#i cured my hyperthyroidism

[censorship]

My mom is killing my cat and there's nothing I can do about it from here, it's driving me nuts

[oysters-aint-for-me]

maaaan idk what to do...tw for sick cat, (upcoming) animal death

so my parents' cat, Hamish, is an old fragile boy who is sick with a number of issues, some of which we haven't bothered to diagnose, since he's dying of the major one (hyperthyroidism) and he's basically on cat hospice right now - we're not trying to cure him or make him better, we're just trying to make him comfortable.

the issue is that pretty soon (like in two and a half weeks) my family (me and my parents) are going on vacation to alaska for two weeks. this is like a bucket-list level trip for us; we got a rare opportunity to go to see the fat bears in katmai national park. this trip also the one year celebration of my dad making it through open-heart surgery. so it's a big deal trip that we're not going to cancel.

we've been hoping that Hamish will pass away peacefully somehow before our trip happens, whether naturally or by being put to sleep. but as of now, he's doing okay. he's still eating, purring, jumping, going to the bathroom, demanding snuggles, and being very very affectionate. so it's like, he's definitely not ready to go. he's still got that spark.

but he's also not great, like, he doesn't eat well, he's unsteady on his paws, he's extremely underweight, he's fragile, you can tell he's achy sometimes, he's started meowing differently, he sleeps in weird places that he's never slept before, etc. so while he still has that spark, he's clearly nearing the end.

the reason why he's survived so well until now is I think because my parents take SUCH good care of him. they adjust his meds as needed and monitor him closely. usually one of them is home most of the day to make sure he's doing ok.

the thought of leaving him for two weeks with a cat sitter is making us really nervous, because the cat sitter doesn't know how to monitor him in the same way, and while the cat sitter will be here the whole time to watch him, i don't want them to have to deal with any end-of-life stuff.

basically, I don't think Hamish will survive the two weeks without my parents there to take care of him - but he might, and there's no way to know!

there's also the option of boarding him at the vet, but that makes me sad, because he might still die while we're gone, and i don't want his last days to be spent in a cold metal cage. plus our vet doesn't like boarding animals anyway unless there are extreme circumstances.

so what do we do??? do we put him down before we go, even if he's not on death's doorstep quite yet? or do we take the chance that he might survive the two weeks and then deal with it when we get back? it's just that the thought of him being put down without me or my parents there to hold him at the end makes me so so so sad. above all else i don't want him to die alone. :( what are we gonna do!!!!

i guess we still have like two weeks to see how he does. it's still possible he'll go downhill sharply before our vacation and we'll put him down before we go and we'll get to be there with our sweet boy to say goodbye. it's just weird to hope for the speedy death of a pet, you know?

blaaaah the uncertainty is getting to me. idk. sorry i just had to vent.

[lonewolfel]

So ever sense we saw Caleb one thing has been irking me. The fact that Caleb seemed to have white hair at a young age. 

Like obviously people can have premature white hair but it seems like such a weird detail to have. Especially with the known related characters (Hunter and Philip) having different hair color.

Hunter’s is a two tone (I think that is what you call it) blonde.

And Philip has brown hair.

Now yes it could be a genetic mutation but then the trailer dropped. (Spoilers under the cut)

Caleb looks gaunt and tired. I saw someone make a comment how he might of had a fatal illness and came to the Boiling Isles for a cure so he won’t leave Philip alone (please tell me who said that I want to give them credit).

So while I was bored at work I decided to look at chronic illnesses that could lead to white hair and I came across hyperthyroidism.

So I’ll start out with saying that there is a connection between premature grey/white hair and hyperthyroidism. It doesn’t have any proven research but there is a link and is a believed to be a possible cause.

Then I looked at the symptoms 

Unintentional weight loss, even when your appetite and food intake stay the same or increase

Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) — commonly more than 100 beats a minute

Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)

Pounding of your heart (palpitations)

Increased appetite

Nervousness, anxiety and irritability

Tremor — usually a fine trembling in your hands and fingers

Sweating

Changes in menstrual patterns

Increased sensitivity to heat

Changes in bowel patterns, especially more frequent bowel movements

An enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), which may appear as a swelling at the base of your neck

Fatigue, muscle weakness

Difficulty sleeping

Skin thinning

Fine, brittle hair

(Mayo Clinic)

Weight loss and fatigue are obvious in that photo. 

What if Caleb experienced worsening tremors which prevents him from being able to carve. I am going to assume that was his job. He possibly could have heard of a folk healer who could cure any illness. Caleb goes to her for healing. Philip follows as well wanting to hang her for being a witch. The witch panics and they all end up in the Demon Realm. 

This will likely be debunked but I don’t care. 

TLTR: Caleb has hyperthyroidism no one can change my mind.

[havvkinsqueen]

Hello, friends! My kitty was found to have a small, benign tumor on her thyroid which is causing hyperthyroidism. I've chosen to go the route of a small, easy procedure that uses a radioisotope to kill the tumor and cure her. Unfortunately, it's about an $1800 price tag. As such, I'm opening graphics commissions and crochet commissions to help with the cost. For crochet, as long as there is a pattern available, I can make it. I do tend to make plushies, however. Graphics Examples under the cut;

Promos ;;

Pinned Posts ;;

Headers ;;

Post Banners ;;

Icon Borders ;;

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

So I think either my immune system has calmed down enough by now, or my thyroid has died off or healed enough by now that I seem to have my iodine levels as low as they can go without causing goiter, while still being able to eat as much dairy as I want, and when I go hyperthyroid it's only a little bit, the way I was like 10+ years ago.

Which means I should be able to have B vitamins properly again without terrible consequences.

So I went out and got multivitamins today.

Today is day 1 of multi vitamins.

I probably won't take them daily because that might be a bit much for how my body processes stuff...

But if I have any kind of deficiency, it will be cured.

My starting point here was:

May hair has been growing back in over the year I have lived alone and I finally managed to gain and keep on 20 pounds without having to eat excessively. But I still have so many health problems including extreme and increasing brain crankiness, and low energy levels.

[hyenaswine]

holy shit i just got the best xmas present ever, the vet called & reminded me that there's a cure for bubo's hyperthyroidism & it's radioactive iodine treatment, MY VERY OWN RAY CAT ❤️❤️❤️ nuclear medicine? for ME?? 😍

[thru-the-looking-glass-caroline]

Hyperthyroidism & seeing my doctor yesterday

So I have hyperthyroidism which basically means my thyroid is over active. The symptoms of hyperthyroidism are manageable with medication which I am on but those symptoms for me include

Being very jittery- the need to be doing something all the time

Higher levels of anxiety

Difficulty gaining weight and if I were not on medication rapid weight loss despite my intake

I over heat easily and have a pretty low tolerance to the heat

irregular heart beat (heart murmur)

Hair loss

insomnia but feeling tired all the time

digestive issues meaning food tends to go right through me

Its not a fun time but I manage and like I said a lot of the symptoms are at least alleviated with the medication I take for it and it's a manageable condition. I also have to note that my case is a bit out of the ordinary because I don't have a high heart rate and heart palpitations that most with hyperthyroidism experience. Because of damage done to my heart from years anorexia and Orthorexia and then also heart conditions I was more than likely born with but weren't discovered until 2022 I actually have a slowed heart rate.

