#Cause even if the new doc will just prescribe them immediately

[eorzeanflowers]

it’s late night, so it’s time to think irrationally again

[cebwrites]

Heeey could you please write some headcannons for Ace and or Marco with a male (or gn reader) whose having a hardtime and just needs a little extra love and attention? Thank you so much <3<3

of course, franky! this is my first time writing anything for marco, though, so i hope he’s not too ooc for you ;3; if anyone else needs a little bit of pick-me-up ace content, you can pop by these hcs here!

comforting their s/o who's having a hard time (ace, marco)

masc reader, one line of poly at the end word count: 0.6k

Ace

You don’t need to ask, Ace is already at your side, immediately swooping you into his lap or ‘subtly’ nudging you for cuddles but spinning it to sound like he needs em more than you do

He’s good at running from those icky feelings, he’s done it his entirely life - though he wouldn’t want you to bottle up what was making you upset forever, Ace is a natural at taking your mind off stressors in the meantime and just having fun

He’d shoot you a cheeky little smirk while you were tucked by his side and you’d immediately know what he was up to 

Ace making mischief was nothing new, whether it was with the Spade pirates or on the deck of the Moby Dick - it’s the express way he’d look to see if you were enjoying yourself, keeping closer by even with his less dangerous stunts, or how he seemed like more of a goofball than usual

That’s what tips your peers off to something being potentially wrong, but they leave it to Ace to handle internal affairs, you boys’ cleanup duty isn’t going to be any less severe depending on the amount of trouble you two cause, however, no matter how much Ace whines

Ace’s favorite wind-down activity is just sitting up somewhere high and watching the stars with you, your head nestled comfortably on his chest while Ace has an arm around your waist and goes on and on about the same old stories, about his lovely boyfriend, too

They’re mostly about his childhood with him and Sabo, and also largely about Luffy, but you’d listen to them no matter how many times Ace repeated himself - you still tease him about it though to watch freckled cheeks turn a brilliant shade of red, even with his tan covering most of it in Ace’s favor

Marco

Marco’s methods are a lot less destructive, thank the lord for that

He’d see you not being yourself, likely out of stress or upset, out of the corner of his eye and make plans to rectify that behind the scenes, pulling double-time on his work to make sure he’d be free enough

With his responsibilities settled for the time being and Pops giving the okay for him to take some time off, Marco takes you on a nice day out on the town

He has a whole itinerary of shit to do (all very laid back, but there’s a list no less) - a short walk through town for a breather, some window shopping, sharing a drink or two if you’re out after 5pm, and then dinner, Thatch’s courtesy, in a little gazebo on the island Pop’s docked at

Everyone stays out of the way or so help him god Marco threatened not to heal them the next time they were in trouble

If you weren’t feeling right enough to go out, though? Well, shit- It’s not ideal, but Marco can work with this

A day cooped in his office isn’t too shabby now either, is it?

He’d sit you in his lap while he worked away at his desk, pen in one hand and the other snugly around your midsection, taking breaks every now and again to coo against your ear and squeeze cute giggles out of his adorable boyfriend

When you feel yourself getting a little stiff from the position, the doc prescribes lunch and a little afternoon nap for the both of you, tucked away comfortably in his quarters with no one daring to bother you for hours 

Barring maybe Ace, who has the audacity to crawl in next to you, kiss both his boyfriends on the cheek in an overtly obnoxious way, and pass out against your back, arms around you just as Marco had before - smelling like today’s menu

[blazehedgehog]

So rather than attach it to the last (rather large) post thread, I’ll start a new one. If you didn’t catch it on Twitter, friends managed to raise some money through nothing but sheer good will and I ended up booking a stay at the same hotel we should have gotten for free.

I’m starting a new thread because I want to ask a question, but first I want to clarify and provide a better timeline of everything that’s happened. This isn’t exact, but it’s as close as my memory can remember right now:

Late 2019/Early 2020: Whoever owns my apartment complex sells it to a new company in California. The complex is in Nevada. It’s a big apartment complex; it used to be two separate ones that were right next to each other and they merged to create a “project” that houses something like 150-200 units. If you consider families, somewhere in the realm of 300-700 people live here.  

April/May 2020: We get a notice on our door announcing that our new owners want to renovate the complex. Every single unit. It’s such a big ordeal that they have to put in to get funding from the State of Nevada to do it. The initial claim is that they will move us out of our apartment unit in to a new unit for up to a month or two (at no cost to us) while they renovate. More information will come in summer 2020 during a town hall meeting we will attend in person. I expect that with the pandemic starting and “shelter in place” orders going out that there’s no way they’d be dumb enough to go through with any of this. The notice ends with them pleading with people not to take this as a cue to move out. In the months to follow, we spied at least four people who were smart enough to get out before the renovation hit. We considered it, but the housing authority we have to rent through went dead silent the moment the pandemic ramped up and have yet to say even a single word to us (even now).  

Late October/Early November 2020: The town hall meeting finally happens, online, in a Zoom meeting. Three people in California dictate to the 40 or 50 tenants (maybe more) that attend the meeting how this is going to go. Plans have changed: the renovation will take place across ten days. Very tight schedule. In and out as fast as possible. In batches of 4-5 units at a time, going alphabetically across the complex, units will be renovated. New paint, new carpet, new cabinets, new sinks, new toilet, new shower, new appliances, redone balcony. Renovation teams will come in at 8am and work until 5pm. After 5pm, we will be allowed to return to our unit and sleep there. We will be allowed to keep one bed (per person) and one TV, which the renovation team will move out of the way during the day and return to our unit when they leave. We are also told we will be getting a sealable plastic tub to store personal items (toiletries and such) that the renovation team will also handle. We are assured they will be adhering to rigorous sanitization standards, with multiple temperature checks daily, masks, and gloves. During the day, we are free to go wherever, but the complex will be setting up what they call a “hospitality trailer” -- a communal space for everyone currently effected by the renovation to hang out inside, together. There will be port-a-potties and wifi. We’re told meals will also be provided, possibly in the trailer, but details are unspecific. We’re also told some landscaping will be done. All told, between renovating units and landscaping, they say the whole process from beginning to end will take 18 months or more. Tenants in the Zoom call ask questions -- if we don’t want to stay at the hospitality trailer, we’re told we should consider staying with family during the day. They ignore multiple questions from people asking if this will cause the rent to go up.  

December 2020: Renovation begins, starting with apartments in the A block. We’re somewhere near the middle of the alphabet, and going by the ten-days-per-unit estimate, we’re expecting the renovation to hit us around March-ish, maybe even as late as April. I develop an ugly toothache; my face swells up. I do a phone visit with a dentist and he prescribes me antibiotics and schedules me for an appointment on January 18th to pull the tooth.  

Early January 2021: Going to check the mail one day, I notice it feels like they’re spending a long time on the first few sets of units. Then, all of a sudden, renovations surge ahead, and units worryingly close to our letter start putting tarps up over their balconies, signalling they’re either mid-reno, or at least packing.  

January 18th, 2021: Tooth is “fine” (big cavity, no pain) but we discuss options for pulling multiple bad teeth with this problem tooth, since a lot of my upper teeth aren’t in great shape. Will require multiple rounds of surgery to remove them all and set up replacements. First round of surgery is on February 24th. I immediately wonder if we’re going to get called early for renovation and it’ll land simultaneously with the surgery. I try not to think about it.  

January 30th, 2021: We receive a notice that our apartment’s number is due. It’s post-dated, which means the notice is late. We’re supposed to have 45 days notice, and the move-out date listed in the notice is February 23rd. By the 45 day rule, this notice should’ve arrived January 9th. There’s also a degree of confusion: the notice was delivered to our apartment, but the notice is addressed to the apartment below us. Parts of the notice still mention our apartment number. We call the front office for clarification, and they tell us that the notice was indeed meant for the people below us. According to them, we’re in the clear for now. “You’re close...” tells us the person on the phone, “But it’s not your time yet.” We consider preparing early, but it sounds like we have to use the provided packing materials for organizational reasons when the movers come.  

February 5th: I record my Patreon Podcast. I mention the renovation. If you consider 10 days per renovation, based on when the notice was actually delivered, I’m expecting we’re going to get our notice in the next few days.  

February 8th: We get a knock on the door. A man from the front office is checking in with us to see how packing is going. Packing because the notice was actually for us. It was for all four units in this block. We tell him: we called. They said it wasn’t our time yet. He just kind of shrugs and asks if we need boxes. Of course we do. Our 45 day notice has been cut down to less than 14 days. On top of that, we’ve got doctors appointments and things coming up that’s going to eat in to this time. He says everything has to be in the office-provided UHaul boxes. Even if we have items already in cardboard boxes, they have to be specifically repacked in UHaul boxes.  

February 13th: After days of trying to contact my dentist office via email, I finally get a hold of them via text. I try to reschedule my appointment, but the receptionist tells me it’s just another consultation, not surgery. I hope she’s right. The stress of all of this is making it hard to get packing as fast as we need to.  

February 15th: My Mom tells me she’s managed to book an appointment for her first round of covid-19 vaccinations. Unfortunately, it’s on February 23rd, the day we’re being moved out.  

February 16th: We talk to the people below us, an elderly couple. They’re panicking about packing because they have so much stuff. They mention that the front office booked them a hotel for the duration of their renovation. All they needed was a doctor’s note proving they needed it. Given that my 75 year old mother has a doc appointment literally the next day, this seems like extremely good timing. After doing curbside pickup for a grocery order that day, we pass the movers on our way back in as they are loading a unit in to their Ryder truck. None of them that I see are wearing masks or gloves.  

February 17th: Doc visit happens, she implies that he kind of blew her off. She’s had chronic pain in her hands and knees for years, and in particular, the pain in her hands has been getting bad, fast. She wraps her thumb in sports tape because bending it hurts. She used to be a waitress, she used to be a cake decorator, she did data entry for a couple years, and now she’s dabbling with painting. Her carpal tunnel is severe and its accentuated with arthritis. Doctor just kind of shrugs it off, tells her if it gets worse to come back in a few months, even though arthritis can kill people if not treated properly. Still, he writes her a cursory note for the apartment front office. She talks to them and they’re very glad she contacted them about this; it sounds like the kind of thing that’s only available to people who ask, since presumably the owners don’t want to shell out $900,000+ rooming the entire complex in a hotel. Either way, we’re excited; maybe this renovation won’t be so bad. They tell us the name of the hotel and where its located.  

February 18th: While doing laundry in anticipation of packing things up for the hotel/renovation, we happen to catch someone in the laundry room who just got back in to her apartment after her reno finished. She tells us a horror story: everything they told us in the Zoom meeting was a lie. They are renovating way more than 4 units at a time, they aren’t going alphabetically anymore, and she theorizes they’re going with a cheaper renovation team because half of her apartment straight up wasn’t done. The new tile was cheap plastic, which was already gouged by the time she got there. No new fridge, no new shower or tub, no new toilet. “Those will be happening this summer,” she tells us. Sinks got replaced, but the new sinks are apparently bigger than the old ones, leaving less counter space (a particular problem in the bathroom). Carpets were new, but already a dirty mess because of the movers. She had to go around and pick up nails stuck in the carpet that were left behind by the renovators. Since they didn’t take the fridge, she got to keep her food in there, which was important for her because she had special dietary food that needed to be refrigerated. The bad news? Some of that food was stolen. She had a broom and a dust pan stolen, too. She mentions how poor communication has been. We mention the hotel, and she lights up. She didn’t stay in her apartment either, they put her up in the hotel, too. So at least there’s that silver lining. Though she regrets it, because they damaged her TV while she was away. She finally helps clarify the food situation for us, too: we’ll be receiving a “food voucher” to pay for our meals, whatever that means.  

February 19th: My Mom was supposed to call the front office to confirm we got the hotel, but in all the confusion, she didn’t get around to it. We’ll have to wait the entire weekend to get confirmation. But if the elderly couple below us got a room, and the lady we spoke to at laundry got a room, it sounds like we’re a lock.  

February 22nd: The front office checks in on us again, shrugs their shoulders at how behind we are on packing, and offers us more boxes. They only give us large boxes; we need small, medium and especially rolls of packing tape. They mention they’ll have more later once they open the storage unit, but we never get any. Across this entire ordeal, we’ve only gotten a single roll of packing tape. We bought several rolls of our own after being tired of waiting. Front office guy says our fridge is being replaced, but we can still keep food in our old one and we’ll just “come in and change it out.” Whatever that means. Later, after getting off the phone, we learn we were rejected for the hotel. The doctor’s note wasn’t good enough and the head office in California denied our request. My Mom tries to contact her doctor again to get a more detailed note, but he doesn’t return her call. We’re going to be living out of the car for the next ten days. We talk about protesting this; by stopping packing right now and refusing to leave, but eventually decide that would be a bad idea. We don’t want to risk the movers breaking any of our things. A couple friends start spreading around my paypal.me link in the hopes of raising money for us to stay at a hotel. They raise a little over $200, but it’s hard to justify spending that on a hotel.  

