#i have so many appointments this week that are scary

[melancholicdesire]

.

[boomerang109]

no because i get so stuck on how endless everything feels, how life is so long and these horrible habits i have now are part of my life story forever but

life is so long. every little good choice i make will add up. i don’t have to fix everything today, it can take time

[allthatdivides2]

i have so much shit to do but all i WANT to do (or feel like i can do properly) is sit here and listen to music

[tkbrokkoli]

wanted to write smth abt top surgery ⬇️

[isatling-husbandry-guide]

Hello!

Some friends of mine recently stumbled upon what they believe is a “weird” variant of a Siffrin however I’m pretty sure it’s not. It’s a lot more aggressive compared to a normal Siffrin (Even one that’s been neglected) and also appears completely lightless for some reason? It also sometimes has this very weird shade on it as well?

I’ve tried looking into it but have reached a dead end and what little information I could find sounds like those “scary” stories kids would tell.

I’m just worried that if this is another species it won’t get the proper care it needs or if it truly is a Siffrin it’s previous owner didn’t care for it like at all and it’s extremely sick (We do have a doctors appointment scheduled for them at the end of the week).

Any ideas? Closest I’ve gotten is seeing the name “Mal Du Pays” thrown around on the forms but no real information or anything to confirm or deny it sadly.

Information on Mal Du Pays is pretty scarce depending on your area- though they’re not an absolute myth like some people believe. They’re invasive & incredibly destructive, and are difficult to spot if you don’t know when and what to look for. Mal Du Pays are characterized by their fully lightless appearance, sudden switches in behavior, whispers and laughter, and their single unblinking spiral eye.

They may also have an unusual shade that can cause headaches. Current theories about this align with “Colour Theory”, and it is believed that Mal Du Pays holds the ability to show colour as a means for self defense, or to signal danger to other Isatlings. Some caretakers report that when they’re stressed (such as during exams, hospital treatments, family losses, and so on), their Mal Du Pays will show colour until the stress passes.

pictured: mal du pays, eating.

It doesn’t help their reputation that Mal Du Pays are difficult species that, unlike Loops, don’t really get “easier” to handle with time, thus making them rather unpopular. They’re aggressive, escape easily, and spend most of their time standing still or resting, giving them the unfortunate reputation of “boring and irritating”. These features also can be pretty scary to many people, which is where so many of those myths and horror stories come from.

Despite this, Mal Du Pays- like any other Isatling- make wonderful companions. With a patient and attentive caretaker, a Mal Du Pays will be passive much more often than they are aggressive. They like to hide in dark corners and crevices, or curled up in your pocket. They can be very playful if attached to their caretaker; they greatly enjoy having things to destroy with their dagger (food & wood chips are particular favorites), are fond of curling up in places their caretaker frequents (your pillow, favorite chair, laptop, etc), and benefit from stargazing.

Mal Du Pays are also semi-aquatic! They’re a bit frog like sometimes, enjoying being spritzed with water and swimming/sitting in water dishes or ice baths, and require saltwater somewhere in their enclosure. Their diet consists of high-sugar foods and raw seafood. (You may notice your Mal Du Pays does not have a mouth- so how do they eat? Scholars are still debating about this: please give them more time to research.)

There’s some debate on what catagory Mal Du Pays fits into, making it tricky to know for sure what works best for your Mal Du Pays. Planetariums in particular have a lot of information on them, so I suggest you check with your local one, or any online.

[fox-bright]

So, United's CEO was assassinated today.

I'm thinking about how a few years ago I got all the way to the imaging office in town for my several-weeks-scheduled appointment, early in the morning, cold and quiet and over-thoughtful, and I waited in my double mask in a chilly lobby for 45 minutes before the secretary--who had been making a series of increasingly upset phone calls--called me up to her window to tell me that United wasn't going to cover my neck-and-head CT. They were covering the chest one, but they just didn't think anything above that was necessary, despite my family's extreme history of stroke, because I was under forty.

And I must have gone green, because the secretary's eyes welled up, and her voice cracked, and she held up a hand and had to wait a moment before she could keep talking.

And I got my chest CT, but I didn't get the more-important look at my brain

and six weeks later I was hospitalized when I lost all the strength in the right side of my body and fell in the shower.

At ER the attending said "this is gonna be a little scary, but it's just how we do things for a stroke, okay?" and then there were so many lights and a loud alarm in the hallway, and they ran me down the hall on a gurney, one of the nurses viciously cursing because the doctor who was supposed to see to stroke victims in under two minutes was nowhere to be found.

Under fifteen minutes later, as they rolled me in to get a head-and-neck CT, the very nice imaging man clearly thought I was losing it just a little when I cackled something along the lines of "Well, fuckos, you HAVE to cover it now."

[naamahdarling]

I do want to say, because I know I am extremely and probably sometimes unfairly unforgiving of everything to do with the medical profession, that I had a really good experience last week with a team that was very empathetic and trauma-informed. The area of medicine is deeply triggering and I truly didn't know if I would even be able to talk or not. They were very understanding and respectful and I didn't feel like an inconvenience or a difficult patient, or like someone who was making a big deal out of nothing.

