#in other news my blog isn’t working rn so let’s hope that gets fixed

[lavendead]

LETS GO SHOMA!!!! RAAAAAAHHHHHHH RAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! ITS HIS YEAR BABY!!!!

[artistlara]

🎐PINNED POST ✦﹒₊

I don’t think home’s a place, rather a person. Being in someones arms is home for me

Outdated, check new pinned here

꒰ abt info below the cut! ꒱

Hello hello ! ~ヾ(＾∇＾) welcome to my humble abode. Take a seat, get comfy and have some tea🍵

There’s not much going on here other than a few reblogs, art, and some incoherent rambles but make yourself feel at home while you’re here! <3

Some stuff to note:

This is not a self-ship blog BUT I do post self shipping art and the likes of it. If you’re not comfy with that then you’re free to mute the tag “self ship” or just don’t follow me! (If you’re curious abt who my f/o’s are then here’s a carrd!)

My inbox is open for requests! It may take a lot of time before I actually get to it, but you’re free to send in your oc or a character u like! I still have the right to decline though.

English is not my first language. I’d say I can speak fluent english but I do still get some words wrong here and there. So please be patient with me if I don’t fully understand something.

My art is free to use as icons/pfp and such! Please just credit me somewhere people can see. The only thing I don’t allow are resposts. (For Friends: Credit isn’t needed but v appreciated :D dw abt using my art!)

I’ll add more to this when I remember anything else but for now this can do. Below are more info abt me and my interests!

ABOUT ME🍵

Call me Lara! I also go by Lin or Art so choose ur pick. Any other nicknames are for friends only ty

I'm a minor but not below 16, so please don't be weird!

I sometimes draw! I’m usually busy irl so I’m not able to draw often, but I try!

I'm asian, not comfy on specifying where I'm from (unless we’re close) so that's all I'll say

I have an Insta but it’s quite dead. I’m a lil more unhinged here on Tumblr so this is ur best bet to seeing what I have to offer.

CURRENT INTERESTS🍡

bold - what i’m currently fixated on

italic - i’m into it rn and down to talking abt it!

Sky COTL

Friday Night Funkin’

Genshin Impact

‼️ All my Genshin art is PLATONIC unless I state otherwise (this also excludes the self ship art). I do ship certain characters but I’d rather keep things in a platonic light most of the time bc I yearn for more familial/platonic fanart.

Eddsworld

‼️ All my Eddsworld art revolving around the main cast is PLATONIC. Please do not tag any of it with ship tags. The only ship I’ll allow being tagged is “paultryck.” The way I portray Pau and Pat is ambiguous, so you‘re free to view it as either platonic or romantic!

Other Interests I don’t actively talk abt but they’re here!

Technoblade (not d/s/m/p)

Cuphead

Mystic Messenger

Cells at Work!!

PS. I don’t usually like associating myself in the fandom since it can be a whole trainwreck sometimes! So these are labelled “current interests” than “fandoms I’m in.” I’d rather stay in my little corner to vibe and have fun. <3

My tags are a mess and I should probably fix them at some point but here’s some basics:

#🍵lara does art- art tag basically, you’ll find all the art I posted from (mostly) doodles to (a few) finished pieces.

#🍵rb - all the stuff I reblog pretty much

#🌻friends! - a tag I use for my friends whenever it’s abt them <3 they all have separate tags for names.

#🍵the introvert wants to speak - text posts aka my incoherent rambles abt my thoughts and such, dunno if you’ll go thru it but just letting u know.

I’ll add more if needed. Please do let me know if you want me to tag certain things! Majority of my warnings have either cw or tw before it.

Well that’s all, if you ever end up following me I hope u enjoy ur stay! 🍶

Will add more if I remember stuff or smth changes <3

[hoe-imaginess]

replies!

tried to put older ones at the top. 

ALSO: I got a lot of requests in the last few weeks and just wanted to post a general reply in reminder that my ASK BOX IS CLOSED! Not accepting any requests right now, sorry! I delete any that come in

i BEEN A YEEHAW BINCH SINCE DAY ONE GORLLL. we stan 4am whataburger in this house 

I do!! I used to have gold but it got kinda expensive in comparison to what I was charging for ko-fi’s. If you don’t have that extra $6 a month it’s not worth it boo ):

Ahhh congrats! Sorry I’m so late!! I think it’s always worth it to stick with the original blog since you’ve accumulated followers there, and you never know if they’re going to miss out on the transition to your new one. It takes some time to restructure a blog but it’s definitely worth it to keep the original

the amount of HIM’s in One Piece is unbelievable I whore for everyone

I’m doing ok!!!! I go a little crazy indoors but I’m keeping myself busy <3 my immune system is shit so I’m on utter lock down, but better safe than sorry

@thychi​ 

I keep up sporadically with the manga!! I stopped watching it when I caught up a few months ago, think I ended on Whole Cake? I know what’s happening currently but I haven’t read too into depth in the Wano arc. I usually just... pop into the spoilers tags... to see Law... bc I love him... 

@ithecrystaldragonheart​

Mito and Hashi are a powerful duo. Mito has a lot of brains cells she has to share with Hashi but that’s ok!!!! I do think Tobirama and Mito would get along too!

Basically tbh he sees one thing out of place and he must destroy

i’D HEARD IT WAS A REALLY BAD CHAPTER. this is a late response but MANGA READERS THAT ONE WEEK... we were all a mess (and no I haven’t watched but I’ve been recommended to do so quite a lot so I’ll hop on it soon!) 

Hmm!!!! I actually find a *shorter* first chapter is a good way to hook the reader without making them claw through too much writing to get a sense of what’s going on. Like, if I see a first chapter is reallllly long I sometimes have to do it to em, and scroll a bit to the middle to see what’s going on, and to double check that it’s a fic I want to take the time to read

1300 words isn’t too much though!!! Omg I’ve written much longer first chapters lmao. If you feel weird about it you can maybe find a good place to split that 1300 into two chapters?? But definitely make sure it’s split in a good place. It’s always good to leave the reader wanting more. If you can end on a short cliff hanger or a tense moment, that’s 10/10

That being said it would probably be wise to make the rest of the chapters of a similair average length. I’ve read fics that have shorter or longer chapters and it’s not bad (unless I’m grieving because it’s too short AND I REQUIRE MOREEE) but it might help you with actually planning your plot

I DON’T!!! But I want his ninja dick so bad. Maybe i’ll whip something up for him soon. For the culture 

When you sent this a while ago it actually inspired me to pick it up again!! I’m fixing it so it comes up with more accurate (?) results since I think the first one was so messed up. Everyone kept getting Madara sksksks. It’s still in the works but I wanna post it again! They’re super fun to make

AHHHH THANKSSSSS!!!

It’s so hard trying to keep a character that you love IC because... i want him to not be as much of an asshole as he is in canon... so unfortunately I gotta let him be an asshole sometimes. On the other hand, fortunately he’s such a minor guy I get some room to explore w him and I really hope it pays off, so thank you!!!

