struggle city

Documenting my experience with ongoing health problems. Let's shit talk the American health system. Main: @richter-raccoon

[longlostdiaries]

I don't know who needs to hear this but:

-"it only hurts a little" is still pain

-"I can ignore it" is still pain

-"I can cope with/manage it" is still pain

-"it's bearable" is still pain

-"I can push through it" is still pain

-"it doesn't hurt that much" is still pain

-"it doesn't stop me from doing x" is still pain

You don't need to be in agonizing pain to be in pain.

[chronicallymo]

my body hurts too bad but he washed my hair he sat behind me traced my scars with his eyes scrubbed my scalp washing away the dirt and the dust it still hurt but not as much I laid between his naked thighs his hands and comb finding every knot he didn't want it to hurt how lovely for him to care about the pain that a tug to the scalp might bring

m.w.

[aforlorngazeintoyesterday-deact]

hey I wanted to wish a very special disability pride month to every disabled person who’s getting worse. to people who are losing the ability to do things they used to do. people whose symptoms are increasing in severity. people who are developing new symptoms. people with degenerative and terminal disorders. people who are dealing with new disorders on top of preexisting ones. happy disability pride month to everyone who knows they’re not getting better. there’s nothing wrong with that, and you deserve to take pride as much as anyone else.

[youngchronicpain]

Like yeah, I'll never have a pain-free day in the future. I will experience pain every day for the rest of my life. But! I also will laugh with my family. I will create beautiful things. I will share beautiful moments with my partner. I will experience the bands that I love releasing new music. Things will get worse and maybe get better and it really sucks that I hurt so much but there is still so much good waiting for me. And I'm really glad that I'm still here to see it.

[kragehund-est]

im in so much physical pain i might died

[kragehund-est]

disgusting evil bastard muscle

[spaghetti-explosion]

the stingray

[kragehund-est]

[potsiepumpkin]

When the doctor is pleased the tests came back “normal” after I explicitly told them that wasn’t the problem in the first place.

[thecovenhouseco]

The scariest thing about being chronically ill and waiting to figure out wtf is wrong with you is dealing with scary symptoms you don’t know is just a symptom or something else that’s really serious. The anxiety from that itself is debilitating. My body feel like a torture device that I will never escape.

[wheelie-butch]

article link here

I've been loving watching Superstore and Garret is one of my favourite characters but this is really upsetting to learn that his actor is not actually a wheelchair user or even disabled. Especially that the role was open to real wheelchair users and they still decided to go with someone able bodied. He says it's about "energy" but you have to wonder how much the cost saved of not having to 'deal with' a disabled actor is a part of that.

I know some people say what matters is the portrayal of the character but I think it's really important that disabled characters are portrayed by disabled people because when else are disabled actors going to get a role? The tv show gets all the benefits of having a 'diverse' cast without actually making the industry any more accessible or offering real benefits to the disabled community.

I think it also makes a lot of the wheelchair jokes I loved less funny to know that the person saying them isn't really speaking from their life.

I'll probably still keep watching Superstore because I do really love it and I want to see how it ends and stuff but I'm really upset about this, especially when discovering Superstore has been getting me through a really rough patch with my disability when I can't leave the house or do anything but lie quietly for most of the day.

[eesirachs]

pros of pain: you might find god there

cons of pain: you might find god there

[beardedmrbean]

Cory Lee has visited 40 countries on seven continents, and yet the Georgia native has never explored Cloudland Canyon State Park, about 20 minutes from his home. His wheelchair was tough enough for the trip to Antarctica but not for the rugged terrain in his backyard.

Lee’s circumstances changed Friday, when Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources and the Aimee Copeland Foundation unveiled a fleet of all-terrain power wheelchairs for rent at 11 state parks and outdoorsy destinations, including Cloudland Canyon. The Action Trackchair models are equipped with tank-like tracks capable of traversing rocks, roots, streams and sand; clearing fallen trees; plowing through tall grass and tackling uphill climbs.

“I’ll finally be able to go on these trails for the first time in my life,” said the 32-year-old travel blogger, who shares his adventures on Curb Free with Cory Lee. “The trails are off-limits in my regular wheelchair.”

Georgia is one of the latest states to provide the Land Rover of wheelchairs to outdoor enthusiasts with mobility issues.

In 2017, Colorado Parks and Wildlife launched its Staunton State Park Track-Chair Program, which provides free adaptive equipment, though guests must pay the $10 entrance fee. Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources has placed off-road track chairs in nearly a dozen parks, including Muskegon State Park. In 2018, Lee reserved a chair at the park that boasts three miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake. “It allowed me to have so much independence on the sand,” he said.

Mobility FTW

[chaoticgouda]

[treemice]

Sensory issues are so funny. No I can't eat the spaghetti you bought a slightly thicker spaghetti than usual. And today isn't a spaghetti day! Oh nevermind today I don't care. I have so little texture related sensory issues I'm so glad. Nvm I can feel all of my seams and I'm wearing the good pants and also please get me scissors I haven't cut the tag out of my new shirt yet. Oh my sensory issues with sound are nonexistent. Nevermind this hurts so bad. Nevermind it doesn't hurt anymore.

[the-curl-almighty-squad]

Friendly reminder that:

Young people can have arthritis too.

There are hundreds of life long conditions and diseases out there that are typically diagnosed between 12 and 30.

There is a vast difference between being tired and having chronic fatigue.

Just because you can’t tell that someone is unwell from looking at them, doesn’t mean that you should assume that they are ok.

Many chronic illnesses are life long, and incurable. Many of them are potentially fatal.

If you have a disease like Lupus, on good days you still feel like you have a bad flu, 24/7.

Many of the medications used to treat chronic conditions have side effects that can really affect someone’s self esteem - like extreme weight gain, skin changes and hair loss.

Most chronic illnesses have very little awareness - its unlikely that you’ve heard of Sjogren’s Syndrome, Scleroderma, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or Fibromyalgia.

However these diseases can cause symptoms as varied as joint pain, fatigue, constant nausea, kidney failure, pneumonia, photo sensitivity, full body rashes, paralysis, strokes etc.

So please remember that invisible illnesses exist too :)

[thehalflingsleaf]

i need all ablebodied people to understand how comorbidities work so the idea of someone having several chronic illnesses doesn't sound so far-fetched when it super isn't

[accessories-not-included]

I don't know if anyone else has this problem with their chronic illness or disability. For me, I'm either trying to pretend they don't exist in order to do things in spite of my limitations. Or, I'm trying to explain how my disability and chronic illnesses do exist to people who don’t believe me.

[wearingmystripes]

no offense to able bodied people, but when i say i’m tired and you say you’re tired we are NOT talking about the same thing

[pains-gray]

Nobody knows the trouble I seen