#Foods to avoid with thyroid problems

[helslastangel]

Your most vulnerable areas according to the signs

Disclaimer: These are based on personal observations and may not resonate for everyone with these placements. If it doesn’t apply, let it fly 🪽

Aries - Head, Face, Eyes, Brain, Muscular System

If you have significant Aries placements, you may be prone to migraines and headaches. If you play sports or work a highly active/physical job, be careful not to strain your muscles unnecessarily - learn the correct ways to lift and throw objects and maneuver your body. You're passionate and need lots of stimulation, but take time to rest and enjoy some quiet moment so that your eyes and mind get a break.

Taurus - Neck, Throat, Vocal Cords, Thyroid, Metabolic System

If you have significant Taurus placements, you may be prone to frequent colds, sore throat and earache. If you're a singer or heavily rely on your voice for your work, you'll want to take extra care to not damage your vocal cords, even accidentally. You may find that weight comes easily to you for seemingly no reason - have your thyroid checked regularly for signs of under-activity.

Gemini - Arms, Shoulders, Hands, Lungs, Nerves, Nervous System

If you have significant Gemini placements, you may be prone to coughs, colds, sinus issues and respiratory discomfort in general. Remembering to get enough fresh air and avoiding habits like smoking are probably in your best interest. You can also struggle with anxiety and fatigue from nervous exhaustion. Meditation and yoga can help tremendously in these areas.

Cancer - Chest, Breasts, Stomach, Uterus, Diaphragm, Upper Alimentary System

If you have significant Cancer placements, you may be prone to chest pains and digestive issues. Whether the pain is caused by stress, anxiety, poor breathing, or even having heavier breasts, you'll want to identify the root cause and take steps to resolve it before so it doesn't lead to depression. Therapy, meditation, improving your posture or investing in properly supportive garments can help in this regard.

Leo - Chest, Upper Back, Heart, Spine, Cardiac System

If you have significant Leo placements, you may be prone to heartbeat irregularities and high blood pressure. If there is any lesson you must learn from the king of the jungle, it is how to take time to relax. Be mindful of your energy levels and practice keeping calm even in the most infuriating situations. Eat heart-healthy foods and don't be afraid to walk away from people and places that trigger you to roar.

Virgo - Abdomen, Intestines, Lower Liver, Alimentary Canal, Spleen

If you have significant Virgo placements, you may be prone to weight problems (under or over) and stomach/bowel issues. You carry most of your stress in your midsection and have ongoing issues with your appetite and tolerance for food. Either you don't get enough due to stress and food aversions/complications, or you indulge too much in an attempt to relieve your anxiety. You're highly observant and don't miss too many details, so you're in a good position to listen to your body and find a routine that suits your mood and lifestyle.

Libra - Lower Back, Skin, Kidneys, Bladder, Ovaries, Blood

If you have significant Libra placements, you may deal with sensitive skin and also digestive issues. If you like to eat a lot of rich foods, you may need to cut back. Go easy on your stomach. It's okay to have the things you like but do so in moderation so you don't end up feeling constipated or having other bowel issues. Take a little extra time to moisturize your skin and drink a lot of water.

Scorpio - Genitals, Groin, Colon, Sex Organs, Gall Bladder, Rectum, Urogenital System

If you have significant Scorpio placements, you must absolutely take care of your sexual and hormonal health, otherwise you could experience more issues with your libido than others. Nothing wrong with being celibate or abstinent, but if your reasons are because you simply cannot get in the mood, you should get things checked out. And of course, if you have the opposite situation, stay safe and avoid STDs like the plague. Everyone should, but you can have an especially bad or treatment-resistant reaction.

Sagittarius - Hips, Thighs, Sciatic Nerves, Lower Spine, Liver, Autonomic Nervous System

If you have significant Sagittarius placements, you may be prone to falls And injuries that impair your ability to walk. If you have nerve issues or eyesight problems, you want to especially be careful to avoid accidents. As you may experience worse or consequences than some others. Even if you don't experience any major injury, you may notice that you have an unusual walk/gait, or others may point this out to you. Take care to maintain good posture and avoid reckless behavior/dangerous situations.

Capricorn - Skin, Hair, Knees, Bones, Teeth, Joints, Skeletal System

If you have significant Capricorn placements, You may be prone to broken bones or have already experienced this. You're not necessarily a weak person. Rather, you may have strong enough bones, but are just likely to break them if you're not careful about exerting too much force and not paying enough attention during physical activities. The main advice for you is to simply be careful and look before you leap. Literally. I have Capricorn moon and broke a finger playing volleyball and a toe playing soccer. I know two Capricorn suns who broke their arms from doing parkour. My 5H Capricorn BFF broke their wrist from skateboarding. You've been warned. On the bright side, you likely have strong, distinctive, or good looking teeth, maybe even both.

Aquarius - Lower Legs, Calves, Ankles, Circulatory System, Elimination

If you have significant Aquarius placements, you are either smooth in your movements, or you are clumsy and prone to stumbling and running into things. You may also have issues with the circulation in your legs, or have weaker ankles that don't support you very well when walking or standing still for long periods. This may not be something you can do much about through at-home remedies, but if you experience things like varicose veins or discomfort in your legs, have a doctor refer you to a specialist who can recommend corrective shoes or other treatment options.

Pisces - Feet, Toes, Body Fluids, Lymphatic System

If you have significant Pisces placements, I hate to tell you this, but you Are likely to have a weaker immune system than most. You are prone To worrying, or at least overthinking, quite a bit, which doesn't Help matters in the slightest. On a less serious, but no less irritating note. You may also deal with several food issues, including bunions, plantar fasciitis and fungal infections. All of my Pisces sun friends have complained to me about getting athlete's foot from walking around change rooms without slippers, or being unable to wear shoes they liked because of a bunion. But on the bright side, you folks usually have nice feet. Even the men. And I am not a foot person at ALL, so that's saying something coming from me.

𓆩♡𓆪

↤ go back to the masterlist

[prolifeproliberty]

10 months on the Carnivore Diet - my results

I know back in January I mentioned in a couple of posts that I was trying out the Carnivore Diet. Back then it was still new, and I was doing a bunch of research. Now I’ve been fully on it for 10 months, and it’s been amazing.

What I’m eating:

Meat (mostly beef and pork/bacon), eggs, butter, some cheese (mostly used as a garnish on eggs). I aim for a fat to protein ratio of between 75/25 and 80/20.

Typical breakfast: bacon and scrambled eggs cooked in bacon fat

Typical lunch: Chomp beef sticks or more recently these Greenridge Farm beef snack sticks from Costco that have really clean ingredients. I’ve also done leftovers and breakfast casseroles.

Typical dinner: Beef burger patties with scrambled eggs

What I’m drinking:

Water with electrolytes, Coffee with heavy cream, occasional low-carb alcohol (red wine, whisky, low or no carb drinks like vodka soda)

Supplements:

Bacopa monnieri (500mg capsule, 1/day) for my ADHD, Codeage beef organ supplement (1 capsule per day) as a multivitamin.

Exercise:

Basically none, outside of some walking and some minor weight lifting (biceps, triceps, squats) - nothing strenuous or consistent. I am working now on getting my walking and weightlifting more consistent, along with incorporating some abdominal exercises.

My results:

Weight lost: 50 lbs

Cycle regularity restored

Significantly lighter menstrual cramps

More energy, less anxiety/depression

Better immune system (still get sick occasionally, but much less frequently)

Biggest victory: my cravings for sugar and carbs went away pretty much entirely after about 2 weeks. I now have no desire to go back to the way I used to eat, making this the first diet I’ve ever tried that I‘ve been able to stick with for more than a few weeks, and certainly the first one I think I could stay on indefinitely.

What made this work for me:

The high fat content of my diet is very satiating, which makes it much easier to say no to carbs/sugary snacks. Also, artificial sweeteners actually make you crave sugar, so I cut those as well when I started the diet in January. I think that made a huge difference.

For context, I had NO ability to moderate carbs and sugar before this diet. I had a huge problem with binge eating sugar, especially if there was “free food” (a party, donuts in the staff lounge, etc). On previous diets, I could always come up with an excuse to eat sugar. Somebody’s birthday, I had a long day, it’s just this once and then I’ll be good, etc.

