I never had a chance to own pets growing up and didn't discover until recently that I'm allergic to them. My gf owns a couple of cats and a frenchie that I’ve been petting all the time for the last few months – as a result, I've been dealing with nonstop sneezing, coughing and my throat is wrecked. I finally decided to order an allergy test a couple of weeks ago just to be absolutely sure and yes, I’m indeed allergic to dander.
I'm seriously considering pursuing an immunotherapy treatment. Has anyone been able to treat pet allergies permanently? Or at least reduce allergy symptoms? Any advice from other pet parents would be really appreciated.

So, I got schooled and roasted by many of you for my wild, boozy bender so early in the course of my Lyme treatment. Message received.
Today was a crash day, but I actually made it through the day including a presentation.
Until suddenly midway through the presentation, my throat become completely prickly and dry and felt like I couldn’t breathe. I started coughing violently, a dry cough. I lost the ability to talk for a good 3 minutes altogether , someone gave me a cough drop and I was able to resume with a soft voice. This has literally never happened to me during a talk before.
Now the entire right side of face from ear to throat is tingling, and it still feels hard to breathe.
Is this Herx?! How could I just lose the ability to talk WTF. When is this Herx going to end? Did alcohol make it worse???
Edit: I am on doxy, had bad Herx 3 days, then went away yesterday and I got boozy, now this

Has anyone experienced worse asthma or related issues from Losartan?
As far as I can tell there’s only preliminary studies on Losartan’s class of drugs and its impact on bronchial spasms. But side effects also list stuffy nose and a cough.
I’m 90% sure Losartan is the cause of some of my issues. Due to pharmacy hiccups I didn’t have it for nearly 2 weeks and started feeling better. Then back on it for 2 days and the issues came back.
I need to talk to my doctor if I even need to be on it anyway. I was stuck in basically a year-long asthma flare following a double whammy of bronchitis and a smoke induced sinus infection. My blood pressure got super high because I was having trouble breathing. Losartan did nothing for months. Then once my asthma treatments really kicked in my blood pressure returned to normal. But she insisted I stay on the meds. I’m more than a little irritated because she’s yet another doctor who looks at my weight and thinks it’s the cause of all my issues when it’s a product of spending my entire life with untreated asthma. I lost like 30lbs just from the sheer reduction of stress.
Okay, rant over. Anyone else experience asthma complications due to blood pressure meds?

Data-Miner Gego stared at the results of the analysis, still in disbelief that this wild theory had borne fruit and stood up to scrutiny again and again. But now, here before him in data as clear as even the youngest apprentice could see, was evidence, clear and unshakable:
Humans were not what they promised themselves to be.
Feeling slightly nauseous with anxiety, he keyed in a request to meet with the diplomat’s office as soon as possible.
As the diplomat looked over his latest treaty proposal, there was a faint sound of horns in harmonious blaring, signifying someone had requested permission to enter. Glad for any distraction from the monotonous paperwork, he activated the intercom, saying “You are recognized and accepted. Please enter.”
As the crouched and scrabbling shape stepped into the doorway, diplomat Hale-he mused again how interesting it would be if the if their ancestors could have heard such a magnificent call for a mere diplomat. Previously, such a grand instrumentation would have been reserved for a high chieftain or king, and yet here was Hale-he, a diplomat to be sure, but certainly no ruler of any stripe, heralded by a song that would bring envy even to high lords and minor rulers in ages past.
The individual sat before him, and Hale-he could tell by their coloration and the shape of their antenna they were a scientist or engineer, someone likely far more familiar with numbers than he was. Hale-he, while now taking on the rich purple hues of a diplomat, had the underlying color of brilliant crimson, a mark of his near-decade of study as a historical scholar and graduate before his appointment into diplomacy.
“What do you have for me? Gego, I believe?”
The other individual nodded, crossing his pinchers in a sign of deference and respect. “I am sorry to disturb your appointment, but I have important information regarding humans.”
“Ah yes, humans,” said Hale-he, feeling a degree of relaxation and comfort at the mention of the gregarious and affable people.
Humans had taken quite some time in venturing out to the stars, but their planet was located such that a number of major trade routes passed quite near to their system. Several species had reported contact with them before humans had in turn reached out and started to make contact of their own. But from all reports, they were kind, clever, and selfless to a fault, with no recent instances of conflict despite a very violent early history. They were renowned for having an impeccable record of interspecies relations.
“I'm actually in the process of framing a new trade treaty with some of their inner-system human colonies. I believe the primary planet in question is called Mars, but they also have gas refineries and extractors above their gas giants, and several mining operations set up on a number of moons and their asteroid belt.”
“Yes, I have seen the newscast about how much this treaty is expected to aid both species,” said Gego. There was an odd note of apprehension Hale-he could detect in their chittering voice. “There is some invaluable context that I believe needs to be put to light.”
“Context? What do you mean, ‘context?’”
“Well, you are aware that we, the Civicor, first met humanity when a trade ship fell off course and crashed upon Earth?”
“It is a well-known accident. Some manner of navigational mishap; Thankfully, our propulsion systems are far more accurate today.”
“This is true, but are you also aware the Bayons have a remarkably-similar story related to their first contact with humanity as well? A military scout vessel, intending to regroup with the bulk of their fleet and engaging the Dendite menace, and they were likewise drawn off course, spiraling to crash onto Earth as well.”
“I remember the stories that time hypothesized that it was Dendite sabotage, even though it was unlikely for such a minor and inconsequential vessel,” said Hale-he. “Other than that, I’m unfortunately not familiar with their own reports on it.”
“But our two species are but a few from over a dozen first-contact reports with humanity. All stemming from engine failures, navigation failures, and crashes or forced landings of ships that lost control and arrived on Earth.”
“Well,” said the diplomat, starting to see the shape of the data-miner’s point, “Warpspace travel.has always been an inexact science at times, and was even less accurate decades ago. It's possible you are reading too much into a handful of coincidences.”
The data-miner rubbed their eyestalks, feeling exhaustion creeping in for how much frantic effort they had put in over the past three-day cycle. “Yes, but to borrow an idiom for the humans, ‘Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is a pattern,’ let alone a solid dozen instances within barely a fifty-year timespan. Even the most heavily-trafficked routes past the most dense or erratic planetoids have only achieved a third of that number.”
“You're asking me to disrupt peaceful and productive diplomatic ties with humans by suggesting they were responsible for these instances. Are you truly suggesting that this was intentional from humanity's part?”
“I am.”
“That may be, but we will require more proof than mere happenstance, unlikely though it may be.”
“I have additional data as well.” Gego was the most proud of this next part, and he carefully pulled up the diagrams and charting maps. A vibrant animation appeared onscreen of what appeared to be a rainbow-colored and spiked disc, surging and shaking on the screen. “This is the analysis of the gravitational field irregularities within a quarter of a solar year of Earth's primary star.”
The diplomat looked nonplussed at the diagram. “I would assume the fluctuations here are not ideal?”
“No indeed. They could be likened to a reef within a shallow sea, permitting transit in the calm regions but damaging and disrupting ships passing through a rough space. I have reached out to several of the shipping guilds for more details, but initial reports back support this theory, with several commenting that the route passing near to Earth is highly undesirable amongst experienced pilots due to the rough effects it has on engine stability and wear and tear.”
The diplomat looked over the diagram further before attempting to wave it away dismissively. “But who’s to say that this isn't a natural phenomena of Earth’s system? There are many regions of space that are disruptive or dangerous to travel through in warpspace, so what would make Earth's patch of turbulence unique?”
“The fact that they can turn it on and off at will.”
The diplomat coughed violently as the surprise dislodged the piece of fruit pulp he was eating out of his primary digestion sack and instead into the top of his gas exchange organ. “What in the three spheres do you mean they can turn it off?”
Gego grimaced this time as he keyed in some commands to the report. This time the disc figure that was pulled was much grainier and blocky, fine measurements now showing as wide swaths. “This was reverse-calculated from a series of gravimetric scans done across that entire arm of the galaxy.”
Even with the poor resolution, the diplomat could still see that this was a wildly chaotic and dangerous gravitational field. “It looks the same.”
The data-miner nodded. “Yes, but watch here: It's hard to tell, but this readout is actually playing in reverse, stepping backwards through time. We're about to hit 76 years ago.”
“What's so important about 76-” The diplomat cut off, words caught like fruit pulp in his throat as the image abruptly stilled. The disc depicting the gravitational field was now still and smooth as a windless pond.
“So it just started one day?”
“Indeed, Diplomat Hale-he. And furthermore, this beginning of the turbulence was a mere month before the first vessel lost controlI and was forced to make an emergency landing on Earth.”
The possibilities were rapidly narrowing, but Hale-he was still in favor of exploring whatever possible shred he could find to avoid confronting the dawning reality about humans.
“Well, while things of this nature are highly irregular, I presume, I'm still not convinced that this shows they can activate it at will.”
“I know, Gego said, “Which is why I wanted to show you that data before I show you this.”
The gravitational field display became the ragged tumultuous ocean of currents and surges, and this time in the higher detail that told Hale-he this was more recent readings. “I'm sure you saw the announcements a fortnight ago that humanity had tested their first faster than light engine they had made themselves, rather than trading for, and successfully made a jaunt out to the furthest planetoid in their star system and back without incident?”
“Yes?” the diplomat said cautiously.
“I received this data from a colleague, who was concerned there may have been an instrument malfunction to produce such data as I’m about to show you. She checked and validated it herself. It was fully accurate and reliable, which makes it all the more troubling. I don't think she realized the cause of what she was seeing, but unfortunately the timing of it adds up too perfectly.”
The data-miner continued quietly recalling “I believe at this point we're at 30 seconds to launch the human’s test flight.”
Hale-he let out an involuntary gasp of breath as the gravity field abruptly stilled again, perfectly smooth simultaneously across the entire spread of it.
Grimly, the data-miner said “Here we had the jump,” and after a short pause continued “-and the return.” A few seconds later and the field abruptly resumed its turbulence.
The diplomat was still in shock, staring at the gravimetric readout, when Gego said “That's also not the most concerning part, either. This was supposed to be humanity's first faster-than-light capability of their own they were testing here; Isn't that right?”
“Well of course,” replied Hale-he. “It was on all the new stations. A great achievement for a species that had been slow to achieve that milestone.”
“I would remind you then that the readout here is half a light-year in diameter.”
The diplomat scrunched his eyestalks in confused concentration, trying to understand what the other alien was implying, when suddenly it hit him. “Yet they were able to disrupt such a large region simultaneously, and stop it equally quickly?”
Gego nodded. “Whatever means they have at causing such a disruption is certainly faster-than-light, and immensely wide-ranging. If it was slower and confined to a small area, I might have some theories as to how it could be accomplished, but this size, this scale and the speed? I have no idea. It is beyond anything our sciences and technology can produce, or that of any other known species.”
The diplomat sat back, stunned. “By the Spheres.” He glanced up at Gego. “What do you propose we do with this information?”
The data-miner waved an arm. “Perhaps we can get to the bottom of this: Go to humanity with the information we have. Tell them we want the secrets of this technology and the power sources that feed it, as it far eclipses anything we can currently achieve. Tell them that we will expose these findings to the rest of the space-faring civilizations of the galaxy if they continue to hold back.”
The diplomat’s eyes widened, before after a long moment he said “I see. Well, I still need to get to my duties and figure out how to handle this. You are excused, and a reminder to keep the strictly confidential while I inform the appropriate other parties.”
Gego bowed in deference before leaving the office. After he left, Hale-he leaned back in his saddle chair and groaned. The idiot had uncovered humanity possessed the capability of affecting a wide chunk of space at a power and complexity unheard of among any other known species, and his first suggestion was to blackmail them? The diplomat rubbed his head trying to make the sudden headache go away.
A few thoughts were coming to mind, snippets that had been dismissed in the moment, but now he couldn't shake them as he was reminded of the first species that had ever encountered humanity, and the comments by their scientists. They had said that humans were curiously disinterested in their warpspace drivers, despite not having faster-than-light capabilities already.
Then the second species that encountered humanity had mentioned that a child of one of the diplomatic party had become separated from the group, and accidentally come in contact with and ingested some Earth flora. It wasn't something toxic or dangerous to humans, but the physiological makeup of that species reacted poorly with alkaloids in the flora and would have resulted in a swift and painful death if left untreated. But instead, the humans had administered a series of emetics and alkaloid-binding treatments, something they said was common in the case of an accidental poison ingestion, The diplomat remembered reading a footnote from the inhuman physician at the time that this particular blend of neutralizing agents was not something commonly found in human medical kits, and in fact was uniquely suited to their own species’ biology.
Both had been written off as flukes, interesting anecdotes at most, but now the diplomat began to see the greater shape of it, as a species that cared not for faster-than-light travel, for they'd doubtless already achieved it, mastered it, and discarded it as uninteresting at some point before. A species, who upon supposed first contact, had comprehensive medical and anatomical knowledge of their guests sufficient enough to save a child in mere minutes from otherwise certain death.
All this from a species that had befriended and gregariously hosted every alien ship that had come astray upon their planet, and offered nothing but support and friendship to both waylaid travelers and their subsequent diplomatic summits, despite seeming to lack the ability to travel outside of their own star system. A species that was confident, at a basal level that Hale-he was only just now beginning to truly understand.
He opened a communications missive, addressed to all the other diplomats of similar station amongst the other species humanity had made contact with.
”Greetings to my fellow ambassadors. * *I come bearing difficult news regarding humanity: * *They are not what they appear to be. * *Yet, I believe it is of the utmost importance that we continue to pretend that they are, * *For fear that otherwise, we will learn who, or what, they truly are…”
Enjoy this tale? Check out DarkPrinceLibrary for more of my stories like it!

