I (20M, 5'5", 122 lbs) had 16g of MuscleBlaze's Raw Whey Protein before sleep and woke up with a mild sore throat the next morning. I didn't think much of it and continued to take 5g of creatine monohydrate. Nothing happened immediately, so I took another dose of 5g after 4 hours.
After a few hours, I felt fullness or pressure in my ears and a scratchy, sore feeling at the back of my throat. It was mild. When I slept that night, I experienced headaches, body weakness, and fluctuating sensations of cold and heat. When I woke up, I felt fine except for a mild throat pain. I proceeded to take another 5g of creatine.
Later that day, I started having mild pain in my throat again when swallowing. I also felt pain when I touched the right side of my neck area under my ear.
Context: When I eat anything that has butter, ghee, mayonnaise, or certain oils like palm oil, I sneeze 10-12 times almost continuously the next day. This has been happening for the past 4 years. Sometimes, this also happens with bananas.

• Can Whey protein & Creatine cause these allergic reaction or is this a viral infection?
• Should I stop taking these supplements immediately or should I wait until I recover with the sore throat fully and try again?
• How can I cope with these allergic reactions?
• Are there any alternatives to these supplements?

I'm a 73-year old male. Three weeks ago, I developed a sore throat, followed by inflamed gums, as well as sores on the roof of my mouth and tongue. The pain was intense, and prevented me from eating solid food for nearly a week.
I had a slight fever in the evening, and experienced deep fatigue in the afternoon. Even moderate exercise exhausted me.
I went to urgent care two weeks ago, and was diagnosed with a viral infection. I was prescribed a two-day course of valacyclovir. The lesions in my mouth improved very gradually but did not go away completely. Concerned that my fatigue hadn't lifted, last week I saw my primary care physician. He agreed that I had a viral infection, specifically HSV-1. He said that my symptoms should probably resolve themselves in a couple more weeks.
Today, the symptoms in my mouth have not completely resolved, but I’m able to eat normally and brush my teeth very carefully, though one area of my gums still bleeds.
I am most concerned about the deep fatigue I am experiencing, which has not improved.
This detail may not be helpful, but I should mention that although I am vaxed and boosted, I did contract Covid 8 weeks ago. I got better, but two weeks later I experienced some of the same symptoms I have now, though not the mouth sores, and the fatigue was not as severe.
I seemed to improve for a few weeks, and then I started experiencing this current bout of the symptoms.
I have read that many people suffering from Long Covid experience many of the symptoms I have experienced, including mouth sores. I would appreciate any insights on what my symptoms indicate, and if they could be due to Long Covid.

There's been a pretty big burning/hot stiff in my neck along with waking up drenched in sweat, nausea, feeling weak in the arms and legs, chills and headaches. No cough or sore throat. I've been experiencing these symptoms for about 4-5 days. Are these just normal flu symptoms that'll just go away on its own?

So I'm not sure where to post this exactly because my flu test was negative-- but I had whatever other virus from hell is going around the US right now a couple of weeks ago. It started with body aches and chills and a horrible headache-- that lasted a few days, and then congestion joined the party. After a while the body aches and headache went away but the congestion stayed and last week I noticed my tonsils were swollen and covered in white patches and I had a sore throat and swollen lymph nodes. I have been to the doctor and they prescribed me antibiotics to see if that did anything for the tonsils. I haven't had a fever this entire time, but I have had night sweats and I still have them. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? I'm so sick of this

My fiancé had an emergency appendectomy about 4 weeks ago. The surgery went well, and the appendix did not burst during or before removal. Prior to the surgery, the CT also showed he had an unobstructed kidney stone and an unobstructed gallstone. The surgeon offered to remove the gallbladder too (in case there would be issues later) but he declined, as unnecessary gallbladder removal can cause a lot of complications (I myself have some of those, as does my brother. Surgeon said these complications are about 1 in 3 patients. His gallbladder has never bothered him, so why roll the dice?)
He was really sore after surgery but was doing better each day and on track for recovery. He went back to work after 2 weeks. His job is more physical and requires walking several miles, so post-pain we initially chalked up to all the walking. At about 3.5 weeks, the pain got much worse, and he was in as much pain as he had been after the end of week 1. The pain was on his left lower abdomen/side, and the pain stretched toward his belly button. They had gone in laparoscopically on that side, so figured it was his incisions bothering him.
His incisions all looked good and still do. No redness, drainage, etc. Then he spiked a fever of almost 103. We went to the ER and they saw in his chart that he had had an unobstructed gallstone. The ER team focused on that gallbladder hard and was trying to get him to have it removed before they even got any testing back. They did a blood panel (his WBC count was a little elevated, but nothing insane), an x-ray, a CT, a urine test, and an ultrasound. They lied and told him they did Murphy's Test on him and that his gallbladder had thickening walls and was inflamed. But they never did the Murphy's Test and he has and had no pain in that area. They really scared us, saying he could die etc. In the end, they called another surgeon to look at the scans and they said to cut us loose if he wasn't having pain. They gave him no antibiotics and just told him to follow up with his doctor.
He called the surgeon that had done the surgery and the surgeon said he did not see any wall thickening or inflammation in the scans. He said the gallbladder looked like it had before his surgery. He also said the CT did not show any abscesses or infections. So on top of everything else, we feel like the ER scared us for...What exactly? Money from an unnecessary surgery?
Over the weekend, his pain worsened, and he kept teetering between elevated and low-grade fever. He has been very constipated. His pain also began to stretch lower into his pelvis, and now into his balls. He seems to have some sort of lump on his pelvis - I'm not sure if its a lymph node or what it is.
He went in to see his primary care doctor yesterday who ordered more blood tests and then scheduled an ultra sound for today. His blood tests were pretty normal, except for a 13.1 mg/L high sensitivity CRP. Today, he also now has a rash developing on his arms and legs. We're just really worried and have no idea what is going on. Has anyone else experienced something like this or have any ideas?

