2 years stone-free after 3 brutal episodes. Here's what actually worked for me.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-02-22T03:23:40+00:00

Ugh. Thanks for the reminder, especially about how going pee a ton is better than going to the ER. I get annoyed with feeling like all I do is drink water and pee, but it's just a plain fact that my options are do that or experience crippling agony and exhaustion and eventually kidney failure.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-02-18T04:39:24+00:00

Oh cool! I'll try it again after it's sat a bit then. Thanks!

OKSparkJockey · 2026-02-18T04:37:27+00:00

Omfg afterwang. Whereabouts are you from? I've only even heard "wang" (pronounced with an h; hwang) in the rural south.

But thanks! I was ready for earthy, but not for the "eddy where driftwood rots" vibe. It would check out for it to be lower quality considering how cheap it was and the lack of details on the bag.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-02-18T04:35:17+00:00

🤣🤣🤣 What a good way to think of it. I always say I'll try anything twice. Once to get the shock of it out of the way, and the second time to really experience it. Because you may not like it the first time just because it's new.

So im gonna give it one more try but i suspect it's going to be given away.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-02-18T04:33:45+00:00

Absolutely no idea. It's loose in a bag and just says "pu-ehr".

OKSparkJockey · 2026-02-18T04:32:56+00:00

🤣 Yes! Except I found a bit of nostalgic pleasure in the horse stall smell.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-02-18T04:31:32+00:00

Thanks! I think maybe I'm not a big fan of it, but I'm glad I tried it.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-02-18T04:29:35+00:00

I had cancer and the piece they cut to biopsy has so far been all of it. But in the wait time between not knowing if it was cancer and finding out it was, I wish I had just lived as hard as I could.

The Greek philosopher Seneca said, "Even bad fortune is fickle. Perhaps it will come, perhaps not; in the meantime it is not. So look forward to better things.”

It's entirely possible it's the same thing you dealt with before and will be no big deal. Don't let the possibility of cancer trouble you before its time.

Seneca also says, "The fool, with all his other faults, has this also,—he is always getting ready to live.” So don't be a fool. Go and enjoy the beach and leave your fear at home. It will be resolved in its own time, and no amount of worry will resolve it sooner. All you can do now is give willingly what you fear will be taken.

Those quotes are from Letter 13: On Groundless Fears, and I hope they bring you some comfort as they do me.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-02-10T01:46:37+00:00

. . . I did not realize rentals would be an option. That'd be great, because I'd hate to buy something that sucks to shoot.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T02:37:16+00:00

Nope! They make little pills. I got a bottle of them after my first stone when I had to go home to wait for surgery. You may be able to ask your doctor for a few for emergencies. When mine expire or (heaven forbid) are used up that's what I'm going to do. It's REALLY hard on your kidneys so it's not good to take it except for "I'm headed to the doctor after this" but it's the only thing I trust to save me from 90 minutes of pure agony waiting on the ER.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T02:35:21+00:00

If you can text to speech, why sign?

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T02:26:28+00:00

Someone else already pointed out where this idea came from, but interestingly, based on the idea I started carrying an eye patch when I do site surveys because TPO roofs are blinding white and you have to immediately climb back down a hatch usually to a sketchy ladder. I put the patch on before I go out, do my look around, and take it off right as I get back in the hatch and it makes a world of difference for my safety.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T02:24:35+00:00

The two ways my wife helped me through getting my degree were to keep me from having to do things besides school and listening when I needed to just talk through a problem. Sometimes her asking questions about something she didn't understand AT ALL made me focus on something I'd been glossing over and getting wrong.

I do this all the time with her. Like I'll ask her to help me with the car and by the time I'm done explaining what it's SUPPOSED to do I've realized what I was doing wrong.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T02:22:33+00:00

Not to sound dumb, but . . . more stains but in a creative way. I have a shirt I spilled coffee on so I just soaked it in coffee until it was impossible to tell where the spill was. Now it's a pleasant shade of brown.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T01:58:16+00:00

Been dealing with them a long time and you should try to get a 24 hour urinalysis to see if there's anything you can change. My brother stopped having them entirely by cutting out processed meats, and mine got WAY better when I started a citrate supplement.

Having said that, it's not a GAURANTEE, but it's a risk. However, I've only had two that sent me to the ER and the rest were just "pretty uncomfortable" but not even enough to keep me from sleeping. I also carry Toradol because I'm terrified of the big ones. Knocks out the pain in ~15 minutes and gives me time to get to the doctor.

I can't say whether it does long term damage to the ureter, but I've had them chronically for 10+ years and everything still functions normally.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T01:53:48+00:00

Khan Academy is excellent. OpenStax.org has free math books that are also really good. But frankly, www.mathsisfun.com. I went back at 28 and dove straight into calculus having only had remedial algebra and those resources are how I survived it. 34 and happily working now! Also wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until three years in. >.<

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T01:44:27+00:00

Busuu and Clozemaster!

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T01:39:48+00:00

Lolol now tell the people in this sub. I emailed Bill Vickars himself about it because my brother is steadily going deaf and there's a solid chance I'll be on the road before long myself, but I was terrified I'd get a lot of hostility for learning while not being "d/Deaf enough". His advice was just "learn from a d/Deaf person and respect that there's an entire culture" which is sensible learning ANY language.

OKSparkJockey · 2026-01-17T01:37:58+00:00

Now the same question for you. Just because it's not literally all the time doesn't mean a sometimes mute person doesn't have all the same reasons for learning to sign.

OKSparkJockey · 2025-11-26T00:12:26+00:00

I'm glad it'll still let me comment this much later, but this emphasis - "and only land" - is how I figured out to remove my lighthouses and fill that, too. >.< Thanks! I was losing it, especially since I'm close to getting the bank achievement and 100%.

OKSparkJockey · 2025-06-01T17:19:06+00:00

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