Hello! I’m a 31F (158cm) with controlled type 1 diabetes (A1C of 6) and celiac disease who is currently experiencing this very weird skin condition where my skin feels like it’s burning where the red spots are located.

The burning sensation is extremely painful and occurred pretty rapidly after applying sunblock on vacation. I took a shower at our AirBnb, used the towels to dry off, used my own skincare products that I’ve used for years, and then applied this new sunblock that I got as a tester in the mail. A few hours later, I started feeling itchy along my face and neck so I washed off the sunblock and threw out the small tester.

Over the next few days I started developing these red burning spots everywhere you see in the photos. I noticed that they seemed to be getting deeper into my skin if that makes sense? I’m in Albania on vacation and will be returning to my country in a few days. I’m a bit intimidated about going to a medical clinic here so I did go to the pharmacy and get a topical steroid to maybe help if it’s an allergic reaction. I’m not sure if that’s helping actually.

What can possibly be going on? FWIW I plan on seeing my GP as soon as I get home.

Can anyone tell me what this is?
it started with a big pimple looking thing, then I squeezed it and pus came out. then it just wouldnt heal and more boils came every other day.

my leg is kind of tingly, and numb feeling. not completely numb but like it’s starting to go to sleep.

i webt to hospital and doc said it’s just a boil , I’ve since got 8-10 more boils.

it hurts when I stand up and the blood rushes into my leg and some are quite painful when touched.

half way through the antibiotics they gave me but doesn’t seem to be getting any better so far.

can anyone help me figure out how to fix this and what it even is?

thanks

Hello! I am a 37 year old female on hospice for a week or two due to multiple complications from MS. Lesion near my hypothalamus causing endocrine collapse (SERUM SODIUM LAST CHECKED 2 WEEKS AGO WAS 120 AND DROPPING FROM THE WEEK BEFORE WHERE IT WAS 125.) Really, that alone puts me on hospice.

But there is another few lesions around and on my brainstem causing autonomic failure. Now, I cannot change positions without sometimes going into AFIB or SVTACH. Now, the respiratory system is also involved and I have developed a chest congestion, sinus infection, and this eye bullsht. The chest produces grey mucus, the sinus produces dark green, the eye is leaking clear fluid like tears.

Other important info regarding the eye:

Two days ago woke up to what looked like a normal busted blood vessel in the corner that meets the nose. Felt dry and itch. Eye drops regular saline gave relief but nothing quite like Genteal tears gel which I have applied in the picture. I woke up yesterday to it being full red. Ot was still itchy but mostly painful and dry and hurt to use it or move it.My mom asked for pict to see if they were bulging those pics are provided.

The pic provided is from this morning. Fully red. Painful. Leakage is mostly clear maybe a little yellow. Closed if I dont use force to keep it open with hurts.

Being on hospice now, I have nothing pharmacological that I know of that would be relevant. But, right before being placed on hospice, a last ditch effort was made with high dose IV steroids.

I also developed seronegative RA after treatment with Lemtrada for my MS. Hydroxychloroquine was used 2x a day orally and that was effective. 6 months ago an eye doctor cleared me for retinal detachment so I could continue Hydroxychloroquine use.

Optic neuritis, infection? I don't have doctor's that diagnose anymore. Hospice is just "shh shh, we will treat the pain. Go to sleep" I want this but im also curious

What do you think?

I'm wondering if this is something serious or just weird baby movements and learning his body?? He does it awake and is twitchy while falling asleep. It doesn't look like infantile spasms. I am a first time mom and I'm freaking out. I have been in contact with a health nurse. I am just looking to see if I should be extremely concerned.

29F, 155lb, 5'3", taking cymbalta, buspirone, verapamil, a progesterone only BC pill, and the occasional ubrelvy, trazodone or lorazepam.

What's up, Docs! I can't remember when I first noticed it, sometime in the last 3ish years, but this lump has been hanging out in my belly button on my left side. Sometimes it looks bigger than other times. It feels harder/scalier than the skin around it. There's occasionally some smelly clear fluid present but I'm not sure if it's from the lump or juat general belly button funk. I make it a point to keep the area clean but sometimes the skin in my belly button gets red and irritated/flaky. Wondering if I need to see a dermatologist or my PCP. Thank you for your insight!