PLEASE HELP ME I hope you can be understanding of my problem, I need to tell someone what is happening to me. I hope this is just anxiety and a panick attack but I cant convince myself.
My cat is unvaccinated, i've been postponing vaccinating her against rabies for a while, exactly two weeks ago I let her go out in my yard and she came back with a bee sting on her chin, she has a little bump where the bee stung her. She is very playful and a little agressive at times so she bites and scartches me a lot.
She seems more vocal than usual in the morning, but that may be because we moved into a new appartment.
Anyways, sunday I started feeling wierd like im floating and Im very confused, i started having diarheea and nausea and feeling very axious thinking i got rabies from her. She doesnt foam at the mouth or salivate excessively, she seems fine, eats and drinks normally. But I cant stop feeling like I got rabies from her, I try to convince myself that she sould have gotten ill in those two weeks that have passed if she actually has rabies but my symptoms are only getting worse. I cant sleep well and Im very restless, when I lay down i feel like my body Is weightless, im very confused all day and now I think im getting a fever. Sould I go to the hospital?
I need to mention that a day before this all started, I engaged in drug consumption, I feel very ashamed saying this but I need to know if this is relevant. To be more exact, I was on a mephedrone bender for a day, just before this all started.
I also have a runny nose and a sore throat, maybe from the drugs. But its been almost 72 hours since i stopped, why do I feel like this? I keep convincing myself that i have rabies and i go into full blown panick attacks. Please help me

Im 16F, 160cm/55kg. At morning i noticed small tumor on my chin close to neck and on the middle. Its like 0,5-1cm and it dosent hurt even when squezed, kinda feels like its attached to something. On internet it said that its submental lymph nodes but i'm not sure, it said that its mean that i might have cancer. I domy have other illness, but few days ago i had runny and stuffed nose, cough and sore throat. I dont have any other sympthomes like tiredness, sleepiness or something. Should i be worried

Friends! 👋👋👋
For all of you going through having to deal with these, I'm sorry. As one who has suffered greatly for years with sores 80-90 % of the time (!), leading to fever, aches in head, jaw, face, neck as well as not being able to work, I had lost hope. Many times. People suggested and recommended but nothing worked.
I am still in a bit of shock and doubt because I'm so used to it always coming back after a little relief. But I've used a toothpaste for some months now and I ran out like two weeks ago. Bit the inside of my lips and then it was lift of. Ended up with around 7-8 painful sores right away. I was reminded how fucking painful it is and how much better I'd been since I started using it. I'm not sure it will work for everyone but I would be selfish if I didn't share this!
This is a link to the website I bought it from:
https://frontierpharm.com/products/chlorine-dioxide-toothpaste-fresh-breath?variant=813634237
It is expensive but lasts about a month. With this and frequent toothbrush change it has changed my life.
Do your own research, I'm not a medical anything.
Good luck to all❤️

