Posts by Douglas Cook2

Rebecca Vaughn30 said:So how did you guys handle it? Did you have to haul water samples around for testing? Swapping out all the pipes?

We just moved.

We’re living in Germany now. That was our absolute first priority, learned the hard way from our experience back in the States with our old plumbing and local water setup. Over here, they actually come to you to run the tests. The water itself was actually great—our city draws from an Alpine spring. No bacteria or junk, but there was lead because the infrastructure dates back to the 60s. Everything's been renovated, but the actual pipes haven't been swapped yet; that wasn't scheduled for a few more years. Since we knew we wanted to start a family soon, we just packed up and left.

northerncobra27 said:Lead levels wouldn't spike just because of an immune issue causing hair loss—it’s more likely the other way around. Maybe lead poisoning triggered the disorder? Who knows. What might actually help is getting everyone in the house tested for lead, so you can see if the rest of the family is exposed too. You could probably take dust samples to the local Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; I assume they test for lead, though I'm not sure if they do specific dust analysis. Either way, give them a call. If they can't help, they should be able to point you to someone who can. I'd also reach out to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 123 Main St, New York City, Phone: 212-555-0199, Fax: 212-555-0198, E-mail: contact@cdc.gov). This is their specialty, so they'll have the best answers.

Same here. We did the exact same thing when we were dealing with our situation...

Rebecca Vaughn30 said:thanks. my daughter is 16 and it stemmed from some immune disorder that eventually cleared up. maybe that's why her lead levels spiked?

That’s a possibility. But it’s also possible she’s been getting hit with lead exposure steadily for a while, and it just finally showed up on the radar last year...

Since lead in the blood clears out pretty fast, finding it there usually points to ongoing poisoning—like it’s constantly being introduced to the system...

You really ought to run another test to compare against last year's results. And definitely sit down with a specialist to hash it out.

p.s.
I'm not a doctor or a serology expert, but I'm drawing this from what I know. My own place had issues with lead pipes in the building, so I've dealt with the whole potential lead poisoning headache before...

Did you guys swap out your plumbing too? Most pipes back in the day were made of lead...

It could be old rubber tubing as well...

Rebecca Vaughn30 said:Thanks. But it doesn't say anywhere if that lead can actually get out of your system. 😢

It depends.
About 95% of lead binds to red blood cells. It creates this quick equilibrium between your digestive system and your vital organs—like your heart, lungs, and brain—which actually helps the body cycle that lead out relatively fast.

Lead doesn't just vanish. It moves slow when it hits your muscles and skin—we're talking about a 20-day window just to flush it out. Even worse, instead of acting like calcium phosphate, it settles in as lead phosphate. That means it gets bunkered down in your bones and teeth, where it can sit for anywhere from 5 to 20 years.

In adults, about 90% of lead ends up stored in the bones. For kids, that number drops to around 60%.

When bones start breaking down—whether you're dealing with a calcium deficiency, high stress, steroid treatments, or just being pregnant—lead levels in your blood can spike even if you haven't been exposed to any new sources. It’s basically like pulling old lead out of storage. This can trigger full-blown lead poisoning. Plus, during pregnancy, that lead crosses the placenta, meaning it goes straight from your bloodstream to the baby.

Adults aren't hit nearly as hard by lead ingestion—we only soak up about 10% through the digestive tract. Kids are a different story. For a little one between two months and six years old, that number jumps to 50%. It's a massive difference.

You can find plenty of info online, especially if you're fluent in a few different languages...

Here’s a starting point... lead levels in children (if you look at the very top of the page, there's a link to open the PDF version—it’s way easier to read than this HTML layout)

Kevin Taylor38 said:I drink a ton of hard water from my tap but I’ve been drinking that same water for nearly 20 years now

That’s exactly the point—it’s all about the long haul...

