Achy joints, stuffy nose and sore throat

Hi. First, all of this was caused by my state of depression from dealing with a severe ear condition that has been ruining my life, which I've talked about in hyperacusis. However, I understand and accept that this is still entirely my fault.
I have had asthma for most of my life and have been in relatively decent control of it. But recently I’ve been exposed to airborne mold. This has happened before, when the first time I had forgotten a tied-up grocery bag of food in my closet, and by the time I’d thrown it out, it had mold inside, with lots of moisture inside and out. Otherwise, there were absolutely no stains or visible mold anywhere to be seen, so I know that it was only airborne mold, plus the air was thicker with a particular smell. It lasted for a month and a half, since I had no idea what to do, and eventually lead to mold allergies that started after a month; dry mouth, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, sneezing, dark phlegm, eye gunk, dry cough, and ruining my voice. The worst of it was how badly it affected my asthma, with shortness of breath and tight chest that kept getting worse.
I forgot the square footage of the room, maybe roughly 700, but I guess it’s medium-sized. I also live in central Florida, where it’s very hot and humid. Plus, I have carpeted floors that it must have probably seeped into. I tried airing the room out by opening the window for a long time, and even circulating the air with two big fans, spraying with Lysol, getting an air purifier, and trying two different dehumidifiers, but nothing worked. And now I can't leave my window open because of loud cars passing by, or have loud machines like noisy dehumidifiers, because of my ear condition.
At that time, I had a service done to treat it, and all my allergy symptoms completely went away, and my asthma got a little better. Now there is airborne mold once again, for nearly two months this time, because of another bag I had tied up with a small amount of food left from dinner I didn’t finish from the rare time I’d lost my appetite. Even though the amount of mold inside the bag was much smaller this time, the airborne mold is still in my room and affecting me. While the allergy symptoms are a lot tamer, my asthma is still getting the worst of it again, with my breath getting shorter and chest feeling tighter almost every day now, especially with having my inhaler being the only thing left to take, since I can’t afford my Spiriva Respimat and Advair Diskus without insurance, which is what helped a lot more last time.
The mold treatment service is 600 dollars, and since I can’t work in person because of my ear condition, along with struggling to find a remote job online, I have no way of affording it again at the moment.
Is it possible for me to be able to take care of this myself? And how can I treat my asthma from mold exposure? At least with helping the shortness of breath and tight chest.

I lost a root canal crown and I need my tooth pulled. I’m gonna get it done soon but my dentist said it won’t harm me if I keep it in there for a little bit since my tooth is dead. But I’ve noticed pain and a sore throat and also a running nose? Could this be from the dead tooth?

25M, 125lbs, 5’9, moderately active, don’t smoke/drink, 2-4 cups of coffee daily Medications: Flovent, abuterol, Allegra most days, Benadryl occasionally Medical HX: silent asthma (for dust allergies), reguka, allergies (mostly dust mites for severe symptoms), Fam history: DAD- psoriasis, acid reflux Mom- Idiopathic ventricular arrhythmia (went into cardiac arrest once), small stroke from unknown cause (heart healthy, potentially the irregular contractions)
Okay, so I went to an urgent care because I was having asthma problems and ran out of my rescue inhaler, and I have to wait till mid June for my allergy appointment. I also noticed my right lymph node was swollen and frankly it might be considered “hard” lol. Anyways I had my medicine but I started getting chest pain while breathing in and hiccuping. I went back for that in the last week, and it had been 2-3 weeks since my last appointment at least. The last doctor told me I probably just had a viral infection, but when I went back this time the lymph node softer but still pretty swollen and firm. My left lymph node was bigger before my last appointment but it went down and it’s still down. Now the doctor gave me medicine for heartburn and I think that’s what it is, after the feeling has moved a couple days and it’s always cured by drinking water and gets worse when doing things that make acid reflux worse. My problem is that it has been nearly 3/4 of the time burning, and even after taking a PPI it still burns some while laying on my back (I tried differently). I have a doctors appointment in a week, but I was concerned due to the persistence and how often the reflux has been happening. It’s pretty painful but not like unbearable. I wanted to know what level of consistency or severity should I just go to the ER for? I don’t want to wait until I’m bleeding out honestly. I searched it up some and it seems like I definitely need to get help, but I’m not sure whether to wait for doctor or just go to ER now. The weird part is the pain started 3 days ago and I’d never had it that bad or for that long before. Idk why all of a sudden it’s long and persistent. I didn’t think it happened that way for my family, and I was concerned that the frequency might cause serious damage if it doesn’t have time to heal or rest. Can someone help me get an idea of when I should go to he ER? The urgent care already did what they could, but they weren’t sure if acid reflux was the problem. Should I go back there in the meantime?
I’ve also been having episodic allergy and immune problems. Achy and stuff fingers in morning, dry mouth in morning, red spots on knuckles, stomach ache/slowing of stomach, stuffy nose, loss of smell, occasionally skin burn feeling, and asthma. The thing is usually those things were correlated with the amount of dust allergens I had in my apartment, but now they seem to be just happening. The asthma is relatively controlled now but I was using my inhaler a few times a day a week or two ago. But usually the asthma happens first and then other symptoms come on. This feels like the inflammation is just doing separate from the dust allergens. Also I’ve gotten those falling asleep jerks that wake me before I completely sleep, and I believe sometimes they make me move and sometimes I don’t move that much but I feel like I did. Recently my prostate has also been twitching during those and sometimes before being partially asleep, and it’s hard to pee so I thin t might be swollen. I’ll feel an urge to bee but then I have to push super hard to get it out. Then sometimes I just have to pee super duper fast. You can Dm me for advice too, I just really don’t want to have anything happen to me. I personally wouldn’t care that much, but I just couldn’t imagine leaving my partner alone. So I just want to take it seriously, I could never imagine leaving my partner behind. That woulf be one of the most painful things I could ever ezpwrience.

I just got into an all-stars softball team, (TOP 25% IN MY LEAUGE) so I was super excited we have practices EVERY DAY excluding Wednesday and Sunday (Duration of 4 weeks, 2 tournaments) missing any could result in being permanently removed from the team (with coach discretion) But 2 days ago I woke up with a sore throat, I went to practice and felt miserable after, the next day I rested as I had no practice, but today I can't breath through my nose (stuffed up nose) its also a bit runny and Im sneezing left and right but I can't miss practice and my dad is an assistant coach, he told me to tough it out, But I literally cant breath through my nose, and I feel like Im developing a cough, HOW THE FUCK DO I PUSH THROUGH THIS..... Plz help. *ALSO I HAVE A 2 DAY TOURNAMENT 3 HOURS AWAY FROM MY HOUSE THIS WEEKEND..* im sooooo dead.

Ive been sick many times in my life especially with flu and cold. Currently lying in bed with stuffed nose from cold and thinking wtf is my immune system doing. I know viruses mutate, but at this point my body should be like "Oh shit a sore throat! Lets beef up defense in the nouse so it doesnt spread!" and yet every single time I get sore throat, the virus just migrates from there to my nose and fucks my whole week up. Why? How is the virus still not dead after so many days? How is it allowed to just move in my body like that when my immune system already knows about it and clearly is able to fight it?

