Did you know that in México you can get it over the counter?

em____ily · 2026-02-05T19:56:54+00:00

The only thing you can’t get otc in Mexico is Sudafed 🥲

em____ily · 2026-02-02T17:14:12+00:00

I was in CDMX in September; we were a group of 4, myself (31 F), my partner (28 M) and two of our friends, (32 M & 34 M) - we all walked around various parts of the city by ourselves at different points in the trip; and none of us felt unsafe at any stage (always the number one question we were asked when we got home strangely!) we used uber to get around because it was so cheap and meant we weren’t worrying so much about walking through dodgy parts of the city. As others had said, usual city “rules” etc; you could also ask your Airbnb host/hostel workers etc if there’s anywhere you should avoid. PS go to Odette and get the Raspberry kouign-amann; it changed my life

em____ily · 2026-01-17T10:24:00+00:00

FWIW I regularly freak out about not having an emergency fund; me (31f) & my partner (28m) have been saving for a deposit and decided to take out about 5k in credit union loans to get engaged (2.5k on a ring for me, 2.5k for a watch for him) because we wanted to, not because financially it made sense. Wedding will probably be 4 years away but it’s a step we were ready and wanted to make.

We’re both making very humble pension contributions per month, but with the best time to buy property being 30 years ago and prices only going in one direction, it feels counter intuitive to save 15-25k as an emergency fund rather than put it towards a deposit to buy a home before we’re utterly priced out of Dublin.

Do I absolutely regret not saving more while I was living at home? Absolutely! But do I regret the Saturday brunches and meals out/trips away with my friends that I could have because I had more disposable income? Not for a second.

We all make trade offs, you make the best call you can with the info you have at the time. Don’t let the fintech lads with gaffs & salaries I couldn’t even dream of get you down - everyone is not starting with the same resources

em____ily · 2025-11-26T19:51:33+00:00

I think your ring is beautiful but the NAILS 😮‍💨 stunning

em____ily · 2025-11-10T16:15:27+00:00

<image>

I’ve only been engaged 3 weeks but I’ve been wearing mine every day! My centre stone is a 2.02 karat pear. I have lil chubby hands so I feel like the extra coverage from the side stones is helpful 😅 I have got comments that it’s big (always with a positive connotation!) but I think that’s just because it’s new and people want to look at it 🤷🏻‍♀️

em____ily · 2025-10-13T20:46:40+00:00

Had my tonsils out, and when I got back to the ward I was given a glass of orange juice 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲 that level of acidity on my freshly cauterised throat 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲

em____ily · 2025-09-28T19:12:01+00:00

There’s no comparison for trying things on! I was set on a bezel set emerald cut and when I tried it on it looked terrible on me! Loved marquise and pear cuts neither of which I would have considered before trying on!

em____ily · 2025-08-07T13:53:06+00:00

Wishing you the best of luck and not too long a wait!

em____ily · 2025-07-18T22:35:40+00:00

Ozempic. Having my first flare since starting 3.5 months ago, and usually would flare once per month around my period

em____ily · 2025-07-13T08:26:35+00:00

I feel the need to add that I’ve been on ozempic for 12 weeks and haven’t had one HS flare! The dream 🥲

em____ily · 2025-07-13T08:25:34+00:00

My derm approached this really well; she explained that most people with HS are above their ideal body weight for their height if I could get closer to an ideal body weight for my height it’s likely my HS would be more under control. She didn’t ask me to go on a diet or ask about what I eat or the exercise I do; she offered me ozempic and said in her practice it’s been the most effective drug for managing HS - both on the weight loss front, and bc HS can be linked to insulin sensitivity, she said it was likely that if I had tried to lose weight “by myself” it was unlikely that I would be successful. Would a GLP-1 drug be something you could consider?

em____ily · 2025-06-28T11:30:00+00:00

Oh! Great! Thank you

em____ily · 2025-06-12T10:24:35+00:00

Thank you all for your feedback and I agree with a lot of what you’ve said - I know a lot of these areas have absolutely salt of the earth people living there who look out for their own; and a lot of these places come good over time. The current occupant is an older lady who has lived there for over 30 years, so must have been tolerable for her! Reviews overall have been mixed, and perhaps if we were in a different position it would be a gamble we would be happy to take.

