22 (f), 5’1”, 206 lb, IUD (needs to be out by September) and married. Only on vitamins and biotin. Vape and marijuana.
Currently diagnosed with
BPD, depression and anxiety - but I am stable now other than the rare sad day. I have an incredibly destructive past with this.
Acid reflux - since about 12
Chronic pelvic pain, possible endometriosis, PCOS
About 5 months ago I ended up in the hospital after projectile vomiting all morning and puking up some blood. It might be important that I had drank a decent bit of alcohol the night before. They gave me meds to calm my nausea once I was there and took blood. I was told to change my diet to less acidic/spicy foods and I had been eating quite terribly as I’ve never been an overweight person until the last year. I was then put on a waitlist for a scope and completely changed my eating and drinking habits, losing 30 lb in the process.
After that I started experiencing intense nausea daily and for a while(months) after, I was vomiting multiple times weekly. The nausea has calmed down a bit but sometimes it is still unbearable. I have taken multiple pregnancy tests since the beginning of this, and all have been negative. I’ve had a hard time sleeping because of this, sometimes only getting a few hours. I have also noticed even my gag reflex is incredibly sensitive now, and I find it difficult to brush my teeth without vomiting, if that could be related.
I decided to go back to the doctor a few weeks ago to try and expedite the date of my scope, but she had decided because my nausea calmed down, that I should be fine to wait the normal time. She sent a referral for an urgent ultrasound. We parted ways and I booked in to get my iud removed with her coming up on June 12th and to go over my ultrasound.
I signed up online to view my results and waited a few days for it to come up. It says the timing is critical on my ultrasound and that almost everything is obstructed by gas. It also indicates I have fatty liver disease. I also noticed in my bloodwork from five months ago, it says I have an infection. I haven’t heard from the doctor about my results but have been waiting until the 12th.
This week suddenly I’ve been having on and off pain in my lower belly/pelvic area. I’ve also been constipated and not passing gas as much. I woke up this morning to it being very intense and especially tense whenever my bladder fills up. I’ve tried to give the doctor a call but I’m unable to get ahold of them.
Should I be concerned? I’ve felt awful for months and now this pain is pretty bad and has been here for about 6 days. I thought it may be appendicitis but it doesn’t seem like it is. I’m growing very concerned after seeing my ultrasound results and with this new pain but the doctor I’ve seen doesn’t seem concerned neither does the doctor who will perform my scope. I have tried to contact the doctor I’ve been seeing about this (I do not have an actual family doctor), but I’ve gotten no answers.

I am a 23 year old woman. For over a year and half now I have lived at an old apartment that had a lot of water damage in it. This was not known to me, and I started getting very sick with living there. I was already slightly immuno compromised from being sick before, and then I got covid that followed with a severe sinus infection. This allowed for the black mold that was already in the building to get to me. A few months after having covid and the sinus infection, I started blowing and spitting out black mucus. I started getting severe allergic reactions to things I have always ate, it became so bad I would have to go to the ER and get epi pen and Benadryl just to help me. This was going on everyday, I was in the ER almost everyday! My lungs started to get worse as well. They felt really heavy and irritated, every time I tried to do any sort of movement I was out of breath and felt like I was drowning. I finally went to the doctor and they told me that I was exaggerating. They did CT scans on me, and found a nodule in my lungs, that they told me was nothing. They did blood work which clearly showed that I had the fungal mold infection, and they told me that everybody has that. They also told me that spitting out and blowing out black mucus was nothing. For over 6 months now I’ve been out on a bike and told to pedal to test my breathing, they won’t even consider giving me anti fungal medication, like what is standard procedure. I’m sad and hopeless, I went to so many doctor’s and none will help me. I’m not sure why, but I just need help and advice on what to do.

About a month ago I shared my struggle with long covid: https://www.reddit.com/covidlonghaulers/s/M1gBh8Zzt7
Since then, I have done three things that I believe are helping me significantly:

1. I’m sleeping 10 hours a night on a schedule of around 10pm-8am.
   
2. I started going to Neurofeedback. I have only done three sessions at this point but I definitely feel like there has already been an impact on my anxiety levels.
   
3. I started taking Vitamin D3 + K2 (https://www.naturemade.com/products/vitamin-d3-k2-softgels) as recommended by the I-RECOVER Long COVID Protocol and others here.
   

Since doing these three things I have noticed I am far less anxious about my symptoms. I am less dizzy/lightheaded. Overall I am just feeling a lot more confident in myself and my body.
I didn’t want to try too many things at once so I could really see what was helping, but I received a lot of great suggestions on my initial post, as well as in follow up posts. In an effort to condense the thoughts prior to my quickly approaching trip to Mayo Clinic, I created this list of everyone’s suggestions from my first post:

1. Cut out gluten and alcohol and low histamine diet
2. Focus on gut and vascular health:
   • zero sugar
   • zero processed foods of any kind (bread, pasta, chips, salami, etc)
   • zero fried foods
   • no restaurant food : ( even if its quality, always makes me feel like crap. Not sure the reason.
   • lots of fiber (flax meal, prunes)
   • lots of probiotic foods (yogurt, kefir, kraut)
   • tons and tons of cooked and raw veggies
   • quality protein sources
   • NAC, turmeric, ginger, nattokinase, vit E, vit C, vit D, quercetin, magnesium
   • walking every day. Now im up to 5 miles a day and feeling normal again. But after covid i was walking just like 1 mile or less. If i skip one day walking my heart palpitations come back. I wear lots of layers and try to get sweaty... for some reason as soon as i start sweating, my palpitations go away. Maybe its just me, but it makes a huge difference
   • staying warm always!
   • sleeping a ton... i was in bed 12 hours even if i only slept 4 of those hours. Like you i ALWAYS wake up at 3 am since having covid
   • also on beta blocker for heart palpitations. It makes it harder to stay active, but also helps with crazy blood pressure swings i was having
   • patience and persistence. Took me like 9 months to feel normal(ish) again
3. Vitamin D makes anxiety WORSE
4. Check Vitamin D levels and the audiologist at Mayo Clinic found hyperventilating during balance testing, PCS diagnosis. Also recommends nicotine patches for ADHD?
5. If you take vitamin d you also need magnesium and potassium
6. Try a different form of magnesium
7. Sounds like disautonomia
8. Adrenal insufficiency (low blood sugar and pressure) test morning cortisol, treated with steroids
9. Cell Host and Microbe article with Enterotypes: https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/abstract/S1931-3128(24)00122-7 see Reddit summary https://www.reddit.com/covidlonghaulers/s/54hjM0wD9n
10. Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) and join Facebook group ‘low dose ldn for chronic illness & infection”
11. Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
12. My symptoms are not my heart, they’re coming from my autonomic nervous system. Mentioned POTS. Find a dysautonomia specialist and check out dysautonomiainternational.org and potsuk.org while, in the meantime, increasing fluids with electrolytes like nuun and liquid IV and key nutrients to 2L per day while trying compression stockings.
13. You have already experienced the worst and it didn’t kill you. You can kick the anxiety. Try Nattokinase. They did a micro dose of psilocybin that seems to have helped their brain fog and mindset.

And these were things I saw mentioned in other posts as well as additional things I noted down:
-EMDR
-Vestibular migraines
-Why does Xanax help my dizziness?
-Ivabradine
-Covid-induced endothelial disfunction
-Covid attacks our weaknesses
-Guillian-barre syndrome
-ME/CFS, digestive PEM
-Guanfacine with NAC: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667257X22001000
-Mitochondrial dysfunction, see endo / metabolic disordere
-MCAS/POTS feeling tired after eating, take Pepcid AC and other antihistamines at high doses
-Lymph issues on left side (shoulder, chest, neck)
-SIBO
I still need to find the time to get tested for MCAS (I have the orders, just need to find 5 good days that work for my schedule). I’m planning to continue as I am operating now until I get back from Mayo and then implement new changes and test my diet. I’ll keep you all updated 🤞

Doctor lost my records… What do I do?
Hello, I [25f] saw a doctor in summer of 2017. I got a physical and TB test done as clearance to attend my university program. He also prescribed me antibiotics for tonsillitis.
I have a painful history of tonsillitis and as of late recurrent strep. I’m currently trying to build a case to get a tonsillectomy. I called the office and they advised the doctor moved to a new office. I called the new office and they advised since it’s a different medical group that I had to request my records from the old office. I called the old office again and they have no record of my visit/test/prescription. The receptionist was very rude and advised me that if I only went once as a new patients there wouldn’t be records on file.
What do I do? I read online that in CA providers have to keep records by law for a minimum of 7 years, but recommend keeping them for 10 years. What are my options? Are my records really lost? (TB test was done in-house and script was sent to my local pharmacy)
TIA for any advice/suggestions

I’m having to go for a an extended stay in a medical facility for two weeks max and won’t be able to do my daily SubQ injections of 22u/day. Need to know if I can take one or two larger dosages upfront the day I leave to stop me from dropping my blood levels. Yes I know 308mg/wk is a large dose but that is my prescribed dose taking 44mg/day. I take Test Cyp 200 and will be gone a max of 14 days though probably more like 5-10 days. Can I take the whole week in one or two injections subQ and ride out the half life without my daily injections?

