#then the other doctor thinks I have pcos or endometriosis

[leetaeiil]

The lord said to me babygirl there is gonna be so much wrong with you <3

[chaithetics]

Oscar Isaac Boys with Period, Endo and PCOS Reader HCs

Pairing: Multiple Oscar Isaac characters (Steven Grant, Marc Spector, Jake Lockley, Abel Morales, Nathan Bateman, Cecil Dennis, Laurent LeClaire, Basil Stitt, Santiago Garcia, Anselm Vogelweide) x AFAB reader Word count: 2.2K Dividers by: @saradika-graphics Warnings: Periods, endometriosis, chronic pain, PCOS, non-specified shitty medical experiences, pretty much all fluff though douchebag Laurent mention sorry. No pronouns or body descriptions are used for reader. A/N: I hope you all enjoy this! It's just fluffy blainrot because the endo/post-lap hasn't been great. Reblogs and comments are encouraged and appreciated! 🫶 Tagging: @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction

Steven Grant

Steven researches endometriosis, PCOS, adenomyosis and period pains. He learns about all of the different types of treatment plans. He learns about dietary changes that can help with inflammation and that other people diagnosed with these conditions have said have helped him. He goes down a rabbit hole of different PCOS recipes and dietary lifestyles, Steven ends up knowing of more PCOS blogs on every platform than you do by the end of that fixation. 

He’s so sweet, there’s been many days where you’ve come home at the end of the day and been greeted with an endearing “Love, I found this new recipe, I thought we could try it for dinner? It has the PCOS and the vegan stamps of approval!” 

Steven is also a great listener, it’s easy to tell him about how long it took to get a diagnosis, how much doctors don’t seem to care and are keen to dismiss you, to tell you birth control is your only pain management option or that you’re anxious and it’s all in your head. He’s horrified by this, he never judges or condescends and talking to him is always validating. 

During your periods, he’ll happily cuddle up with you and attentively watch all your comfort shows and films, especially the guilty pleasure ones. He loves it. Steven finds good books and podcasts for you on the days of your period when you just want to stay in bed. He’ll read to you as a distraction, you find it cute, especially when it’s a mythology or historical book, his passion and excitement drips through more when he reads those books to you. He’s a sweetheart that’s always there for you.

Abel Morales

Abel will have every appointment of yours in his calendar, written in pen, he attends with you for support and as an extra voice to advocate on your behalf. Which he absolutely does. He has no issue speaking up if doctors are ever dismissive, especially when you’re met with a cold one. He’s spent his whole life trying to be taken seriously and to perfect his image. He knows how to use his eloquent words and charming people skills to get a doctor to do their job better and for you to have better healthcare. You both know that having him, a man in the room, makes it much easier for you and your pain to be taken seriously. 

In the evenings during flare ups, Abel sits in bed and quietly holds you. He’ll press gentle and loving kisses to your forehead and the top of your head and rub your back in slow circles while you nap or are curled up on him in pain. He hates seeing you in pain but he knows being there is important for you and it’s also important for him as a partner. It never gets easier for him to see you in pain though but Abel will never complain about getting to spend more time cuddling you so tightly.

Nathan Bateman

When you first start dating you tell him you have endometriosis, it’s something that’ll come up eventually for any relationship that goes anywhere, even a casual one. You think it’s better to rip the band-aid off sooner than later. Nathan takes it in casually, like you’ve just told him what your favourite condiment is. It surprises you to say the least. 

Nathan spends the next day scouring through numerous medical journals in order to become a human encyclopaedia on endometriosis and everything relating to the uterus and other reproductive conditions. If you’ve been medically cleared safe for a TENS machine, he doesn’t even spend a full afternoon building you one and it is the best one you’ve ever used, it becomes a regular essential in your pain management kit. 

The highest ranking and most expensive medical practitioners in the field are flown out to the compound for every symptom and condition. The top pelvic physiotherapists come out, the gynaecologists. You want a dietician to try a diet to help with inflammation and bloating? They’re already on a helicopter. You want to try acupuncture? Again, they’re already on a helicopter. A massage therapist? Again, they’re already on a helicopter to the compound before you can even finish that request. There’s a room in the compound that he had modelled for you and these appointments to essentially be the fanciest hospital room you’ve ever been in. Nathan has no issue throwing money and technological innovations at any issues your uterus might give you, it’s a way of showing he cares, he’s arrogant and he can be infuriating but he loves you and will use his brain and bank account to prove it.

Jake Lockley

Whenever you have a negative experience with a doctor he happily offers to go down and take out that practitioner, sometimes he’ll make a scalpel joke even though he prefers a gun as a weapon. You’re not always sure if he’sjoking or not… Maybe it’s better to not know, plausible deniability and all. 

He absolutely pampers you, every time you have a period, whenever there’s a cramp. Jake pampers you like you’re the most precious thing in the world, which is what you are to him. He makes you hot tea, soups, runs baths, puts on your favourite and comfort films. Jake offers to do things like brushing your hair for you and loves it. Jake pampers you! PAMPERS YOU!

Laurent LeClaire

Don’t. Just don’t. Sure, he’d be cute the first time you had your period and he’d happily offer period sex as a method of relief. But after the second period or flareup he’d attempt to gaslight you and say your symptoms or your pain being psychological. Then Jake Lockley would find a way to teach him a lesson.

Santiago Garcia

Santi’s long career has made him a master in observation and strategy, Santiago seemed to have a better understanding of your body than any period tracking app you’d tried to use, and not in a Tom Wamsgams baby-trap kind of way. More of a he was better at recognising the patterns, symptoms and remembering details than you were. Especially when the pain gave you brain fog. He picks up on the slightest details and after the first couple of months of dating you, he had a fine eye for pain. Whenever he spots the start of a flare up or painful period he goes straight into that mode, he checks in with you about pain meds, he gets heating pads ready for you and cuddles up with you on the couch or in bed while you curl yourself around one, runs baths and showers. 

He has a plan in place for everything; when pain or a symptom is at a dreaded emergency department trip, when pain is flaring up. There’s a plan made for each appointment with symptoms that have been flaring up, objectives of what to get out of the appointment. Santiago learns what your boundaries and limits are, he’s big on pacing with you and not pushing yourself to do more than what you can handle or what will push you too far and lead to following pain days. He really encourages this for you, something he doesn’t do so well for himself and his knees. 

Whenever Santi tags along with you to an appointment he’s great at asking follow up questions, especially if a doctor is being a dick. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming when you’re in appointments, especially when a doctor is talking, it’s easy to forget what’s been said as soon as you get home. Santiago always remembers every word that’s been said if you ever forget or want to double check. He’s an extremely practical partner and strong support. 

Basil Stitt

Basil will have a panic attack, he’ll quickly google ‘period symptoms’, he doesn’t remember if people get cravings on their periods too or if that’s just pregnancy, or is it neither? Just something else he’s thinking of? No, he’s overthinking it. 

During said panic attack, Basil will then do an uber eats order with several different types of chocolate and he’ll run to the kitchen to see what teas he has as Google mentioned peppermint tea several times. After checking the kitchen and making a mess in the cupboard and on the countertop during his search, he’ll order another box of it anyway just to be safe. Basil also is the guy who orders three different boxes of pads and tampons because he’s not sure what you prefer and he wants you to have options. Insert ‘What’s your pussy size, babe?’ meme, that’s Basil. 

Anselm Vogelweide

All anxiety evaporates from his body when you just want to cuddle on the couch with him, watch some weird movies and order pizza and drink tea. He smiles and completely lights up when you tell him you like the flavour of the chocolate he ordered. 