Yesterday I went to see my doctor (I see an endocrinologist for my hyperthyroidism) and He brought up something to me that is called radioactive iodine treatment. This treatment is used to treat some forms of thyroid cancer but also doctors call it a cure for hyperthyroidism. Here is my problem with this: radioactive iodine treatment does actually "cure" hyperthyroidism in the sense that you won't any longer have an over active thyroid but you just trade one extreme for the other- one thyroid condition for another. The treatment slows the functioning of your thyroid so much that you end up with hypothyroidism which includes its own set of symptoms like:

cold all the time

Lethargy

High cholesterol

Unexplained weight gain which in turn statistically and medically speaking those who have hypothyroidism brought on by radioactive iodine treatment eventually struggle with obesity and that brings about its own health problems

dry skin

Brittle nails

Still with the hair loss

Slow heart rate which no thanks I don't need my heart rate slowed more than it is

Constipation

Also with radioactive iodine treatment I could end up

Needing hormone replacement the rest of my life

At least partially losing my sense of taste & smell

And for at least a week after the treatment I would need to keep my self isolated from any contact with any other living being because it would expose them to radiation. Not only could coming in contact with me expose them but coming in contact with any clothes ive worn, sheets, pillows, blankets I have used, & any thing I have used to eat or drink with or out of.

I just don't see that a treatment like this that replaces one set of issues with an even longer set of issues should be called something like a cure. Not a lot of pros to doing this radioactive iodine treatment at least not in my opinion. This treatment is a hell no for me. Maybe I am being cynical and pessimistic but just looking at the list of issues I have now with hyperthyroidism as opposed to the list I'd have after the radioactive iodine treatment I am just shaking my head in disbelief and aggravation because...this is not a cure or a solution.

[palaknote123]

Here’s How You Can Get Rid of Your Thyroid Symptoms

My mother experienced Thyroid symptoms for about 10 years. We tried several medicines and other treatment options recommended by the doctors but nothing seemed to work.

The thing is that we treat thyroid as a disease whereas it is an auto-immune disorder.

After I suggested mom to work on her immune system, her thyroid symptoms started to disappear and she reversed her thyroid with me.

Yes, you read that right! She has reversed her thyroid with me and she’s no longer taking her thyroid medications.

If you’re suffering from thyroid symptoms and want to know how to cure your thyroid. Keep on reading till the end!

The thyroid condition is not just a physical issue; it is also a psychological issue. Although a person appears normal on the surface, they are dying internally. Why? It is experiencing fat expanding around the waist. But, who doesn't enjoy eating? However, if thyroid patients eat a little extra food, obesity starts to develop.

The second factor is a woman's attractive qualities. The thyroid significantly influences many of a woman's attractive traits.

Dry Skin

Hair Loss

Brittle Nails

Mood swings

You start to experience hormonal imbalance. The small things look like huge issues. Sometimes anger at the child and other times, anger at the husband. We, people, wait for the winters to come. But, thyroid patients, cannot bear the cold.

Thyroid patients do not have motivation in them. On top of that, social media impacts a lot on psychological health. They are always looking at the before-after pictures and wish to be like them. Neither can they exercise due to fatigue nor do they have the motivation to do so.

In this blog, I will cover 5 thyroid symptoms and how you can reverse them.  

Before we go any further let’s first have a look at the functions of the Thyroid Gland.

Functions of Thyroid Gland

The thyroid gland is an important hormone gland. Some of the most common functions of the Thyroid Gland is to regulate

Metabolism (chemical reactions in the cells of the body that convert food into energy)

Heart Function

Digestion

Mood 

Menstrual Cycle 

Common Thyroid Problems

 Low energy

Individuals who are having trouble with daily living due to their thyroid illnesses commonly contact me for their remedies. Feelings of fatigue and exhaustion are common thyroid problems. A person experiences constant tiredness to the point of becoming physically helpless. While having a good night's sleep will usually make you feel more rested, thyroid-related fatigue cannot be treated with it.

Constipation

The muscles of the colon normally contract to force the stool through the intestines and toward the rectum. In the thyroid, the muscles don't contract regularly or strongly enough and become weak, which slows down the passage of stool through the colon resulting in constipation.  

Sensitivity to Cold and Heat

My mom always use to complain about feeling cold during the winter because she was sensitive to the cold.

People with hypothyroidism have cold sensitivity because they do not create sufficient thyroid hormone to efficiently convert and use stored energy, Therefore, compared to people with normal thyroid hormone levels, there is less energy available to control body temperature.

Heat sensitivity is a frequent sign of an overworked thyroid. People who have extraordinary heat sensitivity feel hot when others are comfortable or even chilly. People with hyperthyroidism may suffer increased perspiration and even anxiety as a result of feeling overheated.

Hair Loss

Hair loss can be worsened by untreated hormone imbalances, such as thyroid issues. This is because thyroid hormones are essential for the development and maintenance of hair follicles. People who have thyroid problems are also more likely to suffer from alopecia, an autoimmune illness that causes hair loss in patches.

Dry Skin

Your skin can grow drier and drier as a result of your thyroid not operating correctly, just like your nails can. Your metabolism slows down if your thyroid gland is underactive. As a result, the skin may be less able to sweat and produce natural moisturizers, which can result in dry, flaky skin. 

Thyroid Treatment and Remedies 

Get Rid of Gluten and Dairy  

One of the most important aspects of managing the thyroid is diet, and many people find that quitting gluten significantly improves their thyroid symptoms. Gluten can harm your gut lining, interfere with your hormones and produce inflammation that travels to your thyroid, which may explain why gluten-sensitive people are more prone to experience thyroid problems.

Gluten and dairy can also be problematic and cause inflammation.

Avoid rotis, cakes, muffins, pastries, pasta, and all wheat and barley products as they contain gluten. You can replace your flour with besan or oats.  

You can also download my 21-Day Auto Immune Diet Plan for Hypothyroid and Hyperthyroid and follow the diet mentioned in it as it can help in thyroid treatment.

Limit Sugar Intake

Your thyroid gland's primary function is to control how your body uses carbohydrates. Lack of thyroid hormone production makes it difficult for your body to maintain blood sugar balance, which can result in fatigue, excess weight, and other thyroid-related issues.

Even if you don't have thyroid problems, reducing your sugar intake is a good idea. The first week or two of thyroid treatment could be challenging, but it will be worthwhile. You can replace sugar with Stevia.

Consider Selenium supplementation

Research suggests the production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland depends heavily on selenium. Getting enough selenium in your diet is important not only for preventing thyroid disease but also for your overall health.[1]  

You can take my Triple Thyroid Care supplement which is a blend of modern-day vitamins and minerals and ancient herbs that relieve thyroid symptoms. It contains a mixture of selenium with ashwagandha, organic sea kelp, L-tyrosine, and Iodine.

It is recommended that you take 1 capsule after lunch and 1 after dinner every day.

 Exercise and Yoga

According to the study, exercise increases the supply of oxygen in your body, which greatly benefits if you experience thyroid symptoms. Exercise can help you lose weight, enhance your heart health, boost your mood and energy levels, strengthen your bones, control your blood sugar, and maintain your strength and flexibility. Additionally, several yoga asanas help stimulate and support your endocrine system. [2] [3]

You can join me for the workout and yoga on my Youtube Channel Fit With Palak where I come to live and teach exercises and yoga poses for your well-being.

Conclusion

Consuming Probiotic foods can help reduce inflammation and promote a healthy gut.  

Coconut oil, unlike some other kinds of oils, has a high saturated healthy fat content. Coconut oil may be beneficial to thyroid gland when combined with regular exercise and a well-balanced diet.

