I've been struggling with some unknown chronic illness for about two years now, and I am finally starting to feel like myself again, and I am quite literally desperate to keep this momentum going. I've noticed things like raw garlic and rosemary seem to help fight some of the constant inflammation that I've been experiencing and am hoping to create a ~magic elixir~ of sorts with all the best anti-inflammatory foods. I'm thinking something along the lines of blending up garlic, rosemary, ginger in some water and shooting it down the hatch on an empty stomach. At this point in my healing journey, the taste is not important. (obviously)
I know I sound like a six year old trying to make potions out of her mom's creams and lotions, but no supplement or diet has made me feel as good as adding some concentrated doses of these "super foods" for lack of a better phrase.
If I'm being crazy please tell me, but if you have any ingredients to add to my concoction, I'd so appreciate it! 😊

Had baby 3 days ago. My supply came is coming in slowly —I was induced and had an emergency C-section.
Baby latches but he’s not sucking right. He basically just squishes my nipples really hard. I’ve really been trying. My nipples are raw and bloody. I know breastfeeding can hurt but it’s excruciating. I’ve seen 3 lactation consultants in the hospital. They have all said different things but agree that it’s not a latch issue. Now I’m pumping and supplementing with formula. I’m worried about nipple confusion as we’ve been feeding with the bottle. I’m 100% overwhelmed and don’t know what to do.

The global protein alternatives market is projected to experience a promising Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 7% from 2024 to 2030. This growth is primarily fueled by the growing consumer inclination towards plant-based protein as opposed to animal protein, driving the market expansion. Moreover, the rising participation in sports activities worldwide is expected to further boost market growth during the forecast period. Additionally, increasing health consciousness among consumers is anticipated to drive demand for protein products, as individuals are incorporating more protein into their daily diets. This trend is expected to propel market growth as consumers prioritize healthier dietary choices.
To know more about this study, request a free sample report @ https://www.researchcorridor.com/request-sample/?id=147340
Market Trends:
Rise of Plant-Based Proteins: There is a significant shift towards plant-based protein alternatives driven by health, environmental, and ethical considerations. Consumers are increasingly opting for plant-based protein sources such as soy, pea, and chickpeas, leading to the introduction of a wide range of plant-based protein products in the market.
Expansion of Vegan and Vegetarian Diets: The growing adoption of vegan and vegetarian diets, whether for health, environmental, or ethical reasons, is driving the demand for protein alternatives derived from plant sources. This trend is influencing product innovation and diversification, with manufacturers developing new plant-based protein formulations to cater to these dietary preferences.
Innovation in Alternative Protein Sources: Beyond traditional plant-based proteins, there is a surge in innovation in alternative protein sources such as algae, fungi, and microbial fermentation. These novel protein sources offer sustainability benefits and nutritional advantages, contributing to the diversification of the protein alternatives market.
Clean Label and Natural Ingredients: Consumers are increasingly seeking clean label products with natural and minimally processed ingredients. As a result, protein alternative manufacturers are focusing on using clean and recognizable ingredients in their products, avoiding artificial additives and preservatives to meet consumer demand for transparency and authenticity.
Functional and Fortified Protein Products: There is growing interest in protein alternatives that offer additional functional benefits beyond basic nutrition. Manufacturers are incorporating functional ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and probiotics into protein products to enhance their health-promoting properties and appeal to health-conscious consumers.
Market Opportunities:
The protein alternatives market offers numerous opportunities for growth and innovation driven by several key factors. With the increasing consumer preference for plant-based protein alternatives over animal-derived sources, there is a significant opportunity for manufacturers to expand their product portfolios and cater to evolving dietary preferences. Additionally, the rising adoption of vegan and vegetarian diets, coupled with growing health and environmental consciousness, presents an opportunity to capitalize on the demand for plant-based protein products. Innovation in alternative protein sources, such as algae, fungi, and microbial fermentation, opens doors for developing novel and sustainable protein alternatives to meet the diverse needs of consumers. Moreover, the demand for clean label, functional, and convenient protein products provides an opportunity for manufacturers to differentiate their offerings and tap into emerging market segments.
According to the recent report published by RC Market Analytics, the Global Protein Alternatives Market is expected to provide sustainable growth opportunities during the forecast period from 2024 to 2030. This latest industry research study analyzes the protein alternatives market by various product segments, applications, regions and countries while assessing regional performances of numerous leading market participants. The report offers a holistic view of the protein alternatives industry encompassing numerous stakeholders including raw material suppliers, providers, distributors, consumers and government agencies, among others. Furthermore, the report includes detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of the global market considering market history, product development, regional dynamics, competitive landscape, and key success factors (KSFs) in the industry.
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Geographically, the protein alternatives market report comprises dedicated sections centering on the regional market revenue and trends. The protein alternatives market has been segmented on the basis of geographic regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Protein alternatives market estimates have also been provided for the historical years 2020 to 2023 along with forecast for the period from 2024 - 2030.The report includes a deep-dive analysis of key countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, China, Japan, India, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa, among others. Thereby, the report identifies unique growth opportunities across the world based on trends occurring in various developed and developing economies.
The Protein Alternatives Market Segmentation:
By Source:

• Plant Protein
• Mycoprotein
• Algal protein
• Insect Protein

By Application:

• Food and Beverage
• Dietary Supplements
• Animal Feed and Pet Food
• Personal Care and Cosmetics

By Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa

Leading market participants in the global protein alternatives market include Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Kerry Group, DuPont de Nemours Inc., and Ingredion Incorporated. These entities are actively pursuing market growth through various strategies such as expansion, new investments, service innovation, and collaborative ventures. Leveraging expansion and acquisition, they aim to establish a competitive edge and foster synergistic growth opportunities in new geographic regions.
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Key Questions Answered by Protein Alternatives Market Report:

• Product popularity and adoption based on various country-level dynamics
• Regional presence and product development for leading market participants
• Market forecasts and trend analysis based on ongoing investments and economic growth in key countries
• Competitive landscape based on revenue, product offerings, years of presence, number of employees and market concentration, among others
• Various industry models such as SWOT analysis, Pestle Analysis, Porter’s Five Force model, Value Chain Analysis pertaining to Protein Alternatives market
• Analysis of the key factors driving and restraining the growth of the global, regional and country-level markets from 2020-2030

About Us:RC Market Analytics is a global market research firm. Our insightful analysis is focused on developed and emerging markets. We identify trends and forecast markets with a view to aid businesses identify market opportunities to optimize strategies. Our expert’s team of analysts’ provides enterprises with strategic insights. RC Market Analytics works to help enterprises grow through strategic insights and actionable solutions. Feel free to contact us for any report customization at sales@researchcorridor.com.
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Hi everyone,
I have seen this question "what the best Protein Powder?" asked often in many subreddit. So, I've decided to compile a list according to what other redditors like the most. I read a lot of posts and discussions in many subreddit and these are some protein powder to buy in 2024

Best Protein Powders:

1. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey
2. Dymatize ISO100
3. MyProtein Impact Whey
4. MuscleTech NitroTech
5. Transparent Labs ProteinSeries 100% Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate
6. KOS Organic Plant-Based Protein
7. Garden of Life Organic Raw Fit
8. Black Magic
9. PEScience
10. Ryze Skippy

1. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey is a famous protein powder that gives about 24 grams of protein steady with serving. It has very little fats and carbs and lots of flavor. It is without difficulty mixed with water or milk. It has been tested to make sure first rate and protection to apply, making it the terrific choice for building muscle and staying healthy.
Pros:

• Contains a complete amino acid profile
• Fast absorption
• Excellent for post-workout recovery
• Various flavors available
• Relatively low in carbs and fats.

1. Dymatize ISO100:

This one's all about speed and purity. It's processed to break down the protein even more, making it super easy for your body to digest and use. With minimal carbs and fats, it's perfect if you're keeping a close eye on your macros.
Pros:

• Extremely pure and fast-absorbing protein
• Minimal carbs and fats
• Ideal for those with lactose intolerance
• Supports lean muscle growth.

1. MyProtein Impact Whey:

Consider this the dependable buddy of protein powders. It won't burn a hole in your pocket and comes in a bunch of flavors to keep things interesting. It does the job well – providing good protein content without any fancy frills.
Pros:

• Affordable, good taste with multiple flavor choices
• Adequate protein content
• Suitable for various fitness goals.

1. MuscleTech NitroTech:

NitroTech contains whey protein isolate and concentrate. This one's like a protein booster with added ingredients like creatine and amino acids. It's meant to help muscles grow and recover faster after hitting the gym.
Pros:

• Includes additional ingredients like creatine and amino acids for muscle recovery and growth
• Various flavors available
• Promotes strength gains

5. Transparent Labs ProteinSeries 100% Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate:
If you're a stickler for clean eating, this one's your match. It's all about the good stuff – sourced from cows that munch on grass, free from artificial additives or hormones.
Pros:

• High-quality
• Sourced from grass-fed cows
• Free from artificial ingredients
• Rich in essential amino acids

6 . KOS Organic Plant-Based Protein:
This is the hero for plant-powered folks. It's a blend of various plant proteins that give you all the essential amino acids without any animal products, perfect for vegans or those who prefer plant-based options.
Pros:

• Vegan-friendly
• Suitable for those with dairy allergies or lactose intolerance
• Contains a blend of plant-based proteins.

7. Garden of Life Organic Raw Fit:
Think of this as your health-conscious protein pal. It's plant-based, organic, and aims to support weight management and metabolism while delivering nutrients from whole food sources.
Pros:

• Organic and plant-based
• Supports weight management
• Provides nutrients from whole food sources.

1. Black Magic:

Black Magic Multi-Source Whey Protein Powder is a protein supplement that contains more than one protein resources, together with whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, and different protein assets This protein combo affords the amino acids located in apples- stretch in- straighten in -stretch again they are able to assist in muscle boom and restoration.
9. PEScience:
PEScience is a protein powder that supports muscle growth and recovery after exercise. They have two main types: Select Protein, which contains clay and casein for a complex protein, and Vegan Select Protein, which is for people who don’t eat dairy, and both are made with peas and grain flavours, this is what gives this is Many gymnasts like it.

1. Ryze Skippy:

RYSE Up Supplements Loaded Protein Powder is a powder which you mix with water or milk to make a easy drink. It makes it less difficult to reinforce and repair your muscle tissues after exercising. It is synthetic via the RYSE Up Supplements mark and has a huge variety of flavors to pick from.

Hello! I've just gotten a kitten named Mocha, he's a 2-month-old ragdoll and my parents are insisting on homemade food even though I've stated my worry about him getting the right nutrients. This is inadvertently my way of saying they won't be responsible enough to do so and where I live it is difficult to get vitamin supplements for pets. Please any guide to give my sweet kitten the nutrients he deserves, some sites are saying go fully raw while others don't, and I'm finding difficulty in finding recipes without vitamin supplements, if I need vitamin supplements, how can I use human supplements safely? Any help is appreciated I'm just so worried about his health and feel free to dm me!