I'm doing computer science which is very competitive. My first semester of high school, I had the worst migraines of my life. For whatever reason, they decided to show up so frequently like 2 weeks per month I was bedridden. I've had migraines since 16, and headaches since 12, but they have never been so bad that they affected my academic preformance drastically. Because of this, I never got accommodations beforehand because I simply didn't need them at the time.
This year, I asked my guidance the steps I need to take to get accommodations because I was really struggling and they told me there is no point to get them in my final year of high school and I should just get them in university. I was like ok fine, but still continuously struggled. Then I asked my doctor and she said I should get them. But she just told me I should've got them, she never took any action to help me get them. She told my parents I should get accommodations but they said I shouldn't because "real life won't give me accommodations". It eventually got to the point where they said they would get me accommodations, but they never did.
Sometimes I would be bed ridden for a week, miss an entire unit, and the unit test was the day my migraine went away. Teachers would only give me a 1 day extension max... yeah, cause I can totally learn a whole unit in a day, thanks. Honestly, even if they did give me a week extension, I would just fall behind in the next unit... it was a never ending cycle. My grades weren't horrible, my lowest was 71% and my highest was 87%, but computer science needs like 95+ pretty much...
Luckily, within first few days of 2nd semester, I went on a new treatment (birth control), and it FIXED MY MIGRAINES. I still got them, but not as frequently or as bad. I know people probably want to say migraines aren't the reason for my bad grades, but when my migraines were fixed I got 95+ in all my classes. I worked my butt off and took 5 courses this semester when most people take 3-4. I went from a 82% average to 91%. Almost a 10% difference...
Sadly, this was not enough. I got rejected everywhere but 2 low end universities. I know it's better than none, but I feel like I was wronged so badly... First month of school (1st semester) I also had 95+s in my classes... They only dropped due to my migraines. I want to transfer universities but people are saying I need a near perfect GPA when it comes to computer science... I know I'm smart but maybe not that smart. Everyone also says that whatever grades you get in high school, expect to get lower in university cause its harder.
I just needed to vent, because all my friends have so many options to choose from while I only have the choice between 1 bad university and another. It's not like I only got rejected from top schools too, I even got rejected to some of the lower end ones... Maybe it's just because I did computer science because people with lower grades are accepted to more universities for different programs.

Court side: -3 year informal probation -9 month DUI class -$1970 in fines -41 days of work release (lawyer says I should be done in about half of that)
DMV side: -Mandatory 1 year loss of my CDL Class A -1 Year restricted license with IID
This was my first DUI, no priors. No accident. My arrest was 7/23 of last year. Finally got to court 5/22 of this year. Had a bad relapse and was on a bender. Made a bone headed move to drive after day drinking. Was making a right on a yellow and the red barely got me. Pulled over, failed field sobriety test, and refused breathalyzer test. I agreed to a blood test (this got complicated later). They took me in drew my blood which wound up being .25. The night shift messed up my information so I wound up being in jail for 26 hours. Lawyered up immediately when I got out.
So my case was tricky since I had a Class A CDL. My arresting officer was a little inexperienced. On the police report he put down that I had a double refusal which was not true, had that gone through I would’ve lost all driving privileges for 1 year. My lawyer was able to postpone the dmv hearing until he saw the body cam footage, then he was able to confirm that the officer made several mistakes and didn’t word things correctly. This saved me for my current employment. So Riverside County is pretty harsh on DUIs and especially if you’re a class A driver’s license holder. They originally wanted to give me 90 day work release, MADD, community service, and something else that I forgot. So I’m pretty happy with the result.
My court date got postponed twice and the only reason I ever got was that they’re busy. It’s been a long 10 months of sleepless nights and anxious days worrying about the outcome. So it’s a huge relief that it’s finally hear it so I can start getting this process over with. Ive been sober since last August so they definitely has helped. I highly recommend getting a lawyer to anyone with a recent DUI. Especially if you have a commercial drivers license because they’re going to want to throw the book at you. I know they can be expensive but if you have the money, do it.

Age: 35 Sex: Male Height: 6ft 1 Weight: 183lbs Race: White
Duration of complaint: 2 months of symptoms Location: Chest
Symptoms: Nagging caugh
Info:
Around two months ago I came down with the flu, which involved an almost constant caught. Now I no longer wake up in the night coughing but it still comes back when exercising and after exercising.
In particular a big draw of air seems to set it off.
I went two the docs for blood tests which came back "adequate" although some tests such as phallets were on the very low end.
Otherwise I'm a healthy, fit non smoker.
I'm at a bit of a loss of what to do, struggling to get another appointment here in the UK and don't know whether I should stop exercising for now.
Generally my nose is clear but during exercise it gets more bunged up and I can almost feel a nasal drip running down into my chest.
No history of asthma or allergies, no change to environment and never smoked.
I've been taking a vitamin B complex as well as a mushroom pill both a health food shop recommended starting around 4 weeks ago.

I’m convinced somethings wrong with my thyroid for various reasons. Another indicator is that my grandmother has thyroid issues but hers are actually diagnosed. My mom suspects she does as well, but is running into the same problem as me. I went in for blood work and was told my thyroid was completely fine, but then found out they only test one part of it or something. My mom tried to request testing on the other parts of the thyroid on herself a few years back, and it was never followed through with. I’ve heard so many people struggling to get these tests done because they don’t do any further testing if they don’t see anything wrong in the first thing. I have a phone call with my doctor on Monday, how can I convince him to get my entire thyroid checked?! Also, i’m 17F if that matters!

Can a HSV2 breakout cause a positive ANA result on a blood test? I have no symptoms of any diseases as such but I do have HSV2, when I had my blood work done I was having a flare up.

My boyfriend 19M and i 19F have been dating for almost a year now. I love him more than anything but we recently had to go long distance for the summer. it’s only been two weeks and i’ve been suffering a lot with missing him and it affecting my mental health.
During this time, we’ve argued almost every day because i was asking him to tell me he loved me more often and asking him to call me more often. He said that I couldn’t even do what he asked me to do, which was think before I got upset with him (i used to get really upset over really really stupid shit and i admit this lol. i still do tbh, which is why he wasn’t so happy i was asking him of stuff)
I really want extra communication between us and that just hasn’t been happening. whenever we’re in person it’s pretty good. We still argue a little as couples do. I get pissy easily tho but that’s just me atp. It’s mentally draining me rn.
I also recently started a new job and one of my coworkers 19M has been really nice to me. This dude was giving me the attention that my boyfriend just wasn’t trying to give from my POV. He compliments me and asks me about my day. He knows I have a boyfriend so he backs off pretty quick after saying something he realized was out of pocket.
I really really enjoy talking to this guy. All 3 of us are christians, and this is important to me. i think my coworker is more christian and might lead me down a better path. (please no judgement with this, it’s just religion. i support everyone pls don’t hate).
I have even called him to help him on an AP test because he’s dyslexic and was having trouble understanding some things.
We talk a lot and I know for a fact he likes me.
Is this just the physical distance between me and my boyfriend getting to my head? I’m so confused in what i should do. I would never cheat on my boyfriend because i love him so much. but i also feel like he deserves someone better than me and i also probably deserve someone who is more willing to put effort into a long distance relationship if it were to ever come down to one.
My boyfriend, in person, is so genuinely loving but i’m not sure if he is what i want anymore. i cannot tell if this is the distance speaking or my actual true self. My thoughts are so scattered and I just need some advice on what people think I should do. I don’t really want to break up with my boyfriend, I really thought this dude would be my future husband, but now i’m just not so sure. What if there is something better? But what if i leave him and new dude is a crazy person. I’m so confused and overwhelmed from everything going on.
Please help, and please no judgements. i haven’t acted on any of my feelings at all and i will probably not break up with my boyfriend until i see him again sometime in june. even then i might not break up with him because i might just re-fall in love.

