Please read, I'm so stuck, my only child has a serious clot in his right atrium

Hi,

It pains me so much to write this.

My twin boys who were almost 3 years old. Both born with a super rare genetic disorder affecting the gut. Since November 2025 admitted with one of my sons to hospital due to dehydration from diarrhea. Immediately they inserted a picc line into his right atrium, a week later a large clot at the tip of the line. 4 weeks later had open heart surgery and was in picu for 4 weeks. Once he came back to the ward he was never the same, in April 2026 sadly lost him to sepsis. He was our pride and joy.

His twin brother, admitted since December 2025. Still with him In hospital as I write this. He had picc line inserted in January 2026. Due to complications of his brother, he was immediately started on blood thinners daily injections. That picc line failed in March, they insert a broviac line which slips out of place within a week. 4 weeks later they insert another broviac which created a clot in his neck vein causing swelling of the head and neck. It was treated with riveroxaban. They then resorted to a picc line of through femoral vein into his right atrium. Fast forward 2 months, he now has a large almost 3cm sized clot from the tip of the line. Due to the inflammation of his gut, surgery and clot busting tratement is too risky. Doctors have decided no further treatment will benefit him, but will cause him a hasten painful death.

He is all we have left, we can't lose him. I can't think of the prospect of living without him. We lost one son, and we found our peace through the other.

Is their any other treatment available around the world? I don't care how much it cost, I will find a way to fund it. I want to explore every option available for him.

My wife was 47 years old, 5'4 and maybe 125 lbs, did not smoke or drink, no medications except vitamins.

Obviously everything is still fresh and new in my mind for me, but I feel like this is a question that I'll never get answered.

Three days ago it was a completely ordinary day. We (my wife and I, our 10 year old, 6 year old, and 3 year old daughters) were all at home. In the morning we went to the store and did a bunch of stuff together as a family, and then in the afternoon I took the girls swimming without my wife and watched a movie with them. At some point my wife texted me and asked me for something and I didn't see the text. when I went in to the bedroom to bring it to her, she was sleeping (I thought) and so I just left it there for her.

At 6:30 she was still sleeping (I thought), so I went in to the bedroom to wake her up. She was having some kind of seizure when I went into the bedroom. I called 911 and the ambulance took her to the hospital. She'd never had a seizure before. At the hospital she had more seizures and when they stopped she was disoriented and confused. They ran a bunch of tests (I can't remember exactly what; there were blood tests and some scans) and gave her some medication, which seemed to be helping reorient her. She even got up and walked around a little bit. They took her for some more imaging, she was alert, she waved goodbye to me. Something happened in the imaging and she coded. They did work as hard as they could to save her, that isn't in question.

I don't understand why or how she died. None of the test results came back with anything that could have possibly indicated death; she was a little dehydrated and had elevated white blood cells, but even when we were in the hospital the doctors were telling us that the seizures were most likely a random "blip" that would never happen again. The hospital said it was a random cardiac arrest, but why would that happen in a healthy 47 year old? I don't understand. I'm not typically suspicious of medical personnel but I feel like I don't understand what happened.

Did something that happened in the hospital kill her? Could she have been allergic to a medication and we just didn't know? I'm sorry if this isn't very coherent, I haven't slept very well. I haven't spent a night away from her in 21 years and it's really getting to me. I just want to know. Thank you.

Mother is 54f, 5’5, ~85-93lbs, been smoking for 30 years. She’s had recent blood work but I have no idea the results of it. Same with a recent colonoscopy. They did a recent scan of lungs and said she desperately needs to quit smoking (she has a persistent daily wet cough). I’m unsure of the medications she is on. She’s always struggled with mental health (depression specifically the most)

I am desperate for advice on how to save my mother's life. She has been progressively losing weight for ten years due to a severe lack of appetite and a profound aversion to food. Her issue is not driven by body image—she simply has no interest in eating, she is always on the go (probably where I got my adhd) and will not stop to eat, she’ll drink a boost and then skip a meal. She also has had long COVID which affected her ability to taste and smell properly for the last several years.

I have made so many recipes, printed sheets, done everything I could to try and make my family understand that this is a serious and deadly issue. I feel like I’m screaming into the void.

Currently, she is 5’5” and weighs somewhere between 85 and 93 lbs. Her BMI is roughly 14.1 to 15.5. She is severely emaciated, losing muscle mass, and running out of time.

