Pain on lower abdomem

I have been dealing with chronic, migrating joint pain for the past 6 years. Within the past 12 months, it has ramped up and moved down into my lower back and SI joints. I took 10 weeks of medical leave last November from my corporate job to try and sort it out because I was in alot of pain which was causing massive anxiety. Unfortunately, during my leave, doctors ran basic tests and said I was fine and put me on anxiety meds.
I've been back at work since February and things continued to deteriorate with my back. I have been sucking it up and pushing through the pain because I fear losing my job. Unfortunately, this weekend, I woke up in a level 9/10 pain, passed out from it, and could not support my upper body weight. Despite this, I still waddled my way into work yesterday and had to take breaks where I had to lie down flat in the bathroom and stretch my SI joints. Its pathetic and embarrassing.
I saw my doctor yesterday, and she is finally taking it seriously and is concerned that something is wrong with my SI joints causing them to be extremely inflamed. My lower back is swollen as well. She gave me a steroid shot (did nothing at all) and has now ordered imaging and autoimmune testing. She has also referred me to an orthopedic surgeon and rheumatologist.
I am happy things are being taken seriously, but at this point - my boss has lost all sympathy and understanding for my health problems and he freaks out anytime I need to leave work early for appointments or if I need to work from home because of pain.
I get his frustration, I will admit that at least once a week, I need to either leave early for apts or wfh due to pain. However, I have never missed a deadline and continue to provide amazing work. I also push through more than I dont and he doesnt see that. I've never once been reprimanded for work-related issues - only the needing to wfh or the appointments, citing that "Others start to get jealous that I'm able to leave early and wfh but they can't". He retaliates by giving me attitude, interrupting me in meetings, and not giving me work or work that is way below my skill level.
I have been trying to find a new job, but the insurance here is good and I need it to resolve these issues hopefully. I am also a single mom, so just up and quitting isn't an option. I'm not sure how to protect my job or if it's even possible to do so. I'm not trying to freak out, but it's becoming harder and harder to take care of myself and I don't have anyone to lean on or help me. I cannot afford for these issues to get to a point where I am unable to be independent.
I am curious if anyone else here has experienced discrimination at work due to chronic pain, or has lost a job because of it. What happened and how did you handle it?
I do have FMLA, but that only covers me for 12 weeks and I've already wasted 10 on medical leave, leaving me with two weeks of FMLA left until November 2024. I'm not sure what my options are moving forward...Do I talk to HR? (I know they are there to protect themselves not me) Is there anything else I can do to protect myself and my job?
I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I've reached the limit where I can no longer push through the pain. I also have to get this imaging and further testing done ASAP, but the places that do the imagine are only open during the same times I work and I live 45 min away from where my job is located - going there on lunch breaks isn't an option.
When dealing with chronic pain, how do you put yourself and your health first when you have a kid to support and are doing it all alone?
Looking for any advice, personal anecdotes, words of encouragement, success stories - anything. I keep feeling so guilty like I am letting people down by being in pain, but it’s obvious now that the pain is real and it's gotten to a really bad point.

Hi all, I had my gallbladder out 10 months ago and Im still getting sick even though I'm doing what people recommend with diet and vitamins. I had to wait along time and gallbladder was inflamed and cancerous packed out. I feel better in loads of ways but I still get sick quite bad.
I had to have a valve put in as they couldn't stop the bleeding and I got infection as soon as I got out of surgery and had to go a&e for a week, it was really bad.
Ive got a bit better but I can get constipated and knocked sick and or I can sick up bile or acid and recover quite fast. Im dealing with the constipation with protein shakes, high fibre diet is bunging me up and some salads and fruit are not digesting or taking ages.
I can feel my liver gets like a shock and I feel something spraying into my belly with pain to lower abdomen were my hernia or cyst is and when it fills up it knocks me sick, can see my belly just bloat up and its like it builds up over a week or 2 and bam you wake up nausea and vomiting uellow crap. I also feel if I dont eat enough as I'm on a strict diet, I will sick yellow stuff up to. The other week I had what felt like a attack, I was constipated and straining to go and caused a cyst or hernia, I thought I recovered but woke up constipated and sick again, think its the Weetabix so I swapped to eggs and avocado for breakfast, thats helping alot.
Any recommendations for this as it is making my life miserable, anyway to stop this bile or acid building up?
Many thanks in advance and take care..

TL;DR: Choosing between Mizuno Monarcida Neo 2 Super wide K leather (4E) with extra width but more toe space, or Mizuno Monarcida Neo 2 Wide elite (3E) with snugger fit but toes spill over side. Want better performance without sacrificing too much comfort/support to prevent injuries. Which should I choose?
I’m nearing 32 and at this point I play 2-3 hours a week. I have some knee discomfort and lower back pain (lack of stretching and core strength, working on it in PT).
With that being said, I have very wide feet and have tried at this point, all reasonable options and recommendations I could find. I am now trying to choose between two models:
A mizuno monarcida neo 2 Super wide K leather model (4E), and the Mizuno neo 2 Wide elite (3E)
The 4E fits best in terms of width, but has noticeably more dead space in the toe box, and runs a little long. Going a size down is not an option as that would be painfully tight.
The 3E fits best on the toe box as a combination of comfort and snug fit. There’s barely any dead room but I can wiggle my toes freely. The leather feels more premium and comfortable as well. HOWEVER, the sole plate is narrower and my little toes and the outside of each foot around the little toe area are spilling over the soleplate. This doesn’t cause me discomfort but I’m worried it may lead to foot injury or exacerbate back pain down the line due to inadequate foot support.
With that being said, I’m looking for best fit for performance without giving up too much comfort/support. As I get older I want to be wary of injuries. Which option would you choose?

My gut is so unhappy with things like Advil, which doesn't help with the leg pain anyways. Maybe hits some of the abdominal. Just takes the edge off, but always gives me rebound headaches. I was just wondering if there are things that hit it right at the source. I've tried things like voltaren on my abdomen and lower back. It kinda worked.

Hi everyone, I am on tray 12. I had braces as a child and had four teeth extracted then. My ortho / provider (top 1%) told me he thought I would be fine with IPR as far as having enough room on my lower arch.
One of the gums on my bottom teeth started to recede about four trays in. I had him look at it and he said it was normal and to come back if it got worse. It DID get worse and worse. I went back in this morning and four of my bottom teeth are loose. He suspects that I've reached the edge of the room in my mouth. I'm getting a specialized X ray tomorrow to confirm that.
But if that is the case, my choices are to fix my top and leave my bottom alone and crowded (which he doesn't recommend) or pull yet another tooth. He said I may need traditional braces in that case. What concerns me is my jaw is already so small. I worry this will sink in my face. I'm 54 years old.
For those that had extractions, how bad was the pain? What was the cost? Are you awake for it? Do you regret it?

