wanderinggardener12 said:Besides, does anyone actually need grades? Or did you already realize everything you wrote without needing a report card to tell you? How do these grades even affect your little girl? Do you honestly believe that a letter grade is going to magically instill speed, a sense of time, or better study habits?
I honestly don't know. I’m feeling pretty ambivalent about the whole grading thing right now. For me, they just serve as a rough guide to show where she stands with her current lessons. Sadly, tomorrow, those numbers will start defining her future. It seems our society just can't function without metrics and data points. As for how they impact her—it's hard to say. Honestly, a smiley face sticker seems to excite her more than an A. At least, that's my impression, though she doesn't exactly seem to be grinding for extra credit. And as for developing speed, responsibility, or discipline through testing? I have no clue how that works. How do you teach a child to keep their word? How do you teach them to honor a deal? Right now, she only practices what she wants to do, not what she actually needs to do. She only does the "necessary" stuff when I'm hovering over her, which is exhausting—constantly chasing, pushing, and micromanaging. Eventually, she'll have to figure out how to navigate this system on her own.
I’ve been following the discussion, though I find myself skimming through because you all certainly have a lot to say. My daughter, L., is starting first grade and will be attending after-school care. Almost every day she has some sort of extracurricular activity lined up—either sports or language classes. Generally, everything at school seems to be fine, but I think it’s unrealistic to expect a single after-school instructor to sit down and drill reading or writing with every individual child. At the start of the term, there were 38 kids assigned to one teacher. They eventually realized that was a mess and hired another person, so now it's 23 kids per teacher. In my opinion, that’s still far too many, especially considering they have students with special needs in the mix. My L. is bright, but she’s headstrong and quite spirited; emotionally, she’s more like a five-year-old. She’s also about as fast as a snail. She might finish two-thirds of her work during class, but in after-school care, she might finish half the homework, sometimes all of it, and sometimes nothing at all because she’s just quietly doodling or playing while the teacher fails to notice she hasn't actually written anything down. I’ve been advised to have her practice more at home to build up her speed. I know that simply doing homework isn't enough to achieve that. I suspect we occasionally hold teachers to impossible standards on one hand, and on the other, we demand way too much from the children. Just yesterday they were playing around without a care in the world, and then suddenly, we expect them to have a sense of time management, a grasp of their obligations, the responsibility to meet deadlines, and the sheer concentration required to remember what their actual assignments even are.
Raymond Miller6 said:Hey there... Here’s the short version... I had a D&C back on May 31st, and I still haven't seen my period return... For the last two weeks, my breasts have been aching so badly that I'm constantly thinking about booking a doctor's appointment... I took a test today, and it came back positive... Keep in mind, just two weeks after the procedure, my husband and I were having regular intercourse---- What are your thoughts on this... Honestly, I'm terrified to go see the OBGYN because I can't handle another disappointment...
You really need to get to Dr. Miller ASAP for a dozen different reasons; I won't even list them all here. He's the only one who can give you actual answers. Since you aren't going to get an appointment by tomorrow morning, call him right now. Dr. Miller isn't some doctor out to disappoint you—he's there to help however he can. Honestly, the biggest mistake you could make is staying home and hiding under the covers. Just be brave and talk to him, whatever happens.
Lawrence Smith93 said:But where would I even go in New York City to get that done? And do I actually need a referral from a doctor for it? I don't have a primary physician here in NYC at the moment. :/
I usually just go private; they typically email the results within about three hours. You could try Saltzer near the intersection of Washington and Lincoln, or the Labor Center at the end of Main Street (it’s near a plaza, though I can't recall the name). There's also the Breyer Center over at 191 Main Street, and I believe Sun Clinic offers the same service. You might also want to call the endocrinology lab near Petrov (that small, low-rise building right behind the Petrov hospital) to ask about their walk-in rates without a referral. I paid roughly $43 at Saltzer, though I worry you might have already spent quite a bit on those intensive tests. A few years back, I used the outpatient wing at Petrov Beta, but there was a waiting period of several days—so if you head there, definitely ask when the results will be ready. If you go private, they'll have them processed the same day.
Lawrence Smith93 said:My period is currently eight days late, and honestly, I’m not feeling any specific symptoms other than this nagging pressure in my lower abdomen. I decided to take matters into my own hands and tried an HCG one-step quick test at 17 days past ovulation, but it came back negative. Then, at 21 DPO, I grabbed a Clearblue—or maybe just a cheaper drugstore version—and saw a faint line; it was much thinner and lighter than the control line. To be safe, I headed over to my OBGYN, where they ran another test at 22 DPO, which turned out negative. Later that evening, I tried a Primastick test and it looked negative initially, but after about 20 or 30 minutes, a line appeared that was as bold as a house! Of course, the instructions specifically warn that reading the test after thirty minutes can result in a false positive...