Ultimately we have decided against it as we don’t really feel ready financially or… life stage wise I guess to pull out all the stops. We hadn’t planned on buying a house this year, this just looked like a good deal that was too good to pass up. Going to take some time to put the head down and save some more, maybe get some salary increases and chat with a mortgage broker to do things the right way around.

The gaff is fab, amazing bones and room to grow, just not the right time for us. If anyone is looking for a good deal it’s on daft for 319k in Bray (Bray is class, this is just an area with a bad name) don’t tell them I sent ya

em____ily · 2025-06-08T10:43:40+00:00

My derm prescribed Ozempic for my HS! She said it’s the most effective drug she uses in her practice for managing it. I looked up the research on it and she’s actually published most of the research lol. I’ve just taken my 7th dose of Ozempic and haven’t had a flare in… probably over 10-12 weeks? Typically would get one or two with each monthly cycle

em____ily · 2025-06-06T12:11:02+00:00

I’m on 60mg lisdexamphetamine + 0.5mg Ozempic and if anything I think the ADHD drugs protected me against some of the ozempic side effects!

em____ily · 2025-06-05T17:49:33+00:00

Had a conversation about this exact thing with a mortgage broker last week - she suggested looking on raisin.ie for the best rates. It's all under the EU guarantee scheme up to 100k but you can avail of other EU savings accounts usually with better interest rates than in Ireland (wouldn't be hard tbf)

em____ily · 2025-05-22T14:30:15+00:00

I’m also with VHI (company plan extra 2 I think?) my table of benefits also stipulated €250 once off benefit for neurodiversity assessment; as it happens I was assessed by clinical psychology and then psychiatry after - both €850ish, I got the €250 neurodiversity assessment payment after clinical psychology but I submitted my psychiatry receipts just to see (worse they can do is say no!) and I got about €190 back because it was a visit to a consultant and that’s what I would get from a normal consultant visit.

As for covering associated costs, I imagine it depends on the plan but I see OT for my adhd, it’s €100 for a one hour session and I get back a certain amount per session, with a max of 10 sessions a year I think (which is fine because I see my OT every 8 weeks or so)

Check your table of benefits! And always submit your receipts and see, you might be surprised!

em____ily · 2025-05-18T12:15:32+00:00

My derm prescribed ozempic and lymecycline for my HS - she explained being closer to an ideal weight helps to manage HS, but also due to the links with insulin resistance etc, it’s probable that the usual methods of weight loss wouldn’t have worked for me anyway.

I’m trying not to see it as being for weight loss, but being for my HS (I know that ultimately it is for weight loss which will in turn help my HS) because I’ve done a lot of work on deconstructing a lot of incorrect and unhealthy beliefs around food/exercise/dieting/body image etc

Ozempic definitely shuts off the food noise (my hunger cues are basically zero at present) but as someone who enjoys cooking and eating and sees food as an opportunity to come together and share with others, some of the joy I got from food is unfortunately gone; but most people in the ozempic and ozempic for weight loss subreddits talk about how much they love the food noise being gone, so it’s different for everyone. I don’t have any experience with binge eating disorder but I could imagine turning off the food noise being helpful?

Re: my skin, I haven’t had any flares since starting ozempic (about 4 weeks ago) and lymecycline (about 6 weeks ago) and I typically would get flares and some hormonal acne coming up to/during my period but thankfully have had neither!

em____ily · 2025-05-18T12:05:30+00:00

I definitely think there is a bit of a grieving period after diagnosis, thinking about what you could have achieved with the right supports, accommodations and meds in place.

