Sylvia: All you feel is ecstasy when you kill. It’s like you’re getting off… Seriously, you need help.
Travis: Everybody deals with grief differently, right? Some people fuck at funerals. I cut off heads.

Travis Touchdown is a slacker, drinks too much, watches too much anime, plays too much video games, and buys way too much merchandise. However, when he runs out of money to buy more posters or figurines, he can be pretty slick with a beam katana. Using the Blood Berry model that he won in an online auction, Travis moonlights as an assassin and kills Helter Skelter, the eleventh best assassin in the United Assassins Association rankings. This thrusts him into a desperate struggle against the top ten assassins in the hopes of winning piles of prize money and a chance to bone the UAA organizer, Sylvia Christel.
After killing his own sister and reaching the top spot, Travis's life has become a whole lot harder. Not only do aspiring killers break down his door from time to time to challenge the Crownless King, but villains also target his friends and neighbors in attempts to break his spirit. After losing his best friend Bishop, Travis moves to the country for a quiet life, but rivals like Badman or alien invaders like FU seem to keep dragging him back into the Garden of Insanity for more bouts of bloodshed.
Key
No More Heroes- 1
No More Heroes 1.5- 1.5
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle- 2
Travis Strike Again: No More Heroes- TSA
No More Heroes 3- 3
Hover over a feat to see where its from.
Scaling
Destroyman
FU

Strength

Striking w/o Weapons

• Can stun human enemies with physical strikes, like punches and kicks, then hit them with wrestling moves
• Smashes crates and chests bare-handed
• Punches an electrical panel, breaking it
• During sex, Travis shakes the motel he’s in, breaking off pieces of the sign on the roof
• Kicks open a set of doors, flooring the guard on the other side
• Dropkicks the buff Jasper Batt Jr out a window
• Boots the Henry clone’s upper half a few feet away
• Punches a stone maui head, shattering it

Striking w/ Weapons

• Smashes treasure chests
• Strikes a baseball back at a pitcher hard enough to knock the man over
• Ducks under a slash, then severs Death Metal’s arms, sending the enemy's sword upwards and imbedding the blade in the ceiling
• Can smash wooden barricades
• His clashes with Bad Man shake the trailer they’re in
• Smashes through a cracked stone floor

Grappling/Wrestling Slams

• When Kimmy Howell tries to choke Travis, he picks her up and slams her onto the ground, knocking her out
• Knocks a gunman out with a legendary suplex
• Repeatedly counters and throws the jet-powered assassin, Native Dancer
• Slams Kimmy Love so hard that her head breaks through the stage’s floor. Here, he performs an RKO, a butt thump and a power bomb.
• Breaks FU’s neck with a Brainbuster from Hell
• Catches a pouncing mutant alligator, then suplexes it

Other

• Climbs out of a pit on a beach
• Crushes a coffee mug
• Jumps from a prison to a low-flying helicopter, although Sylvia psyches him out and lets him drop

Durability

Blunt Force

• Gets hit on the head by a falling coconut
• Sylvia boots him out of a moving limo
• Bad Girl beats on Travis with a baseball bat for a bit, although he falls unconscious soon after Bad Girl bleeds out
• Shrugs off a high speed crash from his bike
• Through unknown means, Travis is flung into a prison where he collides with a concrete wall. He’s unharmed by the impact.
• Gets grabbed by the head and slammed to the ground by Ryuji, but he quickly recovers and delivers a wrestling move of his own
• Gets booted by FU several feet backwards into a wall. He gets up but falls unconscious once he starts bleeding from a wide cut on the torso.
• Jumps down into a deep hole and lands on his feet, unharmed
• A giant’s severed head falls next to a boat Travis is on, causing the vessel to toss the occupants onto the ice below

Piercing

• Jeane punches into Travis’ torso, but he remains conscious long enough to kill her. He suffers no long-term injury or scarring from the blow.
• [Limit] He’s stabbed a half dozen times, carved up by Henry Cooldown’s beam swords, then decapitated. A benevolent afterlife being sends Travis back to the world of the living.

Explosions/Energy

• After striking an explosive bullet with his katana, Travis is thrown backwards into a baseball stadium wall, cratering the material. He’s unharmed and continues fighting right afterwards.
• Gets launched after stepping on a landmine, but gets up right after
• Falls into one of Holly Summers’ pits before she throws four grenades down on him. The explosions throw him out of the hole and he lands on his feet, unharmed.
  • One of these grenades obliterates Holly Summers’ head later on
• Withstands being lit on fire until he can get to an extinguisher
• Gets electrocuted by Destroyman’s Destroy Spark, then takes a Destroy Pound, Destroy Beam and a Destroy Buster before getting up
• Recovers shortly after being electrocuted by a Mass-Produced Destroyman, then kills it in one blow

Other

• Margaret Moonlight’s voice is the last thing her victims hear. Once, Sylvia heard Margaret’s song from a hundred yards away and she was knocked out for a full week. However, Travis isn’t affected by Margaret’s whistling or theme song.
• Takes an up-and-coming assassin’s 12-Combo Spark move with no response
• He can walk around on an asteroid in outer space, but he must regularly restore his oxygen from cracks in the asteroid
• [Limit] One-tapped by a big scorpion

Agility

Dodging

• Dodges a thrown baseball
• Dodges one of Shinobu’s Sonic Sword energy blasts
• With his back turned, he manages to dodge Destroyman’s beam attack
• Rolls to avoid Destroyman’s Destroy Cannon
• Dodges an axe swing from Matt Helms, then leaps over the killer to avoid a blast from his flamethrower
• Evades an orbital beam strike
• Backflips out of a chair to dodge a big alien’s tentacle slam

Reflexes

• Hits a moving bullet with his katana
• Blocks bullets with his katana
• He gets in a standoff with Dr. Peace. Travis is able to draw his blade and slash before the doctor can draw and aim his guns.
• Deflects three bullets, then runs under the gunfire to kill the shooters
• Possibly caught some automatic gunfire
• Clashes blows with Nathan Copeland at high speeds, dicing Copeland’s ladies to pieces
• Swats several bullets out of the air
• Catches a pouncing mutant alligator, then suplexes it

Movement

• Pursues an escaping car on foot

Fighting Skill

Swordplay
Gameplay

• While in the air, Travis can launch himself at enemies sword-first
• Can use a Heavy Attack in the air to descend quickly and form a shockwave along the ground
• Can perform a stinger-style dashing strike. After filling a meter to level 3 by damaging enemies, this move lets Travis turn into a massive, rainbow-colored tiger during the attack.
• Can perform charged attacks to hit multiple enemies at once

Cutscenes

• He rams down some doors and drifts into a fountain on his bike. Travis leaps off and decapitates two guards before he hits the ground.
• Ducks under a slash, then severs Death Metal’s arms, imbedding his opponent’s blade in the ceiling
• Throws his Beam Katana at Harvey Moiseiwitsch Volodarskii’s eyes, blinding him
• Dismembers a group of armed goons
• Slides between Margaret Moonlight’s legs, then disarms her before impaling her

Wrestling Moves

• Dragon suplex
• Vertical suplex
• Butt thump
• Front neck chancery drop
• Reverse armsault
• Capture suplex
• German suplex
• Belly to belly suplex
• Trap suplex
• Double wrist suplex
• Tiger suplex
• Hurricanrana
• Power bomb
• Tombstone piledriver
• Quebradora con giro
• Brain buster slam
• Full nelson suplex, aka Dragon suplex
• Twisted belly to back suplex
• Belly to back waist lock suplex
• Spinning backdrop finisher
• Leg hook belly to back suplex
• Backdrop finisher
• Tiger driver
• Shin breaker to suplex
• High angle belly to back suplex
• Modified tombstone piledriver
• Giant swing
• Wrist lock suplex
• Double X-wrist lock suplex
• Overhead belly to belly suplex

Beam Katanas

General Attributes

• Beam Katanas run off battery life. Once Travis runs out, he must vigorously shake his weapon in order to restore its beam blade.
• Beam Katanas instantly short out during contact with water. This also creates a kind of electric backlash that shocks Travis while he’s holding it.
• Can attach an Accelerator to the handle of the katana to locate buried objects
• Can be used to safely destroy buried land mines
• After planting his sword in Matt Helms’ forehead, Travis cranks it up to “full power”, causing Matt’s head to explode
• Sticks a piece of highly corrosive space ore on his unextended beam katana, batters Gold Joe with it, then extends the blade to impale the alien’s head

Cutting Force

• Slices through a guard and the door behind him
• Casually bisects Destroyman down the middle
• Cuts down a telephone pole
• Carves down the middle of Speed Buster’s absurdly long cannon
• Leaves smoking slash marks in a metal shutter door
• Chops fallen trees to pieces and large boulders to pieces
• Slices up some metal railings
• Slices Jasper Batt Jr’s giant blimp/robot in half
• Slices through an alien guard and the thick, metal door behind it

Blocking Strength

• Defends against Speed Buster’s colossal beam weapon, an attack that obliterates human bodies
• Travis clashes blades with Henry Cooldown, who can slice through Letz Shake’s huge Earthquake Maker machine
• Stops a charge from Jasper Batt Jr’s flying car

Specific Models

• Blood Berry- Travis’s initial katana, bought in an online auction in preparation for the assassin’s tournament
• Tsubaki- Visually similar to Blood Berry, this upgraded weapon has higher battery life than the base model
• Tsubaki Mk-II- This Beam Katana boasts four extra beams that rotate around the central beam. With that much extra strength comes more weight than earlier models, and Travis must wield this katana with both hands.
• Tsubaki Mk-III- The only Beam Katana in the first game that does not need an extractable frame piece, leading to a weapon that closely resembles an actual katana. While it’s a bit weaker than the Mk-II, it’s much faster and has the highest DPS and battery life of any weapon in the Tsubaki line. This weapon is also called the Camellia Mk-III in the second game.
• Rose Nasty- A pair of blades, the longer one held in the right hand. This makes for slightly weaker weapons, but they can be swung faster than other swords and can lead to higher combos.
• Peony- Basically a broadsword, this long, heavy weapon must be wielded with two hands. The blade extends even further when Travis fills the Ecstacy Gauge.

Dark Side Roulette

Special abilities that Travis can make use of depending on the luck of the draw. In the first game, these trigger after killing an enemy, and in the subsequent games, they also trigger upon delivering a wrestling move.
Time/Speed-Based

• Cherry- Time is slowed dramatically from Travis’s perspective while he moves at normal speed
• Cranberry Chocolate Sundae- Time slows to a crawl and Travis is only able to walk. If he approaches an enemy, he strikes them down with a brutal finisher, killing them near-instantly. In the second game, Travis turns into his fursona, a tiger, and tears enemies to shreds with his mouth and claws
• Bars- Travis swings his sword much faster than normal, causing most enemies to get stun locked by sword combos during the duration of the powerup

Energy Attacks

• Blueberry Cheese Brownie- Travis is able to fire explosive blasts of energy from his Beam Katana that instantly kill human enemies The same move from the second game
• Strawberry on the Shortcake- Travis temporarily gains golden hair and his katana crackles with power. His movement speed increases and he can perform Death Blows with greater ease. In the second game, this move behaves similarly to the Cherry effect
• Anarchy in the Galaxy- Getting this outcome lets Travis store one charge, up to three max. When used, Travis creates a number of purple explosions, wiping out all human enemies in the vicinity.
• Gooseberry Sugar Donut- Travis sheaths his sword for a moment before unleashing a massive, expanding dome of energy. Any human enemies caught in this dome are instantly killed.

Armor-Based

• 777s- Travis summons his mechanical armor and hovers, then uses a reticle to target enemies with homing missiles
• Green 777s- Travis summons his armor in Full Green Mode. Rather than just launching a volley of missiles like with the default 777s, he spends several seconds in the armor while swinging a larger beam sword and accessing armor-exclusive moves.

Other

• Coins- WESN, a currency, explodes from the enemy’s body for Travis to collect
• Cherries- Utopicoins, a currency, explode from the enemy’s body for Travis to collect
• Stars- Travis gains invulnerability and ignores all damage from enemies for a number of seconds
• Bells- Travis goes into Throw Crazy Mode. His hands become wreathed in flames, and for several seconds, he can grapple and slam enemies without needing to stun them. He can also perform throws on downed enemies, leading to long stun chains.

Non-Roulette Abilities

• Dark Step- Dodging right before a blow connects allows Travis to slow time down from his perspective for a few moments
• Ecstasy Mode- By killing enemies and avoiding damage, Travis fills a meter represented by a tiger that extends the length of his sword combos. Once full, he can enter a temporary Super Mode where he becomes invincible and moves much faster.

Death Glove

When Travis was sucked into the video game world through the magic game console, the Death Drive Mk II, he was granted the Death Glove, a controller that allowed him to perform special techniques. After he escaped the console, he maintained the glove and could perform a couple special moves in the real world, too. After each use, the chosen move goes on a short cooldown before it can be used again.
Some of these clips feature characters other than Travis, as many of these moves are universal and can be performed by any playable character.
Powers from Travis Strikes Again
The last level takes place in the real world, and Travis can still use all of his Chips like normal, although that may have to do with being close to the CIA’s more powerful Death Drive Mk-II.

• Shining Chip- Telekinetically grabs an enemy and then tosses them backwards
• Psycho Chip- Fires projectiles that can stun and damage struck enemies
• Heavy Chip- Creates an area of effect that slows down all enemies within
• Atlas Chip- Throws forward a sticky bomb that explodes after a short delay
• ∀ Chip- Creates an area that gradually heals Travis. This circle does gradually shrink in size, however.
• Strike Freedom Chip- Aims and fires a laser from an orbiting satellite. Travis cannot move during the aiming process, but the blast’s damage is exceptional.
• Wing Chip- Fires electricity in a straight line, which can paralyze effected enemies
• Double X Chip- Throws down a powerful bomb with a massive blast radius. It can knock back Travis but does not actually deal damage to its user.
• Ξ Chip- Makes the user invisible until they attack an enemy or until a time limit is up
• V2 Chip- The user spins around like a top, damaging any enemies that they collide with
• Destroy Chip- Creates a wall to block attacks or approaching enemies
• 00 Chip- Travis dashes in one direction, gaining some invincibility frames during the dash
• Unicorn Chip- Creates a field that drains life directly from enemies inside
• Physalis Chip- Tosses a capsule that spews poisonous and flammable gasses in four directions
• Self Chip- Generates an area that draws enemies in
• BCB (Blueberry Cheese Brownie) Chip- Drastically lowers Travis' movement speed but grants him greater attack power for a time
• NBMB (Nuts Berry Milk Blancmange) Chip- Temporarily causes Travis' normal attacks to release a meteor-shaped projectile
• Travisman Formation Chip- Can only be used in conjunction with Badman. The two men turn into one being and let loose a screen nuke attack, wiping out all normal enemies in a flash of light. This technique does not work on bosses.

