Chest pain sore throat

I have taken 4 antibiotic courses in 4 months this year, every time, as a last resort. I keep getting sick, hospitalized.
I started a new job last month. It's really demanding and stressful and I'm burnt out. I am so fucked up. I was excited about it. But now I'm just miserable. In pain, excruciating pain.
Today, my throat has started hurting again and I can feel getting another flare up. I feel feverish.
Also not in a good place mentally. My parents don't let me have control over my medication (duloxetine and pregabalin) because of history of overdose. What I'm trying to say is that I went to get my night time meds and wanted to take advantage of the fact that the medicine cabinet was open, that my dad saw me.
He offered to give it to me. And tbh I don't want to die but I take more painkillers when I'm not well, physically or mentally.
I need help.

I was diagnosed with GERD and IBS about a month ago and been on a very boring strict diet since everything upsets my stomach and causes symptoms like bloating, gas, racing heart, chest pains, reflux, vomiting and diarrhea. Ive been on omeprazole and it really helped with the reflux part. I did the blood work and was negative for celiac, and did the stool test and was negative for parasites and whatever else they tested for. They said everything was in good ranges except my liver enzymes were a little high, and my alkaline phosphatase (I believe this is what he said it was a week ago when he told me and I kind of forgot) was also a little high. He said it’s not really anything to worry about.
Today I did the SIBO breathe test and took the lactulose solution and did the breathing every 15 minutes for like 2 hours. Since I took the lactulose I have had non stop gas, stomach rumbling, bloating and diarrhea for hours. Online I saw that it said if you have IBS and are lactose intolerant that I should not have taken this so I’m wondering why the GI doctor prescribed me this specifically. I can’t get my stomach to stop and it says online that I can’t take Imodium to stop the diarrhea. Anyone know what to do in this case? I’ve just been I n the bathroom all day. I’m so tired of this GERD ruining my life.

For some backstory: I first caught covid nearly 2 years ago. I caught it pretty badly and was hospitalised and have had long Covid since. When I visited the long covid clinic they suggested I had dysautonomia. I was sceptical because I didn’t have any typical nervous system type symptoms; my symptoms had simply been severe fatigue and pain and nothing else. (I have a history of severe anxiety and nervous breakdowns etc so am familiar with what it feels like when your nervous system gets messed up). They also suggested POTS due to a high heart rate, which is something I’ve always had and I don’t necessarily feel any symptoms from this.
Fast forward to this month when I caught Covid for the third time. The exact day I finally tested negative for Covid I experienced something very weird. It basically felt like a severe panic attack but without any anxiety beforehand. I was fine and then suddenly my vision went weird and I was having palpitations, running around, legs trembling etc. All things I experience with panic attacks (though the palpitations were more fluttery). But mentally it didn’t feel like a panic attack. I called 111 - who then called an ambulance - because I was then concerned and panicking and thought it could be a heart issue. But after 2 hours I started to feel better and the ambulance still hadn’t come so I just cancelled it. The only thing I could guess that could have caused it was that I did a LOT of inhalers maybe an hour before the ‘attack’ (because the Covid was affecting my asthma). But that would still be an extreme reaction.
That was a few days ago, but in the last couple of days I’ve been experiencing similar. In the past couple of days in particular I’ve been experiencing nearly constant palpitations. They present as a fluttering feeling in my chest and throat which really freaks me out. When I check my heartrate it isn’t too high - it’s mainly the sensation that bothers me. There’s also often this airy/hollow feeling in my chest plus twinges in my chest and neck. I am also constantly on the verge of panic attacks now. But again it’s more physical than mental. And I can’t handle a lot. Most stimulation bothers me. Tiny things people say cause a stress response and the chest symptoms immediately come up. I’m jumping out of my skin easily. It’s like severe anxiety but different to what I’m used to because there's no initial mental anxiety. And it all came on out of no where a few days ago - literally the day I got over covid. I’m just in this constant state now and it’s quite unbearable. I stopped doing inhalers so I’m not sure that could still be the cause.
Basically now this feels like it could possibly be dysautonomia. But I find it odd how it could start so suddenly. And of course I’ve been worried about something more sinister.
I did have an ECG about a week and a half ago when I had Covid which was fine, but the problem started a few days later. I will also speak to my doctor tomorrow. But I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.

30 yr old male here. Started last Wednesday I woke up and felt like I had gotten run over by a bus, mid day I started feeling tingling in my throat. By around 2 or 3 in the afternoon I couldn't even swallow or drink water. Stared taking Tylenol and delsym nothing worked. No cough drops or lozenges or sore throat spray work. Talked to a dr online since l'm so down could really drive and got prescribed amoxicillin for strep throat . Took first pill this morning but was reading cough don't come with strep throat. What do I have? I'm going on day 5 and it's been worst sore throat of my life, I can't go on any longer. Thank you

April 28th I was having some vaginal pain during sex I still have it occasionally I went to the hospital and was swabbed for STDs and a pee test for pregnancy everything came back negative my last period was April 4th to April 9th I have frequent sex with my partner no birth control or preventative measures we wouldnt mind getting pregnant i havent started my period for this month my boobs are swollen and sore I'm waiting till next month to take a test because the last time I took a test I started my period almost immediately after and I'm nervous it will be negative am I pregnant or is something wrong with my body

(M27) My throat was always prone to hurt, basically my only symptom when I was sick (not even high fever when I passed strep or covid), I also have post nasal drip.
It has been a good 3 weeks since the sore throat started (behind my tonsils, under the lump nodes) and lasted a good week (fought it with lozenges and ibuprofen).
Then it hurted very mildly and I had a dry cough for an other week.
Then, it came back hurting my tonsils for 6 days now and the pain is still here... I'm taking ibuprofen 600mg twice per day for 5 days according to my doctor's advice + some gargles with benzydamine which they don't seem to help much + anti allergic medication to stop post nasal drip.
The weird thing is that tonsil pain issues one sided and changes sides every 1-2 days... Tuesday was the right one, Thursday the left, Saturday right again and today left...
What the heck is happening to me? I'm trying to gargle salt water too, but not seem to help much, it hurts even moving my tongue around my back teeth.
Btw I'm planning to remove them by early September.

