About 2.5 years ago I started to have really bad stomach issues. I noticed every time I ate dairy my stomach would hurt and when I would drink carbonation I would immediate hiccup after one sip and get extremely bloated. I went to my first GI doctor who said to cut out all dairy. That did help for a bit but then I started noticing reflux symptoms. It was constant every day. I call them my bubbles and I would feel it every day no matter what I ate or drank and there was never any relief. I could feel it literally come from my stomach up my esophagus and hit my throat but no burning whatsoever. I went back to the GI and they said to cut out dairy, carbonation, caffeine, and alcohol. During this appointment i believe is when I mentioned I’ve never burped before. It had always just been a fun fact I would tell people and no one would believe me growing up. That was dismissed. I was then put on omeprazole which really didn’t do anything and scheduled for an Upper Endoscopy. During that they found nothing but told me just to continue the omeprazole and when I said it wasn’t working I was told to go buy some Pepcid. I was livid so I immediately dropped that doctor and found another GI and started the whole process over again. I mentioned to this GI that I have never burped before but that was also just a fact that was glossed over. This GI seemed to think it was a sensory issue and put me on mirtazapine. Over the next two months of being on that I did semi notice a change in the very beginning of taking it but that progress stopped pretty quickly. Over two months I gained 20lbs on that medication and my mental health plummeted. I went back and was told basically to cold turkey the mirtazapine and start nortryptaline. I took a half dose for one night and I felt like I just got out of a swimming pool for two days. Extreme sweating. After that I wasn’t on anything and this just kept going downhill. I was extremely depressed and felt like there was no hope for figuring out what this was. I found a therapist and Phychiatrist to help regulate my mental health again after being put on and ripped off so many medications. I then decided to take things into my own hands. I had researched RCPD because I truly felt that described exactly what I was going through. I booked an appointment for an ENT and wrote the disorder down on my chart. The doctor came in and she was my lifesaver! She had never heard of the disorder and actually admitted she had to google it before coming in but she had already called another specialist and read him my chart and he told her to send me his way because he agreed with my diagnosis! Two days later I was in Dr. Bradley’s office and he ran through everything with me and started the process of getting me scheduled for the Botox procedure. Now I am 5 days post op and my life is completely changed! I started micro burping and a few big burps the day after the procedure! I no longer feel sick or bloated every day. I used to puke after one alcoholic drink and now I am trying to figure out what my tolerance actually is because I feel totally “normal” when drinking. I no longer have to air vomit every time I drink or even times I’m not drinking and the bubbles were bad to get relief. It has been crazy to realize this is what my body should actually feel like every day! I am so glad I took things into my own hands and got this done! I am already feeling like my old self before symptoms got bad! I can’t wait to continue to see the progress and get control over the burping but for now I’m just enjoying the feeling of relief and my friends have found it entertaining! No one could believe I’d never burped before and now that I am I have to find a new never have I ever fact haha!
I am also so glad I found this subreddit! Finding people who truly understand what I’ve been going through and relating to all these posts knowing I’m not alone has been so great!

Ok where to start….i am in recovery I’ll have 12 years June 2nd. I’m on Sublocade. I went three almost four years with symptoms before seeking a study. Finally diagnosed with ideopathic hypersomnia I was prescribed modafinil- gave me cramps, interfered with my birth control (been with my husband 11 years and have two kids-plus Skyla implant. I don’t really wanna have to use back up). Then she changed me to sunosi—helped a little bit more but not long. Added Ritalin 10mg instant release twice a day. She said we could adjust the dose as needed that it went all the way up to sixty. Weeks later I messaged reporting to her that it wasn’t quite lasting much longer than like two hours and I felt I needed a third dose. She added it. Then sports started- games and concerts lasting til nine at night that I then have to drive my kids home from. I was struggling these late nights. I expressed this to my doc. She then changed my Ritalin from 3x daily 10mg instant to 1x 20mg extended release and 1x 10mg instant. Again- I was only making it to like six at night. She then changed my instant release 10mg to extended. She stated I was already on a “pretty high dose” and did not want to increase. That 10mg extended literally did nothing. It’s like I’ve had no evening dose for the past month. I expressed concern I was struggling to drive home from work again. She scheduled an emergency appointment and changed my evening dose back to instant (said i should be able to fill it quickly) and wanted to add wakix-something I already expressed not wanting bc of the birth control interaction. But it was the only option she gave me so I took it. I also recently stopped my Sublocade shot to work towards xywav in the future bc my Sublocade works against it (both cns depressants). She changed my evening 10mg dose back to instant but told the pharmacy not to fill my med change until the extended release were gone. When I messaged her confused she said this was to avoid over taking medication 😑 ok….? Then I asked her to please just put me back on all instant release. I had more control over my symptoms with three doses- I could nap and have a dose to wake up after- if I had to drive mid day I could without worry. With this extended release it’s one dose instead of two so I have no options. If I nap I can’t wake up after and if I have training I can’t drive. I’m still falling asleep two hours after I take it it may last longer if I’m distracted and busy but the instant worked better at keeping me awake. Her response to this request was- it sounds like tolerance. I say we taper you off completely and see how just subosi and wakix does for you. Wait a minute- we were adding the wakix in hopes it got me thru In between the Ritalin doses. Now you’re taking the Ritalin doses and not replacing them with anything? Am I not supposed to feel judged here? Bc I feel likes he sees me as some kinda liability. How would I build a tolerance to 30 mg over like three months? I feel like she’s accusing me of over taking meds. One appointment I was upset and anxious about my symptoms and she said I was rambling- making me feel like she thought I was all hopped up on stimulants or something. Am I crazy? What is going on here I’m so confused and upset and frustrated. I felt like I was almost there on 3x 10mg instant and now she’s done nothing but take me backwards and fuck with other areas of my life! Now she wants to taper me off the stimulant completely!? Why!? Bc I asked for instant ? She already gave me instant why is that such a big deal? Ugh help me make sense of this….