Not sure if this is best place to ask but I'll give it a go. My PC is very old and the lack of SSE2 is become a real pain, I picked up a 939 board but its PCIe so I will need a new GPU. I need a dx10 or older GPU anything newer then a GF 2xx or HD 4xxx card would not work for a few games I run.
The card needs to be 75w or lower with no PCIe power cable. I know on NV side the best two cards would be the 9800gt green and the 240gt, but I'm at a loss on ATI's side. Would anyone have any advice on what ATI cards I should be looking at when shopping.
Thanks !

I’ve never been diagnosed with endometriosis, but I have been diagnosed with “painful intercourse” I guess… It hurts any time i’m not on top, and even then the initial penetration hurts and feels like a huge stretch. We use condoms & lube but it still hurts & i’m always sore after. Sometimes I have light pink spotting. I also deal with what I think is IBS, but I know gastro issues can be a symptom as well. I get cramps too, lower stomach pain on both sides. My gyno has never mentioned it but I’m going to ask her about it at my next appt. Does it sound like endometriosis?

I never had this issue untill an episode of water diarrhea about 8 months ago almost like out of the blue, I had no pain or anything! Since then I have been on a wild ride having a mix of stool issues such as fluffy stools, diarrhea, constipation, urgency, yellow stools, flat stools, huge stools, mucus in the beginning, normal stools.. it seems like everyday is something different. The weird thing is that I noticed when I eat my favorite lentil soup or roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes I get super gassy and I have loose stools in the morning! I’m not sure why this is happening because I used to eat these foods with no problem weekly. But then when I eat on occasion let’s say pizza or cheeseburgers and fries my stool is hard in the morning. I read a lot and some people say to cut those foods off, but I really don’t want to cut them off because I really like vegetables. And I know they are good for you! I have tried increasing my prebiotics, cutting out coffee, 3 different kinds of probiotics and psyllium husk. I have had blood and stool test. Ct with contrast. Upper and lower colonoscopy with biopsies everything is perfectly normal not even any inflammation. Can anyone help? Thank you for reading!

Hi!
I am a 32F , 5’7” tall, about 130lbs, Caucasian, live in Canada. Current medications include tylenol/ibuprofen, prucalopride (for GI motility) and birth control. Attending regular physiotherapy for multiple conditions. Symptoms began around 2016 and have progressed since.
I have a pretty intolerable combination of symptoms at the moment - I’m seeing different specialists for each condition, but I’m wondering if there might be something connecting my symptoms that’s being missed. I really would welcome any ideas, because this absolutely sucks - life is coming to a standstill at this point.

• trigeminal nerve pain and numbness along the trigeminal distribution - this comes and goes but sticks around for days or weeks once it starts. Right side only…wildly painful
• increased migraine frequency - about 1-2 per month, used to get 1-2 per year
• chronic pelvic pain, more recently confirmed involvement of the pudendal nerve. Pain and periodic numbness along the PN distribution, mostly left side…also wildly painful!
• burning left shoulder / upper back pain, L side
• random numbness / tingling in lower limbs, both sides, not following any specific distribution that I can tell
• periods of mild urinary incontinence or retention
• chronic constipation, treatment resistant
• potentially endometriosis, adenomyosis - waiting for laparoscopy
• maxillary and mandibular recession and cant, tmj disorder both sides
• quite severe silent reflux
• waves of severe fatigue, flu like symptoms, systemic joint pain (elbows, wrists, knees hot, red, and painful) - was happening once per month and now less frequently, maybe once every 3 months
• Thygeson’s disease diagnosed in R eye

I had a brain mri without contrast that was normal except for a “T2 and FLAIR hyperintense focus within the right peritrigonal region measuring 9mm”. My understanding was that this wasn’t anything really notable. LumbaSacral MRI also normal, except for some wearing of the facet joints. Blood work is generally normal.
I realize I could definitely just be unlucky to have multiple things happening here (and I get that the stress of being sick with one condition could exacerbate another). But I don’t really have anyone who is looking at the big picture - is there any sign that there could be something going on connecting these symptoms?
Thanks for your insight!

40 yr old male. Does anyone else experience pelvic floor tension before a BM? In particular, I experience tension in the lower abdominal wall, perineum, and my testicles pull inward and almost retract into my body. I usually find some relief upon evacuation (I use a squatty potty).
I have all the contributing factors to PFD: anxiety, weight lifting, IBS-C, and I used to bike regularly. I've been to a couple rounds of PF-PT as well as completed the Overcome and Aidplan courses. Currently seeing a physiologist who specializes in treatment of chronic pain and am on an SSRI for the anxiety.
Like many others, I've spend a significant amount of time and effort to combat this ailment, so I wanted to see what others have done and what was helpful for them.

Hi All,
I've been dealing with neck and shoulder pain for a couple of years, which also caused nausea and headaches. Three months ago, I visited a physio who recommended adding rowing exercises and face pulls to my routine to strengthen my back. This worked wonders for my headaches and nausea, but I started experiencing lower back pain that got so bad I couldn't sit for more than 10 minutes.
The physio suggested strengthening my core and glutes, so I added dead bugs, clamshells, side planks, and bridges. This helped somewhat, allowing me to sit for 30-45 minutes before the pain returned, but it's still a significant issue.
I recently saw an osteopath who diagnosed me with anterior pelvic tilt. When I lay on my back with my legs straight, my entire hand can slide under my lower back until my wrist. The osteopath explained that rowing and face pulls might have worsened my condition. He suggested doing exercises on the floor with a flat back and using a flat bench when possible. I’ve made these changes, but after a week, I haven’t noticed significant improvement.
Has anyone else dealt with a similar issue? How did you resolve it? I don't feel like stretching my hip flexors is helping much. Am I on the right track and just need to be patient, or could my approach be wrong? Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi All,
I've been dealing with neck and shoulder pain for a couple of years, which also caused nausea and headaches. Three months ago, I visited a physio who recommended adding rowing exercises and face pulls to my routine to strengthen my back. This worked wonders for my headaches and nausea, but I started experiencing lower back pain that got so bad I couldn't sit for more than 10 minutes.
The physio suggested strengthening my core and glutes, so I added dead bugs, clamshells, side planks, and bridges. This helped somewhat, allowing me to sit for 30-45 minutes before the pain returned, but it's still a significant issue.
I recently saw an osteopath who diagnosed me with anterior pelvic tilt. When I lay on my back with my legs straight, my entire hand can slide under my lower back until my wrist. The osteopath explained that rowing and face pulls might have worsened my condition. He suggested doing exercises on the floor with a flat back and using a flat bench when possible. I’ve made these changes, but after a week, I haven’t noticed significant improvement.
Has anyone else dealt with a similar issue? How did you resolve it? I don't feel like stretching my hip flexors is helping much. Am I on the right track and just need to be patient, or could my approach be wrong? Any advice would be appreciated!

