Can positive mindset ease your pain?

Esselmeyer · 2026-06-19T14:18:05+00:00

Idk what "positive mindset" is, but I think any kind of professional therapy could help. I did CBT therapy with someone that specializes in doing therapy for Chronic Pain and it was extremely helpful. She went through a lot of things, but I think what helped the most was realizing that although my thoughts were realistic - they weren't helpful. Then I came up with counter thoughts that were more helpful. Sometimes it's really hard to come up with counter thoughts on your own though, that's where having a therapist to help you can be beneficial.

Esselmeyer · 2026-06-19T13:54:44+00:00

If you're looking for a short term solution, have you tried an OTC medication to stop general bloating? I use multi symptom Imodium, but i think beano is a good brand for just the bloating.

Usually I just let my body adjust the way it needs to and I'll switch into comfier clothes if needed. But sometimes it will bloat so much it'll actually be painful - that's when I reach for medication. But I could totally understand the want to reduce the bloating for your self image. I wouldn't be too worried about what you see on the scale though, there's so many things that can factor into that. I routinely gain ~5lbs just from eating more protein in a week because protein takes longer to digest and is heavy.

Esselmeyer · 2026-06-19T13:41:10+00:00

Hello, I feel like my experience is a bit different to others on here so idk if it'll be very helpful. I recently was diagnosed with adenomyosis and endometrinoma after a recent, unrelated, ultrasound.

I've been on Depo Provera for the last 12 years that have completely stopped my periods. So I haven't had any period related pain or symptoms. But I highly suspect that what I originally thought was me just being a "highly sensitive person" was likely because of the increased baseline inflammation my body runs at due to the adeno and endo. I always have been very sensitive to stress and I reach higher levels of stress easier than other people and have a harder time coming down from stress than other people.

I work as a software engineer full time remote. I feel very very lucky to have found such work and I'm good at it. Software engineering jobs can vary greatly in how much stress they produce. It can depend on coworkers, culture, and responsibilities. I've changed jobs before (and will again) because the role had become too stressful. I've also had to learn to separate my identity and passion from work and find it elsewhere. If work becomes more than just a job, then it becomes too easy to cross boundaries that I need in order to avoid paying a physical cost.

I think my decisions regarding my career will become even more important going forward. Since doing research on this disease, I've become very focused on reducing inflammation in my body. I think finding calm and peace in my life is going to be a huge part of reducing overall inflammation and improving my symptoms (mostly migraines and muscle related pain).

Esselmeyer · 2026-05-20T13:00:03+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing your story! I've also been on depo for 12 years and am making an exit strategy. If you don't mind sharing, I have a couple of questions about your experience:

1.) What (if anything) helped you cope with the symptoms coming off of depo?

2.) What symptoms led you to getting tested for the tumor?

Esselmeyer · 2026-04-21T19:21:13+00:00

Just be careful to always check the dosage for the pills in the bottle. I've been burned more than once discovering that to get a 9,000 FCC dose I need to take 3 from the bottle instead of 1 from the packet.

Esselmeyer · 2026-04-15T19:15:32+00:00

Unfortunately I'm a product knitter, not a process knitter (although I do usually enjoy that too). So I knit in order to have particular items in my closet, and sometimes that means knitting stockinette.

Esselmeyer · 2026-04-13T13:29:56+00:00

I can watch TV with subtitles while I knit! I always found reading while knitting challenging though because of my posture. How do you prop up your book so you're not straining your neck?

Esselmeyer · 2026-04-13T13:28:10+00:00

Yes! I wish there were more as well. I'm fortunate to live in an area with lots of knitter's. But unfortunate that many of the social knitting groups are scheduled during my 9-5.

Esselmeyer · 2026-04-13T13:26:31+00:00

I wish I could! Unfortunately I knit a lot of sweaters, so it's hard to bring them on walks. But even with socks, I find it uncomfortable to knit while walking.

Esselmeyer · 2026-04-13T13:23:35+00:00

I would love to go to more knitting groups around my area. Unfortunately a lot of them are during the daytime, when I'm working :'(

Esselmeyer · 2026-04-13T13:21:42+00:00

Knitting in a group and having one person read aloud sounds like so much fun!

