Let me start out by saying I know I haven't been myself lately and have been slacking, so I'm not saying I'm not in the wrong at all. But my boyfriend just got done screaming at me and belittling me and I want to know if I'm just overreacting because of past trauma or if it is actually messed up what he did (or if he is justified).
Lately I have been going through a lot of health issues. A major depression spell, and my back and joints have been way worse the past month than they've ever been. (I have several herniated discs, arthritis, fibromyalgia, EDS, patella alta, and a bunch of other issues in my back that I honestly don't remember everything my doctor said). Just getting up to take the dogs out or take a shower is extremely difficult right now. I can't stand more than 5 mins. I've let the house get messy. In turn that just makes the depression even worse. I'm used to picking up after my bf which was slightly annoying but I didn't mind that much because I don't work so I figure I should do everything at home since he has a job. So he just comes in and throws everything on the floor or on the counter and I have to sort through it all to figure out where everything should go. This is extremely stressful for me as we live in an RV and don't have very much space to put things and I get super overwhelmed and shut down. I asked if he could just start putting things where they go when he comes in and stop putting trash in the sink. That's all. That would help me be less overwhelmed and able to keep things cleaner.
I rarely have migraines but today I had a bad one. (I have had them more often for the past 3 ish months). He was even being really nice about it and rubbing me and asking every now and then if I felt any better. Well I mentioned that I needed to go feed the dogs, but I just got back inside so I needed to sit down for literally 1-2 minutes before I could stand back up again to do that. I guess he didn't like that so he picked up all the dog bowls and went to go feed them. I said I was about to do it if he wanted to sit down and he just laughed and rolled his eyes and said all I was doing was sitting on my a$$. Once he was done feeding them he came in and said that it's not fair that he works and still has to do stuff when he comes home. I'm in an awful mood today because of the migraine so I did say something a little sassy back, I admit that. I said "I'm sorry, millions of people have jobs and still have to do things when they get home, life isn't always fair". He then started screaming and yelling "fvck you", "you never do sh1t", ect ect. He ran outside and slammed the door several times. I have a bad trauma associated with slamming things which I have told him several times in the past. I literally started shaking and curled into a ball to hide. I can't physically help that response. I heard him coming back up the ramp and flinched and he started yelling even more. "Start doing more shit around here or get the fvck out of my house" over and over and over again, the same words getting louder and louder. "I shouldn't have to go to work and come home to do things in the hours I'm not sleeping", "You're just like having a toddler", "You're so fvcking lazy" "You're gonna have to get the fvck out of my house and find somewhere else to live". "Fvck you, all you do is sit in bed all day". And a bunch of other stuff. We've been together 4 years, he knows I can't handle being yelled at. He was just being very demeaning to me and not talking to me in a way you should talk to someone you love. He kept saying "do you hear me?" "Helloooooo??" "Tell me you heard me", ect. Like I said, 4 years together, he knows I shut down with the yelling and literally CANNOT bring myself to speak. I don't know why, I've talked about it with my therapist and she said that he needs to bring things up in a nicer way. I literally freeze and can't speak. It's scary. But he knows this. So screaming "can you hear me?" he knows isn't gonna get a response. But the fact that I couldn't respond was making him madder and yell more. I just don't know why he picked the day that I had a migraine, of all days, to be like this. It seems like he did it on purpose to hurt me. Idk man. I guess I just need advice.

Ok this might be a bit long... I'm in the state of Massachusetts and been on workers comp since October of 2021. The limit here is 3 years and this October makes it the 3. Everything's was going good and adjuster always paid my checks bi weekly and most my meds. I temp at my job went crazy and attacked me with an almost 2 foot pipe wrench that weighed at least 20 lbs. I was in my car and he destroyed it along with my face head and shoulder. I was knocked out for I really don't know how long but was pouring blood everywhere. Me and this man never had an issue or words at all. So I was sitting in my car eating lunch and was dark since I worked 2nd shift and there was basically no supervisors on my shift. I don't really eant to get more into the assault but will say I had eye damage esp. from the glass from the first strike through my window that knocked me out. My shoulder was injured and motion is back but couldn't finish PT due to my migraines which got better but with quilipta and zavzperat spray and Botox injections from a nuero. I still get them and triggered by certain things but did improve a bit since 2021.this man was not even clocked him my boss invited him to live there and sleep at the warehouse whenever the office went home and he would come since he was homeless and sleep wake up drink and just very odd guy which me and a co worker complained many times about his drinking and making us uncomfortable and my boss would just laugh. So they knew there was negligence and co operated fully and so did workers comp up until few months ago started sending me to imes which is when I finally got an attorney.my state can't use for apin and suffering when it comes to workers comp. The thing I face know which I did have anxiety and depression a bit in the past and was in and out of therapy through the years with self medicating before that around 2008 off and on also due to my brother's death. Since this assault though wow I panic daily about little things. Extremely scared to drive or leave the house. My family does almost everything for me and I'm a 37 yr old male. I'm on about 12 meds total and 9 is for mental health. I am diagnosed with post concussion syndrome, agoraphobia, depression, anxiety and insomnia. Of course the imes the insurance sent me to treated me so bad the first was a neurologist and tried to treat me as a psych patient the second wasn't rude and was actually a psychiatrist but could tell was not listening at all to me and wrote I have no issues and I am all good just like the first time. My attorney sent me to his own ime that will say just based on my pictures and medical records that I am disabled for life. My neurologist therapist and psychiatrist all wrote great letters but said they don't know if or when I will get better but also didn't say I am disabled for life and that's what my attorney is looking for but said the letters will help and are greatly written esp. how it goes against the imes. He said the judge knows how it goes insurance gets there guys they pay 900 to to make a report and my attorney gets his guy and plus treating Dr s that the hospital recommended through occupational therapy. My memory is very bad and sorry if I'm all over the place. My question is I have court on June 4. Saw my attorney Dr. Yesterday. Today attorney called me to talk about the case. He said you're payments stop October anyway and I'm sure I can get it to that but October comes the judge can cut off all money or extend it 4 years of checks but cut in half which is like 43000 in them years he said he would like to fight for full life long disability but due to my age being 37 it's an uphill battle but doesn't mean he can't get it but if I was in my mind 40s he said he'd have full confidence getting it. That's one my questions about the age thing also he told me they said well we would offer about 45000 to settle and a little more to settle the mental part of it he laughed at them he said. He said I can get you 100,000 but probably and this is all jus predicted but about 75,000 before I pay him his 20%. I really don't know what to do. I'm afraid it's such a low amount for head I jury and sever mental trauma where I don't have friends anymore and don't leave the house and pa ic non stop. Also want to be done with this and try and move on like my dr.s said maybe you'll start healing once this is behind you. I do have mass health insurance and they fill a lot scripts no problem when workers comp should be. So my attorney thinks it's fully up to me and court is less then 2 weeks and it takes him about a week to put together a settlement amount request hes cobfident about 75,000 i said i need to think hes said of course. I'm thinking I should ask him I won't take less than 80,000 but look more for 85,000 or little more. More I get he gets I know. I just don't want to piss him off he's very intimidating blunt straight forward guy. Any similar stories and advice should I say ok go for 75 or should I say try for 80 or85,000. I feel like if he thought he could get it he would since he gets a percentage. Sorry for the long rant guys. Any advice is helpful,tia.

