It seems like all I see are stuff about how parents hate their autistic children or how people with autism should be euthanized or how if the cure for autism is found it should be given upon diagnosis (and most of the time before the child can even consent) and it scares me to my core it seems like everyone just wants to ‘fix’ us and it’s terrifying to me. But all I hear is how people are more accepting but it really seems like they hate us. So it the stigma truly going away? Or are your experiences the same as mine.
EDIT: here are some of the links to the ‘cure’ for autism people seem to be talking about. Can anyone confirm or deny if it’s actually scientific sound or not? https://www.abtaba.com/blog/autism-treatment-breakthrough#:\~:text=Children%20who%20received%20Nirsevimab%20exhibited,autism%20spectrum%20disorder%20%5B3%5D.
https://www.goldenstepsaba.com/resources/autism-treatment-breakthrough
https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-study-finds-dollar3-lamictal-pill-may-help-turn-off-autism-symptoms-in-mice#:\~:text=Lamotrigine%2C%20a%20%243%20pill%20used,following%20a%20study%20on%20mice.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202205783

Hello all,
I have not been as active in this community as I should be, yet I have interacted with many in DM's, most from seeing my posts and reaching out to me to hear more of my story. I'd like to introduce myself, tell my story as quickly as I can, and most importantly, see if there's any others out there that do beef only at a high fat percentage for mental health. I need others in my life on the same path to keep me accountable. Also, helping others helps me greatly.
I urge you to take a few minutes and read what I have written. I know it is long, but it just may be worth it and make a difference in your day or even your life.
I am a male, 47, 5’6”, 150lbs, married with one kid, living in NJ. I have suffered mental health issues since I was a kid, but started my first treatment at 13, which was for my most recurring and prominent symptom: anger. My other prominent issues are irritability, depression, and a sense of wanting to die, but not actually kill myself, just yearning for my suffering to end.
When I am off, I am a huge jerk, I yell at my kid and our relationship is greatly strained, I am mean to my wife, I procrastinate and can’t start projects, and if I do, I don’t finish them; if a stranger in a parking lot who glances at me for a split-second pisses me off, I want to know what the F they are looking at and wanna go kick their you know what. Life can feel impossible, and I hate it and myself so much.
When I am on, I am happy and calm, I handle my kid’s issues with ease and we are best buddies, I am friendly to my wife, and that same passerby in a parking lot gets a smile from me and I am super-friendly. I tackle a to-do list with vigor and do everything from start to finish. Best of all is life is so easy and I am excited for every minute. I love living and myself!
From age 13 until now, I have suffered substance abuse, attended two separate IOP's (intensive outpatient programs), done many, many years of therapy, and taken all the available drug types. The only meds that ever worked were seizure drugs, and Lamictal was the best for me. I also started smoking pot when I was 16, which was the only thing that ever made me feel ‘normal.’ Unfortunately, I am a huge addict, and I did lots of other drugs for a long time, but pot was always my main drug of choice. It took me a long time to realize the anti-seizure effect is why deep ketosis works for me. The pot strains that worked best for me are the ones used for seizures, then add in Lamictal, and the diet; they all work in similar ways. Had a major light-bulb moment when I put that together.
As for my diet, I was vegetarian/vegan for 20 years, the last few were raw vegan. As I ate more plants, and less animals, my physical and mental health declined, but I just thought I needed to find the right plants or supplements. I started to add meat back about 10 years ago, but still ate mostly SAD, and because I smoked pot to feel well, I’d eat massive amounts of carbs, mostly late at night before bed. For a few years my annual blood checks showed I was prediabetic, Fasting glucose was 96, then 104, with 106 being my highest.
When my kid was born in 2016, I was powerlifting heavily and eating low-carb to attempt to stay lean and get stronger, but I didn’t really know what low carb was back then, I just knew when I tracked my food intake and kept my carbs below a certain amount, I felt better and didn’t gain weight. Those of you who know, having a kid changes everything, plus, two months after she was born, I had a nasty fall off a ladder, dislocated my hand, and shattered my wrist; it was severe enough that they considered fusing my hand to my arm, which would mean I could no longer bend my wrist. Luckily, I am fully recovered, and it does not bother me or hinder me in any way; that’s a whole other story.
It took 2 years to recover from that injury, and during that time, we were tight on budget, so I was eating pasta and homemade sourdough bread every day. In addition, I couldn’t exercise how I wanted to. This all led to putting on 40lbs, having terrible skin, eye, and other issues, and I was angry, miserable, and wanted to die. Man, I still miss the process of making sourdough, I was 2-years in at that point, made two loaves every week, and the starter was like my baby.
Anyway, in 2019, I had enough of feeling so terrible and remembered that lowering my carbs helped in the past, so I started that. I removed bread and pasta, tracked carbs, and I lost 20lbs quickly, and felt much better. I naturally got myself down to what might be considered paleo, and ate things like meat, eggs, avocado, nuts, and cheese. I vividly recall hearing Vinny Tortorich, the NSNG guy, on Adam and Dr Drew’s podcast talking about a carnivore diet, where people ate only meat. It sounded like the most ridiculous and impossible idea, but the thought stuck in my mind. As I began to eat more meat and less plants, I couldn’t ignore that I felt so much better, and life was getting better and easier. So, I followed that path.
Within 6-8 months, I was almost full meat-only, with some butter and cheese and maybe other little things added in. I lost another 20 pounds and felt awesome mentally. However, this is when I started having electrolyte and energy issues. I discovered I needed more fat and started buying fat trim from my local butcher. This is also when I started to see a carnivore presence online and listening to Paladino, when he was still actually a carnivore, not the carnivore-ish thing he does now, lol. Because of him though, I began to eat organs and seek out as much of the animal as I could. I still regularly eat liver and heart, and marrow and brains for their mostly-fat content.
I don’t want to bore anyone with too much detail, so I’ll skip ahead. I’m passing over so many details of my journey, and if anyone is interested in chatting about it, please feel free to reach out. Over the next 4.5 years, until now, I have been experimenting heavily and have found that beef only, at a fat ratio of around 90%, or higher, is what works best for me. Digestion and skin are perfect, and mood is bliss. Dairy, wheat, and gluten, cocoa, and sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia are some of my worst offenders. If I eat those items, within 48 hours, my anger and skin issues return, along with many other symptoms including pain in my healed wrist and other body parts. When I add in pork or chicken, even pasture raised, I will have some type of issues and it is less than optimal. This is how I found my HFBO path.
I have had periods of time where I felt the best I ever had in my life. I am a different person when doing this right, and can be a great father to my kid, which is the most important thing to me. I am not perfect, and I am still figuring things out and stumbling along the way, but I have a formula that works very well for me, only if I stick to it.
Here’s my key ingredients for success:
1. HFBO / high-fat beef-only, 90% fat, at or above maintenance calories so I do not lose weight. Ketones at or above 1.2.
2. Beam minerals, both electrolyte and trace mineral liquids, the capsules, and the sprays.
3. Physical activity and sunlight, with sprinting as my main exercise. (shout-out to Dr Shawn O’Mara)
4. Enjoy life and have fun.
Currently, and for many years, I do what is called OMAD, oh how I hate names and labels for everything. I was doing OMAD loooong before I knew it had a name and was a thing. I didn’t wake up one day and say, yeah, I think I’ll try OMAD next, I just naturally gravitated towards it. I had a 6-month period 2 summers ago where I did rolling 48s, and I have done many extended fast of 3-5 days with my longest being a few hours shy of 6 full days.
Unfortunately, I don’t always stay on track. Sometimes all it takes is a cold and being tired for my body to crave more energy, and if I am not careful, I either eat too much meat/protein, which, yes messes me up, or I eat carbs. Last week, this happened, and I had two days of eating stuff I shouldn’t. My remedy to get back on track is fasting. I started fasting on my own, before I knew it was a thing, then I found Cole Robinson and the snake diet. I love the Cole of 5-7 years ago when he was calmer and did hour long videos with so much info.
So right now, I am 90 hours fasted, and I feel amazing. This has been my best extended fast to date, and I have done lots of them. I credit Beam minerals for this, so anyone with electrolyte issues, like cramping or headaches, please check them out. I am full of energy and about to ride my onewheel for an aggressive 20 minutes on some trails, which, for those who don’t know, is physically demanding, then I will kayak as exercise on our local creek.
Check out my glucose and ketones numbers from the last few days, measured on a keto mojo:
Sunday morning, last day of eating crap:
Glu/Ke
105/0.5
Monday, after a 24 hour fast and working hard in the sun:
69/0.7
Wednesday evening, after 72 hours fasting (lowest glucose reading ever):
42/2.7
Thursday morning, after 85 hours fasting:
53/3.8
Plus, I am down 6 pounds, back to my weight before I ate way too much and too much junk for a few days.
Ok, let me wrap this up. I have met some incredible people here. One guy is close to me in Long Island, and I have become great friends with him, we talk all day every day. I love this dude, and while he is brand new, and is just starting to carve his path, he helps me more than he could ever know. Another guy I just met from Ca, is amazingly just like me and eats HFBO. We just spoke on the phone yesterday, and I can sense a great friendship building there. There’s a woman in Canada who does beef only, and we have spoken, but not as much as I’d like.
The LI guy and I have discord servers set up to bring us together. For him, he’s in need of others just staring out. I am there and willing to mentor and help in anyway I can. For myself, I want to interact with people that are trying to do what I do, and also expose the community to a version of metabolic therapy that has done amazing wonders for me. I don’t see anyone talking about HFBO as an option, and I feel it could be a major game-changer for many suffering people. So, let’s get the word out and bring like-minded people together! Feel free to reply here or DM me.
As a side note, my child also suffers similar symptoms and we have tried several meds. It was the typical med experience and only work somewhat for some of the time. She’s only 7 and suffers greatly. The next move by her neuropsychologist was to put her on SSRI’s, but my wife and I agreed we didn’t want that, especially after some terrible med experiences with her already. With the help of her neuropsych, she’s been on a therapeutic ketogenic diet since the start of school year and has experienced so much improvement. We keep her fat 75-78% and she still eats up to 50g/carbs a day, sometimes more. We track her ketones on a Biosense breath meter 2x/day. If anyone is interested in chatting about that, hit me up. My kid and I are starting a YouTube channel to share our experience along with the other typical social accounts. I see a void in the community for this content and feel we could help many people.
If you made it this far, I sincerely thank you. Writing this post has helped me and you reading also helps.
Edit: I have my socials setup and my handle is @MT4MH on Instagram, Facebook, and X. Same on YouTube, where I posted my first video, which is me narrating this intro with extra content added in. My email is MTforMH@gmail.com.
MT4MH = Metabolic Therapy for Mental Health

