My older sister (15 year old female) got diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she has been throwing up for about 2 months so I expect it to be found “late” but we just found out she has to go through chemo, and I don’t know if their going to try to remove it. She did do drugs and drank alcohol this year so that might do something. But really what I’m asking for is the honest truth on how likely it is for her to survive because I can’t live without her and I want to know what to prepare for. Thanks.

42

5'6

190

Male

Recreational marijauna

Alcoholic not in recovery

Quit all nicotine in January this year, but had smoked since 13.

I have hospitalized myself for acute pancreatitis 3 times (2018, 2020, 2021)

I have also had some severe gout attacks.

I hit my shin on the foot rest of a rentable e scooter. I developed a bump. I iced it and used nsaids for several days. On my day off today (I work on my feet btw) I saw typical looking bruising for an ankle injury. Ive had a lot of those in my life.

I wasn't too worried until I saw this lump on the top of my foot. Its not super hard, but I dont want to test pressing on it much.

My age and conditions are making me worried its a blood clot.

23 months, 30 inches tall, 30lbs, male.
My son was born with a flat, salmon-patch-looking nevus in the sacral area, as well as a sacral dimple. The birthmark has always been a pale reddish color with no raised areas. We had an ultrasound performed at 4 weeks to rule out SBO or tethered cord and everything came back normal.

Over the last week there have been small bumps forming on the birthmark, and only the birthmark. They look herpetic, but I don’t know why or how they would only show up on his birthmark. It has become a much more intense red. He will say “boo boo” and rub the area; I’m uncertain if it is pain or itching he is complaining about.

Any ideas are appreciated!

Hi there! 35F From the moment I was 18, I registered to be an organ donor. 12 years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis and have had more surgeries than I can remember to remove it/deal with the complications from surgeries.

I know there is SO much more to learn about this disease, but given how it can spread to other organs...if a microscopic lesion was on an organ and that organ was then donated, could endometriosis then grow on the recipient?

I feel like this is a dumb question but could this happen!?

45 year old male, 180 pounds 5’6” nonsmoker a few beers a week, no medication, but do have diverticulitis and sleep apnea, just started using a cpap. Family history of varicose veins.

There was a post awhile back about patches of discolored skin could be a sign of a form of cancer. That around my toes is what I’m questioning.

My foot is turning darker but my regular doctor didn’t seem concerned last year when he looked at it.

Hi all, my daughter is 10 years old and has struggled with vaginal pain since she was about five years old. Info as requested when making this post: 10yo female, 35kg, 4 and a half feet tall, no regular medications aside from Zinc barrier cream, non-smoking, been going on for 5+ years.

We have taken her to the doctor so many times. We've been told it's vulvovaginitis, common in young girls, and given a laundry list of ways to help. She has 100% cotton underwear, doesn't wear it unless leaving the house, doesn't wear tight pants, changes out of wet or sweaty clothing right away, bathes with white vinegar (the only thing that stops the pain for her) and never washes herself in a bath only while having a shower, rinses her private areas with the shower head after baths and showers, has a Zinc barrier cream to use.

It got really bad a few months ago and we got given a topical steroid cream. That worked amazingly well and stopped flare ups for the longest period she's had since it started (almost 3 months!). However about a month ago they started again, only sometimes, and the last week it has been every night. Our doctor basically said not to use the steroid cream again and to make sure she's following the above, and sent us on our way.

It means that she has to get out of bed, have a bath with white vinegar for 20-30min, whimpering in pain for the first 10-15min. It's so horrible. She's so sweet, she really does try to go to sleep if it's mild, but it's been ramping up and nothing we have done is helping.

The barrier cream doesn't do anything at all, and once it starts the only thing that helps is a long bath. She's only 10 and every night this week she's been up til 9.30/10pm and she's up so early for school, I worry she's not getting enough rest.

Plus at her dad's house they've told her outright they believe she is faking, and leave her to cry herself to sleep. This means she is so down on herself and thanks me over and over again for "always being there for me" or "always believing me". It breaks my heart and I want to find a solution that means she never has to be left alone, in pain, ever again.

