Posts by feralwolf24

When it comes to antibiotics, my experience is pretty much this: you show up at the doctor's office, and you're basically guaranteed a prescription—even if you actually went in asking for an eye exam! :-) Honestly, I feel like "antibiotics" has become shorthand for almost any standard medical treatment these days. As for my stomach, it’s a real trooper; it handles just about anything I throw at it without complaining. But once it decides to act up—like hitting me in the middle of the night when I'm craving something specific—it’s absolutely infuriating. Usually, though, once I finally eat something, I feel better almost instantly. I guess I've figured out that my personal medicine is just eating, eating, and more eating. :-) Lately, though, I’ve been getting this weird taste in my mouth, and when I spit, there’s blood. I haven't really been coughing, so I don't think I burst a capillary from straining. On the other hand, after testing it out with some forced coughing, it feels more like something in my throat just spat blood out. It’s worth mentioning that I am a smoker, though I’ve been pretty moderate lately. A couple of months ago, I was going through a phase where I was smoking about four packs a day. I’m guessing my body is just trying to clear out the damage from that mess.

:-))
Everything else looks fine, including my white blood cell count, but I haven't had my B12 checked yet (not sure if any other numbers can give a hint). My main priority was seeing a nutritionist, so for now, I have to stay away from beans, beets, and my absolute favorite—broccoli (which is honestly the hardest thing for me to give up). She gave me some plum-based honey to help regenerate my liver and a certain tea that, I have to admit, smells amazing. I’m heading to see my doctor today, but if she tries to push antibiotics on me, I’m probably going to pass (unless things get really serious, which I don't think they will)
It’s not like I’m dealing with anything massive; I just get these occasional sharp pains near my liver and my stomach acts up a bit. From what I’ve researched, it seems like GERD, and my gastroenterologist actually agreed, though he’s still insisting on an endoscopy. I’ll go through with the scope eventually, but I’d much rather try to fix this naturally first using home remedies like chestnut honey and ginger. If that doesn't work, then I'll look into conventional medicine. As for the temperature issues, I’ve kind of gotten used to them (even if I do annoy people by complaining about being cold when everyone else is perfectly fine). I also assume the temp is just part of whatever is going on in my body, especially since my resting heart rate is pretty high, sitting around 90-100. I guess you could say I'm just operating at a high energy level :-)))
Thanks

Does anyone know what it means when GGT and ALT levels are significantly low? I'm not sure if there's a connection, but my platelet count is down too, iron is high, and I've been running a slight fever—nothing crazy, maybe around 99°F—on and off for the last two years.

Maybe I just need more bourbon in my diet? :-) Just kidding.

I’m not saying it was definitely harmful, but for my husband, skipping breakfast was just unthinkable for 36 years. He’d spend his entire morning just sipping coffee and smoking, not eating a single thing until maybe 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. Once we started living together—around the time he turned 36—he finally started eating breakfast, mostly because I’ve eaten breakfast my whole life and I can’t even function if I don't get some food in me first thing. It wasn't really his thing at first, but over time, he reached a point where he couldn't imagine starting the day without it. Between that erratic lifestyle and who knows what other factors were at play, I honestly don't know how we got this lucky... whether it was the doctors, God, or just plain old luck, I'm just incredibly grateful that my husband is still here with me today.

Maybe try a spoonful of honey mixed with some fresh lemon or orange juice before you reach for the coffee? I totally get sticking to your routine, but when things start going sideways... well, doctors aren't all-knowing, and honestly, some can be pretty hit-or-miss depending on who you end up seeing. It might be worth weighing your options. We all tend to think, "this won't happen to me," but then you suddenly find yourself wondering, "what now?" My husband and I went in with that same mindset, and it ended... less than ideal. In our case, we barely scraped by, but still. I don't want to jinx anyone, but you should probably be prepared just in case.

I’m not sure what part isn't clicking here. Let's play out a scenario: suppose ozonated water actually reduced illness—everything from minor aches to serious tumors. How much would it cost the government to treat all those individual health issues? An astronomical amount. Now, how much would it cost to install an ozone generator in every single treatment plant across the country? Also a massive amount. But there's a huge difference between "astronomical" and "massive." Do you honestly think it would be cheaper to pay for healthcare than to buy ozone generators if it could cut illness rates by even 5%? Setting aside any sense of humanity for a second, if your simplified logic were true, the math would be so obvious that the powers that be would have implemented it ages ago.
Most of the newer water treatment facilities in the US are unnecessarily expensive—which ends up hitting regular consumers through their monthly bills. This happens because everything from heat exchangers to high-powered compressors and membranes gets installed just to drive sales, whether it's actually needed or not. For instance, why would a treatment plant bother with an ion exchange system specifically to remove ammonia? It’s incredibly pricey and a nightmare to maintain, even though it's a highly developed modern tech. We’ve been successfully removing ammonia biologically using sand filters and sufficient oxygen for decades, getting it down to 0mg/L quite easily and cheaply. New tech has its place, but it doesn't automatically make older, proven methods obsolete. That ion exchange might be great for tackling something like arsenic, which might justify the cost. Maybe not, though. (That’s just my take since I’ve been working on this for a while; if we can find a competitive way to make an ion exchanger work without needing regeneration, it’ll be much cheaper, and everyone wins.)
I don't really know what else to say. I think you get where I'm coming from, and I definitely get where you're coming from. I’m not trying to push my views on you or change your mind. This is a public forum used by tons of people. They are all paying for water, and they're all paying the same rate. My only concern is that people shouldn't throw money away buying bottled water that might actually be lower quality than what comes out of their tap at home (depending on where they live). Or worse, someone installs a home ozone generator and ends up with health issues if the ozone leaks out of the water. I just want to say: don't be closed-minded about any single approach. If you think your water isn't up to par, grab a sample (I can show you how), pay for a lab analysis, and then take action based on the results.
That's all from me.
Matthew Hall37, I'm not trying to outsmart you, nor do I see any point in going there. It's just not productive.