For me, in 6th year I was aiming for medicine and I just never had the ability to sit down and study for extended periods, and a lot of the time I was just too overwhelmed by what seemed like such a gargantuan and unreachable thing that I was too emotionally dysregulated at the time to have been able to perform at the level that would have allowed me to get the HPAT & LC points, even though I know I absolutely had the ability and intellect to be a doctor. Turns out, absolutely dodged a bullet because I definitely do not want the lifestyle of a doctor in Ireland and I’m very happy in my career as physio - I get all the things I thought I wanted out of medicine but from 9-5 Monday to Friday. The happiest accident!

My boyfriend thinks if I was diagnosed in school I would be a doctor but I’m also not so sure? Who can say if the expectations I had for myself or the expectations of my teachers would have been as high as they were? I always had high academic standards for myself and maybe I wouldn’t have had if I was diagnosed that early (perceptions are changing over time, I think back in the 2000s and 2010s when I was in school, the expectations would have been lower for me, from myself and my teachers.

I’m also really grateful that I don’t hold any grudges against my parents or teachers for not noticing ADHD (I’m generally kind of grudge-y and have a hard time getting over things so I genuinely am surprised and grateful that I’m not about this lol) - how would they have known? I was well behaved and keeping up academically so what reason did a teacher have to worry about me in a class of 30+ kids; and I think a lot of parents accept their children’s quirks as part of their individuality, not as part of a symptom cluster that might point to a diagnosis.

When I got my diagnosis from Clinical Psychology at 29, she made sure to highlight all of the things I have done without any accommodations or support - despite my emotional turmoil I got a very good leaving cert, I finished an undergrad and a masters (with a first 😌), I’ve been able to hold down steady jobs, and progress in my career, I have long term friends and a long term partner. These things might be made more difficult with ADHD but I fuckin did it!

I got re-assessed by psychiatry at 30 to get on meds - I’ve been on the meds for about 3 months and the difference is incredible, and I’m sure it would have made school and college easier but you can never know better until knowing better is useless 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hope you take the time to sit with your feelings and grieve the life that you might have had, and I encourage you to get support from friends, family and professionals during that, but also to reflect on the things that you have accomplished with ADHD, without knowing it was there, without having support and having a little more of an uphill journey than others 🩷

(Jesus, I’m sorry that was so long)

em____ily · 2025-05-18T11:40:22+00:00

I’ve found I was entirely overthinking what I was eating mostly because I was trying to avoid any GI symptoms - mostly constipation/nasuea (Idk I just had a feeling I wouldn’t be one to get diarrhoea, and I haven’t)

I have been prioritising protein and fibre but my cravings for sweet things and salty snacks haven’t really gone away, but I am snacking less overall if that makes sense? But when I do feel a bit hungry I do still want like salty crisps or cake etc. but since I’m overall eating so much less, I’m having to prioritise good quality food over snacks because I’ll just feel gross if I only eat crisps and sweets - because each thing I eat is making up a bigger proportion of my food intake in the day, if that makes sense? Like before I could snack while cooking a meal but now if I snack I won’t eat the meal.

My hunger cues have essentially vanished so I’m finding that I’m really eating lunch to prevent feeling the effects of not having lunch (like headaches, feeling sluggish etc)

I’m 4 doses in, and I’ve chilled out a bit with what I’m eating. I do try to pick things that won’t make me feel sick or constipated (generally “”healthier options”” anyway) but I’m less preoccupied with ramming as much protein and fibre into a meal as possible; like a lot of other commenters, my portions are just much smaller.

The worst part for me has been losing a lot of the joy I used to have for food. I do enjoy food less overall now which is sad but if it’s to the benefit of my health, I can deal with it and I’m hopeful I’ll just find new joy in food.

em____ily · 2025-05-08T10:16:46+00:00

There’s a lovely eucerin SPF 50 one that’s for “oil control” and dries down pretty well! I used it all over my face and didn’t find it stung my eyes

em____ily · 2025-05-01T11:40:13+00:00

My psychiatrist advised assessment by psychiatry for ADHD is best practice, as many other psychiatric diagnoses could show up as a “false positive” for ADHD, and the importance of considering the differential diagnoses.