I know and they pointed out that I'm not the only person with this issue. This is actually common. It is utterly baffling to me that so many providers aren't able to cope with PTSD in their patients, especially patients whose trauma is medical in nature. These people treated me like a normal person who had experienced some very not-normal things.

Anyway, I had an unexpectedly hard time afterwards -- I figured the hardest part would be the appointment, and it super was not -- and have had a hard time off and on since. It has not been fun. It's been frustrating and confusing and upsetting and scary. But for once, none of that was the fault of the people I saw. I went in unsure I'd even be able to talk about it and nearly completely certain I wouldn't be able to move forward with the things I need to do. I figured I would probably have to white-knuckle it through a panic attack. I came out having held a productive conversation that left me scared, yes, but also hopeful and optimistic that I can move forward. And I didn't have a panic attack. It was a radical and unexpected change.

I worked hard for this. Any trauma is an awful thing to live with. The work of remaking yourself around the holes it punches in you is hard and confusing. The healing is often slow. In my case it comes with very few immediate rewards (it will actually make my life more difficult for a while because I'll have to deal with more medical interference, hooray). But it was time for me to do this and I have come far enough and worked hard enough to have the resilience to try, and I did it.

All we did was talk, but that would not have been possible a year ago. It was all I could do to ask for a referral because even naming the specialty was upsetting. I couldn't make the phone call to set up an appointment and when they called to try to do it, I hung up. Six or eight months ago I managed to dial the number and then hung up the instant someone answered. Last week I walked into the building and said out loud multiple words that make me feel like I have worms under my skin and which I can barely look at, let alone type. I didn't lose speech. This was a big win for me, and I'm thankful it went well, and I actually am proud of myself. I didn't even use any of my antianxiety meds that day, because I didn't think I would need them.

I don't feel grateful to the staff, I feel like someone finally did the bare fucking minimum, but I am very grateful, because I am not only what I feel. I am also what I know and what I do, and I am finally sort of getting those three things to match up in a way that they patch the holes in one another a little, and maybe someday I can stop slipping through the cracks.

I'm scared they will fuck up when I go to get some issues addressed, and they will betray me or harm me. I really am. Because hey, that's what my experiences have prepared me for, so that's a very natural way for me to feel. Rational, even.

I'm scared that I will look back at this appointment and feel stupid for having experienced any hope at all.

But even if it goes to shit, I still went in there and tried. I still did my best. And my best was okay. I was able to separate my fear from what needed to be done just a little bit. That means something. Because I didn't think I could do it at all.

[howtobeapersonwithfibro]

Pain flare-ups are so emotionally triggering for me, I just feel so trapped and sad, remembering worse times. It makes it especially hard to sleep. It's amazing how many combined sleep aiding drugs an anxious brain can resist.

It's especially scary when I have a new obligation coming up that's really important. I need enough hours on this internship to meet school requirements. I can't afford to be too sick to do it, like I have been for other things in the past.

I have a crazy busy week coming up with at least one appointment/work thing every day, sometimes two or more. Send help.

[mar3ggiata]

professional help, c15. The Viper.

simon riley x original character.

trigger warnings: violence, sexual assault, mentions of rape, trauma, sexual themes, swearing, use of alcohol and drugs.

song to listen to when reading this: Don Raffaè, Fabrizio de Andrè

abstract: it's Simon. here I am talking to Jude again, this time it gets too far, the police are involved… no just kidding (I wish someone would just take her away, believe me). also is anyone gonna tell her to stop using this bloody dialect of hers? it sound stupid anyways and I can't understand a word she says. bye.

T'agg ditt Salvo, è venuto a trovarmi a danza, io dovevo mangiare e gli ho chiesto se voleva cenare. Poi avrei portato fuori il cane e mi ha detto che era pericoloso da sola e mi ha accompagnato'. She was in her bathroom in her underwear, painting her toenails while on the phone with Salvo. She usually did this to make her feet seem more normal, she hated the blisters and calluses from wearing pointe shoes. If she didn't hurry up she would be late for work. She told him the Lieutenant had visited her after ballet class and since she needed to eat, she invited him out. Then, he suggested they'd walk the dog together since it was getting late. 'Fra, te non hai capito questo chi è', Salvo insisted. He was very surprised to hear that Lieutenant Riley, the one he briefly met years ago was going out and having dinner with his friend. Going out in general, really. 'Non ha famiglia, glieli hanno uccisi tutti, è una macchina da guerra, io e i colleghi avevam paura.' He told her back before he even met her, he heard stories about him. That a mission had gone sideways for him and his whole family had been killed (she felt terribly bad for asking about it). He told her that he was a killing machine, that him and his teammates feared him. She put away her nail polish. 'Salvo agg capit…Jinx lascia!' She said while trying to get a hold of her dog who stole her slippers. She sensed she was about to leave and decided to make it impossible for her to get ready in peace. She told her friend Simon had been actually nice the night before, she had to give him that. He kept going on saying few ever saw him without his mask on, that it was some kind of unspoken rule and he would get annoyed if someone tried to take it off, that he had survived hell and so on. She didn't tell him he ate a burger in front of her.

