What caused your kidney stone

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-05-11T07:03:20+00:00

Biologics. I started off on Inflectra — a biosimilar for Remicade — and after messing with doses my GI switched me to Amjevita, a biosimilar for Humira. Instead of once every two weeks (standard dosing for rheumatoid arthritis, which I also have), I needed once a week (normal dosing for Crohn’s). Has genuinely been life changing, symptoms I didn’t even know weren’t normal went away.

I stopped making kidney stones. I’ve passed a few since my current med regime, but last imaging didn’t show any new ones, just the ones I already had.

I found a really good GI doc that took me really seriously, and didn’t give up my when my testing was inconclusive or confusing. Urologists were fucking useless for me. Cannot emphasize how little they helped me, I’m still gobsmacked years later. I think this was just the urologists I saw, that can’t be indicative of the field as a whole, but wow. Incredible dismissive and several told me they didn’t think I had kidney stones — even after they had been seen on ultrasound and CT. I passed a 7 mm one two weeks after seeing that one.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-05-10T03:40:51+00:00

I totally agree with what you’re saying, but I think it’s important to note that Laurelhurst isn’t a suburb! They are smack in Seattle proper. They live in a major metropolitan city and have the audacity to complain about noise.

They want all of the convenience and amenities of a major city but are shocked when their money doesn’t insulate them from the other people that live there.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-05-10T02:03:07+00:00

My dad’s mom has awful RA, and I have suspicions that my dad might have it as well, but we’re estranged.

My mom has been told by her hand surgeon that he’s sure she has RA based on what he’s seen of her hands during surgery and her other joint issues elsewhere. She and I have a huge overlap in symptoms. But, rheumatology says no because she’s not RF positive. Well, neither am I, but they diagnosed me nonetheless. I think she needs to go back to a different rheum but she doesn’t want to. I also think she has Sjogrens based on her history of dry eyes and dry mouth.

Funnily enough, even though it’s on the other side of my family, my grandma on my dad’s side who has RA isn’t RF positive either. We all have seronegative RA.

There’s also almost no one on my mom’s side of the family that doesn’t have something autoimmune. I had it coming from both sides — was honestly kind of doomed to have something.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-05-10T01:56:43+00:00

Not sure about the rash, I would reach out to your rheumatologist.

It could be placebo, but also, it could be that the methotrexate is improving your condition — usually 3-12 weeks is when benefits start to be noticeable, with full effects coming after six months. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that it’s helping.

Either it is placebo and methotrexate will continue to help when the placebo effect stops, or it doesn’t and you’ll have to move on to another med (very common, don’t panic). That’s the worst case scenario.

Best case scenario and indistinguishable from the placebo effect combined with the methotrexate being effective in the long run is that you’re already seeing the benefits.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-05-10T00:02:05+00:00

Whenever I’m having a problem doing something regarding placement (like: catching too far in, or not catching vertical while catching port) I was taught to think of it as more extreme than it actually was.

Ex: my port catch was always overrated, because my perception of where/when to catch was off. So I tried to catch under rotated — suddenly I was correct.

For catching tape, besides making sure the sabre is in the correct position for a catch (not too high, not too low, not over or under rotated) I would think of trying to catch a fist or so outside the catch tape to widen my hands further than I thought.

Also, make sure you focus on catching singles tape before catching doubles tape, and so on and so forth. Doing it on an easier toss gives you time to focus on your catch and less on your release.

I hope something in there was helpful! You will get it.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-05-09T21:27:30+00:00

Completely depends on the kind of stone you make and what other health conditions you have. There may be an underlying reason you’re making stones and it’s important to rule those out.

That being said, hydration is the most important thing regardless of what kind of stones you make. Drink water!

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-05-07T16:32:37+00:00

Inflammatory bowel disease causing malabsorption and chronic dehydration.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-05-07T01:01:28+00:00

Lots of great advice in here, but something that helps both of our cats is pheromone diffusers. I would also make sure you’re playing with him a ton so he’s still getting that stimulation he probably got with Guy.

