Posts by placidjackal97

Dea, I'm sending you so much strength and some positive vibes 🙂

It's totally okay to be scared—it's obvious you're incredibly strong 👍

Regarding the Magnetic Resonance Imaging—unfortunately, it's true that you might wait months for an appointment. I actually had a connection once; I was seen just two days after they decided I needed it. That was a few years back, but even then, people were using "blue envelopes"—meaning, if you wanted to skip the line (and really, who wouldn't want to avoid months of uncertainty? 😲 I spent one night in a coma myself), you paid up and were in for your scan within a week at most.
Back then, they had two machines that people would travel from all over the US to use (I assume things have improved since then). They kept those machines running day and night—even though they were supposed to shut them down per protocol—so the equipment started breaking down bit by bit.

The ones who paid usually got late-night slots, when there was less staff wandering the hallways.

The system is 👎 but I get it—when you're in a situation like this, everyone helps the best way they know how.

It’s a noble effort on your part—honestly, I’m quite the volunteer myself, just a cheerful girl in my early forties.

It shows, dear, don't you worry 🙂

Just keep posting here

Maybe your posts are giving strength to someone else reading this anonymously from their living room—someone sitting quietly behind a screen, too afraid to say a word.

You're right, electricdriver78—thanks for adding that bit.
It’s not just about finding soft tissue issues; it covers everything, including bone anomalies.
I'm pretty sure they have this tech in the States too—it’s really just a question of whether insurance actually covers it. Here, it's rare unless you've got a "special" case.

Exactly. It's used whenever there's a suspicion of any kind of anomaly. I actually had an MRI done at Mayo Clinic once—I’ll never forget the whole experience—though in my case, it wasn't breast issues they were looking for.

In America, insurance usually picks up the tab for it.

slyraven82 🙂

rapidranger79 nailed the description there. You just catch this weird vibe—for me, it’s like my head starts spinning and my blood pressure goes haywire. My mom always says her broken arm (which she healed up years ago) starts acting up every single time before it rains.

Then there's my old childhood injury—the result of climbing a neighbor's tree 😁 and hitting the ground way too fast—which always flares up right before the weather shifts.

It’s nothing that ruins my life, but you definitely feel it. These aches have actually calmed down since I started doing autogenic training; they’d probably vanish entirely if I stuck to it, but I haven't been practicing lately—just don't have the time. (I did have a few years where they were totally gone because I was really dedicated to the practice)

Look, I never said it was unhealthy—and you definitely didn't get attacked by me—(okay, fine, you were joking and I'm 😉 )

As for the rest of the post, I think we’re on the same page.

We’ve already touched on hydration in those threads about dieting and cellulite. When I mentioned you shouldn't force yourself to chug water if you aren't actually thirsty—since overdoing it can be risky—I apparently got absolutely torn apart by a bunch of women currently obsessed with fixing their cellulite.

I don't recall anyone giving you a hard time there,

Some people thrive when they stay super hydrated, while others feel better drinking less. Honestly, trying to force yourself to follow these arbitrary "rules" is the worst way to go about it.

Take me, for example—I've been thirsty my whole life, and trying to switch to a strict 64 ounces a day? No thanks. So far today, I've only had about four cups of water, plus my morning coffee and some tea... and yeah, I'm still thirsty. I can definitely feel that missing liter I'd usually have knocked back by now.😉

Yeah

I think I picked the wrong state to deal with my health issues

(Anyone living in Germany will know exactly what I mean)

How am I handling it? Honestly, the best way is just to stay busy—distract myself with other things so my symptoms don't feel like such a huge deal. If you don't give them too much attention, they stay quieter—though, ironically, when I actually had free time, that was when everything hit me hardest)

Usually, I just lean into the chaos by letting my friends call me up on Fridays to figure out weekend plans😁

The absolute worst part is that oppressive pressure right before a storm hits—when it’s a sweltering 100 degrees with 98% humidity and my blood pressure goes haywire... at those moments, I joke that I feel like I’ve downed a shot of vodka when I definitely haven't. Turns out, I'm pretty cheap to maintain😁

Oh, and whenever life feels a bit off, the pain tends to flare up way more intensely—it's a lot easier to ignore when things are actually going my way

What can I say?

I haven't touched that junk in years. (Maybe five times total in the last five years—usually only when I overate and my stomach decided to quit on me, so a little Cola helped.)

Ever since my husband stopped drinking Cola, those random stomach issues of his just... vanished.

I don't do carbonated drinks at all. They just don't sit right with me.

)

I managed to knock back eight glasses of water this morning—trying to hit that daily goal, blah blah blah.

It’s like they told you—it’s a daily dose, not a morning one. Just a little thing to keep in mind.

I drink quite a bit of water myself—never really timed my intervals or anything—but I try to keep it under a quart an hour.

So, you just spread those eight glasses out across the entire day—and all five of them, too.
Besides that—how on earth did you manage to force down that much water in such a short window? Seriously, I’ve seen people struggle with a single bottle at the gym—I don't know how you did it.