Would love to hear your journey to get a DX and treatment and how it worked for you.
My longer story:
I am legitimately accident prone. In 2018 was in a car accident and lost against the steering wheel.
Approximately where your gallbladder is started experiencing sharp pains. Also rotator cuff damage on that side.
I had my gallbladder taken out on the chance it was that. No HIDA scan necessary, they saw an incidental gallstone on us like a year prior. Never had issues and it wasn't what we were looking for at the time.
I also had shoulder surgery, they suspected a SLAP tear based on my symptoms and pain location (pain starts in the front and wraps around into my scapular area. Although it was hard to tell where it started until recently)
No slap tear confirmed via scope
At this point I'm told intercostal neuralgia, modify my life style.
So I stop using my abs and let my body develop compensations.
Never using my core resulted in liveable pain levels (but still present)
Enter 2022. I break my knee and do something to my thigh/hip
Finally in 2024 after failing numerous regular PTs I'm put into Pelvic Floor PT.
Last week she starts assigning core exercises.
As soon as I activate my deep abdominal muscles the pain climbs and hasn't left since.
And it's pain, not soreness from something new.
Now I can't sleep cough or laugh.
Pacing seems to help.
So anyway I had a light bulb moment when that happened and am thinking I don't have intercostal neuralgia, but possibly ACNES still don't think that does anything to HELP me..
But if you do have this how did you get over it? I need to heal my core to heal my leg to have some sort of life.

Three weeks ago, I thought I was dying. I was so sick, for three hellish weeks. The first week I was waiting for it to go away, then I got to a point I could barely breathe. So I went to the hospital where they horribly mistreated me and I left without treatment. Another week later and I had to suck it up and take the bus to the ER where they said I had pneumonia and a lung abscess.
About 12 days ago, a new depression medication I had been taking for a week prior caused me to experience horrific auditory hallucinations. This was the first time in my life I had experienced this, and it was so real, that after a week of torture, no sleep, all while not knowing it was the med causing it, I broke and called the police to go help my elderly neighbor who I was 100% convinced was being tortured in their apartment that’s connected to mine.
I had no idea I had a year old warrant from the girl my supposed former partner had been living with for two of the four years he said we were together. So the police checked on my neighbor, who was fine, and then came and arrested me.
While in jail for 8 days, I was not given any of my medications. Including the one causing the auditory hallucinations, which after two days they all stopped and that’s when I figured out that it had been the med that whole time.
While in jail, the sadistic sick guards put me with 14 other women in one small cell intended to hold 8, for almost 36 hours. They didn’t even give us water that entire duration. Two of the girls sitting next to me were complaining of sore throats. Yesterday I woke up with a cough, and today I’m coughing up green and grey yet again. I feel flat out like walking death.
When I got out of jail, which I had never been to before, nobody told me I needed to go directly to the bondsman and sign paperwork. So they called me last night and said if I don’t come in they will revoke my bond. They are in a city two hours away and I do not drive due to massive amounts of head trauma which caused a balance disorder.
Now I have to get two bus tickets, a Lyft to and from the bondsman, and only have $60 to do all that with. The woman that the SSA put in charge of my money at first, did not pay all of my rent last month, so I had to give my landlord $120 when I got out of jail, after finding an eviction notice warning letter on my coffee table when I got home.
I am in the middle of trying to pull together a move to NC after receiving a letter one week before I was arrested, saying that I had finally come up on the waitlist for Section 8 out there after years of waiting.
Today I had to make the decision on the lawyer I wanted to hire to help me with my trial since I am clueless about anything to do with law and don’t want to go back to jail.
I have a billion things to do this week still, including spending however many hours at the SSA tomorrow so I can get enough $ released early to pay my attorney fee so she can begin working on my case before the trial next month. I can barely stand up at this point, this just hit so hard so fast.
I’m so overwhelmed and none of this can be put off even a week. I haven’t eaten since I got out of jail 4 days ago cause all my food went bad and I have to give and save every dime now, part went to my landlord and the rest I need to get to the city my bondsman is in and make it home.
I cannot even believe this fucking shit.

