u/Sensitive_Note1139

Update: I think I have him convinced to get the natural gas backup generator. We'll see if he starts the follow through. It won't help anytime soon, but it's hope. With all the datacenters going in, rolling brownouts are a real possibility. It'll take everything we've save though. We could take out a loan but that's a last resort. Hate to refinance the house.

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Our electric is out again. The power company got lazy and didn't remove the tree trunks from the power lines near my house. They were leaning on the lines and the lines gave in.

It's 89 degrees on my front porch and 86 on the far side of my living room.

I just went through this a month ago. That was for 3 days but it was a bit cooler outside.

I told my husband then, I wanted a whole house power system. We have to get our electrical box replaced. We do need a new roof but this heat is horrible.

He wants to get a whole house battery backup system. That's 30k. We have never saved 30k. They have computers in them that don't always talk to each other properly. So then they don't work. Plus the air conditioning wipes out the battery. There are no repairmen in our tri-state area to fix the system he wants.

I want a natural gas system. Then I am pretty sure it is going to work if maintained. My MIL has one and it works.

I won't be sleeping tonight. Too freaking hot and I can't have the AC run. It will wipe out the battery in under 3 hours.

He's being stubborn about getting a system HE doesn't want. His whole family is like this. I love him to pieces but sometimes I get very frustrated. I'm going to talk to him again. I cannot keep doing this. My health can't take it.

Cooling centers are no help for sleep. So we're stuck. He needs to get up for work at 5 am. He'll have no AC either.

I was raised in the very early Evangelical church in the 1970s and 1980s. That's when the term Evangelical didn't exist yet. They called themselves "born-again". Doesn't have the same ring does it. The power that be back then were just figuring themselves out. Fire and brimstone was fairly new. The Assembly of God denomination was fairly young. The Satanic crazy was rolling hard.

My parents got sucked in. They didn't just dabble. They dove of the board into the deep side. Everything was Satanic. New things were added all the time by the pastors testing the waters to see how far they could go without losing money. Turns out they could go very far and haven't stopped since.

I was never completely down for all of it. I had my moments but my brain would ask questions that my parents couldn't answer. I lost everything I enjoyed as a child. My parents and brother shunned me in my own home if I stepped out of line. Mom and Dad would make me sit in the living room with them while they watched channel 40 and refused to talk to me. They went through my stuff constantly because they knew I wasn't as devout as they were.

I started to exert some of my own individuality eventually. That was a huge problem. I would question the pastor's sermons because what he claimed Jesus said wasn't what was in my Bible.

I shared a love of fantasy and sci-fi books with my grandmother. My parents would tolerate the sci-fi to a point. It had to be based in actual science. Most books of fiction are not that specific. My true love was fantasy stories. I loved the hero fighting evil and winning. Sword and Sorcery caught my imagination. Magic and everything affiliated with it was Satanic. My grandmother helped me find fantasy books that had the hero, the monster, the thrill of the good person winning, but without the magic.

But I still had to be careful. My stuff would disappear occasionally no matter how well I hid it. And what was allowed varied day to day. I have spent over 30 years thinking about one young adult book I had been reading that disappeared. I didn't remember the title, the author, and it was mass market at the time. Books go out of print fast. I only remembered a few parts of the plot. But I never got to finish it when it went "missing".

Last week, I broke down and used AI to help find it. It took an hour because I remembered so little about the story. But I found it. "The Hero and The Crown". Located it at a online used book store and it just arrived this week. My husband is working this weekend. I am going to read my book and reclaim just a little bit of my childhood back.

I feel so rebellious and as if I am a kid again sneaking around my parents. I'm 53 and this one little thing makes me feel like I'm a kid again.

I just wanted to share something with y'all because you will understand what an important moment this is. F' you mom, dad, and your hate filled version of god. I'm free.

No medical advice given or needed. I have a call in to see my PCP today.

I'm diabetic due to a medication I used to be on. Not important anymore, since I have to deal with the result of that medication. Got our favorite /s stomach issue after being on a different medication. Been drinking a lot of smoothies for the stomach. So many of them are very sweet which has my sugar up. So I decided to swap out bananas for soft tofu. Was going to switch out my oatmilk for soy, pea, or flax milk. Those moves would lower the sugar content of my smoothies. Been drinking tofu smoothies for a few days. Haven't even gotten to the soy, pea, or flax milks.

