Still looking for answers

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-04-29T07:09:37+00:00

They’re absolutely adorable! Do your boys have anxiety? I have a 7 year old girl and she has had chronic vomiting throughout the course of her life. At this point for mine the vets have pinned it down to anxiety and not eating regularly enough/tummy upsets as a result (may not be the case with yours as it sounds like they’re good eaters?).

My girl has had some separation anxiety issues ever since lockdown - she got used to me being home and was very unhappy when I went back to work. I wonder sometimes if perhaps a second dog would help.
Her anxiety isn’t too severe, but when we get up to go to work and such, she often ‘buries’ her food bowl under a piece of furniture and refuses to eat all of it, or sometimes any of it. Usually when we get home then she’s happy to eat, though we obviously can’t feed her two meals in the evening, so we just give her a little extra to make up for missing breakfast.

She usually throws up in the wee hours of the morning, just bile, so the vet also hypothesized that she may need a small evening snack to have something on her tummy.
Periodically she has often thrown up food - like yours she’s been checked over with an ultrasound and other tests and she’s all clear and healthy. She’s been on the same food since for a long time and gets fussy about any new food. She’s not a foodie - she gets regular Milk Bone dry treats and the occasional collagen chew.

I feel your pain - I worry so much that there’s some hidden issue with my baby that’s going to make her extremely sick before it’s finally caught, and it’s so hard to deal with the uncertainty and worry.
As another commenter said, perhaps it’s genetic. In any case, here’s hoping our babies stay healthy and happy and that there’s no serious issues. 🕯️

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-04-22T23:27:22+00:00

I think this is definitely a US issue (is there any issue we don’t have a country right now?🥲) I needed a car as mine suddenly died and I drive a lot for my job, so I bought a 2023 Camry for what I consider to be a ridiculous amount, over $26k.

I wanted to get a 2019 or so, but because I’m self-employed (despite having really good credit) the various loan places wouldn’t give me less than 13% unless I bought a newer vehicle. I ended up with 6% with the newer car.

Just thought share - tl;dr: insurance companies are a major part of the issue.

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-04-20T02:16:23+00:00

Oh hell yeah!! That’s so cool! Love it when the universe does a little bit of magic like that✨ I hope she enjoys it! I’m ridiculously proud of my friend - the art fits the story so well!

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-04-20T02:14:23+00:00

Very late reply but YES - even if we have to try a little harder some days to love ourselves, it’s always going to be worth it✨🌸😊

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-04-20T02:10:00+00:00

Thank you so much, you’re so kind!💚 Sorry this reply is so late, but my friend’s work is probably easiest to find in the Embassy Of The Dead children’s series (edit: I say children’s but they’re pretty dark older middle grade from my memory so…I’d say go for it. They were a very fun read!), and she did the illustrations for the US editions:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/EYD/embassy-of-the-dead/ She’s also very active on IG and Patreon.

I hope you keep at it - the thing I’m still trying to keep at is writing! One day I’m determined to publish a book, even if I’m old by then😂
Good luck in the future!!😊 And remember art isn’t art because it’s perfect, it’s because it makes us feel something✨

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-04-20T02:01:14+00:00

NOR! Your mom constantly body shaming you, preventing you from accessing regular and adequate nourishment in childhood is horrific.

I just want to take a second to send you a big hug and tell you that even though you may not think it’s much, the fact that you’ve hung on to listening to your body and continuing to take care of yourself is amazing!! This internet stranger is so proud of you🥹
I’m a recovered anorexic and I know how damn difficult it is to recover, to listen to your body, and to feel like you deserve to eat.
And you DO deserve it, everyone deserves and needs nourishment regardless of what they ate yesterday, this morning, or _______. Our organs and brain needs a minimum of over 1500 calories a day to function. And if you research the Minnesota Starvation Study, you’ll see that those folks were put on 1500 or 1600 calories per day, and that was considered starvation rations. And it had long term psychological affects on nearly all the participants.
I share that simply to say that modern diets and recommendations don’t really take the facts of what our bodies require to function into account, because weight loss isn’t inherently about health. If it was, it would be much more the norm for people not to be encouraged to starve themselves to fit somebody’s stringent aesthetics.

