I absolutely loved it, you’re not alone! I’ve been so happy with this season so far.

My actual job title is digital producer, though I also work some in instructional design. I found my job through my partner, who works at the same company but in a different department, which doesn’t help a lot of other folks! But I’d start by looking for digital producer jobs in the publishing industry.

I really like Siccaforte but it’s hard to find in the US 😫

I’m so sorry you’re going through all of this. This sucks so much, and being alone/not having support makes it even worse. What you’re feeling is valid. I don’t have advice but I can say I am holding space for you and your pain 💜

Came here to rec this. It’s so good!

Working remotely is the way to go if you can. These days there are a ton of scams, sadly. I work in digital educational publishing (etextbooks and other digital classroom resources) and work from home, so I have the flexibility to take naps when I need to or even work from bed on my worst days. I have no idea how I’d manage if I had to work outside the home.

It can be hard to find work that’s supportive, and it might take some time. Don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself and ask for accommodations, a good job will car about what you need (though they can be hard to come by!). Data entry or billing can be boring but aren’t the worst remote jobs if you can work at a computer.

I’d suggest maybe a stress ball or something else (non-metallic) to take to squeeze if that helps manage stress. I wish I’d had some kind of stress ball or fidget when I had my cardiac stress MRI. And make sure to ask them how you can contact them if you need help or have a question. When I had my MRI they gave me something to hold but didn’t tell me until it was almost over that it was what I’d need to use to call for help.

Good luck!! I’m glad you’re making progress and feel confident in your relationship with your new doctor. That’s so important in this process!

YES. Give me five tiny pills over one big one any day.

Sometimes when I take pills, I will have this sensation for hours afterward, like the pill got stuck even though it didn’t.

Definitely swallowing, I swear I have a faulty epiglottis and I choke on beverages all the time.

I also have Sjogren’s so dry eyes, dry mouth, dry skin, dry everything. It means I’m also slightly inflamed on my lungs all the time so I cough more often. It can make the shortness of breath from the elevated hr worse.

Neuropathy in my hands and forearms, sometimes my feet. Restless legs and random muscle spasms or sharp pains that go away but make me twitch when they happen. Chronic constipation and nausea. Having to pee all the time. Hot flashes and sweating, this heat hasn’t helped either! Cold flashes and numbness on the other end.

Anyone else have sleep issues? Insomnia is really common for me, and what I’ve heard called “paradoxical insomnia” where you think you’re awake but you’re actually sleeping. I sleep pretty lightly as well and wake up often.

He is a perfect embodiment of the ways that patriarchy harms men. He is what his society and family have made him by choices, by neglect, by never teaching him how to be better or letting him fail and learn. It does not excuse his choices in any way; it does explain them. He’s a terrible person making terrible choices and harming so many people, and he’s tragic all at once. That’s what I love about this show.

Why did she have to beg the entire ton for forgiveness??? Wtf. Everyone acted like she’d been the worst person and I kept thinking “receipts please for all of this betrayal and shitty behavior you keep saying Penelope did??” Eloise was mad the whole season for what? And Colin flipped out and no one wanted to listen to her explain why she did what she did. Did she get a chance to actually be heard about how she protected Eloise from the Queen? Or did Colin actually listen about things she rightfully said about him in earlier this season? No. And the gal of her mother paining that literally stealing money from the entire ton is the same as writing gossip. It was infuriating to hear and even more so to see Penelope internalizing all of it and practically begging for forgiveness for having the gall to seek to find her own voice and run her own business. Lord have mercy.

YES THIS. It’s felt suspicious to me that they changed so much of the makeup, hair, and overall styling this season, as well as toned down the steaminess of the main pairing, right when it’s the season for a female lead who’s not stick thin to shine.

And it makes?? No?? Sense?? Nicola Coughlan is goddamn GORGEOUS. She doesn’t need slapped on makeup or a super tight corset. She’s absolutely stunning without all that. It felt like they didn’t trust the audience to find her beautiful if they followed the same styling as S1-2, which is just plain silly because she would have been gorgeous in anything that looked good on Daphne or Kate.

The one thing I did like, more in the first half of the season than the second, was the decision to put her on the pale greens. That color is flawless on Nicola. (Though she can pull off literally anything imo).

Anyway, I’m glad you said things because I’ve been feeling cheated out of seeing a sexy fuller sized woman (I think Nicola has said she’s not plus sized so I don’t want to use that term). It feels so suspicious we didn’t get more steaminess from this season.

That’s what it felt like to me too! I imagine it would be uncomfortable for someone who doesn’t like attention to have their first kiss with their partner be so public. To me it just read like she was shy about it, and maybe a little nervous because she knows her mom has a specific view of what love should look like that’s different from what Francesca has.

