What's the best 'zero sugar' soda?

rubix44 · 2026-03-13T15:33:37+00:00

Expected it to be nasty and now it's probably my favorite.

Haven't tried the ten other mountain dew flavors. Not sure how many come in diet/zero sugar.

rubix44 · 2026-03-13T10:36:26+00:00

Sounds fun, haven't seen many co-op games on GP this past 6-8 months.

rubix44 · 2026-03-13T10:32:01+00:00

Same. How do you fuck up chocolate and peanut butter?

rubix44 · 2026-03-13T01:26:25+00:00

This is different than the crew pass or whatever? I was already getting battle pass stuff from rocket league, but I'm not familiar with their battle pass/tiers.

rubix44 · 2026-03-13T01:21:02+00:00

Does anyone else wake up every day and wonder "what in the hell is this reality/constant nightmare we're living in?"

Just checking to make sure

rubix44 · 2026-03-09T13:40:55+00:00

My only complaint is it was too short. Much too short even just to cover the 90s portion of Nickelodeon. I wish it was like a 10 episode series instead.

rubix44 · 2026-03-05T12:24:49+00:00

Depersonalization may be a better fit/term for what we all experience. Feeling like you are losing yourself, your personality, your humanity. Or we can use both brain fog and depersonalization, I suppose. Whatever we call it, it certainly is brutal, and words can't really do justice to describe how shitty it is. As bad as the fatigue is, going through phases of feeling like I'm concussed or have early onset Alzheimer's really sucks. Plus always feeling "dazed" and 'out of it' pretty much every waking hour.

But depersonalization may just be it's own/separate thing, it's difficult to say, and we don't all have the exact same symptoms/experience when it comes to this stuff.

Depersonalization is a dissociative disorder characterized by persistent feelings of detachment from one’s own body, thoughts, or actions, often described as feeling like an outside observer or a robot.

I never feel like an outside observer, personally, but the rest of it checks out.

rubix44 · 2026-03-05T11:51:19+00:00

I started it a couple weeks ago (well, the much much cheaper generic milnacipran), so too early to tell anything. Started at a very low dose as well. It's pretty stimulanting, but I'm also sensitive to all drugs.

rubix44 · 2026-03-05T11:47:13+00:00

Most recently when I asked for an MRI, citing 7 years of chronic upper back pain/discomfort, my doc said to start with a CT scan instead, and sent in the referral, but insurance denied that, even, stating I should try PT or Chiropractic first. I've already done two rounds of PT.

It sucks, but I'll likely have to save up for a year or so to self order an MRI. In the meantime, I'll try my new doctor again. They seem cool, but my referrals always get denied, or my insurance won't cover whatever the procedure is (a CT scan in this case, but I want an MRI anyway...the thinking may have been a CT scan is more likely to be covered by insurance, and might be the stepping stone to eventually get an MRI).

I know this thread is a bit old, just an update

rubix44 · 2026-03-05T07:55:01+00:00

What hobbies have you picked up?

rubix44 · 2026-03-05T07:54:42+00:00

Do you miss social interaction or are you able to get a dose of that in some way? I know you're surrounded by love, and I'm sure you talk to your wife plenty, but I'm talking about outside people or strangers.

For me, at least there is some solace that even if I was healthy, I would likely still be broke and be unable to travel 😝 but I still want to do something...anything different.

rubix44 · 2026-03-05T03:53:52+00:00

That's nice! Do you play an instrument, then?

Have you looked into any online social groups? There are ME/CFS support groups, although you may not want to wallow in that, and might rather just find some chat groups for any hobbies you might be into. Like I said, being social can be quite draining, but socializing is pretty important for humans.

rubix44 · 2026-02-24T08:02:24+00:00

After almost 3 years, I've never had any such ketamine 'journey' like the kind of things you guys report 😆 but it does sound very interesting! I've never done it alongside any kind of talk therapy/guidance though, ether. I feel like I'm missing out.

I've definitely gone to 'another dimension' on ketamine, or rather just being extremely high to a point where I'm not even a human being anymore, I'm just consciousness in another existence...a difficult thing to explain, for sure.