Hi I’m 24F, 135lbs, 5’6”, currently taking Lamictal & Prozac
Back in 2021, I was referred for psychological testing by my psychiatrist. I ended up being diagnosed with Bipolar I, ADHD, and anxiety (GAD). In the document I was sent explaining my results, they included a section on personality saying I had elevated personality patterns. When I brought this up to my psychiatrist at the time she told me this was a “road I didn’t want to go down.”
Recently I’ve noticed that I relate a lot to what I hear about people with BPD and I can’t stop obsessing about whether or not I have it. I don’t want to get diagnosed with anything right now because I have a little over a year before I get kicked off my parents health insurance and I don’t want even more on my health record.
I’m attaching the screenshot of the paragraph about personality and the list of tests they used. Could any of these be used to screen for BPD? Or could the wording mean they’ve already ruled out the diagnosis for me?
(It’s my first time using Imgur, I’m sorry if it doesn’t show right)
https://imgur.com/a/YC2BUIn

this is a bit of a broader question but i'm going to ask anyway.
i think i am finally dropping off a four month mixed state episode, mainly fueled by hypo. (i'm really not sure how to classify it, i have considered myself to be an rather high functioning bp2 for a very long time, and i have built enough coping strategies in spending/impulse control so that i can take a dustpan to sweep up the broken window and not have to like, call the fire department to help me put out the burning house)
in that period of time (while it has not been completely perfect and i have had really hard weeks), i met someone that i really like who introduced to me the importance of exercise and meditation, as well as helped me realise that for the first time in a very, very long time how much i just want to do more than just survive, i want to thrive. i feel a lot more goal oriented and focused in my life overall, with things that i really don't think are outlandish (ie: getting a more stable job rather than thinking i could be an astronaut). in between i had a few complete dissassociation from reality episodes but overall this period was supported by hypo and made me intensely productive.
i do admit that i think the new relationship also sparked this (besides spring/fall being my mania periods), but i'm choosing to see this period overall as a positive for my life. i knew that the hypo would likely drop at some point, but i told myself that if i can use this period to just build structure around/underneath me to catch myself when the drop happens - at least i'd have some sort of mental safety net for the first time in my life.
i've been around the bipolar carousel long enough to know that what comes after when the hypomania/mania drops, so i fear the depression is really starting to kick in - and i am really, really just absolutely fucking dreading that everything i've built in the last four months is something i'm going to absolutely destroy. i get super, super lethargic when i'm in a pure depressed state - part of this is due to ADHD but it's just a lot more noticable in the summewinter for me.
i guess this is more of a rant post but while this is going on (however much longer it will last) i was wondering what other things i could be doing...

• i do the isha kriya meditation 2x a day and it has probably helped like 10% (though my mind still runs like a racecar).
  