Stop taking unnecessary medications like birth control pills as they can alter your hormone function.

Taking supplements rich in selenium can help in the production of thyroid hormones. Selenium seemed to boost mood and overall well-being and ease thyroid symptoms.

References

[1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5307254/

[2]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16380698/

[3]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5974249/

[apollodrome]

1- the logical thinking indicates that the most probably option is usually the correct option, for example, if a man has lung cancer the most likely option is that is lung cancer is related to his tabaquism, the same aplly on this case, if a person with morbid obesity has some kind of circulation problem then the most likely option is that is related to the weight of that person, now about your question, if you wanna know how morbid obesity relates to health problems then my answer is

2 - read a goddanm biology book (or just google it), the answer is right there, you dont need to ask a random person on the internet about that, and guess what, you cannot put links into asks so im unable to give you the link to any kind of article explaining that, if you wanna know the corelation then just search morbid obesity on wikipedia.

---

This ask is about this post where a woman's health issues are blamed by doctors on her weight, so she loses the weight, and when doctors see that her health issues have not gotten better, but have gotten worse, they order tests that they should have ordered months ago.

I think you misunderstand the point of the post. Let's take the obesity out of this. A woman goes to the doctor for severe cramps, sleepiness during the day, memory and balance problems. Doctors refuse to treat her. That's all there is to this issue - a woman has gone to a medical professional with a set of symptoms, and the medical professional did not test her for the conditions that have the above symptoms.

You give me an example in your ask of smokers having an increased risk of lung cancer, so let's apply this analogy here. A smoker goes to the doctor and says, "doctor, I have difficulty breathing, a painful cough that doesn't go away for months, I lost 50 pounds in less than a month, pain in my hands, fingers and chest." These are very common symptoms of lung cancer. So, what you're advocating for, is that the doctor should refuse to order any tests for the patient, tell them to stop smoking, and send them on their way. We know that some health risks are associated with obesity, in the same way that lung cancer is associated with smoking, so should we not be testing those people for those diseases more often?

People whose father has died of heart disease are at more risk of heart disease, so we test those people for heart disease when they mention they have symptoms. People whose family has ADHD are more at risk of having ADHD, so we test those people for ADHD when they mention they have symptoms. Why is obesity any different? If a disease has already developed, losing weight will do nothing except for decrease that initial risk, but it's past that already if they HAVE THE DISEASE. They have to be treated for the disease. Thin people can get heart attacks, and non smokers can get lung cancer or develop asthma, so why do those people go to the doctor with those symptoms and get tested, and obese people don't?

In some of your replies on that post, you have used this Wikipedia page as your source. On the same page, it says,

"While a majority of obese individuals at any given time are attempting to lose weight and often successful, research shows that maintaining that weight loss over the long term proves to be rare." (Wikipedia includes a reference for this, I've linked it here).

I am using the same research you are using to argue my point. If an obese individual walks into a doctor's office with symptoms of a heart condition, and is told to lose weight, they are basically sentenced to death. As we can see above, long term weight loss may lead to more health risks, and is actually very rare in most people (less than 1 in 100 obese people manage to lose the weight and stay at the new weight), and so if a doctor tells an obese person not to come back until she has lost all of the weight, she may actually die before she comes back to the doctor.

Obesity is an issue, and does increase the risks of some conditions. However, according to the same Wikipedia article you and I have both been using,

"obesity has individual, socioeconomic, and environmental causes, including diet, physical activity, automation, urbanization, genetic susceptibility, medications, mental disorders, economic policies, endocrine disorders, and exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals."

I don't want to assume you're enough of a heartless monster to say "obese people brought this on themselves and therefore deserve to suffer and die due to medical malpractice" as a response to my above point, but JUST IN CASE YOU WERE, that's a whole lot of people you're condemning. You're condemning children who grow up in poverty and whose parents can only afford McDonald's (cheaper than vegetables in the USA), you're condemning my uncle, who had a deadly thyroid issue that wasn't treated in time (he grew up in Soviet Russia) and messed up his metabolism so bad he currently exercises for 3 hours a day but is still extremely overweight. You're condemning people with pcos, people with hyperthyroidism, people with eating disorders and depression. All of those people, in your opinion, do not deserve medical treatment.

With what we now know, let's summarise.

Fact 1: people who are obese have a higher risk of developing certain disorders, in the same way that someone with a family history of heart problems may develop heart problems, however, no disease is directly CAUSED by obesity and obesity alone. If that were the case, thin people wouldn't get those diseases at all, but I know many thin people with narcolepsy, cancers, and heart issues.

Fact 2: obesity can be caused by many factors, not just eating a lot of junk food. I've already mentioned hyperthyroidism, eating disorders, pcos, and poverty as some of those factors, but there are more. A lot of those factors are not the fault of the obese individual. We also know that once someone is already obese, keeping off weight that they lose is extremely difficult and takes a long time.

Fact 3: when a smoker goes to the doctor with symptoms of lung cancer, they are told to stop smoking, but they are also SCREENED FOR LUNG CANCER and TREATED IF THERE IS LUNG CANCER PRESENT.

Fact 4: according to the woman in the original post, she went to the doctor with symptoms of narcolepsy and other issues, was told to lose weight, BUT WAS NOT TESTED FOR THE DISEASES SHE IS AT RISK FOR, OR TREATED.

Do you see my point now? Yes, obesity is linked to diseases, but that should mean that people who are obese are screened and treated MORE OFTEN, not less or god forbid not treated at all. Preventing obesity by exercising and eating well is something we should definitely do ON A GLOBAL SCALE (better mental health help for people with depression/eating disorders, cheaper vegetables for people in poverty, more education, less fast food places), to decrease our risk of the diseases that obesity is associated with increasing the risk for (type two diabetes, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, certain cancers), but if someone is already obese, weight loss is no longer a cure, and actual treatment needs to be administered. Weight loss was never a cure, it is a PREVENTATIVE MEASURE, and not even a good one according to the evidence I've provided above. Healthy eating and exercise are good preventative measures, but they do not always contribute to weight loss. So why do doctors prescribe weight loss in the form of pills and calorie restriction, rather than eating HEALTHY and exercising? ALSO, if weight loss was a cure, non-obese cancer patients, non-obese people with narcolepsy, and non-obese people with eating disorders would also be told to lose weight rather than given treatment. So why is weight loss the ONLY treatment doctors give obese people? Obesity is much more complicated than a person just eating a lot of junk and getting fat, that's not how it works.

You know how we "eliminate the most probable option"? WE TEST THE PATIENT FOR IT, AND IF THE TEST COMES BACK NEGATIVE WE ELIMINATE THE OPTION. Why was the woman in the post not tested, and why do you advocate for this? Why do you think a group of people deserves medical attention less than others?

Here's another analogy. Wearing a mask and staying six feet away from others is a PREVENTATIVE MEASURE for covid. When a person already has covid, they are not told to wear a mask and stay six feet away from others. They are put in a hospital and treated. What you are advocating for is akin to sending a person with covid symptoms away with a mask, and not treating them at all.

To summarise: correlation is not causation, all people deserve medical help (people who are turned away from doctors a LOT are women, people of colour, and fat people. Medical discrimination needs to be eradicated in all of those cases) and you are in no position to decide who deserves to be treated and who doesn't.

I'm not overweight myself. I just care about people receiving the medical treatment they need and deserve, regardless of what they look like or what other conditions they already may have. I recommend really looking at yourself and examining the biases you have against fat folks, and figuring out how to become better as a person. You seem to enjoy giving unsolicited medical advice, so here's some from me: stop being a dick.