• sincerely, a stupid teenager trying to navigate life

Hi. I am just looking to see if you all have any insight on this. My daughter developed a rash in November. Went to doc what they prescribed didn’t help. So I made a dumbest decision I could have as a mom. And I’m heartbroken. I used a cream someone else had without researching it. So this rash would not go away and I treated it until February. Well from January to March my kid grew like crazy. I didn’t think too much because she is 12 and kids do that. But I noticed this was happening extremely fast. I’m talking 15 pounds in 2 months. She developed stretch marks on legs and rear. Her stomach area got really big. Looked like severe bloat 24/7. Her face developed fat under her chin and jawline. So I took her last week for blood work. The tech messed up and didn’t send all the tests the doctor ordered but one of the tests that came back was high insulin. Neither side of our family has this. And my child was not over weight before this. And now she is barely overweight so no obesity or anything like that. I am just wondering if anyone has developed Cushings from a medicine called Dermovate. And if so did I create a life long problem? We have more tests tomorrow. Saliva test, UA, and more blood work to see if cortisol levels are high. Just wanted to see what you all think. Does this sound like Cushings. Her legs grew too. What I see is legs stay little but my kids thighs and rear grew as well. Lots of red stretch marks on thighs and rear also.

I've been thinking about this for ages and it's been driving me insane. Warning for the post it's gonna be long and will have discussions of violence and anxiety because I think it was the main cause for this.
I was almost murdered via choking once as a child, drowned twice by a bully, same bully would repeatedly slam my head and throw me down staircases. I remember in all these situations I would go blind from pain, during the drowning I remember I was able to physically feel myself losing sensation in my fingers and toes, and then my arms and legs and I wasn't able to move them anymore, I also remember that I went blind and basically fell asleep for a few seconds before I was pulled out of the water. I just barely survived the drowning.
There was also a time when I was 6 years old where I was gradually suffocated with blankets around my head for a somewhat extended time period. Once again I was able to physically feel myself shutting down, losing sensation and I eventually passed out. I do not know how long I was out but I woke up some time later as the blankets had come a bit loose due to the aggression and there was a small hole, I assume that was how air got in and I survived. I also have some blocked out memories with those same bullies in which I was angry that they choked me. I do not remember them choking me, but I do remember being angry about it, and wishing I could choke someone else to know what it felt like and why they enjoyed doing it to me so much. I remember thinking that, but I do not remember being choked by them. I do however have memories in which I am running away from them, but the memory cuts out as soon as they catch me so I have no details as to what they might have done to me.
In school I had a lot of anxiety because I was severely bullied there my whole life, there were three years in particular where the bullying was most severe, and I was also getting sexually harassed and getting rape threats at school, so my anxiety was so high I would randomly go blind, had constant stomach aches, and could get no more than 1-3 hours of sleep a night (usually non consecutive) since I kept waking up from stress. During that time I also started recovering my traumatic childhood memories, but my brain kept repressing them. I'd get my memories back for anywhere from a few hours to a few days, but then my brain would block it all out again, so I would randomly lose several hours or several days worth of memories and have no clue why. I genuinely thought I was developing dementia as a teenager because I had no other explanation for it.
Now I'm an adult in college, and I did a mental abilities and iq test, and the results were way lower than they were when I was a child. I was also told some of my mental abilities are several years delayed, which is the opposite of how it was before, because as a child and younger teen my mental abilities were always many years above my age level. My adhd and autism symptoms worsened, I developed gut/malabsorption and blood pressure problems, my short term memory is insanely worse, so much more than it ever was to the point it's barely manageable. It's gotten to the point that many people point it out, it takes me months to memorize my class schedule or someone's name, everytime I try to do anything Iend up checking or redoing things many times in a row forgetting that I've already done them. I'm a lot slower in processing certain things, and even the most mundane daily task has become nigh impossible for me. It's ridiculous and embarrassing, I can't do any of the things everyone my age does with ease, even though I have so much support in my life everything is so hard.
I mentioned these things to some friends and all of them asked me how the hell I don't have sevre autism, asked me how am I alive and how the hell am I even able to walk and do things normally because they all said that these things would usually cripple someone or severely disable them. I don't want to self diagnose or be dramatic but this has been happening for so long and I've done lots of research and I genuinely can't think of any other answer. Any help or advice would be much appreciated

Hi I'm 34M white 5"10 and about 80kg and since November I've been having the feeling of needing to urinate not making more urine just the feeling of needing to go often even with little in my bladder and about once a day getting cloudy urine, the urine has been tested for UTI and protein and cameback fine and had a Cystoscopy that was normal.
Since about the start of march I've also been getting dry mouth and for a while I was getting nausea after eating but that has mostly stopped now.
I've been very worried that its been something to do with my Kidneys but other then a one test that dipped to 74GFR in Jan all my other test came back fine 104GFR two times in March and normal ACR test for Urine Albumin, Sodium, potassium and urea we're fine too
I just did a blood test for blood Albumin, phosphorus and calcium and my blood calcium came back above reference.
Albumin 742 umol/l, phosphorus 0.93 mmol/l, calcium 2.67 mmol/l corrected calcium 2.48 mmol/l
Is this more likely Primary Hyperparathyroidism from a parathyroid gland issue ?? I know Secondary Hyperparathyroidism can be from CKD but from what I can tell that is normally low blood calcium with higher phosphorus and high calcium is only in end stage or from meds trying to raise it.
In the UK so it will take some time to see a doctor about this but they have been dismissive of any issues, I got this test privately they've just put all my symptoms down as anxiety, not on any meds right now but was on prescribed TRT last year for about a year that I stopped in late December.
I Don't Drink, smoke or do drugs and sorry for my bad grammar.
Edit: I forgot I also had a Ultrasound of my kidneys too that came back normal.

Hi everyone, for the past 3 days my very food driven 4 year old cat has stopped eating completely. She’s currently hospitalized at the emergency vet right now and will be for a few days. I first took her yesterday to the vet, they did an x ray and blood test and everything was normal. They sent me home with some treats and food but she refused it. So of course I took her again, and they said she has to be hospitalized because she’ll get fatty liver if she doesn’t eat. They’re going to feed her through a tube and do an ultrasound and check her liver. Has anyone experienced this? What ended up happening to your cat? I’m so worried as I love her more than the world and don’t want anything to happen.

Hey everyone I’m 31 in the UK and really struggling to get answers and help. My GP makes me feel like I’m purposely wasting their time and just love coming to the doctors or I’m going crazy.
My whole life my cycle and periods have been hellish. I was diagnosed with pcos at 16. Always suffered with extremely heavy periods, huge clots, period pain mostly in my lower back and legs. Then came the hemorrhagic ovarian cysts - some up to 12 cm month after month whilst trying to conceive. Finally I got pregnant and maintained the pregnancy after a miscarriage with the help of Clomid and progesterone suppositories. Pregnancy and breast feeding for two years was bliss with no period. Then the first 4 months when they started again were ok but boy am I paying for it now.
The last 6-8 months have been absolutely horrendous for me health wise.
CYCLE RELATED SYMPTOMS- The period pain is excruciating but worse than my period is around ovulation time - from day 10 of my cycle is HELL. The pain is ridiculous. My pelvis, hips lower back and legs down to my knee. From the end of my period until after ovulation I’m constantly spotting. There’s blood and little bits of tissue in my wee too. My lower abdomen and into my legs is like buzzing / vibrating it starts with my period but goes on well after ovulation it’s the weirdest feeling. Like I’m constantly shaking but inside.
OTHER SYMPTOMS
Around my pelvic bone and my outer labia tingle with pins and needles frequently.
I’ve been diagnosed with SIBO after having left upper quadrant pain for months, just below my left ribs. I was constantly pooping, poo was orange and sometimes yellow, my digestion noises were actually crazy you could hear my stomach growling away in the next room, horrendous wind, zero appetite and feeling full after eating very little.
I’ve also just been diagnosed with rosacea by my GP. The flushing in my face started two months ago. My cheeks are constantly burning and tingling and are bright red.
Then randomly during all this was diagnosed with a bladder prolapse at 31 !! Two years after having a c section and always maintaining my pelvic floor. Had a funny feeling down there, kind of felt like my vagina hole was partially blocked. Went to a&e massively freaked out and they said I’d had a partial bladder prolapse. Anyway the sensation went away after around a week. Paid to see a private gyno who said I 100% have not had a bladder prolapse there’s nothing there. My bladder is very much where it should be. And I also can’t feel the bulge that was there now either?! It’s just gone!
What the actual eff. I just feel like everything js wrong with me. I was really scared I had cancer for a while - my dad died of pancreatic cancer at a young age and I was super scared with the GI stuff it was related but I’ve had an endoscopy and colonoscopy and all looked good in terms of that. The breath testing came back with SIBO and the antibiotics I’ve had for that seem to have done the trick for the GI stuff.
So anyway now the advice needed -
Do my symptoms sound like endo? Has anyone experienced anything similar? I feel after reading it they do but a part of me is still super paranoid I’ve got cancer.
I saw the private gyno who wants to do a hysteroscopy. Is this the best course of action? He said this incase I have a polyp or fibroid as he could remove it then and there but I don’t think I do have this as I had a clear ultrasound and CT scan.
Would an MRI be better ? I’ve read this can be pretty accurate at diagnosing endo now and it’s less invasive.
Although I have also been told that a laparoscopy is the only way to know for sure if it’s endo. Should I be asking for a laparoscopy?
If you’ve got to the end of my post thank you so much for reading. Any help or advice would be much appreciated I’m really struggling.

