#having autoimmune disease sucks

[drifting-in-otter-space]

internalised rage.

[arttsuka]

I think my body hates me

[crimeronan]

I TESTED POSITIVE FOR LUPUS ANTIBODIES

[spitblaze]

what if my Void and @doktorpeace's Erato had spiderverse counterparts....and they were both spidermen.......and they kissed.........

[mizugucci]

soooo i may have an autoimmune disease ?

[dootnoot]

i really wonder how many people have long covid/post viral syndrome without even realizing it

it took me nearly 2 years to connect the dots and figure out that the mysterious illness(es) i was experiencing that no doctor could diagnose and that didnt show up on any of the tests they ran, that spanned dozens of symptoms of differing severity affecting my whole body, was all connected to long covid. 

[reignof-fyre]

So life is a big old ball of shit lately, and I'm just gonna channel all of that into my writing methinks because therapy is too expensive and I'm broke asf

[astarryvamp]

.

[jessiesjaded]

Why does my throat feel sore

[thecharcoalsalamander]

Just because a doctor hasn't been able to diagnose you doesn't mean your pain isn't real and I just want to say that I SEE you and I FEEL you cuz THIS SHIT IS HARD.

[citrusandrottefruit]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

TW: Chronically ill Steve

In a world where Hanahaki is a rare autoimmune disease that is triggered by long periods of emotional distress. There is no cure, it lasts a lifetime and makes the person very susceptible to infections and can cause cardiopulmonary problems, organ lacerations, pulmonary fibrosis, liver fibrosis, esophageal varices, thrombosis, etc. In short, a disease with several complications.

Although these complications can be treated, Hanahaki itself only has palliative care and symptom control.

Steve's mother developed it when he was just 5 years old. Even though he was very young, he remembers seeing his mother coughing up blood, he remembers seeing an x-ray that showed something that looked very much like twisted roots in her chest. He remembers how she spent days in the hospital and how his father became much kinder after that. They took a trip to the coast at the time and his mother got better.

So she got worse and better and worse. She never seemed to get well enough, but they found a good treatment that made the roots dissolve and vomit them out. There was only one time when she got bad enough that the doctors had to open her chest and remove the roots.

His father was out of the country when it happened, and he didn't even have time to get back before Mrs. Harrington gave up on staying in Hawkins and decided to travel with her husband.

Steve stayed. At age 9, he wasn't sure who had triggered this disease in his mother: him or his father. But he knew he had to be a good boy, because once the disease was active, anything could make it worse.

So he never complained. Not when he started getting tired, not when his chest started hurting, not when he got a lump in his throat, not when he started having trouble breathing.

His parents only found out when he ended up in the hospital. So he started the same treatment as his mother, who stayed by his side for almost half a year before traveling again. His father stayed home more, too, and when he was away, he would call three days a week, but eventually he stopped caring, as he always did.

Growing up with Hanahaki was tough, but Steve managed. He took his medications religiously, keeping the disease at bay. When it took hold, Steve would take a cocktail of medications that made him weak and nauseous, but helped control the Hanahaki. When things got really bad, he would spend a night or two in the hospital, having whatever was compressing his chest sucked out.

He'd needed surgery to remove the worst of the tangle a few weeks after he'd found out about the Upside Down. Because he'd lost Tommy and Carol, because he was lonely, because things between him and Nancy were weird, because Jonathan might be better for her than Steve. Because his parents hadn't shown up, even though they knew he'd been in a fight and needed medical attention.

(He shouldn't have been surprised. His parents knew he was always in the hospital, of course they wouldn't notice this incident amidst a pile of medical bills. Steve realized they probably didn't even check what they were paying for. Like they only cared enough to keep him alive, nothing more.)

It was an easy surgery. His organs weren't collapsing, there wasn't much scar tissue, the medication had dissolved some of the roots… It was just the deepest parts that were still there. Steve could have lived with them, but he preferred to be safe than to risk letting them dig deeper into his chest.

