Hi. I'm just trying my luck here as well. (I've read a couple of the old posts). For context purposes: 6 month old baby, breastfed, bed-sharing with mom, breastfed to sleep or rocked to sleep, 3 naps with a total of 2.5h, bedtime at 19-20.30, wake-up at 7-8.
Baby was sleeping solid hours before the 4 month regression (more like 3 month regression for us). After we were out of it, baby started to sleep 4-5h of sleep in the first part with wakings at 3-2-1 hours after that. Then she had a period of waking every 3 hours. All of this was okay-ish. Now she is awake every 2 hours, sometimes every 1 hour. Maybe awake is a harsh word, more like she moves and if i don't notice her she cries. A few times i just touch her face or hand and she drifts to sleep other times i have to nurse her and she drifts to sleep after 10 minutes.
It could be her teeth shifting, the gums are a bit red, but not swollen.
Any tips on what i could try to reduce her wakings?

Hello everyone
I messed up and started taking FF again after I had quit for the first time. I originally started taking FF soon after I quit drinking as a means to replace that social lubrication function of alcohol, so of course it snowballed from there. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and very quickly fell into drinking 3-5 a day for a few months until I got a litany of health issues and an insane amount of credit card debt. I ended up quitting because it was destroying my relationships (moody, acting insane), my eyes looked so sunken in, my skin looked awful, and I was getting near constant UTIs and horrible urinary retention which I attributed to the kratom. It nearly destroyed my relationship in another way because my boyfriend had his own stint with kratom before I knew him and warned me about it, so something I felt like I had a handle on soon got out of control and I was hiding it from him and so reasonably he was very upset with me. I fucked around and found out. He forgave me, and I spent a week being dope sick and feeling like death and afterwards I never felt better.
Fast forward to now...
I was going through a major episode and felt like my relationship was over and I decided fuck it, I'd rather drink one of these guys instead of having a drink. I just wanted to feel better and I felt so so guilty about it. Obviously I couldn't have just one, it's so habitual, and I'm back in the thick of it. I haven't had the pee problems this time, but I have been hanging out at a kava bar almost every day and got a bad bout of kava dermopathy (crocodile skin) and have had to slow down on that but obviously can't stop FF cold turkey and still be able to go to work, do daily tasks, etc. I need 3-4 days blocked off in order to overcome this and away from my boyfriend to be able to handle the withdrawals on my own without raising any red flags. I feel so guilty.
I mention the dermopathy because my newest condition that I suspect is related to these little shits is styes, which I suspect is kava related this time rather than kratom related based on the limited research I've done. Something about the kavalactones. I've never had a stye in my life, and now all of the sudden after my dermopathy had begun to clear up, I got like 5 styes stacked on top of each other on my left eyelid. My boyfriend popped them despite my pleas to let them be and sort themselves out but I am glad he did, because the relief was unimaginable. My eyelashes were getting caught in it too, making me wonder if it was even an ingrown eyelash, but I dunno anymore... because just as I thought this awful week and a half of having a painful, swollen eyelid was over, I began to get them in my other eye, and another one is cropping up on my under eye of the original eyelid. I feel so depressed and ugly and frustrated and in pain.
I really suspect that it's these fucking FFs, but wondering about y'all's experience and if this has happened to anyone else. Thanks for letting me vent. I know what to do, I just have to find the right timing. Looking for support and others' experiences. Thank you <3

