#jr fibromyalgia

[i-got-da-rubes]

I am physically unable to finish this comic and if that ain’t ironic

[macksartblock]

do you have any specific headcanons for the teens??

I don’t really have too many headcanons for the teens. Most of them tend to draw from my own or my friends experiences/habits bc I find it funny so —

Taylor: has fibromyalgia and once texted the group chat something along the lines of “do you guys ever sleep so hard you wake up to a dislocated hip? I’m so good at sleeping” Scary was the only one who thought it was funny.

Normal: washes his hair in the sink more often than one should. He also wouldn’t have time to blow dry it before he’d put on the Teenie costume so his hair would end up crimped and half wet for the entirety of the day.

Additional HC that’s more family aligned: Before Hero and Normal were born, Sparrow painted a tree mural in each of their rooms. Hero eventually repainted her room when she was 12 but Normal’s tree is still visible :)

Hermie: is double jointed at the elbow and shoulder in his left arm. He can do this weird trick involving moving his clasped hands from behind his back, over his head, to his front. It’s weirdly bendy and uncomfortable to witness.

Lincoln: when he was around 8-9 yrs old, he attempted to convince his dads to help him make a sign that said “Tricks for Kisses (hershey kind)” around Halloween. He explained he was gonna do soccer tricks for kisses but did NOT explain he meant the chocolate kind. They did not make the sign.

Scary: when she was very little, like 4-5ish, Veronica signed her up for ballet classes. She did enjoy them until it was time for her first recital where, before even going on stage, she burst into tears and her teacher had to run out to collect Veronica from the audience. She was then signed up for soccer and was far more interested in that. Veronica still has the picture of Scary in her recital outfit in her wallet bc Scary couldn’t stand the idea of it hanging up in the house around Terry Jr.

[deadwardianpoltergeist]

basic premise of the upbringing of my AU turtles

splinter(who is the late yoshi’s lost pet rat) is mutated with only mikey, raph, and leo initially

leatherhead, who is sleeping nearby, is splashed by mutagen as well

mikey, being notoriously easily distracted(somebody should put that infant on a leash) wanders over to leatherhead, who wakes up, panicked

in the panic splinter is left having to chase the startled raph and leo, and when he comes back for mikey both her and leatherhead are gone

splinter tries it’s best to juggle raising his new kids well and looking for mikey(to little avail)

leo is worried, but is a little kid who cares more about attention from splints than a sibling he barely remembers

raph is very stressed out by the anxiety splinter shows constantly worrying about mikey. of course, she’s like three, so his thoughts go along the lines of “if I get a new sibling then he’ll stop being so distressed and stay home” (she hates seeing his dad like this, the guilt, the misery, and splinter doesn’t fully realize how much his misery is affecting the two kids it still has)

raph has basic knowledge of how he exists, with the mutagen. splinter often comes back from its searches with canisters he stashes away so they can’t wreak more havoc.

so, raph steals a canister while splinter is away

she finds a (common snapping turtle) nest in one of the farther areas of the sewers

he grabs one of the eggs and opens the canister(this shit is an irresponsible biohazard nobody babyproofed it) and mutates his new unborn sibling(and also said siblings bio mom but that’s not important right now)

the young raphael’s plan kind of works actually??

well, splinter definitely spends more time on the kids he lives with now, though he’s still awfully stressed, the amount of grey hair would make one of those beauty gurus obsessed with youth drop dead on the spot(and not just because he’s a mutant rat)

donnie and raph are very close, but donnie’s mutation inflicts a similar guilt to what splinter feels about losing mikey on raph

donnie would probably have some turtle fibromyalgia without the mutagen, and it would probably be a lot worse to live with as a wild baby trying to make it alone in the sewers on new york, but raph doesn’t know that

he thinks she did this, caused this pain for donnie, and she feels terrible about it

but she’s smart, he notices as the years pass that splinter and leo coddling don just makes them miserable, so she tries his best to push a lot of her worries about it to the side

eventually they’re best friends

leon is very much Splinter Jr, as he always is, and also is OBSSESED with astronomy(not to be confused with star signs)

he’s a pretty stressed little guy but out of everyone he’s the most chill at this young stage(wish I could say he’s as carefree later in life but it’s leonardo let’s be fr)

meanwhile, leatherhead has been raising mikey in a different part of the sewers. and yes, leatherhead is a very compassionate parent and they try very hard, but he’s not especially mentally stable. he gets better, and mikey helps them a lot, but no amount of guilt and anguish he feels about having mikey witness him having these horrible episodes will stop them. LH never asked to be a parent, but he didn’t see splinter when they got mutated, and mikey barely recalls. there’s nothing else he can do, they feel trapped

anyways basic overview there’s so much more and I 100% should have it written down more in depth(maybe on ao3? though I do have a couple more things to figure out) but here’s the early childhood of the turtles(under 10 years old)

[fibing-and-vibing]

Fibromyalgia hair care, hair loss prevention edition:

I’ve struggled with hair loss for years, long before receiving my diagnosis. For a long time I thought it was purely due to anxiety, which is definitely a factor. But anyways, over the years I’ve come up with some strategies for preventing hair loss, as well as encouraging new hair growth which is equally important imo. Both stem from having a healthy scalp. I’ll list my tools and products here, as well as my routine for using them properly. My hair is extremely fine, and has so little texture it slips out of hair ties; this almost has a horseshoe effect though where it goes round the bend and has a lot of the same issues as very textured hair in terms of breakage, tangling, etc. so if you have textured hair, some of these techniques and/or products may work for you, but I can’t say for sure.

Tools:

Wide-tooth comb

Scalp massager

Bonnet/head scarf, and/or hair ties

Microfiber cloth

Products:

Bar shampoo (I use JR Liggets)

Deep conditioner (I use Trader Joe’s coconut hair mask)

The Ordinary - Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density

Aloe vera gel, no fragrances or other unnecessary additives (I use Lily of the Desert)

Hair oil (I’m currently using Virtue - Healing Oil bc I got a free sample of it lol, but any kind will do tbh)

Hair mask (I get mine from the Henna Guys, equal parts of their Fenugreek & Reetha Powder to prevent hair loss, and their Brahmi & Bhringraj Powder for hair growth)

Dry shampoo (I have a powdered one also from the Henna Guys for daily use bc it has no unnecessary additives, but I also use a regular aerosol one like Batiste if I’m going out)

Daily Routine:

Every night before bed, start by gently brushing your hair. If your hair is wet at all, use a wide tooth comb to avoid snagging tangles.

