Sore throat swollen tonsils body aches fever headache diarrhea

I’m moving back in with my parents to make things a little easier for myself (and for them since I’ll be paying them rent and they won’t have to drive to help me with things when needed.) I’m insanely lucky that my family is supportive, even if they don’t fully understand.
Unfortunately, moving is brutal and I overexerted myself yesterday. I woke up at 5am this morning with nausea, chills, aches, and a sore throat. Today my family is doing the moving and I’m laying down and just watching. I want to help, I feel so guilty just laying here while they do all the work, but I feel awful.
Honestly I started feeling like I was starting to heal from ME since it’s been a while since I’ve had a crash, but I guess I just have a relatively high threshold and have been doing well pacing myself. I work full time and don’t really do anything else anymore in order to stay within my limits.
Just a rant. This illness takes away a lot of physical abilities but it really messes with your mind, too.

Hi! I am a 20 y/o female and two days ago I got a sore throat but just thought it was allergies. Yesterday I had a fever for a few hours before it went away. Now I woke up today with no sore throat or fever, am I contagious to others? I called out of work yesterday but I have to be back in on Monday and I wanted to know if I was at risk of getting others sick. Thank you!
Also I took a COVID test and it came up negative.

i’ve talked to a couple doctors and no one is helping me identify what are on my fingers. i got sick around 4/13/24 and i was sick for a good two weeks - the longest i have ever been sick for. it started with a sore throat, then body aches, cough, sinus congestion and a runny nose/mucus with a dry cough for the last week. i thought my nose would never get better. i recovered but had these tiny bumps pop up on the joints of my fingers, mainly the middle and last ones near the fingertip, usually always on the sides of my fingers. they developed around 4/18/24 a few days into being sick and are still present but look much different now. they started off as small skin colored bumps and were in multiples of about 2 to 4. and now they seem to be growing outwards in a circular pattern, like a ring and leave behind a flat center. they also get harder and darker in color as they progress/heal. but then new ones will emerge right next to the old ones. they look very different in the photos than they did when they first appeared. they are now red and calloused/peeling and all the bumps have joined to form collective masses. i have never had any skin conditions/issues. sometimes they are itchy but for the most part they are painless. i have no idea what i was sick with, i got tested for flu and it came back negative and i tested negative for covid at home at the time. the doctor i spoke to is hell bent on thinking that they are because of my low weight and poor immune system as a result. i am a female, 29 years old, 93 pounds, 5’3” and have always been on the smaller side. the most i have ever weighed is 111 at 18/19 years old.
photo links: https://ibb.co/KGZvWMq https://ibb.co/rMPfBRk https://ibb.co/0GycZcx https://ibb.co/h7ydccD https://ibb.co/grvYQ9F https://ibb.co/0MS4mH8

Does anyone have those days where there's nothing really wrong (no *n, no headache, no upset stomach, nothing) but you just feel strange as if your bodys trying to make you believe somethings wrong then you cant stop focusing on it and believing that you feel strange?
Like sometimes on the very very rare occasions that i dont have any physical symptom that i usually have each day such as *n, indigestion, acid reflux, stomach cramps, gurgling or sensations, headaches, tiredness, discomfort after eating and needing to poop or body pains etc, i just feel so..weird? I cant describe it, its almost like an impending sense of doom that there will be something wrong and already is something wrong i dont know about or is soon to happen, like a sudden result into an illness in the middle of the night or sudden huge wave of anxiety or hard hitting symptoms.
When I feel like this, i dont want to talk to anyone, i feel uncomfortable when i do have to talk to someone and want to get away, i just want to be alone, im not hungry, im not in the mood to do any fun stuff i usually do (sing, dance, talk to friends, listen to music etc), im not interested in anything, i just am so hyperfixated and absorbed into this weird sense of something not being right in my body when im actually fine.
I feel like this right now and I have felt like this for a few hours since i got home from work which is also when all the symptoms i was dealing with throughout the day all finally went, dont get me wrong, last night i fell asleep late because i'd had a gurgly, uncomfortable stomach and what i assume was trapped wind which is pretty normal for me as I can have acid reflux, indigestion symptoms and discomfort after eating and needing to poop frequently pretty much everyday so of course the worry of what happened the night before led onto this morning but wasnt bad at all and i'd had breakfast as normal. I had a cbd gummy as i usually do before work which is always a wonder at removing any anxious feelings but i kept feeling as if i was mildly constipated and still had trapped wind even though i didnt (i usually poop in the morning and thought i needed to but didnt, this was probably the culprit for feeling that way) as i had some on and off stitches and minor discomfort/heavy feeling in my uterus area which only went when i finally went to poop which even then i wasnt desperate for like i usually am to go and was normal and only small, only to be replaced by really bad aching legs that went on until id got home and sat down for a bit.
So the aching legs was making me feel anxious and i hyperfixated on it as i was wondering what had caused it, if it really was in my legs or in my lower abdomen and worried it was linked to everything else that happened before, ate lunch that i wasnt really interested in then went upstairs to see if being by myself would make me feel better which it usually does but ive still had this impending sense that something isnt right even though ive literally been fine, TOO fine, almost as if somethings creeping up on me and is going to strike later on. Everything I felt earlier at work has seemed to have gone now and I have no symptoms that i normally do pretty much all day every day at the minute and even if i did, they are very minor, maybe its because i feel so physically fine for once which is unusual for me to feel is the reason why im worrying that i feel weird and then because im hyperfocusing on the worry that i feel weird, thats why im not really feeling any of my normal symptoms?
I'm not used to not feeling any sort of symptom and it always seems the times where I'm free of any feeling, its replaced with a dwelling sense that I feel strange that I just cant shake even though I'm fine until I finally get hit with a physical symptom to focus on, as if my bodys telling me im TOO fine and should be suspicious and on guard for any feeling, or illness, to come? It's almost like im sat here waiting for a physical symptom to strike to focus on to get rid of the impending sense of feeling strange as thats what my bodys so used to, it's scary, when you get so used to always having some kind of symptom to struggle with everyday, when you're okay for once, i hate it because i instantly worry, especially with all the feelings i dealt with earlier and last night that have suddenly gone, that this is going to end up in me suddenly being unwell.
I have had multiple days of having on and off minor ovulation type pains in my lower uterus area and my periods due in about 8 days so I am chalking a lot of symptoms ive been feeling up to that as I can feel absolutely horrendous on the lead up to my period, so far ive not been too bad but last month was absolutely awful.
Does anyone else feel like this, or at least understand where im coming from because I just feel like im going crazy right now waiting for something to happen even though im okay! 😭

So..last week wendsday I started with a sore throat.. Thursday I woke up all messed up and I went to the ER.. cough sore throat bad bad dizziness 2 days later I severely congested bad eye pain and a weird feeling like pressure in my ears moving my eyes around made me feel dizzy that has slightly gotten better then I experienced bad headaches around day 3ish, those haven’t eased up I thought they did but yesterday and the day before night I had this horrible headache on top of head plus eye pain to the point where I think I have a nerve problem in my eye due to the pain and bc in my eye socke I feel something like a vein feeling thing buldging out Yu can’t see if but you can feel pain there and stuff I rubbed my eye so hard prior to that idk if I irritated it or something anyways.. anyone’s eyes hurt I’m on day 8 they hurt when I wake up but then the eye pain stops for only the eye socket and eyebrows to hurt fyi I did have bad sinuses bc my allergy’s and respiratory infection ganged up on me my ears where clogged for like.. 1 week and yeah

I have high IgE (1,500) and don’t know if it’s classic allergies, or a result of CIRS and possibly Marcons. Does anybody else have high IgE? My sinuses are a significant problem with lots of pressure, headaches and breathing restriction, probably from swollen turbinates and nasal cycle dysfunction. But otherwise aside from sneezing 3-4 times per day, I don’t have typical “hay fever” symptom. I got rid of Marcons 4 months ago, but am concerned it has returned.

