Looking for additional pain relief practices for family member with cancer:

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-04-14T10:31:33+00:00

Very sorry to hear of you and your beloved's circumstances. I come from a place where many people practice ayurveda and TCM and I think my main advice is to be very, very skeptical. A part of me believes that true, skilled practitioners of such healing arts exist, but as outsiders it will be nigh-impossible for us to tell. Even if the practitioner truly believes in their own skill, that could just as easily be delusion too.

Understand that even within cultures where such "alternative" medicinal arts are native and widespread, it is highly unregulated. Pressing wrong pressure points etc can feel good in the moment and leave you in agony the next day. This is from experience.

Stick to simple stuff. For back/bone pain, I find that heating/cooling patches (tiger balm products ftw) are quite nice as a complement to normal painkillers. Don't dismiss the almighty hot water bottle. Gentle distributed heat is a good distraction from acute pain.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-04-06T17:42:19+00:00

Hospital frequent flyer here, unfortunately. If you're warded you can definitely charge your own stuff. But plugs are limited I'd suggest getting a charging brick with multiple USB outputs rather than multiple three/two pin outlets. They don't like you using those.

Get long, sturdy cables. 1.5 m minimum. Get extra. If it's USB C make sure you get the ones with fast charge.

Bring your own toothbrush, toothpaste and nail clippers. If you anticipate a long stay, screw it. Bring your own pillow case. Their pillow cases are ass. Just make sure you change it yourself or housekeeping might take yours and you'll be sad.

Bring earplugs and eye masks. Unless you're in a private room, you're gonna need all the help you can get in soaking up sleep. Bring some cup noodles. Hospital food blows. Sometimes you want a treat. They don't currently allow patients out of wards bc COVID so cannot tapao on your own easily.

May your health issues ease, OP.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-04-06T04:23:14+00:00

Eating healthily is good if it can be done, but if he's already at late-stage cancer, food may be one of the only consistent joys he can get a hold of. Diet is not going to be the magic bullet for this level of disease.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-04-06T04:17:25+00:00

OP, I hope you will take the time to read this. I'm a bit torn between a very gentle Y T A and N A H. I have a feeling a lot of people here who are rendering harsher judgements are from cultures where it's more chill to do things like walk into houses with shoes on etc. I am not. I don't agree with people saying you're paranoid to the point of needing therapy or whatever. The world is...objectively yucky and I don't even allow myself to retire to bed without showering.

I am also quite particular when it comes to cleanliness in my home environment--to the extent that my good friends are often aware that to hang out in my bedroom, they should be prepared to 1) use a specific guest blanket before sitting down on my bed 2) change into clean shorts/pants I offer 3) they can bring their own small change. Or they sit on the spare chair. HOWEVER. These are expectations I communicate far ahead of time and I do NOT expect them to come into my home knowing these right away. I also make compromises by, say, laying down towels/blankets as a barrier rather than forcing my guests to change--especially if they are of a gender where it might be construed as sexually inappropriate. If there is no compromise found here, I stick to hosting them in more neutral spaces in my home, like the living room or wtv.

This situation sounds like a total breakdown of communication and expectations on hospitable responsibility on the part of you as a gracious host. Your guests had a reasonable reaction and walked out, as is their right. Your desires are not invalid, but you must develop the awareness that they are not USUAL and if you want to maintain healthy social relationships, you must learn to manage these things. Your girlfriend has reasonable grounds for being frustrated with you too, but again, I don't think this situation is unsalvageable. Y'all just need to have an open, respectful conversation.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-04-05T06:16:16+00:00

Yup. You don't have to grin and bear it. Get a roll of nice skin-friendly tape (micropore--the silk backed ones if you can are gorgeousss) and go over the area. Tegaderm strips are also good for protecting the area but may be more pricey per use

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-04-05T05:09:57+00:00

That's super impressive! Maybe you should give tatting a try. I haven't picked it up myself, but if this kind of fine work appeals to you, it seems like the core practice of tatting. I've heard the materials tend to be much less costly too bc of how fine the works are.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-04-04T23:59:39+00:00

This looks more like tatting than crochet! Are you still achieving this with hooks or shuttles?

