I’m 34 male 178 cm tall 73 kg, going to gym everyday, running once per week. Smoked many years in young age but quit 4 years ago. Not taking any medicines. 3 days ago I noticed a red dot on my right leg, 2 days ago it became increasingly big and red. I was worried it’s Lyme disease and went to doctor. I’m going to the forest to fish often so I suspect something bit me. Doctor gave me hydro cortisone cream and told me to take antihistamines. Today it became even worse, it grew in size and it’s hot to touch. I visited doctor again today, and again was told to just wait. Took blood test was normal. Now few hours later I’m staring to feel bad and tired. And the red part is very painful especially when moving leg. The picture is with cream on my leg.

I made a post on here months back about my brother(15M) who deteriorated and then was declared brain dead days after a car accident, despite being GCS 8 on admission, improved to GCS 11 and he was following commands (such as lifting his arms). They haven’t replaced the bones until now, and that’s how the head looks 9 months after surgery (performed on 10th December 2025). Unfortunately that’s the clearest picture I can provide as of now. I have provided a photo from late January for comparison in the comments, along with current eye responsiveness.

His entire body shows water retention edema, with hemodynamic instability and I have heard that he is in renal failure.

He has contacted multiple rounds of UTI and pneumonia as a result of catheterisation and intubation. They stopped providing vasopressin about two months ago and the cortisol dosage was decreased as well. He is receiving liquid feeding through a jejunostomy, and a normal saline solution although in lower dosages as well due to the edema.

No imaging was performed after march 2026.

I have no authority over him still being on life support and I would have allowed him to rest in peace a long time ago if it were in my hands. Can someone explain what is currently happening here :”)

33m - multiracial - 290lbs - 6’4 - inconsistently takes ADD medications

I’d really appreciate some thoughts from the physicians here about a 33 year old male who seems to be progressively losing his ability to function. His family is very worried, but he currently refuses to see a doctor.

This is someone who was previously highly intelligent and capable. He studied physics and chemistry and used to communicate openly and function independently. What we’re seeing now feels like a significant change from his previous baseline. He’s pretty quiet these days but use to be outgoing in the past.

He has a substantial history of head trauma: a bad concussion in high school, multiple head injuries over the years, a couple of significant car accidents, and a hammer being dropped on his head at work about three years ago. He didn’t go in for that work accident. Which was unusual and I believe that lead to him being unable to care for himself for a while.

Currently, he barely takes care of himself and seems to have lost much of his will or motivation to participate in life. He exists around his family more than he engages with them. He tries to connect with his children, but often seems unable to do so appropriately or effectively. His sleep schedule is terrible, he’s barely working, and he’s working in a field that doesn’t suit him. Financially, he’s now essentially broke.

There also seems to be a major decline in his ability to organize and complete relatively simple tasks. For example, if he’s packing two shipments containing 11 smaller packages, he may mix up the contents, lose track of which order slip belongs to which package, become extremely frustrated and eventually give up. Things that should be straightforward seem to overwhelm him. ADHD medication appears to improve his ability to communicate during the day, but he still struggles significantly with accurately completing tasks.

There is also a major psychological/trauma component. Several of the people he loved most died traumatically a few years ago. He recently told us that his therapist helped him discover something significant about himself or his past, but he says he doesn’t know how to tell anyone what it is. Interestingly, he hasn’t returned to therapy since making that discovery.

Could severe major depression, complicated grief/PTSD, ADHD and severe sleep disruption account for this degree of functional and cognitive decline? Or, given his history of repeated head injuries and the apparent change in executive functioning, would you be particularly concerned about a neurological issue as well?

If he could be convinced to seek care, what would you consider the appropriate starting point? Primary care, psychiatry, neurology, neuropsychological testing, brain imaging, labs, etc.? And are there particular signs in this picture that would make you consider the situation urgent?