Title might be too bold a claim, though from the experiences of some friends and my own of this last year and the next Fall, getting into CS classes since last year's strike has been brutal.
For the last year I’ve constantly told myself that it’ll get better, that we’ll get more sections and that in the meantime ill just finish out my gen eds. Welp, I can no longer ride that cope-hope train as after this Fall semester, I’ll have completed the SAS core with my highest level CS class taken being comp arch, and I highly doubt that ill be lucky enough to fill up my next semester with solely CS classes. (and although I enjoy CS, the idea of having a schedule of only CS classes sounds rather miserable and taxing)
And supposing I am lucky enough to have a full semester of CS? They're likely going to be classes that I'm taking solely for the credit, rather than classes I want to take and am interested in.
In an ideal world, I’d still be completing CS but after this last year with barely any advancement made to the major due to no available classes, I’m feeling a hell of a lot of pressure to switch out to something else like DS or ITI, but it seems like they're also having similar issues and I feel pretty insecure in what my future holds. Furthermore, seems like a lot of people dunk on both of them as “lesser majors chosen when one can't handle CS” and that if I do pursue either of them that ill have to compensate with a lot more personal projects to stand out…
Anyways, I would like to hear the thoughts of fellow CS majors. (or really anyone getting the RU screw from lack of classes) What exactly are y’all planning on doing? Sticking it through? Betting on first week class switches and/or course snipes? Looking for a new major? Am I a dumbass with a skill issue? I’d love to know!!

Share ko lang: After 6 months ng pagiging unemployed, sa wakas, natanggap na rin ako.
Ayoko maging cheesy pero parang feeling ko para sa akin talaga 'to? Lalagpas na yata sa 100 'yung pinagsamasamang job applications ko -- sa mga websites pati sa email. Sa iilang nag-respond sa akin, 'di pa yata bilang sa kamay 'yung umabot ng final interview.
Merong tumanggap, kaso nung nung job offer na, biglang postpone daw. Tapos hindi na ako binalikan. Ghosted.
Tapos nakita ko 'tong agency na to nung isang beses na nung nagba-browse ako. Nag-sign up, nag-schedule ng interview. Muntik pang 'di sumipot kasi alas dose ng madaling araw tapos nawawalan na ko ng pagasa. Sabi ko baka 'di lang din ako tanggapin. Kaso hindi ako makatulog nun kaya 4 minutes bago 'yung scheduled Zoom, naghanap ako ng damit na may kwelyo at nagbukas ng laptop. Bahala na. Pogi 'yung nag-interview, buti sumipot ako.
Ayun, after two days, nag-email si poging HR, gusto raw ako ma-meet ng client. 'Di pa rin ako kumpyansa kasi baka isa na naman 'to sa final interview pero reject.
Hanggang sa naka-third interview.
Hanggang sa nakatanggap ng "congratulations" sa email. Hanggang sa nakaka-isang buwan na ngayon.
5 USD/hour lang at puyat, pero okay na okay na kumpara sa corporate work ko dati na 'di hamak na mas hectic at nakakawalang dignidad for some reason.
Feel ko para sa akin talaga to? Kasi sa tagal ng sinubok ko, lagi mang rejected, pero ngayon napunta ako sa mabait na boss at medyo okay na sahod. Ayun. Wala namang moral lesson 'yung kwento ko. Share ko lang.

Hi Sema friends! I have a friend who's vial says: - 25mg/2.5ml 5mL - Inject 30 units (0.3ml) weekly - She's been injecting 20 units (0.2ml)
She's not clear on how these correlate to the regular Ozempic/Wegovy dosages and hasn't had much loss, so I am asking for the experts' help.
(I'm not on compounded meds and am horrible at math)
I did find this to share with her. But I'm not sure where her current dosage falls in this schedule:
Typical Ozempic dosing schedule: - Month 1: 0.25 mg injected once weekly for 4 weeks - Month 2: 0.5 mg injected once weekly for 4 weeks - Month 3: 1 mg injected once weekly for 4 weeks ( - Month 4 and beyond: 2 mg injected once weekly (optional)
Any assistance would be appreciated!

