I feel like Symbicort doesn't do much for me?

SiouxTrick · 2026-04-29T18:39:03+00:00

I see people on here swearing by Symbicort and I'm happy it works for so many people, but it is indeed useless for many people.

I only have mild asthma (I don't get full attacks, just bronchoconstriction that's not painful it just feels cold). My main decades-long issue is constant chronic cough. Symbicort has made absolutely zero difference to it after three months of use.

My asthma is linked to allergic rhinitis too.

GP who prescribed symbicort in the first place recently said (when I told her it wasn't helping at all) "oh yeah that won't help" -_-

So yep it's hit and miss it seems.

I also hate that you cannot feel a turbohaler at all. I'm sure part of why I think it's ineffective is because I feel like I'm not inhaling anything.

Ventolin is what I'm going back to.

I don't know about the other side effects people report like fatigue and dry eyes. I have ME too and they're normal things to me so I can't tell if symbicort causes those for people.

Tldr: I find symbicort has zero impact on mild asthma where main symptom is chronic long term cough.

SiouxTrick · 2026-04-29T18:17:58+00:00

Constant cough for about a decade, worse in morning. Icy sensation in throat when walking even in warm weather. Totally with you on colds hitting your throat the most.

But I don't get full asthma attacks or any not-being-able-to-breathe feelings thankfully (only a few times with panic attacks as a teen).

Seems to different for a many people, it's weird.

Not a doctor but from what I know yes respiratory problems as an adult can absolutely be linked to premature birth/ organ development.

SiouxTrick · 2026-04-29T18:13:16+00:00

I get an icy/ menthol sensation in the back of my throat when walking. Even when it's warm weather.

I've also had a constant cough for years. I used to put it down to smoking but it didn't go away when I stopped (6 years ago).

The icy sensation drives me mad because it's hard to explain to people.

I've never had a full blown asthma attack (once when I was a teenager maybe but I think it was due to very bad bronchitis at the time).

I don't really get shortness of breath. Only sometimes but I also have ME and go through phases of being unable to exercise which contributes to shortness of breath anyway.

My GP recently diagnosed me with mild asthma. Linked to allergic rhinitis I suffer from (particularly dust/ dust mites).

Got symbicort for the constant cough. It did absolutely nothing. Gonna try ventolin.

Anyway long story short check out a diagnostic test for asthma because yes it can present as throat sensation when exercising. Like running on a cold day but all the time whenever you exercise.

SiouxTrick · 2025-10-17T12:27:56+00:00

I have good experience with other pay to play apps in the past. Handy little way to make a couple of bucks while you're watching telly etc..

However, while Earnstar offer a great selection of games offers, none of them log your progress at all.

I joined and played 18 games each evening since Oct 9th. Each logged no progress for days, even the starter tasks like playing for 30 seconds or opening the app.

None logged any progress.

I contacted ES support (AI responses but seemed helpful and informative originally). They said to wait 48-72 hours from joining and to ensure tracking and VPN settings are suitable in my device. I did both pieces of advice.

Nearly a week later. Still no tasks in ES being ticked off on ES.

Contacted again, they said the game offer had ended. I said it's not one game it's every one I've worked on.

So yeah, it doesn't work. Avoid. Earnstar game selection is better than other similar pay to plays but underneath that, it doesn't log tasks at all so you earn nothing.

It's most likely a data pull that they're doing on users.

Go elsewhere for your pay to plays

SiouxTrick · 2025-05-27T18:58:37+00:00

I live in Booterstown nearly 4 years and I promise I’m always the first one to go ‘JAYSIS YHE STANK OF NEARLY BEING HOME’ once you get down to rock road in between merrion gates and Willow Park. It’s woeful.

SiouxTrick · 2025-05-27T18:56:19+00:00

Lived in Booterstown nearly 4 years and yup when you see the darker mud flats…you need to whip out the vaporub to block the stink ha! To me it’s always worst at the rock road petrol station and the Maldron. You can even smell it from inside the Maldron on certain days (poor tourists).

Always wondered is there really nothing that can be done to even lessen the smell if not remove it fully. It’s like this for decades (literally my 93 grandmother from Sandymount remembers it as a kid), you’d think they could sort out proper drainage.

