u/callherjacob

My Autistic son is an active cub scout, but this is his last year. They're preparing the AOLs to transition to being scouts and I am worried. There have been misunderstandings about his needs and abilities even at the cub scout level.

I recognize that Scouters are volunteers. I know they're doing their best. I have no complaints there. My greatest concern is the expectation that the kids will be mostly independent once they become full-fledged Scouts. Independence combined with reduced adult supervision/intervention plus all the added responsibility is going to be a lot for him. Maybe even too much.

I know that Scouting America has guidelines for working with disabled scouts but, from what I've been able to see as a parent, the guidance is awfully limited.

I don't know what to do. My (elderly) father is willing to be with him since we're effectively being forced into a boys-only troop. There isn't a family troop anywhere near us. Otherwise, I'd go with him to activities. I'm afraid it would be too weird and uncomfortable for him to have him mom there with all the other boys. He's becoming more and more aware of social expectations.

So, first, how would you approach the scoutmaster to explain that a child needs an adult family member to help? And, second, what other advice do you have?

I've been on half a maintenance dose of poor man's Contrave for about 9 weeks now. Some days, I could almost not eat. Today, for example, I let myself fast all day until the evening and had a small bowl of spinach artichoke chicken over rice. I'm still full hours later.

Then, other days, I feel famished. I still don't eat anywhere as much as I used to but definitely more than my low appetite days.

I enjoy fasting, not for weight loss, but because I have had GI issues since my gallbladder was removed many years ago. Fasting is a reprieve from the discomfort and it makes my body feel lovely.

That said, I don't want to lose a lot of weight at once and I'm not sure how to manage. Is it okay to go by hunger cues where I'm eating more and less on any given day or should I force myself to eat three meals a day? My doctor is unconcerned and pleased about my progress.

Where do people find 5-10 hr/wk supplemental jobs that are 100% virtual?

I've been looking on Upwork and figured I'd buy a small number of credits to see what it's about. Seems to be a terrible platform for what I'm trying to do.

I'm curious if anyone has had luck finding low hour jobs to supplement their income? My regular job is variable and my hours aren't great right now.

I've been a 🍷🍔 for almost 6 years now. In that time, my family has gone from poverty and public assistance to having 6 months of critical expenses saved. It's taken extreme dedication to the budget and improving our income. We hover around 200% of the FPL, so we're not rich by any means, but we're not as vulnerable as we once were.

We have been in dire straits, so a clean emergency fund improves my my mental health. I know people have different philosophies about EFs. We also have sinking funds for known longer terms expenses that we're slowly saving toward. I just want to make sure I have $5,000 free and clear at all times in case of a true emergency.

So, with all of that said, I am interested in possibly doing more with these funds that are hanging out in HYS. Unfortunately, it seems like the interest rate in the HYS account drops every other month. I admit I don't know a ton about investing.

I've seen recommendations to put a portion of the EF into a robo account at 60% stocks/40% bonds. I've also seen people say not to be too aggressive and to opt for treasury bills. In fact I ran across a recommendation where you purchase treasury bills on a staggered schedule so your money frees up every few weeks.

I'm overwhelmed. Understanding that our financial situation is stable but not outstanding, what would you recommend? Also, if you have any links or reading materials to help me better understand the options, I'd appreciate it!

I am so frustrated. My husband visited a cardiologist and we paid the provider copay (HMO plan, by the way). The doctor set him up for testing that we assumed (first mistake) was at an affiliated office.

Turns out, the site is considered hospital outpatient at a local hospital even though it's not actually at the hospital so, instead of paying a regular copay, we got hit with nearly $1,300 from the hospital. That doesn't include whatever the physician is going to charge.

I'm sure this will be a controversial statement. We qualify for a charity care discount but I will not disclose our entire financial profile for the possibility of a small discount. If it were hundreds of thousands of dollars and we were about to lose our house, yeah okay. Filling out the application would make sense then. It's incredibly invasive and seems to be a screening out tool to be honest.

That said, I'm going to negotiate. I just need advice on what is reasonable to pay to close out imaging fees they're charging us $1,300 out of pocket for.

Where would you begin with your offer? I was thinking I would offer a $700 lump sum payment to settle and close the account. Is that unreasonable for a prompt pay discount.

I'm in my first week on poor man's Contrave (150 mg bupropion/12.5 mg naltrexone). I was already taking 60 mg buspirone (30 mg 2x daily) for anxiety. My doctor cut that to 45 mg instead due to concerns about serotonin syndrome.

My doctor diagnosed me with perimenopause-triggered atypical depression. My specific symptoms have been sleeping soooo much. Like 16-18 hours on a Saturday. Really severe mood swings. Sudden weight gain out of nowhere. Legs feeling so heavy it was hard to move around. Motivated to do tasks but couldn't physically make myself do anything. I didn't register it as depression because I didn't feel hopeless or down all the time. I just felt so tired and my mind was so full of unwanted thoughts constantly.

She first recommended Wellbutrin because she said it was a first-line treatment for atypical depression. Then she talked to me about Contrave, which I had never heard of. I don't care about my weight or losing any, but I agreed that this sudden, pretty significant gain was alarming.

So, here we are now. It's only been a few days and I feel so much brighter. I'm able to think of a task and just do it without much effort. I'm more physically active. My mind isn't weighed down by thoughts. And, so on. Very cool. The weirdest part is my appetite.

As in, I don't have one. I can feel the effects of hunger. The back of my head feels a little tight and my body feels empty. However, it's so subtle. When I eat foods that used to cause radiating warmth throughout my body, now it's totally flat. Like, yeah, it tastes good but I guess there's no flood of hormones.

Does anyone else feel a little like a robot when it comes to food? On this medication, I really couldn't care less what I actually eat. I'm focusing on protein and fiber first because I know I'll lose interest pretty quickly. It's just such a weird feeling.