Tips Studying Math for the NAPLEX
Whether math is your strength or not, the key to preparing for NAPLEX math is PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! Here are 10 tips to help you as you prepare;

1. Take a diagnostic test- If you use UWorld RxPrep you can build a 30 questions diagnostic test which will give you exposure to multiple areas. Do this “cold turkey” without assistance to get a true feel of where you are at.
   
2. Identify your weaknesses: using the diagnostic test, identify your areas of weakness. Be honest with yourself, it will benefit in the long run.
   
3. Work on your weak areas: Make a plan to work on your weak areas doing about 30-45 minutes of math everyday. It doesn’t have to be a lot of questions, just practice often enough to reinforce the concepts.
   
4. Work on mastering the basics: Pharmacy math is largely ratios, setting up proportions, understanding fractions, percentages and dose conversions. Sometimes you may have to go outside of your NAPLEX prep resource books to review these concepts. Khan academy is a good place to review concepts such as ratios, proportions and unit conversions.
   
5. Clinical Formulas: You need to know how to use these formulas since they are pretty standard. Formulas such as BSA, BMI, Cockcroft-Gault, corrected calcium etc are vital for you to practice regularly. The recommendation is to practice them often enough that they become second nature, simply memorizing a formula without practicing its use is usually not effective. Practice once again is key.
   
6. Test Regularly: In addition to daily practice, at least once weekly you should do mixed calculations problems unassisted so that you can assess how diverse your abilities are and to gauge your improvement over the week. It is like doing a weekly assessment to make plans for next areas on which you need to focus. A test with 20-25 questions should suffice.
   
7. Group study: if possible, find a study partner(s) and schedule sessions wherein you will do a group of questions. Work questions individually and then compare answers and methods. Sometimes others have methods that might be more useful for your learning style.
   
8. TPN calculations: this is a pain point for many test takers. It is key to know the enteral vs enteral of the macro nutrients that a patient will get per gram or eg protein, dextrose etc. Practice questions that require you to convert from kcal to grams and vice versa. Knowing the amount of kcal/ ml in Intralipid 10%, 20% and 30% is also important.
   
9. Flow rates: this concept shows up in multiple areas esp for fluid replacement, vasopresor, TPN etc. This area requires you to practice and master concentrations and unit conversions, therefore master those concepts before moving to this concept. This is a commonly tested areas so ensure you know your way around these questions through continuous practice.
   
10. Practice your reading skills: this might sound intuitive but many lose points because they do not practice reading intentionally and meticulously. Many test takers who are otherwise good at math do poorly on the NAPLEX math because they do not read questions carefully. The exam is intentional about instructions for rounding and units because such mistakes can be debilitating or fatal in actual practice. So while you practice pay attention to what units or rounding instructions are given before your submit your answers. The more you practice this, the better you will be at it under exam conditions. Use the HIGHLIGHT feature on the exam to guide you.
    

Bonus: Do not be afraid to ask for, or seek help. Sometimes it might be a friend other times it’s employing a tutor. Whatever you need to do, just be honest with yourself. You only need to pass this exam once, so give yourself the best chance to do so. Be kind to yourself! All the best with your exam prep! Advice provided by @naplex_prep

I have been doing my injections on Thursday, which works very well for me. This past Thursday my daughter came in from out of town to celebrate my birthday with me. With the activity to get ready for her visit & all of the excitement I forgot to do it until Saturday. The thing is I really want to stay on my Thursday routine. It’s my last 2.5mg injection before I move up to 5mg. Since it’s such a low dose I wouldn’t think it would be a problem. What do some of the more experienced users think?
Edited to clarify:
The dose was due on Thursday, May 23. I took it on Saturday, May 25. My usual Thursday dose would be Thursday, May 30. So if I take it Thursday I’ll be taking the next dose a couple days early to return to my usual schedule.

Hey everyone my wife (32) and I (44) found out today that our little boy has an NT thickness of 3.6mm and apparently absent nose bone.
A lot to take in. I know those are two soft markers for DS etc. we aren’t going to terminate if it is DS. We are scheduled for the cell free blood work tomorrow. It’s going to be a long 7 days.
Otherwise he looks super healthy.

Hello, how are you guys going about ordering refills? Does your physician move you onto the next dose if your refill is in between appointments? My 4th shot is this Sunday, but i don’t think my doctor will move me up to the .5 until after my appt which is on 06/14. Should I just request a refill for the first dosage just so I don’t have a break in between? My appointment schedule is kind of funky and doesn’t line up with my wegovy fills because the doctor had me on phentermine for a bit, we didn’t think I’d find wegovy so quickly!