Quick tip on magnesium. Skip the supplements. Honestly, just drinking some magnesium-rich mineral water is way better. If you knock back about half a liter of something like Essentia or just a good mineral spring water, you’ve pretty much hit your daily requirement right there—even without counting anything else you eat.

If you're currently popping magnesium supplements, just toss them in the trash. Seriously.
Most supplements are just a cocktail of synthetic junk that does more harm than good. It's like trying to fix a car engine with cheap, fake parts—you might think you're helping, but you're actually just breaking things further.

There could be a few reasons for this—maybe metabolic issues, high uric acid levels, some lingering bacterial infection somewhere, or even just the hard water you're drinking. If you've been chugging hard water for years, those minerals can actually build up in your joints, bones, and kidneys, throwing everything out of whack. Hard water is loaded with magnesium and calcium.

One thing is for sure: something shifted in your system. It’s been a year and a half since things were normal, and these symptoms are hitting you now.

I don't think it's anything life-threatening, but you should definitely pay attention to what and how much you're consuming. Maybe get some blood work done or something.

As for salt, it's tricky. I used to think I was being careful with my salt intake, only to find out I was actually overdoing it.

Multivitamins are another variable; depending on the brand, they might have specific iodine levels. Usually, extra iodine is mostly for pregnant women or people dealing with thyroid issues.
They can also contain salt.

And look, you shouldn't be taking magnesium or iron without talking to a doctor first (and definitely not just asking some random gym trainer). Don't just wing it, especially if you plan on taking them long-term.

Plus, if you're eating as healthy as you say you are, I don't see why you'd need extra Mg and Fe. Since I'm pregnant, I know a ton about this stuff. In my position, I'd need higher doses, but even then, I mostly get what I need from food. For a healthy adult, you usually need about 300 mg of magnesium a day, which is easy to hit with a good diet. Men only need about 1 mg of iron, which is also easily covered by balanced meals—and you claim your diet is solid.

Supplementing should be based on a real reason—like age, pregnancy, or a medical condition—and you really should have a blood test to see what you're actually lacking versus what you already have plenty of. Otherwise, messing around with supplements can wreck a perfectly balanced system.

Anyway, those are my initial thoughts. The rest is up to you. 🙂

Jack Moore5 said:Well, honestly, let it fall apart if it has to. Something new will eventually rise to take its place. Whether things break down or just evolve, life has a way of healing itself and moving forward regardless...

But what I really need to know is, am I actually cleared to keep playing soccer??
I’ve got practice scheduled for today, and right now, wearing my sneakers, I don't feel any real pain. That said, I do get a bit of a twinge if I land awkwardly or if I press down on my big toe through the shoe...

I have another pair of cleats that are a bit roomier and more comfortable, so I could try playing in those today, but the real question is: should I even risk it? I don't want to turn a minor issue into a major complication.

Nails don't just pop off that easily.😉

As for soccer, I can't say for sure. But logically, if you're kicking hard with that foot and putting pressure on your toe, you might make things worse. You could end up with more pain or a bruised nail and all that.

I don't know, personally I'd take it easy for a while. That’s what I did in my situation; it hurt too much, so I didn't really have a choice.

The only thing you could try is wrapping your toe in cotton, then putting some gauze over it—basically mummifying it—and see how it feels when you play. Try to protect it somehow.

Anyway, don't you guys have a team doctor at your club who can take a look and give you actual advice?

And for the shoes, I scored mine on eBay for a steal because they were basically brand new.

Good luck.😉

Yeah, they’re either running small or just a tight fit. Happened to me last year. I ordered these killer sneakers from a boutique in NYC, but they were just a hair too snug for my size.

Sure, they stretch out wide, but they aren't gaining any length. One day I spent a few hours walking around downtown, and the next morning? Blue toenail and a throbbing big toe.

Don't sweat it, though—your nail isn't going to fall off. It’ll just stay bruised until it grows out, and you'll have to clip away the blue part as it moves up.

And all five of them.

