#chronic pain with katie

[mostlikelyshutup]

having chronic pain that doesnt really have a physical cause is so strange because you'll get injured and just accept that pain as something you have to live with now and then get an xray three years later and the doctor will be like, "yeah no we know what this is and can fix it and we need you to get another xray of another thing we saw" and youre just waiting for the catch

#aka hi i slipped in my dining hall freshman year and landed directly on my knee #and waited until monday to get an xray on it even though it still hurts to kneel and i was crying in pain when it happened #anyway i have a high riding patella and arthritis in my knee #and also thickening of my femur which is why i need the other xray i have no clue what causes it #and im currently really supressing the ocd hypochondriac in my brain telling me i have bone cancer #k mumbles #chronic pain #chronic pain with katie #like im out here with chronic migraines that arent caused by anything you can see on an mri #and chronic back pain caused by stuff you cant see on an xray #and they just went #yeah no this has a cause that we can see clear as day and you shouldve probably had treated three years ago when it happened #like isnt that crazy

[ekowolf]

TW: Suicide (song)

how much can your skin crawl before you want to rip it all from your bones?

Strong for Someone Else Pt.2. (TW: SA)

Her standing here broken was his victory lap.

She let her eyes glance downward. Oh Rao

Her body was a sea of red. Her white button down in tatters, filet open.

Her blue bra.

Exposed.

Her legs barely covered by the remnants of her skirt.

Exposed.

The matching blue underwear that should have been there but now nowhere to be seen.

Exposed.

Exposed.

Exposed.

Salvation was right in front of her.

She hoped.

She knew she didn’t deserve it but—she hoped.

Her mind cycling through images like flickering reel of film. The pain. The searing pain. The hands. The smell potent to her nostrils. The water overwhelming her lungs. The gravely voice in her ear. The hands. The cold metal shackling her legs, her wrists.

The hands.

She knew she was spiraling. She knew the darkness was consuming what little was left of her. Her strength giving its last gasp before her reserves were depleted.

Her body couldn’t even find another ounce of energy to pull her hand back the few tiny inches to knock.

Too far. Too much.

She did the only thing she could do, she called out to her best friend and hoped her superhearing could pick up the sound over the game night frivolity.

The voice that came out of her she didn’t recognize, much like the rest of her; it was breathy and raw, her chest screaming with the effort to expel it.

Almost there.

“K-kara…” Lena felt her vignetting vision pulse and close in on her further like the shutter of a camera.

How much time passed since she said her best friends name? Seconds? Minutes? Her mind was unlatching from reality. Was she even at Kara’s door? Maybe she was still…there…back there?

She felt herself falling forward, the door disappeared as if it was never really there at all. Or maybe it was her that wasn’t really there?

Falling. She was falling.

She waited for the ground to claim her, to eat what puny remains was left of her—it isn’t much.

But the ground never came. Instead she felt strong, warm arms catch her so delicately it could have been a cloud that kept her from the ground and she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

In a way it was as similar to a cloud you could get—her friend who touched the sky and danced with skyscrapers.

She scraped the bottom of her reserves and used the last drop of energy to open her eyes.

She just wanted to see her.

One more time.

One last time?

Blue eyes like the sky on a clear summer day right before the sun went down, twinkling its few sacred stars so they could be seen through the atmosphere. It was a gift to see both night and day at once. That was Kara.

She could see Kara’s mouth moving but there was no sound. It was as if her ears couldn’t hear anything past the thumping of her own heart. She watched as the blonde turned her head like Kara was saying something behind her. Yelling maybe?

Oh, she wished she could hear her beautiful voice, even then.

She dug so deep to bring her hand up to the warm cheek under those soul piercing eyes that seemed different in the moment. Trying to calm them but like a storm rolling through those eyes looked for release.

She rubbed her thumb gently underneath, catching a tear before it traveled too far down Kara’s soft cheeks.

“D-don’t cr-…cry”, Lena whispered as her lips stuck together with the stickiness of blood like glue curing on a canvas.

But her eyes are too heavy, her body finally giving in, the darkness being just another thing to claim her tonight.