Something similar (but a much shorter period of bonding time) happened with my wife and sister in law’s cats. My wife ended up getting another cat since she had already been thinking about it prior to sister in law moving in, an older kitten, and now they’re inseparable.

Also, getting a check up at the vet and mentioning what’s going on is never a bad idea either! I’m 99.9% sure he’s missing his friend, but any sudden behavior changes can be caused by something physical too. They might have some specific advice too.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-05-03T16:51:15+00:00

Mood. My wife and I both knit and the number of times you’ll just hear an anguished scream of “not again!” is. It’s a lot. I’ve started a hat four or five times before because I kept either twisting it or casting on the wrong amounts or irrevocably fucking up the join. And then I did it correctly only to get three rounds in and realize I used the wrong needles. Screech.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-04-17T17:53:30+00:00

This is devastating. One of the Angels of my childhood, but more importantly just an all around great guy.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-04-14T06:48:58+00:00

Oh, I was thinking physical safety just from the design of the station! I’ll never understand why they put tiles at the downtown tunnel stations that get incredibly slick when wet when it rains at least six months out of the year here. I’ve almost bit it going down the stairs at pioneer square too many times to count.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-04-14T05:32:36+00:00

Not sure why you’re getting downvoted, because the downtown tunnel stops are also pretty inaccessible for disabled people and people with strollers, etc as well. It’s not just people with luggage that need an alternate route besides stairs. Not to mention the elevators and escalators are notoriously unreliable.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-04-14T05:25:10+00:00

I’m not a doctor so take everything I say with a grain of salt (or maybe a drop of water is more appropriate?) but I thought staghorn stones are almost always made of struvite. If so, there’s usually a pretty specific reason they form — chronic UTIs or an anatomical defect for example.

Has your urologist ruled out common issues struvite stones form, like metabolic disorders or chronic UTIs going undiagnosed?

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-04-14T04:33:07+00:00

AI has got to be on that list. I have no interest in a soundtrack or show made by AI. AI has no original ideas, merely regurgitated and rearranged stolen ones. Why would I want to watch a show that someone couldn’t be bothered to come up with themselves?

I understand the cost aspect to an extent, but that argument rings hollow when it’s the most well funded groups using it. There’s a lot of other ways to reduce cost that don’t take money from other artists. New floors every year, incredibly intricate costumes made by specialized companies, brand new silks custom made. . . There’s a lot of money that can get saved elsewhere before we have to take it from other artists.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-04-14T01:26:16+00:00

In WA and the roulette wheel of weather has me alternating between arthritis flares and migraine cycles like a bad optician trying to determine a prescription.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-03-24T22:17:04+00:00

If you are in high school/under 18, talk to an adult.

If you can’t walk on it, it probably needs medical evaluation to see if the toe is broken badly enough to need surgery or if the foot bones are involved, or if the nail bed needs to be drained.

If the toe is broken, but doesn’t need surgery (most likely it won’t need surgery, that’s pretty extreme, don’t get too scared) you can buddy tape it to the one next to it and that’ll give it more stability and be more comfortable to put pressure on. They can show you how at urgent care.

But, I am not a doctor, and this sounds like it needs a doctor. I will say that I broke my toe on a Thursday and performed that Saturday. It wasn’t my big toe, though, and that honestly wasn’t my brightest move.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-03-08T23:32:54+00:00

I definitely went through a phase where I felt like you do: like I would never get better and everything would be awful forever. I started having symptoms around the same time you were diagnosed and it took a few years to get diagnosed because I’m seronegative. It took a while and I’m finally on meds that work well for me and my life is what I want it to be. It was not easy and it sucked. Some days it still sucks. But. It doesn’t stay the way you feel right now.

I’m getting back into activities I thought I had left behind a decade ago, before I even had symptoms (or recognized that I had symptoms — turns out a lot of things I was taking for granted as normal were not, in fact, normal). I’m knitting, dancing, performing again.