They were only in the hospital for four days and Nancy showed up for two of them, even though Steve hadn't even told her the truth. He didn't even bother to make up some silly accident and a lacerated lung after he had already had surgery. Probably if she hadn't been so wrapped up in finding out what happened to Barbara and dealing with her own traumas, she would have realized the truth.

He didn't want her to know, but he was sad when she didn't ask him.

When Nancy told him their relationship was bullshit, he went home and inhaled so much scar-dissolving medicine (which Steve swore he could feel forming on his chest) that he passed out. He didn't regret it, because he woke up the next morning fine, if a little groggy, and convinced that maybe she didn't mean it.

After fighting the demodogs, he felt light, because he barely knew those kids, but he felt more liked than he had in a long time. So, okay, he thought he might die when Nancy left with Jonathan, but he was medicated and the kids… He had to protect them. Maybe his body knew that, maybe one feeling overrode the other, maybe that toxic air from the tunnels had killed the roots better than any treatment could have done. It didn't matter why, it just mattered that he hadn't needed surgery this time.

Lots of medication, frequent trips to the hospital, some aspirations, sure, but he was fine.

“If it weren’t for Hanahaki, you could get a sports scholarship,” the coach had said. That revelation played over and over in Steve’s mind for weeks, like the promise of a future he would never have. So instead of college, he went to Scoops Ahoy.

The first person to learn about the disease was Robin, weeks after the mall fire, when he ended up in the hospital again and needed another surgery. It was torture, he said, that was impossible to forget. And his parents still hadn’t come back. Billy and Hopper’s deaths… There was so much going on and he was so overwhelmed, but it wouldn’t happen again, so she didn’t need to worry. It was an exceptional situation.

After that, Robin was everything he never realized he needed. It was a little suffocating, but it felt so good to feel suffocated by love for the first time in his life.

He would never be completely well, but with Robin and the kids… It was easier. He was happy.

Eddie Munson, who had never interacted with him, caused some attacks when he became such a big part of Dustin, Lucas, and Mike's lives. Especially Dustin, who seemed different at times. Steve resented Eddie.

That all changed when they actually met, after all the Vecna ​​scare.

For a moment during those days, Steve thought he might end up getting involved with Nancy again, and he hated himself for it. Because it always felt like there was something unfinished between them, but he didn't want to get back together, because they were never good together and she just seemed confused. In '83, she had leaned on Jonathan and ended up with Steve for a miserable year, in '84 they only broke up after she and Jonathan were already together. In '85, she had been through the worst with Jonathan again, so it was okay, but in '86, with Steve being the only one around, she seemed torn between them again. Like Steve only mattered because the gates were open and Jonathan wasn't around.

They couldn’t be together again, so he got the closure he wanted, telling her about how he had dreamed of a future with her, but that wasn’t what he needed anymore.

It was like healing a little bit.

In addition to Nancy, he also thought a lot about Eddie Munson, who was great with the kids, funny, a little goofy, and much more human than he seemed when he walked around the cafeteria tables. Who walked beside him through literal hell, showered him with compliments, eased worries Steve hadn’t even told him he had, who encouraged him to pursue love.

Who could blame him for falling in love?

[justkidneying]

Why the Spleen Sucks

The spleen is a really shittily placed organ, making it prone to injury. This injury is usually severe and can lead to death if not properly managed. We're going to look at the function of the spleen, what happens when it is damaged, and how to write about.

Where is the spleen? It's in the upper left quadrant of the abdominal cavity, nestled right against the ribs (typically 9-11) at the midaxillary line. It's behind the stomach and is considered intraperitoneal. The main thing is that the spleen is very vulnerable. It is literally right up against the ribs without much protecting it. It's shaped like a little bean and is purple in humans. It is fed by the splenic artery, which comes off of the celiac trunk (which sticks off of the abdominal aorta).

