u/Alternative_Area_130

So I’m a 27 year old guy and I’ve been having back problems on and off for years. I had a bad flare up recently where I could barely walk, bend, or do anything. I started doing keto to lose weight and also fight any inflammation going on. I got my MRI results back and I know that they’re not great, but I’m unsure of how bad they actually are especially for someone my age. From my understanding l4-l5 seems the worst.

DISCS/SPINAL CANAL/NEURAL FORAMINA:
T12-L1: No focal disc herniation or stenosis. Mild facet arthropathy.
L1-L2: No acute process. No significant disc disease. No stenosis. Mild facet arthropathy. Mild facet arthropathy.
L3-L4: Disc desiccation. Mild-to-moderate disc space narrowing. Minimal disc bulge and facet arthropathy. Pedicles appear somewhat short. No stenosis. Mild bilateral foraminal narrowing.
L4-L5: Disc desiccation. Pedicles appear somewhat short. Broad-based disc bulge more focal posterior central disc herniation measuring 7.3 mm transversely by 3.8 mm AP. Facet arthropathy and hypertrophy ligamentum flavum. Moderate-to-severe stenosis. Moderate bilateral foraminal narrowing.
L5-S1: Prominent epidural fat. This causes moderate-to-marked narrowing thecal sac but no focal disc herniation. Minimal disc bulge and facet arthropathy. No significant foraminal narrowing.

IMPRESSION: 1. Spondylotic change described above including moderate-to-severe L4-L5 stenosis.

I have a Moen shower faucet. It's a single knob that you pull out to turn the water on, push in to turn it off, and then turn it to change temperature. I would like to go ahead and buy the cartridge before opening it up, so we're not left without a shower. The faucet came with the house, so no paperwork on it. Are there at least a small number of options that I could just buy and return if it's not the right fit? I've attached the best picture I have of it right now.

https://preview.redd.it/sp9m4tqviw1h1.png?width=1179&format=png&auto=webp&s=c579d71fc592cbd8e256a75e73e9810d3abb9bb6

Ate some bad lettuce the other day and was violently ill. Chicken and lettuce are kind of ruined for me at the moment. My body has been craving comfort foods since then, and I’m trying to figure out how to get to feeling better. I’ve thought about making almond flour pancakes, but looking for recommendations. Looking for less-meaty options (sounds so unappealing right now), some veggies sound okay (peppers, etc). Chicken broth has been really good, but doesn’t have enough sustenance to keep me going.

So I had a drop in my ketone levels on week 2/3 of my diet. I’m still in the elimination phase, so I’m thinking something I ate was responsible. This was what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast
1 Meat Lovers Crack an Egg bowl
4 tbsp half-and-half
Lunch
Quesadilla made with:
184g chicken breast
1/4 cup Great Value Fiesta Blend shredded cheese
2 Mission Carb Balance tortillas - I highly suspect these as they are new
Snack
1 serving Cheese Whisps
1 Great Value cheddar cheese stick
Dinner
2 Turkey burgers - 1 carbs each
2 cups broccoli
35g sharp cheddar cheese
Lewis Bake Shop keto hamburger buns - ate these the other day and were fine 1 net carb each
Homemade burger sauce made with:
Dijon mustard
No sugar added ketchup - 1 tbsp (1 carb)
dill relish (0 carbs)
Mayonnaise

Macros were:
199g of protein (little high)
133g of fat (little low)
2100 calories (little high)
16g of net carbs

I’ve been on keto for about 2 weeks. I did it a few years ago but fell off the wagon and gained 50-60 lbs. This time is a little different as I’m pushing 30, heaviest I’ve ever been, and now having back troubles.

I’m currently doing an elimination phase and trying to figure out what “keto” friendly foods trigger insulin spikes for me, but I’ve been pretty successful so far. My ketones are slowly rising according to my ketone meter, and I should be approaching 1.0 here soon.

The most magical thing for me is that my back pain that I have had going on months is gone. A few days after cutting out carbs my back just stopped hurting and I haven’t had to take my medicine in about 2 weeks. It’s been wonderful, I went from barely being able to walk some days to almost 0 pain. I’ve got some severe disc degeneration and my main reason for doing this was to lose weight and try to help my back.

The only thing I’m still struggling with is hunger. I can go hours without eating and not really bat an eye. As soon as I start eating and awhile after I get almost an insatiable hunger. I’m assuming it will go away in a few weeks. But all is well and I’m going to stick to it.

I'm based in Virginia and my employer just offered a new 457 plan COV457. It looks like it comes with the option of traditional or roth.

As of right now I have the following retirement accounts:

1. State pension through VRS includes deferred compensation (457) and cash match accounts (401)a

2. 403(b)

I am looking at opening a ROTH IRA here soon, but I wasn't sure if I should join this new plan being offered as well. If I take advantage of this account and do the roth option will this contribute to my ROTH IRA annual limit, or does this seem like it would separate?