#mind body battle #not giving up #not giving in #i’m just tired #SoundCloud #supercorp #supergirl #lena luthor #kara danvers #katie mcgrath #no sleep club #chronic pain

[hecckyeah]

apparently my body's motto is "if everything hurts, then nothing hurts" and that's not exactly something I expected from adulthood

#chronic pain #ehlers danlos syndrome #katie’s sleep deprived ramblings

[modern-sybil]

gastroparesis, my beloathed

#nothing like some nausea with a side of gagging #throw in some inability to eat #sprinkle that feeling of being too full #a dash of heartburn #just a smidge of bloating and abdominal pain #katie speaks #chronic illness #diabetes complications

[gypsy-that-i-was]

#music #music videos #chronic pain #Katy Nichole #in Jesus name #Youtube

[nikibogwater]

Everybody sit down and strap in, 'cause I have a doozy of a tale to share.

I've had anxiety for literally as long as I can remember. I've had periods of my life where it was so intense it became legitimately life-threatening (don't worry I promise this is going somewhere funny). And this was really bizarre because I have zero childhood trauma. Like, my family life is so idyllic it's almost comical. Therapists would do abuse screenings on me and look utterly baffled when I told them everything was fine at home. They'd interrogate my parents just to make sure I wasn't lying. I have one friend who I'm fairly sure believed I was just severely gaslighting myself when I said my family was great, school wasn't too stressful, and I've never lived in a dangerous neighborhood or experienced poverty.

Anyways, despite no one being able to figure out where my disorder was coming from, my doctors were able to help me manage the symptoms so that I would like, not die, and actually be able to finish high school. Which was awesome. Now fast forward to late 2021. My big sister (who has also had intense anxiety her whole life which no one could figure out why) is finishing up her doctorate and getting her physical therapist's license. Somehow, during all her studying and schooling, she finds out about this thing called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which explains literally everything that was going on with us. EDS is a connective tissue disorder that kinda fudges up your body in a whole bunch of little ways, including dysautonomia (episodes of very fast heart-rate that kick your body into fight-or-flight mode), and hypermobility (unusual flexibility). It's a spectrum disorder, so the severity of symptoms vary from person to person, but we definitely checked almost every box on the diagnostic list. My sister went to see a specialist, and yep, she was diagnosed EDS positive. She immediately calls my mom and goes "I know what's wrong with Niki" (thanks, sis, that's real encouraging lol). Initially we're like "okay Katie, that's nice" because honestly this kind of sounds like jumping at shadows, but I go in to see the specialist anyways just to make sure.

One consultation and diagnosis later, and suddenly my entire life makes perfect sense.

Now we get to the funny part. See, the diagnosis stuff happened in early 2022. So by the time late 2023 comes around and we're looking for a new dog (I promise this is relevant), we've been riding that chronic illness diagnosis for a while. Once again, my sister, ever the proactive one, decides she's going to help us get a new dog. She scours the adoption website, sends us photos of the cutest dogs available, and helps us make a decision. This is how we got Beverly, who has been an unstoppable force of chaos in our lives ever since we signed the papers (but she's also really cute so she can get away with it). Now on top of being a very excitable and anxious pupper, Beverly's got a weird little gimp in her hindquarters, which makes her sit all splayed-out and funny-looking, and while it doesn't seem to be causing her pain, we take her to a vet to get it checked out. Vet finds absolutely nothing. X-rays are taken and examined. Still nothing. At this point, they go "well, we could try a CT scan of her brain, which would run about $5,000, and maybe we could find something--" but my parents are already packing this dog into the car like "well that is a HARD nope." So we decide, look, Beverly seems happy and healthy, and those gimpy legs don't seem to bother her, so we'll just leave it be until it becomes clearer what's wrong with her because we do NOT have a cool $5,000 to throw around here.

Readers more astute than my family and I will likely have already figured out where this is going.

This morning, my mom is looking at Beverly sitting in her funny sprawled-out way, and something in her brain goes "wait...weird physical symptoms with no tracible cause that vets can see..." She does a bit of googling. Can dogs have EDS/Hypermobility? Yes. Yes they can. And the listed symptoms describe Beverly to a T.