Girl, eye—someties

did Itachi Uchiha send me this

(i love u too)

RIGHT!!! i would have never guessed. Like, if Kishi could see us... he’d be fucking floored....

Queen!!! I do!!! I don’t have much up rn but I got 234232 Word docs with WIP fics that I hope to post at some point, ty ilysm 

https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoSkelly

@any59​ ty ty!

Ahhhh!!! thank you!!! It was my biggest project to date <3 

(HxH spoilers below vvvvv)

I don’t really think Feitan is... so far removed from his emotions (Like Meruem) that he would really need to change that drastically for someone if he really liked them—that being said, he’s not going to change, either. If by change we mean he’s suddenly as enamored and endearing with them as Meruem is with Komugi... then I don’t think that’s going to happen regardless. We kinda see Feitan being a good and decently considerate comrade to the Troupe, so that would obviously extend to this girl/boy, maybe with a sliver of extra fondness if we’re talking romantically. But otherwise, Feitan seems like a ��you get what you get” type of guy, that would inherently be *tender* with someone he liked, but not so tender that he’d have to have a whole philosophical/personality change

Ok now I’m confusing myself aksjdhfkjs. Basically:

Meruem had to like, undergo some existential shit to get where he was Komugi. I think Feitan already has the capacity to care for someone, even if his way of caring isn’t exactly rainbows and butterflies. So it’s not like he has to change. He just has to find the right person that doesn’t 1) get on his nerves and 2) get on his nerves enough that he’s gonna kill them

Feitan is a simple man. You piss him off. You die. You don’t? Ok. He’ll be nice

I did!!!

Thank you for accepting me I’m glad to be here

akjdhfakjshfsj i know this was a serious comment but when i first read it I wanted to laugh asdhfkasjhf the “ap lit” inclusion sent me. What was so horrible about ap lit that this girl thought she was dying? Ap lit will really get you

(But I know!! I’d forgotten I’d taken it that morning! I have one of those cute pill organizers and I thought I’d taken it out but did not...)

Forgive me!!! I felt dumba fterwards hence why I deleted the post. Do not worry! This is the dose I was prescribed. I figured I would get some really manic reactions when trying a new dosage so now I know that’s not gonna work lol 

ajkshdfkjshfjksa izuna wants tobirama’s death to be as quick and natural as possible

thank  you!!!! I didn’t think you guys would like them so much <3

@blackstrawberrynightmare​

It’s been so long since I watched Psycho Pass or even looked into anything about it so pls take my thoughts with a grain of salt but:

I’m gonna say probably not? He’s one of those typical antags that have such strong ideals that... I don’t think even if the corrupt system was taken down he’d be entirely absolved of his ideals, or at the least, of the journey he’s taken in pursuit of those ideals. I don’t think a guy like him could ultimately settle down once the dust clears, and especially not with a lover or a family or anything like that. If he did want to lead a normal life it would probably be in seclusion

Thank you!!!!!!

skjhasjkdfhajkhsd they would never. Only room for one tongue on that body and they’ll fight for their tongue rights

Ahhh yeah my master post is so bad I swear I’m gonna fix it one day—I don’t think I have one of Madara!

I do not ):

@cacauatecacauate​ thanks for the kind words!! I’m not accepting requests right now though! I am planning on posting more to that story though, just not right now!

(I think this was in response to when I missed your ko-fi about the bakers) thank you! and thanks for supporting!

[starlightpen]

So here’s what’s been going on (art, Tumblr, New Year Planning)

I’m fully aware I basically fell off the face of this blog, let me explain:

Life got busy, I had to focus on getting it together and basically swore off the daily challenges for this year, and came back when it looks like Tumblr is going to self-immolate.

My take on it is that while it doesn’t look like it’ll affect me or this blog. (not a lot of my stuff has gotten flagged, if any) Tumblr is depending way too much on a broken system to fix a problem they’ve been aware of for a while.

P*rn bots have been running rampant for over a year, but despite users reporting and blocking them Tumblr didn’t seem to think it was important until it got taken off the app store. Until it affected them. And even when they took action, all it did was affect, not only n*s*f*w users who were being responsible and making sure their work didn’t reach minors or people who didn’t want to see it, but perfectly innocent users who got flagged for... some reason? The logic isn’t clear.

This has been a problem ever since Tumblr implemented their shoddy filtering system, and they’d have to have their heads pretty deep in the sand to be unaware of this. What makes this worse is that now there doesn’t seem to be a way to get flagging reversed, and it looks like a lot of blogs and posts may be deleted on December 17th. To rub salt and lemons in the wound, the p*rn bots have adapted by adding #sfw to their stuff, basically making Tumblrs efforts meaningless. This is just the peak of infuriating BS that staff has pulled ever since it got bought by Yahoo/Verizon, a downward spiral of bad decisions that started with ads that you can’t dismiss (even if they’re triggering/extremely inappropriate, I’m looking at you weird toxic romance comics) and ending with introducing a system that only really affects the userbase.

I’m under no allusions that this will kill Tumblr. Honestly, I hope that even if this cripples Tumblr the staff will learn enough to rebuild and maybe put some brains and effort into running this site. However, actions speak louder than words, and I fully intend to participate in the log-out protest on December 17th. If you’re interested, here’s how it works:

Completely log out of tumblr on the 17th, for 24 hours. From 12am Monday to 12am Tuesday. Don’t delete your account, don’t delete the app, just log off and don’t log on. Go onto other social media, raise a bit of a stink. The idea is not a mass-exodus, just a sit-down protest. You aren’t using Tumblr, you’re just holding on to your accounts while you complain on other sites about what a crummy job they’re doing. Then log back on and assess the damage.

Hopefully this will send a message. Maybe not. I’m already collating the alternate info for people I follow just in case they get lost in the implementation of the new system.

On that note, in case Tumblr does a massive hiccup and I lose this blog(or for people seeking brighter horizons)

I’ve been a lot more active on Instagram lately, so my account is yossdillo on there

I have a twitter I sort of use, that I may start using more in the future, it’s @ starlightpen

I don’t have a pillowfort or anything at this time, I’m looking at other options.

I do have a personal website, though: starlightpen.com.

(It looks like a business-y portfolio site because it is, however I’m looking at changing it later this week to be a general hub for my work, so keep the link saved because if something in my social network changes you can bet it’ll be there.)

Now on to the art announcements!

One of the things keeping me from posting was prep for a couple of actual offical art shows. Exciting stuff, and a way for me to vent my abstsract artist leanings. This has left me with images of quite a few paintings I’m proud of, and I’ll post these later in the week. Outside of that, there isn’t really a lot. I swore off the daily challenges and I’m mostly taking life one day at a time while I get ready for Christmas and try to reorganize myself. After the art show post, I’ll post when I can but I can’t make any promises. I can only thank people for their patience and assure them that no, I’m not dead.

