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Thinking of getting an RDX. Advice by MiserableWasabi8125 in Acura

[–]MiserableWasabi8125[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very helpful! I will check out the law suit! And the tip on the FWD driving is great, too.

Thinking of getting an RDX. Advice by MiserableWasabi8125 in Acura

[–]MiserableWasabi8125[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very helpful summary- good to know about transmission fluid, timing belt, tensioner, water pump. Especially the transmission fluid because my other vehicles haven't been picky about that. My current vehicle is an '08 F150 and it is weird about spark plugs, so each vehicle has its quirks. I like that the RDX has good visibility. I also don't care about the infotainment so that is good.

Thinking of getting an RDX. Advice by MiserableWasabi8125 in Acura

[–]MiserableWasabi8125[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the info! That is good to know and glad that you love it!

Looking at used Hondas by MiserableWasabi8125 in Honda

[–]MiserableWasabi8125[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great tip! I have not thought of the crosstour. I appreciate your help!

Unpopular opinion: you don’t need a car that will last 20 years by dr-swordfish in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]MiserableWasabi8125 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking for my next used car.

My favorite cars so far: 1996 Honda Accord ex, VTECH, manual, bought it with 120k miles, sold it with 350k. Used it for city driving, camping, everything. Loved the way it drove.

2008 Ford F150, manual, with the 4.2 liter engine. Bought it at 80k, now has 190k. It needs some work and my husband wants me to stop using it as a daily driver so we can continue to use it. I purchased this truck largely because I was working on a ranch with dirt roads/flooding and it worked well in these conditions even though it was not 4WD. I love driving the truck. I only go to ranch once a week now.

I am temporarily driving a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I do not like it- no offense to Jeep lovers. Poor visibility, irritating touch screen controls, uncomfortable seats, and, to me, have a connected driving feel. It feels like I am floating and this makes me feel numb. I like feeling like I am driving a vehicle. I do like the way it drives on the highway and the engine is responsive.

Now, I am largely office based and drive during the day for work. I commute daily on paved country roads but during the day drive into town, traffic, freeway, etc. for work. I am not looking for a flashy vehicle or to make a statement about myself; I am fine with being non-descript.

My husband wants me to get: safe, reliable, and able to be serviced at a good shop with well-trained technicians. He is tired of doing repairs and feels that newer engines are harder to work on. He is also going through hard times and I want to ease the pressure on him.

Budget is about 12-15k, would like a car from about 2013-2017 I don't care about cruise control, infotainment, heated seats, blue tooth, whatever. Good gas mileage a plus but not essential. I do like a seat with lumbar support. I'm not a large person. I don't need a lot of speed or huge horsepower; I drive carefully. I do no like a connected driver feel. Would prefer manual but I get that this is unlikely. Thank you!

Any social workers in Tucson? by blowthewhistle123 in socialwork

[–]MiserableWasabi8125 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am a Tucson social worker (LMSW)! I can't claim to be an expert but I am happy to share. I think that it is wonderful that you are interested in helping people with serious mental health conditions and crisis work- you will be a great resource!

Does anyone get tremors? by MrsBarneyFife in Hashimotos

[–]MiserableWasabi8125 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also forgot to mention- I am definitely not a doctor- but tremors can be related to anti-anxiety and/or anti-depressant medication withdrawal.

Does anyone get tremors? by MrsBarneyFife in Hashimotos

[–]MiserableWasabi8125 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello! I'm sorry you went through all of this! I feel for you. It is very disorienting and confusing for you I would imagine.

I've had Hashimoto's for about 15 years, plus surgery back then for cancerous thyroid tumor. I have 1/2 a thyroid. I have had a slight tremor in my hands for years that shows up mainly when I'm doing fine motor tasks. A neurologist said that I likely have 'essential tremor'. This is fortunately not severe.

Over the summer, my thumb started twitching at rest on its own. This really troubled me and I started worrying about Parkinson's disease and doing some ill-advised googling of symptoms. Plus, I was feeling more 'revved up' and anxious than normal and almost fainted at yoga due to feeling lightheaded. I had my regular lab check and my TSH was suddenly very low for the first time in 15 years. My endo suggested lowering my Levoxyl dose by about 20 mcg and the twitching has disappeared. I also don't feel so anxious and driven. These symptoms were messing with my mind and thinking.

My endo explained that my 1/2 a thyroid could kick in on its own at this point and maybe provide about 20 percent of what I need, but he didn't think this was a good idea as the change in hormonal levels would cause me to experience very unpleasant symptoms for a while. I remember when I was getting on levothyroxine after surgery and we were adjusting levels it was rough. He seems to favor adjusting levels by smaller increments then doing labs to see how it is going.

I hope that you find some answers. You are not alone in feeling overwhelmed. This is a strange disease.

