She died last May (in a very odd way, I’ll get to that later), and since then so much has been coming to light.
I’m going to call my mom “R” and my grandma “E”.
• R thought she had a tumour in her brain until she was 40 years old, when she called the children’s hospital (whom she described had “experimented” on her, which turned out to be all E’s doing) and they told her they didn’t find anything wrong based on what E said, but that R did have severe ADHD, which she was never aware of. Obviously this affected her deeply, but not in the ways E claimed; which was essentially brain damage, among other things.
• R had me as a teen so E has always had control over us. For as long as I can remember I’ve been “sick”. As a child I felt in my heart that I wasn’t going to live long. I was always in the hospital, on meds, getting scans, pokes, tests; you name it. And I, to this day, have no idea why. I’ve been healthy since I left home. Mentally, I’m a wreck. But I have a shit ton of trauma. My therapist has suggested that the “health issues” I remember experiencing as a kid were likely the effect of high cortisol and adrenaline. Along with “cult-like” manipulation tactics.
• I am diagnosed with CPTSD, OCD, ASD, and ADHD. I also struggle with chronic panic attacks and health anxiety.
• E was a social worker and specialized in psych. I remember her pouring over the DSM, and proudly armchair diagnosing and lording her knowledge over people. I remember one time she told me about Munchausen by Proxy, and she was fascinated by it. It’s burned into my brain. I’d find myself reliving that moment and remembering the light in her eyes as she explained it. When I found out she likely had this disorder my blood ran cold and that moment flashed back. It’s crazy to think my nervous system has been trying to tell me all this time.
• Further to the last point, E knew R and I were neurodivergent; I suspect my great grandma was as well, and E hated her mother for being “ditsy” and “messy”. Which is partly why I think she tried to manipulate us. I stopped talking to E two years ago because I found out, after a lot of therapy (which she disapproved of) that I had all these undiagnosed mental conditions. AND SHE KNEW. I had been assessed at a young age by a friend of hers (she could pull all the strings being in her profession, it was a small town, and she was highly esteemed) and I tested highly for ASD. E somehow covered it up, and I didn’t find out until I was 27. What’s worse is she forced me to mask by essentially experimenting on my brain with various therapy techniques and fear tactics so I didn’t get noticed and diagnosed. This also made me enthralled to her because I needed her constant reinforcement to function “correctly”.
• E taught me to be constantly afraid for my health and of other people. I wasn’t to trust the government, the police, or any healthcare professionals. She even deliberately put rifts between me and friends/boyfriends. She did the same to R.
• I was on certain medications for years for no reason. She especially enjoyed giving suppositories. She forced me to take Advil all the time; the huge extra strength ones, and I’d cry and try to get away, screaming I don’t have a headache. And she forced it into my mouth and held my mouth and nose until I swallowed. I have severe anxiety taking medicine to this day.
• E told me I had asthma, underdeveloped lungs, chronic infections, tooth decay, and various autoimmune disorders. Anytime I got sick with a cold she told me I’d die. During H1N1 she told me I was definitely going to get it and die, so I spent most of that year in the hospital. She constantly took me to the dentist for various unnecessary procedures. I have no idea how it was allowed. By the time I was 19 none of my back teeth were intact, and when I moved and got my own dentist they were shocked and asked many questions. I told them I had soft teeth and I always had to get them fixed - to which they said tooth softness is a temporary state... I nearly fell over. I still don’t know how to process it. Because of all the intervention my teeth cause me a lot of issues to this day.
• Once I became an adult and moved out, E started to lose control of R and I. She became more and more sick herself, which caused R and I to run to her rescue. She was always having the craziest things happen to her. Heart attacks, severe infections, severe pain, injuries such as falls and deep cuts. For almost 5 years she was in the hospital every other week. During the height of Covid she told me the hospital put her in the Covid ward by accident and gave her Covid. I was enraged because myself, my partner, and my little sister had visited her, allegedly in the Covid ward. I was going to write a scathing letter to all the appropriate boards, and suddenly E turned tail and said “that’s not what happened”. It floored me. That same year I caught her in a heart attack lie, which made me remember the first one she had where no doctor could figure out what was wrong with her and I remember fighting with the doctor out of confusion and desperation asking why no one would help her… and I remember the pained look he gave me…
• I started putting the pieces together a few years before E died, and I just removed myself more and more, and the sicker she got, and the more crazy the situations. She starting sending relatives to reach me, and she’d tell them she was dying, so they would go to every effort to reach me - and not understand why I wouldn’t respond. She even convinced nurses and careaids to track me down. When that didn’t work, she started overdosing herself. Which was real, and scary. Unfortunately R got dragged in, and it broke her irreparably.
• Last May E overdosed and ended up in long-term care. She had a stroke and then lost control of her hands. She was so damaged by this point, and no one would take her on, so she was put in palative. She was there two weeks. Then she put a DNR in place. The next day was Friday, and sometime in the evening they suspect she had another stroke, right when no one was around, and she wasn’t found until a day later. They couldn’t do any tests because of the DNR or help her recover. The doctors never gave me a straight answer, and the whole thing wreaked of what I’ve been going thru these past years. E left us all the nastiest messages you’ve ever heard just before, and unfortunately my little sister listened to hers.
• My mom, R, died two month later of an overdose. I know E is at fault. She did this to us. I’ll never know what happened in those last few months they were together, I only have little bits and bobs of pure chaos - during which time R lost her house, all her belongings, and ended up on the street.
I really don’t know how one recovers from all of this. Not enough is known about this disorder and it’s victims. I’m in trauma therapy, but there’s too much, and no one can really know this form of evil unless they’ve experienced it. I’ve never put this all out there like is this, I dont know what to expect or what I hope to gain. Maybe just understanding. Thank you if you read it all.

Long read
I had this originally written under a previous post asking about potential health effects of Quetiapine in this sub. I thought it might be a little much to blow up on someone else’s question. So here is my (long ass) experience and current investigation underway with my rheumatologist in Boston who was an adjunct professor and graduate from Harvard with an expertise in pharmacokinetics.
This will be a dumbed down version the best I can explain as layman with a mere masters degree in physical therapy. While I have a strong grasp of the concepts and language, I may get verbiage or premises incorrect but I believe this will read mostly correct. If you’re a medical professional or chemist, feel free to correct me. Im no writer and I’m sure this will be evident by poor grammar and run on sentences but I did try to do a quick proofread. It’s Reddit though, so…whatever lol.
This is a super individualized account to my neurobiology. Much of it will read as though I’m trying to scare off anyone from ever taking this medication. If you get through it, you’ll see that my doctor’s theory mostly shows the opposite, and the safety profile is extremely good. The people at the highest risk of suffering my fate, that is if he is even correct because this is still just a theory(but well backed) are people in the large cohort of patients being prescribed Quetiapine off label for sleeplessness or “insomnia” as a primary diagnoses.(Spoiler: insomnia is not a real diagnosis, it’s a secondary symptom and why the manufacturer warns physicians against prescribing for sleep).
Seroquel destroyed my life. Prescribed by a “Noctor”(mid level nurse playing with shit she doesn’t know thinking she’s as smart as a doctor) an insane dose of 300mg a night for simple nighttime induced anxiety that messed with my sleep.
This was after suffering an issue where I was on the road and didn’t sleep at all for 4 days. I was really struggling and my employer paid for me to see one of the top psychiatrists on the planet that works specifically with people in my industry(entertainment). We happened to be coming up for a stop in Nashville(where she practiced) and they setup the appointment. I had 6 hours with her where she walked me through the fallacy of insomnia as a primary diagnosis, and that I needed to find the physical or psychological root cause. 90%+ of “insomnia” is just a secondary symptom of mild anxiety with a nighttime onset. That is what she diagnosed me with. Simple anxiety that was triggered at night because my career was so mentally vigorous and non stop that all anxiety was building up with no where to be expressed other than the only time my mind wasn’t occupied by work…laying in bed.
She sent my diagnosis back to my primary in New England and wrote me a script for 8mg of Xanax a month with instructions that I had 2x1mg doses per week to utilize as an emergency med but the goal would be through therapy and self moderation of work to utilize the medication as little as possible.
When I got home from my work trip the only appointment I could get was with the Noctor as my primary physician was booked out for almost 2 months. She looked at the diagnosis from a world class psychiatrist and inserted her own biases about Xanax use under any circumstance being extremely dangerous. Even as an emergency or rescue medication taken a couple times a month. So she choose to nuke my fucking brain with a high daily dose powerful antipsychotic for some night time anxiety.
For a year it was fine other than a little weight gain. Wasn’t too bad for me though because I worked 16+ hours a day on the road 9 months a year.
Then the nightmares started. Like insane, traumatic, horrifically vivid nightmares that would make Stephen king blush. I’ve seen every person and pet I’ve ever know or loved, including myself murdered gruesomely in the most gorey ways in realistic acts of violence, accidents, as well as supernatural monstrous hell fuel.
I’d wake up soaked, covered in sweat and my back and neck would be sore from my entire body being contorted and stiff in terrible positions whilst waking up completely hypertensive due to the vivid hellscape I just awoke from that was indistinguishable from reality.
I went back to her and begged her to change it because I was no longer feeling like I was sleeping. I was just going from one world to another and waking up feeling like I was just in a car accident. She told me it was the only thing she prescribes for sleep because everything else is addicting and dangerous. So I tried to tough it out but after a few more weeks couldn’t take it anymore. I got another appointment and told her I was done whether she liked it or not. I wasn’t getting any rest and I’d wake up in pain like I was hit by truck. She then essentially threatened me. She told me the only way to get off it was to see the psychiatrist at my practice and told me if I went anywhere else she would flag me as a drug seeker. The first date available with that psychiatrist…6 months. So I set an appointment as early as possible with my actual physician(nearly 2 month wait) and figured I’d start weening myself off and by the time I saw my doctor I would be fully off or mostly off.
About 2 days later(I hadn’t even reduced my first dose yet so I was still on 300mg) I was hospitalized. I woke up from my normal nighttime alternate universe of horror completely immobile from my armpits up. I wasn’t numb, but I woke up with my head kinked under my right arm and bent almost completely around. Any movement felt like my spine from my upper thoracic all the way through my cervical spine was going to snap. My wife had to call an ambulance because it was not loosening up like it normally would. While the paramedics tried to board me from my bed I went into shock from the pain and went unconscious.
I woke up in the hospital a few hours later where I learned the doctors had to pump some drug into me that essentially made all of my muscles go completely limp in order to move me out of the position because my muscles were so rigid they couldn’t untwist me. The ER doc said he had never seen anything like it outside of some extreme situations of rigor mortis when someone was found dead in an awkward position and the body locked into that position.
Even once released from that position I felt like I had a knife in my neck. The ER called into my primary physician to update them and they moved my appointment up. In the days that followed my neck only got worse. I couldn’t stand, sit or lay in the same position. I obviously stopped Seroquel immediately. I spent all day flat on my back crying with my wife encasing me in and changing ice packs every 15 minutes. I was ready to kill my self the pain was so bad.
When I saw my doctor a couple days later we were going over my records and I emphasized this was a direct result of the Seroquel that I begged to come off several times because of the side effects and I had learned that even the drug manufacturer didn’t approve of it being used off-label for sleep. She was shocked I was being prescribed 300mg for sleep. I asked her that if she was shocked, why would she approve it considering she was the supervising physician for the noctor that prescribed it to me? She showed me the offices internal notes and the noctor has diagnosed me with mania and disassociation.
Like, WTF!?
There was no record in the practices notes of the diagnoses and recommendations from the psychiatrist I saw in Nashville other than “patient saw a “pill doctor” out of state”, “says he has “anxiety”.
Reading through her notes it essentially accused me of psychosis and drug seeking because I saw a doctor out of state that prescribed me a medication she didn’t agree with.
On my doctor’s end in her oversight of her nurses prescribing she just saw that she was prescribing a patient Seroquel for manic episodes, which is a standard course of action. She agreed that this was a horrible misjudgment, viewed the physical copies of the notes I brought home from Nashville, and immediately changed me to that physicians plan of Xanax as an emergency/rescue med vs 300mg of Seroquel daily.
It was too late though. The pain in my neck never went away. I couldn’t move, I was completely bed bound. The pain in my neck felt like I was wide awake whilst someone dissected my cervical spine with a rusty box opener. They sent me to “interventional pain management” where they then did more non-fda approved “healthcare” by repetitively injecting corticosteroids into my spine.
It only got worse and worse. The pain began to spread from my cervical spine, down into my thoracic spine. I started losing feeling in my arm. Then it was neurological medications like gabapentinoids, muscle relaxers, high dose NSAIDs, tricyclic antidepressants, physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy etc…within 8 months that noctor was no longer employed at the office(I don’t officially know if it was from her destroying my life).
After about a year there was still no answers. I lost my job that I had busted my ass for over a decade climbing the industry ladder after getting and advanced degree, and was on the verge of losing my house because I was still completely bed bound 90% of the day.
My doctor out of desperation and lack of answers starts me on narcotic pain management. I had never once touched opioids outside of anesthesia inpatient surgeries related to sports injuries growing up. I was staunchly against the use of opioids outside of that setting. Other than some moderate cannabis use after college(when I was no longer being drug tested for the first time in 6 years) I was pretty brain washed by the drug war zealots. Now I’m a pariah. Both doctors and people in my social circles keep me at an arms length because people drank the koolaid and believe anyone taking an opioid must be a raging addict sucking dick for heroin.
I’ve managed to claw back and slow down the total collapse of my entire life because my pain is now controlled to about 60ish% by pain meds while I go doctor to doctor trying to figure this out. By working as a part time consultant in my industry I’m making just enough money to stop complete asset loss but I’m still eating into my retirement and investments. If it wasn’t for the fact that my wife makes a decent salary we’d already be homeless. Even then we’re hemorrhaging money and are likely going to have to sell our house. At 32 I was on track to retire by 50 and travel the world. Now at 37 I don’t know if I’ll be alive by this time at next year as the inflammation and connective tissue deterioration runs rampant.
Doctors absolutely hate and refuse to try and pin serious medical conditions on bad medical professionals or bad medication. I’ve been through every major “world famous” hospital system here in Boston and they’re willing to look for the answer everywhere accept where I’m telling them it started. Until a few months ago.
I hired a high profile private patient advocate. A woman who is a former internal medicine expert that was the lead in a department at Brigham with a PhD/MD from Harvard and her law degree from Cornell. She found me an expert here in Boston that is a rheumatologist who investigates pharmacokinetics. He produced several redacted papers by the patent holders on Seroquel that show them shutting down the research by a hired lab that found Tumor Necrosis Factor spikes in high doses of Seroquel administered to mice with normal neurological function. 3 other labs confirmed the research and wanted the medication held for retrial in humans.
TNF when not properly regulated by the immune system causes a cytokine storm attacking healthy tissue without the presence of disease/damaged tissue. This is the foundation of most autoimmune diseases.
Seroquel regulates various neurotransmission and endogenous processes in the brain when they are not at their normal levels. Even then the science isn’t perfect on it so often an SSRI is prescribed along side because SSRIs are better understood and it’s kind of a protection from the unknown actions of the Quetiapine(Seroquel).
If those neurotransmitters are functioning correctly and neurological function is fine, introducing something like Seroquel in high doses at constant intervals can be incredibly dangerous.
This is where the black box warnings and requests for bans from the manufacturer of seroquel about off label prescribing come from. They only reported redacted and halted research on TNF production increase associated with the drug because they only ever confirmed the research with mice.
This rheumatologist has essentially shown to me with pretty indisputable evidence that I’ve likely developed a severe medication induced autoimmune disease that is rapidly destroying the connective tissue in my spine and is now jumping to organs. It falls outside the diagnosis of any single autoimmune disease and can only really be classified as MAS(multiple autoimmune disease). Because the research papers are all heavily redacted and were never entered into peer review for final patenting and fda approval there is no case or action for me to bring.
Furthermore seroquel has a pretty high safety record because it’s statistically more normal to have an imbalance of the neurotransmitters that it regulates which means it’s rare to cause the reaction the research found with the mice. Most people have some form, even if mild, imbalance that most often goes without symptoms. But the manufacturers did know the consequences of introducing a high dosage of the compound to a perfectly balanced brain.
I fell into a perfect storm. My neurotransmission was such that a small dose of Seroquel daily likely wouldn’t have hurt me but it was as close to equilibrium that flooding it with a drug that regulates neurotransmission that I exhibited the same outcome as those mice forcing my immune system to drive up TNF production. There is a well known list of medications that can cause autoimmune diseases and the way the drug was patented and approved it escaped this labeling given the uncommon instances of the phenomenon.
I am now in the phase of trialing every biologic/TNF inhibitor known to man to try and get it under control before it completely disables me, or jumps to a vital organ and kills me.
This is still only a theory by an extremely educated expert in the field as autoimmune diseases and tumor necrosis factors are only recently in the last couple of decades becoming more understood. We got a more substantial confirmation that he is correct over the winter when I got my first case of Covid19. I rarely get sick. I am an extremely healthy person that exercises regularly(as much as possible through my pain now) as a former division 1 athlete and eats super clean and balanced. This was the first time since this began to see what my immune system did under duress.
My pain dropped by easily 50%. Meaning my immune system had something to do other than attack and inflame the healthy tissues in my joints and organs. While I felt like shit of course, my neurological pain dropped significantly. Within a week of recovering I had to increase my pain meds back to normal as everything became inflamed again.
The entire point of this rant is this: Seroquel is extremely dangerous…to a small population of people. This isn’t uncommon of most pharmaceuticals. It is a cautionary tale about the off label prescribing of this drug for sleep, and sleep only. DONT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN TO YOU.
If a psychiatrist, neurologist, or behavioral therapist has well documented diagnostics and evaluation that leads them to believe you have a significant neurological imbalance that leads to a true psychiatric diagnosis you will almost certainly be just fine with Quetiapine.
Unfortunately Seroquel is the most prescribed off-label sleep medication on the market. It needs to be stopped. The primary indication for Seroquel cannot be “insomnia”. The manufacturers tried to hide the pharmacokinetic reasons as to why, but they did black box it and request physicians not to prescribe it for such. Read the insert. Back, neck, and joint pain are all warnings to speak to your doctor immediately and this is why.

