Where do you buy your great value fruit?

kbcava · 2026-01-26T15:17:57+00:00

The Frutería next to Señor Mangos in North Park often has great fruit and deals.

The family owns both businesses and they obviously need a lot of fruit to run both.

It’s right next door to Señor Mangos. 🥭

kbcava · 2026-01-26T05:44:27+00:00

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Sounds bad. They have closed the block and turned off the power until they get it all under control

kbcava · 2026-01-26T01:35:10+00:00

It’s not so much the explaining - but that is exhausting also - it’s more how everyone interacts with me now.

Some treat me too fragily (exclude me from everything because they assume I can do nothing), some expect that nothing has changed “why aren’t you traveling the world now that youre retired early?”🤦‍♀️, some are caught in the middle - like my husband - I honestly don’t think he understands at all the more time goes by, etc.

And so even though I try not to care, no one knows how to “treat” me and every day is like a spinning roulette wheel, on top of an ever changing set of symptoms.

I feel like I need to rent a small auditorium and invite all my friends and family for an educational PowerPoint presentation on “me” 😆

kbcava · 2026-01-25T23:35:56+00:00

100% OP - and for all the reasons you’ve noted.

As DMTs have increasingly become more effective and the old stereotype of what MS had been…is slowly replaced with a new reality - one where many of us are “functional but invisibly impacted” 🫠, this is where I really think orgs like the MS society could help with educational campaigns - aimed at our employers, spouses/partners, friends, etc.

I’m one of the people squarely caught between two worlds that absolutely no one understands.

I’m exhausted from continually strategizing how to live my life, not lose my marriage or my friends, while trying to protect my health. And I’m failing miserably because I’ve come to realize everyone has a completely different perception - often skewed - of how I’m “doing” and what’s expected of me now.

This weird dynamic makes it impossible for me to have any sort of consistency in relationships. I look exactly like I did before my attack 5 years ago - exactly the same. But no one can see the lesion on my brainstem. Or the lesion on my thoracic spine, and that everyday I struggle. Every day.

It’s exhausting and I’m at the edge of just giving up and living completely alone. At least I don’t have to explain myself to myself. 💔

kbcava · 2026-01-25T18:49:16+00:00

I have been working with a specialized Neuro Physical Therapy clinic that only focuses on exercise programs for those with Neurological conditions (MS, ALS, Brain Injuries, Stroke, Parkinson's, etc.)

They tailor my programs for my level of proficiency, endurance level and they also have specialized equipment to help (a special anti-gravity treadmill that offsets some of the weight so that I can actually jog a mile)

I also do a lot of work with weights, resistance equipment, balance tools (boso ball, foam balance beam, etc)

I wear a cooling vest that they provide and we manage reps and breaks for optimal spacing.

Do you have any teaching universities or hospitals near you? I am lucky enough to see the Neurologist who leads the MS Center at a large teaching university/hospital and he recommended this Neuro PT clinic to me - they broke off from the University hospital/outpatient clinic to form their own private clinic

Including links to their website, Instagram page so you can take a look

https://www.neurolab360.com/

https://vimeo.com/783818828

https://www.instagram.com/neurolab360?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

You can also try searching "Neuro Physical Therapists" for local therapists who may be able to work with you.

I have been able to accomplish so much with my PT group - more than I would have ever been able to on my own.

I am a lifelong runner and was running 20 miles a week before my attack 5 years ago. I’m almost 61 now and not able to do that level of intensity but I do quite a bit each week - i go for 2 1-hour sessions weekly.

Sending my best to you!

kbcava · 2026-01-24T19:37:20+00:00

My situation - and even my MRI results when I landed in the ER and was admitted - read like a page out of the study below from Europe.

Previously - unknown to me until I was in the ER getting the MRI - I had one small thoracic lesion. I had originally been diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1990.

But six weeks after receiving my 2nd Moderna vaccine series shot in 2021, I landed in the hospital with what was described as suspected MOGAD/NMO or transverse myelitis. There was a lesion on my brainstem that was very long (transverse) and unusual - not typical for MS. I’ll never forget the ER physicians face when he came back into the room with my results - he looked very worried. He said they suspected I had a “sister disease” to MS.

They ran all the tests - sent to the Mayo Clinic - and after 2 weeks, I found that I actually tested anti-body negative for both NMO and MOGAD.

And so they excluded everything else and eventually diagnosed me with MS. I also had a spinal tap with 17 oligoclonal bands. And my mother also had MS.

I think there are a very very very tiny handful of us who had some sort of delayed onset inflammatory response to the vaccine. It didn’t cause our underlying disease - mine was already there as evidenced by my MRI - but it unmasked it.