• admittedly i am not as on top of the exercise as i'd like to be, but i read a comment on here that described the OP as "traumatised rescue dog that needs to be exercised or they'd rip up the house", and i haven't related to such an apt comment in a long time. so i really need to get on top of that now that i have seen the benefits of it.
  
• therapy. mine is so old that i smack on wood fear that he will die any moment and that i have to go back into the trenches to find someone who has helped me as much as he has. but i need to start on DBT soon.
  
• meds. 200mg lamictal. (wondering if i could go higher.) 15mg concerta. 5mg ativan (only if i really, really need it)
  

on another note, he knows i am bipolar but i do not think he is entirely knowledgable about it, so im wondering how to explain it a bit more in detail for him (if anyone has ideas) there is a tiny part of me at the back of my mind that thinks he is not going to stay - and that makes me want to break it off to prevent him/myself from getting hurt, but i just need to try not running from difficult topics for once. it's really hard for me just thinking about this as we do have other issues (unrelated to my bipolar) as a couple to work on, and i am a bit stressed thinking how to broach this conversation.
any other sort of things i could be working on until i get the complete drop would be appreciated. words of encouragement would be nice as well, i just really need them right now.
thanks

I [21F] have been experiencing bloating for a couple months now but it feels like it’s getting worse. For background: I had the kyleena IUD inserted in October 2023, and the bloating started around then. I assumed it was that and shrugged it off hoping it would subside in time. I also started getting pain that feels very close to my vagina/cervix region. Ive never had bad menstrual cramps so the pain took me by surprise. It was a sudden shock like/stabbing sensation.
Around a month ago, I went to my gynecologist to get a transvaginal ultrasound to check on the iud since my strings weren’t visible. It was in its correct place, and they found a small ovarian cyst. I mentioned the bloating and pain, to which they responded they found no water retention. Honestly, I felt like I was overreacting so I left it at that and went home.
Pregnancy test is also false.
Im calling my primary care doctor tomorrow to see what it could be. Maybe its gas? I dont know. Im just frustrated, I wont lie that it makes me feel insecure. I’ve never been this bloated in my life, and I’m honestly eating around a meal or two a day.
Picture of my belly: (everything else is censored) (Imgur wouldn't let me get the link sorry) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ujw1HTEVL9nY3g5v2QSRbe9\_CuKobTR\_fZSdOSv3eGE/edit?usp=sharing
Info: Height: 5'1 Weight: 131 pounds Race: Hispanic/White Primary Complaint/Symptoms: Stomach Bloating that does not go down, Sharp pain/pressure Duration: 5-6 Months but getting worse over time Existing Medical Issues: Small ovarian cyst found a month ago. No physical medical issues. (I have depression, anxiety, and mental health issues on the side) Current Medications: Lamictal (200 mg), Cymbalta (90 mg), Abilify (10 mg) No smoking or recreational drugs.

Hi everyone, I'm currently experiencing a non itchy rash on my neck, chest, shoulders, arms and parts of my legs. I also have swollen lymph nodes on both sides of my neck. No fever and no sore throat at all.
Some backstory: I currently have been on Adderrall for over a month and I was also prescribed lamictal for bipolar a few weeks ago. To make sure I don't have SJS, we started on 25 mg every day for two weeks and as of yesterday I upped the dosage per my phsychiatrist plan to 50 mg ( which I'm supposed to take for two weeks, then well up it again by 25 mg)
Last Wednesday, while walking on my walking pad at work (which I've been doing for several months now with no issues) I noticed my feet started developing what looked like either a rash or bug bites (I'll add a picture) the spots on my feet were VERY itchy, and I have pretty bad but not unmanageable hystamine reactions in general (huge swelling when I get bit by bugs, I'm allergic to cat dander and I have two cats). I have a topical antihistamine cream I put on my feet once I noticed the spots and tried to not walk on my walking pad on Thursday to not make things worse. On Thursday I did go to a little trail nearby with a friend and he ran while I roller skates. Halfway through our skate, I took a little fall on my thigh and decided to take my skates off and walk in my socks the rest of the way back (mind you, my feet were already itchy with spots before I went to this trail). After that, on Friday near the end of my shift, I noticed that my lymphnode on the left side of my neck felt a bit tender. I also took a shower after this and noticed my knee had some rash like red spots on it (these were not itchy or painful). The next day (last Saturday) I went to the movies with my family and when I went to the bathroom I noticed I was developing some kind of rash on my chest, neck and shoulders. These ones aren't itchy though, they just feel kinda hot? At this point my left neck lymohnode was hurting more, more swollen and it was starting to make my head hurt and turning and swallowing wasn't pleasant. I called the on call doctor at my PCP and I was advised to take Pepcid and Benadryl (and I took some ibuprofen). The ibuprofen helped with the neck and head pain but when I woke up the next day, I could still see the rash and I couldn't really tell if it was worse or pretty much the same. I kept taking Benadryl, Pepcid and ibuprofen and went to the zoo with my family (they were only in town for the weekend) and while I was out with them, I noticed the same kind of red spots on my arms now. I'm not sure if I overlooked those previously or if they were a new development.
This morning I went in to my PCP and saw a nurse practitioner. She tested me for strep (even though I have no fever, no sore throat and she didn't notice any white spots on my throat, just that it looked red) and it came back negative, but she wasn't convinced, so she put in an order for me to start taking Amoxicillin just in case. I also have been keeping my psychiatrist in the know of everything that's been happening (starting with my feet and she told me it didn't look or sound like SJS) and we decided today that I'll keep taking all my meds right now and if nothing clears up after taking the Amoxicillin that we'll try tritating the Lamictal. To see if it is some reaction to the meds.
The thing is, before I started taking Lamictal, I had a genetic testing done via mouth swab to see what medications would badly interact with me and lamictal was the best one for my genetic makeup for a mood stabilizer. So I really don't think it's SJS but if course I'm worried it could be.
I'll also mention I'm under A LOT of stress right now. My husband and I are in the process of closing on our first house, we put our offer in "as is" and found out during the inspection that there's a decent amount of ungrounded outlets and there's knob and tube wiring in the house so we're mentally preparing for a full rewire ideally before we move in. On top of that, I'm feeling stressed about my medical insurance and trying to understand where I am with paying my deductible has been a frustrating process. On top of THAT, my work has been extremely stressful, I feel over utilized on my team, I worked 7 hours of OT last week and getting a lot of pushback emails from agents.
It could be stress, it could be allergies, it could be SJS and it could still be strep.
I left my appointment feeling frustrated and wish I could at least eliminate some of the possibilities. Pictures of feet, knees chest and neck and arm: https://imgur.com/gallery/N0zAyIG