was being very nonchalant about it.
I (30f) went for a medical checkup after having these symptoms: abdominal pain primarily on my right side on my back waist and also tenderness on my right side lower belly. I figured it was just muscle strain from a 4-hr long drive for work since i experienced it before. But something was telling me it could be appendicitis and i panicked. Husband advised me to go for medical checkup immediately the next day.
My CT scan result showed 1.0 x 1.1 x 2.6 cm possibly represent a soft gallbladder calculus as well as 1.9 x 1.5 x 2.3 cm ovarian cyst (it had ruptured the next day as seen in the ultrasound). I was admitted in the hospital, administered antibiotic and pain killer so I didn't really feel much pain. I don't think the doctor prescribed any medicine to shrink the gallstone, he just gave me antibiotics to maybe protect against inflammation or whatever
That was more than 3weeks ago. Now, the pain (or maybe the attack? I can't tell) is back and happens more frequently. It feels like bruising on my right abdomen/waist/back area and omg the back pain between my shoulder blades are killing me, i can't sleep at night without pain relief patches 💀
Family is encouraging me to go through with the surgery asap, but i want to wait until my next appointment (may 27th).
Am i going to die or what 😵

As If It Were Kismet: Prologue
Matt tore through the brush, blind in the dark. He didn’t care where he was going. He only knew he needed to be elsewhere. Far from here.
Behind him a creature howled that shocked his mind. It’s form was cruel and dangerous, though female. Nothing like the young woman she had once been. Nothing but a girl, a small and slight female.
It’s guttural growls and howls only grew closer as Matt tried to pick between seeing where he was going and getting away. The few times he looked he caught sight of the creature behind him. Hopping through the air with a speed that told him he was being toyed with. As if he were a mouse being played with by a cat.
But the reflex in him to run kept him going. His adrenaline going as hard as it could. The tightness and burning in his core tensing and locking up as his legs felt like there were being burned from within while taking on more of a heaviness.
His lungs were starting to betray him as he tried to gulp big breaths of air but only rapid and shallow breaths were all that he could manage. His brain was starting to burn….and then he was falling.
Falling down the side of a hill he saw the creature dart in a spring towards him, imperceivably fast almost. Catching him in mid air it seemed.
Managing to wrap its body around him and cushion his impact against the ground as they rolled. His mind barely took in what was happening during the roll. Only starting to understand what was happening once they were still.
The creature's triple D-cup breasts were unmistakably pressed hard against his back as he laid facing up at the night sky.
For a few seconds the world stilled and the needle light pain hitting the center of his brain took over for the cooking heat his brain had felt. His whole body felt heavy and reluctant to move.
Even if he could have really moved, a dull ache came over his limbs making them feel stilled and trapped as if by immeasurable amounts of sand that had engulfed him.
Slowly the arms holding him started to move. Moving so the creature's hands could start exploring him. Causing Matt to unstoppably let out a pathetic moan that made him go cold inside as hands lifted up his shirt and started to touch his exposed stomach and then his chest.
He would have whimpered so pathetically had he not still been in the depths of terror.
As its hands felt and groped his pecs he tried to situp as if to get away. For his efforts, his reward was a hand around his throat and a collection snarls and growls against his ear. A beastly, guttural voice spat words at him while somehow holding a feminine tone.
“Don’t move….I don’t know if I can calm down…”
Her words were not helped by her moans in his ear and the subsequent kissing of his ear. The flesh of his ear going between her lips as she moaned and seemed to pant. Releasing it and licking the side of his face with a moist warmth. He could feel its spittle, viscous and coating his flesh where the tongue touched. He could smell something in his saliva. Something that subtly entranced him.
Matt went stock still with fear and the confusion of mixed arousal. He barely perceived her right hand traveling lower on his body. A surprised moan and shudder echoed in the night from Matt’s lips as she took ahold of him. Her hand above his pants but still….stimulating him.
A light squeezing and almost probing of her digits kept him aroused and confused within her grasp. Resigning himself to the strange fate, Matt looked up at the stars as his mind tried not to shatter under the strange maelstrom of events and sensation that had started mere minutes ago.
His mind was only more confused as a slight figure, feminine in build, how it seemed to thunk the ground audibly as she landed on her feet out nowhere. Her knees barely bending under the pressure of the landing. Yet dirt was kicked up anyways and some of it onto Matt. Feeling it pepper his shirt and pants as it fell.
The figure, lit only faintly by moonlight, roared some dark tone Matt could only perceive as a demon as her eyes went bright with a crimson light. A light in the darkness that should not have been. “Let him go you bitch.” Was its words following the roar. Spittle escaping its mouth with faint droplets hit Matt's face.
The creature holding him by his throat and crotch seemed to tighten the grasp of both hands as it roared back. “HE IS MINE!”
The figure paused with a moment's hesitation. He was also her quarry. She had felt his fear without him knowing. His confused arousal. His fear. His terror.
And now he laid at the center of a struggle between two monsters. Unsure of who he wanted to win.
As If It Was Kismet Ch. 1
Matthew Berkshire hadn’t seen his mom in two years. Not that he had seen her much over the last six years.
A messy divorce between messy people and mom’s chaotic want for a life in Alaska had been one of the most…upsetting times in life. Setting him up for so much of what had defined his life thus far but then that had really started two years before he ever turned.
His ear buds were basic and simple. A part of cheap five pack, common for his life as he was known to lose little things. Small things. They had a mix of metal and hard rock playing in them. Some classics, some alternative. Whatever made him feel something, anything. Even if it was hate. Anger. Rage. It was better than feeling numb. Not belonging.
The escalator down to his lone bag to go with his lone carry on showed his mom waiting for him. His had a type, that’s for damn sure. Not that it helped him in the genetics department as he was stuck at 5’9” to go along with his mother’s five foot even as his dad stood six foot. Forever leaving him to feel small, to pale, under his dad’s shadow. Did he ever stand a chance?
The guy next to her with the unkempt former seventies porn stache was “Dave.” He’d met him twice when his mother came and visited him in Florida. To his credit the guy didn’t look annoyed. Kind of concerned kind of which made Matthew want to break his frozen look but he was well practiced. Having removed any note of sadness from his face through much…tribulation.
His mother’s look on her face betrayed a hint of worry as the bruises on his face lightly showed up close. Saying his name was his like a distant echo that belonged to someone else.
Dave cut in and pulled out his right headphone. “What the hell bud, they knock you hard enough to hurt hearing? Your mom’s asking how you are doing.”
Matthew pulled out the other bud and grunted an empty “sorry.”
“You still have bruises after two week? What did they do to you?” His mom’s voice was full of worry. Something he hadn’t heard in….too long. Too long to make him feel anything. To ever make him believe there was any sincerity to her words. To not think her voice and mannerisms were an act. An act by someone who…wasn’t really there.
“It’s only fair. I took a nose. Fractured a couple orbital bones. Left one with having to get his jaw wired shut. And one will never walk right again for what I did to his knee cap.” Matthew said it all with a bored and disinterested tone. Perhaps well rehearsed.
“My man, handing out ass kickings, not bothering to take names.” Dave was quick to be the typical man’s man about it. Matthew wasn’t quite done yet. Lifting up his shirt to expose the right side near his kidney. Revealing a nasty scar from a six inch blade. “Luckily they gave me this first so they could rule it all in self-defense. The fuck didn’t get it in more than inch before I ruined his knee cap and then I took the nose of one of the fucks holding me.” Now he chose to smile keeping the well practiced dead look in his eyes.
No retorts. No questions. Just horrified looks on their faces. As he liked. As he preferred. They could hate him. They could be disgusted by him. But by God they would fear him.
“Well the doc did a good job sewing you up.” Dave commented uncomfortably. “Dissolving sutures. Ain’t they grand.” He smiled again and let it abruptly fall off his face and started walking to the carousel for the baggage claim.
Waiting and making small talk with Dave as his mother stood in silence. He was not the little boy she abandoned. The little boy she left with an angry man. While never hitting him. Left him in constant fear till he turned twelve and just didn’t care anymore. Something snapped. Broke. And he didn’t care if he died. Didn’t care if he stole. Didn’t even care if he killed. He just knew not to get caught. Something left over from his grandfather’s wisdom which came to make more and more sense with each passing year of life since that thing inside him broke.
Finally his bag came around and Dave went to try first to grab it but Dave practically leapt ahead of him. “Is that your grandfather’s rucksack bag?” his mother asked in a perplexed voice.
“Figured it’s been around since Viet Nam. So it’d serve me better than any of the worthless stuff they called luggage.” Dave commented after Matthew’s words. “Well hell yeah I still got mine from Desert Storm. You know the first one.” Dave laughed and Matthew eyed him oddly. Be it in the south or whether it was Alaska, country boys are country boys he guessed.
The car ride to the two people’s house, as Matthew thought of them. Was uneventful and full of vistas he imagined metropolitan types wetting themselves over. At most they meant isolation to him. Furtherness from the world as there were no mountains in Florida. And what mountains he had last seen in another state had been when he was eight. Another life, to Matthew it felt like. A life alien to him.
As If It Was Kismet Ch 2
Dave and his mom’s place was some two story type tucked into a tree line far up an elevated point. It was by no means the highest point in the mountain but it certainly felt up there.
