Iv hydroxyzine

About a month ago I got food poisoning and had an immediate severe panic attack with diarrhea and more. This lasted about 12 hours.
2 days of feeling weird
Day 3 I had the same result all over again, panic attack, stomach issues and more middle of a meal.
This time I did not leave a state of pure panic for about 12 straight days. Finally a second IV therapy with vitamin b12, magnesium, vitamin c and hydration gave me about 24 hours of 60% peace. Then it returned.
I was terrified this was forever and it was all in my head. Or that I’d be left a sad anxious panicky person for the rest of my life. Only ever prior to this dealt with like 5 minutes of anxiety at a time. Very mild.
Protecting my mental health was my number 1 priority. I limited anything I could that caused it just to not grow anymore fear. Driving for example, freaked me out when I tried to early on. Just stopped. Completely. Did not want to create a fear loop around that at all that I’d need to unwind.
Got tested and it took 14 days for the results to come back. My md’s blood test showed nothing except elevated Billy Rubin’s and lack of stomach enzyme production. Their stool test also came back negative.
But my naturopath’s stool gi map tested positive for h.plori, and blood in stool.
During those 14 days it was states of pure anxiety, dread and feeling like I was going to die. Racing heart rate, on and off stomach pain, slight fever 99-100 that came and went periodically, magnesium helped but barely, bland diet only thinking it was my gallbladder. Pain in upper right side of abdomen etc.
The other constant symptom has been feeling incredibly weak and dizzy like I cannot stand and this is the most anxiety inducing feeling.
My naturopath then refused to give me the antibiotics and voted for a more natural protocol.
From what I’ve read, this doesn’t always work and certainly takes much longer. Which given how much I want this anxiety gone, I don’t want to do. Would love thoughts on this?? What’s the best path forward? I’m nervous about the impact people have had from antibiotics. I’m hoping the faster I get rid of this the less the anxiety will take hold in my future life.
Also curious about the dizziness and fever?
What I have learned and the advice I would pass on: - including the things I took inbetween that helped.
The superior theory is that I got food poising and already had h.pylori. But that this as well as not taking great care of myself opened the door for it to take over.
For anxiety Self talk is important. Believe it will go away once you heal. Anxiety, weakness, all these things are side effects of h.pylori even if your doctor doesn’t understand. I had to talk myself into believing it by paying attention to how managing the symptoms actually did work slightly. Proof that it wasn’t in my head it’s in the body and the body can be healed. I had to write that down and remember. If you have been in it for less than 6 months, and have learned to manage it, and don’t have much history of it. It seems very likely it will vanish as fast as it came.
I have learned that h.pylori can set off cortisol levels, as well as elevate your heart rate (but not high enough to ping doctors) as well as cause panic and anxiety with vitamin deficiency as well as inflammation, and MANY PEOPLE this goes right away when being cured. Fear of it coming back needs to be faced but it’s separate and manageable when you actually step into it and slowly will pass as you notice that it’s actually not coming the same way.
While waiting for my results I began taking a powder called “gi gut repair” this made a huge difference in my stomach symptoms and I began to be able to be distracted from the anxiety. As well as bpc a peptide designed to reduce inflammation. Both of these things seem to help the stomach symptoms. And anxiety as well given that is often caused by inflammation. I’d say by 30-40%
For anxiety I have been taking hydroxyzine which is mild none addictive and also slows heart rate. This made another 30% chunk out of the panic. 5mg every 6 hours.
I ate a very bland diet, sticking pretty much only to coconut water, chicken, rice, gluten free soy sauce, banana and peanut butter. Occasionally soup with veggies like zucchini and gluten free white bread as I got painfully bored of the same food. Random things like potatoes that seem fine online produced a spike in symptoms.
Stomach enzymes they gave me made me feel considerably more weak and anxious. I opted for a much lower natural dose that seemed fine.
Each spike of symptoms took me down for 2-3 days till I returned to what I knew helped.
For panic. Aside from the pills, The elevated heart rate makes it hard to relax. Especially with cortisol spiked. The bananas and coconut water were unknowingly treating that as both are loaded with potassium which slows heart rate. As does hydroxyzine. I imagine the magnesium I took here and there via iv’s helped too. So between all that the anxiety and other symptoms started to become more manageable prior to any real treatment. Even reaching days where the other symptoms were present but I could push through because I wasn’t panicking about them. Had up to 5 days without it using these. Mind you this is only symptom management I’ve yet to get rid of it. But compared to the early days I’m 60-70% better mentally at least.
Pushing through the dizziness in some cases has helped my confidence. Once I felt comfortable doing that.
I do believe I will return fully to a normal life. But the stories about the anti biotics sound not to fun.
That being said the idea of having any these symptoms last for months while I do the slower natural approach with a higher chance of remission doesn’t sound better.
You have all showed me that I’m not alone. Thank you.
Summery of advice - quit assuming anxiety and panic is in your head. Especially if it’s sudden. Don’t worry about that until you are certain your body and gut is fully healed. - a temporary anxiety med can help you relax and not weed its way into your mind. - treat for inflammation, lower cortisol for symptom management. - doctors suck a lot of the time. These things aren’t researched well. - potassium is great to calm your system. - bland diet helps, when you find something that doesn’t piss your body off. Stick to it. - stomach enzymes might not be great on large doses. - avoid sugar. - push yourself in small ways once you know your body/mind is playing tricks. - distract yourself and when not distracted self talk. Idle mind isn’t your friend with chemical anxiety.
Let me know any advice for the next steps. Hope to share a glowing success story within a few weeks.

I had my first surgery (double incision, no nipples) on January 5th and immediately developed a hematoma on my left side. Exactly three weeks later on January 26th, I had another surgery, this time for an emergency infection on my right side (a complication that has a <1% rate). During those weeks, I was checking this subreddit a lot to see if there was anything similar and for any ideas on what to do. I figure that my experience might be helpful for people.
Here are some things I wish I had known to do.

1. First of all, make sure that you have the right support in place for if you run into a <1% complication.

Everyone I met on the surgical team was very optimistic about my surgery and said repeatedly that the chances of any complications were very low because I was young and healthy. I believed them and did not prepare myself for the mental reality of having to basically throw away 2 months of my life due to a rare complication. I have never wanted breasts from the moment I started developing them, but had I known that I would have such a rough recovery I would have opted against the surgery and dealt with the low level dysphoria (about a 3/10 on the average day, spiking to 7/10 occasionally) for the rest of my life. This is not to say that I am unhappy with the outcome; indeed, the surgery completely took care of my chest dysphoria. I just personally wish that someone had walked me through what the rare complications could be like, how long it would likely impair my functioning, and asked me to weigh that against my dysphoria. Instead, everyone I talked to, including my friends (2 of which were medical students), basically told me that the less than 1% chance wouldn’t happen. Unfortunately for me, it did happen. So just remember that rare complications happen to someone and try to set yourself up to catch any problems immediately as they arise.
If you have any mental hang ups about asking for help like I do, it’s really important that you ignore that feeling and “bother” people. I put things off because I felt guilty about taking time out of my sister’s day to go to appointments and I was worried that I was asking stupid questions to the surgical team. Due to my history of overreacting about small health issues, I felt embarrassed and decided to bank on being part of the 99% that do not need emergency surgeries. Don’t do that. Buy a thermometer and a pulse oximeter so you also have concrete points of reference for when you feel off. For a pulse oximeter, I got the ChoiceMMed since it has good reviews on Amazon.
Try to handle any health problems you’re aware of before your surgery. I suspected I had sleep apnea, but didn’t manage to get my results from my sleep test before my surgery. If I had done it months ago and gotten a mouthguard it would’ve made sleeping post-op easier.
Prioritize your surgical appointments above any other routine appointments. I didn’t do this and missed a chance I had to potentially treat the infection earlier.

1. Be prepared to send a lot of messages to your surgical team and to call the help line.

Related to the paragraph above. My surgical team had a portal online where you could send messages. Get help taking photos and send them in with the message before you call the help line so that they can see them. In the early days of recovery it also helps to take photos every day in the same position so that you can easily compare and reference how much swelling there is. Take off your binder when you take photos. It’s not very useful if they can’t see the actual incision site, and I made this error in the beginning.

1. If you’re prescribed Oxycodone, ask to also be prescribed Zofran and take that before. Don’t take Oxycodone on an empty stomach.

