@SunsetSnuggles ugh, anxiety is the worst. I've only had a couple very situationally dependent panic attacks, but my sister has GAD and from my own lesser anxiety I know it's no picnic.
I was able to contact my doc's MA...who told me to schedule an appointment even though I'm coming in next week 🙄 so I go to schedule and there's a video appointment Thursday, after I've been on wait-list for a month. I'm not mad 🙃
Sometimes just managing doc appointments, med refills, and insurance is a part-to-full time job, meh.
Allergies are off the chain right now. Prescription and otc not doing much
I’ve used some self deprecating humor before.
For years I joked that the real way I hurt my shoulder wasn’t the car accident that changed my life. Instead I joked that is was from competitive midget tossing, since doing it competitively is no small feat—except of course their small feet.
I’m good at including puns in conversations. I have had 2 cases of using actual health situations with therapists to setup good jokes. Last week I made one of my therapists laugh awkwardly loud by sharing an actual story of me the day prior. Began with an issue I’ve had, but an unexpected twist meant I became the joke.
Now this is the thread I have the memes for!!
@cuddlerbri ugh, it's already hitting high 80s - low 90s here, and the heat intolerance is kicking in 🥵😭
@panda619 I'm sorry to hear the meds aren't helping it's been a rough allergy season for me, thus the nearly 3 week long sinus infection. I hope it lets up for you soon!
@cuddlerbri re: zombie apocalypse - or maybe it'll be like World War Z and the zombies will just run right by us because we're too sickly for them to eat 😅
@cuddlerbri apparently we are actually mermaid astronauts....
I don’t think it counts as unsolicited advice since salt is already a big thing with pots… but girl… beer salt… it’s got to be one of the biggest hacks for pots. It comes in different flavors and it’s conveniently travel size
@cuddlefaery I think if it came down to it we’d definitely still be zombie food 😂
Hypermobility: when your chiropractor goes to adjust your neck and goes "oh God, that's not supposed to do that. Let's rearrange here. You're like an owl." 🤣
@cuddlerbri I haven't tried beer salt yet - hadn't even heard of it.
My boyfriend: "why do you have a salt shaker in your purse?" Me: "reasons" 😅
But also LMNT, Liquid IV, and a water bottle at all times. Oh and extra propranolol in case my morning dose wears off too soon 🙄 cuz nothing like being out and about and suddenly greying out/tunnel vision/ears ringing/pre-synchope and my Fitbit yells at me that I'm up over 150bpm.
Love LMNT and IV. I’m not a Stanley girly I have a half gallon “jug” of ice water that has a long purse strap attached to it and a little pocket in the front for beer salt. I take it everywhere with me. And beer salt is literally just flavored salt (I like the lime) so it’s easier to just take a lil swig of 😂
@cuddlefaery Also had adjustments done for the first time not too long ago… it was really cool but he tried to do my arms and was like nope it’s not supposed to do that, and then just completely avoided them 😂 I feel like I’ve found my tribe with you!
Endo + PCOS babe, prepping for my next surgery. 😭 I feel you so hard! The solar flares are just making things so much worse. Here if you need cute dog photos, goofy memes, or an internet hand to hold. ❤️ I hope things ease!
I have chronic fatigue and depression, but it seems to be a year-round affair. It doesn't change much with the seasons.
@MountainCuddles Same to both. 🫂
~ Sunset Snuggles
🦄 Enthusiast 🏞 Travel Fiend 🐘 Animal Lover
@cuddlerbri I know, right? Always nice to find another bendy zebra haha. I haven't been official diagnosed hEDS, but I meet all the criteria (8/9 on Brighton + POTS requiring heart meds), but we've been more focused on all the other shyte I've got going on. Being flexible for dance masked a lot of the other hypermobility, but I just kept spraining literally everything (neck was FUN 😅 same with jaw, ugh).
I had to do PT during the pandemic for a shoulder injury I got from lounging on my left shoulder too much during lock down - basically I sprained it from overstretching it repeatedly out of socket. 🤦🏻♀️ We spent most of the sessions retraining my body just how to move within a normal range of motion instead of always hyperextended lol. Luckily the PT not only was experienced with dancers but also hEDS so she knew what to have me do rather than just the same old 4 exercises most give.