Rocks were where the driveway should have been Matthew thought. Grabbing his backpack and rucksack from Dave’s jeep was no hard thing for him. Matthew was in formidable shape for someone his age, maybe even five years older. He had gotten a mix of fairly big shoulders and arms along with the chest to go for it when compared to most kids his age. A side effect of working out at least twice a day. First thing in the morning, some time in the evening, and the school’s gym when had had a good semester in school before he had to leave Florida.
Dave tried to come up and help him but Matthew walked past him towards the house. His mom was not sure what to make of his demeanor. Matthew was not the sweet kind boy he had once been. But she had been gone from his life essentially for a long time.
Ushering him into the house she cracked some joke he did not hear. He was too busy looking about and seeing a mix of old outdated decorating mixed with the strange and odd flair of his mother. Color contrasting against drab and dated. Like brightly painting over an old home that was falling apart he thought.
“Your room is this way Mattie.” His mom brightly intoned.
Without expressing any interest he followed his mother. Still faced and nonplussed. Just going along with the current. Pushed and pulled with its roll like a piece of driftwood.
The room was simple. A single small bed. A set of rubber weights with a curl bar and barbells. “Your dad said you were into weight lifting so we got you a bunch of stuff. Dave says it looks like his department’s gym almost. The woman’s smile felt very alien to him.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ve got most of my stuff from home.” Matthew starting unpacking his rucksack and pulled out cables of repetitive and mixed colors. A single plastic barbell handle. The ruck sack could be filled with water bottles for added weight during pushups he figured. Remembering a Michael Keaton movie he watched with his dad post-Batman movies where he played a convicted killer using plastic bags filled with water for weights.
Matthew caught movement outside his lone fairly large window that could let him step out onto the roof of the house given its layout.
He saw a number of people running together through what he guessed was the backyard of the property, not that it had any fences to mark boundaries
They wore clothes that looked similar yet different from each other at the same time.”Oh those are the Johnston’s. Really nice bunch of people. Been on the mountain for a long time Dave tells me.”
Matthew looked at the group of people running and noticed the lack of resemblance. “They are related?” Matthew quizzically asked. Seeing a black and possibly a hispanic person amongst the bland looking white people.
“Oh well they are all adopted but for one or two of them…besides the parents of course. The family has a long tradition of taking in orphans they say. Real nice of them to do that don’t you think.”
Matthew looked at his mother and the hosier accent made no sense to him as he arched his left eye brow. Her and his dad were both from Florida. Born and raised. Sure her parents were from New York city but…
Matthew shook his lightly without turning to look at his mother as his vision was grabbed by one of the runners in particular. A girl of moderate height. Soft brunette. A plain beauty he figured with a slim build….and lack of remarkable breasts and rear to make any note of but….girls in general were his type at his age.
She was pretty enough. He couldn’t deny that but he found himself transfixed by her visage.
But the way she turned and looked at him, especially at that distance felt very disconcerting to him. Even if she was smiling like…she was a taste of a bright shiny day. Somehow.
Matthew’s mom noticed the exchange and smiled to herself with closed lips. “Oh that’s Vicky. She’s your age I think. Very sweet girl, who does the charity functions. You know bake sales, blood drives, car washes and the like. I think you should get to know her. Might be good for you.”
A truck horn sounded a couple of beeps in rather succession. “Oh that must be Mack, he said he might come by later this evening but he seems early.”
Matthew’s mother turned and left his room. Leaving Matthew to exchange a few looks with the alluring Vicky as she turned her head away from him to talk to the others in her group and look back at him.
Still Matthew’s left eyebrow was arched. In a way that reminded him of Spock from Star Trek that he and his grandpa used to watch on some streaming service or another.
As he heard ambient chatter elsewhere outside the house he figured to check it out as the alluring sight of Vicky would be around he figured. It was dull to stare at artwork. He was a boy who preferred jet skis and the like. Something he could ride and enjoy immensely. Even if at times it got him stabbed.
As If It Was Kismet Ch 3
Matthew sauntered out of the house and down the rockway that stood in for a driveway.
A few new people had come over from what he could first surmise of the situation. As he got closer it was obvious they were indigenous people. A couple of grown men…and a girl?
She was mousey. Maybe five foot. Hiding behind glasses and a big camo jacket that was far too big for her. It looked made for a grown man and the backwards trucker hat on her head kept her long black a beautiful mess of sorts.
She was cute in a way. A little androgynous but she had a cute energy to her. She reminded him of the more tomboyish Puerto Rican girls he had gotten into back in Florida. Given the deer corpses in the back of the truck….probably more dangerous to play with given the men in her family.
Small chatter passed between the adults when the girl noticed but turned away, trying to hide the tiny hint of a smile.
“Oh Mattie, this is Mack. He works with Dave at the sheriff’s department and John, he’s with fish and wildlife.” Matthew nodded at his mom’s words with some blankness as he looked at the deer the in the back of the pickup truck.
“Gale tells us you hunted with your dad some in Florida and Georgia.” Mack offered with a light hearted laugh camouflaged by his big simple and cheery but husky way he spoke.
Looking in the back of the truck he spoke. “We used lever action thirty-thirties and Mosin Nagants in seven-six-two-fifty-four-rimmed.” Mack and John whistled in an exaggerated fashion. Leaving Matthew to wonder if they were mocking him.
Mack spoke. “Well we just used thirty-odd-six in a custom gussied Garand.” That caught Matthew’s attention. “You have a Garand…” Matthew finally demonstrated interest in anything. “My dad has an SVT-40 and a Hakim 8mm but he always wanted a Garand but was too cheap to buy one.”
Gale, his mother, chimed in loudly. “Oh his Dad loved his guns but was such an odd duck about how he bought or why he bought them. Never made sense to me how he wasn’t a collector but he didn’t get the latest and greatest.” Gale laughed uncomfortably. At least it seemed that way to Matthew.
Matthew pointed to the girl with an underhanded pointing hand. “And who is this? A cute little mute mouse or does she have a name?” Dave and the other men laughed.
Mack again spoke. “Well you people call her Rebecca, she’s my adopted daughter.” Matthew was taken aback by what he heard. “You people?”
Rebecca kindly spoke with a soft but almost melodic voice as she struggled to maintain eye contact. “White people or rather not members of our tribe. It’s just easier to appease the colonizer kind of thing. Borrowed from when the Jesuit missionaries chased us up here.”
Mack stepped in. “It’s just easier to have white people names than have them try to say our tribal names. And we don’t want them shortening or Anglicising our names kind of thing.” Rebecca stepped back into the conversation cutting off her adopted father. “It’s an insult to our history basically.”
Matthew cocked his head sideways raising his eyebrows shortly before letting them drop. “Well as soon as I’m eighteen I’m out of here and back to Florida so I’m a sort of involuntary colonizer of sorts. So I won’t be taking any of your land from you. The Seminoles on the other hand are still shit out of luck.”
Rebecca’s smile caused Matthew to reflexively smile. Mack made the moment more awkward. “See Becca, I told you someone off the reservation would like you some. You just have to be creative.” Mack laughed in a chiding manner…Matthew presumed. He sensed that he was the butt of some kind of cultural joke. Like marrying a white guy was some sort of insult or mark of shame. That kind of thing.
Rebecca turning away from him was not something he had been expecting. Her then getting in the truck in a huff left the group in a silence for a moment.
Dave spoke to break the awkward silence. “Well just bring the truck to work on Monday and leave it for me to grab up.” Mack acknowledged Dave and they started to get off as Rebecca looked at Matthew for another instance. Matthew couldn’t look away for some reason as the two seemed to lock eyes for an instance.
Till Vicky and family seemed to come jogging down the road. While Matthew’s eyes diverted from Rebecca’s. Hers did not till she realized he was looking elsewhere. And her vision found Vicky and what had been a hint of smile on her face turned glum and disappointed.
Matthew did not look away from the vision of Vicky but instead of a starry eyed fool looking longingly. It was a baffled look. Well baffled for him, with his eyes drawn narrow and night with a focus.
There was something about her…he couldn’t quite put a name too. The way she appeared to him. One second brunette. The next second blonde or blonde like. As if the color appeared in her air and disappeared in fractions of seconds. Much the same way her body almost seemed to…shift…very subtly…smoothly. A nicer bum. Larger breasts. And then back to a simple and plain form. Feminine no doubt. Attractive. But not so…remarkable.
As If It Was Kismet Ch 4
The next two days passed without incident. Nothing of any real substance or challenge to note.
Matthew got settled somewhat and started working out almost immediately. Exploring around the woods but Dave told him not to go far. Especially without a hunting rifle. Dave had left a simple semi-auto Winchester out for him. His bear gun as Dave referred to it with its four round magazine. But Matt figured till he got some practice with the rifle to leave it alone. He made a hiking stick like his grandpa taught him and treated it over a low fire. He would take some electrical tape for the end his hand would grip around. Plenty enough to ward off anything smaller than a bear he figured.
The ride to school was a pain in the neck but simple enough. Dave would let him use a clunker pickup truck he had laying around. It wasn’t pretty but it would get him to and from. Even if it was from the eighties and still backfired on occasion. But for now Dave and his mom took him on their way to the sheriff’s department.
It wasn’t much of a school. It wanted to be modern but its fifties original construction was very obvious. It serviced the pipeline families and familys’ of fisherman who worked the seasons in between their time at the pipeline.
