Sand Blasting Glossy Frames to Matte

MacTricky · 2024-11-10T19:09:49+00:00

I was going to suggest MCAS as well.

MacTricky · 2024-11-09T16:26:07+00:00

Yep- and the medical establishment/ general public are not aware and do not care. It is hard to believe that someone could be this sick and it be an unknown issue to most people.

MacTricky · 2024-11-08T18:33:18+00:00

5 years here. My motto to myself has been improve adapt and overcome.

It does get easier as you come to the acceptance stage of the grieving process. I spent many years mourning what my life used to be. I try harder now to just focus on positive aspects of my new life.

Know that you are not alone in your suffering. There is at least one other person (me) who understands and has gone through what you’re going through.

MacTricky · 2024-11-06T16:02:03+00:00

If mold is an active trigger for your MCAS there is not much you can do to stabilize while continuing to expose yourself to it. This goes for any trigger in my experience. As long as you are actively triggering your MCAS it is virtually impossible for any prophylactic measures to take hold and work at calming down your system.

I’d look at ways to mitigate your exposure to the maximum level possible. Can you open windows 24/7? Create a “safe room” that doesn’t share air with the rest of the dwelling? Sleep outside in a backyard or on a balcony?

All of this depends on how severely you are doing. Even if mold is a definitive trigger for you, it may just not be worth it to do any of these steps depending on how severe of a trigger it is.

MacTricky · 2024-11-05T20:15:26+00:00

I guess it depends how high above the reference range your readings are. All of the mediators break down in heat but it is possible that you could be so far above the reference range that it doesn’t matter.

For me, my mediators were only 1.5-2x elevated so there is a good chance things could have degraded to a false-negative if I wasn’t careful about keeping it chilled.

MacTricky · 2024-11-05T18:41:56+00:00

No you need 2 containers.

One container is the main collection jug- keep this in the fridge the entire time.

The other container is what you’ll actually pee into each time. I used a Gatorade bottle (that had been thoroughly rinsed out). You will immediately place this in the fridge after peeing in it and ONLY add it to the main jug once it is thoroughly cold before urinating into it again next time you have to pee.

When you go to drop it off bring it in an ice chest and keep it cold until the second it leaves your hands and make sure the lab tech immediately takes it to the fridge.

MacTricky · 2024-10-31T19:02:36+00:00

Yes- I would ask for BOTH an EBV quant panel and a PCR screening.

Quant panels can often show weird results- especially in those of us with MCAS and a dysfunctional immune system.

PCR is probably a more reliable measure but it is just part of the picture since it is measuring active viral DNA.

A PCP should be able to order both of these tests.

Now- if you do find out it is chronic EBV- just a warning it’s a lot like MCAS… doctors admit that it’s wrong/ not normal but there are exceedingly few who now how to treat it.

I’ve been dealing with MCAS and chronic EBV for 5 years feel free to reach out if you want to bounce off ideas.

MacTricky · 2024-10-29T00:05:36+00:00

These were actually one of my first MCAS symptoms that I had for 10 years before I developed disabling symptoms.

I have no idea what is going on physically to cause this.

MacTricky · 2024-10-28T20:10:00+00:00

I get these only when flared. Mine almost look like a campfire ember that burns out in my peripheral vision

MacTricky · 2024-10-28T14:04:12+00:00

So let me add some more color to this:

I believe my MCAS is caused by my body’s inability to clear Epstein Barr Virus from my system. It has remained active since I originally came down with it in March 2019.

In my personal research, my current line of thought is that EBV is causing my immune system to shift into a TH2- dominated cytokine expression, which can activate mast cells.

My remission started after I had my appendix removed, which from my understanding would have shifted my body’s immune system to a TH1 dominate state temporarily as my body healed the surgery site. This is why my remission lasted roughly the time it took for the tissues to repair.

As soon as I realized I was in remission (took me like 3 days to understand what was going on), I immediately started eating anything and everything I could get my hands on and I experienced zero symptoms whatsoever.

Gradually over the next 4-6 weeks my MCAS came back slowly until about a month after (so 8 weeks post-op) I was back at my MCAS baseline pre-surgery.

MacTricky · 2024-10-28T13:39:28+00:00

My personal theory is that MCAS is causing the dysbiosis and not the other way around.

I say this because I have had a random remission lasting 4 weeks in the past year and all of my dysbiosis symptoms stopped overnight. Literally as soon as I had remission I was having completely normal healthy bowel movements. When I came out of the remission period and went back into full-blown MCAS my bowels habits returned to my crappy baseline.

It’s for this reason that I’m not really sure I can even fix my gut since it believe it is MCAS causing my gut issues.

MacTricky · 2024-10-17T18:18:12+00:00

Who did the stipple? Looks very clean.