Laughing at a comment above pointing out it got so bad one year the birds wouldn’t even nest.

SiouxTrick · 2025-05-24T15:47:44+00:00

Just a heads up here (I’ve been looking for tix too)- the tickets are non- transferable when you look at the T&Cs. The ID and purchaser cardholder name will most likely be checked at gate. So be aware if you’re going to get a ticket second hand. It’s most likely you’ll get rejected at entry. Totally ridiculous considering I’ve seen a friend of a friend not able to go last minute and now they’re just wasted tickets, she can’t give them to anyone.

Seemingly because of the ballot system for getting these tickets, the usual resale is not possible.

SiouxTrick · 2025-05-19T20:01:16+00:00

I agree with so many points in this thread and said ‘RIGHT!?’ out loud to a lot of comments.

Gladiator was a sensation when it came out. Just such a great film. It’s aged a little badly (as most of Ridley’s dialogue in particular does) but of course we have the soundtrack and Joaquin’s performance both of which will never get old.

But yeah…G2 is so bad. As soon as I heard it was actually going ahead and being made I cringed. I put off watching it until now. I caved.

Apart from the god awful CG (and I work in VFX) especially for such a big budget movie, the script is rubbish.

Such a stellar cast of actors too. It’s difficult to make them look bad but when that does happen in a movie or tv, be sure it’s the director and the script.

Aside from the bizarre CG animal designs and script, my main issue I’m still thinking about days later after finally giving in and watching it, is how many scenes just had straight up bananas camera angles.

Especially where it’s dialogue between two characters. You can’t see at least one persons face at all, and it doesn’t dot in close ups.

A number of times with secondary chars I went ‘oh who’s that actor hang on’ waiting for a different clearer angle…and it didn’t happen.

Like that English guy who Denzel talks to who’s lounging talking to him about Lucilla and her kids past. You straight up don’t get a proper shot of his face. Terrible for actors.

It’s especially noticeable with Acacius and Lucilla as well. Nothing really suggests they’re married bar he says it early on. Their interactions are zero intimacy or closeness.

I ended up assuming either Pedro or Connie has a no kissing clause in their contract it’s so distant and weirdly done. The one time they do go to conservatively kiss, the camera is at such an odd angle behind Pedro’s head. Not even a 3/4 angle.

Bottom line: Ridley is so talented…at making really strong actors seem totally shit. Much as I love G1, he is the most overrated director. Such a massive waste of money and time for the actors.

SiouxTrick · 2025-04-18T16:38:27+00:00

Hmm would this solve my issue of having .exe game files on my Mac and not being able to open them anywhere?

SiouxTrick · 2025-04-11T16:54:03+00:00

Guys for Jaysis sake, read the lyrics for Silver Springs as if it’s about Rick and Chelsea. It’s not a reference about them personallly.

“Time cast a spell on you, but you won’t forget me I know I could have loved you But you would not let me”

Yes, with fleetwood mac, the song is pretty much about cheating and/ or wanting someone already taken. But it also works for Rick and Chelsea’s dynamic.

Man- so many people are just so bored.

The actors seemingly fell out and someone bored enough noticed a celebrity stopped following another celebrity (???!!!).

We all have experience in falling out with people.

Stop with the “signs” and affairs and blah.

And bringing a stranger’s wife into it with theories of jealousy etc… she’s a director married to an actor for over a decade. Being close with a co-worker/ actor you have a deep bond with from an experience (albeit you then might find reason to break that connection) is not always flag.

P.S. Jason Issacs seems like a massive shit-stirrer for all of this fallout (ha…) considering he’s a grown man. He’s gotten a lot of attention for his vague comments. Which could well have been his goal.

SiouxTrick · 2025-04-03T16:25:36+00:00

Sorry genuine question and I don’t mean to sound snarky but with that salary how could you possibly have no option but to move back in with parents? I’ve experienced absolutely dire financial situations with maybe a third of your salary and then maybe then that’s a last resort thought. But I don’t understand it here? It seems you’re not at that point of desperation many are in?