So, after they finish the ozonation process, what else do you think they add to the water to make sure it stays disinfected while traveling through the pipes?
And look, even NaCl can be toxic if you get enough of it—we're talking about common table salt here. Everything around us has a potential downside. It all comes down to dosage and how much we actually ingest. It’s rarely black and white, and I think it's a mistake to oversimplify things. Biology, chemistry, metabolism... it's all way more complex than a single study or a random number can explain. It's also worth noting how much influence marketing and consumer psychology have nowadays. It's basically become its own science. Just look at how modern grocery stores are designed to manipulate your mood with specific scents and music. They'll put those impulse buys right at eye level so you can't miss them, while the staples you actually need, like sugar, salt, or flour, are tucked away on the bottom shelves. You really have to stay sharp because people are so health-conscious now, and retailers are fully aware of that. Sometimes the tactics they use to move product feel pretty dirty and pathetic.

An ozone generator at home??? You might as well just pass out from the fumes. :-))
Ozone has plenty of downsides, and honestly, we still don't fully understand many of its chemical reactions. For instance, it can destroy the active sites on coagulants that you dose into water to get rid of things like turbidity or arsenic.
Plus, a lot of that ozone escapes back into the air, which makes it a literal poison—meaning you’re just polluting the air people breathe.
On top of that, the lifespan of oxygen in ozone form is so incredibly short that it barely has time to react with contaminants sitting in your pipes or your tap.
Chlorine is a gas, but its solubility in water is very low. If the smell bothers you, just let the water sit for a bit or boil it; that'll drive the gas out pretty quickly. The regulated amount of residual chlorine (the extra bit left over to handle any sudden contamination) is kept between a minimum of 0.2mg/L and a maximum of 0.5mg/L. That provides a safety margin—something you just can't achieve with ozone.
Sure, chlorine isn't perfect, but you have to do something to kill the microbes. It's just one tool in the shed alongside ozone, UV, and a whole bunch of other options.
Water has become pure marketing. So many people smelled dollar signs in it that now companies are selling absolutely everything under the sun. I’ve heard plenty of stories about people getting totally ripped off. So many "analysis" companies and filtration specialists pop up, come to your house, filter your water, and then suddenly everything looks dark or weird. Please, don't be sheep! Some things work for some people, but it depends. A specific purifier might make sense for one well, but the next well might have a different vein, a different composition, or need a completely different treatment. There is no "one size fits all." Just like how no two people are exactly alike, no two water sources are the same. Making impulsive moves that end up costing you money could actually cause way more harm than good in the long run.
I’m a chemist by trade, so my only real obsession is water. All I know is chemistry, and I manage fine on my own without paying for outside analyses—which, luckily, I can run myself. I make my own calls because... well, talk is cheap, but experience is real.

What’s the deal with people who are still stuck in the hospital, dealing with surgery recovery and all those drainage tubes?? :-((

Here’s a quick take on a health-related topic that I actually know a thing or two about.
Regarding the whole lead scare—I want to clarify right away (I promise to double-check this in the next few days)—but usually, that reddish tint in water comes from iron. Honestly, the tap water in Washington, D.C. is top-tier for both drinking and bathing. For those people who basically pay a "fool tax" by buying bottled water by the liter instead of using the tap, my advice is to start showering in it too. Since skin is our largest organ, if you aren't drinking the tap water, you're just throwing money away if you're still using bottled stuff to wash. As for chlorination, chlorine levels at no destination ever exceed the maximum allowable concentration. Also, chlorine can be tricky when mixed with organic matter because it creates trihalomethanes (you might know it as chloroform). So, in a place like a rural county, for example, besides not drinking from the faucet, you probably shouldn't even wash with it—especially if you're pregnant! In Washington, D.C., the oxidation levels are well below the limit, so there's nothing to worry about. The local water supply (except for Petrusevac, where they handle manganese removal) doesn't undergo any treatment other than disinfection. Basically, according to its classification, it's just natural spring water. It's exactly like almost everything else you'd buy in a bottle. If you happen to stumble upon some "premium" bottled water, just remember that even sewage can be processed until it becomes drinkable; that's all it really is. With reverse osmosis, you strip it down to just H+, OH-, and H2O, then use dosing pumps to add minerals back in, use NaOH to balance the pH, and finally disinfect it again.
When it comes to bottled waters, quality and composition vary wildly. Even if everything is done strictly by the book, some brands wouldn't even make it onto your shelves due to things like elevated manganese or even uranium levels. I think I might have said a bit too much there.
As for mercury, I don't know where those rumors come from, but I can say with total confidence that it isn't there.
Hope this helps!
And that white residue you see when water flows through your faucet? That isn't chlorine; it's just oxygen. You can let go of that misconception now.