#to chronic pain and pcos

[myhaireatskids]

sorry I dont usually bitch about other people's fandom post but like dihswwjbs

imagine seeing disabled people have fun and being like UHM ACTUALLY I think he's cool and skilled and perfect instead ahaha

[pcos-and-endo-awareness]

[roisinivy]

September is PCOS Awareness month, and I'd like to point out some of the many symptoms people with PCOS deal with everyday...

moon face

excessive body hair, arm, chests, back, face, legs and buttocks

irregular periods

painful periods

extremely heavy periods

constant bloating

mood swings

struggle to lose weight

struggle to gain weight

food cravings

high cholesterol

insulin resistance

oily skin

acne

insomnia

fatigue

sleep apnea

depression

anxiety

tubular breasts

dark and sensitive underarms

skin tags

belly fat

high testosterone

excessive hair loss

thinning hair

pelvic pain

infertility

ovarian cysts

And so much more, as well as having to struggle to even find a doctor who will take any of our symptoms and pain seriously. The medical industry needs to take better care of women, intersex and trans folks with PCOS and Endometriosis.

Our pains are real and we deserve better.

[thedeathwitchescats]

My collection of tips for people who are just now developing a chronic illness or just now realizing they have one. ((As someone who has only been struggling with mine for a little over a year))

-dont blame yourself for not being able to do what you used to. Your body used to do its job to a better degree than it does now. You are not lazy bc your taking more breaks or bc you cant get out of bed. Your taking care of yourself. I struggle with this all the time. Especially considering my living situation. Shit doesnt get done when I dont do it but I simply cant sometimes.

-that leads me into my next point. Take advantage of your good days, but dont overwork yourself just bc your "not feeling chronically ill." When you have the energy, start the laundry, do the dishes, take out the trash, but still take breaks as needed

-keep a set of your meds literally everywhere. I have a pill box I specifically keep in my car with a weeks worth of my morning meds. I have a three sets of my most important meds in my bag at all times. I have pain meds stashed in every crevasse they could be stashed. Trust me, when your running late and you get half way to work before you realize you havent taken your meds your gonna want to be able to reach into your glove box and take them rq

-buy the mobility aid. You think you need a brace bc a specific joint hurts like hell and wont stay in place?? Get it. You cant walk for long periods of time and think a cane would help?? Get it. You think a shower chair would do you good so you dont pass out with shampoo in your eyes and naked?? Get it. Just get it. Walmart sells canes for under ten bucks and they work really well. They also have extra tips in a two back for 2.50. Dollar tree has braces and like 12 different pain creams. Five below also has some braces and quite a few pain relief options. You can also get them cheap on sites like shein or Amazon and sometimes depop. ((I know I know, dont support those sites but a bitch is broke and two bucks for compression socks is a fucking steal)) You can also sometimes find wheelchairs and canes and crutches at goodwill. It isnt a guarantee but its a good option if you need smt cheap. ((Be careful and check that their not broken before you buy))

-take the pain meds. Put on the pain cream. Ice that joint. You dont get brownie points for toughing it out and it will help your health in the long run. If someone looks at you like your weak for taking smt to help with your pain, their the problem, not you.

-create a good support system. Find the people who will drop their brand new iced coffee to stop you from slamming your head into the ground during a fainting spell. They are out there. Find them and hold onto them for dear fucking life

-try to make the best of what you can do every day. Put on cute earrings. Buy cute compression socks. Get braces that fit your vibe. Put stickers on your mobility aids. Put pins on your bag. Carry a cute weighted stuffie for when you need some extra comfort. Make the most of what you are capable of doing.