Navigating The Privacy Tightrope: User Concerns on Social Media Engagement

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Department
University
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Abstract
This study analyses consumer concerns about privacy in social media engagement, the factors influencing these concerns, and provides strategies for handling them. To achieve this objective, this paper provides feedback on two vital questions (What are the primary concerns of social media users regarding privacy? And What factors contribute to these concerns?) that guide this research. The paper uses qualitative analysis to obtain analyze data. Lastly, the paper provides suggestions for future research and solution
I. INTRODUCTION
In the current digitized world, many people are increasingly sharing their information with the public through social media. However, this act of sharing their details through electronic gadgets such as smartphones has and still increases the risk of privacy violations as people engage through social media. One of the events that significantly deepened consumer privacy concerns in the United States was the Cambridge Analytica data breach on Facebook half a decade ago, which affected many user accounts in the land. This data breach initiated the #deletefacebook movement across social networking sites culminating in many users reconsidering their connections with social media platforms about their trustworthiness, and potential for confidential issues. For one section of users, this meant signing out of these sites while the other section considered it as a chance to reset their confidential settings. According to Bright et al, user privacy concerns differ across sites in the user journey, and only a few sites are developed equally when it comes to user concerns as well as disclosures specifically in connection to social networking sites (1). Throughout this duration of redefining their connections with social networking sites, users find themselves coping with the "privacy paradox" and despite having privacy concerns, online users persist in disclosing their private details for distinct reasons, rather than safeguarding their details online. Therefore, this paper investigates [consumer concerns about privacy in social media engagement, and factors influencing these concerns, and provides strategies for handling them]().
A. Research problem
Social media plays a significant role in promoting interaction and sharing of information among users from all over the world. However, sharing of information over social media sites has and still increases the risk of privacy violations as people engage through social media. It's from this, that this paper settled on evaluating the consumer concerns about privacy in social media engagement, factors influencing these concerns, and providing strategies for tackling them.
B. Aim and Objectives
This study is determined to analyze the user concerns about privacy in social media engagement, highlight the primary factors influencing these concerns, and provide recommendations on desired approaches for handling them.
C. Research question
[1. What are the primary concerns of social media users regarding privacy?]()
2. What factors contribute to these concerns?
II. EXTENDED BACKGROUND
Social media has grown to become the modern-day routine. Currently, many social networking sites are continuing to integrate to offer distinct digital affordances as well as chances to enlarge individual networks, interactions, and information sharing. The availability of these sites has significantly culminated in to rise in user engagement. For instance, TikTok is among the most used sites with a massive following of more than 750 million accounts. Currently, people are becoming more open to sharing individual data and with the aid of the modern digital culture, this has been made possible by utilizing the availability of internet service. Although social media is considered to be of great significance in facilitating communication and entertainment among users, it also stores noticeable repositories of individual details that culminate to privacy concerns. This threat of privacy breaches has continuously increased as social media are frequently accessed through applications on cell phones, where a substantial number of identifiable data is stored, aggregated, and linked across various social networking sites.
Even as the issue of privacy threat has attained massive attention and recognition, especially among people who use these platforms, many studies have reported the concept of privacy paradox, which implies discrepancies involving persons' habits of disclosing individual details and their concern concerning privacy threat. Even though social media users have an increasing concern concerning privacy on media platforms, they are willing to proceed to disclose their data for various gratifications. According to Chen et al, some social media users always show or rather demonstrate reduced effort to offer safety on their confidentiality despite showing significant concern associated with social media (2). On the contrary, there is also a section of social media consumers who are not naive in their revel actions (2). This brings us to an analysis of the historical evolution of social media platforms, the emergence of privacy concerns, and important theoretical frameworks particularly privacy calculus.
Typically, the rise of privacy is significantly connected to the fast growth of technologies and the growing nature of the modern digital space. History shows that privacy was mainly linked with physical and individual interactions. During this time, people were interacting at their homes and with immediate families. However, this was significantly changed by the massive evolution in the digital world. The development of social media sites, and the level of connectivity they provide initiated a new era of unprecedented access to individual information. The new developments have made it simple for people to share their stories and even sensitive information with just one click significantly subjecting one to underlying privacy perils. The world is experiencing significant growth or cases in several data breaches leading to massive breaches of private data to the public. Hackers always target unsuspecting firms or companies to access important details such as the profile of clients or company records which could result in various forms of exploitations. When such a breach happens, it severely affects both the company and the individuals because while the person's data is compromised so is the deterioration of trust in the organization by the public.
Privacy calculus (shown in Figure 1 in the appendix section) refers to the comprehension of privacy as well as safety trade-offs of a certain innovation or firm. It assumes that individuals will divulge individual details whenever the perceived rewards or advantages outweigh the potential cost. Kehr et al. ascertain that the choice of sharing information is associated with privacy calculus as the equilibrium between the rewards and the hazards of revealing individual details or data. A person's privacy calculus can be impacted by several factors including but not limited to the perceived value of the details being revealed and the repercussions of the disclosure. Additionally, the cultures and factors within the society might considerably influence privacy caliculus These factors include but are not limited to societal norms associated with privacy in specific locations. Research has indicated that the threshold of diversity which is always accompanied by the growing society has some considerable effect on the withdrawal from the globe making people even more sensitive to what they share with the public.
III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study used a qualitative approach in analyzing the user concerns on social networking site engagement. Primarily, this method was applied in this study because it offers a significant opportunity for the researcher to devolve deeply into but not limited to nuances of consumer experiences, viewpoints as well as emotions. Compared to a quantitative approach which only focuses on numerical as well as statistical evaluations, the selected approach here delves deeply into the underlying inspirations, feelings, and means that drive consumer connections online. Approaches such as but not limited to interviews and focus groups provided a substantial opportunity for the researcher to unveil the intricate web of norms and values that significantly impact how consumers interact and their perception of social media sites.
Additionally, the qualitative approach substantially enabled the researcher to attain different consumer concerns. According to Van der Vlist, and Helmond, social networking sites are characterized by a sophisticated structure that comprises different cultures and subcultures with distinct practices as well as concerns (3). By applying a qualitative approach, an investigator can therefore attain immediate information precisely on the experiences of consumers over different populations, and locations. This great understating is significant because it helps to design comprehensive as well as consumer-centric sites that cater to the different requirements as well as tests of the audiences across the world.
Moreover, the qualitative approach offered the researcher a flexible and adaptable experience especially when analyzing emerging issues within social media and user engagement. As indicated by, Reynolds, and Bennett, the qualitative approach allows the use of their analytical paradigms to suit the certain features of emerging issues encompassed in social media as well as consumer involvement (4).
When collecting data, the research applied the following types of qualitative methods:
A. Interviews
Interviews offered a significant platform for participants to articulate their concerns using their own words thus providing the researcher with the desired information on the experiences and viewpoints of people using the complex domain of social media. By applying the open-ended questions, the researcher was able to analyze the profound inspirations that significantly provided limelight to the intricacies of social media. Besides, interviews helped in contextualizing the user concerns in the wider brackets of social and cultural settings in which they take place. By involving the respondents in the study through discussion, the researcher was able to identify factors that significantly influence consumers'' viewpoints and habits including but not limited to peer pressure and cultural ideals. The contextual comprehension offered great support especially in deciphering the motive behind consumer concerns and coming up with solutions or rather strategies that perfectly resonate with the distinct array of consumers globally. Lastly, the interview helped to foster significant discourse that involved the researcher and respondents. This helped in cementing trust and the needed help that improved the credibility of the research.
B. Questionnaires