Credit to u/SpacePaladin15 for the NOP Universe.
Hey, I hope everyone's doing well!
Today we return to the namesake of this fic, an actual lesson about animals. This one focuses on Koalas! One of Australia's most recognisable critters. I hope you enjoy.
It's hardly worth mentioning, seeing as I'm an infrequent poster at the best of times, but I'll not have another chapter out for a few weeks due to limited free time and devoting most of my writing time to an upcoming ficnapping. Be sure to look out for that!
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Memory transcription subject: Rysel, Venlil Environmental Researcher
Date [Standardised human time]: 8th September 2136
“Koalas!”
Bernard’s energised voice boomed through the air as the classroom's monitor flickered into life, images of this paws lecture topic popping up one after the other until the entire screen was filled with a collage of furry quadrupeds.
Squee! I’ll never get tired of this, it’s all so cool!
As usual the sight of something new stirred immediate discussion, hushed murmurs swelling into vibrant discourse in little more than a heartbeat. Most of the class swiftly huddled together into small herds to bounce ideas around while the rest opted to stick to the solace of their own thoughts as they took in the display.
I’d be quite happy in either situation, though seeing as Sandi had already sunk into deep concentration and Kailo had peeled off to talk with Ennerif and Solenk, it seemed the decision had been made for me on this occasion. Wasting no more time on idle inspection of the people around me, I focused my full attention forward, eager to form first impressions before the lesson began in earnest.
Now then, time to make some educated guesses. What traits does this animal have? I wonder if I’ll get any right this paw?
Professional assumptions went paw-in-paw with the lectures, examining and coming up with hypotheses about the specimens was only natural. Recently however, I’d started to make a little game of it to make things even more interesting than usual. A veritable bonfire of ideas had been set ablaze within me, fueled by my newfound knowledge of Earthen wildlife. Every flash and spark of the flame was a fresh theory I could try to apply to the lectures. It was an invigorating exercise that further stoked my unceasing wonderment.
So far I’d only done this once during the previous class and, to my disappointment, I’d not done too well.
I was right when I guessed that chickens were omnivores, but wrong in my assumption that they could fly. And that red thing on their head, the um… what was it called? The comb! Yes, the comb. I thought that was to attract mates, but it regulates body heat instead. It’s fascinating. Oh! Stars damn it I’m rambling!
I bapped my tail against my leg, the soft thud being just enough to snap me back from my runaway thoughts before I went completely wall-eyed. I was becoming more and more accustomed to getting lost in my own head while remaining conscious of the fact; it was happening so frequently now that it was pretty much impossible not to. Now I was able to pull myself back to the world around me without having to rely on someone else shaking me out of it. Most of the time anyway.
Sandi still keeps an eye on me, and Kailo even decided to help out once without being too snide about it. Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, Koalas.
Glancing at the furred animals, two things immediately stood out. Firstly, their eyes were in a more central position on their face. And second, all the images showed them being on or close to trees. There were other noteworthy observations of course, such as the Koala’s prominent nose and rounded features, but they fell to the wayside as I honed in on these points first.
Hmmm… ok. I already know to discount the idea that they’re predators just from eye position, so let’s get that thought out of here. Maybe omnivorous? Herbivore? Agh no, I can’t just guess that for the sake of guessing, that’s the same problem! Hrm, it’s tough making these assumptions now that everything I thought I knew has been turned on its head.
Nevermind, I’ll focus on the other thing. All the trees make me think they’re arboreal, that seems to be a reasonable assumption. I wonder what else they-
Clearing his throat, Bernard broke my concentration, his call for attention silencing the murmuring conversation and redirecting everyone's focus to the lecturer's podium.
His gaze panned across the room as he waited for everyone to settle, a beaming smile lighting up his face, “As ever I’m delighted to see you all get so into the subject matter from the get go. I’m looking forward to hearing what you were discussing should you wish to share. For now though, how about we get started, hm?”
A chorus of merry bleats rang out from across the audience, ears and tails flicking happily in agreement. Bernard's grin grew in tandem with the class's fervour, clasping his hands together enthusiastically as he launched into the lesson, “Excellent! Then let’s get started.”
The pictures on screen dissolved away until only one remained, enlarging to cover the entire monitor with the fluffy grey face of a Koala peacefully reclining in the crook of a tree.
“Ah, there we are,” Bernard’s baritone timbre drifted through the room as he looked up at the image, his own tone reflecting the relaxed attitude of the animal on screen, “He looks so comfortable doesn’t he? Perfectly at peace with the world, not too surprising considering they sleep almost 20 hours a day. A full paw!”
A wave of beeps and gasps rippled through the herd, punctuated by a single yawn-dressed comment from Rova, “A full paw? Hwuuu… jealous.”
Her drowsy remark elicited several whistling giggles from the herd, Bernard's own jovial chortle joining them as he turned to face her, “Late evening Rova?”
I twisted a little in my seat, panning an eye in Rova’s direction just in time to see her bleary eyes bulge open and her ears shoot up, now intensely aware of the fact she hadn’t been as quiet as she thought she had.
Sitting up abruptly, she hastily tapped down errant tufts of wool that’d flared in surprise as she composed herself, though her nervousness at becoming the centre of the class's attention was still plain for all to hear, “Uh- I um… achem, a little bit yes, um- …sorry. Lokki dragged me out to a movie viewing in the rec centre. It went on pretty late.”
A melodramatic bray from the other side of the room drew everyone's ears away from Rova to the now aghast Lokki, paw splayed across his chest in faux indignation, “Dragged you? Well excuse me for trying to broaden your horizons with human movies. That’ll be the list time I- …Ahaaaa…”
Lokki’s theatrics were cut short by a heavy yawn of his own, a swell of whistling laughter rolling through the herd as vibrant bloom lit up his snout, a sight that elicited a particularly amused bleat from Rova.
Turning away from the duo I looked back at Bernard, pleased to see that he was chuckling along with us. Behaviour like Lokki’s would never have been tolerated in my school and university days but, in stark contrast, Bernard revelled in it, the liveliness of his students fueling his own bombastic style of teaching. It was a pleasant change of pace having a teacher who let us all be ourselves in class; provided we weren’t too disruptive to the lesson plan.
Speaking of which.
His laughter still rumbling through the air, Bernard clapped his hands to pull everyone's focus back to him, “Ok, ok, let’s get back to it then shall we? Rova. Lokki. Hopefully the two of you can stay awake long enough until you can grab yourselves a coffee.”
As the class settled down and the last few giggling beeps petered out, Benard pointed a hand to the screen, “So, the Koala. Let’s start simple shall we? They are herbivorous marsupials native to the eastern and southern coasts of Australia. Easily recognised the world over, they are a well known and beloved symbol of their homeland, along with other animals such as the Kangaroo and the Emu. The former of which you might remember from one of our earlier lectures.”
Indeed I did remember, along with how angry Bernard had gotten after some speh-head had derided the Yotul after he explained how he held specific disdain for such attitudes.
Uuuggghh… I never want to see him angry again. So chilling.
I shook my ears in an effort to dismiss the unpleasant memory, panning my eyes back to the monitor to try and distract myself by inspecting the Koala’s physical appearance once more. Thankfully, by some Star's blessed intervention, Bernard had the exact same idea.
“Koala’s are rather squat in stature, ranging around sixty to eighty-five centimetres in length and weighing little more than fifteen to sixteen kilograms at their full size. As you can see, the fur of this fellow before you is a lovely silvery grey, but their fur can also sport a chocolaty brown hue as well. Arguably the most distinctive part of their appearance is their head, being rather large for their body size and having rounded ears, a large nose, and a pair of small eyes. These are often brown but variations do occur.”
It didn’t slip past my notice that Bernard didn’t bother to point out that the Koala’s eyes were forward facing. I didn’t think he’d simply forgotten, so perhaps he just felt it wasn’t necessary given that he’d already stated it was herbivorous. Either way, no one stuck up a paw or tail to question him.
“Now this will hardly be surprising considering how long they sleep, but Koala’s are largely sedentary and it’s rather easy to see why when you have a look into the contents of their diet.”
With the press of a button the Koala on screen was replaced by images of vibrant green vegetation. Soaring trees and flowering shrubbery weaved together across landscape framed pictures pulled admiring trills from the herd, the diversity of the plant life being shown standing as a reminder that it wasn’t only animal life that flourished on Earth.
After giving everyone the chance to take in the picturesque scenes, Bernard casually hammered that point home, “This is eucalyptus or, more accurately, a choice selection of more than 700 plants belonging to the eucalyptus genus, though the Koala itself favours 30 of them in particular.”
700!? Stars…
Realising that my ears had drooped in my momentary awe, I twisted them back to tune into the lesson, only for them to splay out in shock at the next words to come out of Bernard's mouth.
“The leaves of these plants are the primary food source of the Koala and there are a couple things worth mentioning when talking about these plants. For starters they do not have much nutritional or caloric value, leading to the Koala’s low-energy lifestyle. Additionally, they contain toxic compounds.”
A shiver instantly ran through the herd, ears flicking rapidly in confusion and alarm followed by a few quizzical whispers. It didn’t take long for someone to decide to give a proper voice to the murmuring.
“Excuse me Doctor. Did we hear that right? Their diet is made up of toxic flora?” Vlek’s grumbling incredulity cut through the herd's mutterings with ease. Until Kailo’s recent change of heart, the fifty something rotation old blonde Venlil had been a close second in terms of scepticism. Mercifully his rebuttals had always been relevant questions as opposed to ranting diatribes, so he at least remained on topic if nothing else.
Bernard nodded in confirmation, smiling back at Vlek while absentmindedly twirling the end of his moustache, “You heard me right, they do indeed consume plants that are toxic. Just not to them.”
Any worry or uncertainty still clinging to the herd was swept away by the provision of the glaringly obvious answer, leaving me chuckling inwardly at the oversight.
Ah of course! The plant might be poisonous but they’ll have evolved to deal with that. Stars… I’m so used to expecting the unexpected with Earth that I didn’t even consider the simplest solution.
“I see, thank you Doctor,” Vlek replied, a tinge of interest still audible in his tone, “I assume they’ve developed some adaptation to become immune to the harmful effects?”
The question immediately evoked a smirk from our teacher, but he hurriedly suppressed it while bobbing his head, “They have indeed. There are several factors that aid in their digestion of eucalyptus leaves without succumbing to the plant's baleful properties. The first is a part of the intestinal tract called the cecum. It contains a microbiome that allows the Koala to digest the eucalyptus. Coupled with this is an enzyme in the Koala’s liver that helps them break down the toxins. They are also capable of sniffing out the plants with the least amount of toxins, ensuring that they ingest as little as possible.”
Pausing for a breath Bernard looked back at the screen before turning to face us, another grin curling at the edges of his mouth as he continued with his explanation, “This is mostly for adult Koala’s, because while their young also possess these same adaptations, they don’t just go straight to munching through foliage right after being born. No, they need a little help making that jump and getting a stomach full of all that good gut bacteria. It’s nothing bad, but those of a sensitive stomach may wish to prepare themselves for this next part.”
Bernard’s assurances did little to assuage the concern that his warning had foisted upon us. Having been exposed to so much of the weirdness Earth had to offer everyone always ended up on edge whenever Bernard gave advice like this, even if he did say it in jest.
What strange nonsense thing do Koala pups do then? Judging by the way he’s acting it probably isn’t something as simple as drinking milk from the mother. Hmmm…
“So,” Bernard began, snapping us from our pensive stupor, “Young Koala’s, known as joeys, have a gestation period of thirty-five days on average, which is approximately forty-two paws. Once born they travel from the birth canal to a pouch in their mother so that they can continue to develop and grow. In the pouch the joey finds and latches onto one of two teats and these provide the newborn with a steady stream of nourishing milk. It spends the next six to seven months growing in the pouch, its eyes, ears, and fur all developing as time goes on.”
Okay, interesting. But this is exactly how I thought it’d go. What’s different?
The unexpected normalcy of the Koala’s birth and growth cycle had calmed everyone's nerves, only to be replaced with an air of suspicion as we waited with rapt attention for Bernard to drop the other claw and upend our expectations like he always did.
Not wanting to keep us in further suspense he forged ahead, the tempo of his voice picking up as the smile started to crease his face once more, “Now to make the switch from milk to eucalyptus, the mother also feeds the joey a substance called pap. It comes from the cecum I mentioned earlier, and contains all the gut bacteria required to help the young Koala in making the switch to eucalyptus.”
He stopped and looked around, searching us for a reaction to what I felt was a rather bland statement of fact. What was it he was saying without actually saying? Koala pups drink milk to mature and then include this pap substance so that they can start eating plants. I don’t see what-
The cecum is part of the intestine.
I blinked.
I blinked again, the intrusive interruption scouring my brain clean of any other thought bar the one it’d just implanted itself in the forefront of my mind.
Oh stars. They-
“They eat their own poop!?”
The shocked bleat shattered the peace of the room to reveal that most if not all of us had come to the same tail curling conclusion. As the hall filled with unrestrained vocalisations of disgust, an ‘Ugh’ over here and a ‘Blegh’ over there, Bernard’s own bellowing laughter joined the throng of voices.
“Ha! Everytime! Each and every time. Clearly it doesn’t matter if my students are Human or Venlil. Whenever someone learns about the Koala’s dietary development the reaction is the same!”
Pleased with himself beyond reason, Bernard chuckled away while the rest of us grappled with this ghastly reality. While there were plenty of animals that feasted on things that ranged from simply unappealing all the way to the stomach churningly grotesque, I’d never heard of an animal that actively consumed the excrement of its own species. Benefits aside, the prospect of having to do that to survive to adulthood sent a shiver of revulsion down my spine.
Ewww… Stars, I hope I forget this feeling by 2nd meal. They’re serving sturen and magamroot stew later. I was really looking forward to it.
With the herds mood beginning to temper Bernard tapped the podiums controls, removing the verdant collage of eucalyptus to display several similar yet distinct environments, still chortling merrily to himself in the process, “Ok then, with that little foray into their diet complete, why don’t we look at their habitat in more detail? As you might imagine given their diet and arboreal nature, Koala’s live in forested regions, and can be found in tropical and temperate zones. About a century ago they were classed as a vulnerable species, however efforts were made to turn this around and increase their numbers. Sadly the largest factor in their decline was human activity, as the fertile lands that gave rise to their bountiful forests were coveted farm land for our settlements.”
It was strange to hear Bernard so matter of factly admit to humanity's negative impacts on other species. He’d alluded to such things in the past but always with an air of caution, carefully pawing the line between honestly answering a question while not painting humanity as uncaring and destructive. AKA, the ‘predators’ we’d all initially expected them to be.