Matt was to report to the principal for some reason Dave and his mom wouldn’t share. Which annoyed him but he figured it was to read him the law of land. Small towns with their big views of the outside world and like.
Dressed in jeans, a grey sweatshirt under a light jacket with steel toed boots set him more apart then he expected. His buzzed head didn’t help matters. Already he was feeling like a stranger in a strange land but he was quite strange after all. And he liked it that way. Normal people were so pathetically disappointing to him.
A secretary or assistant or some such led him to the principal’s office. Where it reeked of real wood that was old and fabric and upholstery that needed to be updated for the last twenty years, Matt figured.
“This is Matthew Berkshire, Principal Andrews.” The man was turned with his back to the door and he was quick to wave her off as he turned her around.
He was an older man. Fat and large. Tall with a body built like he had once been fit and a demeanour of annoyed and irate already as he fixed Matt with a scowl and look of disgust. Another worthless government whore. Matt thought to himself. His father and his grandfather had bestowed unto him a natural disrespect for government workers and the figures that wore unjustified authority as a shield but pretended the weight of the state was not at their back ready to crush all who resisted. Little figures of valor pretending to be mighty and alone but acting with the tyranny of the state and all the backing.
“Mr. Berkshire, please sit down.” His tone wasn’t unusually hostile, just gruff. As if he had better things to do.
Matt complied and took a seat in the chair while maintaining a friendly facade. Not everyone was an enemy. And not everyone needed to be an enemy. Even if anybody could be any enemy. There was no reason to make enemies you didn’t have to. Another of his grandfather’s bastardised wisdoms.
“Well I looked over you file and you have quite the history Mr. Berkshire.” Matt resisted qiuping back a joke. Instead he waited for Principal Andrews to continue as he remained nonplussed and looking as if he felt no need to respond. A simple head tilt with dead eyes looking back at the principle as if he was not even there would suffice.
Matt’s reaction or lack of a reaction rather made Principal Andrews only narrow his eyes with examination. He was not used to a kid not responding to him. Especially with his gruff and hard act going on.
“Well by all accounts you moved here after some problems at your last school. A fight broke out and you did some real harm to your fellow students it appears.” Of course, he would take the side of the perpetrators. School administrators always did. Especially when they weren’t white. Just a fact of the times. Cowardice and pathetic mediocrity was the way they leaned, like good government workers sucking the dick of Big Daddy government. Worthless whores.
Matt chose to reply. “Oh you mean the criminals that stabbed me. Got arrested at the hospital and then pled to felonies. Yeah Florida, with the American counties are good like that.” Principal Andrews went real still. No shame. No fear. No penitence. He didn’t like that.
“Well be it as it may Mr. Berkshire we don’t tolerate that kind of behaviour here…” Matt cut him off responding with a deadpan tone. “You mean self-defense meant to save one’s own life while the cowardly and pathetic school workers look on with zero interest but to keep their money rolling in and will allow known gang members with records of violent acts and crimes that should have them expelled many times over, where in certain Democrat counties such cowardice and idiocy empowered a couple school shooters?”
Principal Andrews looked at the Matt with a note of disgust. “Look here Mr. Berkshire, your beliefs matter not one bit here. This isn’t Florida. We don’t like our way of life being disrupted by outside agitators who have problems with authority.”
Matt did his best not to roll his eyes and let the older fat man drone own as he dead-stared him. Lifeless and without emotion.
The man came to a finish and Matt spoke up without having listened to him or paid him any attention. “Great now that’s taken care of. Can I please get to class and finish my sentence of two years at your wonderful school?”
Principal Andrews huffed and snorted before calling in Vicky. Vicky stood in the corner after entering with a quiet and seamless presence. Matt felt disturbed and tried not betray his feelings as the young Vicky was perceived and not perceived to be moving.
Principal Andrews made the introductions and Matt nodded back. She was to be his chaperone for the day. They had the same classes and she was to show him the ropes so to speak. The ins and outs of the school. The locations of their classes.
He recognized her. It was hard not to. The way her appearance seemed to shift fluidly almost. The petite and skinny brunette ever so lightly had a big bust and blonde hair with curves added when she seemed to shift before his eyes. Like watching a film but each frame had a different person.
Matt didn’t say anything about it. Even if he did he would only be acknowledging his crazed state, if he had one. If.
Unlike an obedient puppy dog he got up in a slow and awkward fashion and followed behind her as his oddly disproportionate frame allowed. Causing her a note of concern for some reason. As if she was seeing something she shouldn’t have been….Or he was just weird. And Matt could admit to himself he was just weird. Part of his charm, he would jest about it at times. Not that he had many people to jest to now.
As If It Were Kismet Ch. 5
Following Vicky into the hall off to their first class was simple. She exchanged small talk and he slightly smiled as if to obviously suggest he was just being polite.
Inside his head, Matt was trying to figure out if he was having a psychotic break. The way Vicky looked kept changing and he looked at the other people around him and they stayed the same.
He was searching his mind as they were walking. And thus he wasn’t paying attention to where he was looking and so fell to his face forward over his feet seemingly out of nowhere.
A series of laughs erupted as it sunk in that he was obviously tripped. Like in prison this was a challenge to his superiority. If he let this pass he would be mocked and sneered at by this same group of boys. He wouldn’t walk to them like he was going to do nothing like a little bitch.
In a rage he turned and punched the stomach of the first face he saw. Some typical blonde haired wannabe jock. He knew from experience not to aim for the ribs. Instead he needed to aim for where he thought the belly button was.
Yells and screams blindly echoed around him as his after the punch he followed up his elbow of the opposite arm slamming into the face of the jock. Harder than a fist, the elbow struck the jock’s jaw and seemingly dropped him against a locker. Just in time to catch an errant and soft punch to the nose that sure enough hurt but did little to slow him down as his dad had taught him to fight through the pain. Blood and scars happened. They were a natural consequence of life to a man.
Taking the punch and falling further into his red state Matt headbutted the punch thrower before another guy arm bared his throat from behind. Which he managed to get his grip on the arm over a letterman jacked and jerk the unprepared boy to the side with him still latched on.
A few feet away from the lockers Matt knew his only chance was to jump and push off the lockers and knock the boy to the ground and so he did. He heard a thunk of the boy’s skull bouncing off the ground and he turned to pull out of the grapple.
The beatings he had taken from his father, the grapples, being choked unconscious. Had prepared him for fighting little bitches who didn’t know what a fight was. It wasn’t gay porn with rabbit punch fists flying.
Blood was running down his face and the pain started to hit him as the threats had been eliminated. Only then did he remember to breathe. Taking breathes as Vicky came up to him with tissues and took a hold of his nose.
“Owww owww owww what the fuck my nose could be broken.” He said to Vicky as she pulled his head up and back.
“It’s ok Carl. It’s done.” Matt tried to look to see who Vicky was talking to. It was a boy taller than his 5’9” by more than a small margin. The boy eyed him bored and annoyed before speaking. “What happened here?” An unoriginal line but one Matt couldn’t be a smart aleck about. “Well you see there was an outbreak of tripping and we all tripped over my dick. It happens.” Matt was about to laugh when Vicky seemed to pull up while still gripping his nose causing Matt no small amount of pain which he audibly evidenced.
Vicky spoke in a tone he wasn’t expecting. As if she was accustomed to issuing orders. “Keep Iris away from the hall till we sanitize the site. We have blood from at least three people contaminating the site. And have Jake bring me a spare jacket and shirt for this moron.”
Carl seemed to acknowledge her orders and seemed to blink away. Maybe the punch hit harder than he expected. He had no time to wonder as Vick took her hand away from his and pushed him against the lockers. With ease he had not been expecting from her form and stature.
Before he could respond Vicky licked his blood covered chin and then his lips and spoke to him. “Focus on me you little blood bag.” Her tone had an annoyed yet feminine sneer.
“Look into my eyes. Look at me. You belong to me. You are just another food source in a collection of food sources.” Her eyes were a beautiful hazel Matt thought. Almost green. Pretty like jewels in some old treasure collections. The eyes he could get lost in before kissing her. Finally Vicky was just a slight and petite brunette and he thought she was beautiful.
She would make a hell of a girlfriend. Some cute thing he could see laying on the beach in Florida on their sides laughing and smiling before trading light kisses while hands wandered innocently. Before his mind could drift further he felt her lips on his. It took him a second to mentally grasp the kiss but his arms were around her back as her hands were at his sides. His eyes reflexively closed as he saw hers close.
It was ineffable to Matt. Beyond words, what was happening. The kiss, the moments beforehand. The way his brain tickled with electricity and gentle warmth. He had never had a kiss like this and he had traded more than a few kisses with at least a few girls.
The kiss was like a warm bath with his consciousness slipping beneath the surface. Their lips only parted to try new angles and approaches as Matt struggled to take in breath. It was a moment he could have stayed trapped in for….he didn’t know. But a curt throat clearing by another girl pulled them out of the moment.
The girl was taller than Vicky. Blonde. With slight curves. Vicky addressed her bewildered and gobsmacked, and perhaps a bit embarrassed. “Tina?”

