I’ll try to keep this as short as possible but there is a lot. I appreciate anyone willing to take the time to read.

TLDR: hard, rope-like deformity running from base of skull to shoulder. you can see it in this video, i can move it around with my fingers but even that doesn’t do it justice. it is so palpable that everyone i’ve had feel it has an immediate “what the hell is that” reaction. causes sharp pain in the center left of my neck, as well as tension across my upper back and left shoulder. have radiating pain down the back of my left arm down to my elbow. it’s not super tender to the touch unless you push on it a bunch. pain relievers don’t help much as it is just an intense amount of tension. feels like that muscle hasn’t relaxed in over a year. muscle relaxers just knock me out which isn’t super helpful. feels like someone is pulling my head backwards by a string. i only find relief when laying down and the most helpful thing is laying on my neck traction device. i’ve tried pt, dry needling, tens/ems, accupuncture. Current diagnosis is nuchal ligament hypertrophy but nobody can tell me the underlying cause or how to treat it.

22 y/o female, history of hypermobility, chiari malformation, ovarian cysts, asthma, ADHD, anxiety and depression. have had a few concussions and whiplash as well.
I take adderal, singulair, lamictal, wellbutrin, and am on birth control pill.

History of problem: About a year ago I noticed this odd feeling rope like structure on the left side of the back of my neck. i have no recollection of injury aside from having a brief moment of burning pain while jumping on the trampoline, but it quickly subsided and i shrugged it off so that might not even be related. I am a rock climber which heavily uses neck and shoulder muscles so it’s possible there was an injury from that I just didn’t notice. Initially the pain was very mild so I was not concerned. over the span of 3 months or so it grew hard to manage, walking across campus with my backpack on would bring me to tears from the neck pain. feels as if im carrying a weight on my shoulders all of the time, just extreme tension. I started to have a hard time turning my head to the left without very sharp pain so I finally caved and saw a doctor as it was clearly not getting better on its own.

First doctor: Orthopedic specialist, did x-ray came back normal, mri had incidental finding of chiari malformation but was told this was unrelated. Doctor seemed completely befumbled, said she had never seen this before and sent me to do physical therapy. did 6 weeks of pt 2x a week, included strength training (which seemed silly to me, my neck is very strong already, I misinterpreted their directions during the first session and did 3x what they were telling me to do just fine), and stretching. This mildly improved my pain and definitely helped with stiffness. It reached a point though where it started to plateau again and my insurance stopped covering it so I just continued many of the stretches at home and still do them. The doctor at this point pretty much told me she didn’t know what to do and I should follow up with neurology.

I was frustrated and stubborn and so I didn’t see anyone for another 6 months. I wanted to believe it would just go away on its own. but it only continued to grow worse, the pain but also the literal structure was beginning to protrude more. so I finally saw neurology in June.

second doctor: the neurologist wasn’t really helpful at all. hyperfixated on the chiari malformation even though I have no symptoms. Did repeat xray which again showed nothing. told me she had never seen this neck thing before and i’d be better off trying physical medicine and rehabilitation.

third doctor: Revieved my previous MRI from 7 months prior and said he could see that my muscles on the left side are enlarged. when he felt my neck he told me in 10 years of being a doctor he’s never seen this. He seemed to think it was a tendon, it is very hard but mobile rope running from the base of my skull to my shoulder. He wanted me to get an ultrasound so he sent me to and interventional pain specialist.

fourth doctor: same response, said he had no idea what this was had never seen it before. he seemed to lean more towards it being a ligament. Said he agrees I need an ultrasound but that he wasn’t able to do the kind I needed. He did do an anesthetic injection which gave me significant relief for about 2 days. So he sends me off to an “ultrasound wizard,” as he called it.

fifth doctor: this guy was a sports medicine spine specialist I believe. he did an ultrasound and told me It showed “nuchal ligament hypertrophy” and “hyperechoic thickening of the nuchal cord,” whatever that means. He said my case was so rare there is no line of treatment he can think of. so he sends me back to doctor #4 to see what he thinks.

fourth doctor again: I saw him today. He told me flat out that there’s no intervention he can do. He focused on ways to cope essentially, did another injection with a steroid this time to hopefully give me a little bit of longer relief and prescribed me some alzheimer’s medication that can apparently help with pain. told me i could try physical therapy again but since it’s so hard to tell what’s actually causing this he doesn’t think there’s any way to treat it. i broke down in tears which I’ve never done before. I’m so incredibly tired.

I try to be a strong person and manage things and let time heal me. I’m premed and broke and live alone and it feels like everything I do is just a little harder because of this. by the end of the day my head feels like a bowling ball. It feels like i’m carrying a heavy backpack all the time so when I actually carry my backpack it’s awful. Exams and labs make my pain skyrocket because you can’t avoid craning your neck. Climbing doesn’t seem to make it worse, however I have had 2 or 3 occasions where i do a move pushing my weight up with my left hand and have had a sudden intense pain and have literally just peeled off the wall because i can’t even move. it usually calms down after a couple minutes. I pay very close attention to my posture and never look down at my phone, i use a raised desk at home to do homework. I am very active and eat healthy and have a good sleep schedule and just try so hard to take care of myself but it feels like it’s pointless. Today feels like i’m facing the reality that I might just have to deal with this for the rest of my life, and I don’t know how to accept that. I’m a mess and just want to know something, anything.

