u/partlyokayish

For years I have had nausea, vomitting, regurgitation, abdominal pain, constipation etc and its never ending. I've had so many tests and still no clue what's wrong with me.

They found out I had inflammation in my oesophagus, stomach, small and large intestine. No explanation of why or what to do about it.

They found I have mild thickening of the terminal illieum, a hiatus hernia and laxity of my gastro oesophageal junction. Again no explanation why or what to do about it.

They put me on PPIs for the heartburn and kept increasing them when I mentioned any other symptoms for no obvious reasons. Still don't know why I have heartburn and they dont seem to be concerned that its a short term medication ive been on for over 3 years. Gastroenterologist didn't even care about my heartburn bc medication is helping despite I shouldn't be on those meds this long.

Told i dont have coeliac, then told they checked again and its borderline so they wanted to check again but near the time I was too unwell to eat much of anything so cant test that rn. I did feel a bit better when I was barely eating so now I'm too worried to eat gluten to get tested bc if I am, i will keep getting ill and lose my job.

All this, and all they can tell me is they think I have some sort of dysmotility and to take laxitives, despite my worries about how they make me feel even more ill and I dont want to have to rely on them my whole life to be able to go to the bathroom.

I feel like a lost cause and I genuinely don’t see me ever getting better. The doctors are just doing tests and barely explaining anything to me and all claim they don't know what's wrong and putting me on medication they even advise isnt suitable long term. Im 21 and this is going to cost me my job and I'm too scared to even eat anymore.

​

I am 21F and the gum at the very back of my mouth gets quite painful at random. It's in the area i expect my wisdom teeth will grow in (I havent had any yet) so each time I expect it's maybe because they will be coming in soon.

However, I have had this periodically for a couple of years now and no wisdom teeth. It lasts for a day or 2 at a time and then goes away but reappears at random. It is usually in the upper right gum but sometimes upper left. I do have overcrowding but my upper mouth feels like there should be space for them yet they haven't come through yet. This made me wonder if it's maybe something else entirely? I know I'm around the age they typically grow in but 3 years of this seems like I'd have wisdom teeth by now if that was the cause.

The pain is extremely bothersome when it happens and makes jaw movements painful too. Since it never lasts long I've never had it checked but it has been reoccurring for at least the past 3 years (probably more) without obvious cause.

Any idea what this could be and does it seem like something I should make an appointment for or wait for my checkup in 2 months? Also is there anything I can do to help the pain? Paracetamol doesn't make any difference and I can't take ibuprofen or other nsaids due to medical reasons so I never know what to do about it. I bought cocodamol for it before but it also doesnt help.

I was not well educated on oral health so sorry if anything sounds silly or obvious

I had a regular psychiatrist appointment today but I saw a locum instead of my usual psychiatrist. I was curious how it would go as I've only ever had the same psychiatrist ever since my diagnosis. This guy was nothing like my usual psychiatrist.

I was diagnosed last year and have tried 3 medications so far which have all failed. While on lithium I managed to get my level to 0.62 but still feeling depressed and the psychiatrist said she was aiming for 0.8 anyway as its more effective. Turns out she wasnt aware of other medical issues I have which makes it completely unsuitable rn. So we tried aripiprazole which gave me horrific akathsia right away and then tried lamotrigine which also had unmanageable side effects. So today I expected to be prescribed a fourth medication and honestly I was dreading it considering how badly things have gone so far.

To my surprise, he suggested instead of trying more medication, we try other options instead given my history. I of course was thrilled with the idea. We chatted about things, previous referals etc. I am happy to announce I have now been discharged from secondary psychiatric services. He has refered me to a primary care community psychiatric nurse who I will see from now on and explore non pharmacological options.

I finally feel like I have hope now. It will be a few weeks, maybe a month or 2 max before they take me on due to waitlists which was a relief. I had a psychoeducation referal made in January that I still havent heard back from so feared this would be the same. Normally I'd have to wait 3 months between each appointment so this will be better for that too. A lot of psych meds cause further issues with my physical health so I feel relieved. Other doctors have been hesitant to prescribe some meds bc they interact with psych meds so now I'll hopefully be able to try more options for my physicsl health too. It feels like a very positive step, not just for my bipolar, but overall health and wellbeing.

Around this time last year I was diagnosed with bipolar and so far not had any luck with medication. I stopped my previous mood stabiliser so expected to get prescribed something else today when I sae the psychiatrist again.