So, 2 weeks ago I was super sick. Thought it was the flu, tested for covid and was positive. Started w the chills, fever, then had stuffy nose & sore throat. I was also superrr dizzy and my left ear felt plugged & full of pressure, so i went to urgent care where they said I had an ear infection. Been taking antibiotics for that.
I was FINALLY feeling better until yesterday I woke up with the EXACT same symptoms that I had 2 weeks ago - insane chills, headache, sore throat (feels like im swallowing knives) and heart palpiltations. I decided to test again to see if it was Covid, and it was negative?
Is this common? Or normal? I just want this to go away😫😫 any advice or any relating stories will Help ease my mind. I’m Anxious!

Fuck my life.
The joke is that of course this would happen to me. It was so mild for my daughter that I doubted she had it at all. Well, not anymore. Daycare sent a letter home last Wednesday that a kiddo in her class went home with HFMD, so not this past week but the one before. I picked her up that day and noticed 2 “pimples” on the back of her neck. This was indeed HFMD. she’d had mild fever and some throat discomfort in the 2 days leading up to the letter and the bumps. She is 100% now, but was kept home thurs and Fri and unfortunately sent back Monday, as I was extremely confident she didn’t have it as nothing progressed past that. I regret my actions, and hope it wasn’t passed on to anyone else. But unfortunately I got a nasty fever, sore throat, body aches, and fluctuation between extreme sweating and extreme chills for 2.5 days…and this morning I’ve woken up with dozens upon dozens of skin-colored bumps on hands, wrists and feet. Roof of mouth is torn up and “shedding”. Pads/tips of all my fingers and toes are sore and tingly.
Husband is fine, of course (but also luckily).
Goddammit. I have a MAJOR project due the Tuesday after Memorial Day, I do not have one minute of time to spare so I’m going to have to work through this no matter what.

Hi all,
Have heard horrendous horror stories about people getting their wisdom teeth removed in Nairobi, but I really need these two out ASAP. They’ve erupted out of the gum and as there is not much room in my jaw for them, they’re growing incorrectly and stabbing into my cheeks. Immense nerve pain, headaches, even swollen tonsils and now bleeding of the gums. Maybe infected.
I already have X-Rays from before they erupted showing how they’re growing sideways due to lack of room.
Any trustworthy dentist recommendations would be greatly appreciated and some reviews!
Thanks.

