Posts by Michael Doyle62

stormyheron4 said:On the flip side, look at someone who doesn't smoke, hits the gym, keeps their weight in check, eats clean, gets enough sleep, and keeps stress to a minimum. Even with bad genetics and living in an environment that practically invites disease, that person has a real shot at staying healthy well into old age. Not to mention the quality of life you get from living like that. It counts.

Sure, they have a better chance,
but there aren't any guarantees, unfortunately. 😢

I have terrible genetics.
I don't touch alcohol, I don't smoke—I barely even deal with secondhand smoke—I eat as healthy as possible in this day and age, and I stay active...
And in my mid-thirties, I’m hit with a serious, malignant illness. 😢

The hardest part is hearing it,
when some lifelong smoker or heavy drinker tells me what the point of all my effort is, since nothing is certain and we never know what's coming for us anyway. 😠

I agree with you, though. If I had lived my life the way they do, I might have been sick ten years sooner. 🤷
But we'll never know.

Sophia Harris45 — how do you fight it?
Right now, I just "escape" into different activities to keep my mind busy.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Some days I feel okay, and other days I just don't want to be here and wonder what the point is.

It's easy to hand out advice like "just stay positive"...
but when you're actually facing the fact that you could die, and you start thinking about it, it's the worst thing I've ever gone through. 😢
Optimistic people trying to "cheer you up" don't help, and neither would Brad Pitt or winning the Powerball... you have to go through this alone.

Honestly, I don't even know what to tell you,
other than I understand exactly how you feel.

My mom had surgery for skin cancer this year.

She noticed a patch of skin on her leg, just above the knee, that was changing color and slowly spreading.
The first time they operated, they didn't get it all, so she had to go back for a second round.
Same deal both times: local anesthesia, quick procedure, home the same day.

Thomas Peterson5 said:It’s not that it hurts, I’m just curious about the recovery timeline. Right now, the area where I had head surgery feels pretty soft. If I press down too hard with my fingers, I feel like I might actually push through the bone. That’s what’s bothering me, so I'm asking.

I’m pretty squeamish about surgical incisions, so I haven't even touched mine. 😉
I finally felt okay enough to handle things after about a month. You could still feel the cut under your fingers, but it wasn't nearly as swollen as it was right after the stitches came out (I accidentally bumped it back then).
The spot where they worked on my skull was definitely more sensitive to the touch—I even felt some tingling—but you could feel the bone underneath the skin. I let someone else check it, though, not myself. 😍
Everything is fine now.

And why would you squeeze it any harder? 🤷
I just washed my hair very gently, nothing heavy-handed.

Scott Allen10, why wouldn't they just close up that bone gap? 🤷
I mean, leaving a hole in your head makes zero sense. 🤷

I can't really see the incision or what they actually did to me, but others tell me it's all healed over and looks great.🤷
It’s been just over two months since the surgery.

What's bothering you?
Is there pain?
An itch?

James White73 said:Nothing works—not a decent night's sleep, not any of those pills they try to push on you. I wouldn't even dream of stepping foot in a psychiatrist's office because, honestly, I know exactly how it goes; they just throw a million words at you, acting like some magical combination of phrases is going to make everything feel better, and it’s all just total garbage... sure, they can listen to me talk, but there is absolutely no way in hell they're going to recommend actual treatment, because I am not crazy!

Why such a negative view of psychiatrists?
You think your problems are just going to vanish on their own? 🤷

Kyle Nelson2 said:Just get yourself to the gym and start doing some cardio... every single day...
and I guess after maybe a month at most, you'll start feeling a whole lot better.

Not necessarily.
I tried that.
My job is physically demanding enough as it is. On top of that, I started going for bike rides every evening.
It didn't change a thing regarding my sleep: I couldn't fall asleep, I was waking up at 4 AM, or I was tossing and turning all night long.
Eventually, I was just burnt out—exhausted without actually getting any rest.
I didn't start feeling human again until I spent a month on Celexa. That one month was the only time I actually rested. I'm off it now, and while my sleep is better than it used to be, it's still not quite where it needs to be.

I was on Paxil.
The sleep was great, but I felt like a zombie all day long. 😍
At my last appointment, my psychiatrist and I agreed it was time to taper off.
My sleep isn't perfect right now, but honestly, I prefer that over feeling completely drugged out.
I've got a follow-up next week, so we'll see how things shake out.

Walter Myers4 said:No, those are just our local low-quality pads made from basic, raw cotton fibers.
They’re fine if you don't have heavy bleeding.

Viriana are Canadian pads. 😉
I just picked some up to test them out. They're the "standard" kind. My OB-GYN mentioned that the premium, pure cotton versions are available in Canada, but they cost way more.

Thinking back to those old-school pads made of nothing but raw fluff makes me cringe. I can't stand that texture. 🙄

Walter Myers4 said:Yeah, those are definitely the absolute worst.
Just get Libresse. They're the gold standard.
http://www.nuvenia.it/Pages/Products...ategoryID=3745
🙏 🙏 🙏

I went with Libresse and I'm happy with them so far. 🙂
My OBGYN mentioned some brands from Canada (Virginia?) made of pure cotton, but said they aren't really available here in the States.
Next time I'm heading over to Canada, I'll see if I can track them down.

I’m dealing with the exact same thing and I'm still trying to pin down what's actually causing the itching.
Do you have any visible symptoms, like redness or peeling skin? Because I definitely do. 👎
Here’s how my journey went.
First, I saw my primary care doctor, who ended up referring me to a gynecologist.
The specialist ran tests for fungal infections, but everything came back negative.
He noticed my skin was pretty irritated and asked about my pad brand. I told him I just use Always. He told me to switch brands immediately because he'd seen so many women with this exact issue using those. He also suggested ditching the fabric softener, switching detergents, and sticking to white underwear instead of dyed fabrics.

Then, my doctor prescribed some Claritin, and the itching finally subsided.
He sent me to a dermatologist next, where I did allergy testing. Turns out, I’m not allergic to anything in laundry soaps, dyes, or any of that junk found in cleaning supplies.

After that, I had to go on a strict whole-foods diet for about ten days—nothing processed, no preservatives. Just cooked vegetables, meat, fruit, and zero spices.
The itching calmed down, but as soon as I went back to a "normal" diet, it flared right back up.

For the last month, I've been playing detective with my food. It looks like certain additives are the culprit. So far, I've figured out that ice cream makes it much worse. 👎

It’s an exhausting road ahead. Honestly, who wants to give up all the good stuff just to stop an itch that can get pretty brutal sometimes? 👎