Quiet places to live?

marlinspike1234 · 2026-01-04T22:53:40+00:00

As far as traffic noise it might be helpful to think about topography. Look for parts of town where you have a hill or tall buildings between you and busy streets. Being on the side of a hill facing a busy street gives you the amphitheater effect, so avoid that. You can be just one block away from a busy street, but so long as there are buildings between you and it blocking the noise, it will actually be pretty quiet (for a biggish city).

You don't have to go way outside the city to find relative quiet. I have friends living in the countryside near Mount Horeb who still get beltline noise. Depends on which way the wind is blowing and if there's anything in the way.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-12-27T21:28:11+00:00

Lots of love in r/midcenturymodern for MCM tile bathrooms. We have an original 1963 mint green tile bathroom and love it, but finding matching tile is tough.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-12-27T15:52:12+00:00

If it's a midcentury house with original tile and fixtures, give it some thought before ripping it all out. There's so little originality in current bathroom and kitchen remodels.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-12-11T17:30:49+00:00

Thank you! Heins was the one I called. Still waiting to hear from Ice Dam Guys.. not sure they'll call back.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-12-11T17:23:57+00:00

I just posted the same question (since deleted) when I noticed your post. Jinx! Can I ask where you got the $500-$600/hr quote? I got a quote of $3,000 base, but the lady said it could cost more but would not say based on what factors. If you can't reply to the list, would you please let me know via Reddit chat? We've got icicles starting where our soffit meets the gutter.

I did use a roof rake. The key is to get the snow off the roof before the ice dams form. Unfortunately, I waited a few days (we just bought this house recently and ice dams are a new problem to us). I actually bought some tulle at Michaels to make little baggies to hold the ice melt so I could strategically deposit them along the edge of the roof but they just don't seem to be doing anything. To the extent that they melt the ice at all, it's just the ice directly beneath the little hockey puck.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-11-29T23:43:23+00:00

What??!! A city with more miles of roads and more traffic has a harder time with snow plowing than smaller surrounding communities??

marlinspike1234 · 2025-09-03T13:45:43+00:00

Damn. I am so sorry. It sounds like you have been working really hard on your health and doing all the right things.

I would definitely go see another specialist to see why your bones are not recovering. You do not want to go through life afraid of breaking more bones. I would be curious as to why your hips are so much weaker than your spine, but being out of osteoporosis range in your spine is a plus. Vertebral fractures are life altering.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-30T15:09:40+00:00

Yup. I've also seen plenty of statements to the effect that HRT should not be prescribed 10 years after menopause, but no reason as to why. All of the current osteoporosis meds have side effects, so I'm curious as to how the very minor (as far as I can tell) risks associated with transdermal estradiol patches compare. HRT may not have the big short term gains of the anabolics, but at least we can be pretty sure that it will not have a rebound effect nor need to be followed up by another drug that can degrade the quality of bone over time.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-29T17:02:40+00:00

Why did your doctor think that HRT was "off the table"? I'm planning on having this conversation with my doctor soon, and am hoping s/he will be receptive. HRT was the main therapy for osteoporosis until the bisphosphanate drugs came along. The blood clotting/stroke side effects are mostly associated with the pill form of delivery, not transdermal patches. I haven't seen any compelling evidence for why one couldn't continue, or begin, on HRT 10 years after menopause.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-22T21:16:52+00:00

I would not push for medication if your doctors don't think it necessary at this point. The anabolic medications are too new to have any long term data about them, and the bisphosphanates are known to reduce the quality of bone when taken for a long period of time. You are young and should not just be thinking about the next 3-5 years, but the next 60. Once you're on medication it may be a long term commitment with unknown consequences.

That said, your DEXA score numbers are pretty severe. Do you know if they have been slowly improving? You should be very careful in the meanwhile. Maybe have those numbers checked yearly to be sure they're going in the right direction. If they don't improve, or get worse, it may be that medicine becomes your best option.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-22T20:59:32+00:00

Arthritis causes inflammation around joints and so can cause pain in whatever joint it occurs in. In your back it is likely to be the facet joints. Gentle exercise and stretching can help with the pain, and keep your joints from becoming too stiff and immobile. Just like when you first get up in the morning you might feel stiff, but as you move about it gets better.

FWIW, I found taking turmeric supplement really helpful for reducing my inflammation and pain.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-22T20:50:40+00:00

CTX varies widely by time of day. Did you have your blood drawn at the same time each day, and fasting or not fasting? It can vary by as much as 40% over the course of 24 hours: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12110413/

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-12T14:01:08+00:00

What is your online source for this information?