Going forward there’s a cupboard under the basin in his bathroom filled with various boxes of pads, tampons, and he eventually gets to the stage where he confidently has your period orders down and preferences of products. He’s quietly but goofily proud of the fact that he now knows your pussy size.

Anselm completely understands chronic pain from his own lived experience. You never have to apologise for a bad pain day, cancelling plans because your uterus is trying to kill you, when you need to spend all day in bed or in the bath to try and relieve pain and bloating. He completely gets that, he makes sure you have the softest and freshest pillows and blankets, bubbles, epsom salts, bath bombs etc. Whatever you could wish for to make you more comfortable. You no longer feel guilty for the things you used to before relating to having a chronic illness and terrible periods. You’re understood, seen but also pampered beyond what’s comprehensible. 

Anselm immediately finds a team of the best professionals, new studies and treatments, both conventional and experimental, are quickly and quietly funded and greenlit. He offers you a world of treatment options you’d never considered or knew existed.  Anselm always has his estate stocked with pain medication, all the drugs, drugs you’ve never heard of, drugs a normal prescription definitely wouldn’t get you. There’s medications and all the different options of treatment and pain management you could imagine available at the estate, hydrotherapy pools, massage chairs, massage therapists, sensory relaxation rooms, saunas, staff are there to cook all your favourite and comfort meals. Are you in pain and sad and needing cuddles with animals? Don’t worry, Anselm has a room being turned into a barn and a third cousin twice removed bringing a petting zoo over for any cuteness needs you might have. They should be there in five minutes. 

Marc Spector

And if there somehow isn’t something there that you want, don’t worry, you just need to ask if he doesn’t read your mind first and then it’ll be moments away because Anselm can afford anything and everything and he always knows a guy.

Marc knew periods weren’t a walk in the park and were uncomfortable but it wasn’t until dating you and being around somebody with endometriosis and chronic physical pain did he realise how bad it could be. 

The first time you had an endo flare up, it had really woken him up to that reality. He couldn’t help but grimace at seeing how you transformed from your usual self to being hurled over in pain. It freaked him out and his mind had panicked over the thought of this being your reality multiple times a year. It never gets easier for him to see you in pain or discomfort but he starts to find it easier to respond and be more present during flare ups. 

He’s extremely observant, especially when it comes to you. He quickly learns how your facial expressions shift when you have a migraine, he closes all the curtains and turns the lights off. When you curl over on yourself in pain he’s there with a heat pad within minutes. When you screw your face up and say you’re nauseous he’s immediately there with a bucket on the side of the bed. During one of your worst flares when you’d been throwing up, he hadn’t even complained once. He’d helped you feel clean afterwards, there were no comments that made you feel bad and he cleaned the bucket out so it wasn’t something you’d have to worry about. Marc found it much easier to show up and do these acts than to be the verbally reassuring type, he shows up and these acts of service and care make you feel supported, loved and cared for.

Cecil Dennis

“Babe, do you wanna get high?” 

“I read about cannabis and chronic pain, there’s honestly so many articles on the internet about it.” 

Gets just as upset as you do when you're in pain, quite possibly cries more than you do whenever a flare up is happening. He'll watch films with you and he buys a CBD ointment and offers to rub it on your abdomen while you’re cuddled up in bed.

I’ll stop there, I’m sorry.

[theereina]

Bad News Pt. 2

Pairing: Terry Richmond x Plus Size Fem Black!OC "Bella"

Wordcount: +1.4K

Warnings: MDNI (18+) mature content, such as cursing, no smut, heavily dialogue-centered, mental health mentioned (anxiety), *emotional distress*, angst, heartbreak, chronic illnesses mentioned, health conditions mentioned (c*ncer, PCOS, endometriosis), infertility, slight verbal ab*se

A/N¹: Remember, I just got back into writing. I'm open to critiques, but I am a little 🤏🏽 sensitive about my writing. Please, don't be too harsh.🥺 Feel free to bring my attention to any typos. Divider by @firefly-graphics. Also, this work is not to be plagiarized or reposted (on any site other than here on Tumblr). I do NOT give consent for any form of republishing or rewriting.

A/N²: I am not a medical doctor. Please, forgive me if my knowledge of any of the mentioned medical conditions is incorrect.

Bad News Pt. 1=> 😢

Walking into the room, my heart was crushed even further. All of the feelings I wish I could explain; I couldn't. Terry and his bags were gone. I hadn't even heard him leave. He didn't even care enough to at least say goodbye. After all these years, I wasn't worth a goodbye. Two seconds just solidified that this relationship wasn't worth any more of my energy.

I couldn't understand it. How did we get here? Had he always been like this? Was I that blind? I guess I was so busy trying to find love that I forgot the most important rule— love wasn't supposed to hurt. Then again, every version of love I've experienced was painful, manipulative, abusive, and damaging. So, maybe I found what I was familiar with. I mean, why else would I be so comfortable putting up with this?

But, what do I do now?

*2 hours later

The room was covered in crumpled and torn pieces of notebook paper. I have tried and tried to write this letter. My hands were stiff, and my head was throbbing. I just wanted him to know how I felt because my mind was already made up. I'm done, and this is over.

If he would've just listened, we wouldn't be in this predicament. If he hadn't said those words, there would still be hope in my eyes and love in my heart.

Better yet, fuck this and fuck him. He doesn't deserve a letter. This doesn't concern him anymore. I've already changed my flight for tomorrow morning. I leave on the first flight out. Since I no longer have anything to say to him, there is no need to wait. I can return to the West Coast and be at home with my Godmother and Godsister when I receive the news.

*The next day

“I will never like flying’. I don't care!” I said stepping out of the bathroom after showering. I was dressed in a pair of sweats and a plain black T-shirt. I had wrapped a scarf around my head to protect my hair during my shower.

My Godsister, Shante, was waiting for me. She was relaxed on the bed with her back against the headboard. Her satin black bonnet and black fluffy robe made her look so much like her grandmother. “What?” she asked turning her head towards me. “You look like Nana Elsie!” I laughed into my hand. “Shut up!” she said slinging one of the pillows at me.

I walked to the bed and sat on the edge closest to me. I was tired. I knew why she was in here. She wanted to make sure I was okay. Honestly, I wasn't. My life was shit right now. Leaving Terry was just another stab to the heart. All I could do was pray to God that I didn't lose anymore. I couldn't possibly see myself being any lower than this.

“You wanna talk?” Shante asked rolling on her side facing my back. “Not really, I just wanna wait until they call,” I said solemnly. My shoulders were beginning to feel heavy again. I didn't want to think about what the doctor would say. I already knew this day was coming.

After years of medical neglect and misdiagnoses, I was finally given a proper diagnosis of both endometriosis and PCOS. I had been ignored for years when I complained of a forever-growing mountain of signs that something was wrong. I was told to “lose weight” to alleviate my symptoms. When I lost the weight, nothing changed. Some symptoms even seemed to get worse.

I had grown tired of all the referrals and guesses. I had explained to my original primary care physician years ago that I suspected that I had PCOS. It was dismissed as anxiety and medical hysteria. I tried again with three other physicians to be met with the same fate— try to lose weight, take this metformin, exercise daily, change your diet, etc.

This could have been treated years ago if someone would have just listened.

*3 hours later

I was in the kitchen eating when my cell phone rang. I picked it up thinking it was the call I had been dreading. I was eager to get this over with. Just say it, and let's move on.

“Hello, this is Bella,” I mumbled into the phone. I was on the edge again. Trying my hardest to breathe and stay calm. “Bell, where are you?” asked Terry. “Terry?” I asked pulling the phone away from my ear and looking at it. Fuck! Why didn't I look before answering? Why didn't I block him?

