Category: Health

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A Girl With Tourette Syndrome Made a Video of What Her Eating Dinner Looks Like

Sophie Adams is 16 and was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome after seeking help for some tics when she was nine. The tics, which are repetitive and involuntary, are often characteristics of the disorder, and may look like rapid eye-blinking, shoulder movements or blurting sounds or offensive words.

Sophie uses social media to spread awareness about Tourette Syndrome, as well as dispel myths and also to show what living with it is like. Recently, she uploaded a video to TikTok of her eating dinner. The video has been viewed nearly 7 million times.

@sophie.adams04

#tourettes

♬ original sound – sophie.adams04

In the video, Sophie is having dinner with her friend, who also has Tourette Syndrome, and some other people. Their different tics show how challenging it is to do something as simple as eating dinner. Sophie eventually reaches across the table and pushes some drink glasses over. Ice and liquid spread across their dinner table.

Another video shows the mess and cleanup after the glasses are overturned.

@sophie.adams04

Aftermath of my tics

♬ original sound – sophie.adams04

Sophie hopes her videos show others how varied the tics can be and she says even though some accuse her of faking her tics, it won’t deter her from using TikTok to educate people.

People living with Tourette Syndrome have unique tics. In her videos, Sophie encourages others to not be afraid to show their differences.

@sophie.adams04

#tourettesawareness #tourettes

♬ original sound – sophie.adams04

That’s a lesson everyone should hear.

To learn more about Sophie and her life with Tourette Syndrome, follow her on TikTok and Instagram.

She’s a pretty wise teen with a great outlook on life and a positive attitude.

The post A Girl With Tourette Syndrome Made a Video of What Her Eating Dinner Looks Like appeared first on UberFacts.

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This is How a Lack of Alone Time Affects Mom’s Mental Health

If you’re a mother and you have young kiddos, or you remember what it’s like to have young kids, then there’s a good chance you already know what science and therapists are about to confirm – that burnout is real, and the toll that never having any time to yourself takes a mental toll that can grow into real trouble.

Kids need us. The smaller they are, the more they need us.

Image Credit: Pexels

Partners need us, too, and so do bosses and our parents and siblings and churches and friends…it honestly never ends, so unless you’re able to establish some firm boundaries and stick to them, there’s a good chance you’ve had a complete meltdown at least once since having a baby.

Licensed therapist Emma Bennett basically confirms what we all instinctively know when she says “I consider alone time a necessity, not an indulgence,” and maintains that mothers who don’t get enough can and do experience burnout, resentment, overwhelm, anger, and a loss of sense of self.

If you think you can manage those things, though, psychotherapist Eric Djossa says you could be taking a big risk.

“Lack of emotional or physical support can put mms at higher risk of developing a postpartum mood or anxiety disorder and lack of support/understanding can exacerbate these symptoms.”

At least one study has pointed to a lack of friend and family support as a risk factor for developing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders as well.

Image Credit: Pexels

This surprised even me – a 2018 survey of 2000 parents found that we only have an average of 32 minutes a day of “alone time.”

No wonder aw all need more!

Djossa says we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it, and we shouldn’t feel guilty taking it, either.

“When moms are communicating they want time alone it usually means they want a break. I think that moms don’t get time alone when these connections and supports are lacking. They may feel both isolated and burnt out all at the same time. A remedy to this is ramping up supports and connections in order to have the ability to take a break. They need help. They are tired of being touched by tiny hands. They need a breather. But I think that this breather looks different for different moms.”

Watch a television show alone, read your book, talk to your partner, see a friend for coffee, take a bath – whatever it is for you, make sure you fit it into your daily schedule – but it should be something that nourishes and replenishes you to dig back in.

Moms, especially first time moms, can also be wary of leaving their babies with other people, but that’s something we can learn to let go of (to some degree) in time. It’s important to remember, Bennett says, that it can even be a positive thing for our kiddos, too.

Image Credit: Pexels

“Giving our children the opportunity to build other loving attachments to additional caregivers can be a good experience for children. It is OK to accept those feelings of nervousness and also try to work with them so you can have some separation.”

So, ladies, insist on some time for yourself. Even if it’s only a couple more hours a week, it’s better than nothing.

And, speaking from experience, absence really does make the heart grow fonder – and it also refills those wells of patience, too.

The post This is How a Lack of Alone Time Affects Mom’s Mental Health appeared first on UberFacts.

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Doctors Recall the Biggest Fakers They’ve Ever Met

Oh, boy…

When you think of someone going into a doctor’s office and faking symptoms, or heading to the hospital with completely fabricated problems, it can be easy to judge. Do they want attention? Pain meds? Are they mentally ill?

Well, after reading all 16 of these stories, you’re still going to be judging…but if you’re like me, you’re also going to be fascinated by human psychology all over again.

16. I hope he told the truth in court.

Years ago I had a patient who had been rear-ended in an auto accident a few weeks before I saw her. She had a history of lupus.

She was decked out in the usual “I’m crippled” paraphernalia (crutches, neck brace, elbow braces, wrist braces, knee braces) and could barely walk.

I saw her a couple of times and she showed no improvement. One Saturday I was on call but had to take a ‘back streets’ route to the hospital because of an ‘event’ taking place on the main thoroughfare. I apparently drove through her neighborhood, because, wonders behold, there she was wearing old-lady spandex power walking down the sidewalk (holding weights in both hands). I did not call out to her.

Next week, she was back in clinic, with her “I’m crippled” getup on again. Hmmm. A few weeks later I got the subpoena for the deposition, and it all became clear.

15. Are they maybe just afraid they’re actually going blind?

Opthalmology technician.

People pretend to be blind all the time. Go to check their eye pressure with the tonopen (a device you poke them DIRECTLY into the eye with) and they go WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!?!?!?!?!

14. YOU DON’T KNOW MY LIFE.

I’m a surgery resident.

