Posts by Grace Lewis6

With thyroid issues, you can pack on quite a bit of weight in a really short window, even if your appetite hasn't actually changed.

Emily Fowler52 said:it belongs in the off-topic section...
In my opinion, everything here is just a distraction from the actual solution. Pretty soon, half this forum will probably end up moving exclusively to off-topic...

Half the forum moved there a long time ago. ☕
So I don't really have "only" about 2,000 posts either... 🤣

Not to mention how many great threads were deleted forever, while others get carefully preserved in the archives... 😕 🤷

what's the point?
The MPO thread is the ONLY place where women dealing with fertility issues can actually talk.
And waiting for procedure results isn't considered off-topic...🤷

I agree.
Besides, it's not like this is the only site in the US where you can find info on MPO...
A little chatting and support hasn't hurt anyone yet...

Except maybe our server every once in a while... 😬

Count me in too! 👋

I don't really post much on that PDF; I think I have maybe one or 😬 two where I congratulated some users I recognize, but I've been lurking there for ages—definitely at least a year... mostly because I'll be starting my own "parenthood project" very soon 🤔...

To be honest though, I feel like the moderation on that PDF has been pretty messy.

It basically wasn't moderated at all until now. You had threads about pregnancy stuff hitting 20k posts, while on other PDFs, topics get shut down the second they hit 5,000.

There was just way too much insults, trolling, and spam allowed.

But now that new leadership has stepped in, they went on the offensive immediately.

Suddenly, they're aggressively moderating every single thread, and the screen is just full of warning notices. Personally, I'd rather have ambitious moderation than none at all, but they definitely overcorrected. The regular users there aren't used to it since warnings and penalties used to make up less than 5% of what happened.

I think the admins should have given everyone a heads-up first—maybe brought in some new mods to explain that rules would be enforced more strictly now and that things like off-topic talk would be penalized... basically letting people know the mods were finally going to follow the standard site rules.

Anyway, hopefully they can find a middle ground soon. 🤷

Bye girls!

Lisa Adams54 said:I'm not sure if this fits here, but I thought I'd ask...

My OBGYN put me on birth control, and now I need to get some blood work done. My doctor is based in a different city halfway across the country, so I'm wondering where I can go to get this done in Washington, D.C.? Maybe at a local community health center?

I had mine done at a community health center where my social worker gynecologist works, but that was about five years ago.

Maybe try reaching out to your doctor first; they might be able to just send over an electronic referral?

If not, you'll probably just have to head to a private lab...

Henry Jackson35 said:And you can't just tell the doctor to prescribe Lamisil when you already know it works? Sorry if I'm talking nonsense here, but seriously, I'm curious. For any illness where I already know which specific med actually does the trick, I basically just tell my doctor exactly what I need them to write down for 😬
.

Let's start over... 🙄

So, I just got diagnosed with Microsporia for the first time. I went to see a dermatologist and had some tests done, which confirmed it's a fungal infection... now I'm starting on potassium permanganate and Canesten...

Finally sorted after three weeks! You wouldn't believe it... 🙄

It hasn't been that long, but there she goes again... three more spots... 😱

I wasn't even sure if that was what it was since it didn't have that classic ring shape. I went in for testing, and once they confirmed it, the treatment stayed the same... 🙄

I mean, can we look at other options? I really don't want to be stuck constantly applying Canesten every few weeks...
No... 😲
They keep telling me my cat passed it to me... but I know that's not how it works. He tested negative and stays on top of his preventative care. Honestly, if anything, I'm probably more of a risk to him than he is to me...
No, it's a male cat. No, it isn't... 🙄

Maybe try focusing on boosting your immune system... 🤦 Oh shoot, Sherlock, I totally forgot about that one...

I heard about Lamisil on this forum, so I went ahead and picked some up...

My immune system still feels like it's at zero... ☕

Henry Jackson35 said:Is it really that stubborn? 😕

Grace Lewis6 and I both dealt with this—it was ages ago, though, so take that with a grain of salt—but fungi are fungi, right? We caught it from some stray cat wandering around the neighborhood. He had it on his leg, and I ended up with it on my arm. We just kept slathering on Lamisil and eventually, it vanished without a trace. We didn't do any crazy sterilization stuff or anything, and our dermatologist didn't even mention needing to 🤷

not if you're using Lamisil.

Usually, doctors prescribe Canesten, which doesn't actually work.