Now it’s not even a temptation.

How I learned about the diet and did my research:

I started with YouTube videos from people like Steak and Butter Gal. She does a lot of videos with recipes and tips for staying consistent, and she also does a lot of collaborations and interviews with doctors who recommend the diet, such as Dr. Elizabeth Bright. I went into researching the diet more for my hormonal health than for weight loss, and Dr. Bright is the expert on hormonal health (especially for women) and thyroid health.

This lead to more videos from different doctors and reading studies (including studies on the “link” between eating red meat and problems like heart disease and cancer, which were poorly done and don’t show what they claim to show).

How I handle social gatherings and holidays:

Everyone who knows me irl knows about my diet by now, either because they noticed my weight loss or because they’ve seen me eat! This means friends and family who are hosting will often ask me if I can eat certain things they’re planning to serve and will try to accommodate me.

It’s not too tough though because most social gatherings with food include some kind of meat, and it’s often “buffet style” so I can skip things I can’t eat. I generally try to avoid processed foods unless I can check the ingredients and make sure they’re free of preservatives, dextrose, sugar, etc, but one of my “cheats” is eating the meats and cheeses from charcuterie boards at parties.

If I suspect I won’t be able to eat much or I’m just not sure, I’ll often eat before I go so I’m not sitting there hungry. Then as long as there’s something I can eat, I can still participate in the social aspect of eating with friends and family.

Why I don’t eat fruits/vegetables:

I will occasionally have small amounts of vegetables, usually as a garnish (like I do with cheese). I also use medicinal herbs in the form of tinctures, capsules, or teas - though I need them much less often now! However, avoiding vegetables for the most part simplifies the diet, reduces my inflammation, and means I don’t have to count carbs like I would on keto.

The foods I eat all have zero or virtually zero carbs, and I know they won’t mess with my digestion or make me feel bad. It’s simple, it’s easy to follow, and I don’t have any real need or craving for the veggies. Occasionally I’ll have a couple pickle slices with my burger patties at a restaurant or some avocado with my bacon and eggs, but that’s about it. Basically, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Please feel free to ask questions and check out the channels and videos I linked above to learn more!

Starting a new diet is obviously tricky this time of year, but January 1st will be here before you know it. If you’re looking to make a change, maybe this could be the thing that works for you like it did for me!

[feminist-space]

"Most of what “public health” does for Americans is taken for granted. Before the Covid pandemic, most people probably didn’t think about it at all. Yet the fact that, in most places in the United States, we can count on the water we drink to be safe, that the food we buy is not contaminated with e-coli or listeria, and that we don’t have to deal with dreaded childhood diseases that ripped through our communities only a few decades ago, is a testament to the tireless work of many, unheralded, often unknown heroes. This invisible safety net has been built up over the years, always underfunded and understaffed, always not-enough, but it’s all we’ve got.

...

By now, we’ve heard Kennedy’s views on everything from fluoride in drinking water to childhood vaccines, to threats to recreate the NIH and FDA in the image of his own quackery. Let’s be clear: Kennedy’s views are not “alternative” to orthodoxy, meant to shake up the system—they are verifiably false. They are nonsense.

Let’s take his claims on fluoride as an example. RFK Jr. wrote on X in early November: “Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.” Um—no. In high doses over prolonged periods of time—as with many other substances (even water and oxygen!)—exposure to fluoride can be a problem, but not in the small concentrations we see in drinking water. Lest we forget: Fluoride has been a bugaboo of the far right since the 1950s, when fluoridation was supposed to be part of a communist plot to take over America.

And since conspiracy theories know no borders, we can also look at a natural experiment up in Calgary, Canada, for further evidence. In 2011, Calgary’s’s city council banned fluoridation, and now is set to reintroduce it next year. Why? Because since fluoridation ended, cavities in children’s teeth have become more numerous and larger, often requiring treatment under general anesthesia and/or intravenous antibiotic therapy to fight infections associated with tooth decay. As one researcher at the University of Calgary has said, the decision to ban fluoridation had a clear result: It was a source of “avoidable and potentially life-threatening disease, pain, suffering, misery and expense…especially [for] very young children and their families.”

As for vaccination, Kennedy’s views are long-standing and well-known. He has suggested that “there is no vaccine that is safe and effective,” and he still clings to the long-debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. More recently, during the Covid pandemic, he created a multimillion-dollar anti-vaccine juggernaut to dissuade people from getting vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2.

There is no person right now more vital to the anti-vaccine movement than RFK Jr., and his impact has been deadly. By convincing people to forgo routine pediatric vaccinations, he has endangered the lives of thousands of kids, stoked fear in families with autistic children, and in at least once instance was partially responsible for a devastating outbreak of measles. In 2019, 83 people, mostly children, died of the preventable disease in Samoa. While Kennedy has denied that his words and actions were responsible for the outbreak, he has supported anti-vaccination efforts on the islands, written to the nation’s prime minister about the dangers of vaccines, and visited Samoa to meet with anti-vaxxers and subsequently praised them for their work. As Derek Lowe, a columnist from the United States’ leading scientific journal, Science, has said: “Kennedy’s views on science and medicine are not only wrong, they are actively harmful and destructive. He has used them to make a great deal of money, and he has lied about them to interviewers and reporters whenever he finds it convenient.”

...

RFK Jr. is the poster boy for the new Trump administration, a rich man who never has had to worry about a thing in his life, putting the lives of ordinary Americans in jeopardy because he thinks he knows better than scientists. In fact, the man who thought it was a good idea to stage a hit-and-run with a dead baby bear and a bicycle in Central Park has shown a lack of judgment across the board for a long while. But he is part of an emerging kakistocracy-in-waiting that will be run by plutocrats and zealots. Our public health system in America is fragile and shouldn’t be a plaything. Once he’s done with his games, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men may not be able to put our public health infrastructure back together again. The damage may be lasting and profound.

But we are not powerless. So much of public health happens locally—and we can protect this precious national resource by speaking up and speaking out, at our city or town council meetings, calling and writing our state representatives, our mayors and our governors. This is going to be necessary work. As my Yale colleague Timothy Snyder has said: “Defend institutions.… Institutions do not protect themselves. So choose an institution you care about and take its side.” This may be your local public health department or Planned Parenthood clinic, a mental health clinic or needle exchange program, or services for LGBTQ+ or immigrant populations in your neighborhood.

These are all part of what makes public health happen day in and day out in our communities. Deprive RFK Jr. and Donald Trump of their power; take it away from them with focus and tenacity. Chip away at their campaign to destroy public health in America. These kinds of small acts will add up and will make a difference. If these men are the disease, let us be the cure."

[fishenjoyer1]

Fish of the Day

Today's fish of the day is the guppy, by special request of @guppiesareamazing !

The guppy, also known as millions in some English dialects, and scientific name Poecilia reticulata, is a well known freshwater fish. Common across every continent but Antartica, the natural range of the guppy stretches across the warm and tropical waters of South America and the Caribbean, from as far North as Venezuela, far South as Bolivia, and stretching Pacific to Atlantic oceans. Living in smaller streams or ponds due to poor swimming skills in faster waters, these fish are known for their ability to withstand brackish and slightly salty freshwaters, with an ability to be acclimated to saltwater (similar to their close relatives, mollies). Although, saltwater guppies have far fewer offspring. These fish are benthic, living on the river bed, but require water temperatures around 23-24 °C to survive. They can live in any elevation, with some restriction on increased pressure, and due to their highly adaptable way, are incredibly common in the aquarium trade!

The reason for the widespread populations across the globe is due to their habit of eating mosquito larvae, meaning they were often intentionally imported in an effort to control malaria. Although current studies show this was ineffective at best as a control method. However, these populations have caused issues worldwide. Since they are highly adaptable, guppies tend to kill out local species, bringing both competition for food, and disease. In particular, guppies are known for carrying: a parasitic flatworm species known as Gyrodactylus turnbulli which causes the host to swim erratically before dying, waiting for other fish to feed on the corpse so it can infect another host. Along with fin rot, ich, swim bladder disease, and columnaris bacteria, all of which is infectious to other fishes. In the United States, guppies are known particularly for being a problem along the Southwest, and Southeast, driving out cyprinids and killifishes, and damaging damselfly populations.