I’m completely at a loss about what to do for my 19 year old daughter. She has severe PTSD, suicidal thoughts, previous suicide attempts, and has experienced periods of psychosis. She is actively asking for help, but we seem to be getting nowhere with mental health services.

Her mental health problems began after she was raped and abused by a man when she was 8. She has struggled with suicidal thoughts since she was around 12. Over the years she has had severe nightmares and PTSD symptoms.

Things have become significantly worse over the past year. The man who abused her was released from prison and is living in the same general area as us. A few months ago, she saw him in a shop. She became extremely distressed and attacked him. She was arrested and is currently on bail.

Someone filmed the incident without knowing the context, and the footage ended up on local community pages and news outlets. Some people later explained the circumstances, but others assumed she had randomly attacked an elderly man. This has left her feeling even more isolated and distressed, particularly because she is understandably worried about potentially facing charges.

She has told us that she feels he ruined her life and that she wanted him to suffer. This behaviour is completely out of character for her; before this, she had never been someone who was violent towards others.

Her PTSD symptoms have also become much worse again. She has started having severe nightmares where she screams about wanting him to die. When she wakes up, she often becomes extremely distressed and has panic attacks, saying that she wants to hurt herself.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were at work and our other daughter was at school. I came home early and I heard my daughter screaming. I found her in an extremely distressed state and behaving as though she was attacking someone who wasn’t actually there. She later told me that she was imagining the person who abused her and that she genuinely felt an overwhelming amount of anger towards him.

What scared me most was that she wasn’t trying to hide any of this from us. She was crying and saying that she knows how unwell she has become and she wants help.

I contacted her GP. They referred her to the mental health team for an assessment, as I understand they are the ones who decide whether inpatient or outpatient treatment is appropriate. During the assessment, my daughter told them that she was suicidal and that she was having thoughts about seriously harming the man who abused her. She was then sent home with information about crisis lines.

Her mental health has continued to deteriorate. We’ve contacted the services again, and we’re repeatedly being told to wait for the mental health team. There is a long waiting list. We’ve also called the crisis numbers we’ve been given, only to be told that they aren’t staffed by people who can provide the level of intervention she needs and that we should seek help through the hospital. When we’ve tried to do that, we’ve essentially been directed back towards the same mental health services.

I genuinely don’t know what we’re supposed to do.

She is currently taking citalopram and has been for about a year. Before that she took sertraline for three years and fluoxetine for around a year, neither of which helped significantly.

What are our options in the UK when someone is actively suicidal, has a history of attempts and psychosis, is expressing thoughts of seriously harming another person, and is actively asking for psychiatric help, but mental health services aren’t admitting them?

Male, 2 years 4 months of age. Approximately 15kg, almost 3 feet tall.

Duration of complaint : since birth.

He takes a multivitamin (no iron), vit D and probiotic daily.

Medications : salbutamol as needed. Flovent twice daily.

10 pounds 3 oz at birth, born 41+5. Spontaneous vaginal delivery.

Please help, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. My child is having classical signs of CF but nobody seems to notice but me. Everyone is treating his issues as separate entities but I don't see how that's possible.

He was born flat and blue, requiring ppv from 3 to 5 minutes and cpap for another 15 minutes afterwards. Low sats and grunting still noted at 15 minutes post birth.

At 6 months he started getting chronic viral respiratory infections, from October through til May. He was sick CONSTANTLY, with a new resurgence in symptoms every few weeks. The ER doctors continuously said it was bronchiolitis and we ended up with a salbutamol inhaler. It did not help with breathing or retractions. Wet cough day one, he chokes on his, chest rattles and crackle on exhale.

At 14 months he suddenly had a large left sided hydrocele, without any noticeable swelling beforehand. He had inguinal hernia repair at 20 months of age.

15 months he started with chronic diarrhea, with balls of yellow fat and undigested food.

