#shortage in medicines

[indizombie]

Hospitals in Aleppo do not have enough room for new patients in the wake of last week's devastating earthquake, a doctor in the Syrian city said. At the Al-Razi Hospital there are too many beds to fit into the wards. They reach end-to-end through corridors and into the chilly courtyard. "We weren't able to discharge patients from the hospitals even after treating them. The city is damaged and there are no places for them to go," said Dr Nizar Suleiman, the head of orthopaedics. "Huge numbers of patients came in a short period of time. We have a huge shortage in medicines, so it's really worrying. For example, we suffer from a lack of medical equipment to treat fractures. We already suffer from this shortage because of the crisis, and the siege [sanctions] make it worse." More than 4,400 deaths and 7,600 injuries have been reported in north-western Syria since a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck neighbouring southern Turkey on 6 February, according to the UN.

‘Syria earthquake: Aleppo hospitals overwhelmed by victims’, BBC

[halorvic]

The danger is clear and present: COVID isn’t merely a respiratory illness; it’s a multi-dimensional threat impacting brain function, attacking almost all of the body’s organs, producing elevated risks of all kinds, and weakening our ability to fight off other diseases. Reinfections are thought to produce cumulative risks, and Long COVID is on the rise. Unfortunately, Long COVID is now being considered a long-term chronic illness — something many people will never fully recover from. Dr. Phillip Alvelda, a former program manager in DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office that pioneered the synthetic biology industry and the development of mRNA vaccine technology, is the founder of Medio Labs, a COVID diagnostic testing company. He has stepped forward as a strong critic of government COVID management, accusing health agencies of inadequacy and even deception. Alvelda is pushing for accountability and immediate action to tackle Long COVID and fend off future pandemics with stronger public health strategies. Contrary to public belief, he warns, COVID is not like the flu. New variants evolve much faster, making annual shots inadequate. He believes that if things continue as they are, with new COVID variants emerging and reinfections happening rapidly, the majority of Americans may eventually grapple with some form of Long COVID. Let’s repeat that: At the current rate of infection, most Americans may get Long COVID.

[...]

LP: A recent JAMA study found that US adults with Long COVID are more prone to depression and anxiety – and they’re struggling to afford treatment. Given the virus’s impact on the brain, I guess the link to mental health issues isn’t surprising. PA: There are all kinds of weird things going on that could be related to COVID’s cognitive effects. I’ll give you an example. We’ve noticed since the start of the pandemic that accidents are increasing. A report published by TRIP, a transportation research nonprofit, found that traffic fatalities in California increased by 22% from 2019 to 2022. They also found the likelihood of being killed in a traffic crash increased by 28% over that period. Other data, like studies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, came to similar conclusions, reporting that traffic fatalities hit a 16-year high across the country in 2021. The TRIP report also looked at traffic fatalities on a national level and found that traffic fatalities increased by 19%. LP: What role might COVID play? PA: Research points to the various ways COVID attacks the brain. Some people who have been infected have suffered motor control damage, and that could be a factor in car crashes. News is beginning to emerge about other ways COVID impacts driving. For example, in Ireland, a driver’s COVID-related brain fog was linked to a crash that killed an elderly couple. Damage from COVID could be affecting people who are flying our planes, too. We’ve had pilots that had to quit because they couldn’t control the airplanes anymore. We know that medical events among U.S. military pilots were shown to have risen over 1,700% from 2019 to 2022, which the Pentagon attributes to the virus.

[...]

LP: You’ve criticized the track record of the CDC and the WHO – particularly their stubborn denial that COVID is airborne. PA: They knew the dangers of airborne transmission but refused to admit it for too long. They were warned repeatedly by scientists who studied aerosols. They instituted protections for themselves and for their kids against airborne transmission, but they didn’t tell the rest of us to do that.

[...]