My Psychiatrist recently prescribed me guanfacine because I'm not currently working or going to school... She said it's hard to find a baseline to see how it actually works since I don't have a set schedule? Although I wasn't in school or workimg when she prescribed it to me this January.
This psychiatrist office has always been kind of shady so I don't know if this is a weird thing or just how doctors work? I have been taking 10mg extended release ritalin and a 5mg immediate booster for the afternoon, and I felt nothing... I've been having more restless nights and I told the nurse practitioner at my psychiatrist office and they suggested I drink more water because it'll help me sleep??
I've been going to my PCP and they've tried two other meds to help me feel less restless... Neither have worked so I had to switch to a over the counter sleep aid. I even did blood work and they found nothing wrong......
Is this normal for my psychiatrist to prescribe me guanfancine now? I mean I'm more confused why I even took ritalin because I was home most of the time even when she prescribed it to me... And what does having a job have to do with taking ritalin...?
I've been prescribed many psych meds, muscle relaxers, and other medications when I was seeing my previous psychiatrist. For awhile I was taking almost 9 pills a night that were extremely high doses prescribed to me, so now I'm weary of Doctors just trying to give me a pill that will supposedly help me. I've eventually worked with my PCP to whittle down to one pill in the morning and two different pills at night...
I really would appreciate any advice or help !!!!! :(

I just got scheduled for my us immigrant visa interview. The DS-260 that was filed had my previoud passport number of different nationality. I became Canadian citizen couple weeks ago and have just recieved my Canadian passport. I am unable to get in contact with the us embassy as its email only( havent gotten reponse) I have also uploaded the new passport as an additional document at ceac. Will there be any issue at visa appointment? Also, which passport would be needed at my medical appointment ? Thanks

Apologies if already discussed somewhere, but couldn’t find anything - nothing new atleast. I am prescribed 20mg methylphenidate 2x daily. I end up breaking it into 4s = 10mg 4x daily. Any advice for how to “intensify” the last dose? I’ve experimented with 500mg of l tyrosine at 2-3pm, but doesn’t seem to do much for me and says not to take at night. I try to work until about 630/7pm. NOTE: I wake up at 6am to workout before work. This can be as simple as it’s been a long day and i’m tired.
But wondering if anyone else is on the schedule and has found something to help? Drink more water intensify late dose? Eat more food around 2pm intensify the dose? I’ll keep trying and share whatever I find as well. Thanks

Has anyone received a scheduled c-section during the 37th weeks? I’m 34+2 today. Current plan is to do it in the 38th weeks. But my sugars are becoming darn near impossible to control and I’m exhausted. I’m tempted to ask my OB if we could do it sooner than planned, but I’m on the fence. Any recommendations based on your experiences? Thanks in advance!
ETA some context: I’m on 2000 mg metformin ER twice a day as 1000 mg doses. Hardly making a difference anymore. My fastings are 130-140s. For postprandial, if I eat almost no carbs (less than 10 grams or so) my numbers will be in the 105-125 range, if I eat mild amount of carbs (10-20 g) they’ll be in the 130-150 range, and if I eat a medium amount of carbs (20-30 g) they’ll be in the 160-180 range. I’ve been referred to an endo but they’re having trouble fitting me in so I haven’t started insulin or anything yet. Feeling so stuck.

I've been told it's ideal to wait 6 months to have surgery after a standard course of Accutane.
What is the guideline for major elective surgery in the context of a low-dose maintenance regime?
41F here, I need to schedule a major gynecological surgery. I'm on my last month of a standard course of Accutane and have not yet started a low-dose maintenance regime.
Is my best course of action: finish my standard course, wait 6 months, have surgery, wait N amount of time and then start the low-dose?
Thank you!
edit: I'm editing to add context. I was told by my dermatologist to wait 6 months but my surgeon said I could pause accutane for 2 weeks and resume 2 weeks later. The huge difference in opinion in 2 board certified MDs is partly why I'm confused and asking for more opinions.

Session 0: https://www.reddit.com/DeltaGreenRPG/comments/1d0l92x/impossible_landscapes_session_0/
(Okay, these will be long. Five players, lmao. Hadn't quite accounted for that)
Operation ALICE, New York, 1995
The Roster (Player/Character)
Lea (she/her): Jules Gradkowska - Agent MIRANDA. Journalist - research and human intelligence.
Iain (he/him): Ralph Bevis - Agent MILHOUSE. Academic - history and occult specialist.
Quinn (he/him): Richard Delapore - Agent MAVERICK. FBI Special Agent - criminal and forensic expert and the official 'face' of the investigation.
Phil (he/him): Jean Duvall - Agent MAIN. US Navy Master Chief Petty Officer - operational security specialist.
Duncan (he/him): Jake Little - Agent MALATESTA. Civilian contractor - computer and electronic specialist with a side line in hacking.
Rob_sothoth (he/him) - Handler. The arbiter of the world: the good, the bad and that which cannot and should not be named.
Background: The Agents of M-Cell are tasked with investigating the apartment of Abigail Wright. Missing since June, Delta Green has reason to suspect para-natural involvement. Their orders are simple: catalogue the apartment and remove anything deemed suspect for destruction.
Despite heavy changes made, full spoiler warning for Impossible Landscapes.

