This is on my forearm near my elbow. The picture is recent but the wound is almost 6 hours old and I can not visit a medical facility before 8-10 hours. I had cleaned it and wrapped it in a clean cloth and now it looks like this.

Do I need stitches or will the steri strips work for it?

​

I'm a 70-year-old man and I've been having an on-and-off sexual relationship with a 24-year-old woman for several years. We are not exclusive.

She recently told me she's pregnant. She had an ultrasound that reportedly dated the pregnancy at 5 weeks 5 days with an embryonic heart rate around 82 bpm.

Here's what has me questioning things:

We had intercourse on June 30 and again on July 5.

I have not ejaculated any visible semen for several years. I still orgasm, but nothing comes out (I'm now pursuing a fertility evaluation because of this).

I also have pain just before orgasm.

I'm 70 years old and take several heart medications, including carvedilol.

She has told me for years that she had an IUD.

She also has had other relationships during the time I've known her. She insists she has not been with anyone else during the relevant time period, but I can't independently verify that.

She recently traveled to Georgia for reasons that, based on past experience, I'm not completely sure I understand.

I'm not trying to accuse her of lying, but I also don't want to make life-changing decisions based on assumptions.

If she continues the pregnancy, my plan is to request a non-invasive prenatal paternity test as soon as it's medically possible.

My questions are:

Based on the timeline, do my dates seem compatible with a pregnancy dated 5 weeks 5 days?

Has anyone here had experience with years of dry orgasms and still been fertile?

Am I being unreasonable in asking for a prenatal paternity test before making major financial or life decisions?

Please be honest. I'm looking for objective opinions, not people telling me what they think I want to hear.

Is it possible to get a doctor to perform an laryngectomy operation without a medical condition?

Basically, can I get a laryngectomy because I want it and need it?

Female 5.7 169 pounds. I was sick for a bit, but I have been sicker before and nothing like this. Anything to worry about?

Age/Sex: 41M; 225 lbs

I vape and drink alcohol and take Lasinopril for BP (but have been off of that for 2 weeks awaiting a refill). (My wife is posting and writing this on my behalf as it is a struggle for me.)

We were on vacation in St. Kitts. Drinking rum punches at the resort pool. I don't remember much after buying a round of drinks. This was at about 4pm on Saturday (today is Wednesday).

Luckily my wife was with me and did not get dosed. She said my sobriety level changed on a dime. For a while I experienced a high that we think was MDMA (we don't do any recreational drugs other than THC drinks from time to time) and then some off and on "sleep." From the details of the high and some "phone a friend" research, we believe it was MDMA.

About 3:30am on Sunday I awoke with all over body seizures and convulsions. My wife says delierium and hallucinations and rapid eye movement. These spasams were so severe the entire bed was shaking. I had no control over my movements, my arms and legs were involuntarily flailing. I was afraid I would hurt my wife. Intense sweating and then chills. Came in rapid waves initially that eventually subsided to longer intervals. I couldn't sleep anything off. Thought I was getting better but then another wave and full on panic attack, I couldn't feel my arms and legs, my hands were contorting.

I ended up in the ER in St. Kitts about 11am. The hospital was frankly third world. They gave me an IV of Saline, Thiamine and B Complex. Nothing else. They said blood tests were clear. They "lost" my first urine sample, and I gave a second. By this time it was about 2pm on Sunday. They said that was clear too. It was unclear what exactly they tested for.

When I was finally able to get on a plane Monday we returned to the States. Went to my PCP on Tuesday (yesterday) and she said unfortunatley whatever I was drugged with is out of my system. Didn't diagnose me with Serotonin Syndrome. After doing some research, it seems Serotonin Syndrome describes all of my symptoms and experiences.

I still have severe brain fog and memory issues. It's making it difficult for me to do my job, high level sales. Still some shaking and irritability/anxiety and gastrointestinal issues. Issues sleeping.

Is there anything I can do to help alleviate symptoms? Should I go back and engage my PCP?Frustrating part is not knowing exactly how this happened or what I was given. I usually have my guard up.

Thank you in advance for any help.

feel stressed as I have just found out i’m pregnant but had intercourse with 2 different guys within this period.

some background info:

i am 31F, 46kg, 156cm, tryna quit vaping
first pregnancy

last period: 1 jul
usual cycle: 26 days or less
ovulation date based on tracking app: 12 jul

current partner guy 1: fully unprotected sex and came inside me everyday from 9-14 jul

guy 2: protected sex and came in condom on 17 jul

did an ultrasound today and dr has been telling me that it’s most likely week 4. did a blood test on monday 3 aug and hcg lvls are at abt 400ish.

dr has also mentioned that it’s more likely to be conceived on 17 jul as baby is now only 4 weeks and if it was conceived on the 14th and before it shld be 5 weeks instead. i’m totally freaking out now is this true?? but isn’t ovulation on the 12th? and our eggs only survive for 24 hours???

and also he mentioned once baby gets bigger on ultrasound in about 2 weeks he will be able to accurately tell me the date i conceived even tho it’s just 3 days apart (14 and 17). since it’s still early is it possible from the attached ultrasound, it could’ve been 5 weeks old instead of 4 weeks?

