Posts by Brandon Newman95

Megan Anderson5 said:Thanks for the reply, Kimberly Ward! Honestly, I’m pretty shocked you're going back to the start after just two days. But hey, if that's what works, I guess I'll try it too—at least it makes the supply last longer. How long have you been on Saxenda? How's it treating you?

Thanks, Amy Kim25, but look, when you're carrying a massive amount of weight, things tend to move a bit faster at first. For me, losing those few pounds was nothing. My BMI was over 50 when I started, so you can even imagine how much progress I've made.

Good luck with the search!

That’s exactly what my endocrinologist over at the Mayo Clinic told me. When I was at 1.2 or 1.6, the side effects were absolutely brutal. He told me to just stick to 0.6 until my next check-up.

Megan Anderson5 said:Hey there, I went back and everything seems fine. I haven't restarted my meds yet, but I'm right back to where I was—still down 17 pounds. Starting up again tomorrow with Wegovy and Glucophage.

Nice job on that 1 pound drop, honestly that's something 😁 Even if you lose it slow, it's harder to gain it back later.

Has anyone else taken a break from Wegovy?
I haven't touched mine in almost three weeks and now I'm totally lost on what dose to start with. Jumping straight back to 3 feels like way too much, but then again, does it even make sense to reset all the way back to 0.6? 🤔

You should probably just check with your endocrinologist, but since it's been a three-week gap, you really ought to restart at 0.6. That's what I was told when I stopped for a couple of days.

Jessica Hughes30 said:Hey,
Can anyone suggest a family doctor who’s actually still taking new patients in downtown NYC or maybe the Upper East Side area? I'm also open to checking out the clinic over on Baron Philip's street if they have space.

Maybe try the Downtown Center on Sarengradska. Check their website—it'll tell you everything about who's available. That clinic makes blood draws painless, too. If you're already one of their patients, you can get basically everything done there. Honestly, most doctors should be accepting people; you just have to talk to the actual doctor, not the nurse. Anyone managing 1,700 patients really ought to be taking more folks in.

Jessica Hughes30 said:Hey there,
Can anyone recommend a family doctor who’s actually still taking new patients in downtown Washington, D.C. or maybe near the North Side? I’m also open to checking out the clinic over on Baron Philip's street if that works.

Maybe try the clinic on Sarengradski. Check their website—they usually list everything they have available. Honestly, the lab work there is painless, which is nice. If you're already one of their patients, you can get pretty much everything handled through them. Most places are still accepting people, to be fair.

Ashley Walker56 said:Hey, hi! Welcome to the group 🙂

So, how on earth did you track down the Ozempic? Was it actually showing up at the local CVS Pharmacy?

From what I heard, they’re expecting more stock around April 19th. And honestly, you really shouldn't be messing with this stuff unless a doctor tells you to—don't just go rogue with it.

Justin Morales5 said:Alright, thanks guys

So, what actually counts as an "abnormal" lab result here?

Same thing, one month.

nimblepuma6 said:Hey,
Is it actually normal for a doctor to just tell you to stop taking your birth control and then order a bunch of blood work—like a CBC, liver enzymes, an APTV, a pelvic exam, and fibrinogen levels?
I mean, shouldn't they be checking hormone levels too? You’re literally putting hormones into your system; if we mess up the dosage or throw things out of balance, we could end up doing way more damage than the pills were ever meant to fix.

Yeah, it's totally normal. It's standard procedure for a gynecologist to order those specific tests.

Roger Sanders said:I just moved to Queens, Chicago. I’ve been hitting up different clinics, and everywhere I go, they just tell me they’re full. It's ridiculous. I have no clue how to actually find a doctor who will take on new patients. Is there some kind of master list of doctors who aren't already completely maxed out?

Medicare director from the Klovićev office here. There’s a list out there—not sure how to drop the link properly without going through the nurse part first—but it shows the exact patient counts and exactly who is currently accepting new people.

Melissa Sullivan said:And Vuk Vrhovec, there’s definitely less of a crowd there.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not so sure if it's actually less crowded there for kids.
But she should just try everywhere from Rib, Vinogradski, Klaićev, to Vuk Vrhovec—not sure about Holy Spirit.

Robert Gray3 said:Hey... I posted on this thread a few months back. Starting a new one because I haven't seen any recent discussions about eating disorders—specifically bulimia.

So, I went looking for professional help today regarding the bulimia. Since I’m already on antidepressants for depression (which is actually stable right now, but then the bulimia kicked in), my doctor bumped up my dosage. He claims it'll help curb the urge to purge. Does anyone know if antidepressants actually help even a little bit with bulimia?

