u/fatcatgingercat

Update: Thank you for the overwhelming and caring responses!

Second kitty - We have discussed possibly getting her a companion but ultimately decided against it. She and her sister were never close (fought for 18 years) and never cuddled so we wouldn’t want to introduce more strife into her life. I hear you all re her loneliness, though.

Nightlights - Already doing this!

Sounds - Ultimately we decided against this too bc she’s meowing at us while in bed with us, not wandering through the house.

Hearing loss - Yes we think this is a factor. We will check with our vet.

____

Our 19yo creaky lady has been meowing at night (2-7am, on average) for 8 months since her sister passed away.

We’ve had her thyroid checked - normal.

We’ve tried gaba, melatonin - she zonks out but then is up at 2/3am. Then sleeps soundly from 9am.

We’ve tired Selegiline during the day to try to get her circadian rhythm back on track - she reacted badly to it (agitation, increased meowing) and it didn’t help the night meowing.

Our vet suspects some cognitive decline could be at the heart of the night meowing.

She is underweight and does most of her eating at night. (Free feeding wet and dry.) At this point we don’t want to discourage her from eating.

She tends to settle for 10-45min at night if we give her pets and scritches. We hate to ignore her when she’s meowing and pawing for pets, but if we do sometimes she eventually goes to her bed but sometimes she just keeps meowing. (Since her sister died she’s finally started accepting pets after 18 years of being scared and stand offish!)

We haven’t slept more than 4 hours a night in 8 months.

But we’re hesitant to make many big changes to her routines bc she’s such a senior lady.

Where we live it’s not possible for us to sleep elsewhere or lock her away and honestly we don’t really want to.

Are we doomed to sleepless nights until she leaves this world?

Have you had this experience with your senior?

UPDATE - SUCCESS!

Normal poops! Here’s what I did in case it’s useful:
- ILU massage after meals, upon waking, and at bedtime
- forward folds, downward dogs, child’s pose, “wind relieving pose” multiple times a day including in bed morning and night
- high-fibre, whole grain diet
- walks after dinner
- warm liquids
- hot water with ginger first thing every morning
- 3L water a day, front-loaded

I haven’t properly pooped in over a week. 😩

Three weeks ago I had random diarrhea which persisted on and off for two weeks. Visited ER and doctors, they concluded loose stools had self-resolved - no further tests.

I started the BRAT diet (adding oats, boiled carrots, plain baked potatoes) after about a week and a half of diarrhea to help calm down my system.

This diet helped stop the diarrhea but I may have stuck to the restricted diet too long bc now I haven’t had a full BM in over a week.

Before the bout of diarrhea I had regular healthy BMs every morning like clockwork (with the odd GI irregularity from time to time, depending on my cycle, etc). I was eating a high fibre, whole grain, mostly plant based diet for years. No big issues.

This is a big change for me and I’m wondering if I’ve permanently effed up my pipes!

I’m nervous to try laxatives as my system is very sensitive and I worry about getting loose stool and having to start this all over again.

I’ve been doing the ILU massage after meals and first thing in the morning and before bed, as well as yoga poses to aid digestion. My abdomen is sore and feels bruised. 😞 Still little to no movement.

I’ve reintroduced fibre and fruits and veg and whole grains and phased out BRAT.

This is agony. Tips?

Has anyone had success with abdominal self-massage and/or other movement supports for improving motility?

I’ve been using the Visible app since covid infection May 2026. No issues with stability checks using phone camera on iPhone 11.

I recently got a new phone (17e) which has a different camera.

The app does the check for the full minute, no error messages or signal issues, but at the end I get an error message saying something went wrong during processing and to try again.

Anyone else having this issue?

Help! I am recovering from post COVID histamine issues and need low histamine oat recipes!

To complicate matters, I also need to keep a low cholesterol and high iron diet, if possible.

My cognitive fatigue and dysfunction make it difficult for me to research recipes and meal plans, so I’m hoping my friends here can help.

Thank you!

Help! I am recovering from post COVID histamine issues and need low histamine oat recipes!

To complicate matters, I also need to keep a low cholesterol and high iron diet, if possible.

My cognitive fatigue and dysfunction make it difficult for me to research recipes and meal plans, so I’m hoping my friends here can help.

Thank you!

I've noticed I get a weird "smell" in my sinus on the right side. The "smell" is similar to when you've had a nosebleed and it's stopped but there's a lingering coppery smell and "open" feeling in the nasal passage. It's sometimes connected to a right-side sinus headache, but not always. My voice sounds like I've got allergies or a cold (similar to how it sounded and felt when I was positive for Covid), but I have no congestion and no runny nose.

