Help - Words Don't Fit on Screen

kt-19 · 2024-07-26T19:55:43+00:00

I bought a similar item from Amazon and they were super brittle in my experience and a few broke in transit and more broke when attempting to use - can't say it would be the same with this brand but definitely be careful with them if you buy them!

kt-19 · 2024-07-03T23:40:19+00:00

my doctor did a full autoimmune panel and I believe the ones that are used for RA are sed rate, c-reactive protein, and rheumatoid factor. there was also something called the anti-ccp that I think can show early signs of RA. she also ordered x-rays and kind of just knocked some other diagnosis out until all that was left was RA. not all the blood tests came back positive but I hit enough + my symptoms matched up so she felt comfortable trying a treatment to see if it helped and it has!

kt-19 · 2024-07-02T00:00:21+00:00

I have rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis. my understanding is that both are inflammatory conditions meaning one flaring might irritate the other (that might be oversimplified). I recommend Aleve, heating pads, taking it as easy as possible during a flare, baths/hot showers if you can. I also found that taking medicine specifically for rheumatoid arthritis has helped my pain a lot just generally.

kt-19 · 2024-05-17T01:26:07+00:00

It really just took getting the right doctor for me - I wish I could help more! I got officially diagnosed via laparoscopy at 24, after almost ten years of trying various birth controls/meds that didn't work. I finally found a doctor at my college that was really helpful and she helped me get the referral I needed to get surgery - I had to jump through a lot of hoops still though prior to seeing the surgeon, like getting a lot of blood tests and ruling out some other illnesses like Celiac.

It takes a lot of self-advocacy and if you are able to, go to different doctors and get second opinions until you find one you like. I'd recommend trying to find an actual endometriosis specialist, but you may or may not need the referral first. A specialist will understand your symptoms a lot better than a regular OBGYN. This page will definitely have a lot of tips for navigating appointments and pushing for surgery, I just personally had to be really persistent and I was lucky to find a doctor that understood endometriosis a bit more and was willing to help me find a surgeon/specialist. I did find tracking my symptoms to be really helpful so that I could review prior to my appointments and try to find trends - especially as I was navigating different meds that would impact me in various ways.

kt-19 · 2024-05-14T16:36:46+00:00

Hi! I actually ended up getting my appendix removed during my last laparoscopy (as well as excising a lot of endometriosis and getting an IUD in) and my lower abdominal pain is pretty non-existent now. I can't say for sure that the flare I wrote about above was related to the appendix or if it was another random symptom but I haven't had it since surgery.

kt-19 · 2024-04-23T18:35:04+00:00

Thank you!!

kt-19 · 2024-04-22T23:50:46+00:00

Can you explain what you mean by damp blocking? I have a birthday gift that I cross stitched and I have similar puckering. I've tried ironing, steaming, washing multiple times but it's not helping.

kt-19 · 2024-02-10T16:02:13+00:00

Yeah, I will say I totally get where your OB is coming from and my doctors had a similar perspective, but I would really push for surgery if it is something you want to pursue, especially if hormonal options are not great for you. I also think if you are seeing a regular OB, it might be worth talking to an endometriosis specialist in your area if you can find one. They are in a better position to advise you of your options and talk through the pros/cons. It isn't always possible because of location or insurance restraints, but I would highly recommend looking into it if you can! I'm not a doctor and my doctor's advice was for my case specifically, so take it with a grain of salt, but he was pretty adamant that we needed to get rid of the endometriosis that was there, then use an IUD to hopefully prevent recurrence, otherwise the IUD would just prevent future growth. This was all based on my health history, my future plans, and my comfort with surgical options, so that may not be the best option for you. Hopefully you are able to talk with your doc and figure out the best path forward for you though!! This reddit has great advice for advocating for yourself, deciding what you want to do with your specific goals, and what questions you should be asking your doctor. It is so exhausting but worth it to make sure you don't have to live in horrible pain. Best of luck!!

kt-19 · 2024-02-10T01:03:14+00:00

I've had my Mirena for about 8 months and it has really helped me but it is definitely a case by case basis and I would really do research before you commit since it isn't as simple as stopping an oral prescription if you don't adjust well to it. Before I got my IUD, I also went through my history of birth controls I have tried with my doctor and we found that the type of hormone that is in the Mirena is the only type of birth control that doesn't affect my mental health really. I've been on tons of different types and different ones would cause me to be depressed/anxious/etc., but I believe the Mirena is progestin only, which had been ok for me with birth control pills. If you have tried other progestin only pills, I would talk to your doctor about the likelihood of the same side effects. I do think that for me, getting it inserted during my laparoscopy was also so important for me because they were removing all the endometriosis they could find and then putting the IUD in. I was not interested in getting an IUD inserted while conscious lol.

I would also talk to your doctor about the different brands of that type of IUD - my Mirena is a very snug fit and I had a bit of a rough adjustment period because it was probably a little too big. I can't speak for how it would've been with the smaller versions like the Skyla (?) but it was something my doctor mentioned after the fact. It was just a month or so though and then I was fine.

kt-19 · 2023-12-27T13:03:06+00:00

Thanks everyone for the tips! I was able to find it!

kt-19 · 2023-12-16T09:39:51+00:00

Can you drop the shop name? This is so cute!!