LP: How would you grade Biden on how he’s handled the pandemic? PA: I’d give him an F. In some ways, he fails worse than Trump because more people have actually died from COVID on his watch than on Trump’s, though blame has to be shared with Republican governors and legislators who picked ideological fights opposing things like responsible masking, testing, vaccination, and ventilation improvements for partisan reasons. Biden’s administration has continued to promote the false idea that the vaccine is all that is needed, perpetuating the notion that the pandemic is over and you don’t need to do anything about it. Biden stopped the funding for surveillance and he stopped the funding for renewing vaccine advancement research. Trump allowed 400,000 people to die unnecessarily. The Biden administration policies have allowed more than 800,000 to 900,000 and counting.

[...]

LP: The situation with bird flu is certainly getting more concerning with the CDC confirming that a third person in the U.S. has tested positive after being exposed to infected cows. PA: Unfortunately, we’re repeating many of the same mistakes because we now know that the bird flu has made the jump to several species. The most important one now, of course, is the dairy cows. The dairy farmers have been refusing to let the government come in and inspect and test the cows. A team from Ohio State tested milk from a supermarket and found that 50% of the milk they tested was positive for bird flu viral particles.

[...]

PA: There’s a serious risk now in allowing the virus to freely evolve within the cow population. Each cow acts as a breeding ground for countless genetic mutations, potentially leading to strains capable of jumping to other species. If any of those countless genetic experiments within each cow prove successful in developing a strain transmissible to humans, we could face another pandemic – only this one could have a 58% death rate. Did you see the movie “Contagion?” It was remarkably accurate in its apocalyptic nature. And that virus only had a 20% death rate. If the bird flu makes the jump to human-to-human transition with even half of its current lethality, that would be disastrous.

[spooniestrong]

Large and Random (?) Drug Shortages! There is apparently an FDA site you can search:

Been hearing about this a little bit for a few weeks, has previously only heard of it related to ADHD and Pain meds. Apparently it's more than that?

When you search for yours, check the specifics. I checked one of mine and it says discontinued but it's at a lower dose and seems to only be from one pharmaceutical company. I haven't heard anything about it being discontinued as a whole and I think I would have...

I checked another that's on that list and I get nothing back of it being in a shortage. So, you know, it's the FDA. They're only semi-helpful...

[infestedguest]

I wish all neurotypicals who take adderall recreationally a very go fuck yourself.

I don’t have a problem with you getting high, I have a problem with you getting high off the highly restricted medication I need to take every single day of my life just to function, especially now when we are in the middle of a nationwide shortage. You are literally taking resources from the disabled. You are also making it more difficult for disabled people to access those resources in the future. You are the reason I have to keep all my medications in a lock box. Go fuck yourself.

[seytazen]

🌹🌹🌹🌹

This is so late but dammit life has been rough lately I hope you can forgive me but here's an Earthspark ficlet for ya.

Optimus tapped a digit on the desk, staring at the data form waiting for him to read, fill out, and file it. He glanced at his chronometer mentally noting he had been at this for about an hour now… and not even the first question was done. 

Tap tap tap tap tap. 

This form was a field report for GHOST, he told himself. Therefore important. This report was already late, so it’s a priority now. Either way it must be done. He shifted in his seat, leaning forwards to get a closer look at the sentence.

Why couldn’t his processor just process the information? He knew how to read in English, so why are these English words registering as gibberish? He fidgeted with the stylus in his hand trying to keep his mind off of the terrible helmache brewing. He was also so tired… he hadn’t actually gotten any recharge in- 42 hours? 

His optics glanced over to the other parts of his paperwork he had not gotten to yet. The large messy stack that took up a terribly large portion on his desk contained the various unread reports, to do paperwork, receipt copies covered with sticky notes, empty reusable energon cubes, and an empty orange prescription bottle. 

Right… that was why. 

He shook his helm. He couldn’t dwell on that too much, Ratchet said there was a shortage of the compounds he needed, but there was a shipment on the way. He just needed to hold out for another week. 

Mind over matter…

Tap tap tap tap. 

