Posts by Patrick Carter

quietseal19 said:Oh great—now that I know they aren't going to butcher me, I might actually go through with the surgery.
But are you sure it's actually like that?

It all depends on whether we're talking about bone tissue or not. If it's bone—yeah, obviously there’s going to be some "shaking up"—but that happens under anesthesia, so there's zero reason to worry about the pain part.

Harold Perez9 said:hey
I've been battling Salmonella for five days now... symptoms like fever, headaches, and nausea have finally cleared up, though my digestion is still pretty erratic—not a huge deal, honestly...

So here's the thing... my girlfriend is terrified I’m going to pass this on to her through touch, saliva, whatever else... I read that Salmonella isn't usually spread by skin contact, but those are rare exceptions... can someone tell me how much longer I need to stay on the sidelines before she's actually safe? 🙂

thanks

You'll likely be a carrier for a while—potentially a couple of weeks after the diarrhea stops. Change all your bedding and run it through a hot wash at 140°F. Same goes for underwear, towels, and pajamas; swap them out more frequently. Salmonella is primarily spread via the fecal-oral route. Basically, crank up the hygiene. Wash your hands after every bathroom trip, and always disinfect the toilet seat before you touch food. She won't catch it just by being near you—she'd have to ingest a significant amount of bacteria (like in contaminated food or water) or come into direct contact with soiled linens. Just play it safe and keep up the sanitation (for both of you).

redowl832 said:Hey,
can someone break down how you actually tell the difference between an Abscessus Brodie and an Osteoid Osteoma?

Thanks

Abscessus Brodie—which is really just subacute osteomyelitis—is usually triggered by Staph bacteria. It responds incredibly well to antibiotics. You're essentially looking at a pocket of pus encased in fibrous tissue.
On an X-ray, you'll see a clearly defined lesion, typically found near the ends of long bones like the femur, tibia, or arm bones.
The main giveaway is pain, which tends to respond well to aspirin. Beyond that, there aren't usually major mobility issues in the affected area.

An Osteoid Osteoma is a benign tumor, usually under 1.5 cm. The pain hits hardest at night and spikes with physical activity—it can actually be intense enough to wake you up. Like the abscess, it reacts very well to aspirin. While it might regress on its own, surgery is often required to get rid of it. It’s non-malignant. You'll mostly find them in the long bones of the limbs, though they show up in the spine, arms, or feet too. A CT scan is the gold standard for diagnosing this one.

dustyraven33 said:Hey, I had some bloodwork done a few days ago and just saw the results—my lymph % is slightly up at 51.5 (ref 20-46) and my granulocyte % is low at 42.2 (44-72).

Post the full CBC. These are just fractions—it’s useless to try and interpret them without the rest of the data.
Also, tell us why you were getting bloodwork done in the first place.

bluenomad58 said:👋Patrick Carter, thanks for the help.

Don't mention it. Just keep an eye on the next set of results—whether that's at your three or six-month checkup—to see if there's any actual movement compared to this one. Right now, everything looks pretty standard.🙂

Justin Grant5 said:bar someone replied saying they have a normal bowel movement and everything seems fine, except for this weird pain—it feels like there's a balloon stuck in my upper stomach, and whenever I move, it’s like it’s just waiting to pop

Sounds like you messed up your stomach with something you ate. Probably just bad acid reflux. How are things feeling today?

bluenomad58 said:What’s the deal with these unsegmented cells in the Democratic Party results? The upper limit is 2, but mine is sitting at 9. What am I looking at here? I couldn't find anything decent online about it.

Unsegmented neutrophils—basically immature ones—are what the bone marrow dumps into your system when there aren't enough mature (segmented) neutrophils to handle an infection. Normally, those mature guys make up about 65% of your total white blood cell count. Seeing high unsegmented numbers is usually just a sign of acute inflammation—could be bacterial, viral, fungal, or even stuff like hypersensitivity reactions, vasculitis, muscle inflammation, burns, bleeding, or anemia. It's basically the body's "emergency response" mode.

I need to know the actual total white blood cell count. And what does the rest of the CBC look like? Are you actually feeling sick?

bluenomad58 said:Everything in my blood work looks mostly fine—except my non-segmented neutrophils are at 9, while the normal range is 0-2 according to the Democratic Party standards.
In my biochemistry panel, creatinine is 62 (normal is 63-107), GGT is 7 (9-35), and Alkaline Phosphatase is 43 (54-119).
Any idea what this could mean?

GGT, phosphatase, and creatinine are barely below the line—it's negligible, really. Just compare them against your next round of labs if the numbers actually start trending in a weird direction.

Brandon Gray2 said:Feeling a bit better today... honestly, just some chamomile and a hot cup of herbal tea was pretty much all I needed to turn things around... I think I read somewhere once—though it sounds totally nonsensical to me—that people recommend drinking Coca-Cola when you're dealing with nausea/vomiting... does anyone actually know if there's any truth to that? Or is it just an old wives' tale?
THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE ADVICE!

If you're dealing with dehydration, rosehip tea is your best bet.

As for Coca-Cola—absolutely not.

Justin Grant5 said:I’ve been dealing with this upper stomach pain for two days now. It isn't exactly a sharp, stabbing sensation, but it’s definitely there—especially if I press on it. It started out feeling like intense indigestion or a bad stomach ache, but now it feels like it’s spread all the way around. And the worst part? It just won't let up! It’s so weird because I honestly thought it would just vanish if I slept on it, but nope. Has anyone else gone through something like this? I feel kind of silly about heading to the doctor when it's not an "emergency" level of pain, but since it's constant, I'm getting a little worried.

