Posts by Drew Gonzalez75

@electriccrane67: I still think the waist is a bit too low for me, honestly.😢
But thank you so much for all the effort, you're an absolute gem.😍

wanderingtinker21 said:No, never really. My OB-GYN just kept swapping out my birth control, like I was some kind of experiment testing one after another and... I mean, last time I asked if maybe there was an issue with my hormones or something, she just did an ultrasound and told me she was pretty sure everything was fine.
This time she prescribed Yasmin. Everyone seems to run from that one, so here I am, about to dive right in, I guess?
I feel like I’ve cycled through so many already, and honestly, I doubt this one will be some miracle cure.
It felt a little awkward to push her for actual blood tests, especially after she gave me that "everything is totally fine" assurance...
I’ve had blood drawn plenty of times before—standard stuff, obviously, like when I had my baby. Everything always came back normal. But specifically regarding the pill? No, I’ve never gone that route.
Maybe the best move would be to find a new doctor, huh? It’s a shame, though, because I thought I was actually pretty happy with her. She has a private practice, and the guy at the local community clinic... well, I just don't feel like going to him. I figured since she's private, she'd be better, but maybe I was wrong?😵
I'm not really telling you what to do, but if I were in your shoes, it probably would be for the best—just a thought.🙂

If you've had an IUD, it's much better than pills.

electriccrane67 said:aww 😍
they look kinda weird because my camera is seriously tragic.
but these jeans are amazing, they fit so good and have tons of stretch 😲 .

Is the waist really low-rise?
ps. could you please retype the code and any other info? I think what you wrote isn't the width, just the size and brand label.
thanks so much!😍

electriccrane67 said:I actually just picked up some Lee jeans at a Wrangler shop (down in Baton Rouge) and oh my god, they are AMAZING!!! They were $560, but they were on a massive sale (50% 😍 off!). Seriously, they're incredible—super stretchy and soft, just that perfect, comfy denim feel 😍

Could you please write down which model they are?🙂

I’ll be sending my shoes in a sturdy shipping box from the post office. It costs a little more, but it’s much tougher than those flimsy boxes you find at a local convenience store.
As for other items, a standard cardboard box should do just fine.

Which stores actually carry stretchy denim these days? I’ve been noticing they seem to be getting harder to find lately...
I'm not talking about those jeans with just a tiny 2% stretch—you can still find those. I mean something with more give, maybe even a polyester blend mixed with the cotton, just so they’re genuinely flexible.
Also, they need to come in long lengths. I usually wear a 32 or 34 inseam, though I could probably pull off a 36 if needed.

Betty Edwards said:The first mention of Dr. Basta!
What has your experience been like with her??
I started seeing her about a year ago. I'm trying to clear up some acne scarring—just waiting for her to refer me for laser treatment.

Is it possible to get laser treatment covered by Medicare so it doesn't cost anything out of pocket?😕

I think low-dose aspirin (100 mg) is good for circulation.
Do you think taking it every couple of days is alright?
I used to take a full 500 mg dose every single day, but then I realized that probably wasn't the smartest move. I stopped, and just a few days later, my leg started aching and feeling a bit numb—specifically the one where I already have a varicose vein on the front of my shin.
Now I’m worried this might be happening because I quit the aspirin.🙂😕 : worried :

coppergardener said:I agree (copy-pasting here): If you have been on a daily aspirin regimen and want to stop, it is vital to consult your doctor before changing anything. Abruptly stopping daily aspirin therapy can cause a rebound effect that might trigger a blood clot, leading to more serious issues.

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2003/503_aspirin.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dai...herapy/HB00073
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/me...a-b/990593.stm
http://vrp.com/articles.aspx?page=LI...D=1170&zType=2
http://www.factorfiveleidensupport.o...agulants2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin

P.S. My leg isn't bruised and the vein hasn't bulged out yet; it's just the pain and the tingling.

