Harvard Health Content API

No matter what I eat, I can?t gain weight. This has been a problem all my life. For the last five years, I have had the additional problem that if I don't eat as soon as I get hungry (which is about every two hours), I start getting sick. I first get stomach cramps. Then, after about 20 minutes, I start to get really hot and dizzy and feel like I'm going to throw up. I suspect that if I didn?t eat at that point, I would pass out. What could be causing these symptoms? I think my great aunt wasted away from this problem.

My skin sometimes gets dark patches, even those areas not exposed to the sun, like my underarms, behind my knees, and inner thighs. It usually happens after an itchy irritation. Sometimes the dark color stays and will not fade. Why does this happen? Is there anything I can do to get the dark area back to its normal color?

What would cause a 14-year-old girl to have joint pain? Her knee and wrist swell and cause her a great deal of pain. The wrist had a bluish color for a while. It went away, but the swelling and pain did not. She had an MRI done, but it showed nothing.

What is the best and safest painkiller I can use long term for fibromyalgia? I suffer from severe headaches, muscle and joint pain, as well as back pain.

I am a 52-year-old man with a family history of heart disease. My doctor says my blood pressure and cholesterol are great. My latest LDL cholesterol was 98 and my HDL was 45. I exercise regularly and I try hard to stick to a Mediterranean type diet. Is there anything else I should do?

I am taking Paxil (paroxetine) and have been for the past 5 years. I find that when I try to stop taking it, the withdrawal effects are horrible. I have terrible nightmares, I am upset and depressed, and I have a metallic odor about me. What can I do?

Is there any treatment for tinnitus? I have been affected for a few years and nothing seems to work.

I have been experiencing a very salty taste in my mouth, to the point that it is giving me an upset stomach. What is causing this and what should I do?

A while back, I had some pain in my upper right abdomen. My doctor ordered some gallbladder tests. I don't have stones, but the test did show there is a blockage; my gallbladder is working at only 4%. The pain does not bother me that much, it is just annoying sometimes. I've been watching my intake of fatty foods and am trying to be healthier. Does this condition always require surgery to remove the gallbladder?

My pinky finger has been numb for two weeks. Should I be worried?