I never believed in monsters, but the events of last week made me question those beliefs to a great extent.
The job seemed pretty simple at first: some people saw a strange creature in the woods and the mayor of their little no name town was willing to pay me for taking it down. He offered me 5000 dollars for shooting what was probably just a mangy bear, I’d be a fool for turning him down. Besides, he even paid me half of it in advance AND offered to lend me the keys to a private bungalow near the forest, to make my stay more comfortable. It took some time for the keys to arrive (postal services be damned), but after about a week it was time for me to head out. I packed my rifle, ammunition and some clothes and got in my truck. This would be the job of a lifetime.
When I arrived at the town, there were no signs of life. I chalked it up to it being 11 PM on a Tuesday, but even so, you’d expect at least a few lights to be on, right? Nevertheless, I continued driving until I reached my “home” for the coming few days.
The bungalow was small, it looked more like a cabin. Then again, I wasn’t here for a vacation anyways, I was here to work. As I tried unlocking the front door, I noticed it was already open. Strange, I thought to myself, but nothing unusual. It’s not like you’d have to worry about people breaking into your house in a small town in bumfuck nowhere.
Once inside, I threw my bag on the floor and plopped down onto a chair. It was a long drive, and I was tired. After grabbing a beer from my bag I began to mentally prepare for the days to come. Tomorrow, I would visit the mayor and ask for any leads of their “creature’s” whereabouts, after which I would spend the remainder of the day scouring the forest for any tracks. If my hunt wasn’t successful by then I would simply try again the day after. Easy job, easy plan and easy money. I finished my beer and decided to go to bed.
That night, I was awoken by my stomach’s inability to digest alcohol. I rushed to the bathroom while vomit started to work its way up my throat. Sadly, I was too late, and now the bathroom door was covered in beer and the half-digested sandwiches I had the day before. I cussed for a while, thinking about how stupid this whole situation was. Sure, my body had not been the same since the accident, but I never had trouble drinking before. After sitting there for a while I went searching for something to clean up my work of art. A thorough inspection of the bungalow led me to a closet, where I finally found a mop and went to town on my stomach’s content.
I was humming a little song to help lighten up my mood, but when I heard someone humming back to me from outside my whole demeanor changed. I quit cleaning immediately and snuck over to my backpack. As soon as I did that, the humming stopped and was replaced by a man’s voice.
“Sorry… Didn’t want to startle you there… Buddy!” the mysterious man said, with no discernable emotion in his voice.
I sat in silence, loading my rifle while I listened to the man outside. Sure, it was no bear, but random people hanging around your place in the middle of the night rarely spell good news. I waited for him to start speaking again, but he did not resume talking, no matter how long I sat there in silence. An hour had passed and still he had not said a word. I figured it was probably just a local drunk that found his way to the cabin, heard me hum, hummed along like a merry drunk guy would and then left because why not. Drunk guys do what drunk guys do. After coming up with this rational explanation, I went to sleep again, thinking about how weird that whole situation had been.
When I woke up in the morning my stomach pain was gone. I got out of bed, packed my stuff and headed to my truck. I noticed the scratches on the truck almost immediately. I remember thinking that it must have been that drunk guy from the night before and that I would make him pay for this if I ever saw him again. Angrily, I got in the car and drove over to the town hall. On my way there, I once again noticed the lack of people in the street. The road being empty on a Tuesday night made perfect sense, but not even one person having to drive to work on a Wednesday morning? That’s suspicious, and it should have been one of the many things that should’ve made me reconsider the job. My car needed a new paint job though, and even then, I’ve always been a stubborn bastard. As I drove, I thought I saw someone move behind a building in my rear view mirror, but I didn’t get a clear view of the person. I felt happy to see that there actually were people in this town, so I continued my drive.
When I got to the town hall the first thing I noticed was the broken window. That drunk guy must’ve vandalized more than just my truck, I thought at the moment. I got out of my car and walked up to the front door, which was open, and entered the building. Upon walking into the entrance hall I was met by a rotten smell. My vomit would’ve been all over the floor if it hadn’t been for my little adventure yesterday, that’s how bad it was. It smelled like a mixture of dead animals, fermenting plants and rotting milk. I considered turning around and leaving right then and there, but I decided to at least try to talk to the mayor, to find out what was going on. Curiosity killed the cat, I thought, but I was no cat. Stupid as I was, I didn’t bother going back to the car to get my rifle. What was the worst thing that could happen? Against better judgment, I went to search for the mayor.
When I found him, his body was lying on the floor, completely dead. He was missing an arm and his face. His torso had been ripped to shreds. His office had been completely ruined too, with random office supplies and some antique vases lying scattered on the floor, along with a picture of the mayor and his wife. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, I heard a familiar voice coming from the hallway: the drunk guy from last night.
“Hey… I know you’re in here somewhere… Dude,” he said, his voice still as monotone as before.
His footsteps were heavy, growing louder with every step as he got closer and closer. Along with his footsteps, the sound of something being dragged across the floor could be heard. I even heard his breathing, heavy and labored, as he neared the mayor’s office. Suddenly, all of the sounds stopped. I knew he was right outside the door, waiting for me to make a move. I just sat there, regretting my choice of not taking my rifle with me. Then I realized something. I realized that I’m a 6’3 foot man who weighs 250 pounds and also used to be a boxer in his younger years. I got up with my fists ready to throw some punches and decided to make this man regret screwing with my car. I could hear the man scratching at the wall as I neared the door.
“Found you!” he yelled, his voice sounding more guttural than before.
I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder as my aggressor knocked me to the floor, followed by the warm sensation of blood flowing out of my wound. I remember thinking that the bastard had stabbed me.
The man jumped at me before I was able to regain my balance, forcing me to roll to the side to avoid him. That’s when I noticed that this “man” wasn’t a person at all. At the moment, all I could see was something vaguely bipedal, hunched over a bit and covered in long black fur. What I thought had been a knife were actually a set of long claws on each hand.
The creature began to turn towards me, and I took this as my sign to move. I picked up a vase that was lying next to me and threw it at the monster, hitting it straight in the head. Then I got up in an instant and booked it. As I was running, I could hear the creature following me closely behind. Its roars became more and more animalistic with each passing second, clearly enraged from my attempt to fight back. I practically jumped down the stairs, nearly breaking my legs in the process, after which I continued my sprint towards the door. Without thinking twice I just busted through the surprisingly weak door.
Once outside, I noticed more creatures coming at me in the corner of my eyes. Filled with adrenaline, I ran to my truck, got inside and started the engine. That’s when the creature from earlier came falling down in the parking space right next to me. The bastard had jumped through the first floor’s window. When it got up, I finally got a good look at the thing. The thing that I heard it drag across the floor was its tail, and the things that stabbed me and scratched my car were the massive claws on its hands. Yet the thing that got me the most, the thing that will forever haunt my dreams, was its face. Or, to put it in better words, the contorted face of a man, plastered over its head. It was the same face I saw on the mayor’s picture.
I stepped on the gas and floored it. While driving, I noticed more and more creatures started to give chase, each one wearing a different face. I drove as fast as I could until they were all out of sight and I had left the town. Even then, I did not drop my speed, probably committing multiple traffic violations as I drove. But I did not care. The stuff I saw there was way above my paygrade, and I wanted to get as far away from it as possible. I drove for hours, only stopping to tank my car.
This incident happened a few days ago. Currently, I’m still in the hospital, waiting for the wound in my shoulder to heal. The doctors say I’m lucky that I can still move my arm. Sure, I’m happy to be alive, but life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for me. I’ve racked up more debt than the 2500 dollars can pay and as if that wasn’t enough, men in black suits have been interviewing me ever since I got here. So if you’re reading this, please just remember one thing: if some guy offers you 5000 dollars just to shoot a bear, stay away. Because there’s no way in hell those things were bears.