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Session 1 "The Apartment" (May 24th, 2024)
New York: Tuesday, August 8th, 1995
1:45pm - 3:32pm, EST
Entering the lobby of the Macallistar building in Kips Bay, NYC, the Agents first make a sweep of Abigail's mailbox. Agent MARCUS (M-Cell Case Officer) provided them with a complete set of keys, not to be copied. The mailbox is stuffed full with bills, junk mail, catalogues and offers; mail still being delivered by people who have no idea Abigail is missing. MAVERICK gathers it in a bag and they make their way to Abigail's apartment (Ground floor).
The Macallistar echoes an earlier age. Faded purple carpeting and design from the turn of the century. Opposite Abigail's front door is an old-fashioned telephone nook, complete with bench and curtain for comfort and privacy when phone-lines in individual apartment was an expense few could afford.
M-Cell enters the apartment, finding it somewhere between a hoarder's dream and crime-scene technician's nightmare. The small hallway leads to a living-room (the apartment's largest space), an adjoining bedroom and a kitchen and bathroom opposite each other. Aside from the hallway, on first inspection the only other uncluttered space is the kitchen, which doesn't really look as if it's been used much. MAVERICK ear-marks that as something he wants to check himself as the team begin taking stock.
The NYPD has left a box with copies of their files, including a list of tenants they interviewed, many, many evidence collection bags and a box of latex gloves.
The apartment is filled with various items, with almost no floor visible beneath the collection. CDs and CD cases are stuck or glued to the wall, along with mannequin parts, sketches and assorted pieces that might be ceramic or plastic arranged in odd patterns without reason or rhyme. Stacks of phone books, stretches of dyed fabrics stitched together, an antique claw-footed lamp. Bags, bundles of pictures (drawings and photographs) of seeming nonsense. No furniture is immediately visible in the chaotic mess.
MAIN finds the same result in the bedroom as the first Search rolls are called for. Something catches his eye in the anarchy of the bedroom.
MALATESTA begins sorting through the pile of mail. MILHOUSE at first begins helping, but seeing the scale of the cataloguing, volunteers to make a coffee and food run. MIRANDA begins photographing, while MAVERICK gloves up and asks for things to be passed to him such as brushes, anything with a handle really or something more likely to have fingerprints on it. He wants to see if he can grab a set of Abigail's prints, if that's possible.
It doesn't take MALATESTA long to work out Abigail stopped paying her rent and bills in or around March before disappearing in June. Money was coming in up to a certain point, apparently from a showing Abigail had at the Mercury Gallery in Greenwich Village in November the previous year. There's even a letter from the gallery owner asking about another possible showing; from the way it's written, it might not have been the first time he spoke to Abigail before she vanished. Then, the only money coming in appears to be from her father, though she doesn't appear to have used it to cover the rent. He also gets the building management company, Art Life and their address.
As the Agents work, with MAIN carefully picking his way through the bedroom towards whatever caught his eye and MAVERICK uncovers a battery-powered hi-fi under all the trash, MILHOUSE returns from his coffee run and bumps into someone else entering the Macallistar at the same time he is. After an awkward hesitation on the threshold, MILHOUSE spends a little chatting to Lewis Post, one of Abigail's neighbours. MILHOUSE passes a HUMINT roll and I ruled that having spent most of his time in academics and his fellow PhDs, he can spot signs of some kind of social anxiety. I felt that was a fair get for a good success.
Lewis is hesitant but forthcoming as MILHOUSE works that high charisma score, knowing what to say to diffuse any potential tension. As far as Lewis knows, he is FBI of some kind after all.
MILHOUSE: "Did she ever mention a boyfriend? Girlfriend?"
Lewis: "Our relationship wasn't really like that. We had coffee sometimes. Talked about art. The process." He thinks. "She might have mentioned someone, but not a name, only what they did. A salesman, but I couldn't tell you what they sold."
MILHOUSE: "Talk about anything else?"
Lewis begins heading upstairs "She mentioned moving, but not before she was ready."
Back in the apartment, MAIN voices what others were thinking. "Where was she staying?" No bed, no signs of habitation except for the assorted hoard of crap. MAIN finds a hand grenade nestled in some papers and art supplies near the bedroom's walk-in closet.
In the living room, MAVERICK finds a single cassette tape in the uncovered hi-fi and flips it on, finding the batteries still live. Everyone hears MAVERICK's conversation with his significant other, Natalie from the previous evening. MAVERICK realises it's cut up and out of order, rewinds it and then flips it over. He thinks the entire conversation has been split between A & B sides of the tape.
MALATESTA and MAVERICK both consider phone-tapping, but MAIN, grenade temporarily forgotten, asks how it ended up here?
SAN check for MAVERICK. Pocketing the cassette tape, MAVERICK closes down a bit and prepares to go over the kitchen with a fine tooth comb; perhaps this is how he copes?
Before MAIN can mention the grenade he's worried about, MIRANDA, MALATESTA, MILHOUSE & MAVERICK notice something on the wall behind where the hi-fi was previously buried under junk. Fixed to the wall, maybe with some kind of glue is a piece of brown packing-paper with some kind of symbol drawn on it. Everyone focuses on it.

