r/MedicalHelp

Image 1 — early stage of infected stitches?
Image 2 — early stage of infected stitches?

early stage of infected stitches?

this cut reached down to the fatty layer, and i got stitches for it a couple days ago-- the bulging is kinda freaking me out, and the redness has infact gotten worse.( i will preface by saying that i was not cut with anything dirty or rusty, and this wasnt passed over multiple times) this is also my first time receiving stitches so like.. idk. maybe im being anxious?

u/Stunning-Set-122 — 3 days ago
▲ 5 r/MedicalHelp+2 crossposts

Weird red bubble thingy on my skin

First of all I’d like to say I’m not too worried about this but more so annoyed. A weird tiny red pattern appeared on my foot a at least week ago, not very itchy so I didn’t scratch it or anything. Few days ago it starts forming bubbles and they keep getting bigger and turning red, it’s not very itchy. I haven’t been outside much but I’m assuming it’s a bug bite of some sort but I’m really curious on what bug or thing caused this. Most importantly I want it gone as soon as possible, I’ve been applying lotion to it and started putting itch cream on it after it started bubbling. It’s very irritated and it just keeps getting worse and worse, I’m worried about it spreading. Should I cover it or put anything special on it??

Possible helpful details:
I live in Minnesota,
I’m on several medications but I haven’t started anything new or changed any doses,
I don’t smoke or anything,
I’m not allergic to anything as far as I know,
I take baths more than I shower (should I stop?)
Also I don’t plan going to the doctor since this does not seem serious

u/Last-Possibility-561 — 8 days ago

I’m so lost as a medically complex patient

This is honestly a desperate post but my doctors dont seem to care. Heres a rundown on my medical history. I’m a 21 yo female who got diagnosed with POTS in dec after an intensive L5-S1 spinal fusion where I was under the knife for 7 hours since they had to remove previous hardware for a hook and screw bilateral pars repair where the bone graft didn’t take. During my week long stay, my heart rate didn’t go down below 140 most of the time. Went to urgent care a few times but stopped going after realizing no one really helped me other than giving me fluids. I don’t have the type where I pass out, but I get very close to it. My unique symptoms are that sometimes when I flare up, my blood pressure either rises or drops - and my heart rate always jumps of course. This means I cant even get on a medication to stabilize that part. Then around the start of May, I was struggling with lots of fatigue and I found out I had severe iron deficiency anemia (ferritin was at a 5) and got 5 infusions. For my check up I found out my b12 was also low, but my primary never tested for that so my hematologist was the one to catch it. My 4th and last injection is this week. The thing is, after the iron treatments I began to slowly feel less fatigued and could work again, but now I’ve been rapidly declining over the past few weeks. Got a cpap and have been using it for two months now. I’m extremely fatigued again, my pots flares are almost hourly, heat intolerance is insane where I have 3 fans in my room on at all times, I have to lay down every 4-6 hours, waking up in the middle of the night, headaches at my brow bone, major brain fog, irritated a lot, weight gain but now I’m losing weight after these few weeks, weakness, soreness, cold hands and feet even though everything else is burning, and other things but I’m just so miserable that it’s overwhelming. Trying to get on SSI but my doctors are not helpful. I know the b12 and iron treatments take time, but I saw a spike in energy before I dropped. Had many blood tests done (thyroid, insulin, all the vitamins, and many more) and the only abnormal test not related to my b12 and iron was my vitamin E. My alpha tocopherol is at an 11.8 which seems normal, but my gamma tocopherol was at a <1.0. I was told to also go to an endocrinologist and I plan on doing so, but I’m just desperate to see if theres any other doctors I should go to so I can get this figured out as quickly as possible. I know that it is HIGHLY likely I have malabsorption syndrome, as I had a stomach surgery almost 10 years ago. However, I never had issues with it until my last back surgery. I’m just so tired, I can’t work more than 8 hours a week as my retail job where I’m literally given low energy tasks. Don’t know what to do or what other tests may help, just desperately looking for any suggestions on how to navigate this all. Getting a new primary care since my current one doesn’t do any tests unless I specifically request them. Feels like I’m my own doctor with her when I’m just so scared and out of control in my own body. Now all she focuses on is my weight when I tell her repeatedly that I can barely work and get out of bed each day, let alone exercise. What do I even do?

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u/depressowo — 10 days ago