Hi Guys,
Will try not to bore you. I was wondering if anyone has similar symptoms or if their progression sounds like mine.
So last year September, I woke up to this aching feeling when carrying my handbag on my right hand. Within a week, the whole hand was affected. I had pain lifting anything and I started using ibrupofen everyday to control the pain. It was that bad.
That same month, I noticed my vision became very blurry. I started having this shaky and tremor in my legs with slight cramps.
Somehow, my right leg was twitching uncontrollably too. I had shortness of breath when lying down (this has been on and off) with really bad fatigue. I was always tired.
September - Weak shoulder and arm, Painful hands
By October, noticed twitching in my neck and difficulty swallowing. Like I had to push the food down to swallow it properly. This time, I also noticed some cramps in my left fingers and hands. This continued on slowly. I still had strength.
October- Weak Left arm, swallowing issues.
November: I started twitching in my tongue. My tongue dances around. Soon, I would get mouth aches after talking for over an hour and my head felt weak, my neck could not hold itself up and would fall. I was using braces in my hands, legs and neck. This time, they did an EMG on all four limbs which came back clean. This was exactly two months since the symptoms started. I had a clean ANA profile as well.
November - Tongue twitching,neck collapse.
December - Nothing new, the symptoms just got worse. So, I decided to take a blood test. All came back ok except my iron which was extremely low and high copper.
So, I started supplementing iron. This somehow would stop the tongue dancing around for like an hour and soon it would return. This was too much to bear. So, I did the below treatments
Treatments
Feroglobin - 1 tsb per day Glu Scavenger - 1 Folic Acid - 1 Glutathione - 1 Vitamin E - 1 Vitamin D - 1 Ashwaghanda Lions Mane Lserine- 2x a day I also did a phospholipid exchange
Alas, the day I started Tudca mixed with fulvic and humic acid (omnyne on Amazon) , my life changed forever. My symptoms went down by over 90%. No longer had tongue twitching or facial weakness, I could not even notice the weakness. The pain almost went.
I have been on Tudca ever since. Realised the fulvic acid is what makes the Tudca effective so I bought Fulvic Acid separately and this was a game changer. Barely noticed any weakness. It helps with the pain and cramps too and I almost go by everyday without any pain or issues.
however, after a week of stress (I baked a lot and had a lot of guests so I had to be on my feet for close to 10 hours a day) I noticed my left leg has not become weak. The whole thing is all over my body now from head to toe. I am now experiencing similar symptoms as I did in Septembe October only this time, Tudca and acids are keeping it at bay and it did not get so bad like I had in September with my right side.
Problem is my next neuron appointment is in October and quite frankly w/o the Tudca, I think I would be in a much worse state by now. My legs are slowly better and my grip strength sometimes gets so bad but once I supplement with feroglobin, I get better.
I have asked every single person they seem not to even think this relates to the three big words or MS. MRI clean too.
Please help me.

Long story short , was diagnosed with extremely high E2 levels at 16Y wich caused me not to develop enough male features during puberty I am 26y now .
My E2 back then was 58pg while T never was above 280ng . I was officially diagnosed with estrogen dominance, had a gyno surgery 2years ago too and doc put me on Aromasin mono-therapy wich did not work for me at ALL , it made my E2 spike even more higher with slightly improved Testosterone levels .... I was still estrogen dominant .
Finally, I was put on TRT 200mg a week though that I found the solution finally but it was really just the beginning of big troubles for me . 11 weeks into TRT my E2 was that of a women on HER PERIODE . I could not move past bed and the smallest tasks feels like climbing everest mountain I would get up to cook my dinner while crying because of how overwhelmed I felt , physically I was severely bloated, increased body fat despite eating clean and managing to workout at least twice a week ( I have no energy whatsoever .... ) , I also developed some female features gyno is one wich I had to do a surgery to remove , fat distribution ( hips , tights ) , puffy rounded face and my voice is that of a 14y kid ...
All this while Testosterone barely raised slightly last blood-work shows E2 levels of 146pg while T was up to 485ng on 200mg TRT a week .
Why in the hell my body converts all of my testosterone into estrogen ?? I guess it has something to do with my genes ...
Doc suggested treating my E2 aggressively with Arimidex

