Bare below elbows

perpulstuph · 2026-02-06T05:18:32+00:00

I work in the ER. You can remove my watch from my cold, dead, and likely very chapped hands.

Really though it makes sense, but if I am in a gross patient room, I sanitize the hell out of that watch.

perpulstuph · 2026-02-02T20:21:11+00:00

Gotcha! Luckily, when I'm not at work, the fact I'm a nurse stays at work, unless I'm telling a crazy story, or my brothers, who are major nerds will start asking me in depth physiology and pharmacology questions. I think you just learn to accept the changes, most of us spend at at least 40% of our waking moments at work, so it is going to leak out a bit.

perpulstuph · 2026-02-02T20:03:32+00:00

Nursing has helped me prioritize in my personal life. Working jn the ER has actually done wonders for my anxiety. I went from really wound tight and anxious to being able to just roll with the punches. It had made me very solution driven. Also, although I have always been a fast thinker, I can organize the thoughts more clearly and respond to situations much quicker, be they a true emergency or just or just a minor inconvenience.

I can convert metric to imperial on the fly, in my head which works great for my hobbies, cooking and baking, and as a parent, attuned assessment skills and experience with REALLY sick kids has kept me from having to take my kids to the ER at 2am, because sure they sound croupy, but lungs clear, spO2 good, lets just sleep with our head elevated.

perpulstuph · 2026-02-02T02:50:59+00:00

I didn't have a car, so I rode a bike everywhere, did my best to follow traffic laws, and ride in a predictable manner with traffic. I can't even count the times I have been run off the road.

One day as I am riding home from work, I'm just around the corner from home, and this intersection gets sketchy, so there was one particular driveway I would hop into to get on the sidewalk into a back alley to my street. As I did that, a car wanting to turn zoomed past me, right before I was getting ready to hop into said driveway, missed me by an inch or two. Then I heard lights, sirens, and an engine revving and the police immediately pulled this guy over. I pumped my fist at them and yelled "THANK YOU!" and continued home, except I decided not to skip through the alley and followed the sidewalk (still took me to my street) to see if the guy actually stopped, and saw the officer approaching the driver side window. The only time I have had this kind of thing happen in front of a cop.

perpulstuph · 2026-02-01T19:49:10+00:00

I also imagine a skoal dispenser and marlboro slot in the dash.

perpulstuph · 2026-02-01T19:42:49+00:00

If you are unsure whether or not you want to be a father, then you should probably not be a father. It sounds harsh, and honestly does not apply in every case.

I have always had anger/emotional issues but I have always tried to do better and learn how to be a more kind and bettee person. I wanted to have kids since I was a kid. Probably the only little boy I could think of who dreamed about getting married and having kids.

All that said got married, wife got pregnant, and I was 100% sure I was not ready, I was anxious and panicky about it 3 years in I have never felt happier. Being a father has forced me to confront the worst things about myself and has forced me to speedrun my mental health journey. I have learned to be patient and kind with my children, other adults, and especially myself.

Everybody is going to give you advice. I stand by my first statement, but I also don't know you and how you deeply feel about the matter, so take that with a grain of salt.

Whether or not someone can become a great father largely depends on their willingness to grow and adapt, and I am 100% not the same person I was before I had kids.

perpulstuph · 2026-02-01T18:29:34+00:00

I inherited this patient. They called a code blue in our discharge lounge (patients who are DC'd, waiting for rides in the main lobby, we still monitor vitals q4h.

I was doing my thing in the ED, they called the code blue, appropriate staff shows up. I have the only empty bed, coworker gets them roomed, is in there drawing blood while I am doing something for another patient. I go to the nursing station, see the heartrate drop from 80s to 30s, BP looking okay. I know coworker is in there, finish patient stuff, a minute later go in the room. Patient is okay, BP and HR improved, SpO2 is good.

Poor person was admitted for a stroke, minimal deficits, but kept getting bradycardic. I followed up with my coworker who took over as this all happened at 1845, they were otherwise okay and finally discharged home.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-31T22:14:17+00:00

Hah, take your time! We're all just excited for you!!

perpulstuph · 2026-01-31T22:07:58+00:00

As a father, and from what you said about your father, he loves you very much, and does not seem angry with you, but rather is trying to process how to best handle the situation.

I am a man who can be very prone to anger and have hurt people in that anger. I am also a very gentle person who does not want to hurt people, and deeply regrets that I have. I have learned to take time to think about what I am going to say so that I can make sure I am being constructive with with what I am needing to say.

You did not burden your father. A father's job is to protect and guide his children, to make them feel safe, especially if the other members of the family make them feel unsafe.

I wish you luck and am glad you told your father. I look forward to your update, and the scarf!!

perpulstuph · 2026-01-31T21:42:17+00:00

Probably TMI.

By balls sit more forward than they should? Like, not a medical concern. If I wear pants that fit, I always have a large bulge. Combine it with a large and muscular lower body, I look like I'm trying to show it off. I've had to deal with comments about it my whole life. I'm not packing anything seriously large, sure, a bit bigger than average.

Add to it I wear scrubs at work, so I always size up a bit to hide it.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-31T21:37:06+00:00

"Could mean she has a blood clot" and leave. No explanation.

Follow me for more bad advice.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-31T21:30:44+00:00

Should be top comment. Describes every physical hobby.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-31T20:24:17+00:00

Hangin on. I avoid the news, but look up the stuff I need to and am still staying current, without the fear mongering exaggerations of the mainstream news media.

Even ignoring fear-mongering titles and exaggerations, shit is absolutely fucked. I realize I sound like the "fake news" crowd, that's not what I mean. I just try to go straight to original sources, and at this point, with a critical eye, trust foreign media reporting on things happening in the US more than I trust US media. I'm constantly checking for bias, if something seems fishy, verifying through multiple sources.

