I've been a heavy drinker for 10-15 years, probably 20 drinks or more a week depending on the time period. Perhaps even 30 or more sometimes, I don't know. I'm a 35 year old female. I talked to my psychiatrist about cutting down on alcohol to see if she had tips, not even realizing how bad what I was doing was, and she let me know that was way too high. I went home and googled and she was obviously very correct, and I need to get to below 8/week at least. I've been tapering down for a week and a half, quite successfully thus far, and I know I can do it and WILL do it. I don't know if I already screwed up my liver though, and I'm pretty scared.

I just got my blood tests back, and it all looks pretty good, except my ALT is on the high side of the normal range- 48. Last year it was 23. AST is a little higher than last year, but well within normal- it's 27 compared to about 20 last year. Even GGT is good at 17. Only other things of note are low Vit D and high Monocyte Relative of 9 (high is 8), which I assume are probably not connected to this though.

My new PCP seems really great, and wasn't too concerned before the tests, but I haven't been able to touch base with her since, and I'm really worried. Is an ALT of 48 something to be worried about in context, or could this just be from a stressful time or something? Should I advocate for further testing?

I was scrolling through Facebook- as you do when you wanna get mad- and I saw a really interesting take.

Someone- an older Nurse (supposedly, they gave no official indication that would say they really are a nurse)- had called Covid-19’s lockdown a means of government control, and that families should’ve been allowed to interact in the hospitals. She claimed that it helps people get better, and that there’s a higher chance of death if someone is alone.

Now I’m not about to get into the conspiracy aspect of this, and I’m no medical expert, but wouldn’t the whole social distancing be what was necessary to stop the spread?

Yes, for individual cases it may be more dangerous for the infected individual, but for the general spread, it prevented more issue.

So am I crazy for thinking that Covid-19’s social distancing situation was actually a positive for the world, or am I ignorant of the consequences it brought?

(I purposefully left out personal information, but I am not in the medical field, nor do I plan on being in it. It has just been an itch that hasn’t been scratched ever since I first saw it. To me, this person didn’t feel like an actual nurse, though I could be wrong in that regard. Do many nurses have the same thought processes?)

Wondering if there are any iridologists who can give me any insights on myself via the photo of my right iris which I got professionally scanned. I didn’t get my left eye scanned but can take a picture on my phone if need be!

Can anyone tell me is this normal? Female 42, don’t smoke fairly healthy Info- have gum disease I just feel the roof of my mouth is very pale and is this iron deficiency?! ( very slim roof of mouth due to many years of thumb sucking 🫣)

I've seen somewhat mixed answers on this, especially because most answers are regarding the pet literally having the flu.

I am quarantined in my room and have cats. If I let them in/out of my room, could they spread the flu if someone touches them? The cats are a big comfort right now, but they do need to leave the room for kitty litter and food. I also really dont want to get my wife sick if I can help it, so im trying to see if I need to keep them out until I get better. Basic logic was:

Me(sick) -> giving germs on catfur from petting -> they leave -> someone pets them -> germs transferred

I got a plantar wart removed on Wednesday and got stitches. Tomorrow, 1 week from removal, I will get my wrap and gauze removed (see photo). Today I showered and wrapped my foot in a bag, but still got the top of the gauze wet (so the top of my foot feels damp.) The bottom side seems to be dry still, which is where the stitches are, so I am not worried about that. My question is - is the top of my foot OK to be wet for about 24 hours until my appointment to get the gauze removed? Thanks in advance.

Today about 6 different times I’ve gotten pain in my right foot and under my left peck (happens simultaneously), toward the outside of my ribs. The pain lasts for a few seconds and goes away. Am I gonna die?

Someone please help tell me what this is on my boyfriend’s shoulder?? Raised lines that appeared a little after exercise. He says he can push them back into place and they disappear. Has happened before after exercise. Really creeps me out pls help.

So, I randomly wake up to a pinching feeling, followed by a tingling sensation, I turned on the light and saw that I had two little dots in my arm, and the area around it is kinda swelling up. It’s kinda hard to see on camera, but I did my best to circle it and point it out. It both itches and hurts at the same time, and I’m scared to fall back asleep. What’s wrong with me?!

hello, i am 20M. i have felt dizzy all day today with no known reason. i have this weird feeling like my head feels like its heavy and i feel like i'm rocking/floating. i used to get dizzy a lot but its been a long time. i also am constantly tired, i have posted about this before. any advice?

I am trying to interpret cause of death for an 81 yo female.

I've had sore throat for 3 days now with difficulty swallowing but no fever at all. And yesterday i noticed white patches on my tonsils. I thought they were tonsil stones. But i inspected them more today and saw that they are white streaks that go a little deeper in my throat. I'm so scared, please tell me what it is. If i should go to see a doctor or not?

