#i think it has something to do with like. helping the inflammation or something. idk.

[tealfruit]

ibuprofen my bff ibuprofen

[cottoncandyopinions]

If this is such a free fucking country, why the fuck can't we apply informed consent to more things? Why the fuck do I have to beg a doctor and convince him I'm not insane just to get a medication that has a chance at helping me?

Like. I have PCOS. Spironolactone is prescribed for PCOS symptoms caused by androgens, like hair loss, hirsutism, and acne. I have PCOS and I have those symptoms. So why the fuck do I have to debate my doctor into offering it because "Oh but have you tried to lose weight? Here's nutrition guidelines, ask me again in a few months."

Like yeah. Medications have fucking risks. The estrogen in my fucking birth control puts me at a higher risk of stroke and raises my blood pressure, but going on the med that can balance my hormones and lower my blood pressure? Oooooh we gotta think about that.

And what about diagnostic shit too! Not even just medicines! Like yeah I get that you can't give an exploratory major surgery every time someone fucking asks, but why the hell can't I just walk up and just ask for an MRI scan? Or an x-ray? Fucking ultrasound? We gotta have daddy doctor's permission just to CHECK?

And what about fucking CPAP machines? My partner has sleep apnea and it's horrific to learn. You basically have to pay out of pocket for the fucking things even with insurance, but YOU HAVE TO GET A PRESCRIPTION. Okay listen. No one is going to be fucking harmed if they use a machine to help them breathe better at night, even if they don't need it like what the fuck is it gonna do that's a problem?

The claim there is "Oh but you want to be sure you get the right one because some people need extra features" and all I can think is like. Is it BETTER for someone with sleep apnea to have NOTHING AT ALL? That's like denying someone a basic rescue inhaler when there's a formulation that works better, like maybe it's best they DON'T choke.

I just. Idk. I'm not anti medical or anti science. I'm just fucking chronically ill and tired, and there's no help out there. I'm tired of having to deal with doctors making decisions that involve leaving me to suffer when I can't do anything about it.

Like. The main barrier to treatment for my longest term condition is a fucking diagnostic test. I have a muscle condition that makes it impossible for me as is, and physical therapy confirmed it was likely worsened by the pain and inflammation, and the muscle work alone wouldn't fix it.

And they could accommodate me. I've met so many people shocked that they won't, because they were accommodated. A muscle relaxer, a xanax, topical numbing, laughing gas, even putting me under are all options that others in my position have been offered. And I get denied any of those options because "it's not standard" and "you need to suck it up" over involuntary muscle spasms...

I don't care about fucking risks anymore, because is it really any less of a risk to live in pain, feel my body weaken from fatigue and dysfunction, all while there's something in my body actively causing harm to me and I have no way of even knowing how far it's spread, how serious it is, if it's harming my internal organs, anything...

Why the fuck can't I just sign a form saying I understand all the risks and then just ask for what I fucking need? I don't want to sound like I have a big head, but I've never been wrong about this shit. Every fucking issue or problem I spent years trying to convince doctors to listen and look into my concerns, and consistently when they eventually finally do, I turn out to be right. I hate it.

[queerdraws]

i love your postcard artwork for the zolu playlist SO much!! the colours are so so good and i love the brushwork! i think my favourites are a tie between the one for chikai and the one for simple song <3 also, I was wondering if you could share what brushes you used + how long they took you! looking at your art makes me want to draw again after not doing it for so long

Thank you!! and wow i think this is the first time someone's asked me for my brushes, this is like a digital artist rite of passage!

Answers n screenshots n stuff under cut (I went a little to ham on this oops)

While we're talking settings I want to give a quick PSA to all digital artists:

CHECK UR ASPECT RATIO!!!: (MOST IMPORTANT SETTING BY FAR)

DO NOT DRAW WITH THIS ALL MESSED UP, IT WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY. It's probably good to check this after every system update (I don't, but, you know...). Windows likes to mess w your shit when it updates.

If you have a really tiny tablet you might need to trace outside a bottle lid or something.

Okay now on to the meat of the post

-- Brush Stuff --

I use Clip Studio Paint. For my playlist drawings I think I only used these brushes (these are my main 3 in general) (p.s. they're all default brushes! but i've adjusted the settings):

1) Gouache This is most of what i used for the postcards. I nuked Color Stretch because i hate it (it blends colors together as you're painting, like painting over wet paint. I prefer things to look more crisp)

2) Real G-Pen Used this as little as possible, to keep the painterly effect. My preferred fine-detail pen, has a nice crunch to it. I've fine-tuned my setting further in the thickness dynamics / brush size dynamics settings because I mostly use this brush for linework and wanted it to handle really, really naturally and precisely

The random box is checked by default, probably to make this brush feel more like handling a real inkdip pen (I don't like that)

3) Mapping Pen Least used. I generally keep this brush at the 50-70px range. It's unpleasant to use for detail work (the taper is really fiddly at my tablet pressure settings) but good at filling in large areas very opaque very quickly, with a crisp edge (Also, doesn't lag as much as the gouache brush at large-ish sizes). Has enough wiggle room that it can be used to approximately fill tighter spaces at large brush sizes. Used for when I needed to quickly color over an area that wasn't working or quickly fill in background color that didn't need paintbrush texture. Did not realized the stabilization was set to 10 until just now. I usually turn that waaay down to prevent lag (my laptop isn't very old but it's a sensitive beast)

Other stuff that'll help:

General pen pressure: (under File -> Pen Pressure Settings)

tweaking how CSPaint handled my pen pressure helped a lot with making lineart look more natural. It's worth messing around with this and trying out different settings for a while to see how they feel.

-- How Long it Takes 2 Draw --

I don't really keep track of how long art takes me from start to finish, and making the playlist drawings was kinda nonlinear 😅 sorry!

-> I started out sketching really quick composition and color ideas as the songs were playing, limiting myself to just the duration of each song (so like, 5 minutes for this part) -> i did that again at least 2 more times per song -> after that, idk. I would work on one pic then get stuck and move to another. Some I could hammer out in like... 5 hours? Some took me upwards of 20 (30?) hours for no real reason (I have "will graham clock" days, where I'll try to draw a face over and over and it'll look really strange, like will graham's clock drawing every time) (this seems to be either a vitamin deficiency or a brainfog inflammation type thing 4 me 😵‍)

I'll use ur two favorites as specific examples: -> Chikai was one that went pretty quickly (with the exception of their arms and the clothing folds there giving me trouble). Probably took 4-6 hours? -> Simple Song had a couple different versions, partially because I initially had the cards all laid out landscape-style, and I decided I actually wanted them all portrait-style & repainted it after it was already done. That aside, the colors /atmosphere on that one gave me trouble and the general composition / perspective had a lot of tweaks (I was trying to figure out if I wanted it to be a kinda flat stylistic perspective or if I wanted it to make more literal sense, trying to figure out what to do with luffy, trying to make him not look Too baby boy sweetie pie). Probably took 7-10 hours...?

