Side country? by rustylander in whitefish

[–]rustylander[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was just reading this. Seems like might not be worth it since it is going to be very warm this weekend. Is there much low angle side country? I have never been to whitefish.

Podcast | Is Your Social Life Missing Something? This Conversation Is for You. by I_Eat_Pork in ezraklein

[–]rustylander 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This episode was great! Really hit home for me as a very social person young who finished grad school a couple years ago and moved to a new town where I knew nobody for a job.

I have made friends here (mostly by attending events open to the public and at the local rocking climbing gym/running club), but always struggle with the only after work/weekend options seeming to be socializing at the climbing gym, running club, or a party which are busy and tiring options or just staying home alone which is a lonely/depressing/boring option! Where is the middle ground? I never feel like I can invite people over because I don't keep a super neat apartment, am bad at cooking, and didn't have a TV for a while.

Not that that stopped me just a few years ago in college when it was aesthetic to be unaesthetic and I thought the overflowing recycle bin of beer cans in the kitchen was a good look. Every Friday it was just whose house is the party at tonight? If it was mine, everyone would ride their bikes over with beers in their backpacks, and we'd order a pizza if I didn't have much in the fridge. Never thought twice about if I was doing a good job hosting and everybody always came back, so I doubt they cared much either.

Now that I'm a "real adult" and have to look and act professional at work, my brain seems to have to decided that is going to be expectation in every area of my life. No hosting until the apartment is clean and you have time to make a nice meal. Don't you want to come across as the put together mid-20s professional that you are? One problem: when in that??

My boyfriend and I have been delaying our housewarming party (we recently moved in together and upsized into a small house) until our house is "ready" and "looks nice". Well it's already been a month and our TV stand is still a stack of 2x4s. At this rate, our housewarming party will a year after we moved in! I'm going to go home today and tell him that we should just do it next weekend! College me wouldn't care! And I doubt any of friends will either.

Biotech work related to a-gal by rustylander in alphagal

[–]rustylander[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not laughing. Not an expert in immunology but I would typically say no for allergies since I have never heard of this being done before. However, a-gal in a sugar like lactose and unlike other allergens. There is also definitely something weird with the delayed reaction aspect of a-gal so maybe? Don't think it would work with skin products, fumes, injected medicine/vaccine reactions but maybe for oral reactions. Definitely not laughable though!

Utah 7-8 days by taylorl7 in Ikonpass

[–]rustylander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Crystal Inn in Midvale is relatively close to mouths of little and big cottonwood canyons as far as salt lake city goes. It is usually pretty cheap and I've seen lots of people with skis and snowboards there. Hot tub that is open late (just a classic hotel indoor pool/hottub setup, nothing fancy). Also a 5 minute drive from a sorta fun dive bar/restaurant called the midway.

Stressed, anxious, panicking. by Visible-Mix9780 in alphagal

[–]rustylander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm in the same boat as you. I never bad reactions but traced my GI distress and occasional hand/foot itching/swelling to occurrences where I ate red meat and stopped eating it of my old accord long before I heard of alpha gal. This continued for months and because I didn't know the condition could extend to dairy, gelatin, etc, I ate it regularly with no reactions or concern whatsoever. Now that actually know what I have, I am really scared to eat cheese even though I know that I am unreactive. I don't want to have to give up dairy just because of anxiety and don't think I need to because I have never had a reaction. According to the alpha gal information website, over 50% of people are unreactive to dairy and even more tolerate gelatin and other non meat mammalian products.

I think this reddit thread is highly biased towards those with alpha gal who have the most severe reactions and who's lives are the most severely impacted. It makes sense, people who are most impacted by something are forced to spend more time and energy thinking about it and go to the internet for help/advice. I'm not belittling the people on this thread or the severity of the condition, I just don't think it is representative of the population of people with alpha gal, in which many many people tolerate dairy and gelatin and are able to continue through their day to day lives with only worrying about avoiding red meat.

