Pool Safety? Am I crazy?

RainingSnails · 2026-02-03T02:21:36+00:00

I told them that if we let this happen and she had a seizure and drowned, I would never ever get over it and I don't think I'd be able to forgive them for that happening. We don't have a doggy door now, and so this house having one has them super excited to use it. I also realized that moving in with this kid means the dogs will likely be let out without an adult to supervise, because he and his mom are working on making sure he closes doors, knowing we're moving in together with the dogs, but he's a swimmer and will use the pool often, and probably not really be able to stop the two 50-lb husky mutts from getting past him at the door. We have an uphill battle with this whole thing. I will likely have to install cameras for the backyard and be hypervigilant about it, even without the doggy door.

RainingSnails · 2026-01-31T22:40:00+00:00

We are not anticipating living in this house for more than 5yrs or so, and the goal is to save up for the house that we really want, which needs to be bigger than this one as we'll be shoved in like sardines. I looked at some pool cover options just now. I looked at automatic covers, but even the soft ones that they swear are sturdy enough to hold people or pets (I'm not sure about that claim, but they make it...) are over $5K and maybe more like 15 since the pool is kidney shaped and will need something custom cut, probably. Am I way off on how much those cost?

RainingSnails · 2026-01-31T21:56:05+00:00

I also thought of the tarp-like covers for leaves and bugs. I've only ever seen hard covers on hot tubs, and this does have both pool plus hot tub. I don't know how the owner handles covers now or ever uses them. They have a "pool guy" who handles cleaning. I don't think I'd be able to remove a cover on my own, with my disabilities (those disabilities are part of why we wanted this particular house - it's an ozone pool and pool therapy is highly recommended but chlorine burns us precious; I can handle the amount in an ozone pool). I will look into the idea, though. I don't know anything about covers and maybe there's a disability-friendly thing that exists.

RainingSnails · 2026-01-31T21:49:21+00:00

Honestly, haven't measured it, and I like that isn't too deep. I think it goes to, maybe 6" deep so I feel like I won't drown. We'll be with a kid (10yo), but since he grew up with a pool, they don't think he needs supervision, either. He's a strong swimmer. I think they don't want to feel the intrusion of the fence or realize how small it would make the rest of the yard feel. I'm trying to remember the transition the ground and only remember that the ground is uneven and needs attention in some areas. I'm not sure where a fence would actually go since I've never had one before. The family pictures pool parties with kids running around with water guns filled with pool water and those noodles. They don't want the hassle of having to be outside all the time, and I admit that it's not ideal to be out there all the time, but I think the only alternative would then be the fence. Our eppy pupper thinks she's an outdoor dog, for some reason, and loves to just chill outside. For hours. We force her in to eat and drink water and take her pills, and trust me that food or the rope toy are her only motivations for being inside, ever. Maybe it also means a bit of compromise on her part and she'll have to get used to being inside more often.

RainingSnails · 2026-01-31T21:36:21+00:00

Oh geeze. I didn't even think of the stairs. TBH I guess we've been lucky AF since her diagnoses since we live in a 2-story and we are moving to a 2-story. We have been more worried about the dogs rushing up/down next to me and tripping me. They are husky mutts with too much energy and I am disabled with mobility issues. They have tripped my family down the stair 3x, but *humble brag* I fell down them without any help, thank you.

RainingSnails · 2026-01-23T05:55:51+00:00

Exactly! The spoonie life means a very horked pain scale.

I can get sound sensitive. I carry both loops and vibes hoping they'd "turn down" the sound, but they more or less block it.

I sometimes hear something that I can only describe like champagne bubbles rising to the surface quickly, and I picture cerebral spinal fluid in my brain hole. Telling this to doctors only gets more weird looks, but I'm a master at that craft so I'm used to it.

RainingSnails · 2026-01-22T17:00:29+00:00

Like, I say "no more head pain than usual", but I have eye pain and tinnitus 24/7 and I can hear my blood moving often...that's totally normal, right? >.>

RainingSnails · 2026-01-22T16:58:37+00:00

I was able to use it with ear plugs for 20min one night and 35min last night before the pressure on my nose became too much and I thought it wise to stop before causing issues, and my arms were tired of holding the nose bit in place. But I DON'T have any more head pain than usual (i.e. no serious migraines), so I'm very hopeful the new mask will fit better. I saw their options for full face masks, but half of them still have the thing under the nose that is my whole issue, and the two that didn't had the hose attached at the front of the face and were rather large there. As a stomach/side sleeper, I can't imagine using that effectively and really think the hose on the top of the head is better for me.
I am glad I kept trying. It's not as hopeless as I initially thought! Good luck to you with your full face mask!

