Last year, I had a partial hymenectomy to remove an imperforate hymen. I got my well women's exam today and I was....anxious. And I have a great doctor who believes that after the physical barrier of the hymen was removed, vaginismus remains. I've got a consult with a pelvic floor specialist, probably coming soon.
Looking up vaginismus, I'll just say, lots of things track. I think it's probably a lack of experience, but I think it's mental and stress related as well.
I don't know really how much I want to share here, but from the posts I've read already, I want to thank you all for your vulnerability. I feel less alone already.

I know this isn’t paranormal.. but I don’t know where else to post this thread.. so here it is.
This is truly the first time I’ve ever publicly shared this story.
As far back as I can remember I always had a dream of becoming a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps. My dream was to someday go to college, attend OCS, get my commission and climb the ranks to someday be a Colonel like my grandpa.
Well, I had a severe childhood allergic reaction to yellow jacket stings. I had to carry an epipen for many years because my throat would close if I was stung. When the Marine Officer program sent me to MEPs for my physical and I was asked if I had ever had an allergic reaction to insect bites.. I was quick to lie because I wasn’t going to have anything stop me from becoming a Marine.
August 20 was two weeks before I was due to report for OCS and I was doing my pre shipment fitness test. I had completed the pull ups, the crunches and I was doing the three mile run. Keep in mind, this three mile run was on a college track in a large urban area on the outskirts of a city.. So, what I mean is, it was NOT in the boondocks.
As I’m doing my run, a yellow jacket literally stings my leg 3-4 times. I can’t even remember the last time before this that I was stung! I guess it must’ve been in childhood. Being the “wanna be tough guy” I made sure I completed the run for my recruiter. But when we returned to the recruiting office, my leg was badly swollen. I didn’t have the severe allergic reaction I did during childhood. But still had a physical reaction. My recruiter even seemed to think it was an odd coincidence, but told me I should continue with the lie I had given during my physical
Anyway, to wrap up my story.. I didn’t end up attending OCS for other reasons. But to this day, I sort of interpreted this as very odd.
Also, it makes the story even more eerie for me because I was a farm hand in college and I also helped with land surveying, so I was always outside in the brush and fields a ton.. very odd I didn’t get stung until this particular day after I lied.

I know this has been getting a lot of press in the news and a lot of posting on this sub, most of it being about the conservation angle, but bear with me here. If you're sick of hearing about threatened swallows and bats and salamanders and rare wetlands and native grasslands, let's talk finances, and a plan to shift funding that the developer had already committed to onto Alberta taxpayers. (Credit to my dad here, who like a good rural Albertan always reads the county council minutes in the local papers. I've generally read the stories on this that go through the major news outlets but I haven't seen this angle covered.)
This is from Kneehill County Meeting Minutes, May 02:
https://www.threehillscapital.com/news/11453

The background for the request is stated: “James Zelazo has been working very hard to move this project forward. The proposed project is within an approved Area Structure Plan. As per his subdivision application and his Development Agreement, he is required to build and pave 5.88 miles of the access road from Highway 9 to the site. He has found it challenging to raise investor funds for the construction of the road as well as the security required since it is an asset that they won’t own, so he has been in contact with different ministers to see what funding may be available to help facilitate this portion of the project.” The County has heard that the STIP – LMI (Local Municipal Initiatives) stream would be the best program for funding; a grant that is 75% province and 25% municipality “and suggested the Developer (Badlands Motorsport) could make an arrangement with the Municipality to pay the Municipality’s 25% share.” The cost could be $15M total. This information was shared with Council by the Developer.
Council moved to send a letter to confirm the above information with Minister Dresheen, and to ensure that this funding would not decrease the County’s normal STIP funding which is used for bridges and roads. Council, with all in favour, approved the writing of a letter. Reeve King noted that this is a made in Kneehill County project, with all revenue staying in the County.

So just to summarize:

• One of the only requirements that Kneehill County* gave the developer is that the developer had to develop and pave the road to connect the site with the #9 highway, which the developer agreed to. The estimated cost for this is $15m.
• Now, the developer has been unable to raise those funds through its investors.
• The developer has been in touch with ministries regarding funding.
• The county has heard that a local municipal initiatives fund would be most appropriate for this grant, which stipulates 75% paid by the province, 25% paid by the municipality.
• The muncipality is further suggesting that the developer pay the municipality's share, and is sending a letter to Minister Dresheen to inquire further, making sure doing so wouldn't impact other funding the county receives through this grant.

Now, there are a lot of things to unpack here. I think the biggest is that the developer is already reneging on financial commitments made. This should be absolutely a red flag that the project is not on solid financial footing, and devoting provincial money to it, especially with the lack of review that this has received, is absolutely irresponsible. And if the investors are looking to shirk responsibility for the road because it's an asset they don't own, how can we expect them to uphold the bare minimum of the environmental protections they've given vague lip-service about honouring?
Additionally: who are the ministries that the developer inquired with? Presumably Minister Dresheen's department of Transportation. Then someone with the county heard that the MLI grant would be appropriate? Who advised them of that? The Department of Transportation, perhaps? Then a plan is hatched for the developer to pay the county's share of that, removing any county obligation? Is it just me or does it sound like this is all a plan for the government to back the project specifically with taxpayer money, without having the province have to go through the usual optics of supporting a controversial project, and without having the county pony up their end of the cash normally required for this grant?
Regardless of who's idea this end-around is, it's an abuse of the concept of shared-infrastructure spending. The point of having shared infrastructure spending between multiple levels of government is so that both levels of government have skin in the game, so to speak; that a municipality identifies priorities that it is willing to put its own budget behind. If the municipality is not standing behind this grant as something that they are willing to invest in, then it is no longer a shared infrastructure expense but a direct government handout to support a controversial development that lacks its own solid investors. If his own investors don't want to pay for this road, and the county doesn't want to pay for this road, why should provincial taxpayers be paying for this road, when it serves nobody except the developer and the track's private users? The purpose of infrastructure investment should be to support things that are to the benefit of people who live in the area, not prop up a high-risk development that primarily provides benefit to people outside the district, in the hopes of future tax revenue. Are people in other small towns okay with the government taking money out of this infrastructure investment fund to save private developments?
* For some additional background on the county politics here, the development is on the very corner of Kneehill County, and bordered on three sides by Wheatland County; this includes the nearby community of Rosebud. As such most of the locals who object to this are in Wheatland County, and have no standing or connections to challenge this in Kneehill County. This would absolutely be quashed if the development had to go through Wheatland County instead. Kneehill County is highly financially motivated at the moment because another one of their big-development-for-tax-revenue schemes, a plan to build a massive landfill near the village of Carbon to handle waste material from Calgary, fell through this month after a huge local outcry. But with the racetrack, the outcry isn't from their own constituents so they'll do whatever they can to push that through, and the more of the bill the province foots, the better.
TL;DR: After having already talked to the government, a racetrack developer tells county to get $15m grant for the road development that he had previously agreed to pay; he'll pay them back the required municipal portion of the grant to get around the grant's requirements.

