There are somethings you can't just brush off.
Unfortunately, most learn about the fragility of their health the hard way. A sharp pain in the chest is nothing to some people... and statistically, it probably is nothing. But those who can ignore sharp pain after pain... into severe territory will eventually find themselves in need of medical attention ASAP.
Redditor u/catswithfoodnames wanted to hear stories of near miss medical emergencies, and so asked... "What was your, 'you NEED to see a doctor' moment?"
10. The damage a little stone can do
"when i was lying in my bed i suddenly felt pain in my back. i took some painkillers, thinking it'd go away.
haha, nope.
it just got worse, FAST. i woke my mom at 5-ish am, begging for help. she refused and got mad at me for waking her, and went back to sleep. another 2 hrs later and i'm curled up on bathroom floor, unable to stand up. the pain is so unbearable all i can do is endlessly throwing up and weep. my mom called ambulance and boy, was the paramedic furious with her...
spent nearly entire day at the hospital. it was a kidney stone. i have never felt such pain before or after."
9. Our bodies can do unbelievably painful things
"When the pain in my pelvic region made me vomit and bend over in agony
Turns out i had dual cysts on my ovaries that were large and unnoticed for years
Now i have hormones to regulate cell growth so I don't develop cancerous ones"
8. The most painful ankles ever
"When I couldn't walk up my driveway after volleyball practice. My ankles were swollen and I could barely bend them. Turned out a bunch of my ankle bones were fused together due to a birth defect which caused a bunch of issues with my tendons, resulting in acute tendinitis in both of my ankles. Had to essentially have both ankle joints totally reconstructed. Very painful and long recoveries but well worth it :)"
7. But what happened next?
"I woke up and threw up in the dark into the throw up bucket. I then couldn't stop throwing up. When I went to the bathroom to dump the bucket, I noticed blood in it. So I woke up my parents and told them. They still took showers before they took me urgent care. I'll never forgot how confused and dumbfounded I was with their lack of urgency at the situation"
6. Migraines are so scary
"First time I had an aural migraine. I was 12 and in the shower getting ready for school, and suddenly I couldn't see. My vision looked like when you stand up too quickly and get stars, but that was my entire field of vision, and it didn't go away.
I freaked out and screamed for my mom, who had no idea what was going on when I explained it to her, so she took me to the ER down the road, and after we explained what was going on with my vision, the intake nurse said, 'Oh she's about to get one whopper of a headache.'
They gave me a shot of Reglan, which knocked me out for a full two days."
5. Think twice before googling bot fly
"I had a friend return from somewhere exotic complaining of scalp pain. Spent ten minutes digging through her hair at school to find a bot fly in her scalp. Pulled it out myself, took her to the nurse, showed the woman that ugly a** thing, and my friend was excused for the rest of the day to go to the hospital. Hospital found one in her lower back, and another in her shoulder, too."
4. Listen to your kids
"I couldn't catch my breath.
I went to a concert, a lot of pyrotechnics were used. Came home felt okay, during the night I could hardly breathe. Had my boyfriend take me to the ER. Turns out I had pneumonia, but didn't have a fever or anything. Found a primary care doctor and after the pneumonia cleared I was still having trouble breathing. More tests, xrays etc. he finally said well by your history it seems like you've always had underlying asthma.
Took 27 years to find that out because my parents and other childhood doctors never believed me when I said my chest hurt when I was exercising and they never put two and two together as to why I'd always get bronchitis whenever I got sick."
3. Listen to your own body too
"Got called for a chest pain patient who like 45-50ish. He had all the classic sighs , chest pain, short of breath, left arm pain, jaw pain, super sweaty. We hooked up the 12 lead and it showed a huuuuge myocardial infarction. Everything was saying THIS IS THE BIG ONE *******!! but yet he tried to refuse to go. We had to straight up say that if you don't go, we will be back to pronounce you dead today."
2. Why sex ed is important
"When I first masturbated I used hand soap and I didn't know masturbating made you tired so I went right to sleep and I woke up with my penis on fire.. I told my parents and they took me to the doctor. Imagine getting burn cream for your **** cause your ******* used soap.. Smh"
1. Panic attacks are real and physically effect you
"First time I ever had a panic attack. Not minor freak out like some people think a panic attack is, a real medical panic attack with the same symptoms as a heart attack."
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