There are some kinds of wisdom only great suffering can bring. I remember my time in the Bardo with this in mind, for otherwise, the memory might drive me insane.
The night my heart stopped for nearly three minutes started off normally enough. I was working as a nurse in the psychiatric ward at a hospital in the state’s capital. Most of the patients there were harmless, mostly just suicide attempts or people suffering from drug psychosis or severe depression, but some were actively dangerous and certainly psychopathic in every sense of the word. The new admission was one of these- a three-hundred pound black man with a long history of smoking PCP, schizophrenia and violent, psychotic breaks from reality.
His eyes looked like flat pieces of slate as I walked in for my shift. They looked as blank and emotionless as the eyes of a doll. He sat at the table in the front room where the patients ate or played cards, alone under the bright fluorescent lights of the hospital. I walked to the station, where another psychiatric nurse named Ricardo was sitting behind the desk.
“What’s the deal with the new guy?” I asked him. Ricardo looked up, his dark Spanish face forming into a deep scowl. He ran his fingers through his jet-black hair nervously.
“He’s trouble, man,” he said in a crisp accent. “He got in a chase with the police and then punched some cops in the face. It took three guys to take him down, even after he got maced and tased. The judge sent him here on a temporary court order, since he claims he’s been getting chased by Nazis in UFOs, and that’s why he ran from the cops. He thought the cops in their uniforms were actually the SS, and the helicopters were alien spacecraft, or something. I don’t know, I didn’t listen to the whole story.”
“You have his file?” I asked. Ricardo leafed through a stack of folders with his thin fingers, snatching one out and handing it to me. I looked down, reading the information:
“Jeremiah Brown, black male, 37-years-old.
“History: Polysubstance abuse, schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder.
“Psychiatrist’s note: This patient has scored a 36 out of 40 on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist. While I am always hesitant to label a patient as an antisocial personality, a combination of factors has made it essential for this patient.
“Patient has an extensive criminal history as well as a lengthy history of involuntary psychiatric admissions. He has been diagnosed as having antisocial traits since he was a young teenager. Patient has a long history of violence and suicide attempts. He has a history of imprisonment for manslaughter, armed robbery, grand theft and aggravated assault. Upon discharge, he refuses to take any antipsychotic medication, citing the side effects as the reason. Long-term prognosis is poor…”
I had not been sleeping well the past few weeks. I rubbed my eyes as I read through the file, feeling exhausted. I tried putting on lucid dreaming or meditation music from YouTube to help me sleep, but whenever I closed my eyes, I saw horrible things: chalk-white female faces whose lips were cut into an insane rictus grin, flicking their heads violently from side to side and gnashing their fangs at the air. I had a feeling that many years of constantly watching horror movies and serial killer documentaries was catching up with me.
As I read through the file, a student nurse came around the corner wearing a white state university outfit and a name tag that said Kaitlyn. I looked up, seeing Ricardo wink at me from where he was sitting in his chair behind the main desk.
“She’s going to follow you,” he said. Inwardly, I groaned, but I managed to force a smile.
“Oh, great!” I said. She looked like she was probably no older than nineteen or twenty. She had a pretty body, but her face looked strange. All the angles were too sharp and her nose too large. I knew the patients here wouldn’t care, though. They would hit on anything. I sensed trouble. I looked down at my watch.
“Well, I’m Jay, and you already know Ricardo, I guess. It’s good timing, because we need to give medications every day at 9 PM. And we have a new patient, so we can introduce ourselves,” I said, giving her a faint smile.
“That’s exciting!” Kaitlyn whispered. I wanted to roll my eyes. It was definitely not exciting.
I motioned her to follow me as I made my way to the medication room, which was really just a large closet off of the main day room. I had to enter my code on a keypad, and then, once inside, enter it again along with the patient’s number and date of birth. The correct drawers for the medication in each specific dose would fly open, making it extremely hard for the wrong medications or doses to be given, unless it was done intentionally.
“OK, so for this patient, we need Haldol, Ativan and…” I began saying to Kaitlyn when the yelling started. It came out faintly, rising in volume and anger within seconds. I heard Ricardo’s Spanish voice, filled with panic. Something slammed hard against a wall, once, twice, three times, and then I heard the sound of glass breaking. I jumped, spinning around, but I couldn’t see much through the small, shatter-proof glass pane on the wooden door.
“Stay here,” I commanded, seeing Kaitlyn’s eyes widen, her freckled skin looking much paler than when we had first come in. “Don’t leave until I come back and say that it’s safe.” On the speakers strung throughout the hospital, I heard the first of the warnings echo out around us.
“Doctor Strong, Doctor Strong, please report to the seventh floor,” a robotic female voice said calmly, using the code for when a patient had to be subdued by force. I pushed the door open, slamming it shut behind me so that the lock would activate and protect Kaitlyn from whatever chaos was going on.
I heard Ricardo pleading with someone at the end of the hallway that ran past the main desk. He sounded strange, as if he were trying to talk through a mouthful of blood. Huddled behind the main computer, I saw one of the CNAs frantically whispering something in the phone. She must have been the one to call the Dr. Strong order.
“You don’t have to do this, man,” Ricardo gurgled faintly. I couldn’t see what was happening, as Jeremiah’s large body was blocking my view. I could see that the thick glass window at the end of the hallway was broken, however. My heart skipped a beat as I surmised what was likely happening.
I sprinted forward as quietly as I could, but the large man heard me. His massive body turned, his flat, dead eyes scanning me with absolute coldness and calm. I saw he had a bleeding Ricardo in his hands. Ricardo’s back and head were covered in deep cuts and shards of glass. He must have used Ricardo’s body as a battering ram to break the thick glass window. Jeremiah held Ricardo suspended halfway out the window, seven floors above the concrete walkways far below.
“Stay back, or this fucker will know what it feels like to fly,” Jeremiah said in a deep, gravelly voice. He shook Ricardo for emphasis, sending his head snapping back and forth with painful cracking sounds. Drops of blood flew from his nose and a deep gash across his cheek. Pieces of shattered glass littered the carpet, shining like countless tiny stars.
I put my hands up, taking a step back. Far behind me, I heard the front door for the psychiatric ward open. Voices echoed down the hall. Knowing that reinforcements were coming, I tried to buy some time.
“Let’s talk about this,” I said, taking a step forward slowly. “You don’t want a murder charge, do you? You’ll never see the sky again.”
“I don’t give a fuck! I’m not afraid to die!” Jeremiah screamed, pushing Ricardo onto one of the shards of broken glass still attached to the windowsill. It bit deeply into the back of his neck, sending fresh streams of blood rushing out, dripping down to the pavement far below. I heard security guards and doctors running down the hallway behind me, their voices frantic and excited. Jeremiah saw them coming. With an animalistic panic in his eyes, he lifted Ricardo up. I cried out something, stepping forward, but it was already too late. In horror, I watched as he threw Ricardo out the window.
I watched Ricardo’s body soar in a graceful arc, his arms grabbing at empty air as a scream ripped its way out of his throat. Within a fraction of a second, he had disappeared from view, but his terrified shrieking floated up to us for what seemed like a very long time. His screams ended abruptly as a shattering of bones and a wet smacking sound exploded far below us.
Jeremiah turned to me, his large body moving much faster than seemed possible. In his hand, I saw a piece of broken glass, five or six inches long and as sharp as a dagger. I tried to turn and run, but he was fast and strong. He lunged forward, his arm coming up in a blur towards my neck.
The shard entered my skin with a cold, numbing pain. I felt it slice through the flesh easily, felt the blood bubbling up my throat as I tried to scream, choking. The taste of iron filled my mouth as I fell backwards. I was suffocating, I knew. I must be dying.
Something cold ran down my body, gripping my heart like freezing, skeletal hands. The world swam around me and turned black. And then I was rising into a tunnel. At first, it was dark, filled with flickering shadows, but a fiery red light appeared at the end. I followed it, no more than a screaming mass of consciousness rising up into infinity.
***
I rose up through the end of the tunnel and found myself in an empty hospital ward. It looked identical to the psychiatric ward I had just come from. It even had the same smashed, blood-streaked window at the end of the hallway. A massive puddle of blood about ten feet away marked the spot where I must have died. But the fluorescent lights overhead here were flickering, and many had gone totally dark. The shadows seemed to press in on all sides.
The doors to the patients’ rooms were all tightly shut. I felt watched, afraid to call out or make any noise. I started walking down the hallway back towards the day room where the front desk was. All the lights there were out. A thick curtain of shadows hung in the air.
“You can come out,” a male voice as smooth as glass called from the darkness. I jumped, my head flicking in random directions, but I saw nothing. The voice almost sounded like it had an English lilt to it, a slight Cockneyed accent. “I know you’re there.”
“Who’s there?” I called out, not stepping forward. “Show yourself.”
“As you wish…” the voice hissed. “But I think you’ll regret it.”
***
The darkness split apart as if a nuclear missile had exploded. I raised my hand to shield my face, but the light and heat kept pouring out all around me. It blinded me, causing a rainbow of colors and shapes to morph behind my closed eyelids. After a few seconds, it subsided. Blinking rapidly, I squinted in the direction the voice had come from.
A male figure stood there, bathed in a silhouette of light. His face looked as white and as smooth as marble. His eyes were pits of darkness that seemed to flicker and burn. Two black, rotted wings surrounded his body, all sharp angles and thin, curving bones. His body was clothed in silky, blood-red robes, and a hood covered his platinum blonde hair.
He looked somewhat similar to Leonardo DiCaprio, if he was possessed by some ancient god, and it immediately threw me off-guard. If I was dying, and this was a hallucination of my brain, why would I be hallucinating Mr. DiCaprio?
“Who are you?” I asked, taking a hesitant step back. “Where am I?”
“My name is Lucifer, the Bringer of Light and Wisdom, and you are in the Bardo,” he answered.
“Oh,” I said, my heart dropping. “Well, that’s not good. Are you here to torture me or drag to me to Hell or something? You are that Lucifer, right? The Accuser of God and the Father of All Lies?”
“So they say, but, like most things in your world, the words of the powerful and your rulers are the true lies. They call me the Accuser, but of what am I accused?” he spoke in a voice that rose like smoke. “Of bringing knowledge and wisdom to humanity by telling them to eat from the tree of knowledge, the tree that would cause them to rise above the animals?
“Indeed, at the beginning, I saw the creation. I was there at the alpha, standing by the side of God with all the angels as the universe came into being. The endless procession of light, the power of it, was something remarkable to behold. God is, indeed, the source of great power, but his consciousness is not what the believers say.
“After the creation of the universe, I saw his plan, how he ripped eternal souls from the source to imprison them. I saw how he took these divine sparks and forced them, screaming and wailing, into bodies made of meat to die over and over again. He said it was part of the plan, the great, divine plan, a plan of death and destruction, constant suffering and mindless agony. And the worst part was, he wanted to give humanity neither the knowledge of good and evil, nor the tree of life. I convinced them to eat the fruit so they could open their eyes to their nakedness, to their basic animal existence, so they could rise up out of it forever.
“Like Prometheus, I brought down the fire, and yet they call me the Accuser? God was insane long before he formed the universe. These holy men, they live and die in fanatical adoration to a divine being who is, in fact, totally indifferent to them.
“His consciousness twists and distorts, eating itself for all eternity. God feeds off the pain of others, for if his mind is burning, then all others should burn as well. When these holy men die, God will send their souls here to the Bardo, to suffer every evil they have ever done. The wisdom I brought those who called upon me freed them from this prison, and in exchange, the holy men burned them alive. I offered the wisdom that opens your eyes, but it has been forgotten and cursed.”
Lucifer’s body began to dissolve, drifting up into the air like ashes. All around me, a low, powerful current blew, a tornado that spiraled high up into the clouds. Like some sort of Cheshire Cat, his smooth voice continued to echo all around me, even as the form of Lucifer disappeared.
“And yet, you have not the wisdom. For that, like all the others who enter the Bardo, you must suffer, everything you’ve done. Every small hurt and agony inflicted on others comes back a thousand-fold in this place, but don’t be afraid.”
“How could I not be afraid?!” I screamed into the ward, but I found myself alone, the question hanging unanswered in the air.
