Posts by steelhawk132

I second everything you said. I was in that exact same position a few years back—dealing with these constant abdominal pains that made eating almost impossible. I ended up in the ER several times, always in the middle of the night. When I finally got a referral, I ended up with Dr. person, though honestly, I’d rather just call him Mr. person, because the guy lacks even the most basic manners. He doesn't even bother with a "hello" or "goodbye." To him, a patient is just someone stealing his precious free time—just some insignificant thing that doesn't matter to his massive ego. It wasn't worth anything. The pain kept coming, and I dropped five pounds (and I didn't even have extra to lose), so I started looking for any way possible to get a real diagnosis. Along the way, I went for a few private exams, but they turned up nothing. An MRI? You're looking at a year-long wait. Someone told me that if I had a connection, I could actually talk to one of the doctors, so I managed to reach a department head. After paying him $100 under the table, he admitted me to the ward overnight, got me an MRI the very next day, and then moved straight into a gastroscopy and colonoscopy—all at once, and without anesthesia.
The whole thing required traveling to New York City for the endoscopy, but I just ran headfirst into whatever alternative I could find—though I didn't have many options left since I was completely broke.
I feel better now, but then this autoimmune disease hit me—it's truly awful, and now I'm right back at square one. You can't get in to see a rheumatologist, you can't get the medication you need... Honestly, the entire Mayo Clinic is a total nightmare!!! My husband was in neurology once, and that's when it clicked for me—I realized that I could, quite coldly and without a shred of regret, kill one of them just to ensure I wouldn't end up in prison. 😲 Some of those nurses were so repulsive I don't even have the words; there was a woman screaming because she was thirsty and needed water—she couldn't even move—and a nurse just snapped at her, telling her to stop whining and refused to give her a drink. 😢 Mayo Clinic is a rotting institution full of corrupt doctors and neurotic nurses. I think it's one of the worst hospitals in America, and it’ll stay that way because they can get away with it. They act like they're tough, but when it comes down to it, they're just cowards who accept injustice when it's dealt to others, yet will fight tooth and nail through bribery the moment it affects them.

Ethan Anderson65 said:I’ve been dealing with this issue for the last two days

I’m thirsty—like, I can drink a whole glass of water and that feeling just won't go away. It isn't that I drink water and then feel thirsty again five minutes later; rather, I can drink plenty of it, but the sensation remains constant. Even after half a liter, the thirst is still there.

Is it possible that drinking a Red Bull every single day for the past three weeks is causing this? I had one yesterday, though I haven't had any today.

I really don't know what the issue is.
Aside from
One morning, I woke up feeling slightly dehydrated—just dry, and my urine was a dark yellow color—and things have been like this ever since, starting the morning before yesterday.

I drank an Gatorade today; maybe that'll help.

I've been looking up diabetes symptoms, but nothing seems to fit perfectly—I think I'm mostly just scared of the possibility.

Also, my mouth isn't dry, it's just this deep thirst in my stomach.

Try eating some fruit with high water content—watermelon, grapes, peaches. When it's hot out, your body actually absorbs liquid from fruit better than it does from plain water.

And stop drinking that junk.

silentdrifter16 said:Hey everyone, I’m not entirely sure if I’ve landed in the right corner of this forum, so if I’m totally off base, could the mods please move this thread or merge it with something else? My bad if I’m cluttering things up. So, here’s the deal: I do some handmade jewelry work and I’ve been wondering about the logistics of scoring a little spot to set up shop. And by "spot," I don't mean renting a formal booth or a storefront—I’m thinking more along the lines of just grabbing a stool, setting up my display, and basically being an itinerant maker. You know, like those street artists you see in places like San Francisco or New Orleans, just sitting there with their canvas or tools, creating art right in front of people and selling it on the fly. Who exactly would I need to talk to about getting permission for something like that? I’m not looking to commit to the whole summer or anything; I’d probably just want a window of maybe two weeks at most. Or, even better, if I head down to a beach town for a week of vacation, is there any way to just rent a tiny patch of sidewalk or a corner where I can sit, craft my pieces, and sell them as I go?

Your best bet is to head down to City Hall and ask about a daily permit for a vendor spot.

Generally speaking, local municipal governments are the ones in charge of issuing those kinds of permits. A few years back, you used to have to pay around $50—$33—depending on which town you were in.
Just keep in mind that some towns might be pretty strict and won't let you just set up shop anywhere you please.
Also, during this time of year, some cities start putting out calls for concession bids.
I’d suggest checking the official websites of the specific towns you're interested in; they'll have phone numbers listed, so just give them a call and ask.🙂

I have to say, as soon as I caught the headline, I knew exactly what this was about.

I’ve seen similar questions pop up before—and I always find myself getting pulled back into them because I remember how much I struggled with this myself. My hope is that maybe, just maybe, this helps someone understand more about anxiety
as a real condition you can actually manage.

As for her telling you those were symptoms of mania... honestly, she doesn't have a clue.
It's unfortunate that you've ended up convinced the doctors are the ones in the wrong.

Anyway, how is the little one doing?

There’s a thread going on the psychology forum about anxiety.

Caffeine acts as this sort of "trigger." If you have a genetic predisposition—which most likely means
there's some minor chemical imbalance in your brain—it all converges. You hit a stressful patch in your life, and suddenly, boom: panic attacks.

The real issue is that many doctors here in the States often overlook these specific imbalances. Patients end up terrified that they’re actually dying or losing their minds (which happened to me)
, meaning they experience this overwhelming, intense fear of death or insanity.

Anxiety is incredibly common.

For me, it hit during the war—hard to find any greater stress than that—after just a few cups of coffee. Everything just collapsed.
I saw a psychologist, but she told me nothing was wrong.
That fear followed me around until I finally dove into the literature and studied everything I could about anxiety; once I understood it, I was finally free from it.

