Hoathie

My hair is naturally pretty fine so I'm trying to protect it while it grows out. Does anyone know a good way to protect short hair while sleeping? Right now I'm kind of covering it with a wide stretchy headband when I go to bed, but this makes it hard to style in the morning without using heat. I can't braid it or anything because it's too short. I know a lot of people say to sleep on a silk pillowcase or wear a silk cap to bed. Anyone have experience with this method? Ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Last year I developed a rare muscular disorder called vaginismus. It causes my pelvic floor to seize up involuntarily, making sex painful and impossible at times. My physical therapist says it was caused by stress/anxiety. Anyway, it initially caused a lot of self shame and guilt for me. I should have talked to my boyfriend about it, but I didn't. I withdrew from him instead. I became completely terrified of sex and intimacy because it brought up a bunch of negative energy for me.

I recently started talking to my boyfriend about it and he's been wonderful, but our sex life is completely non-existent at this point and I don't know what to do about it. I miss being intimate with him, not just sexually but romantically. But I don't know how to get anywhere near that without cringing. I feel very vulnerable about it and I don't know how to just drop my guard and enjoy myself when I'm with him.

Also he was never very good at turning me on sexually, which definitely doesn't help. I'm terrible about communicating with him about this stuff so I guess that's not really surprising.

Anyway I don't really know what I'm asking here, I know this stuff is kind of abstract. Any advice I guess. We've been together for almost 5 years. We love each other and we want to get back into the romantic groove that other couples seem to achieve so naturally.

Anyone who's ever had really short hair knows what I'm talking about. You get out of bed and your hair is either flattened or sticking up in all directions (or both), and brushing doesn't help at all. I get tired of wetting & blow drying my hair every day when I get up. I don't like using the hair dryer at all if possible, but my hair doesn't usually want to cooperate unless I use heat. What I'm wondering is if anyone has found a way around this. Is there a product that fights bed head? I've heard some people use hair smoothing products to diminish the spiky bits, but I haven't tried this method. Thoughts?

I recently decided to get into shape by doing a 5K training program for beginners. I'm enjoying it quite a lot, but nearly every time I run I get an aching pain in the joint between my left leg and hip. The pain usually lasts a few days after I run, so I assume it's some kind of strained tendon or something. This isn't the first time I've noticed this phenomenon. I remember it occurring often during gym class back in high school.

I've always had back and leg problems, ever since I was a kid. I have scoliosis. One of my legs (I don't remember which) is slightly longer than the other, as is one of my feet. And my left foot curls inward when I stand or walk (the arch of my left foot is closer to the ground than the arch of my right). I also have pretty weak ankles, so my legs wobble a bit when I run. I suspect that the pain has something to do with one or more of these things. I just bought a very nice pair of running shoes, perhaps my feet/legs need to adjust to the better arch support. I don't usually wear shoes with very good arch support.

Does anyone else have similar problems with running? Should I go see a doctor? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Recently I decided to try one of those 5K training programs because I want to get in shape, feel healthier, etc. I just finished my first day's training, and I noticed that mid way through that my left hip joint/tendon (where the leg meets the hip) started to hurt. I remember the same thing happening on the track back in high school gym class. One of my legs in longer than the other. That may have something to do with it. Mostly I think I'm just really out of shape. Does anyone know why this happens and how to avoid it? Are there stretches that would help? Am I pushing my body to hard right off the bat? Should I start with a milder workout and build up to running? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I calculated that my diopter strength should be about -.8, however I can't find and prescription goggles with a diopter strength of less than -1.5. Will it damage my eyes if I wear a stronger prescription?

