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Emergency care services has now become easier to find in Corpus Christi Texas. The TLC Medical Center has an expert team that can provide immediate and urgent medical services to the people in need.
https://tlcmedicalcenter.com/

For my peace of mind ONLY:
I’m now getting treatment for possible stroke and there are almost no records of what shunt I received 10+ years ago. (Original Dx was hydrocephalus) Surgeon never recorded the item type or serial number
Now doctors cannot use an MRI to check a possible stroke because we never received any Card or any specific information about it.
Do any of these names mean anything specific?

1. Ventricular Shunt (on right side)
2. CSF Shunt
3. R. Frontal Intercranial Shunt
4. Ventriculostomy Shunt

Especially trying to figure out if the shunt will need to be reset after an MRI, or if shunt heating/torsion/pressure changes would occur., ruling out MRI permanently.
IF that diagnostic test will even be possible in the future.
My spouse and I are certain I have had an MRI of it since the initial placement surgery, but incomplete records show only a CT scan.
Could I be mistaken and a CT was used to check the shunt function?
Previous neurologist and neurosurgeon have both retired so we have no access to their records
In the US Being treated by medical professionals

Scenario
G.S., a 56-year-old woman, was involved in a motor vehicle accident; a car drifted left of the center line and struck her head-on, pinning her behind the steering wheel. She was intubated immediately after extrication and flown to your trauma center. Her injuries were extensive: bilateral flail chest, right hemothorax and pneumothorax, fractured spleen, multiple small liver lacerations, open fractures of both legs, and a cardiac contusion. She was taken to the operating room for repair of her injuries. There she received 36 units of packed red blood cells, 20 units of platelets, 12 units of fresh frozen plasma, and 18 L of lactated Ringer’s solution. G.S. was admitted to the ICU postoperatively, where she developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

1. What is ARDS?
   
2. What are the risk factors for developing ARDS? Which does G.S. have?
   
3. With her extensive injuries, how was ARDS diagnosed?
   
4. Describe the collaborative care patients generally receive in the ICU for ARDS.
   

CASE STUDY PROGRESS
After a 3-week stay in ICU, G.S. is being transferred to your unit. The ICU nurse gives you the following report: “She is awake, alert, and oriented to person and place. Both legs remain casted from hip to toe. She can wiggle her toes on both feet. Heart tones are clear, last vital signs were 138/90, 88, 26, 99.3° F (37.4° C); bilateral radial pulses 3 +. All the surgical incisions are healed. She has bilateral chest tubes to water suction with closed drainage, both dressings are dry and intact. She has a duodenal feeding tube, a Foley catheter to down drain, and a left double-lumen PICC line. Urine output is good; urine is clear yellow. Her morning labs are still pending.”

1. What additional information do you need from the ICU nurse?
   
2. Describe the phase of ARDS G.S. is in.
   
3. What are the long-term complications of ARDS you need to monitor for in G.S.?
   

CASE STUDY PROGRESS
You complete your assessment of G.S. You note she is dyspneic and has fine crackles throughout all lung fields posteriorly and in both lower lobes anteriorly, and coarse crackles over the large airways. She has O2 on at 2 L per nasal cannula and her Spo2 is 94%.

1. What is the significance of the fine and coarse crackles?
   
2. The nurse from the previous shift charted the following statement: “Fine and coarse crackles that clear with vigorous coughing.” Based on your knowledge of pathophysiology, determine the accuracy of this statement.
   
3. It is time to administer scheduled furosemide (Lasix) 60 mg intravenous push. What effect, if any, should furosemide have on G.S.’s breath sounds?
   
4. What action do you need to take before giving the furosemide?
   

rt View
Laboratory Results
Sodium
129 mEq/L (129 mmol/L)
Potassium
3.0 mEq/L (3.0 mmol/L)
Chloride
92 mEq/L (92 mmol/L)
HCO3
26 mEq/L (26 mmol/L)
BUN
37 mg/dL (13.2 mmol/L)
Creatinine
2 mg/dL (177 mcmol/L)
Glucose
128 mg/dL (7.1 mmol/L)
Calcium
7.1 mg/dL (1.8 mmol/L)

1. Which laboratory values concern you, and why?
   
2. Given G.S.’s laboratory values, what action do you need to take and why?
   

CASE STUDY PROGRESS
The provider wants you to administer the furosemide and prescribes the following.
Chart View
Physician’s Orders
STAT magnesium (Mg) levelPotassium chloride (KCl) 40 mEq IVPBCalcium gluconate 2 g in 100 mL NS IVPB over 3 hours

1. Why did the provider order a magnesium level?
   
2. G.S. has 1 available port to use on the PICC line. Outline a plan for giving the potassium chloride and calcium gluconate.
   
3. What interventions do you need to perform to safely administer IV potassium chloride? Select all that apply.
   

a. Administer the infusion using an IV pump.
b. Place G.S. on continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring.
c. Assess the patency of the PICC line before initiating the infusion.
d. Administer the potassium infusion over a period of at least 2 hours.
e. Invert the potassium-containing IV bag several times before and during the infusion.

1. You go to prepare G.S.’s furosemide dose and find only one 20-mg vial in the medication-dispensing system. The floor stock is empty. The pharmacist tells you that it will be at least an hour before he can send the drug to you. What are your options?
   
2. While you are giving the furosemide, G.S. says, “This is so weird. A couple times this morning, I felt like my heart flipped upside down in my chest, but now I feel like there’s a bird flopping around in there.” What are 2 actions you should take next?
   

Chart View
Part 2
Arterial Blood Gases on 6 L O2 by Nasal Cannula
pH
7.30
Paco2
59 mm Hg
Pao2
82 mm Hg
HCO3
36 mEq/L (36 mmol/L)
Spo2
91%

1. You increase her O2 to 6 L, and the provider orders a STAT set of ABGs. How would you interpret G.S.’s ABGs?
   
2. What are your nursing priorities at this time?
   
3. Describe 5 interventions you will perform over the next few hours based on these priorities.
   
4. You notice that G.S. looks frightened and is lying stiff as a board. How would you respond to this situation?
   

My pregnant wife (5 weeks) and I are both 28 years old, she was recently laid off and my annual pre-tax income is ~$135K. We live in Central FL and are new to the US and unfamiliar with how insurance works here.
I am about to enroll us both in either Aetna's PPO 300 or EPO 0 plan. These seem to be the best plans available to me through my employer (and have the highest premiums).
In short, I'm trying to understand how necessary it is to have 50% coinsurance for out-of-network healthcare (available through PPO 300) if my wife is expecting in February, 2024. We plan to use exclusively in-network providers and an in-network, licensed birthing center (or hospital). I've heard others say that it's not unheard of for out-of-network providers to support during childbirth (e.g. anesthesiologist, nurse, etc.) even if we haven't consented to out-of-network care.
The plan with 50% coinsurance for out-of-network care (PPO 300) requires us to pay 10% coinsurance on nearly everything, while the plan with no out-of-network coverage (EPO 0) typically covers 100% of in-network care. If we can stay with only in-network providers, it seems EPO 0 makes much more sense financially, but if we opt into EPO 0, we're nervous about being stuck with a massive bill from an out-of-network provider for which we have no coverage.
Below are more details about each plan. Any insights you can offer about these plans, or prenatal, childbirth, or postnatal healthcare in the US, and the likelihood that we'll accidentally incur costs from an out-of-network provider, are greatly appreciated. Thank you all very much.

PPO 300

Basics:

• Premium = $250.40 (semi-monthly)
• The plan pays 90% of in-network eligible charges and 50% of out-of-network eligible charges for most covered expenses.
• Office copay: in = $20, out = no copay
• Deductible: in (indiv./family) = $300/$900, out (indiv./family) = $1.2K/$3.6K
• OOP Max.: in (indiv./family) = $3K/$6K, out (indiv./family) = $6K/$18K
• No referral to see a specialist is required

Maternity

• Hospital Stay
  • In-network: the plan covers in-network hospital charges at 90%.First you have to pay the plan's deductible. You have to have an in-network hospital stay preapproved before you are admitted to get full benefits. Generally, the plan will only cover the cost of a semiprivate room in-network.
  • Out-of-network: The plan covers out-of-network hospital charges at 50%. First you have to pay the plan's out-of-network deductible. You have to have an out-of-network hospital stay preapproved before you are admitted to get full benefits. Generally, the plan will only cover the cost of a semiprivate room out-of-network.
• Baby's First Exam
  • In-network: Plan pays 90% after deductible
  • Out-of-network: Plan pays 50% after deductible
• Midwives
  • In-network: The plan covers charges at 90% after in-network deductible . You have to have an in-network hospital stay preapproved before you are admitted to get full benefits.
  • Out-of-network: The plan covers charges at 50% after out-network deductible . You have to have an out-network hospital stay preapproved before you are admitted to get full benefits.
• Prenatal Visits
  • In-network: The plan pays 100% after you pay the $20 PCP copay or $40 Specialist copay
  • Out-of-network: The plan pays 50% after deductible
• Durable Medical Equipment
  • In-network: Plan pays 50% after deductible
  • Out-of-network: Plan pays 50% after deductible

EPO 0

Basics

• Premium = $183.10 (semi-monthly)
• The plan pays 100% of in-network eligible charges for most covered expenses, but nothing for out-of-network charges.
• Office copay: in = $20, out = N/A
• Deductible: None
• OOP Max.: in (individual/family) = $3K/$6K, out = N/A
• No referral to see a specialist is required

Maternity

• Hospital Stay
  • In-network: the plan pays hospital charges at 100% after a $300 copay per admission. Generally, the plan will only cover the cost of a semi-private room.
  • Out-of-network: N/A
• Baby's First Exam
  • In-network: Plan covers 100% after $300 per admission copay
  • Out-of-network: N/A
• Midwives
  • In-network: Plan covers 100% after $300 per admission copay
  • Out-of-network: N/A
• Prenatal Visits
  • In-network: The plan pays 100%
  • Out-of-network: N/A
• Durable Medical Equipment
  • In-network: Plan pays 50%
  • Out-of-network: N/A

To begin, two major changes need to be made to both FTWD and TWD. Firstly, Travis is shot in the neck, and he does throw himself out of the helicopter, but he survives by landing in a river. Secondly, in TWD, Carl doesn't die. Instead, Morgan sacrifices his life in some grand gesture, and his final plea is for Rick to end the war.
My Reasoning:

1. Not only was Travis' death sudden and absurd, but it also ruined any potential he had to become an excellent character. In my version, Madison and Co are still pushed forward by news of his "death," killing two birds with one stone and allowing for a myriad of interesting possibilities.
2. This allows TWD to continue closer to how it did in the comics, a way I find much more narratively satisfying, and doesn't allow Morgan to crossover--thus stopping FTWD from becoming the "Morgan and Friends Show". (Maybe he can die saving Carl--bringing his character arc of not being able to protect Duane full circle.)