Dragon Ball Rework Ideas
To preface: This is mainly a bunch of mental notes and what I recall from conversations I've had with people concerning an AU project I may work on... I consider myself a fan of DB, but over the years I have drifted away from the modern stuff. I may catch the newest movie but that's about it. Despite this, I just let loose on the topic of a rework, sending walls of text to people randomly when I get an idea. To supplement myself I have started to read DB from the beginning, refreshing myself on details and whatnot, and keeping track of stuff like characters, locations, items, techniques, etc just for personal reference. With that out of the way I should probably get to the actual ideas...
I'll start off with ki and related systems: Taking inspiration from stuff like chakra points and mind field theories. Basically, all living things have ki points throughout their body; lying on/within vital organs and the primary joints. Connected via ki channels, and assisted in regulation by the "Threads of Preservation", which are mapped onto the lymph system. The ki points spread throughout the body generate an aura that can indicate one's physical health, but can also be utilized to enhance one's presence and the impact of melee attacks. Situated on the brain, is a ki point that generates the mind aura that can indicate mental health/state and is the center of psychic abilities; being more "malleable" than the bodily aura, it can be cast out like fishing rod or net to grab things and link one's mind to another. When these auras are used in tandem, one is able to fly. It can be pictured as the bodily aura being used to suspend yourself, manipulating the air around you, while the mind aura pulls/pushes you away from things. To use ki directly, your own life energy, it is imperative to have a moderate ability to visualize things; as using ki relies on moving it through your system. In the case of a beam attack, it is energy from ki points, through the interconnecting channels, to the ends of your extremities and out at a frequency/intensity that is destructive. Healing is done by a similar process but at a much more game output, with the intent of transferring it to another person's system. Stuff like ki balls and discs are released from the body, and then guided by the mental aura; unless released and just let fly on its own. To strengthen one's abilities with ki, mental exercises can help, plus general physical training to build mind-muscle connections/control and flexibility. Strenuous physical activity also widens the channels between ki points, allowing for easier flow. Ki points can be expanded, but some people are unfortunately born with smaller ki points, limiting their potential storage and output. These people often fall back on different methods of combat, or if they retain a sizable brain ki point, focus on psychic abilities and training. The art of shapeshifting, demonstrated by characters like Oolong and Puar, is a rare affinity. Wherein a person can manipulate the structure of their ki system, altering their appearance as their body conforms to the new configuration. This process is not permanent, lest the shapeshifter has great force of will, since the structure of one's ki system will always want to return to its natural/stable state. As forcing the channels to lengthen or shorten, does not come without strain.
I think that's all I really have regarding ki, so I'm gonna move on to some world details...
World: I'm not quite a fan of planet busters and universe shakers, at a certain point it gets boring and tedious. To majorly pull back the scale, the world I envision is a singular vast plane of ocean, with great continents and islands scattered about them (the whole world shaking would only really occur if multiple Supreme Kais and Gods of Destruction were fighting at once). Split into quadrants, monitored by the kais who help council "Kami", the medium between Heaven and the Earthly realm, as well as the appointed authority of said realm. Probably selected/voted on by the kais, who judge for a mortal's moral character, wisdom, and connection to the realm; the operating Kami can take on disciples who will be strongly considered as a candidate for the next Kami. Below Kami then are the angels, heaven-born beings who are born when positive energy rises up from the Earthly realm and clumps together. Solidifying into humanoid forms that have an innate sense of justice, and will unflinchingly carry out actions in the name of that justice. Perfect to be linked to Gods of Destructions, who are mortals, the strongest of their respective regions, that are appointed to keep the "destructive balance" in check; possessing an aura that can influence the occurrence of natural disasters and the like. As well tasked with cutting down threats to their region as a whole. The one who is in charge of coordinating and pairing Gods of Destructions with Angels is the Grand Minister. Making sure each of them have personalities that go well together. The Angels and Gods of Destruction are not weak by any measure, but simply appointed to a role with different qualifications, that put them below other beings in this universal hierarchy. With that said, Gods of Destructions take on disciples too, which will be candidates for their master's positions. Ultimately relying on the choice of Kami and the decision of the Kais. Above Kami, is another medium of Heaven and Earth, King Yemma who is of the Oni. A race created by the Kais and Supreme Kais to keep souls in check and operate the systems of heaven. King Yemma himself is both the strongest of the Oni, as well as the most wise, assuring him the role of "Judge of Souls" and "the guardian of the gate". Above Yemma are the Kais, led by Grand Kai who is the mediator between the lesser and Supreme Kais, the tiebreaker for decisions involving Earth, and the host of heavenly events/contests. Above him are the Supreme Kais who rule over the quadrants of Heaven, and answer to the absolute authority of this world— Grand Supreme Kai... I'm not personally a fan of Zeno, so I opted to omit him. I can see his appeal but he just doesn't feel right to me as the top of the ladder.
Bringing things down— way way down, below the Earthly Realm is the realm of Demons. Formerly a dark abyss before the demon Kais, born from the rotten fruit of the Kaiju trees that birth the core people, the first people that devised the Earth and the Heavens, were cast down there; because of their malicious tendencies. With their vast power they gave the abyss form and like their counterparts, created life, utilizing the negative energy which sinks down into their realm. They wait until their demonic legions are great enough to wage war on Earth and Heaven. Until then, they counsel the "Emperor" of the realm, the strongest of all demons who has a majority of the clans under his dominion. All beings except angels can convert into demons, via a ritual of renouncing the good within them to take on a more monstrous form. This action has great effects even on one's progeny (like the majority of Demon King/Chief Piccolo's offspring)...
I think that's all the major stuff regarding the world and its Hierarchy. Guess I'll clarify some things here, such as I previously mentioned the Earthly Realm is a singular plane. Meaning such things as Planet Namek and Planet Vegeta, are now islands/archipelagos far out from their mainlands (but still greatly far from other major land masses). To the point that their existence has become legend, such as talk of the mighty warrior race that bear resemblance to humans but with the tails of monkeys~ that sort of thing.
Other tangents: Speaking of the Saiyans, I want them of course to be strong though, but more in the sense that they recover quickly and have heightened instincts in regards to battle, learning new techniques relatively quickly. I actually want them to be somewhat stunted in the art of ki, primarily relying on their raw strength. As well as following very harsh and strict practices of training and diet. To the point, in this universe, if you put an alternate Goku and Vegeta next to each other, due to Goku's more relaxed and carefree approach he'd appear more filled out though still with a solid physique of course. Vegeta on the other hand would be cut/shredded to an extreme point, but as the story would go... As Vegeta gets accustomed to life on the mainland and starts to question his culture, initially sickened by Goku's indulgence, eventually gains an appreciation for the food provided by Bulma. Allowing Vegeta to fill out his frame a bit more and gain an appreciation for mainland cuisine.
To touch on Oozaru and Super Saiyan, the transformations associated with the Saiyans— I'd like them to have different utilizations. Oozaru being a symbol of the old culture, raw power and killer instinct being greatly valued. While Super Saiyan would be the symbol of a new way, one with a better balance between the body and mind. The Oozaru outclasses Super Saiyan in pure strength, but being less mobile (making it very difficult to fly and move without destroying things), limiting ki usage, and affecting the mind of the Saiyan. While the Super Saiyan promotes developing one's mind alongside their body. Its origin lies in ancient Saiyan mystic practices, relating to the harnessing of one's power. One group created the fake moon technique that would allow them to turn Oozaru at any time and help them train to control it. While the other, less prominent group were able to achieve the state of Super Saiyan. Due to the extensive work that would be required to inspire ki use among the Saiyans, it never caught on, remaining as a legend for years to come. The moon technique winning out while Super Saiyan faded, kept alive in some circles because of the mystique but unaware of what one would need to acquire that kind of form. Which leads into the irony of doing the exact opposite of what the traditional Saiyans do. Focusing just on their bodies and fighting, instead of the simple pleasures of life and growing one's connection to the world. Encapsulated in Goku, a Saiyan raised by a human and trained by others to seek strength but also enjoy the life he is living. A side note related to that - I'm picturing a semi-funny sequence where Vegeta is trying to ask around, talking with Goku's friends and family about what his life was like. Trying to figure out the key to Super Saiyan but just getting more frustrated. On the form itself, I've devised a branching scheme to it. With the base super Saiyan being a balanced refinement of the body. While the graded forms would be strength specialization with the working names “Buffed" and "Maxed". Super Saiyan 2 being the speed specialization, with the working named Charged. Super Saiyan 3 being the ki specialization, with the working name "Flow" (get it, because ki flow and his flowing hair). All of them would have different uses instead of being a linear progression of power, and with all their own drawbacks. The obvious being the graded forms losing mobility, but making them very dangerous once they get their hands on you. Vegeta would be drawn to these forms, falling back on his own Saiyan sensibilities; Trunks supporting his dad as he would be open to the possibility, unaware of the limits of Super Saiyan. While Goku and Gohan would be focused on speed specialization. I think it would be cool if these specializations could work together instead of one outright outclassing the other. For example one person could lead Cell with speed into an ambush, where he can be overpowered physically. Moving into Flow, going with the fact it's easier to use when dead, that's because the dead don't have a physical body to keep running with ki. In the afterlife, that is all you are, a battery of ki, but with a body, some ki is required to maintain the body and its functions. The form majorly improves output, opening one's channels to their limit, but if one is not careful they can easily expend too much ki... The sorta odd one out in this case is Super Saiyan 4, which relies on the Oozaru form of course. Diverting the transformation so that they remain in a more compact form. However, this form kinda acts like a cross between strength and speed specialization, with the drawback that it messes with the mind. Making it easy for a Saiyan to forget exactly what they are doing, lashing out any chance they get (even at allies), and forgetting about mercy. Goku and Vegeta see potential in this form, but are wary. Best case scenario they are facing an opponent one on one, away from a crowd, that they have no qualms with killing.
To touch on Super Saiyan God, I have to touch on Beerus, who instead of coming to Earth somewhat randomly from what I recall. He is instead visiting the Saiyans and other Z Fighters, with the intention of recruiting disciples. Pretending to go rogue, in order to make it feel like they are in a dire situation and will fight with all they have. After evaluating all their strengths, he relents and invites those he deems have great potential/likelihood of succeeding him to his temple to perform a ritual of transferring divine ki... As I'm not a fan of the original Super Saiyan God ritual and its legend. Just feels weird to have two coinciding legends, but one has more obvious relevance. So instead, Beerus would remark that he has heard of Saiyans being candidates in the past but is curious what these "new age Saiyans" are capable of. Training them to achieve their godly state (red), that can act as an alternate to their base form, which they would eventually be able to incorporate with Super Saiyan. Thus becoming Super Saiyan Gods (blue) in that sense.
The recruitment narrative would also reframe the tournament between Beerus and Champa, as teachers testing their disciples against one another.
I'm not quite sure what I'm gonna do with Ultra Instinct & Ego + Beast yet, and I'm not caught up on Super as I indicated at the beginning. But I do have some closing additions...
On time Travel, there are a couple instances such as in the early series, later in the Android + Cell Saga, and that one weird Bardock special. But to tie them together I have devised the presence of general time distorting items. Which in the case of the early series and Bardock, those would be handled with the items as they naturally occur. You touch them and they bring you to a certain time, usually related to the location it is found (though in the case of Bardock, it wouldn't be him sent back, and the village would be destroyed regardless the item would just give someone the chance to make a timeline in which it was saved), but your actions would just create a new timeline. While you would be returned to your own as if nothing happened, even if you "die" while in contact with the item, it's more akin to a simulation where you would wake up afterward near the item. Bulma however would acquire one of these items and make it the core of the time machine used by Trunks, directing its effect to specific times.
On Frieza and his golden form, I imagined if he attained it while in the afterlife instead of after his revival. The reason he runs into the stamina issue is because he only used it without a physical body, similar to how there is less of an issue of ki in the afterlife, there is no stamina/ki going toward the maintenance of your body. I'm also sort of scratching out his black form because I find it boring— replacing it with the idea that his golden form is a cocoon for a subsequent form. Which he would realize is a way to conduct the demon conversion ritual. Going through with it, he would emerge in a new demonic form. Not fully confident in that idea but it's there. But I am a bit more confident in restructuring Frieza's forms, making his impish form his original form. To remove the redundancy of making so many forms to restrict himself and just have his race be naturally very adaptive. His second form would then be strength focused, his third would be speed, his fourth would be balanced, while his full power form would act in a similar way to the grade 2.
Broly, he's a Saiyan mutant. Which causes him behavioral issues and enhanced power progression. Paragus would put the device on him to make him more passive and restrict him. The device developed by Paragus and a technologically advanced race (Cheelai's in my verse, which would lead to her and Broly meeting), would help Paragus establish his own regime, attracting wayward Saiyans to conquer in his name now that Island Vegeta was destroyed and the prince is nowhere to be found. His super Saiyan form, due to his mutation, is triggered by desperation (to not displease his father) and anger instead of a greater aspiration/need. The years of being controlled by his father, essentially splitting his personality. All of his passive traits remained in his base form, while all the violent and sadistic tendencies welled up in his super Saiyan form.
Fusion, I don't think that needs to be altered much. Off the top of my head it would probably require two people matching their auras instead of power levels for the dance; synchronizing them long enough so their bodies and minds can merge temporarily.
Feel free to ask questions, I didn't cover absolutely everything ofc, so any questions, thoughts, and questions would be appreciated.