This study also used questionnaires to obtain relevant data that assisted in the completion of this research. Typically, questionnaires are valuable equipment issued when collecting data because they can gather a significant number of standardized information effectively. This study started by clarifying the objective of the questionnaires to participants. The researcher applied an open-ended type of questionnaire and crafted questions that aided in the collection of data from the respondents. The questionnaires were delivered to participants through email surveys that significantly aligned with the features of the sample group as well as the study aims. The clarity of the communication in the email and privacy substantially fostered participant involvement in the study. Besides, the researcher ensured that the information provided through this tool was secured and systematically organized to foster the analysis of information. In a nutshell, the study implemented effective usage of questionnaires in collecting vital data in the study. The researcher adhered to the best practices and embraced the spirit of iterative refinement thus harnessing the complete ability of the questionnaires and advanced knowledge concerning user concerns on social media engagement.
The sampling technique applied in this study was purposeful approach. This approach is broadly applied in qualitative studies to identify data-rich scenarios for the most efficient usage of scarce resources (5). The sampling techniques comprise of coming up and choosing people or groups that possess knowledge concerning or have experience with the topic under study (5). Through the use of emails, the researcher chose respondents who met certain qualifications and offered valuable information concerning consumer concerns on social media. Based on the participants’ selection criteria, a purposeful sample of (n=60) was selected to participate in the survey.
The research used thematic analysis (TA) in analyzing data. TA has enabled the research to unveil the profound concerns that prevail more across social media consumers. Through a systematic analysis specifically of the content that is common among consumers, the research was able to pinpoint reappearing subjects that show shared concerns, and frustrations. For example, factors including but not limited to privacy issues, and cyberbullying frequently arise in literature addressing the concept of consumer concerns within the context of social media. Nevertheless, TA offered a structured framework that greatly helped in organizing as well as interpreting qualitative information. Through conducting a thorough grouping of information or rather data into topics and sub-topics, the research was able to attain a fundamental insight into the diverse range of issues from the consumers. As argued by Thompson, TA promotes the rigor as well as reliability of the study outcomes, making sure that conclusions are based on empirical proof (6).
Additionally, TA offered significant support in facilitating comparisons as well as synthesis over distinct studies. Considering the idea that the use of social media keeps on growing, investigators always face various pieces of publications addressing the same subjects. TA gives these investigators to highlight the similarities and differences across datasets thus facilitating the enrichment of their comprehension concerning consumer concerns. Despite the above merits of TA in this study, this approach also significantly fails in various areas especially when applied to data analysis (7). For instance, the TA does not have strict directives for completing an analysis. This might easily culminate in variability, particularly in the manner in which this approach is used in different studies, thus rendering it difficult to draw a comparison in findings or replicate studies.
IV. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The consideration of ethics within studies is paramount since it ensures that the studies are completed by observing integrity, respect as well as fairness specifically on respondents involved. It's vital to uphold ethical consideration because morally right and also helps to maintain the credibility of the research. This research upheld the ethical standards before, during, and after the study in various ways. Firstly, the researcher ensured that the idea of informed consent was considered by significantly providing vivid information to respondents so that they could come up with independent choices about their involvement in the study. The researcher also ensured that there was room for withdrawal from the research by any respondent if they felt to do so. The research also ensured the concepts of confidentiality and privacy were considered during the interview process. Research has shown that it is vital to offer respect to the privacy of respondents to enhance or build confidence and trust (8). Enria et al. Emphasizes the need to maintain privacy during the study process from information gathering up to publication to lock out unauthorized personnel or disclosure of personal details (8). In this study, the researcher adopted the necessary measures to offer the needed protection or security for sensitive data or details gathered during the interview and the study at large.
Furthermore, the researcher also took the responsibility of reducing harm and at the same time raising the benefits for respondents. The researcher achieved this carefully by offering potential safety and eliminating threats associated with the research such as but not limited to physical harm. The researcher ensured that the relevant measures were executed to provide safety to vulnerable groups. In addition, the researcher ensured that there was respect for the respondent's independence as well as dignity. This was achieved by significantly treating respondents with respect and dignity. This entirely involved, honoring their choices concerning but not limited to their inclusion in the research.
Nonetheless, the researcher also ensured that fairness and equity were upheld during the study. The researcher observed the concept of diversity in recruiting participants and at the same time eliminating the prejudices grounded on aspects including but not limited to race or religion. Besides, the researcher took the necessary steps by considering the potential outcomes of the study for the most vulnerable respondents specifically people living with a disability. Lastly, the researcher guaranteed that ethical oversight, as well as responsibility, is observed throughout the research procedure. The researcher took the primary function of ensuring that the study adheres to the ethical standards designed by Institutional review boards.
V. RESULTS
The analysis focused on demographic examination by exploring aspects such as age, gender, education, job status, and social media platforms used. Based on gender, there 27 were female while 33 participants were men. The youngest participant was aged 21 years while the oldest was 57 years. The average age of the participants was 35.4 years, indicating that most were men. The minimum education level of the participant is a high school graduate and all participants were actively in employment or self-employed.
All the participants had registered an account with at least two social media platforms, although a majority (48), had multiple accounts. Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok were the most common social media platforms. However, most of the participants had registered an account with professional platforms like Linkedin, although most were not active participants on these platforms. Facebook emerged as the most popular for general networking while X was preferred for emerging news and trending online topics.
TA was adopted to explore the concerns of the users regarding privacy. Following the analytical approach proposed, there were five emerging themes on the most pressing privacy issues by users of social media networks; namely the scale and scope of data collection, potential misuse of user data, third-party app portability, behavioral tracking, and potential data breaches.
VI. ANALYSIS DISCUSSION
A. Discussion
To achieve the objective of the study, it was vital to provide substantial feedback on the two research questions that guided this study. The first question focused on understanding the primary concerns of social media about privacy. Social media networks have revolutionized and transformed communication, social networking, and bridging people's relationships. These mediums offer crucial benefits but also introduce noteworthy privacy concerns. The interviews revealed that the concerns delve around the process of data collection, use of information collected, security, control over private data, tracking behavioral patterns, and the association of third-party stakeholders. The interviews provided a comprehensive understanding by highlighting relevant concerns in detail, which will be explored further by applying the TA framework to ensure that each factor is understood well.
Scope and scale of Data Collection
The interviewees showed concerns about the scale and scope of data collection by social media networks. It emerged as one of the most pressing issues among social media users because of the intricacy of remaining private. Social media platforms obtain an enormous volume of information, including aspects like name, age, and residence and intimate details such as internet activities, hobbies, and text messages. The respondents indicated that the platforms can collect Personal Identifiable Information (PII) because account holders it is one of the requirements at the point of registration [10]. Crucial information like personal email addresses, contact numbers, and date of birth. The participants showed concerns because they suspected fraudulent actors could access the data and use it for malicious purposes.
The participants also showed concern for the ability of social media platforms to study behavioral patterns using the data collected. Participants argued that privacy is a crucial aspect of human dignity and should be guaranteed by social media platforms [11]. One participant noted that Facebook can track their interment activities, sites visited visit, content, preferences, and communication patterns. Therefore, it demonstrates that the use of collected data by social media is an issue that could pose privacy risks.
Misuse of Personal Data
The participants showed concerns about the use of information collected and stored in social media databases. Social media platforms can leverage the data collected to understand how to improve the experiences of users and other aspects that improve the quality. Based on the participants' responses, targeted advertising can be a vulnerability to users. Social media platforms can use the data to facilitate Ad Personalization [11]. The algorithms can be trained to analyze user data to enable personalized advertisements, which is an invasive antic. The platforms can be involved in the monetization of user data by selling the analyzed ta to third-party organizations.
The participants of the survey observed that social media platforms used the data beyond advertising purposes. The algorithms can be refined to understand social media consumption patterns to influence their purchase decisions. This is a form of manipulation by feeding users targeted information to influence their attitudes, behaviors, and choices [12]. Third-party organizations can leverage modern advances in AI and analytics to study the behavior of social media users and enable the system to make product recommendations and even product development.
Data Breaches
