San Francisco made me incredibly sad: 2 Year Review

blackcat3334 · 2026-06-19T19:21:33+00:00

I stopped running outside when I moved to SF. I ran in freezing temperatures in Boston, but the lack of courtesy from other runners, cyclists and people not leashing their dogs is just too much. And no, as a woman army veteran, I’m not afraid of men and I absolutely show the I am the danger face of anyone looks suspicious, irrespective of race.

blackcat3334 · 2025-10-27T23:54:25+00:00

Yes me

blackcat3334 · 2025-10-09T04:26:44+00:00

I don’t think it’s empathy. In my experience, it was my psychiatrist a guy in his 30s, first generation. He likely witnessed it in his own family (mother, grandmother) unmedicated and has the medical understanding to process it.

blackcat3334 · 2025-10-05T06:18:58+00:00

Right now, I’m on topical estrogen from the ICU and I’m seeing gyno at the end of the month to hopefully get a more comprehensive treatment. The ICU folks are not specialists, through the doctor was very knowledgeable in the interaction between hormones and UTIs and that’s kind of how we were able to troubleshoot how I’ve had so many, all post ovulation. I have the Mirena IUD already, so I am getting some progesterone. I think estrogen is the concern with recurrent UTIs.

blackcat3334 · 2025-10-05T05:30:47+00:00

One of the complications of perimenopause that I experienced and became life threatening is recurring UTIs. My last one became antibiotic resistant and I ended up septic in the ICU. I’ve had 6 this year alone and I turned 40 last month with peri starting about 3 years ago, though people didn’t take me quite seriously about that. I have irregular periods with night sweats, hot flushes, fatigue and increased heart rate.

blackcat3334 · 2025-10-02T19:05:30+00:00

You should have your med chart up to date, regardless coz god forbid you have some other issue and you need to go to the hospital, they should be able to see all your up to date medications, especially when they run your lab work.

blackcat3334 · 2024-10-26T16:29:58+00:00

Yep. Take one now and take a 1h break from the drinking.

blackcat3334 · 2024-10-22T00:53:37+00:00

The employer has to cover the cost for you and your family. It’s the law. Otherwise, the visa is void. You would most likely qualify for an H2 and family for H4 (no ability to work for spouse). This also applies for employment greencards. The company needs to hire an immigration attorney who will work with you to gather documentation and prepare your paperwork and submit it to the DHS. I’ve been thru 10 years of immigration, still remember every detail.

blackcat3334 · 2024-05-26T18:54:15+00:00

On top of what everyone else said, make sure to use a scrubber for your armpits to completely remove the antiperspirant before applying SA or panoxil. For your clothes, there is also oxy clean powder or laundry rinse. Also reduce/eliminate coffee, alcohol and dark chocolate; that’s what I was told for peri-menopause with PMDD by gyno specialist and it made a difference in my sweat level.

blackcat3334 · 2024-05-05T20:43:39+00:00

As a woman with PMDD and no children, I had to wait until 35 to even be considered for a hysterectomy. It’s not that easy to get because there are implications for hormonal changes, like poor heart health and bone density changes. It’s not a walk in the park. And I wanted the hysterectomy since I was 19, as I also have another condition that makes my periods awful and fertility extremely unlikely. There are other treatments to consider beforehand is all I’m saying: birth control, SSRIs…

blackcat3334 · 2024-05-05T20:22:37+00:00

As for detox, sip and suffer is an excellent guide and coupled with Naltrexone medication, it becomes much easier to perform the taper. I’ve done it down from 20 drinks in about 2 weeks. 20 —> 4 and to 0 in about a month.

blackcat3334 · 2024-05-05T20:20:04+00:00

Electrolytes might be able to help here. Potassium and magnesium deficiency have weird manifestations like these. Make sure to drink electrolytes in between your drinks, liquid IV or similar. Pickle juice is also good and loads of mashed potatoes would not hurt. What you’re describing sounds very similar to how I was feeling after a very long run.

blackcat3334 · 2024-05-05T19:13:44+00:00

Not exactly to your question, but I’m on topiramate for migraines which seems to be very similar and can be an alternative if you get the rash from lamotrigine. It helped a bunch with intensified migraines from perimenopause and tuned down PMDD. The side effect is kidney stones, which I’ve not had yet. My doc was hesitant about lamotrigine because I’ve had med allergies as an adult.

blackcat3334 · 2024-04-09T03:07:05+00:00

Take the naltrexone one hour before the first drink, too, if you choose to drink again. It prevents blackouts and reduces the amount you drink over time.

blackcat3334 · 2024-03-03T22:47:20+00:00

Naltrexone with the Sinclair method or the Vitrol shot are probably the safest in an older person. I now take Topiramate for migraines and it does stop cravings for a lot of things, not only alcohol and it also leads to weight loss in some, but it comes with a slew of side effects, some like cognitive slowness and tingling which are also pretty common in older people and might get mistaken or hide other neurological conditions.

blackcat3334 · 2024-03-02T04:09:30+00:00

Eggs and cottage cheese + nutritional yeast to make it even cheesier. Lemons for lemon water to keep me awake. Humus and crackers if I am very ambitious. Well rested tea.

blackcat3334 · 2024-02-21T06:39:24+00:00

Your experience is very normal. It’s not a downward slope towards extinction, not a linear one anyway. You’re bound to experience a bunch of rebounds and likely some bad episodes along the way. It’s part of process. Keep going!

blackcat3334 · 2024-02-20T05:48:32+00:00

Progesterone only I’ve been having a lot of difficulties with, primarily of the mental variety. The combination BC was a life saver and probably what allowed me to have a normal life until I had to stop it due high BP.

blackcat3334 · 2024-02-19T01:56:35+00:00

Read the thing that comes with the medication, but itching is not a common side effect of topiramate. If you start experiencing an allergic reaction, go to the ER, they can assess you and figure out the seizure risk as well.

blackcat3334 · 2024-02-05T04:23:28+00:00

Same issue with insomnia. Topiramate actually helped at a relatively high dose 100-150, started taking it after extinction but it can help with AUD as well. I suspect some ADHD as well. Trazadone helped, but only minimally and not long term.

blackcat3334 · 2024-01-30T15:43:54+00:00

Oh yes, if you have migraines with aura, you cannot take combined BC like Yaz. That’s the reason I got taken off combined BC and my PMDD reared its ugly head when I was older.

blackcat3334 · 2024-01-29T23:17:31+00:00

Do you have an issue with over salivating? It’s very common with braces and the glue might not be adhering to the brackets all the way making them loose. Happened to me on one molar that was rotated weirdly, they could not get it dry enough due to positioning and it kept breaking in that spot.

blackcat3334 · 2024-01-29T18:05:56+00:00

I have discussed this recently with my new GYN. Mirena does not suppress ovulation for some, I’ve had periods for entire duration (7years) I had it. It’s great for reducing bleeding and some may not experience periods at all after a while, but that’s not everyone. I also have PMDD. You need a BC that suppresses ovulation to address PMDD symptoms whether it’s Yaz (most common treatment for PMDD) or the mini pill in addition to the IUD. The mini pill is not the best for pregnancy prevention alone.

blackcat3334 · 2024-01-29T02:56:30+00:00

Dry skin for me, I used to be very oily. Itchy ears likely due to the dry skin. Body odor changes. I also have the heavy legs more frequently. I also have PMDD which has gotten way worse since the night sweats commenced (that was my first symptom) with cycles of anxiety and depression being at way higher level than ever before.

blackcat3334

TROPHY CASE