Dear 100 Hour Board,

As a comment on Board Question #23009, here is what the medical transcriptionist responded:
Well, there really isn't much to go on...does the "degree of pain" refer to the headaches? The things that would come to my mind, given the normal blood work, would be:

Migraines. Is there a history of migraine in her family(I am assuming female here)? Some migraines cause nausea.

Depression/anxiety. Sounds kind of like telling her it's all in her head, but it is a legitimate bodily response to one's emotional state.

Deconditioning. Is this person used to being physical and now spends a lot of time at a desk? Sometimes when we spend too much time on any one thing, our body responds by sending signals out, and nausea and dizziness are common in such cases.

I can say that it most likely is NOT, based on the scant evidence, a cancerous process of any sort, and probably not infectious, either. There would be more questions to ask...for example, is there any nasal congestion? Is the dizziness causing the nausea, or is she nauseous ever without the dizziness?

The only thing I can think of is for her to be absolutely sure to get some decent exercise, such as walking. Not too strenuous, but not "work," either, (like painting a wall or going shopping). It should help clear her head a bit, should relax her a bit. But it should also be done indoors, due to the effect of cold, dry weather on the ears/dizziness. What kind of MRI was it? Is there any lung congestion? There is an illness called Meniere's disease that she might look up, too. It's a problem with the inner ear that often causes the symptoms she describes. But without more information, I really can't tell. I just hope any of this is a bit useful for her. Is she taking any medications, supplements, or herbs? Some perfectly normal meds could cause those symptoms, too. (My mom knew a woman who would get extremely drowsy when she took aspirin, even though it's not anywhere listed as a side-effect.) Less common would be a food or other allergy, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Anyhoo, that's all I could think of right now. Hope it helps.

Lady Last Line, Not a Doc

Dear 100 Hour Board,

This comment is for Anonymous, who asked Board Question #23092 yesterday. While I agree with Lady Last Line and Melyngoch that you shouldn't be too nice (which they defined as being "self-righteous, cocky, or bland"), I don't think that they were telling you what women in general want in men so much as they were telling you what they want. Melyngoch did mention that her advice didn't apply to everyone, but there was one thing she said that I really didn't agree with:

Niceness does not win women. A carcinogenic exterior with a marshmallowy core wins women. It's why we all love House."

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Your responses to the question from the Unnamed Prince Charming just really touched a nerve.

I've been on both sides of the equation. I know how things like weight and incompatible senses of humor and different comfort levels with all kinds of things can play into a situation. I know girls don't like to be put up on a pedestal...I broke up with one boyfriend mostly because I couldn't ever see him understanding and appreciating the real me and was sure he'd be disappointed if he ever found out what was really going on in my head. The person you trust is the one who knows without having to be told that you're human and responds to the real you without being scared away either by the person you project in public or the reality you are in private.

I don't entirely understand why we women seem to be attracted to danger. Maybe we don't trust goodness until we know it better. Maybe it's because we don't want to be judged. Maybe it's a release for the side of us that knows all our faults and finds it easier to identify with someone whose faults are apparent. It's probably stupid, but if you look at the underlying message, it's that we want to be understood...even the darkest parts of ourselves.

I wish I could make it easier. I'm in much your same boat and don't know how I'll ever find someone. What I have learned over the last couple of years is that the most important thing is to love people for who they are. When you know your inadequacies, when you've fought them time and again and know how dependant you are for grace and life and have reconciled yourself with God through faith and hope, you're in a better position to see others as they are. It's not the same thing as natural modesty--that I know. Don't give up hope. It's a righteous desire. And when you're ready, it will probably happen.

Strange. I'd started this a little upset at how derogatory the responses seemed to be. I think they could have been more respectful of the efforts you're making to be a good guy--that desire is so important. But they're right that there's usually a reason why we aren't married. Don't be discouraged. We all have things in our manner and character that will strike others the wrong way. A lot of times, people are scared away for all the wrong reasons and that's their problem. All you can do is relax, be humble, and keep the faith. And never be afraid. And you know what? That's everything anyway, however hard it can be to put into practice. :)

- Best Wishes

Dear Never a Good Night's Sleep,

Reply to Board Question #23086, about sleeping environments:

I've had problems like this for some time as well. I talked to someone at the Counciling Center, and they gave me a list of things to try. Most of these try to make it so that your body begins to associate certain stimuli with sleep and only sleep.