[tofu-bento-box]

having comorbidities that contradict/contraindicate each other is so stupid man.

you have PMDD. every time you get your period you spend the week before on the edge of a major depressive episode and lose all hope for the future. unfortunately for you, you also have PCOS, which makes Hell Week entirely unpredictable.

so you try to stabilize and predict Hell Week via birth control. but wait! you have migraines with aura! all hormonal birth control is now contraindicated for you, because it increases your risk of death.

ah, well, fuck. okay, well, you have pcos and your hormones are out of wack, let’s get those back on track. but guess what! that’s hormonal birth control again! so your testosterone stays high, and you have chronic acne now.

well, okay, let’s leave the hormones alone. let’s just deal with the acne. however the high-strength acne prescriptions cause such bad birth defects that you are almost legally required to be on some form of birth control. can you see where i’m going with this?

okay, so birth control would “solve” all your problems at the risk of maybe making one thing worse. let’s chance it. oops! you’re now horrifically depressed for a third of every month—and not just that, but your migraines did get worse, and now you’re barely functional.

fuck fuck fuck, get off that. stop taking that. go get an MRI just in case. well, i hope you enjoy migraines, because for some reason that birth control experiment did lasting damage. but don’t worry, your MRI is completely clean!

just. comorbidities, man.

[accessories-not-included]

I wish schools offered classes on what being a "normal" is like. 

I'm told that a "normal" amount of pain is zero. Just like how the "normal" amount of wishing you weren't ever born is also zero. It's news to me that food isn't supposed to "itch" or "hurt". Just like going numb in one or more parts of your body from sitting in one position for too long isn't "normal". Why did no one tell me sooner that passing out isn't "normal"? Why did no one tell me sooner that "normal" people only take 10-20 minutes to fall asleep, and sleep around 6-9 hours? Instead of my version of "normal" where it takes hours to fall asleep only to stay asleep for 2 to 4 hours at any one period of time? You're supposed to get one period a month, which is manageable with a few tampons or pads a day and lasts 3-6 days. What I'm told is not "normal" is having periods that show up multiple times (if at all) per month that last for a few days to weeks at a time. Which is only managed with adult diapers that are changed multiple times per day. These are all things I had to find out later (after being diagnosed with my medical conditions), like a moron who was late to the party. 

[strwbrrryseeds]

victorian people were onto something tbh because every time i feel horrible this is the only pose i hit that helps me feel better

[chaithetics]

Can't sleep in a bit of pain, it's almost 2am so I've just typed 800+ words for HCs of how Oscar Isaac characters would be with a reader with chronic pelvic pain, endo, pcos, period pain... and it's nowhere near being finished, there's so many more words...

I'm so unwell 😭😭😭😭😭

[feelingthemode]

disability pride month userboxes part 2/5

posted these on insta throughout the month :3

[stars-and-branches]

[pcos-and-endo-awareness]

[sickly-sapphic]

"in a perfect world, no one would be disabled!!" in a perfect world, I still wouldn't be able to walk without pain and fatigue. in a perfect world, I would still get nausea and cramps at best and emesis and intestinal bleeding at worst every time I eat. in a perfect world, I would still need surgeries and medications.

I would not just magically stop being disabled, even if my every need was accommodated too. My body would still be sick.

[fortheloveofpiggy]

Pride month is over guess what!

It’s disability pride month!

Happy disability pride month!

[farfromstrange]

A small update from yours truly—and a little over sharing, so I’m putting it under the cut.

I've been in an awful mindset these past couple of weeks since I was diagnosed with PCOS. I haven’t talked about it yet because it’s hard for me to even think about. But the fatigue and the pain are getting worse again, even with the supplements I’m taking so far, and I wanted to share it with you so you know what’s going on. My doctor referred me to another doctor, but the earliest they could get me in was January. Until then, I have to deal with the symptoms on my own. I honestly thought once I knew what was wrong I’d get better, but learning that chronic illness is actually chronic is a really hard pill to swallow. It’s manageable once you figure shit out, but getting a doctor’s appointment these days and being taken seriously when you can’t stomach birth control is like the Hunger Games. You have to be really fucking insistent when you want to get things done.

I’m still slowly working my way out of my writer’s block, and I'm proud of myself for getting there. I'm trying not to set expectations for myself and just take it one day at a time, which is working so far. I think I’m writing more consciously now, too. As someone who needs to create because she has too many thoughts it can get frustrating to burn out so quickly, but at least I’m starting to have fun with writing again (thanks to the DDBA trailer I’m still not over and it’s been idk how long you guys feel me).

