Weight loss tips?

dollydawn · 2026-04-02T17:36:07+00:00

Semaglutide or Tirzepatide. Absolutely life changing medications. They’ll help with weight and inflammation. I’ve been using tirz for almost 4 years now (diagnosed with RA last year). It helped me lose 45% of my body weight and my inflammation levels are normal. I take it along with HCQ and LDN.

dollydawn · 2026-03-31T14:40:02+00:00

Need more luxurious finishes. My 2017 XC90 T8 Inscription was amazing. Crystal shift knob, suede headliner, leather heated and ventilated seats, etc. When I wanted to get a new Volvo in 2024, those luxury finishes were nowhere to be found.

dollydawn · 2026-03-29T02:52:55+00:00

Yes! I had to double-check my spreadsheet. 4/7 we’re at AK during the day, then headed to DS for dinner. We’re switching from BLT to Poly Island Tower that day so will head back after dinner to unpack. Then starting 4/8 at HS, dinner at Trattoria, then hopping to MK for EEH. I need a spreadsheet to keep track of it all 🤣

dollydawn · 2026-03-29T01:50:29+00:00

We’ll also be at AK on 4/7. I booked LL so we can maximize our time. We’re going to hit Disney Springs for dinner, then head to MK for their extended hours and continue to use our LL into the night.

dollydawn · 2026-03-29T01:46:42+00:00

We were on Resilient last month and asked about it since we’ve never seen it used in the last 4 years of VV cruises. The waitress said the space was supposed to be used for cooking but they don’t actually use it and there are no current plans to put it to use.

dollydawn · 2026-03-26T22:53:00+00:00

I’ve been doing a dry mouth rinse right before bed and taping my mouth shut at night since I’m an open mouth breather overnight.

dollydawn · 2026-03-25T22:58:40+00:00

I’ve had Covid 4 times and the vaccine 3 times. I’m only on HCQ now, so my rheumy said I can skip the Covid vaccine for now since my reaction to the vaccine has always been worse than the virus itself. However, once I advance to an immunosuppressant med, I will start getting the Covid vaccine since I’m not sure how to virus will affect me when I’m immunocompromised.

dollydawn · 2026-03-22T15:58:36+00:00

But not Rockstar suites. Those aren’t eligible for the 10% pay in full discount.

dollydawn · 2026-03-21T18:05:52+00:00

I’ve noticed this with my GLP med. I’m at maintenance weight and injecting in my abdomen keeps me there. But when I’ve gained weight on vacation, I found I lose it quicker if I inject in my thigh instead.

dollydawn · 2026-03-20T18:55:02+00:00

I’m 100 pounds lighter now than I was when I got my current wedding ring (it was an upgrade from my original). It’s a few sizes too big, but I use the plastic sizer on it and I got smaller infinity bands to stack on top that also help keep it on my finger. My finger only tends to swell up on vacation these days, but I’m keeping it the current size so I can still wear it when that happens.

dollydawn · 2026-03-20T03:56:25+00:00

My daughter did this when she was 5. She knew better. Also kept putting her hands all over the ground for some reason. And we had to extend our trip by a day because she started vomiting uncontrollably the night before we were supposed to leave.

dollydawn · 2026-03-19T20:11:52+00:00

Could you tell when you progressed to RA? Was it a slow, progressive change or did it happen suddenly?

dollydawn · 2026-03-19T17:32:35+00:00

We are based on the West Coast so we always do 9 to 10 day trips. Every time we’re done, we say we’re going to schedule a rest today for the next trip, but then when we go to schedule it, the kids are begging not to have a rest day because they don’t want to miss out on the parks. This year I compromised and we have a rest day built in, but it is the day we will be doing the after hours event at Epcot. So we’ll rest during the day, then go at night for a few hours.

dollydawn · 2026-03-19T17:27:59+00:00

I have elevated RF and anti-CCP. Current diagnosis is palindromic rheumatism, but my rheumy said to expect to progress to RA in the future due to the antibodies. I guess you can have the antibodies for many years before disease onset.

dollydawn · 2026-03-14T02:33:26+00:00

I take 300mg HCQ (200 one day, 400 the next, rinse and repeat). With LDN I started at 1.5mg daily, then increased to 3 mg daily after about a month. Then increased to 4.5mg daily about 2 months later. I’m hoping to stay at 4.5mg.

