I shouldn't be here for the same reason you don't take Charlie Sheen to an all-you-can drink strip club (minus the HIV Martian Tiger blood or whatever the hell that is/was), but I wanted to drop in and say hello. Is my brother from another mother still around? I can't stay long tonight, but I missed you folks. Well, most of you. OK, a couple of you. Is Trish still around these parts? I'd ask about each and every one of the old-timers, but I'm fighting an allergic reaction to yet another thing right now, and my head is filled with pudding (well, tapioca). Probably more reason I should not be here. However, social media main sites drove me nuts and led me to saying stupid chit and coming off like an gaining out-of-touch fogey, which I am.

Still living on an island. Current main suspect on the health front is a particular antibiotic in commercially available meats. Lucky to live near a place that raises cattle, pigs, etc., without them. May not solve any of my issues, but I've run through just about every other possibility. May actually take up hunting this year unless Big Pharma have managed to poison wild animals. Not sure how long it would even take to recover, nor how far I could, even if Theory #1,589 is correct, but it's worth a try. And damned expensive. And no, I'm not going vegetarian. My people evolved to eat meat, dammit (much Western European blood).

May have to hit up a few of you hunters for info. unless Mrs. Pacman absolutely opposes it. We'll give $7.50 a pound hamburger and other grocery bills total up and see how she feels. And yes, avoiding farmed seafood, too. Salmon and shrimp are especially suspect. Some 30-35 years ago, I searched and it turns out I could (back then) hunt with a .357 Ruger Security Six. Probably ought to warn residents if I do go hunt. Picking off one of the gazillion deer around here won't even make a dent, but a one-eyed hunter utilizing a sidearm? Yeah, I'd want to stay far away from that guy, too. That being said, I likes me some venison; just need to see what the local butcher wants to finish the task for me before I make the decision. No way I'm going to try to cut up a deer with my clumsiness and being half-blind. I've already managed to slice the tip off of one finger in my kitchen (bled like a mofo), and that was back when I could see out of both eyes.

Anyway, I'm sure everything around here has been going just swimmingly, so a tip of the hat to all, both old guard and new, as well as CI personnel I've met and who have helped me when needed.

Hello Pac.

Whats up ole timer nice to meet you

All you can drink strip club??? Where's that?



Asking for a friend.....

Good to see ya, Tom. You've been missed. Your brother mostly lurks, but I expect he will by shortly.

Ever looked into Alpha-gal syndrome? Super rare, but it isn't common for people to have an allergic reaction to meat... and antibiotics in meat seems like a bit of a stretch.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alpha-gal-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20428608 

MACS? What up, homes? You still have the G37 or whichever model it was? Nice car. Neighbor had one, dealer uptalked him into a lease on an Infiniti SUV. Very nice. Then he apparently suffered a head injury or something, as he's now driving a Mercedes SUV. Got it used. I can't even look him in the eyes any more. Still have the '07 Mustang. 39K miles and change. I had enough trouble seeing out of that lovable tub with two eyes. Going to try to get some seat time in it this summer.

Same to you, sir.

LOL. Purely a hypothetical. I haven't set foot in a strip club since about 1988 or so. Only went a couple times. They don't allow booze in them in this state, as the liquor dicks were always running stings and setting limits. I mean, I quit drinking in 1993, but let's see...I can't have booze, can pay a bundle, look but not touch. Shiat, if I wanted that, I could have stayed married to my first wife.

Back atcha. Man, I missed that crazy hair hat. Jiminez was the golfer's name, IIRC. Dude had a classic IDGAF look.

Dumped the G for a Tacoma. Then I bought a boat. Tacoma didn't like pulling it, so now I have a RAM EcoDiesel. Love it.

Wife is driving a C300. Got it used with 6700 miles on it. MB makes it hard not to get into one of their certified used cars. 5 years from date of manufacture... unlimited miles warranty. So basically for 4 years and 3 months from the day I got it for her, everything is covered but maintenance.