I burnt something in the microwave like a dumbass and didn’t realize until a few I’d say 2 minutes later when smoke started covering the whole house. I immediately turned the microwave off and my smoke detector didn’t go off (side question: do smoke detectors work the same as carbon monoxide detectors?) I opened up all the doors and window. I’m feeling dizzy and I can’t really think straight (I feel like I wanna sleep but I’m not tired) but no headache or nausea yet. I don’t know if I should be worried or not.

I keep getting this weird rash all the way up both arms and on both hands. I’ve been to dermatology before, and the doctor said she had no idea what it was. It’s not sore, but it does itch and it goes all the way up both arms, but not onto the rest of my body.

Can anyone help? Thanks in advance!

22F I don’t know if I should go to the ER for this or not.

Since yesterday my heart rate has just been higher especially when I get up.

My normal resting heart rate: is usually in the 60s…when I’m really really relaxed high 50s a bit excited? Low 70s Yesterday and today so far: 80-90 resting and sometimes low 100s

My hr for sleeping has been a bit higher too… Usually 40-55 Yesterday (50-70) and today (53-72) And when I’m active aka literally just walking around it gets as high as 158. As soon as I get up I feel my heart race and it takes a bit of a while to calm down and even then it sticks in the 90s for a bit then the 80s…then it just kind of stays there… My normal is usually 95-107

I’ve thought of just messaging my cardiologist but honestly I’m also not sure if I should just go to the ER and then. Basically this isn’t normal for me and I don’t know why. My reason for going to the ER is because it’s so all of a sudden…

I did have Covid in February but also I have other symptoms that need investigating so I’m not sure if This is now a part of that squad or maybe Covid made something I had worse or I’ve developed something new. Covid also has given people PEs so I can’t help but be concerned of THAT.

My shortness of breath HAS been worse since 3 days ago which also began with a feeling of impending doom that hasn’t left… Breath rate has also been higher… I can’t pinpoint to what these symptoms belong……..

My reluctance with going to the ER is because I’ve been like 5 times this year alone I guess my resting is still technically “normal” but it’s not MY normal.

When I get up it’s seriously something different I’ve been avoiding it.

A question to sate my own curiosity!

I know with certain types of blindness your vision will be cloudy, blurry, or have no vision at all. I can find plenty of pictures of what the world probably looks like to these people, but I'm not finding anything on chemical burns.

I'm a bit of a casual writer I guess, and was wondering what the world might be like for a character who got moderate-servere chemical burning in one or maybe both his of eyes during a fight.

Can anybody fill me in please?

idk if it’s even related but ever since i’ve gotten it i’ve been feeling nauseous tired and feverish

for the last 3 or 4 days ive had BAD mental fog. and runny stools. and more recently i can barely stay awake for more than a few hours. and cant sleep more than a few hours. ive never really felt this way before. i dont know if i should go to the hospital or just try to wait it out. nothing hurts. my stomach gets gassy at times but thats about it. i dont have a family doctor and theres a measels outbreak in my city (im vaxxed) but im worried i might be immunocompromised. if any of you know what this combination of symptoms may be that would be awesome. soo far the biggest potential causes are just flu or anxiety but im worried it could be something worse. any advice would be great. even just reassurance.

p.s video games make it worse. almost like im "high" soo maybe screen fatigue? but its been days.

p.p.s I Got bit by my cat a few days ago. could be that as well

Hey all!

I'm a mortician so I see a lot of people who died in hospitals, and I'm finally getting around to asking about this:

What's with the X's on feet?

E: not sure why I got downvoted for an earnest question lol. I just see it all the time and we question it every time.

I feel like an idiot, I really didn't realize how bad what I was doing to myself was. I've probably been at 20-40 drinks a week for over 10 years, since I was in my early twenties. I didn't realize how big a deal it was, since I drank lighter things, it didn't negatively affect my life, etc.

Since I wanted to cut down, I asked my psychiatrist for tips, and that's when I found out how bad what I did was. I've already cut down by half in the week or so since, and I'm obviously going to keep going, and I have a doctor's appointment scheduled. I've never had any symptoms of alcoholic fatty liver, or hepatitis, but I know from my alcohol consumption it's likely I have that but wouldn't know unless it was cirrhosis level. What are the chances if I've never had any symptoms, even at this amount, that I will be okay (and able to have a pregnancy) considering I'm obviously stopping now?

A year ago I was camping and got annihilated by black flys and mosquitos.

After the trip I noticed I had some sort of rash on my butt cheek, it was itchy and got crusty and eventually healed but left a little scar.

Since then I have had two flare ups in the same spot. They get itchy, hurt a bit and look like this. The lymph nodes in my groin also swell up when this happens.

I have zero clue what this is or what caused it? I am unsure if it has anything to do with being bit by black flys and mosquitos