I’ve posted here quite a few times over the last few months. I’ll be 28 weeks pregnant tomorrow, I’m due the end of August. Throughout this pregnancy, I’ve had chronic neck and shoulder pain that’s only worsened over time and is so incredibly sensitive to any intervention. I’ve tried acupuncture, PT, site steriod injections. The only thing I’m able to do is manual traction. I purchased a traction device to do at home as well.
Here is my fear: I’m going on four months of going through this and I’ve noticed the muscle in my left arm has started to deteriorate and over the last couple of days a numbness to the touch in my collar bone. I have 3 months to go before I have the baby and everyone is afraid to touch the pregnant lady. At what point am I risking nerve damage or serious life long issues here. I have been struggling everyday with the anxiety and depression of this pain. Waiting for it to return each time, depressed that I’m living a life that doesn’t feel like my own. But I can try and get through with a goal. But I’m struggling to understand what’s going on with me. 😭
(History for context)
I had a bone tumor in 2018 in C6. It caused me a lot of pain and had to be removed. No issues since. Last April I had similar pain but I had co slept a lot with my son and nursed him for a long time. So poor posture and sleeping made me feel like I had a pinched nerve. Fast forward to this current pregnancy where I had gotten sick for 14 weeks 2-3 times a day and chronic pain followed. I went back to my spine surgeon thinking maybe my tumor returned, MRI revealed it didn’t, but that I had 2 cervical disc bulges. He seemed super like “it happens, and pregnancy can be strange” try PT and pain management. My pain became so unmanageable that I could only use heat and Tylenol and my inflammation blew up more. I’ve been brought down slightly where now I don’t use heat and only ice. But my changes have not been drastic. I then went to a neurologist recently (waited 1.5 months for this appointment) and when the doctor came in they accidentally made an appointment with neurologist for the elderly. He reviewed my MRI and said he didn’t think my nerves were compressed by the discs and that my pain was from my surgical wound and trapped nerves. I’m getting a second opinion because I don’t agree.

As the title says, I've been working full time in academia (nursing) for two years but, i've kept my job in hospital on part time (3 -5 shifts monthly). On fulltime I used to be one of the top nurses in our unit and was the units advisor on hardest cases. Since lowering my commitment in hospital I've been slowly feeling like I am lacking in my skill and am feeling like an imposter. Things that were on my daily basis now happen to me only a handful of times in a year, the interventions did change quite a bit as well and whenever they occur I do tend to forget minor details or doubt that I did everything correctly. My confidence in highly stressful life threatening situations is decreasing as I encounter them once or twice a year. Slowly, returning back to hospital from my university job even if I work only three times a month is becoming stressful and I feel like I am not good enough to be teaching in university as I fail in such small things. I've considered quitting hospital work entirely but A) I dont want to be the kind of out of touch teacher who doesnt know what the job currently includes (especially in medical and non-medical field where guidelines and job changes rapidly) and B) the salary in academia without second job wouldnt even cover basic bills. Increasing my commitment to hospital wont do either as I am halfway through my PhD and still want to have some time for my family (not like I have much of it already).
Is there anyone who also works in the field that they teach in and have similar experiences? How do you deal with that?

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Update: I'm alive and was at my lowest moment last night. I didn't think people would care but yesterday it was death or family ends up homeless and I'm dead anyways and I'm not saying that in a suicidal way. I don't need intervention because that will affect my kids more than me dying. I'm very sick. I've been through other things and have so many health issues and felt like my life wasn't worth $1k. I'm not looking for religion because only thing that comforts me is knowing my family has a roof over their head. I looked at payouts from my retirement funds and financially my family is better without me. I know this for a fact.
As for the fact that conversation about suicide shouldn't be here, I disagree. This helped me and suicide is just one of many feelings we have because of HS so I consider it a symptom of the disease. If we can't talk about that here, then we're ignoring what this disease does on our psychology. I had this discussion with my home health nurse today because he was telling me what to do immediately if I get dropped by the wound clinic. Lots of good information here but none of it is relevant to me. As for donations, I appreciate it but I rather figure this out on my own. If I don't get this car by Monday, I'll get an infection without proper care and it'll kill me. That's how bad my wound is. I've also had social services try to help me but there's nothing they can do at all. Money or transportation. I just want to be left alone. Chalk this up to my autism and uncontrollable emotions.
Original Post: This is my final post. This disease has ruined me. Been disabled for years. My wife and and I are rebounding from being homeless because I was too sick to work for two years and was fighting for disability at the time. I'll never return back to work but have nearly half of a million in ESOP in waiting for distributions. This is where things get fucked up.
My wife who does a ton of traveling for work needs her car. Her boss won't let her miss any more time from work. I used up all the transportation benefits I have. I live in a very rural part of NC and I tried pleading with the wound clinic nurse for every other week as I can't afford transportation. Then this past Wednesday, the wound nurse flipped out on me and threatened to kick me as a patient for non compliance because she says I need to be in there every week. The wound clinic is 30 minutes away and the next one is an hour away.
So I have to get a car by Monday. Being on disability and just getting back on my feet from when I was homeless, so my credit is shot.
I tried getting financed but I have to put $2k and I already borrowed $1k just to get into a car I can pay off with my ESOP check coming soon because the nurse at the wound clinic can't wait. Can't get the additional $1k for a down payment, so I'll have to call Monday and cancel my appointment which will make me non compliant.
I'm on antibiotics for life. Every time I've been off of them for a couple of days, I get covered in boils from head to toe. My triggers are stress and hormones. So I can't adjust for my triggers.
So I feel like I'm being placed in my death bed so why not slit my wrists or eat all the bottles of my medication. Rather make it quick than long and painful.
So because I can't get transportation or $1k, I'm just going to suffer. The visiting nurses will most likely stop treating me.
I'm nothing but a burden on my family. I've tried everything. Several doctors and nurses... even social workers tried but I'm in bum fuck, far away from everything.
I hope all of you have a much better time with this disease. It totally sucks and it totally beat me tonight.

I’m feeling so defeated. My 7 month old has been biting me now for a few months. At first with her gums and now she has her two bottom teeth as of a month ago. I’m assuming it is from teething. I’ve noticed she also does it when she may not want milk anymore or when the let down isn’t quick enough after she latches and she gets annoyed. From the constant biting I’ve now become really anxious every single time she nurses. Even more so since she got her two bottom teeth. I just don’t feel like I can trust her anymore and sometimes it is random. I’m just always on edge and it’s making me feel really defeated. Her top two teeth are also coming so it’s going to get worse when she bites. I also try to pull her in but my initial reaction is to pull away. I just can’t help it. I’m sure it doesn’t help the situation.
Quick back story - she had 2 cheek ties, a tongue tie and an upper lip tie when she was born. The first two months of her life I had to wear a nipple shield and not to go into much detail but I have trauma with her whole feeding issues from the beginning and would do anything not to use a shield again. She couldn’t latch onto a bottle before the ties were released and still can’t get a proper seal after. The ties getting released allowed her to nurse without the nipple shield and now we don’t have any problems with milk removal.
Back to present - what options do I have here? I can’t pump and give a bottle and really really don’t wanna do a shield again. I don’t have any nipple damage but she got me good a few times increasing my anxiety now. Bc of the stress and anxiety I feel like I notice a drop in my supply and also it takes me so long to have a let down and sometimes can’t. That makes my daughter even more annoyed. I just feel so defeated. If I could just give her a bottle I would be exclusively pumping at this point. That’s how much I’m not enjoying this anymore and I feel like I fought so hard to be able to breastfeed her in the beginning without intervention. I’ve worked with a lactation consultant for months because of our beginning struggles and since then lost medical insurance and cannot afford to pay out of pocket right now. Thanks for reading if you made it to the end.

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Hey future nurses! Fellow student here, in the thick of prepping for the NCLEX-RN. Let me tell you, it's intense! But fear not, because I've been there, stressed, eyes glued to flashcards, and I'm here to share my NCLEX prep journey so far.
My Study Arsenal:

• Textbooks & Notes: Obviously, these are ground zero. I condense lectures into clear, concise notes and revisit key chapters regularly.
• NCLEX Review Book: My lifeline! This bad boy is packed with practice questions, rationales, and strategies to decode those tricky NCLEX questions. I do a chapter a day, making sure I understand the "why" behind each answer.
• Flashcards: Flashcards are my on-the-go study buddies. Crammed with key terms, meds, and nursing interventions, they're perfect for those stolen moments between classes or during commutes.
• Online Resources: There's a goldmine of NCLEX prep resources online! I use question banks to simulate the exam format and find free lectures and video tutorials super helpful for complex topics.

My Battle Tactics:

• Schedule is Key: I built a study schedule that dedicates specific times to each subject. It keeps me focused and prevents last-minute cramming (well, most of the time!).
• Active Recall is King: Passive reading doesn't cut it. I actively recall information through practice questions, explaining concepts to myself out loud, and even teaching my non-medical significant other (bless their confused heart!).
• Find Your Focus Zone: Goodbye distractions! I find a quiet study space, silence my phone notifications, and put on some focus music to maximize my learning.
• Self-Care is Crucial: NCLEX prep can be a marathon, not a sprint. I prioritize healthy sleep, exercise, and breaks to avoid burnout. A burnt-out brain is not an NCLEX-conquering brain!

Bonus Tip: Form a study group! Bouncing ideas off classmates and explaining concepts to each other is a fantastic way to solidify your knowledge.
Remember, future nurses, we're all in this together! With the right strategy and a whole lot of dedication, we'll conquer the NCLEX and join the amazing world of nursing. Good luck, and see you on the other side!

Hey dear community,
28M
I’ve been dealing with the aforementioned symptoms already 2 years and 3 months. I wonder whether all of them can be caused by Covid infection alone.
I’ve had the virus for at least 3 times that I can attest to. Haven’t been jabbed and have a congenital autoimmune condition since the age of 4.
My sleep is terrible even when I implemented a seroquel 50mg and remeron 15mg (I’m a nurse by background).
I wake up worse than when I go to sleep, I feel extremely tired at times and mentally fatigued & drained. I also have a drunk like feeling sometimes, due to inability to sleep restfully.
I haven’t had a sleep study test yet, neither have I had any meaningful tests but I might give that a shot next month on a visit to Türkiye since the country I reside in (uk) is useless for anything sleep related.
Has anyone been dealing with a similar demon for so long and any strategies to combat this issue. It honestly feels my body is hyperactive/on high alert almost every second of the day and night, no matter how tired I am. I can be wiped out and yet have the impulsivity to walk/do strenuous exercise. It’s like my sympathetic nervous system is permanently activated and I don’t know the deactivation mechanism.
Brain fog is also debilitating and at times I struggle to understand simple conversations which in itself terrifies me. Life feels like constantly being in a haze like state.
If anyone’s dealing with similar issues or wishes to give an input, am all eyes and ears.

I just graduated a bit late in life with a degree in social work and have always held jobs/internships in mental health, crisis intervention, family violence/IPV, and case management, and before that, mostly service industry jobs. I’ve never held a corporate or sales/profit oriented job and I never intend to. In school you always run into people studying for a specific job—nurse, doctor, accountant, lawyer, social worker, therapist, engineer, chef, teacher, chemist, business executive, investment banker, programmer, etc. But I know that’s not the majority of office jobs. The people who have distinct professions like that will usually have degrees or training specifically for that field and will usually tell you that’s what they do if asked.
For the people who when you ask what they do and they say they’re “in corporate”, “in insurance/healthcare/logistics”, or that they work at the [corporation] building, and don’t tell you a specific profession or job, what do they/y’all do for work? And if it’s a job that doesn’t have a specific degree/major associated with it or is unrelated to your major, how’d you decide that’s what you wanted to do? Every day I see hundreds of people in suits, dresses, loafers, and heels dump out of nameless office buildings downtown, carrying bags with the names of corporations I’ve never heard of. They can’t all be bankers, lawyers, salespeople, and execs. What do you all do?