As discussed earlier, the diet of the guppy is made up of algae, zooplankton, insects/larvae, and surrounding detritus. Foraging for sustenance is common, and they travel in shaling groups as large as 30 individuals. These foraging groups help keep the fish calm, and spending less energy on anti predatory behaviours, leading to guppies that are less aggressive and less competitive, the same reason they need to be kept with multiple of their species in hobby tanks and captivity. In both wild and captivity, this fish is often predated on, especially considering they only grow to an adult size of 4-7cm in length.

However, guppies have several tactics for avoiding predation. Considering the bright colors of male guppies, the schools help populations of guppies under high predations, as sholes band together to make antipredator decisions. In these groups, some guppies act as inspectors, approaching predators to assess the danger, and are thought to report back to the larger group, although research is still being conducted. Other tactics, such as the ability to darken the iris of the eyes from silver to black, draws predator attention toward the head of the animal, giving the fish an easier time pivoting out of the way of a strike than if the predator aims for the center of mass. All these abilities to avoid predators only aid the guppies ability to adapt to new areas, making them such an issue as an invasive species.

The lifecycle of the guppy is like that of many other small fish. There are two generations per year, as male fish mature at the ripe age of 2 months and females mature at 3 months, with maturity causing males to exhibit sexul dimorphism dependent on the amount of a certain thyroid hormone that influences color patterns, as female guppies are attracted to brighter colors. Many of these bright colored males are bred specifically for different bright and flashy colors in the freshwater trade, leading to the many different variants of them in the hobby aquarium market. Their total lifespan is only around 2 years, and most fish will survive to see 3 breeding seasons total throughout their lifespan.

Female guppies give birth to live young, who can swim immediately and are often eaten by the parents soon after birth. In mating itself, females will take on multiple male mates a season, despite being incredibly picky about which they choose. This is thought to be in an effort to avoid inbreeding. Most of the choices that female fish make are based on the number and prevalence of orange spots on the flank and caudal tail of the fish. The orange spots are made up of a pigment that the guppies can not synthesize, and must be obtained in the diet. These spots show how healthy the male is, and is a good show for the presence of parasites. After a show of courtship behaviour and an acceptance, the female fish will gestate for 21-30 days, before giving birth to anywhere from 30-200 fry over the course of several hours. Although common, female guppies do not always eat their fry, and this can be prevented entirely by keeping the adult guppies happy and full of live prey, such as brine shrimp, well raising fry.

That's the guppy, everybody! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

[darkmaga-returns]

Story at-a-glance

GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic and Wegovy, originally intended as diabetes medications, have gained popularity for weight loss, leading to global shortages despite having modest benefits

Research shows these drugs reduce seizures and substance addiction risks, but they increase the likelihood of 19 other health conditions, including fainting, kidney problems and pancreatic issues

Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain, with potential risks of acute pancreatitis and thyroid cancer, making the trade-off dangerous for users

Ozempic's manufacturer Novo Nordisk reported $40.6 billion in revenue, highlighting how the "magic pill" mentality and ultraprocessed food consumption create a profitable cycle for pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers

Instead of relying on weight loss drugs, focus on optimizing cellular energy production through dietary changes, avoiding vegetable oils and supporting your gut and mitochondrial health

[clovemaysilee]

WIP wednesday

tagging @julietasgf @ylvisruinedmylife @majorsoapfan @ongreenergrasses @atefingersdagger

a small idea I played with of clato in a zombie apocalypse but in a modern au setting. inspired by @atefingersdagger as well as @bloodmoon-spades sending me that ask for the dailyclatoisms

He was sent on a rather simple errand, at the urging of his bossy, demanding, erratic sort-of stepsister, to find whatever hadn't already been looted at the nearest gas station and collect the scraps for themselves. Humbling as the task is, Cato has more interesting things to do than search for crumbs in a barren wasteland, like watching the gorgeous stranger who still hadn't noticed him lurking nearby as she slept with her head leaning against the peeling, sloppily painted wall of the building, her stringy dark hair coming out from underneath her stained grey hoodie and falling down her shoulders in uncombed waves.

Staring would have been considered rude, in ordinary circumstances. Manners were the first thing that went out the window when the end of the world arrived. Still, out of respect, and because she looks far too vulnerable in this state in a way that makes him feel like something worse than a voyeuristic stalker, he manages to tear his gaze away, ignoring his natural curiosity that, despite his better judgement, instinctively pulls him toward a woman who isn't even his problem, a gravitational attraction. Leaving her there is the smart thing to do, if not the most decent.

Of course, in this new age, decency became about as much of a priority as manners.

Early morning sunlight peaks out from behind the horizon, giving his surroundings a sort of rustic, rural feel, intensified by the abandoned road that leads away from the gas station to the world beyond. If he didn't know better, and focused only on the endless stretch of road meeting the bright pink sky, it would be easy to pretend that nothing had changed, and his life wasn't ruled by a series of decisions that all were motivated by a desire to avoid having his brain devoured. Somewhere in the distance, a horde of ravenous corpses with sloughing cement-colored skin trapped in a perpetual state of decay could easily make him one of their own, and all of this will have been for nothing.

Cato won't let that happen. With renewed purpose, he grabs his baseball bat from the passenger seat, tightens his hold on it until the knuckles become whitened with the effort, and heads inside, browsing the emptied shelves in the futile hopes that the mobs might have missed something.

No food, no drink, the refrigerators are no longer operating with the electricity having been cut off. The cash register is empty as expected - not that currency in the form of green slips of paper had much use anymore.

It is only by accident that he clumsily collides with just the right spot in the wall, revealing an impressively hidden bottle of liquor, miraculously still in decent condition. “Hell yeah!” He roars his appreciation to the desolate store, having little need to care for stealth, not when zombies relied mostly on their sight to find prey. Taking a swig of his newfound post apocalyptic treat, and promptly coughing in discomfort as the vile liquid burns a path down his throat, he ignores the whisper of common sense that reminds him Glimmer won't be particularly happy, or interested in drowning their shared sorrows with alcohol.

A second sweep of the aisles, just so he can tell Glimmer that he was thorough, predictably gives him nothing to work with. Cato is prepared for a relatively uneventful drive back home, even dares to whistle an old song that was playing in between bursts of static from his barely functional radio.

The sharp, vicious curve of a kitchen knife placing pressure against the lump of thyroid cartilage in his neck definitely throws him off. His back collides with the doorway, and he blinks uselessly at the smaller figure before it occurs to him that now would be a great time to defend himself.

An angelic pair of warm hazelnut eyes stare him down, narrowing into catlike slits of contempt. She barely comes up to his shoulder, and has to crane her neck all the way back to meet his gaze, yet Cato so easily finds himself unconsciously submitting to her will. He could grasp that delicate wrist of hers with ease and twist it to an unnatural angle, or rearrange their positions so that she is cornered against a wall instead.

Cato does neither of these things, releasing an ill-advised bark of laughter at the situation. To his dismay, this might be the only human contact he'll have for the foreseeable future, with someone who wasn't like an irritating little sister to him. He knows well to keep his hands to himself, but his mind wanders anyhow, brings his attention - against his will - to the fact that the stranger is just inches away from pressing her chest against his, or how the cotton material of her jacket might feel underneath his roughened, scarred palms.

“You've got a car,” she observes finally, voice gritty and crackling with disuse. The force of her blade against his fragile skin does not ease up in the slightest.

Glimmer would have groaned in exasperation and then slapped him for his recklessness, this girl looks close to relieving him of his lifeblood if he makes a wrong move, but Cato just can't help himself. “Oh, really? Huh, thank you for pointing that out to me. I'm glad you like the car. Not surprising, really. The ladies usually dig it.”

Cheeky responses are not the wisest way to avoid aggravating dangerous women with lethal weapons. His sarcasm is not a fatal offense, because although her jaw clenches at his brazen words and he can feel a trickle of blood being set loose to drip onto stainless steel, he is lucky enough to still be breathing. Judging by the flat, disapproving line of her mildly tempting mouth, this might not be the case for very long.