First of all, sorry for my broken English. Not my native language. Please point out if something isn't clear!
TL;DR we’re rushing things and don’t know how to slow down
It's a nice story tbh. We met 10 years ago, we were in the same friend group. He had a big crush on me but I was a crazy ass 19 y.o. who didn't really care about boys, also I was planning to move to another city (500 km away) - and I did. So in the past 10 years we lost contact, albeit being friends on social media and stuff, and sometimes we would casually meet on nights out with our friends when I came home to visit.
While I was making the rounds of Southern Europe, he started a relationship that lasted approx. 7 years. They were living together and stuff. She's a nice girl, I remember meeting her a couple of times, but she's got a lot of "social" issues that made living together very hard for the both of them. She was in constant need of his presence, and for the last 1.5 year of their relationship he felt more like a father to her than a boyfriend (PLEASE NOTE I have nothing against her and I dont want to make her look bad because SHE'S NOT. If this info wasn't important for the story I wouldn't have shared that). He left her in December 2023, the main reason being that he wanted the relationship to "grow up", think of a family, a bigger house, dogs, kids... but she couldn't even keep a job so he ended things more or less in a friendly manner after trying and trying.
3 months later, in March, I liked a pic he posted on facebook, he sent me a message asking if I was back for good (I am) and basically asked me out on a date. And MAN WHAT A DATE. Everything was perfect, we laughed to the tears, you know when you feel something has clicked and now everything is in its right place? Yeah. We both felt that. So we jumped on this loveboat ride and everything has been great, but we were really rushing things, like I started staying there for the night during the week (aided by the fact that his apartment is 10 mins from my office so it was also covenient for me), he met my parents (by accident tho honestly that wasn't planned, but still) I met his mother, his coworkers, also his boss! He got drunk with my dad! (That was fun haha). I thought that we were rushing things too much but I brushed it off thinking "don't ruin it, if it feels right then let it be", but eventually it came out during a talk we had. We both acknowledged that we'd been getting ahead of ourselves and this was making him uncomfortable, because he didn't really want to end up in another relationship right after ending a 7 year long one, at the same time he thinks what we have is precious and we should cherish it. He wants to see and have a future with me but also wants to take things slow. I agreed, and being the pragmatic little demon I am I had prepared a list of things I thought we should do/stop doing, such as sleeping there on weeknights, parents involved etc, to which he agreed. Also I noticed that he was kind of... I don't really know how to explain, projecting? his ex's persona on me. I noticed that when he was on morning shift (starts at 6 a.m.) and I had spent the night at his apartment, he'd be very worried about me not getting up on time to go to work at 8 (like his ex did) and asked me to send him a message as soon as I woke up. Another thing, there has been a weekend when I was sick, it wasn't that bad, I just had a stomach ache and nausea and needed to go to the bathroom a lot. Well that day it looked like I couldn't even walk for him, he wanted me to stay at home while he was buying the groceries to cook for lunch even though I said I was fine and a trip to the supermarket wouldn't have killed me. I reckon that's because his ex was like that. But I'm not. I'm really an independent person, I've been living by myself for the past six years, I can look after myself! And even though it's lovely to have someone who cares about you, that just felt like having a nanny and not a boyfriend (we also talked about this).
Aprt from that our relationship is great, we discuss things as adults, every discussion/argument ends with a common point. I love this. Also he's the sweetest.
But after the talk we had, and the things we both agreed on, Sunday night we were watching a movie together on his sofa, the movie was over and I said "oh it's 10 pm, I gotta go" and he was like "why don't you just stay here for the night? Your office is basically across the street" I told him that that's exactly what we agreed to avoid, he insisted a bit but then I left.
Now, I don't know what else to do to slow things down apart from to ones I listed and furthermore I don't know how to help him with all of this. He's confused and I can see that, but I trust him and if he said he really cares about our relationship then so it is.
What do you think? What should I do?
Thank you for reading.

My love is a hard working man. He has a hard physical job. When he comes home from work he continues building on his own house that he is building on his own. An incredible construction. And I am so proud and admire him for how far he has come with it. (Both him and I have an agreement to never move in together as that fit our lives better, and so he is building this house for him self.)
We text back and forth all day. But my favorite time is when we are together in an Xbox party chatting. I need him.. I crave him. The hours I spend in the party with him melt all my stress away and I feel like I am floating.
We have a group of friends who like joining us and hanging out. And while they are great.. I really need my alone time with him. Which he of course is also happy to give. If there is time.
He is not a very romantic person. He is a bit of a loner and is used to just doing what he is doing and not really including others in that. He loves spending time with me. But he won't ensure we do if that makes sense. He always says: if you are there then you are there and it's great. If you are not then I just do my own thing and it's fine. So. An annoying bit of our relationship is that I have to be available when he is. Add this to these friends often joining, which is great, but then they are there when he is finally available.. and I don't get my lone time.
The last week or so has just been a bit chaos. First the job he is hired for right now has a long drive back and forth. So he leaves too early in the morning for us to have gaming time in the morning. In the evening I've had a lot of events, and he has too. And he had a tendency to fall asleep because he works so hard. Especially now it is warm too he gets worn out. So when I finally come home.. he's fallen asleep. Then we're finally both in a party but the friends are there too.. And it has just been a lot of that.
I fucking miss him sooo bad. I crave him sooo bad. But I feel like from experience I can't ask him to ensure time together. If I could keep our friends from joining that would help a bit. But they don't fully know or understand what him and I have together. And also my love will be like: why are you keeping them away when they want to hang out with us? Because. He doesn't have the same deep craving to be with me alone. He just enjoys I am there in general. So it is only my need that is like that.. And.. I need it. I am getting agitated. Frustrated. And feel tight and aching.
Today is a really hot day. His job is pushing him for a lot right now. He hasn't really replied much today because he is focusing on work. Which I get. But I am just feeling my guts twist and turn in longing. I feel like my only hope can be that our friends don't join tonight.. I wanna ask him to prioritize me. But I think he doesn't understand what he is meant to do with that. Because in his world he does, by always being by my side, always wanting me, loving my company when it's there.
But text messages and sharing him with my friends just isn't always enough for me.