Powers from No More Heroes 3

• Death Kick- Travis performs a flying dropkick, traveling across the battlefield to strike the nearest enemy, stunning them
• Death Slow- Creates a small field that slows down any enemies caught inside
• Death Force- Telekinetically grips a single enemy and throws them backwards
• Death Rain- Creates a field a few feet above the air that “rains down” damaging projectiles on enemies

Death Glove Chips
A majority of these chips offer only minor gameplay differences, but there are three that more dramatically alter Travis’s abilities.

• 80 Chip- Alerts Travis when collectibles are nearby
• Legend Chip- Lets Travis fire beams from his blade
• Z Chip- Reduces cooldowns for Death Skills to zero

Other Uses

• Dr. Juvenile, creator of the Death Drive Mk II, has downloaded her consciousness into the Death Glove and acts as an AI helper. She analyzes an alien substance when Travis presses it against the Glove.
• Allows Travis’s cat, Jeane, to travel with Travis within the glove. Jeane can exit the glove and float around in an orange bubble before landing on the ground.
• When Travis is falling off a skyscraper, the Glove transfers an Arsenal Rollout Model from the Daemon X Machina universe to save him

Vehicles/Mecha

Schpeltiger

• Can knock down palm trees
• Can be used to ram enemies
• Makes a massive jump off a ramp
• Can perform manual jumps on the bike

Travis Strikes Back Motorcycle

• Can exceed speeds of 200 mph

Demzamtiger

• By pressing a button on the Death Glove, Travis can instantly teleport his motorcycle to his location
• Can make long jumps off of ramps to travel over bodies of water
• Can boost forwards with nitro
  • By boosting, it can reach top speeds of over 400 km/h, or around 250 mph
• Can damage enemy vehicles by ramming them or by extending beam katana blades from the sides to slice them

Full Armor Mode

• Can assemble a flight-capable suit of mechanical armor around his body
  • Outpaces the explosion generates from killing Destroyman
• Travis can also enhance his armor’s abilities in Full Green Mode, a special form for his armor. In gameplay, he can trigger this through getting Green 777s on the Slash Reel.
  • He can jump to the nearest single enemy, manifesting a large, glowing tiger construct around his body to knock the foe backwards
  • He can use the Multi-Missiles from the armor’s base form
  • He can hover using the jets on the back of the armor
  • Cuts off Midori Midorikawa’s arms
• Bougainvillea Mode- Travis’s armor is capable of space battle. When facing a larger foe in space, Travis can fly freely, fire homing projectiles and deploy a powerful Hyperdeath Particle Cannon beam attack.
  • Can deploy beam blades from both arms, using them to slice apart Mr. Blackhole
  • Deploys a beam that obliterates Mr. Blackhole
  • Shatters a massive sphere of ice
  • Travis fights a Space Peacock, an alien large enough to envelope the planet Earth with its wings. He destroys several cores along its body to damage it.

Glastonbury

• When an enemy busts out a skyscraper-sized, football-themed robot in space, Travis responds with a giant robot of his own
• After filling the Ecstacy Gauge, it can unleash a barrage of missiles
• After filling the Ecstacy Gauge, it can extend the length of its blade to empower a slash
• Throws the Santa Death Parade’s giant robot into outer space, then obliterates it with a railgun

Arsenal Rollout Model

• When Travis is falling off a skyscraper, the Glove transfers an Arsenal Rollout Model from the Daemon X Machina universe to save him. Travis uses it to batter Damon Riccitiello’s much larger mech.
• Stabs into Damon Riccitiello’s truly massive mech, flies into space on his own mech, then jumps out and impales through the torso of Damon’s mech

Fourth-Wall Awareness

• He asks about Jeane’s tragic past and she replies that the sordid details would jack up the game’s age rating even further. To avoid this, Travis “fast forwards” the conversation, making it so that he gets the information but keeps it from the player of the game.
• Demands to know what Sylvia was up to between the first and second game, then looks to the camera for support from the player
• Acknowledges the gap between NMH2 and Travis Strikes again and tries to introduce himself to the new players
• Jeane explains that Travis isn’t really breaking the fourth wall but instead sensing the presence of the player directly
• Starts blaming the game directors when he thinks he’s stuck in a bugged save
• When a boss traps Travis in JRPG, turn-based style combat, Travis is able to destroy the command box, freeing himself and beginning the normal, action-game style fight

Miscellaneous

• Somehow escapes from restraints during Harvey Moiseiwitsch Volodarskii’s magic act
• Travis leaves an empty cloak standing up in an elevator to serve as a decoy. He then gets past Skelter Helter on the rooftop without being seen.
• Leaves a decoy in his trailer when Bad Man comes to kill him. The decoy is able to play Hotline Miami.
• He doesn’t appreciate being compared to Deadpool
• Travis swings his katana to kill the mysterious Native Dancer, but his sword arm won’t budge. When Dancer falls, Travis moves to catch him. Unbeknownst to Travis, Native Dancer is a close family member, and Travis instinctually cannot harm him.

See that… Now THAT was a battle!!! Look at this blood! We HUMANS are ALIVE! Even if we ARE assassins! Doesn’t matter if it’s a video game, movie, drama, anime, manga… We’re ALIVE!!!

Hi All, looking for some support/encouragement here. Started my IVF journey in Feb at a clinic and the doctor basically has just been reiterating every appt that “I” am the issue (meaning my body/being DOR).
38.5yrs, SMBC, FSH 18, AMH 0.3, AFC 1-4
In Feb/Mar did my initial bloodwork, ultrasound (had 4 follicles) and we delayed until April to see if my FSH would come down (it was 6.6 in Nov, 18 in Mar). It hasn’t come down so we process to start my 1st cycle in May. He had me on bc for 3.5 weeks (I was nervous about this) and then I went on Clomid May 1-6 and actually went from 3 follicles on day 6 to 2 follicles on day 8 when I had my last ultrasound. He cancelled the cycle May 8th (that day).
Fast forward to now and I had another ultrasound today (saw only 1 follicle) and the first thing he said when he everted the room was “with your severely diminished reserves you will be lucky to produce 1 follicle each month”. Then when he was doing the ultrasound he mentioned donor eggs.
I haven’t even TRIED to stim yet so we really have no idea what works/doesn’t work. We know Clomid does not and he mentioned doing that again 🤦🏻‍♀️ It seems he’s lost hope for me before I’ve even tried.
Knowing I had 4 follicles before starting with him makes me believe there’s more “in the tank” with the right protocol. He’s also adamant bc is helping not hurting me.
Anyway, has anyone been in a similar situation? I do plan to switch clinics pending what this June cycle holds. I already have a consult with CNY June 10th but it’s just so deflating when you have a doc that has no hope for you from the beginning.

Hi all. Mods have OK'ed this post. (Thank you to our amazing mods!!)
I have what’s essentially a recap/WTF/what would we do different if we pursue more treatment appointment coming up, and I’d love any suggestions of what not to forget to ask.
Apologies in advance for the length!I’ve done three egg retrieval cycles. All were essentially pretty standard antagonist cycles: gonal, menopur, and clomid, then cetrotide, then a dual lupron/HCG trigger. Varying dosages each time but I’d say on the higher side. All used ICSI with my husband’s sperm. Normal semen analysis for him. The last one also used zymot.
First cycle was July 2022, we got 12 eggs, two made it to blast to be frozen, one was euploid.
Second cycle was August 2022 (back-to-back with the first one), we got 16 eggs, two made it to blast to be frozen (one day 5, one day 7). Both of them were euploid.
Transfers: We did three medicated transfers (estrace pills, progesterone in oil). No issues seen with my uterus during HSGs or saline sonograms. I was on synthroid.
October 2022: transferred the day 5 embryo from August 2022. It implanted, but I miscarried shortly before six weeks. When I first started bleeding they said subchorionic hematoma but within a few days it was a miscarriage. D&C, not enough POC to get any results from genetic testing.For future transfers we added baby aspirin and low-dose prednisone.
We next transferred the day 5 from July, which did not implant. Then we transferred the day 7, which resulted in a chemical pregnancy.
After the third transfer I had an RPL panel, an endometrial biopsy, a repeat HSG, and an endometrial culture (I think that’s what it was called?), which all came back normal. (Edit: we also did DNA fragmentation and karyotype tests, normal for both of us, forgot about those.)
We did two rounds of IUI with Gonal and clomid, unsuccessfully.
Third IVF cycle (out of pocket, ouch to my wallet) was October 2023. My AMH was about half what it was when we had done our first round. I found that out right before we started and honestly the whole thing felt a little rushed. We added some estrogen priming for this cycle, to try to get follicles growing in sync. We got six eggs, all fertilized, but none made it to blast.
I thought we were done, but now we have new insurance that will cover more retrievals. So I’ve asked my doctor for this appointment tomorrow to discuss more thoroughly our prior outcomes and what, if anything, we might do differently. I am also planning to seek a second opinion.
Some questions I’ve already thought of:
-I’d like more detail than I have (or than I remember) about when my blasts are arresting... should we consider a fresh transfer?
-I’ve previously brought up some gut issues I have and she suggested a colonoscopy which I still haven’t done (I’m already getting my vagina probed often enough lmao) but I will ask again about any potential connections between inflammation etc and transfers not working.
-I’ll ask about mini-stim but my doc is pretty against it, and says IVF is a numbers game, and there’s no evidence that fewer eggs will mean they’re of better quality. (Ditto EMMA/ALICE, which she says she’s never ordered, and this is a huge clinic -- RMA of NY)
-I’ve asked about omnitrope before because it seems clear my egg quality sucks, but she says there’s also no evidence and technically it can’t be prescribed for IVF in NY.
-My weight. I am the heaviest I’ve ever been and by BMI I’m obese. I’ve not been able to get it together to lose weight on my own (and I'm trying to have grace with myself for that... obviously this has been a lot to go through!). My doctor says my age/time is more important than other lifestyle factors -- better to get eggs today than in six months even if I’m thinner. But I will probably bring this up again. I’d love to just go on ozempic and lose weight, but I know that delays the timeline to transfer because of the recommendation to stop before trying. Do I need to be off ozempic before retrievals, too, or just before the transfer? I’m 36, so not in a huge rush in terms of my uterus, but with lower AMH, I am clearly in a rush re: my eggs.
I don’t know. I’m kind of at a loss here. I don’t feel like my doctors have done anything wrong and I don’t know what else to try. But I’d love to hear any suggestions or questions you asked that you found elicited really helpful answers.
If it’s allowed, I’d also love any suggestions of non-RMA clinics in NYC that you liked working with -- feel free to PM if you don’t want to share here. RMA is extremely convenient for me, my own doctor often does my procedures and monitoring which is great, and I am very comfortable there BUT at this point I know I need to at least meet with someone else.
Sorry for the novel!

Hi! After ttc for awhile now, my dr put me on Clomid—this was my first month on it. According to my Oura ring/NC app/ and pdg strips, my ovulation was said to be confirmed. I’m now 13dpo, no period and several BFN :(
What confuses me is that my rhr (resting heart Rate) has been 10-20bpm higher than normal for the last 10ish days. My boobs are SORE and the fatigue is there.
Does Clomid push your cycle out?? Or does it affect the chances of getting a BFP? I just feel so defeated and would love some tips/advice 💔

Hey, just asking this for peace of mind. I’m currently TTC and seeing tons of women get positive tests starting from 9DPO. This seems super early but I decided to start testing anyway (I’m def symptom spotting and losing my patience) and I’m just getting BFN. So my question - does PCOS cause a delay in getting a BFP? For those who have had success, when did you get your positive?

Hello everyone! I just want to ask, does clomid delay period? This is the first round of it, and usually I have my period every 29 days, I have PCOS And I'm actually confused, I felt the PMS 2 weeks ago and I still have it, feeling moody, tired, sleepy, tender breasts.. The period should have come yesterday but it didn't show up, and I have read that clomid could delay it.. that's why I'm really confused.. could it be pregnancy? Or it's normal to be delayed because of Clomid? The problem is that I'm having a really bad cramps and a lowback pain.. I forgot to mention that I took 50mg from the 3rd day of my period till the 7th and I'm 30 yo Thank you all⚘️

Hello everyone! I just want to ask, does clomid delay period? This is the first round of it, and usually I have my period every 29 days, I have PCOS And I'm actually confused, I felt the PMS 2 weeks ago and I still have it, feeling moody, tired and sleepy, tender breasts.. The period should have come today but it didn't show up, and I have read that clomid could delay it.. that's why I'm really confused.. could it be pregnancy? Or it's normal to be delayed because of Clomid? Thank you all⚘️
UPDATE: my period is delayed for 3 days now

Hello everyone! I just want to ask, does clomid delay period? This is the first round of it, and usually I have my period every 29 days, I have PCOS And I'm actually confused, I felt the PMS 2 weeks ago and I still have it, feeling moody, tired and sleepy, tender breasts.. The period should have come today but it didn't show up, and I have read that clomid could delay it.. that's why I'm really confused.. could it be pregnancy? Or it's normal to be delayed because of Clomid? Thank you all⚘️

