u/VegasInfidel

I live in Las Vegas, as the name suggests. When I bought my 2019 Giulia, I found it at a Findlay Cadillac dealership. It was right down the street from the only Alfa Romeo dealership in town, a Towbin Motorcars owned competitor. I Thought it strange that a 2019 Giulia would be on sale in early 2022 from a Cadillac dealer with only 21,0000 miles at such a great price, better than what Towbin themselves were asking for a similar car. It turns out an Airman at Nellis had purchased it new, and put those first miles on it, then traded it in for a Cadillac (which my family had owned at least 12 of when I was growing up in Chicago). Being an Army Veteran myself, I knew that Airman took great care of their car, and the service records fromTowbin Alfa down the street showed this to be true. Even the oil changes were done there, listed on the paper at proper intervals, along with all services. I loved the car, if you are reading this you know, and was grateful to get such a deal.

I drove it with my service dog in the backseat, and he loved it too. It was perfectly fit inside and out to him. Shortly after buying it, time came for my first oil change, and as I live in Summerlin, the opposite side of the city to Henderson where Towbin Alfa is located, I found that the local lube job joints didn't carry the recommended 0W-30 full synthetic it called for, so I made the decision to drive all the way out to Towbin Alfa for one. There I met Vinny, one of the service advisors there. He is a no nonsense guy with a big smile that told me it was gonna be 99$ for my oil change, on special. I thought to myself, I've never paid more than 50$ for an oil change in my life, and I've owned a lot of cars. I even worked on them in a small repair shop right after I got out of the Army not a decade earlier (never worked on an Alfa though). Vinny told me "these are special cars, they need a little TLC, even for the little things." As they did the oil change, he talked with me about Alfas, and why they are different than your average Chevy or Cadillac, some things I knew, some I didn't. When the first visit was over and the oil change completed, he brought up how I had purchased the car in great condition, but how the factory warranty was expiring soon. The previous owner hadn't driven it that much, but it was almost 3 years since the original purchase date, and I ended up buying an extended warranty plan from him, probably the smartest thing I ever did as a new Alfisti. I was skeptical at first, but if the Army had taught me anything, it was that preparation for the unexpected was not a bad thing, and Vinny had done a lot to explain to me how this Italian machine was just different from other vehicles, including how all the parts came from Italy, and the training needed to work on a 2.0L 280hp turbo engine. I realized I wasn't going to be working on this car myself like I have with others I have owned, so the purchase was made. Over the last 4 1/2 years I have loved this car more than any other I've owned, and I've never ignored the postcard with the oil change special on it. I've seen Vinny for recall services, warranty repairs, and oil changes more times than I can Count. Vinny has become a friend, an advocate, and a guide through this Alfisti journey, saving me tens of thousands of dollars in repair costs, and nipping most problems in the bud before they happen. Multiple times, I have gone in for that oil change all the way across town, and come out a week later with a few thou in covered warranty repairs that a Jiffy Lube would never have caught until it was time for a tow truck mid road trip. I also ride a Harley, so thankfully I am able to keep the mileage low on my Alfa (it's at about 43,000 now, and the extended warranty is ending), and my service dog is long gone, but for my Alfa, I've still got Vinny. He's the one surprise I didn't know came with an Alfa Romeo Giulia. A friend, advisor, advocate, and guide in the Alfa ownership experience that handles and disspells the "reputation" for unreliability that many Alfa owners overlook. Vinny is why almost 5 years owning a Giulia has been stress free and affordable for a disabled veteran like me. I hope you all have a Vinny, it makes being an Alfisti just better.

My father passed exactly two years ago yesterday. He had vascular dementia, and went fairly peacefully, I stepped in when my mother couldn't care for him anymore, and realized as I had to remove him from their home together that she also had dementia. As he faded away and died with me at his side, she was in the hospital and rehab with what the doctors said was lewy body dementia. I handled everything, from his care facility to his burial, while she gave up on life. I found her a care facility, she hated it, berated me daily. Two years of care in high dollar facilities with four doctors and all of her caregivers saying she had mid stage lewy body. This march, she found an incompetent neurologist, who she lied through her teeth about her symptoms to. He said "you don't have lewy body", which was what she wanted to hear, doctor shopped until she did. Right as the money ran out. I moved her into a house with me, became her caregiver, as she let the anosognosia run the show. Abused and berated me daily, as she rejected the financial realities of our new living situation. 27 Amazon orders last month. 30 this one. We are on a budget. A fixed income. 700 this month for her cleaning service, which she "needs to live, as she is allergic to dust". 50 bottles of distilled water for her humidifier and nasal flushes per month, which she "needs to survive". Her behavior is INSANE, but "she doesn't have dementia, Dr. BURDICK SAYS SO". WE ARE BOTH FACING BANKRUPTCY AND HOMELESSNESS, but it's my problem now. How dare I say she needs to cut back, she sacrificed TOO MUCH for this family to be told she can't spend what she wants when she wants.

Rent isn't getting paid next month. There's no money. I'm calling the social worker, and having her transferred to the state's responsibility. I did EVERYTHING I could. I gave of myself until I am losing myself. She will now die alone in a state facility, my primary abuser for 49 years, believing she was the best mother ever, and how DARE I fail her.

I won't allow myself to take the blame for this. She rejected reality, fell into tried and true abuse when she couldn't get her way, rejecting reality for what she believed she deserved from me, and I gave until it is GONE.

NPD magnified by LBD that she doctor shopped until she was told she didn't have it, making every unreasonable demand MY FAULT for not facilitating.

Let the state of Nevada and medicaid take care of her now.

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I have been doing ketamine treatments for almost 5 years now. And just had leg surgery last Thursday. I do not respond well to opiates (they severely aggravate my PTSD), and as a result the surgeon prescribed Journovax, a new non-opiate sodium channel blocking painkiller introduced in 2025. The USP lists a moderate interaction between Ketamine and Journovax, but having just done a 1000mg. troche treatment that should have sent me to the moon ans back, but felt absolutely nothing, I can fully attest that Journovax completely blocks any disassociative effects of ketamine. The rub is. It actually works well for pain too. I am left in a place where I now must choose between the pain relief and the PTSD relief, as having both is impossible with this combination.

I expect that many more doctors will be moving to prescribe Journovax in the future, as it is non narcotic and effective for acute pain, but many of us that use Keramine therapeutically do so because of it's efficacy for comotbidities of pain and mental health. Journovax is incompatible with this. It's not only ONLY for pain. It takes away the ability of ketamine to treat mental health if it is taken.

It's not time for a wash period from ketamine, but it looks like I'm taking one anyway. I just wish it had been voluntary, as life is effing with my PTSD badly right now