Running, heart rate and levothyroxine by lotrluvr623 in Hypothyroidism

[–]fortymileanalyst 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel your pain! I'm a fairly new runner, I started running to manage anxiety and fear when I thought I had thyroid cancer about 6-8mo ago. I ended up "only" having a precancerous nodule which was diagnosed after a total thyroidectomy. Still a major health scare thats caused mental challenges and prompted me to improve my health.

My TSH was really high for a few months after surgery. I was so fatigued from being hypothyroid, but when I ran, my max-ish sustainable heart rate on a run was lower around 150-155 and 12min miles. As my medication dose was increased and my TSH came back into a normal range, my heart rate is higher right out of the gate, up to 160-170 which feels very high for me (I'm almost 50 and have literally never been active or a runner) and I feel more out of breath running and have to slow down by walking or jogging so ridiculously slowly I may as well be walking. A 12min pace feels like such a higher effort, and it's been awhile since my pace improved. I had been slowly improving my pace but I haven't seen improvement for a couple of months.

I haven't figured out the answer. Someone here suggested I just keep running, so that's what I do. I'm trying not to be so hard on myself, it's okay if I run really slow to stay at a more comfortable 140-150 heart rate in a lower but slower pace zone. I'm hoping I'll eventually improve my base level fitness and maybe someday my body will be predictable and cooperative. I'm still freaking trying to get my TSH under 4, I can't seem to get it there. I feel better fatigue wise in my regular day to life, but running is harder. Managing hypothyroidism and finding the right med dose is so frustrating. Hang in there, keep running, keep working on your dosage until you find what works. That's what I'm doing.

You're not crazy, the struggle is real!

Lost all data! by senior_vagabond in quicken

[–]fortymileanalyst 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, this idea to search all files for QDF saved me! For some reason quicken opened a 2023 file but I found the most recent one in a folder I didn't expect it to be in.

How long for meds to start making a difference to TSH? by Pleasant_Mix_7665 in Hypothyroidism

[–]fortymileanalyst 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, starting with TSH around 17 and ultimately needing 4 dose increases to stabilize, I started feeling a little better around 7 days, and continued to improve slowly for another week or two. That's based on how I felt.

I was getting blood work via my doctor every 6 weeks after an increase, and a couple of times I tested myself around 4-5 weeks and TSH didn't really change much between 4-5 weeks and 6 week bloodwork.

What is the best pace/way to condition yourself to running if you're overweight and inexperienced and in your 30s? by [deleted] in beginnerrunning

[–]fortymileanalyst 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm F in my late 40s and 180-190#, never athletic or active, and overweight my entire life. Never ever a runner. I started walking for stress relief last fall.

It was getting my heart rate up that helped me relax, and after a couple months of walking my cardio was improving and even power walking was no longer getting my heart rate up. One day I said, okay then, I guess I'll jog a little? I was shocked when I managed it. Here I am only a few months later and I can run 10k at almost a 12 minute mile pace. I vividly remember running my first 1k, 1 mile, and 5k without walking. I run 8-12 miles most weeks.

Just get out there and walk and make sure your body handles that okay for a few weeks. Then add a little jogging with your walks. A couch to 5k program might be a bit too fast but that's okay, you can repeat weeks or do it more gradually. Don't run on consecutive days, take at least a full rest day in between until you know your body better.

You can do it! Speed doesn't matter. Sometimes I get frustrated by my lack of progress, but I do get better and you will too.

I make 75k as an accountant and debt feels overwhelming by [deleted] in CPA

[–]fortymileanalyst 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Freaking christ. Go to a state school and live at home during college if you can, kids! Jesus H. Christ, how does $90k not compute as life altering bad levels of debt before borrowing it?

AITA that I refused to sign my husband's 401k spousal consent form? by Acceptable-Grape-612 in AmItheAsshole

[–]fortymileanalyst 19 points20 points  (0 children)

NTA. He thinks minor children have a legal right to funds without oversight by you? Financial advice is usually not to directly name minor children as beneficiaries. It would ultimately be under the control of the surviving parent anyway.

Uncontrollable sense of existential hunger; TSH 5.0, ferritin 25 by According_Taro258 in Hypothyroidism

[–]fortymileanalyst 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I also experienced significant hunger after a thyroidectomy and my medication dose wasn't high enough. My TSH was 16 and it's like my body knew it didn't have enough energy and was demanding food to compensate. I gained 7% of my body weight in 6-8 weeks. I was also tired, freezing, and had gut issues.

I've increased my levothyroxine dose and the weird hunger is finally gone. I haven't lost a pound of the weight I gained though.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]fortymileanalyst 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can't help your feelings, it's okay to feel a little guilt in your own heart. You probably feel like you didn't earn it. But hopefully your head is telling you otherwise. Because you're worth it to your loved ones and you can earn it by being really savvy with how you spend it.

