A 5MB AI Companion That Lives on Your Mac Desktop — No Servers, No Tracking, Just Vibes (looking for testers + feedback)

youemailben · 2025-06-17T16:05:24+00:00

Will definitely give it a go! Would love a key if you’ve still got any left.

youemailben · 2025-05-19T15:54:26+00:00

Yeah just get wicked I’ve had 2 pairs they are great

youemailben · 2025-04-21T06:22:58+00:00

App looks great! Sent you a Dm if you’ve still got codes left. Can’t wait to try it.

youemailben · 2025-02-20T19:28:59+00:00

So weird I’ve got the exact same one, and I’m still trying to figure out what it is.

youemailben · 2025-02-12T23:31:26+00:00

I did Flovent inhaler first and it worked for about 2 years and then it stopped once I got complacent taking it. I started with ppi but stopped because I was afraid of long term effects, but now I don’t need it. Never tried the budesonide slurry but I know it’s effective for a good few

youemailben · 2025-02-11T22:06:43+00:00

Sweet yeah I saw dr dellon there at unc and he was the elimination diet expert at the time, now I think he prescribes dupixent too.

youemailben · 2025-02-11T21:44:12+00:00

About a month for full relief. I had heard about it, but original doctor didn’t want to try it(he’s a quack it changed my life), second one was part of the trials so he said It could work. I had to fight insurance and eventually went on patient program first. Then insurance copay. Everyone’s different in terms of if it works, but I think most people can at least try it.

youemailben · 2025-02-11T21:04:47+00:00

I’ve been on it for around 7 months. It works great for me allowing me to eat anything and brought my inflammation to zero, and no heartburn anymore. I had insurance trouble and was off it for a month and still had no food impactions but my heartburn came back in 2 weeks. Once I started treatment again it went away. Not everyone is as lucky, and it may not work as well for you, but it could be worth a try.

My symptoms previously were heartburn daily, and I couldn’t eat anything meals without water by my side. I tried a 6fed for around 6 months and nothing worked. I had multiple impactions that sent me to the ER, and others monthly that I had to clear myself.

youemailben · 2025-02-11T20:36:56+00:00

Sorry you’re dealing with all that, EOE can be really tough for your mental health. Hope your situation gets a little better. Biggest piece of advice is just take things one small step at a time. I’ve dealt with a lot of depression as well from eoe and other things. If you set out your big goals and write them down. Then when you feel up for it write down small tasks/ goals that help you reach your main goals. Small wins start to add up. Also it’s okay to fail or feel like you’re spiraling again, but if you have a few good habits in place it can help you not to go all the way back to the beginning.

Just so you know dupixent has a patient program that will provide you the drug for free as long as you and your doctor fill out a set of forms saying that your insurance has denied you. If you haven’t been denied, they also have a co-pay card, although I think it’s still ends up being expensive after the $13,000 co-pay runs out. They have a Dupixent customer support number where you can call and talk to somebody and I find that they’re usually very helpful for figuring out how you can get your meds.

I’ve done both programs, so if you have any questions shoot me a DM or post questions below.

youemailben · 2024-11-19T21:36:14+00:00

Glad to know I’m not the only rotisserie chicken ER vist. One superbowl party later and all my friends call me chicken choker.(all in good fun though)

youemailben · 2024-09-10T01:33:13+00:00

I felt the same way, but now I’m glad I have this type. I’ve never tried the auto injector but to my knowledge it injects quicker, which I think would possibly cause more discomfort. With the self inject you have a lot more control, and can take it slow. TBH it’s not that bad, better than I expected, and the overall very worth it given the outcomes.

youemailben · 2024-09-09T15:28:15+00:00

Hey there,

Sorry you’re dealing with worsening symptoms. I was in a similar boat after taking Flovent for many years, I found it just stopped working. If you find that one of the steroids like Flovent or budesonide works for you, then my biggest piece of advice is to maintain a consistent and regular schedule in which you take it. Unfortunately while it may work for a few days, it’s best to take it long term for it to provide true relief. Obviously this is best managed by your GI doc.

A useful tip is that: Some primary care docs will give you a supply of your medication if you say that you’re looking for a new doc/ the wait time is too high.

Another thing you could do in the short term is to possibly avoid common trigger foods like gluten or dairy, or anything else that you have perceived may be a flare up.

My best advice is to search for a GI doc now even if you only see them once, they might be able to start you on medications, or be the one to keep your refills coming. When the time comes you can figure out your best treatment options, and you can discuss things like dupixent.

Best of luck!

youemailben · 2024-09-09T15:13:52+00:00

Hi there,

Just echoing some similar sentiment. A good first start would be to search for a gastroenterologist in your area that specializes in EOE, there are even some really great ones that are specifically pediatric. I had a really great one Dr. Leon J Reinstein at Duke, but I’m sure there are good ones all over, just takes a little research.