Oh yeah. I've seen like in excess of 50 doctors, ARNPs, PAs and other medical personnel covering (last I counted) 11 different disciplines 3 allergists years apart. Many gastro specialists, a couple of whom worked very hard to find the answer (even walked around one day with a tiny camera in my gut while wearing a monitor...and no, I didn't try to retrieve it once I passed it, ew). Been tested for parasites, too, as I was in Costa Rica in early 2009 (one of those trip of a lifetime things, but totally healthy for months after return). I've tried eastern and western meds, multiple kinds of probiotics, herbs, teas, oils, etc. Got a new personal care doc recently, and he started ticking down the list of what I may have tried. Nice guy, and seems plenty smart, but it was "have you tried..." Yep, yep, yep, yep...etc. All animal product I eat starting just last week now will be free of antibiotics. If it isn't that, my only remaining theory is alien implant. Sadly, no anal probe as far as I know.

The antibiotics does seem like a stretch, but I'm actually already allergic to a couple. Furthermore, there is one I was just reading about last week that has been heavily used in the pork industry. My most recent theory had been pork and/or nitrites, which put me in the right neighborhood (I won't name it, as I cannot prove it at this point, and getting sued isn't fun). I also recalled that things started to go south after the H1N1 flu (I got it before there was a vaccine, and man, that chit kicked my azz worse than pneumonia). It occurred to me that that was also called the "swine flu", and I wouldn't be surprised if the industry started pumping in more antibiotics. I had minor issues before then, but I started to get really, really sick just a few months after the H1N1. Been in terrible health since then. Dental issues, skin issues. I'd get 1 dental filling maybe every 7-8 years, and I've had 7 in a year since then (only four this year, hooray!). Gums have receded. I get my teeth cleaned every three months to combat this. Even my fingernails chip, often. Plus, my whole digestive system has been shot from end to end since then, and since going AF meat, the swelling in my feet has gone down and my gut has quieted at least a bit. The effect on my brain has been nasty, too, as some days it's almost like I'm bipolar.

Still allergic to many foods and most meds, but I've long known that I couldn't ever really sort out what is safe and what is not until and unless I found the main culprit. I may still not have found it. Even if I have, I don't know if I will recover, nor how much. However, docs isolated main gut issue to the ileum, the main suspect antibiotic is used to treat pigs in, among other places, the ileum, and the antibiotic (which drug co. allegedly has been pushing to fatten pigs...why the F we don't just make more pigs, and in a healthy way, is beyond me) blocks formation of bacterial protein in ileum. My main food issues have all been related to inability to properly digest proteins. If this were a criminal case, that'd be enough circumstantial evidence for a guilty verdict. All I can do right now is avoid the stuff, wait and see. If I don't get better, that'll be my answer. If I do, I'll have to wait to see if I can recover enough to work, but you can bet I'll do my best to get the word out. Spent most of the last decade in hell. Thankfully, my wife has been there and hung in with me. We're coming up on anniversary #24 on July 4. Would be nice to actually enjoy #25, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. Too many times I thought I'd figured it out and haven't. Still, nice to be able to actually feel the floor under my feet a bit.

My last Toy was a '96 Tacoma, my third and last Toy. Loaded with everything but a moonroof. Cost a bundle. Blew a head gasket at 13K and change. They knew they had a problem with them, according to dealer, but ran a "campaign" instead of a recall. A campaign is if it breaks, they'll fix it. I even asked them not to put me in some wind-up car while they repaired it (took a total of 5 weeks, IIRC). I'm 6'3" and what is medically known as "a load". Put me in a loaner so small that they may as well have just put me in a seat, added doors to each arm and had me hold the engine between my knees. Best part was getting pulled over on I-405 by a trooper I'd seen several cars back. WTF, I was going speed limit? Tabs on plates had expired. If Toyota is the last car make left on the planet some day, I'll taking the effing bus.