TW!!!
Hey ladies, and all those in between reading this!!
Background; I’m a 28 year old female, no history of any diagnosis. I’ve had two back to back miscarriages at 6/7 weeks. First one was my first pregnancy, managed to get pregnant in 3 months. That ended in a mc at 6+6. 7 months later pregnant again, currently going through my second (will be confirmed at scan next week) I haven’t had any tissue passing sorry TMI! Just 2 clots that were defo red not grey pregnancy tissue. I had spotting no cramps at all! For 4 days. I did get a scan showed baby in right place and I was only 5+4. I know it’s common. Still having pregnancy symptoms minus bloating.
My question is; what tests did you get done? Treatment? I’m so discouraged. It feels like my body is failing me all over again. My sisters have no problems staying pregnant. Just me.

I have been NED for a year now and am on letrozole. Back in late January things started to change, I basically looked like the poster child for a reccurence with horrible bloating, bladder and bowel changes and some exact symptoms that I had initially with my diagnosis. I have had several ca 125, 2 scans and even a pap of the vaginal cuff but nothing has been found. I also had a colonoscopy which was fine. I am in pain everyday from my bladder and pelvic pressure ( I have had 4 urine cultures) The Dr sees edema but no cancer. Has anyone experienced anything like this? I am currently on diuretics to see if it helps and Voltaren to rub on my stomach to take down inflammation. It is just so frustrating because I was finally starting to feel better.

Hello all!
My whole family has issues with our stomach and digestive system. Revently I've (27M) had some more cramping/bloating pain and decided to visit a GP/Dietitian/Gastroenterologist. They booked me in for a colonoscopy and endoscopy.
My colonoscopy came clear but my endoscopy came back with Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia in the antrum. They mentioned the mucosa seemed granular. I have had a history of eating very salty foods such as sauce etc.... Could this be the cause?
Just wanted to know what the outlook on life is at this point in time? I suffer a tonne of health anxiety and it hasn't helped my gut/mental health.
They mentioned it's precancerous. What are the chances of it becoming something worse such as cancer.
Is there any medication that I can take/diet change I can implement to reverse this issue or is it not reversable?
I appreciate any responses. My anxiety is now through the roof and I'm having panic attacks :( I'm expecting my first child next month and I want to be healthy and around for my child!
Thanks all!

I’m really struggling. I feel like I’ve been navigating the hardest season of my life the past two years when it comes to my health. And the state of women’s healthcare is insane.
I’ve been having severe perimenopause symptoms for almost 3 years. But since I’m not 40 yet, everytime I bring it up in the doctors office (or even to friends/family) I immediately get dismissed with some version of “you’re too young.” On top of that I’ve had a slew of issues with my pelvic area. I have prolapse on both side of my vaginal canal, cysts on my ovaries, and near constant heaviness and discomfort, sometimes pain. My mom passed away at 39 from cancer. My mom’s twin had horrific endometriosis along with fibroids before her hysterectomy at age 40. My maternal grandmother had her last period at 36. So I know there some family history that would justify what I’m going through but unfortunately none of them are around anymore so I have now one to talk to about it and no motherly support system. Which has been so isolating and caused me so much health anxiety as I try to navigate the unknown by myself.
Anyway, I had an ultrasound a few months ago that found small cysts all over my ovaries but my uterus “looked perfect.” My doctor had me try birth control to help manage the ovaries. The bc helped with some of my symptoms, made me feel a little more even keel in my moods, but I still have this heaviness and pain in my pelvic region all the time. Sometimes when I get up from laying down I can feel things “settling” in there. When I have bad days it feels like something is pushing against my lower back and hips. It hurts to wear pants. It just doesn’t feel right. And I’m so freaking tired. Like deep adrenal exhaustion.
So my doc ordered an MRI but that was THREE WEEKS AGO and I still haven’t gotten the results. (This is where I’m absolutely astounded by our healthcare system).
Every day that passes I hope they’ll call me to tell me what they found. But at the same time I’m terrified that they’re going to call and say “everything looks perfect” and I’ll be stuck in this scary place all by myself back at square one.
I don’t know what it is. Endo would make sense but I’m not in horrible intense pain all the time. It’s more of a heavy discomfort, bloat, nagging pain. I feel constantly inflamed. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a big fibroid or two swimming around on stalks. Does this sound like anyone else’s story???? I just don’t know. I hate not knowing. I hate feeling awful. 😞 I just want a diagnosis so I can start to get my life back. Thank you for listening.

The only way I can explain the feeling of grief is the world turning dark. Everything reminds you of your person. Nothing can snap you out of the darkness. Anything can make you burst out in violence and sadness. Grief is an unspoken about feeling but it’s so powerful. The pain makes you want to punch and lash out. All you crave is ur persons touch. The mornings feel like it’s happened all over again. You remember you no longer have your person. You wake up feeling sick and exhausted. I am still feeling that way 4 weeks down the line sick and exhausted. Why doesn’t it get better. I want him back it’s all I want . He never coming back and I can’t handle that information. Grief is not eating not sleeping. Grief is just 24 hour hurt. I’m hurting I’m hurting every 24 hours of each day. We’re coming up to two months since my world was taken and I’m waiting to feel happy again. I’m waiting to feel hunger as I wake. I’m waiting to find and feel a purpose again. I have a permanent headache and pain in my heart. I miss you so much my best friend. All I want is one more cuddle with you. I just wanna tell you I’m going to uni. I just want to tell you I’m still following my dreams to make you proud. I want you to know when you drifted off holding my hand I wish it was me. You was my dad I never had. The dad that stepped up to make us feel special and loved. It got better now I’m slowly starting to feel ur absence again. Just come back I want a cuddle. I wanna tell you about my interview I know you’d be so proud. Please fucking come back. I can’t live without you. I love you so much. You made me feel content. Im searching for an escape like you were. I’m doing it today I’m starting my journey all for you. I hope you’re looking over me smiling proudly. Everything I do is for you my beautiful angel. I’m sorry I’m sitting outside arsenal I know you’d be shaking ur head and telling me to decontaminate later ha ha. All jokes aside I miss you and I hope I’m doing you proud my hero. 4 months later I’m still feeling so much pain I think about you every night just wishing you will come back. All though the thoughts of reuiniting with you have calmed I’m still longing for your touch. I still see everything from that horrible night. I see it and I wish that you was at peace and glad that I held your hand through your 7 years of heart ache and pain. You never deserved that. 6 months without you and I want you more than ever. I want a cuddle from you. I want to tell you so many things. I feel so guilty when I don’t speak about you but I don’t want to make people feel sorry for me.