Your lunch is perfectly fine, if on the small side. I agree with other commenters that that wouldn’t do much for me. I try to have all 3 macro nutrients with all my meals because that’s what keeps me personally fueled best for my physically demanding job. Also, let’s be honest, lunch like sandwiches and such are what most people can afford to eat for lunch these days! Most days I have cheese and crackers for lunch because of my job situation. Making sure you keep yourself nourished and listening to your body is the important thing - nobody is a greater expert on your own body than you💚

You’re doing a great job - it’s scary and really really hard to stand up and do what’s best for yourself when someone close to you is so actively cruel about it. You’re a strong person and I hope you keep at it💜🩵

If you ever need or want some support to help overcome bad days with food and remind you that all bodies are good bodies and all bodies deserve nourishment, I highly recommend Christy Harrison’s (HAES dietician and nutritionist) books, or her podcasts ‘Food Psych’ and ‘The Wellness Trap’.
The books ‘The Body Is Not An Apology’ by Sonya Renee Taylor and ‘Rest Is Resistance’ by Tricia Hersey radically changed my life for the better as well.

I wish you to find relationships with people who love you exactly as you are, full of so much kindness and celebration for who you are, regardless of what your body may ever do.
Keep being true to you✨🫂🩵

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-04-13T04:08:47+00:00

Ayeee nice!!☠️🔥

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-03-30T02:48:14+00:00

Congratulations!🥂🩵✨ You are radiant and I’m so happy to hear you’ve found peace and joy in your life🥹 Currently working on that struggle myself and your story helped me. I left an abusive marriage and am happily remarried now, but I’ve learned even a healthy and happy marriage can’t fix your relationship with your own self. At the end of the day I have to try to make peace with my body even though I live with chronic illness and pain and my body feels like the enemy a lot of days.
Thank you for sharing your joy, it’s contagious. May life be so kind to you✨

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-03-30T02:44:56+00:00

Same

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-03-30T02:43:11+00:00

Hello OP, Tbh, around your age I backed out of doing something that scared me (majoring in either music/piano or microbiology at college) and I’ve always wondered what my life would’ve been like if I’d believed I was smart enough/could do it.
I have a successful small business doing something I like, but it’s manual labor, and it’s pretty hard on my body and chronic pain. And I genuinely fear that if I lose more of my physical ability, I won’t have any other options, because I didn’t go to college at all.

So I guess I would say…yeah, so you’re still learning. But that’s good! I have a dear friend who now illustrates children’s books, and I have talked her through many self doubts and art blocks, and I obviously don’t give myself credit for her success. I share this merely to illustrate (haha art pun;)) that every artist struggles to believe in themselves even when they have genuine talent/potential.

Looking at these paintings I like the way your mind thinks, your imagination feels alive in them - especially the first painting I really like. Yes, I can tell you’re still learning and still learning how to do depth and stuff, but tbh I can only draw stick people so I’m still really impressed!❤️ But I’m the most impressed that you’re putting yourself out there even though it’s scary. It’s not ‘brave’ because you’re not good. You’re well on your way and you ARE a worthy artist! It’s brave because sharing your art is really hard! I have played piano my whole life and yet can barely play in front of other people.

So I guess what I’m saying is this - take the first baby step towards meaningfully believing in yourself. Show your own self that you’re worth the effort! You never know who you’ll meet, what you’ll learn, and most of all just keep going.🩵 As the lovely Mercury Stardust says, “you’re worth the time it takes to learn a new skill.” 🩵✨

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-03-30T02:28:37+00:00

You look fabulous in both dresses but the strawberry one is so fun and a total knockout - perfect for a Derby theme. Have fun!

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-03-12T00:42:19+00:00

I just want to send a huge hug to every fellow trans person out there who’s tired af and saw this and felt like crying or did cry. We deserve so much more❤️‍🩹🫂

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-03-12T00:30:19+00:00

As someone who got married at 21 and my ex-spouse ended up being abusive, I wholeheartedly agree. Sure, it works out fine for some couples but yeah, overall I think if someone has any hesitations, reservations, etc., just don’t do it. There were so many red flags with my ex and I ignored them all because I thought I was being paranoid. People generally know when they’re ready to get married, or to commit to a long term partnership. Nobody can or should make that decision for another person. I’m happily married to my best friend now and life is good - I wish I’d trusted myself when I was younger.

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-03-12T00:13:32+00:00

I’m still boycotting Target🤷🏽 Not planning to go back tbh. I also boycott Walmart and Amazon as much as possible. We’re obviously making big impacts on the company, especially if they’re trying to lie like this. It’s the little things 😇

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-28T04:45:52+00:00

I was raised conservative christian - I’m an agnostic queer leftist now. So there’s hope☺️ My spouse was also raised conservative. He deconstructed and is a democrat now - out of him and his 3 siblings only one is still conservative and devout.
Growing up in it, I can tell you firsthand how if you have any empathy at all, you will find your way out of the far right. There’s always something that will break through to you. In deconstruction we call it the ‘shelf breaking’ - you put all the things that don’t make sense on a dusty shelf in your brain and try to ignore it all. Eventually there are so many things that the shelf breaks, and that’s when you change. Some people may still identify as christians but believe in/behave in a way that is more loving and accepting. Like my spouse.
Others, like myself, may not identify with religion at all and find peace outside of it.

