I'm not really an expert on computer parts. Can this machine handle everything just as well as that one with the massive tower? 😁
Can I plug the router directly into the PC via ethernet? I'd rather not deal with Wi-Fi. Can I hook up all my usual gear to it, like a monitor, mouse, and keyboard?
Some of my coworkers have been using these tiny little modem-sized PCs at work for a while now. Eventually, we’re all getting them. They happen to be HP, but honestly, I don't care about the brand. Can I pick up something similar for my house?
I'm pretty much done buying massive desktop towers. I'd much rather use that desk space for something else. I’m not a power user or anything; I mostly just need a machine for browsing the web.
If there's already a thread about this, feel free to move me.
velvetmoose9 said:What did your thrombophilia testing look like?
I don't think I ever had that specific testing done.
I know birth control pills can triple your risk of a clot, and pregnancy bumps it up 15 times. I haven't been pregnant, so I have no idea how that part would play out.
That said, my symptoms felt a bit different back when I was on the pill compared to what I’m dealing with now.
I mentioned getting some labs done before an old surgery. I can't remember if they checked my prothrombin time or something else—I tried looking for the paperwork yesterday but couldn't find it.
Those thrombophilia tests confuse me too. Is a DNA coagulation factor test the same thing as thrombophilia testing, or are they separate? Plus, I hear they're pretty pricey. I remember reading a long interview with a singer from San Diego who was denied those tests during her pregnancy because they were so expensive, even though she'd lost a previous baby. They finally approved them, the results came back bad, and she had to be on shots for the whole pregnancy. It was worth it, though, since she had a healthy baby.
That is just a tiny snippet of her story; I read a much longer feature about it in Gloria or some magazine like that.
I thought about getting tested back when I was working, but honestly, I can't afford it right now. Maybe I'll land a job soon, but I really want to get this sorted before I start working again. I doubt my doctor would even refer me for it. She’s convinced it isn't a vein issue.
Edit: I just saw a lab listing a price per coagulation factor at $83. That doesn't seem too bad alone, but there are six factors, so the total would hit $0.50. You could probably get it done at a hospital like 🤔, but like I said, I don't think my doctor will send me. 🕺
I don't want to lie and say I'm planning a pregnancy; that feels silly. 🙂 I could maybe tell her I have a long flight coming up and I'm worried about these symptoms, but I'm not sure if she'd buy it. She’s usually great about writing referrals if she thinks you need them, but once she decides something is unnecessary, it's hard to change her mind.
Casey Cox2 said:Oh, absolutely. I thought my whole body had circulation issues—believe me, if they hadn't caught something on the carotid, vertebral, and transcranial Dopplers, I'd be collapsing constantly. There was this tiny blockage. You basically lose consciousness... those little ischemic vessels... you see that on a brain MRI. As people age, you start seeing these tiny, negligible spots in the white matter and stuff. I'm a neurology grad, by the way.
Thanks. That actually makes me feel a bit better. 😁
I have poor circulation too. I never really thought it was a big deal—just felt awkward shaking hands with people in the winter, nothing more. I didn't realize bad circulation could cause other issues.
The worst part is that whenever my "vein" issues flare up, I get scared to even exercise. I'm worried any effort will just make things worse. Then again, I've always struggled to stay active anyway. 🙂
I've been looking through this thread. I think I'll pick up some Aspirin Protect. I know I tried some sort of Aspirin or Tylenol a few years back, but it probably wasn't Aspirin Protect, so I'll give this a shot. It shouldn't hurt. I don't plan on taking it long-term.
Casey Cox2 said:Man, you already did the carotid Doppler, the neck scans, and the TCD... isn't that enough? If you're worried about your heart, just go get an ultrasound.
Honestly, I've had my arteries and veins in both my arms and legs checked. After a mountain of tests and suspecting everything under the sun... turns out it was just anxiety. xD
Besides, "neck issues" aren't just limited to the neck. Just go get X-rays of your spine from different angles. If they find anything, they'll send you for an MRI, but you'll probably just end up with a clean bill of health or some minor degenerative stuff.
What I don't get is this: if the vessels in my neck are perfectly fine, does that mean the rest of my vessels are okay too, or not necessarily? My neck doesn't even hurt. It says the flow velocity is normal. Now, I don't know—if there's an issue with a vessel somewhere in my head, would the flow in my neck slow down? So, if the neck flow is good and there's no plaque, can we assume the other vessels are the same? I'm pretty clueless about this stuff.