Fill a dropper’s worth of the Ordinary serum - squeeze half into your palm, and the other half directly onto the problem areas of your head (I do the crown.) Make sure not to touch the dropper to your skin or hair though, don’t want to contaminate it! Just hover above.

Using your finger of your other hand, apply the serum directly onto any other problem areas (I do my hairline and temples.) Gently rub in where you dripped onto your scalp as well.

Squeeze some aloe into your palm with the serum, and mix them together with the finger of your other hand. Rub your hands together, and apply the mixture evenly throughout your scalp. You can go back in with more aloe too if you want, your hair should be pretty saturated. It might seem like this will make your hair look greasy in the morning, but it’s actually the opposite, it acts kind of like a natural dry shampoo and prevents your scalp from producing unnecessary oil. (I discovered this by accident when I had a scalp sunburn, so it’s also great to do if you’ve been out in the sun at all lol.)

Put a few drops of hair oil into your palm. Rub your hands together, and smooth it into the length of your hair in downward strokes, but starting at the bottom and reaching closer too your scalp each time. Run any remnants through the hair at your scalp, a little will keep it healthy but a lot will make it greasy here.

Use the scalp massager all over your head, gently; this should feel really nice. Focus on problem scalp areas, as well as pressure points if you get frequent headaches (bonus for helping with that too lol.)

Put on your powdered dry shampoo, while your hair is still “damp” from the aloe. Brush your hair from scalp to tip with the wide tooth comb until you feel like everything is fairly evenly distributed.

Put your hair up in a clippy or something while you go about the rest of your nighttime routine (I do hair care > journaling > night meds > light yoga > teeth > skincare > bed.)

At bedtime, protect your hair with a bonnet or headscarf, should be silk or satin. Bonnets have been a huge thing in the Black community for ages, but really everyone (especially people with delicate hair of any kind) should get into them! They prevent your hair from getting pulled on by the friction that’s naturally created between your head and pillow while you sleep. It also keeps all those products we just applied on your head all night instead of your pillow. You’ll also notice it’s better for your skin; it keeps the hair products and skin products separate so they both stay clean. You’ll notice less hair loss AND fewer breakouts.

If you really don’t want to wear a bonnet or scarf, or if you’re staying over somewhere etc, the next best option is to put your hair in one or two braids. This at least does some work to prevent pulling and keep it off your face.

Weekly Routine:

Before washing, use a hair mask. This is a great chance to let products really soak into your scalp and hair shafts. The ones I use are all natural, traditional ingredients. Your hair will be softer, stronger, and shinier, but not from any residue left behind, just because it’s healthier.

I only wash my hair once a week, maybe twice if I’m going somewhere. The less you can wash your hair, the better. There is a transition period, but your hair really does adjust to not being washed as often. It’s important for scalp health not to be over-washed because it’ll start producing an excess of oil, and then you’ll just have to keep washing it, which keeps creating stress on your hair and pulling more out. A shampoo bar is a really easy and effective way to get the right amount of shampoo right where you need it; just rub it directly on your head and lather up. (The JR Liggets bar also has very limited ingredients, all natural, and as a bonus is sustainable bc no plastic.) Once you work the shampoo through your scalp and down to your ends with your fingers, grab your same scalp massager and use it too. (Be careful not to cause tangles though! Tiny gentle circular movements.)

Since you’re not conditioning your hair as often, you should use a deeper conditioner and leave it on for as long as the packaging says.

When you’re out of the shower, carefully use the wide tooth comb. Avoid products like detanglers, because they leave a residue on your hair and you’ll just end up having to wash it more often again. You shouldn’t need them if you deep conditioned. To dry your hair, gently scrunch it with the microfiber cloth. Don’t rub, we don’t want friction, but the microfiber will be able to absorb a lot of water without damaging your hair. From here, you can air dry it or put it into rollers if you want to add a natural curl/style. Avoid hair dryers and curling/straightening irons as much as possible; unfortunately heat is one of the worst things for hair and scalp health.

Other Notes:

When you’re outside, especially in summer, wear a hat as much as you can! Fibromyalgia and other chronic conditions can make you extremely sensitive to sun exposure, and hair isn’t enough to stop the UV rays. Your scalp with be a lot healthier if you protect it from the sun as often as you can. You can also use a parasol etc.

Try to avoid adding other styling products, because again you’ll just end up having to wash more often. But the aloe can be used as a natural gel, and the dry shampoo can be used as a volumizer.

Limit additives in your products as much as you can; all the specific ones I’ve listed here are a good start. The fewer ingredients, the fewer chances there are that you’ll have a bad reaction which could lead to a flare up.

Once again, I can only say for certain that these tips work on my specific hair type (fine, delicate, no texture,) and since every person is different some amount of trial and error will be involved to figure out what works best for you. But never give up, you deserve to put energy into having healthy and beautiful hair. I wish someone had told me any of this instead of spending years trying to figure it out alone, so I hope maybe someone can read this and save themselves some trouble lol. Remember, patience and consistency are key. It does take time and energy, but if you can spare a little for yourself each day or as often as possible, it’ll save you effort in the long run. Having a routine in general is very beneficial to your mental health, which makes you less stressed/anxious, which is already helping your hair too <3

[theodoravanyar]

Of Frogs and Fibromyalgia

14,038 Days Alive 991 Days Straight on PostmarkWonderland 655 Days Straight on Duolingo I make the joke that I’m from a fractured vintage. Since I have fibromyalgia, among other issues, it can make things difficult at times. (more…)

[sabooian]

I finally got back to my writing!

I Have Many Skills Chapter 8: Just Trying to Relax Kara was in a bar and for once instead of just sipping on a soda while her friends and sister drank she joined them and got a vodka soda with lime.