(Accidently posted prematurely, currently editing.) 33M. Diagnosed persistent depression, generalized anxiety disorder with aspects of panic, inattentive type ADHD and cyclothymia.The most relevant condition pertaining to this current concern is that I have a vericoseal on my left teste. I am currently taking Lamotrigine (lamictal) 150mg x2 tablets daily, and am currently titrating up on Atomoxetine (strattera), just began 60mg and will go to 80mg 1-2 weeks from now. I smoke weed occasionally, for the last few months maybe 5 times. I am a smoker, 16 cigarettes a day. Currently not taking any supplements until my medications are sorted. I believe that is all information mandated and/or suggested in the rules; please ask for anything else if needed.
Onto the issue... About 6 weeks ago, I began to experience intermittent pain above my left testicle. The pain gradually worsened, saw a general practitioner, physical examination showed minor swelling in the mentioned area; doctor assumed epidytimitis although urinalysis came back negative. Was given levofloxacin, took for ten days. Before I had taken the antibiotics, I masturbated, and within 30 minutes began to experience much more pain, have not masturbated since and it's been a little over 2 weeks. Antibiotics seemed to decrease frequency of pain, but not by much. On the 7th dose, pain suddenly became significantly worse, maybe a 5 out of 10 for 4 hours. I personally believe my vericoseal was acting up simultaneously with an infection. The pain continued to return, seemingly at random and stayed around a 5 out of 10. Out of concern and suggestion of a nurse triage I went to the ER for an ultrasound and urinalysis; the only thing mentioned was the confirmation of the vericoseal. I believe this was 3 days ago, it's all been kind of a blur. Since then, the pain has continued to come and go. But yesterday I had become sexually excited but didn't engage in any kind of physical stimulation. Not long after, I experienced symptoms of a UTI. Slight stinging and burning pain at the tip of my penis and a near constant uncontrollable urge to urinate. This passed after about 5 hours. Throughout the entirety of this situation urinating has also been a bit strange. There is almost always a slight physical hesitation before I urinate, occasionally the stream briefly gets cut off before continuing. Shortly afterwards there seems to be some automatic internal contraction that tries to push out a bit more urine, which as far as I've noticed urine hasn't come out unless I'm on the toilet. The appearance of the urine is normal in color, but is occasionally cloudy, and almost always has tiny bubbles that float below the surface tension of the water. Also occasionally there are stringy bits which I assume are small amounts of sperm produced when I become excited that is pushed out during urination. One time, about 2 weeks ago I had found a small yellowish/tan-ish clump of a gooey sticky substance about the size of... well, maybe halfway between a pea and an olive which appeared to be sperm. Not sure if I should be concerned with the size or the color; when I've brought up a lot of these symptoms the doctors essentially just go "ah, okay" and then move on. Currently dealing with a slight ache (1 out of 10) and there is always a difficult to describe feeling of discomfort through this whole thing.
I have a habit of masturbating once or twice a day; this is the longest of gone without it for many many years. Could this be causing some discomfort or pain? I daily get sexually excited despite not engaging in any physical activity. Should I assume this is just an unfortunately long period of an agitated vericoseal? ...Can I masturbate? Would it cause more pain or perhaps worsen or accelerate another issue?
I've lost my appetite, I'm sleeping poorly, had a panic attack bad enough that I went to the ER a time aside from the one I mentioned before. I'm physically, mentally and emotionally drained. Any input or help would be appreciated beyond words I could use in the English language.
Thanks in advance.

42/f 5’8” 240lbs Non drinker non smoker Current meds: AM meds Lexapro Lamictal Adderal XR Berberine Fexofinidine PM meds Lamictal Birth control Clonidine D3 + k2 L lysine Hydroxyzine (starting tomorrow night) Acyclovir (starting tomorrow)
Once weekly trulicity
Mid January I started having pustules on my scalp that itched something fierce. They were constantly leaking and itchy. They would scab over and be back the next day. I also was breaking out in itchy rashes on my elbows and hands. I went to my PCP the first of February and she put me on a dose of antibiotics and a round of steroids plus ketoconazole shampoo. At the end of the 10 days I was getting some relief but within days of finishing the medications it was back raging and the scalp was worse. My pcp then called in a topical clobetasol (sp) for the scalp and hydrocortisone cream for the arms. She referred me to a dermatologist and they did a biopsy on the arm and scalp. My scalp was bothering me so bad that I shaved my head. It would hurt for my hair to move, be brushed, wear a ponytail. The main area of irritation was across the back side of my scalp but a few random blister like places pop up at random on my scalp. The biopsy was very vague and the derm is now trying the valcylovir and hydroxyzine and I go back in 3 weeks. I AM MISERABLE. I want to rip my skin off. My scalp has gotten better but still no where near clear. My arms, hands and elbows flare up daily. Nothing has changed, no new lotions, body wash, detergent, etc. not sure if it’s worth noting but I had covid the week before Christmas. Attached are the pictures from current to oldest. My hands swell when I have blisters pop up. My pcp did run labs for lupus and rheumatoid and they all came back clear. I have really bad arthritis so we wanted to rule out that possibility. I need relief. I’ve also recently gained unexplained weight in the last 4-6 months. And just as I was posting this my bottom lip started itching and is puffy so I am taking a dose of benedryl before bed.
https://imgur.com/a/BBQIg5m

I'm a 37F with a history of high blood pressure, acid reflux, and syringomyelia (as well as bipolar 1 anxiety, and adhd)
Bloodwork here: https://imgur.com/a/g6zBJHK
Current medication:
Losartan Vyvanse Seroquel Lamictal Klonopin (as needed, which is pretty rare) Prilosec
My WBC count has been elevated the last few times I've had my blood taken. I went to the hematologist at the beginning of the month after my primary recommended I see one
I was not having symptoms at the time of seeing my primary. Since I've seen the hematologist, I've been very fatigued and have been having headaches a few times a week. I've also had cold hands and feet.
WBC is elevated as well as are platelets. MPV is low. There is low iron saturation as well.
He did do an ANA test and that was negative. RF was also negative.
He ordered leukemia/lymphoma phenotypic, a blood smear, and JAK2 mutation assay, which I'm still waiting on the results for.
With my bloodowork being what it is, could the abnormal ones be causes solely by the iron deficiency?
Is there a likelihood that it could be leukemia?
Could things be off because of syringomyelia?

Hi! I’m 170lbs, 23f, 5’1”, and got a tattoo on Saturday, 2/10 on my elbow area on left arm. It hasn’t healed like any of my other tattoos have and I’m a bit concerned about the rash that’s radiated. It started off red and puffy/swollen but today has taken on a new look where the center is “skin colored” and the rash exterior has spread. I’ve linked photos here, the first two are from today and the rest are in order of day-to-day. Is this urgent care worthy or can it dissipate on its own? I’ve just never had a rash like this.
Meds: Wellbutrin 300mg and Lamictal 50mg. Don’t smoke, no related skin issues.