On a slightly better note though, and the reason I’m writing this is that I’ve been spending the past two weeks since my last post preparing for vacation. I’m flying to Croatia on Sunday for a few days, which I very much need after the year I’ve had so far. I’m taking the time to recharge before I have another module exam at the end of September. So, I probably won’t be posting a lot the next two weeks, BUT I am writing. I just don’t have enough time to edit anything to the point I can comfortably post it. I will, however, use the time I have to catch up on some reading and do some reblogging. It’s a good use of my flight time, plus my parents will be driving back so I’ll have twelve hours to kill in the car. And who knows, maybe I can finish at least one update before I have to head to the airport. Just wanted to let you know that I’m not gone again, I just really need that vacation before I have my last exam this semester. After that, I have almost three weeks of nothing, which means I'll be able to focus on myself, my health, and my writing.

I’m also writing this to tell you guys I will definitely be participating in Kinktober again this year, though I decided to put a little twist to it. Last year was fun, but I want to do it a little differently this time. I’m currently working something out, and the announcement will come sometime in the next couple of weeks!

Maybe a different climate will give me some more writing inspiration, too. Thank you guys for reading this far. Take care of yourselves 🤍

[roisinivy]

September is PCOS Awareness month. Last year I made a post including all of the common symptoms. As it's nearly a year since my diagnosis, I thought I would share my story of being diagnosed...

I started showing symptoms of having polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS for short) when I was 14, in 2018. I went 9 months without a period, started growing body hair in places that are not considered 'normal' for women, gained a lot of weight, started getting very oily skin and acne.

When my mum queried this with a doctor, she was told I was just a teenager having an irregular phase and that no doctor would seriously look at a diagnosis for me until I was at least 16.

(what my mum didn't know is that I was being groomed and had been assaulted, which is when I developed binge eat disorder, which also accounted for the weight gain...)

By the time I had turned 16 in 2020, covid had put the uk into a second national wide lockdown and completely ruined an already struggling NHS.

I didn't see a doctor about my PCOS until a month before I turned 19, due to all of the backlog.

My doctor ordered a blood test, and an ultrasound of my ovaries at a nearby hospital. The blood test was completed within a week, but it took me 6 weeks to get my first scan. I am still a virgin, and due to being sexually assaulted when I was younger, I was extremely nervous about having something in me and to have a nurse/doctor see me like that.

The external ultrasound was incredibly painful, having a bladder full of two liters of water pushing down onto you. The nurse couldn't get a good enough view, so I went to relive myself before having what would be my first of three ultrasounds.

The nurse took one look at my scan and confirmed I definitely had polycystic ovaries, she could also see I had ovulated. I knew I would be having my first period in 4 months in December of 2023. This was the last period I had, it was the worst I'd had in a very long time.

On my first scan, a large cyst was spotted, so I would need a second one due to the size of it. It was roughly the size of a ping-pong ball. My ovaries are also swollen to about three times the size they should be.

By my second scan, it had disappeared. I had a third as a precaution, which was also clear of anything concerning.

I then started taking Cerelle birth control in February.

I have had two bartholin cysts (infection of the vagina), hives, extremely sore breasts on and off, nausea, low libido, acne, increased body weight, tiredness, rashes and so much more caused by my birth control...

But it's preventing me from having an increased risk of developing cancer when I'm older, masking my symptoms so that I can have a 'normal' life whilst living with PCOS.

Although I still grow a better beard than my 18 year old brothers thanks to the increase androgen lol

I don't know how long I'll stay on birth control, or if I'll have to use other treatments, but this is my PCOS journey so far.

[beenovel]

Me trying to figure out what’s causing this new symptom

(I forgot but should have added burnout and migraines)

ALT text under cut

[alt text]

The Pepe Silvia meme of a Caucasian man holding a cigarette while looking like he’s lost his mind, pointing to a large conspiracy board.

Written in red in random places and terrible handwriting is autism, bipolar, adhd, hypermobility, anxiety, depression, PCOS, ptsd.

In brighter red is meds then mystery illness with six exclamation marks after it.