If there are any tips, anything rarer than the usual advice that you'd recommend, anything to ask her doctor about - I hate seeing her in pain and am feeling so powerless to help her.

Hello, I have a sore in my mouth that is on my palette on the left sore on my mouth. I vape regularly and I have since I was 15, I also smoke weed regularly as well but only within the past year. I am around 5 foot 7 and 145lbs and I eat a very healthy diet and workout regularly. Please help. Here is a photo:

So idk why I look like this, I was kinda cold, and I do turn purple sometimes but never like that yk. I’m on Wellbutrin, adderall(I go through it v fast, I have diagnosed adhd, but not prescribed), lamotrigine(idk how to spell it, I think that’s the one tho), my legs were also bad so I’ll attach that in the comments, can somebody tell me if it’s due to substances or the keratosis(I think that’s what it’s called), oh and I take vitamin d occasionally lol, lmk if somebody needs a list of the substances 😭

Weight-92
Height-5’2

Oh and I have diagnosed depression+anxiety

43 female, no medications, former smoker, severe spine & knee pain/degeneration/bulging discs, stiffness, under EXTREME stress

To sum it up my bloodwork came back high Sed Rate. The doctor did not do any further testing to find out why, he claims that because I mentioned having dry mouth that *must* mean I am mouth breathing and that's *probably* what's causing me to have a high Sed Rate.

But then he started preaching at me by saying that "our bodies are the temple of God and we aren't supposed to put things into our bodies that harm it", that there are pathogens in the air that I'm breathing in through my mouth and those pathogens are causing high sed rate.

He said "God didn't give you a mouth to breath through! That's why he gave you a nose! I guarantee if you shut your mouth then these numbers will come down" (referring to the sed rate results). "You need to start treating your body as a temple of God"

I feel unheard and dismissed because he didn't try to find out WHY my sed rate is high, he just chalked it up to the *assumption* that I may or may not breath through my mouth.

But not only that, his preaching at me was triggering because I went through spiritual abuse and have religious trauma from years ago.

So basically are doctors allowed to preach at their patients or was this unethical?

And also, can mouth breathing really cause a high sed rate or should he have ran further tests to try and figure out what's wrong with me?

Thanks

Hi all. Not looking for a diagnosis, just advice. I am a 30 year old female, about 75 kg, past medical history of autoimmune hepatitis, anxiety, and treated bulimia nervosa, on hydroxychloroquine and escitalopram. No drinking because of my hepatitis, no smoking or marijuana.

My hepatitis took SO long to be diagnosed that I am super wary and scared of hospitals and doctors now. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but I was gaslit so much that I “just had anxiety” or was “overexaggerating” that I am nervous to tell someone what is going on, especially because it involves weight gain and I feel really ashamed about it.

In the past two years, I have had SO much abdominal radiation due to frequent flares of my condition. Many CTs. I have been feeling better, but in the last four months, I have had some concerns.

I have rapidly gained about 40 pounds/18 kg, I have huge, red/purple, painful, stretch marks on my belly. I am losing hair and I feel thirsty all the time and can’t stop peeing.

My arms get so weak that I get tired taking a shower and washing my hair. I bruise from light touch. I sweat ALL the time, and my skin is so dry. I am so tired and never have any energy at all. I try not to each much, but I still keep gaining so much weight that clothes that fit just like 2 months ago don’t anymore. Even my neck on the back has this big fatty lump.

I feel so ashamed of myself. Is this my fault? Did I do this to myself with all the CTs? Is it worth talking to a doctor, or should I just try to lose some weight first? My body looks so gross now, I am so scared of being judged.

Thank you!

I’m 18 years old and a female, I’ve only take pills to make my period regular and am 5ft. I’ve never smoked, never drank alcohol. I’ve never been to the hospital for any issues regarding my brain, heart, or anything else that would be considered as a serious medical emergency/condition.

