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For the past 2-3 weeks, I've woken up every morning with hurting hands. The pain is pretty mild (~3/10), seems focused in the muscle and not the joints, and dissipates within an hour of waking. Any ideas what might be causing this? [more inside]
posted by schroedingersgirl at 5:56 AM - 6 answers

I would like to hear about your experiences with Intermittent Fasting and Fasting Mimicking Diets. I have some specific questions... [more inside]
posted by velveeta underground at 12:06 PM - 12 answers

My legs seem to cramp very easily, particularly when I am sleeping/lying down. It is mostly my calves and mostly when I point my toes or bend my ankle in the other direction. It will often cause me to leap out of bed due to pain. Standing up will alleviate it. This has been a problem most of my life, but particularly in recent years. I don't know if it is related, but I also get lots of cracking in my ankles
posted by kbbbo at 7:08 AM - 20 answers

I've had the same therapist, "Jane," for three years and I love her. Lately, though, something isn't clicking, and I don't know what it is (and therefore don't know how to broach the subject). I'm looking for tips on sorting out what's amiss and how to have a conversation with her if that need be. [more inside]
posted by mermaidcafe at 1:57 PM - 7 answers

I don't actually care about treating this eye irritation unless it's a sign of something scary. You are not my doctor but can you help me decide if this is worth going to the doctor? [more inside]
posted by capricorn at 1:42 PM - 16 answers

The building I live in sent out an email that they would be cleaning all of the hallways. Whatever they used is so strongly scented and is making me sick. I'm also worried for my pets. Is there anything I can do to at least get the scent out of my apartment quickly? [more inside]
posted by mokeydraws at 1:11 PM - 7 answers

I set my elderly mother up with Bay Alarm Medical Alert. There's a wristband with a button she can press to talk to someone in an emergency. But, to my surprise, you can't actually communicate via the wrist device, you need to be in the room with the base unit plugged into the phone line. And if she can get to that room in the event of a fall or other problem, she could just as easily call 911. Am I misunderstanding these services, or did I choose the wrong one?
posted by Quisp Lover at 9:00 AM - 5 answers

Where can I find some isometric exercises that help me tone up? [more inside]
posted by atetrachordofthree at 8:07 AM - 5 answers

Augh! It's coming up on Sunday! While I have learned how to spell "triathlon," I am still feeling a little uneasy about the other bits. Please lend me your triathlon wisdom, keeping in mind the keyword "reassure" in question title. [more inside]
posted by sacchan at 4:33 AM - 15 answers

Please decipher a strange thing that happened to me several years ago. I was having dinner at a friend's house. She made a delicious mole sauce and served it with something vegetarian. If I recall, it wasn't particularly spicy (though quite flavorful), and in any case, I love spicy food. Some way into the meal, though, I felt suddenly exhausted. Maybe I had a little stomachache? Whatever it was, I absolutely had to lie down in a quiet, dark room—the commotion of the dinner party was too much to handle. It was different than normal tiredness, which doesn't make me need to suddenly retreat like that. I felt better about an hour later, but for the next year or so, I couldn't eat any spicy food at all without getting terrible indigestion. What happened??
posted by the_blizz at 6:53 PM - 9 answers

Can anyone recommend an app for a dyslexic adult who has ADD and is trying to stay organized and on top of a lot of moving parts in different areas of his life?
posted by askmehow at 5:22 PM - 3 answers

What things actually worked or helped ease sciatica or lower back pain from home? Stretches? Heat? Massages? YANMD [more inside]
posted by Crystalinne at 3:47 PM - 17 answers

Every time I eat more than a few bites of salad (containing lettuce and other raw veggies) I have horrible diarrhea within an hour. The obvious short-term solution is to stop eating salad but I'd love to better understand why this is happening and whether I can ever retrain my body to tolerate salad again. I am 99% sure that I am not eating contaminated salad greens every single time and that this is instead something wrong in my body. More details inside. [more inside]
posted by joan_holloway at 1:24 PM - 30 answers

They happen too often and this morning I literally got up shaking. They almost always involve my parents and or childhood home. I just want some decent sleep. [more inside]
posted by fantasticness at 9:38 AM - 14 answers

My wife has been getting daily infusions at home for a few months. The IV pole that was provided to us does not roll on carpet well. It has just four wheels and is not that heavy, so it a bit tippy when trying to move it. [more inside]
posted by bajema at 8:01 AM - 4 answers

I'm scheduled for a preventative colonoscopy tomorrow, but just found out that it's going to cost $800, so I'm looking for help making this decision. (I will also speak to a nurse about it, but I have no bowel symptoms at all, so it's not strictly a health/medical issue.) [more inside]
posted by missmarymackmackmack at 6:03 AM - 19 answers

My daughter is 12 and generally she's getting along really well, but anxiety runs in the family and I'm wondering if seeing a counsellor could help her develop some strategies for handling her anxiety, or if it's possible to do more harm than good. [more inside]
posted by stinker at 1:57 AM - 23 answers

This is embarrassing, but how do you deal with and prevent thigh chaffing, especially when it comes to wearing form-fitting jeans? [more inside]
posted by anonymous at 11:53 PM - 28 answers

The TL;DR of this AskMe might be: you're either (a) someone who's fought chronic recurrent foot/ankle/leg pain, or (b) an osteopathic Dr. House wannabe; and I am someone who would greatly appreciate any thoughts you might have about either the cause or treatment of this set of conditions that's significantly decreased my ability to fulfill obligations to my family, my employer, my self. Wall of Text follows. [more inside]
posted by armoir from antproof case at 6:21 PM - 14 answers

There's a bug in my ear. My doctor gave me eardrops and told me that they would kill the bug. They have not killed the bug. The bug is now moving constantly and has been for an hour. PLEASE HELP ME KILL IT. [more inside]
posted by a hat out of hell at 10:11 AM - 48 answers