Oh come on, he had done this sort of stuff before. He just had worked through all sorts of things… a helmache and a little fatigue? It should be a walk in the park. He scratched behind his audio with another loud sigh. There's a million things he’d rather be doing right now… basketball sounded like fun. Maybe Elita would be free for a one on one- NO. 

No no no. 

Important paperwork first.  

Important very late paperwork first.

Focus. 

He flipped the stylus he was holding around in his right servo. He could do this, it was just a field report… Question one. 

Question one… 

Question…one. 

He fiddled absentmindedly with the stylus in his servo. He sure had a lot of paperwork to do today. He had been terrible about letting it pile up this past week. And he knew that he had to have it finished if he wanted to watch the Lakers Game on Thursday. He still had the budget to do for this quarter, several reports from Megatron and Elita to read, Prowl’s patrol schedule for everyone needed to be confirmed, he still had this field report and the other three to do too for Executive Agent Croft, Agent Schloder had a few wordy reports in here as well.

 There were also Arcee’s reports to read and file…

 It’s been a little while since he checked up on Bumblebee too-and then the Terrans training needed to be checked up on. Dottie had mentioned something about them. What was it again? Right- he had been meaning to visit and Nightshade was rather curious about Cybertronian history and he still had a few textbooks laying around his quarters that he could loan out. Anything to keep Cybertron’s history alive and breathing right? Now that he thought about it, where did he put those? He knew they were in his quarters somewhere-but where? He really ought to clean his room sometime soon- he was certain that he was the main culprit of the missing cubes from the recreation room. He didn’t even know how many he had accidentally hoarded away, but Jazz was getting very persistent with the base wide emails asking- no pleading for them to be returned. Prowl wouldn’t be very happy if he had to give in and order some more to keep the rest of the autobots fueled. He should set a reminder to do that right now on his comm- oh right- he turned his comm off and he also couldn’t use the internet in his office right now- the router was unplugged. Well it was kind of important that he get a reminder on his comm about the missing reusable cubes, otherwise he would forget about it and then he would feel worse the next time he checked his emails and found another base wide demand for people to return the cubes when they were done with them. Speaking of emails, he should give his inbox a glance while he had his comm on-

Wait, now he was off track again. 

Scrap. 

He rubbed at his optics tiredly. His helm ached and he could go for a quick powerdown… after he does at least half of this paperwork because he wanted to go to the game on Thursday. Where was that ticking noise coming from? Right right- Earth clocks make noise because they have mechanisms that keep the time. There was one on the wall. How had he wasted another 20 minutes staring at this datapad?? 

Tap tap tap. 

He narrowed his optics to it. Earth time was a lot faster than Cybertronian time, and it was dwindling away in front of him. He leaned against the back of the chair glaring down at the datapad again. 

These were his responsibility. People needed him to get his paperwork in. And they needed it like yesterday. There were no excuses for a Prime being so lazy, so he just needed to get it done. 

He stayed right where he was. It was like he was stuck…He glanced over at his comm’s full inbox blinking in his peripheral. He needed to do something about that, there was no telling how many messages he had missed while he sat here struggling to do anything about the massive pile of work he had neglected. Oh, there were a few missed calls from Bumblebee here too… maybe he should check up on him, it must be somewhat urgent if he’s calling- wait no! He was doing it again! He had turned off his comm specifically so he wouldn’t get distracted with a call or emails or TikTok videos! These papers were urgent too, and if Bumblebee needed something Elita and Megatron were both available to back him up. 

He slumped over, putting his helm in his folded arms with a groan.

It was time to stop messing around. Stop procrastinating, and just do it. He had to. He had to. He had to… 

Do it. Do it. Do it, do it, do it. DO IT NOW. 

…

This was pointless…

Maybe a walk would help get his helm in order.

Optimus stood up slowly and walked to his office door in defeat, once again guiltily leaving the pile of paperwork behind him. Just 15 minutes. 15 minutes and he would try again. He had to, there was too much to do for him to not get anything accomplished again. 