These are not entire seasons. These are simply general ideas. P.S. - Reading this in one sitting might make it feel like a breakneck pace, but just try to picture your own episodes within these seasons.
SEASON 3
With Travis now alive, it allows season three to play out basically the same, until the mid-season finale, where Travis would reveal himself as alive. From there, we would get a Travis-centric episode like we did with Daniel, showing how he stitched up his own neck wound and lived in the wilderness until he was found by Walker's people. As someone else said on this sub, this would open up the possibility of Travis being a bridge between the two people groups.
Because of his siding with Walker, we could get a very interesting dynamic between Travis and the other Clarks, specifically Madison. Story beats would have to change, but this will help the overarching story overall. For my purposes, Travis (while with Walker's people) would revert to his more pacifist self as he was in seasons 1 and 2. However, this would not change his tendency for violence, which he would struggle with during the duration of the season. Luciana still leaves, Daniel is still shot by Strand, Madison still kills Troy, and Nick still destroys the dam.
TLDR: Travis survives his gunshot wound and becomes a bridge between the two communities. The rest of the season's events basically play out the same, with obvious changes.
​

SEASON 4

The dam has exploded. And after a minor time skip, we meet up with our crew: Madison, Alicia, Nick, and Travis, who are hiding out in an abandoned gas station. You see, while the dam is gone and quite a few of the Proctors with it, they're still everywhere; searching for the people who tried to wipe them out. In a hail-mary attempt, the Clarks flee up north, leaving Mexico and hopefully the Proctors by heading into Texas. They all assume Daniel and Strand are dead, and whatever sense of morality they had at the ranch has now completely been lost. They are ruthless to both walkers and people, both of which they find plenty of in the Texas plains.
One of the main relationships I want to grow in this season is between Nick and Travis. While they did interact in the other seasons, it was to a very small extent--most of Travis' time was spent with his own son Chris. But with Travis' brutality more or less returning, and Nick no longer being the fun-loving and adventurous 19-year-old we knew, they grow closer--two men who have lost their innocence and themselves to the apocalypse. Nick will become the son Travis never had. But as they grow closer, so do Madison and Alycia. However, it's not a paternal healthy bond, it's Alycia trying to live up to the "Golden Child" standard she's kept for herself. With Madison's tendency to care more about Nick becoming ever more obvious, Alycia is driven by a need to please her mother--something that will eventually tear the family apart. But for all intents and purposes, the Clarks are the strongest they've ever been.
After a few episodes of traveling through Texas, they are stopped by three members of a Biker Gang (think Hell's Angels or Sons of Anarchy). They try to intimidate our crew into giving up what little supplies they have, but with a single look from Madison, two of the bikers are dead and the other is nearly beaten to death. Travis argues they take the bikes and leave, but Madison suspects they have a camp nearby--and after a torture session performed by Travis, she's told that she's right. They are led to the Dell Diamond Baseball Stadium, which the Bikers call home. After an initial standoff, our crew is let in. Everyone is wary of these Bikers, but after only a little while, they quickly integrate into the group. Travis fits right in with the rough-and-tumble men, Alycia is praised for what little medical skill she has (which she uses to heal the tortured Biker, named Cole), Nick becomes a valuable asset for what the Bikers do, and Madison quickly rises up the ranks.
You see, these Bikers are like the Saviors. They run a protection racket. But instead of Negan's view of people: that they're a resource to be maintained, the Bikers simply destroy whoever doesn't bend to their will. However, there's a major problem: both manpower and bullets are hard to come by in the apocalypse, especially when they kill whoever disobeys them. But that's where Nick fits right in. With his skill with the walkers, he dons the blood and guts once more, using it to lead entire walker hordes into stubborn communities. They've found another new home. But as Travis and Madison make clear, it is not permanent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All seems well until word begins to spread amongst the Bikers. Their pre-apocalypse rivals, the Proctors, have made their presence known. In a show of force, the leader of the Bikers takes most of his men out to meet with the Proctors. At the same time, a young girl named Charlie is let into the stadium. Nick becomes a surrogate older brother, and they grow close. But our group, of course now fearful, vote to remain at the stadium with a few other nameless civilians and a healing Cole. It's going to be a few days, so Madison and the family lock the stadium down. No one in or out. That's when the Vultures show up.
Like season four of FTWD, they're still a corny group of hippies, but our group has dealt with worse. Way worse. Madison and Travis leave the stadium to talk to the Vultures, while Nick and Alycia stay back with Charlie. However, the young girl is revealed to be a double agent, the one who let the Vultures know that the majority of the Bikers were leaving. She pulls a gun on Nick and Alycia just as Madison and Travis single-handily slaughter all of the Vultures. None are left alive. Hearing the commotion, mixed with fear and anger, Charlie shoots Nick. But Alycia, in a split second, kills Charlie.
Now dying of a gunshot wound, Alycia desperately begins surgery on Nick. Madison is purely focused on her son, but the weight of what they just did is finally beginning to set on Travis. Nick is treated just as the Bikers return, a majority of their numbers wiped out. We then get a Strand-focused episode, revealing how after the dam he was captured by Proctor John himself. But we see how he was unable to worm his way into a position of power within the Proctors. We get to see how the Proctors tracked our group all the way from Mexico, and how they had a massive battle with the Bikers we know, wiping most of them out. But the Bikers we know escaped, and the Proctors have followed them.
Out of both time and options, Nick sneaks away (still very much injured), his plans unclear. However, the Proctors show up, Strand at the helm. He's the spokesperson for the Proctors now, but a wrench is thrown in the plan for battle when he sees Madison and Alycia inside the stadium. Proctor John holds his attack too, realizing his chance for revenge is within his grasp. He then proposes a deal to the Bikers, saying that if given Madison and Co, they'll leave. This, of course, is a lie. The Bikers deliberate, with Cole being the main voice for trading them over. Travis tries everything he can to convince the Bikers to not hand them over, but realizes that being killed either by the Bikers or the Proctors isn't much of an option. Bound and gagged, the Clarks (minus Nick, who Madison fears for) are handed over.
Put on their knees and guns put to their heads, Strand tries to talk John out of it--trying to make him pause and think. But it's no use.
Just as bullets are about to be fired, a massive herd comes out of nowhere! Nick has led them all here, and being careful, he slips through the herd and unties his family. He tells them to do the guts trick, which they do, but for whatever reason, he turns back. As he moves through the herd, careful not to get shot or eaten, he finds Strand fighting for his life. Nick then steps in, helps him with the trick, and leads him to safety--but not before seeing Proctor John fighting the herd. It looks like he's winning; using a row of his soldiers to gun down the horde, until Nick sneaks up behind him and slits his throat. Now leaderless and surrounded, the Proctors and the Bikers are wiped out. Covered in guts and aimless, our crew leaves the stadium.
Weeks later, and after a few more misadventures, Nick goes out hunting. As he does so, he stumbles upon a man dressed like a cowboy, and sitting against a pickup truck: John Dorie. The same exchange happens, where John asks whoever is in the shadows if they would like to join him. Nick reveals himself, and it ends the same way as it did in the show, "So what's your story?"
TLDR: Madison and Co escape Mexico only to join up with a biker gang in an old baseball stadium in Texas. The Proctors return, old rivals of the Bikers, and a massive battle ensues. A group called the Vultures show up as the Bikers leave, and are quickly slaughtered by Madison and Travis. The Proctors come with Strand in tow, and after quick thinking from Nick, the family and Strand escape, while both the Bikers and the Proctors are wiped out by a herd of walkers. Nick then meets a man named John Dorie.
​

