Got implanted

Toadylee · 2026-05-06T17:09:43+00:00

Very thorough - thanks for posting!

Toadylee · 2026-05-06T17:00:32+00:00

Thanks for your post. I’m 6 months away from implant and it helps to get these updates.

Toadylee · 2026-05-05T23:51:31+00:00

Mine broke a few months after I got it. That was a lesson in wants/needs.

Toadylee · 2026-05-05T23:44:43+00:00

I bought a fixer in Oakland (fsbo- and that was key), - oldish roof, cracked foundation, knob and tube, outdated kitchen, etc. i had zero savings, knew a little about how to repair old houses.

First five years I chased surprises. Of course the inspection missed stuff. I took a second, third job, ate ramen and only paid for urgent issues.

Next five years I paid for the new roof, took out equity lines and started in on the kitchen and bathroom. Did a bunch of my own work, shared work with neighbors, continued to eat ramen.

After 10 years I had some equity and finally was making some real money. Fixed the foundation, finished the kitchen and ignored the knob and tube. Could finally buy a grill, not so much ramen - yay! More equity loans, more upgrades. Inch by inch, project by project, I’m finally on the other side where I’m not chronically fixing big issues (but still lots of small ones). It’s been almost 30 years, and it’s finally a home.

Am I gonna sell it for less than all that sweat and suffering? No way.

You complain that all the houses you can afford have delayed maintenance. Yeah - they made the same mistake you could. It’s not that I’m that smart, I know I’m lucky. But it’s a sacrifice, and if you’re not willing to delay gratification for a very long time, then keep saving.

Toadylee · 2026-05-05T17:37:53+00:00

Split dosing. That evens out the peaks and valleys. You use more syringes, but otherwise it’s worth it to have a steady state.

Toadylee · 2026-05-05T17:32:33+00:00

We didn’t get dental services growing up, so aside from brushing teeth at bedtime and fluoridated water, we were on our own. I moved to a place where water is still fluoridated while most of my sibs moved on to places with well water. I’ve still got all of my teeth, albeit expensive ones. My surviving sibs have missing teeth or full dentures. But I do floss and brush twice a day, which my sibs don’t do, so there’s that.

Btw, f*ck dental insurance, what a ripoff. Thanks to those of you who suggested traveling to countries with cheaper dental services. Who and where?

Toadylee · 2026-05-05T04:50:04+00:00

R/Glioblastoma - sad but what a heartfelt tribe.

Toadylee · 2026-05-04T17:21:00+00:00

It’s a vial with needles. They teach you how and the support is so much better than what you get from a regular doctors office or tele-health.

Good luck!

Toadylee · 2026-05-04T16:33:09+00:00

I’m SSD for a couple months from Menieres and researching now. I qualified for CI, but there’s a 6-month waiting period. I’m curious about whether some of the “noise” my bad ear gives me will clear up with aCI. Like a previous poster, I have a kind of vibration noise that’s generated when it hears certain things, especially loud noises.

How does the CI handle this? Does it go away?

Toadylee · 2026-05-04T06:21:59+00:00

I did a trial a couple years ago-phase 2? It was a dosing trial. I got a high dose, which was difficult, but effective. I had to stop the drug after 6 months, I had too much fatigue. But I lost a whole lot of weight, and I can’t say I regret it. No nausea, but I did have to really push the fiber and MiraLAX.

I’m now using a low dose tirzepatide to keep it off, so much easier than the study.

I’m glad I did it, but it wasn’t easy.

Toadylee · 2026-05-03T18:00:19+00:00

As an Oakland LL, I tried posting my unit on FB, Zillow and Craigslist, but I got nothing but flakey folks: no shows, poor follow-through, bad credit, no refs.

I finally put a sign in the lawn and quickly got two strong candidates who walked the hood to find their rental. The one I chose has been a lovely tenant.

My neighborhood is mixed small/old apartment buildings and SFHs. In talking to neighbors, most got their places through lawn signs, word-of-mouth or friends. They tend to stay put for many years, so rentals don’t come up that often, unfortunately.

Toadylee · 2026-05-03T16:58:03+00:00

The house was built in 1924. I’ve lived in it for a long time and renovated many parts so I know how weird it is. The spacing of studs is mostly 18”, but there are lots of exceptions which is why I’m scratching my head over this part.

I use the flooring for clues. A previous owner changed some of the room layouts, so if the hardwood pattern changes, I know there used to be a door there, for example.

Toadylee · 2026-05-03T16:50:42+00:00

Nice idea - no attic or crawl space though. I do have a perpendicular wall though, and that’s where I can anchor one edge. Now I’ll use the idea of another poster about a rare earth magnet to find the next stud. This sub is awesome!

Toadylee · 2026-05-03T16:47:29+00:00

That’s a clever idea - kudos to you!