I was never hugged or kissed. I felt like I was treated as an adult most of the times. I was never brought gifts or toys or comforted when something bad happened. I wanna be tucked in bed and read bedtime stories and be kissed on the forehead goodnight. And Idon't think I've grown out of it because there was nothing to grow out of to begin with. I feel like my parents skimmed over a very developmental stage in my life. Idk how to describe it but my body aches and craves to be treated in such a manner and loved. I feel like I'll never get over this feeling. Nothing's gonna make up for that loss. There's this puzzle piece that's missing and the only way I could find it is if I could take a time machine and turn back the time to find it. I feel like a 6 year old trapped in a 23 year old's body.

Hello,
My wife's HCG didn't double since the last bloodwork, HCG looks low for 5 weeks.
Progesterone was also low so she started taking it. But she also gets dull ache on the right side of the ovary, and sometimes brown spotting. We are concerned of ectopic pregnancy, is it possible to confirm it at 5 weeks via ultrasound? And perhaps anyone else had low HCG that didn't double but ended up with healthy pregnancies?
Brown spotting was present all days since missing the period until she started progesterone. Then it disappeared but yesterday came back again with a dull ache in right side.

Hi Everyone, since 2021 i'm started on this painstaking journey to recover from diarrhoea IBS.
To date, my diarrhoea issue had been fixed but cos I lost a considerable amount of weight, my sugar regulators have gone haywire and I suffer from sugar crashes (episodes of low energy) and multiple hunger pangs.
what I can share so far is:
IBS can be cured.
If you have done a scope and tried probiotics and it doesn't work. try doing a SIBO test and see if you are positive. In my case I also did lactose and fructose test and was positive for both, so I have to go on a no sugar diet.
Going through a course of refaximin will fix your issues it takes about 1-2 mth before you see bowel quality improve and during the first 2 weeks of refaximin you will feel bloated so getting medicine for the bloating helps.
after fixing SIBO the next challenge is to make sure it doesn't come back. So a balanced diet would be good, I highly recommend watching the netflix show - Hack you health : The Secrets to your Gut.
it explains why we have IBS issues and why it's normally coupled with eczema. It also highlights the fact that it's not what you eat but what happens after you eat that matters more. no 2 bodies are the same.
I tried watching it and compared it to Singapore's context:
so in terms of stool testing - AMILI is recognised - it costs about $480 The good thing about it is it's the only report that shows me that I have gut health issues and there are suggestions on what to eat. Without it, all doctors will say I'm fine and redirect me to a psychiatrist. =X
Food recommendations from the AMILI Report is important as in the show, the general rule of thumb is eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and start by micro-dosing... With the Amili Report, I can do it in a more targeted manner + their probiotics ($90 a bottle/mth)
I'm also working with Dr Chia from Gutcare to help me with the symptoms I face as I'm trying new food. I highly recommend him as I've seen GPs, 3 gastro specialist and 2 nutritionists, and most of the time they attribute it to psychiatric issues like stress which we know ourselves it's not it.
Food wise - I'm on a no sugar diet
Safe food - chicken - kai lan - xiao bai cai - carrots - pork broth - virgin olive oil - avocado (but yucky) - small blueberries - up to 8 for me. ( try to get the ones from china) - golden kiwi - tried up to a quarter and no seeds - cucumber ( remove seeds) - barley water (remb to soak and throw away the water and add some ginger) - salted peanuts - baked walnuts - baked macadamia nuts. - brown rice (remb to soak overnight and throw away the water)
my issue with nuts is I tend to get constipated, I'm also tried coconut oil it's makes the food nice but then I will want to clear my bowels frequently (the stool quality is fine) just the urge intensifies
Also I'm on 10 mg of amitriptyline, cos of gut hypersensitivity. I'll share more if people are interested. but the main idea is to suppress the gut-brain signals, it normally becomes a problem if you have stomach issues for more than 6 months and it took me 2 years I fix SIBO...

