r/medical_advice

Just curious, is there any way to control sugar cravings?

For about a year now, I’ve noticed more skin tags developing around my neck down to my abdomen. I’m not sure if they’re related to consuming too much sugar, but it’s starting to worry me.
I’m in my early 30s, normal weight and, because I’m working and studying at the same time, I barely have any time to exercise. What’s strange is that I never used to like sweets. Lately, whenever I’m really stressed, I crave sugary foods so intensely that I even get headaches if I don’t have something sweet. I’ve tried cutting back, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to control the cravings.
Has anyone experienced something similar or found something that actually helped? I’m worried about developing diabetes or kidney disease in the future, and I’d really appreciate any advice or tips.

22f, 5'0, 88lbs, probably an alcoholic

I've been a heavy drinker of some description for around 5 years. My heaviest drinking period was around six months of drinking a full bottle of vodka most days. I got sober and spent six months sober on and off, with two straight months sober until 2.5 weeks ago.

I started drinking again about 20 days ago and have been drinking around 15 units of alcohol a day, also been taking codeine daily for that same period. Since resuming drinking, physical symptoms started almost immediately. I'm sleeping about 6-8 hours a night but am constantly exhausted, I feel like I haven't slept in weeks. I've been having pains in my upper right abdomen specifically and more generally my whole stomach area is painful to the touch as if it was bruised. I wake up shaking and in a cold sweat every morning and and don't stop shaking until the middle of the day normally.

I'm slightly worried because I know my symptoms line up with liver disease and hepatitis but I thought I had given my liver adequate time to heal in my two months sober. Is this just a really drawn out hangover or likely to be something more serious?

I'm not looking for mental health advice, only asking about the physical symptoms.

Whenever I have a fever, my dreams become extremely vivid and realistic, almost like hallucinations.

I’ve noticed this pattern for several years: fever = strange, intense dreams. When I’m sick with a fever and try to lie down or sleep, I start having very vivid dream-like experiences. I’m usually aware that they are dreams, but they feel much more real, intense, and “crazy” than my normal dreams.

The dreams often involve something I did recently. For example, if I played a video game earlier, I might dream as if I’m inside the game. This does not normally happen to me when I’m not feverish.

Is this considered a normal fever-related thing, or could it be something I should be concerned about?

My 5½-year-old daughter has been experiencing pain in the middle of her back several days a week for the past year.

I took her to our family doctor, and we went to the hospital for an X-ray in December. It showed a very mild scoliosis, but the doctor said it was so minimal that it couldn't explain her symptoms.

We then saw a pediatric physiotherapist, who didn't find anything unusual apart from a flat back and mild hypermobility. She gave us some exercises to do, but they haven't helped.

Last month I had had enough, so I went back to the family doctor. He said, "I don't think there's much that can be done. I don't see anything abnormal, and I think she just has a lot going on in her little head." (????)

I asked if they could refer her to a specialist, but they refused, saying they didn't think it would reveal anything.

At this point, I really don't know what to do anymore.

I am pregnant with a baby boy and we are leaning towards not circumcising. This is new territory for us as husband is circumcised. I see that intact baby boys are at higher risk for UTIs in the first year. Is this something that is remarkably common and is there anything to help prevent besides frequent diaper changes? Are symptoms hard to spot in babies? We have a toddler daughter but she’s never had one. I had a few as a kid but when I was old enough to tell my mom that it really burned when I peed.

Please share all your unhinged ways to get a toddler to poop. My 2 year old has never been a good pooper and can go 3-4 days without pooping then have a horribly hard rabbit pellet poop. Now when she goes 3 days I usually have to give her a pedia-lax suppository and even then it sometimes it doesn’t always work. When she was 1.5, she woke up throwing up and when we took her to the ER, they did a scan of her belly and it was just all backed up. I personally deal with mild constipation and only go every few days and take miralax and a probiotic daily to help with regularity, so I know how she feels.

I’ve tried hy-fiber and bio-ray pooper in her juice but she fights me to drink her juice (which I’m sure is half the problem that she won’t drink as much as she should). She won’t drink prune juice. I do fiber gummies daily. I’m at a loss, please help.

