🗣 Sessions with Lafayette - Serious Issues Thread

[Rimland]

Shhhhh That’s a secret!

[Yacob]

heartburn, and it is terrible.

It’s starting to be more frequent. Maybe 2x or 3x a month, but that is up from once every other month not that long ago. I have cut out pepperoni and other obvious foods but now I can have 2 margaritas and a not spicy taco for lunch and half way between lunch and go home time at my desk and it just comes out of nowhere. I am too young to be having to take a prilosec every day (I think). I am gonna have to talk to the doctor. How do people cope with this? I’d rather have a migraine or get punched by a big huge tough guy every day than deal with this.

[Rimland]

Ouch, I feel for you man. I´ve been suffering from the occasional heartburn pretty much since childhood (though probably much more when I was little, lol). Improving my general eating/drinking habits has always been the best long-term solution for me, since nowadays I basically only get it when I overdo it with booze or spicy/junky stuff, but as a quick remedy, Rennie tablets have always worked well for me, so you might wanna give those a go if you can get them in the States. Alternatively, I also remember almonds (yeah, just plain, raw, non-peeled almonds) being pretty effective, at least when I was a kid. That was my grandma´s solution.

[Heisenberg]

Get checked. If you’re having it that often, something could be wrong. When it starts happening to my wife 15 years ago, she ended up having her gallbladder taken out.

[schatenjager]

I’ve had chronic acid reflux for a couple decades now. I take an over the counter medication for it on the advice of my doctor. I have to watch what I eat and almost anything spicy is out. I almost never eat Mexican as a result (yes, there are non-spicy options but it’s just easier to avoid the whole cuisine). It’s a major pain and eventually will become throat cancer if I don’t keep it under control (Barrett’s Esophagus). I feel for ya.

[Axwage]

I eat and drink too much. It causes heartburn. When I overeat or overdrink, my heartburn is bad. It keeps me up at night. Farting is but a fleeting salve. It’s taken years to really accept and face and internalize the causal truths. I’m making progress towards avoiding the painful results of partying. Discipline is not easy. Pay attention to what you’re consuming and perform informal tests with yourself as the subject: “If I abstain from this or that consumable, do I feel the burn later?”

It’s true that it could be a sign of something serious, and always consult a doctor. But it’s usually the most obvious culprit: diet, stress, lifestyle. (Even smoking can cause/exacerbate heartburn, do you smoke?..)

Cutting out the stress-relieving drink sucks.

So does staying up all night with your body screaming at you.

By the way I believe I heard it’s bad to take heartburn meds long term, as the body gets used to the meds addressing the problem, as opposed to lifestyle change fixing it. Short term is totally fine, and surely some will argue, but I’m just relaying something I read when I myself was doing a lot of research into this topic. Consult your doctor.

[empressofpersia]

my middle sibling had severe acid reflux for years, to the point that it literally was dissolving the lining of their esophagus and they couldn’t eat without coughing fits that ended in vomiting. They have been on OTC Prilosec for the past 5 years now and it’s so much better. Get that checked out.

[pissfloyd]

@Yacob

How do people cope with this?

Had this issue for years. Done OTC acid reducers and proper PPIs to no great effect.
My personal experience with managing it involves zero caffeine and zero greasy/ultra processed food. I’ve also managed to quit smoking.
At this point in time, the reflux is negligible, I still get hints of it but it’s nothing compared to how it was.

Hope you get better, it’s truly miserable. You might wanna get scoped to rule out helicobacter pylori

[Swangtheugly]

Today I witnessed something incredibly heartbreaking and it quite literally ruined my day.

A Stray Black kitten was running outside my jobs parking lot. For context it’s a very tight parking lot that’s very busy, so I instantly went into action hoping I could get the poor thing somewhere safe.

It crawled up a customers car and while we asked them to check for us they didn’t do a good job….

When the customer left they hit the poor baby and in turn broke its back leading to its death. I witnessed it and it was just rough to see. The customers drove off without a care and I’m just in ruin right now and need to put my thoughts down.

I’m just upset and angry cause I could have done more.

I hope the poor fur baby is somewhere better now atleast.

[Silvereyes]

I’m sorry you had to see that @Swangtheugly, that would be rough for anyone to witness.

[Hichkas]

Sorry to hear that. I recently had a similar experience myself (not sure if mentioned it here), but I witnessed a cat get killed by an ignorant driver and notice for unpleasant explanation: poor thing got beheaded and the body was jumping around for a few minutes I had trouble sleeping for the next few days.

[Charlie_Farmer]

I’m so sorry that you had to witness that. Cats are such gentle creatures. It’s unfortunate that it happened, I’m sure they’re in a better place and at peace.

[v1deost]

I’m so so sorry you had to witness that, Swang. It sounds horrifying to simply read and no one should ever have to see that happen. The carelessness of some people in this world is equal parts astounding and infuriating.

You did the most that you could in the moment, though. There’s no place for “what ifs” at this point and it’s ultimately the driver’s fault since you alerted them and they acted callously. It’s okay. The cat is probably in a better place now. The same can’t be said for the customers.

[Swangtheugly]

Another Day, Another Venting Post About Family.

Today’s subject, communal refrigerators.

I try to be patient and speak to people rationally and calm, but I just learned to walk away after they begin to throw a screaming match to shut people down.

I’d say approximately about 45ish minutes ago i mentioned/ brought up how the fridge is just stocked to the point where it could break, and also the issue of the lack of space for when I purchase groceries or when my relative purchases groceries.

The refrigerator situation is borderline communal and so it’s essentially first come first server on the available real-estate.