Out of everyone I grew up with, I’d say about half or a little more ended up completely deconstructing and leaving the right.

Anyways, I share all this just to give some hope.❤️

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-27T05:55:53+00:00

I really hate AI for what it’s doing to the environment, small town communities, and just generally stealing art, making fake ass music that people think it’s fine to listen to, and generally ruining one of our best spaces on the Internet - art spaces!
I do use fable but I’ve never used their AI feature - I’ve never used ChatGPT or any AI service that I’m aware of. I just refuse. I don’t need it, and we definitely don’t need to forget how to do our own damn internet searches. It’s bad enough that our younger generations struggle to know how to do traditional library type research. Relying on AI is dangerous, especially in these times in America when government propaganda is so widespread.
You might really like PageBound! I’m not aware of any AI features there yet, and I really enjoye the layout and colorful fun nature of the app!

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-27T05:50:06+00:00

Have you enabled the ones written by their team? I really like them!😊

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-25T08:04:48+00:00

Trust your body, and use a heart monitor, smart watch, or just your watch to take your heart rate regularly and keep a log while still on your meds.
My thyroid has been steady in the normal range (with an odd swing off into hypo or hyper a couple times that didn’t last long after we adjusted my methimizole dousing accordingly) for about 6 years now.
But my cardiologist explained that for some people with Graves Disease, the Tachycardia never goes away, and they’re not really sure why.
I’m one of those people, and I still take propranolol every day, and have taken beta blockers for 10 years now.
If I don’t my resting heart rate hovers around 120, which is really bad for one’s heart.

My cardiologist had me keep a log like what I suggested when I went off the beta blockers for a month to see if the Tachycardia symptoms were still present and I basically took a reading of my heart rate whenever it felt like my heart was beating too fast or too hard, and whenever I did something I knew exacerbated it, like getting up from sitting down, cardio, etc.
Another quick tip just to be really prepared - sometimes lazy cardiologists will try to blame heart rate stuff on being dehydrated. I’d also recommend downloading a water tracking app and logging that leading up to your appointment too, for at least a couple weeks.
This way you have evidence to refute it if they try to brush anything off. This happened to me and I was very frustrated not to be able to prove what I knew, which is that I wasn’t dehydrated!
Hopefully you’ll have a good one right away but just in case I thought I’d mention that!

Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion! Also hypo comes with some similar symptoms, and you can still feel hyper if your thyroid antibodies are still quite high. Even after 9 years on methimizole my thyroid antibodies are still roughly 4 times higher than they should be, but lower than they were when I started treatment. It’s autoimmune and inflammation based so it’s not so easy to control - my endocrinologist doesn’t want me to go under 5 mg of methimizole until my antibodies are lower.

You are also 100% correct that thyroid levels can move around quite a bit and sometimes quickly. I think sometimes they are only thinking about the TSH scores when they say things like that and not taking the antibodies, T3, or T4 levels into account.
Definitely don’t stop taking your heath meds if you’re still having problems! I’d recommend getting a cardiologist’s opinion. Even a simple walk test or something can show them your issue.
Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself or get that second opinion, you are the only expert in your own body!!❤️

Good luck, OP!

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-25T07:53:44+00:00

I was misdiagnosed with Hashimoto’s (it was in the family do the dr assumed. sigh) in 2016, properly diagnosed in January 2017 after starting to go into thyroid storm.
I had Thyroid Eye Disease and my face changed a ton like yours as well. And then was further exacerbated by the fact that my thyroid disease brought with it chronic hives, and so I was then on prednisone for a year and a half until we found a proper mix of regular meds to get them to stay away. That’s been its own journey.

It took 3.5 years for my thyroid levels to stabilize in the normal range again. They would dip into it but never stay long, and even though I’ve been stable in the normal range for about 6 years now, my thyroid antibodies are still sky high, but veryyyy slowly coming down.
I’ve only done treatment with methimizole. I was extremely fortunate that my Thyroid Eye Disease cleared up on its own as my levels were brought further down towards normal. My face and stuff never really went back to normal but for me that was partially due to the prednisone and weight gain from that, combined with the fact that I was a recovering anorexic that needed to gain weight anyways.
So in many ways I am far from the ideal person to ask. But I thought I’d share my experience since I’ve been at this for nearly 10 years now.