-Liz

[heckin-good-holland-blog]

In Real Life

Request: 

Warnings: None!!

Pairing: Reader x Peter Parker

Genre: Fluff ~

Word Count: 2.7k holy moly

A/N: I'm so sorry this took like a million years but I hope you like it :D I'm thinking of making a part 2 so let me know what you guys think!! Also I didn’t get around to proofreading so if you see mistakes PLEASE let me know xx

Ever since middle school you had been watching your friends find dates and get into relationships. They teased you about being a third wheel sometimes, but you didn't mind. You did feel lonely once in a while without someone there to hold you, but you didn't feel that way very often. Even though technically you weren't dating anyone in real life, there was a boy thousands of miles away that had your heart. He was constantly texting, snapchatting, and even video calling you to the point where he knew more about you than your friends in real life did. You had the biggest crush on him and wished more than anything that you could see him in person one day.

You met Peter online, seeing his nerdy blog recommended for you and deciding to follow him. For a few days you just kind of liked each other's posts occasionally and that was it. That was up until you saw his post about the Avengers. Being a big fan of them, you built up the courage to shoot him a message and you two immediately hit it off. Peter knew a lot about all of the superheroes you idolized, which gave you plenty to talk about. As it turned out, Peter actually worked for Tony Stark. You almost didn't believe him, but the things he knew and said would have been impossible to make up.

Over time you and Peter got to be a lot closer. Even though you had never actually talked to him in person you felt as if he was your best friend in the whole world. Your feelings for him grew even more than that though and you eventually wound up being in a relationship. Peter actually asked you out during one of your traditional all-night Skype calls.

"I've got something I have to ask you," he said as he slid into frame on his rolling chair. He had his wireless headphones on underneath his hoodie and was busy trying to get his mic in the right place. He had a lot of nerdy technology stuff and was always finding new electronics to play with.

"Sure what's up?" you asked. You turned up the volume a little bit, butterflies filling your stomach. That happened a lot when Peter talked to you. Even though you loved seeing him and hearing his voice, you still preferred texting since he couldn't see the way that the things he did affected you. Luckily the lighting in your room was bad so he couldn't tell if you were blushing.

"Ok so," he said, letting out a long breath. "We've been talking for a while and uh... It's sorta weird isn't it? That we've never met? I mean I don't think that it is... Unless you do."

"I don't think it's weird at all," you replied. He nodded, his mouth curling up at the sides. He had a habit of hiding his smiles like that but you didn't really know why since his smile always made your day.

"How do you feel about trying a long distance relationships?" he asked suddenly, hiding his face from the camera by leaning over slightly. You were a little taken aback. Sure, you had been crushing on him but a confession like that was the last thing you were expecting.

"I-I think it's worth a shot," you said. "I mean, we talk more than a lot of the couples that I know... Besides, maybe we can finally meet soon."

"Wait, seriously?" he exclaimed, getting super close to the camera. You laughed and nodded.

"Let's do it!" you said. He grinned, unable to disguise the pure joy on his face. And that was that. You and Peter cared for each other so much that the distance didn't even matter. You started to forget that it was even strange to date someone online. Every time your phone went off your heart sped up since there was a high chance it was going to be Peter. Some nights you even cancelled your plans with friends just to call him.

Two years passed, and you were still going strong. One day after school you logged onto your computer to see if Peter was online when you noticed that you had a new email. You almost screamed when you read that it was from Stark Enterprises. Apparently there was a youth convention thing being held in New York and you had been selected to go. You reread the email at least 50 times before your parents got home and you practically recited the entire thing from memory as you begged them to let you go. It had always been a dream of yours to work for Tony Stark since you were really interested in science and, let's face it, you thought Iron Man was awesome. You were super jealous of Peter and his internship. Realization hit you like a truck as you were in the middle of guilt tripping your parents into letting you go.

"Oh my god!" you exclaimed. "If it's in New York then that means... I could finally meet Peter!" Your mom and dad knew about your online relationship and although they were skeptical at first they ended up really liking Peter. You had let them talk to him a bit one day when he was on Skype and he made such a great impression that they absolutely loved him.

"I don't think there's any harm in letting you go," your mom finally said, giving in. "You did say that the airfare is payed for, right?"

"Yes!" you said quickly. "I just need food money and that's it."

"Alright, fine," your dad agreed and just like that you were going to New York. After some careful consideration you decided not to tell Peter right away. There was a part of you that was afraid of meeting him because you were scared that he wouldn't like you as much in real life. It was ridiculous since you'd been talking for so long, but you couldn't help but feel nervous. As the days went by and the trip got closer you felt more and more anxious.

When it was finally time to leave, you headed off to the airport by yourself. Your knees trembled as you entered the terminal and you spent the whole flight thinking about Peter. You tried to snap out of it since the real reason you were there was for the youth convention, but he was really the only thing on your mind. The two of you had talked many times about how great it would be when you met and you were just so terrified of letting him down.

After landing you hung around the airport for a while trying to figure out your next move. You decided to text Peter and try to catch up with him since you didn't have to go to Stark Tower until the next morning.

Heyo, what are you doing right now

He read it right away, the three dots that showed he was typing popping up.

Parker 💘: I'm doing some homework at that sandwich shop I talk about all the time. Sorry I can't call tonight, I gotta study

You grinned despite yourself. Peter talked about Mr. Delmar's shop constantly and had described it to you a million times. You flagged down a taxi and told them to take you there right away. Sure enough, when you arrived it looked exactly the way you had pictured it. You checked how you looked in your phone camera, fixing your hair a little before going inside. It smelled absolutely delicious, and you quickly scanned the small restaurant for Peter. Your heart fell when you didn't see anyone you recognized.

"Um hi," you said to the man working, thinking that as long as you were there you might as well get something to eat. "Can I have the number 5? With extra pickles?"

"Absolutely," he said with a friendly smile. He must have been Mr. Delmar.

"I have a question," you said timidly. "You wouldn't happen to have seen Peter Parker around recently, have you?" He looked at you for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, I haven't seen Peter in a few days," he replied. "Why? Do you know him?"

"Yeah I do," you said, blushing. "We... We're really close uh... friends."

"Ah, you his date?" he asked with a wink. "Pete's a good kid but if you ask me you're a little out of his league. He's a bit of a brat." You laughed as he handed you your sandwich.

"Good luck tracking him down," he said and waved as you left. You stood out on the street eating your food for a while, wondering why Peter had lied to you about where he was. Curious, you texted him again. It was just a short 'wyd?' but you felt weird about it. Maybe you seemed a little clingy but all you wanted was to see him. It took him a few minutes to respond, but when he did you were ready to read it right away.

Parker 💘: I'm at the library doing some work. Now's not a good time, sorry

You frowned, disappointment washing over you. He must have been really busy. You shoved your phone in your pocket and headed to your hotel, giving up on Peter for the time being.