Perhaps his comfort in making such admissions was a reflection of the class's comfort with him, for no one so much as batted an ear. Even Kailo, who I would’ve expected to jump at the chance to use this as a prime example of predatory danger, only flicked an ear in stern yet silent concern.
A cough from Bernard drew my attention back, a new picture on screen that showed a forest from a bird's-eye view. Drawn across the image were around a dozen ringed areas, some bordering one another while others overlapped to some degree. It took me a moment, but I soon recognised that what I was looking at was a map, the rings representing what I assumed to be territories. And it didn’t take much effort to guess who each one belonged to.
“From habitats we move onto behaviours, so let’s start with territories. Koala’s are solitary animals. Yes, despite being herbivores. Considering they’re only awake for roughly four hours of the day I can hardly blame them. Lots to do and not a lot of time to do it. Jokes aside, once they mature they are quite independent, carving out a little slice of land for themselves, as displayed in this example, called a Home Range. That is not to say they go it alone and leave everything else behind however. Rather, as shown in the map behind me, they live in their own space while still being part of a larger social group.”
With another press of his pad the picture was updated to show one of two symbols in each segment, along with a key to the side of the map displayed in helpful Venlang. A quick glance told me that the symbols were representing whether the territory belonged to a male or female of the species.
“As you can see there is quite a bit of overlap between different Koala’s territories. It is in these areas that most of the socialising takes place between neighbours. The trees in these locations represent the few areas where intrusion across territories is acceptable for the sake of social interaction. Outside of that the Koala’s stick to their own territories for the most part, with the exceptions of Koala’s who are passing through, attempting to become part of the social group themselves, or dominant males who sometimes go off into another Koala’s range. But how do they know where one range begins and another range ends you might ask? Well, this brings us onto the next part of the lecture. How do Koala’s communicate?”
Wiping away the map from the monitor, Bernard loaded up a video of a Koala sitting in a tree and pressed play. Head held high, the Koala’s body shook as it belted out a reverberating call into the wilderness that could only be described as a garbled combination of a car engine failing to turn over mixed with the hiccups of someone with a particularly sore throat.
That’s how they sound? Oof that must be rough on the lungs.
I clearly wasn’t the only one to share such a thought, because I clocked Sandi tracing a paw along her neck as the noise went on, ears fluttering in discomfort at the noise.
Bernard himself cleared his own throat as the video came to an end, minimising it and replacing it with another image of a tree with a Koala rubbing up against the bark, “I think they’ve got me beat on who’s got the deeper voice!”
His joke garnered several amused beeps, a rare reaction that caused a beaming smile to shine across his face at lighting speed, “Oh you’re too kind. I’ll be here all week. Now where were we? Oh yes! Communication. As you’ve just heard, Koala’s are capable of loud low pitched bellows that can carry over vast distances. These express everything from ‘Hello I’m over here’ to ‘This is my turf, stay away’. Bellowing is more common in the males than the females, opting for shouting matches as opposed to outright fights when it comes to asserting dominance. Other vocal expressions include grunts, wails, and snarls if they’re acting particularly angsty. Mother and joey pairs also communicate through gentle clicking, squeaking, and murmuring sounds. And there’s one more thing worth mentioning. Something they have in common with Humans and Venlil when it comes to emoting.”
Really? They do something we do?
Curious, I pressed myself against the desk, straining as close as I could to once more scrutinise the Koala’s features. Not a lot stood out to me at first, the grey marsupial not sharing many similarities with a Venlil that I could identify.
Ok think. We show emotion with our ears, tails, and our wool on occasion. They don’t have tails so it’s obviously not that. Wool standing on end is more a reaction than a conscious expression. So it must be the ears then.
To my quiet satisfaction, my hunch was soon validated by Bernard, “As well as their vocalisations, Koala’s are very emotive through their facial features. Just like humans, they use their mouths and lips to show how they feel, but these tend more towards the aggressive side of the scale than what you might see on a human. Regarding yourselves however, Koala’s utilise their ears in tandem with their mouth movements when showing strong emotion.”
I was delighted to hear that my assumption was correct, a little happy flick twisting out through my tail and bapping against my chair with a muted thump against the plastic.
Hehe yes! Got one right!
“Now then, we are getting close to lunchtime so I’ll finish this segment off with something I think you’ll find particularly interesting. Diplomacy.”
Perplexed mutterings followed in the wake of the bizarre inclusion to the lecture, my own thoughts being dominated by bewilderment as I tried and failed to make sense of how the two could possibly be related.
Why would Koala’s, or any animal for that matter, be linked to diplomacy? Hmmm...
I could understand dispatching exterminators to deal with a predator issue as a show of goodwill, that at least includes animals, but Humans aren’t like that so I think I can safely scratch that off the list.
Maybe the humans who live in that region benefited from Koala’s in some way. Could they have gotten something from them? But what?
Hopefully not what the pups get from their mothers.
Agh no! Begone awful intrusive thoughts. Blegh! I don’t need that in my head.
As I wrestled with the short-lived revulsion inflicted upon me by my Star's damned subconscious, Bernard placed a new image on screen, one that was decidedly different from all that had preceded it.
On screen were more than a couple dozen pictures of humans. Some were pictured alone while others congregated in large groups while cameras surrounded them from all angles. Across all the images, I noted two common themes. First of all, a solid majority of the humans were wearing formal wear similar to what I’d seen worn by UN representatives on TV. If the gaggle of journalists in the background of the photos didn’t already confirm my suspicions, then it was this similarity which made me conclude they were all people of some importance. Likely politicians judging from context clues.
Secondly, each of the individuals was interacting with a Koala in some form. Some cradled one against their chests while others were feeding it eucalyptus leaves or pellets of some kind. One of the assumed politicians had become an impromptu bed for a snoozing bundle of fur, a gleeful smile spread across their face as they lovingly gazed down at the sleeping Koala in their lap.
As I continued to stare at the assorted photos something clicked into place, a sudden spark flickering into life. A burgeoning light of comprehension that flared and swelled with every wide-eyed breath I took. Some things still escaped me, things I hoped would soon be explained, but in staring at all of the humans happy smiling faces, I was struck with an instant of pure understanding.
If someone, say a Nevok for instance, offered to gift me a creature that was common to them but which might exotic and breathtaking to a Venlil, how could my feelings not be swayed? How could I walk away from that encounter and not have grown closer to them as a result?
“Koala diplomacy,” Bernard waved his hand up at the monitor, a slight reverence in his tone, “My favourite kind of soft power diplomacy. Where political leaders take photo ops with Koala’s and, on occasion, the Australian government loans Koala’s to other nations for a time to bolster positive relations. It certainly helps that Koala’s are a beloved animal worldwide, drawing large crowds and revenue for countries fortunate enough to host the adorable critters.”
The truly alien concept predictably sparked instant discussion in the herd, two polar opposite schools of thought swiftly cementing themselves as the most popular opinions. Simultaneously, I heard one voice trill excitedly while another scoffed at what they clearly saw as a ridiculous and offensive notion.
“Squee! That’d be so cool! I’d love to get the chance to see a Liri from Coila. Remember the Rainbow Boa? Think of that shimmering effect and colour but put it on a bird! Ah! I’ve only heard their song on video. It’d be a treat to hear it in person!”
Ooo! I’ve read about them! I’d love to get up close to one.
“Loaning. As if animals are property to be hoarded and traded? Pugh! Another predatory trait the humans don’t want to acknowledge for what it is.”
Ugh, typical. Jump right to the worst possible option.
However, despite my dismissal of their disparaging fumings, an uncomfortable thought pressed upon my mind. While it was plain to see how much humans cared for the Koala, it didn’t change the fact that humans did keep animals as property just as the scornful herd member had said.
This begged a rather important, disquieting question. Aside from keeping some animals as cattle, a stomach tightening minefield I had no desire to step a claw onto right now, how else did humans keep other creatures. And how did they treat them?
Before I was fully conscious of doing it my paw was in the air, the question primed on my tongue.
Noticing my elevated paw Bernard pointed at me, smiling warmly, “Yes Rysel? What’s on your mind?”
Sorry Bernard. I hope this one’s not too awkward for you to answer.
Flicking my ear in appreciation, and waiting for everyone to settle enough so that I could be heard, I voiced my concerns as neutrally as possible, “Thank you Doctor. I uh, just had a thought. We know that humans keep certain animals for… particular reasons, and we know why. From how you’ve spoken about Koala’s I think it's fair to say that the same cannot be said for them. However, this makes me wonder, what other reasons do humans have for keeping animals and how do you treat them?”
A flash of surprise blinked across Bernard's eyes but vanished so quickly that it felt like I’d imagined it. Had he not expected such a question? Maybe he was just shocked that it’d been me who’d ended up asking it?
Stars, am I so predictable that no one expects me to ask difficult questions?
Unfortunately, a quick glance at my deskmates seemed to prove that to be the case, as both Sandi and Kailo were looking at me with differing degrees of astonishment flapping in their ears.
Well speh.
“A very good point Rysel, certainly one that’s worth raising. Yet another example of you all anticipating what I have to say before I can bring it up myself.” Bernard tapped the podium, switching off the monitor before returning his focus to me, “We won’t be needing that. I’ve nothing prepared that I can show you and we’re heading to lunch in a few minutes anyway. Still, that’s plenty of time to give you a bit of an answer.”
A bit? What does he mean just a bit?
Made even more curious by Bernard's preempted admission that he wasn’t going to fully answer my query, I dialled both my ears on him, fixing him with an inquisitive stare as he started to explain with a tone that was noticeably more nonchalant than any of his previous explanations.
“So, animals in captivity for reasons other than what you already know. Honestly I would love to delve into other reasons regarding why we keep animals. However, I have a lesson plan in the works that I hope to share with you all in the not too distant future. Some of it touches upon this very topic and I’d quite like to bundle it all together. That said, I can tell you how animals in captivity are treated. In short, the answer is very well. There are a mountain of laws both on private and public interests that govern the standards and ethical treatment of animals, and breaches of these laws are quite severe even for relatively minor infractions.”
While I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed by the vague answer to what was really the bulk of my question, I was at least satisfied by Bernard’s assurances that animals in captivity, such as the Koala, were well looked after. Considering the barely subdued grumbling coming from some corners of the audience it was clear that several of the herd didn’t believe Bernard outright, but I trusted him to be honest. Additionally, the mention of an upcoming lecture focused on humans keeping animals caused quite the buzz.
I felt a mix of excitement and trepidation at exploring the topic further. He’d pretty much confirmed we wouldn’t be talking about cattle farms, for which I was relieved, but that still left a huge amount of uncertainty in what was to come.
Humans keeping animals as cattle was a forgone conclusion. As horrifying as that reality was, it was one I could understand from a detached and strictly clinical point of view. Being predators they ate meat and therefore they kept cattle. But the concept of keeping animals for any other reason baffled me.
What could be the purpose? The diplomacy thing makes sense now that I have context, but what other reasons could they have.
The class's discussions were interrupted by the recognisable ring of the break bell, the shift in attention eliciting a change in conversation from confused hypotheses to peppy conversation on how everyone was planning to spend their break and what they had in mind for 2nd meal.
“Well I can see everyone’s excited for lunch, and who am I to disappoint,” chuckling Bernard waved us all up from our seats, pocketing his pad from the podium and heading to open the classroom door for us, “Enjoy your break, get a good rest along with a hearty meal, and I’ll see you all back here at the usual time.”
As everyone else filed out I stayed behind, waving at Sandi and Kailo as they left, and pawing over to Bernard once he and I were the only ones left in the room.
Ears folded down and with an apologetic tinge in my voice I greeted him as I sidled up to him, “Hey Bernard, I uh… sorry if that last question was unexpected.”
Chortling in reply, Bernard waved a hand through the air in a sign I’d come to understand meant ‘not a problem’.
“No need to apologise Rysel. It was a good question and most certainly not a problem.”
Heh, called it.
I sighed, allowing tension I didn’t realise I’d been holding to relax itself from my shoulders, “Phew, that’s a relief. I’m glad. I’m curious to hear what this new lesson is you’ve got in store for us by the way.”
Bernard wagged a finger at me, throwing up his eyebrows in mock amazement, “Oh are you now? Well I’m afraid you’ll have to remain curious for the time being. It’s going to be quite the surprise if all goes to plan. But…”
He trailed off, glancing at me before looking to the door like he was making sure no one else was around.
Wait, is he going to tell me? Oh please yes let me know now!
Stopping myself from jumping on the spot in excited anticipation, and trying my damndest to stop my tail from wagging in equal measure, I stared up at Bernard as he stewed in his thoughts before turning back to face me.
“I can’t tell you the specifics, but I’m working with Alejandro and Tolim to get something together. A trip that’s not a trip as it were. And when it happens, I’m going to need a few of the more accepting members of the class to lend me a hand. I’m hoping you and a couple others will be able to help with that?”
A trip that’s not a trip? What does that mean? Agh who cares about that right now! Bernard’s relying on me to help out!
Still trying not to keep myself from bouncing around with pup like glee I swished my tail and nodded my head in joint agreement, happy to help with whatever Bernard had in store for us, “Of course! Anything you need I’ll be there to lend a paw. You can count on me!”
A broad warm smile lit up Bernard's face, a hand patting me on the shoulder in appreciation, “Thank you Rysel. I knew I could rely on you but it still warms my heart to hear it. And, as thanks for this and for the many times you’ve shown your support, the surprise includes a little something special I think you’d appreciate the most.”
If my earlier enthusiasm had been at a nine, then the implication of a supposed gift sent it rocketing all the way to a hundred in a heartbeat.
“Wait… WHAT!? What do you mean? What are you doing?”
As impossible as it seemed, Bernard's grin grew even wider as I almost lost myself in wool shaking exhilaration, “Call it my own form of Koala diplomacy. But I’m afraid that’s all I can say for now. Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise even for you!”
“Oh you ass!” Whistling jovially I bapped my tail against Bernard’s leg in fake indignation, evoking a barking bellowing laugh from the man himself.
Still laughing, the two of us departed the class and made for the canteen, my rumbling stomach leading me on while my mind spun with fantastical thoughts as to what Bernard had prepared for us.
And what specifically he had in store for me.

