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28 minutes ago, Robert C said:

My 3 year old got his first lesson in chiggers this weekend.  My wife has the worst case of em I've ever seen.  Fuck chiggers.

The absolute worst. I got them twice when I was a kid and it's a nightmare. To this day I try to stay away from fields or heavily wooded areas if I can help it, and I'd never go in without long pants on. 

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My only kidney stone refused to pass, got infected, tried to kill me, hospitalized me twice, and eventually needed two minimally invasive surgeries to remove, so I hope it goes better for you than me.

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There are a ton of factors that likely contributed to this, but I have patellar tendonitis in my right knee and it's so. fucking. painful. I used to love going to work every day, now I'm dreading just getting out of bed because I know how much it's going to hurt to put any sort of pressure on my right knee just by walking. I'm on steroids, but it's such a low dosage I don't even know how it's supposed to work. They've also got me on a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for pain (???) but it doesn't even seem to work so I end up taking a lot of Aleve instead and probably killing my liver or whatever.

But, basically - anyone here wear a brace/sleeve and how exactly does it stop the pain? I've got a compression sleeve being delivered on Saturday, but I'm wondering if it's even going to work and if I just spent $30 for nothing.

This is also the first time I've ever had to use my health insurance, so maybe I'm just being super pessimistic about how the health care system in America works. Because it feels like I charged my insurance for two separate visits to two different doctors only to be put on stuff that doesn't seem like it's helping at all.

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Here's the bad news, kid... Your knee is shot, it's not going to better it will only get worse, no, I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but I am a really good example of bad knees. If I were a smaller man, there would be surgeons lining up to do knee replacement surgery. As it is, I'm a big guy and not a very good candidate for the process for that and a number of other medical reasons. A brace doesn't help with the pain, but it does help drag your leg from place to place. 

I should mention that my back is shot, too so take that into consideration when I tell you my regimen... 20-30 mg of oxycodone every six hours erases the pain and makes it possible to function normally. Years ago I was on the more commonly prescribed percocet, but my doctor and I decided that it would be a good idea to spare my kidneys and just use the pure oxy (which actually has no side-effect other than becoming physically reliant on it to keep the pain at bay. That works for me, a friend who is the same age (60) had a knee replaced and couldn't be happier. He's a geologist and spends most of his day climbing around rocks in the high desert, no pain with the new knee at all. Of course,, he's a welter-weight, and I'm 265 lbs on a good day so ymmv.

Good luck, and see a doctor that will give you something decent to control the pain.

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On 5/20/2018 at 2:35 AM, Lamp, broken circa 1988 said:

kidney stone

no one to blame but myself

Damn. I had 30 of them, worst physical pain ever. When I went for the removal, it took so long waiting for the appointment I passed them naturally (cymbal crash). Unfortunately I found out after I had the pill to ass done (sorry for that visual peeps!)

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6 hours ago, Casey said:

There are a ton of factors that likely contributed to this, but I have patellar tendonitis in my right knee and it's so. fucking. painful. I used to love going to work every day, now I'm dreading just getting out of bed because I know how much it's going to hurt to put any sort of pressure on my right knee just by walking. I'm on steroids, but it's such a low dosage I don't even know how it's supposed to work. They've also got me on a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for pain (???) but it doesn't even seem to work so I end up taking a lot of Aleve instead and probably killing my liver or whatever.

But, basically - anyone here wear a brace/sleeve and how exactly does it stop the pain? I've got a compression sleeve being delivered on Saturday, but I'm wondering if it's even going to work and if I just spent $30 for nothing.

This is also the first time I've ever had to use my health insurance, so maybe I'm just being super pessimistic about how the health care system in America works. Because it feels like I charged my insurance for two separate visits to two different doctors only to be put on stuff that doesn't seem like it's helping at all.

My wife has had patellar tendon problems for years so we are firmly in my wheelhouse.  If he hasn't already get your doc to refer you to a physical therapist, and then do everything they say.  Building up the other muscles around your knee can reduce the amount of work your tendon has to do.  I'd also highly recommend a cold therapy machine.  We have an Ossur Cold Rush (a couple, actually) and it's been a real game-changer.  You can get the machine and a knee pad off the internet for under $200.  There are also some topical pain relieving options you can try, both OTC (Super Aloe, Biofreeze, Arnica Gel) and prescription (Voltaren/Diclofenac, Lidocaine) that can help.  My wife also had some luck with a TENS unit for a while, but it eventually stopped being effective and frankly could have been a placebo effect the whole time.

Regarding bracing and sleeves they help by keeping things in your knee in the right place and/or keeping your from holding or moving your knee in a way that could cause pain.  As John said, they don't really stop the pain, but they can make it easier and less painful to get around.

Sorry that you're dealing with this; knee problems really suck.  Unfortunately as John said when it comes to serious pain your options basically come down to stuff that works (opioids) and stuff that takes the edge off (everything else).