So not only is my sister the one to finally figure out what's wrong with me, she also unknowingly got us a dog who has the exact same chronic condition as us. Meanwhile my poor dad, who is the only Normal Person in our house, is coming to terms with the fact that he is apparently just fated to always love chronically ill people and animals, and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it.

#storytime with niki #long post #chronic illness #hypermobility #ehlers danlos syndrome

[gingerjolover]

masterlist :')

requests are currently CLOSED (asks are always open to submit ideas but will go to the bottom of the list🫶🏻)

while some of my writing is PG/PG-13, this blog contains content unsuitable for minors. 18+ only, minors gtfo!

**-** smut

who I write for!

Lucy Dacus

Unspoken - Lucy and crew!reader don't have to say it but they're in looooove

Warm Like the Breeze - Lucy and her gf cuddle on a daybed before tour

Sweet Angel - Lucy's gf has chronic pain, so she wears many different hats - nurse, dog mom, and sweet angel from heaven above

Pet Names - blurb

**Dom!Lucy** - blurb

**Bothering Lucy** - blurb

What I want - mini fic (gingy’s halloweekend)

Lazy Day - mini fic (gingybread's holidaze)

Julien Baker

Sleep It Off - Julien has had a rough few weeks, resulting in some conflict with her soft!gf :(

Dirty Shirlies - Julien doesn't like when randos talk to her girl (possessive!julien in the house)

Pet Names - blurb

Julien's Accent - blurb

#28 This is not what I expected - six-word prompts (mini fic)

**Electrolytes** - after a separate night out, julien just wants to spend time with her gf <3

Possessive + Protective - blurb

Taking care of you - blurb (TW: ED)

Princess - blurb

#30 I can't risk losing you again - six-word prompts (mini fic) (gingy's halloweekend)

Ariana! What are you doing here? - soft!gf is doing jb's makeup on Halloween and she just can't sit still (gingy's halloweekend)

Pumpkin carving - blurb (gingy's halloweekend)

Detangle - Julien's gf helps her get unready after BG's Halloween show at the Hollywood Bowl :') (gingy's halloweekend)

Ice Skating - blurb (gingybread's holidaze)

Looooover - blurb (gingybread's holidaze)

(Ginger)bread House Battle - blurb (gingybread's holidaze)

Mini Telecaster Ornament - blurb (gingybread's holidaze)

Winter Wedding +1 - blurb (gingybread's holidaze)

The Love Nest - mini fic (controversially young!gf universe)

Phoebe Bridgers

Taking care of you - blurb (TW: ED)

Lasagna - Phoebe's had a long day at the studio and her gf knows exactly what to do when she needs comfort

**She's a biter** - blurb - part 1 - part 2

Pet Names - blurb

Pumpkin Patch - blurb (gingy's halloweekend)

Mistletoe - blurb (gingybread's holidaze)

Katie Gavin

Don't let Go - Katie teaches their sweet (and scared) gf how to rollerbade!

Pet Names - blurb

#22 I don't want to hear it - six-word prompts (mini fic) (gingy's halloweekend)

Happy Not Birthday - katie's gf hates her bday but loves katie <3

Early morning walk - christmas morning domestic vibes

Jo Maskin

Hidden Meanings - Soft!gf reader always gifts flowers for Jo with hidden meanings <3

#4 Don't talk to me ever again - six-word prompts (mini fic)

Missing you - blurb

Pet Names - blurb

For the bit - mini fic (gingy’s halloweekend)

Untitled V-day Fic - (gingy's cupid shuffle)

Naomi McPherson

Calming you down - blurb

#7 I can't stop thinking of you - six-word prompts (mini fic)

Pet Names - blurb

Mornings - mini fic

Mornings Pt 2 (Bob the Builder) - mini fic (gingybread's holidaze)

Taking care of drunk soft!gf - blurb (gingy’s halloweekend)

Pumpkin seeds - blurb (gingy's halloweekend)

NYE Jealousy HC - blurb (gingybread's holidaze)

Untitled Angst - preface

You're Losing Me - Part 1

You're Losing Me - Part 2

You're Losing Me - Part 3

You're Losing Me - Part 4 (Coming soon!)