I'm here to give an update on my experience with T pellets. Most recent previous post here:
https://www.reddit.com/TRT_females/s/H4hioNjQqZ
I'm 45 and still have a menstrual cycle. BioTE pellets. Doing this with my primary care physician of over 10 years, whom I respect and trust.
I had an initial insertion September 2023, a smaller "boost" about 6 weeks later, and a second insertion in December 2023. Five weeks after the initial insertion, my total T was 176.2 ng/dL and free T 2.5 pg/mL. (I started at 8.9 and .7) See previous posts for comments about that time period.
I went for my second insertion in December and got 175 mg of T. About 4 weeks later, my total T was 251.6 ng/dL, and free T remained at 2.5 pg/mL.
I am now 6 weeks post second insertion.
I'm doing great.
As mentioned in previous posts, I've been on an SSRI for my entire adult life. I still am, but I'm dropping the dose under the supervision of my psychiatrist. I already did one step down months ago with no problems. (I also take Lamictal, which we're leaving as-is.) The tentative plan is to get off the SSRI and possibly add wellbutrin. I mention this because SSRIs notoriously crush libido, and it's relevant to what I'm doing with the T.
So, libido, sex drive etc.: I desire sexual stimulation much more than I have since SSRIs killed my libido many years ago; however, I haven't seen the same spontaneous, body-focused arousal that I experienced during the first round of pellets. I am hoping to improve things some more in that department with the med adjustment.
PMDD: As I said previously, it's just gone. I have a generally stable mood throughout my cycle now. This was a total surprise, so I don't imagine it could be a placebo effect. It was like night and day starting with my first cycle post-T.
I remain motivated to complete tasks. I had more of a general sense of wellbeing and chillness when I first started T than I do now, but I'm nowhere near depressed (like I have been even on psych meds). I don't cry randomly over bullshit anymore. I am better about sharing household chores with my partner than I used to be. I just need to get motivated to exercise now. That's always hard for me because I prefer exercise that is competitive, and those opportunities are sparse.
No hair thinning or loss.
Insertion sites heal well and leave a pin-prick sized mark. I was very worried about scarring because I'm vain as f*ck, but it's all good so far.
I am much more confident in my professional life since starting T. A decrease in imposter syndrome, basically. Colleagues are noticing.
I tweeze the hell out of my upper lip and chin every few days. It's the only downside. Not a huge deal.
I have lost 15 pounds, but that's because I changed what I eat. In November, I found out I have high LDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, and am very insulin resistant. (I have a bad family history of heart issues and diabetes.) I stopped eating garbage and started Eaton foods that nourish my body. We'll check those bloods later this year.
It's not much of an update because things are OK and there's not much new.
My doctor assures me we won't do anything that will rocket my T up to, like, 500 or something. (That's just the number I threw out there.) If I notice bad side effects after my next insertion, I'll raise the concern with my doctor and either wait longer or advocate for a lower dose. The challenge with pellets is going to be finding the place between chasing the next dose and stacking doses too close together. I get that. I understand that this can be difficult to get right, but I'm interested in trying. I'm reserving judgment on the whole thing until I'm a year in.
All my other hormone bloods are where they should be. Yay!
I know a lot of people prefer injections, but this is working for me so far, and I am not great at timely taking meds. If things go south, I'll certainly let you know in a future update.

I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist since June 2023 following a triggering event that was taking me downhill.
I’m doing CPT with my therapist for childhood related traumas and many more, but it’s been interrupted several times by several other dramatic and other traumatic events.
As soon as I met the doc, he put me on Cipralex. Later, when events got more dramatic, I got too aggressive and felt unsafe from how out of control I was that I worried I’d get myself in trouble, so he put me on Seroquel. It really helped a lot with keeping things under control and allowing me to sleep properly.
I lost my job last week in a very ugly way. I was still dealing with off-boarding process and was too scared that I had to hire a lawyer. I explained to my doc that I’m not able to recount the events -of the job termination- without getting too worked up, angry, and emotional. He immediately put me on Lamictal. I don’t agree with the drug addiction / plan to shift from Seroquel to Lamictal, but I chose to trust him because I’m in a very vulnerable situation.
I’m suffering from extreme brain fog and loss of words most of the time now. Reading this comment feels like I wrote it myself.
I hate all of this.. I don’t like unnecessary meds. I plan to stop it, seeing the doc again on Monday.

Hey again everyone got a update to my original post. Link below
https://www.reddit.com/visualsnow/s/Ic6d5MCbZ1
Saw my shrink today and she said I have excellent progress, long story short my symptoms are slowly going away on this tricyclic med. she said we’ll hold off on the lamictal for now and titrate up on the clomipramine to a 100mg she’s also got me connected with a doctor specialised in diagnosing VSS that is trained by approved doctors by VSI Australia. Currently I live in Australia and it’s in the forefront of visual snow research. As you all know from my previous post I’m ssri treatment resistant, my shrink had a question for all of you part of this community, how many of you with VSS didn’t respond to ssri’s or snri’s for depression or anxiety. She’s trying to figure out if vss causes the anxiety or anxiety causes the vss. She’s going to lead a new research paper into complex cases revolving patients with VSS at her next international conference meeting for physcs.

As these are topics we see many questions about we created this post to give you some general information and resources to find helpful information. When writing a post it is helpful to list what medication, how long you have been on it, and your dosage.

Cold Turkey

Going cold turkey off of any psychiatric medication is never recommended and can induce withdrawals symptoms that can last up to months. Withdrawal (also referred to as discontinuation syndrome) is something you want to avoid and can be done by slowly tapering off your medication. There are a couple situations where you may not have to taper. If you have been on the medication for less than 6 weeks you can probably get by without tapering. If you have a severe reaction to a medication, say serotonin syndrome, your doctor may advise you to stop cold turkey immediately.

Withdrawal

This happens when your brain becomes dependent on the medication after being on it for some time and the medication is taken away too fast. The meds need to be slowly taken away from the brain so it can return to its base state slowly. Some of the common symptoms of withdrawal are brain zaps, headaches, insomnia, agitation, increased anxiety, aches & pains, brain fog, inability to focus, and fluctuating emotions.

Tapering

Tapering has many layers to it and there really is no universal plan that fits everyone. The safest method based on studies is the 10%. This is cutting 10% of your medication you are taking at that time per month. For example if you are taking 100mg this would be your first 4 months (90, 81, 73, 67). This is a time consuming process that is going to take at least 1.5 years. How long you taper is based on the length of time you have been on the medication. Someone taking it for 1 year might be able to do 20% every 2-3 weeks. Someone who has been on a med for 20 years might have to do 5% every 6 weeks. You have to listen to your body as you go. If you drop your dosage and feel like withdrawal is coming on up your dose a little bit or hold that dose longer. Below I have listed tapering info pages for the most popular meds.
If you are on multiple medications on you are planning on going off all of them you want to taper one at a time. Tapering multiple meds at the same time is really hard on the brain and the withdrawals will usually be much worse. Before starting the tapering of the 2nd medication give yourself a month to stabilize more fully.

