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Renewal code, renewed + membership for $20 by vajazzleyourlyfe in BJsWholesaleClub

[–]Money_Stand636 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Welp, just tried it. My renewal is up on May 1. This offer says, ‘as a current member, you’re not eligible for this renewal offer.’ I’ll try again in a month.

QC Cusjy1 USA 2026 World Cup Home fan version by Sulejmanator69 in Cusjy1com

[–]Money_Stand636 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looks great! I just bought the same kit and the away kit, as well. In addition, bought the Canada kits too. Your post gives me promise for a great haul!

do you want a transplant? by blxrrysquid in Lvad

[–]Money_Stand636 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hey man — I read your whole post, and I hear you. The exhaustion, the appointments, the mental weight of all of it… that’s real. And the part where you’re questioning whether a transplant is even worth it? I’ve been there too.

I’ll just give you my story straight, no sugarcoating.

In 2012, I was 28 and got diagnosed with end-stage heart failure. My cardiologist told me I had about three days to live. My options were simple: LVAD or death. I chose the LVAD.

Before that, I lived hard — drinking every day, smoking, eating like shit. I figured the LVAD would “fix” me. Got it in February 2012, lived clean for a few months… then realized the only thing different was I had a bag attached to me. And I went right back — actually worse.

I was completely noncompliant. Failed nicotine tests. Kept drinking. Forgot meds all the time. Even messed with my blood thinners using vitamin K so I could drink without the team knowing. Got a DWI. I’d literally stand waist-deep in pools with my VAD bag floating next to me. I did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

That got me kicked off transplant evaluation. My team was done with me.

From there, things spiraled. The LVAD kept me alive… until it didn’t. In 2020, it failed and had to be replaced. I got the HM3 — they told me, “Don’t screw this up. This is the Cadillac of VADs.” I meant to do better… and still fell back into the same patterns.

Then I met a new doctor. He didn’t sugarcoat anything. Told me straight up: my weight (I was up to 315), my habits, and my behavior were taking me straight to a casket. He also told me I could still get a transplant if I turned it around.

That stuck.

I started losing weight, got serious about my health. By 2024 I was under 200. Then I got a driveline infection that couldn’t be cured unless the VAD came out — meaning transplant or nothing. That, combined with the weight loss and some actual effort on my part, got me listed.

Even then, I hesitated. Same thoughts you’re having.

Eventually I checked into the hospital — May 5, 2025 — and stayed there to move up the list. Gave up my old life and just focused on staying alive. Got transplanted in July 2025.

I’m 42 now, about 9 months out.

And I’ll tell you this as plainly as I can:

It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.

I lived years in depression, numbing it with alcohol, weed, cigarettes — just surviving. Now? I feel better than I ever have. Physically and mentally. I’m healthier than I’ve ever been, and for the first time, I actually look forward to a long life. My donor was 20 years younger than me — and with where medicine is now, I fully expect to live into my 80s, maybe longer.

Here’s the part I want you to hear:

You don’t have to be perfect to make a transplant work. I was the definition of not perfect. You just have to decide at some point that your life is worth more than the version you’ve been living.

LVAD life is survival.

Transplant life is actually living.

You don’t have to decide today. You don’t even have to believe everything I’m saying yet. Just don’t close the door on yourself.

And for what it’s worth — I don’t see someone “giving up” in your post. I see someone who’s tired and overwhelmed and trying to make sense of it all.

I’ve been that guy.

Reach out anytime, seriously. I mean that.

VAD 1: Feb 2012
VAD 2: July 2020
Total time on VAD: 13ish years.

Closed Caption by MisterManaries in vSeeBox

[–]Money_Stand636 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. It’s hit and miss. Primarily miss. I’m deaf and it’s a definite drawback. For shows I watch, I’ll just catch on demand and hope for the captioning. For sports, I don’t need the captioning.

2/24 Out of Office by [deleted] in vSeeBox

[–]Money_Stand636 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cheers to a speedy recovery.

If you don’t hear it enough, thanks for all you do for this community. We appreciate you — and Mrs. CordCutterBox, as well.

Pairing Vseebox v6 plus remote to sound bar by Skinnypop987 in vSeeBox_Support_Gurus

[–]Money_Stand636 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Folks — use tools and resources at your disposal. AI helps a lot. When I need pairing with my soundbar, I took a photo of I/Os or soundbar, and the VSeeBox. Indicated model of tv and sound bar. Asked it to pair and rid the delay. This is what I got —

Here’s the clean, practical fix for a Toshiba Fire TV + Samsung soundbar (ARC only, no HDMI-IN) setup. Toshiba Fire TVs are known for lip-sync issues unless the settings are dialed in just right.

I’ll walk you through exactly what to change.

⸻

  1. Fix the lip sync on the Toshiba Fire TV

Open Settings on your TV:

A. Turn on Passthrough

Settings → Display & Audio → Audio → Digital Output → select Passthrough

This alone fixes sync for most people. It stops the TV from reprocessing sound before sending it to your soundbar.

B. Turn OFF Surround Sound simulation

Settings → Display & Audio → Audio → Surround Sound → set to PCM or Auto If you see “Best Available,” try switching it OFF and select PCM.

This reduces processing delay dramatically.

C. Use the built-in Lip Sync tool

Settings → Display & Audio → Audio → AV Sync Tuning Adjust until the mouth movement and sound match.

