I spent five weeks logging every scary reta hospital post I saw

Long-timer here. The denominator is everything. Did you also tally how many total reta threads ran in those five weeks?

I did a similar nose-count after a rough spring and realized my own “ER-adjacent” days lined up with a stomach bug and a heat wave, not the shot. What helped was a second tracker column: fluids, electrolytes, and sleep.

Most of my scary symptoms were just under-fueled days. Not saying that’s everyone, but five weeks is short.

Curious whether the nine were mostly newer folks or people who’d been on it a while?

This is such a cool mini-audit. The dehydration angle doesn’t surprise me — when my appetite vanished, I’d realize at 4pm I’d had half a protein shake and no water. I started a “boring basics” row

The denominator thing is what gets me. 61 threads is already a self-selected sample of people who post scary stuff; the lurkers who feel fine don’t make threads.

I keep a similar tab and started tagging cause categories: heat/travel, alcohol, GI bug, or "just not eating." My 12-week trendline: rough days cluster way more with <2L fluids and low protein than with any week I changed meds. Did you capture whether the nine had a stomach bug or heat exposure?

That’d help separate the med from ordinary summer life.

I did a similar tally for a different appetite med, and the biggest confound was what “ER trip” actually meant — a bunch were just IV fluids after a stomach bug or a hot day, then never updated. Did you track whether the nine had a recent GI illness, diuretics, or alcohol?

And were any admitted vs. discharged same day? That distinction would change how I read the denominator.

The dehydration-from-barely-eating cluster seems real, but pretty nonspecific. I’d be more convinced if those threads mentioned persistent vomiting or feeling faint on standing, not just “felt awful.”

This is such a thoughtful tally. I also keep weekly averages for intake, fluids, and sleep in my own tracker, and my roughest stretches usually follow several low-intake days plus poor sleep, not one dramatic post.

Did you happen to note whether the nine urgent-care mentions clustered around heat, travel, or a stomach bug? That is the variable I would be most curious about. I appreciate that you are counting without amplifying names; it makes the noise feel less overwhelming.

honestly night shift here. My tracker has a column for “rough day” and another for “barely ate.” They look identical in forum posts. Were your 9 confirmed ER, or just urgent care and fluids? That’s a different stat.

My own five-week log: 12 rough days, 10 were me skipping meals before a shift, 2 were a stomach bug going around work. Zero ER. The scary posts usually leave out sleep debt, booze, heat, and whether they were already fainters. I’d want the same tally for people not on anything.

Useful tally. But what’s the denominator? If you only logged scary posts, you can’t tell if ER trips are common or just loud.

I work nights. I track water, meals, and sleep same as weight. When two are low, I get dizzy and stupid. That’s not a mystery.

Of those nine, how many were also sick, hungover, or in a heatwave? The boring stuff usually explains it.

I’d also split new users vs long-timers. New users panic and post. Long-timers don’t. That skews everything.

Honestly, i did a milder version of this with a “bad day” column in my tracker — sleep, ounces of fluid, protein, whether I actually left the house. Four months in, my three almost-urgent-care days all had the same pattern: under 40 oz of fluid, barely any protein, and a stomach bug going around.

Made me wonder how many of those nine ER posts were really a bug/dehydration spiral vs. the med itself. Did you note whether any mentioned a household illness or travel?

Curious if your tallies shifted once summer hit and people were generally more active.

small-town pharmacy clerk here — I hear the aftermath of these before the insurance claims even finish. What jumped out to me in your tally is the dehydration piece. Did you happen to note whether any of those nine also had a stomach bug, heat, or a long drive/work day on top of the low intake

Did you split the 9 by week of use? I ask because in my own tab, “felt awful” entries cluster hard in the first 3 weeks and after vacations, not evenly.

Normalized by days actually on the med, early weeks were ~3x rougher for me. I also started separating “went to ER” from “thought about it,” because threads lump those together.

If 4 of your 9 were week 1, your denominator changes completely. What’s the median week-of-use for those 9?

hi, I’m brand new here—week one, so I’m reading everything twice and still nervous. This is such a calm way to look at it. One thing I started in my own little note is a “context” column: slept under 6 hours, extra hot day, stomach bug at home, travel, alcohol, or a big workout.

I’m wondering if your nine ER-ish posts clustered around any of those? Not to explain them away, just because dehydration feels like it can sneak up from a bunch of boring reasons. Also, do you count “urged to go” separately from “actually went”?

I’m never sure how to tally that. Thanks for sharing this—it made me feel less alone in being cautious.

Something I noticed doing a similar tally in the old daily thread: the scary posts almost never include context. Mine was a heat wave plus a stomach bug and I’d barely eaten or drank.

Did you log whether any of the nine mentioned recent travel, hot weather, GI stuff, or a new batch? That cluster is what I’d want to see before drawing a line.

Also, how many came back a week later with an “all clear” update? The follow-ups are usually the missing half of these counts.

I did a mini version of this for my own rough days, not others’ posts. I added columns for sleep, water, whether I got my after-dinner walk, and if I’d actually cooked or just picked.

The two times I felt truly awful, both had a travel day and almost no fluids. Not saying that explains your nine, but did you note context like that?

My scary-tab got less scary once I saw how often the boring stuff lined up.

I’ve started tagging my own low-energy days by context instead of symptoms — heat wave, long walk, travel, big cooking day, house project. The cluster surprised me: my worst afternoons lined up with hot walks and forgetting to sit down for lunch, not with any one thing I took.

Did your nine ER mentions cluster like that, or were they evenly spread? That context column feels like the missing piece in these threads.

Road-warrior angle: did any of the 9 mention travel days? I live in airports/hotels, and my worst “why do I feel like garbage” evenings almost never line up with low food — they line up with 6-hour delays, recirculated air, and realizing at 9pm I’ve had one coffee and half a hotel tap water.

I added a “travel chaos” column to my tracker: flights, delays, bottles refilled, whether I actually sat down for a meal. It’s been weirdly illuminating.

Dehydration from barely eating makes sense, but I’d bet logistics turbocharge it.

One thing I added to my own anxiety log: a column for “stomach bug, travel, heat, or new workout that week?” Those are my personal intake-killers. In my very unscientific tally, the dramatic stories usually had one of those plus a totally brand-new routine, not just the med.

Curious—did your nine mention whether they’d been able to keep fluids down at all, or was it more “didn’t eat, felt weak, went in”? Also, what made you start the tab?

For me, tracking the pattern helped me stop doom-scrolling and actually prep easy snacks/electrolytes on busy days.