When I was on my trauma rotation we had a patient come int after an MVC, with question that maybe the patient had seized and that had caused the accident.

So he’s in the trauma bay, and starts shaking. The trauma nurse goes “oh this isn’t a real seizure”.

And the patient stops shaking, sits up, turns to the nurse, and yells “you don’t know a fucking thing about me!”.

13. Guess he didn’t think too hard about that one.

Obligatory not a doctor …I’m a nurse.

We had a guy who had to come in every 3 months to get a medical certificate to say he couldn’t work at his retail job due to severe disabling back pain. He was receiving large amounts of insurance money for this condition. After the Dr had done his usual examination and questions and signed it off the guy asks the doctor to check his shoulder which doc does and asks how he injured it? Guy says playing rugby for a competitive team. Really says doc? How long have you been playing for them ?

Guy has been playing and training the whole time. Doc puts this info on insurance form . Doc loses his shit in staff room laughing.

Next week the patient loses his shit in reception because his insurance has been cancelled.

12. Some people are children forever.

Not a doctor but I was in the ER one night and there was a seeking drug addict who literally only acted in pain when there was staff around.

You ever see those videos where the little kid is fine and then they spot a parent and then bawl then immediately stop and be fine when the parent is out of view? Exactly like that. Sat fine, no movements or wincing or noises then wailing when a nurse was in the same vicinity, then back to fine when they left.

11. This is…really something.

Guy came to ER (I was a nurse at the time) for stomach ache when asking him about history he randomly mentions a fight with his girlfriend where she left in a tizzy and he fell asleep on the couch.

20 min later when we see the CT, he has a satellite cable remote wrapped in a condom lodged in his rectum. I suppose he intended to frame “her”. Didn’t get to hear the conversation he had with the doctor.

I was curious how he was going to explain why she was nice enough to wrap it in the condom.

10. My grandfather faked hearing loss whenever my grandmother was asking him to do something.

Audiologist (hearing specialist), have worked in private sector with legal claims, and with the V.A. handling veterans’ claims of hearing loss.

With those two populations, having people faking hearing loss is pretty common.

Now, as a professional, for me the hearing test starts when I call the person’s name from the waiting room. In a normal voice I call them, if they answer I already know that they’re normal/no worse than mild loss. This was the case with this guy. He answered and came in, we had a normal conversation. So, case history over, time to test, I give the instructions over the headphones at a reasonable 50 decibels (dB). “Raise you hand when you hear the tone.”

50dB tone, should be easy and clear, but he doesn’t raise his hand. I go up. And up, and up. Finally, I’m putting a 100dB tone in his ear, he’s flinching from pain it’s so loud, but he doesn’t raise his hand to indicate he’s heard the tone, even with re-instruction. I immediately know what I’m dealing with. I have taught entire classes on how to spot and try to get estimated true results from people trying to fake it. Long story short, I wrote a damning report outlining all his inconsistencies and faking behaviors. The thing that made this one so memorable, is that we had such a pleasant conversation before. He was a fire chief, I have firefighters in my family, it was one of those where you think “if it wasn’t for professional/patient appropriate distance, we could hang and be friends.” But then, this guy was determined to get a disability rating, and it just pissed me off.

I have other stories in case anyone is interested, but it’s likely this comment gets buried.

9. Yeah he draws the line at not being able to eat.

I am a nurse but not a doctor.

I had a patient who worked in a hospital (janitor) so he knew enough to fake a bit. He was seeking pain meds, complaining of chest pain, wanting morphine. He was worked up for everything cardiac and was fine. Then he tried to claim GI discomfort when he was being discharged.

Cleared again for everything. Faked chest pain again. Cleared again. Now he’s my patient. I’m a new face. He’s telling me he’s having abdominal pain. I call the doctor, knowing this guys history. He says he’ll be up to see him soon. This patient wants a ginger ale (some stomach ache). I decide to go to lunch. My coworker comes into the lunch room, disgusted. This guy had taken a dump in a basin and then dumped the ginger ale over it and tried to tell her he’d had fecal vomiting. He obviously needed dilaudid right now for the pain. I walked into his room and sure enough, a pile of shit in a puddle of ginger ale. I told him I’d have to take away his food and drinks and we’d have to put an NG down.

Suddenly he changed his tune. He admitted to faking it.

Why do these people do what they do??? (In the story, opioids).

8. Hahahaha she just couldn’t resist a peek.

4th year medical student

On my ER rotation and a trauma came in from a women that the had been arrested. During the drive the patient “banged” her head 4 times against the window of the police car and then went unresponsive.

She came to us with a bruise over her forehead and unresponsive. We all smelled bs but the patient was a great actor, didn’t even flinch during the digital rectal exam (which is standard for all patients that come in through the trauma bay). Though some of the nurses said that they caught her “peeking” at us when would leave the room.

We ended up getting a CT scan (which was normal) and was even considering intubating her to secure her airway when our attending finally walked over to her, opened her eye lids and held them open while telling her to wake up. Finally she started fighting to close her eyes and the jig was up. The doctor called her out and she proceeded to start screaming at us. She was much more pleasant when she was pretending to have a brain injury.

7. You never want to invite kidney stones from the universe. Fact.

ER nurse.

Bringing a patient back to a room who said he had kidney stones. I had him stop at the bathroom and get a urine sample. Dude comes out with with the specimen cup that literally has a piece of concrete in it. Looked him in the eye expecting some sort of joke.

He. Was. Serious.

I threw it away and walked his dumbass back to the waiting room to contemplate his stupidity.

6. They’ve gotta put something down in the chart.

Not a doctor but nurse. I once read a specialist’s consultation report and at the end of the report the actual diagnosis given was “fictitious ailment.”

5. This is a very powerful story about addiction. Because kidney stones are awful.

My next door neighbor would drink a 12 pack of Mountain Dew a day and keep kidney stones year round to get pills. He had a pretty sweet deal too, getting 90 loracets, 90 Xanax and 90 something else (i forget) every month from his doctor. He just couldn’t stop doing other drugs and pissing dirty.