He shut the door behind him quietly as he looked back and forth down the empty hallway. He turned to walk down the hallway. Base was pretty much a long rectangle if you took the halls around the long way. Just to get some energon flowing, he’d take a quick walk and then go back to doing paperwork. 

He paced down the hallway, letting his mind wander a little bit, but still watching for humans underfoot. 

“OP! There you are, I was hoping I’d catch you,” a familiar voice called from behind him, the footsteps quickening to catch up to him.  He froze in his steps before slowly turning around in dread.

Please don’t have another report. 

“Elita,” he greeted back watching the pink femme walk up to him with a datapad in hand. He hoped that wasn’t what he was assuming it was… “What can I do for you?” 

“Glad you asked,” she replied, holding the datapad out. He grimaced behind his mask, taking it from her servo. She continued to speak, “Saw the Do not Disturb sign so I held off, but hey, since I ran into you might as well give it to you. Getting all caught up?” She elbowed him gently. 

He thought about telling her briefly. He really did. But if he admitted he was so far behind she would be appalled and ask why- and then he would have to explain why he couldn’t focus on measly data work, and that would lead to him trying to explain the disorder he had, and THAT would lead to her asking all sorts of questions about how he can want to do something but somehow can’t do it, and he didn’t have the time or the patience.

He didn’t want to be shamed for this, he was already ashamed of this problem as it was and that she knew he was behind in the first place. 

“Um. Yes! Yes, I am,” he replied with a stiff nod, keeping a forced smile on his face. He was practically gritting his teeth. He didn’t care about lying, he really didn’t, but he didn’t want to make excuses for a hole he dug for himself. “Nothing quite like getting caught up on paperwork! I’ve just been churning them out, one right after the other!” He chuckled, hoping deeply she would buy it. “Just taking a little bit of a break and then I’ll get right back to work on them. Should be done really soon… Yes, another report should be no issue. Thank you, Elita.” 

“Yeah, no problem! Keep up the good work, yeah? I’ll let you get back to your break,” she smiled, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. “I’m hitting the gym. See ya at the watch party OP! Go Lakers!” She called as she jogged away. 

He waved to her even as she disappeared around a corner. He slumped where he stood once she was completely out of view looking down at the training report he was just handed. The watch party… if he didn’t finish his paperwork he wouldn’t be permitted to go. And he had been looking forward to this game. He sighed, shaking his helm. What was one more anyway? He slowly turned back around and continued to walk. 

He turned another corner through the hallways, holding the datapad from Elita in one hand as he let his thoughts wander as he walked. There was a soft tapping on his shoulder. He turned to see what it could be. He felt more weight settled on top of the report he was already holding. His optics widened a little bit, turning back to look down at his hands. He blinked, finding another two sitting on top of Elita’s newest report. 

“Turning in my scouting reports! Thanks Optimus!” Arcee’s voice called from behind him. He wrenched his helm back behind him, watching her frame disappear around the corner he had just turned. 

He sighed softly, turning back to stare harshly at the total of three new reports in his servos. “No problem…” he muttered. 

…

He completed the loop around the base he had meant to walk, he still had zero interest in doing any of the work already piled on his desk, and he had somehow accumulated 7 more datapads to do. 

There was an unpleasant pressure in his chest as he dropped them roughly on top of the pile. How frustrating- he just wanted to throw them all against the wall! He stared at the mess every passing second rage gathering in his spark. He could identify at least 65 different tasks he could do, and yet he couldn’t pinpoint on a single one to start on! 

He stared harder, clenching his fists.

Annoyance/Frustration/Overwhelmed colored his field.  

This was officially a breaking point. There was too much of it and he was sick of looking at it. 

The only way there was to get it out of his sight was to do it. 

He could do this. 

All he had to do was start. 

Just one at a time.  

Knock knock knock. 

Dammit, not now! 

Knock knock knock.

He slowly turned to stare at the door. He could pretend he wasn’t here… 

Knock knock knock 

“Optimus? It’s Megatron. I know you’re in there!” He called through the door. 