Hello again velo, It's me. The guy that rides uphill in Japan. On my last post I mentioned some differences in racing in Japan saying it was for another post. Well, there appeared to be some interest in me making that post. As I mentioned then... I tend to ramble. I'm an English teacher at a small high school which leaves me with a lot of free time. I enjoy spending that time researching anything from training methodology to obscure Japanese history. I decided to use some of that time to write about road racing in Japan and it turned into... well, whatever this is. It's (sort of) a guide to racing your bike over here. I've organized it into sections, so feel free to read it all or skip through them. At the end I've attached racing adjacent notes as well as a small bio.
If this post is not appropriate for this subreddit, I understand. And while I don't want to self-promote I spend most of my time reading about Japan not only because I live here, but also because my wife and I host a podcast. We mostly ramble about our lives here as foreigners. It's mostly cultural, but as long time competetive cyclists we often talk about bikes too. We host a website where I write random articles, which is where this is ultimately hosted, with photos. If you're curious you can google my username and find us.
I tried to think about things I've learned along the way and put it into writing for anyone in the future that might move to Japan and have an interest in racing. If you have any questions or see any information gaps, feel free to ask! In September we'll be moving to the Netherlands... so maybe I'll have to do this all over again then. Anyway, without further rambling, here it is.
Race License
There are actually quite a lot of road events throughout the country. However, many are marketed towards recreational cyclists. Going as far as incorporating anti-competition clauses in their rules. So what do you do if you want to race? For starters, you’ll head to the Japan Cycling Federation’s website and register for a license. It’s in Japanese, but with the magic of Google Translate it shouldn’t be too hard to navigate. This is also for those currently residing in Japan. I think otherwise you would need an international license issued from your country’s governing body.
While on their website you can check the calendar of events that are scheduled. But, it’s not as simple as where I am from (USA) where once you have a license you can register yourself for almost any event and just show up.
Race Organizers
In most cases while the JCF is the licensing body, they are not the event coordinator. Events are hosted by a number of different governing bodies within the country. There’s the Japan Intercollegiate Cycling Federation (JICF), Japan Cycling League (JCL), prefectural federations such as the Yamaguchi Cycling Federation and finally the Japan Bicyclist Club Federation (JBCF). There are a lot of Js, Cs and Fs in the acronym lexicon over here. In this post I’ll be focusing on the JBCF because it was sold to me as Japan’s premier race organizer and the highest level of racing in Japan. It also seems to have the most robust calendar of events.
Declaration of my bias and shortcoming: The JBCF is the only organizer I’ve had any meaningful experience with. No, they’re not paying me. However I have won a cool towel, a coffee cup and some bar tape at their events. Actually I’ve given them quite a bit of money…
Teams
So you’ve got your JCF license and like me you’ve decided to participate in the JBCF. What’s next? Register for a JBCF account, sign up for events, race your bike? Almost. You do need to register for an account. After that, you need to find a team. That’s right, you need to be registered with a JBCF team to participate in races. This was a surprise to me and also a barrier to entry at first. As a new resident of Japan I didn’t know anyone here let alone a team that would let a random foreigner join.
How’d I do it then? Well, the first team I joined was through a friend of a friend of a friend. My second and current team I ended up getting to know because I took a bunch of KOMs around my new home. I guess Strava KOMs are worth something after all. If you’re looking for a team you could start by asking local shops, they often have a club organization that you can sign up for. If you’re desperate you can also make your own team. It used to only require two people, but I think they increased that to three or four.
Costs
I’m writing this in May of 2024, so the costs will be current as of that month. The USD to JPY conversion is sitting around 1 USD = 155 JPY.
Your first cost will be the JCF license fee. In my case, an elite rider over 23 years old, it was 5,000y for an e-license and 6,300y for the physical one. My first year I used the e-license, but my second year I paid for the physical one as a cool souvenir.
Beyond the license. You’ll need a team kit (bibs & jersey) and you may also be required to pay the athlete registration fee. To join my E1 team in 2024 I paid 43,000 yen. That included one team kit and the registration fee plus some small accessories (gloves, bottle, etc.). In E1 I paid all my own entry fees, which were approximately 8,500y per race.
My JPT experience was a special case. I paid roughly $1,200 (usd). But I received two kits (jerseys & bibs), a speed suit (SS skinsuit), windbreaker, vest, socks, etc. I also had the benefit of the “pro” treatment at races with lots of assistance. Was it a cold rainy day? I could ask for embro and they’d oil me up with a little massage. Needed a bike wash, snacks, or a trainer to warm up on? All provided. And all of my entry fees were covered. I never paid those out of pocket. It was a really cool experience and honestly I think I got my money's worth just in the races that I attended, let alone all the extras. Plus the team was above and beyond hospitable. A really great bunch of people.
Categories
Once you’re on a team you’re good to go! So which category should you race in? The JBCF has 5 big categories: Japan Pro Tour (JPT), Japan Elite Tour (JET), Japan Feminin Tour (F), Japan Youth Tour (Y1 & Y2), and the Japan Masters Tour (M). JET is further broken down into E1, E2 & E3. The general idea is male riders start as E3 and through results they work their way up to E1. If they’re highly motivated they’ll target a placement on a JPT Team.
Unfortunately for the women, I believe there is only one lump “Female” category. But in one of my most recent races a woman lined up with us for our race start. So that may be an option. For the Youth there’s U19 & U17. Masters is similar to the women’s category and I believe there is simply one “Masters” event, without age ranges.
Using what I know (USA Cycling Categories) I’ll try to make a comparison. E3 is your Cat 4/5 or Novice rank. E2 is around Cat 3/4 and E1 is roughly one big P/1/2/3 field. JPT is something like the US’s Domestic Elite field. Some JPT teams (and even some E1 teams) are UCI Continental teams. Although, honestly, some JPT riders are probably equivalent to strong Cat 3s.
In America I raced as a Cat 2 on the road, albeit I was a pretty weak 2. My first year in Japan I raced JPT and was able to hang in the peloton and finish events. My second year I raced as an E1, where I was very competitive and able to fight for podium finishes. That’s my experience and my basis for the above comparisons.
Events
Once you’ve got all the above figured out, it’s time to finally race! The JBCF organizes the following events: Road, Criterium, Hill Climb, Time Trial and Track. Criterium, Time Trial & Track are pretty similar to what you’d find anywhere else in the world. So for this post I’ll really just focus on Road and Hill Climb.
It’s worth noting that except for track, all of these events take place on public roads. But, unlike the USA, it seems the general rule in Japan is that for a race to be a “race” the roads need to be closed to traffic. Sounds great, right? Right! Or, mostly. Japan is a beautiful country with incredible scenery and fantastic road riding. Unfortunately, the JBCF uses very little of this. I think to minimize inconveniencing locals, cut costs, and make their lives easier, most of these events will take place on already closed circuits or around agricultural land (where no one lives or drives anyway). In practice they are “public” roads, but they only need to shut down one or two entrances to close off the entire loop.
Many “road” events are just very long short circuit races. A popular venue that hosts multiple races throughout the season is the Gunma Cycle Sports Center. This is a defunct cycling theme park built in the 1980s with a paved 6 km circuit. Some of the races in the higher categories can be up to 150 km! That’s 25 laps! And, they’ll be pulling riders. When I was racing JPT it was often a big accomplishment just to finish a race. It was a common occurrence for a break to get established with the big teams represented and the rest of the field to sit up, inevitably getting pulled before being lapped. It’s not uncommon for well over half of the field to DNF early on in these longer races. Sometimes to add a little spice to your life, they’ll run the course in the opposite direction one weekend.
