unicorn

Yes, this seems like the most appropriate time! 😀

Thank God the doctor was not your normal doctor. Cephalexin is the name of the medication, and Keflex is the original brand (rarely dispensed these days). Cephalexin would probably kill most bugs if it's a simple bladder infection, though it's definitely not the drug of choice. It will not get rid of chlamydia, and has about a 50% chance of getting rid of GC, so not really an option for any STD. Cephalexin isn't even considered a 3rd-line antibiotic for cystitis. The one inaccuracy in this table is the price for nitrofurantoin, which costs only about $12 per treatment in the US (cheaper elsewhere): https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2011/1001/p771.html https://www.goodrx.com/nitrofurantoin-mono-macro?label_override=nitrofurantoin-mono-macro&dosage=100mg&form=capsule&quantity=10 Please bear in mind that cephalexin isn't an appropriate treatment for any infection in the urinary tract. Given that these infections are among the most common medical issues facing a primary care physician, it's a bit horrifying that the fill-in doctor didn't know this. I'd be curious to know if he has any reports in his medical board public file. Hopefully, when your regular physician comes in, he'll be as shocked as I am. If it were me, I'd inform the medical board of his behavior, especially his unwillingness to discuss your lab findings with you. I suspect they would issue a letter of reprimand (which would go on his public file), and might make him take courses in professionalism and/or treatments of urinary tract infections.

Texting can become somewhat of a mess when they accumulate for hours and hours. If the communication isn't urgent, I prefer an e-mail. Sometimes a text can be something important and time-sensitive. For example, one of my credit cards texted me last Tuesday to ask if I OK'd a charge by the Almar Resort, where I'll be staying in Puerto Vallarta next week. I didn't answer because I was watching that Wicked movie, and had silenced the phone. Once I got back, I had to e-mail the resort and have them put the charge through the next day, because the credit card cancelled the charge. Not a big deal, but I try to attend to my texts if I'm not having a meal, watching a movie or play, or otherwise indisposed. While there are people who text when they should really be e-mailing, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt (also could be a friend who's in trouble and needs my help).

Cephalexin is not the preferred treatment for any infection of the urinary tract, so that's rather weird also. Your post doesn't make sense, since in your original post you said you had no symptoms, but now you're saying you have a burning sensation when urinating, and bladder pain, and maybe pain in your testicle??? That changes things completely. Now that you mention testicular pain, that is a 5th infection of the urinary tract which I didn't even mention in my first response on this string. If you had epididymitis (pain around the testicle), then your treatment is way, way off, since that involves three antibiotics: an injection of ceftriaxone, AND ten days of doxycycline, AND ten days of levofloxacin (and definitely not cephalexin). I hate to say this, but you need a referral to someone who knows what he's doing. Start by getting the results of your tests. Foul-smelling urine, especially with bladder pain, strongly suggests a simple bladder infection, which can usually be treated with a few days of nitrofurantoin. You need to find out if your urine grew out bacteria, or whether you tested positive for chlamydia or GC, because the implications (including treatment) are vastly different. If you have an STD complicated by epididymitis, treatment gets rather involved (IM means an injection into the buttocks muscle). https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/epididymitis.htm Recommended Regimens for Epididymitis For acute epididymitis most likely caused by chlamydia or gonorrhea: Ceftriaxone 500 mg* IM in a single dose PLUS Doxycycline 100 mg orally 2 times/day for 10 days For acute epididymitis most likely caused by chlamydia, gonorrhea, or enteric organisms (men who practice insertive anal sex): Ceftriaxone 500 mg* IM in a single dose PLUS Levofloxacin 500 mg orally once daily for 10 days For acute epididymitis most likely caused by enteric organisms only: Levofloxacin 500 mg orally once daily for 10 days * For persons weighing ≥150 kg, 1 g of ceftriaxone should be administered. You really should get this looked at by someone else, a urologist if necessary (though it shouldn't be necessary--this should be in the purview of a competent primary care physician).

Ooh. Those social media platforms are even worse than the texted wishes. I had my real birthday on Facebook, and received tons of messages on my FB page, so I changed the birthday to January 1st, and received all of these messages on New Year's now. At least those who text me know when my birthday is. Of course, I have my phone silenced during the Thanksgiving meal itself, but there is some time before the meal, preparing and entertaining. I guess I should ignore those as well, or at least wait until the guests have left. A message sent before 5 PM my time is understandable, but why text someone when one can surmise he's likely to be at a function?

