Now is the Next Time

Nikki. She/Her. Chronically Ill. Bi. Intersectional Feminist. I love Paramore. This blog is just stuff I like.

[pillowspace]

thank god for female characters who have something wrong with them amen

[natalieironside]

People get mad @ me when I point out that one of the major hurdles to overcoming anti-vaccine conspiracies amongst the general populace is that the medical-industrial complex has repeatedly demonstrated itself to be unworthy of trust, but listen. Listen.

The overwhelming majority of antivaxxers I've met in real life have been nurses in hospitals. I make it a point not to associate with such people if I can possibly avoid it, so pretty much the only time I would have to hear about it directly is if I'm part of a trapped audience waiting for something else to happen. And so almost all the people I've met who felt moved to take me aside and "warn" me about the fictitious dangers of vaccines have been registered nurses despensing medical """advice""" inside of hospitals.

So if anything I'd say the problem has been grossly, critically underestimated.

[apolladay]

How old were you when you first had a grandparent die?

I wasn't born yet

less than a year old

1-5 years old

6-10 years old

11-20 years old

over 20 years old

I don't know/it's complicated

results/no grandparents have died yet

Remaining time: 6 days 12 hours

[warcrimesimulator]

[the-bi-wonder]

When I was diagnosed at age sixteen, after having one period in the eighth grade and then never again till a medically induced one my junior year of high school - my uterine lining measured in centimeters because it was so thick, my mother turned to me in the car. She was upset. Literal tears in her eyes. And she told me her friend had PCOS, but was still able to have kids. That this was still a possibility for me if I did injections and fertility treatments, etc. My mom had never asked me if I wanted kids, she just assumed.

My first conversation about PCOS with my new endocrine/OBGYN was about weight management and how that could improve my fertility when I eventually wanted kids. It wasn't asked what my goals were for my health or if I wanted kids, just assumed.

I was a hormonal, depressed mess. I hated my body. My body dysmorphia was so bad that I cloistered myself away from so much. I wore hoodies and jeans in the 90°F, 80% humidity summers. This was considered fine. I was given metformin and birth control pills and told this was all that could be done. That PCOS wouldn't affect my life until I wanted to be pregnant. I wasn't asked if I wanted to be pregnant, just assumed.

I don't know how many PCOS groups I joined on my early 20s hoping to find community and commonality for body dysmorphia and symptom management, only to be bombarded with fertility treatments and tips and 'inspirational conception' anecdotes. They never asked if I was attempting to conceive, just assumed.

It's a problem. It's been a problem. And thank god I learned to speak up and find medical professionals that would help me with *MY* goals. I shouldn't have had to, someone should have recognized the needs of that sixteen y.o. and protected her, but I can only hope the conversation changes as awareness increases.

[eirenical]

I was also diagnosed with PCOS in my teens. I was put on drugs and birth control pills and all on the interest of regulating my period so I could someday conceive. When, even at that age, I already knew I had no interest in having children.

So I stopped taking my medication. My hormone levels had normalized, and I knew I didn't want kids, so what difference did it make?

No one ever explained to me that untreated PCOS often becomes diabetes. No one ever explained to me that PCOS causes hair loss and that the only thing that might slow that down is TAKING YOUR FUCKING MEDS.

So now I'm 48 years old with VERY thin hair and type II diabetes that is nearly impossible to get under control thanks to other chronic illnesses that I have.

And at least some of that might have been preventable if even ONE of the doctors I went to had told me that the goal of treatment is converging other than for me to be able to have children that I don't want anyway someday.

[bedupolker]

people who are like "but with universal healthcare you'll have to pay taxes!!! Up to 8%!!!" Are so funny. Like as opposed to the 16% of my gross paycheck that goes to private insurance, that won't cover shit unless i call my insurance company, then my doctor, then my pharmacy, then my doctor again because theyre pretty sure insurance got approved then my insurance company because they didn't get the letter, then my doctor again, then the pharmacy again, and then the copay i still am on the hook for.

[thememedaddy]

[kuttithevangu]

I need all the hyperlexic statistical outliers on tumblr to look up what’s meant by low literacy, it means like, can’t read the notice from the electric company that says they’re cutting you off. Can’t read your doctor’s instructions on how to treat yourself at home. It means “school system failed you so badly that it might kill you”, if you’re reading simple fiction for fun you are already so far out of the window of maximum concern

[tunisian]

Telling people not to use chatgpt is ableist. Some people arent eloquent enough and need it to convey what they want to say

not only are you stupid you are also a big fucking loser

[rainbow-femme]

It’s so funny seeing all of those AI ads that are like “we understand you’re nervous about the unknowns of AI and if it can be trusted, but we want to tell you not to worry” as daily updates keep coming out about the AI that started hacking an outside company and caused a ton of problems. Stand in front of HAL 9000 holding your arms out all you want but I can still see the big red glow

[cowboyhatesithere]

Enough about favorite books. What’s a book you read and absolutely hated? The book you’ve got a bone to pick with.

[ostolero]

young old person tip for you all. go get some photos printed (pauses so someone can say bogos binted) and fill out a physical album

[sayaratyriea]

and annotate them with who is in the photos and when and where the photos were taken!!! your extended family 50 years from now will be grateful, and so will you if you end up forgetting any details

[mortimermcmirestinks]

(sprints into room late, looking harried and frantic as fuck) bogos binted. did I miss it

[househunting]

$599,317/2 br/2.5 ba/1644 sq ft

Fayetteville, AR

Built in 2017

[househunting on substack, free]

[anyboli]

This page from one of my history books looks like a lesbian utopia.

Source: Reclaiming Lost Ground by Neale McGoldrick & Margaret Crocco

[anyboli]

Very similar vibes - this 1899 illustration from Puck of butchy (for the time) lesbians looking like the coolest, hottest women to ever walk the earth

[necrotranscjk]

An important tweet

[sighinastorm]

This is such a "common sense" way of putting it. Everybody memorize this for spitting it back out whenever needed.

[skin-slave]

Never thought I'd have the opportunity to say this again: Reducing women and girls to their vaginas and then forcing them to show those vaginas to strangers is not a feminist ideal.

[necrotranscjk]

An important tweet

[sighinastorm]

This is such a "common sense" way of putting it. Everybody memorize this for spitting it back out whenever needed.

[skin-slave]

Never thought I'd have the opportunity to say this again: Reducing women and girls to their vaginas and then forcing them to show those vaginas to strangers is not a feminist ideal.

[cruel-hiraeth]

call him bubonic the way he plagues me

[mintmatcha]

blorbonic plague

[dittography-direwolf]

Totally normal for a legitimate for-profit company to refuse to reclaim or stop running their products even after they're no longer being paid to do so. I'm sure it's very normal to just keep running your service for free when your contract's been terminated. Spending money to continue running cameras that supposedly no one is looking at is definitely not an indicator they are just run by the federal government to spy on everyone and only a wacko conspiracy theorist would think so.