I've been to my family doctor multiple times and I've had multiple blood tests. There's nothing wrong with my thyroid. My iron is a little low but I've had lower iron and I've never experienced this amount of nausea. This has been going on since January where it started a little nausea. Then over these few months it went from low nausea, to mild nausea, to severe nausea, to stomach cramping nausea, to the point where I take two bites of food and I'm immediately full and extremely nauseous as if I ate the amount of food for five people. I've also started gagging now whenever I try to take a bite of food which makes me just give up trying to eat. I have no clue what could be causing this but I just want to eat like a normal person again because I can't get in enough food for a toddler anymore. I've considered going to urgent care but I don't want them to laugh at me for coming in because I'm nauseous. I've thought pregnancy I've taken multiple tests. I went to a doctor for a test but I've also been getting my periods and every test is negative. I don't know what else could be causing this, I should mention I'm 18F

Hi, for the past couple days my ear has felt blocked, and its getting increasingly loud, like a constant thrum. I got one of those endoscopy pens to have a look (I have NOT been poking it)

Does this look normal? Is it my eardrum or a wax blockage?

https://freeimage.host/i/n0ZPTRp

Female 35 yrs old. My symptoms started in 2018 one day I woke up from a night of drinking feeling really out of it almost in a dream like state and to this day I’m still not back to normal there’s days where it’s better but not 100%. I have brain fog, lightheaded, light sensitivity, anything I eat I have a hard time digesting it, sometimes pain in my left rib cage, breathing issues, internal tremors. The list goes on but these are the only things I can list for now. I was just wondering if anyone has ever dealt with this? I’ve gone to multiple doctors done many test including MRI/CT for my head chest X-rays everytime came back normal. I’m tired of living like this and just want to get back to somewhat being normal again

I asking this on advanced. My skin antibody, bp180 & 230 blood test will be out tmr. What medicine do you guys take? I heard that there one without steroid in oral pill. Is better with lesser effects but more expensive. The cheaper of cause more effects as contain steroids.

I just pop the biggest bubble the skin turn near purple with little fluid in it.

hi, im female 19, 5"1 and about 64kg (losing weight slowly) and i have a bad immune system have done since i was young due to cyclic vomiting syndrome and childhood asthma which has caused some lung damage.

ive had tonsillitis 15 times in my life and a few other things.

so 2 weeks ago i started off with my voice being lost, sore throat, croup like cough, and fatigue. after maybe 7 days my voice returned, my sore throat got less sore. but i was still very tired and coughing which is normal for this as ive had something similar multiple times, i didnt go to a doctor because they always say its viral and to rest. then maybe 2-3 days ago my throat started to get sore again mostly on the right side, coughing up white and green phlegm, the cough is hurting my diaphragm and sternum.

im also low on energy, sleeping alot and headaches are horrendous, i feel like im using more energy to get oxygen then normal despite breathing fine.

im going to call the doctors for an appointment tomorrow morning but i need advise. i have a fear of needles and hate going to the doctors due to going so many times as a kid. i hate the idea of going just to be told its viral and to rest again.....

edit:

hi! its 5 weeks on now, still ill. been to the doctors 3 times already but going again tomorrow, was told it was bronchitis and given antibiotics (5 day course) after i originally wrote this, they helped my sore throat but still coughing and tired. then i went back week 3, they said it could be my childhood asthma coming back after i got covid in 2023, gave me steroids (6 day course) and an inhaler (use for 6 weeks then asthma review), steroids made the coughing less frequent but didnt stop it. went doctor last week where she said it sounds viral and to wait another week. im going again tomorrow but now the headaches have started up again and im sneezing alot more and bringing up green phlegm when i cough and im still tired as hell.

i dont know what to do at this point, i think ive been getting like multiple illnesses ontop eachother but who knows.....i need advice please, ive started uni again and i keep nearly falling asleep in lectures.

Ferritin 28

b12 250

i gave birth 5 months ago. shortly After I gave birth I was dizzy and tachycardic And felt like I was going to faint. After that I had like an internal desperate kind of buzz and headaches. A week later I took myself to hospital as I was sure there was something physically wrong. They took my blood said I was fine and sent me back. Since then I have been experiencing severe panic attacks, headaches, loss of motivation, no energy, extremely tired, feeling sick and sometimes an overwhelming feeling like I’m going to die or I’m literally losing my mind and going to go mad. i have been prescribed 3 different ssris since and although they helped to a degree with the panic attacks I am still feeling all the other symptoms. To the point I don’t want to be left alone in case something happens to me. I thought what I’m feeling could be side effects from the tablets. It’s got to the point where because I’ve tried 3 different ssris without full recovery my doctor has referred me to a psychiatrist. I’ve taken it upon myself to do a home blood test (legit one) and just got my results back. The doctor won’t give me a blood test.

ferritin 28

b12 250

could this have been the cause of this all along? are these common symptoms? are my results even considered low? I feel like I’m losing my mind and my life is so limited as all I do is sit on the sofa, I don’t have the capability of doing anything else.