What does the spleen do? Its main job is to filter out old and malformed red blood cells. It also holds immune cells. Certain diseases can cause the spleen to enlarge, including cirrhosis of the liver (it's connected to the hepatic portal system), sickle cell anemia (RBCs are stuck in it), and autoimmune disorders. The spleen also holds about 250 mL of RBCs in reserve in case you need them.

What happens when it is injured? The spleen can be ruptured and lacerated kinda easily. Blunt trauma to the ribs can cause it to rupture, and this is seen in contact sports and car accidents mostly. Because of those giant gaps between the ribs, it's also prone to injury from knife attacks. Gunshot wounds are another common cause, as well as broken ribs penetrating it (broken ribs are very sharp, like way sharper than you imagine). Rupture is more likely when someone has splenomegaly.

When the spleen is damaged, you're going to get a lot of intraperitoneal hemorrhaging. The spleen filters a lot of blood and has blood in it, so there's going to be a lot of blood in the abdomen (obviously). This will lead to distention, guarding (abs are tense), and hypovolemia. The left upper quadrant will be painful, and there can also be referred pain to the left shoulder (Kehr's sign).

If the patient has a small laceration, the symptoms aren't always as dramatic. Sometimes they'll just have low hemoglobin (which is on RBCs), maybe some thrombocytopenia (lots of platelets in the blood).

How do you fix this? If the injury is small and the patient is hemodynamically stable, they can usually be given a blood transfusion and the spleen can heal itself. Sometimes surgery is also performed to clamp a vessel or repair the outer layer of the spleen.

If the injury is major, then surgery will be performed. If the patient is less critical, they may go in and try to fix the problem. If it can't be fixed, they may do a splenectomy (remove the spleen). In a critical patient, they might forgo the nice pretty incision on the left side, and instead just split the patient down the middle. In these situations (in my experience), there isn't a lot of time to waste. One thing that we aren't going to waste time on is anesthesia, for example. This is with a lot of very critical surgeries, at least from what I have seen. Like the surgeon will start cutting as they are working on knocking out the patient, but usually they are in so much pain that they don't even register it.

If you remove the spleen, the patient is more at risk for infections, but with modern medicine and vaccinations, it's not as much of a big deal as it used to be. The patient will probably be fine.

Writing tips: (new section idea, hope you guys like it, lol) As with any injury, you have to make sure that you are giving them an acceptable mechanism of injury. With the spleen, this is either blunt trauma or penetration/laceration. Getting tackled, getting stabbed, getting shot, all great MOIs.

Second thing, present the appropriate signs and symptoms. A sign would be like bruising, hypotension, tachycardia, etc. A symptom would be LUQ pain, Kehr's sign, etc.

Next, figure out what you're going to do and where you're going to do it. In the field, there probably isn't much you can do. The most would probably be a laparotomy and clamping the splenic artery, but I mean, when I was an EMT, we were not doing this. There's a lot of stuff you can theoretically do, but never gets done. But I mean you can write it. If the patient makes it to the hospital, I think it would be more fun to do emergency surgery and just split them right down the middle. There's going to be a lot of blood in the greater omentum, very high stakes and exciting.

Anyways, hope you guys liked this, please let me know if I got anything wrong. I wrote this off of my personal experience and a few good textbooks, but there can always been mistakes in things.

[comikbook]

Why did you get fired?? I'm so sorry that happened to you that sucks hope you're ok and coping well🫡

( I can't pay for your art even tho i really want to but i can reblog!)

i missed too many days due to health reasons :,) both physical and mental

since developing schizophrenia its harder for me to consistently work and i have some pretty gnarly chronic pain/fatigue

turns out from my most recent doctors visit its likely i have an autoimmune disease but the specialist i got referred to doesnt have an appointment open till april so i guess ill just die until then

thank you tho i really appreciate all the support :,)

[prettypinkporkchop]

EMBRY CALL X FEM READER

Warnings: mentions of body issues. Health issues. Hospital visit.

Autoimmune diseases plague your life. You are the only plus sized girl on the rez. You feel so down about yourself. Embry makes life worth living.