I’d probably lose my swallowing reflex after three cases—water would just get stuck in my throat. Tried it once, and let's just say it wasn't pretty. 😁

Good luck 🙂

...so basically my mother-in-law saved the day—my husband went out to grab some Robaxin, took one last night around 10 PM and another this morning at 4 AM, and now the pain is just... gone?

Well, I guess mothers-in-law can actually be useful sometimes
(and let's be honest, that's a huge "sometimes"😉 😁

I don't really have any advice to give—not like I know the first thing about this stuff—but I'm sending you a huge 🙂

Brian Martin9 said:That dandelion syrup is just one more of those old-school home remedies for respiratory issues... I hope Tija knows about it or sees this...

Spot on 👍

I actually ended up having some of that myself 😁

I don't get how it destroys nutrients!? Shouldn't they just be destroyed by cooking in general??

Oh, absolutely,

according to data from the American Society for Nutrition—www.nutrition.org (database)

Microwaves work using electromagnetic waves.

I'll try to explain this simply for everyone—it's the only way I know how: microwaves basically make the food molecules move. That intense "agitation" creates friction, which generates heat. So, the food gets heated "from the inside," rather than the heat coming from an external source like a stove.
The microwave casing is designed specifically so that none of that radiation escapes. It’s all contained by the metal shell and that mesh screen.
Microwaves operate on non-ionizing frequencies—meaning they have no direct chemical impact on the food itself.

Nothing significant happens to the food that wouldn't happen if you were heating it on a stove. The main difference is that things don't burn as easily in a microwave, and it's much faster.

The only real danger is burning yourself—like if you reheat something creamy or baby food and forget to stir it. It can stay lukewarm on the outside while being scalding hot in the middle. It's a good lesson to pull your food out, give it a quick stir, and then finish heating it up.

vividotter97, if you've never actually looked into how a microwave works, how can you feel so free to criticize it so negatively? 😕

Regarding this break—back when I was dealing with muscular dystrophy, I couldn't move an inch for two days because the pain was just too much. My GP—she actually specialized in sports medicine—told me absolutely no aerobics for a few days. And honestly, even if she hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have been able to anyway. Even just a regular walk felt like way too much effort.

Take a breather—give yourself a break

I actually found some relief using heparin gel (just use it sparingly)—it really did the trick for me.

vividotter97 said:I wouldn't know—I don't really use one at home—but I saw this wild thing happen at a local bakery. This lady went to zap some cheese pastries in a microwave sitting right above a computer monitor. Talk about a light show! Now you guys can sit here and debate how that actually affects us, inside and out.

Do you actually know the science behind microwaves and what happens to food while it's heating up?

I think I have a handle on it—I can write it all out if you want to stop worrying about the "inside and out" stuff. (Personally, I only use mine for quick reheating or defrosting, not actual cooking—though honestly, the real downside isn't the health aspect, it's just the lack of culinary soul in the end.)

Sophia Castillo35 said:Maybe you misread me—I’m not saying you need to deep-clean the whole room or mop the floors. Just grab some disinfectant and wipe down the tanning bed after you're done. It’s not like I’m losing my dignity by doing it—and honestly, you even said you wouldn't mind either—but it’s just common courtesy, right? Like cleaning up after yourself in a public restroom... 🙄

I actually preferred doing it myself. At least then I knew for a fact it was actually clean.

I always had this hunch that those "sanitizing wipes" they leave out are just there for lazy girls who can't be bothered to wipe the bed themselves every single time.

I’ve got some serious childhood trauma tied to that elderberry juice 😁
My mom used to make it by the literal ton—tons and tons—and honestly, I can't even catch a whiff of it now without feeling sick 😁

Anything over a liter and a half of pure water is just too much for my body—honestly, recommending huge amounts of water is kind of risky because it implies you can just drink endlessly without any limit.

I'm with you there—nothing is healthy if you do it without limits, not even water. It’s just that my threshold is a little higher than yours 😉

I used to grab a Gatorade whenever I hit an aerobics class back in Chicago 🙂 though I've recently started being more intentional about picking out mineral waters. To be fair, I never really bothered to learn the difference between the two before.😳

Nathan Collins2 said:Look, I haven't exactly sat down to study the chemical breakdown between isotonic drinks and mineral water—that’s a bit much for me—but my gut feeling is that sports drinks pack a way heavier mineral punch. Besides, I don't really touch mineral water anyway. My doctor actually suggested sticking to the isotonic stuff because of my blood pressure issues, especially during these brutal summer heatwaves.

Anyone here actually know the science behind it better than I do?🙂

All I know is that mineral water usually has a lower mineral concentration compared to those isotonic drinks—plus, they use isotonic fluids for IV drips in hospitals, so there's definitely a difference.

Which specific sports drink are you grabbing? Maybe that'll help clarify things.