DAY: MAY 29 2024
5-29-2024

NOT A GYM RAT? HERE’S HOW TO GET STARTED ON AN OUTDOOR EXERCISE ROUTINE

Between the sweat smell, fluorescent lights and omnipresent television screens, April Herring has never connected with going to the gym. Instead, she runs, bikes, hikes, plays tennis, pickleball and football—anything to get her exercise outside as often as possible. “Fresh air, sunshine, the variety of the trees as the seasons change,” said Herring, an administrator at Carroll Community College in North Maryland. “There’s something about the energetic healing
5-29-2024

TOO MUCH EXERCISE COULD ACTUALLY TRIGGER A HOT FLASH

Hot flashes affect roughly 80% of women during the years around menopause. Despite how common they are and how much research has been conducted relative to what causes them, much remains unknown. A new study suggests that acute changes in physical activity, temperature, and humidity may play a role in the hot flash experience. Results of the survey are published online today in the journal Menopause. As one of the most frequently experienced menopause symptoms, hot flashes are sudden heat dissipation events that often involve an increase in heat transfer
5-29-2024

ADEQUATE SLEEP IMPORTANT FOR YOUR HEART HEALTH, SAYS PHYSICIAN

Does how much you sleep affect your heart? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults who sleep fewer than seven hours each night are more likely to experience health problems. Dr. Juan Cardenas Rosales, an internal medicine physician at Mayo Clinic, stresses that adequate sleep is crucial for your overall well-being, including your heart health. Getting a good night’s sleep can give you the energy to jump-start your day and your health. “Sleeping is very important to try to prevent other chronic
5-29-2024

STUDY SHOWS DISRUPTED SLEEP INCREASES RISK FOR SUICIDE AND HOMICIDE

An analysis by researchers in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine—Tucson showed that risks for death by suicide and homicide peak at night, with nocturnal wakefulness, age, alcohol use and relationship conflicts being especially prevalent as contributing factors. Nearly 19% of suicides and 36% of homicides occur at night. Suicide and homicide share little in common, but their highly concordant overnight risk patterns suggest a common feature: nocturnal wakefulness. “Disrupted sleep may acutely impair rational thought, which can drive impulsive behaviors in vulnerable individuals,”
5-29-2024

RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY THE INITIAL STEPS IN COLORECTAL CANCER FORMATION

Research provides new evidence that most colorectal cancers begin with the loss of intestinal stem cells, even before cancer-causing genetic alterations appear. The results, published on May 29 in Developmental Cell, overturn the prevailing theory for colorectal
5-29-2024

CAN PSYCHEDELICS HELP STUTTERERS?

Synesthesia, hallucinations, euphoria. The documented effects of classic psychedelic substances such as psilocybin (magic mushrooms) or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are vast. With their usage common and their effects profound, a team of speech and psychology researchers explored the impact of psychedelics on people who stutter, finding evidence that users see some benefits. “Given the positive effects of psychedelics on conditions like anxiety and PTSD, which share symptoms with stuttering, we think that investigating the potential impact of psychedelics on stuttering can be a fruitful area of research,” says lead
5-29-2024

SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND DOOMSCROLLING? THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE FOMO

For as long as we have used the internet to communicate and connect with each other, it has influenced how we think, feel and behave. During the COVID pandemic, many of us were “cut off” from our social worlds through restrictions, lockdowns and mandates. Understandably, many of us tried to find ways to connect online. Now, as pandemic restrictions have lifted, some of the ways we use the internet have become concerning. Part of what drives problematic internet use may be something most of us
5-29-2024

TIPS FOR PROTECTING BABIES FROM HARMFUL UV RAYS

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., and it only takes one blistering sunburn during childhood or adolescence to nearly double a person’s chance of developing melanoma later in life, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association. Since babies are much more prone to sunburn than older kids, it’s especially important to protect them from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month.
5-29-2024

AUTHORITIES URGE PROPER COOKING OF WILD GAME AFTER 6 RELATIVES FALL ILL FROM PARASITE IN BEAR MEAT

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reaffirmed the importance of properly cooking wild game after six people became sick from a parasite traced to undercooked bear meat that was served at a family reunion in South Dakota. The six—one in South Dakota, four in Minnesota and one in Arizona—became infected when bear meat that was served rare turned out to be contaminated with roundworms that cause trichinellosis, also known as trichinosis. Two of the people ate only the vegetables that were grilled with
5-29-2024

FIGHT AGAINST OBESITY GOES FAR BEYOND INDIVIDUAL STRUGGLE TO CHANGE LIFESTYLE, SCIENTISTS SAY

Overweight and obesity rates are rising worldwide, with several Latin American countries in the forefront. Estimates for 2020 pointed to a global obesity rate of 14%, and experts predicted 24% by 2035, including both adults and children. “Nutritional and pharmacological strategies are important to mitigate the problem, but is this enough? We know socioeconomic and environmental factors influence the occurrence
5-29-2024

POTENTIAL THERAPY FOR ADDICTION, DEPRESSION AND OCD

A model image of the targeted deep brain zone, the striatum, a key player in reward and reinforcement mechanisms. Neurological disorders, such as addiction, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), affect millions of people worldwide and are often characterized by complex pathologies involving multiple brain regions and circuits. These conditions are notoriously difficult to treat due to the intricate and poorly understood nature of brain functions and the challenge of delivering therapies to deep brain structures without invasive procedures. In the rapidly evolving field of neuroscience, non-invasive brain stimulation
5-29-2024

STUDY FINDS HEART HEALTHY BEHAVIORS MAY HELP REVERSE RAPID CELL AGING

The benefit of better heart health may be associated with the positive impact of heart healthy lifestyle factors on biological aging (the age of the body and its cells), according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “Our study findings tell us that no matter what your actual age is, better heart-healthy behaviors and managing heart disease risk factors were associated with a younger biological age and a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, death from heart disease and stroke and death from any cause,”
5-29-2024

COMBO THERAPY BOOSTS SURVIVAL FOR ADVANCED COLON CANCER

People battling advanced colon cancers might have a new treatment option that could extend their survival, a new trial finds. The findings were present the at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, and should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. A combination of two experimental immunotherapy drugs plus standard chemotherapy led to a median 19.7 month survival for patients, compared to the median 9.5 months observed among folks who only got a targeted therapy called regorafenib. “These results pave the way
5-29-2024

TICKS AND THE DISEASES THEY CARRY

In many regions of the U.S. and the world, enjoying the great outdoors comes with a hidden risk: ticks and the diseases they carry. Ticks can carry pathogens like Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii, which can cause Lyme disease in humans. Lyme disease is the most common tickborne illness, but there are also dozens of other diseases that ticks can transmit to humans. Dr. Bobbi Pritt, director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, says reported cases of tickborne infections are on the rise, and she offers practical tips
5-29-2024

HIGH PRICE OF POPULAR DIABETES DRUGS DEPRIVES LOW-INCOME PEOPLE OF EFFECTIVE TREATMENT

For the past year and a half, Tandra Cooper Harris and her husband, Marcus, who both have diabetes, have struggled to fill their prescriptions for the medications they need to control their blood sugar. Without Ozempic or a similar drug, Cooper Harris suffers blackouts, becomes too tired to watch her grandchildren, and struggles to earn extra money braiding hair. Marcus Harris, who works as a Waffle House cook, needs Trulicity to keep his legs and feet from swelling and bruising. The couple’s doctor has tried prescribing similar drugs, which mimic
5-29-2024

BREAST CANCER SURGEON RUNS A FARM WHERE THE ONLY CROP IS WELLNESS

Monique Gary, a breast cancer surgeon, is a self-described “Philly girl” who was born in Jefferson Einstein hospital and graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls. Four years ago, she left city life and bought a 40-acre farm in Upper Bucks County, where she runs free, daylong retreats for cancer patients and offers nature walks, aromatherapy, juicing and cooking demonstrations, gardening, and yoga by her fish pond. The farm’s only crop is wellness. “I’m a busy surgeon and when I moved here, I didn’t have any crops, but I knew
5-29-2024

SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY KEY PROTEIN THAT PRESERVES MOTOR ABILITY DURING AGING

scientists show that age-related decline in motor ability can be countered in fruit flies by enhancing the expression of the protein Trio, suggesting potential treatments for age-related movement decline. As we age, we suffer a noticeable decline in motor ability, which affects our quality of life and independence. This can be traced to changes occurring at neuromuscular junctions, the critical points where nerve cells communicate with muscles. The deterioration of motor ability is closely linked to the degeneration of
5-29-2024

LOCAL DISPARITIES MAY PREVENT NATIONAL VACCINATION EFFORTS FOR RUBELLA

When public health officials make policies about when and how vaccination programs are implemented, they must weigh the benefits and risks of how infectious diseases spread throughout the country. However, these analyses are often based on national-level data and, in some countries, may overlook nuances at the local level. A new analysis by an international team, including Penn State researchers, revealed that the resulting recommendations may keep some countries from realizing the benefits of vaccination and globally eradicating diseases, such as rubella—a contagious viral infection that causes mild symptoms in
5-29-2024

INTERMITTENT FASTING SHOWS PROMISE IN IMPROVING GUT HEALTH, WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

The human gut contains trillions of bacterial and other microbes collectively known as the gut microbiome. New research explores how these diverse microorganisms help manage weight. ASU researchers explore the effects of an intermittent fasting diet combined with protein pacing on body weight and overall health. Credit: The Biodesign institute at Arizona State University A new study by researchers from Arizona State University and their colleagues highlights a dietary strategy for significant health improvement and weight management. Participants following an intermittent fasting and protein-pacing regimen, which involves evenly spaced protein
5-29-2024

A NEW PATH FOR CANCER THERAPY

Tumor cells often hijack normal physiological processes to support their growth, exploiting proteins that are in charge of essential cell functions. It is therefore important to block the activity of these proteins only in cancer cells without affecting their crucial roles in healthy tissues. For this reason, classical approaches using small molecules that induce systemic inhibition across all cells in the body can lead to severe side effects. An example of essential proteins hijacked by cancer cells are the cathepsins, a family of
5-29-2024

DO EPILEPSY MEDICATIONS TAKEN DURING PREGNANCY AFFECT A CHILD’S CREATIVITY?

While older drugs for epilepsy, taken while pregnant, have been shown in previous research to affect the creative thinking of children, a new study finds no effects on creativity for children born to those taking newer epilepsy drugs. This study is published in Neurology. Overall, the study found no effects on the children’s creative abilities or their executive function, which is a person’s ability to plan, focus, and manage multiple tasks. However, when researchers looked only at children with higher concentrations of these medications in the mother’s blood during the
5-29-2024

WHY USING DATING APPS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH MESSAGING IS AN ETHICAL DILEMMA

Dating apps are not just about finding love or hooking up. They’re becoming increasingly important in the communication of public health messaging, particularly sexual health. In 2023, Harvard Public Health magazine suggested that dating apps could “become a key component in [sexually infectious diseases] prevention.” And their prediction seems to be spot on. Grindr, a dating app popular among men who have sex with men, for example, has recently partnered with MPOWER in Ireland and The Love Tank in London to allow users to order HIV test kits through the
5-29-2024

HOW EXTREME HEAT CAN AFFECT MENTAL ILLNESSES

During heat waves, hospital admissions for mental health spike. The past 10 years were the hottest on record, and as we prepare for another scorcher of a summer, it’s time to take steps to increase our preparedness for extreme heat. The potential for heat stress, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are well known hazards of extreme heat. Yet, physical health is not the only factor to consider under extreme heat; mental health can also suffer. Many people can relate to the sleepless nights during hot summer months, as well as
5-29-2024

FROM HEALTH TO SPORTS—EARS CAN SAY A LOT ABOUT YOU

An ear is like an iceberg—much of it is out of sight. The only visible part is the auricle—the seashell shaped structure made of bendy cartilage, covered in skin. Its main role is to act as a trumpet, filtering and funneling sound waves down into the middle, then the inner ear, where they are converted into our sense of hearing. A medical ear examination usually involves an inspection of the canal, using an instrument called an otoscope. This is usually to investigate more common ear conditions—an infection, or a clog
5-29-2024

HOW TO KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO QUIT THERAPY

Therapy is great. It gives you the space, time and resources to handle the most difficult challenges of life. Therapy can be especially helpful in the often-confusing life period of your 20s and 30s, when so much is changing and many of your peers have wildly different lifestyles. The aim is to help you discover the thoughts, emotions and behavior that are negatively affecting you, determine where these come from, and develop strategies to change them. But then, how do you know when it is the right time to quit
5-29-2024

STUDY FINDS THAT MEMORY COMPLAINTS CAN PREDICT BIOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN

A new study adds further evidence that when a patient or family member notices signs of persistent memory loss, it’s important to speak with a doctor. While there are many reasons why someone’s memory may change, researchers from Mass General Brigham who are studying patients prior to diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease found changes in the brain when patients and their study partners—those who could answer questions about their daily cognitive function—reported a decline in cognition. Using imaging, the researchers found reports of cognitive decline were associated with accumulation of tau
5-29-2024

BLOOD FLOW MAKES WAVES ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE MOUSE BRAIN

Researchers have, for the first time, visualized the full network of blood vessels across the cortex of awake mice, finding that blood vessels rhythmically expand and contract, leading to “waves” washing across the surface of the brain. These findings improve the understanding of how the brain receives blood, though the function of the waves remains a mystery. The work is published in the journal Neuron. A network of elastic and actively pumping vessels carrying oxygenated blood span the surface of the brain before entering the
5-29-2024

RESEARCH REVEALS WHAT WE SEE ONLINE AFFECTS US MORE THAN LENGTH OF EXPOSURE

It is what we are looking at, rather than how much time we are spending our time online that influences our health and well-being, according to a major new report. The study, published in the journal World Psychiatry, is a comprehensive examination of the latest scientific evidence on screen time and mental health, carried out by an international research team. The authors emphasize the importance of taking an individualized and multi-dimensional approach to how the Internet affects mental health, cognition and social functioning. Content that may be relatively harmless to
5-29-2024

LIFELONG COGNITIVE RESERVE HELPS MAINTAIN LATE-LIFE COGNITIVE HEALTH, 15-YEAR FOLLOW-UP STUDY SUGGESTS

The brain’s flexibility and ability to cope with loss of neurons or other lesions in the brain is called cognitive reserve. In a 15-year follow-up study, researchers at the division of Aging Research Center (ARC), Karolinska Institutet, suggest that lifelong cognitive reserve helps maintain late-life cognitive health by delaying cognitive transition in the preclinical stages of dementia. The results of their findings were recently published in Alzheimers & Dementia. “We found evidence that lifelong greater cognitive reserve was linked with reduced risks of late-life transitions from normal cognition to mild
5-29-2024

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE WITH PELVIC PAIN

Pelvic health is crucial to a woman’s overall well-being but is often misunderstood or overlooked. When symptoms such as urinary incontinence, pain or discomfort, or pain during intercourse occur, they are dismissed as a byproduct of pregnancy and childbirth or just something that comes with age like arthritis. But those symptoms can have a profound effect on a woman’s physical, emotional and social well-being and can lead to more serious complications if untreated. One of the most common conditions is pelvic organ prolapse. This condition occurs when the muscles, ligaments
5-29-2024

RESEARCHERS DEVELOP MICRONEEDLE PATCH THAT CAN DETECT SKIN CANCER EARLY

Researchers have developed a new method for detecting malignant melanoma. A new type of patch equipped with microneedles can identify the biomarker tyrosinase directly in the skin, according to a study published in Advanced Materials. The patch is equipped with microneedles that can detect tyrosinase, an enzyme that is an important biomarker for malignant melanoma. By measuring the enzyme’s
5-29-2024

MORE OUT-OF-STATE PATIENTS SEEK ABORTIONS IN WASHINGTON STATE

Changes in Weekly Number of Abortions and Out-of-State Patients Before and After the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision, January 1, 2017, to July 31, 2023. Vertical orange line indicates the Supreme Court Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision (June 24, 2022). The blue line indicates deseasonalized trends, the black line indicates estimated seasonality, the dotted line indicates the counterfactual, and the dots indicate the outcome (eg, weekly number of abortions).
5-29-2024

GAPS BY RACE, ETHNICITY EXIST IN HEALTH CARE QUALITY UNDER TRADITIONAL MEDICARE, MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS

Medicare Advantage (MA) is an increasingly popular source of Medicare coverage for all recipients, including individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups. Certain managed care strategies used in MA—such as prior authorization, gatekeeping for access to certain services or specialists, and narrow provider networks—may pose challenges in accessing care. This means the quality of MA-funded care for minority groups has critical health equity implications. A new study published in Health Affairs and led by Professor Jeah Jung found that MA plans do not equally improve the quality of care across
5-29-2024