Boygenius

Types of dates - blurb

Commitment styles - blurb

MUNA

Couple Halloween costumes - blurb (gingy's halloweekend)

Munagenius

The Group Chat - blurb

"We're munagenius's gfs, of course..." - blurb

#lucy dacus x reader #masterlist #request please! #phoebe bridgers x reader #julien baker x reader #muna x reader #rpf #katie gavin x reader #josette maskin x reader #naomi mcpherson x reader

[chocodile]

An illustration of Bani, my cat who passed away at the beginning of March 2023. She was my best friend. I still miss her every day.

A little writeup/”poem”(?) about her last few years under the cut.

When Bani was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in early 2020, I asked her to make it through the pandemic because it felt like the world was ending and I couldn't lose her, too. And she did.

When we moved to a new state in 2021, we asked her to make it for a while in the new house because I didn't want this happy new chapter of our lives to be tainted with such a painful loss so early on. I wanted the house to feel like our family’s house, not "the house without Bani." And she did.

When she had her first major health crisis in early summer 2022 at the same time I was trying to job hunt, I asked her to make it through me getting settled into the new job, because I was already feeling out of my depth and struggling with the adjustment and needed her support and love to keep strong. And she did.

When she was almost 18 in fall of 2022, we asked her to make it to 18, because I had been telling people for ages that my cat was "almost 18 years old" and I didn't want her to always be "almost 18 years old". I wanted to celebrate her birthday with her. And she did.

When we had plans to leave for Christmas at the end of 2022, we asked her to make it through until we got back, because it would be too impossibly sad for her to pass while we weren't here to be with her. And she did.

When my birthday was coming up in January 2023, I asked her to make it past my birthday, because I wanted to be with her on my birthday. And she did.

The winter has been long and hard and cold and miserable. Earlier this winter, before Christmas, Katie asked her to make it to March. I thought that March was a lot to ask of such an old cat. I wasn’t sure if she had that much juice left in her. I would understand if she didn’t.

But she did. At 18 years and 3 months old, she made it to March 2nd, 2023. But by then she was very old and very, very tired. Katie and I told her it was alright, she’d done enough and could rest now.

She passed away in my arms, on her favorite pillow, with Aunt Katie beside her, in bed, cozy and warm with a tummy full of cheese, just as she would have wanted.

#pets #cats #pet cat #pet loss #pet portrait #animal death // #death mention // #sorry for little art lately I've been in a bit of a funk since she died #March has been a pretty wretched month overall honestly #April has been... better... but I still feel like I'm not done recovering from March #also been working on some larger non digital art projects and trying to put together a garden

[junebugtwin]

fun little Worm ocs I've got stuck in my head (under the cut because this post ended up longer than I thought it would be):

Kathline 'Katie' Darner aka: WYSLMIIWAW (pronounced like 'wise-limm-wah') a nineteen year old runaway and member of 'The Party Crashers' a small and relatively informal rouge group that steals from the rich/ morally questionable and gives to the poor. (in this case they are The Poor but semantics) The party crashers prefer to target villain groups or cops- which makes them pretty much villains in the eyes of the law, though other villain groups find that opinion controversial.

Her power is that she can 'transform' into a worm (in reality its more like her consciousness switches into that of a worm that has been teleported where she was and her body has been teleported to another dimension in a location where it is physically safe, but she doesn't know that). It happens instantaneously and can be undone instantaneously, which gives her a surprising amount of movement and agility.

She can use her powers to dodge hits, survive falls she wouldn't as a human, sneak into places, hide, or dig through the ground. She perceives the world similar to how she might if her human body was made tiny, as though she has somehow retained her human senses- though they are fuzzy and tend to 'lag' a half second or so behind reality.

If she dies as a worm she wakes up in her human body in another universe. She does not know this because she has assumed (fairly) that dying as a worm would just kill her like normal.