When I was 19(I'm 25 now) I got a bulging disc between my shoulder blades caused by lifting heavy boxes at my job. About a year after it healed, my chiropractor at the time was having trouble adjusting the area where I was injured. He came to the conclusion my back was building scar tissue around the area. So adjusted his treatment try and break it up before doing my adjustment, Which seemed to be working. But opened his own clinic far from where I live. And I haven't been able to find a doctor or chiropractor who can deal with or even recognize the issue. The lack of mobility is causing my muscles to always tighten up when I'm moving around for more than 20 min. Causing me to need to crack my back below my shoulder blades and my neck often. And when I try to do any moderate physical activity my back muscles tense up so much it restricts my breathing like I'm being bear hugged. And it can get so bad I get knots that won't go away for hours sometimes with muscle spams, along with pain shooting across my ribs. Has anyone else experienced this after having a bulging disc? Or has had issues with scar tissue accumulating where they had a slipped disc? This has been an on going problem for me for years. And I'm trying to find some guidance for treatment.

34M. my MRI results are added in the end.
I don't have any lower back pain (occasionaly a dull ache). my main symptoms are spasm and cramp in the right foot (arch mostly). My calf feels tight as well.
I got a lumbar MRI for this issue that I have been dealing with since August 2023 (worse since Oct 2023). because my case was not very obvious, I had to do foot/ankle MRI (Nov 2023), EMG/NC test (March 2024), extensive blood work and way too many specialists to rule out other possibilities, they all came back normal.
I did a one month PT focused on the back in ~Jan/Feb, didn't see much improvement. My only activity right now is walking 7000-10000 steps a day. My symptoms used to be worse after walking for more than 20mins. I think it's slowly getting better (hard to tell, sometime I feel its worse).
I was wondering if you guys (specially those with similar issues) have any recommendations for me? any activities/exercise/treatments?
MRI results

Impression

IMPRESSION:

1. Slight dextrocurvature of the thoracolumbar spine with straightening of the normal lumbar lordosis.
   
2. Mild lower lumbar spondylosis, as described.
   

LUMBAR DISC LEVELS
L1-L2: No significant disc/facet abnormality, spinal stenosis, or foraminal stenosis.
L2-L3: No significant disc/facet abnormality, spinal stenosis, or foraminal stenosis.
L3-L4: No significant disc/facet abnormality, spinal stenosis, or foraminal stenosis.
L4-L5: Mild disc bulge flattening the ventral thecal sac. Bilateral facet arthropathy. Moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing.
L5-S1: Mild disc bulge indenting the ventral thecal sac and contacting the traversing right S1 nerve root. Mild central canal narrowing. Mild to moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing.

Was seeking positive vibes from running since I was hit by a car and herniated multiple discs in my back, and was told I may not be able to run long distance again after being an ultra marathoner for close to 10 years. This is the response I get. Guess they’re not as supportive as they claim.

Looking for members to join Midnight Grove! - dm to get the discord link -
REALM CODE: DM ME FOR IT
Looking for members to join Midnight Grove!
(18-19+) Hey all, I own a friendly survival realm. It has shops i’m working on right now and you can make ur own as well. In ur own town or village. This realm is still a work in progress and please be patient and kind to others while we make it look amazing!
•• RULES! ••

1. No Griefing or hacking
2. Be kind to other players
3. No stealing from players
4. No Trolling aloud whatsoever
5. Don't destroy others builds
6. NO killing animals (unless it’s sheep, pigs cows etc and it’s has multiple of two.)
7. no killing other players please.
8. AND NO AFK!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

If i see you killed a CAT, DOG, CHICKEN, SHEEP (if it’s a pet and it’s named // says no killing)
or any other pet animal. You only get one warning and if you do it again ur banned.

