26 y.o. AFAB 5”5 155lbs

When all this started back in November 2023 I was about 190lbs. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, itchy skin, and nausea. I went from a US size 16 in pants to a size 8 in under 3 months. This also happened in 2020.

Question:

Based on symptoms, is there anything in particular I should ask my gastroenterologists, general practitioner, or rheumatologist to look into?

Medical History:

CREST, GERD, IBS, Endometriosis, Asthma, Depression, Anxiety, ADHD

Medications:

Albuterol Inhaler, Prozac, Prazosin, Adderall, Nexium, multivitamin, Vitamin D supplement As Needed: Dramamine, Rolaids, Tylenol, Excedrin Migraine, Midol

The Issue:

Starting in November of 2023, I was unable to keep food down. It didn’t matter the type; it could be low in fat and sugar, not have a lick of seasoning, or even be apart of the BRAT diet. Sometimes I would even throw up water. Usually within 10-20 minutes of ingesting food, I would start to have a reaction.
First, I would get a full body sweat and break out into goosebumps. Then, I would start belching uncontrollably. Finally, within minutes of all this, I’d be puking up whatever it was that I had just ate. Occasionally diarrhea would accompany this, but that tend to hit later.
I was able to get some nutrients from meal replacement smoothies and Pedialyte, but they only stayed down about 50%. Around the end of the 2nd month, they began to stay down. After a week of keeping the smoothies down, I slowly worked the following into my diet; unseasoned scrambled eggs, bone broth, and occasionally, unseasoned baked fish, such as tilapia or salmon. I would occasionally have the same reactions as before, either puking or diarrhea, but it seemed to lessen for some reason. Regardless, I still have a tremendous stomach ache every time I eat, doesn’t matter the contents.
Along with all this, the skin on my arms and legs would flush pink, almost like a rash, and itch uncontrollably. It felt as if my skin was extremely dry, probably due to the lack of nutrients. I tried numerous eczema creams, thinking that would be my safest bet, but nothing helped. On top of all this, I was having restless legs, sometimes affecting my arms or entire body, almost nightly. Magnesium sprays, creams, and capsules didn’t make a difference.
Due to all this, as you can imagine, I lost a significant amount of weight, even though I was most bedridden.

History:

This exact same thing happened to me once before in 2020. Couldn’t keep food down and lost a tremendous amount of weight in a short time period. My gastroenterologists was perplexed and wasn’t sure what the issue was. I had an upper GI done, and he had found undigested food in my stomach. Which, I personally find very strange considering I had last ate at 8pm the night before and my scope was done at 11am the next morning. Could my stomach not be digesting food properly and taking longer than it should to do so for some reason? My mother and I both stressed that I hadn’t eaten past midnight but he didn’t believe us. Due to my stomach being full of food, he was only able to see a very small portion, but still took a biopsy. He could find nothing abnormal and diagnosed me with GERD, recommending I take Nexium daily.
The issues finally seemed to subside by summer of 2021, only to return once again in 2024.
Cue Stomach Issues Part 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Notes:

I finally saw my general practitioner about this in February, she was concerned about the weight loss and recommended a new gastroenterologist. It’s taken me so long to seek treatment due to depression and fear that there wasn’t anything actually wrong with me since my previous gastroenterologist couldn’t find anything back in 2020. It made me feel like it was all in my head; especially since things seemed to go away on their own. My loved ones urged me I was not and to finally seek treatment once again. In preparation for my upcoming appointment, I thought I would post here to see if my symptoms ring any bells for anything in particular. I genuinely really appreciate anyone whose taken the time to read this far.
Thank you for your time!

Background: 57M, been suffering from Seb Derm for last 1-2 years. It has become worse over past 6 mos. I shave my head, but my beard has been a "snowfall" every day. In the past two weeks, the flaking became worse including my eyebrows, head, face etc. I started getting a rash on my neck, chest and shoulders. It burned, hurt and I was getting desperate. My face and neck are always warm and red too.
S/T: I went hardcore for a week with high fat, high protein diet. I started with probiotics and creams and greatly reduced sugar & carbs. I got relief, but the flaking continued. The rash went away and my upper body did calm down. I went to the Derm a week ago and they gave me samples of Zoryve. I then got the foam four (4) days ago.
Current State: Four (4) days in, the flaking has all but stopped. My skin looks and feels sooo much better. I still have the redness and "heat". I hope it will calm down too. I am still hydrating with 100ml of water daily. I am finding that after conditioning my face and neck with cream and tallow, there is no flaking. In fact, I also feel like my body is calming down as inflammation resides.
Zoryve Foam: It is not very greasy as reported by others. It literally comes out like hair foam conditioners. I use 3-4 quarter size portions that cover my chest, neck, shoulders, head and face including beard. I am 6'0, 210 lbs. athletic build. I apply it at night.
Side Effects: I have had slight nausea, but not bad. Its like my stomach is a little upset. Funny thing it actually keeps me from eating too much. Not sure if this is a worth noting, but I have only been eating to satisfy myself and not over eating because I have not felt 100%. No bowel issues at the moment. However, I have noticed that I am going to the bathroom a lot more. I am sure it is a combination of reduced bodily inflammation as well as a side effect of the prescription.
So, that is my $.02 worth. I will keep you updated as I continue this journey.

I've (59f) always had joint, skin, and other various problems. During the last year, I've been getting a rash between my finger, that starts with itching, then turns red with blisters, swelling and peeling. It heals after about two weeks and starts all over again.
I found through Google that it looks a lot like eczema and sometimes nickel is the culprit, a long with other things.
While continuing down the rabbit hole, systemic nickel allergy came up, so I looked up foods that have nickel.
I have been trying to eat healthier, so have been taking supplements and eating a plant based diet.
Ironically, I feel horrible on my journey trying to improve my health. My whole body is funky. Skin, joints, stomach, etc...
I will make an appointment to have this checked, but just wondering if anyone else thinks this could be from nickel and if there are good resources to check out that might help. Thanks.

Started puberty 10 years old - went from training bra to C within a year, comments started in elementary school about my breast from peers and adults, by middle school was In a D, by high school at least a DD+ and as an adult I’m 5’3 and now in at least an F/G last time I was sized.
I’ve had nothing but mental and physical anguish (as a lot of you will understand that I am not being dramatic here) since 10 years old. I’m 26.
Acne on my chest from sweat, not being able to wear clothing because it looks like I’m being sexual just because I have large breast (again, as a literal kid), buying bigger clothes so it fits in the chest (which feeds into the body dysmorphia spiral), hating how I’ve looked for 16 years, not feeling like I’m “me” ever. I’ve had meltdowns where I physically hurt my breast because I hated them so. so. so. much because nothing I do helps me be comfortable. Can’t sleep on my back, can’t sleep on my stomach. Spine burning, neck and shoulders pain at all times, rashes, feeling like I’m unable to exercise:
1.)because I hate how I look in public and am so embarrassed to move my body in front of people. I also have a mental stunt because I dropped 40+ lbs back in 2021 and my chest lost nothing. No size difference so what’s the point!
2.) IT HURTS!?!?
All of this to post about how I have my consultation booked for Thursday. I’m so terrified they’re going to say either yeah I should qualify but my insurance(BCBS) won’t agree with their pre-authorization or just immediately tell me no and to just lose weight and see if it helps/come back after I lose weight. I am overweight, but I know that with a reduction it will change my life and I will finally be able to do things I enjoy (Pilates, cycling, etc).
I can think of a million ways I’m going to walk out of there crying because I need this and I’m already preparing for the rejection. Not just physically, but mentally I need this. I’ve called my insurance and it’s covered if the surgeon says it’s medically necessary and can prove it. But google says they’ll need to turn in medical reports or something and I’ve never documented anything about the issues my breast causes because I never thought I’d be able to do anything to help that. I’ve talked to my mental health professionals but that’s it. So I’m worried he won’t be able to prove it besides what I’ve told him.
I want this more than anything and I’m so beyond worried it’s just within my grasp, but I can’t have it.