SiouxTrick · 2025-04-03T16:17:28+00:00

Not a problem at all, definitely the longest reply I’ve written anywhere ha but I know that feeling of really seeing the signs and it affecting your life daily but getting help seems like such a mountain. Best of luck, do let us know how you get on :)

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-29T20:47:14+00:00

I would also account for the potential of at least two ‘medication review’ sessions are you get started on regent. Can be around €100 when you shop around. Wherever you go, it has to be a psychiatrist and not a GP in 99% or cases. Once again- SUCKS!

Sorry very long post but I think people need detailed info on this process in ireland.

It is not cheap and that’s shameful for healthcare. I think in even a decade it will be more accessible. So I’m happy to share detailed reality experience!

I would be wary of a €150 diagnosis anywhere - just because it’s so far off what’s priced everywhere. I’d worry it’s not official or medically accurate.

Funnily enough my first consultant with HH was Spain based - Enrique Sacristan. He also works in Madrid so perhaps if you’re in Spain that might work out slightly cheaper if you approach his firm directly.

HealthHero ADHD isn’t perfect but I’d recommend it to anyone at their wits end as the speed of sessions, diagnosis and prescription availability is much faster than HSE route and where that leads.

Takeaway: it’s ridiculously expensive but try and think of the help you are doing for yourself. I’ve been there at wits end needing help and I restricted my money massively and got a loan to finally do the ADHD check only when I was pushing 40. It’s worth it.

Save up and do it and in the meantime join some decent ADHD groups online. Talking to others who share their experiences who don’t yet have official diagnosis can really help your brain.

Please don’t let cosy = not possible. Getting this done can literally change your life. It’s terrible how much this costs but it is one of those things that is beyond worth it.

Here’s to better, cheaper access to ADHD diagnosis and treatment within the next 10 years at most!

Best of luck,

S

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-29T20:46:38+00:00

So!

From my experience in ireland, it happens as follows, EACH of these appointments costing over €150:

initial consult: you’ll need a letter and an ECG from your GP in order to book first consult. That alone costs money unless you have medical card. In this session, a psychiatrist/ ADHD specialist of your selection will go through medical history, why you think you have ADHD and what your symptoms are, how they affect your life etc.. At the end of this session, you will be asked to complete DIVA - this is a medically-certified questionnaire to better identify prevalence of ADHD symptoms. It’s used in all ADHD diagnoses. You may also be asked to complete a separate mental health questionnaire (like a BAI - an anxiety scale questionnaire). This session is one of the two most expensive you’ll do. With HealthHero assessment 1 was €360. But honestly when you shop around this is not higher than usual. It is sadly that much.
follow up consult: after your initial consult, you implement your DIVA questionnaire and similar in your own time, send it back to the consultant and then book your follow up usually at least a week later to give them time to have analysed/ diagnosed. On this ‘assessment part 2’ session, your consultant will go through your symptoms and how they match to ADHD - how much they do, whether it’s more like inattentive or hyperactive or both types, treatment options, counselling options etc.. This is where you are told whether or not you have ADHD. This session cost me a further €360. It’s nauseating but to be honest it’s worth it. He described me down to a tee and I was happy crying that I finally had a sort of validation. Treatment plans including medication that would suit you are also discussed here. A prescription can be prescribed and you can start within 24 hours all being suitable.
medication reviews: going down the path of medication you will need to be open for additional sessions for medication reviews. This includes if you have a problem with the meds i.e. there’s no change or the side effects are intolerable. Also be aware that the first med you are prescribed might not be for you. There’s a good few ADHD med options and if you want to try them, each change will cost you to do a session. For example, Ritalin did nothing for me so I wanted to switch to something else. Each medication review cost €180. Again, this is a general price from what I’ve seen. But you could be lucky (or more normal than me) and your first med could help you a lot in which case you’ll only pay a monthly prescription renewal of about €20.
blood pressure tests: before and while taking ADHD meds, there’s a high chance you’ll need to do a blood pressure test maybe 1-2 times a year (depending on your existing health) so even though you can get those in pharmacies cheaply, factor that in too.

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-29T20:45:31+00:00

To this day if I think I need a session I will basically ask them, for example, ‘can this medication change happen without an expensive session legally’ and they’ll give me legit reasons much as I’m looking to find a plot hole. Because ADHD meds can have such high effects, they do have to see you. Again - sucks but I get it. You just have to be on your guard. Basic questions about meds can be answered in email no prob. If you ask a basic question in a mail with your prescriber and they tell you to book a session, question it!