After my surgery on January 5th I felt fine and without nausea. I went home and took Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Then 9 hours after my surgery I took Oxycodone and spent hell in nausea. I didn’t realize what was happening to me and thought maybe it was delayed effects of the anesthesia, so I kept taking Oxycodone and abiding by the suggested dosage schedule. It was nearly impossible to get up and I couldn’t walk more than a few steps from all the nausea. My sister called the help line and got me prescribed Zofran, but what really helped was stopping the damn Oxycodone. Unfortunately, being nauseous during this time also made my hematoma harder to handle because I missed the window for aspiration (more on this later). Nausea on Oxycodone happens to quite a few people — one of the nurses working with me in the ER right before my hospitalization and second surgery also told me that when she had tried Oxycodone she basically blacked out.
I was already extremely wary of Oxycodone after my second surgery on January 26th, but the pain wouldn’t go away and the nurses told me they could only give me Oxy since they already gave me Tylenol. I told them that it made me super nauseous, so they gave me a Zofran and reassured me that there was also anti-nausea medication in my IV. Well, none of that was enough. I started feeling nauseous again, though thanks to being in a hospital they could give me other anti-nausea stuff. I puked twice. The nurse taking care of me in the hospital told me that you should absolutely never take Oxycodone on an empty stomach — that’s the biggest cause of nausea with this medication. I still don’t want to try this medication ever again, but if I do I will heed her advice. Don’t take Oxycodone on an empty stomach. If nurses try to give you Oxycodone and you haven’t eaten anything ask them for a snack first at least.

1. Strip your drains at least 3 times a day.

The handout they gave me only said once a day, but after the emergency surgery they told me I should have been doing it at least 3 times a day (you can even do 5 times a day). It’s very important to get rid of any clots in there; not stripping it enough may have contributed to me getting a hematoma on my left side. It was also very hard for me to strip my drains myself, so my sister had to help me. I also suggest watching a YouTube video on how to strip them if the nurse doesn’t demonstrate for you after your surgery (mine didn’t). Make sure that you’re stripping it with the binder off and reaching as close to the entry point you can get. It’s hard to do because it takes more force than you’d expect. You might want to apply pressure on the drain at the top against your skin while your support person figures out how to strip them without yanking it out of you or slipping and hitting you in the side.

1. If you know you’re allergic to adhesives, ask for something different rather than surgical tape.

There’s about 1% of people who get a rash from surgical tape. If you have eczema like I do, it’s far more likely. I’ve had bad reactions to band-aids I left on for longer than a few days, so I felt like this was a complication that might happen to me. Regardless, I had never had surgery before. After 10 days, I had a lot of red bumps that first appeared on my stomach and then continued to spread. Anti-itch cream, steroid cream, and Benadryl did nothing. I was told to take the strips off. I took one off the left side by myself, but the process made me feel so nauseous I couldn’t do the other side. The nurses are much better at taking them off and have special solutions so I would actually recommend waiting for your post-op. Regardless, by the time of my appointment the bumps on the left side looked better than the right. I was marked as having an allergy to 2-Octyl Cyanoacrylate (Dermabond), which is apparently what they use on the strips to make them stick.
After my second surgery I had the misfortune of developing more red bumps, this time starting on my chest and spreading up and down. The cause for this one was harder to tell since we had avoided the adhesive strips this time (opting for Xeroform, but they told me to stop using that too just in case). Possible culprits: the antiseptic they wash you with before they start the surgery that causes the orange residue; the leftover tape on my sides holding the drains down; antibiotics I was put on for my infection (first Bactrim, then Augmentin, then back to Bactrim after they confirmed my bacteria cultures). They cleared me to wash early to try to get the antiseptic off, but I didn’t take multiple showers since showering with two drains (they put my right one back in after the second surgery) was taxing after a hospitalization. They gave me Hydroxyzine that I was taking 4 times a day (and feeling very tired due to it) but it wasn’t doing anything on its own, so eventually I got taken off of antibiotics early. They told me that they had already gotten the infection out during the surgery and the antibiotics were just for safety.
Things I have learned from this: In terms of OTC, Benadryl is apparently stronger than Loratadine. Also, creams apparently don’t work on rashes when they’re in the early stage of popping up, so you’ll need a strong antihistamine.

1. Get another binder or multiple ace bandages (the wider the better). Binders that go over the shoulders offer more support.

The binder they put on me after surgery both times was from EaB Medical. This binder only goes around the chest and not over the shoulders, though they do have straps that you can attach to them. I really recommend using the straps if you have this binder since it keeps it from slipping down. Having good compression is really important in the early days. You can also use ace bandages but it can be hard to tell how tightly to bind them, and they tend to stretch out after washing. Either way, you should plan on having more than 1 binder / bandages so you can swap them and wash them. Due to my situation I ended up binding for 9 weeks.
I tried to get a binder from Underworks, but the small was too small for me and the medium was slightly too large. If you want to buy from them you may want to ask them how exactly their sizing works. After my second surgery I was a 33” circumference but couldn’t make the sizing work. If you can spend the money, it’s probably a good idea to get the $100+ ones from Marena. Maybe if I had had a binder that went over the shoulders it would’ve helped get more of the fluid out from my first hematoma.

1. If you notice swelling with a lot of fluid, get seen within the next day or just go to the ER.

Hematomas are more common than you would think (way more common than infection). Anywhere from something like 5~30% since there are no real comprehensive estimations. If you can push against your skin and feel fluid jiggling in there it needs to be removed. If it’s accompanied by a lot of bruising it’s a hematoma. In my case, I developed disproportionate swelling on the left side after my first surgery that just kept increasing for 3 days. It was even bruising above the binder they gave me. I wasn’t using the straps for the binder at the time, so the only feedback I got from the nurse hotline when I called was that the binder was slipping and I should pull it up.
The reason why the nurse hotline didn’t really help me was because I didn’t take photos with the binder off (partly due to the terrible nausea I was dealing with from Oxycodone). The other reason is that my first surgery was on a Friday and the surgical team was off during the weekend. If I had taken off my binder for the photos and the nurse had actually gotten ahold of the plastics team, they probably would have told me to go get it drained.
My first post-op was 4 days later, so I thought I could just wait until then. That was wrong. Despite putting out 50cc and then 55cc in the drain on the left side during the first two days, by the third day it had dropped to 5cc. Either due to not stripping the drains enough, having compression that wasn’t comprehensive enough, or just being super duper unlucky, the hematoma decided to coagulate. At my post-op, I was told that because it had solidified it couldn’t be aspirated, and thus I would have to have the drain in for “as long as possible” and that I would be dealing with this zombie-looking dried blood-filled boob (like the size of a tennis ball) for at least 3 months and it would likely take 6 months to resolve itself. There was literally nothing that could be done. Or so I was told, but during my second surgery they took the opportunity to also figure out how to aspirate it, so it disappeared and healed faster than the right side.
In short, if you are swelling with a lot of fluid you need to be seen as soon as possible before it coagulates or becomes infected. You can tell because it will be way too big and will move like liquid is in there (before it coagulates). You may have to aspirate multiple times, but I didn’t have to deal with that in my situation. But I’m also the only person I know who had the whole thing coagulate.

1. Fevers can be cyclical. Chills are when you can’t stop shaking.

I did not know this. I also did not have a thermometer because my family is lax about health. All I knew is that I started to feel so cold I couldn’t stop shaking and do anything but lie in bed for 2-3 hours warming myself up, and then I would feel so hot that I had to get out of bed. This was fever and a fluctuating temperature. This was also my first signs of infection on my right side and I didn’t know it. No one in my family knew fevers don’t have to be constant. If this happens to you, call your hotline right away. The shaking is different from normal shivering; it feels more violent and you can’t will yourself to stop the way you can stop smaller shivers.

1. If there’s a lot of redness and the area continues to increase in size it’s probably an infection.

I thought I only had my left hematoma to worry about. Well, I started experiencing the chills and fever but I didn’t know what it was. My right side was looking pretty good in comparison to my left. After the drain on that side was removed though, it started to swell. And it swelled much, much slower than my left side. It also had a spreading redness (no bruising). After a few days, pus was coming out the drain hole on the right side and it wasn’t closing. I didn’t realize for sure if it was pus or not because it didn’t smell, and even the surgical team wasn’t sure. I sent photos of the area and they told me it might just be the normal amounts of swelling that happen after the drain is removed and that the pus might not actually be pus if I didn’t have other symptoms (I did. I had a fever, but didn’t realize it). I was also unlucky enough that my next post-op appointment had been 2 weeks after the last instead of the usual 1 week, due to the doctor being out. They had offered me the chance to see another doctor that week to make up for it, but I said no (this was before it started swelling). After I sent pictures in, they offered for me to come in something like the same day to aspirate the liquid, but it was literally at the same time slot I had scheduled a phone call with my PCP to renew some of my prescriptions and I didn’t want to keep bothering my sister with a surprise visit so I said no. This was the wrong move. See point 7. Always get the fluid removed. And don’t skip weeks in post-op appointments in the early stages.
I went to urgent care instead and they confirmed it was an infection and then gave me antibiotics (Bactrim). It seemed to help initially, but after a few days on that my right incision suddenly started spewing pus. The pus still didn’t smell, but the volume was continuous. I got told to go to the ER and had to have an emergency surgery.