“Bella, I'm s—,” he started to speak before I interrupted him. “Save it. I… I don't care anymore,” I said through tears. “Bells, I was—,” he started again. “No,” I said sobbing into the phone. “Could you just—!” he yelled into the phone. That was it. I didn't have to deal with this. I hung up the phone and laid it on the table in front of me.

Pushing the plate away, I laid across my arms crying with my head down. My Godmother and Godsister were both gone to work. That left me alone once again with my emotions— all of them.

ring ring ring

Not again. I picked up the phone in anger. “I don't want to talk to you!” I screamed into the phone. “Isabella? It's Dr. Moore. We need to speak about scheduling your surgery immediately,” he said in a startled tone. “I'm sorry, Dr. Moore. I'm having a…,” I said taking a deep breath. “I can call back if—,” he said. “No!” I blurted out. “Sorry. Please, tell me now,” I whimpered. I was flying between emotions faster than my body could manage.

“Well, honey. I'm sorry to bring you such bad news at this time, but we're going to need to remove your left ovary. The cysts were quite large, and… Unfortunately, the biopsy indicated they were cancerous. The safest option is to remove the affected ovary and all endometriosis deposits. Later on, we can discuss any further changes,” he said. “Changes?” I questioned while sniffling. “If it progresses any further, we may have to perform a hysterectomy.” Dr. Moore continued to talk, but I had dissociated from the conversation. This was it.

My mind was overflowing with questions. Will I be able to have kids? Would this even get rid of the cancer? If it did, would it come back? Would life ever be normal for me?

I don't know. I'll probably never know.

*Later in the day

ring ring ring

Hours had passed since the call ended. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to think. I had planned my whole life around me and Terry's relationship— kids, a house, a minivan, a dog, all of it. Now, everything was gone. Maybe my mother was right, I am cursed.

ring ring ring

“Who is it?” I sobbed into the phone. “It's me, Bella. Baby, can you please just listen to me?” Terry pleaded over the phone. “Why, huh? What’s there to listen to? You said everything you needed to say,” I yelled. All of my feelings were being overshadowed by my anger.

“I didn't mean it, Bella. That wasn't supposed to happen. I love you. You know that!” Terry yelled. “I don't know that, Terry. If you loved me, you wouldn't have said it. You meant it with all your fucking heart. You stood on it when you left without saying a word. No goodbye. No sorry. Nothing. That's not love,” I blurted out. I was beyond tired of holding my tongue. “Stop being so fuckin' childish right now and use your brain. You're always so damn emoti—,” he said cutting himself off. “Nah, say it! I'm too fucking emotional, huh? Ain't that right, Terry?” I screamed again. Tears were streaming down my face falling onto the kitchen table.

“I’m always sick, and… and I'm… I'm always emotional. That's what you… that's what you said, right? THEN, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU WITH ME?!” I screamed as loud as I could. I threw the phone across the room. It hit the wall and shattered. Good. No more phone calls. No more doctors. No more — Terry.

Taglist: @avoidthings @brattyfics @slutsareteacherstoo @pocketsizedpanther

@nahimjustfeelingit-writes @blowmymbackout @5headsupremacist @creartivefairy

@insidefeelingofanadult @revealingco @keyaho @jimmybutlrr @gg-trini

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@ittsstephanieee @beenathembo @blyffe @thegreatlibraryofalex @persethegawd

[martian-astro10]

we were studying about schizotypal personality disorder, and it's so weird, cuz they went "If you like spending time alone you have this" "if your ideas are different from others you have this" like, BE SO FOR REAL RIGHT NOW. It's literally a big money making pharmaceutical thingy and nobody can convince me otherwise. This is how they create this herd mentality, and I hate how nobody questions it, like nobody finds it weird?? It's literally not a disorder. There are a lot of mental disorders but this is not it, atp, they're just creating new things that don't even exist. Create new things, diagnose people with it and give them placebo medicines, great idea, isn't it?

I honestly hate hate hate how people don't use their brains, like if allopathy was so advanced and so great then why haven't they managed to find a cure for endometriosis. why have they not been able to create a birth control without side effects. why is it that they haven't been able to find a cure for thyroid? they give you a medicine for it and then you just have to keep on taking it for your entire life or they recommend removing your thyroid. why is it that their every solution consists of taking out the body part that has the problem instead of healing it??

It's annoying how people just believe stuff without ever questioning it. There are so many disorders that aren't even disorders. so many women are diagnosed with BPD despite them not actually having it. I do believe in vaccinations, and autism and adhd but I also don't believe in a lot of other stuff, it really doesn't make sense to me. I know so many girls who have such severe period pains despite not having pcos or endometriosis and the doctors just go "oh well, it's normal", like no the fuck, it's not. You shouldn't be having period cramps to the point where you are unable to do daily activities, and the fact that doctors just normalize it is absolutely baffling to me. the worst part is that the girls don't seem to give a shit about their body either, like, they have period pains and immediately swallow a BC pill, like your body is trying to tell you something, the severe cramps are an indication of a more serious underlying issue and you're just suppressing it. I started the discussion from god knows where, I don't even know how I reached this point, I'm just so pissed about everything. Also, stop taking Birth control as a method of contraception. They stop ovulation in a lot of cases, it's a very important process of the female body, stopping it is literally not healthy, GOSH. if your man refuses to wear condoms, throw the whole fucking man away, he doesn't care about you. there are many condoms made of good material that do not cause itching in the vagina, and lastly please educate yourselves. I'm not telling you to learn everything from google but rather telling you to study traditional medicine, I studied ayurveda and chinese medicine and have been able to solve every problem with it. You can believe me or choose not to, It's not like I can force somebody to do something, give it a try atleast. it will take longer to solve the problem, but that's because it actually "heals" instead of numbing the pain, and healing always takes time. Other than that..........what can I say.

my anger has subsided, reading this dsm pisses me off so much. almost all the disorders are most likely to be more common in women, I seriously wonder why..............Homosexuality was categorised as a mental health disorder once......lobotomy was considered to be normal......these fuckers also used to think that babies couldn't feel pain, so they used to perform surgeries without Anesthesia on them........this kind of thing never happened in ancient india........I refuse to believe anything that these idiots say

It's a "pseudoscience" ofc it is, anything that provides a solution and doesn't require a person to become a life long patient so you can extort money from them is a pseudoscience, dickheads.

[femsolid]

sorry of topic but what was the cause of your fainting during periods? I developed extreme pain, bleeding and also fainting from now irregular periods after my first covid infection (also painful breast cysts, they feel like two burning sacks of marbles) and so far can't find what's the cause or a doc to take me seriously, especially not the breast cysts. my new obgyn said it could be pcos, we did a hormone test two weeks ago but the results aren't in yet.

For me it was my intestines in the end, my colon mostly. Menstruation affects the intestines and so for me it started during menstruation but eventually, after a few years, it was happening outside of menstruation too. My intestines would cramp violently to the point of passing out or vomiting or... other glamorous things. I considered killing myself during one crisis it was so horrible. Women who have this often compare the pain to giving birth. It's some extreme form of IBS I think. But when it happens when you're menstruating, and you've never known normal menstruation, you think it has to be it and you believe the misogynistic doctors who tell you "that's just womanhood!" I had to insist to get an MRI to check for endometriosis, which came back negative. I suggest you try that and insist until they find what is causing this, because it's not normal no matter what they say.

Me it's a lucky encounter in the emergency room, just one doctor who simply pressed my belly, asked me where it hurt and said: it's not your uterus, it's your colon, you need to see a gastroenterologist. 15 years later. Still, even after I got some semblance of diagnosis I was told "'there's no cure for it! Nothing to do!" but now that I knew what was happening I could develop methods to alleviate the pain and even avoid it sometimes, it wasn't true that I was helpless. Just knowing what is happening is crucial. My "bleeding" was, still is, like the Niagara falls though, but it's always been like that for me.