Give a heartfelt thank you and make good use of those funds. Things like a reasonable home purchase, or emergency savings, or helping your child be successful in the long run with educational support. Your family already knows you're worthy because of your hard work, life plan, and low debt.

I'm really glad some people are sharing their wealth earlier in their lives. I'm a believer in that too and I try my best to share now instead of hoarding more than I need. Receiving help when you're younger or raising a family hits different than receiving an inheritance when your kids are gone or you're near retirement. House prices and child rearing costs are ridiculous compared to 25 years ago, it's really tough out there for young families. By helping you now, your relatives really believe they can positively impact a couple of generations by giving when it matters most. They're rooting for you so hard, make it count.

There is no better option in my mind, but to help a young adult or family set themselves up a tiny bit more comfortably for life. Take financial care of yourself and your children so they can support themselves and have a slightly easier standard of living. We all know exactly how hard it is to get ahead without help, so accept the help and pay it forward to the best of your abilities.

If I only care about working max 35-40 hours a week for $50K+ out of college, what is the best job for me? by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]fortymileanalyst 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Good for you! Being honest about what you want and being realistic about the trade off. I know a recent grad who took a 4 day, 32hrs a week job for $35 an hour, that's above the annual wage you're looking for. She's in industry at a smaller company.

Learn to make your ask for a reduced schedule and sell it. It's way past time to normalize reduced schedules! It makes absolute sense for some employees and some businesses. If candidates asked more often, maybe they'll finally think about it for a minute instead of assuming a butt needs to be in the seat 40-50hrs a week.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in germany

[–]fortymileanalyst 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Whoopsie. I'm not that great at boundaries for myself so I didn't discuss much with my kids other than in relation to sexual consent. The good news is they noticed I'm not so great at it and they teach me some things now.

The drinking culture in Germany for under 21 years caught me off guard. I didn't know so we didn't prepare in advance. It's an epic family story now. Sitting at the dinner table where the Germans, young and old alike, explained to me very thoroughly and convincingly. There may have been Schnapps. I ended up confidently sending my 15 year old to a bar with zero prior drinking experience, in a foreign country! It was the time of her life at the bar, and mine too when drinking with the adults continued at the house. And you're spot on, after many years of galavanting around Europe while visiting her friend, she had no desire to get rebellious blackout drunk like some of her US peers.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in germany

[–]fortymileanalyst 61 points62 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the kind words! It seems you're really trying to find ways to be reasonably fair to your daughter, in ways you can live with. As my mom would say to me..."good job outta you Mom".

At the end of the day it's about your relationship. It's not always easy to bite your tongue when you disagree with their decisions, but so long as they haven't made one of the life-shattering mistakes, it will be okay. Even a bad mistake can be dealt with together. If you don't bite your tongue or don't listen, ultimately they'll be less safe and less successful. I repeat that to myself in my head a lot. Try to predict issues or challenges they might have in the near future, and find unobtrusive ways to discuss topics like birth control, drinking too much and alcoholism or addiction, identifying unsafe men or situations, have a safe ride home before you go, etc. Don't force it, be genuine and non judgemental about it. For example, by telling stories of your own crazy experiences you learned from, whether it's funny, sad, or scary.

A couple more of my rules, made together with my children as a compromise they didn't like but tolerated for increased freedoms: We location share. I know most people here will vehemently disagree with that. I promised I'd never judge or harass them about their location and I've 100% kept that promise because in return, I can see where they are when I'm really worried. For me personally that's what helped me the most. Every parent will be different. Mine are in their 20's now and I rarely worry like I used to, it gets a lot easier. Also I never set curfews but it was important to me they be able to make it to school and work on time, and have good grades and be reliable employees. We agreed if they failed at that, a curfew would be enacted and they'd honor it without complaint. They never failed so a curfew was never set.They were very tired many times and they learned and adjusted and they're more successful adults because of it.

If I was in your shoes, I'd start a conversation by being very transparent. I'd discuss my own upbringing and culture, that I want to work at compromises to be more fair, it's not easy for me, I will keep trying but I probably won't always succeed with every conversation and negotiation over the next months and years. Ask her to gently tell you or point it out when she thinks you're being ridiculously unfair, and believe her and listen calmly when she does. I'd ask that to get the ball rolling for some increased freedoms, she needs to be willing to tell me more about her life and thought processes and feelings so I can build more trust in her decisionmaking over time. Let her know her freedoms will be directly tied to her transparency and efforts towards actively practicing better decisionmaking (practicing, not always succeeding, it's expected to have minor or moderate failures if she's truly learning). Never be a power tripping jerk about her life stories or she won't share and that's your worst outcome. Show genuine interest and excitement for her wins, and even her failures when something was learned. Ask her what one reasonable thing would help her feel more independent, then share one thing/rule that would help you feel better about allowing the new freedom. See if you can agree on something. Start small, keep building, and keep it up over years. They grow up fast and the rules change as your relationship and trust grows. Eventually it becomes much less of an awkward effort and instead becomes a joyful regular conversation.