Then, once you find yourself fighting the fungus again, you get desperate and start doing everything possible... like changing the bedsheets every single day.

melloworca6 said:I’ve been scrubbing everything down with antiseptic spray—everything from the toilet to the kitchen floors. I walked back into my old place, looked at my hip, and there I was, just spraying disinfectant everywhere and cleaning the damn toilets. 🤣

Look, I wasn't exactly thrilled at the thought of those two goats picking it up too. I mean, who would even bother bathing them or putting any ointment on them anyway? They're total wild animals, especially that little yellow devil.

Anyway, I read somewhere that you can actually use that antifungal stuff you get from the vet to wipe down the floors and pretty much everything else. 🤷

And seriously, why shouldn't Microsporia come back? 😕

edit: Grace Lewis6, those instructions you sent me about how often to use Ketoconazole weren't exactly crystal clear. So, I just went ahead and bathed Micana with it for two days straight, and then for about a week, I just treated the specific spot where his hair was falling out with the Ketoconazole. I even washed myself from head to toe with it on the first day 😬, just to be safe.

Man, I've spent basically every single day for the last two months stuck inside my apartment... 🙂

Man, I really couldn't help feeling bad about those two goats catching it too... I just don't know who would even bother bathing them or giving them any affection since they're so wild, especially that little yellow devil...

I get it...
You’d be happy... 🥳

I read somewhere that you can actually use that Zonite stuff from the vet to clean floors and everything else... 🤷

Man, that stuff feels like straight bleach... such harsh chemicals...

And why shouldn't Microsporia come back... 😕

A nurse at the Mayo Clinic told me that...
They say if you actually manage to clear it up properly, you'll build up some immunity... 🤔...on her.

I actually dealt with it twice myself, though both times were back-to-back... mainly because I tried using Canesten first, which is the standard treatment, but it just doesn't seem to touch Microsporia... 🙄

Hey Grace Lewis6, those instructions on Ketoconazole weren't super clear about how often to wash... so I ended up giving my Micana a full bath with it two days in a row. Then for a week, I just applied it directly to the spot where the fur was missing. I even gave myself a full head-to-toe wash with it on the first day... 🙂Just being proactive, really...

The vet told me they wanted to wash my pet for five days just as a precaution. Honestly, I was a little worried about passing it on to them... I mean, God knows where I picked it up, since I'm constantly touching every stray cat and dog I see out on the streets...
He came back negative on both the Wood's lamp test and the skin scrape... 🙏

melloworca6 said:I think there’s already a thread about Microsporia over on the Pet forum.

Bottom line: you and the cat have to treat it at the exact same time. It’s pointless if you get cleared but the cat stays infected—it’ll just bounce right back to you. If you’ve seen a doctor, they probably already gave you a prescription.

Everyone online claims Zonitol is the gold standard for cats, but you can only get that through a vet. For my cat, I went with a combo of Ketoconazole shampoo and Plymicol 2 cream. I gave him a full wash with the Ketoconazole two days in a row, then after that, I just washed the specific spots with it and applied the Plymicol 2. I’d use the Ketoconazole in the morning and the cream at night.

You absolutely have to disinfect the entire house. Toss all the clothes, bedding, whatever, straight into the laundry. Maybe I was being paranoid scrubbing every inch of the place, but I have two other cats besides this one, and I was terrified they'd catch it too. Honestly, I was just as scared I'd catch it myself since my cat sleeps in bed with me every single night.

It’s there... 😉
I've got this bookmarked, even though Microsporia shouldn't ever come back to haunt me... 🤔

Basically, you and your pet both need to go through treatment at the exact same time. It doesn't really help if you get better while the cat stays infected, because then it'll just come right back to you... If you've already seen a doctor, they probably gave you a prescription...

It seems like doctors just default to prescribing Canesten or Plymicol 2... but from what I've seen, none of the people I know who actually dealt with this fungus found any relief from them... 🤷
Me neither...

Everyone seems to say Zonitol is the best way to go for cats, but you can really only get that through a vet... I ended up treating my little guy's Microsporia using a mix of Ketoconazole shampoo and Plymicol 2 cream. I gave him a full bath with the Ketoconazole for two days straight, then just focused on the affected area with the shampoo before applying the Plymicol 2 at night, while using the Ketoconazole in the mornings...

I've been washing my poor little guy with Ketoconazole five days in a row just to be safe... hoping he doesn't pass it on to me...
I really hope I didn't damage his skin... 🙂
I mean, it's over... it’s already been a good year and a half since then...

You really need to deep clean the whole house and throw all your clothes and bedding straight into the wash... I might have been a bit paranoid scrubbing every single surface, but since I have two other cats besides my Microsporia cat, I was terrified they’d pick it up too. Honestly, I was just scared I'd catch it myself since my little guy sleeps in bed with me every night...