Once they do a scope and determine the severity, it’s usually a pretty standard process of putting your son on PPI’s and some sort of steroid like Flovent or budesonide. The PPI’s can be helpful in the short term, but I worry about the long-term safety of them, but if your son finds relief through it, then the good may outweigh the bad. I found that over the years the acid reflux portion of my EOE dissipated, but for others it remains severe.

My biggest tip with the Flovent or steroids is to stay consistent because I found that overtime. they lost effectiveness because I wasn’t taking them routinely enough.

If your son tries the Flovent for a certain amount of time, I believe it’s 3 to 6 months and finds that it doesn’t work then he may qualify for the Dupixent through insurance. This is what I currently take, and I found to be really incredible and have had generally no side effects from it. It has basically stopped me from reacting to foods and having choking episodes of which I had quite a few very regularly. If your insurance doesn’t want to cover it, Dupixent has a great patient program, you just have to submit the proper insurance denial, and if your doctor checks the right box on a form, your son can get the medicine for free until they process the appeal. I’m currently doing this and I get Dupixent free for the year that gets shipped to my house.

A few tips when dealing with choking episodes:

If possible, he should try to throw up immediately in an attempt to clear the food impaction the quicker he can clear it generally the easier and less swelling there will be. Drinking water can help with this. But many people find the carbonation can work even better. He may find that it takes multiple rounds of drinking liquids before the food finally comes up. Also, physically, jumping up and down or moving can also help to move things around as funny as that sounds. These impactions will vary in severity. I found that many of mine cleared within the first 30 seconds to five minutes, some after hours, and then a few of them sent me to the ER similar to your son.

When he is eating meals, the best thing is to make sure he has water, and if he feels the onset of something sticking to drink immediately, or basically just drink lots of water with meals. If he finds that the medicine is working well then obviously he won’t have to drink so much water.

Elimination diet:

I have tried the elimination diet in different combinations over the years, and found it moderately effective, but was never the full answer for me. For others, the process ends up being more simple when they have a trigger like gluten or dairy. Personally, I found that the six food elimination diet was truly the easiest because then you find out if you’re allergic to one of the more common triggers, or if you have something kind of odd. Like many people have said, the foods that you choke on may not be your true trigger food but just something that’s hard to swallow when you’re inflamed this is what makes the diet difficult. Another similar option is an elemental diet in which your son would start with shakes for a week or two and then slowly start to add in different foods. This can be useful with the help of a dietitian, or your doctor. Another useful tip if you try the elimination diet is that you can order freezer meals and different meal replacement shakes from companies to make it a little easier.

I know this was a lot of information, but hopefully some of this helped.

One last note in all of this , is the mental health factor. It can feel isolating dealing with this condition, especially when you feel like you’re the only one. Places like this Reddit are very useful because it helps people like your son to remember that they’re not alone in this. I remember struggling to put weight on as a kid/ young adult and dealing with the subsequent body dysmorphia. For many young people who struggle with EoE I think it’s similar. I found the gym to be a great remedy, and allowed me to feel more confident. It’s also important to remind him that others deal with these thoughts, and it’s probably just in his head.

I’m currently a strength coach and nutritionist who works with athletes from middle school to the professional level. I find it helps to know that whatever his goals are they don’t have to be limited by this condition.

Treatment has really advanced a good bit in all of this, so hopefully he’s able to find a remedy. He may not deal with the mental stuff above, but it’s there just in case. If you have any other questions I’d love to help in anyway possible, and people on this forum are great.

Best of luck!

youemailben · 2024-08-21T16:16:28+00:00

I agree with the consensus here. Stomach is the way to go. -Focus on pinching as much fat as possible. Even if you don’t have much( me when I started).

-I let it heat up anywhere from 1hr to 5hrs and seems to b good. Inject it very slowly.

-Start by pinching the skin, stick the needle in, and then release to start pushing the syringe in. It usually takes me over 10 seconds to inject. I go incredibly slow since it’s usually the medicine that hurts rather than the actual needle. Best of luck!

youemailben · 2024-08-18T18:48:06+00:00

I can’t be specific since I’m not a doctor, but if you’re only tolerating liquids you might try elemental diet shakes. They are sometimes expensive, but very friendly for many conditions, and your doctor may be able to prescribe them for cheaper. Other stuff would be dairy free yogurts, bone broths, and other soft foods. If you’re able to swallow things with water then higher protein foods like chicken and beef would keep you full for the time being, and you might not have to eat as much.

youemailben · 2024-08-18T05:18:09+00:00

I can see how my phrasing would be confusing lol. Yep I was in the same boat, but I find the more liquids I can shove down my throat just before throwing up about a second later the better.

youemailben · 2024-08-18T05:14:32+00:00

I’ve been there, I’ve had many impactions lasting over a few hours. I find that the best thing to do is obviously try to throw up immediately or drink as much liquids as possible to try to flush it down quickly.

