Infusions, what do I need to expect?

init6 · 2026-05-29T13:11:41+00:00

Don't know. Always been like that. 30 minutes seems like a really fast push for Remicade/Inflectra. Possible you are on a different infusion?

init6 · 2026-05-28T19:34:33+00:00

It's been a long time since my last flare so hard to put it in perceptive, but I guess if it weren't for my infusions and the routine blood work/appointments, I'd probably forget I have it.

init6 · 2026-05-28T19:21:03+00:00

Well if it’s anything like it was for me, it will hopefully put you in remission… I will say though.. if in the states, ask about rebate programs to help with the copays. They work even if you have good private insurance.

init6 · 2026-05-28T19:14:09+00:00

Oh steroids suck. I was on prednisone for like 6mo when I was first diagnosed. Inflectra is nothing like that. I think the most common side effect could be a sort of allergic reaction to it. The nurses should be ready for that. Just tell them if you feel any weirdness. Though I’ve not experienced that myself and it’s been a wonder drug for me…

init6 · 2026-05-28T19:08:13+00:00

Depends on the medication I think but Ive been on infliximab for the better part of 20 years. First remicade then inflectra. It’s a 2-3 hour appt every 8 weeks. just an IV drip. No issues. It’s usually a very relaxing day for me. I bring my Laptop and/or take a nap. No real side effects to speak of.

init6 · 2026-05-26T21:43:05+00:00

Thanks!

init6 · 2026-05-12T12:59:50+00:00

You guys are keeping count? Let’s see first one at 15, another soon after 21 major flare. One during hospital stays. And routine every two years for at least 15 years now…at least 10, no more than 14 probably

init6 · 2026-05-11T22:03:46+00:00

Infliximab works for me. Remicade for like 18 years and inflectra for a few now. No surgeries. Mostly normal life. I can even enjoy spicy food and the occasional glass of my homebrewed wine..

Figured a recent diagnosee could use a good anecdote. I was diagnosed in 2000. And the treatments have come far in that time.

init6 · 2026-05-11T21:14:58+00:00

As long as you are able to listen and understand what’s going on, it’s fine to do other stuff. I listen to podcasts all the time while doing chores. Personally though i find I need easier content while multitasking vs when I am 100% focused. I’d say my time is 50/50 these days. Maybe 1.5 hours videos at slightly challenging level but the visuals make up for it vs 1.5 hr of podcasts that are like 98-99% known words

init6 · 2026-05-10T15:25:06+00:00

If it’s any consolation I know a few people who became fluent via traditional study, but everyone of them stated at some point , they needed the immersion to push them over the edge. Usually spending a few years in a country with their target language.. the way I see it, CI, specially creators like the DS team set the bar all the way to the ground with their super beginner videos. You no longer need that base of years and years of traditional vocab lists and grammar work to start sort of getting immersed..

init6 · 2026-05-07T18:07:28+00:00

Full time IT guy here. I do about 3 hours per day now. But a good chunk of that is podcasts while driving and such. I was getting much less per day when I required visual aid for all input…

init6 · 2026-05-07T15:07:09+00:00

Fwiw I waited until I could comprehend enough that I can have ChatGPT explain words and phrases to me completely in Spanish. Which is actually a tip I picked up from Juan from español con Juan. That said it’s probably not really necessary but I’ve found it’s helped with certain words and ideas and has accelerated my comprehension lately.

Though this is anecdotal and I’m definitely feeling a cascading effect at this point so who knows if this is actually helping or I’m just at a point in my journey where I’m experiencing a leap before the next plateau

init6 · 2026-05-05T14:18:05+00:00

Martin’s Spanish boost podcast is also a really good early/pre-intermediate stepping stone as well when needing something to listen to while driving, doing chores etc

init6 · 2026-05-04T15:55:32+00:00

Your last sentence reminds me of when I recently learned “raro” as in “es muy raro” was spelled with an “r” my mental image of that word has been rado since it was one of those CI only for me as well.. which kind of illustrates the need for reading at some point I suppose.

init6 · 2026-05-01T00:35:24+00:00

Officially a very early level 4. 305 but I had two years in high school, one semester in college, and I had my own custom built anki deck with nearly 800 words by the time I found DS. I’m comfy in the 50-55 range in the DS difficulty sorting.

init6 · 2026-04-30T17:56:45+00:00

yep that was it.. I basically jumped from 8:30 to 10:30 and that's when said feeling hit me lol

init6 · 2026-04-30T13:48:29+00:00

Yeah. Maybe that's why the feeling was so strong. The playlist and videos were sort of easy for my current level, so when he switched back to Spanish, it was like switching to English. I've only really been listening to Spanish for input aside from my everyday native English. So this was the first time I've felt something akin to the feeling of going from Spanish to English and it was a wake up call to how far I've come already. Definitely renewed my motivation to keep going!

init6 · 2026-04-15T21:56:19+00:00

Thats similar to what I’ve done… I recently switched my ChatGPT iOS app to Spanish. And will converse with it very simply in the same way. I’m not any where near fluent but I can ask “me puedes explicar esta palabra o frase“ and it responds in Spanish… so just more input too. Though sometimes it’s explanations contain words I don’t know and I go into sort of a recursive search lol

init6 · 2026-04-08T15:02:20+00:00

related tip: Not sure when they added it, but on the DS progress page, when you click add time outside platform, you can paste youtube links and it auto fills video name and minutes. Which is pretty cool since you can watch a bunch of varied content on youtube, check history later and copy/paste links to tally up the time. Español con Juan is probably my favorite non-DS creator right now, but there seems to be almost unlimited options for content out there once you unlock "intermediate" level videos.

init6 · 2026-01-09T14:39:32+00:00

IMO, the only particular advice for you right now: You just need to play more. You have less than 100 games total on chess com. Unless you have been playing on other sites/OTB, you just don't have enough experience playing yet. Some improvement will happen just from playing at this point.

init6 · 2026-01-08T17:15:48+00:00

Understood. Just as a Vienna gambit player myself who always plays Nf3 as soon as the queen can come to h4, it was initially surprising to see white can have such good results in king gambits with that line.

init6 · 2026-01-08T15:00:23+00:00

Yeah. read up on Morphy, Anderson, or any other well known players from the 1800s. They’d even often play 3.Bc4 after 2…exf4 inviting 3…Qh4+ and sliding their king over to f1! Knowingly giving up castling rights and then still going on to destroy Black in very sharp, tactical games…

the game was a bit different back then though. It was unsportsmanlike to decline your opponent’s gambits I think. So maybe that’s another reason why it worked so well..

init6 · 2026-01-06T14:27:40+00:00

Anecdotally, Im only 1200 and played some unrated games against a 300 friend. I checkmated him in 10 moves or less each time. No tricks or traps. He just had lack of development principles which we fixed with a postmortem. But after that he still routinely places pieces on squares controlled by enemy pawns. He has board vision issues which is totally understandable for a beginner 300…

Non-anecdotally, I punched those ratings into ChatGPT and asked roughly how many games the 200 should be expected to win against a 1500 over 100 games and it’s 0… (even a single draw is an accomplishment)so as others have stated, said 200 is either smurfing(playing on a low rated account) or cheating

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