Dizziness and abdominal pain

So idk if I have food poisoning or what. I haven’t thrown up yet but the feeling has been there. What has been happening tho is constant pooping (tmi sorry💀), abdominal pain, and nausea. I think this was caused by some bad coconut water that I had drank on Sunday because a couple hours after I drank it, while at work, I started feeling nauseous and I kept eyeing that garbage just in case. But I stuck it through and didn’t leave early. Few hours later I was able to eat and shortly after I did I pooped then felt better but then the abdominal pain came back… and I’m still feeling it today with nausea
Kinda concerned but really just want this feeling to end

Hello, I tried to make it as short as possible but there's a lot, so bear with me :
I'm a 30 years old caucasian french man, I'm 5'6ft / 170cm for 68kg / 150lbs, somewhat athletic.
Symptoms started without found cause 6-7 years ago.
I went to 5 different specialists, including 3 Otorhinolaryngologists, 1 Sophrologist, and 1 Speech-Language Pathologist but my problem wasn't resolved after 2 years of various treatments.
Their diagnosis was :

1. Gastric reflux : I took a medication that did nothing.
2. Vocal chords nodules : 2nd ORL didn't see any gastric reflux but saw nodules on each vocal chord. I explained I recently stopped smoking but I was singing in a choir without real training about it, so she sent me to a speech language pathologist. I spent 6 months of therapy with said specialist, but no evolution.
3. 3rd ORL didn't see vocal chords nodules, so told me that it was stress and psychosomatic. Suggested me that I see a Sophrologist for stress reduction/control. I then saw a Sophrologist and nothing happened.

Symptoms :
-I have less space for eating : I went from 100% to 80% open throat. If I drink/eat anything without accomodating the food/liquid with my tongue, I have a pretty good chance of choking, because it feels like my tongue is bigger or that the cavity wherein my tongue lies is smaller.
-I sometimes have pain when breathing : whenever I try to meditate or any activity with diaphramatic breathing, I feel a little pain at the base of my throat and at the center of my sternum, where my stomach is.
-I have trouble breathing : I feel some shortness of breath. When I inhale, I can inhale fully while inflating my belly, but when I exhale it will fall "short" of fall "flat", like a short and incomplete sigh. So whenever I do these exercices, I need to push my abdominal muscles inside to actually finish the breathing, but it's only in a conscious way, so it feels like whenever I'm conscious of my breathing, I realise how bad my breath is, but maybe it's also psychosomatic, and the focus over it makes me nervous which contracts me, but I can breathe normally during the day ? I have doubts about that because that feeling of shortness of breath will arrive at random points of the day.
-I experience slight discomfort when swallowing, even just my spit.
I have previous history of :
-Allergies to lots of herbaceous stuff as well as dust, hay, pollen, etc ... But nothing food or medication related.
-Eczema
-Stomach Ulcers (resolved with esomeprazole)
-Insomnia
-Anxiety
-PTSD
-Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
-Bruxism
-Smoking history (stopped completely 3 years ago)
I really don't know what's going on ... Can anyone help me please ?

Took Pepcid 20 mg 2x a day for a month, then a week and a day taking 10 mg 2x a day, then 1x 10 mg for two days before stopping. Had to stop due to random abdominal cramping, increase in bloating, and increasing constipation on it.
Since I stopped taking after Saturday night though, I have felt an increase in anxiety, waking up at 3 am with night sweats the past two nights, and random on and off left groin pain. At least the cramping and constipation is gone.
I messaged my primary and he has never heard of withdrawal from Pepcid, but I'm skeptical. Currently I'm on mirtazapine 7.5 mg and Seroquel 25-50 mg as needed for insomnia.

Trying to figure out if I should insist on having laparoscopy as nothing showed up on my ultrasounds.
I have severe PMS and severe cramping when bleeding. I can’t walk for 2 days, I feel sharp pain with every step that I take. Painkillers help take the pain away, I couldn’t cope without them. I get nausea, dizziness (I checked my iron and B12, I am not anemic), body weakness, gastrointestinal issues. No pain with intercourse.
During my period I feel like I am being stabbed or kicked over and over. I feel that my guts are spilling out.
How would you describe your endo?

Hi all. I am a 20 year old female and my health has been declining for a while. I got my ANA tested in Feb and it was >=1:1280 with a homogenous and speckled pattern. I just repeated it last week and it was the same exact thing. I have had all of the following tests come back negative: -Smith antibody -Sjorgen antibodies (SSA and SSB) -Scleroderma antibody -ENA -Cyclic citrullinated peptide -Complement C4 and C3 -ESR -Creatine kinase -Rheumatoid factor -Anti-double stranded DNA My symptoms include: Generalized body and muscle weakness, fatigue, muscle spasms, dizziness, chest pain, headaches everyday and occasional joint pain in my hips.
Im going to see another rheumatologist for a second opinion. I am just very very concerned about how high my ANA is and am looking for any ideas on more tests we could do to figure this out! I know some people can be healthy with a positive ANA but its hard to think I’m on of them with how high it is and i feel horrible all of the time.