Sometimes the smell spreads to my left nasal passage, but usually stays on the right side. Sometimes it's accompanied by pressure behind my right eye, not always.

The smell and sensation often comes on after long screen use, or a day after some physical and/or cognitive exertion, and can last a few hours and up to 24/36 hours. Often recedes with rest.

Am I alone with this? Is this a thing?

We have an air purifier in every room of our house: the Honeywell HPAO60C True HEPA with carbon pre filter.

We have them running on high right now due to wildfire air quality at “hazardously high” levels, according to weather and AQ apps (I use AirVisual).

Our aranet is reading 1100-1600 in our bedroom overnight, with window ac unit running, fans going, and windows closed. Last night I put TWO air purifiers in our bedroom on high overnight.

The Honeywells are very loud which is fine. But does anyone have stats on how well they filter out wildfire smoke, particulates, etc? Is there a more effective air purifier I should be getting? Is the Blue air better for wildfire smoke?

Hello, supporters! I’m in search of new activities to shake up my routine a bit. It can feel limiting when you can only do a few things, and maybe there are things I haven’t thought of yet.

Even if what you suggest isn’t possible for me yet, I’d still love to compile a list to dip back into as I (hopefully???) gain capacity over time.

I’m 2 months post-infection. Right now I can NOT read, use screens, watch TV, write, journal, drive, use transit, go for walks, play boardgames, visit with more than one person at a time.

I CAN have short phone chats, do jigsaw puzzles for 30-45min, chill with my partner, sit in nature if overcast and cool, doodle, colour, crochet.

What activities can I do with my partner on the weekends?

Thanks, and hoping this list helps others who are getting bored and need some inspo! ✨

Did you experience vision changes post-Covid?

I'm 2 months post infection so post-viral symptoms are starting to peak now. I've noticed that I'm not able to tolerate reading on screens or off the page, nor am I able to tolerate watching TV.

I wear glasses to see my computer and for distance (astigmatism) but since Covid my eyes feel pulled when I wear them and I get a headache.

I can use my phone for 30min at a time, but I've also noticed (with or without glasses) my vision seems fuzzy.

I have a persistent migraine and my pupils are always suuuuper tiny. I recently got tinted glasses for screens/light/fluorescents from Theraspecs and I think they're helping prevent eye strain, but vision is still fuzzy.

I have an appointment with my optometrist in September (that was her earliest booking) and I figure I'll have a better sense of my long-term post-viral situation by then.

Curious to hear your experience, and whether this is a temporary change.

Is it better to let myself sleep in on bad insomnia nights? Or stick to my wake up schedule?

I read that it’s a good idea to go to bed and wake at the same time each day, that routine helps a post-virus afflicted system repair. When I sleep in I’m often groggy for half the day, but if I’m underslept my symptoms ramp up.

I’ve been in perimenopause for 6 years so I’m no stranger to insomnia. But since my COVID infection in May, and post-viral symptoms (migraine crashes, amongst others), I only sleep 4-6 hours most nights now.

Aside from MHT, I’m not on medications or sleep aids. Have you found support for insomnia by sticking to a wake up time no matter what?

Has anyone had experience with the emergency dentist at Mount Sinai?

Is there an emergency dentist available 24/7?

We have a bad tooth infection here that’s swelling and not responding to antibiotics. Regular dentist said to go to ER at Mount Sinai if swelling gets worse before our appointment 7 days from now. Extractions are needed.

It’s Sunday night and we don’t want to wait 10 hours at the ER only to find that the emergency dentist isn’t even available.

Any experience would be greatly appreciated.

Can you recommend a reliable pest control company for treating for bedbugs?

Must haves:
- multiple sprays/treatments

Good to haves but not essential:
- canine unit for detection
- heat treatment

We rent so we can’t (only) self-treat. Thanks!

Is it likely that we caught bedbugs from the detached hoarding house next door? The house is currently being renovated and they’ve been unloading furniture and wood fixtures into a giant dumpster on the front lawn for months. It’s warm weather here and I started noticing bites about a month ago. Still haven’t seen a bug yet.

We live in a semi-detached house which shares a wall, and we haven’t told our neighbours about the bites yet bc we haven’t actually seen proof of bedbugs (no eggs, exoskeletons, live or dead bugs).

Is it possible to beat an infestation with this hoarding house next door and/or if our neighbours who we share a wall with don’t treat? (Of course we will notify them as soon as we have positive identification.)