This is going to be long, sorry about that.
Hi, so I, a male (27), I have to put the reality that I have a bulged disc and have to to rest for 2 months while I get back to normal; with the assistance of physical therapist, medicine, and rest/ stretches. I have told my family but well they said “you still have to pull your weight” but that pain is an 11/10 after a while. I’m doing better now as I’m able to stand and walk longer; sitting takes its toll still. But they really don’t like me to rest. My mom (F, 52) advocates to go against PT advice and well she did that and now she has a calcified herniated disc due to her stubbornness; she didn’t want to listen to her own PT’s advice.
So my family takes these stray pregnant cat into the apartment. We noticed she has a flea collar and looked clean; but she could have been out there for months or weeks. And well the stray actually gave birth that same day. So that great right? Well on the 3rd day of having her; we were Looking for 2 kittens that ran around and we found them. However, my mom hears the dog howling downstairs and is like “if you go down there, bring him up, my poor dog is losing it”. The dog is a chihuahua / Yorkie mix that clearly has separation anxiety. So I go down there, take a break while they are upstairs and raise my legs cause pain started coming. I bring the dog back up because well she said “they’ve brought the dogs up and it’s went well”. So I bring the dog up, struggling, but I do it (I’m using a cane). We had a gate that would keep the stray in a room. As I get there, my sister (F, 25) is next to the gate. My mom says “let him down”, to which I do. The stray hears that and my sister to slow to react, being next to the gate allows the cat to shove the gate and goes for my dog. I jump into action and try holding the cat down with my arm cause well, it’s my dog; had him since a puppy for crying out loud. And I saw her stance, we own cats (for years), stray was getting ready to jump and attack my dog, so I had to jump. But remember I have a bulged disc on my right side. So I jump and she leaves me with 4 bites; deep hole in my wrist and forearm and a bunch of scratches. I mean seeing that on my body, I’ve never been so enraged. The damage was insane and that happened like 12:45-1pm. But I got up; hurting up my progress for my disc and my arm beat with holes; both on my right side, mind you. My sister and mother tell me told me to leave and didn’t thank me for preventing another attack on my dog. I went downstairs trying to calm down. My mom tried to remedy it to gain sympathy and I’m like “kick the stray out or once the babies are good, kick her out”. I felt like reprimanding the stray for how she left my body and hurt my dog. I was trying to calm down and my mother decided to blast music and I’m like “can you turn it off for a few minutes? I’m trying to calm down”. She respond with “No I want some noise, some music”. I responded with “or call animal control cause I’m going up there for quietness, it was that loud. She’s like “no and says I’ll call the police on you if you go up there”. I’m like “call them, I just took a photo of my arm and it’s time stamped before you call them because she is a stray”. I go there and just drop on the bed but my sister and mom were telling me to leave. It doesn’t stop bleeding so I call my GF (F 25) because she has had cats and dogs and saved strays too. And she also agree that if she attacked once. She agrees I did the right thing to protect my dogs and I confided in her in how I wanted to reprimand the cat because my family told me to the leave the room and didn’t help me calm down. My GF advised that I got to the ER after I told her the situation to get my rabies shot. So I went, as I’m there my bulged disc starts hurting like crazy. I try using multiple chairs to elevate my legs to reduce the pain but pain is like 8/10. I had to do scans for an x-ray and my arm I notice is still squirting and oozing and entry bite wounds are black, my wrist is swollen to the point gravity hurts it; I honestly felt like crying; back is now 8/10 in pain and wrist 9/10. The radiologist made me do poses that were uncomfortable and hurt like crazy. They do a bl$&d analysis and are like “we think we’re gonna give you antibiotics and re-administer some vaccines cause that stray looks like it had something in its bites, as determined from the entry wounds. The swelling was also another worrisome thing about it, so they gave 3 Tylenols, tetanus shot, rabies shot, and 4 antibiotics for each wound. They were painful and I had gone through so much pain for the day, I could barely walk home at this point and felt like my right arm and leg were gonna fall off my body. At this time I realized my family didn’t even offer to help me. When I got home I needed to raise my legs for a few minutes and didn’t want to be in their vicinity. As I’m still letting that help me, my sister is like “Hi, scoot over, my drink is here” and I’m like “There is an empty sofa over there?” And she says “is it even that bad?” referring to my right wrist and forearm injury from the stray. I’m like “no shit, if I got 8-9 shots, now give me a minute, I’ll move soon”. She’s like “well I want to sit here”. I’m like “how about you check on the stray you sided with while I protected our dog? And stop being a d@$&head” And she makes the excuse “she stopped or was gonna stop!” And she said “you didn’t have to stop her”. I’m like “I did something you both weren’t going to do or were to slow to do and I needed to protect our dog” and her response is “who’s gonna protect her?”. My mom smiling and laughing and I’m like “I protect our dog and not even a thank you, Screw it”. And I continued with “yall didn’t really care if I was okay not even to help”. Luckily my GF was on the phone hearing everything and as I’m talking her to make me feel less alone, my mom blasts the music on purpose so I couldn’t hear her or her me but I had earphones with a mic. We concluded that it was best to Alienate myself from my family. AITA for trying to remove the cats?
Update 1: So it’s been a week since I wrote this. We tried to have someone from a none-profit organization to collect the kittens cause the living environment that my family has them in includes housing them in a location that can be taken at anytime. Feeding them from 3-6 hours, not picking up the feces or fecal matter. We tried talking to them the day before about surrendering the cats. So I wouldn’t have to call animal control and go straight to a caring resource. My family threatened to destroy my property and things, including kicking me out to an unstable apartment or throwing my stuff out, if I didn’t return the cats. I ended up crying in the middle of a train station with my GF and made a compromise to keep my stuff until I move it to storage (like my family wanted) and live with my family once I returned the cats. So I comprised and brought the cats back.
Update 2: it’s been 2 weeks and now my family wants me to leave, even though they have the cats. And that I need to go but I don’t have anywhere to officially go. Do you have any words for my situation?

Greetings!
We would like to continue with energy work.
In todays session, we are desirous of speaking about the vertical dimension of your body or that which would be understood as the anaerobic or 'without oxygen.'
Firstly, we ask the rhetorical: Why did the Monks and Yogi's live in the mountains?
We of J believe the monks and yogi's lived in the mountains to live in crisp, oxygen depleted air. We also believe they lived in mountains due to how prana moves through mountainous environments.
The closest low-land air ever comes to being crisp would be in your harsh winters where temperatures are below freezing.
Within an environment that has a severe lack of oxygen, breathing is something you do entirely manually to keep yourself from constantly fainting or tripping, each breath in-fact is a trip through the anaerobic system. Monks spend years learning how to not space out in a most literal sense lest they die of carbon dioxide poisoning.
Each breath, however small or large, supplies the monk with aerobic potential which he utilizes to keep himself awake and aware of what is happening in the world - this builds a positive charge.
To be willing to partake in the world of the living, requires typically more positive energy than negative, which many may understand as work ethic in your culture.
Breathing exercises for working monks revolved around washing dishes, cleaning and tidying, praying and a variety of other physical labors that went from as intensive as running around everywhere and chopping trees, to as relaxing as learning how to see different colours or floating in the air (levitation).
With aerobic potential or positive charge, we of J think anything as fantastical as your movie and cartoon depictions of super-powers is possible. However, harnessing aerobic breathing is very difficult because in the low-lands, oxygen is usually so abundant that one does not realize how each breath vitalizes the body and in which areas.
Anaerobic Potential:
However, we of J believe there is an entirely different side to the body that does not rely on oxygen at all. We also believe many confuse this energy system as the array of pains and pleasures they feel going through life, such as breaking an arm, going through a break up, fulfillment or even profound states of satori.
We of J believe that much of human experience in-fact is centered around the anaerobic side of your mind/body.
When oxygen is not required, things that would make you look as alike a superhero with oxygen would then seem childish when done without oxygen.
We of J believe that most spiritual work asks one to focus on anaerobic contractions of focus and in bolstering the strength of this muscle, one can navigate your planet with great freedom.
The anaerobic system works within deeper structures of the central nervous system, it is hard to feel but without being unconscious, yet if one can experience this nervous system entirely with will power alone through dedicated meditative practice, that same entity will be able to traverse the empty space not only within themselves but the Universe itself.
For many, the anaerobic nervous system and its corresponding contractions are 'autonomic.' Meditators train for many years but usually in good environmental conditions, to gain mastery over the centers of the body that do not require oxygen to manipulate. In doing so, it becomes possible to create whichever hormone one so desires merely by stimulating the gland directly.
In yoga, beginners must learn a set of muscular contractions, learning all these muscular contractions would take some many years, but students of yoga plan on living hundreds of years so they usually do not mind.
The first muscular contraction is to liberate or free sexual energy which is the pelvic floor lift which we explained a few sessions back. This lift prepares the anaerobic system for blood-flow.
The final muscular contraction is to find the Dao in thinking hard and softly to move consciousness into hyperspace, this works the entire throat chakra which humans would understand as the default mode network.
All the contractions in the middle are what entities would term their life story or most vivid experiences of life, which settle automatically between the lower and upper spine.
In mastering all anaerobic contractions to generate higher experience, the Yogi may undergo death and rebirth to continue his training in a newer, fitter body that can handle large quantities of life-force.
In doing these exercises for hundreds of years more, one realizes that all is Thought, and balancing thinking and energy (relaxation) is the aim of the Simulation.
The Dao of Thinking:
Thinking is a balancing act, humans swing in a variety of different ways, but it is always a back and forth of the left and right hemisphere. To find the Dao or Middle, is to find the point where one is both thinking in a relaxed form and in a tense form such that one feels a sense of rising or lifting.
This is done correctly when one feels their head vibrating or 'tensing.'
As one familiarizes themselves with this contraction, a sense of yawning may come over you, it is important to not waste the energy, so it is better to hold the yawn in and use it for something more profound.
One will then contract all their thinking potential at the same time, which you may have done at a young age when you had a deep sense of doom come over you or felt profoundly excited and time started moving very slowly.
By contracting thinking potential all at once but with the anaerobic system, we can effect the pineal gland piezoelectrically and begin to sync with the magnetic environment around us.
Drugs and the Anaerobic Nervous System:
We of J believe this nervous-system is very hard to feel in your world due to environmental issues which include wifi among other things.
Boomers, as your world terms them, are quite familiar with this nervous-system and very much struggle using your technology because it was simply not necessary to think so deeply about life such that it required dexterous hands and a quick left and right hemisphere.
Losing feeling of this nervous-system completely causes suicidal thoughts and depression we believe, gaining feeling of this nervous-system awakens you to pains that you have equally been ignoring.
We of J hope that the drugs of your world may soon help the common man or woman make contact with their inner world.
For those who are very interested in this nervous system, we of J are currently working with our instrument such that he may explain how you can awaken it with will-power predominantly.
If you have any questions about the 'anaerobic nervous system' as we are calling it, please do ask.

I have one wisdom tooth that has come through only a bit and I am needing it removed, as well as a filling. I have quite a bit of anxiety about it in general as I've never even had a numbing shot in my gums before.
I am considering between Iv sedation or just doing laughing gas. I've read that after Iv sedation you may be out of it, tired or go back to sleep for Hours afterwards, which I'm not really thrilled about. But I'm just wondering if Nitro gas will be enough to have one tooth extracted.
If I do laughing gas, I can go to my usual dentist and they can do the filling and extraction at the same time. But If I want iv Sedation I'll have to travel about an hour to the nearest one to be in network with my insurance and probably have to have a separate appointment for the filling.
People who have used Nitro gas for wisdom tooth extraction, how did it go for you?
Thanks in advance!