She asked if he was married, he said he had never saw him even speak with a woman that wasn't a coworker, that he probably lived a quite secluded life. She said she believed him. It's not a big deal, she said, but he got my fake name. Salvo paused. He won't know about… the other stuff, Alba. You're fine, he can't possibly know. She finished getting ready, and got to the base. She had an easy day ahead, she would start many of her appointments on zoom, some of her patients were deployed all over the world. Christmas is in a few weeks as well, she thought. It made her sad. She remembered Christmas dinners and parties very well in Italy, they had lots of traditions, they used to play board games and drink and eat together… She still did that by herself, unfortunately Jinx didn't know how to play cards. Salvo was still in Korea and she didn't think he would be back in time to see her. He would visit Italy and celebrate there, she thought. She sent him a message on the way to the car, to tell her about his plans for New Years.

She got to the base and when she turned the corner to get to the office she stopped. Simon. In front of her door. Except, she didn't smile this time. One time, I appreciate, two times, you're kind and caring, what's up now? To confirm her thought that something wasn't right, as soon as he saw her, Simon started walking towards her. What did I do now, do I need to run? He was wearing a black tight shirt and cameo trousers, his boots heavy on the ground. He looked scary, she even took a step back when she saw him coming towards her. He was as scary as an avalanche. It was so weird, now he saw him as he really was. A soldier, a man of war. He killed for a living, he wasn't her new little friend. Are you gonna kill me as well?

'Let's go' he said when he approached her. 'What? I have patients', she replied, he went past her at this point and turned the corner. I'm not following you Simon. What is he on about? He stopped when he noticed she wasn't behind him. 'Alba, let's go, you're not working today.' He insisted, and she just got more annoyed. 'No.' She kept a straight face and crossed her arms. 'And don't fucking call me that.' She hissed. She was confused, to say the least. He scoffed and took a step towards her. Why do you have to make things difficult now, I'm just trying to do my job. And yes, I am calling you by your pretty name since I can't get it out of my head. She took a step back, away from him. Was she afraid of him? He felt a burning pressure in his chest. He took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders to seem less intimidating. Does she think he would hurt her like that other soldier did a year ago? If she only knew how much he thought about her, last night. She couldn't imagine how much time he lied awake, one arm between his head and the pillow, thinking so hard about her he felt his brain melting. Her lashes. Her voice. Her nails, the rosy colour of her cheeks.

'Laswell ordered me to come get you. She wants to see you.' He spoke with his voice soft, gently scrunching down to make up for those 30 centimetres that divided their eyes. Just come with me. He saw her relax, her expression softening. Still, she was frowning in confusion. 'My patients…', she looked like a confused little kid, she looked like when you do your maths homework with your dad at the kitchen table and you're tired and heartbroken and you're not getting any of the maths. He figured bossing her around wasn't really the way to win her heart. 'Already taken care of.' She had a white turtleneck on. With that, her blonde, silky hair, her translucent eyes piercing through his soul, she looked like an angel. She looked like a cloud, like an elf, the Lord of the Rings ones. 'You could have fucking told me earlier.' There she was.

He sighed and took off with her trough the corridor. 'What's going on?' she asked, and he didn't reply. 'If you don't answer I'm gonna fucking scream', she was nearly running, to keep up with him and he quite liked seeing her mad. 'She's gonna tell you.' He quickly glanced down at her. Her makeup looked different but he could not really pinpoint why. It made her whole face look brighter. They walked to Laswell's office, took the lift in silence. She smelled nice. Tangerines, flowers. It was a fresh smell. He opened the door of the office for her. Inside, Captain Price, Laswell, Calvin Klein Handsome Boy and Scotland were in the room staring at her. Her and the Lieutenant behind her. They looked like they were about to yell 'Surprise!' and balloons would appear and they would eat cake. Or they were just waiting for her and Simon to arrive cause they were invited for dinner. Or maybe they were going to play hide and seek until one of them found her and had the pleasure to kill her while the others watched. She felt Simon's presence behind her, she was too concentrated scanning the room but she could swear he gently pushed her back to make her get inside the room. 'Jude, thanks for coming, I'm sorry for making you skip your appointments.' Kate smiled and indicated she sat down at her desk. She was not gonna sit down. She took a step foreword and waited her to speak, her arms stiff at her sides, back straight. What's going on. Why the meeting, why this many people.