Don't give up! Health is primordial and you deserve to live a comfortable life. There's an answer to what you're experiencing and relief is coming.

[dimancheetoile]

uh, hi.

maybe you're seeing this on your dash and thinking "hum, this username is kinda familiar". maybe you do remember me, in which case, again, hi.

i've been gone for an entire year. it hasn't been a great one. for those who read my posts before, you might already know this, but for everyone else, I was born with a rare genetic condition. on top of that, i had a very serious accident at 13 that more or less destroyed my right leg. i haven't been able to walk right since then, and it hasn't been helped by the following years of botched surgeries, complications from the operation, misdiagnosis and medical malpractice. i'm left with a barely functional leg that has a permanently torn set of ligaments, collapsed nerves and debilitating, constant, torturous chronic pain.

then i had a weird relapse of sorts. a bucketful of symptoms. hives and flushing, limbs and joints swelling, rashes, trouble breathing, sudden drops in blood pressure, heart rate above 100 at rest, stomach cramps, nausea, headaches, migraines, chronic fatigue, confusion, memory loss, dizziness and loss of consciousness. it's called MCAS.

i can't describe to you what it's like to never be well. to never wake up in a body that feels right, even just ok. to always have something going wrong, something painful, something that doesn't work right.

i'm hooked up to an oxygen machine twice a day. i wear a compression garment that goes from my ankles up to the tips of my fingers. i have to do two self-injections every month. i live with additional compressive equipment for both my knees, both my ankles, both my wrists, an elbow. i have a machine with electrodes i can put on painful areas to electrocute them and sometimes, it helps with the pain. i have to use pain-relief plasters and poultices a couple times a day.

i have premature arthritis. the arthritis in my back ate all the cartilage of my last three vertebrae (the ones above your tailbones, your lower back) so i'm like a car with no suspensions. my vertebrae are rubbing against each other with nothing in between to protect them, my discs are crushed, i have severe sciatica. chronic light sensitive migraines.

my joints don't hold. since january, I dislocated my left knee leading to a synovium effusion (big pocket of the lube in your joint that gathers and forms a ball and it pushes on your nerves, ligaments, tendons and tissue); i sprained my left ankle and it tore my external ligament and heel ligament. i dislocated a bunch of my fingers multiple times.

oh, i also got diagnosed with endometriosis and PCOS.

i live bedridden now. i have an entire grocery bag of medication sitting by my bed so i can reach it easily. opioids, neuropathic pain medication, anti-inflammatory medication, a medication that completely stops my period.

and that's without mentioning the hours and hours of hospital visits, specialists, family doctors, physical therapists, etc.

i'm gonna be honest. same time last year, i was having a hard time. i had turned 25 in january and moved into my first apartment since uni. it's in the same village as my mom which is the only reason i could live independently. so i was just 25 and all the MCAS stuff was happening on top of everything else and i had this realisation that this was what the rest of my life would look like, but worse, because my disease is degenerative. it gets worse as you age.

so i was just 25 and i realised i had the next 50 to suffer through this and more, and suddenly i didn't want to be here anymore. there was no ideation, it was more a complete break down of my hopes for the future. what was my future going to look like in this cursed body?

anyway, i collapsed under the mental pressure, my health continued to worsen. what i used to be able to do was no so much harder, and sometimes impossible. i was a 25-year-old in a prison of their own flesh. i couldn't deal with the rest of the world, so i cut myself off from it.

i'm doing better now, mentally. physically, it's only gotten worse. as i write this, i'm reaching for my pain meds because everything below my right knee is screaming in agony and i have a splitting headache. this is a good day for me.

thank you, if you've read this far. thank you, if you thought about me even once in the past year. i'm not asking for anything, except maybe to talk with you if you have a similar story. i feel so alone in this hell, it'd be nice to talk to someone.

i love you all.

-mako

[pteroducktyll]

FtM Hysto Recovery + Tips (Plus general tips for dealing with low/no spoons or recovering from any surgery)

I haven't been on Tumblr for years, but recently re-joined to check out art, as I start to work on getting my idea for a graphic novel off the ground (as well as getting serious about improving my art again). However, I'm hoping these first few posts get found by an entirely different audience. This is being written in 2023.

I'm going in for a laparoscopic hysterectomy on Thursday (today is Monday) and want to share my experience, as much as spoons will allow, so that other people can hopefully benefit in the future. I, personally, have struggled to find things online that fit my situation as a trans man with a history of pre-cancerous pap smears, abnormal bleeding, PID and ovarian cysts (but not PCOS). Although hysterectomies for "GRS" or gender affirming surgery purposes are easy to get where I live, mine in particular is primarily being done to avoid cancer and to stop the abnormal bleeding and random debilitating pain that comes out of nowhere every few years and upends my life for weeks/months. So if you're someone facing the prospect of a laparoscopic hysterectomy, regardless of your gender identity, and have a history of medical issues (but not PCOS or endometriosis) in your reproductive region, this blog may help you! Or, alternatively, if you're a trans man looking to get a laparoscopic hysterectomy, whether or not you've had issues in that region, this might help you, too!

It should be noted that this is written from the perspective of someone in their 30s with a complicated medical history, including Type 2 Diabetes and a very rare kidney disease (which has an average life expectancy of 29 years for men, but we aren't sure how it affects trans men), so the pre-surgery process I've been through is not the typical one. I also have chronic pain and know from my past experiences with very severe pain that a) I have a low tolerance for any pain beyond what I deal with day-to-day and b) I have a high tolerance for opiate pain medication, which means it takes a higher dose for me to address the level of pain that a lower dose would address in someone else. These both affect the length of time that I'll likely need to be on painkillers, and how functional I'll be while I'm on them. This, in turn, affects how quickly I'll be able to do things like return to work and driving.

I should also note that although it's common in some places for this surgery to be completed as day surgery, my jurisdiction almost always keeps people in overnight; this is because it takes almost 24 hours for the anesthetic to work its way out of your system, and until it does they won't have a true indication of your pain levels and, therefore, won't be able to make sure it's adequately controlled before sending you home. It's much easier (in my experience, and according to the doctors!) to stop you from having pain in the first place than to get it under control once you do.

Also, I live with my partner and a roommate, and my retired parents are about 90 minutes away and have a guest room. My support network isn't huge, but it's high quality. My partner managed to get 3 days off work for my surgery and the 2 days following, and after that is on a light workload for about a week in case she needs to take care of me. She also has a lot of flexibility with her job, and her boss really likes me, so if there are complications or she needs to spend more time at home to look after me, I don't think it's completely out of the question. All of this is to say that I'm going into this surgery from a very privileged place, in terms of not having to do much to look after myself in the aftermath. My surgeon did advise me, however, to take 1 week (for sure) off work if I could, and that I may need a second week. My work consists of two research jobs that draw heavily on my brain power, but don't require me to move around at all, especially as I work from home, so the issue is the painkillers, rather than actual healing time. Other jobs will require different amounts of time off work.

Because I'm neurodivergent and like to have as many details as possible about ... literally everything, I'm going to make this as detailed as I can. Essentially, I'm hoping to share everything I know and experience without leaving anything out. If it's too much detail for you, I'm going to be doing my best to include useful headers.