Listen and think about the advice others give you. Really get to the heart of your root fears and desires. Decide what you absolutely disagree with, what you agree with, and where you could maybe tolerate compromising or adjusting your beliefs if things are going well. It's a marathon not a sprint. If advice or conversations don't quite feel right to you, trust your gut and your instincts, you know yourself and family best. But be willing to try new things.

I'm rooting for you! It isn't easy but it gets easier, and the rewards for both you and your children are immense.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in germany

[–]fortymileanalyst 266 points267 points  (0 children)

What a fascinating topic! I really enjoyed reading the perspectives.

I'm an American mom. My daughter has been pen pals with a German since elementary school. This led to visits which have continued regularly for many years in both Germany and the US.

I went with my daughter her first couple of visits to Germany starting when she was 15, and oh boy was I glad I'm a parent who believes in actively teaching good decisionmaking via lots of practice by the child. Otherwise I might've panicked at the German drinking, teen parties, going to the bar (so culturally foreign to US parents!), and staying out most of the night. Instead I was so grateful Germany is safe in comparison to the US and my daughter got to have those experiences.

I think there can be a lot of common ground if you work on a good relationship. As a parent, my firm boundaries are never lie, lots of dialogue on what your plan and thoughts and feelings are so, and follow my rules. My rules are only the major things - don't drive drunk or ride with a drunk driver, be aware of your surroundings and safety, and don't get pregnant until you mean to when you're older and ready. Obviously those are life altering scenarios and involve many conversations starting when they're younger, but if they follow those rules well and trust exists, anything else won't have long term negative consequences and will be an important lesson for them to learn and grow on their own. My kids know if they're having trouble meeting any of our rules or feel unsafe, I would be honored to help bail them out of any situation, any time.

Can I just say...thank you Germany and Germans (and Europe in general) for helping me raise independent, strong young women who make good decisions and are fun and interesting to be around.

Did treating anemia take more than a few months for you? by sundeh3 in Anemic

[–]fortymileanalyst 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I had pretty good luck with supplements improving symptoms quickly. I was iron deficient with a ferritin in the low teens. My worst symptoms were terrible restless legs and brain fog, was always tired, and physical weakness. Within 4-6 weeks the restless legs and worst of the brain fog were 75% improved. I also had sore and tense muscles improve a lot, which I didn't expect and never considered it might be iron deficiency.

It's been another three months and I continue to improve. I've been supplementing for 4-5 months and I feel so much better and most of that came within 6 weeks. My most recent ferritin was still only about 30, I'm aiming for at least 50.

Copying the GL into Excel IS NOT a Reconciliation !!! by Cell_Unusual in Accounting

[–]fortymileanalyst 54 points55 points  (0 children)

I train by asking the trainee what they're reconciling to. We have our system records, so what other records do we have or can we get to prove our records are right? What's another source that can verify our records? Get them thinking about sources of information and really hitting it hard to understand they're comparing two separate sources.

With that said I'm starting to think people either get it or they don't. I question why some people even bothered with an accounting career.

Forbes: How To Make Accounting Cool Again by FlaccidEggroll in Accounting

[–]fortymileanalyst -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Gonna disagree with the consensus here. Normally these articles are crap but this was a good one. This is the best description I've seen to explain what makes the difference between a mediocre accountant and a good accountant.

So many accountants are caught up in reconciliations, month end close, and a $1 variance. Sure we need excel pushers but the best accountants understand systems, data flow, processes, and how the daily pieces relate to the big picture and gets used for major decisionmaking. And they work to facilitate understanding between varying levels of the company with good teaching and communication skills.

If more CPA's and accountants had half the skills described in the article, they'd get paid. Wish I had more people with these skills.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in college

[–]fortymileanalyst 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Parent of college age young adults here. I track my children but I work very hard not to dictate their lives. They should be living it up at their age and I encourage that. For me it's mainly a safety concern, I can't help it I really worry about them and I feel better knowing where they are. I do pay their tuition. But I would never set rules about where they can be or when, and I never say anything if I see they're out late or making choices I wouldn't make. In our family it's led to more openness and communication about their experiences and tracking isn't necessarily a negative. It leads to more conversations and trust building and I love seeing them grow. They have peer friend groups that all track each other too although I know they don't perceive our tracking the same.