***
The lights continued to flicker all down the hallway. Feeling strange and dissociated, I stumbled over to one of the windows. As I gazed out, I beheld a strange and alien world.
The sky was flat and gray. It stayed in constant motion, swirling and spiraling, like clouds of roiling smoke. There was no Sun or Moon, no stars, only the strange, shifting whorls of clouds. The streets were filled with burned-out husks of cars and mummified bodies hung from streetlamps. Other signs of carnage and bloodshed covered the apocalyptic streets. I saw what looked like shadows in the shape of people slinking through over the sidewalks, past rotting dogs and streaks of clotted blood. They had no features on their blank, dark bodies. They seemed to skitter and jerk forwards in eerie, twisting motions.
Horrified, I turned away, realizing I was no longer alone in the day room. In the day room, there were dozens of tables set up inside a rectangular perimeter that was walled in by cosmetic walls only four feet high. It was where the patients sat and played games or ate.
Under the flickering lights, I now saw each of the chairs filled with faceless mannequins. Many were dressed in Victorian suits and tophats. The women had frilly dresses of pink and blue that might have been fashionable in the 1800s.
As the lights strobed on and off overhead, I realized with an increasing sense of disquiet that the mannequins were moving each time it went dark. When I had first seen them, they were mostly posed to look like they were staring across the tables at each other, even though they had no eyes, just smooth, flesh-colored plastic. Now all of them were looking directly at me. Some were pointing or raising their hands in my direction. At the tips of their fingers, I saw the glittering of steel. The lights continued to flicker, and the mannequins rose from their chairs in the short periods of darkness, moving towards me in synchronized, strobing motions.
Frantically, I ran down the hallway back towards the broken window. In each of the rooms, I caught glimpses of something from a nightmare peeking out. I hadn’t been sleeping well lately, and when I had closed my eyes, I often saw ancient hags with chalk-white skin and yellowed, broken teeth whose jaws unhinged, their faces jerking in stuttering, dissonant ways that reminded me of the mannequins. Now, on both sides of me, I saw these same figures. They moved continuously out of the rooms, drawing closer with every breath.
I looked back, seeing the mannequins only a few steps behind me. I continued sprinting towards the broken window where the hallway ended in a wall. I didn’t know what would happen when I reached it. At that moment, there was no rational thought. I felt like a deer being chased down by a pack of wolves, feeling waves of blind panic and mortal terror rushing through my body.
But as I reached the end of the hallway, the end of my rope as it were, a blast of noise started, seeming to come from the walls of the building and the sky itself. It sounded like a siren, a low, drawn-out drone of a demonic whale call, rising and falling in crashing crescendos. The mannequins froze in place once again. The strange, witch-like creatures slunk back into the dark rooms.
I looked outside the broken window, seeing clouds of black smoke rising off in the distance. The flickering of massive infernos scorched the land, drawing nearer by the second. The siren sound faded slowly, like the dying echoes of a gong.
I was surrounded by dozens of mannequins. Their sharp hands were inches away from my face and neck. I saw metal glittering all around me and realized they had the sharp points of nails protruding from the ends of their fingers. I was afraid to move, but I heard a familiar voice from down the hallway. It was the confident voice of Lucifer.
“The siren means much worse nightmares than these are coming in the Bardo,” he said, his glossy, black eyes flashing with intelligence. He walked slowly towards me, his face grim and pale. “Hell itself is coming over the land. This building is no more than a construction of your dying mind, but the world outside is real.”
“How can Hell come and go?” I asked, confused. “Isn’t Hell a place?”
“Hell is a monster, a beast with many mouths and many eyes,” Lucifer responded. “It eats constantly, but its hunger never ends. Look, the first of the sacrifices scatter like cockroaches.” He pointed out the broken window, pushing his way through the mannequins effortlessly. I glanced outside, seeing thousands of people sprinting down the dark city streets. The inferno and thick clouds of smoke had moved much closer, and every few seconds, the ground shook slightly, as if we were experiencing the aftershocks of an earthquake.
“What can I do against such a beast?” I asked, my heart freezing with terror. But when I looked back over, I saw his form dissolving again, becoming translucent and drifting away like ashes. It seemed even Lucifer didn’t want to be present when the Hell-beast arrived.
“Seek divine wisdom,” he said, his voice trailing off into whispers. “Remember the source.”
***
Now crowds of tens of thousands of people were streaming into the city, filling every single inch of the streets. Their panic and fear was contagious. I felt it rising inside my body like a snake spiraling up my spine. I took off down the hallway, running through the swarm of frozen mannequins, each in their own ferocious position of attack. The lights flickered faster and went out. Yet the fires outside cast the entire world in a bloody glow, giving me enough light to see by and find my way. I sprinted down the stairwell, taking them two steps at a time. The screaming outside grew louder and more pain-filled. The shaking of the ground worsened with every passing second.
I burst out of the front entrance, seeing a world on fire all around me. Thousands of crushed, bleeding and burned bodies stretched out as far as the eye could see. Behind all this chaos and death, I saw a monster of unimaginable proportions slinking its way towards me.
Lucifer was right, I realized: Hell was not a place, but a creature, an enormous monster the size of a town. It had thousands of skittering, jointed legs that looked like little more than skeletal arms and hands, each of them dozens of feet long and white as freshly-cut marble. Its body stretched out to the horizon, an enormous blood-red cylinder of bony plates that slithered and undulated with a serpentine grace. Waves of peristalsis traveled down its length, like writhing intestines. Thousands of curving, bony spikes stabbed out of it, pointing in every direction. Like the quills of a porcupine, it would protect the massive creature’s body from many forms of attack, if anything was big enough to attack such an abomination.
Hell’s massive eyes flickered, balls of fire that spun and danced. They looked as bright as the Sun. Something like solar flares seemed to emanate from the orbs, flashes of blinding energy that floated over the apocalyptic wasteland. As its many legs smashed the ground, they left trails of fire that caused everything to explode into flames as if napalm dripped from its limbs.
But Hell’s most terrifying feature was its seven dark mouths. Its body looked a thousand feet wide, and the mouths at the front were evenly dispersed. At the front, blood-red teeth in the shape of enormous railroad spikes shone. Its lipless, skeletal face grinned as it moved forward, shaking the ground with every step. The mouths were on long, snake-like necks that could stretch out hundreds of feet. They moved forward in a blur, snapping up as many panicked souls as they could.
Countless souls in the rocky plains of the Bardo ran for their lives, away from this juggernaut. I saw men and women who looked like they came from every country and profession, some dressed in suits or spotless white lab coats, others wearing rags or orange prison jumpsuits. And yet, they all screamed in agony and fear here, their bodies pressed together in a crowd, and no one seemed to remember anything but their own mortal terror. Their voices came out faint and weak next to the roaring of Hell. It shook the ground all around us, as if an earthquake were tearing the land apart.
The first frantic runners of the surging crowd had nearly reached me. The nearest person, a young woman in her mid-twenties dressed in all white, was only ten feet behind me. She looked like she came from wealth, and even from here, I could see a ring with a massive diamond gleaming on her finger.
I took off blindly down the familiar streets of the city where I worked and lived, but these also seemed different. The church down the street from the hospital where I worked had a Satanic pentagram instead of a cross now, its exterior painted a bright, gleaming blood-red. When I had driven past it today on my way to work, I remember it read, “JESUS said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
Now it read, “Nietzsche said, ‘Of all evil, I deem you capable. I have often laughed at the weaklings who thought themselves good simply because they had no claws.’” I wondered what that meant. Was that some sort of comment on me, on all of us here?
The woman I had seen running had caught up with me. She was fast, much faster than her slim body suggested. Her blue eyes were frantic and wild, filled with an animal panic.
“It’s right behind us!” she screamed, her face covered in a sheen of sweat. I was afraid to turn and look, but I could hear the chaos and bloodshed approaching, smell the flames and choking smoke. “Run! Get away!”
A new wave of energy surged through my body. I sprinted as fast I could down the strange mirror streets of the Bardo. I heard the agonized cries of countless souls behind us as the seven mouths of Hell ate them all greedily and then looked for more.
A skyscraper behind us collapsed into a pile of rubble, shaking the ground with a cacophony of falling concrete and shattering glass. The woman was running by my side. Just as I heard the breathing of something huge and predatory right behind us and smelled its sulfuric breath, a piece of concrete the size of a basketball broke off the collapsing skyscraper and flew into the road. I tripped over it, yelling as I flew through the air, skinning my arms and legs on the pavement. The woman’s eyes widened. Hurriedly, she came over and reached down her hand, trying to help me up.
“Come on, come on!” she cried. I looked behind her, seeing one of the gnashing mouths of Hell reaching forward on a blood-red, serpentine neck. The mouth was big enough to drive a tractor trailer into, filled with huge spikes of teeth. Its throat led into a black, smoke-filled abyss. Its fiery eyes were swirling pools of flickering orange light that shone with bloodlust and insanity. They focused on the woman, the entire head turning on its slithering neck.
I frantically raised my hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. Her hand was warm and soft. She started to pull me to my feet when the mouth of Hell snapped forward. Its jaw unhinged, scraping the pavement with a sound like grinding metal. The woman barely had time to turn as the mouth covered her and snapped shut with a crack.
She disappeared from view instantly, but I was still holding her hand. In horror, I felt warm rivers of blood explode all over my body as the mouth of Hell severed her arm at the wrist. She screamed, bleeding and crying, as she disappeared into the throat of Hell. Hell’s fiery eyes focused on me, and at that moment, I knew I was next. Its mouth opened wide again, like a bear trap ready to spring on a new victim.
It was dark in Hell’s mouth, but I smelled the thick reek of old blood and fire. I caught glimpses of tortured, mutilated bodies writhing and crawling down its throat. Shell-shocked, I could only lay there and watch. And that was when the strange doubling started.
***
I heard the frantic voices of men break through the fog of darkness and the fetid reek of blood. There was a mechanical beeping all around me, but I couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
“Clear!” one cried. I looked around, only seeing blackness. At that moment, I felt a surge of electricity rip itself through my body. My arms and legs all seized and my eyes rolled up in my head as the pain sizzled through each one of my nerves. I clutched the young woman’s hand tightly, feeling the large, gold ring with the massive diamond biting into my skin.
“Again!” another voice yelled.
“Clear!” the original voice cried. The electricity came again, and a flash of white light flew across my vision. I blinked, seeing from two sets of eyes at the same time: one in the Bardo, and one on the blood-stained floor of the hospital ward.
The Bardo stayed dark and sinister, but the clear white lights of the real psychiatric ward were blinding. It was a bizarre experience. Moreover, everything hurt. Over a few seconds, my vision of the Bardo faded, and I was simply a gravely injured man laying on the floor in a puddle of blood.
Four doctors and paramedics were crouching over me with a defibrillator. My shirt was ripped off, and nearly all of my skin was covered in blood. I raised my left hand, trying to talk, but only a fiery pain raced through my neck. I felt bandages covering my skin. A nurse was rolling a stretcher down the hallway towards me.
“It’s OK,” one of the doctors said, kneeling down. “You’re being taken to emergency surgery. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t talk with the massive slice in my neck.
At that moment, I felt something in my right hand. I looked down, seeing a slim female hand with a massive diamond ring hanging there. Our fingers were wrapped around each other’s, but the hand had been cut off at the wrist. A ragged patch of bloody flesh and snapped bone poked out of the back.
“Nnnn,” I tried to say, shaking my head. I felt fresh streams of warm blood open up. “No…” The doctors looked down, seeing the dismembered hand. Their faces morphed into expressions of confusion and fear.
I closed my eyes as they lifted me up on the stretcher. One of them gently removed the cold hand from my fingers. But they could never remove the memory of what I had seen.
I know what happens after death, and it makes the worst life here seem like a dream. I know that, one day, I’ll be returned to that place. I know that, one day, I’ll see that great monster called Hell and the featureless, swirling sky of the Bardo again.
And the next time, I won’t wake up on a hospital floor, but will be trapped there with the others for eternity: an eternity of blood and fire.