Hey everyone,
I've been taking 10mg of Lexapro daily for about 6-7 months now, and I'm wondering if the itchy rash I've developed might be related to it. This rash started appearing last month, and although my GP diagnosed it as a fungal rash, the antifungal cream with steroids doesn't seem to be effective. The rash is located on my inner thighs, penis, scrotum, buttocks, and the lower stomach area below the belly button, and it's extremely itchy. Additionally, the skin on my inner thighs and scrotum is very dry, flaking, and peeling (and yes I tried using CeraVe moisturizing cream, but it burns).
I've also observed that when I sit for a few minutes, the chair becomes moist, and my buttocks feel warm, despite the cold winter weather.
Could this be a side effect of Lexapro? I didn't experience any rashes during the first 6-7 months of taking Lexapro, but this rash appeared recently, so I'm curious if it could be related to Lexapro or if there have been changes in my medication.
P.S. I experience night sweats once or twice a week, but I find temporary relief from the itchiness by taking a hot shower in the morning and changing my underwear.
I appreciate any assistance.

Hey everyone,
I've been taking 10mg of Lexapro daily for about 6-7 months now, and I'm wondering if the itchy rash I've developed might be related to it. This rash started appearing last month, and although my GP diagnosed it as a fungal rash, the antifungal cream with steroids doesn't seem to be effective. The rash is located on my inner thighs, penis, scrotum, buttocks, and the lower stomach area below the belly button, and it's extremely itchy. Additionally, the skin on my inner thighs and scrotum is very dry, flaking, and peeling (and yes I tried using CeraVe moisturizing cream, but it burns).
I've also observed that when I sit for a few minutes, the chair becomes moist, and my buttocks feel warm, despite the cold winter weather.
Could this be a side effect of Lexapro? I didn't experience any rashes during the first 6-7 months of taking Lexapro, but this rash appeared recently, so I'm curious if it could be related to Lexapro or if there have been changes in my medication.
P.S. I experience night sweats once or twice a week, but I find temporary relief from the itchiness by taking a hot shower in the morning and changing my underwear.
I appreciate any assistance.

(I posted this yesterday but got scared and deleted it. Here is it reposted).
I'm only going to give some examples of what my mom would do to me as a child. It is a big step for me to even admit that I was abused because I have had so many people tell me that what happened to me is completely normal and I'm just throwing words around. Others have told me that every mother has high expectations of their daughter and I need to get over it. Then others have also told me that this is a severe form of abuse that no one should ever face. I don't know what I believe but I know for a fact that I am traumatized and cannot move on.
Starting from the least harsh of examples if I were to wake up in the middle of the night even if I just needed to pee she would scream at me from across the apartment to get my ass to bed. I really needed to pee some nights but I knew she would scream if I did so I resorted to not using the bathroom even when I really needed it. This resulted in my child self wetting myself and sitting like that all night to the point where I was getting rashes. My mom would then get so angry at me over the rashes and force me to smell my underwear by shoving it in my face and wouldn't let me leave until I smelled it. I felt like a failure. These punishments would move on to me being consistently smacked in the face when I messed up. One night I woke up in the middle of the night and got up and accidentally made a lot of noise and woke my mom up. She got so angry and was screaming for me to come to her room. I stood in the doorway shaking afraid. She kept repeating "Come here" so I admitted that I was afraid she was going to smack me. She said "I'm not gonna smack you" so I believed her and walked in. Once I got up to her she smacked me in the face over and over again. I couldn't do anything but just sit there feeling like I deserved it. The smacking would continue even for the smallest of things I did wrong.
One time in my latter half of elementary school my father found out that my mother was smacking me (my parents split when I was a toddler). He's not any better by any means, he is actually worse because he is extremely manipulative and has used my sisters against me but that's for another time. He told me I needed to report to my school that this was happening. I didn't want to tell the school but my dad pushed so I did. CPS was called and I was pulled out of class to be spoken to. When I got home my mom was a mess in tears saying how dare I do this to her? How dare I ruin her life? I felt like a horrible excuse for a human being knowing I made a mistake and should have kept my mouth shut. My mom went to court with my dad and she ended up winning due to lack of evidence to what I reported and the agreement decided that my dad "manipulated me into fabricating lies about my mother."
Things only got worse by middle school. I was constantly bullied and my mom told me to just deal with it. This was also when I first started having several medical problems mostly within my stomach. I was in pain all the time so I had to go see doctors. This continued into high school. My mom would constantly complain and complain and complain about my medical bills and how much they were ruining her life. She said it wasn't fair for her to have to pay so much in medical bills for me and that I was destroying her financially. I felt horrible. She also resorted to pointing out all the flaws in my appearance and picking apart how I looked. That is the part some people say every mother says. Some other things she would do is just throw things and rip things up when she was angry. There were also some nights at dinner that if I angered her she would throw and break all of the plates and say it was my fault for pushing her. She would also drink a lot of wine every single night. One time she was mad at me over something and ripped up my science homework. I told her it was homework and she said she didn't care. The next day I told the teacher but he did not believe me for a second. If you're wondering what teachers did about this, nothing. I would tell my school social worker what was happening and she would refuse to report saying "Parents are allowed to hit their children." One day I was simply too scared to go home and was begging the social worker to do something. Since she didn't want me going to the police she decided to call the hospital for me to be there for my safety. For some reason, however, I was put under suicide watch when I was not suicidal. I had been in the past but at this time I was not. The worst part is my mom was told absolutely everything including the idea that I was suicidal which was false. When I was finally free to go home my mom just complained about how I ruined her day and how she had to leave work early because of me. She then got so angry with me when she received the ambulance bill and wouldn't let it drop for a long time.
Now I am about to turn 21 and I'm about to enter my senior year of college. I have had to return home because I need somewhere to go during the vacations. My mom continues to constantly insult my appearance criticizing me, tearing me apart. Yet she tries to have a good relationship with me but I can't move on and I know that sounds selfish. A few months ago my mom and stepdad told me that once my mom gets old and stepdad is no longer around, I will be responsible for returning home and taking care of my mother. I also have a younger half-sister who was often the golden child and my mom would always go on about how perfect she is. She has spent so much money on her and her activities and she has been given more. I don't blame her for it in any way though and I love her with all my heart. I asked why it couldn't be her and they responded that it is my responsibility because I am the oldest. I just kept quiet and said okay but inside I was panicking. How could I deal with this? My stepdad reminded me of it later saying "I want you to take care of her because she took care of you your entire life. You owe her." My family has this huge belief that children inherently owe their parents for feeding them, clothing them, housing them, etc. They believe that it's a form of debt to be repaid. I'm glad it's at least not monetary because they refused to help me pay for college and I'll be $77k in student debt (thankfully I'm on a plan where the majority will be paid off in just 15 years). The point is I don't know how to deal with this. It's true she fed me and gave me a home but everything else she has done sits at the back of my head. Who knows what else she'll start saying to me when she gets older?
I thankfully have a partner who I'm going to be living with once I graduate. He says not to even bother with taking care of her and to just put her in a home. The thing is I know she'll never forgive me if I do such a thing and it will eat at my soul forever. Even after everything she's done, she is still my mother and she still provided for me. A lot of the people I know say it's despicable to not take care of your mother no matter what she does to you. Like I said I often question if I was even actually abused or if I'm just being dramatic and trying to be woe is me. My mom accuses me of that all the time, saying I'm just trying to be sad and having a victim complex. I have been in therapy for years for Depression, Anxiety disorder, PTSD, and some other things. I feel so stuck right now and I'm still fighting my thoughts because no matter how hard I try I can't just move on from what she has said and done to me.