Hello y’all!
I have frequented this forum now for several months since learning about FQ toxicity and have decided to finally post my story so far.
I’m 23 years old (M) (turning 24 soon) and before this nightmare began, I was an energetic, active, and healthy runner and athlete that ate whatever I wanted and enjoyed things such as alcohol, caffeine, fast food, etc. My story begins in mid-January 2024. I woke up one morning with intense testicle pain which persisted for several days before I decided to visit the ER. The ultrasound and urinalysis tests found nothing. The pain persisted another week before I went back to the doctors and was diagnosed with epididymitis and prescribed Levofloxacin 500 mg (1 pill per day) for 10 days; I completed the pills by the end of January.
The pain persisted and I went back to the doctors. I was referred to a urologist. The urologist prescribed me Doxycycline 100 mg (2 pills per day) for 14 days. I finished the pills by the end of February. Shockingly, the pain still lingered! I was so desperate that I looked for alternative answers on the internet and discovered that garlic supplements helped people with chronic testicular pain. I decided to order some and give it a try; lo and behold, after only 3 days, the pain completely vanished! I was so happy to finally put this nightmare behind me…or so I thought. Keep in mind that during the days I was taking the antibiotics, I abstained from caffeine and alcohol.
In the middle of March, it was like a BOMB went off in my body. Leading up to this bomb, I was eating, drinking, and operating the way I usually would, but I noticed here and there that something didn’t seem right: the effects of alcohol seemed to linger longer than usual, I started to get weird feelings in my gut whenever I ate something, my runs started to exhaust me more than usual, the list goes on. I decided to visit my primary physician to check my general well being and told him about what I have gone through. Blood tests and X-Rays were run and I was diagnosed with constipation caused by IBS. I thought to myself that this was because of the antibiotics I took and that I simply had to let time go by for that to resolve. However, during one week in the middle of March, I drank more alcohol than usual, and by the end of the week, the bomb went off. I remember the symptoms very well: severe anxiety, complete loss of appetite, constipation, restlessness, an impending sense of doom, loss of concentration, lethargy, loss of motivation, malaise, and nausea. These symptoms subsided significantly by cutting out caffeine and alcohol again since I attributed my symptoms to gut dysbiosis and resorted to eating foods that were easier to digest.
Then, the 2nd, and most severe bomb, went off again at the beginning of April after I decided to help myself to a heavy meal of Alfredo pasta with meatballs and broccoli. The same symptoms recurred again, but this time, they persisted longer and much more severely. Once again, I chalked it up to gut dysbiosis and went on a diet of nothing but probiotic yogurt, crackers, and sauerkraut. During this time, I began to lose weight because of my change in diet. I went back to the doctor to get a possible answer for what was happening to me, and to no surprise, it was no help. I was prescribed Omeprazole, a PPI, for supposed gastritis and sent on my merry way! That didn’t satisfy me at all.
It was after this that I began to really question my condition and why I was experience what I was experiencing, and that’s when I discovered the treasure trove of stories, reports, research papers, etc, of people who have been damaged by Fluoroquinolones. I was finally relieved to find what was causing my condition, but I was angry! Why the hell was I prescribed Levofloxacin when it has been significantly restricted by the FDA for last resort use!? How much have my mitochondria been damaged? Am I now at higher risk for heart problems such as aortic aneurysms? Will my tendons rupture eventually? When will my gastrointestinal problems finally go away? The list of questions going through my mind goes on.
Since then, I have been taking buttloads of supplements and minerals while changing my diet to nothing but protein and fiber. I have cut out alcohol, caffeine, gluten, and significantly restricted sugar intake. Magnesium is incredibly important!!!
As the title states, I am now 4 months out from taking Levofloxacin. I am generally doing better now that I know what I’m dealing with. However, every once in a while, I get flares in the form of loss of appetite, malaise, chest pain (which scares me the most since it occurs on the left side right where my heart is), fatigue, lethargy, loss of concentration, and really bad anxiety. I actually had my first severe panic attack yesterday while driving; it happened so fast. There was a pop/stab feeling that I felt right in my left chest near my heart and all of a sudden, my heart rate went through the roof, my arms began tingling, I felt like I was going to die, and I got really bad hot and cold flashes in my chest. I was so scared I was having a medical episode that I told my father who was with me that I thought I should go to the hospital. That didn’t happen tho, and my panic attack calmed down. My father and I chalked the panic attack up to the stressful drive and intense concentration I put into driving for the previous three days.
Today, I’m doing better with slightly persisting chest pain in the same area on the left where my heart is. I surprisingly haven’t experienced any problems with my tendons and have only experienced things with my nerves like tingling and numbness a handful of times. The three biggest issues going for me from being floxed are my anxiety, chest pain, and gastrointestinal problems.
Since this ordeal began, I have lost 15 pounds. (156->141). I still cannot ingest alcohol and caffeine since they cause relapses as does eating the wrong thing. I still take my supplements as well. I hope that brighter days are ahead that I can one day look back at all this and smile that I have overcome this.
I have a couple of questions to conclude this story:

• have any of y’all experienced chest pain around the heart? Should I be concerned that there is something wrong with the aorta or the valves?
  
• How long did it take for y’all to at least achieve 80% recovery?
  
• How long does it take for gastrointestinal problems to resolve?
  