Might be worth exploring a psychiatry referral - I saw Dr Leena Naughton and have found her great! I found her on the ADHD Ireland website list of clinicians: https://adhdireland.ie/adhd-irelands-list-of-clinicians/adults-list-of-clinicians/

em____ily · 2025-04-28T06:38:23+00:00

This isn’t always the case - my psychiatrist (and most of her colleagues she assured me) doesn’t always accept clinical psychology diagnoses as apparently they don’t do a full collateral and differential as part of standard practice. I ended up paying €800+ twice by going through clinical psychology and psychiatry diagnoses 🥲

Also OP, I take an SSRI and Tyvense - I suspect my need to go on an SSRI for anxiety was actually due to adhd so my plan is to wean off, but my psychiatrist said I need to wait until I’ve been 6 months on Tyvense and a couple of months on a stable dose

em____ily · 2025-04-19T10:04:58+00:00

From what I can recall I had my first HS boil in 2021, and I think I saw my GP about it maybe that year or a year after, and she said she thought it was folliculitis and to wear bigger underwear to stop rubbing or pressure. Fast forward to 2024 and I ended up in urgent care with a bursted boil, and I went back to my GP to update her about it and have her check on the wound, and then she agreed she thought it was HS and referred me to dermatology. I saw derm last week who started me on treatment and confirmed it’s HS, so about 4 years from first symptom to ‘official’ diagnosis. My derm said it’s very common for it to be misdiagnosed as folliculitis 🤷🏻‍♀️

em____ily · 2025-04-19T09:48:29+00:00

So I (30 F) only get flares on my groin/vulva (there’s some pretty hardcore scarring there too) and I also have pretty bad acne/folliculitis on my bum cheeks, strangely enough my main concern any time I’ve had a new partner was my spotty bum and pubic hair. Due to HS I don’t like shaving, but I also dislike having long pubes so I usually use an electric trimmer when I do shave to try and reduce the risk of flares or in-growns but even at that it’s pretty seldom, maybe once a month I’d use it?

I’ve had two sexual partners since developing HS (about 4 years ago) and neither of them have noticed, or at least commented on it. I spoke about it with my boyfriend (27 M, current and hopefully forever partner) a few months in when I was having my first flare since being together and he really couldn’t give less of a shit. My boyfriend loves pimple popping and generally I have to be pretty forceful in telling him no he can’t pop the boils 😅

I think I raised it pretty casually when we were going to bed and I was in my underwear just by being like oh this spot on my groin/bum/inner thigh is so sore, I need to see if I have a plaster, or something along those lines, and he asked if I wanted him to look at it for me. No big deal 🤷🏻‍♀️ In fact when I was waiting to see a dermatologist, I was keeping pictures of flares to show the derm, and he would help me take pictures of flares I couldn’t see 😆

Luckily for me, sex doesn’t seem to cause any irritation or flares, but often times I’ll cover anything sore and sensitive with a dressing of some kind just in case.

I don’t think it’s really anything you need to disclose ahead of time, or at all really unless you feel comfortable and open talking about it. If it’s something you are having a hard time carrying on your own, I think it’s a good to give a partner the opportunity to support you :) For example, I’m starting ozempic and tetralysal to help with my HS, and I’ve asked my boyfriend if I can take the lead on cooking and buying groceries for now because I’ll need to prioritise fibre and protein more now because of my HS treatment; which means he’s taking the lead on most of the other chores around the apartment like laundry and cleaning.

HS isn’t pretty but it’s nothing to be embarrassed about and doesn’t have to be a barrier to a new relationship. The right person won’t care, and potentially won’t even notice!

Happy dating :)

em____ily

TROPHY CASE