She wasn’t supposed to drink on her medications so she normally was well behaved and had the bartender make her something that looked like it could have alcohol in it to make any outsiders assume she was actually drinking instead of having to deal with people asking why she didn’t drink.

Everyone always seemed to think it was their problem that she was sober when she went out with her friends and would only leave her alone if she told them she had been paralyzed and didn’t feel particularly inclined to lose the use of her limbs again. That however, not only had the effect of making the person stop insisting she drink, but scared people off and put a bit of a damper on the conversation.

But tonight was different. Tonight, she was drinking. Tonight, she was going to forget all the stress from the past week at work and just relax with her friends.

Lena leaned into her side laughing at something Winn had said and Kara was drawn back into the conversation playing out.

“You mean to tell me you hacked into the fire department’s computer system at the age of 9 just to get a girl’s phone number to see how to beat a level of a video game instead of asking her out???”

“I mean I was nine! All i cared about was the game! I never thought dating her was an option!”

“But you did have a crush on her didn’t you!” Alex jabbed.

Winn blushed at that “Well, I mean yeah probably! But you haven’t played Winnie the Pooh’s Home Run Baseball Derby if you don’t understand how imperative it was that I beat Christopher Robin! And this girl HAD!”

Everyone had to laugh at that.

“Only you would be obsessed with a Winnie the Pooh video game Bro” James shook his head.

“Look, it’s not important that it was Winnie the Pooh. What was important is that only a very select few had the hand eye coordination required to beat the final level! Even adults couldn’t do it!” He dug the phone out of his pocket to search for a Youtube video. “Watch this and you will see what I mean!”

Kara took a large sip of her drink while everyone was watching the video, but apparently not everyone had been looking away.

“Kara, are you okay? I noticed you had the bartender pour you a double today.” Lena gently commented. Softly enough that the others wouldn’t turn and join in.

Slightly caught off guard, Kara adjusted her glasses and took a breath before replying “Nothing really. Just work stuff, you know…” Lena raised an eyebrow at that as if she didn’t fully believe that Kara was telling her everything.

“I don’t know,” Kara sighed. “I’ve just been going through some processing lately and it all feels like it is piling out of control and I work hard all the time only to get more work assigned and never have my boss get my name right, even though I swear she knows it is Kara not Kiera, and her mother came in unexpectedly this week and felt the need to drag Cat’s personal life into the office and I’ve been on cleanup duty for that and I don’t know how to get my arms to stop shocking me so I might as well get drunk and have them shock me while I am relaxed!” Kara blurted out. Her eyes widened when she realized how much she had confessed in one rather long breath of a sentence.

“Maybe you should slow down on the alcohol and just try and hang out like we normally do.”

“Yeah, I mean probably, but I’m tired of always following the rules.” She formed air quotes as she talked “‘No caffeine!’ ‘Exercise all the time!’ ‘But don’t exercise too much!’ ‘Don’t have stress!’ ‘But also pay your medical bills that are exorbitantly high!’ ‘Don’t drink like everyone else your age does because it’s bad for you!’ ‘Just try to live your life!’ ‘Here are a billion little jobs to do!’ ‘Why aren’t you sleeping enough?’ Sometimes it makes me want to scream! So instead I have a drink or two as a form of rebellion. It’s dumb, I know, but it’s one of the few things left that I feel like I can control without fully spiraling.”

“I see what you mean,” Lena conceded. “But perhaps don’t get full on drunk tonight and just drink enough to get buzzed so that you don’t pay in the morning?”

“That sounds reasonable enough. You’re smart, I should probably listen to you.”

“HA! It doesn’t take a PHD to learn that lesson. I’m just suggesting it because I used to do the same back in boarding school but I wouldn’t stop early enough and I paid big time a couple of times. Wouldn’t want to see you facing Cat Grant with a hangover now would we?”

“Who’s hungover?” Alex asked, suddenly interested.

“Nobody! I mean not right now at least!” Kara blurted.

“Kara, something you want to talk about?”

“Nope! Just fine! Lena was just talking about a time back in boarding school.”

Alex shrugged, “Okay then, carry on.”

________________________________________________________________

It was a few hours later and Kara had had about 3 drinks. Reasonably spaced out, but she was definitely not sober anymore. After all, the medication she took was supposed to double the effects of alcohol on her system so she was probably drunker than not.

“I’m just gonna grab some water at the bar. Anyone else want some?”

“No thanks Kara!” most of them replied.

“Mind if I join?” Lena asked.

“Sure!” Smiling, Kara headed over to the bar slightly wobblier than usual but nobody seemed to notice because she wasn’t that good at walking straight to begin with. Things always seemed to blur together when she had alcohol and it made it seem like a long exposure picture in video form.

She got the bartender’s attention, asked for two waters and then turned to Lena.

“Thanks for checking up on me earlier. It means a lot that you notice when I might not be acting like my usual self.”

“Of course! It’s what I’m told friends do for one another. Or I assume it’s what a decent person would do if they saw someone the cared about seemed upset or stressed.”

“Still, I like that you suggested I slow down without telling me I can’t do something like everyone else seems to. They think because I am disabled I suddenly might not know what’s good or bad for me but you respect that I know my body enough to make my own decisions, so thank you.”

“Any time. I’m not one to enjoy being told how to live my life either so I understand that sentiment.”

At this Kara couldn’t help but to hug her friend until she noticed the bartender had returned with their waters.

“Thank you!” she waved as the bartender turned to help the next customer.

“Let’s go join the others and find out what Alex has been hiding from us this past week. I swear she is up to something.”

Kara grabbed onto Lena’s hand and pulled her towards the table to join the others.