Any comments and help appreciated! 👍🏻

Chapter 26 - The Infinite Beckons
Previous Chapter
“Okay, this part’s a little tricky.” Ma’et gestured out the shuttle’s cockpit. “You got lined up easy enough, and our velocity’s at a relative zero to the ship. The bay door’s open. Now you engage the lateral thrusters while monitoring the distance from the shuttle to the bay’s interior wall. Come in too fast and you’ll damage them both..”
Trix looked over at the controls, and the neatly gummed labels that the humans had placed over the English text with her own language. She gingerly pressed the ‘Lateral Thruster’ button, then as the control knob next to it lit up, she twisted it slowly.
An earlier misadventure when lining up the ship and the shuttle where she’d twisted the control knob much more rapidly made her much more cautious about giving it too much power too quickly, yet the shuttle slowly drifted - away from the ship. “Other thruster, feathers.”
Chagrined, she dialed the thruster back to zero, then rotated it the other direction. The ship immediately stopped moving away, and instead drifted into the hangar bay. Trix watched as it drifted past the door, staring at the distance readout until it dropped into the yellow and immediately swung the knob the other way. It took a couple of tries to get the velocity back to zero, but she managed it.
“Beautiful. Now we engage the grav plating which lets the ship’s internal grav pull us down as it ramps up, and close the external door via the console over there.” Ma’et gestured to the remote console, and Trix scanned it, punching the buttons as she found them.
“Nicely done. Go ahead and hit the engine shutdown. In the old days there’d be like, thirty steps to it but nearly all of it is automated. But lucky you, you get to read all about the manual sequence since taking over in the event of computer failure is one of a pilot’s duties.” Ma’et chuckled and squeezed Trix’s shoulder. “For now, that’s good enough. Go ahead and open both the lateral boarding door, and the rear loading door. Also extend the rear loading ramp.”
Trix did, then glanced over at Ma’et. “Anything more?”
“Nope. First day on the job, and you’ve done the first job successfully. Not perfectly, but pretty damn good for your first time piloting off planet. Go ahead and head back to talk with the Captain, and I’ll handle the rest.”
Trix unbuckled the acceleration harness (Though, she felt zero acceleration during the entire trip so she couldn’t fathom just WHY Ma’et had insisted on her buckling in) and moved past the much smaller woman as she left the cockpit.
In the back, Josh was already outside the ship, grabbing a handtruck. She watched as he pushed it up the loading ramp to the stack of boxes that contained the food and equipment she’d need for the next few weeks of existence here in space. “Why aren’t you using one of the gravity belts?” She gestured over to the wall where the belts were hanging.
“Eh, this stuff’s fairly light and those have a limited lifespan. I don’t want to burn out the Keplite cores on stuff we can just move by hand. They’re expensive.”
“Oh. What’s Keplite, anyway? Ji and Min have mentioned it a few times.” Trix glanced over at the large belts with their big circular pads in the middle.
Before Josh could answer, Alex walked in between them. “Ji, Min! We’re going to be converting the room across from yours back into crew quarters for Trix. Gonna need you two to move the Spider. Is there room here in the hangar for it?”
“It’ll fit better if we assemble it and use packing mode.” Ji countered, as he hopped out of the shuttle. “It’ll take a day or so. We’ve got it spread all out in there.”
Alex turned over to Trix and beckoned. “Follow me. Gonna give you the full tour while they’re unloading." He took a few steps back, then lifted his arms wide to gesture to their surroundings. "This is obviously the hangar bay. Shuttle's the big thing you were just flying. Below us is a small cargo hold, empty right now. Not gonna show you unless you happen to like large empty boring-ass boxes.” He raised an eyebrow, and Trix quickly shook her head. "Alright. Most of the shit in here is just maintenance tools and loading gear. Nothing exciting. Ramp to main transit corridor here."
They walked out into the hallway. “Okay, well through that door’s opposite the hangar is the fabber bay. The fabber is a huge machine that manufactures stuff for us, like a 3D printer. Do you guys have anything like that?” Trix shrugged, and Alex continued. “Well either way, it can make virtually anything from a bed to a bomb to a computer. The more complex and difficult items take a hell of a lot longer to make. It’s also a major power hog since the manufacturing process uses extremely powerful fields, both magnetic and force. In other words, if you need something and we didn’t bring it with you we can make it here.”
He walked down the hall a bit, and gestured to the doors on either side. “Launcher bays, 1 and 2. Normally we use ‘em to launch beacons, buoys, sensors, things like that into space. If someone tries to start shit with us we CAN use them to launch missiles but we have very few of those available. We’re not out here to get in fights, but if we have to defend ourselves we pack a big punch.” He opened one of the doors and walked inside. “The big hatch over there is the manual tube loader. The ship can auto-load various things but if we need to put something into space that isn’t already in storage, that’s where we do it. If Ji tells you to climb in yourself, he’s joking and you should hit him because it only exists to launch shit into space.”
Trix laughed at that, but she had learned enough of Ji’s sense of humor while working on the car to understand the sentiment. “Will I even be in here at all though?”
“Maybe. If something needs to be manually loaded, we use these. Back when we were at the derelict ship I had to send a battery over to help out while we planned our rescue. You might be asked to do the same.” Alex shrugged and lead her out into the hall. “Last thing here is the ship’s primary armament.” He reached over to the side of the hallway and pressed a hatch release. The compartment it lead to was incredibly small and tightly cramped.
“We don’t use it much outside of scaring off pirates or relieving stress, but this is our primary weapon out in space. Eight-chamber five meter long rotary railgun. Fires one round every 1.2 seconds that travel roughly a million kilometers per hour when fired stationary, or closer to 280 kilometers per second. It fires either solid armor-piercing unguided slugs or flak munitions that are used to produce clouds of metallic debris. The former will shred a ship’s armor and pulverize anything inside. The latter can overwhelm particle shields and damage exterior components without nearly as much penetration. The reason I’m saying all this to you,” He tapped the top of the cannon where it joined to the ship. “This thing’s got a super limited firing arc. Meaning that we can only shoot what we’re pointed at. If, by some miracle, we get into a fight out there then our ability to shoot back is gonna depend on your ability to fly the ship while facing the enemy.”
Trix swallowed heavily as she tried to imagine just how powerful this massive cannon was. She glanced over at the side of it, to the twin belts that fed in ammo. Each round it would fire was longer than her forearm and thicker than her waist.
“That’s the worst case scenario though. In reality, if we get into any shit out there, fighting is the LAST thing we want to do. Negotiation to avoid hostility first, escape second, fight last.” Alex shooed her out of the compartment. “That said if we encounter any low-yield junk out there then we’ll get some target practice in. If you’re game then we can let you try targeting for a bit and unload some kinetic mayhem while things are dull.” He grinned wickedly, as he manually pulled the hatch back into place, sliding two large locking levers into place.
“Okay, that’s it for this deck. There’s stairs on the far side leading up to the tech deck but the ladder here’s quicker.”
They climbed up the ladder, with Alex leading and Trix following. Her wings banged against the ceiling as she climbed, and it took her a few moments to get them tucked in tight enough to get through the hatch but with Alex’s help they got up there.
“Tech deck. Mostly. In the front of the ship here right under Bridge access is the exception, the pool room.” He opened the door and they walked in together. “Mainly used for observation but the pool there is great for relaxation. You can adjust the temperature with the controls on the wall there, goes from chilly to full on hot tub. Adjustable depth from 3 to 10 feet, and the pool walls are display panels. If you use a breather it’s fun to turn the display to external then go down underwater and relax while staring at the stars. Do you swim much?”
Trix nodded. “Sure, there’s a river a… couple kilometers? I think? I’m not good with converting distances yet. Anyway, it’s near the hab and we’d go there when I was younger and didn’t have as much to do in the fields.”
“Cool. Well, feel free to use it but just a word of warning you might want to check if anyone’s in first. Swimwear is optional and since the crew is a pretty tight family we don’t usually get embarrassed if we’re seen swimming in the buff.” Alex waved over at the control console. “If you’re not sure the big green button on the outside is the comm button, just ask if anyone’s using it.”
“Ji brought me in here when we came up to do the medical scans. He showed me Kiveyt from orbit for the first time. Do all human ships have a room like this?” Trix reached over to dip her hand into the water. It was quite warm to the touch.
“Nah. This ship wasn’t originally designed as a scout ship or survey ship. It was originally a yacht. Big luxury vehicle for rich people to fly around in space and have fun in. Throw parties. Most of the ridiculous amenities it has I got rid of ages ago, but that left a huge amount of space we filled up with all the launchers and sensors and whatnot. I kept the pool though because I love soaking after a long day.” He pressed the door control and they left the pool room.
“Just past the pool room on either side of the ship we have collection dishes for D-space particles. Those are EVA only, so you won’t be dealing with those. They let us collect extremely powerful particles which lead back here.” Alex spoke as he walked, and turned the corner into a much, much larger room.
“This is the ship’s main power supply. Charged particles enter the torus reactor and discharge energy which is converted into electrical power and routed through the ship. Those bottles over there…” He gestured to four massive grey metal canisters on the wall. “Contain the actual particles. They’re made of the strongest materials we have because if one ruptured, the ship would instantly explode from the inside out. Don’t worry,” Alex quickly raised his hands. “The chances of that happening are virtually impossible. This is the single most well-protected location on the ship.”
He gestured to the other side of the large room. “Over there’s the terminals that Min is usually at. She and Ji are in charge of all engineering. That means power, propulsion, all computer systems, and the like. Well, the physical parts of them that is. Ma’et is our computer geek when it comes to integration, programming, and all the fun software shit.”
Alex left the room, and gestured to the other side. “I’m sure you’re familiar with medical over there. Let’s do us both a favor and not have to go there much. Otherwise I’m pretty sure Kyshe will gut me.” He didn’t stop to show her inside, and they reached the main staircase. “The back half of the ship on this deck is all propulsion access and maintenance. I’m more or less our damage control guy, along with Ji and Min. For them it’s because they’re smart as shit and for me it’s because I had to learn how to maintain my own ship. Most common damage out here is stray micro meteors or debris while we’re parked and the particle shields are down. Sometimes worn out components inside. Again, no EVA for you so the only thing you’ll need to worry about for DC is being an assistant to one of us while we fix shit.”
They went up the stairwell to the uppermost of the three floors. “There used to be an observation bubble above us, but I had it removed because it was useless. Even if I covered it with ablative plating it was a massive wart on top of the ship that served zero practical purpose. Anyway, the top floor here is where you’ll spend 90% of your time on the ship. Back here…” Alex started walking to the rear of the ship, and walked through a large open doorway. “Mess hall. We generally have two kinds of meals here - when we’re on long deployment, the food extruder over there can produce rations. They’re not amazing but they’re quick both to make and eat. It’ll also make reasonable meat and dairy substitutes. If you want a real meal though we usually keep the good stuff in deep freeze so it takes a fair amount of time to be ready. Other than that the bev dispenser is over there. Water and various juices on tap all the time, alcohol is restricted only to meals only. We all get together for breakfast and dinner though, since it’s just a good way to socialize. Tonight expect a big meal in celebration.”
He walked out of the mess, and opened a door to a large open area. “Rec room. Not used a whole lot because most of us use haptic suits for exercise and recreation but we don’t have a suit that’ll fit you or your wings, so I want you to be in here twice a week at least. Ma’et is a great partner for any exercise that doesn’t involve fighting, unless you like bruises in which case she’ll happily go a few rounds with gloves on. Pilots don’t get the level of exercise you’re used to on the planet working fields so exercise up here will be pretty damn vital.”
She looked around the room, then hurried to catch up to the captain as he walked out. “On the other side of the hall from the Mess is general storage. Cleaning supplies, a small laundry unit if the one in your room quits working, random odds and ends. Also a few extra bunks just in case we need them. Unfortunately I am going to have to have you spend one night in here while we get your room cleaned up and ready for you.” He walked in, and over to one of the walls. “Bunk folds down from here. Looks, uh…” He glanced at the fold-down bed and back at Trix. “Looks tight. Do me a favor and see if you’re gonna be OK there?”
It was very close, but Trix laid down on the sleeping pad and adjusted until she found a good comfortable spot. “For just one night, this will do…”
“Alright, no worries then. We’ll have your room ready quick as we can.” She got off the pad and Alex gestured for her to follow. “Quarters themselves are here, 4 on either side of the main hallway. Myself, Josh, Ma’et, and Amanda on the right in that order. Ji, Min, Your quarters, and the last was converted into a mechanical room for Par. Speaking of…”
He walked into the last room and knocked on a large hatch. “Par, would it be alright if I introduced our newest shipmate?”
“Of course, Captain.” The hatch slid silently open revealing a large, intricate array. Circuit boards were laid out in rows and wires ran between them in perfectly neat, ordered channels. In the center of it all was a large oblong egg-looking object. “Trix, may I present to you Parathanelias Sigma-822.”
Several rows of lights lit up along the side of the egg, and the pleasant musical voice she’d heard so often came from a small speaker alongside it. “It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Trksehnoarala.”
Trix stared at the open hatch then gestured behind her. “I thought you were in those floating metal balls…?”
“The spheres you mention are my remotes. None of them are large enough to house my primary systems. In a way, they are my eyes, ears, and limbs. My true nature is integration here within the ship itself, and I make up for my limited mobility in person by having the greatest mobility of any other member of the crew.”
“He also has an avatar in VR of an organic human, but most of the time he uses the floating spheres to interact with us and the rest of the world. His core,” Alex gestured to the egg-like central object, “houses his base personality and his most important memories. The rest of this is extra storage for less critical information. I’m a bit jealous because his most important memories will always be preserved forever in perfect clarity. The rest of us get to have our memories fade with time, but his will be eternal.”
Alex stood there mutely for a moment then shook his head. “Anyway. Back to the tour. Thanks Par!”
“My pleasure.” The hatch slid silently shut and Alex and Trix left the room. “This room has been empty for long enough I pretty much gave it over to Ji and Min for a long while.” Alex walked into the room next to Par’s. “It’s kind of a mess but we’re going to get it cleaned up then it’ll be yours.”
There was no bed in the room, and the tables against the walls were covered with electronics and quickboards. In the center of the room, a huge metal contraption was spread out. Eight large jointed legs were wired in to a big central circular turret. Above that, a multitude of ‘limbs’ extended out - one a large grasper with clawed metal fingers, another ending with an odd cone-shaped implement with a blackened tip. A third was a huge metal pipe jutting out, and a fourth looked to be a number of small openings to place something into.
Trix gestured to it, “What is THAT thing?”
“That’s the Spider. It’s a long-time project the Twins have been working on. Pretty much since they joined the crew, really. It was meant to be a mechanical walker for the military but… well, that’s their story to tell.” Alex snorted. “There’s going to be enough time to go into the details later. Point is, before we even start leaving the system we’re gonna move this out, get a full king sized bed in here for you, some more storage, and so on. That door,” He gestured to a door on the other side of the room, “Leads to a hygiene unit. Full on shower, no bath but if you want to soak the Pool’s down a floor. Aside from no tub it has a deluxe toilet, sink, and a small cleaning unit for clothes.”
Trix cautiously stepped around the large disassembled robot, and opened the door to peer inside. The hygiene unit was much larger than she’d expected, and she was grateful to see that most of the facilities was familiar to her.
“Okay, one last stop and it’s the most important.” Alex walked out into the hallway and Trix rushed to catch up, almost tripping as she hopped over a piece of scrap cable along the floor. “I’m sure this will become your second home on the ship real fast. The bridge.”
They walked down the hall through a small access corridor into a large, wide open space. A large chair sat in the center with a number of controls and articulating arms present on the back. In front of it, a number of control panels were arranged in rows. The front of the bridge and both sides were dominated by massive window screens that showed the area the ship was currently facing. She could see one screen to the side with a display showing Kiveyt, first as a small dot with a zoomed-in and blown up image next to it.
“The door back there in the corner leads to a briefing room, nothing special there but a table and chairs. The big chair in the middle is mine, but if you ask super nicely I’ll let you sit in it.” Alex grinned, and pointed at the console in the very center of the bridge, in front of the Captain’s chair. “But that station over there is primary navigation. Josh is there quite a lot of the time, though just as often I navigate from the Captain’s Chair or Ma’et controls the ship from her neural interface. As of now, though, I bequeath ownership of it unto you - for the next few weeks, at least.”
Trix walked around the bridge staring at everything. The control consoles were smooth, rounded and sleek in their presentation. Each one had a large keyboard in front covered with the strange runes of the Humans’ language. Various other instruments and implements were present at each station, but at hers she smiled gratefully to see that the keys had already changed and had more familiar and recognizable letters in place of the Humans odd script. The layout was definitely weird, and she knew it was going to take time and effort to grow accustomed but at the very least she would be able to understand what she was doing as she learned. Even better, the seat lacked the same high back that the other seats had, which would have been pressed tightly and uncomfortably against her wings.
She glanced back at Alex, who just nodded at her. Encouraged, she took a seat and glanced around. “This is mine.” She whispered it and then let her wings spread out with pleasure as she realized that from here, from this station, she would be the one personally controlling the entire massive vehicle behind her. It lacked the flight stick of the shuttle or the handle controls of her aircar, and in a way she felt disappointed she wouldn’t be able to manually control the ship the same way she could the smaller vehicles. But as she looked around her and rested her hands on the cool surface of the console, she felt something else. A thrill of anticipation at the thought of being the one in control of this massive ship and everyone inside of it.
Alex climbed several steps up to the captain’s chair on its elevated dais, and took a seat directly behind her. The sight of a winged alien in front of him at the nav console with the stars stretching out above and beyond her was a strange one, but a pleasant one. He tried to think of a witty quip to finish the tour with, but failing that he settled for a much simpler one instead.
“Welcome aboard, Pilot.”
—--
“Okay, before we get started, I believe that this is a special occasion warranting a toast.” Alex sat at the head of the large table at the mess, with the other six organic members of the crew assembled further down. “To our new pilot trainee!”
“Here Here!” “To Trix!” “To our Trainee!”
Alex took a sip of his whisky, and sighed in pleasure. “God that hits the spot. Okay everyone, dig in.”
The dinner was an odd affair, mostly because every single member was wearing their visor. Trix could not speak English, and the crew couldn’t speak her native tongue. Masks which would automatically translate couldn’t be worn during a meal so the solution was to have real-time speech to text appearing on everyone’s visor. Trix, who never had worn a visor before, had a difficult time getting the display to appear just right in front of her eyes but she and Par had gotten it dialed in.
Trix glanced at the array of food in front of her. Some items looked familiar, others completely foreign, and none of it smelled quite right. She gestured to the food. “None of this is from Kiveyt. Is it safe for me to eat it?”
“I went through our entire comestible database while we were on the planet. Surprisingly there’s almost no Terran food you can’t eat.” Josh had a massive burrito nearly as long as Ma’et’s arm on the plate in front of him, and he spoke while dabbing hot sauce over it. “All of our Macronutrients are completely interchangeable. Most Micronutrients are as well. There’s a few exotic vitamins and amino acids that you need that we can’t provide, but we have supplements from the planet that’ll handle those.”
“Oh.” Trix glanced around at the table, trying to decide what to eat. The spread was, per Alex’s suggestion, extremely large and quite diverse. “I’m not sure where to start then.”
Min picked up a large platter with a circular dish on it. “Far as I’m concerned the best place to start is with Pizza. It’s one of the most widely loved foods throughout Terran space.” She dumped a slice onto the plate in front of Trix, while Ji slid a very tall glass of water over to her, alongside an odd reddish looking beverage.
“Give the fruit punch a try too. It’s much more sweet than the juice you were serving down on the planet. A lot more mild too.” He suggested, and gestured to another plate. “Also? Tacos are never a bad choice.”
Trix reached out and picked up one of the odd, semi-circular items. Ji grabbed one as well, and bit into it with gusto. Trix mimicked the motion, crunching into the hard shell. It was quite interesting, tasteless at first as she bit into the shell and the lettuce, but then the spiced meat hit her tongue. It was quite mild but not unpleasant. She chewed on it and gulped down a mouthful. “Not bad.” She took another bite.
The taco vanished quickly, and she glanced down at the slice of Pizza next. “Like this, Trix.” Min gestured to pick it up by the crust, putting her fingers in front of it to prevent it from flopping down. Trix followed Min’s example, and took a huge bite. This one was even milder, almost disappointingly so. “Not much flavor to this one. Is all your food really light like this?”
The humans glanced around at that. “Y’know, Sophie mentioned our rations were tasteless. They have a pretty strong cinnamon taste to ‘em.” Alex sat back thoughtfully as he nursed the glass of whisky in his hand. “The food we had down on the planet was all pretty strong flavors…”
Josh handed the bottle of hot sauce in his hand over to Trix. “Try a dab of this. It adds a kick to some foods.”
Trix took the bottle, and put a few drops of it on the slice of pizza in front of her. She took another bite, and her eyes lit up. The next few bites all had more hot sauce each, and the crust itself ended up practically drenched in it. “Thanks, Josh. That was delicious.”
The rest of the crew was staring at her and she shrunk back slightly at their intense scrutiny. Had she done something wrong? She hadn’t ever offended them during any meals back on the planet, so the sudden shift in attention was jarring and quite uncomfortable.
Ji whistled at the sight of the alien hungrily wofling down the slice of pizza covered in bright spicy sauce. “Here, try some of that on a taco next!” He picked up another shell and offered it to her.
Trix reached out and took the taco, this time pouring a hefty amount of sauce on it. Eating this one was much messier, and she could feel the hot sauce dribbling down the side of her mouth as she took a huge bite. Min handed her a paper towel, and she embarrassedly wiped away the errant food. “Thanks, Min. That was great too, Ji.”
“Hold up.” Alex stood up and walked over to one of the cupboards, pulling out another bottle of sauce. “I’m curious now. This is a lot hotter than the sauce you’ve been trying thus far. See if it’s to your liking. Just, start with a very small amount. A little goes a LONG way.” He walked back to the table, placing the bottle next to Trix. She studied it briefly, mostly the logo - a caricature of a human whose head appeared to be on fire.
“Um, Okay. Should I try it with the Pizza or the Taco?” She glanced between the two dishes she’d already tried. “Either one. Whichever you prefer.” was Alex’s reply.
Trix reached out and grabbed a third Taco, opening up the bottle. Immediately she could smell the fragrant sauce within, and she carefully poured a small amount into the shell. She cautiously took a bite and chewed thoughtfully.
“Too hot?” Alex suggested, but she shook her head. “No. Just…” She poured more sauce on the taco, and ate the rest in only a few bites. “Whew. Sorry, Captain Alexander. That was incredible! I’ve never tasted anything like it before.”
“Captain Alexander just sounds weird. Call me Alex or Al. Or ‘Captain’ if you really, really need to use my rank for whatever reason.” Alex sat down, and chuckled. “But that’s interesting. Very, very interesting. That sauce there?” He gestured towards the bottle. “It’s made with a chemical called ‘Capsaicin’. To humans it’s a powerful spice. Too much of it causes a painful burning sensation that lingers. We normally dilute it to make it more palatable and less painful.”
Trix glanced at the bottle. “I guess that explains the fire on the little picture here.” She grabbed another slice of the pizza, and drizzled the sauce on top.
“Three tacos and two slices of pizza?” Ma’et was impressed as she saw how much food the Avian was packing away.
“The disadvantage of those muscular bodies.” Josh waved his hand towards Trix. “They require all the calories that a Human does and more. Back on the planet I learned their species used to be a lot smaller, but after developing animal husbandry and reliable sources of higher calorie foods they bulked up pretty quick.”
Trix, for her part, slicked off the second slice of pizza with gusto. She grabbed a fourth taco, and liberally poured the spicy sauce all over, before wolfing that down as well. She grabbed the fruit juice that Ji had offered her… the ‘punch’? And downed it almost as quickly.
“I hope after all this is over, we can buy some more of that sauce. I definitely want the others back at home to try it.” She licked her lips, and sighed with contentment. “This juice too. I like how sweet it is.”
“Birds are immune to Capsaicin.” Josh murmured softly, but it was picked up by the visor and translated perfectly. “I wonder what the chances are that space-birds would be too?”
—--
“Slide the jack under that joint there.” Trix did as instructed, wheeling the small hydraulic device under the ‘spider’s’ massive leg. “Great. Just gotta line up the leg with where the servos join in…” Ji and Min lifted the leg and immediately began connecting up cables and lines. After all the connections were made, Ji braced himself against the wall and shoved - hard - against the leg, firmly connecting the mechanical rotary joint into place.
“Okay, testing.” Min walked over to the console and began punching in codes. Like the other six limbs before it, this one shook slightly then began to flex, twist, and move around. “Range of motion is nominal. Motors are all showing peak. Locking joints and anchor bolt systems are green.”
Ji wiped off some sweat from his forehead, and leaned back against the wall. “I knew it was a mistake to work on it up here. At least if we put it in the hangar we could have lowered the gravity.”
“It would have been in the way during the rescue op, and we had enough shit going on then we didn’t need to add ‘reassemble a multi-ton walking modular platform’ to the list.” Min gestured with her head, not even glancing over at her brother. “Man up. Trix hasn’t even broken a sweat.”
“I don’t sweat.” Trix mumbled, as she stared at the massive machine. “This thing is crazy. Puts my car to shame.”
“Yeah, our pride and joy. Together we’ve spent decades refining it.” Min glanced over at Trix with a broad smile. “The modular bay on top has been my focus, while Ji’s been adjusting and perfecting the leg and motion systems.”
“What’s it for?”
“Well, right now it’s kind of in between intended uses.” Ji walked over to a large shelf and gestured to the assorted objects there. “With our original plans it was going to have a bunch of swappable options. Right now, it has short and long range assault armaments and a plasma cutter for breaching sealed doors. A basic military drone capable of adapting to all kinds of situations.”
Trix stared at the array of weapons in front of her. “So this is what the human military uses to fight with?”
“Nah.” Min set down the quickboard and walked over to the huge machine. “We envisioned it as a multi-purpose response unit. Capable of dropping in from outside the atmosphere an landing anywhere, going anywhere. Dealing with any situation that could possibly arise. It’s an all-terrain support mech and its modular nature would have made it able to respond to nearly any situation. And it was rejected by the military.”
“What? Why?”
Ji held up a hand and ticked off his fingers. “One, it’s more expensive to drop one of these than a squad of soldiers. Nevermind the fact that it can do 10 people’s worth of work without putting even a single person in danger. Two, it’s too big to be fired out of normal launchers. Adding new launchers to ships would have been a significant amount of work and cost that the navy wasn’t willing to foot the bill. Three, we didn’t have any money after developing it. Meaning we couldn’t bribe anyone in the government into pressuring the military to work with us.”
“Four, they already have hover tanks and artillery and we couldn’t convince them that our system was superior to those.” Min sighed, and threw herself into a chair.
“Hovering is cheating though.” Ji glared at his sister.
“Cheating? What?” Trix just looked bewildered at this.
“Hovering isn’t all-terrain. Hovering is NO terrain.”
“Oh.” Trix took a seat in a nearby chair herself. “So did the captain buy this then?”
“Nope. See, we were finishing up Uni and started developing the Spider, but we didn’t really have the money to actually MAKE one. We had all the plans and all the research on our side but not the raw materials or the money to get those raw materials.” Ji pulled out a stick of gum and popped it in his mouth. “At first we tried going straight to the military which was a huge mistake, they just made a million excuses and told us to get lost. Then we tried approaching some weapon dev companies for funding. They basically told us they’d fund it in exchange for all the rights to production and we’d get whatever they felt was fair. Which when we pressed on a figure, wasn’t much.”
Trix glanced over at the massive mech. “But it got made, obviously.”
“Yup. When we weren’t sure what to do, a buddy of ours mentioned that Al was looking for an engineering team. We can do starship engineering.” Min grabbed the quickboard and extended one of the spider’s legs towards her, so she could kick her feet up on it. “Matter of fact, this ship’s a thing of beauty. Al is a complete doofus but he takes fantastic care of the ship. When we came on we gave him a list of everything that should change. He sat down with us, went over it point by point, and even though it ended up costing over half a million credits he gave us full authorization to make every single change we suggested.”
“So after we did a stint working as engineers we joined up as crew.” Ji had an odd smile on his face. “Since then, we’ve put the money we made from working here towards building this thing. We actually had it completed but then I had this idea of using an array of microservo actuators instead of a larger servo to give us a lot more fine control over the joints. That didn’t work, like, at all but when we used a combination of them we managed to find just the right ratio that gives us twice the amount of precision in each joint, which lets us use the-”
“ANYWAY.” Min interrupted her Brother before he could get too deep into the weeds. “We had it built, with the original armaments we envisioned, but Al suggested making a module for mining and sampling. We brought it in here in order to disassemble it to make the servo adjustments and while we were at it we were going to be replacing the actual weapons with a mining beam, core sample collector, and an array of sensors. Now though we’re going to put it in storage for a while. We got much more important things to take care of now.”
“Oh.” Trix had begun to tune Ji out when he launched into his diatribe. “But what do you mean joined up as crew? You were already crew, weren’t you?”
Min swung her foot down, and gestured to the ship. “It’s different. There’s employees… and then there’s crew. Right now you’re an employee. You’re working with us, you’re out here, but your home’s back with your Teff. Right?”
Trix nodded.
“Well, when you’re crew… this is your home. We’re all family out here. I don’t know as much about the whole Teff thing but I think it’s sort of similar. This ship’s our home, the crew is our family. Alex may be a childish idiot but he’s loyal to his crew like nothing else.” Min stood up and walked over to put her hand on her brother’s shoulder. “When we worked here and started to see how well he treats his people, we felt like we could really belong here. He asked if we’d like to join up, so we did. Best decision we ever made.”
“Yup. He treats the crew as well as he treats the ship.” Ji gestured around him. “Working for him paid well. Working as crew, we don’t get paid regularly but we get a cut out of every mission and that cut is HUGE. That’s how we could afford to actually build the spider in the first place.”
“Ah. So if he invited me along, does that mean he wants me to join the crew too?” Trix wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Joining another family was commonplace for males who left their Teff to join others, but incredibly rare for females.
“Dunno. He’s hired on specialists in the past who’ve come and gone. And he’s invited people to join up who said no and that was that.” Ji shrugged and pressed the release on the hydraulic press, letting it collapse down. “C’mon, we should get the last leg attached. Then we can pack it up and use a grav collar to move it down to the hangar. Don’t want to make you stay in that cramped storage room again tonight.”
“Yeah, I tried to stretch my wings in the morning and I banged up against one of the shelves. Really not looking forward to that again.” Trix grumbled at the memory, and stood up. “Okay, what more do we need done to get this over with?”
—--