I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately. It's easy to get caught up in the noise, isn't it? I try to stay grounded, but sometimes the momentum of everything just feels heavy. I suppose I'm still learning how to navigate that balance. One step at a time, I guess. kaže:
Did your vein issues settle down after you stopped taking them, or what? Honestly, they were splitting apart like candy for me too. It happened right when I first showed up with those liver problems—which were fine, really—but then he just looked at me and asked, "Which one do you want?" So I just mumbled something about maybe Yasmin, since that was the first thing that popped into my head... 👎

I don't see any varicose veins on myself. I’ve always had very fair skin, so my blue veins are naturally visible. However, it isn't that they've suddenly bulged out; instead, I've noticed these little red lines—capillaries—appearing on my thighs. They tend to spread, and I really want to prevent that from happening. I'm considering trying Logest in the hope that it might help stop them. Does anyone here have experience with broken capillaries and switching birth control pills? Could it actually make a difference?

I generally tend to try different options first—since I haven't really dealt with any other side effects so far. However, I'm feeling a bit conflicted because my gynecologist wants me to take a three-month break beforehand. His reasoning is that... "If the capillaries are receding, then they clearly aren't from Yasmin."What I’ve managed to dig up online suggests that for dealing with spider veins... I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you please clarify what you meant? I could pull my hair out from the stress. Taking a break feels like a total shock to the system. It makes me wonder—who’s actually the crazy one here? 😕

It didn't work for me. Still, I'm convinced the issue stemmed from the pills.
Let me clarify—the vein isn't on the back where most people have them. It’s actually running along the front, right over the shin bone, and sometimes it gets a bit swollen.😳
I’ve spent quite a bit of time weighing my options regarding those pills—specifically considering switching to the long-acting version since it has the lowest hormone levels. Ultimately, though, I decided the potential side effects just aren't worth the gamble. At the end of the day, we're talking about hormones, after all. So, for now, I’m looking for a new gynecologist to get a professional opinion on the IUD.🤷
I’m still telling you, you should consider switching up your birth control. That bolded part they mentioned sounds incredibly suspicious to me. Honestly, it doesn't make any sense at all. If those symptoms only recede after you stop taking Yasmin, then logically, they were caused by it, right?

rustyowl63 said:Yeah, well—I didn't say which one it was.

Listen, if you’re looking up "gynefix," you’re probably dealing with some serious pelvic floor drama—and let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like that specific brand of physical frustration to make you want to throw the whole universe out the window. It's one of those medical things designed to fix prolapse, basically trying to anchor everything back where it belongs using these little synthetic tapes. Sounds straightforward on paper, right? Like fixing a loose hem on a pair of jeans—except it's your internal anatomy and the stakes are significantly higher than a wardrobe malfunction. Now, look—doctors will give you the polished, clinical pitch about how it’s a "minimally invasive" solution, but anyone who’s actually navigated the US healthcare system knows that "minimally invasive" is often just code for "you're still going to be sore and annoyed for a while." It’s a surgical procedure, plain and simple. You’re talking about mesh being used to provide support, and honestly, the whole conversation around mesh in this country has been a total rollercoaster of controversy and lawsuits. It’s enough to make you wary. I’m not a doctor—clearly, I’m just someone sitting here typing away—but I do know that everyone’s body reacts differently. One person gets the procedure and feels like a superhero again, while another might end up dealing with discomfort or complications that nobody warned them about during that initial, overly optimistic consultation. If you're weighing this option, don't just take the surgeon's word for it because they have a shiny diploma. Ask the hard questions—the ones about long-term durability, the actual risk of mesh erosion (since that's a huge topic in the States), and what the recovery timeline *really* looks like when you aren't being watched by a professional. It's your body, after all—not some experimental lab project. Just stay sharp and do your homework before committing to anything. Non-hormonal spirals—you know, those things they keep pushing on pregnant women—are honestly such a joke. It’s just another thing to add to the endless list of "recommendations" that feel more like mandates sometimes. Honestly, I can't with these medical trends.
I'm not entirely sure—honestly, I don't think they really bother with that here in the States. As far as I know, people around here don't know much about her. Or do they?