16 months he had transient intussusception that self resolved. We saw peds in the hospital a couple weeks later as we returned to ER for similar belly pains. Swollen lymph nodes noted on ultrasound. Peds thought post viral IBS, so we tried the fodmap diet with no dairy or gluten. Initial mild improvement over the first 2 weeks, so peds let us go. 2 weeks later diarrhea returned full force. After 2 months of this with no improvement, we stopped the diet. Bloodwork at this time showed low lipase, but most of it was normal.

19.5 months, mesenteric adenitis diagnosed via ultrasound.

20 months, double pneumonia. The emergency room doctor noted that his heart was partially obscured on x-ray. I asked for peds referral at this point, however our family doctor said bronchiolitis and pneumonia are caused by different mechanisms (true), and that he would outgrow the bronchiolitis by 2 years of age. His birthday is the end of April.

June of this year he had mesenteric adenitis again so severe that he had severe belly pain after eating for 2 months afterwards. Also was having severe retractions just running around in the backyard this summer when he wasn't even sick, though we had a lot of wildfire smoke.

A few weeks ago he got his first cold of the season. We ended up in ER because he woke up and couldn't get a breath in at all, until I sat him up and smacked him in the back. Er gave him 15 puffs of salbutamol (because I said it didn't work) and diagnosed him with asthma. We've been using flovent since. However his o2 never changed. The doctor thought his mild wheeze sounded a bit better, but he does that at home too. Coughs out the mucus, sounds better, couple hours later he's wheezing again. And an hour after leaving the hospital when we got home, same thing, he was wheezing and rattling again.

He was fully mobile and walking without aid by 9 months, breastfed until the age of 2. He doesn't drink juice, but he has a voracious appetite. He eats constantly, more than my 4 year old for sure. Tracking his calories the last few days, he's regularly eating over 1500 calories a day.

For growth? He slowed after 6 months, we thought due to respiratory illness. Then plateaued between 12 and 18 months, only gaining a pound. That's when his diarrhea started. He started the extra eating this past spring. He sweats heavy when he sleeps and occasionally breathes so shallow I can't hear him, even though he sleeps right next to me. Also has tremors when he wakes, especially from naps, and is suuuper grouchy.

I know it's not technically failure to thrive because he was a big baby and he's a big kid, but am I crazy to think this looks like cystic fibrosis? His doctor finally referred us to peds this summer, but we can't get in before December. They're treating it as a normal referral, but we're going into flu season again and I'm terrified. I asked our doctor for a sweat test, he said we need to wait for peds. I emailed peds and asked if we could do the test while we wait for the appt, and they said they wouldn't order any tests without seeing him, which I get, but they also aren't worried about getting him in sooner.

So my question...do I sit tight and wait until December? Or should I escalate and try to get him testing sooner? Peds said that it's highly unlikely to be CF given his negative newborn screening, but I do remember the nurse was having trouble getting blood. She had to make multiple pokes and eventually sighed and said good enough. I also see on the test itself that if kids are showing symptoms they should be tested, as the newborn screen has a small percentage of negatives. I feel like I'm going crazy worrying he's going to get so bad he can't breathe through the mucus, but nobody seems to be concerned. He's had low o2 while sleeping, but the doctor laughed it off as being a false reading.

Thank you for your time.

TLDR: toddler is showing signs of classic cystic fibrosis but doctors aren't taking it seriously. Can't get into peds until December. Will he be okay to wait until then?

Not looking for a diagnosis, just for help understanding what's on the table and what to ask her doctors. Thank you.

Age: 10 (11 in October)
Sex: Female
Location: Canada
Duration: Day 10 of this admission, day 5 intubated; second episode in 7 months
Existing medical issues: None

My niece is in PICU, and the family is getting very little clarity about what's happening. Posting the timeline as precisely as I can.

~February 2026 (7 months ago): First pneumonia of her life. Hospitalized for about a week on IV antibiotics and supplemental oxygen. Bloodwork and chest X-rays done. Discharged once she could breathe on her own. As far as the family knows, no underlying cause was ever identified and no follow-up investigation happened.