Optimus felt his optic twitch. So much for that idea. Begrudgingly, he opened the door a little bit. “What can I do for you, Megatron?” He asked, trying not to sound annoyed, but he knew he had failed when Megatron took a small step back.  

Megatron gave him a small sheepish smile. “So how are the reports going?” 

His optic twitched as he took a slow vent in. “…good. They’re going good,” he replied stiffly, not breaking optic contact with Megatron. 

“Great! That’s great, So you won't mind if I hand you a few more?” He asked, pulling another three datapads from behind his back. 

Optimus felt like he was on the verge of glitching. He took a deep intake staring at the additional three reports. 

On top of the mess. 

Frustration was rapidly building. 

“Yes. I can definitely take those. That will not be a problem at all,” he replied, reaching out and trying to take them. 

He must not be doing a good job at masking his building anxiety because Megatron gave him a look and pulled the pads back out of his reach. He frowned, raising an eyebrow. “Are you…sure?” 

Optimus hesitated. He must have had a tone. He straightened up a little bit, speaking slowly and reminding himself that this was his fault- not Megatron’s. “Yes. I’m sure,” he sighed. “Sorry, I’m just a little tired is all.” 

Megatron slowly tried to look over his shoulder and Optimus quickly sidestepped to block his view of the messy office. Megatron narrowed his optics just a little bit. “Optimus, are you absolutely sure you’re okay taking these now? I can always bring them back later if you aren’t caught up-“ 

“I am caught up! I am. I’ve got it under control. So I’ll just take these now,” he replied, panic seeping into his voice. He couldn’t let Megatron figure out he was drowning in procrastination! Elita finding out was doable, but Megatron would certainly judge him. “It’s no issue! I assure you.” 

Megatron seemed to hesitate, looking at Optimus critically. “You just seem kind of… jittery. You know, if you’re having trouble catching up…” Optimus narrowed his optics a little bit, beginning to grow rather short tempered all of a sudden.

“I’m not having any trouble catching up-“ Optimus replied in a low warning tone. 

“All I’m saying is if you need a little help-“

“Megatron, I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about. I am on top of it. I do not need help and I am perfectly capable of datawork so why don’t you just hand over the reports!” He snapped, exasperated by Megatron’s concern. 

A low whistle from behind him caught his attention. “Wow… quite the stack there, huh?” 

His spark sank rather quickly. He knew Dottie was standing by his desk. Shame was burning through him as he turned around to face her. “Lieutenant Malto…”

Dottie chuckled. “I was starting to wonder why my paperwork is still pending…” 

Megatron stepped inside the office now that Optimus had been found out and was no longer focused on keeping him out. . “Yikes… and I thought I was terrible with paperwork,” he teased. A part of Optimus knew it was meant to be in good nature, but it tugged at him. 

“Usually I’m not this terrible with it…” he replied softly, shutting the door behind Megatron and watching Dottie scale the side of his desk. “Trust me, no one is more frustrated with this mess than I am. If I could I would, but I just… can’t. 

“So what’s going on then, Big Rig?” Dot asked as she searched for another crevasse to further her climb up.  

Megatron strolled over to the side of the desk to give Dot a boost. The orange bottle caught his optics. He sat Dot down and slowly picked it up. 

Optimus visibly bristled at it averting his optics. 

Dottie looked between Optimus and the empty bottle Megatron held. “I assume it has something to do with that?” She asked, crossing her arms. 

Megatron gave him that concerned look he had practically mastered over the last 15 years. 

The one that merely said ‘spill it.’ 

No point in hiding it now…

He sighed heavily leaning against the door and folding his arms. He looked down at the floor. “…I’ve always had trouble doing desk work,” he said, shaking his helm. “It’s boring and monotonous and I sit down to do them, and I get… stuck… I-I know it sounds strange. I want to sit down, focus, and finish my paperwork, but I can’t do it.” 

“Can you elaborate on that?” Dottie asked crossing her arms and looking up and down the piles that towards precariously around her. 