Her irritation - observed in tiny details like her wrinkled thick eyebrows or the furious redness in her cheeks that are dotted with freckles like blood splatters - makes her distractingly pretty. It's an unfair advantage she has.

She seems to be considering something for a moment, an internal debate he is not a part of. Eventually, she settles on one demand. “Take. Me. With. You.” She's shifted the knife downward, relieving his throat and exchanging this target for his heart instead. Her small hand lying with the palm flat on his chest makes it impossible to think clearly, and the liquor was certainly not helping matters.

Cato shrugs his acceptance, jerking his head toward the pickup truck parked over by the pump. Paying more attention to the part of his brain that yells at him to value self-preservation, he waits until she puts away the knife - tucking it under the waistband of her dark wash jeans and unveiling a delightful amount of bruised, discolored, beckoning skin in the process - before continuing to run his mouth. “If you wanted me to take you home, Princess,” he teases as he trails behind her, “all you had to do was ask politely.”

“This will be a much more beneficial arrangement if you don't talk,” the girl decides, pulling open the car door with more aggression than strictly necessary. He realizes two seconds too late that she went for the driver’s seat. At his questioning look, she shakes her head in disgust. “Please, like I was going to let you drive me anywhere. I heard you in there, getting drunk and practically making a siren call to zombies in a 20 mile radius.”

Accepting his fate, Cato hardly puts up a fight for the spot in the driver's seat, settling instead for a refreshing nap. “Fine, but we need to go pick up my sister on the way to wherever the hell you're going. And I'm not drunk, it was a few sips of some old liquor that tasted like ass. And zombies don't have that kind of hearing.”

“Maybe not, but you should be more careful,” she snaps, venom spilling from her voice like the blood from when she nicked him slightly with her knife. As they back out of the parking lot, headed for wherever the hell she intends to take them, he feels for the spot of injury, his thumb coming away with a few droplets of blood.

“How sweet,” Cato comments, his filter and self control somehow eliminated - really, obliterated - with the effect of this one girl. “Minutes ago, you were going to slit my throat and leave me for dead, and now you're lecturing me on safety.”“I still can, you know.” She sniffs primly, raising her chin in defiance. “Who's going to care if I just leave you to bleed out and toss your body off the highway when you're done?”

“Who’s to say I'm not considering doing the same to you?”

Out of the corner of his left eye, Cato swears he catches her lips curling into an amused smirk. The sight gives him an odd sense of victory, pride and self-satisfaction swelling in the space behind his chest in a warm sunburst.

Other than the occasional directions to the hideout he and Glimmer had made for themselves - finding their home in a jewelry store filled to the brim with engagement rings that now no one would ever buy - they pass the rest of the ride in silence. He sneaks occasional glimpses of her, taking in as much detail as he can, hopefully without the risk of her carving out his eyes for the unwanted attention. The knife was her weapon of choice, that much was obvious, but with the gas station cleared of any useful materials, he has no idea how she was surviving this long, and on what resources. Politeness prevents him from commenting on her obviously unwashed clothes and generally unhygienic, yet somehow ridiculously appealing, state.

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

Observations after sleeping:

Before everything hurt only when I tried to move and my muscles were too weak to move and I constantly was nearly dropping everything

Now it hurts less, but whether I move or not, and the muscle weakness is gone

I suspect this is because my nerves can signal properly again, and because I am currently dehydrated, because my cells are newly able to take in water properly.

Before, even though I was drinking lots of water, it did not feel like it was really getting into anything. Which is I think what irritated my fascia at one point, making them a target for my immune system, not being able to properly take in water and so effectively being dehydrated [which makes fascia sticky and sore] regardless of what I was actually drinking.

So I am not having any ibuprofen yet today. I am going to drink fluids and see what that helps first.

But the muscle weakness is gone and I am not struggling to move.

So how did someone who controls their iodine intake regularly like they are trying to nerf a perpetual potential thyroid storm manage to fuck up so badly?

Because of winter, and because iodine isn't fat soluble.

See, normally the bulk of any dairy I eat is butter and heavy whipping cream, which, due to being more milk fat by percentage are actually low in iodine for a dairy product. I avoid milk for multiple reasons, but in general the watery parts of milk that contain lactose, iodine and the bulk of the calcium and phosphorus are the parts i avoid, and then I still get a moderated amount of that, but mostly milk fat to keep my liver happy and for the calories...

And normally I avoid most other food sources of iodine, which isn't too hard, until my iodine gets so low I develop goiter, and then I'll have a little nibble of seaweed or something and be fine again for a long time.

But then I decided to try evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk over this winter. And I switched to eating canned ham and canned tuna rather than more expensive and fattier meats...

And I thought I was in the clear because I didn't react to the added lactose. The added iodine didn't even occur to me.

Then the multi vitamin also contained iodine. Way more than I thought they'd put in a daily supplement.

And then some doctor and lab visits stressed me out and physically caused some damage and exposed me to enough virus that my immune system was set off again.

And then when I got a bit of swelling in my thyroid gland, I figured it was goiter from low iodine and had a couple nibbles of seaweed paper.

... And then I was so exhausted and stressed out I didn't notice the symptoms of thyroid storm because I had no fucking energy still, and I was getting other weird symptoms like gout that could be from my kidneys, which I just pissed off with the ultrasound prep.

Potassium is in everything. Becoming deficient is usually really hard unless one of 2 things:

-You are on a heavily restricted diet due to kidney problems or mcs or something

-Your metabolic rate is off and causing you to burn through electrolytes way fucking fast

And in all my time of doctors telling me to salt load my diet -for low blood pressure, pots symptoms and high heart rate- and not bothering to mention not to use iodized salt to do it [something I figured out myself pretty fast] not once did any of them mention potassium, or how it was also an essential electrolyte I would need extra of, despite that I have food restrictions due to sensitivities and allergies and needing to avoid iodine, and also have a problem with stupidly high thyroid hormone levels. I have every circumstance that could lead to a potassium deficiency acting on me, and the symptoms of one on a regular basis and not one fucking doctor MENTIONED it.

No one has been monitoring my levels of fuck all btw, not even my thyroid, not even after seeing the first thyroid storm the caught on paper and confirming it was not dying like they thought.

So there I am, diet restricted as hell to try to unburden my kidneys which are suddenly already dealing with a bunch of extra calcium and phosphorus, unbeknownst to me, drinking tons of water to try to flush out the gout and other kidney symptoms and not knowing I am mid thyroid storm.

And I figured it out fast when my sodium got dangerously low.

But no one had ever mentioned potassium to me.

And then everything kept harping on how potassium was so so so so so bad for your kidneys...

...

And then I just kept getting worse.

Except when I'd randomly get a bit better with changes to my diet, because have I mentioned, potassium is actually tricky to avoid?

But the autoimmune high thyroid thing actually explains how the symptoms were bouncing around between muscles, joints, fascia, and bones, and then my immune system seeming to attack things at random. The high thyroid levels signalling my body to break down and rebuild bone, and then causing the potassium deficiency and kidney stress that caused everything else... All while my immune system was already set off.

Even my skin problems... When your skin cells can't take in fluids properly, they get dry. Also high phosphorus can cause similar dry skin and hair growth problems.

So trying to figure out *which* problem it was, was fucking useless, because it was genuinely ALL of the problems all at once.

And I can't even be mad at me because no doctor I have ever had would have caught this either. No doctor did catch the problem any other time I went in for weird attacks and symptom sets like this. They always just try to force me into mental health counseling and deny even the symptoms they have proof of on paper, and conveniently leave out checking the thing that would prove me right, like checking one of my blood mineral levels or making me wait 3 months to check my thyroid levels, etc...

I'm not even on treatment for my thyroid despite that I by all accounts should be? It's a pill! A standard pill to control thyroid hormone that you give to people all the time! There's no abuse potential! It's not even like replacement thyroid hormone that some people abuse for weight loss reasons! It neutralizes those hormones! WHY!

So now I get to see if I can get the symptoms under control myself, or if I will be forced to go to a clinic and try to catch a doctor up on all of this fast enough for them to actually help me.