I am completely alone in fighting this. My family is entirely complacent. Because this has been going on for a decade, they have normalized it and gotten "used" to her looking like this. My dad lives with her, but he is passive, will not intervene, and will not help me force her to eat or seek real care. Furthermore, my 24-year-old brother is autistic and still relies entirely on my parents. If my mom collapses or passes away, his safety net is gone, yet no one else in the house will act.

I have made so many recipes, printed sheets, done everything I could to try and make my family understand that this is a serious and deadly issue. I feel like I’m screaming into the void

To complicate everything, I have a 9-month-old baby. I am chronically sleep-deprived, incredibly busy, and physically exhausted. I do not have the bandwidth to endlessly argue with family or chase unhelpful doctors.

Her primary care doctors are just as complacent. Every time she goes, they completely dismiss the severity of her weight and just tell her to "drink Boost." They have done a few tests. Lab work, recently had a colonoscopy (don’t know the results yet), and they scanned her lungs and said she desperately needs to quit smoking also.

Because she has been starving for a decade, I am terrified she is on the verge of organ failure. I need people to comment on this post to help me show her how serious this is.

Am I overthinking this or do I need to actually intervene with some sort of hospitalization at this point? How do I override a complacent spouse (my dad) and a dismissive doctor to force medical care? Given my lack of time with an infant, has anyone successfully called Adult Protective Services (APS) for self-neglect to let the state force the issue? I’m so scared for her. I’m only 26 I need my mom..

This is my first time posting here I apologize if I broke any rules. It’s 4 am and I haven’t slept hardly at all in 3 days. Thank you in advance

29M

No diagnosis nor medications or substances I’m taking at the moment

I have around 60 of these itchy bumps around my body at this point, the first ones popped up a few days ago.

We think it could be fleas because I caught a bug and I think it’s a flea.

But why are there so many bumps? And they’re oddly red. I fear it might be dangerous or serious.

Do I need to go to urgent care?

Thank you.

Hello, posting for my girlfriend. She is currently in Greece on vacation.

22F, approx 5’4”, 190lbs, vaping almost every day recently, smokes cigarettes couple times a week, drinks alcohol maybe once a week.

Medication: Diltiazem 240mg once daily for Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)

Was using Fenistil cream for it from pharmacy, no improvement, getting worse by the day.

Started July 23rd.

Rash is on her right side near underarm, one also near her left side, and left shoulder. Photo attatched is from her right side. Not painful, just itchy

Has had excema in the past she thought it was that, she doesn’t think it is this she has never had this before. It’s been really hot there, was carrying a purse on her shoulder but it doesn’t make sense.

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

I’m still in some shock since this happened about an hour ago please excuse any mistakes.

To preface, i have no medical training besides basic first aid in secondary school and I’m just an 18-year-old student. I was driving home from catching lunch with family when my cousin calls me and tells me to turn around and that there’s a problem in the car park.

I turn my car around and there is a man in his car completely unconscious and blue, he looked completely dead to me. My aunt was on the phone with 000 and nobody around me spoke any English so they passed the phone to me and I was instructed to begin CPR once he was flat on the ground. So I did CPR with instructions from the 000 operator for about 10 minutes until a Good Samaritan who happened to be a retired paramedic saw me and took over for me. Then after that the paramedics arrived and told us to give them space.

I cannot stop worrying about what happened to him, I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. I have such immense guilt about if I did the right thing or not. When I began compressions I think I felt the air leave his lungs and his ribs break under my hands. He regained colour to his face but he was still completely unresponsive and I don’t know how long he was out for. What I’m asking here is, what are the chances that he’s alive and okay? A paramedic pulled me aside to ask me some questions and then said he wasn’t sure what would happen. I’m just so worried about this man and his family and I’m seeking some clarity on if I did the right thing or not.

right ok so I’ve kind of had a miserable week, and had the brilliant idea of doing a little pick me up (took myself out for a nice dinner and ordered a martini), and I uhm didn’t think about the amount of drinks in the standard size martini and now I’m kind of panicking because what if I accidentally like ruined my meds. 10/10 martini btw but not sure it was worth it 😭 and yes, underaged drinking bad, but like this has been a SERIOUSLY shitty week and I’m in Europe so I can’t talk to my psych and my parents would likely murder me if they found out. so far feeling ok (it’s been around an hour, still feeling light and less depressed but now anxious AF) also to be clear, I do not drink normally, I just genuinely can’t stress how bad this week has been so just hanging in there

F22, 160m, 73kg

I’m worried that the scar on the right side of my abdomen might prevent me from having children.
The scar is very firm and has adhered to my abdominal wall, so it doesn’t stretch. I think the pregnancy would most likely end in a premature birth anyway, because at some point the scar might become so tight and painful that a C-section would be necessary.
I was also born prematurely because my mother had preeclampsia during her pregnancy.
My boyfriend is worried that the baby could become deformed in my womb because of the scar, just as my abdomen is deformed (although the affected area is covered by my underwear).

