Wellspan orthopedic urgent care

Okay this is a long post. But I do not know if I am right or wrong so I would like different opinions and suggestions. Timeline is from September to now so when I say it's a long rant, it really is.
I'm an international student in Chicago and do not have dental insurance. In September I started experiencing pain in my left bottom teeth region. I detected its tooth number 19 and after reading through reddit, UIC was the cheapest and the best rated option for me to go to. I book an urgent care appointment near the end of September and the student worker detects cavity on tooth #19. She cleans and does temporary filling. She states that to have a permanent filling, I need to be a permanent patient there. Meaning I need to have my xrays taken and have an evaluation which takes time. She also states to come back in 6 weeks to have a permanent filling.
I leave with relief that atleast I won't be in pain. I tell her I'll become a permanent patient. I pay and get my xrays done (around mid of October). They approve me to be their patient and I end up going for their evaluation on the second week of Nov. I go for evaluation where I find out I have a bunch of other cavities. The senior dentist comes and tells me throat looks swollen and red and I need to be cleared for a medical consultation by the senior dentist (I also tell the senior dentist that I have a history of cancer sores in my throat but at that moment I didn't have any). So now I book an appointment for a primary care for the first time in the US (around 3rd week of November). Co incidentally I had a very sharp right pelvis pain as well during my medical consultation. The gp tells me your throat looks fine to me right now and any infections that you could have had could be due to cavities and he did not understand why the senior dentist needed consultation clearance. For my pelvis pain he orders a CT scan and bunch of blood work, he suspects appendicitis. I told him I've had same pain a month ago as well. Anyways, before the scan I find out its for $8,000 and my medical insurance will only cover $350, the blood work came around about $500 after the insurance covered, so I choose just to get the blood work. (Note my sister is a doctor and she told me to get the blood work done before the scan as she suspected it could be kidney stones) I go for the tests and wait for my blood reports. My blood reports come that same evening and mostly all the reports are normal except C-reactive protein and eGFRprotein were slightly high. I observe my pain and its fades down and completely goes away by night. The plan was to go to the ER if the pain ever returns, at which point my insurance would cover it 100%. The next few mornings I monitor myself and there's no pain at all, and I haven't had that pain since then. The gp had signed the medical consultation form that I needed for my dental clearance. I'm mid moving apartments at this point and I lose that piece of paper (worst mistake I made was not to have a picture of the paper). I ask the GP to fill the paper again, to which he refuses and says if I don't get the CT he won't fill and sign the paper (basically he voids the first note he made). I know the gp was protecting himself as well but I honestly have not had this behaviour from a doctor before.. and I have lived in the middle-east, asia and europe before. It literally felt like 'you wont give me what I want, then even I wont give you something you want'. I try for the student dentist to speak to the gp and the gp tells her im not clearing her for the dental work because she didnt make it to the scan (first time in my life i experienced a doctor refusing his word but idk how things run in America). This is now mid of December. I tell the student dentist that I do have tooth pain for which I have proof of on texts. I end up going to another gp (who also states that cavities can cause mouth infections), she runs tests again which all come normal this time and clears me for dental work. Also turns out my pelvis pain was ovulation pain according to a gynaecologist. At this point (first week of Jan) I tell the student I'm still in pain and she said temporary filling can stay long and the tooth was cleaned and the pain can come from the tooth adjacent to it which has a decay as well. I go to UIC in the second week of January, 15-16 weeks after my temporary filling was done. She does my permanent filling and does cleaning of the teeth. She rushes through the cleaning and says ill complete the full procedure of cleaning next time you come. All this time I think she's been helping me so I cooperated a lot as well. I know the medical consultation were also my fault as I misplaced the paper so im fully responsible for that.
But im still in pain after the permanent filling. So sept - January.. still in pain. I spent $500 at UIC and I am in pain. I don't reach out to her again and decide to go to another dentist now. The new dentist tells me there's a lot of tartar buildup around tooth 19th. She tells me the cleaning was not done properly and the filling is also not right. The dentist cleans as much as she could and prescribes augmentin and calls me back. (This is third week of Jan). The pain goes away idk because of pills or the proper cleaning? When she calls me back she says she'll re-do filling for #19 and does filling for #18. When she opens #19 she says there's a lot of decay that was left behind and is shocked as to what was done. She even does a hole on the side of my molar which was never done at UIC. She shows me the color inside of the tooth and explains the difference between a decay and normal tooth structure. But the decay was very close to my nerve, she tells me she's trying her best not to reach the nerve but if the pain still persists then I need an RCT. She gives me another round augmentin as an insurance if the pain persists. (4th week of Jan) This is also when I tell student dentist what the second dentist has claimed and done. She apologies and says she's sorry and admits she rushed the cleaning, but says the doctor checked the tooth at every point during the filling and it's unfortunate I had to go somewhere else for my pain. I ask her simply if I can get reimbursed for my money because I didnt get what I was supposed to (which is relief lol) she says 'You came in for an urgent care appt back in sept we took an X-ray of the tooth bothering you and there was a cavity there so we treated it. We do not provide cleanings for an urgent care appt. I don’t think we can offer reimbursement for everything but just see and ask'
Now in the meantime, I am trying to call UIC customer service. Left voicemail in December to get help, no one ever called back. Left emails, no response. Then in February I find out about UI health and someone answers my calls (first time talking to someone about my experience other than the student dentist). They take a note and I get a call from the department who handles the Dentistry. She asks me what has happened, I tell her all the above. She asks me what I want now, I tell her I want my money back. She says she'll speak the the doctor in their department. The doctor asks for my xrays and doctors note from the other dental clinic. I send them on 1st of March. No reply for 2 weeks after sending many follow up emails. I get a reply back mid of March that she herself was on vacation for 2 weeks. Note: no out of office automated email lol. Then mid of march she says everyone's on Spring break, wait for 20th March for doctors to come back. I follow up, with initially a response to wait. Followed up several times later, no response. I email her saying 'I'm in a lot of pain and I need a root canal. Can you please help me with this? If not I need a supervisor. I can not wait further. I have been suffering since September. I'm a student myself and im on a visa. I am taking ibuprofen and tylenols everyday since September which has its own side effects. I'm at the verge of crying. I can't even get help from the UIC customer service side now?' Got an answer today saying 'Doctor reviewed your x-rays and took in consideration your concerns. He determined that the refund we would only be provide to you for the prophy (cleaning), which was not finished by the student. For #19 filling, which you informed us that after being seen by the outside provider you are now in need of a root canal and based on the x-rays provided, we would not be able to do a refund since we were not given the opportunity to see you for the toothache prior to seeking care elsewhere. Unfortunately at this time we see no wrongdoing on the student’s end based on what we stated “the x-rays we would once again not be able to provide a refund for #19”.' I have sent her a proof of the doctors note saying she did code D2392 and it was completed. And my prescription.
Now I do not know what to do.. should I leave everything, and continue with my money gone to waste? Or should I fight? What are my rights as a patient? Or am I wrong? I take tylenols and ibuprofen for my pain daily. I am not mad at the student i know shes learning and i get it, but there are so many senior dentists there who looked at me.. and this was the result? Did they look in rush because they have so many patients? I don't know what to do.. obviously I can't afford a lawyer to start a case so yeah im just lost.