I just wanted to come on here and ask if anyone else gets an inflamed stomach when they have panic attack episodes. I've had really bad panic attacks over the last couple of days and went to my doctor on Friday because I felt like I was going to pass out from the stress. She did an EKG and said my heart is fine. When I told her that I have a pinching/dull pain in my left chest area and tightness in my upper chest, she explained that it's the epigastric area and that my stomach is probably inflamed from all the stress, my diet, and because I also started doing sports every single day, which has left my muscles super sore. (I always start working out when I get panic attacks, so I did sports a couple of times a day at the peak, specifically targeting my chest area.)
She also advised me to try to reduce gluten as much as possible because gluten intolerance can have similar symptoms and cause stomach issues and gas, which creates pressure and feels like pain in the heart area. I am very relieved, but it's still very hard for me not to panic whenever I have stomach/chest pain. I know the issue now, but whenever I get a pinching feeling in my heart area, I still panic a lot. Does anyone else experience this? How do you overcome it?
please share ur own experience with me <3

I never believed in monsters, but the events of last week made me question those beliefs to a great extent.
The job seemed pretty simple at first: some people saw a strange creature in the woods and the mayor of their little no name town was willing to pay me for taking it down. He offered me 5000 dollars for shooting what was probably just a mangy bear, I’d be a fool for turning him down. Besides, he even paid me half of it in advance AND offered to lend me the keys to a private bungalow near the forest, to make my stay more comfortable. It took some time for the keys to arrive (postal services be damned), but after about a week it was time for me to head out. I packed my rifle, ammunition and some clothes and got in my truck. This would be the job of a lifetime.
When I arrived at the town, there were no signs of life. I chalked it up to it being 11 PM on a Tuesday, but even so, you’d expect at least a few lights to be on, right? Nevertheless, I continued driving until I reached my “home” for the coming few days.
The bungalow was small, it looked more like a cabin. Then again, I wasn’t here for a vacation anyways, I was here to work. As I tried unlocking the front door, I noticed it was already open. Strange, I thought to myself, but nothing unusual. It’s not like you’d have to worry about people breaking into your house in a small town in bumfuck nowhere.
Once inside, I threw my bag on the floor and plopped down onto a chair. It was a long drive, and I was tired. After grabbing a beer from my bag I began to mentally prepare for the days to come. Tomorrow, I would visit the mayor and ask for any leads of their “creature’s” whereabouts, after which I would spend the remainder of the day scouring the forest for any tracks. If my hunt wasn’t successful by then I would simply try again the day after. Easy job, easy plan and easy money. I finished my beer and decided to go to bed.
That night, I was awoken by my stomach’s inability to digest alcohol. I rushed to the bathroom while vomit started to work its way up my throat. Sadly, I was too late, and now the bathroom door was covered in beer and the half-digested sandwiches I had the day before. I cussed for a while, thinking about how stupid this whole situation was. Sure, my body had not been the same since the accident, but I never had trouble drinking before. After sitting there for a while I went searching for something to clean up my work of art. A thorough inspection of the bungalow led me to a closet, where I finally found a mop and went to town on my stomach’s content.
I was humming a little song to help lighten up my mood, but when I heard someone humming back to me from outside my whole demeanor changed. I quit cleaning immediately and snuck over to my backpack. As soon as I did that, the humming stopped and was replaced by a man’s voice.
“Sorry… Didn’t want to startle you there… Buddy!” the mysterious man said, with no discernable emotion in his voice.
I sat in silence, loading my rifle while I listened to the man outside. Sure, it was no bear, but random people hanging around your place in the middle of the night rarely spell good news. I waited for him to start speaking again, but he did not resume talking, no matter how long I sat there in silence. An hour had passed and still he had not said a word. I figured it was probably just a local drunk that found his way to the cabin, heard me hum, hummed along like a merry drunk guy would and then left because why not. Drunk guys do what drunk guys do. After coming up with this rational explanation, I went to sleep again, thinking about how weird that whole situation had been.
When I woke up in the morning my stomach pain was gone. I got out of bed, packed my stuff and headed to my truck. I noticed the scratches on the truck almost immediately. I remember thinking that it must have been that drunk guy from the night before and that I would make him pay for this if I ever saw him again. Angrily, I got in the car and drove over to the town hall. On my way there, I once again noticed the lack of people in the street. The road being empty on a Tuesday night made perfect sense, but not even one person having to drive to work on a Wednesday morning? That’s suspicious, and it should have been one of the many things that should’ve made me reconsider the job. My car needed a new paint job though, and even then, I’ve always been a stubborn bastard. As I drove, I thought I saw someone move behind a building in my rear view mirror, but I didn’t get a clear view of the person. I felt happy to see that there actually were people in this town, so I continued my drive.
When I got to the town hall the first thing I noticed was the broken window. That drunk guy must’ve vandalized more than just my truck, I thought at the moment. I got out of my car and walked up to the front door, which was open, and entered the building. Upon walking into the entrance hall I was met by a rotten smell. My vomit would’ve been all over the floor if it hadn’t been for my little adventure yesterday, that’s how bad it was. It smelled like a mixture of dead animals, fermenting plants and rotting milk. I considered turning around and leaving right then and there, but I decided to at least try to talk to the mayor, to find out what was going on. Curiosity killed the cat, I thought, but I was no cat. Stupid as I was, I didn’t bother going back to the car to get my rifle. What was the worst thing that could happen? Against better judgment, I went to search for the mayor.
When I found him, his body was lying on the floor, completely dead. He was missing an arm and his face. His torso had been ripped to shreds. His office had been completely ruined too, with random office supplies and some antique vases lying scattered on the floor, along with a picture of the mayor and his wife. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, I heard a familiar voice coming from the hallway: the drunk guy from last night.
