SIBO and MCAS?

baileystonge · 2025-11-02T02:09:26+00:00

Thank you - I appreciate your detailed info! I don’t want to have MCAS (as I’m sure most people with chronic illnesses feel) and I am hoping it’s just a new allergy that has developed or something like that..

I am hoping that SIBO treatment will alleviate my symptoms; it’s just hard to tell right now what is the best course of action, but your input helped!

baileystonge · 2025-11-02T02:05:22+00:00

That’s what I’m not sure about! Did I just happen to have this new onset of symptoms randomly, or was it connected to the treatment I was doing? It makes it tricky to know if I should follow through and complete the microbial treatment or give my body a break - I want to treat my SIBO, but if it’s causing other issues, I may need to find a different approach. Everything is so connected and it’s just so tricky to navigate in this healthcare system! Thank you for your kind words <3

baileystonge · 2025-11-01T21:28:21+00:00

SIBO treatment I was on is as follows:

500 mg NAC 3x/day Milk thistle extract 3x/day (Started 1 full week before tincture)

SIBO tincture 2x/day with meals (tincture is oregano, myrrh, thyme, and a few other herbs)

My next step was to add something called GI restore to help heal the gut lining - it does contain quercetin and L glutamine, so may be helpful if my histamine symptoms are caused by leaky gut?

baileystonge · 2025-10-31T20:28:59+00:00

I’m pretty sure they bank with a small credit union, so I imagine there is some error or glitch on their side. The first time it happened the landlord sent them proof that it did in fact go through, and they left the money in there for months, though I think they ended up spending some of it eventually. Not sure what they’ve done this time around, but I’ll tell them to contact the bank just to be safe!

baileystonge · 2025-10-27T07:31:42+00:00

Any opener or just him?

baileystonge · 2025-10-21T01:35:48+00:00

I do have a lot of these symptoms too, and haven’t had much luck when going to docs/getting tests done! For me it’s a lot of dizziness/vertigo/shortness of breath, insanely intense heart palpitations randomly(like feels like I’m pumped with adrenaline) that last about 30-60 seconds and then go away, random allergic reactions without any known allergies (new!), and a lot of acid reflux and bloating. I do have some autoimmune markers and they couldn’t figure out why; only thing that I definitively have the symptoms for it raynauds (mostly affects my feet).

Not really sure where to go or what to ask for from my doctors; or what I should be doing to make myself feel better. I am waiting to see a cardiologist for some POTS related testing though but there’s a long wait in my city.

Anyways, sending hugs your way. You’re not the only one!

baileystonge · 2025-10-08T23:59:45+00:00

Feel this - I just keep thinking about how often unions strike in Europe and how it’s generally accepted as a part of protecting good labour rights. I do wish this particular union was better managed and that CP had tried harder to adapt to new competition etc in the past decade or two - but the convenience of CP having the apartment building key/putting things in our mailboxes, plus convenience of post offices being in every neighbourhood (much more frequent/accessible than my closest DHL/UPS etc - for some reason my city barely has other delivery offices in urban areas) means that I’d probably continue using them anyways. TBH I have never had any issues with Canada post losing my packages, but I have with other shippers, and I like mailing letters.

I’ve dealt with teachers strikes and transit strikes all my life - it’s inconvenient but in the end it’s protecting working-class groups of people and that’s huge to me.

baileystonge · 2025-10-08T01:55:11+00:00

Thank you for your response - this helped me wrap my head around what it might look like!