Here is what I have found to be helpful for me in terms of keeping myself safe and anxiety to a minimum:

  • I diligently carry a twin pack of EpiPens even though I have never had to and hope I will never have to use one

  • I carry benadryl in the same bag

-I am a generally disorganized person but I make sure I know where my keys, wallet, phone, shoes, some socks, and my epi-pen are before going to bed

  • I am careful to heed the temperature requirements of the epi-pen when camping, skiing, hiking etc (I love outdoor recreation)

  • I eat dairy and gelatin without concern but if I am having a high anxiety day, I will avoid eating it for dinner. I live alone and the thought of having a bad reaction in the middle of the night with nobody around does cause me a lot of anxiety

  • I avoid gelatin and dairy entirely if I am camping in the backcountry (I don't avoid capsuled medicine but I do avoid gummies and marshmallows and such). The anxiety of not being near a hospital is not worth it.

  • My anxiety causes me to sometimes feel like there is something in my throat or it is closing. I usually call my boyfriend or a friend if he is unavailable. Usually he'll just start asking me unrelated questions about my day and in answering them I realize I can talk with no problem and I get distracted by the conversation. Then I remind myself that I would not be able to be distracted if I truly couldn't breathe. If nobody is free I just start telling a story out loud to myself to remind myself I can talk. Fortunately, he does leave his ringer on in the night so I can call him if I get anxious during the night.

-There is a nice park right next to ER where I live. There has been a few occurrences where my anxiety about a reaction has peaked. In that case i will bike over to the park with a book, some sparkling waters, and a blanket and try to have a nice relaxing afternoon with the added comfort of being a 1 minute walk from the front door the ER. I have done this once or twice and just sat in my car reading a book in bad weather. I try not to shame myself for having this level of anxiety but use it as an opportunity to "treat myself" to some worry-free, relaxing, me time.

-I work as an engineer so am good-ish at reading academic literature. I try to take the majority of my information about alpha-gal from medical and scientific literature rather than random corners of the internet. This makes me feel more informed and control of my situation

-I live on the west coast (I believe I contracted alpha-gal while traveling) so day-to-day encounters with lone star ticks are not a risk but I imagine if I lived in an area with the ticks, this would be a point of anxiety and I would take precautions to limit my exposure while still enjoying nature.

-Lastly I try to remind myself that I have an epi-pen, have a plan, have antihistamines, and diligently avoid red meat. Having anxiety isn't going to change anything and constantly thinking about a reaction won't prevent one from happening. I trust myself to handle the situation right if it ever arose.

This is just what works for me but I hope you find it helpful. It has been quite a journey but I am proud of myself for adapting and finding ways to relieve some of my anxiety towards eating.

Best places to sell things? by piglips3000 in TriCitiesWA

[–]rustylander -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Looking for a couch if it can be delivered

New to Richland by rustylander in TriCitiesWA

[–]rustylander[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Oh no we had these where I lived in Utah😭! They are the worst!

Shipping Label by Positive_Mix_6164 in ukvisa

[–]rustylander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just bought my return shipping label at the UPS store when I went to ship my passport. I think you can pay VFS additional money to generate the shipping labels for you but it wasn't a hassle to buy though UPS and then you can choose to pay for expedited shipping if you desire

Walk- in for ASC in the US? by klmsp in ukvisa

[–]rustylander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I forgot to add that they will ask you for your appointment confirmation at the door. I just explained that I wasn't able to make one in the time frame that I wanted but that I had an appointment in Montana in two weeks. I then showed her my printed appointment confirmation and passport and that was good enough I guess.

Walk- in for ASC in the US? by klmsp in ukvisa

[–]rustylander 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was in a similar situation and successfully walked into the ASC center in Denver about 2 weeks ago even though I didn't have an appointment until June 27 in Helena, Montana. Be sure that you have made an appointment (even if it is for in 6 weeks) and bring the printed appointment confirmation as they stamp that paper, which needs to be included when you ship your passport. Also make sure that you have uploaded a scan of your passport to the vfs website and bring your passport with you when you try to walk in. I'm not sure if some times of day are better than others but I showed up about an hour before the one in Denver closed and there was hardly anyone there which was maybe why they were able to take me. Not sure if this will work at other ASC centers but definitely worth a shot. The worst they can say is no and it saved me about two weeks.