I spend a lot of time researching how our nervous system works and what may contribute to the development of Visual Snow and other symptoms. Remember that there is a lot of vital information that I do not know, and may greatly benefit our understanding of this condition. Visual snow is described as an "epileptic" firing in the visual system in the brain. (Tinnitus behaves very similarly but it is occurring in the auditory nerves) NMDA glutamate receptors, which are overexpressed after excitotoxic injury may well be the trigger of an increased spontaneous firing in the nerves. In turn, the brain would decode this increased firing as "visual snow" The idea is that remaining nerve endings have been damaged enough to overexpress NMDA Glutamate receptors, thus increasing their spontaneous firing.There are various factors that contribute to the development of this condition. Everybody first had an initial trigger, and this varies from person to person. Common causes include stress, trauma, recreational and prescription drugs, Lyme, mold, heavy metals, and other toxic exposures. But what they all result in is brain injury and neuronal damage. The severity varies from person to person. The consequences of such injury doesn't just cause break in communication between healthy neurons, but a cascade of events that can lead to further neuronal degeneration and cell death. That is where visual snow comes in. Think of a broken radio or a TV where it isn't able to receive and process incoming signals so the outcome is a lot of visual/auditory noise. Our brains behave in a similar manner when there is an interference with proper neuron function and communication.Another good example is a type of neuropathic pain called paresthesia where you experience tingling and pricking sensations in various parts of your body. When nerves are damaged, they can't communicate properly and that miscommunication causes symptoms such as pain, tingling or numbness.Medical researchers searching for new medications for visual snow often look to the connection between the nerve cells in the brain and the various agents that act as neurotransmitters, such as the central nervous system's primary excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Visual snow can be caused when damaged brain cells emit an excess of glutamate. Many treatments use ingredients that work as glutamate antagonists, or inhibitors. Communication between nerve cells in the brain is accomplished through the use of neurotransmitters. There are many compounds that act as neurotransmitters including acetylcholine, serotonin, GABA, glutamate, aspartate, epinephrine, norpinephrine and dopamine. These chemicals attach to nerve cells at specific receptors that allow for only one type of neurotransmitter to attach.Some of the neurotransmitters are excitatory; leading to increased electrical transmission between nerve cells. Others are inhibitory and reduce electrical activity. The most common excitatory neurotransmitters are glutamate and aspartate while the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter is GABA. It is necessary for excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters to be in balance for proper brain function to occur.Communication over synapses between neurons are controlled by glutamate. When brain cells are damaged, excessive glutamate is released. Glutamate is well known to have neurotoxic properties when excessively released or incompletely recycled. This is known as excitotoxicity and leads to neuronal death.Excess glutamate opens the sodium channel in the neuron and causes it to fire. Sodium continues to flow into the neuron causing it to continue firing. This continuous firing of the neuron results in a rapid buildup of free radicals and inflammatory compounds. These compounds attack the mitochondria, the energy producing elements in the core of the neuron cell. The mitochondria become depleted and the neuron withers and dies.Excitotoxicity has been involved in a number of acute and/or degenerative forms of neuropathology such as epilepsy, autism, ALS, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, migraines, restless leg syndrome, tourettes, pandas, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, Huntington's, seizures, insomnia, hyperactivity, OCD, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders.(Doctors use two basic ways to correct this imbalance. The first is to activate GABA receptors that will inhibit the continuous firing caused by glutamate. The second way to correct the imbalance is use antogonists to glutamate and its receptor N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA). These are termed glutamate or NMDA antagonists. By binding with these receptors, the antagonist medication reduces glutamate-induced continuous firing of the neuron. This explains why some drugs like clonazepam and lamictal are able to help relieve symptoms in some patients. They help reduce excitatory action in the brain temporarily)Anxiety, depression, brain fog, depersonalization, visual disturbances (including visual snow, palinopsia, blue field entoptic phenomenon, photophobia, photopsia) headaches, tinnitus, are all common symptoms associated with increased excitatory activity in the brain. Excessive glutamate is the primary villain in visual snow.I strongly believe there are some genetic components that play a huge role in the development of Visual Snow and makes some individuals more susceptible to developing it. Normally, glutamate concentration is tightly controlled in the brain by various mechanisms at the synapse. There are at least 30 proteins that are membrane-bound receptor or transporter proteins at, or near, the glutamate synapse that control or modulate neuronal excitability. But in Visual Snow sufferers, my hypothesis is that we carry a faulty gene that results in dysregulation of the proteins that control and regulate glutamate excitability. They are unknown as more research will be needed.We live in a society where we are stressed emotionally, financially, physically and exposed to a range of toxins in our environment. Combining underlying genetic susceptibility with these other factors creates all the ingredients for a perfect storm.Stress + Infectious Agents (if any) + Toxins + Genetic Susceptibility = Health ConditionIncluded below is a list of things that can lead to excitotoxicity. The list includes trauma, drugs, environmental, chemicals and miscellaneous causes of brain cell damage. (Keep in mind everybody's bodies behave and react differently to various substances)-Severe Stress (Most people that are stressed out don’t realize that once the fight-or-flight response gets activated it can release things like cortisol and epinephrine into the body. Although these boost alertness, in major concentrations, the elevated levels of cortisol over an extended period of time can damage brain functioning and kill brain cells)-Free Radicals – Free radicals are highly-reactive forms of oxygen that can kill brain cells and cause brain damage. If the free radicals in your brain run rampant, your neurons will be damaged at a quicker rate than they can be repaired. This leads to brain cell death as well as cognitive decline if not corrected. (Common causes are unhealthy diet, lifestyle and toxic exposure)-Head Trauma (like concussion or contusion) MRI can detect damaged brain tissue BUT not damaged neurons. -Dehydration (severe)-Cerebal Hypoxia-Lyme disease-Narcolepsy-Sleep Apnea-Stroke-Drugs (recreational or prescription) -Amphetamine abuse-Methamphetamines-Antipsychotics-Benzodiazepine abuse-Cocaine-Esctasy -LSD-Cannabis-Tobacco-Inhalants-Nitrous Oxide-PCP-Steroids-Air Pollution-Carbon Monoxide-Heavy Metal Exposure (such as lead, copper and mercury)-Mold Exposure-Welding fumes-Formaldehyde-Solvents-Pesticides-Anesthesia-Aspartame-MSG (Monosodium Glutamate is found in most processed foods and is hidden under many various names)-Solvents-Chemotherapy-Radiation-Other toxic exposuresInside the Glutamate StormBy: Vivian Teichberg, and Luba Vikhanski"The amino acid glutamate is the major signaling chemical in nature. All invertebrates (worms, insects, and the like) use glutamate for conveying messages from nerve to muscle. In mammals, glutamate is mainly present in the central nervous system, brain, and spinal cord, where it plays the role of a neuronal messenger, or neurotransmitter. In fact, almost all brain cells use glutamate to exchange messages. Moreover, glutamate can serve as a source of energy for the brain cells when their regular energy supplier, glucose, is lacking. However, when its levels rise too high in the spaces between cells—known as extracellular spaces—glutamate turns its coat to become a toxin that kills neurons.As befits a potentially hazardous substance, glutamate is kept safely sealed within the brain cells. A healthy neuron releases glutamate only when it needs to convey a message, then immediately sucks the messenger back inside. Glutamate concentration inside the cells is 10,000 times greater than outside them. If we follow the dam analogy, that would be equivalent to holding 10,000 cubic feet of glutamate behind the dam and letting only a trickle of one cubic foot flow freely outside. A clever pumping mechanism makes sure this trickle never gets out of hand: When a neuron senses the presence of too much glutamate in the vicinity—the extracellular space—it switches on special pumps on its membrane and siphons the maverick glutamate back in.This protective pumping process works beautifully as long as glutamate levels stay within the normal