What do you all think?
Well, that’s exactly why I opted for a blood test to check my beta hCG levels. With those results, there isn't any guesswork involved; I knew exactly where I stood immediately. I’d highly recommend doing the same.
Noah Wright3 said:Hey there. My period started on February 23rd, and nine days later, my partner finished inside me. My cycle usually runs about 30 to 31 days. Is there a chance I'm pregnant? Aside from some mild pain in my left ovary, white discharge, bloating, and needing to pee constantly, I don't have any other symptoms. 🙂
In theory, no—not if this cycle ends up being the usual 30 or 31 days, though you won't know for sure until it happens.
Brandon Robinson19 said:That’s what I kept telling myself, but honestly, I don't know—I'm not exactly the most rational person about this. I just want to be absolutely certain everything is okay, so I end up spiraling into this whole anxiety thing... which is why I wanted to go now, just to at least confirm the gestational sac is actually developing. 🤷
My advice remains the same: call your OB/GYN with your beta results. If you have two sets of numbers, they'll be able to give you a much more professional interpretation. As for an ultrasound, you have plenty of time before you hit the seven-week mark.😉 From my own experience with IVF/ET, my doctor didn't even bother with an ultrasound until I was six weeks along—basically waiting until week seven. From then on, they checked the embryo at every single appointment and monitored specifically for ectopic pregnancy through the tenth week.
Brandon Robinson19 said:My last one was on February 9th.
So, that puts you at 4 weeks, just like I mentioned. You always count from the first day of your last period. Fingers crossed for you—I really hope everything turns out perfectly fine.
Brandon Robinson19 said:BETA= 60,48—so, what does that actually mean? heheh—how far along am I, I guess?
You’re looking at roughly 4 weeks, depending on when your last period started. You should probably get another beta test done in about 3 or 4 days, and definitely make sure to report this result to your OB-GYN.
Brandon Robinson19 said:Is it actually possible to still have a chemical pregnancy at this stage, or is that window closed? P.S. Honestly, I couldn't care less about celebrating or anything else.
It’s definitely still a possibility. That’s why I went straight to get my beta levels checked via bloodwork, and I’m going back in three days to see if the numbers are doubling. I also plan to consult with my OBGYN to get their take before heading in for an ultrasound. Let me know what the results show! Keeping everything crossed for a high beta and a smooth pregnancy.
Brandon Robinson19 said:Alright, I'll probably head in tomorrow, right on the day I'm expecting my period. I guess... based on the levels, would they be able to tell how far along I might be?
In principle, there’s a range for hCG levels depending on how many weeks you are, counting from the first day of your last period. If the results come back positive, contact your OB-GYN immediately to figure out the next steps. Since I deal with some reproductive health issues myself, I ended up getting my blood work redone three days later just to track the rise. I didn't even bother wasting money on those drugstore home tests; regardless of what they said, I was going to go straight to the lab for a blood test anyway.
I’ll just add my two cents here: if she ends up getting her period, you guys really need to start acting more responsibly and at least use a condom. I don't know how old you all are, but if a girl is sexually active, I’d highly recommend she schedules a checkup with her gynecologist to have a real conversation about long-term contraception. Pulling out is not a reliable way to prevent an unplanned pregnancy.
If I were in your shoes, I’d just go get a blood beta test done. Honestly, most private labs handle them, and you can usually grab the results within a few hours. I used a lab over by the intersection of Main Street and Washington once, and they had my results sitting in my inbox in about two hours—just make sure you tell them ahead of time that you want the results emailed to you. Good luck, and I'm rooting for a high beta!
Matthew Nguyen10 said:Hey everyone. My name is Matthew Nguyen10. I was just browsing another forum earlier and, honestly, I feel completely drained from the whole experience... People are absolutely out of their minds with the way they crack jokes about this stuff.. What if people are too young for a relationship and they end up together and face consequences? There’s no way to "scare" them out of it. It would be just as absurd as someone here trying to scare a parent away from their own child instead of realizing they could easily find themselves in that exact same situation—but look, that's not why I'm here right now. Now I'm just sitting here terrified, wondering if I’ll be met with the same kind of hostility when I post here.. Though I doubt it; not every corner of the internet is as toxic as that other place...