1. Go slow on tapering pain medication, especially if you still have drains in.

I ended up being on pain medication for 6.5 weeks. I had seen some people say that they stopped needing painkillers as early as 2 weeks post-op, so I tried to taper with that in mind. I started out with 2400 mg Ibuprofen + 2000 mg Tylenol a day at staggered intervals after giving up on Oxycodone, and by post-op day 8 I managed to cut out Tylenol entirely. I tried to go further by decreasing Ibuprofen by about 600 mg a day, but on post-op day 9 I was hit with a searing 8/10 pain in the left side of my chest that felt like I was being stabbed.
I had been looking at intervals of 6 hours since that’s about the window of effectiveness for Ibuprofen, so when I survived taking only 300 mg in one 6 hour interval I thought that meant that I could do that for all 6 hour blocks after that. Well I guess pain medication also has a cumulative effect since that didn’t work. And then the pain started getting worse on my right side with the growing infection, so I ended up going back up to 2400 mg Ibuprofen + 2000 mg Tylenol until I was hospitalized.
At the hospital, they stopped giving me Ibuprofen since they were worried that it can thin the blood and therefore contribute to swelling. I was on 4000 mg Tylenol at the hospital and after, and they also gave me 300 mg of Gabapentin though I stopped it after 3 days in case it was contributing to my rash. (They also gave me Oxycodone again, but I ignored it and didn’t take it.) After I stopped taking Gabapentin, I decided to decrease 250 mg of Tylenol a day, and only if I felt that I wasn’t in too much discomfort (discomfort can easily turn into pain without medication).
There had been a spot in my left chest (where I had felt the stabbing pain) that hurt more than the rest of my chest ever since my first surgery on the 5th. I had thought that this was due to the hematoma on the left side, but it persisted even after the area had been aspirated, and I felt a hard lump in the location. I thought it might be a seroma, so I made an appointment with my post-op doctor. It turned out to be the drain; something about its positioning had really made things painful (and even more so when I had the hematoma). After it was removed the pain in that area decreased drastically and I was able to slowly transition off of Tylenol 250 mg a day.
My doctors kept underestimating the amount of time I would be dealing with pain (usually by a week+). Trust your sense of pain and go slow.

1. Make sure you’re hydrated and have had something to eat before getting your drains pulled.

I had to get my drains pulled 3 times, twice on the right since they put the drain back in after the second surgery, and once on the left. The first two times went without incident; didn’t even feel a thing. The third time, though, was really early in the morning, and as a late waker I didn’t have water or anything to eat. My blood pressure that day was low due to this, even though it had been normal in all my other appointments. After they pulled the right drain for the second time, I started feeling extremely nauseous. They gave me a damp, cool towel to put around my neck and laid me down at an angle that had my head below my shoulders until I felt better. So just be aware that this can happen if your blood pressure is low.
That about covers the things I wish I had done differently. Below are some other random useful tips that aren’t related to hematomas and infection. Hope any of this proves useful to someone else.
Miscellaneous tips:

1. My surgical team had a habit of just waiting for questions from me instead of offering me information. If you need questions to ask your surgeon for pre-op, here is a link to a google doc that had my questions. If your surgeon gives you a packet of information beforehand, some of this might already be answered.
2. My surgeon said to take “small sips of water” up to 4 hours before my surgery, but the anesthesiologist told me to drink more because it helps to be hydrated to get the IV in. So I woke up 4 hours before to chug water for this reason as I have small veins.
3. If you have worries about possibly having sleep apnea, it’s probably better to get intubated for the surgery so your throat can’t constrict around the tube. I have light sleep apnea when I lay on my back. Get tested before your surgery if you’re worried about it. If it’s significant you should figure out whether you need a machine (and which one you can tolerate, since CPAP tends to be too uncomfortable for most people) since you’ll be sleeping on your back for a while and the back is the worst position for sleep apnea.
4. They will ask you to take a pregnancy test before surgery to make sure you aren’t pregnant. If you are sure you aren’t pregnant, you should be able to say no and sign a form saying that you neglect to pee in a cup (or have blood taken for this). They didn’t tell me this the first time I had surgery, but the nurse I had with me the second time was really nice and let me know I didn’t actually have to do this. I personally am asexual and have never had sex, so obviously this test was a waste of time for me anyway.
5. If you have foot pain due to something like plantar fasciitis, get a small pillow to put under your legs (I often readjust where exactly I put it while sleeping) since you have to sleep on your back for a while. I often had to move the pillow up and down to take pressure off my heels. After about 7 weeks of this I had to just start sleeping with my heels hanging off the edge of the bed in addition to the small pillow.
6. Advocate for yourself in hospitals. The hospital I was at didn’t coordinate their blood draws and so I was stabbed something like 5 times in a single day, mostly for single tests. After I complained to the nurse and my surgeon, the blood draws were stopped entirely since the last results looked okay. I was told by the nurse that it tends to be haphazard for the first day, after which they usually figure things out enough to group blood test requests all at the start of the day for every day after. But I was already required to be poked in both arms to even get admitted, and I had done a blood test for my surgeon earlier that day to confirm I actually had an infection, so adding 3 more to that (for a total of 6, 5 in the hospital) was really just too much. You can refuse and you can probably demand that they group the tests earlier on.

36 year old female Takes hydroxyzine for anxiety Diagnosed with HS but otherwise generally healthy
My saga started on April 2nd:
It started like any other day. I got up, worked out, and went to work. Around lunchtime on that day, I began to feel nauseous after eating a snack (crackers). The nausea got increasingly worse, though I never vomited. The nausea persisted over the next week. This led to a decrease in appetite, and in thirst. I eventually went 24hrs without eating or drinking. This led to severe dizziness. I went to the urgent care on day #9 of this saga. I told them my symptoms (nausea, dizziness, lack of appetite and thirst, and a feeling of fullness in my upper abdomen), and they immediately sent to the ER due to me being dehydrated. At the ER they gave me IV fluids and ran blood/urine tests, and did a CT scan. They eventually diagnosed me with a UTi, which was surprising because I had no telltale signs (no painful or frequent urination, no urgency, etc). The urine analysis came positive for WBC, bacteria, RBC, and ketones. They gave me IV antibiotics and sent me home with a 5 day script for antibiotics and Zofran.
I finished the antibiotics on Wednesday 4/17. I'm still experiencing intermittent nausea after eating and bloating. I'm now (for the first time) experiencing a burning sensation when having to urinate (but not while doing it), a change in bowel habits, and fatigue. I got more urine work done on Saturday. I still have a high WBC count, mucus, and Leukocyte Esterase is present. I just received an updated urine culture result that states there is Pichia kudriavzevii present as well. I tried to Google and I think it's related to yeast, but everything takes me to a medical journal that I can't decipher. I'm waiting to hear back from the doctor. In the meantime, can somebody help interpret what this means?

My surgery was this past Wednesday (04/17), and I'm currently still in the hospital dealing with uncontrollable pain that seems to be getting worse with each passing day.
I know pain after these types of surgeries isn't linear, but at this point I can't even lift my head or sit without another pillow supporting the majority of the weight of my skull. Walking also exacerbates the pain. The slew of medications I'm on do help, but not enough to where I often need emergency IV dilaudid to stop the pain from climbing past a 9. I'm currently alternating between valium and robaxin for muscle relaxers, hydroxyzine, scheduled dilauded, tylenol and gabapentin. Receiving those meds on a strict timing schedule as to not miss or delay any doses. Like I said, I can feel those meds helping, but it still doesn't stop the pain right at my spine from creeping up past an 8 and beyond.
My doctors said the xrays look good, I'm wearing the brace correctly, being ultra careful when moving about, rotating ice packs on and off the area. The drain was removed from my neck with no complications, and there are zero signs of infection at the incision site. No fevers, nausea, I've got feeling in all fingers/toes/limbs etc.
When have others typically started feeling relief? I just want to go home and be able to simply walk and exist without being in such pain. This is my second fusion surgery, fourth total spine operation in a calendar year. Number 15 total for surgeries in the past 4 years. I know pain. But I can't function long without needing to lay back down with ice packs and wait for the worst to pass after a simple 5 minutes being up and about.
I'm definitely going to talk with my doctors today again about trying to find a better solution. I've read about others in this sub having self-administering IV pumps for pain meds, and I'm interested in that but don't want to appear drug seeking. Would that be something that palliative care provides? But the IV dilaudid has been the only thing that cuts through the severe pain enough to get relief and let the other medications be effective.
I'm just tired of being in pain. I don't even mind being in pain - I can tolerate a good 6 or 7, heck even 8s at times. But once it starts feeling like a burning, sharp knife being driven in between my shoulder blades - that's when I need to tap out.
End rant, and apologies for the wall of text. I just wanted to try to give as much context as possible for reference. Thanks all for reading this far.

