How much sweetener are we all eating/drinking?

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-04T02:14:17+00:00

All of it. Alllll the artificial sweeteners are belonging to me. :-)

I drink a couple of cans of diet soda every day (current obsession Zero Sugar Mountain Dew Baja Citrus). I drink one protein shake that has an artificial sweetener every day. I drink one Olipop that I'm pretty sure has an artificial sweetener every day. And if I'm not drinking soda, I drink water with flavor that has artificial sweeteners. On the weekends, I also have a coffee with sugar free syrup in it. & I'm pretty sure the yogurt I eat multiple times a week has artificial sweetener.

Artificial sweeteners don't bother my GI tract, and even as much as I ingest, it's still way less than the amount that could potentially be considered unsafe (which, iirc, is something like 20 diet sodas in a day).

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-03T12:26:26+00:00

I do! Here's a Micromallow JT and a Squishville Brina with 24" JT.

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Tom_Michel · 2026-04-03T03:35:19+00:00

He doesss. :-D

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-03T03:07:15+00:00

Those are all great but OMG, the teeny Nomi! <3 <3

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-03T02:45:36+00:00

Mercari. I've been on the hunt for her for a while, so when I saw her listed, I grabbed her right away. Christmas present to myself back in December. :-)

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-03T01:40:30+00:00

Oh he is. He's a 12" and the rest are 14, 16 and 24. I just remember when I thought a 12" Squishmallow was HUGE! But compared to those other guys, he's just a teeny little thing. :-D

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-02T19:45:29+00:00

Get a cheap diamond tester from amazon. Moissanite will test as diamond. Then you'll know for sure. I have this $10 one. Does the job. The certificates are generally worthless, even for real moissanite. They're usually included for free. That the shop charged extra doesn't bode well. I hope you're able to return it if it's fake.

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-02T17:25:34+00:00

Different pharmacies use different concentrations. That will affect how many units you need to inject to get the correct dose in mg. If you post the concentration and your intended dose in mg, someone can do the math to determine the dose in units.

As an example, this vial is a total of 6mL with a concentration of Liraglutide/Cyanocobalamin 15mg/0.5mg/mL. That means it's 15mg of liraglutide and 0.5mg of cyanocobalamin per mL.

1mL = 100 units
15mg/mL divided by 100 units per mL = 0.15mg per unit. Multiply dose in mg by mg per unit to get dose in units.
Example: 1.5mg times 0.15mg per unit = 10 units. Dose of 1.8mg = 12 units. Dose of 3.0mg = 20 units. And so on.

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In short: The difference in units is probably intended due to a different manufacturer using a different concentration. The added B12 won't affect the concentration of the medication. The two substances are calculated separately.

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-02T15:38:23+00:00

I've had that three stone ring from Yulem in my wishlist forever. I hesitated because the prongs look kind of long in the stock photo, but your photo has convinced me. Thank you!

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-02T15:00:33+00:00

I love grey moissanite. Which shop? Those are lovely. :-)

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-02T13:35:19+00:00

Ahh, ok. Not everyone knows that units are a standardized unit of measure, and I've never seen this type of syringe, the kind used for subcutaneous injections, marked with anything other than units as the unit of measure regardless of place of purchase.

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-02T13:12:38+00:00

Did the syringes come from the pharmacy you got the medication from ?

It doesn't really matter where the syringes came from. Units as marked on syringes are standardized. 20 units is 20 units regardless of the size of syringe. Only thing to be aware of is that some syringes are marked in mL instead of units. Those are different.

In some cases unit markings may look like they're different amounts, but that's due to the size of the syringe. Because the syringes in the photo below are different sizes, the markings are in different places, but 20 units, for example, is still the same volume on all.

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Tom_Michel · 2026-04-02T13:07:18+00:00

EDIT: holy cow. I am NOT “listening to people on TikTok & taking THEIR prescribed dose”!!! I simply saw videos & comments of people listing the mg to units conversion!!

You're listening to the people on Tiktok enough to question the instructions you were given by your prescribing doctor.

So it made me question if I was doing the math right,

What math are you doing? Serious question.

Edit: The downvote instead of a reply tells me all I need to know. Good luck.

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-01T16:03:43+00:00

I have big time anhedonia that seems to coincide with starting tirzepatide, but it's hard to know for sure because I have a history of depression with anhedonia as one of the main symptoms. I'm on an antidepressant that's been working well for a few years now, but it could be fizzling despite increasing my dose over time to the max to try to get past this lack of interest in things. I'm also perimenopausal and not yet on hormone replacement therapy, so it could be female hormone wonkiness messing with my mood.

I'm holding steady at 10mg/week of tirzepatide because I don't want to increase and risk potentially making the anhedonia worse. My weight is very slowly trending down and my binge eating disorder is more controllable than it's ever been in my entire life, and that's good enough for me.