STUDY SHOWS MORE THAN JUST SOCIAL MEDIA USE MAY BE CAUSING DEPRESSION IN YOUNG ADULTS

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of depression in adolescents and young adults—and a simultaneous uptick in the inclusion of technology and social media in everyday life. However, it is unclear how exactly social media use and depression are associated and relate to other behaviors, such as physical activity, green space exposure, cannabis use and eveningness (the tendency to stay up late). In a study published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, a team of researchers, led by experts
5-29-2024

MATTERING MUST BE CENTRAL IN YOUTH SUICIDE PREVENTION, SAYS STUDY

Youth suicide is a growing concern in Canada, the U.S., and around the world, with some research suggesting this might be linked with excessive social media use in vulnerable teens. With Mental Health Awareness Month closing out this week, York University Psychology Professor Gordon Flett says he was motivated by a growing sense of alarm and frustration when undertaking a review of studies on mattering and youth suicide for his latest research, which appears in Child Protection and Practice. Mattering is feeling significant in the eyes of other people, which
5-29-2024

HEARING STUDY REVEALS PREVALENCE OF TINNITUS

About 78% of participants in the Apple Hearing Study, conducted by the University of Michigan, have experienced tinnitus—the perception of sound that others do not hear. That is just one of the findings that U-M researchers and Apple shared today from the Apple Hearing Study, one of the largest surveys on tinnitus to understand the effects of
5-29-2024

RESEARCHER CALLS FOR MORE RESOURCES TO BRING REGULAR MAMMOGRAMS TO RURAL TEXANS

women who live in rural Texas, particularly those of a minority background, were less likely to get routine mammograms when compared to their urban counter parts. The findings are published in the journal Geriatric Nursing. Using Texas Medicare data, the
5-29-2024

TO SOLVE THE NURSING SHORTAGE, RESEARCHER PROPOSES GOVERNMENT FUNDING FIX

Health economist Olga Yakusheva, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, believes that current government reimbursement models incentivize hospitals to cut nursing jobs to save money. Yakusheva, an expert on the economic value of nursing, and Robert Longyear, co-founder and CEO of Avenue Health, present a new hospital funding model they believe could help solve the nurse staffing problem and improve patient care. Yakusheva discusses their research, which appears in an article in the journal Health Affairs. Since COVID, we’ve seen a lot of media coverage about
5-29-2024

IMPROVING CELL THERAPY BY CREATING T-CELL ‘SUPER SOLDIERS’

A new proof-of-concept study by researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) shows that changing only a single letter in the DNA code of selected genes in T cells may lead to improved cell therapy. The researchers, led by Benjamin Izar, a member of the HICCC, used novel CRISPR-dependent base editing to “supercharge” cell therapies, making them potentially more effective for more patients. Cell therapies work by re-engineering a
5-29-2024

ULTRASOUND LOCALIZATION MICROSCOPY: BUBBLES REVEAL TINY VESSELS

To the trained eyes of a doctor, the gray-white shapes and textures of an ultrasound image reveal more than to the layperson. But the tiniest vascular structures have remained elusive—until now. The team from the Department of Medical Engineering at Ruhr University Bochum headed by Professor Georg Schmitz is perfecting ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM). By deploying a commercially available contrast agent with microbubbles and performing a number of calculation steps, it’s now possible, for example, to image the vascular structure of a mouse kidney in minute detail, as well as
5-29-2024

NOVEL DEVICE COULD ALLOW EARLY DETECTION OF DEADLY CONDITION

Each year, at least 1.7 million adults in the United States and millions more worldwide develop sepsis, a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body’s immune system has an extreme response to an infection. The condition, which can be difficult to detect and treat, rapidly damages tissues and vital organs and is one of the leading causes of death in hospitals. To help doctors spot when the condition may be developing, one medical technology company, Opticyte, has developed a novel, noninvasive device that can send out alerts when
5-29-2024

INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS REACH CONSENSUS ON THE LABELING OF SPATIAL NEGLECT

A consensus has been achieved by an international team of rehabilitation researchers and clinicians on the standardized labeling of spatial neglect, a common disorder following neurological injury, which is characterized by a lack of awareness or response to objects or stimuli on the side opposite a brain lesion. The panel reached a 75% consensus to adopt “spatial neglect” as the standard term for the disorder. The consensus paper, titled “An International and Multidisciplinary Consensus on the Labeling of Spatial Neglect Using a Modified Delphi Method,” was published open access on
5-29-2024

RESEARCHERS USE AI, SOCIAL MEDIA TO IDENTIFY HEALTH CONCERNS OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV AND AIDS

Machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and social media are providing researchers with the opportunity to analyze valuable information about social issues in relation to health and mental health, particularly in relation to topics people may be reluctant to discuss in other settings, according to Richard Lomotey, associate professor of information technology at Penn State Beaver. Lomotey, along with researchers from Penn State, the University of Saskatchewan

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Good evening Reddit,
This is my first post ever, and also the reason I made this profile to begin with. I’m a 33F, but this happened back when I was 24.
I’m a nurse by profession. At the time, I was working at an outpatient facility. I was stuck on strictly night shift at the time, and to this day I still get antsy during the night shift.
For those that may not know, outpatient facilities are used for patients that are recovering from surgery. On a typical night, we would have one or two. It was rare that we had any more than that. I don’t remember how many we had on this night, but it was somewhere along those lines. During the night there were a few things I was required to do, and would act upon request if needed, but me and the Med tech were usually in the nurses break room, which was right next to our desk. Watching TV or playing on our phones.
We also had a security guard. It was an unarmed guard position, which I still have my issues with, and they did less than we did. Our full time guard was a man who at the time was pushing 70. Don’t get me wrong, he was the biggest sweetheart in the world, but if push ever came to shove, I don’t know how effective he would have been in the state of a crisis. Our other guard was a part timer. He only worked two to three shifts every couple of weeks. My brother used to joke that he was a professional NPC because he worked several different jobs to make ends meet. At the time he was 28, and the nursing staff tended to favor him because he actually did his job properly.
One reservation I did have about him was that he wasn’t always in the security office. He actually conducted his checks, and would do a few checks at an adjoining facility, so he wasn’t always at his desk. We didn’t always need him, but it was nice to have him there in case we needed to go outside. This was one of the nights that he was working, and this was the circumstance.
So this isn’t great for a nurse to say, but I used to go out a few times a night to have a sneaky cigarette. I’ve quit smoking since, but at the time I would probably leave between 4-6 times a night to smoke near my car.
It was around midnight, give or take. I was posted up against my car smoking, when these two guys started walking through the parking lot. Trespassing was a big no no, but he parking lot was a shortcut to a local motel (which is a creepy encounter all on its own), and security usually wouldn’t get involved if people were just quickly passing through.
The two guys spotted me and called out to me. I didn’t respond, which seemed to be an invitation for them to approach. I know I should have just tossed the cigarette and went back inside, but 24 year old me ignored that common sense.
Both of the guys were probably in their mid-twenties. Nothing off looking about them. Aside from the way that they were talking, and the fact that they were going to the motel, they probably wouldn’t have stood out in a crowd to me.
One of them asked me for a cigarette. I said that I left my pack inside and I couldn’t help them. He then started asking me questions about my job, where I was from, and how old I was. I didn’t take the bait on any of these questions.
I told them I had to get back inside. One of them stood sort of in my way, and the other asked if he could have my number. I said no. The thing that took me overboard was one of them had moved my jacket to see my name tag, and put his face really close to it to read my “name”. It was obvious he was just trying to look at my boobs. That was the line for me and I pushed past them and foolishly went to the front door that my key card didn’t open. So I had literally cornered myself between the the door and these two random guys.
I had to find a way around them to get to the side door that I exited from, but judging by their body language, that wasn’t going to go my way.
Thankfully I was greeted with a familiar voice. Our friendly neighborhood security guard was apparently checking the other facility and managed to show up in time before I had to either run or plead.
One of the guys got smart with him, but after an intense staring contest, he backed down, and the two left. I did enjoy the look on his face when he realized that he was actually dealing with someone who could probably cause him serious harm.
I remember giving him a hug and thanking him. I started looking forward to his shifts. He made us all feel a lot safer. After that he and I would converse, and he would walk outside with me if I wanted to smoke, and we would occasionally split a pizza or something during our shifts that coincided.
I know it isn’t an incredibly conventional story about the man that would become your husband three years later and give you two beautiful little girls, but it’s a story that reminds me that he’s always had my back.
To this day I don’t know what these two guys’ intentions were, and as much as I’d love to believe they wouldn’t have tried anything in plain view of security cameras, being a nurse has taught me that people frequently don’t think with their heads sometimes.
I’m just grateful that divine intervention sent someone in the way of that, and gave me the best guy in the world.
Didn’t mean to turn sappy. Stay safe everyone.

Roughly 9 years ago, I fell off of a horse (mid-run) and dislocated my right arm. Shortly after the fall, I was able to get my arm back in and confirmed placement via x-ray.
After this specific fall, I have intermittently dislocated my arm over the years. Slip-N-slide kickball, swimming, wake-surfing, working out, throwing a football, etc. It would hurt some with each dislocation, but my friends were able to put it back in with ease- for the most part. Two and a half years ago, I ended up in the ED bc we weren’t able to get my arm back in. I had an x-Ray and MRI done, showing a complete labrum tear and Hill Sach’s deformity. I met with an orthopedic surgeon, but opted for PT, strength-training, and chiropractic interventions instead. I wasn’t financially ready to have this surgery and had just started my new job as a pediatric nurse. I was also feeling better after the dislocation, with minimal issues. When it was in place, I had no major or persistent pain.. only intermittent nerve pain on my left upper body (upper left back and arm).
Fast forward to this April- I dislocated my arm while throwing a football and two days later dislocated my arm while folding laundry. My boyfriend and I discussed that it was time to finally follow through with the surgery. On May 10th, I had an arthroscopic procedure to repair the labrum and bone deformity.
The surgery went great! I had minimal pain and swelling, with fairly impressive range-of-motion in physical therapy. I’ve been very consistent with therapy, going on walks, and eating healthy. From day 1, I have struggled with sleeping and can’t seem to get comfortable.. this was expected because I am a stomach sleeper. I have noticed in the past few days an increase in pain. The types of pain fluctuate- sometimes it is intermittent nerve pain, sometimes a sharp pain, sometimes a dull/achy pain, or I will feel pain that goes away with a slight pop. It seems to be worst at night. I don’t have pain when doing therapy, which is good. I understand I am no longer taking pain medication around the clock and that my surgeon purposefully made everything very tight to prevent further dislocations. I also was told that popping is relatively normal during this time. For those that had this procedure done, did you have a similar experience?
At the 2 week post-op mark, I was finishing up my home exercises and accidentally picked up a stain remover bottle that was less than half full with my right arm. I held it for a couple of seconds with my arm bent and hand close to my abdomen. Nothing was held away from the body or above my head. I had no pain when this happened and immediately set it down. I called my PT and he didn’t seem concerned. I’m just so afraid of messing it up. Did anyone do anything similar? Did it cause any issues?

cross-posting on other relevant subs (pregnant, newparents, etc)
Hi all,
I'm a long-time lurker but rarely have time to come on anymore and read, much less comment or post. However since having my first child over 3 years ago and also my second a year and a half ago, I've been keeping notes on advice and product recommendations. I've taken to giving this out to friends and co-workers when I hear the happy news that they are expecting, so I thought I'd share it here as well in hopes it helps someone. Please take this with a grain of salt- I know everyone has different experiences! Please feel free to post your favorite advice or product recommendations as well if you want.
Take care, and enjoy your parenting journey!

General advice:

I'm really going to try to keep cliché's out of here as much as possible and keep this to only practical advice that I wish someone had laid out for me. But cliché's exist for a reason- they are generally true!

• The first couple months after birth/with a newborn are the hardest, with the first couple of weeks being the toughest yet. It really gets easier! That being said, those first several weeks the only goal should be survival. Don't plan to do any house projects, if you know something will need to be done (like a car oil change,taxes, etc) do it before baby arrives if possible. Do everything you can to try to make those first few weeks as easy as possible. Set up the crib/bassinet (I was convinced we were going to have more time and had neither set up. I literally put the bassinet together myself while I was in labor). Those last few months of pregnancy when you cook, make extra and freeze it. I have several good freezer prep recipes if you're looking for some. Once baby is here don't worry about cleaning the house, etc. Just survive.
• Accept help, but on your own terms. Lots of times people come offering to watch the baby but sometimes as a new mom you just feel more comfortable having baby with you. People can still help by doing the cooking and/or cleaning so you don't have to. And if you want/get time away from baby don't feel like you need to do those chores- take that time for you to sleep/showewhatever you need. Do not feel like you need to cateentertain guests. Or if you know you will, don't invite or let them over. This is YOUR time to bond with baby and recover- guard your time.
• Everything is a phase. Soak up the good stuff while you can, and know that the not so good stuff won't last forever.
• You can never give your baby too much love. You can't "spoil" a baby by holding them too much. Especially the first 3 months (known as the "4th trimester")- remember that baby was used to being "held"/cuddled and fed 24/7 in your womb. So even if you're holding them for 16 hrs/day- that's still a significant decrease than what they are used to. I know it's exhausting, but try to soak up those cuddles.
• Remember to take videos as well as pictures- those little newborn noises are precious!
• If everyone is crabby and it seems like nothing is fixing it- try to change the environment. Get everyone outside- fresh air is good for everyone. I've tried to get baby outside for at least a little bit every day of his life since getting home from the hospital (yes, even during winter in WI). If outside isn't an option try a bath.
• Take all advice with a grain of salt (even this). You know your baby/family best!

Pregnancy/Postpartum mama care:

• The "Expecting & Empowered" workouts were great. They have 3 guided workouts for each week of pregnancy to prepare you for labor and motherhood. Also follow them on IG. I give a lot of credit to them for my pretty easy pregnancy and deliveries!
• Once I started feeling sore later in pregnancy, prenatal yoga really helped me. I used an app called Prenatal Yoga by Down Dog that I really like. You have to pay for a subscription but I think you can try it for 30 days free, but I ended up paying for the subscription and actually re subscribed. They have a whole suite of apps that all fall under the same subscription - normal yoga, meditation, HIIT, and others. I think it's worth it, and I got the subscription on a black Friday deal for $24/year
• As far as labor goes- there’s so many resources and advice out there that could be a novel by itself. The only thing I’ll say is whatever your birth “plan” (if you have one)- just make sure it’s flexible and that your partner knows what it is and why so they can advocate for you. Once you’re in that pain it’s very hard to advocate for yourself.
• What I’ve learned is there is typically a sliding scale of interventions. Meaning- if you end up getting induced you’re more likely to end up getting a c-section. Ideally, you want to go into labor on your own. (when you’re ready to get that baby out, there are lots of myths out there and strategies to try. My advice- walking and sex).
• I’ve attempted 2 medication-free births but eventually gotten the epidural each time. If I have another baby I’m getting the dang epidural asap.
• So many postpartum care things to have on hand since you really won't know how your delivery will go. All the normal things like pads, and cooling pads, and peri bottle. I had a really easy birth experience so I didn't use a lot of the products I had so not much experience. But I did like the Honey Pot pads because they had a cooling effect that was pleasant but not overwhelming. I also liked having a sitz bath and bath salts to put in it.
• Fun postpartum symptoms to look forward to that no one warned me about (in addition to bleeding for 4-6ish weeks)- horrible cramping/contractions while the uterus shrinks the first week (especially happens when nursing) - hot pads and ibuprofen help, night sweats (waking up in the middle of the night to a crying baby drenched with sweat and freezing because you’re so wet), strong body odor (just, why?!), hair loss (this is why I cut all of my hair off after having baby). I’m sure there are others I’ve forgotten about. So many fun things!