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It had been a few weeks since Altier was brought to the run-down shack that his black-scaled companion likely called home, and he could now comfortably say he was accustomed to the…household’s routine. The kobold typically left at the crack of dawn, returned a little after noon, and occasionally left again to forage until nightfall. When the weather was bad or there wasn’t a particular need for something, they half-heartedly chased their rabbit around for a bit, which usually ended with a bout of quiet petting while everyone got ready for the night. It was always amusing to see the energetic side of what he had come to know as a relatively lazy loaf of an animal. As for the routine of the ferrorabbit in question… Well…it was at least more interesting than expected.
Hoppit would begin his own series of activities as soon as his caretaker left—the first of which being a check of every nook and cranny in the shed. He sniffed at anything that caught his interest, varying from morning to morning, but he gave every object or corner its due attention. Once he was satisfied with that, he would eat some of the ragged plants that made up most of his diet, take a drink from his bowl, then jump onto the tro— table and plop himself down, his ears pivoting towards the door. It was hard to say if the lounging spot had been established before Altier’s arrival, but it was somewhat amusing to pretend that the little rabbit was standing guard over his core—if it wasn’t for one particular part of the morning ritual, that is.
Indeed, the ferrorabbit had a habit of licking the obsidian orb that sat in the middle of the room, which thankfully didn’t seem to perturb the system enough to give Altier a headache. He was confused when it first happened, but it was commonplace enough now that he barely acknowledged it. A part of him liked that he was getting attention as a core, even if it was delivered via a strange grooming method. The closest he got to being acknowledged as something other than ‘the dungeon’ was through an unfortunate misunderstanding that he could never properly rectify. He supposed that was hardly worth thinking about now, though; too much time had passed for there to be anyone left to correct. The little oddity of his mornings would have to suffice.
There wasn’t much to comment on as far as the rest of the day’s happenings. Hoppit would end his loafing by shaking his head and ears in a way that filled the silence with soft clacks, give the core a customary tongue bath, then jump off the table to nose his way out of the shed through a hole that was hidden by the storage cart against the wall. Where the rabbit went was anyone’s guess, but he always returned before anyone noticed he was gone, and often did so while covered in small cuts and scratches. Any blood from the lacerations was quickly licked off before it could be seen by the kobold, and in the event that the scaly caretaker happened to return earlier than expected, Hoppit would scurry over to the bundles of blankets to finish the cleanup in secret.
Today looked to be following the usual pattern. The kobold left bright and early with various gardening tools and a wooden pail, and Hoppit had since set off into the great unknown for one reason or another. Hopefully, he returned less injured than usual. It was frustrating to admit that Altier had begun to grow rather fond of the fluffy creature, and seeing the thing come back hurt was bothersome. Was it off looking for food? There wasn’t a whole lot given to it, so that was a possibility, and it could be getting into fights over whatever it found. That still didn’t explain why the animal was so thin, and Altier didn’t have enough to go off of to think of a potential solution. He wanted to help it in some way, like by summoning a creature to act as an escort, or maybe just by manifesting something edible like he once could. No, he could only stare at the ‘Synchronizing…’ that occupied his menu, wishing he had more information to work with.
He never thought he would miss the bombardment of notifications and their lingering presence that filled the edge of his mental vision; at least with that he could surmise enough to hazard some kind of action. Even knowing why the menu was acting the way it did would be a start. Yet, try as he might, there wasn’t a history for him to reference anymore, and he had nothing to work with. He was confident the last message had asked him to ‘accept’ something, then took his befuddled ponderance as an answer, but he was no closer to an explanation for what it wanted, nor why it prompted him in the first place. He just didn’t have another experience to compare against, since nothing like that had ever happened before. Not that he was ever in much of a position to allow it.
The entire purpose of having Altier inhabit a core was for him to become a dungeon of Decay, which entailed all the skeletons, poisons, acids, and whatever else came to mind when one pictured the concept. ‘Living’ creatures were something he only had the chance to experiment with near the beginning of his new existence, though he never dabbled past the first few insects before transitioning to the mindless undead. Having a thinking, feeling, breathing entity touch his core was a rite reserved only for the adventurers and soldiers that bested his trials, and that was usually a painful experience. Now, he had spent what he could only guess was hours being held by a kobold, followed by having a rabbit bump against him, and neither felt like what he came to expect. Instead, both had led to a completely novel reaction from the system. The strange circumstances put him at a bit of a loss as to what it all meant for him.
Sure, he could dismiss the deluge of errors from his companion’s involvement by pointing to the numerous ‘corrupted’ messages before it, and Hoppit was a part of mostly unexplored territory, but the lack of clarity nagged at the back of his mind constantly. Being exposed to activity after potential decades or centuries of unchanging solitude made him despise the informational dead end. If he couldn’t make sense of the rabbit’s circumstances, then he didn’t have much hope of deciphering the reason for why his system was misbehaving so terribly. He also didn't know much about the one who owned the decrepit holdings he was housed inside.
He still wasn’t sure what drove the kobold to take him from the cave. His suspicion of becoming traded goods fell flat after the first week or so, and he hadn’t noticed any cult-like behaviour, which was promising. Granted, a lack of nefarious behaviour didn’t mean there was a lack of nefarious intent, but he didn’t get the impression his companion held that either. The kobold itself didn’t seem quite settled on an opinion of his core, though it was up for debate if the hesitation was due to knowing what he was or not. They seemed to mull something over before bed each night, yet never reached a satisfactory conclusion, staring at the obsidian orb through weary grey eyes until they eventually forced themselves into sleep.
Whatever the underlying reasoning for his abduction was, he had observed enough to know that the kobold didn’t deserve to live in destitution. As beaten as the shed might be, they cared for it as best they could, and did so without a single groan or grimace of complaint. The floors were cleaned with a tattered rag and fresh water, dust was removed regularly, and any stray mess that Hoppit made was dealt with promptly. They even took the time to wipe off his core, which was possibly where the ferrorabbit got the idea to start licking him. The only time Altier had seen discontent from the kobold was when they didn’t find much during their foraging, and thus couldn’t give any treats to the excited and bouncy herbivore.
He wasn’t aware that a creature’s face could make such a painfully broken expression, and he was quick to decide that he never wanted to see it again.
Vexingly, his metaphorical hands were tied; a dungeon could only influence their Domain, and given the state of his system, not even that option was available to him. All he could do was glare at the rotting wooden beams that held up the roof and remember when such an issue didn’t exist. It would have taken a mere flicker of thought and a paltry sum of mana to mend the struts when he was a proper dungeon. He could even outright reinforce the structure by weaving in other materials, leaving the appearance as it was while making everything stronger than iron. Well, he once could. Working with other affinities was something that came to him after absorbing the coloured motes left behind by adventurers, and the accursed stone that stole his mana had taken that ability as well.
An attempt was made anyway, his will ordering the deteriorated wood to absorb any trace metals from the ground, but it was no use. He couldn’t feel the iron or stones beneath the shed like he would have been able to before, all but confirming his suspicion that his connection to the Earth element had slipped away. Nature was much the same; the only way he knew when Hoppit had returned most days was from the subtle noise and the essence of injury. The other attributes—Air, Flame, Luma, Shadow, and so on—were ones he never experimented with to any real extent, so it was less noticeable when he lost his grasp on them. Perhaps they faded early. Either way, all he had left was a waning cognizance of his own alignment, and that wasn’t of much use to him. If he had any appreciable mana income, then perhaps he could do something, but he wasn’t even sure what the upkeep of his current Domain might be. It was entirely possible that he was running on a deficit, which would offer a reason for why his system had been so—
[Do#$@n Ex@#d$%^&d! CRe@#r H-H-H-HoPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP—]
[Errrrrrr—]
[Sy$%^hroni%^$zing…]
[Creeee-tu— Hoppit ha@$ esttttb-hed terrrrrrr-ity f^#% t$e dun@&$n!]
- - - - -
“Well then,” he mumbled to himself, taking in the strange scene behind the shed. For one, he could actually view a small distance beyond the structure now, and two, there was a rather proud-looking Hoppit sitting on his haunches before a pair of significantly less prideful examples of the species. They looked quite a bit bigger than the lazy loaf Altier had come to know, yet they were more cut up and dejected than his furry friend. That answered where the injuries had been coming from, he supposed. Hoppit was probably running off to bash heads with whatever animal population existed here beforehand, and they had only just reached a consensus on who was in charge. Impressive.
One of Hoppit’s ears turned back towards the shed, his head following suit as he gave a lagomorph’s approximation of a ‘Look what I did!’ smile. Altier blanked out mentally, but didn’t have time to question anything before the new leader of the local rabbits imperiously pointed a paw towards the surrounding forest, which was equally surreal to witness. Most surprising of all, the…subordinates? The other ferrorabbits did as commanded, keeping their forms small as they took off into the foliage. Soft clacks came from Hoppit’s pleased shake of his head, then he too left the area with only a slightly lopsided bounce to his stride.
The man-turned-core could only gape at what he saw. Were animals always so…expressive? Had Hoppit heard him? What in the world was happening? Why had Hoppit’s personal conquest led to Altier’s Domain expanding?
He lamented not having fingers, nor temples to rub with them. His system was a garbled mess of errors and inconsistent messages, his residence was falling apart at the seams, his companion was someone who abducted him from the dungeon, yet never did anything past that, and his first real experience with an animal was turning out to be more confusing than he thought possible.
All of this was after an unknown amount of time spent commanding legions of undead to strengthen the very people who he would later learn had lied to and manipulated him, making him into a nightmarish entity just to bolster the power of their forces. He almost missed the days spent gazing out of a mossy window. At least then he knew what to expect.