The next morning you woke up early since you couldn't sleep. The excitement for the convention had kept you awake for a long time and you were really looking forward to the day. You got ready quickly and hopped into another cab to Stark Tower. When you arrived, there were loads of other kids your age funneling into a large lecture hall. You followed the crowd, finding a seat towards the back. After everyone had arrived and settled in a hush fell over the crowd. You looked up to see Tony Stark himself standing in the front. Forgetting everything about your troubles with Peter, you listened intently for the duration of the presentation.

Towards the end Tony had left and another guy was talking for a while. You saw your phone light up from inside your bag and against your better judgment you checked it to find a message from Peter.

Parker 💘: Hey! Tony's busy rn and I'm just waiting in the tower, do you want to call me?

You sucked in a breath, your heart pounding. Peter was here. You typed a response as best as you could with your shaking hands.

Where are you waiting?

Parker 💘: Um in a room in the west corridor. Why?

You didn't bother answering before stuffing your phone in your bag and rushing towards the door. A man was blocking the door since he must have been a security guard.

"I... I think I'm gonna puke," you lied. He wrinkled his nose but let you pass, and you practically ran through the door. It dawned on you that you had absolutely no idea where the west corridor was, so you just started wandering around. You walked all over the first floor but found nothing, so you climbed up a flight of stairs. You were almost to the top when you stopped dead. Tony Stark was standing before you and he looked very intimidating.

"Excuse me, kiddo. I don't think this is where you're supposed to be," he said. You were so shocked that you could only stare with your mouth open. You couldn't believe you were being scolded by your biggest inspiration.

"I-I'm sorry," you stammered. "I was just l-looking for somebody-"

"There's someone else walking aimlessly around here?" he asked. "We can't have that, there's a lot of top secret stuff up here. We should go find them, do you know where they went?"

"No!" you said, panicking. "He... He works for you. He's my friend, I just wanted to see him." Tony considered this for a moment. He looked you up and down, his expression unreadable.

"Your friend..." he said as he turned away from you. "You said he works for me?"

"Yes! Yes, he told me he's part of an internship program here. He said he was waiting to talk to you about something and I thought that since I was here I'd try to go and see him. Of course I didn't really think that through because, as you said, there's a lot of top secret stuff and I shouldn't be-"

"Alright kid that's enough," Tony cut you off. You didn't realize you had been babbling so much and felt your face flush. He faced you again and you were surprised to see he was smiling.

"I think I know who you're talking about," he said. "Thanks for reminding me that I need to talk to him. Here, I'll lead you there if you swear not to walk around here by yourself again."

"I promise!" you exclaimed. He chuckled and started walking with you jogging behind him to keep up. It turned out you were going in the right direction and eventually you stopped in front of what appeared to be a break room of sorts. You stood shyly behind Tony, your nerves getting to you.

"Hey!" he said loudly to someone inside the room. "We need to talk. Before that though I ran into someone who I think you know." He moved over slightly so that you could see. There, sitting on the couch with his feet on the table was Peter. He was even more handsome than you thought he'd be. He wore his t-shirt with a joke about telekinesis that you loved so much along with a big flannel. He stood up when he saw you, knocking over the pile of books that sat on the table.

"Y/N?" he asked, his eyes wide. He was taller than you thought, with wider shoulders as well. One strand of his hair was loose and sat limply on his forehead. You felt your eyes begin to water and you nodded slowly. You looked away, feeling like you could burst into tears at any moment. A few seconds later you were being enveloped by his arms. You pressed your head against him and hugged him back, squeezing him gently. You had waited so long to feel his touch and you were scared that if you let go you'd never get it back. He pulled back a little, his arms moving around your waist.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. You looked up at him, trying to memorize the exact colors in his eyes and the freckles on his face.

"I... I was chosen for the youth convention and since it was in New York I came to see you," you told him. He was smiling from ear to ear and seeing him so happy made you even more emotional.

"You're so much more beautiful in person," he whispered as he pulled you in for another hug. You laughed, sniffing a little.

"Peter, I've been waiting for so long to meet you and I just..." You trailed off when he kissed your forehead, your breath hitching. He moved closer towards your lips and it was like everything was moving in slow motion.

You jumped suddenly when Tony cleared his throat from behind you, stumbling back a little.

"Oh crap, uh... sorry Mr. Stark," Peter said awkwardly. You were both suddenly very aware of his presence in the room and you quickly backed away from Peter feeling very embarrassed.

"Yeah, I'm only a little weirded out," he said. "Listen, I'm gonna go since I have a lot of stuff to do. Find me later or just call Happy, ok?"

"Y-yeah alright," Peter replied. "But what if Happy doesn't pick up?"

"I think you'll be a little preoccupied anyway," Tony said with a nod in your direction, causing your face to turn bright red. He smiled and walked away, leaving the two of you alone.

"I've looked up to him for so long and I admire him a lot, but I don't think I could have waited another second for him to leave," you said with a giggle.

"Well, we've waited this long, haven't we?"

[28-11s]

