r/AskADoctor

That's it. I am not asking for medical advice. I've been going through something this past week that I've never experienced before. I've been having some strange memory lapses. Sometimes I go to take a shower and forget to bring a towel. I've been forgetting the names of famous actors, and this week I even forgot my cousin's name. Sometimes, when I'm trying to form a sentence, there's a noticeable delay before I can get the words out.

I'm not sure if it's just my anxiety. Also, whenever I'm using the computer, I feel some discomfort in my eyes.

Something that happened to me today:

I went to the pharmacy to buy some medication with my prescription in hand. After I finished paying, I folded the prescription and put it in the pocket of my shorts. When I got home, I got out of the car, carried some groceries inside, and placed the prescription on the table. Then I went back to the car to grab the rest of the groceries. While I was doing that, I started looking for the prescription that I had already placed on the table. It took me about 15 seconds to realize that I had already left it there.

By the way, I had a brain MRI one week ago, and the results came back completely normal.

I was in an ER exam room. The doctor looked over my lesions and said, "I think we could be looking at cancer." I replied, "I would be very surprised if it's not." But what I was sorely tempted to say instead was, "Oh, that's not possible. I'm an Aries!"

While I was in there I overheard quite a bit of banter among doctors and nurses that reminded me of the old TV show M*A*S*H, finding humor in dark situations to get through the day. But it probably would hit different when a patient does it, especially when trying to tell them something important.

I figure it's a good thing I didn't make that wisecrack, but I still can't help but wonder…how would you have reacted? With shock? Annoyance? Disgust? "Heard that one before"? Or would you stifle a chuckle?

(I am not asking for medical advice.)

I am not asking for medical advice.

Just had a Dr's appt for my 2 children. We walked in and my 4 year old daughter was chatting away as she usually does.

I felt slightly uncomfortable with how the Dr pulled her towards him and was patting her back as she was speaking to him, but just put it down to me overanalysing it and that it was harmless. When he rolled himself up to assess her she did look up at me and say she was scared but I reassured her that it's OK, the Dr just needs to check your sore throat. He assessed her and diagnosed her, it was all fine.

Then he began assessing my 6 month old. He needed to check her tonsils so he splayed his legs open in front of me and pulled her legs and bottom half up onto his lap with her essentially straddling his waist whilst her head was on my lap. He checked her throat and I quickly lifted her back to me. Again, I felt uncomfortable as he didn't explain what he was going to do. I was caught off guard as I'm used to the Dr's checking my kid's (I have 5) throats whilst they're on me but by asking me to hold their forehead and arms down.

My 4 year old was in the background saying "that's my baby sister....she was in my mummy's tummy!" Then the Dr turned to her and said "oh? And how did she get in there?" My daughter laughed and looked confused so I asked her to come and sit next to me as we'll be leaving now. I asked him if my baby needs any medication, thanked him, and I got up and took my kids out.

I did mention to the receptionist that I found it inappropriate but now I'm wondering if I'm overreacting?

Edit to add: his response to her confusion was "So you don't know everything then, do you?" Which made it feel less like him trying to make a badly-landed joke.

I am not asking for medical advice. For the last two years, my girlfriend (F18) has been having regular episodes of lightheadedness and fainting. The episodes usually last 1-10 seconds. When she can feel one closing in on her she gets a feeling of impending doom and strong anxiety, turns pale and shaky etc, and when she comes to her vision sparkles/blurs. The most recent one was yesterday while she was getting her Meningitis B vaccine. She’s never been afraid of needles, and the injection didn’t hurt, so it’s very out of character for her to faint during one.

Obviously, this all sounds very, VERY concerning to me. Her fainting has resulted in her breaking her nose (twice) just from going from a warm environment to a cold one. If I could I would’ve taken her for a checkup ages ago, but we’re currently long distance, so I can’t. Her father is a doctor, so I would’ve expected him to be taking it far more seriously than he is, especially considering it has caused her literal physical harm several times, but he doesn’t seem too bothered about it, which is quite frankly insane to me.

We’re thinking she could be fainting due to low blood pressure/low blood sugar, but we really have no idea. Could anyone tell me the difference between the two, maybe give some suggestions as to how we should approach it? Thank you.

I am not asking for medical advice.

I am not asking for medical advice.