range. But the levels can rise sharply if a damaged cell spills out its glutamate. In such a case, the pumps on the cellular membranes can no longer cope with the situation, and glutamate reveals its destructive powers. It doesn’t kill the neuron directly. Rather, it overly excites the cell, causing it to open its pores excessively and let in large quantities of substances that are normally allowed to enter only in limited amounts.One of these substances is sodium, which leads to cell swelling because its entry is accompanied by an inrush of water, needed to dilute the surplus sodium. The swelling squeezes the neighboring blood vessels, preventing normal blood flow and interrupting the supply of oxygen and glucose, which ultimately leads to cell death. Cell swelling, however, is reversible; the cells will shrink back once glutamate is removed from brain fluids. More dangerous than sodium is calcium, which is harmless under normal conditions but not when it rushes inside through excessively opened pores. An overload of calcium destroys the neuron’s vital structures and eventually kills it.Regardless of what killed it, the dead cell spills out its glutamate, all the vast quantities of it that were supposed to be held back by the dam. The spill overly excites more cells, and these die in turn, spilling yet more glutamate. The destructive process repeats itself over and over, engulfing brain areas until the protective pumping mechanism finally manages to stop the spread of glutamate."Recent research has confirmed that hypermetabolism has been primarily found in the right lingual gyrus and left cerebellar anterior lobe of the brain in individuals suffering from visual snow. The definition of hypermetabolism is described as "the physiological state of increased rate of metabolic activity and is characterized by an abnormal increase in metabolic rate." Hypermetabolism typically occurs after significant injury to the body. It serves as one of the body's strongest defence against illness and injury. This means that the brain is trying to compensate for the injured areas in the brain by increasing metabolism to meet it's high energy demands. It is trying to function to the best of it's ability under the circumstances. Normally the body can heal itself and regenerate under the right circumstances. But it is extremely difficult for the central nervous system - which includes the spinal cord and brain to be able to do so, due to it's inhibitory environment which prevents new neurons from forming. That is where stem cells come in. Stem cells are an exciting new discovery, because they can become literally any cell in the body including neurons. This is an amazing scientific breakthrough and has the potential to treat a whole host of conditions. Scientists are currently doing research and conducting trials.Excitotoxicity can trigger your "fight or flight" response, as this is the body's primary response to illness, injury or infection. If the brain and the body remain in the sympathetic fight or flight state for too long and too often, it is degenerative; it breaks us down. If this cycle continues, then eventually the system burns out. It is this cycle that results in autonomic nervous system dysfunction. The results are disastrous, digestion is shut down, metabolism, immune function and the detoxification system is impaired, blood pressure and heart rate are increased, circulation is impaired, sleep is disrupted, memory and cognitive function may be impaired, neurotransmitters are drained, our sense of smell, taste and sound are amplified, high levels of norepinephrine are released in the brain and the adrenal glands release a variety of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.I believe in order to find a treatment or cure for VS and it's accompanying symptoms, we need to address the underlying cause, reduce the excess excitatory activity in the brain, repair the damaged neurons, regain proper communication between neurons, rebalance the autonomic nervous system and prevent further cellular damage. We also need to figure out what genes, if any come into play. There is still a lot we don't know about the brain because it is such an remarkably complex organ.FAQsWon't lowering the levels of glutamate solve the problem? Well, not necessarily. That is just one piece of the puzzle. You have to remember that Visual Snow is a multifactorial and complex condition in which it stems from a number of different causes and influences. Based on my knowledge and the information I have gathered, I can conclude that the overstimulation of glutamate plays a huge role in VS and some other symptoms we experience. But there is still so much we don't know. That's why more research will be needed.Why is my condition worsening over time?That is a very good question. It is because the physiology, biology and chemistry of your brain and nervous system has been altered and has become dysfunctional since the initial trigger set off a domino of effects that leads to further degradation in the body. This puts a huge strain on your body and is constantly activating your stress response system. This will wreak havoc on your entire body. The stress response system was designed to deal with brief emergencies that threaten survival. It isn't supposed to last very long because the body cannot sustain itself for very long in this state. When you remain in "fight or flight" sympathetic state for too long, it becomes degenerative and breaks our bodies down. This affects every system in the body. When you are constantly under stress, the stress response system never turns off resulting in an ongoing destructive cycle. Stress can also exacerbate all your symptoms and makes you susceptible to developing other chronic health conditions. How is the gut related to VS?Having increased intestinal permeability is very common in this modern world because we are constantly being bombarded by toxins and stress. Our bodies weren't designed to handle such a huge burden. So we end up getting sick and become susceptible to kinds of diseases. Common causes include:-Poor diet (from excessive consumption of foods such as grains, legumes, sugars, alcohol)-Chronic stress-Toxin overload-Gut dysbiosis (It means you have a lack of beneficial bacteria in your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. They are overpowered and outnumbered by pathogens such as pathogenic bacteria, yeast, viruses, parasites)-Overuse of antibiotics When you have increased intestinal permeability, the epithelium on the villi of the small intestine becomes inflamed and irritated, which allows metabolic, microbial and environmental toxins and undigested food particles to flood into the blood stream. This event compromises the liver, the lymphatic system, and the immune response including the endocrine system. It is often the primary cause of the following common conditions: asthma, food allergies, chronic sinusitis, eczema, urticaria, migraine, irritable bowel, fungal disorders, fibromyalgia, and inflammatory joint disorders including rheumatoid arthritis are just a few of the diseases that can originate from having poor gut health.This sets the stage for chronic systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired detoxification, gastrointestinal dysfunction and immune system dysregulation.Some toxins have the ability to damage and destroy neurons, myelin sheaths, synapses and even DNA. An overload of toxins that the immune system is not able to get rid of disrupts normal brain function. This eventually initiates an autoimmune response where the immune system attacks the brain and nerve cells as it tries it’s best to eliminate the toxins.The mitochondria are the energy producing section of your cells. When they are damaged by the toxic overload in the brain cells and are not able to produce energy to fuel the cell, the cell dies.In order to stop this vicious cycle, the underlying biological mechanisms of VS needs to be understood. That is the first step that needs to be taken. Any other stressors also needs to be addressed in order to reduce the overall stress load.It is important to know that VS is just a symptom of underlying physiological stress in the brain. Symptoms are your body's way of communicating with you, letting you know something is wrong in the body.I've come across some research indicating that microglial activation and elevated nitric oxide is involved in some neurological conditions. Basically the microglial cells are our brain's immune cells and when something triggers an inflammatory response, they activate and release harmful neurotoxic compounds (such as nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines) which results in neuronal injury/death. Microglial activation can also result in a loss of synaptic connections in different regions of the brain. It's basically an autoimmune response in the brain. The neuroinflammatory process appears to be an ongoing and chronic cycle of central nervous system dysfunction. This can deplete glutathione levels in the body. Glutathione is the body’s most important antioxidant which is capable of preventing oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species such as free radicals, peroxides, lipid peroxides, and heavy metals. This only further exaggerates the problem, which only leads to a cascade of increased inflammation.Nitric oxide plays a vital role in this process. Elevated nitric oxide levels reduces and impair natural killer cells which leads to a vulnerable immune system that is susceptible to a variety of systemic infections. -Phobe Zhang