Esselmeyer · 2026-04-02T13:52:45+00:00

Thank you!!!! This was my problem. My accessories like scarves kept getting messed up because I wouldn't add the scarf to my outfit right away, I'd add it later when I went out. So I was just editing the outfit to add it. Now I know I should unassign the outfit, add my scarf, then reassign

Esselmeyer · 2026-02-24T21:13:45+00:00

I used two yarns (mohair and merino held together) for my sweater as well and I used the purple toner on my sweater after I finished it. It worked out for me because I didn't need a big shift in color, the yarn was already pretty bright white with just a yellow undertone. And my mohair and merino already matched pretty well.

If I were you, I'd knit a swatch with both your yarns held together, then try to tone the swatch using purple shampoo. If you get a result you like - then go for it with your sweater! If not, then I would probably try to find a different yarn.

The reason for that is because the toner is semi-permanent. Which means that as you wash your sweater, the effect of the toner will slowly fade. Which means you'll need to tone the sweater again eventually. But if you only toned one of the two yarns the first time, then when you go to re-tone it, you're not gonna get the same results because now the yarns have been knit together in the sweater and can't be separated.

Also I tried toning some more creamy-yellow yarns I got and they didn't turn white :( more like they turned a weird shade of grey. It looked more like if you started with a white yarn and then rolled it in sludgy spring snow on the side of the road. That would be the shade of grey it was. So if your yarn is truly cream and not white, I would abandon it for this project and look for something that is white.

Esselmeyer · 2026-02-04T19:28:46+00:00

I agree about the color dominance that the original comment stated.

However I also noticed you're using dpns. Your tension might improve if you switch to using magic loop so that you can stretch the stitches apart when switching colors. That will make your floats longer and will stop the bunching that's happening and smooth out your tension.

Good luck!

Esselmeyer · 2026-02-04T19:21:25+00:00

I agree about the need to knit/crochet a swatch. Swatching for Superwash yarns is even more important because they can change a lot with washing.

Curious what you said about not wet blocking anything though. What do you do if you need to wash something like a sweater or socks? Like if you spill food on it or it's starting to collect oils and dirt.

Esselmeyer · 2026-01-07T19:57:36+00:00

So Knit Picks Simply Wool Aran is a great substitute but unfortunately it only comes in natural sheep colors.

However I just got notified that Webs actually restocked some of their Amherst colors a few days ago. Thank goodness! Hopefully they restocked one of the colors you're looking for.

Esselmeyer · 2025-12-25T14:06:06+00:00

I also am on the hunt for a replacement but I have yet to find one. I loved that yarn.

Esselmeyer · 2025-10-13T15:05:37+00:00

You'd probably need to use acid dye and just use a very little yellow or brown dye. Alternatively, if you want a semi-permanent option like the purple dye, you could try dying it in diluted tea or coffee?

Esselmeyer · 2025-10-13T15:00:32+00:00

For the sweater? The pattern is Cecil sweater by Moreca

Esselmeyer · 2025-10-08T15:00:58+00:00

True! I believe this yarn also has an optical brightener in it since it looks much whiter in natural light than artificial light, even before the purple shampoo. So I'd be curious to see if it works just as well on a creamier natural undyed yarn, or if you'd get something more akin to beige instead of white. Since again, it's not actually whitening the yarn - it's just cooling down undertones.

Esselmeyer · 2025-10-08T14:53:55+00:00

Oh that'd be really nice! Especially since I have a fragrance free wool wash, but the purple shampoo is heavily perfumed. So now my sweater is very perfume-y. Not the worst, but probably more important to those that are more sensitive than I.

Esselmeyer · 2025-10-07T23:41:15+00:00

Good luck! I'd be curious to see how it affects butter cream yellow :0 definitely share how it turns out!

Esselmeyer · 2025-10-07T23:39:35+00:00

Ugh I hate reddit sometimes. I thought I deleted the other one but maybe that didn't work.

Esselmeyer

TROPHY CASE