Data security emerged as a leading theme in during the interviews as recent news of frequent cyberattacks and monumental data breaches led to the exposure of personal information. Most participants noted that the high-profile incidents of data breaches by social media platforms like the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal led to the manipulation of voters' decisions in the US election and the Brexit vote. Millions of personal information data were mined without the users' consent. The exposure of the data led to adverse consequences including identity theft, financial fraud, and online vulnerabilities.
Similarly, users noted that user accounts frequently face security vulnerabilities. The accounts have weak password protocols. Some participants indicated that they have been victims of social media account hacks due to the weak security protocols. However, the participants were encouraged to indicate the password, implying that they used a common password including date of birth, name, and city [10]. Some users understood the two-factor authentication, which is crucial in minimizing hacking. The two-factor authentication protocols lead to problems by adding layers. Making it unpopular among most social media users.
Poor account security reduces the ability of users to control their personal information. However, most social media platforms recognize that there is a need to enhance the security of users' accounts. The security setting is complex and confusing to many ordinary social media users. A significant proportion of participants did not understand the process of setting the advanced security protocols [13]. Most users rely on the default security setting, which encourages sharing of personal information and social media activities. The users are expected to maneuver the complex process to ensure the security of their data. Shifting such an obligation to users with limited knowledge about the technicality of social media account security raises ethical and moral concerns.
Behavioral Tracking
Most users noted that social media platforms can perform behavioral tracking by analyzing social media activities, patterns, and content. Cookies Technologies provide the platforms with a tool to perform continuous tracking across different websites, retaining in-depth profiles of user's behavior [13]. The platforms can conduct behavioral tracking with informed consent: The Cambridge-Analytica incident reveals the vulnerability of social media platforms on individuals and society. The profiles created were used not only for marketing and advertising purposes but also to influence political campaigns.
Participants of the study indicated that the ability of social media platforms to collect data limitlessly can expose users to surveillance vulnerabilities. Collecting private and intimate data, such as personal health information and PII can enable third-party actors to perform surveillance since each aspect of social media interaction is documented. The Power held by social media companies leads to the loss of anonymity over personal information to some extent. The structure of social media communication makes it impossible to maintain anonymity because the data is augmented into a singular platform.
Third-Party Apps Data Portability
Portability and the right to delete information is also a concern among users. This stems from the concept of the "right to be forgotten." Users may opt for some content from their social media platforms. Users have limited control over the spread and distribution of the content they post. Deleting the content does not limit other account owners to post similar information [14]. This is a significant concern highlighted by the participants of the survey. deleting their data or controlling its spread once shared.
The growth of social media has coincided with an era of integration of online systems and solutions. Most social media platforms allow third-party apps and integrations. Third-party applications operate based on their practices, policies, and unique terms and conditions for service. There are more privacy issues when social media networks integrate third-party apps and services. Integration of third-party Apps into the social media application can facilitate the collection of data and potential for misuse [12]. There is a lack of clarity over the party responsible for the security of data. Besides, the more the data is available to employees of both organizations, it can be at risk of breaches.
The second question focused on examining the mediating factors contributing to the social media user’s privacy concerns. Based on the TA, the merging factors included inadequate regulatory protection, ineffective social media platform privacy policies, and ignorance of users on appropriate security settings.
Accessibility and Permission
Accessing the data held may require permission from the user or the social media platform. Some apps may be granted broad permissions that allow them unlimited access to the information. Third-party apps often request access to a wide range of user data, which may not be necessary for their functionality. There is a lack of appropriate oversight over data and usage by third-party organizations and apps. The platforms do not provide sufficient oversight and guidelines on how the third parties use and protect the data they access.
Therefore, there is potential for misuse and manipulation of user data by social media platforms and third parties who access the data. Social media platforms may have strict privacy but third-party organizations may have inconsistent privacy concerns. The Cambridge Analytica scandal is an illustration of such an incident, where Facebook data was accessed with crucial privacy breaches. Social media platforms pose a significant threat because they can lead to trust issues among users. Some of the participants noted that they had deleted their accounts because of fear of privacy breaches [14]. The constant privacy issues influence the attitudes and behaviors on social media and their level of trust in these platforms. Hence, the participants have adopted self-censorship due to the awareness of potential online tracking and data collection. This involves avoiding sharing some details or expressing views freely.
The risk of privacy breaches can minimize the levels of social engagement to conceal one's true personality and character. Privacy concerns can lead to reduced engagement, with users less likely to participate in activities that require personal information sharing. Users have also shown concerns for better data and information security practices by social media platforms. The participants of the survey indicated that transparency over the use of the data collected is necessary to protect their confidentiality [12][13]. The growth in awareness and understanding of the right to privacy has been a significant factor that has influenced the demand for better information security protocols.
Inadequate Regulatory and Policy Concerns
Privacy is a right recognized by the laws of different countries including the United States. There are specific legislations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU block or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), enacted to protect the privacy and confidentiality of users' data. However, it does not provide sufficient protection to users since there are several hurdles in its implementation. The lack of effectiveness and compliance with the law has contributed to the loopholes that are constantly utilized by the platforms to collect personal data [12]. The legislations impose legal and criminal liabilities on social media platforms, which can be a crucial method of deterring platforms from engaging in unauthorized sharing of users' data.
Ineffective Social Media Site Policies
Social media platforms have policies that guide the usage of data collected from account holders. Most of these terms are often complex and it is difficult for the users to comprehend. Users sometimes agree to conditions without fully understanding service and privacy rules since they are lengthy and complex [11]. The participants contented that they had never read through all the policies, terms, and conditions of using the site. These challenges lead to the acceptance of policies that allow the collection and usage of data.
Besides, social media platforms are constantly enhancing policy changes that could affect the security of users' data. Platforms regularly change their terms of service, sometimes making major adjustments to privacy provisions that users might not always see or comprehend [13]. The ignorance of users creates vulnerabilities in users and places social media platforms in a superior position. This enables the platforms to include policies that are pro-data collection.
B. Conclusion
Social media companies need to improve privacy controls, strengthen security, simplify privacy settings, and follow strict regulations to strike a balance between user interaction and privacy. Platforms can provide a safer and more reliable environment and encourage users to interact without jeopardizing their personal information by fully addressing these main concerns. This fine balance, where the advantages of connection and sharing are evaluated against the fundamental right to privacy, will determine the future of social media.
Dealing with a wide range of intricate issues is necessary when navigating the social media privacy tightrope. It makes sense that users are concerned about the scope of data gathering, the uses to which it is put, the security of their data, and their control over it. These issues become even more complicated when third-party apps are involved and behavioral tracking is used. These privacy concerns provide serious legal and policy hurdles in addition to affecting user behavior and confidence.
C. Future Research
Social media platforms need to reconsider the concept of user privacy to protect the confidentiality of user data. It is necessary to communicate clearly about the purpose for which the data collected is to be used. The current system is opaque and the users have limited knowledge about the terms and conditions of service. Organizations must protect the integrity of user data. Failure to comply with the regulatory requirement can lead to substantial financial and reputational damage to a social media platform. Facebook has been heavily fined for data breaches and scandals.
Policymakers and legislator should also understand the risk that social media platforms expose to their users and introduce stricter regulations and guidelines on how these platforms can use data collected. Currently, social media platforms are powerful and can influence users to accept terms that would allow the collection of personal information. The legislation should focus on introducing guidelines that compel the platforms to be transparent and use terms that are easily understandable to all users. The study focused on users that are educated but they were also not familiar with the terms on the use of personal data by the platforms. The government can provide better protection by introducing liabilities on platforms that mislead users to accept opaque terms and conditions with a loophole that will allow the collection of PII. Government involvement will be necessary as information and communication technologies continue to transform how organizations collect, analyze, and utilize online users and activities.