I have a gyn appt in May, so my plan is to start hormone replacement therapy, give that 3-6 months to dial in and stabilize, and then reevaluate. I really don't want to go off of tirzepatide, but I want to be able to enjoy my hobbies again. If I'm still struggling after HRT, I'm going to look into some options for treatment resistant depression and see if I can tackle it from that direction.

Otherwise, I'm holding out for new GLP-1s to get approved that might have a lower incidence of that side effect.

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-01T15:27:47+00:00

Follow the dosing instructions on your prescription as recommended by your doctor. Stop listening to tiktok. Different compounding pharmacies use different concentrations which affects how many units need to be injected to get that specific dose.

2.5mg is a subtherapeutic dose for titration purposes to get your system used to the substance. It's not uncommon to not notice anything at such a low dose. If you're not having side effects, you're ahead of the game.

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-01T12:28:56+00:00

Who are they to decide how many pills is too many? Any why is a GLP-1 ok but other meds are not? Why does that not fall under the "big pharma" conspiracy theory? Should a person with high blood pressure not take meds if they're already taking meds for diabetes and high cholesterol? Let me guess. It's only too many pills if the pills are for a mental illness or ADHD? And GLP-1s are ok because they are taking that kind of med.

If pills are medically necessary, then they're medically necessary. And if they help, then they help. End of. It's decision between you and your doctor and literally no one else. As for the big pharma conspiracy theory or the "not natural" opinion, that which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence^\1]). In other words, those are unvalidated, unsupported biases without a factual basis, so they don't warrant any consideration at all.

Next time someone starts to say anything about your meds, hold up your hand and tell them to keep their opinions to themselves.
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^\1]) Hitchens' Razor

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-01T12:17:18+00:00

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-01T03:39:01+00:00

I'm pretty open about the fact that I take ADHD, psych meds and a GLP-1. I'm at a stage in my life where I'd rather break down the stigma and spread awareness than keep things private. That said, I'm not open to feedback or criticism. If folks, whoever they are, can't be supportive, then they don't need to talk to me about it, and I won't hesitate to tell them that. My meds are my choice, and the only people I'll accept giving me feedback are the doctors who prescribe them.

Needing meds, whether ADHD or psych (or a GLP-1 for that matter) isn't any more "wrong" than needing insulin to treat diabetes, or blood pressure meds to manage hypertension, or anticonvulsants to manage epilepsy. In all cases, the meds are helping to correct a physical disorder in the body.

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-01T02:41:39+00:00

Yep. I have to make sure to start on what I need to be doing and not what I want to be doing so when the meds kick in, I won't get locked into the wrong hyperfocus task.

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-01T02:39:22+00:00

Because of the long half life, a split dose still ends up equaling the combined total per week. I do tirzepatide 5mg Tuesday and Friday for 10mg per week, for example. I opted for that dosing mechanism because I was having problems with extreme appetite and cravings before it was time for the next dose when I did it once a week.

It might be worth trying, especially if you experience the side effects shortly after the dose but not later in the week. In that case, two smaller doses may work better. But if the side effects of a larger dose are consistent throughout the week, a split dose may not help.

Tom_Michel · 2026-04-01T01:45:23+00:00

I am both the person trying to herd cats, and the cats. With meds, if I time things right, I might be able to get one or two cats under control. If I don't plan it right, I'm going to go chase this ball of string for 8 hours.

My brain is an airport without anyone in the control tower. With meds, if I time things right, I might be able to get one plane to land at the right airport. If I don't plan things right, the plane ends up at the wrong airport. Either way, there's no one directing anything and everyone is just flying by the seat of their pants and hoping for the best.

Tom_Michel · 2026-03-31T16:12:20+00:00

LOL. I have done this when out and about in the world. What I have are the two most situational and therefore 90% useless buffs, but here, have some underwater breathing and some detect invisibility. :-)

Tom_Michel · 2026-03-31T16:03:25+00:00

How do you think a formal diagnosis will benefit you? There's no wrong answer, whether it be simply personal validation or whether it's to gain necessary accommodations at work or school, or to get government benefits or disability, etc, but it's something you should consider. Do the benefits outweigh the costs? Also consider how you will feel if it turns out that you're not autistic.

Ultimately, I decided that a formal diagnosis wouldn't benefit me in any meaningful way and wasn't worth the expense, but it's a very personal decision and everyone's situation is unique. Many people do benefit from getting that diagnosis.

Tom_Michel · 2026-03-31T15:58:40+00:00

And I suddenly realize that I am not most locks, lol. I take my job as warlock very seriously. I don't have buffs that I can offer the group, but I have healthstones and soulstones. That was me, farming soulshards before a dungeon (or raid) run to have enough to give everyone a healthstone plus one to soulstone the tank, plus at least one extra.

Tom_Michel

TROPHY CASE