So, I’m biased, but that style of “road racing” wasn’t for me. That’s what led me to the Hill Climb. At first, I thought it was just an uphill TT. But, it's a mass start! The last one I did was Mt. Ontake HC which was a 17.7km race gaining 1,150 meters in elevation finishing at an altitude just under 2,200m. I finished in 51 minutes. It’s more like an uphill criterium. You might explode, but you won’t get pulled. It’s also, of course, point to point.
Good things to know about a Hill Climb are the controlled descent and luggage delivery. When you finish you’ll be waiting at the top of the climb for all other riders and categories to finish. Sometimes this means you’re waiting for an hour or more! Thankfully the morning of the race you can give a bag to the organizers and they will deliver it to the top of the mountain. This is a great way to make sure you have extra layers and snacks waiting for you. Just make sure it’s packed in a bag that you can then easily carry with you on the descent.
Be extra mindful of the forecast. At Ontake in 2024 we started at the base of the mountain in temperatures around 16 celsius. At the summit it was 7 degrees and it started to rain! Thankfully I had a teammate who had driven to the top (you must register your vehicle) and he gave me a lift back down. If you’re riding down, the descent will be done in waves which are chaperoned and controlled by officials on motorcycles.
Registering
I can only tell you my experience and I’m not certain that this is how it always works. When I was in the JPT, I never paid for an event. Each team could send six riders and the team manager made a selection based on which riders requested to go to which event, they would then register you to go. In my E1 team I haven’t run into any rider maximums (we only have a few E1 riders), and I pay for each event. I still tell the team’s manager which event I want to travel to, they register me, but then I pay them back.
The Day Of
The JBCF events have been very organized. The week before they will release a list of registered riders along with a technical guide. The technical guide will include information about the course, where to park, where to check in, how to pin your numbers and more. It’s only in Japanese. Google Translate will be your best friend. Or if you’re lucky you may have a teammate that can speak some English and help you out.
Usually the check in process begins a couple of hours before the start time. You’ll go to license control and pick up your numbers and timing chip. If you’re doing a hill climb and need to, this is also the period of time you drop off your luggage to be taken to the summit. Get kitted & pinned up, then go to the “vehicle control”. They will check your bike against a jig, kind of like what the UCI might use, as well as check the weight (take your bottles off the bike when you hand it to them) and make sure your numbers are pinned correctly. A keen eyed inspector may even look at your helmet to make sure it has the JCF certification sticker. You could possibly be told to change helmets if yours doesn’t have the sticker. When they tell you that everything is OK, you’ll go to the table and sign the box with your name.
There are also meetings that will be happening. But, you shouldn’t have to worry about that. If the team manager can’t be present they will send an “attendant”. This person is responsible for going to the meetings and reporting back to the riders.
Podiums & Prizes
Look how far you’ve come. After all that you’re headed to the podium, which in many events will be six deep. What should you expect? Maybe a cool trophy or a medal? It’s even better. How about a formal certificate signed and stamped by the JBCF President! That’s right, you’ll be receiving an A4 sheet of paper. And yes, when they hand it to you they’ll turn it to face you, use both hands to hand it over and bow. And yes, you should receive it with both hands and bow in return. I plan to frame and hang mine like some kind of college diploma. You’ll probably receive a prize as well. Something like what I mentioned earlier in this post, a towel, cup, umbrella, etc.
Where’s the money? If you want to hold a giant cheque with a big number (because it’s in yen) you’ll need to be racing in the top category, JPT. In this category the podium is only three deep. One time in a race I had a teammate finish 3rd and win some money. I never saw any of it, which was fair as I didn’t really contribute to his result. And I never podiumed myself. So I’m not sure how the payout actually works. Did he get to keep it all? Did the team take it? Who knows. I hope he kept it all, he’s a great guy.
Other Notes
Gachinko Cycle TV & Photo Galleries. Almost all JBCF events are live streamed & archived on YouTube! There’s a company called Gachinko Cycle TV that provides coverage. This includes camera motos as well as stationary cameras. A lot of photographers also come to the events and a photo gallery is posted on the JBCF website after the events take place.
Events & Categories. Not every event will be run for every category. A motivator for me to move from JPT to E1 was that not every hill climb has a JPT category, but they all seem to have E1. My first time racing at Ontake I was in the “Open” category and not eligible for any points or placement.
Outlier events. There are some events like the Niseko Classic (Gran Fondo World Championship Qualifier) and the Tour of Okinawa. These are one off events which are not part of the JBCF or any other federation I mentioned above. But, they are “real” road races on closed roads. There are also plenty of “cookie” rides. But be aware, like mentioned earlier, many of these explicitly say you shouldn’t come and try to ride for a certain time. I think it’s related to what I’ve been told about races having to take place on closed roads. These cookie rides likely have no traffic control. And instead of a cookie, you might get a bag of dry rice to cook later. Happened to me once.
The Hill Climb might be Japan’s most accessible event. There are actually quite a few of them around the country outside of the JBCF and they can be registered for on SportsEntry - I don’t think you need a JCF license.
What about other disciplines? I’ll toss this in here at the end because I think it’s worth mentioning. If you’re not racing Track, Cyclocross or Road… you’re not going to be doing much racing. Mountain biking is still very much in its infancy here in Japan. Despite its incredible landscape, there’s a shocking lack of good mountain biking. My wife and I moved here from Western North Carolina and she’s a former Age Group XC National Champion as well as podium finisher in events like the Pisgah Stage Race and Collegiate Nationals in STXC, XC & Omnium. So believe me, we have tried to find some good mountain biking here and it’s rough.
There are some lift-access downhill courses and we actually went to one for a “gravel” race which my wife won. This was held on what was essentially a non-technical STXC course. Disappointing is a bit of an understatement. There IS Grinduro Japan… but it’s insanely expensive and again, not really a race.
This honestly has had a big impact on our decision to ultimately move away from Japan. But, keep an eye out for developments in places like: https://www.minamialpsmtb.com/ https://namba.ngo/ https://www.nsd-hakuba.jp/iwatake_mtb_park/en/
Cyclocross has a big following in Japan and the calendar appears to be full of events throughout the season. If we were staying long term, I’d be buying a cross bike. Unfortunately I don’t have one, so I never got into that scene while living here.
Although this is mostly about racing in Japan, if you come here to race you’ll also (hopefully) be riding your bike for fun. Please be aware some laws work differently here. Although I’ve never personally run into trouble I’ve been told things like: bikes MUST use the crosswalk if turning across traffic (no turning like a car turns) & that bikes CANNOT exceed 30 km/h (a bike shop owner told me this). My wife and I have often talked about this as well… while in the USA drivers can be malicious towards cyclists, Japanese drivers are often blissfully ignorant towards them. Always ride defensively. Drivers will make eye contact with you and proceed to pull out in front of you expecting you to either not be traveling with speed or to stop for them. Even in “polite” Japan, the Car is King. I’ve had far more close calls with drivers here than I had in America. Having said that, it’s still a wonderful country to explore by bike.
Who Am I?
If you read all of this, thanks! I hope that you learned a little bit about road racing in Japan. But, who am I? I’m an American from Western North Carolina, now living in Japan. Ishikawa Prefecture to be specific. I’ve been a cyclist since 2011 when I bought my first road bike. In America I’m a Cat 2 on the road and an XC MTB Cat 1 with extensive experience training for and racing in a variety of disciplines. Road riding and racing is my true love and I honestly only got into MTB to hang out with my girlfriend. I guess it was worth it because the only National Championship medals I have are from Team Relay & Team Omnium. Oh, we ended up getting married too. So that was cool. I also got into the gravel craze thanks to the plethora of racing options in the South East. I’ve stood on multiple podiums with the internet’s favorite privateer, Dylan Johnson. And I’ve dabbled in bikepacking, bike touring & ultra endurance riding. Really, I’m just a guy that thinks about bikes too much.