Resources

Here are some site that provide information about tapering, withdrawal, etc. Some of these are quite complex, but there should be something in here that you should find valuable.
Post that contains info about antidepressants, including methods of switching medications, non-med options. https://www.reddit.com/AntidepressantSupport/comments/10vv3s6/ultimate\_guide\_to\_antidepressants\_and\_how\_to/
Forum about tapering individual meds and creating micro doses. Has individual sections for tapering each medication. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/
Directions on how to grind pills up to create custom doses for tapering. https://www.reddit.com/AntidepressantSupport/comments/17oaxh9/how_to_crush_pills_to_get_custom_doses_fo
Going off antidepressants, withdrawal, tapering, and half-lifes. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/going-off-antidepressants
An extensive article on protracted withdrawal (PAWS). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2045125320980573
Extensive detailed info about tapering and withdrawal from the founder of Surviving Antidepressants. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2045125321991274
This is a very comprehensive article that references multiple studies on tapering. Some of it applies to antipsychotics (but those can be used for depression or anxiety), but I think it applies to antidepressants too. It talks about rapid withdrawal causing movement disorders (tardive dyskinesia). https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/47/4/1116/6178746
Tapering off of SSRI's https://markhorowitz.org/.../04/18TLP1004_Horowitz-1-11.pdf
'Playing the Odds' - Antidepressant Withdrawal - An article and follow-up written by a psychiatrist who explains who tapering should be done very slowly. https://www.madinamerica.com/2013/08/ssri-discontinuation-is-even-more-problematic-than-acknowledged/
'Playing the Odds - Antidepressant Withdrawal - Revisited https://www.madinamerica.com/2014/07/shooting-odds-revisited/
Relapse after stopping antidepressants. https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/30/health/stopping-antidepressant-wellness/index.html
This talks about akathisia which some members got from tapering too fast or going cold turkey. It has some of the meds used for treatment. Please note that akathisia is rare. https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2017/may/beyond-anxiety-and-agitation-a-clinical-approach-to-akathisia/

Medication specific tapering info pages:

Sertraline (zoloft): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1441-tips-for-tapering-zoloft-sertraline/
Fluoxetine (Prozac): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/
Paroxetine (Paxil): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/405-tips-for-tapering-off-paxil-paroxetine/
Escitalopram (Lexapro): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/406-tips-for-tapering-off-escitalopram-lexapro/
Citalopram (Celexa): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/2023-tips-for-tapering-off-celexa-citalopram/
Fluvoxamine (Luvox): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/5095-tips-for-tapering-off-luvox-fluvoxamine/
Vortioxetine (Trintellix): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/10246-tips-for-tapering-vortioxetine-trintellix-brintellix/
Vilazodone (Viibryd): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/4318-tips-for-tapering-off-viibryd-vilazodone/
Venlafaxine (Effexor): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/272-tips-for-tapering-off-effexor-and-effexor-xr-venlafaxine/
Duloxetine (Cymbalta): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/283-tips-for-tapering-off-duloxetine-cymbalta/
Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/876-tips-for-tapering-off-pristiq-desvenlafaxine/
Buproprion (Wellbutrin): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/877-tips-for-tapering-off-wellbutrin-sr-xr-xl-zyban-buproprion/
Mirtazapine (Remeron): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/23158-tips-for-tapering-off-mirtazapine-remeron/
Trazodone: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/2883-tips-for-tapering-off-trazodone-desyrel/
Clomipramine: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/19509-tips-for-tapering-off-clomipramine-anafranil/
Amitriptyline: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1099-tips-for-tapering-off-amitriptyline/
Nortriptyline: See Amitriptyline
Imipramine: See Amitriptyline
Quetiapine (Seroquel): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1707-tips-for-tapering-off-seroquel-quetiapine/
Aripiprazole (Abilify): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1896-tips-for-tapering-off-abilify-aripiprazole/
Lamotrigine (Lamictal): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1122-tips-for-tapering-off-lamictal-lamotrigine/#comment-9926
Benzos: https://benzobuddies.org