I lacked the mineral this whole time, and yet I persisted...

And yes, also your fav with the comic book level high metabolism should in fact need salt and potassium out their eyeballs, for the record. If you think I am annoyed watching them not eat, when I have 10k calorie days... Barry, Kevin, Logan, what the fuck are you guys doing? It's like they want to die.

[zukoromantic]

Dietry aspects that help you if you suffer from thyroid issues, specifically hashimoto's disease:

Avoid gluten. It sucks, yeah, but every source i found so far agrees on this. People with thyroid issues are more likely to be straight up gluten intolerant! If that isn't the case, you absolutely don't need to cut gluten out of your life. However, you should try to reduce the intake regardless. But not to worry! You can find brands that have pasta, bread mixes, pizza dough, even little snacks as gluten free! Alternatives are also always rice or corn for a lot of things. If you like to snack on crunchy things like cookies i can really recommend rice waffles. They even come with chocolate and other flavors a lot of the time. And as for the bread mixes don't worry, at least the german brand i get has the lowest effort kinda stuff. As in, put water, stirr, form on tray, oven, done (and i found one that is SO delicious to me even!)

Avoid pork. Also got this one from multiple sources. Like with gluten, it can be a problem if you're out a lot, BUT there is usually plenty of other meat. My go to is chicken or turkey. Beef is great too, but naturally it's more expensive than chicken etc. You don't need to cut out stuff like salami either because these days there's a lot of alternatives to pork in those regards

Veggies, veggies, veggies! I mean, who doesn't this apply to?! Vegetables are great and have so many vitamins. I try to eat a salad a day and have some veggies in my lunch. There is so many different vegetables, there's sure to be SOMETHING for you! In my salad for example i put grated carrots even though i don't like them apart from that. I also put apple to make it more sweet and delicious! (Note: for salad you should put some oil, otherwise your body can't absorb the nutrients that well. I love pumpkin sees oil bc i'm picky and don't like olive oil. But there's more you might like too!) Potatoes count as well for your vitamins. Put anything with some meat or in a stew or with rice, it doesn't really matter how you make them

Fruit is less helpful than veggies, but it's still great! Especially berries, apples, oranges, peaches, plums and more are helpful. That's because they have less sugar that for example pineapple, banana, grapes, or mango

Seeds and nuts. They can help you as well. I usually put sunflower seeds in my salad, but you can also put something in cereal or yoghurt or your lunch! They're nice and crunchy and can be great additions to some food

Less (cow) milk. Milk is fineee, but you shouldn't overdo it. Especialy with things with a lot of fat, like cream

Most fish. Most fish is great, salmon and tuna for example. In general, fish is really healthy. I don't like it but i know many do! So definitely keep eating it! :)

Eggs. Eggs are always good, get your protein! Many lovely ways to make eggs. Just make sure you don't always eat them with too much fat, so be careful with your fried or scrambled egg

Those are things i was told by a doctor or things i found from different sources on the internet. Some is obvious like you should just so in general get protein and vegebtables!

But for example, i've had hashimoto's disease for over six years now and only THIS YEAR i was told by a doctor that i should avoid gluten

So i wanted to make a little post for me and for others to have a quick check list regarding one's diet with thyroid issues! If you know/think of anything else, please share! It'll be much appreciated!

[monaleen101]

Peanut Butter Cookies are such a treat for my friends who have to avoid gluten and they were so good I could have finished them off myself! I’m sharing these Peanut Butter Cookies that are gluten free because they are so good; not just because they are gluten free. Maybe not something I have to worry about myself but I know that many deal with food allergies; gluten, dairy, eggs, etc. and if you’re like me, it’s nice to have real food made with good ingredients that can be served to those dealing with allergies. Some of those people are my friends, including Amy who lives across the street. She didn’t seem to have a problem when we first moved in but she has always dealt with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis; a disease of the Thyroid gland. She had tried several different doctors and remedies but nothing gave her relief until she cut gluten from her diet. Want to save this recipe? Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week! It’s no secret I love to cook and I share a lot of the food from the results of that passion with my neighbors. I’m the one who has party central at my house and where we most often gather as a group and I have to give Amy credit; she’s never been a prima donna about her disease and is willing to bring something of her own to eat rather than make it difficult for me or anyone else. Still…now I know two desserts I can make that she loves. Rice Krispie Treats and these Peanut Butter Cookies that are Gluten Free…and everyone will love them! You know what happens when a person with food allergies takes ownership of their allergy and doesn’t think you should have to cater to them? You WANT to make things they can eat! Amy gave me an idea once during a barbecue, and I’ve found it’s just as tasty to serve pork barbecue on mashed potatoes as on buns, and now because of her recommendation, I always buy corn tortilla chips. I recently dusted the chicken in this Baked Chicken with Leeks, Bacon and Mustard dish with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour since I wanted to share it with her, and I’ve always got a bottle of potato vodka handy so I can make a quick cocktail for us. Simple things but enough to make an effort without hugely modifying either my pantry staples or techniques enough to be a big challenge for me. Where I’ve too often failed Amy though was in the dessert category. I want to accommodate but switching gears for baking is a big deal, especially at high altitude, and not one I’ve actually been willing to jump into for one person. I love making cakes and pies but once I discovered Amy loves Rice Krispie Treats; I’ll go that direction. Recently I’ve been of a mind that I wanted to try my hand at a couple more sweet treats. With some irony, when I decided to try my hand at a flourless chocolate cake and was using my pal Google, I actually ran across recipes for Peanut Butter Cookies that are flourless and loved how easy they looked to make so I decided one day last week to get busy with these before continuing with the cake. I combined about three different recipes for Peanut Butter Cookies and ignored all of them when they called for plain peanut butter. Use it if you want, but I’m only a fan of crunchy so that’s what was in my pantry and we loved having that bit of crunch in these cookies too. And these cookies? Honestly delicious! I found it hard to believe that cookies could be made without flour but it’s true. Peanut butter, sugar, an egg, leavening, and salt are the major ingredients…and it works! It’s funny, if you live at altitude like I do; cookies struggle to have that same lift that they might at sea level; these cookies turned out better than most! I had neighbors here the day I finished them and asked them to test the waters; only telling them that they had something unique about them. No bugs or anything, promise…and they got a hearty thumbs up all the way around. So I sent a couple of these Peanut Butter Cookies that are gluten free over to Amy as a trial balloon, promising the rest as soon as I got photos completed. She told me she had not had homemade peanut butter cookies since her Grandma had made her some many, many years ago and was going to find a quiet space and get a glass of milk and really enjoy them. Then she sent a text and wondered if I was really going to give her more…clearly the best sign of success. Yep, I sent them all to her; I might have loved them but I can eat the real deal so I wasn’t going to devour hers. How much did she love them? I have one photo where I took a bite out of the Peanut Butter Cookie; it was her choice whether she wanted that one or not. No question, she took it. 🙂 I actually did follow through with a flourless chocolate cake yesterday but honestly? It was just OK. The texture was good but for me, and maybe not for you, the chocolate ganache on chocolate cake was too much. Not inclined to try again either. I would rather spend more time on some fancy Rice Krispie Treats; I know Amy loves all things Rice Krispie Treats…even had them for her wedding! In the meantime, make these Peanut Butter Cookies for someone you know that needs to cut out gluten and, well, make sure you don’t devour all of them yourself! More Peanut Butter Favorites More Gluten Free Favorites PIN IT! ‘Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten Free)’ Peanut Butter Cookies – Gluten Free Barb Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies are a great treat for those needing to limit their gluten but good enough that everyone will enjoy them! 5 average from less than 50 votes Prep Time 10 minutes minsCook Time 12 minutes minsTotal Time 22 minutes mins Course Cookies, Brownies and Bars, DessertsCuisine American Servings 18 CookiesCalories 103 kcal ¾ cup peanut butter plain or crunchy¼ cup sugar plus a bit extra for sprinkling on top½ cup brown sugar½ teaspoon baking soda¼ teaspoon sea salt1 large egg2 teaspoons vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.In a mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, white sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt until smooth.Add egg and vanilla and mix well.Scoop dough using a Tablespoon measure and place on the prepared cookie sheets spacing them 2 inches apart.Using the back of a fork, gently press down on the tops of the cookies to flatten them; do both directions.Lightly sprinkle the tops of the cookies with granulated sugar (optional).Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotate trays halfway through baking.Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. (Be careful, the cookies will be very delicate until fully cool) Nutrition FactsPeanut Butter Cookies – Gluten FreeAmount per Serving% Daily Value** Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Keyword cookies, desserts, gluten free, peanut butter Source link

[actvpeople]

The ABCs of Hormones

How They Affect Our Mood and Health

Hey friends! Today, let's dive into something that often stays behind the scenes but affects us every single day. Yep, I'm talking about hormones! These tiny chemical substances act as invisible conductors, regulating our mood and emotional state. Let's explore the world of hormones letter by letter, to see which hormones are responsible for our happiness, stress, motivation, and even sluggishness—and most importantly, how to keep them balanced so that life is brighter and more fulfilling.