So my dog was diagnosed with microfilaria a couple of weeks ago. As of right now, I haven’t started any treatment as I do not have the funds for it. However, before this, the only indication I got that she might have heart worms was her coughing randomly sometimes. She’s a pretty mellow dog but when we go outside, she loves to play. The vet has advised that she doesn’t do any physical activity until she’s been fully treated. The problem now is my apartment just told me I would be getting a roommate with a dog. My potential roommate reached out to me so we could introduce our dogs to each other to make sure they would get along. However, I’m nervous about having my dog play. She’s been running around before and always seemed fine but she doesn’t usually play with other dogs. How can I safely introduce them without putting my dog at risk?

Hi, I'm 46 years old, I don't smoke, don't drink alcohol and coffee, normal body weight, over a year and a half ago I started having a cough that gets worse mainly in the evening, or after eating, there's a bit of phlegm, it's very, very annoying and to be honest I didn't treat it out of laziness, I thought it would go away for granted but it doesn't, what could be the reason? Has the cough become chronic and what is the usual treatment? My problem is that I moved to Hungary about a year ago, I don't speak the language and the doctors here from experience, not at the best level, I would love advice on what to check and do, thank you.

DAY: MAY 20 2024
5-20-2024

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5-20-2024 Prescription co-payments linked to more hospital admissions in New Zealand, study finds
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5-20-2024 How a simulation is informing COVID-19 vaccine policy after our ‘return to normal’
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Hi all I thought I'd share this account of my battle with an unknown infection which I've had since March.
I hooked up with a girl on the 18th of March this year. I had used a condom but when I pulled out I realised it had slipped off. Prior to this I hadn't been with anyone else in over 5 months
Fast forward a week and I noticed miniscule scabbing on the end of my penis. At first I thought this may just be fabric from my underwear stuck to some dried semen. Anyway I started noticing discoloration at the head of my penis opening. It looks sore but it's not painful and has been tingly on occasions. I got tested around a week and a half later for the usual (gonorhea, chlamydia, syphilis etc) they tested my urine and blood both which both came back clear. The clinician also said that they couldn't see anything to be concerned about.
I couldn't get it out of my mind so I asked the girl to get tested too, she said her tests came back clear. I went back to clinic as I wasn't convinced and a second clinician examined me and again said they couldn't see anything I need to be concerned about and that they didn't think it's was anything.
I still couldn't shake my concerns so ended up paying over the odds for a private blood test done via finger prick for herpes which came back as negative. I again bought a private test this one was for the complete 14 std which again came back negative. I thought I would try once more at the clinic. One urethral swab later and the nurse detected what she described as NGU which contained 'pus cells'. She's sent a further swab away for further checks and I've been prescribed a 7-day course of Doxycycline. I felt as though the Doxy was working and things were improving. The results for the further swab came back negative for any STI's which I was surprised and disappointed about as I wasn't any closer to getting a diagnosis. When the course finished I felt like the infection was still there.
Most recently I arranged an appointment with my doctor, he's not been overly helpful imho. He has prescribed me a 7-day Hydrocortisone to try 'fix' the red shiny skin around my meatus. He won't refer me to dermatology or urology until I've finished this course.
Some symptoms I have: An increase in dry skin on penis Increase in small dark blood spots on my sack Red/shiny skin on one side of meatus Shiny discoloured skin on shaft of penis A noticeable red area within my urethera opening Weaker urine stream
Symptoms I had but no longer have at this time: increased frequency of peeing Increased urge to poop (unsure if this was just due to anxiety of the whole issue) Some mild pain when peeing Tingling of the glans Mild discomfort from chafing glans against underwear Cloudy urine Persistent cough / pain under jowel when coughing
I haven't noticed any discharge
Timeline of symptoms and treatments: Hookup: 18th March First started noticing symptoms: 23rd March Visit to clinic (examined and samples): 3rd April - Neg 2nd visit to clinic (examined): 10th April - Neg 3rd visit to clinic (examined): 17th April - Neg HSV 1 & HSV 2 Finger prick blood tests: 23rd April - Neg Full 14-STD test: 8th May - Neg (https://randoxhealth.com/en-GB/in-clinic/complete-sti) 4th visit to clinic (examined and swabbed): 10th May - Pus cells detected. 7-day Doxycycline prescribed. Results returned Neg. Symptoms still persisted Visit to GP: Hydrocortosone prescribed for discoloration around meatus - 20th May
Some pictures: https://ibb.co/RBBqfR6
https://ibb.co/ZcrHFyd
https://ibb.co/DrnXz37
https://ibb.co/MZ21Q4c
https://ibb.co/bFzH0bc

TW: childhood neglect and verbal abuse - me remembering so many things after last night's session. I just need to tell someone! I repressed this childhood since I moved out of my parents. It's like I died that day and moved on like a robot.
It is as though the illusion I've kept up for the past 24 years of me being always 'happy' and living a happy childhood just shattered entirely.
I have this diary I wrote in a lot in 2014, which is from exactly 10 years ago when I was 14. I cherished it a lot and sometimes would look into it to remember the old days. However, just last week I looked into it again after several months of being more focussed on my mental health (and especially on my childhood & parents.). This time, I saw something entirely different in this cute colorful happy diary.
All I see now, is how I was suffering. Suffering alone and always walking on eggshells. Nothing was ever good enough. Almost every page I refer to 'future me', the one who will understand me. I didn't get that from my parents. Old me, who will listen to how I am feeling and give me the comfort and soothing I so desperately needed.
I write about how I was completely exhausted from highschool, and then constantly bash myself with extremly self critical words. I have pictures of me in there with apologies for being ugly, and stories of 'how I didn't work hard enough'. Several pages describe forms of catastrophizing over the smallest mundane things.
In some pages, I casually mention a family member I dearly loved dying but then downplay it with something else. It's ups and downs by the sentence "It was my birthday yesterday, I had a great time! I am exhausted and drained and school is horrible. I did get a nice gift. I hope grandma stays alive" etc.
All this time I was happily keeping up this story of how happy I was. How I had such loving parents who where always there for me. They would shower me with gifts they could barely afford.
In my house, there were no rules. There was no bedtime. There was no structure - no breakfast together or chores I had to do. Everyone was jealous of me, because I was so free, but child and teenage me were constantly longing for someone to care.
I would be gone from home as much as I could. The atmosphere was so hectic. One day you'd come home to a happy loving mom who has all the patience and curiousity to hear about my day and my struggles. The other I would walk in and get scolded about how I was nothing. One day she was willing to help me with my feelings and emotions, but in other days she'd scold me for having them! I should be strong because according to mom, she's cyinic, and the world is 'angry and cruel. The world is unfair.' Now get up and don't wallow in your sadness and self-pity.
It's like they would give a gift sometimes, just to then call me ungrateful every day after. According to them I was unthankful, selfish, and my mom said I'd act as if the world revolved only around me. If I'd say "huh, I never said that?! I would never say such a thing?" she said "that is just what you think you are doing. But in reality, you're ruining it for everyone".
Eitherway, after going through the entire diary without skipping a page, I remembered I once made a video of my mom attacking me. I looked it up, and for the first time in 8 years I had the mental energy to watch it. My jaw dropped to the floor. I never even saw someone act so horrible before but it's me going through it....
t's like my world shattered. My mom was treating me absollutely horribly in this video. I don't even remember! You can see her face, and she is so scary! Here eyes look like pure hurt, as if she was throwing her own traumatic upbringing onto me and blaming me for it. She looks at me as if she's completely disgusted by me! The entire rant of hers is a complete mind trip where she downplays everything I say and spins it around as if I was just a burden who tried to make life for my parents worse.
I would never help with chores. Because, if I asked if she needed help, she didn't. I didn't have to do anything in the house but also did not know how to do anything. Then on other days she'd get angry I wasn't doing enough in the house and mention how our life should be about "giving and taking" and I should participate in that.
Now having read all of this, and watching some more video's of these attacks, I remember many things. How my parents would lock me up in the dark cold hallway because I had a "tantrum". They say it 'wasn't that long' but overstimulated and panicked todler me would bawl her eyes out. I felt so abandoned. In my life, alltogether, my strongest feeling is guilt. I feel guilty for everything. I feel shame. I feel ugly when I cry.
I only managed to teach myself how to release emotions in january this year. I never knew. I couldn't cry since years. When I finally managed this year, I'd notice I'd feel so ugly. My cries sound like my mom crying. She'd cry in our house regularly at some point. Really messy, really loud.
Because of constantly being told I wasn't doing enough, or that I didn't care, I wanted to please. I would muster up the courage and shun myself for how difficult and bad it felt to do so. I would ask her "mom, are you okay? Do you need a hug?"
She'd turn around on her desk chair and YELL. Loud. Screaming at me to get out of her face. Just get out of our life. This happened several times. I'd just walk away from the house. I felt so alone and unwanted. I never could do it right. My dad would just avoid my gaze.
Some days I would be begging my mom for a hug. Just for some attention. But she was so overstimulated that she couldn't even give me a touch. I would feel so lost and alone and just go outside and distract myself with imaginary games. I remember because of this, the moments where I would overheat my parents show off to parents of friends of mine how "I was such an easy kid" and how I could entertain myself and be happy for hours. The other parents would be jealous. I wouldn't know why this would make me cry
My life first going to school was just sheer terror. I felt so abandoned. Every time mom dropped me off I'd kling around her leg crying and screaming. Then afterwards, I wouldn't want to go home either. I remember how later in my childhood I still felt guilty for this behavior, because mom must have been so ashamed. I'd hang around teachers and daycare adults all the time. I wanted to hug everyone, because that was what I so desperately wanted.
My dad could never give hugs. Sometimes he'd allow it, but it would feel so distant. If my mom was starting to freak out about me, he'd sometimes intervere and call me to 'it's done now!' and 'go to bed'! No matter the time. I'd lay in my bed, just trying to curl up and feel somewhat comfortable.
In primary school, I would constantly visit friends. It continued in highschool too. I had two music classes and sports, so for four days a week I was settled after school - not having to go home immediately. Home didn't feel safe. It wasn't a constant. Some days there would be dinner at a nicely put dinner table and we'd eat together, some days I'd just eat some bread myself.
Some days mom would just be lying in bed. I found a video, that's why I remember. She would'nt get out until the beginning of the evening. This was in the time she would normally make me some lunch, or ya-know, take care of me. Suddenly I'd have to do everything alone.
I was constantly entertaining myself with imaginary friends at home. I'd play outside until I was 17 or so, alone. My cat was pure innocence and love but when I told my parents he was 'coughing' they didn't want to believe me. They only took him to the vet when it was too late and never apologized or were able to own up for this.
When I was 14 I wrote in my diary I was looking forwards to visit grandma. She's my mom's mom, and I would sometimes spend up to a week there just to be able to relax and be loved unconditionally. My mom would terroize me with her stress and anger and accusations to a point I couldn't focus on school. I wrote how she'd come into my room calling me names and how I couldn't read my homework papers through the tears.
My dad was never really there. He'd choose himself to be out of the house in the morning before mom and I'd be out and then when he was back he wouldn't make it further into the house than his TV chair. My parents would watch TV for hours when I was a kid. If I asked "what are you watching" they'd both go "Shhhh!". If I'd push it futher, the'd send me upstairs.
I feel like I spend so much time just hiding from my parents. Wheter it was upstairs in my bedroom all day, and night, or if it was outside. I now also remember just biking for hours crying hoping someone would stop and console me. I'd make the wrong friends and smoke weed at 16 just to stop the thoughts.
I would visit friends just because their house was calm and safe. I'd get a nice dinner there, and it would be a whole new experience. My parents would always be easily agitated. I am hyper senstive, hyper aware. I get uncomfortable just seeing them being uncomfortable. I remember I could already feel the energy from streets away. Sometimes I knew it would be wrong and I'd just bike somewhere else and go home later.
In one diary entry, I describe how my parents told me to write a letter to my dad's mom for her birthday. I finish the letter, and only then I allowed myself to take a shower and take care of myself. I would rot in bed, and rot in my dirty hair for days, just like mom. On other days she'd be so happy, she'd be re-decorating the entire house, invite me to go rollerskating.
But I also remember how many times my parents threatened to throw me out of the car. I remember how my 'reaction' to whatever they 'gave me' would never suffice. Then I would be the bad guy, for not being thankful.
My parents, they did everything for me. They paid for everythingg. Ya-da Ya-da, but I never had a proper hug from my dad. I don't know why he's even with my mom. I think he's a fun dude, but he's in mental pain. My mom told me way too young how her trauma's affected her. My dad's childhood would always be an excuse that I had to empathize with when I asked mom as a kid "if dad really loved me".
Other memories involve me running upstairs and then one parent following me. I don't remember getting hurt physically, but I remember all my life the pain I can see in their eyes.
If I look at pictures from my teenage years now, I can finally see the depression in my eyes. It took me up until this year to finally understand that having a clean kitchen and bathroom is something you do because you think you are worthy of a clean space. I had to get out of a depressionhole again over the years many times. I now realize the constant self critisism should have been self love. So that I would feel worthy of taking a shower and brushing my teeth.
I now see how what I saw as 'good experiences' are mostly just my parents taking me somewhere to do some activity and it just fits the perfect family picture. I was their only child but we'd celebrate christmas with many, many presents for me. But once my grandparents didn't live anymore, the birthday parties and tradition celebrations weren't hosted anymore by my parents. I wonder for who they truly did it. I was a golden child, but later in life I was just a burden.
I moved out the first chance I got. They didn't stop me. I was barely 17. I got into partying and drug abuse. I would sleep for weeks in bed. Barely ate. Then I would drag myself out of it again and have missed my mom's birthday. I was the one ruining the relationship to them.
I realized last year my parents had not called me for over 7 months. That was the first time I cried since the last time I did as teen. It's always coming from me.
My depression, my axieties and the treatment my parents gave me were never seen. It was never validated until I could finally read my diary with new eyes and watch those videos. I never got professional help but I will look for this now. I am really longing for someone to tell me what I was going through wasn't normal.
I did not remember this until yesterday, BUT, I am so used to being called weak, sensitive, a cry-baby, a bitch, for telling my mom how her verbal abuse made me feel. I feel so weird, how I repressed all of this for so long and the past years I tried so hard to still visit them and give them hugs and they felt good and now it all just feels fake and weird again.
Well yeah, so this is about everything that's been on my mind today. I feel totally weird. It's a tuesday and I couldnd't even work today. I am lost.

