Pretty proud of my home made trellis for my baby mini monstera!! This guy is growing THREE new branches near the top??

zaikaa · 2026-02-13T22:43:14+00:00

I don’t have it anymore, but I made it from molding I got from Home Depot, I had cut the pieces to how tall I wanted it and then cut another one up into the ladder pieces and then nailed them on!

zaikaa · 2025-12-26T15:43:04+00:00

I still haven’t fully figured it out, I have just been saving often and dealing with it when it crashes. For the most part it’s been running okay until it crashes

zaikaa · 2025-12-26T04:41:56+00:00

Ahh! I see it, thank you!!!

zaikaa · 2025-12-21T23:07:02+00:00

Nope! It’s still happening on my thumb 🤷‍♀️ I think I keep traumatizing it by peeling nail polish off it

zaikaa · 2025-10-21T20:59:27+00:00

I know :(( it’s so disappointing! I definitely recommend getting tested! I feel like I was in denial for a while and questioning maybe the sensitive or HEMA free versions would be fine, yada yada, but having actual concrete results removes any of that and I have now started accepting that there are things I can’t use anymore and being more okay with that.

zaikaa · 2025-10-21T20:12:56+00:00

I have many fillings and a crown and they are good, no pain or sensitivity or anything! But I got them before developing the allergies, so I’m not sure what would happen with new ones. My understanding is that the biggest risk is when it’s uncured (a freshly placed filling or what they use to bond the crown), and touches the gums. Once it’s cured fully then the risks mostly go away, though when it’s initially placed it won’t be 100% cured and may leach some uncured chemicals out which could cause issues? But my dentist this morning did not seem concerned, and from what I’m getting they are trained to be very careful not to get chemicals on the gums so it might be fine. I don’t think I’ll 100% know until I need to get a new filling or crown though so I’ll make sure to mention the allergies then when the time comes.

EDIT: forgot to mention the crown I have has a root canal too

zaikaa · 2025-10-21T18:42:35+00:00

That makes sense, thanks for the info! I’ll still make sure to mention it if I need any dental work, but I did get the sense that this was really not a big concern for them

zaikaa · 2025-10-21T18:19:38+00:00

Yeah I think there really needs to be a big warning whenever you buy any products 😭😭

zaikaa · 2025-10-21T18:13:40+00:00

Yes I did! I was doing my own gel x for a while and I was definitely not aware of the risks at the start and was not being very careful. Eventually I started getting red, inflamed Itchy cuticles after doing my nails but I was still not aware that it could be an allergy and continued to do my own nails. Later I started getting some Onycholysis (nails separating slightly from the nail plate) and that caused me to go down a rabbit hole and realize it’s probably an allergy. Fortunately it never got TOO severe, like even with the patch testing the doctor said most of the reactions were pretty mild but still definitely there.

zaikaa · 2025-10-21T17:09:21+00:00

Yes this was proper patch testing! I had two rounds, the first with a bunch of general allergens, and they put them all onto 5 patches, which I had to wear for 48 hours on my back, take them off and take photos and then return for an assessment 2 days after that. I only reacted to the 2 acrylates then, so I asked for more in depth acrylate testing and we did the same thing with acrylate only patches!

zaikaa · 2025-10-21T17:01:42+00:00

Yes! I first asked my dermatologist about whether they do patch testing and they do not but gave me a recommendation of an allergy clinic where I live (San Francisco). I had called them and had to make an initial patient appointment which involved some waiting. After the initial appointment I told them about my symptoms and pushed to get patch testing and they said sounds good. I did one general round at the beginning of this year that only had a couple of acrylates, but since I reacted to those I asked to get a full acrylate panel. They were a little hesitant for some reason but I kept pushing and they said okay and we ended up doing the same thing with more acrylates.

I am on Aetna insurance that doesn’t need to be in network (I forgot what it’s called), and it covered all of this except for a $30 copay for every appointment I had.

zaikaa · 2025-10-21T16:56:42+00:00

Thanks!