Hello guys!! A few days ago I was diagnosed with lupus, for which I was prescribed 200mg of hydroxychloroquine and 20mg of prednisone, I have had abdominal and stomach pain accompanied with episodes (about once a day) of diarrhea, is it normal to experience this the first few days of starting treatment? And if so, will my body adapt?
I also feel a little disoriented at times, I don't know if it is normal to experience these symptoms or if I should be worried. This is my fourth day on medication.

hey guys. I’m a 25 yo m and finally got a huge wake up call with my health after my birthday. drinking started in college and led me down a scary path of drinking vodka every night after work for probably the last 3 years. Got some blood drawn and found out my liver wasn’t doing so hot. I quit 55 days ago and just had an ultrasound done after some abdominal pain and am awaiting the results. I have health anxiety so I’ve been extremely stressed and I’m just hoping I get a second chance at health and that it’s not too late for my liver. any hopeful stories out there to ease my mind?
Thanks in advance, your stories and tips have gotten me through the last few months.

I (45F) was suppose to have same day surgery on Friday. I usually recover quickly from surgeries, example: I was able to go back to work although uncomfortably four days after a c-section. I say was supposed to have same day surgery because it turned into a six hour surgery during which I vomited while under anesthesia. After I was extremely dizzy and feeling nauseated so I had to stay one night at the hospital. It’s been three days and I still feel awful, not so much the pain but the nausea and dizziness.
Yesterday, my partner (47M) asked me what we were doing for dinner. I told him I didn’t have an appetite but needed to eat so would eat whatever. He asked me again to decide and I said, fine just get a lasagna for us to share. He said, from where. I said from, Burkes, a restaurant 3 minutes from the house. He asked if I could get somewhere with better parking. At this point I’m getting annoyed cause I just want to get off the phone and lay my head down silently. He then wants me to call in the order. I just told him to forget it and just get himself dinner because this was becoming too much effort. He responded with okay but I don’t see what the issue is, you are just lying around. I had cereal for dinner.
He is saying I was rude and mean. I thought that for at least the first half of the week, I could completely disconnect and recover. AITA for my response and annoyance?

Today I was tested positive for stomach bacteria and it caused me diarrhea, abdominal pains with urge to poop...
And in the morning I got that urge with stomach pain and as I went only a little soft parts came out but felt like I was involuntarly straining for few seconds (3-5)...
I was constantly controlably breathing so my abdomen,anus and penis were relaxed so I didnt strain on puprose but my anus wanned to push out something but there was just little in... my perineum was painful during it but then when I was done the pain went away. I never ever strain on toilet because I know its bad.
Later I went to doctor so they gave me antibiotics to treat this...
Now im extremly anxious that this involuntary painful strain caused damage to me (muscles and nerves)...
Did that just irritate everything up... I wasnt thinking about it trough out the day but now that im lying with bed I cant stop thinking of it. I dont think I had any pain trouh out the day aswell so that is calming me a little that it didnt damage me.
Im just afraid its gonna be delayed or something... I always get scared and expect the worst and that everything is not fixable :( im just really tired of everything and I just wish to have my old life back.

So I had a stomach flu and Hand Foot and Mouth in February. I was then crushed with upper abdominal pain and acid reflux the past three months that also turned into excessive fatigue, weakness, insomnia, etc.
My doctor ran a bunch of bloodwork. I flagged that I think I could be having malabsorption issues so she agreed to do some micronutrient testing. Most of the bloodwork came back good except: Iron: 43 (ref range 41-186) Transferrin Sat: 14% (ref range 15-57%) Zinc: 54 (ref range 60-120)
The lab reference ranges seem off compared to what I looked up (iron = 60, transferrin >20%, zinc = 80+). My doctor said you won't get side effects with iron deficiency if I'm not anemic. Do my numbers seem concerning?

Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road
High above in her hiding spot, Zildiz had heard enough. The Leapers were her kindred’s most hated of adversaries, and she could not allow them to gain even a fraction of the grey behemoth’s awesome might. An apocalyptic vision arose in her mind of titanic Leaper variants towering over the rooftops of Chthonis, setting the Parchment City alight with beams of all-destroying light emanating from their many eyes.
Four against one. Those were slim odds even under the best of circumstances. Still, she had the element of surprise, and ambush predators were often unaccustomed to being preyed upon themselves. But Leapers were notoriously difficult opponents to sneak up on as they literally had eyes on the backs of their heads. But Zildiz was a veteran of countless border skirmishes, and had learned of a small blind spot in their vision. It was above and slightly behind the axis of their posterior lateral median eyes. But many Gallivants who had tried to make their first kill that way did not survive to tell the tale—the flutter of their wings gave them away. She would have to drop straight down on her first target. No hesitation, no second chances.
She saw the alpha Leaper lean down to extract the prey-form’s gilt helix, and saw her opening.
Rene heard a branch snap somewhere above him and felt a gust of wind blow across his neck, bearing with it droplets of moisture that pattered lightly against the visor of his mask. His first thought was that it had started to rain. He glanced up at the monster to find that it had extruded a new mouthpart, some manner of sharp, serrated tongue whose tip oozed a wet and viscous fluid. Rene flinched reflexively, expecting at any moment to feel the point punching through his skull before draining out its contents like a straw. But then the blade twisted sharply, wrenching its way out of the back of the monster’s head and drenching Rene’s mask in a shower of gore, the four-eyed devil letting out a wet gurgle as it slumped over in a twitching heap.
Pawing at his mask with his bound wrists, Rene peered through his smeared vision and saw a figure standing atop the corpse that, if anything, possessed an even less lovely countenance than his erstwhile interlocutor. A bulbous compound eye stared back Rene like a shattered mirror, a thousand miniscule reflections of himself repeating across its scaly lenses.
Rene recognized the creature as one of the harpies from earlier. One of its broad wings was missing. It drew its bloodstained blade across its mandibles, casually licking the weapon clean as an eight-limbed devil leapt at the harpy from behind, letting loose a bloodcurdling scream. But the harpy did not even turn at the sound, merely pointing its other blade arm behind it and letting its attacker impale itself upon it, clean through. With its dying spasms the devil pulled itself up the length of the blade in an effort to reach the harpy, even as its two kin recovered from their surprise and pounced at the harpy from either side. What followed was a blur of movement almost too quick for the human eye to follow as the harpy spun in place, cleaving the monster on the left halfway through its sternum. In the same movement it turned the devil stuck on the end of its blade into the path of the attacker on the right, using it as a living shield. The impact still bowled the harpy over, all four of the combatants rolling on the ground in a ball of threshing limbs and furious struggle.
The din was horrendous. Siezing the golden opportunity which had presented itself, Rene reached once more for the sword of the ancients, stretching his sinews for all they were worth. It was just enough to let him pinch the pommel-button between his middle and forefingers. Raising it up in spite of his trembling, sweat-slick grip, Rene coaxed the hilt into palm of his waiting hand, then pounded the button against his chest, feeling the sword come alive in his hands. As the fight raged on behind him, Rene sliced his legs free. He tucked in his head as he hit the ground, rolling onto his arse and reversing his grip on the sword, swiftly cutting the bonds around his wrists. When he tried to stand, however, he found that his legs were still unresponsive, all the blood within them having flowed up to his torso during his time spent hanging upside down. Pounding the life back into the clammy flesh of his calves with his fist, Rene looked anxiously around and discovered that the battle had since moved elsewhere, leaving two black-furred corpses in its wake. Cries of rage and a frenzied shaking among the bushes allowed him to guess where the other monsters were. He hoisted himself to his feet, picked up the safety kit and staggered away from the sounds of fighting, pins and needles still numbing the soles of his feet.
As he stepped over the dead bodies in his path, Rene was just about to congratulate himself on a smooth escape when his toes snagged on something and he tripped, going down heavily on his side. Rene felt a powerful yank on his ankle and looked to see the previously impaled monster glaring up at him. It wriggled on its belly and pulled him closer with one hand while it held in its spilled guts with the other three. By the ancestors, was it strong! Rene hacked at the hand holding his foot and lopped it off at the forearm, feeling only the slightest tug of resistance as the edge sheared through bone and meat alike. The hand was still clamped shut about his ankle with a death grip as he stood back up.
The fiend’s back arched as it brought its vile hump of flesh to the fore, dozens of sucking orifices on its misshapen surface spreading open wide.
Thwip! Thwip!
Jets of silk flew out of the spinnerets, the monster using its claws to grasp the threads and shuttering them back and forth like the shuttles of a loom. Cords flicked out and ensnared Rene’s sword arm, pinning it to his side while the weaver applied a lightning-fast field dressing on its abdominal wound, closing off both ends with wads of its makeshift bandage. Rene strained mightily against the loops of silk, but they never budged an inch. Meanwhile, the monster raked him with its claws, opening bright lines of agony across his chest and shoulder. Rene bit back a scream and dropped the sword point-first into the soil. It sank quivering up to its hilt, leaving him completely defenseless as the monster jumped and snatched him up in its gangly embrace. Rene fell to one knee as its weight bore him to the earth, reaching out with his free hand to draw the sword out of the ground and cleave through its rows of hairy legs.
Severed limbs went rolling every which way, the black devil tottering. Yet as it fell its outer mouthparts seized Rene by the temples and pinned him in place as it bit right into his face. Venomed fangs skittered across the transparent surface of his mask, scoring it with deep scratches. To his amazement the crystal held strong and did not shatter—once more the materials of the ancients had proven their incredible durability. Rene worked his arm clear and chopped wildly at the monster’s arms, felt its hold on him slacken as they fell away, leaving only spurting stumps. The butchered devil fell on its humped back and began shrieking its head off.
Rene raised his sword to deliver the coup de grace but was interrupted by the sudden reemergence of the other combatants who burst back onto the scene. The harpy was grappling with one of the devils, quickly being overpowered by its brute strength. As the devil sank its fangs into the bulging pair of compound eyes and tore off the top of the harpy’s head, the latter found an opening and slipped both its blades through in tight uppercutting motions, ramming them under the devil’s chin and out the other end. Ripping outwards and across with its arms the harpy tore its enemy’s head apart and sent the soggy chunks scattering into the treetops.
Reeling in obvious pain, it kicked the body aside and took off with a shutter of its wings, attempting an escape. A feral scream split the air as, the last devil leapt up to intercept it, entrails dangling in the place of its missing lower body. Devoid of sanity or self-preservation, it tacked the rising harpy and sent both of them crashing into a stout branch. They fell back to the earth with a bone-crunching thump, followed by a confetti-shower of dead leaves shaken from their stems.
Rene looked back at his enemy and saw the devil stubbornly gathering itself up for another spring. All it had left were a single arm and leg apiece, that and a merciless glitter in its eyes.
“You can’t be serious,” he complained, and put an end to its efforts by splitting its head right down the middle. Rene shook his head in disbelief and went over to polish off the other two, snipping his webbed arm loose as he did. He found the bisected devil crawling on its elbows and mewling with pain as it wriggled towards the unmoving body of the harpy, clearly intending to finish what it had started.
There were eyes on the back of its head, Rene now noticed. Four of them, the same number as on the front. It saw him coming and rolled over, raising its arms to shield itself.
Rene’s boot came stomping down all the same. He felt its head crunching under his heel as he squashed it into a flattened pie and was nauseated. Rene then approached the harpy, eyeing its blade arms warily and giving it a wide berth. He didn’t want to get anywhere near those frightful things, not after what he’d seen. Instead he went over to a fallen log and cut himself an oversized club from one of its boughs. Sticking the sword back into the ground, he hefted the length of wood over the harpy, intending to smash its head in from a distance.
He felt strangely squeamish at prospect of another head going splat. A wave of dizziness came over him and he had to take a moment to collect himself, doubling over and beginning to dry heave. Leaning heavily on the bough like a staff, he examined the harpy and thought that it looked sufficiently dead. Through the gaping holes in its face he saw the gooey interior of its head. Was that its brain poking through the cracks in the armored hide? Blimey, it had a big one. Equal parts revolted and intrigued, Rene reached over with the branch and prodded at it, testing for a reflex.
Nothing. Better to be safe than sorry, though. Rene raised the bough on high and steeled himself to do the deed once and for all.
A piece of the head fell away, and Rene gasped. Abandoning common sense, he threw aside the club and squatted over the body, frantically tearing off the rest of its cranial casing, plunging his fingers into the sticky mess and pulling out clumps of armored flesh until what lay beneath was finally revealed.
Rene clutched at his forehead as if it was about to explode. Backing away with a sense of dawning horror, he repeated over and over to himself: “It can’t be. It can’t be, it can’t! That’s not possible! It’s…it’s…”
Beautiful.
That was what Rene had meant to say. But the word felt so utterly absurd given the context that it took all his will to keep from bursting into a fit of deranged laughter. And who could have blamed him?
For beneath the ruined visage of flesh, the creature wore the face of a woman.
Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road