Hello...again. I'm still crusading with everything that has helped me live (mostly) Chiari symptom free for many years, and the next idea I want to share is uncomfortable. It won't feel good to read but if you think it doesn't relate to you I promise you--it relates to everyone and anyone who has a chronic condition or is sick in any way.
Little info about me:
Type 1 Chiari, 20mm. Diagnosed 2016; surgery was offered but not taken. My primary symptom was/occasionally is debilitating head pain from strain/pressure.
Links to my previous posts on the subject:
Living Well With Chiari - Without Surgery
Take a Life Inventory
Reducing Triggers
Improving Overall Health
Now...
Don’t hate me for asking, but…what do you get out of being sick?
No one consciously likes being sick. No one longs for the skull-splitting pain that can accompany a Chiari malformation. No one relishes dizzy spells and nausea and eye sensitivity and poor coordination or the other twenty dozen symptoms that our doctors may or may not take seriously, that there may or may not be treatment for, and that may or may not rule our lives BUT with every illness there is always some kind of advantage.
At my worst, Chiari was the BEST at getting me out of things. Excruciating pain excused me from everything. Family gatherings, friend parties, work events…cleaning the house, taking care of myself, or doing anything other than watching TV and drinking wine. I didn’t have to do SHIT. Because I couldn’t. And the Chiari was permission to give no fucks what anyone else wanted or needed or how they felt about my withdrawal from life. It was the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card.
I mean, I was miserable…but I was basking in that misery.
I was in so much pain I couldn’t think about how to live better. I couldn’t worry about such things as my weight or the future of my writing or how filthy my floors were. I was barely living. And it was awful.
It was also a way out.

i was a sick person.

To my core, that was me: SICK. I didn’t realize how bad it was until my husband—who never gets a cold—complained of a virus and my internal dialogue went something like this: What? He thinks he’s sick? What a laugh! He’s not sick. NOBODY is sick like me.
I owned illness above all else. I hated it, but it was MINE. Every coughing fit, every spike of head pain, every wall I stumbled into, every night I cried myself to sleep. Being sick was who I became.
And I would never get well until I stopped being a sick person.
The Chiari had its sneaky tendrils snaked into every facet of my life, like we were woven together in a most elaborate tapestry of illness and pain. To begin healing, I had to untether from it. I had to separate myself from every Chiari strand until every fiber of my being was free.
If it sounds metaphorical, it’s not. It’s literal and simple (though seldom easy). Every time Chiari became a thought or an excuse, that was my cue to change the dialogue. For example, when I was contemplating changing jobs, I remembered my brief stint as a bartender in 2011 and immediately my brain said: I can’t do that anymore; what if I have a coughing fit behind the bar? Limiting beliefs running rampant in my brain needed to get shut down and rewritten into something more supportive, like: I would love to work with animals or in nature. That’s the kind of job I should be looking for!
In that kind of rewrite, I’m not denying that I might encounter pain or discomfort, but I’m choosing not to let pain or discomfort be the focus or run the show. Instead of looking at what I don’t want to experience, I’m putting my attention on the things that I do.
More than changing my thoughts, I had to stop using Chiari as an excuse to get out of living…and everything else…which meant showing up one minute at a time in all the places that I used to avoid, being present with all the people and situations the Chiari had shielded me from.

if i wanted to live without its pain, i also had to live without its protection.

Now, it’s true that there are plenty of legitimate physical limitations that accompany illnesses, Chiari included, but the problem comes when you talk yourself out of anything and everything because of them. I could get out of bed, I just chose not to. I could show up in life, I just chose not to. I could write a book or clean my house or have a kid…I just chose not to.
Or, rather, the Chiari chose for me.
Pandering to Chiari’s whims wasn’t limited to thoughts. It was in every decision I made, every choice to live small, every act to hide and shut down. It was in the purse that I carried (will it fit a water bottle to stave off a coughing fit?), the places that I went (can’t go there, the air in that store is guaranteed to tickle my lungs), the way I spent my time (I can’t visit those friends…I’ll have too much fun and want to laugh and laughing hurts so my head so much), and plans for the future (how can I have children when I can’t even take care of myself?).
Untethering from Chiari took work. And it’s still ongoing. Most of the ways that I have used Chiari to limit myself have been eradicated. My life, as a result, looks vastly different than it did in 2016 at the height of the pain. Today I’m a stay at home mom with a son, I have energy, I take Zumba classes, I write every day, my fiction has been produced by podcasts, I spend time outdoors every day, I laugh (sometimes it still hurts), I go into stores (sometimes) without bottles of water, I don’t drink wine every night (I don’t need to), and I’m free from the anxiety and depression that was once as crippling as the head pain that I only seldom experience. I am living.
If there’s one strand that I haven’t untethered from yet, it’s the fear around getting sick. I am terrified of being around sick people. I can’t even blame COVID, though it certainly contributed to the anxiety. I don’t know if I’ll ever be comfortable with someone coughing in my vicinity, knowing how bad it will hurt my head if I catch whatever they’re hacking up, and I don’t know if it’s necessarily a bad thing to keep my distance when I know someone is sick (I mean, shouldn’t we be doing that anyway?) but I’m trying to be less afraid. Or, at least, I’m trying to be less of a jerk about it when that fear takes over and people don’t understand why their cold is literally my kryptonite.
What I don’t do is use Chiari as an excuse to get out of living. I show up every day in every way and life keeps getting better. Bigger. Chiari Free.

My 8 year old dog has been having issues for about a year. First it was either an autoimmune disease or a tick borne illness that had him unable to walk distances. I was carrying him outside to poop, since being the great dog he is, refused to go near the house, only off in the woods. I was ready to say goodbye before a heavy prednisone and antibiotic treatment had him walking again. He lost a lot of muscle and fur from the long stretch prednisone, but he got better once he was tapered off. A few months later he started losing weight, had a weird odor, and wasn’t as active has he had been. They couldn’t pinpoint what it was after so many tests, but thought he was clearly losing protein somehow. We couldn’t afford the 8000 for endoscopy and biopsies to be sure. We started feeding him double the food and he improved. Then the vet suggested a low fat diet that could help as a treatment for one of the possible issues. We started doing that, and he started getting worse. The smell was back, he was laying around more, and not wanting to go out besides needing to relieve himself. He also started having raspy breathing over the weekend, so we took him to the vet. He now has a rock hard mass on his chest that seems to have formed quickly, and another mass that’s pressing on his trachea. They gave him prednisone to try and shrink the mass on his trachea.
I need help deciding when I should have him put to sleep. I don’t want him suffocating. The prednisone might be helping, his breathing sounds better this morning, however he still is laying on the floor, not his bed, doesn’t want to be outside much, when he gets worked up barking at whatever is out in the wood, he can’t sounds horrible. He was coughing and dry heaving a bunch last night in the middle of the night.
I want to bring him sooner than later, I’ve had dogs with cancer and tumors before and I don’t want him to be suffering because I couldn’t let go soon enough, but not this morning he sounds better, is currently laying out on the deck,and still wags his tail when I get near. He didn’t get up to greet me when I got home yesterday, but just picked his head up and wagged his tail until I came over to pet him.
My gut says I should bring him today before he gets bad again, but it’s so hard to know if it’s too soon. The prednisone may buy some time, but who knows how much, and even then he’s not himself fully, but he also doesn’t seem like he’s miserable. It’s like he’s stuck halfway between where I would be able to easily say yes or no.

Started having symptoms Thursday 12 days ago, it wasn’t bad so I left it untreated until Saturday, which is when it got excruciatingly bad, so I went to the ER first day Sunday morning. Immediately started taking Penicillin 1,5mg/unit (?) 3 times a day until this Saturday. In the meantime I didn’t see my girlfriend, only saw her on Saturday which was also my last day of taking the antibiotics. At this point I was symptom-free, but developed a very occasional cough. Between seeing my GF this Saturday until today she has this morning started having a dry throat and a slight pain when swallowing.
Everywhere I looked on the internet I found sources saying anywhere from 24h-72h after antibiotic treatment does the tonsillitis stop being infectious. Between Sunday (when I started the treatment) and Saturday (when I met my GF) this timeframe has obviously passed. Anyhow my question is: Is there any feasible way she could have contracted it from me regardless? Or are we looking at a normal cold?

She had been in the hospital for about two and a half weeks with a severe fungal lung infection, it took them quite a while to figure out appropriate treatment.
They released her on Friday and she was very happy to get out, and was feeling better. I was happy to get her back in her home, and she lives alone but seemed strong enough to manage pretty well. I was still nervous because she was still coughing, and while speaking with her on the phone the following day she was coughing very badly, kept telling me it happens for a while then settles down. I’m obviously a bit nervous at this point.
Spoke to her and texted her many times just checking on her and she texted me last night that she thought her recovery was going to take longer than she expected but said she’ll be ok. That was at almost 11 pm last night and I went to bed.
I texted her next morning around 7:30 to check in again, no response and I called her several times. Around noon I texted her that if I didn’t hear from her I would come to the house to check on her, so I went at 2 pm which would have been 15 hours since I heard from her, I just though (hoped) maybe she was still sleeping.
I get to the house, let myself in, and I see her on the bathroom floor, blood all over the sink, on the floor. I freak out and grab her arm, completely cold…she was gone. I screamed and dry heaved in pure panic.
I’m devastated. This woman is the only human on earth that has had my back no matter what, ever. She had been a caretaker for my sick aunt for many years before this, and my aunt had died less than a year ago. While that was of course sad, I hoped my mom would finally have a chance to recover herself and not be stressed about her sister.
It’s so unfair, I should have told her to go back to the hospital on Saturday when I heard how badly she was coughing still.
I don’t know what else to say, I am still in shock and have to go to the funeral home tomorrow to start figuring things out.
I just wanted to get this out in the open somewhere, so if you read all of this I just want to say thank you. If you have a spare moment, please say a small prayer or send well wishes to Stephanie, the best person I have ever known. I’m so heartbroken knowing she likely died in panic, fear, and pain. I love her so much and I didn’t tell her that enough. She was a rock, an unrecognized hero, and not even 70 years old yet.
I love you Mom, I hope whatever is beyond life is a relief for you and I am so very sorry that I wasn’t able to help more. She deserved so much better than this.
Thank you all for taking time to read this and allowing me to share, and my heartfelt condolences to anyone that has gone through something similar.
I miss you so much already.