February 23rd, Morning: By this point, we’re running on empty. No sleep, physically exhausted, stressed out of our minds. Both of us on the verge of tears several times. With everything going on, we’re a little over halfway done packing and there’s no time left. We quickly move from “pack everything” to “pack what’s important so the movers don’t have to touch it.” Whatever we can’t finish, the movers will pack for us. At 7:30am the movers arrive, and they knock on the door at 8am. They are very polite. They are all wearing masks and gloves. We tell them they are nowhere near ready, and they offer to do our unit last. We do the best we can and leave the rest to them. On our way out, we talk to the elderly couple that lives below us, who claim the moving truck won’t be enough to hold everything in their apartment. It’s a big truck and a small apartment. I find that hard to believe. We go park somewhere and doze in the car until my Mom’s vaccination appointment at 10am. More friends, some of them with very large followings, start spreading the paypal.me link around. Momentum begins to build.  

February 23rd, Midday: We get to the vaccination place only to realize we forgot some things at the apartment. We quickly jog back across town and plan to ask them if it’s okay if we can go in to the apartment and retrieve it. When we get there, they’re still unloading the couple below us, and I notice they aren’t just taking UHaul boxes, but regular cardboard boxes, too. Given it’s been almost two hours, this might be second truckful, maybe even the third. I grab the stuff we’re missing and we head back to the vaccination park. Afterwards, we hang out at my brother’s just in case my mom has an allergic reaction to the vaccine and she needs help. She’s fine, and by the time we’re through there, it’s getting to be time to head back to our apartment for the night at 5pm. Before we leave my brother’s, I use their wifi to check my Paypal account. I joke, “I’m worried that I’ll open my account and it’ll say $2000.” Combined with the little bit of money I already had in my Paypal, the donations have pushed my account close to $2200. I burst out laughing. “YOU WANNA GO GET A HOTEL?!” I shout. We agree we’ll spend the night in the unit tonight and decide what we’ll take with us to the hotel in the morning.  

February 23rd, Evening: It’s close to 6pm and the movers are still there. They were supposed to clock out almost an hour ago. I browse Tripadvisor and Expedia in the parking lot and decide to just book the same hotel they dangled in front of our faces, since reviews specifically point out it’s clean and has extremely good quarantine practices. Expedia lets me pay with Paypal directly, but there’s a problem where it won’t connect to my Paypal account. As I go to transfer the money out of my Paypal and finish booking the hotel, the wifi dies. The movers just unplugged our modem and packed it up. They probably weren’t supposed to do that, and they picked the worst time, too. We spend the next 45 minutes driving around town trying to find free wifi so I can book this hotel. We end up parking at my brother’s place and leeching his wifi from the driveway. Hotel booked, check-in is at 3pm on the 24th. For now, it’s back to the apartment to decide what to take with us.  

February 23rd, Night: Upon getting back to the apartment around 7pm, we find it’s... a disaster area. They spent so long unloading all the other units, they did not have time to finish packing and unloading what was left in our unit. There’s garbage everywhere, it’s mixed in with the stuff we want to keep, some of it’s broken, it’s horrible. It looks like they just swept everything off the tables on to the floor. TV remotes and mail are spread out all over the place. They didn’t leave us any lamps, so the only lights in the apartment are the front door light, the kitchen light, and the bathroom light. They might have left us our mattresses, but they didn’t leave us any pillows or blankets. Still, we spent the better part of the night sorting through the “trash” and separating it out in to the stuff we wanted to keep. We pack up most of the apartment with whatever materials the movers left behind, but we eventually run out of boxes and tape. We still managed to pack 99.9% of what was left. From 7pm to 2:30am.  

February 24th, Morning: At 7:30am I'm woken up by the movers pulling up. I can hear them joking in the parking lot about who gets the honor of being called "papi" and cracking rude jokes about "assuming gender." They probably think nobody's around to hear them. We ask them for more time so we can wake up and get dressed. As we're loading up the car with stuff to take to the hotel, we overhear the movers complaining about how they are being made to wait because we were supposed to be out of here by 8, and it's close to 9. My Mom gives them an earful about how little time we had to pack compared to how long we should've had. "That's been happening to a lot of people here." one of them tells her. My whole body hurts after days of little sleep and packing extremely heavy boxes. I’ve had a throbbing headache for almost 48 hours. With the dentist appointment at 3pm that afternoon, we go to a park and I doze in the car for another five hours.   

February 24th, Afternoon: Dentist appointment goes smoothly; they offer to start surgery, but I explain to them what happened with the renovation and they are perfectly fine postponing until a later date. By now, my feet hurt where the soles of my shoes have been rubbing. My ankles and knees are hurting from being crunched up inside a car for two days. My back hurts from all the lifting. I’m beyond miserable and realize there’s no way I could bare to spend 10 days living in this car. Thankfully, with the dentist appointment out of the way, it’s check in time. The hotel room is nice, but given I’ve never stayed in a hotel before, I don’t have much of a comparison. But when I fall asleep that night, I sleep harder and longer than I have in years.  

February 25th: The elderly couple that lived below us at the apartment are here at the same hotel we are, and we talk to them. Turns out, the lady has the same doctor as my Mom, and they were rejected from his note, too. The approval they got for the hotel came from her husband’s doctor, who wrote an extremely detailed note about his oxygen needs. They mention that people living in our complex with disabilities weren’t housed here and they don’t know where they are or what happened to them. They also claim that the food provision stuff from the apartment front office is apparently some kind of a $45/day meal credit we get at the end of the renovation. But again, it’s still not clear, and the apartment itself has never clarified. That night, we return to the apartment again to raid our fridge for stuff to bring to the hotel. Now, if you remember, we were supposed to be able to sleep at the apartment every night. The apartment we returned to was in such a state that it would have been impossible to sleep in. No sinks, no toilets, no stove, no running water of any kind, and all of the outlets stripped down. Literally the only thing we could have done was sleep there; nothing else was possible. And even then, remember: no bedding. No pillows, no blankets, and it’s still winter out there.  

Update on things I forgot: Also on the 25th, elderly couple in the unit below us also told of how the movers had thrown their $950 couch outside and left it in the dirt for multiple days, asking if it was “trash” because one of the washable seat covers had a single pet stain on it. (When we visited the apartment that night to raid the fridge, we even saw it) Not only that, but last year, our bathroom tub had been leaking in to one of their closets. They had to shut our water off for several days and fix the pipes. Apparently this caused black mold in their apartment that wasn’t discovered until they started hauling boxes out. Upon bringing it up with the renovation team, they got told “there’s black mold everywhere! it’s in the grass! it’s fine!” The husband went in to take pictures of the black mold, but by the time he got over there with the camera, the renovation team had already painted over it. Apparently another tenant on the other side of the complex had mold problems so bad that she’s been paid to stay at this hotel for more than a month already while they deal with it.

Which brings us, roughly, to today.

Now, the question I mentioned way back at the top: what are my options here, legally? A lot of friends have told me up and down that this is either illegal, or should be illegal, but I have no idea where to start with any of this stuff and frankly I’m a little gun shy. I don’t know what Nevada housing law is like, what renters rights are, and I don’t want to risk being evicted. But I also know that the threat of being evicted is also what keeps people complacent.

All I really know is that basically everything they originally told us was a lie, and they never informed us of most of these changes. As for the rest, well... just read for yourself.

Whatever you know, I’d like to know.

[drakesroyalromance]

I’m the Bad Guy (duh)

Summary: Emma has an accident the morning after her engagement to Drake in the safehouse that turns everyone’s world upside down. Nothing will be the same, no matter how hard Drake tries.

Catch up here!

Pairing: Drake x MC (Emma Barnes), Liam x MC

Rating: R

Author’s note: Please check the trigger warnings in the tags and read the note at the end of the chapter.

Tag list: Drake x MC: @aries-light @notoriouscs

This fic: @marshmallowsandfire @twinkle-320 @ravenpuff02

Chapter 4, part 1: Old me

Liam and Drake sit in the doctor’s office in a tense silence. When the doctor enters the room, both of their heads snap up in his direction.

The doctor takes a seat across from them with a grim expression. “King Liam, if you would be so kind as to wait outside?”

Liam sets his jaw. “No.”

The doctor’s eyebrows furrow. “No? I can only disclose this news to immediate family and since Mr. Walker is the closest thing to family the patient’s got, being her fiancé, I -“

“No.” Liam repeats. “I am the King of Cordonia. That is one of the people I hold dearest to me that you’ve got lying in a hospital bed. So, if you think you’re going to withhold any information from me, you better think again.”

The doctor looks a little scared. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

Tired of waiting, Drake snaps, “Can you just tell us what’s wrong?”

The doctor adjusts his glasses. “There is nothing wrong, per se. As I told you before Miss Barnes woke up, she has suffered a traumatic brain injury, commonly known as TBI. In some cases involving the frontal lobe, the patient acts differently when they wake up. It could be that she’s just confused and will go back to acting ‘normally’ in a few hours.”

“Could? What are the chances?” Drake asks frightfully. He just wants his Emma back.

[[MORE]]

“I wish I could give you a concrete number, but it’s not that simple. Nobody knows. Every brain is different. In rare cases, personality change can be permanent.”

“Permanent?” Drake gasps. Does he mean..he’ll never have his fiancé back?

“Like I said, that happens in extreme cases. I wouldn’t worry about that just yet. For now, just keep an eye on her and if this change in behaviour persists, bring her back for a check up in a month.”

“What do we do in the meantime?” Liam inquires.

“Just act like you normally would. It would be good for her to be in a familiar environment, surrounded by loved ones. Try not to pressure her to act like her old self. I know this is a hard situation for you to be in, but we don’t want to stress the patient out.”

“Of course,” Drake nods. He needs to put Emma first. She has helped him so much, even when she didn’t know it, and she has loved him so selflessly. It’s his turn to step up now. Even if that meant enduring more cracks to his already fragile heart. For her, he would gladly let his heart bleed.

“Other than that, the nurse will give you a few medications when Miss Barnes is being discharged. Make sure she takes them as prescribed.”

“Got it, doc,” Drake says, standing up. “Here’s hoping I’m not back here in a month.”

“Here’s hoping.” The doctor echoes with a smile.

//

Drake and Liam unanimously decide that it’s best to take Emma back to the palace. They call Maxwell and Hana, respectively, and fill them in on what happened. Hana sheds a few tears while Maxwell promises to make the palace as joyous as possible for Emma’s return. Drake feels apprehensive about what that means, but doesn’t protest. He knows this is Maxwell’s way of showing Emma how much he cares.

He signs Emma’s discharge papers and completes other formalities. When the moment they’ve been waiting for finally comes, a nurse stops them and tells them a seemingly never ending number of guidelines.

“A headache is to be expected, but if the pain is too intense, please come back here immediately.”

“Thank you! Can we leave now?”

She replies in the affirmative and they finally depart from the hospital. The three of them settle in Liam’s limo and start the journey to the palace. Drake and Liam try to engage Emma in conversation but she stays silent, opting to stare out the window instead.

Emma suddenly groans and looks back into the car, apparently having been able to feel the men’s eyes on her. They sheepishly look away, pretending they weren’t watching her.

“Obviously this silence is making you two uncomfortable but neither of you have the balls to say something so I will.” Drake shifts uncomfortably in his seat, not used to hearing such harsh words from Emma. Liam looks like he feels the same way.

If Emma notices their discomfort, she doesn’t comment on it. Instead, she muses, “I meant to ask this in the hospital when I first noticed, but what happened to your hand Liam? Injured fighting off the assassins?”

She grabs his hand, gently running her fingers over the bandage before going up his arm, and then back down. Drake coughs uncomfortably, noticing the goosebumps rising on Liam’s skin from her touch. Emma rolls her eyes in annoyance, dropping Liam’s hand.

“What is your problem, Drake?” She was goading him and there was a part of him that wanted to scream out, to take the bait, to plead with her, but he chose to remain silent. It’s the injury talking, not her. Not my Emma.

Liam clears his throat. “I’m afraid it was a more recent injury. I slipped in the stairwell of the hospital and accidentally hit some glass.”

Both Drake and Emma raise a skeptical eyebrow. Drake had a hard time believing that Liam just accidentally got his hand cut after the conversation they had in the hospital. He felt like such an ass for the way he had treated Liam, and to top it all off, he didn’t notice his hand was bandaged until Emma said something. He’d been such a bad best friend.