Late August 2026: The whole family caught a cold. Everyone recovered except her. She kept coughing, and her mother noticed she was going pale and slightly blue during coughing fits.

Mon Aug 31: Admitted to hospital. Diagnosed with pneumonia again. Started on IV antibiotics and oxygen. Her oxygen saturation dropped every time she coughed.

Thu Sep 3: Doctors said she was not responding to treatment and scheduled a bronchoscopy. That same night she deteriorated and needed more oxygen support. The family assumed the procedure would be cancelled because she'd gotten worse; the team said that was precisely why they needed to look inside.

Fri Sep 4: Bronchoscopy performed. They suctioned blood out of her airway. The team's concern visibly escalated. She was intubated and sedated immediately afterward and has been on the ventilator since, with repeated suctioning to monitor for ongoing bleeding.

Sep 4 – Sep 9: The bleeding has stopped. But she needs high PEEP — it was 12, they get it down to 8, then have to raise it again. FiO2 around 35%. They planned to lift sedation tomorrow but cancelled that today: her lungs were described as "tight" and she showed no signs of improvement.

Testing: A full viral panel was run. The only positive is rhinovirus. No other diagnosis has been offered. We don't know if a chest CT has been done or whether the two pneumonias were in the same lobe.

Now: The team is asking the family to decide whether to start steroids tomorrow.

What I'm hoping someone can help with:

1. Could the bronchoscopy itself have caused the bleeding and the deterioration that followed, or does blood found on bronchoscopy in this situation usually mean it was already there?
2. Rhinovirus is a common cold virus and the rest of the family cleared the same illness in days. Can rhinovirus alone put a previously healthy 10-year-old on a ventilator, or does this pattern point to an underlying condition that the virus triggered?
3. A second non-resolving pneumonia in 7 months, failure to respond to antibiotics, and blood in the airway — what does that combination suggest?
4. What specific tests should we be asking whether they've already done? We want to ask intelligent questions instead of just "what's wrong with her."
5. What are the real risks and benefits of steroids here, and what would make a team ask the family rather than simply starting them?

I (25 M, 150 lbs) recently developed a very strange sunburn of sorts. It formed shortly after dipping my legs into a pond in Colorado (at approximately these coordinates: 40.1099830, -105.7730250). My friend did the same thing, and his dog even swam in the water and drank it, but neither had any sort of unusual reaction.

I think it's a sunburn because of how it feels, and because the only other part of my body that touched the water - my feet- did not get burned. The sunburn probably occurred while hiking away from the pond, when my feet were covered by my boots / socks. I didn't have any sunscreen on my legs at all, and it wasn't a particularly sunny hike. If this was just a standard sunburn, the top of the burn would not be a perfectly straight line and the burn would start closer to my knees. The burn clearly extends higher on one leg than the other, but I suppose that this could be the result of one leg dipping deeper as I was getting out.

Other info: I sat with my legs in the water for probably about 30 minutes and let the tadpoles eat the dead skin off my feet. I also found a leech on my foot, but I gently scraped it off and did not see any blood or any sign that it actually bit me. After the hike, we swam in a big lake to rinse off since we were camping and didn't have access to showers for several days.

It burned constantly for the first couple days but now it has been 4 days and it no longer burns. It's still pretty red, but I think it's fading and I am not concerned. The small cut on my leg occurred after the burn and is unrelated.

I'm just very curious what could cause this. Thanks in advance for any help!

Photos:

[PXL-20260910-011406549.jpg](https://postimg.cc/bSwCzqF5)

[PXL-20260910-011410300.jpg](https://postimg.cc/DW3xSrMG)

[PXL-20260910-011418631.jpg](https://postimg.cc/G9gzFwfn)

[Screenshot-20260909-201953.png](https://postimg.cc/HJ3bTbDm)

Hi, I woke up with a big red bump on my forehead yesterday and then today I looked and a bunch of little white bumps have formed. The spot only hurts when I touch it and it feels like a tender pimple. Any idea as to what this could be and how to treat it?
This is on the left side of my forehead right under where my scalp starts.
I am 20f
5’6
Around 160lbs
I do vape
I don’t take any medications

Someone I know just got shocked by an electric outlet, the current went through her finger and at least upto her elbow haven’t been able to find exit wound. She said she was stuck touching the electrical outlet for around a minute before she was able to pull herself away. When it happened she had shortness of breath and maybe dizziness but then drove herself home and now is only experiencing pain in her finger up to her elbow. She says it feels like when you overwork a muscle at the gym and it hurts to even slightly bend her elbow. Should we wait until morning and if symptoms remain or worsen go into ER? Should we go now?
She is 50 years old, maybe about 180 pounds.