[i-got-da-rubes]

i want to work on a comic for disability month but can't move my whole ass arm because two of my ailments are fighting in it like two street dogs and if that aint fucking irony

[carleelynnonedeep]

Please keep us in your prayers every night for Debbie Carly and Brian and Brian Jr thank you God bless in lord's name amen

Homeless bout to loose my mom's carnanything helps . My brother was born this way can't walk talk changing silver do nothing for himself he's trapped in his own mind and we put them in a group home and staff has beaten but sadly he can't talk to tell us what happened so they drop the case now we suffer you never put him in a group home again the store with many ways now we're trying to get to Make a wish foundation but that's not working either so I'm going to try this hopefully people will have the heart too please and my dad he broke his neck and my mom fibromyalgia cramping in the legs me 25 years old not a super fighters I'm trying to hold it together man I love you to my family but right now we need help with money bad .

[savage-rhi]

"this is definitely not my crowd." leon x ada and the other characters

Here you go 💙

Ada was growing used to Leon’s companions during the mission, but there was hostility from their end of things. As much as Leon persuaded them to be nice to her, Chris Redfield especially--the occasional glare or two was shot in her direction if she so much as breathed nearby. It seemed the only ones who were okay with Ada or at least tolerated her presence, were Sherry, Helena, and Jake. Jake at one point was just as cruel as Chris, but Ada grew on him when she saved the kid's ass from a Licker. That won a lot of respect from the son of Wesker, something Ada found odd still. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact anyone bred with the loathsome creature. 

“You holding up okay?” Leon asked as the group decided to take a break, checking to make sure they had enough ammo and rations to get them through the jungle. The gang was South America, chasing down a bio-terrorist that personally attacked several major cities, causing many to fall into chaos and have dictatorships. Tensions were high enough from that. 

“This is definitely not my crowd,” Ada mused, glancing over Leon’s shoulder to look at all of the respective colleagues. She briefly had contact with Chris, and per usual, he shot Ada calloused gaze while checking how many bullets he had left for a certain gun. 

Leon took notice, furrowing his brows as he looked over his shoulder at Chris for the moment, seeing the BSAA agent shake his head then checked on Sherry. 

“Ignore him. You got Jake to like you, and he still doesn’t care for me much.” Leon huffed, laughing softly as he turned his attention back to Ada. 

“You make it sound admirable Wesker Jr. likes me.” Ada smiled, her tone sarcastic as Leon rolled his eyes and chuckled. 

“He’s nothing like his dad, believe me. If he were, there’s no way in hell I’d let Sherry near the guy.” 

“You’re still the doting step-father?”

“No, but--” Leon furrowed his brows, watching Sherry and Jake interact. They were going over a map they had found earlier on in an abandoned facility, where B.O.W’s were being grown in test tubes. 

“She’s still family. All of us that survived Raccoon City are.” 

“Even me?” Ada joked.

Leon looked over Ada’s eyes, a sadness behind them as he smiled. “Even you. The others may not see it, but I do. I know you’ll do right by us.” 

Leon winked, then went over to Helena to check up on her. While the group was tending to their business, Ada studied them all and sighed. She hoped that Leon was right about her, for Ada was still conflicted on her personal stakes in this mission for her client: adhere to her duties as a spy, or risk it all for Leon and others who didn’t like her one bit. 

The spy had her work cut out. 

**A link to my ko-fi account. If you enjoy my content and want to support me getting my monthly medication for fibromyalgia and arthritis, I would be eternally grateful. It is NOT a requirement however! All my work is free to read!**

[edsspoonie]

#myEDSchallenge May is Ehlers-Diablo’s Syndrome awareness month. I’ve written out my story below. It’s probably way more than you ever wanted to know about me,😂 but I wanted to share for awareness sake.

Approximately 1500 words

What Chronic Illness with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Looks Like for Me

Pat Berryhill

I wasn’t diagnosed until I was in my early 40’s but I always knew something felt “off” with my health and energy levels in comparison to others.

I hated Physical Education in school and began to notice pain in my joints around Jr. High School. I requested “sitting out” (later just not dressing for gym class at all) starting in 8th grade. I’d notice ankle and knee pain on a regular basis and especially with sports during class. Volleyball killed my hands and wrists. I ended up passing Physical Education with a D (One step above failing) because of it. This trend continued through graduation.

As I grew older and began to attend college, my book bag would cause uncommon pain in my back and shoulders. I began to experience migraines and just a general feeling of malaise. I had a lot of issues with my mental health, as well, and was diagnosed with bipolar II. The issues continued until age 31, when I had to have a hysterectomy due to exacerbated pain and blood loss. I had already given birth to my two daughters, so there weren’t any issues about fertility, although I had an ectopic pregnancy and an additional miscarriage between my kids. I was diagnosed, as a young mother in my 30’s and found it tough to keep up on housework. I just didn’t have the energy and the pain was steadily increasing.

I went back to school and got my Medical Laboratory Technician Associates degree in Laboratory Science and began working for a large medical organization in their freestanding Emergency room. I loved my job and was proud of myself for overcoming my issues enough to go back to work. I had been on disability from age 31 after my bipolar diagnosis and having had 17 jobs from age 16-30. I would work awhile, have pain, fail at a job because my performance would drop. I only got fired twice. Mostly, I quit to find something “better suited” for me and the cycle would continue.

But as an MLT, all was well. I loved my job and by then, I had begun taking prescriptions for my pain. So, I was happy. When I started having issues remember how to run quality control test and maintenance, I thought it was simple brain fog. I couldn’t remember anything, I was scared of hurting someone if I didn’t do the blood work tests correctly because of potentially missing a step or improper documentation. I attributed it to my fibromyalgia. In reality, I’d had a small stroke in the area of the brain that holds and retrieves memories and deals with cognition. It doesn’t manifest physically like other strokes and is easy to miss.

After leaving my MLT job, I was devastated. I had been off of any psychiatric medication since before graduation. However, the stress from my problems at work caused a resurfacing of my bipolar symptoms and I took a leave of absence which turned to a permanent one. This returned me to my SSI supplementary disability income. I felt like a failire. After leaving my job, I decided I would return to college and get a BA in creative writing.

During college and immediately after graduation, I began a literary magazine called ”Wraith Infirmity Muses” online (no longer available). It was here an “EDSer” introduced some of her writing and a book about her journey to diagnosis. It was like reading my own medical chart. I took it to my primary care physician who made me an appointment with a geneticist who said I fell one point shy of diagnosis because no one in my family had been diagnosed.

