Ugh... why did I even just read that? Now I’m spiraling. 😬 The thing is, I’ve been on birth control for quite a while now—with the occasional break here and there. A few months back, I had some bloodwork done, and my iron levels came back at 36. That was actually the first time in years it’s dipped that low; usually, it stays well within the normal range 👍.
And just like you, Lisa Barrett22, nobody really said anything about it, so I just brushed it off. But now that I’m reading this—especially after a little late-night Google rabbit hole... 😱 I can't help but feel a bit anxious—is it a bit much to jump straight to a scary diagnosis based on a hunch? If this is actually being triggered by the pill, then hopefully it’s a much easier fix. Or am I just wishful thinking? 🙂
Douglas Diaz3 said:Regarding my grandpa’s quality of life, he’s out in rural Montana living with my grandma. Honestly, she’s a total rockstar—sharper than everyone else in the family combined. She handles everything for him, from meals to all the daily chores, while he mostly just manages to get himself to the bathroom, sleep, or wander off to tinker with stuff here and there. Most of the time, he’s totally dialed in and knows exactly what’s going on, but then he hits these sudden gaps—just those five minutes where he completely loses his grip on reality and doesn't even know where he is. Sometimes he looks at the TV and thinks there are actual people standing in the room with him, instead of realizing it's just a screen. He gets it most of the time, though. Like, I called him yesterday, and when I said, "Hey, Grandpa Sam Hall15," he had no clue who I was talking about. I told him I’d call back in ten minutes. When I actually did, he was like, "Oh, hey Sam Hall15! How’s school? How’s Dad doing?"
But look, regarding getting him checked out, we really should take him in so I can finally breathe easy. I'm hoping it isn't Alzheimer, but maybe something like multiple sclerosis or some other form of dementia that isn't as heavily hereditary or as devastating...
As long as he retains enough independence to handle those trivial daily tasks, you have to consider it a win! 👍 Whether it’s senile dementia or Alzheimer, the end result tends to gravitate toward the same reality... It’s an inevitable part of the aging process; it’s something that eventually catches up to all of us, no matter what 😉 You just have to accept it as a facet of life. While you still can.
I urgently need a solid, reliable, and thorough gastroenterologist—private practice in downtown Chicago, preferably near the Loop or the central medical district.
Thanks!
From what I’ve gathered, Dr. Roth is excellent. He has a private office located right near the hospital area over by Illinois Street—you know, if you're heading toward the main medical center from the downtown core—though I can't recall the exact street name off the top of my head, sorry... He’s private practice. Just look up his number in a local directory. Hope that helps. 🙂
Just finished watching "Touching The Void" and man, it was absolutely gripping! 👍 👍 The story is just unreal... it’s enough to make you shiver...😁 😲 I mean, what that guy went through... absolute chills.😲 Most people would have completely lost their minds by then—he managed to hold it together without succumbing to hallucinations until almost the very end. For most of us, once we hit a pit that deep, our brains would have checked out entirely.😁 Truly fascinating stuff...
As for those penguins... hmm... well, they weren't half bad, I suppose... but they definitely didn't live up to all the massive hype. The whole thing felt a bit underwhelming to me... 😲 When you see something like that, it really puts things into perspective—makes you realize that, all things considered, life is actually looking pretty decent from where I'm sitting. 😁 😁
Kate Hernandez said:that smart shop over on Broadway
Oh, really??? As if I were some kind of Cinderella who could just conjure that up—it’s not like you can find stuff like that around here easily... Ugh, please! 👏 Thanks 🙂
Ugh... it was a great movie... truly great... I remember catching it in theaters back in the day, but honestly? I don't think I could ever sit through it again... 😢 Ugh... absolutely not... It falls right into that category of "one-and-done" films for me—the kind you watch once, experience fully, and then leave in the past forever...
For everyone who couldn't make it out to Motovun—don't worry, we've got you covered from now through Motovun in Washington, D.C.! 😁
Thursday, 8/4
7:00 PM short film: BERT PRENTICE C.E.O. (Kevin Nibley, USA, 2005.) feature film: Yes Man (Chris Smith, Dan Ollman, Sarah Price, USA, 2003.) 9:00 PM short film: Guard Dog (Bill Plympton, USA, 2005.) feature film: Manderlay (Lars von Trier, Denmark, 2005.)