The beeping of the heart monitor next to you is starting to piss you off. You sigh and move the arm without the IV over your forehead. You feel Embry next to you grab your hand. "Just waiting for the results, baby." His voice is soft.

You started taking new medicines for the inflammation in your body. You haven't had any difference. In fact, it's worse. They had to do x-rays on your back, knees, and hands. They had you twisting in all angles! Your heart is palpitating, which because of your health problems, it scared them. They put you on an IV for a bit.

"Do you need anything? I can go to the vending machine." Embry offers. You move your arm and look at him. You smile and squeeze his hand. "No, baby. I'm sure once we get home, Emily will have food made." You giggle. You glance down at your stomach and think about how skinny Kim, Rachel, and Emily are. It hasn't bothered you too bad since being with Embry, but occasionally, it hits you. Especially when you are told you are going to be around them. You love them, and they love you, absolutely! It's just hard being the only plus sized girl.

The door opens, and the rheumatologist steps in with a clipboard. She pulls the small rolling chair toward you. She keeps her mask lifted up, but her eyes are telling. "Alright, y/n. The medicine was only making your heart race. It was causing some arithmetic issues. Your joints are about the same as last time. You are just in a flareup." She looks at you and then Embry. A flareup sucks but that means there's nothing WORSE and nothing new to worry about.

"I'm going to give you a list of treatments. You can choose one that you'd like to try. I will up your plaquinil, though. This go around, no prednisone." She starts writing stuff down.

The visit took a lot longer. Emily had called Embry to let him know that there's a dinner over there tomorrow with your favorite food. You feel bad when she does this every time you end up going to the hospital for something. She does this for everyone on their birthdays, but that's once a year. For you, it's a few times a year.

You walk inside your and Embrys house, your phone and charger in your hand. You yawn, tossing it on the couch. Embry reaches for your waist from behind. He pulls you into him and presses kisses on your shoulder. "Baby, you tired?" He asks. "Mhm." You nod. At the moment, your fingers are hurting, and you just want to sleep it off.

You guys wake up. Pick an outfit for the get-together!

Even though it's a dinner, you all usually spend the day there. You grab your purse and have painkillers and nausea pills on hand. "Embry! Come on!" You call out.

No answer.

You cock your head to the side and drop your purse on the couch. You walk back into the bedroom and see Embry dressed, but he is leaning over the bed with his face covered.

"Honey, no." You coo and sit next to him on the bed. You pull an arm away from his face to see he's teary-eyed. You pull him into your chest. He loves it when you do this. He calls them his pillows. "I just feel so.. useless? I feel so out of control of your situation. I want you to feel better. I don't want to make you feel bad. I just hope you know I'll always be here. I love you." He plants a loving kiss to the middle of your neck before moving up. You smile at him and caress his cheek. "I feel better today. Having you next to me makes the pain feel more tolerable. I feel like I can keep going. You do control the situation more than you think. I love you." You kiss his lips softly. He holds onto your wrist, rubbing his thumb over your hand. He kisses back so softly and slowly. You pull away and stand up. "Let's go eat and hang out with friends!" You pipe up.

You guys make it there and step inside. Emily and Sam are sharing a few kisses. Quil, Leah, and Seth are on the floor playing twister. "Damn it!" Leah hisses as Quil's arm makes her fall, causing everyone to fall. "Dude, that was nearly impossible! I'm a wolf, not a contortionist!" Quil yells out. Seth rubs the back of his neck because two strong bodies landed on him. "What does that even mean?" He side eyes Quil with a look of hurt.

Quil jumps up and hugs you and then Embry. "It's so good to see you y/n! I would say Embry, but he's up my ass." He laughs. Embry rolls his eyes. "Wolf duties, Quil. Don't make things awkward." You burst into laughter. Leah steps up to you with a huge smile. "I'm so glad you are okay! You feel okay today? No pain?" She wraps her arms around your neck, pulling you in. You giggle and pat her waist. "No pain today." You reply. She pulls back to hug Embry. You turn to Seth, who looks worried and has his hands in his pockets. "Seth Clearwater, what is wrong?" You ask amusingly and then give him a hug. "I'm scared for you and Embry." He sniffles and wraps his arms around you. "Hey, kid. We're okay. You guys will always kick vamp ass and I'll kick the disease ass too." You giggle.