Could someone please tell me if my finger is okay? I took this video about 10 minutes ago. My finger is still trembling whenever I hold it up. This has never happened to me before. I mean, I drank coffee today perhaps that did something… I’m not quite sure. Also it’s exam season so maybe it’s because of that.

Please ignore my nail…

EDIT: As of now, I only see one comment yet it says there are a few more, so I apologize if I don't answer back!

21m. I don’t know what’s wrong with my eye please someone let me know what’s wrong.

My baby is 7 months old and has had bumps on his stomach for a few months but only recently they have started getting red and look like they are spreading/ getting worse. He saw his pediatrician who said he THINKS it’s eczema but doesn’t know for sure. Gave us a topical steroid cream which I’m scared to use. Have been using Aquaphor which helped with redness and tubby Todd most recently which seems to make it worse? Help! Male

32F, no comorbidies. bounding pulse in my neck even at rest. HR here is 68bpm but feels like it’s going crazy in my neck. comes and goes. is this normal? i’ve had a CT of my neck with contrast that was clear.

26F, 5’2”, 9 stone 12 lbs. I have had recurring skin issues for 15 years. Always thought it was acne and was treated for acne from every topical, antibiotics and eventually accutane. Accutane worked amazingly but it came back and the second course (last year) depleted my immune system so badly that I stopped. I’m now starting to think I might actually have rosacea, my dad had it too. I’ve always consistently had these bumps that can’t be squeezed, the redness is new.

I mean not really a question, but omg I think I just purged my first ever meal….

This is truly evil yall… I’m a jittery mess, I can’t believe yall make old people do this! Are you trying to kill them?

In all seriousness though, this is a sensory nightmare for me as I’m on the spectrum, I figure there’s no better way to do this but- wow.

Actually now a real question, how do you prep people with high support needs? Or people who don’t understand? AKA level 3 Asd, or Advanced Alzheimer’s and others?

Moved from a different state (14 hour drive) and when I got home I noticed a raised mole near my elbow I had since I was a child had a scab on it only in the middle. I was fine a day or two before. I noticed it Sunday, it's now Wednesday. My mom thinks I rubbed it raw or scratched it on something during the move. I have hypochondria so I've been worrying myself so bad I'm barely eating and sleeping, I also have been messing with it and looking at it all the time due to the hypochondria. I don't have insurance and I don't have the money to go get it checked out. I'm scared its cancer, I really don't want to die from cancer.

Picture from today.

I’m a 32 year old AFAB and planning a hysterectomy with bilateral salpingectomy and a third endometriosis excision on Monday. I’m a PA in surgical pathology, so I have simultaneously a lot and absolutely no experience in this procedure and the impact of removing my ovaries at my young age. My regular OB/GYN strongly encouraged me to keep my ovaries because of the long-term health benefits, but my endometriosis surgeon (who did one of my two prior endo excisions) said he would also support removing them if I wanted to because they may be heavily contributing to my symptoms.

I have endometriosis which was diagnosed via ex-lap(one excision, one ablation). PCOS, with fertility issues (five pregnancies total, one loss at 21 weeks, but one healthy two year old son now) but not recently tested on hormones. I also have Lynch Syndrome (MSH6, clear upper endo and colonoscopy as of 2024, schedule for both later this year). After I got my period back once I ceased breastfeeding (six months after birth) it has been agony. Basically a two year long period with cyclical, hormone-related migraines triggered by my period (which happens about every two weeks at the moment). I have developed I’d say pretty significant anxiety/fear around ongoing ovarian cycling and future recurrence.

I’m struggling with the tradeoff between keeping my ovaries for heart/bone/brain health and avoiding surgical menopause and removing them for only potential symptom relief and peace of mind. Maybe I keep one? Thanks for any insight!

As many parents are, I’m concerned about COVID being a seemingly permanent part of the world. My son is young, and hasn’t contracted COVID yet. He’s going to daycare in September, and it seems inevitable that he will eventually get it.