The other thing on my mind... assuming the meds do provide some relief, has anyone actually managed to pull themselves out of this on their own? My doctor is insisting on formal treatment, which involves an intensive outpatient program where I'd be in a clinic for 8 hours every single day. That basically means taking medical leave. How am I supposed to handle that at work? There's no way I'm telling my boss I need sick leave because of bulimia.
Plus, there’s a chance I might switch to a better job soon, so how do you even take immediate medical leave at a brand-new gig? I know everyone's gonna say "health comes first," but is there seriously no alternative to these all-day group therapy sessions? I asked my doctor, and he just said no.

I don't think the day programs are always 8 hours every day, though it really depends on the specific disorder. As for the sick leave part—those old rigid rules aren't really a thing anymore. You should look into the pros and cons of different options. Also, there used to be that center in Beaumont.

Robert Gray3 said:Hey... I posted on this thread a few months back. Starting a new one because I haven't seen any recent discussions about eating disorders—specifically bulimia.

So, I went looking for professional help today regarding the bulimia. Since I’m already on antidepressants for depression (which is actually stable right now, but then the bulimia kicked in), my doctor bumped up my dosage. He claims it'll help curb the urge to purge. Does anyone know if antidepressants actually help even a little bit with bulimia?

The other thing on my mind... assuming the meds do provide some relief, has anyone actually managed to pull themselves out of this on their own? My doctor is insisting on formal treatment, which involves an intensive outpatient program where I'd be in a clinic for 8 hours every single day. That basically means taking medical leave. How am I supposed to handle that at work? There's no way I'm telling my boss I need sick leave because of bulimia.
Plus, there’s a chance I might switch to a better job soon, so how do you even take immediate medical leave at a brand-new gig? I know everyone's gonna say "health comes first," but is there seriously no alternative to these all-day group therapy sessions? I asked my doctor, and he just said no.

I don't think the day programs are always 8 hours; it really depends on what kind of disorder you're dealing with. As for the medical leave part—those old rigid rules aren't really a thing anymore. You should look into the pros and cons of different options. Also, check out the Beaumont center.

Justin Garcia7 said:Hey, my family doctor's office just got shut down. They told me I should be able to find a new primary care physician on the Social Security Administration website... but I can't find anything no matter how hard I look. Help!

What city? And if it's in Chicago, which neighborhood?

Roger Parker5 said:Hey everyone,

I moved to the Knežija area from out of town about three months ago, and now I’m on the hunt for a decent primary care doctor. It would be perfect if there were some amazing ones right here in the Albaharijeva area in Knežija, but obviously, I’m looking at all of Trešnjevka and the surrounding neighborhoods too. Any recommendations?

Good luck with that. Sadly, I don't have any leads and I've no idea who might be good, but word on the street is that one whole medical team is moving over to Bastijanovova at the end of the year.

So, how are you holding up?

Jason Ortiz5 said:We’ve got a few different people teaching Religious Studies at our school. For the little kids, they bring in some nuns, and honestly, from what I’ve heard from a friend, most of them are just total jerks. They snap at the kids in the hallways, they're super rude, and I even heard one of them threatened to ban kids from having snack time just because they were running in the halls.

Now, for the older grades, I actually know two of the teachers personally. One is the mom of my colleague's daughter—she is genuinely wonderful. She’s fair, really understanding, and she actually brought up the idea of getting the non-religious kids sorted out so they aren't just wandering the halls aimlessly. I wouldn't mind at all if she was the one running the classroom.

The other guy is my coworker's son and my neighbor, and man, I wouldn't trust him to watch a single sheep. He has absolutely no boundaries. He asks the kids these incredibly awkward questions—like, he'll pull kids from divorced families aside and ask them how they feel about their parents splitting up or what they think about their parents dating someone new. People have complained about him a ton, but whatever, his boss seems totally fine with it.

So yeah, I guess it really just comes down to the individual.

That’s actually pretty commendable, and honestly, that kind of care should be everywhere—not just limited to whether someone is a Religious Studies teacher or an English or math professor looking out for the non-religious kids. For the kids in middle school, though—that second scenario—it would probably be better to just bring in a psychologist. Besides, they have those "critical thinking" projects now, right? And I have one question: isn't Religious Studies supposed to be an elective anyway?

goldentrucker18 said:Hey everyone. It’s been a minute since I’ve checked in here, but I ended up popping back in while searching for some info on homeroom religious studies teachers.
So, I just found out that my daughter’s homeroom teacher from fifth through eighth grade is going to be the religious studies instructor. Honestly, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around the potential friction. What happens if they only ever cross paths during SRZ? Like, how is this teacher actually supposed to advocate for her if, say, she runs into issues with her biology teacher? Has anyone else dealt with this kind of setup? How did it play out for you?
I’m really crossing my fingers that this person is reasonable.
To be blunt, my biggest fear is a lack of tolerance toward "her"—you know, being an atheist—and the possibility of them pushing specific agendas during SRZ sessions and stuff like that.
Since SRZ will be their only common ground, I’m struggling to understand the logic here. I have no clue how the administration at this school thinks this is going to work smoothly—they already shuffled kids from all four different tracks—4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D—just because of foreign language electives.
PS. This is happening in Washington, D.C.