Hi askdocs
I've (36M) been dealing with high blood pressure (150/85+) this year and have made a ton of progress through exercise, diet, and quitting drinking/smoking. Lately, I've switched to having low (below 80/60) blood pressure. It's been low enough that I've almost blacked out from standing up and during weightlifting.
I talked to my doctor already and he's having me lower my Losartan dosage from 100mg daily to 50mg and stopping my hydrochlorothiazide 12.5mg entirely to start, with instructions to continue lowering the dosage until my systolic is back around 120. We currently think I'll be able to stop the medication entirely.
I've also added protein shakes (muscle milk) to my diet to ensure that I'm not malnourished, since my other medications (listed below) suppress my diet significantly.
My question is: at what point should I go back to weightlifting? It's been 3 days on the lower dose and I'm measuring 100/70 before medication and between 90/60 and 100/70 after medication. I'm still getting dizzy when standing up, though not as bad. I was planning on waiting until either I was done adjusting my dosage, or above 110 systolic, but that may be me making excuses for myself.
Medications:

• Venlafaxine 75mg
• Atomoxetine 40mg
• bupropion 150mg
• Aripiprazole 10mg (1/2 a 20mg tab)
• Losartan 50mg
• Gabapentin 300mg (as needed at bedtime for nerve pain)
• Atorvastatin Calcium 20mg
• Trazodone (temporary sleep aid)
• Nicotine gum 2mg/3 hours (as needed for cravings)
• Vitamin D3 5000 IU
• Ibuprofen and acetaminophen as needed for pain