Breastfeeding

I highly recommend trying to breastfeed if you're able. It does make the first few weeks (which are already hard) more challenging, but after that it's so much easier! You can go places without needing bottles/wateformula (all you need is you!). Plus, sterilizing and washing bottles all the time is a drag. Plus the bonding is really special (not that you can't get this without breastfeeding). But breastfeeding is always the #1 comfort technique if baby is cranky or sick, even if he's not hungry. A few tips/info:

• Stay hydrated!!! You can designate your partner that their job is to make sure you always have accessible water. And try to make sure you have water when sitting down to nurse, cause sometimes as soon as they start nursing you feel parched.
• The first few hours/days are critical to establishing your supply. Put baby to breast at a minimum every 3 hours (day and night, set an alarm) and more often if she's awake/fussy. After your milk comes in, assuming baby starts gaining weight again, your pediatrician should give you the okay to stop the alarm during the night and feeding on demand (which will likely still be pretty frequent).during the day you basically always want to be feeding them every 3-4 hours
• Invest in some nursing bras/tanks. I didn't- thinking I would later if breastfeeding worked out. But honestly you need to give it at least 1-2 months to give it a fair shot, and you can't go that long without having clothes that make it easy. We went and got some when baby was 3 days old. Would've been better to have in advance. Target has great stuff. I lived in the same 3 nursing tanks with 5 different flannel shirts over it for the first few months.
• Set up a breastfeeding station where you can be comfy and have things you might need. I love my glider chair, and put a cart with snacks, water (drink LOTS of water), phone charger, lotion, baby nail clippers (this was the easiest time for me to trim baby's nails), etc.
• Don’t pump the first 4ish weeks as this is when your supply is established, and the pump will make your body think it needs to produce more. An oversupply can be just a big of problem as an under supply.
• The tough thing with nursing is you really don't ever get a break. Even if someone else were to give baby a bottle (which I don't recommend for the first 4ish weeks for reason above)- you need to pump to keep your supply up. At that point, it's easier to just feed the baby yourself (in my opinion). To help with this during nighttime feedings, when Matt wasn't working he would basically do everything else minus the feeding (unswaddling, changing diaper, reswaddling, etc) and just hand baby to me to nurse to make it as easy as possible on me.
• I highly recommend getting a haakaa (amazon link). When you are feeding baby on one side it triggers a let down, which can lose a lot of milk on the side baby isn't on. You can use this to capture that (plus a little more since it does suction, so you do want to be careful with this and not use it too frequently and create oversupply). I use it now after baby's long night stretch and both boobs are really full. I slowly built up a decent freezer stash using this without ever actually pumping. They also have milk collectors (amazon link) that has less suction, and you can wear these under your bra if you find you're leaking often. I got these as well but didn't really like them as much as I thought.
• You'll probably also want breast pads to catch leaking. For awhile I used the disposable ones, but eventually got these (amazon link) and like them.
• Read up on milk handling/storage. La Leche league (website) is a great resource. If you're looking for even more info- read "The womanly art of breastfeeding" written by La Leche league.
• Breastfeeding should NOT hurt! If it hurts- ask for help. Could be an issue with the baby's latch or something else, like a tongue/lip tie. Make sure before you leave the hospital you have someone look at your latch and tell you what to look for to make sure you get a good latch every time. Easier to correct earlier than later.
• That being said- for the first month-ish I had pain for about 4 seconds every time baby latched. Sounds like this is unusual as no other mom I talked to experienced this so hopefully doesn't happen to you. It eventually stopped- I think it was just my nipples getting used to the expanding. But I never had my nipples crack/bleed or anything. This is not expected/normal. Talk to someone if this is happening.
• Since you'll probably want baby to take a bottle eventually- you'll need to start this at some point. The recommendation that I've read multiple times is to wait until 4-6 weeks (after breastfeeding is fully established) before trying. Then you need to do it frequently- maybe a bottle a day. We started early and he did fine so eventually we got lazy and stopped for awhile because I didn't like pumping when he bottle-fed. Then when we started trying again in preparation for me returning to work he flat out refused and then it was much harder to persuade him back to the bottle. If this happens- the method that worked best for us was called "intermittent bottle by mom". Google it if you get in this position (or ask me questions at that point).
• Positions- at the hospital they only taught me the cradle and football hold for some reason. I later learned about the laid back position and at the time it was a game changer for me- I was so tired/sore of sitting up and hunching over for the middle of the night feeds. Laid back allowed me to be much more comfortable. Also side-lying- one of my favorite positions now.
• Breastfeeding doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can combo feed with formula if you want/need to. A fed baby and happy mama is the most important!

Sleeping

Good luck! Just kidding. So much conflicting info out there on this. I guess my number 1 tip here would be to read up on different strategies and have a plan. Being knowledgeable about different options is helpful if you need to pivot strategies in the middle of the night and you're running on very little sleep. Some questions for you to consider - will you bedshare (most families end up co-sleeping at some point. Good to know the Safe Sleep 7 in case you decide to)? Or room-share? Will you "sleep train" (which means different things to different people)? When they start getting decent stretches of sleep it is a game. changer. I will share some tips that seemed to have work for us. baby started sleeping through the night (7+ hr stretches) around 11 wks, and shortly thereafter started sleeping 10-11hr stretches. We do bed-share occasionally, even now if he wakes up between 5-6a I pull him into bed with me and nurse in a side-lying position and we both fall asleep for a bit longer. It's really lovely to be able to do this.

Generic sleep advice

• I liked the book "The happiest baby on the block". It discusses the conditions in the womb, and how to recreate those as much as possible to soothe baby, especially during the 4th trimester. (spoiler- swaddle, "shhh"/white noise fairly loud (as loud as standing next to a shower), sucking on a pacifier, swaying (movement), oriented on baby's side).
• Some resources: TakingCaraBabies. You can follow on fbook/insta- they post great stuff. She also offers classes. We have all of her classes and really think it worked well for us, and we never felt like we were leaving baby to "cry it out" alone. We never let him cry for more than 5 min. She has a newborn class, one for 3-4 mo old, and then 5 mo+. I feel like each one supported baby where they were developmentally.
• Make the sleep space as conducive to sleep as possible- cool, white noise, and as dark as possible. Seriously- invest in blackout curtains/shades. (other than naps for the first few weeks which you want to keep light/noisy to help them establish their days/nights). Babies aren't scared of the dark, any light is just stimulation.

0-3 months

• Swaddles. Highly recommend swaddling. They just can't control their limbs at this age and they'll accidently jerk one and startle themselves awake. Swaddling helps with this, and makes them feel more like they are back in the womb which is comforting. So many parents say their baby hates the swaddle, and I don't know maybe they actually do, but baby would also struggle when we were putting him in the swaddle but then he would sleep so much better. We used the Halo (amazon link) and Nested Bean (amazon link). I liked the nested bean because it had the option of swaddling with hands up or hands down, it has the weighted bean on the chest which is comforting, and you can zip the sleeves off when you are ready to transition out of the swaddle. Although- the unzipping the sleeves didn't really work for us when we were trying to transition out, at that point we got the Magic Merlin Sleep suit (amazon link) and that helped us transition out of the swaddle.
• Babies should sleep a lot. You can look up average sleep per day hours and wake windows based on baby's age. I think in baby's first few weeks he got really crabby in the evenings because we were letting him get overtired. I think in the first month the goal is that they aren't awake for more than an hour at a time. We were kinda just winging it and didn't realize we should be trying to get him down to sleep fairly soon. At this point- when they wake up you feed and change them and then basically start getting ready for sleep again. You really want to try to avoid an over-tired baby, and it happens really fast and easily.
• We had baby sleep in a sidecar bassinet so he was easy for me to grab/feed during the night. When he was around 3 months old we moved the bassinet away from the bed but still in the room so we weren't waking each other up as much.
• Just to set reasonable expectations - any sleep on their own in the bassinet is a win. Hopefully you can get some night sleep there, unlikely that any naps will happen there. We did all contact naps (meaning- holding, wearing, cuddling) for those months and started trying 1 nap/day when he was around 8 weeks in his crib. At that point any naps done in a crib is a huge win. And those will probably be short.
• Naps don't typically lengthen/mature until about 5 months old. This is normal and expected. It's good to have reasonable expectations so you're not upset with yourself/baby. It's easy to obsess over things as a mom. Don't let naps steal your joy! Try to enjoy those baby naps on you. Use it as a time to rest/relax yourself.

3mo+

• Bed time routine- important to establish a consistent routine. Same order of events, same place, and around the same time per day (we target between 7-8p). Our routine: bath (if it's bath night, which we do every 2-3 days), diaper, massage/lotion, jammies, nursing, burp, in crib for 2 books, then swaddle/merlin suit/sleep sack, turn on white noise, lay down in crib/bassinet awake with pacifier.
• Around this time we really saw a reduction in night wakings once we were able to put him down awake at bedtime and let him fall asleep on his own. Around this time their sleep pattern changes to be more like an adult- and we naturally wake up several times in the night to check out our surroundings and if all is well fall back asleep often without even knowing we were awake. Example I read- if I fall asleep in bed and awake in the night in a neighbor's bed that would cause me to fully wake up and scream/cry. Same thing with baby. If they fall asleep being rocked in your arms and wake up alone on the mattress that can be alarming. If they fall asleep on their own then when they wake up in the same environment all is well and they can go back to sleep.
• That being said- we weren't able to just go from nursing to sleep (which is what we did for the first few months) to being able to put him down awake right away. This took time/patience. We worked our way down the intervention scale- nursing to sleep, then rocking to sleep, rocking til drowsy but putting down awake then rocking in bassinet, etc.
• Around 3 months old we disconnected the sidecar bassinet and moved it across the room. Then around 4-5 mo we moved baby into his own bedroom in the crib. This worked for us but this timeline varies a lot so do what works for you

What to do with baby when awake

Legitimate question that I hadn't considered until we were in the middle of it. In the first few weeks baby really doesn't have much awake time outside of eating/diaper changes. But here are some ideas:

• Baby wear and do whatever you want!
• Tummy time
• Massage
• Sing songs
• Get outside (but try to keep baby protected from sun)
• Read books

Pumping/Milk Maintenence

• I love my pumpables genie advanced - normally $180. https://pumpables.co/products/genie-advanced. I really like the liquid shield kids that go with these as well. These go on sale a couple of times throughout the year.
• For wearable collection cups- legendairy collection cups – normally $60. https://www.legendairymilk.com/products/sillicone-collection-cups. These are nice when you want even more portability (I can pump with these in a coffee shop and no one can really even tell)
• I also had the Spectra that my insurance gave me, and it’s nice and has nice suction. But no portability.
• For the love of pete- measure your nipples and get the right size flanges!! I’m a size 17 and I think that’s the average, but for whatever reason a lot of breast pumps send larger sizes by default.
• There’s lots of pumping bras but they never felt comfy to me. Ultimately my strategy was to wear nursing bras every day so I could nurse easily morning and evening and then do the nursing bra hack (link to video) when pumping
• As far as schedule goes- for the most part I would pump 3 times during a work day. Obviously this is just a rough estimate and things change as time goes on.
  • 6aish - baby wakes up and nurses on one side while I haakaa the other
  • 8:30 (after kids have left for daycare) - pump both sides
  • 11:30 - pump
  • 2:30 - pump
  • 5:30 - nurse baby
  • 7ish - nurse baby before bed
  • (once baby is sleeping through the night) 10pm - pump before going to bed
• I think there’s a “magic number” calculator you can google that helps you calculate the right number of times to pump/time to wait between to pumps based on different factors and if you want to decrease, increase, or maintain supply.
• During the day I always store my used pump parts in an air-tight container in the refrigerator between pumps and then deconstruct and wash them at night (recommend encouraging your partner to be the designated pump part washer every night). I think the CDC goes back and forth on whether this strategy is recommended, but I never had problems and I can’t imagine washing all the pump parts every single time.
• I always used the pitcher method - pump and then combine all the milk into a “pitcher” (I used a glass mason jar). I was lucky enough to be able to send my milk to daycare like this and she would pour from it to make the bottles. I know some daycares require pre-made bottles though.
• I would send fresh milk to daycare Tue-Fri of what I pumped the day before. On Friday I would freeze all pumped milk. On Monday I’d send a small amount of milk that I got from the haakaa over the weekend but otherwise baby would get thawed frozen milk that day (always the oldest in the freezer). This strategy was nice because mostly baby is getting fresh milk and you don’t have to constantly freeze everything, but you’re also still slowly working through freezer stash so things don’t get too old.
• On Fridays for freezing this is what I’d do:
  • Pour 4 oz into an easy-pour bottle (I froze in 4 oz increments but do whatever works best for you)
  • Pour into milk freezer bag (ie, lansinoh) - remove air bubbles (google tricks and you’ll find some videos to get rid of air bubbles)
  • Seal bag and place flat on cookie sheet
  • Repeat until all milk is bagged (depending on how much remaining milk I’d either freeze a smaller bag or leave it in the fridge and combine with haakaa milk over weekend)
  • Freeze the milk bags flat on the cookie sheet if possible (I have a chest freezer that I used)
  • Once frozen - transfer flat milk bags into gallon ziploc bags, layering from the bottom. I used the sit n stand bags. Once the gallon bag is full (I could fit 12 4-oz bags in) label it with dates and a number.
  • On your freezer where you’re storing milk have a milk sign in/out sheet - (ie, bag #1 went in on 1/1/22 and was taken out 5/1/22). This way when it’s time to take another frozen bag out you can look at the sheet and know which bag you’re looking for.

Other resources/random notes

• Baby products are ridiculously expensive, and babies grow so fast they only use/wear things for very short periods of time. Highly recommend buying second hand or borrowing from friends when you can. I was all over facebook marketplace during my pregnancy.
• If you're looking for data-driven resources to read I recommend Emily Oster's two books- "Expecting Better" regarding pregnancy, and "Cribsheet" which is data on decisions from birth to preschool.
• Have a bucket with a color-safe laundry soaking option handy for soaking blow-outs or heavily spit-up items. You don’t want those to sit until you do laundry next
• We used an app to track diapers, feedings, and sleep. We used Huckleberry and liked it, but there are lots out there. For awhile the doctor will ask how many wet/dirty diapers they are having a day and there's no way I could remember that. And I also could never remember which side I breastfed last on. Or tracking sleep so I could make sure I was getting him down for naps at reasonable time. We felt this was very helpful for a bit, but after awhile it was stressing me out more than anything, and at that point we stopped using it. Use it if/as long as it seems helpful and then stop. Matt and I were both able to have it on our phones logged into the same account so we could both use it to log stuff
• It helps to have constant reminders of tips from parenting resources that line up with your parenting strategies. Some pregnancy/parenting instagram accounts I like:
  • Expecting & Empowered
  • Karrie Locher
  • Solid Starts - they also have an app with a database of foods and how to offer them to babies. Use this all the time
  • Biglittlefeelings
  • Kids.eat.in.color
  • Feedinglittles
  • Takingcarababies - sleep tips
  • Raisinggoodhumanspodcast- also listen to the podcast and really enjoy it
  • Dog meets baby
  • Milestones and Motherhood
• Once baby is in a crib- do the lasagna style bed sheet layering. Mattress protector > sheet > mattress progrector> sheet. This way if baby has an accident in the night (vomit, pee-through, excessive spitup) you can just pull off the top sheet/protector and you’re ready to go. So you need at least two mattress protectors and sheets!
• Baby wearing- as a newborn I carried baby everyday in a Solly wrap and we loved it. Once he had better head/neck control and he was more interested in looking out we got more structured carriers. I use a lillebaby now and we also have an ergo baby that Matt uses. We have them fitted to each of us so we don't have to adjust, and we got them both used from friends.
• Set up a subscribe & save for the purple desitin (highest zinc)
• Get a costco membership. Buy all the diapers there. (I believe the kirkland diapers are just re-branded huggies). Sometimes they are on sale- buy as many as you can.