Season 5

John Dorie is what Morgan should have been for the Clarks: the exact opposite of what they are. While they're ruthless and cold, he's merciful and warm. His mission is simple: find his wife. And because of Nick's insistence (and Travis' persuasion of Madison), they decide to help him do so. He explains they separated several weeks ago, after meeting at his cabin and living there for the majority of the apocalypse. But he is far from incapable. In fact, he's the best shot of the entire group and anyone they ever come across.
Tensions however, are high. Madison of course doesn't trust John, and hates the influence he seemingly having on her son. She thinks that his kindness is weakness, and fights to keep her control over Nick.
Based on the evidence John gathered, his best guess is that his wife was abducted and taken north, into Colorado. With nowhere else to go, the Clarks travel with John north. Having entered Colorado, John soon catches a trail. He finds evidence of a camp with the same logo as he found before, that of a key. He feels that they're getting closer, and he turns out to be right, as they find a small community of survivors living inside an old motel. He wants to go in and talk, but Madison isn't risking it. Instead, and with much pushback from John, our main crew goes in guns raised.
Using a small herd of walkers Nick gathered, they take out the guards and quickly find the leader of the community. At gunpoint, the man explains that he's part of a network of communities under one woman, Virginia. They're called the Pioneers, and their goal is to make Colorado the beginning of a new United States. Madison, Alycia, and Strand laugh at the idea, but Nick and Travis are more open to it. After stealing supplies, weapons, and a vehicle, our crew moves on to find John's wife. Or so he thinks.
A few days later, our group finds another one of the settlements, an old ski lodge. This time, however, based on both Travis' and John's pleas, they go in as if they're just some survivors. As they are let in, they see that the lodge is heavily armed--a death sentence had they gone in guns blazing. They stay for a while, with Nick, Travis, and John warming up to the idea of a multi-settlement government. John finds out that his wife is at the capital of the settlement, Lawton. Eager to hit the road to see his wife again, he tells the group to get ready to head out. Madison, however, has no such plan. Nick argues they should go with him, but Madison argues that nothing like this could last and that it's likely all a lie. Madison and Strand want to take over the lodge, killing them all if it came to it. Travis is against it, his guilt driving him to try to stop murdering, but Madison's mind is unchanged. Survival at any cost is her plan now, and if a few nobodies have to die for it, so what? Madison is going to keep everyone together, no matter what. So, under the cover of the night, John and Nick sneak off the lodge grounds and leave.
In the morning, Madison sees they're both gone. Enraged, she prepares to go out and immediately find them until a massive snowstorm hits, forcing them to stay inside. For Nick and John, however, a test of will is what the storm becomes. Frostbite and starvation are mere days away, and they seem to be going in circles. Until a search party finds them. They're grabbed and treated as they are taken to the capital settlement. The search party wasn't for them, but for a young girl, but finding the men so close to death stopped the search. At least for now.
Back at the lodge, Madison is planning for a seize of power. People are anxious, and she has enough trust with the guards to grab some guns. But Travis stops her. He talks to her and looks at her as if she's a different person, something that seems to haunt her. They've grown apart, barely showing any physical affection.
At Lawton, Nick and John see that the settlement is large, larger than anything they've come across so far. They have large walls, farms, livestock, freshly constructed buildings, and people. Anxious to get to his wife, John meets with the mastermind behind it all: Virginia. But unlike the show, she's a genuinely kind woman. She really does want the best for people, and after some deliberation, John finally gets to see his wife. She explains that during her own supply run, she ran into the Pioneers needing help. She did, and they invited her to join. She left a note for John, telling him where to find her, but a massive herd forced them to leave early. It's a joyous moment and something that deeply saddens Nick, reminding him of Luciana.
Until he hears a voice, "Nick?" He turns around and sees Luciana standing behind him! They embrace, and she tells some story about how she found these communities. She apologizes for ever leaving him and promises to never do it again. And after this moment, Nick asks her to be his wife. She says yes, and he couldn't be happier.
Two weeks later, Madison, Travis, Alycia, and Strand are escorted to Lawton, where they reunite with Nick. He explains what happened, and in a seemingly hopeful moment, a wedding is held. Nick and Luciana get married, and all the while Madison plots.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After five or six months, we see how the family has gotten used to this way of life. Nick and Luciana are happy and working together, Strand has become a high-ranking Pioneer, Alycia has become a rather skilled doctor, Travis has settled down with Madison (though they're still very distant), working the fields next to a small cabin, and John and his wife work as rangers. Life is good. It's peaceful. With all the communities working together, it can seem like anything is possible. But Madison isn't happy. She doesn't trust any of it. And neither does Strand. She believes that at any second, a revolt will happen. An enemy group will rise up. She feels the Pioneers are too trusting, too hopeful. She wants to keep her family safe, and she doesn't think Virginia can.
One day, a community-wide meeting is called, where all the heads of the communities will come together to discuss general going-ons and plans for the future. All the heads come to meet in an old courthouse, including Strand. That day, Madison asks Virginia to meet, and she raises her issues: how they are too trusting, and a severe lack of top-down control. Virginia assures her that those things will happen--in time, but not to rush them. Madison asks her if she will ever actually make those changes, and Virginia pauses before saying...no. Madison then pulls a gun and shoots Virginia in the head. As soon as the shot rings out, Strand leaves the main courtroom where all the heads of communities are, locks the doors, and starts a fire. In mere minutes, the entire courthouse is in flames, and everyone inside is dead.
Immediately, there is chaos, as people think it was an attack. Madison steps up, explaining that Virginia was killed, and the fire was started by anarchists. Strand then grabs a random man and drags him up to the stage where Madison stands. After making up some story about the man, she asks the people if the anarchist should live, and there is a resounding and furious flurry of "no's". She pulls out her pistol and executes the man to the horror of Travis, Nick, and John.
At night, Madison meets with John, as he's become a high-ranking ranger. He knows that that man was innocent, but Madison seems to have no remorse. She explains very calmly that he's going to help contain the chaos, or she will kill his wife. To his shock, Madison waits for a response. He finally sputters out that he'll help. She lets him go back home, knowing he'll do whatever she wants.
Then, she goes home to Travis, who's distraught. He knows everything that happened was staged, and that Strand was helping plan it from the beginning. He's enraged, but Madison remains calm, explaining that everything she did was to protect her family. Travis is beyond shocked, exclaiming that everything that was happening was protecting her family. She looks at him, cold as ice, and tells him that he's not her family. He's not blood. Nick and Alycia are all that matter to her. Travis is horrified and heartbroken--too stunned to speak. She walks over to him and explains that if all he is is against her, he's a danger to her family. She then grabs a nearby knife and stabs him in the gut. She looks away from his eyes as he gasps for air, and as she twists the knife deeper into his stomach. She rips the knife out and he collapses on the floor, dying. She watches him suffer, and just like that, both Travis and the Madison we knew, are dead.
TLDR: Madison and Co follow a good-hearted cowboy named John Dorie into Colorado in search of his wife. After a few altercations with this group's settlements, John reunites with his wife and Nick reunites with Luciana. Months later, Madison and Strand enact a plot to seize control of power. Madison kills Virginia, and Strand lights a building aflame with all head of communities inside. Madison then threatens John into working for her, and she kills Travis.
​