Friends! 👋👋👋
For all of you going through having to deal with these, I'm sorry. As one who has suffered greatly for years with sores 80-90 % of the time (!), leading to fever, aches in head, jaw, face, neck as well as not being able to work, I had lost hope. Many times. People suggested and recommended but nothing worked.
I am still in a bit of shock and doubt because I'm so used to it always coming back after a little relief. But I've used a toothpaste for some months now and I ran out like two weeks ago. Bit the inside of my lips and then it was lift of. Ended up with around 7-8 painful sores right away. I was reminded how fucking painful it is and how much better I'd been since I started using it. I'm not sure it will work for everyone but I would be selfish if I didn't share this!
This is a link to the website I bought it from:
https://frontierpharm.com/products/chlorine-dioxide-toothpaste-fresh-breath?variant=813634237
It is expensive but lasts about a month. With this and frequent toothbrush change it has changed my life.
Do your own research, I'm not a medical anything.
Good luck to all❤️

I (27y) struggle with an illness called lipodemia. It basically makes your legs, arms and sometimes other areas grow bigger and there is nothing much you can do by changing the diet or exercising as it is caused mainly by hormones. During a very stressful time three years ago I had gotten quite big due to this sickness and was first diagnosed with it. Back then my boyfriend (26y) already claimed that I could lose weight if I just tried harder not taking my illness into account. He might be right that it would have been possible to some extent but obviously not in the sick areas... I had surgery on the arms and legs two years ago to handle the sickness with a focus on reducing the pain that comes with it and have kept my weight and size every since. I obviously still don't have size zero but I was ok with the way I looked and the pain is almost gone. However every time I feared that the sickness might come back (for example if I feel bloated and stuff) my bf tells me that I just have to workout more and that it is just "normal" weight gain. Due to a recent change in jobs I am happier which allows me to be more active which also led to some weight loss. This morning however I noticed that even though I lost a lot of weight (3-4kg, sorry I am from Europe 😅) my waist is still bigger than it was last summer. This made me upset as it is a typical symptom of lipodemia. He asked why I was upset and I told him that I would rather not talk to him as I don't feel supported by him in this subject. He accepted it but it still made me sad and him as well. He later asked what I expect him to do. I told him to keep his opinion to himself (according to him the hips are just the last spot I will lose weight if I just keep going long and hard enough) and support me instead by listening to my fears and worries. He told me he cannot put his opinion aside. AITAH for expecting that of him?

I’ll start by saying I’m not better, I’m not back to how I was but things have improved.
This weekend I spent Saturday at a local festival. I stood up for six hours, I chatted to people and I drunk beer. On Sunday I went to another local festival and walked around for a couple of hours.
I am knacked still but no crash.
I slept 10 1/2 hours on Saturday night and Sunday I ached but no crash.
This is quite a change from even a year ago.
My activity levels are the highest gbey've been since getting covid in 21.
I believe that effective pacing and avoiding crashing allows the body to improve the baseline.
But to me two big triggers were standing and talking to people. Both things I minimised. This weekend I didn't.

Throwaway account for starters because my gf follows my other account. We'll I hope she is still my gf. My gf and I 26m have been together for 5 years. Met in college under not the best circumstances but have been really close for the most part. We have been living together for about 3 years now and since we moved in the passion has been drained to ultimately 0. At first it was a slow build where she said she too tired or stomach ache or something. Then turned to more than a few days or weeks without sex. I was aggressive at times and she admit to me sometimes that she would give sex to me just cuz I wanted it. After a while I knew that had to change. And I did I saw I was a huge asshole about that.
Then I noticed we still were having less frequent time in the bed room and it hurt sometimes going for months without it and I felt bad bringing it up but sometimes I'd drink and it would come up in a less than perfect way. This leads to my drinking problem, I use to pick fights get angry and aggressive with her not in a physical way ever but id say some mean and horrible things.
This was another huge turning point and I still try to keep this under control and my gf genuinely says I have improved when I'm under the influence of alcohol. Either way I'm not the ideal person/ partner, which leads to my cheating. We have been on an off with having sex and the fights have been increasingly more and more. Just over stupid things all the time felt like I couldn't catch a break about the minute details of anything I did. I thought I tried everything to spark the passion in the bed room. Gave her space, smothered her, give her gifts and listen to her talk and take her out of little dates here and there. Just nothing seemed to do the trick. I was feeling alone like we were just roommate that slept in the same bed. I brought this up to her on occasion and I felt like I was always getting the same answers over and over again. Her depression or her inability to love was holding her back. But she has been saying this for 2 years now. There was even a point we went 2 months without a single kiss and we have been repeating this cycle for about a year now. I understand it's not a switch to be flipped but it's hard to see her give way more affection to a dog we adopted last year.
About 2 weeks ago I met a girl online and we met up at a hotel half way from mine and her house. This weekend my gf and I had a huge fight about again passion and affection. We both swore this was the big one. but we decided to stick it out. I'm such a fool I kept the talking to the girl online. I really do love my gf but I wanted attention and affection something that was in low supply in my house. Last night, she found on my phone messages from this girl. I admitted what happened and chased her around the house to just stay and talk and she left. She took the dog and left. I feel like such scum. A moment of pleasure thrown away for 5 years of love and understanding. I sprained my ankle this weekend and my gf was at my beck and call. I love her desperately and I don't know where she is at. I feel like such a fool just not listening to her to go to therapy and seek out help and it's too late. At first I was like I see my gf for security scared of the unknown and had questioned if I can truly find someone else. Now that I had that I don't want anyone else. I've been calling her like a mad man trying to see if she is safe. But why would she talk to me I really don't deserve a second thought. If she does read this I'm sorry and I love you. I'm sorry about the pain I put you through I Don't expect forgiveness just want to tell you I'm a coward and I'm weak. You deserve the world of happiness and I doubt I can give you that anymore. I'm sorry.