Since then, my daughters have taken steps to seek diagnosis due to surfacing pain and subluxations they have experienced since childhood and are progressing. My oldest now has her diagnosis. When I see the geneticist again (my appointment is 2 YEARS out due to lack of doctors in the field), I will update my diagnosis from HSD to EDS and be typed, (I hope).

I have multiple issues that stem from my EDS. Muscle spasms where they struggle to try to hold together my sublexing joints. I have had radial ablation on my neck and am about to have it on my lower back. My ankles, feet, shoulders, wrists, and hands are the source of most of my pain beyond my back, hips, and neck. I used a cane for years, but have since upgraded to a wheelchair to increase my independence. I have issues with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. It makes me pass out sometimes. I’ve learned this with my heart arythmia and lack of coordination comes from dysautonomia. Another symptom is anxiety. You cannot regulate that “fight vs. flight” system. I’ve always had major anxiety (even more so during this tune of the pandemic) and at times I’ve even struggled with agoraphobia, a fear of leaving home. I sometimes fear being out and being in pain or sick and unable to get back home, whether that looks like an inability to drive or out with someone else that determines the timeframe of the day.

Lipomas and cysts are littered throughout my body. I deal with the discomfort and embarrassment of eczema on my scalp and face. My hair comes out by handfuls when I wash it and I style it parted on the side. I’m constantly wearing wide headbands and hats. I take high doses of antihistamines for an overactive immune response called Mast Cell Disorder.

I’ve had several blood clots, including one in my lung and a Cerebral Veinous Sinus Thrombosis which is rare. It went from the sinus cavity in the brain (that drains blood back into the body from your brain) down into my juggler vein in my neck. It remains partially present to this day and has scared the area. I have to have imaging done periodically and every headache I get makes me nervous it's coming back. Most are discovered on the autopsy table.

I have an idiopathic blood clotting disorder I take blood thinners for, daily. Managing my levels at an even keel is difficult with my issues. I must take a high dose to be effective and sometimes have to give myself shot of another type of blood thinner when biweekly tests show it is too thick. They cause huge bruises and pain. If it is too thin, I have to watch for blood in my urine and bowel movements. I've had numerous tests done to find the cause and it cannot be found.

I have irritable bowel syndrome and I am now having gallbladder issues and am looking at a surgery in the near future to remove it. . I use a CPAP machine to sleep at night because stretchy tissues make me stop breathing 20-40 times an hour without it.

I own multiple braces including a hard neck collar, knee, ankles, wrists, and finger braces. I also have had to integrate slings when my shoulders are bad. I sometimes use athletic tape to support my joints. I sleep on 5-6 inches of memory foam and use 6 pillows when I sleep to get situated in a position that will account for the least amount of time with my hearing pad for my back the next morning and hope none of my joints dislocate in my sleep.

I’m unsure how my health will be affected from this point on, but I’ve been blessed with many zebra friends within the EDS Facebook support groups that help me not feel like a hypochondriac and support for when I visit a doctor that treats me like one. I hope to go to a conference or in person support group maybe this year.

It's a lot and the sheer magnitude if of it along with managing doctors, testing, and surgeries gets really heavy. I often feel useless, ostracized, and invisible. I try not to complain too much and continue to do what I am capable of and sdapting the things I am incapable of to make it work for me. I am fortunate to have a loving and supportive husband, mother, and kids. I worry, at times, my husband will get tired if it all and leave someday even though he assures me he is much to in love with my brain for that to ever occur. There are daily encumbrances that make life painful and clumsy. There is always some new system brewing beneath the surface. I know this from the trajectory my illness has taken so far. I haven't even touched on side effects of medications and managing those. I am dependant on Lyrica. After taking it for three or more years, I've decided to wean off if it due to side effects and a tolerance I've developed that makes it ineffective for my pain. It will take me months to step down my dose little by little to avoid withdrawals that match those from people dependent or addicted to Benzodiazepines.

All in all, I agree with my oldest daughter who says her ”meat sack sucks”, but we have a deep appreciation and love for life, music, art, and mindfulness that I often wonder if I would have attained without my Ehlers-Danlos. At the end of the day, it's good to be me.

[bleachedjam]

Rambling on sexuality. Apparently you can't do a cut on mobile? Sorry then. Pretend there is one here and scroll past this.

I've always tried to find a label that fit me. I had never felt liked I liked anyone in the traditional sense. Girls and boys were on an even playing field for me. No one set me a flutter. There was no lust at first sight. But the way my peers discussed it made me feel...odd. Displaced? Like I was missing a joke everyone else got. So I faked it.

In elementary school, 5th grade, all the other girls picked a celebrity boy they had a crush on. I remember being confused how they decided. So I picked Aaron Carter, I think because I liked his song, "I want Candy". I mimicked what they said about their crushes, "he's so hot!" Another girl also liked Aaron Carter, but as I was a bit of an outcast we never discussed it. (His picture was on her binder.)

In middle school I tried to take up drawing. I had a sketch book I filled with drawings of both men and women. I gave the women large breasts and revealing shirts. My mother looked through my sketch book, and one night I heard her telling her friend, "all the breasts are so large, what if shes a lesbian?". And I considered it. What if I was? I had no idea. I felt the same way about men and women still. My friends were branching out and dating and talking about crushes on boys in school. I picked a boy I was friends with and pretended to like him. I even faked a journal entry and left it out so a friend would see.

In Jr. High I briefly dated a boy who was friends with a boy my friend was dating. He was crass and kind of a jerk. Someone asked me why I was dating him, because he, "looked and dressed weird". I tried to figure out which features were desirable, but all the guys my friends liked were so varied.

High school hit me hard. Something was wrong with me I was sure. I decided to just date whoever liked me. Less choices on my part. In October we held a Octoberfest carnival thing. My anime club, yes I was in anime club, had a booth were we sold churros. I met a guy a year older than me who ended up liking me. So I "liked" him. We dated until February. He rarely showered and never brushed his teeth. I always felt gross when we hung out. In February a friend admitted to liking me. I broke up with the other guy for obvious reasons and accepted when the new one asked me out.