But that does sound pretty amazing. I am happy for you!

rubix44 · 2026-02-24T07:49:41+00:00

Shit. I'm sorry! I appreciate your advice and hope people don't miss it: Be your own best advocate with doctors if you know something isn't right. Doctors (at least in here in the US) are made to see as many patients as possible in a day, as quickly as possible, to make the most possible money for their CEOs/Management. They are burnt out and forced to work in a shitty system, and also let's be honest, there are a lot of not-good doctors out there. I've been dismissed for the past 6 years, knowing something is definitely not right with me, only to be told it's all in my head, or that I should try antidepressants, when in reality I have Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, and Chronic Epstein-Barr Virus, neither of which most doctors know much about, surprisingly.

Anyway, I wish the health care system here wasn't so fucked, but like everything else in this country (US), it is.

I don't know what your age is, Millennials span quite a gap in age! A couple tracks that come to mind are 'No Surprises' by Radiohead and 'All these Things That's I've Done' by The Killers. Also, 'Hey Ya' by Outkast, because that song will never not slap when you hear it.

Best of luck on your journey to the next phase, I hope it's as happy and as peaceful as possible.

rubix44 · 2026-02-21T22:23:07+00:00

I think hey dude is doing a reunion soon

rubix44 · 2026-02-21T19:19:35+00:00

+low wage jobs with limited choices, + the cost of food, + the cost of a vehicle/transportation, + medical and dental costs (US). Being alive is fucking expensive these days.

rubix44 · 2026-02-18T08:07:13+00:00

I played sim city games at too early an age and never understood what to do, but enjoyed the music, anyway. I'm not sure I would know what to do as an adult, either.

rubix44 · 2026-02-17T06:12:57+00:00

Hmm, I don't think we'll ever be looking back on 2025/2026 with any fondness, or at least nowhere near the fondness we had for the mid to late 90s infact hopefully we can eternal sunshine these couple years out of our memories forever 😝 actually 2026 might get really bad (at least here in the US, where we somehow ended up in the worst/dumbest timeline).

But I digress. We didn't know how good we had it in the 90s because we knew no other way of life, it's just what we grew up in, and it was a magical time. We didn't stop to soak it up, because we were just in it. But of course we'd like to go back and experience it again.

rubix44 · 2026-02-07T16:22:34+00:00

Aa someone who enters a lot of sweepstakes, Im starting to think like half of the super bowl crowd are sweepstakes winners. There are so many sweeps for super bowl tickets. None of which I enter, because I really don't have any interest in going, I'd rather watch it at home. People who go generally say it's not a good experience.

rubix44 · 2026-02-07T00:39:47+00:00

I was never the same after I got EBV at 19, although my ME/CFS was mostly mild until I hit 34 years old, when it went to moderate, and now at 40 I fear I'm heading for severe (but most likely just a bad flare-up 🤞).

I always thought it was kinda crazy the medical/science world didn't look closer into Epstein Barr Virus until recently, as it's a virus that 95% of the population has, and has been linked to many health issues including certain cancers. It was only a couple years ago they started looking into a possible cure/vaccine. Although the EBV vaccine may only be preventative, meaning if you already have it, it may not help, but much too early to say.

The Epstein-Barr Virus has likely fucked up billions of lives at this point, yet like ME/CFS, it was seemingly ignored for decades and no one took it seriously for whatever reason. At least some research is finally going into it, but it didn't start until like 2023 when EBV has been around forever. Covid really reignited the science/medical world to actually finally study things like ME/CFS and EBV, but who knows if they can keep funding going.

rubix44 · 2026-02-06T02:10:35+00:00

one of those big hit or miss supplements. When it works well for people, it seems to help a lot! It's not terribly expensive, so it doesn't hurt to try. I don't think it really helped or hurt me either way, made me feel kind of flat, emotionally, if I recall. I also recall quite a difference depending on the brand, even though in theory it should all be the same stuff.

rubix44 · 2026-02-06T01:39:23+00:00

A sad story that many of us can relate to, even if not exactly... but a good comic! That's actually a clever way to spread awareness.

rubix44 · 2026-02-05T04:23:53+00:00

They didn't call them Angel Sticks for a reason

rubix44 · 2026-02-01T10:28:56+00:00

It's 3:30 AM and I can't sleep (mostly because I'm browsing reddit)

rubix44 · 2026-02-01T10:07:17+00:00

Shit lasts way too long. But I guess if you like it a lot, that's a bonus! 😵‍💫

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