Honestly, I had the same thing happen. The nail ends up looking kind of dead and all wrinkled up.

Carol Wilson5 said:I haven't been browsing here for a little while because I’ve been stuck with this new doctor who is just impossible to deal with, though everything was always totally fine before her. My doctor actually told me he was bracing himself for a disaster based on my height and weight ratio, but once he saw the actual lab results? He told me to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, because apparently, everything is functioning perfectly.

The issue is that I've gained 9 pounds in about a week without changing anything at all about my lifestyle—no changes to my diet or exercise routine. It isn't just the scale talking, either, because I can't even zip up any of my pants, and they were already a bit loose on me until recently. At first, I figured it was just PMS, but that passed and nothing changed. And I am definitely not pregnant.

Hmm, I don't know. My aunt has hypothyroidism and my sister-in-law has hyperthyroidism, and from what I understand, thyroid issues don't usually cause weight gain specifically in the gut area—especially not a sudden jump in just 4 days. But hey, anything can happen, 🤷 every patient is unique in the end.

Are your bathroom habits regular?

Here is what Mayo Clinic says about different types of thyroid disorders and their symptoms:

hypothyroidism

hyperthyroidism

Carol Wilson5 said:I’ve been feeling pretty desperate lately, so I figured I’d just put this out there and ask.

I’m 26 years old, 5'7", and weigh about 120 lbs. I know that’s not a massive amount for my height (even though I saw some site online claiming my "ideal" weight was 110 lbs!!!!). The thing is, for the last few years, I was consistently sitting right at 110 lbs. Personally, I felt like that was actually too low, so my goal was really more like 115 lbs. But even though I haven't changed what I eat or how much I move, my weight suddenly jumped up to 120 lbs. I noticed a huge difference in my stomach area—I never had a totally flat stomach, but now it feels massive. I just chalked it up to bloating or PMS, you know? But even after those days pass, neither the bloat nor the weight has budged an inch. I eventually convinced myself I’d just subconsciously eaten a bit more, and honestly, I didn't think it was a big deal since I could probably drop a couple of pounds in a week or two. I did cut back on food slightly (not drastically, since I don't eat much to begin with) and moved around more, but it hasn't done anything to my weight. I wasn't expecting a miracle, but I thought I might at least lose half a pound or a pound in a week. To make matters weirder, the exact same thing happened to my sister when she was my age. She gained 22 lbs in just a few days. I thought she was exaggerating or just eating more without realizing it, but now the same thing is happening to me—though on a much smaller scale, even though I’ve always been significantly lighter than her.

So, let me emphasize: the issue isn't that I'm 120 lbs. The real issue is that I gained 9 lbs in just a few days, despite not eating extra calories and keeping my activity levels exactly the same. Another weird part? Cutting calories and moving more hasn't had any effect on my weight at all (and yeah, this happened to my sister, too). Even though it's only 9 lbs, I can literally feel it.

I’m honestly scared of what comes next. I’d go see a doctor, but my primary care physician is impossible to talk to; even if you're in a crisis, she brushes everything off as "nothing," so there's no way she'd listen to something like this.

So, if anyone has any smart suggestions, please share them with me.

Thanks to everyone for sticking through this long-winded update! 🙏

So, what ended up being the cause for your sister?

Carol Wilson5 said:I completely agree with that, just like I mentioned earlier. It’s actually pretty alarming that I got a calculation like that from some "smart" American website—honestly, I feel like that kind of math should be illegal.

Believe it or not, this all happened in less than a week. And no, I am definitely not pregnant!

BMI isn't everything. Your body frame matters so much, which you can tell just by looking at wrist circumference, and I've been naturally tiny since birth. There's a massive difference depending on your bone structure. Being thin and being small are two totally different things. As far as being thin goes, the fact that I wore a 30C bra while weighing only 110 lbs speaks for itself; everyone I knew was shocked I had any curves at all at that weight. My former doctor actually sent me for blood work because he was worried about my "thinness," but the results were absolutely perfect—everything was totally normal. He told me then that he wasn't going to worry about the numbers anymore.