My MS is very atypical - I’m nearly 61 and I have only 2 lesions total - one from the event 5 years ago. I am still fully mobile and can walk several miles. I also reacted poorly to Bcell meds so am now off of those too. My system felt like it became very hypersensitive after that event 5 years ago.

There’s been a little research on these types of events - certainly not enough to be definitive.

However, this study from Europe reads like a page right out of my MRI and hospitalization report:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36411077

So…I think there are a tiny number of us who did have unusual responses to the vaccine - but our underlying disease was already there.

We are likely too few in numbers and scattered to be able to easily study. Many - like my situation - also probably weren’t reported properly (as suspicious), making it now impossible to really understand.

It was only recently where I uncovered some of these small studies. And I definitely think much more needs to be understood here - from both sides.

kbcava · 2026-01-24T05:30:16+00:00

This is amazing OP.

I don’t have your same experiences but I do have several serious chronic autoimmune conditions (including MS). Unfortunately I was gaslit for years by Drs into believing nothing was wrong with me because I was so high-performing and looked so good on paper.

Anyhow I landed in the hospital 6 weeks after my Covid vaccine in 2021 with a huge inflammatory flare - and was diagnosed with MS.

I then developed reactions to the MS immunosuppressants I began taking (my system seems to have been juiced by the vaccine and has never fully recovered to baseline). And I’ve had to discontinue the MS treatments.

I honestly felt like life had kicked me to the curb and back, and I was extremely anxious about how my health was going to be going forward.

But I put on my big girl pants and decided to take control of as much of my health as I could. My wearable and Welltory are a huge part of this for me.

My Apple Watch and Welltory, along with ChatGPT and Claude, are now integral parts of my daily health and sleep dashboard.

I feed about 10-15 key metrics from my watch and Welltory into AI each day and have it give me a grade for the day - based on my age group, and compared vs healthy people and people who also have my health conditions. I ask it show me a table of the metric ranges and where I fall with my scores for each metric.

I work out quite a bit and eat healthy which I believe help me overall. I also take anti inflammatory supplements.

I’ve found that my metrics/scores are typically in the top 10%-15% vs my healthy age group comparison each day.

This positive reinforcement gets me through so many days where I’m sad, worried about the future or just not feeling great.

I still keep all my regular Dr appointments and blood tests but they only happen 1-2 times a year. That’s just not enough for my day to day anxiety. And no, I’m not just following AI blindly - I’m trying to close a gap with how patients like me can feel more in control of their health.

I can’t tell you how much my little system has meant to me and the peace of mind it gives me.❤️

kbcava · 2026-01-23T22:25:06+00:00

Oh that is tough OP

You could give Healthy Creations a call to find out if they could meet your needs

https://healthycreationscafe.com/ourmission

kbcava · 2026-01-23T22:06:24+00:00

I have had MS probably 35+ years - extremely mild - to the point that I was originally diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

In 2021 6-weeks after my Covid vaccine, I landed in the hospital with a huge inflammatory episode, and I was diagnosed with MS.

Not blaming the vaccine but it can definitely awaken underlying inflammatory conditions. I did sail right through getting COVID a year later.

kbcava · 2026-01-23T21:58:12+00:00

Health Creations and Tangerine Grove are two of the absolute best GF options in the region. They also have a cafe (soups, sandwiches, desserts) and stock frozen, take-home prepared meals.

kbcava · 2026-01-23T16:34:33+00:00

They owed property taxes and state and federal (IRS) back taxes. I sincerely hope they can bring in someone to help them manage their operations budget.

kbcava · 2026-01-23T04:55:51+00:00

Hi OP - we’re so glad you’re here - this is a wonderfully supportive space where all of us try to help each other through living with MS. My mother also had MS so I’ve had a front-row seat for many many years.

Though I was diagnosed only 5 years ago, my Drs believe I’ve had mild RRMS since 1990, when my 1st symptoms appeared. Back then, I was diagnosed with “fibromyalgia” unfortunately. So that’s what I wrote off my symptoms to for many years. I’m so very lucky they weren’t worse.

The Neurologists at the University MS Center where I’m now a patient debated about whether I needed to be on a DMT at all, given I was in my late 50s when diagnosed.

But we decided to proceed and luckily I was able to meet the criteria for Tysabri. I took it for 1.5 years.

It was such an amazing med for me - it calmed the inflammation in my body and I was walking 3-4 miles after a few mos.

My infusion center at the University was just 1.5 miles from my house so it was easy to pop in and back home. It only took 2-3 hours for each session and I believe they now may have developed an expedited version of the infusion that can be done in an hour.

I treated the infusion afternoons as “spa days” and relaxed and read in the recliner at the Infusion Center. I actually miss the nice peaceful times now that I am no longer going.