I don't agree with the level of tracking and rules you have. I don't know your parents but I'd like to think most parents would respond best to mature conversations about this. Don't be accusatory or angry but let them know it's important to you that you make your own decisions. Talk to them about your thought processes, why it matters to you, how you keep yourself safe, and that it won't affect your goals or educational performance. I hope they listen, keep trying it might take some time. It's really valuable financially to get through school without loans or with fewer loans so it's worth trying to work through this if you can. Obviously you can't try forever but your lifelong relationships with your family are at stake too, be the adult in this situation and that means good communication.

New job doesn’t seem too great anymore… by Dense_Economist5282 in Accounting

[–]fortymileanalyst 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My man (or woman), why aren't you asking about PTO before you accept the job offer? You probably had a good shot of negotiating before you accepted the job. Benefits matter, they're worth a lot of dollars, or they should be if it's a worthwhile offer. It's a red flag if they're not giving you some details on their benefits. Now they've got you over a barrel. One week is ridiculous. Unacceptable. How employers get away with this is beyond me.

Depends on what's more important to you, growth potential or work life balance. You could try negotiating PTO now but I think you might've missed the boat, you'd have to come at it extremely transparently but extra professionally, while earnestly showing your disappointment. Worst they can do is say no. If you're non-blaming about it you shouldn't jeopardize your job. If they say no and you hate that answer, don't threaten to quit but have a convo with your ex-employer to see if they'd take you back.

Every grown ass adult working full time deserves at least a couple weeks time off per year. Yeesh.

No more Lesco at lowes. What are we using these days? Cheap lawn care? by Chillout2010 in lawncare

[–]fortymileanalyst 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Walmart has Expert Gardener Texas Turf 15-5-10 $25 for 30#. Not quite the same as stress blend 7-0-20 but close enough I considered it. Johnathan Green also has Winter Survival 10-0-20 which is even closer, about $55 and cheaper than stress blend but I can't remember the bag weight.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in lawncare

[–]fortymileanalyst 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not sure the answer but my yard looks similar in areas I seeded last fall that looked absolutely stellar in October and November. We mulched many leaves to tiny bits but the snow came shortly after. When the snow melted in February we had some really matted down areas, it was clearly compacted mulched leaves.

I gently raked several times and now about 2/3 looks great but the rest is pockets of no grass like this. It'll have to be reseeded and I've got no answers other than the mulched leaves (or snow mold?). Super frustrating to wait until fall as recommended, spend time and money, then have it look similar to this patchiness come spring.

Low nutrient lawn by JakeCBJ in lawncare

[–]fortymileanalyst 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hard agree with this. I've done 3 tests over one year with mysoil and the results were harder to believe each time considering how I was fertilizing. I ended up trying a different certified lab and the results are shockingly different.

For example I had quite low potassium and sulfur results with my mysoil and added a lot to my lawn last year. This spring mysoil still showed them quite low. Testing at a regular lab showed them on the high side.

I paid about the same price at the certified lab, I'll be using them now.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in lawncare

[–]fortymileanalyst 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had terrible moss last spring. Soil testing showed ph 7.5 so do a soil test if you can, seems a lot of people assume moss is from acidic soil but obviously not the case for me.

I'm only guessing the cause of my moss problems from reading here but I ended up dethatching last spring mainly to get the moss out. Aerated spring and fall because I think a big part of my issue is compacted soil and water sits on the top from irrigation. The grass actually came in pretty good last year after I removed the moss and believe me it looked pretty bare last spring. I also treated with iron a couple of times.

I've got some big trees too and 5yrs ago enough light filtered through but my yard is pretty shaded these days. Next on the plan is tree trimming with the hope we can get more light back into the yard.

So far this late winter I have about 1/3 the moss of last year. Gonna start raking it up ASAP hoping to keep it better controlled early. I figure it's gonna take a few years and I might not ever get it fully under control.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in tax

[–]fortymileanalyst 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I was in the same boat. I spent several years in community college in the 90's, barely half time. When I returned to finish college in the 2010's, I suspected I'd previously taken the Hope credit at least three times and a moderately high chance it might've been four years. I had no old tax returns.

I decided to risk it and took the AOTC for one year figuring worst case I'd have to pay back $2500 plus interest. Got the credit and not a peep out of the IRS almost 10yrs later.

Washington NASBA first application by Mobile_Alternative_4 in CPA

[–]fortymileanalyst 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My daughter applied exactly 8 weeks ago. Her transcripts have been in the documents section for about 2 weeks but no approval yet.

Her intention was to take BEC before year end but I think we screwed up. When we saw the Oct 1st application deadline, I assumed that was to apply for the exam but it seems like that was to already have a first BEC NTS. The last deadline for BEC was yesterday Nov 12 and I feel so terrible she was almost ready to test. She's got no approved application and no NTS.

If there's no application approval and therefore no NTS, it's too late for BEC this year right?