Honestly, that's the kind of response I expected. If something doesn't affect someone personally, they tend to think it couldn't possibly happen to anyone else.

I don't get why people act surprised. It's not that deep. I'm even smaller than you and I wear a slightly larger cup size myself😁😉

now that I'm pregnant, don't even get me started😍

Carol Wilson5 said:I completely agree with that, just like I mentioned earlier. It’s actually pretty alarming that I got a calculation like that from some "smart" American website—honestly, I feel like that kind of math should be illegal.

Believe it or not, this all happened in less than a week. And no, I am definitely not pregnant!

BMI isn't everything. Your body frame matters so much, which you can tell just by looking at wrist circumference, and I've been naturally tiny since birth. There's a massive difference depending on your bone structure. Being thin and being small are two totally different things. As far as being thin goes, the fact that I wore a 30C bra while weighing only 110 lbs speaks for itself; everyone I knew was shocked I had any curves at all at that weight. My former doctor actually sent me for blood work because he was worried about my "thinness," but the results were absolutely perfect—everything was totally normal. He told me then that he wasn't going to worry about the numbers anymore.

Honestly, that's the kind of response I expected. If something doesn't affect someone personally, they tend to think it couldn't possibly happen to anyone else.

That's awesome👍

especially if those tests were recent.

Carol Wilson5 said:I completely agree with that, just like I mentioned earlier. It’s actually pretty alarming that I got a calculation like that from some "smart" American website—honestly, I feel like that kind of math should be illegal.

Believe it or not, this all happened in less than a week. And no, I am definitely not pregnant!

BMI isn't everything. Your body frame matters so much, which you can tell just by looking at wrist circumference, and I've been naturally tiny since birth. There's a massive difference depending on your bone structure. Being thin and being small are two totally different things. As far as being thin goes, the fact that I wore a 30C bra while weighing only 110 lbs speaks for itself; everyone I knew was shocked I had any curves at all at that weight. My former doctor actually sent me for blood work because he was worried about my "thinness," but the results were absolutely perfect—everything was totally normal. He told me then that he wasn't going to worry about the numbers anymore.

Honestly, that's the kind of response I expected. If something doesn't affect someone personally, they tend to think it couldn't possibly happen to anyone else.

Exactly. Small, petite, but packs a punch. 😁🤣

The scale's definitely busted, I'm telling you 😁

Plus, if it’s one of those smart scales, I wouldn't even be surprised. 😁

I thought about water retention too, but it feels weird that both scales are showing such a massive jump at once. 😕

stormyheron4 said:First off, she gained four pounds over several days.

Second, you put on three pounds in a week, but two of those were just the weight of the cast—maybe even more considering how big that thing was on your leg. That last pound was probably just inflammation in the tissue where the bone snapped.😁

Of course you'd agree with me since you actually know what we're talking about. 😁

So you're saying that this time, you actually get what's going on.😁

Carol Wilson5 said:I’ve been feeling pretty desperate lately, so I figured I’d just put this out there and ask.

I’m 26 years old, 5'7", and weigh about 120 lbs. I know that’s not a massive amount for my height (even though I saw some site online claiming my "ideal" weight was 110 lbs!!!!). The thing is, for the last few years, I was consistently sitting right at 110 lbs. Personally, I felt like that was actually too low, so my goal was really more like 115 lbs. But even though I haven't changed what I eat or how much I move, my weight suddenly jumped up to 120 lbs. I noticed a huge difference in my stomach area—I never had a totally flat stomach, but now it feels massive. I just chalked it up to bloating or PMS, you know? But even after those days pass, neither the bloat nor the weight has budged an inch. I eventually convinced myself I’d just subconsciously eaten a bit more, and honestly, I didn't think it was a big deal since I could probably drop a couple of pounds in a week or two. I did cut back on food slightly (not drastically, since I don't eat much to begin with) and moved around more, but it hasn't done anything to my weight. I wasn't expecting a miracle, but I thought I might at least lose half a pound or a pound in a week. To make matters weirder, the exact same thing happened to my sister when she was my age. She gained 22 lbs in just a few days. I thought she was exaggerating or just eating more without realizing it, but now the same thing is happening to me—though on a much smaller scale, even though I’ve always been significantly lighter than her.