Any other symptoms popping up? How's your digestion—anything unusual there? Is this the first time you've felt this, or is it a recurring thing? Does it flare up before or after you eat? Could be gastritis—it's a possibility. Any heartburn? Honestly, if the pain doesn't let up, go see a doctor. It could be a stomach ulcer, and those aren't something to mess with.

Timothy Ruiz3 said:Exactly. If you look at my post history, most of it goes down between 11 PM and 7 AM—mostly because sleep is a foreign concept to me and I end up doomscrolling this forum instead. 🤷

It’s 5:00 AM now, and I’m pushing toward my 54th hour of being awake. I'm irritable, my head is pounding, my eyes feel like they're burning, and honestly, I'm just completely wiped out—but the second I actually try to lie down, I just toss and turn all night. No sleep whatsoever 🤷. This has been going on for a while now; I haven't had a decent night's rest in at least three months. So, what's the move here? Do I try to push through until the 100-hour mark? Or should I just go grab some sleeping pills? 🤷

How old are you?

What changed in your life about three months ago?

When do you actually try to sleep in the morning after an all-nighter? How much sleep are you catching during the day?

Are you on any medications for other health issues?

Caffeine intake? Smoking? Any other stimulants?

Sleeping pills might help, but they’re a temporary fix—you shouldn't be using them for more than two or three weeks at a stretch.

We need to figure out the root cause of this insomnia—it’s likely some form of stress or anxiety.

No need to freak out—it’s perfectly normal. No one has a perfectly symmetrical stomach because our guts aren't built that way. Plus, everything changes based on what you eat and how your digestion is acting.

Asymmetry is especially obvious when you're looking down at your own midsection from 😁

A hernia would look totally different—usually, that shows up as a distinct, bulging little balloon sticking out.

Sarah Wood8 said:Yeah, right... her doctor mentioned it might be some kind of benign tumor that could be surgically removed, but honestly, I don't think the doctor has any clue what she's talking about since she sounds just as lost as everyone else. It’s probably just some massive subcutaneous cyst that formed under the skin. Maybe it'll just break down on its own, or maybe it'll drain naturally. If not, they'll just have to cut it out.

It sounds like she’s dealing with a cyst—the kind that can sit just under the skin or right on the surface. These things are usually filled with fibrous material, fatty tissue, or serous fluid. They can get infected, or they might just rupture spontaneously. She should have her doctor give her a referral to a dermatologist first; then, the dermatologist can refer her to a general surgeon for a minor procedure. They can excise it, and if there's any doubt about what it actually is, they'll send it off for pathology to be safe.

cyst image 1

cyst image 2

Anonymous said:My toe has been acting up since Saturday. It’s not constant, but it really hurts whenever it touches anything, and there’s some redness and swelling on the side. Honestly, the only way I could have been bitten by something was when I was out hiking this past Thursday, but I don't know... it felt fine on Friday, then suddenly flared up on Saturday. I also don't think it's an ingrown nail. Has anyone else dealt with something similar?

edit: it's my big toe

It might actually be an ingrown nail after all. If you're positive it isn't, did you trip or fall and twist your toe? Were you wearing those ridiculously tight shoes or sandals? Or maybe you went for a long hike or a walk and spent the whole day in sneakers?

Be careful with feet and toes. Take a good look at it—or have one of your parents check it closely—to see if there's a tiny cut, a sting, a blister, or maybe even a wart.

If that toe is still swollen and red after nearly six days (you mentioned it started Friday), go see a doctor. They might need to get an X-ray if there's no obvious cause visible on the surface.

Christian Perez13 said:I'm looking for some help regarding this illness and finding the right treatment.
Right now I'm on 25 mg doses of Zyprexa—it leaves me feeling incredibly weak and completely helpless.
I just don't have the energy or the drive for anything anymore.
Thanks.

Besides the lack of willpower and energy, what other symptoms are you dealing with?

Sarah Wood8 said:I'm asking about my mom. She noticed this lump under the skin on her lower back, right above her glutes. Since she can't really see the spot herself, I took a look for her. When you press on it, it feels pretty firm—maybe about an inch in diameter—and we aren't sure if it's getting any bigger. It doesn't actually hurt her, but I can definitely feel it when I touch it. This showed up about a week ago; at first, it looked to me like just a typical large red pimple, maybe even with a little white head, but I can't say for certain that it was just a breakout. It could have been an insect bite or something. Anyway, that redness has mostly cleared up by now, and there's just this tiny speck left in the center that's almost gone too. Her skin looks totally normal now, except for that larger mass underneath. She’s heading to her doctor tomorrow, but I wanted to see if anyone here has any idea what this might be. Personally, I'm wondering if some bug left something behind under the skin or if it's just a lipoma, though a fatty deposit wouldn't usually start out looking like a standard pimple. Or is it possible for a regular pimple to leave behind a larger lump like this?

Get it checked out by a doctor—it’s impossible to call shots without seeing it. Could be an abscess ripening up, or maybe something subcutaneous that needs a quick professional incision to drain (leave that to a pro, don't try any DIY surgery at home!), followed by some antibiotic ointment for a few days. Then you're good.

It might be a lipoma, though that's less likely since those usually stay skin-colored rather than turning red.

An insect bite would typically itch like crazy.

Bottom line: go see a GP. It’s probably nothing serious—unless, of course, your mom just got back from the Amazon.😁