Nowadays, I still enjoy my coffee, but I make sure not to exceed two cups a day. 🙂

Paul Morales3 said:Caffeine allergy.

That really doesn't sound like an allergy—it sounds more like a panic attack. Honestly, they were probably right about you. It seems pretty certain to me.
You should probably steer clear of coffee for a while.
I've been through that exact same thing myself.

Carl Alvarez572 said:Look, that's just one slice of the stress pie; there's plenty more where that came from, but you rarely realize it's stress at first—you always assume it's some other external factor, like a flat tire when really it's just the engine overheating. But anyway, let's not get sidetracked from what I was actually saying, because right now I'm 👍

🙂

Carl Alvarez572 said:Of course you can go ahead and check, just try not to let your head run wild with all the "what ifs," because honestly, when you're eventually looking to start a family, your mental state plays such a massive role in the whole process. Just head over to the Mayo Clinic and lay out exactly what’s been weighing on you, and they'll run every single test necessary to get to the bottom of it, though I'm pretty confident everything is going to turn out just fine. 👍

That’s why he seems to be acting out or being difficult toward you. It's likely just the stress from everything you're going through right now.

I was right around your age when it happened to me—I’d had three espressos back-to-back, and things were chaotic, like everything was falling apart at once. I won't get into the full backstory because it's far too long, and honestly, you probably wouldn't care to hear it. Long story short: a guy I'd been with for four years left me, and all my closest friends—every single one of them—had moved out of state.
I was completely on my own.
I experienced this intense sensation, like I wasn't even in my own body; it was a total suppression of consciousness. I knew what I was doing—the basic motor functions were all there—but my body felt like a hollow shell while my mind had somehow "drifted away." I felt so disconnected, and it terrified me so much that I just spent days crying...

Slowly, things started to mend. By some stroke of luck, I was hanging out with a young man at the time who had this strange, positive influence on me. I wasn't in love with him or anything; he just radiated kindness. And that was actually what helped me most.
Later on, I did fall in love, and we ended up getting married a couple of years after that.

Dear, I can see that you are incredibly sensitive and intelligent. But this "excess" of free time you're spending on introspection? It’s actually hurting you. I'm telling you this strictly out of good intentions—which, let's face it, isn't exactly common on this forum: try to engage in more "manual" activities to relax. Focus on those simple, primal things; fall in love, spend more time outdoors, maybe start a vegetable garden and just enjoy watching things grow. Learn only as much as is necessary. Don't spend so much time online; instead, keep seeing people in person. Live a clean life, without stimulants.

And regardless of everything else, find a good psychiatrist. There might be some underlying psychosis there; these things can be managed quite well with modern medication nowadays, with fewer relapses. Though, if I'm being honest, I think you'll feel better once you have some direction in life (like having children). Children provide such a sense of purpose.

Praying the Rosary works just as well as meditation does. It calms the mind. Give it a try. 🙂

Everything I’ve shared comes straight from my own life. Honestly, I was dealing with these exact same sensations for years BEFORE my very first panic attack hit. Back then, I had absolutely no clue what was happening to me. It kept coming back even after the attacks started—but once I finally understood what I was actually facing, things gradually began to space out. Don't laugh, but I remember being so desperate that I stumbled upon some advice saying meditation and yoga could help. (Keep in mind, we didn't have the internet at my fingertips back then).
I still remember how my whole family would tease me whenever I tried to sit in that "lotus" position; but for me, it actually worked.
In my opinion, this is a clear precursor to anxiety. If it were a neurological disorder, there would be a whole different set of symptoms involved.
The real struggle, though, is actually finding a decent psychiatrist. I finally sought help after one particular attack—which was absolutely TERRIBLE—because I was gripped by this intense fear that I was losing my mind. I saw this psychologist who told me, quite literally, "Oh, those are just war traumas; you're such a wonderful, intelligent young woman, it's nothing to worry about." She clearly had no idea what she was talking about.

Gregory Fox53 said:I guess I’ve been having these weird little "glitches" popping up here and there in my head too. It isn't just the blood pressure stuff; it's more like this bizarre sensation where my brain feels totally clouded over—kind of like I'm walking through a fog. Everything starts feeling surreal, you know? Like the world around me just looks... off. And honestly, much like you, I’ve become way more forgetful lately. I just feel constantly muddled, and my brain doesn't seem to "function" the way it usually does whenever that mental haze kicks in. Last time it happened, it stuck around for a whole week. Usually, my blood pressure runs pretty low, though. I probably haven't been much help, really, just figured I'd share what I've been going through myself 🙂

That "feeling" you're describing is called "depersonalization," and I really want to reiterate—it is absolutely one of the symptoms of anxiety.
Maybe try some breathing exercises or relaxation techniques? For me, everything shifted once I realized I was dealing with anxiety rather than some mysterious physical illness. Once you identify the culprit, it becomes so much easier to manage.
By the way, millions of Americans deal with various forms of anxiety and panic attacks.
Why mention Americans specifically? It's simply because our healthcare system is highly developed, so these disorders are recognized and diagnosed more frequently. It isn't always that way everywhere.
Please remember, you aren't alone in this. Help is available, and it can be relatively straightforward to find.
And one more thing—stay away from coffee, Coke, or anything else packed with caffeine, since it can act as a major "trigger." Hang in there!👍

I honestly think this might be one of those anxiety symptoms.
Take a look at the common indicators for anxiety; if you find other overlapping signs—and assuming everything comes back clear from a medical standpoint—then it could definitely be anxiety. It’s nothing to panic about, really, and it's actually quite common.
Then again, it could just be the weather. As we get older, it seems like we become much more sensitive to these shifts in atmospheric pressure and changing weather patterns, doesn't it?