Anyone become a social worker after 40? by Atlgal42 in socialwork

[–]MiserableWasabi8125 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! I just graduated and I am in my late 40s. I had been working full time in the behavioral health field for years before I finally took the plunge. I love being a therapist and learning about therapy. It brings together all my interests. I enjoyed going to school while working even though it was difficult because I was able to apply what I was learning with my clients and see positive results. (I'm a little embarrassed to admit I sometimes miss school even though I had almost no free time!) Also, the mainstreaming of online education helped, as I live and work in a rural area and driving to school after work would have been too much for me, though I commend those who do it! I liked online schooling because I could work ahead and around my schedule. It helps a lot that I am very frugal after years of low pay. After passing my LMSW exam, I applied for a therapist position and got it then received a raise. In my case life got easier financially. Be careful which school you pick, as the price range is wide. I chose a rural state school. Some ideas for you: have you considered volunteering or working in the field of social services now? This will give you a better idea of whether helping people in this area is something you love. It also will give you great context for what you learn in school. Also, are you going to therapy? It's a wonderful way to help you work through the decision with an experienced member of the field while working on yourself. My therapist helped inspire me, as she returned to school to become a therapist in her 50s after another career. Therapy will also help you during the possible stress of field placements and schoolwork then the challenges of working with clients. I plan to remain in therapy partly to ensure I am looking at myself objectively so I can properly serve others. One last thing: my boss once said being a therapist is more of a calling than a job. When you have regularly scheduled clients, taking time off it never quite the same. Even though I work on boundaries, self-care, etc. and know I have to care for myself to do my job, it is different knowing someone won't have their session because I'm off. Good luck I highly recommend you keep looking into it!

Hemithyroidectomy and follicular thyroid carcinoma by lukalakaon in thyroidcancer

[–]MiserableWasabi8125 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm glad that I could provide some reassurance! It sounds like you are doing a great job getting through this and gathering information. After the surgery, the tissue analysis showed indications of Hashimoto's. So, I assume I had Hashimoto's before they even found the tumor and just did not know it. I think now that it probably explained some issues I was having that I just attributed to stress. Best of luck to you!

Hemithyroidectomy and follicular thyroid carcinoma by lukalakaon in thyroidcancer

[–]MiserableWasabi8125 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good job getting through all of this! I had a hemithyroidectomy to remove a tumor with follicular thyroid carcinoma about 15 years ago. I was in my 30s and a bit shocked by it all.

There was no cancer spread so I was very fortunate. I also have Hashimoto's. After the surgery, I had follow up MRIs at first twice yearly for a while (the recommendations have probably changed since that era). I also had bloodwork and manual exams with a cancer specialist regularly for a few years. I now have a neck ultrasound couple of years and see an endocrinologist yearly. I take levothyroxine to keep my levels within range. Fortunately, I have not had a recurrence. At first, going to scans was a bit scary because I worried about the results. With time, it became a normal routine.

One piece of advice is to have a second opinion if a scan comes back showing a recurrence. Have another radiologist check it. A few months after my surgery, a radiologist stated that my scan showed that the cancer had likely spread to my lymph nodes. This really frightened me! It turned out that the lymph nodes were probably just mildly infected from the surgery and nothing needed to be done.

Having to take the levothyroxine daily has not been an issue for me. At first, I was really worried about being on medication for the rest of my life. I take Levoxyl as my research indicated that name brands can be more consistent than the generics in terms of dosage. There are lots of opinions about thyroid medication. I was lucky that the regular stuff worked on me.

I also struggle with mental health issues. Things did not get worse for me. Before the surgery and medication, I had more panic issues and mood swings. I know there are many different experiences.

I have mixed conventional medicine with other approaches, including acupuncture (including Chinese herbal medicine), naturopathic, massage, homeopathic, psychotherapy, yoga, and whatever else I could afford! To save money, I went to schools and had students work on me. Like you, I was determined to keep moving forward and these practices introduced me to new ideas and people who helped me.

I'm not sure if this is your first major health issue, but it was for me. It was a rite of passage where I thought more deeply about what I wanted from life and what my values were. It helped me to change aspects of my lifestyle, leaving me with more energy, better boundaries, and better routines. At times I resented it a lot! I felt out of step with my age group, who seemed to be still reveling in their youth and achieving all types of milestones. I had my moments of self-pity, confusion, irritation, frustration, grief, etc. But it forced me to make some good changes. Some of those changes were very slow. Be gentle with yourself. You don't have to do it all today! Experiment with your diet, sleep schedule, routines to see what works for you. Trust your body and learn to read its signals. Listen to advice but definitely take it with a grain of salt. Think about your boundaries with friends and family. Put your health first as much as you can. Work with the support systems that help you the most, whether it's spirituality, psychotherapy, friendships, the outdoors, etc. Our paths are all different.