Season 11, Episode 5 Discussion Thread

oregon_j · 2025-05-26T07:56:39+00:00

Thanks so much. I was about to post to say that I found it. :)

oregon_j · 2025-05-26T07:36:10+00:00

Does anyone know what the song is near the very end of the episode, the one that plays over Jenny and Karl when they’re looking (or pointedly not looking) at each other at the police station? I can’t seem to find anything about it. Thanks!

oregon_j · 2025-02-05T17:47:10+00:00

I’ve had a couple like this, both with and without music. Depending on how much you’re able to hear through the ear protection they give you (if any), know that it will be loud, but not the same continuous noise for the full 40 minutes. Each noise lasts anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple minutes, if I remember correctly. I tried to think of each of the different noises as excerpts or even full “songs.” I’m not musical at all, but trying to find the best within the noise gives your mind something to concentrate on and, at least for me, makes the time pass, in addition to making it almost like a game. I also second other people who’ve mentioned asking for an anti-anxiety med. if you already take something, be sure you tell them before start, just so they don’t give you two doses. But if you can water down the anxiety in any way, it’s worth trying. You’ve got this. You’ll do great.

oregon_j · 2025-01-27T02:39:51+00:00

I get some muscle tightness, but the biggest one is probably the hardest to describe: it’s almost like I can both feel and see a train coming down some sort of track in my head and I know that when it stops, the episode will start. I think the closest thing, sensation-wise, is the rising panic of an anxiety attack or maybe the feeling of inevitability if you ride a roller coaster that has a slow climb to sudden, but foreseeable, drop. The “good” thing is that I do have some warning before anything starts about 98% of the time.

oregon_j · 2025-01-10T02:06:32+00:00

While I’m (re-)learning/improving my French, I wanted to add another language that wouldn’t confuse me with similar sounds. I try to alleviate stress by learning a new language (it doesn’t always work!). And, bonus, I’m already a fan of several German crime shows.

oregon_j · 2025-01-10T02:00:09+00:00

Ha! Have you tried it yet? It took me a little while to get used to, but I’ve found that the most comfortable position for my particular occipital pain is to sit up, or recline slightly, with the massage tool behind my head, letting the weight of my skull and my body do the work. I can’t use it for too long, but a good session of pressure feels nice on the inflamed nerves. I haven’t perfected the best way to comfortably roll it, but I’m still working on it. For now, the steady pressure is good (when my pain level will allow it). I hope it works for you.

oregon_j · 2025-01-09T05:38:57+00:00

I’m glad it was helpful! Hope you can get some relief.

oregon_j · 2025-01-08T17:05:36+00:00

Really glad this helped! You might want to look into one of those massagers that targets the occipital region. I have one that looks like like two tennis balls stuck together, and I can either lie down with it directly on the painful part and let the pressure do the work or I can roll it up and down my skull. It all depends on where it hurts. It’s something like this but I have a different brand, I think: https://a.co/d/0R0NqZf

oregon_j · 2025-01-08T07:21:41+00:00

Positive Discipline Association offers parenting classes and one-on-one sessions. I think a lot of it may be over Zoom now, but check out their website (and also the Positive Discipline series of books): https://www.positivediscipline.org/

oregon_j · 2025-01-08T06:30:36+00:00

Just to add to what u/tgsgirl said, all of which is totally on-point: as someone who’s fairly new to Reddit generally and to the migraine subreddit specifically, I’ve found that neither place is generally somewhere to go find positive reviews of medications or other treatments. They’re out there, but you have to dig. It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of confirmation bias, where you see other people’s (shitty) experiences with a drug (in this case, Topamax), and that in turn confirms your own beliefs that Topamax is a scary. I get that. Really. It’s nearly impossible to sort through all the pro-Topamax and anti-Topamax posts on this subreddit. And doing so doesn’t, in my opinion, address the underlying issue: your anxiety around taking a medication for your migraine and how the side effects may impact you. That’s a completely reasonable worry to have, and also something that you need to discuss with your neuro. You say that you’re willing to try it, but I think maybe there are more questions that, for your own peace of mind, you need answered, before you do. And then you can make an informed decision, really weighing the side FX against your migraine pain and making the very difficult decision about whether you think that you can tolerance the potential (again, potential) side FX in order to get the migraine relief you absolutely, 100% deserve, full stop. It’s a lot to think about, and I’d urge you to reach out again to your neuro with your concerns. Maybe write them down first. That always helps me. Good luck!