I tell this story just because I was impressed with his determination to hurt himself and get surgery once a year just to get high. Like, the absolute determination that takes. My mother is a recovering addict and had been getting the same pills around that time and I don’t recall her intentionally hurting herself. She just went with already messed up issues before she got herself into a clinic to get clean.

4. Wait people do this?

I had a patient when I worked in a ICU that was sedated and on a vent.

A “family” member showed up out of nowhere and was staying day and night. I got pretty suspicious of them because they were clearly lying about knowing this person. Just talked to the fake family member about how it must have been sad since they just celebrated their birthday a week or so before getting ill. This person said it was a wonderful party and such, to which I replied their birthday hadn’t occurred yet and wouldn’t for months.

Turned out when security came it was a homeless person who snuck in and found a room with a sedated patient and decided to make it a place to stay. Needless to say security to enter the ICU was absolute shit.

3. Wow. My kids just get suckers.

When I was a medical student I worked in the pediatric side of the emergency room and we would give popsicles to all the kids. One afternoon an 8 year old came in with his father, and I asked what was wrong. The kid couldn’t remember what he complained about to his dad, and the dad couldn’t remember why he brought his kid in. The kid’s mom was a nurse, she was working at another hospital at the time, and she was the one that would keep track of these things. Anyway, after a few minutes trying to figure out what was going on the kid asked “so, can I have my popsicle now?” The kid was 100% healthy.

Unfortunately we reinforced bad behavior and both the kid AND the dad subsequently left with popsicles.

2. Kind of hard to blame him though, right?

Prisoner came in with signs and symptoms of a big stroke.

At that time the protocol was to get a non contrast head CT to rule out a bleed and then give tPA, a powerful clot busting drug that’s only worth the risk if the benefit is to mitigate a major stroke. So that’s what happened.

Later in the course he got a little carried away and started embellishing his story with symptoms that didn’t make sense with his stroke diagnosis, and that’s how we figured out he was faking it just to get some time away from jail.

1. What a smart little twerp.

My cousin got glasses. Her 7 year old little sister also wanted glasses because she thought it was so cool to wear them.

So she started telling her teachers she couldn’t read what was on the chalkboard. And she’d squint at home, and go incredibly close to the tv to watch things because she said she couldn’t see things clearly. Her parents got worried and took her to the doctor.

She read everything wrong on the vision test. Everyone seemed convinced that she needed glasses. But the doctor was a little concerned because the tests indicated she needed really thick glasses, and usually that wasn’t the case unless there was a family history of vision issues. Her parents both had 20/20 vision and her sister only had astigmatism. They all realized she was faking it.

So the doctor told her parents in front of her that she’d need some pretty intense eye surgery so she’d be able to see without glasses. They even wheeled in a machine to make it convincing to say they could do the surgery right then and there.

She freaked out, confessed to faking it all and started to cry. She got grounded for a while.

See what I mean? Human beings are so weird!

Do you have a story like this, from either the patient or doctor’s point of view? Tell us in the comments!

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Doctors Share the Biggest Faker They Ever Encountered

If you’re a Seinfeld fan (and of course you are) you probably remember when George fakes an arm injury to the point of actually having to go to the doctor to get it checked out.

The doctor says “may I suggest the possibility that you’re faking” and basically takes no prisoners in the face of a lying liar.

I sincerely hope these 18 doctors had the chutzpah to tell their faking faker patients the same thing.

18. How inspiring! Ha!

Whenever we had kids (usually teenagers) playing up their symptoms to extend their hospital stay, we would order them into a healthy lifestyle.

Lights out at 9, no screen time for two hours before bed time, healthy diet chock full of fruits and vegetables, screen time limits, minimum number of laps around the unit per day to get in their exercise…. they got better so much faster with our healthy lifestyle tips!

17. This guy really knows how to paint a picture.

Taking trauma call during surgery residency, had a prisoner come in after a fight and claimed he couldn’t move or feel his legs. All the CT scans and MRIs were normal, but we would shield his legs so he couldn’t see them and poke them with needles and other sharp objects, with enough force to cause pain- he never flinched or moved his legs at all. He was diagnosed with SCIWORA (spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality).

He stayed in the hospital for a week, no improvement. Always had one guard with him. One night they were down in the lobby watching some television but the guard needed to use the restroom. The patient said, “where could I possibly go? I’m paralyzed!” Guard left him alone for two minutes.

Patient last seen sprinting down the road, naked butt cheeks flapping in the breeze. Made it to a city four hours away by car before he was caught again. I have never seen anyone fake it so well. Truly playing the long con!

16. Some of these are just plain sad.

Sorta along the same idea. Working at a pharmacy we saw a guy come in to try and get a refill on some pain meds that had no refill. After pleading that his ear really hurt we told him again we couldn’t refill it. One of the other employees saw his step into a side hallway and take a pencil and JAM it forcefully into his ear repeatedly, drawing blood. He calmly left and went to the ER. He came back a few hours later with a prescription for pain meds.

15. This is completely flabbergasting.

Dermatologist here

Patient was convinced she had a melanoma and needed a biopsy and would need to be on workers comp

I told her it looked like ink from a marker

She demanded a biopsy

I wiped the area off with an alcohol swab and showed her the ink and that there was no spot on her skin anymore

She stormed out threatening to sue

I’m just glad I cured her melanoma

14. I hope the warning worked.

This patient comes in for back pain with “weakness” of the legs. Gets a full workup with MRI, standard blood work, and then some immunological things to look for stuff like myasthenia gravis. No neurological or immunological explanation for the “weakness.” Patient is seen by physical therapy and they are of the opinion that the patient is holding back intentionally.