27 female UK - got dysautonomia (really bad heart symptoms) and gastroperisis (bad digestive symptoms) - 2 central nervous system disorders, from REALLY MILD COVID 2 years ago.
I've now been dealing with quite severe COVID for 7 days now. More than just cold symptoms. Arms going numb, visual hallucinations (I've never had these), in and out of fever like nightmare dreams, can't sleep for more than 6 hours, fever was 38.4 on the 6th day but not at the moment, conjunctivitis, headache that hasn't gone the whole time but was really severe day 3/4, teeth have killed for a week like all of them are so painful only co-dydramol is helping, can't stop blowing nose like 2 box of tissues in one day, cough becoming painful. Had worst sore throat, that's fine now though but has turned into painful cough, short of breath at times.
What's concerning me is the non-cold like symptoms, none of which my friend has. I.E conjunctivitis, arms going numb, hallucinations. Plus, the high fever so late into it on day 6. The fact I'm not getting better, wake up day 7 with conjunctivitis and friend has already completely cleared COVID, never got conjunctivitis or severe runny nose/headaches etc.
My friend caught it same time, and at day 5 she was better, no signs of it now - at day 7 I'm just getting worse. She had it much milder than me from the start, but we caught it at the same place the same night, fell ill the same day a few days after, but she likened it to a cold whereas I feel like it's literally attacking most parts of me, going deeper than a usual cold. Her teeth never hurt, she never got numb arms, or anything. I've done a lot more to get better, she was eating fish and chips, drinking alcohol, not taking vitamins, and she's fine now. Ive been eating mostly just fruit and veg, drinking electrolytes with vitamins in, zinc lozenges every 5 hours, taking 3 different vitamins throughout the day, tumeric tea, ginger shots, vaporrub on chest etc (for nose and head). And I'm actually getting WORSE on day 7.

27 female UK - got dysautonomia (really bad heart symptoms) and gastroperisis (really bad digestives symptoms) - 2 central nervous system disorders, from REALLY MILD COVID 2 years ago.
I've been dealing with severe COVID for 7 days now. Arms going numb, visual hallucinations (I've never had these), in and out of fever like nightmare dreams, can't sleep for more than 6 hours, fever was 38.4 on the 6th day but not at the moment, conjunctivitis, headache that hasn't gone the whole time but was really severe day 3/4, teeth have killed for a week like all of them are so painful only co-dydramol is helping, can't stop blowing nose like 2 box of tissues in one day, cough becoming painful. Had worst sore throat, that's fine now though but has turned into painful cough, short of breath at times.
What's concerning me is the non-cold like symptoms, none of which my friend has. I.E conjunctivitis, arms going numb, hallucinations. Plus, the high fever so late into it. The fact I'm not getting better, wake up day 7 with conjunctivitis and she has completely cleared COVID, never got conjunctivitis or severe runny nose/headaches etc.
My friend caught it same time, and at day 5 she was better, no signs of it now - at day 7 I'm just getting worse. She seemed to have it much milder than me from the start, but we caught it at the same place the same night, fell ill the same day a few days after, but she likened it to a cold whereas I feel like it's literally attacking most parts of me (I wish it just felt like a cold, lol.) I've done a lot more to get better, she was eating fish and chips, drinking alcohol, not taking vitamins etc. ive been eating mostly just fruit and veg, drinking electrolytes with vitamins in, zinc lozenges every 5 hours, taking 3 different vitamins throughout the day, tumeric tea, ginger shots, vaporrub on chest etc (for nose and head).

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What is Cardizoom ?

Adults with hypertension (high blood pressure) can be treated with cardizoom. It can be taken either by alone or in addition to other high blood pressure Capsules. Blood pressure reduction may lessen your chance of having a heart attack or stroke. Cardizoom is also used to treat angina brought on by coronary artery spasm and persistent stable angina (chest pain). Cardizoom is a member of the group of Capsules known as calcium-channel blockers. In order to reduce the amount of force the heart must pump, diltiazem works by relaxing the blood arteries. Additionally, diltiazem improves the heart's blood and oxygen flow.

Advantages of Cardizoom

• Improved Wellness and Cardiovascular Health
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• Controlling Blood Pressure

Cardizoom Adverse Reactions

If you have any of the following symptoms: fever, sore throat, burning eyes, skin pain, red or purple skin rash with blistering and peeling; or signs of a severe skin response (hives, difficulty breathing, swelling in your face or throat), get emergency medical attention.

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Prior to using this medication

If you have a diltiazem allergy or any of the following conditions, you shouldn't use Cardizoom:

• a dangerous cardiac ailment like "AV block" or "sick sinus syndrome" (unless you have a pacemaker).
• extremely low BP.
• if your heart is unable to adequately pump blood; or
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How need I to utilize Cardizoom?

Adhere to your doctor's prescription for Cardizoom strictly. Read all Capsule guides or instruction sheets and abide by all guidelines on the label of your medicine. Occasionally, your doctor may alter your dosage. Adhere to the medication's directions exactly. If you move to a new brand, strength, or form of this medication, your dosage requirements may also change. Tablets of Cardizoom can be chewed, crushed, or swallowed whole. It is recommended that Cardizoom CD capsules and Cardizoom LA tablets be taken whole, without chewing or crushing.

What occurs if a dose is missed?