Hi all,
I reached a breaking point this week... I was told I could get started with a transfer in December if I wen on birth control to wait until the lab opened again.... only to hear back from my RE that the HSG I did three weeks ago (which I should have been told todo MONTHS AGO) (RE FINALLY F*ing looked at it...) showed some scar tissue and they want me to do a hyssteroscopy to remove it then transfer after two cycles. I just broke.
For backgroud, I found out I have low ovarian reserve just after getting married sept 2022, we tried to go directly to IVF to do embryo banking, but the clinic we were seeing just kept doing months and months of timed intercourse and wouldn't communicate anything or move forward (despite telling them multiple times we wanted to bank before getting pregnant. So, extremely frustrated I switched clinics in January 2023. Got started with a work up and was supposed to start IVF in March 2023. But just beforehand I had a positive pregnancy test. I was over the moon, but at 12 weeks we found out it had trisomy 18 and major abnormalities. I felt so robbed, everything up until the NIP was perfect, heartbeat, growth, everything... Started IVF in July - out of 9 eggs 3 were normal embryos. Did a second cycle, got 16 eggs. I was so excited that maybe I wouldn't have to do another cycle... but only 1 normal embryo. My husband and i took a break, finally went on our honeymoon, and had a third cycle. Out of 13 eggs, again only 1 normal. I was so frustrated at this point with my clinic, they were pushing the stims longer and longer each cycle and I felt like it wasn't because I needed more time but that they had a packed scheduled and couldn't retrieve me any earlier... the third cycle my estrogen started dropping before my retrieval. Any attempt at getting answers was met with short answers to only a few of my questions.
I'm just really tired of this road, im tired of the meds how crappy clomid makes me feel, not being able to work out, and now most likely I won't even get the chance to have a kid by 2024 (if I'm even lucky enough to get one). I feel like every single step of this process has been met with issue and delay, one after the other. I email my RE asking why he didn't recommend an HSG in the fall when we had a break, by now I could have healed and done a transfer. I'm so angry and sad and just f*ing over it. My family has no idea, they just keep telling me that it'll happen one day, but damn it how much more does someone have to take just to have a f*ing kid?! I'm really at my breaking point and just need to rant. Thanks for reading especially if you've gotten this far,
​
Edit: here is my cycle data: *all cycles primed with estrogen and cetrotide/ganirelix, clomid Day 1- 5 of cycle.
ER1: priming: estrogen patch for 1 week before period + 3 days cetrotide before period. Stims started with menopur 150 and Gonal F 300 + ganirelix (had reaction to cetrodtide). Stimmed for 12 days, then trigger with HCG. 9 eggs collected, 7 fertilized, 4 blasts, 3 normal
ER2: same priming as before. Started microdose lupron D1 of cycle. D3 of cycle started stims with meonpur 150 gonalF 300. Stimmed for 15 days. 16 eggs retrieved, 11 fertilized, 5 blasts, 1 euploid
ER3: Same priming (switch cetrotide for ganirelix). Stims with menopur 150 and Gonal F 300 for 14 days, added ganirelix. trigger with lupron and HCG. 13 eggs, technically all fertilized, but only 9 grew past day 1, 5 blasts, 1 normal, 1 low level mosiac.
My clinic has a weird way of rating embryos - but they said I have one excellent (65% chance of implantation) and 1 at 50%, 2 at 35% chance), one that they didn't tell me as I don't want to know sex and quality (found out it sex instead of grading)

UK-based and taking part in a study where PCOS women either get Clomid or Letrozole with lowest dose to start with. I am on my first cycle on either 2.5 mg letrozole or 50mg Clomid. Without medication I ovulate naturally but on day 45 + and have never had a BFP.
UK-based and taking part in a study where PCOS women either get Clomid or Letrozole with lowest dose to start with. I am on my first cycle on either 2.5 mg letrozole or 50mg Clomid. Without medication, I ovulate naturally but on day 45 + and have never had a BFP. id without flashing which is a first too) and a near-positive OPK strip. I had a feeling my ovulation was getting close so obviously I was really happy about this and we have been BDing every second day since day 12. I go to my scan after a couple of hours and on the scan, they cant find the bigger follicle, only smaller follicles measuring around 8 mm. She could not find corpus lutem either. The Dr wanted me to do a day 21 blood test (I did it today because the clinic is closed tomorrow) to confirm ovulation. I feel so deflated after this. I know its just cycle 1 on medication but I feel so disappointed that all the positive feelings I was building up ended up being so wrong. Would really appreciate if someone can just share your wise thoughts on the below. I feel like I am going a bit crazy over all of this!
​

1. Can follicles just disappear and what does that mean?
2. If I ovulated somehow this morning, I assume the progesterone will not show anything since it hasn't been enough time for the progesterone to rise. I was pointing this out but the Dr seemed more focused on the fact it was day 20 rather than that its actually around 7 days after ovulation. I am worried that they will want to increase my dose to next cycle based on the wrong data.
3. If my follicle simply just disappeared - what does my OPK and smiley mean? Will I ovulate on the small follicles and what do I go from here? I know I naturally ovulate on my own later in the cycle so should I just wait? Should we continue to BD or should we give up given there are no mature follicles?

"Do you really think there are patients we can choose to ignore? It doesn't matter if they're bad! Any life is worth saving! I can't just leave a patient to suffer alone."
When he was young, Emu Hojo required life saving surgery after being hit by a car. This event drove him to become a paediatrician himself, and after a period as an undefeatable pro-gamer under the alias of M got himself an internship at Seito University Hospital. When one of his patients fell ill from a mysterious illness, he uncovered that the Bugster virus was threatening the lives of their victims while bringing video game bosses into the real world. Taking a device designed to fight these creatures, Emu became Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, continuing his studies while fighting to save the life of anyone infected with the ailment.

Legend

# - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
G-# - Kamen Rider Ghost
M-100 - Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie: The 100 Eyecons and Ghost's Fateful Moment
M-PM - Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders
M-C - Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Chou Super Hero Taisen
M-AE# - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Another Ending
M-F - Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Final: Build & Ex-Aid with Legend Riders
S-G - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid "Tricks": Kamen Rider Genm
S-KS# - Kamen Sentai Gorider
S-P - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid "Tricks": Kamen Rider Para-DX

Untransformed

"I'll clear this with no continues!"

Physicals

Strength

• Hits away Bugsters^M-PM
• Pushes a Bugster back into two others³
• While possessed by Parado, shoves Hiiro back²⁹

Durability - Blunt Force

• Hit back by a Bugster²
• Gets kicked into a pillar^M-PM
• Hit back by an emerging Bugster²⁴
• Kicked away a large distance^M-PM
• Hit away by Another Agito in a game world^S-KS1
• Kicked a distance back by Kirya³⁵
  • Happens again, being kicked a huge distance³⁵

Durability - Other

• Falls a short distance before having a trolley he was riding pushed into him¹
• Knocks down by an explosion²⁰

Speed

• Ducks under the Bugvisor's shots¹¹

Intelligence

Medical

• Seeing no abnormalities with a kid, deduces that he only isn't hungry due to eating snacks in secret¹
• Diagnoses a woman as having internal haemorrhaging due to the excessive activity of being possessed by a Bugster after already being injured²⁴
• After only his second encounter with it, deduces that the Bugster virus is brought on by a person experiencing great stress²

Game Related

• Recognizes a base from Xevious on sight^M-C
• Used his beat 'em up knowledge to guess where a power up needed to turn around an unwinnable game might be, ultimately succeeding in finding it^M-C
• Reasons that a swarm of Pac-Men attacked an untransformed Kamen Rider Ghost because in-game only ghosts can defeat Pac-Man, and so they ate his ability to transform before he could fight them^M-PM
• Figures out he can't control a Gashat because the game it came from was designed to be played by four players, and that having three other Kamen Riders 'beat' it would cause the power to be shared between them, allowing it to be controlled¹⁰
• After having his memory of how he got there erased, determines from the things he's witnessed and experienced that he's stuck in a game world^S-KS2

Other

• After seeing a code entered in front of him, inputs it himself a short time later¹
• Rearranges pickles with ketchup characters on them to form a cohesive message¹⁷
• In a game world which wipes his memory every time he enters, leaves himself a coded message that allows him to figure out the mastermind's true identity at the start of his third run^S-KS3
• When faced with a foe that can pause time before he can be hit, comes up with a plan that has Genm stealthily enter their Bugvisor, allowing them to also be active and restart time while restraining the foe³³

Gaming

• Beat a girl who would become a pro gamer at Tekken, with her claiming he is the only person she lost to in her life¹⁶
• Gets no misses in a game to send zombies to Nirvana^M-AE2
• Is great at rhythm games, perfecting a challenge presented by a rhythm game Bugster on his first encounter⁶
  • Beats a game version of Kamen Rider Hibiki at a rhythm game on oni difficulty, where he had to match all of the fireballs the Kamen Rider sent at him^S-Genm
• Once mastered every beat 'em up game^M-C

Transformations - General

"I will change the patient's fate!"

Gamer Driver

• Only those with antibodies to the Bugster virus can use a Gamer Driver⁹
• Only works with humans, and Bugsters can't use them²⁹
  • A Bugster that has human genes can surpass this limitation and use one²⁹
• The Gamer Driver can use a stage select to change the environment to that of a game. Doing this also brings all relevant parties to his fight, such as the monster of the week and a kidnapped woman, into the area⁴
  • On being forced out of their transformation, a Rider gets kicked out of this game world⁹

Transformation

Levelling Up

• While levelling up, a Kamen Rider can run forwards to do so,¹ or the image that appears can instead come towards them²
  • He can go straight from level 1 to a higher level, rather than needing to go to level 2 first⁶
  • Can enter level 2 immediately on transforming, as well as higher levels^M-C
• After levelling up, Kamen Riders can be quickly reverted to level 1 by closing their Gamer Driver²
• Riders can also be knocked down to level 2 with enough damage, causing one of their Gashats to eject from their driver⁸

Other

• Levelling up happens quickly in real time²
  • After starting his transformation, leaps off a bike and manages to fully transform into level 2 before landing back on said bike⁴
• Can knock back nearby foes slightly^M-TE

Gashacon Breaker

• Ex-Aid can summon a hammer, the Gashacon Breaker, at any level¹
• By pressing the A button, a blade extends from it¹
  • As a finisher, can fill this sword with energy while rapidly spinning through the air³
• With a single B press, releases an energy blade with its sword form that blows up a motorbike⁴
• By double tapping the B button, it deals two attacks with each strike¹
• Creates multiple energy shockwaves on the ground to defeat distant foes with four B presses³
• As a finisher, can be infused with energy to increase its striking strength²

Blocks / Power Ups

General

• On activating a Gashat, blocks which can contain power ups are placed in the surrounding area¹
• At least as level 1, he can spawn these beneath him as platforms²
• Ex-Aid breaks one of these to give Kamen Rider Ghost an Ex-Aid Eyecon^G-50
• Power ups can't affect regular people, one landing on one to stop his fall²⁴

Strength

• In the Kamen Rider Ghost movie, power up tokens seemingly empower Ex-Aid's strikes^M-100
• With a strength power up, counters Genm's wheel attack before using his Buster's finishing attack, smashing through a rocket punch and destroying a robot⁵
• Lets him fight back against a Bugster of a much higher level that was previously throwing him about, one hit sending both the Bugster and the van behind him flying back¹⁹

Speed

• Level 1 XX Ex-Aid keeps up with the motorbike of a notably fast Bugster before they increase their speed further¹⁸
• A Level 1 Ex-Aid flies at great speed for a short while, ramming into a large Bugster repeatedly to knock it about, ultimately sending it flying a large distance¹
• Fights at FTE speeds³¹

Other

• With a jump power up while riding a motorbike, leaps a great distance through the air on it⁴
• Gains what appears to be brief invulnerability, making his body metal³
  • Allows him to no-sell punches from a Bugster of a notably higher level that was previously throwing him about¹⁹
  • Blocks a finisher which kills Zombie Genm³⁵
• Flash creates a burst of light from Ex-Aid that blinds a foe^M-PM
• Provoke forces an enemy to focus on attacking the person who used the power up²²
• Christmas turns Ex-Aid into a Level 1 Santa, decorates his bike to be Christmassy, and makes it start snowing¹²
  • Hits a Bugster back with his sack¹²

Other

• All forms have a health bar on the chest, with a Kamen Rider dying if it reaches 0³
  • Their bodies disappear when this happens¹²
  • They can be knocked out of their transformations without dying, however¹⁴
• After having his Gashat removed by someone else, he doesn't revert back¹⁹

Level 1 (Mighty Action X)

Click and load! Let's game! Super game! Ultra game! Whatcha name? I'm a Kamen Rider!

Strength

Striking

• Kicks a Bugster away⁶
• Breaks a block with the Gashacon Breaker¹
• Kicks a large Bugster back²
• With a speed power up, knocks about a large Bugster by dashing into it, ultimately sending it flying a large distance¹

Other

• Deflects attacks from a giant Bugster, one with the Breaker, and another with a kick, before jumping on it to defeat it¹
  • This Bugster could break a concrete floor and destroy several displays with a swing, and moved through a thick wall¹

Durability

• Struck away a short distance²
• Seemingly hit away from a large Bugster landing²
• Slashed back by a Bugster⁶
• Slashed by a level 2 Brave¹⁵
• Knocked back by an energy blade⁹
• Barely affected by Snipe's gunfire³
• Knocked down by Genm's Bugvisor blaster fire²
• Gets electrocuted²

Speed / Agility

• Jumps and flips around a large foe, avoiding its attacks¹
• Reaches a person falling from high in the air to catch them²

Other

• Only level 1 Kamen Riders can separate Bugsters from victims of the Bugster virus, after which they can be defeated by a higher level Rider²

Level 2 (Mighty Action X)

Level up! Mighty jump! Mighty kick! Mighty Mighty Action X!

Strength

Striking - Gashacon Breaker

• Hits Bugsters over and away¹
• Hits a monster back in a game world^S-KS1
• Sends two Bugsters high into the air, striking them away as they fall down, before charging through a crowd of Bugsters and hitting them all into the air¹
• With a strength power up, counters Genm's wheel attack before using his Buster's finishing attack, smashing through a rocket punch and destroying a robot⁵

Striking - Other

• Punches a foe with a seemingly empowered strike, sending them flying away^M-100
• Jump kicks through a row of Bugsters, blowing them up^G-50
• Breaks a block with a jumping punch⁹
• Clashes dive kicks with a weakened Kamen Rider Cronus, destroying the ground around them and ultimately breaking through⁴⁵
• Hits Bugsters away using a staff^G-50

Other

• While on a bike, cuts through a Bugster's sword⁷
• Sends a boss flying back with a sword strike¹
• Jumps high above Kamen Rider Ghost's lunge^G-50
• Leaps forwards a distance^M-F
• Restrains Ghost for a period^G-50

Durability

Blunt Force

• In a game world gets kicked back into a pillar by Another Agito^S-KS1
• Punched back by a powerful Bugster¹⁹
• Kicked into the air and landing on metal a distance back, breaking it, before leaping back into the ight^M-F
• Struck high into the air before being hit back down and continues fighting^M-F

Slashing

• Takes a sword slash from Ghost^G-50
• Hit by a Level 5 Brave¹⁵
• Slashed a distance back by Zombie Genm¹⁹
• Hit back by a Bugvisor chainsaw²⁵
• Slashed repeatedly by Level 10 Genm, though this an an attack immediately after knocks him out of his transformation¹⁴

Piercing

• Shot numerous times by the Gashacon Sparrow, though this knocks him out of his transformation¹⁴
• Hit by Snipe's redirected shot²⁷
• Shot in the back by Snipe's Gashacon Magnum⁹
• Gets struck with a large amount of gunfire plus an explosive attack, getting brought down to dangerously low health. Immediately after, he gets hit with a huge volley of further gunfire, getting hurt and knocked down but constantly trying to get up and move forwards³

Other

• Shot by a Level 5 Snipe¹⁵
• Sent flying back by a blast from Genm^G-50
• Sent flying off a bike with a fire attack⁴
• Shocked with electricity sent through his Breaker¹
• Hit by an electric attack, being thrown back a distance²⁵
  • This attack sent a group of Ride-Players flying back a much larger distance²⁶

Speed

• Aimdodges magic blasts¹⁴
• Jumps above Kamen Rider Ghost's lunge^G-50
• Slashes an energy bolt out of the air¹⁹
• Parries energy arrows out of the air¹⁴
• Blocks Snipe's Gashacon Magnum's shots with his Breaker⁹
  • Does so again with it in its sword form⁸
• Intercepts a distant energy blast shot by Genm at a kid^G-50
• While on a bike, outspeeds a quickdrawing Bugster⁷

Other

• With the Mighty Critical Strike finisher, Ex-Aid hits a foe with a series of kicks that blows them up¹
• On appearing with a ground slam, releases bolts which strike and destroy surrounding enemy Gamma^M-100

Level 3 (Gekitotsu Robots)

Gotcha! Knock 'em dead! Charge on ahead, clash and bash and punch! It's Gekitotsu Robots!