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Appendix

Figure1: The conceptual model of extended privacy calculus

So the big vote(s) have taken place and the FDA's Molecular and Clinical Genetics Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee is recommending that the FDA approve Guardant's Shield CRC Blood Test as being Safe (8-1) and Effective (6-3) with its Benefits Outweighing any Risks (7-2), presumably as a frontline CRC screening option (secondary only to colonoscopy), on par with Cologuard and FIT.
The Advisory Committee's hearing can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBWk4edINzEThe
The Advisory Committee's discussion (starting at 1:55:00 remaining) and comments from the panelists regarding their individual votes (starting at 11:00 remaining) make it clear that while Shield is very effective in screening for and detecting later stage (Stages II-IV) colorectal cancer, it does not effectively detect precancerous Advanced Adenomas (13.2%) and does not even reliably detect even Stage I CRC (54.5% sensitivity).
Even the yes voters on the panel stated their expectation that the FDA label specifically warn that while Shield is effective at screening for Stage II-IV CRC, it does not effectively screen for early Stage I CRC, is not intended to screen for or detect precancerous polyps/adenomas, is not intended to prevent CRC, and should not be considered a replacement for colonoscopy.
I was quite surprised that the Advisory Committee was not specifically allowed to vote on the question as to whether Shield's clinical performance supported its use as a primary screening option (similar to other non-invasive CRC screening options) or whether it was more appropriate as a secondary screening option for specific populations (e.g., patients who decline other more effective CRC screening tests). This was simply not a voting option given to the panelists. In my opinion, this really calls into question the Advisory Committee's recommendation that Shield be used as a primary frontline CRC screening option (secondary only to colonoscopy), given that almost every panelist who voted yes to recommend Shield qualified their vote by stating that the labeling should specifically point out Shield's limitations, and warn that it is not a substitute for other tests which are intended to both prevent CRC by detecting advanced adenomas/precancerous polyps as well as to detect colorectal cancer when it is most easily treated, in Stage I.
Based on the mass confusion with respect to the questions ultimately voted upon by the panelists, which in my opinion did not adequately reflect the panelists' discussions prior to and the comments after their votes, I would not at all be surprised if the FDA either does not follow the Advisory Committee's recommendations, or labels the Shield test in such a manner (consistent with the panelists comments) so as to make it clear that Shield is not approved or to be utilized as a primary frontline tool for CRC screening.
Also, while I have no formal scientific background (although I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express a few years ago), I must say that all of the "no" voters on the panel seemed to be much better informed, knowledgeable and persuasive in their arguments than the "yes" voters. Just my opinion. But I do believe that the FDA will carefully consider the arguments and opinions of the "no" voters when making their final decision.
Also, I am truly impressed by the differences between the USPSTF and the FDA AdComm meetings. The USPSTF strikes me as having much more depth and scientific rigor than the FDA AdComm. In my opinion, there is no way that Shield will ever receive an A or B grade from USPSTF, obtain widespread commercial insurance coverage, be included in any quality measures, or pose a serious competitive threat to Cologuard. Also, just a thought, but perhaps Cologuard Plus will be differentiated enough to receive a higher grade than FIT from USPSTF? Perhaps even on par with colonoscopy? Maybe I am dreaming about Cologuard Plus receiving the same grade as colonoscopy, but if Colonoscopy received an A, Cologuard Plus a B, and Fit only a C, perhaps there would be some movement to replace Fit with Cologuard Plus in all the quality measures? If so, this could truly be meaningful.
With respect to Exact Sciences' stock, the trading today was pretty wild. The stock sold off hard as the AdComm meeting began, hitting yet another 52 week low of $49.97 just before noon Eastern time. Then, in the last hour of trading, as some of the panelists were making negative comments about Shield's inferior performance in detecting advanced adenomas and Stage I disease, and questioning Shield's suitability as a frontline CRC screening test, the stock rocketed up almost $4/share, reaching a high of $54.62 and closing up $0.59 for the day at $54.08. But as soon as the AdComm vote tally was revealed shortly after the closing bell, the stock plunged in the after market, trading as low as $48.95. As I am putting the finishing touches on this post, at 6:13 Eastern time, the stock has recovered to $52.50. Hopefully, for sake of my financial and mental health, which has been somewhat delicate lately, the $40's are now in the rearview mirror.
What are your thoughts on the FDA AdComm meeting, voting procedures and recommendation? Please leave a comment below for discussion.

I am 23F living in Canada. I will say this first: switching doctors is not an option, we do not have private doctors, public healthcare is my only choice and there are ZERO doctors in my area taking on new patients. I’m lucky enough to even have a family doctor.
For context: I have BPD (borderline personality disorder) which has been known to be seen as a “difficult patient” amongst clinicians, so I believe this plays a factor in this, even though I’ve been quite “tame” in comparison.
I have a lot of health issues that aren’t being addressed no matter how many time I bring them up. Chronic fatigue, hot flashes, bowel issues, stomach pains, headaches, mental illness, joint and muscle pains, etc. My doctor will just send me for blood tests and when they come back clear she will not investigate any further.
My two younger sisters also see her, yesterday we all went in for our yearly full physical check up. She was poking at all of our stomachs asking if there was any pain. My sisters said no but I said yes, and she did not address it at all and just moved on with the rest of the appointment. She also always provides the care my sisters need, but continues to dismiss my concerns.
The only issue that has been addressed was found by another doctor in the ER. I went in for stomach pain and got an x-ray of my stomach showing backed up bowels due to chronic constipation. After this I brought it up with my doctor that I could be gluten intolerant and she sent me for gluten and lactose intolerance testing. Turns out I’m lactose intolerant just the constipated kind? Why did it take an x-ray from another doctor to get to this point? Why didn’t she suggest these tests any of the times I’ve brought up stomach pain? This is the only time I’ve gotten actual results for a chronic issue.
I just don’t know how to deal with this? I’ve tried writing down all my symptoms and how frequently I experience them and she just glanced at the list and moved on with the appointment. She didn’t even read it.
How do I deal with this? I’m so tired of feeling sick all the time without a reason to be feeling this way and not being taken seriously by my doctor.
I am NOT asking for medical advice. I simply wish to know if there are any strategies when dealing with a dismissive doctor.
TLDR: My doctor frequently ignores my health concerns, I’m tired of feeling sick for no reason and not being taken seriously. I can’t just get another doctor due to lack of healthcare availability in Canada.

Hey y’all, I have my pre-op next week, and surgery the day after.
Last week (two weeks before surgery) I did blood labs testing my CBC and BMP (I also did an EKG). They all came back with good results.
I have read here about the nurses running blood tests at the pre-op/day of surgery. What are those for, as in, what are they testing?
Would I have to do another lab then, or did that already occur with the CBC and BMP I did?

