Shoulder tear couple years ago. Not that I was a huge bench guy but I went from 3x10 at 165lbs to struggling to bench the bar. After a few months I built up to 65lbs and now I'm doing around 105lbs and feel like that's pushing it. Same with shoulder press. Sure I can press 70 or 80 lbs but I'll feel it the next day.
I miss being able to lift heavy with rows, bench, shoulder press, etc. Feeling the muscle strain, knowing that it will lead to muscle growth. Now if I feel muscle strain I know it'll hurt for days afterwards and it's aggravating an injury, not muscle soreness.
The only muscles I can train heavy on are legs and arms but they don't give me the same feeling as pressing heavy weights. I wanted to start up with stronglifts again to throw around some heavy weights but I can't even do that. It's disheartening.

Age: 16 Lbs/Kg: 120lbs/54kg Height: 5’7
About three days ago, I noticed a lump on the bottom of my rib cage in the mirror. I instantly began to panic and became very anxious. I decided to go to the GP to get it looked at. He told me it’s possible that it’s just muscle soreness and that I shouldn’t worry about it unless it gets worse. However, I do sleep on a messed-up old spring mattress, and I usually lay on that side when I sleep. I can feel the springs press against that area sometimes, and I often have bad posture when I sleep. Could this just be inflammation from the mattress?
The doctor said that it’s nothing serious and told me to take ibuprofen 4 times a day. I’ve been using topical ibuprofen and a cooling gel, which does seem to help. This made me less anxious, as if it were something worse, I doubt these treatments would have helped. So, is it possible that I’m just overthinking and anxious?
However, I do feel uncertain about the doctor’s diagnosis, as he seemed kind of stubborn and barely even looked at it, so I have no clue. I also get pains below the bump, like on my liver. Could that just be muscle pain? The pain then stretches out to my abs and on the side of my ribs around the location of the bump. But it isn’t really pain, it’s more like pressure, but it sometimes hurts. Also, whenever I touch the right side of the abs (that’s the side where the pain and bump is), my abs seem more feelable than the other side, like more rigid. Maybe I’m overthinking. I have no clue, honestly. Sorry for the long ass paragraph. I’m just very anxious and want some reassurance. Thank you.

Hi! I (20m) had sex for the first time 36 hours ago, with another guy. We have eachother head unprotected and then I fucked him for very little protected. Now, yesterday when i woke up i had a small rash on the right back side of my penis head. nothing too big. it should be noted that i had troubles taking my foreskin fully off but we forced it that night. The rash hasnt gotten bigger or smaller. Now, after 36 hours or so, I started having cold like symptoms(fever, chills and sore muscles). We also stayed on the balcony while it was cold for a while, so I mightve caught a cold there. What should I do?

It has been a journey since 8 months ago when I started to have urine frequency, bladder pain, bladder soreness and burning. I have seen a Urogynecoloisy and now seeing another urologist who seems to have many years of experience if IC. However, my symptoms have not improved significantly, and I have not figured out what exactly are causing my flares even though I took track of my food intake, exercises, mood in a google sheets since my symptoms started. So I would really need some help in determine my sub-types and tips in soothing my symptoms!
Here are the patterns I have noticed:

• Symptoms seem to come in a cycle which lasts at least few days, but mostly few weeks to months. So far during this hard time I have 1 month with symptom free, but then the internal itchiness started again. Bladder burning/pain -> bladder soreness -> bladdeurethra tightness -> internal itchiness (itchiness is all over my bladder, belly and right groin).
• The internal itchiness (and sometimes bladder soreness) is causing my lots of depression and days and days of cries actually because I cannot reach it to make it disappear. I started PTNS in Feb and noticed several times it triggered my same itchiness during the PTNS. My Urologist said there was no such thing as internal itchiness but based on what people say in another post, there is definitely is and it is real suffer! Now my hypothesis is irritated nerve that is connected to bladder, triggered by inflamed Ic flare. Though not sure why is lasts for weeks sometimes how to solve it. And it is itchy every time I press on the area! Also itchiness can extend to my arm and leg.
• I just finished Diflucan (antifungal medication) yesterday and haven't noticed any change in symptoms so far.
• I haven't noticed much around food that caused me immediate flare which lasts ~1-2 days only. My symptoms are more chronic. But I am keeping an eye on some suspicious food such as ice creams, and very spicy foods
• My pelvic floor physical therapist taught me to use pelvic wand that helps to relax and extend pelvic muscles. I noticed sometimes it triggers the itchiness. And we guessed it was related to irritated pudendal nerve. But PT said my symptoms were atypical for pudendal neuralgia after asking a doctor who is familiar with pudendal neuralgia.

I am definitely not in the right direction to mange my symptoms as the itchiness in abdominal area (also with other symptoms) do not go away. And I am in a very depressed moment recently. Can people help on any insights on this? Even ways to sooth the internal itchiness would be very helpful to get out of it temporarily

I should preface this by saying that I'm a guitarist in a band and the extent of my singing is shouty, gang style background vocals. Nothing too crazy and only in short bursts. I'm never singing full songs.
I've been doing it for years now and have only just started noticing within the last couple months that I am randomly losing my voice and having a straining, sore feeling in my throat in my off time. It's never terrible pain during a show, but in the following days/weeks I notice some dull throat pain and my voice gets hoarse. It almost feels similar to a bruise or pulled muscle.
It's not a sharp pain like you might get from using grit with improper technique, it's more of a dull pain that comes and goes, and sometimes even changes based on how I move my neck. It's starting to cause concern and I don't really know what to do because it's a completely new sensation for me. Does anyone else experience this and have any tips?