In-progress landscape versions: (varying levels of in-progress)

Misc in-progress of Chikai and Simple Song:

Simple song looks kinda sequential like this lmao. Luffy looks like he's A-posing and floating away to the boat and then sitting down pleasantly in it. Wonderful. --

Anway -- hope any of that was helpful!

[brehaaorgana]

I did go to Sephora yesterday and the Internet wasn't lying or over exaggerating! I saw, in fact, MULTIPLE 8-12 year olds shopping there. although a lot/most of the actually youngest ones had parents trailing them.

specifically please pour one out for one dad trailing his preteen girls lmao. That man had the ultimate dad (or parent) expression that combined resigned exhaustion with supportiveness and searching bewilderment hoping for solidarity among adults. Or possibly rescue

.

Anyways one of them darted in front of me to reach/snatch at something she wanted because she was too nervous to say "excuse me," although I had already noticed her telling her mom what product she was looking for and was actively already stepping aside when she zoomed in to do this! I was making space and she literally was too excited to just wait three more seconds.

I mostly found the darting funny because she was clearly just afraid to talk to another person who wasn't her mom (nervous hand clasping, whispering to her mom's ear, hesitant hover back), but also like sweetie, your mom SHOULD encourage you to not snatch things or reach over people and say out loud "excuse me," even if it IS scary. I pre-emptively moved over when I saw what she was saying, she was just faster lol.

I will think on how to gently help them with this next time. I probably could've said something like "hey, it's okay to say excuse me so I can move over more for you! We can both look!"

This little girl DID open the box of what she was looking at which?? Why did her mom not tell her not to do that?? But she didn't unseal product.

Also this is what she wanted:

For anyone fascinated/horrified by the phenomenon of pre-teen girls being sold absurd skincare standards by TikTok, but who doesn't know much about the products involved:

This is a watermelon glow face serum. Serum is basically liquidy topical skincare products. They're often used for a more concentrated delivery of an active ingredient in your skincare. A little can go a long way.

In this case, the serum is boosting in order: (1) niacinamide, which is a type of vitamin B3 that helps your skin build keratin (for firmness), and the natural lipid barrier which helps you retain moisture. It can also help with inflammation/redness/coloration (acne, eczema, hyperpigmentation). (2) literal watermelon extract which idk says it delivers amino acids and hydration in the marketing. It's probably harmless. It's a good add for marketing, Glow recipe does fruit themed products. And (3) hyaluronic acid which could sound scary but is just a humectant that helps prepare skin to receive moisture, like in your moisturizer. (Fair warning: a straight hyaluronic acid serum is not enough on its own if your skin is super dehydrated. It will make your skin go all shriveled if you don't add moisturizer and you were super dry to start with. Ask me how I know)

Basically this angel faced & clear skinned child absolutely did not need anything to help acne or redness, but in this case it's a harmless product that will also help her skin stay moisturized in winter. It's pricey for what it is, but it's not meant for mature skin only thankfully. Basically if I had to choose something from Glow Recipe (which has cute, colorful bottles and fun fruit themes) for a little kiddo, this lands in the harmless to their skin pile.

She got the mini size which is $20

Her skin absolutely doesn't need this product. This is about marketing performative femininity and anti-aging towards girls and women. From an "everyone has skin to care for," perspective, "watermelon pink juice moisturizer" by the same brand is more relevant. Or the blueberry cleanser.

(most of the actual teenagers said things like "excuse me" if they needed to pass by and weren't rude to me at all. Like actual teenagers sans guardians and I had lots of normal sorry, excuse me, go ahead interactions between us. They're NOT all aggressive and rude.)

Idk idk I have such mixed feelings. I know I cared about the onset of acne at 11, 12... I hated the feeling of breaking out, not even just from a social perspective but like, the sensory feeling it produces in your skin. I pick at it even when I shouldn't. I still hate it! But to have that anxiety compounded a bajillion times by social media would've sucked.

[meditating-dog-lover]

Skin and physical and mental health update (tw)

I think intermittent fasting is causing my skin inflammation.

On Thursday my face and neck got so inflamed. I don't know what caused it - the heat or my new cleanser. Anyways I used my mom's gentle cleanser instead and applied some steroid to my face. It looks better now.

My hands looks better too, but still red and dry. Thankfully they did not get much worse after the effects of my steroid shot and pills wore off.

I've been eating anti-inflammatory and drinking aloe juice, both help a lot. I'm just looking for new condiments to use because a lot of them have refined oils.

Yesterday I got pizza for my mom and I, as well as some brownies, mozzarella sticks and jalepeno poppers. We don't eat like this everyday of course, but it was a Friday. I had some of the sticks and poppers, but then I did not want pizza and wanted to eat something healthier. I'm glad I felt this way because I want to be healthy, and I didn't even feel deprived. So I put the remaining slices in a ziploc bag and froze them.

I've been watching this doctor on Youtube with my mom who talks about how to eat for women - premenopausal and menopausal. She talks a lot about fasting and eating anti-inflammatory, but to cycle those and to eat more carbs because following a strict IF schedule doesn't work for women the way it works for men. And I love intermittent fasting, but I do believe my strict fasting has contributed to my skin inflammation. My flareups started 3 weeks after I started fasting, with no drastic changes to my diet (yes I'm fasting but I'm eating the same stuff I did before I started), stress levels, environment, and cleaning products. I've been fasting for 16 hours everyday since last Christmas, maybe 5 days where I broke my fast.

I know that the strict 16 hour fasting for 7 months straight messed with my hormones. Last time I did blood work I had elevated cortisol, estrogen, and my fasting blood sugar was higher than normal. I have insulin resistance (there is a genetic component to this as it runs in my family, but still the fact that my hormones are somewhat out of balance suggests that there is probably lifestyle triggers). I know stress can cause hormone imbalances and I've been dealing with that a lot recently as well as psychological pain from a lot of things (processing my childhood, COVID, Gaza, and seeing my physical and mental health decline), and I'm going to see a psychiatrist and a psychologist for autism testing.

I know my skin flares are hormone related because my mom's skin inflammation was the worst when she was my age and she said her skin cleared up during perimenopause. And the fact that I have elevated cortisol, estrogen dominance, and insulin resistance can be something contributing to this. My first flare appeared during puberty, but thankfully that lasted for a month or 2 and it only appeared on my right pointer and ring finger (idk why it was just those 2 fingers but I'd take that over full hand eczema). And my more severe eczema started when I started college and turned 20. It may have been a month or so before my 20th birthday actually. Also I know college stress contributed to it.

