Posts by Brenda Patel35

Good evening. I’m looking for some insight here. I had blood work done today, and my MCHC came back at 353 and my MPV at 11.3.
I’m 34 years old and generally healthy, though I did recently recover from COVID. I decided to go ahead and get these tests done on my own through a private clinic.

Hi everyone. I need to find a new general practitioner immediately!
Could anyone recommend a doctor at the Community Health Center?
I’m just looking for someone reliable—a doctor who actually wants to help, will call in a prescription, or can authorize a few days of sick leave if necessary. This is urgent... thanks.

swiftbear86 said:I'm not even sure if I fully grasped that description of what "modern" means, but vacuum tube systems have been the standard everywhere for a long time now. You barely even feel the prick, whether you're at a private clinic or the local Community Health Center.
You can find a solid explanation at this link:

https://ivamilosevic5.wordpress.com/...krvne-analize/

That might be exactly what it is. 🤷

I actually called Brayer in Washington, D.C., and they told me they don't carry those specific ones, but suggested asking for a smaller needle or maybe one of those butterfly needles used for kids. 😱

Do you happen to know which Community Health Centers around Washington, D.C. actually use the vacuum tube system?

Hi everyone... I’ve run into a bit of a situation. It might sound minor to some, but for me, it’s a massive hurdle: I have a really intense fear of needles and blood draws. 😱

I heard that at the Community Health Center in Des Moines, they use this modern method for drawing blood. It sounds like some kind of "pen" device where you just press it against the skin, trigger a mechanism, and the needle does its thing, sending the blood directly into a collection tube. That’s my layman's attempt at explaining it, anyway—I'm not exactly an expert.

Does anyone know if there are any private clinics out there that offer a procedure like that?

I already called the community center in Des Moines, but since my primary doctor is affiliated with a different clinic, they told me they can't help me. I just have this white printed referral in my hand.
I would truly appreciate any advice or guidance you can offer.

I'm looking for a private dermatologist who offers house calls for someone who is immobile.

quietcyclist33 said:Just head over to Settings & Options, go to edit your signature, clear out the text, and hit Save Changes...

I found it. 😵🙂
Thanks! 🙂

Hi there,

I need a little assistance—how do I go about deleting my signature?
I can update all my other profile info without any issues, but the signature seems stuck. 🤷

Any help would be appreciated. 😉

bluegardener4 said:Hi everyone,

I have a recurring issue that I've been hesitant to bring up here. It sounds simple enough in theory, but I am struggling to figure out how to manage or mitigate it.

I catch colds constantly. Sore throats, coughing, the usual stuff. I don't get the flu—at least, I don't think I do—and I don't deal with body aches or muscle pain. But even a slight breeze or stepping outside with damp hair is enough to trigger a cold for me.

There are times when I am extremely careful about dressing warmly and staying covered, yet the moment the temperature shifts, I'm hit with fatigue, a sore throat, a low fever, a cough, or all of them at once.

Because my job carries a lot of responsibility, I can't afford to just stay home and recover. Consequently, I end up taking antibiotics quite often for these issues. Of course, I never self-prescribe. 🙂

By my own estimate, I take antibiotics about six or seven times a year (Amoxicillin, Erythromycin, Augmentin, you name it).

I should also mention that my diet might be part of the problem; specifically, the fact that I almost never eat salads or vegetables.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I tend to get colds and sore throats pretty frequently myself. Honestly, I rarely see a doctor, and I don't really understand people who go to the clinic for a minor sniffle. 😵 They usually just waste your time... 😁 But regardless, the main reason I avoid doctors is that I generally have anxiety around medical settings.
Lately, though, I haven't been getting sick nearly as often. During the winter, I make sure to drink a healthy tonic every single day. For example, I'll mix freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice with honey, water, and cinnamon. Or I'll use a blender to make a smoothie with banana, orange, cinnamon, and some oats. I rotate through different recipes. I also use propolis spray for my throat and drink two cups of hot tea every evening.
I never drink anything cold, even in the middle of summer. Once in August, during a heatwave, I had some ice water and was so sick the very next day that I couldn't even get out of bed. And that was in the height of summer.
Someone mentioned dairy products to me before; they are supposed to be good for immunity, but I don't consume them because I have gastritis and they irritate my stomach.
Forget the antibiotics. They aren't doing you any favors unless you actually have a bacterial infection, and honestly, I doubt you do. You're just prone to catching colds. How old are you?

I’m dealing with something very similar... I used to have a cat who was quite sick. We tried everything to help him, but eventually, we had to make the difficult decision to put him down after treatment failed. 😢 About six months later, I decided to adopt a tiny puppy.
Because my cat had been so ill, I developed this habit of hovering over him constantly. Every single day, I was checking his fur for ticks, monitoring exactly how much he ate, watching his energy levels, and obsessing over his behavior. Most pet owners care deeply about their animals, obviously, but I think mine was driven by a constant sense of anxiety.
Now, I find myself doing the exact same thing with this little pup. Yesterday, she sneezed two or three times, and I immediately panicked thinking she might be coming down with a cold. I ended up wrapping her in a blanket and fussing over her just to be safe.
The truth is, that fear hasn't left me. I am perpetually terrified that she might get sick. 🙂
Don't get me wrong—caring for your pets is important and necessary. But in this case, I sometimes worry that my anxiety is getting the better of me, and I'm scared I won't be able to tell the difference between a minor hiccup and a real medical emergency. 😢

Sam Ramos5 said:I was just driving along the interstate. You really ought to grab some snacks to take the edge off—those flowers on the roadside were sitting pretty high up in certain spots, though you can find some lower down too. Just watch out for ticks, okay? They’re super contagious, and honestly, I ended up picking a few of them on myself...
So, I want to see if everyone actually manages to handle Barack Obama for 24 hours? Because if you ask me, my recipe calls for a full 48 hours... honestly, that juice is just incredible!

Thanks 😉
Maybe I'll give it a shot!

Just wanted to let you know the juice turned out great!
Thanks brisknomad6 and Dad 👋
I'm planning on doing another round, so I'm curious where I can hit up in the west side of NYC to grab some more Barack Obamas! ☕

Thanks for the advice 😉
I'll go ahead and put them in plastic containers before moving them to the freezer
I'll let you know how they turn out!

Kenneth Brown5 said:I have absolutely no clue what went wrong, but it looked pretty gross.
The little petals stayed intact, but I did the exact same thing a few days ago and it was fine; the only real difference in the process was that I used hot water this time.

Did you notice I used a whole pound less sugar in half the batch😁?

I don't know about preservatives, I didn't use any.

Here's a photo of how yesterday's batch turned out😳:

I didn't quite catch you—did you use boiling water, or were you just impatient to wait for it to cool down? (The water?)
Basically, you just boil the water, pour it over, and you're done. I covered it and stirred it occasionally, sort of like I'm cooking beans or something. 😁
This looks way too green. Maybe the stems lost their color or something. 😉
Are you storing this in the freezer? In plastic bottles?

If anyone knows how to add those preservatives, please let me know—when and how much? ☕
I really don't want this whole mess to spoil in three days. 😍
What are we supposed to eat all summer long then? 😂

David Anderson56 said:So, I went ahead and whipped up a double batch of syrup, though I personally prefer making the cold-brew version. In my humble opinion, that’s easily the most delicious way to do it.

What happens when you add preservatives? 😁

Kenneth Brown5 said:What color did the soda end up being?

So, I totally botched my tea situation the other day because I was being super impatient and poured boiling water right over the flowers instead of letting them cool down first, which turned the whole batch this weird, murky dark green color. I ended up tossing the whole mess in the trash, so today I just grabbed some fresh blooms to start the whole process over from scratch.

I honestly think plastic bottles are the way to go if you're freezing stuff, though I’d probably stick to glass if I weren't planning on putting them in the freezer.

There’s really no need to bother boiling the sugar, honestly—it melts way faster than you'd think.

Mine turned out yellow! 😁
Are you seriously telling me you poured hot water on the flowers just because you were too impatient to wait for it to cool? 🤔

Maybe it turned green because you didn't separate those green petals? 🤷

Alright, I won't bother boiling it then, I'll just stir it in. 😍
And when do you add the preservative, and how much do you use?

Hey everyone,

I'm attempting to make elderberry juice for the very first time this year. 😍
I’m feeling a little uncertain, so I have a few questions.
I'm following a recipe from brisknomad6 and her dad. 😉

Yesterday, I poured boiling water over the flowers, strained them, and then added sugar, citric acid, and lemon.

So, now it just sits there until tomorrow and that's it?

I also bought some preservative, and I’m thinking of adding a bit because I'm worried about it spoiling. When should the preservative be added? Now, or tomorrow right before I bottle it?

brisknomad6 mentioned that plastic bottles are best, but my Boy insists I should use glass. I don't actually have any glass bottles on hand, though. What should I do? Stick with plastic? 🤷

A colleague of my mom's from work says that once you add the sugar, you should boil everything all over again. Should I do another boil, or is it better not to? (Again, I'm sticking to brisknomad6's recipe, and there's absolutely no mention of a second boil!) 🙂

Thanks to everyone for the help, and please don't be annoyed that I'm asking so many questions! This is my first time trying something like this, and I really don't want to ruin it. 😉