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Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road
Deep in the groaning halls of sinew and bone he awaited his audience with the god. At a wave of his hand the ribs which held up the ceiling contracted, tendons shifting within the pink walls of the chamber as the jagged, calcareous spurs that composed the doorway sank back into the spongy masses of tissue, revealing a passage curving down and out of sight.
Menash stood before the yawning portal and considered eternity. This was no an idle thought: here in the Dawning Chamber, the concept was very real. His father, Yulan, had stood in this exact spot times beyond count. When he was struck down in his prime by the Night Weaver and her Leaper offspring, torn limb from limb as he fought to defend Chthonis from a raiding party, Menash’s uncle, Aqavarr, had carried his broken remains over that grinning threshold to join the hosts of the dead, never to return.
A hot and heavy exhalation rattled up out of the depths, wafting in the acrid scent of the bonding pools and the wet slithering sound of the rebirthing canals. Menash felt a crackle of static in the corners of his mind before the signal sharpened and he heard It whisper distinctly:
“Enter…”
The familiar dread crept its way up the small of his back, and he gave a little shiver. No matter how many times he had communed with the Vitalus, he’d never been able to shake the feeling of his utter insignificance. But he persevered, walking bravely down the slurping passage, past the rows of broad antechambers lining either side of the hallway. Each one held a slumbering shape immersed in a cryogenic bath, towering hulks of muscle encased in ribbed and riveted plates of chitin. No two were alike in size or physiology, but all seemed to emanate the same primeval aura of dread that tickled Menash’s fight-or-flight-instinct, skewing it very much towards the latter response. These were the Hollowores, soulless avatars of the Vitalus, each one a tool capable of eradicating an entire species. As Menash approached, one of the living weapons stirred to life. A pronged, anvil-shaped head emerged from the bath, umbilical feeder tubes detaching from its armored flanks as the rest of its bulk followed, its mauve exoskeleton as sleek and shiny as amethyst. The Hollowore extended legs as thick as grown pine trees and lifted itself above him, its pairs of crushing pincers dripping amniotic fluids as it herded him towards the central room.
Bundles of white gossamer filaments spread all across the floor, encircling steaming pools of pus and acid. He saw arms and legs, sensory organs and entire exoskeletons being knitted before his very eyes, the amino acid chains being stitched on a layer at a time, the weeping pus evidence of microphages fighting off possible infections as the Vitalus did Its work.
These were the next generation of exomorphs, yet to be assigned to their hosts. It was here that Vitalus constantly improved the only thing that could ensure the continued survival of Menash’s subspecies. Exomorphs were bonded to Gallivants at birth, the organisms supplying their hosts with the means to breathe an atmosphere they was never meant to endure, and the strength to fight in a world that was red in tooth and claw. They were as swift as the summer wind and could multiply their host’s muscular power by up to twelve times their natural output.
But for all their God-given might, Gallivants were still mortal. They could and often did perish in the endless struggle for existence that the Vitalus called the Great Game. But even in death they could still commit their essence to posterity, passing down their defining traits through the malleable genetic code of the gilt helix. It was the Vitalus’ greatest boon; through the gilt helix a single individual could become a progenitor of an entire generation, becoming at one stroke the father of whole nations and peoples.
One day he too would prove worthy of the honor that Yulan had earned with his life. But he was not alone in that ambition. Menash was annoyed to find the crimson-clad Vezda and the cowardly Racek waiting for him inside, standing next to a large ball of filaments that hung from a tonsil-like growth hanging from the walls.
This node pulsed, emitting a small storm of bioelectric activity, networks of fungi conveying commands in the form of oscillating voltages to their communities of symbiotic bacteria, the latter containing greigite mineral crystals aligned in the shape of electromagnetic coils. Other networks hidden in the walls modulated and amplified the signals, and the three Gallivants steeled themselves for the onrushing flood of information as the Vitalus tapped into their minds.
He was a candle before the raging heart of the thunderstorm. For an instant Menash touched a fraction of Its intelligence, the divisions of time and space rolling back as they joined the ocean of shared consciousness, becoming one with the living systems of Arachnea. From the tiniest aeroplankton floating above the waves of the golden coastlines, to the herds of ultrapods munching their way through swathes of trees in the savannahs. Menash felt himself pushing up out of the soil, longing and lusting and reaching for the sunlight with a trillion green fingers uncurling, alive with the furious movement of life.
But what was that flicker of orange to the east? That searing heat, that prickling pain spreading like a cancer down his side?
The Vitalus scooped them up and hurled them headlong into hell itself. A roaring wildfire was sweeping into the heart of the eastern rainforests. Menash tasted ash and ruin, felt pieces of himself wither and burn, his branches tongues of fire, wood cracking from the intense blaze, sap boiling instantaneously upon contact and rupturing, splitting him right down the grain. He fled in terror, running, slithering, digging, swimming, flying away in crazed panic from the walls of red death closing in on him. As his skin flaked off in clumps of charcoal he looked back and saw it towering over the treetops, the epicenter of this howling vortex of destruction: the grey behemoth. Its burnished metal hide gleamed like copper, reflecting the fury of the conflagration burning well into the night.
Menash pulled his mind away before it was lost forever in the storm of electric potentials. He saw Racek and Vezda swaying on their feet, breathing hard and fast.
“Heart of the World,” he managed to gasp, “What is your bidding?”
The Hollowore maneuvered itself until it was facing him directly. Tiny beady eyes fixed him in their blank gaze. The node emitted a blue pulse and the creature shuddered as it received the signal. It opened a maw powerful enough to chew boulders into gravel and rumbled:
“This one is the alpha which survived first contact with anomalous variable. It will tell Us what occurred, and from whence this threat emerged.”
“It came from the karst mountain range, where the yellowjacket Amit live,” Menash replied, “It was destroying the largest mound in that area, massacring its inhabitants. It brought the mountain down on them—we’ve never seen anything like it. Zildiz was the first on the scene. She warned us not to approach, and that it was dangerous, but some of us,” here he cast an angry look at Vezda, “Some of us went ahead and tried to scavenge from the bodies of the dying. Then the behemoth ignited the air and burned scores of us to cinders.”
“Irrational. Why did you do this?”
“W-we thought that you had spawned the grey behemoth,” Menash stammered, embarrassed to say the least, “That it was the newest addition to the Great Game, another species of ultrafauna that would help perfect Arachnea.”
“Not so. It was made by an evil far older than the All-In-One,” replied the Vitalus, “It is called a Divine Engine. In cycles past, this evil sought to undo this world and all that inhabit it. In that, it almost succeeded.”
Menash felt his blood run cold at those words.
“Is it the only one of its kind?” Racek piped up. Menash and Vezda both bristled at his interruption; subordinates were only supposed to speak when spoken to.
“There were several deployed here in Our infancy. We had thought them all destroyed in the War of Creation.”
“Your Munificence,” Racek went on, heedless of the venomous looks he was getting from the other two, “Most of us survived because Zildiz persuaded us to dive into the river. She saved all our lives! But as I washed up on the riverbank, I saw the behemoth casting a seedpod into the skies. I did not see where it landed, but it was travelling in a high arc due east. Is this the behemoth’s method of reproducing? If so, then how many offspring can it generate from this one seed?”
The Vitalus met his questions with a minute of silence. Menash had never known It to take so long to respond to a query, and felt another stab of unease in his gut. Unless he was imagining things, the Vitalus seemed genuinely disturbed by the scenario that Racek has raised, enough to convince Menash that the danger was far from hypothetical.
“That is a distant possibility,” It said somewhat cryptically, “Regardless, We cannot allow the Engine’s continued existence.”
“Then it must be destroyed,” Vezda said, her barbed tail eagerly perking up.
“We are not certain that it can be,” the Vitalus said, and Menash heard Racek audibly gulp at the admission.
“But Your Omniscience, you alone are the arbiter of growth and decay,” Vezda said in disbelief, “Surely you can unmake this monster as well?”
“Perhaps. The Divine Engines were built to withstand the extremes of temperature, gravity, atmospheric pressure, acidity and irradiation found on semi-inhabitable exoplanets. Worlds of bareness and desolation, glassed by thermonuclear bombardment or infested with alien microorganisms. In the wars of Our youth, the Betrayers used tungsten-alloy warheads fired from space platforms to crack their bulkheads. Not even Our vessels, the Hollowores, could damage them in any significant way. We will need time to gather the raw materials and fabricate the weapons needed to end this threat.”
“What must we do?” Menash asked.
“If this variable is not dealt with, it could upset the delicate balance We have sacrificed so much to achieve. Already the wildfire it has caused will release close to 400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and destroy 2.3 million acres of forest before Our countermeasures can stop it. Time is our limiting factor. If the Engine cannot be destroyed now, it must be restrained.”
“It hasn’t moved an inch since we last saw it,” Vezda said brightly, “Maybe it has already died?”
“Yes, and maybe your mother was a horka toad,” Racek said snidely. Vezda scowled and took a step towards him, then stopped as she remembered that she trod on hallowed ground.
“Not so. It has merely gone dormant. Having expended its fuel, it is now running on the bare minimum of its reserves. My children, you must ensure that it does not wake again. Establish a quarantine zone around the Engine and let none approach, on pain of death. The Leaper kindreds will secure the ground while the Gallivants patrol the skies.”
Vezda and Menash exchanged troubled looks. Nobody wanted Leapers establishing a foothold in what was essentially a buffer zone between their subspecies. Once allowed to settle in a habitat, it would not take long for them to adapt and become masters of their new territory. Ousting them would become a battle of attrition, and given the lower birthrates of Gallivants, it was not one they could long afford.
“Respectfully, we do not require assistance from our brother kindred,” Menash ventured, “We are more than capable of safeguarding the area ourselves.”
The node throbbed again, the bioelectric flashes taking on an angry purple hue. With a sound like the grinding of a millstone the Hollowore clashed its claws together impatiently. All three of the mortals took a hasty step back.
“The alpha will obey, or another will be found that can,” the Vitalus growled at them, “All subspecies will observe a general truce during this period. This is a temporary addition to the Great Game. Those that serve Us well shall be rewarded. We shall also enlist the aid of your terrestrial cousins, as well as the Cataphract clans to replenish the soil, and lone Saints who shall rove beyond the quarantine zone.”
Menash’s unease deepened. The Vitalus was bringing together four different kindreds, some of which killed each other on sight, in a move that reeked of desperation. The kindreds had worked together before, of course, on complex projects such as altering rainfall patterns and husbanding struggling species, but never so many at once. This was bound to end in bloodshed.
“Those that break the truce shall be chemically neutered, and their gilt helix purged from the existing gene pool,” the Vitalus continued, “You will maintain this quarantine until We have dealt with the Engine.”
“It is understood!” Menash and Vezda said at once.
“But what about Zildiz?” Racek blurted out, again risking his entire lineage by speaking out of turn, “She might still be alive out there!”
“He’s right,” Menash found himself agreeing despite his dislike for Racek, “She’s our alpha, after all. It would be a shame to lose her helix. Do we have your leave to send out a party to recover her?”
The Vitalus pondered the request for a moment, then crushed his hopes when it said:
“Regrettable, the loss of the female. Valuable stock for the breeding program. But it has not responded to Our signals—it is unlikely to have survived. The female Vezda shall take up its duties as alpha.”
“But Your Benevolence—” both men cried out in unison.
“It is decided. She has risked the Great Game, and must abide by its outcome. To speak more on this would risk Our displeasure,” the god warned.
“We can’t spare the manpower anyway,” Vezda pointed out, trying not to look too pleased at Its decision. She darted a quick look at Menash, long enough for him to see the selfish desire festering in her heart. He turned away from her in disgust, baring his blades by the slightest of margins to let her know what he thought of her, then asked the Vitalus:
“But what of the Engine’s seedpod? Should we search for it?”
“Negative!” the Vitalus boomed, its node reinforcing the word with a spike of activity that sent needles of pain spearing into their heads, “We shall complete this task. It is dangerous and can be entrusted to no other.”
The Hollowore angled its massive head towards the cavernous ceiling, armored flaps on its back sliding aside as it unfurled sets of rigid sixty-meter wings. A wide sphincter on the roof gaped open and Menash saw the evening sky awash with the stars in their milky multitudes. The Hollowore took a deep breath through the spiracles lining its thorax and abdomen, pumping air through a pair of hollow tube-like protuberances under either of its wings. Menash and the others quickly scampered to a safe distance. Seconds later there was a scream of chemical combustion and the Hollowore rose into the evening skies, leaving behind a long trail of superheated gases, the backwash almost knocking Menash off his feet. They watched as the Hollowore gained altitude, making straight for the columns of billowing smoke on the horizon, a sweeping shadow blotting out the light of the heavens.
The Vitalus’ mental presence receded with it. When it did not return, they took it to mean that they were dismissed and likewise took flight and headed for Chthonis. They were hardly out of the Dawning Chamber when Vezda seized the scrawny Racek by his wings and anchored her feet right up against his back.
“Funny little man, are you? Crack jokes at my expense again, and I’ll see to it that you’ll never fly again!” she snarled, yanking hard. Racek yelled as his wings threatened to pop out of their sockets.
“Stop!” Menash said, ramming his shoulder into her and knocking the smaller male out of her grip. Vezda rounded on him, blades out and her tail aquiver with rage.
“As for you! No one should speak to the Vitalus like that!” she shrieked, “Much less gainsay It! Are you trying to get us all killed? It is the source and continuance of life itself—”
“But the Vitalus doesn’t always consider the individual scale of things,” Menash reasoned, controlling his rising anger as he tried to defuse the situation, “Its scope of thought is beyond ours. Therefore it is up to us to look after each other. None of us can win the Great Game alone. We need people like Zildiz for the species to prosper.”
“Your logic is flawed,” Vezda spat, “Empathy is a sham devised by the selfish action of the gene, which seeks only to preserve itself. At least I am honest enough to look after my own interests. Your obsession with that whore is misplaced. Heed my words, Menash. What happened today marks a change in the Great Game. Only the ruthless will reap the rewards of this era. Think on that, and act accordingly.”
The female darted off in another direction, leaving the two behind.
“Thanks,” Racek said, rubbing at his sore shoulders, “My, my. She’s really taking her promotion very seriously, isn’t she?”
“This doesn’t make us friends,” Menash said shortly, “We share a common interest, that’s all.”
The two flew together in silence for a time, the dark canopy unrolling below their feet. Racek had always been a bitter rival for Zildiz’s affections. In the mating seasons he and Menash had flown the damsel-dance against each other countless times, racing and dogfighting at top speed through the dense bamboo thickets in an effort to impress her.
But each time she had always chosen Menash. Naturally. He was the stronger, the braver, the son of the Scourge who had slain hundreds on his lightning raids into Leaper territory. Their pairings had been brief and passionate, yet she had always laughed at the end and gone on her merry way, a rose petal borne on a scented breeze, the dalliance as meaningless to her as other concerns like eating or breathing.
But not to him. Right now, all that mattered was her. And Racek was the only one in the whole wide world who knew exactly how he felt. Did that mean he could be trusted? Menash considered the enormity of what he was about to do, and wavered. Then he saw her face in the darkness of his home, the face she wore when they were all alone together, and he took a deep breath before breaking the silence, saying:
“I’ll be in charge of the quarantine. I can arrange for you to disappear for a few days. I can have one of the younglings mimic your magnetosynaptic signal, make it seem like you’re with the rest of us.”
“You’d do that? For me?” Racek said in astonishment.
“Hah. Not for you,” Menash laughed softly. He looked Racek straight in the eyes and continued: “What’ll it be, then?”
If he so much as hesitates, I’ll have to kill him here and now, Menash told himself.
“Why, yes. Yes, of course!” the little brown male said vigorously.
“Good,” Menash sighed with relief, “She’ll be very grateful to whoever brings her home. I’d do it myself, but as an alpha I can’t risk being seen as disobedient.”
“Then why give me this chance? After all that’s passed between us?”
“I should have thought that was obvious,” Menash replied. Racek digested that for a bit, then out of nowhere said:
“If I find her—when I find her—I’ll tell her exactly who it was that sent me.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Bah! Just so we’re even, that’s all,” Racek grinned, his mouthparts slanting askew.
“Thanks, I guess. I’d…I’d appreciate that. You do understand what we’re risking here, right?”
“Sure. We’ll be total genetic write-offs if we’re caught. But it’s not like I wanted to see tiny ugly Raceks running around the house anyway. What about you, though? Why are you putting your neck on the chopping block?”
“You know why,” Menash said quietly, his thoughts still lingering on her face.
“Yes,” Racek agreed with a wistful air, “Yes, I suppose I do.”
And the pair spoke no more until they reached Chthonis.
Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road