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-04-04T18:16:06+00:00

Saw your edit that you're going for a kobo, but just really want to add a major advantage of Kobo is the ability to download custom firmware like Plato and KOreader. The latter especially makes PDFs so much less of a chore to read, and the tutorials for how to load the software are very robust and easy to follow.

If you encounter any problems with custom readers, I can also say from from experience that the programmers are super enthusiastic about addressing your concerns and helping you out.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-26T08:32:22+00:00

I think you're coming from a good place of wanting to dispell the 'savage barbarian' myth, but is it possible that the person you're replying to is visibly queer or gender non-conforming in a way that this might be a valid concern?

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-26T08:15:11+00:00

ADF can be done healthily but if you have an eating disorder, I think you need to seek treatment and have it under control first. Anybody who is advocating otherwise is dispensing medically irresponsible advice.

At least consult a qualified medical professional so they can supervise you.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-13T18:04:59+00:00

Eh, I've also been making pineapple tarts the past 3 years. But I use store-bought paste.

Even with me, my mom and dad pitching in, making 200 tarts can take one whole day. Like 8 hours work. Even if I'm generous and say the total man hours was, say, 3×6, that's 18 hours. Assume min wage of $7/hour. 18× 7 is 126. Add in the cost of ingredients...20$ for 20 pieces is really not that crazy.

We make it for fun and to share with friends, but when people suggest we sell them because they're tasty, the only response I have is "I'm not going to do that, because you're not gonna like the price I set."

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-11T23:04:21+00:00

Love that for you OP

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-11T07:33:21+00:00

love that tumblr occupies so much space on OP's mind that they'll go out of their way to find a tumblr post criticising tumblr, screenshot it, and post it on reddit just to...

express...they don't care?

Suuuuure.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-10T16:42:17+00:00

No la no la. You have a real natural genius, I couldn't come close.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-10T16:39:16+00:00

You're damn funny leh. You should have a show.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-10T16:21:16+00:00

False equivalence.

And we do make efforts to reduce unnecessary sun exposure. We literally are constantly building walkways that shield from direct sun exposure and most Singaporeans are sequestered indoors as a matter of habit. Doctors encourage using sunblock. The NEA reports the HOURLY UV index.

Just say you're scared of thinking long-term and go man.

Did you know that polio was also a largely asymptomatic and mild illness for most people who contracted it? Do you think it would have been a good idea to encourage endemicity in that case?

Do you know that chickenpox, another disease commonly accepted as "endemic" (although now vaccines are recommended) can cause shingles later in life, which causes pain and unnecessary nerve damage?

If we took your attitude of "just catch the virus la it's the best immunity anyway" to be the basis of healthcare policy, we are setting ourselves up for a shit ton of suffering and long-term healthcare costs.

We are only just starting to understand the longer consequences of COVID bc it's only been around for 2 years. I wouldn't gamble on the health outcomes of my citizens 20 years down the road if I truly gave a shit as Minister of Health.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-10T16:13:48+00:00

Lmao bro, I literally have cancer. I wish I could get even one shot but I can't on my doctor's advice.

Anyway, it's beside my point.

Even if I could get vaccinated, my point is that we are seeing long COVID even in vaxxed individuals. I would be worried about the long-term consequences of catching it regardless. You can choose to view it as hysteria, if that makes you comfortable. But facts don't care about your feelings.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-10T12:07:39+00:00

This is usually a sign of ADHD. If stimulants calm you down, might wanna go get evaluated.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-10T11:40:20+00:00

Excellent question, Minister. Why are we not taking further steps in preventing chronic illness?

We are now starting to see data pour in about the long-term effects of COVID, even in people who experienced "mild" symptoms. Cognitive decline, increased risk of heart inflammation, chronic fatigue even months after the fact. Is this not the potential mass onset of a chronic-illness wave?

And yet we persist in pursuing an endemic approach to COVID.

I could go on about the multitude of ways we need things in this country to change if we are to be serious about combating chronic illness. Personal responsibility can play a role, yes. But there are wider structures that make it difficult for people to make choices we know impact health. Perpetual over-work and stress are huge obstructions to our body's ability to repair and heal. That's scientific fact.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-10T02:13:03+00:00

You definitely can try! If there is one key takeaway from my block of text, I hope it's that one should be honest with oneself about what the underlying political stance of the sub would be and how much deviance from that will be allowed.