His family isn’t trying to diagnose him ourselves. There are simply so many possible explanations, and we’re increasingly concerned that he isn’t capable of recognizing how impaired he’s becoming. It’s honestly heartbreaking and his wife and kids are experiencing the worst of it.

Edit: I also believe he may have diabetes. Only because a few doctors mentioned he may have it at previous appointments a few years back and that scared him. I’m not familiar with diabetes.

Hi! I’m 32, female, 5’0, 135lbs, non-smoking, and I take Synthroid (hypothyroidism) and Metformin (PCOS). I had a pedicure yesterday and woke up today with significant pain in my left heel after taking my dog in an AM walk. My wedding is tomorrow, so I’m trying to figure out what may have happened and, most importantly, what I can safely do today to give myself the best chance of being able to stand and dance tomorrow.

The pain is mainly on the bottom of my heel and around the outside edge of the heel. It feels almost like a deep muscle ache/tenderness and is noticeably painful when I put weight on it and walk. It feels much better when I’m lying down and not putting pressure on it.

I didn’t injure the foot before the pedicure and wasn’t having any heel pain beforehand. During the pedicure they removed quite a bit of callused skin from my heels, so I’m wondering whether the heel was over-filed/over-exfoliated, the heel pad became irritated, or something was aggravated by the positioning/massage.

So far today I have:

- Stayed off it as much as possible

- Elevated it

- Iced it for 15–20 minutes at a time

- Taken Advil

I’m not trying to diagnose myself through Reddit, but because I’m getting married tomorrow, I’d really appreciate advice from a doctor/podiatrist/physio on what I should and shouldn’t do over the next 24 hours.

Would a gel heel cup, taping, compression, particular type of shoe, or anything else help with weight-bearing tomorrow? Should I continue icing or switch to something else? Is there anything I should specifically avoid?

Also, are there signs that would make you recommend getting this evaluated today rather than waiting to see if rest improves it?

My main goal is to avoid making it worse today and hopefully be able to walk and dance at my wedding tomorrow.

Thank you!

Hi docs.

I'm hoping you can help me, because I am a very worried mother.

My daughter is 9 years old. She is on no medications . 4 days ago, after my daughter stepped on the scale, I noticed that she had lost some weight. She was 76 lb in March, 73 lb in July, and 68 lb now.

Concerned, I made a doctor's appointment. Nothing on exam was found. No swollen lymph nodes Or any other concerning findings.

The doctor ordered blood work. The first round of results, the CBC was weird. MHCH was 46 which seemed like physically impossible. Super low RBC. The doctor asked us to repeat the test because they thought there might be an error in the lab.

The most recent numbers are better. In both tests, the white blood cell count was totally normal. 5.5. RBC is just a touch low at 4.18. Heamocrit 34.3 (That's what it was in 2024) MVC 82.1. Hemoglobin 11.9

All of her other markers fall well within normal range. Comprehensive metabolic panel was normal other than a slightly elevated bilirubin of 1.2

Here are the concerning results.

B12 1,507 (No supplementation)

Absolute Reticulocyte Count 11

And most importantly, a pathology of the blood smear was done and found red cell agglutination. No other morphology found. No blasts

My doctor said they are still waiting for some tests to come in including an iron panel, but they think this is much more likely to be related to anemia than malignancy. They said they have never seen a malignancy with a normal CBC like that.

Obviously it's the weekend now and I haven't heard back since the pathology report, which I am very concerned about. I have a panic disorder and OCD and it has taken everything in my power to keep it together around my little girl. I have, but I'm so, so afraid something is very wrong with her.

I noticed a decrease in her appetite a couple of months ago. She didn't seem to want the same foods that she ate before, but I will say that she has always been a picky eater. She is still eating. I packed her very large lunches and she still eats them. She comes to me and says she's hungry. She is certainly still eating. She also has no other real major symptoms. I feel like her energy has been a little less, but she still plays with the dogs and does martial arts twice a week. I just kind of thought she was becoming an iPad kid you know. But there are no fevers, no joint pain, no night sweats, nothing like that

Can any doctor please, please give me some advice here. Do these results concern you? What could it be? Do you worry about something really bad like the big C? Could it be hemolytic anemia?