I'm 18F, 155 cm (a little over 5ft) tall and currently weigh 48 kg (105lbs) so I'm still at normal weight. During the last couple of years my mom has lost a lot of weight by exercising and having better eating habits. Her medicine has reduced the feelings of hunger so she has eaten less than before. Now she gets compliments from family and friends about how she's lost so much weight.
Some time ago I also decided to start losing weight to look good on my graduation. It didn't go according to plan so I've lost only 2 kg (4.4 lbs) since last fall (starting weight 50 kg (110 lbs). I've gained a little bit of muscle on my legs and lost some fat overall. Unfortunately it's not very noticable.
Of course I'm happy that my mom is healthier now but it sometimes pisses me off. Like one day me and my parents were having pizza and my dad asked whether we wanted more before putting the rest in the fridge. A simple "no" wasn't enough for my mom, she just had to say "one slice was enough for me, I ate so much at work." Like WTF? You were the one who wanted pizza in the first place why would you want it if you're not hungry?! Maybe it was just an excuse to flex on me because I ate like 4 or 5 slices. Maybe she once again ate some shitty porridge in the morning and nothing at work and wanted to show off how she's not a fucking pig like me. The next day when I thought about it, it made me cry and almost feel sick. I'd never felt so shit in my life. I hate to say it but cutting myself at that moment was like drug.
Some other instances are for example when we're like "there's still some food left" (for one person) and she's like "nahh I'll have some yogurt". Bitch eat the food I don't want to eat it tommorow! I want a healthy low calorie breakfast and then a warm meal and I would like to eat it fresh especially if I'm the one who's made it. Me refusing food and eating healthier stuff instead would never fly but my mom has different rules apparently.
I don't know if it's her meds or what but she has been throwing up more than before. Not much, maybe like once a month or something but it too pisses me off. A few days ago she was doing some yard work outside when she went to the toilet to throw up just as I was about to go on a walk. Maybe she had yet again eaten too little and thus felt sick or maybe she did it on purpose. The toilet is next to my room so I conviniently heard everything. Anyway it pissed me off because she just nulled everything she ate that day while I had to go on a walk for 3 hours to burn 500 cals. I've wanted to throw up many times but never actually done it because it's disgusting. One time I squatted in front of the toilet for 1.5 hours just to end up gagging a few times while occasionally going to the window to see if parents were coming home yet. The next day my legs were sore like I had been to the gym.
She also sometimes complains about not feeling well and sighs very annoingly. If you're not feeling good then just eat! Eating is the easy part, not eating is the hard part. Why does everyone else has to know that you're feeling sick for eating only once yesterday. Like, when I start skipping breakfast my dad immediately hits the roof but doesn't say anything about my mom. When I don't eat I definitely just keep it to myself.
It's kinda scary that I'm having such mean thoughts about my mom but I feel like I have to let it out. She's a good mom and I love her but she (and dad) pisses me off so much. I wish I could move out so I could decide what I eat, when I eat and how much I eat.
Some day people will admire how I've lost weight. Some day they will feel sorry for me. Some day I will be better than everyone else. We both already have a mood disorder but only one of us gets to be skinny. Eating problems is not a spot I am willing to share.