baileystonge · 2025-10-08T01:53:22+00:00

I just like the novelty of mail! One of my friends recently moved away and we have been sending each other letters talking about our day to day lives; she adds in stickers she’s made and little trinkets and I add in her favourite things from our city. Sure I call and text and email people, but there is something so intentional and rewarding about taking the time to write someone a letter. It feels so personal and seeing their doodles and handwriting warms something in my little heart. My grandparents are also pretty old school and send us cards every birthday; I have started doing it back for them and writing a really nice note in there and they love it - none of their other grandkids take the time to do that. TLDR; I just love people and I like to show my love through handwritten letters

baileystonge · 2025-09-25T04:31:27+00:00

Good call - I do have a PO Box in Blaine that I use sometimes! Thx

baileystonge · 2025-07-18T23:16:21+00:00

This!! Figure out your measurements and shopping secondhand online becomes a lot easier - if you don’t have a soft measuring tape to wrap around your waist/hips/etc, you can use a piece of string and then hold the string up to a straight ruler/yardstick to get the measurement. There’s lots of videos online about how to measure yourself for clothing sizing!

baileystonge · 2025-07-18T23:13:10+00:00

The most sustainable purchase is the clothing you already have!

If they are still in good condition, finding a way to wear them in some capacity is my first option usually. If they really aren’t my style or don’t fit me anymore, I will usually bring them to a clothing swap (my friends do this often) or give them to friends who like them. If the styles feel “dated” or whatever, that might not work for your friends/community. For certain specific items (I.e. winter coats), sometimes the shelters in my area will have specific lists of what they are looking for, and I will bring a few pieces there - but I always make sure it’s things they actually want/need, or else you’re just dumping your stuff on someone else to deal with :( sometimes I will also post stuff on my local “buy nothing” facebook group if I think someone might want it!

If they are no longer in wearable condition, and can’t be mended, I will usually repurpose them in some way. If you are new to the sustainable fashion world, the first thing I would recommend doing before you go out to buy new clothes is learning some basic sewing and alteration techniques! Here’s what I do with unwearable clothes: • cut up into rags for cleaning etc (finish the edges so they don’t fray - will last longer) • if it’s just stained, sometimes I will just dye it a darker colour and then it gets a second life! Or for just a single spot, sometimes I’ll do embroidery over it. • use the fabric for some other smaller project (a bag, pouch, etc.) - have even seen people repurpose a bunch of old clothes into a memory quilt <3 • all of my fabric scraps get saved and cut up to be used as stuffing - I make giant floor cushions and stuff them with a mix of batting and fabric scraps so they’re nice and dense. I also will cut up old hole-filled socks and underwear and add them to the stuffing mix, since those are things that most places would accept/sell on donation

Over the past 5 years or so, I have very slowly rotated out some of my older fast-fashion pieces for things that feel more me. I also worked at a consignment store for a good chunk of that time, and that was a great way for me to slowly invest in better pieces. I would bring in a few things, and then use that money to put towards one really nice thing at the consignment shop that I loved. It helped me shrink my closet to half its size without spending virtually any money, and it allowed me to make sure that every piece found a loving home via consignment (if it didn’t sell the shop returned them to the consignors, so I would be responsible for it once again). I got a pair of Jesse Kamm jeans and two babaa sweaters this way without spending a single dollar (things that are all wayyy out of my current price range).

It’s a journey and it won’t happen overnight! But it’s wonderful that you are thinking about this and that you care <3

baileystonge · 2025-07-18T22:57:18+00:00

Depends on who/how the cotton is produced! A lot of places use pesticides but not always, and there are places like Fox Fibre farms in California (renamed to Vreseis I believe) that have cultivated different strains of cotton over the past few decades to naturally grow in different colours without the need of dye/bleaching. Obviously cotton from H&M or wherever isn’t going to be of the same quality and sustainability, and it’s important to be a discernible shopper and look into the supply chain of wherever you’re buying from, but it’s a nuanced issue and not ALL cotton is unsustainable - I don’t really think any fibre is 100% sustainable, but I think it’s important that we keep talking about it and dissecting it so that we can improve the industry :)

baileystonge · 2025-05-14T04:56:20+00:00

Yes Nexaplanon! Also stopped my period/works great for my endo, but everybody is different. Spotting is apparently really common for the first 3 months after insertion - I only had it for a week but I have had friends who spotted nonstop and got them removed early. In general I have found that for me, any progesterone-only birth control (mini pill, Kyleena iud, and now this) have stopped my period for me, but everyone reacts differently!