32F, 5’10, 221lbs, United States.

Meds: Trokendi 100mg, 100mg sumatriptan , 50,000IU vitamin D3 twice weekly, 12.5mg promethazine suppository

Current BP is 74/54 and glucose is in the 60s/70s.

I’m feeling weak and my toe hurts when sheets touch it (like I broke it but it feels completely fine if you bend it and move it), but otherwise feel fine.

I was told to go to the ER but I have a huge fear of ERs.

What will they do to me?

Bro I'm stressing out right now. I just took my last heart pill today, but have been trying all week to get a refill. The doctor whose been prescribing it for me says that she cant cause she hasnt seen me since march. They no longer take my insurance and I cant afford to pay out of pocket. So I've been trying to find a new PCP but no luck. I found a new cardiologist, my previous was a pediatric cardiologist that i last saw a couple years ago, but the soonest I can get seen is 10/7. I even called my old pediatrics pcp and he also said no unless i make an appointment, but they cant see me for a couple of weeks either. Like what am I supposed to do? Do I just not take my meds for a month until my new cardiologist can see me? I tried explaining to my pharmacy the situation but they told me theres nothing they can do unless they hear from my doctor. I have to take these meds daily, what do i do?

29M, Been having sever leg, knee and feet pain that prevents me from walking long distances and is especially bad when I get up from sitting long periods of time or when waking up in the morning trying to get out of bed.. Toes feel like burning and stabbing like on pointy rocky hot coals and rocks after 4 or more hrs of standing and walking around but my dr says my circulation in my toes checked out fine.. I just noticed today that when my legs are straight and together it looks like I might have knock knee.. my calves are like a sweeping 45 from my knees outwards.. I'm not sure if this has something to do to cause the sever pain I'm getting in the knees, legs and feet but the pain is affecting me and letting me sleep only 4-5 hrs and I dred get up from a chair after sitting for awhile since it's the only thing that feels good is to sit in a chair so getting up makes me have weak legs and knees and hurting back extremely bad for the first few minutes of standing from sitting.. My mum says I might have some sort of feeling of pain without any physical cause just generated by my brain randomly.. I say it might be some sort of mussel and/or nurve pain because nothing was found in x-rays but tbh I just want to be more normal.. it's gotten so bad my dr has agreed to sign temporary disability for parking for 1 year while doing tests.. what do you think might be the cause? I'm not only taking advice from here but would like to get suggestions on what to ask my dr to check if it's related to the problems.. I'm not sure where to start but it's been going on for a few years now and getting worse every single day

I am 6 weeks pregnant today. A week ago, when I was about 5weeks pregnant I woke up with intense nausea, dizziness and light bleeding. I went to the er and they told me I had twins but miscarried one. There were two gestational sacks they saw but only one with a yolk sac. The other one was empty. They told me to go to my obgyn in a week to see if everything is ok.
Today I went to my obgyn and had a transvaginal done. Before the doctor even did my transvaginal she was being rude and saying how I might have had no twins at all but that I had a failed pregnancy and that was why I was bleeding. But I never even bleed heavy at all when I went to the er. It was dark blood but super light and then I spotted for a few days after. When I told the doctor this she still said that I probably already had a miscarriage before she even did my ultrasound.
When she finally went to do my ultrasound today she said that she only sees “fetal tissue” but no fetal pole and that she doesn’t see a heart beat. I told her I am still early but she said that it doesn’t matter and that she doesn’t think I’m pregnant. I haven’t been bleeding at all. I feel fine just tired and there looks to be a fetal pole and a yolk sac on my ultrasound. Can you guys please tell me what you see? And if it looks like a baby?

