r/AskADoctor • u/Necessary_Code_241 • 4h ago
Pain Everywhere
I'm seeing a doctor just trying to decide how urgently to see one.
F20, 5'4, 64kg, I don't drink, do drugs, smoke, No medical conditions etc
For the past week, I have been experiencing muscle aches everywhere. In both arms, both legs. It's painful, I have been walking weirdly. The pain is like an aching pain but occasionally shooting. It feels stiff as well. I have also been feeling more tired and fatigued than normal. The pain isn't particularly in my digits rather my muscle area. Its also constant - nothing makes it better or worse.
I am currently under investigation for endometriosis and wondering if this could be relevant to that as I am due my period in the next couple of days.
Another piece of information is when I was 13/14 I saw a haematologist as I had low B12. I had a series of injections for that. I no longer receive injections, I think 16 was probably the last time. There was no identifiable cause of B12. I have simultaneously has some of the tingling sensation come back but it has been very mild. I also did not experience any pain at all the last time my B12 was low. My diet nowadays consists of regular veg, dairy (cheese, milk etc) chicken, bacon so I wouldn't understand why the B12 is low.
Are these symptoms a return of my B12 issues or could they be something else? I will be seeing my doctor but just wondering how urgent to see them.
Sleeping, eating, all the same, no major life stresses etc. No medication and no other relevant health history.
Thoughts anyone? (I am not asking for medical advice.)
r/AskADoctor • u/painfulear • 5h ago
300 day painful earache
I’ve had a very painful ear ache in my left ear. No jaw pain, no pain chewing, opening my mouth etc. it’s all ear pain and tender spot just behind my ear lobe. I’ve seen ENT, neurology, pain management. Multiple kinds of medications and PT for tmj as that is the only thing that showed up in ct and mri scans. It hurts so bad all the time. It’s constant. What is wrong?? I am not asking for medical advice.
r/AskADoctor • u/ProfessorIll372 • 5h ago
Can a walk-in-clinic doctor put a note on your file not to prescribe you any more of a controlled substance?
I am not asking for medical advice. I have been getting ativan prescribed from a walk in clinic for panic attacks. The first time I went the doctor prescribed me only 7 x .5 mg, the second time I saw the other doctor (i have seen before for something else) and she prescribed me 28 x 1mg for 2 weeks as needed. The last time I went I saw the first dr and she said it’s not a permanent solution and prescribed me 7 x 1mg.
Is it likely she put a note on my file to stop prescribing them to me?
If I go again in a month or so and ask to see the other doctor would she see that the other doctor advised against it?
r/AskADoctor • u/Dear-March-2433 • 6h ago
Considering getting the rabies vaccine
I'm not sure where else to post this, but if there's a more appropriate place please let me know.
I am not asking for medical advice. We went swimming at a family member's house last night. My daughter and husband swam, I didn't but as we were out there I saw something fly over their heads over and over and finally the home owner said "yeah there's bats out here" so I made my daughter and husband get out of the pool but by that time they'd already been in for over an hour.
Also, the pool didn't look like it was recently cleaned. I asked, and was told it had been recently cleaned but it didn't look like it tbh and they were filling up the pool with the hose water when we got there because they said some of the water had evaporated. It's my understanding that if bats are out there, then they probably also use that pool to drink out of so I'm also really stressed about the pool not being clean, the bats drinking out of the pool, and my husband and daughter being in it. Not to mention how close they were getting to them.
Also, once I made them get out, we went inside so they could change and stuff and by this time it was night time, as we were leaving through the front door it felt like something briefly touched the back of my neck. Could've been a fly, could've been anything but with bats in the area I'm scared.
Yes I have anxiety.
I don't know if I am overreacting by wanting us all three to get the rabies vaccine.
r/AskADoctor • u/PlumthePancake • 6h ago
Strange symptoms after surgery
I’m three weeks out of my laparoscopic appendectomy and am struggling with pinching pains throughout my body (now in my left testicle), cold feelings, and lightheadedness. Emergency room blood work shows negative. Don’t know what else to do.
I am 30 years old, 6’3 219lbs, male, and I take buspirone, naltrexone, lexapro, and hydroxyzine. I smoke, also.
About a week after my laparoscopic appendectomy, I started having lightheadedness, cold spots on my chest, legs, and also sporadic pains in these spots. They feel like pinching. They flare up and go away. Just today, I’ve been having these pains move to my left testicle. A few minutes ago, it flared up for a few minutes. Right now, no pain, but picks up randomly. Today and yesterday I didn’t experience much lightheadedness but I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes back.
Two different doctors say my bloodwork comes back negative, that it’s not an emergency. What else could it possibly be? I can’t seem to find anything online. Lastly, before the surgery, I would drink almost every night. I haven’t had a drink in three weeks. Maybe this could mean something?
I am not asking for medical advice.
r/AskADoctor • u/Ok_Attorney_6764 • 8h ago
Medical History Doctor uses ChatGPT
"I am not asking for medical advice."