I honestly had zero luck because that thing just wouldn't sit right—my OBGYN tried adjusting it a few times and just couldn't get it to work, so I ended up just grabbing a standard T-shaped one instead. It’s supposed to be just as good for postpartum recovery, at least according to what he tells me.

Look, I’m gonna be straight with you—it sucked way more than they led me to believe. They kept telling me it was some quick, five-minute little procedure—you know, the usual "in and out" routine hospitals love to pitch—but honestly? It took way longer than that. Much longer.

And that was my final call—because honestly, I’m done. I never want to touch another pill again for as long as I live.

I don't even know why I bother typing anymore—just feels like shouting into a void sometimes, you know? Anyway, whatever. Catch ya later.👍

So, that standard IUD you picked out—the one meant for women who haven't given birth—is it unavailable here in the US? Do you happen to know its exact name?
Thanks in advance. This is really important to me because I think I might decide to go that route too.🙂

rustyowl63 said:...So, just this past Friday, I went ahead and got the copper non-hormonal IUD installed. Honestly, it’s a game-changer for girls who haven't given birth yet—I just really wanted to get away from Yasmin.
I shelled out $205, by the way.

And look, whatever you do, stay far away from Mirena—seriously, don't even think about it, at least based on everything I’ve gathered and figured out. As for IUDs in general... the whole possibility of an ectopic pregnancy thing... well, that’s why you actually need to get checked out properly.

Hormonal birth control totally kills your libido , which is hands down the worst side effect imaginable. I mean, what's the point of taking pills to prevent pregnancy if I don't even have any drive left to enjoy the sex in the first place (you know what I mean?), not to mention how it messes with your mood...

Do your homework online, look up every single reason, all the pros and cons of whatever you're eyeing, and just remember that we're all different people and everyone reacts to hormonal stuff in their own unique way , but if there's an option, please talk to your OB-GYN about non-hormonal alternatives.

...or just stick to condoms if you aren't interested in having some foreign object inside you... because hormonal therapy—and I'm talking pills here—causes so many issues that you might as well just get used to using condoms that actually work for you.

Anyway, bye and good luck,

Signing off from this thread with the cold, hard truth: there is no such thing as 100% foolproof protection.

I agree with you on everything, except for that bolded part. Everywhere I read, it says an IUD isn't recommended for women who haven't had children?😕

nimbletrucker15 said:Alright, please give me your advice and share what you've been through...

So, here’s the deal: I’m on Yasmin, currently on my tenth pack, and for the last two months, these broken capillaries have been popping up on my breasts—intense pink ones—and they appeared incredibly fast. I went to see my OB-GYN and told him straight up that I want to switch pills. I mentioned this as a reason, thinking maybe a different brand, like Logest for instance, which has even lower hormone levels, might stop this from spreading.
Well, my doctor basically told me to just take a three-month break to "see" if those capillaries recede. His logic is that if they disappear, then Yasmin wasn't the culprit. Is anyone else finding this totally ridiculous? I’ve never heard that broken capillaries can just vanish on their own unless you go in for laser treatment or something similar...
And now, after waiting out those three months, he wants me to check back in if I feel like trying something else, though he claims it doesn't make much sense because Yasmin is "just like any other pill." Look, I already know I want to try something different, so does it really make sense to put my body through the shock of a hiatus for something that isn't going to change anything? Besides, if all birth control pills were identical, why would there be so many different types? He can't seriously argue that one size fits all, or that none of them work for anyone. 😕

I don't know, maybe I'm not the genius here, but I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences if you've dealt with anything similar. Am I out of line for doubting my doctor? (By the way, when I brought up these white patches on my breasts—which are obviously candidiasis—the guy just prescribed a cream, which is also super questionable to me 🙄). Honestly, what am I supposed to do? He has spoken, and he’s already noted the "break" in my medical file... 🤷

Find a new gynecologist.
About three years ago, I was on Diane for a year and developed a varicose vein in my lower leg (I was only 19 at the time). After reading the side effects and worrying about potential blood clots, I went to my OBGYN at Mount Sinai and asked for guidance.
She suggested switching to Logest. When I asked her if Logest would still affect my vein—since hormones are hormones regardless—she just gave me a completely blank stare and said, "It's your choice; pick Diane, Logest, or whatever else."😲
Honestly, I was thinking, "Excuse me? You're the doctor; you're supposed to tell me which one is better for my specific situation."🙄👎
She’s nearing retirement and seems a bit scattered lately, so that probably explains why her advice was so dismissive.😢
Anyway, I didn't take anything and haven't seen a gynecologist in three years. Now I'm looking for someone new, because it's definitely time to move on.