Okay this is a long post. But I do not know if I am right or wrong so I would like different opinions and suggestions. Timeline is from September to now so when I say it's a long rant, it really is.
I'm an international student in Chicago and do not have dental insurance. In September I started experiencing pain in my left bottom teeth region. I detected its tooth number 19 and after reading through reddit, UIC was the cheapest and the best rated option for me to go to. I book an urgent care appointment near the end of September and the student worker detects cavity on tooth #19. She cleans and does temporary filling. She states that to have a permanent filling, I need to be a permanent patient there. Meaning I need to have my xrays taken and have an evaluation which takes time. She also states to come back in 6 weeks to have a permanent filling.
I leave with relief that atleast I won't be in pain. I tell her I'll become a permanent patient. I pay and get my xrays done (around mid of October). They approve me to be their patient and I end up going for their evaluation on the second week of Nov. I go for evaluation where I find out I have a bunch of other cavities. The senior dentist comes and tells me throat looks swollen and red and I need to be cleared for a medical consultation by the senior dentist (I also tell the senior dentist that I have a history of cancer sores in my throat but at that moment I didn't have any). So now I book an appointment for a primary care for the first time in the US (around 3rd week of November). Co incidentally I had a very sharp right pelvis pain as well during my medical consultation. The gp tells me your throat looks fine to me right now and any infections that you could have had could be due to cavities and he did not understand why the senior dentist needed consultation clearance. For my pelvis pain he orders a CT scan and bunch of blood work, he suspects appendicitis. I told him I've had same pain a month ago as well. Anyways, before the scan I find out its for $8,000 and my medical insurance will only cover $350, the blood work came around about $500 after the insurance covered, so I choose just to get the blood work. (Note my sister is a doctor and she told me to get the blood work done before the scan as she suspected it could be kidney stones) I go for the tests and wait for my blood reports. My blood reports come that same evening and mostly all the reports are normal except C-reactive protein and eGFRprotein were slightly high. I observe my pain and its fades down and completely goes away by night. The plan was to go to the ER if the pain ever returns, at which point my insurance would cover it 100%. The next few mornings I monitor myself and there's no pain at all, and I haven't had that pain since then. The gp had signed the medical consultation form that I needed for my dental clearance. I'm mid moving apartments at this point and I lose that piece of paper (worst mistake I made was not to have a picture of the paper). I ask the GP to fill the paper again, to which he refuses and says if I don't get the CT he won't fill and sign the paper (basically he voids the first note he made). I know the gp was protecting himself as well but I honestly have not had this behaviour from a doctor before.. and I have lived in the middle-east, asia and europe before. It literally felt like 'you wont give me what I want, then even I wont give you something you want'. I try for the student dentist to speak to the gp and the gp tells her im not clearing her for the dental work because she didnt make it to the scan (first time in my life i experienced a doctor refusing his word but idk how things run in America). This is now mid of December. I tell the student dentist that I do have tooth pain for which I have proof of on texts. I end up going to another gp (who also states that cavities can cause mouth infections), she runs tests again which all come normal this time and clears me for dental work. Also turns out my pelvis pain was ovulation pain according to a gynaecologist. At this point (first week of Jan) I tell the student I'm still in pain and she said temporary filling can stay long and the tooth was cleaned and the pain can come from the tooth adjacent to it which has a decay as well. I go to UIC in the second week of January, 15-16 weeks after my temporary filling was done. She does my permanent filling and does cleaning of the teeth. She rushes through the cleaning and says ill complete the full procedure of cleaning next time you come. All this time I think she's been helping me so I cooperated a lot as well. I know the medical consultation were also my fault as I misplaced the paper so im fully responsible for that.
But im still in pain after the permanent filling. So sept - January.. still in pain. I spent $500 at UIC and I am in pain. I don't reach out to her again and decide to go to another dentist now. The new dentist tells me there's a lot of tartar buildup around tooth 19th. She tells me the cleaning was not done properly and the filling is also not right. The dentist cleans as much as she could and prescribes augmentin and calls me back. (This is third week of Jan). The pain goes away idk because of pills or the proper cleaning? When she calls me back she says she'll re-do filling for #19 and does filling for #18. When she opens #19 she says there's a lot of decay that was left behind and is shocked as to what was done. She even does a hole on the side of my molar which was never done at UIC. She shows me the color inside of the tooth and explains the difference between a decay and normal tooth structure. But the decay was very close to my nerve, she tells me she's trying her best not to reach the nerve but if the pain still persists then I need an RCT. She gives me another round augmentin as an insurance if the pain persists. (4th week of Jan) This is also when I tell student dentist what the second dentist has claimed and done. She apologies and says she's sorry and admits she rushed the cleaning, but says the doctor checked the tooth at every point during the filling and it's unfortunate I had to go somewhere else for my pain. I ask her simply if I can get reimbursed for my money because I didnt get what I was supposed to (which is relief lol) she says 'You came in for an urgent care appt back in sept we took an X-ray of the tooth bothering you and there was a cavity there so we treated it. We do not provide cleanings for an urgent care appt. I don’t think we can offer reimbursement for everything but just see and ask'
Now in the meantime, I am trying to call UIC customer service. Left voicemail in December to get help, no one ever called back. Left emails, no response. Then in February I find out about UI health and someone answers my calls (first time talking to someone about my experience other than the student dentist). They take a note and I get a call from the department who handles the Dentistry. She asks me what has happened, I tell her all the above. She asks me what I want now, I tell her I want my money back. She says she'll speak the the doctor in their department. The doctor asks for my xrays and doctors note from the other dental clinic. I send them on 1st of March. No reply for 2 weeks after sending many follow up emails. I get a reply back mid of March that she herself was on vacation for 2 weeks. Note: no out of office automated email lol. Then mid of march she says everyone's on Spring break, wait for 20th March for doctors to come back. I follow up, with initially a response to wait. Followed up several times later, no response. I email her saying 'I'm in a lot of pain and I need a root canal. Can you please help me with this? If not I need a supervisor. I can not wait further. I have been suffering since September. I'm a student myself and im on a visa. I am taking ibuprofen and tylenols everyday since September which has its own side effects. I'm at the verge of crying. I can't even get help from the UIC customer service side now?' Got an answer today saying 'Doctor reviewed your x-rays and took in consideration your concerns. He determined that the refund we would only be provide to you for the prophy (cleaning), which was not finished by the student. For #19 filling, which you informed us that after being seen by the outside provider you are now in need of a root canal and based on the x-rays provided, we would not be able to do a refund since we were not given the opportunity to see you for the toothache prior to seeking care elsewhere. Unfortunately at this time we see no wrongdoing on the student’s end based on what we stated “the x-rays we would once again not be able to provide a refund for #19”.' I have sent her a proof of the doctors note saying she did code D2392 and it was completed. And my prescription.
Now I do not know what to do.. should I leave everything, and continue with my money gone to waste? Or should I fight? What are my rights as a patient? Or am I wrong? I take tylenols and ibuprofen for my pain daily. I am not mad at the student i know shes learning and i get it, but there are so many senior dentists there who looked at me.. and this was the result? Did they look in rush because they have so many patients? I don't know what to do.. obviously I can't afford a lawyer to start a case so yeah im just lost.