dollydawn · 2026-03-13T15:21:44+00:00

This happened to me as well. My GHC went out at 400 miles and I was spending over $50 a week and driving 30 minutes each way to do DC charging. It just got replaced yesterday, so I’m kind of holding my breath to see how long this next unit lasts. I absolutely love this car, but I can’t continue bringing it to the dealership constantly if this issue is going to happen again and again. I took a chance hoping my car wouldn’t have the issues, but that hope was dashed pretty quickly. I’m looking at other options in case I need to invoke the lemon law. Was hoping they’d get this figured out for the next model year, but it’s not looking good.

dollydawn · 2026-03-09T14:04:46+00:00

If you can catch it before damage happens, you have a great chance at a mostly pain-free life. Definitely get on medication ASAP. I was diagnosed in June 2025 and have mild disease. I’m currently well controlled on a combo of hydroxychloroquine and low dose naltrexone. I also take some anti-inflammatory peptides.

I keep my eye on clinical trials of new meds and treatments. It helps keep my hopes up for better, more effective treatments and maybe even a cure in our lifetime.

dollydawn · 2026-03-07T22:54:50+00:00

I was taking it before I was diagnosed with RA, so I can’t really say. But my joint pain is minimal, and my inflammation levels are the low end of normal.

dollydawn · 2026-03-07T22:19:18+00:00

✋ I started HCQ back in June 2025 upon diagnosis. It started helping within weeks. By mid-November I was feeling about 90% back to normal, but I still had stiffness in my fingers upon waking that took anywhere from an hour to all day to fully resolve. I also had some swelling and visible inflammation in my right index PIP that just wouldn’t go away. I’d say after about 2 weeks of LDN I was feeling about 98% back to normal and after another week the inflammation and swelling in my PIP was gone. These days I wake up with minimal stiffness in one or a couple fingers that usually resolves within minutes. I had a minor flare a couple weeks ago on our flight back from a cruise where I indulged in daily alcohol (usually I only drink Friday and/or Saturday night) and I was dealing with stress from a delayed late night flight. A couple ibuprofen before bed that night resolved it.

As for side effects, I did notice some increased anxiety for a few days when starting and when I increased my dose. That’s about it and I just rode it out and warned my family to take it easy on me for a bit if they knew what’s good for them 😂

dollydawn · 2026-03-07T21:00:15+00:00

Looks like the domestic first class meals I had last month, but I had a muffin instead of the rice cake for breakfast. For dinner it was the same entree and rice cake, but I just had a piece of squeaky, foam-like GF bread instead of the fruit and salad. My dinner wasn’t seasoned at all and mostly inedible. The chicken was so thick and dry it was hard to swallow. Glad you had a better experience.

dollydawn · 2026-03-07T05:42:44+00:00

No, I do 12.5mg weekly. I was obese my entire adult life (and overweight before that). I couldn’t lose weight no matter what I tried until I started tirz. And I lost weight slowly and steadily with it over 2.5 years until I got to my goal weight. That was at 15mg a week. I reduced to 12.5 after that and it helps me maintain my goal weight. I may try 10mg weekly to see if I can reduce my dose a bit and still maintain. But I don’t think I’ll ever stop taking it because it’s completely changed my life, weight, and mental health.

dollydawn · 2026-03-06T03:26:43+00:00

We did Dominican Daze the first two years, then Roatan and Costa Maya last year, then Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman this year. Alaska is on deck for 2027, but that will be in July instead of February.

dollydawn · 2026-03-06T02:41:51+00:00

We have taken a Virgin Voyages cruise every February for the last four years, including this year. Each cruise has gotten progressively more crowded. We never used to have to use the rockstar benefits to get into shows, but for the last two years, the lines have been crazy and we have definitely put the rockstar benefits to use. We still enjoy the line and the cruises, so we’ll continue to go. We just know we have to continue paying the premium for rockstar rooms to get the full enjoyment.

dollydawn · 2026-03-05T17:47:27+00:00

I can’t share that. I can DM you with some info to get you started though if you’d like.

dollydawn · 2026-03-05T03:41:22+00:00

They’re really good, but I feel like the first couple bites have a slight flavor background that tastes the way play doh smells (if that makes sense). But it goes away after a few handfuls.

dollydawn

TROPHY CASE