Things seemed fine at the start but this guy would go on to mentally and verbally abuse me for 5 more years and torment me for a year after that. I confided in him how I never liked anyone and never had crushes the same way others did. This was the first of many things he would use against me. He convinced me to have sex with him, because once I did I'd like him and be attracted to him. And when that didn't work, well I'd already done it, so I had to keep doing it. Then when I doubted things and didn't like being with him, he'd play on my various insecurities. "You'll never really like someone, it will always be fake. Might as well stay with me." "No one will like you if you can't feel the same way back, your lucky to have me." "I'm the only guy you can ever get." And beyond that to, "No one else would want a depressed sack of fat like you. I'm doing you a favor." "There's so much wrong with you, how can you ever expect to do better?" "Your so ugly and fat I can't believe I stoop to your level." And worse and worse yet. It was a slow descent over almost 2 years, but when he had me where he wanted me, he started to cheat on me. I couldn't leave, I wanted to die. The years with him were the worst of my life. And I trace it all back to not understanding how to tell if I wanted to be with someone.

We graduated and he moved into my house. The abuse only got worse. I developed fibromyalgia and other chronic illness, believed to be from "trauma". His abuse escalated after that. I couldn't escape him. And why would I want to? No one would ever take a broken piece of shit like me. He was doing me a favor.

He ended up leaving me. I never had the strength to leave him. He left me for, in his words, "a healthy girl with no problems". For the next year or so he'd get drunk and contact me. Eventually I stopped all communication. I ended up getting a tattoo he had forbade me from getting. It was freeing.

I tried the online dating scene for awhile. I desperately didn't want to be alone. But I couldn't connect with anyone. People would send me messages and I'd see pictures but I never met up with anyone. No one ever stood out. I didn't know what or how to pick someone.

My sister had a friend from Canada she played games with online. I played with them a few times and he invited his work friend to play to. I won't say we hit it off. My sister and her friend logged off and then me and the other guy were left alone. We talked, he seemed nice. After a few months the two of them got invited down to our house for a gaming convention in the area. The friend and I had grown close and he decided he liked me. I knew this time, I did not like him.

But as it goes, that didn't matter. He came down, stayed at our house and asked me out. I said no. He pushed and guilt tripped me until I said yes. He stayed a week. Everything was a guilt trip. He bought me something so I owed him. He came all this way, so I owed him. I said yes, so I owed him. When he went back home I broke up with him. He staged and gave me a play by play of a suicide attempt. His tactics relied on guilt. I wasn't used to that, so it was hard for me to let go. I didn't want to hurt anyone. Eventually I finally got away from him.

During that time my other sister asked if she could invite a guy she worked with to play league of legends with us, as he was very good and we wanted to win an event or achievement or something. He played with us and we did it.

Him and I talked. I told him about the guy from Canada. The suicide attempt. Most recently he had gotten the bill from the ambulance I sent to his house and said I needed to pay it since it was my fault. I refused and tried to quit talking to him. The new guy and I got close. He was someone I would call my best friend. When the Canada guy started more drama, he asked if we could hang out in real life, because up until then we had only talked online.

We did. I went to his house. We got teriyaki and played Mario cart. Something about this guy was different. He was a best friend but something else. Like our hearts were talking. We connected on a different level, something I had never felt with another person before. On the way home I made a stupid joke about not believing he never had a girlfriend. He asked if I wanted to be his. I said yes.

I gave him a hug goodbye. I kissed him on the cheek. He tried to kiss me on the cheek too but I moved and he missed and we had our first kiss. Everything was right in ways I never felt before.

Today we're set to be married, living together and have an amazing daughter. I couldn't imagine life with anyone else. I can confidently say, he is the first person I've actually liked. Romantically for sure. Sexually? I still don't know how that works.

I throughly enjoy sex with him. I desire the intimacy and connection and obviously it feels good. But honestly, what the hell is sexually attraction? Because I enjoy it does that mean I'm attracted? I don't know. I've never looked at anyone and gotten any...sexual feelings from looking at them.

I enjoy drawn porn and porn comics from an aesthetic point. The art is beautiful. The human body is wonderful. But it doesn't do anything for me. I like the art, the shapes, the aesthetic of porn. But it doesn't make me feel anything or make me want to do anything.

To masturbate or have sex I have to focus on the sensations alone, or how my partner feels. I've never found porn that works for me. I don't get horny from visuals at all. Half the time I forget he does. I'll be changing and he makes a move and I'll just be confused as to what got him in the mood. I feel a disconnect between it all.

There was a while where I called myself asexual. Seemed close. But the more I tried to fit in with the community the more I felt odd. Not outcast, because the asexual community is amazing, but more like I was fitting an oval peg into a circle hole. Close, but not quite.

When I consider it, men and women are almost equal to me. I think I may be more drawn to women at least visually. If I hadn't met my fiance I would have loved to date a woman. I enjoy the female form more from a aesthetic stand point.

So lately I've been wondering if maybe I was pansexual. A friend of mine is pan and she posted a quote about being attracted to the person, not the body. It felt more right and more like me than anything I had seen from the asexual community. But at the same time, my sample size of people I've liked it only at one. So I have no idea.

I also wonder, does it matter? I'm going to be with the person I am with forever now. I don't need to find anyone else, so it doesn't matter which gender preference I have or don't have.

I guess with Pride month I've been thinking about it a lot. There is a lot of talk of, "fly your flag high and have pride!" But what if you don't have a flag?

I feel queer. That's about as far as I've gotten. I don't know if I'll ever find something past that or not. Right now queer feels fine, just unsure. I guess I'm somewhere between sexuality is fluid and still figuring myself out. Who even knows what attraction is.

So happy Pride month everyone.