Season 6

"Travis was killed by the anarchists." That's the lie that's told. The one spread around. At his funeral, Nick is devastated, barely able to hold it together as he gives a speech. John is silent, suspecting that Madison is the one who killed him. She knows that he knows, but she doesn't care. She cries at the funeral. But just for a moment.
Thanks to John's help, the communities have calmed down. Order has been re-established. Madison and Strand have taken up leadership of the Pioneers, but they quickly ditch the key logos and outfits. The rangers are trained to be merciless--gone are the days of trusting new people. A new rule is established: kill on site. Thanks to this, the communities are stronger than ever. John lives in perpetual fear of Madison, worried that at any moment she'll claim his wife is a member of the Anarchists, and have her killed. In order to avoid this, he becomes a vital tool for Madison, doing anything she says.
Nick is deep in grief, numb to his now wife and the outside world...until Luciana breaks wonderful news: she's pregnant. Nick is shocked, but excited--ready to be the father his dad never was.
In the meantime, Madison uses John to round up people who would stand against her, and after planting evidence and calling them Anarchists, she has them executed. Her family and community is secure. It looks like no one can stand in her way--except one woman: Luciana. Now pregnant and fearful of the dangerous new woman in control of Lawton, she wants to leave with Nick. He argues that they need to stay, it's his mother after all, and that they can't keep running forever. But she sees the danger.
That night, Nick and Alycia and hanging out together when he proudly tells her Luciana is pregnant. Alycia is really happy for him, until Nick tells her that he's decided he's going to leave Lawton with her after she gives birth. At the same time, Madison goes to Nick's home and meets with Luciana. She plays up the whole "sympathetic mother figure" deducing rather quickly that Luciana is pregnant. Luciana then tells her that they'll be leaving soon, much to the dismay of Madison. She soon leaves once Nick returns, not acting as if she knows about the pregnancy and their plans.
The next day John offers to take Nick down to one of their outermost communities, a few days ride. He accepts, feeling on top of the world. At that time, a group of armed Rangers burst into Nick's home, searching the entire place. Luciana is confused, but she is quickly tackled to the ground. Then, they find what they're searching for: the same knife used to kill Travis. Dragged out of her home, she's thrown into a holding cell.
A few hours out from Lawton, John struggles with the immense guilt of something. Nick asks him what's wrong, and he finally explains that Strand told him to take Nick out of town for a few days while something happened. Fearing something really bad is going to happen, Nick races back to Lawton, with the help of John.
The knife is supposedly the one that killed Travis, and Luciana is scheduled for a public execution that same day. At the time of the execution, Luciana is brought up on the gallows, in front of public of view, and Strand gives a speech about order and safety. Madison is absent. Nick reaches the main gates, but is temporarily blocked. Using sheer adrenaline and channeling Travis, he fights off the two guards and races to the center of town to see Luciana, noose around her neck. He screams for them to stop, but with the crank of a lever, the trapdoor falls, and Luciana suffocates to death. Nick can't do anything as he falls over, weeping, saying, "She's pregnant...she's pregnant..." Alycia comes running from the Infirmary, unaware of what's happening. John finally makes it to the town square, and using his crackshot aim, shoots Luciana down. But it's too late. For whatever the reason, she turned fast, and John walks over and quietly puts an end to her reanimated self.
Nick is completely broken now. He lays in a ball on the ground, unable to move. Alycia attempts to comfort him, but he pushes her away. John walks over to him, attempting to apologize or make what he did right, but Nick snaps. Grabbing a knife off of Alycia, he stabs John is the gut, and begins to beat his face in. Alycia tries to stop him, but Nick kicks her away as he takes swing after swing, beating John nearly to death. Nick then stops, grabs John's rifle, and screams for Strand. Strand, still standing on the gallows, attempts to duck as Nick fires at him, hitting him in the shoulder with a bullet. Nicks keeps firing, until his gun clicks empty. He stands, surrounded by Rangers and civilians.
He's locked in a cell, fists bloody and eyes empty. Madison comes to the cell, trying to play innocence, until Nick grabs her by the throat. He squeezes, a fire lit behind his eyes. All the pieces fit together now. Everything. He begins to laugh hysterically, realizing it was his own mother who killed his pregnant wife. "You...you actually thought I would what--just fall back into your own arms? Be your own little "Nicky' again!?" He tightens his grip, but he's too good a man. He can't do it. He releases her, utterly defeated. Madison leaves, telling Strand that he'll come around.
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A long time later, months, years, we're not sure--somehow, Nick is out of the cell. It's wintertime in Colorado, and he's living in the wilderness now, sporting much longer hair and a beard. Using tricks he learned while in Mexico and from Travis, he lives as a nomad. But no matter how far he travels, he's still hunted by the Pioneers.
In a flashback, we see that is was Strand who let Nick out of the cell. Nick just about kills him, but seeing the guilt Strand feels, Nick decides to just leave. He's quiet and stealthy, just stealing one of Travis' jackets and a machete. But before he leaves, he sneaks to Alycia, and pleads with her to come with him. She refuses, deciding to stay with Madison. He's sad, but he doesn't stick around. He climbs over one of the walls, and slips away.
In the present, we follow Nick as he lives in the woods of Colorado. He's almost completely silent, barely even grunting. He dispatches walkers with ease, and because of Travis, he knows how to live purely off the land alone. He's almost unrecognizable. One day, while cooking a rabbit, two Pioneers come across him on horseback. They dismount, holding him up at gunpoint, and tell him that he's going to return to Lawton with them. He doesn't speak as he pulls out his machete and cleaves one of the Pioneers' arms off. The man screams in agony as Nick impales the other one mercilessly. He kills the second man, then turns and grabs the other man's rifle. He checks its ammo, slings it across his back, and begins to raise his machete at the first Pioneer--before the man begins to weep. He begins blubbering about his wife, how they have a child on the way. Nick lowers his blade, wipes the blood on his sleeve, and sheathes it. The Pioneer begs for bandage, medicine, anything, but Nick just leaves, saying, "Tell her to stop coming after me."
The problem for Nick is that, essentially, he's trapped. Because of the thirteen-community network Madison now controls, he's surrounded, on all sides, by people attempting to capture him. It miles of land, sure, but not something easily escaped. So he's done what little he can--evade the larger search parties, and deal with the smaller pairs of rangers he encounters.
His new plan is to head farther north, hopefully into Wyoming or Montana. So for an episode he heads north, evading capture.
At the same time, Madison continues to rule the communities with an iron fist. But there's a problem: people have been disappearing from within the communities. Alicia has matured over this time, taking up a leadership position under her mother. She's an advocate for letting Nick go, but Madison can't. Strand still works for her, though he has become more brazen after his secret releasing of Nick. Madison suspects it was him who did it, but she waits to act. John has become the head of tracking Nick down, but he does his job in a way that slows down the process.
Madison calls him in for a meeting, and explains that his new mission will be discovering where her citizens are going. Thankful to be off of Nick, he accepts.
Nick makes his way to the furthermost community after days of travel, called "The Lanes". Sneaking past guards and the occasional walker, he makes it to Colorado border, and stops. He feels horribly guilty for leaving his sister with his mother, and he can't seem to shake the feeling. Then, he sees something odd: a small group of civilians sneaking out of the Lanes. He watches them, then decides to follow. After traveling deeper into the woods than he's gone before, he stumbles upon the civilians destination: The Copse.
An idyllic home deep in the Colorado woods, Nick is greeted by an old eccentric man: Teddy. Teddy is kind and wise, offering to take Nick's weapons, as he won't need them there. Nick cautiously obliges, and after a few days, falls in love with the place. Everyone who's fled from the communities has come here, and it's perfect. Until John finds it.
With six rangers vs an entire commune, Nick prepares for battle. But Teddy tells him to stop, and to let happen what needs to happen. Confused by his order, he steps down. John sees the place, and realizes that this is what the communities can be. He decides not to tell Madison about the commune, and he returns to his wife, and they leave together in secret.
After more drama and death, Madison stops all her rangers from looking for Nick, and switches the mission to finding this rumored commune. Nick catches wind of this, and warns Teddy that this is coming. Teddy refuses to arm, but Nick circumvents this by talking to the people of the commune. He finally steps into a position of leadership, rallying the citizens into protecting what they have. The citizens come together and form a fighting force, right as the first Rangers arrive.
It's a bloody battle, but the Rangers are defeated. Nick realizes that the people cannot defeat 13 communities, but they can convert them. After more fights, persuading, and uprising, nearly half of all the communities have rallied under Nick against Madison and her army.
Eager to get out from under her thumb of oppression, people from within Lawton begin to revolt. Madison, of course, shuts this down--brutally beating anyone who stands against her. Alicia sees now that her mother is truly gone, and begins to communicate with Nick, planning a final stand.
After weeks of fighting and plotting, it all comes to a head. All of Nick's forces, now seven communities, rally together to charge, all at once, to Madison's six community army stationed at Lawton. Strand, however, attempts to sabotage Madison's army by destroying their ammo reserves. He's caught, tortured for his involvement in the civil war, and in one final act of brutality by Madison, beheaded in view of both her own and Nick's armies.
On this, both sides clash, resulting in a massive firefight. Hundreds are killed between the two groups, and in the end, Lawton is in flames and Nick is within Madison's home. They fight, and it's brutal and hard to watch as we see our once mother and son duo trade blows. Nick finally gets the upper hand, and a mortally wounded Madison makes one last remark, "I kept you and Alicia safe. I did that no matter what. I tried to keep us all together..." Nick shakes his head. "You tore us apart Mom. I love you, even after what you did to us. To me. But this can't go on."
Madison hears these words, and sheds a tear. Nick looks away as Madison Clark dies. Nick leaves the house, teary-eyed, and explains what happened to the people. The war is ended. The Communities are reunited.
A few weeks later, Nick and Alicia share one last moment together--embracing at Lawton's gates. Alicia has become the leader of these communities, and peace has now truly been established. But Nick can't stay. The memories here haunt him. He's decided to leave. Go north. He shares one last goodbye to everyone he's met over the past years, and he departs, once again alone and on the road.
TLDR: After a brutal betrayal by Madison, Nick leaves Lawton. After a long time spent in the woods, he finds a new home: a peaceful commune. but realizing his mother will never stop searching for him, he rallies together the people of the commune and half of all the others. After betrayals, beheadings, and losses. The war is ended, and peace returns to the Colorado Communities. Nick decides to leave, and he's once again alone on the road.
THE END
I know that this was a long read, and I appreciate all of those who did. A few parts need work, but overall, this is a very rough draft for how I would have handled Fear.
Thanks to AI, attached are some admittedly rough designs for what our characters could have looked like in the later seasons:
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Nick in season 6.
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Nick on the road.
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Alicia in Colorado.
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An older Travis and Madison in one of the Pioneer's communities.
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John Dorie at a snowy Lawton.

I have sickle cell anemia, I was diagnosed as a child and well it's not an easy thing to manage. Needless to say visiting the E.R. makes me absolutely terrified. It's either they don't believe you, or think you're a junky trying to get high on pain meds or that you're lying about the amount of narcotics your doctor administers for break
Years ago, I had an older physician Dr. B, who was part of a cancer practice group. He was amazing, the best part was he actually listened to me. It honestly felt like a partnership. I saw him for close to 10 years, and because it was a cancer treatment facility, when I got flare ups, I went in and was prescribed/administered IV pain meds and fluids. As Dr. B was older, he finally decided to retire in order to spend more time with his family. When he did retire he referred me to a new doctor who joined the practice. Dr. S.
Right off the bat, on our first meeting she was immediately combative, she went on a diatribe about my pain meds and how she's strict about them. She immediately made me sign a pain management contract and stated if I ever broke the contract I was out.
The first time I had my crisis, and came to the infusion center, she cut my prescription from 6mg to 4. Not a big deal, but now most times I have to go in 2-3 days to get my pain under control rather than the 1 day before.
Then we had a discussion about a drug Hydra. I mentioned that Dr. B had me on it, it caused me to get sick more frequently and eventually caused me to almost die in the ICU. I was going into sepsis from toxicity from that particular medication.
She didn't care, wanted me on it. I tried to argue my case but she never listened. So, I decided I just won't pick up the prescription from the pharmacy. Eventually she found out I wasn't taken the meds (blood tests), I reluctantly agreed to start taking them.
Well my previous experience is repeating itself, I'm having more frequent crisis, almost every other week. The last time I went into the infusion center for pain management, the drugs were cut again, this time from 4mg to 2. I talked 4mg Dilaudid orally, which as I understand it, the bioavailability comes down to 2. So wondering why she'did prescribe 2mg when I've done 2mg every 3 hours at home didn't help. Anyway, talked to the administering Nurse and was told "well you'll get a second dose later so it's the same thing". This came from Dr. S.
With my crisis getting more frequent and having this, I pretty much stopped going to the infusion center. It's all the inconvenience of getting there, getting a ride to come back, without actually relieving my pain, seems like I'm just as well taking the same dose at home.
This brings us to today, she had me stop the hydrea to try a new medication, an infusion of crizanlizumab.
This triggered a bad flare up, my pain was at a 9 in my joints and back, my face was flush. My bp which is normally 110/60 jumped to 155/70. The nurses gave me benedryl, and steroids to mitigate the reaction.
The doctor refused to prescribe pain meds. The nurses asked her a number of times, finally she said I could have Toradal. Anyway, I wasn't looking/feeling better and both nurses decide to contact the doctor again requesting pain meds.
When the nurse came back, she whispered to the other nurse that she asked the doctor whose response was "I don't believe him". It's one thing to go through crap like that from ER doctors who don't know my history, but from the doctor that's been treating me for over 5 years?
I know this is an unusual situation/question for this sub, but at this point I'm at a loss for what to do. So, doctors in the sub, what do you recommend?