Notification of Surgery & Lead-up

I received notice about my surgery just over a month before my surgery date; it was around June 26th that I was emailed and told my surgery would be on August 3rd. I had previously met my surgeon in January, and was told it would be a 6-8 month wait until surgery. Between that appointment and being given my surgery date, I'd had bloodwork done, as well as an internal ultrasound. I've had several internal ultrasounds before and while they are far from pleasant, they are not as dysphoria-inducing for me as they are for other trans men, I'm sure. I am more physically uncomfortable during them than mentally/spiritually uncomfortable.

In the notification email, my surgeon sent additional attachments; about 200 pages of information from a) their office specifically and b) the health authority [one document about hysterectomies, one document about recovering from surgery in general]. These documents answered most of my questions, and also had instructions about fasting, pre-surgery instructions (there's a special sponge I have to buy and use the night before surgery and the morning of surgery) and recovery information. The documents were very generic, and because they came from different sources, the information was sometimes contradictory. I, personally, took the information on board in this order of trustworthiness:

Things my surgeon had said in-person during my consultation appointment in January

Things included in the information from my surgeon's office directly

Things included in the documents from the health authority

If there were contradictions that seemed extremely important (e.g. one document said to wash everything my face with the special sponges, while another said, in all caps, to absolutely NOT wash my head or face with the sponges), I followed-up with the surgeon's office or the most appropriate person (e.g. pharmacist).

Pre-surgery Appointments

Because of my medical history (diabetes and Alport's Syndrome), I had an extra step in here. My surgeon required me to have a consultation with my internal medicine doctor's clinic (but not with my specialist) to get the all-clear and make sure my risk level wasn't too high. This doctor made some assumptions about the medications I'm taking, which led him to think I had both diabetes and a heart condition, which would have put me in a much higher risk category. Because of that, he ordered extra bloodwork, and an ECG, and booked a follow-up with me for a few days later. That initial appointment with him ended on the assumption that the surgery likely would be postponed. However, the bloodwork and ECG all came back fine, and at the follow-up he gave me the all-clear and said my risk wasn't very high at all.

I had a few other pre-surgery appointments.

One was with the surgeon. In my case, the doctor actually doing my surgery is a resident colleague of the surgeon I initially consulted with. Now that I had a specific date for the surgery, and my life situation had changed a bit since the consultation (e.g. work), I asked to meet with the surgeon to ask questions that had come up since the initial consultation, and so that I could meet the person who would be cutting into me and make sure I was comfortable with her. She answered all my questions really well, and it turned out I was more comfortable with her than the original surgeon. This was a quick 5-10 minute talk, but I highly recommend asking for it, even if your surgeon hasn't changed. You'll have another chance to talk to your surgery just before being wheeled into the OR, but you'll be nervous and may be medicated by then, and it's just nice to have this conversation ahead of time and in an environment where you can look at a list of questions you've written down, and actually pay attention to the answers.

The hospital required another two appointments before surgery:

The pharmacist

About a week before my surgery, the pharmacist called for 5-10 minutes to discuss my current medications, supplements, vitamins and holistic medicines (if I were taking any) and to find out what time of day I take them at. Easy peasy.

2. The anesthetist

Exactly a week before my surgery, the anesthetist called to discuss the operation itself and the anesthetic. I'm not sure if the doctor I talked to will be the anesthetist who is actually in the room with me, or if it was just her job that particular day to call and get the information that will get passed onto the one who will be in the room. She was very nice, and explained the method of anesthesia, as well as how I'll likely feel when I wake up, etc. She also saw on my chart that I have a history of chronic pain, and zeroed in on my back and shoulder. She asked if there are any positions that make me more comfortable, and then explained the position I'd be in for my surgery -- tipped back toward my head -- and that this sometimes gives people back and shoulder pain even if they don't have any to begin with. She said my arms would be alongside my body, fairly tight to it, and I said that would be fine. I practiced laying them beside my body later that day and promptly discovered that's actually pretty painful for one arm, but I'll mention that when I get there and hope for the best! If I was having the conversation again, I'd answer by saying I wasn't sure how that would feel but that I'd practice it before the surgery day to see, and then ask who I could talk to if it turned out there's a better position or if that one wouldn't work. Ultimately though, the surgery should be 1.5 hours to 4 hours at most, so I'm not overly concerned. What you should take away from this if you're having this surgery and don't already have back/shoulder pain is that you might wake up with some, but that it should go away in a day or maybe a little less. This type of surgery also requires the surgeon to inflate your belly with gas in order to make room for the scopes and so that they can see what they're doing. That gas can stick around for a day, sometimes two, according to the anesthetist and can be a little bit painful or uncomfortable. I can't remember anything else that came out of this conversation.

In terms of pre-surgery appointments, that was it.

Tips and Tricks for Being Prepared

The next little bit is information I acquired through talking to my therapist (who's had several laparoscopic surgeries!) and many hours of research online, as well as living as a person who often has few spoons.

Get your first 1-2 weeks of meals planned and ready in advance. For me, this means I've picked up a large number of cans of Alphaghetti-type foods, and I'll be buying as many frozen meals as I can but have VERY little freezer room because my partner and I share with our tenant. Other options include things like HelloFresh, identifying nights when it will be easier for your partner if you order food in (if you can afford to), making big batches of food leading up to surgery while you're well and then freezing them, creating a list of meals you'd appreciate friends bringing over [remind them to bring them in disposable containers, so you don't have to feel guilty when it takes you weeks to get the containers back to them!], etc

Buy some Depends/adult diapers. I bought store brand (Life brand, specifically, which is Canadian) ones. The only ones I could get were maximum absorbency unless I wanted to pay twice the price for name brand ones, but I suspect I could do with a minimum absorbency one. I bought the underwear-style ones. In the store brand, they don't look very underwear-like at all, but if you have more money to spend, some of the name brand ones look convincingly like underwear! I also bought 'Unisex' ones, but would have bought womens if the unisex ones weren't an option; I suspect the mens' might have a built-in bulge area that would be awkward for me. The point of the adult diapers is that their 'waistband' is not a traditional waistband -- it's about 8" tall, very thin, and crinkle-cut so that it doesn't put pressure on your skin. This will stop you from having clothing pushing on your incision sites. BONUS is that they ARE absorbent, so you won't have to also wear pads to deal with discharge (which can, apparently, last for 6 weeks). Try the Depends on for a day a few days before surgery. Yes, it will be awkward and you'll feel silly. I am literally sitting in bed, with nothing wrong with me, wearing nothing but an adult diaper and a tee shirt while my partner's at work. But this has 2 purposes: 1) chances are you haven't worn these before, and you want to make sure you've got the most comfortable ones you can in terms of fit and style; 2) if you've worn them once already, it'll be familiar when you go to put it on when you're ready to leave the hospital; you'll know which side is the back and which side is the front, and the 'weirdness' of wearing them will be less unsettling. You're going to have other weird stuff going on, this doesn't have to be yet another weird thing happening!

If you live alone or your partner doesn't (or can't) change the sheets, layer sheets on the bed. That's right, layer your mattress with bottom sheets. That way, you can peel the top one off and have a cleaner sheet beneath it. It won't be the same as being able to sleep on a fresh, clean sheet straight out of the cupboard or dryer, but it's going to be better than the one you've slept, sweat or, universe forbid, bled on.

Get a LEAKPROOF (truly) travel mug with a handle. After surgery you'll have maybe one comfortable position to lay in. You're not going to want to get out of that position to retrieve your water, but you're also going to need to be drinking a lot of water (it helps you recover, and also helps get your bowels moving again). Being able to lose your water in the bed is a luxury, but a necessary one. I got mine at Winners for pretty cheap.

