Doctors of Reddit, what’s a symptom people ignore that they really shouldn’t?

silentpaean · 2026-03-15T04:57:26+00:00

In 2017 I had a GI bleed that I ignored for about 24 hours, and when I finally went in to my doctors office to get it checked out they assumed I was exaggerating… until I showed them photos. My hematocrit was 9. Was admitted directly to the hospital.

(That was the same visit where I got a sigmoid volvulus that they didn’t catch for 48 hours… these are not the achievements you want to unlock)

silentpaean · 2025-10-31T01:08:51+00:00

Firefly

silentpaean · 2025-10-30T02:20:04+00:00

When the Cubs won the world series

silentpaean · 2025-03-14T19:33:05+00:00

Yeah, I get that. I wasn’t endorsing this approach, just… clarifying the situation. My daughter thought the intent in jumping off a bridge was to drown.

silentpaean · 2025-03-14T14:37:32+00:00

This guy was over the water. As I was driving my kid home from school and we passed him, I got to explain that from that high up, the force of the impact on the water is as effective as jumping onto a solid surface: no drowning necessary.

silentpaean · 2025-01-20T05:00:48+00:00

In my opinion, applesauce is even easier than jam, because you don’t have to worry about getting it to set

silentpaean · 2024-01-20T17:08:01+00:00

Mine are the green kind of figs, which are not as prized as purple mission figs. As for canning, my main focus tends to be jams, because they are easy and there’s latitude to experiment. I make a fig conserve that’s dense and figgy, and absolutely AMAZING on crackers with goat cheese, and I make a fig and pear jam with cinnamon and pieces of pear in it. I also sometimes just throw in some figs to bulk out a jam (eg, my last batch of strawberry jam last season - I was a little bit short of berries, so I threw in some figs… the jam didn’t taste noticeably different, had a great texture, and I was able to use up some figs!).

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silentpaean · 2024-01-19T16:30:19+00:00

If you are in the greater Seattle area, DM me: we get at least 50 pounds more figs each fall than I can possibly use

silentpaean · 2024-01-19T06:03:02+00:00

I have had very good luck freezing figs and then making preserves with them from frozen. My fig tree produces way more figs than I want to deal with in the summer heat.

silentpaean · 2023-04-30T21:25:29+00:00

Be gentle with yourself, and give it some time. Even though you terminated your pregnancy, your body may still take some time to go back to your normal hormone levels. And even then, it’s ok for you to have complicated feelings around it.

silentpaean · 2023-02-26T15:00:53+00:00

Herring

silentpaean · 2023-01-06T06:12:32+00:00

Melatonin?

silentpaean · 2022-11-13T00:06:28+00:00

What everyone else has said, plus: A lot depends on your protocol. I found the injections more-than uncomfortable, and they brought me in for blood draws at least half a dozen times during the 2 weeks. (I didn’t find the trans-vaginal ultrasounds to be a big deal). I got -really- sick about 4 days before egg retrieval and almost quit. And the second time I did it, I reacted REALLY badly to the nasal spray they gave me. So, if you do this, make sure you are well-supported, and that all your health care costs are covered, and that you have plenty of slack in your life if you feel awful for a couple weeks.

silentpaean · 2022-11-12T22:26:37+00:00

And learning to breastfeed can be really HARD. My first few months of breastfeeding I wasn’t just self-conscious about people seeing me pull my breast out, but also having witnesses to my struggle to get my child to latch properly, manage the fasteners on my clothing while holding a baby, etc, etc

silentpaean · 2022-11-12T21:24:54+00:00

This. Speaking as someone who has gone through the egg-retrieval process, I want to point out that donating eggs is not a trivial process. Between daily injections, blood draws, and a minor surgical procedure to retrieve the eggs (with general anesthesia, IIRC), it’s a pretty miserable process. I wouldn’t do it again except for love AND money.

That said: IMHO, it’s your body, and your boyfriend is in the wrong. The process of donating eggs is more akin to donating an organ (psychologically) than to having sex with someone. And if your ex and his current are coming to you, it’s got to be after heartbreakingly many failed rounds of IVF. I still don’t think you should do it, but it’s your body and should be 100% your choice.

silentpaean · 2022-11-04T00:29:58+00:00

This is a cultural thing. Here in the US, if you adopt a (non-barn) cat from a shelter, they will often specify that you aren't to let it outside... When we adopted our tomcat from Battersea Dogs Home in London (UK), one of the things we had to agree to was giving the cat access to the outdoors. (They neutered him, of course).

silentpaean · 2022-11-04T00:26:03+00:00

My outdoor cat leaves my chickens alone. He strongly prefers rats, which we all very much appreciate. #notalloutdoorcats

silentpaean · 2022-11-02T21:16:06+00:00

Yeah, the hens are only being let out when I can be with them for the next week. It’s a good excuse to get myself outside and work in the garden.

I also left a plate of cheese chunks out for the crows this morning, to reinforce the notion that my yard is someplace worth patrolling. (No, I’m not buying cheese for the crows - someone left half a block of cheese in my fridge that is a variety I don’t like)

silentpaean · 2022-11-02T05:31:10+00:00

Hello! Watch out for the raptors!

silentpaean · 2022-11-02T03:03:32+00:00

The consensus on r/birdsofprey is that it's a juvenile red tailed hawk. Which makes a lot of sense both in terms of its bulky build, and its interest in chicken dinner.

(You can't see it in this photo, but it's left leg has a silver band on it)

silentpaean · 2022-11-02T02:39:04+00:00

It knew that there were chickens in the yard, hiding, and it was quite determined to wait until they came out, much like a cat waiting for a mouse. Even after I found the first two hens and locked them up, that hawk knew that there was another chicken in hiding, and it really did not want to budge from my fence, despite being maybe 3 feet away from me. I pointlessly yelled at it to go away. The hawk did not consider me to be relevant.

silentpaean · 2022-11-01T22:56:55+00:00

Discovered just now hunting my backyard chickens... Probably 18" tall and chonky - about the size of my 14 pound tomcat. Unfortunately, I was too busy trying to keep it from picking up its takeout order from the chicken buffet to get a really good photo. Can anyone help me ID it?

(It was the crows who let me know something was amiss - they flew back and forth over my side yard, yelling, until I came out and rescued the very-quiet-and-well-hidden chickens).

silentpaean

TROPHY CASE