i’m going to start off this post with an apology for disappearing again, especially before valentine’s day. i was trying to hold back from doing it so i could spend the 14th with you and finally ask you out on a date but my need to ghost prevailed and well. yeah. it’s been rough like it hasn’t been in months, (and i think you understood it since i haven't posted here in days) but i guess it is because i’ve been dealing with constant uneasiness? i’m actually not sure what’s wrong, though. do you ever feel anxious even when things are going well? like, you cannot sleep or focus on your work or do anything really because you’re too busy feeling overwhelmed? it’s horrible, especially when you cannot pinpoint the reason and so you end up just locking yourself away. we're going to blame mercury retrograde and not my mental health, tho. especially since sun and mercury are in pisces. 🤕 🤢 i’m sorry for being so distant both physically and emotionally and just... not being there for you. the worst thing about me ghosting is in fact not knowing what to say once i feel better. i can write here rather easily but the moment i have to dm you i feel awkward and guilty and i never know how to act... i’m not good at saying sorry but appearing randomly after days without saying anything makes me feel even worse, so i never know how to be. but anyway, that’s not what I want to talk about in this message. i needed to feel better the other day so i checked the padlet and found the message that you wrote a month ago… it hit me a lot and kinda really resonated with me. it sucks how late I saw it and I feel really bad since you opened up to me so well and idk, it’s like i looked down at your effort by not replying immediately, even though it was involuntarily. but i cannot just ignore it so here’s my (late) reply to all of that. first of all, let me tell you how much i appreciate the straightforwardness of that message. it gave me an input on how you have been feeling and it also made me feel closer to you, especially considering the fact that i can strongly relate. not gonna lie, I hadn’t cried (like, actually cried with sobs and all that shit) in months but i couldn’t even reach the middle of the message because i literally couldn’t see SHIT. knowing you have been struggling with these emotions is… devastating? to try and explain: it’s like the whole world came crashing down. this whole ghosting thing isn’t something i can actually get mad at you for, because i know how exhausting life can get and how comforting being alone can be. as you can see, i do that a lot, too…  which is why i make “excuses” for you. of course, when it gets to three weeks it stings and i do get annoyed at times . but it’s not something i will crucify you over? especially because it would be super hypocritical of me. so, please, don’t ever think that you’re “taking advantage of me” or whatever, because you’ve been nothing but amazing to me for the past years and i literally /know/ that i couldn’t do better than this even if i tried to. you’re one of the few good things in my life rn and if i haven’t gone completely insane yet is thanks to you too. and while i'm happy you do know that i sincerely treasure you a whole lot, i can't help but get worried because of you being insecure. you're human and like everyone else, you experience lack of confidence, and honestly i'm glad you told me about it. more than insecure, i’d say i’m way too paranoid for my own good. i often get ugly thoughts that try to make others look like they’re out to get me and i always have to stop, take a deep breath and remind myself that not everyone is trying to hurt me, but i also get those moments of "what if". what if i say this and sound weird or what if i talk too much about myself and make royal uncomfortable by coming off as vain. and there are times where i hesitate or straight up don’t post on the blog because i don’t want to burden you with /my/ emotions, so i understand that too well. but we've talked about this so many times: we both have to fix these problems, but you know it won't happen overnight and every single little step counts, even if it requires lots of courage and trust. i don't think you realize how happy it makes me when you reach out randomly or open up to me directly. it makes me feel trusted, worthy and useful, so please don't villainize yourself for being human and wanting to share your feelings with others. you're far from being toxic and you need to finally understand that you're not putting any kind of pressure on me and being able to help you, even if just by listening, helps me as well. we deal with situations and feelings that are similar and i've found a solution to my problems the times we've opened up to each other. but lol. that part right there about you being self serving pissed me off so fucking bad, you have no idea. when i say i cannot find a single flaw in you, i mean it. i know it might sound fake or exaggerated but it's true. you’re one of the kindest and most selfless people i know and it's hard to even imagine you as selfish or “self serving”. i want you to think for a minute. do you think you’ve ever done anything to me to get you the title of self serving? i have a really good memory when it comes to you and i can assure you are far from being that. you have NEVER asked for anything, you have NEVER made me feel wrong or treated me badly. obviously i don't know what happened in your previous relationship and even after * dmed me to befriend me and then ask me to deliver you that message, i’ve been meaning to ask you about your dating history since i don’t think i have ever seen you as upset as you were those times, but it felt like i was being nosy and out of place so i just sucked it up and moved on. ngl though, i have been curious about it. both because i want to learn something new about you and because i want to be prepared. i told you about keo and how he mostly affected my self-esteem, so i kinda feel bad for not knowing about what has affected /you/ in the past. folds hands. let me also add something. me being scared of confrontation isn’t an excuse for us to avoid talking directly about certain things. if we keep on avoiding any kind of serious talking 1) i’ll never learn how to deal with it 2) i think we’ll be missing out on a huge part of relationships and on the long run it will show. and i’m not exactly scared of confrontation. i’m scared of hurting you by saying something wrong. i get so defensive /and/ passive aggressive for no reason when i feel the mood shift and it makes me say really mean things just to get a reaction out of people. but i’ll never be able to fix it if i don’t start talking with my own partner. but still. you’ll have to be the one to bring it up if you want to because i’m still a scaredy-cat after all and i’ll never start anything. <3 you have also talked about me deserving better and it reminded me of all the times i’ve said you do deserve someone better and you said that you don’t care because i’m the one you want. it goes both ways, really. there is someone out there for me, even more than one person, but just like there is someone else out there for you too. but it literally does not matter to me if someone is waiting, because i don’t want them. i want You. you're the love of my life and my best friend and i seriously cannot imagine my life without you. i can promise you that i will be here by your side. we can be scared of being vulnerable together. LMFAOOOOO WHY IS THIS SO LONG I'M SO SORRY FUCK AND I AM NOT EVEN DONE SINCE YOU POSTED ANOTHER MESSAGE ON THE PADLET AND I WANNA REPLY TO THAT TOO. yes it takes me days to reply to one (1) singular message yes i live like this. anyway the latest message put me in such a good mood. your care package isn't here yet but i can already tell that it is going to work perfectly. but?! your hobby is literally naming pets after food or things and honestly? i respect that life. i still remember when you talked about wanting to get a cat to name it pancake. 🥺 i hope you took pictures of your friend's dog, though. 😡 and on god i knew something was gonna happen to you. kisses your wrist and puts a bandaid on it. the fact that you're still running around sleep-deprived and with a sprained wrist is so You. fucking sagittarius sun gemini rising headass. but OMFG I USED TO LISTEN TO THAT SONG WHEN I WAS A KID. you brought back so many memories. </3 while my baby was being a busy bee, i was busy being Lazy. my week has been kinda ok? i've been spending my days watching stuff on netflix but now i'm sad because i saw a possible spoiler of the drama that i am currently watching aND . I DIDN'T SPEND THE LAST FOUR DAYS CRYING FOR THEM TO PULL THIS SHIT. also since there is straight up a coronavirus outbreak in my region, all the schools are closed and the shops have to close down at 6pm so i don't have to work at the office this week! a win! kinda! if we ignore the reason why i can stay home! will that stop me from going out though? absolutely not. x today i went to the gym despite the warnings lolz and i even passed out so fr who's doing it like me! then i went grocery shopping and i napped for like 6 hours. i had an appointment with my old school's head master scheduled for tomorrow since we have to talk about uni and stuff but they cancelled it :/// so i'll spend my day maybe doing some work and Sleeping. anyway. this message is a big mess but  i mith you so bad and i feel so shitty for disappearing and i'm over being a ghost so! we're sleeping together tonight. :)

[themillennialjunkiediaries]

Alright internet where no one rly listens to my annoying ass, I'm gonna have a talk with myself in public. Which really, isn't all that shocking because I've been talking to myself the entire time I've been alone because I'm sooooo spun. Plus this blog is like 40% a journal for me to talk about the things going on in my life. Also, don't even waste your time reading this shit, I just needed a big ass vent session abt life.

I'll start with the bad so I can end on a high note.

After days of being ignored by fp I finally split. I messaged him tonight, not even wanting his attention but I lost my fav nail polish and asked him if he could please look in his truck because it was pretty expensive and also my fav. He ignored me. So fuck him and especially fuck him for fucking with my feelings when he knows how fragile I am. My current task of self improvement is understanding and accepting that no one owes me anything including explaining why they leave me. I won't ask for that. I'm not going to block/delete him either, though. I've known him 16 years and if he needs me I'll be there for all the emotional support, I just won't see him anymore.