Nothing made sense anymore.
= = = = =
The soft sound of roots ripping free from soil suddenly stopped, only to be followed by a dull thud of Ceele’s palm slapping against the ground to catch her fall before she landed on her rear. She righted herself with her tail and tossed the stubborn weed into a pile with the others. No matter how many mornings she did this, they always seemed to replace themselves faster than she could remove the pesky things. A sigh slipped from her muzzle as she set about grabbing the next one embedded in the vegetable garden.
Aches and spreading stiffness flared up, but went ignored as she neared the end of her duties, though she was well aware that they would come back with force once she tried to settle down for the day. The impending soreness was an inevitable byproduct of spending so much time working. Still, she knew that if it wasn’t for the kindly old couple that allowed her to call their shed home, she would still be sleeping beneath the stars while making sure nothing tried to get at her Hoppit. Even if it was just a part of the deal, they were owed this much in return, and she would see it done properly.
The sun bore down on her back as she did her usual tasks, which was a departure from the slightly overcast weather as of late. It looked somewhat promising when she checked in the wee hours of the morning, yet as her gardening duties dragged on, so too did the intensity of such a clear sky. A disappointed glance at the empty wooden bucket on the edge of the field was quickly corrected. She hadn’t thought to refill it at the river after watering the crops, and her parched throat was making its protests known, while also reminding her that there wasn’t much water left at home either. One more thing to take care of when she was done.
A gruff cough brought her attention towards the old kobold resting his back against a tree some distance away, safely shaded from the unforgiving rays beaming down. Her displeasure at having yet more to do was hastily wiped away. She was undecided on what to think of the detached audience, but looking so sour while upholding her side of the agreement wouldn’t reflect well on her. Hopefully, he hadn’t seen it. Not that she could tell if he did; he always had the same expression when he watched her work. The elder kobold’s arms were crossed, a finger tapping absently against his bicep, while his tail sat motionless on the grass, the muddy red colour of his scales standing out amongst the greens and browns. ‘Makis,’ was his name, assuming her memory served.
Makis had taken to observing her every so often, usually propping himself against this or that at a distance, the unwavering scowl being as unnerving as it was belying of his age. Somewhat loose skin sagged a bit around his jowls and neck, yet the rest of his face was still taut from how much time he spent examining red-hot metal, and his arms were marred with countless burns and cuts from his profession. He held an oppressive aura, though the crinkles around his eyes and muzzle suggested he smiled as frequently as he glowered, even if Ceele was yet to see the former. There was only the same judgmental expression aimed at her when he was around. She could only hope that he didn’t take offence to some unintended slight, but she didn’t know him well enough to say what might be considered one.
They hadn’t spoken since she took up residence on the outskirts of his land. His wife was the one to introduce them, but it was quickly established that he had no intention of being a chatty individual. He led Ceele to the shed hidden amongst the trees on the edge of the property, then dismissed her with only a grunt coming from the elderly kobold. She supposed that it was for the best. Her experience in socializing was centred around convincing others to employ her, and there hadn’t been much of an opportunity to expand her horizons while living a life on the road. If that had been the end of their interactions, she would have swiftly written the terseness off, but he appeared every few days, taking up residence beneath the shade as he watched her work, never speaking a single word. At least he didn’t openly protest her presence, yet she figured that would be easier to manage. He wouldn’t be such an enigma then.
There wasn’t a whole lot she knew about him besides his penchant for ‘supervision,’ and anything beyond that was what his wife had volunteered during the rare opportunity they had to chat. She was told that Makis worked the smithy out front, and although he had retired from doing so in an official capacity, she could still regularly hear his hammer as she tended to the garden, so she figured he kept himself busy most days. It made her wonder what was so interesting about a vagrant like herself, but when there was so little else to do, she could see how anything could be made worth the attention. It was just him and his wife living in the once bustling home, after all; the couple’s children had long since grown up and made families of their own.
She noticed his gaze shift elsewhere as she tugged yet another stubborn intruder from the soil, his arms falling from across his chest and the perpetually worn displeasure melting to that of curiosity. He wandered off shortly after, and she had to make an effort not to fall onto her tail as the pressure on her shoulders unexpectedly evaporated. Did something happen?
Ceele shook her head free of the distracting thought. It wasn’t her business if he grew bored with watching her work. As long as no one voiced any complaints, she could only assume that she was doing a satisfactory job. Maybe he finally decided that he didn’t need to be so watchful because she was doing well! That could be it, right?
A glance at the somewhat sloppily maintained garden erased the false confidence from her face, but she was just as quick to focus on finishing up, unwilling to allow darker musings to fester. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anything else that needed her intervention. The weeds were all uprooted, the soil was appropriately dampened, and her check for pesky insects or wildlife turned up nothing to worry about. She was free for the rest of the day!
…Or she would be free—as soon as she finished the last of her tasks, anyway.
The black-scaled kobold got up from her crouch unsteadily, shivering and wincing from the pins and needles in her legs. She would have to remember to stretch more often; it was far too easy to forgo that kind of thing just to make the overall work go slightly faster. Her hand reached out to grab the pile of weeds and put them into the bucket as she ran through what needed to be done before she could properly relax. Hoppit’s food needed to be washed, she needed to bathe, and they were running low on water anyway, so she would have to visit the river. Just the thought of dragging herself into the forest again made her muscles protest, but she wouldn’t have the energy to do it later. She forced the smile that had started to fall and took the first of many steps.
- - - - -
The river wasn’t too far away, only taking a few minutes of traipsing through the dense woodlands until she reached her destination. It was an idyllic little spot. The trees thinned out to allow a grassy bank along the water, and there was an appreciably gentle slope from shallows to depths, making for a convenient place to take care of various needs. She had discovered this place during her travels, and it was where a kind older woman found her.
Ceele was washing off at the time, with Hoppit safely taking shelter from the outside underneath the bundled blankets while he waited. The trickle of the stream brushing against rocks covered the sound of footsteps, so she was rather surprised when an aged voice called out to ask if she was okay. Her first reaction was to distance herself and apologize—the why didn’t matter, but she had learned that most people were more lenient of her presence if she seemed apologetic for it, and she usually was. The elderly kobold just laughed at her scrambling, tacking on an assurance that there was no need for modesty. The woman was blind, apparently, which explained how Ceele’s blackened colours hadn’t deterred her.
Strangely enough, there was a comforting sense of ease around the one who introduced herself as Hira. It was a sort of presence that Ceele could only vaguely remember, and it drew her close enough to speak as she finished bathing. The conversation wasn’t anything profound, of course—they hardly delved deeper than surface-level small talk—but Hira lost her smile as she listened to the younger kobold. By the end of it, the old woman posed a series of questions with a dark inflection to her voice, and Ceele struggled to find an answer.
‘Are you tired of looking for something that only slips away? Are you tired of running? Do you really want to be scared and alone?’
If the silence bothered Hira, then it didn’t show. She had simply held out a hand and offered Ceele a way of life that didn’t involve wondering where she would be spending the night, nor entailed cowering in the brush while fearsome predators roamed freely. It would be a simple existence of few fortunes, but it was safe, and it was honest. All she had to do was say yes.
Ceele denied it at first, partially because she knew most people despised Hoppit's species, and partially because she couldn’t shake the offer being too good to be true. Hira was quick to propose a compromise; Ceele could take residence in the gardening shed that had fallen from use, and to satiate the nagging sense of an unfair deal, she would be put in charge of maintaining the garden itself. All Hira wanted was to ‘see’ her favourite space bloom again, since she couldn’t take care of it anymore. The black-scaled kobold stared longingly at where Hoppit was, his little body shivering from the prolonged cold and fear that he would be hurt if he left the blankets hiding him. It was with a heavy guilt that she accepted Hira’s offer, keeping quiet about her true reason for doing so.
That was in the past, however, though she thought about it every time she stopped by and saw the smooth rocks where she and Hira first met. Eventually, she might gather the courage to admit that she was housing a ‘pest’ and beg for forgiveness. Until then, she would just work her hardest to prove it wasn’t a mistake to give her a home. That her endless efforts weren’t meaningless. That Hoppit deserved to be more than a ‘pest.’
That Ceele was more than something she had no control over being.
She cleared her head a bit and started on the reason she came all this way. Her dress was rather easy to wash in the meandering water, and the trees provided a suitable place for it to dry in the sunlight and light breeze. The weeds were fine with a thorough rinse near in the shallows, but taking care of her own hygiene required her to wade farther in, though it only came up to her chest in the middle of the rill. Still, she could scrub off the soil and grime, which was all she really needed. Perhaps some simple soaps would help rid her of the pervasive black that stained her skin and scales, but that was beyond her meagre means for the time being, as well as being mere wishful thinking.
She worked past the dreary mindset that settled in when she allowed it, focusing on how serene the river was. The soft birdsong from the trees helped make for a peaceful experience, and she could feel the somewhat chilled liquid basically pour into the aches and pains throughout her body, washing away the stiffness from spending so long under the unerring sun. It was nice to escape reality and let thoughts drift while held buoyant by calmer waters.
Yet the bliss was short-lived. Even if winter was gone, spring was still far from warming the waters enough for her to laze about for too long. She dragged herself from the soft current and fetched her dress from the low-lying branch she left it to dry on. It was still a touch damp, but it wasn’t anything a bit of time in front of the fireplace wouldn’t fix.