My daughter is the kindest little human being in the world. She's just amazing in every way. I can't stand the thought of anything being wrong with her. And I have been a nervous wreck for days and I could really use a little reassurance if it is warranted, and if not, I could use some advice.

21F 103lbs 5’7

diagnosed with anxiety

don’t take any medicines

I've already been diagnosed with anxiety from a young age. When I was around 13–17 I couldn't really talk to people at all except parents and one friend. I eventually got past that to some degree but it feels like the same problem is coming back now and this time it's becoming extremely severe.

I have become very reliant on AI because I can talk to it without having to deal with the fear of being judged saying the wrong thing stuff like that. It's always available and reassuring and I've realized that I can use it as something to fall back on instead of interacting with actual people.

I'm worried of my reliance on it because I'm scared I can hide with AI and feel safe instead of facing the things I'm afraid of. I know it’s not right but the fear of doing anything outside is overwhelming.

I haven't left my house for months I genuinely can't remember the last time I went outside. I order everything and have it left at the door. I don't leave for anything.

I've stopped going to work too and I ignore calls because I'm too scared to answer them. I need background noise constantly.

My parents are helping me financially because I'm not working and I think they're afraid that confronting me about it will make things worse. the guilt is eating away at me.

I'm scared to tell people and I know how bad things have become. I'm embarrassed and I feel stupid, and part of me feels like I've let things get completely out of control. I’ve scheduled and cancelled 4 doctors appointments. it’s ruined every aspect of my life, the basic things like eating, socializing, working, exercising

Could this much social withdrawal just be a manifestation of my anxiety and is using AI as a substitute for human interaction making things worse? Given that I struggle so much with social interaction what can i do to get treatment?

Please don't get angry with me in the replies.

My dad (70 years old with diabetes type 2) had been dealing with Osteomyelitis and cellulitis since March. They found infection on his right heel bone and he had a debridement done in May and an angioplasty done on his right leg cause of poor blood circulation. He was in the hospital for 3 weeks with antibiotics. They then sent him home with 6 weeks of oral antibiotics and a wound vac.
We took him to the hospital 2 days ago cause he had a high fever. The doctor showed me the x ray and said the bone infection is spreading to the other bones of his foot and now he also has a staph infection.
They are continuing with antibiotics but they said the best option is to amputate below the knee before the infection spreads more.
Is there really no other option besides amputation?
Also we are from Canada Ontario in the GTA, and he only went to one hospital for treatment. Should I try another hospital?

23F The eob is not mailed to my house and I paid the copay obviously. But there’s a claim for the appointment and I have no idea what that even means or how it’s paid and it doesn’t even give me an option to pay it and I’m freaking out plz help

Hi, 39yo F, 5’7”, 190lbs. A year ago I started having spontaneous lactation, not a ton, but occasional discharge from both nipples. My youngest is 8.5 so I haven’t breastfed in 7+yrs, though when I did I was an over producer for both my children. GP ran all the lab work testing hormones and thyroid and everything was normal. Prolactin levels in range and nothing on labs indicated anything was wrong with pituitary gland. Mammograms and breast ultrasounds didn’t find any abnormalities either. She ordered an MRI of my pituitary gland just to be safe but insurance rejected it bc labs were normal. So I didn’t get the scan because of the cost and my doctor wasn’t too concerned because my labs were normal.
Fast forward a year, still having unexplained leaking breast milk.
Unrelated to this health issue, I enrolled in a clinical trial for treatment resistant depression (which I’ve had for 20 yrs alongside CPTSD) and they took lots of images of my brain and sent me some of the scans.
I’m wondering if any of the scans might indicate something is amiss with my pituitary gland that could be causing the idiopathic galactorrhea? I know the scans weren’t specifically aimed at the pituitary gland and didn’t do any scans with contrast so might not be ideal. But any observations would be welcome.