“Hey… I know you’re in here somewhere… Dude,” he said, his voice still as monotone as before.
His footsteps were heavy, growing louder with every step as he got closer and closer. Along with his footsteps, the sound of something being dragged across the floor could be heard. I even heard his breathing, heavy and labored, as he neared the mayor’s office. Suddenly, all of the sounds stopped. I knew he was right outside the door, waiting for me to make a move. I just sat there, regretting my choice of not taking my rifle with me. Then I realized something. I realized that I’m a 6’3 foot man who weighs 250 pounds and also used to be a boxer in his younger years. I got up with my fists ready to throw some punches and decided to make this man regret screwing with my car. I could hear the man scratching at the wall as I neared the door.
“Found you!” he yelled, his voice sounding more guttural than before.
I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder as my aggressor knocked me to the floor, followed by the warm sensation of blood flowing out of my wound. I remember thinking that the bastard had stabbed me.
The man jumped at me before I was able to regain my balance, forcing me to roll to the side to avoid him. That’s when I noticed that this “man” wasn’t a person at all. At the moment, all I could see was something vaguely bipedal, hunched over a bit and covered in long black fur. What I thought had been a knife were actually a set of long claws on each hand.
The creature began to turn towards me, and I took this as my sign to move. I picked up a vase that was lying next to me and threw it at the monster, hitting it straight in the head. Then I got up in an instant and booked it. As I was running, I could hear the creature following me closely behind. Its roars became more and more animalistic with each passing second, clearly enraged from my attempt to fight back. I practically jumped down the stairs, nearly breaking my legs in the process, after which I continued my sprint towards the door. Without thinking twice I just busted through the surprisingly weak door.
Once outside, I noticed more creatures coming at me in the corner of my eyes. Filled with adrenaline, I ran to my truck, got inside and started the engine. That’s when the creature from earlier came falling down in the parking space right next to me. The bastard had jumped through the first floor’s window. When it got up, I finally got a good look at the thing. The thing that I heard it drag across the floor was its tail, and the things that stabbed me and scratched my car were the massive claws on its hands. Yet the thing that got me the most, the thing that will forever haunt my dreams, was its face. Or, to put it in better words, the contorted face of a man, plastered over its head. It was the same face I saw on the mayor’s picture.
I stepped on the gas and floored it. While driving, I noticed more and more creatures started to give chase, each one wearing a different face. I drove as fast as I could until they were all out of sight and I had left the town. Even then, I did not drop my speed, probably committing multiple traffic violations as I drove. But I did not care. The stuff I saw there was way above my paygrade, and I wanted to get as far away from it as possible. I drove for hours, only stopping to tank my car.
This incident happened a few days ago. Currently, I’m still in the hospital, waiting for the wound in my shoulder to heal. The doctors say I’m lucky that I can still move my arm. Sure, I’m happy to be alive, but life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for me. I’ve racked up more debt than the 2500 dollars can pay and as if that wasn’t enough, men in black suits have been interviewing me ever since I got here. So if you’re reading this, please just remember one thing: if some guy offers you 5000 dollars just to shoot a bear, stay away. Because there’s no way in hell those things were bears.

This is just a vent because I don’t know who to talk to, I only have a psychiatrist and the appointment is 10mins at best each month.
I just feel like killing both of my parents and making everyone who watched suffer the way I did. I know my parents wouldn’t suffer anyways because they have no heart. I don’t have a family just blood relatives. They all watched and turned away. How do you turn away from a child being abused. How the hell do you let your husband touch your child and still choose the relationship over it. How do you beat and choke your child and don’t feel a thing.
I remember his eyes would get so black, he would shove his face close to mine and smile with his yellow disgusting teeth. Many times I thought he would kill me and my mother just closed her door.
And I don’t believe a word the others said about not knowing, because when I asked for help they said it doesn’t seem like something they would do.
I hope they all die painful miserable deaths so I can just watch and refuse their begs to care for them.
Obviously I’m sane enough to where its just intrusive thoughts but the anger gets so bad I want to cry but can’t. It just sits in my chest and burns there.

So I have the current variant which I don’t know the name of or much about, symptoms were full body aches almost felt like it was my bones or joints, hot and cold flushes, bad headache and a sore throat. I didn’t know I had it and passed it onto my partner, who is now having symptoms and is having a much worse reaction. Been Using nurofen and Codral cold & flu tablets but nothing has helped. My question is, what are the best foods and drinks will be best to help treat the pain and discomfort at home? What did you find helped most? Thanks !

hi! so i’ve come to such desperation, that i started posting on reddit. i don’t think there’s anyone who could actually talk about this with me, so i’ve decided to turn to y’all with this problem, because i just wanna get it off my chest.
after years and years of having a sexuality crisis and trying to tell myself that i’m bi, i’ve come to realisation, that i’m surely a lesbian. i feel lonely and i’ve been having multiple breakdowns per day just because of this. i might be a bit dramatic, but the main problem is that i have a boyfriend. he’s such sweet and kind person who’s been through so much and knowing that i’m gonna have to put him through even more pains me deeply. i know that i have to do this and end things with him for my own happiness, because i know he wanted to propose to me very soon, meaning i’d have to hurt him even more. i’ve realised that he’s always been like a friend to me just a few days ago, i thought it’s just me not being attracted to him, but that’s definitely not the only reason. i don’t feel any romantical connection with him, he never made me feel like the women i’ve dated in the past. i don’t even know how to explain this feeling but i just feel like such horrible person.
thank you to everyone that read this, have a nice day<3 and i’m sorry for any mistakes, english isn’t my first language.