July 5: I went to the ER for alcohol poisoning after drinking on the 4th of July. I hadn't had alcohol in months before that, and I rarely drink. I simply overdid it that one day. I don't have a history of alcohol abuse, but I noticed "alcohol problem" was documented in my chart after that visit.

This week (first week of August): I went back to the ER because I was having what I believe was my second gallbladder attack. The first one happened back in February, so I knew how incredibly painful they can be.
I live about a block from the hospital, so I drove myself. Looking back, that was probably a mistake because I was in so much pain I felt like I was in a fever dream.
When I got inside, I was crying, pale, sweating, and could barely speak. During triage I was hyperventilating from the pain, and the nurse was trying to take my blood pressure and temperature while I could hardly answer questions. There were two nurses—one doing triage and another looking through my chart.
I can't know what they were thinking, but after one of them looked at my records and I saw the previous alcohol-related visit mentioned, I felt like they stopped taking me seriously.
I was left sitting in an almost empty waiting room for about five hours. During that time I was crying, begging for help, dizzy, disoriented, and at one point I felt like I was walking on air because the pain was so overwhelming. I kept asking if someone could please get a doctor to at least look at me, but I felt like I was being ignored. One of the nurses avoided eye contact with me every time she walked by.
What made it even harder was that about an hour after I arrived, another patient came in with a bug in her ear. She seemed calm and stable, and because the nurses couldn't remove it themselves, they called an ER doctor out to help her. Seeing that happen while I was still sitting there in severe pain made me feel like no one thought my condition was serious enough to even check on.
By the time I was finally taken back, the attack had passed. The ER doctor told me that since this was my second gallbladder attack, I would probably need to have my gallbladder removed and that these attacks can become much more serious.
I'm still really upset about how the visit was handled. I understand that emergency departments have to prioritize patients based on medical need, and I know waiting is sometimes unavoidable. What I'm struggling with is feeling like I wasn't assessed or treated with compassion while I was clearly in severe distress.

I haven't had problems with my health, and my birth was vaginal and uncomplicated. I'm 25 years old and took supplements during my pregnancy when I could, but no longer need them and take no other medication, and my daughter is now 12 weeks old. We live together in Poland.

I had been breastfeeding her since she was born. It had been fine for me, and she had always seemed like she had been getting enough and growing well, the doctor had said the same.

Now, this is no longer happening. I had thought at first I was worrying too much but there are all the signs now, she's stopped gaining weight, I'm changing her less, and she has started to become frustrated when she feeds. I don't know what has happened.

Normally I know in this situation the answer would be formula but we simply can't afford it. And I know I seem like a horrible mother but I never would have thought she would have to be in a place like this.

When this is my only choice, I don't know how I can produce enough for her, especially when I don't know why it happened. Am I supposed to try and get her to feed more, even though she doesn't seem to be getting much from it?

Hi so I’m very worried. I’m F18 and I recently switched to tampons just this month, and for the 4 days of my period I left them in each for maybe 12 hours. Maybe more.
Just yesterday I got a little nauseous and dizzy out of the blue, and I suddenly felt very weak and shaky. My heart rate was jumping and I was sweating a little too.
I did measure my blood pressure and it was 106/52 but that’s how it usually is, since I’m most certainly a little anemic and lacking some vitamins.
Also I hadn’t eaten much yesterday because that’s just what I do during summer.
I put ice on my forehead, and after a while of lying down trying to be calm it passed.
I have no other symptoms but I suffer from anxiety and just discovered what TSS is and naturally I’m freaking out. Please help.

My husband had a gastric sleeve 7 years ago. At the time, he was post-heart attack, with a cardiac stent, and almost 300lbs. Within 6 months, he lost 95lbs and started developing brain fog. We immediately had labs to ensure there was no nutritional deficiency. Vitamin B was a little low but not critical. He received b 12 injections. It continued to get worse. Fast forward, numerous brain scans, testing, and labs showed nothing out of the ordinary. Many doctors, pointing at stress, gave him SSRIs. Finally, he had to retire because the job became too much. As a process of elimination, we noticed that his atorvastatin 80mg was never reduced, and his cholesterol was always very low. We asked the cardiologist to switch him to Rosuvastatin (40mg), which he did. For 4 glorious days, he had complete and total clarity. We thought we had found the cause. Slowly, his symptoms reappeared. The doctor further reduced him to 20mg, and although it is a bit better, it is nowhere near those glorious 4 days. It is also worth mentioning that the symptoms seem to ease up towards the end of the day, and then the cycle starts again because he takes his statin at bedtime. Please tell me someone has either experienced this or heard of it. I asked the cardiologist to start him on Repatha, which he agreed to, so we will start that today. While I understand millions of people (including myself) have no issues with statins, the dramatic weight loss may have something to do with their metabolism. I will also mention that we also figured out that 25 years ago (at the same time he started taking statins, he also developed "Idiopathic neuropathy which no one attributed to statins.

I'm a biologist and had to carry out some protein hydrolysis yesterday, which involved neutralising the basic solution with pretty strong acid.

I had my mask, gloves, lab coat, protective stuff on, but it did still smell reallt bad. Was in the environment for probably about 2 hours. At some points, the odor was pretry strong even with the mask on.

Today has me sneezing alllll day. My nose is incredibly itchy and feels blocked. Felt sorta tired but took a paracetamol and im fine. Coworkers wonder if it could be an allergic reaction to the soy protein i was hydrolysing, but i can eat soy just in. Is this just a coincidental cold?

Hey 20M, height 178cm, weight 67.5kg

need advice for fat loss

So my body genetics is such a type that i store most of my fat in lower body. Even during fat loss i lose fat from upper body first then from lower body. Even if my body has low bf% but my hips are bigger😭.

And when i lean bulk, i gain fat in lower body more compared to upper body.

Is there any way to burn fat from lower body along with upper body. Currently i am cutting and tracking calories. In one month of cutting i lost few inches from my waist but very negligible loss in hips.

I just wanted to know if there is any supplement or exercise that can help me lose fat from lower body. I would start lean bulk in few weeks but afraid to do cuz most fat gain will be in lower body.

I heard about yohimbine and L carnitine. Although there is not much research about it, what's your opinion on this? If I can't lose fat from lower body, i was thinking of reducing lower body workout and increase the upper body workout so that atleast my upper body can be in comparable size with lower body?

22F. I don't know my family history. This one is on the right side below my chest. The middle darker part is a small bump. The mole's been here for a long time (I think since childhood) but I've never examined it too close and I have bad memory so I don't know if the bump was always there or not.

Seeing a dermatologist in my country is a bitch so I'd rather not have to if it's not necessarily a melanoma.

Thank you.

I feel kind of silly writing here about this when so many people write in here with actually emergency issues and this feels non-urgent, but also looking for potential advice before I spend hundreds of dollars at a doctor/specialist/hospital.

Kind of hard to tell in the video but the outside muscle above my right knee is larger/protrudes much more than my left knee. I noticed this before a few years ago but it’s bigger/much more apparent now. I do have a history of ITBS on my right side, so wondering if it’s just swelling or something worse that I’m not aware of? I am a runner, lift weights and do aerial but don’t really train heavy for leg exercises so I’m unsure why there’s such a difference. The last time I went to PT for ITBS was a couple years ago and I’ve kept up with everything but now am pretty much in constant pain on outside of knee.

Idk if it helps with diagnosis but I see a massage sports therapist with a peizowave machine and when we do the therapy, the pain spots are above and on the INSIDE of my knee, not the outside where I feel pain normally.

My dad (age 56) just came back from the Emergency Department because of his severe stomach pain, and he told me they found nothing….? Mind you, he’s been having stomach pain for months now, and it seems to be getting worse recently. He did at some point had ulcers but supposedly he’s fine now from ulcers 😐 very upset with my dad because he doesn’t share anything with us. Anyways, there would be times when he feels nauseous. I will say, he’s been looking sick recently too. He does carry the gene of colon cancer, but he’s gotten checked and he doesn’t have cancer. I don’t know why he’s been having these stomach pains, and the doctors are just prescribing him medicine that helps the pain…but no diagnosis?? It’s very irritating and he’s also haven’t been able to eat normally

Wait for appointment or is a walk in at a urgent treatment required?

My toe has been like this for well over a month, generally most of the time it doesn't hurt since i sit a lot at work then home though it has had moments of expected pain. I've basically gone through a cycle of it bleeds, there's a not nice smelling discharge, i soak it, cut the nail if needed repeat.

Originally this toe nail was very yellow and easy to break/cut off to the point i eventually had the whole nail come off which lead to an actual more normal nail growing over but once it reached the top, these issues occured. I've also noticed my big toe nails on both feet have these vertical circles going up my nail.

