I went from being in constant inflammatory flare, fibromyalgia hell to normal pain that someone would have from a dislocation. The power of PMA cannot be denied.
Itās disturbing how many people are talking out of their asses when it comes to actual medical science. Half-truths sprinkled into faux-scientific drivel, using just enough medical terminology to fool those who arenāt well-informed.
I think itās annoying at best and dangerous at worst. Too many people believe the end goal is the diagnosis theyāve selected for themselves, and will get online and BLAST their medical information while accusing their physicians of incompetence simply because they didnāt get the diagnosis they were expecting.
Yes, it is absolutely true that the American for-profit medical system is fucked. For too long, insurance companies have been grabbing for power, using what amounts to blood money to lobby for more, and now we have what we have. I wonāt deny that- it was literally my job to apply insurance payments and adjust bills, Iāve seen what copays, deductibles, and reimbursement looks like on the provider end. Would you believe that some insurance plans pay your doctor $20 or less for your office visit? They sure do.
That doesnāt mean that healthcare providers are out to get you. Theyāre not all incentivized by ego, itās incredibly expensive and a lot of time and effort to become a physician, plus weāre living in a post-COVID world where critical thinking is bizarrely unpopular and we see skepticism of even the most basic facts of biology virtually anywhere it can be shoehorned in (which includes the fact that the only way to know what sex chromosomes you have is through karyotyping, a type of genetic testing; understand this is not a safe space for intersex erasure or anti-trans bullshit).
Diagnosis is not the end goal.
It is a means to an end. Without a diagnosis, youāre throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks. Diagnosing the problem correctly means being able to identify appropriate treatment options, as well as assessing prognosis.
I saw someone prattle on for 3 minutes about how much they disliked the tilt table test for POTS and how inaccurate they thought it was, since itās done under very specific, controlled conditions and doesnāt represent the patientās response in hot environments, during a lot of physical activity, or after eating a large meal. There is a reason for that- they want to eliminate as many variables as possible, to get the most precise information about how your autonomic system responds solely to change in position. Itās not meant to test what happens in other conditions.
You could be incredibly symptomatic in your day to day and have less of an issue doing the tilt table- I did. I actually qualify as subclinical, despite knowing from personal observation that my heart rate can spike by 40+ bpm just from standing up, walking up and down a single flight of stairs, and sitting back down. The cardiologist I saw said I didnāt have POTS, I just had baseline low blood pressure because the change in my heart rate was 29 bpm, under the diagnostic threshold of (drumroll, please)ā¦.. 30 bpm. HA. I didnāt go back to him, because of course someone who sees hypertensive patients isnāt going to worry about me, someone whoās been cautious their whole life and thus have never passed out (I hit the brakes at presyncope and have since childhood, it works). My physical therapist laughed when he saw the results and explained to me that it doesnāt really matter that my results were subclinical because I was clearly having issues and thus, I received the same treatment as someone whose heart rate did increase 30+ bpm.
Thatās the thing- these people complaining the most about not getting the diagnosis they wanted seem to never elaborate further. Theyāre stuck on the āNoā from the doctor. Fine, the doctor said no- but what did they say after that? Did they recommend further testing? Did they refer you to a specialist? Are you actually being denied treatment or are you stomping your feet because you need someone or something to blame?
Rhetorical questions- Iām not interested in whataboutisms. Your health is your problem. I was able to help well-informed patients the most efficiently when I was a tech and personally find things go much better when I donāt treat my care team with suspicion. If they donāt seem capable of treating me, I simply find another provider.
The only person who will have to deal with the consequences of all your decisions is you. Conduct your present self as if you consider your future self deserving of your consideration and respect- even if you donāt believe it yet.
How the fuck is anyone else going to learn to respect you if you canāt even try?
It is so incredibly unpopular to suggest that negative/maladaptive attitudes toward chronic pain impact how that pain is experienced but it is true. Taking offense at the notion that perhaps ruminating on the worst possible outcome isnāt helpful is just childish.
