Stephanie S

My doctor prescribed Medrol Dose Pack for a severe skin allergy to a new lotion I tried (Palmer's stretch mark massage lotion, in case you were wondering). I just took my first dose (2 pills) so when will it start working?

I am absolutely miserable. I have had this rash for a week, and it has gotten very itchy in the last two days and spread to other parts of my body. I'm so itchy I can't even think straight. I am having to take a bath every few hours to soothe the rash. I use baking soda and oatmeal. I am applying hydrocortisone cream but it's not really helping. The rash does not respond to benadryl either. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

So a few weeks ago my husband basically told me I was fat and that I needed to "put effort" into my appearance.

I am 5'8 and 170lbs. I am curvy, have 36D boobs and a nice butt. My body fat percentage is 28% and my muscle is 34% (I have large biceps and calves). I wear a size 8 jeans, medium shirts and medium scrub pants/tops. I am really happy with my appearance, I wouldn't mind toning up and losing a few pounds since I've gained a little since starting my new job (which is a desk job, whereas at my old job I was very active). But for my husband to call me fat really shocked me.

My husband recently lost about 50lbs on a crash diet which he is still doing. He works overnight, and eats one unhealthy meal a day. I don't know if he's trying to get me psyched up to do the same, but he definitely wasn't nice about it! I don't have any health problems and I was confident about my body until he told me I was fat. He says he wants me to be back at the weight I was when we first started dating (freshman year of college, six years ago!) which was 150. That was really a rock bottom weight for me too, it was hard for me to get under that because I am curvy.

So being the nice wife that I am, I went on a diet. I am eating super healthy; lots of fruits, veggies, lean protein and fiber. And he tells me I'm eating too much and that I pack too much for lunch! I really don't know what to think. When I married my husband (which was six months ago, by the way) I thought I was getting unconditional love. He has never been like this before. Now I'm paranoid about my weight and appearance.

We've definitely had some marriage problems before this, it's hard to be close when we work opposite schedules also my husband plays video games excessively which annoys the crap out of me. When I say excessive I mean 15-20 hours a week, sometimes more if he gets a new game. I can't say that I've been nice about his habit (I think it's a horrible waste of life, everything in moderation is my motto), but that's not an excuse for him to call me fat.

And then he goes and tells me he's been talking about how fat I am to his mother, who is an obese woman! What the heck?! She's the one that eats Little Debbies for breakfast and who has horrible health problems for her age due to her weight but yet he pesters me? I just don't get it.

He wants to go to counseling, but I'm really afraid. I'm not afraid to be told I'm wrong by the counselor, but that a bunch of other feelings that my husband has been keeping inside will come out and hurt me even more. I'm also afraid that the counselor will tell him he's wrong, which he doesn't handle very well and he will take his anger out on me. Advice please?

So I am 5'8 and 176 pounds and I am trying to lose weight. Five years ago I weighed 145 pounds (I got at this weight by starving after a bad break-up, I was depressed) and I was really happy with the way I looked. I am curvy, so it was really hard for me to get under 145 lbs. However, throughout college I gradually gained a bunch of weight and I am trying to lose it in a healthy way.

I've been counting calories, and I'm eating about 1,000 calories everyday but I'm so FULL! I feel like I eat as much (if not more) volume in food than before I started my diet. Here is what I eat on a regular day:

Breakfast: High fiber oatmeal and an over-easy egg

Lunch: Medium sized spring mix with 1 tablespoon of feta cheese, 10 baby carrots, 1/2 cup of kidney beans, low sodium vegetable juice, and a serving of fruit (usually mango or pineapple)

Dinner: 3 ounces of meat (chicken,pork or fish), 2 servings of vegetables or 1 serving of soup

Snacks (x2 a day): A serving of fruit (kiwi, banana), dried fruit (apricots), glass of milk, greek yogurt

Water:4-6 glasses a day

I know it is bad to crash diet but I can honestly say I'm not hungry and I feel better than ever! The only time I feel slightly hungry is right before bed, and if it's really bothering me I'll have a glass of milk. I exercise for about 20 minutes 4 times a week (trying to get to 60 min, but I am out of shape!) Is my diet going to come back and haunt me or am I on the right track? I love eating healthy (veggies, fruit, whole grains) but I really can't imagine eating more of them than I do now...I would be so full!

I have been doing this for one week and I've lost about 4 pounds. Is this safe?

My cat is driving me absolutely up the wall. We've had him for about two years and he has always had problems with not peeing in his litter box. I've seen him poop in the litter box and then hop outside of it to pee. It doesn't make any sense!

He's been to the vet and has had a previous UTI, but still when on antibiotics not peeing in the litter box. We've tried different litters; clay, wheat, crystals but nothing seems to work. We also got a Cat Genie, which he poops in but most of the time won't pee in. So obviously the issue isn't the litter.

He is a 2 and a half year old Persian (he is neutered). We have another cat, but we had this issue before we got him. He is a super nice cat and I really don't want to get rid of him. It would break my heart. Any suggestions on what his issue is or how to work with him. Right now I have him in my guest bathroom with the Cat Genie. If I were to let him out, he would pee on the couch or bed.

Me and my boyfriend are both cusps. I am an Aries/Taurus and he is a Libra/Scorpio. Anyways, we were somewhere with a astrological circle mosiac on the ground and we stood on both of our signs and we were exactly across eachother, which I thought was really freaky.

Anyways, are we compatible?

Thanks!