Posts by Melissa Sanchez8

Carol Palmer90 said:I honestly cannot wrap my head around the sheer nonsense some people spout. What hurts the most is that I actually had to listen to this kind of garbage while I was pregnant from people who already have toddlers themselves.🙄

And you know what? It is absolute stupidity.

The truth is, it all comes down to your own mindset. If your life feels chaotic before pregnancy, things might feel even more complicated afterward—but that's just how life works.

Sure, the beginning can be a struggle because of breastfeeding or sleep deprivation. But even those babies eventually sleep through the night. And look, you can still take a full bath instead of just a quick shower. Even with my little one, from day one up until now three months later, I manage to tidy the house every single day (I have a long-haired cat, so the shedding means I have to clean more often), cook lunch, do laundry every third day, and iron every fourth day. Not to mention I’m constantly out and about running errands with the baby. Somehow, I still find time to shower! xD

So, ladies, just tune out that negativity and don't let them get to you. Everything is going to be just fine.👍

People aren't talking nonsense; they're sharing their own experiences.

I used to be one of those people who wondered why some moms couldn't seem to detach from their babies. Then I had my own child, who can't nap during the day without an exhausting wind-down routine, and whose sleep is so light that even a tiny clicking sound wakes them up. They don't settle easily at night either. It never crosses my mind to vacuum or clean while they're sleeping because I'm just happy they're finally down. Plus, they barely last an hour in the crib unless they're in a baby carrier; if it wasn't for the carrier, I wouldn't survive. And don't even get me started on breastfeeding—it takes forever, especially when they want to linger at the breast longer than they actually eat. For the first month, sleep didn't exist for me. Let alone doing major housework. If someone tried to tell me today that my struggles were just due to "bad organization," I'd probably lose it...

And no, I'm not one of those moms who lets a baby cry just to get stuff done. At least, not while I can help. All those moms claiming they get everything done in those first two months, or letting their kids cry, or having perfectly calm babies... I find it suspicious. Either nothing bothers them, or they have massive help on the side.

If your kid is so incredibly chill that they only need feeding and diaper changes, and they basically put themselves to sleep, then hey, good for you. I find that hard to believe, though. But it doesn't mean mothers with different realities are lying. If anything, they sound way more realistic to me. Your story sounds like something straight out of a fairy tale.

Brenda Johnson68 said:I’ve been taking massive doses of penicillin for eight days now (3 grams a day!!), and it's already given me diarrhea... they told me to keep going until Sunday. I have a follow-up with the surgeon on Monday, and then we'll see if they need to cut it open to drain the infection. It probably will be necessary, because I don't really feel like things are getting any better than they were a week ago... maybe a tiny bit, but... I'm scared, it doesn't feel like enough...

So, here's the thing: has anyone dealt with this kind of procedure before? How long does the drainage and the open wound stage actually last? Who handles the daily bandaging? Where does the drainage even go (do you get some kind of little collection bottle...?) And how does a wound heal if they just leave it open...? Are there many complications to watch out for...?

I haven't gone through the surgery myself, but I've talked to people who have. The drainage and how fast the wound closes really depends on how much stuff is in there. Usually, they leave it open so it can heal from the inside out. They have follow-ups, sure, but you're mostly responsible for changing your own dressings. You just swap out the sterile pads whenever they get soaked. Your surgeon will give you specific instructions on how to do it. Honestly, it sounds scarier than it actually is, especially since the antibiotics should keep the risk of complications pretty low. In my opinion, it's better to let that infection drain out—it has to happen if the antibiotics aren't clearing it up on their own. You'll likely recover faster that way...

Since you're dealing with diarrhea, definitely start taking a probiotic. You really need them when you're on heavy antibiotics because they just wreck your gut flora...

As for that sudden increase in activity, since they haven't found the cause yet, I'd stay vigilant in case it happens again. You can catch it early if you just keep an eye on your breasts. Just remember those initial symptoms and keep digging for the actual cause...

analogheron19 said:Recovery isn't happening... they've already given up and are just waiting for the end.
Any idea where I can score a used bed?