Well, "urinary tract infection" is extremely vague, as it could be referring to the urethra, prostate, bladder, or kidneys. Your doctor was certainly not professional, as he should have told you what the infection was. Being "in a hurry" is certainly not an excuse. If your infection was sexually transmitted, as most urethral infections are, he should have offered another prescription for any identifiable sexual partner(s). If you're willing to share the name of the antibiotic and for how long you took it, I can "reverse engineer" (or surmise) where and maybe what the infection was. If you were asymptomatic, and your doctor knows what he's doing, he was probably treating a urethral infection, since asymptomatic bladder infections should not be treated, and diagnosing prostate infections do require a digital examination of the prostate (and kidney infections almost always have symptoms). Chlamydia is the most common infection to have no symptoms, although gonorrhea and other urethral infections can also be asymptomatic. Since you didn't receive an injection, one can guess (assuming the physician knew what he was doing) that you didn't have gonorrhea (GC), since GC treatment does require an injection. If the test for Chlamydia is positive, and GC negative, it's OK to treat for Chlamydia only, though if the Chlamydia is negative and GC positive, one should treat for both, and some physicians will treat for both regardless. The most common treatment for chlamydia is a week of doxycycline, although azithromycin is OK, especially if the patient is unreliable and one wants to treat with a single dose. Levofloxacin can also be prescribed, and this would also kill any bacteria in the bladder, although the correct treatment for chlamydia is 7 days and for a bladder infection would be 3 days. The blood tests would presumably be for syphilis and HIV. Hepatitis B can also be sexually transmitted (and detected via blood tests), but hopefully we're all vaccinated against Hepatitis B. I would call your doctor back and insist that you be given your actual test results. Even his nurse should be able to give you the results if he can't be bothered.

Thanksgiving.

Do any of you get bombarded by texts on holidays and on your birthday? These often come from longstanding but not frequently communicative friends, and often at times (evening) when one might be expected to be entertaining family or close friends. I understand the birthday texts more than the holiday ones, which I'd hope would at least come earlier in the day. I feel obligated to provide at least a brief response, but I would really prefer they send e-mails (or a holiday/birthday card).

What's that supposed to mean? Are there ways to detect this? If not, this "advice" does not seem helpful.

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Last night I just watch Hot Frosty, in which a snowman comes to life to charm a young widow. The man who stars as the erotic snowman, Dustin Milligan, is incredibly hot. He almost had me spontaneously exploding. Despite the wintery setting, the "snowman" loves the cold, so he's shirtless for half of the movie. The movie also has 88% on rotten tomatoes, but with a body like that, who cares? Interestingly, the actor who plays the hot frosty comes from one of the coldest cities on the planet, Yellowknife (NWT). In January, the mean daily MAXIMUM is -25.5C. Talk about frosty! I can't imagine what I wouldn't give to have my way with this hot 39 year-old!

Well, one cannot condone antisemitism, hate, or violence. That being said, many Israeli fans clearly tried to provoke the Palestinians and other Arabs, and they succeeded: https://apnews.com/article/maccabi-tel-aviv-amsterdam-violence-protests-palestinian-bcea212281f682098c4c77ef552af5f1 "...Tensions had been brewing in Amsterdam for days ahead of the match. A Palestinian flag was torn down from a building in Amsterdam on Wednesday, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported, and authorities banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration near the stadium. Ahead of the game, large crowds of supporters of the Israeli team could be seen on video chanting anti-Arab slogans as they headed to the stadium, escorted by police. “Let the IDF win, and fuck the Arabs,” the fans chanted, using the acronym of the Israeli military, as they shook their fists. It also showed police pushing several pro-Palestinian protesters away from a Maccabi fan gathering in a square earlier in the day...". Do the provocations justify violence? No. However, the consequences of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian slurs and actions could easily be predicted. Most of the 2 million people in Gaza are not Hamas fighters, but rather innocent bystanders. The Israeli fans not only showed a complete lack of empathy and tact, but actually made fun of the innocent civilians. As Hamas figured out, provocations often lead to consequences.

for....?

One cannot condone anti-Semitism in any form, and recent blurbs on the press are quick to show the horrors of anti-Semitism in recent events related to soccer matches in Amsterdam. Hidden in the depths of these stories (not reported on the TV or radio, but located deep in the depth of some printed news stories), one also sees the flip side. https://apnews.com/article/maccabi-tel-aviv-amsterdam-violence-protests-palestinian-bcea212281f682098c4c77ef552af5f1 "...Ahead of the game, large crowds of supporters of the Israeli team could be seen on video chanting anti-Arab slogans as they headed to the stadium, escorted by police. “Let the IDF win, and (expletive) the Arabs,” the fans chanted, using the acronym of the Israeli military, as they shook their fists. It also showed police pushing several pro-Palestinian protesters away from a Maccabi fan gathering in a square earlier in the day...". While this does not excuse any violence, of course, it seems the height of hypocrisy to be wailing at the results of a response to one's own racist baiting. How could anyone be surprised at the results of these taunts which were not just racist themselves, but tone-deaf to the suffering of innocent Palestinians. Once again, racist taunts don't justify violence. However, the outcome shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone. If I went to a bar frequented by any demographic group, and proceeded to chant slogans making fun of that bar's demographic, I could predict the result (even if battery is still illegal).