The profession system overall needs alot of changes but KP needs to get some changes urgently i feel like and the fact that we have not heard a peep about it from blizzard in regards to 10.1 is unsettling. Like i have only cared about profs on my main because i dont really start playing my alts until i get my main curved and decent rio score. But once that happened i felt like it was no use to even start farming KP on my alts cause they were too far behind.
My changes wishlist for KP would be a catchup system for alts, and a one time reset of KP for characters that have alot of KP currently.

Hello! I know this isn’t where I can be diagnosed but just wanted an opinion. Last week I woke up with excruciating pain from shoulder going up neck on my RIGHT side . My tongue went numb for a few minutes. My ears were burning on the outside. Sinus pain. Crampy and burning all around my neck (even throat area). Took some ibuprofen and it went away after a few hours but still was sore. Next day went to urgent care they said it was nothing but if things got worse go to ER. That afternoon i went to put on deodorant and couldn’t feel my LEFT armpit. After that my left arm got really hot and tingly. Eventually it traveled down my left side to my thigh and it hurt to the slightest touch. Went to ER all tests were good said to see a neurologist. It’s been a week and I have woken up numerous times in the middle of the night with the same neck issue. My left side still feels hot and sensitive to touch. I can’t feel heat or cold on my left hand. Right hand is now tingly and I can’t grip a pencil. Do you think it’s just a pinched nerve or something deeper? I go to neurologist in 2 months but Im not sleeping so I want to see if i can get something from urgent care to help in mean time. I would feel silly if this was all just a pinched nerve but I mentioned that to the er doc and they were very confused what was happening. I appreciate any advice!

I am not the Original Poster. That is u/Whofuckingknows2. She posted in AmItheAsshole
For today's spoiler cover, u/Artichoke_Persephone sent me a fun fact to use! "Greta Thunburg’s mum represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009. It’s an interesting pop-opera number with some dancers wearing a mirrored masks at the end. Very stylish!"
Trigger Warning: Verbal/emotional abuse; drug addiction
Mood Spoiler: Slightly hopeful but mostly sad
Original Post: March 5, 2023
My fiancé (m22) was injured over a month ago and had surgery to correct things literally two days after the accident. I (21f) have been my his side the entire time. I have more or less become his caregiver.
In the last month I have taken over the role of keeping our house together. I cook all the meals. I take care of the pets. I stay up all night to tend to his endless needs. I take him to the bathroom. I have been working remote. I haven’t left the house for more than an hour since the accident (aside from taking him to and from appointments). I am not saying this to complain, I am grateful that my life allows for me to support him the way I have.
My problem is his attitude. He was given very strong pain killers for the first two weeks after surgery. He had to extend his time on them and recently stopped taking them in the last week. When he was taking them, he thanked me, told me how much he loved me, apologized at every step, though he didn’t need to. Without the meds he doesn’t seem to see that I am helping him. Every dish I bring him is the wrong one, he will yell for me and when I come he will tell me to “fuck off” if he’s in pain he expects me to fix it. I am exhausted. I can’t do anything right and it is wearing on me. I haven’t slept in weeks. I haven’t seen a friend or family member in way too long. I can’t even be on the phone for more than 10 minutes without it being an issue.
After days of what turned into verbal abuse, I called my MIL. I told her everything as soon as I saw he was asleep. I cried for about 15 minutes. I felt terrible unloading on her like that, but I had so much built up frustration I just couldn’t stop. She was very supportive on the phone, let me know I wasn’t wrong to feel like that., and let me cry. After hearing everything she was furious and ended our call to talk to her son. She tore him an new asshole. I heard him trying to defend himself through the door but it was mostly just stammering.
She flew up yesterday and put me up in a nice hotel. I haven’t heard much from my fiancé since I left but as I was leaving he was yelling at me for calling his mom, he said he didn’t want to marry someone who couldn’t be there for him in sickness. I told him I loved him and I was sorry, I am just so tired. He didn’t care and just told me to go, and his mom could do a better job for him then I ever could.
So now I’m in my way too nice hotel room, feeling like a major AH. I need to know if I am wrong here.
Edit- He began weaning off two weeks ago and became fully dependent on over the counter medication this week. He did not stop taking them cold turkey. His doctors were heavily involved too, due to previous drug abuse.
Edit 2- March 6, 2023 (Next Day)
MIL is taking him back to they’re hometown once they can get flights together. I’ll stay in this hotel until then. Fiancé doesn’t want to talk yet and tbh I don’t blame him, he knows what’s coming and that I am pissed. I’ll go visit him in a week so I have until then to decide how I want to move forward. My mother called last night about a venue she found in my hometown and I told her what’s going on, she doesn’t want to spend a bunch of money on a “pending divorce” so we are stepping back from planning.
Not much more to add, I’m excited to see my pets and be able to sleep in my own bed. I’m going to try to make my sister fly to my state so I can have some company. That’s pretty much it. I’m in serious awe about how I let my life get like this, but oh well. Today will be better.
Relevant Comments:
Is it withdrawal?
"He behaves like this frequently when in pain, just never to this degree. I can promise you that he had been weaned off and would tell me if that’s what he was feeling. I have seen him go through much worse withdrawals when we first met and this isn’t that. He is lashing out on me in pain, which I get. I was the only person around."
"He has a history of drug abuse, I took administration of the pills very seriously. Due to his history we worked very closely with his psychiatric team and the orthopedic to make his weaning period as easy as possible. I should have put that in the post but he did not stop cold turkey."
Is this abnormal?
"He has what some would call a short fuse. Especially with me. Him saying hurtful remarks to me or just blatantly putting me down is not necessarily uncommon and is something we are working on. Prior to this he would apologize and make it up to me, now even when I’m in tears he will just keep laying on insults."
OOP has thoughts later that day:
"Being away and able to process the last month of my life has been eye opening. I couldn’t imagine trying to care for a child under conditions like that. I couldn’t imagine how frustrated I would be. HIs injury is in his arm, he can walk, he can use his left (dominant) hand. I understand that he is in pain and its awful but I have had a friend with much worse injuries help us move! I’m thinking about returning my ring."
OOP is voted NTA
Update in comments (Same Post): March 13, 2023 (8 days later)
"I’ve returned. My last night in the hotel I called my parents to make a plan and it didn’t go well. I’m home with my fiancé again. He wont talk to me except to bark orders at me. I’m hoping I can move out within a month or two. Surgery and recovery are expensive and we have been living on my income for some time and I’m pretty broke but I’m keeping my head up and I’m confident I can get myself out."
Why didn't he go with his mom?
"I know she pushed for him to go home but he is a very stubborn boy. Thank you, I will be okay."
Update Post: March 22, 2023
Updates on AITA seem like a process so I’ll just post here.
I went home two days after posting. Things were sad. My mil had cleaned but the energy in the house was a bummer. The first thing he said to me when I got back was “I’m glad you’re back, can you make me a snack?” There was no apology, no accountability, just a task. He only talked to me when he needed something. His attitude was worsening. My mil took the rest of he prescribed opiates so I knew he wasn’t using.
The weekend following the MIL debacle my wonderful Fiancé told me he had friends coming to stay for the weekend. 2 hour heads up. Didn’t ask. I sighed and made up the guest room. His friend and friends girlfriend came to stay. During the stay my fiancé bought me flowers, got out of bed daily, took me out, and let me call my parents unsupervised. The day they left he was back to bed with a shitty attitude.
I wish I could say I am in my own apartment with my pets and a bottle of rosé that’s just for me. Or with my girlfriends that I haven’t seen in months. Unfortunately I’m writing this on the couch while I listen to the music that are his endless demands. However I do have a light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m scared to leave him in person but he’s leaving the country for a month in April. My sister lives abroad and I’m working on getting to her during that month. It’s a process especially with pets. I look forward to getting there.
My mother hasn’t spoken to me since I told her I was returning the ring because “That’s not we do, we clean our messes.” But I have my fathers unwavering support. I’ll miss my MIL but I deserve that kindness and understanding from my partner, not his mother. I have stopped forcing myself to find the joy in his presence and its helping to fuel my drive to get out of here. I may update again when I get to my sister but don’t be surprised if I do my best to put this chapter behind me.
Thanks for the kind words. I hope you all get the love and hugs you need.
Update in a comment on this post:
Why isn't he with his mom?
"MIL was planning on taking him, he refused. Things got very bad since I posted this. Im currently in my childhood room at my fathers (decently hungover) and I am officially a single lady."
Edit- OOP has added a few new comments to her update post. I have included them here, but A REMINDER that it is against the rules to comment on the original posts.
About "calling her parents unsupervised":
"I called my sister once when I was scared of him awhile back. She called the police. He liked to be in the room when I was talking to family following that incident so I didn’t say anything “dramatic”. I should have seen how bad it was. Typing that out just feels gross."
More about what happened:
"I don’t want to get too into it but we had a bad night. It ended with me locked on the balcony. I still have some bruising. I was able to call my father on my watch and we made a plan to get me home the next morning"
Again, please do not comment on OOP's post. OOP, please know we sincerely wish you the best. Please continue to be kind to yourself and take care of yourself!

