u/mooncheeseburger

Posting on here because I've hit a wall and don't know what to do.

I'm not looking for direct medical advice or to freak myself out about the possibilities, just advice on where to go next. FYI I'm in Victoria, Australia as well.

I've been a medically uneventful person for my entire life until about 2 years ago. I started experiencing some pronounced hair shedding, dizziness, and fainted during a shower. My dr told me it was likely due to my dramatic weight loss caused by being on vyvanse and stress.

Then I had an unprovoked DVT in my arm and a PE (25yo at this point). They have done numerous tests and still haven't figured out the cause - I'm told this actually isn't an uncommon outcome. I have been on blood thinners ever since.

That same year, about 10 months later, I had a tonic clonic seizure. MRI, EEG, blood tests, CT scan, everything normal. I was allegedly on the waitlist for a seizure clinic and kept calling, talking to my dr who contacted them and put through a semi urgent referral - an appointment never came. 6 months after that first seizure, another tonic clonic seizure. Same ER tests all normal. No MRI or EEG yet. No seizure clinic appointment yet. Still waiting to see my haematologist again but not contacted about an appointment.

My dr seems worried and has ordered more blood tests which is great but I still haven't spoken to a single specialist about my 2 seizures and have now been referred to 2 separate hospitals as the first (same one I've been to for all previous emergencies) hasn't responded and told me over the phone "some people are on the waitlists for years, it is what it is".

I don't know what to do. I'm not able to afford full private health care. I haven't really experienced stuff like this before and don't know what my options are. I have ADHD and other mental health issues and feel so overwhelmed by all of this. I'm also working and studying. I don't have parental support, although I have a wonderful partner who also doesn't really know what to do.

I've already had to push for drs to consider a possible connection between the clots and the seizures.

I hit my head really hard during both seizures and I'm scared as I'm on blood thinners. I've been experiencing more issues since my last seizure - more easily short of breath, tinnitus, fatigue, blurry vision. All my dr can do is make referrals to hospitals that move at the pace of a snail or don't even respond to me. I don't want to/have the time to sit in the ER for non emergency symptoms only to be dismissed by hospital staff (I went once when I had similar pain in the same arm as my DVT).

How can I advocate for myself?

If anyone has experienced these symptoms together and has a diagnosis, what did you get tested for?

Tldr; I've been unable to get anywhere with medical treatment after experiencing a DVT, PE, and two tonic clonic seizures. I'm scared and can't afford fully private health care and want to know what my options are for getting help.

My friend and I have been sending each other letters as we both really love the medium and find it to be a cute, fun thing to do for each other.

It's great because while we live in the same city, we're on opposite sides and live busy, differing schedules. It actually ends up being a less exhausting way of communicating and keeping each other updated as there's no pressure for immediate response like there is with social media.

Howeverrrr, sometimes we do actually see a lot of each other. Or our lives might not have all that much to report on haha. So letters start to feel a bit moot.

We've been occasionally sending each other recipes and I really like that.

I also like the idea of sending puzzles or small gifts.

But I would love to know what other ideas people have for things to send! Especially paper crafts that could tie in to our shared love of bookbinding

I just finished reading Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata and I was so enamored with the atmosphere it evoked. It's currently winter in my city and the cold, icy feeling of the novel was so strong.

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I really enjoyed the almost stillness of this novel, it felt like I was peering through a window and watching something unfold rather than being swept up in a big narrative.

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I'm looking for a book with a similar setting, doesn't have to be Japanese, as well as themes of isolation but presented in a similar poetic, beautiful fashion.

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Thank you x

Any advice on how to make a crossword for an absolute beginner?

I do crosswords very regularly and have dipped my toe into cryptics, but trying to make a crossword has been a daunting and confusing task so far.

I want to make one specifically as a gift so it doesn't need to be exceptionally challenging or perfect. But I'm struggling to even get a complete one.

Would appreciate all tips or resources 🙏

So my partner and I moved into this fairly newish build townhouse in January of last year.

We're in Melbourne but it's an outer suburb, so not really in the city.

The soundproofing isn't great but not to a degree I didn't expect with the kind of cheap build our place is. It's a generally quiet neighbourhood as well. But you can definitely hear people moving around and stuff.

May-June last year we got a note in our mailbox from our next door neighbours complaining about the noise our gate makes at night. For reference, we both work evenings so we do get home fairly late. Often between 12-3am. All of the townhouses have gates and they are incredibly squeaky, noisy, and truly unnecessary. The noise also bothers us when every single one of them opens at like 8am. So we decided to ziptie it open to the fence because we don't like using it anyway. Sorted.

Fast forward to today, we haven't heard anything from said neighbours at all. But we get an email from our real estate about a noise complaint, saying that the neighbours in question have been trying to resolve the issue with us unsuccessfully. They mentioned the gate noise (which is impossible as we no longer use the gate since last year) and us 'banging' doors - we 100% do not slam doors. They also claimed it was so loud last night that they resorted to banging on the walls and yelling, which we didn't hear so I have a hard time believing that's true as we most definitely would have if they did (see soundproofing not that great).

Also, we did have 2 friends over last night but we were playing Catan and eating pizza. It was a very mild evening, sure we laughed and talked but that shouldn't be sacrilegious. They left at 12 which is late but it's not like we do that all the time. We don't play music, we don't have parties, we're pretty chill people and work and study a lot.

I honestly think they noticed more because it's genuinely a rare occurrence for us to have people over.

My issue is the Rea appeared to be taking sides immediately. Saying that this neighbour was clearly exhausted and sleep deprived and was at her wit's end. I feel really frustrated and also unsure what grounds they or we have here.

Yes, we are home late and so we do naturally make normal noise when we get home. We're considerate. I try to close the door as softly as possible but their bedroom is literally right next to it and the doors are heavy. I'm not really sure what they can expect of us, like are we not meant to talk to each other when we get home because we happen to work different hours? Are we not allowed to have friends over, not allowed to laugh with them after 10pm, even if it's every couple of months?

We also deal with their noise, sometimes before 6am. Hell, I once heard them loudly arguing and swearing at each other in their garage. I didn't contact the re over even that.

Does this count as unreasonable noise because of the time it's happening? Or are we in the right here/don't have to do anything?