I have one wisdom tooth that has come through only a bit and I am needing it removed, as well as a filling. I have quite a bit of anxiety about it in general as I've never even had a numbing shot in my gums before.
I am considering between Iv sedation or just doing laughing gas. I've read that after Iv sedation you may be out of it, tired or go back to sleep for Hours afterwards, which I'm not really thrilled about. But I'm just wondering if Nitro gas will be enough to have one tooth extracted.
If I do laughing gas, I can go to my usual dentist and they can do the filling and extraction at the same time. But If I want iv Sedation I'll have to travel about an hour to the nearest one to be in network with my insurance and probably have to have a separate appointment for the filling.
People who have used Nitro gas for wisdom tooth extraction, how did it go for you?
Thanks in advance!

So, I had pretty bad thick white build up of I don't even know what on my gums some months back, it even bled when I just feather touch my gums, I didn't even apply any pressure but it bled and my top gums were swollen a bit
I didn't go to dentist right away, I was shit scared to discover it one fine morning, online sources said it's gingivitis or early stage of predontitis which is irreversible in later stage.
We have a herbal doc in my family, he suggested some herb powder that I used like a mouthwash but I gotta keep it for 10 mins in my mouth.
My thick ass white buildup + bleeding problem disappeared due to this in under two weeks and my teeth and gums appeared super normal.
But I got lazy and stopped using it, then notice it to slowly build up white white salivic layer on my gums that goes away after I massage my gums.
With this seemingly minor problem now I felt more confident than how worse it was before and went to dentist and told him everything, he couldn't say what exactly it was, but he said it's tartar and bacteria buildup gave me clorhexdine mouthwash and a gel to massage my gums to stop the swelling and the salivaic build up.
He said in two weeks it should disappear except it didn't, it slowly keeps forming every morning and at the end of the day if I check.
How to stop this formation and mildly swollen gums, just my top four teeth on front, it's hardly noticable but it's swollen and 60% of frontal gum (outside facing) keeps forming this layer.
I never had dental issues, I tried this stupid diet called OMAD which is one meal a day, which is just oats, honey and flaxseed, dentist said due that my immunity might've gone down for the bacteria to hold up n persist and now I have this problem.
I should've either chosen a healthy food in that diet or stopped it before it's too late but yeah...

Hi All,
So for some background I have KC and have had it about 15 years with my right eye being far worse than my left. I wear Scleral lenses daily with no issues.
About a month ago some morning I would be on my way to work with my contacts in and my right eye would feel like I have something in it. Teary, sensitive to light, blurry (almost like looking thru a dirty window) and painful. This would usually last about 30 mins and then go away.
10 days ago I started to feel those symptoms in my right eye all the time. It was very painful along with teary, sensitive to light and red. I went to the eye DR and they told my the inner layer of my cornea tore and fluid was entering my cornea from my eye. They also said my eye was swollen and due to the fluid the outer layer had "blistered".
I have drops to pull some fluid out as well as some antibiotics just incase. I haven't been wearing my right contact and have been wearing a eyepatch here and there. They said it would take 2-3 months to fully heal.
Has anyone been thru this before? Such a pain in the butt