I saw a locum instead who was great and very different from my usual psychiatrist. He was the one to suggest maybe not trying anymore medication and looking at other options instead which sounded great.

He has discharged me from the out patient clinic and refered me to the CPN instead who should see me in a few weeks/couple of months. I have no idea what to expect though, because the very little I know about their role doesnt help me understand how I could benefit. He didnt give much information but I understand they can help with coping strategies if im depressed, but I'm currently not.

What can they do during euthymia or mania? Or just in general what should I expect from them? I've been seeing the psychiatrist every few months so will this be the same for the CPN? Honestly any information would be so helpful!

​

Due to health reason, I recently cut my hours at work and within a week, my partner left me. Without his support I am now having to apply for universal credit and completed most of it but struggling to complete the section about my health.

I listed all of my diagnoses just to be safe and in my opinion, these do limit my ability to work. I had to stop my previous job due to one issue, so I got a new job. In this new job, ive had a high level of absence thats led to me having to reduce my hours.

The part I'm struggling with is that I have to provide a date from which "this condition" has effected my ability to work or look for work. To me it sounds that it is only looking for one condition that limits me so I'm guessing they want to know when this second issue made things difficult.

What date should I provide? The date it started causing high level of absence? The date it was diagnosed? The date i requested a change to my hours? The date the decreased hours has begun? Something else?

I'm honestly just so worried about accidentally doing something wrong that impacts my claim or gets me in bother. I'm in Scotland

Help completing health question on UC application

Due to health reason, I recently cut my hours at work and within a week, my partner left me. Without his support I am now having to apply for universal credit and completed most of it but struggling to complete the section about my health.

I listed all of my diagnoses just to be safe and in my opinion, these do limit my ability to work. I had to stop my previous job due to one issue, so I got a new job. In this new job, ive had a high level of absence thats led to me having to reduce my hours.

The part I'm struggling with is that I have to provide a date from which "this condition" has effected my ability to work or look for work. To me it sounds that it is only looking for one condition that limits me so I'm guessing they want to know when this second issue made things difficult.

What date should I provide? The date it started causing high level of absence? The date it was diagnosed? The date i requested a change to my hours? The date the decreased hours has begun? Something else?

I'm honestly just so worried about accidentally doing something wrong that impacts my claim or gets me in bother. Tia

Due to health reason, I recently cut my hours at work and within a week, my partner left me. Without his support I am now having to apply for universal credit and completed most of it but struggling to complete the section about my health.

I listed all of my diagnoses just to be safe and in my opinion, these do limit my ability to work. I had to stop my previous job due to one issue, so I got a new job. In this new job, ive had a high level of absence thats led to me having to reduce my hours.

The part I'm struggling with is that I have to provide a date from which "this condition" has effected my ability to work or look for work. To me it sounds that it is only looking for one condition that limits me so I'm guessing they want to know when this second issue made things difficult.

What date should I provide? The date it started causing high level of absence? The date it was diagnosed? The date i requested a change to my hours? The date the decreased hours has begun? Something else?

I'm honestly just so worried about accidentally doing something wrong that impacts my claim or gets me in bother. Tia

I was diagnosed type 1 this time last year after a manic episode where I entered psychosis and nearly destroyed everything. I especially thought I'd lose my partner of a year and a half. I put that man through hell and back but he was the one to convince me we should stay together. A few months later, I got the diagnosis and a few weeks after, he asked to move in with me and he did. I am still trialling meds and have currently had to stop the med I was on and see the psychiatrist about it this week.

The past few days I've been worried I might possibly be going manic, but my partner didnt know as he was working nightshift and was out doing things when I woke up so I hadn't say him all day until 8pm. But something seemed off so I tried to ask him if everything is alright and he began to cry. I cuddled him and comforted him, letting him take his time and I was genuinely terrified. I have never seen anyone so distressed in my life (and that really means smth from me) and was worried something terrible had happened. Eventually he managed to say "I think we should go back to just being friends". I didnt even register it first and then I realised. I started crying but was still cuddling him. He left to calm down few minutes which hadn't worked well and he came back and said he's felt how he has for about a month and additionally he's really depressed and is feeling suicidal every day. Once again my own grief is interrupted to focusing on his wellbeing when I am the one being broken up with and i feel emotionally confused.