Im 25 years old and since i got the vaccine ive had a wide range of symptoms. Weird dizziness episodes, spurts of pain in my chest, stomach visibly pulsating, a tremor in my hands,shortness of breath, weakness when bending over with my torso and also feeling of weakness in legs. Can someone please help me figure out whats wrong with me. Im in good shape at 6’2” 190 and live an active lifestyle. I say since the vaccine because thats the only thing that matches up with the timeline when my symptoms starting showing up.

I am so sorry if this seems like a dumb question or this is not the best place to ask, but the question is eating me alive. Years ago, after not having my period for 2 months I made a pregnancy test at home. The result was positive. I was on the pill but didn't take it every day so efficacy was in question. First month of no menstruation I thought it was stress, second month did the test. I was terrified and didn't went to a doctor. A couple days after making the test while I was still freaking out I had a sharp abdominal pain and started to bleed heavily. I promised myself if it got worse I would risk it and go to a hospital. That was not the case. The bleeding stopped during the next day but the pain remained even if not as strong as before. I stayed a couple days in bed and basically got back to a normal life. I was still terrified not knowing what to do, no support so I just tried to pretend nothing happened. That included continuing on the pill because if I stopped someone would notice and there would be serious trouble, I was in a bad situation. In the next months my menstruation came back on the days of interval in the pill. The question is eating me alive: was that probably a false positive or I was pregnant and miscarriaged?
What would be your opinion on this? Is there a way of a doctor to confirm years later what happened for sure? Some exam or something?

Hello,
I have always been rather underweight all my life, but the past 8 months have been debilitating. For reference, I am 23 years old, 4'9'' (146cm) and currently weigh around 70 pounds (shy under 32 kg).
My symptoms are not allowing me to eat anything. I have acid reflux, heart burn, a pulling/stabbing pain in my upper stomach area, nausea before and after eating, I have to try really hard to not throw up after eating, sometimes i feel like throwing up even without having eaten anything right in the morning. Just a few days ago I spent 4 days at the hospital to finally get a gastro- and colonoscopy done, and my results were "fantastic". They found nothing abnormal anywhere except for a small hiatal hernia, which apparently isn't anything that could cause problems. I still have to wait about a week for lab results. My blood test results are also all without any abnormalities. According to them I am as healthy as can be.
These symptoms used to come periodically and stay for 1-2 weeks, but now they are constant. Every day is painful and every day I lose weight. I can barely eat, I have no energy and I get dizzy frequently due to being pretty much malnourished.
Aside from the hiatal hernia I have no Idea what else could be causing these problems. What could this possibly be? Nobody in the medical field seems to take me seriously and they're all trying to diagnose me with anorexia nervosa when I do not have mental problems related to food. I am not scared of gaining weight, it's literally my goal to be a regular weight for my height and to live a normal life, but nobody believes me.
If anyone has any idea what else this could be and how I can further approach this please let me know. I'm getting sicker and weaker and I'm getting really scared.

