Chest ache symptoms

Hi everyone,
I keep trying and failing and I’m so disappointed in myself 😭
I have the vaping chest pains, anxiety, lethargy and most recently struggling mentally with depressive episodes.
Are these all symptoms of vaping? Any one improved the above through quitting so far?

Not sure what is going on with me. Ever since yesterday (Monday) evening, I have felt tightness in my chest when I breathe deeply. It wasn’t super noticeable until this morning. It did wake me up once in the night. Since this morning, I feel like I can’t breathe deeply and my lungs ache in my upper chest when I do , I am a bit short of breath, I have aches in my head, neck, and shoulders, slight cough when it feels like my breath is taken away, and I now have a fever (peaked at 102). I went to my doctor and had a negative COVID test, negative flu test, negative xray for pneumonia, and the ct scan showed no pneumonia or blood clot. My doctor is saying she suspects a viral infection but the chest tightness/lunch ache seems like a weird symptom of a virus.
Back story is I had my surgery may 1st and recovery went well. I used a brand new cool mist humidifier every night and most days. At night I will note that the humidifier would fog out my whole room to the point where it was visible. I was not warned by my ENT about pneumonia risk. I rested/laid down elevated majority of my recovery. I did get up periodically but did not know I should make a point of it.
Any advice???

It might be challenging to parent an asthmatic child, but you can support your child in leading an active and healthy life if you have the correct information and strategy. Chronic asthma results in inflammation and constriction of the airways, which can cause wheezing, coughing, tightness in the chest, and dyspnea. Managing your child's illness requires knowing what triggers them specifically, including activity, allergens like pollen and pet hair, or respiratory infections. Part of a successful treatment strategy is being aware of your child's symptoms and possible triggers.
Medications and lifestyle changes are needed for the effective management of asthma. Rescue inhalers are vital for offering rapid relief during asthma episodes, while controller drugs, such as inhaled corticosteroids, are used regularly to lower inflammation and avoid asthma symptoms. Always make sure your kids take their inhalers appropriately. Maintaining a clean living space and promoting a smoke-free household can also greatly lower exposure to asthma triggers. Making an asthma action plan with your doctor will also help you and your child be prepared for emergencies and worsening symptoms. In Australia, parents typically participate in the creation of an asthma action plan. There is also a first aid course for asthma and anaphylaxis that is advantageous and necessary in the community, at work, and home.
If your child has asthma, support and information are essential to their success. By empowering your kid to actively participate in their asthma treatment and educating them about their disease, you can make your child feel less anxious and more capable of managing their asthma symptoms. You can help your child manage their asthma efficiently and ensure healthy childhood by creating a supportive and knowledgeable environment. To learn more, you can check out this blog link:
https://cprfirstaid.com.au/living-with-childhood-asthma-a-parents-guide/

I had my first ever syncope episode a couple of months ago (in the middle of a shop on my break, embarrassingly!) and it was such a strange experience. I had the symptoms a lot of people talk about like blurry vision, stumbling and ears ringing etc before fainting , apparently with seizure like effects. Apparently I was confused and talking nonsense for a few minutes before I properly ‘woke up’ and realised I was bruised up and sat on the floor with ambulance staff trying to speak to me.
It was a relief to find out it wasn’t anything serious (dehydration related I think), but was such a weird experience and I had full body aches for a few days after.
At 26 y/o this is the first time this has happened to me, which is surprising because I’ve never had this happen, even while sick or hungover, and I felt normal up until it happened. No known health issues either that would relate to this.
Was anyone else’s experience similar?

Hi there, Ulises here.
I'm starting my "official" carnivore journey today for a month. "Unofficially," I started 4 weeks ago with a "Ketovore" diet.
How I landed here:
I was almost fainting last month, almost like those movie scenes where one of the characters is about to pass out, and everything is shaking around him. You try to reach out your hands to break your fall, but you can't because your brain isn't sending the signals, or things get shaky around you, and you are about to pass out.
I have almost always tried to avoid any kind of fat because my stomach and my heart react to it and make me feel worse. However, I had no choice at this point, so I did a "do or die." I started adding different fats (nuts, avocado, salmon, anchovies, fatty meat) and also changed my diet. The symptoms improved and eventually went away.
But I still had all my other health issues. I had already heard of carnivore a couple of times before; it just seemed crazy, until I found this guy "Kerry (HomeSteadHow)." Some of the problems he had were quite similar to mine (throat closing, walking like a zombie—I know what he is talking about with this one—obesity; in my case, it's the exact opposite: underweight, very skinny, and almost no muscle no matter what I do). Only "fat ladies" will ask me what is "my secret." I've had at least three of them asking that this year so far.
Goals:
I have many health issues, but there are three I believe to be the main problems:

• Neuropathy (extremities, mainly in my legs)
• Globus (lump in my throat)
• Gastritis