Im in a relation with my wife since High School, since 2010 or so, we both went to the Military first her than me cause im 2 years younger, when she finished i started my journey, during that time in the military it was really hard for me to depart from her, i love and loved her the same since we've met during a school trip abroad, i think for both of us it was a love from the first sight. Since than she was my second half, i can't live without her, can't imagine a day waking up without her hy my side, we had some ups and some downs especially when we were younger, but never seperated for a moment, we had a very strong relationship, we welcomed our son in 2016, it was my happiest moment of my life after our marriage, we married in Prauge, and when we came back home we made another weeding for our friends and family.. At the beginning we had some financial struggle like many other young couples We worked 6/7 days a week, we started to save up, and when i started to notice the stress she experience on her work place i decided to change her life for good, cause such an amazing person like her deserves more than that, so meanwhile i was working at my place i was allowed a smartphone / laptop, and iv started creating our own niche business, worked 8 hours a day + 10 more on our current side project barley slept, ate, lost weight from 90 kilo to 54, i haven't had time to prep meals, but i grinded my ass out, in 2016 we officially staryed making sustainable amounts of money to keep me home to do it full time, and thats when our kiddo was born, so she also had enough financial freedom to stay at home and take care of our child without having all that burden of going to work, nannies, early kindergartens etc.... She stayed at home for the next 5 years raising our child and taking care of him. Since i was working from home i started to drink here and there some whisky, some beers, but not something crazy, i work from home i earn enough money, and she decided to get a small job as extra to save up some money for travelling and buying our first home, we had months with over $100,000 of income, at around late 2018 everything was going up hill, and all of a sudden, our payment methods placed a big halt over our business, and its the first time my life went downhill, I've lost clients, payments were all on hold, for a second my life was at its peak next second felt like im down in the dumps, had to figure out what to do next, had countless hours of research how to sort it out, called every possible banking institution world wide starting from United Stated, endingin Dubai, and thankfully light shined on us, and we made a deal with out local Visa/ and bank to let us accept further payments, we got our first SIP, we starrted to earn again, and life went on perfectly up until my father was diagnosed with throat cancer, where i had to work 24/7 alone on my project and somehow take care of my father, take him to chemo, radiations, countless doctor visits, he won his battle, he came out cancer free and it was a big day for all of us! We were certain that this battle was over, yet a month after he finished his treatment he cold me early morning and said something is wrong, he cough blood, and asked me to rush him to the hospital, dressed up rush on max allowed speed, picked him and my mom up, wife stayed at home with my kiddo, and we went to the emergency room in a hospital 40 Kilometers away from our little town, there he was placed to the emergency room, and we've beem told to wait until a throat doctor will be available to check on him, we wait for over an hour, while i went to speak to the doctors my mom shouted to come help, me and the docots when i approached him, he was holding this toilet thingy where people pee and it was all full of blood, he couldn't take a single breath, he was dying, he tried to stand ip and grasp some air while drowning in his own blood, there was blood everywhere, he was covered in it a huge pool beneth him, at some point he just fainted and me and my mom were the old people around him, while doctors were to afraid tovget closer to him, it was a horror movie, they placed him under few surgeries, his main arthary was punctured and his brain stopped getting oxyen and blood supply, a week later he passed away, while we were giving hope for his survival, one second he was the most happiest men in the world for beating his fight against that horrible thing, next second his helpless eyes knowing he is about to did, trying to ask me for help, it was an traumatic experience for me and my mom, during that year i had horrible nightmares, i heard him gurgle when felt a sleep, i saw blood everywhere, i was depressed that i lost my father in such a horrible way, and during that time my only support was my wife and mom, me and mom helped each other to keep sainity, and here i staryed to drink a bit more, work hard and drink, never fainted never faught or argued with my wife, she was fine with that, and im not talkig about a bottle of whisky a day or something but yeah 6/8 bottles of beer, listened to music while i was doing my job for my clients at this moment she was starting her job at a special store for home stuff, so i took care of my son, fed him, went to the park so he would play with friends, and when she came back home she made meals, some house stuff, showered him, placed him to sleep, and i was her light station before sleep, we talked stuff up, she tried a lil to help me coup with my dads passing, bit she never were able to understand the pain i went through, stuff started to get little better, more Family BBQ partirs, we finally started to laugh, and my mom was shininv, cause she saw me there happy, she saw our kiddo, and she were thankful to her husband that she has us now to fully support her and help her, at this point my mother in law also decided to move from a big city to iur little town to "be closer to her daughter" not really, she started to rent a house a mile away from us, and i was happy that my wifes mother also living near to us, and that my wife will be see her more often, she also become part of our family after years living far away from us, when she came her husband (boyfriend) also started to get sick so she basically dumped him, and he passed away due to unknown reason (its important) we all went to the funeral it was another hit, after my dad he was for me like a second father i could talk too, few month after his passing her my wife grandmother who was living with my wife mom, started to stumble, stopped walking and was bed bound her cognetive functions also went downhill ina month she couldnt recognize her clise ones which was a hard moment for my wife, so she found an elderly house a care home so people will take care of her, while she is keeping all her social security money, a year later the grandmother passed away, i staryed to suspect that something ain't right, first her husband than her mother, but never put enough accent on that, in 2022 around September i started to feel really really ill, i started puking 4-6 times a day,, couldn't hold food, couldn't hold fluids i went to the Emergency place in our city and they gave me pills to stop me from puking, and now i started to stumble, fisr i felt at home when trying to get me some water, next fall occured on my way to the store, and another time when her mom asked me to help her with the computer, it lasted few more days untill i was unable to stand, use my hands i all become stiff my hands stopped worked and finally i was rushed to the hospital after a whole month of hell, when i arrived the Hospital i had memory issues, i couldn't tell what day it is, short memory is gone, i could recognize, wife, mom and kiddo, but i couldn't recall what i ate today, i could say good morning 10 tjmes a day to my wife, my eyes were running left and right that what i was told, i did all checkups at the hospital, they thought a brain injury or tumor, they took spinal fluids, blood work, urine tests, nailz, and hair tests, they couldn't find anything besides one drug test they ran randomly on me, they found around 870 mg of Benzodiaziapm in my blood test, i never even knew what that thing wmis, until my doctor started asking me question about that substance, if i ever took those pills, and i said no, i have no idea what that is and where it came from, when my cognitive functuons started to get better on week 4, i was in the Intensive care, monitors to keep me checked so i wont have lung failure, i asked my wife randomly to check her mom house for those pills, and guess what? She found that same pill box in her kitchen drawer, while she was on vacation with her friend, so we immediately started to suspect her mom, her mom was about go lose her current house and she knew i have a very good business that my wife also helping me earning money, she staryed to ask wierd questions which my friends confirmed, she always asked my wife if she kniws how to run the business, when i heard about that, i was proud of my wife that she finally can help me out at home dealing with clients, thats when my mother in law started to work on a plan to get rid of me, as she did in the past, she pisioned me during september on my 29th Birthday, thats right when i started to feel ill, after i was released from the hospital i left disabled in a wheelchair, my wife had to shower me, help me dress up, and feed me, i was peeing in containers and i couldn't even go number 2 cause from my chest down i lose all muscle control, i couldnt lift arms, legs, poop, and do simple day to day stuff, thankfully i was approved as a disabled person 110%, and since than im 2 years trying to recover, my legs still dont work, i cant feel heat, always numbbess, tingling sensation below wasted, and neurological pain which i try to coop with without and pills, crying at nights, alot, hard for me to get sleep, im always cold, i feel uselss, worthless, i feel like a burden on my wife, so last 26 of April i had a friend who came to visit we had some booze, nothing too crazy, we had some good time, laughed and i went to bed, while my wife downed two bottles of whisky with my friend, he noticed she got too drunk so he started to emoty her glass when she wasn't looking, after that she came to the room staryed shouting on me, mentally abusing me and telling that im stuff about she wants to leave me and son and start living her own life without us, she had enough of marriage, on the morning she couldn't remember that night at all, my friend helped me to get from wheelchair in bed, and than left her in the kitchen alone, where she continued to drink, i woke up arounx 7 AM she was missing from home, went to grab more liquor or beers i have no idea and the argument continued so i asked her to go get some sleep, and she thankfully did, when she woke up she had a good laugh about her behavior and i slipped on that as a one time occurance, i agreed to never have booze again at home, especially with her cause she cant handle it, on the 9th of may its a victory day for me, cause my grandfathers fought world war two, i bought few beers to raise a glass, for the celebration, and instead to be with me while we watch the Victory day parade, she suddenly decided to go for a walk, i left home alone my mom was with my kid, all went smooth up until 1 AM when i tried to call her, she answered and told me that she will be home soon, and afterwards stopped responding to my calls, my mom talked to her, and she said that she is near the neighborhood and will arrive soon, but she never arrived i started to worry, called her dozens of times she havent oicked up the phone, she ended up staying a night at her moms place for no particular reason, in the morning she came back told me that she wants a divorce cause she is young and want to travel thebworld and live a normal life and not stay like a jurse with me, she had enough of me beign sick, and usless (note im still the only one who brings income home) and she said she dont care about the kid anymore andi can have him (PS she also started ozempic course 6 weeks prior) so her therapist said she must stop using this stuff cause it cause mental problems, its 3rd week now she havent had a single shot, and all what happend became a bad dream for both of us, she regrets the stuff she said to me, and everything staryed to settle down, and today she broke again and startrd doing that again with the same demands she wanna leave after someone told her i was eating in a restaurant with my kid and i had a 300 cc beer on the table, i came back home all was great until today, when she was told about that beer, and it triggerdd her so hard that she want my signature and divorce, i love her, i need her and that she and our son is my only reason to live, and i cant let her go cause she is all of my life, and she doesn't care anymore.... She just want to leave me a disabled man with an 7 year old son, and kove to her mom. I haven't said anything bad to her, i didnt had an argument, never raised my arm on her, never done anything wro g to her especially with my conditikn where i barley hold a glass of water. I never thought about suicide cause i value my life and my mother, and son, i would never do harm to myself, but i feel like im lost, i lost everything in my life even though she is snoring right besides me when i write this, its feels like she enoys inflicting pain on me, mental pain she laughs when i cry, if feels like it give her pleasure, she was never like that before, and it hurts even more, since she started ozempic she started to say "she hopes she dies, she dont wanna live anymore, she had enough of been a mom, and a wife" stuff like that which she never said before, nor there was a real reason for thay, im not an abuser, i never done anything to her, and again im helpless man who is now disabled from chest and down, and im fighting to recover even 35% of body cobtrol would be huge for me, and instead lifting my soirit taking me in my wheelchair for walks outside, cooking me food instread of me ordering every god damn mill, i still lover her, i still want her to be with us, but it seems she already decided long ago that she doesn't love me anymore but never said that until she lost 30 kg with this hellish drug she injected.
Im lost i have no one to tell that, no one would really want to hear me talking about my struggles and a falling apart relationship with the best person i met in my life, my best friend, my wife, the mither of our child, my angel who changed ke for good, who found potential in, who inspired me to do better than i ever did before, i can't lose her, i won't lose her, i pray every night so she will change her mind! I really need her, im afraid to stay alone, im afraid to raise my kid in this state alone, and i dont want my kid to grow with only one parent because his mom dcided she wants to quit on us.
Uf anybody have anything warn to say, support ke, or kaybe an advise to approach her and try to fix that, the whole situatuon statlrted on the 26/27th of April and we are going through that until now, its getting better last few days as she let ke to hug her, and she aloowed ke ro give her a kiss on her cheek and after yesterday meal with my kid and that 300cc bottled beer, she at it again ;(
Sorry about this crazy block of text i doubt anyone gonna read that, but i would appriciate anything.
Thank you so much, George.