Age: 26 months Height: 34” Weight: 37 lbs Duration: 3 days
My daughter was diagnosed with strep yesterday and prescribed amoxicillin. She has had a low fever, sore throat, runny nose, cough and poor sleep the last few days.
The problem is that it is nearly impossible to get her to take medicine - it is actually impressive how well she manages to spit it out. I know complications can be severe with strep so I am stressing about how I can get the medicine in her; however, when I google it I have read that kids under 3 rarely need to be treated for strep. So my question: if I am not able to get her to take this medicine, will she likely clear the infection on her own? Or is it just as important to treat with antibiotics as it would be in an older child or adult?

Hello, I would like to describe my current health issue to you, including my hypotheses about what might be causing it. I would like to hear your opinions on what it might be and how I should proceed. Keep in mind that I am already undergoing medical consultations and will have more, but so far, I have not reached a conclusion, so I would like as many opinions as possible.
If you need more information, feel free to ask.
For about two years, I have been experiencing facial pain and throat inflammation. I have never had these issues before. They started occurring after I had COVID-19, and I'm not sure if this is coincidental or a consequence of the virus. Initially, these pains were infrequent and mild, but in the past few months, they have become much more frequent and intense, significantly affecting my productivity, energy, and concentration. The pain is mostly noticeable upon waking, but sometimes it persists throughout the day. When the pain is less intense, it almost completely disappears after breakfast or lunch. However, when it is more severe, it doesn't go away at all, forcing me to rest in bed. Sometimes, even taking Tylenol does not relieve the pain.
The facial pain is located under my cheekbones, along my jaw, behind my eyes, and when it's very intense, at the center of my head just above my nose. The pain is continuous on both sides of my face and does not worsen with touch.
As for my throat, it feels like there's a constant lump at the lower part, as if it were scratched. It hurts continuously, not just when I swallow.
These pains occur year-round, regardless of the season.
Regarding medical checks and existing conditions, here are the details:

• I’ve had an eye exam, and there has been no deterioration beyond my existing myopia and astigmatism.
  
• I’ve been checked and do not have sinusitis.
  
• X-rays have shown no issues with my cervical spine.
  
• I likely clench my teeth at night and should be using a mouthguard.
  
• I need to have my wisdom teeth removed (I’ve only had one extracted so far) because they have not fully emerged and are pushing against the other teeth.
  
• I am allergic to dust mites.
  
• I have L4-S1 discopathy.
  
• Blood tests for thyroid issues showed no problems.
  
• I am currently on a treatment of Nicetile 500mg (L-acetylcarnitine HCl) under the assumption it might address nerve inflammation post-COVID, but there have been no changes after 15 days.
  

These issues also cause poor sleep quality. Despite sleeping for 7-8 hours, I wake up feeling tired and as if I need more rest, even if I did not exert myself physically or mentally the previous day.
From the beginning of May onwards, I experienced two weeks where every day I had a sore throat, headaches, and excessive tiredness, despite having taken antihistamines and cortisone spray for more than 20 days in April. I had a flu in early May and felt very ill; all symptoms (sore throat, cold, headache) were amplified and kept me in bed for several days, as if I had COVID. Even after the flu passed, I continued to experience throat lumps and headaches, along with excessive tiredness that rest did not alleviate.
I maintain a fairly balanced diet and engage in regular physical activity. I am physically at a normal weight.
My hypotheses:

• Depression/anxiety
  
• Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia, or hypersomnia
  
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
  
• Long COVID
  
• Symptoms of a dust mite allergy
  
• Dental malocclusion and teeth grinding at night
  

Thank you to anyone who provides suggestions.