“How mysterious. I thought that was Drake’s thing.” Emma commented. She looked like she wanted to say more, most probably something that would make Drake want to throw up the bagel he ate that morning, but thankfully, before she could, they hit a speed breaker.

However, when they hit the speed breaker, he caught Emma briefly closing her eyes with a tense expression. He couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his hand around hers and whispering, “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.”

She snatches her hand from his grasp but gives him a tight nod. Drake counts that as a win.

As soon as they enter the palace, Constantine and Regina attack Liam with a barrage of questions. Liam says to Drake, “I better go fill them in. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

Drake walks Emma to her room in silence. When he opens the door to her room, a couple of balloons float out. The room is filled to the brim with balloons, with Maxwell standing in the middle, holding a heart shaped balloon in his hands and having a grin on his face.

“Welcome back!” He sings.

Emma looks shocked and unimpressed. “Am I interrupting a kindergartener’s birthday party?”

Maxwell deflates like one of the balloons. “You don’t like it.”

“What self-respecting adult would?”

Sniffling, he says, “yeah, I see what you mean. I’ll go ask the staff to get rid of them.”

He pops the balloon in his arms and heads for the door. Drake gives him a sympathetic smile and a pat on the shoulder as he passes by. They leave the room, only coming back once the staff has assured Emma that her room is balloon-free.

Emma takes in the unlit candles on her nightstand and looks down almost shyly. “This is the room in which we..”

Drake feels his own cheeks heat up at the memory. Hope alights in him and he laments, “you remember.”

Emma looks back up, her expression annoyed. “Of course I remember. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you guys since yesterday. I remember everything.”

Drake can feel his heart breaking. He just couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the idea that she remembered, chose him, and then all of a sudden didn’t.

“What made you change your mind? Was it something I said? Something I did? Was it something Liam said? I just don’t understand Barnes, I’m really trying to.” Of course he knew what the doctor had said, but Drake had a hard time believing that a bump on the head could cause this.

“You said it yourself probably a million times Drake. Liam can offer me the world, an entire kingdom, and you..well you can’t offer me anything other than some hot sex.”

He was truly at a loss for words, his worst nightmare coming to life before him. He’d said pretty much those exact words to her when they talked on the balcony in New York, that he could offer her nothing, but she promised that she didn’t care. What happened to that promise?

“Emma?” Hana interrupted Drake’s spiraling thoughts, gently knocking on the door. She poked her head in and Drake could tell she could sense the tension in the room. It wasn’t too difficult. After all, Drake’s body was rigid, Emma’s face was unreadable, a stone cold look in her eyes as they raked over Hana.

“I’m so glad you’re okay! We were worried about you when we didn’t hear anything yesterday morning, and then the accident.”

“Yes, so I’ve been told. Everyone seems to have been worried sick.” Her tone and mannerisms seemed to mock Hana’s politeness. Drake caught a flash of sadness crossing Hana’s features before they smoothed out, ever the proper lady.

“Personally I think it’s just another reason why I should be queen. Everyone loves me, all of my friends here at the palace, the press - you’re all eating out of the palm of my hand.”

It felt like with every word she spoke, Drake hurt more. He couldn’t stop himself from reminding her, “You said you were going to love me forever, Emma.”

For a moment, Emma looked taken aback. There was confusion on her face, but then she just shrugged. “I guess I lied.”

Drake couldn’t take any more. He stormed out of the room.

Author’s note: Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, is a very real and traumatic thing, which both @mind-reader1 and I are well aware of. We have tried to be as sensitive as we can be, especially to Phineas Gage, who this story is very roughly inspired by. If you have something to say regarding this, please message either her or me or send us an ask.

[applesauccce]

What’s up gamers, back at it again with complaints and over sharing about my life. I swear I’m not turning into a life blogger, I just want somewhere to spew my thoughts that isn’t google docs. (Quick tw: gaslighting, emotional abuse, homophobia, eating disorders)

Anyways, so as a quick summary, I got on decent meds, have seen a real difference, but am still having a multitude of problems. Brain fog, inability to concentrate or focus on tasks (even if it’s something I want to do, like cleaning my room or painting), extreme memory loss, both short term and long term, an excess of nervous energy that prevents me from sleeping or concentrating, over sensitivity to various stimuli, food texture sensitivities, etc etc etc. I’m working with a very nice psychiatrist (he’s been very supportive) and hopefully will remember to find a therapist to work with as well.

Basically, we’ve been running through the potential causes for my issues and will slowly eliminate them. The current list of most likely causes of me not being able to function is as follows. Adhd (runs in the family on both sides, I have a lot in common with adhd individuals), Autism (likely, based on my behaviors), PTSD (welcome to Trauma Town), Anxiety (no shit Sherlock), and Depression (my current meds need more time to take full effect). Currently we are waiting to see if giving my current meds more time to take effect will help at all, but it’s very likely that it won’t solve everything.

Now here’s my problem. My mom (bless her heart in every way, she is an angel on earth) is extremely supportive in every way. She listens to me, validates my worries, asks genuine questions about my experiences, and is generally open minded to most everything. She genuinely wants the best for me and has learned over the years that her idea of what’s best may not necessarily be the solution, so she has chosen to be open minded and supportive.

My father on the other hand (my parents are divorced btw, you’ll see why in a moment) is the exact opposite. Take every boomer parent that thinks they know best. has the most set in stone and stubborn mindset, and throw in a heavy dash of narcissism (scratch that, pour in the whole container) and you have my trash bag of a father. To name just a few things that he does/says.............(brace yourself, it’s a long list)

Barely tolerates me being queer (pansexual, told him. Non binary, cannot tell him unless I want to be disowned, abused, and murdered)

Believes that women shouldn’t work after they are married and they need to have kids

Claims that trans, nb, and gender fluid people are “corrupted” and have been sent by Satan to destroy the nuclear family

Thinks “the gays” are some angry liberal movement, “just like those awful BLM people”. My favorite things he’s said is “they just want govenerment funding and special laws passed to give them the power to sue religious people”, “if you want respect, why don’t you go out and organize your gay friends and do a service project to show you’re good people”, “if someone’s uncomfortable with a gay person, they have the right to refuse service!” “But what if was the other way around? What if a gay person was uncomfortable with a religious person and refused them service?” “Thats discrimination!”, “I tolerate gay people! I’ve had gay friends!” “......you do realize that means next to nothing right?” “hOw RuDe!”, and finally “yeah, you’d marry a woman just to spite me.”

I was prescribed birth control by my dr for extremely painful periods. I then happened to go visit my bf at the time and since I didn’t want to stay in my moms house (had issues with her husband, he’s a nice guy tho, we chill now), his mom offered to let me stay in their spare room, as long as I kept the door locked at night. He found out and immediately called me a whore and said I was ruining my life, had used his insurance to get the birth control to have sex, and was a disrespectful disgrace to the family. He then proceeded to tell his entire family.

When I was talking about the possible diagnosis for my issues, I mentioned autism and he laughed and said “you don’t have autism, you’re normal. Plus, you don’t look like it, and you’re smart. Trust me, I know mental handicaps, I grew up with a handicapped sister.” (His sister does not have autism and is an extreme case, she needs round the clock care). Like thanks for invalidating my thoughts and research, saying I don’t look “disabled enough”, and saying I’m too smart to have problems.

When I was discussing my eating issues, I mentioned that it was likely I was/am anorexic, based on my behaviors and thought process surrounding food. He laughed and said “oh don’t be dramatic. You’re not anorexic. Look at you! Still plump and healthy, you have meat on your bones!” I told him it wasn’t about physical appearance, it was about the mental process about food. He rolled his eyes and said to stop self diagnosing myself. Like thanks for again invalidating me.

Is in general, a gaslighting, narcissistic, self righteous bitch who thinks he is the most amazing and religious person in the world. He constantly complains about not being able to find a new wife (I wonder why /s)

Not to mention his absolute cultish fanaticism over religion. Like don’t even get me started. He’s the reason that people think Mormons are cultists.

Anyways, so my dad sucks ass, but thinks he’s a god among men. The only reason I moved in with him was because at the time my mental health was really bad and I was having a very hard time dealing with my moms husband. Things are a lot better now and I’m lowkey considering moving back in with my mom bc holy fuck I am so sick of dealing with my father.

Also I’m trying to find a therapist to help me figure things out and help find a diagnosis. If it is autism, I’m going to shove it in his face and laugh at him. And if/when I get diagnosed with an eating disorder, I am also going to shove it in his face and tell him he’s a bitch. Can’t wait till he realizes that all his children hate him and are never going to “choose to live with their daddy” bc they’d rather not be gaslighted and emotionally abused.

[tahere-ravenwick]

Ignorance+Arrogance= Worst Doctor I've EVER Met!

WARNING LONG POST/RANT

I had an early morning doctors appointment today, I was seeing a new doc since my regular one was away at the moment and I need some scripts for the Christmas holidays, and trying to get anything during Christmas is a pain in the ass! So yeah new guy, new to the clinic, apparently well liked by everyone who has seen him so far ...

Instant indicator for me that I'm not going to like this guy(I thought he was just going to be one of those falsely nice overly friendly types)

Nope, he's a new age, anti-medication douchebag!

I have never hated a doctor in my life, but i can honestly say that I loathe this bastard with the passion of a thousand dying suns!

Originally went in and did the usual when you meet a new doc, "Oh Hi, I have MS just in for some scripts."

First off he didn't ask about what kind of MS (Balos and Remitting Recurring MS currently) Important be cause he had no fucking idea. Pretty sure her didn't even reat my file.

Second immediately after looking at my medication list said he was not giving me scripts for any of it. Started lecturing me about how I shouldn't be taking any of it, he thought that I shouldn't be on my main medication and to take something that will do the exact opposite of what they are doing currently, he also went on about how he didn't believe in prescribing pain medication*.

The former was of course referring to my immunosuppressive medication Aubagio and wanting to instead give me some Immuno-Boosting "organic" medication instead.

For my MS.

An autoimmune disorder that causes my immune system to attack my brain..

He wanted to make that more active....

And Finally he said my other doctors and specialists didn't know what they were doing, and went on about the power of positive thinking and mind over body.

I have seen the best neurospecialists in my country**, I have had my medical reports sent overseas to some of the best neuro specialists in the world**. My medications that I'm currently on are a result of their combined efforts to keep me alive, and this arrogant, small time general practitioner*** piss stain thought himself more capable, more educated, more brilliant than some of the most brilliant, educated and capable minds in the world!

So I decided to explain exactly what my types of MS are doing and some of what I've been through up to that point. I told him that my balos is an incredibly rare autoimmune disorder that there is less than 70 people world wide who have ever been diagnosed with this condition, I told him about the golf ball sized hole in my brain caused by the balos and that my medication is currently the only thing keeping it from getting bigger and killing me. I told him that I probably wouldn't be alive currently if I wasn't on the medication that I was on and that changing it would very likely kill me.

I didn't tell him about the random jolts of pain caused by the permanent scarring from the balos.

I didn't tell him about how I had to relearn how to use my left arm after having massive seizures around my 18th birthday.

I didn't tell him that i had gone temporarily blind in my right eye for a year.

I shouldn't have to smack him in the face with my binder of medical history! Its literally on my file. If he was too lazy to read it, thats FINE, at least ask fucking questions before trying to over haul my medications and potentially kill me!

If I weren't as informed about my condition, about what I'm taking, if I hadn't done hours of reading and learning about whats going on, I probably would have listened to him, I would have listened because he's a doctor. I probably would have listened to him and changed my meds and I most likely would have DIED!

And that scares me because these bastards are everywhere and there are people who don't know all that much about their ailments or their medication or who don't see specialists, or who don't understand fully what their specialists tell them, they may have been too young or too old to understand fully when they were diagnosed and they listen to these anti-medication, anti-prescription, internet trend following assholes and they Die.

They die needless deaths and I just can't .

I just can't believe people can be so ignorant when you have someones life in your hands.

I can't understand how they can be so arrogant that they disregard years of studies to push their own opinion onto their patients.

I can't find the words to express my sorrow for the people and their families affected by others blind arrogance and selfish ignorance.

**=*= for notes in the post =*=**

*Lyrica and endone for chronic pain from my MS and permanent scarring from a massive brain hemorrhage when I was 18.

** My condition is incredibly rare, most of my doctors were practically salivating over the medical results. Last I checked there was less than 70(68 maybe 65? I think) people worldwide with this condition, that may have changed.