I know healing tattoos scab, but mine seems to have formed excess scabs. I believe normal scabbing should look something like the scabbing of a sunburn, thin and flaky and semi opaque. Mine is not like this. The entire tattoo has a very thin raised scab on it. The whole scab is black with ink. A few tiny pieces have fallen off, but it's definitely not flaking like a normal tattoo. I don't understand why exactly. I've taken excellent care of it. I kept it covered for a few hours after I got the tattoo. I hand-washed it with a gentle unscented soap two times a day after removing the bandage. For the first few days I applied a thin layer of tattoo goo after washing, and then switched to a light unscented lotion after that. I've kept it out of direct sunlight and I haven't slept on it or picked at the scabs. Can anyone tell me why it didn't scab like a normal tattoo? How can I avoid this excess scabbing in the future?

I'm not trying to build muscle and I'm not especially athletic, but I don't think I'm getting enough protein. My hair and nails break easily, and I think it's because I don't eat enough protein. I don't like nuts, I'm allergic to milk, and rich meats turn my stomach. So I'm wondering if I can take a small amount of protein powder to make up the difference. Any input would be appreciated.

A question for all you rat lovers: which toys do your ratties seem to enjoy playing with most? I'm looking for some new toy ideas for my girls, in particular, toys they can play with outside the cage. They already have numerous hammocks, fleece tubes, sticks, paper towels, cardboard boxes, swings, and a wheel inside the cage. But I need some better toys for them outside the cage. They seem to get bored easily so I'd like to provide them with some more mentally stimulating toys. Does anyone have any suggestions? What toys do your rats have the most fun with?

For the last two days I've had this pain on my lower right side. It feels a bit like a pulled muscle, but sharper and throbbing slightly. The pain is located right above my pelvic bone on the side of my hip, close to the surface. I know there are no organs there which is why I am confused. The pain hasn't been constant, it went away for about 15 hours and then came back worse. I have a cold but I don't see how that could be causing it. I've also gained a couple of pounds recently. When I gain weight I get stretch marks on my side right above the spot where it hurts. Does anyone know if gaining weight can cause muscle pain?

So we've had this problem for several years, but we really need to get it resolved because my little sister can't access her online homework. We live out of town and have satellite internet, and it works well some of the time, but it goes down about every 20 minutes. When it goes down we continue to get perfect signal from the router, but no internet connection at all. Sometimes it takes hours for it to come back.

We have changed providers 2 times, and we just bought a new Netgear router a few months ago, which seems to be functioning perfectly (we've owned several other routers of various makes, none of which seemed to change the problem). Our household has several computers (windows and apple) and smartphones that connect to the internet. When the internet goes down none of those devices are able to connect at all, so I doubt it has anything to do with the wireless settings on those devices.

Does anyone know what would cause this? Could the satellite dish be defective? It is pretty old. Or does it have something to do with the nature of satellite internet? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have recently come to the realization that I have serious problems with codependency, and I've decided to give al anon a shot because I know it helps with similar issues. Ideally I would have preferred to try attending CoDa meetings, but as far as I know there are none in my area. I'd love to hear some feedback from a codependent who has attended al anon. What did you think? Was it a beneficial experience? Did it help you? Would you recommend I try al anon for my codependency? Why? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

A few days ago my boyfriend and I both started having the same symptoms. I think we may have eaten something that made us sick because it came on fast in both of us. First we both woke up experiencing nausea and an abnormal amount of stomach acid accompanied by frequent burping and acid coming up in our throats. We also had really bad diarrhea, mine at least was very watery. I had to go frequently throughout the day. I was also dizzy on and off throughout the day. Not seriously dizzy, but enough to make walking around uncomfortable and make it hard to concentrate on anything.

I was really hot, and thought I probably had a fever which was causing the dizziness, but no fever at all. I then assumed that I must be dehydrated from the diarrhea and tried to drinking more water. I'm not sure if I drank enough, but I definitely didn't drink too little.

The next day the acid was gone, but my intestines were giving me problems. I felt like I had the stomach flu on and off all day and I got kind of bloated. I was still dizzy on and off as well. It's been three days since the acid went away. I still feel kind of sick to my stomach, bloated, and dizzy when I walk or do anything strenuous. The dizziness isn't triggered by movement of my head, more by physical activity. Also I am still really hot, although I don't have a fever.

