I'm usually comfortable with wild critters, but there was this one time... Much of the back yard at our previous house was sloped. There was a terraced path mid-slope, and I had a bluebird house attached to the fence post at about 5' high. Placement was such because it was a backup house, and I found it easier to store it there than in the garden shed. I liked to feed the birds, but the seed did tend to attract those big, ugly rats to the back area of the yard. One day, I saw a rat run into the birdhouse. In bright daylight, no less. I went over and angrily flipped open the hinged top, thinking it would run off along the top of the fence. Well, that isn't quite what happened next. That rat launched himself out of the birdhouse, and flew! My feet were frozen in place, but I arched my back and leaned my head and torso away from the airborne missile as it flew 12" in front of my face. My eyes were wide, but the pupils followed the movement as that rat landed 5 feet downslope--and was swallowed up by the sword ferns growing there. Yikes! There was no time to straighten up, because a few seconds later rat #2 flew out of the box in the same arc as the first one. I never screamed; the only thing that seemed to be working were my eyes and the count. Three. An involuntary shudder went down my arms about that time, but I was still firmly frozen in place. Number four allowed me to focus 15" in front of my nose as he flew out at a slightly different angle down the slope. There was a brief pause...and I smiled that miraculously none of them had landed on my body in their panic! I'd just begun to straighten when number five launch through the air..Ack!.. and soon, number six followed the first rat's route... I waited. And waited some more. Finally I straightened up and looked inside the birdhouse. Empty. WHEW! I have no idea how so many large rats fit inside that birdhouse--or even WHY they would all be smashed inside of there. That none of them ran out, and all jumped as if shot from a mini-canon from the interior shredded what I think of as typical rat behavior. It definitely goes down as one of the freakiest things I've ever experienced; Not sure if it qualifies more as a funny story or a nightmarish one. lol

dee_can if its under a year old you might call support and talk to them about that. Imagine you are still under warranter. Think if I had a hot laptop maybe the first thing I'd be looking in 'Task Manager for CPU percentage use to see if something is constantly using lots of CPU cycles. - Right click blank area on the bottom task bar and you'll see it, then 'Show for all users' followed by the 'Processes tab and click on the CPU heading a couple times to bring highest use to the top. You might look for a program that shows temps,, one of the popular freewares is called 'SiS' 'System Information for Windows' shows the temps in it. My Toshiba seems to mostly have a CPU temp of around 135-136F when just browsing around and a fan speed of 100 RPM which is its lowest & for sure quietest, cant hear anything. I can hardly feel air movement by the CPU vent, not even on my leg hairs like my last Toshiba used to occasionally cause that sudden bug crawling sensation.

The gagging could be from what is called "silent reflux"... I didn't even know i had it until i went to the doctor with an ear ache which was also contributed to the reflux. When you are laying down the acid can creep up and then in turn make you cough and gag. I had nausea as well for many years from this and did not even know it. It is quite common in perimenopause as it relates to hormone fluctuations. I take an OTC Zegerid at night for the reflux and it has helped a lot. Also, not eating a few hours before going to bed may help as well. Not sure if this is what you have but it sounds like it to me. As for night sweats i found that at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, walking or running helped tremendously. It also helps with my anxiety and nervousness that also comes up out of nowhere at times. The only thing getting me through is the thought of making it to the finish line and this being over fairly soon... i hope! Good luck

Hi Rudo, hope you are doing ok. Yes, you really need to get up every now and then, even to just go to restroom and take a stretch. I work with a computer a lot and my shoulders get so tense they hurt if i forget to stretch. Once I get home I have to do a little bit of tai Chi and that helps a lot. Any slow, measured movement will do, you dont have to know Tai Chi. But on the other hand, it sounds like you have something else going on, do you use a lot of salt in your diet? Seems your body is retaining water a lot, which can be normal if you sit a lot but I see you also have elevated BP, so that could be the culprit, is BP under control?. Lay off caffeine and try herbal teas. I know you said you walk a lot but don't overdo it, take a break sometimes and do different kind of exercise, like bike (recumbent one is great for leg circulation and nice cardio, plus saves your back). Key word is moderation. :) With our messed up metabolism its very easy to overdo and I find that is never a good thing. Strenuous exercise is as easy to bring on anxiety attack as any other kind of stress so we have to find a way to mellow. :) let me know if I can help with anythign else. Have a wonderful day, hugs :)