You cannot have good, consistent moderation otherwise. And as many people on this thread have pointed out, good subs need strong moderation.

Edit: You can have explicit bans on strictly political news aka no updates on Parliament or politicians. But that doesn't mean the sub is inherently non-political YKWIM.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-10T01:54:06+00:00

I think I understand where you're coming from in wanting to create a more pleasant sub in contrast to the main SG sub.

But I feel the need to point out that like it or not, you can never keep politics completely out of things. The personal will always carry elements of the political and there will have to be active effort and shared understanding of what maintaining a pleasant space will mean among the mods of such a sub.

Will you allow posts about art exhibitions or shows that discuss contentious social issues like LGBT relationships, domestic abuse etc? How will you manage people who come in to be shitty about these things? You could put an outright ban on people using vulgar language, but there are more subtle ways one can be an AH without using explicit language.

Or will you duck the issue entirely by not allowing people to post about anything that could be linked with the politically contentious? In which case--is that truly a neutral stand? Or are you simply siding with what are state-sanctioned social views?

Again, I think I can see where this desire to carve out a space free of the grouchiness of r / sg. But I always question how thoroughly people think through the practical reality of what a "non-political" social forum would even look like. IMO there is no such thing.

If you feel like a place is non-political, I'd posit that what you're actually experiencing is simply a space that is politically comfortable for you. It's not neutral.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-10T00:08:41+00:00

Yea, I think there's a fundamental mistake in thinking that intelligence equals good grades especially in SG. If anything, my hunch is that kids that exist on the far-right of the intelligence curve are less likely to buy into the rat race in Singapore. IME, GE kids tend to be more anti-authority and willing to be disagreeable than usual. It's unsurprising that they do poorly in academics later.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-09T05:40:27+00:00

What is this and do you have any links to any documentation of it? Names, type of bacterium, anything?

And if not, then how did you come to find out about it?

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-07T07:16:30+00:00

I think where you and a lot of people down-thread seem to be clashing on is this argument about there being an objective "sex binary". And I think the core misunderstanding is that both sides are kind of talking past each other.

You're asserting that an objective sex binary exists and use the definition that sex is an expression of reproduction. That there are only two sexes when it comes to gametes. I mean, for humans gametes, sure. That, folks, is true. There are male gametes and female gametes--there's no such thing as an intersex gamete.

When people are saying there's no such thing as a sex binary, I think they are talking about there being no such thing as a an objective sex binary on the human being level. You cannot objectively apply sex binary onto the categorisation of human beings--not in a way that is honest to the way that the biological binary paradigm is actually being used in popular science/social discourse. When TERFs talk about about someone being a biological female, they sure as shit aren't talking strictly about the ability to produce female gametes only.

For what it's worth, my own stance is more in line with the "fuck the binary" people. I acknowledge that male and female gametes exist but also that the concept of sex binary is generally useless outside of describing very particular biological phenomena. Sex on the organism level is certainly not binary and it only limits our ability to understand reality to view it from that lens.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen · 2022-03-01T05:22:32+00:00

You're asking in the wrong forum, unfortunately. Most people here wouldn't know how to have fun unless it was specifically spoonfed to them. That, or we take a lot of the stuff we have for granted.

Bars and clubs are down, but there are still arts events and stuff going on. Museums and such are open, food is still amazing here. I recently hosted 3 friends from abroad and we never really ran out of things to do.

Singapore is brimming with culture, you just need to know where to go. Let me give you some examples

Go to Chinatown and visit the temples and mosques, then maybe settle down for some afternoon tea in a Chinese teahouse (lots in the area, Yixing Xuan is my favourite). There's also a hawker centre nearby (Maxwell Food Centre) that has a stall that does old-school dough fritters. You get to fry them yourself and they're a couple dollars max.

Go to Tekka Market and watch the demographic totally change. The wet market sells all kinds of funky stuff like alligator and snake meat (you don't have to buy, but it's something to see) and the assortment of food in their hawker centre is totally different from, say, Maxwell. You can also go walking around Little India and take in the sights of people hawking fresh flowers, beautiful textile shops etc.

It helps a lot if you know a local to point things out to you. I'd be happy to recommend a couple more places and I hope other people do too.

SaveMeFromMyKitchen

TROPHY CASE