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to drop links here... I was checking out Craigslist earlier, and they've got them all over the place there... $667.

What exactly are you looking for regarding them? Are you wondering where to buy them, what features they have, or how much they actually cost?
There are plenty of medical supply companies out there that carry all sorts of equipment.
You could always look into used options, too. New beds—especially the ones with remote controls to adjust the torso, head, or legs—can get pretty pricey. Depending on whether the patient is starting to recover or just getting restless, you might also need side rails. Someone might be unable to stand up, sure, but if they’ve got decent arm strength, they can easily slide right off the bed... assuming they're conscious, of course. The bed is only half the battle, though; you're going to need an anti-decubitus mattress as well.
As for diapers, they all do the job. The real difference is in how often you're changing them. If you plan on changing them immediately after every use, then honestly, any brand will work. But if they need to stay on for longer stretches, some are definitely better than others. Just make sure to buy a larger quantity and go a size up... if they're too tight, they'll just dig right into the skin.

You’re peeing way too much. Seriously, go see a doctor... it could be something with your kidneys or even heart issues. Even if it turns out to be just a side effect from medication, you still need to figure out what the underlying cause is. You have to get checked out. Plus, if you aren't even drinking more than a liter or a liter and a half a day, you should still be putting out at least 600 or 700 ml of urine, let alone if you're actually staying hydrated.

Austin Murphy5 said:That’s the truth, and plenty of people will try to explain it to you by talking about "spreading positive vibes" or some other nonsense—which, in my opinion, isn't even the real reason.
I work for a massive Fortune 500 corporation where I interact face-to-face with at least 50 different people every single day. Working there has been a real eye-opener because I get to see such a massive spectrum of personalities—I don't have a single "twin" in terms of character, yet I've never been surrounded by more people. It’s been an incredibly useful experience.

Statistically speaking, I think I see a pretty accurate cross-section of society here—and no, I wouldn't say that people liking happy people is a result of loving "positive energy" :-) The people I’m surrounded by actually enjoy gossip, office politics, and watching others stumble way more than they enjoy celebrating someone else's wins. If I get passed over for a promotion, nobody is going to be happy for me—that’s a given. But if I get chewed out by my manager, suddenly everyone is rushing over to comfort me—they couldn't care less about actually sharing my burden. I can say with absolute certainty that in both scenarios, I am showing genuine emotion, and people react much better to the second one. They actually want me around then; my "negativity" doesn't bother them :-) On the flip side, if I’m having a great day, they just get jealous, and they can forget all about that "positivity" talk. So, this whole "energy" thing? It’s total bullshit.

My take is that people prefer the company of the perpetually cheerful simply because, on average, they are too lazy to engage in deep thought. Those "always happy" types—the ones we're discussing—tend to stick to superficial topics, which means the people around them don't have to exert any mental effort.
The grumps, on the other hand, usually either stay silent (which, let's face it, is often just boring...) or they opt for "heavy" topics. Not long ago, I decided to throw a question out in the office—I'm not quite sure what I was thinking, but I went ahead and assumed it would make sense 😁—something along the lines of, "Do you think the love for a pet is comparable to the love for humans?" It took about five minutes just to explain the premise, and the final consensus was basically, "A dog is a dog, and you can't let it on the couch." Just imagine trying to vent to them about something that's actually bothering me 😁
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The happy-go-lucky crowd doesn't run into those issues. They are always easy to understand right off the bat.

I wouldn't say they're easier to understand, just easier to deal with. Real communication takes effort. When someone is bubbly and talkative, the conversation just flows. It’s one less thing to worry about—mood swings, specifically. A bad mood affects how open someone is, which means you have to put in more interest and more initiative right from the jump. People aren't lazy thinkers; they're just lazy when it comes to managing interactions.