I have been dealing with a wrist injury since mid-May. I went to urgent care and the doctor didn’t want me to get any imaging for some reason so I didn’t. She just offered me a wrist brace and sent me on my way, listing in my record that I had carpal tunnel even though my wrist pain is from a climbing injury and does not present as carpal tunnel. I then reached out to my PCP about a month later who sent me to a PA-C specializing in general orthopedics who diagnosed me with tendinitis, told me to wear the brace all day for four weeks instead of only at night, and gave me no further info. I’m now past the four weeks, it’s been about three months since the onset of my injury, and no one wants to fucking image it to see what actually the damage is. It keeps re-injuring and it’s to the point now where I’m in so much pain constantly, and it’s popping super loudly. I went back to my PCP, to beg her to send me to an ortho doctor, or send me to get an MRI or SOMETHING, and she just referred me to a PT. Am I doing something wrong? Am I crazy for wanting imaging done or to see a specialist? I’m so afraid that I need surgery but everyone is just putting it off, causing the injury to get worse. Every time I go to a doctor they brush me off and act like I just want steroids (which I’ve never taken nor asked for). I just need help, I’m autistic and have a hard time advocating for myself and I feel like at this point I should just chop my hand off and be done with it. :(

Edit: I have insurance through my employer, I live in NM, I don’t know how specific I want to get but imaging is covered by my insurance. MRIs need prior authorization, but all other radiology, ultrasounds etc don’t need prior authorization.

I am not asking for medical advice.

Just a question about serotonin syndrome in general.

Not a medical professional, but I am a certified nerd and medical coder at a fqhc. I also have a bs in psychology. Don’t worry I’m not trying to say I’m any kind of expert, but it’s relevant to the story.

A couple years ago I had switched to a new psychiatrist who promptly upped my meds. Within the first 2 weeks of seeing her she had dramatically increased two of my psych meds, got rid of another, and added four more psych meds. Not saying it wasn’t needed lol.

I did have a ton of side effects though. I developed a tremor and twitching, vomiting and diarrhea, etc. With all the med changes I thought I should get checked out. I went to an urgent care - the provider who saw me acted like I had just suggested that a magical leprechaun from space had caused my symptoms.

I had only mentioned it as something I wanted to rule out because of the med changes. She kept asking me WHERE I heard about it. “Did you hear about this on TikTok? Did you Google your symptoms? You did, didn’t you! Where did you find this?” I said I had encountered it in a work and school setting, she was insistent I just found it online somewhere.

She also insisted it was such a rare dx that I couldn’t possibly have it. So rare she would likely never see it in her career.

I was reminded of that experience today while coding an encounter from our acute care center. The pt came in with joint pains and twitching, and had recently started a new psych med. The provider immediately sent her to the ER to rule out serotonin syndrome. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen it suggested by a provider at my workplace.

Why the huge difference in opinion on it? What are your thoughts - do you view it as internet fear mongering? Is serotonin syndrome controversial in the medical community or was this just a one off provider with a grudge?

I am not asking for medical advice.

Kinda am though…. I’m 24 and quite healthy. I started rabies vaccines on Monday of this week after a potential rabies scare, got my second vaccine Thursday. Today’s Friday, can I binge drink tonight without it negatively impacting the outcome of my vaccines?

I know using AIs for medical advice is dumb, but multiple AIs are giving contradicting answers. Anyone with knowledge on this please advise.

Thanks!!!!

about 6 months ago I got it for the first time, took antibiotics eye drops and It went away for 5 months, a month ago it came back, I took antibiotics eye drops again, and it went away, and now it came back again, I am not asking for medical advice. just want to know why it keeps coming back to me.

I am not asking for medical advice.
I live with ptsd after obstetrical violence and some part of it was sudden exposure and manual exam i wasn’t informed about

to heal my inner trauma, asking docs
do you guys truly stop caring about genitalia at all, not remembering it, doing manual private exams like it’s checking blood pressure?

i understand it somewhere in my mind, but if i’d hear it from someone it’ll ease my mind. My therapist said it’s a good idea to ask somewhere

Thank u!

I am not asking for medical advice. Im 17 about to turn 18, I have been officially vaping half of my life, I have been starting to feel pains in my chest/back on and off for like 2 years now. I have to beg my parents to get me a doctors appointment set up. I have one on the beginning of next month but I’m still nervous. Have I completely messed up my body? I would have never started if I knew the down side of it. I have so much I wanna say but can’t find the words for it. I need help any advice helps

Hi, I 17F am getting an endoscopy soon for burning and gnawing pain in my stomach, pills and some foods feeling like they get stuck in my esophogus or scratched it, and other acid-reflux related symptoms. My doctor mentioned that they will take biopsies to look for things such as allergy cells. I'm just curious about how the allergy cells could cause symptoms and what it would signify if they were present. I am not asking for medical advice. I am just curious about the allergy cells and I'm having trouble finding out about it online.

I am not asking for medical advice. I went to see my doctor for a routine visits discussed certain things, the title in this post was his response. Isn’t that medical ageism?

Hi ive been having a medical mystery thing for 6 months now and still at a loss as to what it is. In feb it started hurting on my right lower tummy when I wee,cough, have a bm or laugh. It’s in just one spot and comes and gos in pain but is always there. im also going to poo like 7-8 a day which is driving me insane. Doctors have done an ultrasound and checked all my bloods and still have no idea. I am not asking for medical advice. just wondered what I should ask the doctors next as the pain just hasn’t gone. Thanks!