[tabloidtoc]

National Examiner, June 24

Cover: JFK Jr. crash mystery solved

Page 2: Behind the scenes of Rear Window 

Page 4: Courageous stars fighting disease -- Alex Trebek, Halle Berry, Shania Twain, Montel Williams, Cher 

Page 5: Mariah Carey, Morgan Freeman has fibromyalgia, Melanie Griffith, Lady Gaga has fibromyalgia, Tom Hanks 

Page 6: Men who spent $2,000 to $4,000 on an engagement ring were 1.3 times more likely to get divorced than those who spent $500 and $2,000

Page 8: Dream Doctor 

Page 10: When devoted dad Colby Wallace heard about a rash of teen suicides in his community he went above and beyond the call of duty to help 

Page 11: Your Health -- Strange but true facts about your body 

Page 12: George Clooney’s clumsy proposal to Amal 

Page 13: Barbara Walters confesses one of her biggest regrets is blowing a chance at romance with Clint Eastwood 

Page 14: Dear Tony, Tony correctly predicted that Rami Malek would pick up awards and go forward to be a big movie star 

Page 16: Swedish Death Cleaning 

Page 17: Firefighter saved her daughter and got a kidney in return 

Page 18: When struggling single mom Celeste Bokstrom lost everything buying a car that turned out to be stolen she wondered how she would take care of her autistic son but Burly Man Coffee gave Celeste the new car she desperately needed 

Page 19: Sheriff lassoes trapped driver 

Page 20: Cover Story -- New findings 20 years after tragedy -- John F. Kennedy Jr. crash was sabotage 

Page 22: Hospital cleaner puts on scrubs as a proud nurse 

Page 25: Wine choice reveals the real you 

Page 26: The Good Doctor -- Bleach away eczema 

Page 42: True Crime 

Page 44: Eyes on the Stars -- Derek Hough, Jennifer Hudson honored Aretha Franklin at the 2019 Pulitzer Prize Awards and will portray her in the upcoming biopic Respect, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg looked back at Saving Private Ryan’s lasting legacy, Elton John and his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin don’t always see eye-to-eye such as on the song Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, future king of England Prince George is down-to-earth and helps carry groceries

Page 45: Vanna White, David Letterman, Harrison Ford, Phylicia Rashad, Blake Shelton, Property Brothers stars Jonathan Scott has turned down a chance to be The Bachelor three times, blind item 

Page 47: Burt Reynolds’ prized possessions go up for auction

[didanawisgi]

Dr. Luc Montagnier, the French virologist who won the Nobel Prize in 2008 for discovering the AIDS virus, has surprised the scientific community with his strong support for homeopathic medicine.

In a remarkable interview published in Science magazine of December 24, 2010, (1) Professor Luc Montagnier, has expressed support for the often maligned and misunderstood medical specialty of homeopathic medicine. Although homeopathy has persisted for 200+ years throughout the world and has been the leading alternative treatment method used by physicians in Europe, (2) most conventional physicians and scientists have expressed skepticism about its efficacy due to the extremely small doses of medicines used.

Most clinical research conducted on homeopathic medicines that has been published in peer-review journals have shown positive clinical results,(3, 4) especially in the treatment of respiratory allergies (5, 6), influenza, (7) fibromyalgia, (8, 9) rheumatoid arthritis, (10) childhood diarrhea, (11) post-surgical abdominal surgery recovery, (12) attention deficit disorder, (13) and reduction in the side effects of conventional cancer treatments. (14) In addition to clinical trials, several hundred basic science studies have confirmed the biological activity of homeopathic medicines. One type of basic science trials, called in vitro studies, found 67 experiments (1/3 of them replications) and nearly 3/4 of all replications were positive. (15, 16)

REFERENCES:

(1) Enserink M, Newsmaker Interview: Luc Montagnier, French Nobelist Escapes “Intellectual Terror” to Pursue Radical Ideas in China. Science 24 December 2010: Vol. 330 no. 6012 p. 1732. DOI: 10.1126/science.330.6012.1732

(2) Ullman D. Homeopathic Medicine: Europe’s #1 Alternative for Doctors.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-ullman/homeopathic-medicine-euro_b_402490.html

(3) Linde L, Clausius N, Ramirez G, et al., “Are the Clinical Effects of Homoeopathy Placebo Effects? A Meta-analysis of Placebo-Controlled Trials,” Lancet, September 20, 1997, 350:834-843.

(4) Lüdtke R, Rutten ALB. The conclusions on the effectiveness of homeopathy highly depend on the set of analyzed trials. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. October 2008. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2008.06/015.

(5) Taylor, MA, Reilly, D, Llewellyn-Jones, RH, et al., Randomised controlled trial of homoeopathy versus placebo in perennial allergic rhinitis with overview of four trial Series, BMJ, August 19, 2000, 321:471-476.

(6) Ullman, D, Frass, M. A Review of Homeopathic Research in the Treatment of Respiratory Allergies. Alternative Medicine Review. 2010:15,1:48-58. http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/15/1/48.pdf

(7) Vickers AJ. Homoeopathic Oscillococcinum for preventing and treating influenza and influenza-like syndromes. Cochrane Reviews. 2009.

(8) Bell IR, Lewis II DA, Brooks AJ, et al. Improved clinical status in fibromyalgia patients treated with individualized homeopathic remedies versus placebo, Rheumatology. 2004:1111-5.

(9) Fisher P, Greenwood A, Huskisson EC, et al., “Effect of Homoeopathic Treatment on Fibrositis (Primary Fibromyalgia),” BMJ, 299(August 5, 1989):365-6.

(10) Jonas, WB, Linde, Klaus, and Ramirez, Gilbert, “Homeopathy and Rheumatic Disease,” Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America, February 2000,1:117-123.

(11) Jacobs J, Jonas WB, Jimenez-Perez M, Crothers D, Homeopathy for Childhood Diarrhea: Combined Results and Metaanalysis from Three Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trials, Pediatr Infect Dis J, 2003;22:229-34.

(12) Barnes, J, Resch, KL, Ernst, E, “Homeopathy for Post-Operative Ileus: A Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, 1997, 25: 628-633.

(13) M, Thurneysen A. Homeopathic treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial. Eur J Pediatr. 2005 Dec;164(12):758-67. Epub 2005 Jul 27.

(14) Kassab S, Cummings M, Berkovitz S, van Haselen R, Fisher P. Homeopathic medicines for adverse effects of cancer treatments. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2.