Little back ground about my position in the military. I was Armament systems (loading missiles on the F15's. Some missiles were a 3 person lift and 2 person carry (40-60 ft from the utility trailer to the aircraft) and then a 3 person overhead lift to mount it on the launchers. I was in the front so I could only lift with one arm bc my other hand was guiding an umbilical into a slot. If you didn't do it fast enough the missile would get hung up and everyone is stuck holding this over their head. It happened from time to time). Being around loud aircraft and -60 AGE equipment. To perform the lift from the trailer it required all back. You couldn't get under it and use legs). Just a little back ground on what I did. Much more to it.
I started my VA claim process May 19th so literally just started. I got out of the service July 2020. I hurt my right shoulder in 2015 (military documented on my medical records) and has gotten worse since then). I got hurt (left shoulder and lower back) in 2017 on a deployment but did not record it on my records bc it was mission critical and I just pushed through it like we were molded to. My goal was to put in 20 which I was told at the beginning of my career that if you get hurt too much then when you get to 18 years they would most likely give you the boot. So that automatically put me in the "push through it mentality". That I did. So after 6 years I got out bc of how hurt I got so early and how much worse my back continued to get. Fast fwd to 2020 when I finally had enough of the pain I got an MRI that showed "Focal disc protrusion from L5-S1" and now I'm being seen by a spine specialist that is planning to give me injections at age 30. My claims as follows: Tinnitus, Hearing loss, right shoulder, bilateral shoulder, lower back, migraine, anxiety and depression. The only thing that was marked on my military medical records is tinnitus and right shoulder. I was told it will be an extremely uphill battle for the rest. I have 3 buddy statements for my left shoulder and back from the 2017 deployment. The anxiety and depression started hitting heavy shortly after for the simple reason of how hurt and crippled I started to feel. I could not work out the same without flaring up my conditions or work on my project car which was my passion (my escape from reality) and still is. I can't do any of those things still. I can't even stand at the sink and wash dishes longer than 15 mins without getting pain in my lower back. I can only sit for about 45 mins at my computer desk until I have to stand and walk around bc my lower back starts giving me issues. My anxiety and depression was also not documented in my military records but it is on my primary doc records. But not longer than 6 months. I just started meds for that. Again I was raised and conditioned not only by the military but by my dad to push through it don't take medicine. I Def can't lift weights over my head bc of my shoulders. And to top it all off for my anxiety and depression is that fact that I kept my mouth closed and "pushed on" that I'm possibly going to be screwed out of any compensation. The migraines started about 8 months ago. I have been keeping a log of it and I'm currently prescribed meds for my migraines, back and shoulder pain and anxiety /depression. Does anyone have similar scenarios or any advice? I feel like I'm fighting a lost cause. My VA claim rep isn't helping by saying "Yea it's going to be pretty hard but we will try". I said well it's not like I was in the finance office and trying to claim this stuff. Sorry for the long write up.wanted to be as detailed as possible.thanks in advance.

I’m one of the founders and mods here on /Experiencers, a subreddit that is theoretically devoted to people who’ve had any kind of “trans-rational” phenomenon, but mostly which people use to ask questions or share possible contact experiences with some of the various beings that are associated with the current news stories.
As you can imagine we’ve all been following this story for a long while and none of it is “news” for most of us, it’s simply a major step towards validation. I’ve written this post for those of you who are new to all this, or maybe those of you who’ve been interested in UAP for a while but are ready to move past the “nuts and bolts.”
It’s important that I note that this post is not attempting to persuade the skeptics that these ideas are real. People will come around when they’re each able to wrap their heads around this, if it all. It’s heavy stuff.
The extensive research I’ve done into this topic has primarily focused on the science and the expert research others have done of firsthand accounts, such as by people like Dr. John Mack. I’ve also communicated with a wide range of people, including some of the people who are prominently featured in these news stories. There were also some amazing conversations with experts and Experiencers facilitated by Stuart Davis, Jay King, and Kirsten Blackburn of The Experiencer Group.
I’ve also personally experienced a wide variety of things in relation to this subject, and thankfully have some documentation to back it up. I’ve provided some of that publicly, and will be providing more as I can. It includes medical records, a recording of a hypnotic regression, and even a consultation with a former CIA remote viewer that the well-known government UAP researcher Dr. Kit Green has referred to as his “favorite psychic.” https://www.ufojoe.net/kit-green-psychic1/
If the idea of psychics feels like a lot to handle then take this slow (but buckle up). These concepts may seem like fringe ideas right now, but they aren’t fringe to some of the scientists who are involved with the Pentagon’s UAP research, and there’s good reasons why. Regardless of whether they’re accepted by science any time soon they are going to be getting talked about a lot, and so this article will be an excellent primer if nothing else.
There is no way to concisely delve into this topic. It’s like asking a mathematician to explain the concept of algebraic geometry without using the words algebra or geometry. Just know that all of the underlying concepts here are supported by large amounts of data of varying kinds, although some of that data is a millimeter deep and miles wide. One common accusation from the skeptics is that these scientists are “jumping to wild conclusions,” but that’s because they aren’t aware of the volume of evidence backing up the various ideas presented here. I have opted to primarily just tell you what some of the core concepts are, but for each one I’ll provide a single link to a reputable source to get you started.
These concepts build on each other, and I think you’ll find that if you discard any one of them you’ll end up stuck trying to understand anything beyond it.
Let’s start at the beginning:

1. The framework of reality is probably not Materialism. Many of the researchers end up on something closer to Idealism. In layman’s terms, our reality is not based on physical matter, but rather physical matter is potentially being generated by consciousness. This is a crucial point, and if you can grapple with this idea you will find the rest of it much easier to understand. https://opensciences.org
2. There are other realms, parallel realities, or dimensions that seem to overlap our own. In regards to UAP, this is sometimes called the “Interdimensional Hypothesis,” or IH: https://www.wired.com/story/jacques-vallee-still-doesnt-know-what-ufos-are/
3. There are a myriad of non-human intelligent beings that exist in these realms (and maybe human, too—we’ll get to that). Dr. Eric Davis, another government whistleblower regarding crash retrievals, uses the term “shadow biome” to describe this: https://twitter.com/phenomenonmovie/status/1636975801248915457?s=46
4. Our consciousness seems to be non-local. That means it is not being generated by our brains, but our brains may function more akin to radios which are tuned into our specific consciousness (this is only an analogy). With practice it is possible to “tune in” to other things, and some people are naturally very good at it. This is the foundation of psi (ESP). https://noetic.org/blog/non-local-consciousness/
5. Some of this non-human intelligence can connect directly to our consciousness. They can read from it as well as send information to it. https://www.jacquesvallee.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Incommensurability_Orthodoxy_and_the_Phy.pdf
6. In these other realms, time does not appear to be experienced in a linear way. The past, present, and future may all be happening there simultaneously, although the future we experience seems to not be pre-determined and may be more like the multiple universe theory of quantum physics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19608110/
7. When people have encounters with UAP, it is often happening at this consciousness level. We seem to be more susceptible in sleep or hypnogogic/hypnopompic states (waking up and falling asleep), but not always. Harking back to #1, there is some evidence to indicate that this psychic connection may be able to generate a physical reality as well. https://www.jacquesvallee.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Incommensurability_Orthodoxy_and_the_Phy.pdf
8. Psychedelics affect the brain’s transceiver and can allow us some access to these other realms, which is why some of the same beings are reported by DMT users as may be seen by Experiencers. https://alieninsect.substack.com/p/dmtx-the-first-results
9. These beings seem to be motivated by things outside of our understanding, but one theory is that they are interacting with us in both mental and physical ways to allow them to behave as some form of “control system,” potentially to further our development as psychic, conscious beings. https://www.thinkanomalous.com/jacques-vallee.html
10. We are all connected together via consciousness, and what affects one part of it has the ability to affect other parts. This is akin to Carl Jung’s idea of the Collective Unconscious but with the materialist trappings stripped away. https://www.dropbox.com/s/7tf6qlv2piaua4i/Bancel2017.pdf?dl=0
11. When these beings interact with us in the physical realm, they may be doing so using psychically manifested craft and bodies, which is why there is such variability to their descriptions. This may explain things like Reptilians and Mantid beings, which may be choosing the forms partly based on what they represent within our collective unconscious. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55963614
12. These other beings place less value on physical bodies because they know they’re only temporary. That’s because we are fundamentally spirits which inhabit these bodies only temporarily, although our consciousness lives on. https://www.windbridge.org

That’s it in a nutshell. I know it’s a lot to digest, and if this is the first time you’ve come across these ideas presented in this way you are likely to assume there’s no real science to back it up, but that’s far from the case. Because these ideas challenge the current Materialist paradigm they have been deemed “pseudoscience” despite the empirical evidence supporting them, and they have been scientifically suppressed the same way non-human intelligence has been culturally suppressed (as a matter of fact, there’s very good reason to believe that some of the same government intelligence groups are involved in the ridicule of these scientific ideas as well, for good reason—hard to keep secrets from psychics). https://windbridge.org/papers/unbearable.pdf
The most common accusation I get from skeptics is that I’m being gullible for supposedly reading someone else’s outlandish ideas and then accepting them without question. In fact, I have experience with a significant amount of the things listed above, and so do many other Experiencers. I have evidence to support quite a bit of it, but what I have is no better than any of the empirical evidence available online and so I’d direct you there. https://www.deanradin.com/recommended-references
So why is it that Experiencers tend to report such wide variety of paranormal experience? According to some new research this may be related to why they are having those contact experiences in the first place, and it may be genetic. https://silvarecord.com/2019/01/09/experiencers-unique-intuition-and-biomarkers/
In the end, it doesn’t matter what you choose to believe. No one is keeping score. For most people, your life now is the same now as it was before any of this started to come out. But for some people this is an epiphany moment, when things suddenly start to make sense. And for those people, welcome to Experiencers.
As a final note, I’m happy to provide additional information to people on any of these topics and do my best to answer questions as best I can, but I’m not going to argue about it. I am not selling anything and don’t care if you accept it, and frankly I could be wrong about a lot (a reminder that none of these are my ideas, they all come from scientists).
I know my fellow mod, u/Oak_Draiocht, has some other valuable insights to share about what’s been going on and some of the concerns we have about what’s going forward, so watch for his post too.