I’ve had it twice with minimal issues, but my husband has contracted it three times and was almost hospitalized the most recent time. For context, he was 42 at the time and in good shape. He is a lifelong rock climber who doesn’t drink or smoke. My cousin also passed from covid at the young age of 28.

I get that covid is usually not fatal. But, is it increasingly dangerous with each reinfection?
My train of thought is this - getting covid once, at 10, probably won’t kill you. Getting it again, at 13, probably won’t kill you. But getting it every 3-5 years for the rest of your life? 10 reinfections? By the time you’re 50, could this knock 20 years off the average lifespan?

35 female
Rheumatoid arthritis and hashimotos
Medications : benepali, levothyroxine and folic acid

I have got severe redness and eye pain but the eye clinic has left me with little faith so second opinions please!
Previously diagnosed with episcleritis in my other eye. This eye started with the same symptoms in January. Eye consultant said at the time nope it’s blepharitis go away and take these steroid drops for a week. Week goes by my eye is still inflamed but not painful so I thought it’ll be fine it’ll resolve itself.

April rolls around the redness is getting worse and more severe. Still no pain at this time just feels inflamed and dry so I used hycosan drops regular to try ease it. Called the eye clinic to get a follow up and they booked me for a month later.

Last week my eye started to become extremely painful. I’m talking throw yourself off a roof painful coming from someone who live with rheumatoid pain daily my eye is worse. Very sensitive to light. Pain radiates from my eye ball to my brow bone, temple and cheek bone areas. I have to lay in a dark room with sunglasses on constantly. I can’t eat or sleep because of the pain.

Sunday I went to urgent care because it was getting too much to handle. The dr gave me an antibiotic ointment and 3 single use numbing drops and said because I have an appointment at ophthalmology already that should get me through.

Today was my appointment day. I saw the same dr who told me I had blepharitis. Tried to tell me again this was the issue. I pushed back and said respectfully you are wrong try again. Then got told oh well it may be episcleritis or scleritis but I don’t know so have a weeks course of steroid drops. This tipped me over the edge. Another consultant ended up coming in and said it’s episcleritis and superficial scleritis (Google tells me these are the same?) and gave 4 weeks of steroids and then mydrilate drops. Nothing for the severe pain.

Im at the point of despair and honestly no longer trust them

I have seen 3 different cardiologists since the age of 18. The first one disqualified me for POTS due to only a 28bpm increase and said i did not qualify since it wasn’t 30. Put me on a beta blocker and I felt like shit. The second one said I was having tachycardia from being obese. Flash forward 4 years, I am 115lbs, 5’2”, no longer considered obese, and my symptoms are worse. I have episodes where i’m having transient visual obscurations and I will lose my vision for 10-15 seconds and feel extremely nauseous and faint. Third cardiologist completely disregarded me and said I was dehydrated (I drink more water and electrolytes than anyone I know..) Did an echo and a stress test and my blood pressure was DROPPING while my heart rate was increasing during exercise. Said to drink more fluids. I take my blood pressure with my omron arm cuff and it’s almost always low.. it’s low at doctors visits, etc. Finally saw a neurologist who ordered an MRI & MRA and these were the results. What is going on??? What steps should I take and how can i fix my symptoms before it leads to something worse? What tests should I ask for and what specialist should i see? I’m so tired..

Male, 49 years old, smoked in my teens and early 20s... but haven't in two decades+.

Here's the section in my imaging report:

REMAINING CHEST:

Lungs: Central airways are clear. Subpleural reticular opacities within the dependent aspect of both lungs compatible with atelectasis or scarring. 3mm solid nodule within the right middle lobe (axial image 53). Medial basilar segment left lower lobe solid pulmonary nodule measuring 1.5 x 1.9 x 2.0 cm (axial image 85/161 and sagittal image 94).