Strength

• Staggers a level 3 Genm with his punches⁵
• His launched fist hits back a game version of Zombie Genm, ultimately defeating him^M-C

Durability

• Uppercutted back by a Bugster of a much higher level¹⁹
• Staggered by a point-blank shot from the Bugvisor¹¹
• Blocks a level 3 Snipe's bullets with his robot arm⁸
• While blocking, holds steady against an attack that powers through Brave and Snipe's attacks before hitting them, throwing them back⁶
• Takes an energy blade attack intended for Brave, though this forces him out of his transformation⁶

Speed

• Dodges Genm's thrown wheel⁷
• Dodges a Bugster's sword strikes⁷
• Runs in front of an energy attack to block it from hitting Brave⁶

Other

• Can launch his fist as a projectile, which then returns to him upon missing⁶
• With a finishing attack, fires his fist into Genm, forcing him back into a metal barrier before running up and punching into the first, causing an explosion⁵
• The robot that appears while transforming can attack a foe before attaching onto Ex-Aid⁵

Level 3 (Shikariki Sports)

Pump it up, we're going extreme! Shikariki Sports!

• Leaps over a person and a Bugster¹²
• Gets hit back by a Bugster¹²
• Repeatedly hit back by Knock Out Fighter Para-DX, then jumps out of the way of a stream of fire¹⁵
• Throws one of the wheels on his suit, curving in the air to knock down numerous Bugsters, one of which falls into a block to break it¹²
  • Hits a Bugster away with a wheel thrown from a distance¹⁸
• Can be used without transforming to give Ex-Aid a bike²²

Level 4 (JuJu Burger)

Burger! Burger! JuJu Burger!

• Can fire beams from the ketchup and mustard bottles on his arms¹⁷
  • Force Zombie Genm back¹⁷
• Skates towards Snipe, avoiding his shots¹⁷
• Weaves around rapid firing burger ingredients from a Bugster, shooting specific ones out of the air with his beams, before using his finisher to construct them all into a burger¹⁷

Level 5 (Drago Knight Hunter Z)

Gotcha! D-D-Drago! Kni-Kni-Knight! Drago! Drago! Drago Knight Hunter...Ex-Aid!
Full
While using Drago Knight Hunter Z's power on his own, Ex-Aid is granted its full power, though he isn't capable of controlling it. This causes him to attack uncontrollably before ultimately being forced out of his transformation, though he later became able to use this form without rampaging.¹¹

• Sends level 3 Genm flying back¹¹
• The robot summoned on initially using the Gashat blocks shots from Genm¹¹
• Takes slashes and a shot from the Gashacon Sparrow wielded by a Level 10 Genm¹³
• Powers through an energy attack before striking a Bugster back a distance¹⁰
• Gets hit by the combined finishing attacks of level 3 Brave, Snipe, and Lazer, though this knocks him down to level 2¹⁰
• Releases a large amount of fiery bursts⁹
• While uncontrollable, flies and crashes through a wall¹¹

Fang
The power can be split up between himself, Brave, Snipe, and Lazer, allowing them to control the power while working alongside each other.¹¹ There is still only one real Gashat, with the others' disappearing after being used.¹⁰

• Dashes to intercept Genm's dive kick, tail slapping him back and reducing his health bar to zero¹¹
• Releases a powerful stream of fire¹⁰
• With the others, creates a shield to block a powerful attack¹⁰
• As a critical finish with the other Riders, releases repeated fire blasts that ultimately destroy a foe¹⁰

Level 10 (Mighty Brothers XX)

I am you! You are me! We are mighty Mighty Brothers! Double X!

Level 1

Mighty brothers! Two Riders from one body! Mighty Brothers! Two for certain victory! X!
Mighty Brothers XX is unique in having its own variant of a Level 1 form, before Emu enters the 'true' Level 10 state and splits into two fighters.

• Breaks a hole in a wall^M-C
• Blocks Zombie Genm's strikes before sending him skidding back a notable distance with a double punch¹³
• As part of a finisher, punches a Bugster high into the air and quickly dashes a short distance¹⁴
• Repeatedly dodges a Bugster's sword swings²¹
• Avoids energy arrows, leaps around an environment, and hits Zombie Genm with a rapid series of kicks¹³
• Hits a target with repeated dive kicks as a finisher²¹

Strength

• One punches up a row of blocks, sending the Bugster on top into the air¹⁴
• Sends Zombie Genm flying back with a double kick¹⁴
• With a finisher, both Ex-Aids launch jump kicks at a foe which results with them exploding^M-PM
• Slashes a foe back a distance²²
• Seemingly send Level X Genm back a large distance with a joint slash²¹

Durability

• Can take a large number of hits from themselves²⁹
• Hit about by Puzzle Para-DX enhanced with Super Strength, though this knocks him out of his transformation¹⁶
• Both halves are struck back by a level X Genm²³
• Hit out of a building, breaking through a wall⁴¹
• Shot in the back by a Bugster²⁰

Speed

• Go from level 1 to 2 to avoid the attack of a Rider jumping down from a ledge⁴¹

Gashacon Key Slasher

• A sword that can be summoned in this form¹⁴
  • While they only have one of it, they can effectively fight by passing it between them¹⁴
• Creates an energy blade to enhance its slash, sending a Bugster flying back¹⁴
• Releases an energy blast to stagger back zombie Genm¹⁴
  • A finisher version of this attack knocks Genm out of his transformation²¹
• With a finisher, creates an energy sword for the other Ex-Aid to wield, and the two send energy slashes at a foe²⁰

Other

• Together, protects themselves from a magic explosive attack in some manner¹⁴
• Creates a line of blocks to fight atop of¹⁴
• With the Mighty Double Critical Strike, the two Ex-Aids hit a target with a series of mirrored strikes, returning to level 1 for a hit before separating again for a joint dive kick¹⁴
• When Parado is possessing Emu, both take control of one of the two Ex-Aids²⁹
  • They can progress into different forms from this state,⁴¹ and when just Parado does this Emu is knocked back to level 2^M-TE
  • Like this, they share genetic makeup and memories²⁹
• If they are separated, they are brought back together to merge when removing the Gashat¹⁴
  • This isn't the case when Parado is controlling one of the Ex-Aids⁴⁰
• Initially, Emu collapsed with a terrible headache after use, potentially to the point of unconsciousness, though he can later use it without issue¹⁴
• Both Ex-Aids are level 10, making the Gashat de facto level 20¹⁵

Level 99 (Maximum Mighty X)

The highest level, the most powerful body! Wham and kerblam! Zippy-zabang! The highest level, the most powerful body! Maximum Power X!

Strength

Striking

• Punches away Zombie Genm duplicates²³
• Hits away a mid-air Bugster on a bike a long distance³¹
• Punches Genm through a brick wall, creating a large hole and causing him to embed into a wall further back, then strikes him to the side²³
• Matches a punch with an enormous Bugster, destroying part of its arm, before hitting it away, sending it sliding a large distance into a warehouse²³
• Strikes the ground, sending Genm flying into the air, before defeating him with a dive kick²³
• While giant, leaps propelled by two mech into the upper atmosphere before being hit back down to Earth, divekicking through a mech that dwarfed him even at his increased size^M-C

Slashing

• Sends Para-DX spinning through the air²⁶
• Slashes Para-DX away²⁸
• Hits Para-DX high into the air³³
• Hits the ground with his sword on landing, knocking down a group of Ride-Players a distance away²⁵
• Clashes blades with level 99 Para-DX³⁰

Other

• Throws Para-DX to the ground, cratering it³³
• Throws a Bugster on a motorbike away high into the air²⁴
• Restrains Puzzle Para-DX²⁸
• While giant, leaps large distances up an enormous mech^M-C
• While giant, leaps propelled by two mech into the upper atmosphere^M-C

Durability

Blunt Force

• No-sells a punch from an enormous Bugster²³
• Unaffected by punches from Puzzle Para-DX²⁶
  • Proceeds to take a series of punches after Parado used a super strength power up, only being knocked back on Poppy's energy blast²⁸

Energy

• Unaffected by an energy slash finisher from Zombie Genm²³
• No-sells a blast from Genm's Gashacon Sparrow²³
• Unaffected by level 99 Para-DX's puzzle pieces which create explosions around him²⁶
• Hit with an energy beam in a game world which overpowers his dive kick, sending him back into stone and breaking it^S-KS3
• Struck by an energy bolt which creates a huge pillar of fire capable of breaking stone³⁶

Other

• Slashed by level 50 Brave³⁴
  • Gets sent flying out of a dive kick with another strike³³
• Sent flying back by a point-blank shot from a Kamen Rider's rotary guns³⁵
• Jumps off a tall ledge³³
• While giant, after leaping up into the atmosphere, gets struck back to Earth by a space station and dive kicks through an enormous foe without injury^M-C

Speed

• With a finisher, unleashes a rapid flurry of slashes on a foe, though he could have still been amped by a previous speed power up³¹
• Gets up and runs around Para-DX to intercept bolts about to hit him⁴¹
• Catches up to a Bugster on a bike³¹
• Dashes a short distance in front of a Bugster's motorbike²⁴

Suitless Physicals

While level 99, Emu can leave his mech suit to fight with his level 2 form, albeit with the strength of being level 99.³⁰

• Knocks away level 5 Brave, level 50 Snipe, and a Ride-Player²⁸
• Matches clashes with Perfect Knock Out Para-DX³⁰
• Makes large leaps³⁰
• Takes hits from Puzzle Para-DX²⁶
• Takes slashes from level 99 Para-DX³⁰
• Unaffected by a level 99 Para-DX's energy attack²⁶

Bugster Virus Restructuring

These can be done in any form by using the Maximum Mighty X Gashat in a weapon.²⁹

• Programs away a Bugster's bike²⁴
• Gets rid of a dating sim Bugster's minons that prevented him from being harmed as long as they were around³²
• Releases an energy blast from his sword, hitting a giant Bugster made of zombies and catching Genm in the attack, negating the immortality of all of them²³
• Reprogrammed Genm's Bugster antibodies, making him unable to use Gashats himself²³
• After a Bugster ally had her memory reset and made to join the villains, 'rewrites the corrupt genes' to bring back her old personality²⁸
  • Doing this caused her to start experiencing memories of the person who died for her to become a fully realized being²⁸
• Separates Parado from him, preventing him from accessing his M personality³⁶

Mobility Abilities

• Uses leg jets to fly^S-KS3
• Glides along the ground³¹
• Can extend his limbs, using this to jump high and launch himself around a tower³¹
• Creates blocks in midair to fight on top of³¹
  • These scale up when his size has been increased^M-C

Other

• Releases an energy slash finisher that shatters objects in a warehouse, creates several huge explosions, and knocks Para-DX out of his Puzzle form²⁶
• Shoots energy beams from the suit's eyes²⁶
  • Breaks through level 99 Para-DX's barrier³⁰
• Can leave his suit and return into it easily²⁶
  • Leaps a large distance out of the mech suit, which continues to restrain Parado while he's out of it²⁸
  • The suit can remain suspended in the air after taking this form, only being briefly worn to gain the power of level 99³¹

Hyper Muteki

Invincible! The shining spark and strength of a shooting star! Golden gamer, strongest of all! Hyper Muteki Ex-Aid!

Strength

Striking

• His finisher's blows hit Kamen Rider Cronus into the air³⁶
• Hits Para-DX back a distance³⁹
• Kicks Para-DX into a wall, cratering and cracking it³⁹
• Alongside level 100 Brave, breaks through Cronus' Armourize with a finishing dive kick³⁸
• Pierces through Super Gamedeus Machina with a finishing kick^M-TE
• Breaks through a large piece of rubble^M-TE
• With a finishing kick alongside Build's super form, kicks through a pair of giant robot hands to make them blow up before flying a huge distance away^M-F

Other

• Slashes off Super Gamedeus Machina's arm^M-TE
• Slashes an enormous enemy, knocking it over, before parrying an attach which sends him flying back through floating rubble^M-TE
• As Super Gamedeus Machina hits him through every floor of a building, parries the attack^M-TE
• Jumps high above Super Gamedeus^M-TE

Durability

• Hit away by Gamedeus off-screen⁴²
• Has a large chunk of ice dropped on him by Gamedeus⁴²
• Thrown into a building's roof to crater it before being sent through every floor as he parries the attack^M-TE
• Tanks Para-DX's slashes³⁹
• Hit by slashes from Gamedeus Cronus⁴³
• Hit by Brave's energy swords⁴³
• No-sells level 99 Para-DX's energy bolts³⁹
• Thrown away by Gamedeus Cronus's fire dragon that knocks Brave and Snipe out of their transformations⁴³
• No-sells fireballs which can create enormous, concrete-breaking explosions^M-TE

Speed

• Aim dodges bolts³⁷
• Has time to talk and unleash a dive kick finisher while the target is still in mid-air from a previous attack⁴⁰
• Fights in a blur^M-F
• Travels an incredible distance after defeating a foe with a dive kick^M-F

Abilities

• Teleports to dodge attacks that would've hit³⁷
  • This does not include all attacks, being able to do the like of counter enemy blows. He can also continue a flurry of attacks immediately after teleporting³⁶
• Intercepts Para-DX's teleport, preventing him from leaving³⁹
• Seemingly flies, fighting around giant hands as they fly through the sky^M-F
• Allows the user to move in paused time³⁶
  • If the transformation is started before time is stopped, it will finish after a brief delay³⁶
  • If Hyper Muteki ends during a time stop, the user remains active⁴⁰
• Extends his braids to wrap around Cronus, slamming him into the ground to break it⁴⁰
• Spins his braids to hold off before knocking back Super Gamedeus Machina^M-TE
• Has a save function, preventing people from being affected as Cronus tries to reset time to a previous point⁴¹

Other

• Can still be knocked out of this form with the removal of the Gashat⁴⁵
• When he uses a finisher, unleashes a series of blows that do not damage a foe, with them feeling the effects of the strikes shortly after finishing³⁶
  • Does this with sword slashes³⁷
• For most users, this form has a ten second limit³⁶
  • Ex-Aid himself has no time limit³⁶
• Ex-Aid originally couldn't use it, the Gashat requiring his M personality³⁶

Continued in Comments

So grateful to have found this community. I'm hoping for some honest feedback, but also hoping for support.
I got my BFP at 17DPO, was already a dye stealer. I was very surprised, was sure that my period was just delayed due to jet lag. But, hooray, BFP! Have definitely been feeling symptoms too.
Was overseas at the time on holiday though, so I couldn't get betas done until today. And I'm deflated and anxious now. I'm at 28DPO (6wk0d), and HCG is only measuring at 1200. I know it's technically within the range, but it seems low?
Today's blood test also showed that my TSH is high. Am on meds for it, so this was to be expected and am waiting to hear from the doctor about upping my dosage. But now I'm also wondering if my delay in getting this tested could have impacted my HCG levels? I tried to look this up, but couldn't find anything. Of course my brain is now scared that my going on vacation has now affected things, that I could have done more to help this little bean stick if my blood tests hadn't been so delayed.
Is it worth doing another beta later this week? Have an US scheduled for Friday (6wk4d), but now I'm just trying to prepare myself for bad news. Or maybe I should at least postpone it?
Brains are mean. Anxiety is a bitch. Why does this have to be so hard?
Update (Sad): US at 6w4d confirmed in utero, measuring a few days behind, but no heartbeat. MC began later that day. Shittiest weekend. Trying to look forward now.