So I am a little worried about the immunization record portion of the medical my daughter is 9 and definitely does not have the hepititis vaccines as they are only offered in grade 7. Will they vaccinate her at the office during the medical or will we get those after the medical? Also for those from Ontario was showing the yellow vaccination card enough proof? I have my yellow card for the 80s/90s also some of mine is only online that I am able to print off. My daughter has hers on the yellow immunization record card as well and we both are fully vaccinated for covid.

Hello,
I'm a 48 year old male, 5'9", 220 lbs, muscular but need to lose some weight. I have high blood pressure and have for 20 years, I'm currently on three medications for it: losartan (1/day), carvedilol (2/day) and amlodipine (1/day). I also have some arthritis and have had some skin issues (eczema, lichen sclerosis) over the years. And, my kidney function is okay but has been trending downward for a couple of years - nothing to be alarmed at right now, but something to keep an eye on.
I now have high choloresterol, so back in April my doctor put me on a statin. I got my blood tested on May 4th and my Creatine Kinase (CK) was 818 (upper limit says 230). I immediately stopped the statin and got tested again on June 1st and the CK was even higher at 1,503. My doctor had me get tested again today, and the CK is still high at 1,297.
During the time around these tests, I wouldn't say I was doing anything strenous. Perhaps weed whacking the yard, going golfing, working on my car, etc. Nothing that could explain high values.
Back when I was 25 or 26, I remember getting some bloodwork done and my doctor at the time (not the same one as now) telling me to drink a lot of water because my CPK was high. The CPK stayed high, but I never had any symptoms so it was sort of forgotten about. I only remembered when I found a post saying that CK and CPK are the same thing. Unfortunatley, my old doctor's office is long out of business and I have no way of getting my records from that long ago to see how high it was. I haven't had my CK tested since then, until May of this year.
Every so often, I get stiff muscles (almost always my neck/shoulders or calves), and I infrequently get cramps in my legs, always when I forget to stay hydrated. I have no msucle pain or weakness, no brown urine, etc.
Having said all that - my doctor has freaked me out a little bit. I think he's just doing his job, but I feel like he thinks my elevated levels are a harbinger of something bad. At one point, he mentioned going to the hospital. I usually stress over stuff like this, but based on my history of elevated levels as well as what I've read online, I'm pretty chill - or at least I was until I got multiple messages, asking me if I was okay and that sort of thing. On his advice, I scheduled a nuerology appointment but it's not until August; he is desperately trying to find someone to get me in sooner and I guess I don't understand why. Are my levels that worrisome?