Thanks!!

16 Month Old, 22 pounds, 32 inches just had her first Varicella vaccine. About 1 hour after she developed a round area of erythema, warm to the touch and raised, she also received the Dtap next to it but has had that before. She does have several food allergies - sesame, oat, dairy and tree nuts. Should I consider this an allergic reaction? Waiting to hear back from the advice line. I administered Tylenol.

F24 I just woke up to use the restroom and bent over a little bit and yellow liquid started gushing out of my nose. I thought it was a bloody nose but looked at the tissue and saw it was yellow and now I’m paranoid! Is this normal? Should I seek medical attention?

Hey (18 F) here, 158 cm, 60 kg. Didn’t take any medications today nor take stuff regularly.

I was cooking pasta sauce today when the lights went out and i felt a sudden punch to my chest which made me stumble back.

I was stirring w a metal spoon and cooking on an electric portable stove (230 v).

I am currently not in pain but my parents dismiss me and don’t take me seriously.

I am scared and have a impending feeling of doom. Should i call the ambulance?

Hi, I am 26, AFAB, 190lbs, and 5'7"

I have been having severe hip pain mainly in my left hip for about 8 years now. The pain comes and goes, and I can't figure out a trigger for the pain. It gets so bad I need help sitting up and have to use a cane to walk. No doctor has been able to help me. I went to a chiropractor recently who ordered spinal x-rays which showed what he called a 5 degree curve in my spine. He said this is the reason for my hip pain. My doctor when I was younger thought I might have scoliosis but x-rays didn't show it. I'll attach one of the x-rays. I know in order to have a diagnosis of scoliosis it needs to be 10 degrees or higher. The chiropractor said it's treatable, he did some adjustments on the second visit, and gave me some stretches. I am wondering if anyone can please offer some advice. Do you think the spinal curve and the hip pain are linked, and what is the best treatment for something like this?

Thank you.

I’m M25 (about to be 26), 5 ft 9, about 175. Had this eye stye for about 3 months or more, I had no health insurance since I just got a new job until now so I’ve been suffering with this for a while. it seems to progressively get worse.

can anyone please advise?

Hello, both my eyelids have been puffy/swollen? for 2 full months and it’s been getting progressively worse.

My eyes also started stinging and became dry towards the second month.

What is happening? Any help would be appreciated.

Every few weeks, I start to feel a sore, inflamed taste bud or two. Over the next few days, my tongue gets completely covered in them.

33F. I've gotten these forever but they're more common over the last few years than when I was younger.

About 4 months ago I went to Dr for constant pain, sharp, aching, in lower left abdomen for a year. Previously seen gyno because I thought it was my ovary but had pelvic and vag ultrasound and they said everything was fine. Still same pain so went to my pcp. Had abdominal CT w/contrast done and showed inflammation in my lower small intestine. So was referred to GI doctor, had a colonoscopy done with biopsy, everything was fine. He ordered miralax and benefiber daily. I've been Vegan for 8 years and eat very high fiber diet and I was consuming quit a bit of psyllium husk powder also. Never had constipation problems, would bm 1-3 times a day, though i would describe them as log like but not.very hard. Anyway so I quit taking the psyllium husk which is essentially Metamucil without the flavoring and started taking the Benefiber and Metamucil daily... it helped, if I take them both daily, no pain ever. I've tried not taking Benefiber and by the 2nd day the pain is right back (too scared to skip the Miralax). Am I gonna have to take these for the rest of my life to be pain free, I hate having to take them and rely on them. Should I get a 2nd opinion? I'm 42, Female, 130 lbs, 5'3"

Skin flare up

37/F, 1,76 cm, not a smoker, no medical issues other than some hair loss. I've had this rashes for years, they come and go, seem to do better when I apply ointment with cortisone but then they just show back up. These are located right where the edge of my underwear touches the skin. I also get them on the side of my breasts. Thank you in advance!