In that order.
I'm following this diet as an elimination diet, so I will reintroduce food that is not causing problems as I go.
Next month, I will transition into Ketovore and then try to move to Keto. It's still to be seen.
We have to keep testing and tracking, and then make decisions. (Although some people recommend staying on this diet for at least 3 months, but we'll see.)
Reflections and Lessons so far:

• Cheese has lactose in it, and usually, symptoms get worse when this happens. (Dairy is a tricky one on this diet.)
• The other problem with cheese is that it is quite delicious and easy to eat, and those two are a lethal combo for anyone, thus we overeat it.
• People put too many different foods in daily, and it is very hard to know which one(s) is causing your health problems. Ten different foods at breakfast, ten different foods up to lunch, and five different foods up to dinner. Then, after this masochism, people have the audacity to point out with their fingers and say that "fish" or that "avocado" is what caused the problems. It is very hard to pinpoint which food causes the problems if you consume 25 different foods in a day.
• The other problem with many different foods daily when you are sick, especially very ill, is that you are giving too much work to your body. Your body is in full motion trying to deal with all the food you are sending. Plus, some foods don't mix well or are harder to digest in combination (acidic + dairy) (carbs + fat) (sugar + "anything") or other combos that your body may struggle with.

Results so far:
Positive:

• Bloating (or beer belly) is gone, completely gone! I'm surprised at how fast it was. I wonder if it is because I keep eating meat or because I took the veggies out. Testing and tracking is the way to find out.
• Neuropathy, one of my priorities, has improved, especially on days when I eat red meat in high doses. It is still there, though, but some improvements were made.
• Satiety and not eating trash food (processed food). I have stopped eating cookies and similar foods for over a month now, which is one of the main things this diet has helped me with. (People blame "force of will" as the main cause almost all the time for this problem.)

Negative:

• Sleep (around 6 hours). As I mentioned before, I have struggled whenever I added fat to my meals. For those three weeks, I was occasionally eating fruits and some veggies, and I believe some nuts. That is why this time I want to stay out of those as much as I can.
• Energy. I still have to wait for the energy benefits. It is kind of neutral so far. Since I have not been sleeping as much, I think that may be the reason for neutral or low energy.
• Heart issues. I have avoided fat for almost a decade, fat of any kind, but I have started adding butter and more fatty meat. I get some pressure on my chest, tiredness, and some difficulty when breathing, which is what has happened all the time when I added any kind of fat. But I never took carbs or sugar out. That was the difference, so that is what I want to do now: take them fully out for some time and see what happens.

Disclaimer:
I will still eat some seaweed from time to time for my thyroid as well as ginger, which is also helping. As I mentioned, I'm doing it more as an elimination diet. If I add another food, I will update as well, I will be testing and tracking as I go.
I welcome any feedback, words of encouragement, comments, likes, dislikes, criticism, etc.
Thank you!

(Buckle in cos this one is a bit long lol)
Hey all,
Recently been lurking here and thought I'd make a post(although not 100% sure what I'm looking to gain🤷🏻‍♀️). In February 2023 I had a case of Optic Neuritis, which lasted around 2 weeks, and after alot of trips to opthalmologists etc, they eventually sent me for an MRI in March 23. I only got the results back from a neurologist in March this year(NHS wait times in the UK are awful at the moment*) and he told me he is "99% sure" it's MS, as there were multiple new and old lesions on my brain. If I'm honest I wasn't listening well for the rest of the appointment as I wasn't expecting that, and didn't know anything about MS so all the alarm bells started going in my head! (Can we talk about how you tell people and they give you the look of "oh you're dying" because that's the look my mum gave me when I told her😭)
So far I've had a second MRI, a chest X-Ray and just had my LP yesterday. I've tried my best to not Google too much about MS as I'm afraid if I see a list of symptoms I will start feeling them as a sort of placebo-effect. The one thing I have noticed though that I have had for a couple years is numbness in my limbs. Mostly my left leg, feels very pins and needles-y but only lasts a couple of weeks at a time. I previously thought it was just a trapped nerve etc but now I'm thinking it's probably an MS thing. I am awaiting my LP results before I get an official diagnosis.
I think it would be really beneficial to talk to someone of similar age to me about their experience, but I've seen the age range here covers just about anyone! It's been really great to read some of your experiences.
The only other thing I wanted to mention is private health insurance, as I'm due to start a new job really soon and they give free private health insurance to their employees, and I'm wondering whether to keep quiet about my possible diagnosis in hopes that they will insure me and I'll get seen alot quicker than I will from the NHS... I'm not sure if it's morally right😬
Anyways, I've rambled on! This seems like a really friendly community, and although it's one I didn't necessarily want to ever join(I'm sure none of us did!), It's one that it looks like I'm going to be apart of pretty soon. Thanks for entertaining my blabbering.
*I feel like I'm allowed to complain about wait times, as I work in the NHS booking patients for surgery, and I get complained at all day about it, and can't even be annoyed, because they're right! (thanks Rishi)