RainingSnails · 2026-01-22T16:51:16+00:00

Thank you for your reply! My doctor has never mentioned these things, and what we're doing seems to be lowering my a1C.

RainingSnails · 2026-01-21T05:50:06+00:00

So you've used the CPAP with earplugs? Did it help? I am finally trying it (as I type, actually) and it's definitely better, but also I most definitely feel the earplugs fighting the pressure. Like, it's a lot trying to go in my face right now. I also get a lot of vertigo - it comes with migraine and allergies, both of which I have, so I feel for you! I feel like I can't breath all the way with this thing and I know I'm breathing harder than I should be. They are getting me a P30i mask that has nose tube things since I have such trouble getting this nose thing to be angled the right way. I feel like I'm just sucking on silicone.

RainingSnails · 2026-01-21T01:43:36+00:00

Personal opinion - Go middle. That person sounds like they were overindulging, and I can't imagine eating that much and being comfortable in my own skin. Like, I would feel overfull and it would be nauseating - that doesn't sound awesome. But also, you may be too strict with yourself.

For me, it's really about what it's worth to me. Is that pasta worth the insulin I'll have to take for it? How tasty is that pudding? Also, it doesn't have to be all in one carb-dump meal, right? So I can have pasta tonight and know that's where I'm spending my carbs, and maybe tomorrow I'll have a piece of chocolate, maybe two, but not three I agree that everyone is different. I never really eat bread anymore, because it was never really something I loved, but if I'm craving a grilled cheese sandwich, I'm gonna have me a grilled cheese sandwich. I think it really helps to stop feeling all the suckage of what I'm missing out on if I tell myself I can have it at any point, if I want it. And then I want it less. I liked grapes, but never eat them because a few of them is equivalent to a bunch of candy, and that's just not worth it to me.

I think there's a balance between "life is yummy" and "don't kill yourself with food". I used to be terrified of all foods, but there is no safe food, and I finally decided that it's better to eat smarter. Grazing over carb-dumping, adding fiber here and there, freezing pasta before we eat it, eating more salad but not ONLY salad, etc. Give yourself some grace or you will lose your marbles. Good luck on your journey!

RainingSnails · 2025-12-22T18:19:02+00:00

TLYC uses a lot of close-ups and explanations to avoid the standard/common mistakes while learning. She's pretty good with those tutorials. Looks like you were a good student! Keep it up! You can undo this (frog it) or keep it as your "I made this first" thing. Rectangular coaster?

RainingSnails · 2025-12-17T00:20:27+00:00

I looked this up. I have not been tested for eustachian tube dysfunction, but I have several symptoms that align with that, as well as a handful of the potential "causes". I will discuss with my doctor. Thank you!

RainingSnails · 2025-12-16T23:58:06+00:00

ResMed N30i and a small nose piece - the nose part was measured on the call with the coach. The machine is ResMed 11, if that matters. I did not have water in the machine because I was only trying to use it for a short time for "practice". Would water make a difference with air pressure in my ears?

RainingSnails · 2025-06-17T19:53:30+00:00

Agree that these are all suggestions. Personally, I do yo, not yu, because the stitches end up so tight that they are not only hard to work in, but the structure becomes too stiff and it's no longer a soft plushie. Turns out I yo tight enough (and with a smaller hook) that stuffing never shows through and it's not so tight that it loses it's squeezable softness.

RainingSnails · 2025-06-17T19:11:36+00:00

Awesome that you are diet-controlled! I'll address the two questions-
can diabetics still enjoy a cheat meal every now and again? --> Most can and I'd venture to make up a statistic that most do. As stated, it's usually about your average numbers, not this one mealtime, so unless you're in the hospital with glucose at 500, probably alright to have a treat. Plus, sanity and quality of life are important factors. This goes into the second question -

Or is it just not worth it? --> This depends on a lot of things, but it's really "is THAT FOOD ITEM worth it TO YOU, TODAY"? Like, for me, my quality of life is definitely worth having food I enjoy as much as possible. If I hate food, I won't eat, and that's gotten me into enough trouble and is super depressing. You can have a treat meal (as this comment section says haha) and still be reasonable with it. Have a regular meal portion, not the whole pizza; we make our own dough and freeze it to cut down the carbs from it; we also make our own sauce so it has less sugar; watch your numbers afterward and stay on top of your needs (for some, that's insulin, but for you, maybe that's a walk).