Just figured out I'm allergic to soy. As usual, my body takes days to show an allergic reaction. Keeping an eye on it. Took some allergy pills. Have a call into my PCP. Cancelled my soy milk order. Could not cancel my pea milk order. Which I can't drink now because it's in a similar plant family. Threw out my tofu. Going to ask for an allergy test, IF my insurance will cover it. Will probably need a referral to another specialist. That'll be fun.

I saw the comment recommendation about making my doctor put his refusal in my file. I'm going to do that going forward. I'm also going to try a different PCP soon, I hope.

Basically, be careful changing your diet to stuff you aren't used to eating. If you are able to eat in the first place. I feel terrible for everyone who can't. I never had issues with soy before. Tofu was too much. Back to bananas, unsweetened oatmilk, and lite unsweetened coconut milk. Soy or almond milk was what was locally available.

Update: Thank everyone for your responses. I decided to cancel the order since it seemed hit or miss on if they helped or not.

In your opinion, did Prebiotics and Probiotics help you? I drink a lot of smoothies and was wondering if adding something like that once a day would even help.

I ordered some during Prime Days but am hesitating. I don't have a lot of faith in supplements.

I'm in the beginning stages of what is wrong with me. It's been 16-20 years of being dismissed by doctors. I don't confront authority figures well. I am trying.

My bloodwork came back from my hematologist. He's sending me to a GI doctor about getting my digestive system checked. I never wanted a colostomy or endoscopy, but here I am. Sadly, I don't have that appointment until end of August for the initial consult.

My husband is not happy with my PCP because he only treated me with an iron supplement that wasn't working. Then told me the hematologist is going to tell me I'm not anemic and send me back to him. I got to tell my husband I wanted to see a GI several years ago but the PCP dismissed it. Just like he's dismissing my nerve issues.

My iron saturation/low iron with normal ferritin. But I have numbers that show inflammation. I already know about the digestive issues. There is something going on with my nerves but that means a neurologist. Which means a whole new discussion with the PCP.

I really need to consider getting a new PCP, but that'll mean an hour drive one way. I think my issues are above my current PCPs ability to handle and he doesn't want to admit that. I'm not really keen on switching until I have something more concrete to go on.

Honestly, I feel for my husband in many ways. He's trying. He's the main reliable support for his mom. I was not supposed to start falling apart while she was still alive. I had been helping but when I exert myself I end up in bed these days. Fortunately some of my appointments are over the phone. I'm scared to drive over 15 minutes +/- because I get fatigued.

Today my guts just ached all day. I ate and made it worse. But I have to eat.

I don't know what all this means for the future. I'm sure there is more than one direction this can go. But dysautonomia diagnosis is not off the table. The GI doctor isn't going to be able to fix everything. I'll need to see a neurologist at some point.

I feel...I don't know how to feel. I'm falling apart.---------------

Please let me know if this is the wrong support sub-reddit for me. Suggestions for somewhere more appropriate is accepted. I got to go through breast cancer alone because of gatekeeping. I really don't want to experience that again.

I've been playing for a year. Took some time off recently to focus on another game. I just found out that I have been limiting myself at outposts this last year. They have a bigger border radius than I thought. Wow. I was shocked to say the least.

I was recommended to come here. I am not diagnosed yet, but my symptoms track. So I am just starting this journey of discovery.

After nearly 20 years I have finally gotten my medical support network to listen to me a bit. It took my psych sending my PCP an email telling him my issues were not mental in origin. My psych tried every medication she could to help me sleep and even got me on a CPAP. But nothing has helped. She wanted me to see a neurologist.

PCP decided we will start with my iron. Saturation is low but everything else is fine. He put me on iron pills. Those pills are not doing anything after 5 months. I had to push him to let me see a hematologist. PCP told me they won't help me because I am not anemic yet.

He was correct about me not being anemic. Hematologist confirmed that. He ordered blood work. I have no idea what it all means. Hoping his office calls me this week and lets me know. He's trying to get me on something other than the pills. That's if my insurance will accept my numbers as needing it. [I see I can't talk about IV. So I will leave the treatment off]. But he said my PCP needs to find out what is going on because the severity of my symptoms do not match with anemia.

I see my PCP again in 2 weeks. I am trying to figure out how to be forceful yet not peeve him off. I don't need to be thrown out of the practice for upsetting him. He likes to start giving his opinions before you even finish what you are saying. I'm in a rural area so my options are limited. I've also figured out we don't have the best doctors here. Usually the residents are better, but they leave after a couple of years to greener pastures.