Hi! I'm a 36 year old female. Currently taking hydroxyzine for anxiety. Also have HS but am otherwise healthy.
April 2nd started like any other day. I got up, worked out, and went to work. Around lunchtime on that day, I began to feel nauseous after eating a snack (crackers). The nausea got increasingly worse, though I never vomited. The nausea persisted over the next week. This led to a decrease in appetite, and in thirst. I eventually went 24hrs without eating or drinking. This led to severe dizziness. I went to the urgent care on day #9 of this saga. I told them my symptoms (nausea, dizziness, lack of appetite and thirst, and a feeling of fullness in my upper abdomen), and they immediately sent to the ER due to me being dehydrated. At the ER they gave me IV fluids and ran blood/urine tests, and did a CT scan. They eventually diagnosed me with a UTi, which was surprising because I had no telltale signs (no painful or frequent urination, no urgency, etc). The urine analysis came positive for WBC, bacteria, RBC, and ketones. They gave me IV antibiotics and sent me home with a 5 day script for antibiotics and Zofran. I finished the antibiotics on Wednesday. I'm still experiencing nausea after eating and bloating. I'm now (for the first time) experiencing a burning sensation when having to urinate (but not while doing it), a change in bowel habits, and fatigue. I got more urine work done yesterday. No bacteria or growth is present (which is a change from the ER visit) but I still have a high WBC count, mucus, and Leukocyte Esterase present. I just don't feel "right". The NP at my PCP office plans to call me this week to go over the latest urine results, and she said depending on what it shows, we'll go from there. She mentioned she's not entirely convinced that the ER got the right diagnosis. I would agree since I'm still having symptoms (for 3 weeks!) and the antibiotics haven't worked. Any ideas of what can be causing this?

Well y’all, I need to b**** a minute. I have multiple autoimmune diseases, which is a stressor of its own. I have been seeing a psych and therapist since the moment I turned 18. I’ve had panic attacks since I was 6. I was prescribed Xanax .25 when I was 19 for it but then my psych moved away. Since then it’s been a battle to keep myself sane.
Grounding doesn’t help when the panic sets in.
Deep breathing exercises don’t help when I can’t even tell if I’m breathing to begin with.
Distractions don’t work when I am literally frozen in one spot and can’t move.
“ThEy DoNt WaNt mE tO GeT AdDiCtEd” because they’re “HiGhLy AdDiCtIvE” 🙃 I’m literally over here calling crisis management through my insurance company for help and they’re telling me to go to the hospital, where they administer me Ativan, but can’t send me home with any bc laws. Then when I go to a psych they don’t want me ending up addicted yet I have tried every other medication from antidepressants to antipsychotics to hydroxizine, clomipramine and everything in between including various blood pressure medications. I FEEL LIKE A FUGGIN LAB RAT TO THESE PEOPLE. I’ve tried Jacksonville, Goldsboro, No where in Greenville will accept my Medicaid. I don’t know what to do. I live out in the sticks.
I am considering in patient treatment bc this sh-, I can’t even with. I have stressed myself to the point I have stomach ulcers and all because they won’t help me when I need help.
I don’t even take nsaids which was my only form of pain relief in the past bc my tummy is angy.
I can’t go to the hospital every time I have a panic attack.
I’m not 18. Im not doing xannies to get high. I’m 30 with a panic disorder. They made benzos for patients like me, but they won’t help me. My last panic attack lasted 3 days and I ended up in the ER where, you guessed it, they gave me Ativan. The ER Dr said all I can do is take Benedryl. IF HYDROXYZINE DIDN’T HELP WHAT YOU THINK SOME LITTLE BENEDRYL GONNA DO?!
But my Uncle has been getting 60 Xanax a month. And Hydros. And he drinks LIQOUR with it all.
Smdh.
Thank you for reading.
TLDR; Panic disorder has ruined my life and no one will help me. I’ve tried everything and nothing works except a benzo when the panic attack won’t subside.

27, female, rarely drink, smoke medical marijuana, DX: Ehlers Danlos, unspecified autonomic dysfunction, adult onset asthma, MCAS
Meds: monteleukast, hydroxyzine, Incassia birth control, symbicort, albuterol inhaler & neb, cyclobenzaprine
Med reactions to: gabapentin, IV benedryl, cromolym sodium
Issue: Have been having increasing number of anaphylactic reactions. My GI specialist did a colonoscopy/endoscopy. It seems from the report everything is structurally normal (except a schatzkis ring) but the main goal was to stain for eosinophils and mast cells.
I don’t have a follow up until next week, but wondering if anyone can tell me anything (specifically if peak mast cells are normal).
My mind is wandering and freaking myself out, so I’m hoping just for a slight better understanding of the report to hold me over until my follow up.
Thanks!
https://imgur.com/a/2Yckipx

Hi, 30 female concerned by sudden high blood pressure. I had a yearly physical three weeks ago and my BP was 130/80 which is pretty standard for me. Last Thursday I got deferred from donating blood because my BP was 167/131. I called my Dr and they advised testing again and then urgent care if it was still high. I finish my shift and my BP was 150/110 and when I made it to urgent care it was 178/136. They recommend the ER and when they got me in it was 195/115 and my heart rate was in the 130's EKG was normal and I had several blood tests ran and they weren't too concerned. After two hours of rest and iv fluids nothing changed and they had to administer IV meds to lower it. I am waiting to hear from a cardiologist and am on Metoprolol in th mean time but I'm curious as to what could cause this and if such a large change in a short time span was normal. I am currently taking 15mg buspirone 3x daily, 25mg nortriptyline nightly, ocp, 20mg Omeprazole 3x week and 100mg sumatriptan and 20mg hydroxyzine as needed. Thanks so much! I am 5'2 and roughly 170lbs

Does anyone else cite M21-1 Language in their Statement in Support of Claim? I'm filing for MH, PTSD and have cited verbatim within my statement the: M21-1, M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart iv, Chapter 1, Section A and then the applicaple chapters and sub-chapters that are relevant to my claim and highlight the evidence name that I've submitted, which then shows what the DVA needs to concede.
Example:
DC 9411, PTSD. I am filing for direct service-connected PTSD, due to military service from Feb 2005 – Sept 2014 and specifically my service during my deployment to Afghanistan in 2006.
M21-1, M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart iv, Chapter 1, Section A; Part IV.1.A.1.c, Developing Claims of SC for PTSD due to in-service Stressors: When a Veteran claims service connection (SC) for PTSD associated with an in-service stressor, undertake required development of the claim for:
o Credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred.
o My Response: See attached evidence labeled: Afghanistan Achievement Medal, Combat Action Medal.
o Medical evidence diagnosing the condition in accordance with 38 CFR 4.125
o My response: See attached evidence labeled: Active Problems Diagnosis, VA Mental health notes 1,2, and 3.
o A link, established by medical evidence, between current symptomatology and the claimed in service event.
o My response: See attached evidence labeled MH Report XXXXXXXXXXX.
M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart iv, Chapter 1, Section A - General Information and Development for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Claims; Topic 3, Concession of an In-Service Stressor, section:
VIII.iv.1.A.3.e. “Engaging in combat with the enemy: means personal participation in events constituting an actual fight or encounter with military foe or hostile unit or instrumentality”.
o According to my claims attached evidence labeled: Achievement Medal, provides evidence of my engagement in combat with the enemy, which would qualify for the DVA to concede a concession of an in-service stressor.
VIII.iv.1.A.3.f. “Fear of hostile military or terrorist activity mean the Veteran experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or circumstance that involved: actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of the Veteran or others, and the Veteran’s response to the event or circumstances involved a psychological or psycho-physiological state of fear, helplessness, or horror”
· According to my claims attached evidence labeled: Achievement Medal and Afghanistan Letter of Evaluation; Line (2), this provides evidence of fear of hostile military or terrorist activity, which would qualify for the DVA to concede a concession of an in-service stressor. Further, my DD-214 contains the award of Afghanistan Campaign Medal Achievment Medal and Combat Action Medal.
Current Diagnosis and Treatment: According to my claims attached evidence labeled: VA Active problems Diagnosis, VA Mental Health Medications, MH Report-XXXXXXXXXXXXX and VA Therapy Sessions, these all identify my current diagnosis of PTSD, Major Depressive Order and Anxiety, along with the treatment plans. I am currently taking the following medications to help with my PTSD symptoms: ESCITALOPRAM OXALATE 5MG TAB, 3 tablets a day and HYDROXYZINE HCL 10MG Tab, 1 tablet a day, as needed for my Anxiety. Further I am currently enrolled in a 16-week therapy program to work and manage through my PTSD thoughts, symptoms and ideologies.
So now my claim has all (3) parts needed for it to be SC and outlines by which secton and where to reference the submitted evidence with my claim.
Then I would place my actual Statement of support here and explained my day to day life, how my disbaility has affected me and my life, ect...
Waste of time? Overkill? Right Path? What are your thoughts?

