Last summer, eczema on my face flared up terribly and was so bad that my dermatologist suspected Lupus (it wasn’t). It calmed down over the course of the year, and now is getting terrible again as the weather is warmer. I’ve noticed it flares up particularly after I’ve been outside, even while wearing a hat and/or serious sunscreen. The issue seems to be most prominent on my face with some moderate flaring elsewhere. Any thoughts on why this might be? I thought sun, but the hat isn’t helping.

Hi Folks: I have to take Doxycycline daily for an autoimmune disorder and it's making me really sun sensitive. Aside from wearing a giant hat all the time, I'm looking for really great sunscreen that isn't going to make my face white. I'd like to wear makeup over it sometimes too. I have done really well with Korean skincare, but these days, I'm still starting to burn. I've heard sunscreens in the EU are pretty great as well. What do you folks recommend? Extra credit for sunscreen I can wear on my hands. This is now a problem too. Apparently getting sunburned and sun-rash on the hands is a thing with Doxy. Ugh. TIA!

Hi Folks: I have to take Doxycycline daily for an autoimmune disorder and it's making me really sun sensitive. Aside from wearing a giant hat all the time, I'm looking for really great sunscreen that isn't going to make my face white. I'd like to wear makeup over it sometimes too. I have done really well with Korean skincare, but these days, I'm still starting to burn. I've heard sunscreens in the EU are pretty great as well. What do you folks recommend? Extra credit for sunscreen I can wear on my hands. This is now a problem too. Apparently getting sunburned and sun-rash on the hands is a thing with Doxy. Ugh. TIA!

Like many of you, on top of my Lyme, I have other chronic infections. My doc is nice but not very proactive about my progressing symptoms.
I am looking for a Lyme doc, and know that I only have Lyme (no co-infections) as well as: POTS, PCOS, Candida, EBV and potential hEDS (I disagree with my diagnosis).
My question is… has anyone else successfully been able to treat themselves of an unknown chronic infection? I tried a month of Doxycycline & a 9 day supply of fluconazole (for Lyme and Candida) and feel 0 difference.
My two main symptoms that are worsening are : swollen lymph nodes (one in neck in several in inguinal line) & petechiae covering my arms, torso, and neck.
I have had every blood test under the sun, and no doctor can tell me what this specific chronic infection is, and how to treat it!
Any herb/supplement recs?
** I know I still have to treat Lyme separately, but these worsening symptoms are freaking me out.

For some context, my long term bf and I (both 37) and our teen girls (12 and 13) live with his aunt, uncle, and 2 cousins. The two cousins are over 18, the adults in their 50s, I think.
Now the house is fine. We have 6 bedrooms, and two living rooms. Each family has its own bathroom. The house is huge but that's the problem.
I have been sick for over a year. The more we go into testing the more it's looking like it is Lupus. Summer is the worst for me. I can't be in the sun I run fevers every day. My body hurts, I break down in tears from the pain. I have kidney problems and have to have surgery next month. I see a total of 5 different specialist at the moment.
Yet no one from their unit of 4 does a fucking thing. They don't clean up after themselves. Leave trash on the counters. Trash cans overflowing. They don't help do dishes. They refuse to mow the grass or help with the yard. I have to clean the wood floors to pick up all the dog hair from dogs that I don't own. The carpet in our upstairs hallway is ruined because they don't let their dogs out. I am not able to take care of 8 fucking people. And I have to. They cook, trash the kitchen, and then leave it for me or my girls to clean up.
I've tried just not doing anything.. and it just piles up and then I end up having even more to catch up on. I'm mentally exhausted and I feel so disrespected daily. They have zero reason that they can't help, except sheer laziness. I have been dealing with massive depression anyways because I'm watching my body turn from a fit active person, to destroying itself daily. And this just feels so gross.. I don't expect people to do everything for me just because I'm sick. But damn, I'm literally struggling to make it up the stairs some days and your adult son can't mow the fucking grass once a week? Sun makes me sicker, but fuck her.. she can mow it. Am I really being so unreasonable to expect help?
No matter how much we bring it up, or argue about it, it changes nothing and I'm at my end of the rope. In my head I've considered throwing every pot, pan, and dish away. Can't force me to clean for you when there's no fucking cookware...
The reality is that we need to leave and get our own place, we just can't afford it. So for now.. I guess I'm the welcome mat, come walk all the fuck over me.

I was initially diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis about two years ago, even though the rheum suspected SLE. At the time I had one positive ANA years before and since then all the others were negative, hence the seronegtive RA diagnosis. Rhuem said it didn’t matter as treatment is very similaidentical. I have been on the RA subreddit but didn’t feel like I had a lot of the same issues. Joints are fine apart from pain, but had the constant migraines,gastrointestinal stuff (that landed me in hospital) malar rash, sun making me sick, hair loss etc that was more consistent with lupus. Anyway I have been sick AF for months, malar rash that won’t go away (confirmed by derm and rheumatologist), positive ANA and disease activity on the bloods. Anyway my main question is, those of you that were previously diagnosed with RA or similar autoimmune diseases, did anything change once your diagnosis was updated? I’ve been on plaquenil and Imuran for years now and there’s talk of some more extensive tests now and an increase in plaquenil dose.
Thanks

30 y/o healthy female. Healthcare professional. 5'3'' and 115lbs. No medical conditions, recreational drugs, and very little alcohol (1-2 drinks per month). Located in Canada.
These are going to sound like very random facts but bear with me.
I started a course of doxycycline 100mg twice daily on Thursday for a flare up of perioral dermatitis. Yesterday, I participated in an acupuncture course where we needled between the spinous processes of C7 and T1, among other places.
At lunch, I sat in the sun for about 10 minutes with my skin covered by clothes and a hat on, but no sunblock. The only exposed skin was my hands.
About 2 hours after my PM dose of doxy (taken with a meal), I got extremely nauseous I threw up, but the nausea didn't go away. I noticed that the tops of my hands were burning like a sunburn. I took a shower and noted the that area was extremely sensitive to the heat of the water.
I assumed I'd burnt my hands due to increased photo sensitivity from the doxy and that the nausea was from my PM dose, albeit a bit delayed. However, this morning I went for a walk and noticed pins and needles to the same area. When I stopped walking, the pins and needles stopped.
Since then no redness or signs of skin irritation have developed. The pins and needles continue to only be present when walking, and now the tops of my feet have pins and needles as well. It's now going on about 24 hours since the burning started with no sign of it letting up.
Is this a weird doxy reaction? Is there some tiny one in a million chance that needling my C7/T1 interspinous space somehow had an effect on my spinal cord?
I'm really not concerned that it's something serious, more so very interested to make sense of this as a healthcare professional. I've stopped the doxy to be safe.

I have very fair skin, and I was told to avoid direct sunlight especially between 11am-3pm.
My question is regarding indirect sun exposure.
I like to sit on my lower deck for hours at a time and watch the lake. This puts me in the shade provided by the upper deck, but I still cast a shadow from indirect sunlight.
Is prolonged exposure to sunlight reflected off of trees, houses, and the lake a risk to me?
Current meds are Doxycycline Hyclate 100mg twice a day, Adderall XR 20mg once a day, Wellbutrin SR 150mg twice a day. 2400mg fish oil (1200mg omega 3) once a day. Nicotine, 1 pack/day.
Diagnosises include ADHD, Depression, anxiety, borderline high cholesterol, and a skin depth staph infection, possibly MRSA (awaiting culture results).

