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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: September 23rd, 2023

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  • Hmm, “current went missing” isn’t a phrase I’m used to hearing. I wonder if the cardiogram was indicating some level of heart block (often not a dangerous condition, just something to monitor).

    With the high fibrinogen, they’re probably concerned about clotting. I wonder, did they check a blood test called d-dimer by chance?

    I’m glad you’ll be seeing a doctor soon. We have a lot of good treatments for cardiac conditions these days.


  • May I ask you about the nature of your heart problems exactly?

    Because a “heart attack” is not actually a medical thing. What people usually mean when they say “heart attack” is what we call a myocardial infarction (lack of blood flow to the heart muscle caused by a blockage or constriction in a coronary artery.) And less commonly people use the term “heart attack” to refer to cardiac arrest where the heart just stops beating for some reason. (Myocardial infarction can turn into cardiac arrest, but cardiac arrest can happen because of any number of other things as well.)

    So do you have a confirmed occlusion of a coronary artery? Or do you have a diagnosed cardiac arrhythmia of some kind? What are they planning to do to treat you? Because “don’t get excited” isn’t a long term management strategy. It’s usually just to get you through until you find a successful treatment.

    (I’m a cardiac critical care nurse. AMA)


  • Fresh episodes of X-Files and Star Trek: TNG every week.

    Just that whole experience of something on television being a cultural zeitgeist because everyone had to watch it at the exact same time because that was the only time it existed. Sure, you could record it on VHS and watch later, but it wasn’t the same. Even being at home watching alone felt like participating in a social event.



  • This was very much my experience with the trans girl I grew up with 35 years ago. From the instant she was able to express preferences (I’m talking like age 18 months to 2 years), it was all princesses and dolls and makeup and trying on mom’s high heels. We all just assumed she was a gay boy because we had never heard of a transgender person before.

    We encouraged her to just keep that behavior at home because she was bullied mercilessly for appearing to be an effeminate boy. But nothing would stop her; she was completely irrepressible.

    When in high school, she told us she was really a girl, it was like the most face-palmingly obvious thing. Of COURSE that’s what we’d been seeing her entire life. It just made sense. That’s just who she is.





  • Dark healthcare provider humor incoming: When considering these kinds of questions regarding CPR, we actually say, “Well, they ain’t getting any deader.”

    CPR actually reverses death. That’s why it only works sometimes and only if provided in a very short window of time after you’ve died. Nothing that is done during CPR is going to make that worse. So yeah, the reality is that it’s a little bit of a controlled free-for-all. It’s called “heroic measures” for a reason.