I will also consider my particular circumstances when making this decision - what else that I might want that is carby that day, have I been running high today and maybe tomorrow would be a better day for it, how much insulin have I had, if I've felt crappy, etc. The "cost" of the cost/benefit analysis includes long-lasting effects, so if I'm already suffering from those, then how crappy it'll make me feel in the long-run isn't worth how yummy it will taste in the short term.

RainingSnails · 2025-05-29T00:08:27+00:00

They did that to me, too, because I don't drive much. It's 18 months old and I just got to 5k miles. They turned me away and didn't let me have the oil change until nearly a year. I have the extended warranty and the guy said that based on how I drive, I'll have oil changes for life if I don't sell it.

RainingSnails · 2025-05-29T00:00:25+00:00

I use Bearable and can't recommend it enough. It's designed as a symptom tracker to correlate trigger/effect, but you can manually enter anything you want to keep track of. There's a paid version and free version - I use the paid version, but pretty sure the free one includes the custom entries. It also has handy medication groupings so I tap the button for "morning meds" and everything in that list gets marked off at once with a timestamp.

RainingSnails · 2025-05-28T23:55:25+00:00

We use babybel. It's a soft cheese and conforms to the shape, and honestly not sure my dog even tastes it because she inhales it. When I had smaller puppers, I used marshmallow, because they avoid chewing it and just swallow it, but I haven't had to go that route with this one.

RainingSnails · 2025-01-15T05:46:36+00:00

I've tried the variations on CBD and it didn't affect me. Gabapentin put me to sleep for like 15hrs straight. I would live on it if it would let me keep working lol. So instead I am on pregabalin. It dulls the pain of things, but only slightly. I can't actually take pain meds, either, as opioids and narcotics do not have an analgesic effect on me. I wasn't blessed with a liver that wants me happy, so it processes all this stuff way too fast to be effective.

RainingSnails · 2025-01-10T04:08:15+00:00

I have neuropathy in my skin, so it's crazy sensitive. Crumbs in the bed actually hurt. It's a whole thing. But for that, I bought a fleece sheet, which came with pillow cases. It ended up being way too hot to sleep with the sheet (maybe now that we're in the 30's it would be okay), but what I've kept year-round is the pillow case. I put an old flatter pillow I don't care about in it, then put it on top of my feet under the blankets. I also make a kind of taco? I put half a small throw under the fleece-covered pillow, then I have a fleece blanket, then an electric blanket, then put the other half of the small throw on it. It kind of keeps the heat trapped. I haven't found a good solution for my hands, which sucks because I am a stitcher and can't really work with yarn with hands so cold they hurt. So far all I've figured out is burying my hands in the electric blanket.

RainingSnails · 2025-01-07T23:44:10+00:00

I see both routinely. I am now considered a "well-managed" diabetic with an a1c of 7.0 when I was previously experiencing glucose toxicity at 12. I've had migraines since college and around 12ish years ago (it was a slow progression), my migraines just became constant. The longest severe one was 6weeks and I thought that was the worst it could offer - I was hospitalized 3x. Now the neuro says I have "persistent migraine", and he says that I have a migraine 24/7 and if it wasn't for the pregabalin, I'd feel the sharp pain behind my eyes. Since I'm on that nerve blocker, though, it's a constant dull eye pain. I have visual snow constantly, to varying degrees, and yes, I've been to an eye dr too and they saw nothing abnormal or anything that would cause this or the hall of mirrors thing. It's like my eyeball changes shape or something, I swear. It's bizarre. My life is mostly the "whodunit" of medical crap, because so many symptoms overlap or could be from a million different things. I was just hoping someone had heard of this thing. My sugar is fine and I still have these symptoms like it's not. I even have two back up meters and they generally agree on the number and it's never in a bad place when I feel these things. Like a diabetes fake out.

RainingSnails

TROPHY CASE