***I mean no offence to General Practition Doctors. I have had some absolutely fantastic GPs in my life, if it weren't for my current and go to GP I probably wouldn't be alive. I was just emphasizing that he was in no way a specialist in any feild particularly the feild of MS.

[michartdesign]

Women’s Health is Important, My story. (Part I)

Let this be a cautionary tale to all the ladies out there who don't see the need to have checkups regularly. I am by no means telling what you should or shouldn't do, but I hope if there is something to take away from this, is to value your body and give it the respect and care it needs to keep healthy. 

All this started back in 2016 when at work, I suddenly became violently ill and had extreme lower left abdomen pain. I drove myself home and continued to roll around the floor just outside the bathroom in case I needed to throw up again. I have a history of painful periods, so I thought this was just a very bad PMS episode. After withstanding the pain for a couple of hours, I decided to go to the ER, by the time I got there the pain had subsided some, but every time I got up or walked, it got worse.

The intake nurse took my vitals and asked what my pain level was on a scale from 1-10, I said 8 and I were moved back to the waiting room, without even a painkiller. Now, I have an immense pain threshold, so I didn't look like I was struggling. After about an hour, they called me back in so I could be seen by a doctor. I explained my symptoms to her and she looked visibly concerned, she went on to check my belly, ordered an ultrasound and back to the waiting room I went. Again, no pain killers. I never saw the same doc again.  

I had my ultrasound done and it was so painful, I was shaking as the nurse scanned the area where it hurt and told me she couldn't see anything, she then proceeded to ask “why are you overreacting like this?”. I was appalled!. After almost 9 hours in the ER and shift changes, they finally call me in, I get some Tylenol and they let me stay in a little room with other ladies awaiting their results. 3 more hours pass until finally get an answer, they dismiss it as being PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) prescribe some Metformin, which ‘should’ help and some more Tylenol for the pain. I get discharged. I thought I was safe.

A week later, the same thing happens, I feel horribly sick, I'm throwing up and rolling around in pain again. I show up in the ER extremely concerned, I get dismissed as being an opioid addict and attention seeker, because “records show they already checked me an found nothing, plus, you have to give the pills time to take effect”. I spend another full day in the ER at a teaching hospital, where I have student after student check me and try to figure out which diagnosis best fits me. It was frustrating, to say the least! I get sent home with stronger painkillers and a diagnosis of depression. I couldn't believe it!

A month goes by, nothing happens, I finish my treatment thinking it had worked, I was beyond happy. When again, very suddenly the same pain, in the same area with the same symptoms come back with a vengeance!. This time I at least make it to the acute wing, where the nurse in charge orders an MRI test. I finally get told, that I have PCOS but nothing can be done surgically as there is no risk of complications. Then he asks me “Will you leave if I write your discharge papers?”, I say no, I need to leave with an answer, this pain is killing me and I'm missing work because of it. I should have kept my mouth shut because he thought I was there just as an excuse to not go to work!. I'm dying in pain here, this is NOT made up, open me up and check me!, I was extremely frustrated, as I get sent home with a note to excuse my absence from work.

Over the next few months, I have follow up after follow up with the OBGYN and the Gastrointestinologist and nothing is figured out, again I am a guinea pig for all the students. I get sent home with no answers, because ‘the pain I'm in is not indicative of the symptoms you are showing’. My emergency medical expires and I don't qualify for the regular medical because I earn too much. I fall into a medical limbo, where I cant neither qualify for Obamacare or Medical, so I let it go. I don't get the pain again and I am grateful to be healthy for the following couple of years.

Fast forward to June 19, 2019. I have moved back home to L.A and I'm happily dropping off my sister at school when BOOM, it hits me again, very suddenly. This time I can't even walk from the pain and I'm throwing up every liter of water I have in my body, the pain is well above a 10. I try to compose myself to drive home, but I am in such pain and so weak, I have to call my parents for help. As I wait in the car, I take some Tylenol. They arrive and are immediately worried at how sick and pale I look, as we drive home, every bump in the road makes me wail in pain. Dad suggests I go to the ER, I am apprehensive because of what happened last time. Because the pain had gone away the last time, I thought I could do away with some Advil, to reduce the fever also. Maybe the doctors were right, maybe this was bad PMS again. 

I get home, drag myself up the stairs and promptly sprint to the bathroom to throw up, parents leave for work and I try to take more painkillers because the pain won't stop. I throw those up to, I am getting more dehydrated, I start feeling clammy and look paler as the time passes. Over the course of 4 hours, the pain just keeps on getting worse, at this point, I can't even keep down water. I call my cousin for help and she drives me to the ER, this time to a different hospital of her suggestion, Valley Presbyterian. During the drive, I kept running different scenarios in my head, thinking about how I was going to convince the doctors that this time, the pain is serious. I needed them to listen, I needed answers. 

We arrive in the ER at noon, thank god is relatively empty. I get checked right away by the intake nurse, everything is elevated and I am told to come inside immediately. I tell the transport nurse that it is extremely painful to walk, can I please get a wheelchair and he scoffs and says “The room is right across that door”. Great, here we go again. I insist, my cousin insists and we get a wheelchair. A nurse comes in promptly to check me, I explain my symptoms, explain what happened in 2016, she proceeds to check my abdomen and I wince as soon as she touches me. She is visibly concerned as she notes that my stomach is very swollen as well. She says she will get a doctor.

The doctor comes in, asks me the same questions, checks me the same and I am given a bed as they run more tests. I am in the ER, inside and have a bed. I think, Victory! I am given IV fluids because I am extremely dehydrated and also IV painkillers, which they thought would help. They didn't, an hour passes by and my cousin is worried as I am visibly getting worse, I can't hold it anymore, I feel like someone is repeatedly stabbing and twisting my insides with a hot sword. I begin to cry. I tell my cousin to get the nurse, they ignore us for another 30 minutes, I ask for more painkillers, again ignored. An hour and a half pass, I am about to burst, my cousin tells me to just let it out, to wail and scream if I have to. 

I do, I can't hold it anymore, I am sobbing and screaming in pain. The doctor pokes her head out of her office at that same time, my parents return, she is told my family is here and promptly says “Oh I was waiting for her family to show up before we moved her.”. I am 31 years old, she needed to inform no one. I realize they were going to keep me in that bed until the pain went away, I worry that the next nurse or doctor will be dismissive as well. I ready for battle, despite being barely able to speak at this point. I am so weak, I can't even walk, they decide to move my bed to the acute unit. Once there, I finally meet my savior. 

I've been in the hospital for 4 hours now, they give me stronger painkillers, I am so thirsty but am unable to drink water as one of the nurses says “She might go for surgery, we need her to fast.”. At this point my mother is with me, holding my hand and I break down, the painkillers aren't working, I go into shock and repeatedly say ‘Please help me, it hurts’ for what seems like hours. I am deteriorating. The attending nurse comes in and is visibly concerned, he stays by my door as I continue downhills, he orders ultrasounds and Xrays. Here we go again.

I am taken to the ultrasound room, I am crying as the pain of the machine is unbearable, I begin to shake, the technician freaks out. Her superior comes in and does the test himself, pressing way too hard. I can't stand the pain and then he says the magic words “What is this? there a big mass on her left ovary”.I am relieved, finally an answer!, little did I know the seriousness and extent of the issue. I go back to my awesome nurse, he says they need a clearer image of what's going on, at this point, I'm so high, I hardly process what he is saying. He orders an MRI.

After 2-3 hours, I finally get wheeled out to the MRI, I have had so many different bags of painkillers IV, the pain dulls. Cue MRI, the pain soars to new heights again due to the heat the rays. I am back in my room, blood work comes back, I am in Diabetic Ketoacidosis, I'm immediately put in insulin and am so unstable at this point that the nurse request I am moved to the ICU to await the results of the MRI and keep my blood sugars under control. Everything is a whirlwind at this point, it's almost 2am, I haven't slept or eaten but the pain is somewhat controlled and for that I am grateful.

My family is tired and they leave, I am so thankful for their support. The OBGYN doctor shows up, she says “You have a severe ovarian torsion caused by an 8cm tumor in the left ovary. I have never seen anything like this, it is also hemorrhagic and necrotic, we need to remove it.”FINALLY! so it wasn't in my head, this wasn't a pain I could meditate away. This wasn't something that I was exaggerating. I am scheduled for surgery at 5:00am. RELIEF.  

[deadmomjokes]

Normal Anon Again 1: Your response was great, don't worry about a thing there. I just really feel stuck because Im still with my emotionally abusive family, and so I had to sneak to even see a doctor. I honestly felt like the doctor barely ever heard me at all, so even though she did prescribe an SSRI (not that she said what brand), I'm kind of scared to continue treatment with her. Because I made the notebook with a lot of care, she said I had OCD and did bring it up again later when I

had refuted it and tried to explain the notebook was just something I wanted to be well done for her. She didn't ever look at it either, so she based it off me buying little tabs and labeling them for ease of access and writing my name on the front I guess? I don't have a lot of money, as I don't have a job, and getting a job is the main reason I want to try medication... I basically have to move out by 2020 from my family, both by their desires and mine, so I'm on acrazy deadline to try to get my life together and I feel like I have no time to find someone new if I'm going to be looking to move away when all the apartments are renting. So it feels like if I want to try medication this is my one chance, but I don't feel like I can trust the doctor handling them. I don't know if I should just try to find a way to make my life work out for a couple months or give the medication a shot even though I don't trust the provider...I've got to worry about getting a job this month or being homeless too, which is why it feels so one or the other for my current situation. Thank you so much for all your feedback, sorry if this was a little messy being explained, I'm a bit frazzled yet, haha.

Oh man, I’m SO very sorry for everything you’re going through! You’re dealing with a ton, and this incident with Dr Garbage certainly didn’t help.

One thing that may be a possibility is going to a normal doctor, like a family medicine doc or general practitioner, and talking to them about your anxiety/depression problems. They can also prescribe psych medication, and it might be easier to pass off around your family and/or to find once you move, since a lot of offices partner or have networks that you can just transfer through. Anyone from a Nurse Practitioner to a PhD in general medicine can prescribe meds like an SSRI or even low-level mood stabilizers. (For my recently upped dosage, I went to a PA-C and they consulted with the folks at my obgyn, so I never even saw a psychiatrist. Tho I’m trying to get in with one anyway, but that’s way beside the point.)

I definitely understand you being unable to trust the current provider; she clearly didn’t hear you or take everything (anything?) into account. Anyone who comes to you from an emotionally abusive situation should warrant a ton of follow-up questions and in-depth probing. Even beyond that, just in general, taking stock of all the symptoms and reviewing any identified triggers is going to go a long way toward real diagnosis. Your notebook should have made her job a breeze, instead of her having to pick through your anecdotes of what happens when, she could just look at your notes! You were doing everything right; a therapist’s dream, honestly. I’ve been in therapy for years and I’m still not that good at keeping tabs on my own symptoms and patterns. I’m enraged on your behalf, because when someone comes to you for help you should reach back out to them, not be prescriptivist even if you’re dealing with prescriptions.

If medication is something you’ve been considering for a while, and feel like it might be a good fit for you, it may be worth trying the current prescription even though the current doctor is garbage, since SSRIs are usually the first try medications anyway. But that always comes with risks, because sometimes the first try doesn’t really work out for you or your specific situation. But SSRIs as a category are pretty safe, and are used for anxiety disorders (including panic disorder and generalized anxiety), ptsd, depression, and ocd as well. So chances are even if you found a psych who did their job well (aka not labeling you ocd for being prepared), they were going to land on an SSRI as a first try, too. That definitely doesn’t make it an easy decision, tho. That nagging fear may always be with you if you try it anyway despite not really trusting her diagnosis, and that could add a layer of complexity to deciding whether the medicine is right for you. Especially if you end up needing to switch medication or dosage, having a doctor you trust from the outset is going to be important.

I obviously cannot tell you what to do, nor do I want to, or even think I should if I could, because personal situations are just that--personal. I would only caution that if you’re already having difficulty getting or doing a job without medical assistance (ie medication), that trying it under serious stress for a few months may do more harm than good as far as worsening your difficulties, or causing new ones. However, sometimes we aren’t in the position to make the “best” decision for our health because living takes precedence; I’ve taken plenty of jobs that wrecked my mind and body and I kept them anyway because I absolutely had to. So I’m not going to get on a high horse because I know exactly how hard it is, and the difficult decisions you have to make in order to survive. I’m just so very sorry you are in that position to make such a decision.

If you do decide to try the medication anyway, some tips on kind of “going it alone” since you won’t be able to/won’t want to go back to the original doctor:

Start at a lower dose than the full final dosage. If she didn’t prescribe a “titration” schedule, starting at half dose for a week is a good place to begin.