IT WAS THE LAMOTRIGINE (LAMICTAL).
This is an overdue update to my last post: Is it true that irritability and overstimulation are not common symptoms in adults?
Okay. Let me explain. I got two replies on my original post asking why I was taking lamotrigine and how it has strong side affects. This sent me down a rabbit hole of research into others' experiences (good and bad) and not surprisingly... some people experienced rage, irritability, and problems with emotional regulation. THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE NOR AM I CLAIMING THIS IS A CERTAINTY FOR EVERYONE ON THIS MEDICATION (I really don't want the mods to take my post down for this venturing too much into the medical side of things).
Why was I prescribed lamotrigine if I've only been diagnosed with ADHD?
Well, your guess is as good as mine. When I was diagnosed and prescribed Adderall in May, I had brought up concerns to my psychiatrist a few weeks later about how I was still struggling with irritability and the other things mentioned in my prior post. This is when she brought up again how usually those kind of symptoms are not due to the ADHD but are common in patients with BPD or Bipolar disorder. She said sometime in the future she would have me reevaluated, but with issues of transportation we'll need to wait until I can make the 2 hour drive and she put me on the lamotrigine to see if it helped. In retrospect, this seems crazy to me??
How come I didn't notice my symptoms getting worse on the lamotrigine?
Honestly, there's two theories I've come up with when I was deciding whether to stop taking this medication or not. The first being that I started off at 25 mg and slowly worked my way up to 150 mg from June - November. I believe that the symptoms slowly worsened and I had blamed it on my own mental health getting worse naturally and not due to my medications. Secondly, at the same time I started the lamotrigine, I also switched over to 20 mg Adderall XR + 10 mg Adderall in the afternoon. This was because I explained to my psychiatrist multiple times that the Adderall was wearing off way too quickly and that I needed it to at least cover my whole work day plus some time in the evening with my family. What's the point of me trying to better myself as a parent if my medication wears off during the span of time I'm with my daughter? Anyways, I think introducing all of these changes at the same time made it hard for me to differentiate the side effects of both medications.
What exactly were my symptoms and how did they improve after dropping the lamotrigine?
At my highest dosage of 150mg, I was experiencing the worst depression of my life. I was hardly eating, I had extreme highs and lows and the ANXIETY was horrendous. I started to experience horrible anxiety attacks and I was always nervous. The BRAIN FOG!!!! When I first started the Adderall I was so excited by my brain fog seeping away and feeling like I could actually think straight, but then I was disappointed to see it come back (this is because as I mentioned earlier, my dosage was increased for the Adderall at the same time I started the lamotrigine). It was getting so bad that I would just stare off into space at work and I felt like I couldn't figure out what I was doing or what I needed to do. It was so weird because its not like I didn't necessarily know what I was working on or what i needed to get done, but it was like my brain was operating in slowmo and wasn't firing the way it should. I was also experiencing extreme suicidal thoughts, low self esteem, and extreme self hatred. I still deal with self esteem and body image issues but it was not to the extent of what I did for those couple of months. I felt absolutely worthless, as you could tell in my last post and I was extremely hard on myself. I felt like my own enemy and that I was out of control of my own feelings. It's cliche to say, but I started to feel like I couldn't recognize myself anymore and I didn't feel like "me". Also, I was having low libido. Am I saying the lamotrigine cause all of these things? Absolutely not, I struggle with everything I listed and have my whole life but the difference is when I was on the lamotrigine, it was to an EXTREME that I had NEVER experienced before.
After my brain got over the initial shock of being off of the lamotrigine (definitely not a good idea to stop cold turkey, I know, but I was desperate), life started to feel more positive and I was feeling the benefits of my Adderall again like I did in the beginning. The brain fog went away and I felt motivated to do more things again. Every extreme that I was feeling has been brought back down to a "normal" level for me. I'm not "cured" but now I feel as though all of my symptoms are at a manageable level. My head doesn't feel like like a constant storm of emotions and I feel much more peaceful.
"Your post sounds like PPD"
I can understand why many people said this, but my daughter is 2 and a half now. I know there's not a real cut off date for PPD and it can affect everyone for different periods of time, but I actually did suffer from PPD during the first couple months of my post partum and it did not feel as aggressive as these last couple of months have been.
Am I still dealing with irritability and other problems?
Yes, I am, but to reiterate what I said earlier, it is at a manageable level now. For example, when I feel myself start to get worked up, I feel more in control of myself and not as flippant/out of control. Also, I've noticed that my best days are the ones where I've gotten enough sleep and have drank enough water, which is something I've seen many people on Adderall say. When I was on the lamotrigine, it did not matter how much sleep I got or if I ate and drank enough. Do I still have my bad moments with my daughteother people? Yes, 100% I do, especially when I'm cranky and overtired like a toddler BUT these moments are not as often and I know I sound like a broken record but not so extreme. I feel like every single person has their bad moments when they're stressed and now I feel much more regulated, and for lack of better terms, "normal"-ish with my irritability. I do still want to try therapy and learn some coping strategies because I feel like my overstimulation and irritability go hand in hand. At least now I don't feel like a monster. Not to say anyone who struggles with extreme irritability is a monster but that was my own warped self image of myself.
Oh, and for context, I stopped taking the lamotrigine on November 16.

34, female, 90kg, 162cm
Epilepsy, adhd, ASD, generalised anxiety which is pretty well under control now. Migraines. Headaches. Terrible memory that I think is due to venlafaxine. Coeliac disease. Positive lupus anticoagulant but no history of stroke, 4 early miscarriages but otherwise no symptoms and no medication for APS.
General fogginess, weekly migraines, headaches feel like they’re constant but no triggers have been found so I just get on with life and try to sleep off the migraines. Normal ibuprofen or paracetamol don’t do much so I only use them if I really need to. I’ve tried oxycodone (codeine allergy) and it only helps me sleep. Neurologists in the past have pretty much recommended that I take Relpax unless they make things worse - which help if I take them very early (the night before), otherwise I don’t really get relief and I get horrendous neck pain. I also have pain in my small joints which I’m told is due to wear and tear. Osteopenia was found during MRI of hands. Had a total hysterectomy and an ovary removed in December 2021. 3 kids.
I take Keppra and lamictal for epilepsy. Intunive 2mg and vyvanse 20mg for ASD/adhd. Slowly weaning off venlafaxine over 12 months - down to 75 as of 4 months ago but I’m leaving it there until seeing a neurologist (which is taking months due to wait lists)
Jeez, written down like that makes me sound like a basket case (I see a psychologist, she says I’m not! Haha)
Onto the issue at hand.
My epilepsy has been controlled since 2014. I had a single, new absence seizures-type episode in early October. I don’t know how long it was for. It wasn’t witnessed. I felt as though I had lost minutes and when I came to (still seated on the couch) I had a huge rush of nausea, vertigo and I was shaking and weak. I have fainted before and don’t believe it was that. It felt like it took me weeks to recover from the brain fog and fatigue. An MRI was done about a week afterwards and I was told nothing significant was found. All my bloods were normal. Upon reading the report myself it mentions a very small (<5mm) non-specific white matter focus in the left frontal subcortical region.
I would love to just know what that means? I’m not an expert, can’t afford to go back to my GP and I’m not aware of other services aside from neurologists who can just explain an MRI report finding to me. I assume that given my GP has told me that nothing was identified, that it’s not concerning and/or common, but I wasn’t told and so couldn’t ask the question. I understand that I should wait for the neurologist for any management or opinion so I won’t ask for anyone to weigh in on that unless a neurologist is lurking and wants to contribute.
I’d just like to know what the white matter means, please :) Google isn’t an easy process for the unqualified obviously. I will attach the report and an image of what I THINK is what they’re talking about - no guarantee that I’m correct.
Thank you so much in advance!
https://imgur.com/a/4rypbSM

About 2 years ago I posted my story as a patient of a NP who was managing my case without the oversight of a board certified neurologist as I had been told I was. I was overdosed on Lamictal for about 8 or 9 months before I was hospitalized and my whole life upended because of it. You can read the original post here:
https://www.reddit.com/Noctos/BiDGmW1whQ
Almost 2 years later I felt like I should give you all an update, for anyone who's curious, but as a reminder that a small oversight (or complete negligence) in medical care can lead to long term complications that might not appear right away as I learned first hand.
After I last told my story I continued to wean off of Lamictal until I got down to 200mg bid. We titrated down in accordance with appropriate titration standards for that medication and the reason I am taking it (epilepsy). 7 months later I started having sudden and extreme panic attacks. I was hospitalized twice. They came on completely unprompted but I also experienced them as a response to normal stress or anxiety. I was sent to psychiatry where I was diagnosed with medication withdrawal induced generalized anxiety disorder. Long story short due to no prior history of psychiatric disorders or mental health issues paired with my medication history they determined the Lamictal was what caused the disorder to develop. I stopped working out because an elevated heart rate started panic attacks. I stopped going out in public, stopped doing most of my hobbies, began having nightmares almost every night, and was constantly in fear worrying when the next panic attack would happen. I didn't want to take any more medication so I refused immediately hopping on something and opted to try CBT first.
It has been a long, difficult, ugly, and beautiful experience. My life is still forever changed; I lost a lot of friends, I still have to be more thoughtful than before in monitoring my mental health and pay close attention to any symptoms of anxiety. I am very lucky to have a strong familial support system (my husband being a neuropsychologist has really helped me understand what happened and how to move forward). I don't harbor any hate towards that NP, I just hope that my story can somehow prevent this from happening to someone else. I hope this helps someone who's been burned by a noctor know they're not alone. Warn midlevels that the craft of medicine is not so simple. Encourage all healthcare workers of every level to continue to do your good work, learn more every day, and constantly seek to improve. My entire life and career has changed immensely but I think I'm doing alright. Thanks for listening.