1. Use your bed only for sleeping. No reading, eating, or watching TV in bed. This can get rather difficult if you're in a hotel room with very limited furniture, and in that case I would suggest sitting on the edge of the bed.

2. Stay in your day clothes until you're ready to go to sleep.

3. If you're not falling asleep within fifteen or twenty minutes of lying in bed, get up and do something else. Again, you're trying to train your body to remember that when you lay in bed, you should fall asleep fairly soon. Laying in bed for hours counteracts this effort.

4. No caffeine, chocolate or other stimulants within a half hour of when you go to sleep. In this context, stimulants are not restricted only to chemical. For instance, if taking a shower right before bed tends to keep you more awake, try to do it earlier or in the morning.

5. Don't take naps during the day. I realize this is hard, especially if you haven't slept in days. But, if you're having trouble falling asleep at night, taking naps will only magnify the problem. Your body's inner-clock works best with a set, consistent schedule.

6. Along that same vein of thought, wake up at the same time every morning, even if you have the opportunity to sleep in. In the short run, this will probably deprive you of some sleep, but in the long run you'll be getting more quality sleep more consistently. This can be especially hard to do during vacations, but do what you can.

7. Do not have a clock visible. One of the worse things you can do to yourself is watch a clock all night long, and count in your head how much sleep you might be able to get. This is a self-feeding destructive pattern. As the time goes by, you become more anxious about how little sleep you can get. Becoming anxious makes you less likely to fall asleep, thus you're up longer, and you become more and more agitated over the less and less sleep you could get.

8. Invest in a sleep mask. You won't always be able to control how much light is in the room, but you can take steps to limit the amount of light that reaches your eyes.

This website has some more advice, as well as links to lots of other helpful sites: http://www.helpguide.org/aging/sleep_tips.htm

Finally, from my experience sleeping problems are largely psychological. I used to think that I couldn't sleep when there was any amount of light. I got blackout curtains (the strangest item ever to go on my Christmas list), shoved towels under my door frame like you, and bought a sleep mask. After a few months of these precautions every night, the idea started to form in my head that I didn't really need all of these steps to sleep-that sleeping is something I can do without the perfect environment. Eventually, the towel was removed, then the sleep mask, then I moved and never bothered putting the blackout curtains up.

I realize that not all of these will be extremely helpful, as vacations have a way of screwing up any sort of schedule. Hopefully, though, something here will help you.

One more thing: if you find that you still can't get to sleep, there are still things that you can do to relax and gather energy without falling asleep. One such technique is a type of self-hypnosis. There are two different ways I can remember to do this, and they both start out the same. Begin by laying flat on your back. Close your eyes. Stick your arms straight at your side, and your legs straight out in front of you-if your limbs are crossed, circulation is reduced, which can distract you.

1. Begin counting backwards from 1,000 or 100 slowly. Repeat each number over and over again in your head. Keep repeating it until you get distracted by something. Once you catch your mind wandering-regardless of what its wandering to, move to the next number down. Repeat this process as much as necessary. You do not have to think about anything else, not anything that might be stressing you, not how tired you are, nothing.

2. This next one is more difficult to put into words. If you focus, you can start to feel your entire body relaxed. Start with your toes, and just focus all of your concentration on them, and on relaxing them. Progress slowly, feeling a wave of pure relaxation wash over your feet, then spread up your legs. It slowly begins to engulf your whole body, leaving behind a comforting, peaceful heaviness.

The point of both of these separate exercises is to get yourself to relax as much as possible. Hopefully, either one of these meditations can help you to fall asleep. If not, you will at least be letting your body rest and gather strength. Also, and this is purely my own speculation, I would assume that using your bed to meditate to try to fall asleep would be an exception to the 15-20 minute rule listed above.

Goodnight

- Mania

Dear 100 Hour Board,

In response to Board Question #23049--I feel your pain.
I too at one point had the um... the scalpy problems you are experiencing.