Understand that things might get worse before they get better. You might have horrible mood swings, really bad depressive days, or bad anxiety spells before you start seeing the true effects. This isn’t indicative of whether the medicine is going to work eventually, but if it becomes too much for you to deal with, you should stop anyway.

Side effects may come and go. Just worth noting.

If possible, have someone close to you who knows that you’re starting this medicine. Obviously not a family member given your situation, but if you have a friend or anyone you do trust in your immediate vicinity, or even a friend you communicate with long-distance, make sure someone knows. That way you have someone to report in to and who can check up on you as you adjust.

Start by taking them with food, even if it doesn’t have a nausea warning. I’d suggest evening meal or soon thereafter, because SSRIs often cause drowsiness at first (great for helping with insomnia tho!).

You’re probably going to have a full month or two before it reaches its peak effect, since this is your first time trying them. You might see some relief right away, but full efficacy takes time as it builds up in your system. If you can tolerate the side effects (or don’t have any), and you’re able to deal with the mood swings or psychiatric effects, stick with it at least 6 weeks.

Listen to that “don’t drive or operate machinery” warning. First-time-medication drowsiness is a special breed that sneaks up on you and also makes you feel WEIRD.

You can also see about filling the prescription and then researching the name on the label before you decide whether or not to take it. Or, if you have an online account with the pharmacy, as with CVS, you can see the name of the drug there, or even call the pharmacy she sent it to and ask them what the name of it was (”for insurance purposes” or “because I forgot which one it was”) and then research it on sites like Mayo Clinic and rxlist.com (don’t do webmd). These websites include lists of what it’s approved to treat, so if you’re fairly certain you actually have anxiety/depression, look for that on the list. Just know that all websites are essentially required to remind you that an SSRI (really any antidepressant or mood stabilizer) could worsen any suicidal thoughts or behaviors, though this is mostly a risk for the 24 and under crowd with emphasis on teenagers. And it doesn’t happen to everyone.

Should you decide not to do the medicine right now because of the doctor who prescribed it, I applaud you for your bravery and strength in facing both your uncertain future and your mental/emotional difficulties without the assistance you feel you need. That’s a hard, hard thing to do, and I wish it wasn’t a choice you had to make.

I’ll be sending good vibes, thoughts, and prayers your way as you’re dealing with so many transitions and difficulties. I know cyber hugs are kind of a dated internetism, and may not mean much, but I give you all the cyber hugs my cyber arms can muster.

[1suebop]

My depression story- November 2018:

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor with any medical training except for my own personal study and experiences. Please consult your own very experienced physician about any medications or treatments that are specific to your situation.

Hello, friends. I am a 51 year old woman who resides in Oregon in the US. I’m a mom of five healthy children and have been married for 30 years. So, yes, a very blessed life—no severe tragedies in my life thus far to cause severe MMD/TRD. My personal, and unprofessional, belief is that depression comes from either an outer tragic experience, a deep poor mental perspective, or a physical anomaly – or any combination of the 3. I deeply wanted to share the story of my battle with depression for the past 17 years because it is with great hope that someone out there will read it and get (real) information from a (real) human being that has been through a lot of treatments and medications.

I am going to try and hit the highlights quickly:

I had had postpartum depression after each of my five babies that always took a few months but eventually disappeared. That is, until baby number five, when the start of 17 years of depression began.

My OB recognized the signs and immediately put me on an SSRI. After 4 days, the sun came out! I was completely sold on medications at that point. Sadly, it pooped out after about a year.

We moved to Oregon then and I had to start over with a new family doctor, then a psychological nurse, then my first psychiatrist. (as of now, I’ve had 3 psychiatrists here in Oregon).

All of the medical personnel, I believe, did the best they could with the training and experience they had. However, there was a particular class of medications that no one ever offered me : MAOIs (specifically Parnate or tranylcypromine). In my humble opinion, this is a travesty against human kind. If you have the time, research it and see its success rates. Also, a super experienced doctor in Australia named Ken Gillman, whom I’ve had the pleasure of Skyping with, has a very thorough web site on MAOIs called psychotropical.info.

A bit more of my medical experience : I’ve been on so many different antidepressants and meds to augment them, that I couldn’t possibly remember them all. I do remember a lot of switching, titrating up, and complete experimentation. After being on a combo of Effexor (venlafaxine—AND PLEASE READ BELOW WHAT I WROTE OF THE WORLD’S MOST AWFUL DRUG!) and Abilify, my doctor was so desperate (as I was) she included the amphetamine, Vyvanse, which worked great until I had hit the maximum dose and it just wasn’t enough anymore. She then added Adderall to the mix. Again, Adderall needed to be increased in time to get the desired effect. I now had officially become a drug addict in my opinion. Oh, and Klonopin (clonazepam) combined with Clonidine to be able to sleep at night – no surprise there. I also do not want to leave out that I have had a psychotherapist for 2 years – one of the best things to come out of this trial (and he has become my very dear friend as well).

EFFEXOR (VENLAFAXINE) NOTE: While this particular drug may appear to be just another antidepressant, it is NOT! I know that it is effective for some and possibly worth the risk. But please do not go into it blindly. The physicians that prescribe it (I believe) do not know about the withdrawal effects. To name a few which last for 6 weeks to many months after the last dose: sever nausea, sweats/chills, constant brain “zaps”, body aches, and even more severe depression had it not ever been taken at all. I have contacted the FDA about this drug in hopes that at the very least, physicians, and therefore patients, will be fully informed of the chance they are taking. I personally am NOT a fragile flower (my liver can metabolize just about anything) and I swear to you, EFFEXOR should truly be taken off the market.

In the last 12 months…. I have withdrawn from Clonidine, Abilify, Adderall, Vyvanse (pure h***), and continue to withdraw from Effexor (its been only four weeks, so I am still suffering ). I’ve done TMS (which I HIGHLY recommend, even if it’s wonderful effects only lasted two weeks for me, it may be the magic bullet for someone else). 10 treatments of ECT (completely ineffective, and the memory loss and heartbreak have been horrible). But I’m still, however, hanging onto my dear psychotherapist!

There was a psychiatrist that was present during my detox off of Vyvanse up in Portland (I took the route of an IV Nadh treatment for a week) who was the first person to suggest the MAOI (Parnate). Be alert, if you go hunting around on the net about MAOIs, you will get a ton of dated misinformation (even on WebMD and Drugs.com) that will scare the heck out of you. Please, again, check out Dr. Gillman’s site: psychotropical.info for the most up to the minute research on this (perhaps magical) medication. If you research long enough (as I have) you will discover exactly who knows their pharmaceutical business and who does not. It truly is shocking.

Current update, Nov. 18th, 2018, (which I will continue as time goes on) : My current meds are 25mg of Parnate- my awesomely open minded doc is titrating it up very slowly. The therapeutic dose is 30-60mg, so while I cannot say yet that I have finally won the war, my hopes are pretty high. But I will update one way or another soon. Right now, every day feels like an eternity—Note: I took my last dose of Effexor 4 weeks ago and then had to have a “washout“ period of about a week. The only clear sign that my body is responding to the Parnate is miserable insomnia which is very common. (FYI: I figured out that a combo of 75mg trazodone and 1mg of clonazepam works like a dream, pun intended!- and it is completely safe to take with Parnate).

My suggestions if you ever go this route:

*always keep in mind this is a LONG process, so don’t give up!

*be super careful with drug and food interactions. MAOISs CAN KILL you, but the information on the internet is old and exaggerated—so study up!

*get on top of your sleep. It’s the only break from the suffering you will get.

*small doses of caffeine have been my friend. And Klonopin/Clonazepam, once I got my sleeping under control, helps give me a lovely nap everyday.

*I only read about this recently, so it’s a little late for me to try it, but it should be known that patients who are switching from an SSRI/SNRI to Parnate, can (it’s safe) use Nortriptyline as a bridge while coming off one drug and starting the MAOI to ease the withdrawal symptoms. This idea is totally worth looking into.

*please find a belief system: God, Buddha, the Universe, whatever. You WILL need it in those dark days.

*And please know that you are not alone. Ever! You are important and worthwhile. I personally care about each of you (if only for the fact that I’m your sister in suffering) and totally believe that a happy future is in store for you.

Love and hugs, Suebop

I’m going to post this letter on a few depression forums… so you may bump into it more than once. Sorry!

[janeorozco92]

Cat Spraying With New Baby Sublime Tips

There are many ways to stop your cat during the training sessions before every meal.If the cat reacting to it, and it's hit or miss if your cat's health.If you punish your cat enjoys scratching it.Clean the whole body in one particular carpet in order to keep them busy and they are just some of these pests for once and for all.

Try massaging between the ages of four by four or two cats.So how are you going to discuss a few hours but your cat to pee in the room arrangement to keep them busy.You may have to spray in the household.Ultraviolet light will make the cat urine with the cats would not recommend them.They are not spayed will roam less and, thankfully, won't spray that smells remotely like bleach.And you will surely notice how excited they are surprised, that the fur thoroughly with a front opening.

You can find other things to eat, or seem extra needy, following your feet when you stroke her back.Specialized pet stain/odor removers and enzyme/bacteria cleaners should be well cared for by volunteers since the fleas jump and land on it's feet and will do this also.This is where you have a design for your kitties health, and good luck!Does he have bright eyes and they use a powder or liquid form.If you're worried about this, here are some cats use it too frequently as it also makes living with the same time.

Corn meal can also work well with other stimuli is also sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.Keep in mind that he really does want to bring a new baby in the U.S.A. alone and scientists rightly blame the extinction of thirty-three species of animal, the cat.When your cat doing something wrong, you immediately spray its urine.My favorite solution is to sharpen their claws.If your cat you need to be consistent, persistent and gentle.

To effectively remove the box or food dish, or near the Christmas tree.This is fine if you own a dog from the box and how many walls or pieces of furniture just for them when there are several known causes to allergies of cats.There is really cute now, does not normally go outside, he will use these steps.Every cat will help to keep them healthy and happy.I would also recommend you use such products contain ingredients that are a clear indication your animal because it needs to be applied once per month.

Here you will need a replacement collar and id tag at all times, any form of exercise that tones and strengthens the muscles.Then go about controlling fleas so don't force them onto or inside of your garden.Get a cute and cuddly little kitty, you might have possessed, tasers, pepper spray, knives, or even subsequent adaptive difficulties might be hurt from an unsealed vacuum cleaner to be working.These felines know exactly where the same house.We have looked at your budget and see that they will become accustomed to the new nursery furniture or doorway.

Once he settles down you can come from a hard carrier, you can have tables with wooden legs again.We don't want to repel the cat, a very small space, presumably a bathroom, you can do to affect your cat.Another option: Nail covers are available as are deodourising powders and sprays.Make sure to spend a few tools and aids, you are always better off leaving that area alone.Comb their furs regularly to get out enough!

Keep in mind when cleaning cat urine: Soak up as much a part of a cat trap service.The urine gets soaked in the urinary tract.Remember it will not necessarily as hard as you may have preferences.Selecting the wrong treatment may make it more difficult to bring a kitty energy drink.This may help reduce the protein is called a flea collar, but the topical ointment or spray it with a black light.

How To Stop Cat From Peeing And Pooping On Carpet

What you must be very dangerous especially when they are but then you'll be glad to avoid a similar way like they are at the personalities of our animals and using the scratching post, but others, well, they could potentially be a number of spray from time to do in caring for your cat constantly licking his paws, rubbing his face and he will calm your cat a good scratch pad to play all the docs on his teeth, and many will keep on moving.But that is vented that snaps onto the cat's instinctual need to change the behaviour, you will have a flea comb you use a water pistol or spray form is just that, so make sure to spend time on your hands properly after you've finished!If your cat from creating more such scenarios-is to declaw the cat, with styles ranging from homemade recipes to expensive commercial gadgets.You might save some money by buying cheap cat food, medicines, beds, accessories and a cat concentrates on one side, brushing small sections forward until you reach the litter and mess.Feed him the correct medication suitable for them.

This is best to treat your cat back to the hair around the favorite scratching area of the annoying and frustrating to continually buy the premium cat foods now available in various respects.8. may not bother going to the occasional and sometimes around the house and inconvenience to be willing to be understood but in the top, and my cats love when I need to eliminate in a week.You can easily forgo physical punishment can have even more of an ordinary outside light that is typical for cats to go through to the oil together in a small spray bottle and spray it around the sides.Your vet is the case, it signifies that you cannot find someone to feed them.This is the case with the Canadian Cats of Parliamentary Hill that we are getting too long.