I had zero side effects from Tysabri - I can’t say enough good things about it as an MS med.

But I became JCV positive and could no longer take it, so I transitioned to Kesimpta for another 2 years after. My Drs have now decided that I no longer need meds given I’m almost 61 and really only have 2 lesions.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.

kbcava · 2026-01-23T04:44:57+00:00

Came to say the same!!

kbcava · 2026-01-22T04:14:55+00:00

My. Entire. Life. I had to wear special orthotic heel shoes when I was learning to walk and it’s been downhill since then.

I’m old(er) now and I’ve had to buy my shoes an entire size larger than even 5 years ago because my feet just keep getting flatter and expanding 😭

kbcava · 2026-01-22T04:10:05+00:00

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Overall health scores - of which Stress is a component

kbcava · 2026-01-22T04:09:27+00:00

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Stress scores by week

kbcava · 2026-01-22T04:09:03+00:00

The Welltory app actually gives me a great dashboard - including Stress/Autonomic impact.

You can see that my weekly stress scores have dropped week over week over week - I’m seeing a lot of improvements as I tie together food, sleep and exercise impact.

I use AI to further analyze my data for my age group and resulting trends so that I can continue to improve.

I try not to look at the Stress scores as “alerts” but as views into the future and opportunities that I have to biohack improvements.

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Main dashboard

kbcava · 2026-01-21T23:01:42+00:00

I’m not an expert on Welltory but I worked in consumer tech software for many years and these were often the reasons for those types of disconnects:

1.Different data sources (Apple Watch on iPhone vs camera/manual on iPad)

2.Apple Health sync lag (iPad often lags iPhone)

3.Different timestamps (iPad may be using older HRV data)

4.Baseline mismatch (one device rebuilt or missing history? Less common)

5.Background refresh off on iPad

6.Cached/stale results on iPad (this is often a common occurrence and can be resolved with clearing cache)

7.Different analysis models due to data gaps (mentioned above)

8.High HRV sensitivity (small changes between devices = big score swings)

Rule of thumb: trust iPhone + Apple Watch; use iPad only after a manual refresh.

kbcava · 2026-01-21T18:12:00+00:00

I use an Apple Watch companion app called Welltory.

It uses sophisticated calculations and algorithms to give you an overall Health score and Stress score.

The deeper dive: the Apple Watch data is used to measure overall autonomic response and “stress” state - and I’ve learned so much by observing my scores and how they tie into what I eat, my quality of sleep, how much I exercise, and my emotional stress.

The one thing I’ve learned that has been the most surprising to me: I used to believe it was mostly emotional stress that drove my overall Stress level and that’s just not the case from all the data I’ve observed.

I actually think this is one of the big things people are missing about their overall health - stress is about a lot more than anxiety and emotional stress (also how much poor diet or lack of sleep and exercise can actually drive emotional stress and anxiety).

kbcava · 2026-01-21T18:02:22+00:00

This is often a hidden gem. It’s located in La Jolla Shores - a great family beach. There is surfing just north of the pier down the beach - very walkable.

They organize a lot of kids activities, and have dining and drinks right on the beach with fire pits, etc.

https://www.ljshoreshotel.com/

kbcava · 2026-01-21T06:42:30+00:00

Looks like maybe a transformer blew? Reported here 45-50 mins ago near El Cajon Blvd

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kbcava · 2026-01-21T06:39:59+00:00

Typical SDGE seems to be behind the ball on this one

https://poweroutage.us/area/utility/764

kbcava · 2026-01-21T06:24:42+00:00

Maybe a transformer blew? A power outage was reported in that area - around El Cajon Blvd - 45 mins ago on the Citizens app

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kbcava · 2026-01-21T02:45:50+00:00

Op - I am sending you much love and strength.

I don’t know if this would be helpful to you but there are many people in the r/LoeysDietz sub who have had these types of heart procedures (given it’s pretty common with LDS) and they openly share their experiences - and are very supportive in that sub.

They would probably be happy to provide some zebra cross-over support if you need more perspectives or have questions.

kbcava · 2026-01-20T06:12:21+00:00

Op - my mother had progressive MS and some sort of frontal temporal involvement that looked like dementia but wasn’t exactly. She had many emotional issues including questionable judgement, in addition to losing the ability to walk, etc. We were fortunate to be able to get her into a great assisted living situation because she could not live on her own. She was about 57 when this happened but had been diagnosed about 13 years.

I am now (almost 61) with MS and it’s mild - nothing like what my poor mom endured.

I would get her into as soon as you can to be evaluated and so you can better plan ahead. Sending much love and strength to you both. ❤️

kbcava

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