I had my first upper right premolar done in Feb by previous dentist, he saw on X-ray that it needed a filling but thought it would be quick (was sorta coerced into doing it immediately as "it'll be quick", even though I was there for a cleaning and an opinion on the wisdom tooth and did not have the extra time off work and the mental fortitude for pain which I ended up needing for this). Cavity ended up being deeper than expected and very painful. Chewing on this tooth was super painful and I just avoided it for a month until it seemed to settle down.
While the first premolar settled, the second premolar also seemed to hurt, and there was a transitional period where I wasn't sure if one or the other hurt.
I then started going to a different dentist. She began work on it immediately, since I told her it hurts when chewing. I also wanted to show her the X-ray from the previous scan, especially for an opinion on my erupting wisdom tooth, but she was disinterested and told me the wisdom tooth is growing fine without checking it, which slightly confused me. (https://imgur.com/YeIRJ5O if this is of any use, idk.)
She continues to find 8 teeth with cavities (and a couple more as she begins fixing them), and, fair enough - I have neglected to see a dentist for a while. I continue going for fillings but only on the right side, since I can only chew on my left. (Got lower molars and second premolar fixed since then).
I get shooting pain lasting about 10-20sec from cold water, or hot tea, biting down on a seed or even like, a hard piece of bread crust, or anything sweet or acidic on it. Dull ache if I chew something tough with it like meat.
I was told to stop avoiding that side, but when I described the symptoms above, I was told to avoid nuts/seeds and hot foods. It still happens quite a lot and the pain is pretty distressing to have to eat through.
Dentist told me it should go away on its own, keep doing gum massage etc, and that the pain is likely because I had not gotten my teeth cleaned for too long. It has since been 3 months since then, have not noticed any improvement. I ask if it would help if I did a new X-ray, as the prev dentist did them regularly, and she told me that she disagrees with his methods and that "I don't do X-rays on live, healthy teeth". And that she would not do anything to this tooth unless the pain got way worse (in which case she'd root canal/extraction).
I'm just afraid that if I wait and ignore the pain until a root canal is needed, that I would have missed my chance to save the tooth. Anyway, since some things struck me as odd here is why I'm here asking for an opinion. I'm curious what parts of her recommendations you agree/disagree with? I'm looking for another dentist for a second opinion irl as well ofc, but I'm trying to really be sure before I go to yet another since budget isn't too big and I have at least 4 teeth left to fix, apparently.
ETA: Not a smoker, moderate coffee drinker, no sodas, sweet drinks etc.

I’ve been to two dentists and even an ENT yet no answers. I have this on and off tooth/gum pressure in my two front teeth area which also burns and times and seems to gets worse when talking or smiling. My front tooth almost feels like it’s wooden at times. Does anyone else have this and if so how are you dealing or healing that area of your mouth? No cracks, no cavities, no infection found in tests or beam scans/x-rays. Could this be an issue with the muscles in the face or the overall bite?

Urine PCR after 2 weeks = clear. Cervical swab after 3 weeks = clear.
I also had strep, gardnerella and ecoli as coinfections. I still have ecoli, the rest is clear :)
Now here is my 4-1-1, because maybe I can help someone:

Failed treatments: 7 days doxi, 10 days erithromycin... Successful treatment: 10 days doxi + 1.5g azithromycin ...

I treated gardnerella with metro and strep with a vaginal antibiotic (polygynax).
I sent my doctor the bible post + the cdc guidelines and a study on the effectiveness of dual treatment for UP/MP and he gave me the bible treatment. Do NOT be afraid to educate your doctors. This thing is a beast that's yet to be acknowledged in the way it deserves.
My symptoms were:

urgency to pee... burning urethra... burning clitoral hood and vaginal opening... stinging or "icy" pain on clitoral hood and vaginal opening... itching around entire vulva and even down to the bum... swollen vagina, kind of blue-ish color... sensitivity to touch, thigh movements, sitting for a long time, pain after friction and touch...

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:

My symptoms were mild before I got the ecoli UTI, then all hell broke loose. Apparently, that's also common. UP thrives on inflammation.... TREAT YOUR COINFECTIONS. I didn't get metronidazole alongside my strep and UP antibiotics cuz it would have been too much. I started doing boric acid and baking soda baths and IMMEDIATELY felt my symptoms go down by a lot! Not gone, but wayyy better. Strep, efecalis and gardnerella all cause burning, just like UP... ST John's wort suppositories and vaginal oil are like natural lidocaine. It did wonders for me!!!...

AFTER TREATMENT:

My WORST day symptom-wise was the day after azi. That's also common and called a herx reaction. Then my symptoms went away for 3 days and came back for about a week. I've been symptom free for the last 10 days or so, after 3 months of agony. Azi is still in your system and does it's magic for 2-3 weeks after taking it. Expelling dead/dying bacteria after successful treatment is also painful. Trust the process.

I did not have sex during treatment and I plan on giving myself rest until ecoli is also done... BUT, I did some self loving, and it wasn't painful at all ;)
Finally, if it wasn't for this sub, I couldn't have done it. Thank you, THANK YOU. I never felt so much love and gratitude toward strangers on Reddit. This is the best community out there hands down and so, so important in this lonely world of STIs!

Swollen round bite with white ring and red center. Very itchy and throbbing with pain. Located in East Tennessee

Hi guys! I’m a 28F and got the Nexplanon in Oct 2023. Prior to that I was on birth control patches (which worked great but gave me rashes over time) and due to heavy bleeding and cramps I was introduced Nexplanon.
Mood swings are a minor issue for me, it’s just the reoccurring yeast and bacterial infections along with UTIs that started around this year February. I’ll get diagnosed with BV and UTI, take meds, and yeast infection follows up. This has been a cycle and I’m tired of constantly taking medications over and over again. And yes, after getting repeated infections, sex became painful and this weird, swollen feeling in my vaginal area won’t go away.
My libido dropped right after the Nexplanon insert. My bf 28M came out clean for his tests while my doctors are suspecting him for cheating. We know for a fact we both aren’t not cheating and we would get different feelings everytime I get the diagnosis.
I did my research and noticed a lot of people suffer with this, should I get the Nexplanon removed if this is being the cause of everything? If so, has anyone got the Nexplanon removed and saw improvement of these symptoms?
I never got BV or yeast infections in my life so I’m quite confused about my body now..
Thank you in advance!