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

24, female
Symptoms: body aches, mainly leg pain, most severe in the hips. Locking sensation in hips. Fatigue. Sun sensitivity. Weakness. Brain fog. Heart palpitations. Chest pain. Swollen hands and ankles. Numbness and tingling in hands and feet, very cold. Muscle spasms. A couple weeks ago, my hips hurt so bad that I almost cried just from being lightly touched
Diagnosed with lyme disease when I was little, but now the doctor says my blood tests indicate that I've never had lyme disease. When I was diagnosed with lyme disease, i was about 9 years old and I was in so much pain that I couldn't walk. It was the worst pain in my life. Growing up I always complained of pain, mainly in my legs and back but my family said it was growing pains. I've also always needed 10-12 hours of sleep and even then I'm still exhausted.
ANA 1:40 titer, A-27 pattern
Mutate Citrullinated Vimentin: 75 u/mL
CCP antibody: <16 units
CRP: <3 mg/L
RA latex turbid: <14 IU/mL
Sed rate: 12 mm/hr
They also tested me for a lot of lupus specific antibodies and all those came up negative. My mom has fibromyalgia, my sister has type 1 diabetes and hashimotos. My cousin and my great-great grandma both have/had rheumatoid arthritis.
I have had MRI w/o contrast and Xrays done about 2 years ago and nothing bad showed up.
I have been having problems for a long time. Any opinions or advice appreciated

Female diagnosed with GHSV2 about 6 weeks ago. First outbreak was mostly horrible because I had 5-day fever, but I didn’t have any visible sores so it was mistaken for dengue as I just returned from the tropics. Was uncomfortable in the vulva so had a routine STI test that same week (no herpes test) and was sent away with thrush medication.
A week later I returned to the clinic as I was still sore but couldn’t see anything amiss. Nurse noticed an ulcer (entrance to the vagina where I couldn’t see it), swabbed and sent me away with acyclovir. Result later confirmed GHSV2.
Now I think I’m having another outbreak; I had prodrome (ache/heaviness in vulval area) for a couple of hours a few days ago and am uncomfortable in the vulva area now (feels like a papercut), but even with a mirror, everything looks ok down there.
My questions are, how long do prodrome symptoms usually last and how do you know you’re having an outbreak if everything looks ok? Also, is there any point in taking antivirals at this stage or should I just ride it out?

Hello ladies and gentleman, this is going to be a long post. I need to get this off my chest and I prefer using a throwaway (I hope the mods approve this)
Jo kahani mein bayan kerne jaa raha hun uss se shayad sab relate na ker sakein lekin apko aek naya perspective zaroor mile ga ke ese log bhi hote hain jo ese bhi sochte hain.
For the past 2 years, I lived a very weird life, I use the word weird because the more I think about it the more it doesnt make sense. Basically, I was living in the delusion that I had found happiness. Being a very emotionally stunted person meant I was taking everything at face value, never was too happy never was too sad, always expected a fluctuation in the the straight line that is life and treated every event as such. So when all of this started, I was stupid enough to let my guard down. Bohot bachaa ke rakha tha apne aap ko, aek dafa ki thi ye ghalti pehle aur socha tha ke ab phirse nahi kerni, lekin;

‎بہک کر باغِ جنت سے چلا آیا تھا دنیا میں، سنا ہے بعد مہشر پھر اُسی جنت میں جانا ہے، چلا تو جاؤں جنت میں مگر یہ سوچ کر چُپ ہوں، میں آدمذات ہوں مجھ کو بہک جانے کی عادت ہے

Coming back to my delusion, I found a girl 😂 How I found her is not relevant, but what is relevant is what I did after finding her. Initially, it was the same old story, boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy has red flags, girl has red flags, but the chemistry is there and they choose to work through them and make it work. Sounds nice right? Mujhe bhi soch ke kuch aesa hi laga tha 😂 Reality was different, tab socha nahi ke kitne barre imtehan mein apne aap ko daal raha hun.
Thinking back to it, I had to fight for my place. I had to fight other potential candidates, which at the time, felt like the right thing to do. Infatuation, it its most embryonic stage, has a way of blinding you with false hope. Wearing those blinds I fell into what broke me so much more as a human being that all of what I had built myself to become, I found in pieces. It was surprising to see how I had let something take so much control. I wont lie, in the moment, it was perfect, I had everything I wanted.

زلف بردوش کون آیا یہ کس کی آہٹ سے گل کھلے ہیں
مہک رہی ہے فضائے ہستی تمام عالم بہار سا ہے

A big mistake I would say would be that I trusted her with myself. When I say myself, I mean all my weaknesses that I had been hiding from the world to be this person that everyone around me depended on. I know what you must be thinking, a child is typing this and acting as if he has the burden of the world on his shoulders 😂 Unfortunately, Im an adult who is mourning what I believed to be maybe my happy ending after the endless suffering I had been through.
Another mistake from the list of many was that I made earning my forgiveness very easy. Its very normal to mess up, but messing up to a certain point is acceptable, past that point you have to set your limits, which I didnt. Sometimes its surprising to look back at how much I let someone walk over me, thinking that I am conducting constructive dialogue which will prevent this from happening again.

