Ouch

she/they/any pronouns|| 23 || lesbian || disabled || chronic pain and hypermobility || POTS and LongCovid || autistic and adhd ||

[consider-your-potatoes-mashed]

I’m hopefully getting new knee braces soon!!!! My current ones are about 3(?) years old now and have been literally falling apart since 2 months after I got them. But now, hopefully at least, I will be able to get new better ones. My current pair are custom but holy shit man for being made to my measurements they sure don’t do their job right. Don’t get me wrong they help and it’s so much better with them but omg I’m so hopeful. Legit went to the orthotist today and he was like “I hate that brand” and “you definitely need something more durable that’s bad” I feel seen

[consider-your-potatoes-mashed]

My orthopedic doctor finally sent in the referral!! I’m so hopeful :)

[consider-your-potatoes-mashed]

My back hurts so fucking bad today. I’ve taken the meds, I’ve done ice, I’ve done heat, I’ve done stretching but now I dont know what else to do or try because nothing is fucking helping. Practically any movement I make makes my back hurt. I HATE THIS. None of the mobility aids I have help.

To make matters worse my parents come tomorrow… fuckkkkkkkkkk

[normal-thoughts-official]

ladies, if she

likes caviar and cigarettes

is well versed in etiquette

is extraordinarily nice

shes not your girl. shes a killer queen, gunpowder, gelatine, dynamite with a laser bean, guaranteed to blow your mind

[rapidashrider]

[youngadultread]

“Teachers are often unaware of the gender distribution of talk in their classrooms. They usually consider that they give equal amounts of attention to girls and boys, and it is only when they make a tape recording that they realize that boys are dominating the interactions. Dale Spender, an Australian feminist who has been a strong advocate of female rights in this area, noted that teachers who tried to restore the balance by deliberately ‘favouring’ the girls were astounded to find that despite their efforts they continued to devote more time to the boys in their classrooms. Another study reported that a male science teacher who managed to create an atmosphere in which girls and boys contributed more equally to discussion felt that he was devoting 90 per cent of his attention to the girls. And so did his male pupils. They complained vociferously that the girls were getting too much talking time. In other public contexts, too, such as seminars and debates, when women and men are deliberately given an equal amount of the highly valued talking time, there is often a perception that they are getting more than their fair share. Dale Spender explains this as follows: “The talkativeness of women has been gauged in comparison not with men but with silence. Women have not been judged on the grounds of whether they talk more than men, but of whether they talk more than silent women.” In other words, if women talk at all, this may be perceived as ‘too much’ by men who expect them to provide a silent, decorative background in many social contexts.”

—

PBS: Language as Prejudice - Myth #6: Women Talk Too Much (via misandry-mermaid)

Every EVERY women’s studies class I’ve been in has had this problem and failed to address it. 

(via iamayoungfeminist)

[consider-your-potatoes-mashed]

My right shoulder/clavicle area has been so painful for WEEKS it’s done this before but not for this long. My shoulder keeps subluxating when I move it just going in and out making horrid noises (you can see it happen too 🤢) and something is up with my clavicle but I can’t tell what because I can’t see my clavicle cause I’m what you might call a certified big boi ™️ but when I feel along it it seems lower than the left side one and idk if that’s the problem all I know is it hurts to relax my shoulder/trap muscles AND it hurts to use them too AND it hurts when I move my neck and idk what to do anymore. So ya know what suggestions are welcome. I’ve tried KT tape and that helps a teeny bit but not much.

[heartattackinblackdye]

this summer i recommend shower wipes or body wipes to people who struggle with hygiene due to disability, mental or physical. yes i know it produces unnecessary waste. yes there’s the argument of “if you buy the wipes then you’ll never shower,” but chances are most people who are struggling would Not Have Showered with or without access to wipes. i know it isnt a full shower but wiping yourself down can make a big difference in how you feel!!

along these lines you can think about buying mouthwash and getting any kind of friction at all on your teeth when it’s too hard to brush fully, dry shampoo if it’ll help keep your hair less oily when washing your hair is overwhelming, etc. you deserve easier ways to care for yourself and feel clean. also remember you are not a failure for struggling with hygiene even if society tells you otherwise!

[prokopetz]

Having a sidebar about gender and pronouns in your indie RPG is de rigueur these days, but I have to confess I wouldn't know where to begin. The supported player character types in my most recently published games have variously included sapient jellyfish, sinister hovering orbs, and creatures so abstract that their human players aren't allowed to know what the words on their character sheets mean when play begins. Forthcoming titles I'm currently working on will add "two-inch-tall frog wizards", "the sapient reproductive apparatus of a fungal hive mind", and "a deep space bounty hunter who is secretly a person-size mech suit operated by fugitive space gerbils" to the list. I feel like unpacking enough assumptions to drill down to the level of pronouns is one of those beyond-the-scope-of-this-text propositions.

[veenilla]

Make a d6 (or d66!) lookup table of non-sequitur ways to answer or avoid the question "what are your genders/pronouns?"