Ceele was only a short distance away from home when she heard a gravelly male voice, but it was the flicker of sight between the trees that made her drop what was in her arms and lunge into a sprint.
Makis stood just outside the gardening shed, a ferrorabbit held at arm’s length by rusty crimson hands placed on the scruff and haunch, the rabbit’s little ears flattened as fear filled its tiny face. Her eyes widened further when she noticed the small stains of blood in his light brown fur. They found out about him. Ephemeral claws of blackness clutched at her soul, ripping the very fabric she was made of as an unseen beast smiled, eager to take yet one more thing from her. Her Hoppit. Her baby. Her everything.
“Hoppit!” she shrieked, her words all but tearing out of her throat in desperation. Frozen blood coursed through her veins, yet poured into exhausted limbs. She broke through the treeline with no regard for the branches slashing against her flesh, panic making each sting fade before it could be processed. The grizzled glare of the older kobold snapped towards her, his usual scowl picking up an actual air of intensity that she never thought could be absent, the promise of violence lurking in his eyes. She skidded to a stop a few paces away, the lump in her throat threatening to clog her airway. “S-stop hurting him!”
“Didn’t,” he barked back, his tone even yet firm. “Cuts ain’t me. I’d’a done worse if’a had ta mind ta.”
The blatant declaration snapped her from blind panic, although his apparent anger didn’t do her fear any favours. “B-but… Then how…”
“‘Hoppit.’ Named it, did’cha?” he grunted, ignoring her confusion and bobbing the rabbit to get her attention again. His gaze shifted back to the animal, the flames of ire cooling slightly. “I was wonderin’ why yer plots ain’t dead yet. Suppose this critter’s why.”
One of her hands hesitantly reached out until she pulled it back, while the other clutched at her chest to stop her heart from hammering against her ribs. She couldn’t act rashly. Not while her baby was in his arms. “I—”
“Soft thing, ain’t it,” the elder kobold commented curiously, cutting her off.
“Y-yes?” she returned reluctantly, struggling to stop herself from lashing out to reclaim the ferrorabbit in his grasp.
“Like fine silk.” Makis tipped and tilted the animal, inspecting this and that with a deep-seated frown, all while Hoppit silently looked to her for help. The pit in her stomach grew. She needed to get him back, but how?
Ceele swallowed the dense dread as she tried to formulate some sort of plan, stumbling over her words and forced smile. “I-it’s nice! Isn’t it nice?”
His eyes snapped back to burrow into her own with hatred. “Wasn’t a compliment, girly.”
“B-but you—”
He released Hoppit’s lower half to jab a claw at the various spikes around his body, plying them with minimal force. “Look. See this? These’r suppose ta break bone. ‘Specially when he’s stiff like this. Ain’t no way I should be able ta bend ‘em. He’s barely more than a walkin’ carcass—all skin ‘n stick. He’s gonna get picked up by a wandering pecker if he keeps pissin’ about out ‘ere. It’s a wonder he’s still kickin’. What’cha feeding ‘em?” His gaze dropped from her face to the rest of her, disgust curling his muzzle into a snarl. “N’ver mind. I can guess.”
She felt the dampness build at the edges of her vision, unprepared to not only worry for Hoppit's immediate health, but also to face such harsh criticism while she was so vulnerable. “I… I try to make sure he has…”
Makis crouched to release the ferrorabbit onto the ground, Ceele dropping to her knees the moment he did. The terrified lagomorph wasted no time, bolting towards his adoptive mother and leaping into her arms, shaking uncontrollably. The rust-coloured ‘bold stared as she started soothingly stroking the animal’s back.
“Yer given’ em the weeds, aren’t ya?” he stated rather than asked. She gave a teary nod when her voice wouldn’t respond for her. The old kobold drew a breath, letting it go in an exasperated sigh as he stood back up, his expression becoming more impatient than antagonistic. “What else?”
“I— Um…”
“What. Else?”
“W-whatever I c-can find!” she sputtered out. Hoppit tried to hide against her neck, prompting her to tighten her hold. She couldn’t stop herself from shrinking, the guilt and confusion pulling her head down. “R-roots, vegetables, fruits… I give them as often as I can.”
His glare continued unimpeded, his cadence cold. “That it?”
There were a million things Ceele wanted to say. A part of her wanted to beg him not to kick them out of the first safe place she had in longer than she could remember, but she couldn’t find the words. She wanted to deny the judgmental tone that stabbed into her insecurity surrounding how good of a job she was doing with Hoppit, but the deadened void in her chest swallowed her pride whole. She knew he was right to critique her. That she was failing in the only thing that mattered anymore. That the feeling of loss would return.
“I try,” she whispered through the beginnings of a sob. “I try to find more, but he needs someone around, and I have to work the garden, so there’s only so much time I can spend looking. He won’t even eat all of what I bring back…” Tears dripped off her cheeks as she aimed a desolate smile at her furry friend. “He wants to make sure I have some too.”
“Yer killin’ em,” Makis pointed out plainly, crossing his arms. “He’ll be dead ‘fore the summer at this rate.”
“I know!” she shouted, forcing back the memories of insidious murmurs that lurked in the back of her mind, eager to creep into her ears again. The hate-filled stares that followed her, the rumours that arrived in towns before she had the chance to make an impression, and the guilt that loomed over her like an executioner's axe… “I know I am… I just… I don’t know what he needs. I don’t know how to make him happy…but I try. I’m trying…”
“…Yer an idiot, girly.”
She looked up to see the elder kobold walking away without another word. Her eyes fell to Hoppit, the ferrorabbit pressing himself against her as much as he could. He was small, thin, soft, and growing weaker by the day, but he never let it keep him down for long. No, he always showed his best for her, giving her joy that wasn’t provided anywhere else. She saw the thin cuts and dried blood, though she didn’t know where they came from, nor how he got out of the shed in the first place. But that was okay. Hoppit was okay, and she had Hoppit, so everything was okay, right?
…But how much longer would everything stay okay? How much longer until her efforts weren’t enough, and she was left desperately reaching for fading memories of what once was? How much longer until she killed her baby too?
How much longer until she was alone again?
Soft footsteps drew near, pulling her from the spiralling thoughts that threatened to gnaw at her soul. Damp, blurry eyes fell on Makis returning with a small wooden crate, the older kobold stopping a few steps away. He dropped the box, a deep, rattling thud produced as it impacted the ground, making Hoppit flinch in her arms. Ceele blinked as she kept him calm, then blinked again, looking up at the man for answers.
“The name, girly,” he spat in irritation. “Ferrorabbit. Ther’ Earth aligned creatures; they need metals. They don’t care where they get it, but they need lots of it. Iron, copper, tin, lead—raw crystal, if they can find it. You name it, they’ll take a chunk out of it. It's why they bother farmers so much; the best soil’s usually top’a gem deposits, ‘n the little bastards have no issue burrowing deep to get it. Dries up the element’s energy ‘n makes the crops weak.”
Ceele’s mouth opened and closed, each unsuccessful attempt to speak making her feel smaller and smaller. More and more lost. Why was he telling her this? How did he know? What was in the—
He kicked the crate with the side of his foot. “Scraps. Don’t’cha look at me like that. I’m a smith, girly. I might be old and retired, but I still work a forge. Now, this ain’t anything pure—it’s just slag and hunks—but I’m sure the critter won’t mind. Your little gardenin’ project pays off, ‘n I’ll see which of my contacts can get in some better ore.”
She ripped her eyes away from the box and met the perpetual scowl of the old kobold, seeing a warmth behind the hostility that she had never noticed before. “…Why?”
He scoffed in amusement, which looked somewhat menacing on such a hardened expression. “Yer a touch stupid, girly, but the missus adores ya, ‘n yer a good worker.” A shadow of a smile formed on his face. “Hira spent more evenings asking ‘bout how the plots are doin’ than I got time in the day. She’d bite my head off if I noticed a critter like that sufferin’ and didn’t lend a hand. ‘Specially when it’s obvious you ain’t tryin’ ta hurt the thing.”
“B-but the garden… Isn’t he a problem?”
Makis rolled his eyes, turning with a dismissive wave of his hand. “If he was, he’da killed it by now. I’d say he’s been keepin’ the others clear ‘n got scratched up for the trouble. That’s more reason to feed ‘em right in my eyes; pay the poor bastard his dues.” He paused after a few steps, shooting her one last incredulous glance. “‘N the rabbit’s right. You’re not much better off than he is. Eat. Before the missus takes my head, preferably. I ain’t need ta hear her worryin’ over you more than I already do.”
And with that, he walked off back to the house, leaving Ceele to sit stunned on the ground with Hoppit quietly nuzzling into her.
“Hoppit…?”
The ferrorabbit perked an ear and gently licked her collar. Fresh tears ran rivulets down her face, yet they didn’t weigh her down. They felt freeing. She adjusted her hold on the rabbit and held him out, taking in the small cuts and numerous other injuries she had never noticed before. He stared back at her with worried eyes.
“You’ve been busy, huh?” she cooed quietly, doing her best to keep her voice from cracking. He shrunk in her hands. “I told you to stay home, baby. What if something happened to you? I wouldn’t know where you went, and…”
Her protests died out as she saw what was unmistakably guilt on his little face. She brought him back to her chest and cleared her throat.
“It’s alright, Hoppit. If… If you want to help momma, then we can work together, okay? Just…please don’t go off getting hurt… I don’t know what I’d do without you…” The rabbit didn’t reply, and she was pretty sure she had never heard him make any sounds that weren’t his happy little ear clacks, but she chose to interpret the nuzzling as an agreement. “Such a smart boy…”
She took a breath and wiped off the excess moisture from her cheeks, setting Hoppit down on the ground. “Let’s bring Mr. Makis’ gift in, and then I need to go get more water so we can clean you up, okay?”
He bounced his way to the door of their home, waiting patiently for her to lug the surprisingly heavy crate into the shed. He was even still behaving himself by the time she returned from picking up the things she dropped in her haste. There wasn’t a single protest from the ferrorabbit as she washed over his wounds with warm water, nor when she asked him to wait as she cut up a small salad for him using an extra portion of her rationed vegetables. Finally, once everything else was gone, she tentatively sifted through the box until she found a chunk of something that didn’t look so sharp, then offered it to Hoppit skeptically.
As startling as it was to see him bite through metal without issue, she couldn’t help but tear up again at how pleased he looked with the bizarre addition to his diet. He munched through the first piece, then stared at the box while pawing at the air, asking for more. She obliged through wet laughs, feeling lighter than she had since he first gazed at her from his burrow, alone and afraid, just like she was.
Her little baby was happy, and that made it okay.
Next
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A/N: Thank you to my Patrons, new and returning! No Thanks, Emmanuel, and Megathor join the others who get to read 1 chap ahead!