کوشش بھی کر امید بھی رکھ راستہ بھی چن پھر اس کے بعد تھوڑا مقدر تلاش کر

By the end of all of it I had woken up, I knew I was destroying myself. As I type this, Im not sure how to describe it, it was the best nightmare anyone could ask for, being awake I feel like I have been put back in the jail of my own thoughts. I live in isolation, I dont talk to anyone anymore, its like Im back to being myself after learning how to be so much more. I did not get closure, for a number of reasons, which Im okay with, one of us had to live like this, Im just glad it could be me.
I think my brain, due to its limited capacity to process a range of emotions, hid a lot of bad memories so I dont completely shut down. I am very thankful for that, I didnt shut down, and went through all of this to the point where the deep ache in my chest has slowly begun to disappear. It hasnt fully gone away, it has its moments.

میں تو منیرؔ آئینے میں خود کو تک کر حیران ہوا
یہ چہرہ کچھ اور طرح تھا پہلے کسی زمانے میں

Hey guys, hope everyone is doing better than before!
Just tested negative today and I finished my treatment a month ago. However, I still experience some symptoms and not sure if they are related to this nasty bacteria. Basically, I still have more than usual burping, but definitely better than before. I started to experience muscle ache/soreness as well as joint pains. They are mostly around my shoulder and neck area which makes me suspect that my lymph nodes are swollen too. Has anyone experienced the same? Wondering if it's related to the bacteria/antibiotics or is it a function of mineral deficiencies. If so, any suggestion on how to improve? I will bring this up to my family doctor in two weeks. Will update when I hear what he suggest.