So I’ve been on this forum for about over a month now after being diagnosed with intercostal muscle strain that was supposed to go away in a few days after being told by a doctor who prescribed me with 400mg of ibuprofen and arthritis cream which spoiler!(not) in fact didn’t go away in a few days!.
I went to the ER yesterday due to running out of patience to wait it out and plus it it hit me that I would probably be a good idea to be throughly examined and tested to make sure it’s nothing serious.
So I did. And I got an EKG,chest X-ray,they took my blood and urine and they found nothing wrong. Everything came back ok and promising.
It was also a horrible experience because when they gave me anti inflammatory medication through the IV( for the burning Toradol) they hooked me up to and I immediately felt the most horrible burning in my right side chest that absolutely topped the burning I was already feeling before. It was so bad that I could barely breathe out that side and my ears felt like they were muffled and I’m pretty sure I was on the verge of passing out. I’m not sure what happened there but it stopped after they gave me hydroxyzine and I felt immediately better. I thought I was going to die and kind of accepted it in that moment.
But I didn’t. And after waiting for hours and hours all I was told was to schedule an appointment with my cardiologist just to get even more in depth tests and scans to really make sure nothings wrong.
Next day and I’m pretty tired after all that and it’s causing me to have that feeling like I have to cough and it’s really annoying 😅

23F // 5’3” // 125lbs
canada // mixed race (vietnamese, chinese, caucasian)
family history: lung cancer (maternal grandfather), colorectal cancer (maternal grandmother), colon polyps (mother), and a range of psychiatric illnesses from both sides
personal diagnoses: many psychiatric, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome
current daily medications (i have been taking for about two years): 300mg quetiapine, 50mg hydroxyzine, 50mg sertraline, 200mg elemental iron, 200mg magnesium, 10mg melatonin
daily vaping for ~9 years, previous daily weed smoker of ~5 years (quit in january), previous alcoholic for ~3 years (but now binge drinking socially every few months), previous cocaine addiction for ~6 months
​
I saw my doctor recently and expressed concern for the symptoms below. I was given a rectal exam that was slightly painful where she ruled out hemorrhoids but noticed a lot of mucus. She speculated IBS or an anal fissure but I was told to book an X-Ray and reschedule in two months.
​
Given my family history, I guess I am wondering if I should be trying to speed this process up or request a colonoscopy (or other testing that may not show up on an X-ray) despite my age. I have a lot of health anxiety (as I’m sure the majority of posters here do) since my grandmother passed, as she was told to wait months for a scan and then was subsequently diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, dying within a month of the diagnosis. I just don’t want to see my family suffer through that feeling of helplessness again.
​
for the past 6 months or longer:
- heartburn, which started after an NSAID + alcohol overdose at 14 and resurfaces a few times a week, but is temporarily relieved with antacids
- excessive gas from both ends (may be due to residual CHS symptoms?)
- swollen, tender lymph nodes beside the groin (my partner says they don’t feel swollen but knowing my baseline they feel much bigger; very noticeable when palpating with more tenderness on the right side)
- dull, aching pain in lower back that lasts all day and seems to come and go every few days (may be due to poor sleeping posture?)
- intermittent diarrhea or constipation, i’ll have a few good days, then constipation for a few, then diarrhea for a few, on repeat (thought to be due to CHS, but may also be continuing due to a fluctuating diet?)
​
for the past 3 months:
- severe, random, stabbing pelvic pain happening every few days that has me screaming on the ground, lasting a few minutes, worsened/relieved by nothing so far
- mucus in stool
- black, patchy coloured stool (may be due to iron supplements? but i had brown stool the months before this and haven’t changed my intake)
- bright red blood on toilet paper after defecation
- darker red blood clumps attached to stool, basically a part of the stool
- narrower stool, not alarmingly thin but a noticeable difference from before
- never feeling like “i got everything out” after defecation
- skid marks that seem unavoidable as i go through almost an entire roll of toilet paper for every BM
- frequent urination
​
and for the past few days there has been a random throbbing pain in the right side of my rectum, worsening with pressure and lasting around 5-10 minutes (this may be due to my recent attempts to check for hemorrhoids by pressing around the anal area, externally only). It happened again a few minutes after my rectal exam.
​
I’ve checked the post history and see a common consensus that some cancers of concern may not show symptoms until very late, so while it is on my mind of it being a possibility, I also want to be aware of any other conditions my symptoms may suggest that may require faster processing or possible agreement with my doctor’s speculations.
​
I realize these are probably a lot of random, unrelated symptoms but I thought to write everything going on in that area that has changed recently. I’m really sorry for another “CANCER?!?!?” post. I am open to any suggestions on what next steps I may want to take, or if I should continue along with my doctor’s current plan. I’m also working on quitting smoking through NRT as I know that isn’t helping my risk factors whatsoever (open to advice on that too lol).
​
Thank you all for what you do and thank you to anyone who’s read this far.
​
*edit for spacing

30F 5’8 138lbs.
dx: chiari malformation type 1, idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudo tumor cerebri), familial Mediterranean fever, orthostatic hypotension (being evaluated for POTS), chronic migraine, asthma, major depressive disorder, ADHD, anxiety, PTSD
Medications: Wellbutrin, Colchicine, Zofran, Vyvanse, albuterol inhaler, klonopin (as needed basis), hydroxyzine (as needed basis), magnesium oxide, riboflavin, sometimes a multi vitamin, medical marijuana.
Surgical history: laparoscopic lysis of adhesions/bowel obstruction, gastric bypass, tonsils/adenoids, cholecystectomy, wisdom teeth x4, bilateral ureteral re implantation.
Symptoms: weakness in left arm/leg, numbness in right calf (no pain & not able to feel hot/cold), limbs are different temps and uncomfortable, potential cognitive deficits, worsening of executive function, memory issues, worsening of headaches and they’ve changed, not being able to feel when to void (started probably around 7 months ago, and I’ve had like 6-7 UTIs since then as well), random pain in my ears not related to infection, pulsatile tinnitus (left side only), exhaustion, trouble sleeping, worsening of vision in right eye but no visible disc edema anymore
I feel very lost with my symptoms and diagnoses. I don’t know how or if these are related, why these things have happened, and I don’t know how to get this answer from anyone. I am being evaluated for decompression surgery for chiari malformation, and my neurosurgeon got imaging to look at some stenosis also. I’m also undergoing neuropsychiatric testing for the neurosurgeon. I don’t believe I’m going to be a candidate for decompression surgery because I think my symptoms can partly be attributed to something else, and it’s only 7mm. I have had the IIH diagnosis longer (since 2021), and I have no more visible disc edema according to my neuro ophthalmologist since last week. I’ll put the read out of the MRI/MRV requested by my neurosurgeon below.
I’m wondering if they would stent the stenosed area. I’m wondering if that would improve any of the potential neuro issues, and improve my quality of life at all.
“Impression No acute intracranial abnormality. Stable features of idiopathic intracranial hypertension as detailed above. Signed by: Redacted on 2/14/2024 11:11 AM Narrative MRI OF THE BRAIN WITHOUT CONTRAST CLINICAL HISTORY: Chiari Malformation; Compression of brain COMPARISON: 12/19/2023 TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar multisequence MRI of the brain was performed without contrast. Intracranial MRV was performed using 2-D time-of-flight and sagittal 2-D phase contrast sequences without IV contrast administration. FINDINGS: There is again noted partly empty sella and cerebellar tonsillar ectopia extending 7 mm below the foramen magnum, tortuous optic nerves and prominent CSF around the optic nerve sheaths in keeping with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. There is no parenchymal signal abnormality. There is no abnormal restricted water diffusion, mass effect, or intracranial hemorrhage. There is preservation of the normal flow void of the major intracranial arteries. The mastoid air cells and visualized paranasal sinuses are well aerated.
MRV: There is long segment right transverse sinus stenosis. The major dural sinuses are otherwise patent. “
I’m just curious on others opinions on this. I’ve been from dr to dr to dr year after year and my quality of life sucks. I just want to feel better and live a more active life.
Another question: I’ve lost over 150lbs since my gastric bypass 7/10/23. Why has my health actually gotten worse? I really did figure I would feel much better. I had 2 bowel obstructions a few days after the bypass, one needing emergency surgery and the other requiring hospitalization with a NG tube, so I had a slower start with recovery. I’ve had awful problems with pain, dumping syndrome from everything, nausea and vomiting, and things like orthostatic hypotension and briefly having copper toxicity (I’ve had abnormally high levels of copper in my blood intermittently that spontaneously resolve). I struggle with dehydration a lot.

First time posting here, not sure if this is the right place, but have a situation and I'm not sure what to do. A bit of back story. About a year ago my cousin had an episode where he was unable to sleep for about 3 days. He kept it to himself and did not tell anyone. Later that night he started to act strange. He came down to the area for a visit and was alone in his hotel when our other relatives heard some loud noises from his room. They had a spare key and opened up to find that he had tore off his clothes and was completely naked. He was attempting to open the hotel window from the fifth floor in an attempt to jump out, which was the noises everyone heard. He was immediately tackled and they tried to assess what was going on.
Before anyone thinks, he did not take any recreational drugs, other than alcohol, prior to the episode. His family members and friends kept watchful eye under him the rest of the night.
The following day while having lunch he was like a ghoul and unresponsive and just in a daze. He then attempted to cut his neck with a pair of scissors. He was rushed to the ER and was treated for superficial wounds. He was unhinged and used words and talked in a manner I didn't even knew he was capable of and pulled out his IV. This was what I was told when his father finally brought me in to see if there was anything I could do. I am the closest to him. We got him transferred to a mental facility. The following day he was paranoid and didn't believe we were real. The day after that he started to calm down. And by the third day he was aware of everything that had happened and he was mostly back to normal. The social worker cleared him and we got him out.
Everything was fine until a year later. Again just like before he has not been able to sleep. He realized he needed to ask for help, since he knows what happened last time. Yesterday he was taken to urgent care and was prescribed hydroxyzine 50mg. We had him take one as prescribed. Didn't work. Today we got prescribed Quviviq. He took once since the morning, and is still widely awake.
I'm not sure what we should do next. Any feedback or advice is much appreciated. I'll try my best to clarify anything if needed.
Edit: We got him admitted to a medical center. He is currently under a hold, as he confirmed he had suicidal thoughts. Hopefully, he can get evaluated and they can give him something to sleep. What broke my heart was when he turned to his younger brother and asked if he thought he was a failure as an older brother? That stung. He is a good bother, cousin and friend. We will get through this.
Edit 2: He has checked out of the mental health facility. He does not have a diagnosis. We are looking for mental health professionals to hopefully get a diagnosis so we can start treatment and prevent this from happening again.
Thanks to those who provided some kind words and feedback. It is much appreciated.