Quick note: I’m double vaxxed and have both boosters. I will continue to receive boosters if medical professionals recommend it. Please don’t comment “you shouldn’t be scared to get vaccinated.” I’m not.
Okay, anyway, here’s my story.
I got my first dose (Pfizer) of the COVID-19 vaccine in March 2021. Over the next 6 days, I started developing some sort of weird illness. Basically, I had an intense stomachache (not other digestive issues). I ended up going to the urgent care, and I was diagnosed with stomach ulcers.
I thought it was really just a coincidence. I got my second dose (Pfizer) with no issues. Then in November 2021, I got my first booster. My ulcer symptoms started shortly after that. I did not seek medical care (I really should’ve) and instead used some OTC meds such as Pepcid. It should be noted I did not have any symptoms between these two flairs and none since, including after my second booster.
Anyway, I reported this all via the V-Safe program. In April 2022, I recovers a call with a caller ID of CDC. Thought it was a scam, went to voicemail, and it was actually the CDC. I ended up reporting everything on the website they provided me.
Again, I’m pro-vax. I do not regret reviving any doses and will continue to seek doses as needed. I just wanted to share my story because I think it’s interesting, and I haven’t heard anybody share similar symptoms.

I'm just curious if it's worth it to find a primary care physician near me. I never found one after I moved to this area and have only used the local urgent care on the rare occasions I need to see a physician. I used to have frequent migraines and headaches and was in and out of neurologists from like 7th-10th grade. I then developed ocular migraines which result in temporary vision loss around age 16. They subsided a lot and I was tired of being on medications that never worked so I just stopped seeking answers beyond "chronic headaches and migraines." Lately, the vision loss has been more prevalent. It hadn't happened in years really until the last year or so and it no longer happens with headaches. It has been happening multiple times a week to a couple times a day for a few months and lasts anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Any ideas? Is it even worth the headache of finding a primary care physician and then going to numerous specialists for tests I've already had done a dozen times?
Note: my eyes are fine. I saw an optometrist in December and my vision is still just fine and has been my entire life. Well other than the vision loss and occasional blurred vision. But from an eye standpoint, it's not that.

42F 145lb, 5'3, maybe cellulitis, hoping it's not worse. NP called it skin issues. I googled symptoms (I'm the worst at that, sorry), so I'm worried since it's not getting better. Had some sinus issues recently as I was sick with a low fever last week - upper respiratory, congestion, sore throat, cough. Now I have swollen lymph nodes on the same side as this swollen, painful bump near my eye. I feel like I might be getting another one on my cheek (some swelling and pain today). I got antibiotics last night (Monday) from an urgent care who said it's possible I had strep though the strep line was really faint. This all started Saturday - woke up with swelling near my eye, then Sunday had swollen lymph nodes. https://imgur.com/a/EmXzura
edit: to mention it has gotten a bit worse since yesterday but lymph nodes have calmed a little