'Jude, Ghost told me about your theory. The crater.' Her eyes shot up at the captain, how spoke from beside the window. She looked at him 'Did he?' She whispered, then she looked at Simon, or better in the situation, Ghost, who was standing at her right. He was standing legs spread and arms crossed. Traitor. I told you not to say anything. She was ready to apologise for interfering. She shouldn't have trusted him. She had to change her job for sure, she had to leave again. She messed up too bad this time, she managed to mess up the only good thing about her life… Now this really wasn't a comfortable situation for Simon either. He had some explaining to do. He went to see the captain the night before and told him everything. 'I don't know if she's right to be honest. The crater is there and it's a good natural hiding spot for sure. I don't know if it's good enough intel', he had said. Price had thought for a few seconds. 'Listen Simon, I trust your judgement. I don't want to know where and when you talked to her, but we have a job to do…' he tried to interrupt, but he kept going. 'No, no don't worry, I don't want to know about your personal life, to be honest it would be nice to see you settle down and she really is a nice girl…'

'Sir, I-'

'The thing is, if she's wrong and this was all a little game we could waste time, lose our target and put our men at risk.' He managed to investigate further and found out Jude was right, again. Jude 2 - Ghost 0. He briefed his teammates that morning, who asked how he got that information and in which setting he spoke to Jude, which he replied was classified. They looked at him and they knew he was hiding something. He didn't even want to know what they thought. 'Yes, you see, we have a camp, headquarters near Al-Jareena, a few soldiers are still there. Yesterday night, after I was informed about what you found I sent them in the desert, they stopped…' he got close to the table and indicated the map that was placed in the middle '…about here.' She moved closer to the table. 'I sent two drones ahead. They found the crater, about two miles from where the cars had stopped.' He was typing on the keyboard of a laptop. He showed her the screen, she could see the video tape that the drones had recorded. It was in night vision, she couldn't see well, but the image was mostly clear. He spoke again while the video played. 'You see, there are snipers here… and all the way here…and when they got close to the centre…' he stopped, but she understood.

She could see buildings, tents. A camp. She could see people moving around, she could see a campfire. Guns. Then she spotted it. On the side of a tent. She looked up at the captain, her eyes bright with excitement. She could fucking cry in that moment. The viper print on the tent, eyes bright red. Khorram's troops were inside the crater.

notes: translation: 'Ti ho detto, è venuto a trovarmi a danza, io dovevo mangiare e gli ho chiesto se voleva cenare. Poi avrei portato fuori il cane e mi ha detto che era pericoloso da sola e mi ha accompagnato'. means 'I told you, he came to see me at ballet, i needed to eat and i asked him if he wanted to have dinner. Then I would have walked the dog and he said it was dangerous to go alone and he came with me.' 'Fra, te non hai capito questo chi è' means 'Bro, you don't understand who this is'. Fra is the abbreviated version of 'fratello' which means brother. When two are really close is common to call each other fra, boy of girl we don't care, even because it's a funny word, it's fake gangsta slang. I call my girlfriends fra all the time. 'Salvo agg capit…Jinx lascia!' means 'Salvo, I got it…Jinx let it go'.

notes: one of alba's perfumes is disumano by morph. (disumano means non human).

notes: can you tell I'm back at uni, I'm posting again lol

taglist:

@ummmmmwat @ghostlythots @sweetfemmefatal @natxpat @chavarriakeren647 @ravenmoore14 @farther-than-pleiades @internallyscreamings @hwromi @atoxicrat @cuti3maddi3 @deafeningkittenblaze @its-celeste @serene-hills @lexidoll12 @poohkie90 @lunatiquess

@warmedbythebody @katzykat @iristhemuse @azkza @keiraslayz @abbyandermine @jennyjencakes @dest-nai @corset-briefs @nutze-kekse @ilytsukiw @b3anspr0ut

@pondsblog @missyouzoe @fallenkitten @bigauthorrascalturkey @bethtay @angelynn-nicole @starluv @stargirlisworld @giyuuslittleslut @impossiblecupcakelight

@rkrivees-blog @ghosts-hoe @kam1snotverysmart @gauky76 @freyjaaasstuff @spicyspicyliving @scottpilgrimvsmyfists @courtney0-0 @shinchanboi @darling006 @my-therapist-hates-me

[evelynlikesfrogs]

I set up an appointment with Planned Parenthood. I'm both nervous and excited. At the end of this week, I'll be on the path to getting estrogen!!!

On another note, I've found that I now love shopping for clothes. I'd love to be more open about going to the women's section, but I live in such a MAGA area. It's so scary to be there when I see people wearing those red hats everywhere. It's almost kind of nice how they expose their nature before you ever have to interact with them.

It's really strange to come to a sudden realization about your gender. I feel absolutely blessed to have such a great group of supportive friends who have helped me on my journey. How lucky it is that I have many trans people in my life that I can look to for guidance.

[ice-block]

Idk if anyone is interested but I thought I’d put it out there because the other day I was talking w my therapist and she said when people have a negative experience with something they’re WAY more likely to tell everyone they know and when they have a good or neutral experience they don’t think much of it SO I’d like to put something positive out there for anyone who might be in the position I was in.

So anyway here’s my experience getting my first pap smear, as someone with an INSANE amount of anxiety about it:

I try to keep some less than pleasant personal stuff off this blog but I’ve got a decently sized medical phobia, general mistrust of gynecology after reading too many horror stories, and some weirdness about gender/sexuality/body (???) I don’t entirely understand myself. I also understand that maintaining personal health is important even if it’s scary so when my doctor told me it was time to make an appointment with a gynecologist, I did it, then spent the next 3 weeks having nightmares, anxiety attacks, and experiencing a general sense of impending doom as the appointment approached.

