#invisible illness

[hypermobilesolutions]

One reason exercise fails with POTS is starting upright too soon. When you begin with jogging, HIIT, or long walks, blood pooling can overwhelm your system — leading to dizziness, tachycardia, and setbacks.

Protocols like CHOP and Levine take a different approach: 👉 Begin with recumbent cardio 👉 Train 3–5 days per week 👉 Gradually increase time before intensity 👉 Transition to upright exercise only after tolerance improves

For hypermobile bodies, another layer matters:

Protect unstable joints

Avoid overstretching

Prioritize controlled strength

Progress may feel slow — but slow progression prevents crashes. Think of it as nervous system training, not just cardio.

If you’ve struggled with exercise intolerance, you’re not lazy. You may just need the right structure.

Comment 💙 if structured programs have helped you.

[hypermobilesolutions]

Exercise with POTS can feel intimidating — especially if you’ve crashed after trying to “push through.”

That’s why structured protocols like CHOP, Dallas, and Levine were developed.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) protocol, the Dallas protocol, and the Levine protocol are all based on a similar principle:

👉 Start horizontal. 👉 Build gradually. 👉 Train the cardiovascular system safely.

These programs focus on: • Recumbent cardio (rowing, recumbent bike, swimming) • Slow, structured progression • Lower-body strength training • Increasing upright tolerance over time

The goal isn’t intensity. It’s reconditioning the autonomic system without triggering flares.

For hypermobile women especially, pairing these protocols with joint stability work is key.

Exercise isn’t about proving toughness. It’s about retraining circulation safely.

Save this if you’ve been unsure where to start.

[shirowm]

[blueparzival]

So, I did a thing 👀

I’ve started a new chronic illness/disability blog called A Body With Opinions.

It’s basically going to be me documenting life with hEDS, PoTS, ME/CFS, Chiari, syringomyelia, chronic pain, neurogenic bladder and the rest of the increasingly ridiculous collection.

Expect hospital appointments, mobility aids, medications, diagnoses, good days, terrible days, accessibility stuff, occasional rants, and me trying to maintain a sense of humour while my body continues submitting unsolicited feedback.

I also want it to be somewhere I can talk openly about what living with chronic illness and disability actually looks like, without pretending every difficult moment has to become an inspirational life lesson.

If any of that sounds like your sort of thing, come say hi 💙

Want to follow along?

📱

Instgaram @abodywithopinions

My body has opinions. Most are inconvenient.

https://www.instagram.com/abodywithopinions?igsh=bjJyMXRlaWtkN3Jj

P.S. I might put a buy me a coffee link in my bio, maybe....

[blueparzival]

So, I did a thing 👀

I’ve started a new chronic illness/disability blog called A Body With Opinions.

It’s basically going to be me documenting life with hEDS, PoTS, ME/CFS, Chiari, syringomyelia, chronic pain, neurogenic bladder and the rest of the increasingly ridiculous collection.

Expect hospital appointments, mobility aids, medications, diagnoses, good days, terrible days, accessibility stuff, occasional rants, and me trying to maintain a sense of humour while my body continues submitting unsolicited feedback.

I also want it to be somewhere I can talk openly about what living with chronic illness and disability actually looks like, without pretending every difficult moment has to become an inspirational life lesson.

If any of that sounds like your sort of thing, come say hi 💙

Want to follow along?

📱

Instgaram @abodywithopinions

My body has opinions. Most are inconvenient.

https://www.instagram.com/abodywithopinions?igsh=bjJyMXRlaWtkN3Jj

P.S. I might put a buy me a coffee link in my bio, maybe....

[roxsannel]

The Order of Odd Brilliance by C. L. Gaber.

In Maine, in the USA, there is a tenth preparatory school hiding in a beautiful forest, but only a selected few are invited to go there, this is Providence School where alongside normal studies, you learn to travel through time and sometimes even tweak it and change it, but nobody can ever know that.

When Sagan Santos is invited to attend school there, she is not sure what to do, she has never really been a stay in one place kind of girl but a free scholarship wins out in the end and she says goodbye to her family and boards a plane to Providence, but she isn't alone, she befriends two of the others Maiz, a streetwise New Yorker and Memphis, a shy Irish beauty but there is another who is mysterious and doesn't speak much, Stone whose tattoos and leather jacket scream rebel.

As they all enter the school and begin to find out just what learning about time travel involves, things become interesting and dangerous all at the same time, especially when the group begins their trips to the past, but will they succeed and change history, or will they go off plan and mess things up? This is a coming of age story mixed with sci-fi which will pull you along on the adventure of a lifetime.

[the-lady-siubhan]

I finally made this

Black ink

White ink

If there ends up being interest in this design I'll make variations with other pronouns