[gramizar]

✨I AM NOT ASKING FOR DONATIONS! ✨

Hi folks! So my cat needs treatmeant for her hyperthyroidism. Basically, she has a tumor on her thyroid and what they will do for her is inject radioactive iodine in to her thyroid to cure her. I have to take her to a vet hospital to have this done.

I can afford this without help. I am not asking for donations. Nova will get the treatment regardless.

However, it is expensive, so I’m doing a fundraiser. I have 29 items listed on my eBay and I am adding more, anything from Vera Bradley bags to manga. If you can purchase something, it would be super helpful! If you can’t that’s okay! A reblog would be nice! Below is a link to my eBay!

https://www.ebay.com/usr/gram-176

[rise-my-angel]

Hi. Can I ask what's going on with your cat? Is there anything that can be done for her? I'm really sorry to hear what's been happening.

She uh, has hyperthyroidism, but due to her advanced age and pre existing conditions, the over active thyroid has done damage that can't be reversed or treated.

Her biggest issue is being able to eat. She's on a temporary medication to boost her appetite which has worked for the day at least, but both me and the vet talked about looking at this long term.

And in long term, shes only going to get worse. Her treatment so far has stopped it from damaging her anymore, but the thyroid moved quickly and the damage thats been done is already making her suffer.

Ive never once seen her act this solemn and unhappy. Shes not even close to who she was months ago and the vet and i agreed that we have to consider her quality of life.

And using appetite stimulants to get her to eat isnt a long term solution they are used only as a temporary measure to get the cat to eat while its illness is treated or cured. But she isnt going to get better, only worse.

Shes lost a lot of weight despite both me and the vets best efforts, and thats going to also cause medical issues.

I'm at the end here. On monday the vet is calling me to talk about what to do next, but me and her left the appointment today knowing that were very near the end of things. I dont want her to suffer through more tests more needles more medication and getting more sick just beacuse i dont want to be without her.

Thats not fair to her. Shes my baby. Shes been so good to me, so now i have to take care of her before she suffers more. Id rather we end things sooner before shes so miserable, while she still knows i love her. Instead of dragging her through so much medical procedures just beacuse i am going to be a wreck without her.

Its probably the worst thing ill ever do, putting her down, but i cant sit back and watch her suffer, my kitty deserves better then that.

[beyondthepace]

“My favorite quote from my family doctor was, “it can’t really be that bad if you are still working and doing everything you do. “ I told him I didn’t know I had a choice. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Years in pain, tired and the many changes in me for no reason or apparent reason ... Hiding everything from someone else, pretending to be doing better than you are; until it no longer works. No matter how strong you want to be.

Then the moment comes when they tell you what you have ... You have mixed feelings: you finally know what you have, but how do you deal with it?

Lack of encouragement, wanting to lie down, taking medication frequently; having a whole pharmacy on top of the nightstand.

Then, the daily responses, "Why did you get so fat?" “I have this great diet, if you just go out and exercised.

That once beautiful hair of yours now awful and it falls out.

What happened to you??....

This is all true and that's why I'm sharing it!

Silent and invisible diseases do exist ...

When you have an invisible disease it is difficult to argue from your perspective with ignorant people.

Life takes a lot of turns !!!

Tired of being told:

* Did you go to the doctor?

* Have you tried this?

* Have you tried that?

* I don’t know what else we can do for you...

Yes! I tried and still try everything !!!

Doctors say this disease is forever. That I will not heal. However, I am not giving up, but I want to make others realize:

* A nap will not cure me but it will help me ...

* I am not lazy, I take medication and it sometimes makes me sleepy.

* I am not angry but sometimes cranky with pain.

* I struggle daily with pain, mobility problems, fatigue, the criticism of my environment.

Most frustratingly, people look at me and say, "It can't be that bad; you look good "

Despite the fact that my body is experiencing excruciating pain everywhere, of course I look good, I always try to look good, it is an "invisible" disease.

This disease affects me physically, mentally and emotionally. Because rare autoimmune diseases cannot be seen, but we feel them.

And they are there ... Silent attack but extra painful.

I am looking at those who take the time to read this post to the end.

The following request is sent to the post:

Please, for me and in honor of someone who fights against:

-Lyme Disease

-Crohn’s Disease

-Hashimotos Disease

-Graves Disease

-Gastroparesis

-Depression

-AnkylosingSpondolitis

-Psoriatic Arthritis

-Osteoporosis

-Anxiety

-Autoimmune disease

-Sjogrens syndrome

-Polycystic ovary syndrome.

-Rheumatoid arthritis.

-Chronic pain

-Endometriosis.

-Multiple sclerosis.

-Myasthenia gravis.

-Pulmonary hypertension.

-Chronic fatigue syndrome.

-Diabetes

-Fibromyalgia.

-Raynaud and Scleroderma.

-Lupus.

-Neuralgia of the trigeminal

-Epilepsy

-MS

-Cancer

-Hyperthyroidism

-Arachnoiditis

or some other disease you don't see.

Copy and paste.

I understand if you don't, It's okay. Type '' done '' in comments and thank you for your support.

I would like 5 of my friends to post (not share) this message to show that you are always there when that someone needs to talk.”

In support of a friend, a family member who is fighting for this disease. Just say “done”🙏🙏🙏

[uncloseted]

my mom believes in homeopathy and i don't know what to do. our town homeopath died not so long ago so she won't be recommending him to people anymore, but she still believes in the system. apparently he cured my brother's hyperthyroidism and my nephew's alopecia. she says that he went to tons of real doctors and the only thing that worked was homeopathy. that left me speechless. im still skeptical but how do you explain that? and if it's a placebo but it works, then why shouldn't we use it?

This answer is going to be a long one, so I apologize in advance. Apologies also for how long this has taken for me to write and publish. As always, I want to make sure that I answer every part of this question with thought, care, and sources. To make it easier to navigate, I'm going to add headers for each section. What are Homeopathic "Remedies"? The first thing I want to do is clarify what homeopathic "remedies" actually are and what the theory behind homeopathy is. Often, I think we imagine that homeopathy is just herbalism- using "natural" plants as "medicine". By itself, doing that is kind of a dubious approach to treating illness, but it can be at least somewhat effective. It's important to understand that that's not what homeopathy is. Homeopathy is an alternative "medicine" practice created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann as a reaction to the mainstream medicine of the late 18th century. Hahnemann's homeopathy is based on the doctrine that "like cures like"- that a disease can be cured by a substance that produces similar symptoms to that disease in healthy people. In order to prevent those symptoms from occurring as a result of the "remedy", homeopathy also subscribes to something called the “law of minimum dose”—the notion that the lower the dose of the medication, the greater its effectiveness. This is inconsistent with what science knows about dose-response relationships, where the effect of a dose is reliant on the concentration of the active ingredient. Many homeopathic products are so diluted that no molecules of the original active ingredient remain. Modern advocates of homeopathy have suggested that water "remembers" the substances mixed in it, and transmits the effect of those substances when it's consumed. This isn't consistent with our scientific understanding of matter. Homeopathy also traditionally includes the concept of "miasms" as the "infectious principle" behind illnesses (including illnesses like epilepsy, cancer, deafness, and cataracts). Miasms are a negative force (imagined to be kind of like a cloud or fog) that serve no purpose other than to make humans miserable and ultimately kill them. Traditionally, homeopaths believe that individual symptoms should not be alleviated, since it will only drive the miasm deeper and the miasm will "manifest itself as diseases of the internal organs". They believe that in order to cure illness, the miasm must be removed from the "vital force". The concept of miasms have become less popular in modern times, but there are still homeopaths who base their practice around it. It's important to know that none of these ideas are backed by the scientific method, nor have they been shown to be effective when subjected to the scientific method. That said, you can kind of see concepts in homeopathy that are 18th century explanations for phenomena that are real. For example, "like cures like" and "law of minimum dose" is actually kind of how vaccines work: you give a very small bit ("a minimum dose") of a disease-causing microorganism or an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism ("like cures like"), which trains the body's immune system to recognize that agent as a threat. Another example is airborne infectious diseases. It is possible to get certain illnesses (such as COVID-19, measles, chickenpox, the flu, and norovirus) if you encounter a "miasm" (what we now call droplets of an airborne infectious disease). The problem with homeopathy is that it's not the 18th century anymore. Science has moved on from using "like cures like" and "miasms" as explanations for illness. We know that "like cures like" is not an effective treatment for every illness, and we know that not all illnesses are "miasms" (airborne). We have a better grasp of things like genetics, viruses, infections, and environmental factors that allow us to more effectively understand what causes illnesses and how to provide effective, reliable treatments for those illnesses. What's the Harm? Problems with Homeopathic "Remedies" Moving on, I want to start with