• keep inventory off (may turn on later)
• conditions on
• texture pack: Quadral
• last, it as addons from the marketplace

PLEASE JOIN THE DISC SERVER SO YOU GET UPDATES WHEN IM GONNA ADD NEW ADDONS OR A TEXTURE PACK! ^{-- DM ME AND I'LL SEND YOU A LINK TO IT. --}

Hi everyone….i need some help. I’ve been with my husband for 8 years, married for 1.5. He is currently out of the country to visit family, a trip I was totally fine with and glad he is able to go on. I was in a bad car accident earlier this year and I was out of work for 3 months so I don’t have any sick time left (unless I take in unpaid) until July 1st.
This is probably the longest my husband and I have been apart since we moved in together. He’s gone for 12 days. We have a dog and 2 cats but no kids. So I was really nervous about him leaving because I’m going to miss him plus he’s been doing alot of things around the house like more dog walks and lifting heavy things because I really messed up my back in the car accident I was in and he does most of the “lifting” since I can’t. (I’m hopefully having back surgery over the summer but I have 11 herniated discs and finding the source of the pain is hard)
But other than that heavy lifting he does he’s not great at other house hold chores and the mental labor of the relationship. Like buying the gifts for family parties, scheduling house maintenance or vet appts. The things that generally fall on the female part of the partnership and are exhausting by hard to articulate or visualize.
Since he’s been gone I of course miss him, but life has been much easier. I do about 1/3 of the laundry and the dishes. The first 5-7 days I slept so much because I think I was just that exhausted. It was awesome that all the house chores were done on Friday within a few hours of getting home from work and then sat and Sunday I was able to work my part time job or just…sleep.
I want to be clear, him and I not having a good balance on household tasks does not make him a bad husband or mean we need a divorce. He was diagnosed with ADHD last year and has been doing much better with time blindness and executive function and we’ve talked about household tasks before and in my head I think we were doing better but based on how hard I crashed this week, I am clearly still shouldering way too much, also combined with I went back to work way too early but needed to go the $$.
I did mention to my husband that we need to have a talk about the current decision of labor once he gets home. So how do we do this. I feel like we need a visual for how much I am doing that goes towards the couple benefit vs how much he is doing so we can split it more equally. I know he will be open to it but I need a way for him to see it because me just saying “I need you to help out around the house more” is bs because he’s not “helping” me, he’s cleaning up after his own mess. Part of me wants to say for 2 weeks we seperate food and laundry. So he can see how much more dishes he produces that me (we works and cooks at home 2x a week) and how much more laundry he produces since he works out and I can’t right now. Otherwise I’m thinking maybe a chore chart to show what we are all doing but I haven’t found any that track the emotional labor part well.
I am open to suggestions and appreciate your help!

The squat has broken me psychologically. Two years ago I injured my back squatting with suboptimal form and no belt. I reached 355 squatting this way before the pain got unbearable. Sometimes I could barely walk, and I had a near-constant pain shooting down my leg. I thought that it might have been a herniated disc, but I now believe it was a case of tendinitis in one of the tendons in my erector spinae. I took a couple of months off to let my lower back heal, focusing on low weight and high reps. I also did a lot of spinal decompression, which I believe made the difference. By mid-2023, my back was basically fully healed, although the pain did still flare up at times. At this point I have no lower back pain at all. The pain does not flare up, except for on very rare occasions.
I tried to get back into squatting heavy in the spring of 2023, but could never break past 355. I was reasonably afraid of hurting myself. At some point I struggled to hit even that weight, and decided to focus on higher reps and lower weight to try to break the plateau. But in the summer a personal situation turned my focus away from exercise. I hardly ever went past 295. Every time I squatted, however, I was plagued by the fear that the pain would return or I would injure myself. I gave up on so many workouts because of this fear, although I didn't exactly realize what it was. I continued to slowly increase my reps, and in early 2024 I squatted 295 x 9 as part of a program to break past my plateau. I am still in this program, and am now trying to get to 315 by 7. In 2022 I squatted 315 x 6 without a belt with absolutely no struggle.
But I continue to be paralyzed by the fear of hurting myself, and even breaking my back. Two weeks ago I hit 315 by 5, attempting to get to 7, and when I started to grind out the weight as is perfectly normal, I got scared and stopped. Two weeks before I had managed to do 6 reps, although I don't think I squatted to depth, once again because of fear. Today I did three reps at 315, trying to get to 7 again. The weight was very easy to move, but on the third rep I had to grind it out a little at the top and got scared of hurting myself again and stopped. I truly believe my problem is psychological at this point. Please tell me something that can help me break past this barrier. It has been paralyzing me for over a year now.
Thank you.

Hey~ I'm looking to find someone to game with, watch stuff with and just be long term friends with! I love to play stuff like modded minecraft, stardew, dreamlight, 7days to die, no mans sky, ow and tft/league and many more!! We can even stream games for each other! Or watch shows/movies/anime!!
A bit on me, I'm v nerdy into stuff like anime, disney, marvel, doctor who, hazbin, roleplaying, cosplay, DnD, tattoos, musicals and more! I'm a musician, I do voices, love to make people laugh. I have two puppos I can send pics of!!! Just looking for platonic friends!
Pls reach out to me via chat and tell me about yourself ! I wont respond to low effort! I'll give out disc if i think we'd vibe~

Happy Wednesday, Barkada --

The PSE lost 49 points to 6634 ▼0.7%

Shout-out to Jing for alerting me to the crypto pump, to Rat Race Running for knowing that when talking about FILRT it's all about the context, to Atot for the positive feedback on Raymund's "would you rather" question on DDMPFILRT, to ApCap for simply laughing at FILRT, to Bestpupever for remembering MVP's botched Skycable deal, to grinsken, princessybyang, VodkaMartini_007, and Nv21 for the happy bday wishes, and to arkitrader for the accurate Tuesday meme.