So I am convinced there is a hormonal component to eczema. It's a bit new to me as people mostly talk about diet, food sensitivities, stress, allergies, and soaps/detergents as triggers. Stress does contribute even in a hormonal way, where elevated cortisol will trigger skin inflammation. But there are things beyond just stress that can trigger hormonal imbalances and, therefore, skin inflammation. This is something that will require a deep dive, and fast and food cycling can help because a strict low-carb/sugar free (natural sugars coming from fruit and dark chocolate, and not junk food sugars) diet and fasting for 16 hours (even OMAD) is not good for women. Fasting in general and eating anti-inflammatory are great for women, but since our hormones cycle, following a strict and rigid routine longterm can mess them up and cause imbalances, and therefore inflammation.

So I'm going to fast for 13 hours now instead of 16, until my hormones are better and I see less inflammation. I normally break my fast at 12, but I can eat something light at 9 (coffee with a snack but idk what snack to have) when I get to work. Then I can look into the more complicated cycling, I just want to reverse any of the inflammation my strict fasting schedule caused me.

I've been in a lot of pain and distress over my health. It's gotten to the point where I have considered causing serious harm to myself and unaliving. I want something good to come out of this as I don't want to do that to myself, but the pain and stress and anxiety and hopelessness my health issues have caused me has caused me severe psychological damage. I'm seeing a psychiatrist for support. Whatever it takes, even a horse tranquilizer, anything to get rid of the psychological pain.

[yourmoonmomma]

Ellow !! So idk what your problem might be and I don't wanna scare you lot but if a certain part of your stomach is tender it might mean that part is inflamed so I would recommend eating really light food like porridge and brink barley water that's really soothing and for poop there are a lot of natural laxatives you could try I am no doctor but coming from a family with lots of health issues i recommend this as it usually works and heals very well lemme know if you want laxatives recs

Byeyeyeyye

Take care Alex .

Hi hi!

I AM used to having some tummy troubles, because of celiac, but usually the exact opposite. But it can cause inflammation in the intestines sometimes. As welllll Crohns is quite common in the celiac community which I've wonderedddd if I should get tested for. Regardless though, I agree! I think that one specific part is inflamed or at least has... something going on with it! Onto day 8 or 9 now, and that exact same spot is still the spot that is tender and gets these little twinges in it. I told Jayson I wanted to use his massage gun on that spot, to try to break stuff up, but he said that could cause it to like... burst maybe?? So I'm not gonna do that lol. I am also a little spooked because my family has a history of colon cancer extremely young, so i'm like "ahhh what if it's that??" but it's not in that area so I'm just being dramatic lol.

Barley water I can't do, because of celiac :( But I'll try to eat some porridge!! I do sometimes, but haven't recently, so I'll have some in the morning for breakfast! And I'll look up some natural laxatives too <3

Please do send me some recommendations!! I appreciate any and all help so much <33

[daydreamin-the-starscape]

aries moon jupiter venus conjunction sextile mercury mars

this is gonna sound so cheesy but

i clicked on rawbeautykristi's latest q&a video yesterday which is personally so wierd for me not because i stopped liking her just because i was no longer interested in makeup content but i was walking into the store and just thought it would be weirdly comforting

anyways she said something along the lines of, well i used to make content for other people so I was constantly changing myself and my content to fit the analytics instead of doing the things that I wanted or like and I guess that really affected her mentally so she just started saying fuck it im gonna do what I want and it's like

I got so much shit in my second house right now but im still broke as fuck but like the other side of the second house is self esteem self worth, blah blah blah

so I think this transit is trying to help me boost myself esteem at the very beginning right before saturn transits my 1st, which will effect my lessons in the following 2nd house transit because duh each cycle for any transit is always gearing you up for the next cycle it's literally a wheel moving forward what did you think them going round and round meant

sorry that was more of a dig at myself

and idk if it's the long standing chiron transit in my 2nd or saturn coming up out of my 12th house to conjunct my moon but I have been feeling like a fucking landfill just ooozing my most long term mental health problems into my 1st house of body so I gotta fucking deal with those asap it's like warning me it's the final countdown

12th house transit made me realize I need more alone time more than I thought, that I have raging adhd, and ocd(idk why but that is very horrible neurotic saturn opposite very exalted jupiter to me) and like going through therapy and putting things in my toolkit and getting medicated and finding communities of other people going through the exact same thing online(very on brand for 12th house Aquarius energy) and just finding out why my mental health as been so fucking bad my entire life

BUT because I learned that lesson during my 12th house transit, it's been unfortunately gearing me up for the 1st house transit of all the shit I didn't fix because of the 12th house discovery

my fucking teeth, the wisdom teeth are coming in, i haven't been to the dentist in years and yes I'm sorry I had horrible dental hygiene because I just couldn't understand why I couldn't do the thing

drinking excessively, like I can't do that shit anymore because it's like horrible for inflammation and I literally get a yeast rash on my stomach if I drink beer and this crazy other rash I have like is something autoimmune which is like honestly from a super high level of stress so it's like part of that mental health lesson was to just try to find ways to calm yourself down, have more alone time,

the ocd has manifested into health so I'm like obsessively worried about nutrition intake(vitamins and minerals specifically) and like joints and supplements so I think this is the final boss of saturn in my 12th transit but ehh I don't know how to deal with this one yet so c'est comme ca or whatever paramore said

which honestly after laughter was my 11th/12th house saturn transit album and this new one sounds so much like 1s/2nd house I'm pumped

[sunspritez]

Facial Skincare Products I’ve Used Pt. 4

Freshman and Sophmore Years 2022-2024

Aight so I'm getting the hang of skincare by now. I've landed on some holy grail products and some duds. I think this is my transition toward Asian beauty. After I realized how much financial freedom I have, I turned to online shopping. It happened a couple days before Valentine's Day. Idk why, but I landed on Stylevana and saw the sale they were having (they were always having a sale). So I went and bought three new things: 1. iUNIK beta glucan serum, 2. I'm From mugwort essence, and 3. Clio gelspresso eyeliner. It all went downhill? uphill? from here.

Cleansers

Lancôme Eau Micellaire Cleansing Water - Mom's stuff. Some of the more expensive stuff I've tried but it's basically the same as Garnier.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser - Mom’s stuff. It’s nice and gentle with a milky texture. It seems like it has decent cleansing power, but I haven’t tested it out on a full face of makeup or anything heavy.

Rosette Cleansing Pasta Age Clear Makeup Remover Cream - Mom's stuff. It smelt strongly of roses and left a mildly oily residue after I washed it off. Probably the cream.