Lifestyle:
Diet is almond milk yogurt w/ granola, and a protein shake for breakfast, raw vegetables for lunch, coldcut sandwich for dinner, fresh fruit, nuts and dried fruit for snacks, 2-3L of water and unsweetened tea for fluids (I've been over hydrated per lab results). 30-60 minutes of exercise on weekdays.
Background:
My weight is currently 215lbs (97.5kg) at 5'11 (180cm). I've been a 1/2 pack/day smoker for 16 years and an alcoholic for 14 years. No indication of liver or kidney damage, and my chest x-ray was clean. I'm currently 3-months sober and have quit smoking, but I'm still using nicotine gum and pouches. I have significant back, ankle/foot, and joint pain from military service and am diagnosed with GAD, MDD, and ADHD (hence the laundry list of medications). My cholesterol was above 300 as of 4 months ago, but is down to 107 as of a week ago. Sleep is a disturbed 5 hours/night.
I've been back in the gym for 3 months, lifting and walking. Outside of exercise, I'm pretty sedentary.

Gullible-Soft-8628:
Dec 18, 2022

Lower back pain related to PVPS? Same side as my bad ball with epididymis inflamed with fluid .. every so often I get lower back and abdomen pain. Is it related or do I just suck?

I had same thing, very related. I recommend NO Vasectomy, and get a reversal ASAP. I am 3+ months post reversal, 95% relief from pain, 100% relief from brain fog and low drive issues.
https://www.reddit.com/postvasectomypain/comments/yvgw6x/lower_back_pain_related_to_pvps/j0sb6f1/
I recommend a reversal ASAP. Dr Hickman recommended minimum of 6 month wait. Heavy, congested feeling, orgasms were pitiful, brain fog, low back pain. Had a reversal September, as of Dec 18, 95% pain relief and feel continuing improvement. Brain fog gone, orgasms back to normal, drive is good again. I recommend Dr Hickman from New Braunfels TX. Professional and economical, $3200 versus the 8 to 10k that most of the others will charge
https://www.reddit.com/postvasectomypain/comments/znmezh/how_long_would_you_wait_post_vasectomy_to/j0sc7wz/
Another testimony... I suffered 6 months until i got the reversal. I am 3+ months post-reversal. Thank God I am Almost 100% pain-free, much better frame of mind, back to jogging, cycling, and hiking with my family. I know this isn't the cure for everyone, but it would definitely be my first choice.
Be prepared for roller-coaster healing process though, the first 2 months post reversal were rough, up and down, but its leveled out big time.
Don't give up hope, there's better days ahead
https://www.reddit.com/postvasectomypain/comments/zfad7z/deleted_by_usej0sdbb1/
Highly recommend a reversal asap if you're having pvps, its the best chance to get back to original. Vasectomy is a disaster, don't do it, its not worth the risk
https://www.reddit.com/queensland/comments/zlfdg9/metrocentre_vasectomy_redoreversal_for_pvps/j0ws43
Back to jogging, lifting, playing with my children, etc.
https://www.reddit.com/queensland/comments/zlfdg9/metrocentre_vasectomy_redoreversal_for_pvps/j0wsg91/
I second the recommendation to NOT perform surgery on genitals... too many nerve endings down there
https://www.reddit.com/postvasectomypain/comments/vccbzq/pvps_for_years_now_and_still_pain_post_reversal/j0wu2q6/
Maybe some can handle the pvps better than I could, it was devastating. Not many people write back in on blogs like this after-the-fact, you just happy to get beyond. Life can get back to normal. Its condoms and all that again, but 1000 x rather this than live with depression, pain, and a 10lb weight between my legs. A reversal was a lot of ups and downs the first 2 months for me, but thank God I'm living pain free and feeling terrific at 3 months post... If you need to wait a while, hang in there, better days ahead!
https://www.reddit.com/postvasectomypain/comments/znmezh/how_long_would_you_wait_post_vasectomy_to/j11lxud/
I can post a positive. Had pvps kick in at 2 months. I hung on doing exercises, antibiotics, everything 'conservative' in the books with no success. Had a reversal at 6 months, September 2022, am feeling 100% better. I know its not 100% for everyone, but its the best bet, get things back to as 'original' as possible. Lots of ups and downs the first 2 to 3 months post reversal, but never as bad as the pvps
https://www.reddit.com/postvasectomypain/comments/zep1fx/did_a_reversal_make_your_pain_worse/j11n86s/
Real results are closer 1 in 20 will suffer pvps. I had a reversal 6 months later... 6 months of sheer misery. If you are the 1, it will ruin your life. Look up the pvps blogs on reddit, PVPS is VERY UNDERRATED. But then again 19 out of 20 get away with it and are super happy. your choice, but most vasectomy doctors won't tell you the real risks
https://www.reddit.com/Vasectomy/comments/zkmcxu/have_consult_scheduled_this_week_but_pvps_odds_of/j11p6i3/
Dr Marks has good referrals. Dr Hickman in New Braunfels Texas did my reversal, very happy with his work. 3+ months post reversal and pretty much back to normal, thank God.
Dont figure on pvps going away on its own, never heard of it getting better by itself. But maybe there are some who don't write about it
https://www.reddit.com/postvasectomypain/comments/yonicu/does_anyone_have_pvps_like_this/j11q2qe/
Pvps pain was bottom of testicles radiating up in to abdomen. Days of laying in bed, couldn't walk at times, heavy, congested feeling, lots of brain fog and depression.
Reversal pain was Swelling, bruising, like the inside of the whole scrotum was sore when i moved. That pain took a month to leave. Then i had the heavy congested feelings from time to time, but less each time and further apart. Almost like the congested epididymus took time to empty out?? I don't know. I'm still tender at 3.5 months, had 3 long days on the road this past week and today i had to take ibuprofen to keep going. But this is the first pain in weeks, the trend is definitly going right at this point... still praying for 100% healing but much better than pre-reversal. But i'm just one story... wish you the best
https://www.reddit.com/postvasectomypain/comments/zep1fx/did_a_reversal_make_your_pain_worse/j1f5xxa/
Metadata:
ID: 3868d1b7
Name: Gullible-Soft-8628
Vasectomy Date: 2022-03
Source: reddit
Posted: 2022-12-18
Location: USA
Storycodes: LTP,SGR,LL,OTR,DC,PYH
Reversal Date: 2022-09
Months: 8
Resolved: Yes