Currently in the US for context.
I see people talk about being put on clomid and I think letrezol by their OB and am a bit confused. I formerly had thought you could only receive these prescriptions from an RE?
How does an OB manage this type of prescription? Is ultrasound monitoring always required?
We have never done IUI, only medicated monitored cycles with timed intercourse. The main reason we had to stop treatment through our RE is because we were paying for meds and ultrasounds out of pocket and the multiple ultrasounds a month were so expensive.
I ovulate on my own, but it is delayed at CD25+ and I was told this can mean the egg is overmature by the time it’s released. Thus, I was told the letrezole and a trigger shot would regulate my cycle and would make it more likely for me to produce healthy, viable eggs.
Is this worth exploring with an OB? Am I less lielly to need elective ultrasounds if I go through an OB? Or am I truly at the end of the road with medical treatment?
Subsequent bonus question: is it really worth using non-prescription supplements to continue TTC? I’m at 2 years of trying. 1 MMC and 1 chemical. Never used supplements before this. JUST got on metformin for the PCOS last month.

I did clomid+trigger+ TI this month.
They checked my progesterone levels on Thursday and it showed I ovulated, but they also did an HCG test (I’m not sure why), and it showed my HCG at 10.
I did my trigger shot exactly one week before the hcg test. We all assumed this was just residual hcg from Ovidrel.
Does anyone have a clue how fast that low amount of hcg should be flushed out of my system? I have been trying to test out, but i keep getting a faint line (today is 9 days post trigger and 7dpo)… I’m not expecting a real bfp yet, but I feel like the ovidrel is sticking around a ridiculously low levels, and I’m surprised (and a little annoyed) I keep getting positive tests.

Backstory:
About mid 2020, I went on TRT from Core Medical. My T was extremely low for being 28, I went on it and I felt pretty damn good and then leveled out and felt overall very good. Injected Test C twice a week (25 mg split both injections), Gonadorelin Acetate twice weekly (dont remember the dosage), .25mg of Anastrozole twice a week and my free test, total test, and E2 levels were fantastic. Early 2022 I bought a house, and for some reason, I still cant figure out why....I stopped. 8 months later I met my girlfriend and we had MAJOR bed room issues. I am so insanely attracted to my GF, but sex was just never on my mind and I never noticed it. I never initiated anything with her, I had delayed ejaculation issues, and then it hit me...I need to go back on TRT.
I've been back on it now for about 2 months and I FEEL THE DIFFERENCE once more. Libido increased no shit 500%, morning boners, more leveled out mood, everything...but I still dont feel TOTALLY there yet. Maybe 2 months isnt enough? I cant remember how i felt the first time because I wasn't really sexually active at the time but i do remember better sleep and better energy, which I do have now, but not like it was before.
Todays story:
I've seen the research on Gonadorelin. Alot of it is conflicting as hell. Some say "nooo it works great!" Others claim due to its EXTREMELY short half life, its money down the drain and does nothing for you unless youre injecting every 90 mins of your life. I asked my clinics doctor "Do i REALLY need this?" and talked about fertility. She laughed and said "We dont follow the *bro science* here, ill send you an article on Gonadorelin to read." and ill be honest, what she sent me just seemed like a made up piece of crap. It didnt sell me. She said throw the fertility issue out the window, its not about fertility....its about if you ever had to suddenly stop. This is why I gave my back story. Well - I did suddenly stop. In Feb 2022, and I didnt go back to where I was before TRT the first time around, I was 3x as worse. So, I thought - go on HCG instead! It wasnt offered at first as she said some patients tend to not like HCG (as ive also read on here, some claim the same)
But is HCG really worth going on? Is Gonadorelin really BS? Im on Gonadorelin now, but should I expect even more changes if I switch to HCG? Will I not? Is clomid a better option? Educate me here please lol

Preface: The below provides perhaps more information than may seem relevant, but I want to provide as much detail as possible in case someone reading this sees some pattern or connection I have missed.
First, some context/background:
I am a 40 year old white male in good physical health. I eat well (although probably drink too much alcohol) and workout a few times a week. My external stress level is low (I’m secure financially and my current business is more of a passion project), but my internal stress is high (the stress related to RSS, primarily). I’ve struggled with anxiety and panic disorder most of my adult life. I get especially anxious in social settings. Although I rarely take any medications for my anxiety, I often use alcohol to reduce my anxiety and feelings of panic. I often feel like I’m not totally “myself” until I’ve had a few drinks. I’m generally a very fidgety person (most evident by my constant nail picking, but also my fast talking and some facial tics). I took Anti-depressants for about a year in college for my anxiety, but since then have been “white-knuckling” it through.
Around 2013 I started to have symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction related to stress. I had pressure and discomfort in my lower abdomen and I constantly felt like I had to urinate. I was tested for STD’s and other bacteria—one urologist thought it was some form of prostatitis—but eventually found a urologist who posited pelvic floor dysfunction and sent me to a pelvic floor physical therapist. After a number of sessions the symptoms dissipated and eventually resolved. I went back to that pelvic floor physical therapist sporadically over the following years as any symptoms would flare up.
In early 2022 I got Covid, which put me on my ass for 10+ days. Nothing dangerous, mostly just fatigue and lethargy. But after that bout of Covid I started to feel very depressed and anxious. It was so bad that I would wake up in the early morning with my stomach churning and my mind racing. This lasted for weeks. I started to research treatment options and eventually tried some Ketamine treatments (not great success), and then TMS treatments. Although there were some ups and downs, I felt like the TMS treatments were helpful. It was around this time that I had my second flare up of RSS, which is described in more detail below.
First bout of RSS:
In the later part of 2020, I started to take some testosterone boosting drugs, specifically Clomid, Danazol, and Anastrazole in order to help my strength training and recovery after a surgical procedure to repair a torn right hip labrum I underwent in October of 2019. I was still experiencing chronic pain and was trying anything and everything to get my body right. My physical therapist said I just needed to build muscle, so I went to a local doctor that I knew provided hormone therapies, and got on a regimen to boost my testosterone levels. My testosterone levels weren’t low to start (around 600 I believe), but the therapies worked and my levels shot up over 1000.
I actually started to feel pretty good—I was sleeping better, my energy levels were better, my pain was reduced—I was finally seeing a light at the end of the long tunnel of chronic pain related to my hip/back I’d been in since 2017. The testosterone also had the effect of, for back of a better phrase, making me horny as f***.
I had girlfriend at the time, but she spent most of her time living in another city. Because of our distance, she had allowed me to have some indiscretions in the past. And so I justified my subsequent infidelity by telling myself that because she had given me permission before, the door was already opened and so it wasn’t really that big of a deal (obviously very selfish reasoning in retrospect).
I wanted to be discreet, so I got on a sugar daddy app and started a sexual relationship with two girls. One girl I saw over the course of a number of weeks and we had sex maybe a dozen times. She was a single mom, was very sweet. The other girl I slept with only 2-3 times and it was much more transactional. There was definitely guilt and anxiety around these encounters—my brain was very active in successfully keeping both sides in the dark. But these encounters also provided intense feelings of excited anticipation.
I believe it was the combination of the anxiety and the excitement (possibly boosted by my increased testosterone) that caused me to have the first symptoms of RSS (symptom type 1)—a tingling in my scrotum when arranging/thinking about/embarking on these encounters. I think the best way to describe the sensation is when you get excited about something, or nervous about something, you feel it in your scrotum—the skin pulls tighter, you get that wave of nerves in your stomach, for me there is a slight pins and needles tingle in the area. I listen to a sports podcast where they refer to the nerves during a sporting match as “nut crunch time,” which I think is a euphemism for a similar sensation. Soon after this tingling sensation (a couple of days perhaps), I started to notice redness and extreme sensitivity in my scrotum (symptom type 2) which caused a lot of discomfort.
This sensation (symptom type 2) is also hard to describe—it’s an intense awareness of the scrotum skin, and an extreme sensitivity to any kind of light rubbing or chaffing. The friction in the underwear from something as simple as walking down the street can be extremely uncomfortable. The feeling isn’t always at the same part of the scrotum. Sometimes it’s more anterior, sometimes more posterior and can even creep into the perineum region. Sometimes it’s very red but not as sensitive. Sometimes it’s not very red but extremely sensitive. Occasionally, there is some itch, but that is more rare. The doctors I’ve seen like to use the word “burning” but I’m not sure that is how I would describe it necessarily. For me, it’s better in the morning and as the day goes on it gets worse (more on this later).
Post symptom onset and eventual remission:
After the onset of symptoms, I stopped my affair. I contacted the doctor who was prescribing me the testosterone boosting drugs. He said he’d never heard of such a reaction, but said I could certainly stop taking the medications and see if that helped. My primary care also recommended I stop taking the medications. So over the next few weeks I tapered off of those drugs. I also went to a dermatologist. He prescribed me some topical steroid cream (of course). This did not help. I went to another dermatologist who (I think accurately) diagnosed this as a “nerve” issue. I asked him if he thought it was related to my hip surgery—I was dubious because it had been about a year and a half since the surgery and that seemed like a long period of time before onset of symptoms. He did say that nerves take a long time to grow and so it was possible. I asked him if he’d seen anything like this before, and he said yes, in someone who had been in a motorcycle accident. He prescribed gabapentin and I started to take one 300mg pill at night. The gabapentin seemed to help the symptoms. Over the next few months I also tried Tacrolimus cream but that really burned so I stopped (maybe too soon after what I’ve been reading on here?).
I started the gabapentin in March of 2021. At the time, I was also having some more typical nerve sensations in my leg which was attributed to my ongoing back/hip issues/recovery (still very much in chronic pain at that time). In September of 2021, I went back to where I had my surgery and had an injection in my back. I decided to stop taking the gabapentin at that time to see if the back injection helped with the nerve sensations I was having in my leg. I don’t remember exactly when the RSS stopped being a dominant issue, but I’m guessing it was somewhere around this time, because if I felt comfortable stopping the Gabapentin, then it must not have been effecting my quality of life. I also remember going to a bachelor party in Cabo San Lucas in April of 2022 and going in the hot tub, etc., and it not being an issue. So sometime between/around September of 2021 and April of 2022 I was in remission. I wish I had kept better “records” of my condition at the time, but I wasn’t thinking this would be something that needed precise documentation.
Second recurrence of RSS:
In May of 2022, I was still dealing with chronic pain issues and so decided to switch physical therapists. I started to develop feelings for my trainer at that PT office. She invited me to a park one Sunday and then we ended up walking and talking and grabbing a bite to eat after. During the dinner I could tell I was really falling for this person. There was a problem though: I was still in a relationship with that same long distance girlfriend. I remember driving home that evening feeling nervous and excited and anxious and telling myself I had to finally break up with my girlfriend (which I did a week later) and all of a sudden in the car I felt that tingle sensation again (symptom 1). I said to myself, I bet this is going to lead to that same redness/discomfort (symptom 2), and sure enough, a day or two later, it did.
This was, to me, confirmation that this issue was likely a psychological one (when this first occurred in 2020, I still thought that this could have been a nerve issue related to my hip surgery). Now the pattern seemed clear—thought, tingle, future redness and discomfort. And to be clear, the tingle sensation (symptom 1) is very short lived, specific to a thought or situation, and not particularly uncomfortable, but the scrotum sensitivity and discomfort (symptom 2) is constant and chronic.
I started to be much more keenly aware of what led to symptom 1—there really was a pattern of anxious or anticipatory thought or nervous excitement, and then that tingle feeling in my scrotum region.
The symptoms were present but manageable until a few weeks later when me and my new girlfriend had sex in and out of my hot tub and then things really flared up. I started to take the 300mg of gabapentin again, and that seemed to help a little bit, but certainly didn’t lead to remission.
My RSS remained prevalent throughout our tumultuous 8 month relationship. I won’t go into too much detail but she ended up treating me very poorly and causing me a lot of stress and anxiety. I should have ended the relationship after 2 months, but it took 8 months for me to finally come to my senses. All the while, I was very much tracking the symptom 1 pattern—anxious/anticipatory thought —> tingle. And this went up and down with the swings in the relationship. The RSS (symptom 2) stayed pretty constant throughout.
At some point during this period I upped my dose of gabapentin to 300mg in the morning, and 300mg at night.
We broke up in February of 2023. Getting out of that relationship was really hard for me, especially because I was dealing with the RSS and feeling like that was going to make it really hard to date or find a new partner. I started getting increasingly depressed and anxious and so started to look for treatment options. I also at that time discovered a medical paper that showed anti-depressants as a possible remedy for psychosomatic dermatological disorders. I talked to a psychiatrist and started a low dose of Zoloft.
It made me feel awful and so I got off of it a few weeks later. I then tried some more ketamine treatments and eventually did another round of TMS (which again, I do think had benefits for my mental health). The one thing the TMS seemed to do was make me more “durable” and resilient. That is, it made me more willing to push through the discomfort of RSS and not let that stop me from living my life. And in turn, not letting the RSS control me seemed to help with the symptoms. A little bit of the, “the fear of the thing is worse than the thing”, maxim. And over the past few months, I’ve certainly noticed this holds true. Often times, the anticipation of some event or some activity I know (or think) will exacerbate my RSS will cause me to focus more on my RSS and therefore the symptoms to feel more acute.
Past few months and present situation:
I’ve been dating a new girl since May of 2023 and she’s wonderful. I haven’t told her about my RSS yet. The flare ups have been manageable and I’m able to still do most things with mild to medium discomfort. But sometimes I get flare ups and it’s miserable and I start to spiral. I wonder if this will ever end. I wonder if I’ll ever get to actually enjoy basic things like traveling or exercising or being in a pool or being in hot weather or having sex without the worry that it’s going to cause me discomfort. I wonder if I’ll ever get to live a “normal” life.
In July of 2023 I spoke to my primary care doctor and told him I really needed to get a handle on this because it was really negatively effecting my quality of life. He suggested seeing a neurologist. I saw two doctors in the neurologists office, and the conclusion was that this was a nerve issue and that the dose of gabapentin I was on was too low and to up the dose. So a few weeks ago I upped my Gabapentin dose to 600mg a night and kept taking the 300mg in the morning. The increase made me drowsy during the day at first, but after a couple of days that waned. I also was feeling hopeful that the Gabapentin would help, and that gave me a little bit of a mood boost and I felt that made the RSS symptoms more manageable.
But about 2 weeks into the higher Gaba dose, wham, really bad RSS symptoms returned and it really sent me spiraling. As Red says to Andy, “Hope is a dangerous thing…”
So here I am, feeling dejected and back to square one and wanting desperately to figure out a) what is causing this and b) how to cure it (of course).
Regarding the mystery around RSS, I think not knowing what’s going on is one of the more stressful parts of this whole ordeal. It makes it really hard to talk about (I’ve only ever told my two ex girlfriends, my therapist, and my mom about it), because what do I even say? I have this mystery ailment called RSS that causes this weird, embarrassing redness and discomfort on my balls that may or may have not been brought on because of my guilt over cheating on a past girlfriend? Not exactly something I’m dying to share with even my closest friends.
And then of course there are the physical symptoms and the toll they take mentally. Dealing with RSS is a constant battle of mind over matter. I try so desperately to not let the RSS change the way I live my life, but it’s a struggle. Sometimes I win, and I still go do the things I want, even knowing they will be uncomfortable and dealing with the pre-activity anxiety that comes along with that. And sometimes the RSS wins, and I don’t do things I know I normally would if I didn’t have this awful condition.
I get so jealous (and angry) of people who can go for a walk, or play a sport, or go on a hike, or hang at the beach, or go in a hot tub, or have sex, or any myriad other seemingly simple pleasures that most people don’t think twice about doing. The seemingly simplest activities cause me anxiety (before) and discomfort (during) to the point where I rarely can enjoy the things that I used to love.
Couple the physical and mental anguish of the symptoms themselves with the reluctance to talk to anyone about it and you can see why this would cause those afflicted to become so depressed. At least with my hip/back injury I wasn’t (as) embarrassed to tell someone that I was in pain and had to bow out of an activity—daily pain is something tragically common and a lot of people can relate—but with RSS you mostly suffer alone.
But I take some solace that this group exists and that I’m not alone (as Tobias in Arrested Development said, “there are dozens of us. Dozens!”). And maybe my story spurs an idea in someone reading this and helps solve this thing for all of us. Either way, I know this is insanely long, so thanks for reading.
Also, I’ll update this thread as I try new treatments, etc.
A "summary" below:
Possible causes/factors:
Pelvic flooSomatic stress response - As described, I hold my stress in my abdomen. First it presented as pelvic floor symptoms, then as a super tight psoas muscle (which I think very much contributed to my hip injury, chronic pain, and delayed recovery after surgery), and now perhaps the somatic response to my stress has moved to my scrotum.
The hormone drugs I was taking to boost testosterone, lower estrogen, and lower sex hormone binding globulin - I don’t think this was the primary cause, as my second recurrence of RSS happened a year after I stopped, but they could have been a contributing factor.
Sexual contact - No doctor or dermatologist I’ve seen thinks this is any kind of STI, but this could have been a contributing factor—some kind of contact dermatitis causing increased anxiety and therefore focus on the area which led to the onset? An underlying fungal or yeast infection brought on by sexual contact? But these theories are countered by the second occurrence of RSS where no sexual activity took place.
Anxiety/Guilt/Stress/Excitement, etc., around my infidelity - I give this theory a lot of weight due to both onsets coming at a time of excitement mixed with anticipation and anxiety. But why, years later, does the RSS persist? I do not know.
Covid - I had a doctor bring this up as a possible cause. I am not so convinced. I did have mild covid in early 2020, before the first onset of RSS, and then the more impactful covid episode in 2022 before the second onset of RSS.
Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder - Had a sexual health doctor posit this as a theory, but a lot of the symptoms of PGAD don’t align.
Things I’ve tried that help:
Gabapentin - I’ve been on gabapentin for the second recurrence for almost 1.5years now. I think it has helped a little, but going up in the dose didn’t seem to do much so now I’m not sure.
Cold Plunge - This is the one thing that actually gives me some short term symptom relief. I bought a cold plunge and use it daily. The water is 45 degrees and I sit submerged in it for 5min. When I get out, my scrotum is way less red, often to the point where you wouldn’t even suspect any issue, and the scrotum skin is taught and thick (not stretched out or tacky like when the RSS is at its worst), and the skin is less sensitive. The effect only lasts an hour or two at most.
I told the neurologist about this routine and he said that makes sense from a neurological perspective. He said the groin area is the most innervated area of the body (due to its function in procreation) and so there’s this feedback loop that happens where your brain is constantly checking to make sure all of your parts are still there. His theory is that my feedback loop is on hyperdrive and that sending so much signal down there is what’s causing the issue. The gabapentin is supposed to disrupt that feedback loop (note: I am probably butchering this explanation from a science/medical perspective, just going off memory of how he explained it). But he said that cold water is like a nervous system reset, which makes sense. For this reason, I rarely ever take a hot shower anymore—I feel like I’m constantly trying to get my core temperature lower so that my scrotum doesn’t sag and therefore cause more irritation. I’ve actually had serious thoughts about moving to a colder climate (I live in southern California) because I think it would help my symptoms. But those thoughts make me depressed—that I would actually consider ripping apart my life and moving away just to get relief. This would be the ultimate, “letting the RSS win.”
Zeasorb powder (regular, not the anti-fungal) - I apply this after my shower (which is after my cold plunge). It actually really helps with the friction and keeping the area dry and therefore less tacky. Of course when it’s really hot it doesn’t matter—eventually the powder loses any positive effect.
Clonopin - I’m not sure if this should actually be on the “didn’t help” list. I have a prescription for clonopin (anti-anxiety med) that I take very rarely, but I do think it helps slightly with the symptoms. Although it’s probably just a matter of “not caring” as much as it is the symptoms actually getting better.
Things I’ve tried that didn’t help (or unsure if they helped):
Doxycycline - I read that this might be helpful so I asked my primary care doctor to try it. He said if it was going to help I would know after 2 weeks. I think I took it for 3 or 4 weeks and didn’t see any change so I stopped. But maybe I didn’t take it long enough.
Zoloft - could never get to a therapeutic dose because the side effects were so awful. I am not ruling out anti-depressants as a possible treatment—if the theory is that this is mental/anxiety based then you’d think they would help—but I’d really like to avoid these drugs because they take so long to start working and the side effect profile is daunting.
Voltaren cream - this is a topical anti-inflammatory used primarily for arthritis that my primary care doctor suggested I try. I applied it once or twice a day for a couple of days but I felt like it wasn’t doing much. Although I’ve been using this again during a most recent bad flare up and I think it might actually be helping with symptoms.
Tacrolimus cream - Tried this for a few days, but it really burned. Maybe should have given it more of a chance.
Changing underweachanging body wash - Upon first onset I thought perhaps it was some kind of reaction to my soap or my underwear or something, so I changed out my body wash and got tighter, more form fitting underwear. The soap change didn’t do anything, the underwear change provided some symptom relief but only because less friction.
Things I am interested in trying:
CBD - If this condition really is neurological and related to anxiety, perhaps CBD would help. I wonder if anyone has tried this and can comment?
Anti-depressants - I’m not against trying again, but as mentioned above, I’m not looking forward to it. But if it really could help provide relief, and I could find one with a mild side effect profile, I’d be all about it.
Anti-inflammatories - I’ve seen Indomethacin recommended here, and the doctor at the neurologist office recommended the same. I have a pretty sensitive stomach so that would be my only concern about long term use. I tried meloxicam after a shoulder injury a few years ago and it caused real GI issues for me.