Hormones That Control Our Mood

A — Adrenaline Adrenaline is the "fight or flight" hormone. It kicks in during stressful situations, giving us the energy to react quickly. This hormone helps us deal with critical moments, improving physical endurance and focus. But be careful—too much adrenaline over time can lead to anxiety.

V — Vasopressin Vasopressin regulates water balance in our body and affects blood pressure. If this hormone drops, we may feel tired and less focused. Maintaining good hydration is important for overall well-being.

G — Ghrelin Ghrelin is known as the "hunger hormone." It signals your brain when it's time to eat. When you're feeling intense hunger, you can thank ghrelin for that. To keep it in check, eat regularly and avoid long gaps between meals.

D — Dopamine Dopamine is the "pleasure hormone." It’s responsible for motivation and rewards. Whenever you feel incredibly inspired or like you can conquer the world, it's probably thanks to dopamine. To keep dopamine levels up, try new hobbies, exercise, and celebrate even the smallest victories. Even watching motivational videos can give your brain a dopamine boost.

E — Estrogen Estrogen is the primary female hormone that regulates the menstrual cycle and affects mood. Fluctuations in estrogen levels can cause mood swings, especially during the premenstrual period. Healthy eating and physical activity help stabilize these fluctuations and maintain balance.

M — Maturity (Testosterone) Testosterone is the "hormone of maturity," especially important for men. It’s responsible for libido, muscle mass, and confidence. Testosterone levels also affect energy and motivation. Exercise and a proper diet help maintain it at a healthy level.

I — Insulin Insulin is the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. It allows glucose to enter cells and be used for energy. Balancing insulin is key for maintaining stable energy levels and preventing diabetes. Avoiding sugary foods and fast food is a good way to keep insulin levels in check.

C — Cortisol Cortisol is the "stress hormone." It helps the body cope with critical situations, but chronic stress keeps cortisol levels high, leading to fatigue and depression. Meditation, rest, and physical activity are good ways to manage cortisol.

M — Melatonin Melatonin is the sleep hormone, helping us fall asleep and regulating our internal clock. Its level rises in the dark, promoting a restful sleep. To maintain melatonin levels, avoid bright light in the evening and try to go to bed at the same time every night.

O — Oxytocin Oxytocin is the "love and bonding hormone." It’s released when we hug, show affection, or spend time with loved ones. High oxytocin levels help us feel happier and more connected. Hug your loved ones and express affection—it’s a simple and effective way to boost this hormone.

S — Serotonin Serotonin is the "happiness hormone." It regulates mood, sleep, and appetite. Low serotonin levels are often associated with depression and anxiety. To increase serotonin, eat foods rich in tryptophan like bananas, nuts, and dark chocolate, and spend more time in the sunlight.

T — Thyroxine Thyroxine is a thyroid hormone that regulates metabolism. Its imbalance can lead to weight issues and energy problems. Eating enough iodine (like seaweed) and maintaining a healthy lifestyle support normal thyroxine levels.

P — Phenylethylamine Phenylethylamine is often called the "love hormone." It’s released when we feel romantic attraction and helps boost dopamine, adding those wonderful feelings of love and excitement.

Conclusion

That's our ABCs of hormones! It seems like so many little conductors are controlling our mood and health that it can make your head spin. But don't worry! In the next article, we'll talk about what influences hormonal balance and how to keep it in check, so your hormones can be your best friends. Give us a like and stay tuned!

[rahulsecmedblog]

High Blood Pressure: Everything You Need to Know

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a common health condition affecting millions of people worldwide. Despite its prevalence, many are unaware they have it because it often presents no symptoms. This silent condition can lead to serious health problems if left untreated.

In this blog, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about high blood pressure — from causes and symptoms to prevention and treatment.

What is High Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. It's measured using two numbers:

Systolic pressure (top number): Pressure when your heart beats.

Diastolic pressure (bottom number): Pressure when your heart is at rest.

Normal blood pressure is usually around 120/80 mmHg. If your readings are consistently 140/90 mmHg or higher, you may have high blood pressure.

Why is High Blood Pressure Dangerous?

High blood pressure forces your heart to work harder than normal, which can damage your arteries and vital organs over time. If not managed properly, it can lead to:

Heart disease

Stroke

Kidney failure

Vision loss

Cognitive decline

The worst part? You might not feel anything until these serious problems develop.

What Causes High Blood Pressure?

There isn't always one specific cause. However, several factors can increase your risk:

Unhealthy Diet: High salt, fat, and processed foods raise your blood pressure.

Lack of Physical Activity: A sedentary lifestyle weakens your heart.

Obesity: More weight means more pressure on your blood vessels.

Smoking and Alcohol: These habits damage your arteries.

Stress: Chronic stress can raise blood pressure over time.

Genetics: Family history plays a role in your risk.

Sometimes, medical conditions like thyroid disorders, kidney disease, or certain medications can also cause high blood pressure.

Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is often called the "silent killer" because it rarely causes obvious symptoms. However, in some cases, people may experience:

Headaches

Dizziness

Nosebleeds

Blurred vision

Shortness of breath

If you feel any of these symptoms regularly, it’s best to get your blood pressure checked.

How is High Blood Pressure Diagnosed?

Diagnosing high blood pressure is simple. A healthcare professional uses a device called a sphygmomanometer to measure your blood pressure. You might be asked to monitor your levels over several days or weeks to confirm the diagnosis.

At SecondMedic, you can also schedule a virtual or home visit for convenient health check-ups.

How is High Blood Pressure Treated?

Treatment for high blood pressure usually involves a combination of lifestyle changes and, in some cases, medication. Here’s how you can manage it:

1. Lifestyle Changes

Healthy Eating: Follow the DASH diet — rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy.

Exercise Regularly: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days.

Limit Salt: Less salt means lower pressure.

Reduce Alcohol: Keep it in moderation.

Quit Smoking: It improves heart and lung health.

Manage Stress: Meditation, deep breathing, and yoga help reduce pressure.

2. Medications

If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, your doctor may prescribe:

Diuretics

ACE inhibitors

Beta-blockers

Calcium channel blockers

Always take medications as directed by your healthcare provider.

Tips for Preventing High Blood Pressure

Even if your blood pressure is normal now, taking preventive steps can help keep it that way:

Get regular check-ups.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Stay active.

Eat fresh, low-sodium meals.

Avoid excessive caffeine.

Track your blood pressure at home.

By being proactive, you can significantly lower your chances of developing high blood pressure in the future.

Managing Stress and Mental Health

Mental health has a powerful impact on physical health. Stress, anxiety, and depression can all contribute to high blood pressure. Here are a few relaxation techniques that can help:

Practice mindfulness and meditation.

Take short walks during work breaks.

Listen to calming music.

Stay connected with friends and family.

Talk to a counselor or therapist if needed.

Your heart and your mind are deeply connected — take care of both.

When to See a Doctor

If your blood pressure is consistently high, or if you’re experiencing symptoms like dizziness or chest pain, consult a doctor immediately. Regular monitoring and early intervention can save your life.

SecondMedic offers expert consultation services online and offline, making it easy for you to take charge of your heart health from the comfort of your home.