I'm officially down to my last $60 until I can manage to secure a job but I want to have the holidays with my family and don't want to start until Jan 2. This is a problem because I have habits to support and no way to do so without said job. I imagine I'll make something happen between now and then because I always do. Oh the life of an addict always finding a way to get high.

I'm skeptical about serving and the fast paced, super demanding, extremely socially interactive, and oh so loud environment I'll be in. It is going to stress me the fuck out and give my anxiety a hell of a time. However, being right off a huge interstate and the restaurant I hope to get on at means the tips will always be good. When a friend was going to start there she was promised $50 for a 4-5 hour shift during the slow times when she first started. Plus they don't pee test, always a huge bonus for me because getting pee or buying synthetic is a real pain.

One of my best (but god awful slow) plugs really stressed me tonight. I'm glad I finally scored and am in a positive mental space again, ready to face the split with fp and all the other things I have going on. But my girl, after taking a long ass time which didn't bother me today because I had things to do, we get to her place at about the same time and we smoked almost immediately. Then we did a few hot rails. And that's when the stress started. She gets loud and yells a lot, a trigger for me (she is unaware). Her temper is bad and when she goes off she just keeps on going. Usually it's just talking in circles and for the longest time I've been hanging with her and using her to score, it didn't feel directed at me but the last few times I've seen her it's felt like she's got me in the scope now too. So she's going all the way off and I'm constantly apologizing, trying to fix it, and calm her down because I'm so triggered and trying not to show it but she doesn't so I ended up leaving after the second time she tore into me and a friend. I felt bad but I needed to for my own mental health.

It hit me earlier today that I've had three people in the last week cut from my life if not completely then for the most part and all of them I've known for years. Fp a friend of 16 years, another friend of 13 yrs and highschool crush, and a friend of about 4 years. I know my mental state has been off lately but it doesn't do much for a girls self esteem when friends start dropping like flies. I know I haven't done anything wrong but it feels like I have because why else would this have happened?

Since I've been known to be a negative person I'm sure I could go on but that's the shit currently on my mind and plate.

Now for the good & happy things!

I finally got my nails painted! It wasn't my fav color and I even went to the store but they were out of the color I wanted so I got a couple others. I had to take the first color I did off because the clear coat was somehow motherfucking bubbly and my brain wasn't allowing that but when I'm done here I'm going to do them a nice turquoise that I love!

I was able to get spuuuuuuuun! Despite all the things with my plug, I really had a pretty damn good night. Usually I don't sniff Tina because of the burn, but I even hit a few lines after smoking and taking a couple hot rails. I took a line of a perc too but downers and opiates aren't really my thing.

I left ol girl's still spun despite her being a Betty Buzzkill and took a guy I met at her place a couple weeks ago down the road then when I was going to drop him off, we sat in the car and talked for a while. After idk 45 minutes we went inside his house because it was good conversation and I wasn't really ready to leave. He's 9 years older than I am but we had similar views and thoughts on a lot of things and I'm pretty sure we both enjoyed that 2 hour+ conversation we had. I may have a new pal and even a possible work hookup for my uncle so he's not home all the time annoying me lmao.

This one I'm not entirely sure it's good because my logical self is telling bpd self to fucking stop BUT it feels good so I'm putting it there. I met a guy through a mutual friend a while back and we have really connected with each other. He and I have a GREAT banter, I love talking to him and we never run out of shit to talk about. Tonight I realized that even before previous fp dipped, he was starting to give Devin some competetion. Of course, he has things to work on but who doesn't? I saw him this evening and we went for a drive, railed down a few lines, then blew some clouds talking the whole time. Idk what prompted him to tell me he wanted to kiss me but he said it and I let him. It could've been the ice or him being a lil tipsy, but his kisses felt so genuine. It's been a while since I was kissed like someone was absolutely amazed by me and it's making me giddy. There are important parts I'm leaving out rn but this covers the main frame since I hadn't mentioned him until tonight. I just need to be sure I control myself and don't rush into obsession and I'll do my best to remind myself so the bpd isn't gasoline on the flame. I do see him tomorrow though. He owes me $20 I fronted him and he told me to go to where he works which is within walking distance of my house in the afternoon so he can pay me and we will hang out in his camper he keeps parked at his boss' house.

Later this morning I plan to clean my room because I definitely have been slacking on that. It's so funny everyone thinks all tweakers keep a spotless house but that's not true. A lot of us will sit in the same place for hours doing the dumbest shit you ever saw. I'm one of them but my depression also plays a part because I never feel like cleaning. Laundry needs done though and the room is just cluttered. I'd like to invite people over but with this much crap everywhere that's not possible.

All in all, after such a downer of a week, things are feeling more up and I'm finding motivation to do more. Maybe I'll even start therapy again after the new year. Maybe not, but we can see.

[type2diabetestreatments-blog]

Ask D'Mine: Losing Hypo Awareness, Weight Gain with Diabetes Meds?

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/ask-dmine-losing-hypo-awareness-weight-gain-with-diabetes-meds/

Ask D'Mine: Losing Hypo Awareness, Weight Gain with Diabetes Meds?

Most of us come to expect certain things... like feeling your lows and fitting into your pants! So why do those things sometimes change? That's what we're covering in this week's diabetes advice column, Ask D'Mine, hosted by veteran type 1, diabetes author and community educator Wil Dubois.

Need help navigating life with diabetes? Email us at AskDMine@diabetesmine.com

Kayla from Nebraska, type 1, writes: I recently noticed that I am not experiencing noticeable signs of hypoglycemia. Before, when my sugar hit a low level, usually under 70, I would shake, get a warm feeling throughout my body, start sweating, and suffer light-headedness. However, now I don't feel anything. Will the warning signs ever come back? Or will I have this unawareness from now on?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Of course, he didn't frickin' feel it because he had hypoglycemia unawareness. Who knew Humpty was an Egg With Diabetes (EWD)? So first things first: if you've either developed, or are developing hypo unawareness, you need to test a whole lot more often or get a CGM, because you're at risk of a fall from which all the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to put you back together again.

Hypo unawareness is just as you described: you begin to lose your ability to feel low blood sugar. The cause of hypo unawareness is the hypos themselves. The more hypos you have, the more severe they are, and the more frequently you have them; the more likely you are to burn out your ability to feel them. Hypo unawareness generally starts as a creeping lowering of when you feel your lows. People who used to feel them at 80 begin to realize they don't feel anything until they go under 70. Then it's 60. Then 50. Like diabetes itself, hypo unawareness seems to be progressive. I've been in the low 30s with no clue. I have such severe hypo unawareness that my endo insisted I include the fact on my medic alert jewelry. I've had patients who've dipped into the mid-20s with no sensation to warn them.

At some point, as hypo unawareness progresses, you don't feel your lows at all. You can go lights-out with no warning. Or no effective warning, anyway. I know one research endo who insists that there's no such thing as hypo unawareness, but that rather the detection threshold drops to the seizure threshold. In other words, you feel your hypo as you black out.