Treatments

Naturie Hatomugi Skin Conditioner - I saw this on r/AsianBeauty and then at the 168 Market. Immediately bought it. It’s basically water with some fancy stuff inside. Hydrating but not life changing. I also thought this caused me to break out and stalled using it, but I went back to it a couple days later. I use this in layers. It’s a pretty solid no-frills watery toner.

Neutrogena Stubborn Blackheads Daily Serum - Oh my god, it smells abysmal. Like a dirty towel smell with a scent that burns your nose. You do end up being able to tolerate it with frequent usage. Nice consistency though, more of a thin gel than a liquid serum. I did notice fewer break outs on my face after using this. However, I felt like it was ineffective so I switched back to the lactic acid.

I'm From Mugwort Essence - Most expensive and fancy thing I’ve personally bought. So its watery but thicker. I don’t know how to describe it but it has a nice slip to it and it doesn’t feel as watery as the Naturie toner. It smells mildly herby. I really like it, it makes my face feel so supple.

iUNIK Beta Glucan Power Moisture Serum - It was alright. It helped hydrate my skin but I feel like it was lacking in the healing department. The applicator also kinda broke when I was 95% done with the bottle.

Cosrx Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner - It had the same consistency as the I'm From Mugwort essence. It smells nice, not like honey but mildly sweet. I think it improved the appearance of my skin a bit. I wished it was as hydrating as the naturie toner.

De La Cruz 10% Sulfur Ointment - This smelt pretty bad. Very eggy. HOWEVER, it was so good at relieving redness and inflammation. It instantly calmed my cyst down. Also pretty decent at acne prevention. I got used to the scent and my mind gradually associated the anti inflammation to the scent, which made the sulphur smell more comforting oddly enough.

Beauty of Joseon Calming Serum - I never thought I'd buy something from BOJ. I always had the impression that they're super expensive but they have decently priced items. Mildying hydrating but it really did nothing for me.

Rhoto Mentholatum Melano CC Vitamin C Brightening Essence - I decided to give this another try and once again I was let down :( .

HADA LABO Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Premium Lotion - Extremely hydrating and viscious. I originally looked down on hyaluronic acid but this changed my mind. It's best on damp skin and some humiditiy in the air. Initially it made my skin so so plump but because its getting colder and arid, it feels like it just dries my skin sometimes.

VT Cosmetics Cica Care Sheet Masks - Saw this at Neko Stop for $10 for a box. It was very hydrating and had a nice herbal scent.

Kose Cosmeport Clear Turn White Mask Collagen - Like the Naturie toner, I also got this at 168 market. It was about 5pc for $10. Super hydrating and made my skin plump. Love it!

AXIS-Y Dark Spot Correcting Glow Serum - Nice texture and hydration but I didn't notice much difference. I think my skin looked nicer or something.

SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule - I don't use this a lot, only when I'm using actives. It's very good at soothing. Instantly minimizes the feeling of irritation. I wish I bought this instead of that I'm From Mugwort Essence.

Cos De Baha Tranexamic Acid Serum - Nicely hydrating and had a gel-like texture. Pretty sticky. In terms of hyperpigmentation lightening I don't think I saw any real changes. It was pretty mild. Meh.

Isntree TW-Real Bifida Ampoule - I bought this because I heard it is good for skin barrier and I suppose it is. That said my skin is fairly resilient already. I like the serum though - not too sticky, hydrating and I got a lot out of it. Might repurchase as just in case now that I've started retinol.

Cerave Resurfacing Retinol Serum - I've used a retinol moisturizer once before but this is my first serum. I've used this for about ~ 6 weeks. Not sure if I'm seeing improvement but this spot of on my right cheek that has been persistent is becoming less visible. I used to use this every three days on top of moisturizer but then swapped to every other day, on bare dry skin. I may have flew too close to the sun because my skin got itchy after applying and then I scratched, which cause two big hives. It calmed down and went away in the morning but yeah. I need to be more careful.

Moisturizers

Cetaphil Soothing Aloe Vera Gel Cream - I wanted to like this, I really do. I was anticipating this so much and then months into using it I realized it was the culprit behind my break outs :(. Anyways, it’s pretty moisturizing but doesn’t feel heavy since it’s a gel cream. The size is generous for the price. Also very sticky. (Edit: I think the breakouts may have been hormonal and not because of this gel cream. Also great body moisturizer during the summer.)

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Face Cream - My replacement for the Cetaphil gel cream. It’s much lighter and more suitable for warmer weather. However, I’m using this in December. I somehow almost always end up with a lighter moisturizer during winter. It’s alright, does it’s job. Also great price for the amount you get.

Elf All The Feels Facial Oil- I got this to help boost the Aveeno face cream. It does help enrich the cream and leaves a nice glow on my face. I’d use this mixed with moisturizer but never by itself. It's also good for removing hair removal wax.

Elf Holy Hydration Face Cream - Revisiting this moisturizer because I'm still struggling to find the holy grails of all holy grails of moisturizers. It's aight. It feels moisturizing yet lightweight but I'm craving that instantaneous hydration burst you get with gel creams. My skin for some reason doesn't vibe with it? Like it doesn't harm my skin but I don't feel good after applying it.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream - Ah yes, the famous Hydroboost gel cream (on Reddit at least). I remember the day the gel version came out. Kind of a revolutionary thing in the (Western) beauty world. Anyways, it’s siliconey but not heavy or pore-clogging. It’s moisturizing and lightweight. Pretty unproblematic. I wished the container didn’t use so much plastic.

Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Face Gel Hydrator - Someone tell Neutrogena that acne-prone skin does not always equate to oily skin. It’s a gel cream but lighter than the Hydroboost. It’s pretty moisturizing but it dries down matte. It makes my skin look dull afterwards, so it’s preferable to add two drops of facial oil to make it work for me. Kinda hated it.

Cosrx Full Fit Propolis Honey Overnight Mask - Waaaaay too lightweight for an overnight mask. I previously used the Paula's Choice hydrating treatment mask and e.l.f.'s dope dreams mask so I was hoping for something rich. This was not it. I ended up giving it to my mom.

Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Intensive Cream - A nice, hydrating and rich cream. It left some weird residue on my skin but it's whatever. I should've gone with this initially instead of using Aveeno, the honey mask, Neutrogena (both gel cream and gel hydrator), and e.l.f during the winter.

Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Aqua Gel Cream - It was like the cosrx hyaluronic acid cream but more hydrating and lightweight. Had a bit of a tacky finish but it wasn't bad. Great gel cream for the summer but as it got colder my skin needed a little more.

Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel - A nice gel and nothing more. I use it more as a treatment actually. However, it didn't really do much skin soothing, the sulphur mask did. I do use it after I exfoliate. In comparison to the other gel creams I've used, this was the best.