Hi all.
I (17F) am autistic and have Hypermobility Ehlers danlos syndrome, Primary chronic pain, TMJ and have exhibited symptoms of POTS. I take 15mg amitriptyline every night. Not sure if these symptoms are related but thought it was worth mentioning. Any ideas would be appreciated and advice on whether i should go to my GP.
Over the last 3 weeks, I have felt very unwell but for different reasons. The only consistent is my loss of appetite.
3 weeks ago I started experiencing a tremor in my left hand (my writing hand, will leave video in comments) which never went away. It isn’t the first time I had these tremors but they went away after around an hour so I didn’t think anything of it before but since this has stayed, I’m getting a bit worried about it.
Last wednesday, I experienced a severe headache that was light sensitive. I had a temperature of 41.2°C. My neck was also really achy and hurt when I moved it.
While the headache isn’t as bad anymore, it’s still there. New symptoms that have arisen in the past week include nausea, a tremor in my right hand and foot and an increase in my tics (head jerks and muscle contractions in my head and neck).
Another thing that is unusual for me is a severe bout of incontinence. I do struggle with incontinence but only for small dribbles of urine. Yesterday while at college, I completely lost control of my bladder and completely emptied it. My friend had to run to primark to get me a change of clothes. Since then I have needed to go to the toilet more often. After that I have had severe lower abdominal pain, tingling in my feet and my general state of incontinence has gotten worse.
Im not really sure what to do and i’m scared. TIA.

39 (age)/120 lbs (weight)/5 feet (height)/ non smokeno drugs or alcohol/no previous medical condition/area of concern: brain
Five months ago, I had a cranial facial release procedure done by a certified practitioner. This is a balloon treatment where the doctor inserts a finger cot balloon into your nose and inflated it with a blood pressure bulb. In my case, she put the balloon in both my upper nasal cavities. She inflated the balloon so much that the pain was a 9/10, and I felt cracking in my face and head. It felt like being punched in the face and having my brain squeezed at the same time.
I immediately felt dizzy and disoriented with increased brain fog. I went to the ER the next day and they ran a CT with contract, which came back clear.
I followed up with my primary care doctor, who sent me to a neurologist for further testing, and those results are below.
Since this incident, I’ve been dealing with 24/7 cognitive issues - memory lapses (almost feels like the brain zaps one would get coming off an SSRI, which I’m not on), involuntary muscle movements while awake, disorientation, difficulty reading, slight vertigo, feeling off and out of it. No headache or pain - all cognitive.
My doctors aren’t sure what to do besides physical therapy and time. My question is: since I received this injury from excessive force/pressure in my nasal cavities vs typical concussion from blunt force, is my brain affected in a different way that a typical concussion? I’m wondering if my recovery prognosis is worse due to the way I recover the injury. Any truth to that since I’ve been struggling many months with no improvement in symptoms? Any therapies or treatments to help me heal are appreciated.
MRI Non-specific punctuate focus of T2 FLAIR hyperintensity within the right frontal subcortical white matter. This may be from sequela migrainous vasculopathy or gliosis from other remote assault.
QEEG (eyes closed, awake) Shows slow delta waves in the frontal lobes

I'm struggling... I started getting PVCs this past January where I can feel each one. It's so hard. My throat tightens up, I lose my breath, I'm tired, I'm dizzy, and I get this pain in my back with them..
I've been trying to prioritize sleep because this weekend I am officiating my brother's wedding. I got 5 hrs of sleep last night which is a couple hours too less for me and my PVCs won't stop! I go up the stairs, I walk around, or I lay around they come up.
I can't have these happen the day of my brother's wedding.
Anyone else have PVCs increase when they don't get good sleep? What do they do during those days?

I thought maybe he was turning around and finally understanding. Even the PT tried to explain why it'd help. I could do less than 10% of what was considered normal in my testing and my symptoms flared badly.
On the ride home he yelled at me, pretty much telling me the idea was stupid. I know my city is inaccessible, but I can't even leave the house even if I wanted to now. He chalked up my issues as mild and wasn't listening at all.
I can't drive as well because of POTS making me extremely dizzy and out of it while in cars, and he yelled at me for that, too. As if i choose to not be able to do shit (to which ive expressed how unhappy I am with this)
I feel so trapped. he even drove to a planet fitness and pointed out every little thing on our way that was inaccessible, which I am WELL AWARE OF. i literally can't leave the house like this and I just want my independence
I don't have ANYONE else who can vouch or do this for me. It feels like I'm just trapped and it feels like he doesn't care, or at least he doesn't see my pain and problems as "real"
I thought this would be a step in the right direction but it's not. I don't think he's gonna go through with it. i know my disease is going to get worse the more I keep on like this, and I already can't do more than 3 things a day on my feet without being wiped out with pain and exhaustion
I know I'm rambling but im super upset and I just can't take it anymore