your last question first. If homeopathic "remedies" are a placebo and they work, why shouldn't we use them? What's the harm? There are three main problems with using homeopathic "remedies" that I want to discuss. The first and most important answer is just that they don't work. I'll do a deeper dive on the evidence against homeopathic "remedies" and why homeopathic "remedies" don't work in a second, but for now, just know that the first problem is that homeopathy can't fix the health problems people are looking to solve. The placebo effect is pretty limited in its scope; it generally works for subjective, patient-reported outcomes such as pain and nausea, but it doesn't usually affect the actual disease. For example, when the placebo effect is used to treat insomnia, patients perceive that they've slept better, but it doesn't actually improve the amount of time it takes a person to fall asleep. The second problem is that homeopathic "remedies" aren't always harmless. While they're generally "unlikely to provoke severe adverse reactions", there have been cases of those "remedies" being taken off of the market because they've caused serious symptoms such as seizures. In the US, homeopathic "remedies" aren't overseen by the FDA in the same what that medications are. As a result, there's no assurance that the substance you think you're getting is what you're actually getting. Frequently, "remedies" are a waste of money because they don't have enough of the active ingredient to work at all. This is especially true if the product you're getting is a "dilution", which intentionally gets rid of the molecules of the original material as a result of the "law of minimum dose", but it can even be true of things like nutritional supplements that you can buy at CVS or Walmart. In the US, there's no group tasked with objectively testing the claims made by companies that sell "remedies", and there's no group making sure that "remedies" don't have ingredients in them that are unsafe. Belladonna, arsenic, and poison ivy have been found at detectable levels in homeopathic "remedies", and cases of arsenic poisoning in particular have occurred. But because homeopathic products are marketed as if they're "drugs", many people assume they wouldn't be allowed to be sold if they weren't good, if they didn't work, or if they were advertising falsely, and so they keep buying them. If you see an individual homeopath, this problem is compounded. "Homeopath" is not a protected term in the US, meaning that anyone can claim to be one. In turn, this means that there's no licensing board that oversees their work, no professional association or government agency that keeps them accountable for their mistakes, and no educational credentials that they need to begin practicing. Your local homeopath may have no background in biology, medicine, chemistry, pharmacology, or even homeopathic or alternative medicine practices. They can literally just be a person, one who you're trusting to cure your ailments and to not accidentally poison you in the process. The last issue I want to bring up is that homeopathy is often (although not always) viewed as being an acceptable replacement for evidence-backed medicine. This means that often, people who see a homeopath aren't seeing a medical doctor, and their symptoms aren't being treated by evidence-based medicine. By not taking an evidence-based approach to intervening in illness, outcomes are significantly worsened, especially for serious, life-threatening conditions such as cancer. Patients have died as a result of opting to take a homeopathic approach to illness instead of receiving proper treatment for diseases that could have been easily managed by evidence-backed medicine. This becomes an even bigger problem when it comes to public health issues. People who view homeopathy as being equal to or better than evidence-backed medicine are more likely to be anti-vaxxers and to not vaccinate their children. Reductions in vaccination rates have led to resurgences of diseases that had previously

been close to elimination. The US has seen a resurgence of whooping cough, measles, and tetanus as a result of anti-vax sentiment. Those resurgences directly endanger people who cannot be vaccinated due to chronic health issues, people with allergies to ingredients in vaccines, and people who cannot choose to be vaccinated, such as children. How Effective Are Homeopathic "Remedies"? Next, let's talk about studies that look into the efficacy of homeopathic "remedies". Government level reviews of homeopathic "remedies" have been conducted by the UK, Australia, and the European Academies' Science Advisory Council. The UK's study found that there was "no compelling evidence of effect". Australia conducted a meta-analysis of 1800 papers, and found that "there were no health conditions for which there was reliable evidence that homeopathy was effective." EASAC found that there was a lack of evidence that homeopathic products are effective, and raised concerns about quality control. Additionally, there have been systemic reviews and meta-analyses of the efficacy of homeopathic "remedies" from doctors, universities, and medical researchers. In 2005, The Lancet (one of the world's oldest, best-known, and respected medical journals) published a meta-analysis looking at the efficacy of homeopathy. Basically, that means that they looked at data from 110 homeopathy trials. These trials were included in the study because they had a completely randomized set of patients who don't know whether they were getting a "homeopathic treatment" or a placebo pill. This type of "blinded" study allows researchers to see how effective the intervention (in this case, a homeopathic "treatment") actually is. Their findings were, "compatible with the notion that the clinical effects of homeopathy are placebo effects". Meta-analyses have also been conducted on the application of homeopathy for individual diseases, including cancer, ADHD, asthma, insomnia, fibromyalgia, dementia, IBS, osteoarthritis, migraines, ecchymosis and edema, and dermatological conditions, and all have found the same result. The UK's NHS, the American Medical Association, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the National Health Service and Medical Research Council of Australia, the World Health Organization, the American College of Medical Toxicology, the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and even the acting deputy director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine have all come out against the use of homeopathy, saying that there's "no good quality evidence that homeopathy is effective as treatment for any health condition", recommending that no one use homeopathic "treatments" for disease or as a preventative health measure, and noting that there is evidence that using these treatments can produce harm and indirect health risks. But it Seems Like it Works! What Else Could Have Happened? In terms of what happened with your brother's hyperthyroidism and your nephew's alopecia, I'm perfectly happy to admit that I have no idea. I don't know what the homeopath gave them or what else they were taking or what else they were doing during that period of time that might have changed their health status. I can offer you some hypotheses (and I will in a second), but I don't know, and that's okay. What I do know about is the current state of research on homeopathic "remedies" overall, and how it holds up when subjected to the scientific method. There are a few common culprits for why homeopathy may seem to work. I'm going to go over those now, and then I'll dig into some theories for what may have happened with your brother and nephew. These culprits include:

Placebo effect- we talked about this one earlier, but essentially, if people believe that a "treatment" will work, they're also more likely to believe the "treatment" worked after taking it. As a result, they will report feeling better on subjective measures such as pain.

Natural healing- with time, the body can sometimes heal itself without medical assistance. This is most common for things like viruses.

Therapeutic effect of consultation- care, concern, and reassurance from a compassionate caregiver can have a positive impact on the patient's assessment of their well-being, even if objective assessments of their well-being stay the same.

Regression towards the mean- many conditions and diseases are cyclical. The patient may notice a decrease in symptoms that they attribute to homeopathic "remedies", but are actually just a result of moving to a different stage of the disease cycle.

Cessation of unpleasant treatment- a homeopath may suggest that patients stop receiving medical treatment. Medical treatments can sometimes have unpleasant side effects, and so halting those treatments can make the patient feel better in the short term. The patient attributes the decrease in symptoms to the homeopathic "remedy" but it's actually that they stopped taking a medication that has side effects. In the short term, this feels good, but in the long term it is destructive because the disease isn't being treated.

Non-homeopathic treatment- the patient is also receiving medical care, and the medical care is responsible for the decrease in symptoms, not the homeopathic "remedy".

Unrecognized treatments- an unrelated food, exercise, environmental agent, treatment for a different ailment, etc. is also treating the patient's medical condition and is responsible for the decrease in symptoms.

For alopecia areata (hair loss in patches on the scalp), spontaneous remission is actually more common than you might expect. In most cases that begin with a small number of patches of hair loss, hair grows back after a few months to a year. It's possible that your nephew's hair just... grew back, especially if time had passed. It's also possible your nephew's parents were treating his alopecia other ways (minoxidil, contact immunotherapy, corticosteroids, a gluten free diet if the alopecia was associated with celiac disease) and just didn't tell you or your mum. Hyperthyroidism is a bit more difficult to guess at. It could be that your brother's medical doctors switched him to a different medication that did work or changed his dosage. If you're sure that's not it, it could be that he switched his diet to one that's low iodine and low in caffeine. Research suggests that, although a low iodine diet cannot cure hyperthyroidism, it can reduce or alleviate the symptoms in some people. If your brother went vegetarian, vegan, or stopped eating fish, that could be the culprit. If he stopped taking a multivitamin that contains iodine, that could be it. If he started eating a ton of foods high in goitrogens (soy, cassava, cabbage, cauliflower), that could also contribute to what happened, since goitrogens interfere with the uptake of iodine in the thyroid. It's also possible he was misdiagnosed, but if it's true that he went to "tons of real doctors", that seems fairly unlikely. Again, all of these are just guesses for the purpose of illustrating what confounding factors may have been present. I think the bottom line with stories like these are that you're hearing them secondhand. You don't know how many doctors your nephew or brother saw, or the quality of those doctors, or what they diagnosed, or what they prescribed, or how many different lifestyle changes they tried. You don't know what the homeopath prescribed them, or if they took it. You're hearing a story of miracles through the mouth of a believer, and that can make it difficult to know what is and isn't true (in a medically accurate kind of way). It's possible that your mum's homeopath has stumbled upon a treatment for alopecia and one for hyperthyroidism that work better than traditional medicine. I hope that's true. We can always use better treatments, especially for difficult-to-cure conditions like alopecia. But I think it's more likely that there's just some piece of information you weren't given. What do I do? Getting to your original question, there's not a ton of evidence-backed research (that I could find, at least) for how to change people's minds about homeopathy, but there is data on changing people's minds with regard to vaccines, and I think using those tactics may work in both cases. What to do about your mum's beliefs in homeopathy depend on where those beliefs come from, how entrenched they are, and how it's impacting her life. If she's just someone who tries lifestyle changes and supplements from CVS first before going to a doctor and if she believes in vaccination, homeopathy is a waste of time and money, but it's probably not too big of a problem. In that case, it may not be worth pushing her about it, especially if she hasn't found a new homeopath after her old one passed away. If she's anti-vax and/or refuses to see medical doctors, that's a bigger problem, and it's worth having a conversation about. Changing her views is likely to take time, so be prepared to have at least a few conversations about these topics. And be prepared to step away from the conversation and resume it at a later time if it becomes too contentious. Start by asking her about her fears with regard to evidence-backed medicine. Do your best to be curious rather than judgmental in those conversations and to be a good listener. Respect is the most important tool in changing a person's mind, so try not to interrupt, be dismissive, or combat her beliefs off the bat. Affirm her right to have questions (but not the validity of the actual concern), and

try to say positive things about her in the conversation (for example, "I can see you really want to do everything you can to keep yourself healthy and safe"). Focus on her feelings, not facts. By trying to understand where she's coming from, you can begin to understand where her hesitations are and how those fears might be remedied. For example, a lot of people who believe in homeopathy do so in part because they feel like homeopathic practitioners listen to them, respect them, and care about them more than medical doctors do. They've usually had a bad experience with medical doctors. Knowing where her fears lie gives you a better idea of what she needs in a medical context, and can help you figure out how to dispel misconceptions she has about medicine or find alternatives that actually work. In the case of feeling like medical doctors don't respect her, you may be able to help your mum find a medical doctor who will spend longer with her and really listen to what she has to say. You can try asking her follow-up questions that allow her to investigate her own beliefs. For example, you might try asking about Hahnemann's ideas of "like cures like", "the law of minimum dose" or "water memory" and see how she reacts. Many people, even those who use homeopathic "remedies", don't know the principles that it's based on, and will eventually express skepticism when asked to explain them. It's tempting to try and combat pseudoscience with facts, but studies suggest that presenting facts makes people more likely to cling to their original beliefs. It's better to let people investigate their beliefs on their own through asking the right questions. You might also try this technique. Ask her how likely she would be to see a medical doctor/get a vaccine, on a scale of 0-10. If she says 1 or 0, this strategy isn't going to work. But if she says 2 or 3, then you can ask her why she's not a 0. Why is she not fully saying she won't see a medical doctor or get a vaccine? This forces her to explain what she thinks the positives of medical doctors/vaccinations are. Now you're on the same side; you both think there are some positives to the medical profession. Reinforce those ideas when you talk to her. From there, you can ask what would make her more likely to see a medical doctor/get a vaccine, and when she answers, you can point to the places where those things exist in the medical field. If nothing else works, you could try finding ways to make evidence-based medicine and vaccination compatible with her beliefs. Perhaps you could try using the language of homeopathy to explain medical issues and their treatments. For example, with COVID, it might work to tell her that COVID is a miasm, and that researchers used "like cures like" and the “law of minimum dose” to create a vaccine to remove the miasm from the "vital force". All of that is technically true, at least in a sense. It's just not the language scientists would use to describe what happens. To Sum It Up The medical establishment definitely has issues it needs to work on. The lack of compassionate, respectful care in many medical settings is a real problem, and it has real consequences. There are some situations in which a placebo is a potentially valid approach to treatment. But the answer is not to encourage homeopathy. It's to do more research, develop better drugs, and change the ways that doctors interact with their patients. Homeopathy doesn't work, and it does potentially have harmful side effects, both on a personal and societal level. The way we can combat homeopathy is to be curious and respectful, to help people identify and work through their concerns, and to offer them solutions to their medical problems that take those concerns into account.

[letsoulswander]

What if you've thought about this for a long time and done lots of self examination and still find that your individual sexuality doesn't include desire for somebody who has a particular set of genitalia or secondary sex characteristics? Like I've really tried. It just leaves me cold, and I know I'm far from alone. Feels weird to be constantly called a bigot for something that is so personal, and that I cannot change 🤷

(I’m assuming this ask is in response to my reblogging this, from @cipheramnesia)

It’s funny that you are asking me this, anon, because I’m both ace and trans- what people have in their pants doesn’t really play much role for me in the grand scheme of things.