▌In today's MB:

• VREIT Q1 div drops 23% q/q
• Ayala Land sells P3.2-B block of AREIT
• Figaro confirms "double-digit growth" plan
• Alliance Global injects P2.6-B into Megaworld

▌Daily meme Subscribe (it's free) Today's email

▌Main stories covered:

• [DIVS] VistaREIT Q1 dividend drops 23% q/q... VistaREIT [VREIT 1.75 ▲0.6%; 0% avgVol] [link] declared a Q1/24 dividend of ₱0.04132, payable on June 27 to shareholders of record as of June 5. The dividend has an annualized yield of 9.4% based on the previous closing price, which is considerably smaller than VREIT’s pre-dividend yield of 12.3%. The total amount of the dividend is ₱310 million, which is 100% of the ₱310 million in distributable income that VREIT declared for the quarter. Relative to VREIT’s IPO price, the div increased VREIT’s total stock and dividend return to 18.55% (up from 16.19%). The VREIT Q1 dividend is up 5.4% y/y, but down 23.2% q/q.
  
  • MB: I don’t know enough about VREIT to understand the quarter-on-quarter drop. This is the first dividend decrease in VREIT history, so we don’t have a past narrative of a Q4 to Q1 dip to gain comfort that this is just part of the regular business cycle for a malls-based REIT. Last year, VREIT’s dividend actually increased 1.5% between Q4/22 and Q1/23. But a 23% drop? *FILRT** be like: VREIT, I owe you an apology, I wasn’t familiar with your game. Does anyone have context to help me understand this one?*
• [UPDATE] Ayala Land sells ₱3.2-B worth of AREIT in block sale... Ayala Land [ALI 29.00 ▼2.4%; 121% avgVol] [link] disclosed that it sold 98 million common shares of AREIT [AREIT 33.00 ▼3.4%; 848% avgVol] in a private placement block sale at a price of ₱32.45/share. ALI said that the transaction was two-times oversubscribed at the clearing price, which was 5% under AREIT’s closing price from the previous day. The transaction raised ₱3.18 billion for ALI and increased AREIT’s public float to facilitate the planned property-for-share swap between ALI and AREIT.
  
  • MB: While I didn’t know exactly when this second block sale would happen, I did know that it was going to happen and I speculated back in January that it would probably come as a surprise and at a discounted price to AREIT’s market price at the time. Here’s a link to that analysis if you’re interested. At the end of the day, the first sale was at a 7.2% discount whereas this one was only at 5.0%, and the public float is now prepped to handle the SEC’s eventual approval of the transaction (whenever that happens) without plunging AREIT’s shareholders into chaos and confusion like what happened to *SP New Energy** [SPNEC 1.05 ▼0.9%; 85% avgVol] when the SEC approved its share swap and caught Leandro Leviste’s management team flat-footed.*
• [NEWS] Figaro confirms ₱1-B FY24 capex and “double-digit growth” target... Figaro [FCG 0.75 ▲1.4%; 95% avgVol] [link] confirmed statements made by its Chairman, Justin Liu, in an interview with Manila Bulletin. In that interview, Mr. Liu said that FCG’s FY24 capex target is ₱1 billion, that they’re looking to open 70 to 80 new stores this year, and that he expects this expansion effort to push earnings to grow “double-digits” this year. FCG confirmed all those statements. FCG’s indicated that it would expand from 150 stores at the end of 2022 to 300 stores by the end of 2029.
  
  • MB: According to its Q1/24 press release, FCG ended 2023 with 203 stores after adding 68 stores that year. If FCG were to put up another “70 to 80” stores this year, that would leave it with 273 to 283 total stores by the end of 2024, and give FCG plenty of time (5 years!) to complete the remaining 127 to 117 stores. Usually in the quick service restaurant world, periods of intense growth don’t correspond with periods of great profitability, so the “double digit” earnings growth target is what stands out to me the most. FCG net income was up 7.2% y/y last quarter, and that’s actually considerable given the previous year’s expansion and the current expansion, but that’s not double-digit growth. One thing that confuses me, though, is that in its Q1/23 quarterly report from a year earlier, FCG said that it ended 2022 with 150 stores. If it had 150 stores at the end of 2022 and then added 68 stores in 2023, shouldn’t it have 218 stores by now, not 203? I know, I know: 15 stores isn’t that big of a deal. Maybe it’s just a miscommunication between marketing and operations. Maybe there was a little bit of internal pressure to count 15 nearly-completed stores as completed stores in order to hit that IPO prospectus goal of 150 total stores by the end of 2022, and then they double-counted those 15 stores as part of the 2023 completes? I don’t know. I’m just going by the info they tell me. Any readers have any insight?
• [UPDATE] Alliance Global injects ₱2.6-B into Megaworld... Megaworld [MEG 1.89 ▼0.5%; 156% avgVol] [link] clarified the recent subscription of its parent company, Alliance Global [AGI 9.30 ▼2.8%; 185% avgVol], to 1.375 billion common shares at ₱1.90/share to say that it is part of a plan to increase MEG’s outstanding authorized capital stock by ₱5.5 billion (from ₱40.2 billion to ₱45.7 billion). MEG explained that it “intends to submit its application for increase in authorized capital stock... by around June 2024”, and will list the shares issued to AGI once the full payment of the subscription price is received. MEG said that the purpose of the sale and the larger transaction is for “supporting growth and future business expansions of [MEG] in line with [MEG’s] strategies and directions.”
  
  • MB: Once approved, this will give MEG’s management team 4.125 billion common shares that it can sell to fund its ambitious capex for FY24 and beyond. If MEG sold the remainder at the same ₱1.90/share price, that would bring in an additional ₱7.8 billion. If I were a shareholder, I’d be less concerned by the details of the transaction as I would be about the meaningless word salad of the rationale behind it. I know many MEG shareholders who are frustrated with the stock’s laggard price performance. MEG just recently touched a 12-year low, and is trading at prices that the stock has not seen since early 2012. It’s down 4% year-to-date, down 8.7% over the past 12 months, down 34% over the past 3 years, and down 69% (not nice) from its all-time high that it set back in July 2019. What’s the plan? So far it seems all I hear is “townships townships townships” but that “strategy and direction” hasn’t been profitable for shareholders for almost 5 years now.