Optimus looked back up at the orange bottle Megatron was holding. “It’s not that I don’t want to do it… it’s like my mind won’t let me. I’ll get distracted with thinking about all the other tasks I need to do, or I’ll try to focus on what is in front of me suddenly I’m unable to comprehend any data input I observe, or I’ll set it down for two minutes and accidentally forget I was supposed to do it in the first place, or its something ridiculous- like the sound of electricity or air conditioning drowns out my thoughts. I talked to Ratchet about it years ago, and after I talked to Ratchet I went through a series of tests and he diagnosed me with this uncommon computing disorder. It’s a little bizarre and it sounds like I just don’t want to do it, I know, but It really does render me unable to ‘regulate my attention.’ Ratchet makes this medication for me to help fix it. I don’t know everything that’s in it, but I do know when I take it, it helps me feel much better… I’m able to focus, I feel more in control, and I don’t forget things as often,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“So… why is this bottle empty then?” Megatron asked, shaking it gently to illustrate his point. “Why not go get more medicine from Ratchet?” 

Optimus sighed, rubbing a servo down his face. “Ratchet can’t refill my prescription right now. He doesn’t have the components he needs to make it…” 

Megatron let out a quiet “oh.” Dottie walked over the edge of the desk and sat, her legs dangling. “Sounds a lot like something humans have sometimes. We call it ADHD. It’s actually pretty common on Earth. How long have you been without your meds OP?” 

“What day of the week is it?” He asked frowning, trying to remember. “Tuesday.” 

Optimus recounted the days. “A week ago?” 

“Bots have something called withdrawal, Megs?” Dottie asked, looking over at the former decepticon. “You know, you stop taking something and you get jittery and you start feeling a little sick?” 

Megatron gave a firm nod. “We do. It’s not fun,” he said, shaking his helm. “And that certainly explains why you look like you haven’t recharged in a good while.” 

Optimus sighed faintly letting himself slide down against the door to sit on the floor, his field still buzzing with distress. He felt pressure beginning to build behind his optics. He felt horribly small in that moment- Optimus Prime defeated by mounds of datapads and sticky notes- that was a line for the history books. He pulled his knees to his chest staring at the floor. “I want to get it over and done with- but all I can think about is how badly I want to sleep and how much my helm aches, and the fact that Prowl is going to end me if he ever finds out about how many cubes I’ve forgotten to return, and how deeply embarrassing it is that I’m still a week and a half behind on data work after I’ve taken every precaution to limit distractions, and I’m never going to catch up ever let alone by Thursday evening because my CPU doesn’t work right.” 

“Why is Thursday the deadline?” Dottie asked, tilting her head. “The basketball Game,” Megatron replied, all too familiar with Optimus’s love of the Earth custom. “The game is televised on Thursday night and there’s a watch party. He wants to go, but obviously if Croft or Schoder or Primus forbid- Prowl catches him doing extracurriculars while he’s this far behind on paperwork- they aren’t going to be happy.” 

Optimus nodded with a heavy sigh. “There’s 78 datapads on that desk. I’ve completed 3 of them in 10 days. If I want to watch the game with everyone else then I need to complete at least 26 of them today, 26 tomorrow, and 26 before 6 o’clock on Thursday.” 

Megatron hummed thoughtfully before he sat down in Optimus’s office chair looking down at the report sitting open and ready to be filled out. “A week ago, you engaged a rogue decepticon during your scheduled patrol, right?” 

Optimus frowned, recalling that afternoon. “Yes.” “Out of curiosity- what happened?” Megatron asked, picking up a stylus. “I was patrolling the Southeast quadrant of my route during the morning and I came across a trail of muddy footprints that were far too large to be anything other than a cybertronian’s, so I followed them through a clearing in the tree line. I found and identified Hook, a known Decepticon Medic. I confirmed my suspicions that he was alone then I cornered him and asked him to comply and told him I was arresting him. He resisted, there was a short exchange of blaster fire, I temporarily stunned him with a good shot that landed on his shoulder, I overpowered him and he submitted. He was taken back to base loaded in my trailer.” 