Okie-dokie. I feel soooooo much better knowing that I'm not really unaware—merely not aware in time.

No one knows why, but hypo unawareness is more common in female PWDs than in men, more common in older people than younger, and more likely among the adult onset (a.k.a. LADA) crowd. And proving once-and-for-all that no good deed goes unpunished, folks who exercise regularly are more likely to develop hypo unawareness than folks who don't exercise regularly. Is it possible that women, older people, LADA folks, and people who exercise are more likely to be control freaks on the blood sugar front, which leads them to more hypos, and thus hypo unawareness; or do these folks have some different biology going on? I don't know. I don't think it's been studied yet.

Also, there's some thought that certain medications might contribute to hypo unawareness, including beta-blockers (for high blood pressure) and the common SSRI anti-depressants.

Will your ability to feel hypos return? Maybe. Possibly. But probably not. The two most common "cures," interestingly, are the two most common cures for hang-overs, too: the hair of the dog that bit you; or a strong cup of joe.

First, to the hair of the dog. Many endos attempt to reverse the hypo unawareness by intentionally running a PWD's blood sugar above target for three-to-six months. The theory is playing the relative hypoglycemia card in reverse. Think of it this way: Let's say your house is 72 degress, but you're feeling kinda cold. You don't want to turn the thermostat up, 'cause the freaking utility bill is killing you. What do you do? Well, if it's colder outside, say 65 degrees, you could walk outside for ten or fifteen minutes. When you come back in, your house will feel warmer. It isn't. It's still 72 degrees. It only feels warmer because you've spent some time somewhere colder. Your body can adjust to "new normals" in the same way when it comes to blood sugar.

Running high for a time might reset your sensitivity. Of course, running too high could also put you into a coma, because you're a type 1. And running high for too long risks lighting the fire of complications. So it might work, but it's not something you want to try on your own. I think this is a good example of something you want to do with medical guidance. (Like those car commercials: professional driver. Do not attempt at home.).

Or you could invest in a Starbucks card instead, as at least one study has shown that caffeine may be one way to bring back your hypo symptoms. You can try this one at home. But don't get your hopes up, I'm very highly caffeinated, and I still don't feel my lows.

Michele from Texas, type 2, asks: I would like to know whether insulin causes you to gain weight. I was told that many diabetes pills cause weight gain, too. Are there any diabetic medications that do not make you gain weight?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: You just asked the ultimate chicken or egg question. Half of the smartest diabetes docs on the planet will swear on a stack of Bibles, Korans, and Torahs that insulin absolutely causes weight gain. The other half of the smartest diabetes docs on the planet will swear on that the same stack of holy books that the insulin itself is in no way to blame for the weight gain that's seen in some people following the start of insulin therapy.

Huh?

So here's the problem. Weight gain is seen after insulin is started, a lot of the time. But not always. Some docs think the nature of the hormone causes weight gain. Others look more closely at what was going on before insulin was started. Usually crazy-high blood sugar, that's what. And crazy-high blood sugar means that glucose (and the calories it contains) is being dumped into your urine. You're literally peeing away part of the food you eat when your blood sugar is high. When you fix the blood sugar, the extra calories go into fat storage rather than being flushed down the toilet.

Many diabetes experts think this is where the weight gain comes from. If you're eating more calories than you need, and fix your high blood sugar without cutting back on the Nacho Cheese Doritos, you'll gain weight. If you are eating what your body needs, you won't gain weight. Of course if you lost a crazy-lot of weight from high blood sugar before you were diagnosed, your doc might want you to put some of it back on until you're back to a healthy weight.

As for the other part of your question, there are diabetes drugs that don't make you gain weight, and even some that help you lose weight. To cover all the bases here's a rundown on the various diabetes meds and their effects on weight:

Diabetes meds that have no effect on weight one way or the other are: the DPP-4 meds Januvia and Onglyza; the colesevelam med Welchol; and the AGI meds Glyset and Precose.

Diabetes meds that are associated with a mild increase in weight are: the sulfonylurea meds Amaryl, DiaBet, Glucotrol, Glynase, and Micronase; and the glinide class meds Prandin and Starlix.

Diabetes meds that are associated with a mild-to-moderate increase in weight are insulins in all their flavors.

Diabetes meds that are associated with a moderate increase in weight are the TZD-class meds Actos and Avandia (now pulled from general market due to heart health risks).

No diabetes med is associated with "severe" weight gain.

On the other side of the coin, diabetes drugs that are associated with a loss of weight are: the metformin class meds Fortamet, Glucophage, Glumetza, and Riomet; the injectable GLP-1 meds Byetta and Victoza; and the pramlintide class med Symlin.

Then we have the issue of polypills, or combo meds that mix two classes of meds together. For instance metformin is sometimes mixed with a sulfonylurea or a TZD. Then what? We've got one med that lowers weight and one that raises weight in the same pill! What happens in the body?

I have no frickin' idea whatsoever, and I'm not sure anyone else does either. On top of that, most PWDs take all kinds of other prescription drugs that can have an effect on weight as well. A few of the types that are well-known to cause weight gain include some anti-depressants, steroids, many anti-psychotics and bi-polar meds, and birth control pills.

If you think about it, you have to pity a depressed, bi-polar, diabetic female on steroids for Lupus, who's on birth control to avoid getting pregnant. She'd really have the cards stacked against her!

This is not a medical advice column. We are PWDs freely and openly sharing the wisdom of our collected experiences — our been-there-done-that knowledge from the trenches. But we are not MDs, RNs, NPs, PAs, CDEs, or partridges in pear trees. Bottom line: we are only a small part of your total prescription. You still need the professional advice, treatment, and care of a licensed medical professional.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

[type2diabetestreatments-blog]

Ask D'Mine: Do Lows Cause Brain Damage, Does Diabetes Cause Cramps?

New Post has been published on https://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/ask-dmine-do-lows-cause-brain-damage-does-diabetes-cause-cramps/

Ask D'Mine: Do Lows Cause Brain Damage, Does Diabetes Cause Cramps?

Diabetes is both painful and a pain to deal with, so it's no surprise to us that it can affect our body in mysterious ways. In this edition of our diabetes advice column, Ask D'Mine, our host, veteran type 1 and diabetes community educator, Wil Dubois fills us in on whether or not lows can cause any permanent brain damage (yikes!) and whether cramps are yet another diabetes complication.

Need help navigating life with diabetes? Email us at AskDMine@diabetesmine.com

Michael from South Carolina, type 1, writes: My wife can tell if my BG is below 50. "You're getting stupid, better check your glucose." I realize my brain requires glucose to function, but have there been any studies on long-term damage due to prolonged low BG? Not that I believe I'm losing it, but just curious.

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: Actually, when my wife read your question, she said, "If hypos cause brain damage that would explain a lot." She was just teasing, of course.