Spirits are the least conventional lifeforms in Gnosis and the people of its worlds really don't understand what they are or how they function. As they are so highly unconventional, I'm looking for a little feedback on the core concept. I'll keep it as quick as I can, but this is a big complicated topic and spirits are weird so I may need to explain a lot.
From the Outside:
Let's pick a common spirit for an example, in fact the most common spirit species, fey. From the outside, they look like a tiny winged humanoid of some description. We'll go right to the one of the two contenders for least common of four subspecies because they'll require the least explanation, fairies. They basically look like miniature glowing humans with large butterfly wings, coming in every imaginable color for their skin although some are more common for each part than others and that means they're glowing those colors. Fey have some size-changing going on but in their smaller default form fairy women typically range from about 45-50cm and fairy men about 35-40cm in both height and wingspan, and in their larger form they go up to 1.5x scale. Spirits don't need to sleep, can if they want to and there are reasons they might even if usually only for a couple minutes to fix some recent major injury.
Most species of spirits are 75% female and fey are in that group, so let's look a bit closer at a fairy gal. The first thing you'll notice about her is that she is very colorful her surface has zero texture, but you may not notice from a distance because her surface is using artistic tricks to imitate texture without actually having it. Her various features are simplified, yet either exaggerated or understated. Her usually quite a bit of head hair is usually also a pretty loud color but it's also actually just part of her head which is one rigid piece and if this gal has long hair you'll notice it only bends at the top of the neck one time to keep the rest "hanging" where it "should be", and trying to change her hairstyle is painful and fruitless. Her jaw stretches and twists to imitate an actual joint being there but there also clearly isn't one if you look closely. Spirit hands and moreso heads, especially their eyes, are larger while their legs are slightly shorter relative to their height and their feet are tiny, meanwhile secondary and tertiary sexual characteristics are exaggerated overall but with a larger standard deviation from the average in each area between individuals to the point where they still reach 0 if less often. They're not a very convincing imitation, to put it lightly, they should be well on the "less human" side of the uncanny valley.
Spirits are regenerating shapeshifters, in the case of fey it's mostly size-changing, but all spirit sophonts also have the ability to imitate clothing, weapons and equipment even if the imitated gear is not nearly as good as the real thing. It and the body part it's on are not separate and the false gear cannot be taken off or set down except by shapeshifting it out of existence, nor can they imitate chemicals or complex machinery like the magitech in nearly all proper melee weapons, which of course means imitating any sort of ranged weapon or explosive is off the table. It also means they aren't rendering their body underneath the gear, if she's wearing a shapeshifted knee skirt and you were to look up it you'd see an opaque void the same color as the skirt which her knees are sliding freely along the surface of, there's nothing between it and where the shapeshift gear ends, everything from hem to waist currently IS the skirt. (Of course if she's wearing actual clothes this does not apply.) Same if she shapeshifts a sword into her hand, the sword and hand are a single piece so it only looks like she's holding it, like a cheap action figure. It also needn't be a sword, most hand tools can be imitated effectively, from hammers and saws to ladles and spatulas, just note that it's part of her and smacking it on things or getting it too hot will hurt even though shapeshift gear is not very sensitive.
Fey also can control the brightness of their glow or generate spotlights, generate and manipulate magnetic fields, of course fly and pretty quickly, they swim fine too which is extremely odd for fairies given their apparent butterfly wings, and all but pixies have easy if slow contact healing albeit the fairy's healing is stronger and pixies have their own benefits (stealth, sensors and a 3-day forecast). Healing is a fairy's main ability, when in water it's strengthened (as is a nymph or ghillie) and in emergencies fairies can massively drain their energy reserves even to the point of depleting them in order to staunch more severe wounds than they would be able to normally, although that's something they can't do more than once or at most twice without a refill and it's still got its limits, "already dead" is beyond those limits, "decapitated" also counts, if somebody's heart got bisected that's somebody they're not fixing, but this burst of frenzied automatic medical treatment is just the thing for some poor sap who's just taken multiple bullets to the chest and head. They're pretty good at self-repair and generally have less downtime than some fey when the poor things get severely injured very easily. (Not because they're little, being a spirit makes that difference often less than it appears, but because they're spirits.)
But what if you touch her? Well, then you'll discover her textureless surface isn't actually a surface at all. You'll start feeling resistance just before you make contact, like trying to touch like poles of two magnets. This is pretty mild, but intensifies as you go on and once your finger passes through her stomach miss fairy will scream and hit you but more importantly you'll contact something solid not far beyond it, many somethings solid spaced apart, teeny-tiny balls and stands. That's odd, so let's put on a mask with goggles and stick our face in this fairy who hopefully agreed to that but it seems unlikely on account of how much this is going to hurt. (Maybe for science. And food. ...And a hug or five or six.)
On the Inside:
What you'll find in the little lady is exactly what it felt like, many less than one millimeter thick strands connecting hundreds of millimeters-wide orb-shaped nodes and thousands more nodes no bigger around than the wires leading to them. Most of the spirit's body is empty space, covered by a gradient forcefield and projected light. These internal structures are brightly colored, in the case of fey blaze orange and notably each part of their facade is most commonly an orange/brown of various hues, brightnesses and saturations (including super dark brown or super pale orange for their pupils and sclera), but if broken open are transparent or translucent white/grey inside. For ages there was no even vaguely comparable material to the unusual lipid-derived organic stuff these nodes are made out of, but the Drachentäller invented a very similar one half a century ago called "plastic" (though only they make it right now so it's still pretty pricey). The nodes have openings on them of different types which differentiate their function, but these aren't well understood, except the biggest ones outside the core that are just storage tanks for slurries of liquid nutrients. The wires feel like normal rubber-insulated wires but super thin, but under a microscope they look to be another bioplastic and if split open will reveal themselves to actually contain both piping for transporting material between nodes and actual copper wire that carries a current too low-gauge to be powering anything so it's speculated to effectively be her nervous system.
This explains her shapeshifting, seeing as her body's not real she just needs to re-arrange her wires and nodes, alter the shape of her outer fields and the image she's projecting. To grow from 50cm to 75, she just increased the distance between her nodes by 50%, her "surface area" by 125% and her "volume" by 237.5%, her mass and weight are completely unchanged. This also explains how such giant variations can exist within one species or even subspecies, they aren't really nearly as big of a change as they externally look to be. Fairies can project light and generate powerful magnetic fields, those are also being done by her nodes, with the very projectors that create her outer fields and holographic "self" which she doesn't know isn't real unless you tell her (she probably won't believe it). It also explains why they feel pain when you attempt to penetrate their fields, for starters they think there's actual physical flesh you're pushing into except for how it visibly doesn't react like it once you've started (and that confusion's only going to make them freak out more), and it makes sense if this imitation is a defense mechanism for a pain response to exist to reduce the odds of you or them discovering what's inside or either of you being able to make sense of what little you do see.
Of course, passing through their fields doesn't always hurt, only if they're expecting it to, the field projectors will even roll inwards to create an opening if one is expected in that spot. IE she bites things by rolling her face fields inwards to "open" her "mouth", then uses them to apply pressure, but as she has no actual teeth this is blunt and often she'll need to yank at it with her entire head, neck and even engage her torso to, for example, tear a chunk off a steak and swallow it. If you were to observe this hunk of steak you'd watch it get passed by repair nodes down into the woodchipper-like opening of one of her digestive nodes in her core, where it will be broken down into proteins and lipids and sent to storage through her piping. We know that because people have in fact stuck periscopes inside spirits to see what goes on inside them. As she uses energy, you may notice a tiny bit of fine dust descending from around her, this is ash and it's all that's left of the nutrients she efficiently consumes in exorbitant amounts to power everything she does. As she repairs damage, her repair nodes can produce the plastic of her tubing her core production nodes print complex components, even required metals coming out of what she eats.
The Core:
The core is the center of a spirit's being, a series of seven dreamcatcher-looking rings large nodes and thicker wire in rings stacked front to back with cross-crossing wires notably devoid of metal instead having silica fibers and flashing lights on each node for signalling between them, making sure every one in each ring is directly connected to each other for redundancy. Here you'll find, in her notably female case, from front to back, half her reproductive system, forward core nutrient storage, forward core cognitive ring (memory and motor control nodes are scattered throughout the body), central digestive and manufacturing ring, aft core cognitive ring, aft core nutrient storage and her other ring of reproductive nodes, and notably there is lots of tubing running between rings 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7. If she was male instead both reproductive rings would be at the back as the purpose of them is different.
In a fey, any humanoid spirit really, this is in the chest where you'd expect the heart to be. Some spirits have two cores, the second will be lower down, in a humanoid it'll be in the pelvis and/or abdomen, as low as it can be at its size and still fit without blocking the leg tendrils. These nodes require more exotic materials less common in food or that are more difficult to work with and even with recycling as much as possible are usually significantly harder to repair and replace. Losing digestive and manufacturing nodes is a big hit to regeneration rate, enough that they usually start by replacing those if at all possible. The way spirits die is by receiving too much core damage, or losing too much mass overall, to the point where they don't have the manufacturing nodes to fix themselves despite all being multiple redundant, or they lack both material in storage and the functionality to go get them. If starved, they will eventually enter an inert state and be left laying as a bundle on the ground until somebody revives them or they decay which takes a very long time even though their plastic is biodegradeable as it is coated in a preservative (in this case orange) chemical that takes years to corrode and is frequently replenished during normal activity. Even then, if you go grab the bundle and drop them into a bunch of loose resources like a bowl of ground beef and fruit preserves that'll solve the lack of resources and if they didn't lose all the required nodes they'll start fixing themselves up.
Damage control and repair:
As mentioned, spirits regenerate. As also mentioned, this is an internal repair system with distinct parts performing distinct tasks, which when they are unconscious gets all of their energy and resources allowing it to work significantly faster, whether they're unconscious because they were nearly destroyed or because they decided to go lie down for a minute because they just saw their wires and nodes for the first time. You may think this could be defeated by severing a part, since they wouldn't be able to reach out and grab it, but what'll actually happen is microwaves will be emitted by the repair nodes on each end of the breach and it'll fly right back into place to get fused back together, and if a node is is destroyed that node'll be replaced a part at a time which will take longer than patching a wire and it won't be working until it's fully reconnected, but the bioplastic that makes up most of it is pretty easy to print and paint if they've got proteins and fats on hand. If she takes too much damage, though, to the point where she's at risk of being destroyed she will involuntarily bail on this entire situation, dropping her outer fields and image, curling her wires into a tight ball, coating herself in a much denser forcefield, rocketing into the distance in a direction with nobody (detected) in it and as clear of a shot as possible. This launch is very forceful, reaching hypersonic speeds in a matter of seconds before the thrust stops and she cruises ballistically to a different post code and at quickly slows to a gentle landing. (Assailants: Brace for the backblast, or it may knock you on your ass.) She is semi-conscious during this process and once she's landed will fully lose consciousness in order to dedicate all her energy to self-repair until she's either back to 100% or as close as she's getting without getting up and finding something to eat. Significant damage to her core, whether it's that "enough core cables are cut to defeat their redundancy" or "a core node is destroyed", will usually result in her blasting off right away, as will her ending up in a situation where destruction otherwise seems unavoidable. Take a moment to absorb the implications of this while you imagine how much worse her being swallowed by a giant frog or something is going to work out for it than her even if she has to clean that mess up. Spirits actually dying due to violence is a rarity because of their remarkable ability to bail in the nick of time, although it does happen. They get hit with a 7-ton naval shell they're absolutely donezo, but dropping them in a volcano won't work because they'll blast off into the sky.
Reproduction and Development:
In her core, this fairy has two rings dedicated to reproduction, one at the very front and one at the very back. These are rings of dedicated manufacturing, wire-printing and assembly nodes, which create and keep in stock a set of redundant nodes, enough to make 1/2 of a new spirit minus their core. If we look in the chest of Sir Mothwing next to her he has none of the assembly or wire-printing nodes but he's got a bunch of dedicated manufacturing nodes in two rings at the back of his core and between them is kept the fruits of their labour: One entire spare core, in addition to half the nodes needed for the rest of a spirit stored stored between the reproductive rings and the back of the spirit which these nodes also manufactured. All they need to do is keep their cores together so a single opening through both their fields can allow them to interact. The actual internal process is unconscious, any activity that'll align their cores and press their bodies together will do the job. They mimic humans generally, but they don't always know how humans do it so this might just be hugging.
The spirit man will pass his spare parts into the spirit woman's chest, one at a time as she needs them, that's his entire job in the actual reproductive process. Granted, those are hard to replace parts, especially all those core cognitive and manufacturing nodes, so he can't do this nearly as often as she can and that puts the bottleneck on the side of the less common sex, giving them a slow reproductive rate. (Then again, they're massive resource hogs for their size, have indefinite lifespans and are hard to kill. Maybe slow reproduction's a good thing long-term.) As for her part she'll be externally paralyzed and unresponsive while her unconscious works as fast as it can making wire and connecting these parts together. In the mean time, he'll be semi-conscious, cuddled as close as humanly possible, only able to move if it's strictly necessary (if a coyote's wondering if they're edible he can go deal with that real quick and come back). The rest of the time while this process is going on, both of them will be tripping balls. No, that's not doing it justice, they're having a life-changing psychedelic experience. Why is unknown, only they're seeing the same things, communicating somehow and by the end they usually claim to "feel" the newborn's presence before they're born, if their estimates are right seemingly a couple hours after the core's done being assembled. Some think it's how the newborn's consciousness is formed, some think it's how all the child's various traits superficial and meaningful alike are determined, some think it's a deep spiritual experience meant to make them reflect on and prepare for the life-changing thing they're doing bringing another tinier person into the world, some think it's just meant to keep their conscious mind entertained while their unconscious does all the actual work. It's also notably intensely euphoric. Regardless, after about one day in 5d technicolor dreamland, the new infant spirit will be assembled and will exit the mother however makes sense to her. They may just pop right out of her chest as a little rolled-up ball, unfurl and form their facade mid-air before any of them wake up, only provided nobody's there to witness it (as far as any of them know).
The even littler one will as usual typically resemble hehis parents in many ways except often with several completely random minor variations like a ginger and a blue-haired parent may have a violet-haired child and have no idea why even if most of the time most of their traits seem to be inherited from their parents. Mutations that large shouldn't be occurring that often with biology as we know it, but this is not biology as we know it. Their sex is determined by how their mother assembles their core, whether they left room and connections at the front and back (female) or all at the back (male), and their facade matches their core in what may be a "natural" metaphor. As the father donates the core nodes the child will always be their father's subspecies, in fact this is how subspecies are classified because it's that reliable. ...And the exception is there are two species of hermaphroditic spirits who all have one male and one female core and each parent provides one of each and this means that if they are of different species you get actual hybrids, for example an ant myrmidon queen and a bee myrmidon queen make a wasp myrmidon queen with one ant core and one bee core. (Myrmidon queens look like little half-meter anthropomorphic insect queens, they make even tinier autonomous frameworks called "workers", "soldiers" and so on who are full-fledged sophonts. They have a limited cast of minions, a bee queen has six workers, four soldiers and two drones whose minds, memories and personalities are backed up every night in the queen's caboose in case they get smashed and they have to print a new copy. They usually don't understand the original is actually permanently dead and has not come back.)
A newborn fairy is already about half the mass of their parents despite looking externally like the infant they are and being the right size relative to them. The extra weight goes into thicker wire and fitting just as many forcefield and repair nodes into the way tinier body. At birth both sexes are always of identical actual mass, even if there's an apparent size difference, and will not appear to age externally despite accumulating actual mass as they go until suddenly overnight they appear to age years all at once complete with a change in their otherwise permanent hairstyle that seems to be subconsciously or even unconsciously decided and only usually has any continuity with the last style. This will first happen at 2, then at 5, then at 10. Their reproductive tract will grow in during their equivalent of puberty, until then there's just empty space, and even once it's there (age 14-16) it'll need just as much time to generate the parts as will be needed between kids later. If the kid's a girl that's only about six weeks, but for boys it's about two years, notably roughly coinciding with one of their overnight metamorphoses episodes when they turn 17, the previous having been at age 10, and they will suddenly go from looking like a kid in their pre or early teens to somebody vaguely in their late teens or early twenties, as they usually appear to be about the middle of the age group they're in, but it is while they are asleep on their exact birthday that these visible changes occur, all at once, exactly at midnight if they're already out. There is no upper limit on their age, after the "adult metamorphoses" at 17 they stop gaining actual mass (except they can always make more storage nodes if they need to) and their final visible change is at 82 at which point they look about a hundred years old indefinitely.
Combat Performance and the Framework:
Spirits aren't very strong, tend to be sent flying to the next county over from the next county over with one swing of a sword and their nutrient stores aren't much for how fast they can burn through them. That itty bitty fairy eats as much as a human toddler who appears to be several times her size and is many times her mass. Most of that normal operating cost is her facade, its fields and holograms are not cheap and she's not nearly as dimly glowly as other spirits even if turns it down as far as it'll go she will illuminate dim surroundings rather than only truly dark ones so that's more energy spent. All of that's coming from food eaten, and although their metabolism is more efficient and only leaves a fine ash she's still eating several times her actual mass on a daily basis. She also only has at most a couple days of nutrients stored, far less than if she spends that time, say, on a battlefield repairing damage to herself and others and shooting electro-lasers out of her wizard's staff in which case she'll be eating nearly as much as a physical folk-sized caster and more than any of the non magic-using soldiers. Thankfully, all spirits are omnivorous and not super picky about what they eat. Fat's got the most calories for them to use, sugar's the quickest to burn, carbs are sugars with extra steps and they need protein for their bioplastics that's most of what they'll need. They need other organic materials and minerals sometimes too, sometimes they'll eat rocks and even they can't have no explanation to give, but anything even vaguely edible to the least discerning and most voracious of goats will work just fine for them and they don't seem to be subject to poison or disease. (Corrosion is a different matter.)
They're really resistant to projectiles, they're mostly empty space after all a bullet could potentially go right through them and hit nothing, their forcefield does well against explosions, heat and corrosion, nor is cold really very effective, but a sword with good edge alignment faces comparatively little resistance from the forcefields and will cut them right in half straight through the core. Also, blunt impacts work fairly well, as although the force transferred through the fields is distributed between multiple projector nodes an impact can still jolt them hard enough to snap the wires they're connected to, it's not like they're spread across the entire facing side of the spirit's body like a blast wave and the forcefield is good at deflective most of the force of a blast wave away. This amounts in total to a significant melee weakness, especially since regeneration takes time and melee combat tends to be more short-lived than ranged combat. Although they are very hard to actually kill and all have interesting abilities, they tend to lose fights with physical sophonts pretty hard and may have issues with creatures that a physical sophont would demolish, since physical sophonts are stronger than they are, are capable of faster reaction times and can dish out a hit after taking one in a way a spirit won't because they'll probably be in the stratosphere. Of course, all of these people are probably wearing armor and that complicates this entire subject considerably, as does the fact that direct one on one duels are not exactly common.
Frameworks are their built-in attempt to make up for this, vaguely resembling a "wicker man" in the shape of one specific form of theirs complete with any and all shapeshifted gear as actual solid pieces. It's actually made bioplastics and glass as usual with them and it's articulated, it's got nutrient storage tanks, more forcefield and motor-function nodes, more holographic nodes too so their appearance gets more detailed (her hair even becomes a seperate piece from her head and flexible along its length) and they generally look more life-like with slightly less exaggerated proportions. Once in a framework, they can't shapeshift until they get back out, but while they're in it they're more protected, faster, stronger and have room for considerably greater reserves. They're both too metabolically expensive to manufacture and take up too much space to keep one of every possible gear variation, and while frameworks can be re-configured this is also metabolically expensive despite recycling as much as possible and being way cheaper than a whole new framework, so usually frameworks use shapeshift gear only if absolutely necessary even though framework gear is much more effective than normal shapeshifted gear between stronger fields and backing them up with various plastic and glass. Instead, spirits who have call for them tend to cap out at one framework for each of their major forms and not waste resources or space making more. Little miss fairy probably has a 50cm and 75cm framework, for example, and if she's not in danger often they'll last her until she outgrows them, and even then she can recycle them to mitigate the cost of the new ones. They last despite being made of bioplastic because thankfully, the framework is coated in a preservative coating just like her insides are that takes anywhere from months to decades to decay and is constantly being replenished when she's in the framework, it'll also take about as long for the bioplastic to degrade, and it can still be saved for a little while because her own repair system can also repair her framework. Of course, when you compare plastic and glass to actual armor and weapons it comes up short, but once forcefields are added to the mix... They still do in the balance, but only because the real armor and weapons can have internal magitech or be a different kind of weapon that couldn't be replicated, the framework weapons and armor tend to directly deal more damage and provide more protection by weight although that's "more protection" compared to lighter armor and "lighter weight" to denser armor.
What the IU Meat-People Think:
As you may have guessed, a common early "hypothesis" was that spirits were ethereal beings and their internals and frameworks were believed to be some sort of congealed ectoplasm and their connection to the corporeal realm. That belief died pretty hard when they were clearly reproducing, except to the kind of religious nutcase to whom reality is always irrelevant. Actual scholars who study things that exist are currently arguing as to whether to settle on "mechanical lifeform", "semi-physical lifeform", "holographic lifeform", or something like that except they all seem to think only their suggested term is acceptable and everybody else is WRONG BECAUSE (17 paragraph diatribe here). Still, they're at least seen by the scientific community as being an extremely bizarre lifeform. You might think they'd have a little issue accepting them as a lifeform because of all the plastic and metal wiring, but there's one important background detail I should mention: Spirits first came from the Otherlands.
In the Otherlands of west Sohei, meat grows on the ground, plants get up and walk around, animals come from spores, giant clonal colonies of sedentary animals grow throughout forests seeping caustic sludge, meteors sometimes fall from the sky followed by crystals that forge themselves mecha made of the ossified remains of what died in the blast, you get in too deep and all electronic sensors are jammed, electroreception is hit with a signal so overwhelming the sense goes completely dead to keep the creature from ripping its sensory organs out, concrete buildings grow on their own by millimeters per day, random paved roads with painted lines exist and change shape so slowly you don't notice until you're hopelessly lost, usually after running into a vertical loop or something unreasonable like that which those among us overly prone to antropomorphising might attribute to spite, sometimes broken glass falls from the sky, you get giant lightning storms where the strikes are so powerful they produce enough ionizing radiation to create a secondary electromagnetic pulse, the wind sounds like an unintelligible modulating electronic tone, people swear the clouds are watching them.... My point; Spirits are only debatably the strangest thing coming out of that place, and they're definitely not the most artificial-seeming thing that seems to be occurring there without outside intervention. At this point the answer to "Could spirits be natural creatures?" is "Uh... Oh I don't know, why the hell not?" or sometimes "Insufficient data; Please define the term 'natural' within the context of The Otherlands.".
But what do YOU meat-people think of them? (And what term would you choose to describe them?)