I am 31 male fit and successful at my job but rosacea has affected my life negatively for 9 years and every tear is worse the the previous one. My face is hot most of the time and red ( unfortunately i live in a hot city ) i cannot go outside in the sun unless it is work or something necessary and it is do i get very red and burning. Even it affected my lifestyle and i broke up with my girlfriend because of it ( she got devastated by the way i am living )
To be honest I feel my life is worthless I did all treatments with zero improvement ( 3 vbeam , 3 excel v+ , solantra, doxycycline, accutane, metro gel , azelic acid , keto, carnivore diet )
Even now i am on paroxetine which i have never in my life thought i will be using SSRI

I want to share my story. I am a 37 year old disabled female. I am an artist and a birdwatching and mineralogy enthusiast. I was raised by a two narcissistic patents always fighting for attention and my mother had munchausen by proxy which later turned into just munchausens, making herself sick for attention, when I could no longer be abused. I am not a healthy person. I have kyphoscoliosis, cPTSD, OCD, chronic pain, AuDHD, anxiety, MCAS, degenerative disc disease, PCOS, GERD, and a rare sun allergy caused by MCAS, and hella depression. Basically I am just not meant to be alive yet somehow I persist.
(Trigger warning: child abuse, sexual abuse. And I know it may be tacky to air your dirty laundry on social media but I’ve just been in such a dark place these past eight months I just want to be heard, especially if I die soon)
As I said above I have a crooked spine disordered called kyphoscoliosis. With that comes a lots of torn discs and mind altering pain. Ive been in a bad MCAS flare for eight months and this one comes with a rare allergy to the sun (MCAS is basically being allergic to everything and it effecgs ever organ of the body).
I used to be a runner but the past five years my spinal issues have progressed so rapidly that I can hardly walk without an aid. I cannot stand without pain, at all. I’ve always had scoliosis but now it’s extra crappy. And all my life I’ve had strange health issues and never knew what they were… GI issues, acid reflux issues, headaches, heart palpitations, joint pain, urinary issues, reproductive issues, migraines, exercise induced asthma, POTS, hives, extreme photosensitivity, eczema, you name it I’ve had it.
But it wasn’t until I reconnected with my manipulative opioid addicted mother that I finally got some answers and connected all my symptoms. I reached out to her because I was so sick and desperate for motherly affection that it triggered her memory and she said “oh yeah you were diagnosed with mast cell instability as a kid at Johns Hopkins university in Baltimore. They said you were allergic to damn near everything. The hives sound just like when you were little.” After I confronted her on why she never got me treatment she said “the hives would sometimes go away and you were fine.” I wasn’t. I suffered off and on my whole life. I missed many normal childhood things due to back pain, joint pain, heartburn, urinary issues, stomach issues, hives, maddeningly itchy eczema, behavioral issues, depression, unpredictable heart palpitations. I wasn’t “fine.” Doctors wanted to treat me but she said she “didn’t want me being some Guinea pig and I didn’t like needles” What kid does?! Doctors also wanted to correct my scoliosis but she said “i isn’t that bad” well when I finished puberty I had a permanently stupid gait.
My mother never took me to the doctors for anything serious. If it was a long term issues that was “my problem” as a child. My grandmother tried to sneak me to the ER a few times but if I had a “cough” or complained about my back pain and we’d go to the doctors so she could get pills. I was addicted to pain pills as a teenager because of this. I believe my mom was sleeping with my “doctor” to get opioids. So I’d have codine syrup if my throat hurt but my spine was twisting and my organs and bones were obtaining permanent damage from not treating the mast cell instability. Two therapists say that is munchausen by proxy via neglect. She liked me staying sick. She liked pulling me out of school. I would feel FINE but I was “too sick” to go to a school dance or even ride my bike. I hardly had any friends. I wasn’t allowed to do anything but use the computer and watch TV basically. I was regularly fed foods I was allergic too. But I digress…
I am still gaslit to this day that any symptoms or any of my childhood physical and emotional abuse occurred. They make me question my sanity. My father would hit my ass and lower back so hard I’d loose control over my bladder and sometimes bowels. This occurred until I was around 13. The fear was always there. He was a body builder of whom I suspect was using substances that made his temper worse. He’d rip doors off of hinges, appliances out of walls, and brag about the all fights he was in. He would also brag about taking peoples lives and “that’s just what he had do to growing up in inner city Baltimore.” Both of my parents were starved of attention as children so if any of that was true or not I don’t know. I often had nightmares (even now as an adult) of my “spankings.” No wonder I hold all my pain in my lower back. My father was also inappropriate with me several times. One night he was drunk and I climbed into their bed because I was scared of a thunderstorm. He mistook me for my mother when I was in the forth grade. He stopped touching me all over when he got to my chest and realized nothing was there and it was me, not my mother. Never once has he acknowledged it or apologized. He always smacked my ass the same way he did my mothers well into adulthood. As an adult he has grabbed my breasts as well. The last time was just a few years ago and he said “sorry I don’t know why I did that they’re just there” I guess that was an apology? He never once hit or touched my sister. My sister is strong, smart, and independent. She threatened to call the cops, she more mentally there than me I guess. It’s taken me my whole life to unpack that the people I thought were my heros were my abusers and the reason I am such a mess today. I’m still naïve and hope they’ll magically change. But I know they will die soon and I will never get that apology. There is so much more but maybe I’ll save that for a book… but I believe I was preyed on by both my parents because I was weaker. I was stupid, naive, and easier to manipulate I guess. And because I was wear they took their life of trauma out on me.
For years I was so mean to my sister because of horrible things my mother put in my head about her. I couldn’t see their faults if my sister and I were always at odds. I lost a lot of time with her because of this. These are just small slivers of things I wish I would get an apology for. I would let everything go if my father would just apologize for how he recently treated my sister after having not seen her for almost a decade. He caused my sister and I to run from our childhood home in tears as my grandmother lie dying upstairs and all I want is an apology for hurting her and stealing time from saying goodbye to my grandmother…. When I tell him the hurt he has caused he simply says “oh come on!” And reminds me of how crazy and dramatic I am being. His last words to be were “geez you’re really fucked up and need help,” hmmm I wonder why.
What I dont understand is why they think because I had my basic needs met, food, shelter, etc that I am supposed to just take abuse. I am being ungrateful because I had gifts on Christmas when I bring up disrespect. I don’t understand the correlation. They created me so it’s their responsibility to make sure I was relatively healthy and safe at least until I am 18. Right? It was always MY fault for existing… I did not ask to exist.
So on top of a childhood with an emotionally and physically abusive father and emotionally immature narcissistic parents; my mother knew of this rare diagnosis and did nothing. Just to reiterate; she kept me sick. She basically fed me my triggers, ignored all my symptoms, ignored my back pain, never took me to the doctor unless it was for her to get her pills, I was called dramatic whenever I was too sick to clean or function well in school, got yelled at for being so sleepy all the time (MCAS causes Extreme fatigue) and as an adult she watched me for well over a decade spend thousands of dollars on various doctors and testing to find out wtf is wrong with me. I thought I had lupus so I wasted a lot of money with rheumatologists. SO many doctors and not a single one could find answers or take me seriously. SO many years of begging to be heard by doctors and just told to loose some weight or told over and over again it’s all psychosomatic due to trauma and depression. Once you have any mental illness on your record you are always treated differently by doctors… iTs aLL iN YoUr HeAd.
I do find myself giving my mother grace because she herself suffered a lot. She was abused in childhood by people she was meant to trust, i.e. her parents and by leaders of the Catholic Church in Baltimore as a kid. I suspect she also has cPTSD from working EMS disaster relief (mainly hurricane Katrina relief) and from various assaults she has told me. And possible abuse from my father. My father also suffered as a child. He went though inner city poverty, abuse, and loosing his father when he was just a kid. And of course my heart aches for them but being a victim doesn’t excuse their behavior. It explains it, but it doesn’t excuse it. It’s not my responsibility to fix them or hope they will fix themselves any longer. I chose to not have kids for fear of continuing this cycle. But my sister has beautiful children and she doesn’t abuse them. She has gone on to become a therapist specializing in drug and alcohol abuse. What a beautiful way to take that trauma and flip it to help others. She is breaking that cycle and she is my hero.
I don’t want to sound completely ungrateful because I did have my basic needs met as a child and I do appreciate how hard they worked for the roof over my head and the lavish Christmases we had but monetary stuff aside I think it’s perfectly acceptable to need emotional support. I’d give all the toys, electronics, and jewelry I once had up for just one “I am proud of you” or one “I am sorry we were not emotionally present for you” or an even better “I am sorry we failed you.” I spent many weekends and sometimes weeks with my grandmother and her free spirit and kindness often made up for what was lacking at home. I have many wonderful childhood memories because of that woman. She was my home.
But because they refused to get therapy for their demons (honestly it was just unheard of for their generation) I shouldn’t have to carry theirs on-top of mine. I am middle aged, I should’ve have these issues. My fear of making people upset cripples me now. I should be a functioning adult with my own family. I should be able to call and chit chat with my parents. And it isn’t for me not trying… every time I am on that phone it ends up with being talked to like I am an asshole or never once being asked “how are you?” I’ve lived in my home for well over a decade and they’ve never visited. Why? I live just 30 minutes away. My sister has a child they will never meet nor care to meet. My sister lives 5,000 miles away and has seen my house several times. Why do they not care about us? We were not their abusers. We didn’t ask to be born.
Anyways my family always had an inkling that my mother had Munchhausen syndrome because she often would make herself sick for attention, she’d purposely eat things she was allergic too, over dose on pills or at least tell us she did for sympathy, “fall” all the time… and she very well could also have MCAS because the symptoms are there but the difference between us is I WANT to get better she gave up decades ago and chose drugs to cope. Benzos and opioids. My father chooses alcohol to cope.
My grandmother always said my mom gave up and to not let that be me. I’m trying… But it wasn’t until a recent break through in therapy that I realized I was a Munchhausen by proxy kid via this medical neglect. I remember my older sister begging my mother to take me to the doctors as a kid and it fell on deaf ears. I would self harm a lot as a kid probably because of emotional neglect and my sister would beg for my parents to get me help. My dad would just threaten to “put me away somewhere” and belittle me for being “sick in the head.” I did get taken to some doctors, like I said earlier. One was my moms pill supplier and one was a pediatric doctor in downtown Charleston that she worked in same building of. She would she take me see him and he is who gave me my ADHD diagnosis as a kid… but she would just drop me off to be seen alone and I guess because predators can sniff out prey he often was inappropriate with me. It was about the fourth and fifth grade era for me. My mom pulled me out of school a lot and I would just hang out at her work or “go see Dr.S.” For some reason, through his slacks, he would drag his erection all over my legs and hands while examining me all over like normal procedure… like putting that scope in my ear or using a stethoscope but this erection constantly bumping me was just this unavoidable thing that it was an accident I guess. I didn’t know what it was at the time but I knew no other doctor did it but hey at least it wasn’t any worse. I do vaguely remember a pelvic exam but the memory is foggy as it could’ve been a legit pelvic exam that I needed idk. Perhaps that’s why I am so afraid of doctors today. I’ve gotten much better with it but for a whole decade of my 20s, when I was on my own, I never went to a doctor.
My grandmother or various friends would randomly take me to the ER whenever my folks thought I was being dramatic and things got too much. I remember the mothers of the various romantic partners I had as a teen trying to help me when my own parents ignored me. One boyfriends mom would buy me tampons and razors because I got yelled at by my parents for “needing them again?!” I constantly panic about being wasteful because it’s just ingrained in me. I honestly still cry if I spill something because of the spankings or yelling that came after. Spankings from a coke and or roided out body builder just hit different I guess. I’ve actually pissed myself in fear because of my father chasing me up the stairs once.
So back to my medical crap… Because of all the medical neglect I have permanent bone and organ damage. I often wonder if my scoliosis wouldn’t have progressed so badly had my parents got me the corrective surgery and just had me on the right antihistamines and vitamins when I was little. Maybe I wouldn’t have the spine of an 80 year old now at age 37… had I been in a calm loving stress free environment would I even have mast cell activation disorder to begin with? They say stress is the main cause. Would I not be this mentally stunted? MCAS effects every organ… the brain fog makes me feel like I’m loosing my grip on reality.
All that being said I recently took this new mast cell info to my dermatologist that was helping me navigate my sudden sun allergy and she said “well everything makes sense now, that’s it! It’s mast cell!” and an old family friend that worked at JH confirmed remembering how I was in and out of testing (But I have yet to reach out to JH for old records). And all the symptoms make so much sense. I had urinary, heart, bone, and gastric issues for years thinking they were all separate! I also met with an allergy specialist who confirmed it as well and has me on a strict medication regiment. I think it’s helping but I digress.
So at least I finally have answers but that doesn’t fix the heartache of yearning for parents that care about you. I am still trying to find the right combination of vitamins and meds to get this flare under control. So far I am on twice daily Zyrtec, twice daily quercetin, once nightly Hydroxyzine, restasis, once or twice daily fexofenadine (depending if I leave the house), Pepcid, as needed benedryl if have a reaction, omeprazole, vitamins B12, D, and tapioca based vitamin C as I am now allergic to any citrus based C and am still in a flare. And I can’t take anything for pain because I have ulcers. It sucks. I see the doctor at the end of the month to reconfigure things again and potentially start IV treatments.
So moral of the story; love your kids and be gentle with your kids so they don’t turn out like me.
I honestly can’t believe I am sober.🤷🏻‍♀️ If you’ve made it this far thanks for listening and I wish you well. ❤️

Hi everyone!
Jason here, also known as Badgunpla and creator of Plastic Model Weekender. As we enter our fourth year tomorrow, I wanted to start by personally thanking this incredible community and its mod team for constantly supporting us over the years. It's thanks to your amazing generosity that we have been able to raise over 60,000 USD for our friends over at Cure Alzheimer's Fund, across 3 PMWs and two of my own 24 hour stream events. Your kindness and willingness to give to this incredible cause is not taken for granted, so once again, thank you.
Starting tomorrow, we are back and bigger than ever, in every sense of the word. 34 awesome scale modeling streamers will be coming together for Plastic Model Weekender 2X24 on twitch.tv/plamoweekender, from Friday, May 24th at 11am EDT (3pm UTC), all the way through Monday, May 27th at 11pm EDT (3am UTC).
twitch.tv/plamoweekender
Check out the schedule below for all of our presenters!

(Times UTC -4)	Friday 5/24	Saturday 5/25	Sunday 5/26	Monday 5/27
1:00AM EST				Marzgurl
3:00AM EST				YanchaGoGo
5:00AM EST				ColemanR
7:00AM EST				Sprngr
9:00AM EST		Captain Hurricane	EurekaX49	Plum Nemui
11:00AM EST	ZaukAurelius	Skeletom	Yura Rikudou	Falldog
1:00PM EST	Jesse	Zeonic Deikun	Spade XIII	Elfy
3:00PM EST	Maru Malandra	KKCYBER	Dyrulian	IppoDempseyRoll
5:00PM EST	Geek In Miami	Carmy	Dokudel	Kumohara
7:00PM EST	The Gunpla Stop	Tsukimi B Dohrnii	MikhaVT	GunplaSisters
9:00PM EST	EA Spudz	kson	Henemimi	AO Mecha
11:00PM EST	DamageDan	Kaiju Kanojo	Tummie

This year, we are once again hosting this marathon to benefit our good friends at Cure Alzheimer's Fund. CAF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding research projects with the highest probability of preventing, treating, and curing Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's is an affliction that has touched too many people in my family, and the families of many fellow builders we've been fortunate enough to meet through this event. The work CAF does is incredibly impactful to treatment research, and critically, highly transparent with their funding practices. I'm thrilled that we continue to partner with CAF year after year, and your generosity to the cause does not go unnoticed.
Of course, PMW would not be complete without a massive collection of giveaways you can win just by watching, and donating to Cure Alzheimer's Fund! We have over 70 giveaways lined up this year - our biggest giveaway pool ever - thanks to the incredible support of our sponsors and individual contributors below:
Gundam Planet
Gundam Place Store
USA Gundam Store
Mecha Warehouse
GunplaStyle
A 5.00 USD minimum donation during the event to Cure Alzheimer's Fund (link provided on Twitch) gets you automatically entered to win any of our giveaways below, as well as our grand prize:
Perfect Grade Perfect Strike Gundam + AffeaxGP Wave 1 Complete Sticker Pack, c/o Gundam Planet!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY - A free entry link will be provided on the day of the event
And now, for our daily giveaways!

FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY	MONDAY
Gundam Planet Ultimate Nipper 2.0 (c/o Gundam Planet)	Gundam Planet Ultimate Nipper 2.0 (c/o Gundam Planet)	Gundam Planet Ultimate Nipper 2.0 (c/o Gundam Planet)	Gundam Planet Ultimate Nipper 2.0 (c/o Gundam Planet)
1500 GP Points (c/o Gundam Planet)	1500 GP Points (c/o Gundam Planet)	1500 GP Points (c/o Gundam Planet)	Gundam Planet Ultimate Nipper 2.0 (c/o Gundam Planet)
Eastern Model Iron Man MK4/6 Model Kit (c/o GunplaStyle)	50 USD Gift Card (c/o Mecha Warehouse)	50 USD Gift Card (c/o Mecha Warehouse)	1500 GP Points (c/o Gundam Planet)
Fission Craftsman Soul 1/100 Annihilation Plastic Model Kit. (c/o GunplaStyle)	HG GM Shoulder Cannon/Missile Pod ver. (c/o The Gunpla Hermit's Shop)	MG Masarai (c/o Gundam Place Store)	1500 GP Points (c/o Gundam Planet)
25.00 USD Gift Card (c/o Gundam Place Store)	25.00 USD Gift Card (c/o Gundam Place Store)	25.00 USD Gift Card (c/o Gundam Place Store)
25.00 USD Gift Card (c/o USA Gundam Store)	25.00 USD Gift Card (c/o USA Gundam Store)	25.00 USD Gift Card (c/o USA Gundam Store)	25.00 USD Gift Card (c/o USA Gundam Store)
Banpresto Gundam Unicorn Head Display (c/o Falldog)	Banpresto Gundam Ceramic Cups (c/o Falldog	SD Neo Zeong (c/o Falldog)	EG Strike Gundam (7-Eleven Version) + SD SDG Gundam (c/o Falldog)
Vintage Kit Pack (c/o Falldog)- Zoloat- GM Command- GM Command (7)- Johnny Ridden Zaku II- Johnny Ridden Gelgoog	SD GG-Zero Set 1 (c/o Falldog)- Johnny Ridden Gelgoog- Victory Gundam- Nu Gundam- Kampher	SD GG-Zero Set 2 (c/o Falldog)- Full Armor Mk-II- Jagd Doga- S-Gundam Core Booster	SD Gundam Heroes Pack (c/o Falldog)- Knight Strike- Knight Super Dragon- Warlock Aegis- Wukong Impulse
SD Gundam Sangokudan Pack (c/o Falldog)- Sun Ce Gundam Astray- Wu Shen Guan Yu Yun Chang Nu Gundam- Liu Bei Unicorn- Long Xian Liu Bei Unicorn	1/100 Blaze Zaku Phantom + SD SDG Gundam (c/o Falldog)	Figurise Setsuna F Seiei and Athrun Busts (c/o Falldog)	SD Gundam Exia repair II + 0 Gundam (c/o Falldog)
Gundam Base Limited SDCS RX-78-3 Gundam + Frame + BBSenshi Nu (c/o Falldog)	HG GM + Winning Fumina (c/o Falldog	SD 00 Seven Sword G + Gundam Astray Gold Frame (c/o Falldog)	"Anime Figures and Gacha Stuff" pack (c/o Falldog)
"Falldog's Random Box of Yahoo Auctions Stuff"	MAILeS Protogouyo (c/o JishanF)	HG Shin Burning Gundam (c/o JishanF	Gundam Base Limited Unicorn Gundam Destroy Mode Painting ver. (c/o JishanF)
HG G-Line Standard Armor + G-Defenser & Flyingarmor (c/o JishanF)	HG GM Moroccan Front Type + Zaku High Mobility Surface Type (c/o JishanF)	MG Senkgoku Astray Gundam (c/o JishanF)	MG Zaku II Black Tri Stars 2.0 (c/o JishanF)
MG Aile Strike ver. RM (c/o JishanF)	MG Epyon (c/o JishanF)	SD BB Senshi#329 RX-78-2 Gundam (c/o EA Spudz)	LBX Nemesis (c/o EA Spudz)
LBX Emperor (c/o EA Spudz)	LBX Odin (c/o EA Spudz)	Kotobukiya Gesterben Kwai [Serena] (c/o EA Spudz)	MG Gundam Astray Red Dragon (c/o EA Spudz
Hasegawa 1/72 VF-1J/A VALKYRIE GERWALK MODE (c/o EA Spudz)	EG RX78-2 Gundam (American Type) (c/o EA Spudz)	Strike Freedom Print + WFM Foil Print (c/o Rideth Mochi)	Strike Freedom Print (c/o Rideth Mochi)
WFM Foil Print (c/o Rideth Mochi)	CCA Print (c/o Rideth Mochi)	Deathscythe Hell Print (c/o Rideth Mochi)	God Gundam Print (c/o Rideth Mochi)
Suletta x Aerial Print (c/o Rideth Mochi)	HG Zowort Heavy (c/o Kogane Kina)	MG Wing Gundam ver. Ka (c/o Kogane Kina)	FM Barbatos Lupus (c/o Kogane Kina)
HG Delta Kai (c/o Kogane Kina)	HG Gundam Base Limited Zeta 3 (c/o Kogane Kina)	EG Nu Gundam (c/o Kogane Kina)	Hg Psycho Gundam (c/o Anamika Kodotai)
Hg p bandai Age 1 razor + Age 2 artemis ser (c/o Anamika Kodotai)	2x EG Nu Gundam (c/o Anamika Kodotai)	Mg nu Gundam Ver Ka (c/o Anamika Kodotai)	Mg Quant full saber (c/o Anamika Kodotai)
RG Sazabi (c/o Anamika Kodotai)	Rg Nu Gundam (c/o Anamika Kodotai)

This list is not a complete list of our giveaways, either! Be on the look out for Featured Giveaways during specific presenter segments throughout the event!
Once again, I want to thank you all for helping turn this silly little offhanded comment on a random stream on a Tuesday a few years ago into the biggest online charity event in the hobby. Your support is forever appreciated, and I look forward to seeing you this weekend for Plastic Model Weekender 2X24!

My partner (24m) was recently diagnosed with hEDS following seeking help due to chronic hip pain and clicking.
I (24ftm trans) have recently noticed that I mirror many symptoms. I don’t think it’s enough, but thought I’d give an outline and get an opinion if it’s worth seeking a diagnosis at all, especially as I am diagnosed with T2DM and PCOS, it’s going to be a pain to get anyone to take me seriously.
I have had chronic joint pain for years, especially in my knees, hips, fingers and shoulders. My wrists, fingers, and toes all crack like crazy any time I move them a certain way.
I have muscle weakness especially in the mornings. Pain is much worse overall when it’s cold.
I have TMJ and have dislocated my jaw twice in the past 2 years, it has popped when opening every time I open my mouth for at least the past 10 years.
Hypermobility, while nothing crazy like my partner has, I can easily reach my thumbs to my wrist, and used to be able to do it backwards as well as forwards. Pinkies bend to 90°. Elbows have always slightly overbent, as have my knees, and I find myself with my back bend weirdly, standing up straight feels like slouching to me.
Gut issues for a long time, Lactose Intolerant, was tested for Celiac as a child and again as an adult as I was feeling ill after eating, gut aches, constantly either having diarrhea or constipation, rarely ever normal.
No real skin issues asides Psoriasis and sun sensitivity (my whole face will swell if I get burnt there to the point my eyes will swell shut at times) as well a ls bleeding through skin when I itch.
Chronic Fatigue has been a huge issue my whole life too, as with anxiety. Also on the Autism Spectrum and ADHD.
I remember as a kid whenever I sat back onto my calves (like when you are kneeling and sit back onto your legs) my right knee would get stuck and I had to shuffle it from under me and move it weirdly to allow my leg to extend again… unsure if relevant lol
EDIT: forgot to add. I also do get lightheaded easily, and have had very strong, rapid heartbeats at times most days, and was put on a 24hr heart monitor at one point where they found nothing abnormal, however I do find my heart skipping a beat, or being very rapid very often
EDIT 2: They have ruled out arthritis, Lupus (which a family member has) and Ankylosing Sponsylitis (Both maternal grandparents have it) so they’ve said Fibromyalgia is the likely diagnosis but it doesn’t feel right to me.

I completely forget the name of the medication (will update once my dr uploads my note from the appointment) but my doctor is going to try and start me on a self administered injection that is meant to lower systemic inflammation and stimulate natural cortisol levels. Credentials don’t really mean anything (I literally had my worst med experience at Johns Hopkins so far), but my doctor was ranked in the top 100 ophthalmologists in the world this year so I’m inclined to go with it and try it.
He said it’s typically for autoimmune diseases but I have tested negative for everything thus far (but several of my doctors believe I do have an autoimmune condition - I have narcolepsy which is believed to be autoimmune and then they believe I have something along with that, just not currently diagnosed. My symptoms all started around the same time: dry eye, dry mouth, trouble swallowing, neck pain, and recently my eyes have started crossing).
Has anyone ever tried something like that? At this point I’m all for experimenting and trying anything. Id love for something to work so I can start lowering my doxycycline because it is making me so sun sensitive that it’s becoming painful to drive my car. I’m currently only using doxycycline, vevye and autologous serum drops. I’ve asked about PRP injections so my ophthalmologist is sending me to an oculoplastics surgeon to go over the options for injections directly to the eyes/lids. If nobody has tried it, i can definitely report back on how it goes when I get it (he said it can take a few months to be approved, I guess it’s very expensive and he is preparing a fight with insurance).

https://www.academia.edu/119846820

1. nature myths and the nature of myths

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Some myths deal with stars, the sun, moon, etc. All should know and recognize this, yet many obvious examples have been left unanalyzed in this way. A backlash against interpreting myths as representing nature, seasons, heavenly bodies, etc., comes from the history of comparative mythology. Though all certain cases of the Sun(-God) in myths were recognized as solar by Max Müller (Whalen 2023), and a period of heavy nature analysis began. Unfortunately, even with this obvious even 200 years ago, his tendency to theorize that this meant that all words for these figures came from words for ‘sun’ makes it difficult for other scholars to pick out the true aspects among the false. Just because some were first told of the Sun, not all stories remain the same over time. The same tale can be told of many figures, some popular incidents included in stories that originally were much shorter and about someone else entirely. He also extended his solar theory to every myth that might have been about the Sun, with no evidence, leading to contradictions, and etymologized most names from ‘sun’, ‘day’, etc. (known sound changes were fewer then, so many make no sense).
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His followers also extended his ideas and made them their own. This often led to each scholar focusing only on his own specialty, and interpreting all myths in that framework. Thus, one might see all gods as the storm, all fights as thunderstorms, etc. This often led to incompatible analyses of the same myths by each scholar of this school, multiplying without end. This could not go on, and the once-popular field became completely overturned. Afterwards, even saying that a an obvious analog of the sun was a Sun-God was seen as distasteful. From Bilić :
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It was once popular to interpret Gilgameš… as a solar hero or a sun god and to analyse his exploits in terms of (especially annual) solar movement… This interpretation reflects the influence of the once omnipresent solar-myth (or nature-myth in a wider sense) paradigm that dominated the 19th-c. discussions on myth… Despite the heavily ideologised dismissal of the solanature-myth paradigm… as well as the inadequacies of its rival and conqueror, the anthropological-fertility paradigm, the eccentricities of the former frequently did not require an especially meticulous criticism in order to be refuted. The interpretations of Gilgameš’s exploits in terms of solar movement withered away in the light of these developments and are today deservedly not taken very seriously… Keeping in mind a clear understanding ofthis problem, it does not automatically follow that the explicit solar referencesin Gilgameš’s itinerary should be discarded together with this antiquated interpretative strategy.
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There should be no need to apologize or require special pleading to see the sun as the sun. A dismissal of nature myths is still influencing study much too heavily. For example, Walker saw the Divine Twins as created to fulfill societal roles, ignoring such facts as their driving the chariots of the Sun and Moon, which led to Norelius’ description :
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The author’s central thesis is that the twin gods originated in the early phase of Proto-Indo-European horse domestication, before the invention of the spoked wheel and the warchariot… its primary use appears to have been in catle herding. Keeping watch over herds was probably a low-status activity; in many Indo-European societies (ancient Greece, Iran, India) it was undertaken by young men who had yet to enter a setled married life and were not full members of society. The riding twin gods, envisaged as youths, were divine counterparts of these cattle herders, and their position in the pantheon was correspondingly low. Their mythical roles as helpers, healers, and rescuers from peril are also ascribed to their servile nature… The possibility of their being the morning and evening stars, which would account for their connection to twilight, has been discussed by Donald Ward, as well as by Thomas Oberlies in his volumes on the religion of the Ṛgveda (not cited), but receives very litlec onsideration in this book; nor does Douglas Frame’s suggestion that they represent the twilights. ‘Nature mythology’ is briefy discussed and dismissed as a 19th-century fantasy. Of course, gods may represent natural phenomena while at the same time being modelled on social types; and I think this is the case with the divine twins, whose family, indeed, consists entirely of nature deities.
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1. traces of the sun

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Indeed, it makes no sense to remove all nature from mythology, only because it once held too high a place. Though I do not feel all IE gods can be analyzed only by their origin, often in nature, it plays a part. So too do later versions of gods, with their myths turned into folktales (or a return to form, since the origin of myth in popular tales is one theory). I want to try what Müller did for Odysseus, but as a part of a larger whole, and with better knowledge of related myths and IE sound changes. Hermes’ son Autolycus (Autólukos) was clearly a clever thief whose adventures were from the same origin as Hermes’ own. Autolycus’ grandson, Odysseus, was no less a mythical version of the hero who was both strong and clever. It would be impossible to understand any of these as only the Sun, but in any myth made of many parts, changing and mixing with others over the years, each aspect should be given attention. As an equation of Hermes and Apollo as two versions of one original god is needed if any comparative mythology for either is valid. For further solar aspects, see Bilić’s analysis :
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The section of Odysseus’ voyage from Laestrygonia by way of Aeaea to Hades and back to Aeaea, which is often interpreted in cosmological terms, more precisely, in terms of solar movement… represents a convenient background against which the corresponding Mesopotamian material can be studied. This particular line of interpretation is firmly based on the text itself, with its repeated emphasis on explicit solar features, such as the island of sunrise, Circe’s solar ancestry, the lack or excess of sunlight (the Cimmerians and Laestrygonians, respectively), to which we may add the gates of the sun from a similar context. Moreover, the features that can be inferred as solar in character, such as the rock associated with the world of the dead and—in a similar context—the daily course of the sun, the town of “distant (probably solar) gates” (Telepylus) and the hero following the nocturnal section of the daily course of the sun upon the circumambient Ocean, can also be added to this list.
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Indeed, it is possible to interpret the section of Odysseus’ voyage from Aeaea to Hades and back in terms of the diurnal course of the sun(-god) upon a flat earth in combination with a vertical descent to the world of the dead… The cosmological nature of Odysseus’ voyage as a whole was recognized by the Homeric exegete Crates of Mallos, as attested in both literary and cartographic sources… Crates interpreted the section of Odysseus’ voyage from Aeaea to Hades in terms… especially… the interpretative framework of the annual solar voyage.
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The journey to the Underworld could represent the death of the sun each day, or the supposed death and renewal of the sun as an explanation of the heat and cold of the seasons. A “great year” of 19 years is used to have the solar and lunar year match; his return after 20 years could be based on this (though 10 or 20 is not an uncommon number, but see 108 below). The timing of his return is also significant, at Apollo’s festival at the dark of the moon. Both this and his return mark the start of a year. Apollo is clearly a Sun-God, if anyone is, and his favor of Odysseus can not really be explained as anything but an equation (in story terms, Apollo should hate him for his actions against Troy in the Iliad). Odysseus is the only one who can draw a bow during Apollo’s festival (bows were associated with Paris of Troy in the Iliad), and his killings are absolved by Apollo. Just as Paris used a bow with Apollo’s explicit help to kill Achilles and is a clear version of the god, the same is necessary for Odysseus (at least in this section). In more context (Frame) :
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Odysseus returns at the dark of the moon. The festival of Apollo being celebrated when he reveals himself and regains his kingdom is thus a new-moon festival. The season is spring, and the new moon, marking the restoration of Odysseus’ kingship, also marks the beginning of a new year. In contemporary Miletus the king’s power would also have been ritually renewed at the start of the new year, in the spring…
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Apollo’s festival in the Odyssey is widely assumed to be that for the new moon, which, with other divisions of the month, was sacred to Apollo. The identification of the new moon festival rests on the word lukabas which the disguised Odysseus twice uses of his own impending return, speaking first to Eumaeus and then to Penelope (Odyssey 14.16l–162, 19.306–307):
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In this very lukabas Odysseus will come,
when one month ends and another begins.
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While both meaning and etymology are obscure for the word lukabas, it is clearly connected here with the interlunium, the dark of the moon: the hidden Odysseus will reappear like the moon after its three days in hiding.
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Another oddity is the group of suitors that Odysseus must kill. They are 108 in number, which is two 2’s and three 3’s ( 2×2×3×3×3 ). This might simply be a generic mystical number or used because it can be divided in several ways without remainder. However, it is found in other cultures and sometimes has astronomical signifance. For example, Indian division of the sky and year into 27 nakshatras, each with 4 padas. Since both groups might have retained similar PIE ideas of numerology and astronomy, I can’t immediately dismiss a possible connection. If so, it might figure into the Sun-God being lord of all sections of the sky or year.
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1. lukábās

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Part of this analysis involved the Greek word lukábās. Frame said :
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There is no doubt that Odysseus returns with the new moon. But the word used to designate the new moon is not a perspicuous term like noumēnia, “new month,” but the oracular-sounding lukabas. This word, which in Homer is accompanied by a gloss to explain it, is far from perspicuous in terms of etymology, or even meaning. To conclude this study, which by the nature of its subject has been speculative, speculation on this dark word seems not inappropriate, and the place to start is the meaning of lukabas in Homer, namely “dark of the moon.” In its few occurrences in later Greek, mostly poetic and oracular in context, lukabas means “year.” In the Odyssey lukabas could mean “year,” but this would rob the disguised Odysseus’ prophecy of its urgency: returning “this very year, at the end of one month and the beginning of another,” would mean a possible wait of up to a year for Odysseus to appear. It is generally agreed that context requires τοῦδ’ αὐτοῦ λυκάβαντος to mean “at this very new moon,” as is made clear in the line following, which is in fact a gloss.
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I am sure that, just as ‘winter’ was often interchangeable with ‘year’ (PIE *dwi-g^himno- ‘2 winters (old)’ > L. bīmus ‘two years (old)’, *dvi-zivn > Wg. düzun-zālǝ ‘heifer in its 3rd year’, *tk^mto-g^himno- > Skt. śatá-hima- ‘100 years old’), the period ending & beginning each year became a poetic word for ‘year’. This should have no effect on the rest of Odysseus’ relations to other myth, but since G. lukábās / lukámās ‘dark of the moon’ contains luk-, as Odysseus might (*oluksew-s > G. Odusseús / Olutteus / Ōlixēs, L. Ulixēs), its origin should be firmly understood to make sure it doesn’t provide any other insights first. Both PIE *leuk- ‘light / bright’ and *-luk- / *-duk- also show alternation of l / d (G. *Poluleúkēs ‘very bright’ > Poludeúkēs ‘Pollux’, like Sanskrit Purūrávas- ‘*very hot’), so being sure of each part seems best.
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Levaniouk had a similar problem with it :
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First of all, let Zeus be my witness, the highest and best of the gods,
and then the hearth of flawless Odysseus, to which I have come:
all the things I proclaim will come true.
Odysseus will come back here within this very lukabas,
with one month waning and the next one beginning. (Odyssey 19.303–307)
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Scholia explain lukabas as ‘year’, and Wilamowitz accordingly interpreted the expression τοῦδ’ αὐτοῦ λυκάβαντος to mean ‘within this year’. Suggested etymologies connect the word with light, (root *leuk- as in λύχνος, λεύσσω, Latin lux), and βαίνω (Leumann 1950:212n4, Stanford 1965:222 ad loc., Ameis and Hentze 1895 ad loc.) Koller 1973:29–33 suggested *λύκα βάντα, ‘the light having gone’. Others seek pre-Greek origins connecting the word with the name of the Attic mountain Λυκαβηττός (Ruijgh 1957:147, 1979:559–60), or suggest a Semitic connection (Szemerenyi 1974:144–57), see also Hoekstra 1992:204 (on Odyssey 14.161) and Russo 1992:91 (on Odyssey 19.306) and Chantraine 1999 s.v. The idea that lukabas is a festival of Apollo Lykeios or Lykios was put forth by van Windekens 1954:31–4. Whether this is actually the meaning of lukabas seems doubtful, but a connection with the festival of Apollo is clear in the context of the Odyssey (see Russo 1992:92 on Odyssey 19.306–7). Austin (1975:244–246) argues that the word signifies the ‘dark of the moon’, a period of a few days when the old moon has waned but the new one is not yet clearly visible. He is followed on this point by the recent commentaries (Rutherford 1992:175, Russo 1992:92, both on Odyssey 19.306–307). In Book 19, therefore, lukabas denotes “the interlunar period about to end with the new moon festival of the god” (Russo 1992.92).
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Their ideas involve lukábās being original, not lukámās. Since the stem is lukábant-, dissimilation of *m-n > b-n makes more sense than the reverse (possibly after the change of *-nts > -_s, eliminating the nasal in the nom., creating variation m / b in the paradigm). This requires a division like amphi-lúkē ‘twilight’ and lukóphōs ‘twilight’. This would make it a compound :
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luk- ‘light’
āmáō / amáō ‘reap / cut / mow down (in battle)’
*luk-amant- ‘dividing the light / period between moons/months’ > lukábās / lukámās
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1. Odusseús

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This word supposedly has nothing to do with Odusseús, said to be from odúsasthai ‘hate’ (PIE *H3od- ‘hate / stink’). When he disguised himself as a beggar, he also gave his name as Aithōn ‘raging’ in a pun on this. However, almost all ancient attempts at etymology are wrong. This does not explain d / l (and nothing regular can). Since many mythical figures have names ending in -ōn, -aios, -eus, added to simple nouns or adj. (Aigeús, Aigaíōn, Aktaíōn, Amphíōn, Erekhtheús, *wlukWawyōn > Lukáōn), looking for *oduk- or *oluk- seems best. Men with names derived from animals in myths often could turn into them (or were forced to), like Lukáōn and lúkos ‘wolf’. Aktaíōn probably comes from *aktawyo- ‘horned’ (*H2ak^- ‘point’), for example.
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The variants Odusseús / Olutteus / Ōlixēs require *d or *l > d / l and *ks or *ts > ks / tt / ss. Many words show ks vs. ts (*ksom / *tsom ‘with’ > xun- / sun-; *órnīth-s > órnīs ‘bird’, Dor. órnīx; *(s)trozd(h)o- > Li. strãzdas, Att. stroûthos ‘sparrow’, *tsouthros > xoûthros; *ksw(e)rd- > W. chwarddu ‘laugh’, Sog. sxwarð- ‘shout’, *tsw(e)rd- > G. sardázō ‘deride’; *ksw(e)izd- > Skt. kṣviḍ- ‘hum / murmur’, L. sībilus ‘whistling / hissing’, *tswizd- > G. sízō ‘hiss’; Whalen 2024c) and since *ty and *ky both merged and became ss / tt, an intermediate *ty > *tty > *tsy / *ksy makes sense. No other known word shows *ky > ks, but this fits the needed changes and old names often retain old changes seldom seem. One word that might match is G. lússa / lútta ‘rage / fury / mania / rabies’, likely < *wluk-ya ‘wolfishness’ << lúkos ‘wolf’, which might explain tradition about his name’s connection with being hated. His grandfather Autolycus gave him this name, and his own was made of ‘self’ and ‘wolf’ (possibly originally ‘man-wolf’, though also possible is ‘lone wolf’, since related *H2awtiyo- ‘away from (others) / by oneself’ also produced G. aúsios ‘idle’, Go. auþeis ‘deserted / barren’, ON auðr ‘desolate’). He supposedly had this name because he could turn into a wolf (his tricky wife also could turn into animals), and both crafty Autolycus and Odysseus seem based on Hermes (mythical figures with several names are often split into 2 due to confusion or contradictory traditions, such as Erekhtheús and Erikhthónios), so it’s unlikely their names are unrelated. It is clear that names like *wlukWawyōn > Lukáōn exist (directly associated with wolves), and other IE myths include heroes who turn into beasts or become bestial (Cú Chulainn is also named after a dog & a berserker, Bödvar Bjarki with bears (maybe related to Beowulf)). I also see Greek sound changes (some likely only in dialects) as responsible for making lússa / lútta and -luss- / lutt- appear with different variants in these words (o- vs. 0-, tt/ss vs. tt/ss/ks).
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In *wlkWo-s ‘wolf’ > TB walkwe, Go. wulfs, L. lupus, G. lúkos, Alb. ulk, the G. and Alb. words supposedly show metathesis of *wl- > *lw- > *lu-. This is tradition, an attempt at keeping all change regular, but the many variants with wR and Ru in IE are NOT regular. *l > lu would not be regular on its own. However, other words show rounding of syllabic C’s between round/labial C’s without the loss of any of them (*plH1u- ‘many’ > Skt. purú-, G. polús, Arm. yolov ‘many (people)’) and Arm. & G. could change *o > u in the same environment (*morm- ‘ant’ > G. bórmāx / búrmāx / múrmāx; *wrombo- > rhómbos / rhómbos ‘spinning-wheel’, *wodo:r ‘water’ > G. húdōr, *megWno- ‘naked’ > Arm. merk, *mogWno- > *mugno- > G. gumnós). Since some dialects have all *l > ol / lo, we can’t even say if *wlkWo-s > *wlokWo-s > *wlukWo-s would be irregular or require any more sound changes than already known. Several Arm. & Greek words vary between l- and ol- (Arm. ołork -i- ‘smooth / polished’, lerk -i- ‘smooth / hairless’, *slibro- > OE slipor ‘slippery’, G. (o)librós, *sl(e)idh-(ro)- > Skt. srédhati, W. llithro, G. olisthērós ‘slippery’), so there is no reason luss- and Oluss- need to be unrelated. This is even more likely since lússa came from *wl-, and *w- optionally became o- in some IE :
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Skt. vípra- ‘stirred? / inwardly excited / inspired’, Av. vifra- / ōifra- ‘shaking?, tossed in the waters?’
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*windho-s > MIr find ‘a hair’, *winlo- > L. villus ‘shaggy hair / tuft of hair’
*windho-s > *winthos > *óinthos > íonthos ‘young hair’
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There are several Indo-European groups of words for ‘wolf’, ‘fox’, and similar animals that often began with *wl-, but with al- in G. & Arm. (Whalen 2024a) :
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*wlp-(e)Hk^o- > Li. vilpišỹs ‘wildcat’, L. vulpēs ‘fox’
*wlep-ano- > H. ulippana- ‘wolf’, *welp-an(a:)- > Alb. dhelpën ‘fox’
*lewp-eHk(^)o- > Skt. lopāśá- \ lopāka-, etc.
? > *aloHp-eHk^- > G. alṓpēx \ alōpós, Arm. ałuēs
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In light of my *wl- > (o)l- in ‘wolf’, it is possible that *olṓpēx existed with dissimilation (or a similar change at an earlier time). It is hard to know for sure, but maybe *H3lewp-eHk^- > Skt. lopāśá-, *wloH3p-eHk^- > *oloxWp-eHk^- > G. alṓpēx (and if H3 = xW or another round C, dissimilation of *w-W is also possible).
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These allow *wluks-ya ‘wolfishness’ to produce *wluksyew-s. Not only would this be like *wlukWawyo- ‘wolf-like’ >> *wlukWawyōn > Lukáōn, but G. Odusseús seems to be a direct match with Paeonian Lúkpeios (a king). The many names in -eus seem to come from older *-ewyos (Whalen 2024b), and *wlukWyewyos might give both if Paeonian had dissimilation of *y-y > 0-y (though a match this direct is not needed). Kings around Greece speaking languages closely related to Greek sometimes had names from legendary kings (Phrygian Midas < *med- ‘rule’, likely Bithynian Ziboítēs \ Tiboítēs \ Zeipoítēs was cognate with G. despótēs < *dems-poti- ‘master’), so a common tradition about a King named ‘wolf-like’ is not out of the question.
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These words and names should not be left unexplained. Variation due to dialects is known in Greek, so the variants Odusseús / Olutteus / Ōlixēs do not require foreign origin. Many names from myths show d / l, and other IE languages in the area had the same (Ph., Anatolian optional T > l). If d / l is not regular in Anatolian or Greek, why would l / d in this name support an Anatolian origin? Seeing any oddity in a word, even one from myth, is not a license to reject its origin in the language it is known from in favor of yet more obscure origins.
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Bilić, Tomislav (2022) Following in the Footsteps of the Sun: Gilgameš, Odysseus and Solar Movement
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363553063_Following_in_the_Footsteps_of_the_Sun_Gilgames_Odysseus_and_Solar_Movement
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Frame, Douglas (2022) The End of the Odyssey
In “Poetic (Mis)quotations in Plato,” ed. Gwenda-lin Grewal. Special issue, Classics@ 22
http://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HLNC.ESSAY:102302566
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Levaniouk, Olga (2011) Eve of the Festival: Making Myth in Odyssey 19
Hellenic Studies Series 46. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ebook:CHS_Levaniouk.Eve_of_the_Festival.2011
https://archive.chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/3760.11-the-conversation
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Whalen, Sean (2023) The Separation of the Sun and Moon
https://www.reddit.com/mythology/comments/10qeu8f/the_separation_of_the_sun_and_moon/
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Whalen, Sean (2024a) Indo-European Words for ‘Wolf’, ‘Fox’ (Draft)
https://www.academia.edu/113713478
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Whalen, Sean (2024b) Greek *we- > eu- and Linear B Symbol *75 = WE / EW (Draft)
https://www.academia.edu/114410023
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Whalen, Sean (2024c) Indo-European Bear Goddesses: Greek Ártemis, Celtic Artion- (Draft)
https://www.academia.edu/116281605
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I’ve had bouts of this irregular flushing the past two summers - triggers are heat, sunlight, stress, yet this also happened like clockwork daily every evening/late afternoon without any triggers. I wouldn’t say it hurt which is why I’m unsure if that rules it out as erythromelagia, but it feels very hot & stings ever so slightly - I can feel the blood rushing too my face & pulsating which is uncomfortable. But it only lasts between 1-3 hours. Only other symptoms I’ve had are pretty vague i.e fatigue. A little background, 26, F, I have a history of rosacea, sun sensitivity, raynauds, likely ehlers-danlos, very fair skin & always been quick to blush. I’ve seen allergists, immunologists, dermatologists, rheumatologists through Cleveland Clinic, none of which could diagnose me yet also none could reassure me that it was nothing to be worried about either 🙃🥴 Was tested for a range of autoimmune conditions including lupus, mast cell, neuroendocrine tumors, POTS, etc.. nothing came up in lab work & I was unresponsive to all antihistamines, also tried some off label stuff like clonidine & pepcid. My last resort was a round of steroids which did not seem to improve just at all, until around 2 weeks AFTER finishing the steroid course it slowly began becoming less frequent & after about a month it went away. I find it perplexing especially because I’m exposed to triggers (stress, sunlight etc) year round yet this only flares up during summer? Anyway, I haven’t had this flushing come back yet so not sure if I’m in the clear or not this year, but regardless I still want to get to the bottom of it. Trying to get a diagnosis was frustrating, disheartening, & it got costly so I gave up since it eventually went away, but after some time I’m ready to get this looked into again as I want the closure of putting a diagnosis/name to what I’ve experienced. Sorry for the long post - I really appreciate this subreddit as it’s made me feel less alone (even if it turns out I don’t have erythromelalgia!). 🥺🫶🏻