Go to see the patient at the end of the day and prep them for discharge. Patient is infuriated that they’re being discharged. Yelling and screaming about how they aren’t better, how they’re disappointed in the institution, blah blah blah. They said one particular thing that still clearly stands out 3-4 years later. “I can’t believe you’re sending me home already. I haven’t even told my family I’m here, and now you’re going to send me home before they even have the chance to see me?”

My attending and I leave the room to arrange things with the nurses. We go back in and the patient is out of bed and standing up in the middle of the room. Miraculously the patient is able to walk with zero assistance when they had so much difficulty with any assistance over the previous two days. At that point, they were enraged was enraged we went in to the room without knocking. They were discharged home after a conversation regarding abuse of medical services.

13. It’s a miracle!

Had a patient come in for a fall who now couldn’t move their legs at all. Did a bunch of tests, didn’t find anything. The patient was not at all phased by suddenly being paralyzed which was the first red flag. Didn’t really believe anything was wrong but the patient was still not moving their legs. My options are to admit for a huge work up or get them to walk. So I update them saying everything is fine, tests are negative, you can go home. Patient gets up, gets dressed and walks out without a word.

12. And this was a grown adult.

Had a patient when I was an intern feigning blindness. She would constantly be playing on her smartphone, only furiously trying to hide it when someone from the care team came into her room. The best was when my attending one day strolled pst her room and threw his hand up in a highly exaggerated ‘hello’ wave. She started to throw her arm up to but caught herself half way through, then threw her hand back into her lap and pretended to be ‘staring’ off into nothing.

11. This might be one of the saddest stories I’ve ever read.

Not a doctor but worked in health care for nearly 20yrs. While taking a break from the ICU (due to it being emotionally draining) I worked in home health for a bit. I had a patient who clearly had munchausen syndrome. On a daily basis she would call her insurance to see what things would be covered if she was diagnosed with this or that. She called her Doctor’s office an average of 5x during my shift with her, she would report all kinds of non real symptoms. She pestered the doctors into do exploitive laparoscopic surgery, of course nothing was found. One day I walked in and she was rubbing her incisions with rotten cabbage trying to get it infected. She wasnt seeking pain meds (except to sell) really she was just as happy with antibiotics or stool softeners, anything, as long as they wrote her a prescription and she got to go to the pharmacy where she did a whole song and dance for them too, claiming allergies and reactions.

She always increased the exaggeration of her story too. One time she fluttered her eyes (after making sure I was looking) and said she lost consciousness in that half a second. She called the doctor and claimed she lost consciousness for 5mins, she called the insurance and claimed it was 10min, she called the pharmacy and claimed it was 30min, then she called 911 and told them she woke up on the floor after loosing consciousness for 4hrs.

The worst thing about her was she was a mom. Her son was 28 at the time and by all the stories of his childhood illnesses and all her saying how he is severely disabled I knew she basically fucked up his childhood with munchausen by proxy. She portrayed him as being severely disabled and that’s why he would never find a wife…I met him, he was healthy and of average intelligence. He wasnt looking for a wife, he was gay, but she refused to accept that.

Working with her was so miserable that I took a couple years off from any and all healthcare after that.

10. Another Festivus miracle!

Nurse for an ophthalmologist here. Had a 21 year old new patient claiming to be completely blind from a sudden and severe glaucoma diagnosis from a previous unknown doctor. Would feel around while walking, tried to keep eyes rolled back into his head. The whole 9 yards. He said he is a famous YouTube rapper that is now unable to make videos or earn a living. I exclaimed to have heard of him before and very excitedly asked him to search and show me his YouTube channel on my phone so that I could subscribe. He took my phone out of my hand and effortlessly found the YouTube app and typed away in the search bar. Oh, and of course his eyes were back to normal and focused.

9. Hahaha that’s one way to cure them.

We had a patient faking a seizure so my supervisor told one of us to get the “brain needle”.

The patient made a miraculous and swift recovery without intervention.

8. Soccer players, man. Wimps.

One time my roommate (who is an ICU nurse) came to see one of my indoor soccer games. During the game a player on the other team went down “hurt” and starting screaming in pain and swearing and rolling around while holding his ankle before he was eventually helped off the field. He then limped over to where the fans sat and watched the rest of the game brooding in silence before he left early. After the game my roommate told me he was going to go over and see if there was anything he could do to help, until he saw that the guy was limping on the wrong leg.

7. Talk about a crazy (life-saving) coincidence.

Young (18-20) Woman went running into small rural hospital ER pretending to have abdominal pain. Police officer had tagged her going 40+km over the limit which was ‘stunt driving’ as per the new law in Ontario (impound and license suspension automatic). Cop followed her into ER and apparently said he’d be waiting for her when she left.

Locum staff such as myself were housed at a small B&B about 15 mins away, and the ER had pre-printed order sets to be done before we arrived.

When I arrived she flat out admitted that she just came in because she freaked out and didn’t stop. I told her we’d give her 45 mins to call her parents/family before I booted her.

Except, bHCG came back positive, and subsequent ultrasound came back showing extremely early ectopic.

Officer figures out something is up when he hears air ambulance call come in over radio.

She was completely asymptomatic and just worked out that she dodged both charges and a life threatening issue by accident.

It was definitely a WTF moment.

6. I need to know why, though.

I once saw a patient who had been faking paralysis of the legs for years. Used a wheelchair, never walked, etc. Old records showed extensive imaging, neurology consults, and other tests that proved the patient had full function of all extremities. Family/friends were just going along with it. Not sure if it was really conversion disorder or if the patient had some secondary gain issue.

5. Was she trying to get out of work, or…?

Physical therapist here.

Working mom comes into the clinic with her infant in a stroller. She’s limping like she’s got a nail in her foot. Wincing in pain and tears in her eyes. She’s crying during her visit with the PT. None of us think she’s faking it…

She limped out of the clinic. I glanced out of the window and saw this woman BOUNDING down the sidewalk. Hips swaying, full stride, going places.

We were all fools.