Things my therapist and I talked about before hand included:

1.) save your stress for the future, if it goes good, great! If it goes poorly, you’re allowed to be stressed then . Don’t make yourself suffer unless you need to.

2.) know what accommodations you want and be prepared to ask for them confidently and clearly. I wanted the smallest speculum, a warning BEFORE any and all touching, and to be able to stop at any moment.

The appointment eventually did arrive and while I was still a ball of nerves I got myself there and obediently went through the steps of registering as a patient and remaining sane in the waiting room, I was called to the back (if you have a support person you want to bring with you you can but I went alone) and chatted with the nurse about health history etc, this pretty much resembled your standard doctors appointment, they take your heart rate, BP, etc. the nurse wrapped up and told me the doctor would be in in a minute, I should undress from the waist down, and showed me a cloth (which was basically a really big napkin) I could cover my lap with. I definitely went pale at this and if my high blood pressure didn’t tip her off she definitely knew I was internally freaking out. She offered to have the doctor come in first if that would make me more comfortable and I declined.

I was left alone to undress, it feels really weird to take off your pants in an office with fluorescent lighting, after a minute the doctor knocked then came in (there’s also a curtain in front of the door so nobody walking past can just see you pants-less) she was a very kind woman who asked me some questions about it being my first time, at this point I was prepared to say my demands but I was very shocked when she beat me to it! She outright offered the smallest speculum and said “I’m going to show you the tools, we’ll talk through the procedure, and we’ll decide if a Pap smear is something we want to do today” which made me instantly feel so much better. My other surprise was how SMALL the smallest speculum was! It was about the size of my pointer finger. If it had been larger I honestly don’t know if I could have done the procedure but once I realized it was tiny I knew it’d be ok. (Also side note: it feels really weird to talk with someone while pants-less and holding a big napkin over your crotch)

I was instructed to lay on the exam table, which was really low to the ground when I got on it then raised up like a dentists chair, the little foot holds popped out from underneath it and I was instructed to put my feet in the holds and scoot all the way to the edge, I kept looking at the doctor through this and was told that during the exam I would have to look up at the ceiling. She warned me before even the slightest touch (“I’m going to put my hand on your thigh now”) asked if I was ready, when I said yes she inserted the speculum, which felt weird but not painful, it didn’t even feel painful when it opened. Just strange. Then the doctor took a cell scraping which felt REALLY weird for a part of the body not used to that sensation at all. It felt scratchy and then for a brief second their was a bit of pain (I’d rate like a 3 out of 10) and I thought “if this lasts any longer I can’t do this” but it was really only a split second and the worst moment was also the end. The speculum was quickly removed making the Pap smear a total of like 30 seconds max. Then the doctor told me she would check my uterus and ovaries and (still maintaining consent and giving warning) inserted a finger and pressed with her other hand hard on my stomach, this didn’t hurt either and the pressure/rubbing on my stomach made it so I wasn’t thinking about her other hand at all! Then I was allowed to sit up again, close my legs, the doctor asked if I had any questions and I was out of there!

Anyway hopefully this can help someone out there I tried to include all the details I had wanted while doing frantic research before hand, if you’re in the same boat, you can do this!

[themori-witch]

As per request by a lovely anon, here are some general updates about me and my life:

I adopted four female rats from the RSPCA last year. It took some work but they are very sweet and silly. Their names are Tali, Liara, Kasumi, and Aria.

Due to an incident in which I was lied to by the employee of a major retailer about two of the rats in their adoption centre, Kasumi and Aria ended up pregnant. I now have 6 beautiful little baby rats as a result. They're gorgeous and doing very well, as are the mothers. They're 5 weeks old.

I'm still in a relationship with my lovely gamer boyfriend. We'll be celebrating 7 years together this year. 💕

Health stuff... I'll try to condense this:

- After a barrage of tests, cameras, scans, and more, I was officially told that I have severe Gastroparesis, which we all but knew. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the end of it. No further appointments, no medication to help symptoms - nothing. I was very much left to fend for myself, and that led to two hospitalizations, one in December of 2023 and one in February of 2024.

- December wasn't unfamiliar territory: 20 hours of vomiting and being unable to keep anything down led to my blood sugars being extremely high (Diabeyic Ketoacidosis). I stayed in for a few days after the DKA cleared up for monitoring.

- February was... terrifying. Started off the same as December with ceaseless vomiting, but the vomit turned to blood, and I could not stop bringing it up. Couldn't move, keep anything down, vision loss and lots, and lots of bringing up blood. I was in agony. I was rushed to A&E, where I was given anti-emetics and pain relief regularly through the many IVs I had in. Once the vomiting stopped, I was faced with another issue: my oesophagus was so inflamed and damaged that I couldn't eat or drink. I was kept in for 5 days and told that I was at risk of refeeding syndrome as I'd not eaten properly for about 3 days prior to admission. Luckily, that didn't happen, mostly because I was physically incapable of having more than a spoonful of yoghurt or mashed potato for over a week. We found out via my discharge papers that I'd had an Upper GI Haemorrhage. Scary scary scary. One good thing did happen after this admission, though! The team caring for me were absolutely outraged that I'd just been ignored since diagnosis, and I was sent home with an array of medication that has really helped me to get a handle on my symptoms during a flare up.