Hello, I’m a 21 year old female. I’m 5’2” and 150 lbs if that matters at all. Basically ever since my 21st birthday in early May I’ve been having these symptoms that have gotten worse with time. The symptoms are Nausea, Vomiting, Abdominal Pain, Migraines (less frequent but nauseating), Irregular bowel movements, feeling faint or flush, struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep, fatigue, loss of appetite. At first I was only throwing up once every couple weeks and occasionally feeling the abdominal pain and faint. Recently every morning I wake up I go straight to the bathroom either to throw up or to have a bowel movement and neither one makes me feel that much better after. My entire morning is usually dedicated to laying in bed folded over pillows trying to make the discomfort go away. Usually by afternoon it’s not as bad but the feeling flush and faint takes over my ability to actually do anything. By nighttime I either feel okay or absolutely horrible. I should also mention that it’s not the worst pains I’ve ever felt, no worse than period cramps, but it’s enough to make me not able to focus on anything.
I would also like to mention I had a doctors appointment on Monday. I got bloodwork done and she ordered an abdominal ultrasound and an MRI which I still have to figure out how and where to get done with my insurance. I haven’t heard the bloodwork results yet but she also gave me a prescription for Famotidine to help with the nausea. I took it last night as suggested and unfortunately still threw up this morning.
I am not asking for Medical Advice. I’m just an anxious person not feeling so good and would appreciate any insight.

(Edit: I forgot to add that last night for the first time I woke up multiple times covered in sweat which isn’t normal for me and the last time that happened was actually when I had the flu back in January. Along with that I was waking up shivering while covered in sweat which was not fun.)

UPDATE: I went to the ER last night because I was shaking and nauseated along with my abdominal pain and feeling faint. They ended up finding ovarian cysts on my right ovary (the tech said she saw a couple but they were smaller so nothing concerning). I now have a follow up with my OB/GYN in a month. I’m still feeling very nauseous and having stomach related issues though and when I look up ovarian cysts I feel like I have more going on than that. I’m hoping they’re the only problem but I feel like I’m having stronger symptoms for just the cysts.

Hi- a few weeks ago I had a red and inflamed ingrown hair that got infected after being around for over 6 months. I got a penicillin shot, antibiotics, and a 2nd shot of penicillin. It went down, no more redness or swelling. Well out of nowhere it’s back, huge and red and swollen, a little painful (see photo.) I have an appt Friday to see dermatologist again. Any advice? I’m scared and never had this happen before. At what point do I go to ER?

Legal disclaimer: I am not asking for medical advice.

Hello!
I am not asking for medical advice. The other night I was sitting in my bed taking care of my 6mo baby when I felt some like my water breaking. I looked down and there was so much blood. I went to the bathroom and there were blood clots in my pants and everything was completely soaked. I had no period symptoms, there wasn’t any spotting or blood previously. It’s been one day and there is little to no blood. I’ve never experienced anything like this before and I have no idea what happened. I’m hoping someone here does have an idea.

I am a 19 yo female. 5’11 and 150 pounds. The only medication I take is a birth control pill.
For over a year at this point I’ve been dealing with unbearable pain and I have absolutely no quality of life anymore. I’ve been having unbearable pain in my chest, left upper quadrant of my abdomen, overall body weakness, and very bizarre neurological symptoms. I’ve gone to the ER and so many different specialist but no one can seem to figure out what’s going on.
All of my symptoms are constant and nothing I do makes it better or worse. It constantly feels like I’m getting stabbed in my chest. I’ve seen a cardiologist but they refused to do any tests because “I’m to young to have heart problems”
Ive also been struggling to walk without stumbling or needing something to lean on. For context just a year ago I was going to the gym constantly and I’ve always been a very fit and athletic person but I can’t do that anymore because of these medical issues. I’ve been having some very weird neurological symptoms as well. I’ve had multiple instances where I forget my own name or I forget where I am and I’ve been forgetting how to do everyday things. It’s gotten very scary. And I’ve had headaches everyday for a year, these headaches have made me have chronic insomnia. I’m just not sure what to do at this point.

I am not asking for medical advice. But if anyone might know what’s going on or where I should go from here I would greatly appreciate any advice.

I am not asking for medical advice. Adding the fact that everything in this would be sterile?

I am NOT planning to do this, this is just an imaginary scenario and I’m really curious

i just got some test results back and my doctor said they are normal but my iron seems low. would you think i should take iron or it’s fine. I am not asking for medical advice. my results are as follows.

Iron 38 (normal range 30-160)

transferrin 338 (normal range 200-375)

tibc 500 (normal range 250-450)

saturated iron 8 (normal range 20-50)

ferritin 26 (normal range 20-300)