Posts by Jacob Ortiz56

So, I’ve had this weird little fleshy thing growing right behind my molar for years. It was basically just a tiny little nub attached to my gum—sometimes it looked a bit swollen, sometimes thinner, but it was always flesh-colored and never really bothered me. No pain, no bleeding, nothing. It just sat there. Well, today I noticed it felt a little sensitive (and yeah, I have this habit of unconsciously poking at it with my tongue), and then after lunch... it was just gone! Like, poof. Did it seriously just break off and I accidentally ate it? Is that even a thing? Am I in trouble?

There’s zero bleeding right now and nothing else feels off, but honestly, I’m low-key freaking out about how this went down. For years, I just treated it like some random extra bit of tissue and figured I’d just have a surgeon snip it off whenever I got around to it. Now I’m kicking myself for not checking the damage before I started eating. I’m genuinely terrified that I actually swallowed the thing.

Has anyone else dealt with this? Please tell me I'm not crazy and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Why can't you just go to St. Catherine?

Does oral surgery work out in the Suburbs right now (with all the COVID stuff?), and can I just walk in without a referral?
Woke up this morning with my face looking completely swollen... clearly one of my wisdom teeth is acting up on the wrong side of my mouth..

If they aren't taking walk-ins, does anyone have a solid recommendation for where I should go?

So, why on earth wouldn't you want to head out to St. Catherine?

Anyone know a solid private endocrinologist in NYC?

Hey guys, I'm on the hunt for a solid ophthalmologist who's based at a hospital but also sees patients privately in the Washington, D.C. area. Any leads?

I don't really have a list of specific complaints or anything, I just need a solid diagnostician who actually focuses on prevention. Someone to look at my history, check my current status, and give me a straight answer on what the next few years are going to look like. It's hard to put into words right now, but I hope you get what I mean. Honestly, my biggest fear is that because I don't have one glaring, acute issue to point at, the doctor will just give me some superficial "call us if you feel something" brush-off. That’s not what I want. I want to be proactive—to set up a proper preventative system before things actually go south. I'm honestly lost on who to trust for that kind of deep dive. To make matters worse, I'm getting older, my cholesterol is acting up, my mom has a history of heart disease, and let's be real—I'm a total couch potato. Add a mountain of stress to the mix, and lately, I've been feeling some weird palpitations... so yeah, it's not like I just woke up today and decided 🙂

It’s not even about them being stressed—honestly, they’re probably the most chill people in the room—it’s more about them trying to protect their reputation or whatever...

So, I’m stuck trying to pick a cardiologist. My options are basically narrowed down to UnitedHealth Group, Saint Catherine, Medtronic, or Heartland. I need a solid baseline checkup since I've been feeling a bit off lately.
Does anyone here have any actual experience with these places? Any intel would be huge.

ruggedorca5 said:Having kids would solve it. Then you're living for them.

Honestly, I find people with kids a little hard to deal with sometimes because it drives me crazy when someone decides to just ditch everything else once they start a family. Look, I get it, family and kids are priority number one—fine. 😁 But man, put something else at number six, maybe? Give your friends a shot at being relevant. Nobody’s asking for a daily FaceTime marathon, but there are people who, the second they start a family , go totally MIA for months without even sending a single damn text.

Sam Jones8 said:That’s what happens when you constantly crush your own ego and try to live as pure altruism, thinking your life's mission is just to be a "good person" and help everyone else... when the reality is you have to fight for yourself first. You take care of *you*, and then, if there’s anything left, you take care of others.
Advice? Focus on yourself. Work on your self-esteem. Be blunt and assertive when you speak. Set boundaries, and the second you see someone stepping over them—react. There’s more to it, obviously. Just realize that nothing changes overnight; these shifts happen gradually until the new behavior becomes second nature. Most importantly, you have to kill the victim mindset. Take control. Stop being passive—you need action. Don't sit around waiting for someone to call and check on you; be the one making the calls! And yeah, you're right, sometimes people really are wolves to one another... but there’s something much worse than that: being your own worst enemy.

Just remember, the world is a mirror—how you present yourself is exactly how others will see you. And treat you.

Don't take this too personally, but your post reeks of pure ego—it's clearly just a defense mechanism to keep from getting hurt. You don't really get what we're talking about, but you'll figure it out once you actually face yourself. 👍

Take me, for example. As the one putting in all the work, I give way more than I get back; I ask for maybe half of what I provide, but most of the time I end up with zero. 😁 I've had to cut off several friendships because I was sick of being the only one constantly reaching out and begging people to actually show up for once.

I'm curious if anyone here has actually gone through this—has anyone had work done, and honestly, were you happy with the results?

Also, does anyone have a solid recommendation for a dentist in New York City who’s actually good at doing onlays? I’ve heard people say that most dentists aren't great at them and would much rather push expensive crowns on you instead.

So, I’m a highly sensitive person—yeah, I actually took one of those psychological tests once and it confirmed it—and honestly, navigating relationships with most people is a total struggle. It’s not even that they’re being mean or aggressive; it’s more this nagging feeling that there’s zero reciprocity. Like, I feel like I’d go to the ends of the earth for someone, whether it’s checking in on them constantly or even lending them cash if things get rough, but other people just don't seem nearly as invested. They don't really track what's going on in my life, and when I vent, I don't get much more than a "that sucks" or "I'm sorry." I want someone to actually engage with the situation, you know? Like, check back in a few days later to see how I'm holding up.

Looking back, the people who acted like that usually had an ulterior motive or they just straight-up didn't care; they were just tapping into the resources I was pouring into the relationship. I did have exactly one friend who gave as much as I did, but she ended up walking away because *I* wasn't putting in enough effort. I was young and naive back then, though, and I didn't grasp how much friendship actually matters.

Nowadays, I genuinely believe friendship is even more vital than romantic relationships because it should be more lasting and reliable. I've been happily married for over 10 years now, so my love life is solid, but I've learned to look at connections through a much wider lens. I see so many breakups and falling outs happening around me; basically everyone we knew years ago has drifted apart. To me, friendships should be the foundation that lasts, and I truly think they are worth the investment.