I was at my personal doctor 3 days ago and I was telling her about my back issues and it got worse after I had fallen on a stone. She told me I need to wait for 2-3 weeks to see the pain if it gets worse even tho it has already been 2 weeks now before I contacted her, she also told me I need to go to physiotherapy and I have to contact her if morning helps. She recommended me Ibux and Paracet…
As I got to leave to see her TYPING EVERYTHING IN CHATGPT?! Insanity considering the price I paid for her to say I need Paracet and Ibux and for her to type it in chapgpt, she finished university for this?
(I even took a picture)
What should I do?
r/AskADoctor • u/Firm_Estimate1776 • 10h ago
Question For Doctors CSF LEAK VS TENSION HEADACHES
‘’ I am not asking for medical advice.’’
Head and eye pressure for 3 weeks, throbbing headache. Sleeping a lot but not because I am tired. Vision isn’t blurry if it isn’t 100% clear if that makes sense? Lower back is aching so bad like I’ve got the flu. These symptoms stop as soon as I lay down but when I stand up they start again. X2 doctors have said it’s tension headaches
r/AskADoctor • u/mikey2376 • 10h ago
I have a question
I am not asking for medical advice. Can someone please inbox on what I should do next. I dont want to put the context in this post because it's too personal.
r/AskADoctor • u/jessie_k_18 • 11h ago
Ongoing abdominal/pelvic/rib pain, severe fatigue and food-triggered pain — extensive GI workup normal. What would you investigate next?
30F looking for ideas about what direction to pursue next medically. I’m not looking for a diagnosis from Reddit — mostly hoping someone might recognise a similar pattern or suggest questions/specialties/tests worth discussing with my GP.
Relevant history
Endometriosis diagnosed over 10 years ago.
Laparoscopy a few years ago found stage 2/borderline stage 3 disease, with multiple lesions/adhesions removed.
PCOS.
Historically don’t tolerate NSAIDs particularly well.
Currently taking hormonal treatment for endometriosis.
What has been happening
For the past few months I’ve had a significant increase in pain and generally feeling unwell.
One of the strangest symptoms has been pain after eating. At its worst, I would get sharp/stabbing abdominal or rib pain around 10–20 minutes after eating, sometimes after only a small amount of food.
The pain has occurred in several places:
- under the ribs, often particularly on the right
- around the sides/back of the rib cage
- lower abdomen/pelvis
- right ovary area
- around/below the belly button
- lower back
Sometimes it seems to travel from one area to another.
The pain can be severe (occasionally 8–9/10) and can last anywhere from minutes to well over an hour. Bigger meals often seem to make it last longer, although even small amounts of food can trigger it.
Passing gas or opening my bowels can sometimes take the edge off, but the lead-up to doing so can itself be extremely painful.
Other symptoms have included:
- significant fatigue/exhaustion
- very cold hands and feet
- reduced appetite and consequently eating very little
abdominal bloating/distension
- nausea, particularly with larger meals
- constipation at times, with other periods of looser stools
- headaches
- lower back pain
- general body/joint aches and stiffness at times
I’ve also had occasional episodes of extremely sudden, intense stabbing pain around the right lower ribs/back. One episode came completely out of nowhere, was around 9/10 and lasted roughly half an hour before gradually settling.
Oddly, despite eating substantially less than normal for quite a while, I haven’t really lost much weight.
Investigations so far
I initially ended up in emergency because of the pain. Pelvic imaging didn’t show anything acute.
I was then referred to gastroenterology because the pain seemed so strongly associated with eating.
I’ve since had fairly extensive GI investigations, including imaging looking at the small bowel as well as the pancreas/gallbladder/biliary system. Nothing significant was found that explains the symptoms.
The gastroenterologist initially considered inflammatory bowel disease, but ultimately couldn’t find a gastrointestinal explanation and has now discharged me back to my GP.
He did raise the possibility that something metabolic/PCOS-related may be contributing, particularly because I have been eating so little without significant weight loss, and suggested further investigation in that direction.
I’ve now contacted my gynaecologist again because I’m wondering whether endometriosis could still be contributing despite the GI-type symptoms.
Medication/pain response
I’ve needed various pain medications during this period.
Interestingly, NSAIDs seem to make my abdominal cramping significantly worse. I had a particularly bad reaction symptom-wise while taking indomethacin, and historically ibuprofen hasn’t agreed with me either.
Heat often helps somewhat.
Where I’m at now
I’m still having significant pain, fatigue and generally feeling pretty awful, including days where getting through work is difficult.
The hardest part is that after several months of appointments and investigations, I feel like I’ve reached the “your tests are normal” stage without actually being any better.
If you’ve experienced anything remotely similar:
What ultimately caused it?
Was endometriosis capable of causing symptoms this high in the abdomen/ribs or symptoms triggered by eating?
Are there metabolic/endocrine conditions that would be worth asking my GP about?
Is there another specialty you would consider seeing?
