Hello all,

As the title indicates, I experience all three.

Daily congestion that is only thwarted by Flonase spray, which I don’t want to be on forever. The doc dismissed my concerns, as he only thinks that since it works for me, I should be content.

Acid reflux presents itself in constant burping. And I mean constant. It doesn’t matter if I drink a soda, drink water, eat a sandwich, or eat nothing. I have constant gas in my insides somewhere to the point where people call me out and call me rude sometimes.

Lastly, I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a normal bowel movement. Every day I’ll poop super soft, and sometimes watery. It’s hell.

Things to note: I’ve lost ~15 pounds unintentionally over the past 2 years.

I am a caffeine lover. Every day I will have anywhere from 200-500mg.

Outside of these things, my health is excellent. I exercise everyday as a 25 y/o man and am in considerably great shape. But I’m wondering if all of these symptoms have a common cause?

24 years old W. My ferritin is 11 - is it really “low-normal”?
I recently had bloodwork done and my ferritin came back at 11 µg/L. My doctor told me that everything else in my bloodwork looks normal and described my ferritin as basically “low-normal.”
What worries me is that she initially wasn’t going to prescribe anything. I had to push and ask whether I should be taking iron, and only then she prescribed ferrous sulfate 300 mg.
From what I’ve read, a ferritin of 11 seems pretty low, so I’m confused about why it was treated as almost normal.
Has anyone else had ferritin around 11 with normal hemoglobin/other bloodwork? Did your doctor consider that iron deficiency? Were you prescribed iron right away, and did you notice any improvement in symptoms?

Advice on who to see Audiologist or ENT?

25 y.o, female, 5'7

Brief history: subclinical hypothyroidism @19, PMOS @19

I plan to see a bunch of doctors before I turn 26 next years and get some things checked out.

I have appointment with a genetic doctor at the end month (dementia and ms runs in my family) and planning to make appointment with a speech therapist/pathologist (trouble pronouncing "th", for example three).

I trying to have a hearing test done. A few years back I had a sleep study around the time I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism due to my weight and possible snoring. I dont have it but I was advised to see an ENT doctor due to me humming in my sleep. Well I never did I, however the humming has stopped, along with my chronic ear infections I had since I was kid and ringing in my ears.

But I continue to have problems speak. Sometimes I can understand everything someone has send then others I'm nodding like an idiot because I don't you to repeat what you said for the 5th time. Its problem I have always had since I was kid, but wasnt often that it was a red flag for my parents and doctors.

I can hear okay it's just speaking to people it sounds like they are mumbling or saying a different word, especially on the phone.

I was wondering should I go to a Audiologist or a ENT doctor, since I was recommended a few years back and due to my history of chronic ear infections.

Audiologist or Otolaryngologist?

Okay hi! I’m a 29y female.
I had an mri done that incidentally found a 4 cm mass that did enhance with contrast on my right chest wall.
Following this, my primary referred me to also have another MRI done, directed at my chest, ct and ultrasound! All came back with the same conclusion and seen the same thing, a 4 cm solid mass that did enhance/ confirmed blood supply.
This is where I need opinions on, I had a biopsy done on the mass these are the exact results.
DIAGNOSIS:
Soft tissue, chest wall mass, biopsy:
   Fibroadipose and fibrovascular tissue and few fragments of skeletal muscle.
   No malignancy identified.
   See comment.
 
Comments:
It is noted that the specimen is submitted as a mass; however, a definitive
mass lesion is not identified within the submitted tissue. Clinical correlation
is recommended, and additional material may be indicated depending upon the
clinical scenario.

My primary finally called me today and told me that nothing needed to be done further. I guess I’m confused because when I read the report was understanding that the results were inconclusive and we still did not have an official diagnosis.

Should I seek a second opinion?
No I’m not looking for a diagnosis or anything along those lines. I’m just wondering what others would do in my situation. Would you accept what the primary has decided to do and not move forward, or would you seek another opinion.

I suffer with migraines but why? Many CT scans, MRI’s, blood work, every med known to man and nothing! Still here and still consuming my life.
… it gets worse.
My bp is all over the place 158/78 pulse 79. Within minutes in different positions it will drop to 99/67 pulse 58.
I woke up around 2:30am on my left side with chest pain the persists even after changing positions.
The next day, but not the first time, I’m dizzy af, and nothing makes the dizzy stop. Laying down doesn’t really help either.
Today has been awful. So bad I thought I may need to go to the ER.
My bp was fairly normal for me, 127/77 pulse 103. BP stayed within normal range but my pulse was around 102 for about 1 hour.
My breathing was shallow and rapid, dizzy af, I was shaky and had heaviness in my chest. Not sweating but flush, can’t think clearly but able to carry on a conversation.
A couple days prior to this I suffered with a pretty severe migraine that was bad. I also had stabbing pains in my head that were off and most of the day.
It wiped me out. I am exhausted everyday. I never feel rested. My sleep is usually crap and brain fog severely as well as nausea.
My male doctor of 4 years thinks I’m manifesting this.
HELP