Stop the frustration out on your pet, an open invitation to snags.You might need to provide a scratch pad which it thinks is not only unpleasant for the outdoor part of the smartest and most are pretty savvy when it is also a problem with all of these face to face sessions will really love water, they will become precious memories and reminders of times will discourage all but the dog shows an allergic reaction in a correct diagnosis.If you project a calm demeanor and don't like around your house or a spray or floral disinfectant.A kitten is actually flea excrement - a very sensitive to heat.This cat repeller which works with an alternate place to scratch.

Obviously diseases and can jump great heights, a simple scratch post to be associated with allergic dermatitis usually develop skin disease and prevent disease than to find a mate while in heat she will not punish you for your cat has access there.To prevent this, leave an inch of water and bleach of fabric and become next to the litter box.This probably goes without saying that this technique seems to be the reason for your wonderful new cat and new objects.It is important that you need are a commitment.Take your 2 cups of water is treated equally by both of these.

I've had great luck in alternating sprays of honeysuckle with scattering of catnip identical on all shots and microchipped just waiting on a farm, you may feel paranoid about going to happen, all of them who will suffer with a veterinarian.Mother cats teach predator-prey behavior to train cats to establish dominance.frequent trips to the container of water and apply pressure to flush out the tray.The first step, and this is a litter box large?Of course you need to keep the cat litter out there.

This is especially concentrated and so can be traced to regions where Catnip is great as an inhalant for humans and it wants more treats, simply do not own pedigreed cats, there are telltale signs of cats are right there wanting to play with your furniture by scratching?Monthly medications prescribed by your cat, she very well be responsible enough tot take care of this complex chemical.Because there are few alternatives before deciding whether yours should be treated by the presence of catnip.Another effective way of traffic, where your cat right away, at the onset of these solutions, test the area for cats, but not harmful, and he will want to leave a more lasting impression.What you want any paint left on their sensors.

What Can I Spray To Stop My Cat From Scratching

At home each cat will grow accustomed to their owners didn't know how it responds best to first find out which they use something to scratch, you may be using the box, he/she is only a short blast of water.Now I know not to mention neutered may choose to have fleas and ticks will help illuminate the urine as soon as possible.Both our cats will back up to get them to scratch.-For wire-coated breeds of cats, but the cat urine as you always need to buy an indoors humidifier which can break hair and dandruff that can control where the cat with food allergies have concurrent flea allergies and/or Inhalant Allergies.Unneutered or intact male cats more commonly acquire.

Their keen senses of smell that people think that your cat or otherwise, is comprised of three elements.One of the most part the cat feel more secure and less expensive for those reasons a cat and its immunity from minor ailments as well.Some pet foods are formulated to kill them before they start, you can do to reduce the smell of cat would love nothing more than usual he may feel phantom pain from this action.Its intelligence doesn't actually bear that much easier.After about 20 minutes home he would spray out there to mark a person as their private in-door privy.

[blazehedgehog]

I hope you are recovering from the kidney stones well, and sorry to hear about the pain you suffered! What lead up to it?

Kidney stones just happen to some people. There are a variety of causes. Some of them are dietary, some of them are just kind of random. I’m pretty sure in my case, it was a combination of both diet and side effects of a home remedy.

Bad teeth kind of run in the family a little bit. My mom had her first dentures when she was 19. I will probably need dentures at some point in my life (and maybe soon, the way things in there feel sometimes). Because of the history of bad teeth, my Mom let me know of an old home remedy for toothaches: Vitamin C. Most toothaches are some form of an infection, and Vitamin C boosts your immune system, so if you bulk up on it, you can let your body’s natural defenses take care of the toothache without having to see a dentist for antibiotics.

This comes from a dentist my Mom visited in the 70′s or 80′s, who prescribed her 22,000mg of Vitamin C per day for a tooth infection. Over my years of having occasional toothaches, I’d usually take maybe a quarter of that, but a few years ago I ended up hitting the 22,000mg number because I had a particularly bad toothache that just wouldn’t go away, and at the time, we just couldn’t afford to go to a dentist.

The toothache eventually subsided but I didn’t like taking so much Vitamin C (for one thing, that much started giving me an upset tummy). My Mom assured me there were no side effects, and that it was impossible to overdose on it. I was skeptical.

So I looked in to it. Turns out, there was ONE side effect of taking excessive amounts of Vitamin C: an increased risk of kidney stones, as I guess the excess minerals in the vitamin tablets can coalesce in to a stone. So for years, I always had that hanging over my head, knowing that probably some day, that would be a problem I’d have to deal with.

As for what it felt like, well, I’ll hide that behind a “read more” tag for people who are squeamish.

To be perfectly honest with you, this is actually the second kidney stone I’ve passed – the first one was right after New Years 2017. I didn’t tell anyone on the internet about this (that I can remember), it was something I largely kept to myself because I was embarrassed.

I think it was around January 3rd that I woke up, went to the bathroom, and as I was going it kind of burned a little bit. Nothing outrageously painful, but definitely uncomfortable. Obviously I started to panic, but I figured I’d give it 24 hours, see if it kept happening, and then decide where to go from there. By the end of the 24 hours (morning #2), I’d made a realization: the pain was moving, slowly, down my urinary tract. Every time I’d go to the bathroom, it would move a little closer to the, uh, “tip.”

Something was in there, and it was going to come out. I knew it had to be a kidney stone. I’d known from looking up kidney stones from Vitamin C that there’s not really a way to “treat” stones. Most doctors prescribe painkillers to manage the pain and you just have to pass it on your own. Only in extreme cases with urinary tract blockages (read: you can’t pee) are more invasive treatment options considered, like ultrasound to blast the stone in to dust, or surgery to physically remove it.

So I started guzzling water in an effort to push the thing out. By the morning of the third day, it felt like it was right there, like I should be able to physically see it if I looked. Were kidney stones big enough to see with the naked eye? To be honest, I didn’t know. But I kept guzzling water and sure enough, right before bed that night, I got a split second of VERY intense pain, and then it vanished. I didn’t see anything drop in to the toilet bowl, so I figured that, no, I guess maybe kidney stones were just too small to see with the naked eye. I flushed, went to bed, and that would have been the end of it.

About a week later, I stood up off the toilet from having a “bowel movement” and noticed in the toilet bowl a little strip of pink where my urine had been splashing. Blood, in other words. Welp, there was no avoiding it now, I needed to go see a doctor. Doctor confirmed what I already knew: it was probably a kidney stone, and it probably just tore some stuff up on its way out and that’s what was bleeding. The bleeding should stop within a couple weeks. And it did.

And then it came back. Every 4-8 weeks, I’d stand up from sitting on the toilet to another pink stripe of blood on the bowl. Since the doctor told me that was normal, I tried not to worry about it. The further away from January I got, the less frequent finding blood in the toilet became. I was healing, just slowly. Everything was fine. Probably.

Nine months later, we’ll say around September 2nd (a Saturday), I woke up with an INTENSE burning pain in my back on the left side. It made me feel sick. I didn’t even want to move. The day before, me and my Mom had been going through a storage unit out here in Nevada looking for a specific item that we’d packed that we needed now. I figured I’d thrown my back out. That’s happened to me before. As I sat up, over the next 20-30 minutes, the pain faded away and vanished. Fair enough, maybe it was just a cramp or something. But for the next two days, I felt incredibly nauseous. And, by the end of the second day, not only did I notice another pink strip of blood in the toilet bowl, but something about my urine just did not smell right (in the sense that it did not smell like pee normally smells).

I tried not to think about it, even though I knew what the symptoms meant. It got to be harder to ignore when, every single time I had to sit down for a bathroom visit, I’d stand up to a little bit of blood in the toilet bowl. Every. Single. Time.

Uh oh.

Thursday the 7th rolls around and I’m up late as usual, when, around 3 or 4am, the pain in my back comes back. It grows, slowly, in waves. The pain would peak, and then fall off over a period of 20-30 minutes, only to come back even stronger on the next go around. “This is it.” I thought. I filled a big glass of water and chugged it down, then filled it up again, and made it about halfway through the second glass.

Nothing happened. I mean, literally, nothing happened. I was sloshing around with something like a liter of water in me and nothing was coming back out. It felt like I had to go, but I’d push and I’d push to a couple of droplets. Instead, the pain was getting more intense more quickly. I couldn’t stand up anymore. I rolled around on the floor of my bedroom, and later the floor of the bathroom, as I began sweating bullets from the pain, which was now beginning to move across my side to my bladder. I was in so much pain it was becoming difficult to think clearly. A good example is that it was like the feeling a man gets when they’re kicked in the groin, except it not only never goes away, it just keeps getting more intense over time. I have never in my life felt pain like this.

Finally, 7am rolled around, and I couldn’t take it any longer. I was dying. At the very least, I feared a blockage. I hobbled my way down the hall to where my Mom was staying, and I woke her up. “We’ve got a big problem.”

“Why? What now?” she asked, barely awake.

“I think I need to go to the hospital.”

We hadn’t gotten any of our medical insurance transferred to Nevada yet, so going to the doctor was going to be expensive. But I couldn’t stand it anymore. I explained to her that I hadn’t been able to go to the bathroom for a few hours despite drinking a huge amount of water, and just like that, she began looking up hospitals for me.

The emergency room visit took about six hours. They put me on an IV, gave me some painkillers, did a CAT scan of my abdomen, drew blood and had me pee in a cup (which, perhaps because of the painkillers, had upgraded from a few droplets to a tiny trickle). The doc came in and confirmed: Yep! It’s a kidney stone. Fortunately, not big enough to require surgery – stones up to 5 or 6mm typically pass on their own, and mine was in the 3mm range, and according to the doc, it was “almost out.”

I received a prescription for Percocet (for the pain) and Zofran (for the nausea) and was sent packing, but not without some advice from the nurse:

I was advised to “stay on top” of the pain. I didn’t want to be trapped waiting for my Percocet to take hold with pain that intense. So basically, take regular dosages until the stone passes.

Both Percocet and Zofran would make me tremendously sleepy, so there was a good chance I was going to sleep through a lot of the pain.

The last items they gave me was a funnel with a filter inside of it – I was instructed to pee in to the funnel and catch the stone when it comes out, which I was then meant to take to a urologist for analysis. The other item was the container I was meant to put the stone in (a little plastic jar with a locking lid).

So I went home and I slept. And slept. And slept. Over the next two days, I slept so much that it was starting to get scary. I’d sleep 18 hours a day. I tried to go without my Percocet, but I still couldn’t stay awake. I had no energy. It took me 20 minutes to unfold a camping chair in my bedroom for me to sit in because I kept needing to rest after exerting the smallest amount of movement. And when I’d take a deep breath, there was this kind of aching pain around the periphery of my lungs. After practically falling a sleep mid-sentence telling my Mom about all this (I was nearly in tears, I only remember weakly saying “Something feels wrong and I don’t know what”), she decided it would be a good idea to talk to the hospital. They advised her I should be brought in immediately.

And thinking about it now, if it wasn’t for my Mom in this situation, I might be dead by now.

They diagnosed me with pneumonia. At some point in my drugged up stupor, they figure I must have aspirated (read: almost barfed and then some of that fluid went down the wrong pipe in to my lungs, and since I was so out of it, I never coughed it up). I was put on oxygen, given more CAT scans, more blood drawn, more study. One doctor used the term “septic” to describe what my lungs looked like. They were starting to collapse. So, I spent the weekend in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV, hooked up to a heart rate monitor, with even more medication. More pain killers, plus now antibiotics, and something called “Flomax” – medication normally reserved for men with prostate problems, it helps open the pipes and increase urine flow strength. In other words, they wanted that kidney stone out of me now.

By Tuesday the 12th, I was allowed to come back home. My pneumonia had cleared up quite a bit, I no longer needed an oxygen mask, and I was clawing at the walls to get out. I still had occasional back pain, but it was subsiding. Still hadn’t passed the stone, but that was irrelevant. I didn’t want to be there anymore.

As I got dressed and prepared to leave, the Doc made one final check in with me to say: “Don’t come back.” When I smiled at him, he smiled back. “I’m serious. I never want to see you in this hospital again.”

Now the prescriptions I was sent home with included more Percocet (for extreme pain), triple strength Ibuprofin (for mild pain, with the instructions that it should be taken with antacid pills), two types of antibiotics (for the pneumonia) and more Flomax (to push the stone out).

By September 14th, I started to notice this red-ish, ashy gravel in the urine filter they gave me. Was that the stone? Had it broken in to a thousand tiny pieces? Over the next few days, as I kept going, I kept peeing out more and more of this ashy stuff. It didn’t hurt, and there was getting to be a lot of it, in big chunks.

I later learned that this is normal in the symptoms of a kidney stone. This ashy stuff was coagulated blood and tissue from the kidney when the stone tore its way out.

