I made the mistake yesterday off thinking "I feel okay, I can skip the Epsom salts soak" and that was a poor life decision, but I am rectifying it now and then I am going to hack at my hair with a pair of nail scissors again because it's touching me in multiple places and I Cannot - ThreadSky

rahaeli.bsky.social • 228 days ago

I made the mistake yesterday off thinking "I feel okay, I can skip the Epsom salts soak" and that was a poor life decision, but I am rectifying it now and then I am going to hack at my hair with a pair of nail scissors again because it's touching me in multiple places and I Cannot

Comments

cheyinka.bsky.social•228 days ago

Not a clippers / trimmer / motorized tool recommendation: my x-acto brand scrapbooking scissors have a very comfortable handle and might be easier to wield than nail scissors for those "oh no the hair can touch me again" moments. (I have used them to cut tangles out of my own hair.)

eschneider.bsky.social•228 days ago

Epsom salt soak! You're a genius...

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

I've been doing it every night! And I am so fucking mad the compression socks are working well enough for the goddamn fucking POTS that I have to suck it up and just accept the goddamn fucking MCAS flare they cause

eschneider.bsky.social•228 days ago

I've got Epsom salts in the house (because...horses) and my current plan of just holding giant round cocktail ice cubes in my injured hand until they melt is running into the fact that they melt faster than I can freeze them. :/

nocatsnomasters.bsky.social•228 days ago

Is the Epsom soak for the MCAS? My therapist waxed enthusiastic about magnesium for her depression+fatigue patients recently. She's usually reasonably sensible, so I've been thinking about it.

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

In my case it's for the muscle fatigue and foot swelling from climbing up and down the stairs 8000 times a day with POTS. Magnesium citrate is almost always horrible for MCAS, magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) is hit or miss. I don't react too badly to it but start small and check.

nocatsnomasters.bsky.social•228 days ago

I should also check to make sure my partner isn't taking citrate; I'm still not convinced that some level of MCAS-like isn't a big part of her CFS / FM.

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

There are some other versions that can work better; I know I've seen articles breaking it down but I can't remember where, of course

nocatsnomasters.bsky.social•228 days ago

Ah, thank you for the explainer. I should check the Epsom salts; I have what I suspect is sub-clinical POTS and I wouldn't say no to being able to stand up quickly without needing make sure there's a wall handy to lean on.

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

I caved and am wearing the compression socks that are a major MCAS trigger for now because I really need to be able to stand up fast and climb lots of stairs right now and I'm so fucking mad at how well they're working for the POTS even as I am scratching myself bloody at night

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

I need to get another bottle of cromolyn and mix up some of the magic masto lotion, I just haven't had the energy yet

nocatsnomasters.bsky.social•228 days ago

Your recent bout of being the Universe's Favorite Plaything cannot end fast enough and I wish I could offer more than my unmixed sympathy.

mnitabach.bsky.social•228 days ago

You are using cromolyn successfully for topical application to skin? I have been using the nosespray for decades for successful control of severe cat allergic rhinitis. It is good stuff!

wendysparrow.bsky.social•228 days ago

Every time you post something like this I'm reminded that there are people out there having more difficulty keeping a broken body going than me. I want to take all my problems back to my corner and keep them forever because at least they're a familiar awful.

revanche.bsky.social•228 days ago

Oh dear. May today's session fix all possible ills

throwblanketceo.bsky.social•228 days ago

This a great plan, I heartily endorse. I sometimes feel like the warm bath at night is the only thing keeping me together

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

I am pretty sure it's been the only reason I can walk as much as I can before the drugs kick in every morning this week

joebirdwell.bsky.social•228 days ago

I got one of the liquid ones recently and I think I am going back to the actual salts or go all in with the "Equate Vapor Bath Crystals Salt Soak" stuff.

aehoogestraat.bsky.social•228 days ago

Ooh, I like coconut rose bath salts best. I hope your bath helps you feel better soon!

aarenp.bsky.social•228 days ago

Waiting till payday for a haircut - how much I hate it everyday

auferre.bsky.social•228 days ago

Keep thinking I'm going to grow mine long again until I get to the "nope, fuck this" stage.

yoboseiyo.bsky.social•228 days ago

that is the worst stage, and it feels like it lasts for so loooong!

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

I try to keep it buzzed but also I need the professional grade super extra powerful clippers or else they get tangled in my hair and it hurts like a fucker, so since I'm not unmasking for a professional haircut I'm just making it stop touching me whenever it starts touching me

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

(Nobody had better recommend any home clippers or techniques to me because I do not want to fucking hear from anyone whose hair is not also made of fucking titanium)

mjfgates.bsky.social•228 days ago

so, you basically need one 'a these?

xipha.bsky.social•228 days ago

(I am not being serious)
Have tried sheep clippers at some point? That might get through your mane.

noghiri.bsky.social•228 days ago

this was my struggle when i still had hair, no idea what we ended up with but growing up my mom had some combination of blades, careful adjustment, and pro grade trimmer that worked. I'd remember it falling out of adjustment half way through and that fuckin hurt

noghiri.bsky.social•228 days ago

in retrospect she might have eventually settled on using dog grade clippers on me but i started going bald at 18 and it hasn't been a problem since

benjaminboles.bsky.social•228 days ago

It will last you a lifetime, and pretty much any part of it that can break can be fixed/replaced. You swap blades instead of using plastic guards for different lengths, and will give you a very precise look, and will cut through anything. One of my coworkers calls it the chainsaw

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

okay see when I say "do not make recommendations unless your hair is also made of titanium" that means do not fucking make recommendations unless your hair is also made of titanium. Those were the second ones I tried. They yank my hair out at the root and I burned the motor out in five minutes.