"Do you really think there are patients we can choose to ignore? It doesn't matter if they're bad! Any life is worth saving! I can't just leave a patient to suffer alone."
When he was young, Emu Hojo required life saving surgery after being hit by a car. This event drove him to become a paediatrician himself, and after a period as an undefeatable pro-gamer under the alias of M got himself an internship at Seito University Hospital. When one of his patients fell ill from a mysterious illness, he uncovered that the Bugster virus was threatening the lives of their victims while bringing video game bosses into the real world. Taking a device designed to fight these creatures, Emu became Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, continuing his studies while fighting to save the life of anyone infected with the ailment.

Legend

# - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
G-# - Kamen Rider Ghost
M-100 - Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie: The 100 Eyecons and Ghost's Fateful Moment
M-PM - Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders
M-C - Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Chou Super Hero Taisen
M-AE# - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Another Ending
M-F - Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Final: Build & Ex-Aid with Legend Riders
S-G - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid "Tricks": Kamen Rider Genm
S-KS# - Kamen Sentai Gorider
S-P - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid "Tricks": Kamen Rider Para-DX

Untransformed

"I'll clear this with no continues!"

Physicals

Strength

• Hits away Bugsters^M-PM
• Pushes a Bugster back into two others³
• While possessed by Parado, shoves Hiiro back²⁹

Durability - Blunt Force

• Hit back by a Bugster²
• Gets kicked into a pillar^M-PM
• Hit back by an emerging Bugster²⁴
• Kicked away a large distance^M-PM
• Hit away by Another Agito in a game world^S-KS1
• Kicked a distance back by Kirya³⁵
  • Happens again, being kicked a huge distance³⁵

Durability - Other

• Falls a short distance before having a trolley he was riding pushed into him¹
• Knocks down by an explosion²⁰

Speed

• Ducks under the Bugvisor's shots¹¹

Intelligence

Medical

• Seeing no abnormalities with a kid, deduces that he only isn't hungry due to eating snacks in secret¹
• Diagnoses a woman as having internal haemorrhaging due to the excessive activity of being possessed by a Bugster after already being injured²⁴
• After only his second encounter with it, deduces that the Bugster virus is brought on by a person experiencing great stress²

Game Related

• Recognizes a base from Xevious on sight^M-C
• Used his beat 'em up knowledge to guess where a power up needed to turn around an unwinnable game might be, ultimately succeeding in finding it^M-C
• Reasons that a swarm of Pac-Men attacked an untransformed Kamen Rider Ghost because in-game only ghosts can defeat Pac-Man, and so they ate his ability to transform before he could fight them^M-PM
• Figures out he can't control a Gashat because the game it came from was designed to be played by four players, and that having three other Kamen Riders 'beat' it would cause the power to be shared between them, allowing it to be controlled¹⁰
• After having his memory of how he got there erased, determines from the things he's witnessed and experienced that he's stuck in a game world^S-KS2

Other

• After seeing a code entered in front of him, inputs it himself a short time later¹
• Rearranges pickles with ketchup characters on them to form a cohesive message¹⁷
• In a game world which wipes his memory every time he enters, leaves himself a coded message that allows him to figure out the mastermind's true identity at the start of his third run^S-KS3
• When faced with a foe that can pause time before he can be hit, comes up with a plan that has Genm stealthily enter their Bugvisor, allowing them to also be active and restart time while restraining the foe³³

Gaming

• Beat a girl who would become a pro gamer at Tekken, with her claiming he is the only person she lost to in her life¹⁶
• Gets no misses in a game to send zombies to Nirvana^M-AE2
• Is great at rhythm games, perfecting a challenge presented by a rhythm game Bugster on his first encounter⁶
  • Beats a game version of Kamen Rider Hibiki at a rhythm game on oni difficulty, where he had to match all of the fireballs the Kamen Rider sent at him^S-Genm
• Once mastered every beat 'em up game^M-C

Transformations - General

"I will change the patient's fate!"

Gamer Driver

• Only those with antibodies to the Bugster virus can use a Gamer Driver⁹
• Only works with humans, and Bugsters can't use them²⁹
  • A Bugster that has human genes can surpass this limitation and use one²⁹
• The Gamer Driver can use a stage select to change the environment to that of a game. Doing this also brings all relevant parties to his fight, such as the monster of the week and a kidnapped woman, into the area⁴
  • On being forced out of their transformation, a Rider gets kicked out of this game world⁹

Transformation

Levelling Up

• While levelling up, a Kamen Rider can run forwards to do so,¹ or the image that appears can instead come towards them²
  • He can go straight from level 1 to a higher level, rather than needing to go to level 2 first⁶
  • Can enter level 2 immediately on transforming, as well as higher levels^M-C
• After levelling up, Kamen Riders can be quickly reverted to level 1 by closing their Gamer Driver²
• Riders can also be knocked down to level 2 with enough damage, causing one of their Gashats to eject from their driver⁸

Other

• Levelling up happens quickly in real time²
  • After starting his transformation, leaps off a bike and manages to fully transform into level 2 before landing back on said bike⁴
• Can knock back nearby foes slightly^M-TE

Gashacon Breaker

• Ex-Aid can summon a hammer, the Gashacon Breaker, at any level¹
• By pressing the A button, a blade extends from it¹
  • As a finisher, can fill this sword with energy while rapidly spinning through the air³
• With a single B press, releases an energy blade with its sword form that blows up a motorbike⁴
• By double tapping the B button, it deals two attacks with each strike¹
• Creates multiple energy shockwaves on the ground to defeat distant foes with four B presses³
• As a finisher, can be infused with energy to increase its striking strength²

Blocks / Power Ups

General

• On activating a Gashat, blocks which can contain power ups are placed in the surrounding area¹
• At least as level 1, he can spawn these beneath him as platforms²
• Ex-Aid breaks one of these to give Kamen Rider Ghost an Ex-Aid Eyecon^G-50
• Power ups can't affect regular people, one landing on one to stop his fall²⁴

Strength

• In the Kamen Rider Ghost movie, power up tokens seemingly empower Ex-Aid's strikes^M-100
• With a strength power up, counters Genm's wheel attack before using his Buster's finishing attack, smashing through a rocket punch and destroying a robot⁵
• Lets him fight back against a Bugster of a much higher level that was previously throwing him about, one hit sending both the Bugster and the van behind him flying back¹⁹

Speed

• Level 1 XX Ex-Aid keeps up with the motorbike of a notably fast Bugster before they increase their speed further¹⁸
• A Level 1 Ex-Aid flies at great speed for a short while, ramming into a large Bugster repeatedly to knock it about, ultimately sending it flying a large distance¹
• Fights at FTE speeds³¹

Other

• With a jump power up while riding a motorbike, leaps a great distance through the air on it⁴
• Gains what appears to be brief invulnerability, making his body metal³
  • Allows him to no-sell punches from a Bugster of a notably higher level that was previously throwing him about¹⁹
  • Blocks a finisher which kills Zombie Genm³⁵
• Flash creates a burst of light from Ex-Aid that blinds a foe^M-PM
• Provoke forces an enemy to focus on attacking the person who used the power up²²
• Christmas turns Ex-Aid into a Level 1 Santa, decorates his bike to be Christmassy, and makes it start snowing¹²
  • Hits a Bugster back with his sack¹²

Other

• All forms have a health bar on the chest, with a Kamen Rider dying if it reaches 0³
  • Their bodies disappear when this happens¹²
  • They can be knocked out of their transformations without dying, however¹⁴
• After having his Gashat removed by someone else, he doesn't revert back¹⁹

Level 1 (Mighty Action X)

Click and load! Let's game! Super game! Ultra game! Whatcha name? I'm a Kamen Rider!