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3:41pm to 5:22pm, EST
MALATESTA: "That certainly looks like what we're supposed to be worried about."
MIRANDA snaps a polaroid. MILHOUSE tries to examine it, but his Occult check can only give him the vague thought it's connected to demonology, but little else beyond that. MAVERICK is cautious, but more concerned about getting to work on the unusually spotless kitchen.
Carefully, MIRANDA removes it and a blaring sounds like something between a horn blast and explosion almost deafens the Agents. It seems to come from everywhere and nowhere, from right next to them and outside at the same time.
Everyone passes a CONx5 check and the subsequent SAN check. Through the living room's window, MIRANDA, MILHOUSE and MAIN see a yellow-cab in the street outside. The cabbie appears to have leaned on the horn as someone crosses the street. They appear heavily dressed for summer, possibly homeless.
Is that a snake draped across their shoulders?
MIRANDA takes a polaroid while MILHOUSE and MAIN head outside to investigate. The picture reveals in sharp clarity, the cabbie staring down the barrel as she snapped the shot directly at her. MAVERICK gets to work in the kitchen and MALATESTA picks over things in the living room and bedroom respectively.
Search rolls for those in the apartment.
Outside, the cab has turned the corner and the pedestrian has carried on, though MAIN and MILHOUSE are able to work out where they went. MILHOUSE heads to cut off the other side of the alley, while MAIN approaches from behind, getting the pedestrian's attention. It's the height of summer in NYC, the air reeks of gasoline, rotting garbage and baking, soiled concrete and asphalt.
MAIN finds a nondescript, seemingly homeless man by the state of his clothes, but with a python draped over his shoulders. MAIN strikes up conversation, lighting a Gitane cigarette and pointing to the snake. From the other end of the alley, MILHOUSE makes his way towards the pair.
MAIN fails an alertness check.
Is this guy sweating? It's hot and he's bundled up like it's winter. Is he sweating? Why isn't he sweating?
Back in the apartment, MAVERICK tests the kitchen for blood and body fluids, breaking out the spray bottle and UV light. There's no cutlery, glassware or dishware anywhere in the room, but as he's lifting what could be a print, finds a mechanical diagram drawn on a napkin taped above the inside of an otherwise empty drawer. MALATESTA & MIRANDA continue their search of the living and bedroom, with MALATESTA finding a card printed with the following:
"For a good time Call D - 999-202-9989"
On the reverse are a series of what appear to be street corner addresses in Brooklyn. Could be a sex-line, could be a way to see Red Band underground film screenings, could be something online related. MALATESTA drifts between a few circles and he pockets it out of curiosity. When MIRANDA locates the grenade in the bedroom, she is careful to give it a wide berth and locates what MAIN missed: a backpack radio in the bedroom's walk-in closet. She calls MALATESTA over.
Back in the alleyway, MILHOUSE rolls under 10% and passes his disguise check. Dressed casually and a college athlete to boot, he fits the general chad look in his New York Knicks shirt despite his academic leanings. Being loud and obnoxious like he's drunk, he barrels into the homeless guy with the snake who stonewalled MAIN.
Instead he hits MAIN as the man with the snake is there and gone in the space between blinks. One moment MAIN is looking at him and then MILHOUSE knocks him flat on his ass. Like a film edit. Just gone. MAIN crit fails his SAN check and takes 4 SAN loss without projecting. Instead, as he scrambles up begins kicking over trash cans and searching the alley while MILHOUSE tries to calm him down and get a handle on things.
As MILHOUSE is talking MAIN out of tearing the alley apart, MIRANDA and MALATESTA check out the radio. As it comes to life, they listen and hear the following:
"Exeter. India. One. Thirteen. Sierra. Twenty. Twenty. Forty-nine."
MAVERICK meanwhile, finding the kitchen bare oddly finds the refrigerator stocked. There isn't much inside, some milk unopened and a pack of cheese and deli meat. Expiration is months ago, but through the plastic and glass of the bottle it looks fresh. Curious, he opens the milk and finds it smells as fresh as the day it was bought. Months ago.
Passes his SAN check. Given what he heard on the tape, it's not the strangest thing today.
MAIN and MILHOUSE detour to grab some more coffees, more to calm MAIN down and give him a (successful CHAx5 check) to flirt with the coffeeshop waitress. On their return, MAIN heads into the bedroom, pulls the pin on the grenade and activates the firing lever.
Nothing happens. His "hunch" was correct. Despite failing to properly identify it, something about the shape of it didn't match modern ordnance. Like the radio, it's vintage and either deactivated or else rendered inert by time and age.
I gave MAIN a SAN point back, because why not?
As things begin winding down, MILHOUSE and MAVERICK puzzle over the weird fridge, with MILHOUSE sacrificing his green tea and MAVERICK a donut to see how "fresh" they are come morning between the fridge and not.

