Posts by jadesailor14

I honestly just love throwing in real-life examples whenever I can! I feel like people tend to grasp things a lot better when you give them a concrete scenario.

I have a question for Sandra Hayes88. And naturally, I'll use a life example to frame it.
My daughter is 18 and a half now. She has a huge circle of friends, but one girl really stands out—mostly because of her size. This girl used to have a totally normal build, you know, that perfect healthy teenage physique. But once she hit puberty at 12, she switched to a strictly "healthy" diet. We're talking lots of white meat, nothing but whole grains, tons of fresh fruits and veggies, fish... absolutely no chocolate, no pizza, no pastries. The girl is incredibly healthy, stays active just like any other teen, and doesn't have any hormonal issues, so we know that isn't the cause.
The big question is: how did she manage to gain so much weight eating all that "healthy" food? Because she’s quite heavy now, weighing about 210 lbs at 5'5".
My take on this would be that she's simply eating more calories than she burns.
Bottom line: if you consume more energy than your body needs, you gain weight. It doesn't matter if those calories come from "white" carbs or "brown" ones.

Actually, it turns out this isn't even really a question for Sandra Hayes88; it's more of a confirmation of what rustymoose54 was saying, just phrased in a much more down-to-earth way.

Personally, I am totally hooked on radishes, spinach, homegrown tomatoes, and delicious little fish.
Oh, and pumpkin seeds too! I have such nostalgic memories of my grandfather drying them out for us. I also love hazelnuts, though the squirrels in our yard seem to steal them every single year!
As for bread, I'm not a fan—not the white stuff or the heavy whole-grain kind.

nimbleskipper13 said:No, now I’m going to say something that might actually annoy you: setting aside the fact that you clearly have the best intentions, let's give parents the right to decide for themselves what they want to tell you and how much...
Some people just prefer to keep their joys or their struggles to themselves... there's no need to lecture them or judge them, we should just try to understand... and offer help if they ask for it.
🙂

I don't know anything about medicine, so my comment isn't really about the baby's illness or treatment.
That’s basically what I was trying to get at earlier!
When my oldest daughter was 14 months old, she ended up in the hospital. She had a fever of 104 for an entire week that just wouldn't budge with any medication, her blood work was a total disaster, and in the end, even the doctors couldn't figure out the cause.
Back then, I could only talk about her illness, the treatment, and our time in the hospital with my mom, and maybe a little bit with my husband. I just didn't want to talk to anyone else—not family or friends. I was feeling too vulnerable to go through it with a whole crowd of people. It was like everyone else just got blocked out.
If my child is sick and in the hospital, that's all there is to it. There are no answers for questions about what's wrong or how she's being treated.
My daughter is a perfectly healthy high school senior today, but even now, I still get this tight feeling in my throat whenever I think back to that time. I still don't like talking about it.
You know your relative; he's not the type of guy to be so heartless that he wouldn't care about what's happening to the baby. And as for his wife, I can only imagine how she's feeling.
Please take this the right way, but this is just how it is for some.
Some people sit in a corner like a wounded animal, while others feel the need to involve the whole community so everyone sees how hard things are.
It seems like your relative and his wife fall into that first group.
Just tell your relative he can always count on your help no matter what he needs, and let him know you won't pester him with questions.

Forget about him.
Honestly, why not just head over to another doctor to get a second opinion?
There are plenty of specialists in New York City who focus specifically on what you need—I’d call them sports orthopedists, if I’m being blunt.
A coworker of mine actually had to deal with a knee issue about four years ago, and thanks to the right rehab, she managed to avoid surgery altogether! It was a long road and definitely wasn't cheap, but it worked. She’s a guy in his 40s who actually had to be resuscitated three times during a previous surgery, so you can imagine how terrified he was when his doctor gave him the ultimatum: surgery or a wheelchair.

And thanks to mistybear4 for starting this thread. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have learned so many helpful, smart things here.
I'm talking about the insights from the experts and highly educated members of this forum.

Anthony Rodriguez58 said:Just drink a few glasses of water, you'll feel better.👋

I don't have that problem! I've always been a big water drinker—I usually knock back at least 3 liters a day.
If only all our problems were that easy to fix!

I was actually hoping to chime in with something brilliant here.
But I just can't.
My head is absolutely pounding.
Plus, my order of Herbalife powder from Amazon hasn't even arrived yet.
On top of that, I think I'll add a shovel to the shipment.
That way, I can finally dig my way to the spring!

Hannah Davis18 said:Maybe they sell those supplements too?😁

😂 😂 😂

Honestly, water only really helps if you're using it to wash down Herbalife products—which are totally "1500% natural," right? haha.

At this rate, you might actually end up cursed!

mistybear4 said:.. and honestly, about 80% of headaches come down to that one thing: just not drinking enough fresh, clean water .. 🙂

Man, where have you been hiding all this time?
You're a total lifesaver!
I'm heading out to grab some water right now—no more headaches for me!

Edward Turner27 said:It says right here:

E330
possible allergic skin reactions when consuming large doses.

Hmm...

If this stuff is actually produced naturally within our own bodies, how can you be allergic to a product that's just part of the Krebs cycle?

For instance,
a friend's husband started dealing with really flaky skin. He ended up seeing his doctor about it, and during the visit, they realized he’d become obsessed with drinking Tang over the last three months! He was knocking back at least 3 liters of it every single day, mixing it at one tablespoon per small glass of water. His doctor's take was that the massive amounts of artificial E330 lemon acid were causing the skin irritation. It sounds like she hit the nail on the head, too, because his skin cleared right up once he cut back to just one or two glasses a day.