Hello, I would like to describe my current health issue to you, including my hypotheses about what might be causing it. I would like to hear your opinions on what it might be and how I should proceed. Keep in mind that I am already undergoing medical consultations and will have more, but so far, I have not reached a conclusion, so I would like as many opinions as possible.
If you need more information, feel free to ask.
For about two years, I have been experiencing facial pain and throat inflammation. I have never had these issues before. They started occurring after I had COVID-19, and I'm not sure if this is coincidental or a consequence of the virus. Initially, these pains were infrequent and mild, but in the past few months, they have become much more frequent and intense, significantly affecting my productivity, energy, and concentration. The pain is mostly noticeable upon waking, but sometimes it persists throughout the day. When the pain is less intense, it almost completely disappears after breakfast or lunch. However, when it is more severe, it doesn't go away at all, forcing me to rest in bed. Sometimes, even taking Tylenol does not relieve the pain.
The facial pain is located under my cheekbones, along my jaw, behind my eyes, and when it's very intense, at the center of my head just above my nose. The pain is continuous on both sides of my face and does not worsen with touch.
As for my throat, it feels like there's a constant lump at the lower part, as if it were scratched. It hurts continuously, not just when I swallow.
These pains occur year-round, regardless of the season.
Regarding medical checks and existing conditions, here are the details:

• I’ve had an eye exam, and there has been no deterioration beyond my existing myopia and astigmatism.
  
• I’ve been checked and do not have sinusitis.
  
• X-rays have shown no issues with my cervical spine.
  
• I likely clench my teeth at night and should be using a mouthguard.
  
• I need to have my wisdom teeth removed (I’ve only had one extracted so far) because they have not fully emerged and are pushing against the other teeth.
  
• I am allergic to dust mites.
  
• I have L4-S1 discopathy.
  
• Blood tests for thyroid issues showed no problems.
  
• I am currently on a treatment of Nicetile 500mg (L-acetylcarnitine HCl) under the assumption it might address nerve inflammation post-COVID, but there have been no changes after 15 days.
  

These issues also cause poor sleep quality. Despite sleeping for 7-8 hours, I wake up feeling tired and as if I need more rest, even if I did not exert myself physically or mentally the previous day.
From the beginning of May onwards, I experienced two weeks where every day I had a sore throat, headaches, and excessive tiredness, despite having taken antihistamines and cortisone spray for more than 20 days in April. I had a flu in early May and felt very ill; all symptoms (sore throat, cold, headache) were amplified and kept me in bed for several days, as if I had COVID. Even after the flu passed, I continued to experience throat lumps and headaches, along with excessive tiredness that rest did not alleviate.
I maintain a fairly balanced diet and engage in regular physical activity. I am physically at a normal weight.
My hypotheses:

• Depression/anxiety
  
• Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia, or hypersomnia
  
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
  
• Long COVID
  
• Symptoms of a dust mite allergy
  
• Dental malocclusion and teeth grinding at night
  

Thank you to anyone who provides suggestions.

Hello, I would like to describe my current health issue to you, including my hypotheses about what might be causing it. I would like to hear your opinions on what it might be and how I should proceed. Keep in mind that I am already undergoing medical consultations and will have more, but so far, I have not reached a conclusion, so I would like as many opinions as possible.
If you need more information, feel free to ask.
For about two years, I have been experiencing facial pain and throat inflammation. I have never had these issues before. They started occurring after I had COVID-19, and I'm not sure if this is coincidental or a consequence of the virus. Initially, these pains were infrequent and mild, but in the past few months, they have become much more frequent and intense, significantly affecting my productivity, energy, and concentration. The pain is mostly noticeable upon waking, but sometimes it persists throughout the day. When the pain is less intense, it almost completely disappears after breakfast or lunch. However, when it is more severe, it doesn't go away at all, forcing me to rest in bed. Sometimes, even taking Tylenol does not relieve the pain.
The facial pain is located under my cheekbones, along my jaw, behind my eyes, and when it's very intense, at the center of my head just above my nose. The pain is continuous on both sides of my face and does not worsen with touch.
As for my throat, it feels like there's a constant lump at the lower part, as if it were scratched. It hurts continuously, not just when I swallow.
These pains occur year-round, regardless of the season.
Regarding medical checks and existing conditions, here are the details:

• I’ve had an eye exam, and there has been no deterioration beyond my existing myopia and astigmatism.
  
• I’ve been checked and do not have sinusitis.
  
• X-rays have shown no issues with my cervical spine.
  
• I likely clench my teeth at night and should be using a mouthguard.
  
• I need to have my wisdom teeth removed (I’ve only had one extracted so far) because they have not fully emerged and are pushing against the other teeth.
  
• I am allergic to dust mites.
  
• I have L4-S1 discopathy.
  
• Blood tests for thyroid issues showed no problems.
  
• I am currently on a treatment of Nicetile 500mg (L-acetylcarnitine HCl) under the assumption it might address nerve inflammation post-COVID, but there have been no changes after 15 days.
  

These issues also cause poor sleep quality. Despite sleeping for 7-8 hours, I wake up feeling tired and as if I need more rest, even if I did not exert myself physically or mentally the previous day.
From the beginning of May onwards, I experienced two weeks where every day I had a sore throat, headaches, and excessive tiredness, despite having taken antihistamines and cortisone spray for more than 20 days in April. I had a flu in early May and felt very ill; all symptoms (sore throat, cold, headache) were amplified and kept me in bed for several days, as if I had COVID. Even after the flu passed, I continued to experience throat lumps and headaches, along with excessive tiredness that rest did not alleviate.
I maintain a fairly balanced diet and engage in regular physical activity. I am physically at a normal weight.
My hypotheses:

• Depression/anxiety
  
• Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia, or hypersomnia
  
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
  
• Long COVID
  
• Symptoms of a dust mite allergy
  
• Dental malocclusion and teeth grinding at night
  

Thank you to anyone who provides suggestions.

For the last 4 days I’ve been experiencing a variety of different symptoms. At first it was bearable but it’s getting worse. What started as just an on and off stuffy nose and sore throat is now a lot worse. It’s accompanied by diarrhea and stomach cramps pretty much any time I eat anything no matter what it is, bouts of nausea, sometimes intense headaches that last for hours and an almost total lack of appetite.
I’m not sure what’s wrong with me, it might just be nothing. However I know the stomach issues are going to be a problem. I can’t keep running in and out of the bathroom during my shift.
Other people call out all the time and it’s OK for them. We are severely understaffed so according to the other coworkers, they would probably do anything to keep me around. All the same this is a new job and I’ve only been working here since April 27 and I don’t want to get fired or make a bad impression. I haven’t been absent once, but there was one time about a week ago I had a really nasty migraine and had to clock out a little early. I don’t want to make the impression of being unreliable.
I really worry about the financial consequences of missing a day. Today’s been a bit of an expensive month because I had to stay in a motel a few days because my roommates had a bunch of people over. Due to them holding back my paycheck for the first couple of weeks, I have not received my first paycheck from my job yet. It should be here on the 18th.
Should I risk calling in sick or tough it out?

