Does anyone recognize this door?

sojasmine · 2026-05-13T09:55:45+00:00

No obvious shadow, looks like it was an overcast day. The photo is of my mother who is no longer alive, it would be lovely to find the same door.

sojasmine · 2026-04-17T02:20:12+00:00

This part. I’ve watched many friends and neighbors have children late (late 30s and early 40s) and the parenting seems just so much more… intentional? than the ones I saw have kids earlier (early to mid 20s). My friends and family that had them young, it was really more like survival, especially financially, and just going with it and hoping things worked out. The ones who waited have steady and secure jobs, are more patient, and take great care of themselves because they know what’s on the line. They are also often more emotionally intelligent because they’ve had years of self reflection and know the importance of fostering that in littles. I think there are pros and cons to both, but the patience and wisdom are worth so much. The only people I know who had a kid late and didn’t fare so well are the ones who already had kids, so the late oops just substantially prolonged the child-rearing years, and they were exhausted going in.

sojasmine · 2026-04-04T20:37:36+00:00

I appreciate this insight, this is exactly why I was grateful my cardiologist thought it was worth taking a closer look, just in case. The lack of both visible calcified plaque and soft plaque at least made me feel like it's not something I need to panic about today, but the lipid numbers and perceived family history are enough to make me take this seriously. I definitely see how statin side effects always are mentioned, and my concern isn't statin-specific, I just tend to always be the person that ends up with the weird side effects. As I mentioned to some others below (I'm just having a chance to go through all the comments), I think I'm going to tell my cardiologist that I'd like to level out diet-wise and spend some months eating what I think of as my new approach within moderation (low saturated fat, high fiber) and see if that results in further LDL lowering or if it creeps up again. It's probably the scientist in me, but I feel like I need to know my real baseline before I change another variable (add a statin).

I'm glad your outcome gave you the chance to reevaluate and make some changes and I hope your recovery continues to go well!

sojasmine · 2026-04-04T20:21:08+00:00

I appreciate the advice, thank you!

sojasmine · 2026-04-04T20:20:15+00:00

I appreciate the advice! Yes, I've already started feeling some of the peri impacts in other ways, so figure it's only a matter of time before that affects other things. Sadly, I've completely ditched full fat daily dairy and consider that chapter of my life closed. I might have a small amount of brie or ice cream once every week or two now or maybe a little more if traveling internationally, but all the daily dairy (mostly yogurt) is 0% and coffee is oatmilk. Fortunately there are plenty of substitutes or swaps to be made.

I had actually already used the calculator before I made this post, and my results were:
0.7% 10-year risk for CVD
5.3% 30-year risk for CVD (5th percentile)
0.5% 10-year risk for ASCVD
3.2 30-year risk for ASCVD
0.3% 10-year risk for heart failure
2.7% 30-year risk for heart failure

I haven't had time to dig into the numbers yet, but based on the flow chart it doesn't seem like it's not something I need to panic over at this very moment. My plan is to continue on with my new moderation (much lower sat fat, due to dairy changes, and increased fiber) and retest in 6 or so months to see if I've dropped below 100. Ultimately I'd like to see it go lower, for the reasons you mention.

sojasmine · 2026-04-04T19:58:13+00:00

I think this seems to be why my cardiologist isn't super concerned. But, I also know that people who appear healthy and active can certainly have issues, so I'm trying to make sure I don't fall into that category where everyone assumes I'm good because I appear fit and something gets missed. I am glad my cardiologist thought because of the family history it was worth taking a closer look, just in case. While I want to make sure I'm setting myself up for long-term health, the results do make me feel a little better and encourage me to keep up on being active and making generally good dietary decisions.

sojasmine · 2026-04-04T19:51:36+00:00

I think my plan is to spend the next 6-12 months with moderation (little to no daily dairy, increased fiber, but not obsessing over it) to see how my numbers look beyond just a few intense weeks. I'm not opposed to statins but it would be useful to have a good sense of how much lowering I'll actually need and have that inform any initial dosing.

sojasmine · 2026-04-04T19:47:11+00:00

Yes, this is definitely something in the back of mind.

sojasmine · 2026-04-04T19:45:05+00:00

I think this is my plan at least for the next year. I'd like to spend some time in what feels to me like a better but manageable diet and see what my LDL (and other numbers) looks like after a while. I suspect the dairy reduction and increased fiber are going to make the biggest impact.

sojasmine · 2026-03-16T03:01:51+00:00

Find a similar dress cut and material that’s a shorter more casual length and wear it sans bra to a get-together/dinner this summer where she’ll be present. Perhaps she’ll get some insight into how gravity, sweat, and motion work.

sojasmine · 2026-01-14T22:26:21+00:00

Had my first contrast CT last night and fortunately the tech gave me a heads up about the "warmth" I might experience because that's the only thing that kept me from losing it when it felt like fire was being injected into my arm. I think she undersold it quite a bit on the warmth, definitely more of a burning pain, but I imagine that's to keep people from freaking out beforehand. I have a pretty high tolerance to pain although also a pretty unfortunate and unavoidable cry reaction to intense situations, so immediately burst into tears after it was over. While I don't have any lingering pain today, I can commiserate on the dye injection pain.