Product Recommendations/Baby Registry Ideas

I mentioned at the beginning but want to reiterate- baby products are expensive and they typically aren’t used for long. Highly recommend looking to get second hand when possible - friends, thrift stores, facebook marketplace, etc. Also- definitely make baby registries because you typically get a completion discount at a certain date to buy things off the registry at a discount (typically 15%). I usually make at least an amazon and target registry for each pregnancy and then maximize those registry discounts. Also- Bullseye Deals on Ebay is a reseller of target stuff (mostly new but also used so look before buying) at a discount!

• Tubby Todd all over ointment. I use this all the time on baby- helps with baby acne, dry patches, drool rashes, etc.
• We never bought a pack n play, figuring we would buy it if/when we needed it and we never have. I ended up buying a travel crib instead for traveling where we wouldn't have a crib (to Turks and Caicos). Both sets of grandparents had a pack n play we use when visiting, and most hotels offer them too. But when we actually needed one I was glad to take a travel crib instead of a pack n play (more portable and more comfortable for baby). Really like ours- Lotus Travel Crib
• Baby monitors - I do NOT recommend the nanit. We got it with baby and it was nice for the first year, but then after a year they hide all of the useful features behind a hefty subscription. This made me angry since the camera already is expensive. Plus at the time it didn’t support monitoring two babies but I think they’ve added that since then so that’s probably moot. We use a VTech camera monitor now that has two cameras and can monitor both kids at the same time.
• In addition to the camera monitor we also have cheap audio-only monitors in each kids room that we keep next to our bed (so audio only monitors stay in our bedroom just for during the night, then we have the video monitor on our main level for during the day).
• Snoo bassinet. For our first I swore I would never spend this much money for a product that would only be used for a few months. 1 month into our second and I broke down and got one for the hope it would help us sleep even just a little bit more. It worked for us!
• Baby shoes (once walking)- we love stride rite shoes for early walkers. You want a soft-soled shoe while they are learning to walk (or bare foot is best when safe!). You also want a shoe with a wide toe-box so their toes have room to splay out like they should. Croc Classic clogs are also great little kid shoes especially for summewater and really hold up (they have a much wider toe box than the Native brand shoes).
• Kamik winter boots for toddlers are the best boots that I’ve found- easy to put on (this is key!) and warm and dry.
• These are the best baby socks. None of the other ones we’ve tried stay on, and the grippies are key once they start walking.
• Sun safety: Sunday Afternoons sun hats are the best. ThinkBaby sunscreen is what we’ve used and trust (Thinksport is the same thing and sometimes cheaper). Although these Babyganics sunscreen sticks are also nice to have in diaper bags. These refillable roll-on sunscreen applicators are also kinda nifty.
• Absolutely love these diaper cream applicators (we call them the butt spatulas).
• Bath time safety: you need these cushions and spout cover.
• Car seats: I definitely recommend getting an infant car seat for the first year-ish as it’s just so much easier to lug baby around in an infant car seat as opposed to a bigger convertible car seat (infant car seats click out of the car so if baby falls asleep or whatever you can leave them in the seat. They can also click into strollers or other things). Convertible car seats are bigger and stay in the car.
  • I don’t have a strong recommendation for infant car seats- we used the Chicco keyfit system and have no complaints. If baby will be transported in multiple cars then ideal to get multiple bases.
  • Once baby outgrows the infant car seat (or you’re just ready to move on)- I highly recommend getting a revolving convertible car seat. The revolving feature is so clutch and makes it so much easier to get kids in/out! When I got ours these were pretty new to the market so there weren’t many options, but I got the Evenflo Revolve 360 and have no complaints. Love it. These revolve ones are certainly expensive, but they do go on sale periodically (especially black friday!). Key things to look for:
    • high rear-facing weight and height limits. Ideally keep kiddos rear-facing as long as possible because it’s safer, so having a car seat with higher limits makes that possible.
    • Fabrics/covers that are washable
    • Ideally 4 in 1 or at least 3 in 1 so it converts to a booster and kids can use it longer.
• Diaper bags are super personal preference, but after trying a couple I love my jujube ones hands down more than any other. They are pricey but go one sale on amazon sometimes.
• Get a quality thermometer. I’ve tried several but this is the winner. I believe docs recommend rectal ones for the first year, but personally I like the ear ones like this. Braun is what they use in the doctors offices I believe.
• Cups: When you start offering solid foods you typically also start offering water. We use the Munchkin weighted straw cups for water. Once they are done with bottles (around a year) we use the Munchkin 360 training cup for milk.
• You’ll need bibs when kiddo starts eating - recommend silicone ones.
• The Nose Frida snotsucker is certainly effective and I’ve always been glad to have it when I need it, but be prepared to get sick also.

I was talking to a friend and realized I had never shared my birth story on here. I will say my story is pretty unusual and probably a result of dissociation while in labor. My pain tolerance is high, but it's not that high.
I'm not quite sure how long I was in labor. It was at least 8 days. I had went to the hospital for something sorta related. I had woken up from a nap in a puddle. I wasn't sure if my water had broken or if my huge baby had stomped my bladder while I was asleep lol. I was barely 36 weeks at this point. My water hadn't broken however it turns out I was having contractions without knowing. I was 3cm dilated when I first came in. I got up to 4cm and was contracting every 3 minutes for 45 seconds each time by the time I left.
The hospital I gave birth at doesn't allow intervention before one of the criteria is met; 5cm dilated, contract every 2 minutes or for 60 seconds minimum, or is 37+ weeks unless baby's or mom's vitals are unstable. I barely failed each requirement. My doctor wanted to admit me originally. I asked to go home to labor in peace since I knew being in a hospital would only stress me out. He agreed only because I live so close (5 minutes with major traffic). I left with instructions to come back if I noticed any changes and that I was to follow up in 2 days in nothing happened. He stressed that it was actual labor not just false labor.
I went home deep cleaned, did some errands close by, and even had guests over. 2 days later, at my appointment I had only dilated another half inch and was falling barely short on everything else AGAIN. Once again he wanted to admit me. Once again I asked if there was anything they could do to help me. If not then I wanted to go home cause I was not staying in a hospital waiting around for who knows how long if they couldn't help me progress, our vitals were great, and I wasn't in pain. Weirdly enough I felt amazing. Like I could run a whole marathon and still have energy to spare. I think I was getting the benefit of the adrenaline and endorphins without any of the negatives that come with them normally. Doctor trusted my judgement and agreed that it would probably be healthier for us if I wasn't stressed out. I was to follow up in 2 days.
2 days later the same thing. I was getting mentally tired by this point. It was right before a long weekend. He scheduled me to come in first thing Monday morning (37 weeks). His exact words to the receptionist were "She's doing something. Her body is trying to do something." He stressed that he would be on call over the weekend if I felt any changes. Monday morning rolls around. He checks me and says they can finally help. I asked if I could eat something before going over to L + D lol. He was absolutely done with me at this point, but said sure as long as I don't go far and I don't go crazy at a buffet or something. I didn't want to be stuck on a liquid diet for who knows how long without at least getting breakfast.
I get checked in. They start me on pitocin. Still feel great minus the mental exhaustion. I had a wireless monitor so I could move freely. I was pacing around, dancing, bouncing on a birthing ball. Anything I could think of to help get this baby out of me. Eventually, I get to the highest dose of pitocin they can give me. Doctor comes in to check me. I dilated a little, but not as much as expected. He jokingly called me a freak of nature at this point since I'm cracking jokes while having contractions that should be awful, completely unable to feel them.
I requested for my water to be manually broken and to be given the epidural. I was hoping the epidural would help relax my body enough to get me where I needed to be. I could still move my legs around decently. I described it similar to if you've ever been really drunk or half asleep and your limbs don't want to work quite right, still able to feel them yet a little numb. Nurses helped me use a peanut ball. I napped with it off and on. They would help me change positions every 30 minutes or so. At one point, mine and baby's vitals start to violently drop. Nurses and a doctor bust in with a crash cart. I have an oxygen mask shoved over my face. Nearly get rushed for an emergency c section only for our vitals to stablize the moment I woke up fully. I was delirious at this point. I have no clue if it was because of the epi, pure exhaustion, or my brain freaking out trying to protect me. I don't remember much after this.
I remember going back to sleep. Waking up at some point feeling very mild cramps before rolling over and napping again. 20 mintues later give or take a bit I woke up still feeling that and feeling really off. I asked a nurse to check me thinking I was dilating more. Her eyes got huge. Next thing I know I'm being told that the cramping I felt was baby in my birth canal. Turns out my vagina muscles "fell asleep" so my first few pushes did absolutely nothing. I pushed for 20 minutes total. Baby's vitals were starting to get concerning and my body was "too exhausted" to push the way it needed to. Doctor was going to use vacuum assistance. In the time it took him to get everything ready for that I was yelling that the baby was coming out whether he was ready or not. That someone needed to catch him. I had absolutely no control over the pushing. I was actively trying to fight against it to give someone time to catch my son. I have no clue where the second wind came from or why my body decided to work right in that moment. I immediately hemorrhaged after that. I remember getting shots and asking the doctor if there was something going up my butt (there was, it was medicine to stop the bleeding). Everything else faded to the background. I was bawling my eyes out from pure joy knowing my son was healthy and alive. He was the only thing that mattered to me. He was born 8 lbs and 20 inches long, needing no NICU time. I ended up with 2 first degree tears. Only one of them required stitches. Within 2 hours I was up and walking around slowly. Within 12 I was walking mostly normal. By 24, I felt like I didn't just give birth. My hospital stay after was horrible though.
This next bit needs a trigger warning and explains why I might have disassociated so badly that I couldn't feel anything/became delirious. It also explains why I was so aganist staying in the hospital any longer than needed. I lost 3 kids at birth. My daughter and my twin sons. Ever since my twin's deaths I haven't been able to stand being in a medical environment unless absolutely necessary, which is awful considering my career up until that point was in the medical field. All 3 of their deaths had nongentic factors. I've spoken to a therapist since and she believes that subconsciously I was blocking out anything to do with my labor in an attempt to protect myself incase of the worst outcome. There's other parts of my labor I don't remember. I have no clue exactly how much is missing. There's pictures taken at home I have no memory of days before I felt delirious. She believes that my disassociating was so strong that it was able to overcome the pain. My obyn was aware of my history and specializes in patients that have experienced loss. He actually delivered me when I was a baby. He was very understanding of why I felt safer laboring at home. I was terrified that being there would cause me to have panic attacks/be unable to rest. Baby is now a healthy 3 going on 4 month old. I'm like 99% sure I'm done having kids. I can't go through another loss and my labor could've ended horribly if the staff hadn't acted as quickly as they did. I wasn't even supposed to be able to get pregnant anymore after complications from my twins stillbirth. My youngest pregnancy and birth was a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish.

