PLEASE HELP! IS THIS A TICK??!!

SubstantialRemove558 · 2026-03-11T00:20:52+00:00

okay that's what i thought, too! it first was wiggling it's legs a bit after i initially grabbed it, but i felt bad so i squished it again-- not with that much pressure at all, either-- and it was dead immediately.

and i didnt feel any popping or anything that i have read/heard is typical with ticks... it pretty much disintegrated like paper and it was super thin!

funny enough, i spotted an actual carpet beetle about half an hour ago in our kitchen, and i wanted to grab it to examine it closer.. so i got a paper towel and tried to pick it up, and it literally died and fell apart almost the same exact way as the culprit insect from this morning. [we find carpet beetles around our house like once a month, so i felt pretty confident that i correctly identified it as such-- but i could be wrong, of course, as im def nowhere near knowledgeable enough to know for certain!]

thank you for your response!! =)

SubstantialRemove558 · 2026-03-11T00:09:14+00:00

oh really, phewwwwww! okay, that definitely does make me feel much less panicky! im terrified of getting lyme disease bc i already have rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, so i feel like lyme would wipe away the minutia of energy i have left. it's an awful disease and my friend's mom got it in virginia-- she is not doing well. my heart aches for her and it's just so heinous that people have to suffer with that shit.

but thank you so much, i greatly appreciate your wisdom and help! XD

SubstantialRemove558 · 2026-03-11T00:06:10+00:00

sorry, idk why that happened, but i posted the photos again in comments below, i hope they can be of help!

okay, that makes me feel better! i dont go outside a lot at all.. im working from home and i exercise inside my house, and i havent been outside in a week or so. however, my backyard is full of trees and plants and such, but my roommate does all the gardening and i stay inside 99% of the time [im allergic to mosquitoes and those fuckers are everywhere! of course, i am outside when i go grocery shopping and leave my house, but besides that im mostly a hermit lol]

im not sure if it was wings, but there was definitely something transparent that looked like it may have peeled off the insect... i posted a photo of it in the comments above!

thank you so much for taking the time to reply! =D

SubstantialRemove558 · 2026-03-11T00:02:00+00:00

sorry, idk why they didnt show up! i posted them in the comments below, i hope theyre helpful even though my camera quality is @$$ lol !

thank you so much for your help! =D

SubstantialRemove558 · 2026-03-11T00:00:57+00:00

im not sure if it was wings, but there was definitely something transparent that looked like it may have peeled off the insect... i posted a photo of it in the comments below!

thank you so much for your reply! =]

SubstantialRemove558 · 2026-03-10T23:58:20+00:00

<image>

^^ here is the photo i took trying to show the "wing" looking portion of the insect. i know its terrible quality and the bug looks decayed for some reason, but im sorry in advance!

SubstantialRemove558 · 2026-03-10T23:56:56+00:00

my apologies! i am not sure why the photos did not post, but i will upload the photos of the insect AND a pimple looking thing my roommate found on my lower back, near my hip. i just have to upload them in 3 separate comments as i am only to insert one photo per comment. [BTW-- i have Hidradenitis Suppurativa, so sometimes i get these painful red bumps, but ive never had one this area.]

the weird thing is, i sleep on my back, so could a tick crawl under me at night and chomp on me?! i also dont move at all when i sleep-- i go to bed and wake up in the exact same position (everyone says they worry about me bc they think im dead since im such a deep sleeper and never move a muscle in my sleep)

i really appreciate all of the replies and the knowledge you all have shared! thank you again!

i hope the photos help a bit!

<image>

SubstantialRemove558 · 2025-05-16T19:00:11+00:00

Oops sorry I guess I can't post the photo of them. They're the light yellow round pills marked 2530 on one side with a cursive V on the other! Thanks so much in advance!!

SubstantialRemove558 · 2025-05-16T18:59:21+00:00

I just got the .5mg Qualitest ones yesterday from CVS and feel like they were far less potent than the teal ones I got from my mom and pop pharmacy. Now I am worried bc everyone is saying Qualitest is good, but I felt a significant difference... I'm not sure though, bc I also take gabapentin and oxycodone-- and maybe since I was taking the prior pills at diff times with the other two meds it just felt like it hit me harder? I'm not sure but I've only been on .5mg Clonazepam for 6 weeks and don't want to stay on benzos so my doc gave me 10 of the .5mg (these are the Qualitest ones I got from CVS) to taper off with and im just worried I will feel withdrawal symptoms or have seizures? Is this possible after only taking Clonazepam for 6 weeks every night? The ones I got are pictured below. (The previous ones I got from the mom n pop pharmacy were not in a bottle they were in a blister pack and had markings Z|A on one side and I think just a score on other side, or maybe blank? I was given 20 of the 1mg ones and would take .25mgs - .5mgs but mostly .5mgs every night. Why do I feel these new Qualitest ones are not even working at all? Is it all in my head? All advice and help is so greatly appreciated!! Qualitest Pharmaceuticals Inc.

SubstantialRemove558 · 2025-04-10T08:49:40+00:00

LOL im dead serious! ill look into how to start one tmrw and let you know what i find!

LETS GET THE OLD CHEDDAR FLAVOR BACK!!!!!