Hey Guys , I just want to share how my 1st rubber band ligation went @ Kaiser’s GI specialist. For anyone curious or looking for some more info.
(Background ) I’m 26 years old . I’ve had internal/external hemorrhoids for about 10 years! and it’s only gotten worse over the years so I needed to take care of it. I’ve always been very active and in good health but for some reason I’ve been haunted by these hemorrhoids and they have never gone away . I’ve had colonoscopies, Doctors have always stuck their fingers up my ass and gave me ointment but everything was for temporary help. Every Bowel Movement I have , my hemorrhoids stick out and I have to push it back in after I’m done on the toilet (highly recommend this , you feel way more comfortable after. Use Vaseline and a glove if you have one.) BUY A BIDET AS WELL! I even use a portable bidet at work.
(Procedure day ) So anyways, I was scheduled for a Rubber band ligation a couple weeks ago . I’ve always hated appointments for hemorrhoids, I’m sick of getting fingers up my ass just to remind me I do have hemorrhoids and getting ointments, there’s even been times I couldn’t relax and Dr had to send me for a colonoscopy because she couldn’t stick a finger up there all the way to check (CAN YOU BLAME ME?). But this time I told myself I needed to man up and just relax to get this over with. (I smoked weed before the appt. for my nerves )
The night before, I needed to purchase 2 fleet enemas. One for @9pm and another for 1 hour before my appointment which was @10. Walgreens has them for $1 each. When I got to the appointment I had to prepare for the Anoscopy and rubber band . They pretty much just make you bend over the bed and insert a 3 inch thin tube into your anal to see the inside and which internal hemorrhoids they can rubber band (external cannot be rubber band). Now remember, I HATE having fingers and things up my ass and it’s been hard in the past appts. but I just made sure to relax, took deep breaths and took my mind off the situation. It actually wasn’t that bad and was tolerable . It took about 5-8 minutes and the DR told me I had about 4 internal he was able to see and reach for the rubber bands . I did 2 rubber bands , he pretty much used this vacuum like object to suck in the hemorrhoid so the rubber band can be shot on . So you feel air being sucked out your asshole then a lil rubber band just popping on there . After the 2nd one he asked If I wanted to do another or just wait and told me whatever pressure I feel now is what I’ll feel like until they come off so I stuck with 2. Nothing hurt , you just feel pressure and a rubber band in your ass because the hemorrhoids are irritated from the procedure .
(After the procedure)
The first 4 hours kinda suck, I would recommend to take the day off. You just feel uncomfortable and the hemorrhoid is irritated so it’s hard to feel relaxed and comfortable. Take TYLENOL. The rest of the day was okay but you definitely feel something there. All of this is tolerable tho and you shouldn’t be in Pain at all so don’t worry.
Day 2, in the evening you don’t feel anything at all! Feels back to normal and you only feel a little uncomfortable when you Poop. Do not strain or push and take softeners if you feel you need to.
Day 11 ( this experience was not common so don’t let it worry you)
So 11 days have passed by and I haven’t seen any rubber bands in my toilet after BM’s.(which should happen when they fall off) But my poops are way more comfortable and I haven’t seen blood on the toilet paper since day 3. However, Day 11 @1pm I feel the need to poop while at work so I’m holding it and as I’m walking to the bathroom , I feel like I shit myself so I run to the toilet and as soon as I sit down blood and blood clots just start pouring out my ass like diarrhea FOR 2 HOURS. Everytime I stand up thinking I’m done, I have to sit down immediately to bleed more . I finally get up at 3pm feeling dizzy and lightheaded and was recommended to visit the ER. I did not bleed anymore after and the Doctors told me this was normal for some patients after the procedure and too not worry. It was wild to think that was normal but some people like myself just recover more severely then others.
It’s now 3 weeks after and I feel fine. I still suffer with 2 other hemorrhoids that pop out but I haven’t bled and they definitely don’t bother me as much as before. I always push mine back in because I’m very insecure about smelling or feeling uncomfortable . I’m not sure if I’d do it again because of my experience but i do feel better and everyone recovers differently! I do not regret it at all! GET HELP FUCK HEMORRHOIDS AND YOU ARENT THE ONLY ONE SUFFERING!! Good luck

When I was about 7 years old I fell down a few tiled steps outside and fractured my tailbone. Didn't know it at the time but after a doctors visit 6 years later they told me. I was prescribed some pain meds and to rest when I needed... well here I am at 21 and I am in excruciating pain once again. Is there anything I can do to help relieve this pain? I've been told doing certain abdominal exercises would help relieve pain but it seems to elevate it more. I don't want to spend 6 hours in a hospital just for them to do the same thing when I was young. Any advice is appreciated!

Some people still swear up and down that ivermectin is actually effective against COVID-19. This is false. They also insist ivermectin has far fewer side-effecs than the Coronavirus vaccine. This is also false. I'm going to prove it to you, but whether you are capable of accepting evidence such as listed below is something I obviously have no control over. I can try, and you can keep an open mind.
First of all, ivermectin has many side-effects, ranging from innocuous to severe.^[1]
To wit:

General

Ivermectin is well tolerated compared to other microfilaricidal agents (i.e., thiabendazole, diethylcarbamazine). Adverse reactions (i.e., pruritus, fever, rash, myalgia, headache) occur commonly during the first 3 days after treatment and appear to be related to the extent of parasitic infection and systemic mobilization and killing of microfilariae. The majority of reactions can usually be treated with aspirin, acetaminophen and/or antihistamines. Adverse effects tend to occur with lesser frequency during periods of retreatment.

