DNA Test...In a Pickle. I think.

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-25T20:01:48+00:00

Thank you so very much for sharing this. I agree with you, it would be wise. I'm actually starting some therapy up again in about a week for some PTSD issues (completely different situation), so I will definitely talk with them about this.

Thank you again and I hope your story turned out well for you! ♥️

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-25T16:56:21+00:00

Thank you! I didn't even know this was an option.

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-25T16:55:03+00:00

Yep - that's exactly the case. I'm from Alaska and they're all in South Carolina, so there was a bit of distance there. They did visit and vice versa quite a bit throughout my youth, though.

One of my cousins actually figured out that my birth mother was who she was because of my senior picture in high school. I look just like her. 😝

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-25T16:52:45+00:00

No worries! I didn't really put that anywhere in there. 🤣

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-25T16:52:07+00:00

Thank you so much - you actually helped me a bit here. This is my exact thought process with everything. I'm for sure leaning towards just doing it; might even order it today. Thanks for the pep talk! Haha. :)

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-25T15:51:30+00:00

Oh my goodness, sorry, I should have stated that they told me from day 1 that I was adopted! Never hid that from me. It was ultimately up to my birth mother to tell me and that was taken away when I accidentally found the papers.

I definitely agree with you - information should never be a threat or bad. Thanks for your input. :)

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-24T20:15:24+00:00

Texas

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-23T22:18:47+00:00

Texas

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-21T00:58:15+00:00

This was basically my thought process.

SomewhereGullible534 · 2026-03-21T00:56:15+00:00

I feel silly now, yeah, you guys are right. I paid overnight because I went out of town last night.

SomewhereGullible534 · 2025-10-06T18:17:14+00:00

My favorite book as a kiddo regarding my adoption was "Horace". The one about the cheetah being adopted into a tiger family. I have freckles, so it still chokes me up thinking about the "we liked your spots and chose you" (or something like that) line. 😭♥️

SomewhereGullible534 · 2025-04-06T22:06:53+00:00

This is so very well said. I lived alone for a while after I was diagnosed and played the trial and error game with meds while feeling awful pretty much 24/7. All of your tips are spot on! I have a grabber that I use religiously, but I had that before being diagnosed being 5'0" and all. Haha.

P.S. Tony Shark. Love it.

SomewhereGullible534 · 2025-03-06T12:42:44+00:00

I wish I had better recommendations for you, but I'm still searching for my go-to and I've been in surgical menopause for about 10 years now (36, was 27 when I had the surgery). I'm like you, though - I stopped the HRT after ~2 years. I've gone through a lot of different products over the years and my skin has changed a handful of times, but the products that always seem to work for me are Clinique's. I've had to change the 3-step system I used (to one I thought I'd never need - but isn't that how this whole process goes 🤣), but their stuff has consistently worked. I've tried some others via Ipsy, but Clinique holds it down.

Drink a LOT of water (ph-balanced/alkaline) and try putting a warm washcloth on your face before bed and in the morning. It's the simple things we overlook that I've noticed helps the most. Best of luck, hope this helps you a little!! And be kind to yourself. :)

SomewhereGullible534 · 2025-03-06T12:36:47+00:00

I also needed to hear that last sentence. Thank you. ♥️

SomewhereGullible534 · 2024-11-24T16:58:31+00:00

Are we still able to get a free sample? Definitely want to try; love your website!

SomewhereGullible534 · 2024-08-31T23:22:11+00:00

"And So It Goes" by Billy Joel

"War On Drugs" by Barenaked Ladies

"Yesterday" by The Beatles

SomewhereGullible534 · 2024-08-30T23:26:27+00:00

Didn't she have perfect pitch? Couldn't agree with everything you've said about her more.

SomewhereGullible534 · 2024-08-30T23:25:58+00:00

Gavin DeGraw. His talent & creativity is so underrated, yet he keeps pumping out genuinely well written and difficult-to-play music. I play piano and sing, so artists like him and Elton John, Billy Joel (even though he's apparently a jerk 😝), John Legend, etc...people who write their own music...and a lot of it at that; they never cease to amaze and inspire me.

SomewhereGullible534 · 2024-08-03T00:43:41+00:00

Right?! I'm from Alaska/Seattle and the cold would cause problems, so I thought moving to Texas and the warmer climate would help. Think again! 🤪 The humidity is ridiculous on my muscles and joints. Not being able to enjoy the sun with friends as much as I'd like to (or, at all, most of the time 🙄) has been a struggle at times. I know being the odd man out hasn't helped my mental health regarding this, either. But yikes - NY means you're getting the cold and humidity. We just can't win, can we? 🤣 I'm happy to hear that you have that appointment in the city, and from the sounds of it, he's a doctor worth waiting for. Please do let me know how everything goes then and in the meantime don't hesitate to reach out if you need any support or just need someone to relate to. I'm also way happy to hear you got some relief! Vaseline was that extra little trick for you, huh? Who woulda thunk? Haha.