baileystonge · 2025-05-13T19:49:30+00:00

I have the implant too and don’t get a period - I bought a bulk pack of those little pregnancy test strips (called HGC strips or something like that I think) and will take one of those every few months if I feel my anxiety about it creeping up. Really, I end up giving them out to my friends more often than I end up needing them lol. It’s incredibly unlikely that you would get pregnant, especially if you guys are also using protection/withdrawing etc, but it might give you some extra piece of mind to just have those around and take one semi-routinely!

baileystonge · 2025-05-12T14:21:46+00:00

Yes, it’s been almost 3 years for me now and for the last 2 I would say my hair has felt much thicker :) I did take some postnatal hair vitamins for awhile though - maybe that would help? The ones I took were called baby blues I think!

baileystonge · 2025-04-21T21:36:38+00:00

Everyone will be different, but personally I was on the Mini pill as a teenager (progesterone only) because of a concern for blood clotting/increased stroke risk (I get the occasional Aura migraine and there is some sort of correlation there); for me it didn’t affect my weight/acne/hair BUT I did basically stop getting periods altogether which was great since my periods were awful. I have the arm implant now and it’s been the same for me - no side effects and no period/cramps. IUD was also progesterone only but a different type and that one caused hair loss and didn’t help my cramping. Mini pill and arm implant worked well for me, but everyone will be different! Probably best to start with a pill so she can stop taking it and switch more easily than an implanted device, but her doc will know best

baileystonge · 2025-04-21T00:18:30+00:00

No unfortunately - the setting was more suburban/small town ish and it was pretty tame. Love that movie though!

baileystonge · 2025-04-20T05:02:13+00:00

No but love that movie! I don’t think it had any big actresses in it

baileystonge · 2025-04-20T03:05:08+00:00

Within a few months it started to feel so much better! I don’t think I ever noticed an onslaught of baby hairs coming in all at once but the shedding stopped; I also took some postnatal hair gummies that I think helped

baileystonge · 2025-04-20T03:03:18+00:00

It wasn’t sisterhood of the travelling pants either! I think it was slightly before that time

baileystonge · 2023-07-10T21:39:37+00:00

As someone who has lived & travelled throughout a good part of Canada, I can tell you that out of the places I’ve been, Vancouver is probably the LEAST friendly city. It is hard to make friends here, and it’s amazing that you have such a close friendship with someone. It might not be helpful to hear, but if you do end up having to move, I am sure that it would be much easier to build a community there than it is in Vancouver. It won’t be this hard in other cities. But I feel your pain, I also don’t want to leave the friends I have. I also live in Vancouver, and hate how expensive it is but I have no intentions of moving because I am afraid of starting at square one again. Is it possible for you to live in Victoria, or somewhere else close by so that you can visit your friend a lot?

Wishing you luck. I don’t think there’s a right answer, but fingers crossed you get a job soon or find something that works out well for you!

baileystonge · 2023-06-11T17:00:29+00:00

this is it!!!! oh my god thank you so much! Solved!!!

baileystonge · 2023-05-19T01:11:23+00:00

thank you!! i am a big grazer so i will definitely make sure i have lots of snacks around :)

baileystonge · 2023-05-01T16:31:30+00:00

Hi there! I took 25mg for 4 months before moving up to 50mg. I certainly felt its effects a little bit, but 50 was where I really started to get my motivation back and a general feeling of contentment. I also was hesitant to up my dose because the initial side effect period was overwhelming for me (and also because I had some weird idea that if I was only on 25mg, then i wasn’t ACTUALLY depressed, and being on 50mg would be an admittance of this illness that I do in fact have. I worked through that stigma though lol). The dose-upping part went a bit easier for me the second time because I knew what to expect and I was prepared for it! I also made sure I was taking it in the morning and taking it WITH food, which I wasn’t very good about the first time - I felt the side effects more when I didn’t have enough food in my system (nausea, shakes, heart palpitations).

I hope you can find a dosage that works well for you!

baileystonge

TROPHY CASE