u/human_noX

Can’t help but be a little disappointed that money is being spend on yet another LDN trial. We got news only a few months ago that LDN failed against placebo - https://www.reddit.com/r/cfs/s/iSWcfZTghN. I know people will say ‘it helps some people’. I don’t know what to make of that sentiment but I’m not sure it’s enough to warrant another trial. Dr Younger does allude to the recent results in this video but declines to comment saying he hasn’t looked closely enough. Reading between the lines it seems he might think there is an issue with them, but I’m only guessing.

Dr Younger also mentions they will be doing brain scans on patients to see if the LDN is altering anything there. This is welcome as we might learn something new, potentially even about the sub types that respond. Could this be the first step towards categorising subtypes? However, scanning during a trial is an unfulfilled promise I’ve heard previously from Dr Younger. A while ago, maybe 24 months (I’m guessing) he announced plans to scan patients with a radioactive marker to see if Leukocytes were crossing the blood brain barrier. He hoped to be done within 6 months. About 12 months later (again guessing the time frame) on a YouTube comment he said he was still waiting on getting access to the scanner to enable the scans as access was very competitive. He did the scans on controls years ago but hasn’t been allocated the scanner time to do the patients, as far as I know. He only plans n=4 patients so it’s frustrating to not even be allocated time enough for that small amount. From the video announcement today the brain scanning was the only bit to excite me so I really hope he gets access this time. I’m not hopeful though because getting allocated scanner time at the right time before and after the LDN dose at the correct intervals for multiple patients seems unlikely if he can’t even get allocated 4 slots at any time. I am a total outsider though and going off limited information so I could be reading too much into it and be complete off the mark.

I understand the research that gets funded gets done and we don’t always get to choose which study gets up. Also, if we didn’t get this trial funded there is no guarantee the money would get put to another ME/CFS cause so it’s not as simple as saying this is a waste of time and we should be doing something else. If it was the choice between this and nothing of course this study is better than no study at all.

No shade on Dr Younger at all, his is in our corner and doing his best. We are lucky to have him.

Australian Rohan Browning has been picked for the Commonwealth Games 100m over Josh Azzopardi.

Azzopardi beat Browning at the Aussie Nationals and has a faster seasons best.

The selectors based their decision on 'vibes' rather than performances. Crazy.

Edit to add: Browning has a 0.1 sec faster PB, but that was set 5 years ago in 2021

Is it fair to say that diving deep into the genetics with a project like Sequence ME & LC we are ‘starting at the beginning’? In a good way. Kind of like making solid foundations in the ground before you start laying bricks. It’s more short term effort but it pays off in the long run.

I’m trying to articulate my thoughts here so bear with me but I feel like most studies that find a difference between ME/CFS and general population have findings something like X market is high or low on average across a patient population but never in all patients. (I know this might be due to our lack of understanding potential subgroups.) An attempt at interpretation often follows but often we don’t understand how the body system in question is meant to behave in normal people and therefore are really guessing and what it might mean in terms of a ME/CFS mechanism.

Will a study like Sequence ME & LC allow us to read the ‘instruction manual’ of the body realities to this disease and therefore make the interpretation of biological system studies that sit above a DNA level more meaningful and accurate?

I guess I’m asking is the genetic approach the most likely to result in use understanding the mechanism, albeit it may take longer than other studies aimed at higher level biological systems (as these higher level studies rely on us ‘getting lucky’ and as such may never yield a result)?

Of course I’m only talking about understanding the mechanism here. I understand treatment development is a whole different story, but does become more likely to succeed (approx 2.5x more likely according to Chris Pointing in the linked webinar) if the genetics is understood.

Context

I recently vacated a property. My former landlord has frozen my bond over a $500 damage claim for an item they admit is fully depreciated and past its useful life. Since they are taking me to the Tribunal anyway, I want to cross-claim for a major appliance that broke 6 months ago. The agent ignored my written notice to fix it.
I am claiming a breach of Section 63(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) (failure to maintain), but I believe there are two major hurdles between me and a successful NCAT outcome.

Hurdle 1: Out-of-time application (Section 41 NCAT Act)

I first notified them 6 months ago, putting me outside the 3-month statutory window. At the time, I delayed lodging a claim purely out of fear of landlord retaliation. That fear was proven completely justified after the fact: the moment I contested their bond claim, they sent an email threatening a massive, completely fabricated financial claim at NCAT to intimidate me.

Question 1: Is NCAT likely to allow an out-of-time application where the tenant's initial fear of retaliation is later validated by documented landlord intimidation?

Question 2: If I fail to be granted an out-of-time application, can I argue the breach occurred daily, allowing me to at least claim compensation for the final 3 months that fall within the statutory window? Or is the time limit strictly calculated from the very first notice?

Hurdle 2: Compensation post-exit - Section 187(1)(d)) of Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW)

Since I've moved out, a retrospective rent reduction cannot legally be awarded (apparently), so I am seeking financial compensation for reduced amenity. I have no out-of-pocket receipts, just 6 months of being forced to go without an appliance clearly included as part of the lease.

Question: How likely is NCAT to award financial compensation for reduced amenity (non-economic loss) after a tenant has vacated?

Conclusion 

I am turning to the community because I have a severe disability prohibiting me from talking or leaving bed. I therefore cannot access the Tenants Union, as they only offer phone or in-person consultations. Actually paying for legal advice would cost more than my claim amount.

My disability also means someone will have to represent me at the hearing. I need to gauge if this counter-claim is worth the added complexity for them, or if I should just focus on defeating the landlords bond claim.