Get a nightie or onesie. I usually sleep naked. I don't really own pyjamas -- when I need to cover up to sleep (like when I visit friends or travel), I throw on a pair of joggers, or boxer briefs. But those both have waistbands and, remember, we're trying to avoid waistbands. I ordered a sleep shirt from Oodie, which was on sale, but still expensive (I paid around $60, including 1-2 business day shipping because I didn't think of it until the last minute), as well as a halloween one-sie from Old Navy that's apparently leftover from last year's halloween stock. I'm expecting the onesie to be way too hot, but I need something I can wear out in public in case I have to get groceries, or pick something up at the pharmacy, or stand outside because the building's burning, without exposing myself. I also borrowed a robe to go over the sleep shirt when I leave the hospital.

Have whoever's picking you up bring 2 pillows. One goes between your abdomen and the seatbelt, and you sit on the other one.

Have whoever's picking you up bring fast food. When you leave the hospital you're going to either be ravenously hungry or feel like you never want to eat again. Either way, fast food is going to be the one thing you didn't realize you needed so badly in your life until that moment. Your body's going to be craving carbs and fat, and fat is also what's going to help your pain pills kick in.

Have ice cream, chips or other junk food on hand. This is mostly so that you have something to eat when you take your pain pills. Fatty foods help opiates work faster; as someone who takes them several times a month for chronic pain, I've sometimes noticed a difference of -hours- between taking them with fatty foods and taking them on their own.

Get a walking aid. We use our abdomens for everything. If you don't already have something like a cane, pick one up. Keep the receipt though; if you don't end up using it, you can usually take them back. With that said, my therapist said it's at about the 2 week mark when you feel like you actually need one. If you don't have a cane but you have walking/hiking sticks, dig them out and keep them handy.

Grab some baby wipes. You can get laparoscopic incisions wet, but that doesn't mean you're going to feel like you have the energy or endurance to shower right away. You're still going to want to keep your pits and bits clean.

If you take daily medications, organize them in a pill organizer. Things can get confusing when you're on painkillers, or when a partner is dishing out your meds. You know exactly how many you take, and how often, so the best way to approach this is to get a pill organizer and get all your doses for a week ready before your surgery. Monday AM, Monday PM, Tuesday AM, Tuesday PM, that kind of thing. There's nothing worse than being on painkillers and trying to remember if you've already taken That Very Important Medication You Can't Miss or not. Or, worse, not even realizing you've missed something that can give you withdrawal symptoms, and suddenly waking up a few days after surgery feeling worse than you've ever felt in your life and wondering if you need to go to the ER, only to have it turn out that you missed your meds.

Buy something for yourself that you can look forward to. I bought a video game that I've wanted for a couple of years that was finally on sale. I haven't touched it, and won't until sometime after surgery when I feel up to it. Giving yourself a little reward when you're going through something hard is always nice.

If you're diabetic...take a minute before your surgery to remind your partner/anyone you live with/anyone who's going to be looking after you about how and when to check your blood sugars, what numbers are abnormal for you, and what to do about them. Being ill or recovering from a surgery can really throw your diabetes out of whack, even if it's well-controlled beforehand, and recovering from surgery might make you feel a lot of the same symptoms you'd feel from a hypo/hyper or DKA, so make sure you (or someone else) test your sugars regularly and have things on hand to deal with abnormal or worrying results.

Take your phone everywhere. Painkillers (and pain) can make us unsteady. As someone who's taken a fall and had to wait hours for my partner to wake up and find me and help me back to my feet (and then bed), I don't recommend it.

These are the things I know about pre-surgery, but I'll try to update...eventually if I learn anything new post-surgery.

[intersexfairy]

Hey, so, I'm a likely intersex person who's looking into CAH or more specifically non classic CAH now. I did hormone testing a while back, suspecting, I had high androgens, but those came back normal. However, I did get high progesterone and prolactin twice. I'm not pregnant, and this was done in the same point in my menstrual cycle, but in a point in it where my progesterone should be low.

On the second test, i got.. 17- something progesterone (I really can't remember the name) high, and after doing some research into higher progesterone levels, I found out CAH can cause a higher level of that specific hormone. My doctor only told me I had high progesterone and was very nonchalant about it, so I had no clue it was like that.

I did an exam on my abdomen to check my adrenal glands but it seems it only checked how all the organs looked, so nothing about function as far as I know. Besides that, I did no further testing and now I'm super confused.

I have NCAH symptoms but I don't know if there's any further testing I can do to confirm this- before you mention, I don't have PCOS, which I know is often a NCAH misdiagnosis, but I do have endometriosis.

I think your concerns are founded, 17-OH progesterone elevation is linked to CAH (specifically CAH due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency, the most common type). I believe there is a test that can be ran in regard to ACTH that can also help point in the direction to it being CAH. There's also genetic testing for CAH, but there are multiple genes that can cause varying types of CAH, so if you do that, make sure you get all of them done.

Also it is possible to have hyperandrogenism while having an androgen test come back normal - hormones fluctuate, sometimes greatly. Personally, when I had my free T and DHEA-S levels tested (for some reason, that's all they tested), my free T was normal but my DHEA-S was elevated. But a couple years prior, when I had more extensive hormone testing, my testosterone levels and another hormone I can't remember the name of (maybe progesterone) were elevated. I believe it is also possible to experience hyperandrogen-like symptoms due to differences in other hormones, but I could be wrong.

[tobeabatman]

annoying

Whenever there’s new research that proves our old ideas of weight-loss and fat bodies wrong, healthcare workers do their best to either ignore it completely, or they acknowledge it and then go on to still spread the same harmful sh*t they did before.

”Most diets fail? Then you should exercise and eat well for weight loss.”

”Genes massively affect our ability to lose weight? Well, that’s no excuse!”

”80% of people regain weight 5 years after weight loss? You should still try!”

”You have PCOS? You still need to lose weight.” (A cardiologist to my mom with heart problems caused by long covid)

I have a ton more examples I could think of. The fact is: healthcare providers and researchers ignore new knowledge for old biases. They ignore us and our needs because they are taught that fat is the enemy.

Even though my mom’s heart problems were caused by long covid, even though 80% of us will regain weight we previously lost in 5 years, even though she has diagnosed PCOS (and undiagnosed endometriosis), even though we know fatphobia affects individuals’ cardiomuscular health negatively, even though she is active and eats less than she probably should, and even though she is near burn-out and stressed because of her toxic workplace and workplace bullying; her doctor can ignore every other aspect of her health and tell her that being fat is her problem, and losing weight is the key to managing her long covid-caused heart problems.

I’ve said this once and I’ll say this again: I’ve seen too many cases when fat people die to medical mistreatment. I’ve heard of fat patients with endometriosis who suffer due to medical mistreatment, I’ve heard of fat people who’ve died due to doctors not believing them or treating them properly. I’ve heard of emergency room stories where fat patients almost died due to medical mistreatment.

Be a good healthcare professional and work towards undoing your biases in your practice. Because if you haven’t done that already, you absolutely do believe in some fatphobic sh*t: healthcare is full of fatphobic biases. And you not educating yourself on them, directly affects your patients

[thelittlestancient]

I've seen some posts lately talking about the lesser-known side effects of T, so as somebody who's been on it a long time (more than twenty years), I'm gonna offer forth a list of things I wish I'd been told when I started it! This was originally written up for a Discord server I'm in.