Aside from the fact that she was nominated too late, and that Biden should have handed the torch sooner, I don't think she was forceful enough in countering the ridiculous notion that the economy would end up in better shape under Trump, nor in highlighting the economic successes under Biden. Poll after poll showed that the #1 concern for voters was the economy, and poll after poll showed that the majority of the public believed Trump's lies that (a) the economy was in bad shape, and (b) things would be better under his leadership. The truth of the matter, of course, is that, after inheriting a terrible economy as well as the inevitable rise in inflation due to China's disastrous "zero-Covid" policies, with its attendant supply-chain issues, the economy rebounded tremendously into one of the best on the planet, with full employment, low inflation, lowering interest rates, and a booming stock market. Trump has been mostly quiet about what he'll do, relying mostly on BS platitudes. Of the two things he said he'd do, substantially raising tarifs, and mass deportations, if he's successful in doing them, both will obviously have a devastating effect on inflation and business profits. It's absolutely axiomatic that raising the costs of imports will lead to price increases and hurt businesses' bottom lines. And, of course, getting rid of cheap foreign labor in the food industry and elsewhere will also inevitably lead to price increases as well (especially for food). Yet Trump succeeded in convincing people that inflation was increasing under Biden, which is the opposite of the truth. Instead of simply pushing the message that Trump is unfit for office (which he is), the Democrats needed to address the voters' #1 concern, the economy, and point out that things would be better under the Democrats (which it would have been). For decades, the US economy has always done better under Democratic leadership than under GOP leadership. The Democrats failed to get that message out. I also wonder whether it was wise to blast voters' phones with frequent daily texts. It certainly pissed me off. Since I don't live in a swing state, this harassment even made me consider not voting for any candidate.

That's an irrational reaction, unless your sister-in-law is truly talking about minors when she says "boys" (hopefully not the case). When she vacations in Bali, does she believe that hotel workers, waiters, taxi drivers, etc., are volunteering their time for the pleasure of serving her? Or does she understand that she's providing the locals with employment, doing something they wouldn't otherwise be doing, so that these people can support themselves and their families (if they have any)? Except for the extremely rare hermit living off of the land, we all "use" each other, each doing our own jobs, so that we can enjoy our lives to the extent that we can. The next time you hear someone say something like that, inform the person that you do not hire minors, but rather mentally competent (i.e. not drugged) adults who are making informed choices about how they want to earn their living. We all hire others for work, in one form or another. Financial compensation for work performed does not constitute undue coercion.

Well, I've never come out of the blue to tell people I like younger men, but these things come up in normal conversation, and I always answer honestly. Of course, since I'm now married to a man in his early 30s, it's pretty obvious, but friends, family, and co-workers normally ask about what's going on in our lives, and I've never made up fake stories. I would never blurt out "I'm taking a vacation to XXX to pick up younger men," but everyone at work (and family and friends) would know I'd be going on vacation, and I wouldn't hide where I was going. I might show photos of men I was dating, but never of some dude I hired.

The massive difference, of course, is that those in power in the US don't murder journalists who disagree with them. At least so far. We'll have to see what happens if Trump wins the election.

You'll get no argument from me regarding the rationality of monarchies in today's world. I would agree with the sentiment that monarchies our outdated in the 21st century. That being said, the intention of the royal couple was clearly to provide moral support and commiserate with their people. There was certainly no intention to make fun of those suffering. If they wanted to show disapproval of the response, it would be more appropriate to address such disapproval at those in authority for coordinating said response. This reminds me of the Spanish hospitality shown to innocent tourists in Barcelona who were just trying to enjoy a meal. Instead of working on real solutions, such as changing laws on short-term-rentals, cruise ship docking fees and regulations, affordable housing, and so on, many locals took their frustrations on people who obviously had no decision-making capacity on the situation. How would they like to be treated that way when they traveled? (Or should one presume these yokels are too closed-minded to travel?) Regulations can work. My husband and I were scheduled to take a cruise ship from Barcelona in early May, but this was switched to Tarragona due to new regulations. Taking out one's frustrations on innocent people is not the right thing to do.

That's an absurdly short list. The list of journalists alone is many times greater than that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia And it dwarfs the long list of other Putin critics he's murdered: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious_deaths_of_notable_Russians_in_2022–2024

The King and Queen of Spain went to flood-stricken areas of their kingdom to show support. They ended up being pelted with mud by the locals. Maybe they're as dumb as Trump supporters, believing the royals control the weather? https://apnews.com/article/spain-floods-king-protest-mud-a8525bd82cf4cc3fc6273d535cbb9d66 "...Queen Letizia broke into tears sympathetically after speaking to several people, including one woman who wept in her arms. Later, one of the queen’s bodyguards had a bloody wound on his forehead and there was a hole in the back window of the prime minister’s official car. But even after being forced to seek protection, King Felipe VI, with flecks of mud on his face, remained calm and made several efforts to speak to individual residents. He insisted on trying to speak with people as he tried to continue his visit. He spoke to several people, patting two young men on their backs and sharing a quick embrace, with mud stains on his black raincoat...".