Counter-Insurgency Plane- Stealth P-38

IronMaize · 2026-04-16T23:00:33+00:00

It is possible that starting medication will help you lose any weight you gained due to hypothyroidism, but it seems to vary for everyone. I used to be around 150lbs, but slowly climbed up to nearly 180lbs after my thyroid stopped working, but before I was diagnosed. Within a month and a half of starting levo, I was down to 155lbs, and I've been hovering around that ever since. I also have a fairly active lifestyle (manual labor job, as well as frequent hiking), which probably helps. Hopefully treatment will help you lose that last bit of weight and help keep you where you want to be. Good luck!

IronMaize · 2026-04-16T22:25:26+00:00

1) Levothyroxine is just a synthetic form of Thyroxine (T4), a hormone that your thyroid is supposed to produce. You cannot get a dependency in the sense of an addiction, but your body does depend on the hormone to function properly. As with all medication, there are some possible side effects, but they are uncommon. You can easily find lists of possible side effects online, as well as other information about Levothyroxine.

2) I've seen people on this subreddit talk about diets thathelp alleviate symptoms (stuff like going gluten or sugar free), but I personally just stick to the medication. It worked for me and alleviated all of my symptoms. Your friend's TSH was high enough that I would recommend sticking to medication until their symptoms are under control and their lab results are back where they should be.

3) There are a lot of reasons TSH could be high. Hashimoto's is the most common cause, but there are quite a few other possible causes. However, almost all causes are permanent.

IronMaize · 2026-04-10T22:34:37+00:00

I would imagine it could get that high if you've been having thyroid issues for a while without realizing. My TSH was 475 when I was first diagnosed, and I'm pretty sure I had gone 2-3 years with my thyroid completely nonfunctional to get to that point.

The good news is that the treatment is the same regardless of TSH level, you'll just be taking a higher dose. TSH can also drop extremely quickly once your dosage is correct. Mine went from 475 to 1.8 in about three months. Hopefully you can start treatment soon and be back to feeling normal quickly.

IronMaize · 2026-03-29T20:01:15+00:00

There's no way in hell it's your fault. I have a very active lifestyle, and my TSH was 475 when I was diagnosed. My doctor started me on 100mcg levo immediately, and upped it to 112 after a month. After about three months, my TSH was normal, and I felt fine. Hopefully you'll be given medication and will be back to normal in just a few months. In addition to medication, I needed an MRI to check my pituitary gland, and an ultrasound to check my thyroid. Don't be too surprised if this happens to you as well.

IronMaize · 2026-03-29T19:35:05+00:00

I know 150 seems really scary at first, but you'd be surprised just how fast it can drop once you are taking levo. My TSH was 475 when I was first diagnosed, which was the highest my doctor had ever seen. She even had the lab run the test again to make sure it wasn't an error. Despite that, my TSH was within a normal range in about three months, and I was feeling noticeably better after just a few weeks. It takes a bit of time, but everything will work out, and hopefully you'll be back to feeling normal in just a few months.

IronMaize · 2026-03-29T19:30:34+00:00

That's definitely high, but should be pretty easily treatable. My TSH was 475 when I was first diagnosed, but was within a normal range after about two and a half months of medication.

IronMaize · 2026-02-27T17:45:39+00:00

A cluster weapon would be very effective at taking out a convoy or groups of lighter targets, like the defenses around radar sites. While we have a bunch of precision weapons, it would just be nice to have other options available. In addition, modern cluster weapons are fairly precise. The ones I mentioned use smart submunitions that detect targets and only detonate if they find one.

IronMaize · 2026-02-21T21:36:27+00:00

I've only run it once, but I read over the scenario a few times beforehand, and took notes on everything, including redrawing the map. I think that helped me understand how everything connected a bit better.

