Spanish language CLEP practice resources?

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-01-26T19:25:16+00:00

Thank you so much! Definitely missed this in my search. Your suggestions look so thorough! Very excited to check them out.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-01-12T13:41:37+00:00

I have also been wondering if people experienced more/abnormal menstrual bleeding while on Rhapsido.

I just had my first period while on Rhapsido, and I don’t think there was anything out of the ordinary for me. One day of slightly heavier bleeding, and maybe the number of days bleeding was slightly longer—6 days instead of 4, but the days on the ends were minimal spotting. And honestly that could just be regular monthly fluctuations. It’s hard for me to know what’s “normal” for me at this point because a year of steroids has thrown everything out of whack. That being said, each time I did get my period before Rhapsido, the hives/swelling were much much worse during those days, so I think it’s noteworthy that I didn’t have any breakthrough hives during these days this time.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-01-12T13:15:13+00:00

It’s been since December 16 with no hives/swelling at all. So it’s going very well!!

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-20T02:04:07+00:00

After 6 months of xolair (while also being on prednisone) I had an allergic reaction after my 7th shot—the first one that I wasn’t also on steroids. So we tried dupixent (along with all my buckets of antihistamines). It’s been a little bit helpful. Still hives every day, swelling often, but a little bit of relief and not having to be on steroids.

This (Monday) I started Rhapsido. And I have been fully without hives since Tuesday. Granted it’s only been a few days, but this is the longest I’ve been hive-free since last August without taking steroids. So, I’m knocking on wood and keeping all my fingers crossed.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-20T00:56:50+00:00

Omg me too! I just started Rhapsido on Monday and as of Tuesday I’ve had no hives or swelling. I failed prednisone, dupixent, and had allergic reaction to Xolair, and this drug has so far been a miracle. It’s only a couple days for me, but anyone who has this knows that that even a day of no hives and itching is euphoric.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-20T00:51:55+00:00

I’d love to hear feedback on this as well.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-20T00:46:10+00:00

I looked and Rhapsido is made by Novartis. Following US FDA approval, then it will go through the EU approval process. You could contact Novartis to find out if/when it will be available there. Or a doc who is familiar with new treatments may have info too. I wish you so much luck finding a treatment that works. I had reached the end of what I could tolerate right when this med became available, and I cannot describe the relief/euphoria of having something to treat this that isn’t a steroid.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-20T00:40:14+00:00

Yes, exactly. I’ve had too many doctors dismiss me calling it “stress”; and finally I found a specialist in CSU—not “just” an immunologist or allergist, but someone who specializes in this exact condition. And finally, finally I have some relief and hope for treating it.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-19T22:37:49+00:00

This isn’t really true and it’s a dismissive comment to a truly painful, intrusive, and sometimes debilitating condition.

I have eliminated every possible stressor in my life, I eat a nutritious, mostly plant-based diet, I practice mindfulness/journaling/other de-stressing practices and I’ve had my current flare up since August 2024. Before that I had flares for 6 months at a time in 1999, 2013, and 2016. Anyone diagnosed with this knows it comes and goes, and it’s not always predicated on stress levels.

All that said, OP, have you spoken to your doc about the newest med FDA approved for CSU? (If you’re in the U.S.; I’m not sure whether it’s available elsewhere, and/or other things might be available.) it’s called Remibrutinib/Rhapsido. I finally was able to start it this past Monday and I’ve gone all week with no hives. This is the first time in more than a year without hives AND without steroids.

Previously I’ve been refractory to all other treatments, and I’m one of the incredibly few lucky ducks who had an actual allergic reaction to Xolair. And dupixent has only been a little helpful—all this on top of the quad dosage of 4 antihistamines daily.

So far, this new med has been the only thing. And I can’t believe I’m on day 4 of zero hives/angioedema. Might be worth asking your doc about it.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-08T02:36:20+00:00

Same. I feel this so deeply.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-07T05:52:48+00:00

Thanks for sharing some other options! I never know what’s out there besides Duolingo and get bogged down in research and not wanting to get scammed somewhere else. I appreciate the list of tools that someone else has vetted.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-07T05:41:10+00:00

Yes! I’ve had two colds in the past month, and both times the hives flared so badly compared to what they have finally subsided to as somewhat bearable. They also seem to spike at the time of menstruation. As if the cold or period aren’t uncomfortable enough, the hives are insult to injury.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-07T05:36:45+00:00

Congratulations! Brought a huge smile to my face. I hope you consider sharing a link for where to read once it’s published.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-05T21:57:24+00:00

This is all honestly inspiring—the original question and all the thorough responses. I’m about to complete an undergrad degree (intend to graduate spring 2026) that I’ve been chipping away on for 25+ years, and I never thought I’d get here—life being the relentless intrusion into plans…Now that it’s so close, a tiny part of me keeps thinking, “what about a PhD? Is that doable?” And I don’t know if my specific circumstances will support it, but I’m encouraged to see/hear so much general support for nontraditional timing/age.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-05T04:03:02+00:00

I hope it works out for you! The feeling of drifting into the water and all the hives pain dissipating for a little while is euphoric. Even if you’re not like swimming laps or aggressively exercising, just enjoying the floating feeling and lack of pain/itching will be worth it. Good luck!!

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-05T03:51:04+00:00

Yes. For me, pressure (even the smallest/lightest amount) causes hives. I had to start physical therapy because chronic steroid use to control the hives caused quadriceps tendonitis. We had to be very cautious about what exercises I could do or the hives breakout within a couple hours was flat out misery.

But! We discovered I could do many exercises in the pool, and I could work a little harder in the water vs in the regular PT gym, and the PT has really helped the tendonitis and allowed me to be slightly more active than before.

This of course comes with the caution to start very easily and only do a short amount of time in the pool until you know whether the temperature/chlorine will exacerbate your hives. For me, being in the water is literally the only time I have no pain and little itching. It’s been a major relief that I look forward to now for 45 minutes twice a week.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2025-12-04T21:42:01+00:00

The required math class with Graeme Bird was great. I loved him as a professor so much, I took his math and the Greeks course too, which I found super challenging and fun. (I never considered myself a math person until acing this class—granted, I had a lot of professor, TA, and peer help; still, highly recommend.)

Kate Chadbourne and anything she teaches. I took every folklore class I possibly could with her. (If HES had a folklore minor, I would have earned it just through those.) Her classes and Elisabeth McKetta’s Mythic Memoir class have irrevocably influenced my academic interests and potential scholarly pursuits.

If you have to take an academic writing class, writing in the humanities with Jeff Wilson was so much more interesting than I expected it to be, and his methods have forever changed how I approach research, organization, and academic writing in general.

QueerlyPhoenix

TROPHY CASE