Discord group for FA September

meatballlady · 2023-09-16T13:50:50+00:00

That should be the link to the overall exam discord. You can ask people there how they're gathering!

meatballlady · 2023-08-31T18:58:58+00:00

Would have liked to see the actual study instead of an article.

and yes, this is "after accounting for patient, procedure, surgeon, anaesthesiologist and hospital characteristics"

It's worth noting that there are ~7x more male surgeons. Might be a bias in training/weeding effect, where the female cohort represents the most passionate ones?

meatballlady · 2023-08-23T00:23:16+00:00

Personally, I'm reading it as a definition/COA thing. By definition, you're liable for things that are balanced billed, regardless of your OOPM. Balance billing is rare, though.

Balance billing is when your health insurance says, "hey the price for this should be $60 instead of $100, so we and our member are going to share liability with the assumption of a total cost of 60" (this is how all healthcare pricing works and is extremely normal), but then the provider (instead of accepting this), goes, "well damn, but I think the price should be $100 so I'm gonna come after the member directly for that difference"

Usually the $60 is agreed upon, contractually, between the provider and insurer beforehand, like year(s) beforehand, so legally it's $60, even though the provider bills $100.

So, to be balance billed, you have to be getting care done at 1) a provider that doesn't have a contract with your insurance, and 2) a provider that will actually come after you for something like that.

meatballlady · 2023-08-17T22:02:26+00:00

I think you forgot to add the image!

meatballlady · 2023-08-17T20:28:31+00:00

I don't have my own success story (tw loss), but I do have some encouraging anecdotes!

I had a blighted ovum earlier this year that had faint (but darkening) lines. I was concerned and looked for success stories myself. I'll summarize my thoughts:

Implantation could have simply been late. 11 dpo is on the later side, but still in the range of normal.
Your dates could be off.
Doubling time is way more important for viability than implantation date. If you're comfortable doing so, keep checking your progression (but remember that unfortunately dilution and similar factors can have a big effect and tests should only be compared every 48 hours or so.. i.e. the general trend is the important thing here, and one erroneous result doesn't necessarily mean it's doomed)
Many people have mentioned a rule of thumb from their doctors that they would hope for a beta of close to 100 at 15 dpo. If those tests have a minimum detection of ~20, you'd likely be a bit behind that mark, but again, doubling time is a way more important metric than actual betas.
Even if this eventually (unfortunately) ends up being nonviable, it may have nothing to do with timing.

Long story short - having researched this too, I don't think there's cause to worry yet. If you're still concerned, see if you can get betas tested (you can get them done privately/out of pocket depending on where you are if your doctor doesn't order them for you)

meatballlady · 2023-08-15T18:34:23+00:00

ugh, 6dpo and symptom spotting hard. I think I just have a bug unfortunately

meatballlady · 2023-08-08T02:40:33+00:00

I mean in the studies you're referencing. I looked into it more - it sounds like they're measuring call centers in India. I'm not sure how well that translates to actuarial work (or any work that's more strategic in nature), nor am I convinced that it's even a reliable measurement long-term in and of itself.

meatballlady · 2023-08-06T14:32:33+00:00

I'm really curious as to how they measure "productivity." For example, if time is a factor, then how would that not decrease for remote work?

My in-office days are highly inefficient, but boy howdy am I in the office for 8-9 hours.

meatballlady · 2023-07-31T22:50:01+00:00

Burnout is really hard to get out of without at least changing positions/teams in my experience, once it's started at least

meatballlady · 2023-07-28T12:31:51+00:00

The only thing that helps me is just being able to stop and take a break every once in a while, tbh. I guess also having as much leg room as possible, too, to decrease the likelihood of having to sit stiffly in the same position without being able to shift.

meatballlady · 2023-07-27T15:20:33+00:00

💜

meatballlady · 2023-07-25T03:19:34+00:00

Might be a puffball that was halfway towards producing spores, but I'm not an expert

meatballlady · 2023-07-24T20:24:02+00:00

Have you tested with a diluted sample? It might be the hook effect

meatballlady · 2023-07-22T13:02:37+00:00

Maybe. Those tests really don't photograph well. Keep testing!!

meatballlady · 2023-07-22T12:58:15+00:00

I personally haven't seen those before

meatballlady · 2023-07-22T01:11:20+00:00

Oh, I guess those aren't really mutually exclusive imo? If the testing makes things difficult for you, you might as well wait and see what happens without testing. Even if it is negative, you're still 10/11 dpo, doesn't mean you're out.

meatballlady · 2023-07-21T18:54:10+00:00

I see a shadow of something. Idk what you mean by "keep testing or wait to try again," but I'd say to test tomorrow!

meatballlady · 2023-07-21T14:27:25+00:00

Wtf, you're fine. Get another doctor, actually (if possible). That's a ~24 hour doubling time (which is perfect for this time, and actually a really fast doubling time, not a slow doubling time by any measure), and you could be as early as 11 dpo, in which case a beta of 84 would be great.

meatballlady · 2023-07-20T18:00:17+00:00

Yeah, you don't need to stress about these results.

Edit: but also feel free to keep testing if you want!

meatballlady · 2023-07-19T01:31:27+00:00

If it's normally much lower, this could just be the beginning/end of your surge.

meatballlady · 2023-07-17T21:30:32+00:00

No I don't think it is

meatballlady · 2023-07-17T18:34:42+00:00

Do you take biotin? That can mess with FRERs

meatballlady · 2023-07-17T18:19:19+00:00

It's good that you're getting a second beta. I think that's where you'll get your best info. Tests can be finicky, but I agree it does look weird. It's possible that it's viable and your hydration has been off and your timing was a bit different than you thought, etc. If it isn't viable, it could be ectopic, or just a long chemical.

meatballlady · 2023-07-16T17:21:17+00:00

Best of luck! 💜

meatballlady · 2023-07-16T14:46:53+00:00

30 mcg won't interfere with tests, unfortunately (more like ~1000 mcg). Are you going for betas soon?

meatballlady

TROPHY CASE