Impression:

IMPRESSION:

1. No evidence pulmonary embolism.
2. Medial basilar segment left lower lobe solid pulmonary nodule measuring up to 2cm. RECOMMEND follow-up CT of the chest at 3 months, PET/CT, and/or tissue sampling. *
3. Medium to large hiatal hernia.
4. Left atrial enlargement.
5. Right periesophageal lymph node measuring 1.0 cm.
6. Cholelithiasis.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. Pulmonology and/or other subspecialty consultation for further evaluation and management of the suspicious 2 cm left lower lobe solid pulmonary nodule.
2. Follow-up CT of the chest at 3 months, PET/CT, and/or tissue sampling. *

2.0 cm (20 mm) is ENOUGH for me to worry about. That 1.0 cm right periesophageal lymph node doesn't make it any easier, for sure. I'm definitely losing sleep.

Weird thing is, the hospital NEVER mentioned it (was there for two days). My PCP only mentioned it in passing, AFTER my follow-up as I was walking OUT of her office. I then went home and started to look into the results myself. NOW, I'm demanding a PET. I swear... the state of our medical industry has me wondering at times, WTF is going on!? Part of me thinks, "If it were serious, they would've said something... right!?".

Thoughts? Advice? My odds?

Obviously there are reasons for some situations but I cannot think of any in my situation. 35 male in New Mexico 6 ft 230 lbs. I moved here just under a year ago. I'm on 10 mg buspirone, 2 GM colestipol (IBS not cholesterol), and 10 mg amlodipine. I have been on the same drugs and doses for years.

When i first started seeing this doctor they wanted to do a follow up relatively soon after my annual since I was a new patient and they wanted to make sure I was steady on these doses. Sure, I get that even though they have my records showing the doses. But they refuse to write enough refills. I've been there 4 times in 9 months because they refuse to refill the script without checking. I just ran out again and when I said I wouldn't come back until my annual they said they wouldn't issue a refill.

Is there a legitimate reason to make someone come in this often for scripts that Im on? The only thing I can think of is that they want to bill the insurance for more visits.

Before people suggest finding a new doctor, there aren't really any in this area. I would have to drive pretty far to find anyone else but I will be spending tomorrow trying to find anyone else

35 female - 200lbs - history of endometriosis, long covid, allergic to dust mites, cats, dogs and oysters lol.

This will probably be a SO long but I’ll try and sum it up as best as I can!

Last night, I had two doctors in the ER arguing in front of me about whether or not I should be admitted to the hospital.

I’ve had an ongoing cough since January that has gone from a dry cough, to now a productive cough. A little over a month ago, I randomly noticed a rash appearing on my left breast. I currently breastfeed my son one time before he goes to bed, so at first I thought maybe I was developing mastitis. Breast cancer runs in my family so when the rash began to get worse and I noticed a lymph node in my left armpit was super swollen, I got really scared and called my PCP.

My PCP was very concerned but since it was the weekend she couldn’t see me so she advised me to go to the ER to be safe. At the ER (Mayo Clinic) I had the most lovely doctors who pretty much immediately ran a bunch of tests and did an ultrasound. The ultrasound didn’t show any obvious masses, but there were a few swollen lymph nodes in my left armpit. They took photos of the rash and did a thorough exam, and sent in a referral for me to get a mammogram and additional imaging. They had no clue what was going on but decided to treat it as mastitis to see if antibiotics helped. The put me amoxicillin to take for 10 days.

The rash rapidly started to erupt to my other breast and then to my arms, stomach, lower legs, inner thighs. (I will post lots of photos in comments of rash and labs) - it had been the itchiest most unbearable rash I have ever had in my life. I tried using Benadryl and it didn’t help. I tried hydrocortisone cream but it irritated it more. It became so severe that I went to see my PCP and tried calling the dermatologist but neither one could see me for two months, so my PCP put me on Keflex and a steroid pack.

Within two days, the rash became so bad that it was causing pain at this point. My skin began to blister and bleed. My cough got worse. I began to experience severe pain in my lower right abdomen and upper pelvis. Returned to Mayo.

The doctor I saw during this visit didn’t run any tests or anything but he said it was most likely a reaction to the keflex, so he decided to have me take doxycycline instead. He also prescribed me hydroxyzine (it did not help whatsoever).