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After 6pm, EST
Between them, M-Cell take the rest of the evening to take care of home-scenes or any unfinished business they can get done with their resources at hand. They also divide the Operational evidence from the Case evidence, with MIRANDA taking the symbol, MALATESTA the backpack radio & phone number, MAVERICK the cassette tape (for obvious reasons) and MAIN the mechanical sketch on the napkin.
MIRANDA and MILHOUSE, using the former's academic credentials both stay on the case, with MIRANDA leaving her photos from the park to develop in her bathroom. While she fails her roll, she does help MILHOUSE identify the demon the symbol refers to and book-related lead. She hits up a criminal contact named Hugo to put out feelers for weird items she may be interested in. He agrees for a fee, which she negotiates in her favour.
Returning to her apartment, MIRANDA finds her photos of the dancing clown and watching crowd have developed. In every photograph, the clown is turned away from her, but the faces in the crowd are looking at her. That's not how she remembers it. Fails a SAN check. Projects on to her editor, knowing she's going to be taking a "personal day" tomorrow, and this after she agreed to go to the grill.
This will have consequences.
MAIN, unnerved by the day's events, not the least of which was being knocked on his ass by a fitter, younger man, heads out. He returns to the coffeeshop he and MILHOUSE visited and takes the waitress he hit on out on a date. After a romantic interlude, MAIN has a new bond. Her name's Marsha, she's 27 and very nice.
Breaking Operational Security, MAVERICK asks MALATESTA to come back to his apartment and check for possible surveillance. Despite suffering comparatively little SAN loss overall, MAVERICK is letting the day's events impact his behaviour.
It's trivially easy for MALATESTA to confirm there are no bugs in place, which really does narrow the options for how the conversation could have been recorded. Thankful, he asks MALATESTA to keep this to himself for now, to which the grunge-kid agrees. MAVERICK drops MALATESTA near his home and leaves, putting the tape in the player of his car as he pulls away.
MALATESTA lives near the Village and diverts to check out the Mercury Gallery. Though closed, it seems legit and he makes a note of it for later. Back at home, he breaks open the backpack radio and examines it. The battery is not connected to the radio itself, the wires having been stripped out, yet he and MIRANDA both heard a voice on the end of its phone-mic. He passes his SAN check and finds in place of one of the transistors a small, black stone which does not feel like stone at all and feels like it's body temperature. MALATESTA leaves it on his desk, covered in a cloth.
Alone in his apartment, MAVERICK watches his phone. The time comes and he does not call Natalie. A moment later, his phone rings.
Alone in the apartment, MAVERICK does not answer.

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Post-Mortem
We ended up playing for a touch longer than I intended, but I knew that would happen by the time the cab sounded its horn. Despite some tiredness and some drinking, we ended up with a really strong session in retrospect, which has set the overall tone of the campaign for me as GM going forward. Between the five players, two have been through one Delta Green campaign, one has experience with Pulp Cthulhu and two have varying levels of exposure. They all roleplayed the f##k out of their characters and while I was worried about just how weird I wanted things to get out the gate, it feels like the balance is correct and I've given enough avenues for further investigation they may want to pursue.
I got a far better sense, as did the players, as to what drives and motivates their characters and how they cope or don't cope with Delta Green work.
MILHOUSE is definitely setting himself up as the curious academic, Iain playing his interest as forever drawn towards what's there "to discover," he said in character. Perhaps a fool and his sanity are easily parted?
MAVERICK is the "all-American", Agent Cooper adjacent FBI Agent who butts up against the para-natural and is seemingly rocked by it, revealing a complicated and perhaps conflicted depth. In his previous operation with MIRANDA, MAVERICK killed one person, but something about this has gotten under his skin. I wonder what Natalie thinks about their missed call?
A hacker by trade, MALATESTA likes a puzzle as much as he does not like the "weird shit." He talks a good talk when it's about something he knows, but is much too shy to chat up his co-worker. He and MAVERICK had some friction in Session 0 when MAVERICK wanted to call him Mal, to which the younger man pushed back against. Yet, he now knows where MAVERICK lives. Maybe he can learn more? What will he do with that? Does he even want to?
As much as MILHOUSE, MIRANDA is likewise driven by curiosity and a need to know, but first and foremost to keep herself safe. She and him are not the same. There's a scar above her hip from a knife, and it still twinges from time to time. She's also the first to directly or indirectly involve a Bond in the investigation. I wonder what Hugo will or won't find? I wonder what those photos mean. MIRANDA wondered aloud whether the crowd or the clown was the "entity." What does that mean?
Despite being built like Jack Reacher (albeit in a sailor suit), MAIN projects a tough air but is clearly a man at the crossroads. He turns 40 before 1995 ends; middle age. When hit with a problem or something he can't otherwise work out, his behaviour swings from one extreme to the other. To date, he's coped with the case by: lashing out at trash cans in an alley. Chatting up a waitress and forming a romantic bond with her. Pulling the pin on a grenade he "thought" could be fake. It's day one. I'm here for it.
Our next session is scheduled for June 7th, 2024.
Until then, be seeing you.