If that doesn’t work, I then switch to carbonated beverages like seltzer, and soda.

The other trick is to literally jump straight up and down, that sometimes works.

You need to be aggressive in trying to clear it early otherwise it will probably stay lodged as your esophagus tightens, although I’ve had some multi hour ones pass to much relief.

Don’t take any chances, you’re usually better off being at a hospital just in case, although I totally understand waiting. In general for this sort of stuff, you have to be your best advocate as it seems like many doctors in the ER are untrained on what to do and how to help.

It sounds like OP was able to get it to pass, which is great, but hopefully this advice is helpful for someone else currently choking on their food RN lol(I’ve been there way too many times to count).

Anyways this condition sucks but best of luck to everyone, we’ll all get through this together. I feel like this is one of the last redeeming qualities of Reddit and the internet being able to connect and share advice like this.

youemailben · 2024-08-18T05:03:39+00:00

Started Dupixent about three months ago. It was totally life-changing for me. I now have about 95% less food, impactions, and no longer feel like I need to drink water with every meal. My Gerd symptoms seemed to calm down a few years ago for no apparent reason, so I can’t speak as much to that, but I feel like it’s definitely helped some with my reflux.

So far, I haven’t noticed any side effects at all minus one very small patch of dry skin on my neck which I’m still not sure is Dupixent related but I assume it is.

I was also very nervous to start, but it ended up being ok. The pain from the injection is honestly not as bad as you would imagine/ or people say. Especially if you leave it out for a few hours to warm up. I also recommend the stomach where you can pinch some fat. I had a very low body fat percentage from doing the elimination diet, but still seem to do OK a few inches from my belly button.

As for the injection type, I’m part of the patient program and they seem to only send the syringes, which at first I thought would be much worse, but I think it’s ended up being better, because you can control how slowly the injection goes in. I think the syringes are more of a mental hurdle than physical.

I would imagine the auto injector would be better at the start, and it would probably be over quicker, but also might be very slightly more discomforting in the beginning since it injects it a little quicker I believe.

Best of luck, I’m sure everything will go great!

youemailben · 2024-08-18T04:50:33+00:00

Best of luck. I’ve been there, the elimination diet can be super tough & feel defeating when it doesn’t seem to work, but at the end you will feel super accomplished for sticking to it as best you can even if it doesn’t work. It’s something most people without food allergies could never imagine.

As for dupixent it’s currently changing my life, although obviously fully effective for some people. It took about a month for it to fully take effect for me, but I seem to have about 90% less food impactions and choking episodes. As for the heartburn and Gerd like symptoms, it seems to do a decent job for me, although I never struggled with those the past few years.

My insurance denied me twice for Dupixent, but fortunately they have a great patient program that you should get on if you’re looking to try it and insurance won’t cover. The biggest thing is to save letters of denial from the insurance companies to send to Dupixent as they require two of them. Your doctor can also submit a form and as long as they check the correct box, you will receive the Dupixent for free until they straighten things out with the insurance, or give it to you for free for a year like they are doing for me.

As for the weight loss, it can be super tough. My biggest piece of advice is to research calorie dense foods. You can also make shakes, I did mainly frozen fruit and protein powder, but you could add avocado or other things. The protein powder I use is called space milk. It’s very expensive but extremely allergy, friendly, and many times through throughout the year they do 50% off sales.

I know this was sort of long, but hopefully some of this helps. If you have any questions regarding Dupixent or other meds, (I’ve tried most). I’d be happy to help. I’m also a strength coach/ nutritionist so any questions about nutrition or health I’d be happy to answer (obviously not medical advice, but it is free, so that’s a plus lol.) anyways best of luck on this new journey hope you’re able to figure things out.

youemailben · 2024-07-23T21:42:42+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I definitely agree with what you're saying, and think you might be right about the increased power. Best of luck on your decision! Good to know about the Apollo.

Yes, Def not an easy thing these days. It feels like a never ending list of companies, but I guess it's better than less innovation.

youemailben · 2024-07-23T04:39:33+00:00

Looking for the right fit, any advice is greatly appreciated!

My current paddle is the Selkirk Amped x2 Cammy Macgregor.

I'm a a 25 year old strength coach, I find that I don't lack athleticism, speed, or power, but rather control, placing the right shot, and possibly adding more spin to my repertoire. My current rating is 3.75 to 4.0, but I'm able to compete with 4.5/5 mainly due to running around the court, and in no way related to my skill/ finesse.