I want to start by saying that after all of this, the person mainly involved in this story is someone whom I still have some degree of appreciation for due to how they helped me when I was unemployed for years of my life.
​
That being said, this is going to be a long one.
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Back in 2018, I was hired by a company that was pretty much just starting up. The company does official repairs on Apple products and I was hired as a technician to help maintain the volume of repairs in control. Back then, there was only 1 technician working there and then there was the owner who was the person who called me and asked me to come in. I knew the owner from my previous job experience at another company that performed official Apple repairs. When I worked for this company, the owner would come in and bring devices in bulk for us to repair so they could resell them. That's how they remembered me and they found me on LinkedIn for the sole purpose of asking me to come in and help out at this new company they have started. The problem with this, initially, was the only other tech there was not informed of this or consulted. From what I learned, the other tech had been working there for a long time and, because there was no one to cover for them, they hadn't been able to take a vacation or some days off. It got to the point that the other tech forced their time off and vacation so the owner was probably forced in getting someone to cover for them. So I did.
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It was hard to cover for someone when you do not know the nuances and procedures that needed to be followed in order to do things properly. The other tech was not there, and the owner had NO idea on how things were ran or what to do in specific situations, so my new coworker was forced to call me and just explain some things I needed to do to keep some form of order there. The days passed and my new coworker finally came back from their vacation, so things got better.
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There is one key thing about this person though that I did not mention. I have worked with them before at the same job I met the owner! I worked with them for about a year because they were fired due to a sudden change in leadership at my previous job. They were fired due to being unable to attend a meeting with the new owner of that company. Yes... They were on vacation then too. Anyways.
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As days passed at my new job, some issues with the location we were in began to boil up. The place that was rented for our business was shared with another company and the two owners butted heads with one another about some things. I was never clear on that, but it culminated in the owner of my company, now my boss, starting to scout out for a new place to be. During this process and the changes to come, I was asked not to come to work again and that they would be in contacted with me in a few weeks or a month to see whether I would return. The remaining tech helped a lot with the move and relocation of the business, new people were hired to help out and it eventually became a more proper repair shop. It took some time, but I was eventually called back to work there again.
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It is now somewhere in 2019. The business is going fine. Obviously, the first tech at the company was the one in charge and taking care of the administrative side of things, working directly with my boss to manage the business. I was solely a tech and worked on fixing what needed to be fixed. A point came in which I mainly focused on fixing iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, Watches, etc) and the other two techs there (a third was hired) would do the computers. Of course, I would help out whenever the queue would get busy on the Mac side of things; though rarely came the time I would get help when my queue of iOS devices got high. Either way, that's how it was.
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As time passed and we continued to work, I started to notice a change in the lead tech's behavior. They would space out more and go on break for a full hour, and even lock themselves in the bathroom to smoke marijuana (right inside of the business), and even began to yell more often and treat us all bad. The tech room would often reek of it, and that's just always a smell that I really disliked, but what could I do? An additional thing about my coworker's personality is that things had to be done their way and it was often pretty difficult to convince them otherwise. We had different ideas sometimes, and we often argued a lot about it. I started to speak with my boss directly more often and they agreed that how the lead tech was beginning to treat all of us was just not right and that they were aware of them being absent for such long periods of time. My boss was no longer very happy with how things were going with them, so new people were hired with the goal that the lead tech was going to be eventually fired. They also explained to me they never liked saying who was above anyone else, that we should not worry about job titles, that we work together as a team and that there is no one in charge. I, amongst my other coworkers, found this to be very odd, but we shrugged it off. This is more relevant further down the story.
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The day they were fired was a chaotic one because it meant someone had to immediately assume all of the administrative responsibilities that they were in charge of. The person to do that was me, but I was never formally trained on how to do it and I was forced to rely solely on my previous experiences along with my intuition on how things worked. Not to mention, it was now early 2020 and we were in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, so special considerations and changes were needed to accommodate the changing work environment. Luckily, I had a pretty good understanding and knowledge on how the system we used for ticket, customer, and inventory tracking worked, so I was able to learn more from there. The new person that was hired during this transitional period is very important for later in the story, so keep in the mind! Anyways, I was swarmed with a list of new tasks and responsibilities, but I also got a pay raise, so I felt it was worth it at the time. I then started to work heavily on making sense of the system and logistically connect modules with each other to form procedures with the aim of reducing the time customers take during the initial check in. I built the company a PHP form so customer can directly enter their details into the system along with the ability for them to provide a signature to our terms & conditions without the need of the person at the front desk to do it for them manually. (Yes, we also had a receptionist by then). Other changes that helped us all out were made and all of them made things better one way or another.
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More time passed, we continued to work and push the business forward. I was now working directly with my boss to handle the administrative side of the company. I was fully in charge of the system, making changes how I saw fit. I tried to explain to my boss why the changes needed to happen, but they never seemed to understand much on how everything worked, so they left it to me and my best judgement. It was during this time, after many meetings with them, that I started to see just how out of touch and unsynchronized with how our repair process worked. They didn't even know how to properly take care of a customer at the front, something that still holds true today! Albeit, not as bad as it was. Anyway. I began to pick up on these things and we started to argue about it; they would always do most of the talking and I would listen, but I would later reflect on what we talked and then I would give my opinion. A time came in which they decided to get someone else to take the helm on the administrative side of things because they were not seeing any "progress". I was still held highly and worked closely with whom they hired next to do said job.
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To cut down a bit from the story, about 3 different people came in to do the admin side, all of which left because they saw quickly how it was to work with my boss. After the third person left, I had told them that this fourth person coming in would be the last time that I would invest in explaining how everything worked. After all, for each of those people, I had to sit one-on-one with them and basically onboard them on the processes and procedures that needed to be followed in order to keep our account in good standing and maintain our system with minimal errors. As you all may imagine, it is very tiring to have to do this process over and over again after you have your hopes up that this FINALLY may be the person to be able to properly work with my boss and maintained things how they needed to be maintained. But nope. They left as well.
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I should have left right then and there, given my two weeks, and begun my search for a new job. You see, another major factor that had me rethinking things about this job was the very fact that, from the start, we all were paid with a 1099 (AKA Independent Contractors) and not with W2s. The duties and responsibilities we had at this job demanded for a W2, but since the company was fairly small and not well-established yet, we were always lenient on demanding this from our employer; however, we were always hopeful that the day would come this could be implemented. There was a very short period in which it was implemented, a whole two weeks! Then it was removed. It never was implemented again, but I stayed regardless now solely based on the fact that I considered my boss to still be a good, honest person who was just having a really tough time keeping things afloat and just doing what they could to help all of us out. (After all, they DID hire me when I was not working for years before, so I cannot be gracious enough to them about that). We still managed to work out through it, and my boss had brought someone from their own family to help out; that person lasted a month! And they left like everyone else.
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It was around this time that the coworker mentioned from earlier (the one that was mostly hired to fire the one who smoked marijuana) was given the "helm" per say (even though my boss never liked to say it officially), so I began to butt heads with this coworker because they were under the impression that the situation at the workplace stemmed from my inability to be firm and take charge. Sure, I was not the most firm and demanding person, but how could I ever go against the wishes of my boss? The new coworker in charge began to speak more directly with my boss while I started to go back to being a technician and helping out with the queue. I was still consulted when they were going to make big changes, but no more than that. Even though I was fuming at the current changes that were being made, because I honestly thought I had done nothing wrong and people who were previously hired to do the admin job leaving because of my boss was a clear testament to that, I managed to collect myself and eventually work together with my coworker to both challenge our boss on their unproductive ideas. We started to work together, and instead of my coworker being fully in charge, we started to see it as we both were in charge. My coworker handled more of the workload distribution, and tech room management while I handled administrative tasks such as checking for errors in the system and fix discrepancies.
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One thing I forgot to mention was that the system always had errors (as does any system in any company) but I kept those errors to a bare minimum, I'd say about 10% of it had errors that were not fixed; however, there was a time in which I was asked to no longer do that activity, so pretty much being forced to stop. When I did that, errors skyrocketed and it was just so bad that they had to put me back to do it.
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To no one's surprise, my coworker eventually got really fed up with my boss. It got to the point that the few of us who worked there formed a WhatsApp group solely so we can talk amongst ourselves about how things were never going to improve and that this was all for nothing. We talked shit, you know, to vent our frustrations about the environment we worked in. Specially since about 70% of meetings we had with our boss, both 1-on-1 and as a team, would result in screaming and one of us walking out of the meeting angrily. It was just demoralizing and just plainly... sad. My boss also began to hire people without consulting us first, and expect us to train them so they can help out; something we did the first few times this happened, but we stopped nearing the end. My coworker eventually gave their two weeks' notice and my boss, well, they didn't react well. The notice was given to them on a Friday, and my coworker was fired that very Sunday. No notice, no extra time. Just plain gone along with an additional coworker. I later found out that the main motivation behind the firings was the sheer fact that they participated a lot in talking crap about my boss. I was just speechless and angrier than I have ever been.
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The following Monday, I come in and I have a 1-on-1 meeting with my boss. We had sat together before and discussed some key changes that I needed for them to make in order to remain employed at their company. I had asked them to provide me with a proper W2, and another pay raise since it had been two years before my previous one. In the meeting we had that Monday, they pretty much told me that my pay raise was still "under review" and that a new person they had hired that very Monday was going to "supervise" me and that I had to work closely with them and my boss to move things along. I mentally checked out as I heard them talk and for the rest of the day, I focused my efforts in gathering all the files and documents I had for the company, make sure I didn't have extra copies of sensitive information such as payroll or client data (I kept track of all the things related to the company and did all of the hours for the employees). I copied it all to an external drive for my boss. The thing about that Monday, though, is that amidst this new drama that had come up, our boss had failed to pay us. Our pay always came on a Friday, bi-weekly, and they had not paid us when we were due that day... a recurring theme if I am to be honest. Our boss, more often that not, was always late on paying us when we were due; what I did on that Monday was told my boss that I urgently needed my full pay because I had payments coming up and I didn't have enough to cover them, so they agreed to take me to the bank directly themselves so I could deposit a check that had my full amount due written on it. (I do not drive.)
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Once I made sure my payment was made in full and I copied all of the data relevant for my boss to continue their business, I quit. On the spot. I had called my mom earlier to come pick me up and wanted to wait for her to be outside so I didn't have to wait like an idiot after resigning like that. This is not the end of the story, though! You see, our company always had a "week in reserve" of pay for employees so the company could have some leverage to make sure employees do not take advantage of the company if they get fired or they decide to quit. (Things like taking assets of the company with them without permission), but they were always paid once my boss made sure that none of that was taking place. For my coworkers who were fired, they put their accounts and payments up to date in just a couple of days. With me, though, not so much. I had the misfortune of having experienced some recent damages to devices that were brought in for repair, two consecutive ones at that, and of course I assumed all responsibility for those damages and owned up to my mistakes when they happened. Not for it to be an excuse, but I was under a lot of pressure during that time due to all the things that were happening at the company and was not very careful with those repairs, but I digress. My bad. I took this into consideration before leaving though, and was well aware that the amount of the parts used to fix my mistakes would be deducted from my last week's pay, so I was fine with that.
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What I was NOT fine with was that, almost half a year ago, there was another incident caused by me in which the volume flex cable of an iPhone XS was torn. A $6 part, mind you. The repair cost for this is, at the very most, $80, but my boss decided to handle it differently. They decided to purchase the device from the customer it belonged to for a whopping $250, which is the price the customer (a vendor, really) could sell the phone for. My boss thought it would be a good idea to pass down those $250 down to me and for my last week's pay to cover it when, again, they failed to listen to me that it could simply be repaired for much less. They just needed to take the phone to a different shop because that type of repair was not done at our store; and I told them I would cover the costs of that. In addition to all of this, they also decided that they would charge me an extra $50 for ordering duplicate tools that we already had at the store. Sure, it sucks extra tools were ordered when they are not immediately needed, but the fact stands the tools are there for company use. They are NOT broken or missing.
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The day I quite was on March 6, 2023 and, so fairly recent. My boss now has some people there working for them and trying to hold everything together with that new person they hired on that fateful Monday to "supervise" me along with those two people they hired a few months back without consulting us (one of whom has no idea what to do, and constantly makes mistakes). The employee that works as a receptionist there is leaving soon as well.
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But yeah, that's my story. My boss still owes me the money for my last week's pay and I am actively looking for a new, better job. Wish me luck, guys! Thank you for reading, I know this was a long post. Also, I would like to take a quick moment to say I have not actively participated in forums before (Including Reddit) so hopefully I didn't do anything wrong by writing this post. I just needed to put my thoughts in writing and for other people to understand my perspective on things.