I have had this lump on my scalp for quite some time. I can't remember when I first noticed it but it's been awhile. Over a year at least. I've finally made an appointment to have it looked at and now I'm concerned about what it might be. I'd also ideally like for it to be removed, whatever it is.
The lump is painless, and I forget it's there most of the time. It doesn't feel hard, and doesn't seem to give off any discharge. I thought it might be a cyst and tried to pop it myself last winter, this didn't work and made a bloody mess out of my head, but it seemed to temporarily shrink. There's no family history of cancer of skin conditions.
I'm 31F, Caucasian, 5'5, 176lbs. Non-smoker, and I only drink occasionally, probably once or twice every 6 months. I have bipolar disorder and take zoloft 100mg and lamictal 100mg. I also have Hashimoto's disease, but my thyroid is functioning well enough that I don't need medication.
Picture

*just about everything in this post is copy & paste from the stuff I looked up online w/ my personal experiences.
Anyway! I went down a rabbit hole yesterday.
Tangential thinking and circumstantial thinking.
A circumstantial thought process describes someone whose thoughts are connected but goes off-topic before returning to the original subject. On the other hand, a tangential thought process is a series of connected thoughts that go off-topic but do not return to the original topic.
I discovered this about myself a year or so ago - I tend to talk in a circle, circumstantial thinking, especially if the topic at hand is something I’m passionate about (which are few & well researched).
This thought process is a symptom of mental disorders such as brief psychotic disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophrenia (bipolar too).
Circumstantiality can also be observed as part of the behavioral changes associated with some epilepsy syndromes, particularly in individuals with temporal lobe lesions. Lamictal is the medication my psychiatrist prescribed me and is also used to treat epilepsy!!! This connection lowkey freaked me out?!?!!
Circumstantiality can also manifest in the pressured, grandiose, and disorganized speech of those with mood disorders with thought disturbances, such as bipolar I disorder with psychotic features.
Whenever I experience mania my thought process is all over the place. I have felt like I was unstoppable before but the most common mania I have experienced was depressive. When I’m experiencing a depressive episode my thoughts never end and I’m able to connect everything as to why I’m a piece of shit and how I do not deserve anything positive. I spiral and spiral and it never ends. My brain is so full of these negative thoughts I am unable to communicate in a coherent manner. Which makes me feel 10x more misunderstood and alone in this world.
Here are some links about what I’ve read. I still have some more researching to do but yeah. I hope this helps someone to better understand themself.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532945/
https://processingtherapy.com/what-is-the-difference-between-circumstantial-tangential-and-flight-of-ideas/
https://processingtherapy.com/what-is-tangential-thought-process/
https://www.verywellmind.com/thinking-process-abnormalities-in-schizophrenia-2953131

23M, ok here we go medication list.. skip 2 lines Adderall 30mg ir&xr 20mg escitalopram 250mg Lamictal, New> diclofenac 75mg 2x/day Gotta give some history so. Here’s the deal. I’ve been diagnosed with DQT and I type on a computer every day so it’s unavoidable for repeated movement and rest. It’s been ongoing since March. Home treatment for 2 months with brace ice and Tylenol before a seeking help, so I go give urgent care a visit when I felt desperate in hopes of a cortisone shot, I was told to keep doing what I'm doing for two weeks and come back if no improvement. Did that 2 more times till I got a doctor who gave me one. Mind you I've been at an 6/10 pain level daily. So Now we are at the beginning of August. I get the shot. Just my Fkn luck the shot made it worse, 9/10 pain level now. I followed my aftercare plan and was told sometimes these Crystals can build up for a little bit but will go away. The bump is still here and painful af. Kept it braced, Increased daily icing at work, stop video games even tho I'm at the point it's painful to even grip it. So now I have to wait to get in with my pcp to get a hand doc reference and I get it after a month and now to wait another month for hand docs and then sent me off saying Take these new pills (listed above) started Sept/20th. I now have a new bottle. But hey. You guessed it, wait for it. aaaaaaannnd POW! Right in the kisser again with my luck and here we still are as of today and probably for a bit while longer will still be in pain. I have an MRI November 2nd. So now that I've gotten that out of the way, I'm going to provide these pics of the good and bad thumbs to compare. I don't want comments about go to ur doc for the diagnosis and everything as you all can't act as a medical advisors or whatever. I just want to know what this is, what it's called and or why you think this is still on going after presenting the history. I just want to do more research about it as I can’t find online anything comparable to mine. Maybe looking the wrong words up idk. I’m seeking knowledge not guidance. If you know what it is, please let me know as well as, if you’ve gone through any treatment successfully, or unsuccessfully until the point of needing surgery, or if you went through the same. https://imgur.com/a/f5hzB0d

Age: 51
Sex: Female
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 190
Race: Caucasian
Duration of complaint: got puncture wound around 9/20/2023, started swelling around 3-5 days later, got a 10-day course of doxycycline, it started getting better but 5 days into it it started swelling again. Went to ER, they gave me a shot of some antibiotic and put something on to immobilize my thumb until the end of the doxycycline. I was also in a sling to keep my hand above my heart. It started getting better again.
I saw the doctor for f/u about 6 days later. It looked and felt better, but there was some pus under the skin. He unroofed it, put a silver alginate dressing on it, and said I needed to keep it immobilized another week, then f/u again. It's now about 3 days later. It was hurting yesterday, so I took everything off. As I peeled off the dressing, there was some pus leaking out, but it didn't smell or anything. I washed the wound, put gentle pressure around it to get any more pus out, then redressed it with more silver alginate.
Today I wanted to look at it again. There was less pus this time, but still some. There seemed to be some trapped under the skin right above the opening, so (I know I shouldn't have done this, but I'm scared) I unroofed it myself with a sterilized needle after using liberal amounts of hand sanitizer on my skin. It looked like a little bit of pus came out, but I'm not sure. I'm concerned about the darkened area. I've called a wound center, but they haven't gotten back to me yet, and I'm worried bc it's friday.
Location: Maryland US; L thumb
Medical issues: mild high blood pressure, no need for meds according to dr
Current medications: sertraline, lamictal, buprionon, using cannabis recreationally 20 mg daily with occasional skipping a day. Alcohol 1 drink/week.
https://imgur.com/a/miYoSk0