There was a beat of silence and the sound of a pen scribbling away. He blinked slowly looking up from the floor and at Megatron. It was only a moment more before the datapad he was writing away at was tossed in his “finished” basket. 

Optimus watched as he grabbed the next datapad off the pile. 

“Megatron,” he said, frowning. “You really don’t have to do my paperwork for me. It’s my responsibility not yours…I’ll just not go to the watch party- it’s fine.” 

He clenched his fists, willing himself to not sound quite so upset about it, because it was just a game- but still. 

“I’m not doing your paperwork for you,” he said looking up from the datapad. “You’re telling me what to write. I’m just moving my hand accordingly, Prime.” 

They locked optics for a moment, Optimus’s confused and Megatron’s sympathetic. “Why are you helping me with this?” He asked, sounding far smaller than he ever would admit. “I’m sure you’d rather spend your off time doing anything else.” 

Megatron gave a small shrug, a ghost of a smile tugging on the corner of his mouth. “Maybe I want my fraggin paperwork processed. And I guess, maybe I also know what it's like drowning in crap you have to get done when it feels pretty damn hard to function and I’ve got some sympathy hidden away in my spark for your sorry backside, Prime.” 

“But-” 

“But nothin!” Megatron interrupted, pointing the stylus at Optimus. “Let’s just get these blasted datapads where they belong, hmmm? If you feel that bad then you can thank me by owing me a favor later.” 

Optimus paused in his half formed protest and slowly smiled at Megatron. “Fine, then.” he sighed, letting one leg stretch out in front of him. “Let’s hear the next one…” 

-end

[o-wyrmlight]

Some people would say 'I'm so fucking normal right now' about having crushes or obsessing over fandoms

I'm the kind of people who says 'I'm so fucking normal right now' because I'm stressing over the possibility of committing to enrollment in a trade school

[felikatze]

i think the peak pharmaceutical shortage is when i checked the bfarm database for a specific medication and it told me the shortage would end may 2025. and i found this out while on the phone with a patient.

i'm just staring in disbelief at the screen. and the problem is i actually believe it because i haven't been able to buy that anywhere for the past Entire Year

[wethecelestial]

medical dramas need to STOP romanticizing trauma surgery and emergency med and critical care and START romanticizing having the same pcp for a decade

[the-trans-dragon]

It’s a lovely morning to peek at your prescriptions and see when they need to be refilled, and how many more refills you have 💜💜💜💜💜

[artsyaprilmr]

Alert legislators to send emergency aid to Artsakh!

(US Citizens)

You can contact the Congress members just in a few clicks: texts for e-mails and phone calls are pre-written! You only need to send them out/call. Please, take your time to help 120.000 people in Artsakh that are currently under blockade organized by fascist dictatorship of Azerbaijan.

[crazy-lazy-elder-sims]

me crunching on ice while reading about the symptoms of iron deficiency anemia ( which i have severely)

the website:

iron deficiency causes Unusual cravings for non-nutritive substances, such as ice

*side eyes the cup of ice im enjoining rn*

and it also cases extreme dizziness or lightheadedness

*i suddenly get so dizzy and blackout for 1 second i actually fall off my chair*

me getting up: yeah checks out

[dilfsisko]

Every person without diabetes using ozempic/semaglutide to lose weight owes 500 fucking dollars

[wizardlyghost]

can i just say that the fact that the pharmacist can't give me a lower dosage of my meds in the case of my proper dosage being unavailable is bullshit. like. your patient is prescribed 60mg of this medication daily, there are no 60mg tablets in stock, is it better to substitute it with a) 50mg daily or b) 0mg daily. come on.

[brechtian]

with that said I would take the stomach explosions back in a heartbeat if it meant my prescription got refilled today I miss my 20mg of dexmethylphenidate so bad she is my guardian angel babygirl please come back please. ill do anything

[neep-neep-neep]

celebrating small chores...did a load of laundry and folded and put it away...cleared on top of my dresser...hate adhd so much...but if i pretend i didn’t do anything it’s woooorrrseeee

[thestudentfarmer]

Hello hello!