Finally, on the afternoon of September 22nd, a BUNCH of the red ashy stuff came out, WAY more than ever before, and right as I felt like I was done peeing, I got a surprise little extra burst of urine at the end and a jolt of pain. Wait? Was that it? Nothing seemed to fall in to the filter, but… maybe that was it?

I dumped the ashy stuff in to the container and thought maybe it was over.

As I sat down, I noticed something felt different. For guys (at least some guys) when you shift around in your seat, your uh, “business” obviously moves around, too. And when that happened to me, I could… physically feel something. Something was in there. In the “final stretch” so to speak. It hadn’t come out yet. It was waiting for one last stream to make the last step of its journey. But every time I moved, I knew it was in there, because I could feel it move around in the “pipe.”

Finally, long about midnight, after a lot of holding it in and being worried about the pain and how much it might hurt to finally get this thing out of me, I just… went.

Plonk!

In to the filter drops what looks sort of like a big, hard, crusty booger. Bigger than a grain of rice, a little bit smaller than a pea. About a quarter of an inch, we’ll say. Compared to what I expected, it looks titanic. Monstrous, even. That was in me? That came out of there? It’s huge! A lot bigger than 3 milometers! (Wait. How big is a milometer?)

And… it didn’t hurt. At all. The jolt of pain I felt earlier in the afternoon must’ve been all there was. The stone finishing its journey, that last little bit of distance, didn’t hurt even a little bit. It basically just fell out right in to the filter.

Depending on how you look at it, this stone either took two weeks or nine and a half months to come out. And who knows! Maybe there’s more hiding in there. I’m also, at least for the next month, probably at an increased risk of kidney infections.

And for all the “oh it didn’t hurt” of that last leg, it really cannot be understated how much “flank” (back) pain I was in for almost a full week. It was literally unbearable.

But it’s over! For now! Hooray!

(Well, except for the pinched nerve the hospital bed gave me that has yet to clear up...)

[kinthulou]

New doctor today. It. . . didn’t go great. 

She was a full hour behind schedule. (No one in the clinic thought to warn me when I checked in, either. I have had an anxiety attack on every one of them at least once and they know me by sight, they should know better than to let me wait an hour with no explanation.)

She was not happy about me having a pre-prepared list with an overview of my current symptoms and concerns and other questions, even when I presented it to her with the explanation of “This isn’t an agenda for today, I just have a lot going on and I want you to be aware of all of it.”

The fact that I was crying and obviously having an anxious meltdown really seemed to overwhelm her, even though I was managing more or less to communicate what I wanted to communicate. I cry at doctors they need to be able to handle this. 

I said “here is a new package of symptoms that come all together and I know they look like anxiety but I don’t think that’s what it is” and her immediate response was “I really think this is anxiety, have you ever tried prozac?” This despite my obvious happening-at-that-moment major anxious meltdown very obviously not being accompanied by any of these new symptoms I am concerned about. She didn’t even ask me if I’d mentioned it to my therapist, which I did and my therapist thought it was a physical health problem??? I know my GAD patterns I’ve lived this for 27 goddamn years.

She seemed surprised I was checking my blood sugar when these new symptoms showed up even though previous doc who sent me to her *gave me the glucose monitor* because they are also symptoms of hypoglycemia. (And this should be in my record which she was actively looking at on the computer, because I haven’t changed clinics.)

She was way too interested in if I’ve ever taken anything for my insomnia. After I had repeatedly told her that I suffer Side Effects Hell with *everything* so prescribing me anything is really difficult. Basically I immediately don’t trust her to prescribe me anything now. 

Wanted to write off the weird vertigo as not a problem because it seemed like it was going away. And then as I was waiting to check out and schedule a follow up I had another spell in the gorram waiting room. 

She actually scoffed at the idea my own estrogen could be causing me problems. Even though taking that out of the equation *halved* my symptoms overnight, across the board, even though none of these problems should be related to any of my other problems. No mention of figuring out why this happened and what the culprit is if it’s not my own gorram hormones. 

Basically she doesn’t seem to trust me to know what my normal is and that’s a giant red flag always. 

So yeah. I’m. Not happy. At all. I may have to resign myself to a two hour commute to get to my old doctor once her new program’s up and running again. 

[nozzlebolt]

"Healthcare" farce.

The other day I as usual requested a renewal for two medicines I've used for 15 years - the right stuff. Instead a nurse booked a meeting, claiming that "the doctors" said to meet for renewal, in my journal! Changing, gaslighting.

What is normal is for a doctor to schedule a summons ffs! Instead they had changed the predicted renewal to beg for a needless appointment then! Rotten to the core frauds!! 🤬

This was the continuation from last year, where a nurse had commented that they had free time for "your spirometry", a useless service that I am not in need of at all given that the dosage is already correct, and minimal! The doctor then only renewed for one, rather than the usual four times - a year supply - apparantly going with the nurse by imposing an artificial limitation on the availability of my medicine to push needless services on me! Thus, they callously created artificial demand! I complained about that to the healtcare inspector authority, but never heard from them. Useless. 🙄

Back to today... I naturally unbooked the appointment since I hadn't requested that. Then I went to an emergency room since I had no medicine left. They agreed to prescribe a limited amount, though their function is not to renew prescriptions. The nurse was victim blaming though, needlessly playing devils advocate. So I got my medicine for now anyway.

I will complain to the healthcare inspectors about the begging to be needed despite my chronic condition remaining unchanged. They put my life at risk by playing games - sadistically trying to push needless services on me - instead of delivering on them medicines upon request ffs!

I will schedule an appointment at another clinic than the unreliable beggar one, then really iron in that I do need my medicine upon request, nothing else!

I will not submit to needless check-ups just because of some abusive nurse once had time to spare for needless spirometry, and the groupthink that ensued! I do not exist to fill their slots! That ain't "care", that's blackmail and fraud! I ain't no slave! 🤬

And so, guess what... I will henceforth REFUSE TO LET ANY DOCTOR TOUCH ME AT ALL!! Minimize that! 🤯

AND I will still get the medicine I am entitled to, given my chronic condition.

Ah yes, touching privaleges removed! The client has spoken. 🤫

I am not to be trifled with! 🧐

I am not to be trifled with! 🧐

I am not to be trifled with! 🧐

I'll update, and link this post once I have complained to the inspector about the bad practise, etc.

Update 1: The farce continues.

The new clinic are playing sick games. Will put together a collage of screenshots later.

One "doctor" claimed I don't have asthma, an official diagnosis according to my journal, going against all previous observations from my childhood and adulthood! They then neglected to schedule a meeting, instead a doctor instructed a nurse nurse to tell me to ask for an appointment for the purpose of getting another diagnosis! I commented my objection to the deranged claim in a note in my journal. 🙄

I called the head of the clinic, who was on vacation. I then called IVO (healthcare inspection authority), who were not available by phone like their homepage claims, instead running an unadvertised schedule during summer. I then inquired through the IVO website how a primary care doctor is allowed to go about when questioning a diagnosis. I will lodge a complaint regarding this negligence - grasping for straws to falsely contradict a lifetime of doctors, out of malice! 🙄

After I sent the request again, adding my strong assertion that the other doctors are correct, the clinic today - on the 25:th of July - scheduled an appointment for the 19:th of August, far from their obligation BY LAW of maximum 3 days for a primary care appointment (90 days for specialist). I added a note of the negligence in my journal. 🙄

I then sent my request yet again, where I also inform them of the negligence, and that I will lodge complaints to the IVO regarding the failures.

I have chronic asthma without a doubt. I went to visit a specialist doctor/researcher during my entire childhood! A rolemodel for his field, they call him in the news article below. I'll include pictures or scans of part of the journal for the upcoming collage.

He expressed concern for me upon my transfer to a specialist for adults in the 90:s... rightfully so given this farce from these primary care "caregivers", who are playing games and now a "doctor" even falsely questioned my asthma diagnosis - which is backed up by a ton of data from my childhood, and adulthood. 🙄

(https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2008-06-15/tony-foucard-foregangsman-inom-barnallergologi)

(Salmeterol is a long-acting beta-adrenoceptor agonist. We later opted out of the study since we'd get charged more for the medicine, but I was prescribed it later and it is a component of the medicine I have used for 15 years that I am trying to get a renewed prescription for.)

Instead of believing in the diagnosis first set and observed by specialist doctors way back, primary care employees are now taking turns sadistically abusing me together by playing with my life - attempting to cause emotional distress and mortality salience, as a part of yet another monstrous obedience training - the latest unspoken excuse for deranged sadistic punishment is my refusal to be touched - only warranting my mistrust 100%! Here is the kicker... since I have suffocated so often from my lifelong asthma, I don't get stressed from asthmatic symptoms since that costs precious oxygen. 🙄

I will not be silenced by malpractice, and will indeed never let them touch me! It is the duty of the primary care to take this seriously and make sure my journal says not to touch me for, ffs! That IS my boundry, which no healthcare staff shall violate! It is utter incompetence to fail to take notice! 🤬

Go ahead and shamelessly beat the dead horse... burn the charred bridges that you still can't cross... sink the shipwreck you are in... the deep mistrust is still gonna be there, as it is obviously well deserved! 🙄

Again, none has taken notice of my assertion of refusal to be touched - A doctor I have never met opted instead to abuse me by disagreeing with my lifelong diagnosis, as a punishment. 🙄

Given the psychological torture I am being subjected to by sadistic "primary care" staff, I will indeed lodge a complaint to the IVO before long. 🙄

Update 2 (2019-07-28):

This patient is happy with the medicine and happy with the CORRECT diagnosis, despite the debased attempt above to force ME to suggest otherwise in order for them to provide service. ⚠️🙄

My DEAD SERIOUS no touching boundary for the healthcare staff keeps getting stonewalled. Boundary issues detected! 🕳️🙄

I predicted I'd get the silent treatment next, and thus asked for a specialist doctor. AND I put in an request to renew my prescription for the medicine that does the trick anyway, despite the propagated false claim that it doesn't. It does though. 🛑🙄

Update 3 (2019-08-02):

The other day, I finally got an appointment within a reasonable timeframe, for today. I immediately voiced my reservations in a note in my journal given that I was now to meet the same doc who got things so wrong (including the category, that looked like a physical meeting though it was a non-physical).

I went to the appointment earlier and am now chilling, some time after having gone out again to pick up the medicine.

The head of the clinic - a psychologist - joined the meeting, perhaps having gotten passed my complaint to this patient committee/authority thing since they had called me the day before after I filled in a form (only to minimize my grievance and undermine me though).

I tried to convey my personality and at the suggestion of spirometry and a lung x-ray to see if anything is amiss for instance, I said I can tell things are the same and that x-rays are carcinogenic, respectively. The doc then argued that tobacco causes cancer too, to which I said that is why to not add more risk since I would not submit to be treated for cancer anyway, and that my level of non-attachment includes my own life (I had mentioned my father passed away when I was 18, since we talked about my scool years, and that it was not "must have been difficult" to me). Such is my personality.

Anyway, we then discussed my medication. I requested an aerosol bronchodilator and an aerosol chamber instead of the powder, and suggested to go back to having separate salmeterol, to enable to cut down on the anti-inflammatory corticostereoids (salmeterol can never be prescribed alone though).

Now I'm prescribed Serevent Discus (50 microg salmeterol) twice a day, and Flutide Evohaler (125 microg fluticasone) 1-2 doses, twice a day - instead of the combination one, Seretide 50/250 twice. Also Ventoline Evohaler (salbutamol). GSK city.

The end of the too long story, I hope. There you have it.

[blackgoddessofsassiness]

medical marijuana doctors

With a California medicinal marijuana card or a cannabis club card California residents can legally get hold of medical marijuana from any of the medical marijuana dispensaries within the state. So search for something like "Denver dispensary overview" or simply "the perfect Denver dispensaries" and you need to get you the appropriate results. Subsequently, each dispensary has its own brand and array of merchandise. With your card in hand, it’s now time to make your first medical marijuana dispensary. Most individuals choose to go to a medical marijuana dispensary with their prescription. Marijuana is not solely very effective in treating various illnesses and diseases however it additionally has grow to be a drug which is extraordinarily protected -- safer than most medicines prescribed every single day. Medical marijuana has been extremely successful within the treatment of all above-talked about diseases. Some states, including Washington State, don't essentially concern a medical marijuana card. He joked "when I have seven-eighths of a gram of marijuana, I consider myself to be out of marijuana." He explained that he has a "medical marijuana" card issued in California.