Can't you just move her to a different homeroom? Or check if she can switch classes entirely? It’s just not clicking for me why they had to mix up all the kids just for foreign languages. Personally, I don't think Religious Studies belongs in public schools at all. But hey, obviously, it depends on the individual. Most of us picked Religious Studies-why? Honestly, I don't know. In my elementary school days, we went through five different religious teachers, if I remember right.
As for high school, we had this wonderful nun for a couple of grades who never pushed her views on us. Instead, she taught us about tolerance and different faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. No "Walk for Life" nonsense or stupid questions. After her, we got actual male teachers. Out of all those teachers, that nun is the one I still remember fondly.
Back in my day, the IRS-though it was part of the curriculum, I graduated ages ago so I'm not really a benchmark anymore. But what really sticks out to me is this whole thing with the foreign languages—why on earth did they shuffle everyone like that?

Jacob Lopez51 said:It isn't overkill at all if you're protecting your liver with milk thistle and
. Everything I take targets blood sugar, calcium, the liver, or glutamate.

My insulin resistance is right on the edge, and my B12 and folate are borderline too. It’s a very easy MTHFR thing.
Based on my symptoms, it feels like small fiber neuropathy caused by diabetes (basically the brain cells mismanaging glucose) and chronically low B1.

Homocysteine and free calcium are up.

This is basically a professional-grade regimen. I'm fighting living small fiber neuropathy here. Anything that helps metabolize glucose and lowers glutamate is the best possible thing for me.

So, I'm definitely going to grab some
and 5g of
.
For certain situations, I even keep lithium orotate on hand—mostly when I can feel myself slipping into a shopping mania. haha

Just ordered some
.

One of my all-time go-tos for anxiety:

Unfortunately, neuropsychiatry specializations don't really exist anymore, even though they'd be incredibly helpful in most cases.

Jacob Lopez51 said:I don't need that. haha, actually, given my crazy libido, I'm more interested in stuff that lowers it—things like lions mane that can affect DHT levels

I take all of this specifically for my health, and honestly, the results have been great. That small fiber neuropathy is tied to insulin resistance—basically, messed up glucose metabolism inside the brain cells, which leads to mitochondrial damage, similar to what happens with MS.

My main regimen includes pregabalin, r-ala + Benfotiamine + methyl b12 sublingually, encapsulated Black seed OIL, and lions mane.
Sometimes I throw in sulforaphane and NAC.
NAC is super useful because it revives dysfunctional dopamine receptors. In my case, mine were pretty fried from some bad habits and the lifestyle I used to lead, so I feel the effects of NAC almost immediately, whereas for some people, the peak takes a while to hit. It would probably be really helpful for guys dealing with PE.

Everything is different for everyone. We're basically talking about hacking your own brain and nervous system here, which is something our neurologists and psychiatrists won't even begin to wrap their heads around for many years to come.

For me, it's important to educate anyone who actually wants to know which bioavailable forms to look for, because let's face it, the supplement market is full of junk. If you want the good stuff, stick to reputable brands like Thorne Research, Pure Encapsulations, Life Extension, Jarrow, or NOW. They are the way to go!

Here is what David Tomen uses:

Jacob Lopez51, once I get the results back from one of my tests, I'll let you know. I just have to make sure nothing clashes with the other stuff I'm already taking.

Sam Wright21 said:Honestly, folks, I feel completely blindsided... It’s actually quite demoralizing to realize how much I let myself believe in this. It reminds me of when the late Bago was absolutely livid with me—back when he was tearing this fraud apart during the election cycles. He was right all along, and I was just being naive. 😢

Ginger Rogers, that's just what I said.

feralridge3 said:They can't exactly claim I'm fit for duty when I'm dealing with two major illnesses.
Aren't they dragging their feet a bit too much? I have rights to several benefits, yet everyone is just stalling, waiting on some commission decision.

Honestly, you're lucky. They definitely are.
But if you really want to figure out where the bottleneck is, I'll DM you an email address for the Social Security Administration.
Look, forget the local office—go straight to the head of the SSA and the Administration. Just write to him directly.
In this country, you can make just about anything happen if you know how to play the game. smile:
And I'm being dead serious about the rest of it.