Personally, I'd take an honest grouch over a fake optimist any day. Someone who is perpetually upbeat feels pretty disingenuous to me, and it makes me want to avoid anything deep with them. I've actually been burned by people like that in real life. They act like bees, buzzing from flower to flower. They're overly friendly with everyone, making promises they won't keep, and then they vanish when you actually need support. Look, that's just my experience. I'm not generalizing. 😬

Nothing extreme is ever actually good. To me, that "constant sunshine" persona is just another extreme. I honestly don't think it's sincere... It feels like those people don't just struggle to express emotions, but they have this deeper issue where they refuse to actually face reality or deal with real-life problems. Life is just easier when you pretend nothing matters.
But I've noticed that society definitely prefers them over the "always miserable" types. People might think they're fake or just plain weird, but most folks would much rather deal with forced cheerfulness than someone else's constant gloom.

melloworca6 said:... but on the flip side, they let people come in for these little tourist excursions where groups just sit around, messing things up with dirty hands and bringing in colds and whatnot...

It’s not that it’s "allowed," it’s just that pure human rudeness and a total lack of manners have gone off the rails. People walk into wards without even acknowledging the medical staff—as if they’re walking into a 7-Eleven. Even at a convenience store, I have enough decency to say hello when I get to the register. Then you have the doors where it clearly states, due to a patient's condition, to check with the staff before entering. They don't. They just barge in like they own the place.
When you tell them not to sit on the hospital beds or stop crowding into a room, half of them act like you're invisible. They just stare right through you. Some pick a fight or make snide comments, others just walk out and then—lo and behold—sneak back in the second the nurses turn their backs. Only a tiny fraction actually listens.

And don't even get me started on the kids and infants. You'll see five-year-olds running around the floor, putting their hands in their mouths and touching everything. I honestly don't know how someone can be so uninformed, or maybe they're just plain oblivious. But heaven forbid you say anything to the parents! They take it as a personal insult. Like they're the ultimate experts on their own kid. Yeah, sure they are.

Rarely will a doctor bother arguing about behavior during visits; that’s usually left to the nurses, whom the visitors don't respect at all. I've lost count of how many times I've seen a nurse snap back that people should only listen to the doctors, while visitors brag about how they've charmed certain staff members into letting them stay. Apparently, everything should happen on their terms.

So, I totally get why sometimes you just don't have the energy to keep arguing with people, especially when you run the risk of getting physically confronted. And trust me, that happens too.
The only real fix is to ban visitors from the wards for any mobile patients. If someone needs something, just bring it to them and leave it. Everyone has a cell phone these days; they can easily text what they need. There's always a bench outside the ward to sit and chat, or somewhere else nearby. If mobile, younger patients can wander around looking for coffee, so they can certainly manage a visit under some rules.
For those who can't move, visitation should be adjusted based on their actual health status.

Linda White64 said:So, basically, a patient doesn't have the right to just walk out of the hospital? I mean, if the police end up hunting them down afterward...

The police can't really touch you. Their job is just to locate the person and have a chat. They can't arrest you without cause or force you back in unless there was actual harm or a crime committed.

For instance: some family members brought someone to the hospital, and after being there for literally just a couple of hours—where the person explicitly said they didn't want to stay—they just drove off without even telling the staff or signing any refusal of treatment papers. It wasn't like the ward was a high-security prison. The FBI was called, they found the person at a different hospital where she explained she just wasn't happy with the care at the first place. And that was that...

You’ll probably think I’m a total space cadet😁 but I’m asking because I’m heading to the maternity ward soon to give birth, you know? I’ve always been spooked by stories from other moms about how hospital staff were, let's say, difficult. Pushing things they didn't want, being condescending, and so on... and they felt like they couldn't do anything except just take it. Posting about it on forums months later without naming names doesn't mean they actually did anything about it.

Look, there are no guarantees here, and everyone handles things differently based on their own tolerance levels. If you don't have a ton of options for which hospital to go to depending on where you live, then do your homework on where you're headed. The more info you have, the better prepared you'll be. You shouldn't have to put up with harassment or being belittled. Nor should you deal with rudeness. Though, honestly, some women can be real prima donnas where everything bugs them, so take some of what people write online with a grain of salt. Not everyone’s experience is the same, and not everyone deals with certain situations the same way...