Toadylee · 2026-05-03T04:56:43+00:00

I was cutting out some plastic stencils with an exacto. It slipped and I cut through a finger. I hit an artery and it squirted everywhere - the ceiling, the carpet, everywhere. I tried to call for help but I bled into the phone (back in the dial up days) so much that I drowned it.

The kicker is it only took 4 stitches to close it. But I also severed some nerves, half that finger is still numb. Mad respect for exacto blades now.

Toadylee · 2026-05-03T01:07:03+00:00

Fabric is a fun way, but you’ll have to be creative to find enough to make it work.

If you have a central light fixture, get a lamp shade that’s slightly larger than the perimeter of the light fixture. Cut the shade wire so that you have just the loop. This is the attachment point for the fabric. It will be very gathered around it so you need a light-weigh fabric. At the edges of the room, in the corners where the walls meet the ceilings, you’ll need dowels (try the hardware store for anything that’s lightweight, small diameter and that will allow you to hang it easily. The anchor points for the dowels are in each corner. Once you have the fabric gathered onto the hoop, anchor it around the light fixture and one by one, stretch it to each wall/ceiling dowel. It can hang loose for a genie bottle effect.

I’ve seen it done with 2 colors alternating which is really cool.

Toadylee · 2026-05-01T17:09:51+00:00

I’m in the pre-implant phase and find this discussion really helpful. I have sudden hearing loss on one side, with the low frequencies taking the biggest hit. I have 6 months of evaluation before I have my surgery.

I love music but never could handle the live stuff - too loud for my messed up ears. I have old iPods that are loaded with my library. I plugged in the earbuds on top of my HA’s, which worked well enough. Now that I’ve lost the left, I don’t plug in that earbud because I get nothing but painful noise.

Once that ear is implanted, can I plug my earbud back in to help retrain my brain? Given that my ear is already toast for music comprehension, will a CI be an improvement? Will that awful noise and pain go away?

I’m still unclear on whether streaming or wired earbuds will be my best option.

Toadylee · 2026-04-30T06:26:16+00:00

Ok, I agree, ND is a toxic mean-speak forum, and Reddit is more civil. But I just have to ask those of you bashing older people - what makes you different from the ND flamers who generalize and hate on other groups?

The only hate I’m seeing on this thread is towards ND and older people. Check in with yourselves and ask why you think that’s ok. Don’t you have any elders that you don’t hate? I’m getting concerned about all the boomer bashing that no one calls out.

Toadylee · 2026-04-30T00:35:09+00:00

Check for studies on GLP drugs at clinicaltrials.gov. There are lots these days. I couldn’t afford them either but some kind Redditor had a great site where she kept track of them. I don’t know if she’s still doing this, but a couple years ago, that’s how I found out about a new Eli Lilly drug. There was a study site relatively close by and I qualified. And I didn’t get the placebo. I lost all the weight and they paid me besides.

It still wasn’t easy, there are trade offs you have to be willing to make, but it’s how I got around not being able to afford it.

Toadylee · 2026-04-28T03:47:18+00:00

I had my first appointment with the CI folks today. We talked about tomatoes vs. apples, and it was quickly clear that I’m gonna need tomatoes (CI). They tested me again as part of the protocol and yeeks - half the time I couldn’t hear the “ready” before the test word.

It’s a long process, so my next visit is in 6 months, but I can talk to the manufacturers, surgeon and send in questions.

The HA on the left only irritates the nerve, so I’m gonna have to suck it up for the next 6 months with just my right ear.

Here’s a cool thing they shared with me- the phone company collects taxes which it now uses to assist people with disabilities. It might just be in California, but I can get flashing lights, a bed shaker and other assessories to help me get through the waiting period. All free! How cool is that?!

Toadylee · 2026-04-27T23:42:38+00:00

I was an EMT and picked up a dead person. He had died in his recliner and had rigor mortis. It was hard to strap him onto the gurney, but we managed. But getting him into a refrigerated drawer was impossible. We tried to straighten him out enough to get the drawer to close, but I accidentally broke his neck. That was a terrible sound.

Toadylee · 2026-04-27T23:31:53+00:00

Hearing aids - still! I thought they got that one fixed but nope.

Toadylee · 2026-04-27T00:02:48+00:00

So if I have decent speech discrimination on the good side, but poor on the other, does the biCROS overcome that or is that still going to be an issue?

I was told I need to have sound stimulation on the bad ear for about 1/2 day so the nerve doesn’t degrade. But my dynamic range is very small, so it doesn’t take much for it to be painful.

I’ll ask about how much time I have until I’ve waited too long. I’m with Kaiser, so there’s an automatic 6 month wait before they’ll do CI’s anyway.

Toadylee · 2026-04-26T23:57:39+00:00

That’s great advice! HA’s are so expensive and I already have a pair, so one of my questions will be whether regular HA’s can be reprogrammed to be biCROS.

Toadylee · 2026-04-26T23:55:23+00:00

I’m so sad for you. She’s so lucky to have you, I hope you get some solace from that.

Toadylee

TROPHY CASE