6 yr old, 17 lb female dog, spayed chihuahua/maltese/shihtzu mix
My dog started having pee accidents in the house in early February, like peeing on the bed. I thought it was stress-related due to our impending move.
In early March, I discovered bloody urine (had no idea what it was at the time) and small jagged pieces of what I thought was tiny bone fragments near her pee pee pad (thought it was food she snuck out of the trash). About a week later, she peed blood again. Thinking it was some kind of UTI, I decided to give her some leftover Clavacillin and made the earliest available vet appt a week out.
About five days after she started 1/2 62.5 mg Clavacillin 2x a day (rationing what I had), she released a lot of small stones about 1-3 mm. After the vet visit, she was started on 62.5 mg 2x day for 10 days and a urinary vet diet. She started releasing a lot of stones and seemed to be in a better mood.
I am hand-feeding her extra water squeezed through a bite valve throughout the day, making sure she is within her 1 oz/lb water limit. I noticed on a few occasions when I fed her about 1-2 oz at once, she would flush out the most group of stones. Not sure if this is just coincidental.
NO XRAY - stones were palpated
URINALYSIS:
Collection CYSTOCENTESIS
Color Dark Yellow
Clarity TURBID
Specific Gravity 1.024 >= 1.030
pH 8.0 6.0 - 7.5 H
Urine Protein 3+
Glucose NEGATIVE
Ketones TRACE
Blood / Hemoglobin 3+
Bilirubin NEGATIVE
Urobilinogen NORMAL
White Blood Cells 0-2 HPF
Red Blood Cells 30-50 HPF
Bacteria NONE SEEN
Epithelial Cells RARE (0-1)
Mucus NONE SEEN
Casts NONE SEEN
Crystals 3+ AMMONIUM MG PHOSPHATE (21-50)/HPF
STONE ANALYSIS: Urine Protein: Creatinine Ratio - A urine protein: creatinine ratio (UPC) has been ordered as indicated by a positive urine protein with an inactive urine sediment.
Urine Creatinine 143.5 mg/dL
Urine Protein 167.6 mg/dL
Urine Protein: Creatinine Ratio. 1.2
Color Dark Yellow
Color OFF-WHITE
Number 17
Shape Irregular
Surface Smooth
Size <1-9MM
Stone Interior 100% Magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (Struvite)
Shell None detected
Nidus (Core) None detected
MY THEORIES ON POSSIBLE CAUSE(S) OF THE STRUVITE STONES:

• PetLab dental water, TropiClean dental water (changed pH of her urine)
• I scaled her teeth at home and got quiet a bit of tartar off (bacteria from dental plaque and calculus got into her system?)
• I was feeding her Primal raw exclusively (beef, lamb, chicken rotation) but started supplementing with Orijen Small Breed to save on cost. My last dog ate this Orijen for about 15 yrs of her life and did fine.
• Started on Orijen Regional Red in March (too much protein? She is not an active dog. This is an unlikely reason because her symptoms already started in February)
• I was giving her snacks of french bread, since she really seems to love it. I thought it was harmless
• I accidentally gave her a macadamia nut here and there until I recently realized they are toxic to dogs.

There was no bacteria in her urine, which I thought was odd since her urine smelled bad and she was peeing blood at times. The vet didn't want to continue with the Clavamox but I asked to continue with it. She stated that there was probably no bacteria at the time of the culture because my dog was on Clavacillin at the time I took her in.
On the recheck visit, should I insist she continue with the Clavamox? A lot of the publications I see online say that struvite stones are dissolved with diet AND antibiotics (since bacteria is released into the system as the stones break up)
Two main questions I'm hoping you guys can answer based on all of the information above:

• What would be the continued course of action at this point?
• What do you think was the cause of the struvite stones?

feel free to put your opinion
ginger i mean in all forms available raw, powder ,juice, ginger tea ,supplement, motilpro everything.
View Poll

Grangemouth bricks are highly coveted pieces of LEGO history. Many collectors have heard the legends behind their production, but what’s the real back story?
To unravel this tale from half a century ago, first hand memories and documents from the 1960’s & 70’s have been combined to provide unprecedented insights below. These interviews included a former Grangemouth plant Physical and Colour Technician and a Shipping Clerk, as well as recollections from children of former employees that received bricks from the plant.
The story begins in 1961, when Anchor Chemicals in the UK formed a joint venture with Marbon Chemical of the USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Borg-Warner Corporation. It established the first major UK plant for the production of ABS (acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene) polymers. This new plant was strategically located in Grangemouth, as butadiene and styrene were already available there. These thermoplastics were to be marketed as “Marbon Cycolac ABS” by Anchor, who were already Marbon's sole British distributor.
Two years and six million pounds later, the Grangemouth plant was completed by Constructers John Brown Ltd in 1963. Located on a 40 acre site fronting Bo'ness Road, it produced ABS polymers through emulsion polymerization for vacuum forming or moulding into domestic appliances, telephone handsets, automotive components, vacuum cleaner parts and much more.
The acrylonitrile, butadiene & styrene were piped in liquid form to the plant from the large British Petroleum (BP) Chemicals facility across the road, delivered through underground pipes below the intersecting road. The acrylonitrile was made by Border Chemicals, butadiene directly by BP Chemicals and styrene by Forth Chemicals. Border and Forth received their raw materials from BP and their facilities were co-located with BP Chemicals. Colour pigments were provided in powder form by Imperial Chemical Industries (I.C.I.).
The LEGO Group (TLG) made British company Courtauld’s Corp the UK Licensee for LEGO in 1960 under the name British LEGO Ltd. After two years of importing LEGO parts from Denmark, local LEGO part production in the UK commenced through a new factory in Wrexham, Wales. TLG had simultaneously switched to ABS plastic in 1963, and Marbon’s Grangemouth plant was selected as the ABS supplier to the new British LEGO factory located in Wrexham.
The Grangemouth ABS plant operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s primary roles in ABS production was to extract fire-retardant inhibitors from the three individual raw ingredients, mix and heat them to produce ABS pellets in any selected colour with added pigments. The plant’s main extruder used in production had mixing tanks, a large hopper for raw materials, and a screw mechanism at the base which pushed the molten mixture through a steel plate with holes in it. This produced long round strips of ABS, which were put through a dicer to cut them up into pellets. These pellets were put into 25kg bags and palatalised for shipment to Wrexham by truck.
The TLG quality requirements were very high, and above the standards or specifications of other customers. The colours in particular had to be perfect. It was clearly understood that if any batches were sent that didn’t meet TLG specifications when moulded out at Wrexham, they would be returned, which happened very rarely.
To assist with maintaining high standards of quality control, the plant owned an injection moulding machine. Situated in the Testing Lab, it was utilised by the Physical and Colour testing teams. Both teams operated on four shifts. Initially each team was comprised of four people each per shift, with this increasing to five people in the 1970’s as production levels rose. The Physical team used the moulder to test ABS flow rate for each batch, ensuring it filled all the mould cavities, as well as impact and tensile strength. The Colour team used eyesight to match ABS batches with colour swatches, as colour spectrophotometers weren’t in use at the time.
Starting in the 1960’s, TLG provided the Grangemouth plant with a sequence of 2x4 LEGO brick moulds for testing ABS in their injection moulding machine. From bricks subsequently found locally in the area, we know these included old production moulds, such as a twenty slot D mould and a 20 slot Y mould. Bricks from a four slot 8-11 mould have also been found, that mould was made from old parts but was specifically assembled for use in quality testing. More moulds may have been used during these early years at the plant. Around 1968 a final mould arrived, it was a four slot F mould, that was purpose built for quality testing.
LEGO test bricks were made by workers in the Testing Lab, and these were largely solid colours solely for ABS batch testing. Mixing of colours did sometimes occur between colour changes, resulting in small quantities of marbled bricks. To clear mould injectors of prior colours, natural ABS without pigment would be passed through. This produced another type of marbled bricks, with a unique cream colour mixed in. Bricks that failed physical and/or colour testing quality standards were called “Rejectable”.
Test bricks were supposed to be recycled, turning them back into pellets by chopping them up into small pieces, melting them down and putting them through the ABS extruder again. These pellets were not used by TLG, but instead sent to factories outside the UK, mostly in China. Some Testing Lab staff found these test bricks popular with their children, and at times took them home rather than recycling them.
Starting around Christmas 1970, Grangemouth plant Management decided to complement the seasonal gifts of whiskey and turkey to staff with something very unique. The whiskey was seen as being for the men, and turkey for their wives or female employees, but there was nothing for the employee’s children. So this year, they added a bag of LEGO bricks made at the plant as a present for each of the employee’s children.
Testing Lab staff were tasked with producing and bagging the Christmas bricks using the F mould. This first utilised waste pellets, which came from batches rejected for minor reasons and pellets from completed batches that were no longer needed for testing. These were then supplemented with production pellets as required to produce enough bags of bricks. For ease of production, large amounts of pellets were put into the injection moulder hopper irrespective of colour. It was set to automatic, continuously producing bricks until empty and creating the marbled bricks collected today. Most bricks made through this process were marbled as a result of the screw mechanism at the bottom of the hopper mixing pellets, but some single colour bricks were produced. Gifting of these bricks became an annual Christmas tradition. Staff without children didn’t receive a bag of these bricks.
It additionally became understood by employees at the plant that if they wanted some bricks for their kids, they could ask a member of the Physical and Colour Testing teams for some. The bricks given out this way were only the test bricks available at the time of request. Recipient staff didn’t get to choose colours, or to have them specifically made upon request. This was utilised sporadically by staff from management down and were typically only bricks of a single colour. Eventually TLG heard about the misuse of their mould, and staff were advised TLG weren’t happy.
TLG returned the production of bricks in-house in early 1979, ending their need for Grangemouth produced ABS. This decision was unrelated to misuse of the mould. With the Wrexham factory ceasing production, and Grangemouth ABS no longer needed, the F mould was returned to TLG from the Grangemouth plant in late 1978. The Christmas bricks for employee’s children were made for a final time in 1978.
The Grangemouth plant injection moulding machine remained at the plant and continued to be used for testing ABS until 2009 when the plant closed. It was primarily used to produce a 6cm x 1cm plate for impact and colour testing. This moulder is currently held by the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, having been donated by the plant’s final owner SABIC. The Grangemouth plant on Bo'ness Road was demolished in 2011.
Many thanks to Wouter van Iersel for his advice, and assistance in editing this article.
References used in addition to first person interviews:
• http://lib3.dss.go.th/fulltext/scan_ebook/chem_age_1961_v86_n2205.pdf
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/621505
• http://lib3.dss.go.th/fulltext/scan_ebook/chem_age_1962_v87_n2229.pdf
• http://aei.pitt.edu/81926/1/OM0112.pdf
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/111441268@N03/51910124240/in/dateposted/
• https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/19662973/ref-no-falkirk-council#google_vignette
• https://issuu.com/tikit/docs/geplastics2k6lr
• https://www.hardiepolymers.com/supplying-engineering-plastics-since-1960/
• https://www.falkirk.gov.uk/COINS/viewSelectedDocument.asp?c=e%97%9Dg%91j%7E
• https://cen.acs.org/articles/87/i24/SABIC-Close-UK-Polymer-Plant.html
• https://www.scotsman.com/news/grangemouth-plastics-plant-to-shut-66-jobs-to-go-1550149
• https://andywightman.scot/docs/STG29375.pdf
• https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt11/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt11-3-3.pdf
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/111441268@N03/52964211683/
• https://www.hardiepolymers.com/the-origins-of-hardie-polymers/
• Keith Chapman (1974) The structure and development of the oil‐based industrial complex at Grangemouth, Scottish Geographical Magazine, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00369227408736278
• https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Qm0PEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=grangemouth+borg+warner&source=bl&ots=tLeMaO8a96&sig=ACfU3U1M3UKKPcpzzbaWCNUjoNcfHTb9ng&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjaidjn__yFAxVqmVYBHQmAA2k4MhDoAXoECAMQAw#v=onepage&q=grangemouth%20borg%20warner&f=false
• Margaret Wells (2018) Handbook of Petrochemicals and Processes, Routledge Revivals,https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Qm0PEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=grangemouth+borg+warner&source=bl&ots=tLeMaO8a96&sig=ACfU3U1M3UKKPcpzzbaWCNUjoNcfHTb9ng&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjaidjn__yFAxVqmVYBHQmAA2k4MhDoAXoECAMQAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