Hey everyone- I’m new (ish) here. Backstory- had Covid Dec 2020
Nov 2021 I thought I was having an allergic reaction - sore throat and my lips were double the size. I went to urgent care and they said I had strep throat and the lips were a new immune response my body had picked up since having Covid - yay me right? They blew up, cracked, blistered, etc. they healed after about a week of antibiotics.
June 2022- it started happening again- I took amoxicillin and moved along with my life and it was gone in a week.
October 2022 I started mounjaro , a glp1 medicine similar to Ozempic and wegovy that delays gastric emptying and I guess can weaken your immune system
Feb 2023- lips blew up again with blisters BUT I had 15+ canker sores inside my mouth. I couldn’t eat, talk, even drinking hurt. Urgent care said it was a mystery— set an appt with a primary care Dr. She did a blood test and I have hsv1 presenting as oral herpes. She gave me antivirals but I was already 7 days into my outbreak. By day 10-12 I had finally cleared up.
March 2023- only 1 month later- I’m having a breakout again. I was proactive and got antivirals quickly but I’m on day 6 today and my 2nd 5 day course of antivirals.
I’m thinking because of the delayed gastric processing, antivirals aren’t as effective for me because the virus has so much time to infiltrate before the meds start absorbing— they may not even be absorbing entirely. I did read that antibiotics & birth control pills won’t be as effective for this same reason so it makes sense I suppose.
I think I may just start taking daily antivirals so they stay in my system constantly.
Anyone else experience anything similar? I’m not ready to give up the mounjaro yet though cause I’m 44lbs down since October and only about 7-10 lbs from my goal weight.

I’m interested in practicing medicine across different settings in my life, and I’ve heard that IM allows physicians to do the following:
-hospitalist -practice in the ER -practice at an urgent care -do any number of fellowships
Is it possible to work in the ER with an IM residency?

Has anybody been able to get the VA to pay for a DOT physical at urgent care? If so what is the process? I'm still waiting on a call back from my primary care.