I’d like to start by saying my acne is completely gone and I haven’t had a new pimple in a couple months which is great. But! I’ve been having extremely bad side effects like joint pain, dry eyes, dry bleeding nose, blurry vision, nail infections, hair breakage etc. Now I have painful throat ulcers and I’m ready to call it quits. Is it okay to stop three weeks before I’m supposed to? I don’t expect to never have acne again, I just don’t want to have painful cysts like I used to. If I want to can I take the rest of the three weeks at a later time? Thanks for your input!

Overnight laat night I felt a sore throat come on and then that's when the random onset symptoms hit me at once which are stuffy nose, congestion, cough, sore throat, chills, body aches, fatigue, headache but no fever.
Also when I blow my nose my snot us yellow.

My 18 year old daughter had a round of antibiotics to prevent a non existing infection after having her wisdom teeth out. A few weeks later the whole family got sick with a bad cold (runny noses, sneezing, cough, laryngitis). She ended up being the worse out of all of us: fever for several days throwing up, horrible constant cough, sore throat, crying, chills, ear pressure, and generally feeling horrible. Covid test negative. Urgent clinic looked at her ears and saw evidence of the pressure, said probably secondary infection. (I wonder if she got this when the rest of us didn’t because of her recently impaired microbiome from the antibiotics?) Anyway, the urgent care dr gave her amoxicillin. She took the first pill last night. This morning she seems to be doing better and fever broke. I’m thinking it happened on its own, not from the one pill. Does she really need to take the rest of the amoxicillin pills? Or can she save the attack on her microbiome and just not take the remaining pills?

Think I have something. Sore throat, fatigue, headache, runny nose and 2 small sores on my penis that are a bit sensitive to touch.
No other symptoms.
Where can I get tested and for the cheapest price?
I just went to the Red Cross Health Station No.3, but they only tested me for:
Anti-HCV. (Negative)
Syphilis (non reactive)
HBsAg. (Negative)
Was thinking I had syphilis as I have most symptoms, but negative… need to get tested for everything.. advice?
Also heading to Phuket in about 5-6 days, better places to test there?
Thank you!

49 male 5’11” 190 former smoker (smoked approx 20 years, have not smoked last 17) New England served 6 years in the military, 15 years Volunteer Firefighter, 20 years Career Firefighter, 9/11 responder (2 days 9/11&9/12)
Quit drinking almost 10 years ago. Approx 8 months after became fairly ill at home. I could not keep anything down and was sleeping over 20 hours a day and exhausted. Went through several tests with my GP with nothing found. Last test was Western Blot, + for Lyme. Put on Doxy for 60 days sent on my way and told no reason to retest. Felt better and went on with life.
A few months passed and I was run down all the time, wasn’t eating, nauseous, achy and went to an LLMD who ran bloodwork, told me the Lyme had advanced and treated me with supplements and oral antibiotics (heavy duty) I lost approx 60lbs over the next 5 months and not improving so switched to IV antibiotics. I lost another 20lbs in 6 weeks and decided to see another Dr in the area who had experience with Lyme.
This Dr used both traditional medicine and a Naturopathic approach and explained how bad all the antibiotics were and what they had done to my system. Her approach was to boost my immune system and during testing determined I had high levels of 7 heavy metals with Lead, Mercury and Cadmium being the worst. These were treated with Chelation IVs while the Lyme was treated with Vit C and Peroxide IVs, vitamins, and supplements. It was also determined I had the MHFTR gene,hypothyroidism and low T. Put on Methyfolate, Test and prescription thyroid. I completely removed dairy and gluten from my diet. I began working out and gained 50lbs back with much of it being muscle and was feeling great.
I was previously diagnosed with PTSD, Dep, Anx but was managing well and then things went south all of a sudden after almost two years of doing pretty well. I went to a treatment facility and was supposed to enter a first responder program but they determined I was too much of a danger to myself and kept me in a lockdown unit. My Dr convinced me that ECT was the next best step so I endured 18 treatments. I was a zombie for approx 24 hours after each treatment but was doing multiple sessions a week. After drooling on myself for a few weeks I decided this was not the best course of treatment and went to another facility with a Vet/First Resp program and very high end. They treated me medically and for mental health ensuring both were as good as they could be. Adjusted pharma some more and explained how the ECT was not the right treatment and had me do eMDR.
I left the facility and returned home only to have my Lyme symptoms flair again. After several months of treating my immune system again, I was back to work. After 6 weeks I had a mental breakdown, later determined to be from a miscalculated dose from a recall of the Armour Thyroid I was on. It was also determined that my Cortisol levels were high through saliva testing and I was placed on Cortisol Manager 2x dose to lower my Cortisol.
I again returned to work but things were still not right. After a while of this we tested my blood level for Cortisol and I was told I had none. They then tested for Aldosterone and that was very low. I was told I had Addison’s Disease and put on Hydrocortisone and Fludrocortisone. Sent to an Endo, wait 9 months for appt, told there is nothing else they could do and to continue steroids. After another year of telling everyone something was not right I had a cardiac episode with a BP is 192/102 (typically 110/60 and 40-50HR) Saw a cardiologist and out on Olmesartan max dose and Amolodipine(sp?) BP still regularly 160/90. Cardiologist sees Thyroid and Addison testing. Sends me to another Endo. This Drs tests show no issues with Cortisol or Aldosterone and tells me to stop them.
Last week has been miserable. Achy, sore joints and muscles, muscle tension has reduced but posture has changed. Nauseous, no appetite and having a lot of trouble sleeping. My mental health initially improved but has now gone down hill pretty quickly.
Current Meds Luvox 300mg Ativan 1mg 2x day Olmesartan Amolodipine Multi Vit Methylfolate Testosterone
Treatments ECT TMS Ketamine High Dose Ketamine EMDR CBT/CBT Trauma Groups Somatic Multiple therapists with multiple styles
I’ve been on al ot of mental health meds, done DNA testing for meds and this history covers mostly the medical side of things.
Can provide more info or answer questions if needed.