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Alerts

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Swollen tongue with cold symptoms
28F, 5’8”, 145lbs. Never smoked, no drinking or drugs.
UCTD (treated as lupus) Selective IGM deficiency. daily medications: plaquenil, Keflex, and adderall.
Hi! I’m having a bit of a panic because my frequent common cold has come with a fun new symptom: swollen, sore tongue.
I catch a cold once a month, maybe every 2 months. And it’s always pretty standard. Sore throat, cough, insanely runny nose, high fever, malaise, headache. Dayquill and 2 days off takes care of me.
I started getting my normal symptoms yesterday morning, and by last night it was full blown. This morning however, I noticed my tongue doesn’t fit in my teeth anymore. Ive trained myself to rest my tongue in my lower jaw because I have an overbite and I don’t want to make it worse. But today my tongue doesn’t fit in either my upper or lower jaw. Also, the sides are very sore, like when you eat too much sour candy. It isn’t causing any difficulty breathing but i literally can’t close my teeth and it’s exacerbated my sore, dry throat.
I’ve been taking dayquill and added in naproxen when the fever stopped declining (highest has been 103.1 and won’t go lower than 101) I took a Zyrtec when it was suggested by the minute clinic that the tongue thing could be an unrelated allergy; but it hasn’t gotten any better.
I tested negative for strep, flu, and Covid.
I had an uncomplicated wisdom tooth removal 4 days ago; and have had no pain, swelling, bleeding, or sign of infection since. But I wanted to add in case that’s relevant.

Synopsis:
An engineer in another world—blending science and magic to achieve greatness in a world where skills and levels reign supreme.
—
Ethan was just a plain old engineer, but everything changed when he was reborn into a world of skills, levels, and magic. With his advanced knowledge far ahead of the time period he finds himself in, this new reincarnated life will be much different than his last, especially because he can construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct runes—something no one else can do.
But with royal politics, looming tax collectors, a mountain of debt, dungeon incursions, cults, and hostile fantasy races mixing together into a cocktail of bullshit that threatens to bury his dreams; Ethan must bridge the gap between steel and sorcery to grow stronger. — Runecrafting is slow burn. — What to Expect: - Weak to very strong progression - Hardcore wish fulfillment - A balance of action, kingdom building, and runecrafting. - MC will trigger an industrial revolution, revolutionize magic, modernize agriculture, communication, commerce, textile production, education, transportation, sanitation, weapons manufacturing, leisure & entertainment, and medicine.
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Chapter 04

