The human body is complicated, fascinating, and sometimes difficult to explain.
While we know that, it's incredibly unnerving when we have a symptom that even our doctors struggle to explain or identify.
Curious about others' experiences, Redditor Wild-Engineering-650 asked:
"What was the strangest condition you've ever experienced?"
Excited Catatonia
"Excited catatonia. I heard music from above, and 10 minutes later, a month had passed. All I had were snapshot memories of contorting into strange positions and trying to fight family members."
"It was like time traveling. I woke up, and saw my mom was home visiting. I asked her how long she was staying, and she said that she had been there for two weeks trying to calm me down. I had apparently rolled in the street and only been able to speak in repeating words."
"I felt foggy for a couple of months as I tried to piece my life back together. All I remembered was a short argument from the month before, beginning to walk home, and then I blacked out. So much adrenaline and cortisol that I had amnesia."
- MaximumKnow
Migraine Prevention
"Both side effects of meds attempting to alleviate migraines."
"Long-time soda drinker, but on one med, all the soda I drank tasted completely flat. I was convinced I got a bad batch; it was such an extreme change. I can kind of understand how a med might change the TASTE of a drink, but a physical property?? So strange."
"Another med, when I tapered off, gave me a sensation where every single time I’d move my eyes, there was a distinct zapping noise and mild zapping sensation in my head. I felt a little bit like I was developing a superpower."
"It was so distinctly weird that I eventually Googled 'brain zaps' in desperation and found out this is exactly what they’re called, and it’s not uncommon."
- jodythebad
Nausea Warning
"One of my earliest pregnancy symptoms was saliva glands that WOULD NOT TURN OFF. For two days straight. Like I used up two whole tissue boxes by spitting out extra spit that was building up in my mouth."
"It was horrendous. I could hardly sleep because I kept having to spit. I got scared that my whole pregnancy would be like that."
"Luckily, it ceased after a couple days. But then the extreme nausea started. And that didn’t end for two and a half months."
- gesasage88
Lost Memories
"I fell off a galloping horse and came to a few hours later, watching the sunset at the ranch house with my friend."
"There was an EMT shining a light into my eyes, asking if I had any siblings. I remember saying, 'no,' and my friend looking worried, saying, 'no, she has sisters and brothers.'"
"My dog, Howard, was next to me, a huge Bernese mountain dog that lived in my camper van with me, my best friend, and I couldn’t remember his name. I said, 'But I know I love him!,' which sent me into sobs."
"The only thing I knew was that I didn’t know who I was."
"I had amnesia for about six hours, until the nausea set in, and then I was vomiting for a few days. My brain took at least a year to go back to normal. I couldn’t read for about a week."
"I never went to the hospital, lol… I wouldn’t do that now. But I was young, broke, and invincible, living out west. They still ride without helmets there."
- ORCAPOD
Sleep Paralysis
"Sleep paralysis. I truly believe that people who think they’ve experienced demons, this is the explanation!"
- zoloftandcoffe3
"My brother thought his room was haunted for most of our lives until he got to the Marine Corps, and they sent him to a therapist, who figured out he had sleep paralysis, before he could continue."
- Karlaanne
"One time when I was a teen, I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to move and with a heavy pressure on my chest."
"I knew these were classic symptoms of sleep paralysis, so I was too terrified to open my eyes at first, thinking, 'Oh god, I’m gonna see a demon or something.'"
"Finally worked up the courage, opened my eyes, and… it was my cat randomly sleeping on my chest for the first and only time ever, lol."
- Azelais
Vision Trouble
"I sometimes get scintillating scotoma (those sizzling static-y rings) in my field of vision when I get super stressed and tired, especially when I was in my 20s."
"There was a period when I was getting them like weekly."
"Then, I was driving around town, and stopped at a red light. I then saw the column of cars from the intersecting street start to move across, freeze for a split second, then smear across the road like paint. After another second or so, my field of vision 'corrected itself,' and that smear of paint snapped back into the moving cars, now shifted to their new current position."
"Apparently, there's something called akinetopsia, and I probably had it for that split second."
"Being an overly confident 20-something, I never bothered to ask a doctor, and this never happened again (and my scintillating scotomas are a lot, lot rarer now, over a decade later)."
- nehala
Maybe Mono
"In the summer, I randomly got sick one afternoon. I slept for basically four days straight, only being awake for two to three hours a day. Anytime I ate for almost two weeks, I vomited enough to fill up one of those little trash cans. And on the second day, I broke out in full-body hives."
"I was isolated away from a city at my job and couldn’t easily access a hospital, so I waited it out, and luckily I survived."
"But to this day, we have no idea what it wa,s and nobody else around me caught it (ruled out heat stroke, food poisoning, allergic reactions), and it was the closest to death I’ve ever felt."
- witchy_frog_
"This sounds exactly like how I was with mono."
"For about a month, I was wiped out. Something as simple as a shower? Two-hour nap minimum to recover."
"At the beginning, I was sleeping about 18 hours a day. My spleen was swollen, so I couldn’t eat beyond absolutely toddler-sized portions. Anything bigger than that? I was sick."
"I have chronic hives anyway, but they’re usually well controlled unless I’m poorly. I was a mess with mono. And the immune response is exhausting by itself, which only compounds the fatigue."
"0/10 do not recommend."