Soo I had unprotected oral with a escort in Japan. I'm now on day 3, my testicles aches once in a while and my urethra also feels sensitive. I also feel somewhat bloated/gassy around my lower stomach area. But I have no pain or discharge yet thankfully. Is this a early sign that it might be gonorrhea? I'm gonna wait till days 10-14 before testing, but I'm definitely very paranoid right now.

Sudden weird feeling between the lower and upper arm.
Been doing weights for about 6 months now and it's going great, but last time after increasing weights with 5 kilo and doing a workout that uses some muscles like biceps i suddenly felt something at the part where the upper and lower arm 'connects'. it's at the elbow part but at the front of it so below the bicep. I think it happened during the workout where you sit and you pull this bar down with both arms, working the biceps back and side.
i lost about 50% of my power at that side of my arm and also feel a dull pain (not bad) when i do bicep workout with that side, so i stopped right away as i know that this can't be good.
But it has been 1.5 weeks now and i still have that same feeling, whenever i have to use my left arm for something like carrying a grocery bag i feel that same dull very light pain and i also notice i still lost about 50% of my power. Also feel the tip of my fingers tingeling randomly.
what is going on here? until i feel this i refuse to workout the biceps so it can heal, but it would be nice to know what is wrong.
Here you can see which part of my arm i mean
https://ibb.co/9rsSRBP

Hi all.. apologies if this is in the wrong page. I have recently had a battery off blood tests due to a number of symptoms. I have fatigue; tiredness back pain.upper and lower.actual general body pain which I put down to growing older!! particularly upper bilateral arm pain which I would have put down to muscle aches.. but they have lasted weeks Since january I have been getting random rashes that start with a burning itching sensation and then spread to ..neck face arms etc..sometimes raised and bumpy sometimes not.. usually happens when exposed to cold air. they do go away and antihistamines help. I do have an odd moving intermittent sharp pain on my left clavicle or behind it..I cannot pinpoint where it comes from. it reminds me off referred pain I had in my right shoulder when I had a benign liver cyst removed last October. I do lose circulation in my arms and legs frequently and have to move them to get them going again! ie so my hands and feet can go numb..and when I shake it out I get pins needles etc and then all is OK.. I have had this a long time but last few months very frequently sometimes a crawly feeling in lower legs and hands and sometimes face..head.. not unbearable more odd and happens intermittently no night sweats.. or permanent rash. my bloods are out of normal ranges in the following areas hair loss esp last 2 years no thyroid issues do have sleep apnea ( on cpap) hbp high cholesterol esr at 38 ( lab values should be under 15) c reactive protein 10 ( should be less then 5 low folate alk phosphatase is 135 and has been rising in each blood test.
mchv was just below baseline in my last bloods.. but fluctuates
immunoglobulin profile
IgG 12.78 g/L (5.52-16.31) IgA 3.63 g/L (0.65-4.21) IgM 0.59 g/L (0.33-2.93)
my gp was concerned about the immunoglobulin despite numbers being within levels and he ordered Serum Protein Electrophoresis test
That all seemed to be within the parameters however there was a comment on the report, included below.
Albumin (Per) 57.5 % (54.1-64.8) Albumin 44.9 g/L (38.0-51.0) Alpha 1 Fraction (Per) 3.9 % (3.1-5.2) Alpha 1 Fraction 3.0 g/L (2.3-3.9) Alpha 2 Fraction (Per) 10.0 % (7.3-11.9) Alpha 2 Fraction 7.8 g/L (5.3-9.0) Gamma Fraction (Per) 14.9 % (10.9-20.0) Gamma Fraction 11.6 g/L (7.7-15.5)
Comment See comment... Faint monoclonal IgA Kappa in the beta-gamma region, approx. 1 g/L. Quantification of free kappa and lambda light chains is recommended in the monitoring of monoclonal paraproteins. Please submit a fresh 2 mL sample of serum if you require this test to be performed.
09/05/2024 Specimen: Serum SPE Total Protein 78 g/L (64-83) Beta 1 Fraction (Per) 6.9 % (5.1-7.8) Beta 1 Fraction 5.4 g/L (3.6-5.7) Beta 2 Fraction (Per) 6.8 % (3.6-7.7) Beta 2 Fraction 5.3 g/L (2.6-5.9)
I think he ordered a free light chains serum test..but details not on report only the below comment
Free light chains-serum Results received from referral laboratory. Report forwarded to requesting location.
I have requested to speak to my GP but that can take a few days. I was a bit alarmed when I saw the faint monoclonal comment so wondering if anyone here might know what I could be looking at.. if this is the incorrect forum please let me know
thank you