Friday, 8/5
7:00 PM short film: Quixote in Jerusalem (Dan Rosenberg, Israel, 2004.) feature film: Darwin's Nightmare (Hubert Sauper, Austria, France, Belgium, 2004.) 9:00 PM short film: Place in the Sun (Rachid Boutounes, Morocco, France, 2004.) feature film: My Summer of Love (Pawel Pawlikowski, United Kingdom, 2004.)
Saturday, 8/6
7:00 PM short film: My Parents (Neele Leana Vollmar, Germany, 2003.) feature film: Bal-Can-Can (Darko Mitrevski, North Mexico, Italy, 2005.) 9:00 PM short film: 7:35 in the Morning (Nacho Vigalondo, Spain, 2003.) feature film: Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Pulu, Romania, 2005.)
You can find plenty of deep dives regarding that bovine colostrum over at http://www.zdravljeizivot.com/hrv/—it’s worth your time to actually sit down and look through it. 🙂
slylynx8 said:Are you talking about those Activia capsules from Pfizer?
I suppose... 😁
They pack a higher concentration of St. John's Wort—which is fine, I guess—but personally, I’ve always found it smarter to ease into things with lower doses first. If they don't actually do anything, then you can always scale up later...
Hmm... I’ve honestly never heard anyone claim that propolis drops have any kind of antidepressant effect... 😕 In any case, there's really no harm in taking them—they're fantastic for things like the common cold since they give your immune system a bit of a boost—but as far as actually calming your nerves? I wouldn't go that far... hmmm...
I actually tried a herbal antidepressant once—it was called Deprim (quite a literal name, isn't it? 😉)—and that one is also based on St. John's Wort. There are a few others out there, though I can't recall the exact name of the stronger version—the one with a higher concentration of the herb—but even this one worked wonders for me...
Just because you’re successfully dodging ovulation with birth control pills doesn't mean you're officially off the hook from the possibility of pregnancy. In my view—and this is just my take—even if fertilization actually manages to occur, the egg would likely end up being too starved to sustain itself; those very same hormones in the pill work to throttle the nutrient supply necessary for a fertilized egg to develop and stick around. To put it bluntly—it's basically biological starvation—the egg simply runs out of fuel before it can even get started. 😁
Ugh... look, I hate to be the one to say it, but your family is truly 🙄
Just take a second to really think about what would actually change if the results had been different—if you were suddenly the "genius" of the family. Do you honestly believe they’d start treating you better? Like they’d suddenly look at you with some newfound respect or fix the way they relate to you? In my experience, probably not. There are certain people out there who will never see you as "enough"—they'll always find some microscopic flaw to nitpick, even if you were carved out of solid gold. Honestly, the best thing you can do is make peace with that reality and just accept it for what it is. No amount of data or achievement is going to rewire how they think. My advice? Try to distance yourself as much as possible; they seem determined to underestimate you for no reason at all. You're an adult now, after all, which means you have the agency to minimize those interactions. It doesn't mean you have to harbor this deep-seated hatred for them—definitely not—but when (or rather, *when*) they inevitably try to belittle you again, just let it go in one ear and out the other. 🙂 That’s just who they are, and don't hold your breath waiting for some sudden "epiphany" that turns their toxic attitude toward you into something positive. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you maintain self-respect, regardless of what they—or anyone else, or some meaningless number on a page—think of you.
northernseal6 said:I have this recurring thought where I’d much prefer a guy taking care of my intimate needs—not even talking about a boyfriend or husband, just generally speaking—though honestly, I find it more appealing when it's a woman doing it. That said, I’ve heard some girls swear by male gynecologists... well, whatever, we aren't all cut from the same cloth.😎
Exactly! I feel the same way—there's something inherently more comfortable about seeing a female doctor. Even though there's this persistent, old-school myth floating around that men make better gynecologists (😕 ), it just feels more natural to be examined by a woman; she actually understands the reality of it "firsthand," if you know what I mean 😁 . I mean, how is a male doctor supposed to truly empathize with the agony of painful periods, PMS, and all those other nuances of being a woman?? 😁 😁
Kenneth Hernandez67 said:Maybe there's some kind of anatomical anomaly in the digestive tract—one continuous, unobstructed path from mouth to... well, you know where. 😉
... then how exactly did that woman end up pregnant after witnessing Boris Becker get serviced in a restaurant pantry?? 😁 Maybe we should just go straight to her for the intel—I mean, she’s clearly got some firsthand experience in that department 😁 Or is his DNA just built different? Are his swimmers just exceptionally resilient? 😉