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When it rains, it pours...ETA Happy update at bottom

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

While my problems are nowhere near Khris's...I just feel like argh...
So this weekend I had actually planned to buy some clothes that fit. I have a Anthro birthday coupon, and was scoping out other sales and sites.
Friday night I lost my wallet either at the grocery store or the bus home. Called the grocery store, no luck. I submitted an online lost and found item thing to Metro, but they're not open on weekends. I posted in my local neighborhood Facebook community group.
Then I suspect I may have bedbugs. I have some tell tale bite marks that developed Saturday night, but can't really find evidence on the bedding.

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45 replies

Latest reply was from MTBGirl

rachylou

Veteran

Oh man. That's a buggrit, literally. A girl deserves a timeout. Have a mojito.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

And now my MacBook seems to be on the fritz

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Argh! Is there no end? Seriously, you deserve about a hundred good breaks by now.

One of my neighbors just told me last night that she lost her wallet in NYC of all places, and the kind person who found it sent it to her, everything intact, even the cash. I am hoping that your wallet found its way to the same kind of finder.

JAileen

Veteran

Oh I hope you don't have bedbugs! That can be very difficult to eradicate. A friend has a contraption for heating up her suitcase and contents after trips. She keeps it in her garage, and nothing is allowed in the house until it's been heated. Apparently that's how you kill them. Fingers crossed you don't have them.

catgirl

Veteran

BEDBUGS! I really hope now. That heating thing works for clothes but first you have to get them out of the home. Really hoping you don't have that issue.

The wallet is frustrating too.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I haven't been on a real vacation for over two years...
I carefully stripped my bed to mattress, no real evidence. My mattress pad is a fancypants wool one that was recommended to me when I bought my latex mattress. It can only be washed cold, but dried on low.

After washing everything, I'll just monitor myself. Hopefully it's just other random ass bug.

JAileen

Veteran

Bedbugs can also come in on library books.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12......html?_r=0

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Bed bugs can also come in on public transport - thought I'd mention it since you bus in a lot. It's a big problem with the tube in London - which my family ride on daily. Rigorous and frequent cleaning in hot water helps.

Oh, Anna. (((HUGS))). I can think of few things as frustrating as losing your wallet. I'm sorry. I *hope* it still turns up. I trust you have cancelled your cards already.

catgirl

Veteran

My friend microwaves library books or puts them in the oven!

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Honestly there's a HUGE chance they came from work. Yay for working at a public hospital. Hospital issued scrubs are left at work, and I shower at night. But honestly who knows.
I'll get checked out by an employee health nurse tomorrow at work tomorrow. I'm very suspicious as my marks are "the breakfast, lunch, dinner" configuration.
I found a bed bug detecting dog that is highly rated locally. Supposedly the dog can detect early infestations. My Inspection of my bed today didn't show anything.
Right now it's just more **** for me to deal with, and my plate is overflowing.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

URGH!!!!

Too much at once. Horrid. Bedbugs, yet??? At the worst time -- just when you need a comfortable place to retreat.

Maneera

(website)

Veteran

Oh damn, Anna. You really need a timeout, girl. One of the WORST things that ever happened to me was losing my wallet on a train. It was a mega pain-in-the-a** to go through the mind-numbingly slow process of getting a new copy of my license, voter ID and all other IDs I also lost with the wallet. Not to add, I had to stay hungry & thirsty the entire train journey until I reached my destination and my parents came to pick me up (a pickpocket stole my wallet at the train station while I was boarding the train to go visit family). The whole experience was just HORRIBLE.

And to add to that - BEDBUGS????? Now that's some scary shit. Hope you find out for sure ASAP.

Pour yourself some wine. It really helps when you feel overwhelmed and frustrated. And binge watching a crap show on Netflix really helps too. (Can you tell I'm in an overwhelmed, crap, stressed out place too just yet?!)

I wish you luck with both these bothersome issues. Hope everything turns out fine in no time.

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Eliza

Veteran

Anna- I am raising my arms to push that cloud away from your roof. Enough!

Sorry about your wallet and hope it turns up. Bedbugs: hope not. If you can get help with whatever they are, take it. You have too much going on as it is. These kind of pile-on times are the toughest. Sending good thoughts your way.

approprio

(website)

Veteran

oh Anna, this really sucks!

Please try not to panic. It's the last thing you need right now. The wallet is just stuff and if you've had a brush with the bugs, they haven't settled in yet by the sound of it.

As for the rest, well, I don't know what to say - I'm still pondering your last thread. Reach out to your friends IRL, not just here online. Things will get better.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Sorry about everything that is happening, and that it is happening all at once. Hope things turn around quickly.