Vent alert. What do you do when your friends’ and loved ones’ empathy runs out?

I feel like all I do is complain and I can’t seem to turn myself around. I feel I’m putting a strain on my relationships but at the same time, I wish they could truly understand what it’s like to be this sensitive. To everything. All. The. Time.

Our neighbours’ dog and baby are constantly screaming and crying. Every morning we are awoken by screaming, barking, and slamming drawers right behind our heads (our bedroom shares a wall with the baby’s bedroom). I already have sleep trouble but now I feel like I have ptsd, waiting to be jolted awake violently by these sounds I can’t seem to ignore or shrug off. I feel like a monster. Like I’ve been infected with rage and there’s no treatment. (I am on HRT.)

I’m navigating Long COVID on top of peri stuff and honestly, I feel my loved ones are way past losing empathy. I wish I could just have a normal conversation but I feel like a wraith.

I don’t even think I’m looking for advice. Maybe just co-misery?

So glad for this group. Honestly, I swear I have a good heart. It’s just buried beneath this temporary misery and rage-despair.

Help. Please. Help.

For two years, we’ve shared a wall with our neighbours (semi-detached). Our bedroom shares a wall with the baby’s bedroom. Every morning we are awoken by them slamming drawers and the baby crying.

We have moved our bed as far away from the wall as we can but we still feel the reverberations of the slamming, which might not be fixable. (We could have a gentle conversation with them about this part.)

We are willing to cover the shared wall on our side with something. Anything that will muffle the screaming and the slamming and banging.

We haven’t slept properly in months. What is the best material to insulate from our side? Please help!

My doctor advised stopping MHT (estrogel 2 pumps + 200mg micronized cycling progesterone) to mitigate severe migraine post-COVID-19 infection. So I’ve stopped everything.

I started MHT 7 months ago and had been experiencing migraine before COVID, and migraines intensified on day 15 of infection, with visual aura (new).

I am now one month since testing positive for COVID and am experiencing Long COVID-type symptoms (too soon to say it’s LC), the most intense being persistent daily migraines. I can not leave my house, I can not work. It sucks.

Has anyone else stopped MHT abruptly to help with migraines and/or LC-type symptoms? What was your experience? Did you resume MHT once LC symptoms lessened?

I plan to think about resuming one pump estrogen + progesterone in 3 months.

My doctor advised stopping MHT (estrogel 2 pumps + 200mg micronized cycling progesterone) to mitigate severe migraine post-COVID-19 infection. So I’ve stopped everything.

I started MHT 7 months ago and had been experiencing migraine before COVID, and migraines intensified on day 15 of infection, with visual aura (new).

I am now one month since testing positive for COVID and am experiencing Long COVID-type symptoms (too soon to say it’s LC), the most intense being persistent daily migraines. I can not leave my house, I can not work. It sucks.

Has anyone else stopped MHT abruptly to help with migraines and/or LC-type symptoms? What was your experience? Did you resume MHT once LC symptoms lessened?

I plan to think about resuming one pump estrogen + progesterone in 3 months.

My doctor advised stopping MHT (estrogel 2 pumps + 200mg micronized cycling progesterone) to mitigate severe migraine post-COVID-19 infection. So I’ve stopped everything.

I started MHT 7 months ago and had been experiencing migraine before COVID, and migraines intensified on day 15 of infection, with visual aura (new).

I am now one month since testing positive for COVID and am experiencing Long COVID-type symptoms (too soon to say it’s LC), the most intense being persistent daily migraines. I can not leave my house, I can not work. It sucks.

Has anyone else stopped MHT abruptly to help with migraines and/or LC-type symptoms? What was your experience? Did you resume MHT once LC symptoms lessened?

I plan to think about resuming one pump estrogen + progesterone in 3 months.

My doctor advised stopping MHT (estrogel 2 pumps + 200mg micronized cycling progesterone) to mitigate severe migraine post-COVID-19 infection. So I’ve stopped everything.

I started MHT 7 months ago and had been experiencing migraine before COVID, and migraines intensified on day 15 of infection, with visual aura (new).

I am now one month since testing positive for COVID and am experiencing Long COVID-type symptoms (too soon to say it’s LC), the most intense being persistent daily migraines. I can not leave my house, I can not work. It sucks.

Has anyone else stopped MHT abruptly to help with migraines and/or LC-type symptoms? What was your experience? Did you resume MHT once LC symptoms lessened?

I plan to think about resuming one pump estrogen + progesterone in 3 months.