Chills muscle pain sore throat ear pain

Vitamin d toxicity
Hello, I had a vit d deficiency of level 6 in March 2023
I went to a doctor and requested the right dose of vit d as my deficiency was severe and I was constantly shaking and felt like I would die. The doctor prescribed me 1 injection of 6L arachitol twice a week for 4 weeks.
Then also take 8 supplements of 60k iu vitamin d
I started taking it and by the end of the injections, 1 month had passed and I developed debilitating vertigo
I went back to her and she told me continue taking vitamin d supplements and quit my job and go relax in Another country. I quit my job as I was very worried about my health at this point and the doctor scared me into it. I had a very good wfh job.
I took 4 supplements as instructed but all my bones started to hurt and I was having severe heart palpitations, night sweats and shivers at the same time. I also developed s in my neck, shoulder, above ankle and below wrist, all on he right side of my body as it's the side I took all the injections.
I googled about the dosage worrying about my symptoms and it suggested Vit d toxicity so I got the levels checked and it indeed was 109 toxicity.
So I stopped supplements and restricted calcium and decided to check it next month.
But the next month it was 127 toxicity.
Anything above 100 is toxicity as per the reports.
I developed severe body pain and my upper back cramped straight for 2 weeks and I couldn't move my upper body.
My uric acid levels were Normal, calcium was in range cause I kept avoiding it.
I went to a doctor and I was suggested to walk 1 hour a day and avoid calcium and vit d
I did so but my vertigo remained and I developed tingling and numbness all over my body and burning near all my joints and my entire head tingling and numbing.
I got several infections of the ears nose and eyes due to extreme dehydration from the overdose. The ENT I visited just treated me with multiple antibiotics and loaded me up on anti vertigo medicines. Which still didn't stop my vertigo
I visited a neuro and they suggested an mri "only to calm me down" cause I was over reacting and it was a brain mri and it showed a c5-c6 annular fissure and nerve indentation.
I was advised to wear a collar which I did from sept to January 2024.
My vit d was now at 36 and finally low enough but none of my swellings subsided. I haven't been able to walk properly since months or do ANYTHING as even chewing triggers the swellings.
Vertigo is mild now but still persists.
Doctors are very dismissive of everything I say and will not provide any solution for the awellings
I've been to physiotherapy as suggested by them and do exercises but my swellings only get worse by even doing the minimum
January I visited an orthopaedic again and he told me to stay home for a year and ignore myself and that I would be fine. It makes me want to off myself that they don't provide any solutions.
My family never cared about me and thinks Im over reacting but I can't look down or move, I can't draw and pursue my hobbies cause it's making my neck swell up to the point I can barely d have difficulty swallowing because of the swelling. I am severely depressed..
Ive gained weight too and they have been body shaming me. I am 5'3, I used to be petite and I think in my 40s-early 50s in kg, I am 64-66 kgs now and doctors have said it's fine but ik I'm overweight by a few kgs. I'm meant to be 57 and everyone blames my weight but I literally can't walk more than 400 steps without debilitating pain, I have walked despite the horrible pain 4000 steps a day minimum it causes a visual issue where everything around me starts moving backwards... Idk what it is but I think it's like vertigo, atleast that's what I assume. Same when I work out..
Ive been doing back pain yoga for 20 mins everyday.
It has also effected my eye sight, I had 0.5-0. 7 vision in both eyes since I was in 5th grade and it never increased and before the overdose this is what is was. But I got it checked last sep and it is now, 1.75 in each eye and I have double vision if I look at a certain angle.. And the muscles around my right eye hurt.. My eyes take time to line up together as well and focus.. I have blurry vision often..
I did some research and online via reddit it suggested that Vit d depletes vit k2 and magnesium and may help break down calcium if they're in the wrong places.
I ate blueberries for the first time in April 2024 and my neck swelling seemed less and I really thought it may all go away cause they're rich In k2 and mag.
I did all the blood tests suggested by a doctor and all of them came back normal, including arthritis tests and bone density tests.
I also requested more mris as my back and neck still hurt massively and I found out I have c4-c6 protrusions and L5-S1 bulge.. I am at a loss on what to do with myself.
I showed the ortho all the reports and requested supplements for k2 and mag and was provided a 30 day prescription for calcimax k2. I was suggested to only walk for the disc issues..
I have been taking it and the first 3 days the swellings seemed down and I experienced much less pain but it's the 5th day and my swellings are back full fledged and it's painful enough to have a panic attack..
I am at a loss and I don't know what to do, I did approach a lawyer to sue the doctor and I have been told I cannot lose in court if I do file and then the lawyer dipped and he also wants 15% and I don't have the funds cause I've been unemployed for a year
I've been working since I was 16 cause my lifes always been hell and I've had a nail fungus issue since the past 14 years and I haven't lived normally as I can't dip my hands in water as it lifts the nails off the nail bed and it's extremely painful.
Idk what to do anymore and I can't keep being strong and keep getting through this and I feel trapped.. If any one at all, a doctor or medical professional can comment on this and assist me I would really really appreciate it.

Hi. I had a colonoscopy on Friday afternoon and today is Tuesday. Each day I am increasingly sore. Is this normal? I called the office and they just said “call us if you’re still in pain in a week.”
I had a colonoscopy at the end of 2020 and there was ZERO diverticulosis, and 1 7mm polyp. Friday, he found one 8mm polyp in a different place from the previous and moderate diverticulosis in the sigmoid, including an INVERTED diverticulum. He also did a biopsy at the terminal ileum but I don’t know why. Crazy.
The whole reason I started getting colonoscopies was because of chronic lower left sided pain. But they didn’t see the diverticulosis at the first one, so I’m mystified. But that pain is getting worse each day now after my colonoscopy. Is it possible I have a problem on the outside of my bowel instead of inside? Maybe that’s what’s causing the inverted diverticulum and the pain.
Pathology isn’t back yet.

Please help
Need some guidance from parents who have been here… little guy is 5 weeks old (2 weeks old adjusted as he came 3 weeks early).
In the hospital we started him on similac 360 total care rtf paired with breastfeeding. My supply didn’t come in for a week so he was getting minimal breast milk. At that time we did about 80/20- formula breast milk. We started to notice a lot of tummy troubles or what seem to be tummy troubles (red face, straining, grunting) with digesting when pooping or passing gas so we thought a more gentle formula would be better. I stopped breast-feeding completely at that time and we switched him to Enfamil gentle ease. He seemed to have significant problems on that formula as well and also started spitting up a lot. Talked to his pediatrician she recommended looking into alternatives one of which was Gerber good start sooth.
We started him on Friday morning so now we are on day four and his spit up is worse and he has vomited on that twice..like ALL the milk he just drank came up.. not sure if he was over eating … It also came out of his nose and a lot came out, seemed to be at least an ounce or two. I’m not sure what to do now. He still seems to be straining when passing gas or pooping. I don’t want to keep switching him.. I’ve researched alot and I thought that the gerber good start soothe would be good as it is 100% whey and has pre and pro biotic.
I’m not sure if he has a CMPA or what is going on but he still seems like he’s having a very hard time pooping. He is now (past few days) a lot fussier than normal. Could it be gerd? Is he eating more to sooth his throat? He poops about once a day.
Any advice?! It’s breaking my heart to see him cry and be in pain and the vomit (not just spit up) is concerning. I have called Dr and waiting for call back.
Does this sound like anyone else’s story? Or does anyone have any thoughts?? We keep him upright when feeding and are gentle with burps which we do about every half ounce.
Thanks in advance from a new frazzled mom. 💕

Vitamin d toxicity
Hello, I had a vit d deficiency of level 6 in March 2023
I went to a doctor and requested the right dose of vit d as my deficiency was severe and I was constantly shaking and felt like I would die. The doctor prescribed me 1 injection of 6L arachitol twice a week for 4 weeks.
Then also take 8 supplements of 60k iu vitamin d
I started taking it and by the end of the injections, 1 month had passed and I developed debilitating vertigo
I went back to her and she told me continue taking vitamin d supplements and quit my job and go relax in Another country. I quit my job as I was very worried about my health at this point and the doctor scared me into it. I had a very good wfh job.
I took 4 supplements as instructed but all my bones started to hurt and I was having severe heart palpitations, night sweats and shivers at the same time. I also developed s in my neck, shoulder, above ankle and below wrist, all on he right side of my body as it's the side I took all the injections.
I googled about the dosage worrying about my symptoms and it suggested Vit d toxicity so I got the levels checked and it indeed was 109 toxicity.
So I stopped supplements and restricted calcium and decided to check it next month.
But the next month it was 127 toxicity.
Anything above 100 is toxicity as per the reports.
I developed severe body pain and my upper back cramped straight for 2 weeks and I couldn't move my upper body.
My uric acid levels were Normal, calcium was in range cause I kept avoiding it.
I went to a doctor and I was suggested to walk 1 hour a day and avoid calcium and vit d
I did so but my vertigo remained and I developed tingling and numbness all over my body and burning near all my joints and my entire head tingling and numbing.
I got several infections of the ears nose and eyes due to extreme dehydration from the overdose. The ENT I visited just treated me with multiple antibiotics and loaded me up on anti vertigo medicines. Which still didn't stop my vertigo
I visited a neuro and they suggested an mri "only to calm me down" cause I was over reacting and it was a brain mri and it showed a c5-c6 annular fissure and nerve indentation.
I was advised to wear a collar which I did from sept to January 2024.
My vit d was now at 36 and finally low enough but none of my swellings subsided. I haven't been able to walk properly since months or do ANYTHING as even chewing triggers the swellings.
Vertigo is mild now but still persists.
Doctors are very dismissive of everything I say and will not provide any solution for the awellings
I've been to physiotherapy as suggested by them and do exercises but my swellings only get worse by even doing the minimum
January I visited an orthopaedic again and he told me to stay home for a year and ignore myself and that I would be fine. It makes me want to off myself that they don't provide any solutions.
My family never cared about me and thinks Im over reacting but I can't look down or move, I can't draw and pursue my hobbies cause it's making my neck swell up to the point I can barely d have difficulty swallowing because of the swelling. I am severely depressed..
Ive gained weight too and they have been body shaming me. I am 5'3, I used to be petite and I think in my 40s-early 50s in kg, I am 64-66 kgs now and doctors have said it's fine but ik I'm overweight by a few kgs. I'm meant to be 57 and everyone blames my weight but I literally can't walk more than 400 steps without debilitating pain, I have walked despite the horrible pain 4000 steps a day minimum it causes a visual issue where everything around me starts moving backwards... Idk what it is but I think it's like vertigo, atleast that's what I assume. Same when I work out..
Ive been doing back pain yoga for 20 mins everyday.
It has also effected my eye sight, I had 0.5-0. 7 vision in both eyes since I was in 5th grade and it never increased and before the overdose this is what is was. But I got it checked last sep and it is now, 1.75 in each eye and I have double vision if I look at a certain angle.. And the muscles around my right eye hurt.. My eyes take time to line up together as well and focus.. I have blurry vision often..
I did some research and online via reddit it suggested that Vit d depletes vit k2 and magnesium and may help break down calcium if they're in the wrong places.
I ate blueberries for the first time in April 2024 and my neck swelling seemed less and I really thought it may all go away cause they're rich In k2 and mag.
I did all the blood tests suggested by a doctor and all of them came back normal, including arthritis tests and bone density tests.
I also requested more mris as my back and neck still hurt massively and I found out I have c4-c6 protrusions and L5-S1 bulge.. I am at a loss on what to do with myself.
I showed the ortho all the reports and requested supplements for k2 and mag and was provided a 30 day prescription for calcimax k2. I was suggested to only walk for the disc issues..
I have been taking it and the first 3 days the swellings seemed down and I experienced much less pain but it's the 5th day and my swellings are back full fledged and it's painful enough to have a panic attack..
I am at a loss and I don't know what to do, I did approach a lawyer to sue the doctor and I have been told I cannot lose in court if I do file and then the lawyer dipped and he also wants 15% and I don't have the funds cause I've been unemployed for a year
I've been working since I was 16 cause my lifes always been hell and I've had a nail fungus issue since the past 14 years and I haven't lived normally as I can't dip my hands in water as it lifts the nails off the nail bed and it's extremely painful.
Idk what to do anymore and I can't keep being strong and keep getting through this and I feel trapped.. If any one at all, a doctor or medical professional can comment on this and assist me I would really really appreciate it.

Looks like they only balance to casual and mid players which of course killers have a chance, but high mmr matches are really a pain for the killers and they don't stop nerfing antigen perks. I have like 6000+ hours both sides and my mmr is really high, my surv matches are all chill and fun, being a killer is like a road to hell with all survs looping perfectly, perfect skill checks, sweaty meta perks etc, if they keep nerfing antigen they can rush really quick even with pressure, and i don't want to play Nurse or top killers for having chance, its really boring.

Vitamin d toxicity
Hello, I had a vit d deficiency of level 6 in March 2023
I went to a doctor and requested the right dose of vit d as my deficiency was severe and I was constantly shaking and felt like I would die. The doctor prescribed me 1 injection of 6L arachitol twice a week for 4 weeks.
Then also take 8 supplements of 60k iu vitamin d
I started taking it and by the end of the injections, 1 month had passed and I developed debilitating vertigo
I went back to her and she told me continue taking vitamin d supplements and quit my job and go relax in Another country. I quit my job as I was very worried about my health at this point and the doctor scared me into it. I had a very good wfh job.
I took 4 supplements as instructed but all my bones started to hurt and I was having severe heart palpitations, night sweats and shivers at the same time. I also developed s in my neck, shoulder, above ankle and below wrist, all on he right side of my body as it's the side I took all the injections.
I googled about the dosage worrying about my symptoms and it suggested Vit d toxicity so I got the levels checked and it indeed was 109 toxicity.
So I stopped supplements and restricted calcium and decided to check it next month.
But the next month it was 127 toxicity.
Anything above 100 is toxicity as per the reports.
I developed severe body pain and my upper back cramped straight for 2 weeks and I couldn't move my upper body.
My uric acid levels were Normal, calcium was in range cause I kept avoiding it.
I went to a doctor and I was suggested to walk 1 hour a day and avoid calcium and vit d
I did so but my vertigo remained and I developed tingling and numbness all over my body and burning near all my joints and my entire head tingling and numbing.
I got several infections of the ears nose and eyes due to extreme dehydration from the overdose. The ENT I visited just treated me with multiple antibiotics and loaded me up on anti vertigo medicines. Which still didn't stop my vertigo
I visited a neuro and they suggested an mri "only to calm me down" cause I was over reacting and it was a brain mri and it showed a c5-c6 annular fissure and nerve indentation.
I was advised to wear a collar which I did from sept to January 2024.
My vit d was now at 36 and finally low enough but none of my swellings subsided. I haven't been able to walk properly since months or do ANYTHING as even chewing triggers the swellings.
Vertigo is mild now but still persists.
Doctors are very dismissive of everything I say and will not provide any solution for the awellings
I've been to physiotherapy as suggested by them and do exercises but my swellings only get worse by even doing the minimum
January I visited an orthopaedic again and he told me to stay home for a year and ignore myself and that I would be fine. It makes me want to off myself that they don't provide any solutions.
My family never cared about me and thinks Im over reacting but I can't look down or move, I can't draw and pursue my hobbies cause it's making my neck swell up to the point I can barely d have difficulty swallowing because of the swelling. I am severely depressed..
Ive gained weight too and they have been body shaming me. I am 5'3, I used to be petite and I think in my 40s-early 50s in kg, I am 64-66 kgs now and doctors have said it's fine but ik I'm overweight by a few kgs. I'm meant to be 57 and everyone blames my weight but I literally can't walk more than 400 steps without debilitating pain, I have walked despite the horrible pain 4000 steps a day minimum it causes a visual issue where everything around me starts moving backwards... Idk what it is but I think it's like vertigo, atleast that's what I assume. Same when I work out..
Ive been doing back pain yoga for 20 mins everyday.
It has also effected my eye sight, I had 0.5-0. 7 vision in both eyes since I was in 5th grade and it never increased and before the overdose this is what is was. But I got it checked last sep and it is now, 1.75 in each eye and I have double vision if I look at a certain angle.. And the muscles around my right eye hurt.. My eyes take time to line up together as well and focus.. I have blurry vision often..
I did some research and online via reddit it suggested that Vit d depletes vit k2 and magnesium and may help break down calcium if they're in the wrong places.
I ate blueberries for the first time in April 2024 and my neck swelling seemed less and I really thought it may all go away cause they're rich In k2 and mag.
I did all the blood tests suggested by a doctor and all of them came back normal, including arthritis tests and bone density tests.
I also requested more mris as my back and neck still hurt massively and I found out I have c4-c6 protrusions and L5-S1 bulge.. I am at a loss on what to do with myself.
I showed the ortho all the reports and requested supplements for k2 and mag and was provided a 30 day prescription for calcimax k2. I was suggested to only walk for the disc issues..
I have been taking it and the first 3 days the swellings seemed down and I experienced much less pain but it's the 5th day and my swellings are back full fledged and it's painful enough to have a panic attack..
I am at a loss and I don't know what to do, I did approach a lawyer to sue the doctor and I have been told I cannot lose in court if I do file and then the lawyer dipped and he also wants 15% and I don't have the funds cause I've been unemployed for a year
I've been working since I was 16 cause my lifes always been hell and I've had a nail fungus issue since the past 14 years and I haven't lived normally as I can't dip my hands in water as it lifts the nails off the nail bed and it's extremely painful.
Idk what to do anymore and I can't keep being strong and keep getting through this and I feel trapped.. If any one at all, a doctor or medical professional can comment on this and assist me I would really really appreciate it.

I’m normally someone who priorities exercise and stretching, but as I’ve gotten closer to my date (5/16) I put it on the back burner to study.
Boyyyyy was that a mistake. All this sitting and zero exercise has fucked me. Pulled a muscle in my lower back this morning while brushing my teeth of all things. Currently experiencing terrible lower back pain radiating to my knee. I was able to get meds, but now I’m Going into my test on Thursday with this.
Do all the studying you can, but don’t neglect your physical health! It’ll help your memory, mood, ability to learn, and of course your body.

A few days ago I posted about an episode of gas and I ended up in the ER the next day. Here is the link: [https://www.reddit.com/GastricBypass/comments/1cpygwn/dehydration_constipation_hypoglycemia_oh_my/]
Things have been ok the last few days but today I had another episode. It happened about 30 minutes after eating lunch. I had what felt like gas pressure squeezing in my throat. I took some Maalox to relieve the gas but it made things worse and felt like fire in my upper stomach/throat. It went on for about 20 minutes and was so painful I almost called 911. Finally, I vomited about 1 tablespoons of fluid (I’m guessing stomach acid?), and immediately the pain and pressure went away. That happened about an hour ago and I’m feeling ok now, but I still have a little residual burning in my throat-kind of like heartburn. I’ve messaged the bariatric team and I’m waiting on a response.
Has anyone experienced this before? The ER doctor seems to think it was reflux, and now I’m wondering if it is. I’ve been told I have a very small hiatal hernia, so I’m wondering if that contributed. I don’t know if I should call the GI doctor in the meantime or wait to hear from three bariatric team. It was so painful and scary, I’d like to keep it from happening again! Just wondering if others have experienced this type of thing. Thanks in advance for any advice.

I am on day 7 of covid. First day was chills, fever, muscle aches, and back pain. After day three, I have had the worst nausea and aversion to food. Can’t keep anything down. Zofran and Phenergan aren’t touching it. Five days of this intense nausea and no relief. I can drink water okay but anything after that is rough. Anyone have nausea this badly or this long? I’m going crazy over here thinking there won’t be an end in sight.

Hello, I had a vit d deficiency of level 6 in March 2023
I went to a doctor and requested the right dose of vit d as my deficiency was severe and I was constantly shaking and felt like I would die. The doctor prescribed me 1 injection of 6L arachitol twice a week for 4 weeks.
Then also take 8 supplements of 60k iu vitamin d
I started taking it and by the end of the injections, 1 month had passed and I developed debilitating vertigo
I went back to her and she told me continue taking vitamin d supplements and quit my job and go relax in Another country. I quit my job as I was very worried about my health at this point and the doctor scared me into it. I had a very good wfh job.
I took 4 supplements as instructed but all my bones started to hurt and I was having severe heart palpitations, night sweats and shivers at the same time. I also developed s in my neck, shoulder, above ankle and below wrist, all on he right side of my body as it's the side I took all the injections.
I googled about the dosage worrying about my symptoms and it suggested Vit d toxicity so I got the levels checked and it indeed was 109 toxicity.
So I stopped supplements and restricted calcium and decided to check it next month.
But the next month it was 127 toxicity.
Anything above 100 is toxicity as per the reports.
I developed severe body pain and my upper back cramped straight for 2 weeks and I couldn't move my upper body.
My uric acid levels were Normal, calcium was in range cause I kept avoiding it.
I went to a doctor and I was suggested to walk 1 hour a day and avoid calcium and vit d
I did so but my vertigo remained and I developed tingling and numbness all over my body and burning near all my joints and my entire head tingling and numbing.
I got several infections of the ears nose and eyes due to extreme dehydration from the overdose. The ENT I visited just treated me with multiple antibiotics and loaded me up on anti vertigo medicines. Which still didn't stop my vertigo
I visited a neuro and they suggested an mri "only to calm me down" cause I was over reacting and it was a brain mri and it showed a c5-c6 annular fissure and nerve indentation.
I was advised to wear a collar which I did from sept to January 2024.
My vit d was now at 36 and finally low enough but none of my swellings subsided. I haven't been able to walk properly since months or do ANYTHING as even chewing triggers the swellings.
Vertigo is mild now but still persists.
Doctors are very dismissive of everything I say and will not provide any solution for the awellings
I've been to physiotherapy as suggested by them and do exercises but my swellings only get worse by even doing the minimum
January I visited an orthopaedic again and he told me to stay home for a year and ignore myself and that I would be fine. It makes me want to off myself that they don't provide any solutions.
My family never cared about me and thinks Im over reacting but I can't look down or move, I can't draw and pursue my hobbies cause it's making my neck swell up to the point I can barely d have difficulty swallowing because of the swelling. I am severely depressed..
Ive gained weight too and they have been body shaming me. I am 5'3, I used to be petite and I think in my 40s-early 50s in kg, I am 64-66 kgs now and doctors have said it's fine but ik I'm overweight by a few kgs. I'm meant to be 57 and everyone blames my weight but I literally can't walk more than 400 steps without debilitating pain, I have walked despite the horrible pain 4000 steps a day minimum it causes a visual issue where everything around me starts moving backwards... Idk what it is but I think it's like vertigo, atleast that's what I assume. Same when I work out..
Ive been doing back pain yoga for 20 mins everyday.
It has also effected my eye sight, I had 0.5-0. 7 vision in both eyes since I was in 5th grade and it never increased and before the overdose this is what is was. But I got it checked last sep and it is now, 1.75 in each eye and I have double vision if I look at a certain angle.. And the muscles around my right eye hurt.. My eyes take time to line up together as well and focus.. I have blurry vision often..
I did some research and online via reddit it suggested that Vit d depletes vit k2 and magnesium and may help break down calcium if they're in the wrong places.
I ate blueberries for the first time in April 2024 and my neck swelling seemed less and I really thought it may all go away cause they're rich In k2 and mag.
I did all the blood tests suggested by a doctor and all of them came back normal, including arthritis tests and bone density tests.
I also requested more mris as my back and neck still hurt massively and I found out I have c4-c6 protrusions and L5-S1 bulge.. I am at a loss on what to do with myself.
I showed the ortho all the reports and requested supplements for k2 and mag and was provided a 30 day prescription for calcimax k2. I was suggested to only walk for the disc issues..
I have been taking it and the first 3 days the swellings seemed down and I experienced much less pain but it's the 5th day and my swellings are back full fledged and it's painful enough to have a panic attack..
I am at a loss and I don't know what to do, I did approach a lawyer to sue the doctor and I have been told I cannot lose in court if I do file and then the lawyer dipped and he also wants 15% and I don't have the funds cause I've been unemployed for a year
I've been working since I was 16 cause my lifes always been hell and I've had a nail fungus issue since the past 14 years and I haven't lived normally as I can't dip my hands in water as it lifts the nails off the nail bed and it's extremely painful.
Idk what to do anymore and I can't keep being strong and keep getting through this and I feel trapped.. If any one at all, a doctor or medical professional can comment on this and assist me I would really really appreciate it.

Has anyone successfully used going barefoot to back off PF? I used to be barefoot a lot, and never had foot pain, always fairly active. The last few years I've started teaching, which means I spend 7-8 hours a day, standing on a concrete floor. Some pacing and moving around the classroom, but all on concrete.
This has led to me developing plantar fasciitis, to the point where I had to see a podiatrist last summer, and get a cortisone shot in my foot. He also gave me custom orthotic inserts to wear, and said I should never be barefoot, even in the house.
I've had good success wearing Oofos flip flops in the house, and NB FreshFoam shoes with the orthotic inserts, but my feet are still tired and sore at the end of the day, and tight when I get up in the mornings.
Can doing more stuff barefoot help to strengthen the foot enough to relieve the PF pain or maybe even alleviate the cause of the pain? I'm seeing a lot of recommendations for wide toe box shoes, and barefoot style shoes, and wondering if just going barefoot could be beneficial?

My idea for the GxK sequel plot would begin with Godzilla waking up from his sleep in the Colosseum and returning to Tiamat's former layer to complete his evolution. Fast forward a few months later, and Godzilla emerges from the lair, completing his evolution and starting to look a little bit more like Tiamat.
Fast forward a few years, and Monarch detects two previously unknown Titans emerge from the Hollow Earth, Titanus Qalupalik, an ugly serpent-like fish or amphibian emerging from the Arctic Circle, and Titanus Dakuwaqa, a shark Titan emerging from a portal in the sea near Kadavu Island. Monarch figures they are here to take over the niches left by Scylla and Tiamat. Godzilla encounters Qalupalik first, who is combative, and they get into a quick one-sided fight which forces Qalupalik to submit. Godzilla gives her a pass and accepts her to take Tiamat's place. Then Godzilla meets up with Dakuwaqa, who begins a ritualistic dance of sorts to gain Godzilla's approval. After Godzilla inspects him and his demeanor, he accepts Dakuwaqa to take his new territory. Then, Godzilla moves to Madagascar to rest.
On the human side of the story, public outrage over the incompetence of both Monarch and world governments to prepare for these Titan attacks is at an all-time high. Governments are now arguing over how to deal with them. Some leaders want to eliminate Godzilla because they believe Godzilla is going to attack them anyway regardless of whether they provoke him or not and that he is too powerful to let alive. Others want to focus more on a Hollow Earth takeover and declare war on the Kongs because they fear that they can plan another attack on the surface world. Monarch tries to assure them that such an event would not happen again because of their change in leadership, but many are still unconvinced. The American government, along with other NATO countries, begin investing in developing a new type of military weapon to deal with Godzilla, the Super X. They also are trying to seal up the holes left in Hong Kong, Cairo, and Rio de Janeiro to ensure nothing from the Hollow Earth can use those portals to invade the surface world again. Monarch gets into heated conflicts over world governments over the portals, as they want to keep a few open for research purposes among other things. The governments relent and allow the portal in Barbados to remain open but require them to invest in extra security in case of an emergency.
Returning to Godzilla, he is suffering from irritating skin parasites (these parasites would be Shockirus, Endoswarmers, or an original kaiju). To deal with them, he begins trying to scrape them off by rubbing himself against the seafloor near the coast of Madagascar. He also tries reaching for some with his jaws and claws. The people on the beach are witnessing this as it is happening, and once Godzilla gets rid of most of the parasites, the beachgoers realize that some of them haven't been killed yet, and as they are aggressive and still larger than humans, they emerge from the shore to attack humans. But this terror is short lived as Godzilla quickly comes in to finish them off. Godzilla then returns back to the water but stays close enough to the island where people can clearly see him. He floats in the water, similarly to a crocodile, with his head and eyes above the water. He is staring at the people and the coasts intensely, which makes the beachgoers feel uncomfortable. Then, it transitions to some flashbacks where we see Madagascar 5 million years ago. These flashbacks would likely be of Godzilla's memories of his youth, from his birth to the other megafauna that used to exist on the island back in the day. Then, it would transition to another flashback where Godzilla encounters some indigenous people on Madagascar as a more mature individual. He curiously stares at the people and the chieftain looks back with great reverence. The people bow and begin to worship him, and Godzilla continues to look at them tenderly. Returning back to the present day, Godzilla lets out a deep low bellow, which gives off the impression of sadness. In reality, Godzilla is upset that he has become more disconnected to the world he protects and now feels like his life has become nothing but fighting to protect it without being able to take pleasure in its wonders.
Switching the attention to Kong, a fight sequence occurs between Kong and another Great Ape wielding a heavy machete. They are fighting in the battle arena as some apes watch the fight while others are busy doing other things. Kong prevails and the Great Ape falls to the ground. After the fight, Kong helps the Great Ape back up. It turns out the fight was nothing more than training; one of the things Kong has begun to do since his rise to power is to teach his people self-defense. As the audience gets a better look of what life is now like in their layer, it is revealed that Kong has recruited a group of Great Apes to assist him in pushing forward his policies. For example, there is a group of Great Apes that are tasked with keeping track of their inventory and rationing their food and water for the tribe. Another group was tasked to build a safe bridge replacing the giant skeleton, which was at this point completed. Others are taking care of the children and so on. Then there are apes that are farming fields of crops, which Mothra periodically visits to pollinate. Shimo, meanwhile, is just chilling with the apes and is not confined to her pit anymore. Kong has no generals or anyone with military roles as he has no interest in conquest and does not see the need for an army at the moment. Kong also does not allow anyone to gather food or water on their own except for him, because he does not want to put anyone else in danger. He meets up with Suko after his duel and is approached by Boots, who is also now a trusted advisor to him, and is alerting him of an approaching Titan. It turns out to be a squadron of Monarch HEAVs and Jet Jaguar, piloted by Trapper. After the fight in Rio, Monarch sent expedition crews to visit the Kong lair, and were horrified by the living conditions that Skar King created. So, they planned an initiative to deliver humanitarian aid to the apes, providing them with food or water, and also trying to make diplomatic measures with them and the Iwi tribe. They have developed a new type of bioengineered crop made from various Hollow Earth flora and Titan cells to feed the apes (which can be a set-up for Biollante in a future installment) and a new type of HEAV that can carry a heavier load to transport these resources. They also created a humanoid mech named Jet Jaguar, piloted by Trapper, which serves as both a diplomat and a vet, fully equipped with veterinary tools that allow it to treat pathologies for Titans, including the Great Apes. In addition, Monarch has rebuilt the Titan Hunter with some improvements as NATO voted to force them to reconstruct it as a self-defense weapon in case of another Titan attack. Since that has not happened yet since the Rio attack, the Titan Hunter has not yet been used. Jet Jaguar and the HEAVs are arriving at the lair with another shipment of resources, including more tools for the apes to plant their own crops. While the Great Apes begin to collect the shipments from the HEAVs, Kong greets Jet Jaguar, who is here to treat a Great Ape with severe physical ailments. This ape has torn tendons and ligaments from slave labor and requires casts for all of his limbs. The challenge with treating the apes is that they are still cautious of foreigners, so Monarch has had to learn patience when working with them. They also have only one mech to perform surgeries with, so they can only treat one ape at a time. Kong and Jet Jaguar meet up with the patient, an as they perform surgery, Kong has to be with the ape to soothe and comfort him as Jet Jaguar begins surgery. After a successful surgery is completed and the Monarch team departs, Kong sits back and looks at his tribe. He begins to have feelings of self-doubt, that he is not up for the task, despite trying his best. He also still feels Skar King's presence, as the pain and damage he has caused still greatly lingers even after death. Kong begins to suffer from insomnia and nightmares from Skar King, showing his presence is still strong and relentless even after death.
Then, the Monarch team visits the Iwi city and delivers the rest of their resources which were designated for them. Here, in this scene, while the audience gets a better glimpse of what life for the Iwi is like, they also get to see Phosphera, another guardian Titan (The best explanation I can come up for why Phosphera did not show up to fight Skar King in the previous movie here would be that she was in a metamorphosing stage during the events of GxK and was too immature to safely break out of her cocoon until after the events of the movie.)
Back on the surface world, in a lab somewhere in the U.S, scientists are experimenting with a genetically modified colony of Shinomura, which would be the main antagonist(s) of the first half. These scientists work closely with the federal government. They believe that it would be more effective to genetically engineer a kaiju superbug that can quickly evolve, spread and annihilate the Hollow Earth ecosystem at much lower costs than constructing mechs which take much longer to do and a lot more money. The cells are dormant and can only be activated by exposure to radiation, which is why Godzilla does not detect them or see them as a threat. The cells are transported by a ship to North Carolina where another portal to the Hollow Earth has been opened. The military plans to release them into the Hollow Earth and then quickly seal it, but it is backfired by a group of mercenaries who attack the ship and want to take the cells for themselves. Unfortunately, the cells are released, and they are not far from a nuclear power plant which also happens to be using the pink super charged radiation gathered from the Hollow Earth, so the cells multiply and grow, turning into a swarm. The cells combine into arthropod like monsters that are too small to be Titans but large enough to attack humans. They begin attacking nuclear plants and surrounding cities while others retreat into the Hollow Earth, which catches Godzilla's attention. Mothra gains wind of it too and emerges onto the surface world to aid Godzilla. By the time Godzilla gets to North Carolina, the swarm has absorbed enough energy to combine into a singular, massive, supercharged form that rivals Godzilla in size. They begin to fight, while the military decides to resort to Plan B and send the Super X against Godzilla. The first battle is fairly even until the Super X begins to attack both Shinomura and Godzilla, blasting chunks of Shinomura away. It becomes a three-way battle until Shinomura escapes and retreats into the ocean while Godzilla is distracted fighting the Super X. Mothra eventually arrives and Godzilla and Mothra destroy the Super X. Then Godzilla pursues the main Shinomura heading for Japan while a few other smaller colonies move to other locations.
Back in the Hollow Earth, the Shinomuras that escaped there quickly grow and begin running amok on the planet. Kong is travelling with Shimo and Suko. They are gathering more food and water to bring back to the tribe, but their trip is quickly interrupted by a squadron of Shinomuras that have combined into their arthropod like forms but now rival Kong in size. Kong leaves Suko with Shimo and takes them on himself. He has no problem ripping the Shinomuras apart with his axe and bare hands. He overpowers them individually, but as the Shinomuras recombine and reshape themselves, they begin to overwhelm him. He notices Shimo and Suko are prompted to do something about it, even though he doesn't want them to, but eventually relents and retreats into a nearby body of water to shake them off of him. Kong quickly jumps out of the water and Shimo freezes and traps the Shinomuras in the water. The trio realize that even more Shinomuras are on the way and transforming into something deadlier. The three immediately turn back and run straight for the lair. As they are running, Kong gets flashbacks of being pursued by Skar King's goons; the Shinomuras remind him of the destruction and chaos that was left behind in Skar King's advance. Kong calls out to the apes farming as he makes it back to the lair and motions them to get inside immediately. He closes up the entrance and warns everyone of the emergency. He has everyone gather all of the resources they have and take refuge in Shimo's former lair, which they now use as an emergency bunker. Boots signs Kong what are they going to do next, and Kong admits he doesn't know, but he intends to be the one to check when it is safe to leave again. Meanwhile, the Iwi are in a similar predicament and Phosphera swoops in to defend the barrier against the invading Shinomuras.
In response to all of this, Monarch sends militaristic HEAVs to neutralize the Shinomuras and has Trapper (or some other character) tasked to pilot Titan Hunter to pursue the main Shinomura on the surface and kill it. Kashiwazaki is evacuated before Shinomura arrives on the scene. Shinomura begins to attack the Kashiwazaki nuclear plant when Godzilla and Mothra arrive to fight it once again. As this is happening, the other colonies arrive to other regions of the world, gaining more strength and attacking other major cities. Godzilla notices this and is conflicted on how to deal with the threats as he is fighting, but Jet Jaguar arrives in Kashiwazaki to fight Shinomura. Godzilla charges up to attack Titan Hunter, thinking he is a threat to him just like the Super X, but Trapper notices this and bows to Godzilla before he can attack. Godzilla accepts this surrender, but quickly shifts his attention back to the Shinomura. Eventually, Titan Hunter, Godzilla, and Mothra defeat the Shinomura, but soon after, several Shinomura supercolonies that supercharged themselves on Hollow Earth energy have reemerged on the surface world to the point where there is at least one attacking each continent of the world. The largest and most powerful colony is in the Yucca Mountain Nuclear West Repository in Nevada. Godzilla is forced to send his alpha call and awaken all of the surface Titans to attack the Shinomuras, so battles begin breaking out across the world. But Godzilla realizes it is not enough and ventures into the Hollow Earth to get more help. Mothra and the Titan Hunter stay behind to hold the line while Godzilla is away and Mothra moves on to Nevada to tackle the Shinomura there, and the Titan Hunter follows her.
Most of the Titans appear to be holding their ground for the most part, but not outright winning either. However, they start to have more problems as some Titans take advantage of the chaos to pursue ulterior motives. Amhuluk wants to fight to claim his desired territory in the Amazon again and travels to the Amazon to fight Behemoth over it and causing a three-way fight between them and the Shinomura colony attacking the region. Meanwhile, in the Hollow Earth, Camazotz reemerges and sends his minions out to devour everything in their path, including the smaller Shinomuras. So Amhuluk and Camazotz become the main antagonists during the second half. Some of the hell swarm attacks the ape lair, and Kong leaves to confront them before they break through. He is able to kill a large number of them, but there are too many for him to handle, forcing him to retreat back into the lair. Several escape into the lair, which Kong is able to kill. When he reunites with his people, he gets more flashbacks of his memories of both Camazotz and Skar King. The attack of the hell swarm reminds him of the invasion Skar King launched against the Hollow Earth and surface world a few years back.
Godzilla travels through oceanic Hollow Earth portals and passes through various ruins of extinct Hollow Earth civilizations along the way. He detects Amhuluk's movements and realizes what he is doing. Godzilla gets really mad, but reluctantly continues on his current path as going back to confront Amhuluk would take up too much time and energy. He makes it into the Hollow Earth and heads over to the ape lair and finishes off the rest of the hell swarm that was still attacking the lair. Afterwards, he charges up his breath and blasts the entrance open again, startling all of the apes. Kong grabs his axe and gets in a defensive position, but after hearing a roar realizes it is Godzilla. He calmly walks into the ape lair, but the other great apes become angry and leave the bunker to mob, surround and harass Godzilla. Godzilla does his best not to escalate tensions, but snaps his jaws, hisses, and sometimes pushes the apes away. Kong roars at the apes and directs them to move away from him. The apes follow his orders and Kong approaches Godzilla. He realizes that he has called on him for help against the Shinomuras. Kong decides to go with Godzilla but does not want to bring Shimo or any of the apes with him. The apes beg for him not to go, and even Shimo seems to cry out for Kong to stay, but he rejects allowing any of his people to put themselves in danger, and he puts Boots in charge while he is away. He says one final goodbye to Suko and leaves with Godzilla.
They have to fight off many smaller Shinomuras while travelling to the surface world while heading for Nevada. Meanwhile, Mothra and the Titan Hunter are already there fighting with the super Shinomura colony. The fight is rather even, but Trapper feels like the fight is going to quicky turn against their favor if they do not get backup soon. Some drones and fighter jets arrive to strike the Shinomura. Eventually, Godzilla and Kong arrive to fight the Shinomura, but Kong notices the Titan Hunter, and has a vision of Skar King, seeing both the Titan Hunter and Skar King as the embodiment of cruelty, destruction, and conquest. Kong attacks the Titan Hunter out of anger, forcing Godzilla to be the one to shove Kong away and break it up. Kong takes a closer look at the Titan Hunter and realizes that it is not the same pilot as the one that hunted Hollow Earth fauna. The Titan Hunter bows to Kong to show he is on the same side and they resume fighting the Shinomura. So, a large portion of the movie would be showing scenes of the Titans fighting the Shinomuras at random intervals, giving a glimpse of what is going on in all of the areas where fights are happening.
Shifting back to Godzilla and Kong's fight, things begin to look grim as more Shinomuras arrive from the Hollow Earth and combine with the supercolony, and Godzilla, Kong, Mothra, and the Titan Hunter begin to struggle against it. Godzilla is still capable of holding some of his ground, while Kong and Mothra are forced to step back as close-range combat is no longer viable. The Titan Hunter gets beaten up really bad and seems to be done for until an ice blast hits the Shinomura. It is Boots, who is riding Shimo, and has gathered the strongest and physically capable apes to help their leader (A fairly large number of fit apes were left behind to care for the elderly and the children). Kong does not know whether to feel happy that his people have his back or mad that they disobeyed his orders but regroups with them regardless and regain their edge against the Shinomura. Then we see more scenes of the other fights going on around the world before Kong's army, Shimo, Godzilla, Mothra, and the Titan Hunter defeat the super Shinomura. While the organic Titans return to the Hollow Earth to finish off the Shinomuras still running around in there, the Titan Hunter lags behind from all of the damage it has sustained, but the pilot persists with helping the Titans.
Back in the Hollow Earth, Godzilla, Mothra, Kong's army, and Shimo run through the Hollow Earth, assisting the local fauna in fighting off the Shinomuras. The Titan Hunter tries its best to follow them and fight off the Shinomuras, but they eventually overwhelm them, forcing the pilot to eject himself. Luckily, a HEAV is nearby and is able to rescue him. Then, a good chunk of the plot would then focus on shifting back between the Hollow Earth fight and the rest of the fights happening on the surface. Kong directs a portion of his army to join Phosphera in defending the Iwi city, which is now under attack by both Shinomuras and Camazotz's minions. Phosphera is close to dying (and eventually does), but the apes are able to kill most of the enemies while the rest retreat. Godzilla and Kong split up, with Kong pursuing Camazotz and Godzilla returning to the surface to confront Amhuluk. Kong leaves Boots in charge of his army and takes a few other trusted friends of his to confront Camazotz, but Shimo follows them, wanting to accompany them. Kong gets more flashbacks of Skar King when he used Shimo to try to execute him, and Kong was unwilling to let Shimo go with them since he did not want to use her for fighting his enemies. Shimo persists and eventually Kong reluctantly lets her join them.
Back on the surface world, Behemoth is not faring well against Amhuluk. The Shinomura colonies in the eastern hemisphere begin to lose the fight and as some of them are killed, the victor Titans travel to regions of the world where they still persist. In South America, however, the Shinomura colonies are still giving the defending Titans a hard time. Behemoth and Amhuluk killed the Shinomura colony, but to Behemoth's dismay, Amhuluk absorbs the remains of the Shinomura colony. It is close to killing Behemoth until Rodan shows up to fight Amhuluk. Rodan quickly gets the upper hand over Amhuluk with his airborne abilities and greater agility. But Amhuluk is not affected that much by Rodan's fiery attacks, as he reinforced his body with fire resistant plants like redwoods. The tables turn on Rodan until Godzilla emerges to fight Amhuluk. So Rodan and Godzilla tag team Amhuluk while Behemoth tries to get the strength to get back up.
Meanwhile, back in the Hollow Earth, Kong, his few trustees, and Shimo are looking for Camazotz and travel through a dark, stormy stretch of rough, mountainous terrain. They find Camazotz in a plateau surrounded by a supercell. They see that Camazotz's minions are feeding him, and he is gaining strength from the radiation that his minions got from hunting Shinomuras. So, Kong, his trustees, and Shimo fight the hell swarm and Camazotz. At this point, the Shinomuras are losing out on the fight with a few large colonies remaining, and Amhuluk and Camazotz become the main threats now. The plot then moves on to showcase some of the final remaining fights between defending Titans and the last Shinomura colonies and see the fights end with the Shinomuras killed. So, the main focus turns to Godzilla's fight, Kong's fight, the fight at the Iwi city barrier, and Boots' crusade to kill the last Shinomuras, which is coming to an end. The fight between Kong and his allies and Camazotz eventually breaks through onto the surface in Canada. Camazotz creates a supercell storm and begins getting an upper hand against Kong and his allies with his new power up. Back in Brazil, Godzilla eventually kills Amhuluk and Rodan and Godzilla both head to Canada. Behemoth gets the strength to get back up.
Back in Canada, Kong and the apes come up with a new strategy to cover their ears with dirt as protection against Camazotz's sonic screams. Kong then tries to do the same with Shimo, but when he does, Shimo does not like the sensation and pushes Kong away. He does not bother trying again and tries to kill all of the minions which are biting him and the apes and causing too much blood loss. Shimo does not fare well against Camazotz despite her size as his cyclone and sonic scream overwhelm her ice breath. Eventually, Mothra emerges to fight him after dealing with the last of the Shinomuras and blasts him with her god rays. Highly stunned and weakened, Kong grabs ahold of Camazotz and notices Rodan approaching to help. He throws him at Rodan's direction, who grabs him with his talons and starts burning him. He holds him in place for Mothra to shoot Camazotz with her webbing. Then Rodan drops Camazotz and Kong finishes him off.
Godzilla arrives onto the scene not long after and shoots his atomic breath to eliminate Camazotz's storm. With all of the hostile Titans dead, Godzilla almost sends the Titans back to sleep, but Mothra approaches him and begins to communicate. The plot then ends with Godzilla returning to Madagascar to take a rest at the coast and watch life as it happens on the island. Kong returns to his people in victory, and they are finally able to leave their lair safely. And Mothra takes over Godzilla's role of balancer, allowing Godzilla to take his well-deserved vacation. This idea of a plotline would mean the movie would be 2 hr 30 min or even 3 hrs so we get the most fighting sequences out of it. I know I glossed over a lot of the human aspects and that I left a lot of the specifics of how a lot of the fights between most of the unseen KOTM Titans would look like, so let me know what your thoughts on this are.

So I met my friend in college and I’m convinced he is some deity.

1. When we first hanged out he told me my life’s story and every quirk like Sherlock Holmes. After wards he said “I figured out every one in class”
   
2. I’ve seen him take on five guys in a fight and didn’t get hit once. And when I asked him how “practice” was all he said.
   
3. He constantly says “you humans are” or some variation when he get agrivated.
   
4. “Is it me or did humanity get dummer over the eons.”
   
5. Sometimes he just shows up out of nowhere whenever someone says his name.
   
6. I swear this guy doesn’t have muscles but something much denser instead.
   
7. He pretends to be fragile but I’ve seen him lift a car off a person.
   

8.he has shirts that say “I identify as a divine being” and “immortality is a bitch”

1. Though he denies it I swear I’ve seen his eyes glow.
   
2. When I asked why he doesn’t have social media he said “if I wanted to listen to people bitch and complain I’d listen to their prayers”
   
3. When I asked if he was aethiest he laughed and said.”no I believe in the gods I just think the upstart god Christian’s worship doesn’t deserve the worship”
   

12.”you humans are so dead set on worshipping gods that you have forgotten that you have the power to create them”
So I think he is a god that has lost faith in humanity before we lost faith in him. The only reason he is not doing anything to help us is that he learned a painful lesson in the past that changed his perspective.