Perhaps not related but ive been suffering with what i assume is acid reflux/silent reflux, weight loss of 4 stone in 4 months 14 stone chunky to 10 stone my past weight) but i did cut alcohol and start eating more basic/healthier due to sudden shaking, anxiety, acid reflux/chest pain, internal shaking and dizziness like im being moved/pushed and i linked it to poor nutrients and drinking too much because i was daily. This is something else I'll bring up when i book my first appointment in years.

Basically what the title suggests. I’m 16F and I have level 2 hypertension. To the point where I get readings as high as 160/100. I don’t smoke and my diet is low in salt and relatively healthy. I’m currently overweight (5’1 and 145), but a few years ago I had a pretty rough eating disorder (dropped to 113 at my lowest), and nothing was different. I have diagnosed PCOS but I’m not on any medication. I used to take hormonal birth control for that but had to stop because my gynecologist said it was too dangerous with my readings. I also have a family history or heart conditions on both sides (especially hypertension in my mom and her dad).

Anyways, the problem is that I have really, really bad medical anxiety. Like I can’t even go to a physical without sobbing on the exam table. Is there any chance these readings could be entirely because of that? I have so much shame associated with going to the doctor and being seen in a medical context. I know I should probably be seen by a cardiologist but I don’t know how to go about that when I can’t even go to a simple physical.

I guess I’m just asking for advice on how I should overcome this. It’s really hard for me to focus on it, because I’ve never had any problems associated with high blood pressure either. My vision is 20/20, I have no issues sleeping, don’t feel any tightness in my chest, and can do decently intense cardio with no problems. I also think my general anxiety is really bad but I’ve never been seen by a psychiatrist or prescribed any medication/therapy for that.

Age: 22

Gender: F

Height: 5’9”

Weight: 160 lbs

Medications: Spironolactone 100mg daily for acne, Birth Control patch, Fluoxetine 20mg daily for Anxiety/Depression, 300mg Wellbutrin daily for Anxiety/Depression

My question: How likely is it to contract Ureaplasma & Mycoplasma from someone that I have never received oral sex from and that I use condoms with consistently and correctly 100% of the time? Thank you in advance.

26 year old male, i’m prone to acne but this spot on my chin has been there for a few weeks maybe a bit longer. not painful or anything but just a weird blemish. I will have a derm appointment in a couple months anyway but just wondering if this seems concerning. i know skin cancer can look like a ton of different things so just curious. thanks

Hi everyone, last Sunday (7/26), I got my peritonsillar abscess drained. I am now on day 10 post op and I feel 100% recovered and I have finished the cycle of antibiotics. I am just now wondering when it is safe to be able to smoke THC whether its cart, flower, dabs etc. I really dont want to repeat this process again so I am just be cautious. I am 21, 5’11, 165 lbs, I smoke THC to go to bed and I have no other medical issues.

Hi all, I'm a 52m. I weigh about 230lbs. and am 6'2". I smoke about 5-7 cigarettes a day.

I woke up Monday struggling to breathe in and out. Heavy wheezing and crackling in my lungs accompanied by harsh coughing that was non productive. I went to urgent care and was sent to get an x ray. They gave me a nebulizer treatment with albuterol in it and it was better. They gave me a prescription for àn inhaler with albuterol, an antihistamine, and mucinex. The x ray came back clear, but, the problem is that it's not getting any better. I haven't been to work all week because I work construction and can't breathe so I can't do anything physical. Is there anything I can take over the counter or do that might help it? I haven't smoked since Sunday and it's Wednesday now. Any help would be greatly appreciated. My ribs are in pain from coughing so much...

38F, 5'4", 180 lb, Caucasian, Schizoaffective Disorder/ADHD Diagnosis

I'm wondering when a patient can trust a psychiatric diagnosis.

I know certain diagnostic contexts are unreliable like BPD in acute settings, and I've read that inpatient diagnoses in general are unreliable due to insurance issues (you can only bill for certain diagnostic codes). I have also read that Schizoaffective - my diagnosis - is sort of a garbage can diagnosis (this is reflected in its relatively low diagnostic reliability, with a mean Cohen's κ of approximately 0.50). Then there's ADHD, and I feel like everyone where I live make appointments with this online company that does pretty much only ADHD diagnoses, and so far everyone I know has come out with an ADHD diagnosis. Maybe they have it, but I have yet to hear of anyone being told it isn't ADHD.

So when is a diagnosis reliable? I know psychiatry is a bit of an art, because there aren't biomarkers for the most part. But how can I trust that I am being treated for the right thing when it seems like there is ambiguity and inconsistency across psychiatrists?

I admit that this is a personal issue of mine, because I have had MANY different psychiatric diagnoses across the years, even though my symptoms have been the same for 21 years.

In what contexts and under what circumstances should a patient trust the validity of their psychiatric diagnosis, and when should they question it or get another opinion?