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I’ve recently been diagnosed with POTS at 25, so anytime I eat a meal larger than 5 bites, it triggers a flare up where I get dizzy/faint/feels like my heart skips a beat. My doctor says it’s from triggering the vagus nerve and most likely is pre-syncope (I also somehow have a C6-7 disc herniation so maybe that’s triggering my vagus nerve too). On top of that, my gastro recommended a low FODMAP diet with no end date to help with my IBS-like symptoms, so it feels like I can’t eat anything. Even my rheumo now thinks I have fibromyalgia on top of this so she said no processed foods and sticking to an anti inflammatory diet. The whole situation just sucks since I was a normal food loving girl until December :(
So I need food that won’t make me full (since I’ve basically been eating less than 1000 calories a day against my will and need more food in me but can’t eat more than 3 bites every 15 minutes). I’m seriously at a loss here and have tried talking to a nutritionist who said peanut butter and olive oil should be my best friends. I would eat McDonalds fries with extra salt for the POTS, weight gain, and for easy snacking with other meal components, but with my possible fibromyalgia, now that’s off the tables too.
SOS please, I’m 103 lbs and keep losing weight. I’m showing signs of malnutrition and have been avoiding almost all the foods I love to eat because of this craziness, making it hard to stay positive. I can’t keep seeing my PCP every other week, it makes me look crazy and I shouldn’t be driving, not to mention taking time off from work.

Seven years ago I was in a pretty bad accident.
I’m still reeling from finding out that I had a herniated disc THAT day, but the doctor never told me. I think that’s because he (probably, allegedly, inmyopinion) didn’t read the second page, he only read the summary part of my MRI report. He didn’t read it, he didn’t tell me, so I never got treatment and the disc and the rest of my neck have deteriorated since and I didn’t know why. This is why it has hurt to breathe for a better part of these SEVEN years.
Yesterday, I received my medical records from my old attorney and guess what the second page of the MRI report says! Disc dissection and annular tear at c5c6. Guess what my attending surgeon’s notes say from that day? MRI CLEAR.
Im so sad. I’m so angry. I could’ve gotten treatment so much sooner. I really suffered not knowing for a long time that I had a TBI as well. But there’s no proof of that.
I’m still really emotional. So sorry if this was difficult to understand or dramatic. Anyway. ADVOCATE ADVOCATE ADVOCATE

Lower back Pain
I am a 23 year old male, and former college athlete. I have recently started a 9-5 job where I am pretty much desk bound all day. I typically like to spend my free time, lifting, running, and playing basketball. Unfortunately this has become extremely difficult recently as I have a developed some lower back issues.
I was originally diagnosed with a lumbar strain. After receiving an MRI it was brought to my attention that I have a bulging L4-L5 disc that collides with my sciatic nerve root causing me pain every time I sit down.
I have been doing physical therapy as well as seeing local specialists in the area. So far none of recommend surgery and all have prescribed some type of pain medication to help cope with the symptoms as well as avoiding high impact activities. I have been in talks about possibly receiving an epidural injection but I am still unsure if that is the best course of action.
Are there any other young athletes out there (20s to 30s) that have a similar experience to share? If so, what did you do to get better and return to activities/ sports? How long were you out for?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SwmBIJMCCA2Nj6wXJCCQXv4bn6hoiug5/view?usp=sharing
I've been creating and editing mix playlists for years and this was a huge challenge. I'm incredibly happy with the results and I hope you all enjoy it as well. If it brings one new fan into the fold, then I've done my job!
There is a Read Me file included in the download, but here are the must-knows.
This set is intended to be a full introduction to King Gizzard's music to share with those who are interested in getting into the band. The .zip file in the above link contains the audio files in .FLAC format.
The creation of this compilation was driven by two goals:
1: Provide a listening experience that is equal to their albums in terms of quality
2: Provide a comprehensive look at each style they've touched over the years
Throughout the compilation, songs will transition as seamlessly as possible to the next track in sometimes surprising ways. The sequencing has also been refined and tweaked over the past year to be as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
For some backstory, I grew up in an age where burning CD's was on the bleeding edge of technology. Because old habits die hard, this playlist is separated into five "Discs" - four studio and one live. Each Disc has been sequenced and mixed to provide a complete, satisfying listening experience on its' own. If you would like to burn the Discs to a CD, they will fit - you will only have to remove the song marked as the "Bonus Track" in order for it to do so.
Finally, this is a fan-made compilation that is intended to be shared, not sold.
TRACKLIST
Disc 1

1. Sense
2. The River
3. Robot Stop >
4. Altered Beast III >
5. Alter Me III >
6. Gamma Knife >
7. Trapdoor
8. Ice V
9. Evil Man
10. Nuclear Fusion >
11. Catching Smoke >
12. The Grim Reaper
13. I'm Sleepin' In (Bonus Track)
14. Let Me Mend The Past
15. Head On/Pill
16. It's Got Old

Disc 2

1. The Dripping Tap
2. Sketches of Brunswick East Part III (Bonus Track)
3. Rattlesnake >
4. Pleura >
5. Hot Wax
6. Shanghai
7. Hypertension
8. Fishing for Fishies
9. Magenta Mountain
10. Crumbling Castle >
11. The Fourth Colour
12. Black Tooth

Disc 3

1. Planet B
2. Gaia >
3. Gila Monster >
4. Gaia (Reprise) >
5. Flamethrower
6. The Silver Cord (Extended) >
7. Set >
8. Intrasport >
9. Oddlife >
10. Honey >
11. Inner Cell >
12. Loyalty >
13. Horology
14. Work This Time
15. The Bitter Boogie (Bonus Track)
16. Am I in Heaven? >
17. Hell