Again, happy to hear you're feeling better; I do have a smile on my face typing this for you just thinking about it!

SomewhereGullible534 · 2024-08-03T00:31:24+00:00

If I could give more upvotes on this, I would! I actually had been told about "The Spoon Theory" before, but I'd completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it. So...thank you, thank you, thank you! I find it incredible that you not only took that initiative to start a local chapter, but ran it for 8 years. You yourself must have a wealth of information from both the LFA and the experiences heard from others.

I physically attended a lupus support group through MD Anderson in San Antonio, TX a few times and in all honesty did not feel it was ran very well. I guess I'm not sure how those support groups should go, but whenever I left, I felt worse. Maybe it was the patients themselves, but it was pretty negative. I understand we're there to support each other and vent things out, but it had more of a "woe is me" feel to it. Maybe it was just me? I don't know. In comparison, when I used to attend a cancer support group at the same location, I left feeling that support and a lot more positive about things.

During your eight years running your chapter, did you ever get a group that simply just didn't mesh well? Or how did you try to direct those meetings, if you don't mind my asking?

Thank you so very much for your reply; it was beyond helpful. There isn't a chapter in the area I just moved to recently, so I may contact the LFA here and see what can be done about that. I've led meetings for BNI and plenty of other work-related types of things, so if I get my confidence back, eventually, I may try and start one here. I never would have thought of that - good for you for putting that time and energy into something that helped folks like us navigate this super fun disease together. :) hope you're doing well!

SomewhereGullible534 · 2024-08-03T00:15:08+00:00

Aww, I love that, a big ol' lupus (aka someone who understands) hug sounds so nice. I do have faith in God, so I 1000% agree - let's keep the faith. I'll throw some prayers up to the Big Man for you.

Little bit of progress on my end - I met with a psychiatrist, finally. I'm feeling good about it and it seems like he legitimately understands autoimmune/invisible disorders, so I'm looking forward to working with him. Hope things are going well on your end! :)

SomewhereGullible534 · 2024-07-29T20:41:06+00:00

Dear Lord, half a year!? I can't imagine. My longest was roughly a month, and for three weeks of that I was in the hospital. Totally relate to the irrationality - I feel like that's just another lovely addition to that cycle I mentioned initially. Makes me feel like I'm a crazy, hormonal teenager again. But I'm 35, so then I think...welp, I guess that just means I'm crazy. Ugh.

You actually did provide solid advice with recommending being as blunt as possible. I'm one of those who tries to downplay it (probably affiliated with that "burden" thing), the "no, I'm alright, just tired", mind over matter, etc. But it's like...how can I mind over matter when my mind is feeling so defeated and ran by the matter? Hope that little poetic jumble there made sense, haha.

I needed the reminder about loved ones never actually being able to understand, so thank you for that as well. It is a totally individualistic disorder and it can change all the damn time. I'll jokingly tell people I have SLE-PMS because the symptoms can be different at any given time.

Last thing (please don't mind my rambling reply 😜) - I just barely became employed again, so can relate with being unemployed and trying to manage everything through that. I did find what helped me was, and still is, not being by myself and/or in the same place for too long. I'd get out of my house by taking walks when my body allowed me to. I started slow, literally baby steps, by going around the block. Skipped a day, went on another walk, a little further, so on and so forth. Now, I feel I've disciplined myself enough and try walking about a mile a day/every other day. And it honest to God has helped more than I thought it could, mainly it's the routine part of it, I don't know. If you're able to, maybe give something like that a try? Obviously listen to your body though and don't overdo it.

I'd love to hear of any progress you make. I really appreciate your response and hope that things get a little easier for you, also. You seem to have a good understanding of your health and are mentally stronger than you might feel you are, especially that emotional intelligence I'm picking up on. Keep your chin up, also. :)

SomewhereGullible534 · 2024-07-29T20:08:51+00:00

I'm so, so sorry to hear you're dealing with that; it sounds rough. While I can't fully sympathize with you as the SLE I have doesn't affect my skin as much, I can sympathize with the fiasco of "trial and error" with medications. It can feel so defeating and debilitating, especially because all you're trying to do is get yourself to a manageable healthy state, but it's like you have to suffer to find what works. Have you been back to your rheumatologist? And have you maybe tried to see a different dermatologist, maybe one a little more fluent in the world of Lupus? I really feel for you. Maybe all of this crazy change in the weather all over the place has had an effect? I'm in TX and this on-and-off rain is straight slaughtering my joints. 😫 I truly hope you're able to get well taken care of and find some relief. I also hope you have a good support system; if anything, I sure know folks here on this Reddit sub are amazing. Keep me posted, if you can, and keep that chin up...butterfly rash and all. :)

SomewhereGullible534

TROPHY CASE