I've never posted on reddit before, I don't really know how this works but I was hoping to get this off my chest.
I'm 22M, and the oldest of three boys. I'm living with my brothers Chris (20) and Caleb (10) in my father's house. My parents have been separated for 2 years, and living apart for almost 1 year. Since the separation, I found out that my experience of my parents is vastly different from my siblings, and I've become very upset by this.
While Chris and I both suffered emotional and verbal abuse from our father until we were teenagers, he has stopped his abusive behaviors and has since gone to therapy, and our relationship with him is now really good. I thought that I had a good mother growing up, even during that time she was a safe person for me that I could always cry to despite my extremely low trust in people. However, over the last 2 years since the separation, I've seen a horrible, unrecognizable side of her come out that I don't understand at all, and every story I hear from Chris tells me that she's always been like this. I believe him, of course, and it's painful to watch and to hear. He can't talk about a lot of it without crying, and I'm kicking myself for not understanding any of this til the grown ass age of 20-22.
For over a year now, I have been hearing story after story about the most horrendous treatment Chris received from her, and things that happened to him in her care that I never would have stood by and watched if I knew it was happening. Some comparatively 'tame' examples would be that she would blame him for his own SA and for my chronic health issues. Chris is "low functioning" autistic (as the assessor put it. We're all diagnosed with ASD, but Chris has it the worst, as well as worser mental health struggles unique to him). Our mother would consistently force him or guilt him to do things that she knew he physically and mentally could not do. She would gaslight him, shame him brutally for terrible things that had nothing to do with him, and even blamed him for our father's epilepsy.
She only sees the things he does wrong and never cares for how helpful he is. I got extremely sick at 14 and I am mostly house bound or sometimes bed bound, and use a wheelchair part time. I take medication for POTS and can barely get up to use the bathroom without it. I wasn't around to help Chris or witness things in my family that I should have, and Chris practically raised Caleb outside his school hours for 3-5 years while my parents were both working. But even now, my mother won't even give Chris any credit for everything he did. She says it was me, even though I was bed bound and sleeping for 16 hours a day.
I grew up very close to him but he hardly ever told me these things even though I would always go to bat for him in situations like this. I think he was afraid I would act like her. I was the golden child the whole time and had no idea, because I became so isolated from the family due to my illness that I didn't see the difference in how Chris was being treated. But she was never like this with me and I only witnessed her toxic behaviors on the rare occasion that we would argue. Now I feel terrible that I thought we grew up together, while in reality, Chris was isolated the whole time even worse than I was. I even used to get upset now and then if he wouldn't want to spend time with me as kids. He was my best and only friend after my illness forced me to drop out, and I didn't understand at the time that he was being put through so much stress by our parents before he saw me that he was too exhausted and too upset to talk to anyone. I feel terrible for ever complaining, even if it was just because I missed him and wanted to spend time with him.
Now we live solely with our father after a stretch of trying to go between houses, and the further Chris gets from our mother, the more he opens up to me about what a terrible parent she was to him and how much it still affects him. When I was a teenager I would often try to sacrifice my health to sort out problems for Chris any time he told me about them, but they often involved his school or some other outside issue and he wouldn't mention anything current about our mother. I thought I was doing an alright job taking care of him and that he was safe with her around, and now I find out that I should have been protecting him from HER the entire time.
Her behavior towards her own children makes me want to say things to her and do things to my relationship with her that I know are completely unwise because my father is trying to maintain peace with her during the separation. But I feel deeply protective of both my brothers now, and I just don't want her to ever talk to them or have a chance to hurt Caleb like she hurt Chris right under my nose.
But of course, it's not my decision. Chris is an adult now, and Caleb is only 10 and he is not my son that I can make decisions for. However, I feel like I already failed them by not defending Chris better and not being there to raise Caleb in his stead when my parents failed to do it, and now that I have all this information, I feel obligated to act and protect them in every way I possibly can. And I have no idea how to start. I'm exhausted, I'm stressed, and I'm still sick. I can't work and can barely do chores, and if I do, I'm sometimes in pain for over a day afterwards. I feel I'm no more helpful than I was at 14 years old, and I just want to take care of my family and be a good son. No matter how often I offer my shoulder or ear to them I feel completely and utterly useless. I'm as available to them right now as I can possibly be. I don't know what to do.
I don't know what I expect to get from this post but I think I just want to air it out. I can't afford therapy, so, I may as well try to get some relief from this.

TLDR: I have had non spinning dizziness for 3 years, did every test, saw a world expert in dizziness at Mayo clinic, diagnosed with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, possibly Vestibular Migraines from a neurologist, but not PPPD, and I accept it finally.
Hello everyone,
I wanted to share my story with dizziness as I have read many others on many different forums and hope that this can help others like others have helped me!
I have experienced dizziness for over three years now (28M) that is non-spinning in nature, it is an up and down feeling like you are on an elevator, on a boat, or walking on sand as some may describe it, typically while walking, standing, or slight position adjustments while sitting or laying down. It has caused anxiety, panic attacks, shakiness, heart palpitations, arm/leg numbess, neck tingling, neck pain, muscle spasms, brain fog, hearing sensitivity, headaches, fevers, and others I am probably forgetting.
I recently visited with Dr. Staab at Mayo Clinic who is one of the best in the world at looking into problems with dizziness, among many countless providers over the last three years. Dr. Staab specifically researches and treats dizziness, and recently diagnosed me with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, but NOT Persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD) as I don’t completely fit the criteria. The reason I was given was that I did not have a typical reason such as an ear infection or other PPPD pre-cursors, and that certain motion does not trigger dizziness in me like typical PPPD patients (I can play video games and watch movies with no issues). I for sure thought I had PPPD, but regardless, treatment is relatively the same with or without that diagnosis for my symptoms.
The best way it was explained to me was that my initial dizziness episode three years ago was a panic attack where the first symptom was dizziness followed by other physical symptoms, and heightened anxiety/panic over this dizziness caused my body to be overly alert/sensitive to the space/movement around me, creating a loop of constant dizziness. While my anxiety has improved tremendously and I have only experienced less than 10 (being generous with this) panic attacks my whole life, the dizziness has improved but remained, as it is described as basically a residual effect of the initial anxiety/panic attacks that my body has not yet corrected.
I also saw Dr. Beh who is a neurologist that specializes in vestibular disorders and migraines, and he further diagnosed me with Vestibular Migraines (which Dr. Staab says is a possibility but he doesn’t have enough evidence to diagnose me with it).
My current treatment includes taking Venlafaxine (going to 75mg soon) to directly treat the dizziness and help with any remaining anxiety/panic issues, receive therapy (psychoeducation and CBT) by a therapist with a PhD preferably, and vestibular rehab. Dr. Staab also said massages (light on the neck) could be helpful as dizziness can cause neck and back muscles to tighten due to the body stiffening over time to try to avoid dizziness sensations.
I was told to take Vitamin B12 (400mg) and venlafaxine in the morning. In the afternoon I take COq10 (200mg) after lunch and 200mg after dinner. Before bed, I take magnesium glycinate (500mg) and effexor. I take other supplements, but these I specifically take for migraine/dizziness related issues.
I have seen Dr. Staab, Dr. Beh, the Vestibular Psychologist Emily Kostelnik, have watched the Steady Coach on youtube, looked into the dizzy cook, and have seen multiple Neurologists, ENT’s, Cardiologists, PCP’s, Physical therapists, audiologists, gastro’s, even an allergist. I was misdiagnosed with POT’s, but otherwise every test that was done came back normal except that I have a hiatial hernia, fatty liver, low vitamin D, and a deviated septum.
I’ve had the brain scans, blood tests, heart monitoscans/ultrasounds, tilt table, ear tests, balance tests, epley maneuver, rotary chair, basically every test you can think of (some multiple times) and have tried basically every supplements/lifestyle changes you can think of as well. I have also done a lot of the above tests at Mayo Clinic in their dizziness program that I was accepted into in Minnesota.
My dizziness began at work 3 years ago when it felt like I was bouncing up and down just while standing and my body proceded to panic. I went from having this kind of episode once a month, to once every few weeks, to every day, to basically dizzy any time I stood or walked. Because of the dizziness, I stopped going to stores, didn’t shower as much as I should have, did not workout, and took off of work as it was so difficult to just walk. I currently work full time, workout, am in a relationship, and can do so much that I felt like I couldn’t do. I still have days where I need to take a break, and you won’t catch me on a boat for awhile as that triggers me GREATLY!
Two things that have for sure helped me so far, walking and time. Going for walks was a hard thing to start being dizzy, but that is something I can for sure say I’ve noticed helps without a doubt. And time; my dizziness didn’t improve overnight, it’s been three years, and i still deal with it! I’ve learned it isn’t going to hurt me and to simply learn to live with it (for now) and to push myself baby steps at a time.
Also, parasympathetic breathing has helped me tremendously as well as guided meditation to relax and practice mindfulness. I pay for an app called Downdog which has great guided programs (and yoga!) and currently get it for free for being a student.
Don’t give up, even if it feels like you are just trying to survive. Don’t let doctors write you off, advocate for yourself. If the doctor doesn’t listen or help, find new ones. Lean on your support system. Help others and share your story so there is more awareness and research for dizziness. It is one of the most difficult symptoms to diagnose. And it is just that, a SYMPTOM! You are you and not your symptoms or diagnoses!
If you have any questions, I will try my best to respond to everything no matter the question or if it is 10 years from now. There is SO much to this journey, and attempting to fit it into one post feels impossible. One thing that bothered me was people posting about their symptoms and never giving updates/responding to others, so I will try my best to do so…

TLDR: I have had non spinning dizziness for 3 years, did every test, saw a world expert in dizziness at Mayo clinic, diagnosed with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, possibly Vestibular Migraines from a neurologist, but not PPPD, and I accept it finally.
Hello everyone,
I wanted to share my story with dizziness as I have read many others on many different forums and hope that this can help others like others have helped me!
I have experienced dizziness for over three years now (28M) that is non-spinning in nature, it is an up and down feeling like you are on an elevator, on a boat, or walking on sand as some may describe it, typically while walking, standing, or slight position adjustments while sitting or laying down. It has caused anxiety, panic attacks, shakiness, heart palpitations, arm/leg numbess, neck tingling, neck pain, muscle spasms, brain fog, hearing sensitivity, headaches, fevers, and others I am probably forgetting.
I recently visited with Dr. Staab at Mayo Clinic who is one of the best in the world at looking into problems with dizziness, among many countless providers over the last three years. Dr. Staab specifically researches and treats dizziness, and recently diagnosed me with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, but NOT Persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD) as I don’t completely fit the criteria. The reason I was given was that I did not have a typical reason such as an ear infection or other PPPD pre-cursors, and that certain motion does not trigger dizziness in me like typical PPPD patients (I can play video games and watch movies with no issues). I for sure thought I had PPPD, but regardless, treatment is relatively the same with or without that diagnosis for my symptoms.
The best way it was explained to me was that my initial dizziness episode three years ago was a panic attack where the first symptom was dizziness followed by other physical symptoms, and heightened anxiety/panic over this dizziness caused my body to be overly alert/sensitive to the space/movement around me, creating a loop of constant dizziness. While my anxiety has improved tremendously and I have only experienced less than 10 (being generous with this) panic attacks my whole life, the dizziness has improved but remained, as it is described as basically a residual effect of the initial anxiety/panic attacks that my body has not yet corrected.
I also saw Dr. Beh who is a neurologist that specializes in vestibular disorders and migraines, and he further diagnosed me with Vestibular Migraines (which Dr. Staab says is a possibility but he doesn’t have enough evidence to diagnose me with it).
My current treatment includes taking Venlafaxine (going to 75mg soon) to directly treat the dizziness and help with any remaining anxiety/panic issues, receive therapy (psychoeducation and CBT) by a therapist with a PhD preferably, and vestibular rehab. Dr. Staab also said massages (light on the neck) could be helpful as dizziness can cause neck and back muscles to tighten due to the body stiffening over time to try to avoid dizziness sensations.
I was told to take Vitamin B12 (400mg) and venlafaxine in the morning. In the afternoon I take COq10 (200mg) after lunch and 200mg after dinner. Before bed, I take magnesium glycinate (500mg) and effexor. I take other supplements, but these I specifically take for migraine/dizziness related issues.
I have seen Dr. Staab, Dr. Beh, the Vestibular Psychologist Emily Kostelnik, have watched the Steady Coach on youtube, looked into the dizzy cook, and have seen multiple Neurologists, ENT’s, Cardiologists, PCP’s, Physical therapists, audiologists, gastro’s, even an allergist. I was misdiagnosed with POT’s, but otherwise every test that was done came back normal except that I have a hiatial hernia, fatty liver, low vitamin D, and a deviated septum.
I’ve had the brain scans, blood tests, heart monitoscans/ultrasounds, tilt table, ear tests, balance tests, epley maneuver, rotary chair, basically every test you can think of (some multiple times) and have tried basically every supplements/lifestyle changes you can think of as well. I have also done a lot of the above tests at Mayo Clinic in their dizziness program that I was accepted into in Minnesota.
My dizziness began at work 3 years ago when it felt like I was bouncing up and down just while standing and my body proceded to panic. I went from having this kind of episode once a month, to once every few weeks, to every day, to basically dizzy any time I stood or walked. Because of the dizziness, I stopped going to stores, didn’t shower as much as I should have, did not workout, and took off of work as it was so difficult to just walk. I currently work full time, workout, am in a relationship, and can do so much that I felt like I couldn’t do. I still have days where I need to take a break, and you won’t catch me on a boat for awhile as that triggers me GREATLY!
Two things that have for sure helped me so far, walking and time. Going for walks was a hard thing to start being dizzy, but that is something I can for sure say I’ve noticed helps without a doubt. And time; my dizziness didn’t improve overnight, it’s been three years, and i still deal with it! I’ve learned it isn’t going to hurt me and to simply learn to live with it (for now) and to push myself baby steps at a time.
Also, parasympathetic breathing has helped me tremendously as well as guided meditation to relax and practice mindfulness. I pay for an app called Downdog which has great guided programs (and yoga!) and currently get it for free for being a student.
Don’t give up, even if it feels like you are just trying to survive. Don’t let doctors write you off, advocate for yourself. If the doctor doesn’t listen or help, find new ones. Lean on your support system. Help others and share your story so there is more awareness and research for dizziness. It is one of the most difficult symptoms to diagnose. And it is just that, a SYMPTOM! You are you and not your symptoms or diagnoses!
If you have any questions, I will try my best to respond to everything no matter the question or if it is 10 years from now. There is SO much to this journey, and attempting to fit it into one post feels impossible. One thing that bothered me was people posting about their symptoms and never giving updates/responding to others, so I will try my best to do so…