Disc 4

1. Change
2. Kepler 22-b
3. Plastic Boogie
4. Boogieman Sam >
5. The Garden Goblin >
6. Tezeta >
7. The Wheel
8. Iron Lung
9. Slow Jam I
10. Sea of Trees >
11. I'm In Your Mind >
12. I'm Not In Your Mind >
13. Cellophane >
14. I'm In Your Mind Fuzz
15. Her And I (Slow Jam II)
16. Float Along - Fill Your Lungs
17. Vegemite (Bonus Track)

Disc 5 (Live)

1. Robot Stop (Live)
2. Hot Water (Live)
3. Shanghai (Live)
4. O.N.E. (Live)
5. Billabong Valley (Live)
6. Mars for the Rich (Live)
7. Work This Time (Live)
8. The River (Live)
9. Magma (Live)
10. Trench Foot

Disc 6 (bonus mixes)

1. Crumbling Castle / The Fourth Colour
2. Gaia / Gila Monster / Gaia (Reprise)

Data-Miner Gego stared at the results of the analysis, still in disbelief that this wild theory had borne fruit and stood up to scrutiny again and again. But now, here before him in data as clear as even the youngest apprentice could see, was evidence, clear and unshakable:
Humans were not what they promised themselves to be.
Feeling slightly nauseous with anxiety, he keyed in a request to meet with the diplomat’s office as soon as possible.
As the diplomat looked over his latest treaty proposal, there was a faint sound of horns in harmonious blaring, signifying someone had requested permission to enter. Glad for any distraction from the monotonous paperwork, he activated the intercom, saying “You are recognized and accepted. Please enter.”
As the crouched and scrabbling shape stepped into the doorway, diplomat Hale-he mused again how interesting it would be if the if their ancestors could have heard such a magnificent call for a mere diplomat. Previously, such a grand instrumentation would have been reserved for a high chieftain or king, and yet here was Hale-he, a diplomat to be sure, but certainly no ruler of any stripe, heralded by a song that would bring envy even to high lords and minor rulers in ages past.
The individual sat before him, and Hale-he could tell by their coloration and the shape of their antenna they were a scientist or engineer, someone likely far more familiar with numbers than he was. Hale-he, while now taking on the rich purple hues of a diplomat, had the underlying color of brilliant crimson, a mark of his near-decade of study as a historical scholar and graduate before his appointment into diplomacy.
“What do you have for me? Gego, I believe?”
The other individual nodded, crossing his pinchers in a sign of deference and respect. “I am sorry to disturb your appointment, but I have important information regarding humans.”
“Ah yes, humans,” said Hale-he, feeling a degree of relaxation and comfort at the mention of the gregarious and affable people.
Humans had taken quite some time in venturing out to the stars, but their planet was located such that a number of major trade routes passed quite near to their system. Several species had reported contact with them before humans had in turn reached out and started to make contact of their own. But from all reports, they were kind, clever, and selfless to a fault, with no recent instances of conflict despite a very violent early history. They were renowned for having an impeccable record of interspecies relations.
“I'm actually in the process of framing a new trade treaty with some of their inner-system human colonies. I believe the primary planet in question is called Mars, but they also have gas refineries and extractors above their gas giants, and several mining operations set up on a number of moons and their asteroid belt.”
“Yes, I have seen the newscast about how much this treaty is expected to aid both species,” said Gego. There was an odd note of apprehension Hale-he could detect in their chittering voice. “There is some invaluable context that I believe needs to be put to light.”
“Context? What do you mean, ‘context?’”
“Well, you are aware that we, the Civicor, first met humanity when a trade ship fell off course and crashed upon Earth?”
“It is a well-known accident. Some manner of navigational mishap; Thankfully, our propulsion systems are far more accurate today.”
“This is true, but are you also aware the Bayons have a remarkably-similar story related to their first contact with humanity as well? A military scout vessel, intending to regroup with the bulk of their fleet and engaging the Dendite menace, and they were likewise drawn off course, spiraling to crash onto Earth as well.”
“I remember the stories that time hypothesized that it was Dendite sabotage, even though it was unlikely for such a minor and inconsequential vessel,” said Hale-he. “Other than that, I’m unfortunately not familiar with their own reports on it.”
“But our two species are but a few from over a dozen first-contact reports with humanity. All stemming from engine failures, navigation failures, and crashes or forced landings of ships that lost control and arrived on Earth.”
“Well,” said the diplomat, starting to see the shape of the data-miner’s point, “Warpspace travel.has always been an inexact science at times, and was even less accurate decades ago. It's possible you are reading too much into a handful of coincidences.”
The data-miner rubbed their eyestalks, feeling exhaustion creeping in for how much frantic effort they had put in over the past three-day cycle. “Yes, but to borrow an idiom for the humans, ‘Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is a pattern,’ let alone a solid dozen instances within barely a fifty-year timespan. Even the most heavily-trafficked routes past the most dense or erratic planetoids have only achieved a third of that number.”
“You're asking me to disrupt peaceful and productive diplomatic ties with humans by suggesting they were responsible for these instances. Are you truly suggesting that this was intentional from humanity's part?”
“I am.”
“That may be, but we will require more proof than mere happenstance, unlikely though it may be.”
“I have additional data as well.” Gego was the most proud of this next part, and he carefully pulled up the diagrams and charting maps. A vibrant animation appeared onscreen of what appeared to be a rainbow-colored and spiked disc, surging and shaking on the screen. “This is the analysis of the gravitational field irregularities within a quarter of a solar year of Earth's primary star.”
The diplomat looked nonplussed at the diagram. “I would assume the fluctuations here are not ideal?”
“No indeed. They could be likened to a reef within a shallow sea, permitting transit in the calm regions but damaging and disrupting ships passing through a rough space. I have reached out to several of the shipping guilds for more details, but initial reports back support this theory, with several commenting that the route passing near to Earth is highly undesirable amongst experienced pilots due to the rough effects it has on engine stability and wear and tear.”
The diplomat looked over the diagram further before attempting to wave it away dismissively. “But who’s to say that this isn't a natural phenomena of Earth’s system? There are many regions of space that are disruptive or dangerous to travel through in warpspace, so what would make Earth's patch of turbulence unique?”
“The fact that they can turn it on and off at will.”
The diplomat coughed violently as the surprise dislodged the piece of fruit pulp he was eating out of his primary digestion sack and instead into the top of his gas exchange organ. “What in the three spheres do you mean they can turn it off?”