I know I should have been ecstatic.
My mother’s eyes swam with gratitude and yet mine were always cast to the ground, burning holes into crayon-ridden patches of carpet we refused to clean. We’d barely dared to dream during those silent dinners without Willow, the jarring sound of clumsy cutlery echoing through our now too-empty house, conversation seeming pointless without her skipping around the dinner table begging for the attention I gave her too little of, thumbs ghosting over my phone instead.
I want to reach back in time and wrench my head from my shoulders when I think of her begging to show me a cartwheel, watching myself roll my eyes instead of grabbing her up and memorising her face because she would be dead soon. Days of torture turned to weeks and Willow was gone, lost to someplace only our terrible imaginations could conjure up. She was dead but we were ghosts, haunting our own house with pale apparitions of ourselves, eating to live and speaking only to fill the silence. She was colour and the world redrew itself in black and white for the three of us. Life was over.
Until it wasn’t.
The news she was missing had never really caught on outside the walls of our little town, so when the local policeman came to our doorstep, it was without fanfare. On the very first day she vanished, the officer leading the investigation found a small pair of gloves - her gloves - by the treacherous river that wound through the woods. To them, the investigation was over before it even began, no need to alert the press or sully the town with sad posters. The world chugged along without us, utterly unbothered, and we crumbled into thousands of pieces.
But, as the rain-soaked policeman uttered on a Tuesday evening, Willow had returned, found in a patch of woods smeared with mud and blood and asking to come back to our home. She led the police to this house, and as everyone yelled in unison, she's back. It’s what my parents choked out in desperate, relieved sobs I’d never heard fill our house up before. It’s what all the paperwork stated, endless days of making sure everything was above board.
It seemed I was the only naysayer staring into this girl’s eyes and knowing with every fibre of my being that this was not my Willow sitting cross-legged on our family sofa. She looked like her - eerily so. But it was off, it was wrong. Her chin a little too pointy, her gaze a little too cold. She was not my bright, bubbly little sister dressed head to toe in pink.
But she said she was. She said it with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, eyes which sparkled just a shade or two off Willow’s. Her voice was a semitone lower, but that’s because it’s been two years and voices change, my mother insisted. Her chin-length hair now flowed far past her shoulders in that same chocolate hue, a length Willow would gasp at if she saw. This stranger wandered straight into our house, pulled on my sister’s too-small clothes and played pretend, pulling the strings on everyone but me.
The first night was something out of a horror movie, the heaviest sense of dread settling like lead in my stomach. Bile rose into my throat as she skipped into the living room, settling herself in Willow’s seat and tugging impatiently at the hem of my sister’s favourite dress. I’d bought it for her on a spontaneous shopping trip, watching her eyes light up at all the little sunflowers lining the collar. She’d been giddy, and now a stranger’s fingernails dug into the fabric, leaving marks I’d never get rid of. No longer would that little dress smell like Willow, because it was going to smell like her.
“Come to the table,” my mother insisted in a too-jovial tone, eyes more alight than I’d seen them in years. My father nodded a silent agreement, perhaps a bit more muted than she was, and I had to swallow down my fury, my confusion. I had to. Six eyes bore into mine and the chair scraped as I sat down and this wasn’t my sister. She stared over her plate at me with a hollow smile, eyes devoid of any real emotion. Her fingers drummed on the mahogany, a disjointed rhythm I’d never heard despite sitting across from my sister for nine years.
“I missed you.”
Her words were sickly sweet, head tilted slightly to the side. Her gaze felt almost challenging, but my mother’s eyes brimmed with tears as she nodded vigorously, fork hanging in mid-air.
“Oh gosh, you wouldn’t believe-” she gulped her words down, overwhelmed, “you’ve dreamed of a family dinner, haven’t you, love?” she regarded me almost desperately, fingers trembling. And I had, of course. I’d cried a thousand tears for my baby sister, but the girl swinging her legs inches from mine sitting in my sister’s clothes was not the girl I’d sobbed for. When her foot brushed mine accidentally, thousands of goosebumps erupted over my skin because it was new, wrong.
“I’d love to hear where you’ve been,” I dared whisper into the silence. My mother gasped, fork clattering noisily onto her plate.
“Mr Matthews said-”
“Yeah, and if Willow ever turns up, I’ll keep quiet about it,” I snapped, eyeing this wild animal before me. She sucked in a mighty breath, and I swore I felt her gaze prickle me. But it was only seconds before her eyes became doe-like; wide and comical.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she uttered sadly, looking to my mother for reassurance. Her lip quivered, hands shook. It was almost laughable how overzealous her performance was and yet my father admonished me, snapping at me to leave while my mother gathered up the intruder in her arms, clutching at her so she’d never leave. I watched the family before me, new and being invented before my eyes.
As I left, she smirked right at me.
Nobody believed me. Not on the second day when I walked in and saw her doing perfect cartwheels in the living room, something Willow had been utterly hopeless at. She must have learned my mother chirped, scrubbing dishes so vigorously I swore she was leaving cracks. Nobody blinked on the third day when she locked herself in the bathroom and claimed to be too sick to head to the station to kickstart the rigorous medical testing. But it was the fourth night that haunted my dreams, driving me even closer to the edge I’d been dancing along. I’d largely managed to avoid her, other than the odd lingering gaze as we crossed paths in the hallway or a wry smile as we brushed shoulders.
Until there she was at 2 am, standing over me as I slept.
I didn’t scream. Didn’t startle her into dropping her soulless smile as she gazed upon me, staring straight down mere inches from my face. So close I could feel her hot breath on my nose, feel the animosity coming off her in waves. She didn’t move when I clocked her, didn’t take a step back or pretend to be doing anything other than pressing her face into mine in the dead of night.
“Why are you here?” I whispered, and we both knew I meant more than standing in my room. She laughed, a little giggle I’d never heard leave Willow’s mouth.
“I wanted to come home, silly,” she hissed back, breath tickling my cheek horribly. I swallowed, desperate not to show the fear which was beginning to course through me.
“You aren’t Willow,” I gritted my teeth and only then did she pull back a little, mock-hurt lining her features.
“That’s a shame,” she frowned, “You’re my favourite big sister.”
My hands trembled under the covers. “And how many sisters have you had?”
She paused then, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Oh. Lots.”
I don’t think I’ve ever felt as unsafe in my life as I did in that moment, watching her eyes glimmer with something truly evil, a sick sort of pride. I didn’t find my voice for a long time but when I did it was small and timid, a shadow of my confidence from only hours earlier.
“And what do you want with us?”
She thought on it for a moment, tilting her head back and forth as though the question was funny. Even in the dark, she looked wrong, as though someone had built her to look like my beloved Willow and misremembered her slightly, getting the angles and details wrong. She lay her fingers on my forehead, painfully drumming that same pattern on my skin as all those days ago. Shamefully, I was too scared to move, even as her fingers jammed into my skull.
“I like your Mum,” she mused, giggling childishly as she caught her mistake, “Our Mum. I think she’s going to like me more than your sister.”
But before I could react, she was gone, skipping towards the door in the wrong nightclothes, only turning back to casually ruin my life.
“She’s dead, by the way,” she murmured into the silence, shrugging, “It was painful, too. Sorry for your loss.”
And she left, leaving me aghast as I festered in my blanket, desperately grabbing Willow’s teddy bear from beside my bed and clutching it to my chest. I sobbed myself to sleep that night, face buried in her favourite toy and knowing for sure that she was never coming home.
It only got worse.
One day, I came home and my father wouldn’t speak, only managing to stare at his new daughter as she smirked at him from the shadow of Willow’s bedroom. He startled at me in the hallway, scurrying back into his study. When I called for him, he shook his head. “Hang out with your friends, go back outside,” he’d ordered, voice cracking. He slammed the door behind him and that was that. I was left to stare into Willow’s room, locking gazes with a pair of empty eyes sneering at me from under the bed, dark shadows only giving me a glimpse at her little limbs all cracked at the wrong angles as she twisted herself to fit where she shouldn’t.
When I tried to speak to my mother, she grew more and more irate, once physically covering my mouth with her hand.
“Mum, please see that she isn’t who she-” but she muffled my words out of existence with a trembling hand, sending me a subtle no with a quick shake of the head. She pleaded towards me with her eyes but I realised quickly that her steely gaze had fallen behind me. I didn’t need to see the parasite in my peripheral to feel her gaze burning holes into the back of my head. And I wasn’t imagining it - my mother was fearful, finally turning back to me with a steely resolve.
“Everything is fine,” she murmured, speaking a thousand words with only her eyes and voice dropping to a whisper, “we will make it work.”
That night, the stranger wearing my sister’s favourite bracelet gleefully pushed a piece of paper to the centre of the dinner table, eyes lit up with glee. “I drew us!” she cried, greedily watching for our reactions.
My mother gave nothing away, only visibly swallowing as she drank in the paper, white-knuckled grip on her spoon. My father stood from his seat, striding from the table and slamming the front door behind him as he left us, perhaps for the last time. I, however, dared pick it up, regarding every horrific line and frantic scratching before me.
It was us. Except the people labelled mummy and daddy were standing without heads, rivers of blood dripping down their torn torsos. My double sat in the corner of the paper, a pair of gouged-out eyes lying on the floor next to my terrified frame. Our stranger stood smiling with a large rake in her hand, head bent to the side and wearing my sister’s dress. But somehow, worst of all, was the picture of a little girl crumpled in the corner, a frown etched upon her face. Willow the scrawl above her stated, and I could hardly bear it.
I don’t remember much of it now, just the screaming and crying, lifting whatever wasn’t nailed down and hurling it across the room, watching it splinter into a thousand pieces. My mother cradling me as she dragged me upstairs, letting me bawl into her familiar sweet-smelling cardigan, clutching her as though she’d leave me too. The swirling wrongness engulfing our house, swallowing us back into the clutches of grief. But my all-encompassing comfort disappeared because when that horrible little thing downstairs called a desperate ‘mummy?’, my mother went rigid.
“You don’t have to go,” I pleaded through bleary eyes, but her sad smile told me that she did.
“I prayed two years for my baby girl to come home,” she’d said in a thick voice, clutching my hands as if begging me to understand. I’ll always wish I tried harder to keep her in that room with me, because the moment I loosened my grasp, I sealed her fate. The thing downstairs called and she offered me a sad smile, fingers brushing mine before she disappeared through the darkness of the door.
I never saw her again.
Before my eyes closed and sleep claimed me, I saw the head of Willow’s beloved bear discarded on the floor across the room, three feet from its body. My heart sank into my stomach and I drifted off into nightmares, feeling somehow, it was all over. When I awoke, slick with sweat and dread, she was there in the darkest corner of my room. Almost-Willow.
Nighttime shrouded her but I could see the blood, even in the dim light. Something glinted in her hand under the glow of moonlight, and her eyes blazed with something bigger than the both of us. Twelve minutes passed and she didn't move, her relentless, empty stare locked onto me as she swayed back and forth.
I knew that the second I moved she was going to lunge. Somehow, I knew that’s what Mum did. That’s why the room fell into such uneasy silence, because I was utterly alone, and when I held my breath, I swore could I hear the shift of fabric. Yes, she was definitely closer to me than she had been five seconds ago. If I squinted, I could see her feet shuffling towards me, in time with my erratic breathing.
I ran, of course, limbs jelly as I sprinted past my parents' room, practically choking on the stench of blood. She locked all the doors, sealed all the windows. I don’t even remember how I made it to the hospital, sodden and picking glass out of my skin as a kind nurse led me to a room, concern etched into her features as she promised to return for me as soon as she called the police. It’s hard to type with blood trickling down my phone, fragments of the upstairs window jammed into my flesh.
It’s over, I’m sure. But somehow, with every second that passes, I feel closer to my sister. The real one. Not the one with her face pressed into the third-story window of my hospital room, face contorted in bloody, evil glee.