hey everyone! i have really mentally struggled the last 9 months since i was initially infected. i won’t be holding back at all in the post, because even though this is gross, i really hope it might help someone and even help me to share my story. upon my first outbreak in august 2023, i had to visit 3 different doctors before i actually received a proper diagnosis. first doctor thought it was herpes, second thought it was bad razor burn, and finally the third took me seriously and confirmed that it was neither. 3 full STD panels that all tested urine, blood, and direct swabs were completely negative, which is what finally resulted in my diagnosis of molluscum contagiosum (MC). additionally, i developed and tested positive for awful bacterial vaginosis (BV) upon the time of my infection as well.
my first outbreak was mainly all in the same area, clustered in the fold of my bikini line on my right side. because the area rubbed so much as i walked around, the bumps were basically rubbed raw, which is what i believe caused them to spread. i don’t have any bumps in that area now, but i do now have 3 right by my vulva and one on my anus, all of which have been there pretty much this whole time. i also have one at the bottom of my right butt cheek that is pretty new—appeared maybe a month and a half ago.
my first doctor prescribed me valacyclovir pills, but only 2 weeks worth, and they did not affect the appearance of the bumps at all. he also prescribed me metrinidazole vaginal gel for the BV, which seemed to work initially in at least flushing out the BV infection. however, since my MC infection, i have on and off had BV virtually the entire time, with very strange discharge. the discharge ranges from grayish to neon yellow, is extremely thick, sticky, and clumpy, and it smells not necessarily awful but not healthy if that makes sense. the potency of the smell fluctuates, where some days it has no scent, and other days i can smell it through my pants (can’t believe i’m admitting this online😭). for the BV, i have also tried honeypot brand boric acid capsules that are inserted into the vagina and left overnight. the capsules work to clear the BV temporarily, but it still returns, likely going hand in hand with my molluscum infection. my third doctor that actually diagnosed me provided me with mupirocin ointment to apply to the bumps daily. i was extremely diligent with applying the ointment multiple times daily with clean hands and everything. however, after it did nothing to help for 3 months, i have become more lax with the application, only applying it once a day to no avail.
i will also admit, i have not taken the best care of myself since the initial infection. this last year was my senior year of college, and i have also been working full time and just trying to scrape by. my sleep schedule is non existent especially with some of my shifts only having a 6 hour gap between them, lol. i have felt so ashamed of myself and just hoping the bumps will go away, even though i know that isn’t logical. i have hardly had time to devote to treatment anyway, with my most recent doctors appointment being in november. i definitely entered a state of denial for a while as well where i almost forgot i had the bumps.
now that i have graduated college, i know that i can’t allow myself to live like this anymore. i have read many of the posts in this thread and am so inspired by everyone’s patience and risillience with dealing with this. as a first step, i have started women’s multivitamin supplements to ensure that i am getting 100% of my daily value of vitamin C, zinc, and etc to hopefully help my immune system. i also now have a gynecologist appointment scheduled for this monday, may 17th, to final face my fears and address this again. i plan to update following the appointment, of course.
in addition to just wanting to share my story, i would also like to ask if anyone reading this has advice for treatment strategies and for talking to my doctor. i want to be as thorough as possible with my appointment, because as someone with a bit of ✨ trauma ✨, it is really mentally taxing for me to keep having to show doctor after doctor my vagina. if anyone knows of specific treatment options i should ask about, i would love to hear it. also, if anyone knows about a correlation between MC and BV, i would be really interested to hear about that as well.
thank you so much you guys. to anyone who is struggling with this, you are not alone. you deserve to get better and you WILL get better💛

40M, 6ft, 159lbs, 14 inch neck
No alcohol, exercise 3x per week. Raw/organic diet with 100+ grams of protein per day.
Symptoms: No motivation, anxiety, scrawny, severe brain fog, delayed ejaculation. However, I have average libido and overall energy.
Total: 390, 320, and 381 ng/dL (low end). Tested three times over five months.
Free: unknown
SHBG: unknown
Albumin: 4.7 g/dL (mid range)
Prolactin: 8.45 ng/ml (mid range)
Estradiol: 19 pg/ml (low to mid range)
Cortisol: 11.7 ug/dl (low to mid range)
TSH: 1.66 uUI/ml (low to mid range)
FSH: 3.44 (low end)
LH: 3.18 (low end)
PSA: 0.62 ng/ml (low end)
Vitamin D: 32 and 111 ng/ml (very high end). Supplemented for two months.
Zinc: 106 ug/dl (very high end)
Magnesium: 6.3 mg/dl (high end)
Fun fact: cutting out alcohol, supplementing vitamin d/zinc/magnesium, eating a raw/organic diet, eliminating soy and seed oils, and increasing my protein intake did absolutely nothing for my testosterone. I also feel the exact same.

Hello! I’ve been researching tirelessly to try a new diet and I’ve decided to do animal based. I was going to try carnivore, but I have noticed that my body (and especially digestion) feel great when I’m eating carbs and fruit daily. Plus, I have hypothyroidism, and I know a high-protein diet would be amazing for me.
I am specifically asking about these supplements, as I do not live anywhere where I can easily access raw organs and wanted to try Heart and Soil as an alternative. I am also willing to try other supplements as well.
I see that there are a few supplements for organs. Any suggestions? Beef organs? Any recommendations for other supplements (I suffer from weight gain, asthma and allergies, dry skin, brain fog, hypothyroidism, fatigue)? Can you tell me about your good experiences with it, or even bad?
Thank you for all of your help. Super excited.

Hi everyone,
I have seen this question "what the best Protein Powder?" asked often in many subreddit. So, I've decided to compile a list according to what other redditors like the most. I read a lot of posts and discussions in many subreddit and these are some protein powder to buy in 2024
Best Protein Powders:

1. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey
2. Dymatize ISO100
3. MyProtein Impact Whey
4. MuscleTech NitroTech
5. Transparent Labs ProteinSeries 100% Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate
6. KOS Organic Plant-Based Protein
7. Garden of Life Organic Raw Fit
8. Black Magic
9. PEScience
10. Ryze Skippy

1. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey is a famous protein powder that gives about 24 grams of protein steady with serving. It has very little fats and carbs and lots of flavor. It is without difficulty mixed with water or milk. It has been tested to make sure first rate and protection to apply, making it the terrific choice for building muscle and staying healthy.
Pros:
· Contains a complete amino acid profile
· Fast absorption
· Excellent for post-workout recovery
· Various flavors available
· Relatively low in carbs and fats.

1. Dymatize ISO100:

This one's all about speed and purity. It's processed to break down the protein even more, making it super easy for your body to digest and use. With minimal carbs and fats, it's perfect if you're keeping a close eye on your macros.
Pros:
· Extremely pure and fast-absorbing protein
· Minimal carbs and fats
· Ideal for those with lactose intolerance
· Supports lean muscle growth.

1. MyProtein Impact Whey:

Consider this the dependable buddy of protein powders. It won't burn a hole in your pocket and comes in a bunch of flavors to keep things interesting. It does the job well – providing good protein content without any fancy frills.
Pros:
· Affordable, good taste with multiple flavor choices
· Adequate protein content
· Suitable for various fitness goals.

1. MuscleTech NitroTech:

NitroTech contains whey protein isolate and concentrate. This one's like a protein booster with added ingredients like creatine and amino acids. It's meant to help muscles grow and recover faster after hitting the gym.
Pros:
· Includes additional ingredients like creatine and amino acids for muscle recovery and growth
· Various flavors available
· Promotes strength gains
5. Transparent Labs ProteinSeries 100% Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate:
If you're a stickler for clean eating, this one's your match. It's all about the good stuff – sourced from cows that munch on grass, free from artificial additives or hormones.
Pros:
· High-quality
· Sourced from grass-fed cows
· Free from artificial ingredients
· Rich in essential amino acids
6 . KOS Organic Plant-Based Protein:
This is the hero for plant-powered folks. It's a blend of various plant proteins that give you all the essential amino acids without any animal products, perfect for vegans or those who prefer plant-based options.
Pros:
· Vegan-friendly
· Suitable for those with dairy allergies or lactose intolerance
· Contains a blend of plant-based proteins.
7. Garden of Life Organic Raw Fit:
Think of this as your health-conscious protein pal. It's plant-based, organic, and aims to support weight management and metabolism while delivering nutrients from whole food sources.
Pros:
· Organic and plant-based
· Supports weight management
· Provides nutrients from whole food sources.

1. Black Magic:

Black Magic Multi-Source Whey Protein Powder is a protein supplement that contains more than one protein resources, together with whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, and different protein assets This protein combo affords the amino acids located in apples- stretch in- straighten in -stretch again they are able to assist in muscle boom and restoration.
9. PEScience:
PEScience is a protein powder that supports muscle growth and recovery after exercise. They have two main types: Select Protein, which contains clay and casein for a complex protein, and Vegan Select Protein, which is for people who don’t eat dairy, and both are made with peas and grain flavours, this is what gives this is Many gymnasts like it.

1. Ryze Skippy:

RYSE Up Supplements Loaded Protein Powder is a powder which you mix with water or milk to make a easy drink. It makes it less difficult to reinforce and repair your muscle tissues after exercising. It is synthetic via the RYSE Up Supplements mark and has a huge variety of flavors to pick from.