Today was my 8th EMG. I showed the muscles where I had fascics and weakness. All was clean/normal. Also clinical. 10 neurologists cleared me of ALS already - clinically and then 8 emgs that were normal. I have still my doubts after reading about some cases, where especially young people have clean emgs for years and then turning dirty. I was tested in all possible muscles in the past 3 years but after every EMG I try to think what if in the other muscle or other side something would be shown. The neurologist that performed the EMG today just stick the needle in my muscle and immediately shrug his head and said no MND. No other neurologist did this. After that he was sticking the needle for a minute into the muscle and then I needed to flex with the muscle. But the whole EMg was like 15 minutes maybe.. what if he has performed it wrong? I see many here doing it for an hour or more. At the end he said it is just BFS and that I can be assured it is not als considering my age (24), duration of symptoms (2 years and a half), clinical exams and emg. I am still worried because I still have all my symptoms.. perceived weakness (like I can’t hold my phone for more than 10 minutes or sometimes even at eating my hand feels weak when using the fork or knife), bad cramping in the same spot (hurts a lot and feels like the muscle is getting tight), being sore and exhausted all the time like I have run a marathon, tremor in muscle activity, fascics (to mention that they were not even seen on my EMG, although I have them all the time?!). Besides that I have also trouble swallowing (saliva only, no food and liquids), feeling that my voice is nasal (although my parents and friends don’t seem to notice a difference), trouble getting air when speaking (like some words just can’t be pronounced well but the speech is not slurred.. just missing air when speaking and it makes it harder to speak then). So I thought even about a bulbar onset because actually no bulbar muscle was tested in my EMGS ever (I was told no clinical points towards it and that bulbar in my case would be absurdly to even consider) but I was also told that if it was bulbar and I had problems in my limbs (which I have), the EMG would show it anyway. What is now my thinking about everything is just the fact that I feel so alone in this. Nobody believes me anymore or how much I struggle. It is hard to accept to live like this forever and even the fear of a terminal disease being a possibility makes me unmotivated to do just anything in life anymore. What advice can you give me? And what are your thoughts on my situation? Thanks so much to the community for sticking together and sharing the stories. I hope and pray for the best of all of us.