I went to a dermotologist and he prescribed something that helps a lot! Its a perscribtion so you'll have to speak to a doctor-- But is a product called Clobex (it doesnt have a generic brand and im afraid its quite pricey). Its either in lotion or shampoo form. Lotion you leave on overnight on your scalp,or if you use the shampoo, you leave in your hair for 15 minutes.

I hope this helps.
Don't be scared to talk to your dermotologist about it... its no big deal :)

- MAD

Dear 100 Hour Board,

I'm having a continuing argument with my best friend's wife. I've searched the archives, but can't really find an answer to what I am looking for. The thing is this -- I have a tattoo on my back. I don't necessarily hide it, but I also don't announce to the world that it is there (most of my family still doesn't know about it and I have had it for more than a year and I also refuse to swim in the RB pool so I don't get dirty looks). My friend's wife thinks that any time I date someone I should mention it, whereas I think that it isn't something that I really need to discuss until I was thinking about asking a girl to marry me, since if she loves me before she knew I had a tattoo, shouldn't she be able to accept that I made a mistake when I was younger and move on? Who is right?

-- Jorge

Dear Most Knowledgeable 100 Hour Board,

The bricks, on campus.

Not the favored melichrous bricks of the buildings that lend the campus a certain avocado greenish mustardy shag carpet 1970s-ish feel--but the bricks I saw the grounds crew pounding into the exposed dirt between the HRCB and the MARB the other day, instead of pouring a proper slop of sidewalk cement. Cement, which when properly cured to sturdy trusty concrete (my favorite surface for my transects of campus) is far superior to bricks. Why does the University insist on laying bricks all over campus instead of concrete or even hardy grass or asphalt (easier on the knees for us with perennial tardiness who often must run) or Astroturf? I hate walking on bricks. I have to avoid the new JFSB almost entirely. Why are there so many bricks that I have to walk on (or actually avoid walking on) here?

- theduck

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Are Utah Blaze games ever on television? If so, what channel? I'd like to follow the team, but from what I've seen you either have to go in person or listen on the radio.

-Shteven the footballer

dear 100 hour board,

i've been trying to find an author to a quote. the quote sounds like this: "if there is anything we've learned from the past, it's that we don't learn anything from the past." or similar: "if there is one thing we've learned from the past, it's that we don't learn from the past." it'd be great if you could find the author! thank you.

- volatile

Dear 100 Hour Board,

I am currently on a four-year full tuition scholarship (the Heritage Scholarship), and just recently applied for and received a Spring/Summer scholarship for half tuition. I was quite content with this until I was told (by a questionable source, hence this query to you) that you can only receive scholarships to apply to 8 semesters total. So, my question is, if I accept either/both the Spring/Summer scholarships, will that disqualify me for using my Heritage scholarship for the other full 8 semesters (i.e. four years of using them towards Fall/Winter tuition)?

-Concerned nerd

Dear 100 Hour Board,

I know that there was an organization in about the 1930's or 1940's called the "Chicago Roundtable". It was for magicians and other entertainers. I have even seen a drawing of people involved at the time (large picture, line drawing, with "Chicago Roundtable" at the top), and I do recognize some of them.

I would like to find more information on this organization --
who was involved?
what did they do?
what happened to the organization?
does it still exist today in any form?
who drew the drawing I saw?

Can you help me?

- (Ok, so I have...) Odd Interests

Dear 100 Hour Board but more so Pa Grape,

I've asked a lot of questions but their seriousness hasn't been as great as the question I am going to ask. I am awaiting a response from my bishop concerning a highly possible disciplinary council with the stake leaders because of my actions. This isn't a question about that. I know the gravity of my offenses is going to result in formal action of some sort from the conversation I had with my bishop. What would happen to my status here at BYU if I were disfellowshipped or excommunicated? Would I be kicked out of school?

Thanks,
Sinks Like A Rock and this time, sunk pretty deep.

Dear 100 Hour Board,

I have a delimma rather reverse of the norm: I need to gain weight. I was fairly skinny when I started school last fall, and since then I've lost another ten pounds. I know I could gain it back by eating a lot of ice cream or something like that, but what would be a healthier way of gaining weight? (I know you're not doctors, etc)

- Feeling Cheated on the Freshman 15

Dear 100 Hour Board,

What do you know (or hear) of the Katy apartments?

-Is Katy the one?