No garden post today, but I wanted to share some things I'm doing in the kitchen. After all, if the gardens producing then I need to be able to use and preserve things 🌱 as well, One of the things I've been learning along my sustainable/eco-journey is how to make food stretch better for my family. I like to think I've been pretty good at that over the years but with learning to grow my own crops as well as inflation hikes, i wanted to learn more.

This week I was researching ways to use up watermelons entirely. Surprisingly enough, I found that the rind and the skin are edible as well!

Usually I give what we don't eat to the chickens (the rind/green part) as a way to give them extra feed sources and to reduce my homes green/kitchen waste going out. Im not worried about them missing out though, With the way we eat watermelon they will still certainly still be able to enjoy the bounty melons provide.

This time I'm trying out some food use from a tiktok I found while doom scrolling the other day. The user morocooks, shared a video with uses of watermelon. This included a recipe on making watermelon rind kimchi. Now I enjoy myself some kimchii, it's good for the gut, delicious in soups, stir fry, as is and even blended into bbq sauce. But I've never tried kinchi that wasn't cabbage or onion. I've also never made it before either, so this will be a first on a few levels!

I didn't take a picture of the watermelon, but imagine a big watermelon 😉 to start I used salt and water to scrub down the exterior pretty well and gave it a good rinse after.

I peeled, sliced and cut the melon up. The flesh went in the fridge for dessert and snacks over the next few days and then came the usual waste/chicken scraps. The rind and the skin.

I peeled the skinoff, discarding the funky spots in the scrap bucket and then blended the watermelon skin with some water till smooth to make cubes for smoothie additives.

A lil online slouthing showed that Watermelon peels are low in calories, but are rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, potassium and zinc. And everyone can always use some more vitamins~

So far ive been mixing the melonskin w/ plain Greek yogurt, and some frozen fruit.

I did not blend the skins smooth enough, so definatly be sure their smoooooth! Or there's going to be a bit of texture that while I can get through, might be off putting for others.

The rind, cut up and salting.

A little internet slouthing says that Watermelon rind has high amounts of vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, potassium and zinc. Watermelon rind is also rich in nutrients with chlorophyll, citrulline, lycopene, amino acids and flavonoids, phenolic compounds and fiber.

I also found out some folks use the rind in stirfrys???? I am going to give a try with the next batch! I admit possible curiosity as to wanting to attempt a 'sloppy joe' with watermelon rind too.

The sauce/seasoning.

All mixed and ready for the fridge! I did add some ribboned carrots and sliced white onion. (Leftovers from meal prep this week)

Admittingly I've never had fresh or varied veggies for kimchi before, so I'm not sure if this will get a similar taste profile. So far (day 3) it smells pretty good. The taste is a bit, different. I expected that, and look forward to seeing the flavor develop.

A few other things I did over the last few days was to freeze up some blueberries while their in season at the market.

I like to wash them up (cold water and baking soda ratio is 2 c water to 1 teaspoon baking soda. Let set 15 minutes. Stir every 5 gently. Rinse well.)

Dry them out on a towel on a baking sheet, then freeze them. Usually overnight.

when frozen pull up towel and funnel into freezer safe containers. I use a ziplock bag, but will reuse them till the bag is basically useless. Though when I'm able to I want to switch to a silicone bag or freezer glass.

I did the same as well with starberries (though I like to slice them into quarters for easier use later!) And cherries. (Pit them before freezing.) If I had thought about it I would have made some cherry pit vinegar for sauce, but due to time restraints I was just trying to move along quickly.

Today I'm cooking up some spaghetti squash for the freezer for quick meals s well. That's not done yet, but perhaps later I'll do a seperate post for that alone if anyone interested. :)

I hear the oven, so for now i'll have to head off-

🌱🍉Happy homesteading and sustainable journeys! 🍉🌱