I need to get this "off my chest". Obligatory "I can't include literally everything that builds up the situation or otherwise we'd end up with a War and Peace thick post.
Me, 35M; Wife: 35F; Sperm Donor 75 M; Mom 72; Aunt 72F; Aunt 2 70s F,
I used to think my childhood and home life was idyllic and great, but as I've aged I've realised how very, very effed up it actually was. It wasn't so much that it was idyllic, it was that I'm AUDHD and was perfectly content to be alone and do my own thing. Some of these realisations have coloured how I view my parents and family and I have stopped thinking of the man who's DNA I share as "dad" and more "Sperm donor" or "his name".
I fully admit that I have a lot of "daddy issues". All I've really ever wanted was a dad to do dad things with; learning how to do things like fix cars, going fishing, learning to drive, etc. Typical sappy 'Merican "Andy Griffith Show" type crap. I know that's not reality for most people, but it's kind of a sore point for me. Because of this, I've kind of spend most of my youth chasing after older males in my life like a lost puppy hoping someone will pick me out of the box left on the side of the road. I'm lucky to have found at least one person in my life who fulfills that role for me. He's only a few years older chronologically but decades older in experience and maturity.
I've learned a lot over the last few years about how things actually were as opposed to how I saw them. Examples being:
1) My sperm donor is a "what's mine is mine and what's your's in mine too"
2) My sperm donor inflated what he actually did as a "provider" and the reality was quite different. The home we lived in was paid for out of my mother's pocket, my immediate needs (clothes, medication, snacks, activities, school needs) were paid for out of my mother's pocket, and money that had been gifted from family for me to go into a college fund "disappeared" right around the time my dad decided to buy a vintage British racing car.
3) My sperm donor has his side of the family convinced he's father and husband of the year.
4) My sperm donor is stubborn. Not in a cute way, but in a way that's resulted in thousands of dollars of home damage, refusal to repair things for decades because he refuses to call in a professional, and literally refusing to allow his spouse to undergo medical treatment for two years past when it was deemed medically necessary.
The first 10 years of my life were ok, but in my early teens my mom got "sick". To lend some context, her mother also "got sick" when she was in her mid forties. There was never a diagnosis and an autopsy of mother's mother showed only a minor stomach ulcer. Both sets of grandparents are long since dead, any family on her side is gone, and I have no one who was around during that time to give me any input or tell me what was going on at that time other than my parents who have opposing views. Mom says her mother was just a very sickly lady but would also tell me stories about how Grandma would do things like steal motorcycles, get into fights, and do all these crazy things as a younger person. SD's version of events is that Grandma always "got sick" whenever someone in their family or friend circle had an event that might not make Grandma the centre of attention. My understanding is that my mom was expected to act as a live in nurse up until she met and married SD. At which point Grandma and Grandpa dropped dead in quick succession. I am also told that Grandpa took and controlled all my mother's wages from her career up until she met my SD.
Mom "got sick" in my early teens and it was on me to be the one to look after her. I was the one who had to help her when she threw up. I was the one to have to remind her to shower, change her clothes, get her meds refilled, etc. I'd go to doctor's appts with her and try to help explain what was happening and what symptoms she was having because unfortunately, a lot of the doctors were male and dismissed her out of hand. She did end up with a fibromyalgia diagnosis, a condition I also share and understand. The majority of her symptoms are stomach issues; ie nausea, vomiting, not wanting to eat etc. When I say she's had the entire gamut of gut health testing done, I mean it's all been done. At least three times. At one point the Gastro she saw told her that he'd exhausted everything and that there is no physical reason for her symptoms and that if she did not at least try to eat, he'd send her for psychiatric evaluation and have her fitted with a feeding tube.
I need to clarify that I too have always had gastrointestinal issues and not too long ago discovered I have coeliac disease. Adhering to that diet has eliminated the majority of my issues. Despite the fact they eliminated this disease as a potential cause in my mom, I suggested trying this and an elimination diet to see if it helped, but she refused. Her diet for years has consisted of white bread and jam, grits, coca cola, and tea exclusively. Occasionally she would get sushi. This is not an exaggeration. That's all she has eaten for years.
Throughout all of this, my SD rolled his eyes and sat on his ass continuing to eat dinner or watch tv while she'd go running to the kitchen to vomit, me chasing after her to try and help. (Mom would at least appear to get faint during these vomiting instances) so I would be there to make sure she didn't pass out as she vomited in the sink, then clean out the sink after her, then help her back to the couch and bring her something to drink.
It's been 20 years of this now. My wife and I have been living in our own home for about 4 years and I am no longer there to be the one to try and clean up the messes and fill in the cracks, as it were. My family has visited us three times, even though we live maybe 45 minutes away. I have returned to my parents house probably about 15-20 times to do repairs to the home. Right now, all "repairs" have stalled out because apparently having things like a functional and safe bathroom aren't nearly as important to SD as buying military collectibles, guns, and gourmet cheeses.
This January Mom landed herself in the hospital with a bloodclot due to falling and hitting her head. My SD didn't take her to the hospital until a full week after she'd fallen and no one called me for a full 24 hours after she'd been admitted. She went back and forth amongst the ER, rehab, and hospital for about two months and the result of all that was that they discovered she has throat dysphagia but no other underlying disorders. She's now home with a G-tube, oxygen, bedside commode, and an in home nurse that visit occasionally.
Right now, what's weighing on me most strongly is that my parents now have my SD's sister living with them and she is constantly singing his praises and talking about what a wonderful and attentive husband he is. I'm honestly enraged about it, especially now that more of the extended family, who frankly couldn't be arsed to return phone calls, emails, or snail mail over the last 30 years, suddenly have opinions and are lauding him for how great he's been.
I feel like I have this Monty Python 10 tonne weight over my head, because I know that when my parents shuffle off this mortal coil there is going to be a veritable dungheap left for me to deal with in their decrepit home. I'm mad and sad and tired and I honestly just don't want to deal with it anymore. I can't stop feeling irritated that my mom has basically just given up on trying to do.... anything. And had done way before there was an "excuse". Holidays are a nightmare for me because there's nothing this woman wants or like or gets excited about. She doesn't have hobbies anymore, doesn't like doing anything, isn't interested in collecting things, doing crafts, etc, even talking. The times I've been around her for any length of time and attempted to talk to her, she just looks at me with this kind of watery eyed and vaguely befuddled expression or answers with one or two syllables. She is NOT suffering any dementia or similar issues and has been tested for such. It's like she just... doesn't care.
I've spent so long trying to make her comfortable, happy, etc. Tried to get her things she liked or get her into things that would make her happy. My wife's mother is only a few years younger and is active in her community, teaches classes, does art, goes on trip with my FIL, and visits and talks to people regularly. As do most of my peers' parents. This is really hard and I feel very sad and lonely about it. My poor wife has heard it all over and over again and I hate bothering my already stressed close friends with my rants....

Just went to the doctor and the doc took one looked at my rash said you have shingles.... I spoke about a burning sensation in my back and stomach and the ache I was having and he immediately said it was shingles. I'm going through crohns now this.. is those symptoms of shingles?

Hello I'm in my mid twenties and I've recently started dating a girl and have had a lot of unprotected sex (stupid I know). Thing is I've had a flu for the past 2 weeks that just seems to keep coming back, just after we started having sex. I'm pretty fit so I'm surprised that it hasn't gone away. I've not had sex with someone in over a year and I read online that STI's can have flu symptoms but I have no rashes or bumps. I've booked a health clinic check up. What are the odds it's an STI? I hope I'm just being paranoid. It started as a flu with fever, aches, sore throat, cough that went away for nearly two days then it came back with a vengeance. I had a boiling fever, even worse aches and now my parotid glands are so swollen I can feel the fluid swishing around in my blocked ears.