4. Things they probably don’t prepare you for in medical school.

Was told this one by a fellow nurse I used to work with when we had a psych floor. It’s not unusual for psych patients to stash things in various orifices. This one woman was convinced she was impregnated by a ghost like figure but no one would believe her.

So one day she started complaining of massive pelvic and uterine pain. She called them contractions. So the doctor goes to do an exam. The doctor feels something larger in there so they prep a table to get the object out which was quite large.

So the wonderful third year helping with the procedure starts hearing this woman complain of contractions and yelling things like “ SHOULD I PUSH!!!! I’M GONNA START PUSHING!!!”. Doctor trying to work forceps around this woman’s parts as to not hurt her. Finally goes “got…” and as he starts saying “it” he pulls out a baby doll. Head only.

The poor med student did the wobble. Went all flush, had problems keeping balance and about took a dive. I was told he didn’t live that down the whole rotation.

3. Oh my god this is horrifying.

Pediatric neuropsychologist. Got a referral for more or less consolidation care. Patient was 13, wheelchair bound, required therapeutic oxygen, seizures, arthritis, musculoskeletal problems, suspected autism, completely nonverbal, severe behavior challenges, the list goes on. He was being followed by at least 8 different specialties, clearly none of whom were communicating with each other, and med list was ~18 prescriptions long including some incredibly heavy duty stuff (opioids, antipsychotics, antiepileptics, that sorta stuff). Got kicked to me after his umpteenth ER trip because the ER doc felt something was off and he needed someone to look at the whole picture.

Factitious disorder by caregiver, or Munchausen by proxy. All of the original symptoms were parent reported, going back to about a year old. It had possibly started with a febrile seizure (fever induced seizure) in infancy, but this was never witnessed by anyone but mom she it’s unclear. She had been telling docs different things. She was convinced her son had all these disorders, told him he was going to die any day. He got a Make-A-Wish trip, donations, etc.

He was removed from her custody and taken off most of his meds. Within a few weeks he was out of the wheelchair playing basketball, no oxygen, super talkative and friendly, no behavior problems. He did have a pretty significant intellectual disability, but there’s no way to say if that was organic or the result of the prescription cocktail he had been fed all his life. Hopefully with some good therapy and a stable home, he can continue to make progress.

2. I’ve been tired as a mom, but not THIS tired.

Not a doctor, but am a UK based midwife.

Had a patient who had been in and out of hospital throughout her pregnancy with episodes of heavy bleeding. This was her 6th baby so she was a fairly well known patient in our unit. The issue was no one had ever seen her actively bleeding, she’d call saying that she had bled down the toilet but flushed it, and all the examinations we did came back completely normal with mostly no evidence of any bleed whatsoever, on occasions during speculum examinations we’d see the smallest amount of blood.

I was caring for her during a shift where she yet again called to say she was bleeding, walked into her room and found her jabbing around her vagina with a sharp object to make herself bleed. She had been doing it the entire pregnancy, the reason she gave – because she had 5 noisy children at home, needed some rest and knew we wouldn’t admit her to hospital if it wasn’t for a good reason. She would do it any time her being discharged home was mentioned. We ended up having to complete a perinatal mental health referral and consult with the safeguarding midwives as she was putting herself and baby at risk of serious harm.

1. You’ve got to learn to have a little fun I guess.

My brother was an EMT for two years and he told me this:

People will try to use the ambulance as a means for transportation from Fulton to Oswego (because the hospital is in Oswego), by faking seizures. Sometimes when the head EMT guy was feeling fun and knew that the person was faking, he’d say something like “man it’s weird that he’s having seizures but not peeing himself”. Apparently the person would kind of snap out of it for a second, weigh up the repercussions, then either pee themselves or stop faking. I thought that was hilarious.

Why are people like this?? I think some of them might have needed a mental eval.

If you’re a doctor, has this happened to you? Tell us your story in the comments!

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The 6 Types of Acne and Why They Might Pop Up

Acne can cause problems beyond damaged skin. Dealing with acne can be stressful in itself, which doesn’t exactly help it go away, either.

But did you know that there are actually six types of acne? And while there isn’t always an answer for everything, there are different reasons why acne may occur. Let’s take a closer look at each type of acne, including inflammatory acne and the noninflammatory variety.

Whiteheads

Photo Credit: Pixabay

One of the most common forms of acne, whiteheads fall under the noninflammatory category. These whitish-colored bumps have a white center in the middle of a red halo. You may find a hair come out from the center.

Whiteheads are a direct result of clogged pores. This can occur from dirt, oil sebum, or even dead skin cells that are closed within a pore.

Blackheads

Like whiteheads, blackheads also fall under the noninflammatory type of acne. However, they are characterized by dark, black-colored spots. These appear in the form of raised bumps.

Blackheads can also be caused by blocked pores, most often by hair follicles.

Pustules

Photo Credit: Pixabay

More commonly referred to as pimples, pustules are often tender, larger bumps with a circular center. Inside, you’ll find a yellow/white pus covering a red base. Essentially, they look like whiteheads that are much more inflamed.

Pustules can be caused by a number of factors, including an allergic reaction, insect bite, or clogged pores.

Papules

Falling under the inflammatory category, papules are located under the surface of the skin. They are raised, pink, and tender. However, they don’t have a visible center.

Papules can be caused by several skin conditions, including warts, eczema, or skin infection. You can also get papules from an allergic reaction.

Nodules

Nodules are one of the most painful forms of acne. These inflamed, hard lumps can be found deep within the skin and can become severely complicated.

Nodules are formed when clogged pores damage the cells and tissue deep beneath the skin’s surface. Let’s just say this can turn into a painful process.

Cysts

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Finally, the last form of acne is cysts. Essentially, they are pustules that become infected. Cysts are often filled with puss and can cause severe skin issues such as scarring.

Has acne ever been a problem for you? What did you find helped treat it? Tell us your tips and tricks in the comments below!