I've never posted here but hopefully I give enough info. I'm 29f, 205 lbs and five foot two. I'm very aware I need to lose weight and have been working on it but for about a year or more, I've struggled with eating full meals and can go days without eating because I do not at all get an appetite. When I do get one, it lasts maybe 5 mins and is gone before I can even make something to eat. This will be relevant later I think.
When I was about 10 years old, I had to go through something called Young D's bladder neck repair because my body hadn't developed the muscle that opens and closes my bladder so they had to go in and make one out of parts of my bladder. I also only have a functioning right kidney. The left never developed and just has blood flow.
Shortly after that surgery I started developing chronic UTI's that have only turned into a kidney infection a few times. That leads us to this past Sunday. I got up to use the bathroom an absurd amount of times between the hours of 11pm and 4am when I was supposed to get ready for work. I ended up calling out because of the kidney pain and going to my urgent care. Surprise, I have a UTI, which I expected a knew. No word on the kidney infection yet because he sent it off for culture.
Today I had to call out again after not sleeping once again due to constantly using the bathroom. None of this has direct relevance to what is going on, but I wanted to throw my history out there.
I have been more overweight in my life than I am right now and have had this squishy nonpainful lump under my left breast for a few years but I always wrote it off as I'm overweight and it's just fat. Well despite losing weight in the last few years, it has seemed to grow a little bit and now wraps onto the left side of my back. On and off it would cause some aches but nothing lasting more than a few minutes.
Today that completely changed. I have been in constant pain there and on my left side where it goes onto my back. I don't know how to describe the pain. The best way to put it is an aching fullness where the squishy thing is? I have been debating going to the er all day about it. I am scared about what it could be and miserable. I just want the pain to stop. Is this cause for going to get checked out?

TLDR: I have had non spinning dizziness for 3 years, did every test, saw a world expert in dizziness at Mayo clinic, diagnosed with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, possibly Vestibular Migraines from a neurologist, but not PPPD, and I accept it finally.
Hello everyone,
I wanted to share my story with dizziness as I have read many others on many different forums and hope that this can help others like others have helped me!
I have experienced dizziness for over three years now (28M) that is non-spinning in nature, it is an up and down feeling like you are on an elevator, on a boat, or walking on sand as some may describe it, typically while walking, standing, or slight position adjustments while sitting or laying down. It has caused anxiety, panic attacks, shakiness, heart palpitations, arm/leg numbess, neck tingling, neck pain, muscle spasms, brain fog, hearing sensitivity, headaches, fevers, and others I am probably forgetting.
I recently visited with Dr. Staab at Mayo Clinic who is one of the best in the world at looking into problems with dizziness, among many countless providers over the last three years. Dr. Staab specifically researches and treats dizziness, and recently diagnosed me with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, but NOT Persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD) as I don’t completely fit the criteria. The reason I was given was that I did not have a typical reason such as an ear infection or other PPPD pre-cursors, and that certain motion does not trigger dizziness in me like typical PPPD patients (I can play video games and watch movies with no issues). I for sure thought I had PPPD, but regardless, treatment is relatively the same with or without that diagnosis for my symptoms.
The best way it was explained to me was that my initial dizziness episode three years ago was a panic attack where the first symptom was dizziness followed by other physical symptoms, and heightened anxiety/panic over this dizziness caused my body to be overly alert/sensitive to the space/movement around me, creating a loop of constant dizziness. While my anxiety has improved tremendously and I have only experienced less than 10 (being generous with this) panic attacks my whole life, the dizziness has improved but remained, as it is described as basically a residual effect of the initial anxiety/panic attacks that my body has not yet corrected.
I also saw Dr. Beh who is a neurologist that specializes in vestibular disorders and migraines, and he further diagnosed me with Vestibular Migraines (which Dr. Staab says is a possibility but he doesn’t have enough evidence to diagnose me with it).
My current treatment includes taking Venlafaxine (going to 75mg soon) to directly treat the dizziness and help with any remaining anxiety/panic issues, receive therapy (psychoeducation and CBT) by a therapist with a PhD preferably, and vestibular rehab. Dr. Staab also said massages (light on the neck) could be helpful as dizziness can cause neck and back muscles to tighten due to the body stiffening over time to try to avoid dizziness sensations.
I was told to take Vitamin B12 (400mg) and venlafaxine in the morning. In the afternoon I take COq10 (200mg) after lunch and 200mg after dinner. Before bed, I take magnesium glycinate (500mg) and effexor. I take other supplements, but these I specifically take for migraine/dizziness related issues.
I have seen Dr. Staab, Dr. Beh, the Vestibular Psychologist Emily Kostelnik, have watched the Steady Coach on youtube, looked into the dizzy cook, and have seen multiple Neurologists, ENT’s, Cardiologists, PCP’s, Physical therapists, audiologists, gastro’s, even an allergist. I was misdiagnosed with POT’s, but otherwise every test that was done came back normal except that I have a hiatial hernia, fatty liver, low vitamin D, and a deviated septum.
I’ve had the brain scans, blood tests, heart monitoscans/ultrasounds, tilt table, ear tests, balance tests, epley maneuver, rotary chair, basically every test you can think of (some multiple times) and have tried basically every supplements/lifestyle changes you can think of as well. I have also done a lot of the above tests at Mayo Clinic in their dizziness program that I was accepted into in Minnesota.
My dizziness began at work 3 years ago when it felt like I was bouncing up and down just while standing and my body proceded to panic. I went from having this kind of episode once a month, to once every few weeks, to every day, to basically dizzy any time I stood or walked. Because of the dizziness, I stopped going to stores, didn’t shower as much as I should have, did not workout, and took off of work as it was so difficult to just walk. I currently work full time, workout, am in a relationship, and can do so much that I felt like I couldn’t do. I still have days where I need to take a break, and you won’t catch me on a boat for awhile as that triggers me GREATLY!
Two things that have for sure helped me so far, walking and time. Going for walks was a hard thing to start being dizzy, but that is something I can for sure say I’ve noticed helps without a doubt. And time; my dizziness didn’t improve overnight, it’s been three years, and i still deal with it! I’ve learned it isn’t going to hurt me and to simply learn to live with it (for now) and to push myself baby steps at a time.
Also, parasympathetic breathing has helped me tremendously as well as guided meditation to relax and practice mindfulness. I pay for an app called Downdog which has great guided programs (and yoga!) and currently get it for free for being a student.
Don’t give up, even if it feels like you are just trying to survive. Don’t let doctors write you off, advocate for yourself. If the doctor doesn’t listen or help, find new ones. Lean on your support system. Help others and share your story so there is more awareness and research for dizziness. It is one of the most difficult symptoms to diagnose. And it is just that, a SYMPTOM! You are you and not your symptoms or diagnoses!
If you have any questions, I will try my best to respond to everything no matter the question or if it is 10 years from now. There is SO much to this journey, and attempting to fit it into one post feels impossible. One thing that bothered me was people posting about their symptoms and never giving updates/responding to others, so I will try my best to do so…

TLDR: I have had non spinning dizziness for 3 years, did every test, saw a world expert in dizziness at Mayo clinic, diagnosed with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, possibly Vestibular Migraines from a neurologist, but not PPPD, and I accept it finally.
Hello everyone,
I wanted to share my story with dizziness as I have read many others on many different forums and hope that this can help others like others have helped me!
I have experienced dizziness for over three years now (28M) that is non-spinning in nature, it is an up and down feeling like you are on an elevator, on a boat, or walking on sand as some may describe it, typically while walking, standing, or slight position adjustments while sitting or laying down. It has caused anxiety, panic attacks, shakiness, heart palpitations, arm/leg numbess, neck tingling, neck pain, muscle spasms, brain fog, hearing sensitivity, headaches, fevers, and others I am probably forgetting.
I recently visited with Dr. Staab at Mayo Clinic who is one of the best in the world at looking into problems with dizziness, among many countless providers over the last three years. Dr. Staab specifically researches and treats dizziness, and recently diagnosed me with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, but NOT Persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD) as I don’t completely fit the criteria. The reason I was given was that I did not have a typical reason such as an ear infection or other PPPD pre-cursors, and that certain motion does not trigger dizziness in me like typical PPPD patients (I can play video games and watch movies with no issues). I for sure thought I had PPPD, but regardless, treatment is relatively the same with or without that diagnosis for my symptoms.
The best way it was explained to me was that my initial dizziness episode three years ago was a panic attack where the first symptom was dizziness followed by other physical symptoms, and heightened anxiety/panic over this dizziness caused my body to be overly alert/sensitive to the space/movement around me, creating a loop of constant dizziness. While my anxiety has improved tremendously and I have only experienced less than 10 (being generous with this) panic attacks my whole life, the dizziness has improved but remained, as it is described as basically a residual effect of the initial anxiety/panic attacks that my body has not yet corrected.
I also saw Dr. Beh who is a neurologist that specializes in vestibular disorders and migraines, and he further diagnosed me with Vestibular Migraines (which Dr. Staab says is a possibility but he doesn’t have enough evidence to diagnose me with it).
My current treatment includes taking Venlafaxine (going to 75mg soon) to directly treat the dizziness and help with any remaining anxiety/panic issues, receive therapy (psychoeducation and CBT) by a therapist with a PhD preferably, and vestibular rehab. Dr. Staab also said massages (light on the neck) could be helpful as dizziness can cause neck and back muscles to tighten due to the body stiffening over time to try to avoid dizziness sensations.
I was told to take Vitamin B12 (400mg) and venlafaxine in the morning. In the afternoon I take COq10 (200mg) after lunch and 200mg after dinner. Before bed, I take magnesium glycinate (500mg) and effexor. I take other supplements, but these I specifically take for migraine/dizziness related issues.
I have seen Dr. Staab, Dr. Beh, the Vestibular Psychologist Emily Kostelnik, have watched the Steady Coach on youtube, looked into the dizzy cook, and have seen multiple Neurologists, ENT’s, Cardiologists, PCP’s, Physical therapists, audiologists, gastro’s, even an allergist. I was misdiagnosed with POT’s, but otherwise every test that was done came back normal except that I have a hiatial hernia, fatty liver, low vitamin D, and a deviated septum.
I’ve had the brain scans, blood tests, heart monitoscans/ultrasounds, tilt table, ear tests, balance tests, epley maneuver, rotary chair, basically every test you can think of (some multiple times) and have tried basically every supplements/lifestyle changes you can think of as well. I have also done a lot of the above tests at Mayo Clinic in their dizziness program that I was accepted into in Minnesota.
My dizziness began at work 3 years ago when it felt like I was bouncing up and down just while standing and my body proceded to panic. I went from having this kind of episode once a month, to once every few weeks, to every day, to basically dizzy any time I stood or walked. Because of the dizziness, I stopped going to stores, didn’t shower as much as I should have, did not workout, and took off of work as it was so difficult to just walk. I currently work full time, workout, am in a relationship, and can do so much that I felt like I couldn’t do. I still have days where I need to take a break, and you won’t catch me on a boat for awhile as that triggers me GREATLY!
Two things that have for sure helped me so far, walking and time. Going for walks was a hard thing to start being dizzy, but that is something I can for sure say I’ve noticed helps without a doubt. And time; my dizziness didn’t improve overnight, it’s been three years, and i still deal with it! I’ve learned it isn’t going to hurt me and to simply learn to live with it (for now) and to push myself baby steps at a time.
Also, parasympathetic breathing has helped me tremendously as well as guided meditation to relax and practice mindfulness. I pay for an app called Downdog which has great guided programs (and yoga!) and currently get it for free for being a student.
Don’t give up, even if it feels like you are just trying to survive. Don’t let doctors write you off, advocate for yourself. If the doctor doesn’t listen or help, find new ones. Lean on your support system. Help others and share your story so there is more awareness and research for dizziness. It is one of the most difficult symptoms to diagnose. And it is just that, a SYMPTOM! You are you and not your symptoms or diagnoses!
If you have any questions, I will try my best to respond to everything no matter the question or if it is 10 years from now. There is SO much to this journey, and attempting to fit it into one post feels impossible. One thing that bothered me was people posting about their symptoms and never giving updates/responding to others, so I will try my best to do so…

