Tabaluga's 2.0

@TAB @I promise I’ll clean the fridge tomorrow 🎈🪅

@ENKELI I had allover body pain due to undiagnosed suspected fibromyalgia. Went to doctors and was medically gaslit as all those years ago as it was an unrecognised illness. Friend in Canberra was given access to rheumatologist. Its hard if you have MI trying to access specialists as they put everything down to somatisation. I only see my new doctor if I need to and she knows I don't somatise. Anyway I resoled the pain with ayurveda. My friend couldn't do it as she was allergic to the product - she was sensitive to all kinds of things. I don't know how she is now, we lost contact but would hate to think how pain she is still in. Its a shame she couldn't get it resolved and was reliant on pharmaceuticals

Yes @Historylover I can say its almost as if my brother and I didn't come out of the same womb. Totally different people. I lost contact with him 30 years ago and really wouldn't know who he is as a person today. Better off left where it is. But I do wonder about it. He lives interstate and is doing other things with his life now. He is a bit of a glam couple with his wife. I don't know anything about him really.

@SmilingGecko illness like fibromyalgia are the kind of difficult diagnoses that GPs either over prescribe or under prescribe from what I understand. Mine is physical - degeneration of discs so I can "prove" the pain as it were.

I am so sorry you dealt with that pain for so long, it's not good. But also very glad that you found someone who believed you and you have been relieved of your pain.

I had a friend also who was on high doses of opioids. I lost contact with her several years ago and I often wonder what happened to her.

Yes, @SmilingGecko. Such is (family) life, heh? Life's short, and we'll never disentangle this multi-generational mess. And it happened so easily. Life goes on...

Yes @ENKELI I hear you. I'm glad you got the care you needed! I was basically left there with no choice but to pursue other options. There was very little info about fibro out there when I had it and have heard people shopping from doctor to doctor to get a proper diagnosis. Ayurveda saved my life. I did not live with the pain for long but it taught me compassion for people with pain-related illnesses ❤️

I think we're literally swimming in these karmic conditions and this is to be expected but it would be nice if people just got along with eachother for a change. I don't think my situation with my brother will ever improve. I've just come to the conclusion it would never work out with him @Historylover I really need to try and get out there and meet new people but its hard without a car. Even then its difficult - I don't think it gets any easier after we get older. I'm approaching 60 and trying to do the friendship thing over again after being knocked about with previous debilitating illnesses is a challenge.

@ENKELI hey beautiful i am doing well thank you. had a busy week so looking forward to the weekend. i love how you call your kitty Mr Murder Mittens. yes our Ginge wasnt the smartest cat But he did choose us as his family (he was a stray) so he could lead a pampered life so he wasnt that stupid 😄 love bun bun xxx

There are a lot of similarities between us in family matters and personal lives, @SmilingGecko.

I am always reading articles on suggested ways to make friends at later ages. I'd tried them all already. I could've written them myself, but having put these suggestions to the test, I wouldn't have bothered. I've come to the conclusion that the universe simply has it in for me. I keep putting myself out there though. I do well, but the problem is that I come with too much baggage and I value my worth and my privacy at the same time.

Do you have interests that are likely to have group meetings? I'm sure you've tried all avenues available to you already too. For me, it's sport. It's my go-to and the only outlet I enjoy. I find it exhilarating. The faster the better. I've tried everything else, and just chatting to strangers while getting to know them is something that I find exploitative. My life story and personal information is best left alone. There are inadequate words to do it justice, and it offends me that people think they understand but they couldn't possibly imagine the longstanding, unrelenting trauma of it all. They can just shrug it off as nothing. I can't.

I know the difficulties of not having a car. As you know, I've had many years of it. I still don't go out at night now that I have one though. In fact, I'm not even sure how to use the headlights! One of these days I'll extend myself and learn this new skill. I don't remember the last time I was out at night.