I was honestly so disappointed when they wouldn't do the Doppler scan on my head. 😁 I could almost feel that "vessel" or whatever it is right in the same spot on my head. And I can feel it in my chest after it travels from my head. Both areas have been bothering me for about a week and a half, even though everything was fine for a year and a half.
I'm not allowed to do an MRI.
What kind of symptoms were you having? I'd really love to hear if anyone else has ever thought their vessels were the problem.😁
Is there any non-invasive way to check the blood vessels in my head and around my heart?
I’ve been dealing with this for 15 years now. I suspect it’s my vascular system, even though everyone keeps telling me that vessels shouldn't cause pain. We just can't get a clear diagnosis.
I had a color Doppler scan on my neck and head vessels (“symmetrically placed, appropriate ACC width, symmetrical bifurcation levels, normal positioning and flow of ICA and ECA, appropriate wall thickness, no signs of atherosclerotic thickening or formed plaques...carotid artery flow rates are appropriate, normal direction...etc., basically everything looks perfect”).
The results were fine, but honestly, the name of the test is totally misleading. 90% of the scan focuses on your neck, and the rest goes up toward the ear. They can't see anything higher than that because the skull bone gets in the way. But the neck isn't what bothers me—it's my head and sometimes around my heart. I get this sudden pain (it feels like a vessel is about to burst) that passes quickly, but then I'm left with numbness and tightness in that area all day. It always scares me that I might be having a stroke or a heart attack.
Birth control also messed with me (dizziness and losing part of my field of vision), but as soon as I stopped taking it, those symptoms vanished. My doctor insists it's all coming from my cervical spine and claims the vision loss was a neck issue rather than the pills. I don't buy it. My neck never hurts. Plus, once I quit the birth control, that vision issue never happened again, and that was 20 years ago.
Over these 15 years, I've had a few breaks where symptoms disappeared. Twice it lasted four months, and right now I've been symptom-free for a year and a half, but then everything came rushing back a week and a half ago.
Or maybe some advice on blood tests? A few years back, I had surgery and had to do the standard pre-op blood work. There were a couple of tests specifically for coagulation (can't remember which ones, and I can't find the paperwork), but they came back normal.
Tylenol, Aspirin (actually, I think it was a version from Novartis 🤔), and bioflavonoids didn't help at all. I'm not sure if the Omega-3 helped, or if a lucky streak of feeling better just coincided with taking it. Hawthorn supplements helped when I first started, but they weren't as effective later on.
For the last two months, I've been taking Vitamin D (5000 IU, sometimes 1000 IU) because I'm pretty deficient. I know you're supposed to take magnesium and Vitamin K2 with it to prevent vessel calcification, but I haven't been doing that. I stopped the Vitamin D for now. My K2 should arrive this week, and I started the Omega-3 about 6 or 7 days ago. I'm hoping the K2 and Omega-3 help, but I still feel lost.
I don't smoke, I don't drink, my weight is normal, and my blood pressure is fine.
My primary care doctor sent me over to get some bloodwork done for a few vitamins: B12, folic acid, and Vitamin D.
The referral is good for three months, and you can just walk into the hospital any day without an appointment. I headed over to the clinic near Vinogradski (it's a biochemistry lab; they see patients from 7:00 to 9:00 AM and told me to come on an empty stomach).
So, I went one day without scheduling anything ahead of time. I showed up around 8:00 AM, grabbed a number, and waited for a bit at a nearby church 😁 since the line moves pretty slowly... I ended up getting the results via email that same day at 11:39 AM.
So, I was just reading this article about Taylor Swift and it caught my eye:
…Taylor Swift says coffee keeps her going, but when she hits an energy crash so hard she loses her voice and can barely walk to her car from the muscle aches, she heads to the doctor for vitamin shots.
Back when she was on that singing competition show, her doctor actually joked about moving away because she was showing up four times a week.
"The injection kicks in after two hours," Taylor Swift explains, "and you feel like you've slept for two months. But once it wears off eight hours later, the exhaustion hits you hard. I'm fine now, though—I probably only get a shot once every couple of months."
That said, I recently read about some guy dealing with chronic fatigue syndrome... I think he was also prescribed those multi-vitamin cocktails or injections 🤔, but they didn't do anything for him.
boldnomad45 said:Finland, and Roman. Infrared is just meh. Personally, I'm all about Finland or Turkey—whatever hits harder. Throw me in the deep end.👍
Hmm, infrared isn't really my thing either. I skipped it because infrared heating just doesn't appeal to me.
