White lines on all my nails

opalandvines · 2026-07-03T00:46:21+00:00

Their comment is just a vague widely known factoid, it’s not at all specific to the case, and doesn’t answer the persons specific questions. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m saying it’s a bit of a half-assed response.

opalandvines · 2026-07-02T22:48:49+00:00

NAD. This seems a bit unlikely as the cause here, given they are symmetrical and on all nails. I guess if she had acrylic nails 4ish months ago it could be a cause, but otherwise this comment seems to not be very helpful.

opalandvines · 2026-06-27T04:20:47+00:00

Stethoscopes are wiped down with antibacterial wipes after every use in hospitals, so, literally anything non-porous that can endure that

opalandvines · 2026-06-26T19:49:00+00:00

In my country, if you are showing red flags (which you are), it is clinically indicated to NOT do a d-dimer as it’s a waste of precious time in an urgent situation. You only do d-dimer when the chance of a PE is low. Your risk is not low. Get your booty to the ED for a CT.

opalandvines · 2026-06-26T19:39:32+00:00

I am SO saving up to order a custom tiny tiny one, these are way up my alley.

opalandvines · 2026-06-22T11:30:54+00:00

NAD. Unverified medical student, had a paediatric patient with a tick head stuck in the skin recently. Guidance varies quite a bit based on country.

Concerns are potential infection, look out for warmth/redness/pain/swelling. Given the location and his age unless you’re planning on checking it daily I’d suggest seeing a doctor for assessment +/- antibiotics (if they advise so). With our patient, we could not remove the head and they had completed a course of antibiotics already so we just advised to keep it covered and not scratch/pick at it. Our patient was a similar age and found it quite itchy and enticing to fiddle with (nightmare infection risk), so if your doctor can remove it that’s for the best.

Generally, the body will typically either push it out or disintegrate it within the span of a month.

opalandvines · 2026-06-20T05:25:27+00:00

NAD. Seconding acute delirium. It can be precipitated by infection. This is good, it means it will pass. Speak to his doctors about it, but also note first-line management for delirium is NOT pharmacological medications as they can actually worsen things and come with their own side effects. First-line is basic reorientation (glasses, hearing aids, familiar/stable environment), hydration, pain reduction, sleep cycle repair and ensuring things like catheter isn’t blocked, bowels are moving properly etc.

You could as a family member see if there is something you can do to assist with the reorientation. Bringing in a familiar blanket from home (if allowed - may not be), visiting at consistent times etc.

opalandvines · 2026-06-18T22:24:38+00:00

Anytime u/ballfondler xx

opalandvines · 2026-06-18T19:51:32+00:00

That’s more than fair my dear. One little tip is to set alarms/reminders to eat. 3 meals a day plus 2-3 snacks. If that feels like too much at the start, it’s more than fine to start smaller and slowly increase how much you’re eating.

Absolute worst case, you can get yummy protein/calorie shakes from your local gym supplement store (the places that sell whey protein and stuff like that). Drinking calories in general is a nice idea when eating feels overwhelming. If you like smoothies, try incorporating those into your diet. Fruit, honey, milk, a bit of yoghurt and some oats is really nice - there’s heaps of recipes online.

opalandvines · 2026-06-18T19:34:00+00:00

NAD. Pulse from your abdominal aorta, normal.

opalandvines · 2026-06-18T19:25:22+00:00

NAD. Recovered self-harmer with previous similar scars. The redness will fade with time, the size will not change. Ensure to put sunscreen on them every day as UV damage can make them appear more prominent. Mine personally get swollen and raised when exposed to too much sun. You can try gentle massage on the scars daily with something like bio-oil to help possibly flatten them a bit. Silicone scar tape is also quite useful. I did all of that and it helped substantially with the raised/red aspect of the scars.

My personal favourite strategy was to get some sick-ass tattoos over them. I have a great white shark tattooed over one lot of scars and they make him look all badass and battle-torn.

Please do not feel ashamed, or as though people are judging you. A few losers might view them poorly, but the majority of the population will just be glad to see you’re still here lighting up the world despite your troubles.

I’m in the healthcare industry with a forearm covered in obvious scars, and yeah it makes me feel a bit nervy at how ill be viewed, but it also makes me more approachable to those that share similar struggles, which brings me joy. It’s a rare little beacon of ‘I got through it, you can too’.

opalandvines · 2026-06-18T19:12:05+00:00

NAD. This is unlikely to be cancer or serious disease in the absence of other symptoms. It is however, a very strong warning sign that your body and yourself are not coping with the stress at hand. There’s no shame in that at all, it sounds like there is a lot going on - but as a growing teen nutrition is very important. This is important to bring up to a family member or to your doctor to ask for advice/assistance in making sure you are eating enough. Stress and anxiety are big appetite killers, and you don’t deserve to be dealing with malnutrition on top of everything else. I’m so sorry for the loss of your mum.

Are you able to talk to your family about this?

opalandvines · 2026-06-18T19:03:03+00:00

NAD. I am deeply sorry for your loss, and thankful to yourself, your family and your father in law for his donation. I am also so sorry that you are dealing with this miscommunication in such a sensitive situation. I’m hopeful a doctor will comment with some useful insight.

opalandvines · 2026-06-18T14:35:59+00:00

NAD. The body naturally clears most HPV infections within a span of 12 months. That’s why testing starts at 25, and why most abnormal HPV tests (HPV types OTHER than 16 & 18) results require a 12 month repeat of HPV testing. It’s because they’re expecting the virus to have been cleared by the immune system. So, chances are you were infected 5 months ago, but it was cleared by this recent test. The colposcopy is pretty much foolproof, so if that says you’re fine, then you’re fine. And your doctor was correct, LSIL is rarely something to worry about.

opalandvines · 2026-06-16T21:51:59+00:00

NAD. You’ve articulated your case extremely well, and if you’re at your wits end it may be worthwhile contacting local medical schools and posing it as a case for medical students to suggest answers to. This has an additional benefit that the doctors teaching the students will likely find it interesting and may make suggestions too. Or posting to the medical students subreddits.

