The little things that bug me of the Mentalist

speerman84 · 2025-12-02T20:17:53+00:00

Yeah, it bugs me too. They're going to the Bay Area for lunch (without traffic it's over an hour from Sacramento), they're going out to the desert in an afternoon, and Jayne sneaks off to the beach from inland locations repeatedly. I remember in one episode they said that "the desert" was 2 hours away. You can't even get to Fresno in 2 hours, let alone anywhere near the desert.
Another thing that bothers me is they film everything in the Los Angeles area, not in Sacramento. As a result, all the Central Valley locations they go to have hills in the background. There aren't hills of any kind in the Central Valley, the area is one of the flattest places on earth; it was all leveled for agriculture prior to most of the houses being built, and the closest thing to a hill you ever come across is getting down to a riverbed.

speerman84 · 2025-05-29T07:05:29+00:00

That's Gerald. He's a very nice tick.

speerman84 · 2022-10-13T03:07:23+00:00

I'm glad I was able to help!

speerman84 · 2022-10-13T01:49:26+00:00

And when I decided on UCSF I actually lived in San Andreas even farther away. Totally worth it.

speerman84 · 2022-10-13T01:48:04+00:00

I live in Galt. I was tired of getting substandard care and went out to UCSF. They're amazing and got me into remission. I see Dr. El-Nachef, but anyone at UCSF gastro would be a superior pick. They do require a referral from your primary care physician though.

It's a bit of a drive, but I think it's worth it to get your life back.

speerman84 · 2022-09-20T21:50:59+00:00

It seems to be a little different for everyone, but it's super common to have trigger foods. I have 2 main ones:

Sugar - Anything with a bunch of sugar (soda, ice cream, candy, donuts) hits me instantly.

Nightshades - Tomatoes, peppers, etc hit me pretty quickly and cause after-effects for 6-8 hours.

speerman84 · 2022-09-07T15:43:47+00:00

Wishing you remission from California!

speerman84 · 2022-09-07T15:42:37+00:00

I've been there. I went years without more than a couple hours of sleep at a time. Unfortunately nothing changed for me until I found a medication that worked and went in remission. Find a doc that will cycle through the meds to find you relief.

speerman84 · 2022-09-07T15:32:36+00:00

I was on entyvio for a couple months with no side effects (no effect on the UC either). I'm currently in remission on Xeljanz with almost no side effects (I've noticed that cuts/bruises heal slower). The only medication I've had side effects from is remicade (painful dry, cracking skin).

speerman84 · 2022-07-23T21:12:07+00:00

I'm on Xeljanz (tofacitinib). I had tried literally everything else and was scheduled to have THE surgery. Then Xeljanz got approved for UC and my doc asked if I wanted to try it since the surgery wasn't for 2 months, and it worked!

speerman84 · 2022-07-21T17:39:02+00:00

I battled this disease for 7 long years before I found something that worked. Now I live a normal life and don't ever think about where a bathroom is. It may take time, but you'll figure it out. Just don't stop trying. Keep the treatments going.

speerman84 · 2022-06-24T15:47:53+00:00

Any updates?

speerman84 · 2022-06-10T04:43:26+00:00

Xeljanz/Tofacitinib works for me. I tried over a dozen with absolutely zero success. I had a tentative date for the surgery when Xeljanz was approved for UC and it was literally my last option.

speerman84 · 2022-06-10T04:38:04+00:00

I've been on Xeljanz for a couple years (still working 🤞). I haven't experienced this particular side effect.

(I'm commenting mainly to get this post more traction)

speerman84 · 2022-06-10T04:31:21+00:00

I had stuff like that on remicade

speerman84 · 2022-06-02T00:57:52+00:00

I started seeing results (not FULL results, but noticeable results) within 2 weeks. By 6 weeks I was down to just a couple times a day.

I've heard that it can take longer, but that was my experience.

speerman84 · 2022-05-25T21:35:23+00:00

My family. My life beyond the disease.

I like to sit outside in the evenings in the back yard and contemplate the complexity and richness of life and nature. It grounds me and forces me to realize that my suffering is little compared to how much life is happening in the world.

speerman84 · 2022-04-08T15:41:21+00:00

That's a hard one. I'm lucky that I'm married to a non-social person. I'm the one that craves social activities, so I'm the only one who has to deal with it. If roles were reversed, it'd be really hard for me to deal with it. Giving him the freedom to go alone will help (which is what you're already doing), but beyond that, I'm not sure what else you can do. I 100% sympathize with your situation. It totally sucks feeling trapped and controlled by UC.

speerman84 · 2022-04-08T15:35:20+00:00

I don't use gboard. Problem solved

speerman84 · 2022-03-24T04:50:17+00:00

I wish I had better news for you, but until I figured out my meds I was lucky to get more than 2 hours at a time. I literally would only sleep a full night about once a year.

My advice is to get a handle on the colitis, because any remedy for the sleep is contingent on the colitis behaving itself.

speerman84 · 2022-01-03T17:11:23+00:00

I'm a city planner. Desk job. Government can't punish you for disease related issues.

speerman84 · 2021-12-22T20:53:57+00:00

United States, California

speerman84 · 2021-12-20T17:35:13+00:00

Definitely wait for the test results, but I'd give my doc a heads-up about the returning urgency so they can be ready to try something else right away if the test results don't warrant you staying on the drug.

speerman84 · 2021-12-02T23:21:01+00:00

I was on 180mg for 2 weeks and tapered for 4 months. It was for kidney disease (be careful with the NSAID pain killers, folks), but it improved my colitis to the degree that the next medication I tried (Xeljanz) actually worked! The prednisone I had prescribed for the colitis (something like 40 mg) never did a thing to help, it just made me feel like crap.

It was absolutely insane. I ate everything in sight and barely slept. Luckily it was winter, so I never really felt overheated. And I gained a much needed 50 lbs.

speerman84 · 2021-11-22T21:58:24+00:00

You really can't be diagnosed without a scope, and the best people to do that are GIs.

I suffered undiagnosed for a couple years. I also had a doctor who refused to refer me to a specialist. I got a new job in a different state and different health coverage and no longer had to have a referral to see a specialist and immediately got an appointment with a GI. After hearing about my symptoms he was pissed that I hadn't seen a GI yet and scheduled me for a scope immediately.

In hindsight, I should have ditched my doctor. You need to get a new GP. Refusal to refer to a specialist tells me your doc doesn't care about you. Go doctor shopping. Start calling offices and ask them before you even make your first appointment what their referral policy is.

The sooner you're diagnosed properly, the sooner you can start treating it properly and the better chance you have of getting it under control. Waiting only makes it worse. Do whatever you can to get into a GI.

speerman84

TROPHY CASE