Conclusion: Take Control of Your Health Today

High blood pressure doesn’t have to control your life — with the right steps, you can manage and even prevent it. Start small, make simple changes, and seek medical help when needed. Regular monitoring, healthy habits, and awareness are your best tools in this journey.

If you or a loved one is dealing with high blood pressure, book a consultation with SecondMedic today to get expert guidance and personalized care. Let’s take the first step toward better health together.

[aasthafertilitycentre]

IVF After 40: Is It Possible? Success Rates & Expert Insights

For many couples, having a baby is a dream. But sometimes, due to age or health problems, natural pregnancy becomes difficult. Especially for women above 40 years, getting pregnant naturally can be more challenging. Thankfully, science and technology have made it possible through IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). In this blog, we’ll talk about how IVF works after 40, what are the success rates, and what experts say about it.

What is IVF?

IVF means In Vitro Fertilization. It is a treatment where a woman’s egg is taken out and fertilized with a man’s sperm in a lab. After fertilization, the embryo (baby seed) is placed back into the woman’s womb. If everything goes well, the woman gets pregnant.

IVF is very helpful for couples who are facing fertility problems. Many people go for IVF treatment in Jaipur and other cities to fulfill their dream of becoming parents.

Why Pregnancy After 40 Is Difficult?

A woman’s body changes with age. By the time she reaches 40, her egg quality and quantity reduce. Here are some common reasons why pregnancy after 40 is tough:

Low egg count

Poor egg quality

Irregular periods

Hormonal changes

Other health issues like diabetes or thyroid

These factors make natural pregnancy harder. That’s why many women above 40 go for IVF treatment.

Is IVF Possible After 40?

Yes, IVF is possible after 40. Many women in India and around the world have become mothers even in their 40s using IVF. But there are some important things to know:

The success rate is lower than in younger women

More than one IVF cycle may be needed

Sometimes donor eggs are used if the woman’s own eggs are not healthy

The woman must be healthy enough to carry the pregnancy

Even though the chances are lower, it is still possible to have a baby through IVF after 40 with the right guidance.

IVF Success Rate After 40

Let’s talk about the success rates. It depends on many things like:

The age of the woman

Her egg quality

Her health condition

The clinic and doctor she chooses

Generally, IVF success rate after 40 is around 10% to 25%. It may sound low, but thousands of women still get pregnant after 40 with IVF.

Success rates are higher when:

The woman uses donor eggs

She maintains a healthy lifestyle

She follows the doctor’s advice properly

This is why choosing the best fertility doctor in Jaipur or in your city is very important. A good doctor can guide you in the right way and increase your chances of success.

Expert Insights on IVF After 40

Fertility experts say that IVF after 40 needs more planning and care. Here’s what experts suggest:

Early Consultation If you are planning pregnancy after 40, talk to a doctor soon. Don’t wait too long.

Do Necessary Tests The doctor will do hormone tests, scan your uterus, and check your egg quality. This helps them understand what treatment you need.

Healthy Lifestyle Eat healthy food, stay active, avoid smoking and alcohol. These habits improve your fertility.

Consider Donor Eggs If your egg quality is poor, the doctor may suggest donor eggs. This increases the success rate.

Be Mentally Prepared IVF can take time. You may need to try more than once. Keep a positive mindset.

When you go to an experienced IVF specialist in Jaipur or your city, they will give you a step-by-step plan according to your condition.

What Are the Risks of IVF After 40?

Every treatment has some risks. IVF is generally safe, but here are some risks for women over 40:

Higher chance of miscarriage

Risk of multiple pregnancies (twins or triplets)

High blood pressure or diabetes during pregnancy

Premature birth (early delivery)

Doctors will check your health and guide you to reduce these risks. That’s why choosing a good IVF hospital in Jaipur or a reliable city hospital matters a lot.

Tips to Improve IVF Success After 40

Here are some easy tips that can help:

Eat healthy food – Include fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dairy in your diet

Exercise regularly – Yoga and walking are very helpful

Reduce stress – Take proper sleep, stay happy, and do meditation

Avoid alcohol and smoking – These can harm your fertility

Follow your doctor’s instructions – Take all medicines on time

A good doctor and hospital can make your IVF journey smooth. If you’re in Rajasthan, choosing the best IVF specialist in Jaipur gives you the best chances of success.

Emotional Support During IVF

IVF is not just a physical treatment; it also affects your mind. Sometimes, women feel sad, anxious, or stressed during the process. It’s important to talk to your partner, friends, or a counselor. You are not alone. Many women go through the same journey.

Having emotional support helps you stay strong and hopeful.

Conclusion

IVF after 40 is not easy, but it is definitely possible. With proper medical care, guidance, and support, many women have become mothers even after 40. Age should not stop you from dreaming about motherhood.

If you’re planning to go for IVF, consult a trusted IVF specialist in Jaipur or your nearby city. Choose a reputed IVF hospital in Jaipur where experienced doctors and modern technology are available. Whether it’s your first step or a repeated attempt, don’t lose hope.

Today, with the help of the best fertility doctor in Jaipur, you can still fulfill your dream of having a baby. Science has made it possible, and many women are living proof of that. If you are determined and positive, IVF can work for you too.

[sofasapple]

obviously main part

how I lost weight

so I discovered pills called “furosemide” “Dulcolax” and molecules. all three combined were the key to my fast weightloss.

what’s furosemide ? Dulcolax ? Molécules? just before u come at me, no those aren’t drugs, and to all the people at school who said I use drugs, honestly go fuck your self, because I never did and never will, yall r annoying always assuming the wildest things. And I’m not weird, Im just deep in my disorder so I couldn’t care less about making friendships and socializing because the biggest part about socializing with new people, is food involment.So yeah, obviously I’m gonna go and avoid that. Thanks

back to the point, furosemide is a diuretic “water pill”, which basically pushes out excess fluid out of ur body, a person could loose up to 5 kilos in HOURS from it. So what do you expect? Obviously I went and bulked up on these lol. next, MOLECULE PLUS, weird Thai “weightloss” pills, but honestly they work as diuretics but with their additional “hunger cutting” and bad side effects such as heart problems, low blood pressure, thyroid malfunction..

Dulcolax, just a classic laxative to make u poop and empty your bowels fully, I used to take a bunch of these before, but now it’s probably 5 pills a day x3 times a week. So yeah, little improvement.

those 3 were my key ingredients to weightloss+ a bunch of iv fluids that I used to get pumped with and a side from that medications to mention my overall “physical health” (it worked but not a lot I got fluid pumped out of my lungs and my stomach is almost paralyzed) HUT OVERALL the rest is good.

so yeah imagine combining these 3+ a 150 calorie diet. You’re welcome, plus aside from that purging, chewing and spitting and the list goes on. I also walk everyday MINIMUM 11 k steps a day, have been already for almost a year. So there you go. I’ve been living this way with this diet for over a few years now. And I’m fine, I feel alright, I guess.

[nursingwriter]

Supplements, Fatigue and Lethargy DO THEY HELP? Vitamin E (p 1- 1.5) Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin and antioxidant, which inhibits the production of reactive oxygen species or ROS when fat is oxidized (NIH, 2013). The body produces ROS when it converts food into energy. As an antioxidant, Vitamin E protects body cells from the ill effects of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules containing an unshared electron. They damage cells and contribute to the development of heart diseases and cancer. Unshared electrons are very active and quickly react with oxygen to form ROS. Health experts conjecture that limiting the production of free radicals may, alone or through other mechanisms, help prevent or delay the formation of these dreaded chronic diseases associated with the action of free radicals. Vitamin E may serve that function (NIH). As an antioxidant, it also plays a role in the immune function of the body (NIH, 2013). In vitro studies of cells have illustrated its role in cell signaling, regulating gene expression and other metabolic processes. As Alpha-tocopherol, it inhibits the activity of the protein kinase C, which is an enzyme that participates in cell proliferation and differentiation of smooth muscle cells, platelets and monocytes. Alpha-tocopherol is its only form that is suitable for human needs (NIH). The recommended intake of Vitamin E as well as other nutrients is developed by the Food and Nutrition Board and listed under the Dietary Reference Intakes (NIH, 2013). The intake depends on age and gender from 4-19 mg. The recommended dietary allowance for those 14 years old and older is 19 mg. The vitamin in the form of alpha-tocopherol has many food sources and best among them are nuts, vegetable oils, green leafy vegetables and fortified cereals. It is present in the American diets in the form of gamma tocopherol. It can be obtained from soybean, canola, corn and other vegetable oils and food products. Wheat germ oil is an excellent natural source (NIH). Many have claimed that Vitamin E protects against coronary heart disease, cancer, eye disorders like age-related macular degeneration and cataract, and cognitive decline (NIH, 2013). Research says that healthy or slightly ill persons need not take Vitamin E supplements to increase cognitive abilities or retard aging. While no adverse effects have been shown from consuming the vitamin in food form, high doses of alpha-tocopherol supplements have, in some cases, caused hemorrhage, interrupted blood coagulation and platelets or inhibited blood coagulation in animals (NIH). Unit 4: Supplements and Lethargy Fatigue and Felicia's Case Felicia's fatigue is unlikely connected with any need to take supplements for energy. Women's fatigue is one of the top five health concerns of women, according to a recent health survey (Watson, 2014). More likely, Felicia's fatigue is the symptom of seven possible causes common to women. These are thyroid problems, heart disease, Vitamin D deficiency, iron-deficiency anemia, sleep apnea, lack of sleep and depression (Watson). Thyroid problems appear to be more common in women than in men for still unknown reasons (Watson, 2014). The thyroid produces the hormones, which regulate the body's burning of fuel for energy. The thyroid may be overactive or under-active and sleepiness is a symptom of both. Vitamin D deficiency drains bone strength and may even lead to chronic fatigue syndrome. A blood test can detect this problem. The Institute of Medicine determined that most adults will avoid these problems by taking 600 international units a day. Those aged 70 or older should take 800 IU. Iron-deficiency anemia limits the amount of oxygen in the body and leads to sluggishness. A woman may be losing too much blood when menstruating or she may be outright deficient in other vitamins and minerals. Supplements will easily help. Sleep apnea is another possible cause. It is a condition, which stops one's breathing repeatedly through the night. The brain jolts each time the breathing stops. When sleep does not provide rest, the body does not get the time needed to restore itself and recharge. Lack of sleep results from a very busy day. Most women today suffer from this lack of sufficient sleep because of too many activities. The solution is to do one's best to establish and follow a calming bedtime habit. Induce sleep through soft music, calming scents, a cup of chamomile tea, reading a good book or another relaxing activity for 15 minutes. And the last possible cause is depression. It often goes with fatigue and both of these are more common in women than in men. These two conditions even seem to trigger each other. A depressed woman tends to become tired and a fatigued woman is thrice as likely to be depressed, according to studies. Treating the cause of the depression will do a lot to eliminate the fatigue rather than take supplements (Watson). Fred's Case Rather than vitamin deficiency or any other deficiency, the cause of Fred's sudden lethargy, reduced coordination and slight confusion may be andropause (Bain, 2001). It is male menopause, which corresponds to women's menopause. This observation has attracted widespread attention in the last few years. It suggests that as men age, their testosterone levels, like women's hormones, gradually fall. The decline occurs sharply with every decade after 30 (Bain). This observation applies to Fred who is 69. Research says that aging men start to experience new symptoms, such as sexual dysfunction, weakness, fatigue, lethargy, insomnia, mood disorders, flushes and reduced motivation. Another symptom is the loss of bone density, which they may not realize or know until they suffer from a fracture. Aging men's testosterone levels decline as they age. At this stage, they usually need testosterone replacement therapy in order to reduce these symptoms. Present evidence suggests that treating men with these symptoms due to low testosterone will often raise their overall sense of well-being and quality of life and deal with lethargy, as in Fred's case (Bain). A recent study was conducted to develop a rationale for treating aging men with these symptoms and whose testosterone levels are mildly-reduced or low-normal with testosterone replacement therapy (Bain, 2001). The study could not locate large-scale and multi-center prospective studies on the value of treating andropausal men with hormone therapy. This is because the whole discipline of hormone therapy was only a decade old when this study was conducted. It used physiologic, open uncontrolled studies of treatments, which have been assessed. These limited studies reveal that testorterone treatment has very few serious side effects (Bain). When examining Fred, his physician should consider hypoandrogenism for his lethargy, reduced coordination, slight confusion and cognitive troubles (Bain, 2001). These are among the symptoms of andropause. The main cause of his reduced testosterone production is technically primary gonadal insufficiency. Andropause covers a complex of symptoms in aging men like Fred who now suffers from declining testosterone levels. His physician should be aware of this new experience, order the precise tests for it and treat them carefully (Bain). BIBLIOGRAPHY Bain, J. (2001). Andropause: testosterone replacement therapy for aging men. Vol. 47, Canadian Family Physician: Janvier. Retrieved on February 28, 2014 from http://www.cfp.ca/content/47/1/91.long NIH (2013). Vitamin E Office of Dietary Supplements: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved on February 28, 2014 from http://www.ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminE-HealthProfessional Watson, S. (2014). The causes of women's fatigue. WebMD Magazine: WebMD LLC. Retrieved on March 1, 2014 from http://www.webmd.com/women/featuress/the-causes-of-womens-fatigue Read the full article

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

Again I started feeling a -lot- better, and then a lot worse.

The problem is that high phosphorus mostly causes symptoms by leaching calcium from your bones and causing high blood calcium, so taking a calcium supplement doesn't always help. It'll help protect the calcium in your bones, and block absorbing new phosphorus, but if it's already bad enough, and you over-shoot how much you need with each meal, it can just add to a high blood calcium level...

So... I think the plan is to stick to mostly empty carbs, low phosphorus bits of protein and plenty of fluids until I can flush out the excess of whatever is actually causing my symptoms.

I'm really hoping this isn't being triggered by my parathyroid or some other gland under attack from my immune system [or cancer] because I can't take a bunch of anti-histamines to calm down the attack, if it already has my kidneys this over-taxed. Given the pain in my throat, my hopes are not high. I might just have to wait till my immune system stops what it's doing and the gland heals.

I was getting a lot of throat pain and figured avoiding all dairy and fish and not having much green vegetables was making my thyroid act up from a lack of iodine, and having some iodine brought down most of the swelling, but if this problem is being caused by excess hormone production, that may be why it just got worse again. We'll see over the next week ig.

I am pretty damn sure the problem is high phosphorus, considering it's what triggered symptoms both recent times, and cokey-cola makes it worse every time like clockwork. And because the resulting high calcium explains all the cardiac symptoms, and because it always comes with some bone pain, and all the other symptoms can be explained by my kidneys getting bogged down and allowing for stuff like gout and etc.

The one trick I have up my sleeve in chronically stupidly low blood pressure. High blood calcium and fluid retention can barely make my blood pressure normal, so it can't make it high enough to damage my kidneys unless it gets bad enough to trigger cardiac spasms, and I'm a long ways off from that, and know how to stop them with magnesium now. So my kidneys should recover like 3-4 years ago, so long as I can get the excess minerals out of my body and then chill it on certain foods for long enough.

But for right now that leaves me with green tea, rice and cream of wheat until the pain stops.

In any event I am never trying a daily multivitamin again. My symptoms have gotten worse every time I have tried taking even ONE...

Also my keyboard is very on it's last legs [my fault] and the scroll wheel on my mouse stopped working, so I can't even play Raft or most other games. Need to find something I can play with the 360 remote that's really chill.

I moved my filing cabinet. Don't ask me how I woke up barely able to move my arms and moved a 1k-ish pound piece of furniture [a filing cabinet full of paper and tool front to back is no joke] anywhere, but it did open up the side of my chair so I don't have to climb in and out over the back of it. Now I can slide in and out over the chair arm like I had planned. This should help me not strain anything. The chair itself is very comfy. An armchair at a desk is so so so much better than a dining chair.

There's a goods exchange day later this month and I am considering putting my donations out separate from the garbage with signs on it to see if anyone wants the stuff. It would be very convenient if someone just walked by and took it all. I won't get anything for it, but it will be gone.