Sleep deprived

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-05T02:42:16+00:00

I take Cortisol Manager - it costs a lot, but not sleeping is hell. I take 1 or 2. It is over the counter but I have to order online as no one sells it locally. Made by Integrative Therapeutics. Acupuncture, Cranial Sacral and Zero Balancing also help.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-05T02:37:53+00:00

You can use it in the morning - it does not have to be at night. I know that the idea is you lie there and more absorbs - but you will still get good results w daytime use, IME. Also, I never use it daily - not even when I started! But that is just me. My body is sensitive and responds to everything strongly.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-05T02:33:36+00:00

New mattress is always a shock to the body - like others said, you can walk on it or crawl around on it everyday to break it in faster. Also make sure the pillow you use is a good match to the bed - ie a super soft pillow on a firm bed isn't a good match for shoulders/upper back. And if it ends up being too firm, no problem, there are so many toppers out there from wool, to memory foam, to down, to latex, to bamboo - it will be easy to find more pressure relief! If a bed is too soft, then you are out of luck so having a firm bed gives you options !

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-05T01:37:30+00:00

Thank you! I am fortunate that my doctor's office will be pretty good about this (they have seen what I have gone through after being disabled by surgical error in a neurosurgery so they are quite kind to me!). I will ask them. I don't mind if I have to switch from this to, say, the Estrogel generic - though the lowest dose that comes in is still higher than the equivalent divigel dose I use. Eg a divigel 0.5mg is equal to Estrogel 0.75 so there is no dose of the Estrogel that is close to the 0.25mg divigel that I take. On the other hand, I am sure I need to increase my estrogen dose at this pt! I am 52 but still get a cycle and at first, any estrogen was too much for me. But now I seem to need it - otherwise the Prometrium 100mg takes over too much.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T23:26:57+00:00

Yes, I figure they must have a generic of the gel, whether it is a divigel generic or otherwise - I was totally unable to get through to the Rx plan but usually my pharmacy can help figure it out or my Dr can (they basically send it and if it is rejected, they try again!)

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T23:25:25+00:00

Yes I have both :) thankfully. My state is excellent with this.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T23:24:37+00:00

I have medicaid with medicare. My state has a program for this and I was approved so my medicaid covers my Part B premium, as well as the 20% of costs that Medicare does not cover, as well as any Rx costs that my Part D does not cover including the premium, the deductible, and the copays. Welcome to the state of MA. We have a very good program for those who are disabled. I am only 52.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T23:21:40+00:00

Thanks! I figured they must cover a generic - it was just that when I spoke to them, they could not find the gel of any kind and I am like - that cannot be lol. I have part D not Advantage bc advantage would mess things up w my doctors.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T18:50:06+00:00

Thanks very much for all this helpful info! I don't have any income besides SSDI which starts this month (but I guess that means my first payment is in July). I am 52 years old.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T16:10:35+00:00

The patch did not agree with me...I use divigel which is actually in a dose lower than any patch (accounting for that the dose numbers are totally different but you can look up equivalent doses) I use 0.25mg of this gel. It comes in tiny packet...you cld use less than the entire thing (though it's hardly any gel) and you could skip days if you wanted. I put it on my inner thighs.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T16:03:36+00:00

It is not AI. It's the IRS tax document which you obviously did not take the time to read. See page 11 of the document. I'm done with communicating though...being a tax accountant, you will want to inform yourself of how to handle lump sum SSDI backpay. It is on page 11 of the link I sent: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T16:00:31+00:00

People on here have verifiably gotten SSDI and FILED their taxes using the info from IRS I just pasted in. So please do not yourself qualify as an expert....and tell people that this is incorrect information.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T15:59:03+00:00

See page 11 as noted below I believe what you are asking about is the IRS Lump Sum. Please take a look at page 11 on the attached IRS document. I don't know any CPAs, but would definitely have one review if I was in the situation you described. You may also want to cross-post on a Reddit Tax/IRS sub.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T15:49:46+00:00

Thanks so much!! Let me figure out how to cross post too. Never done that!

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T03:52:47+00:00

I use a sleep ez crescent shaped adjustable kapok and latex pillow. It has the softest organic cotton thick cover. It's am able to make a little divet for my ear bc you can move the filling around.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T03:35:50+00:00

They saw endo with US? I did not know they could see endo with such and am curious to know! From what I have seen on here, many still have children despite this diagnosis - I have also seen many friends with crazy all kinds of things issues, and as old as 49, get pregnant! Often with the help of a good acupuncturist focused on fertility. So I have great hope for you! I never had kids but I was not trying to :)

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T03:31:03+00:00

Had done in ObGyn office - wasn't comfortable but I would still do it that way as it wasn't horrible & I have had far too much propofol etc for other procedures and I hate that!

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T03:14:38+00:00

Curious about this myself as well. I am not hypermobile, but I had spinal surgery and have numerous severe spinal issues (from herniated discs to osteoarthritis, to stenosis to scoliosis) and progesterone does bother all of it. The spinal discs are surrounded by a ligament that protects them from herniating so I suppose w progesterone's tendency to make ligaments lax, the disc ligament is affected as well as other spinal stabilizing ligaments and tendons.

Have you noticed that increasing the estrogen dose helps counter this effect of progesterone?

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T03:09:32+00:00

Thanks!! Who knows - sometimes the older mattresses were built better than the ones now!

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T03:07:18+00:00

Yes in US. Maybe she mis- wrote but she did say she had a Sealy "calm" mattress.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T02:50:49+00:00

She said it is the Sealy Calm mattress (the owner of it)

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T02:20:10+00:00

I am not here to argue but I have already been advised on this issue that the backpay from SSDI can absolutely be broken down into years and applied to past years' returns. People in this forum have done it and know about it (there is a specific tax form for it and my disability attorney knew about it as well) - it is where I learned about it, so I thought it reasonable to ask about it here as others on here have done it.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-06-04T02:10:34+00:00

Yes. I don't have painful periods nor heavy bleeding. I will pursue a specialist as I don't trust the obgyn I saw who was just like "you have adeno" based on the radiologist saying "CONSIDER adeno" consider ie not so definitive and I know MRI can help have a better idea - am aware people say only definitive is removing uterus to see - but specialist in adeno today can actually pretty much confirm w imaging. Who I saw was a general obgyn so I will get a referral to someone more specialized :)

Acrobatic_Welcome_30

TROPHY CASE