Book Two: The Academy- Part 8
Getting to their next class was much less chaotic and dangerous, as this time Buck and company made sure to take the human tunnels. Halfway there, he heard Butterfly begin to pipe up excitedly. “Next class we get to learn how to speak Dragon!”
Buck remembered that was the next class on the schedule. He also remembered very well who was going to be teaching it.
“Isn’t Wren from your hometown?” Sala asked Butterfly.
Butterfly apparently did not remember, but soared when he was reminded. “Yeah! Wren is from Talisman like me! She got banished by the Dragonmancers but she came back and kicked them all out!”
“The so-called legend goes…” Holly commented, “That the Dragonmancers were trying to get rid of Wren by feeding her to a dragon. Instead, she found a baby dragon and raised him. That dragon is Sky, our other teacher in this class.”
“So we’re really being taught by the Savior of Humanity?” Badger breathed, “There’s so many things I want to ask her! Like how she raised Sky, and what Pantala was like, and what the dragons’ faces looked like when she talked to them, and—”
“Didn’t Sunny say that Wren doesn’t like talking about saving humanity?” Patience said.
“She said Wren doesn’t like being treated like a savior,” Holly corrected, “And I don’t blame her. All she did was open her mouth to a dragon, the dragons did the rest really. Now we all think she’s some kind of goddess.”
The class was silent afterwards. The classroom Wren and Sky taught in was apparently on the other side of the school from the classroom they came from. It took some time, but eventually they reached the room. To Buck’s surprise, this classroom appeared to be just for humans. While it was big enough that a dragon could fit in it, there were no seats for them.
But that was not what the other students noticed. What, or whom they saw was at the front of the room. A young woman or teenage girl, standing at the feet of a decidedly small-ish dragon with a scale color Buck had never seen before, more like a salmon or a pale shade of orange. Before he could think about the dragon any further, he spoke.
“Hello, humans! Please be seated. This is going to be such a fun class!”
Buck did a double-take towards the dragon. He spoke in Human almost as if he were human himself. All the other dragons were unwieldy speaking in his language, constantly trying to avoid slipping over their tongues. Sky was such a natural that Buck had to make sure it somehow was not Wren’s mouth that was moving.
Buck seated himself, again next to Bailey. He watched Wren’s eyes, and saw a sort of confidence that came from having done this before. Well, she probably did already teach most of the dragons here how to speak Human.
Wren began to speak to Sky, alternating seamlessly between Human and Dragon, meaning Buck could only catch snippets of their conversation. “Humans… these kids… it’ll be easy… what about it?”
Finally, Wren addressed the class for the first time, giving a loud roar that shocked Buck again. How could a human throat make such a loud noise as that!?
“That, in Dragon, was a formal greeting,” Wren clarified to the class. “Welcome to your first day learning to speak Dragon. As you probably already know, I’m Wren, and this big guy here is Sky. We go back a long way, and you may have heard about me and him from the countless stories that have been made up about us. Allow me to hit you with the truth. Me and Sky have not, to date, beat up any dragons who were assaulting human villages, we have not personally defeated the Othermind, and we have not rescued screaming babies out of the mouths of SkyWings or SandWings.” The class started with horror upon hearing the last part of the speech.
Uhh, Buck thought, Did dragons really ever eat human infants? That’d be low, even for them.
“That last one I made up to show just how ridiculous the whole thing is. Dragons have not and never will be eating babies.” The class sighed with relief. “Going on, I have, however, killed a dragon that was going to assault the Indestructible City, but only because he had kidnapped Sky. This is all I will say about my past in this class. Understood?”
The students nodded. “Now then, I would like you to repeat after me.” She went back to speaking Dragon. “Roar growl human roar snarl snarl.”
Buck repeated her to the best of his ability, but it was like trying to fit a boulder through his throat, he had never tried to get his voice to make such low noises.
When the class managed somehow to repeat her sentence to a satisfactory degree, she translated. “That sentence means ‘I am a human, I am not food.’ While a dragon who still thinks humans are worth eating would likely not listen to a human asserting their rights, it is still an important sentence to know.”
Wren walked to the blackboard behind her and began writing down a bunch of the symbols in Dragon writing. “This is that same sentence, written out. When I’m done teaching you, you will be able to talk and interact with dragons, objectively the best thing ever. While many dragons are learning to speak Human, this will allow you to talk with not just some dragons, but all dragons.”
Sky then spoke. “This may be hard for a lot of you at first. Making dragon sounds with your little human voices can be really painful when you’re not used to it. That’s why we have a large bowl of water off to the right of the desks. If your throat begins to feel sore, drink some water.”
Buck appreciated knowing they cared about their voices, especially since his throat was beginning to become irritated just from saying one sentence in Dragon. Wren began to teach the humans various words in Dragon. As Buck repeated the words, his throat did indeed begin to burn, but the water the classroom supplied was cool and fresh and helped greatly with soothing his voice. Finally, after what felt like many hours of speaking various phrases in Dragon like “The moons shine brightly tonight” and “Have you seen my friends?” the gong rang.
“Good work, class!” Sky said encouragingly, “We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow!”
Buck heard Sala yell “Bye, Sky!” in Dragon as he stood, and he saw Sky’s face light up hearing that. Buck turned and left the room, going back into the tunnel.
“That was a fun class,” Patience said as he caught up with Buck and Bailey.
“Ugh, no.” Holly interjected, “My throat really hurts from all the roaring.”
“Didn’t the water help?” Bailey asked her.
“No. It was like water rushing over molten rock, I think I need to see the nurse.”
“Go do that if you need to.”
“No I don’t think I will.”
Bailey shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Buck pulled his class schedule out of his pocket and looked at it.
12 Noon: Lunch (Dining Hall)
Buck’s stomach grumbled just then, and he realized how long it had been since he had last eaten. He grasped his upper abdomen and looked over to Bailey. “Hey, lunch is next.”
Bailey turned to look at her brother. “Yep! Wonder what they’ll have for us.”
When they reached the dining hall, the dragons had already been seated. He saw Ahi down below perk up as Buck and the others entered. Buck decided to take a better look at the rest of the dining hall, approaching the railing. Just as he predicted, Ahi jumped to her feet and rushed up to the human platform. She gave an excited whine but then, to Buck’s astonishment, spoke in heavily broken, accented Human.
“Hi! Buck! Very good day today!”
“Oh, uh, hi Ahi!” Buck wondered how she suddenly gained the ability to speak his language, but the dragonet was beside herself with glee, apparently knowing she could talk directly to humans was the highlight of her day, enough that she was completely ignoring the platter of fish arriving at her table.
“Daffodil giving me special lessons! I speak like you now!”
Her every word was shouted, which was a bit much for Buck. Nevertheless, he responded: “That’s good, Ahi.” Out of the corner of his hearing Buck could hear a muted scoff come from another one of the dragon tables. He looked over and saw the MudWing from earlier, glaring in Buck and Ahi’s direction. He deliberately ignored him and looked back at Ahi, who was staring at him with sparkling eyes.
“How your shoulder? When you take off that…” She clearly could not find her next word.
“Sling?” Buck finished for her.
“Sling!” She shouted back.
“I don’t know. I think it’s healing pretty well though.”
“That’s great!” Ahi seemed to finally notice her food waiting for her. “I go eat now!”
“Bye, Ahi!” Buck waved at her before turning and finding that his own food was waiting. It seemed to be a huge feast of smoked fish fillets and a salad made up of lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes. Buck sat between Patience and Bailey, who seemed to have left a seat open for him, and began to pile fish and salad onto a waiting plate in front of him.
“Buck,” Bailey told him between mouthfuls, “You and Ahi look like you’re getting along really well.”
Buck paled, then blushed when he realized what she meant. “Uh, it’s not like I haven’t gotten over what happened years ago… or anything. I just know she’s not going to eat me! She’s way too small to even try!”
“That’s a start,” Patience added. “The Buck I met back at the Lodge, he would have not even bothered to go talk to her.”
“I just, can’t get it out of my head, that we might be in danger. It’s like what we heard on the way to Winter’s class, the Scourge is still around here. What if she gets into the school?”
Patience paled. “Hold on, the Scourge is still near the school?”
Just then, a wave of heat suddenly washed over the students, and Buck pivoted his head over into the dragon section to see something that made his heart jump down into his stomach. It was a SkyWing, but in a deep, terrifying red, and her whole body was shimmering with heat. “What is that?” Buck whispered fearfully to Patience.
The dragon seemed to be aware of its heat, and was sliding between tables, its wings tightly folded to its body. Even the dragons seemed to be wary of it, shifting in their seats as the superheated dragon passed by.
“Oh, that’s Peril,” Holly finally explained, leaning over towards Buck, “She’s the security here at JMA.”
Buck swallowed. “Why do I feel like I’m imperiled just by her being here? Is a dragon who could burn me to ash just by being near me somehow supposed to make me feel safe?”
“The point is,” Badger explained, “If any dragon tries to hurt a human here, they’re going to deal with her, and her entire squad of guards. She’s been constantly patrolling the school and the skies around it to look for signs of the Scourge. So yeah, you should feel safe around her.”
Buck shook his head. “As long as I keep my distance anyway.”
Buck decided to ignore Peril and continue eating. He soon had his fill, and he looked back to see Peril in the far corner of the dining hall, eating all alone. The other dragons seem to be scared of her too… I admit, that’s gotta suck, being that lonely.
Though that thought was banished when he saw Clay approach her, and somehow, wrapped a wing supportively around her body before sitting down and eating with her. Somehow he’s not affected by that much heat.
Buck noticed that Bailey and Patience had finished eating, so the three of them stood. “What’s next?” Patience asked.
Buck took out his class schedule and looked it over. “Looks like we have free time for the next hour or so.”
“Let’s go to the library!” Bailey said, “I want to read some more scrolls about the Scorching if they have them.”
“Can I come with you?” Badger asked, approaching them. “I want to read some of those scrolls too.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Patience concluded, “Let’s head over there!”
The library was well lit with sunlight from outside at this time of day, though Buck realized he had not seen the sun ever since he had entered the Academy. He felt cold all of a sudden, realizing he was stuck indoors, possibly for the rest of the school year. Couldn’t they have built, like, a big porch for us to get some outdoors time?
Bailey, Badger and Patience meanwhile were talking with Starflight. “I’m afraid,” the NightWing said, “We don’t have any more scrolls on the Scorching that are up to date with current knowledge. The ones we have… would be highly antagonistic of humankind, probably very offensive to you.”
“Can we read one anyway?” Badger asked him, “History is important to read about regardless of whether it’s offensive.”
“Well, I suppose. Let me go get the one I used to study.” Starflight walked over to the wall of scrolls and pulled one off, then sat on a large cushion, beckoning the children to join him. Buck went over to join him.
“This is the Legend of the Scorching. I contributed my studies of it to the guidebook we wrote after we started Jade Mountain Academy. After finding out who humanity really is… reading it again made me feel a little sick. If at any point you want me to stop, just tell me.”
The kids nodded, and Starflight began to read.
Dragons of the day and age were solitary creatures.
“So you guys didn’t always have a civilization?” Patience asked Starflight, who shook his head.
“It’s how humans managed to survive until the Scorching. I believe you humans call it ‘safety in numbers.’ Forming into communities provides an incredible amount of protection.”
“Probably also the reason why whatever civilization humans could scrounge back from the dead never got any bigger than it is now,” Buck commented solemnly, “Since dragon civilization was now in the way.”
Starflight continued. The scavengers, however, were not content… They killed the dragons’ prey and choked the skies with smoke.
“Smoke?” Bailey said, “What use would we have for that much smoke?”
Badger tilted his head, wondering. “Maybe humans had really big fireplaces back then?”
“We may never know why humans had such an obsession with clogging the air with smog,” Starflight said, “Anyway, let me continue.”
No one knows why a scavenger would steal a dragon egg…
“Well we do know now,” Buck sighed, “But it wasn’t exactly a good reason.”
But we know he stole it from the wrong dragon… And so she found the other dragons… They became their talons and her claws and her ferocious teeth.
“The humans, most of them, probably weren’t aware of Cottonmouth’s scheme,” Patience said, “To them, the dragons would have washed over them unprovoked.”
“And the dragons of the Scorching were also unaware of that,” Starflight continued glumly, “They lumped all of humankind together in their anger.”
When the Scorching was complete, the scavengers who survived scattered into hidey-holes across the world. Powerless, insignificant, no more than prey, as they should have been all along.
“There’s the part that made me sick,” Starflight sighed, “They really didn’t know back then, and even if they did, they probably wouldn’t have cared.”
“But you do now,” Badger said, placing a soft hand against Starflight’s talon, “And that counts for something!”
“It’s just… Knowing what we do now about humans is a heavy burden for many dragons. When humans call us ‘man-eaters’ or ‘monsters,’ it cuts deep, because so many of us felt so stupid to not see what we were doing. And the fact that some humans do forgive us, I think that proves to me, that humans are much stronger than dragons. To be able to spend over five-thousand years hiding from our claws and teeth, to have lost everything to us, and still being able to come to us and understand us. I can’t imagine being that strong.”
Buck felt this statement deep within him, and he felt he had to say something in response. “When I knew… knew that my parents were gone, I felt like I lost my whole world. I was a lot younger back then. My parents were everything to me.” a tear formed on Buck’s eyelids. “And yeah, I hated dragons because of it. I wanted to kill them all, or at least any of the dragons who came too close to Vale. And when Winter came to Vale, I thought it was going to happen all over again. That I was about to lose Bailey, and my new father. But then, Winter spoke. And my whole world was shattered again. Because now I couldn’t really call them monsters. It took me a while to get used to that.”
Bailey wrapped an arm around Buck’s shoulder, prompting a light sob from the boy. “Buck, it’s like Starflight said. You showed so much strength in coming out here and listening to what the dragons had to say. Dad knew, of course, that coming here would help you. He’s a really smart man. So I hope you’ve learned from this. The dragons are here to help now. You just have to let them into your heart.”
Buck wiped a tear falling from his eye. “Thanks, guys.”
“Hey, how’s about we head back to our dorm and relax,” Patience let out a big stretch, “We’ve had a pretty long day so far.”
Buck chuckled. “I haven’t even picked a bed yet, since I spent last night in the infirmary. Yeah, let’s head over there.”
“It was a pleasure speaking with you kids,” Starflight said, “Hearing your opinions on everything has lifted a heavy weight off my shoulders.”
“No problem, Starflight,” Bailey complimented, “Now, let’s head back upstairs!”
The humans scurried out of the library to head back to their dorm, and Starflight rested his head on the open scroll, letting out a big, deep sigh. “If only they knew back then… How wonderful they are.”