"Surprise!!!!" Kim pops up and engulfs you in a hug. You hug her back and laugh. "Kim!" You call out. She pulls back and checks out your fit. "Goddamn! Beautiful!" She gushes. "Hey, you're the pretty one." You argue, internally feeling self-conscious and envy. She looks at you, her face contorted with 'come on, now'. "Seriously, Kim! I'd love to be skinny." She backs away and points at her body. "Y/n, JARED HAS NOTHING TO SQUEEZE!" She laughs. "I am beautiful, but you are too." She sits back down next to you. "Plus, everyone talks about how Embry calls your boobs his pillows." You both laugh.

The group of your friends in the kitchen pull up in the living room with you two. Embry stands behind the couch behind you and rubs your shoulders. You look up at his pretty face and pucker your lips. He leans down and pecks you. Quil puts Embry in a chokehold and pulls him away from you. You roll your eyes, and all the imprints sigh. "Here we go.." Emily giggles.

After your whole get-together, you and Embry get back home. You lay on the bed with your shoes still on. Your back is hurting so bad. You are trying not to cry. You roll onto your side. Embry comes up and takes off your shoes, kissing your ankles. "Baby, you need anything?" You shrug, unable to speak at the moment.

"I'm gonna get you comfortable." He unbuttons your pants and pulls them off effortlessly, as he knows all your curves perfectly and has done this many times. He kisses your lower back. "I'll get you some heat." He leaves. You roll onto your back and sigh. He comes back in with the heating pad. He plugs it into the wall and turns it on. "Lift up, baby." He says. You lift as high as you can, and he places it down. You flop down, and the heat instantly feels good. Embry kisses your forehead. "I love you." He smiles. You smile back at him and pat the bed next to you. "I got you." He walks over to his side and lays next to you. "Together." He says, grabbing a hold of your hand.

[hellyeahsickaf]

"My body hates me" "Ugh I hate my lousy ass body always holding me back" "I'd hang out but my stupid body's too fucked up to let me" I know it feels like your body's working against you but it isn't- it's doing its best to protect you and keep you alive

If your chronic illness is post-viral and/or autoimmune your body's doing everything it can to fight a constant battle against what it believes to be a threat. Sometimes it develops because an infectious disease has interfered with the functions your body carries out. And some illnesses develop symptomatically as a survival response because your cortisol production indicates that constant fight or flight isn't working so it forces a freeze response. If you're in pain, fatigued, have brain fog, etc, you can't exert yourself and are forced to conserve your energy. That way you don't overdo things and possibly compromise your survival. It feels like a lousy survival response, it really sucks, but it's still an indicator that your body's doing its best

You can hate your symptoms and vent about how much they suck, I know they truly suck balls and some days I just wanna scream and break things while I'm in bed struggling to keep my eyes open. Just don't forget that your body doesn't "hate" you and you should treat it kindly. Many symptoms like pain are there to tell your brain something's threatening it- even if your nerves are misinterpreting sensations like strong temperatures and sending pain signals to your brain. Billions of little cells and microorganisms are working 24/7 to keep you going. Those little guys carry out so many functions and none of them are for the sole purpose of making your life harder. It always comes back to your body trying to survive

[foldingfittedsheets]

I saw your post and I'm so sorry. Elimination diets suck.

Can I ask how/where you buy the French flour?? 👀👀👀 as an autoimmune disease haver myself, this could be incredibly helpful for me. Thank you and good luck on your GF month 💛

I was gonna try through here this time. I’ve gotten a different brand through Amazon and really liked it but would like to avoid going through Amazon.

Only issue is they talk about needing to fridge the bag to prevent flour moths so I guess I need to look into that… didn’t have that problem with the other import I used.