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Apparently "3-day shipping" according to FedEx means "we get to play keepaway with your package for 3 days, because we behave like people are going to be lounging around their residences at 2 PM on a work day." Fuck you, FedEx, and your reminder that, even though UPS and the USPS are incompetent, they're still better than you.

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I'm always lounging around at 2PM on a work day, that's when I usually take a nap... ;-) 

Whatever happened to FEDEX delivering by noon or it was free, guess that's not their gig anymore.

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I'm contemplating a career change. My six year old decided to put beads in her ears the other night which led to a trip to the ER and then a specialist. Because my job and my heath insurance, is NY based, everything down here is out of network. Which means, we pay in full and then get reimbursed 80%.

 

I've been with my job for eleven years and really don't want to leave. But, I could take a job with the county and my starting pay would be close to what I make now, with much better (and cheaper) insurance. Not to mention that about fifteen years ago, I walked across a stage and received a diploma, so it'd be nice to actually do something with it. 

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Mike: This is really easy coming from a freelance writer on disability so take it FWIW. I don't know where you work, it sounds pleasant if you've been there eleven years, even if it meant moving to SE NM, ;-). But here's the thing I always think about, where will the company be in twenty years and where will it have you and your family? Carlsbad County isn't going away anytime soon, in NM city, county, & State jobs mean you're pretty much set for life in the machine. That's not at all a bad thing, you can accomplish some good, use your degree and not worry about healthcare. Those are all pretty positive things to think about... NM wages aren't great, but in small towns like you and are in you can live like a fucking king on $2000 a month if you want to, (yeah, I know; I make substantially more than that, but then I buy about $500-$700 worth of rare books every month, too.)

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47 minutes ago, OSJ said:

Mike: This is really easy coming from a freelance writer on disability so take it FWIW. I don't know where you work, it sounds pleasant if you've been there eleven years, even if it meant moving to SE NM, ;-). But here's the thing I always think about, where will the company be in twenty years and where will it have you and your family? Carlsbad County isn't going away anytime soon, in NM city, county, & State jobs mean you're pretty much set for life in the machine. That's not at all a bad thing, you can accomplish some good, use your degree and not worry about healthcare. Those are all pretty positive things to think about... NM wages aren't great, but in small towns like you and are in you can live like a fucking king on $2000 a month if you want to, (yeah, I know; I make substantially more than that, but then I buy about $500-$700 worth of rare books every month, too.)

Weighing the pros and cons, the only big con that I could think of is that it somewhat slaps the company in the face, because they allowed me to stay on and work from home. But, I've been down here for seven months now, so it's not as though I moved and then two weeks later decided to quit. Plus, between the interview, and going through the background check, and everything. It'd probably be at least another month.

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I have been better! About a month ago, I had some really awful stomach pain. I've had GI issues in the past but nothing like this in about 15 years. It just got worse over that weekend. I was trying to wait it out to go to the doctor on Monday but it got too bad. I went to the ER and was admitted with an obstructed bowel. The initial thought was that I was going to need surgery pretty quickly. They held off on that. I was in the hospital for 3 days before they ruled out surgery. I've had a bunch of MRIs and other procedures the past few weeks. The diagnosis is Crohn's Disease. It's pretty manageable and I know a lot of people who have it. But I'd still rather NOT have a chronic illness than have one. 

Other than that things are good! 

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So it appears that my kidney stone is either a) disintegrating in my bladder (which no one told me was a possible outcome until it came up at my GP) or b) magically gone in thin air, because my pain has cleared up entirely and I did not, to my notice, shoot a rock out of my peehole. I've been off painkillers all day and I feel normal.

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4 hours ago, Lamp, broken circa 1988 said:

So it appears that my kidney stone is either a) disintegrating in my bladder (which no one told me was a possible outcome until it came up at my GP) or b) magically gone in thin air, because my pain has cleared up entirely and I did not, to my notice, shoot a rock out of my peehole. I've been off painkillers all day and I feel normal.

I'm happy for you and hating you in equal measure.

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4 hours ago, Lamp, broken circa 1988 said:

So it appears that my kidney stone is either a) disintegrating in my bladder (which no one told me was a possible outcome until it came up at my GP) or b) magically gone in thin air, because my pain has cleared up entirely and I did not, to my notice, shoot a rock out of my peehole. I've been off painkillers all day and I feel normal.

In my experiences, you can have relief as it journeys from kidney to groin to urethra. It might depend on its size and/or smoothness. 

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On 5/24/2018 at 9:35 PM, Greggulator said:

I have been better! About a month ago, I had some really awful stomach pain. I've had GI issues in the past but nothing like this in about 15 years. It just got worse over that weekend. I was trying to wait it out to go to the doctor on Monday but it got too bad. I went to the ER and was admitted with an obstructed bowel. The initial thought was that I was going to need surgery pretty quickly. They held off on that. I was in the hospital for 3 days before they ruled out surgery. I've had a bunch of MRIs and other procedures the past few weeks. The diagnosis is Crohn's Disease. It's pretty manageable and I know a lot of people who have it. But I'd still rather NOT have a chronic illness than have one. 