Hello, just to preface this I've never had anxiety before this last year however I developed extreme health anxiety after 2 months of throat pain and I've not been right since. Its been extremely difficult.
I have been bogged down with so many symptoms which all started after 2 months of extreme stress (muscle twitching everywhere, insomnia, head ache, stomach ache, vibrating feeling in muscles and fingers that will last for weeks, tingling arm and fingers that lasts for weeks, hypnic jerks, eye floaters, fatigue and many many others).I went to the GP, Neurologist, endocrinologist and gastroenterologist. Spent to go private, had the tests and found some incedental findings which stressed me even more (be very careful when you start paying for tests you don't need, i wish I'd stopped at the GP ) but not the big terrible things i thought i had. I'm beggining to make peace with these however I still get some other strange symptoms like a clicky throat some times (maybe because of the TMJ and tension) and I've noticed my veins moving over my tendons in my hands (maybe because I've lost 20lbs and have been weight training and im hyper aware).I'm aware how insane this sounds and my family are exasperated by it lol.
The strange thing is I'm getting extremely fit, I'm running under 25min 5K and my strength training is going really well and im getting stronger and ive dropped 20lbs. I've never been in better shape and my body is strong but I feel awful and can't understand how both can be true.
I've thought I've had every terrible illness under the sun and I'm especially terrified of the neurological stuff however I'm begining to think maybe I've got HPA axis dysfunction or something similar? A normal doctor won't diagnose it as they are right it's stress and anxiety but it's what happens when the stress has just beat my mind and body and ive been watching on youtube about Adrenal Fatigue, HPA axis dysfunction etc. Maybe that's what causing it but anyway I've decided to make a stand and I'm not going to the doctors anymore until I've wrestled my mind under control.
However I won't give in and I won't give up. I'm going to keep pushing myself to recover and take back my life. I will post again on my hopeful recovery as these things can't last forever.

I hope it's okay to post this in here, I've been really worried the past week. Sunday (Mother’s Day) I noticed my throat was really swollen, and I was able to get in with my primary next day, who scheduled me for an ultrasound the same day. They didn't go over my ultrasound results with me at all, they just said it was non cancerous and gave me a referral to an Endo. (I can't get in until July) Since my ultrasound, I have noticed the swelling/ lump has gotten bigger. Some other things I have going on are night sweats, weight gain, I have trouble catching my breath, and headaches. I haven't changed my diet at all, I have UC, so I've been on the same diet for years. Has anyone had anything similar happen to them?? I know the thyroid can be tricky to figure out.

Can I please get some MRI insight? Confirmed chiari malformation. The term "lesion" is very unsettling.
Suspected dysautonomia with disregulated body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Multiple syncope and pre-syncope episodes. Met with a neurologist who special in dysautonomia and discovered that my daily headaches were considered migraines. I've had the stereotypical migraines and never connected the dots. A batter of labs, tilt table test, and a brain MRI with and without contrast were ordered. Still awaiting TTT results. MRI results came in right before the office closed, so I'm sitting with this for the weekend. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
FINDINGS: Inferior descent of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum measuring up to 0.9 cm. Peglike configuration of the herniated cerebellar tonsils. Findings consistent with Chiari I malformation.
Several scattered periventricular and subcortical T2 FLAIR hyperintense lesions in the supratentorial white matter predominantly affecting the right frontoparietal lobes, with additional lesions in the inferior left parietal subcortical and left periatrial white matter.
No acute intracranial hemorrhage. No intracranial mass, mass effect or midline shift. The ventricles are within normal size limits. No diffusion restriction to suggest recent infarct. Partially empty sella. The major intracranial flow voids are maintained. No abnormal intracranial parenchymal or leptomeningeal enhancement. Subcortical developmental venous anomaly in the left middle frontal gyrus.
Focal susceptibility with heterogeneous T2 signal lesion in the subcortical paramedian left parietal lobe measuring up to 4 mm that could reflect a cavernous malformation. No perilesional edema to suggest recent hemorrhage.
The orbits are unremarkable. Mild to moderate polypoid mucosal thickening throughout the left greater than right paranasal sinuses. Fluid levels in the left maxillary sinus and ethmoid air cells could reflect acute on chronic sinusitis. The bilateral mastoid air cells are clear.
IMPRESSION: 1. Nonenhancing supratentorial white matter lesions as detailed above. Appearance could be in keeping with demyelinating lesions in the setting of multiple sclerosis. Correlate clinically. 2. Findings consistent with Chiari I malformation. 3. Cavernous malformation in the subcortical superior paramedian left parietal lobe. 4. Mucosal inflammation in the left greater than right paranasal sinuses with findings that could reflect acute on chronic sinusitis as detailed above.