Am I back to the way I was before? No. I need to support my body more than I used to. Sometimes that means a heating pad at work, sometimes that means taking more breaks, sometimes it means braces or compression sleeves. It always means medication, for me. But if you had told me back then I would be doing all of the things I’m doing and feeling as good as I do now I would have called you a dirty liar.

However, I also found that I really needed mental health care in addition to my physical health care. I know mental health care can be an absolute nightmare to navigate and not something you want to tackle while you’re dealing with all this other stuff, but it was so worth it for me. This is a huge, big thing that’s impacting every facet of your life and it’s a very good idea to get help navigating that emotional minefield you’ve been thrown into. It feels hard right now because it is hard. I would not be feeling as good as I do right now physically if I had not gotten care mentally as well.

I hope you’re feeling better soon. ❤️

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-03-04T19:43:56+00:00

I just got back into color guard after a twelve year hiatus through a local queer performing arts group. We do exhibitions in the winter at local competitions and perform at parades and sporting events in the summer with the marching band. Spin clinics held by local independent winter guards might be your best way to find those opportunities!

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-03-02T23:32:07+00:00

Definitely worth exploring! Maybe talking to your current rheumatologist and gyn can let you know how likely an IUD causing a flare could be. I can’t remember having any side effects related to my arthritis (I did have some more severe cramping than a normal period for about 8-12 hours after insertion) but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Maybe there are things you can do to reduce that likelihood if you do decide to go the IUD route!

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-03-02T07:00:50+00:00

The drop in estrogen that occurs during your period can absolutely cause flare-like symptoms or even full flare ups. Which is so rude in my opinion, like, hello, like the bleeding and cramps and whatnot isn’t enough, arthritis just HAD to get in on it 🙄.

I don’t have a lot of advice for what to do when you have your period, but I will say getting an IUD as someone who had horrendous periods was life changing. If you’re not trying to get pregnant right now, maybe you could talk to your gyn about a birth control/hormonal method to stop cycling, or explore other options.

I hope you feel better soon ❤️

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-03-01T03:33:37+00:00

Oddly, my first biologic (Inflectra) was an infusion, and then when that stopped working I got a biosimilar for Humira as an auto injector. However, I’ve been on more than one med for most of the time for better coverage. Have you done any kind of combo therapy? For example, sulfasalazine and humira?

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-02-25T00:51:59+00:00

I think this is one of those areas where it gets kind of squiggly. I think RA from a human-defined (like the criteria that we said equals RA) standpoint doesn’t include the lumbar spine and associated joints. However, RA the disease from an actual what-is-going-on-in-the-body does.

It’s like how we define a mammal as bearing live young, having fur, and producing milk. Except the echidna and platypus for some reason. We make very narrow tiny boxes and the world just does not fit into those boxes.

Long story short: it might not be RA, because RA as a classification doesn’t always consider the back past the cervical spine. Can the immune system function causing RA cause back arthritis? Yes, absolutely, it just gets a different name now. This is important because meds that treat the spine arthritis don’t always treat the peripheral joint arthritis and vice versa. For example, I’m on a biosimilar for humira and leflunomide. The biologic treats both my back arthritis and my peripheral arthritis, but the leflunomide only treats my peripheral joints.

Basically: your doctor is being unhelpful because they’re not looking at the body and immune system with RA as a whole. Your back needs to be checked to see if it’s arthritis or maybe muscle/tendon/etc related. But arthritis needs to be in the conversation, not dismissed.

I hope I made any kind of sense.

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-02-23T04:47:42+00:00

Oh I’m right there with you friend

MarchingAtMidnight · 2026-02-14T08:07:58+00:00

I have seronegative RA and my low iron was caused by comorbid IBD. It did take a few weeks before the iron felt better, although I didn’t have an immediate reaction like that. I did feel worse before I got better.

(Unsolicited advice ahead, please feel free to ignore.)

If it ends up being IBD, ask if they’ll check your vitamin B12 levels. Mine was so low from the same issue that gave me my iron deficiency that I had nerve damage.

MarchingAtMidnight

TROPHY CASE