The world conspired in the best of ways to bless me with a whole bunch of new games at once and I happened to be able to get in a lot of plays quickly with them.
Always get an idea of who's talking before you take anything away from these reviews/impressions. Maybe we're really different people. I've been in the hobby for 10+ years. I've played a lot of games. I love interactive and mechanically unique games. I worship Reiner Knizia. Some of my favorite games are Tigris and Euphrates, Spirit Island, Race for the Galaxy, Agricola, Battle Line, and Oath. My favorite games of last year were Stationfall, Ra (reprint), and Zoo Vadis.
Okay, let's go!
Cascadito/Cascadero - Is this a Pokemon Red/Blue scenario? No! There's room for both halves of this pair of Knizias in a collection. I think Cascadero is the better game, but Cascadito slides onto our table more easily. I'm a bit of a believer in the Moneyball theory of games (does the game "get on base" (to the table)?) so, that matters!
Cascadero - 4 plays at 2 players - First, the production is perfect. Svelte box that's easy to pack, wooden pieces, great graphic design with built in rules reminders by Ian O'Toole, and a striking cover make this a joy to play. If you enjoy the general waves hands of Irish Gauge, you're going to love how this looks.
Cascadero requires a little patience, but I think I'm starting to see a heart of gold down in there. As a Knizia tile-layer, right away, this game is, unfortunately, going to get compared to some of the greatest games ever made. Games like Through the Desert, Samurai, Babylonia, etc. I say unfortunately, because I don't think you'll love this game on the first play. That's because I think the default/starter side of the board is less interesting. If you're familiar with games, do yourself a favor and flip to the farmer side as soon as possible. Even then, Cascadero is subtle. When played best, it's a quiet maneuvering of cubes up to just the right spots on tracks with pieces on the board in all the right places that build a little lattice of opportunity. Not just one combo ready to score, but a set of circumstances that hedge on an opponent's move. Paths are everywhere, and you're using them in just the right ways to get across a double score gap or to slip into a fold in the track that gives an extra bonus. I feel like the review circuit doesn't usually play games enough times to appreciate this one, and maybe it's subtle to a fault. It isn't great when you hear "it gets good on game 4", but I'm four games in and usually that's the point where I'm bored of most games. With this one I'm excited to play more.
Cascadero is great!
Cascadito - 5 plays at 2 players - Do you like My City? Do you like My City: Roll and Build? I do. I probably wouldn't list them in my favorite games, but they are such great weeknight-with-the-partner games that I appreciate them all the same. Cascadito isn't billed as a campaign game, but rather as four maps. Maybe a 4 game campaign doesn't sound long enough, but I'm busy. 4 games sounds like something I can do. If you've played Cascadero, map 1 is the less interesting version of that game. Stick with it though! Like My City, you get the joy of seeing Knizia riff on an idea. We enjoyed each subsequent map more and more and we could see ourselves replaying #3 and especially #4. In fact, on map 4 we kept looking at each other's sheets during the game - on a roll and write! I like that.
Cascadito is good!
Spectral - 6 plays at 2 players - I'm pretty picky about deduction games, especially as board games. As someone who has put hundreds of hours into Picross and sudoku I need there to be a good reason why I'm using my precious time with my friends on something that is usually so solitary. So far, I've really only liked The Search for Planet X. While it isn't known as a particularly interactive game, my friends and I have played it so competitively that we look for any scrap of information that might give us the edge, and the publishing system cranks up the incentive to take some leaps of faith in a tight race.
When I heard about Spectral I was excited - an interactive, bidding based logic puzzle - cool! Six games later, I haven't really figured out how to interact with my opponent. While The Search for Planet X has clear moments of intention to watch for (publishing papers), it's really hard to tell when your opponent is acting with intention or just exploring in Spectral. You also don't have those little clues like what your opponent is scanning for or researching like in Planet X to build some kind of theory around. The game is a breeze to play, yet barely leaves room to grapple. So maybe the interaction isn't super strong, but how's the logic puzzle?
Boring. Imagine playing sudoku, but the logic restrictions were only for rows and not also columns, or within squares. You can do some deduction with the curse cards, but the treasure cards (12 of the 16) are all essentially equally informative and don't allow for much in the way of chains of deduction. You can do a little bit with probabilities of where treasures are likely to overlap, but it rarely feels worth it to pursue when finding curses provides a much more reliable benefit.
I want to be wrong about this game. Please, someone argue this one with me.
Spectral is okay. If you play it once or twice, I think you'll have a good time, but I don't see it having legs.
Slay the Spire - I've had this game for less than a month and I think I've put in maybe 50 hours at the table with it at this point. I've played with people who have 1000s of hours in Slay the Spire - they have loved it. I've played with people who have never played Slay the Spire - I see them playing Slay the Spire on Steam the next day and asking when they can next come over. People who usually duck out of a game night at 10pm are still at the table at 1am.
I was really worried it would be bad. I wondered, why not just play the digital game? But here I am, holding the box and knowing without a doubt, this object sparks joy. Have you ever experienced a solitary piece of media, obsessed over it, and then gotten a chance to experience it together with other fans? Maybe something like watching Game of Thrones with friends after reading the books. It feels great to share in something you've loved. That's how Slay the Spire has felt. But it's not just that, as evidenced by the friends that have never played the digital game and still loved it. It's just a damn good deck builder, and the whole system of knowing exactly what the enemies are going to do before they do it goes over so well here. It's so apparent that this translation was a labor of love and so much has gone into preserving the spirit of the game. I love it.
Slay the Spire is excellent!
Leviathan Wilds - played the first 3 Leviathans solo and at 2 - I backed this as a Shadow of the Colossus fan, and hoped for the best. I'm honestly blown away by how much this game has exceeded my expectations. First, there's something about this game that feels so complete and efficient. There's no Kickstarter bloat. It's in a very understated, retail sized box. The game just gets so much out of each component. It feels like the people who made it have made a lot of games before (and they have!).
I have trouble finding mid-weight 1-hour co-ops that I like. I love co-ops like The Crew at the short and sweet end and Spirit Island at the epic and heavy end, but the games that hit around the Pandemic range have never appealed to me. There often seems to be too much upkeep and setup, and not enough to keep me interested in sharing a puzzle with other people.
Leviathan Wilds is sooooo easy to set up. Setting up a Leviathan involves opening a spiral bound map book and laying out five cards. Processing the enemy turn involves flipping a card and later doing what it says. I don't play solo games, pretty much ever, but I'm playing this solo because it's so damn easy to run.
The moment to moment gameplay has been a blast. The systems are very open and freeform and the cards are multi-use, so there's often this feeling of scrapping together just the thing you need from odd parts - burning this card, eating this mushroom, falling here, etc. The movement system really leans into the mechanics of Shadow of the Colossus and allows for a creativity and freedom while reinforcing the theme. Every game we've played has been tight and we've failed a few times. I like that. My only complaint was that the enemies will sometimes do "swift" moves that resolve before your turn so you don't have much of a chance to react. I didn't realize until a game or two later that you can still use skills on cards to react instantly which might be an easy rule to miss. I've felt much better about "swift" since learning that. I'll definitely be backing the announced small expansion for the upcoming reprint. What a pleasant surprise.
Leviathan Wilds is excellent!
Harmonies - 6 plays at 2 players - This game has been called a Reef killer, an Azul killer, and a Cascadia killer. I own all those games! So, what's the body count at my table? Well, first off this game is lovely. The art is beautiful, the spatial puzzle is quite satisfying, and the playtime is breezy (especially at 2). It is most comparable to Reef in that you are arranging and stacking pieces in configurations for points, but there's a second layer of tile arrangement, similar to Cascadia's habitats, that's always present, no matter what cards come up. The Azul comparison is probably due to the drafting of tiles from a central market. So, what's the outcome?:

• Reef - Dead. Harmonies gives me a similar spatial puzzle in less time, in a smaller box, with better art, and it feels more thematic (I want to make homes for all my animals!).
• Cascadia - Dead. (although I was tired of it already). I find the game to game strategies in Harmonies to be more diverse and I don't feel like I have an algorithm to follow like in Cascadia (Is there a tile that increases two habitats? Can I fit a fox between my other groups of animals?).
• Azul - Alive. It's a stretch to compare the two games, but the drafting portion is far more interesting in Azul with the combining pools of tiles. Azul sits with Carcassonne in this perfect zone of being a gateway game that starts out gentle and puzzley and more you play it the more cutthroat it becomes. This isn't Harmonies, but...

Harmonies is excellent. I wouldn't be surprised if its the best gateway type game of the year. I do think it could slow down significantly with more players, but I tend to play something more interactive beyond 2.
Dro Polter - Too many plays to count and at all player counts - I think this is Oink's cutest production yet. The chunky wooden ghost, the tiny bells, the little set of treasures you'll hold in your hand. If you like frantic dexterity games, this is great. You can explain the rules in about 2 sentences and it's very non-gamer friendly. The cleverest bit is how you have to hold onto points in the form of tiny bells and if you drop them you lose them. It's an excellent system of handicapping the leader that often turns to laughs. It's mostly a novelty, but if you can introduce it to a few different groups of people, it feels worth it. Great with kids too.
Dro Polter is great!

I've (34m) had a bit of a medical rollercoaster since early March that started with a mono diagnosis but has since been a whole chain of medical issues linked to that. I'm mostly better but a lot of my remaining symptoms line up with GERD (chest and abdominal pain, bloating, burping way more than usual, etc.). Also, for what it's worth, a lot of my daily foods were on the list of foods to avoid (caffeine, spicy food, and carbonated water in particular). Currently I have hypothyroidism (so everything in my body runs slower than usual) and taking levothyroxine once a day for that.
Did anyone have a similar start to GERD? I know it looks like I'm shopping for an answer but between my thyroid, medication, mono recovery, anxiety, allergies, stress, and bad air (burn season blows smoke my way this time every year) I don't know what to believe is causing every new ache and pain in me.