What I Have Been Experiencing:
• A dark mark on my left big toe’s toenail.
• A lump on the right side of my face in and/or around my jaw.
• Bone and/or joint pain sometimes.
• Coughing sometimes.
• Darkish veins on my left index finger and middle finger.
• Dizziness sometimes.
• Dry skin sometimes.
• Fatigue sometimes.
• Head tension sometimes, especially on the right side.
• Irritation on my right arm that bleeds sometimes and comes sometimes.
• Lumps on the left side of my ear and neck that are seemingly swollen lymph nodes.
• My nose bleeding sometimes.
• Numbness sometimes.
• Pain on the right side of my head sometimes.
• Poor balance sometimes.
• Seeing stars sometimes.
• Tonsil stones that I spit up sometimes.
I’m 17 years old.
I’m a male.
I’m vegan.
I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Around 4-5 years ago, I accidentally cut the back of my head on a metal trash dumpster from being punched while boxing (both me and the guy boxed consensually). The back of my head bled from this, and at the doctor's, I got it stapled, plus had some Vaseline-like substance put on it. Ever since then, it feels like my body has been deteriorating, as I’ve never felt this bad before.
I have been neglected by my family, including medically, but I have gotten some medical care. When I got it, not much had been found wrong.
In late December of 2023, a medical staff member told me that I was underweight.
On May 17, 2024, a doctor at an ER said a lump on my throat seemed to be a calcification that I should get a follow-up on.
I have been evaluated by psychiatrists, and they haven’t told me anything’s wrong with me. One even basically said I seem logical and mentally normal.
I don’t think I’m crazy, or hallucinating.
Please help.

I (25f) get a really swollen throat every time I get sick. It makes it hard to breathe, drink, eat, etc. I’ve been passed around to ENT’s, and docs that specialize in auto-immune disorders, which denied me due to my blood work. I’d also say I get sick often, as I do work in healthcare and also have a child in school. However, I’ve always gotten sick and gotten infections pretty frequently. I get ulcers in my throat that look like strep, but almost always test negative. I’ve had doctors say it looks as though my tonsil on my right side of my throat wasn’t removed properly as well. I have also been diagnosed EoE, which is ultimately the answer they always give me. They’ve given me nose sprays to try to help with the swelling, along with inhalers to try as well. Nothing has helped with it. It causes me extreme pain in my neck to the point where it hurts to move my head. Any insight on this that may help?

What I Have Been Experiencing:
• A dark mark on my left big toe’s toenail.
• A lump on the right side of my face in and/or around my jaw.
• Bone and/or joint pain sometimes.
• Coughing sometimes.
• Darkish veins on my left index finger and middle finger.
• Dizziness sometimes.
• Dry skin sometimes.
• Fatigue sometimes.
• Head tension sometimes, especially on the right side.
• Irritation on my right arm that bleeds sometimes and comes sometimes.
• Lumps on the left side of my ear and neck that are seemingly swollen lymph nodes.
• My nose bleeding sometimes.
• Numbness sometimes.
• Pain on the right side of my head sometimes.
• Poor balance sometimes.
• Seeing stars sometimes.
• Tonsil stones that I spit up sometimes.
I’m 17 years old.
I’m a male.
I’m vegan.
I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Around 4-5 years ago, I accidentally cut the back of my head on a metal trash dumpster from being punched while boxing (both me and the guy boxed consensually). The back of my head bled from this, and at the doctor's, I got it stapled, plus had some Vaseline-like substance put on it. Ever since then, it feels like my body has been deteriorating, as I’ve never felt this bad before.
I have been neglected by my family, including medically, but I have gotten some medical care. When I got it, not much had been found wrong.
In late December of 2023, a medical staff member told me that I was underweight.
On May 17, 2024, a doctor at an ER said a lump on my throat seemed to be a calcification that I should get a follow-up on.
I have been evaluated by psychiatrists, and they haven’t told me anything’s wrong with me. One even basically said I seem logical and mentally normal.
I don’t think I’m crazy, or hallucinating.
Please help.

What I Have Been Experiencing:
• A dark mark on my left big toe’s toenail.
• A lump on the right side of my face in and/or around my jaw.
• Bone and/or joint pain sometimes.
• Coughing sometimes.
• Darkish veins on my left index finger and middle finger.
• Dizziness sometimes.
• Dry skin sometimes.
• Fatigue sometimes.
• Head tension sometimes, especially on the right side.
• Irritation on my right arm that bleeds sometimes and comes sometimes.
• Lumps on the left side of my ear and neck that are seemingly swollen lymph nodes.
• My nose bleeding sometimes.
• Numbness sometimes.
• Pain on the right side of my head sometimes.
• Poor balance sometimes.
• Seeing stars sometimes.
• Tonsil stones that I spit up sometimes.
I’m 17 years old.
I’m a male.
I’m vegan.
I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Around 4-5 years ago, I accidentally cut the back of my head on a metal trash dumpster from being punched while boxing (both me and the guy boxed consensually). The back of my head bled from this, and at the doctor's, I got it stapled, plus had some Vaseline-like substance put on it. Ever since then, it feels like my body has been deteriorating, as I’ve never felt this bad before.
I have been neglected by my family, including medically, but I have gotten some medical care. When I got it, not much had been found wrong.
In late December of 2023, a medical staff member told me that I was underweight.
On May 17, 2024, a doctor at an ER said a lump on my throat seemed to be a calcification that I should get a follow-up on.
I have been evaluated by psychiatrists, and they haven’t told me anything’s wrong with me. One even basically said I seem logical and mentally normal.
I don’t think I’m crazy, or hallucinating.
Please help.

What I Have Been Experiencing:
• A dark mark on my left big toe’s toenail.
• A lump on the right side of my face in and/or around my jaw.
• Bone and/or joint pain sometimes.
• Coughing sometimes.
• Darkish veins on my left index finger and middle finger.
• Dizziness sometimes.
• Dry skin sometimes.
• Fatigue sometimes.
• Head tension sometimes, especially on the right side.
• Irritation on my right arm that bleeds sometimes and comes sometimes.
• Lumps on the left side of my ear and neck that are seemingly swollen lymph nodes.
• My nose bleeding sometimes.
• Numbness sometimes.
• Pain on the right side of my head sometimes.
• Poor balance sometimes.
• Seeing stars sometimes.
• Tonsil stones that I spit up sometimes.
I’m 17 years old.
I’m a male.
I’m vegan.
I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Around 4-5 years ago, I accidentally cut the back of my head on a metal trash dumpster from being punched while boxing (both me and the guy boxed consensually). The back of my head bled from this, and at the doctor's, I got it stapled, plus had some Vaseline-like substance put on it. Ever since then, it feels like my body has been deteriorating, as I’ve never felt this bad before.
I have been neglected by my family, including medically, but I have gotten some medical care. When I got it, not much had been found wrong.
In late December of 2023, a medical staff member told me that I was underweight.
On May 17, 2024, a doctor at an ER said a lump on my throat seemed to be a calcification that I should get a follow-up on.
I have been evaluated by psychiatrists, and they haven’t told me anything’s wrong with me. One even basically said I seem logical and mentally normal.
I don’t think I’m crazy, or hallucinating.
Please help.