So before fully jumping into the lostwave genre (hi from the EKT community, lol) I actually had my own search for a song that I've been looking for for years...simply to hear the full version of it.
The catch? Unlike other lost songs, in this case I actually KNOW the artist and the name of the song....or at least what seems to be like a working title. The song from what I can gather is "Ben Eats Peanuts" by The Foxfield Four.
https://voca.ro/1kJwIsSvct0J
I pulled it from a studio monitor demo that used to be on YouTube and has since been removed. I dug and found a working repost and was able to capture just 46 seconds of it.
There also appears to be a live performance of the song by The David James Band (which boasts a lot of similarities, I'm assuming it's probably the same people with a different name).
The part that's lost is that aside from that live video, I have been unsuccessful in locating the full song ANYWHERE. I read somewhere that it was released on the Weatherman EP but it doesn't show up in any of the song listings where that album is posted. EVEN SHAZAM PICKS IT UP BUT I CAN'T STREAM IT ANYWHERE!!
Perhaps the band pulled it themselves? I've just been dying to hear the rest of the track for years and I can't get this stupid song anywhere. 😭
Hopefully this gets a few more people on board with my search, it's a banger of a track that's pretty well produced so imo deserves to be heard. :c

My wife and I spend a lot of time watching the first few days of the bashos, keeping track of who we'd like to follow.
Some of the time, I'll find us watching the guys who are outliers. Who are really big (Dewanojo and Akinoyama) or really small (Urutora and Ouyamada) along with rikishi who just look like they're putting in the work with good fundamentals. Dude has a killer shiko. Someone has a good looking throw.
And the longer I spend watching the Jonidan and Jonokuchi, some of it is breaking my heart.
I feel bad for the lower level rikishi, particularly the ones who have been there for years but seem somewhat unathletic or broken down. Like Kyonosato. He will squeak by in Jonokuchi and then get his head kicked in at Jonidan.
It's not like we're making fun of him but he seems like Moriurara where it's not really a question of improvement.
I'm not watching it to see them lose, if anything I admire their courage and tenacity. But I also know there's an element of they probably don't have much alternatives.
What type of post career lives do the vast majority of the rikishi lead?

Hello Y'all! I am just reposting the update and adding some insights in case my last post was removed.
OLD POST << Hello, folks! Some people here must have seen my last post about my experience with folliculitis and how it wouldn't stop coming back no matter what I did ( even after a ton of antibiotics and other medication for 6 months ) and I think I found out why. After endless textbooks and science papers, I finally came across some interesting papers :

• Cutaneous larva migrans with folliculitis: report of seven cases and review of the literature ( the most important )

⦁ Hookworm-Related Cutaneous Larva Migrans by Patrick Hochedez and Eric Caumes on Oxford Academic ( PDF online, this one contains very in depth information ) (( Just click on doi ))
⦁ Hookworm: An Uncommon Cause of Folliculitis in Travelers on Pubmed ( PDF online )
⦁ Hookworm folliculitis by Khaled Ezzedine and Thierry Pistone also on Pubmed
⦁ A Creeping holiday souvenir : about a misleading case of hookworm folliculitis on Oxford Academic.
There's a parasite that is so small and easily caught ( they come from animals, mostly dogs and cats ) that has the same characteristics of bacterial folliculitis. In fact, in some of these papers, it is said that if the antibiotics and nothing else works, it's probably this thing. They don't appear on blood tests and sometimes you can't see them even with a biopsy.
( Doctors found out because of a guess, actually. )
One thing that I did not find on textbooks and was surprised to read is: bacterial folliculitis rarely itches. Itching is the main sympton of parasitic folliculitis, in fact, the itching is worse at night. Although it was studied in 1929 at first and they are found everywhere ( principally in tropical and subtropical countries) most doctors end up missing the clues because these little f**ks are not that well known and they don't show the usual characteristics that parasites show ( for example, at first I thought they were scabies, but mine are not contagious so I ruled it out ) but this kind of parasite can be non contagious too.
By the way, I must specify that other kinds of folliculitis CAN itch too. Here they are talking about the difference between bacterial and parasitic folliculitis.
So it explains those past symptoms that I previously talked about :
⦁ Comes back after medication even if weeks later.
⦁ Sugar can make it worse ( parasites like that )
⦁ Heat and sweat make it worse.
⦁ There are no other symptoms like fever or pain ( apparently, the larvae can't reach deeper skin, so it stays trapped on the outer layers of skin. )
⦁ The lesions appear some days after first contact and can take very few days to appear other lesions.
⦁ The lesions follow a TRAIL. They can be linear or just jump from one place to another. They are always close initially before going onto other places.
⦁ It started on my thighs, but besides the thigh it is also common to appear first on the skin of your feet or above the gluteous. And then it goes to the rest of your body.
Yeah, so Doctors can end up misdiagnosing because it can look like scabies or bacterial folliculitis. As one of the papers said, it can last years because the parasite can die but come back. A person can get them anywhere but it's most common to get them after having contact with water or soil contaminated, even stepping on it for a second can be enough.
Another interesting thing is that infections of the skin can look different on everyone, no matter the race, so sometimes they can be parasitic but look like bacterial, virus, fungus folliculitis. Most of them usually have a brown dot in the middle though.
So I ask you guys to read those papers, they may help you. They talk about the medication that was used and apparently it's rare for them to have side effects, and of course, be careful with self medication, if you can please contact a medically qualified professional. I know that choice is not available to everyone but if you can, a second opinion can be very helpful.
Today I went to check with my doctor and everyone was very happy to confirm that that was the actual problem. So I am happy to share this information with you guys.
Cheers! >>
UPDATE ( 2 )
It's working. As I answered someone else back there " The good news is that was exactly the problem. The bad news is that folliculitis is a very uncommon thing to get when it comes to parasites and it's the hardest to get rid of, unfortunately. They basically say " It's hard to get rid of, take the meds until it's gone" because that's something that doesn't happen every day and the doctors and scientists are kind of not totally sure what to do. So I'm taking 12mg ivermectin every monday ( two pills of 6mg ) because that's usually what people do and works most of the time. At the start I had them all over my body, but then months later I took ivermectin for three days and they kind of died, so I had to stop taking any kind of medication for 30 days to take another lab test, but surprise, the lesions did not grow like before ( every 3 days ) , for a whole month I only got two or three new ones and they would die almost immediately. It really depends on the person how many times you'll have to take the medication, in my case , my immune system and overall health is not the best so it makes a bit of sense that it's taking a while."
I'll add a part of Cutaneous larva migrans with folliculitis: report of seven cases and review of the literature here as for some reason the paper is not uploading :
[ We reviewed all cases that were seen in our department from April 1991 to April 2000 of CLM in which creeping eruption was associated with folliculitis. Patients were included if they presented with localized folliculitis and creeping eruption. Folliculitis was defined as pustular follicular cutaneous lesions. Creeping eruption was defined as one (or more) linear or serpiginous mobile cutaneous track(s). The following information was recorded: age, sex, recent travel history, country visited, time from return to clinical onset and presentation, clinical signs, treatment and outcome. All the patients received oral antihelminthic agents, plus topical treatment in one case. Treatment options for CLM in our department include a single dose of oral ivermectin 12 mg weekly until cure, and oral albendazole 400 mg twice daily for three consecutive days.
Five patients were cured with one to three courses of ivermectin (unit dose 12 mg), including one also treated with thiabendazole ointment. Two patients were cured with albendazole 400 mg twice daily for three consecutive days. Lesions of folliculitis took longer to clear than those of creeping eruption.
Folliculitis is an uncommon clinical form of CLM, as only five cases have been reported in the literature. However, it may be more frequent than previously thought. For example, in a 2-year prospective study, CLM was observed in 69 patients, two of whom also had hookworm folliculitis. Folliculitis in a patient returning from (or residing in) an endemic country should lead to consideration of infection by a hookworm (or other nematode), even though bacteria are the most common cause. All the cases of parasitic folliculitis in our series and most of those found in the literature were pruritic, in contrast to most forms due to other microorganisms. The diagnosis of parasitic folliculitis was based on clinical findings alone. Histological studies are unnecessary, but show nematode larvae trapped within the follicular canal, stratum corneum or dermis, together with an inflammatory eosinophilic infiltrate. In three cases, the larvae were identified as Pelodera strongyloides, a free-living nematode belonging to the order Rhabditoidae. In another case of folliculitis the larvae were identified as Ancylostoma caninum, a hookworm. The pathogenesis of parasitic folliculitis may be related to an allergic reaction to the presence of the nematode larva in the follicular canal.
The remaining patient's clinical signs subsided only more than 2 months after presentation. In one case, thiabendazole eradicated the creeping eruption but not the follicular lesions. Our experience is similar. The clinical response to a single 12-mg dose of oral ivermectin was less favourable in our patients with folliculitis that in most other patients with CLM. A single dose of ivermectin cured two of five patients in our series, whereas it usually gives cure rates of 81-100% in CLM. Treatment was repeated until the pruritus disappeared, this symptom being indicative of parasite viability. In conclusion, folliculitis should be added to the dermatological manifestations of CLM. The clinical diagnosis is facilitated by the pruritic nature of the lesions and their association with serpiginous tracks. Treatment is more difficult than in classical forms of CLM. ]
So yeah, hope this helps a bit.
Please be very careful, these medications can be harsh on your organs and I am not exaggerating, drink plenty of water.

