Pepper : )

my life as a disabled 20 y/o who is on a HEALTHY wl journey ~ she/her ~

[zerosugarlover]

hey i saw your post about hEDS, im young and dont really have guidance on this.

but i have basically one knee that pops out of its socked, without pain (unless it does while im walking). the other, my “stable” knee, got dislocated one time, and on that time alone, without even considering my life long condition on the other knee, i got diagnosed with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. i also, non chalantly (so ig not a diagnosis) got told im hypermobile later on.

i was wondering, should i look into this? i guess what im asking is, what were your “signs” that made you seek a diagnosis for hEDS?

hey, so actually this sounds exactly like what I went through!

I will preface this with I'm still in the diagnosis process of it but have had doctors say I almost certainly have it (but have to get the genetic testing to confirm it /make sure that I don't have any of the other types either) also I'm not an expert so take what I say lightly!

I started out with having knee issues as a young teen and they diagnosed me with patellafemoral pain syndrome. which didn't feel right because it wasn't just my knee, and didn't improve with all of the things doctors suggested/prescribed.

years went on and they just kept giving me braces for pfps and recently as of like literally the last 6-8 months,I partially dislocated my left shoulder at my job. because of that I had to go get it checked out because I could barely function and couldn't move my arm up more than a few inches.

it showed that I have extra space in my joint and that my shoulder was constantly shifting out of place even. they had asked me if I had ever dislocated anything or if I had issues with hypermobility. which for many years I knew what hEDS because were pretty sure my wife has it, but I has never connected the dots that I might've had it too.

I then had to go to some orthopedic specialist over 2 hours away from me to get more clear answers and next steps and to get a referall to a hEDS and hypermobility specific clinic. Which will take years to actually get an appointment into. plus a referral for PT which they want me to do around 3 months of it.

so yeah general consensus, if it's badly affecting your life and you need answers, do it asap. The wait times and specialist wait times are brutal. But my suggestion would to be to start with your primary care doctor and tell them your concerns about hypermobility/hEDS and go from there. good luck!

[zerosugarlover]

if anyone has any recommendations of good fitness youtubes who have workout at home videos please let me know! I had to pause my gym membership for financial reasons but don't want to stop being active :)

I'm looking for whole body but also want to focus on arms/shoulders for mobility purposes :)

[zerosugarlover]

I hate being sick :( all I wanna do is go on a walk

[zerosugarlover]

functional strength training > strength training to look fit

[fatphobia-spotlight]

People will do anything but admit they hate fat people

[zerosugarlover]

this is so funny to me, being anti fat acceptance doesn't equal hating fat people.

if anything I hate the misinformation and straight up lies the fat acceptance community loves to spread.

sincerely, a current fat person who loves myself enough to make healthier choices including losing weight 💓

[zerosugarlover]

eating healthier and looking back on my past eating habits is so eye-opening.

the portion sizes that I used to eat, the calorie dense food I would eat religiously, and just the pure amount of food I used to eat was sooo unhealthy and took such a toll on my body without me realizing.

yet the fat acceptance community would tell me "it's okay, you're listening to your body!" and all of these "WIEAD as a fat person!" videos further made me justify to myself my poor eating habits because it seemed "normal"

[zerosugarlover]

small changes over time, literally make such a big difference.

you don't have to go from 2k steps to 10k steps immediately

go on small walks in your neighborhood starting once a day. then maybe twice. then maybe longer walks once or twice a day.

work your way up! If you keep immediately going from doing the bare minimum to "locking in" you're gonna exhaust yourself and be more likely to stop trying to create healthier habits. progress comes from consistency, even if that means baby steps.

[zerosugarlover]

sorry for my lack of posting, I've been visiting family and going on so many walks with my dog :) she's a good walking buddy

[eyezehuhh]

Rhea Ripley (x)

[zerosugarlover]

little rant/medical stuff about me-

although i don't talk much about my disabilities on this blog, i feel like this is something thats been on my mind a lot.

a big part of the reason I'm pursuing wl and taking care of my body is because of a condition I'm highly suspected to have called hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. (hEDS)

It's a fairly common disorder, especially in these past few years but I've struggled with it A LOT these past 6 years.

hEDS has personally caused me so much agony and chronic pain including subluxations, dislocations, chronic joint pain and a whole laundry list of comorbidities.

it's something that I thought I wasn't "flexible enough for" until late last year when I partially dislocated my left shoulder from working in the infant room at my previous job. My shoulder basically no longer stays fully in the socket, even when laying down.

it's really motivated me to really lock in and take care of my body, because even though I can't fix this, I can take the steps to take care of my body and lessen the pressure my joints have on them. I will likely live with the pain and discomfort of hEDS for the rest of my life, but that doesn't mean I'll give up and not try to manage it with the important lifestyle changes that I'm trying to implement.

[zerosugarlover]

I'm not only exercising to lose weight

I'm exercising to:

- improve my mobility

- lift heavy things easier

- be quicker/strong in case of emergencies

- increase my endurance

- be able to climb, jump over, run, etc. easier

- be able to easily pick things off the floor

- to reduce the risk of osteoporosis

- to gain confidence in my abilities

- be the strongest and healthiest version of myself that I can be

[zerosugarlover]

I've been going to the gym for a little over a week now and here's the changes I've seen:

- As for weightloss, the scale hasn't changed much, which doesn't surprise me.

- I've obviously been sore but it feels great!

- One of the pair of pants that used to be pretty tight on me I put on today since I was low on clean clothes and it felt a lot better! not as tight anymore and I felt like it looked better on me now.

- more energy, I don't feel as fatigued in the daytime except for a bit after lunchtime

- my knees don't hurt as much, my knees don't ache so much and I feel like I can walk a bit longer than before

- I can walk longer without feeling much leg pain, thanks to the more cardio and walking I've done

- overall seen a lot of mental improvement and less brain fog! very excited about this

I'm excited to see all the changes to come as I continue my weightloss and gym journey :)

[zerosugarlover]

I hate that it's okay to point out that someone being very underweight is unhealthy and concerning for their health (which is true)

but once you point out that someone being super morbidly obese is also unhealthy (which is ALSO true) it's like super unacceptable to talk about and "not comparable"

[zerosugarlover]

it's crazy to me that if there was a medication that caused an increased risk of

- Infertility

- Type 2 diabetes

- Cancer

- Sleep apnea

- High blood pressure

- Heart disease

- Fatty liver disease

- Stroke

etc.

It would immediately be taken off the market and deemed VERY dangerous

But then when you point out the fact that obesity can cause ALL OF THE ABOVE it's suddenly taboo and you'll be called a liar even after all of the studies and facts to back that data up. Plus told that being overweight/obese "isn't unhealthy" and that I "just don't like fat people".

[zerosugarlover]

daydreaming how much muscle I'll gain and how much weight I'll lose as long as I stay consistent.

I gotta stay consistent

I can do it this time

[stuckinapril]

[stuckinapril]

Literally cannot believe I was ever scared of getting older like this is awesome. Learning so many new things about myself & reacting to things that used to get under my skin so differently. This is so sexy.