I think.

Then again, if I'm brain damaged, I'd be the last to know, right?

So you're correct, that many of us get "stupid" when we get low. The brain is fueled by sugar and when the sugar is low the brain doesn't work right. But is it more like having a low battery or more like drowning? Are we losing brain cells every time we go hypo?

In virtually all the clinical literature about lows you can find a line something like this: hypoglycemia can lead to seizures, unconsciousness, brain damage, and death.

And everyone agrees that the deeper you go, the longer you stay down, the more often it happens, and the older you are—the greater the likelihood of brain damage. The most likely types of brain damage from hypos can result in mild paralysis on one side of the body, memory loss, diminished language skills, decreased abstract thinking capabilities, and muscle coordination and balance issues. Ummm... so really, looking at it, sort of a permanent state of feeling hypo.

But, pinning down any solid statistics or solid clinical studies on the whole brain damage issue is a lot harder. I did discover that cats are more resistant to brain injury from severe hypos than other animals. Oh, and that you can reliably brain-damage monkeys if you keep them below 20 mg/dL for 4-6 hours. (Your tax dollars at work for the greater good of science.)

Now the scary part. Oh. Right. Sorry. I meant to say the scarier part. Several recent studies strongly suggest that the low isn't the brain-killer so much as the rebound high that sometimes comes from fixing the low. Quoting a boxed summary attached to a trio of studies in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, findings "suggest that, at least in the setting of profound hypoglycemia, therapeutic hyperglycemia should be avoided."

Of course, they're talking about the dangers of the ICU filling your veins with dextrose overly enthusiastically if you're lights-out on arrival. Still, when was the last time any of us "corrected" a low blood sugar without having a rebound high? Could our Yo-Yo insulin-infused lifestyles be frying our brains? Maybe so.

But, you've got 1,000,000,000 or so neurons in your coconut in the first place; and around 9,000 of them drop dead every day under normal circumstances, anyway. If you want to speed up the process check out this list of 50 ways to kill brain cells. Sniffing glue, by the way, seems to be the most effective way to do-in your brain easily, snuffing out 300,000 neurons per day.

On the good news front, it turns out that brain cells can grow back after all, and that booze only makes neurons drunk—it doesn't kill them.

Of course booze can make your sugar go low, too...

Warren from Alaska, type 2, writes: Does diabetes cause cramps? I have had cramps in many different parts of my body for at least 10 years. I talked with every doctor I came in contact with and they all had a different answers: exercise more or less, more calcium, less calcium, more magnesium, less magnesium, the same with potassium, salt, and almost every vitamin supplement in the book. Only one doctor had a partial answer. She said drink 6-8 oz. of diet tonic water before bed. Other than water, are there any real solutions?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: Diabetes 101 review: Diabetes causes everything. OK, so now that we got that covered...

Let's talk about headaches instead. What causes headaches? Very high blood pressure can cause headaches. So can taking a break from caffeine if you usually consume a lot of it. Sinus pressure can cause headaches. So can chocolate, in some people. No shit. Lack of sleep can cause headaches. So can monosodium glutamate (MSG) in Chinese takeout food. Grinding your teeth can cause headaches. So can wearing glasses with a prescription that is out of date.

Oh. And brain aneurysms can cause headaches, of course. But let's not go there.

In fact, there're four primary types of headaches with over 21 common causes. If you don't believe me, believe the New York Times.

My point here is that when diagnosing the cause of a headache, a dartboard or Ouija Board are as much use as any of the other tools in the medical arsenal. There're just so many things that can cause headaches, and headaches are so common, that it can be nearly impossible to ferret out the root cause. In fact, I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.

Cramps are sorta the same. They can be triggered, as you pointed out, by too much or too little exercise, too much or too little calcium, too much or too little magnesium, potassium, salt, and every vitamin in the book. Cramps can also be caused by some classes of medications, the statin family of cholesterol-lower drugs being the most notorious.

But the difference between headaches and cramps is that headaches are easier to treat. Take two Aspirin and call me in the morning. Cause doesn't really matter if all the sundry headaches respond to over-the-counter pain killers. On the other hand, not all cramps are created equal, and to successfully treat cramps you really need to figure out the cause and fix it, i.e. preempt the cramp before it happens.

So as to your question, Warren, does diabetes cause cramps? Yeah, probably so. But the method of action is a big fat question mark. Diabetes causes many of your body's normal checks and balances to get off kilter. And as you pointed out, being dehydrated is, in fact, one sure-fire cause of cramps, as seen in athletes; but diabetes doesn't cause dehydration (unless your blood sugar is very high). And in any case, tonic water wouldn't be required. Garden-variety tap water would be just as good. Maybe better.

To your second question: are there any real solutions? You bet! But you're going to have to invest some time. As there's no way to be sure if your cramps are caused by too little B-12 or too little magnesium you'll have to go on a lengthy quest to discover the root cause of your personal cramps. Yeah. Good old fashioned trial and error. So get out your dart board or your Ouija Board. Use it to pick one of the likely causes of cramps. Treat that cause for a few weeks and see if your cramps get better. If not, go on to the next most likely cause.

Now if you want to be a real scientist, once you think you found the cause, stop the treatment and see if the cramps come back. If so, quod erat demonstrandum -- meaning you found the cause.

That's your long-term therapy.

But to stop the pain immediately during an acute cramp attack, most people have good results hoping around on one foot, swearing, trying to massage the cramp and praying for a swift death. But, for what it's worth, I find the most successful "charley horse" remedy is two liquid calcium pills.

Sorry, I have no real science to offer on this one. My mother read about it somewhere and has sworn by it for years. I frequently get nasty cramps during sharp blood sugar excursions (the cause of which is no mystery: equal parts gluttony and stupidity in the kitchen) and, for me, popping a couple of calcium pills quickly resolves cramps. Of course, I still observe the hoping and swearing ritual, too. Just to be on the safe side.

Interestingly, both low calcium and low magnesium are believed to increase the "excitability" of nerve endings, one of the leading theories behind the biology of cramps in general. So maybe a shot of calcium mellows out the excited nerves again.

Oh, and one last dose of save-your-bacon myth busting: For many years the malaria drug quinine (also present in tonic water, interestingly) was believed to help nighttime leg cramps. Not anymore. It now carries a strong FDA warning against such use. Apparently science has never proved quinine worked for cramps, but it did prove that it could cause severe bleeding, kidney damage, irregular heartbeat, and stuff like death.

'Nuff said about that.

No quinine. Stick to the hopping and swearing.

This is not a medical advice column. We are PWDs freely and openly sharing the wisdom of our collected experiences — our been-there-done-that knowledge from the trenches. But we are not MDs, RNs, NPs, PAs, CDEs, or partridges in pear trees. Bottom line: we are only a small part of your total prescription. You still need the professional advice, treatment, and care of a licensed medical professional.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

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