The post The 6 Types of Acne and Why They Might Pop Up appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Share What Happens When You Hallucinate Because You’re So Sleep-Deprived

I used to work a job with a crazy schedule. Once, we worked five days a week from noon until 6 a.m. for FIVE WEEKS. That’s 18 hours a day for those of you keeping track…

As you can imagine, it was totally exhausting and sometimes by the time I was heading home when the sun was coming up, I feel like I started seeing things and my reaction time was slowed WAY down.

I can’t really say I was hallucinating, but it was probably the closest I’ve ever come to it.

In this AskReddit article, people talk about what happened when they were so sleep-deprived that they hallucinated.

Buckle up!

1. Time to make the donuts.

“In college, I tried to hold down a donut delivery job while taking a full credit load.

I got up at 4:30 AM to deliver, and often was up until midnight or even later. After a particularly busy week with almost no sleep, I hallucinated a man crossing the street right in front of me while delivering and I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting him.

When I realized that there was no one in the crosswalk — and no one anywhere in sight — I finished my deliveries and immediately quit my job.”

2. Don’t do meth.

“I had a meth problem several years ago. I think my longest stretch was 4 days.

Past a certain point you just don’t know which way is up. Sure meth can make you weird, but in my experience I think the sleep deprivation is actually what makes you lose your marbles after long enough. When I made sure I slept and ate regularly, it was almost like an energy drink. But when I binged and had my junkie weeks, oof.

Once I thought I was hearing music playing loudly somewhere outside. I was convinced it was a soundtrack to a big music festival I had attended a few weeks before that someone had also attended, and was now playing loudly in the middle of the night. (The whole musics festival? Multiple bands had a soundtrack? Bruh.) I couldn’t hear it when I listened for it, but while distracted I could plainly hear it. Dead of the night and no music was playing.

Another time I was sketching in my room at like 3am. I had a friend over who was just chilling with me, asking questions every so often that would lead to discussions. Slowly they responded less and less until I looked at them and they were just looking at me. Asked what was wrong, looked down, looked up waiting for the answer, and they were gone. Never there. They hadn’t talked to me in months after they found out I was using.

So many shadow people. And those took a long time to go away after sobering up.

Whispers, hearing someone talking to me, my name being called, hearing someone talking about me. Even though I was by myself lol.

Sometimes I’d be driving and cars would suddenly be coming straight at me, lights blinding and everything, only to sort of “come to” and realize I’m driving on a back road and I’m the only car for miles.

By no means am I saying any weird mental shit had nothing to do with the meth. But in my experience not sleeping for days had a much more horrifying effect.”

3. Pills are bad, too.

“One time I stayed up for 2 days straight off some pills that mixed with meth. By the second night I wanted to go to sleep so I took unisoms to see if it would help. I started hallucinating an hour after taking it and was seeing people and things with my eyes that weren’t there in reality.

It was a strangest feeling in the world knowing what I was seeing wasn’t real but not being able unsee. For example, I was looking out my window at my car. I visually saw three men next to my car.

I would turn my head away, say it wasn’t real and look back only to see the men differently positioned. I visualized them popping my hood, removing my headlamps, and opening my doors. But none of it was real.

Trippy.”

4. In the desert.

“Very calm as far as hallucinations go.

I had driven for 20+ hours and was in the Arizona/California desert. It was the middle of the night, it had been dark for hours and only other car lights and stars where visible. Started seeing things out of the corner of my eyes, just kind of objects off a distance on the side of the road. Then it was things in the road ahead. T

hat got my attention. After a bit I started seeing fantastic meteor/light showers in the sky. Wasn’t scary or anything, didn’t stop driving.

To be young, dumb, and invincible again.”

5. Tunnel vision.

“I drove across country from NY to California when I was 18. I was on a 2 lane highway in Kansas and got bad tunnel vision. But the thing about tunnel vision is you don’t know it’s happening when it’s happening. The road was straight, flat, and there were no cars going by me, in front of me, or behind me.

I ended up getting pulled over. When I saw the flashing lights behind me I pulled over immediately but wasn’t sure how fast I was going or even if I was being pulled over for speeding. The first thing the officer asked me was why it took me so long to pull over.

This was confusing since I pulled over right away. He told me he had been following me for almost 5 minutes with his lights and sirens on and that I had been going well over 100 mph.

He checked out my info, didn’t give me a ticket. Told me to stay more alert, take frequent breaks, and to slow down.”

6. Is this real?

“While deployed overseas with lack of sleep for like 70+ hours, I would black out and re-experience/dream completely different scenarios that happened days prior. It was crazy. Like Deja Vu, but for like an hour.

I’d snap out of it and be completely confused for like 30 seconds, wondering which experience was real.”

7. No sleep at all.

“When I was in university, immediately after my father died (OD’d on Christmas Eve after I threw him out), I pretty much quit sleeping. Maybe 3-4 hours a night. Went through lots of counselling, lots of medication (7 different sedatives and SSRI’s) but basically just couldn’t sleep.

We had a home birth for my niece so even when the grief wasn’t overwhelming, the newborn baby kept me up.

Anyways, I knew it got bad when I started microsleeping. I’d be in class listening to a lecture, blink and police officers would be standing beside me explaining what had transpired, then blink and I’d be back listening to class. Maybe mentally be out of it for 5-10 seconds but felt entirely lucid other than time dilation.

The psychiatrist at the time said I was dropping into REM because I was so sleep deprived. Happens with new moms when babies are cluster feeding. I wasn’t driving or anything so not dangerous that way but honestly lived in a fog for years.

Just like snap of the finger – perfectly lucid horrible moment of my life – snap of the finger back.

During this period I had a thing where I quit talking to people at school to see how long they would go without chatting to me. Literally had week stretches where not a word was said. Then came finals, started vomitting with anxiety when I tried to enter the exam rooms which was an autofail for my classes.