I'm not pregnant, not taking any medications, don't have any serious illnesses. I just went to the doctor last week to get antibiotics for a bladder infection, but that's gone.

The symptoms aren't really that much of a pain. But I am at a loss to account for the dizziness. I've continued to drink lots of water. Someone suggested I have a B vitamin deficiency, but I eat a lot of vitamin B rich foods. Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be causing the dizziness? Like I said, it's not really bad, but it's disorienting and it hasn't gone away so I'm beginning to worry. Any help would be much appreciated.

I am thinking about getting a small tattoo low on my tummy, probably over to the side near my pelvic bone, but not on it. First question: about how long will it take? I'm thinking it will probably be about 1"x1" with maybe two colors. An estimation would be great. My second question is about the pain of it. I know it usually doesn't hurt as much if it's not very close to the bone, but I've also heard that the lower stomach area hurts a lot. I know pain varies person to person, but has anyone had this done? How was it?

I have two female rats which are about 8 weeks old. Last week their actions were completely normal. They love to come out and play and usually wait by the door of their cage when I'm around to be let out. Then when I do open the cage they scamper onto my shoulders. But two days ago one of my rats, Nala wouldn't come out of the tube tunnel they sleep in. She would come to the entrance and stick her face out but she wouldn't leave except to drink or eat. I eventually coaxed her out onto my hand to get a look at get. I felt her all over, I looked at her eyes, and inspected every inch of her. She showed no signs of illness, and with more encouragement, started playing normally again. But when I put her back she ran back to the tunnel and wouldn't come out again. She seemed frightened of something, but nothing has changed in my room that I can think of. Her strange behavior continued until this morning. Today she seems completely back to normal. She's running around and playing. But her sister, Aria is now acting the same way, like she's scared to come out of her tunnel, and usually she is the boldest of the two. Does anyone know what is going on?

I recently got two female rats and I'm in the process of trust training them. It's going well but I can't seem to find a low calorie treat that both of them like. They both really like sugary, fatty snacks like cheese and candied papaya, but I'd prefer to give them more healthy things to eat. Can anyone suggest some healthy low calorie snacks I could try them on?

So I've had short hair for 5 years now. I've tried growing it out a few times but this time I'm doing it for real. I'm heading into the awkward mullet phase and I need some styling tips.

I've never been really well informed about styling products and accessories and other such things. The only styling products I've used in the last few years have been a straightening iron and some styling wax, so in short I'm pretty clueless.

Any tips on accessorizing/styling would be much appreciated. Right now my bangs are the longest part of my hair, they are parted way over to the side, they're angled so they sort of fall across one of my eyes. I have side bangs/sideburns that are pretty long at the moment. The rest of my hair is layered, with the longest bits on top. I also have a dreadful little mini mullet down the back of my neck. blaaah.

I am a supertaster, which for anyone who doesn't know basically means that the taste buds that respond to bitter flavors are extremely sensitive.

Because of this sensitivity I find nearly every vegetable revolting and virtually unpalatable. I have struggled with this problem all my life and I realize that I need to start consuming more vegetables because I want to be healthy.

What can I do to get more vegetables into my diet? (note: potatoes, carrots, and rice are starches, not vegetables. I am not currently eating starch of any kind, so please don't suggest that I eat more of it)

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

I am a supertaster, which for anyone who doesn't know basically means that the taste buds that respond to bitter flavors are extremely sensitive. Because of this sensitivity I find nearly every vegetable revolting and virtually unpalatable. I have struggled with this problem all my life and I realize that I need to start consuming more vegetables because I want to be healthy. What can I do to get more vegetables into my diet? (note: potatoes, carrots, and rice are starches, not vegetables. I am not currently eating starch of any kind, so please don't suggest that I eat more of it) Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Our only female schnauzer puppy is lethargic and sleepy. A few days ago she was energetic. She's always been a little smaller than the rest of the pups. I think perhaps she may not be getting enough to eat. She has no other symptoms other than tiredness. We're making sure she gets more milk and she seems a little better. Is there anything else I should be worried about?