hey guys. i'm 25f and like 145lbs-ish. family history of degenerative disc disease. no scoliosis. i also work a desk job.
some backstory; on 5/5, i went to a family celebration with my boyfriend. while i was there, i was playing with his 6 month old nephew who is a CHUNKY boy. i was carrying him a lot and within the next two days, i started to notice this nagging pain in one spot in my right-mid back, along with my lower ribs being sore from the front all the way back around, almost in a band where the bottom of a bra would sit. i thought i just wore myself out from carrying around the baby but it didn't improve. it also hurts at rest in a very localized spot and is tender to the touch. my spine itself feels fine and is not tender, it's just around it. (photo of pain location. the localized spots are in blue/purple and the other achiness i'm feeling is in green, which wraps around the front following the bottom of my ribs.)
i went to urgent care on 5/9 and incidentally tested positive for strep and started antibiotics for it. they sent me for a chest x-ray due to the back pain thinking it could be related but it came back completely normal (clear lungs, "visualized osseus structures are unremarkable"). over the last week and a half, the pain has persisted. i went to an orthopedic urgent care on 5/13 and was prescribed muscle relaxers and a steroid and was recommended to do PT. i wound up in the er on 5/15 due to the pain quickly getting worse, but all they did was run bloodwork (everything was normal) and give me fluids and some toradol for the pain. the pain radiates up to my neck now and my neck and traps are very tight and achey (probably due to stress tbh) but the localized pain in my mid-back has persisted and is even getting worse. i've tried the muscle relaxers (500mg methocarbamol twice daily) which barely help, and the steroids haven't helped either. heat and ice don't seem to do much. massage helps briefly but is quite painful in the moment and the pain always comes back. my boyfriend said he can feel how tight the muscles are near that localized spot and that there are "a few knots" in that area. laying on my stomach seems to take some of the pressure off and help a tiny bit, but it doesn't last. but i'm worried it's maybe not muscular in origin as it continues at rest. i have a ct scan of my abdomen and pelvis with contrast on 5/21 as i have ongoing gi issues, but this doesn't seem related as i haven't had any pain like this with my gi issues in the past.
has anyone experienced any pain like this? if you have, what wound up helping you? should i push for an mri? my anxiety is quite high about this entire situation and i'm having a hard time not catastrophizing and thinking the worst. thank you in advance!!!

