u/Decent-Ability-4784

I am, and have been chronically constipated for years, probably decades. Average BM every 7-10 days and it’s not a complete BM at all. I have tried all the famous prescriptions without success. I’ve also dabbled in all the weird Amazon laxatives and of course the OTC options. I take 4-6 capfuls of MiraLAX daily, which at least helps me go more than 2-4x a month but I’m not moving mountains by any means.

That said, something this week has my GI system ANGRY. I have been in the bathroom 4-5x a day since Wednesday morning and I pray I’m not alone in LOVING when this happens. Like where do I sign up for chronic diarrhea? No new foods, no new meds, I generally feel fine (no stomach bug, which even when I’ve had that, it didn’t change much for me) so I don’t even know the cause but its amazing

I took my first 2.5 dose via multi-kwik last night at 8. Since then, I’ve posted thrice to this Reddit thread, one with HELP!!! in the title, googled the most absurd things, realized I gave myself a gnarly bruise and got a glimpse at the light at the end of the tunnel.

As of the right now, a persistent headache, increased thirst, and body aches are my primary side effects. I am fatigued but I also wake up at 3:30am everyday so it’s hard to say if it’s my week catching up to me or the medication. I’m cautiously optimistic this is “as bad” as it’ll get, but know that the first 3 days are the most telling, so it’s still early.

At about 9 this morning I had an aloha mini without issue or aversion. I remember thinking to myself, great, I’m going to need the max dose to notice anything. At 11:30, I said I should eat soon, prioritize some protein. At 12:45, I begrudgingly choked down the chickeny-est chicken, ever, and said, hmm, maybe it is working. Fast forward to 3:30, and now I’m wondering what people do when their thoughts and life don’t focus around their next meal. Like I have no interest in 5 after-work snacks, I’m not worried about what we’ll have for dinner. What do people do with all this friggin freedom? I feel like this is the quietest my mind has been.. since I was born? 🤣 I just ate a mini meat stick to make sure I was eating something small and sustainable every few hours and I’m sipping on a coconut water. I hope this is how the next few days stay, and the rest of my life because wow, this is incredible. That said, it is hard to resist the urge to just not eat. If you asked me 8, 12, 24 or 100 hours ago if I’d have to force myself to have a snack, I’d snort and laugh at you.

All in all, I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I’m sure I’ll be back in the depths of this sub soon with some dramatic question fueled by panic and hypochondria but if not, I’ll be here with another update and hopefully a success.

Cheers!

My friend doesn’t have Reddit so I offered to be the messenger. He recently applied for the above position (Employee Retirement System Examiner) in Albany and had a ton of questions I couldn’t answer so I’m hoping maybe you all can help fill in the blanks, sharing the good, bad, ugly. And yes, I’m aware some things can be answered in an interview but things aren’t always represented accurately, are deferred until onboarding and he wants to make an informed decision because he’s applying to a lot of open helps positions and also doesn’t want to learn the hard way if it’s not what he thought. Some hot topics: pay lag, union representation, work environment, opportunities for pay increase, common complaints, things to know if offered the interview or job, schedule flexibility, and telecommute opps.

I understand our current contract is up, however, can someone explain salary steps to me (pretend there is a valid contract) so I know what I should’ve expected or could expect in the future. I just don’t quite get it.

Hired trainee July 2023
Became grade 18 July 2025
One year in grade would be July 2026

It sounds like in theory I would’ve got a salary change in October? Is that correct and would it have been the advance amount or job rate advance amount?

TYIA

I got an email with my trade-in label link however when I click the link and the information auto populates, it says that a trade not exist. I’ve tried to call Spectrum, they said to call Assurant, I called them three times and cannot get a person or any help. How the heck do I get my label?