Ocular

Ocular side effects have included eyelid edema, anterior uveitis, blurred vision, conjunctivitis, limbitis, punctate opacity, keratitis, abnormal sensation in the eyes, and chorioretinitis/choroiditis; however, these effects are also associated with the disease onchocerciasis. Loss of vision has occurred rarely but usually resolved without corticosteroid treatment. Conjunctival hemorrhage has been reported during postmarketing experience in patients treated for onchocerciasis.

Other

Worsening of Mazzotti reactions, including arthralgia, synovitis, lymph node enlargement and tenderness, pruritus, skin involvement (including edema, papular and pustular or frank urticarial rash), and fever, has been reported during the first 4 days following treatment for onchocerciasis.

Nervous system

Nervous system side effects have included dizziness, headache, somnolence, vertigo, and tremor. Serious or fatal encephalopathy has been reported rarely in patients with onchocerciases, and heavily infected with Loa loa, either spontaneously or after treatment with ivermectin. Seizures have been reported during postmarketing experience.

Gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal side effects have included anorexia, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distention.

Other

Other side effects have included asthenia, fatigue, abdominal pain, chest discomfort, facial edema, and peripheral edema.

Hematologic

Hematologic side effects have included decreased leukocyte count (3%), eosinophilia (3%), and increased hemoglobin (1%). Hematomatous swellings associated with prolonged prothrombin times have been reported, but the clinical significance is unknown. Leukopenia and anemia have been reported in at least one patient.

Hepatic

Hepatic side effects have included elevated ALT and/or AST. Elevated liver enzymes, elevated bilirubin, and hepatitis have been reported during postmarketing experience.

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular side effects have included tachycardia and orthostatic hypotension. EKG changes, including prolonged PR interval, flattened T waves and peaked T waves, have been reported in single cases. Hypotension (primarily orthostatic hypotension) has been reported during postmarketing experience.

Dermatologic

Dermatologic side effects have included pruritus, rash, and urticaria. Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome have been reported during postmarketing experience.

Respiratory

Respiratory side effects have included worsening bronchial asthma, laryngeal edema, and dyspnea.

Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal side effects have included myalgia.

Renal

Renal side effects have included rare transient proteinuria.
I tried to get incidence rates for these side-effects, but in some if not most instances, the answer given for these side-effects is either simply "unknown" or they're just not shown. Imagine telling this to anti-vaxers: if they have at least a consistent set of beliefs, this should deeply alarm them, shouldn't it?
Some people actually did take the horse dewormer version out of sheer desperation and got really sick, were hospitalized or worse: they died.

1. In New Mexico, two people died after taking a deworming drug for horses and other livestock to treat COVID-19.^[2]
2. The FDA received multiple reports of patients who required medical support and hospitalization after self-medicating with Ivermectin intended for horses.^[3]
3. There was a significant increase in calls to poison control centers due to misuse of Ivermectin. Texas saw a 550% spike in poison control calls due to people ingesting horse and cow dewormer.^[4]
4. People poisoned themselves with the horse-deworming version to thwart COVID-19, resulting in an uptick in calls to poison control centers.^[5]

Ivermectin was consistently found to be ineffective in treating COVID-19:

1. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Virology Journal evaluated the efficacy of Ivermectin for COVID-19 patients based on current peer-reviewed RCTs. The study concluded that Ivermectin did not have any significant effect on outcomes of COVID-19 patients.^[6]
2. A Cochrane meta-analysis of 11 eligible trials examining the efficacy of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 published through April 2022 concluded that Ivermectin has no beneficial effect for people with COVID-19.^[7]
3. An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) concluded that taking 400 mcg/kg Ivermectin for three days, when compared with a placebo, did not significantly improve the chances for a patient with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 to avoid hospitalization.^[8]
4. A study published on News Medical concluded that in COVID-19 outpatients with mild or moderate illness, Ivermectin use for three days at a dose of 400 μg/kg showed no significant improvement in the time to sustained recovery compared to those who received placebos.^[9]

The unwarranted hype surrounding ivermectin can be traced back to its promotion on the Joe Rogan Experience.^[10]

Public interest in ivermectin ballooned following Joe Rogan’s podcasts. “On a national level Rogan’s podcast was a tipping point,” said Keenan Chen, an investigative researcher with First Draft News, an organization that tracks misinformation. (Rogan, who has previously expressed hesitancy to vaccines, announced in September he had contracted Covid-19. He claimed to be taking ivermectin among several other treatments.)

Joe Rogan took a cocktail of Big Pharma^tm meds which, with the exception of monoclonal antibodies, were not indicated for his situation. In fact, some of the medication he took could have made things worse.^[11] Rogan probably didn't get seriously ill because he's fit and without significant comorbidities. The one thing that would have actually been the most effective was the vaccine, which he refused to take.
Many others weren't as lucky as Joe was. I suggest you follow the footnotes and see for yourself. Especially the first one.^[12][13]
Other than ivermectin, coronavirus vaccines are also a subject both Joe Rogan and his guests have shamelessly lied about numerous times, which could have caused medical harm to people who bought into it, and probably did. The most prominent guest which comes to mind is RFK Jr.
RFK Jr.'s influence is so odious, I am comfortable saying he probably contributed to thousands of unnecessary deaths in total. One incident in which 83 people (mostly children) died is particularly disgusting:^[14]