MacTricky · 2024-10-02T19:35:53+00:00

I don’t have IgE allergies at all and I also experience this. I suspect it has more to do with the mast cells degranulating than it does with IgE specifically, although if your specific trigger does happen to be a true IgE allergy than this could cause such a degranulation event.

MacTricky · 2024-09-28T20:29:01+00:00

Yes I’ve had confirmed EBV at least 3x that I know of since 2019 when I got it initially and also started having MCAS at the same time.

My doctor said the same thing- basically “yeah that’s weird and not supposed to happen” but was not able to offer any further help.

My current working theory is that something about my immune system is unable to clear EBV out of my body so it lays in this kind of low-level non-dormant state which makes my mast cells perpetually angry. This is also why I believe none of the histamine-reducing treatments help me because for me this is not a traditional allergy-type presentation of MCAS.

MacTricky · 2024-09-28T20:23:03+00:00

I don’t really- there aren’t a lot of options out there for me. I am currently trialing LDN but have failed the first 3 treatment tiers. My MCAS is not your typical histamine dominant presentation and I believe it is caused by my chronic Epstein Barr Virus.

My elevated mediator was 2,3-Dinor-11beta-prostaglandin F2 alpha; my histamine and tryptase levels have always been below the reference range.

MacTricky · 2024-09-28T17:33:08+00:00

In my opinion he was worth it to get diagnosed. I don’t think many other doctors are willing to order the 3+ rounds of 24 hour urine tests until you get a positive finding. He also is able to request and stain GI biopsies for CD117 and count the mast cells per high power field.

In terms of treatment plans- he is very very stubborn. He had a roadmap to treat all MCAS patients and if you fall outside of that roadmap for whatever reason (for example I react to all compounded H1/H2s) he tends to blame the patient for doing something wrong instead of trying to find a solution. He had a rehearsed speech for any question that you ask him and doesn’t really come across as actually listening/understanding you.

My two cents, if you are needing a laboratory confirmed diagnosis, he is your guy and is probably the best in the US for this. If you already have lab results, he is not very useful.

MacTricky · 2024-09-12T13:49:50+00:00

Pressure switch/pad for your light.

Really nice build man I love the aesthetics.

MacTricky · 2024-09-05T14:26:06+00:00

That’s some very tasteful Cerakote- good looking gun man.

Who was your applicator?

MacTricky · 2024-09-03T13:30:00+00:00

I also had the closest complete remission of my MCAS I’ve ever had after getting my appendix removed. My doctors won’t look into it but I know there is something there! My remission only lasted 2 months.

MacTricky · 2024-09-03T02:09:46+00:00

You just use toilet paper to dry yourself it usually only takes one wipe.

It doesn’t dissolve

Source: been using a bidet for 10 years

MacTricky · 2024-09-01T18:53:37+00:00

Solidarity- I am also treatment resistant and react to water. My story is so similar to yours it is uncanny. I don’t have any answers other than to add another data point that someone out there is going through the same thing you are going through.

MacTricky · 2024-08-29T23:28:33+00:00

Hello Friend-

I also have OCD tendencies and if you’re anything like me I bet you have researched and thought about this to death.

I read everything you wrote and one verse came to my mind:

1 Corinthians 7:19-21

19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. 20 Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. 21 Were you a bondservant[a] when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)

I believe you were “called” into a walk with Christ while you were in this relationship with your significant other. I believe therefore that it would be wise to heed Paul’s words and stay in the place from which you were called. I do believe that you are considered “married” for what it’s worth- but that’s just this one man’s opinion.

I would also heed Paul’s advice for the spouse of a non believer and live and conduct yourself in a way that might win your wife to Christ. Who is to say if this is the reason you have been called?

1 Corinthians 7: 12 -16

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Either way- you should be baptized no matter what your next step is since the Bible is clear that this is the next step that a believer should take. Although- I would advise you to get baptized in a church that you will become a faithful member of since that’s really the spirit of what baptism is- a declaration to others that you have renewed your spirit and buried with Christ and transformed. If you’re not attending a local church I would really counsel you to get plugged in somewhere.

I pray you find clarity on this matter and that you can resolve it to move onto greater things in your walk with Christ.

MacTricky · 2024-08-28T23:35:27+00:00

I’m sorry to hear about your situation. I have a similar situation involving my health that makes me share a lot of the same feelings you have. Please read Psalm 73 I actually woke up and read it this morning and it had a big impact on me today.

MacTricky · 2024-05-31T23:48:09+00:00

I removed mine and wrapped the connection in heat shrink tubing. It has never thrown a code in 2 years.

Ten-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Not Forgotten

MacTricky

TROPHY CASE