I’m a first timer (just got it today) … well ok waited a couple of days … and interestedly it’s not sure I have it but am unwell. (Tested positive in through, negative in nose) … I am unwell! Very low energy and massive headache and sore throat! (Not eating) drinking lots of water and started on soups today! What’s the laws with Covid or maybe can we still have the flu these days? 🤷‍♀️

This is the longest, slowest and most exhausting illness I think I’ve ever encountered. I’m convinced it’s Covid despite five negative tests. I may have contracted it at a very crowded concert last week or at an unrelated doctors appointment (where they were also treating actively sick patients).
Had a sore throat on Sunday, but really didn’t think too much of it. Then on Monday (2 days ago) I woke up for work extremely fatigued and nauseous. I went about my daily routine until I got incredibly lightheaded and passed out on the bathroom floor. Chalked it up to not eating enough, but the problem persisted throughout the day and I have been incredibly weak and lethargic since.
1 day ago, sore throat became much more intense and runny nose started. Barely able to make it through the work day due to exhaustion and nausea.
Today I woke up feeling like shit. Pain in my face and ears and whole body aches, stuffy sinuses and swollen lymph nodes in the neck. I noticed a familiar painful burning sensation in my inner nostrils and absolutely zero sense of smell. Like can’t even tell the cat just took a huge dump in the litter box. I’ve been Covid positive twice before and the feeling was unmistakable.
Called off work and took two (expired) at home Covid tests which were negative. Made an appointment at the clinic to get tested there, also negative. Begged them for a PCR test but they don’t do that “because the rapid tests are so reliable now, PCR is not necessary”. I should mention the last time I had Covid (January) I also had two negative rapid tests before testing positive, so I don’t really trust them.
Tonight I have developed a dry cough and low grade fever. Wheezing sound when I breathe. Still have persistent and debilitating fatigue along with all of the previous symptoms. Bought two more at-home tests, both negative.
I’m still like 99% sure I have it. I realize I sound insane but I’ve had my fair share of flus and colds and nothing feels at all like Covid sick does. It’s also irritating that work is now expecting me to come back since I’m not positive, even though this illness (even if it isn’t Covid) is absolutely kicking my ass. Ugh.

I’ve been struggling with acne ever since grade 9. It was never really really bad where I considered taking Accutane however it was always there and my parents were always telling me to take it. I exhausted every other option and medication throughout all those years (I just finished my 1st year of uni). I spend thousands of dollars on skin care products and while my face never fully cleared it would go through stages where it cleared enough for me to be okay with it. Fast forward to grade 12, my face really broke out in result to threading it , and it took a big toll on me so I decided to see a dermatologist to ask for tretinoin, which would be my last resort before Accutane.
When I started tret it did clear up my face but not how I wanted. So after about 6 months or more on tret I finally decided to just suck it up and go on Accutane. My brother went on it as well and it cleared his face great and he never noticed any side effects.
It’s been since February 1st 2024 and I’m on my 2 weeks into my fourth month. While Accutane has absolutely cleared my skin amazingly I have been dealing with sooo many effects. My doctor started me on 40mg off the bat (she said the 20mg is kinda pointless derms are saying to just start off 40 to speed up the process).
Month one (40mg): my lips were dry but it wasn’t horrible, I was getting weird chest pains every now and then, my lower back pain was definitely there but wasn’t debilitating, my hair line was slightly thinning, my nose was constantly bloody but not runny it was just like chunks of blood, and my excema flared up majorly. My face is also always flushed and red lol.
Month two (40mg) : same same, my nose started hurting to like touch and push up, it’s started getting stuffy allll the time, back pain was still prominent, excema still really bad, skin very sensitive, my mood went crazy. I started getting less motivated and way more agitated, my patience lowered more than it usually is and I found I was getting angry quicker. I was already depressed lol so i dont know if it made it worse or not cause it’s normal. My hips were extremely tight and sore. And i dont know if this correlated but my nose started to always be moist. Like always wet for no reason. And a lot of farting to be honest.
I also don’t know if this has any correlation but I’m a very active person and Accutane has made me excessively sweaty. I could just be sitting in my bed and my hands will be drenched in sweat which is so out of the ordinary
Pros: Lips were not too dry, face was glowing, I didn’t get much of a purge at all, nose got smaller and eyelashes a little longer, back and chest acne cleared.
Month three and 2 weeks into four is when it got pretty rough. I got started on 60mg and I noticed:
-my lips significantly dryer it’s killing me -my back pain has been absolutely horrible I can barley do anything - major headaches - my hair is so much thinner and fragile in comparison to my usual thick curly hair -my nose is always wet, stuffy, and bloody - my excema is horrible -my skin cut so much easier it was so sensitive and thin - sweaty - same nose shit -my eyes burn a lot and get heavy quicker
Now how I battled these side effects

• dry lips = aquaphor and Vaseline layered -nose nothing -back pain = pills and heating pad and rest
• hair thinning= less heat, fable and mane hair oil every hair day shower, less slick backs, less shampoo, hair masks. It still hasn’t helped much to be honest but I’m hoping it will go back to normal when I’m off it. -excema= prescribed meds and excema relief euricine cream

Stretching hydrating resting and gaslighting myself to believe that it’s not that deep and it’s all a mind game. The side effects will only come if you think of them.
My skin care routine is my holy grail. My face is sooo hydrated and glowy and I honestly give credit to my routine. It’s plain and simple.
Morning - rinse with water and dr.jart moisturizer and clarins sun screen
Night- la Roche pose cleanser, first aid beauty moisturizer, sometimes I put on Mederma scar cream but the absolute must is the la Roche pose c3 balm. That shit Is amazing and I’ve been using it for monthssss.
My predicament is that I’m going back gone to leb in July (their hottest month) and that would also be my last month on this cycle. I really wanna tan and stuff so how bad is the sun on Accutane? Also I’m also considering maybe stopping a month early? Do you guys think that’s a bad idea and will get rid of all my progress?
My doctors said a cycle is 6 months but the derms are saying to do an additional 2 to cement the process. But I don’t want to because if so harsh.
What do you guys think?

I (19F) usually have to get at least 9 hours of sleep to feel well the next day, 10 to feel fully rested. I notice that on days where I get between 6-7.5 hours, even if I slept well a few nights in a row beforehand, I literally feel physically ill. My body temperature has even hit the high 99s and 100s (for reference, my base temperature is usually around 97.5). My entire body will ache, I’ll lose my appetite, and my face will go pale. I’ll become nauseated and experience dizziness by the time nighttime comes around, sometimes to the point where I have to lay down to avoid feeling faint. Sometimes I’ll even experience a stuffy nose and sore throat. Caffeine just makes these feelings worse. On days where I’m on my feet at work after a poorer night of sleep, the symptoms are really exacerbated as compared to days where I am mostly sitting in class or sitting down to do homework.
I ask this because it is really such a small difference in the length of my sleep that leads to these symptoms. I’m not sure if I’m the only one experiencing this so dramatically. If anyone else has experienced anything like this, have you found any answers or solutions? It’s going to be impossible to hold a 9-5 in the future without feeling miserable, since there will inevitably be nights I simply just don’t have time for 9-10 hours of sleep.

Personal info: 25M, 178cm 70kg, no known health issues (other than frequent stress probably related to OCD but never diagnosed and frequent lack of sleep)
Basically I woke up yesterday with a sore spot somewhere in the pharynx (I could reach it with the tongue), it went away after I ate some food and stuff, but my throat felt a little weird and in the afternoon I started sneezing and having a runny nose, and today I still have a sore throat and a runny nose (no more sneezing)... I was wondering if I should tell my coworkers about this (since we had a meeting)? Initially I just thought I probably inhaled some irritant while I was sleeping and its nothing serious but now I'm kinda concerned that it might be contagious
Edit: tested negative for covid and never coughed because of this, no fever and no loss of apetite but I felt pretty tired