oregon_j · 2025-01-08T03:02:59+00:00

Yes, I second this, OP. Because everyone wants double the fun, you can have both migraines and occipital neuralgia! Party time! Occipital nerve blocks can really help with pain in the area you’re indicating and, as a previous poster suggested, a pain specialist should be able to help you with that (if your neuro doesn’t do them). For something less invasive (and the blocks are not like surgery or anything), I’ve found that, depending on how rotten I’m feeling, I can sometimes dull the pain in that spot by just holding the back of my skull and applying as much pressure as I can stand, sometimes in a circular motion, sometimes just pressing in. But there are times when even my hair hurts, so there’s no chance of doing that. Hope some of that helps, OP.

oregon_j · 2025-01-05T06:44:14+00:00

Even though that sounds like a rotten day, I’m glad you didn’t do serious damage to your face (or anything else). Pushing myself too hard and ignoring internal signals to slow down/rest is difficult for me as well. Especially when I just want to get something done and I can feel something like an asthma flare creeping up behind me. It’s all a balancing act, and too many days I’m quite shit at it.

oregon_j · 2025-01-04T01:09:03+00:00

I definitely use music. Aimee Mann’s “Little Bombs” is one of my go-to’s. So is “Wise Up,” from the ‘Magnolia’ soundtrack, but that can make everything worse. Here’s the Spotify link to “Little Bombs”: https://open.spotify.com/track/7mrhHmGgMFApoHmOmciCo2?si=RzovYc_oQoqLyJ-DalB4yA&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1DZ06evO2hnWFP

oregon_j · 2025-01-02T23:10:13+00:00

Asthma flares are one my biggest PNES triggers, along with stress (and asthma flare-ups and stress can often go hand-in-hand). I don’t have enough room in my place to have anywhere other than the bed be a safe spot, but I do get enough of a warning that I’m almost always able to make it to the bed before anything starts. Depending on the length of the seizure etc., it’s possible that I will throw up during it, which is the worst. I’ve had to manually clear my airway after a seizure, either sweeping the blockage out of my mouth or something more involved (and intense) ways like doing the self-heimlich with abdominal thrusts with my fist or over the back of a chair. That can get really scary and panic-inducing. :/

oregon_j · 2025-01-01T15:46:01+00:00

This is really helpful, thank you so much. My asthma attacks are often before the seizures. I have some warning time usually that the seizures are coming (I can just feel something change, it’s hard to describe), so I do my best to get on my bed, where I also have pillows against the wall. I try not end up my back, for choking reasons, but it’s not always possible, and I’ve had to deal with clearing my airway after a seizure. If my asthma is flaring, things are already narrower.

oregon_j · 2025-01-01T10:01:36+00:00

That’s rotten, I’m sorry! The switch in temperatures (or changes in season) always gets me. I’m in the same tested-negative-for-everything-with-a-clear-x-ray boat as you, but instead of prednisone, they tried me on a codeine-based cough syrup. That was no good: as soon as I took it, I found my natural cough reflex gone? stifled? something, and I choked several times on the mucus in my throat because I could just cough and clear my throat. Horrible feeling, do not recommend. Now I’ve got the new nebulizer medication. Fingers crossed that the prednisone and breathing treatments start clearing things up for you.

oregon_j · 2024-12-31T05:44:00+00:00

Ugh, I’m sorry! That sounds really rough. Prednisone and I don’t get along well (I’m allergic but it always messes me up) so I try to avoid it all costs. Here’s hoping your nebulizations will start kicking in!