https://www.reddit.com/whatisthisthing/s/dPFdXTbRDr
I don't know if destiny led me to create a reddit profile to specifically post this or what?? PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST AND IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE. Thanks! <3
Because it so happens that I was direly looking for some kind of catalyst to boost this 'COLD CASE OF A FATAL HIT AND RUN' which is potentially solvable if public makes enough pressure.
Jibin Benoy, an aspiring engineer, a bright bright young man, was going home on September 18, 2022, early morning after finishing his late night closing shift at 4am from his workplace in LONDON, ONTARION. While biking on his way back home, he was fatally killed by a dark colored sedan.
That's it, that's the end of it....
I knew this case was going to go cold faster than anything else...two weeks from the incident, it was hardly ever liked the incident ever happend. Now let me be very clear, I have no connection with Jibin Benoy at all but somehow his fatal accident is so so emotionally connected with me because I am an immigrant to a foreign land like him. I have heard about plethora of cases where international students are brutally killed and are not given 'PROPER ATTENTION' or 'ENOUGH JUSTICE' just because it's easy to get through something like and have no one care about it. Also just because, it's too difficult for any international student (immigrant) to fight for justice because it's expensive and are often overlooked at!!!! I just want to make whatever little effort I can to give his griving family some kind of justice and his departed soul some kind of peace.
I have made couple of descriptive photos of him related to this incident which you'll find in this thread along with a 'ghost bike' which was his remembrance for the onlookers on-site. I frequently visit the incident site as it is on my usual route and nowadays 'that ghost bike' is ALL CRAP AND DAMAGED AND VANDALIZED.
Here's the official investigation link (https://www.londonpolice.ca/en/news/hit-run-investigation-22-88891.aspx) where all updates looks same to me, but of course, I am no law or don't have keen eyes as them. But, to be honest, the law enforcement are STILL FIGURING OUT WHICH MAKE AND MODEL IT WAS???? I mean, they have '3' diffrent footages of 'supposed vehicle' in question and through forensics, they's can't even make out the name and model of the vehicle??? Like, my dumb-layman brain can tell that the photo showed in Update #6 is not 'road' but a 'a parking lot or a rear part of any building' and it shouldn't be too complex to reverse track the origin..I guess. That's where REDDIT comes in place and especially 'this community - WhatIsThisThing' where I have heard that experts around the world have solved some ridiculously complex cases by providing their feedback about 'what' 'is' 'this' 'thing'. More specifically, only when I was direly looking to spark up this case, and was out of all the options in my 'common-brain' mind, I came across this video (When Redditors Solved Crimes: The Cases Closed by Internet Detectives - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxMrBBEkE1E). O MY MY, the first case that the youtuber talks about is EERILY SIMILAR to this case and guess what...it made me so so so happy and thrilled...like I know it's nothing new related to case but at least it has given me a chance to put a little spark to the case to make it to the right people..
Frankly speaking, there could be something 'fishy' or not...like, I have driven around the incident site (https://maps.app.goo.gl/3jzm6dWDgjm6vVkH7) many times, and within 2 km radius, if you do stree-view, there are tons of CCTVs, like tons tons, goddamit, it's a road with lot's of commercial shops around it and I hate to believe that HAMILTON/ADELAIDE (one of the busiest and vulnerable, about 100 meters from the incident site) intersections of London, ON would not have any government cameras hanging on the signal poles, a busy end of the downtown-edge. Also, police station is LESS THAN A KILOMETER AWAY!!!!
People that I have talked to have said that these 'Hit and Runs' are too complex to solve, but are they really?? In today's world, where we all are being watched constantly, is there not a single footage which could have caputured this incident in action (post-action or pre-action) so that the vehicle is identified?
P.S. I also want to tag 'geoguesser' or 'rainbolt' because I have been seeing his clips lately, and man his visual remembering capacity is on another level...at least he can tell where those footages are from and especially the parking lot of #update6. Also, if he or anyone else can tell what make and model of the vehicle it is?? I don't know, sometimes I feel all updates have different vehicles in them or maybe they are all the same it's just my head playing with me. Thanks to all all all the people of the world who contribute to greater good of this planet and for expecting nothing in return. Afterall, that's the prime definition of what 'human' is.
I will try to tag as many agencies as possible to get the traction. That’s it. I’ll let law do their part, I’m definitely not qualified enough to make any statements, being a random person who can’t ignore ignorance from big agencies (such as law enforcement and media), hoping this will just kindle a new light to this cold cold case.
In hopes, that post might lead police in right direction. Thank you all!!! Have a good and safe day ahead. Peace.