Non book reader here, though I watched this season with my bff who has read the books and she would point things out to me. Here’s a quick rundown of my thoughts:

• I thought they tried to include WAY too many subplots in this season, to the point that I felt like it detracted from Penelope and Colin. The last two episodes of the season were positively packed and multiple scenes felt way too short because of how much they had to cover. They could have cut the subplots in half for a more balanced season imo.

• I was disappointed that Penelope didn’t get as much time on screen being sexy and desirable as Daphne and Kate did. Nicola is absolutely GORGEOUS and I wanted to see her get the same kinds of lingering passionate love scenes as the other two female leads. Now maybe Nicola wasn’t as comfortable with those scenes, and that’s fair, but without knowing that, it’s confusing and frustrating that she didn’t get to be as steamy.

• I’m here for bi Benedict, love it. It makes sense. I would have liked less of the prolonged threesome, not because I’m against threesomes (I’ve had them! I enjoy them!) or even because it’s queer (I’m pansexual!) but because I wanted to see Penelope get to be that sexy with Colin. It felt like Benedict’s threesome and the Anthony/Kate sex scenes in the first half were filling in for a lack of main pairing sexiness.

• I’m also here for the genderbending with Michaela, that’s a lovely little surprise and clever too imo. Though I agree with others that it did seem to undermine the sweet, gentle love that John and Francesca have. I liked their story a lot, as an introvert I felt seen and was actually getting annoyed by Violet’s inability to see the value in a softer kind of romance. Having Francesca be smitten so quickly felt like it justified Violet’s concerns, and I don’t like that. Still, we got most of the season with Francesca and John being sweet and soft, and I really love how they did that. My favorite subplot by far.

• The Featherington sisters were absolutely delightful. No notes. Their husbands are the sweetest, love a wife guy.

I think Otto and Alicent both believed Aegon would be more like Viserys: genial, amenable, disinterested in ruling, and eager to make them happy. Hell, even Alicent this episode was talking about how Aegon is still “eager to please” as he’s murdering people and talking about how he can’t be seen as weak.

They were not expecting to have to teach him how to make decisions because they didn’t expect him to want to make decisions as king, like Viserys. Otto could bully Viserys on almost anything (though he didn’t go as far as with Aegon). So I genuinely think that yes Otto is being foolish and verbally impulsive, I also think he was not prepared for how Aegon reacted or has been acting. He wasn’t prepared for someone who thwarted his counsel, much less fired him.

One of Otto’s primary character flaws is his inability to truly SEE the people around him or understand their emotional reactions. To him, they’re pieces who should do what he wants not thinking, feeling beings who might defy him or even just feel something that’s not in line with his plans. He didn’t see who Aegon was (which is funny because Aegon is so loud about who he is) and it but him in the ass.

The schadenfreude is so delicious.

And even he has a bit of a disaster in him, though it’s much more tightly controlled and takes a LOT to get him to act impulsively. But he HAD to know that bringing up Viserys to Aegon was crossing a line. I don’t think he could help himself at that point, he was pushed to the point where he needed to speak impulsively even if it cost him everything he’d worked decades for.

I absolutely hate how my mouth feels. Like yours it’s not visibly dry but my teeth get “fuzzy” very quickly. I sometimes want to brush my teeth like 5x a day. And that thick saliva feeling and taste can be so gross.

Zofran/ondansetron is SO helpful for my nausea.

I’d be cautious about sat pills if you have a sensitive stomach. The solid salt tablets can cause queasiness or vomiting - it happened to me and I have been looking for an alternative. It may work for you though, I’d just say be prepared in case they don’t work. I’ve heard good things about Vitassium and am going to try them myself. Hopefully they’ll be easier on my sensitive stomach.

I have POTS and this is what happens to me as well.

I’m still figuring out drinks, because I don’t really like the taste of most electrolyte drinks, or anything with a lot of sugar. But I like to snack on flavored nuts when I’m feeling healthy (Target sells ranch cashews that are to DIE for), or potato chips. I also always have pickles and saltier cheeses around. Ooh, if you like spicy foods I make a dip out of sriracha and soy sauce that I love to dip hard boiled eggs in.

I also just bought a set of fancy flavored salts that I can put on anything, it’s even great for making snacks even saltier!

Just awkwardly crying and panting with my heart palpitating while people just stand there and stare at a monitor 🙃 TTT was definitely NOT a good time. Sorry you had to experience it, too.

Thanks! Nerve flossing looks like something I can do at home, so I’ll see if that helps. I already take so many supplements I can barely keep track lol

Thank you! This is helpful.