- lemon-bubble
Sciatica
"I thought I had sciatica until I actually had it. Then I stretched my legs in the pool a little too aggressively."
"What followed was the worst week ever. It was like a massive, unending, stabbing, burning charley horse from my lower back to the heel of my left foot."
"I couldn't sit or stand or lay down. I was never still, constantly adjusting and contorting myself, trying to fight it."
"I'd have seconds to do anything I needed to do, like pee, before it would lock up again. Taking a shower was a nightmare. Sleep was almost impossible."
"My daughter-in-law had to literally punch me in the a**, then grind her fist into my back and side for about twenty minutes, and then she gave me 800 mg of ibuprofen and a melatonin. I passed out."
"The next morning, it had eased off and was gone entirely the day after that. Knock on freaking wood."
"Needless to say, I'm very, very cautious about stretching now."
- MissSassifras1977
Bell's Palsy
"In myself? Randomly basically waking up with Bell's Palsy. Over the course of about 48 hours, the right side of my face became completely paralyzed."
"It happened so gradually I didn’t really notice, even when I couldn’t like, taste my sandwich on the right side of my mouth, and I was like, ’ That’s weird,d what’s wrong with this sandwich?!"
"By the next morning, I couldn’t rub my lips together, and I was like… well, my brain is definitely having a bad thing, and I went to the ER, and they were like… here’s an eye patch and some steroids."
"It mostly resolved within about six weeks, but it never went 100% back to fully normal. Like 99%, but I can see and feel where parts of my face are still weaker."
- DreamStation1981
Burning Mouth Syndrome
"Burning mouth syndrome. I've reacted to quite a few things, but the weirdest was taking a bite of a Boston cream donut and feeling like I bit into a habanero pepper."
- janelle2168
"I get this strange twinge under my tongue sometimes when I eat Pop-Tarts. It feels like the muscle is cramping."
"It's rare and only with Pop-Tarts."
- AwesomeAni
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
"I got mono when I was 12, and the fatigue, achiness, chills, etc., never fully went away. I’m 35, and I still feel like s**t most of the time. Powering through doesn’t work because the more I do, the worse I feel. Despite this, my bloodwork has always turned up normal."
- InternationalName626
"Dysautonomia can be caused by viral infections. So many people ended up with POTS post-COVID that I no longer have to explain to medical professionals what it is."
- Catsinbowties
Gustatory Rhinitis
"My nose runs if I eat too much at once, and if I really overdo it, then I have a sneezing fit, usually three to 15 before I am done. My kids would count them like the count on Sesame Street as we drove home."
- cleanuponaisleone
"This is called gustatory rhinitis. There's a fair-ish chance one of your kids will have it too! My OH and his son both throw out exactly seven sneezes each time it hits!"
"It most widely manifests if you have spicy food, but for some people, including my partner, it is literally just linked to satiety levels."
- Solifuga
"Wow, my husband 100% has this. I remember when we first started dating, I noticed he would always have to blow his nose while we were out to eat. After a few times, I mentioned it to him (in a joking way), and he was shocked."
"I think I’m the first person who ever really pointed it out to him that he does that, and he didn’t consciously realize it’s something he does every time. Since then, it has become an inside joke of ours. He did say his grandpa did it too, so the hereditary component is definitely there."
"Anyways, thank you for commenting so we can put a name to it now!!"
- Bruin717
Delayed Reaction
"Delayed reaction to a Neosporin allergy."
"Used it during all of childhood with no issues. I turned 16, and I used Neosporin for a minor scrape. The next day, my leg was swollen immensely, extremely itchy, and leaking yellow fluid."
"GP doctor is confused, refers to dermatologist. A dermatologist takes one look and says, 'Neosporin allergy. Just let it sit and leave it alone. It will go back to normal in three days.'"
"Three days later, my leg went back to normal. Discovered I'm allergic to Neosporin that day."
- Cheetodude625
Surgical Psychosis
"Complete hallucination of body and mind after receiving a kidney and liver transplant."
"Apparently, I climbed an MRI machine and swung my IV pole at doctors, amongst many other embarrassing things. This went on for days."
"Meanwhile, when I finally came to, three or four days post-surgery, I couldn't even walk. Craziest feeling ever. Complete inability to recognize even my own mother, what year it was, how many nickels in a dime, etc..."
"Proud to say my two-year transplant anniversary is coming up in February, and I'm healthy and able. Modern medicine is absolutely miraculous!"
- Thellamavaulter
No Beets
"All my life, I have never been able to swallow beets. I only found out it’s an allergy recently. As a kid, my mom never believed me."
"I don’t mind the metallic taste, I do actually like the texture, and I can’t reiterate hard enough, it’s not anaphylaxis."
"All my throat muscles, the ones that swallow in a descending wave instead all clench up at once in a coordinated NOPE. I literally cannot swallow beets. Spit them out and eat anything else, and it gets let through."
- LilStinkPot
"It's amazing how the human body can simply deny eating something in such a well-coordinated manner, unlike anaphylaxis. I'm wondering what the evolutionary target for this was and what we weren't supposed to eat."
- TerryMisery
It truly is fascinating to read all of these symptoms, some of which are overlapping, and see what their prognoses were.
What's even more interesting is the causes behind some of these. From puberty to hormonal shifts to a viral infection, it's fascinating, if a little scary, how one thing can lead to another.
@GregAbbott_TX/X