No, that’s just not right.
The wound needs to "breathe," you know? You should be able to wrap it up normally without worrying about popping the stitches. It's honestly not even a good idea to leave it unwrapped and just wait for the tape to fall off on its own... I mean, if you want it to heal properly, you actually have to clean the area.
That’s why I always go with sterile gauze directly on the wound, then secure it with some medical tape.

I don't know, everything I've read about them sounds great, but honestly, I feel like you can't ever be 100% sure when it comes to infections...
Maybe it would be worth looking for a mobile manicurist who can just come straight to her house? That way she’d have much better control over the environment.
Does her current nail tech not have any recommendations for someone else?

Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue. I’m not sure how high-end you need to go, but my mom went there about 8 months ago for a medical pedicure. She was actually really happy with the results...

Laura Ortiz83 said:I am not actually worried; the kid is doing great, eating well, sleeping, and hitting their milestones...

I have some family issues going on, which is likely weighing on me subconsciously.

Normabel just knocks me out for two hours, and when I wake up, I feel even worse than before. On top of that, it takes me forever to fall asleep again.

Sent from my

That could definitely be it. I know from experience that when I'm stressed, sleep just disappears.
Do you find yourself overthinking things at night, during those hours when you're just lying there wide awake?

Normabel puts me out for maybe two hours. Then when I wake up, I feel even worse. Not to mention how long it takes me to drift off again.

It doesn't really have the properties to actually knock you out or keep you asleep for a full stretch. It mostly just relaxes you enough to catch a few minutes of sleep before you're wide awake again...

Laura Ortiz83 said:I’ve been dealing with this particular issue since I was pregnant.

It’s been eight months since I gave birth. My baby sleeps through most of the night, yet I find myself wide awake regardless, staring at the ceiling for about two hours before sleep finally comes back to me.

I tried taking 5mg of Ambien, but even with the medication, drifting off remains a struggle even on the nights when exhaustion feels absolute.

I can't quite pinpoint whether there is some underlying anxiety I'm failing to recognize, but the situation is becoming increasingly draining, and I feel myself slipping into a state of heightened anxiety and irrational fears that I can't even explain.

Are you worrying about the baby? Like, checking to see if they're sleeping or what they're doing?

Xanax is more for relaxation than actually knocking you out.
There are other meds for sleep, but I wouldn't recommend them in general. You end up building a tolerance where you need higher doses just to function, and eventually, that starts messing with your nervous system.

Your sleep cycle can also get trashed if you aren't going to bed at the same time every night or if you're napping during the day... though anxiety definitely plays a huge role too.

Kimberly Johnson74 said:Hey everyone 🙂

So, here's the deal. I’m barely drinking any water—maybe just a couple of small glasses a day—and since I'm pretty sedentary, I guess I don't feel like I need much. I know I should be drinking more if I want to lose weight, plus it's supposedly "healthy." I'm curious, how many glasses are you all hitting daily? And is the whole "eight glasses a day" thing actually a real thing people do?

If your goal is weight loss, focus on cutting calories and moving more.
Relying on massive amounts of water to drop pounds is, at best, a bad strategy. I mean, think about people living in dry climates like Arizona... they don't survive just by chugging water constantly..
Your actual hydration needs depend on your body weight, height, how active you are, and even the weather. For me, my intake shifts based on those factors.
Honestly, overdoing it can actually stress your system, especially your kidneys. Sometimes you end up doing more harm than good..

ASA—that’s basically the risk assessment for anesthesia based on your health, specifically looking at how your heart and lungs are holding up. It uses a scale of six levels, where a lower number means less risk...
MET—this measures your functional capacity; essentially, how much you can move around and handle physical exertion.

Every Anesthesiologist evaluates patients on an individual basis, which is why those assessments exist. There isn't some "one size fits all" approach... it's all specific to the person.

Usually, they'll give you Dormicum, sometimes right before they call you back to the OR, but it could be something like Concor 2.5 mg instead. It really just depends on the patient and their current condition or regular meds...

Carol Garcia said:Monthly? Really?

Yep, monthly.