Hello everyone.
I (22f) had a procedure yesterday to insert setons for two fistulas and my surgeon used propofol to put me to sleep.
Before the procedure, I warned him and the anesthesiologist and nurse that I’ve had terrible shivering and anxiety after waking up both times they have used propofol on me before.
After the procedure, I was sent home despite feeling a dull restlessness that felt like a weird urge to move my legs. This intensified to the point where I was jumping and waving my arms around like a crazy person, screaming “I can’t sit I can’t stand” because I just couldn’t relax.
My parents rushed upstairs and my mom hugged me tightly in an attempt to get me to stop moving. I would stand very still for a couple of seconds, then break away to continue pacing and jumping erratically.
At this point my dad decided to call the emergency number for the surgeon that did my surgery, but he was told to wait 30 minutes for a call back. To that, I began screaming “Call 911” but my parents calmly and patiently told me that they wanted to get me to the right place.
I continued screaming things like “I want to die” and “I’m not bleeding” (the first time I had this type of panic attack I went into hypovolemic shock from blood loss after the same surgeon took a routine biopsy that would not stop bleeding).
Eventually, my neighbor who is also my primary care physician came over and was eventually able to calm me down a little bit. I sat very still with my legs straight out on the bed, shivering intensely. I kept telling him to start an IV on me and give me drugs, but he told me I would calm down on my own. I was able to convince him to order an as-needed and fast-acting anxiety medication to my pharmacy which my dad quickly picked up.
After taking 30mg of Hydroxyzine HCL and one of the pills my doctor ordered me, I was able to relax enough to sleep. I woke up this morning and was doing much better.
It was such an out of body experience. I had no control over my thoughts and actions. I’m convinced that it’s because of the propofol. But I’m interested to know if anyone else has had a similar experience. I’m just scared and confused and trying to figure out what happened.

Age 28
Sex F
Height 6ft
Weight 240 (also been gaining weight for no apparent reason)
Race White
Duration of complaint these labs have been elevated on and off for 2 years. Sometimes WBC would be high but that’s normal now
Location bloodwork
Any existing relevant medical issues HEDS, POTS, asthma, probably MCAS, migraines, low vitamin D
Current medications hydroxyzine for allergic skin reactions daily, omeprozol, starting a vitamin D supplement, Flovent, albuterol
Include a photo if relevant
I know I have hyper mobile EDS and POTS and every symptom of MCAS which I’m being evaluated for.
I just had my physical and I had high results in all of the noted areas in the title. WBC and RBC normal. In the past my WBC has been high but it’s regulated. My vitamin D was basically nonexistent and I’ll be starting a supplement for that too.
I drink a lot of liquid IV trying to stay hydrated but am I dehydrated? I’m not sure how to interpret those results, any thoughts? Thank you!

I kno this question can wildly vary on everyone's level 1-10 normal cat allergies. Well I'd say 10 being the worst iv been an 8 since a child but I think my allergy has gone down to a 6 if I don't touch them and I'm around them. But as a child I'd touch n my eyes would swell shut but I haven't touched a cat in forever probably since I was a kid LoL
Also any tips or advice is welcome. I will continue to read this forum. Thank you in advance
Subject: How miserable am I gonna be around cats + staying @ some1's home+bed with 2 cats, only on 4 weeks/4 cat allergy shots done in a row, soon :'( along w/ still taking my Hydroxyzine, Xyzal, Flonase, Zyrtec, Bioallers Genexa Boiron Allergy relief tablets daily..

so I’m not really sure where to post this, I’m just lost and looking for advice. ive been diagnosed with anxiety back in October, since then ive been taking Buspar 10mg 2x a day, and hydroxyzine 25mg when needed. for about a year now ive been having stomach pains usually when I wake up. it’s a gurgling/bubbling sensation and it’s quite uncomfortable. usually when I sit up and move around it goes away. recently in the past month, the pain has stayed with me, going away maybe for a few hours some days but always returning. most days the pain would be all day. These are my symptoms: -Noisy/gurgling/bubbling/painful stomach (it’s not really in one area, some days it’s my belly button, sometimes right, sometimes left) sometimes it even feels like period cramps but I really can’t tell. -rectal bleeding ( diagnosed as hemorrhoids by an ER doctor through rectal exam) -Bloating -Constipation ( this symptom has been with me most of my life, however I’ll go 3-7 days without a bowel movement or even having the urge to go, my bowel movement is usually pretty easy despite being a long time ) -Diarrhea ( sometimes I won’t go for 3-7 days and my bowel movement will still be mush or diarrhea) -Having a hard time eating (I never feel hungry)
So I actually DID see my primary care doctor about this. She referred me to a Gastroenterologist that I am seeing in 3 weeks. She then ordered a CT scan that I was waiting on them to call me for. She gave me bentyl for pain, and told me to use Miralax. however the I can’t notice the bentyl working. It had been a week since my appointment and I was so tired of hurting, so I went to the ER 4 days ago. They ran bloodwork, a urinalysis, CT scan, and rectal exam (hemorrhoid). -Bloodwork- Normal, potassium was slightly low -Urinalysis- showed bacteria in urine, 15mg ketones in urine however my PCP and ER doctor said was normal. -Abdominal CT scan- WITH IV CONTRAST. Normal. They said that my spleen showed that calcifications that were likely from GERD. which I didn’t know I had.
I was prescribed a higher dosages of bentyl, as well as omeprazole, and zofran. However I am STILL dealing with the same symptoms. Some days are better than others. I try to pay attention to what I eat but it almost feels like it doesn’t matter. I’m just so tired of being in pain. Does anyone have any advice/kind words? It really is affecting my day to day life, I have to call into work some days because of the pain. And the pain just makes my anxiety worse, which I’m sure makes the stomach pain worse as well. I just keep thinking it’s something worse that hasn’t showed up anywhere else. Can anxiety make me feel this much physical pain?