-1-
Ethan's heart thumped in his throat as he looked at the arrow's head glinting. Fortunately, Roland had grabbed it in an instant. The arrow hadn't hit Ethan, and it likely wouldn't have. Roland threw the arrow aside as Ethan heard a muffled grunt and glanced out the window to the right. An arrow had pierced the side of their driver, right between the shoulder and chest. Ethan whipped back into his seat just as another projectile smashed against the other side of their carriage, denting it. Roland immediately stood up with a calm demeanor and unsheathed his sword. "Lord Theodore, please remain seated. This inconvenience will be dealt with shortly."
Ethan blinked up, nodded, and clasped his hands around his knee while resting his head against the window ledge as Roland got out. Situations such as this weren't anything he'd ever dealt with back on earth, but he had plenty of experience keeping himself in check when fear took hold. He'd been a boxer, after all. Ethan tapped his finger on his knee, again and again.
"Die, you shits!" a voice yelled, then a meaty crash was followed by a pained groan. It was clearly someone falling over. Moments later, footsteps approached from the other side. A man swung the carriage door open. "Get—"
Before he could say much else, a sword pierced through his chest. He slumped and hit the ground without a word, revealing Roland standing with a blank expression. His eyes were different than anything Ethan had seen since his transmigration—Roland looked nonchalant even after taking a life, which was understandable given that the man had likely taken a lot of lives. Ethan closed his eyes, refusing to look at the dead body.
More footsteps grew nearer. Two sets. They stopped beside their carriage. "Well fuck, what a piece of trash." one man said, then lurched at Roland with a bloody shout.
The fight was over in an instant.
Roland simply disappeared from his position before Ethan. Reappearing behind the two bandits flanking him, he delivered an equally lethal strike to each in turn. Simultaneously, a sharp crackling and whooshing sound made Ethan tense. Spreading out on the floor before the carriage, a dark blue magical glyph buzzed like electricity, sending sparks of electricity slamming into the bandits.
Then, the bandits' bodies split in two halves, their blood sprayed across the dirt before they even began collapsing with electricity sizzling on their bodies.
Just as he'd felt movement in the air through [Magic Perception], a man materialized right in front of Ethan. Tensing, Ethan didn't know what to do
Roland shouted from outside. Adrenaline rocketed through Ethan's veins. Hand moving, he grabbed the bandit's hand and twisted it. The bandit tackled him, and with the tight space, Ethan felt the tip of a knife nicking the side of his cheek. The wound stung badly, and with it, Ethan's mind blanked and his instincts kicked in.
Roland swiftly spun, but not in time to stop the man from pinning Ethan against the bench.
However, it wasn't needed. Ethan used [Elemental Spells] and summoned fire all over his palms. A sizzling sound erupted as the bandit cried out and went for Ethan's eyes with his free hand. Ethan bit the bandit's hand, and only got half a mouthful of skin and cloth. The bandit reeled back and leapt backward from the sudden burning pain, crying out as he crashed. Ethan lunged at him, grabbed and force-flipped the bandit's hand, and plunged the knife into his throat with an aggressive grunt. There was a short, gurgled cry, before the bandit tried swinging the knife towards him. "Cunt... bastard..." his bloody mouth formed the words, his eyes staring fearfully, but Ethan pushed the knife aggressively.
Blood sprayed and gushed onto Ethan's mouth.
Then, finally, the man stilled.
The corpse's weight fell onto Ethan, hot blood spilling out of the bandit's throat and filling the air with an acrid odor. Ethan felt it on his face. Hot. Metallic smell. He saw it dripping down the bandit's throat, all across his clothes, even in his hair. It was heavy, almost. Layer upon layer, the heavy cloak of the man's life weighting down on his spirit.
System notifications flashed but he ignored it given that bile rose in Ethan's throat. His vision darkened, and a rush of blood roared in his ear as his heart thumped like thunder. A violent urge to vomit rose within him, his entire body twitching. He had never seen a man die in front of him like this before. Disgusting as it was, he gulped everything down, even the reality he had found himself in, the death, the violence, it all set in at that moment. However, he had no time to delve on it. Even though he felt like someone had squeezed his windpipe, like a bullet was tearing through his skin, he needed to act. Now.
Ethan flipped the man aside and sat on his knees, pulling out the knife from the bandit's neck. From his place on the ground, he glanced at Roland engaged with three bandits.
One slipped past Roland and made it to Ethan. They're trying to get a hand on me. Why? The answer was simple. Oh, right... I'm a noble, they can just put a knife on my throat and demand shit...
Instead of giving the bandit the upper hand, Ethan took a breath. Once. Twice. Now or never, thinking so, he raised the knife and dove headfirst toward the approaching enemy. Caught by surprise, the bandit merely moved his free hand to counter attack. His fingers grasping the bandit's arm, he twisted it away, giving him room to go straight for the eye.
With a meaty sound, Ethan plunged the knife through the man's eyes. Blood spurted with a slick sound. The bandit wasn't fast enough to make a full reaction, as a sort of instinctive scream of terror got stuck halfway and died out. Then, as the feeling of having ended another life settled within him, Ethan retracted the dagger and stepped back. His back slamming against the carriage, he slid down and pressed a hand against his forehead. His cheek hurt. He smelled sweat and blood.
Fuck... Fuck... Breathe. This is... I can't... Breathe.
A chill ran down his spine and his heartbeat roared. He took a breath, adrenaline still surging through his veins. The sick feeling didn't leave his stomach, his entire body twitched as if electrocuted every once in a while, and his eyes started going hazy, unclear. Black spots in his field of vision. Sticky warmth all over. Hot metallic odor in his nostrils.
"Lord Theodore!" Roland's voice acted as a way for Ethan to reorient himself into reality. Roland looked ashen, not because he was tired but most likely because he'd let Ethan get into such a vulnerable position. Roland glanced at the corpse, then Ethan, then back at the corpse again, looking tense, lips tight and hands clutched into fists. "Are you alright, my lord?"
"Yes, of course," Ethan said as he studied the wound on his cheek. I need a healing skill. However, he noticed the visible distressed Roland was having and continued. "I'm fine. Don't worry. It's no big deal. For the moment, we need to clean up this mess."
Ethan could tell Roland was uncomfortable with the situation and Ethan's complete indifference, but the warrior dutifully obeyed his lord's commands. Ethan slumped onto his seat and looked through the notifications.
Your race, [Human], has leveled up — Lvl 0 -> Lvl 1!
Your class, [Mage], has level up — Lvl 0 -> Lvl 1!
[Unranked Mage] -> [Initiate]
[Elemental Spells] — Lvl 5 -> Lvl 6!
A [Quest] approaches!
Hmm, this is the second time I see the message 'A [Quest] approaches'... What is it? Why doesn't the system just give me the [Quest]? Are there conditions? Regardless, it seems that [Elemental Spells] just needed some use in battle instead of just plain old practice. Curious.
Ethan leaned back with a sigh. Now that his heartbeat wasn't drumming in his ear, the fear slowly ebbed away. All things considered, this turned out well, given the situation. However, now that he'd calmed somewhat, his eyes landed on the corpse right beside him, and that fresh scarlet blood seeping into the floorboards. The heavy coppery scent, the unmistakable smell of death. It all came crashing into him and he could no longer deny what he'd done. It had all gone so quickly.
No theatrics, the knife had just flown in, and the bandit had struggled, then stopped struggling.
Ethan stared at the corpses. With his hands on his lap, he gazed vacantly. For a single, stretched-out moment, the only thing he was aware of were the lifeless bodies right next to him, the sensation of having one less enemy standing in the way. One of the bandits had his jugular slashed. Another had a knife poking into his eyes. Ethan had killed them. Him. It was nauseatingly easy, taking another's life. It felt good. Ethan was disgusted at that thought, but damn did it feel good. I—I... I won. He wanted to grin, but he didn't.
Soon, the bandits were dealt with. Not a minute was wasted, and they cleaned up and got moving in a hurry, before Roland could throw the corpse inside the carriage out, Ethan stopped him.
He'd been staring at it, sitting there, silently. Bile would rise to the tip of his throat before he'd swallow it, a stone in his gut making his movements stiff. It felt unreal. When he took that step to make sure the bandit was dead, his eyes met with those of the corpse—with glassy black pupils that appeared frozen mid-realization that he was dying. Fearful, horrified eyes. Human eyes. Ethan stared into them, felt every fiber of his body clench, saw the smears of blood across the man's mouth where his desperate breaths had made him cough up, to live.
Ethan stared, not because he was a masochist or someone who derived pleasure from other people's misery. Rather, it was because he wanted this to never happen again. His reaction. It hadn't been optimal. He just knew he'd need to kill and spill blood if he was to survive, and thus, he needed to familiarize himself with the sight of death—death caused by his hands.
His thoughts were a little less orderly than he liked. That needed to change, fast. It would always be a burden, so he simply chose to stare, knowing he was staring down his weakness—at his fear.
After a solid five minutes, Ethan turned around. Roland's gaze met Ethan's. For a brief moment, the gaze was averted, the warrior showing clear guilt. Ethan placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Roland, don't blame yourself. I understand you must have felt cornered and unable to react. Just know I appreciate you. Don't beat yourself up for it. There have been no casualties on our side."
Roland bowed his head. Ethan smiled, though it was strained. Roland had been standing there for a while now but hadn't wanted to interrupt Ethan's self-reflection time, despite being tense himself. The guards had burned the corpses. Soon, the men Ethan killed were taken out, too. Then they left for the woods.
A guard who appeared to be a [Mage] that had a spell called [Cleanse] walked to the carriage, and placed his hands near the gore-splattered interior. In mere moments, a rune flickered into existence, then, mana got sucked out of the guard, seeping into the rune—soon, the blood and even the smells were swept clean and everything returned to being a neat and tidy.
The guard staggered a little before his comrades stabilized him. Must be quite demanding, Ethan noted, nodding appreciatively as the guard stepped out of the carriage. "That's quite the useful skill," Ethan said, examining the results.
Roland gave a silent nod, no doubt feeling pretty damn bad about his failure.
The guard, on the other hand, bowed with a smile, clearly appreciating Ethan's recognition. "It's a pleasure to be of service, my lord. This humble guard has had this skill ever since he became a mage."
Ethan made an impressed noise. "I see."
The guard beamed, then bowed even more before walking over to his fellow guards, who patted his backs at a job well done. Then, the horses pulled the carriage, and the carriage resumed moving. As soon as his back had settled into the cushion of the seat, an exhausting wave rolled over Ethan's body.
Before everything, however. I saw the rune. Ethan grinned a little, then willed mana into the shape of the rune.
It sputtered.
Ethan tried again, connecting different parts of the rune. One. Two. Three. Four. And as the rune sputtered again.
Throughout the journey to Deadwoods, Ethan kept at it.
He failed every time—
—and he didn't know why.
An immense headache assaulted him, and he had to stop his attempts.
-2-
The Deadwoods proved to be just what he'd expected. Dead. Charred branches and crumbling trees lay spread throughout. Roland looked around solemnly. Ethan was more interested in what kept this place the way it was. This land was, to put it simply, the most horrific location in the entire barony. It was a huge portion of a forest that appeared to be dead, thus why it had gotten the name Deadwoods.
Leaves crunched underneath Ethan's feet, and he studied his surroundings with morbid curiosity. The trees, branches and leaves were all dark in color as if something had scorched them. Many creatures lived here, animals like the usual game of deer, wolves, and foxes and sometimes there'd even been bears spotted. The dangerous thing, however, wasn't that the animals existed, it was that they were magical beasts. Mutants.
"Lord Theodore," Roland said, hand on his sword, eyes darting around in caution. "It is dangerous to be here—"
"Peh." Ethan waved his hand nonchalantly, much to Roland's shock at such an uncharacteristic behavior. "It will be worth it."
After all, I'm gonna have fun hunting monsters, leveling up, and finally, finally finding some goddamn tree ash.
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I think the title basically covers it. I’m about 48 hours in to a bout of fever and sore throat with white spots on my tonsils. My fever isn’t terribly high (fluctuates between 98.9 and 100.7), but it’s very rare for me to have a fever. I went to an urgent care and was swabbed for strep, influenza, and covid, all of which came back negative. However, the PA said he probably wanted to start me on antibiotics due to my symptoms and the fact that it was very early in my infection, so I could possibly have falsely tested negative for strep. He said alternatively I could tough it out and wait for the throat culture results.
I do not want to take antibiotics unnecessarily, so I asked him to go ahead and order the antibiotics (amoxicillin/clavulanate 875/125mg 2x/day for 10 days), but I might hold off on taking them until I get the throat culture results, unless I begin to feel worse.
I don’t feel any worse and my fever seems to be holding at the same moderate temperature range (most recently it was 98.8F, but just a couple hours ago was 100.4), however, looking my throat, the white spots appear to have dramatically multiplied and spread. Previously it looked like there was maybe 3 white spots per tonsil, now it appears to be more like 7-10 spots per tonsil, and on the left side, the spots appear to be spreading down into my throat, out of sight.
The appearance of these spots multiplying and spreading nearly frightened me into taking the amox/clav, but I do not want to take unnecessary antibiotics for what has thus far tested negative for strep and may well be a viral infection. Also, I would describe my throat pain as moderate, even mild at times, and apparently strep throat pain is like swallowing glass, so this is giving me pause as well.
Do you think I should begin taking the amox/clav now, wait possibly another 4 days for the throat culture, or go back to urgent care for another rapid strep swab tomorrow? Perhaps I’m being a bit overly cautious about not taking the antibiotics and I should just go ahead and take them even if it turns out they were unnecessary? I haven’t taken antibiotics of any kind in 15 years.