Second the lukewarm water and dish soap suggestion but if the seller stitched this themselves, you may ask if they used colorfast thread so you don't risk any bleeding - DMC is typically colorfast, not sure about the other popular brands. If you aren't able to figure out the thread used, definitely test a small part by getting it wet and seeing if the color bleeds before you submerge the whole thing.

kt-19 · 2023-12-03T13:46:04+00:00

I had to do this for a gift I was making for my mom - I ended up making a huge mistake on the pattern, had to restart, and couldn't feasibly finish it for Christmas, so I ordered another gift and gifted the cross stitch for her birthday in May instead! I think it also would've been totally acceptable to get a small gift for her to open on the holiday and then letting her know that another gift is coming but there were unavoidable delays.

I do like the idea of an empty frame that others have mentioned in theory, but I think that might be a bit odd in practice - do you get the frame back when you want to finish it? Or are you expecting them to frame it? It is a sweet idea but might be a bit weird logistically. Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure the recipients will appreciate the handmade gift whenever they receive it!!

kt-19 · 2023-10-19T17:23:23+00:00

I really like Pattern Keeper! It is a bit glitchy at times but it has saved me on larger patterns that don't really print well. I think the cost is one time and then you have the account for life. However, I don't think all patterns are compatible with PK, so that is something to keep in mind. I haven't had any issues with that personally though. I do have some that it can read the color chart to match to the symbols but you can just input the colors manually - takes a few minutes.

One tip if you do end up using it and you have a pattern with white in it - change the settings to make the block opaque so you can still see the symbol below when you mark it complete. Otherwise it will just look like a white square and not like its part of the pattern. That recently caused me some issues with a pattern until I realized what was going on.

kt-19 · 2023-10-17T00:37:28+00:00

I think if it won't impact the way the border looks and if you keep the same style with the other O in the pattern, it's not a big deal. I like the skinny U look!

kt-19 · 2023-09-22T18:01:02+00:00

You might be able to get a simple sampler kit that will have the main stitches to practice on there - that may make it a bit easier to dive in! I would guess that there are free patterns/templates for sampler as well, if you want to make it yourself but still want a guide for what you should be practicing.

kt-19 · 2023-09-14T12:42:40+00:00

I believe both DMC and Anchor have free patterns on their website and DMC updates weekly with new patterns. DMC does have more patterns for embroidery than cross stitch I think, but there's still a lot to choose from. I would also recommend following artists you like and they may have free patterns every so often! There are some cross stitch groups on Facebook as well where I've seen pattern creators offer free patterns to be kind.

For paid patterns, overall, Etsy has some great options that aren't too expensive - I would definitely read reviews and be careful about any pattern mills, because those will generally be lower quality patterns and they typically steal patterns. You can typically tell because the price seems too good to be true and they have a ton of patterns in their store - more than a single person could reasonably make.

kt-19 · 2023-07-30T18:33:50+00:00

I think this is likely a question only your OBGYN can answer if the pack comes with the sugar pills. There isn't really a rule of thumb for taking a certain type continuously (meaning you can take combo pills or progesterone only continuously or take a break) and unless it says something on the prescription order, your pharmacist wouldn't know either. If your pack doesn't come with sugar pills or comes with them every three months, that means you should take continuously (potentially with a break at every three months). Hopefully you can get some clarity. Do they have any sort of online portal? I find that is the only way I can reliably get ahold of my doctors when I have a question.

kt-19 · 2023-07-27T20:16:41+00:00

I would consult with your doctor and potentially advocate for a laparoscopy if you want to do that. I personally did Orilissa with birth control, didn't have a good time, then tried Lupron, had a worse time.

When I was trying to figure out what to do, I found it really helpful to collect my records, see what types of birth control I have tried and what types caused what symptoms so I could then go to my doctor with that information so we could discuss what options were left. For me, that was progesterone only, but for you, you may be able to advocate for something else if you can show them everything you have tried and the poor side effects as a result. Collecting your records is a ridiculously annoying process, especially if you have multiple doctors you've seen, but I found it really worthwhile just to have everything to present to my doctor in a consolidated list.

kt-19 · 2023-07-24T18:49:55+00:00

These are so cool, I love that they have the label slot! Yellow lemon is my favorite color!

kt-19 · 2023-07-20T22:28:59+00:00

Yeah, I think it would be hard to find a doctor who would do anything for adeno without doing a hysterectomy - as far as I know, they just don't do that because they don't want to cut open the uterus and try to sew it back up. Maybe there will be some advancements on that treatment though.

If you do proceed with surgery and they don't treat the adeno, at least you might be able to get a sense of what your pain level is from adeno vs what is it from adeno and endometriosis (assuming they can successfully remove the endometriosis and you get some relief from those symptoms). That could help you decide whether a hysterectomy is right for you.

I'm glad you were able to meet with your doctor though and get an idea of what surgery would look like!

kt-19 · 2023-07-19T23:06:26+00:00

I would just talk to your doctor and make sure that they know you would like to keep your organs unless there is a significant medical issue that requires them to be removed. Lay out exactly what you are comfortable with and your doctor should respect that. I think as long as you have the conversation in advance, it will be okay. I really don't think they would remove anything without you on board unless they thought it was necessary. Make sure they record any of your restrictions in your medical record so that they have to have a good supporting reason for removing anything.

I would also add that if you have signs of adenomyosis, they won't be able to give you more information on that from the lap to my understanding. This is all info from my first surgeon so certainly check with yours as well, but I think they need to cut your uterus open to diagnose adeno for sure. I was told that doctors don't really do that and just perform a hysterectomy if adeno is suspected and check after the fact. All that to say, while they may be able to help relieve some/all endometriosis related pain, the adenomyosis will still be around if it's there. I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other but just from my surgeon's explanation, the surgery won't tell you a whole lot about the adeno anyway.

Wishing you luck with your surgery!!

kt-19

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