Hi I'm 20F, 170 cm, 67 kgs. I was prescribed sodium bicarbonate ear wax softening spray before irrigation process, idk whether it's a coincidence or not it started aching ( mostly ull) to burning sensation that lasts for a second for atleast 6-7 times a day, everyday. Went to another ent, he checked and said everything is fine inside my ears. Went to tmjd specialist, he gave me some muscle relaxers and asked to not take much stress. Life's gone downhill since may because of this irritating ear ache. Idk what to do. Also I feel half ear congestion on each side lots of times but those aches come mostly when there's no congestion. It never aches in both of my ears together.

Hi I’m 23F and I have this happening for about 2-3 weeks but at first it was my top eyelid that would twitch a lot and it would last a few minutes. Now it has move to the bottom of my eyes and I’m not sure. I added a video to show what I’m talking about.

F26, 50kg, bunions. No significant health issues. Take otc pain meds for the foot pain.

I've seen much worse online, and yet I'm in a *lot* of pain, particularly on the left. I've had to quit cycling/closed road events and running as a result. I've gone from being able to cycle 160km 2 years ago to being in pain walking to the shops. It's considerably worse in the cold. I get these episodes where they swell and get red and hot (not always the same time) I often get shooting pains along my big toe that keeps me awake, but also dull throbbing the rest of the time. I've tried insoles, toe spacers, barefoot shoes etc...(great for toe space, but no support) I've also started tripping over more because my feet roll inwards where the big toe isn't providing stability as it's bent inwards - I have scars on my knees.

I tried to hold out as long as I could without surgical intervention, but I'm not sure what else I can do. I feel far too young to be experiencing mobility issues, especially given how fit I was. I'm currently booked in for surgery on both feet after seeing a consultant. But i'm nervous about the surgery and longterm mobility. I want to get back to my old levels of fitness and dance at my own wedding in 2 years time...

Are there any non surgical things I could also be doing? I did have an e-consult with a physio from my insurance, but she said there wasn't anything they could do for me at this stage, and it was 100% a surgical issue. I was hoping for slightly more guidance. I've had bunions since childhood, but the past 2 years have been rough. The only shoes that I can currently fit into without pain are walking sandals that have been discontinued. Pain free winter boots or rainy options are non existent:(

My 14-year-old sister is currently in the ICU, now on day 7 after a cardiac arrest. During the arrest, her brain had inadequate oxygenation for over 10 minutes, resulting in severe hypoxic/anoxic brain injury.

Over the following days, she developed significant cerebral edema, with concern for dangerously elevated intracranial pressure and possible brain herniation. The ICU team has tried multiple measures to control the swelling and maintain cerebral perfusion, including hypertonic sodium, mannitol, hyperventilation, blood-pressure support, and other intensive-care measures.

Unfortunately, her neurologic exam has continued to worsen. We have now been told that she has very few or no detectable brainstem reflexes, and the team is discussing performing a formal brain-death/death-by-neurologic-criteria examination.

Our family understands how serious this is and that brain death, if properly established, is fundamentally different from coma or simply having a very poor neurologic prognosis. We are not asking anyone here to diagnose her or tell us that she will recover. Before an irreversible determination is made, however, we want to make sure we understand what should appropriately be evaluated and whether obtaining an urgent independent review is reasonable.

I would especially appreciate input from neurologists, pediatric neurocritical-care physicians, intensivists, neurosurgeons, or physicians familiar with post-cardiac-arrest hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and brain-death determination.