this is something i’ve gone back and forth with for as long as i can remember, but especially since meeting my (25f) husband (26m) 8 years ago.
before him, i was adamant i did not want children. the idea always left me uneasy, made me uncomfortable. as a child i was never the typical play with baby dolls, play pretend mom sort of kid. it made me wildly uncomfortable to picture myself as someone’s mother even as a child. however, my husband is the absolute love and light of my life and loving someone so unconditionally and fully has shifted my perspective over the years. he would be an amazing father and it makes me want to create a life with him that has half his dna.
in 2019 we bought a house. a few months after, despite me having an IUD, i ended up pregnant. i was 20 at the time, we were dead broke (buying a house that young will do that to you), and i was deep in the trenches of my (multiple) mental illness. i struggled for a few weeks trying to decide what i wanted. my husband told me he loved me and if i wanted to keep it, he was nothing but happy and excited. he never pressured me one way or another. in the end i made the choice to terminate the pregnancy. it was an extremely painful decision, but i knew i was in no place financially, mentally or in my maturity to bring a life into this world. it felt like i would be doing an injustice to my child and making a horribly irresponsible choice.
i’ve never considered myself to be an overly sentimental type. i terminated the pregnancy at 6 weeks, it was little more than a raspberry seed. they gave me a picture of my ultrasound at the appointment to confirm my pregnancy and 5 years later, i still have it. it’s tucked away and mostly forgotten about but i have it, couldn’t bring myself to throw it away.
i know now that even though i regret it occasionally or wonder how my life would have turned out, i made the best choice i could have. i was not ready to be someone’s mother. no one close to me in my life was having children yet and i was not ready to be the first to break that barrier and feel the weight of becoming a mother with no one to relate to.
now, three of the people closest to me in my life have had children in the last year and a half and my best friend is currently pregnant. attending their baby showers has filled my chest with this ache and anxiety. like this deep sadness? that i’m not experiencing this beautiful thing and not sure if i ever will. maybe it’s like the most fucked up biological case of fomo but i can’t help the way it makes me feel.
when i think about my husband and i as parents, i see good things but my biggest fear in the world is how much a child would change our dynamic and that there is no guarantee it wouldn’t drive us apart. for context, my husband and i literally never fight. not in the unhealthy “don’t communicate our feelings with each other and let it built into quiet resentment” way, but that we literally just have nothing to fight about. we do okay for ourselves financially, he manages all the bills/budgeting. we have healthy communication and a very affectionate and loving relationship. he is my best friend, i could spend every second in his presence and never get tired of him. he is the love of my life.
but i don’t have any strong examples from my own life of people who have not had their life flipped upside down by having children. maybe their foundation was week to begin with and a child was the draw that broke the camels back, but i can’t shake the anxiety that kids ruin relationships. i know logically this isn’t true, but watching my parents extremely toxic and messy divorce has left a lasting impression on me that somehow the stress of me and my brother existing were largely to blame. all of my friends growing up always had single/divorced parents. i’ve watched from a distance countless couples fall apart shortly after having children. i would rather never have a child than ever ever lose my husband.
that being said, i still can’t shake the extremely foreign feeling of maternal desire. i don’t know what to do with it or how to make it better. i don’t really know why im writing this, maybe just to get it off my chest or get some outside perspective.
TLDR: i’ve gone my whole life not wanting children until very recently i am second guessing my life long conviction and it has left me extremely confused.

hey :)
I’ve recently relapsed and started purging and restricting again. I’ve been struggling with anorexia and then also bulimia since I was 13 years old. I am now 17 and didn’t purge for quite a long time. (half a year or so as i resorted more to restricting) I’ve started again a couple of days ago and noticed I had difficulty swallowing after. it feels like my oesophagus is being slightly squeezed or just tight. I’ve also noticed that i was a bit short of breath for half an hour after or so. Does anyone know something? Is it in my head or is it actually possible for me to experience symptoms after just a few days?
Move definitely noticed it gets increasingly harder for my body to keep up with these behaviours and I started to get tired or aches more quickly than 2/3 years ago.
Sorry and thank you!