What I Have Been Experiencing:
• A dark mark on my left big toe’s toenail.
• A lump on the right side of my face in and/or around my jaw.
• Bone and/or joint pain sometimes.
• Coughing sometimes.
• Darkish veins on my left index finger and middle finger.
• Dizziness sometimes.
• Dry skin sometimes.
• Fatigue sometimes.
• Head tension sometimes, especially on the right side.
• Irritation on my right arm that bleeds sometimes and comes sometimes.
• Lumps on the left side of my ear and neck that are seemingly swollen lymph nodes.
• My nose bleeding sometimes.
• Numbness sometimes.
• Pain on the right side of my head sometimes.
• Poor balance sometimes.
• Seeing stars sometimes.
• Tonsil stones that I spit up sometimes.
I’m 17 years old.
I’m a male.
I’m vegan.
I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Around 4-5 years ago, I accidentally cut the back of my head on a metal trash dumpster from being punched while boxing (both me and the guy boxed consensually). The back of my head bled from this, and at the doctor's, I got it stapled, plus had some Vaseline-like substance put on it. Ever since then, it feels like my body has been deteriorating, as I’ve never felt this bad before.
I have been neglected by my family, including medically, but I have gotten some medical care. When I got it, not much had been found wrong.
In late December of 2023, a medical staff member told me that I was underweight.
On May 17, 2024, a doctor at an ER said a lump on my throat seemed to be a calcification that I should get a follow-up on.
I have been evaluated by psychiatrists, and they haven’t told me anything’s wrong with me. One even basically said I seem logical and mentally normal.
I don’t think I’m crazy, or hallucinating.
Please help.