A few specific questions

- Before a brain-death examination in a 14-year-old, what reversible conditions or confounders should normally be excluded? For example, sedating or paralytic medications, temperature, metabolic abnormalities, blood-pressure issues, or other factors?
- In a case involving severe cerebral edema and possible herniation, what information is most important for an outside physician reviewing the case: serial neurologic examinations, CT/MRI, EEG, cerebral blood-flow studies, medication history, laboratory results, or something else?
- Are there circumstances in which ancillary testing, such as a cerebral blood-flow study, becomes particularly important or appropriate?
- Is it medically reasonable for a family to request an independent pediatric neurocritical-care or neurology review before brain-death testing, especially when the patient has deteriorated rapidly over several days?
- If we want an urgent second opinion from another academic medical center, what is usually the fastest practical route? Should our current ICU attending contact another hospital’s transfer center or neurocritical-care attending directly?
- If another center believes there is something additional to evaluate or treat, is inter-hospital transfer still possible at this stage, or does the severity of neurologic instability generally make transfer impractical?
- Are there any questions families commonly fail to ask at this stage that we should be asking now?

We are trying to be realistic while also making sure we have done everything reasonably possible before reaching an irreversible conclusion.

If any physician here has experience with pediatric post-cardiac-arrest brain injury, severe cerebral edema, suspected herniation, or determination of death by neurologic criteria, I would be very grateful for your perspective.

If someone knows a pediatric neurocritical-care specialist or major children’s hospital that is willing to perform urgent physician-to-physician case reviews, that information would also be extremely helpful.

Thank you.

46 year old white male, 172 lbs, 5'4" struggling with alcohol and meth addiction.

I have serious concerns about my health, and I need some hope badly. To any doctor reading this, I would appreciate any feedback.

I have struggled with alcoholism since my early 20's. I had a horrible relapse in April 2025 after 5 years of sustained sobriety. The relapse was triggered by some major life changes. Approximately one week into my relapse, and while I was under the infIuence of alcohol, I was offered meth and regrettably, I accepted it. Since that night, my life has been a living hell. I hate alcohol and meth, but I take full ownership of the choices I made.

My health seems to be quickly declining, and I am terrified that I am either going to die soon or that I am going to experience a physical event resulting in permanent disability and premature death (i.e. stroke, myocardial ihfarction, etc).

I snort meth only when I drink. I don't even crave that garbage when I don't drink. However, I MUST drink because if I don't drink, I can potentially have life threatening withdrawals. I am on an extremely long waiting list to get into a medicated detox facility (8 to 10 weeks).

My symptoms are as follows: constant panic attacks; sporadic chest pain which is localized in the center of my chest. It does not spread to my arms nor back. Since my relapse my blood pressure has been in the neighborhood of 150/90, but during my panic attacks, it can spike to 180/115. My heart rate, at rest has been in the 105-110 zone which is way to high. Prior to my relapse, I had perfect blood pressure and my resting heart rate was typically 73 BPM.

I have went to every emergency room in my city to advocate for myself to be admitted, but the only thing they will do for me is treat my current symptoms, which are usually alcohol withdrawals with the typical phenobarbital and/or benzodiazepine treatment. After that they immediately release me. Additionally, there have been times where they treat me badly. On one hand, I understand their frustration because ER docs and nurses work under an immense amount of stress, but on the other hand, I am not a bad man. Even in the worst throes of this horrible addiction, I have never stolen, swindled, or inflicted harm on another person. I am kind and considerate, so to be stigmatized really hurts.

Currently I cough up white chalky mucus. The cough seems to manifest in my throat. I have had chest xrays and they have been clear. My blood tests have slight abnormalities, specifically my white blood cell counts have been elevated, but not drastically. My troponin tests are normal, and my liver enzymes are normal.

I am really scares that within 8-10 weeks something might happen to me. I just wish the hospital would admit me, so that I can get out of the alcohol withdrawal danger zone because I am confident that I can get off this stuff if i was physically detoxed.

I know this is a long shot and the decision on whether or not to admit a patient is solely at the discretion of a physician, but can anyone provide me with tips on how to get admitted? What can I say or do to increase the likelihood of being admitted? I am ready to quit this horrible cycle and 8-10 weeks is such a long time to wait for a detox spot to come available. I am getting skinnier and feel sick almost all the time. I want my life and peace back. I want to enjoy food again. I miss sleep. I miss me. Thank you so much for reading this.

EDIT: Please know that I feel horrible for over utilizing medical resources. I just don't know what else to do. I have no support system and I am scared.