Note: thank you to , u/tulpacat1, u/Acceptable_Egg5560 and u/Still_Performance_39 for some last-minute editing help. Here it is!
Check out u/Acceptable_Egg5560's other work to see more of Venric's adventures!
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Memory transcription subject: Verazel, Aspiring Arxur Geneticist
Date [standardized human time]: December 8th, 2136
Officer Thifgil sent word to his colleagues in the Resistance. Every night, I looked up at the stars, wondering when they would come. It was a solitary version of the thousands of nights Nazla and I had spent discussing constellations. There was the Great Tooth, the Claw of Fate, the tail of the Great Warrior which was cut off his body and thrown high into the skies by the great god Thalafath when he strayed from his path.
I found some star-maps in my pad. Earth, the human home planet, was right at the tip of Thalafath’s spear. Is that a good omen, or a bad one? It was the kind of question Nazla would have loved to delve into and try to answer. She would have asked me about which era I favoured, whether I cared for the opinions of Thalafath’s cult, or the more general population in the area at the time. When I was younger, she memorized dozens of ancient prophecies and made a joke of them coming true. “Ah, Papa has been gone for three days! If he comes back with a cut on his shoulder, he will turn out to be the Great Butcher!”
Perhaps there was an ancient prophecy about people seeking refuge from apes that wandered the heavens. I had no idea where she’d put those books to check, and I could no longer ask. It was one of many conversations I could never have with her.
After a few days, I saw the ship flying towards our landing area, then two others behind it. I had no specific expectations of what Resistance ships would look like, so I was surprised that they were exactly the same as Betterment ships, except the insignias had been painted over, or removed altogether. I suppose that makes sense. They’re all stolen. One of the ships looked like a recent model from Chief Hunter Isif’s fleet in the Third Sector. Small, sleek, a fighter? A Captain’s personal ship?
I was nearly jumping with joy as I watched them arrive. They had an air about them, of people with no regrets, who lived their lives to the fullest. Papa loathed them.
“Verazel, could you greet our guests?” he asked brusquely as he spotted them through the window. “I have to get the meat.”
I nodded and rushed out, my head swivelling one way and another as they disembarked. I had no idea if Uncle Veralith had come with them. I couldn’t spot him anywhere, but I saw my cousin Vrith speaking with the rebels, who deferred to him as he talked. When I last saw him, he was my age, and Uncle Veralith needed to hide him for a few weeks. Papa swore up and down that he’d be living with us for years, and my uncle would fall by the sword in public trial. All rebels shared a death, it was just a matter of when. He was so surprised, when Uncle Veralith came back to take Vrith to whatever hideout they called home before the first harvest was over.
I wondered what my cousin thought, knowing Nazla died a rebel’s death.
Vrith was older than her, by a Wriss-year or two, with a thick neck and strong shoulders, his whole body built to withstand a thousand battles. Perhaps it already had. When I rushed to greet him and saw his full size, I immediately wanted to become him. In front of me stood a man who would suffer a blade before he suffered injustice.
“Cousin! How goes the Resistance?” I asked. He beamed at my presence.
“Verazel! You’ve grown!” Vrith said, grabbing me by the shoulders. “Have you thought about joining the fight?”
I hadn’t. “Well, um, maybe? I–Papa and I want to go work with humans against the Dominion.”
“Wonderful! If we could get their backing…” he started, then the last of the three ships opened its door. Out of the fighter came some sort of military man, one I remembered for a long time ago. One of the men from the group whose Captain got killed by that ram. He had a new scar on the side of his head, but he’d had others before. Lieutenant Shathel.
“Speaking of humans!” Vrith said, his whole face lighting up. I felt a strange relief in seeing him talk and smile. I had not seen a smile like that, since before Nazla left for her most recent tour. “Captain Shathel was held captive by them, for weeks. He was only returned with the cattle deal.”
He’s a Captain now? “What were they like?” I asked.
“Soft,” he said, “caring, well-fed, and exactly what the Resistance needs. It’s a pity you’re not younger, child, they would fawn over you if you were half their size.”
I noticed more of the rebels had stepped off their ships. “...Would you like to come in? Perhaps rest in the lounge?”
Cousin Vrith gave me a nod. “Yes! Come, everyone–Verazel, do you know how to put on your father’s music?”
I nodded quickly and rushed ahead to do it. They strode into the lounge, and took over various couches, luxuriating in my father’s pre-Betterment music. We’d moved the tables of the ‘serving’ section into storage to make room for some of the new incubation machines, but they didn’t seem to mind. Captain Shathel gave one a look of idle curiosity.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Incubation chambers. Papa wanted to breed his Venlil again,” I said. “The Chief Hunter recalled the specimens, but not their gametes, so…”
“Oh, no,” Shathel said, shaking his head. “That is a terrible idea. Humans see them as people, just like you or I. They would hate that, and him for thinking of it.”
Before I could tell Captain Shathel how I’d tried to tell him those exact words, I saw Papa entering the lounge with two of the old carcasses from storage. He placed them–now mostly thawed–on the chopping counter, and put on his gloves before opening the bags. He’d brought out his favourite knife and everything, ready to make a show of the butchery with a smile on his face.
“Hello everyone, I’m afraid I don’t have a lot to share, but I’ll do my best to ensure it’s delicious, I–” His eyes landed on Captain Shathel and his whole body tightened. He turned to my cousin, the only other familiar face as far as I knew. “—What is he doing here?”
“The Resistance succeeds because it has allies in many places,” Vrith said, trying to placate my father with soft tones and his hands held up in non-aggression.
Papa glared at Captain Shathel with a fury I had never seen in his eyes. “I don’t know that I’d call what the Resistance does ‘succeeding’, nephew.”
Vrith flinched, but stood his ground. “Perhaps you will, in two months’ time.”
“Oh? And what will you do then?”
“We,” Captain Shathel said, staring back at my father, “will be killing Prophet-Descendant Giznel, and your farm will help us.”
——
Memory transcription subject: Andes Savulescu-Ruiz, Human Director at the Venlil Rehabilitation and Reintegration Facility. Universal translator tech.
Date [standardized human time]: December 12, 2136
I woke up with a headache, and stayed in bed immobile for a few minutes.
I want to die.
It was an odd thought, which was probably a good thing. Back in med school, that was just what waking up felt like, but… the past few years had been pretty good. Maybe a nightmare or something once in a while, a bit of moodiness, but nothing extreme. That kind of casual, intrusive suicidal thought was going to become a problem, but it was not yet habitual again. It could be fought with in-the-moment interventions interrupting the reinforcement of the neural pathway. I took a deep breath. Stimulate the vagus nerve. Then another.
I was hit with a very vivid mental image of the ceiling crashing down on me, skull smashed into paste, blood spatter on the walls, dust floating in the air. The familiar blend of guilt and relief at the notion of not having to be anywhere, or do anything; of becoming logically incapable of failing at anything else ever again.
Nothing happened.
I shook myself and struggled through the ordeal of sitting up with an abdominal injury. Then I limped over to the bathroom, peed, brushed my teeth, and stared at my face for way too long. This is fine. This is fine. I look fine. Without the ‘pump’ of working out sometimes twice a day, and having missed multiple doses of creatine, my whole body looked a little… deflated. Not a lot. Most people probably wouldn’t notice. But enough to make me feel weird. Especially because there was also swelling from the surgery, so I just looked… Softer. Which was fine. Healthy, even. Maybe now Rodriguez will shut up about my eating habits.
Not that she’d even said that much, she just… Looked at me with concern often enough to be annoying. I took another deep breath. People caring about me is not annoying, it is good. I want people to care about me.
I limped over to the kitchen with my trusty new pair of crutches, and found my way to the wheelchair and therefore the little bag on its side that had all my new interim meds.
I found the pseudo-psychs Dr. Roth had provided, and set up a reminder to go to the mailbox to check on the actual prescription within two days. I set up home delivery, right? I vaguely remembered discussing it, but the brain fog was a hassle to work through. I took the pill and waited, watching the clock like a fucking hawk. It started to hit around the fourteenth minute. I could feel it almost like an anaesthetic, the slight numbness around my temples, my sinuses opening up. I took a deep breath, and my mind was quiet. No more unpleasantly visceral mental images of my body being crushed by debris. No reflexive hatred of my own reflection.
Alright, I have approximately two hours of competence before this wears off. List time. Who can I outsource things to?
I started writing down names: Jilsi, Karim, Daryon, Honra, Vemla, Larzo, Rodriguez. I could plausibly give Karim and Larzo all of my work regarding the parents. We already had more than enough prospective parents to keep us busy for the next six months, so it didn’t matter if Karim’s heartless ‘culling’ delayed a few. I would simply put up some sort of announcement in January or February that we would be re-evaluating previously denied applicants, and run through them then. In fact, I could get Jilsi to add that disclaimer to Karim’s denials in general, make it a “denied for the first round, may be re-evaluated later” instead of a blanket “denied”. I sent her a message to do that.
Daryon and Kaminski had been working on making sure that Karim’s children who’d been written off as ‘low priority’ for the translator implants were properly re-evaluated. I sent Rodriguez a message asking her to have a meeting with them about how that’d been going sometime in the coming week. Honra was in Larzo’s research evaluation team, so I asked her if she could look over his progress. Vemla had supposedly just finished her Human Psychology 101 course, which meant basically nothing, but she was probably competent enough that she could take over some of Rodriguez’ duties, as she was going to be busy with 2-B and whatever else I had to outsource to her. Maybe just have her do more of her admin stuff? Last time Vemla talked to my kids, it did not go well.
I sent Larzo a note that I was awake, and also that I would not be able to evaluate whatever progress he’d made in his research since we talked to Dr. Lewis. He was less-than-pleased that I was writing official emails, and threatened to sedate me. He’ll probably come by within a couple of hours. I should ask him to bring takeout.
I couldn’t think of anyone else I could trust to take over some obvious duties at the moment, so I turned from the realm of people to the realm of machines. What can I automate?
I brought up a handful of AIs that had in theory been available to me already, but which I hadn’t sat down to figure out before. Humanity hadn’t really imposed a lot of AI stuff on the Venlil, on the grounds that they had such terrible Cybersecurity practices, but maybe if I put the right boundaries on certain things, I could get Jilsi a little AI. I could definitely keep one in my personal pad…
I set up some parameters and boundaries and called it a day. I can fuck around with the AI more tomorrow, save the busywork for when my brain hates me again.
Deep breath. Stimulate the vagus nerve. What can I put off? I had set up some modelling analysis for Larzo’s project that I could just kind of do whenever. That had to be pushed back to at least January. All those fieldtrips I was planning had no reason to happen immediately… beyond the fact that the kids feel so trapped and cooped up that three of them plotted an escape, and one of them tried to kill me. Maybe Kanarel could take them hiking? I sent him a message asking if he could take over the planning for something like that.
What can I frontload? Translator Insertions I could reasonably do while wheelchair-bound. That would be first on my list after I had done all the stupid health things I needed to get done within the next couple of days.
I took a long deep breath and put the pad aside. That was enough for my brain to have kicked mostly into gear. For the first time, I noticed the Dossur kids were serving themselves breakfast on the counter. Maybe it was dinner. I ignored them. One thing at a time. I checked Karim’s schedule. He didn’t have a shift for another four hours, lucky me, so I decided to call the Exterminators.
“Um, hello? I’d like to report an incident,” I said.
A friendly-sounding Krakotl squawked on the other end of the call. “Very well, sir, name and occupation?”
“My name is Andes Savulescu-Ruiz, I am the, um, the Human Director at the, uh, the Venlil Rehabilitation and–and Rein–reintegration Facility, within the Linguistics division of the–”
“I’m sorry, sir, did you just say you’re Director Savulescu-Ruiz, with the cattle farm facility? The one with the escapees?” he asked.
“Um… Yes, yes, that’s–that’s me, I–I um, hadn’t gotten around to reporting the stabbing and I was wondering–” I stumbled through my words like a fucking idiot. Deep breath. Social pressure of any sort will make all the symptoms worse. Stimulate the fucking vagus nerve. Why couldn’t the mood-regulating parasympathetic-nervous-system modulating nerve be on my left hand or something? It would be so much easier if I could just attach an electrode to my arm instead of all these stupid deep breaths.
“Sir, that stabbing has already been reported. It’s on the news. A witness filed the report with us,” she said, which… was certainly information I could have acquired through other means.
I blinked like I’d had water flicked in my face. “Um… Alright, well–”
“When are you going to send the girl to an appropriate facility?”
“I was, um, a-actually hoping to, um, have my–that is, my facility…” talk like a normal person what the fuck is with this stammering? I took another deep breath. Maybe I should just carry around an oxygen tank like I’m in a martian settlement for the elderly. “Sorry, I um, I was hoping to have my facility be uh, enough? Enough for um, just, providing continuity of care and um–”
“You want to keep the child in your custody?” he asked, clearly befuddled.
“Yes! Yes, thank you, yes, would–I would, as Director–um–”
“I’m afraid that’s not something I know how to handle, sir, have you talked to a lawyer about this?”
“...I have not, can I um, can I call back after I’ve talked to a lawyer, to um, to make this whole process easier for you?” I asked.
“Yes, of course, sir,” he said, and I hung up.
The meds were starting to fade. I looked at the clock. I shouldn’t have another dose for another two hours for heart-health reasons. Ideally I would have the pills and the patches concurrently, but Day 1 of being a pile of misery was always diagnostics and testing, which meant I didn’t take both at the same time so that I could tell their effects apart.
I put the patches on and laid down for a bit. Pain I hadn’t noticed accumulating throughout my body began to fade, and my entire back started to relax. After maybe ten minutes of laying back on the couch feeling progressively less awful, I recharged enough to start calling lawyers.
The first just told me I was crazy to think he'd represent a human. The second wouldn’t talk to me unless I had already decided to pay him money. The third heard me out, only to actually laugh when I told her that I didn’t want to press charges and actively wanted to prevent the kid from being thrown in a torture chamber for the crime of lashing out at someone she thought would murder her. The fourth was sympathetic to my “human delusions”, but insisted I should stop this whole process and just send her to a PD facility.
I was going insane. At least the stammering got less bad as I talked to more people.
Four lawyers, four rejections. A human lawyer wouldn’t be able to help, of course, because of jurisdiction issues and legal framework issues and every inconvenience in the world lining up to kick my ass now that it has been declared prime real-estate for the circumstance market. It shouldn’t be this difficult to make sure a kid nominally under my purview doesn’t get thrown in a torture chamber.
My last hope was maybe the first person I should have called. In general, people famous for standing up against an unjust system that surely produced hundreds of victims on a weekly basis tended to be rather picky with their choice of client. He wasn't that famous, only a few news articles. If the situation escalated, I might suddenly end up “more famous”. And isn't that a terrifying thought?
I called.
It only rang once before being picked up. “Heema Lawven Law Firm, Serl speaking. Are you needing to book an appointment, or calling for an appointment you already have?”
The voice sounded professional and rehearsed, but not necessarily in a bad way. Efficient. Clear.
“Um, book an appointment, I guess. Or a consult? I would like to know if I can have Mister Venric represent one of my patients in a situation involving Predator Disease involuntary internment.”
I heard some tapping through the phone. “I will see if I can get you into a phone consultation. Can I get your name and occupation?”
“Oh, yes, I am Andes Savulescu-Ruiz, I am the, um, the current Director of one of the Venlil rescue rehabilitation facilities in Dayside City.”
The typing stopped, silence. “I’m sorry, Director Andes Savulescu-Ruiz of Dayside City?”
I nodded, though she couldn't see it. “Yes, that’s me.”
Another pause. “One moment please.”
She put me on hold, and there wasn’t even music. I never thought I would miss hold music, but the silence was excruciating. Seconds dragging into minutes, probably just to be told they can't help me for the fifth time. I started browsing through lists, trying to figure out my sixth call of the morning. Afternoon? My sleep schedule didn’t make sense before the stabbing. After? I might as well roll dice to know my expected waking hours.
The phone broke me from my thoughts. “Greetings, this is Venric of the Heema Lawven Law Firm. I believe this is Director Andes, correct? The human director of the Cattle Rehabilitation Program in Dayside City?”
“Not the program, um, one of the facilities. There are a lot of them, mine focuses on children raised in captivity who need to have translators installed. Thank you so much for taking my call, I–well, I have a patient, and my co-director has told me that I need to call the Exterminators, who will then try to throw her at a Predator Disease facility. I mean–I understand the reasons, but I can't have a twelve year old under my care be tortured by the society she’s supposed to integrate into, you know?”
“Hmm, well, if I am guessing correctly, this child would be the same one shown on the news who stabbed you in the gut?”
I should really look into how the media had apparently covered the stabbing. So much for privacy. “Um… I guess? She actually didn’t puncture an intestine, lucky me, so I–I’m sorry, yes, she stabbed me.”
I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the rejection. I’m sorry, sir, we can’t represent a client who–
“Then it would seem you have called the right lawyer. I do believe you wish me to act as their defence? Then I would be honoured!”
My whole body sagged with relief.
“I–What? Thank you! Thank you so much. I–I just–if we could establish my facility as capable of taking care of her, or–or something, then none of this has to be more than a pile of paperwork, right?”
Venric whistled a laugh through the phone. “Director Andes, take a moment! It’s gonna take a bit more than just paperwork to keep her out of a Correctional Facility, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Establishing care would only be a part.”
“...Um… Okay, what is the rest?”
“Well for one, you’re gonna have to get an exterminator in place for observation.”
I winced at the prospect of an exterminator inside my facility. “Is that… strictly necessary?”
The phone fell silent. “I expected you wouldn’t be pleased at that. Sir. You do realise you were stabbed. In public. By that child. You do realise that, correct?”
I laughed and then hissed in pain because of it. “Yes, I am aware. Look, she’s very traumatised. She thought we were going to eat her. I still think we can eliminate any risk she poses without an exterminator, or a shock collar.”
A deep sigh came from the phone. “Let me guess. You have been calling lawyer after lawyer, searching for someone to take this case so that they will be able to use their ‘Law-Powers!’ to make this incident go away and everything go back to normal. Am I correct?”
I flinched away from the pad. “I am not expecting full normal, just… A way to help her have more agency? No shock collar. No officer trained to kidnap people and put them in a facility tailing her every second.”
“So in other words: like she had been before everything happened.”
“She can be escorted by an orderly or a nurse,” I said, perhaps a little defensively. He had a point. “Or even a security guard, just, a human who…”
I sighed. They wouldn’t go for that. Four different lawyers had already shown me how the venlil would simply not tolerate a gentler approach. But somehow we’re the scary predators?
“Well I am sorry, Director Andes, the law doesn’t work that way. There is no chance that someone who was seen in public trying to stab someone would be allowed to be escorted by someone not trained to deal with that kind of risk.”
And of course, they didn’t have psychiatric nurses with training to deal with that kind of risk. Because they didn’t have fucking psychiatry. And if I got a human nurse, that would be seen as minimizing the issue, and–what if I just walk into traffic and let someone else deal with–
“However,” Venric piped in, “that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do.”
Deep breath. Okay. Okay, that was at least something. “How can you help?”
“Well, it will have to take a bit of time no matter what. First, we will need an in person meeting so we can get all the paperwork out of the way. Need to ‘cross your i’s and dot your t’s’ as I think you humans say. There cannot be any legal openings for any legal team to poke when we send our petitions.”
“Petitions?” I echoed.
“Yes, petitions. For one, we need to make sure that an exterminator can be posted inside your facility without any of their flammable equipment. The first meetings will result in a temporary deal that I’m certain you won’t be satisfied with, but it would be a stop-gap anyway, so prepare yourself right now for not getting everything you want. Is that acceptable for now?”
I was suddenly filled with energy. “Yes, yes, I–I understand the need to have um, transitional measures and iterative adjustments, and–if we can just make sure it’s not… A twelve-year-old getting tortured…”
“I am glad you feel the same,” Venric replied in an instant. “And after that stop-gap, we’ll have to send out petitions for the facility, local Magistratta, and one of the exterminators guilds. Will have to be careful on that one, find a sympathetic office. And finally, there is one of the most important questions we must answer.”
“And… That would be?” I asked, getting the sense that Venric liked to be a little dramatic sometimes.
“How you plan to pay my fee.”
I laughed. It hurt again. “Well, there are a few options, but I’m not very worried. I’ve been living the life of a broke PhD student on a Facility Director’s salary. Worst case scenario, I have savings.”
Venric whistled once more. “In that case, where and when would you like to meet? My current office is rather mobile, and my next two paws are free.”
“Could you come by my apartment? Or the facility? I… Shouldn’t move too much.”
“Right, your broken leg.”
“...Okay, how much stuff was in the news?” I asked, suddenly concerned. I thought back to my back-and-forth emails with Dr. MacEwan. “Did I give an interview while high on painkillers or something?”
“The internet is eternal, Director Andes! You can find out just about everything about someone on there.” He coughed, clearing his throat. “But don’t worry, you likely won’t be that well known unless you do something noticeably dumb.”
Right, I thought, feeling like he’d just cast a curse on me. I just have to make it through the next month with my brain drowning in endogenous misery soup, and not do anything dumb. I wanted to slam my head against the wall. I took a deep breath. Stimulate the vagus nerve.
===
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Recent discoveries in allergy prevention research have uncovered a promising strategy to combat peanut allergies, a condition affecting millions of children worldwide. Groundbreaking studies, particularly the LEAP-Trio study, have shown that introducing peanut products into an infant’s diet can significantly reduce the risk of developing peanut allergies later in childhood and into adolescence. This approach marks a significant departure from previous guidelines, which typically recommended delaying the introduction of potentially allergenic foods.