First/Previous
Satan was on the air, on the night, within everything in the long shadows cast by the setting sun and with him came a chill to the air that I could never hope to internalize; it might kill me.
From a rotted abode across the street, I watched the large outbuilding and the field in which we’d buried the hand and I found myself in prayer—among the torn and exposed studs of dry-rotted wood and rusted metal I caught my own whispers and forced myself to stop like I intended to convene with God right there in the dark; I wasn’t there for Allah. It was something else that compelled me there. I whispered the prayer and felt foolish at my own voice and ducked lowly among the rubble and held my breath to watch the sunlight go from the land and in a blink, the light was gone, and I was there in darkness that at first was a terror and then I slipped into it through blinks and the surroundings became clearer even in the dark.
Time went on.
I was exposed, but the yougins were safe—Trouble too. If nothing else mattered in the world, then they should go on without me. It had come to me so suddenly (maybe it was the prayer that withdrew such a sentimentality) that I liked them okay.
Before anything else, a cat’s hiss came so faintly that I plugged my ear with my pinky, shook it and listened again; the noise grew closer, and I could do nothing but watch the field and squint in the darkness and wait.
Fumbling, I counted the glass containers with touch only—two in my jacket pocket and the third by my feet—and my fingers then danced to the threadbare strap of the shotgun on my shoulder; I shed my pack for mobility.
The domineering creature lurched forcefully from the shadows and then went on display in the moonlight properly and its arched back protruded even over its own head till it lifted that muzzle, so its rattish face was cut out in a black outline; it was sniffing, and the hiss came through the air again. The Alukah kept a serpentine strut, smoothly gliding across the ground as it used its hands like forelegs to press its snout against the ground. In watching, I consciously relaxed my shoulders and refrained from biting my teeth together. That creature found the spot it had been searching for—it seemed roughly the place we’d buried the hand—and it took its claws there with bestial shovelfuls.
In a hurry, I gathered the jar I’d placed by my feet—it would not slide so gracefully into my jacket as the others—and as quietly as I could, I slinked around the rubble, through two studs, and onto the dirt. Within milliseconds, my own heartbeat pounded all over my body and I stood in the street and lit the Molotov cocktail with a lighter and took closer to the creature.
It shifted around and in that moment I wished I had a light source powerful enough to expose its body; I tossed the cocktail in a high arch and it exploded in a moment by the creature’s feet as it stood and pivoted to look at me fully; its solid white eyes were wide in a glance of moon-shine and it slung itself from the eruption of flames around its feet with violent speed. Its black hair hung down the sides of its face and its head parted midway to expose a snarl. It stalked in a circle around the concentration of flames, remaining mostly in the dark; the thing moved slowly nearer, those long arms swaying in front of itself with each step.
You should know better. It stopped midstride, coming no closer and we each stood there in the field roughly thirty feet from one another, and I refused to take my eyes from it. The boy’s mine. The flames began to flicker and die. For how long we stood like that, I couldn’t say, and I waited.
I couldn’t find a voice till it was all dark again, besides the moon and stars. “Why can’t you leave us be? There’s easier pickins.”
You offer yourself too much credit, Harlan. We remained in silence and in the darkness the creature may have been a statue—in a blink it seemed as much. You are a corpse, no? A walking corpse of a man! A terrible sickness is in you. I know it. I see it on you as plainly as I see your fear.
Rigidity took over my body and I puffed my chest out like it meant something and I shook my head, “I’m not afraid.”
Not of me, no. Of yourself? Something. The voice lingered with the ends of its words, drawing them out first guttural then it left them on hisses. Something I know.
I lit the next Molotov, and the creature didn’t move; I threw the bottle furiously and it went into the darkness like a far candleflame till it erupted in the spot the Alukah had been standing—the thing had leapt from there, leaving me unawares and I lowered myself to the ground in a crouch, swiveling my head around to catch the thing in the dark. The flames on the ground danced brightly, leaving me light-blinded.
Not again, said the thing, You will not catch me so easily with fire again. It was behind me, nearer the outbuilding and it took a moment through blinks for my eyesight to return well enough to see the grotesqueness of the misshapen massive humanoid thing.
The Molotov explosion burned then disappeared and we stood looking at one another again and I felt silly, foolish, radically unprepared, and overwhelmingly trivial in the grand scheme of the universe—if it wanted to, it could leap the distance between us and rip me to shreds. Why didn’t it kill me? Why wasn’t I dead?
That damnable night creature extended one of its massive forehands, flexing the digits on the end of its arm and whispered its words like a plea, The boy, Harlan. That is all. Take that brimstone smelly girl and carry that shell of a body—walk on to whatever hole you humans call home.
Hoping to not draw a movement from the creature, I pressed my forearm against my ribcage, feeling the last Molotov that was there in the inner pocket and I gently slid the strap from my shoulder, and held my shotgun in both hands, licking my dry lips, watching the dark frame of the Alukah, fearing even a moment of distraction; my eyes locked on the creature and I refused to speak.
No deal then. It wasn’t a question; its rattish snout offered a mild nod of understanding. You despise a good sense of words.
I readied the shotgun, legs spaced in proper formation—looking down the barrel, I held my breath and upon squeezing the trigger, the thing knocked into my shoulder, but the creature was gone. In scanning, I found the thing had moved from the field and bounded wildly across the street towards the dead ruins of Annapolis, its muscular limbs made short work of fleeing.
The outbuilding remained quiet and erectly tall, and I moved to its shadow and cussed whispers for wasting ammunition. Only three shells remained; worse, I’d wasted two of my explosives. I watched the horizon in the opposite direction of the crowded foundations of Annapolis and carefully held my breath in watching and I prayed again, hoping that the commotion would not draw attention.
An overwhelming sense of foolishness welled in my guts, and I trotted off towards the direction I’d watched the Alukah go, through the ramshackle streets haphazardly.
The darkness was maddeningly empty, so I filled it with shouts, “C’mon! This is your turf, ain’t it? This darkness is yours so come and take me if you can!” Rusty as I was, I held the shotgun like never before, squinting my eyes, keeping my pace in unison with my heartbeat. There’s a place in that darkness that is beyond reproach, beyond the comprehension of a city dweller, beyond even my own understanding and I found myself padding through those streets at an accelerated rate, hopeful to confront the demon and I only found more dead and vacant lots and I crossed more than two intersections where the signs were either gone or indecipherable in the black shadows cast there. I wished for a payback of the demon’s hunt or perhaps I wished for something even more than that—what did I need to prove and to who? “You sick and twisted and foul beast!” I went so loud I continued to hoarseness, “Slimy fuck!” I’s so mad that spit came with the words too.
Still, there was nothing and I came to a final crossroads, a place more commercial—at least for a flatland dead town—where brick storefronts half-stood on those four corners. Finding my voice again, I continued my tirade, cursing the demon, “Come get some—c’mon already! Here’s your fight?” I was scared though.
A sudden noise from the dilapidated storefront to my left startled me to pivot and watch, gun pulled up, and I focused as hard as I could on the recesses of that shadowed place; it was a large antiquated face where a window might have sat many years prior. Wet and hungry sounds emanated from that place, the disgusting noises of a fiend—even in knowing it, I was surprised in seeing the new creature spill out in a lumpish mess of slickened muscles, lubricated, its innumerable arms and legs clawed its own body forward so that it rolled like a mushy ball—each of those limbs remained human in nature. Upon the thing pulling itself onto the street, I staggered backwards, gun still raised, and watched its form take a modicum of understanding in the moonlight; its mouths—sporadically, illogically placed over its mass of a body—opened and seemed to try and speak with each one merely letting go of meekly audible, painful sighs in doing so. The eyes, spaced much the same as the mouths, blinked and rolled as if it was torture for the thing to live. The mutant was a tongue-like mass at its center, and it was almost the size of a horse—I’d seen fiends grow much larger, but this was still a great threat.
In moving away from where it spilled onto the street, I stumbled backwards and caught myself on the backfoot and clumsily spun into a sprint; my boots pounded in my flight from the thing, and it chased after.
Its mouths exhausted terrible sighs as it gained speed in the relative openness of the street and in seconds, I would not have been surprised if the thing snatched me by an ankle and devoured me without thought—not that fiends had any other thoughts above the basest urge to consume.
The pursuit kept me going in the dark, watching the still shadows of the dilapidated housing and I pushed on until I tasted copper; my breathing went raspy—it’d been so long since I’d been forced to run from such a creature in the open. I took a glance back and saw it coming, gaining speed in its perpetual roll; its body excreted some fluid across itself so that it could glide more easily.
Coming to a crossroads I’d passed earlier, or perhaps it was a new one—I couldn’t fathom in the dark—I took in the direction of what I thought was south and ran full throttle; my knees ached.
In hoping to confuse the mutant, I quickly dove towards the right side of the southbound street, towards some ramshackle, through the skeletal framing of a skinless house without a roof; I pushed through the pencil-narrow vertical beams and stumbled through, landing onto the unseen ground on the other side. My left leg spasmed and in the millisecond that it took for my nerves to register the pain, I let out a mild, “Oh.” I tried to lift myself from the spot and found that my left leg refused to bend straight; in total horror—more so from my body failing than the mutant—I swiveled my torso around and scooted on my rear across the ground, raking myself in the opposite direction of the fiend.
The mutant slammed into the frame; its many arms reached through the bars and in a moment, it began to use its hands to lift itself along the exposed wall and I scooted further away till my back met the bars of where an opposite wall would’ve gone. In a scramble, I snatched the shotgun, pushed myself sniff against the bars on my side and watched the thing down the barrel; I waited and concentrated on my own breathing. If nothing else worked, I still had that Molotov—if not for it then for me.
As it crested the top of the wall made of bars, I watched patiently and only when I was certain I fired.
The mutant, the great meatball-thing that it was, lost its grasp for a moment and slipped onto the arrangement of vertical bars; I gush of liquid, illuminated in starlight, shot from its base of its soft body; it began to try and catch its grasp on the bars and I took a moment for myself to examine my left knee—I pulled it as close to my face as I could manage which was hardly at all—some black triangular mass had lodged itself into my flesh; more accurately, I’d slammed myself onto something sharp in my panic to flee the fiend. In a second, not thinking of the repercussions, I gripped the thing with my left hand and clamped my mouth onto my right hand, biting into fat of my hand by the thumb. The debris was free from my leg, and I let it to fall to the ground; blood ran freely into my mouth and I let go of the bite and tentatively lifted the gun again, ignoring the pain; the creature continued to struggle, and I fired again. It slipped again, further impaling itself on the bars.
I had one shell left.
Using the place I’d propped my back, I pushed free from the ground and put all my weight onto my right leg, testing the left; I staggered—hopped really—around in the small square of ground surrounded by metal framing and searched the ground for something long. I unearthed the dirt around my feet and found a long piece of metal rod; setting the gun to the side, I lifted the metal rod over my head and then slowly arched it out from my body. It would give me just enough room to further injure the thing while also staying well out of its grasp.
I swung the makeshift weapon down like a bat or a sword and the fiend slid a little further down the bars, the exit wounds began to show across the top of its roundish body, and I smacked it again—its mouths spoke words that could nearly be understood. Though it took only moments, I was thoroughly exhausted by the time the creature had reached the ground again, good and dead and impaled upon six of those vertical bars. I tossed the weapon to the ground, lifted my gun, and shimmied through the bars on the opposite side of the square.
Adrenaline only lasts so long, and my left leg throbbed to the point of nausea; I did not want to inspect the wound, but on rounding the ramshackle and watching the still dead thing, I stumbled into the street and knelt and lifted my pant leg. It was dark and bloody and already it was burning. Infection was my first thought. A puncture wound could spell a terrible fate. I shifted to sit in the street. My leg didn’t bend right.
The cat’s hiss came from the darkness and there wasn’t a way I could respond in time; I felt those long nasty fingers grab me by the back of my neck and I was lifted immediately from the ground—the gun clattered to the ground and all I could do was initially freeze and stiffen and then my hands moved to the grasp which held me firmly by the throat; those massive knuckles were like stones.
The Alukah had me and situated me so that it could look into my face, its long black hair hid its eyes but I could smell its breath and see its teeth which rested in its round mouth. I could snap you. It seemed to nod its head, but to detect humanity in that damnable pale face was a mistake.
I choked.
What’s that? It relaxed its grasp on my throat.
“Do it.”
Why’re you crying? Its foot brushed against the gun at its feet, and it lifted it with its free hand, and it commented casually, Little human toy.
It moved, holding me by the throat, dragging me along the ground in an abnormal sluggish gait. It was hard to see anything but the night sky, anything but the strange angle of the demon—with its grip, it was hard to breathe, and tears indeed welled in my eyes, and I held to its forearm to distribute some of the weight of my own body away from my neck. With its tugging, I could not speak, but it spoke.
I’ll squeeze you dry, but your blood’s too tainted to drink. That won’t make it any less interesting. I’ll twist you like a rag and see which hole it comes from first. More than that, you’ll scream. You’ll scream so loud everyone will know. Everyone will know what I’ve done to you—once you’re no more than ruin. Not even Mephisto would balk at my handiwork once I’ve had my time with you. God will look on your sour corpse with so much disgust there won’t be a place for you anywhere. Only Oblivion, a place worse than any.
The creature moved us to the open field, tilted its head back and forth, rose its rattish face to the sky and snorted and then clearly sniffed, dropping the gun to its feet to brush the long black hair from its eyes; its muscular body shone in the moonlight so that even its bluish veins stood plainly from its white skin. It shifted its gaze to the outbuilding—maybe fifty yards away—where the youngins were hidden.
Deftly, the thing lifted me from where it had kept me by its side and my feet levitated over the air, I felt feet taller, suspended from that long arm the way I was. It took its free hand to my midsection and I felt the digits of its hand squeeze my ribs and it let go of my throat and I coughed and wheezed, placing my hands on its fingers to dig into that thing’s skin—it didn’t matter—in seconds, a scream escaped my rattling throat; it squeezed more and I felt the glass bottle in my jacket burst from the force then the Alukah gave relief and I tried to gulp air, but felt pangs along my body. My jacket was wetted from blood by the broken bottle shards entering my body or from the contents of the bottle or both.
Urine? It pulled me close to itself, sniffed, and shook its head. Oil? it cackled, Again! Beg for the help you do not deserve! It held me outright once more.
Again, the great hand constricted me and again I could not help but to let out a scream—my lungs were on fire, my voice stretched like a dying animal. I heard barks and saw nothing through wild choking tears. The grip softened.
I coughed more and tried to speak; the Alukah brought me close to itself as if to wait and listen to what I had to say. Weeping words fell out in a whisper, “Kill me. Do it. I don’t mind.”
Another sharp laugh exited the thing’s throat and it squeezed again, facing me out so that I could look at the black outline of the outbuilding. I heard the barking again and I saw the figures stumble out from the sidelong face of the outbuilding. I blinked to remove the tears.
A voice, neither mine nor the demon’s, shouted an attempt at authority, “Let him go!” It was Gemma. They rounded the building so that moonlight removed them from obscurity. Gemma held Trouble on a lead while Andrew followed.
Trouble growled.
The smile was audible through the Alukah’s voice, Strong words for one so dainty. I felt its grip tighten and I chuffed and couldn’t manage a word.
“Get it!” shouted Gemma; she let go of Trouble’s lead and the dog looked curiously at me and the demon where we were and tucked its tail and circled to hide behind the children.
The Alukah laughed. Scary dog.
I was lightheaded while my vision went; I should die—I’d bleed out there or some unknown medical oddity would shut me off. Perhaps I’d will myself to death. My head nodded tiredly, and I fought it, blinking, shaking my head to maintain my eyes.
“You want me?” The boy took a few steps forward and his voice cracked. “We could make a deal.”
The Alukah lowered me so that my feet skimmed the ground but shifted to keep a tight hold around only my throat. Oh?
“What are you doing?” shouted Gemma; she closed the space between herself and Andrew and shoved him.
He shoved her back. “Me for him,” he addressed the demon.
Is that the deal?
Everything in my body protested while I reached for the jean pocket on my right side; I could not reach it. I stretched and my ribs screamed in pain—it was worse than bruising. The demon did not notice me moving. Maybe because my movements were weak, subtle. I tried again while mentally asking God for help and I came short of the pocket. I cursed Him and then my shaking fingers found the pocket. I withdrew the lighter there.
“That’s right,” said Andrew.
“No, he won’t,” Gemma’s voice was aflame.
It’s not your deal to make, girly.
I took the lighter to my jacket, lit it, and the flames grew around me in a flash, feeding on the oil.
The Alukah hissed, attempted to unwrap its hand from around me while I dug into its forearm with two claws and bit onto the thing’s hand for extra purchase. It swung me around and my legs flew limply. It took every bit of strength I had.
Let go! The Alukah shrieked.
Trouble barked, the children screamed, and I bit deeper till that thick black blood filled my mouth. The flames were immaculate, cleansing, more furious than I could’ve imagined. Not for life—that’s not why I held on so strongly—it was for them, for Andrew and Gemma. Me and that creature should’ve burned together. Fitting.
Delirium took over and I swiveled overhead in the demon’s tantrum, holding onto that arm. The Alukah hissed, roared, shouted nasty epithets.
The gunshot rang out and I met ground, hard.
Exhaustion or death could’ve taken me then, but it was the former.
When consciousness came again, it was hands, smacking hands that brought me to life—then the vague smell of burnt hair, cooked flesh. My body stung and I could not move but to lift my face from the dirt where I lay belly-flat.
“You almost died,” said Gemma somewhere between hope and sorrow, “You almost killed yourself!” She shook me and shoved me hard enough so that I rolled on my back. She’d been crying, but surely, we’d won. What was there to cry for? If we’d lost, she wouldn’t be talking at all.
She left me and I stared at the sky through slits. The sun was coming but I couldn’t feel the warmth; I couldn’t feel anything (that would be a sweet memory in the time to come). It was quiet save the crackling I heard; it was like the lowness of a dying fire. It wasn’t me? I wasn’t on fire?
When she returned, she lifted my head to place my pack underneath it; it elevated my vision. I surveyed my surroundings. The outbuilding was there and the Alukah lay on the ground perhaps ten feet from me; its body charred and sizzled and caught little flames in response to the cresting sunrise; everything was a daze—we’d won.
Gemma’s eyes glittered, and she called the dog over and the dog sniffed my face and the girl’s lips remained flat, expressionless.
I saw the boy’s body—it lay motionless alongside the dead Alukah and alongside that body was my shotgun. The body’s head sat on its side, disconnected from its owner, facing away from where I lay.
“He killed it. He shot it.” Gemma sat beside me, and Trouble placed her snout on the girl’s shoulder. “We’re going to die,” she nodded.
First/Previous
Archive

