u/sillybilly8102

I loved the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) magazine, which came to my mailbox every other month. But they’ve switched to digital, and I simply don’t read it anymore. I want to stay up to date on cool mech e things (also open to other engineering disciplines) and get physical copies in the mail. Any recommendations?

Separately, I’m on the lookout for similar stuff (latest news/research/innovations) in podcast form. I recently started listening to the Nature Podcast (the scientific journal Nature), which is awesome, and I’d love something similar just with engineering instead of science.

Edit: other interests of mine are sustainability, energy, and the built environment

My apple watch often says my blood oxygen saturation is low, like between 90 and 95% a few times a day, and between 85 and 90% a couple times a month. Sometimes I check it with a normal pulse oximeter, and sometimes it’s the same, but lately the pulse oximeter is consistently saying I’m fine (97%, 98%) while the apple watch is consistently saying my oxygen is low (multiple readings over the course of an hour saying 93%).

Before, I was just thinking that the apple watch must be inaccurate because the pulse oximeter is the gold standard, right? But, the apple watch readings REALLY agree with my symptoms!! Sometimes I will even feel symptoms first, like out of breath, can’t get enough oxygen, head feels fuzzy and drained, verrryyy sleeppyyy, weak muscles, and then check my blood oxygen saturation on the apple watch in the moment, and it’ll say 92 and that it’s actually been below 95 (according to the apple watch’s sporadic automatic readings) for the last hour. But then I put on the pulse oximeter, and that says 97.

So I’m wondering… maybe it’s not that the apple watch is inaccurate, but that it’s picking up on something else? Isn’t oxygen in the blood (measured by the pulse oximeter) supposed to be normal in ME/CFS, but oxygen in the tissues and muscles not properly absorbed/used? The apple watch is on top of my wrist. Could that be measuring dips in the oxygenation of my tissues?? Thoughts/other ideas for why the apple watch matches my symptoms?

So just now, I was looking into compression shorts and thinking about things I already own because I was feeling unwell and wanted something to help now. The middle of my abdomen was feeling like it was “hanging out”, and I felt my pulse in my abdomen. This makes me think maybe I was feeling blood pooling there? (Is that what blood pooling feels like?) I felt much better lying on my front where my abdomen was compressed than lying on my back or side. But my neck gets all twisted up when I lie on my front.

Anyway, I put on an old ballet leotard, and immediately my stomach started making gurgling sounds as if things were able to move around properly, and I felt better. I felt okay standing up, too, whereas I had been super sleepy and tired in all positions the previous few hours.

Has anyone else tried this? Do you think this helped because of POTS blood pooling and compression, or something else?

Of course, a leotard only acts on the abdomen/trunk. I will probably still look into compression shorts and leggings later, and I have compression socks on the way in the mail :)