Sally

Veteran

yuck...nothing worse than something that ruins your sleep like bed bugs. I had scabies once after a holiday in Fiji where my son got infected excema. I remember thinking i actually could cope with all this if I could get a decent night sleep so i sympathise on that score.
I hope you get the wallet situation sorted and you can get a good rest.

Anonymous

Oh, no, Anna. Why is it that life can really pour it on so relentlessly at times? I thought I had bedbugs after a trip once, it turned out just to be some other bug bite in an unfortunate configuration. So hopefully you'll see no further marks, your wallet will turn up, and you can get on with finding the light at the end of the tunnel. Thinking of you...

Helen11

Veteran

Oh Anna, I feel for you, all these things piling on at once! Hang in there, and take any break you can.

RobinF

Veteran

That is really a bummer! Why is it that these things always seem to happen at once?!

Diana

Veteran

Yikes. You really can't get a break, can you?

I hope the wallet turns up soon... but if I were you I'd cancel all the cards anyway and request new ones just to be on the safe side. You never know. (I've lost mine twice - once in Greece, which you might remember was a gigantic disaster, and once at work, where I got it back untouched in 1 hour after someone found it and turned it in to security).

And I hope you don't have bedbugs! I haven't experienced them (thank goodness) but like Sally, I have had scabies (probably picked up on public transit) and wouldn't wish that nighttime itching on anyone!

Jules

Veteran

I've had bed bugs and my understanding at the time, based on a lot of research, was that a hot dryer was more important than hot water washing. Some things that are dry clean only or can't take a hot water wash or go in a hot dryer *wet* can go in *dry* - this might apply to your wool mattress cover. Basically the dryer acts like a Packtite, heating up things that can't go through a wash/dry cycle. They don't need a full cycle time as it doesn't take long for dry items to heat up in a dryer.
We didn't have fully functional W/D when we went through this, so my husband took many bags of stuff including shoes to the laundry mat and ran them through the dryer. A few things did not survive - something I can't recall melted, and some boots shrank so I couldn't wear them anymore, but they were still wearable just too small for me. It might be a tool in your arsenal & peace of mind to throw some things in the dryer.

Nebraskim

Veteran

My university had an infestation several years ago and we brought in the bedbug-sniffing dogs and also purchased some sort of "heats up the room" contraption that supposedly kills them. You have to remove items that will not withstand heating up to about 140 degrees for several hours (like candles, food, etc. but candles are forbidding in our residence halls anyway.) We spent several thousand on this but got the problem under control. There are periodic small outbreaks at the library, in labs (where people bring them from home) but this heater thing works wonders. Hope this is a bit of a false alarm. I was terrified I had them once, but it turned out to be fleas (equally horrible). I am one of those people whose body over-reacts to bites so my skin looked pretty bad.

A "cheater" way to deal with BBs here is to put the items you think might be infested (like clothing, bedding ,etc.) into sealed plastic bags, and then leave in your car on a super hot day for several hours. When it gets to be 100 outside here, it can get to 140-160 in the car.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

So this morning I went to the employee health nurse. She looked at all the red spots and asked me a ton of questions. Since they weren't itchy, not bed bugs, not spiders either due to distribution on my body. I don't have pets and didn't interact with any recently so probably not fleas.
She thinks it's an allergic reaction. Saturday morning I did use Tom Ford Portofino body oil. It's bonkers expensive but a treat for me. I don't use it on work days as it's highly perfumed. I've had the bottle for a quite a while, so maybe it's gone off.
She said to keep an eye on the spots in the next few days.
Then I got an email from Metro, they had a possible match for my wallet. I had to leave work early to get it as the lost & found had really limited hours. It was my wallet, complete with the cash!!! The lost & found guy gave me some grief for all the stuff in it as he had trouble finding my driver's license. So I guess a purge of the wallet is in order. I already found a shoe stamp card from the now closed Solestruck in Portland, Oregon.

JAileen

Veteran

Whew! What good news! Go buy a lottery ticket!

rachylou

Veteran

Diggety dog! Woo hoo! Yay!

That deserves a mojito too

Maneera

(website)

Veteran

Fantastic news!

AJ

Veteran

So glad I read through all the comments to see that your wallet and purse contents are safe with you now, and the skin marks might not be bed bugs after all! I hope the rest of your evening is relaxing. Take care.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Fantastic, Anna!! There is some justice after all! And kindness, too, that people would turn in the wallet with the cash.

So glad you don't have bedbugs but hope the allergy abates soon.

Anonymous

So wonderful to have good news. May it continue. The tide has turned.

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