So academic probation, the opportunity to protest if I would speak in front of the university Senate, which I clearly couldn’t do, and eventual complete failure. There were times where I was hitting the student food bank after hours because I literally couldn’t walk into a grocery store because my anxiety was so severe.

So definitely can happen but for me was pretty extreme situation.”

8. Back to reality.

“It was the weirdest thing.

I was taking notes on an extremely boring video in theology but then words started appearing on their own without me writing anything. They were dancing around for a bit and I found it completely normal for a bit but then I realized that words aren’t suppose to dance.

Then I snapped back to reality with nothing on my paper.”

9. Sounds rough.

“For context, this happened during some military training. Laying down in the woods desperately trying to stay awake, usually the plants turn into people. Like you’ll see a figure walking around out in front of you, and then “come to” and realize it was just a sapling or a bush or something.

Happened surprisingly more during the day than the night.”

10. Is that a vending machine?

“Favorite Ranger School story: two dudes pulling security in a patrol base. B

een going for days on end with no more than two hours of sleep a night. One of them stands up out of nowhere, starts walking into the woods. The one still on the ground asks the dude walking off where he’s going. The guy points out into the woods and says, “Vending machine. Gonna get some Doritos.”

His buddy on the ground thinks for a minute and replies, “Get me a Snickers, man, I’ll cover you!”

Both of them were so loopy that the one guy was seeing a vending machine out in the middle of the woods, and the other guy didn’t even question the logic of the scenario, he immediately jumped to what he wanted out of the vending machine.”

11. Overworked.

“Used to overwork myself to the point of hallucinations fairly regularly.

Most were auditory; I’d hear someone talking nearby (usually saying my name or just a couple of muffled syllables), bits of songs; like having an ear worm except louder, lol. A distant ringing telephone was also common. Less commonly I’d hear something loudly falling somewhere.

Visually, I’d mostly see flashes of color or blackness in the periphery of my vision. Like when someone walks by and you just barely see them out of the corner of your eye. Tall figures in the room (such as a coat on a rack) would also briefly appear to be a person standing there.

Those were probably the most startling to me.”

12. My bad…

“When I had a new baby, I was in target with the baby and got a call from an officer.

Turns out I had left every single door of my car open. He thought it was a break in.

It was not… just me sleep deprived!!”

13. Scary stuff.

“It’s honestly scary, like one time I was on the verge of falling asleep and I thought I felt somebody run their finger across my cheek.

When i snapped upright into a sitting position, nobody was there. I live alone btw. I’m sure I hallucinated it but that shit is scary regardless.”

14. Didn’t really happen…

“I used to have episodes of insomnia as a teenager. Once, while walking home from school, I saw a car driving in my direction. It suddenly veered onto the sidewalk, continued toward me, and swerved back onto the road moments before hitting me.

I thought it was real, but I was so out of it from exhaustion that I didn’t even flinch. I realized a few days later that the curb of the sidewalk was too high for a car to have possibly driven over.”

15. Hearing things…

“They were auditory, but I heard sirens in the distance and just kind of weird sounds, not really voices or anything distinguishable.”

Ugh…for me personally, being extremely overtired makes me the most miserable person on the planet.

How about you?

Have you ever been so tired that you actually hallucinated?

If so, tell us about it in the comments!

The post People Share What Happens When You Hallucinate Because You’re So Sleep-Deprived appeared first on UberFacts.

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Years of Negative Thoughts Could Increase Your Odds for Contracting Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the most awful illnesses that families go through – you’re often forced to mourn the loss of your loved one while they’re still alive, and to steel yourself to go into a room with a parent, aunt, grandparent, who no longer knows you from Adam or Eve.

The good news is that the disease has a decent amount of funding and research, and this most recent study things they may have a lead on what makes people more susceptible.

The research concludes that persistent worrying about the future, or an inability to let go of past regrets, can have a detrimental effect on cognition of all types later in life – including an increased risk for dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Scientists largely accept the idea that our thoughts can and do influence our physical health, even though there’s little understanding as to how and why. Still, the Cognitive Debt hypothesis, which states that certain negative thoughts and mental states somehow contribute to the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, exists for a reason.

Researchers conducting this most recent study spent two years analyzing the mental states of 360 people over the age of 55, mostly following their tendency to fall into repetitive negative thinking (RNT). They were also screened for depression and anxiety.

High levels of RNT were strongly associated with cognitive decline in a wide range of areas, including episodic memory and global cognition, which are two big predictors of a person’s likelihood to develop Alzheimer’s.

Image Credit: Pixabay

In the patients who consented to brain scans, a harmful buildup of protein plaques in the brain was also associated with high levels of RNT – more specifically, a protein called tau was increasing in the entorhinal cortex, which also is an early indicator of dementia.

Another protein, amyloid-beta, was found to present in higher amounts in the brains of people who tended to have negative thought patterns; it’s strongly associated with Alzheimer’s disease, especially.

Author Natalie Marchant clarified their findings in a statement.

“Chronic negative thinking patterns over a long period of time could increase the risk of dementia.

We do not think the evidence suggests that short-term setbacks would increase one’s risk of dementia.”

Image Credit: Pexels

There’s no concrete evidence as to how repetitive negative thought patterns can damage cognition so thoroughly, though they posit that high stress levels could be to blame. High blood pressure and the repetitive release of hormones like cortisol have been shown previously to stimulate creation of the harmful proteins.

Basically, maybe your hippie yoga friends are really onto something – some meditation and yoga might be just what the doctor ordered.

Therapy is also awesome, I’ve heard, or just a stiff drink now and then.

Pick your poison, as they say. But it looks like it’s in your best interest to choose one that helps you chill the eff out.

The post Years of Negative Thoughts Could Increase Your Odds for Contracting Alzheimer’s Disease appeared first on UberFacts.

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Is Your Kid Not Sleeping? Here Are Some Answers to Your Questions About Melatonin for Children

When you have kids, sleep is at a premium. So when you have a child that struggles to fall or stay asleep, the effects on the whole family can be disastrous.