Give me a call at this number:
555-012-4816

Carol Garcia said:Hey, where can I grab a monthly garage pass? We’ll be hanging around there for maybe two weeks, so I figured a monthly rate would be cheaper than paying the daily $67... seems like the best deal. But I can't find any info on where to actually buy one. Can I do it remotely? Since we aren't from NYC, and one single trip costs as much as a whole monthly pass 🙂
...

You just get it at the garage entrance—there's a little booth right on the left.
One time I actually went inside, grabbed the ticket from the machine, and took it over to the attendant to buy the monthly pass. He didn't even blink before voiding my entry ticket. So, yeah... even if you aren't local to NYC, it's easy enough.

darkcanyon10 said:Give me a break. Who do you think you are?
Where's your empathy? What do you know about me? Am I supposed to justify myself to you? Tell you I'm with her all day and can't just bring her home? I'm broken. I'm doing the best I can.
The other person is a nurse working at the hospital and getting paid. It's not easy for them either. I get it. But... being human has nothing to do with your job.
Death has nothing to do with valuing life.
But it's the most beautiful experience—being released from the suffering of dying.
I don't know how she feels about death right now. 🙂 🙂
That's what she knows... and watching her die... I can't even find the words to describe how I feel.
I'm praying to Bogey that she passes soon. Not for me, but for her.
Because once she's gone, the pain is over. She'll be free.

So... it seems death is natural... and nature is rational.

You're basically claiming the right—to put it in your terms—to trash others because you aren't ready to step up yourself.

I totally get that things are rough, and I believe you, but I'll never understand how anyone finds the energy to resent others for stuff they don't want to or can't do themselves.
Look, I realize she's a nurse, and like I said, she isn't emotionally invested in this. She probably has a dozen other patients just like your loved one...

darkcanyon10 said:Someone close to me is leaving. Dying. My absolute worst nightmares are playing out in real time.
It’s hard to even describe how I feel. Everything is just... clear. I get it all now. That same person knows exactly what's happening, too. We're both just playing along. Looking at each other.
But the part that's killing me isn't the death itself—it's the sheer lack of humanity from the medical staff.
Zero compassion. Watching them struggle while the people supposed to be caring for them act like they have no souls. It's stripping away any shred of dignity left in the dying process.
As much as death scares me... seeing this... I find myself praying for it. 😢

I don't see why you wouldn't just take them home and give them the dignified passing you think they deserve. Honestly, that's one of the greatest things we can do for our loved ones. You don't have the right to lecture someone else about care when you aren't willing to step up and handle your own business.

Andrew Price3 said:It’s a paradox; death is life's most profound experience.
Maybe on some level, she feels that. Perhaps that fragile sensation is the very comfort nudging her to let go. She knows—I believe she knows consciously—that the end has arrived. She has found peace. And there is beauty in that... it's almost sacred. The soul understands far more than human intellect or logic ever could. Much more, Mickeys. In life's final moments, the soul is at its most active. Just as it is at our beginning, when we are infants. It knows death isn't the end; that's why there is this illogical acceptance. Why would anyone willingly embrace an eternal end?
They wouldn't.. they wouldn't..
Because life isn't that wretched. Let's not reduce the miracle of existence to mere fear and the logic of a brain that only knows what society taught it.

It breaks my heart to see them treating her so callously. They don't understand... and there isn't much we can do to change how those doctors perceive their work. It’s a difficult thing to shift.
But she will endure this. Believe me, the pain you feel for her isn't nearly as intense as what she is facing herself. She is braver and stronger now than she has ever been. She has this beautiful radiance. May she be blessed. In these moments, she deserves every kind word, every thought, and every prayer. So let it be.. with love.

Death is definitely not life's most beautiful experience. Saying something like that shows a total lack of appreciation for life itself. It's being ungrateful for the love we give and receive, for a new day, for a simple smile... all of it. I don't know why you're clouding reality with that mindset, but if it helps you face certain truths, fine—but don't try to force that perspective on everyone else.

That woman isn't experiencing death the way you're describing it; she sees it as an escape from current suffering. When you've had enough, you've had enough. That's what she knows. She knows she's going to die regardless, so it really just comes down to how much pain she has to endure until then. That's the actual reality of death.