I’ve spent a lot of personal time researching sexual attraction, how it works, what it feels like. I’ve asked people to tell me about it and I’ve observed how they interact with it. It’s a feeling I experience very infrequently, if at all, so it’s endlessly fascinating to me.

I’ve also spent a lot of time researching gender identity, dysphoria, euphoria, and the roles they play in peoples’ lives. I’ve spent a lot of time talking to trans people about their experiences as trans people, and I’ve lived my whole life as a trans person.

Given these, I like to think those identities and their overlap gives me a unique perspective to talk about this kind of thing. Please keep in mind that I am not every trans person, every ace person, or every queer person.

Now I’m going to take a page out of Hannah Gadsby’s book, and set your expectations. In other words, here’s a TLDR:

Your sexuality/attraction probably isn’t specifically focused on genitals.

If you’re uncomfortable being called a bigot, ask yourself if you’re behaving like one.

Genitals are gross. People who find them gross still sleep with them, because they’re attracted to the rest of the person.

Even if you specifically have attraction for a specific genital type, you’re probably not going to meet many people genital-first.

“Secondary sex characteristics” that are associated with cis men appear in cis women, and ones that are associated with cis women appear in cis men, naturally.

Your attraction probably has room for things other than the specific look/feel/shape of the genitals of your partner. Consider that any partners you take, or people you feel attraction for, exist outside of any sexual activities you do together (which may or may not involve taking off your pants).

Homework: Examine, please, why you are so focused on genitalia as a deciding factor in your sexuality. It might be the people around you or the people who helped you come out, but it’s important to consider why you think these hypothetical genitals will make or break your potential relationships.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin.

To start: I’m sorry that someone has made you think that your sexuality is only specifically about genitals. It really sucks. Correlating genitals to sexuality has been used for a long time to defend anything from “not exposing” children to non-straight/cis content, to denying health care and housing to people “because we don’t want people doing that, here”.

(Because queer and non-cishet identities are all About Sex and the genitals involved, obviously.)

It sounds like you’re bothered by this topic. Maybe it’s just because you are uncomfortable with being called a bigot, or maybe you actually are a bigot. I don’t know you. I’m going to respond as if it’s the first, because I know there are probably a couple people who follow me with similar concerns.

What I do know is, to put it bluntly, the argument that “my sexuality doesn’t allow for this set of genitals/secondary sex characteristics” is one that gets thrown around in a lot of anti-trans rhetoric, and it’s poison. So lets break down why someone might hear you say that, and then think you are a bigot.

Genitals are gross. I’ve asked people who are REALLY INTO GUYS, who have slept with guys, and have been told (by multiple people!) that penises are weird, and not that sexy. I did then ask, of course, “why do you have sex with them then?” The answer I got was because... apparently, they were also attracted to the rest of the guy. Who knew, right?

I’ve also asked people who are REALLY INTO GIRLS, who have slept with girls, and have been told (again, by multiple people) that vulvas are weird, and not that sexy. Their answer to why they have sex with a body part that’s not that sexy? Also attraction to the rest of the girl.

Why do I mention these? Because even people who are REALLY attracted to a specific gender aren’t (generally) all that invested in the genitals of their partners. I don’t know what kind of life you live, anon, but unless you exclusively meet your partners/people you find attractive via cam-girl tapes or porn, chances are you’ve met and been attracted to at least a couple of trans people who have transitioned, people you would never expect to have (insert binary genital type here).

Let’s talk about secondary sex characteristics. You’re familiar with terms like AGAB/AFAB/AMAB? If you’re not, google them (all together so they come up with the correct definitions). I’ll wait.

Okay, now that you know what they mean, let’s use a hypothetical. Imagine a baby girl is born, and the doctor looks and says “it’s a girl!” Everything looks fine. She grows up, gets her period, examines her gender identity and decides that she is cis.

Now, the secondary sex characteristics people tend to expect from cis women after puberty include a moderately high voice, soft skin, rounded facial features. Socially, women are also pressured to remove body hair and have long hair on their heads, and to move in certain ways to be “ladylike” or “sexy” or “demure” or whatever. Also, generally, people associate vulvas with “ability to get pregnant”.

But lots of cis women don’t fit those! Google Indian or Israeli or Arabic women, who are genetically more likely to have thicker and darker facial and body hair. Google PCOS or endometriosis, which can cause deepening voice, increased and darker facial/body hair, fertility issues and pain. Google vaginismus, which makes PIV sex very painful or impossible. There are posture issues and disabilities that make moving fluidly tricky, and disorders (like hyperthyroidism) that make your head hair fall out or thin. These are all secondary sex characteristics.

The issue I take with your dismissal of “certain secondary sex characteristics” is that, well, they’re secondary. Each body responds differently to genetics and environment both. There are cis men with soft skin, sparse body hair, long head hair, men with high voices and more fluid mannerisms and softer facial features, as well. These not indicators that the person in question is Actually Secretly Trans and is out to hoodwink you.

The argument you’ve brought to me seems to be “I don’t like x genital, therefore I couldn’t sleep with/be attracted to someone who is not cis”. I invite you to, instead of wondering about what genitals you are “attracted to”, consider what kind of person you like. Are they funny? Smart? Beautiful? Handsome? A mix of all of those? Do they tell you jokes? Help you with chores? Are they kind to you?

Honestly, anon, I don’t care who you are attracted to or who you sleep with. I’m not telling you that you need to be attracted to people you don’t find attractive.

But I strongly, strongly urge you to consider why the hypothetical genitals of the people around you are so important to you. Maybe you should reconsider whoever you’re hanging out with, who’s asking you these questions, because I doubt they have your best interest at heart, or the best interest of the trans people around you.

We get attacked, around the world, every day because of our genitals. People police us all the time, want us to “man up” or “be ladylike”, either to pass better or to force us to commit to play the role of cis for the rest of our lives. But the cure for this is NOT tapping out the moment trans people - and our genitals - are brought up and complaining that “I just don’t find (insert genital) sexy!”

As Cipher noted (in that post waaay back at the top of this thing), she’s married to someone who doesn’t particularly like penises, but loves her dearly, and Cipher, in turn, also isn’t a fan of her own. I promise you, anon, I promise you, genitals are strange, and love is stranger. Don’t put your attraction on the fulcrum of “what genitals I will sleep with”. (Note: you also don’t have to sleep with whoever you’re into, I promise, take it from an ace person who doesn’t have sex and still has a lovely time with the people I’m into.)

Instead, here’s a little homework: Consider what is attractive to you about the people you like, and try to let go of the idea of what does or doesn’t constitute a man or woman. Including genitals, sure, but also including secondary sex characteristics. Trust me. It’s worth the work.

[vulnera-sanentura]

Next in the Cat Series: Hyperthyroidism!

One of my favorite cat diseases, because unlike other chronic health issues, it’s not only easy to diagnose, but curable too! (phew, not all of them are just supportive care)

Who gets it? The typical hyperthyroid cat is older (mean age of 13 years), with females being predisposed and with no breed predilection beyond “mixed breed.” It can be diagnosed in cats from 4 to 22 years old, though it’s very uncommon to see it in cats younger than 8 years.