I’ve been on 5mg for 4 weeks, first two weeks were fine (no side effects). The 3rd week i decided i would switch up my injection site to my stomach (i was getting an injection site rash and wanted to be able to hide it in a bathing suit so stomach it was) after i injected in the stomach i had HORRIBLE nausea and was vomiting. I was able to get zofran and it worked great. However my plan was just to inject my 4th shot in my thigh again and this week has been just as bad. I’ve been throwing up the second i wake up. Has anyone experienced this after switching injection sites? I can’t deal with this nausea and vomiting. I would rather chew on needles than throw up.
Can i skip a week of my shot to kind of get the side effects to chill before i do another dose? Is that a terrible idea? I don’t want to continue to take zofran (the constipation is unreal) i guess im just trying to figure it out. I haven’t had side effects at all until the past 2 weeks.
To add I’m 138 now and my goal is 135. I wouldn’t be mad at 125 for some wiggle room. I’ve been consistently losing about 10-15lbs a month. Started at 172 March 20th.
Thanks in advance for any advice given! :)

I had an exposure on April 16th with an ex boss of mine from Amazon. I’m having the worst anxiety. I was very stupid and irresponsible by trusting him and taking off the condom. After my period the symptoms started I felt like tingling in my fingers and feet and all over my body. My stool also was foamy and I had diarrhea for a couple of days but it went back to normal but the smell to it is different. I also have oral thrush not on my tongue but in the back of my throat I have white stuff and pharyngitis. My body also felt hot like I had an internal fever. I felt something also spread into my cervix it was like a vibration sensation. About a month after the exposure I went to the doctors to get an STD test I’m not sure how accurate the 4th generation test is after a month which is why I’m so worried. I’m going back to get tested June 26th. But I don’t know what to think. Some other symptoms I currently having are some muscle pain and random red dots on my stomach. I also have a rash on my back it burned but didn’t itch. And a rash on my inner thigh.