Noah Thompson3 said:Well, figured I’d chime in too. 😁

I've had some pretty similar experiences myself. For me, it was all about the voices. They’d start out as this low, quiet murmur, and then just keep ramping up the volume until they were practically screaming at me. The thing is, they aren't actually saying anything intelligible—they don't communicate anything specific. After a few minutes of that relentless shouting, I’d get this sensation like the walls around me had turned into soft dough, like I could just push right through them. But at the exact same time, I had this feeling they were sharp on the inside, almost like glass. Soft, yet razor-sharp. 😕
Anyway, I won't ramble on forever...
I actually went and consulted a psychiatrist to figure out what the hell was going on. And I got an answer. Apparently, it's just hallucinations triggered by brain development. As the brain matures and expands, it essentially "tests out" certain neural centers, particularly the sensory ones. That’s why most of this stuff happens during childhood, and eventually, the hallucinations just taper off.

So, does this mean every child experiences these kinds of hallucinations while growing up, or is it not necessarily a universal thing?

Sophia Booth53 said:Exactly. Honestly, her skin looks pretty rough 😳... though I don't know, maybe it's just the lighting like you mentioned. I can't be sure. 🤷

And who knows, maybe if she gained a little weight, those imperfections would fill in?

I'm getting ready to go shopping for some sturdy tights. Does anyone have suggestions on what color or pattern would look good with a light green and blue skirt? It's a tweed-like material, and I'll be wearing dark brown boots underneath.

briskjackal5 said:By the way, your location is actually pretty interesting.
Fredi holds his classes right next to the Importanne Gallery—about 35 steps of average length.

- briskjackal5 -

You’re a bit stubborn, aren't you?🙂

Jonathan Johnson67 said:Are you writing "sport" on purpose or was that an accident? I mean, do you actually want to compete?
If I recall correctly, Dangun is the closest one? And I think Bojan's BJJ academy is somewhere nearby too.

By accident.😍
I wouldn't get into much of a scrap with you—maybe just a little... at least at first.😁
Oh, and I'd prefer more striking. Just a little, or maybe none at all when it comes to grappling, submissions, and things like that.

Jamie Fowler2 said:Dancing is actually a great way to stay fit. Doing five or six minutes of fast jive is more exhausting than an entire Taekwondo session :P Plus, you get better leg definition. Honestly, knowing how to dance is much more useful in real life than mastering a perfect martial arts form.

...
Regarding your question, it would be helpful if you mentioned which part of town you're in so we can figure out what's closest to you...

The dancing sounds lovely and all... but:
"So, I'd like to take up some kind of martial art, mostly just for recreation and to blow off some steam." 😉
And I'm really not a natural dancer. My coordination is pretty lacking and I struggle to memorize steps.😬 Seriously.
I live near the MoMA.

Jamie Fowler2 said:Tae Kwon Do or Sport Karate? It’s the age-old debate. Both have their merits, but they definitely hit different depending on what you're looking for. 🙂

What exactly is sport karate, and who actually practices it around here?

I try to be precise, but I often find myself overthinking things. It’s a habit I can't quite shake. I prefer to take my time and weigh every option before making a move. Perhaps that's my flaw—being too cautious when I should just act. Still, I believe there is value in being deliberate. kaže:


My recommendation:
Check out this site for some dance inspiration: www.fredi-dance.com/

I’m not much for grandstanding, but I’ll try to contribute where I can. It takes a certain kind of patience to navigate these discussions without losing one's footing. I tend to listen more than I speak, though I hope my occasional input finds its mark. I'm just here to learn and offer what little perspective I have.

😂 😂 😂