I was hit in the side of my wrist, my right hand on the right side of my wrist, I can't really rotate my wrist or pick things up, visually it looks like nothing's wrong but it hurts a lot

Is there anything I can do? It's not swollen red or anything, just hurts a lot and is hard to use

Took 1000mg Tylenol around 2:30pm yesterday. It's a death anniversary for me and I got kind of depressed later and drank 8-9 drinks between 7pm and midnight. I almost never drink nor take painkillers so I feel incredibly stupid doing this. Am I gonna die, lol?

To be more precise, I was taking a shower after eating lunch (just rice and some panfried chicken with a fruit drink), and while I was scrubbing my head with my hands to wash my hair, I started to get more and more tired, which was normal. But the longer I continue showering, the worse it got, and it got to the point where I felt so tired that my vision was getting blurry, color was disappearing, and I just felt extremely tired. It was even a miracle that I managed to get back to my bedroom to rest, as I had never felt that tired in my life.

Does anyone know what this means for me? I can add more details if possible, and thank you in advance!

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Age: 22
Sex: Female
Height: 5’9”–5’10”
Weight: 181 lbs
Country: United States
Smoking status: Non-smoker. I don’t drink and occasionally smoke weed.
Current medications: Methylphenidate ER 27 mg, Volnea birth control, currently tapering off desvenlafaxine (SNRI).
Medical conditions: Sinus tachycardia, possible POTS (currently being worked up), positive autoimmune blood work. My rheumatologist believes I’m in the beginning stages of lupus, but I don’t meet the full criteria for a diagnosis yet.
Duration: About 1 year, progressively worsening.
Has anyone experienced something like this or have any ideas what could be causing it?

For the past year my sleep has completely changed. From what I’ve read, my situation doesn’t seem to fit what most people describe because I can get 6+ hours of sleep sometimes. The problem is it’s almost never continuous. I’ll sleep for 2 to 3 hours, wake up, eventually fall back asleep, wake up again, and repeat all night. Even on the nights I get what should be a full night’s sleep, I’m still waking up throughout the night.
No matter how much I sleep, I never wake up feeling rested. I’m exhausted every single day. It’s not just being sleepy. It’s a deep, whole-body exhaustion that feels like it’s in my bones. I have no energy, and even small amounts of activity can make me feel worse afterward.

What’s weird is that even though I’m exhausted all day, it’s still incredibly hard for me to fall asleep. I can barely nap during the day even when I feel like I desperately need one. Falling asleep is difficult, staying asleep is difficult, and it feels like I never get deep, restorative sleep.

I’ve tried sleeping on the couch, sleeping in my bed, avoiding my phone before bed, warm baths, stretching, good sleep hygiene, and sleep medications. Nothing has made a difference.

I’ve tried clonidine and trazodone, and neither helped. It feels like every doctor immediately prescribes another sleep medication instead of trying to figure out why this is happening.

I wear both a smartwatch and a smart ring, and they consistently show around 10-11% REM sleep and about 10% deep sleep, with the rest being light sleep. I know they aren’t perfect, but they’ve both shown the same pattern for months.
I don’t snore, I’ve never been told I stop breathing in my sleep, and I don’t wake up gasping for air. I do get an uncomfortable urge to move my legs at night sometimes, but my iron levels are normal, so I don’t think it’s related to iron deficiency.
Along with the sleep issues, over the past year I’ve also developed brain fog, chronic fatigue, joint and bone pain, hair loss, temperature regulation problems, sinus tachycardia, possible POTS that I’m currently being worked up for, dizziness, lightheadedness, GI issues, and positive autoimmune blood work. My rheumatologist told me they think I’m in the beginning stages of lupus, but I don’t meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis yet, so they’re continuing to monitor me.

I’m also in the process of tapering off my SNRI in case it’s contributing, but these sleep problems started long before I began tapering.

I’m honestly just tired of feeling tired all the time. It feels like my body never gets restorative sleep no matter how long I’m in bed. I feel the exhaustion in my bones. It’s always there no matter what I do or how much or how little sleep I get.
The only place I’ve ever consistently slept well was during a two-week psychiatric hospitalization. Outside of that environment, I’ve never been able to get consistently restful sleep.

Has anyone experienced something similar or eventually figured out what was causing it? Does this sound like it could be related to POTS, early lupus/autoimmune disease, another sleep disorder, or something else I should ask my doctors about? I’m open to any ideas because I feel like I’m running out of answers. I just want someone to help me figure out the underlying cause instead of giving me another medication that doesn’t work.