- Oh! I managed to catch Covid-19 quite literally on Yule and was very sick throughout New Year. I am vaccinated but caught a strain from Finland from a family member who had been there just before Yule.

I got another tattoo! It's one that I've wanted for almost a decade and I thought, given the stuff I've dealt with in the last 4 months, I deserve a treat.

[on-a-lucky-tide]

Post-Surgery Day 35 (but three days late)

cw: surgery, bodies, medical

- Good news! The wound separation in my nipple has healed closed and scarred up, and all the scabs are gone. I'm so, so frickin' happy and glad I kept my anxiety in check over it. There were so many times I wanted to pull the scab away and see the damage, or send a billion questions to the surgeon. But I trusted what the nurse told me to do, and it's fine.

- I've been a biiiit naughty with the reaching and the stretching and I've got a bit of a ache in my ribs, like, just beneath the incision? I think it's muscular in that I've obviously been hunched over and fairly stationary while I heal. I figure I'll be getting some physio and exercises after my appointment in a week. The incisions are fine and neat AF, I can't remember whether I mentioned that the part under my arms is already so faint? I thought I'd need to get some tattoos to camouflage it but I don't think I will.

- Still chonk. Sigh.

- I am exhausted after my first week (and a half) back at work. I've been relatively good and not lifting stuff too heavy, or reaching too high. My colleagues have been awesome, and I mean awesome. I've received so many hugs and big smiles; they genuinely missed me, which... I'm actually shocked? I didn't realise how much healing I still have to do in terms of self worth. The damage done by a handful of people a year or so ago has clearly impacted quite deep. But, anyways, people keep coming up to me to tell me their kid is trans or non-binary or gay, or they know someone who is, or their kid's partner is... They are so excited about it.

- I have had one encounter with someone I think has terfy leanings. It was an assessor from a training body we use for our trainee teachers. She kept using my deadname, even though her institution has been updated. Now, I need these teachers to pass so I bit my lip. My headteacher, however, a big Welsh dude, informed her that if she couldn't address his teachers with respect she could leave the premises. I was... shocked. So was she. I was named appropriately for the rest of the day, and when I thanked him later he just said that some people have no class, and ambled off to herd some kids. 🤣

- My driving license came through! That's the second government body that has acknowledged my new name and gender. My bank is sorted too. I'm going to sort out the mortgage (second bank, land registry), the vehicles (car and bike) and my passport. The passport I am worried about because I've reached that they can be picky about the GIC. We'll see.

- I am delivering a conference for the first time tomorrow as myself and I'm actually a little bit nervous? I don't think anything of talking to rooms full of 100s, usually. I'm an expert in my field and that's why I'm there. But. As me now? The person I've had to keep protected and quiet for years? Scary.

- Six more days until my final appointment with my surgeon. I hope I get good grades in healing so I can go back to the gym. :3

[hydeingpurples]

Hey man! I always love hearing about others’ transition. I’m a trans guy myself who is just now identifying that way very recently and is navigating getting ready to start T and top surgery whenever I’m able as I am saving up. I’d love to hear about your journey and where you are now. 😊

🏳️‍⚧️ Testosterone and Top Surgery 🏳️‍⚧️ (UK) : Discovering Myself, Hormones, Top surgery, Where I Am Now

Hey buddy! I'm more than happy to tell my story so far. I'll pack as much into this post as I can, as it may be helpful to others too, so it may be a bit long, but I'll do it in sections 😊

🕵🏻 Discovering Myself 🧐

This bit was tough. I think it is for a lot of us. I knew deep down for several years that I wasn't a girl. I was terrified of the thoughts that were buzzing around my head, terrified of the things I was feeling. I buried it so deep. At university, I started to let go a bit. Friends around me came out as non-binary and trans, I figured it wasn't so bad. I experimented with pronouns and identities, and eventually I admitted to myself that I was just a guy. I came out to my family aged 21 by letter and it went really well.

Things were still a bit scary though. Trying a binder on for the first time was both exciting and daunting. It felt so freeing and right, but scary too because it meant that, maybe, I needed to get rid of my chest.

💊 Hormones 💉

Over time, the dysphoria got worse and worse. I was becoming extremely jealous of my best friend who was on testosterone (T) and features that other men had that I didn't. I struggled most with my period. At its worst, I spent hours in my flat toilet and the toilets at work crying and withering in disgust and vile discomfort. I'll never forget those feelings.

I knew I'd make it to the other end though one day because my friend had. And, fortunately, April 2023, that day came.

📝 Testosterone Prescription 😄

After jumping through a load of loopholes and sending my blood tests off, my GP/Doctor booked me an appointment. I thought it was just to talk to me about my blood tests.