Critical thinking skills suffer in the face of chronic pain and fatigue. Youāre the expert on your bodily experience but you are only one person; there is a greater context.
You are not that fucking special. And that is a blessing.
If youāre not that special, someone else has done this before- the existence of a diagnostic label is evidence. Itās sick as fuck that we can stand on the shoulders of giants, doing better once we know better.
We know that the placebo effect, the power of the human mind, can actually change things in the body. This is no different.
It's Lesbian Visibility Week, an excellent time to be celebrating women who love women. Give it up for the sapphics, their muses, and the gorgeous art that honors them.
there's a lot of examples of people being weird or mean about mobility aids in some tags so im going to put in a few examples of good interactions I've had at work with my forearm crutch
when a coworker was rude to me and asked what the hell i did to myself (first day i brought my crutch in) one of my managers immediately spoke up and told her that was extremely rude and she needed to apologize
when i went to help a man and his little girl on self checkouts the girl had asked me what was wrong with me and her dad sternly but not meanly made her apologize and then explained to her that other people's medical stuff is not her business and that it's rude to ask people that (we love good parenting)
another time on self checkouts my manager amd i were helping someone with their wic card not accepting wic approved items and her little daughter was so fascinated with my crutch and played with it (i let her, i dont usually mind if people touch mine if its in good faith or theyre a small kid) i just thought this was a funny interaction she kept holding it and then telling me to go away so she could have it
another little girl and her mom and sister checking out and she was doing tiktok dances and spinning around and after her sister told her to not bump into me she came up to me and asked me what my crutch was for and when i told her it helps me walk she was like COOL :D and then kept eating her ring pop and doing tiktok dances
yet Another little girl on self checkouts with her mom and brother was having a good time in the buggy and she was like HEY I KNOW WHAT THAT IS MY MOM USES A WALKING STICK TOO :D which i thought was cute
This is literally so cute. #4 is like, I donāt know, the VAST majority of the response from kids that age, and itās my favorite thing š thereās something very funny to me about the expectation of a follow up question that never comes.
This is the first intentional cane purchase Iāve made, not one I picked up because I felt like I was dying walking through the Walgreen aisles in the middle of the worst inflammation episode Iāve had in literally 15 years orrrrr received as a hand-me-down from a friend who had extensive spinal fusion and no longer needs it
It is so much easier to claim and remember to use when I love the damn thing. I love it so much I wanna eat it. ą² _ą²
This beautiful piece of frickin artwork came from a small UK-based business, Neo Walk, run by a disabled woman who obviously had the same idea. They come in a variety of different colors and finishes, different handle styles depending on user needs (This is the question mark handle, which is great for me because my pinkies are super short and the curve brings the cane handle closer to the floor). In the bottom, thereās a hollowed out space thatās made watertight when you put the foot on. Their feet also have a metal disc for reinforcement and to stick the flashlight onto! These colors were made with a combination of colored filters they included as well as a couple I made on my own using jelly gel nail polish š„°
thereās nothing shameful about making things easier or more accessible for yourself btw.
if your disability means you can rarely/never cook so you have to order out a lot, or buy precut ingredients, or if you need other people to help you cook even āsimpleā meals.
if your disability means you struggle with personal hygiene so you donāt shower standing up, or donāt brush & floss ācorrectlyā or long enough, or put up your hair when you canāt handle brushing it.
if your disability means youāre not able to engage in your hobbies in a ānormalā or ācorrectā way. if you have to watch movies multiple times because your brain fog is making it hard to follow the plot. if you need accessibility tools to be able to draw or paint. if you have to do everything from bed.
youāre not doing anything bad or wrong. youāre being kind to yourself and caring for yourself in the ways that youāre able to. itās nothing to be ashamed of.
prguitarman
blakekathryn
yousharknotpass
ellievsbear
germansingergirl