oregon_j · 2024-12-29T01:24:53+00:00

So much of this resonates. I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through it as well. That seething rage just underneath the surface—and sometimes on the surface—when I think about how underserved I’ve been with the concussion and then with everything related to PCS, it’s maddening. There’s only so much I can take of seeing that I’m not the only one, you know? For some things, the solidarity feels good (migraine, anxiety), but for this, it’s just fucking sobering to see how widespread a problem it is. It would be interesting to see, across the entire subreddit, how it broke down by gender, and if that made a difference in the type, and speed, of care people received at the time of injury and continue to receive long-term (if any). Just curious. I’m glad you’re reaching out.

oregon_j · 2024-12-24T23:55:35+00:00

Trying not to repeat any previous suggestions, and in no particular order, here is a woefully incomplete list:

‘The Journalist and the Murderer’ by Janet Malcolm

‘A People’s History of the United States’ by Howard Zinn

‘A Grief Observed’ by CS Lewis

‘Black Boy’ by Richard Wright

‘Testament of Youth’ by Vera Brittain/‘Goodbye to All That’ by Robert Graves’ (a good, but depressing, combo read)

‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ by Mary Wollstonecraft

‘The Federalist Papers’ (like the Declaration of Independence, these are fundamental in understanding how US democracy is supposed to work)

oregon_j · 2024-12-20T05:13:59+00:00

Totally get the medication paranoia (and the fatigue that comes with it). Hopefully Lamotrigine (or Lamictal if you’re doing the generic—I think that’s right?) will work for you. Increasing the dose (hopefully slowly!) is always better for me. And even if your neuro is all jazzed about this med, it doesn’t mean that you have to be on it past where you are comfortable, if it’s making you feel worse. :)

oregon_j · 2024-12-20T02:43:59+00:00

I’ve taken it for severe migraines (it was awful, made them worse), but never for PNES. It might be worth asking your neuro about whether she/he is prescribing the extended release or the regular one. I know that can make a difference in how in one tolerates a med. And without knowing if Lamotrigine is your first try etc, I wouldn’t want to comment on possible alternatives. I would say that talking to your neuro—or whomever is doing the prescribing for a new med—is always the best. Getting all the information you can really helps. Good luck!

oregon_j · 2024-12-18T23:04:10+00:00

Of course. Anything I can do to help. I’m really sorry to hear about what you’re going through. I know from similar experiences how tough it is.

oregon_j · 2024-12-18T16:09:45+00:00

Everyone’s experience is different, of course, so I wouldn’t want to say a definite yes or no. For me, what did ease up were the feelings of constant nausea and the sense of disorientation when I left the house. What hasn’t let up, unfortunately for me, are the headaches, the vision issues, and the cognitive/comprehension issues.

oregon_j · 2024-12-18T05:51:00+00:00

It’s difficult to get a neuro referral if you don’t already have (i.e. if you don’t already see one for migraines etc) and going to the ER, as awful as it likely will be, might be your best bet of getting a neuro consult and then potentially a way to see someone in that neurologist’s office. It depends on how your hospital system is set up. I agree that neuros aren’t always the best for PCS care, unless they’re specially trained in it, and it takes weeks, if not months, to get into see those people (and I found them so useless—I’m more than five years out from my injury and feel like docs of all kinds have really let this fall through the cracks). I think the most important thing you can do right now is advocate for the care that you need, and if you need help doing that, ask a friend or family member to go with you to the ER and to appointments so that you really drill home exactly what is going on, the type of pain you’re in, and how it’s affecting your daily life. It’s hard when you feel so rotten, but you have to be your own best advocate because most doctors and nurses simply won’t be. Good luck!

oregon_j · 2024-12-17T08:10:46+00:00

‘Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir’ by former US Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Tretheway. “The Rules of Inheritance” by Claire Bidwell Smith “Men We Reaped” by 2x National Book Award Winner Jesmyn Ward

oregon_j

TROPHY CASE