I mention the space issue simply because I like my cousins and my relative equally need to eat. I try to find solutions to problems instead of creating more problems, but somehow my solution is a problem.

My solution was for me to buy a decently sized Mini-Fridge that way at least I can transfer what little I have in the fridge and freezer that way it free’s up what space I do take. Said mini-fridge would’ve went in the laundry room which is in the basement since the proper outlets are there for it.

This was overheard by the eldest cousin and I tried to explain to her calmly and collected that the way everything is in there now isn’t good for the refrigerator. As someone who lived in a dorm with a communal fridge I know that the way with how filled it is it will break and then no one would have a refrigerator/freezer . But she just yelled up a storm and cited how “we were being weird” for having this conversation. I walked away, and just gave up I’m tired of walking on egg shells when I quite literally did nothing to them or to go against them. I’m just trying making a rather unsavory living situation more comfortable. I don’t know, I just need to vent somewhere.

Im just at my wits end and don’t know what to do with all this unnecessary drama. I get they were dealt an unfair hand and they have responsibility, I’d never undermine the burden they have, we all have our issues and while I’m more reserved with speaking about mine I just wish they knew and would listen that I’m not out to get them and never have been. I just wake up, go to work, sleep, and repeat. I do what’s asked of me and try to keep my head low.

[pissfloyd]

Why do you need to consult them for buying your own fridge?

Edit: okay so i just looked at your post history. The house is yours and you aunt and two cousins showed up on the doorstep and needed a temporary place to stay, right?

Im sorry to inform you, but if this has been going on for months, she’s likely not planning on leaving. If your cousins also bully you in your own house the only fitting solution I see is booting them out.

Your aunt will likely gaslight you about this and say it isnt like that. This is when you call the police for assistance.

It’s a shitty thing but it’s not productive to have three people stomping all over you in your house. I’m afraid you’re too blinded by empathy to see the actual problem.

[MrOchoa]

Kick’em out, they’re taking advantage of your kindhearted nature.

[pissfloyd]

Also worth keeping in mind she brought an animal into his house without consent and is borderline negligent of her young child.

Swang bro needs assistance.

[Hichkas]

Why did you even care to ask? Just buy it. I understand it could be difficult despite its irrelevance to them but just doing it wouldn’t put much options left for them.

[Swangtheugly]

I need to clarify some aspects, just for the sake of setting misconstrued points just to go over the timeline of events.

Firstly this isn’t my house, I moved in with a relative who was getting up in age to assist them. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement. I’m close to work, they get someone more young and able to help around. Trash, Shovel Snow, Mow Lawn, Tech Assistance, and whatever is requested of me. This arrangement also isn’t a free ride and I do contribute towards the upkeep of the house and its bills.

Secondly, we took in my aunt and two cousins in July 2023, after they showed up on our door step despite the fact leading up to this said relative insisted that we had no space for all of them. This isn’t the first time they came into this house prior to me coming in. Aunt for reasons I can’t disclose here and simply not at liberty to discuss publicly is no longer living in this house. This happened back in September of 2023.

Thirdly, Cousin number 3 came in January after an episode with a dog she took off a family’s lawn on New Year’s Eve. She showed up at the doorstep cause again she had nowhere else to go after getting kicked out of her God Parents for again the situation I mentioned on New Year’s Eve. Following this she would bring men who are complete strangers into the house. I try to be proactive but within reason especially after coming home but before hand I did consult my relative first and bought a nest camera just for my room. They insisted no one was going in my room, but not even a day later I got footage of her and the guy she was messing around with at the time in there. As someone who genuinely just wants to be left alone, this was an invasion of my own privacy.

Since then, I did make changes to how I approach groceries in an effort to be self sufficient and not be an additional mouth to feed. So I started getting my own groceries with the few exceptions here and there previously it was a you buy stuff I buy stuff we contribute situation, but with so many people in the house it became hard to keep up with that. I’ll occasionally get some stuff for my relative and while she insisted on paying me back I would say no to it. I’ll never let the youngest cousin go hungry. She is just a kid and that needs to be stated clearly.

There are occasions where my relative and I will go out to eat together but it’s either I pay the bill or separate checks.

Lastly, the eldest cousin has essentially brought in her boyfriend despite my relative insisted we don’t have space. He will leave for a day, but then he will come back for six days. He doesn’t contribute anything, all he does is sit the bed room upstairs and plays Xbox.

I’ve tried to stay clear of any sensitive situation in the house. The only time I would bring stuff up is when it could A. Become a potential issue for everyone or B. When specific instruments involving bodily fluids is left about for everyone to see.

Other than that I would stay clear of anything. I sleep in the basement so I hear the arguments and fighting every week. I’ve gotten tired of it, I’m tired of having the need to act like I’m walking on egg shells even for really trivial things. I don’t envy my relative cause she has been put in a very shitty situation and all I can say is “I don’t know what you want me to say or tell you”. I’ve said that if this continues something needs to be done, but the moral dilemma is the well being of the youngest child.

It’s just a shitty situation that’s unraveling at the seems. Any compromise is non negotiable since it’s just playing victim or screaming matches. Can’t have a rational conversation and be adults. To them we’re just being weird when we speak about potential issues and potential solutions. We aren’t doing it to talk behind their back, this isn’t highschool. This is the wellbeing of the house/household and its health and upkeep.

[Swangtheugly]

@Hichkas

Why did you even care to ask? Just buy it.

Simply out of respect towards my relative who is the homeowner. This isn’t with every purchase I make obviously.

I consulted her about the nest camera in my room and how it would strictly only be in my room which became an issue to my cousins if they constantly bring it up when a fight happens. Because something that doesn’t affect them is somehow affecting them right?