Her name is a acronym, the full title is 'Would You Still Love Me If I Was A Worm'- a truly stupid name made up by her girlfriend that she went along with. They have not bothered to explain it to the press or anyone outside of their group- which, hilariously combining with the fact that the 'worm' aspect of Katies powers is mostly unknown- leaves her as a mysterious figure with an annoyingly instant mover power.

Katie mostly stays quiet in costume, but as a civilian she's relaxed and pleasant to be around, if not incredibly easy to push over and boss around.

Maxine 'Max' Arbor aka: Hot Wheels- An eighteen year old girl who lives with her grandparents and barely passed highschool. She's one of the other members of 'The Party Crashers' and girlfriend to Katie.

At fourteen she was in a bad accident and became permanently disabled, resulting in her using a wheelchair to get around, among other chronic pains and annoyances. She does not let this stop her from being an active member of a semi-criminal gang of hooligans, though maybe it should honestly.

Her power allows her to use as much force as the most powerful thing to impact her (ever) into any movement she does with her body. She can not tone this power down- if it's on it's all the way on. This would not be so disasterous except the most powerful thing to hit her was a bus.

Max's physical body is protected from the after effects of punching/shoving things with the force of a bus, but it does not protect her immedate surroundings, the floor, or her wheel chair.

This is unfortunate because she definitely cannot pay for multiple wheelchairs, and thus uses her thievery as an income to replace her mobility aid which she destroyed via her job as a thief. It's a self perpetuating cycle that she doesn't really like thinking about.

Max has obvious brute powers, and can move extremely fast when necessary- however she's not so great at the steering or stopping part of things.

She's naturally impulsive, quick to anger and quick to forgive and a generally kind hearted person when she remembers to be one.

Rose Winters- A nine year old girl who doesn't have a cape identity because she doesn't really consider herself one and hasn't stopped to think too hard about things.

Rose is extremely intelligent for her age, in part because of her powers, and in part because her parental situation is neglectful enough that it borders on abusive and she's sort of had to learn how to fend for herself.

She has a tinker power in a round about way, she makes little 'statues' out of mud, rocks, grass, leaves and other natural items- with each ingredients adding different abilities or quirks to the statue as she goes. The location the items were found in, the condition they are in, the order they are added to her creations, even her emotions toward said object all effect the final product even if only slightly.

These creatures are made animate when she considers them 'done' and are friendly towards her, with the problem solving skills of maybe a particularly smart dog. She can make them at any size, but it's quite hard to make them overly big without it collapsing in on itself.

Each statue has it's own simple personality, and some work together better or worse than others. Depending on what she put into them they can have a huge range of abilities and properties, such as blending into the background, being hot to the touch, shooting gravel, making extremely loud sounds, seeing in the dark, or giving out a mild electric shock.

Rose is more interested in collecting, making and testing out her statues than the local cape scene but she has accidentally caused some chaos- her creatures are free to roam where they want and not every one takes seeing what is obviously some ones minion wandering around their turf very well.

I do have more characters, including the rest of the members of The Party Crashers, but this post is already waaay longer than I thought it would be and it's getting late. Feel free to ask me any questions/clarification about these guys, I'm always down to talk about ocs.

#I love them all dearly but they are all stupid in slightly different ways #i haven't classified any of them yet but I'm really not great at doing that anyway lol #feel free to do so if you'd like! I'd love to see what other people think they would be rated as #worm #parahumans #parahuman oc

[nyaagolor]

Very silly chart about the sv characters and weed

Protagonist: your mileage may vary but mine only befriended Koraidon because she was high as shit and thought it was a really big wingull

Nemona: She took those anti-drug PSAs to heart. Not only does she think marijuana will kill you and has never smoked before, but if she saw someone else smoking she would put out their joint and give them a stern lecture. She's still student council president at the end of the day and she will NOT tolerate la hierba diabla

Penny: Being a stoner transfemme catgirl furry is basically a prerequisite to being a cybersecurity expert at this point. This woman has DEFINITELY played Minecraft while high out of her mind

Arven: He is completely unfamiliar with weed outside this one weird brownie recipe he saw online once, but good lord he needs some. Get this man an edible immediately he needs a nap and a release from the cruelty of existence