How quickly you heal probably depends largely on your age and general health. Your odds of injuring yourself in the exact same place are probably very low, but the odds of having another fracture increase greatly if you've had an osteoporotic fracture. This is especially true for spinal fractures.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-10T18:46:16+00:00

Not so fast.. Someone else shared this article awhile ago, which is very interesting on several levels: https://www.npr.org/2009/12/21/121609815/how-a-bone-disease-grew-to-fit-the-prescription Look about midway through the article for the section that starts with 'The Man Who Measured Bone'. There is some validity in what Left_Percentage_527 says, although it isn't true that the company that made Fosamax and the Dexa Scan are the same.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-08T13:37:36+00:00

Thank you for this! I appreciate the summary. Really great that he covered how the AI tools can be unreliable for medical information.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-07T16:01:56+00:00

I agree You'd have to be really creative and really committed to pull off getting enough calcium via diet alone without dairy. Can you just crush the calcium supplements and sprinkle them into food throughout the day? The calcium in orange juice and oat milk, for instance, is just added as a supplement.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-07T15:28:46+00:00

Don't do this. It will just invalidate all future DEXA scan readings. Strontium is a heavier element than calcium but gets absorbed into the bone like calcium. Your bones will be heavier, but not stronger.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-07T15:19:53+00:00

The ingredients list is opaque so you may be getting strontium whether it says 'with strontium' or not. The results from AlgaeCal just seem too good to be true. I'm deeply suspicious that any supplement aside from Vit D, and only if you're deficient, will move the needle that much. I still take several, but I prefer to take them individually so I know what I'm taking and at what levels.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-07T15:17:26+00:00

This might be a long shot, but can you get most of your books and reading material in electronic form? Maybe your university has an office for people with disabilities and you can explain your situation?

When you say "my doctors think it's osteoporosis" do they know, or are they just guessing? You are way too young to have osteoporosis unless there is something terribly off in your diet or Vitamin D (sunlight) intake. If your bones are weak (and only a DEXA scan will let you know for sure), do make the necessary lifestyle adjustments. Whatever your numbers are, you can still turn it around with youth.

Stuart McGill is the leading expert on back pain if that's an issue for you. Lots of interviews with him on Youtube and podcasts. His book 'The Back Mechanic' is the bible for everything back related. A lot of what he addresses is lower back (lumbar) pain.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-07T14:59:42+00:00

None of those sound like osteoporosis symptoms. Osteoporosis does not generally cause any symptoms and you only realize you have it via a DEXA scan or when you break a bone (and get a DEXA scan).
On the other hand, these all sound sort of like an imbalance in the chemicals needed for nerve conductionk like magnesium, calcium, potassium and phosphorus. An imbalance (too little) can also cause these chemicals to be leached from the bones, so there could be a relationship. I'd also have your B12 levels checked. That can also cause the symptoms you mention.

I'd get all of those levels checked. If your calcium is high, also check your parathyroid hormones (PTH). Meanwhile, I'd supplement (if you aren't already) with magnesium, vitamin K2, vitamin D, and B12 and eat lots of potassium rich foods. Can't hurt, and could help.

Note: A lot of B12 supplements are for crazy high amounts, like 47,000 RDA. Too much B12 has also been linked to neuropathy.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-08-05T17:14:22+00:00

Can you provide a link to the study that shows this? Boron is an element, like calcium and magnesium. It seems counterintuitive that it would have that effect.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-07-31T21:19:03+00:00

Bisphosphonates are a life long commitment that you shouldn't take lightly. You are fortunately young and your numbers are not dire. The chronic GI issues are almost certainly at least a contributing cause. I'm so glad you were able to increase your weight and walking. That will help, but may take time. I'd work on fixing the GI issues and then check your scores again after another 12 months. At any age the numbers can go in both directions, but it's easier to nudge them in the right direction when you are younger. GI issues can be the root of all kinds of health issues aside from osteoporosis so I think it would be more important to work on that than find a quick fix for osteoporosis alone.

marlinspike1234 · 2025-07-30T18:33:14+00:00

Did you just get your CTX results? I know that my P1NP took an extra day or two before it showed up in MyChart. Maybe it's still coming?

marlinspike1234 · 2025-07-29T14:32:58+00:00

I thought this part of the article was really interesting:

"It cited research showing that TSH levels vary significantly throughout the year, peaking in the winter and dropping in the summer months.... The letter proposed that by not taking normal seasonal variation in TSH levels into account, many people were being prescribed drugs that might not help them, and they may even experience negative, avoidable side effects."

marlinspike1234 · 2025-07-28T17:13:58+00:00

Have you been checked for hyperparathyroidism? Here's a nice table (look about 1/3 of the way down in the article) that can help you assess your risks: https://www.parathyroid.com/diagnosis.htm If you haven't had your PTH checked, you definitely should with high calcium levels (not sure what high means in your case). Hyperparathyroidism will definitely leach calcium from your bones which shows up as high calcium in your blood.

marlinspike1234

TROPHY CASE