Wheat is the basis of our diet. World Celiac Day, May 16, is an opportunity to take stock of its involvement in several pathologies. Wheat allergy, gluten sensitivity or intolerance, how to navigate it? A gastroenterologist helps us see things more clearly.

Celiac disease (gluten intolerance)

Its causes
This autoimmune disease specifically linked to gluten (notably gliadin ) occurs in a genetically predisposed area . We also talk about gluten intolerance.

Its symptoms

Celiac disease can begin at any age, including in the elderly (20% of people affected are over 60 years old) and affects women more frequently than men.
The diagnostic assessment is less and less often carried out (less than 20% of cases) in the face of classic manifestations: weight loss, bloating, diarrhea, deficiencies, etc. It is most often carried out in the face of non-specific digestive symptoms, symptoms extra digestive (sterility, alopecia, early or severe osteoporosis, recurrent mouth ulcers), or even biological abnormalities (iron deficiency anemia, liver problems, etc.).

The treatment

Strict exclusion of gluten (wheat, spelled, wheat, kamut, rye, barley) for life.
Oatsare tolerated if they are certified gluten-free .

Wheat allergyWheat allergy

Its causesIts causes
Different proteins contained in wheat can cause an allergy: albumins, globulins and gliadins and glutenins (gluten proteins).
Its symptomsIts symptoms
In infants, it can manifest in a chronic form, such as enteropathy, with symptoms similar to those of celiac disease: weight loss, abdominal pain, bloating. ..
In children, various symptoms occur within 2 to 4 hours after ingestion, often within the first year of life. They are similar to those of a classic food allergy : burning and itching in the mouth, rhinoconjunctivitis, eczema, skin rashes, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and even in severe forms anaphylactic shock.
In adolescents and adults, wheat allergy generally takes a particular form which results in symptoms which only appear when the ingestion of wheat is associated with rather intense physical effort, or after taking alcohol or anti-inflammatories. They are varied: digestive disorders, generalized urticaria, difficulty breathing, even anaphylactic shock.
The treatmentThe treatment
In children: elimination of wheat, rye, barley and oats. After the age of 16, 96% of adolescents become tolerant and recover.
In the case of exercise-related allergy: no consumption of wheat in the 4 to 5 hours before or after significant physical exercise.

Non-celiac wheat sensitivity (gluten sensitivity)Non-celiac wheat sensitivity (gluten sensitivity)

Its causesIts causes
It has no clearly defined basis at the moment. The following are implicated: gluten, ATIs (amylase/trypsin inhibitors) and fructans (which are fermentable carbohydrates falling into the category of FODMAPs.
The diagnosis is only made after elimination of wheat allergy and celiac disease.
Its symptomsIts symptoms
Sensitivity to wheat combines:

• digestive signs :abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating, etc.,
• extradigestive signs :significant fatigue, particularly after a meal, joint and sometimes muscle pain, skin rash (eczema, etc.).

The treatmentThe treatment
After the elimination of celiac disease and wheat allergy (essential condition), start with a strict gluten-free diet (wheat, rye, barley, oats) for 6 weeks, to confirm the diagnosis in case of disappearance of symptoms.
Then, reintroduction, starting with foods containing traces of gluten and, depending on tolerance, with very gradually increasing quantities, each person having to find their tolerance threshold.

Wheat is the basis of our diet. World Celiac Day, May 16, is an opportunity to take stock of its involvement in several pathologies. Wheat allergy, gluten sensitivity or intolerance, how to navigate it? A gastroenterologist helps us see things more clearly.

Celiac disease (gluten intolerance)

Its causes
This autoimmune disease specifically linked to gluten (notably gliadin ) occurs in a genetically predisposed area . We also talk about gluten intolerance.

Its symptoms

Celiac disease can begin at any age, including in the elderly (20% of people affected are over 60 years old) and affects women more frequently than men.
The diagnostic assessment is less and less often carried out (less than 20% of cases) in the face of classic manifestations: weight loss, bloating, diarrhea, deficiencies, etc. It is most often carried out in the face of non-specific digestive symptoms, symptoms extra digestive (sterility, alopecia, early or severe osteoporosis, recurrent mouth ulcers), or even biological abnormalities (iron deficiency anemia, liver problems, etc.).

The treatment

Strict exclusion of gluten (wheat, spelled, wheat, kamut, rye, barley) for life.
Oatsare tolerated if they are certified gluten-free .

Wheat allergyWheat allergy

Its causesIts causes
Different proteins contained in wheat can cause an allergy: albumins, globulins and gliadins and glutenins (gluten proteins).
Its symptomsIts symptoms
In infants, it can manifest in a chronic form, such as enteropathy, with symptoms similar to those of celiac disease: weight loss, abdominal pain, bloating. ..
In children, various symptoms occur within 2 to 4 hours after ingestion, often within the first year of life. They are similar to those of a classic food allergy : burning and itching in the mouth, rhinoconjunctivitis, eczema, skin rashes, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and even in severe forms anaphylactic shock.
In adolescents and adults, wheat allergy generally takes a particular form which results in symptoms which only appear when the ingestion of wheat is associated with rather intense physical effort, or after taking alcohol or anti-inflammatories. They are varied: digestive disorders, generalized urticaria, difficulty breathing, even anaphylactic shock.
The treatmentThe treatment
In children: elimination of wheat, rye, barley and oats. After the age of 16, 96% of adolescents become tolerant and recover.
In the case of exercise-related allergy: no consumption of wheat in the 4 to 5 hours before or after significant physical exercise.

