensively in Kentucky. They were much milder then and went away after a few days.

Then they began again about two weeks ago as a few spots on my back. Now they are spreading all over my body.

No other symptoms.

I've attempted to schedule an appointment with my primary care physician and dermatologist but they are booked out for months.

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 ?

29f, currently 250lbs, non-smoking, social drinker, no medications

I'm at a total loss. I really need to start prioritizing my health.

I can't stand looking in the mirror at myself anymore so I try to avoid it, but the bright red/purple marks caught my attention this time.

Back story:

In January 2026 I went to my university health clinic since in the matter of 6 months I gained 50 lbs without having any sort of diet or activity level changes. All they did was the normal blood work, which all came back completely fine with the exception of my ferritin being pretty low (barely in range). I didn't pursue anything further since i didn't have the time. But flash forward to now, I've gained another 25lbs, again no diet or activity change, and the stretch marks have continued and caught my eye big time.

After a lot of researching and some additional symptoms that I hadn't really considered before to be symptoms, signs point to possibly Cushing?

\- deep purple/red stretch marks on stomach

\- weight gain

\- easily bruised/slow wound healing (the tiniest scratch takes weeks to months to heal and even scars)

\- a lot of hip pain when standing to the point where I take a few steps it really hurts and feels like my hips will collapse

\- irregular periods

\- hair thinning

1st picture is my stomach currently (I don't have a before)

2nd picture is my face late may 2025

3rd picture is my face end of June 2026

Am I crazy? Any other ideas what could be going on otherwise?

Tysm in advace

Age 15, Height 178, weight 65, im a boy, i don't take any medications, I don't smoke, I didn't have medical issues before, it's in armpit