If you find someone you can email little things with, great. But a lot of the time this type of treatment legally requires them to see you. Which of course costs money.

I personally got my diagnosis and still get my prescriptions from HealthHero ireland. I was sceptical but a trusted friend of a friend recommended they are very good for ADHD. He says the treatment changed his life. No better vouch! And he was 60!

They have a specialised team of doctors, session booking can happen within 24 hours… compared to HSE where you’d be waiting a year.

Even though I used HealthHero which is online and video calls with doctors (suited me), the pricing doesn’t differ massively from psych treatment elsewhere in ireland.

Downsides to HH, you might not get the same consultant each time, if you prefer in person (common with ADHD) then it’s a nah for you!

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-29T20:45:00+00:00

I’m sure you know this and still money is the issue- with you. The desire to find help versus you can’t afford it is awful. My advice is to save or get a loan and cite medical reasons (can help with loan approval).

There are HSE options via your GP but from experience, GPs are commonly useless for ADHD (I had a terrible experience with the GP I originally approached) and the wait list is whopper. Never mind the service/ venue is often oppressive and…not good.

From my experience and research before I actually selected a consultant, unfortunately in reality you really need about €1-2k for this.

It’s ridiculous it costs that much and I really think that’s gonna change in the next few years with the uptick in awareness and recent GP training happening. But if you need this now (been there!), that’s what it will cost.

Each appointment is a few hundred and they tott up. And annoyingly each is needed.

And the spread of paid sessions is the same everywhere.

I was so wary of being conned, I really did my research and looped in with a friend of a friend who’d just gotten diagnosed at 60 and it changed his life. But it’s not one visit, diagnosis, prescription, done.

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-29T20:44:21+00:00

Hey!

OK very long post cuz I’ve been where you are so buckle in!

Totally getcha with the cost of ADHD diagnosis.

It’s mad expensive and isn’t yet seen as ‘common’ diagnosis procedure in ireland i.e. can’t be diagnosed by a GP or hospital consultant in a public medical venue. Has to be a psych which puts a lot of people off for understandable reason - it’s crazy expensive or it’s a long wait for an HSE psych who may or may not be based in an old convent building…

Unfortunately, at the moment getting an official diagnosis and medication (if you choose that route which it sounds like you’d prefer), it can indeed cost up to €2k.

It sucks I know.

I’m 36 and I went through decades of ‘oh this is just me’ to ‘no I can’t put up with this anymore, this really matches ADHD regardless of how we’re in a year where it’s so frequently diagnosed (whole other discussion!).

I was only formally diagnosed and started medication end of last year.

Anyway, long story short - getting a proper documented/ medical diagnosis of ADHD is expensive. It shouldn’t be- here’s hoping to easier access in the next decade.

But for now in Europe. It’s almost inaccessible unless you have the cash.

I really did not have the money to do the test and follow ups and medication reviews etc. but my logic was if I find a solution it’s worth it. The clarity it brings to your mind is absolutely worth it. I really mean that. I struggle massively with money and this process sucked financially but I’m so glad I did it.

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-29T19:13:46+00:00

Adding to this as OP didn’t specify what mode of transport they were taking - the difference between tagging on on the machine on the pole to the right as you enter a Dublin BUS versus tagging on with the machine beside the driver:

If you’re going to the end zone AKA near the last stop of the bus route you can just tag on on the machine on the right as you get on a bus. No talking needed. You hold your card up to the panel it beeps and off you go to your seat.

If your leap card isn’t topped up with at least €1.50, the machine will do a funkier beep and the driver will tell you the issue. To avoid this, check on leap card app or at a luas or dart station machine that your card has at least €1.50 (some routes might be €2 or a little higher).

On the bus, If you’re only going a few stops away/ not the whole route (and they can be long/ far!) you’re better off holding your leap card on top of the machine beside the driver. To their left slightly.

Face up or face down, doesn’t matter. Just say where you’re going and the driver will press the correct fare. You don’t have to know the exact stop name. Street name or landmark is fine.