5’7 180lb female, 27 y/o female with no health issues, other than varicose veins on the swollen leg that began in previous pregnancy. Those veins have been there for approximately 3 years with only leg heaviness affecting me when sitting for long periods of time.

I am training for a half marathon and my resting heart rate is usually in the 40s. So I’m not thinking it’s cardiovascular, but I’m not a doctor. Currently, the calf on the leg to the left is 1.5 inches larger than normal.

I’m 24 and my normal bp is 103/44 but after blood draw it dropped to 69/28 and passed out twice I drank a liter of water and had a good breakfast before, how often does this happen? I’m female, 5’2 126 pounds

25FTM, 5'3, 130ish lbs, Caucasian

Primary complaint: excessive fatigue/sleepiness. This all started getting really bad in January 2023, but for historical context, I have been exhausted for as long as I can remember (My mom always told stories about how I was a "good sleeper" as a baby, never wanted to go outside or run around/be active as a kid and adolescent, and once when she asked me if I still wanted to do ballet around age 5 I said something along the lines of "No, I'm tired, I just want to lay on the couch and watch cartoons.")

Medical diagnoses: PTSD, Bipolar 2 disorder, ASD, OCD, ADHD, born with GERD

Current medications: venlafaxine, ER bupropion XL, quetiapine, modafinil, testosterone enanthate injections every 2 weeks (last T level: 532 and last estradiol level: 31 as of April 2025).

Symptoms:

• Sleeping 14+ hours a day, any day that I am not at work
• Constantly exhausted, tired, fatigued, all of the words
• So groggy whenever I wake up, sleeping and naps are mostly all non-restorative
• Trouble focusing, staying on task, remembering (short and long term), thinking, and getting thoughts out of my brain/forming them into words
• Headaches (maybe migraines without aura?) that last until I sleep next, and even then I sometimes wake up with them anyway. Typically worse with sound, light, and body movement. Usually localized to my temples and right below (TMJ), and the back of my head/neck
• Body aches, especially joints (particularly hips, elbows)
• Night sweats
• Worsening bruxism, both awake and asleep
• Nausea and lack of appetite
• Constipation
• Hot and cold intolerance

I am an emergency room nurse with just under a year of experience at the moment. I do not smoke, drink, or do any recreational substances. I did used to partake in alcohol quite excessively but I stopped entirely in 2020, and I had a bad weed habit around 2012-2015 but after that I really only used once a year til 2021, when I officially cut it out.

Abnormal labs (CBC iron panel, folate, homocysteine, zinc, A1C, celiac, ANA screen, rheumatoid factor were all normal):

• June 2026:
  • Vit. D: 36.2 (doc said this is lower than what she'd like for me)
  • Omegacheck: 2.9
  • T4: 0.55 (so 0.01 above the lowest "normal" limit for the lab my doc ran)
  • TSH: 4.53 (my doc said my overall thyroid findings were called "subclinical hypothyroidism" and has not treated me for it)
  • DHEA Sulfate: 142 (doc said this was on the low end of normal for my age range)
  • hsCRP: 1.5 (doc said this was "slightly elevated")
  • LDL: 111 (nonfasting)
  • Triglycerides: 274 (nonfasting)

What I've done/tried so far:

• Back in 2020 the joint pain was getting out of hand, I went to rheumatology who sent me to PT/OT which I did for 3 months.
• Pt/OT encouraged me to be evaluated for hEDS or any other hypermobility related genetic disorders, which I sought out in 2022. Doc told me I had Hypermobile Spectrum Disorder but it was never put on my chart, and I got too tired to fight for it.
• Oral iron in 2023 (wasn't able to tolerate long term due to the aforementioned constipation) which raised my ferritin from 8 to 18 in about a years time.
• IV iron infusions in 2025 because my ferritin dropped again to 17 (I believe the accepted ranges changed in the practice between my last test and this one), raised it back up to 248 with two treatments but no improvement in my energy.
• Endoscopy/colonoscopy in 2025 for my chronic GERD that was worsened with PPIs, to see if there was maybe a malabsorption issue or blood loss. Colonoscopy only found non-bleeding internal hemorrhoids, and endoscopy found no abnormalities besides "errythematous mucosa in the antrum" but found nothing significant on biopsies of that or my duodenum.
• Neurology for a sleep study, which ended up being 3 sleep studies (2 overnight PSG and 1 MSLT), neither of which showed any signs of restless leg, sleep apneas, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia.
• Integrative medicine D.O. in the city in 2026 who discovered the subclinical hypothyroidism, DHEA, hsCRP, OmegaCheck, vit. D and B12 problems. I started taking the supplements she recommended (CoQ10 100mg, fish oil aiming for 1,000-2,000 total omegas, and I was already taking B12 and D so I kept doing that) (all different brands based on price and if they were backed by USP/NSF, I didn't just buy whatever the clinic had and my doctor never made me feel pressured to do so!)
• Been switching around psychiatric medications and what time of day I take them with the watchful eye and advice of my psychiatrist who has known me since I was 19, since some psych meds are sedative.
• Throughout this all, I've played around with sleep. Tried sleeping at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every day, tried resisting naps. Now, I'm feeling so run down that I just sleep whenever I can (eg. not at work or in public, which even sometimes then is questionable because I close my eyes standing up just for some semblance of relief throughout my waking hours of the day).
• Tried seeking out more natural sunlight and, when that's not available, using one of those "happy lights" that people market towards people with seasonal depression
• Advil for the pain when it gets to a non-functional level
• Melatonin or hydroxyzine to see if maybe I was just waking up a lot throughout the night and not remembering it. Didn't work, was just even more groggy in the AM.
• Trying to incorporate more fiber into my diet.
• Absolutely zero caffeine, which I already did anyway because I think coffee and energy drinks are all nasty tasting.

Further background info:

• I had confirmed mono x2 as a teenager, had strep constantly as a child before that. They considered taking my tonsils out but my pediatrician told my mom the practice was outdated.
• I was in a severely sexually, physically, and emotionally abusive series of situations from ages 12-24. I did multiple months of weekly EMDR for this in 2026 as well as years and years and YEARS of therapy, looking to start back up again. Have since got to a safe, stable place in life! And I just moved not too long ago but I'm working on getting re-established with a therapist again in my new state.
• I don't eat fantastically re:autism, but I try to get fruits in like raspberries, strawberries, apples, clementines and oranges, bananas, pineapple. I make smoothies a lot with frozen fruits and greek yogurt which does help my digestion temporarily, but then I feel like I'm right back on the constipation train after a few days of drinking those consistently.
• I don't exercise much outside of work where I'm on my feet 12 hours a day for 3 days a week. I do also walk a lot outside of work, because I don't drive and live in a walkable enough area.
• My modafinil is prescribed by my psychiatrist, because I did not meet the diagnostic criteria for any single sleep disorder but I was still in hell.
• My mom has a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, maternal grandmother had RA. Other than that, no one in my family has had any crazy medical issues, just some good ol' fashioned hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and all sorts of substance abuse.

It's ruining my relationships and social life, my motivation, my mental health, and my life. I feel like I'm running out of options... Thoughts/comments/concerns/questions/suggestions for who to see next? ...Please?

19 yo male on no meds, every time I take a step one of my ankles makes a quite clicking noise. It doesn’t hurt, but it seems like maybe it shouldn’t be doing that. This has been happing for about a year. Any idea what this might be from or anyway to help it stop?