TLDR: I have had non spinning dizziness for 3 years, did every test, saw a world expert in dizziness at Mayo clinic, diagnosed with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, possibly Vestibular Migraines from a neurologist, but not PPPD, and I accept it finally.
Hello everyone,
I wanted to share my story with dizziness as I have read many others on many different forums and hope that this can help others like others have helped me!
I have experienced dizziness for over three years now (28M) that is non-spinning in nature, it is an up and down feeling like you are on an elevator, on a boat, or walking on sand as some may describe it, typically while walking, standing, or slight position adjustments while sitting or laying down. It has caused anxiety, panic attacks, shakiness, heart palpitations, arm/leg numbess, neck tingling, neck pain, muscle spasms, brain fog, hearing sensitivity, headaches, fevers, and others I am probably forgetting.
I recently visited with Dr. Staab at Mayo Clinic who is one of the best in the world at looking into problems with dizziness, among many countless providers over the last three years. Dr. Staab specifically researches and treats dizziness, and recently diagnosed me with Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, but NOT Persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD) as I don’t completely fit the criteria. The reason I was given was that I did not have a typical reason such as an ear infection or other PPPD pre-cursors, and that certain motion does not trigger dizziness in me like typical PPPD patients (I can play video games and watch movies with no issues). I for sure thought I had PPPD, but regardless, treatment is relatively the same with or without that diagnosis for my symptoms.
The best way it was explained to me was that my initial dizziness episode three years ago was a panic attack where the first symptom was dizziness followed by other physical symptoms, and heightened anxiety/panic over this dizziness caused my body to be overly alert/sensitive to the space/movement around me, creating a loop of constant dizziness. While my anxiety has improved tremendously and I have only experienced less than 10 (being generous with this) panic attacks my whole life, the dizziness has improved but remained, as it is described as basically a residual effect of the initial anxiety/panic attacks that my body has not yet corrected.
I also saw Dr. Beh who is a neurologist that specializes in vestibular disorders and migraines, and he further diagnosed me with Vestibular Migraines (which Dr. Staab says is a possibility but he doesn’t have enough evidence to diagnose me with it).
My current treatment includes taking Venlafaxine (going to 75mg soon) to directly treat the dizziness and help with any remaining anxiety/panic issues, receive therapy (psychoeducation and CBT) by a therapist with a PhD preferably, and vestibular rehab. Dr. Staab also said massages (light on the neck) could be helpful as dizziness can cause neck and back muscles to tighten due to the body stiffening over time to try to avoid dizziness sensations.
I was told to take Vitamin B12 (400mg) and venlafaxine in the morning. In the afternoon I take COq10 (200mg) after lunch and 200mg after dinner. Before bed, I take magnesium glycinate (500mg) and effexor. I take other supplements, but these I specifically take for migraine/dizziness related issues.
I have seen Dr. Staab, Dr. Beh, the Vestibular Psychologist Emily Kostelnik, have watched the Steady Coach on youtube, looked into the dizzy cook, and have seen multiple Neurologists, ENT’s, Cardiologists, PCP’s, Physical therapists, audiologists, gastro’s, even an allergist. I was misdiagnosed with POT’s, but otherwise every test that was done came back normal except that I have a hiatial hernia, fatty liver, low vitamin D, and a deviated septum.
I’ve had the brain scans, blood tests, heart monitoscans/ultrasounds, tilt table, ear tests, balance tests, epley maneuver, rotary chair, basically every test you can think of (some multiple times) and have tried basically every supplements/lifestyle changes you can think of as well. I have also done a lot of the above tests at Mayo Clinic in their dizziness program that I was accepted into in Minnesota.
My dizziness began at work 3 years ago when it felt like I was bouncing up and down just while standing and my body proceded to panic. I went from having this kind of episode once a month, to once every few weeks, to every day, to basically dizzy any time I stood or walked. Because of the dizziness, I stopped going to stores, didn’t shower as much as I should have, did not workout, and took off of work as it was so difficult to just walk. I currently work full time, workout, am in a relationship, and can do so much that I felt like I couldn’t do. I still have days where I need to take a break, and you won’t catch me on a boat for awhile as that triggers me GREATLY!
Two things that have for sure helped me so far, walking and time. Going for walks was a hard thing to start being dizzy, but that is something I can for sure say I’ve noticed helps without a doubt. And time; my dizziness didn’t improve overnight, it’s been three years, and i still deal with it! I’ve learned it isn’t going to hurt me and to simply learn to live with it (for now) and to push myself baby steps at a time.
Also, parasympathetic breathing has helped me tremendously as well as guided meditation to relax and practice mindfulness. I pay for an app called Downdog which has great guided programs (and yoga!) and currently get it for free for being a student.
Don’t give up, even if it feels like you are just trying to survive. Don’t let doctors write you off, advocate for yourself. If the doctor doesn’t listen or help, find new ones. Lean on your support system. Help others and share your story so there is more awareness and research for dizziness. It is one of the most difficult symptoms to diagnose. And it is just that, a SYMPTOM! You are you and not your symptoms or diagnoses!
If you have any questions, I will try my best to respond to everything no matter the question or if it is 10 years from now. There is SO much to this journey, and attempting to fit it into one post feels impossible. One thing that bothered me was people posting about their symptoms and never giving updates/responding to others, so I will try my best to do so…