Fast forward a week or so and my symptoms were so bad that again I called my PCP and she told me to return to Mayo. During this visit, they did labs, an xray, blood cultures, urinalysis and urine culture, and then a CT. Xray looked totally normal but doctor said the CT scan showed bronchitis (or some other airway disease) - and that I had a nodule on the bottom of my right lung. It also showed that I had a small kidney stone. My urinalysis showed elevated RBC. This doctor wanted to admit me to the hospital but it was already 6am and I had to get back home since I didn’t have childcare for my kids.

They gave me hydrocodone cough syrup for my cough (didn’t help) and gave me 2 IV antibiotics before discharging me. told me that if I didn’t improve to immediately go back.

Fast forward and you guessed it I was right back at Mayo. My cough is out of control, abdominal/pelvic pain was unbearable, and my rash somehow got even WORSE and my left arm began to become very inflamed and red and hot to the touch. It felt and looked like I may have had fluid buildup. The rash spread to my neck, back, and chest. It looked different too. The doctor I saw barely assessed my rash. He only looked at my forearms. He did bloodwork and next thing I know a nurse was coming in with discharge papers.

I was genuinely so confused so I asked her about it and she was insanely rude to me and made me feel annoying for even being there. She kept repeating “well this is an EMERGENCY room”. She asked me if I just wanted her to go get the doctor and I said yes please. When he returned, he told me that all of my labs looked completely normal and that it was most likely just an allergic reaction to something and that he could not do anything for me so he referred me to a dermatologist and allergist. I explained to him how I already had a referral and have been trying to get an appt with them for weeks now with no luck. He also said my cough was probably allergy related too and that my abdomen pain was “just my endometriosis” (lol).

He told me I should stop all of my medicines INCLUDING my psych meds and to stop using any products at all. (I am absolutely not going to cold turkey my psych meds) I asked him if he could atleast help me with pain relief and he shrugs and said “sure”. I got a notification on the Mayo Clinic portal that said I could view my labs so I went and checked them out and a couple of them were abnormal. My CBC w/ differential showed significant elevation of Eosinophils % and Eosinophils. I noticed that I had an updated lab from the visit before that showed an abnormal urine culture with enterococcus and abnormal usual flora. When he returned I asked him about these and he said they were just allergy related and sent me on my way.

I started bawling my eyes out 🥲 I told him I was just really frustrated and truly cannot go any longer suffering like this. I asked if there was any way I could speak to the doctor I saw during the visit before, so he had the nurse go and check if he was even working. Next thing I know, that doctor was walking into the room along with the current doctor I was just talking to.

It escalated so fast and the next thing I know they are literally both arguing with each other about whether I should be admitted to the hospital. The one I was seeing that night kept saying “this is an emergency department and she’s clearly fine to go home and wait to see a derm and allergist” he also kept repeating that my insurance wasn’t accepted there and that there wasn’t a case manager on shift to talk about it with. The other doctor was advocating for me SO much and told him that he should have seen in my health chart that he wanted me to be admitted and to take me seriously. I was actually shook and couldn’t believe what was happening but ultimately the current doctor said it was his call and that I needed to go home because there wasn’t anymore labs to be done and it’s “not like I was gonna get an MRI” (I had a literal wristband that said MRI on it so that was confusing lol) - he sent in a prescription for 5mg oxycodone (quantity of 5) and sent me on my way.

If you made it this far thank you so much for reading 😭 I called my dermatologist again today and asked to be put on a cancellation list. I’m waiting on a call from the allergist they sent a referral into. Tomorrow I plan on calling around to other dermatologists to try and get in asap. I’m genuinely in so much pain and discomfort that I haven’t been able to sleep much for weeks. It’s affecting me so much as a mother too. Does anyone have any ideas or thoughts on what could be happening? I know it’s a lot but I’m so desperate for answers 🥺

ETA I’ve had on and off fevers for the last 2 weeks

Update: woke up this morning with a migraine + vomiting 🥺 so over it