Yikes. Like the Ulcerative Colitis I had, Crohn's is one of those annoying diagnoses that don't come with a guaranteed, easy to follow treatment plan. Take it easy, eat carefully, and good luck. 

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On 5/24/2018 at 7:07 PM, Mike Campbell said:

Weighing the pros and cons, the only big con that I could think of is that it somewhat slaps the company in the face, because they allowed me to stay on and work from home. But, I've been down here for seven months now, so it's not as though I moved and then two weeks later decided to quit. Plus, between the interview, and going through the background check, and everything. It'd probably be at least another month.

You owe the company nothing.  It was cheaper for them to keep you on than go through the expense of hiring/training someone new.  Getting a municipal job CHANGED MY LIFE.  Go for it!

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On 5/27/2018 at 9:38 AM, Betsy Zeidler said:

You owe the company nothing.  It was cheaper for them to keep you on than go through the expense of hiring/training someone new.  Getting a municipal job CHANGED MY LIFE.  Go for it!

 

That's more or less what my wife has been saying for ages about me and my job. It seems like my mantra for the last two years or so has been "I wish I didn't care." But, if I dropped dead tomorrow, they'd find someone to replace me.

 

I got all my shit together and sent in the application for the county job. Now, it's just the waiting. Which, I'm sure OSJ can attest to, is going to be a while because everything down here moves slowly. But, apparently, they're hiring eighteen year olds fresh out of high school, so I'm sure that this 35 year old with a college degree will be just fine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Two days before we buy a home was not the best time for my wife to get in a car accident.

She's fine and the car is drivable but I really don't need this now.

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Zimbra I'm sorry that happened, that sucks.

 

Two celebrities commit suicide and I'm sad but not troubled. Some of us don't get to win over our mental health struggles, and it doesn't matter if you have material wealth and supportive people who love you. Your brain just wants you dead that badly.  I'm weirdly philosophical about it. 

 

Then a friend says something stupid, "I can't imagine what his personal life was like to lead to this" and I'm fucking crying-at-work broken. I've had one session of serious suicidal ideation in my life, with no attempt, and now all I can think is "no one understands" and "what if one day I get there? If my depression ever reaches that point I am as good as dead. Because some of us lose."

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1 hour ago, Cliff Hanger said:

Zimbra I'm sorry that happened, that sucks.

Two celebrities commit suicide and I'm sad but not troubled. Some of us don't get to win over our mental health struggles, and it doesn't matter if you have material wealth and supportive people who love you. Your brain just wants you dead that badly.  I'm weirdly philosophical about it. 

Then a friend says something stupid, "I can't imagine what his personal life was like to lead to this" and I'm fucking crying-at-work broken. I've had one session of serious suicidal ideation in my life, with no attempt, and now all I can think is "no one understands" and "what if one day I get there? If my depression ever reaches that point I am as good as dead. Because some of us lose."

It's hard because it goes against every experience most people have ever had. It goes against their basic perception of reality. Sure, it also goes against most narratives that we're fed from childhood on, but that feels somewhat less important to me. I struggle with full empathy, despite what I've read, learn, seen, and heard, because it involves a leap of faith instead of just saying "Can't you just..." or focusing purely on environmental stimuli. I can understand on an intellectual level but that's hardly the same thing. I'm bad at leaps of faith, even when they're backed up by scientific studies.

I'd like to say that people trying to understand has its own level of worth, and that you should take heart in that instead of feeling despair for their inability to do so, but that's well and easy for me to say, right? Instead, all I've got is that I'm glad that you've won the fight so far, and that just from reading other posts on the board, even in the last week or two, I'm sure some people here are able to understand directly. Maybe they're not your co-workers, but I'm sure you guys are stronger together than you are apart. We all are, right?

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1 hour ago, Cliff Hanger said:

Zimbra I'm sorry that happened, that sucks.

 

Two celebrities commit suicide and I'm sad but not troubled. Some of us don't get to win over our mental health struggles, and it doesn't matter if you have material wealth and supportive people who love you. Your brain just wants you dead that badly.  I'm weirdly philosophical about it. 

 

Then a friend says something stupid, "I can't imagine what his personal life was like to lead to this" and I'm fucking crying-at-work broken. I've had one session of serious suicidal ideation in my life, with no attempt, and now all I can think is "no one understands" and "what if one day I get there? If my depression ever reaches that point I am as good as dead. Because some of us lose."

Some of us lose, but none of us HAVE to. That's the thing, there's help out there, be it a need to balance chemicals in the brain or other therapy, there is help. I seriously believe that without proper medication (started years and years ago) I wouldn't be here today; as it is, I feel fine most of the time and when the pendulum swings low, I know it's just temporary and I'll get through it.

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