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

I have found one professional who can buzz my hair painlessly if they clip it as far down to the skin as possible with scissors first and I asked them what clippers they use. They cost four figures when I looked them up.

devinsinger.bsky.social•228 days ago

I solved the problem by marrying into a family of Icelandic horse owners. My mane never stood a chance - I'm hairy, but my wife's gelding is the offspring of The Hairiest Horse In Iceland. (The family clipper kit gets mailed to a professional to be cleaned and sharpened a couple times a year)

benjaminboles.bsky.social•228 days ago

Wow, that is on another level. I cut hair for a living, and I can’t think of many clippers that have more torque than these. I only use mine on clients with exceptionally thick/coarse hair, because it’s overkill for most. I’m going to ask one of my coworkers what they’d recommend for titanium hair.

benjaminboles.bsky.social•228 days ago

What you want is this (most powerful professional clipper I’ve used): https://www.osterpro.com/barbers-stylists/clippers/oster-classic-76-universal-motor-clipper-with-detachable-000-1-blades/SAP_76076010003.html

benjaminboles.bsky.social•228 days ago

I just wanted to circle back to the masking thing: I’ve got a few clients who still mask (one has had more than 50 lung operations!). I automatically wear a mask myself when I see them wearing one. I just get them to hold it in place while removing one strap to get around that ear. We had to learn.

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

I can't find KN95 (ear loop style) mask from any manufacturer that I can pass a fit test with, only an actual N95 (behind the head). I wish to God I could, I fucking hate the behind the head style, sigh.

goddamnedfrank.bsky.social•228 days ago

What works for me are these straps I got back in 2020, they snap onto the ear loops and pull the mask into a better, more adjustable fit that also takes the pressure off the back of the ears.

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

Tried it, makes the fit worse on every KN95 I tested with

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

To give you some context here: I already have a moderate case of the disease that about 40% of long COVID cases seem to be a virally triggered version of and I have been told by multiple doctors that I should take as many fucking heroic precautions to avoid a COVID infection as I possibly can

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

Because if my version gets any more severe, I'm going to start having random episodes of anaphylaxis every time, like, the temperature goes above 75 degrees or I eat something that was cooked 21 minutes ago instead of 20, instead of just the week-long malaise and weird other symptoms

aletheion.bsky.social•228 days ago

I make my own bc the ear loops are never tight enough. So usually i use an elastic and tie the ear things together behind my head bc I haven't really seen the behind the head ones here at all. I wonder if it's possible to do that but for the ear loop ones, making it so it's comfortable & secure

benjaminboles.bsky.social•228 days ago

Also, how are you doing home fit tests? My partner had one done for her job, and it sounded like an interesting but unpleasant process.

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

You can get formal at-home test kits for like $200, or you can do the $30 "close enough" version with a perfume atomizer, a garbage bag or a zipper clothes storage bag, and a bunch of Sweet and Low. There are YouTube videos, or this paper covers it: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7642972/

benjaminboles.bsky.social•228 days ago

Have you tried the KF94 style? I found they fit my face a lot better, and from what I read provided a similar level of protection as the KN95. There’s a big enough Korean community in Toronto that they’ve been easy to find at good prices. Went through a lot of them working through a pandemic

rahaeli.bsky.social•228 days ago

Yup, I tried *so many*. I got a better fit with a KF94 than any of the KN95s I tried or several of the N95s, but still not a pass, just less of a fail. Finally hit on one I get a pass on out of the Armbrust sampler kit but I have to survey again because it's been getting harder to get a good seal

wendysparrow.bsky.social•228 days ago

That sucks. I'm allergic to the N95s in multiple ways and I have the KN95 straps on buttons on my hat because the straps are a bit iffy.

Also, hair on my face makes me really claustrophobic so I get you.

I hate when health problems create more health problems. It feels like winning is impossible.

sophienotemily.bsky.social•228 days ago

I have one of those mask strap lanyards making the earloop KN95 fit better against my face. I haven't done a Proper Fit Test but they work for me

wendysparrow.bsky.social•228 days ago

Oh and I bought strapless masks for a haircut and the fit was meh and the adhesive on my face felt problematic for creating contact problems. I took a lot of Benadryl after.

So I use hair clips to keep my hair from touching my face in between cuts.

It's a pain but I need hair due to Raynaud's.

reginagiraffe.bsky.social•228 days ago

I've been cutting MrG's hair for the last 4 years and... don't completely suck at it. If you want, I can stop by sometime and take a whack at it (pun intended).

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply