This tread caused me to FINALLY sign up here. I was on Brian Talk until it stopped working and some came here. I never signed up here but do read the forums.

I realize this is not dead on topic (to the original post) but - it will apply to some parts of the original post.

I have no beefs with anyone but ......

I jabber my face off on some forums that are not health related. I know a heck of a lot about some things but not medical related - other than just pure logic. If anything I am very logical.

I would like to give some of you ... long time posters a few observations from a guy that lost interest in trying to be very active here.

SOME (I did not say all) people ***may*** have some of the same thoughts.

- talking over our heads
- sometimes it seems talking over our heads is on purpose
- sometimes it seems to have a hidden meaning (shut up you know nothing - go away and come back after you have memorized all the medical terms)
- being short and sometimes dismissive to newbies.

I’ve had PN for 3.5 years. If I want someone talking over my head (on purpose) - I can go to the Dr. When a Dr is talking over my head on purpose or dismissive - it is a turn off and in no way impressive.

Using initials is fine for other more learned people (aka the few in the circle) but some of us not so up on the terms ...... it goes right over our heads.

I personally could care less if I am in or out of some circle on some internet forum.

Forums that are into “the few in the group” usually end up getting what they seem to be after. A smaller and smaller group.

It was mentioned in the original post (see I could have said in the OP but some would not have known what that meant) that .....

A newbie ask a question and it gets 2 or three replies. A regular (circle member) says something and it gets three pages of replies - YES YES YES ..... I see that over and over and over here.

AND ........... often one or two of the replies the newbie get is full of .....

- go to the Dr
- or has initials - leaving the newbie feeling stOOpid and often reeks with > “come back when you learn how to ask the right questions”.

While I admit - I don’t devote the time to all the medical jargon - I have followed both Brian Talk and this forum for about three years now. I have not posted on this forum for all the above reasons and the fact that ........

From all the reading I have done. From what I gathered from the testing that I did have. From what the neuro said - if there is no apparent cause of my PN ........ too bad.

I have no insurance and can not afford to chase an answer.

No one ask but - my bottom line (on the parts that caused me to say something) here is what I think. If anyone is really interested in not discouraging new members .......

- don’t talk over their heads and if you do - try to make sure they don’t think you did it on purpose.
- remember some of us don’t care about being in or out of some - group of accepted or not accepted but we do care about our PN and the PN of others - and get turned off by the perceived “grouping” real or imagined.

I personally never will be some kind of “expert” on anything medical related. I know tons about Apple computers - heavy users of them since 1981. Due to hundreds and hundreds of hours of personal development over the last 15 months - I can help people with things I have learned about self-confidence - self-esteem - motivation (I am listening to The Power Of Now - Eckhart Tolle right now) but .................. not medical. I have PN and it just seems ......... it is what it is.

Dang - I even bored myself with that post lol.