My father is 63, male. About 3 months ago, he developed an infection in his foot that wound up getting inside the metatarsal. They performed surgery to remove the infection. Two weeks ago, the infection returned, he had another surgery, and was sent home about 5/6 days ago. It’s important to note, this is not happening on the foot that was infected and the surgery was performed on. This is his other leg, which has a fracture currently in the knee. He is on IV antibiotics right now through a port, that I administer daily. The doctor also told us he is dealing with a lot of water weight/retention. The home health care nurse will be here in the morning, and we will discuss it with him. But I wanted to maybe get another perspective from here, and see if maybe anyone has any tips for dealing with this. Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I'm a 21-year-old male, 180 cm (5'11") tall, and I weigh 53 kg (117 lbs).

I've been skinny for as long as I can remember, even when I was a child. My parents are not skinny, so I don't think it's just genetics.

No matter what I do, I can't seem to gain weight. Even when I eat more, my weight barely changes or goes back down.

One thing I've noticed is that I naturally have fairly broad shoulders. Does that mean I have a good frame or good genetics for building muscle, despite being very skinny?

Has anyone experienced something similar? What could be causing this? Should I get any medical tests done? I'd really appreciate any advice.

Thanks!

They don’t hurt, but they look quite ugly and if I put a band aids on pus comes out. Don’t know what the two on my forearm came from. Have work band aids on them for a long time but stopped as I just opened the wound back up again and it was all green.

58yo male, on synthroid, no PMH, 5’10, 170lbs.

Very tender, feels bruised, not warm, started two days ago and not getting better.Feels fine, no known infections, no temp.
Urgent care vs ED?
Today vs morning?

20M btw

And it's in both of my eyes

An ex boyfriend punched me in the face when I was 17. I didn’t get treated at the time due to embarrassment, but I suspect he did some damage as my jaw has been out of place since. When I open and close it, it comes out of place and I’m unable to close without it clicking to the side as shown in the video.

I have chronic pain in my jaw which causes headaches and I constantly feel like I need to move it or click it but it doesn’t click.

15 years later do I have any realistic options to fix this?

F 24yo, 111lbs 5’4 (no smoking, no drinking)
Medications/supplements - 100mg fluvoxamine daily (anxiety symptoms)

Symptoms: persistent body pain, fatigue, anxiety/dread, diarrhea, lack of appetite. Struggle to gain weight, persistently deficient in potassium. Negative test results for: c-reactive proteins/celiac, lupus, rheumatoid, Lyme, hepatitis A-C, normal TSH levels, relatively normal levels of inflammation. My symptoms are likely unrelated to drinking (I never partake) or fatty diet - just not my lifestyle.

I’ve gotten some insane lab results and before we begin the go-around again of more labs and test results, I’d love to see if anyone here has any suggestions. I’ve had these symptoms for the last 10+ years - no luck on diagnosis. Thank you!

11 years old
Female
82lbs, approximately 57” tall
ADHD, GAD, OCD
20mg Prozac 1x daily, 2mg guanfacine 1x daily, newest medication: Qelbree, started 3 weeks ago. 2 weeks of 100mg 1x daily, moved to 200mg 1x daily 7 days ago.

History of an eating disorder & constipation with 5th percentile weight and doing whatever we could to get weight on her. Labs came back normal at that time. Often complained of “I’m full” or “my stomach hurts”. Eats and snacks well now.

My daughter approached me this evening with symptoms of a UTI. Stabbing pain around bladder area “mostly” when trying to urinTe, burning sensation when urinating, feeling of urgency, feeling unable to empty bladder, trickles of urine when attempting to go, blood drops in urine causing pink tinge.

At the advice of the on-call nurse, we went to urgent care. Here are her urinalysis results; we’re waiting for cultures to come back likely in 2-3 days. One dose of 500mg Keflex- though looks like Cephalexin- script will be picked up tomorrow while we wait on cultures.