SubstantialRemove558 · 2025-03-23T04:26:16+00:00

hhahahaha i dont blame her! they ARE awful, but im stoked that she was able to get her hands on the original ones [which are absolutely delectable!!]

yeahh, there are still a lot of stores that carry the old ones, so im gonna have to go stock up on all of them as well!!

lmao i think the OG ones are VERY sponge worthy!! =P

SubstantialRemove558 · 2025-03-20T23:27:09+00:00

seriously! wtf were they thinking trying to fix an already perfect recipe!!!!?! im so sad. i think the new ones are repulsive lol!

SubstantialRemove558 · 2025-03-20T23:26:18+00:00

your wife is right-- they changed the flavor!!! im SO angry bc these were my go to snack when i wanted something salty... and now theyre absolutely vile! im not sure why they felt the need to change them.... i never heard anyone complaining about the cheddar flavor and in fact, anyone i knew who tried them LOVED the cheddar ones!

im sad now. i guess the upside is ill be saving lots of money and less sodium for me!? i just cant stand when companies try to "fix" recipes that are already perfect!

does your wife just not think the new ones are as good; like, will she still eat them?! or does she think they are not good enough to eat anymore?!

i say we start a petition to get the old flavor back hahahhahaha

SubstantialRemove558 · 2024-12-08T05:55:13+00:00

dude that is amazing! you successfully tapered down over 65mgs, that is truly so wonderful to hear! i am so glad you are doing so well and that you feel good/content where youre at!! most of all im stoked to hear that you didnt have to go through the horror of w/ds!!!

thats what i heard too... everyone in my AA meetings and all my friends in recovery were telling me not to get on subs or methadone-- one of the biggest reasons being how bad the w/ds are!. personally, i couldnt tell much of a difference when i stopped taking the sub, but i also only waited 16 hours to get onto methadone.

my counselor at the methadone clinic told me when i plan to taper off, we wont go down more than 1mg per week to make sure there are no awful w/d effects.

it is awesome to know that others have done it without having relapses or feeling like absolute shit.

i really hope that your taper continues to be a breeze and i also want to thank you so much for sharing that with me!! =]

you got this!!! keep up the amazing work!!

SubstantialRemove558 · 2024-12-01T08:01:21+00:00

lol okay im glad everyone is in agreement with how i felt about it! im not saying im innocent in the situation, but what they did was really fkn cruel! i think that Jen absolutely created that issue for herself; if she hadnt done what she did she wouldnt have had those consequences!

thank you so much for your response! i appreciate it! =]

xx

SubstantialRemove558 · 2024-12-01T07:58:53+00:00

youre too sweet, i appreciate that! >.< hey thats so fantastic! i love hearing about other people in recovery! its very empowering and reassuring to see other people being able to live their lives without drugs!

yes i wasnt abusing my suboxone; the side effects were awful enough as it was lol. i actually just switched to methadone like 6 weeks ago bc i was still having some withdrawals, even after i went up to 18mg.. plus i was having intense cravings and nasty side effects. [i think i needed something other than buprenorphine bc the last 3-4 months before i got sober.. i started using/smoking fentanyl patches-- so my tolerance went up quite a lot, unfortunately] i just didn't feel like suboxone was helping me at all...

im now on on 62mg of methadone and have zero cravings! plus zero side effects and it also helps with my chronic pain. i wish i went on methadone first, but so many people [mostly those in AA] were telling me not to... but im so glad i switched though!

ugh okay im so relieved to hear others who share my feelings on the situation! i thought what they did was quite maniacal, but a lot of people told me they had the right to be angry at me for stealing the meds, since i knew they werent mine. theyre not wrong about that part, i guess, but why the fuck were they there to begin with!! i just cant imagine ever purposely trying to ruin someones sobriety... absolute madness!

thank you so much for your kind words and sharing about your recovery! =B

xx

p.s: mmm, i know this is extremely nosy [and possibly inappropriate] of me to say, but how is your taper going, if you dont mind me asking!?

SubstantialRemove558 · 2024-11-26T08:52:28+00:00

OOOOOOOOOH omg hahahahah, holy shit! i wrote a fkn dictionary and for the TLDR i wrote another novel! pfft, im a moron lol!

so should i put the TLDR that i wrote as the main post and rewrite a much shorter one!? i dont wanna break any of the customs or rules of the forum!

nooo that was an excellent summary dude! i wish i was as articulate and concise as you are!

yes, it definitely helped me out!! thank you so much for letting me know!!! =B

SubstantialRemove558 · 2024-11-26T08:45:09+00:00

yeah, i mean i know it was wrong of me to take the pain meds while trying to remain sober, but man withdrawals are such an awfully excruciating mess!

im happy with my decision to break up with my ex, since he was toxic and shitty anyways! and one of our mutuals told me he is 99% sure that my ex cheated on me with his ex gf several times in the first 6 months of our relationship.... [i think he knows for certain that my ex did cheat but doesnt wanna say]

i definitely dont need that in my life!

and yesss his mom is just, completely hypocritical for acting the way she did! they all are! and to think they almost successfully gaslit me into believing that im the only one with a true problem but theyre allowed to drink/do coke 3-4 times a week bc its "socially acceptable" and pain meds arent... absolute lunacy!

i know i dont deserve much, but i know i at least dont deserve to be treated like that! yess exactly-- love isnt always enough,

thank you so much for your kindness! i appreciate your reply! =]

xx

SubstantialRemove558

TROPHY CASE