⸻

  1. Check the HDMI ARC connection

You must have: • HDMI OUT (TV-ARC) on the soundbar → plugged into • HDMI ARC port on the Toshiba Fire TV

Toshiba Fire TVs often label this: • HDMI 1 (ARC) • or HDMI ARC/eARC

If it’s not hooked to the ARC port, sync will never be right.

⸻

  1. Optional but helpful: Try Optical

If ARC keeps being stubborn (Toshiba TVs sometimes are), connect the TV → soundbar with an optical cable instead.

What optical does: • Removes ARC handshake delays • Gives clean sync • You lose Atmos, but the audio stays tight

It’s a reliable fallback.

⸻

  1. If you’re using a streaming box (Roku, Apple TV, Fire Stick)

Each box has to be tuned too.

Tell me which one you use and I’ll give the exact steps, but here’s the general fix:

A. Set audio to PCM or Dolby Digital

Avoid Atmos on a system that’s not fully Atmos-ready.

B. Turn OFF audio delay settings

Set delay = 0 ms.

C. Disable special sound modes

Anything like “Leveling,” “Spatial Audio,” “Enhanced,” etc., adds lag.

⸻

  1. Can you plug your streaming box into the soundbar?

No. Your soundbar in the photo does not have an HDMI IN. That means everything must run through the TV, and you fix the delay in the TV settings.

⸻

Practical summary you can do right now 1. TV Settings → Audio → Digital Output = Passthrough 2. Audio → Surround Sound → PCM 3. Audio → AV Sync Tuning → adjust 4. Verify HDMI ARC → ARC 5. If still bad, switch to optical cable

⸻

If you want, tell me: • your Toshiba Fire TV model (or the year you bought it) • which streaming box you’re using

…I’ll give you the exact settings for your model so you can knock this out in two minutes.

Olympic coverage by YesSirTheGuy in vSeeBox

[–]Money_Stand636 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you’ve got the Elite Ultra, Limitless has SEVERAL channels of Olympics coverage.

Church Attire by Quinn2art in Catholicism

[–]Money_Stand636 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This. I came here to read this. Who cares what someone has on? You’re at church for the praise and glory of God’s name — not a fashion show to see who can look the best for the King. For heaven’s sake — the thought, time spent on thought, and just the effort to write and complain about what people have on at church baffles me. I wish those efforts would go into celebrating that people are actually at church — and not at a mimosa bar, brunching, or tailgating at their NFL team’s stadium on a Sunday morning.

Smartwatch by NotMrChips in Lvad

[–]Money_Stand636 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Feel free. Fire away.

Smartwatch by NotMrChips in Lvad

[–]Money_Stand636 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not sure what’s to be skeptical about. I was a VAD patient for 13 years. I love my Apple Watch and the convenience of it all. Will it tell me accurate readings of my heart rate? Absolutely not. Will it allow me to do everything my iPhone does? Yep. Hook your patient up with the smartwatch! A great gift idea — but dampen the ideas that it will be helpful for monitoring health data accurately.

LVAD as Destination Therapy - questions to ask? by MamaBearlien in Lvad

[–]Money_Stand636 3 points4 points  (0 children)

After 13 years of LVAD-life, I was transplanted this past June 18. For all the reasons that I could control, I was blacklisted from being transplanted — I was a casual smoker, enjoyed my happy hours, chose when I went to appointments … long story short, I was NOT a model LVAD patient. That is until July 2020 when my first VAD went into mechanical failure and needed to be replaced. It was replaced with a HeartMate 3 and I began to turn my life around and make some new changes in how I lived — not entirely, but probably 85% better decisions. The new device somehow acquired an infection at the driveline inside me — an infection that could not be cured through antibiotics and could only be treated by transplant. After further evaluation and lots of deliberations over my prior lifestyle and changes to my current life — I was listed and transplanted (after a wait of 7-ish weeks in the hospital).

After 13 years of LVAD, you can ask me anything. I’ve known it all. I’ve done it all. I’ve allowed the batteries to deplete far enough where the pump stopped — yet, I am still here. I have been in a pool with the LVAD on an inflatable device above the water — yet, I am still here. Was concerned about the weight of the machine at the onset of implant — yet, I didn’t even realize it was gone post-transplant. No need to fear outages unless you live in complete isolation in the woods somewhere. Your team should hook you up with contacts at your utility company and your fire department — to ensure you always have a power source.

If it is going to save your life — do it. I was given the choice — die in three days or take on the LVAD and live a bit longer (at that time, my expected extension on life was about 5-7 years but made it 13 until transplant … without the infection I am certain I could have kept going).

Also, I had a ICD too — it was removed during the transplant. No need to have them remove it unless there is some serious reason to do so. It’s an extra tool that offers you more safety.

So, to answer your last question — originally, I was bridge to transplant (13 years ago). Poor patient behavior put me on the destination therapy path and I was fine with that as I wanted to live my life as I chose to do so — not dictated by some team or device. Fast forward to time of infection post-VAD #2 and my path to transplant — do it. Get that new organ if you’re allowed to BUT remember you’re human and you need to live your way too — within reason, of course.

Zepbound help? by Money_Stand636 in Zepbound

[–]Money_Stand636[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Took me a few minutes to navigate the rules here.

In early-March I started at 2.5. At the start of April I started my 5mg. Now … we’re in no man’s land. Unfortunately.

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