Strength

Striking

• Kicks a Bugster away⁶
• Breaks a block with the Gashacon Breaker¹
• Kicks a large Bugster back²
• With a speed power up, knocks about a large Bugster by dashing into it, ultimately sending it flying a large distance¹

Other

• Deflects attacks from a giant Bugster, one with the Breaker, and another with a kick, before jumping on it to defeat it¹
  • This Bugster could break a concrete floor and destroy several displays with a swing, and moved through a thick wall¹

Durability

• Struck away a short distance²
• Seemingly hit away from a large Bugster landing²
• Slashed back by a Bugster⁶
• Slashed by a level 2 Brave¹⁵
• Knocked back by an energy blade⁹
• Barely affected by Snipe's gunfire³
• Knocked down by Genm's Bugvisor blaster fire²
• Gets electrocuted²

Speed / Agility

• Jumps and flips around a large foe, avoiding its attacks¹
• Reaches a person falling from high in the air to catch them²

Other

• Only level 1 Kamen Riders can separate Bugsters from victims of the Bugster virus, after which they can be defeated by a higher level Rider²

Level 2 (Mighty Action X)

Level up! Mighty jump! Mighty kick! Mighty Mighty Action X!

Strength

Striking - Gashacon Breaker

• Hits Bugsters over and away¹
• Hits a monster back in a game world^S-KS1
• Sends two Bugsters high into the air, striking them away as they fall down, before charging through a crowd of Bugsters and hitting them all into the air¹
• With a strength power up, counters Genm's wheel attack before using his Buster's finishing attack, smashing through a rocket punch and destroying a robot⁵

Striking - Other

• Punches a foe with a seemingly empowered strike, sending them flying away^M-100
• Jump kicks through a row of Bugsters, blowing them up^G-50
• Breaks a block with a jumping punch⁹
• Clashes dive kicks with a weakened Kamen Rider Cronus, destroying the ground around them and ultimately breaking through⁴⁵
• Hits Bugsters away using a staff^G-50

Other

• While on a bike, cuts through a Bugster's sword⁷
• Sends a boss flying back with a sword strike¹
• Jumps high above Kamen Rider Ghost's lunge^G-50
• Leaps forwards a distance^M-F
• Restrains Ghost for a period^G-50

Durability

Blunt Force

• In a game world gets kicked back into a pillar by Another Agito^S-KS1
• Punched back by a powerful Bugster¹⁹
• Kicked into the air and landing on metal a distance back, breaking it, before leaping back into the ight^M-F
• Struck high into the air before being hit back down and continues fighting^M-F

Slashing

• Takes a sword slash from Ghost^G-50
• Hit by a Level 5 Brave¹⁵
• Slashed a distance back by Zombie Genm¹⁹
• Hit back by a Bugvisor chainsaw²⁵
• Slashed repeatedly by Level 10 Genm, though this an an attack immediately after knocks him out of his transformation¹⁴

Piercing

• Shot numerous times by the Gashacon Sparrow, though this knocks him out of his transformation¹⁴
• Hit by Snipe's redirected shot²⁷
• Shot in the back by Snipe's Gashacon Magnum⁹
• Gets struck with a large amount of gunfire plus an explosive attack, getting brought down to dangerously low health. Immediately after, he gets hit with a huge volley of further gunfire, getting hurt and knocked down but constantly trying to get up and move forwards³

Other

• Shot by a Level 5 Snipe¹⁵
• Sent flying back by a blast from Genm^G-50
• Sent flying off a bike with a fire attack⁴
• Shocked with electricity sent through his Breaker¹
• Hit by an electric attack, being thrown back a distance²⁵
  • This attack sent a group of Ride-Players flying back a much larger distance²⁶

Speed

• Aimdodges magic blasts¹⁴
• Jumps above Kamen Rider Ghost's lunge^G-50
• Slashes an energy bolt out of the air¹⁹
• Parries energy arrows out of the air¹⁴
• Blocks Snipe's Gashacon Magnum's shots with his Breaker⁹
  • Does so again with it in its sword form⁸
• Intercepts a distant energy blast shot by Genm at a kid^G-50
• While on a bike, outspeeds a quickdrawing Bugster⁷

Other

• With the Mighty Critical Strike finisher, Ex-Aid hits a foe with a series of kicks that blows them up¹
• On appearing with a ground slam, releases bolts which strike and destroy surrounding enemy Gamma^M-100

Level 3 (Gekitotsu Robots)

Gotcha! Knock 'em dead! Charge on ahead, clash and bash and punch! It's Gekitotsu Robots!

Strength

• Staggers a level 3 Genm with his punches⁵
• His launched fist hits back a game version of Zombie Genm, ultimately defeating him^M-C

Durability

• Uppercutted back by a Bugster of a much higher level¹⁹
• Staggered by a point-blank shot from the Bugvisor¹¹
• Blocks a level 3 Snipe's bullets with his robot arm⁸
• While blocking, holds steady against an attack that powers through Brave and Snipe's attacks before hitting them, throwing them back⁶
• Takes an energy blade attack intended for Brave, though this forces him out of his transformation⁶

Speed

• Dodges Genm's thrown wheel⁷
• Dodges a Bugster's sword strikes⁷
• Runs in front of an energy attack to block it from hitting Brave⁶

Other

• Can launch his fist as a projectile, which then returns to him upon missing⁶
• With a finishing attack, fires his fist into Genm, forcing him back into a metal barrier before running up and punching into the first, causing an explosion⁵
• The robot that appears while transforming can attack a foe before attaching onto Ex-Aid⁵

Level 3 (Shikariki Sports)

Pump it up, we're going extreme! Shikariki Sports!

• Leaps over a person and a Bugster¹²
• Gets hit back by a Bugster¹²
• Repeatedly hit back by Knock Out Fighter Para-DX, then jumps out of the way of a stream of fire¹⁵
• Throws one of the wheels on his suit, curving in the air to knock down numerous Bugsters, one of which falls into a block to break it¹²
  • Hits a Bugster away with a wheel thrown from a distance¹⁸
• Can be used without transforming to give Ex-Aid a bike²²

Level 4 (JuJu Burger)

Burger! Burger! JuJu Burger!

• Can fire beams from the ketchup and mustard bottles on his arms¹⁷
  • Force Zombie Genm back¹⁷
• Skates towards Snipe, avoiding his shots¹⁷
• Weaves around rapid firing burger ingredients from a Bugster, shooting specific ones out of the air with his beams, before using his finisher to construct them all into a burger¹⁷

Level 5 (Drago Knight Hunter Z)

Gotcha! D-D-Drago! Kni-Kni-Knight! Drago! Drago! Drago Knight Hunter...Ex-Aid!
Full
While using Drago Knight Hunter Z's power on his own, Ex-Aid is granted its full power, though he isn't capable of controlling it. This causes him to attack uncontrollably before ultimately being forced out of his transformation, though he later became able to use this form without rampaging.¹¹

• Sends level 3 Genm flying back¹¹
• The robot summoned on initially using the Gashat blocks shots from Genm¹¹
• Takes slashes and a shot from the Gashacon Sparrow wielded by a Level 10 Genm¹³
• Powers through an energy attack before striking a Bugster back a distance¹⁰
• Gets hit by the combined finishing attacks of level 3 Brave, Snipe, and Lazer, though this knocks him down to level 2¹⁰
• Releases a large amount of fiery bursts⁹
• While uncontrollable, flies and crashes through a wall¹¹

Fang
The power can be split up between himself, Brave, Snipe, and Lazer, allowing them to control the power while working alongside each other.¹¹ There is still only one real Gashat, with the others' disappearing after being used.¹⁰

• Dashes to intercept Genm's dive kick, tail slapping him back and reducing his health bar to zero¹¹
• Releases a powerful stream of fire¹⁰
• With the others, creates a shield to block a powerful attack¹⁰
• As a critical finish with the other Riders, releases repeated fire blasts that ultimately destroy a foe¹⁰

Level 10 (Mighty Brothers XX)

I am you! You are me! We are mighty Mighty Brothers! Double X!

Level 1

Mighty brothers! Two Riders from one body! Mighty Brothers! Two for certain victory! X!
Mighty Brothers XX is unique in having its own variant of a Level 1 form, before Emu enters the 'true' Level 10 state and splits into two fighters.

• Breaks a hole in a wall^M-C
• Blocks Zombie Genm's strikes before sending him skidding back a notable distance with a double punch¹³
• As part of a finisher, punches a Bugster high into the air and quickly dashes a short distance¹⁴
• Repeatedly dodges a Bugster's sword swings²¹
• Avoids energy arrows, leaps around an environment, and hits Zombie Genm with a rapid series of kicks¹³
• Hits a target with repeated dive kicks as a finisher²¹

Strength

• One punches up a row of blocks, sending the Bugster on top into the air¹⁴
• Sends Zombie Genm flying back with a double kick¹⁴
• With a finisher, both Ex-Aids launch jump kicks at a foe which results with them exploding^M-PM
• Slashes a foe back a distance²²
• Seemingly send Level X Genm back a large distance with a joint slash²¹

Durability

• Can take a large number of hits from themselves²⁹
• Hit about by Puzzle Para-DX enhanced with Super Strength, though this knocks him out of his transformation¹⁶
• Both halves are struck back by a level X Genm²³
• Hit out of a building, breaking through a wall⁴¹
• Shot in the back by a Bugster²⁰

Speed

• Go from level 1 to 2 to avoid the attack of a Rider jumping down from a ledge⁴¹

Gashacon Key Slasher

• A sword that can be summoned in this form¹⁴
  • While they only have one of it, they can effectively fight by passing it between them¹⁴
• Creates an energy blade to enhance its slash, sending a Bugster flying back¹⁴
• Releases an energy blast to stagger back zombie Genm¹⁴
  • A finisher version of this attack knocks Genm out of his transformation²¹
• With a finisher, creates an energy sword for the other Ex-Aid to wield, and the two send energy slashes at a foe²⁰

Other

• Together, protects themselves from a magic explosive attack in some manner¹⁴
• Creates a line of blocks to fight atop of¹⁴
• With the Mighty Double Critical Strike, the two Ex-Aids hit a target with a series of mirrored strikes, returning to level 1 for a hit before separating again for a joint dive kick¹⁴
• When Parado is possessing Emu, both take control of one of the two Ex-Aids²⁹
  • They can progress into different forms from this state,⁴¹ and when just Parado does this Emu is knocked back to level 2^M-TE
  • Like this, they share genetic makeup and memories²⁹
• If they are separated, they are brought back together to merge when removing the Gashat¹⁴
  • This isn't the case when Parado is controlling one of the Ex-Aids⁴⁰
• Initially, Emu collapsed with a terrible headache after use, potentially to the point of unconsciousness, though he can later use it without issue¹⁴
• Both Ex-Aids are level 10, making the Gashat de facto level 20¹⁵

Level 99 (Maximum Mighty X)

The highest level, the most powerful body! Wham and kerblam! Zippy-zabang! The highest level, the most powerful body! Maximum Power X!

Strength

Striking

• Punches away Zombie Genm duplicates²³
• Hits away a mid-air Bugster on a bike a long distance³¹
• Punches Genm through a brick wall, creating a large hole and causing him to embed into a wall further back, then strikes him to the side²³
• Matches a punch with an enormous Bugster, destroying part of its arm, before hitting it away, sending it sliding a large distance into a warehouse²³
• Strikes the ground, sending Genm flying into the air, before defeating him with a dive kick²³
• While giant, leaps propelled by two mech into the upper atmosphere before being hit back down to Earth, divekicking through a mech that dwarfed him even at his increased size^M-C

Slashing

• Sends Para-DX spinning through the air²⁶
• Slashes Para-DX away²⁸
• Hits Para-DX high into the air³³
• Hits the ground with his sword on landing, knocking down a group of Ride-Players a distance away²⁵
• Clashes blades with level 99 Para-DX³⁰

Other

• Throws Para-DX to the ground, cratering it³³
• Throws a Bugster on a motorbike away high into the air²⁴
• Restrains Puzzle Para-DX²⁸
• While giant, leaps large distances up an enormous mech^M-C
• While giant, leaps propelled by two mech into the upper atmosphere^M-C

Durability

Blunt Force

• No-sells a punch from an enormous Bugster²³
• Unaffected by punches from Puzzle Para-DX²⁶
  • Proceeds to take a series of punches after Parado used a super strength power up, only being knocked back on Poppy's energy blast²⁸

Energy

• Unaffected by an energy slash finisher from Zombie Genm²³
• No-sells a blast from Genm's Gashacon Sparrow²³
• Unaffected by level 99 Para-DX's puzzle pieces which create explosions around him²⁶
• Hit with an energy beam in a game world which overpowers his dive kick, sending him back into stone and breaking it^S-KS3
• Struck by an energy bolt which creates a huge pillar of fire capable of breaking stone³⁶

Other

• Slashed by level 50 Brave³⁴
  • Gets sent flying out of a dive kick with another strike³³
• Sent flying back by a point-blank shot from a Kamen Rider's rotary guns³⁵
• Jumps off a tall ledge³³
• While giant, after leaping up into the atmosphere, gets struck back to Earth by a space station and dive kicks through an enormous foe without injury^M-C

Speed

• With a finisher, unleashes a rapid flurry of slashes on a foe, though he could have still been amped by a previous speed power up³¹
• Gets up and runs around Para-DX to intercept bolts about to hit him⁴¹
• Catches up to a Bugster on a bike³¹
• Dashes a short distance in front of a Bugster's motorbike²⁴

Suitless Physicals

While level 99, Emu can leave his mech suit to fight with his level 2 form, albeit with the strength of being level 99.³⁰

• Knocks away level 5 Brave, level 50 Snipe, and a Ride-Player²⁸
• Matches clashes with Perfect Knock Out Para-DX³⁰
• Makes large leaps³⁰
• Takes hits from Puzzle Para-DX²⁶
• Takes slashes from level 99 Para-DX³⁰
• Unaffected by a level 99 Para-DX's energy attack²⁶

Bugster Virus Restructuring

These can be done in any form by using the Maximum Mighty X Gashat in a weapon.²⁹

• Programs away a Bugster's bike²⁴
• Gets rid of a dating sim Bugster's minons that prevented him from being harmed as long as they were around³²
• Releases an energy blast from his sword, hitting a giant Bugster made of zombies and catching Genm in the attack, negating the immortality of all of them²³
• Reprogrammed Genm's Bugster antibodies, making him unable to use Gashats himself²³
• After a Bugster ally had her memory reset and made to join the villains, 'rewrites the corrupt genes' to bring back her old personality²⁸
  • Doing this caused her to start experiencing memories of the person who died for her to become a fully realized being²⁸
• Separates Parado from him, preventing him from accessing his M personality³⁶

Mobility Abilities

• Uses leg jets to fly^S-KS3
• Glides along the ground³¹
• Can extend his limbs, using this to jump high and launch himself around a tower³¹
• Creates blocks in midair to fight on top of³¹
  • These scale up when his size has been increased^M-C

Other

• Releases an energy slash finisher that shatters objects in a warehouse, creates several huge explosions, and knocks Para-DX out of his Puzzle form²⁶
• Shoots energy beams from the suit's eyes²⁶
  • Breaks through level 99 Para-DX's barrier³⁰
• Can leave his suit and return into it easily²⁶
  • Leaps a large distance out of the mech suit, which continues to restrain Parado while he's out of it²⁸
  • The suit can remain suspended in the air after taking this form, only being briefly worn to gain the power of level 99³¹

Hyper Muteki

Invincible! The shining spark and strength of a shooting star! Golden gamer, strongest of all! Hyper Muteki Ex-Aid!