--Changes come simultaneously slower and faster than you think they will. You'll feel like you're noticing differences 24h in, some of that is the placebo effect but a few things really do start happening that fast. Some changes take a LOT longer--years. --Nobody really talks about this, but the older you start, the more time certain changes will take, and some effects may be reduced. The biggie here is voice after 30. --GO TO A SPEECH THERAPIST. Again nobody really talks about professional voice training for transmasc folks, but it's very important. T does change your physical vocal cords, and it's important to make sure you're speaking correctly in order to prevent damage as they change. Quadruply so if you sing at all--even if it's just in the shower and the car. Plus, seeing a speech therapist will help maximize the changes you get, if that's a concern. But really: voice health is important, take care of it! --T WILL change your gut health. Estrogen levels and hormonally-linked conditions like PCOS and endometriosis are notorious for wreaking systemic havoc on your GI tract. If you have issues already, chances are T will improve them, and it will feel like a god damn miracle. Even if you don't have issues, I'd highly recommend finding a good daily probiotic and starting to take it 3-6mo before you start T. It will help even out the gut biome changes. Be prepared for unexpected stomach sickness (constipation and diarrhea) regardless. --T changes your metabolism. It's very likely this will have Effects for whatever other meds you may be taking. Be prepared to have to mess around with doses. If you're on any psychiatric meds, be prepared for some really funky mental state changes. You may experience emotions previously only perceivable by shrimp. This is 'normal,' tell your doctor. --HAIR be prepared for hair. It will be growing out of places you didn't know you had places in. The hair on your head will grow faster. This is normal. Shaving is an essential skill for people with T. --If you experience feminizing effects, PLEASE TELL YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY. The most likely reason is that your dosage needs to be adjusted, but there is a medical condition which will convert T into E. It's rare but it does exist.

[withoutalice]

not to do too much religious yapping but to be honest, the common religious puritanical deliberate ignorance on how medical care has improved over time and what the benefits of hormonal/surgical procedures on quality of life is definitely not what God would want.

(i continue yapping under the cut)

in fact, in part of the Bible, God forbade eating certain animals. when humans had learned how to properly cook/prepare meat (so parasites would not survive), God sent a vision to one of his followers saying all those animals were available to eat now. there was a timeline where it made sense to forbid certain meats.

now in modern times, lots of puritanical culture talks about the Bible forbidding sex for recreation (also forbidding any sort of hormone manipulators on principle) which I think in older times would make sense as people were not the best with germs and hadnt had the pharmaceutical knowledge we have today. God sees how our planet changes and people evolve.

I think if he were to send down a vision today (like the meat vision mentioned earlier) he would say things like contraceptives, hormone therapy, and other health procedures are valid.

we have more knowledge, not complete, but more knowledge. though more unbiased research on women's biology, especially with reproductive health (not just for pregnancy!!), is needed and I recognize that.

I also recognize people in these puritan circles correlate hormonal balance drugs for women (or other vaginal health products in general) with someone being a “slut” or being sexually active in any way at all even if it isn't true.

it's incredibly invasive for doctors and family to treat 8-16 year old girls like they are always having sex behind parent's backs, and i personally think it should be considered verbal sexual harassment or even abuse to make jokes about your pre-teen or newly teen daughter becoming a whore once she starts leaving the house on her own for school/sports; for getting treatment she need to function in a world designed for amab body schedules.

but overall there is no need for such suffering if there are things that have been observed to help. like birth control for women with endo or PCOS. if we can start to help ourselves with the natural, various differences that occur in our bodies, we should. because the 14/15/16 year olds with endometriosis/PCOS and the 6/7/8 year olds with precocious puberty are shamed by family and teachers for being deviant and unpure (for their body shape and) for getting the medical help they need to live full lives.

this culture needs to change, humans have made significant unprecedented progress in medicine. why live on earth paralyzed with pain and scarring? with constant medical abuse because our female bodies are different? it is no different than the changing of how we cook, God would want us to take advantage of the tools and intelligence we have. He has us here so we can take care of this one Earth, our (chosen or blood) family, and most importantly ourselves.

He loves us, no conditions. How your body looks, what your body consists of, what your body and mind have been through doesn't change that.

And i think, that if you loved someone unconditionally, wouldn't you want them to live the best life they can?

[wambsgansshoelaces]

hi! i’m the anon that called u numba one 🏆 just saw ur post about living with pcos and struggling with weight loss. i don’t have pcos, but i have endometriosis and a whole arsenal of ailments that would take forever to list. oh also im a wlw like u 😁i’m not the wisest person, but i will say that you have to be kind to yourself. even when you’re crying seven times in the doctors office. feel the disappointment, and the sadness, and know that it will not go on forever. sometimes being kind to yourself is allowing yourself to be sad without feeling weak for being sad. no one knows what’s going on in your mind but you, so let it flow freely. also you’re a fantastic writer,,, i literally have your notifs on and check your page everyday, and that’s coming from someone who’s been reading fanfiction for like 10 years. not many people can envision a scene so human and translate it into words as you do. your execution is flawless, but not clinical and robotic, it evokes warmth and real emotion. you give that freely to the general public of tumblr, and you should know we love you and your beautiful brain for it. i hope you find comfort in knowing other people like you are provided with a safe escape in your writing, if only for a moment. lord knows we do.

(ps, try intermittent fasting if you haven’t already ;))

(p.p.s. call me 🏆 anon )

anon will you give me a hug

I feel like you’re the older sibling I don’t actually have- tangent but my parents aren’t exactly the best people and I’m the eldest of all my siblings so you leaving this for me in my ask box genuinely made me cry. I’m so grateful that I finally have people who care and are so kind and thoughtful 🩷 I really will try and take your advice. It’s just that I’ve felt so upset and have had so much pent up depression that it’s just so difficult for me to not think I’m a horrible person just because I’m sad all the time if you know what I mean

and yes I’m wlw and still trying to come to terms with that yk? like I wish I could be loud and proud but I just can’t bc of what’s around me

and you have notifs on??? oh my god I’m so honored!!!! I need to stop shitposting… sorry for lol of the garbage you’ve seen 🏆…

what you’ve said about my writing is on god the nicest, most wonderful thing anyone’s ever said to or about me. you don’t understand what it means to me when you say my writing evokes emotion and makes you feel things. genuinely I have no words in response to that, I’m just so honored and just happy that you think so. coming from years of just a depressed state, I’d cling to any sort of media- tv shows, films, especially x reader fanfiction because it made it like I wasn’t actually suffering and that I have someone who loves me. I know nobody wants to read about this lol but genuinely (I’ve said that a million times already), genuinely, I could die tomorrow happy knowing that my work has made people feel better or made people just happy. I’m so, so, glad that my work is an escape for you. you’re always welcome on my blog, in my ask box, in my pms, whatever. I love you so so much 🫶🏽

(I’m really trying with food… my relationship is so unhealthy with it but I’ll let you know how it goes!)

[allsadnshit]

Hi! May I ask if you know and are willing to share any kind of non western medicine resources i could look into for the treatment of PCOS? I was diagnosed with it about 8 months ago and was given the pill straight away as the "magical pill" that would solve everything and while that did not happen, its also really expensive where i live. So I'm more than willing to try other ways. I know its not similar to endo, but i think the way they get treated by western health systems is.

I hope you can understand what i mean since english is not my first language and anyway thanks in advance! I kinda followed along how poorly you got treated at your last job and I just wanted to say I'm rooting for you and hoping better opportunities come along.

Have a nice day :)

I do not specialize in health in any way so I wouldn't be one for giving out medical advice! I share my own experiences with endometriosis and hormone balancing but besides that I am not floating around that field.

I never ever ever promote or condone the use of the birth control pill as a solution to any kind of illness, especially endometriosis and PCOS. I think it's use as a contraceptive is already pretty flooded with lawsuits and risks but especially as a "medicine" i think it is nothing more than a band-aid for problems that WILL fester more and more if the root cause isn't found and address properly. I really regret my 10 years on and off different birth control pills pushed onto me by my doctors and surgeons and it's really worsened my health problems and raised my chance of breast cancer which I did not know while taking it and trusting my medical professionals.