The LEAP Trials: A Foundation for Change

The Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) trial initially challenged the conventional wisdom of allergen avoidance by demonstrating that infants who were introduced to peanut products early and continued to consume them until age 5 had an 81% lower risk of developing peanut allergies compared to those who avoided peanuts. This pivotal study not only sparked a reevaluation of dietary recommendations but also set the stage for further investigation into how early dietary interventions could offer long-term benefits.
Building on the foundation laid by the LEAP trial, researchers designed the LEAP-Trio study to examine whether the protective effects against peanut allergies observed in early childhood would persist into adolescence. The results were unequivocally affirmative, showing a sustained lower prevalence of peanut allergies among those who had been introduced to peanut products in infancy, regardless of their peanut consumption patterns in later years. These findings underscore the lasting impact of early allergen exposure, suggesting that initial dietary choices can have far-reaching implications for allergy prevention.

Public Health Implications

The implications of the LEAP and LEAP-Trio studies extend far beyond the realm of academic research, offering a tangible strategy to significantly reduce the incidence of peanut allergies. By revising current dietary guidelines to promote the early introduction of peanut products, healthcare professionals can offer evidence-based advice that has the potential to prevent thousands of new allergy cases each year. This shift represents a major advancement in our approach to managing and preventing food allergies, with the promise of improving the quality of life for countless children and their families.
Moreover, these findings challenge the traditional paradigm of allergen avoidance, highlighting the need for updated public health policies and education efforts. As healthcare providers and parents embrace this new approach, it is crucial to develop resources and support systems to facilitate the safe introduction of peanut products into infants’ diets. This includes identifying infants at high risk for allergies who may require supervised testing before peanut exposure, ensuring that the implementation of these recommendations is both safe and effective.

Understanding the Mechanisms

The research into early peanut exposure not only demonstrates a practical approach to allergy prevention but also opens the door to understanding the biological mechanisms that underpin this protective effect. Initial findings suggest that early introduction may modulate the immune system in a way that decreases the likelihood of developing an allergic response to peanuts. This insight into the immune system’s adaptability offers hope for the development of prevention strategies for other types of food allergies.
Further investigation is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms of immune tolerance induced by early peanut exposure. Such research could revolutionize our understanding of allergies and tolerance, potentially leading to novel therapeutic approaches for allergy prevention and treatment. As we continue to unravel these complex biological processes, the potential for broader applications of early allergen exposure becomes increasingly apparent.

Guidance for Parents and Caregivers

For parents and caregivers, navigating the recommendations for early peanut introduction requires careful consideration and often, medical guidance. While the benefits of early exposure are clear, each child’s health history and risk factors for allergies must be assessed to tailor the approach to their specific needs. Healthcare professionals play a crucial role in providing the necessary advice and support for safely incorporating peanut products into infants’ diets.
It is important for parents to understand that while early peanut exposure offers a powerful tool for preventing allergies, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Detailed guidelines and resources are available to help parents introduce peanut products in a safe and effective manner, ensuring that this preventive strategy is accessible and practical for families from diverse backgrounds.

Herbal Formula

Given the insights from the article on the prevention of peanut allergies through early exposure, a holistic approach to support immune system balance and potentially reduce the risk of developing allergies could be beneficial. It’s important to note, however, that the primary focus of allergy prevention discussed involves dietary intervention rather than herbal remedies. Nonetheless, certain herbs known for their immune-modulating properties might complement a strategy aimed at maintaining a healthy immune response and potentially minimizing allergy risks.
Herbal Formula Recommendation:

1. **Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus):** Known for its immune-boosting properties, Astragalus can help strengthen the body’s resistance to pathogens. It’s traditionally used to support and enhance the immune system, potentially helping the body to establish tolerance to allergens.
   
2. **Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica):** Often used for its anti-inflammatory and antihistamine properties, Stinging Nettle can be beneficial in managing allergic symptoms. While its role in prevention is less clear, it might support the body’s handling of allergens.
   
3. **Quercetin:** Though not an herb, Quercetin is a flavonoid found in many plants and foods. It’s known for its antioxidant properties and ability to stabilize mast cells, which can reduce the release of histamine and other inflammatory signals associated with allergies.
   
4. **Turmeric (Curcuma longa):** With its active component curcumin, Turmeric exhibits strong anti-inflammatory effects. It can modulate the immune system, potentially aiding in the prevention of an overactive allergic response.
   
5. **Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra):** This herb has soothing properties and can act as an adrenal tonic. Licorice root may help modulate the immune system and support the body’s stress response, which can be beneficial in managing chronic conditions like allergies. However, it’s important to use Licorice Root cautiously, especially in individuals with high blood pressure.
   

While herbs offer potential health benefits, they can also interact with medications and may not be suitable for everyone, including pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children. It’s crucial to consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new herbal regimen.

A New Era in Allergy Prevention

As we embrace the findings from the LEAP and LEAP-Trio studies, we are entering a new era in the prevention of food allergies. This research not only offers a clear path forward for reducing the prevalence of peanut allergies but also lays the groundwork for exploring similar strategies for other allergenic foods. The challenge ahead lies in translating these insights into widespread practice, requiring collaboration among researchers, healthcare professionals, and public health organizations.
The journey toward implementing early peanut exposure on a global scale will involve overcoming educational, cultural, and logistical barriers. However, the potential benefits for future generations are immense, offering the promise of a healthier, allergy-free life for millions of children around the world. As we continue to advocate for and implement these changes, the vision of significantly reducing the burden of food allergies becomes an increasingly attainable reality.

Source:

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/introducing-peanut-infancy-prevents-peanut-allergy-into-adolescence

Like most of us, before taking the NCLEX I spent several weeks scouring this sub, looking for any and all advice seeing everyone's scores, comparing my own to theirs. I graduated in December and started studying around Christmas. My school uses Kaplan and because it was free for me, Kaplan is what I used. I passed all 3 CATS with green and yellow topics, but all overall green. My readiness exam I got a 63% on. I would do a few q-bank questions each day, downloaded Mark-k notes, and watched Youtube videos, trying to keep the VERY SMALL amount of energy nursing school sucked from me to give it one last big push to pass. The last 10 days before my exam, I really cracked down. I would do at minimum 85 questions per day, and remediate the ones I got wrong. I never felt ready, or like it was enough, and man I was BURNT out. The morning of my exam I was so anxious. I got there, signed in, they sealed my phone, explained the rules, etc. and there I was sitting in front of the screen, knowing my future was in the hands of how well i did or did not do on this exam. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was not this. 90% of my content was SATA, Bow-tie, and Case studies. There was only ONE question out of the entirety that I was confident in. Just some of my thoughts were: wtf? I have no clue dude?! what is this asking me? fuck, both (or more) of these answers could be right. Out of everything I studied, only a few things I felt I really saw on my exam. I felt defeated. I was guessing 100% of the time. I was done for I thought.The screen went to 85, and after I answered, it ended. Well shit. Either I did really good, or really bad. I got c the exam, cried to all of my family, and basically was a toddler throwing a fit over the entire weekend that I was a failure and "this isn't fair". To make matters worse, my state board doesn't post active licenses over the wekend. So here I am refreshing my state's page 50 times per day, with nothing to show for it. I did do the PVT and got the good-pop up. but I didn't believe it whatsoever. Finally, this morning I got the e-mail from my state board issuing my license, and unofficial results showed Pass. That is my story, now here is my advice and some resources I used:

1. You will feel that you failed AND that you were the exception to the rule that most people pass first try. No one could convince me otherwise. Right after the exam I was looking on reddit about anyone who failed in 85, and in my head it was real that I must've done so bad that I didn't even get the opportunity to get to 150 questions. So, you will feel that you failed. Miserably. That is VERY normal, normalize it. Embrace it even. Go cry. I know I did. But then, say fuck it and go do something fun. Go out to eat, whatever it is. You studied, you took a hard exam, there are a lot of unknowns, but do something fun for yourself. Don't be me and sit at home crying and pitying myself.
   
2. I used the famous Mark K lecture notes/lectures. I'm going to be honest and say that I blacked out durin exam and do not recall using any techniques he mentioned, but he's popular for a reason, and he has a lot of good info.
   
3. YouTube videos, particularly In particular: Addison's and Cushing's disease review PPE precautions (definitely know these!) Blood thinners For those who struggle with NGN questions, his case study walk throughs DI vs SIADH (need to know as well imo!) Any of his labor + delivery/OB videos. I'd get quite comfy and confident in learning FHR strips + their interventions Mark k nclex review by beautiful nursing (great for understanding the basics)
   
4. IF you do fail, try, try again. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. I know. That is incredibly difficult, and quite frankly, annoying to hear. But my point is that you must keep trying. You were able to kick nursing schools ass and this is just the last step you need to continue you nurse journey! Keep going.
   
5. If you're an anxious person like me, I recommend not taking your exam on a Friday or Saturday, unless you know your board releases active licenses over those days. I had to wait 48 hours, and I'm an anxious mess so that was killer.
   
6. No amount of studying I felt truly prepared me for what I saw. This may be an unpopular opinion, and I don't discourage anyone from studying, but l'm gonna be honest, I studied from around 8-8 at night, and considering that only a few things were on the exam out of the 1600 q-bank questions I did, I felt that i shouldn't have been so hard on myself. I would say, do lots of practice questions, but please, don't study from sunrise to sundown like I did. Do 85-100 questions per day, maybe with a mark-k lecture and remediate and REALLY absorb that info, then take the evening off. I over did it. Unnecessary. The reality is, I didn't understand most of what they were asking for, and had to get comfy with guessing. I will be adding more to this list, but these are my most important messages I wanted to convey. You all can do it, and if you have any questions I am happy to help in a my way I can. Good luck future nurses, I believe in you!
   

Like most of us, before taking the NCLEX I spent several weeks scouring this sub, looking for any and all advice seeing everyone's scores, comparing my own to theirs. I graduated in December and started studying around Christmas. My school uses Kaplan and because it was free for me, Kaplan is what I used. I passed all 3 CATS with green and yellow topics, but all overall green. My readiness exam I got a 63% on. I would do a few q-bank questions each day, downloaded Mark-k notes, and watched Youtube videos, trying to keep the VERY SMALL amount of energy nursing school sucked from me to give it one last big push to pass. The last 10 days before my exam, I really cracked down. I would do at minimum 85 questions per day, and remediate the ones I got wrong. I never felt ready, or like it was enough, and man I was BURNT out. The morning of my exam I was so anxious. I got there, signed in, they sealed my phone, explained the rules, etc. and there I was sitting in front of the screen, knowing my future was in the hands of how well i did or did not do on this exam. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was not this. 90% of my content was SATA, Bow-tie, and Case studies. There was only ONE question out of the entirety that I was confident in. Just some of my thoughts were: wtf? I have no clue dude?! what is this asking me? fuck, both (or more) of these answers could be right. Out of everything I studied, only a few things I felt I really saw on my exam. I felt defeated. I was guessing 100% of the time. I was done for I thought.The screen went to 85, and after I answered, it ended. Well shit. Either I did really good, or really bad. I got c the exam, cried to all of my family, and basically was a toddler throwing a fit over the entire weekend that I was a failure and "this isn't fair". To make matters worse, my state board doesn't post active licenses over the wekend. So here I am refreshing my state's page 50 times per day, with nothing to show for it. I did do the PVT and got the good-pop up. but I didn't believe it whatsoever. Finally, this morning I got the e-mail from my state board issuing my license, and unofficial results showed Pass. That is my story, now here is my advice and some resources I used:

1. You will feel that you failed AND that you were the exception to the rule that most people pass first try. No one could convince me otherwise. Right after the exam I was looking on reddit about anyone who failed in 85, and in my head it was real that I must've done so bad that I didn't even get the opportunity to get to 150 questions. So, you will feel that you failed. Miserably. That is VERY normal, normalize it. Embrace it even. Go cry. I know I did. But then, say fuck it and go do something fun. Go out to eat, whatever it is. You studied, you took a hard exam, there are a lot of unknowns, but do something fun for yourself. Don't be me and sit at home crying and pitying myself.
   
2. I used the famous Mark K lecture notes/lectures. I'm going to be honest and say that I blacked out durin exam and do not recall using any techniques he mentioned, but he's popular for a reason, and he has a lot of good info.
   
3. YouTube videos, particularly In particular: Addison's and Cushing's disease review PPE precautions (definitely know these!) Blood thinners For those who struggle with NGN questions, his case study walk throughs DI vs SIADH (need to know as well imo!) Any of his labor + delivery/OB videos. I'd get quite comfy and confident in learning FHR strips + their interventions Mark k nclex review by beautiful nursing (great for understanding the basics)
   
4. IF you do fail, try, try again. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. I know. That is incredibly difficult, and quite frankly, annoying to hear. But my point is that you must keep trying. You were able to kick nursing schools as? and this is just the last step you need to continue you nurse journey! Keep going.
   
5. If you're an anxious person like me, I recommend not taking your exam on a Friday or Saturday, unless you know your board releases active licenses over those days. I had to wait 48 hours, and I'm an anxious mess so that was killer.
   
6. No amount of studying I felt truly prepared me for what I saw. This may be an unpopular opinion, and I don't discourage anyone from studying, but l'm gonna be honest, I studied from around 8-8 at night, and considering that only a few things were on the exam out of the 1600 q-bank questions I did, I felt that i shouldn't have been so hard on myself. I would say, do lots of practice questions, but please, don't study from sunrise to sundown like I did. Do 85-100 questions per day, maybe with a mark-k lecture and remediate and REALLY absorb that info, then take the evening off. I over did it. Unnecessary. The reality is, I didn't understand most of what they were asking for, and had to get comfy with guessing. I will be adding more to this list, but these are my most important messages I wanted to convey. You all can do it, and if you have any questions I am happy to help in a my way I can. Good luck future nurses, I believe in you!