Strength

Striking

• His finisher's blows hit Kamen Rider Cronus into the air³⁶
• Hits Para-DX back a distance³⁹
• Kicks Para-DX into a wall, cratering and cracking it³⁹
• Alongside level 100 Brave, breaks through Cronus' Armourize with a finishing dive kick³⁸
• Pierces through Super Gamedeus Machina with a finishing kick^M-TE
• Breaks through a large piece of rubble^M-TE
• With a finishing kick alongside Build's super form, kicks through a pair of giant robot hands to make them blow up before flying a huge distance away^M-F

Other

• Slashes off Super Gamedeus Machina's arm^M-TE
• Slashes an enormous enemy, knocking it over, before parrying an attach which sends him flying back through floating rubble^M-TE
• As Super Gamedeus Machina hits him through every floor of a building, parries the attack^M-TE
• Jumps high above Super Gamedeus^M-TE

Durability

• Hit away by Gamedeus off-screen⁴²
• Has a large chunk of ice dropped on him by Gamedeus⁴²
• Thrown into a building's roof to crater it before being sent through every floor as he parries the attack^M-TE
• Tanks Para-DX's slashes³⁹
• Hit by slashes from Gamedeus Cronus⁴³
• Hit by Brave's energy swords⁴³
• No-sells level 99 Para-DX's energy bolts³⁹
• Thrown away by Gamedeus Cronus's fire dragon that knocks Brave and Snipe out of their transformations⁴³
• No-sells fireballs which can create enormous, concrete-breaking explosions^M-TE

Speed

• Aim dodges bolts³⁷
• Has time to talk and unleash a dive kick finisher while the target is still in mid-air from a previous attack⁴⁰
• Fights in a blur^M-F
• Travels an incredible distance after defeating a foe with a dive kick^M-F

Abilities

• Teleports to dodge attacks that would've hit³⁷
  • This does not include all attacks, being able to do the like of counter enemy blows. He can also continue a flurry of attacks immediately after teleporting³⁶
• Intercepts Para-DX's teleport, preventing him from leaving³⁹
• Seemingly flies, fighting around giant hands as they fly through the sky^M-F
• Allows the user to move in paused time³⁶
  • If the transformation is started before time is stopped, it will finish after a brief delay³⁶
  • If Hyper Muteki ends during a time stop, the user remains active⁴⁰
• Extends his braids to wrap around Cronus, slamming him into the ground to break it⁴⁰
• Spins his braids to hold off before knocking back Super Gamedeus Machina^M-TE
• Has a save function, preventing people from being affected as Cronus tries to reset time to a previous point⁴¹

Other

• Can still be knocked out of this form with the removal of the Gashat⁴⁵
• When he uses a finisher, unleashes a series of blows that do not damage a foe, with them feeling the effects of the strikes shortly after finishing³⁶
  • Does this with sword slashes³⁷
• For most users, this form has a ten second limit³⁶
  • Ex-Aid himself has no time limit³⁶
• Ex-Aid originally couldn't use it, the Gashat requiring his M personality³⁶

[Continued in Comments]

I'm hoping some of this information helps those that need it. Please note I am not a medical professional and this is just what I did :) .
We had been trying on and off for three years. 2022 we got serious and consulted a fertility clinic in October. Admittingly I was stubborn and delayed getting tested (men - just do it, its not that bad), but first results in November were the following:
Wife - no fertility issues/concerns from any of her tests
myself - 5'10, 280, 31 at the time.
Volume (5.1), Progession (2.5), Morphology (0%), Count 4.4 million/ML.
Clinic had no concerns with progression and morphology, even though that was 0%. Majority of "defects" were oval heads. Issue was counts. No changes made at this time but I did get bloodwork done. FSH at 3.6, LH at 3, and Testosterone at 239. All significantly low. For insurance to cover any kind of treatment I needed a second test done in 30 days. Second test came back at 290 testosterone in January. Insurance denied assistance because I needed two tests under 250. I opted to see urologist anyway. Urologist did another test and was at 242, prescribed TRT. After discussions with doctor I did in depth research (I have a master's and will research any topic) along with impact of testosterone and TRT. I took TRT for a month and honestly have never felt better in my life. After additional research into TRT and impact on fertility, I opted to ask for Clomid instead and was given 25 mg/day. I had zero real symptoms of low testosterone that I knew of other than difficulty with muscle. No libido issues etc.
I had second semen analysis done before starting the clomid as it had been three months. counts went down to 3.6 mil/ml. no other changes. Also had genetic tests done nothing came up.
Based on my research and discussions with various doctors I took the following (please consult your doctor if needed before starting):
- Clomid 25 mg/day - Please be aware of the side effects of this drug. I experienced moodiness, easily agitated/annoyed and started having some vision changes. Since getting off of it all have subsided within a month. I do see a therapist once a month for general health and so I'm usually aware of mood changes with the help of those sessions.
- Men's one a day multimitan
- 15 mg Zinc (don't underestimate zinc, it increases sperm counts on its own)
- 1,000 mg Vitamin B12
- 1,000 mg Omega 3 Fish Oil
- 1,000 mg Vitamin C
- 300 mg CoQ10 - (https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-coq10-300-mg.,-100-softgels.product.100029983.html)
- This - (https://www.costco.com/weider-prime-testosterone-support,-120-capsules.product.100232207.html)
(note - this is the most disgusting pill I've ever taken in my life. I stumbled across it at costco as I was looking for a good source of Ashwaganda.)
I did all of this from January until June. Some quick notes on it - I had to limit my Zinc because it was making me nauseous, took me while to figure out the cause and it ended up being zinc intake. The vitamin B12 intake is WAY in excess of what the body needs, so you will pee it out. Pee will be dark yellow/orange and smell, it was concerning at first until I found out it was just overkill on the b12 - stuck with it though. I had no real life style changes except the ATTEMPTS to eat better and exercise a little more. Walking on week nights and walking 9 holes of golf during week instead of cart. I lost no weight during any of this process, even on Clomid surprisingly. I did get tested for Testosterone in April (2 months later) and skyrocketed to 866. Clomid does cause water weight gain in my face and with the help of the testosterone sub-group I was able to just add potassium to my diet to help alleviate that. They do make pills to counter water retention but I never investigated. Clomid WILL fix any libido issues in majority of men, significant increase to sex drive and other aspects related to it happened for me. It may also be a factor I'm from the mid-west so the start of these tests were in winter and the success was in June, warm climate does have a beneficial impact on sperm parameters.
We met with one of the head doctors at fertility clinic first week of June regarding progress and what to do. She advised we had less than 2% chance success of IUI from everything she had seen and I asked if Clomid was going to make a difference because the price was going to go from 60 a month to 140 a month (its hard to get). She said she has never seen statistical increases to the level I would need to change her diagnosis from IVF so I was going to use my last dose of it and stop. We had everything set up to start IVF in August with implantation in September. They gave us 60% chance success rate for first round of IVF and would cost around $30k all said and done.
June ovulation cycle we decided to give it one last go and positive test on 4th of July.
I have not had a last semen analysis done since all my changes - but I am planning to start TRT injections and will be freezing some sperm samples, which they should run a count test on. Opting for injections to limit any risk of contact exposure on wife/baby from gel. I will most certainly update this thread once I have that done in about 2-3 weeks as that will be a true indicator of improvements.
I'm available for any questions and will respond as I can
edit: add 1,000 mg fish oil I forgot about

I just wanted to see how everyone felt about Season 5 so far. Feel free to discuss how you feel about the following additions to the game.
Reclaimed: honestly one of the better maps in the game in my opinion. Up there with Orbital, Exposure, and Spearpoint. I am a much bigger fan of Reclaimed than I was of Flashpoint. Solid like 8 or 9/10 map for me.
RPG7V2: I think DICE didn't doo the best with this. Only being able to start with 2 rockets feels really limiting and the increase in damage over the M5 just isn't enough to warrant using it, at least from what I have used. I really think 2 rpgs to the back of a tank plus an at grenade should kill it but it doesn't. Not super excited to use this when I play engineer. Lis+AT mines or C5 reigns supreme.
Mini Grenade: these serve their purpose but seem really inconsistent. They are very bouncy and I don't see much of a purpose to them.
AT grenade: fantastic idea. Does decent damage, but I have a bug where it bounces off of tanks maybe 10-15% of the time.
Spring Grenade: I don't really see the point of this one. It is a Frag with an extra delay and a way to avoid damage. Not something I think I'll use much.
XCE BAR: I was really let down by this. It is a decent CQC sniper but no short barrel makes it worse than the SWS at this role. I prefer the GOL for medium range and the DXR for long range. This weapon seems really boring to me and something that doesn't really add much to the game.
GEW 46: man I have changed my mind about this thing. I didn't like it at first but this thing hits pretty hard. I have been enjoying it. I like it about as much as something like the AM40. It's a fun gun though I wish there were more attachments.
BFP 50: Ooh yeah. This thing is fun. Again I would have liked a few more attachments if possible but it is really fun. Might be my new go to sidearm.
Squad rework: I barely noticed the changes since I already play with friends, but this is great for people who needed these changes.
Vault weapons getting 2042 attachments: overall good but man some of these weapons got very few attachments. I was hoping they would have as many as most of the AOW weapons but they almost all have less in every category. They feel more competitive but maybe not as much as they should be. A step in the right direction but they still need a little more help in my view.
Vehicle loadout rework: excellent change. Less spammy explosives from LATV4... now we just need them to change transport helps more.
Overall: This is a pretty mixed bag. We got a great map, 2 good guns, one sniper that is a let down but okay, 1 great new throwable, 2 let downs of grenades, and 1 okay launcher. Decent step forward with AOW attachments for some vault weapons. Good ideas with squad management and vehicle reworks.
This has been a decent season so far but is probably down there with Season 1 for me in terms of quantity of content. No new vehicles sucks even though I don't usually use vehicles too much. And to be honest the new grenade types don't feel more impactful as a new specialist.
Tldr: Map good, guns mixed, gadgets not very good, changes mixed but mostly good.

Hello my support group, I have been ‘resting’ from IVF Stims and medication since my last (3rd cycle) ER in mid November. Since January 2023, we’ve been tracking Basal temp, testing ovulation starting day 7 until my highest peak which is typically around the 14-16 day of cycle. This month, I decided to reach out to my IVF doc, they were able to prescribe me 50MG of clomid to take for 5 days. Side effects have been bad. I’ve taken Clomid previously with my cycle 2 and 3 so didn’t think it would be crazy without Stims. Anyhow, I’m on my day 14 today. Usually I see a blinking smiley but it was a circle. Does clomid delay ovulation or give longer ovulation days? I’m just confused and want to know how things worked for everyone else. What did you guys do to track your progesterone levels at home?
FYI: we are doing unmonitored clomid cycle. So no ultrasounds and blood work. I’m tired of the wand poking me since 2021 so I was okay with knowing my follicle count. Also nurse disclosed possibility and risk of multiples which honestly at this age (36) and circumstance it would be a blessing!

Hi! I'm 27 (cis lesbian) and currently TTC. I have had 4 unsuccessful at-home ICI cycles and have decided to move on to medicated IUI. I am working with a clinic and have had a couple of appointments with them. I do not love my clinic but they are affordable and in my area--and I cannot really travel monthly for IUI for who knows how long. I am lucky to have other clinics available if I do choose to switch.
I am trying to get a vial of sperm from the bank to the clinic, and at the last minute the clinic called and said, hey, sorry, but you need to get IUI-ready sperm, we can't wash ICI-ready sperm. I'd be willing to buy an IUI vial if the donor had one available, but he doesn't. So, the clinic gave me the choice: a) switch donors, or b) switch sperm banks (and therefore donors). However I have already had to switch donors once because of limited vial availability. I am not willing to sell back all 4 vials of sperm from this donor, I would lose about $1000 (which is more than I've spent with this clinic) and need to pick a donor I like less. I would also need to make the decision in the next 24 hours, and I feel that is not enough time to choose a donor. The clinic does not seem to see why this would be a problem for someone.
So, I declined to switch donors and stated I will just do home ICI this cycle again. I am already on Clomid so this will be a medicated cycle. I am frustrated because to my knowledge, there is no difference between washing thawed sperm and washing fresh sperm, which the clinic does every day (for straight couples....). I could be mistaken but it feels like the clinic is being difficult on purpose. I am considering trying to switch clinics, in part because I worry that if an IUI vial from my donor doesn't appear in the next 4 weeks, they may not agree to continue prescribing Clomid for subsequent cycles (should this one be unsuccessful). But going back to the drawing board will mean delays and additional costs for the consultation and initial appointments.
So, it is typical for clinics to be unable or unwilling to prepare ICI-ready sperm for IUI? Can I get a vibe check on this experience?