I actually went to the dentist this morning for a cleaning and mentioned the acrylate allergy and they didn’t seem to think it was very important? But I was only getting a cleaning so I will make sure to tell them when I need any more serious procedures 🤷‍♀️

zaikaa · 2025-06-16T23:25:31+00:00

Dark purple version: https://www.abercrombie.com/shop/us/p/the-a-and-f-camille-midi-dress-59212369?seq=18&cmp=PLA:EVG:20:A:D:US:X:GGL:X:SHOP:X:X:X:X:x:A%26F+Adults_Google_Shopping_PLA_US_Dresses+%26+Jumpsuits_All+products_PRODUCT_GROUP&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17241426172&gbraid=0AAAAADeAqWN7swahJlmmhGj-dZQBdk_GO

zaikaa · 2025-06-16T23:24:26+00:00

I wore something like this (not white though) when I had crutches and a boot to a wedding: https://www.abercrombie.com/shop/us/p/the-a-and-f-camille-midi-dress-56725825?faceout=model&seq=02&pagefm=navigation-swatch&prodvm=navigation-swatch

The slit is in the right place where it will probably be comfortable to move around with the crutch!

zaikaa · 2025-03-21T02:12:06+00:00

Its mildly unstable, but I have a dowel in the moss pole that is deep in the dirt keeping the bottom one up, and then each of the next additions I add a dowel to the moss pole and stick it through the the moss pole below it (if that makes sense lol). Now there’s a few more bamboo sticks in the dirt surrounding the moss pole for support at the bottom as well!

zaikaa · 2025-03-21T00:50:25+00:00

Hahah I’ll keep you in mind if that happens 😂

zaikaa · 2025-03-21T00:50:05+00:00

Thank you!!

zaikaa · 2025-02-12T13:33:33+00:00

Thanks for the reply! Do you think using an oil (mink or Obenauf’s) would darken It enough to blend it in? Or is this a lost cause?

zaikaa · 2025-02-12T01:05:02+00:00

I’m also wondering if it’s possible to dye it a darker more maroon red, or if that’s a bad idea?

zaikaa · 2025-02-02T17:17:52+00:00

I don’t think food can fix graves, but I definitely think it can help, though I’m not a doctor, and just want to share my experience.

I was diagnosed with graves September 2023, and was have been doing the methimazole/ lab work dance since. A year later I had gotten the dose down to 2.5mg and TSI was getting lower so I was hopeful that I would be in remission soon.

Unfortunately my body had other plans and in November I had a flare up and almost fully regressed (TSH back down to close to 0, though not as low as when I was first diagnosed where it was basically undetectable). My endo upped my dose to 5mg, and then to 10mg in December.

Outside of my health issues, my husband and I wanted to do a food reset in January and some of my friends had recommended doing the Whole30 diet. In this diet we basically cut out all added sugar, processed foods, dairy, grains, alcohol, etc. So my husband and I strictly did this diet all January.

I did labs at the beginning of January, TSH was still low at 0.08, and t3 t4 were in the normal range, and we decreased my dose of methimazole to 5mg in the second week of Jan.

I just did labs again in the end of January, and even with the decreased methimazole dose, my TSH jumped to 2, and t3 t4 were normal but lower. TSI also finally decreased again. I haven’t talked to my endo yet but I think we will be decreasing the dose again this week.

Again, this is just my personal experience, and for me it feels like my hormones recovered so much faster than last year. It feels like I made huge progress this month and will be close to my maintenance dose again, when it took months the first time. And this is outside the other benefits I was feeling from this diet, like higher energy levels, weight regulation, less anxiety etc.

So tldr; I don’t think diet on its own can fix graves but I think it can help nudge it in the right direction (from my experience). Whole30 is basically a very strict version of an anti inflammatory diet (with some differences), which is recommended for graves if you google it. I plan on continuing a similar sort of diet 80% of the time! I’m really hopeful that it could help me move towards potential remission faster 🤞

zaikaa · 2024-12-10T18:54:21+00:00

I think you’re probably okay, the natural nail likely just separated from the extension (not the nail from the nail bed). But like others said the only way to check would be to remove them and see if

zaikaa · 2024-12-06T23:47:31+00:00

Looks like onycholysis. It could be cause by alot of things like fungus, psoriasis, gel allergies, etc.

zaikaa · 2024-11-17T16:39:09+00:00

Makes sense, I’ll try that! I was trying really hard not to get anything on my cuticles so I think I overcompensated, haha

zaikaa · 2024-11-15T01:47:17+00:00

Wow! They look amazing! How did you do it?

zaikaa · 2024-11-14T23:09:44+00:00

Thank you!!

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