I guess I (32F) can’t even handle a single glass of wine anymore. I got long covid back in 2021/2022 and suffered from ongoing fevers, the worst allergies I’ve ever had, and a sore throat that didn’t go away for three months. I’ve been fighting chronic fatigue, skin inflammations, more frequent illnesses, and joint pain since I was infected with Covid. I had to quit my career, as I couldn’t handle the physical exertion my job required of me on a daily basis, and now only pursue random jobs that allow me to work from home. I also appear to have aged rather quickly, but perhaps that’s just me hitting my wall.
I started noticing I wasn’t able to drink like I used to about six months ago, almost three years post Covid. I thought “oh, I’m just getting old” until I went out for lunch a few days ago and enjoyed ONE glass of wine along with a main course and appetizers, THREE glasses of water, AND 16 oz of lemonade. I get home two hours later feeling super tired, my heart racing. I passed out for a full hour before waking up feeling like I had a mild hangover, and very dehydrated.
This isn’t new to me, as I have suffered from reactions like this before (post Covid infection) but after maybe two or three glasses of wine. But now I can’t even have one?? Seems like this reaction is becoming more severe but I have no clue why. I thought I would get better with time, not worse. What can I do? I read some older posts that taking an antihistamine helps but am I expected to do this for the rest of my life? Is there anyone out there who has improved naturally? :(