Hi,
26M
Long story short… I’ve had sex with a HIV+ve dude he told me he was undetectable - unfortunately now chances are he isn’t, due to his drug use and all that. I was bottom - receptive. For the 3 weeks before hooking up I was taking prep daily and I only stopped it 3 days before meeting him and restarted it an hour and a half prior to our encounter. I’ve had a short flu like illness dead on two weeks later , had a test on day 19 (4th generation). Then had another test at day 32 (also 4th gen but this time from a pinprick) which also came back negative.
My question is, would prep have widened the window for it to show up? Since that two week illness I’ve had aches all over my body and my throat hurting on and off.
I guess I just want to know whether I should stop taking prep before my 6 week test (UK guidance) or if I should just let it be and accept the result from day 32 as being almost definitive.
Thanks.

Hi,
26M
Long story short… I’ve had sex with a HIV+ve dude he told me he was undetectable - unfortunately now chances are he isn’t, due to his drug use and all that. I was bottom - receptive. For the 3 weeks before hooking up I was taking prep daily and I only stopped it 3 days before meeting him and restarted it an hour and a half prior to our encounter. I’ve had a short flu like illness dead on two weeks later , had a test on day 19 (4th generation). Then had another test at day 32 (also 4th gen but this time from a pinprick) which also came back negative.
My question is, would prep have widened the window for it to show up? Since that two week illness I’ve had aches all over my body and my throat hurting on and off.
I guess I just want to know whether I should stop taking prep before my 6 week test (UK guidance) or if I should just let it be and accept the result from day 32 as being almost definitive.
Thanks.