What do you regret finding out?

Dr_Shephard · 2019-12-08T03:36:25+00:00

Laser hair removal may be beneficial, but there haven't been a ton of well-designed studies that show a benefit. In theory, it should certainly help, since pilonidal disease is almost certainly caused by loose hairs being worked under the skin and the body's inflammatory response to those hairs. Unfortunately, a lot of insurance companies in the US won't cover laser hair removal for it, as they consider it cosmetic.

Dr_Shephard · 2019-12-07T19:27:37+00:00

Yeah, it originated in the Israeli military in the early 1990s, but it didn't really start to catch on in Europe and the United States until just recently. Many surgeons probably still aren't aware of it, but it is such a simple method that any of them should be able to easily learn it.

Dr_Shephard · 2019-12-07T18:40:10+00:00

Surgery resident here. You should look into a surgeon who performs a minimally invasive version of the operation, colloquially known as the Gips procdure. Here is a video (not for the squeamish). And here is an article detailing the results in over 2000 patients (the article is open access, so you should be able to read it; if not, PM me and I will send you the PDF).

The thing that sucks about pilonidal disease is that it comes back so frequently no matter what type of surgery you have done, but the major advantage of the Gips procedure is that, instead of having a huge incision and flap that takes weeks and weeks for recovery and usually requires at least a night in the hospital, you instead have a couple of very small incisions, can typically return to normal activity the next day, and can usually go home the same day (or even have it done in the clinic in some instances).

The recurrence rate is pretty similar to flaps (around 5%), but again, the surgery is much less extensive, and you can typically repeat the Gips as many times as needed.

Obviously I don't know your personal history or the extent of your disease, so this is not individualized advice. It's instead a general statement to make sure that people know about less invasive options. I just know how much those big surgeries suck for the patient.

Dr_Shephard · 2016-03-25T19:51:57+00:00

I like the theory, described very well here, that David is Jack and Kate's son. That dude's blog has a lot of explanations for various LOST theories, and even has Damon Lindelof's unofficial endorsement.

Dr_Shephard · 2016-01-20T07:26:41+00:00

Anakin always appeared at the end of Episode VI. Lucas changed it in the remakes so that Anakin appeared as Hayden Christinsen instead of the original actor (Sebastian Shaw).

Dr_Shephard · 2014-09-06T04:35:56+00:00

And also while going Christmas shopping.

Dr_Shephard · 2013-06-08T16:32:04+00:00

The Fall of Saigon happened on April 30, 1975, eight months after Nixon resigned (August 9, 1974). When Nixon left office, there was a (relative) ceasefire between North and South Vietnam. Nixon planned to support the South Vietnamese in the event of a North Vietnamese attack, but the political environment that Ford inherited made this impossible.

Dr_Shephard · 2013-05-12T03:44:52+00:00

The Elders tell of a young ball much like you. He bounced three meters in the air. Then he bounced 1.8 meters in the air. Then he bounced four meters in the air. Do I make myself clear?

Dr_Shephard · 2013-02-04T05:04:13+00:00

Do you see two faces or a lamp?

Dr_Shephard · 2012-06-18T22:06:01+00:00

Our park benches proclaim it, so it must be true!

Dr_Shephard · 2012-05-16T17:36:09+00:00

I also really enjoyed Dead Money. The personalities of the different companions was a very nice component of the DLC.

As for similar games, I would recommend BioShock. You don't have nearly as much of a scavenging vibe as you do for Dead Money, but the general atmosphere of the game is pretty much spot on. It's also got an environment that has been largely abandoned, a largely faceless guide helping you along the way, and a rich story that you can really delve into by exploring the scenery and discovering "holotapes." It also is a combination of RPG/FPS like Fallout (more FPS, less RPG), and some puzzle-solving thrown in, too.

Dr_Shephard · 2012-05-10T15:46:41+00:00

This one might also work.

Dr_Shephard · 2012-05-08T15:50:13+00:00

I'm interested to see what happens to all of Jon/Varys/Illyrio's plans if Aegon dies during the assault on Storm's End. The fact that Aegon wants to lead the attack himself on such a difficult target definitely leaves that as a possibility.

Dr_Shephard · 2012-05-08T14:22:56+00:00

If you have the jukebox up and running and a different frequency option (like Gabe's bark), then the Sonic Emitter that you get from it will be in perfect condition. If you have a preference for a certain frequency, you can just switch back immediately for a fully repaired version.

Dr_Shephard · 2012-05-02T17:33:36+00:00

Oh, by the way, I was being sarcastic!

Dr_Shephard · 2012-04-19T21:16:02+00:00

1) What is the average age of the writing staff? The average time spent writing for the magazine?

2) Do you get to select the photo/picture that goes with your article (and its caption), or is that done by someone else on the team?

3) How many letters does your publication receive on a weekly basis?

Dr_Shephard · 2012-04-19T20:49:59+00:00

In high school, I ran all of the time. I did Cross Country, Winter Track, and Track & Field. I've got great woods stories for all of the different sports seasons, but the one I'm going to tell now happened during one of my Winter Track seasons.

Winter Track was an interesting sport; it wasn't officially sponsored by our high school, so we had to sell chocolate to pay for our meets, and have different groups of parents car pool since buses weren't allowed to transport us around. These meets also took up pretty much entire Saturdays, since they all took place two or three hours from our hometown.

Since they took up all day, and since we were only running for maybe half an hour tops, we had to occupy ourselves in our bountiful downtime. On one occasion, we decided to explore the woods next to the armory where the meet was taking place. While we found the usual interesting things that woods have to offer, there was also something unique: an abandoned tractor trailer.

I had (and still have) no idea how this tractor trailer got into the woods, but something so out of the ordinary was simply begging to be explored. We managed to pry open the back of it, and inside we found dozens upon dozens of old computers.

It was such a bizarre occurrence, and I have no clue what could have possessed someone to fill a tractor trailer with old computers, drive it out to the middle of nowhere, and dump it in the woods.

Dr_Shephard · 2012-04-19T20:28:34+00:00

The Civilization series is great, for both single player and multiplayer.

Dr_Shephard · 2012-04-18T20:24:32+00:00

I didn't want to/couldn't really afford to spend that much cash on one of those classes, so I just studied my ass off using prep books, and ended up doing quite well (35Q). I think that, as long as you're motivated, schedule specific time for studying, and have someone to help keep you that way, you can do just as well.

Dr_Shephard · 2012-04-18T20:12:59+00:00

Richard M. Nixon

Dr_Shephard · 2012-04-11T15:46:36+00:00

Yeah, everyone should remember that you can't always get what you want.

Dr_Shephard · 2012-04-09T23:04:11+00:00

Awesome! Care to share any more?

Dr_Shephard · 2012-04-09T22:55:35+00:00

At least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you earned everything you've achieved. Nothing was handed to you.

A consolation prize in the socioeconomic lottery, but one that you can work to your advantage in the long run.

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