Gego grimaced this time as he keyed in some commands to the report. This time the disc figure that was pulled was much grainier and blocky, fine measurements now showing as wide swaths. “This was reverse-calculated from a series of gravimetric scans done across that entire arm of the galaxy.”
Even with the poor resolution, the diplomat could still see that this was a wildly chaotic and dangerous gravitational field. “It looks the same.”
The data-miner nodded. “Yes, but watch here: It's hard to tell, but this readout is actually playing in reverse, stepping backwards through time. We're about to hit 76 years ago.”
“What's so important about 76-” The diplomat cut off, words caught like fruit pulp in his throat as the image abruptly stilled. The disc depicting the gravitational field was now still and smooth as a windless pond.
“So it just started one day?”
“Indeed, Diplomat Hale-he. And furthermore, this beginning of the turbulence was a mere month before the first vessel lost controlI and was forced to make an emergency landing on Earth.”
The possibilities were rapidly narrowing, but Hale-he was still in favor of exploring whatever possible shred he could find to avoid confronting the dawning reality about humans.
“Well, while things of this nature are highly irregular, I presume, I'm still not convinced that this shows they can activate it at will.”
“I know, Gego said, “Which is why I wanted to show you that data before I show you this.”
The gravitational field display became the ragged tumultuous ocean of currents and surges, and this time in the higher detail that told Hale-he this was more recent readings. “I'm sure you saw the announcements a fortnight ago that humanity had tested their first faster than light engine they had made themselves, rather than trading for, and successfully made a jaunt out to the furthest planetoid in their star system and back without incident?”
“Yes?” the diplomat said cautiously.
“I received this data from a colleague, who was concerned there may have been an instrument malfunction to produce such data as I’m about to show you. She checked and validated it herself. It was fully accurate and reliable, which makes it all the more troubling. I don't think she realized the cause of what she was seeing, but unfortunately the timing of it adds up too perfectly.”
The data-miner continued quietly recalling “I believe at this point we're at 30 seconds to launch the human’s test flight.”
Hale-he let out an involuntary gasp of breath as the gravity field abruptly stilled again, perfectly smooth simultaneously across the entire spread of it.
Grimly, the data-miner said “Here we had the jump,” and after a short pause continued “-and the return.” A few seconds later and the field abruptly resumed its turbulence.
The diplomat was still in shock, staring at the gravimetric readout, when Gego said “That's also not the most concerning part, either. This was supposed to be humanity's first faster-than-light capability of their own they were testing here; Isn't that right?”
“Well of course,” replied Hale-he. “It was on all the new stations. A great achievement for a species that had been slow to achieve that milestone.”
“I would remind you then that the readout here is half a light-year in diameter.”
The diplomat scrunched his eyestalks in confused concentration, trying to understand what the other alien was implying, when suddenly it hit him. “Yet they were able to disrupt such a large region simultaneously, and stop it equally quickly?”
Gego nodded. “Whatever means they have at causing such a disruption is certainly faster-than-light, and immensely wide-ranging. If it was slower and confined to a small area, I might have some theories as to how it could be accomplished, but this size, this scale and the speed? I have no idea. It is beyond anything our sciences and technology can produce, or that of any other known species.”
The diplomat sat back, stunned. “By the Spheres.” He glanced up at Gego. “What do you propose we do with this information?”
The data-miner waved an arm. “Perhaps we can get to the bottom of this: Go to humanity with the information we have. Tell them we want the secrets of this technology and the power sources that feed it, as it far eclipses anything we can currently achieve. Tell them that we will expose these findings to the rest of the space-faring civilizations of the galaxy if they continue to hold back.”
The diplomat’s eyes widened, before after a long moment he said “I see. Well, I still need to get to my duties and figure out how to handle this. You are excused, and a reminder to keep the strictly confidential while I inform the appropriate other parties.”
Gego bowed in deference before leaving the office. After he left, Hale-he leaned back in his saddle chair and groaned. The idiot had uncovered humanity possessed the capability of affecting a wide chunk of space at a power and complexity unheard of among any other known species, and his first suggestion was to blackmail them? The diplomat rubbed his head trying to make the sudden headache go away.
A few thoughts were coming to mind, snippets that had been dismissed in the moment, but now he couldn't shake them as he was reminded of the first species that had ever encountered humanity, and the comments by their scientists. They had said that humans were curiously disinterested in their warpspace drivers, despite not having faster-than-light capabilities already.
Then the second species that encountered humanity had mentioned that a child of one of the diplomatic party had become separated from the group, and accidentally come in contact with and ingested some Earth flora. It wasn't something toxic or dangerous to humans, but the physiological makeup of that species reacted poorly with alkaloids in the flora and would have resulted in a swift and painful death if left untreated. But instead, the humans had administered a series of emetics and alkaloid-binding treatments, something they said was common in the case of an accidental poison ingestion, The diplomat remembered reading a footnote from the inhuman physician at the time that this particular blend of neutralizing agents was not something commonly found in human medical kits, and in fact was uniquely suited to their own species’ biology.
Both had been written off as flukes, interesting anecdotes at most, but now the diplomat began to see the greater shape of it, as a species that cared not for faster-than-light travel, for they'd doubtless already achieved it, mastered it, and discarded it as uninteresting at some point before. A species, who upon supposed first contact, had comprehensive medical and anatomical knowledge of their guests sufficient enough to save a child in mere minutes from otherwise certain death.
All this from a species that had befriended and gregariously hosted every alien ship that had come astray upon their planet, and offered nothing but support and friendship to both waylaid travelers and their subsequent diplomatic summits, despite seeming to lack the ability to travel outside of their own star system. A species that was confident, at a basal level that Hale-he was only just now beginning to truly understand.
He opened a communications missive, addressed to all the other diplomats of similar station amongst the other species humanity had made contact with.
”Greetings to my fellow ambassadors. I come bearing difficult news regarding humanity: They are *not what they appear to be. Yet, I believe it is of the utmost importance that we continue to pretend that they are, For fear that otherwise, we will learn who, or what, they truly are…”*
Enjoy this tale? Check out DarkPrinceLibrary for more of my stories like it!