Up&Up Unscented Sensitive Skin Facial Moisturizer - A nice moisturizer in between thick and thin. Initially I was worried about breaking out because of the petrolatum but that didn't happen. The moisturizer is a little more thin because its a lotion but its moisturizing enough. However, I occasionally felt like the moisturizer wasn't enough on some nights, so I brought back an old favorite - the Cerave Daily Moisturizing Lotion.

Illiyoon Ceramide ATO Concentrate Cream - Finally bit the bullet and bought this cream after one of my neighbor's in my dorm let me tried some. And let me tell you - it was the shit. My skin was instantly revived after a long period of dryness. I was so worried it would be heavy but it wasn't! It was rich and moisturizing - perfect for the night.

Sunscreens

Black Girl Sunscreen Kids SPF 50 - So this was a bit too moisturizing. It’s not great when it’s 80+ degrees and you’re seconds away from being a greaseball the second you step out the door. Yeah, made me look and feel too greasy for my liking. It did it’s job well and didn’t leave that weird feeling on my hands afterwards. If anything, it sunk in and made my hands feel moisturizer rather than tacky or dirty.

Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50+ - My replacement for the BG kids sunscreen. I saw this on r/skincareaddiction and the reviewer gave it like a 4/5 or 5/5. I was kinda surprised because in the current skincare landscape, people talk more about La Roche Posay or Asian sunscreen. Banana Boat or typical American branded sunscreen are kinda disregarded ‘cause they kinda suck in quality. Anyways, the sunscreen is just like its name. It’s lightweight and doesn’t make me look greasy. It added a bit of moisture to my skin when it was like 50 degrees. It smells good too. I usually don’t really like fragrance but this is okay. It’s exceptional.

Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence - By far the best sunscreen I've ever used. It feels so nice on my skin - very hydrating and lightweight. It dries down quick too. Very cosmetically elegant.

Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen - This was a sample from Yesstyle. Remember what I said about Biore being the best sunscreen I've used? I think this rivals it. It's so so lightweight yet moisturizing. Like it feels like nothing on when you apply it. No white cast or irritation either. Downside is that it isn't waterproof :(.

[wisteria-whump]

things that are apparently supposed to help with nausea

im writing this with the intention of it being used for sickfics or whatever but i guess it could also work if you just actually don't feel well

basically any food/drink with ginger because it reduces inflammation (i think??) mostly ginger ale and ginger tea are recommended for nausea because you're obviously not really gonna wanna eat if you're nauseous, but i think that ginger snaps are nice if you're nauseous and hungry at the same time.

peppermint because it also reduces inflammation (i think)! my personal favorite forms (for the purpose of making your character quirky and different and shit) are those little lifesaver mints, mint leaves, and copious amounts of peppermint tea.

the smell of lemon! apparently there was some sort of study done with this but ive never tried it.

smelling those rubbing alcohol wipe thingies! ive also never tried this one but ive heard that it works really well.

any non caffeinated soda. i think it's something to do with the carbonation and the sugar. carbonation always makes me feel a little better so 🤷‍♀️

that pressure point on your wrist! i think this is what those anti-carsickness bracelets do? idk ive only heard of them ive never actually seen them. i think this is supposed to be used more as a preventative thing and not a cure for nausea that's already happening.

deep breaths! i hate deep breaths! they kinda work tho

distraction! this one is just one that i do bc my nausea is 80% not caused by actual sickness so distracting myself makes me feel better.

an ice pack on the back of the neck. ive never tried this one but ive heard good things about it.

crackers! theyre supposed to like reduce the extra acid in the stomach which is supposed to make you feel better. in my experience they work especially well for when you're hungry and nauseous at the same time.

now for placebo things ive convinced myself help with nausea, because ALWAYS remember that your character can have remedies that don't scientifically make sense but it's a placebo effect so it works for them. these are just my personal ones, you can come up with basically anything for this category.

sleeping while sitting upright instead of laying down! i swear laying down makes me feel worse.

pacing! i actually stopped doing this one years ago because it's not really a good idea to walk around the house if i think i might be sick because like... i don't wanna do that on the floor

ive heard people say that sitting on the bathroom floor makes them feel better but i don't like touching the bathroom floor so i cannot confirm.

freezing! when im nauseous the first thing i do is shed as many layers of clothing as i can and then turn on every fan in the room and let myself freeze.

sitting in bed! not laying in bed, not sitting literally anywhere that is not my bed, it specifically has to be sitting in my bed! i swear sitting literally anywhere else makes me feel worse.

[celosiaa]

ooo passing out from pain/chronic illness jm? (either! your choice for everything on this)

I wrote this in a blinding fury today!! So it’s short and idk if it’s very good! But here ya are, serving up a meal of Jon with POTS, who has the flu that has probably turned into pneumonia, being found on the floor of the living room as Martin gets home from work. Enjoy? Maybe? Idk!!

"H-how long have you been down?"

Martin’s voice floats through Jon’s awareness slowly, much too slowly for his normally sharp mind. Every breath a slow and heaving gasp, in and out, in and out, everything muffled but the blood pounding in his ears, even as he lies flat on the floor.

"It's--ha, fine, love. It happens."

"Jon, how long?"

Martin’s voice turns a bit sharper now, and even if Jon knows in his heart of hearts that it’s only from the rising panic, he can’t help but feel his stomach drop all the same.

"...I'm not really sure,” he rasps, practically feeling the anxiety beginning to reach a tipping point as it rolls from Martin in waves.

"You kept passing out?"

"It's fine, habibi, it happens--"

"Don't. Don't."

Jumping slightly at the acridity of his tone, Jon’s eyes widen as he looks upward to meet Martin’s—only to find them already closed while he shakes his head rapidly.

"I'm sorry,” he mutters, remorseful. And Jon cannot help but feel the same remorse as well—for hiding how ill he felt, for telling himself over and over that it would be better, for ending up in a worse position that he’d ever anticipated. And landing Martin there right next to him, to boot.

"It's alright."

Exhaling a deep sigh through pursed lips, Martin turns his focus to pressing his lips against Jon’s hand, which he holds ever so light, ever so gently. The motion of lifting his arm like that sends Jon’s heart pounding even faster, fluttering in his chest at once. Not that he would ever tell Martin that.

Not important.

"If I help you, do you think you can stand?"

Jon considers this for a moment, worrying at his bottom lip as he recalls the amount of times he had tried to lever himself up from the carpet beneath him within the past…however long it had been. Too many, certainly—if the beginnings of bruises beginning to form on his arms is anything to go by. Honesty. Honesty will have to do for now, even if it hurts.