My boyfriend (23) and I (21F) have been together for almost a year. We both live with our parents, so we see each other about 3-4 times a week. I didn't notice until fairly recently that he's constantly touching me.
Any time we're sitting down, he has his hand on my thigh or shoulder or is holding my hand. Driving especially, but also when we're eating dinner with my family or at a friend's house.
At concerts or clubs, he has his arms wrapped around my shoulders or waist the entire time. From the moment we walk in the doors until the moment we leave, unless I'm in the bathroom he's wrapped around me. He always stands behind me and is pressed up against me most of the time. If I try to dance, I'm forced to take a step forward and he'll follow me and pull me close again. Last time we went out, I ended up at least 5 feet away from where we started in less than 10 minutes.
If it's just the two of us, we're usually seated across from each other and I have my own personal space. It seems that any time we're in the company of other people he feels the need to be touching me.
He also tends to follow me like a shadow whenever we're anywhere other than his house. I'll go to the bathroom and he'll be standing outside when I come out. I'll be cooking and go from the sink to the stove and he'll follow me. I've suggested he sit down in the next room (clear line of sight, close enough to continue a conversation) and he says he's more comfortable standing because he's been sitting all day.
It seems to me that the more unconsciously uncomfortable he is in a situation, the more clingy he gets. When we're alone together, it's fine, but any time we're with my parents or friends or in public there's a noticable change in his behavior.
For some context, we both have a lot of trauma from previous relationships and we're both neurodivergent (he's been diagnosed with autism by one doctor, but hasn't from other doctors in the same specialty so he doesn't put much faith in the diagnosis. He definitely shows some symptoms, but I'm not a doctor). He also has trauma from his father. I've noticed he needs reassurance very often and tends to repeat almost everything he says. He also compliments me every 5 minutes and if I don't respond in kind he gets upset (sad and withdrawn, not angry).
I've asked him to stop doing specific actions (for example, rubbing my knuckles painfully hard while holding my hand, or playing with my fishnet tights, or slipping his hand in the rips of my jeans to rub my knee) and he will stop for a moment, but gets distracted and goes back to doing it a few minutes later. It does genuinely seem to be unconscious behavior and he is sincerely apologetic. He fidgets constantly with anything at hand, so I don't believe he's doing it on purpose.
I've also asked him to give me space at concerts and similar places. I've explained in very specific terms ("I need you to not put your arms around my shoulders at this concert because there's a mosh pit and I need to have control over my own balance and center of gravity" "it hurts my back and shoulders when you lean on me like that" "it's overstimulating being pressed up against you in the club all night, I'd prefer if you held my hand instead") and he responds better to that. The more specific detail I give, the longer it is before he does it again.
He does have pinched nerves in his shoulders/upper chest, so standing for long periods of time is painful for him. He tends to lean on me to relieve some of his pain. He is on medication, but it isn't working well enough to stop the pain from impacting his daily life. He is also 6'2 to my 5'5, so having him use me for support leads to me being in pain.
It's exhausting having to constantly remind him that he's overstimulating me and I need some physical distance between us. I understand that he fidgets unconsciously and that he has chronic pain. However, I'm starting to get resentful that he doesn't change his behaviors long term. I don't think it's malicious or lazy, I think he just genuinely doesn't realize how much this affects me. I tend to downplay my own discomfort, which is something I'm working on in therapy. I want to have a "come to Jesus" talk with him, but I'm afraid that either I'll be too soft and he won't change or I'll be too harsh and he'll feel attacked and not change. I don't know for a fact that I've adequately explained how his behavior makes me feel and I'm afraid of blindsiding him. I want this to be a productive conversation between two adults, not me berating him for not reading my mind.
Edit: I've asked him multiple times to seek therapy or at least be open to the possibility. He's been through 6-8 therapists since middle school and is convinced that therapy can't help him and "he already knows exactly what they're going to say"

Age 42
Sex male
Height 5'10
Weight 285
Race Hispanic
Duration of complaint 1 year
Location US
Any existing relevant medical issues none
Current medications Omeprazole
Include a photo if relevant I have been dealing with what now seems like gallbladder issues, my hida scan back in August showed a 86% EF I been complaining about pain on my left rib side for almost a year, wasn't until June of 2023 when I went to the ER thinking I was having a heart related issue and was dismissed. Forward to August and again back at ER with chest pain, arm pain back pain and warm feeling on my stomach. At that time they did a bunch of tests to see if I had a clot or something else. Everything came back negative including the US. Then I got a hida scan which showed 86%EF. Felt better but it didn't go away. Forward to a couple of weeks ago and back at the ER, after hours of blood work and US they found sludge on my gallbladder. Ever since I've had a bunch of different symptoms
Pain on RUQ that goes to the back, stabbing pain. Also feel it on the left lower rib cage.
A really bad taste in my mouth feels like when you throw up and have nothing but that sour nasty yellow goo on your stomach.
I had joint pain, tingling on my feet and toes. Skin feels like I have bengay on it.
Nausea, diarrhea, then constipation.
I have not been eating much since 2 weeks and symptoms are worse as time passes. I have surgery scheduled for the 21st of June but is this all related to the gallbladder? I been researching and reading and there are a bunch of symptoms that are caused by the Gallbladder but I'm going crazy here. ER doesn't find anything and I'm out of ideas.

