Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

One week out of the hospital and I think I’m doing ok. I keep adding things to my diet and so far so good. Still no tomatoes, citrus, or anything spicy, among other things l, but my appetite is coming back.

I found out that the stomach ailment I had/have (?) has a 40% mortality rate. They didn’t tell me that while I was in the hospital. My primary care doc just slipped it in during conversation and I was like, “Wait, what?!?!”

Life is scary.

6 days ago | [YT] | 161

Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

I’m think about getting a new iPhone. After trying the Air at release I just hung onto my 16 Pro Max, but I HATE the desert sand color and even the little bit that shows with a case enrages me.
I haven’t had a Pro (not Pro Max) in ever. Anyone out there have good or bad things to say?

1 week ago | [YT] | 5

Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

I’m out of the hospital and feeling OK. Not sure what my recovery time will be, but There’ll be some pre-sickness recorded stuff dribbling out over the next couple weeks and if I can, I’ll make a video talking about what happened and what it means for the channel going forward.

1 week ago | [YT] | 63

Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

It’s day 4 of (hopefully) 4 in the hospital for lil ol’ me. Last Saturday I got sick from the same dose of tirzepitide that made me deathly ill back in February. Same issues as before: nausea, vomiting, and then other bathroom fun from Saturday until Wednesday morning when, after thinking I was getting better the day before, I started flop sweating with bad gas pain, tingling in my arms, shortness of breath…
A 911 call, ER visit, CT scan later, they found gas had permeated my stomach wall and that is a very bad thing. The next thing you know, I’m admitted to the hospital with a NG tube and some scary possibilities for recovery.
Thankfully, the next scan was improved and I’ve been getting better ever since. The NG tube came out and I’ve started eating a little. If all goes well, I’ll get to go home today.
I realize there are many opinions about glp1 medications but when it comes down to it, I was trying to improve my health in ways I hadn’t been able to on my own. Is this the end of the glp1 line for me? I have to really take a hard look and discuss with the doctors here before I make that decision fully.
I will say that for anyone on a glp1 or considering it, this stuff is not a joke and can truly eff you up. Be very circumspect and pay close attention to everything. I’ve learned that all of what you know when you start is half of what you need to know and don’t be fooled by ads and anecdotes that make it seem easy and danger-free. It is not.

So, how was your week?

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 44

Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

I just spent an hour going through the comments on my videos, as I will do from time to time.
9 out of 10 comments were nasty, condescending or both. What's wrong with people? Is it me? I don't remember peeing on so many people's corn flakes.
Is everyone OK out there?

1 month ago | [YT] | 30

Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

I've been making YouTube videos for 13 years. Six of those full-time.

In that time I've learned things I wish someone had told me at the start — about staying honest with your audience, building something you actually believe in, and not chasing an algorithm that will never love you back.

I put the most important lessons into a 36-page Toolkit. It's called The Honest Creator Toolkit, and it's built around principles like:

You Are Not a Niche, You Are a Voice

The Trap of Algorithmic Worship

Failure is the Only Teacher That Sticks

It's for creators who are figuring out their voice — or who want something honest to measure themselves against when the direction isn't clear.

I'm also opening a handful of 1:1 Creator Audits — one hour, just the two of us, to look at what you're building and what to do next.

Both are live now. Links in the comments.

1 month ago | [YT] | 73

Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

Hey, if anyone's getting the AirPods Max 2, let me know what you think here. I'm super curious to see if people are satisfied.

1 month ago | [YT] | 7

Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

Let's talk about Suno for a second. A few weeks ago I made a video about taking a few scraps of music I wrote and some lyrics I wrote in 2012. It kinda blew me away, but it was nothing like the songs I typically write.
So last night I took another set of lyrics I wrote in the same 2012 time period and some guitar noodling I played into Voice Memos in 2017 and just used Suno suggested prompt phrases to approximate something like what I write.
It came up with a bunch of different interpretations as I tried different keys and different prompts and moved around the "weirdness" slider. I just listened to what it spit out and left it as is. I don't really see the point in trying to polish these things. I already hear what I would do differently and what I wouldn't do at all. But it's kind of like listening to someone cover a song I never wrote.
On a positive note, It took some floating, unused song bits I probably would haven't gone back to and turned them into something that kind of gave me a window into possibilities I wouldn't have considered.
From an artistic standpoint, it was educational and kind of inspirational and akin to what probably happens in a lot of writing rooms where people gather to try to cobble a song together from their own song bits and pieces.
Do I feel kindof dirty and like an enemy sympathizer? Yeah, a little, but it's too interesting not to screw around with.
This is probably one of the better ones it came up with. It might be a Don Henley song. Maybe I'll use it as inspiration for recording my own version.

Ambitious Fiction, a song I wrote with Suno. suno.com/s/qFtUtjbPoj10DXxC

2 months ago | [YT] | 10

Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

New glasses. I guess I’ve entered my Kung Fu Elvis period.

3 months ago | [YT] | 76

Painfully Honest with Jason T. Lewis

I lost 20lbs in 5 days.

GLP-1 overdose is not fun.

"Sure, I'll inject myself with this stuff I got off the Internet. What could go wrong?"

In my case, they prescribed me a much higher dose than I should have been on. I had no clue how bad it could go.

Starting last Thursday, through 2 urgent care visits, 1 ER visit, 2 series of IV fluids, a CT scan, and now onto a pretty strong course of antibiotics, I have finally stopped running to the toilet 20 times a day. If that doesn't sound too bad, you're a stronger person than I.

Gastroparesis, diverticulitis, severely compromised kidney function, and a lot of other important interior parts not functioning correctly, I was seriously scared for my life for the whole awful experience. I'm not good dealing with health related problems, so YMMV.

3 months ago | [YT] | 34