If you are looking for solutions outside of big pharma I recommend looking into your local traditional chinese medicine practices first before trying to branch out onto social media, but if you don't have any, I like @ theeasternphilospophy on instagram as a place to start simply understanding the history, culture, and science of tcm.

above all us be weary of what's being sold to you and understand that drugs are a business and are pushed medically onto you by professionals with a vested interest and partnership with the production - trust your gut about who truly cares about your health and body and if you walk away from any medical professional without a "next step" or answer, do not expect any different if you continue trusting their process.

[cannabiscomrade]

CW: Emetophobia, vaginal exam ment, catheter ment.

My doctor thinks I have PCOS because my weird period cycles (though I also have hypothyroidism), pain on periods so bad I’ve thrown up a couple times, etc etc. I’m not diagnosed but I’m already on metformin and I’m scared to get a diagnosis. I feel like I might just over-exaggerate my period pain bc Im pain sensitive, but I think also I might have vaginismis so I’m so scared to get a probe exam + scared to death of catheters. Is the process painful? What can I do to be soothed?

There are ways you and your doctor could try to diagnose PCOS together first without a speculum exam or an transvaginal ultrasound. You can get an abdominal ultrasound and try to see your ovaries, I've had both abdominal and transvaginal ultrasounds visualize my ovaries well, but with abdominal there is a possibility they cannot be seen at the time of the scan. You should also get a full panel of bloodwork and if that comes back inconclusive, you may want to try ACTH stimulation testing.

You could also get LH strips and see if you're having a distinct follicular, ovulation, and luteal phases by testing for LH for a few months. If you have a distinctive cycle pattern chances are you can be less concerned about PCOS as well as endometriosis, although it doesn't rule them out. You would probably have to come off your metformin to do this accurately though, which is safe for PCOS but not if you're taking it for diabetes too. If you had abnormal cycle patterns like not getting an LH spike, getting a really late spike, or getting multiple positives, you may want to pursue further testing.

Visceral hypersensitivity is a differential diagnosis that could also apply with your low pain threshold if you experience other forms of organ pain. (N)CAH can also cause irregular and painful periods. Hypothyroidism on its own when not in optimal range can cause painful periods but if your hypo is under control your periods and ovulation should be relatively normal. Anovulary cycles in my experience are more painful as well.

So to be transparent I do not have vaginismis so this is coming from the perspective of someone who tolerates vaginal exams relatively well, but I can give you some tips for them. You can have the provider go slow, or you can request to insert the ultrasound wand/speculum yourself. You can also request more lube if necessary. For me, they don't hurt, and I seem to have an average to slightly short depth I guess (lol)

You shouldn't need a catheter for the diagnostic process. Those I don't have many tips for except breathe, because yes they are painful. I've had one for an infection and they cathetered me twice during labor and I hate it. It's really quick though.

[starry-hughes]

Star in stalking your page, how many times have you gone to the hospital/urgent care/doctor/injured yourself this year

hospital twice, does a health hub appointment count as urgent care or a doctor???, urgent care at least twice, probably like 3-5 doctor appointments this year

i bruised my wrist badly a month and a half ago, sliced the top of my left hand open two weeks ago, sliced my thumb at work today (well it’s midnight so technically yesterday), i think that’s it?? i have had multiple doctors appointments that i can’t keep up with though

i’m the medically expensive child because i have endometriosis, pcos, eczema, migraines, anxiety and probably other things

[grayskiesdarkvibes]

Hi I'm an adult (23) how did you talk to your doctor about weight loss medicine? Mine just consistently tell me to eat better/exercise more & that I've already dropped a good amount (which is true but I'm still bordering on obesity and feel stuck & I already exercise and eat healthy shit so like 💀) it's honestly really frustrating and probably contributes to my e/d that I do all this and haven't lost any more lol

Hello there! I’m from Australia! And I went the way you’re not supposed to go -aka buying it from an online pharmacist that makes you answer a internet questionnaire and then ships it to you. I lied about my weight in order to obtain them.

I believe if you’re in America you may be able to by Ozempic or Alli over the counter?

But you sound like you’re going through something similar to my partner - so I’ll give you some suggestions! (My partner does not have an ED but they are on weight loss medications)

I do apologize in advance if you’re non-binary, trans, genderfluid, etc as I will use the medical terms for biological sex down below purely for anatomical purposes only!!

But I hope this helps!

A)if your biological sex at birth is female, and you found that you lost easily with a lower caloric intake, and but that you plateau easily and remain the same weight - as you mentioned, borderline obese- no matter what you’re doing diet wise and exercise wise then I have some questions:

1) do you have irregular / or painful periods? Or no period at all?

2) are you lethargic consistently?

3) did you find that while you may have been bigger than average, that the weight ballooned on?

4)have you had a diagnosis of biopolar or bpd/depression and anxiety in the past?

5) do you tend to have more body hair (face etc)

6) do you get very emotional at random times?

7) if you get cravings are they mainly sugar indulgent and sodium dense? (Think like ice cream, chocolates and French fries)

If you answered yes to multiple of these (especially for the periods) - there is a high chance you may have a) Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome, endometriosis. These two can mimic each other but both are different despite the similar symptoms.

PCOS (Polycystic ovaries) is a medical condition where your body produces too much testosterone, and puts your hormones out of level. When it does this, it spikes your insulin and your body doesn’t absorb it like it is supposed to - but it stores it. It’s also one of the medical conditions that accidentally causes misdiagnosis of Mental illness‘s because if your hormones aren’t regulating - then you’re gonna be emotional and distressed!

This condition causes cysts to build up over your ovaries and it’s very painful if they burst. They will continue to grow and burst, and this condition is very difficult to have children with. Your doctor would need to prescribe you metformin or a similar diabetic medication as it also helps with fluid retention and it helps your body produce the insulin correctly! The best exercises for PCOS is HITT, and weight training - because with the imbalanced hormones and the testosterone levels - the sprints of exercise and weight training will also boost your metabolism and help regulate those issues as well. Cardio doesn’t work very well for people suffering from PCOS.

Endometriosis is a condition where the uterus lining forms outside the uterus and is very painful! There are three types and this forces your body to hold more fluid and weight in a survival instinct. This also throws your hormones out of sync too!

You can still lose weight on Endo but it does make it harder and if you get out on certain medications it will also make you gain weight - however having extra weight with both of these conditions makes it worse.

You may also have a thyroid issue or a generalise glucose problem where your body can’t turn sugar into blood sugar so it stores it as fat instead.

If you were born biologically male -

Then if you find yourself constantly thirsty and hold swelling in your ankle or lower legs (if you press on the skin, and it has an indent or stays white where you pressed it for a while) then this could be an inclination of diabetes, hyper thyroidism or liver/kidney issues which are the main organs we need to remove toxins from our body. This would also cause you to hold a lot of water in your body and muscles.

My best bet would be to go to a different doctor, and if you match with any of these demand a blood test, or ultrasound if you suspect you have Pcos or endo!

Because if there is an underlying medical issue - that will need to be addressed first before being put on weight loss medication.

Otherwise if you don’t match with any thing I listed, I would still go see a different doctor and explain that you’ve been dieting and eating healthy - but it just won’t budge (if you have to, use a pity trick and say it’s really affecting your mental health and intervening with your study/work)

And be honest, do some research about what type of weight loss pill you’d like to be on or you think would be the right fit for you, and ask to be on it. If they say no then tell them you want it noted in your patient file that you asked for this treatment and they denied it with no probable cause as you fit into the demographic for this medication. Most of the time, doctors will do it if you demand that this be kept on record.

I hope this helps and sorry for the long message!!

Stay safe and drink lots of water!