This is not my confession, its a copy paste of a real confession
Today I want to come clean about something I feel very badly about. I cannot undo some of the things I have done, but hopefully this message will prevent other such occurrences in the future.
I am a paid basher.
Yes, it is true. Today is my last day at this company; I'm moving on to a new job. I've realized that there are more dignifying jobs out there that can pay me equally as well. But before I go, I want to explain a few things because this just isn't right and I won't feel good about myself until I expose this sham. It's hurt too many people and I don't want it on my conscience anymore. I can no longer live with a lie.
I work for a company called Global Calumny Funds in Stamford, CT. Basically, it's a Boiler Room much like the one in the movie of the same name. The idea behind my group is to bash the price of a company's stock down low enough to where the group of investors who retained our company's services can buy the stock really cheap and perhaps even take it over all together.
There are approximately 70 people at the company divided into several groups. My group, consisting of 5 people, is responsible for IDWD. While I probably shouldn't give any names of anyone working here now, what the heck, I'm leaving here, so what can they do? sue me? Ha! I can tell you that laptoptrader and janice shell were part of my group until he left last week, as was ninaturtle. Others who have been part of this include early bashers like hard data and Investorman. You may be interested to know that some hypsters, such as MONEYMADE and even Datatech!!, have also been part of the scam (more on that later).
There are several companies engaged in the bashing business, ours is not the only one. However, I can tell you that not every basher in here is a paid basher. Having done this for a year, I can usually tell who is a paid basher and who is merely someone having a little fun. While unpaid bashers have a different motive than someone like me, they can be unwilling accomplices to helping me achieve my ultimate goal and they also spread rumor and confusion throughout a room, which also helps me.
What is that goal? Well, I am merely a cog in a much larger machine, so my bosses never really explained the big picture to me, but I'd say essentially, Shaddowwatch2oo3 was right. There are several companies who are quite familiar with Jim Bishop and Janice Shell and who are deathly afraid of them.
There are three types of bashers here at Global Calumny Funds: Advanced, Intermediate and Beginner. An Advanced-level basher (also known as a Silver Tongued Devil) would spread false or misleading information about the company. They would deal in facts, countering every longs post with articles, news reports and opinion surveys that gave a negative impression about the company.
An Intermediate-level basher (also known as a Serpent) would try to weasel their way into the confidence of longs and create doubt using rumor or innuendo.
Finally, a Beginner-level basher (also known as a Pitchfork) would attempt to create confusion in the room by distracting other posters with satire, name calling and pointless arguments. The idea was to make sure no serious discussion of the stock could take place. A Pitchfork was usually a basher, but not always. Sometimes, we would throw in a hypster Pitchfork such as MONEYMADE and laptop and a pumper like Datatech to create the illusion of an argument going on. What was really funny (in a perverse way, I guess) was that Datatech and I sat next to each other, laughing the whole time.
I was a Serpent basher, because I am known for effective bashing based on solid facts and truth. I was paid a base wage of $18 an hour for my services. I was given a $1.25 bonus for every decent quality post over 100 per day as well as a monthly bonus of $100 for every penny the stock had dropped from the previous month. I was also paid a bonus for bashing on weekends. While this may not sound like much, I made a decent, though dishonorable, paycheck plus a nice Laptop with free wireless internet connection.
Each of us sat in a small half-cubicle in a cluster with our teammates. Each group (usually five people) was made of three beginners (two who would bash and one who would hype), one intermediate and one advanced level basher. Occasionally for some of the hotter stocks, one of the beginners would be replaced by an intermediate depending on how much the stock was rising. IDWD was a low-level stock, meaning it got the 3-1-1 configuration.
Honestly though, somehow, I get the feeling that WV Hillbilly may have worked for a basher company or knows someone who does because the fund websites he occasionally posts is eerily similar to our employer's websites. While not exact, I'd say it is about 90 percent the same. We do have certain rules that we follow.
First, we have to develop a character and stay within that character in order to build a "following." My character, "FogOfWar," was a humorous, sarcastic, obnoxious supporter of free speech and loved to portray himself as a truth-telling superhero, but only when it came to bashers.
Next, we had to follow certain guidelines on what we could say. We were urged to have an "answer" to every long's question, but we were to frame that answer in a way that ridiculed the questioner for asking such a question. However, we were never to use profanity or vulgarity because that would cause people to ignore us. We were to make fun of people, but in a civil way. The idea was to get "play," i.e. reaction from other posters. The more play we got, the more the room would be disrupted. Ignored posters get no play. One exception would be the hypsters since they were "defending" the stock against our onslaught, they got a little more leeway. People would side with the hypster because they thought he was real since he appeared to be on their side, but was really on ours, setting us up to disrupt the room. MoneyMade was quite good at this and gets paid very well.
I've worked on IDWD, VLO, AGII, QBID, BKMP for a few months now. In addition to the FogOfWar alias, I've used a few others on several other boards as well. I've used so many aliases that I can not remember the monikers or the passwords. I honestly lost track of everything. I stuck with FogOfWar because it was the one that got the most play from other posters.
In closing, I feel absolutely terrible about this. It's just awful how I've been part of a scam designed to cheat honest, hard-working people out of their investments all for the benefit of a few wealthy people who already have enough money to last a lifetime.
These greedy people MUST be stopped. That's why I'm posting this before I leave. I want to make up for some of the damage I've done. I can't live with this lie anymore. You can't imagine how hard it is to look at myself in the mirror each morning knowing my job is to cheat and lie.
I have to go now, I'm too broken up to continue. I hope this confession can make up for my sordid deeds; I would urge everyone who reads this to inform as many people as you can. Only by shining the light of truth can we drive these rats back into the darkness from whence they came. Believe me, they don't want publicity.
Good luck and I hope all of you the best in your investment endeavors.

Reaching out to the local Facebook Marketplace group with a community advisory in the hopes to avoid someone else getting deceived or scammed.
About 2 weeks ago I was contacted by cloudcutterr_at_gmail.com, not sure what his name is, may be Lance Morgan with an offer to buy a headset.
After asking for pictures and having an email exchange, we agreed on a price and was asked to Zelle the funds to harrysills_at_gmail.com, I assume this person's name to be Harry Sills. Was promised tracking info and shipping to occur right away.
As soon as the funds were received, both Lance Morgan and Harry Sills (may be the same person) stop communicating. All subsequent emails have gone un-answered.
Up until now, I thought the aviation community was not affected but this kind of scams and people, and usually keep my guard down, my mistake. I now see that I bear part of the blame for not protecting myself better - lesson learned.
However remote, I still have hopes this to be a misunderstanding, but realistically does not look good.
If anyone here has ever heard of these two individuals, please protect yourself and I appreciate your letting me know any additional information to properly report it to the authorities. If not I will just keep posting my story in all aviation forums as a community service to protect others.