https://mailchi.mp/ibcadvancedalloys/ibc-advanced-alloys-reports-record-quarterly-profits?e=05db7e6675
Company Sets Several Financial Performance Records as it Releases its Financial Results for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2024**_________________________** Highlights of the Quarter and Trailing 12 Months (Unless otherwise noted, all financial amounts in this news release are expressed in U.S. dollars.)IBCCompanyTSX-V: IB; OTCQB: IAALF^{1 1} CONSOLIDATED RESULTSCOPPER ALLOYS DIVISIONENGINEERED MATERIALS DIVISIONMD&A sedarplus.ca https://ibcadvancedalloys.com/investors-centeINVESTOR WEBCAST SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY 20, 2024 https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81738838656?pwd=ZO9lyUWDbFp5GMmFwaHDGhXuEkAKgP.1NON-IFRS MEASURESOPERATING INCOME (LOSS) ADJUSTED EBITDA go here"Mark A. Smith”** [1] IBC reports non-IFRS measures such as “Adjusted EBITDA,” “Operating Income,” and "Free Cash Flow." Please see information on this and other non-IFRS measures in the "Non-IFRS Measures" section of this news release and in IBC’s MD&A, available on sedarplus.ca# # #IBC Advanced Alloys’ Reports Record Quarterly Profits FRANKLIN, Ind. (May 16, 2023) – IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. (“ ” or the “ ”) ( ) announces its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. IBC recorded its highest ever quarterly net income in the quarter of $1.36 million, or $0.01 per share, on sales of $10.2 million. Both net income and sales revenue set new quarterly records for the Company. Consolidated sales of $34.3 million on a TTM basis and sales of $27.0 million in the nine-month period ended March 31, 2024 also were the highest ever recorded. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA rose to $2.5 million, a Q/Q increase of 325%, while YTD Adjusted EBITDA rose to $4.5 million. Consolidated operating income of $2.1 million was 24.4% higher Q/Q and flipped to a positive $3.2 million YOY. Net income for the nine months ended March 31, 2024 was $1.14 million ($0.01 per share) on sales of $27.0 million compared to a loss of $2.92 million ($0.03 per share) on sales of $21.2 million in the comparative period, representing a marked turnaround. This record performance was driven largely by increased sales and stronger gross margin performance in IBC’s Copper Alloys division, coupled with higher sales revenue from the Engineered Materials division of beryllium-aluminum products used in defense markets, and the recovery of an onerous contracts provision booked in the prior year. The Copper Alloys division also achieved near-record quarterly sales of $6.6 million, eclipsed only by sales of $7.1 million in the preceding quarter. A portion of the division’s sales over the preceding two quarters was driven by the completion of two special non-recurring projects. “The IBC team worked tirelessly to achieve some fantastic numbers and historic gains in the third fiscal quarter, which continued the strong sales and gross margin performance of the previous quarter," said Mark A. Smith, Chairman and CEO of IBC. “I like the momentum that we are generating, particularly with the leading performance of our Copper Alloys division. While market conditions have triggered closure of our Engineered Materials division sometime this summer, that team is striving to generate substantially to IBC’s bottom line as Engineered Materials completes contracts on hand.” IBC expects to incur a charge to operations in respect of its April decision to close the Engineered Materials division and is negotiating with suppliers and the building landlord to minimize such costs. Sales increased for the quarter and nine-month period ended March 31, 2024, mostly due to increased demand from customers in the defense and power generation sectors. Gross profit was positively impacted by improved material yield but negatively impacted by higher subcontract costs. Sales increased for the quarter and nine-month period ended March 31, 2024, largely due to more favorable prices for the division’s products in the commercial and defense markets. Full results can be seen in the Company’s financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis (“ ”), available at and on the Company’s website at . IBC will host a live investor webcast on Monday, May 20, 2024 at 11 a.m. Eastern featuring Mark A. Smith, CEO and Board Chairman, and Toni Wendel, Chief Financial Officer. They will discuss the Company's financial results for the quarter and nine-month periods ended March 31, 2024. Participants can join the webcast by going here at the scheduled start time: To call into a listen-only phone line to the webcast, please the toll numbers listed here: • +1 719 359 4580 US • +1 253 205 0468 US To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS, IBC uses “operating income (loss)” and “Adjusted EBITDA”, which are non-IFRS financial measures. IBC believes that operating income (loss) helps identify underlying trends in the business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of certain income or expenses that the Company includes in loss for the period, and provides useful information about core operating results, enhances the overall understanding of past performance and future prospects, and allows for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by management in financial and operational decision-making. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is a useful indicator for cash flow generated by the business that is independent of IBC’s capital structure. Operating income (loss) and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or construed as an alternative to loss for the period or any other measure of performance or as an indicator of our operating performance. Operating income (loss) and Adjusted EBITDA presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures to IBC’s data. Operating income (loss) represents income or loss for the quarter, and year-to-date, excluding foreign exchange loss, interest expense, interest income, other income (expense) and income taxes that the Company does not believe are reflective of its core operating performance during the periods presented. A reconciliation of the quarter and year-to-date loss to operating income (loss) follows: Adjusted EBITDA represents the Company’s income (loss) for the period, and year-to-date, before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, and share-based compensation. A reconciliation of the quarter and year-to-date loss to Adjusted EBITDA follows: For more information on IBC and its innovative alloy products, . On Behalf of the Board of Directors: Mark A. Smith, CEO & Chairman of the Board Net income of $1.36 million, or $0.01 per share, in the quarter on sales of $10.2 million – a new quarterly record. Sales of $34.3 million on a trailing 12-month (“TTM”) basis and sales of $27.0 million in the nine-month period ended March 31, 2024, also were the highest ever recorded. Copper Alloys division sales of $6.6 million were higher by 11.9% quarter over quarter ("Q/Q"), and Engineered Materials division sales were higher by 97.5% Q/Q. On a TTM basis, Copper Alloys sales of $24 million set a record for a 12-month period for the division. Consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”)^\1]) rose to $2.5 million, a Q/Q increase of 325%. Year-to-date Adjusted EBITDA rose to $4.5 million. Consolidated operating income of $2.1 million was 24.4% higher Q/Q and flipped to a positive $3.2 million year-over-year (“YOY”). Company to host live investor webinar to discuss results on Monday, May 20, 2024 at 11 AM EDT. SELECTED RESULTS: Consolidated Operations ($000s) Quarter Ended 3-31-2024 Quarter Ended 3-31-2023 Nine Months Ended3-31-2024 Nine Months Ended 3-31-2023 Revenue $10,241 $7,755 $26,958 $21,178 Operating income (loss) $2,105 $83 $3,243 $(1,138) Adjusted EBITDA $2,486 $585 $4,507 $315 Income (loss) for the period $1,361 $(509) $1,139 $(2,919) SELECTED RESULTS: Copper Alloys Division ($000s) Quarter Ended 3-31-2024 Quarter Ended 3-31-2023 Nine Months Ended 3-31-2024 Nine Months Ended 3-31-2023 Revenue $6,627 $5,925 $18,614 $16,035 Operating income (loss) $1,293 $1,290 $2,766 $2,231 Adjusted EBITDA $1,436 $1,426 $3,205 $2,645 Income (loss) for the period $915 $980 $1,680 $1,669 SELECTED RESULTS: Engineered Materials Division ($000s) Quarter Ended3-31-2024 Quarter Ended 3-31-2023 Nine Months Ended 3-31-2024 Nine Months Ended 3-31-2023 Revenue $3,614 $1,830 $8,344 $5,143 Operating income (loss) $1,230 $(855) $1,618 $(2,793) Adjusted EBITDA $1,417 $(613) $2,232 $(1,976) Income (loss) for the period $1,018 $(1,004) $1,101 $(3,046) Quarter ended March 31 2024 2023 ($000s) ($000s) Income (loss) for the period 1,361 (509) Foreign exchange (gain) loss 6 (13) Interest expense 710 629 Loss on disposal of assets 29 - (Gain) loss on revaluation of derivative - (11) Other income (4) (16) Income tax expense (recovery) 3 3 Operating income 2,105 83 Nine months ended March 31 2024 2023 ($000s) ($000s) Income (loss) for the period 1,139 (2,919) Foreign exchange (gain) loss 7 (5) Interest expense 2,130 1,862 Loss on disposal of assets 29 - (Gain) loss on revaluation of derivative 1 (70) Other income (70) (12) Income tax expense (recovery) 7 6 Operating income (loss) 3,243 (1,138) Quarter ended March 31 2024 2023 ($000s) ($000s) Income (loss) for the period 1,361 (509) Income tax expense (recovery) 3 3 Interest expense 710 629 (Gain) loss on revaluation of derivative - (11) Depreciation & amortization 374 413 Stock-based compensation expense (non-cash) 38 60 Adjusted EBITDA 2,486 585 Nine months ended March 31 2024 2023 ($000s) ($000s) Income (loss) for the period 1,139 (2,919) Income tax expense (recovery) 7 6 Interest expense 2,130 1,862 (Gain) loss on revaluation of derivative 1 (70) Depreciation & amortization 1,120 1,233 Stock-based compensation expense (non-cash) 110 203 Adjusted EBITDA 4,507 315 Contact: Mark A. Smith, CEO and Board Chairman Jim Sims, Director of Investor and Public Relations IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. +1 (303) 503-6203 Email: [jim.sims@ibcadvancedalloys.com](mailto:jim.sims@ibcadvancedalloys.com) Website: www.ibcadvancedalloys.com u/IBCAdvanced $IB $IAALF #copper ABOUT IBC ADVANCED ALLOYS CORP. IBC is a leading advanced copper alloys manufacturer serving a variety of industries such as defense, aerospace, automotive, telecommunications, precision manufacturing, and others. At its vertically integrated production facility in Franklin, Indiana, IBC manufactures and distributes a variety of copper alloys as castings and forgings, including beryllium copper, chrome copper, and aluminum bronze. The Company's common shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "IB" and the OTCQB under the symbol "IAALF". Cautionary Statements Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain information contained in this news release may be forward-looking information or forward-looking statements as defined under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are often, but not always identified by the use of words such as "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "foresee", "could", "estimate", "goal", "intend", "plan", "seek", "will", "may" and "should" and similar expressions or words suggesting future outcomes. This news release includes forward-looking information and statements pertaining to, among other things, the Company’s expectation of further growth in revenue and market demand, and the ability of the Copper Alloy division to increase its production capacity, reduce unit costs of production, expand its product portfolio and expand into new markets, the closure of the Engineered Materials division and the expected charge to operations in connection therewith, and the completion of existing contracts by the Engineered Materials division. Forward-looking statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control including: the risk that the Company may not be able to make sufficient payments to retire its debt, the impact of general economic conditions in the areas in which the Company or its customers operate, including the semiconductor manufacturing and oil and gas industries, risks associated with manufacturing activities, changes in laws and regulations including the adoption of new environmental laws and regulations and changes in how they are interpreted and enforced, increased competition, the lack of availability of qualified personnel or management, limited availability of raw materials, fluctuations in commodity prices, foreign exchange or interest rates, stock market volatility and obtaining required approvals of regulatory authorities. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the Company's future results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. All statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions made by the Company based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Please see “Risks Factors” in our Annual Information Form available under the Company’s profile at www.sedarplus.ca, for information on the risks and uncertainties associated with our business. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information and statements, which speak only as of the date made. The forward-looking information and statements contained in this release represent our expectations as of the date of this release. We disclaim any intention or obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws. Copyright © 2024 IBC Advanced Alloys, All rights reserved.

Protein and Calorie dense prep on a restricted diet
Hey everyone, coming to this community hoping for some good ideas on some easy/healthy but somewhat dense meals that I can incorporate.
The restrictions: -I generally avoid gluten and dairy on a daily basis. I am not severely allergic, indeed I haven’t even been diagnosed with anything. That being said, I have personally noted a clear correlation over the past several years of being fatigued and experiencing poor digestion after consuming food with these ingredients. I don’t know why and I hate it, but that’s how it is.
-I try to eat about 200g protein a day. This is a bit over the scientifically backed recommendation for my bodyweight (~215lbs) but I struggle enough with gaining muscle that every extra bit is worth it.
-The primary reason I meal prep is to save myself time. I try to have all of my meals/methods as efficient as possible.
What I’m currently doing: -Ground beef and Banza pasta in the AM. This is the meal I most want ideas for, because it’s such a voluminous meal I struggle when I’m pressed for time to put it all down.
-Chicken thigh (I air fry this daily since I haven’t felt like marinating lately) with rice, roasted veggies and beans or potatoes
-Smoothie with PB, fruits, veggies, honey, almond milk
-Lately supplemented days I might miss a meal with chocolate egg whites
-Snack on vegan cookie dough, gf Oreos, tortilla chips w/ meals, etc when I’m not worried about calories
(Rough quantity estimates for every 4 days: 3lbs ground beef, 6lbs chicken thigh, 16oz raw Banza, 8oz dry rice, 3lbs potatoes, 4 bananas, 4tbsp pb, 4 smoothie packs, 2 cups almond milk, 3lb frozen veg, some other assorted ingredients)
I don’t really mind eating the same thing day in/day out for months, I’m just looking for some ideas to make things easier prep-wise that are relatively tasty, and don’t take me 30 minutes to sit down and eat a big bowl of.
Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, coming to this community hoping for some good ideas on some easy/healthy but somewhat dense meals that I can incorporate.
The restrictions: -I generally avoid gluten and dairy on a daily basis. I am not severely allergic, indeed I haven’t even been diagnosed with anything. That being said, I have personally noted a clear correlation over the past several years of being fatigued and experiencing poor digestion after consuming food with these ingredients. I don’t know why and I hate it, but that’s how it is. -I try to eat about 200g protein a day. This is a bit over the scientifically backed recommendation for my bodyweight (~215lbs) but I struggle enough with gaining muscle that every extra bit is worth it. -The primary reason I meal prep is to save myself time. I try to have all of my meals/methods as efficient as possible.
What I’m currently doing: -Ground beef and Banza pasta in the AM. This is the meal I most want ideas for, because it’s such a voluminous meal I struggle when I’m pressed for time to put it all down. -Chicken thigh (I air fry this daily since I haven’t felt like marinating lately) with rice, roasted veggies and beans or potatoes -Smoothie with PB, fruits, veggies, honey, almond milk -Lately supplemented days I might miss a meal with chocolate egg whites -Snack on vegan cookie dough, gf Oreos, tortilla chips w/ meals, etc when I’m not worried about calories (Rough quantity estimates for every 4 days: 3lbs ground beef, 6lbs chicken thigh, 16oz raw Banza, 8oz dry rice, 3lbs potatoes, 4 bananas, 4tbsp pb, 4 smoothie packs, 2 cups almond milk, 3lb frozen veg, some other assorted ingredients)
I don’t really mind eating the same thing day in/day out for months, I’m just looking for some ideas to make things easier prep-wise that are relatively tasty, and don’t take me 30 minutes to sit down and eat a big bowl of.
Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, looking for some guidance. Got my blood work done last week asking for full panels of my testosterone among other things. Free testosterone is 41.5 pg/ml. The range the test had was 55-210. After doing a little bit of research I’m finding that the average 19yo male has a free test of 120..
Symptoms that I think could be related: fatigue, stress, high anxiety, low depression
Unfortunately my doctor only wrote a free testosterone test so I had to get more blood work done today to get the total, and other tests I’m a little unfamiliar with.
In 2022 my total testosterone was 550, so we did not worry about it nor get more tests. I don’t understand why my test could possibly be low, heres why:
I play collegiate sports, meaning I am very active and train frequently. I am at 188bw at 5’11. I generally only eat whole foods unless I am going out or eating with other people. My daily diet generally consists of frozen fruit, raw honey, yogurt, eggs, whole milk/ sometimes farm fresh raw milk, meat(chicken, beef generally), and some assortment of vegetables.
I take sleep very seriously and have gotten around 8 hours for years. I supplement creatine, vitamin D, and a multivitamin. Lab tests showed my vitamin d levels were high (80).
I smoked weed frequently from august-march of this year. Right now my plan is to continue to use 1x a week.
I have drank alcohol once this year. At least from my understanding I have dialed everything to compete at 100%. What are some factors that might be making my test low? Basically.. what is wrong with me
I plan to see a urologist and or endocrinologist asap, but would they even want to inject me with pellets?