I don’t know if I have GERD. Never had significant issues until recently. I’m 57F. I’ve had strange severe chest pain, radiating up my neck and into my jaw. I’m very healthy and the first time it happened, it was immediately after laying down to go to sleep. I figured it was a weird GERD thing and not a heart attack. The pain was severe, I couldn’t sleep, or even lay down. It lasted 12 hours. I followed up with my doc, and had an EKG, chest x-ray, and bloodwork. The only thing out of limits was a very high CRP (46). I went on with life. About a week later it happened again, only this time it was gradual, and I had other symptoms including low grade fever, fatigue, and nausea. This one lasted 24 hours. Severe pain. My doc said I should go to the ER. They checked everything related to the heart, and it wasn’t that. The ER doc thought it might be costochondritis. My regular doc thought it was my esophagus seizing. He prescribed opremizole. I didn’t want to take it, as I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease last summer (IBD - inflammatory bowel disease) and PPIs are bad for what I have. So then I had the third event. Again it was gradual and lasting more than 24 hours. They had given me a few oxycodone from the ER - the pain was so bad this did NOTHING to help. I started the opremizole the next day. It’s been about 6 weeks and it hasn’t happened again. When I google esophagus spasms, it doesn’t compare very well with my symptoms. I’ve also got severe fatigue (my IBD is in remission) and my doc is going to have me do bloodwork. When this was happening, sometimes I would just get pain at my throat and lower jaw. I did have some more minor symptoms recently, but I was at an extravagant party and I drank a lot of champagne and ate spicy food. Another reason I think it points to esophagus and not costochondritis. Curious if others have esophageal spasms and what works for you. Also how do yours come about? Other than my first event, there was nothing I did to bring it on. I also want to stop the opremizole bc of my IBD, but don’t want this to happen again, the pain was that bad and LONG. Thank you for listening.