Hi, my son has high plasma and urine glycine. His genetic tests don’t show NKH.
He has had various symptoms since 3 days old and has been under the children’s hospital since he was a baby. He keeps getting passed between teams but we have no answers.
At 3 days old he lost 12% of body weight, was jaundiced and he started having strange tremors in his arms. He stayed orange for a long time after the jaundice was gone. His body temperature also kept dropping very low.
By five weeks he was on medicine for reflux and started having sandifiers syndrome (he would sit bolt upright for a minute and then flop back down). He dropped from the 75th percentile to the 9th (was below that for a bit but not long). He also had apnoea although the Drs kept telling me it was probably breathholding due to reflux.
After his 16 week vaccinations he stopped babbling, screamed all the time and stopped sleeping. He would wake every 10 minutes and it lasted until he was eight months. It was so bad I started hallucinating and couldn’t go out.
At six months we both had a stomach bug and didn’t eat for three days. He seemed much happier in himself and was like a normal baby. We started cutting out common allergens but every time we cut one it would improve and then get worse again as we replaced it with a different protein. We’d already cut legumes when breastfeeding.
He started having spasms that looked like infantile spasms but because he could sit up they said it wasn’t that.
By eight months his diet was no dairy, soy, legumes, meat except chicken, egg, fish. We also cut gelatine. The more we cut out the more he grew and the less sick he was. He was still having reflux and the spasms which we put down to sandifiers.
If he ate high protein foods he would drop to the floor suddenly and scream, he’d be completely manic, his eyes would look glassy and his pupils would dilate. His heart rate would be high. He wouldn’t sleep. He’d suddenly have times where he just looked sad and tired and pale. He’d also dribble excessively. Symptoms would last 7 -10 days and then he’d be fine again.
At 11 months he had a ‘seizure’ and went to a&e. It looked like a darcrystic seizure. He had a few more like it when he was young but now has ‘seizures’ that look gelastic. They’re usually in his sleep.
After his 12 month jabs he stopped talking, sleeping, was manic or screaming all of the time. He also kept getting infections and was in and out of A&E every six weeks. He also kept vomiting every four to six weeks like a bug but no one else got it and he was covered in rashes. He started being treated with sodium cromoglycate.
As he got older he got put on neocate as he was deficient in iron, zinc and selenium. I kept feeling like he was reacting so I kept stopping or giving a very small amount. Eventually they convinced me to give him more due to the deficiencies. He started having tics and other types of ‘seizure’. When he was awake he had what I think might be a myoclonic seizure. His shoulders kept spasming and his arm would shoot up in the air. He was conscious and talking but there was a strange feeling in the room like he was electric. He has also dropped to the floor a few times and stays conscious but can’t remember chunks of the day later. He doesn’t remember any of these things after. We were filming him at night and he would be sat up in bed staring for most of the night. It didn’t look like he was asleep at all.
He had two EEGs and both were normal.
We stopped neocate and all the tics and seizures have stopped. He’s also not as manic.
We also made a link between processed chicken and symptoms which I’m thinking is because of added collagen aka glycine.
He’s not disabled and does quite well at school. I think he’s got adhd but it would be more inattentive. He also gets bouts of very intense anxiety mostly at night. His sleep is still not great although better when his diet is good. He can’t have food colourings or artificial sweeteners. Physically he has slightly low strength in his upper body but he walked at 9 months, rode a pedal bike on his third birthday and is very sporty.
Drs have said not epilepsy due to normal EEG and not NKH due to not being disabled.
What else could this be? Why can’t he eat food? And is the strong reaction to vaccinations the gelatine? If so could he have gelatine free ones?
ADHD, autism, bipolar and autoimmune diseases all run in the family.