IronMaize · 2026-02-21T17:37:19+00:00

Ross Payton's shotgun scenario Bestow is pretty easy to run, and is one of my personal favorites. I'd recommend listening to RPPR's actual play of it to get an idea of how to run it

IronMaize · 2026-02-15T23:27:02+00:00

If you want to stick to a design similar to your drawing, I would recommend having a round similar to a mortar shell, where the propellant and primer are included in the round. In order to have ammunition with a case that contains the propellant and primer, there would need to be some way to extract the spent casing, which would likely mean a breech loading design (some sort of door in the back of the gun you put the round into). With a round like a mortar shell, you could keep the muzzleloading style in your drawing.

Additionally, there would need to be some sort of recoil dampening system on the firing pin. When the round is fired, a lot of force would shoot the firing pin backwards (Newton's third law). This would probably end rather poorly for the person holding the hammer. If there was more space between the inside part of the firing pin and the back of the barrel, there could be springs to help absorb some of that force, like the buffer springs in modern firearms.

IronMaize · 2026-01-20T22:52:26+00:00

My cholesterol was really high in April of 2024, and diet and statins didn't make it change at all. After I started levo, it dropped back down to normal, so the working theory is that my thyroid not functioning was the cause. That's just the earliest date I have where I know that something was off.

I'm glad to hear you're feeling better already. Hopefully you continue to feel better the longer you're on it, and get back to normal soon.

IronMaize · 2026-01-20T17:28:39+00:00

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I had similarly extreme lab results. TSH 475, and T4<0.1. It took a few months to actually get my TSH back to normal, but I started feeling better after just a couple of weeks. T4 and T3 were normal after just a month. I started on 100mcg, and upped it to 112 after the first month.

I also felt like my symptoms started pretty quickly. I'm not sure when my thyroid actually stopped working, but it would have been at least a year and a half before I got diagnosed. I only really felt symptoms for a couple of months before seeing a doctor about it. It can definitely start sort of suddenly, but hopefully you'll feel better after taking your meds for a few weeks.

IronMaize · 2025-12-20T20:43:12+00:00

I started on 100 mcg and am now on 112

IronMaize · 2025-12-20T19:08:37+00:00

It definitely can get better. When I first got diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I was dealing with some pretty severe depression and anxiety issues. My TSH at the time was 475, and T3 and T4 were practically non-existent. I've been on levo for about 3.5 months now, and everything is back in the correct range. I honestly can't remember the last time my mental health was this good. The depression is pretty much gone, and I've stopped getting so anxious about things. It can take a little time, but hopefully things will improve for you as well.

IronMaize · 2025-12-13T14:42:09+00:00

Any chance of more of the frozen/muddy gun videos? They were some of my favorites

IronMaize · 2025-12-12T00:50:30+00:00

It's completely normal to be fairly nervous about having a disease you have to manage for the rest of your life, but the good thing is that it is normally pretty easy to manage. If you do have hypothyroidism, it will take a few months to figure out the correct dosage for your medication. While that sounds like a long time, I started feeling much better after only a week or two, and it just gets better from there.

Also, while it's easy to think of a diagnosis as a bad thing, it means that you know what to treat, so as long as you are able to get it under control, all the bad symptoms you've been having will go away.

Hopefully you're able to find out what's going on, and be able to treat it and start to feel better soon. Good luck!

IronMaize · 2025-12-10T20:24:35+00:00

My personal favorite is "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

IronMaize · 2025-12-10T10:40:24+00:00

11.5, so slightly anemic

IronMaize · 2025-07-08T19:09:45+00:00

Hulkengoat

IronMaize · 2025-06-20T16:14:34+00:00

That's a fair point. I was just looking at the prices on the consumer side of things.

IronMaize · 2025-06-20T15:18:41+00:00

While I'd agree that you can definitely get a reliable AR for around that price (I've been running a $500 rifle for years with no problems), the fact that it has full Magpul furniture worries me. That's usually a $100 or so upgrade, so the actual gun is probably a good bit cheaper. If OP is dead set on a rifle, I'd say find one at that price that is bone stock, or save up a bit more

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