For anyone on doxy, we really can’t get IPL? Or can we get IPL on lower doses (like 50mg per day)? I have had IPL three times and would like to try it again, but I’m also on doxycycline 100mg 2x per day, so my ophthalmologist said that I needed to wait because I’m on doxycycline. I know it can make you more sun sensitive (which is absolutely has and I just ordered UPF gloves/sleeves because I am burning in the car, even with SPF), so it makes sense that it wouldn’t mix with IPL. But I’d like to try it again soonish and it looks like I’ll be on doxy indefinitely, albeit on a lower dose eventually.

Hi everyone! I apologize for the long post, like the rest of you, I’ve had a bumpy ride with this thing and could use some encouragement and support ❤️. Horrible, debilitating fatigue started in 2018 after I had to get hospitalized for severe inflammation of my small intestine that we attributed to a stomach virus. I was never the same again though and had CONSTANT GI problems. I never really connected of it to that hospital stay though or what happened. The fatigue slowly got worse to where no matter how much I slept (which started turning into upwards of 18 hours a day when I could), I was falling asleep at work and almost behind the wheel. I would have to pull over multiple times during trips or risk crashing. My primary care kept saying I had depression and tried me on just about every antidepressant under the sun and tested me for all kinds of things. Antidepressants didn’t work and I just kept getting worse, then noticed I kept getting unexplained fevers starting in 2021, though I was told I might just have a bad immune system. Fast forward to 2023 and I had a new primary care and she tested my ANA levels and it came up borderline positive at 1:80, then referred me to rheumatology. I also can’t believe autoimmunity wasn’t considered before even by me because I have a strong family history of it. Mother has autoimmune hepatitis, maternal grandmother has lupus. My rheumatologist has been an absolute angel and listened to me right away. She also told me I had the classic “butterfly rash” characteristic of lupus and UCTD, so she diagnosed me with UCTD and put me on plaquenil. 5 months later I wasn’t getting better and actually started noticing I was getting worse. Now if I go in the sun, my joints will start hurting and swelling very bad. GI issues got much worse and ended up in the hospital with severe dehydration. She referred me to gastro because I tested positive for the genetic marker HLA-B27 and wondered if I was dealing with IBD. Endoscopy and colonoscopy found chronic benign inflammation of the stomach and small intestine, but biopsy showed it was of unknown origins and not Crohn’s or any type of IBD. I know connective tissue disease can imitate many things. But I’ve tested negative for every lupus and sjogren’s antibody, is it possible to still be in the early stages of those and test negative for those antibodies? Sorry for the long post. I just think you guys can understand best lol.

Hey I’m 19f and I’ve been officially diagnosed with lupus SLE for a year but have been battling pretty extreme joint pain for 3.5 years prior I don’t think I can put up with this for the rest of my life Everyday I’m in some form of pain Whether it’s my bones, muscles, headaches, skin or eyes. The brain fog,the insomnia, the fatigue and the loneliness is also kicking my ass. No one in my life can relate to me I’m so alone in this journey. I can’t leave the house without a hat sunglasses 2 layers of sunscreen and fully covered body. I feel ugly in every outfit because of the stupid hat and sunglasses. Even then I return home with a swollen face usually burnt and my eyes are in intense pain. I’m so over it why does life have to hurt to live. And if it does why should I want to live it. I’m tired of explaining to friends and family over and over again what’s wrong. I’ve recently been replaced at my job due to taking to much sick leave. I’ve completely stopped drinking so friends arnt spending as much time with me. Currently in a flare after not having one for 3 months It’s causing so much mental stress to my daily life on top of all my other illnesses and I just can’t deal. Every week something new is wrong with me I spend so much money on medication/specialists am constantly changing my routine to add in new meds to the point I can barely keep up. I have lost so much weight and struggle very hard to eat. My eyesight has halved and I’m pretty much allergic to the sun. My heart flutters, I have dizzy spells or I even faint. I feel super sick but my results are all coming back fine No one seems to care and these are simply just “side affects” I can’t simply put up with these but I can’t stop taking my medication and due to diabetes I can’t be put on steroids and the medication seems to be doing its job at keeping me alive so I understand not wanting to change it. I’ve lost pretty much all quality of life and it’s killing me. It’s not just fomo I am missing out and there’s nothing I can do about it. If anyone relates or has any good advice I’m all ears

fcklupus

Hi everyone! I was diagnosed in August with SLE, but I've always had problems with heat and the sun for as long as I can remember. I wouldn't get immediate reactions, but the heat exhaustion I would feel would be horrible and they would show a couple of days later. I would deal with HORRIBLE migraines, feeling sick, nausea, and sometimes rashes (they've been more frequent for the past few years). Last year was by far the worst episode I've had yet from heat and it landed me in urgent care a few times (I wouldn't go to the hospital because I didn't think it was that bad; I was wrong lol). I was wondering if anyone has problems with heat as well and how it affects you with your lupus. Thank you everyone! :)

Hello all.
I’ve been dealing with skin issues since December. 30YF never have had skin problems until recent. Dermatologist did a biopsy, I was thinking I had a cutaneous form of lupus (because of all symptoms I was experiencing) but came back as eczema.
I have tried all the things. The ONLY product that seems to help the most is witch hazel (lavender is lovely) I have the cycle of, sun exposure/alcohol/sugary foods then red itchy rash mainly affecting face/neck/upper chest then will “heal” and turn into a flake factory. I cut out alcohol and limited breads for a month to see if there was a direct connection to rash. Sun exposure seems to be just as much of culprit.
Looking for recommendations that’s not steroids just over the counter products and have you found any type of alcohol you can tolerate? Summer is my favorite time of year and feeling at a loss on how to enjoy without feeling miserable.