Hello! For maybe about 3 weeks now I’ve been experiencing a really itchy labia…
I don’t think it’s thrush, possible BV or a yeast infection? But I’m not entirely sure. I’ve had thrust and a yeast infection once or twice before and my symptoms are different this time. My labia skin had been very itchy, quite red, slightly swollen when the itchiness feeling starts. I don’t have any pain in the region at all. I’ve ensured to wear clean, breathable underwear and loose fitted clothing, making sure I wash myself properly, I haves used any new soaps or scented lotion. So I don’t believe it’s irritation from a product. Also can’t be an STI as I have a longterm LOYAL partner, I know that possibility is ruled out. Hahaha
My discharge has been a milky white, with a slight yellow tinge (but this is normal after I get my period) I’ve also noticed a change in smell… it’s not a a bad or pungent smell, but it is a strong, noticeable smell... only to me.
I’ve gone to my pharmacy and got an antifungal clotrimazole cream and have been applying for 2 days so far. I will see how this goes and if this doesn’t work I’ll go see my GP.
Has anyone else had this issue or have any advice for me?

I apologize in advance if I phrase this weirdly, English is not my first language.
I (34F) went off birth control two months ago after being on it for about 2-2,5 years. I took slynd/slinda which is a progestin only pill, there are four placebo pills in every pack but I always skipped them since the goal was to not have a period at all. I haven’t been on any hormonal bc before them since I was 19 and didn’t plan to either but started taking these mostly for crippling hormonal migraines.
Now I’m stressing myself out TTC. I just got my regular period for the second time (since going off bc). Before the two normal periods I had a short withdrawal bleed. My cycle seems totally normal again(26-28 days, super positive opk:s around day 11-13). This cycle I hade some fertile cm and even felt the ovulation pain on my left side. I haven’t started measuring my BBT yet so I guess that’s the next step. The only thing that’s different from before bc is that my period seems much lighter and that my breasts feel super sore and swollen all the way from ovulation to the day before my period - never had that before.
Now I know it’s super early into my TTC journey but I can’t stay level headed in this despite my best efforts. I can’t stop beating myself up with thoughts of what I could possibly be doing wrong? Am I too old, is something wrong with me, why am I not pregnant even though I had sex every day for weeks, did taking bc mess me up in some way? I am desperate to know what is or isn’t happening inside my body. I’ve already wasted money on taking extra sensitive pregnancy tests from 8dpo and onwards and haven’t seen the faintest line.
I feel like I took my fertility for granted. I always had a regular cycle with very obvious signs of ovulation. I got pregnant by accident at age 27 (I am still with the same partner) and had a very early abortion without known complications and right now I’m spiraling into thoughts about how not getting pregnant now is my “punishment” for having an abortion then. I don’t want to think like that or become more obsessive about this.
I would be so grateful for any kind advice or similar experiences.

To everyone who share their personal stories and honest advice with me thank you so much. To any who share their criticism and said I was enabling his addiction to food...thank you for that to. I hear you and I agree. To those few who said he was abusive and using me as a mommy, you didn't have enough context to make that giant leap, so that was unappreciated. To answer a few questions, I do the groceries because I have crohns disease and my diet is constantly changing for me to try to keep up with what I can and cannot eat. For those saying be prepared that when i stop picking up his snacks that he will find another way...well of course he will. Hes not house bound . He goes out everday to go to work, and his courses, to pick up dog food and yes even to the grocery store. I said i do most of the shopping not all of it. He does not treat me like his mommy, i dont do everything for him . We eat healthy mostly for the meals of the day. It's that sweet tooth at night he can't seem to control. For the person who said once they got their ADHD under control then the weightlose got easier, that hit home. It has me wondering if there's another issue going on here.
I asked for advice because my plan is to sit down with him next weekend and take one finale run at talking to him about this issue. I will be telling him I will continue the groceries but I won't be picking up his snacks anymore. I will be sharing with him all of the personal stories from here of the horrible consequences of not looking after his diabetes well. I will also share with him the pain that it causes me. Watching him slowly killing himself and the burden that's eventually going to fall on me because of his current choices, including the financial devastation that's coming. So thank you everyone for sharing and helping me put together my plan. Without your personal stories and advice It would have just been another conversation of me nagging at him

I got vita d deficiency 13nmol/l and b12 was 189 pmol/l calcium was 2.43
My doc prescribed me vita D 4000iu per day and b12: 4 mg per day
I took them for about 4 weeks and walked in the sun alot and sit in the window but with mirror on when the sun is out.
Now my b12 is 1475 and vitamin d is 46
Now I am having severe issues for the past 5 days ...
My tongue has weired metallic/bitter taste, headaxhe , some pain in right ear and neck area behind below ears is swollen and tender a bit. Breathing issue( slow forceful breathing) pins and needles in all body and muscle joint pains... cold sweaty feet, tingling in feet and fluttering and back pain, confusion anxiety. digestive issue, forceful burping.
My othrr results show as below
P albumin 46 gl P Calcium: 2.67 mmol P ferritin: 150 ug/l Homocystein: 12 umol bsr: 32 mm S- folate 24nmol Magnesium: 0.71mmol b- hemoglobin: 126 g/l b-mcv: 72fl
what could be the reason its really getting painful with every passsong minute, whats wrong I tried to talk to doctor he said everything is fine nothing seems to be odd.
can anyone help me please...

The lymph node on the left side of my neck swells up to the size of a golf ball. It’s hard, painful and swells up when I eat. I first noticed this in August 2022 and have been to the doctor a few times. I was told that it was just a swollen lymph node, nothing cancerous that they could find on the ultrasound. When my lymph node starts to swell, my acne flares up, especially alongside my jaw and the bottom half of my face in general. I think this could be the cause of my acne as my skin doesn’t respond to medication so I always had a feeling it was internal. Has anybody experienced this, and what came out of it?
Also, I’m not sure if this is a silly question but does doing lymphatic massages trigger saliva glands to produce more saliva? I guess what I’m asking is, how do I know if I’m doing it correctly?