In June 2019, Kennedy and his wife, the actress Cheryl Hines, visited Samoa, a trip Kennedy later wrote was arranged by Edwin Tamasese, a Samoan local anti-vaccine influencer.
Vaccine rates had plummeted after two children died in 2018 from a measles vaccine that a nurse had incorrectly mixed with a muscle relaxant. The government suspended the vaccine program for months. By the time Kennedy arrived, health authorities were trying to get back on track.
He was treated as a distinguished guest, traveling in a government vehicle, meeting with the prime minister and, according to Kennedy, many health officials and the health minister.
He also met with anti-vaccine activists, including Tamasese and another well-known influencer, Taylor Winterstein, who posted a photograph of herself and Kennedy on her Instagram.
“The past few days have been profoundly monumental for me, my family and for this movement to date,” she wrote, adding hashtags including #investigatebeforeyouvaccinate.
A few months later, a measles epidemic broke out in Samoa, killing 83 people, mostly infants and children in a population of about 200,000.
Public health officials said at the time that anti-vaccine misinformation had made the nation vulnerable.
The crisis of low vaccination rates and skepticism created an environment that was “ripe for the picking for someone like RFK to come in and in assist with the promotion of those views,” said Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccinologist from New Zealand who worked on the effort to build back trust in the measles vaccine in Samoa.
Petousis-Harris recalled that local and regional anti-vaccine activists took their cues from Kennedy, whom she said “sits at the top of the food chain as a disinformation source.”
“They amplified the fear and mistrust, which resulted in the amplification of the epidemic and an increased number of children dying. Children were being brought for care too late,” she said.

The pandemic is over. Ivermectin wasn't effective. On the one hand we should move on, on the other hand, there should be some accountability for people who pushed this lie, especially those who benefited from it financially.^[10][15]
[1] Drugs.com - Ivermectin Side Effects
[2] USA Today - 'A serious issue': New Mexico health officials suspect two people dead from ivermectin poisoning
[3] Global News - FDA warns Americans to stop taking horse dewormer for COVID-19: ‘You are not a horse’ (Some anti-vaxers counter that the FDA lost a court battle about ivermectin, proving that it works - this is false)
[4] USA Today - Fact check: 590% jump in poison control calls about ivermectin seen in Texas
[5] Ars Technica - More people are poisoning themselves with horse-deworming drug to thwart COVID
[6] Virology Journal - Ivermectin under scrutiny: a systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy and possible sources of controversies in COVID-19 patients
[7] JAMA Network - At a Higher Dose and Longer Duration, Ivermectin Still Not Effective Against COVID-19
[8] KU Medical Center - Ivermectin shown ineffective in treating COVID-19, according to multi-site study including KU Medical Center
[9] News Medical - Ivermectin is ineffective in non-severe COVID-19 patients according to new study
[10] The Guardian - Ivermectin frenzy: the advocates, anti-vaxxers and telehealth companies driving demand
[11] Doctor Mike - Here's Why Joe Rogan's COVID Treatment Is Problematic
[12] /JamiePullDatUp - "I made a terrible mistake" vs. "I'm still not a 100% sold on the inoculation" - videos of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients in the hospital
[13] /HermanCainAward
[14] AP - RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. These people were hurt by his work
[15] Time - ‘What Price Was My Father’s Life Worth?’ Right-Wing Doctors Are Still Peddling Dubious COVID Drugs

Hey! I've been taking topamax since March '24 and I want to share my experience, because searching things about side effects has helped me a lot, especially in the first weeks. I'm currently 19, and I have migraines since I'm 15; i have been searching the cause of my migraines since the very first time I had them, made all kind of exames you can imagine, and none of them show me nothing that was specifically causing the pain; plus, in the beging of this year, I had to be admitted to the hospital for some days, cause the pain was impossible to live with, and wouldn't go away. So, in March my doctor prescribed topamax 50 mg, and the two first weeks went really dope. I was dizzy, felling kinda drunk, very tired, forgetting my way home and several worlds. Oh, and soda tasted terrible, so life was really bad :( . After the end of the second week I started felling less dizzy and everything, and I had no migraine at all, but I started felling more anxious; in the begging of the fourth week, I started felling really depressed. Basically since this fourth week I re-started to feel migraines, but they are less strong, so if I take codeine, or even sometimes dipirona (yes my country have dipirona Brasil sil sil) , I could solve it; the problem is that the depression seamed to decrease around the middle of April, that was when I went back to my doctor, so I didn't tell him that it was something, because I was more focused on not having pain. Another week later this depression went back, and since then, aparrently it never goes away. I don't fell like doing anything, I'm always in a bad mood, I can't study or work if I don't put a super extra effort on that, I can't even do things I used to really enjoy doing before. Today, that's been two months and a half that I started taking topamax, I have mild migraines, but I am strongly depressed, always tired and in a bad mood - I need to make an effort to interact with people and not be an asshole to them-; people started noticing that I am losing weight, so I did noticed that too and I'm not sure that it's because I don't feel like eating cause I feel depressed, or it's just another side effect of the medicine, but that can be for both reasons. In this last few days I'm back to the light dizzy feelings again, so that's pretty boring too. I'll probably ask my doctor to cut it off, and search for some other treatment.
p.s.: that's the first time I'm writing such a big thing in English that is not an essay so I'm sorry about any mistake that might have had happened :)