Hi all, 30, F, 180 pounds, non smoke drinker, UK.
I have had this ‘bump’ on the side of my neck for a few months, it moves around and is like a little baked bean. It’s not visible and difficult to find unless I turn my head. I’ve measured and it’s about 1cm-1.3cm max. It’s not growing. I’ve freaked myself out by googling constantly and am terrified I have lymphoma. I did have a large boil/spot near the bump just prior to it appearing. I have agoraphobia and struggle to leave the house, although I am working on it as much as I can. GP had this photo and said based on the size/location it isn’t typically somewhere they’d expect something sinister to be. I feel like I read other symptoms online and then seem to obsess over them - I had mastalgia/chest pain for a month or so at the beginning of the year which went away randomly, the GP thought that was likely the anxiety of me over analysing everything. No other symptoms, I did occasionally feel a bit of dysphasia and lower back tightness. Over the past few days I’ve had itchy skin - although I have sensitive skin and decided to use a new false tan on the weekend and have developed this irritated skin since - it’s not severe and red or just is making me itch every now and again so am waiting for that to clear up before I can asses again if this is anything ongoing. I know no one can diagnose me online, but I’m just desperate for a bit of advice.. should I continue to monitor due to the size/location and the fact it is moveable and not growing / not rock hard and is smooth and that I don’t have the common symptoms of drenching night sweats/ weight loss a cough etc? Or should I be pushing for more support with this? My husband/family think I’m overreacting and are fed up of me worrying about it but I feel so helpless struggling to get to the GP surgery I will attach a photo of the location as well and am really really grateful for any responses :) thank you

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

General

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

Ocular

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

Other

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

Nervous system

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

Gastrointestinal

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

Other

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

Hematologic

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

Hepatic

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

Cardiovascular

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

Dermatologic

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

Respiratory

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

Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal side effects have included myalgia.

Renal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just ranting needed to get this off my chest life’s just been eating me up recently
My stomach and intestines will not shut up and any slight movement they bubble and gurgle and whine it’s been so long dealing with this 2 months of hell I finally had bms daily for 7 days and now this is my second day without one I’m tired of taking miralax I wish my doctor would give me a diagnosis for fucks sake I still don’t know what’s wrong with me and it’s a constant issue I don’t have a life anymore I’m pissed I reckon whatever it is it’s probably gonna get worse and kill me im assuming it’s colon cancer that’s spread to the intestines I chew tobacco and use to swallow the spit when I was in tech school cause they didn’t allow it on campus I’m not getting any better if anything slowly worse each day idk what to do my doctors worthless he’s done one ct scan and just says it’s constipation I’ve taken miralax every single day for 2 months ate entirely clean and all the bullshit they tell you nothings even got the slightest bit better life sucks I’ve lost everything I wish I could drink or smoke away the pain but in fact it makes it worse I’m lost man I’ve been Christian for 2 years as well and even that feels pointless I’m just dead inside the only joy I have left in life is tobacco how sad is that the only time I feel somewhat happy or normal is when I put a dip in and I was even planning to throw that out before all this but now what’s the point my health’s fucked apparently wether I get mouth cancer or not he’ll I wouldn’t even be typing this if I had someone to talk to but i don’t I’ve got one freind left and he’s busy bros got his own life and I’m hella proud of him for it I was on track to do the same finally bought a vehicle got the job I trained for now I lay in bed listening to my loud ass gut and minimize symptoms I really miss life I’m thinking about just going back to work and saying fuck it just let it get worse maybe then my doc will actually take me seriously probably not but yeah my life sucks I feel like god genuinely hates me I take a step forward and he smacks me 7 steps back with a right hook I’m tired of pretending to be happy for people around me I’m tired of pretending that my cursed and all this is a blessing and I just haven’t found the lesson yet I’m starting to doubt everything and I’m going crazy sitting in my room all day I’m sure no one’s gonna read this or care even if they do I just need this shit off my chest everyone around me acts like I’m fine cause I’ve always been the type of person to laugh shit off and try to just man up my way through every problem but I can’t do that anymore there’s no more jokes and I’m half the man I was I use to have goals that were possible and I was reaching them I was doing good but here I am worse than I started but fuck it as is life I guess some people got it worse than me and I’m truly sorry that they have to go through any of it but life’s a bitch and this is a cruel ass world it really makes me struggle with my faith if gods all loving why would we be down here suffering even if we followed all the rules and did our best just doesn’t seem right but it’s whatever I guess

Hi all, About a month ago I was having some neck issues which led my dr to have me take about a week worth of an anti-inflammatorybut I also took some Advil a few days (I know I shouldn’t have). About a week later I started to feel a knot tight muscle feeling right at the base of my sternum. It actually led me to have anxiety but then a few days later I started to feel chest pressure. I feel like I can breath and I can take in deep breaths but it’s as if my chest muscles are tight or there’s pressure. I feel it more if my stomach is empty and if I have a filling meal, I feel it less. When this first started, I took some Gaviscon and felt some relief but not 100%. I don’t feel any pain this time around. I did heal it once before when I had it last year but because of this poor decision and maybe even stress, it may have come back. It’s about a month of feeling this. My dr. thinks it’s gastritis and put me on Omeprazole for a few weeks. Does this sound similar to anyone’s story or like a gastritis symptom? I have had a stress test in April and my hearts ok. The fact that I feel like I can breathe, I don’t think it’s asthma… I never had it before.