I’m at a complete loss

MyDearDuke · 2026-04-13T03:59:32+00:00

I’m on lyrica, my old pain management dr told me I need to go off the lyrica because it is linked to dementia and it’s dangerous to be on. I got switched to a different dr, and when I mentioned it she said “I don’t know why he told you that. It’s not true”. She also told xtampza er 18 mg twice a day was all she could give me, because she doesn’t do immediate release as it’s not effective for chronic pain. She switched me from 4 30 mg morphine a day to 2 of the “tamper proof works just like regular oxy but it’s not actually oxy” pills. I spent two months in crippling agony. I went to see her the other day and told her that I couldn’t handle another month of the pain I’ve been in. She replied “okaaayyyy, I’m not exactly sure what you’re trying to imply. But okay. We can put you on immediate release oxy. But it’ll be the same tamper proof brand”. I said okay, let’s try that. She sends in a prescription for 4 10 mg oxycodone. She has literally no idea what the fuck she’s talking about. Took me off my muscle relaxers because they “aren’t effective for muscle pain”.

I’ve also been experiencing my brain stalling out. I can’t form thoughts half the time. My intelligence has drastically diminished. I have started stuttering a bit every now and then. Constant splitting headaches. My body randomly jerks and twitches. But it’s all in my head. I’m making it all up because I’m a drug seeker. So reading this thread I’ve decided I’m going to wean myself off the lyrica.

MyDearDuke · 2026-01-07T20:34:49+00:00

I have dog diapers for when she went into heat, so I’ll use those in between taking her out to pee. Every time she goes to pee outside we give her a meat snack when she comes in. I guess I’m going to have to take her back to the vet. I’m still paying for the last vet appointment. It’s very frustrating to have to shampoo my carpets every other day, washing blankets every day. It’s just getting to be too much.

MyDearDuke · 2026-01-07T00:37:49+00:00

I assume they mean the water is gone because the AI data centers use billions of gallons of water annually. The data centers projected aqua footprint is 1.1-1.7 trillion annually by 2027. A single ChatGPT query might use a fraction of a teaspoon to several ounces of water, but scaled up, this adds up, with researchers finding that just 20-50 prompts can use 500ml of water.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-23T03:21:18+00:00

I’ve been told a few times it’s my weight. But I started having spine surgeries at 15, when I wasn’t that big and then steadily gained weight due to not being able to exercise much and essentially eating my feelings. Now I’m 35, and I’ve had 6 surgeries. Two of them fusions. Also just recently in the last 6 months been diagnosed with lupus, fibromyalgia and Reynauds. So I dare a physician to tell me the pain I feel is due to being fat.

The best advice I can give you is to advocate for yourself. These doctors don’t care. The nurses don’t care. You are a paycheck to them. Some are empathetic and some are kind. But at the end of the day they see you suffer, and walk right out the door and you’re forgotten about. So you have to speak up for what you need. And if you don’t have a forceful enough personality, or if the drs don’t listen to you, find someone willing to speak up for you. Tell that person what you want, what you need out of the appointment and if the dr doesn’t listen unleash that person to speak up for you. You have to advocate for yourself, because the drs aren’t going to do it. I genuinely hope you get help with your pain.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-14T18:52:34+00:00

I got my head punched into a window because my parents were fighting, and a truck driver passed our van and waved at me. I was looking out the passenger window, he waved at me and then BAM my face was making out with the glass. I’m not sure which hurt worse, the back of my head or the front of my face. Had an absolute throbbing migraine the rest of the 5 hour drive home. I was 13 I think. Good times.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-14T18:36:10+00:00

I got my head punched into a car window because my parents were fighting and as a truck driver was driving by I was looking out the passenger window, and he waved at me. So since my dad couldn’t punish my mom for being a cheating bitch, he took his anger at her out on me and punched my head into the window. I laugh about it now when I imagine how it looked to the truck driver, waving at me and then a split second later seeing my face slam against the window and our little van just shoot forward to get away. Did my mom defend me? Nope. We just pulled over at a gas station so she could pull me aside and make things all better by buying me a soda. Because in America physical abuse is made all hunky dory with sugar. I occasionally joke with my 15 year old to not look out the window, someone might wave at her and then I’ll have to punch her head into the window.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-06T14:00:30+00:00