You know you have hypermobility when....you know all the PT exercises they'll assign you before you arrive 🤣
@JustPlaneCuddle oof, my sympathies. I hope the surgery helps a lot and the recovery is swift! 🤗
Cute animal pics and memes are always welcome in my book 😁
A Jaxy-in-the-Box 🤣🤣🤣
His brother, Jinx, pretending he's actually a cat for once and not the alien dog thing he usually is 👀
I've found my people! Hello fellow zebras and fainting goats. 😊 Thank you for this thread and the memes! I will see your POTS and EDS, and raise you several vascular compressions that keep me from having a "normal" life. 🤪
@cuddlefaery 9/9 on the beighton scale, pots diagnosis, I match all other criteria needed on the diagnosis sheet, and can dislocate my own shoulder! Don’t have a diagnosis for hEDs yet but its next 😂
I just got surgery for nasal polyps which REALLY had wrecked my life for damn near 20 years. Docs would never bother to scope my nose when I complained about chronic stuffiness, always just throwing allergy pills which rarely helped a lot. Things got really bad around 2020 or so when, while blowing my nose I got a hold of something that I thought was a booger. Pulled and tried to get it out but to no avail. Noticed a lot of blood, but funny thing, not a lot of pain. Told a doc (who wouldn't give me in person appointment because of covid, only via phone) just "prescribed" flonase to me (available OTC). The flonase helped a bit but not a whole lot. At one point around the winter of 2022 or so I was in Tucson and one nostrils polyp grew so much that it was jutting out of my nose. By the time I got home it had retracted a bit but the stuffiness was still there. Made an appointment with my doc who I had to twist the arm of to give me a referral to an ENT specialist. That appointment was something like 3 months later lol thanks to the backlog for new patients they had. ENT used his handheld scope or whatever and looked and said "yup you have nasal polyps" and ordered a CT scan.
When I returned to discuss the results of the scan doc said that the scan was 'impressive' and the worst he'd seen. Said that nobody at their office was comfortable performing the surgery on me because of how messed up it was, mistake made could lead to death, brain damage, blindness, meningitis, permanent loss of smell... all not very good things.
Fast forward several months and I got a referral to stanford medical center, discussed things with a top specialist and he said that surgery was going to be my only option. Unlike the previous ENT he said he'd seen a few cases worse than mine, rated my situation a 7/10.
Had the surgery last month, went pretty smooth. Lasted about 4 hours and the only side effect that I felt was feeling like I had a severe cold for about 3 or 4 days. I felt like a new person being able to breath normally, little did I know it was just the start. At my follow up appointment a week later the doc used some tiny pliers (only way I can describe them) and a vacuum to 'clean things up'. At one point he told me "this is going to feel like the front lower part of your brain is being vacuumed" lol and yeah it did, felt it on the back of my head too. Not much pain but what a WEIRD feeling. OMG I felt such an improvement even from right after the surgery. I had no idea breathing could be this good. After about a week or two I'd have phases where random mucus/boogers would form and i'd have to clear my nose, I'd get so stressed but blowing it would clear the blockage.
What floored me was the 'cash price' of my surgery. According to google, average price of nasal polyps surgery is 8-20k... mine clocked in at a whopping 135k!!! Insane! Thankfully I'm only responsible for about 4k, have very good insurance. That combined with the fact that Stanford is super flexible with payment plans (pay any amount you want, with no interest) makes me super grateful.
Had to use ALOT of effort to blow the ol schnozz, these boogers weren't soft like they usually are, they were rock solid, very dense and bloody. Haven't had one since yesterday though, so that's good.
Benefit from this surgery is tremendous. Seemingly endless energy, pretty sure my metabolism is massively improved as well, I get insanely hungry during mealtime. Sleeping like a baby now as well.
Sitting here realizing how long this post is lol. Sorry.
@wilderdude Thanks for sharing. I’m glad you see so much improvement!!!
That is an interesting and awful story. Glad it's helping so much @wilderdude.