I hated bedtime with my three year old. Loathed it. We followed all of the suggestions, moved bedtime around, had the same routine every night, no screens, screens, music, no music, nap, no nap – no matter what, it would take him upwards of an hour and half (sometimes longer) to fall asleep.

That meant no “me” time, and no alone time for my husband and me, because it was usually close to 10pm by the time we escaped his room (and usually later than that, because we would fall asleep, too).

Image Credit: Pexels

The real reason that I decided to ask my doctor about melatonin, though, was how frustrating it was for him. My baby was tired, exhausted some nights, and still he would toss and turn for hours before finally being able to close his eyes.

The doctor gave us the green light, and it’s been like living with a different kid. It doesn’t make him fall asleep, but it gets his body in a place where he feels ready to sleep.

But as a mother, yes, I have to wonder whether I made the decision for him, or for me.

More and more pediatricians, and subsequently, more and more parents, are turning to melatonin to help cure their kiddos sleep woes. In fact, in a study, a full half of parents have or are using it currently.

Is it safe, though?

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That’s the million dollar question, and the hard truth is, we really don’t know. There have been no negative side effects found in studies on short term use, but there aren’t a lot of them, especially not focused on children. The concern seems to be more around sustained, long-term use, but only because there’s literally no data.

Melatonin isn’t considered a drug, since it’s a hormone present in everyone’s body. It’s officially labeled a dietary supplement, which means the FDA doesn’t have to approve or verify its ingredients, and they haven’t weighed in on its efficacy or potential harms, either.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Institutes of Health do not recommend children taken it long term for that reason…but neither specifies what constitutes “long term.”

In a person without sleep issues, melatonin flows from your pineal gland and tells your body when to sleep and when to wake. In supplementing it, we’re telling our body it’s time to go to sleep. Everyone’s sleep-wake cycle is a bit different, everyone requires different amounts of sleep, and people have varying internal clocks – so it could be that your difficult sleeper is a natural night owl, or just doesn’t require as much sleep as the kid in the next room.

Image Credit: Pexels

Which, I think will be fine to manage once my child is old enough to be awake in the house on his own, and to be doing his own thing when he is. For now, when his schedule is woven so tightly with my own sanity, the melatonin stays.

If you’re considering giving it to your kiddo, you should know that almost every doctor out there will tell you its safe in the short term, and honestly, it might be in the long term, too. You’ll have to make that decision with your doctor, though, but listen – good sleep is good for the soul.

Yours and theirs, and so that’s something to consider, too.

The post Is Your Kid Not Sleeping? Here Are Some Answers to Your Questions About Melatonin for Children appeared first on UberFacts.

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Funny Tweets About Wearing Face Masks out in Public

I don’t really enjoy wearing a mask when I go outside, but it’s the right thing to do and it’s the SMART thing to do for myself and everyone I come into contact with.

This is just our new reality, at least for now, so let’s hunker down, be cautious, and try to beat this thing as quickly as we can.

Buuuuuuuuuuuut, we’re also allowed to retain a sense of humor, right?

Phew! I was worried there that we wouldn’t be able to for a second.

So sit back, kick your feet up, and enjoy these funny memes about wearing a face mask in these very strange times we live in.

1. That’s very important.

Keep this in mind…

2. Just put it on!

Breathing all over me, gross!

3. Protecting strength…

Or something like that…

4. Could be either one.

The mask serves many purposes.

5. Hahahaha. So accurate.

Don’t worry about how you look, okay?

6. Cute! Can I get one?

Dogs are being smart about it, too.

7. You gotta be careful about that.

“That guy is a total dick.” Oops.

8. This is very popular right now.

And Darth Vader…

9. Not the cool kind of ninja.

Doesn’t quite come off as intimidating, does it?

10. You can’t win with some folks.

Just block them out, I guess.

11. At least you’re staying busy!

And I’ll take one while you’re at it.

12. Security blanket.

Hey, some people might never take them off, even after this is over.

Those tweets are a real hoot!

Now we want to hear from all the readers out there!

In the comments, tell us how YOUR mask-wearing adventure is going so far. We want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly.

And share a pic of yourself in your mask, too, if you’re up for it.

Oh, and one more thing: WEAR A MASK when you go out in public. Do it for yourself and for the sake of others. Please and thank you!

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Funny Tweets About Wearing Face Masks

Let’s not gloss over this whole situation: this health crisis is very serious and you undoubtedly know that hundreds of thousands of people have died worldwide because of it.

So wear a mask when you go out in public because it helps everyone out in the long run.

But we also need to live our lives and laugh a little bit, so let’s all enjoy these funny memes about wearing face masks when we venture into the outside world.

Hey, hopefully it’ll be over sooner than later, but in the meantime, just wear the damn mask, okay?

Enjoy these tweets!

1. Why aren’t you smiling?

No more of that!

2. Mine weighs at least 10.

Gotta drop those pounds somehow…

3. You know you’ve done it.

It’s just part of the deal.

4. That’s disgusting.

But it’s also very true.

5. They sure are!

I’m glad you’ve made this discovery.

6. I need this too for my sunglasses.

Can anybody out there offer some advice?

7. Dear diary…

Be careful with that stuff.

8. What a relief it is!

Feels like liberation!

9. Yeah, I’ve had enough of those.

We all look pretty much the same with these things on.

10. That’s one good thing about it.

How many bags of Fritos did you just buy?

11. Oh, no!

How will the world know?

12. A great excuse!

Once we don’t have to wear masks, THEN I’ll work out.

13. Do what you gotta do.

Whatever works, right?

We have to laugh right now, or else we’ll all break down crying!

So let’s just laugh, okay?!?!

Now we want to hear from you!

In the comments, tell us about your personal mask experiences lately and share a photo of yourself wearing one with us!

And remember, WEAR A MASK when you go out in public, please!

The post Funny Tweets About Wearing Face Masks appeared first on UberFacts.