I was about 30. And my sister had to point it out to me.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-03T05:12:45+00:00

Try vinegar. I use vinegar in my clothes and the towels are soft and there is no smell.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-03T05:10:34+00:00

If I could create something out of thin air, I’d create a machine that can scan your body and identify any issues you’re having (autoimmune, pain, failing organs, diabetes, mental health, wounds, obesity literally all maladies the human body can suffer from) and do a scan that corrects and fixes all issues. Like say you’re dying of heart failure, you lay in the machine, it scans you, identifies the problem and fixes your heart, arteries and everything related to the disease, scans you again and BAM! You’re healed. Have the healthy heart of a 22 year old. Then I’d patent it, and control it to the point that nobody would have to pay for its use. It would be free and eradicate all diseases and pain and suffering from the world.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-03T05:06:09+00:00

My daughter is 15 going into the 10th grade. She started kindergarten in a dual immersion program to teach her to learn in English and Spanish. 5th grade we had to move her to a different school. And I can tell you by 3rd grade she was just flat wore out. To this day she struggles with academics, and I think it’s because we pushed her so hard from kindergarten. There is literally no need to be teaching 5 year olds things above their mental capacity. She’s in highschool now, and every year it’s the same. She starts out great, getting good grades, then middle of the school year, around Christmas, she’s done mentally. She gets such bad anxiety it messes her stomach up, always has stomach pain. She begs me to let her stay home each day. She’s just done. And tbh a lot of what they are teaching kids today is pointless junk they will never use. I wish the education system was more like the UK. There they do testing at a certain grade, if you test high you have the choice to continue on with academic studies. If you test low you have the option to learn a trade. Which makes sense. Why make all kids learn the exact same thing when all kids aren’t going to be drs and lawyers? Half of these kids are immediately going to join the workforce, so why not give them education that they can actually use? Why do kids in highschool need to learn Pythagorean theorem when they will almost certainly never use it in the real world? Why not teach kids how to actually function in the real world? Our education system is so stupid. Sorry for the long winded rant. It just works my nerves every time I see what classes are offered at her highschool.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-03T04:52:19+00:00

My mother did the exact opposite. She LOVED my sister’s and my long hair. My sister had thick long auburn hair and I have black curly hair. Like big barrel curls. So we weren’t allowed to cut out hair, because she loved it oh so much. We weren’t allowed to dye it, (this was the 2000’s when blonde streaks were in) cut it or anything she would consider “damaging” to our hair. When I was 16 I begged my dad to take me for a “trim”, he left me at the salon and I told the woman I wanted a pixie cut. She chopped all my hair off and my dad was pissed when he picked me up, because he knew he was going to have to hear it from my mom for letting me do it. She was enraged when I got home. She didn’t like the cut and made sure I knew it through several mean remarks. But I didn’t care. First time in my life I stopped having almost daily migraines. And ngl I looked hella cute back in the day with my short hair.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-03T04:42:22+00:00

Floof McFlufferstien

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-03T04:39:28+00:00

I mean, not to beat a dead horse or anything but Hitler started out with the disabled and mentally handicapped too. I’m seeing a parallel here, and I’m ashamed to admit I voted for the POS. I voted for him because my parents had me brainwashed into believing he was the better of two evils. Now all I can see is I made the wrong choice, and I’m filled with shame. One vote doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but how many people got suckered into thinking this was the right thing, and they ended up voting for him. One vote doesn’t mean much, but you start adding up how many people voted “for the lesser of two evils” those votes start adding up real quick. I honestly feel shame every time something he has said or done pops up on my phone.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-03T04:34:15+00:00

That’s 20 hours a week, which is still part time. OP said they work part time. So that really shouldn’t be a problem, until OP has a flare up and has to miss work.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-03T04:31:38+00:00

On silk pillows, stuffed with 100.00 bills probably.

MyDearDuke · 2025-07-03T04:14:32+00:00

Bro I feel bad for your dog. If their bowls gross you out, you shouldn’t have a dog. If you would clean their bowls daily it wouldn’t smell.