Princess Rolaea fell into a seated position on the floor as her Steward was positioned next to her. The other soldiers who were captured from the team she had been leading were behind. “I demand to speak to your leader.” Growled the Karvrithak princess as the humans walked about, almost gloating at their catch.
“You’ll get your chance. I gotta make some calls first.” Came a voice from behind view. The older Karvrithak next to her fake cleared his throat to get the princess’ attention. “You know, princess. Now that we are captured.” To which Rolaea interjected, “I wouldn’t have been if you had done your duty.” Making the older Karvrithak pause in annoyance. “There were too many between me and you for me to have carried out that duty; I have to now follow the rules for… that.” The princess froze for a moment. “You can’t be serious, Sarvik.”
Sarvik nods without looking at the princess, instead looking for the man he saw fighting with her. “Our culture is built upon tradition, even ones you might not wish to be a part of. You were beaten in single combat by a male.” The princess interjects, “Not true. Two of our solders were fighting with me.” To which Sarvik nods, “Which makes it an even more impressive feat.” He gets a growl of annoyance in return.
A human woman walked over, hearing them talk, “What is going on over here?” sitting down on a crate in front of the prisoners. Sarvik looked at the human. “Ah, maybe you can help. Who was the one by himself during the fight.” Sitting up, the human smiled. “That would be our fearless leader. Didn’t want anyone to risk their life as our formation required four in front of you.” Rolaea sneered. “You mean your trap.”
The human gasped at the accusation, placing a hand on her chest in mock surprise. “Just because your senses were not keen enough to notice us doesn’t mean it was a trap. We even called out for you to surrender as you’re surrounded, and you chose to fight.” Getting a nod of agreement from the Steward, who got an elbow for agreeing with the human, causing a grunt of pain. “That spot is a little tender from the fight.” Which got another one from the princess: “That is for your failure in duty.”
The human woman pointed a finger at the pair as if they were children. “Don’t make me separate you two. So, you were speaking earlier.” And Sarvik nods, “Does your leader come from a noble bloodline.” Which made the human smirk. “He would say he does.” Before taking a moment to pose and take a mock tone of the rag-tag group's leader, “My grandfather would tell me stories of how we were descendants of Spartan kings of over 4,000 years.” Getting a laugh from the woman and a nod from Sarvik, “Is there any possibility that is true?” and the human shrug, “Could be. It was a long time ago, and I remember hearing something about how everyone is related to royalty in some way or another because of mixing.”
Rolaea smiles. “See, his bloodline is too diluted. Also, I never heard of the Spartans so how much of a warrior family could they be?” Getting another laugh from the woman “They weren’t a family. They were an entire culture who just became part of a country known as Greece. They never died out or went extinct, they just started calling themselves Greeks instead of Spartans.” Looking back and forth between the two, Sarah started to smile more as she realized what the conversation had been about.
Sarvik nodded in understanding. “I see. What were the beliefs of these Spartans?” Causing the human to think for a while, “Well, I remember hearing the only way to get your name on a grave is for men to have died in combat or women to have died during childbirth. Both were seen as a way of supporting Sparta. They were fierce warriors; often, just a single word could keep an army out of the country. Oh, and marriage was some kind of ritualistic combat, I think.” By this time, Nick walked over. “What is all this commotion.”
He looked around at a giggling Sarah, a stoic-looking male Karvrithak, and what he could only assume to be a blushing female Karvrithak. Sarah looked up. “Oh, just talking about Spartian marriage fighting.” To which Nick sighed, “It wasn’t combat. Spartan men would meet up with the women they found attractive during the night and take them back to their barracks or someplace else.” Sarvik tilted his head some. “Do you believe Rolaea to be attractive?” Getting a wide-eyed look from the princess, “Sarvik, you stop this right now.” The human male looked confused and looked over. “To be honest, I never really thought of a Karvrithak as beautiful or not, but… I mean, if we weren’t at war… maybe, kinda.”
Sarvik nodded once more. “Then it is settled, the combat took place at night, and it seems all the conditions for both cultures are met, or at least enough to be considered valid under the mixed cultures doctrine.” Nick looked even more confused as he looked at the male Karvrithak, then the female who looked ready to die from embarrassment, and his second in command Sarah, who looked ready to burst from laughter and when he remembered what they were talking about, marriage, got his own look of shock and horror “No no no no no no.”
Sarvik nods. “You are to be paired with Princess Rolaea.” Which was what Sarah needed to hear to burst out laughing finally and almost fell off the crate. The whole thing caused everyone to look over, prisoner and non-alike. Rolaea: “We are in agreement there, human. There is no way this is going to happen.” Sarvik took a deep breath. “I’m afraid, as Stewart of the royal family, it is my duty to inform your father.” Nick shook his head. “No, there is no way I can marry a furball.” Sarah, for her part, finally fell to the floor before managing to get something out that wasn’t laughter: “Bum bum bum bum.” To the tune of Here Comes the Bride getting a kick from Nick, which only returned her to her crazed laughing state, which by now, more people started figuring out what was going on, and some more laughter started, only one from the Karvrithak.
Rolaea turned to look at which one of her soldiers was laughing. “Whoever is laughing is going to have their tongue cut out.” Before turning to Nick, “If we kill Sarvik, no one will tell.” To which Sarah’s hand shot up, “I will.” And Sarvik nods. “We have a second in agreement from the groom’s side. We just have to contact your father. He will agree to the cease-fire the humans have been asking for.” Nick looks down. “We would have to kill more than Sarvak.” When a cough from behind caught his attention, causing Nick to look back. “Command finally answered.”