Non-celiac wheat sensitivity (gluten sensitivity)Non-celiac wheat sensitivity (gluten sensitivity)

Its causesIts causes
It has no clearly defined basis at the moment. The following are implicated: gluten, ATIs (amylase/trypsin inhibitors) and fructans (which are fermentable carbohydrates falling into the category of FODMAPs.
The diagnosis is only made after elimination of wheat allergy and celiac disease.
Its symptomsIts symptoms
Sensitivity to wheat combines:

• digestive signs :abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating, etc.,
• extradigestive signs :significant fatigue, particularly after a meal, joint and sometimes muscle pain, skin rash (eczema, etc.).

The treatmentThe treatment
After the elimination of celiac disease and wheat allergy (essential condition), start with a strict gluten-free diet (wheat, rye, barley, oats) for 6 weeks, to confirm the diagnosis in case of disappearance of symptoms.
Then, reintroduction, starting with foods containing traces of gluten and, depending on tolerance, with very gradually increasing quantities, each person having to find their tolerance threshold.

Hi, I have PCOS, hashimotos and Endometriosis…. Every time I try to work out (strength training) my quads and glutes begin to stiffen during workout (during the most basic of workouts lounges? With NO Weights). The stiffness continues for 3-4 days. Along with the stiffness comes pain immediately. Not muscle soreness (I have been an athlete my whole life I know what muscle soreness is like and this is NOT it). I also lose ability to control the muscles more often short spurts. I take 1-2 electrolytes a day. I’m active. I walk a lot (lots of incline). Is anyone having similar issues ? Do you know what could be causing it ?

Just wondering how long it took for everyone to not have any soreness from muscle repair? Started Pilates this week and noticed I am a bit tender and sore when I do any ab work. I am going to be 4 months post op next week.

Hi, 25M and 82KG relatively healthy. Through my childhood up until 17 I was 114KG.
Dec 2021 I experienced taste and smell disturbance where everything tasted rotten. No explanation after going to ENT they couldn’t find a cause for it.
Fast forward about July 2022 I experienced the most painful pains in my back (middle back pain) but it was almost like nerve pains. These pains lasted days where I would experience severe headaches also. By this point the taste and smell difference had practically disappeared. Every food and every chemical tasted/smelled the exact same. All had the exact same rotten taste and/or smell. Now I notice the only thing that I cannot have due to the taste is mango flavoured things although I’m able to eat a fresh mango. Very random, I know.
CT/MRI of my head revealed nothing. X-ray of my spine, 2 chest X-rays also revealed nothing. Currently waiting for MRI with contrast of my neck to come back as well as a stool sample.
January 2022 I started to have blood test after blood test and everything seemed okay.
15th July 2023 my bloods showed everything being in range and all okay and then 31st July 2023 a spike on some things including:
AST went to 109u/l ALT went to 169u/l ALBUMIN dropped from 45 to 41 g/l TOTAL PROTEIN dropped 73 to 68g/l CRP dropped 4 to 2mg/l MCHC 346g/l RDW 13.8% to 14.3% LYMPHOCYTES 3.4 - 10*9L EOSINOPHILS dropped 0.2 to 0.1
By 22nd Sept 2022 these had all practically gone back to normal levels although once everything returned, my BILLIRUBIN started to creep up and hasn’t stopped.
31st July 2023 21 µmol/L 17th August it dropped to 16 µmol/L 4th Sept 27 µmol/L 22nd Sept 25 µmol/L 31st Oct 32 µmol/L 1st May 2024 39 µmol/L 6th May 2024 42 µmol/L
My first noticeable symptoms Dec ‘22/Jan ‘23:
inflamed lymph nodes in my neck and one behind my right ear which have not got bigger nor have they gone down. They’re not huge but I can feel them and couldn’t before.
Dry mouth and left side of my tongue feels odd to the point I had my wisdom tooth removed but it made no difference
Taste and smell differences (as mentioned above)
I also get a rash on the left of my chest that doesn’t itch but presents in the same place everytime. This started a day after my MRI of my head
Middle of 2023 I noticed my neck and back muscles are tense, my neck feels quite solid on the sides and I have shoulder pain both sides but only really when pressed. I have middle and lower back pain but the middle pain feels more like nerves
Occasional blood in stool
Extreme fatigue which came on suddenly Feb 2024 and I’ve never experienced anything like it. I wake up and I’m okay for about 1 hour and then I notice my eyes get so tired and I just want to sleep. As the evening comes I feel so exhausted and then when I’m in bed I seem to be okay although still tired, it’s comfortable laying down and resting and that’s all I seem to want to do. Work is horrific and I notice I have to constantly sit down and rest. I get lightheaded/dizzy spells which are difficult to explain. I’ve had pressure in the back of my head on my occipital nerves although 4 optician appointments and nothing.
1st Oct 2023 I noticed my poo was different, sometimes finding undigested food and what looked like mucus. Stools were looser than normal and by November I was finding that my stools had what looked like colour was leaking from them. Almost every bowel movement had an orange colour around it. Throughout this I noticed every so often my stool was flat/ribbon like.
Now almost every bowel movement has undigested food and the last 3 weeks I’ve been extremely constipated, so suddenly! My poo is dry, what I would describe as grainy.
My urine is darker than usual, I force myself to drink loads of water and this makes it a normal colour although in the morning it is really orange!
My vision has been getting worse the last 6-12 months and I often find myself rubbing my eyes to focus on whatever it is I’m looking at. (After opticians there was no significant difference in vision)
I also have experienced acid reflux which was originally diagnosed as GERD with my first visit to the Dr. Medication did not improve this and so I stopped taking it. ENT checked my throat and after a visual inspection said he doesn’t thing it’s throat cancer although I’ve said all along I’ve got symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer but the answer my Dr had to all of these results was ‘pancreatic cancer usually involved diarrhoea not constipation’
I’ve changed my diet to only drinking water and some squash here and there, eating more fruits and veg with more health proteins and cooking more than I was. Haven’t really been eating a lot of sugar the last 2 weeks although I’ve not noticed any difference yet.
My Dr has said they won’t rule it out but also are not ordering more scans etc until the other one is done. I’m booked for ultrasound on my liver which was an urgent referral and a 2 week wait but it’s not with contrast?!
I don’t know what else to do because no matter what I say to them they just aren’t phased. It seems I tell them one thing and they order scans for a different organ. What’s your thoughts?