I sat down and he talked to me for a bit. Nothing much, nothing special. Then, he started printing something out. He whipped it from the printer and handed me this lil slip of paper. It was a prescription letter.

You know how people say the world can stop? Or go in slow motion? That's exactly what happened. I must have spent an entire lifetime staring down in silence, in awe, at this little piece of paper. My eyes were welling up with joy. I looked at him and all I could do was thank him, over and over and over again. A great smile beamed on his face.

Upon leaving, everything was blurry. It was like I had tunnel vision. All I could see was this piece of paper. I stormed out of the building, called my Mom, and violently cried with joy.

"Slow down, I can't understand you", she said.

"I've got it. I've got it. I have a testosterone prescription!" I spluttered.

It took me a while to calm down, haha. I've never been so joyous.

🌱 Testosterone Effects Timeline 📊

⚠️Please note everyone's changes, intensity of changes, and rates of changes are different⚠️

Week 1: no voice drop, but my throat felt different; increased discharge downstairs; a little sweatier and took me longer to cool down.

Week 2-3: some hot flashes but not many; needed bigger meals.

After 1 month: period stopped (🥳); small amount of increased hair growth on legs; head hair started growing faster; more and slightly more intense hot flashes; subtle voice changes, easier to talk at my lowest level.

2 months: stamina increase, longer work time and shorter recovery time; voice slightly deeper; upper lip hair started coming through darker; increased peach fuzz hair growth on face, arms, legs, stomach, especially legs; increased spots on back.

Up to 6 months: how I felt and processed emotions changed (found it A LOT easier to process emotions, less chaotic mind); even more hair growth and a few random beard hairs; further stamina increase; my sweat and pee changed how they smelt which was weird; further voice changes; sometimes I had sudden bouts of strong hunger but not often.

Up to 12 months: increased downstairs discharge stopped; even more body hair (thicker, darker, curly), especially on legs; a few more beard hairs on chin; back spots decreased; voice a little deeper; face shape changes, boarder shoulders.

Up to 17 months (now): almost every area on my legs is hair; hair growth on butt and up butt; a few more beard hairs (that grow back pretty quick after shaving); warmer, more and longer got flashes, difficulties cooling down (I'm also extremely heat averse though so 🤷🏻); masculinising hairline (i.e receding at the front to look more masculine); much more noticeable voice changes, difficulties reaching higher tones, much easier to talk low.

Extra: I haven't experienced any bottom growth or change in libido at all. I've identified as asexual for a while now and still do, no changes at all. It's fairly common to experience bottom growth and some report a change in libido too, I just haven't 🤷🏻

🧑🏻‍⚕️ Top Surgery 😷 - double incision

I was terrified I wasn't going to get to this stage. I moved from Wales to England and both have different medical systems, so I was petrified of my surgery referral getting lost.

Fortunately, it didn't get lost. Once it was booked in, I had my consultation where I met the surgeon and her team, I was measured, told about the process and what could go wrong and what the solutions were.

Now I had a new fear: was this right? The self doubt was ridiculous. What if I regretted it? What if I hated my results?

The morning of the surgery answered these questions. My plan was that if it felt wrong on the morning, I knew I had the power to back out.

At 8:30am I was called to my surgery. I wrapped my arms around my Mom, a giant smile swallowing my face, and I said, "see you later!", and pranced down the corridor with the nurse. I was SO excited.

Going under anaesthetic was perfectly alright. It was insanely fast which I wasn't expecting. They started the anaesthetic and all I had time for was a few sentences before I was out.

🛏️ Recovery 🏥

💫I've got a big list of tips and tricks for top surgery recovery which might be best for another post because it's huge💫

Recovery actually wasn't too bad. When I woke up, the only discomfort I felt was a prickly feeling around the surgery site which they quickly sorted with painkillers. The day after anaesthetic was a bit rocky, I slept a lot and felt a bit icky, basically like a hangover. After that, all I felt was a dull aching in my abdomen for 3/4 days, otherwise no pain. I couldn't actually feel anything around my nipples or incisions, it was totally numb. The trickiest part was actually keeping myself busy so my Tourette's didn't damage the surgery site.

Once things had healed up a bit more and my stitches were out/dissolved away, I really started to appreciate my new chest. Unlike some people, I didn't have a super euphoria moment. For me, it's simply been total peace and relief since. I no longer think about my chest in any capacity. It feels natural, normal, right, and that, to me, means it was absolutely the right decision. It was what I needed.

🙋🏻 Where am I Now? 🙋🏻

It's been just over 10 months since my top surgery and my scars are fading very well. I'm very happy with the results. I've regained a substantial amount of sensation too in both my nipples and the incision scars. I've done a huge amount of scary care which I'm happy to talk about in another post so this one doesn't get any longer.

I'm fortunate enough to have had all of my records changed, I have a male passport, and I recently passed my driving test and have a full driver's license with my new name on it!

But, I think more importantly, I now feel more confident, I care about what I wear and how I look, I've found my style and what I like to wear, I look after my personal hygiene, and I feel like myself.