Nick took a deep breath and pointed a finger at the Karvrithaks. “No speaking.” And then pointed at Sarah, “Pull it together.” As the now out-of-breath woman took deep breaths to get it back, “Ok, ok. I’m done now.” Nick walked over and answered the line, talking about the success at capturing the high-value target in their area and how it was the princess.
After a few minutes of talking, Nick returned with a different look on his face, and Sarah wiped her eyes, having cried from laughing so hard. “Oh, I don’t think I can survive another laughing fit like that. It was too funny.” Nick took a deep breath, causing Sarah to look up in amused horror as Nick spoke, “Command told me to contact the Karvrithaks and use any means necessary to get them to agree to the cease-fire.” And Sarah smirked while holding in her laughter and got slapped upside the head for it.
She screamed in pain, “What was that for?” and Nick smiled. “You said if you started laughing, you were going to die. I just saved your life.” Taking a deep breath, Sarah nods. “I guess, but you could have held back.” Rolaea’s embarrassment died down enough that she started to glare at Nick. “If you think for a second, I will marry you. I would rather die!” Nick held a finger up and bopped Rolaea on the nose to silence her. “Not getting married.” Turned to Sarvik, “Going to get Tony to agree to a cease-fire anyway.” And then turned to Sarah, “Someone is getting a demotion.” To which she replied, “Worth it.”
Nick sighed and walked away to a secluded area he and Sarah would talk, and Sarah started to follow. “Though, I’m in agreement with killing the princess; it will be a nice revenge for everything the furballs have done to us since the war started.” A hand going to her sidearm. Nick turned to her “Put it away, I don’t like the idea either. It could at least be enough of a distraction to get the upper hand or get some end to this war.” Sarah looked at him seriously for the first time since starting the conversation with the aliens. Nick nods. “You have a weird way of grieving, you know that. Your humor was bad before, but this is twisted. No, we are not going to plan a red wedding. We’ll use it as a cover to regroup and.”
Sarah groaned out of frustration. “Why are we even listening to the human collation? They abandoned us, and then when our resistance group got good enough, they contacted us and started demanding we follow their orders.” Nick nods. “Ya, not like they started giving us intel, equipment, trained soldiers,” causing Sarah to stop him. “Ok, ok, you made your point… still… marriage?”
Nick shrugs at that. “When we started fighting, I thought about how men used to throw themselves on grenades to save others… I’ve always been ready to do that…. I guess to save lives, I’ll have to take an arrow to the knee.” Before starting to walk back in, a smile returned to Sarah’s face; without turning, Nick simply said, “Knew that would get that cursed smile back.”
The two Karvrithaks had been arguing again, with the princess drowning out the stewart whenever he tried to give the transmission frequency to contact the king. Nick picked up a clean… ish rag and shoved it into the princess’ mouth. “Alright, fine I accept.” Getting a muffled scream of anger from the princess followed by what was surely an obscenity-filled tongue lashing, defeated by a rag. Sarvick looked at Nick, angry for the first time. “We might be your prisoners, but that is no way to treat the princess or your future wife.” Nick nods some. “Would you like me to remove it and risk going deaf in that ear?” Pointing to the one that was on the side of the princess. A momentary glance from Sarvik at the princess who was still trying to yell between attempts to remove the rag stuck on her sharp teeth, got a “For now. The signal frequency is 195.2515.234.202. Also, I would refrain from using your human slur for our leader. He doesn’t much like being compared to a human breakfast cereal mascot.”
Nick nods, then helps Sarvik to his feet and turns to Sarah. “I could use my second in command.” Gets a sigh of annoyance as she rebuttons the strap holding her sidearm while standing. “OK.” After approaching the coms the operator puts in the frequency and releasing Sarvick’s hands he types in a code as the image of the king of the Karvrithaks comes on with a roar of a statement “How dare you lay a hand on my daughter if she is not returned to me within one earth hour I will glass the planet as I would rather see her dead than at the mercy of you lowly.” As Nick decided to throw him off his game, “Calm down, Dad.” Causing the king to stop. “What did you call me, and why is Sarvik standing next to you?”
Sarvik coughed to grab the attention of the group and to make this more noble than commoner “It is with much honor and regret that I have to inform you that this human has successfully completed the right of binding.” This information caused the King’s lower Jaw to drop, and Sarah chimed in, “Funny you mentioned hand earlier because he’s taking your daughter’s hand in marriage.” The king looked outraged. “You’re going to cut her hand off for marriage!?” and Sarvik raised a hand. “It is a figure of speech, Your Majesty. Humans call grabbing another’s hand with your own taking. Often done before the rings are placed on the hand of the one being wed.” Nick and Sarah both turn to look at Sarvik, who doesn’t turn his head. “A steward must be informed on all relevant information.”
Nick turns back to the king. “As your future son-in-law, I ask that you have your forces stand down. Don’t want to accidentally kill a relative of mine, do you?” The king let out a low growl of annoyance as a spitting sound was heard behind the group. The princess finally worked the rag out of her mouth. “I object to this wedding.” only getting a yell in response: “I can’t stop it. If Sarvik has said the terms have been met, I would have to break years of tradition and condemn our bloodline to death to break it.”
The two humans went wide-eyed as they didn’t realize how seriously the Karvrithaks took their tradition. Turning his head, the king spoke solemnly, “Tell our generals to stand down and to return fire if fired upon.” The coms operator relayed the message to the human command, which quickly ordered a similar command. Turning back, the King looked like he was about ready to reach through the screen and strangle him. “Know this, human, if you have lied about your intent. I was originally planning on subjugating the humans, but I will exterminate your species if you are lying.” And Nick swallowed hard at the sudden realization that his plan of using this as a cover for the human forces to regroup was a bigger gamble than he first thought. Sarah smirked and turned to look up at Nick. “No pressure.”