HIIIIiiiiiiiiiii Arts students!! How are you all feeling? Wishing you all great luck with final exams and assignments! Proud of you all for making it so far ✨
As you have probably seen the elections for the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) started, which means everyone is gonna spam you with their campaigns (but that’s with good intentions of course).
My name is Anna (she/her), and I’m reaching out to you as an AMS Representative candidate. To be your voice at the AMS Council - or as many say “bridge between AUS and AMS, your UBC Student Union”
In addition to presenting you with my bio and platform, first and foremost I wanted to ask your thoughts on AMS, what you like/dislike about them? Or have any questions about the purpose of the organization and/or their advocacy? Or what needs have to be urgently addressed to the Council? Or just any comments or funny tiktok memes hahahaha.
So…. Academically, I’m a 3rd year Media Studies student.Outside of school, I’m a Founder and President of the UBC Ukrainian Student Union. This year together with the team we worked hard on increasing awareness of the Ukrainian community on campus. And I advocated the AMS and UBC Administration to put student concerns at the forefront.And lastly, I’m working at the AMS right now in the Marketing and Communications Office. As a social media coordinator, I tried to feature as many valuable AMS resources and services to students. This past year has been an incredible opportunity for me to learn all the insider AMS things and how the student union operates.
My primary campaign goals are to enhance AMS’s relationship with students and ensure AMS fulfill their promises to us (e.g. fair and caring student consultation, food affordability, mental health, climate and social justice). The whole platform can be found here https://www.annshubina.com/
VOTING starts on MARCH 29-APRIL 4 https://amsvoting.as.it.ubc.ca/MAKE SURE TO PUT “YES” ON FOOD HUB REFERENDUM to promote food security on campus.
Follow AUS Elections on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ubcaus/ and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ubcauselections

I wanted to wait a few days to make sure all of my amazing results were actually real? I’m still worried they aren’t but I feel really really good.
Results/Anxiety: My sleep test results were an AHI of 41.8/OX dropped to 81%. My doctor said at that level your body is getting pumped with the stress hormone cortisol all night. And that makes sense because of how I felt when I woke up. I had extreme nightmares every single night for as long as I can remember and thought it was just childhood trauma (foster care). And I would wake up and have to talk myself down from a panic attack every morning. My anxiety during the day was an average of 7/10. I’ve been in therapy for two years to try and manage this without medication.
Y’all I have almost no anxiety now. It’s almost making me anxious itself because I feel so different and don’t want to go back to how I used to feel. I’m a 1-3/10 anxiety all day and I wake up just feeling… fine. I’ve only had a mild nightmare 1/4 nights. Has anyone else had this relief… and will it last forever?
Full Face Mask (Amara): I was told I need a full face mask as a mouth breather or the thing wouldn’t work. When the technician first put on the APAP ResMed 10 it gave me anxiety and I almost felt like I was drowning. It adjusts!!! I wore it in bed watching tv while I was sleepy the first night and it was totally fine after it adjusted and stopped feeling like someone was forcing air into my mouth and nose. I’m also less scared about having a perfect seal by tossing and turning. That thing stays on and does it’s job and the tube travels with it just fine for the most part.
Mask Issues: I don’t like when it wakes me up when the seal breaks from side sleeping and it feels like a cold blowdryer level of air is blasted on my face. And the exhaust holes constantly feel like a tiny air conditioner is pointed blowing in between my eyebrows? Other full mask model recommendations appreciated.
Constipation/Heartburn: I used to have to poop IMMEDIATELY when I first woke up. It’s less urgent and the first two mornings were difficult and constipated which I’ve never experienced (31/yo). It’s getting more regular, night 4, but still no urgency. I also had pizza one night, which would always give me horrible heartburn in the middle of the night, and I didn’t even need to take an antacid and I was totally fine.

23M, 135lb 5’7, occasional smoker, barely drink alcohol (1x month at most).
Throughout high school, I would get stress related anxiety & it would affect my body (random diarrhea, dizziness, lack of appetite, and even low fevers). My body would make itself sick to avoid going to school. These occurrences went away as soon as I graduated and moved out of state few years ago, however I would still get some of these symptoms time to time (even on my happy days where I found no reason why I would be stressed).
About a year ago, I started to experience stomach and chest pains nothing like the occurrences above. Now what is interesting is - I love my life, I love my job, and I am happy with where I am. Of course I still have some stress or anxiety - I am only pointing this out because I want you to know that I acknowledge I do have anxiety, I just don’t entirely believe it would be the cause or was it ever? I am just so traumatized being told it is only anxiety. Around this time I went to my PCP complaining about my gas pains but he had prompted me to visit the ER immediately in case I had kidney stones blocking my bile duct since my symptoms and pain from his examination on my stomach was a good guess. I thought to myself: finally something that isn’t in my head.
When I went to the ER - doctors basically laughed at me when I told them my PCP advised for me to go in since he said urgent care was not enough and radiology was closed. They kept calling it “excessive gas” and I demanded a CT scan or an Ultrasound which my PCP told me I should receive. They agreed to the ultrasound only and found nothing, brushed it off and called it excessive gas. I was discharged and even became embarrassed to return to my PCP so I took matter into my own hands.
I started taking cranberry supplements, multivitamins (I thought I wasn’t nutritious enough lol), and the ER recommended these chemical powder fibers but I opted for the all-natural psyllium husks with no additives. Of course I did not see any kind of change but continued for about six months “in case” it took time. I had also taken milk magnesia which definitely satisfies me lol, but no improvement. I ignored my symptoms telling myself it is only anxiety. IBS, Celiac, and Lactose intolerance were also ruled out as I went on a diet to find out.
This reminds me of when I was in middle school, my parents thought I had appendicitis - but they only found swollen lymph nodes and no other reasons besides stress and that I didn’t want to go to school and sent me home.
Doctors also almost every time seem to find that I have mildly swollen lymph nodes but all of my blood tests come clean so they say it is stress - send me home with ibuprofen and rest. Some conflicts there since it can be stress related causing the swelling but in general stress shouldn’t cause it (correct me if I’m wrong) - makes it hard for me to believe what my doctors have said.
Anyway, after those six months of continuous fiber and cranberry - I do not see any improvement in my digestion, stomach pain, and now chest pains. The ER did confirm my lungs were clear and my heart looked good.
My chest and stomach pains feel muscle related. I always freak about a pneumothorax as I’ll feel bubbles around my left side between my lung and stomach. The feeling of muscle strain happens between my left armpit - down the side of my chest and to the middle of my stomach. I do not exercise like a gym rat but I believe I do have enough exercise daily via walking opting for stairs etc - I have perfect BMI as well. I understand I may have muscle strains, but the same sensation on and off for years with no findings of regular occurring triggers makes no sense. It would make sense if I picked up boxes every day or strained a muscle from working out etc but I do not see a reason for a muscle strain especially one that crosses my body like that.
I won’t lie - when I feel chest pain I always freak and it becomes worse - but I only freak because there is no explanation lol. After I calm down, it is still there and it will come back worse then better then worse and so on every day or two - on and off.
What do you think? Even my friends urge me I should get an opinion in Mexico - I’m not against the idea, just really? They claim doctors in a good hospital listen to their patients more than in America where doctors go by the pharma book. I want to go to Mexico to vacation not for medical treatment lol. I am seriously considering it though, just a little check up and ask some questions. I do travel to Mexico frequently but no one here has found a reason for it to be a cause (bacteria parasites etc). Food does not bother me, only had one bad experience but that went away within a day. But seriously. What do you think? If it’s really all just plain old anxiety - what can I do?

Context: small bump on my anus that arose 3 days ago. When I clench I can feel it (1-10 pain), when I poop (2-10), and when I wipe (4-10).
I took a video with my phone and it is slightly darker. It's tiny, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 the size of a pea.
I don't have a primary care physician to refer me, and I'm concerned if I go to urgent care they'll be inexperienced or unnecessarily enter into a draining procedure.
Thoughts? I'm trying to drink a boatload of water, eat lots of fiber, healthy diet overall, and high quality turmeric supplements to reduce inflammation (in auruveda turmeric is used to support).
Just noticed this 3 days ago, and the wormhole of google quickly found me here...