37F 5'4" 170 lbs.
Please, please, please give me your pro tips for vein health, or ELI5 how you keep people with garbage veins and sawdust for blood from dying in the ED. I think knowing that will cool my jets. I took a Xanax, because I'm giving myself that bad of anxiety thinking I'll be fucked if I end up in another emergency situation.
Reading the rest of this isn't necessary unless you're in psych, and you're interested in the source of my current mortal freak out.
I've spent, I think, significantly more than the average amount of time hospitalized for various things. Over the past decade+, I've had, like, an unfair number of operations, most of which were necessary due to emergencies. I keep surviving, so I guess I'm pretty lucky, you know, or not depending on how you look at it.
I had a nasty habit involving needles for about three years. I quit two years ago, but the damage has been done. A phlebotomist, I was not. I am not a hard stick. I was a hard stick before I filled myself with holes, and pickled my insides. Now I am the hardest stick. I am the Big Bad of IV insertions.
I was in the hospital for two months the last time I had to stay longer than a night, and my IV was in a vein in my ankle for the whole time [that I am able to remember (I have a TBI)]. I remember they had an awfully difficult time getting it in.
Okay, but also, when I initially arrived after my first and only helicopter ride that I totally missed out on, I was given a massive blood transfusion. Hi, I survived, so I know yous guys can pull it off. I didn't say my anxiety was rational, and yes, I am still freaking out.
I developed panic disorder after my big accident. Last January, I got 5150'd 'cause I was having a panic attack that felt like Mike Teavee teleporting like television chocolate where all my atoms were just splitting apart then smothering my soul when they puzzled back together in tiny TV chocolate size. It was not good.
EMS showed up with the cops, and I was sobbing and wailing, and when they asked me what was wrong, I was like, "I got hit by a train," which is true, but they decided I was just crazy, and accused me of being wasted, because I had just brushed my teeth. The pigs drove me to a mental hospital, where they got told they fucked up, because I had a wound vac, so I couldn't be admitted there. I got dropped off at the ED, and I asked the staff to give me an Ativan, and send me home, which they couldn't, 'cause laws or whatever.
I got told I had to have a blood draw, and it didn't seem like I had a choice, plus they wouldn't let me have my usual prescribed medications without one. I said fine, whatever, but YOU HAVE TO USE AN ULTRASOUND. I got scoffed at, and this one bitch nurse stuck me 8 fucking times up and down my arms, hand, fingers, ankles, and feet before someone else finally brought the gd ultrasound. It took that guy two tries to get, like, 1/4 of a sample. The resident psychiatrist showed up a couple hours later, and discharged me, because I didn't actually belong there. The whole event was kinda traumatizing.
Aren't nurses supposed to try two times, then get someone else?
Last summer, I went to urgent care, 'cause I got cellulitis from a mosquito bite. A couple different nurses tried to draw blood guided by an ultrasound. No dice. I got prescribed antibiotics, and I was fine, but still.
The last time I was in an ED, that same summer, I went to beg for fluids. It was 109°F that day, and I fainted in the sun. When I stood up, I instantly puked down the front of my San Diego Padres tee shirt, then continued to dry heave so hard that I pissed my pants. I couldn't hydrate, because I just kept vomiting; the nausea was so bad. I didn't want to go, but the entire day went by, and I wasn't getting any better.
Lucky me, the ED was pretty empty, and they got me in lickity split. I let the nurse know she'd need an ultrasound. She was a little offended, but nice, and believed me. I was so worried about how much harder it would be to get the IV going since I was so dehydrated, and it was just as hard as I thought it would be. One ultrasound and three nurses later, I was good to go. I had to practically twist my arm out of its socket, but they got me somewhere close to my armpit.
Three hours later, and after many adjustments, the bag was only half empty. Half! They had given me something for the nausea when I first got there. It was disgusting, but it worked, so they gave me an apple juice, a bottle of water, and sent me home.
And now, today, this instant, I am randomly spiraling, giving myself the fear, and worrying about dying, because of all the stupid things I used to do to destroy my body.
If anyone from psych bothered to read this wall of nothingness, I have side questions:
I've had passive suicidal ideation for as long as I can remember. So freaking myself out about not wanting to die is... good? Kind of? But not like this, huh.
I am not an anxious person. I do not have anxiety (usually). I have never had anxiety, and I have to say... it's preeeetty uncomfortable. What reasons could there be for me to be, very suddenly, so overcome with it? I can't identify any specific triggers. I just kinda worked myself up for no reason.
I have Xanax for emergencies, because of the panic attacks, which are very rare these days, but I am so thankful for it right now. I'm actually already feeling better, 'cause it's kicking in pretty hard as I finish writing this rant, but I already wrote it, so I'm posting it anyways.
Yes, I see a psychiatrist. Yes, I'm in therapy.
I'm also on a boat load of medication. None of it is new to me. I'm diagnosed with panic disorder, MDD, prediabetes, narcolepsy with cataplexy, and I have some compulsive behaviors. Daily, I take Vyvanse, venlafaxine, propranolol, methocarbomal, hydroxyzine, trazodone, Ambien, and myrbetriq. Weekly, ozempic and that mega dose vitamin D. On the shelf just for emergencies, I have Xanax, as I said, and hydrocodone for phantom pain. Plus I take omega-3 fishies, magnesium, l-theanine, and melatonin.
I don't have high hopes for this post getting noticed, but if anybody does, thanks for your time.

27y/o female, MCAS, Ehlers Danlos, asthma, being tested for mastocytosis.
I have a severe allergic reaction after going off my 2 medication for MCAS so I could complete a 24 urine.
I avoided going to the hospital all day Monday (symptoms included hives, angioedema, throat swellling/itching, dizziness and brief loss of consciousness, cold hands/feet) I didn’t use my epi either- I know, very stupid of me. last time I went to ER for anaphylaxis it was a very bad time, so I thought I could manage at home. I double dosed my hydroxyzine and took my normal monteleukast dose.
Ended up going Tuesday to the ER after cardiac symptoms persisted. They treated with IV Benadryl, solu-medrol, and Pepcid.
During the IV Benadryl push, I felt like my whole body was seizing. I described it afterwards to my husband as feeling like I was on some type of heavy stimulant (jaw clenching, body shaking, feeling like I was dying). I didn’t alert the nurse because these symptoms passed after about 20-30 min.
I have been noted to have paradoxical reactions to most antihistamines besides oral Benadryl.
The nurse did the push slowly, doing about a quarter of the syringe at a time.
Are these side effects normal? Should I let the medical team know next time I’m being seen?
Thanks!

27 year old female, no nicotine use, smoke MMJ, rarely drink.
DX Ehlers danlos syndrome, dysautonima, MCAS, asthma, long covid, post concussion syndrome, skin lesions of unknown origin. Prob some others I’m forgetting 🫡
Currently doing testing (baseline & acute tryptase, 24 hour urine for mast cell mediators) for Mastocytosis.
Currently meds: monteleukast & hydroxyzine for mast cell symptoms, symbicort, albuterol Neb & inhaler, mini pill birth control, benedryl as needed, topical steroids for skin lesions. Epi-pen as needed. Was trialed on cromolyn sodium but had very bad side effects. I get paradoxical reactions to most other antihistamines (Zyrtec, Allegra etc all give me tachycardia).
I stopped my Monteleukast and hydroxyzine for 2 nights at my doctors request to complete a 24 urine test. This was Saturday & Sunday. Sunday, I started feeling “off” - fast heartbeat, dizziness.
Monday I woke up at 4am with a heart rate of 120 from dead sleep, and o2 level between 94-96. My throat felt itchy and a bit swollen, and I had labored breathing. I ran out of Benadryl so used my inhaler, took a hit of thc vape pen, then tried to go to sleep. Throughout the day symptoms continued, until Monday night I developed hives, angioedema, and a swollen tongue. I also felt faint and began to go in and out of consciousness. My husband tried to take me to the hospital, but I refused. I took my monteleukast and double dosed my hydroxyzine and went to bed. I’ve had similar episodes in the past, and the last time I went to an ER, the provider was very cold and the nurse blew out every vein in both arms, so they couldn’t give me IVs. I left after oral doses of steroid and Benadryl. I also never got a straight answer on WHEN I’m supposed to use my epipen. I will say, I’ve struggled with chronic health issues my whole life so I tend to take on a “suck it up” attitude since I was dismissed by docs for most of my life🥲
Yesterday (Tuesday) I woke up and continued to have the same symptoms, just less severe. I messaged my PCP on my portal who advised ces me to go to ER. Turns out I was on the tail end of an anaphylactic episode. I was given iv Benadryl, Pepcid, solu-medrol, and fluid.
The er doc said my pcp will go over lab results with me, but I just found out she’s out for the rest of the week.
Sorry for the long backstory-
Just looking for help on if these labs seem normal after an episode like this. Thanks!
https://imgur.com/a/gZGHV5N

I was assessed in September using the WEIRS-IV and a multitude of others, by a psychologist and was determined to not have anything close to ADHD, after all my collegues, girlfriend, friends, have been noticing signs for years, and encouraging seeking professional guidance. My psycologist after the assessment determined I have mild depression and GAD and should see a psychiatrist and a therapist. I've done both of those, and the psychiatrist gave me venlafaxine and hydroxyzine, the velafaxine took place of the prozac I was taking, it's fine... and I don't like how hydroxyzine makes me feel so I don't take it... I've seen my therapist three times now, and in my last session she said that she's not licensed to diagnose, but it sure seems like I have a lot of ADHD signs.. and she didn't really notice it until my last session, so she looked into my records and saw my assessment was the test and she explained how she's not a big fan of the modern day means of diagnosing ADHD and how diagnoses are more strict as it's more popular people are trying to obtain ADHD medications despite not having ADHD. She explained she was diagnosed by a interview style method.
I asked her if I should consider further evaluation, or another professional opinion and she said she can't give me advice related to that... now I'm wondering if I should seek further evaluation or maybe other means?