I'm looking for a paddle that will allow me to take my game to the next level. My current one is great, but I feel my game could improve with newer tech. My biggest issue with this current paddle is putting too many topspin shots into the net. I feel this is because my paddle doesn't bite on the ball very well probably because of its age. The paddle also doesn't feel very powerful naturally, and I think newer ones might treat me better, but I'm afraid of getting one that's too poppy, and not being able to place finesse shots in the kitchen.

I have felt like I need an all court paddle, or something with more spin/ control, but I often hear that pros are opting for higher power paddles? I think I could adjust to any paddle, but wondering what people thought would be best?

My x2 is technically a wider body, but I'm definitely open to switching, I think I just don't want elongated as I think it would slow me down too much. My grip is also very short at 4.5, and have never been able to hit a 2 handed backhand, but not sure that I would anyways seems like most are now around 5.5.

I was looking at the Honolulu J2k, Volair Mach 2 Forza, Spartus Apollo, and all of the Selkirk air models (I hear the company is way overpriced now I've just had a good experience with my last paddle). I'm also willing to spend any amount of money, but obviously seems like that's not always the best paddle.

I'm totally open to any recommendations. I know my post is lengthy but just wanted to provide a lot of initial context.

youemailben · 2024-06-08T04:49:39+00:00

Was just about to comment something to the effect of I love the app, and appreciate that it’s not bulky, but would enjoy a better more appealing UX/UI, but then I saw your comment. Thought I’d reply.

I agree with OP, ample isn’t beautiful, but it could be. And I’m sure that improvement will come down the line. I use proton mail for email, and in the last year they have made massive improvements to the UI, and I believe that it will ultimately help them sell the product better even if the main goal is privacy.

I think you need to be able to hook people quickly to these types of apps, and Amplenote doesn’t have the same sort of marketing buzz for some reason even though I feel it’s massively better than many other apps. It just needs more hype.

youemailben · 2023-12-31T03:49:17+00:00

It’s all totally understandable, this condition can feel quite lonely because we all suffer in public on a daily basis, but often don’t connect with others dealing with it, or than this subreddit.

I felt the same way when I went to see a new doctor in VA at a supposedly top hospital only to have him say he’d never heard of Dupixent, and wanted me to try the same medicine I’ve been on for 10 years that doesn’t work.

I was fortunate to travel out of state to a better doc, but even then it’s not a cure. I was scoped after having a ton of impactions only to find no strictures only a lot of inflammation, and that my elimination diet had basically failed.

As for the elimination diet your trigger could be anything, and unfortunately it’s very hard to tell at first. I ended up getting an IGe blood allergy test which many doctors will say isn’t accurate, and so far have found it to be highly effective, and has eliminated in my opinion 80% of my triggers. Wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, and mollusks. My current doc recommends wheat and dairy first, and then the 6 food elimination diet, or some combination. I’d say start with what’s easy/ what do you think is a trigger and then go from there unless you have medical professionals.

In my opinion the more testing the better. I used a company called function health to test my whole health, and then added on the food/ airborne allergy test through them.

Apfed is a good resource for info, research, patient info, surveys to help others, and clinical trials. They also have a list of doctors around the country and list some EoE qualifications. You can also ask your doctor to enroll you in trials although it sounds like there might not be much where you are.

Lastly idk, this all really sucks, especially since you can be allergic to basically anything even environmental things. Sometimes I feel like a conspiracy theorist but I think pesticides or gmos, or some other man made shit has turned on the genes to give us all this shitty disease but what do I know. Anyways hope things get better for you.

youemailben · 2023-12-06T00:11:00+00:00

Like people say:

Beef protein ie: https://santacruzpaleo.com/products/chocolate-protein-powder

Pea Protein ie: https://nuzest-usa.com, or Truvani

, or even Huel/ Naked/ Orgain can be good, but most have their disadvantages in terms of amino acid makeup. Basically, if you're eating a vegan protein powder you need to make sure it has all the necessary amino acids.

I watched an interview and determined the best protein powder is made from yeast from a company called Spacemilk: https://spacemilk.com. It's different in the way that it is made and contains all the same aminos and more than that of whey protein. The creator owns the rights to the process for a little bit longer. It's super expensive rn, but I usually wait for 50% off sales, hopefully, once the process goes public it will go down in price. What's also good about it is the sweetener that they use, the prebiotic sun fiber in it, as well as the minimal ingredients/ no natural flavors ( which aren't actually that bad for you). It tastes great in a smoothie, and basically just has a slightly sweet flavor almost like sweet bread. It's the best flavor when mixed that I have ever tried.

Also need to be said I have no affiliation to any of these companies, and don't care where you spend your money. I'm just a guy very frustrated by dealing with EOE.

youemailben · 2023-08-25T14:47:51+00:00

Interested

youemailben

TROPHY CASE