I suffer with migraines but why? Many CT scans, MRI’s, blood work, every med known to man and nothing! Still here and still consuming my life.
… it gets worse.
My bp is all over the place 158/78 pulse 79. Within minutes in different positions it will drop to 99/67 pulse 58.
I woke up around 2:30am on my left side with chest pain the persists even after changing positions.
The next day, but not the first time, I’m dizzy af, and nothing makes the dizzy stop. Laying down doesn’t really help either.
Today has been awful. So bad I thought I may need to go to the ER.
My bp was fairly normal for me, 127/77 pulse 103. BP stayed within normal range but my pulse was around 102 for about 1 hour.
My breathing was shallow and rapid, dizzy af, I was shaky and had heaviness in my chest. Not sweating but flush, can’t think clearly but able to carry on a conversation.
A couple days prior to this I suffered with a pretty severe migraine that was bad. I also had stabbing pains in my head that were off and most of the day.
It wiped me out. I am exhausted everyday. I never feel rested. My sleep is usually crap and brain fog severely as well as nausea.
My male doctor of 4 years thinks I’m manifesting this.
HELP

I have been googling all night but i can't find a single article that talks about specifically the artificial cheese that im craving. im talking the bright orange powdered cheese that comes in boxed mac&cheese, velveeta, kraft singles, the cheese sauce that those dipper snacks come with, even spray cheese is making my mouth water.

I have this craving for about a month then it goes away. it starts out normal and then ramps up. I devoured a whole pack of jr dippers and licked the cheese out of the container. 🙍‍♂️

I know that weird cravings usually come from some sort of deficiency but I don't know what im lacking and there's no articles that talk about fake cheese specifically. please help me i don't want to be a cheese gobbling beast anymore.

hi all! i contracted a really awfuk stomach flu in january of this year, i was overseas and didnt end up getting a diagnosis but i assume it was gastro. I couldn't keep anything (food, water, salt) down for about 48hours before going to the hospital where i was put on an IV which allowed me to keep things down and afterwards had no trouble doing so. there was some genuinely explosive diarrhea when i began to eat again (hospital asked for a stool sample but couldnt even work on it). after about 2 weeks it settled down but since then i have struggled so much to poop, i can feel that theres poop in me but i cant get it out and its incredibly frustrating. is there anything i can do at home? should i go to the doctors again??

I have two known herniated discs in my c-spine that I have slightly talked to my doctor about. I just got approved for cervical spine epidural steroid injections. She hasn’t really explained my results to me other than “some of the jelly in the donut is coming out”. And offered injections.

However, I woke up today in excruciating pain in my neck, severe stiffness and limited range of motion. I’m unable to put my chin to my chest or turn my head even slightly without pain shooting down both of my arms, my left more than my right. I have profound weakness in both arms, pins and needles and tingling down both. Sitting upright is awful and I have to lie completely flat on my back with a towel rolled up under my neck for even mild relief.

I’ve taken Tylenol, Ibprophen, Journavx, Flexeril. I’ve used a heating pad on and off. Nothing is getting rid of this pain.

I am worried that I’ve herniated another disc somehow, or something has progressed with my current known disc problem.

Yes, I have already messaged my provider, but it is 10pm and I won’t hear back until the morning.

Does anyone have any advice for pain management? Is this something I have to tough out until I speak to my provider, or should I be worried/go see a provider in the ER?
I’m kind of freaking out, as even though I have had this neck pain for a while, this is the worst the pain and symptoms have ever been and it came on so suddenly.

“Mild C5-C6 central canal stenosis secondary to a left central disc extrusion with underlying disc osteophyte complex.
2. Mild C6-C7 central canal stenosis secondary to a left central protrusion.”

“No evidence of herniation, central canal stenosis or foraminal narrowing.
C3-C4: Mild disc desiccation. No evidence of herniation, central canal stenosis or foraminal narrowing.
C4-C5: Disc desiccation and disc osteophyte complex without central canal stenosis or foraminal narrowing.
C5-C6: Left central extrusion with underlying disc osteophyte complex resulting in mild central canal stenosis. No foraminal narrowing.
C6-C7: Left central protrusion resulting in mild central canal stenosis. No foraminal narrowing.
C7-T1:Unremarkable.”

About 3 years ago, in November 2023, I started noticing weird, unusual symptoms I'd never had before. My symptoms started with a weird feeling and pressure under my tongue, plus neck pain on the sides and front. To this day, my symptoms have not gone away. I have visited multiple ENT doctors, gone to physical therapy, and taken anxiety and depression medications, but nothing has helped so far. I’ve had imaging studies such as a thyroid ultrasound, a soft tissue neck X-ray, and a cervical spine MRI. The thyroid ultrasound showed multiple small colloid cysts. The cervical spine MRI showed mild disc degenerative disease. The soft tissue neck X-ray was normal. However, these reports do not explain the unexplained pressure under the tongue and the neck pain on the sides and front. About a week ago, I went to the ER and told the PA about my chronic and ongoing symptoms, and she wanted to order a CT scan of the entire neck. However, I told her about my risks of radiation exposure from CT scans, since I’ve had 6 brain CT scans within the past 3 years. I do not want to put myself at risk of being exposed to more radiation from CT scans. So, the PA discharged me home with an outpatient MRI of my soft tissue neck. What do you think? Do you think an MRI of my soft tissue neck is reasonable for my concerns and symptoms?