Also, sausages in the EU always seem to have such a much prettier color than what we find locally here in the States.

From what I understand, they apply this special anti-reflective coating to the glass.
It gives the windows this sort of bluish-purple shimmer—kind of like seeing an oil slick on water.
The catch is that the coating is incredibly delicate, so after a while, it ends up covered in tiny micro-scratches.
I actually had a pair once, but honestly, I didn't notice any real benefit. After about six months, I just had them stripped off.

That isn't actually real acupuncture. You aren't really piercing anything with that little device. It just uses these blunt tips—kind of like those flat upholstery tacks you see at a Home Depot—to stimulate the pressure points instead of actually needles.

Estée Lauder actually makes acupuncture devices! They go for just under $200. You can pick one up at their flagship store in Manhattan, their outlet near the Labor District, or I think they have a spot in the Downtown Center too.
http://www.zepter.com/main.php?lang=hr&conn=1

It’s been a lifesaver for my husband when he deals with muscle cramps and aches.

I have an aunt who’s a doctor in New York City, and she swears by acupuncture—she says just three sessions can kick your smoking habit for good. Some people who’ve actually tried it say it’s totally legit; they claim the craving just vanishes and they suddenly find cigarettes absolutely revolting.
Apparently, when they're hitting those pressure points to stop the smoking, they also toss in some points to prevent weight gain, so former smokers don't end up packing on the pounds like they often do.
She charges $17 per session.
I don't smoke myself, so I can't personally vouch for whether it works like magic.
If anyone is interested, I'm happy to pass along her name and number.
$50 To me, it doesn't seem like much at all if it means finally breaking free from nicotine, especially since I know how incredibly tough that struggle can be.

Richard Thompson33 said:So, based on everything we've all been through, my best advice is to stay far away from that old VA hospital out in D.C. if you're looking to get a mole removed.😁

I couldn't agree more!
My daughter actually went there to have a mole taken off her back, and honestly, the scar is huge—it’s even stretched out over time. It looks just like a thick stretch mark right in the middle.
The procedure was done by their plastic surgery department.
She’s pretty chill about it and says if it doesn't bother her, it shouldn't bother anyone else, but I just can't help feeling bad for her.
Now I really need to find a specialist who can go in and fix it up for her!

Reductil helps curb cravings, though I’m not entirely sure if it actually revs up your metabolism.
I know plenty of people who use Paxil (an antidepressant) just to suppress their appetite, which supposedly works. Personally, I think those folks have lost their grip on common sense—using a heavy-duty psychiatric med just to drop a few pounds feels pretty extreme to me.👎
A buddy of mine from work managed to shed a massive amount of weight using Reductil (under strict doctor supervision)—we're talking at least 30 pounds!

Matthew Morris28 said:My right eye has a pretty heavy prescription with strong astigmatism—around -3.5 sphere and -1.5 cylinder—so naturally, my vision is a bit weaker in that eye compared to my left even with contacts. I have glasses with the exact same prescription as my lenses, and everything was totally fine until about a month or two ago. Now, when I look through my glasses, my vision in the right eye is significantly worse than it is with my contacts. I don't mean just that usual slight edge contacts give you; I mean it's drastically worse. Has anyone else dealt with this?

Once my eyes started aging, I ran into this! It wasn't even about my prescription changing, but rather my axis shifting. With my contacts, everything was a solid 5+/5, but with glasses? Total disaster. I was basically blind as a bat!
In situations like that, having a great optician is absolutely vital. I actually tossed three different pairs of glasses from high-end, expensive boutiques in downtown Chicago straight into the trash. Meanwhile, a cheap pair I picked up in New York City works perfectly for driving, whereas the expensive ones made it hard to even walk around my own apartment!

Chris Ruiz10 said:jadesailor14From what I recall, the doctor mentioned something about reopening the wound just to redo the stitches. I didn't quite catch all the medical jargon, but does that mean it was stitched up incorrectly the first time? If so, it makes sense that it’s still hurting and needs a fix. Oh boy!
Will that just leave an even bigger scar behind?

My mom didn't have any luck with hers. It actually turned out even smaller than her first attempt! Now it’s just thin, flat, and lacks any real thickness.

Yes, CONTRACTUBEX definitely works!
It really makes a difference if you stay consistent with it over a long period—give it at least three months. Let's be real, there's no such thing as a "miracle cream" out there just waiting to happen.
My advice is based on the assumption (which I clearly stated) that we're dealing with actual scar tissue here.
And of course, a doctor is the only one who can give you professional medical advice. You might want to check in with another specialist at your clinic to get a second opinion.

How’s your scar looking lately? I wonder if they might have been a bit sloppy with the stitches. My mom actually had to go back in for a revision surgery about six months after her procedure. They basically cut out the old scar and re-stitched the skin using much finer thread this time.
At first, the doctors kept telling her it would just fade away on its own over time. But the scar was actually hurting, pulling at her skin, and stinging quite a bit.
Over in the States—and you can probably find it in any local pharmacy here too—there’s a specific gel designed to soften scars. If you’re really consistent and diligent about applying it, it can make the mark way less noticeable. I can't recall the exact name right now, though. It starts with a C... maybe someone on the forum remembers and can drop the name? Or maybe it'll pop into my head and I'll let you know!

Lisa Lee2 :

I heard they actually have a Zone Cookbook available here in the States... does anyone know how much it costs or where I can pick one up?

Hey, you can find all the details right here!

Oh, absolutely!

Just not for the neighbors.