I'm very drunk as I type this, so excuse any errors.
I'm 20M, and over the past several weeks I've had a really bad cough that's caused me to call out of work several times. I'm on a zero hour contract, so I don't get sick pay. After coughing up blood again thismorning, I went back up urgent care where after hours of waiting, an x-ray and an uncomfortable endoscopy, I was told I have lung cancer that's in stage 2.
I live at home with my parents and 3 brothers, and there's so much going on I don't feel able to tell them. I don't want to be the subject of concern. I don't want to call out of work, I can't afford it, and I need the time away to socialize.
In truth, I'm terrified. I've lost people due to cancer before. I've seen how in 6 months someone can go from healthy to on their death bed. I don't want to- I can't- see myself like that.
I've been told I should call off work for a while, and there's ben a lot of talk and explaining about chemotherapy. I want to get better, I really do. I don't want this to be the end of me. Dying terrifies me. I don't want to let this kill me. I don't want to refuse treatment, I want to do all it takes to get better. But I'm terrified of chemo too. I don't feel able to tell anyone, and if I start that, It'll become obvious and I'll have to tell someone. And sure, I'd take telling someone over dying any day, but it'd break my families hearts.
I'm sure they'll find out eventually, maybe. And Maybe i'm making it worse by not telling anyone. I just feel so alone, and so scared. Part of me feels there's got to be a way out of this, after all, so many things are no longer the death sentence they used to be, and cancers onthat list. But theres a chance I'm not here in 10 years. And that's terrifying me.
I think maybe I need to look into local support groups, and start writing down my thoughts more.

Yesterday I went to the hospital because I've been having a higher than normal resting heart rate (around 120BPM) after my first AC treatment this past Wednesday. Oncology Nursing line said it could be anxiety or a blood clot, but I should go to emergency to rule out a clot. I haven't had shortness of breath or anything, just a couple episodes of palpitations and 2 instances of AFIB I caught on my Apple Watch. I've also had 2 back to back colds because I have a toddler who catches all the illnesses, so I've been having coughing/sinus issues on and off for a couple of months. I still have a lingering, productive cough.
A slew of blood tests were ordered, plus X Ray and CTPA. X Ray came back normal, CTPA showed no blood clots and also showed no enlarged lymph nodes, yay!
However, under lungs there was a note of a 2mm nonspecific lung nodule.
My previous PET at time of diagnosis showed no metastasis, potentially some lymph node involvement, but my lymph node biopsies (FNA + repeat core) came back with no evidence of malignancy. The MRI didn't catch anything in the lungs either, just the tumor and 2 potential nodes.
I see my surgical oncologist Thursday, and MO next Monday, and I will obviously be asking them all the questions, but I am so incredibly anxious about this new discovery.
I am partway through treatment, and according to my most recent ultrasound just over a couple of weeks ago when I had just barely completed 11/12 taxol carboplatin, my initial tumor shrunk 97% in volume. I was pretty relieved about these results a couple of weeks back.
Now this?? Could it be possible this new spot is mets? I need positive stories because I am freaking the eff out.
Edited to add context

I just recently found out that I'm allergic to cats :(
We adopted a stray maine coon from the local shelter a few weeks ago (my gf deserves all the credit for that). Quirkiest cat ever, love him to bits but I cannot stop sneezing ever since we moved him into the house. My eyes are constantly itchy and I’ve been dealing with constant coughing and wheezing.
That said, giving the cat away is not even an option we would consider, he's family now. I would like to find some sort of treatment that could help keep cat dander allergy symptoms at bay – ideally, something tried and tested with high efficacy for my situation. Any tips or insights would be extremely welcome. TY!

Hello, apologies in advance for this wall of text. I am here to get some feelings off my chest and process the emotions involved with having a dog that is dying. I would just like to hear folks' thoughts and opinions on how they've handled and dealt with the final days of their dogs' lives. I put a shorter, yet still long TLDR down there. I would appreciate your input and thoughts. I'm so sorry to all of you who have lost your pets and I'm hoping everyone is otherwise happy and healthy.
Indigo is my first dog. She is a 45 lb mixed breed (Australian cattle dog/staffie/chow) that I rescued from Tennessee and we have been inseparable since. I wanted a dog my whole life and so when I finally got my first full time job and had my own apartment, I adopted her when she was 11 months old. She just turned 9 in December. She had been really healthy for most of her life and we used to run 3-5 miles daily. She helped me lose 30 lbs and get into the best shape of my life one year. I traveled everywhere with her and took her backpacking and camping and canoeing and she made me fall in love with nature. She is everything I wanted in a dog. I taught her how to walk off leash in a busy city and everyone that met her loved her. She could chase a frisbee down the length of a football field and catch it out of mid air. She was smart, kind, athletic, caring, calming, generous, and just the best thing to ever happen to me. We had so many good times together and I just remember those as the best times of my life. I lived with her before my gf moved in with me. I worked hard and bought a house to give her a huge 1/2 acre backyard to play in. She was the flower girl at my wedding. She was amazing with babies and I always tell my wife we should have babies sooner because I want them to know Indigo. I cannot imagine my life without this dog and all of my hopes and dreams involve Indigo being there by my side.
As she got older, she started to slow down a little. At 7, her annual exam revealed arthritis in her front legs and the beginnings of hip dysplasia in one of her back legs. We transitioned away from high impact activities, tightened up her diet, and started giving her supplements for her joint health. She seemed to bounce back and we were able to do our daily walks and hikes and play sessions just fine. In the past two months I noticed her sometimes losing her balance or standing still but looking disoriented, with her head pulsing slowly (stroke?). I mentioned that to the vet and they said to let them know if it happens again but that it was probably nothing to worry about.
We had a beach weekend a few weeks ago and Indigo came back from it with an irritated eye. I had her checked at the vet and she was fine, told us it was probably some irritation. We got her senior bloodwork done during that appointment and I was told one of her liver enzyme ALP was elevated so they want us to come back in with her fasted to repeat the test. The repeat test showed the enzyme went up even more. The raised 3rd eyelid turned into a stuffy nose which got bad really fast, to the point where I was worried she wasn't getting enough oxygen. The intake nurse went over CPR codes and this was the first time I even considered that this may be the end for her. She strongly recommended with everything Indigo had going on, that they code her red for DNR but I couldn't handle that emotionally and asked her to be coded yellow.
I took her to the emergency, where they did a full workup and told me she has:

1. A leaky heart with low contractility, which means she may not be getting enough blood, potentially causing her to have strokes.
2. Multiple nodules on her spleen and liver that need to be biopsied with an invasive procedure to see if they are cancerous or not.
3. Sludge in her gallbladder that she will need to take meds for for the rest of her life.
4. A nodule on her adrenal gland on her kidney producing too much cortisol
5. Potentially something in her nose/face/brain area that is putting pressure and causing neurological symptoms.
6. Potentially a nasal / respiratory infection but they don't know what.

All the tests and having to be boarded for 2 days came to a total cost of around $5,000.
Their recommendation is:

1. Get an MRI at a local center to the tune of $4K-$5K for the MRI along with a $300 consult fee to confirm if there are any masses in her brain/face/nose area
2. Based on those findings, decide on whether or not she should be put under anesthesia to get the livespleen biopsies done
3. More blood work to test for thyroid issues because they forgot to do that one and "it could be another piece of the puzzle".

When I got her back she was stumbling, unable to walk straight, bumping into things, her third eyelid on the unaffected eye was raised very high and red. She refuses to eat or drink anything, I even tried tempting her with all her favorites and peanut butter and human food but no interest. I've been using a syringe to squirt water into her mouth so she will drink and most of the time she tries to cough it back but I've been able to get some water in her this way. The emergency vet gave us wet food to give her and I've had to kind of force it down. I feel so bad that she doesn't want to eat or drink anything. She's lost like 10 lbs and all I feel is skin and bones on her. Everything I read online when I try searching all these symptoms is that she's dying, her organs are shutting down, and she has no sensation of hunger or thirst. She looks so sad, will lay in the same spot for hours at a time. She sometimes raises her head and nuzzles me and my heart can't take her suffering anymore.
I spoke to the MRI place and they gathered some more info on Indigo and told me about the MRI procedure. I've had 4 myself, so I'm not worried about it but I'm wary of the practice. After confirming my appointment he told me about where to park while they work on their "state of the art facility that is being constructed and when finished will be a 18,000 sq ft facility with various specialties under one roof...". What I'm getting at is that it sounded very promotional and clearly they have the money to build a brand new building so it's not like the $5K cost for the MRI is going towards paying back the machine, which was my impression as to why MRIs are so expensive.
I'm not a veterinarian and I am not looking for medical advice here, but based on all the info I have in front of me, it seems like my dog has late stage metastatic cancer. Confirmed nodules in the liver and spleen and potentially more nodules in the nose/brain area...I can't think of anything else that could cause multiple organs to develop nodules within the course of a few weeks. The fact that all these symptoms came on so suddenly is so scary but I think it's pretty clear my dog is dying as much as I don't want to admit that.
I have been paying Healthy Paws for her insurance since I had her, $35/mo when we started and I now pay $122 /mo. We get 90% reimbursement after a $250 deductible. I got it because I didn't want to have to think about making hard decisions when it came to getting care for her but all in all, because she was pretty healthy, I didn't even end up using it until her hip displaysia symptoms that came up a few years ago and even then, we only broke even on the insurance that year. While researching today I came upon the term "stop-treatment point", which is "the dollar amount at which clients refuse treatment or choose to stop treatment for their pets". Apparently it was $1407 in 2009 and $1704 in 2012. I can not find any information about that figure in more recent years, but I can guarantee it has to be at least double that by now. https://www.dvm360.com/view/veterinary-practices-performing-more-euthanasias-despite-increase-stop-treatment-point#
TLDR; I have spent ~$5,000 for an emergency visit that gave no definitive answer on why my 9 year old 45 lb dog is being lethargic, refusing to eat or drink, loosing her coordination and the ability to walk or even stand up straight. They want me to spend $5,000 more for an MRI to get more information and possibly rule more things out. After the MRI there will probably be even more tests they want us to do. From the information they have found and given us so far, she has a weak heart that's not pumping well, multiple organs that have potentially malignant tumors (kidney, liver, spleen), and an unexplained nasal/respiratory illness. They don't want to do the biopsy because it's more invasive and would rather us do the MRI to rule things out before moving forward with the biopsy under anesthesia. To me that sounds like late stage metastatic cancer and the nasal thing is secondary maybe due to a weak immune system.
We thankfully have pet insurance (90% reimbursement, $250 ded). While the peace of mind from having pet insurance is making it easier to say yes to having endless diagnostics and treatments, I'm beginning to think that it is working against me now. As if running up the vet bill and getting paid will make me feel like I got my money's worth and that feeling is driving me to agree to all these invasive procedures. The cynical part of me thinks the vet practices see this as an opportunity to milk some money from the insurance company, all the while I am accepting of all this because of the perception that I am doing "everything I can to save my dog" but really I feel like I am just subjecting her to more suffering.
But here's the thing, Indigo hated being in the emergency for those two days. I don't want the last weeks of her life being spent being put under anesthesia and cut up and hair shaved just to be told we don't know, you need to pay $5K more for some testing and maybe we can rule out some other things. I love my dog and I don't want her to pass on. I am in denial because I've had 4 knee surgeries in the last 3 years and Indigo and I missed out on a lot of the trips we had planned because I was always recovering. I am writing this out so that my brain will start processing it ahead of time. I refuse to leave her side but I am scared to look at her sometimes because I feel like the next time I look, she won't be breathing. I have to force her to take food and water and she just lays in one spot. She can't move about without bumping into things or collapsing every other step. I haven't seen her smile in a week. She sleeps very peacefully though, and I have caught her running in her dreams and that makes me feel a little better.
If it is time for me to end her suffering, why won't they just tell me that? Am I being too cynical? How did things go when your beloved pets were passing away? How does euthanasia work? How did your vet handle things? Thanks in advance for your kindness and empathy. What do you do with your dead dog's body?