Two days ago, I was playing volleyball with youth from my church. I turned to bump the ball back over net and felt what can only be described as something “dislocating” and then went “back in.” The knee immediately felt funny and I knew I couldn’t bear much weight on it. I hobbled off the court and again felt the same dislocating sensation with it going back in. There wasn’t much pain initially but I had a limp and couldn’t bear much weight on that leg. Nurse friend happened to be there. He pushed, pulled, twisted and there was not really much pain at all. That night and the next day, the generalized pain increased in the knee and soreness reached from above my kneecap all the way down the back calf muscle and it was difficult to walk. There was mild swelling to the left front of the kneecap and back side of knee. I have a friend who works in sports medicine. After describing it to him, the first thing he said was Patellar Subluxation but that it could also be a torn ACL. Today, I am significantly better. Still waking with a limp but no where near as bad. I can lift my “good” leg up and bear my whole body weight on the “bad” leg. Calf and Quad (?) muscle are still sore. I equate the calf soreness to how you feel after a Charlie Horse cramp. Does this sound like a Patellar Subluxation or could it be torn ACL, Meniscus, etc?

Hey all, just got my new rig setup and am enjoying the hell out of it.
As fun as it is, however, my left leg it's definitely a bit cramped up / sore, particularly after long 2hr stints.
Do any of you all have a stretching routine? The main area where I feel pain is the outside of my glutes down towards the top part of where my glutes / hamstrings meet.
Any suggestions?

The cage
The darkness consumes me. My entire body, mind and soul, I can’t sha me the feeling of hopelessness off. It lingers for days and doesn’t want to leave. It can’t leave. At least not while I’m trapped in this cage. Bars wide enough for me to see the grey sky and dark clouds that have glimpses of freedom. But not wide enough for me to escape and try to get a hold of it. To feel and embrace it. I want to leave this cage more than anything but I can’t. I’m scared to try anything about my situation. Not anymore. I tried to escape before and it ended me up even worse up than before. I can’t escape. Sometimes I don’t want to. Maybe this is where I belong. Maybe I deserve the darkness. The pain. The loneliness. The captivity in this cage. Maybe this is the reason why I wasn’t able to escape for the first time. This is where I belong. This dirty, dark, cold cage is my home. My forever. No one but me, fellow people trapped in their cages and the free birds outside. Flying around and flaunting their freedom to us, people trapped inside our cages. They fly around and avoid our cages. They spread their wings and reach places and heights that are unimaginable to us. This place is all we gave while they have no limits. I wish I had their freedom. My hand touches the cold bars of my cage and I reach out my hand, wanting to feel the colourful birds wings. They’re feathers that look so soft and delicate. I want to get the taste of their freedom and I will be satisfied this time. I stretch my hand out and try to touch one of the bird flying by. The bird is so angelic with its snowy coloured body and long feathered wings. The bird is flapping around its wings and twirls around in the very sky, without a care in the world. It’s heavenly glow makes the dark sky seem like clear blue sky. The clouds seem less grey. My energy is draining because of the heavenly light and it’s calling me, pushing me towards it. My arm stretches out on its own and tries to reach for the bird. My heart and sound aches for the angelic dove that haunts my mind. I need it. Just a small taste. One last time. Please, I beg for you. As if hearing my pleas, the dove lands on my finger. Pulling my hand back, I admire its beauty and elegance. My fingers brush against its feathers as a manic smile creeps its way on my face. “What a pretty little birdy. Good birdy. Just a small taste. You won’t feel a thing. It will be our little secret.” My voice comes out desperate and needy. My grip around the birds body becomes tighter, making the bird chirp and squirm in pain and Panik. “Shh my darling. I’ll be quick. I promise my darling little bird.” I whisper in a raspy voice and tighten my grip more before opening my mouth and chowing down at its angelic body. The dove squirms and screeches, trying to escape by flapping its wings but it’s a little too late. I bite down harder and blood spills out of the bird. After few moments I pull away and lick my bloody lips, looking down at the bird with distain. “I’m sorry my little birdy. Let me out of your misery.” My vice comes out shrill before quickly snapping the wings and head off. The body flaps and squirms around in my hand before it finally stops resisting and dies. I get another good look at the bird and my smile falls when I realise the bird is not an angelic dove with a heavenly glow but a juts a normal disgusting bird. The disappointment is evident on my face and the deception is set deep inside my chest. “.. lying little birdy.” I scoff under my breath and toss the bird in the pile of other deceitful dead birds. I crawl back to my corner of the cage and feel the dread and darkness fills me up again. “Damnit. I need another one.” My senses get clouded by my hunger and restlessness as I need for another one consumes me. My eyes look out the window again and spot another angelic bird flying by. A maniac smile spreads across my face and my eyes widen, almost bulging out of my eye lids. “Hello there, my little birdy.”
-by me
Any feedback?

So like. I (19M) got scratched by an outdoor cat on Saturday last weekend. He's very healthy, not worried about rabies or anything like that, I'm vaccinated. But I heard that cat scratches can cause tetanus and I'm worried about it because as of yesterday I've been feeling like it's hard to swallow, like something's stuck in my throat, and I keep getting random pains all over. I have very mild gerd but this is a new symptom. I usually have back pain and neck pain, terrible posture, but I woke up with a pretty bad headache and neck pain as well. The scratches are on my hand, weren't deep at all but still bled, I washed them and cleaned with rubbing alcohol immediately. They've healed good with no complications. I was vaccinated fully against tetanus as a kid, and I think I might have gotten another shot in 2020 because of another injury (that was way worse) but I can't remember. I can't afford a doctor visit or er trip, I have no insurance, live in america. I live with my parents who tell me I'm overreacting and it's just anxiety and think I'm stupid and dismiss everything. They won't let me go to the doctor, and I can't drive myself. But still if it gets worse I'll call 911 if I have to. I do have bad medical anxiety but I can usually tell between my anxiety and actual symptoms. Idk I'm just stressed about it. What do y'all think is wrong with me ?

Hi. After lurking for a while, here I am taking the plunge. I feel like this query might be too vague, but fear making it too big and messy by adding details. Each letter is personalized, but that doesn't show here. Also, I know the usual phrasing would be "a standalone with series potential" but don't know if it would really apply here? Thank you to you all!
Dear [Agent],
THE DARKER THE WEATHER (96,000 words) is a dual-POV adult romantic thriller, the first book of a duology whose second installment's complete as well. It will appeal to fans of Rebecca Zanetti's You Can Run, P.J. Vernon's Bath Haus, and the movie Nightcrawler.
The writing on the wall is clear—REMEMBER?—a copycat is after Detective Dowoo Kim. Aloof and guilt-ridden since the death of Amber, his former partner, Dowoo won’t work with anyone else, let alone the nuisance who’s been fouling his station’s air for months. Enter Minjae Han-Kearney, New York City-raised detective here to steal the show—or so Dowoo thinks.
When another body drops, Minjae is the one to remember. Forced to team up, Dowoo and Minjae struggle to find their footing around each other, especially since Dowoo’s misconceptions about Minjae are still so prevalent, and the ghost of Amber everywhere he looks.
With Chicago's every eye on them and the freshly-named Night Crawler—courtesy of the Tribune newspaper—Dowoo and Minjae are thrown under the microscope in more ways than one. Deep-buried emotions resurface and Dowoo finds himself weak to his partner’s ways. But bodies keep piling up while Dowoo can’t help fantasizing about Minjae’s against his.
Could it be that evil does bring men together? And, if so, isn't it more likely to ruin just about everything?
As a bi man, I strive for representation that isn’t only rooted in our pains and struggles, and would like to spread my writing out there before some FBI agent tracks me down for my shonky research history.
Thank you for your precious time,
[Name]

First 300 words
“All that bullshit about partners and all,” Dowoo goes on, a bitter sneer dying before it truly comes out, nausea pushing the knot in Minjae’s throat further up. “Fuck, what a joke.”