Hey everyone, firstly I'll start by saying I'm 41 and have been vegan 15 years and will never go back, it's the best decision I ever made. I only ask this in case anyone else has experienced this and can help.
I'm 41 now but for about 5-6 years now I've been quite stiff and achy. For example I meditate most mornings cross legged but when I unfold my legs after ten minutes or so they're so stiff. Equally when I go to get up they just feel so rigid and and stiff. I also get aches in my legs and back that aren't really bad but feel somewhat older than my years.
It could be a number of things causing this but just wanted to check in case anyone else has experienced this and found something that helped? It could just be aging or something else (I'm type 1 diabetic) but I do stretch and I eat very healthily indeed for the most part so don't feel it's those obvious things.
Any tips from anyone who might have experienced the same gladly received.
Thanks

Hey, everyone. I've been a lurker here for a while and reddit even longer but finally decided to post. I'm a 29M, PNW American who was diagnosed with diverticulitis in April of 2021. My first ever bout was a stomach ache I couldn't kick for about 5 days, got a week of antibiotics and it went away right back to normal. Next bout 13 months later and pretty much the same thing except I went in sooner this time. Keep in mind as this time I was like 26 and 27. Also up to this point I hadn't had much of an education or talking to by healthcare providers on what the condition really is. Fast foward to July 2023 and I have another flare up treated by another week of antibiotics, this time however they refer me to a GI and Surgeon. They go over the options of surgery but I barely listened, surely it was going to be another course of antibiotics and boom I'd be normal as always what a silly little disease.
Well mid March 2024 and I'd been walking around smoldering for at least a month, I'd thought it was just my overall poorer health and getting older. It was also easy to push aside because i was in a race against the clock to secure a job and some money as to not end up on the street. After securing the new job and putting a week or two in I went to ER to get diagnosed with microperforation and an abscessed diverticuliti. This resulted in an 8 day stay being discharged 3/27 with a drain in the abscess and oral antibiotics, along with a scheduled colonoscopy for 5/12 and a lacroscopic lower anterior resection 5/17. I'm on the mend for a bit at home and even have the drain removed, before realizing the infection is taking hold again late April. I get re-admitted 5/1 for about 5 days before being discharged again with oral antibiotics and a drain. Colonoscopy revealed diverticulitis and nothing else special which felt like good news. Right after the colonoscopy but before the surgery I could feel telltale signs of the infection returning again, causing me major anxiety leading up into the surgery. 5/17 and I get the surgery done, succseful removal of maybe 8 or 9 inches of my sigmeud(however you spell it) colon, no complications.
Here I am now 4 days out starting my 5th day of recovery and I feel okay I suppose. Sorry for the wall of text but I've been looking here for tons of info and just silent commiseration figured I'd finally add my story to the well as I sit here awake and scared at night in the hospital. I'd never had surgery or a disease anything like this. Some of the notable wrinkles I'm still stressing over is that I have genital pain, no 'air bullets' and my CT with dye yesterday didn't show a fistula. I'd complained about the genital pain, both admittances and mucus-y urine throughout both, so they left the catheter in a few days. I got it out 5/20. I really just don't know how I'm gonna return to normal ever. This whole thing has been so traumatic and shattering. I have plenty of other things to say, and other parts to this that have added to the major and crushing anxiety and stress. Figured I'd finally just sign up and post, though. To everyone here, thank you for sharing your stories, I definitely used lots of this stuff as a resource to understand what's going on. It also is one if the fee things that makes me feel a little less alone reading all your stories. I think that's it nice to meet ya all.

Hi all,
It's been about 2 months of tapering -> stopping abilify and it was a messed up experience. I have never felt worse in my life.
I started abilify / aripiprazole in addition to my SSRI for depression and anxiety back in 2018 and I chose to stop it this year after discussing it with my psychiatrist. I was on 10 mg abilify -> 5 mg (for 2 weeks) -> 2.5 mg (2 weeks) -> 0 (3 weeks ago).
week 1 off abilify was good, everything is normal, nothing changed. Week 2 I started feeling like I had a bad case of flu (without lung/throat/sneezing/coughing) and it kept going downhill since then up until today(I hope it stays like this, today is the only day since week 2 I actually feel normal)
Throughout those weeks I experienced body aches, sweating, chills, exhaustion, fatigue that only got worse and worse and I could only sleep it off. I felt like depression and anxiety rebounded for a few days but it wasn't my biggest concern given how awful my body felt.
I have no idea if I this was a massive mistake, I feel alright now after being a zombie for the past 3-5 weeks but I still feel on the verge of starting to shiver.
I would not like to start taking this drug again but I just want to know how long this should last.. I'm booking an appointment with my psychiatrist in the morning to figure this out but my god this has been the worst i've ever felt in my life.
I am currently on venlafaxine XR 150 mg and vyvanse 40mg, and I noticed taking the vyvanse just made me feel worse (It was never like this before)
Until I could see my doc, I would like to hear your experiences with withdrawal/tapering. I genuinely hope today isn't a one-off day of feeling okay and it gets better and that I am not messing up anything. Like did I taper it off too quickly? my doc told me some people stop taking it at 5 mg but told me to taper down to 2.5 mg, which I did but I think I missed the last 2 days of that period. I honestly can't believe someone would stop taking it cold turkey given my experience
Side note:
I've had terrible stomach issues that happened after I started abilify and I feel like my digestive health improved immensely. I don't know if it's related to antipsychotics' effects on gut bacteria but I don't feel completely dead after meals like I used to. I still have GERD but I feel like the symptoms kinda improved but I can't tell for sure if it's related to quitting it