diff --git a/api_service/dashboard_api_endpoints.py b/api_service/dashboard_api_endpoints.py
index 0e7b3bb..183894d 100644
--- a/api_service/dashboard_api_endpoints.py
+++ b/api_service/dashboard_api_endpoints.py
@@ -105,19 +105,121 @@ async def get_user_guilds(
 ):
     """Get all guilds the user is an admin of."""
     try:
-        # This would normally fetch guilds from Discord API or the bot
-        # For now, we'll return a mock response
-        # TODO: Replace mock data with actual API call to Discord
-        guilds = [
-            Guild(id="123456789", name="My Awesome Server", icon_url="https://cdn.discordapp.com/icons/123456789/abc123def456ghi789jkl012mno345pqr.png"),
-            Guild(id="987654321", name="Another Great Server", icon_url="https://cdn.discordapp.com/icons/987654321/zyx987wvu654tsr321qpo098mlk765jih.png")
-        ]
-        return guilds
+        # First, try to use the real implementation from api_server.py
+        try:
+            # Import the dashboard_get_user_guilds function from api_server
+            from api_service.api_server import dashboard_get_user_guilds
+
+            # Call the function with the user
+            guilds_data = await dashboard_get_user_guilds(user)
+
+            # Convert the data to Guild objects
+            guilds = []
+            for guild in guilds_data:
+                # Create icon URL if icon is available
+                icon_url = None
+                if guild.get('icon'):
+                    icon_url = f"https://cdn.discordapp.com/icons/{guild['id']}/{guild['icon']}.png"
+
+                guilds.append(Guild(
+                    id=guild['id'],
+                    name=guild['name'],
+                    icon_url=icon_url
+                ))
+
+            log.info(f"Successfully fetched {len(guilds)} guilds for user {user.get('user_id')} using api_server implementation")
+            return guilds
+
+        except ImportError as e:
+            log.warning(f"Could not import dashboard_get_user_guilds from api_server: {e}")
+            # Fall back to direct implementation
+        except Exception as e:
+            log.warning(f"Error using dashboard_get_user_guilds from api_server: {e}")
+            # Fall back to direct implementation
+
+        # Direct implementation as fallback
+        from global_bot_accessor import get_bot_instance
+        import aiohttp
+
+        # Check if settings_manager is available
+        bot = get_bot_instance()
+        if not bot or not bot.pg_pool:
+            log.warning("Bot instance or PostgreSQL pool not available for get_user_guilds")
+            # Fall back to mock data since we can't access the real data
+            log.info("Using mock data for user guilds as fallback")
+            return [
+                Guild(id="123456789", name="My Awesome Server (Mock)", icon_url=None),
+                Guild(id="987654321", name="Another Great Server (Mock)", icon_url=None)
+            ]
+
+        # Get Discord API URLs from environment or use defaults
+        DISCORD_API_URL = "https://discord.com/api/v10"
+        DISCORD_USER_GUILDS_URL = f"{DISCORD_API_URL}/users/@me/guilds"
+
+        # Get access token from user
+        access_token = user.get('access_token')
+        if not access_token:
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+                detail="Access token not found in user session"
+            )
+
+        # Create headers for Discord API request
+        user_headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {access_token}'}
+
+        # Create a temporary aiohttp session
+        async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
+            # 1. Fetch guilds user is in from Discord
+            log.debug(f"Fetching user guilds from {DISCORD_USER_GUILDS_URL}")
+            async with session.get(DISCORD_USER_GUILDS_URL, headers=user_headers) as resp:
+                if resp.status == 401:
+                    raise HTTPException(
+                        status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+                        detail="Discord API authentication failed. Please log in again."
+                    )
+                resp.raise_for_status()
+                user_guilds = await resp.json()
+            log.debug(f"Fetched {len(user_guilds)} guilds for user {user.get('user_id')}")
+
+            # 2. Get bot guilds from the bot instance
+            bot_guild_ids = set()
+            if bot.guilds:
+                bot_guild_ids = {guild.id for guild in bot.guilds}
+                log.debug(f"Bot is in {len(bot_guild_ids)} guilds")
+            else:
+                log.warning("Bot has no guilds or bot.guilds is not accessible")
+
+            # 3. Filter user guilds
+            manageable_guilds = []
+            ADMINISTRATOR_PERMISSION = 0x8
+            for guild in user_guilds:
+                guild_id = int(guild['id'])
+                permissions = int(guild['permissions'])
+
+                if (permissions & ADMINISTRATOR_PERMISSION) == ADMINISTRATOR_PERMISSION and guild_id in bot_guild_ids:
+                    # Create icon URL if icon is available
+                    icon_url = None
+                    if guild.get('icon'):
+                        icon_url = f"https://cdn.discordapp.com/icons/{guild['id']}/{guild['icon']}.png"
+
+                    manageable_guilds.append(Guild(
+                        id=guild['id'],
+                        name=guild['name'],
+                        icon_url=icon_url
+                    ))
+
+            log.info(f"Found {len(manageable_guilds)} manageable guilds for user {user.get('user_id')}")
+            return manageable_guilds
+
+    except HTTPException:
+        # Re-raise HTTP exceptions
+        raise
     except Exception as e:
         log.error(f"Error getting user guilds: {e}")
+        # Return a more user-friendly error message
         raise HTTPException(
             status_code=status.HTTP_500_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
-            detail=f"Error getting user guilds: {str(e)}"
+            detail="Failed to retrieve your Discord servers. Please try again later."
         )
 