"I...can't really sit. So. Probably not."

A small, strangled sound slips out between Martin’s teeth, as hastily suppressed as it came. But the desperation of the sound…he’s panicking, Jon knows this. Knows he is the reason. And there’s very little, if anything, he can do to fix it.

"Martin, really, it--it's--"

Something bubbles up in his chest, deep and choking—and Jon’s vision goes dark at once as the coughing starts up again, threatening to drown him at any second.

"Oh, Christ. Okay. Alright. I've got you, alright."

He feels himself being levered upwards and forward; the position change allowing him a deeper breath for a moment—but only a moment. Nausea rises as everything tilts, and sways, and—

—

With a small flinch and a gasp, Jon comes to with his head lying in Martin’s lap. The deep, pulsing ache of it all floods his awareness as his eyes flutter open, a wave down every nerve of his battered body, and he cannot help but shiver.

“There you are, alright. You’re alright.”

Martin.

With an upturned glance that shoots another wave of pain through his head and across his shoulders, he faintly registers Martin’s face through glasses smashed into his cheeks. Tears in his eyes. Desperate to keep the panic to a dull roar, and it’s his fault, it’s all his fault—

He breathes in the guilt to the hollow of his gut—and chokes.

This time, Martin turns him so gently to his side, holding him secure as he props up on an elbow to loosen some of the damp that has taken residence in his lungs. It feels as if it goes on for years, Martin handing him tissue after tissue as he rubs his back—until Jon can no longer hear the sound of his own hacking, not above the ringing in his ears.

He has to stop, or he’ll faint again. And lord knows he can’t have that, not in front of Martin. Not after everything. And so he holds it back the best that he can, begging his blood to supply his brain long enough to let him feel safe enough to lie back down.

It’s going to happen anyway, one way or another.

As he lies back into Martin’s lap, black spots barely clearing from his vision, he knows only one thing: he is ill. Truly and properly.

“I’m gonna have to call for help, habibi,” comes Martin’s tear-soaked voice from above him.

“Mm—s—“ Jon tries to get even the smallest whisper of a noise from his ragged throat, but it gets lost somewhere between the inflammation and congestion.

And so he does the only thing he can think of—a fist circling above his sternum, the sign for “sorry.” And a small kiss to whatever bit of Martin’s leg lies closest to him.

It’s surely the least he can do. Always seems to be the least.

But it’ll have to do for now.

[silvermoon424]

So this is very personal but it's also my blog and I need to vent so I don't give a fuck lol

Two weeks ago I told you guys I started getting infusion therapy due to an issue I've been having for close to 7 years with my throat that impacts my breathing. The infusion therapy had been going fine and I finished up my third session yesterday. I went into work afterwards, and on my way home that afternoon I noticed that my left wrist was sore. I thought that maybe I flexed it wrong or fucked it up somehow and didn't think much of it. Then over the course of the next two hours my fingers, arms, and legs got progressively more and more sore...

And yep, what do you know, I Googled it and muscle and joint soreness is a known but pretty uncommon/rare side effect of the drug I'm getting infused with. It didn't hurt that badly and it was Friday night (well after the infusion clinic and my rheumatologist were closed) so I just decided to sleep on it and hope that I would sleep it off.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

I woke up at around 5:30 am this morning and could barely move because it hurt so fucking much to move/contract my muscles, especially my arms. I just kind of laid there on my back and tried to rest until I heard my dad walking around at 7:00 (I live with my parents) and called for help. I needed his help getting out of bed because I couldn't even get upright on my own. It was definitely the worst pain I can remember being in since... I don't even know how long.

He and my mom helped me gather my things, move downstairs, and sit in a chair because sitting upright is the most comfortable position for me to be in. We found my infusion clinic has an after-hours number and called, and they promised they would page a doctor for me who works on the weekends because my regular rheumatologist only works Mondays-Fridays. I got a call back and was advised to take a higher dosage of prednisone, a steroid I was already prescribed at the start of my infusion. Prednisone is used to treat inflammation and because the pain in my muscles and joints was most likely being caused by inflammation, this seemed to be the most effective way to treat whatever was going wrong with me. The doctor also advised Tylenol as a painkiller.

All this happened at about 8 am and it's now 7pm. I honestly feel a lot better but it took the prednisone at least 8 hours to kick in. My legs feel almost normal and so do my fingers although both are still a bit sore (which is why I can even type this lol), but my arms are still really fucked up. It really hurts to raise them above a certain level, although that level has raised a lot since this morning. I woke up thinking I needed to go to a fucking hospital but now it's a lot more bearable. It still fucking sucks and I need a lot of help to get stuff done but it's still way better than it was earlier.

I'm taking more prednisone tomorrow, although it's such a strong drug I can't be on a high dosage for more than a few days. I'm just going to ride out the weekend and see how I feel tomorrow. I'm definitely calling my rheumatologist on Monday even if I make a miraculous recovery and letting him know what happened. I still have one more infusion scheduled and now I'm worried about it. I've never had such a strong reaction to a drug before, although to be fair I've only been on such a strong drug once before.

Idk what the point of this post is except for try to not take your health for granted. I definitely wasn't thinking about how grateful I was to have full mobility earlier this week when I was washing my hair or changing shirts or bending over to pick up something I dropped. And before I developed my throat condition I never stopped to think about what it would be like to have trouble breathing. You just never know when that stuff can be taken away from you.

[pompadourpink]

Good evening mom!

I think i have an eating disorder. Like i dont ever want to eat anything, even when im hungry. I have terrible nausea during meals. I hate the way i look and i wanna lose weight asap. But i hate it that i get so dizzy and nausea is terrible. I have just been feeling really shitty about my appearance lately and it has been driving me crazy. My skin is also really bad, and i feel so unattractive. I have like 7 kilos to give and idk how. Do you have any advice?

Hello dear,

I'm getting different things here:

Not be able to eat/being nauseous/getting dizzy so easily doesn't seem to be related to an eating disorder; I would recommend you see a doctor and get tested for inflammation (probably not Crohn's) or a parasite.

Feeling unattractive isn't related to your weight but to your self-esteem. The number on the scale will not change the way you feel about yourself: even when you get there, you'll just change your goal, to another number, surgery, new clothes, or this, or that, because you'll never be satisfied. Get professional help if you can, and try to explore your trauma. This isn't a natural thing to feel. Read The examined life to get an idea of how your brain can manipulate you into hyper-focusing on something trivial in order to ignore the big problem.