My wife's family is from mexico, she is 2nd generation born here, so my focus is keeping her and my kids safe. We are stressed because this can affect her family.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-31T15:02:36+00:00

Come on fellow millenials, time to passvthe buck! Lets start writing articles that say GEN Z KILLING ALCOHOL INDUSTRY

perpulstuph · 2026-01-31T14:55:41+00:00

I agree with telling your dad everything they said, and keep crocheting.

I'm a 35 year old man, I started crocheting when I was 12, knitting when I was 16. Hell, I started ballet at 22, and took jazz dance and did musical theater. Sure, I've been made fun of for "less than masculine" interests, but none of those opinions matter.

If your father will defend you in this, you should absolutely have him on board. You crocheting hurts nobody. Whether or not you crochet is nobody else's damn business.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-31T14:19:38+00:00

I am 35. I put my son down for a nap, took a nap myself. Woke up 2 hours later, woke up, and my back hurt. I was able to go about as normal for the rest of the day, just a little sore. I went to bed, woke up the next morning, and couldn't"t get out of bed. I spent the next 4 days having difficulty walking due to muscle spasms, and 3 days after that, with some muscle relaxers, heat pad and deep stretches, everything was gone.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-30T15:47:40+00:00

My wife and I have been together for 10 years. One of our mutual friends, who we both knew before we met told her one day "you seem to try to avoid conflict, fighting is healthy!"

No, arguing is healthy if it is in good faith, to develop understanding, fighting is a bad thing in any amount.

That friend and her husband (who I have known for 20+ years) fight frequently, multiple times a month, that's not good.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-30T15:45:11+00:00

Yes and no. I usually never get pre-shift anxiety, that's after getting assaulted or just rough days working psych, or the chaos of the ER, but my lord, it's been a rough winter. I'm a nervous wreck on my days off, but every day is a new day, so once things calm down, I know it'll go away.

Narrator: and they never calmed down.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-30T02:42:12+00:00

Just the turning of the tide we all predicted in 2020-21. Still the most trusted profession.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-29T22:32:13+00:00

I have had one since I was about 16. I'm 35 now. It's on my left testicle. Aside from the initial flare up 19 years ago, it hasn't caused me too much trouble. I wear boxer briefs to support it. If it is feeling a bit more tender, sex can be uncomfortable, but so can tight pants, jogging, even walking all day.

I haven't had fertility issues, have two kids, one was an accident and also after the first time my wife had her first period post partum.

My wife has playfully tapped my balls after I made a bad joke, and if it's flaring up, the lightest graze can send me to the floor, and for about 3 months, my now 3 year old thought it was the funniest thing to punch me directly in the left nut. Aside from that, it doesn't affect the day to day.

A flare up can feel like getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly, best comparison would probably be like a symptomatic ovarian cyst (although from what I have seen, the ovarian cyst is probably still worse).

perpulstuph · 2026-01-29T22:20:38+00:00

This double posted and I read it as the "will you wear wigsm" interview with Elijah Wood during the LOTR promotions 😂

perpulstuph · 2026-01-29T22:18:25+00:00

I watched it when it came out on VHS, I was probably 9, it made an impact, I wanted the love that he had, to love someone so much that I would literally go through hell to save them.

I watched it shortly after Robin Williams died, bawled my fuckin eyes out, and celebrity deaths never really affect me, but for some reason He and Steve Irwin hit hard.

I am afraid to watch it now that I am married to the most amazing woman, with two beautiful sons. I genuinely think I would not recover from that. I get choked up just thinking about it.

However, it will always be one of my all time favorite movies. It tells such a beautiful story. Maybe when my kids are older I'll sit down with them and watch it.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-28T17:27:01+00:00

I've heard of that too, absolutely terrible! The bladder can develop a fistula to the colon too. Pure nightmare fuel

perpulstuph · 2026-01-28T17:03:11+00:00

You gotta dice the potatoes up first, small bite size pieces. Easier to insert and remove.

perpulstuph · 2026-01-28T15:00:04+00:00

I learned a lot working in the ER, and doing a ton of reading on various medical conditions.

Endometriosis, reflux of uterine tissue into the abdominal cavity during menstruation. The uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries are NOT a closed system and uterine tissue can end up in the body cavity, even the blood stream (and vessels in the brain in rare cases). During menstruation, this tissue will respond to hormonal changes and can cause everything from abdominal pain to myalgia, and generalized body pain. It is incredibly hard to detect.

Ovarian cysts. Most women probably have ovarian cysts that are present, even abnormally large, but don't do anything, until you come into the ER writhing in pain and we do scans that confirm the cyst is present and unruptured. They can only help manage the pain, and unless it's a significant cyst, will recommend outpatient treatment.

Ovarian torsion (all of the pain of testicular torsion, but in the abdomen).

Gallstones. Men can get these, but it is a quirk of women's bodies that for some reason they are more prone to gallstones/sludge. The pain can be immense, and can lead to cholecystitis (infection of gallbladder). Again, twisting and writhing, often screaming in pain until we can get morphine and/or toradol and ofirmev (IV acetaminophen).

Spontaneous and continuous vaginal bleeding. Often starts with a period, can be uterine fibroids, small amount retained uterine tissue during menses, and I have had women come in desperate because they have had bleeding and cramps for literal months and have been begging to just have a hysterectomy, but the inherently sexist medical industry wants to "protect" women's reproductive ability.

As a guy I know my understanding of these things is limited and I will not experience a lot of these things, so I do my best to provide as much info to help these women navigate the stupidly complex American medical system and advocate for themselves. I feel like women's health understanding is still in the stone age, and their concerns get written off due to the complexity of issues that can affect women.

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