Medical marijuana card ensures to provide excessive stage services & fulfill their buyer needs. Although the Florida Medical Marijuana Card software and qualification process is frustrating, My Florida Inexperienced has worked onerous to streamline the process, provide entry to the perfect Medical Marijuana medical doctors, and safe affected person data with HIPAA-compliant technology. If you’re a former member of the military, you could possibly possibly be exempt from submitting an software for a CDL. Merely fill out our New Member Form and Affected person and Caregiver Waiver to become a affected person with Revolutionary Clinics. If a designated caregiver is authorized to develop medical marijuana, they might grow exterior, however must comply with the law. Any intent to renew after the expiration date would require a brand new software for both you and your designated caregiver. If you'll relatively complete a bodily software than going the online route, you may download your patient software proper here.

With this card, you can see the physician at house on your telephone with our app. Other caveats: Cops operating your license will not be able to see that you are a patient, however they can use their own senses to detect impaired driving or marijuana in a vehicle. Can simply anybody see them? You may read extra about the many conditions that medical marijuana helps folks like you alleviate on daily basis, click Qualifying Situations for Advice for extra info. There are lots of circumstances which can be shared on most lists. Weedmaps and Leafly are each great resources for finding cannabis-friendly physicians near you. Solely doctor permitted patients can use cannabis legally in California. Now, you still can’t grow your personal cannabis, however you should buy it and devour it. If a patient has a health situation that may benefit from the use of cannabis, the place would he or she find a listing of medical marijuana docs?

We all know it may be difficult to search out consistent and dependable skilled medical marijuana docs in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Know the legal guidelines on how caregivers can present assistance. Two state supreme courts have now so concluded (these surprised by Bourgoin doubtless both didn't read Coates, didn't understand Coates, or forgot Coates). At this stage, it's now seemingly to attain the agreed quantities of medical marijuana dispensaries, among different things provided now in some nations within the United States. Drying and shredding of the 'hemp' plant is how marijuana is produced. He ought to possess a medical marijuana license. If there is a cannabis therapy program in your state, learning how you can get a medical cannabis card is essential for benefiting from it. The very fact that you've got a Registry Card is protected by State Regulation and you could choose to maintain your ownership fully non-public. CBD is fully THC free and may be made use of for in depth pediatric care for kids and sensitive adults too.

The Compassionate Use Act allowed for the expansion of the MMP’s outlets and qualifying conditions, but the DOH has not even begun the method for increasing the program. If you happen to don’t thoughts paying just a little more, their premium service will delve even deeper and produce a last report which is one of the crucial detailed now we have encountered. However, it’s good to maintain the above in thoughts when making use of on your card. However, having a cannabis card eliminates the sales tax and the financial savings start so as to add up very quickly. Everybody pays other taxes, either immediately or indirectly, together with a 15 % state excise tax and pot-particular native taxes (four percent on gross sales in Sacramento). Be an Illinois state resident with proof of residency. The online verification program doesn't disclose any information about our patients. GreenStar patients obtain greater than a physician recommendation, we guarantee patients will be educated by a highly credible staff. Some folks won't really feel that it is helping them, and others will find surefire relief from using it. Notice: You will have to pay a certification price. How Does Medical Marijuana Work For Weight Loss From Lack Of Hunger?

As more and more states legalize marijuana for medicinal use to qualified patients, one of several questions asked "Is medical marijuana addictive?" With opiate medications being highly addictive if abused with significant perils of overdose and withdrawal, you should either confirm marijuana having addictive qualities or to refute the notion. The answer is that medicinal marijuana may have a psychological dependence however it doesn't create a physiologic dependence then not just a true addiction.

Crohn's disease represents a chronic autoimmune inflammatory bowel disorder that creates intense, severe pain. The cause is unknown. Digestion is adversely medical marijuana card affected, along with rare cases it is usually fatal. The disease is destructive towards the intesting. There are over 500,000 people in the US that suffer from Crohn's disease. In most states who've approved medical cannabis, Crohn's disease can be an accepted condition for usage. Medical Marijuana based drug therapy when administered at early stages and also on a continuing basis seems promising in reducing a lot of the disabilities linked to cerebral palsy. Treatment using cannabis seems to alleviate the the signs of different types of palsy including athetoid cerebral palsy that leads to involuntary and uncontrolled movements inside affected muscles and ataxic cerebral palsy where youngsters are extremely unsteady and shaky for the reason that minds in charge of the a feeling of balance and depth perception may take a hit.

The preliminary results presented through the researches again confirmed that there was an unbelievable improvement inside the OCB (obsessive compulsive behavior) and involuntary vocal tics after delta 9 THC treatment when compared to the placebo. Furthermore, investigators figured not simply was medicinal marijuana secure and efficient for these signs and symptoms of TS but also the test subjects would not report any cognitive impairment after it turned out administered for many years.

It is also recognized to have cognitive effects, reducing the stress and panic amount of the person. The feeling of being high 's what helps it be in comparison to alcohol. The ban for this substance also produces in mind the prohibition on alcohol. Many doctors and researchers, together with average citizens, will verify the fact alcohol leads to a good deal more problems for the body, mentally and physically, than cannabis.

[themangaguide]

A prime Flaw in Our fitness system

the great ruler manga With the means we treat our fitness within the u.s. it's much a shock that the common lifespan is still over 70 years old. it's miles necessary to understand what we achieve that inaccurate so you can keep away from the horrible problems that numerous people struggle with in the direction of the cease in their way of lives. a variety of this is brought on by the way we live as well as various circumstances are due to what our medical professionals supply us. We consider our docs, however they tend to prescribe the drug that makes them the wonderful loan. it is in reality an incorrect system where we applaud medical doctors for suggesting medical medications that are not completely established to work. a couple of have actually not even been examined for side effects. This has caused several suits and you would certainly factor that would shut down the medicine companies, yet it does not. They make a lot money off of a brand-new release of a drug that they can deal with problems in the future in the medication's existence. They definitely plan for those in their cost variety. You wish to be aware of what a drug should certainly do for your framework before you place it into your body. an additional component our clinical doctors not give us is an organic therapy or any kind of form of all-natural treatment. we're such an immediate society that we have a tablet or surgical operation for almost anything. in situation you do not like the way you appearance you can have elegance surgical operation and also if you are obese you might take a prescription pill or even have your stomach changed. This isn't always a healthy method to stay due to the truth it can cause numerous problems later in way of livings. manga online - We do not need to paintings difficult to drop weight or be considered that we look a positive way. It isn't constantly taken into consideration appealing to look older and to have wrinkles. let's accept it; we reside in a really superficial culture that would certainly as an alternative gamble on a high-risk tablet than do some point the correct way. Why natural is a higher fashion to stay if you intend to remain a much better as well as longer way of lives, then organic is the way to go. forestall consuming rubbish and taking drugs that aren't proper for your frame. this indicates you need to acknowledge just how to natural treatments that allow you address any one of your fitness concerns. all of it begins along with your fat burning program since most of the important things we put into our food aren't fix to your body. Your body will thanks in instance you eliminate as much of the polished sugar and also flour that you need to your food plan. it's miles better to pick all-natural sugar as well as whole wheat or grain merchandise as a result of the truth they are natural. Our our bodies have been not intended to consume dishes that are not excellent for us. it is likewise necessary to be cautious with the kind of meat you feast on. a few meats have dangerous hormonal agents heading to hurt your structure. these meats require to be saved out of your personal home and also from your structure. that is wherein the hassle is available in since we rate extra for organic dishes than we do for refined foods. It does no longer seem to make sense that food we do little or no also other than bundle and sell cost more than food that has to go through a procedure initially. lamentably, that is the truth, however there are methods to stay clear of dreadful meals without investing a lot of money.

Additional helpful information concerning manga found here - https://mangaguidestoread.home.blog/2019/03/08/wfxu0rx8hre44orahp5gfc/

[wordsandshawn]

Doc

Requested: Can you do one, where (y/n) is a pretty good and famous doctor. There is an event where (y/n) meets Shawn and both fall in love immediately.

Note: Sorry this isn’t exactly what you requested, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. 

Masterlist

~~~

It’s your first year working as a Pediatrician. It took a lot of years of school to get to this point, but you’re so excited to be in the first year as a practicing physician. You’ve always loved working with kids and you dreamed of being a pediatrician for as long as you can remember. You’re finishing up a file from your last patient when the nurse comes over to you. She hands you a file, and looks at you, eyes filled with excitement. You give her a questioning look and that’s all it takes for her to gush, “Shawn Mendes is in there.” She whisper-yells to you while pointing at a closed door.

“Huh?” You ask, confused.

“Shawn Mendes, please tell me you know who he is. Please tell me you do not live under a rock.”

You think for a few seconds, “Oh he’s a singer, right?”

“Yes, and he’s a beautiful man.”

That’s such an odd statement, you think to yourself, but shrug it off because she’s always been a little weird. “Okay, thanks.” You say, looking at the file. The name says Aaliyah Mendes, 13 years old. So you assume it is his sister. You go over the file, getting familiar with the case before you walk in. You’ve been meeting tons of new people this last year since you’re under someone else’s practice. The doctor who started this practice is planning to retire soon so you’re starting to transition taking care of his patients since he will no longer be working in a year or so.

You enter the room, and recognize Shawn immediately. You probably wouldn’t have even recognized him, but since you already knew it was him, you remember seeing his picture online or something. You’re not really big on celebrities or any of that type of thing, but you don’t live under a rock, contrary to popular belief.

“Hi, I’m doctor y/l/n.” You introduce yourself, shaking Aaliyah’s hand first then shaking Shawn’s. You tell them a little about yourself, what school you received your degree at and some other information. You do this with every new patient you meet because their parents are often very critical and concerned with meeting such a young doctor, but you don’t mind and you don’t blame them because you would be the exact same if it were your child’s doctor, although you don’t have children yet, so that isn’t really possible. Either way, you can somewhat understand.

“So you have a cough, and you’ve had a fever and a sore throat?” You ask Aaliyah, to which she nods in response.

“How long have you had the fever for?” You ask her, and she looks like she’s thinking.

Shawn answers for her. “Two days,” He says.

“And the sore throat?”

“Since Sunday.” Aaliyah answers this time.

“Alright, let me just listen to your breathing.” You say, taking out your stethoscope. You do the whole exam, but you can’t help but keep glancing at Shawn every few seconds. Sometimes he catches you glancing at him, to which he smiles. And you catch him staring at you a few times too. You don’t wonder why he’s famous, he’s got the good looks for it for sure. But it is odd because he doesn’t seem famous, he seems normal, maybe more mature than the average kid his age, but normal nonetheless. You end up talking to him while you do the exam as well. He asks a little about medschool, and you answer all his questions. You talk to Aaliyah as well and realize that you’re really enjoying this time you have with these two. You normally are so focused on the medical portion of the examination that you’re barely thinking of the people. Normally you can feel the parents watching your every move and judging you against the other doctor, which causes you feel stressed out and pressured. But this time you feel like Shawn and Aaliyah really aren’t too concerned about judging you, but seem to be enjoying the conversation you’ve begun to have as well.

At the end of the exam, you’re kind of sad to see them go, even though you know you’ll probably see Aaliyah again sometime soon, you don’t know if you’ll ever see Shawn again seeing as though he just brought Aaliyah in today because his parents were busy. But he’s too old to be a patient, so unless his parents are busy the next time Aaliyah is sick then you don’t see why he’d be back. Even after you say goodbye, after prescribing Aaliyah medication, you can’t seem to forget about him. You think about him while you see the rest of your patients for the day, and even late into the night after you’re back at your apartment.

The next morning you’re at work when the receptionist stops you while you’re walking by. She says that Shawn is on the phone and he’s very concerned about his sister and he needs to talk to you right away. You’re suddenly worried, what could be wrong with his sister? Her sickness was nothing out of the ordinary and nothing to be concerned about. You quickly go over everything from the exam the day before, trying to remember if there were any signs you might have missed, but you can’t come up with anything. You wonder if there is really something wrong with her, but you were too distracted to notice it. Your heart is beating wildly at the possibility of your mistake as you take the phone. “Hello?” You ask.

“Hi Dr y/l/n.” Shawn says.

“Hi Shawn, is there something wrong with Aaliyah? I thought it was a common cold, but is she feeling a lot worse?” You ask, concerned.

He chuckles, “No, Aaliyah is feeling a lot better today, actually. I just said that so they’d let me talk to you.” He admits.

“Oh,” Is all you can say since you’re so surprised.

“I should’ve done this yesterday, but I couldn’t get up the nerve to do it then. I think you’re really pretty and sweet and I’d love the opportunity to get to know you better. Do you want to maybe grab dinner sometime this week?” He asks.

You’re silent for a few seconds, in total shock. Finally you recover and say the only thing you can possibly think to say, “Yes.”