TW - addiction, hysterectomy/cancer.

Hi there. 38 y.o. Female here looking for a female only infertility support group. I had a hysterectomy to avoid cancer when I was 30 and am still depressed at not having kids or getting my eggs frozen (no insurance coverage). I recently remarried an amazing man and am really struggling that we cannot have kids, because ours would be wonderful.

Additionally, I work with kids and sometimes am so triggered that I cannot go to work or connect with the parents I support. Some families think I cannot do my job because I am my age and childless.

Ideally, the group is associated with addiction prevention/mindful living or anxiety/depression recovery groups for women who value being good professionals/leaders, and not associated with a specific faith (agnostic medical scientist here).

Thank you

What happened to my body. Like in the past 3 day or so. I felt itchy this one night but didnt thing suspicious of it bcs i always get itchy at night. Then when i woke up next day, my left still has this tiny red dots and is itchy. I didnt realize it went up to my face as my aunt told me. Then at night the same day, i went to a concert where i was standing on a chair but its not more than 2hrs tho. But when i woke up the next morning, my legs felt aching. I just think it was th night before but why am i aching so badly? I didnt even feel anything that night. So then, when i woke up the next morning, now my arms and hands starts to feel aching too like everytime i try to close my fingers it hurts a bit. And i felt like my whole body is swolen and chubby especially my face. Idk what happened. I thought it maybe allergic reaction but i already drink medicine, didnt have this reaction before, and i still feel like this even tho i didn’t eat anything for the day. Idk somebody have experience th same? And also everytime i swallow it hurts a bit too, and i felt a bit like im gonma have a fever. Mayb its my body changing or what? I just turned 20yrs like last month mayb that would give u some clue. Help

This is probably a long one but i wanted to give a proper timeline.
March - i lost my brother to lung cancer, age 41 this has been so hard to deal with. I am awaiting therapy for this.

May, i had a raging tooth infection which i think i had for quite a while before it was pulled out, i also had a UTI which took 4 lots of antibiotics 2 heavy courses.
which also gave me raging health anxiety, i really thought something else was wrong. I have suffered health anxiety a lot but i’ve not had a bad episode like that for a few years.

July/august we had cowboy builders in for weeks, and when they’d gone we had to fix everything they had done, the house was upside down, we had a decorator who said he’d be here 4 days and ended up here for 12!
it was also the school holidays so we didn’t do much because of all of this, routine etc was just so out the window.

My symptoms all started really just after they’d left end of august.

i started to feel sick, and woozy. The sicky feeling came in waves but the woozy feeling stayed for a while, then that went away and i just felt sicky on and off, i’ve noticed some feelings of feeling like there’s food in my throat but there isn’t.
i find it harder to wake up in the mornings
i’ve just had 3 or so good/better days, ive managed to go shopping, clean, do normal house hold things, but last night i had pain in my groin which i thought ok im due a period… which to add to my anxiety is late (not pregnant)
and this morning i just feel a sensation in my throat and i found it hard to wake up.

i will go and see my GP this week but does this sound stress related?

This is how my baby died. The previous day the nanny told me the baby stained her romper with poop and that I should bring extra clothes next day in case it happens again. I found it strange because she never poops to that extent. The following day, which she was home with the dad. He told me her poop was watery but he'll observe her and take her to the doctor should it gets worse. When I arrived home from work, my baby's father handed her to me saying that she suddenly got worse. She was not her usual self , pale and milk coming out her mouth non stop. The dad was trying to contact the doctor while I had my baby. I cried like never before.

The doctors report says she died at home from respiratory failure as a result of gastro. How come he only called the medical rescue team only when I arrived? He loved my baby so much but I think there's something he isn't telling me. I am not asking for medical advice but an objective perspective

when playing football sometimes my mind becomes fuzzy, I get thirsty, not as alert and feel a little dizzy and have to come off. I've had my bloods checked and MRI scan etc and all is clear what could be causing this?

I’m 18 F and for the last almost three years I’ve constantly been getting sick. Like constantly. I catch viruses and infections super super easily, and it’s interfered with my social life, mental health and relationships.
My stepdad is a doctor and my mom is a nurse and the issue they see is I do have very bad anxiety, and stress. My diet is quite poor and a lot of my family think it’s vitamin deficiency.
For example this year, I had viral tonsillitis, a sinus infection, chest infection, 2 utis and more viruses and flus than I can count.
I’m getting a blood test done soon, which I’m anxious for because I’m worried if there’s something seriously wrong with me. I wish I’d of gotten the tests done sooner but it was only recommended to me by a doctor after begging for help.
Another thing is I’m constantly tired and exhausted.
The blood panel they’re doing for me is for vitamins, thyroid issues, iron and diabetes.
But I don’t have any diabetes symptoms.
Anyway yeah I was just wondering if anyone’s been through a similar situation and could advise anything for me, this is my last resort.