For colored laundry, I usually grab some Tide or Persil... but for whites, I just run them on a hot cycle at 140 degrees...
Grab some Lysol, mix it with water, and use that to scrub the floors. After I went through all my Raid spray, I just started misting everything with the mixture... 😬 Carpets, curtains, and all that stuff...

Mark Hayes58 said:My cat has it, and I have four spots on my hands, one on my neck, and one on my leg.
Two are small, and two are large fungal patches.

Then both you and the cat need to be treated at the exact same time🙂
Have you seen a vet yet?

Take this seriously, you don't want it spreading to your scalp. If it hits your head, you're in trouble because you'll be stuck taking pills for months...

So, was I right? Is it confirmed Microsporia?
Then why didn't you get any treatment? 🤔

Anyway, using potassium permanganate and Canesten didn't work for me at all. I finally cleared that mess up thanks to some research online, staying persistent (I ended up switching to Lamisil and Ketoconazole on my own), and disinfecting my entire apartment every single day 😱

I have to agree with the lady above—Lamisil really does the trick! It's the only thing that works ☕

To feels like microsporidiosis to me—a fungus often carried by mice or even dogs.

How long have you been dealing with this?
You should probably get a mycological analysis done, just to confirm if it's a fungus and which specific kind it is...

Who on earth told you that?

So, what's the take on this?
Sure, stress is definitely a major trigger for a lot of modern ailments 🤷

Take autoimmune diseases, for instance—stress can be a huge factor, either acting as the initial trigger or just making everything much worse.

Why not just get a thorough, high-quality checkup through a private clinic... that’s usually the best way to start?

And if you're planning on Googling "stress-related illnesses" or something like that, you aren't going to find the real answers there...😬

gentletrucker15 said:That sounds great, definitely let me know how it goes. Also, could you DM me and tell me how you actually got started? I'm wondering if I need a referral from my primary care doctor or if there's a different way to set it all up...

How do you deal with hoarseness? Besides calcium, lozenges, and... staying quiet, which isn't really my style 🙂

You mean, how I managed to get into it 😁?

Well, when I saw the ENT specialist at the Mayo Clinic, I asked if I’d be a good candidate for voice therapy since my voice is basically my livelihood, and they said yes!
I went straight from there to see a speech pathologist for some vocal testing, and she scheduled me for 20 sessions (just needed one referral from my GP)

So, that's the whole thing!

I just had my first session today, so I don't have much to report yet, but we spent some time working on diaphragm breathing...

gentletrucker15 said:Like the title says, I’m wondering if there's any way to strengthen my vocal cords? My job involves constant, heavy speaking, and I often lose my voice entirely. The hoarseness lasts for weeks. Is there a way to prevent this or actually build up vocal strength?...

I'm dealing with the exact same thing... I'm actually starting some vocal therapy sessions at the Mayo Clinic in a few days.

I'll let you know how it goes 😁

And just like Megan Smith2 said, whatever you do, don't whisper! It's better to just stay quiet for a couple of days if you can, because whispering puts even more strain on your vocal cords than talking does 😉

That’s why I always say anyone who constantly worries about their health needs a healthy dose of self-deprecation. You really have to be able to laugh at yourself sometimes...

Nobody wants to hang out with someone who just complains all the time 😬

A true hypochondriac never quits🙂

there’s always something else to worry about🤣

That cream should run you about $15... I actually asked a friend who uses it, though you can always find prices online too. She said it helped her a little bit...

Betty Wilson69 said:I'm not really...
It all started when I was dealing with panic attacks... then it turned into depression, then anxiety, and now (hopefully) I'm just moving into health anxiety...
I'm such a coward, I just can't bring myself to actually go to the doctor... honestly...🤷

You know, at the end of the day, doctors are only human too... 🤣

If you aren't feeling well, please just go see a doctor... 🧐

I managed to get some Ketorolac without a prescription the other day, but I was being totally honest about my medical history. It’s a pretty heavy-duty medication, so it makes sense that you can't just pick it up off the shelf anymore 🤷

On top of that, I've really come to appreciate how convenient digital prescriptions have become 🙏

Since I moved to a different part of town, I didn't feel like switching doctors—I really didn't want to deal with the hassle of finding someone new for every little thing. Yesterday, I called the nurse's office because I'm running low on Nexium and need enough to last until my next checkup. She told me to call back a bit later so the doctor could review my chart and make sure everything looked good

It worked out perfectly; I just swung by the first pharmacy I saw and picked up my meds 🙏