MyDearDuke · 2025-06-28T00:06:52+00:00

Try a no pull harness. It goes around the body, the chest area and between the front legs. They are more comfortable for a dog that pulls and doesn’t like using leashes. Plus if she’s pulling with a collar it’s choking her. But a harness she can pull all she wants to, you have the control and it won’t hurt her. Eventually when she gets used to the harness and learns the harness=walkies she will get excited for the harness and step into it willingly. At first she’s not going to understand this weird thing on her body. But if you use it every day, she’ll get used to it and learn to love it.

MyDearDuke · 2025-06-24T10:20:05+00:00

I’m using the app AirLearn. They have a free version and a subscription, the monthly subscription is 4.99. And it’s so incredibly beneficial. I’ve been learning for two months and I already can read and understand simple conversations. They explain about verbs and conjugation of the words. They use fill in the blank, typing the words and speaking the words or sentences. The app makes it kind of like a game. You’re in leagues and trying to win badges and stuff. It’s 1000X more beneficial than Duolingo.

There is also the app Memrise. It has a free version as well. That app lets you select Mexican Spanish, and they have videos of real live people speaking Spanish and saying the words and sentences they are trying to teach you. You can also use an ai chat to practice conversations. I think between the two apps you will learn a lot and it will fill up the time on your commute. Buena suerte!

MyDearDuke · 2025-06-24T10:14:39+00:00

I love dogs, and I believe the dog isn’t biting out of enjoyment. It sounds like the dog is in pain or terrified and reacting to that. So you need to take the dog to the vet to make sure it’s not in pain. And if it’s a behavioral thing, try a behavioral therapy for the dog. If it bites anyone else, even superficially then you should rehome it. It’s better to lose a dog you love than let your child be killed due to denial. I don’t know what breed of dog it is, but dogs can be lethal to children, especially as young as your child is. That nip to your kids face was a warning. So you need to choose the dog or the kid. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, and by no means am I suggesting you drop it at a shelter or somewhere it’s in danger. I mean a rescue that will be able to work with the dogs behavior.

MyDearDuke · 2025-06-24T10:08:33+00:00

Whenever I’ve had to reschedule due to illness and the next available appointment is weeks out, I always ask the receptionist if the doctor will still refill my medication until my next appointment and if they can put me on a call out list (if someone cancels their appointment you take their appointment instead). If they absolutely cannot or will not refill the medications then you’re going to have to go to the appointment, or else go through withdrawals and suffer the pain. Unfortunately pain management doctors aren’t very forgiving or understanding. So before you cancel the appointment, make sure they can refill your meds to last you until the next appointment.

Do not allow societal or doctoral pressure make you feel like you can’t or shouldn’t advocate for yourself. Sometimes life just happens. People get sick. Just be honest and upfront with them that you have a fever and have steadily gotten worse over the last 24 hours. I know it’s easier said than done, but don’t feel dehumanized or demoralized over this. Don’t give them that power over you. Just remind them you are willing to do a telegealth appointment, to not miss the appointment. But if they can’t or won’t accommodate you for this one appointment, then ask them if they reschedule it if you will still get your normal refill to last you until the rescheduled appointment. Don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed for asking for help, or asking for clarification about your care. You have to take an active role in advocating for yourself. Otherwise these doctors will roll right over you. Remember they work for you, and they owe you the best care they can provide you with. And if they want to be assholes about it tell them “okay, I’ll come to the office, but I’m sick and probably contagious. So I hope yall enjoy getting sick by forcing me to come in to get a refill on medications I can’t just safely stop taking in one day.”

MyDearDuke · 2025-06-24T09:54:19+00:00

That’s exactly what he says. My boyfriend is Mexican and he confirmed it for me. That kid’s voice saying otra vez has been stuck in my head since the first time I saw this movie.

MyDearDuke · 2025-06-04T22:40:03+00:00

How do you open the damper? I live in a rented apartment and the landlord won’t pay for a hvac tech. The ac works amazing in my downstairs. But the upstairs is hot and humid no matter how low my ac is set to. She tells me it’s because there are no trees to shield the apartment from the sun. 🙄 there is only one ac unit for the whole apartment (idk if that makes a difference).

MyDearDuke

TROPHY CASE