Introduction:
I'll be sharing my personal story of how I successfully cured my pure OCD without relying on medication. If you're someone who is suffering from Pure O and looking for alternative solutions, this is for you."
Background:
"For two long years, I battled with pure OCD, and it felt like my mind was stuck on a broken record, endlessly repeating nonsensical thoughts. Doctors informed me that this condition couldn't be cured, but I refused to accept it as an unchangeable fact. Determined to find a way out, I embarked on a journey of self-exploration, trying various methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and more."
Discovery of CBT:
"During my experimentation with different approaches, I discovered that CBT had some degree of effectiveness. By practicing the art of ignoring these intrusive thoughts and not reacting to them, I realized that thoughts are just thoughts—nothing more. This technique significantly reduced my Pure O thoughts. However, it wasn't a flawless solution, as I noticed that whenever I lacked sleep or had an off mood, I would easily fall back into the cycle of obsessive thoughts, making it harder to resist reacting."
A New Approach:
"One day, I decided to try a different approach. For the next week, I took a pen and paper and started writing down all the thoughts that crossed my mind, whether they were related to OCD or not. At the end of each day, I examined these thoughts and evaluated their usefulness and potential for a positive impact on my life. To my surprise, the majority of the thoughts generated unconsciously were useless, with only a few having the potential to improve my life."
Ignoring Subconscious Thoughts:
"This led me to an important realization: What if I could simply ignore all thoughts originating from my subconscious mind? Why should I give them attention? It's similar to how we don't pay attention to our heartbeats when they're normal, but only notice them when they become irregular. I decided to apply this principle to my thoughts and began consciously disregarding and not engaging with any thoughts generated by my subconscious."
Transformation and Progress:
"After just one week of consistently ignoring my subconscious thoughts, I experienced the most significant improvement I had ever witnessed in my life. My subconscious mind would generate thoughts, but I wouldn't notice them or remember what I was thinking because my attention wasn't on my thoughts. Intrusive thoughts became none existent, and in my day-to-day life, I barely had any unconscious thoughts. When I consciously wanted to think and plan, I started giving attention to my thoughts. It has been nearly two years since I last experienced any OCD-related problem."
Conclusion:
"I hope my journey of overcoming Pure OCD without medication has provided you with inspiration and alternative methods to consider. Remember, you don't have to let OCD control your life indefinitely. By exploring different strategies, such as CBT and consciously ignoring subconscious thoughts, you too can find relief and live a fulfilling life. If I can do it, so can you."