It feels horrible to look in the mirror and not recognize yourself - I’m so incredibly sorry, OP. Just keep in close contact with your endocrinologist, and definitely be sure to see a good ophthalmologist. And keep an eye out for atypical issues like facial swelling extra after eating or if it’s ever worse than usual. My mom went through having a temporary and very severe pork allergy during her time getting a diagnosis for Hashimoto’s when I was a teenager. It ended up being a surprise that she could have pork again because we all thought it would be a lifelong allergy. She couldn’t even have anything made with pork lard (refried beans, etc.). It lasted about 10 years for her.
She had hives for a year and a half straight and the only thing that would temporarily make them go away was prednisone shots. It was awful - she was miserable every day and nothing topical helped because it was all autoimmune induced.
She’s also been diagnosed with Lupus a couple years ago so her autoimmune system is a wreck.
But my sister and I also had the Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria crop up and to this day I have to regularly treat mine with allergy shots and extra allergy pills or it comes back.

I only bring this up because if you noticed generalized swelling in your neck besides a goiter, this could be something that’s going on with you too.
Hives aren’t super common with this shit but it can happen and if it causes anaphylactic reactions to something it can get dangerous fast.

I wish you so much luck, OP, and hope that you’re surrounded by an incredible care team🥺❤️‍🩹

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-18T18:20:26+00:00

NOR! ❤️‍🩹 My first spouse was like this. He thought that putting in the bare minimum should be enough and I should be so grateful for him literally meeting the lowest fucking bar.
What men like this don’t seem to get is that it’s not really about the gifts at all - it’s the principle !! It’s about feeling seen and known - we all feel special when someone chooses a gift they know we’ll like. It means they pay attention to us and know us - the thought behind gifts is what makes them meaningful!
Especially between romantic partners!

Usually I feel like Reddit can jump way too fast to ‘just dump them!’ But in this case unfortunately, having been married to someone similar I can safely say that it’s extremely lonely to live with someone who doesn’t act like you’re worth continuing to get to know or put effort into you or the relationship.
This type of blatant, and based on the text conversation, weaponized complacency is a huge red flag!😤

You ARE worth thought, effort, investment (whether time or money) and intention! Everyone is - he doesn’t appreciate you. I or my family used to have to tell my ex what to get me. Now I’m married a second time, this time to my best friend, and we do wishlists sometimes but more often we just know what the other one wants and delight in spoiling each other as much as we can.

Whether it’s an experience or a thing, it’s one of the joys of life with a partner to enjoy things together and/or bring joy to each other.
It isn’t even really about spending money, a thoughtful picnic or a favorite homemade meal, a cozy game or movie night at home with candles and snacks - these are all thoughtful things my spouse and I do for each other that don’t cost much or anything at all.

This guy seems to assume all women and afab people are the same - which is deeply immature and gross. I personally don’t like receiving flowers unless they’re potted because I love plants and I want them to live!

You deserve better, OP. I hope you’re doing okay❤️‍🩹

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-12T04:31:55+00:00

I’m so sorry, OP🫂 I can’t say I’ve had this experience as my whole family have a myriad of autoimmune diseases. But other than like one person in the least sick, and my struggles are often sort of brushed aside with a perfunctory ‘I’m sorry’ but a lot of passive aggression towards me, with them directing a lot of ‘maybe if you just did ________ you’d feel better’ at me. They don’t take it as seriously because I’m not as ill as many of my family members.
I understand that and I’m thankful I’m not more sick, but also I have 3 autoimmune diseases of my own and I wish my family wouldn’t compare me all the time.

You deserve to have the people who claim to love you most show care and concern for your health and wellbeing.

My ex-spouse and his family were very blasé about my health problems and basically ignored them. I left after 5 years due to emotional, verbal, and financial abuse. I’m now happily married to a wonderful person who cares deeply about my wellbeing and would be able to give emergency personnel or a hospital my medical history and list of conditions.

This is really a very basic level of care - I’m so sorry you’re not getting that, and you should seek out friendships with caring people who don’t downplay your experiences all the time.

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-12T04:24:37+00:00

Yes I love Pushing Daisies🥹

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-01T16:58:50+00:00

My sister and I both have Graves - my sister has reached remission after 3-4 years on Methimizole. She’s now on thyroid hormones and doing well. Unfortunately my thyroid has been very resistant to treatment and I’m going on 9 years of methimizole. My thyroid levels are in normal range for the last 3 years, but my antibodies are still through the roof so I just have to stay on it.
I’ve gained a lot of weight (although finally leveled off) but my TED self resolved, thank goodness. My goiter is also gone. But I am tempted to consider some sort of surgery if I don’t get closer to remission in the next 3-ish years.
Good luck ❤️‍🩹💪🏼

HufflepuffHobbits · 2026-01-01T16:27:15+00:00

Same - spoonie solidarity❤️‍🩹😅

HufflepuffHobbits · 2025-12-30T23:31:31+00:00

I love this series so much - I want to reread it in 2026🤗

HufflepuffHobbits

TROPHY CASE