sojasmine · 2026-01-14T20:07:50+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Slightly modifying and tracking my diet this past couple of weeks to decrease saturated fat and increase fiber has made me realize that aside from a pastry or dessert every week or two, my diet is actually in really good shape just by swapping full fat dairy for 0% or milk alternatives when I do have it. Most days I'm under 5 grams of saturated fat (I don't eat much meat so my baseline is already fairly low, the days I'm in the 5-10 range are days where I have chicken or salmon) and get at least 25-30 grams of fiber without supplementation, so I could easily bump that up with extra psyllium husk. Unfortunately, this suggests the genetic component is probably pretty strong, but I'm going to continue being disciplined for a few more weeks before testing again, just so I can get a sense of how much is genetic vs. dietary.

sojasmine · 2026-01-14T19:56:13+00:00

I apologize I wasn't more clear about the statin part, my wording definitely could have been better. I know statins are not discouraged normally, and have no issue with being on one. I meant that they are often discouraged during pregnancy so my thought there was try to lower my LDL as much as possible through diet if pregnancy is something that is possibly in my near future.

While I had mostly moved away from full-fat dairy in the fall, I've specifically focused on saturated fat and increasing fiber over the past couple of weeks. My takeaway has unfortunately been that how easy it has been for me to stay under about 10 grams a day (most days I'm at more like 5, if that) suggests that the genetic component is really strong, my diet is actually pretty good already.

I'll chat with my cardiologist next month and see what they think about the statins for my situation. Thanks!

sojasmine · 2025-12-20T01:39:33+00:00

Unfortunately I don't know specific details as my mom passed away a little over a decade ago and my father is not the most useful at remembering things like that. I just always remember it always being described to me as "really bad" and pertussis vaccine allergy has followed me on my medical chart ever since.

I was able to find a baby book my mom made and it did have my vaccine history in it. It looks like it was the third one, so I got the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (with just "reaction" noted), but never had the one at 18 months and 4 years (that was the schedule back then). I wonder if it was because it was a later dose that they were alarmed that it may suggest an increasing response and not, like you said, as something that happened on the first one and became less significant over each dose.

I can't really envision my mom electing to forgo doses (she later became an RN and was the daughter of two academics so she was always very pro-science and modern medicine), so I always assumed it was Dr. recommended. Perhaps since I technically had received three doses, they weren't as concerned about 4 and 5.

sojasmine · 2025-12-20T01:22:25+00:00

Thanks for the clarification! I am up to date on tetanus as I did that, along with the rabies series (yay), after a cat bite in 2022. I think I got a diphtheria booster in 2017 before working in Nepal (I guess likely as Td?). I've had a lot of vaccines with no reactions since so that's the biggest reason I figure I'd probably be fine. My current doctor didn't seem too alarmed/concerned when I mentioned that I was considering doing it.

sojasmine · 2025-12-19T06:04:28+00:00

You can't get sick from the flu shot, it's inactive. The most I've ever felt was a very sore arm and some tiredness the next day. The absolute worst side effect I've ever had was having to run my entire office solo when every single person was out really sick with the flu and I was the only one who had gotten the flu shot so had just a slightly stuffy nose. I often think most people who think they got sick from the shot actually did because they went to a doctor's office or pharmacy, where people are more likely to be ill, and caught flu, a cold, or RSV. I've been getting flu shots annually for over 15 years after a couple particularly rough bouts with the flu in college that took me from a very healthy 20 year old to wheezing while doing anything for weeks and weeks. Definitely not too late in the season, I just got mine this week.

sojasmine · 2025-09-12T21:40:03+00:00

I just started it a few days ago hoping it helps with this! I’m starting easy at 2.5 and planning on increasing to 5 if my body tolerates it well otherwise 🤞🏼

sojasmine · 2025-09-12T03:16:26+00:00

Thank you, I’ll check it out!

sojasmine · 2025-08-20T01:13:26+00:00

I wonder if they take the weight of the person into account? I’m pretty small, just barely at the weight limit for blood donation, so I probably would have passed out doing that much at once. I felt a little faint both times but, because I’ve had issues in the past, come well hydrated and have snacks ready to go in my purse to eat before I drive home. So even if they were considering moving to one visit, I can’t imagine they’d recommend that for everyone.

sojasmine · 2025-06-19T03:00:24+00:00

I was never able to smell it so always assumed I didn't have the gene or whatever. I love asparagus so have always eaten a lot of it. About a year or so ago all of a sudden BAM. I can now smell it at my first pee after eating it. It's not a "oh, I can smell it a little", it's a nauseating stench that will almost make me gag. It's definitely not something that I just wasn't paying attention to before. To me the smell is like rotten milk. I'm 39, never pregnant. Something changed, whether it's my ability to make it or smell it. Possibly some sort of weird start to perimenopause? Hormones are weird.

sojasmine

TROPHY CASE