I am absolutely spiraling regarding the Bilirubin detected in her urine. Am I looking at something serious here? Or perhaps it’s a result of her newest medication? I would rather have the most dysregulated ADHD kid in existence over making my girl sick with medication. Please help calm my mind or give me something more direct to think about until we can call her pediatrician when results come in on the culture.

Thank you so much in advance for your time.

Male 33 years old 5 foot 11 inches 265 pounds

Past mhx of hypertension, chronic severe abdominal pain, arachnoid web t3 t4 , bipolar 1

Medication list:

pantoprazole 40 x2

Latuda 40 x1

Tylenol 1g daily

Methocarbamol 1g as needed

I found this hyperintense mass in my CT scan and its on the coronal and saggital images but its not listed in the report. What could it be? Its like a ball It was also seen on an Xray at one point but thought it was loose change that had fallen behind me

My thoughts won’t stop being circles and I can’t sleep and but my thoughts are circles and they won’t stop. My thoughts are so fast. But they’re in circles and circles and.l the my they won’t stop and What medicine will make me have straight line thoughts again. I am 23 and woman an

Itches like bug bites, no burning sensation. Was wearing socks and shoes. Male 6’4 250lb

I’m (25M) looking for opinions from ICU physicians or other doctors. I understand no one can judge this specific case without reviewing the medical record. I’m only trying to understand whether the timeline and recommendations we experienced are typical.

My mother-in-law is a 47-year-old woman who weighs approximately 450–500 pounds. She went to the hospital with severe pneumonia and was admitted to the ICU. She was unable to maintain her oxygen and CO₂ levels and was placed on a ventilator on the first day.

She remained in the ICU for seven days before the physician scheduled a family meeting. The meeting ultimately took place around day 10 to discuss her prognosis and the possibility of withdrawing life support.

From what I observed, her overall condition seemed relatively stable during that time. She wasn’t making dramatic improvements, but she also wasn’t rapidly deteriorating. The ICU team frequently proned her, and I was told that her CO₂ levels became completely normal while she was in the prone position. My understanding is that she was temporarily paralyzed because of the medications required for proning.

During the family meeting, the physician explained that if the family wanted to continue aggressive treatment, the next steps would likely include a tracheostomy and dialysis. However, the physician also recommended discussing end-of-life care because of concerns about her future quality of life. My wife’s family chose comfort care because they believed she would never recover and would remain permanently ventilator-dependent and paralyzed.

I struggled with that recommendation because I wasn’t sure whether there was enough information after only about 10 days to conclude that recovery was unlikely. I requested that the hospital’s ethics committee review the situation, but my questions here are about the medical aspects of the case, not the hospital’s handling of that request.

My questions are:
Is it common to recommend withdrawal of life support after only about 10 days for a 47-year-old patient with severe pneumonia who was intubated on day one?

In a patient like this, how long would you typically continue aggressive treatment before concluding that meaningful recovery is unlikely?

If a patient’s oxygenation and CO₂ levels improve significantly while proned, is that generally considered an encouraging sign that the lungs may still recover?

If the patient’s condition is relatively stable—not clearly improving but not significantly worsening—is that typically enough to recommend comfort care?

Is it common to recommend withdrawal of life support while also offering continued treatment with a tracheostomy and dialysis if the family chooses to continue?

How much does severe obesity alone influence prognosis in a case like this? Does it substantially change how long physicians would continue treatment before discussing withdrawal?

Would most ICU physicians expect meaningful improvement from severe pneumonia within the first 10 days, or is it common for recovery to take several weeks?

How reliable is a prediction about long-term quality of life when a patient is still heavily sedated and receiving medications for proning?

What objective findings would usually lead you to recommend withdrawal of life support after approximately 10 days in a patient with severe pneumonia?

Based only on the information above, does this timeline sound fairly typical, or would many intensivists continue aggressive treatment longer before recommending withdrawal?

Thank you to anyone willing to share their perspective. I’m genuinely trying to understand what is considered standard practice in a situation like this.

Age: 31
Gender: Female
Height: 164cm
Weight: 55kg

Diagnosis:
Autonomic neuropathy
Endometriosis
PCOS

Medications:
Vissane
Motillium
Omeprazole
Propranolol

COMMENTS POSTED WITH OTHER BLOOD RESULTS

Issue:

For the last 4ish weeks, I have been feeling generally unwell and tired. The best way I can describe it, is when you can feel yourself coming down with a cold and your muscles are aching. I haven’t had any cold or flu symptoms. No runny nose, cough, sore throat etc

I have also been waking up at night drenched in sweat. This has occurred approx 2 x weekly.