Good evening, I live in Georgia, US, but I have no idea how to handle what's currently going on as it's absolutely insane and it doesn't help that I have a mother whose bothering the absolute last of my mental capacity trying to get me to pursue anything related to what happened.
On March 31st, Easter Sunday, I was attacked by a coworker while on the job. It resulted after almost an hour of small but not irate back and forth disagreements, them yelling at my kitchen manager and supervisor about me, me yelling back for the first time, they then turned and grappled me into a cooling rack while the supervisor and manager pulled him off. I did not retaliate at all. After the grappling was done, I realized my pinky finger was crooked, purple, and swollen.
The aggressor was immediately terminated after being sent home. I forgot to make a police report until later, from what I heard from coworkers, the aggressor has had many written complaints about him and instances like this before. I know I have given a written complaint about him as well, but I cannot confirm other employees complaints. My manager and I thought the pinky might just be a jammed since it was only on the last digit of the pinky that seem affected. We duct taped it to my ring finger as a splint, and I finished my shift. When I removed the duct tape after, the pinky was much darker, much more swollen and not looking the best, so I asked for worker's comp to cover getting it checked out.
Workers comp was approved, and same day the 31st, I was sent to an urgent care to receive an x-ray. X-ray confirmed that the last digit was fractured and displaced next to the joint. They gave me a reference for an orthopedic, and I filed a police report that evening for the attack. The aggressor now has a warrant for a misdemeanor that could be upgraded to a felony from what I understood, but he still hasn't been picked up yet.
The company I work for gave me a final written warning for yelling, and it later took another 3 weeks to get an appointment for an orthopedic through my company's workers comp insurer. After the appointment, the doctor confirmed I would need surgery on the pinky, and two pins placed in it to keep the healing aligned. The surgery took place on April 29th, and I have been out of work since as I cannot cook with pins in my left hand and large bandages preventing gloves.
I was sent a VascuTherm to help with swelling and pain, plenty of pain killers, and asked to return on the 9th for checkup. Check up told me I'd have the pins in for another 2 to 4 weeks but overall was healing well. On May 13th, one of the pins was accidentally ripped out of my finger just by closing a microwave door. I saw the doctor the following day on the 14th, who confirmed the arc of the joint still looks alright but that he doesn't think I'd need another pin. Will find out more on the next check up on the 23rd. I will have to have physical therapy once the pins are removed.
The workers comp insurance company sent me a check in the mail yesterday for the 29th through the 19th, but it really equals to roughly 2 weeks worth of hours pre-tax. I would like the cash the check since this months bills are already behind from missing work, but wanted to reach out for advice before hand. I have not heard anything from the county about the aggressor in the mean time. Despite it being just a pinky digit, I have lost roughly 50% of my dexterity in my left hand, I wish I was kidding, turns out you need your pinky for a fist and grip. I do like the company, my coworkers, etc. and I want to work there for a few years minimum, but I always don't want to shoot myself in the foot and lose my job with no back up because I looked into legals. I also just have a TON of anxiety, so that hasn't helped the situation.
Any advice is appreciated, sorry for the wall.
TL;DR: Coworker attacked and broke one of my fingers, everything seems fine but everybody is bothering me to pursue legal, but I'm scared for my job and jobs of my coworkers who helped me because the place is really that great.

🔔I wanted to share my experience (from painful to painless) with you all.🔔
It all started from a deadlifting exercise. I started to feel sharp, needle-like pain originating from my piriformis muscle. At that time, I couldn't figure out where the pain was coming from and why. Gradually, the pain went all the way down to my left toes, and I felt numbness/tingling in that leg. I couldn't walk, stand, or lay down to sleep. The pain was unbearable. Life was miserable. I went to see my doctor, and he prescribed prednisone and muscle relaxers. They didn't work at all. I was feeling hopeless.
After a week, I was scheduled for X-rays and an MRI. The doctor found out I had a massive herniated disc with right neural foraminal compromise at L5-S1. I was scheduled for surgery for Right L5-S1 hemilaminectomy, medial facetectomy, foraminotomy, and diskectomy at the renowned Neuro Spine Surgery Clinic in Dothan, Alabama.
Today, I am 18 days post my successful surgery. Absolutely no pain at all. The numbness and tingling are completely gone. My lower back is kind of stiff, but it's getting better every single day. I am in my early 30s, and I am seeing progress every single day.
I have started walking for 15 minutes/a mile pace every day. If you feel there is no light at the end of the tunnel, believe me, there is. Just get in touch with a very good neurosurgeon who knows what they are doing. I have seen plenty of you guys posting every day and being confused about whether you want to have surgery or not! You should definitely go for the surgery.