 @router.get("/guilds/{guild_id}/channels", response_model=List[Channel])
diff --git a/api_service/dashboard_web/js/main.js b/api_service/dashboard_web/js/main.js
index 6dd31c4..7ff08a9 100644
--- a/api_service/dashboard_web/js/main.js
+++ b/api_service/dashboard_web/js/main.js
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ function loadUserGuilds() {
       serverListContainer.innerHTML = ''; // Clear loading state
 
       if (!guilds || guilds.length === 0) {
-        serverListContainer.innerHTML = '<p>No servers found where you have admin permissions.</p>';
+        serverListContainer.innerHTML = '<div class="alert alert-info">No servers found where you have admin permissions.</div>';
         return;
       }
 
@@ -477,18 +477,64 @@ function loadUserGuilds() {
         guildElement.style.cursor = 'pointer';
         guildElement.dataset.guildId = guild.id;
 
-        const iconElement = document.createElement('img');
-        iconElement.className = 'server-icon';
-        iconElement.src = guild.icon_url || 'img/default-icon.png'; // Provide a default icon path
-        iconElement.alt = `${guild.name} icon`;
-        iconElement.width = 50;
-        iconElement.height = 50;
+        // Check if we have an icon URL
+        if (guild.icon_url) {
+          // Create an image element for the server icon
+          const iconElement = document.createElement('img');
+          iconElement.className = 'server-icon';
+          iconElement.src = guild.icon_url;
+          iconElement.alt = `${guild.name} icon`;
+          iconElement.width = 50;
+          iconElement.height = 50;
+
+          // Add error handling for icon loading
+          iconElement.onerror = function() {
+            console.log(`Failed to load icon for server ${guild.name}, using text fallback`);
+            // Replace the img with a text-based fallback
+            const fallbackIcon = createTextFallbackIcon(guild.name);
+            this.parentNode.replaceChild(fallbackIcon, this);
+          };
+
+          guildElement.appendChild(iconElement);
+        } else {
+          // No icon URL provided, use text-based fallback immediately
+          const fallbackIcon = createTextFallbackIcon(guild.name);
+          guildElement.appendChild(fallbackIcon);
+        }
+
+        // Helper function to create a text-based fallback icon
+        function createTextFallbackIcon(serverName) {
+          const fallbackDiv = document.createElement('div');
+          fallbackDiv.className = 'server-icon-fallback';
+          fallbackDiv.style.width = '50px';
+          fallbackDiv.style.height = '50px';
+          fallbackDiv.style.backgroundColor = '#5865F2'; // Discord blue
+          fallbackDiv.style.borderRadius = '50%';
+          fallbackDiv.style.display = 'flex';
+          fallbackDiv.style.alignItems = 'center';
+          fallbackDiv.style.justifyContent = 'center';
+          fallbackDiv.style.color = 'white';
+          fallbackDiv.style.fontWeight = 'bold';
+          fallbackDiv.style.fontSize = '18px';
+
+          // Get the first letter of each word in the server name
+          const initials = serverName
+            .split(' ')
+            .map(word => word.charAt(0))
+            .join('')
+            .substring(0, 2)
+            .toUpperCase();
+
+          fallbackDiv.textContent = initials;
+
+          return fallbackDiv;
+        }
 
         const nameElement = document.createElement('span');
         nameElement.className = 'server-name';
         nameElement.textContent = guild.name;
 
-        guildElement.appendChild(iconElement);
+        // Icon is already appended in the icon creation logic above
         guildElement.appendChild(nameElement);
 
         guildElement.addEventListener('click', () => {
@@ -514,8 +560,33 @@ function loadUserGuilds() {
     })
     .catch(error => {
       console.error('Error loading user guilds:', error);
-      serverListContainer.innerHTML = '<p class="text-danger">Error loading servers. Please try again.</p>';
-      Toast.error('Failed to load your servers.');
+
+      // Create a more detailed error message with troubleshooting steps
+      let errorMessage = '<div class="alert alert-danger">';
+      errorMessage += '<h4>Error Loading Servers</h4>';
+      errorMessage += '<p>We encountered a problem while trying to load your servers. This could be due to:</p>';
+      errorMessage += '<ul>';
+      errorMessage += '<li>Database connection issues</li>';
+      errorMessage += '<li>Discord API rate limiting</li>';
+      errorMessage += '<li>Missing bot configuration</li>';
+      errorMessage += '</ul>';
+      errorMessage += '<p>Troubleshooting steps:</p>';
+      errorMessage += '<ol>';
+      errorMessage += '<li>Refresh the page and try again</li>';
+      errorMessage += '<li>Check that the bot is properly configured with database access</li>';
+      errorMessage += '<li>Ensure the Discord bot token is properly set</li>';
+      errorMessage += '</ol>';
+      errorMessage += '<button id="retry-load-guilds" class="btn btn-primary">Retry</button>';
+      errorMessage += '</div>';
+
+      serverListContainer.innerHTML = errorMessage;
+
+      // Add event listener to the retry button
+      document.getElementById('retry-load-guilds').addEventListener('click', () => {
+        loadUserGuilds(); // Retry loading guilds
+      });
+
+      Toast.error('Failed to load your servers. See details on screen.');
     });
 }