I tested negative again after 9 moths with oraquick.
Symptoms getting worse.
Night sweats Diarrhea and vomit Tonsils infection Canker sores White tongue Fatigue Vaginal itch Chest rashes/postules Fever Chills

Hello all,
I’ll try to keep this as short as possible.
I have POTS and hEDS as well. I began with POTS in March 2020 after a couple month long sinus infection. I’m currently working with a really good POTS doctor recommended by Dysautonomia International as my previous POTS doctor was not helpful. He believes I have MCAS as well, but I was curious to get those opinions of who do have it. Here are my symptoms:

• I have constant burning in my chest, chest tightness, and sore throat. On and off symptoms include throat tightness, itching, mucus in throat, and flushed face and feeling hot. For years my doctors thought this was GERD or reflux, but after years of PPIs and an endoscopy with BRAVO it revealed no acid reflux. My doctors also thought I had hypersensitive nerves in my stomach. I’ve taken both lexapro and amitriptyline which are suppose to help but don’t. I’ve also had an abdominal ultrasound to check for MALS which came back clear.
  
• Most foods make all the previously listed symptoms much worse. I’m down to only 11 foods and even those cause issues everyday. I have taken food allergy and sensitives tests which show nothing.
  
• Some foods only sometimes cause issues, and other times are fine. A couple examples… I have eaten watermelon before and been fine but sometimes eating it it would make my face flushed. Gluten is similar: Sometimes fine, other times it makes my lips tingle and swell (I am not celiac). Hundreds of foods give me this reaction.
  
• Medications can cause weird reactions. I recently took B2 vitamins for three days which have sent my body into a huge flare. Even 6 weeks later I am severely constipated and my chest burns worse.
  
• I have absorption problems. PPIs made this worse but i became so anemic I had to get iron infusions.
  
• H2 blockers did not help and made some of the burning worse. I thought maybe all these symptoms were from low stomach acid. I tried taking HCL for two days which made me gassy and have me intestinal pain.
  
• I don’t get any rashes or anaphylaxis. I am very sensitive to makeup though and I have eczema.
  

I’m curious if those here with MCAS have similar symptoms? I guess the only thing that makes me wonder if I do have it is I never have rashes or anaphylaxis. I did think it was a histamine issue for awhile but many foods that people have no issues with I seem to have problems with (mostly oils).
Any advice or comments would be much appreciated
Thank you!

3, Male, non smoker, 9 apgar, no medications, otherwise healthy
My son presented with a rash on both his biceps about 10 days ago. The rash did not itch, was not raised, no texture but does blanche. It was perfectly symmetrical; appearing in the same place at the same time on opposite sides of his body. It would appear and disappear all day. It eventually spread to his shoulders down to his hands after about a week. It then moved to his jaw, and cheeks, its now on his neck, legs and butt. So far his trunk is still clear. We will hit 2 weeks on Wednesday the 22nd with this rash. The original patch has since disappeared but is outlined with the original rash pattern (see photo). His skin looks tanned/discolored where the original rash was (we havent been able to “tan” yet where we live). No fever, lymphnodes not swollen, is acting completely normal.
Link to image
https://imgur.com/a/inbYkOQ

i had unprotected sex about 5 days ago and i started to feel sick yesterday, so far my symptoms are sore throat, body aches, & possibly a fever. Should i be worried about an STD or is it too soon to tell and i mostly likely have a bacterial infection?

My 23 year old daughter has been in the E.R. once a week for the past 5 weeks due to the following symptoms:
• resting pulse rate of 140 • difficulty breathing (she describes it as a very hot feeling in her neck and then swelling in her throat, behind her thyroid) • Her oxygen level fluctuates during these episodes • she begins to lose consciousness to where she has blurred vision and becomes weak • fever of 101 • the last week she has experienced severe muscle spasm-like episodes, where her hands go numb and joints lock. She is unable to move them for 3-7 minutes. • Today, her feet, calves, and stomach muscles tensed up to the point she's unable to walk or have control of movement in those affected muscles.
The first two visits, she was admitted due to her WBC being at 38,000. After 24 hours, the symptoms subside, her vitals stabilize and WBC returns to near normal. The doctors have run every blood test/culture imaginable and other than her WBC, the only other abnormal level was her thyroid peroxide ab was at 158.
She has a history of Hashimoto's but docs are out of ideas other than a possible secondary autoimmune disease. She saw an endo last week, ultrasound yesterday, showing thyroid tissue consistent with hashimotos but no other abnormalities.
PCP also recently sent referral to rheumatologist but was denied due to no definitive diagnosis
This is happening nearly every Tuesday and usually while she's at work. We've logged her activity, diet, routine and nothing is out of the ordinary.
We’re at a loss and don’t know where to go from here. Has anyone had a similar experience?