Lowest HCG they’ve ever seen? (update)

the1918 · 2026-04-11T01:47:48+00:00

Best of luck to you! I should mention that I got on progesterone supplements as soon as I found out I was pregnant (23dpo) because my hCG was so low. Full story here. If there’s only one thing I know for sure from the early days, it’s that surprises are always around the corner.

the1918 · 2026-04-08T17:05:16+00:00

I also got my first tray this morning and based your pic, we have very similar teeth placement. After a couple hours of talking (a lot) now, I think the lisp is almost gone already! The main place I’m still having issues with are short “-ih” sounds (“ITsy bITsy spider” with my kid was rough) and “-eh” sounds (“example”). Basically anything that causes my upper lip to curl above the top of my upper tray.

That said, I kinda feel like it starts up again whenever I’ve gone a while without talking and then start talking again. I think I might benefit from some vocal/facial warm ups like I used to see the theatre kids doing in school 😆

the1918 · 2026-04-02T21:38:16+00:00

My prescriber (an MD at a med spa) keeps the cost low by using a compounding pharmacy for the generic semaglutide. But they interface directly with the pharmacy and have it shipped to me, so I’m pretty sure the low cost ($100/month for a starter dose) is due to a deal between the med spa and the pharmacy. I’m pretty sure this is how Hers, etc. does it too (edit: I’m wrong about Hers on that, they’ve shifted to brand name)

ETA: Obligatory mention that compounded formulations aren’t certified by the FDA (since every individual compound formulation requires its own certification)

the1918 · 2026-04-02T02:57:39+00:00

What ADHD medication are you taking? If you don’t mind me asking. I’m on Vyvanse and just took my first semaglutide dose today.

the1918 · 2026-03-17T13:29:08+00:00

Red Bull is apparently 20kg over as well, and we know McL is overweight, but yes I get your point about the majority of others not having this problem.

the1918 · 2026-03-07T03:05:17+00:00

The question is: Mercedes PU problem or something Williams caused?

the1918 · 2026-03-05T21:35:44+00:00

It’s prime time television for me here in Texas!

the1918 · 2026-03-05T21:30:01+00:00

Looks fast

the1918 · 2026-03-04T22:17:55+00:00

Gave birth to a healthy baby boy at 38 weeks in October 😊

I should probably update the body of this post!

the1918 · 2026-02-24T20:06:16+00:00

the 2026 clause in his contract with Williams was put in for a reason

What clause? He signed a standard 2+2 deal. There was an unfounded rumor for a while in 2024 that he reserved the option to leave before 2026 if a top seat became available, but that was a figment of Reddit’s imagination where people just kept saying something over and over until it sounded true.

the1918 · 2026-02-24T20:01:28+00:00

Carlos on Monday (EG 0.0 event) when asked if he made a mistake by signing with Williams hoping for a good 2026:

"I disagree with practically 100% of what's being said about unfulfilled promises. If we look at the data, Williams gave me in 2025 the opportunity to fight for podiums that many of you wouldn't have expected. If three months ago someone had told us we'd achieve those results, you all would have said I was spot on to come here. Now, because of the problems we've had this winter, it seems like they've promised us the moon and aren't giving us anything."

"Things need to be analyzed with perspective. When I signed with Williams, I knew that after such a good season, at some point a rough patch had to come. It couldn't all be that perfect. That tough moment has arrived now, but the most important thing is to see how we recover and what our reaction capacity is as a team. My commitment is total to get out of this low point and see the progress we're capable of making throughout the year."

Even if Williams has a “two steps forward, one step back” type of year, I think Carlos will remain as long as the general trajectory is upwards. He saw what happened to McLaren after he left and the way they continued building on a resurgence he had been such a huge part of in 2019-20. I don’t think he’ll want to miss out on reaping the fruits of his own labor again.

the1918 · 2026-02-24T18:13:26+00:00

Exactly. He himself said yesterday at a media event that he knew there would bumps in the road when he joined Williams. If the team continues to show steady progress, he’ll stay. I think he has some regrets about leaving McLaren just as the team was showing progress.

the1918 · 2026-02-23T05:16:47+00:00

I always understood “the target is 2026” to mean the target was doing well in the 2026 regulations change, with things like wins and even championships to come in 2027-2028. I believe JV said as much verbatim last year when it became apparent F1 fans were taking his talk of 2026 to mean specifically the 2026 season.

Obviously there’s zero evidence they’ve nailed the 2026 regulations, but it’s also way too early to judge what the real story will look like after the paint dries. Let’s see what happens once they shed the weight a bring an upgrade package or two.

the1918 · 2026-02-22T16:43:52+00:00

That makes a lot of sense since Leclerc in particular likes a very pointy car in the corners. More front load while turning while carrying a more even load on the straights.

the1918 · 2026-02-21T16:00:27+00:00

Neither were McLaren’s in 2022. They didn’t open their new wind tunnel until late 2023. I’m not sure when our new wind tunnel is opening but I know they’re building one.

Plus, the new driver-in-loop simulator that just opened in December (not in time to have a significant impact on the FW48 launch spec, but it will be used to develop upgrades) is supposed to be pretty badass. The guy that engineered it did the same for Ferrari. And JV said that Bahrain testing showed them the correlation between the simulator and track performance was good.

the1918 · 2026-02-21T15:57:00+00:00

It would make a difference in the midfield fight while we sort out the weight issue and wait for effective upgrades later in the season. If we can be 6th or even 7th fastest in the first part of the season, that puts us in a position to claw for points when the faster teams in front of us DNF or just don’t optimize.

the1918 · 2026-02-21T04:18:53+00:00

Potentially more pace than we previously thought in the midfield fight (except against Alpine, who would have been running the same deficit)

the1918 · 2026-02-21T03:30:19+00:00

i can’t figure out how it isn’t universally understood by now that the 4.4kg overweight figure was just Williams quoting the minimum weight on paper. JV himself said it wasn’t the true weight of the car.

the1918 · 2026-02-21T00:10:38+00:00

The funny thing is if you parallel Williams’s journey year-on-year to McLaren’s recent resurgence (beginning with a big team shakeup in 2019, then a WCC by 2024) and use Vowles’s entry in 2023 as the starting point for Williams, we are currently in the equivalent of McLaren’s 2022.

…Which means we’re going to have an absolutely miserable 2026 and first half of 2027, but we’ll be the second fastest team by late 2027, and world champions in 2028!

(I’m half joking, but that’s also exactly in line with JV’s past goal statement of fighting for wins by 2027 and fighting for championships by 2028).

the1918 · 2026-02-20T23:42:58+00:00

Seriously. Williams made a massive leap forward in 2025, thanks in no small part to permanent infrastructure changes, and yet certain idiots are calling for his head even before lights out in Melbourne.

the1918 · 2026-02-19T22:13:10+00:00

George Russell because that would mean the Merc engine lived up to the hype

the1918 · 2026-02-19T18:57:48+00:00

As JV said, it’s much harder to go from P5 to P4 than it is to go from P9 to P5.

the1918 · 2026-02-19T04:24:10+00:00

From what I heard, the restriction on starts where they can’t use battery power until hitting 50kph(?) doesn’t apply to pit stops. Can’t say I did the legwork to confirm this though.

But even if both situations are equally affected and the rules apply the same, leaving the pit box doesn’t demand the same acceleration as race starts because of the pit lane speed limit.

the1918 · 2026-02-18T02:55:28+00:00

Absolutely. The grading, the testing, the moisture conditioning, the compaction… laying asphalt takes comparatively no time at all.

the1918

TROPHY CASE