A few months earlier

“It’s always the same shit,” Dowoo gripes through gritted teeth, back against the wall and eyes set on not-so-distant silhouettes. “Right, kiddo?”
Leroy casts him a glance, but his attention soon wanders back to the meeting—the party if anything.
“Right.”
“You don’t look too convinced,” Dowoo pushes, and the reason’s easy to pinpoint, standing among people busy licking his Oxford shoes.
“C’mon.” Leroy’s focused on him again. Better that way. “You can’t say that when I’m the only one agreeing with you here.”
“Only one,” Dowoo repeats in a low voice. “A fucking shame if you ask me.”
“Don’t need to ask for you to—”
“I mean, look at that fucker—look at them, popping bottles for a bunch of solved robberies. Morons so close to dropping to their knees for that bastard, it sickens me.”
“See?” Leroy quips, having Dowoo contemplate the idea of flicking him. “Those weren’t just any robberies and you know it.”
“Yeah, well,” he mutters, unable to tear his gaze away from Han, all smirks and annoying features, a flute of champagne in hand. “It’s still our job, not some excuse to party.”
“I hear you, I do, but things are rough around here. Maybe they just need a hero?”
“Call that a hero?” Dowoo scoffs, then slants his head to the side. “And wouldn’t you need one, too?”
“I already have you.”
“Fuck off, Jenkins,” Dowoo retorts as he shoulders that punk, but it’s nowhere near enough to make him move. That’s what the Violent Crimes Section does, he guesses. Makes one rougher.

Male 31 5 11 210 lbs All tests done and the abnormal results: Endoscopy Colonoscopy Abdominal ultrasound Ct head without contrast Ecg(wildly different results but no doctor has said anything about them) Stress test (blood pressure was 237/67 so had to stop Holter monitor (normal) Ct chest Ct pelvis Ct abdomen x 8 (small fat containing ventral hernia, l5 pars defects spondylothesis level 1 one scan said mural wall thickening and they said i had gastritis) Gastric emptying study
I've been to the ER and doctors office quite a bit for this but have only seen mid level practitioners mostly and have been waiting months for specialists. i really need help with understanding what could be wrong. in the last 4 months it started as severe epigastric abdominal pain and "fainting" where my ears would start to ring my vision would become grey and blurry and i would start to loose conciousness but not entirely. I've had 4 episodes of the "fainting" one was accompanied by severe sweating, i was drenched in sweat within 1 minute. I have these attacks that happen where i feel uneasy and have had stomach pain where its difficult to identify where exactly its coming from and then i feel a sense of doom and like im going to die and start to cough and throw up and then i have the "fainting" it peaks and i power through the fainting and then it subsides after about 30 minutes and i am left with severe weakness and constant stomach pain. I have had labs done initially the only abnormal labs were: Lactate 2.8 Elevated bilirubin Elevated protein (this has been constant) Elevated globulin Elevated cortisol Elevated renin
Other labs that have been checked and are normal are Fecal elastase Parasite stool HepAtic panel (besides bilirubin the one time) Lipase Cbc come back normal besides in February i had an infection of some sort. Occasionally low sodium and high calcium Ferritin B12 T4 Tsh Parathyroid
The lactate returned to normal within the same day and hasn't been checked again
In February i had severe elevated white counts and an infection with "left shift" i was tachycardic and was treated with iv antibiotics.
Ive had 14 ct scans all of which have showed nothing besides a ventral hernia and diverticulitis and l5 pars defects This all started in december after a month long strep infection and month long covid infection back to back ive had my gallbladder removed in 2020 and the surgery was complicated i had necrosis and an abcess. The months before this started i had severe diarrhea that wouldn't stop i noticed my food was coming out undigested and I couldn't have a solid stool then i got sick and when i was over covid i was smoking a cigarette coughed extremely forcefully and then about 5 minutes later had the first "fainting" episode which was terrifying. I went to the hospital right away and they chest for a pulmonary embolism since this one episode ive had severe stomach pain that i cant readily identify where its coming from, it feels as though i am missing an essential nutrient or enzyme that is keeping me from thriving.
I have lost 50lbs in the last 4 months it has been difficult to eat.
I feel extremely fatigued mostly due to this abdominal pain and i feel as though i am confused alot of the time, doctors have told me i am fine and to wait for the specialists I have an appointment for an oncologist/hemotologist a cradiology cta scan and for a hida scan but im not sure its any of these things, i feel as though i am dying because i am missing a vitamin of some sort i feel awful I don't know how long i can deal with this weaknesss and pain. I wake up with pain and sleeping doesnt make me feel rested. I also have went from sleeping 9 to 10 hours a day to 6 to 7 since this has started. I am so weak and starting to become delirious over this all I am very worried and appreciate any insight.

I just can’t. I hate this culture we’ve created, and what fucking world does it make sense for them to come in with possibly Covid and pass it around to everyone else?
I reviewed with them only what I had to, and then left after lunch for the rest of the day.
I have so much hate in my heart for the way we as a species are going about this. I guess I need to work on that.
It’s all just so upsetting sometimes, though. The fact that I could become disabled simply by going into work and doing my job. How is that fair? No one will take care of me if I’m unable to work due to disability.
It’s all so wrong.

Have any of you found a solution for the heart pain / left chest squeezing symptom ?
Doctors can’t find anything ( I still need an MRI) but it’s 100% heart .
For those with chest tightness/ chest pains etc how do you manage it ?
It’s becoming one of my most unbereable symptoms . For me it’s 24/7 there it’s like a deep squeeze feeling painful of my left chest (heart area ) feels like someone is twisting my heart and squeezing it it’s unbereable. Sometimes it feels like my heart is carrying weights idk how to explain it . It’s horrible I can’t live like this it radiates into my ears too