To cut a long story short, he said hed pack some things and go to his mums tonight so I said okay. He then proceeded to spend half an hour packing literally every single thing he owns and left without even saying goodbye.

To make things worse, I dont even know why he's breaking up with me. He was so distraught I just didnt get it. He said he just doesn't feel a spark anymore, something about irritable and being together all the time. He's never mentioned any of this stuff and I am always encouraging him to take more alone time for himself bc I know he needs it more than I do and he hardly ever does.

The biggest problem though is that he has totally fucked me over. He either didn't care or somehow didn't realise but over the past month, this is when he said he's felt this way about the relationship. He has made several comments referring to our future and supported me through some new changes which he encouraged. Which has meant now he has left me, I will not be able to financially support myself, and I wont be able to go to uni now afterall. He had encouraged the idea and less than 24 hours before this happened, I had just found out I had been awarded the full amount of student finance I needed to afford uni if I still worked part time and shared the bills. I didnt even get the chance to tell him. Tomorrow I will need to apply for government assistance to make sure I can pay the bills since even under our current circumstances, he supported me making changes knowing that thise changes meant i wouldnt be able to afford to live witbout his support. Sadly i wont even be eligible for much anyway due to my situation.

Safe to say I'm definitely not going to end up manic now because my life has been made 10x harder with new and difficult problems I have to fix, all while being absolutely devasted and feeling heartbroken for the first time. In addition to all that, I am so emotionally pulled in all directions due to grief, concern for him and my future, and more confused than I've ever been because none of it makes any sense, and I still dont know why hes left me, or why he expressed far more distress than me. I just feel so overwhelmed and worried about my mental health moving forward but also more terrified of meds now more than ever because if I get the horrible side effects as severe as other meds, I wont be able to manage anything. This is also my first love and first break up which I imagine makes it feel even worse

I've decided to make a change about how I use tretinoin but just want to see if people here think this is a dumb idea...

I began using tretinoin 2 or 3 years ago for acne and it worked amazingly. I currently use 0.009% since some of my skin can be sensitive and love the results. However, my forehead has always been a problem area. I have a lot of uneven texture and bumps which I thought was acne for the longest time and tretinoin hasn't made any improvements past the first year.

I suspect I would need to use a stronger concentration to actually help but I know any increase is likely to make my face really irritated and not end well. However, when this has happened in the past with tret or other actives, my forehead actually copes really well and doesnt get irritated like other areas.

That's why I've had the idea to continue on 0.009%, but start using a stronger concentration for just on my forehead. In my mind it seems safe and logical but I've never heard of anyone else doing this so just wanted a sanity check incase this is actually incredibly stupid and I'm missing something.

As much as I'd love to address the root cause, thats easier said than done. I dont know exactly what causes the inflammation but I do have PMOS (PCOS), a connective tissue disorder, and inflammation of the GI tract. Theres so many possible causes and none of them are easy fixes but I am working on these issues.

I don't really drink alcohol, I sleep well, very low stress, good diet (little to no UPFs, high fibre, low sugar etc), workout (cardio and resistance training), take omega 3 etc. I feel like I am running out of ideas.

Im 21 and going back as far as 16, my CRP has been anywhere between 5 and 25 (most recent was roughly 10). I really want to get on top of it but really struggling to find other things to implement that have any sort of decent evidence.

​

I bought some hydroquinone recently and used ot for the first time on Saturday evening. I applied a pea sized amount evenly over my face and it felt like stingy. I decided to skip any actives that night and just moisturise.

Then on Sunday I decided to not use any again and just moisturise and my spf felt a little stingy. My face looks fine, but today I can feel some of my skin feels rough and this evening I noticed some skin flaking/peeling. Again, I skipped actives and only moisturised and it felt like my moisturiser was burning.

Do I just keep doing this until my skin feels better? Or is there a way to help repair my barrier sooner? Any products you'd recommend?

I work within a blood donor centre in Scotland collecting blood donations. I screen donors for suitability, preform the venepuncture, look after donors during and after donations, label, link and pack the blood for transport to the labs and more. I am very passionate about blood donation, I absolutely love my job and learning about blood

Ask me anything about phlebotomy, donations, blood or anything else.

I have always been diligent with SPF on my face as I personally dislike how my skin looks when it has a slight tan. I also use tret so I know how important it is.

