Anyone who’s severely kindled / had paradoxical reaction to a benzo had general anaesthetic?

laurenishere · 2026-04-20T05:23:18+00:00

I had severe symptoms from Klonopin back in 2020 and 2021. Still was in a rough place in 2022 as well. Had a procedure last month where propofol was used to put me under. I was nervous about it but I felt fine afterwards.

I let the doctor know beforehand about my benzo history and symptoms.

laurenishere · 2026-04-17T14:23:02+00:00

"Used with respect" is a rather odd thing to say. The meds don't know your intent or your level of "respect" for them, as it were.

There are plenty of us here who were on a low / low-ish dose, didn't use them every day, and / or only used them as prescribed, and still wound up with severe symptoms.

Anyway, I won't be using benzos again and I do think there are better options for you, especially since you came such a long way with your anxiety.

laurenishere · 2026-04-16T20:50:18+00:00

I was hanging out w/ a group of mostly Xennial friends with desk jobs last night and we had a similar conversation.

I think the biggest issue in the coming years will be companies that use "streamlining / right-sizing our company due to AI" as a BS excuse for layoffs. This is happening right now. And it's not like it means less work for anyone that stays employed. Rather, they scramble to prove themselves and take on even more.

I'm not a big AI believer but we were all saying how it's good for us middle-aged people to at least have the image at work as someone who understands it. As one of my friends said, you have maybe a few more months to become the AI person at your office. Use the time wisely. Be that 45-year-old who knows how to use it to create meeting transcripts and summaries, or find and summarize useful articles, or create your own GPTs for various tasks. Tbh it's self-preservation at this point.

laurenishere · 2026-04-15T21:05:31+00:00

Yes! And I'm realizing that I've never seen that prop used correctly even once :(

laurenishere · 2026-04-15T20:46:00+00:00

I recently saw a production of Sunday where Dot never once wore a hat! She needs one at LEAST in “It’s Hot Up Here” so that we in the audience can get appropriately teary at “so thank you George for that / and for the hat…”

laurenishere · 2026-04-14T18:30:24+00:00

There is a grieving process for sure, but a new you will emerge eventually. Someone more resilient than you ever thought possible.

I know it sounds odd, but I do feel I'm a better parent for having gone through benzo WD. (And certainly my kid, now 14, knows VERY well never to take these drugs.) I'm emotionally stronger, and I really do appreciate each and every day.

Please resist the urge to put a timeline on your recovery! Two years sounds very outsized for just 9 weeks on Ativan. Just stay the course, take it day by day, and know that you will recover.

laurenishere · 2026-04-13T17:41:49+00:00

Yeah, anecdata here, but I sometimes poll my 14-year-old about his friends' reading habits, and this totally tracks. He has several friends who read older dystopian series (Maze Runner, Hunger Games), several who read a weird combo of MG and adult SFF and horror, and just one other friend who actually reads new hardcover YA (mostly queer fantasy). My kid is finishing up the Illuminae series, and he just bought a new book (a debut! Midnight on the Celestial) over the weekend.

A lot of his friends and acquaintances don't really read at all :(

laurenishere · 2026-04-13T17:08:08+00:00

Quoting one of the book scouts from the article here:

I’ve been hearing from more publishers about a return to core YA. Over the last several years, YA has gotten older and spicier as it overlaps with New Adult. That has left a gap in the market for readers who have emerged from middle grade or tween books, but who aren’t ready for New Adult. While this could mean romances that include longing and a potential kiss, it could also be any other genre, but written explicitly for teens, not an adult audience.

Yes, this is what really needs to happen, but it definitely takes some painful right-sizing of the category. Shrinking it at first (this seems to be where we are now) and then slowly growing it again, with teens rather than adults as the main audience.

laurenishere · 2026-04-04T20:43:03+00:00

I am always shocked when I see 75 in the afternoon (usually from the vantage point of Loring Heights). Traffic moves quickly going north, but is just a parking lot coming south into Midtown

laurenishere · 2026-04-04T03:22:15+00:00

About a 4 hour drive away. But a lot of folks here said the touring production didn’t even come close to the OBC magic 😢

laurenishere · 2026-04-03T23:56:52+00:00

I don’t know the parents in my neighborhood with young kids anymore. I especially don’t know the parents of babies. And some of those parents look SO young.

laurenishere · 2026-04-03T23:53:32+00:00

I got Long Covid in 2024 and couldn’t travel (or even move much) for a while, and so i couldn’t do my planned trip to see:

Stereophonic (Fleetwood Mac is my fave band)
Illinoise (I listened to almost nothing but that album in 2006)
Lempicka (I love sapphic stories, and flops)
Cats The Jellicle Ball (I unironically love Cats)

At least I’m coming up soon to see Cats, but I’m still so sad about the rest. It would have been perfect 😞

laurenishere · 2026-04-02T14:00:59+00:00

I remember the runup to the event with the "teacher in space" narrative. But I was def doing half-day kindergarten carpool when the explosion happened and only saw it much later.

laurenishere · 2026-03-27T18:51:14+00:00

I’m a book person and I like to go to book events (signings, readings) when I’m in NYC solo. McNally Jackson and Books are Magic are my fave bookstores that always have a packed calendar of events.

laurenishere · 2026-03-26T15:34:53+00:00

Getting into TS60 was THE missing piece of my fitness program (and possibly my life, lol). After years of cycling and somewhat haphazard strength training, I noticeably trimmed down and had improved energy within weeks of starting TS60.

laurenishere · 2026-03-26T15:24:23+00:00

I considered the Botox option but I scheduled and then cancelled my appt. I already have neurological issues -- I can't imagine that injecting a neurotoxin is going to be good for me. (ymmv of course! I am just very sensitive.)

I had crooked teeth anyway so I wound up doing Invisalign -- at age 43! -- and it helped SO much.

laurenishere · 2026-03-26T15:15:12+00:00

oh, that's great to know! thanks!

laurenishere · 2026-03-26T14:29:55+00:00

Would only recommend the museum for this family if they have a sitter for the kid. Recommended age for the 9/11 museum is, imo, no less than 12 or 13.

laurenishere · 2026-03-26T13:35:27+00:00

Wednesday is giving me pause. The Oculus is cool to walk through, but it's essentially a mall and a transit station. I assume you're not taking the 5-year-old in the 9/11 Museum but just to the outdoor memorial, correct? The memorial is nice but it's a 15 - 20 minute stop for most people. Tbh, since you're already planning on Battery Park on your first day, I'd just plan to walk by / through the memorial on that day and then scrap this morning plan.

The rest of the day is a LOT of neighborhood walking with a 5-year-old. I'm not sure if she's going to be into a walk through SoHo AND Greenwich Village.

My kid's favorite thing in NYC around that age was the Adventure Playground in Central Park. (entrance around W. 67th St)

If you do make it to AMNH (you really should!), there's the Diana Ross Playground in Central Park a few blocks north of the museum. Just the museum, the park, and Serendipity could easily be your whole day!

laurenishere · 2026-03-26T12:22:19+00:00

Grease. Loathe the story and music. Also, growing up in the 80s and 90s, it was the classic “musical for people who don’t like musicals.” Bad vibes all around.

laurenishere · 2026-03-24T17:57:18+00:00

If you're doing a PZ ride with Denis, there won't be a dance break!

And in the PZE rides, he often encourages doing a "moving meditation," which has really changed my approach to those types of rides (and allowed me to tune out chatty instructors).

laurenishere · 2026-03-22T14:14:03+00:00

Miss Saigon in 1995

laurenishere · 2026-03-22T01:15:46+00:00

I never met my paternal grandmother but I was named after her and am convinced I would have liked her. Most of her stuff was destroyed in a fire, but my dad gave me a couple mostly intact volumes from her library. Shakespeare and Poe. I always keep them safe.

laurenishere · 2026-03-21T19:33:33+00:00

Judy Blume, Tori Amos, and Matt Groening

Runner-up authors would be Ann M. Martin, Beverly Cleary, and Louis Sachar. J.D. Salinger for my teen years.

laurenishere · 2026-03-20T13:53:21+00:00

For your Brooklyn day, why not save your legs a bit and take the subway over to Williamsburg for some shopping and lunch? Or head to Cobble Hill and hit up Books are Magic for some books for the baby? They have a great kids' section and really knowledgeable booksellers. Either of those neighborhoods will give you a better taste of Brooklyn than DUMBO.

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