I've been pretty stressed out the past few months, but I bottled it up as much as possible (I know it's bad; I've done it most of my life) and the cork popped today.
I had a rough pregnancy, delivery, and post-delivery (had baby in December). I had to quit my job in October due to mental, emotional, and physical health concerns, but I'm the breadwinner of my household. My SO is mentally and physically disabled, and we've struggled to get their disability aid going. All the money I had went to bills to survive, and it's all gone. Because of my health and baby's health after birth, my mom moved us in to her home so SO can have help watching over us (along with the fact that our house is a massive fixer upper and not ready for us all to be there). Tried to pull together what I can to fix the house, but can only do it when mom is off work (once every couple of days). I've been putting in applications for jobs since February with no luck; decided to put in for online work so I can help with baby (SO has times where they get overwhelmed so I pitch in) but no luck there either. My mom has been paying my bills as well as hers, and it kills me because she doesn't deserve that and I'm terrible about asking for help. Baby is currently teething and almost inconsolable. I've lost so much sleep the past two weeks because I'm trying to get our life back on track. And then today happened.....
I was trying to soothe the baby (massive tantrum), and SO is sitting on couch with us. I can feel my emotions starting up and thought to try feeding baby a smaller bottle of formula (baby has gotten into not finishing bottles the past few days). Asked SO if they can fix a small bottle. SO puts phone down on couch a little rough, and I apologize. SO said nothing's wrong and didn't mean it. Gets bottle, but baby doesn't really want it. SO suggests floor time (trying to roll). I said I was unsure. Finally gave in to try. SO puts baby down, and baby goes more ballistic. SO holds baby trying to soothe. Automatically starts telling baby that there's a lot of problems that won't get fixed (meaning SO's problems that we're struggling to get worked out). I started crying and saying I'm trying to get things fixed. SO says doesn't mean me then has a mental break (nothing happened to baby except they stopped crying). I cry harder, and I know it's all the pent up emotions I've held. SO starts in about how I'm being used and told everything's fine and how our home won't be fixed and promises not kept. I snapped. SO says nevermind they won't ever talk about it again even though there's no one they can talk to about anything except me. I said fine, talk. SO refused. I said talk! SO goes into this soft spoken spill about how things are going and not getting done. That's when I felt a switch inside me and I went emotionally cold (I'm usually a super caring person). I just blurted out that I'd sell the damn house and move our stuff into storage and find us a different place (SO has been wanting me to sell the house for a while). SO just got quiet. I started looking at housing and asking who the best realtor in our area was. SO tried to hold my hand, but I just let it lay there. SO got upset (quietly). For the rest of the day, I haven't connected really with anyone (except the baby). I went to fix dinner, and SO is following me around trying to help (SO does this when I'm super pissed). I generally ignored. After getting dinner in the oven, I started washing dished cause I told my mom I'd handle it. SO said they would take over as I'm halfway through. I said I'd do it. SO has tried to do small talk with me some after that. I haven't really responded. My mom came in and tried to have small talk, but I wasn't really having that either. I haven't sat down with her about my decision yet, but I have a feeling she'll talk me out of selling (like she has in the past because fixing it is doable and we'll all help blah blah blah).
I've given myself migraines for the past week and a half trying to deal with all of this. My mom keeps telling me to have faith and things will come together while my SO doesn't know what to say to me half the time. To be honest, I want to have a massive drink and be left alone for a few days, but I know that won't happen/can't happen. I'm so sick of this world.

There’s been a few post recently with drivers stating they have good 1 lap pace but can’t get any consistency and lack race craft. One guy was professing to be doing times comparable with Pro licence drivers but was stuck around 2k IR
Now this isn’t aimed at those people necessarily cause I don’t know where they got their one lap pace from. They may have more midichlorians than Senna, but I doubt it and have my suspicions.
A big trend sim racing over the last few years is hotlapping. It seems a lot of people are starting out this way on games like F1. They get quick over one lap and think they can come to a platform like Iracing and dominate. They then frustrated cause whilst they can smash out 1 quick lap they can’t finish a race or deal with pressure.
Now, if you want to hotlap. Go for it. It’s a genuine endeavour and I guess it’s nice being on a leaderboard somewhere. However be aware it will have implications later on.
Just watching YouTube videos and copying alien drivers is doing you no favours
You are essentially acting like a chimpanze or small child copying a grown human peeling and eating a banana. .
These people who just watch other people’s videos and hotlap have done themselves a massive disservice in the long run cause they haven’t learnt how to drive a track fast themselves or any race craft such as how to take a corner off line fast. Where to brake when defending off line or when following closely behind someone.
They just want to copy other drivers videos like a western lowland gorilla watching and copying a primatologist do a basic jigsaw puzzle in front of them.
Really, the only thing you have achieved by hotlapping, like with the chimp and the banana analogy, is that you have opposable thumbs and a semi functional brain.
The chickens come home to roost for these people once they get out of mediocre lobbies and they start racing against people who know how to force them into a mistake, or force them to put their car on a part of track where they don’t want it to be. They cannot deal with it.
You have skipped the part where you can race against people at your level cause of your mentality thinking your 1 lap pace is everything.
If you’re 2K IR level Iracer with 6K IR pace you’re essentially like the great ape who can do a jigsaw puzzle in a lab but can’t interact with other chimps in the wild.
If you’re just starting out forget about hotlapping and race. By all means watch videos to learn lines etc. but take the time to learn tracks yourself. Learn defensive lines learn how you should drive the first lap of a race, learn how to make the car your racing wheel to wheel with make an error.
Understand what technique the driver you are watching is using and then try do a random track and apply those techniques yourself.
If you are fast, genuinely fast - it will come with enough time.

https://preview.redd.it/2r0b5ean4b1d1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f727582b0385c3d15dc997816bb01a80c911c374
One of the biggest advantages of thumbsticks is its return to center. Also with spring pressure feedback you can feel how far you are from center.
Giving your touchpad "nipples" or "bumps" works like braille to use your sensitive thumb to feel center. With little practice this will become second nature. Have any of you tried this?
Interested in nipples? 😉 Add some tactile dots with super glue to your touchpads and give 'em a try.

• Just use a ruler + pencil to find center
• Measure diagonally and across
• Add a tactile dot with super glue + toothpick
• Have paper towel on hand to correct mistakes
• Doesn't seem to affect touchpad tracking
• I've scrapped the super glue off before so you can adjust if you make a mistake
• In software set center tactile dot (nipple) to deadzone
• IMPORTANT: Set touchpad to move/turn ON TOUCH (not press down)
• Maybe even set small vibration when touching outside of deadzone
• Set the click down action to some other action like sprint, walk, duck, flashlight...

For me, this makes the touchpads better then the thumbsticks. I can slide from center then lift off for instant return to center then touch back down for instant motion. I played through Super Meat Boy by being able to temporarily lift my thumb off for a moment to precisely stop moving when landing on a small platform. Then hover my thumb ready to quickly move again when the timing is right.
The bumps are light and you can barely feel them so they don't bother you for regular mouse control. Have any of you done something like this?
Edit: Another alternative is to get a "touchpad protector" and then cut a small hole in the center so you can feel where center is. 👍
Edit: SteamDeck mods deleted this post so I'm moving the post to here.

Hey ladies, sorry in advanced for the long post, just dropping by for some advice. I started clomid in Jan 2024 at 50mg to try to conceive with PCOS and absent menstrual cycles. When I started it, I had not had a cycle for 6 months or more and my dr. advise to take it as soon as I get it for 5 days, which I did and used OPKs to track ovulation which seemed to be confirmed using the strips and we timed intercourse. But in Feb 2024, AF arrived and as disappointed as I was that I had not conceived I was just delighted to see my cycle after being gone for so long, so I refilled my prescription and started my second round of clomid. Did all the same things as first cycle but still no baby as AF arrived again which I was still happy about. Well in March I decided not to do my 3rd round of clomid and to just take a break from the testing etc because I was starting a new job that would no longer be remote and it would be too much to try to test etc being outside of the home. Even though we gave up on the medicated cycles temporarily we were still having unprotected sex based off the apps estimate of fertile windows and ovulation day and still nothing, April AF arrived as for the previous months and came as predicted by the app or within a day of the apps prediction, so I assumed everything was going well. Though here we are in May, I am going back to remote work in June and me and SO decided it would be a good idea to start the medicated cycles again and resume testing at least for the remainder of the year as to avoid wasting anymore time, he just turned 32 this month so he’s worried it may not happen for him if it doesnt now. I’m all for it so I refilled my prescription so that I’d have it on hand when AF arrived, but here’s my dilemma, AF is missing, today makes 4 days late and I tested day of missed cycle and every other day since and still BFN every test. My question to you all is, do you think there may be a possibility that I am pregnant or has my cycle just disappeared again due to PCOS? I only ask because I really want to take the clomid this month but I don’t want to take it, if there is a chance that I am already pregnant, but I also don’t want to waste another month hoping my body will perform like a normal women’s body should.