Context

I recently vacated a property. My former landlord has frozen my bond over a $500 damage claim for an item they admit is fully depreciated and past its useful life. Since they are taking me to the Tribunal anyway, I want to cross-claim for a major appliance that broke 6 months ago. The agent ignored my written notice to fix it.
I am claiming a breach of Section 63(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) (failure to maintain), but I believe there are two major hurdles between me and a successful NCAT outcome.

Hurdle 1: Out-of-time application (Section 41 NCAT Act)

I first notified them 6 months ago, putting me outside the 3-month statutory window. At the time, I delayed lodging a claim purely out of fear of landlord retaliation. That fear was proven completely justified after the fact: the moment I contested their bond claim, they sent an email threatening a massive, completely fabricated financial claim at NCAT to intimidate me.

Question 1: Is NCAT likely to allow an out-of-time application where the tenant's initial fear of retaliation is later validated by documented landlord intimidation?

Question 2: If I fail to be granted an out-of-time application, can I argue the breach occurred daily, allowing me to at least claim compensation for the final 3 months that fall within the statutory window? Or is the time limit strictly calculated from the very first notice?

Hurdle 2: Compensation post-exit - Section 187(1)(d)) of Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW)

Since I've moved out, a retrospective rent reduction cannot legally be awarded (apparently), so I am seeking financial compensation for reduced amenity. I have no out-of-pocket receipts, just 6 months of being forced to go without an appliance clearly included as part of the lease.

Question: How likely is NCAT to award financial compensation for reduced amenity (non-economic loss) after a tenant has vacated?

Conclusion 

I am turning to the community because I have a severe disability prohibiting me from talking or leaving bed. I therefore cannot access the Tenants Union, as they only offer phone or in-person consultations. Actually paying for legal advice would cost more than my claim amount.

My disability also means someone will have to represent me at the hearing. I need to gauge if this counter-claim is worth the added complexity for them, or if I should just focus on defeating the landlords bond claim.

I just left a rental property. PM found a stain on the carpet that a professional carpet cleaner couldn’t remove. I caused the stain. Landlord got a quote for $1500 to re-carpet the room. The stain isn’t that bad, I wouldn’t bother replacing the carpet if it were me but whatever. The PM sent us an email asking for a ‘goodfaith’ contribution to the replacement without stating a figure. I replied saying “show me an invoice when the carpets were last replaced” as I suspect it’s more than ten years ago and therefore legally worth zero dollars. However in the circumstance they provide evidence they were replaced say 5 years ago I want to counter by saying you never fixed the broken TV that was included in our rent for ~12 months. What would be the monetary value of not having access to the TV? We replaced with our own and took it with us when we left.

Now the rant - We as tenants genuinely acted in “good faith” through the tenancy - fixed minor plumbing issues ourselves, didn’t complain when they refused to fix broken doors, endured weekly open homes for 9 months as the property is for sale (still unsold), always cleaning before the open homes. Seems goodfaith only applies to our behaviour, not theirs. So I’m loath to hand over money when they wont even replace the carpet and just sell the property with a stain.

I have a disability that has extreme sound sensitivity as a symptom. I currently live in a quiet suburban street but still wear construction earmuffs (27 decibel) 16 hours a day, only taking them off between 9pm and 5am for sleeping when it’s dead quiet. Noises like my caregiver making food, them talking on the phone, the washing machine going, the odd bus or car driving past are too much for me. Hence the earmuffs. With the earmuffs and quiet-ish environment I can stay on top of my symptoms.

That said, the house I will be living in in the future is currently being constructed. I therefore have an opportunity to install some serious sound proofing with the intent I can take off the earmuffs which will be more comfortable physically.

I have been down the rabbit hole of soundproofing research and have learned there is lots that can be done, it’s all just a matter of cost. Fortunately I’m in the position where I can spend the money if it’s worth it, but given I can’t work and will never be able to I don’t what to waste what savings I have unnecessarily.

I’ve made a list of all the soundproofing options below, but what I haven’t been able to determine is what combination of soundproofing measures will deliver me the results I’m after (basically dead silence for most of the day/night). I don’t want a situation where I go overboard but equally I don’t want to have a half measure and end up wearing the earmuffs still anyway.

While this might seem like overkill for some people, I literally never leave my bedroom, and this is one of the very few ways I’m able to increase my quality of life, even a tiny bit.

Environmental factors: New house is on a rural block, probably 200m from closest neighbour, no road noise. House design is such that there is a spare bedroom between my room and the main living/kitchen area. My room is down a hallway with two doors (hallway door and my bedroom door.) Single story, concrete slab floor.

Likely main sources of noise are rain on corrugated iron roof, lawnmower, heat pump (positioned as far away from my bedroom as house design allows), water pump (not on town water - positioned 50m away next to the shed), noise of regular living (talking, TV, cleaning, cooking) from my parents (aka caregivers), wild bird calls.

Soundproofing options:

1. Two separate, parallel stud/plate assemblies with a gap in between - cannot do this as the stud work is already done.
2. Accousic double glazing windows (different thickness for each panel, different from regular double glazing)
3. Solid ‘external’ door as bedroom door
4. Acoustic batts
5. A layer of mass-loaded vinyl
6. A double-layer of 13mm and 16mm Soundchek plasterboard w staggered joints
7. Plasterboard glued together with sound absorbing “Green Glue”
8. Plasterboard hung from isolation clips
9. Soundproofing powerpoint and light fitting holes, window and door frames
10. Hang plasterboard 3mm above floor and caulk gap to floor
11. Acoustic caulking of all joints

So with all that said what I’m asking is:

1. Have I missed any ways of soundproofing, especially cost effective ways?
2. What combination of soundproofing measures do you think would do the trick of making an essentially silent room in what is already likely to be a pretty quiet environment.

Thanks for reading this far and thanks in advance if you have any suggestions.

I think I started noticing them about a month ago. Like I said in the title I don’t mind it, I’m just curious.