The C300 is very nice. Merc does a nice job with the C and S series. Not in love with the M series, but I haven't driven one in a while (for some reason, people are reluctant to let a one-eye guy drive their vehicles). Your truck, however (and I'm a diehard Ford truck guy (2008 F-150 crew cab 4x4 with the 5.4L engine, about 51K miles), is a nice rig. Cummins diesel, I'd imagine. A solid buy. I'll keep my Ford, but you won't catch me talking any crap about your Ram.

Damn man.... You really gotta start comparison complaints w the ewok.


Anyway.... Doubt the flu or vaccine is gonna be responsible for any pork related allergies... Swine flu isn't gonna translate to pork allergies. :)

On the oral care... You're a big boy, (some may even say fatazz)... I'm guessing you're using a CPAP? My mom's dental went nuts at one point, and we had suspicions it was due to a CPAP not being cleaned well enough.... Bacteria really hides in those tubes. Just a thought.

Damn, PAC! Great to see you back but sorry to hear about your health issues!

Wishing you the best!

Actually, it's a 3.0 liter turbo but not cummins. The Cummins diesel is in the 2500 and 3500.

Lots of issues with it in '14, '15, and '16... but I got an '18 and haven't had any trouble yet. Hoping they got them figured out.

Not the vaccine. I still get flu shots every year. I believe swine flu wipes out something close to 100% of infected pigs. China reportedly had to kill off some 200 million pigs. If I'd been a pig rancher (farmer?), I'd have panicked. That's their livelihood. Safe bet that it'd be tough to market infected animals, too. Ever read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"? Icky. Fun fact, the Spanish flu that killed some 5-10% of the planet a hundred years ago? H1N1. I am not an antivaxxer; those folks, to put it politely, worry and puzzle me.

And I'm not fat, I'm big boned. Especially the stomach bone. Did the CPAP thing after sleep lab showed 99.4 events per hour (30 is considered severe). In 8.5 hours, I'd spend 15 minutes in level 3 or 4 sleep. Sure explained why I'd get to about 2-3 p.m. and then feel like I'd been hit with a tranq dart. Since then, I've lost 90 lbs and had surgery to widen my nostrils. Oh, and I took excellent care of my CPAP. Tested and everything. There's an aquarium brush you can get that allows scrubbing on the end of what looks like weedwhacker line. That, regular maintenance and a good biodegradable soap, plus rinsing with DI water. You could perform surgery using that thing the way I kept it. Actually took me a little while to get used to sleeping without it.

I've gotten to learn all kinds of fun medical terms. My nose job was a tubinate reduction. Herpes of the eye is a real thing (except I didn't have it). Close angle glaucoma is a thing (I did have that...and instead of 8-18 psi pressure in my R eye when I got to eye doc for emergency, mine was near 70 psi). I've had laser holes drilled in my irises (laser iridotomy), one to reduce pressure the other to protect the remaining functional eye. Had a trabeculectomy in my R eye. Capsule endoscopy (gut camera). See the eye surgeons every 6 months for follow up (they are aces). Lots of fun. Feels like I'm getting a medical degree the worst possible way.

Thank you, man. Good to hear from you.

That's cool. Diesel engines seem to run forever if they're built correctly in the first place. When I was in the car biz, you couldn't give away a truck with 150K on it if the thing ran on gas. Diesel, buyers would say they were just getting broken in. As for the model year, FWIW, the motorcycle I had had gear issues with the '97 model. Dealer tried to sell me one. I insisted on a '98, and there were three left in the state when I got it. They trucked it up from the south end of the state. 20 years later, my stepson is riding it with nary a mechanical problem. Some times all it takes is one small fix. Truck is a lot more complicated, but this ride is water-cooled, shaft drive, etc., so it's not some 12 part cheapie.

Hang in there Pac, hope things improve.
Keeping you in my prayers brother.

Ron

Ram27