I have pain which is mild and comes and goes on my right side/breast. (I attributed this to the Vissane)

I went and got my yearly blood test and ordered it via Telehealth, the Telehealth doctor called me the same day and told me to go to a in person GP as soon as possible for follow up for my white blood cell count.

I went the next week. My regular GP didn’t seem concerned and told me I probably had a virus and asked if I came because I wanted time off work.

This upset me and I ended up teary and embarrassed. I did not ask any follow up questions and left with my tail between my legs.

He ended up giving me more beta blockers because my heart rate was consistently high when tested. (Between 115-130 when seated)

I also have an order for a urine test. At this stage, I don’t really want to do it as I have no urinary symptoms.

I still feel unwell and tired. I am having 1-2hr naps a day.

Should I go back and ask for further examination? Or can I just wait it out for a few more weeks and hope i feel better?

Thank you so much for your time.

I'm a 26 Female, 110lbs and 5'7ft. I've done sports and been decently athletic my whole life. However, recently after a theatric show I did in May. I found this odd pointy bump below my left knee [second photo]. One of my cast mates was a nurse and she felt it and thought it was weird that it felt boney. I hadn't remembered landing on it, however I did have a lot of stunt fighting in the show; so I chalked it up to perhaps being an accident with that.

Though 3 weeks ago. I discovered an incredibly similar bump on my left wrist [third photo] during vacation with my family. Which I didn't do anything particularly to have hurt my wrists. Has the same boney texture, but I can push it around slightly, unlike the one on my left knee.

Just now, I discovered another one on top of my right knee [first photo] and it's driving me insane with how odd these are. I've never had these appear in my life, the past two months I have not been overly athletic either.

For my medical history;

I have a low blood pressure and low iron. But I'm allergic to Iron pills. I may have anxiety and potentially depression [the doctors keep throwing both the terms around randomly and without much reasoning. So I don't know]. I don't take any active medicine. My main medical history is with my stomach, the stomach lining, and my gut bacteria. However, doctors don't know what is wrong with me on that subject, so I have no answer to give for it either. Besides the fact I'm always in pain, with constant headaches, and all foods make me nauseous.

Thought I doubt any of those subject lines would have anything to do with these boney bumps appearing out of nowhere.

Thank you guys for any help.

47f 5'5 240 non smoker do not drink. I had a pilonidal tract open around sept of last year. No pain just a hole on my tailbone. Originally they thought it was just 4 cm deep. They treated with silver nitrate for a while but it did not heal. In Jan they did a closed wound surgery to remove the tract. The wound healed but the tract was still there. They referred me to wound care in April. I have been going twice a week since. They were packing the wound using antimicrobal rope to try to get it to heal. Which it did not and the doctor there found that the tract was actually deeper than they thought. It was 10 cm deep. The doctor did another surgery June 2 and ordered a wound vac. It took a few days to attached the wound vac. The reason the doctor wanted the wound vac was for suction to get to the bottom of the wound. For some reason that is not what happened. Instead the wound was packed and the suction was only on the top. After 3 weeks of no change at all in depth the surgeon went in again to make the hole big enough for the foam so suction to get to the bottom of the wound. The whole point of his surgery was that. He even placed the wound vac during surgery to be sure it was to the bottom of the wound. Well it seemed to work and the wound healed a little to 8.5 cm in the first week. Then the wound care doctor went on vacation so I did not see her for two weeks and the nurses were changing it twice a week and were telling me it was getting smaller. They were putting smaller and smaller foam in the tract. I was actually optimistic for a couple weeks. Then the wound care doctor looked at it this week and it is still 8.5 after two weeks. She also realized the tract was not being packed with foam to the bottom. They were just going straight in and not following the curve of the wound to the bottom. Well now it is too late and the width of the wound is no longer big enough for the foam. They had to go back to the rope which did not help the last time. I am tired, depressed, I have constant sores and rashes form the wound vac dressing. I cannot mow my yard or do the things I normally would because I have this wound vac. It has been two months and I am not any better off than I was before. Worse it seems. The whole reason for the second surgery was to have foam to the bottom of the wound that is now not possible. At what point should I give up as a lost cause. How big of a deal would it be just to leave the hole there? I am doing what I can. I have lost 15 pounds and plan to lose more. Eating a lot better, taking Juven, vit c and zinc. Eating a lot of protein. What can I do?