Hormones, stress, bad nutrition, tiredness, bad hygiene habits, etc. will mess with your skin. Wash your hands before touching your face, change your pillowcases and towels twice a week, no rubbing, pulling, booze, tobacco, start a skincare routine (hyaluronic acid, any alcohol-free moisturizer, SPF in the morning; makeup remover, cleanser, retinol, acid, and moisturizer before going to bed; chemical exfoliant once a week), less added sugar and dairy, makeup-free days, sleep enough. And chill out. Whatever you are afraid of isn't going to stop the world from turning. Nothing is more important than your happiness.

Seven kilos isn't much. Increase your metabolism by going on walks, and eat more vegetables and protein. Starving yourself will end up in binging, which will make you feel guilty, and that's a vicious circle. When it comes to tackling the eating disorder, I suggest you take notes of what you eat to prove yourself that you're reasonable and there's no need to freak out, you drop everything else when eating (no screens) and make sure you chew every bite instead of overeating and pouring the content of your plate down your throat.

But, again, hating your appearance is a symptom of trauma, and it will most likely not disappear fully until you tackled the problem. If you break your arm and start being in pain, taking painkillers isn't the solution. By the time you actually decide to get a cast, your bone is going to be a lot more damaged than it would have been if you had rushed to the hospital, and is going to take much longer to heal. Take care of your mental health first, the weight isn't your problem.

Love,

Mum

[buffskierights]

Prompt by @gleterins Hi! I have a buffskier prompt wherein Geralt gets injured (broken foot??? idk something that won’t let him walk) and Jaskier will carry him around trying to be helpful and Geralt would be shocked everytime it happens because he just can’t fathom the thought of Jaskier being BUFF lmao if you’ve already received this kind of prompt then pls ignore me 😬 if not then thank you in advance!

Sorry this took so long for me to get to! I also made it so much more soft than I thought it was going to be :0

CW: Injury, Broken Bones

Broken bones are, without a doubt, Geralt’s least favorite of injuries. Sure, scooping his guts back into his body is annoying when the occasion calls for it, and maybe bleeding out to the point of the world losing color is a bit alarming, but both of those heal faster than a broken fucking bone. Oh, he could drink Swallow until the potion toxicity is what takes him away, but there is no speeding up the healing process of breaking a bone.

It had been with a sickening snap that he heard, more than felt, his ankle breaking beneath the weight of the wyvern as it stepped heavily upon his leg as he stabbed it through the heart. At least he killed it first before his leg became indisposed, his ankle swelling up as he laid in the clearing of the forest and just... waited. What for? He’s not entirely sure until he hears Jaskier’s voice gently calling for him.

“Geralt,” Jaskier quietly calls again, the bard surprisingly light-footed when he wants to be and stepping through the undergrowth of the forest nearly silently, “Geralt, I don’t hear any more ferocious clashing of swords against claws so I assume you’re done fighting. Would you be a dear and answer me so I’m not stumbling around blindly in the dark, spooky forest? Geralt?”

He sighs and tilts his head back to watch the tree line as he shouts back, “I’m here, Jaskier!” He hears Jaskier’s footsteps still before shuffling and changing direction, his sunny yellow doublet announcing his presence as he hurries over to Geralt’s side.

“Melitele’s tits, Geralt, what happened? I’m not sure if you’re aware, but you’ve a wyvern atop you still,” Jaskier teases, his sharp eyes looking Geralt over for injuries and lingering on the leg trapped beneath the beast, “I’d almost say it looked cozy, if it weren’t for the erm... well, the truly astonishing amounts of blood.”

Geralt rolls his eyes and scowls, “Yeah, Jask, it’s fucking cloud 9 under here. Help me get it off and then call Roach, I think my ankle’s broken.”

Jaskier cheekily salutes him, “Yes, sir!”

“Don’t call me sir.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Geralt growls, “Are you being a smartass right now?”

“Nope! Just an asshole, ma’am,” Jaskier sticks his tongue out playfully before shucking his doublet off and folding it neatly, placing it on the ground a good distance from the blood stained mud Geralt is lying in. As he approaches, he rolls the white sleeves of his undershirt up to his elbows and adjusts the waist of his blue trousers before crouching and getting his hands under the foot of the wyvern and lifting it enough for Geralt to pull himself out.

“Woof, yeah, that looks ah... very broken, my friend,” Jaskier muses as he extends a hand to the Witcher to help Geralt to his feet. His ankle has swollen enough to be tight in his boot and his foot has stiffened up from the inflammation. Geralt huffs and takes Jaskier’s hand before being pulled upright, his eyes widening in surprise when he suddenly finds himself off the ground and cradled against Jaskier’s chest.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He demands, his arms automatically wrapping around Jaskier’s (shockingly broad) shoulders, “Put me down, Jaskier!”

Jaskier shakes his head as he walks over to where his doublet lays on the ground, “No can do, Witcher. The trees are too narrow for Roach to pass through and you can’t walk on that ankle. Now, do me a favor and pick up my doublet, my hands are rather full right now.” He crouches down to lower Geralt to the ground and the Witcher snatches up the yellow garment, his face feeling oddly hot.

“So, you’re going to what, carry me back to camp?” Geralt challenges as Jaskier smoothly stands up again and starts walking. He has to admit, it feels kind of... nice, to be held like this.

“That’s the plan.”

“It’s at least two miles!”

Jaskier sighs dramatically, “Woe is me, I’m stuck with a hunk of man in my arms for the next half an hour. Whatever will I do?” Geralt’s face grows hotter and he scowls, slumping down in Jaskier’s arms and crossing his own as he grumbles.

The cooling air of evening makes gooseflesh pimple on his arms and he subconsciously wiggles to press more of himself against Jaskier’s warm chest, the bard radiating comforting heat. His steps are careful as well, Jaskier’s strong arms being delicate so as not to jostle Geralt and aggravate his ankle any further. Between the gentle swaying and the warm arms and the steady thudding of Jaskier’s heart against Geralt’s shoulder, he finds his eyes growing heavy as he struggles to stay awake with the fatigue of the battle catching up to him.

When Jaskier starts quietly humming, Geralt gives in and rests his head against the bard’s shoulder, his forehead tucked against Jaskier’s neck and he can feel the faint vibrations of buzzing vocal cords. Jaskier, politely, doesn’t say anything but his scent (oak, petrichor, silk, wood oil, ink) sweetens with happiness. He’s just going to close his eyes for a moment, just a minute to rest them, Geralt thinks as his eyes slide shut and he falls asleep feeling safe.

