Dear Wendy
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi, everyone! I’ve been absent this week because of a medical emergency I wrote about here, if you missed it:
https://dearwendy.com/weekend-open-thread/Hope everyone who has been sick is feeling better. There is SO MUCH going around right now. The ER we went to was just absolutely jam-packed with sick people (and nowhere near enough space/gurney/beds/chairs for everyone). I feel like if more people saw what’s going on in hospitals right now, maybe offices and schools and such wouldn’t be so cavalier about illness and would support people staying home and resting when they are sick. Relatedly, I have been hearing more sirens in my part of Brooklyn than I have since 2020.
From the LW:
“
Thank you, thank you thank youThings had gotten even worse since I’d been home so I’m grateful that everyone has been so unanimous in the advice
My own family have been very much like – trying to make excuses /give him benefit of the doubt – which has really made me feel a bit unsupported and tbh is probably big part of why I ignore red flags myself so much – but this whole episode has made me feel like, well basically what everyone else has said
Unfortunately are living together, and as it is my house I need to somehow make him leave – I’m not sure how to do this but I might give the family violence division at the local police a call. Obviously not trying to press charges over anything (no crime been committed) but hopefully they can help me.
Thank you very much. ”
Jumping in here quickly to underscore what has already been said. LW, you need to get out of this relationship. The danger signs are very clear, so please heed them and the advice here.
So glad you’re beginning to feel a little better, Leslie! Covid can be so scary for those who get very sick. I’m glad you’re on the mend.
Copa your 2024 ins and ours sound great. I’ve shifted my thinking of a new year beginning in September around my bday and Jewish new year, but I do have a couple new themes for 2024. I’m interested in cultivating my psychic abilities and manifestation powers and healing energy. To that end, I just signed up for a reiki training workshop later this month. I’m also going to take a transcendental meditation course, and next week I’m going to talk with a psychic medium and nytimes bestselling author about tapping into our psychic abilities.
Beyond that, I plan to keep walking tons, strength training, and spending less time on social media/ my phone.
It looks like this set is just about sold-out so it probably won’t work for any of you looking for gift ideas, but for future reference, I bought this set for Joanie (8) during the thanksgiving week sales (it was half off) and it’s her favorite thing right now. She wears a uniform at school and then changes into this when she gets home like it’s her “at-home uniform.” I could see girls up to mid-teens loving this:
For a 10-year-old girl, maybe a jewelry-making kit (like friendship bracelets)? Baking supplies for 12-14 is also a great idea. Calendars are always good if you have an idea what theme they might be into. Cute earrings if they have pierced ears and you have an idea what their tastes are. Maybe headphones, portable speakers… These ages are so hard to shop for!
One thing Jackson, who is 12, has enjoyed getting from my parents for the past few years is an animal “adoption.” He’s “adopted” an endangered troop of mango monkeys, a giraffe, and for the past two years, an orphaned elephant. My parents buy a year-long foster/adoption in Jackson’s name, he gets an adoption certificate, and then quarterly emails with updates and photos and a bday message on his bday. He’s an animal lover and really enjoys this gift.
I have a 12-year-old and he is thrilled with $100 cash gift, which he sometimes gets from his grandparents (aunts and uncles spend less – closer to $50). I’ll try o get a crisp hundred dollar bill if we do a cash gift and that always goes over well.
Unrelated to anything, but since some of you are around my age, you might relate: perimenopause has been kicking my ass, and among some of the unpleasant symptoms I’ve had that I only just realized is related to perimenopause, I’ve been having recurrent UTIs. I’ve had four in the past 12 months that required antibiotics, and one of those even became a kidney infection that nearly got my hospitalized. Even when I don’t have symptoms, at-home tests and the tests I get through this clinical trial I’m doing for alopecia meds always show bacteria that suggest a brewing UTI.
Anyway, I saw my primary care dr about it this week and she prescribed estrogen cream for me to take, so I just started that. Anyone else on it, and has it been a good thing for you? At the very least, I hope it reduces the frequency of these UTIs, but if it can help with some of the other symptoms that plummeting estrogen in perimenopause as led to for me (like sleep issues, night sweats, belly fat, dry hair and skin, and mood swings), I would be thrilled.
I’m using the same thing you are, Moneypenny – tretinoin, 0.025%. I haven’t experienced any side effects from it so far (it’s been four weeks). Depending on how things go, I might be interested in trying the next higher dose.
I have melanoma too – haven’t been diagnosed but I have the appearance of it – so I am hoping the retinol helps with that as well. I hadn’t considered getting a prescription for it until the dr in the clinical trial suggested it as a way to combat the breakouts I was having over the summer from the alopecia medicine. Now I’m wondering if it’s the holy grail of skincare and I’m excited to see how my complexion might improve over the coming months.
I know we’ve discussed the importance of retinol products in one’s skin care regimen. Does anyone use prescription retinol? The medication I’ve been taking for the alopecia clinical trial I’m in made me break out a bit over the summer, an issue I’ve bene lucky to never really have to deal with. I got a Rx for retinol and have been using it for a month now. The break-out cleared up immediately and I was told within three months I would also notice more even skin tone, smaller pores, and a reduction in fine lines. Even after just a month, I can see subtle hints of these things. Rx retinol wasn’t really on my radar, so this has been kind of an unexpected surprise (which helps make up for he alopecia medication not working well for me, I guess).
You doing the right thing moving on. Good luck!