I use a broad spectrum SPF 50+ (++++ UVA rating) at least half an hour before I leave the house. Half teaspoon amount measured out every 2 hours minimum. I also wear sunglasses, baseball cap and seek shade where I can.

I still end up with a tan after travelling. I dont even know what more I could do. I seem to sweat it off so damn quickly so sometimes I'm applying after less than an hour. I don't want to spend my entire life indoors hiding from the sun either tho.

It feels like having to choose between my skin and living my life

About 6 months ago, I (21F) posted about undergoing an in-depth health assessment to identify areas I needed to improve. The plan was to retest after implementing lifestyle and medical interventions and compare the results.

I'll be honest: life got in the way, and I didn't make as much progress as I'd hoped. Most of the changes I've made were only implemented consistently over the last 2–3 months. Even so, I decided to retest now and have already booked another follow-up in 6 months to keep myself accountable. I have started a multivitamin and omega 3 supplement as well as 500mg metformin and 100mg spironolactone.

For context, I have PCOS (now more accurately PMOS) and a strong family history of cardiovascular disease and metabolic dysfunction, so these were my primary concerns. The area where I've made the least progress is weight loss, which is where I really need to focus. I am still obese but have had small reductions to overall weight, visceral fat and waist circumference.

My hormones are better than ever. Testosterone and FAI are within normal range for the first time with levels at 1.49 nmol/l and 4.79 respectively (down from 2.17 and 9.69). My SHBG is still low but raised from 22.4 to 31.1 nmol which puts me much closer to a healthy range. Progesterone was also high at 0.97 nmol which I suspect is due to nexplanon implant. All thyroid tests also came back within range.

My fasting glucose also dropped from 5.87 to 4.43 mmol/L, both fasted for 12 hours. However, my HbA1C, insulin and C peptid3 all had very minor increases. I see this as an overall improvement although disappointed by the small increases as I hoped these would lower. I have since increased metformin to 850mg once daily and will continue with weightloss.

Lipids were a mixed result. Triglycerides remain good, total cholesterol and total cholesterol:HDL ratio have also decreased. LDL remains above range but only slightly and small LDL was measured for the first time which is in range. HDL also saw a small decrease. Apolipoprotein A-I was another new measurement that was within range although my Apolipoprotein B / A-I Ratio was slightly high. I previously had a high level of lipoprotein a of 229 which has raised to 299 in this test. Apart from standard diet and exercise I don’t see any other possible interventions but want to optimise these due to lipoprotein a.

CRP also massively decreased although still high. I suspect it is from further underlying health conditions and/or minor infection. I did also have a very slight increase in WBCs and neutrophils, huge jump in platelets, and an elevated C3 measured for the first time.

Only other values out of range are cystatin C (measured for the first time), GGT, phosphate and PTH. All of these were barely out of range so I have no concerns unless they flag after repeat testing. The iron panel also showed good improvement and is well within range now.

I expect almost all of my unfavourable results will be improved by further weight loss so this seems like the obvious factor I need to put most of my focus on and take seriously. I prioritise fiber and protein in my diet but struggle to get enough protein. I am also going to continue with spironolactone, a multivitamin and omega 3 supplementation, although I would love to hear if anyone else has any suggestions or feedback on my results and actions. I will post the full results in the comments.

My face is shiny 24/7. It's not just certain products like SPF or oily skin or anything. My guess is its from using tret but even after washing my face its immediately still shiny.

I know this is a look some people aim for but personally I really dislike it and wish my face looked more matt. The problem is every product is for things like oil control which I dont need.

Is there anything I can do to make my skin look less shiny or is makeup my only option (I personally dislike wearing makeup and wouldn't even know where to begin)

Edit: My morning routine is vitamin c followed by skin peptides, moisturiser and SPF 50. PM I use a gentle cleaner, azelaic acid, tretinoin (with niacinamide and aa from skin and me) and moisturiser.

I have been chronically constipated for as long as I can remember and have loads of gi issues. Ive been using reta for 5 weeks now but recently found out I have bowel dysmotility.

​

My gastroenterologist put me on daily laxitives with the hope that my issues will improve if im having regular bowel movements but so far I havent taken any. I am naturally going 4-7 times a week for the first time.

​

Reta gave me diahorea at first and while it had resolved, I am still having loose stools half the time. I find it interesting how well it seems to have worked at maming me go more regularly and I have definitely been feeling better for it.