[exeggcute]

Sorry if this is personal and feel free not to answer but I remember seeing some posts about you taking humira and I was just wondering if you feel like it works slash how fast it works? I’m starting soon for crohn’s and I’m just really praying for any result because I currently just feel miserable and like I can’t do anything. Thanks so much for any advice and I wish you all the best with your treatments <3

no worries at all, I'm always happy to talk about stuff like this!!! I'm sorry that you're having such a rough time rn, crohn's is not fun :(

I personally take humira for ankylosing spondylitis, so idk how much of my experience would personally translate to you since the symptoms and dosage are a bit different (although crohn's and AS are pretty closely linked and a ton of people have both, so, not that far off?), and I also know that everyone is different... some people swear that they felt the drugs working IMMEDIATELY after the first dose of biologics, or within like a week or two, but I think it took at least a month before I really noticed anything. ymmv.

it has helped me a ton though. I recently increased my dose from one pen every fourteen days to one pen every seven to ten days just because I'd noticed the pain would start coming back a few days before my next dose and had some areas of pain that weren't as improved as other areas (although it turns out that might because of a physical injury in my hip and not inflammation, which would explain why the humira wasn't solving it, lol). but if humira isn't cutting the mustard for you (either in the short term or if it ever starts to get less effective over time), there's a ton of other biologics you can try that might work better for you: remicade, cimzia, and a bunch more. I know some people with AS will say that it took them a couple different drugs before they found the one that worked best—my rheumatologist suggested I might try enbrel or something similar if I'm not satisfied with the higher dose of humira. everyone reacts a little differently to each drug, so it just depends on which one you respond to best!

fingers crossed that you get lucky on the first try and the humira works for you!! I really hope you get some relief soon. just hang in there; if the humira isn't the magic bullet you need, there's a ton of other options out there, and even if humira only helps partway then that should still buy you some time to white-knuckle through it until you can try the next drug. and idk if you've ever injected yourself before (I never had before) but I promise it's not bad at all. sometimes I seriously don't even feel the needle... you just gotta make sure to keep the pen flush against your skin and try not to flinch or the fluid will leak out lol. I always remind myself that it's better to feel a quick pinch than to spend two weeks in agony but after you've done a couple shots it's easy peasy!!

[neopiacentral]

we went to a new vet today to get a third opinion because ecco has been consistently losing weight and we didn’t know why and within ten minutes of us being there the new vet could feel a lump in his belly meaning he has cancer. we took him to the other vet twice and all they did was pick him up weigh him and listen to his heartbeat and were like ehhh idk give him this dewormer this liquid food and maybe these antibiotics and see what that does . and the next day when i picked him up his stomach felt so firm and i immediately knew something was wrong so we called them and asked and they said it’s probably just gas. and now today learning he literally has cancer and it’s pushing against his bladder which is why he’s been urinating so excessively and having bloody discharge….mitch and i are just so upset and sad.

the new vet said there is a surgery we can do to remove the tumor but because hamsters are so so small it’s extremely risky and she’s only successfully removed a tumor from a hamster twice in like 15 years so there’s a huge chance he would not survive that. and then for a plan B she said once he starts showing more serious symptoms then we may be able to get him on a very very very very small amount of prednisone to help with the inflammation and all that but like it wouldn’t cure anything it would just help him feel more comfortable. she told us he is the happiest hamster she’s ever seen though and it was completely obvious with the amount of energy he still has but over time that energy is going to dwindle until it’s time for mitch and i to make a choice about what we think is best for ecco.

we both started crying at the vet and i had to go to work after bc i was supposed to work today and they let me come in late so we could take him to his appointment but when i got there the girl who has been training me asked how it went and when i was explaining it to her i just started crying and she gave me a hug and told me i am more than welcome to go home if i need to bc my mental health comes before work in every situation. everyone is being so kind and i appreciate it a lot

it’s just so hard bc we have no idea how much time we have left with him!!!!! like i said he still has a lot of energy and is still so fast and isn’t hiding from us or anything.. he’s acting like his normal self but we just knew something was wrong because he’s lost more than 20g of weight from the first time we took him to the vet a little over a month ago and he’s not eating as much as he should and his bedding would be soaked in urine to the point where some of his white fur was turning yellow and we had to change his bedding out more and more often. it’s just hard man he’s the first pet i’ve had in over 5 years and he may just be a hamster but we both have such a strong bond with him and love him so much

[serialreblogger]

Hey there! I’ve seen you mention in your tags on several posts that you’re dealing with endo and I wanted to say I’m sorry I know how difficult that is not only to live with but to get anybody to take seriously (both in your personal life and in medical settings)

I’m not sure what stage of trying to get decent treatment you’re in atm, but I’d like to suggest trying a Facebook group called Nancy’s Nook (I had to make a Facebook to try it cause I’m never on there but it was really worth it) there is tons of info on there and all of it has sources, links to articles and papers a lot of which are written by the foremost doctors in endo treatment. It just really helped me a lot, and obviously everyone’s situation is different but information is power so I just wanted to let you know incase that might be helpful for you too

There’s so much misinformation about endo, even in the medical community, I had two surgeries that made my pain worse because my dr at the time was using ablation techniques instead of excision (burning instead of cutting out endo, the burning doesn’t get all of it and in my case it left a LOT of inflammation without removing the problem). Nancy’s Nook helped me learn how to tell if a dr knows what they’re talking about, there are lists of drs that have good reviews and practice excision and prescribe meds in a helpful way, etc. Again, idk if you need more info or if you have a dr you’re happy with! But I just wanted to spread the info incase it helped because I know it can be overwhelming❤️

Also if you ever need to talk or just vent or whatever I’m here, endo sucks and I hope your pain eases soon!

i’ve been real low on spoons lately, sorry for not replying right away (to this and a host of other asks), but. yeah i don’t really have the words to say how grateful i am for this? like 70% of my frustration and anger and depression around my own endo is born of the fact that my experience isn’t an outlier, that the majority of people with endometriosis (and god knows how many other problems associated with the uterine reproductive system) are treated like shit by the medical community, that no one knows anything because people don’t care to research it. That there’s been ten times as much research done on erectile dysfunction as there’s been on endometriosis.

So - it’s frustrating that i’m not alone, because I’m scared and angry on behalf of all the people who don’t have access to the kind of resources i’ve been using (research skills, medical insurance, dog-with-a-bone determination and deliberately honed language skills to make people listen). And to have - to have a stranger reach out and give me support, information, advice and places to go to find more of the same -

it means a lot to me. not just because it’s super helpful info for me personally (which, good god, it is; looking into the difference between cautery and excision is something that would never have occurred to me) but because it - it means we aren’t alone.

it’s easy to think that just because the official structures are built to exclude us, we don’t have anywhere to turn to. it’s easy to feel really devastatingly hopeless when you’re faced with this kind of institutional gaslighting and neglect and apathy.

it’s easy to forget that we can and have and do build our own structures. that there are places to turn. that people... that people care. that, because there are so many people like me, there are spaces for people like me. that someone will help.

thank you. i guess that’s all i’m really trying to say. thank you.