I want to triple check. Is this safe on effexor? Anyone else take this? I am going to urgent care tomorrow but dear lord... I am in so much discomfort from this sinus infection.
Thanks for any advice!

It's common knowledge that our Medicare system is under constant threat and underfunding, but I wanted to share my experience the last couple of days.
I just had my appendix removed last night due to acute appendicitis, and was discharged from hospital this morning.
I started having severe stomach pains Sunday morning and went to my local GP on Monday afternoon when they persisted to get it checked out, was referred for an urgent CT scan within an hour of my appointment, and got the results back from that within 30 minutes and was on my way to ER.
There was a fair wait in ER, it was very busy for a Monday night, so I ended up waiting for about 5 hours to be seen, but my pain wasn't serious and the CT scan showed that my appendix hadn't ruptured yet so I was content to wait for more serious patients first.
I was assigned a hospital bed that night, and had my surgery performed yesterday afternoon under general anaesthetic with no complications, and everything was smooth. The nurses and surgeons were fantastic and incredibly helpful, despite how busy they were, and I have nothing but kind words for all of them, especially the overnight nurses who were so kind when I was calling them for pain relief and other things all night.
I was discharged earlier today, and my total costs came out to $29.20 for four sets of prescriptions, and that's it. As someone who is dead broke right now, being able to have everything from the GP consultation to the CT scan to the surgery be 100% covered was a literal lifesaver, as a casual student I barely have more than $200 to my name right now, and I'm so grateful for our healthcare system.
Without Medicare I'm not sure I would have even been able to afford to see a doctor and be diagnosed, and likely would have put it off in the hopes it got better, whereas instead it was dealt with quickly before it became serious. It's not perfect, and it's struggling recently, but it's still a fantastic service that we should all care for.
I don't mean this to become political, but Medicare is something I will fight for keeping and improving until the day I die, the amount of good it does, especially for people like myself who are relatively poor, is immense.
I'm now at home dosed up on painkillers and trying to recover as quickly as I can.
Massive shout out to the nurses and doctors and everybody who works in public healthcare, the abuse I saw some of the triage nurses cop on Monday night made me so angry, and this experience has left me feeling so emotional about the whole ordeal. You guys do fantastic work and I'm so appreciative of it ❤❤❤ you're all amazing and you deserve all the pay rises and improved conditions you're fighting for 100x over.
Peace and love to all of you, I hope your week is off to a better start than mine!

Hello! The following post is something i’m never doing again and I recognize how stupid what I did is.
Last Sunday around 9AM my friends and I were inhaling out of one of the mini tanks you get from the gas station. You just twist the top and inhale. I don’t know what I did wrong but I went to take one and a load of nitrous shot into my mouth and I messed my mouth and throat up. My uvula, right tonsil, and a patch of the roof of my mouth are all now white, painful, and swollen. It is super painful to swallow and in the mornings the pain is at a 8 or 9. It has been about 58 hours since the initial incident and it is still hurting. My voice is very hoarse and it hurts to talk too. It only hurts from using my throat for swallowing or talking and the pain is consistently a scale of 7 or 8 but more leaning to eight. Doing salt water rinses here and there, drinking lots of tea, sucking on CVS sore throat lozengers (benzocaine and menthol), and using Vicks vapocool sore throat spray. Just began doing most of this yesterday. Urgent care is so expensive and I just want to heal it on my own but don’t know if it’s necessary.😒 Anyone experience this before or have any helpful information?

The past couple of days have been a shit show and this sub seems like the only one who understands.
I know my puppy is a baby, even if I did have to write myself a post-it note to remind myself of that. I know he is probably teething like a mf right now. I know that he is still learning to be on this planet, let alone anything else. But, geez, I wish I had a camera or some shit to see a snapshot of the future so I could know, for sure, everything will be okay. Because, right now, it really doesn’t feel like it will be. He gets enforced naps, two hours down (give or take 15 or so minutes), and an hour to 1.5 hours up. He does pretty well with this and will usually settle down relatively quickly for his nap. It’s the hour when he is up right now that gets so damn grrrrrr.
I feel like I live in a landmine zone of nothing but shit that will overstimulate him almost as soon as he is awake and goes outside for his walks. There are several stray cats in the area and the local animal control is constantly full and really doesn’t do anything to work on this issue since they apparently live in a cat colony somewhere in the area. So, at almost all hours of the day, there is a cat (or 2 or 3) in the immediate area that triggers him to the point it is so hard to work on keeping his attention to just get out the door without him going into crazy mode. But let’s say we get past the door without the cats, there’s the rocks on the path out of the driveway that I am constantly having to stop and pull out of his mouth which makes him mad and then he starts jumping around and biting and pulling on his leash. There are apparently no treats better than the taste and feel of a good rock in the jaw. But let’s say we can get past the driveway without crazy mode activating. There’s the neighbor in front of me with the kids who scream and run toward us while the neighbor beside them has three dogs who bark and bite and growl at the fence while another neighbor is constantly driving up and down the street with his backfiring motorbike while another neighbor revs his motorcycle almost all day and somewhere in the area is a shooting range I guess.
So as soon as we get out the door, it’s chaos. Unless it’s 3am. Then that’s pretty chill.
I would put him in the car and take him somewhere a little less stimulating for his potty breaks and walking time but that’s not really feasible since I WFH and I use his up times to also take my own potty breaks, get food, try and throw a load of laundry on, or something.
But even without the overstimulating walks, it seems like anything puts him in crazy mode. Toss the ball one too many times? Crazy mode. Too much time tearing up a cardboard box with treats in it? Crazy mode. Too many minutes working on training? Crazy mode. No, sir, you can’t eat the couch today? Crazy mode. It honestly feels like if he is not asleep then he’s overstimulated.
If I am not working or playing with / taking care of my puppy then I am trying to cram in looking at training videos or reading one of the books I have seen suggested on the sub before about enrichment, training, and such. Right now, finances are tough so I don’t have the money for a personal trainer or behaviorist atm. And, honestly, I feel like most of this is just him being a puppy. I just feel like everything feels so urgent to get trained or worked on that I flounder around.
Don’t get me wrong, he is a good puppy and so smart. I don’t have even half of the potty training issues I have seen others have and any accidents he’s had in the last couple of weeks have been my fault because I didn’t have my shit together and to the door fast enough. He sleeps through the night about 99% of the time and pretty much has since he was 8 weeks old. He knows several things like sit, down, and touch.
Just the last couple of days have been difficult and I don’t feel like a person anymore right now just a bot that works between wrangling a little four-legged psychopath and then sleeping to get up and do it all over again.
Sorry for the wall of text, I am just really having a hard time seeing through to the other side tonight and everything feels like a mistake. I just needed to get that out to others who may understand.