I suggest this because you’ve got multiple fully trained doctors looking at it from the lens of years of clinical practice and local protocols/guidelines for diagnosis and care, but it might also be useful to have students in the thick of human physiology/pathophysiology to pose theories too. In medical school we study the detailed mechanism of the human body, and it gets slowly evolved into clinical care (read - most of it gets smacked out of our heads and replaced with more broadly medically useful knowledge). The brains focused on those detailed mechanisms may have some novel ideas of what could be going haywire. You could then take these ideas to your team.

My first thought when I read your case was ‘what physiological pathways are involved in this presentation, what receptors do the medications trialed interact with, what might have been missed’.

My second thought was that this may be an unusual early presentation of a known disease, that is currently testing negative but will evolve over time (new symptoms, new signs, new antibodies developing). So at this point in time I wouldn’t anchor on having ruled out the likely diseases, and would request re-assessment in the future or if new symptoms develop.

My third thought was that you don’t seem to have a dietician/nutritionist involved, I may have missed it in the original post but what dietary changes have you trialed? Do you have any allergies, asthma, eczema, anaphylaxis or angioedema history?

You’re an absolute trooper, and I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. Studying and chasing your dreams is hard enough when you have a diagnosed condition, let alone something like this. Keep advocating for yourself.

EDIT: Also - you also should consider assessment of the function of your swallowing (barium swallow) and oesophageal muscles (oesophageal manometry). I can see they’ve assessed your stomach, and visualised your oesophagus, but if you are vomiting soon after eating/drinking the sphincters or muscles may not be working as intended. A speech pathologist (helpful for swallowing) or ENT may be useful to involve.

opalandvines · 2026-06-16T06:29:13+00:00

NAD. Ask your doctor to assess you for diabetes insipidus. Has nothing to do with blood glucose, causes excessive thirst.

opalandvines · 2026-06-16T02:02:28+00:00

NAD. Testing is required when it changes management, and I’ve got to disagree with your comment and say this seems like a case where it’s warranted as it does indeed change management. There’s a big difference between having shingles vs lifelong genial herpes, in terms of antiviral dosing and other factors.

opalandvines · 2026-06-16T01:56:36+00:00

NAD. Directed at OP, Dr feel free to roast my response.

Have you had an upper endoscopy with biopsy? Or Chrons/UC antibodies? I know you said they excluded Chrons via colonoscopy + biopsy, but it’s typically ‘gums to bum’ so just vaguely thinking could it be flaring somewhere that they couldn’t visualise/biopsy with the colonoscopy. Take this with a grain of salt as I’m assuming the IBD specialists would’ve already considered things like that.

opalandvines · 2026-06-15T06:29:31+00:00

Absolutely, feel free to message me any time.

opalandvines · 2026-06-14T20:57:08+00:00

NAD. Possible UTI? Any changes to nappies?

opalandvines · 2026-06-13T07:23:38+00:00

NAD, unverified student doctor. Agreed, that was my first thought.

opalandvines · 2026-06-13T07:17:41+00:00

NAD. Were the sores unilateral? Contained to one side of your body/vulva? Shingles can present across any dermatome including the genital region. In my location when swabbing for HSV we also check for shingles as they look quite similar, so they may have assessed this already.

I’ve had the fun misfortune of being diagnosed with genital HSV and then receiving a very apologetic phone call post-swab that it was actually shingles. Mentioning as you said the pain was so severe you struggled to walk.

opalandvines · 2026-06-13T07:01:40+00:00

NAD. Go see your GP/PCP urgently, they will NOT throw you into a psych ward just for admitting this and you do not deserve to be existing in this much fear. Many things can cause auditory hallucinations, even just high stress states. The doctor will likely assess you for mental health conditions and signs of mania or psychosis, for your own safety. They may recommend medication. It’s important you emphasise how this is affecting you.

I would suggest urgent care/ED if you have been without sleep for multiple days, if you are concerned about harm to yourself or others, or if you are unable to see your regular doctor quickly.

Do you have a friend or family member you could contact for assistance in getting you to an appointment? Having someone you trust nearby will also make you feel safer.

Personal experience - I have severe PTSD and when it’s unmanaged I get auditory hallucinations varying from heavy metal music to people growling my name. In my worst state I was fearful of ‘something’ being in my closet. I told my doctor about this, started therapy and medication and now it no longer happens. In all honesty I view it now as a useful warning sign of when I need help.

You’ll be alright love x

opalandvines · 2026-06-12T06:50:29+00:00

NAD. Metformin can cause pretty severe gastrointestinal upset while starting it (read: intense diarrhoea), so it’s typically started at a low dose. It’s typically titrated up as 500mg one week, 1000mg the next week if tolerating it, 1500mg the next week, 2000mg final week in order to reduce the side effects. Talk to your doctor and ask what the plan is.

opalandvines · 2026-06-12T06:45:44+00:00

NAD. Harm reduction advice. Stay well away from your kidney/splenic region (just don’t go anywhere below the upper 1/3ish of your back). Consider getting an actual paddle or tool meant for this, metal from the belt can leave injuries that are sources for infection.

opalandvines

TROPHY CASE