(15) Witt CM, Bluth M, Albrecht H, Weisshuhn TE, Baumgartner S, Willich SN. The in vitro evidence for an effect of high homeopathic potencies—a systematic review of the literature. Complement Ther Med. 2007 Jun;15(2):128-38. Epub 2007 Mar 28.

(16) Endler PC, Thieves K, Reich C, Matthiessen P, Bonamin L, Scherr C, Baumgartner S. Repetitions of fundamental research models for homeopathically prepared dilutions beyond 10-23: a bibliometric study. Homeopathy, 2010; 99: 25-36.

(17) Luc Montagnier, Jamal Aissa, Stéphane Ferris, Jean-Luc Montagnier, Claude Lavallee, Electromagnetic Signals Are Produced by Aqueous Nanostructures Derived from Bacterial DNA Sequences. Interdiscip Sci Comput Life Sci (2009) 1: 81-90. http://www.springerlink.com/content/0557v31188m3766x/fulltext.pdf

(18) Nobel laureate gives homeopathy a boost. The Australian. July 5, 2010. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/nobel-laureate-gives-homeopathy-a-boost/story-e6frg8y6-1225887772305

(19) Davenas E, Beauvais F, Amara J, et al. (June 1988). “Human basophil degranulation triggered by very dilute antiserum against IgE”. Nature 333 (6176): 816-8.

(20) Maddox J (June 1988). “Can a Greek tragedy be avoided?”. Nature 333 (6176): 795-7.

(21) Josephson, B. D., Letter, New Scientist, November 1, 1997.

(22) George A. Lone Voices special: Take nobody’s word for it. New Scientist. December 9, 2006.

(23) Personal communication. Brian Josephson to Dana Ullman. January 5, 2011.

(24) Chikramane PS, Suresh AK, Bellare JR, and Govind S. Extreme homeopathic dilutions retain starting materials: A nanoparticulate perspective. Homeopathy. Volume 99, Issue 4, October 2010, 231-242.

(25) Human and Experimental Toxicology, July 2010:http://het.sagepub.com/content/vol29/issue7/ To access free copies of these articles, see:http://www.siomi.it/siomifile/siomi_pdf/BELLE_newsletter.pdf

[theremightbecupcakespodcast]

I should have taken a before picture. Underneath this makeup is so much inflammation, red patches for days. Chronic illness plus pretty spackle. I successfully used cream eyeshadow for the first time and lined my eyes without poking myself in the eye or drawing the line in the middle of my eyelid, plus Falwell Jr. has stepped down. I’m feeling pretty positive despite feeling so flared up. All those years in school for psychology and counseling, and I have no idea why we must open our mouths when we apply eyeliner and mascara. Join me at 7EST and let’s tell ghost stories at the @GetVokl link in bio or https://getvokl.com/open-room/Haunted-Houses-Part-2. Don’t waste this makeup. #homebound #chronicillness #chronicpain #beyourownheroine #EDS #hypermobility #fibro #fibromyalgia #potstickers #spoonie #zebra #spooniestrong #zebrastrong #youdontlooksick #dysautonomia #mcas #selfie ♥️♥️♥️🧁🧁🧁 #bookpodcast #bookpodcaster #bookpodcasts #trypod #podcast #beyourownheroine #podcasts #theremightbecupcakes #ladypodsquad #zebrapodcaster #spooniepodcaster #disabledpodcaster #newepisode #newpodcastepisode https://www.instagram.com/p/CDmtTG-Dc3o/?igshid=cozymbctv8ms

[luxuryt-shirt]

Bear Everything hurts and you want me to smile Fibromyalgia Awareness Vintage retro shirt

Since I’m in Psych I’m going Bear Everything hurts and you want me to smile Fibromyalgia Awareness Vintage retro shirt . I made the mistake of asking my fiancée. So far she went on about how if you accept Alyosha as sent by God, thereby acknowledging the existence of God within the story, you must accept the devil. Since you cannot achieve salvation without suffering the devil was real and made Ivan confront the godless way he was living his life, and his subsequent suffering is his breakdown/madness. While he may never truly find god or salvation, this is the only way he might find it. Bear Everything hurts and you want me to smile Fibromyalgia Awareness Vintage retro shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Classic Ladies

Hoodie

Sweatshirt

Unisex If it doesn’t have a drive-thru, it’s not fast food Bear Everything hurts and you want me to smile Fibromyalgia Awareness Vintage retro shirt . I love, but it just doesn’t fit that bill. Best fast food burger has got to be Carl’s. Can’t really beat flame-broiled. Dunno but Phoenix has an insane abundance of regional fare so we can speak on a ton of them. If we lump fast-casual in with fast food, then The Habit, Shake Shack, Smashburger, Five Guys, Steak & Shake, and Fatburger are competing with placed like Whataburger, In N Out, Rally’s, Carl’s Jr, Wendy’s, Culver’s, Freddy’s, Jack in the Box, etc. Yeah, for some reason my algorithm had you guys ranked 12th last week. Normally I tweak it if it’s off that much, but I didn’t think about it in time last week. This week it had you guys 6th, but I gave you a 2 spot bump because you’re the defending AL champs and are starting to find your stride. If the algorithm includes pitching, our starters weren’t doing so hot before this week. So I do think that being in a easier division can make a team stronger, being able to rest players more often down the stretch or ease people back from injury instead of having to push them into the lineup because you’re fighting tooth and nail can affect a team’s strength going into the playoffs, BUT that’s not the whole reason that some teams are in higher tiers. So tier 2 is kinda like the teams that are tier 1 caliber but have underwhelmed/under-performed to start the season. I’m using the Tribe here just because they’re the team I follow the most. The tribe were considered one of the favorites coming in but got off to a bit of a slow start, the rotation hasn’t been as dominant as it could be, injuries have been a factor. If they play as they are expected to play, could move into tier one. Again, not just trying to argue the Tribe for tier 1, just interested in how you place teams. You Can See More Product: https://luxuryt-shirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[i-got-da-rubes]

If my right arms gonna cominue being useless can someone just rip it off at this point