Jumpscare warning: I use the words b**bs and ta tas once and the word br**sts and b*nkers twice. This is lengthy, but it’s a good read I think.
​
Pre-op appointment and consultation:
Everything in that building looked beautiful and new. I wasn’t in the waiting room long. A woman took me back into an elaborate area of desks made of shiny granite and several rooms. First, I paid the rest of my balance. I met my max out of pocket this year, so all I had to pay for was the liposuction, which was not covered by insurance. It cost 2,000 dollars. I was required to pay 1,200 of that shortly after I scheduled the surgery to show my dedication I suppose. Then I paid the remaining 800 at the counter. After that, she told me to go into this pretty room and gave me my consent forms. I signed them. Then a nurse came in and told me to strip from the waist up and put on a white robe that was hung from the door so that she could take my pre-op pictures. She left the room while I changed. Then she retrieved me and took me into a dark room with a giant black velvet curtain for a wall. I took off the robe and she got a nice camera and took several photos of my chest. It was very quick. For a second, I felt like my boobs were famous and I was on a red carpet of sorts. The camera had that flashing sound and everything.
Then, I went back into the room and she went through all of the pre and post-operative instructions with me in great detail. She went over all things I needed to know and more and told me I could pick up my prescriptions after I left there. Then she went and got Dr. Dulin.
Both Dr. Dulin and the nurse came in. He said hi and asked me if I was excited. I said yes, very. My whole interaction with him proceeded to take less than 5 minutes. He quickly took several measurements of my chest, mostly how far apart different things were. The nurse recorded them as he said them. Then he very briefly described the procedure. I will include this tidbit of info for anyone wondering: he did touch my chest whenever describing, but it was very quick and minimal. He sort of collected it between his index finger and his thumb. Then he asked me if I had any questions. I said yes, three.
Can I request what scar shape to aim for?
“Yes, within reason.”
Okay, I want them straight but to curve upward towards my armpits on the sides of my body. I have a picture I want to show you of how I want them. *I show him Noah Finnce’s top surgery results*
“Yes, yours should look similar to that.”
Alright yay. My next question. The very tips of my nipple are larger than most men’s. Can those be cut down?
“Yes, all of it will be flatter.”
Okay cool, last question: This may be a bit odd, but can I get a photo of my removed breast tissue?
*He smiles* “Yeah, you’ll have to ask the nurse tomorrow. I would probably forget.”
Awesome.
“It will be gruesome.”
Yeah, I would expect.
Then we said our goodbyes and then I picked up my prescriptions and the items on my supply list provided.
It’s weird. I raised up my shirt in the mirror. Now that they were seen, and he touched them, they do not feel like my own anymore. They never did much to begin with. But now that it’s half a day until they are gone forever, I was hoping to have a moment of bonding. In their final hours, they belong less to me than they ever have. They are now nothing more than a surgical object. A photo in an anatomy book. A skin type and elasticity profile belonging to Deadname FIRSTNAME Lastname.
​
Surgery day:
I was scheduled to arrive at the surgery centre at 6:00 am the next day. The surgery centre is in the same building as I had my pre-op appointment. The waiting rooms for each one are on either side of the same room. I got there and I was given a couple forms to sign and a cup to pee in. As another redditor who had Dr. Dulin displayed with their story, hold your pee that morning until you get there. You can’t eat or drink water before the surgery, so if you don’t wait for the cup to pee, you’ll be really late for your surgery because they need that urine sample before they do it.
Then, a nurse took me back into the eerie depths of the surgery centre. It looked like a typical hospital or ER, a harsh contrast to the pristine, glossy medspa I was taken to the day before. The nurse put in the room ‘PRE OP 5’, which is a typical ER looking room with a large curtain as the door and unwelcoming lighting. The nurse told me to strip off everything, including underwear, and to put on the garments laying on the hospital bed. There was a hospital gown, compression tights that you put on your calves, hospital socks, and a blue cottony mesh hair net. There was no surgery underwear so I was comando-ing this one I guess. Then I laid in the hospital bed under the blanket which had a heater blowing directly under it to keep me warm. The nurse gave me an IV for fluids, and to give me medication ‘to make me relax’. She told me it might make me dizzy. I asked her is Dr. Dulin did a surgery everyday. She said he did them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She said today he was doing one on me as well as two other mastectomies and mommy makeover. Then I waited awhile for Dr. Dulin to arrive.
I couldn’t tell if the medication was doing anything for a while because the effects slowly creeped, but once they did, I very subtly felt more relaxed. I was still a little anxious, but incapable of being too anxious. I was very bored waiting for Dr. Dulin to arrive. It felt like a long time. When he did, he came in with the nurse, asked me how I was, and then got to business. He took that purple marker thing and drew out what he was going to do very quickly. Then he left. Then I met the anesthesiologist. Not judging, but it is interesting to see that a lot of the staff have filler and plastic surgery themselves. I was given nausea meds and gabapentin. I asked that nurse if she would take a picture of my severed ta tas and she said she could. Eventually, after what felt like forever the nurse came and asked me if I was ready. It was time. She unlocked the wheels on the hospital bed. She tucked me in and warned me that the operating room would be very cold, and that Dr. Dulin likes it that way. The anesthesiologist had also told me that the night before on the phone when she was checking in with me. The anesthesiologist put the medication to knock me out in the IV.
They started wheeling me back through sets of double doors, and fluorescent lights, papers, bulletin boards all passed me by. It felt surreal and I felt high. We got into the operating room. It was a large, aggressively bright icebox. It was so bright and white in there that it felt unreal. I was in the middle of it. I was instructed to get on the operating table. There was something I laid my neck on. The last thing I remember is I felt like I was being strapped down, my arms being secured far out from my body. I let it all happen.
And then I woke up. And it was all a dream! I was in my bed at home. JK, I woke up in another curtained room, this one was nicer and much less harsh. Upon realising my bonkers were no longer there and I made it, I started crying tears of joy. The nurse was like, ‘are you okay?’ and told her yes I am just extremely happy. I was also high. But five years I needed this. I couldn’t believe something so right had happened to me. I must have made this up, but I swear I asked for my phone, and she said that she didn’t want to give it to me because she didn't want me to send any crazy texts while I was high. It’s too strange to be true but bruh the memory feels real. I asked if my parents in the waiting room could come see me and she said she wanted me to recover more. I rested my eyes, and eventually they came in. After the bliss wore off, I was very agitated and my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering even if I wasn’t cold. When you go through things like this, your brain knows it’s fine, but your body thinks it just got attacked, so you may go into a sort of fight or flight. I was pissed at everyone lol. I got dressed. I was offered help, but I felt fine and was pissed that people were offering me help. The nurse had me get into a wheelchair and wheeled me to an exit door where my parents mysteriously reparked their car outside of at some point. She went to help me get in the car.
I was wearing a vest they provided for me and on top of that I was wearing ace bandages. The whole situation was uncomfortable and tighter than a binder. There was so much dressing on the nipples underneath that it looked like I had little bonkers. I got home and laid at a 45 degree angle until I fell asleep. It is currently 11 hours post surgery that I am writing this, and I still feel kinda numb and haven't taken any pain medication at home.
​

1 post-op appointment:

The next day, I drove back to the place for my one day post-op appointment. I was taken into the back again on the medspa side of the building. The nurse sat me down and she told me she was going to take off a lot of my dressing, which I was surprised by. She took off my ace bandages, my compression vest, and then took the top dressing off of my incisions. What was left was my nipples being heavily dressed with cotton balls and tape, and small thin sheer tape over my incisions. You could see through it. I walked over to the mirror and smiled. My incisions were pretty straight and everything was super flat and he did an amazing job. I took a bunch of pictures. Then she put maxi pads over my incisions and put my vest back on. I was instructed to change the maxi-pads every day. It was a lot more comfortable not having the ace bandages on it. It has now only been a couple hours since my appointment and it now feels pretty normal having my new chest. I can’t fathom how I lived without a flat chest for so long. That was so weird. Those random ass tumours.
I asked her when I could take off my compression socks because I hated them and they made me itchy. She said 48 hours after the surgery. I asked her what anaesthesia was used and she didn’t know. Then I asked if someone there had the authority to prescribe me more medication. I needed hydroxyzine. I had already had a bad itching problem at night for a long time, which I am still baffled by. That medication was the only thing that helped. The vest was making me very itchy and I couldn’t scratch it for obvious reasons. If I took all my hydroxyzine I brought to Texas, I would run out, so I asked for more. They ended up prescribing me some. She went and got Dr. Dulin after that. He came in. I told him I felt really happy. He looked happy for me. He said he stretched it tight to make the incisions straight. On his way out, I remembered the pictures I asked the nurse to take of my removed tissue and I told him one of the nurses had the pictures. He did not remember the nurse that was in the operating room at all and I didn’t either so he just said out names until one sounded familiar to me. He went to go hunt her down. The nurse stayed in the room for a sec and asked me what I was getting from that nurse. I said ‘uh, a photo of my severed breasts’. She mouthed the words back as she comprehended what I said. It was kinda funny. They came back with the photo printed out on a normal sized piece of paper. It was definitely something! Then I left and got my prescription from the pharmacy.
​
1 week post-op appointment:
Went in to the room again. A nurse took off all of my bandages. My nipples and incisions were revealed at last. It was uncomfortable getting them removed and I was in some amount of pain. I looked down at my nipple. I got nauseous, which is unusual for me. It is weird seeing such a sensitive area of your body look like a black scabbed crater. I wasn't too enthusiastic about the results at the time because I was sick and you can't really tell how good it will look from that 1 week appointment. It's not healed enough.
​
Anyways. I am 19 days post-op now. My results look good. You can find them in my profile. My scars are still curved but that's okay. It is really flat :). My nipple placement is good. One nipple is slightly larger than the other. I don't mind much because I just want to wear fitted shirts, that's all a guy can ask for.
It is surprising how quickly after the surgery I felt normal about my chest. I was not astounded by the feeling of it all. It was just like, oh, cool. But I would look at my before pics and be like, damn, how did I live that way for so long. So it is a big relief, I just couldn't feel it because my brain adapted very quickly.