Husband said to insist on a neurologist. His mom sees one that she likes. Hopefully, he'll be agreeable. I am not sure if I should insist on my husband coming into the room with me or not. I normally don't have him do that. He isn't always the most helpful but he did tell the hematologist I can't walk 100 yards without being exhausted.

Are there any other specialists I'm going to need to see that you have had to see? Anything that helped you all to get your doctor to listen?

I will admit I plugged stuff into AI. I didn't tell me I had cancer so that's a step up from 10 years ago. I don't like using AI. But my PCP is taking things very, very slow. I've been telling him alone for 2 years about how I felt.

I see from reading I am not alone in being frustrated with a doctor.

Well, I did it. I cancelled my appointment with a PCP instead of just rescheduling. I just can't do another one. I suffer from vaginismus, a misshaped pelvis bone, and was raped several times. I tell the person doing it my health issues which are ignored every time. They hurt me so badly I am sore for a week after. I am traumatized for months mentally. I am 54. No longer sexually active. Have been through menopause in nearly 10 years- I started early. I'm done.

I just can't do it. No amount of therapy is going to manage it. I may call my insurance and see if they'll cover a hysterectomy. They probably won't without a good reason though.

Every appointment they push it from their general list of questions without looking at my file. They ask me about my mental health. Every time I have to tell them I see a psychiatrist and therapist at their practice. They push mammograms. I had a double mastectomy 4 years ago. I go to my car after and cry. The medical assistant doesn't even have the graces to look uncomfortable or express any sympathy about the mastectomy.

Due to my weight I couldn't and can't get a cosmetic surgeon later to do reconstruction. Every one near me won't perform it on a woman if they are over 180 pounds. I even tried states near me and it's the same thing. My surgeon did the best he could, but he's was not a cosmetologist.

I don't know if my doctor will drop me because of this or not. I guess I'll find out at my next appointment. I just can't. The medical profession does not care about me. I am just a slab of meat to be poked, prodded, and hurt. Heck, I am having to take my husband to see a hematologist. I am scared they won't listen to me. I hope my husband is willing to lie if necessary about he can't have sex because I'm always tired. Maybe that'll get the doctor in gear.

I'm just done.

Can this condition get better for a while and come back? I had been doing so well eating whatever I wanted for several months. Now I feel like it's back. Feeling so defeated. Before it never went away just wasn't flared up. I literally ate whatever I wanted: salads, chicken wings, grilled cheese, etc. Now that's making me sick again. I hate going back to smoothies with the price of groceries these days.

Edit: I appreciate the sympathy and advice. But her dogs are innocent in all this. My anger is really for her. She's selfish and paranoid. Dogs don't get adopted very well around here. Our shelters are almost as expensive as buying a puppy from a backyard breeder. So they probably wouldn't get adopted. I mainly needed to vent. Thank everyone for reading this.

There. I finally said it. My MIL is selfish. Right now I have her 3 dogs because she's having her cataracts done. I have one dog. Mine is calm and house trained.

Back when she had 2 different senior dogs she was talking about having them put down if she died because no one could take as good of care of them as she has. Husband and I told her we would take her dogs. We have had to reinforce that over the years with her.

Well, 2 years ago the one senior dog died. She decided she wanted a replacement for that dog. So she got a puppy. 6 months later she decided she wanted another puppy. After the first puppy I asked her to not get any more dogs. She did it anyway.

She justified it with we could put them down or take them to the shelter when she died if we don't want them. She knows we aren't going to do that.

Our township only allows 4 dogs. So she knowingly took us to the max dogs allowed. WHY? Because SHE wanted them. She can't take care of them well. If we don't change out their food plates they stay filthy. If we don't check the water dish it gets filthy. She can't see the much and has trouble bending down without falling over.

She has trouble walking so she doesn't let them outside but 3 times a day to go bathroom. So they go all over the house. We had them nearly house trained a year ago when she was in the hospital, but she untrained them.

So here we are with 3 more dogs that barely know to go outside.

They are sweet dogs. They try. But she is the problem. Her selfishness is inflicted on them and us. If we try to keep them, she accuses us of stealing her dogs, but then admits she's afraid to bend over to long leash them to go out.

I never wanted 4 dogs.

I needed to get that off my chest.