Finland? No thanks. Too hot for me.
So, Turkey is the only option left.
I stopped by a wellness center once and tried one of those "gentle" saunas—about 85-105 degrees with 50% humidity. That’s more for relaxing muscles after a workout.
Question for anyone who wears prescription glasses and can't live without them—or can't live without the sauna 😁—how do you handle that combo? I'm worried my lenses will fog up instantly in a Turkish bath, and without them, I might actually trip over something in the dark 🕺 (my prescription is -5)... I read somewhere that even soft contacts aren't a smart move in a sauna...
What kind of sauna would you recommend for a beginner? Salt or infrared?
I’m not really a fan of high heat, humidity, or steam, but I’d love to give a sauna a shot just so I don't pass out while trying it.
Is it harder to handle high temps (around 175-210°F) or high humidity (90-100%)? I've been browsing different types online, and it seems like the ones with lower temperatures always have crazy high humidity, and vice versa. I can't seem to find anything that sits around 105°F with 50% humidity.😁
Humidity doesn't bother me much unless it's raining outside, but when it's hot out, the moisture is just too much.🕺
How can I link directly to a specific section of a webpage (like a certain block of text)?
Specifically, here is the page: https://www.iherb.com/r/Solgar-Glycine...aps/15193/?p=1
How do I make it open right to this review titled "Me like": (As a part of a bigger diet plan (that contains no regular milk, gluten and sugar) these pills helps me to maintain a heathy body and a stabilze my bloodsugar.)
Also, does anyone know if that counts as Deep Linking or Inline linking?
I’m not a tech person and don't really use HTML. I found out you're supposed to use <a href="url">Display Text</a>
but it isn't working for me (mostly because I have no idea how to even switch to HTML mode).
I actually saw someone on this forum link to one exact post in a different thread—the post was buried halfway down the page. What HTML did they use for that? All I know how to do is link to the main page and let people scroll until they find what I meant. 🤦
Edit: Did a little digging. It looks like this falls under Deep Linking, whereas Inline linking keeps you on the same page. This matters to me because of copyright stuff. Deep linking doesn't violate copyright.
Anyway, I set up a site on Wix since it's easy enough for a tech novice like me. Now I want to embed some links that jump straight to specific parts of other websites.
Just a heads-up. You really shouldn't be clenching your teeth (some exercises help, but don't overextend by opening your mouth too wide 🙂) if you want to avoid side effects like TMJ issues.
I’ve been overthinking this "high five" emoji for a while now. Sometimes my coworkers send it to me on Slack, and I honestly never know if I'm expected to fire one right back at them.
The whole idea behind a high five is basically asking someone to hold up their hand so you can slap it to celebrate something.
Since it's a physical interaction—you're actually hitting palms—it feels kind of weird to just leave them hanging without sending something back.🤔
Has anyone else dealt with lasting issues after getting eye drops right before an eye pressure test?
My eye pressure is actually fine—it always has been. Two years ago, I had my pressure checked and didn't feel any side effects at all. But over two months ago, I went to a different clinic for a checkup, and ever since then, I’ve had this constant discomfort and pain in my left temple and eye area (not on the surface, but deep inside).
They apparently used Tetracaine 0.5% drops (a local anesthetic), which I usually handle just fine. After the first drop, the nurse told me, "It might sting a bit," but since I didn't feel anything, I just said, "No stinging here." Honestly, I figured it was better not to say anything so she wouldn't accidentally overdo it next time. When she applied the second drop, though, I did feel the sting. As soon as I was allowed to open my eyes, I felt this intense heaviness and pain in both temples. The stinging vanished quickly, but that heavy, throbbing pain in my temples lasted for about 4 or 5 hours. Since then, my right temple feels normal, but the left side—where the pain was worst—has had this non-stop pressure and frequent sharp pains. Sometimes the pain radiates to my head, ear, and cheek. It’s been over two months now, and it isn't getting any better.
I went back to the ophthalmologist, and everything looks perfectly fine with my eye and optic nerve. They did a standard exam and an OCT scan. Now, my neurologist is basically brushing me off.
I have no idea what happened or why this won't go away. This constant discomfort is really messing with my quality of life because I'm just not used to dealing with chronic pain.😢