What’s it look like? These cats are usually thin or losing weight, despite a ravenous appetite (polyphagic). They can also be PU/PD (polyuric/polyphagic, ei, they drink and pee waaay more than is normal). They can become more active, literally putting the hyper in hyperthyroid, or more aggressive than they used to be. Other signs that aren’t very specific to hyperthyroidism are vomiting and diarrhea.

So what is it? Hyperthyroidism is a condition where a tumor in the thyroid gland, located in the neck on each side of the trachea, causes excess production of thyroid hormones, especially notable is T4. Thyroid hormone is responsible for a variety of metabolic functions, and this increase in metabolism is what causes many of the presenting signs: hyperactivity, weight loss despite appetite, aggression.

How do you diagnose it? The most definitive diagnosis of hyperthyroidism is through checking blood concentrations of T4. It’s increased? Congrats, you’ve diagnosed hyperthyroidism! Though a lot of feline specialty practices have it always on the normal blood chemistry, it may be an add-on at other general practices, and that’s when it may get a bit trickier to diagnose originally.

The history should help clue you in a lot, but on physical exam you’ll also potentially see:

Thin/decreased weight from last visit

Dehydration

A palpable “thyroid slip” - the thyroid gets large enough you can feel it when you run your fingers along the side of the trachea. Not all hyperthyroid cats have it, and it can be hard to get used to finding the slip

Poor hair coat

Cardiac abnormalities: tachycardia (>220 bpm), murmur, arrhythmias, a gallop rhythm

Hypertension, which can cause ocular or neurologic issues

Besides increased T4 on bloodwork, you may also see an increased ALT and/or ALP, sometimes insanely high while all the other liver enzyme values are normal. A fifth will also have azotemia (increased BUN), either due to dehydration or concurrent renal disease.

And since they’re older cats, there may be other chronic illnesses like CKD, diabetes, or GI disease.

You said this one’s not just treatable, but curable?? Yes! The treatment of choice is radioactive iodine therapy. Iodine is taken up by the thyroids to create thyroid hormone, so once the radioactive iodine is injected it’s selectively picked up by the thyroid. And since the tumor cells are working overtime, the radioactive iodine (I-131) is picked up by the tumor cells, killing them, and leaving the currently-dormant normal thyroid cells intact.

Pros:

It works rapidly (improvement within 2 weeks, back to full normal in 3 months)

Very effective, with an over 90% cure rate

No pills in angry old cats

Permanent, one time correction

Cons:

Expensive, usually costing over $1000 (~1400)

Requires special facilities, so it’s not available everywhere

Using radioactive materials, so requires containment of your cat at the hospital from anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks, and usually the shorter time periods require special at home distancing from your cat

May need retreatment if it’s a thyroid carcinoma (2% of cases), so more $$$

What if I can’t afford that? Any other options? Yep, there’s methimazole, which come in a pill form or a transdermal cream. It works by blocking thyroid hormone synthesis, so while it doesn’t cure hyperthyroidism, it will lower T4 levels and mitigate clinical signs.

Pros:

Not as expensive up front, though can cost more over the course of the disease

No hospitalization

Available anywhere cats are seen

Cons:

Pilling angry cats sucks, some don’t like the cream either

Twice daily, nonpermanent medication

Manages, doesn’t treat the disease. The thyroid tumor can grow, requiring more medication, or transform into a carcinoma instead of a benign tumor

Side effects! - GI upset, neutropenia/thrombocytopenia, GI upset (pill), and the worst: facial excoriation, where the cats’ faces are so itchy they scratch off their skin. Reversible with discontinuation.

There’s also surgical removal of the thyroids, which has fallen out of favor, and Hill’s Y/D hyperthyroidism food, which is iodine restricted and not highly recommended by endocrinologists.

I’ve heard hyperthyroid treatment causes renal disease, is that true? No, but it often unmasks kidney disease. These two diseases, hyperthyroidism and CKD, have a very common demographic in older cats. Hyperthyroidism can increase the filtration rate of the kidneys, which makes the bloodwork levels, BUN and creatinine, that we use to diagnose CKD, decrease. Once the hyperthyroidism is cured, the filtration rate decreases, and those values jump up.

If the kidneys already look bad before treatment, the vet may want to do a “methimazole trial” before committing to radioiodine. This will allow the T4 to drop and uncover the true extent of renal disease, and since methimazole isn’t permanent it can be discontinued if the renal disease is too bad.

Most feline specialists still recommend treating the hyperthyroidism even if there is severe underlying kidney disease, but this can help us prepare for what to expect after radioiodine.

What’s the prognosis, almost-doc? Well, it depends. These cats are already fairly old, so part of the shorter lifespan can be due to other concurrent old age changes/diseases. If properly managed, the median survival time is 2-4 years, though if cured with iodine at 10 years old they could truly live into their 20s. I heard of a cat treated with radioiodine in their 20s and is now in their 30s!

[justmelagain]

My favorite quote from my family doctor was, “it can’t really be that bad if you are still working and doing everything you do. “ I told him I didn’t know I had a choice. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Years in pain, tired and the many changes in me for no reason or apparent reason ... Hiding everything from someone else, pretending to be doing better than you are; until it no longer works. No matter how strong you want to be. Then the moment comes when they tell you what you have ... You have mixed feelings: you finally know what you have, but how do you deal with it? Lack of encouragement, wanting to lie down, taking medication frequently; having a whole pharmacy on top of the nightstand. Then, the daily responses, "Why did you get so fat?" “I have this great diet, if you just go out and exercise. That once beautiful hair of yours now awful and it falls out. What happened to you??.... This is all true and that's why I'm sharing it! Silent and invisible diseases do exist ... When you have an invisible disease it is difficult to argue from your perspective with ignorant people. Life takes a lot of turns !!! Tired of being told: * Did you go to the doctor? * Have you tried this? * Have you tried that? * I don’t know what else we can do for you... Yes! I tried and still try everything !!! Doctors say this disease is forever. That I will not heal. However, I am not giving up, but I want to make others realize: * A nap will not cure me but it will help me ... * I am not lazy, I take medication and it sometimes makes me sleepy. * I am not angry but sometimes cranky with pain. * I struggle daily with pain, mobility problems, fatigue, the criticism of my environment. Most frustratingly, people look at me and say, "It can't be that bad; you look good " Despite the fact that my body is experiencing excruciating pain everywhere, of course I look good, I always try to look good, it is an "invisible" disease. This disease affects me physically, mentally and emotionally. Because rare autoimmune diseases cannot be seen, but we feel them. And they are there ... Silent attack but extra painful. I am looking at those who take the time to read this post to the end. The following request is sent to the post: Please, for me and in honor of someone who fights against: -Crohn’s Disease -Hashimotos Disease -Graves Disease -Depression -Anxiety -Autoimmune disease -Peripartum Cardiomyopathy -Polycystic ovary syndrome. -Rheumatoid arthritis. -Chronic pain -Endometriosis. -Multiple sclerosis. -Myasthenia gravis. -Pulmonary hypertension. -Chronic fatigue syndrome. -Diabetes -Fibromyalgia. -Raynaud and Scleroderma. -Lupus. -Neuralgia of the trigeminal -Epilepsy -MS -Cancer -Hyperthyroidism -Interstitial cystitis (IC) or some other disease you don't see. Copy and paste. I understand if you don't, It's okay. Type '' done '' in comments and thank you for your support. I would like 5 of my friends to post (not share) this message to show that you are always there when that someone needs to talk. In support of a friend, a family member who is fighting for these diseases.  Just say “done”. 🤗🤗🤗🤗❤❤❤❤❤️❤️