[prokopetz]

Gender (d66)

11. To whom it may concern 12. Making it work 13. Now more than ever 14. If I told you, I'd have to kill you 15. Subtly hairy 16. A little to the left 21. A selection of fine cheeses 22. Fury, then silence 23. Somebody else's problem 24. Exit pursued by a bear 25. Wizard 26. On an intercept course 31. Man with a plan 32. Forklift certified 33. [REDACTED] 34. Demi-princess 35. Up, up and away 36. Getting better 41. $37.99 42. Gender? I hardly know 'er! 43. A pebble upon the mountainside 44. Project manager 45. A-flat major 46. It's pretty obscure, you've probably never heard of it 51. Eight out of ten 52. Wouldn't you like to know 53. Were-guy 54. *deafening foghorn noise* 55. Banned by the Geneva Conventions 56. Anarcho-catgirlist 61. I seem to have misplaced my astrolabe 62. The gender that dare not speak its name 63. Smiling on the inside 64. Are you a cop? You have to tell me if you're a cop 65. Under construction 66. Yes

[nohopethiswillallendintears]

oh, joint pain! My favorite! …yeah

[consider-your-potatoes-mashed]

So I’m currently in family therapy with my parents and I finally stood up for myself today and I’m very proud of myself but also fuck I hate crying in therapy and in front of my parents and also in general. I hate how both emotionally and physically exhausting it is to talk with them and have these conversations with them. I think they finally get it now at least a little bit but fuck man I hate it here. I wish it wasn’t like this. I hope this helps it get better. 

[guerrillatech]

[colorbandiits]

[image ID: a cycle with “inaccessibility” at the top, leading to “disabled people unable to participate” leading to “disabled people not visible in public” leading to “disabled people seen as an outlier/rarity” leading to “‘so there’s little/no need to consider them’” leading back around to “inaccessibility” again. At the bottom it is labeled as the Inaccessibility Cycle. Behind the text is the symbol of a person in a wheelchair. End ID]

[covid-safer-hotties]

When you bring up respirators in this context, people lose their shit.

[upallnightallday]

Ah, the weekly reminder that I am, infact, ✨disabled✨.

Tomorrow is gonna be tough, I though I was being careful but no.

[consider-your-potatoes-mashed]

I’m so tired but I can’t fucking sleep because I’m in PAIN i hate this

[consider-your-potatoes-mashed]

I can barely handle doing chores I’m terrified of getting a job… I’m lucky I’m still supported by family but it won’t last forever and I want to be independent but I’m terrified I won’t be able to have a normal job. I have the energy to do like 4 chores on a good day. I used to have so many dreams about what I’d do when I grew up and now all of those just seem impossible. My mobility aids like my knee braces and forearm crutches help some but they don’t do a lot tbh. I start as a substitute teacher for my local school district in the fall and I think that’ll be okay, but I’m still scared.

[consider-your-potatoes-mashed]

Why is vacuuming so fucking exhausting and painful????? I’ve been putting it off for weeks and just finished and holy fuckity fuck I’m in pain, I’m stiff, I feel like I can hardly stay up right, I’m so exhausted. Why is it SO GODDAMN HARD???

Do any of my fellow physically disabled folks have any tips for how to make it easier/less painful/idk just less bad? Please help.

[iluvgargoyles]

I'm so fucking tired of dealing with health care workers who fundamentally do not understand ME like ohhhhhhh my god you've got the wrong paradigm your framework is irrelevant your worldview is invalid your logic is inverted your swag is absent

[tiredraccoonman]

HEAVY on the absence of swag

[decompose1]

real exchange i overheard between two of my bosses. ????

[decompose1]

why is this getting notes again everyone STOP talking about white collar & rich guy shit i am a BLUE COLLAR DYKE!!!! THIS IS A JANITORIAL COMPANY!!!! i will NOT let you make this about white collar businessmen the poors are funny too ok

[consider-your-potatoes-mashed]

Feel free to ignore if you don't want questions, but I'm also hypemobile (hEDS) and was wondering how you knew you needed custom braces and what the process was like to get them? How do they help you? Thanks if you do answer this but no pressure to (:

It’s been a really long process of me figuring out what kind of braces I needed. I was in and out of knee and ankle braces from the time I was like 7 or so. as Ive gotten older my body has just become more and more unstable and walking and standing and pretty much doing anything had become so painful that I knew something needed to change. I’ve also done a lot of physical therapy and they had suggested braces as something that might help with my stamina and ability to live my life. From there I went to an orthopedic doctor who also suggested it. First we started with off the shelf cloth with hinge braces which did approximately nothing other than have compression and my hyperextension would push right through any of the rigidity it tried to have. From there I tried off the shelf more ridged braces and I would still push through those and/or they just wouldn’t fit my legs. At that point my orthotist said the best option would be custom rigid hinged braces. The process of getting my current pair took like a year and a half and a lot of fighting/dealing with insurance to get them covered. My current pair is made to my measurements by the brand thusane (honestly idk if that’s how it’s spelled lol) and they don’t have extension stops so my legs still push past 180 and hyperextend, less so than with out them but still more that ideal. I’m currently trying to get new ones because these ones are literally falling apart (and have been since 2 months after I got them) and they slide A LOT and they aren’t as solid as they should be (so me and my orthotist don’t recommend this brand). Having my braces has made a huge difference in my life. I can walk a lot further with them than with out them and stand for a lot longer too. At the end of the day I’m in less pain than I would be other wise. Unfortunately, they aren’t currently doing enough for me but they are certainly better than nothing. I hope that helps. I’m happy to answer more questions if you have them :) you can also feel free to DM me if you want :)