Hi,
I don't have any diagnosis yet, and i'm still figuring out what is happening to my body. I have two questions:
-do any of you experience redness/ glowing in the face after eating gluten. Also acné kind of itchy rash sometimes. Red spots?
-when you do eat gluten containing food, do you have reaction to almost anything you eat the first days after that? I mean also non gluten containing food that is still gonna upset your stomach?
My jp is talking auto-immune, and i tested negative on gluten (on a moment i was eating glutenfree instinctively, low carb) But before we jump to conclusions i just want to be sure. I still have the feelings that i react very heavily to bread and wheat flour.
Thanks in advance

I am trying to figure out what is causing these symptoms. But I’m 99% sure it’s related to candida.
I am a male, and have bad candida rash in my armpits. For over a month.
I’ve tried daily anti-fungal cream to no avail. I mean, it’s get a little better but won’t go away.
I now am so tired and itchy ALL over. I only have the rash in my armpits, but like my scalp will itch. My legs will itch.
And lately, my stomach skin is tender? Hard to explain.
I’m just fed up and wondering if anyone can relate.

Male , 34 , 6 foot 1 and normal weight for my height.
I've had an on going skim condition now for almost 4 months. Scalp has lots of sores, face is dry and flakey back and stomach is unbearably itchy. And rashes on legs and arms . I've been countless doctors at this point but they all kero saying allergies. They give me allergy medication and it doesn't work . Does anyone have any possible advice or similar experience? I can hardly sleep its really ruining my life.

I experienced severe PUPPP rash on my stomach during pregnancy. I also have a lot of creping on my stomach skin pretty much exactly where my rash was and almost in the same pattern.
I’m wondering what your experience with PUPPP rash was and whether you feel it’s permanently affected your skin?
PUPPP is something I can’t find a lot of information on and my doctor has always been very nonchalant about. It’s an interesting topic to me!

28F, 167 sm, 48 kg, Caucasian not on medications. Gastritis, SIBO, PCOS.
I have never had weight issues, for 10 years I have always been 52-55kg. In the last year I have lost 6 kg, which is A LOT for me. Now I am underweight and I absolutely can't gain even one kg. Even maintaining that minimum, that I have, is difficult.
The frustrating thing is that I can't find the reason for this. I've had a full endocrinology and gastroenterology checkup and they haven't found anything that could be causing the weight loss.

• I started losing weight after a severe course of Pityriasis rosea in May 2023. I had to take a course of prednisolone to get rid of the rash
  
• In June I took a SIBO test and it came back positive. I took antibiotics but nothing worked. My symptoms are basically the same as they've been all my life. My GI doesn't really believe in SIBO itself, because of the unreliability of the tests.
  
• I have had GI problems all my life, but they have never affected my weight. It's abdominal pain, bloating, nausea. I don't have diarrhoea or constipation. No malabsorption issues.
  
• I haven't been on any strict diets this year. One month I followed low fodmap and eliminated gluten. But after being tested for celiac disease, I went back to my normal foods
  
• I eat about 2600-2800 calories a day. I am not a vegetarian, my diet includes calorie-dense foods (I eat peanut butter, avocados, and so on every day).
  

I have been stuck at 48kg for two months now and can't gain even one kilo. However, if I accidentally skip a meal or get sick, I lose even more weight very quickly.
Here is what the doctors checked: gastroscopy, abdominal CT scan with contrast, ultrasound, calprotectin, parasites, occult blood in stool, CRP, elastase in stool, fat/protein digestion, Helicobacter, gastric antibodies, all gluten antibodies, biopsy from stomach and duodenum. Nothing abnormal here, mild astral gastritis without Helicobacter. Also I did blood tests: total blood count, biochemistry, CRP, A1C, ALT, AST, vitamins, thyroid panel including antibodies, insulin, HOMA, cortisol, ACTH and immunoglobulins total.
In addition to weight loss, I am bothered by weakness, fatigue, dizziness, muscle twitching. The neurologist did not find any abnormalities
I am confused and don't know what to do in this situation. I don't understand why I have suddenly lost so much weight and I can't get it back no matter what. Would appreciate any recommendation

I recently helped my grandmother and grandfather get a puppy from my animal shelter. She’s a small blue heeler. For context, she’s had two strokes and has had lapse in speech very often, as well as losing the ability to do specific things like use her phone properly.
She keeps misgendering her dog. She knows she’s a girl, but keeps referring to her as “he”. Me and my mother try to emphasize “SHE” when using statements with her, and it’ll work for a brief moment, but she will revert right back to it. It is clearly a girl and she knows she’s a girl; she even calls her by her feminine name but still says “he” and “guy”. It’s beginning to confuse family and friends who make comments like “I thought she was a girl?” And she will act like she never said otherwise. She was freaking out the other day saying that her dog has a “rash” but it was literally brown skin pigmentation on her stomach. Like spots. She additionally keeps calling my cat a boy and has developed an irrational fear of cicadas. She believes they are taking over. She has slowly began to demonstrate “infantile” behavior, such as crying and using a higher pitched voice.
She has been declining recently and it makes me very sad because she was always a sharp, witty woman but it seems she is moving backwards and has changed personalities. The misgendering her dog thing is a very small blip into her forgetfulness, and it is incredibly stressful to call her as she can be very anxious and irrational. It’s hard to hear her mix up words and forget things, and she is aware that she is slowly having more issues and cannot do the things she used to.
I don’t know why these things are frustrating me: I am one of the most present people in her life, how do I correct her misuse of certain words without sounding like I’m patronizing her?

Hi everyone. I’ve been dealing with skin rashes that appear to be petechiae on and off for about 9 months. I’ve also been struggling with extreme fatigue, yawning constantly, consistent headaches, and lightheadedness. In just this past month, I’ve noticed more frequent rashes, worsened fatigue/headaches, and an increase in night sweats where I wake up soaked.
When I first went to the doctor for these symptoms 5 months ago, I ultimately was diagnosed with hydrogen SIBO (I should note that I have been chronically constipated for about 3 years) and not much else was addressed. The assumption was that they were just other symptoms caused by SIBO but I no longer have SIBO and I am still having all of these symptoms. My blood test over a month ago indicated my lymphocytes and iron were were “relatively” high according to the lab, but my primary doctor didn’t note anything as abnormal. Instead he advised me to take B12 since I was a little on the lower end even though my lab for that came back normal.
I am hoping to get some advice and maybe opinions on whether or not this is something worth chasing? I ultimately just don’t feel myself and haven’t for a while. Petechial-like rashes last for a few days usually. I’ve had a non-itchy stomach rash with red oval shaped patches for around 3 months as well. Photos in comments. Any tips appreciated.

Hi everyone. I’ve been dealing with skin rashes that appear to be petechiae on and off for about 9 months. I’ve also been struggling with extreme fatigue, yawning constantly, consistent headaches, and lightheadedness. In just this past month, I’ve noticed more frequent rashes, worsened fatigue/headaches, and an increase in night sweats where I wake up soaked.
When I first went to the doctor for these symptoms 5 months ago, I ultimately was diagnosed with hydrogen SIBO (I should note that I have been chronically constipated for about 3 years) and not much else was addressed. The assumption was that they were just other symptoms caused by SIBO but I no longer have SIBO and I am still having all of these symptoms. My blood test over a month ago indicated my lymphocytes and iron were were “relatively” high according to the lab, but my primary doctor didn’t note anything as abnormal. Instead he advised me to take B12 since I was a little on the lower end even though my lab for that came back normal.
I am hoping to get some advice and maybe opinions on whether or not this is something worth chasing? I ultimately just don’t feel myself and haven’t for a while. Petechial-like rashes last for a few days usually. I’ve had a non-itchy stomach rash with red oval shaped patches for around 3 months as well. Photos in comments. Any tips appreciated.