So, let me emphasize: the issue isn't that I'm 120 lbs. The real issue is that I gained 9 lbs in just a few days, despite not eating extra calories and keeping my activity levels exactly the same. Another weird part? Cutting calories and moving more hasn't had any effect on my weight at all (and yeah, this happened to my sister, too). Even though it's only 9 lbs, I can literally feel it.

I’m honestly scared of what comes next. I’d go see a doctor, but my primary care physician is impossible to talk to; even if you're in a crisis, she brushes everything off as "nothing," so there's no way she'd listen to something like this.

So, if anyone has any smart suggestions, please share them with me.

Thanks to everyone for sticking through this long-winded update! 🙏

I’m with stormyheron4 on all four points here—it's been a while since I actually agreed with someone 😁, but they nailed it!

I’ll just add a few more numbers to help with that whole thin vs. overweight dilemma.

Look, at 120 lbs and 5'7", you're right on the edge of being classified as anorexic.

Your BMI is already sitting slightly under 19 with that weight (and 19 is basically the floor for BMI standards established back in the day), whereas for your age, it really ought to be somewhere between 20 and 25.

Bottom line? You're underweight right now.

(For context, I'm 5'4" and used to be 120 lbs before I had kids, and I was considered super slim.)

Amy Long9 said:Anyone know if there are any nasty side effects?
Is it actually worth anything?

Regarding that vaccine, there’s a massive debate going on over here in America.

Back in 2009, a study came out looking at 17,000 women aged 15 to 25. Half got the Cervarix (HPV) shot, and the other half got a Hepatitis vaccine. It was a double-blind setup—neither the women nor the doctors knew who got which one.

Over the years, the group that took the HPV vaccine showed fewer precancerous conditions than the control group.

In the HPV group, you had 9 out of every 1,000 women develop precancerous stages (like CIN 1 or 2). In the group that didn't get the HPV shot, that number was 11 out of 1,000.

The HPV group also saw fewer women needing surgery because of those precancerous issues. So, it's a slight drop, but we aren't talking about some massive, dramatic difference or a 100% reduction!

Naturally, because of this data, some pros recommend vaccinating young girls since it might help. On the flip side, others don't recommend it because they feel it hasn't been studied enough to be considered fully adequate. Plus, the study itself basically says only time will tell if cancer rates actually plummet because of this. We're talking decades of waiting for that answer.

Regardless, based on this research, national health agencies across the globe have decided to move forward with the recommendation.

So, I hope it's clear from this: the vaccine alone isn't some bulletproof shield against infection.

Also, keep in mind the shot only protects against the two most common high-risk strains, HPV 16 and 18. It doesn't cover all the different types of HPV that can cause cancer.

Come on Tantala, just keep pushing. You can totally do this. 😉

Look, I quit smoking after 17 years of burning through two packs a day. Smoking literally fries your brain receptors—it’s permanent because nicotine can actually breach the blood-brain barrier, which protects your head from all kinds of nasty stuff. Food can't do that. So if I could kick the habit, you can definitely stop overeating. 👍

It wasn't easy. It was a total nightmare. 😳
Especially since, for me, cigarettes were everything: they were my reward, my focus booster, my comfort, and—honestly—my way of controlling how much I ate.

Yeah, sure, just go ahead and break a vicious, deep-seated addiction like that after 17 straight years!

But I've been clean for over a year now.

So yeah, absolutely. You can do it. 👍