u/_TheRocket

So when I was on Concerta I had heart palpitations and got a 24 hour monitor for it. This was about 2 months ago and for most of that time since I haven't been on Concerta anymore - I've switched to Elvanse which has been far less impactful on my heart and I basically don't have the palpitations anymore (provider is aware of this and has been happy for me to proceed on Elvanse).

However, of course, the test results of that monitor sat dormant for 2 months until yesterday when the cardiologist decided to look at them and contact my RTC provider telling them I need to stop taking my medication and switch to a non-stimulant due to the frequency of ectopic beats recorded. I NO LONGER experience these ectopic beats now that I am NO LONGER on concerta. I raised this concern with my RTC provider but they are unwilling to go against the cardiologist's opinion and that I need to speak to my GP to explain the situation and ask them to reassess their instruction in light of the fact that I no longer experience the side effects upon which they are basing their orders.

So I submitted gp request form yesterday but phoned them today to try to explain that I think my case is quite urgent, because going cold turkey from this dose is going to be horrible and I don't believe I would have been asked to do so if the cardiologist knew I had switched meds. They just told me "I can see you've already submitted a request for this, it's been triaged and you have to wait for someone to call you back. No, I can't give an estimate for when that will be."

So now I have to choose between resigning to the fact that I'm going to feel horribly depressed and painfully exhausted for most likely no reason while my body pushes through withdrawals, or break the rules and continue taking my meds until they run out, at which point I won't be able to get them re-prescribed anyway since my RTC provider is strictly following this advice from the cardiologist.

GP doesn't care, RTC provider seems to care and agrees the advice is misinformed but is uncomfortable or unable to go against the cardiologist. All of this is the most pointless bullshit ever and it's the second or third time something similar to this has happened which has resulted in my medication being paused only for them to later decide that the pause was unnecessary because they misunderstood the situation.

I feel like I'm never going to settle on a medication and actually realize the longer term impacts of any dose because I'm stuck in this loop of meds either not working or some bullshit happening that interrupts my titration. I'm now at the point where the titration is meant to end and my provider is having to request extensions. I'm starting to feel like this whole process is just making things worse for me and I want it to be over, but I feel like I'm trapped now because I don't want to have withdrawals or go back to my old self. I don't know what to do and I just want to cry. It makes me feel like I'm just a number on a spreadsheet when these faceless entities come out with these blanket instructions which are relayed through a third party before reaching me and there's nothing I can do to argue against it. The fact that such a severe decision can be made without it even being discussed with myself directly to explain that I'm not even on Concerta anymore just makes me feel like I don't even matter in my own treatment plan. I'm just a data point to be optimised and ticked off through brute force

The Pitch Bend Down sensor on my 4000S appears to be not working at all. I have set the dials to the position where none of the LEDs light up in the Adjust screen unless I activate one of the sensors. For example, when I touch the Bend Up sensor, the respective LED comes on to indicate it is working. However, the same does not happen with the Bend Down sensor.

I have gone into the settings and made sure the Bend Down function is actually enabled (it is) and tried to gently clean the surface of the sensor with a tiny bit of 99% IPA but nothing is working. It just doesn't detect that its being touched at all.

On my other 4000S (dont ask) I have all the settings exactly the same, apart from the soundbank, and dont have this issue. Is it possible that its somehow the soundbank which is causing this fault? I have the Patchman soundbank on the EWI that has the faulty sensor, and the stock soundbank on the one that works.

Thanks

I've always enjoyed Cortados, but I find that they tend to have somewhat bitter and unpleasant coffee-esque notes. I've always wondered if there was a better way to prepare the milk, besides the regular method of boiling it in the kettle, to improve the flavour profile.

I've spent the last 10 days experimenting with different ratios, brew methods, roast levels, even going so far as to use bottled milk rather than relying on the usual stuff through the Brita in a quest to improve the clarity. It turns out the solution was none of these things, but something much more simple, which I have outlined in the recipe below (note that I used pre-steamed milk for this process; you can find it in the foreign food aisle).

I started by using the steam wand of my La Marzocco to aerate a fresh tank of water in my secondary espresso machine. I then allowed it to preheat for 2 hours while I did my puck prep.

After firing up the EG-1 and grinding my milk into a blind shaker, I sold the shaker on Facebook Marketplace, announced this in Lance's comment section, then dumped the milk powder into my portafilter. NOTE: You will want to use fresh, untreated milk for maximum acidity.

By now the Dedica was nice and warm, so I loaded in my portafilter and pulled a shot with a ~3.14s preinfusion. The ratio I used was 1:2 which came out at exactly 30s; this is how I knew the drink tasted nice, even if my tastebuds would try to convince me otherwise.

I topped it up with an equal amount of the usual vanilla Coffee Mate to get the final drink. Lo and behold, all hints of bitterness and unwanted coffee flavour are gone; replaced with all the deliciously distinct acidic notes we all love in our specialty drinks.

God bless The Hoff

https://preview.redd.it/czd8j00utazg1.png?width=2070&format=png&auto=webp&s=71ab0a307b92a7d7e2ab6374da8eb7154b46ceb6

https://preview.redd.it/lenpwgg6yazg1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=e68647365cea77d7ffac74cb501fc3d3fbdfc1cf

I have seen clips of people wet sanding their paint jobs at various points and this is a new concept to me. I'm wondering why this is done and at what stages it is needed. For example, my attempts at getting a high gloss candy finish usually look like this:

1. Gloss black prime/undercoat
2. Chrome silver
3. Alclad candy colour
4. VMS gloss topcoat (once lacquers underneath are fully cured). Making sure the piece is clean and free from dust prior to each step.

I am wondering where the sanding would fit into this process. I have had the classic "why doesn't mine look as good as the one in the tutorial" moment every time I try a candy effect. I find that the gloss topcoat ends up looking somewhat cloudy instead of that really nice, high gloss almost 'wet' look of a candy finish. I am wondering if wet sanding is the key that I'm missing so I want to learn about it. I have some sanding sponges ranging from 180 to 2500 grit.

Any advice is appreciated 👍