So, here’s the deal.. I’m here because I need to hear some perspectives, get some advice... basically anything to help me stop spiraling.. Last night, my boyfriend and I were supposed to have sex. We hadn't been together for seven long months, but we finally made up, and so, yeah... we were going to go for it, but I wasn't ready for full intercourse yet. We were just pleasuring each other—him with me and me with him—and he finished in his underwear since he hadn't put a condom on yet. After he finished in his clothes, he put on a condom, and we spent a little time just being intimate... he wanted to actually have penetrative sex, but I wasn't having it. It was just constant back-and-forth, like, "come on, come on..." I told him, "Change that condom first, then we can keep being intimate," but I still didn't want him inside me. He changed the condom and was just rubbing against me—how do I even describe it? Just sliding against the tip, but not actually entering me because it hurts me terribly. Then, the condom snapped somewhere in the middle. I realized what happened and pulled away from him immediately, and that’s when the real panic set in. Even though he finished in his clothes and we did change the condom once or twice... I am just so incredibly worried right now.... Nothing bad has ever happened to us before... I truly don't want something terrible to happen now, especially not through such an accidental, seemingly harmless encounter... we didn't even have actual intercourse.
Please, tell me there's no reason to worry. I am already planning to take a test and go see my gynecologist for a consultation... but I'm going so crazy that I'm starting to imagine symptoms that aren't even there. My period just ended.. It's been six days since it finished, and I'm due for my next one in about 17 days, and I seriously cannot take this anymore... I can't stop thinking about it...
Everywhere I read on these forums, people say things like, "Oh, you only need a tiny bit of contact to get pregnant," or "Just a little bit of this is enough..." Give me a break.. If that were true, I'd be totally pregnant then.. I don't know what to do... Please, tell me something positive.
Best regards.
Theoretically, it's possible, but practically speaking, I find it highly unlikely you'd get pregnant given that there wasn't any penetration or ejaculation near your genitals. A basic rule of thumb is that after a man ejaculates, urinating helps flush out any remaining sperm. If you're truly this terrified, you might want to look into emergency contraception...
By the way, regarding preventing infection in burn wounds, there's actually a vaseline gauze on the market now that comes pre-coated with an even layer of silver sulfadiazine, unlike when we just smear on the Dermazin ourselves.
Thanks for the heads-up. I've never really bothered to check the exact ingredients in those gauzes, but this is great to know. Much appreciated. 👍
Amanda Nelson86 said:I honestly don't know if there are any replacements; I didn't even bother asking. My main concern is just this whole thing with the milk.
I’m done putting anything on it—I’m over the fuss. It’ll heal eventually. I'm just worried about how much of that stuff soaked through the milk and reached the burn.
Don't be dramatic. The surface area of your skin is actually quite small. Whatever happened is in the past. What does the burn look like? Is it weeping heavily? Head to a pharmacy, grab some Vaseline gauze, apply it to the wound, and then wrap it up. You could even swing by an urgent care clinic run by the CIA to have them do it professionally. Think of the gauze as a substitute for silver sulfadiazine, though it won't have that same local antibacterial effect. If the edges of the wound start looking inflamed, you'll likely need oral antibiotics.
Personally, I think you can still use the silver sulfadiazine.
Here is a brief summary of what I've gathered so far. Your father is dealing with high blood pressure that isn't being managed effectively enough. The rise in creatinine levels suggests his kidneys are starting to struggle, and I believe the suggested biopsy is necessary to pinpoint exactly why they are failing and to identify the specific underlying disease. We can't really move forward with a targeted treatment plan until we understand the root cause of this renal decline. It is entirely possible that everything stems from uncontrolled blood pressure, but it’s just as likely that a kidney condition is actually driving the hypertension. There are numerous diseases that impact the kidneys and lead to failure; some of these are manageable, which could potentially halt further deterioration of kidney function. It is also a possibility that, over time, he could face total kidney failure and eventually require dialysis. In my opinion, your father made a mistake by turning down the biopsy.
In theory, they exist, but if you want to be absolutely certain, your best bet is to get a blood test for beta HCG. Anything under 5 is generally considered a negative result. You should probably check in with your OB-GYN and run it by them just to be safe.
Look, if this keeps happening, just ask your doctor for a referral to a dermatologist. Call your OB-GYN, check their waitlist, and mention you’ve recently given birth—that usually helps move things along. Alternatively, you could just book a private specialist. How long has it been since you had the baby?
Charles Lopez10 said:Diane has been on the pill for about a month now, though we aren't entirely certain regarding its reliability as a contraceptive method.
They're reliable. Honestly, she should just call her doctor and get a straight answer from a professional. Just don't go mixing them with emergency contraception without knowing what you're doing—that's playing with fire.