Update to my last post here (https://www.reddit.com/adhdwomen/s/T8K9gP2l1E)
The game kept my wife and I on track all weekend, and we got most of the list done! Colouring in the blocks was motivating for me and got me excited about doing relatively boring tasks. Plus including fun things (like napping with the dog) meant it wasn't a slog. Would do again!

It has been 7 months since I have balanced my diet, started seriously exercising and counting cals in and out. Quick recap became a stay at hone dad got to my heavyset in 2022. Decided in Jan of 23 to cut out 95% of my fast food intake. Lost 10lbs. Got sick in Oct of 23 with sinus infection blood pressure super high. Had come to Jesus talk with doctor.
Then I got a Fitbit, started working out and Cal in and out tracking and now I am 90 lbs down from where I was in Oct 23 and 100lbs from where I was in Jan 23 (405lbs). I still can bring myself to take photos of my self but my wife says she sees a big difference. I feel so much better. My back and shoulders are not killing me. I can walk the butte in town 5 times in a row without stopping (half mile up and down with 160ft elevation gain). Were as one time up and down I would have been done for the day. Getting up and down on the floor to play with the kids is so much easier.
I still have 5lbs before my first goal but this will be my last solo post about my weight loss. I feel like I got this now I lost almost a quarter of what I once was and look forward to the next Goal what ever it may be. May be I will shoot for 200lbs? But I feel Like taking a maintenance break for a fee months.
TLDR: I LOST 100LBS SINCE JAN OF 2023!

I have lived in this apartment for almost two years now. No noise complaints from my neighbors, apart from a woman intimately moaning at various times of the day. That’s because the apartments are not sound proofed. To be fair, she did scream at her boyfriend one day to get out, and that solved both moaning and screaming. I admit that some hollered for their partners to open the door for them a couple of times, but that happened on the ground floor. Someone threw an egg at me outside of the apartment complex, but they missed. Parcels usually get stolen and that’s only because people keep the door open all the time but no robbery. Except once, there was a stabbing (read that on fb… you can never really trust fb) during robbery like an year ago. We didn’t even notice. Otherwise, it’s a peaceful community we’ve built.
Never had any trouble with neighbors, fantastic people… truly fantastic. I have never even met any of them, except two days ago. I finally met a neighbor. We introduced ourselves. We were both disappointed with the parcels being stolen. I conjectured a hypothesis, “The delivery driver failed to deliver the parcels.” She still insisted that hers got stolen. I let it go. A couple of hours later, I saw a letter on my doormat. She had skipped it under the door requesting for my number. She had written hers down. She sounded frightened in the letter.
The message said that the new guy who has moved into the flat at the end of corridor is sending some odd messages to her, under the door which has made her feel a bit unsafe. It didn't initially say what was the message but only mentioned that she had contacted the police and agents about it, and that she stopped interacting with him. I wrote to her and she told me that the new guy is demanding her to ask her friends to take the cameras off of his apartment. Then he knocked on her door late in the night which she didn't answer. Neither of us know this guy. I told her she could save my number. Although I assured that everything will be alright, I let her know that I'm moving out next week.
He is probably having mental health issues, I hope he gets better. I sympathize with both of their situations. She seems spooked. In fact, a couple of days ago, I heard the guy knock on her door very many times. I was reading a book and got annoyed by the knocking. No one answered. I almost felt like telling him that she is probably not inside. I didn't know about her interactions with him at that time.
I often hear his door handle clatter in frequent intervals. Whenever I head out, whether to grab a coffee or throw the trash into the bin, he opens his apartment door and says hi to me. I smile and return a hi back to him. I had always wondered if he was waiting by the door expecting someone, a deliveroo driver may be but that’s not possible because he keeps doing it all the time when I get out. He sounds eager to know my name. I didn't answer because I had walked farther away from him by the time he shouted, "Hey man, what's your name ?"
While writing this post, he made a phone call, possibly called the police, I don't know, and informed them that there was a break-in.

I'm in a state of rebuilding financially after some serious health issues over these past few years. I had surgery a few years ago (out-of-state and out-of-network) and my post-op surgical bill was massive-- like, $300k massive, despite everything having been approved and green-stamped by my health insurance company beforehand. I got boned by my health insurance in like 8 different ways, but most notably by the Maximum Allowable Fee-- so instead of owing $10,000 (my OON out-of-pocket max) I was billed $300,000 while my insurance only paid a few thousand toward the debt. I was billed $300,000 by my doctors while my insurance's out-of-network out-of-pocket max was not even considered "met" yet. :/ And I did everything I knew to do at the time to make sure everything was cleared with my insurance beforehand (hours on the phone making sure the hospital was in-network, making sure all the surgical codes were approved, getting estimates, etc etc), so now I feel a little ill-equipped in my ability to protect myself against future debt.
Anyway.
After the surgery, I was profoundly disabled for a couple years, stopped paying on any medical bills, totally destroyed my finances, and lost track of the status of the various insurance appeals I had submitted at that time. So I have no idea what I currently owe my former medical providers (vs the $300K I was billed 4 years ago), and I would like to know the best way to find out what I actually owe them without potentially resetting any debt clocks or putting new activity on an account that might otherwise be written off by my doctor-- the debt is nearly 5 years old now, so it's possible it might be getting close to that point.
Has anyone ever dealt with anything like this before, or have any resources they can point me to on how to protect myself? Without knowing how much I actually owe my surgeon and his team, the decision of medical bankruptcy vs negotiating the debt down (settling for less) is kind of an impossible one.
Many thanks!

If you've seen my other post you will see my marriage of 8 years is in full breakdown mode whilst my spouse has fallen hopelessly in love with someone and treating our marriage like it's now disposable.
Meanwhile I'm an anxious wreck even getting to the point of staring at train tracks a little too long.
But the other layer of choas that is my polyamory 'love in abundance' life is that I also have a partner who I've been dating almost a year. They are currently about to leave Europe and I'm going to visit them where they are closer - a few hours away. Its the worst time for me given my marriage situation but it also could potentially be the last time I see them for many months/indefinitely because of other reasons, we already didn't see each other for 3 months as I was away and didn't realise this would happen on such short notice.
So I've booked travel to see them for a few days. They know im having some issues with my marriage but not in detail and I've assured them it's not anything to do with our relationship. I think that's a fair level of disclosure?
They told me they are in love with me last night and I didn't respond because I don't know if I feel that and I especially don't know if I'm in the right headspace to truly match those emotions. I have alot of love for them but saying 'I love you' ' I'm in love with you' feels so heavy especially as I've avoided using that terminology even casually.
I dont wanna be an asshole and not reciprocate what I geuniely feel cause maybe I do love them but I'm just resisting because I'm triggered by my partners NRE and idk... at the same time in the midst of my marriage falling apart I dont even feel like I 'believe' in love right now.
Idk I guess I'd want some insight from other 'metas' (??) On what level of honesty they would want here. It's important to note my partner is from a different culture where grand declarations of love and romance are very fast and often fickle , so I think it's more natural for them to be like this - although at the same time our relationship has been burning steadily for over a year so it's not that fast in the context of things.
If you were in my partners position what would you want to know? How do I handle this without unloading to much of my marriage problems into it