I was taken off of sertraline (50 mg) after being on it for quite a long time as the side effects (exhaustion/vivid dreams/ excessive day time sleepiness) were making it impossible to do my job. It was unbearable and since being taken off of it, that has subsided (thankfully!)
I was started on Celexa (10mg) and for the last 5 days I have felt more depressed, angry, anxious and foggy than I have ever felt. The headaches have been non-stop, my jaw muscles are sore (clenching?), my chest feels tight, my focus is shot, and my ability to feel anything warm and positive is completely gone. Even hugging my loved ones (which is usually what lifts my spirits and recharges me) feels empty and flat.
They want me to increase it to 20mg but honestly, this drug has felt terrible so far.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this on an SSRI? Not being able to stay awake was ruining my life - 1000%, but this is going to destroy it in a whole different way. And I think the realization that this might be a lose-lose situation feels heartbreaking to me.
For context I have been put on several other anti-depressants (SSRI’s, SNRI’s, Wellbutrin - that one made my anxiety way worse) before and have been unable to find something that works great (without unbearable side effects as my system seems to be really sensitive to them) I’m honestly considering looking into microdosing mushrooms as I heard that can be effective. I’m at such a loss and the doctors at this point don’t have any idea and just keep trying different drug after different drug and the effects of that on my mental health, physical health, life and family are just too much.
Does anyone have any insight or advice? I would so appreciate it 🙏
Thank you!!

I was taken off of sertraline after being on it for quite a long time as the side effects (exhaustion/day time sleepiness) were making it impossible to do my job. Started Celexa (10mg) and for the last 5 days I have felt more depressed, angry, anxious and foggy than I have ever felt. The headaches have been non-stop, my jaw muscles are sore (clenching?), my chest feels tight, my focus is shot, and my ability to feel anything warm and positive is completely gone. Even hugging my loved ones (which is usually what lifts my spirits and recharges me) feels empty and flat.
They want me to increase it to 20mg but honestly, this drug has felt terrible so far.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this on an SSRI? Not being able to stay awake was ruining my life - 1000%, but this is going to destroy it in a whole different way. And I think the realization that this might be a lose-lose situation feels heartbreaking to me.
For context I have been put on several other anti-depressants before and have been unable to find something that works great (without unbearable side effects as my system seems to be really sensitive to them)
Does anyone have any insight or advice? I would so appreciate it 🙏
Thank you!!

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by bacteria, and the number of infected individuals has increased in recent years.

The most common way to get infected is by having vaginal or anal sex without a condom or through oral sex. Syphilis can also be transmitted through blood transfusions and through unclean syringes with needles.

Early syphilis causes sores (chancres), rashes, and other symptoms. If left untreated, it can lead to serious long-term health issues affecting the brain, eyes, heart, and other organs. Early syphilis can be effectively treated with the antibiotic penicillin. However, it becomes harder to treat as the disease progresses. Therefore, it's crucial to see a doctor if you notice any symptoms or suspect you may have been exposed to the bacteria.

Read more: Symptoms What Can I Do? Seeking Medical Care Syphilis Test Treatment

Hey all, im a 20s male in UK that has just done some UV therapy for the third time (16, 20 and now). It worked less well the second time but It’s just made it worse this time (my mum was the same on third go - shes in peace on skyrizi now)
Ideally UV worked but not surprised it hasn’t - I am aware I need to go through the system to get to biologics in a couple of years.
So, next up is systematic treatments. I have been offered methotrexate and acitretin and honestly I am still scared of methotrexate’s damage to the liver. I don’t drink that frequently but I do like to get drunk when I go out (partially anxiety but also just enjoy getting funny with my friends and letting loose). Especially with summer coming I will wait to do the blood tests and sobriety. Also I get nauseous anyway and am expecting it to send me green.
For now, my question I can’t find is are isotretinoin (accutane) and acitretin’s effects similar? (aka: if i didnt have hair loss is it likely I won’t have it with the other).
Im a lucky boy that was battered by acne and psoriasis and other than dry lips and sore muscles the isotretinoin changed my life acne wise. People’s acitretin’s stories read like a horror plot though - Is it seriously this bad? I’m going to try it to tick it off but honestly I am surprised by its perception considering I found accutane very managable in its effects. I am fair skinned and took doxycycline for years in my late teens which has UV sensitivity so again not worried about that - its mainly the hairloss.
Anybody with experience please let me know.
TL;DR - are acitretin and isotretinoin likely to do similar effects as the doc says.

I am 26F, 5'2" and 140 pounds. About 3 weeks ago I started suffering from unexplained and honestly hard to describe aches and pains. The best way to describe the physical sensation would be like the pain of DOMS but less "shrill", sore but not downright painful the majority of the time.
Usually, the pain is mostly absent in the morning. It worsens during the day, sometimes at random and sometimes following physical activity. The worsening of the pain seems to be especially acute in those muscle areas I've utilized more during the day. For example:

• If I've been walking a lot it especially affects my knees and my ankle, with a dull pain that radiates into the thighs and into the feet
• If I've been carrying heavy objects it affects my upper arms, which become not just sore but weak to the point it becomes hard to even hold up my phone
• If I've been standing for a long time it affects my shoulders and my lumbar region

The muscle weakness is honestly the weirdest thing. For example, yesterday I carried a LEGO set for my niece for about a mile. It was extremely hard to carry, and in my mind I thought it might be as heavy as 20 or even 30 pounds. I came home and weighted it on a baby scale, and lo and behold it was only 8 pounds. But honestly these random bouts of muscle weakness where objects feel much, much heavier than they really are have been going on for a while. Obviously contrasted by times where objects feel normally heavy.
I wonder if I should see a doctor about this. In case I do, can someone please suggest how to best describe this pain to make myself understood, as I'm not the most articulate person.