And that is where I am now 😊

I hope you've found this helpful in some way. There's a lot of information here. It was nice to type that story out. If you'd like anything else in more detail or have any questions, go for it!

[triforce-of-mischief]

ok kids, it's time to get some facts straight about the pediatrician.

as a big sister with a history of trypanophobia and related medical trauma, i don't want anybody else to go through what i did. these may not technically be examples of classic abuse, but too many factors of my trauma have been normalized to the point that i didn't question any of it until i was in college. if it's safe for you to do so, please talk to a trusted adult if you can relate to any of these issues. you deserve to be treated right 💜

one more note: "kid" refers to anybody visiting the pediatrician, everybody up to 18 years old usually

normal: a kid is nervous about going to the doctor

not normal: a kid suffers from chronic nightmares, anxiety, and panic attacks for a prolonged amount of time (weeks before an appointment, years after a traumatic visit)

normal: a kid has high blood pressure when entering the doctor's office due to anxiety

not normal: a nurse lies to a kid ("you won't need vaccines today") in an attempt to lower their blood pressure

normal: a kid is given a consent form asking if they're comfortable with the doctor checking their private parts

not normal: a kid's guardian forces them to sign "yes" and consent to the doctor checking their private parts

normal: a doctor asks a kid's guardian to leave the room for a few minutes during the exam so the kid can ask questions they don't feel comfortable asking around their guardian

not normal: a kid's guardian is not asked to leave the room during the exam, and the kid is not given the opportunity to ask questions they don't feel comfortable asking around their guardian

normal: a kid is scared of vaccines, and resorts to their 'fight reflex'

not normal: a kid is not taught any coping strategies for fear or offered any comfort during a scary procedure

normal: a kid is hugged or held by their guardian (or even a nurse) during a scary procedure

not normal: a kid is immediately pinned down/physically restrained by their guardian and/or one or more nurses during a scary procedure

^note: this will be near-impossible to negotiate during the procedure, as fear and logic do not mix well. if you can, try to make a plan before an appointment with your trusted adult in case you panic before/during a procedure so their first resort isn't to restrain you

normal: a kid is comforted and their fear is validated after a scary procedure

not normal: a kid is invalidated, shamed, and ridiculed for their fear, privately or publicly

ideal: if a kid is anxious about vaccines, they will receive them at the beginning of the exam or on a separate day entirely so their nerves do not interfere with the appointment

not ideal: vaccines are always administered at the end of the appointment, prolonging a kid's anxiety and messing with their mood and responses during the exam

^note: this may be even harder to negotiate, as your trusted adult may not want to schedule an extra appointment and the nurses will likely be rigid in their routine

remember: your feelings are valid, your trauma is real, and your consent is yours to give. no matter how young you are, your rights shouldn't be buried under people believing that you're just a kid who doesn't know better. i may not always have advice, but i'm here if you need somebody who can sympathize 💜

[asteria7fics]

i’m in a deep blue state but i don’t even feel 100% safe and confident that that will mean anything. it’s scary. i scheduled an appointment out of panic to get an 8 year iud in a couple days just in case he steamrolls our state laws. if they wanna take away my right to choose they can physically pry it from my cold dead uterus. sometimes i feel like i’m overreacting but then i don’t??? like so much is unknown right now and it’s terrifying. my heart breaks even more for vulnerable people in the red states. we really failed so many marginalized americans last night. horrible.

This feels like an appropriate time to tell you goobers a little story. Strap in, it gets a little personal.

When Roe v. Wade was overturned it felt like the final nail in the coffin for me. I had been on the pill for over a decade at that point, and while it helped a ton with managing my periods I also knew I didn’t want to be on the thing forever. I had also known since I was a teenager that I absolutely did not want to have children of my own.

So I did research, talked to my ob/gyn and got an appointment with a surgeon that I knew would be willing to perform a tubal ligation on someone my age (27 at the time). I found their name via this resource, and asked for them specifically.

So… yeah, I got sterilized.

Now I’m not going to sit here and say that this is the right choice for everyone. Though I’d looked into it for years prior, I knew the likelihood of being able to get this elective surgery was low if I attempted to before I turned 25. I’d heard so many stories of women being stonewalled by their doctors because they didn’t have children and “might change their minds”. I was extremely fortunate to have very good doctors.

I was scared shitless of going down for surgery, but I was even more scared of the possibility of not having a choice in becoming a parent.

But everything went fine. It was laparoscopic, so I only have two tiny scars and some really cool, high def pictures of my insides. The first week of recovery was uncomfortable, but the second week was fine. I actually started watching South Park during that second week, and… well, here we are.

I live in a state that, as it currently stands, has decently progressive abortion rights. That could change though. All I have to do is drive down the road to see how many people in my area voted against my rights and will likely do so again.

All of this to say, do what you feel is right while you have the choice to do so. An IUD isn’t permanent, so if you think you may ever change your mind and decide to have children I say go for it, panic response or not. I have zero regrets about my choice, and I would do it all over again if I had to without a second thought.

There is absolutely no shame in doing what you feel you need to in order to protect your lifestyle. Grandma Teri fully supports you, my dear anon.