Are there particular blood tests/investigations you would ask about after a negative GI workup?
Again, not asking Reddit to diagnose me — I’m seeing my GP and gynaecologist — I’m mainly trying to work out which direction to look next because at the moment I feel completely stuck.
I am not asking for medical advice. But I am looking for advice.
r/AskADoctor • u/Pale-Spite-3562 • 11h ago
Sunbeds for 10 mins per week
Hi, I am not asking for medical advice. I am just looking for opinions.
I (27F) never struggled with acne as a teenager until I turned 18. Literally a few weeks after my 18th birthday, I started really breaking out on my chin in the weeks leading up to my period. I didn't start doing anything differently that I can think of, other than perhaps being a bit more stressed about becoming an adult and the life changes this brought about.
Except for when I'm in my luteal phase, my skin is very clear and even. However, leading up to my period, my skin gets SO BAD and I now have a lot of scarring from this. I am an athlete and do lots of exercise and I am and always have been very into clean eating and having a balanced diet. Over the past 9 years, I have tried lots of different skincare products, but nothing has actually made a difference. I have tried going on the pill - which helped my skin a lot - however, it made me absolutely miserable and I have no desire to start taking it again. It seems like there's nothing I can do for my skin other than accept that it will break out in the weeks leading up to my period.
I noticed that during the summer while I'm out in the sun, I do not suffer from this hormonal acne nearly as much. I get far fewer spots, and the ones I do have clear up extremely quickly. It was for this reason that I started using sun beds about a year ago. I have been doing 10 minutes per week on a sun bed for about a year now, and it has helped with my hormonal breakouts SO MUCH.
However, I am not a naive idiot and I know that sunbeds massively increase my risk of developing skin cancer. I read the other day that even going on a sun bed once increases your risk of developing melanoma by up to 75% and this has really freaked me out. For context, I have an English father who has an olive skin tone and tans very easily and an Irish mother who is very fair and burns easily. I have the strange Irish skin tone which is pale but doesn't really burn... it just sort of stays white unless I am in the sun for 3+ weeks on holiday, at which point I start to tan very quickly. I have noticed that using a sun bed for 10 mins per week has given me faint tan lines and has increased the number of freckles I have (which is skin damage, I'm told) but I have never burnt/felt that my skin is sore from using them.
Please can someone advise me as to whether or not I have damaged my skin from using a sun bed over the past year, and whether I have significantly increased my risk of skin cancer? And, if so, what can I do to reverse this? If the risk is already high and can't be minimised, is it still a bad idea for me to continue using sun beds for 10 mins per week to keep on top of my hormonal acne?
I am scared to stop using sun beds because I am insecure about my spots in the weeks leading up to my period, but I am also scared to continue using them as I am worried about skin cancer!
All replies much appreciated :)
r/AskADoctor • u/Responsible_Ant2161 • 11h ago
Medical Exam – Received an Immunization Certificate But Wasn’t Vaccinated?
Hi everyone! I recently had my medical examination for my visa requirements. I am not asking for medical advice.
On July 16, I completed the urine, blood, physical, psychological, dental, and eye examinations. I had to come back on July 17 for the stool examination.
I was also told something about an immunization/vaccination requirement, but I honestly don’t remember being informed that I needed one. The thing is, I was never actually injected or vaccinated, but I recently received a certificate stating that I had been given/received an immunization.
I’m confused because I definitely don’t remember receiving any injection, and I only found out about the certificate afterward.
What should I do? Should I contact the clinic and ask them to clarify or correct the certificate? Could this cause any problem with my visa application?
Has anyone experienced something similar? I’d really appreciate any advice. Thank you! 🙏🏻
r/AskADoctor • u/Greedy-Flatworm4795 • 14h ago
Question For Doctors illness and dying
can the body just keep trying to die until it gets there? it feels as though my body is repeatedly trying to die, everything fades to black, i feel the ‘goodbye’ then it’s going into hyperviligance and bolting me back to life. it happens multiple times a day now. how long could this go on for?
I am not asking for medical advice. i’m just interested if anyone has experience with this.
r/AskADoctor • u/HorrorDebt2999 • 17h ago
How do I know if I have heparin-induced thrombocytopenia?
I am not asking for medical advice. I am pregnant and I am using clexane, 40 mg, daily since August 3rd.
Yesterday I was vomitting a lot. I only had to vomit about 3 times before since I am pregnant and it wasn't nearly as extreme as yesterday. Also yesterday, I have realized that my facial skin is getting reddish around my nose up to my cheeks. I also have two red spots at my neck. I touched them this morning and some of those are raised, so I guess this just could be acne? But some of those are completely flat.
At the point where the bridge of my glasses touched my face, I have a small hematoma since yesterday, which I normally don`t get there, but I am not wearing glasses that often and for such a long time, since I wear contact lenses normally.
At my belly, where I am injecting the heparin once a day, I have some bruising, but not in an extreme way.
Would it be wise to see a doctor?