I am building a really nice base tan right now and pretty happy with my results. I have been doing 100mcg and just laying out by the pool every day or two, no real schedule for the last week. The last 2 doses I went to to 200mcg but I'm pretty happy at how it's coming along and don't see a reason to increase further?
Will my tan darken further at this low dose over time or would I need to increase dosage to see a dark tan (don't think I want that just want to keep a glow)?

I'm on 200mg Test C and 750iu HCG a week, both of which split in 3 injections. (M-W-F test, Tue-Thu-Sat HCG)
Without AI my e2 was in the low 80s, I felt puffy from the water weight and mostly scared of the other side effects like gyno occurring.
So I started taking 0.25mg Anastrozole per week. Because the half life is short I basically take a small bite of the quarter pill after the test injection so I'm basically taking ~0.08, 3 times a week with the hope it keeps it steady and avoids any acne from the fluctuations.
I followed this protocol for about 2 months and I got some bloodwork recently and my e2 was 9 pg/ml from the 80s before I started the AI. This stuff is really powerful.
Before you comment "lower your dose" I'm doing this for gym performance since I like to train powerlifting and it is helping me keep my strength during my current weight cut. I don't care about TRT only, I know it's over the "healthy" range or else I would have posted this in /trt so don't give that advice please.
So what are some other options of lowering e2?
I don't want to try Aromasin as I'm scared if I crash it again then it will take a long time to go up as opposed to Anastrozole which has a shorter half life.
I've heard people mention DIM, anyone experience that?
I could just go by feel and take 0.25 Anastrozole only when I feel high e2 symptoms instead of following a schedule but that seems to go against it's non-suicidal nature.
I suspect the problem is that Anastrozole dose and e2 reductions aren't linear. Like say 1 mg adex lowers e2 by x, 0.25 adex won't lower it by x/4 like you might think but actually higher, although I can't confirm this. Or I might just be a hyper responder to Anastrozole.
At least now I know what being on both sides of e2 (80> and <10) feels like.
For anyone curious about the symptoms.
High e2: you feel bloated/fluffy from the water weight. Your sock marks when you remove them are deeper and take longer to disappear. When I made a fist it felt weird like my fingers were bigger due to the water retention. Can't say about BP as I have no monitor but I assume it was higher. Also scared about gyno really.
Low e2: a lot less libido and boner isn't as powerful. your joints start hurting randomly. Random anxiety and depression at times.

Day 3 is a little rough, guys! Lol I decided to start on Sunday. My dosing schedule just has me taking 1 bupropion and 1/2 a naltrexone every other day. Day 1 was fine. Didn’t feel much, maybe slightly light headed. Day 2 started out fine until I had 1/2 of a vodka soda (prob should have waited until after Memorial Day to start). I forgot about the medication when I accepted the drink. I ended up giving the rest to my mom because I felt it right away. I felt super weird after that. Like almost high I guess? I was having a hard time concentrating. Maybe that is the brain fog people are referring to. Day 3 has started out sort of like how day 2 ended, which I didn’t really expect since I thought it was connected to the alcohol yesterday. After 3-4 hours of light headedness, a little nausea, and brain fog, I think I’m starting to feel better. Very strange experience lol the fact that I’m supposed to increase my dose every week for 5 weeks is a little scary. Did your symptoms subside after the first week? How did your body react to increasing your doses? Also, I asked the doc if any of these meds will lower the effectiveness of my birth control and she said there is a “low risk” with the bupropion, which i didn’t love but hopefully that won’t be a problem. Want to stick to it but need to see a light at the end of this weird side effect tunnel.

I am supposed to start my dose dense AC chemo as soon as possible, but my port isn’t scheduled to be put in until Tuesday June 4 (was rescheduled from today)
AC infusions will be every other week for 4 infusions and then 12 weekly taxol infusions. I have a toddler in daycare, so ideally I’d like to have my worst days fall on days he’s at daycare. Hopefully, I’ll be feeling okay most of the time he’s home on weekends. What do you recommend?
My oncologist said usually days 2-5 are the worst so… infusion Monday and feel bad Wednesday-Saturday? Infusion Friday and hope the worst symptoms don’t hit until Monday?

General question for those on Ritalin etc
Do you find
1) it can be inconsistent. One day perfect and another just weird and uncomfortable. (Target lock days). 2) the “after glow” is better than the meds. I’ve noticed this. I’m on an “as needed “ schedule so not every day. But I find a day or so after my last dose I’m at my best (better than before the meds)
I’m on 30mg modified release and x2 IR as boosters. I find the IR much better so I try to make do with those (will be talking to doc about this at next appointment). But I’m finding some days it’s perfect. I’m happy, confident, focused all the good stuff. Other days I go into a target lock. The world outside the thing I’m looking at disappears. More often than not I find a day or so after my last dose I’m at my best. Then the symptoms creep back again. Unfortunately this is the only med option where I am. So in trying to work out A) is it just me. B) is it worth continuing and C) do I even have adhd or are my issues tism executive function related (in which case I may well be fupped).