The world was a boozy whirl of lights and sounds. Images, broken and fragmented, came and went. Voices, laughter, screaming. The ground pitched like the deck of a tempest-tossed ship, and he felt heavy, as though the ground were pulling him to it. C’mere, Dommy. He fell, lay on the pavement, and pushed himself up again, staggering like a drunk on his way home. His head spun, his body ached, and things seemed blurry, like half-formed images glimpsed underwater.
It was the light blue hour before dawn and Dom was…somewhere. He should have recognized the stores and street signs around him, but he didn’t. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and a sense of confusion gripped him so strongly that he was beginning to panic. Where was he? What happened?
The world spun away again and the next thing he knew, he was lying in a heap of garbage bags, used needles, and rubbish. He came awake with a jerk and sat up so fast that a bolt of pain jammed into his skull. He winced and pressed his hand to his forehead. He felt hot, clammy.
Something was seriously wrong.
Somehow he got to his feet again and started walking. The sun was up now and the streets were filled with people. They all sneered in disgust as he passed, and he wrapped his arms around his chest like a baby comforting itself. He was getting cold. His muscles were sore. Tears streamed down his face and he wanted to cry.
Going on instinct alone, Dom made his way back home and climbed the steps to his apartment. Exhaustion swept over him and he sagged against the door as he dug in his pocket for the keys. They shook in his hand and he had to focus really hard to get the key into the lock.
Inside, he collapsed onto the couch and his eyelids instantly drooped. He was so weary that he couldn’t lift his head, couldn’t form a single coherent thought. Dom felt himself starting to sink, and snapped his eyes open with a start. Something in his soul told him that if he slept, he would die.
He couldn’t help it, though. He was falling, tumbling, hands reaching up from hell to grab him. His eyes fluttered closed again and the world started to go dark, his heart slamming in fear. He tried to fight, but the pull of darkness was too strong, too alluring. Why was he fighting? Why not just…give up? Hadn’t he thought of killing himself before? Didn’t he hate his life and himself? What was there to fight for? A wife? Kids? A community that loved and respected him? Shit, affordable groceries?
No.
There was nothing.
He had nothing and was nothing.
A sense of peace blossomed from the darkness, and suddenly death didn’t seem so scary. In fact, it was warm…inviting.
It was life that was cold and hateful. Not death.
Death accepted you no matter who you were. It didn’t reject you…it didn’t ignore you. If you sought it, you would find it, and if you embraced it, it would embrace you.
With that thought in mind, Dom gave up.
And died.
***
Bruce Kenner, captain of the 5th Albany precinct, sat behind his desk on the morning of June 28 and lazily leafed through a stack of files as he sipped from a mug of coffee. A roughly built man with a dark goatee and graying blonde hair, he looked more like a small town southern sheriff than a low level public works functionary. In fact, he tended to act like it too. He liked to hunt, fish, and drink beer on his off time. Albany wasn’t a big city, but it was big enough that you never got a fucking break. Run here, run there, arrest this asshole, investigate that asshole. By the time Friday rolled around, he was so ready for the peace and tranquility of a fishing trip he could taste it.
Already this Monday morning, he was looking forward to another one.
Over the weekend, three kids went missing in the Pine Hills and Washington Park area, bringing the total for that summer up to eight. All were teenagers, all were troubled. Most were boys, but two were girls.
Troubled kids run away all the time. They might be gone a few days, sulking at a friend’s house over something their father or mother did, but they’d eventually come home. None of these kids had come back yet and from what he knew, a few of them weren’t the runaway types. They were shits at school and caused problems, but they had no reason to up and leave. Hell, Bruce himself raised hell as a kid, but he always found his way back home, even if he spent the previous night dying in a field from Mad Dogg 20/20 poisoning.
One or two kids going missing…okay, it happens. Eight? Over a span of four weeks?
Yeah, something was wrong here.
But what?
There was nothing on any of these kids. No one saw them, no one knew anything - one minute they were here, the next they weren’t. What could he or anyone else do with that?. The public broke cops’ balls all the time, but if you don’t have evidence, you don’t have evidence. What do you want? Door to door searches? Roadblocks? Dogs and helicopters? Yeah, then when you actually do it, they cry fascism. Guess I’ll just use my Spidey Senses.
Bruce wished he had spidey senses. He wanted to find these kids as much as anyone, and he was starting to get pissed off that he couldn’t. He took another sip from his mug and read on. The latest kids to go missing were three boys between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.
They were all white, all thin (except for one). If there was a serial killer in town - and Bruce hoped to fuck there wasn’t - he had a type. What, black kids aren’t good enough to kill, cannibalize, and wear like a skin suit? They should charge him with a hate crime for discrimination.
That way he’d actually stay locked up.
The door opened and Vanessa Rodregiez, his deputy, came in. A tall, shapely Hispanic woman with dark eyes and a mouth poised always on the edge of a smile, she wore her black hair in a ponytail that would look stern and severe on anyone else, but on her, looked childlike. She was twenty-seven and had been on the force for three years, but you could be forgiven for thinking her much younger. “Bright and early, I see,” she said with a grin.
Bruce grumbled.
Vanessa held down the fort during the graveyard shift, acting to the night as he acted to the day. She was young and full of energy, which clashed with Bruce, who was old and just wanted to be left alone. Despite their differences, Bruce loved her like a kid sister…an annoying kid sister he wanted to throat punch sometimes.
“You missed all the fun last night,” she said and parked her butt on the edge of Bruce’s desk. He glared at her, but she ignored him.
“Good,” he said. Then: “What happened?”
“Big fight outside of Club Vlad,” she said. “It looked like a WorldStar video.”
For a moment, Bruce was lost. “Club what?”
“Club Vlad,” Vanessa said. “Where the Fuze Box used to be.”
Ah, right. The Fuze Box was an Albany landmark, a night club for punks…or goths…or someone. Certainly not for Bruce Kenner. It was small, dingy, and always had people in black waiting outside. On Friday and Saturday nights, it blasted strange music with lyrics about fighting The Man. Kids had been fighting the Man since before Bruce was even born and they hadn’t beaten him yet. Kudos to them for still trying.
Last year, The Fuze Box closed down and someone else bought it. It reopened last month and looked more or less the same: Posers, shitty music, and spiked hair. So much spiked hair. “Place is still a pain in the ass,” Bruce said.
“Yep,” Vanessa chirped. “It doesn’t know what it wants to be now. One minute they play nightcore, the next EDM. It’s all over the place.”
Bruce raised a quizzical brow.
“Not that I’ve ever been there in my free time,” Vanessa said in a tone that suggested she had,
Bruce gave a judgemental hum.
“Anyway,” Vanessa went on, “you see we have some new missing persons?”
Sighing, Bruce sat back in his chair. “Yeah. I did.”
“People are starting to ask questions,” Vanessa warned.
That brought a terse smile to Bruce’s weathered face. “Maybe they’ll solve it then.”
“Ha, fat chance,” Vanessa said. She got up and stretched. “Anyway, I’m bushed. Here’s my…” she trailed off and looked at her empty hands. “Damn, where’s my report? I just had it?” She turned in a confused circle as if she might be able to spot her report making a break for it. “Huh,” she said. She left the office and came back a moment later holding a folder. “Found it,” she grinned.
Bruce just looked at her.
“Um…here it is.”
He didn’t take it.
Her smile faltered. She carefully sat it on top of the files Bruce was looking at.
And his hands.
“I’ll just leave that right here.” She patted it for good measure.
“Thank you,” Bruce said.
“Okay. Night.”
“Goodnight,” Bruce said as she left through a shaft of morning sunlight. Alone, Bruce sat her report aside and went back to the missing kids. This case was giving him a headache and it wasn’t even nine. With a deep sigh, he slumped back in his chair and drummed his fingers on the armrests.
Was it Saturday yet?
He could really use a fishing trip.
***
Dom came awake in the cold purple twilight with a shocked gasp like a man coming up seconds before drowning. His eyes strained from his sweaty face and his mouth hung slack, twisted in a gruesome parody of The Scream. His mind was muddled, murky - he didn’t know where he was or even who he was, but he knew this,.
He couldn’t breathe.
He opened and closed his mouth like a fish, but his lungs did not fill with air. A great, unseen weight seemed to bear down on his chest, and panic gripped him. He tried to move, but his arms refused to heed his brain’s command. The weight seemed heavier, all over, crushing him like a bug. Confusion filled him and he started to pant.
Without warning, his bowels and bladder loosened, and horrible wetness filled his pants. He tried to sit up, but his body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. His chest rose and fell with the frantic labor of his breath, but his lungs remained inert. A cry of fear bubbled up inside of him, but escaped his mouth only as a breathy groan.
A bust of adrenaline shot through him and he tried to stand, but succeeded only in falling off the couch instead, landing face first against the cold tile floor. He felt his nose crunch, but the pain was muted.
Dom thought he lost consciousness after that, but wasn’t sure. His next memory was of shivering so violently that his teeth clacked together. A phantom chill - perhaps from the floor - had settled into his bones, and was colder than he had ever been in his life, colder even than the time he fell into a snowbank and got lost when he was two. Shudders racked his body, and though he tried to turn over, he was too fucking heavy. It was like every muscle in his body had turned to dead weight. Fragmented thoughts swirled in his head, faint colors in the dark, but he couldn’t put any of them together.
With great effort, he managed to push himself slightly up, but a wave of lightheadedness crashed over him and he lowered his head once more. He stopped trying and simply lay there. Shortly, his eyes began to burn and he realized that he wasn’t blinking. Jesus Christ, he wasn’t blinking.
For some strange reason, that brought a fresh bout of panic. He started to hyperventilate, but his lungs still wouldn’t work. He wasn’t blinking…he wasn’t breathing…what was happening to him?
A whimper burst from his throat and he started to cry.
He must have cried himself to sleep, because he woke sometime later to the most intense headache he’d ever had. It felt like something was eating his brain from the inside out. He was sore all over, and could feel his muscles twitching, as though a thousand living things were burrowing through his body. A cramp shot down his right leg, and the toes of his left foot curled involuntarily. Slowly, his jaw clenched closed, and the muscles in his neck began to strain…then to burn. His panic turned to terror, and Dom wiggled across the floor like a worm, his limbs screaming in red agony and his brain filling with heat. He somehow wound up on his right side, and his arms curled slowly up to his chest, crossing at the wrists like a mummy. He tried to pull them apart, but the slightest movement sent waves of excruciating pain cutting through his body. His knees began to draw up to his stomach, and his fingers clenched tightly.
Cramps and spasms attacked every muscle in his body. He screamed through his teeth and shook, resembling a man in the electric chair as 40,000 volts of justice coursed through him. The pain grew gradually, getting worse and worse as minutes ticked by like hours. Higher, higher, higher - he clenched his eyes closed and shrieked as it became unbearable. Disjointed thoughts flashed through his mind - prayers, threats, curses, Jesus fucking…FUCK.
What was happening? God, what was happening to him? Was it fentanyl? He’d seen videos of people high on fentanyl, and they leaned in weird positions. He didn’t do drugs but maybe he ingested it somehow.
His panic may have returned if all of his muscles hadn’t picked that moment to contract as one. His eyes bulged from their sockets and his jaw unclenched just enough for him to utter a high. Agonized scream that echoed through his empty apartment like thunder.
A human being can only take so much before giving out. When the pain reached a crescendo, and Dom mercifully sank into consciousness once more. The sun rose and cascaded through the apartment’s sole window, falling over his huddled form. Slowly, it tracked across the sky before setting again. As the last rays disappeared behind the horizon, Dom’s eyes opened. The pain of the night before was blessedly gone, replaced by a feeling of numbness - the cool ash after the hot fire. His thoughts were slow and thick like molasses, but he could actually think again. Nightmare memories flooded back to him, but he wasn’t sure they were real. He was lying on his side, his arms wrapped around his chest as if for warmth, and his teeth lightly chattered against the icy chill. He was so cold that he didn’t want to move, but he couldn’t stay here forever. He needed help. He needed…
A shower.
Yeah, a hot shower. That would warm him up.
Gritting his teeth, he slowly sat up, ready for a burst of pain.
But none came.
He did, however, feel heavy. Getting to his feet, he stumbled and nearly fell, catching himself against the counter. His limbs had no feeling. It’s like they weren’t even there. Head hung, Dom tried to catch his breath, but it felt like he wasn’t breathing at all. His eyelids drooped closed and he felt like he was going to fall down. Summoning all the might he could, he shuffled into the bathroom with the stiff gait of an old man. He snapped the light on, and cold, white brilliance filled the space, blinding him.
Leaning heavily against the sink, he gripped the cold porcelain. Suddenly, he was afraid of looking into the mirror. He was sure that whatever reflection he saw, it would be of something else, something monstrous.
Dom lifted his head and faced the glass.
His heart shrank.
The man in the mirror was him but different. His skin was white as milk, lacking all color whatsoever save for the ugly purple patch on the left side. IResembling a giant bruise, it started at the temple and extended down to the slope of his neck, disappearing beneath his T-shirt. He gingerly lifted the shirt, and moaned when he saw that his entire left side was discolored, the purple edged with a puffy shade of pink. His sallow skin clung tight to his ribcage, and his hip bones stuck out so much it looked painful. Back in the mirror, his cheeks were sunken, hollow, and his eyes were a hazy, dishwater gray. His skull seemed bigger, his hair longer. Dom wanted to whip his head away from the phantom before him, to never see it again, but he was transfixed.
There was no way that thing was -
Dom looked away, cutting that thought off before it could finish.
A shower.
He needed a shower.
Slowly, stiffly, Dom undressed, peeling off his shirt and his soiled pants. He dropped them in a heap on the floor and stepped under the spray. He could feel the water pounding against him, but it provided no heat. It was neither hot nor cold. It was simply there.
Dom pressed his head to the slick shower wall and stood there for a long time. He was spent, tired, and fried - he had no more emotions left to give. He got out after a little while, dried off, and put on a clean pair of shorts. He settled into bed and lay there with his hands folded over his chest and his eyes open. They felt gritty, dry. His stomach felt bloated, gassy. He was drowsy now, the weight of the past two days (or was it two weeks?) coming down on him all at once. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
He was still asleep - but aware - when the knocking on his door started the next morning. Time was funny in this state of being, fast and jerky but also slow and echoing. Keys rattled the knob turned. The landlord came in with a cop. They saw him on the bed, laid out like a corpse for a viewing, and the cop radioed in a code 35. Soon, cops were all around him, making noise and touching things. He had the vague sense of discomfort and embarrassment at the intrusion. A baling man in a suit stood over him, a cop who looked like a redneck beside him. “He didn’t die here,” the medical examiner said.
The cop looked at him questioningly. Dom caught the name KENNER on his name tag.
“See this?” the M.E. said and gestured to Dom’s face. “That’s livor mortis. When you die, your blood pools at the lowest point. If you’re on your left side, for example, it pools on the left.”
Kenner looked at Dom and then back to the M.E. “Someone moved him?”
“Looks like it,” the M.E. said.
“When did he die?”
The M.E. examined Dom as though he were nothing more than a side of beef. “At a glance? Three days. I won’t have a better answer until I open him up.”
Dom was still awake when they put him into a body bag and zipped it up. He felt a stirring of fear beneath the cold numbness, but he was too tired to worry about it now.
Later, he thought.
He would panic later.
For now, Dom slept.

hi, im 17 f who went through a tonsillectomy on may 1st due to having inflamed tonsils on and off for over a year. throughout my recovery i would go on here to read peoples experiences so i wanted to share mine.
day 1 (surgery day): after the surgery, the pain was a 2/10 hence being on anesthesia. i talked directly after the surgery; it only felt a bit uncomfortable. once i got home, i took 2 tylenol and ate tomato soup.
day 2: i had a small fever at midnight which was so horrible…. i did take 2 tylenol to be able to sleep. once i woke up, pain was really starting to kick in, 6/10. id describe the pain as a VERY awful strep throat. it honestly just really hurts to swallow. i ate left over tomato soup for breakfast. mashed potatoes for lunch and dinner. i tried hydrocodone but i had such a bad experience with it (i felt so nauseous and was shaking really badly) so i decided to not take it at all for the rest of my recovery.
day 3: the pain was so bad i deadass was begging to be killed, 8/10 (dramatic ik). i was struggling to eat my food that i ended up crying. i wasnt eating or drinking enough fluids that i felt so weak and nauseous. i am not kidding when i say this, EAT YOUR FOODDDD!!!!!! even though it hurts to swallow trusttttt meeeeee, itll all be worth it in the end.
day 4: I SNEEZED for the first time and i felt like my entire throat was about to go up on flames!!!!! for breakfast i ate left over mac n cheese. for lunch i attempted eating a sandwich (no crusts, SOFT bread, mayo, and ham) and it went pretty fine. make sure to REALLY chew down your food!! pain was about a 6/10
day 5: the pain was incredibly manageable 2/10 in the morning although during the afternoon things started getting a bit bad…... 7/10. in the morning and dinner i ate some mac n cheese yet again and downed it with some cold gatorade. i started getting some teethaches but it seemed to be normal since its part of the nerves connected to the tonsils (or where they used to be lol)
day 6: 12/10. woke up in excruciating pain. i was aware that things were about to get really horrible. seeing as peoples worst days ranged from day 5 to day 9. i took my usual intake of tylenol. i barely ate anything because the pain was just horrible. drinking wategatorade was such a pain as well. the right side of my throat seemed to have some blood coming out (it wasn’t too much but it made me worry a bit).
day 7: kept waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. pain was about 8/10. checked my throat and the blood on the right side was completely gone. scabs are starting to form. started to crave hard foods (the struggle is unreal). whenever id drink water, gatorade or chew on popsicles, my throat would BURN.
day 8: i slept for an entire night straight without waking up once in the middle of the night. i say that is PROGRESS!!!! when i woke up the pain was not so bad 3/10. i was craving taco bell so i got a beefy 5 layer burrito since i know their burritos are soft!!! it was THE BEST ive eaten since this recovery im telling you omg… i drank a whole water bottle afterwards too… pain feels mild, not unbearable or unused too.
day 9-14: 4/10 throughout these days!! been able to sleep without any struggles. ive also been eating somewhat solids things like sandwiches, pizzas, hot chips (dyanmites, hot fries). yawnings, sneezing, and burping have been my hell.
i want to say that although i was SOMEWHAT just fine using tylenol, it might not be the case for everyone else. the same goes for food, i know some people don’t do well with dairy based foods such as mac n cheese. eat what you feel most comfortable eating but make sure it is soft and mild cold (do NOT eat anything hot/hard/spicy/salty/sugary)! i know its hard for people to talk during this but i talked the majority of my recovery (nurses encouraged it). id also like to note that id randomly eat ice pops and put an ice pack under my chin. id keep track of taking 2 tylenol every 4-5 hours (i recommend that you do as well because its literal hell when you dont). everyone deals with pain differently. just know you’ll be okay and all this pain you’re going through right now will all be worth it in the end.