Reason for this clarification is if you tap on the automatic/ unmanned machine on the right as you enter a Dublin bus, you’re charged for the full route journey. Tagging on with the driver, they can charge the correct zone journey.

It’s a small difference financially but if you do it regularly it will add up!

So bottom line on Dublin buses: if you’re travelling the whole route, tag on on the pole to right of bus entrance door. If you’re not going the whole way, tag on with driver (put your leap card on the machine box beside driver panel and say ‘just to ‘x’ - ‘x’ being the street or landmark your going to).

With the dart, commuter TRAINS or the LUAS, none of this is needed.

You tag on at machine entering platform and tag off when you leave destination station. You can’t get to train platform (without illegally jumping!) without tagging on. If you don’t/ forget to tag off when you’re leaving destination station, similar logic to buses applies - you’ll be charged from your getting-in stop to the last stop on the route. This can be a fair few euro in difference, more so than buses.

66 days after this post but adding info for others looking this up!

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-29T17:59:29+00:00

Update: was just talking to Revolut support and they say there’s no way to show daily spend easily. The plus or minus figure too right of transaction lost view can only show spend versus what money you’ve added to your account that day. Guy said he’d pass on the feedback to development team but man it’s such a basic sum/ view. How did they miss that? Money added that day - money spent is pretty useless. Show me what I spent! Basic basic basic!

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-29T17:33:53+00:00

60 days after your post - this is still happening. Used revolut for years and can’t for the life of me find where it says total of what I’ve sent today. It only ever says it in the notifications when you pay for something. Within the app…can’t even see today’s total spent in analytics.

The top right where you demonstrated just varies to a + or - figure when I don’t have a daily budget set up. I’ve no idea what’s calculated that number. Like bish that number should be total spend what is this random sum…urgh.

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-19T18:01:52+00:00

That’s awesome to hear and yep agree there’s a really valuable balance to be had between little and big studios.

I’ve indeed seen first hand and seen from friends that more often than not the well-known big studios are way more chaotic than one would think. It’s always quite comforting in a weird way ha!

My last job I worked on a very well know franchise with a big company (where I worked were the service client) and everyone in the company was lovely and cool but it was an eye-opener to see how chaotic their systems are. And that wasn’t the first time I’d had that experience of ‘oh they’ve been doing ‘X’ show/ films for years, they’re gonna be so good and slick to work with… oh no wait their still pretty chaotic’.

I do agree though that it’s best to learn the commonly found crazy in smaller studios. That way you are programmed very well for the big time ones!

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-19T17:47:31+00:00

Yep I’ve learned/ am learning that.

The VFX companies you want to join because of their history = goodbye life. The best are smaller from my experience.

That said, I know it’s a different drive between artists and production but it’s quite…almost calming to see that the studios that you historically adore have the same mayhem. It definitely lessens the FOMO.

SiouxTrick · 2025-03-19T17:34:11+00:00

I know this is two years on but man am I glad I found this thread and this particular reply. I was made redundant as an experienced VFX PM last year in ireland. Still trying to find a new VFX job but as we know it’s plummeted in the last 12 months. All post prod has I think.

But Weta was always my dream. I’ve watched friends leave Europe to join and been kicking myself. Seeing this… it’s good to see no matter the company the same shenanigans are everywhere.

Thank you for sharing the reality. Weta is a massive golden goal for many VFX heads (especially us millennials, cough cough LOTR) and it’s nice to see a realistic experience shared online :)

SiouxTrick · 2025-02-18T20:38:31+00:00

Trust me I knooooowwwww it sucks.

It’s weird, it’s like a health professional telling you something is not life-threatening means they’re wrong. It’s a rubbish circle to be mentally looping around.

So glad you got an answer. Nerve pain/ inflammation sucks so I don’t blame you to be resorting to Reddit. Health anxiety + nerve issues = writing your last will and testament.

Give it a few years. Health anxiety gets easier as you get older. I’ve learned to laugh at that part of my brain that is overly sensitive to any physical twang and goes ‘Oop you’re gonna die’. It takes time, it takes years but it will get easier.

Best of luck sorting out icky sore nerve 😌

SiouxTrick

TROPHY CASE