Sada and Turo: Got the idea for the time machine while high, this is a hill I will die on

Jacq: He has enough cortisol in his bloodstream at this very moment to kill a small mammal, I think he needs something to chill him out. He's so air-headed that it probably won't affect his outward behaviors anyway

Miriam: Medical marijuana was getting popular so she got curious and tried it, telling absolutely no one. She hated the cotton-mouth feeling, so she hasn't touched it since, and says she's never tried it when people ask

Dendra: She's an athlete and they drug-test so she couldn't try it even if she wanted to (and trust me, she wants to)

Saguaro: He was never interested in it because it smells bad >n<. Try as he might to hide it, he's a bit sensitive and didn't want to be around something so stinky

Salvatore: He was in the poke-netherlands once on a study abroad trip and rolled the worst blunt of all time. He was so thoroughly humiliated that he didn't even end up smoking and was asked to leave. The memory still haunts him. He doesn't like to talk about it

Tyme: Smoked a few times when she was a teenager and hanging out with Ryme-- ironically in their youth, it was Tyme who was the rebel! She hasn't done it in a few decades though, it's not really her thing anymore

Raifort: She'll try anything once, but didn't like the feeling of being so sluggish and tired so she didn't do it again

Clavell: You know that video with Clavell as Dwight? "Clavell finding marijuana is more dangerous than most people smoking it"? Exactly that

Katy: Smells too bad for her to even think about trying it. Also she's petty and too many people asked her if she can bake weed brownies, so she avoids it on principle now

Brassius: He's a grass gym leader, what do you think. Also I hc he has a chronic illness so he takes it medically to help with the pain. His studio smells downright rancid

Iono: Got high on a since deleted stream. She ended up staring directly into the camera for like three hours and falling asleep drooling, which was so embarrassing that she erased all records of the stream from existence and swore never to touch it again

Kofu: This is a man who looks like he would make MEAN cannabutter. He just has the vibes

Ryme: Smokes sometimes at parties and other social events, but not all that frequently. Grandma's still got it, plus it helps calm her down before a seance

Tulip: Tried it once after being offered it at an afterparty, but didn't like how it made her feel. She likes to be at the top of her game At All Times and this was not the way to do it

Grusha: Takes it medically for his chronic pain, but that's about it. Wouldn't use it otherwise

Rika: Just look at her.

Larry: Tried it one (1) time and didn't like it. Prefers regular cigarettes

Poppy: She's four.

Hassel: He ran away from home to be a musician he definitely had a stoner phase. Also he's besties / husbands with Brassius, so he's more than familiar with weed. I think because he's a schoolteacher and works with kids he doesn't do it much anymore though

Geeta: I'm honestly not sure how she fits into this, only that she's on the Nightmare Blunt Rotation of every Paldean

Giacomo: He can pretend all he likes but he's still a student council president at heart, he is mortified by the very concept of smoking weed. Someone offered him a joint at a rave and he lectured them for a half hour on the importance of caring for your body. He may look like a stoner but do not be fooled

Mela: Acts tough but she's kinda scared of the prospect of smoking weed. Don't tell anyone though

Atticus: He heard about this ancient Johtoian technique of ninja relaxation and tried to hotbox his room once. This resulted in an academy-wide fire scare because he set off every smoke alarm in his hall. The director was less than thrilled about this. Rumor has it the smell from Atticus' homemade herb and weed blend still sticks to the walls

Ortega: His opinion on weed is irrelevant because no one in their right mind is going to deal weed to a 14 year old nepo-baby in a pastel pink suit

Eri: Actually shockingly responsible and healthy at the end of the day-- illicit substances aren't part of her workout routine. Will probably give you a look of disapproval if she sees you smoking, but ultimately that's your business

#pokemon sv #mod vex #headcanons #this isn't that serious don't think too hard about it

[mostlikelyshutup]

hes like a 5 but he ties and unties your bands at physical therapy

#hes also not a 5 but more like a 7 #also yes i go to physical therapy i have a bad fucking back #as a 21 year old #it happens sometimes #im really just there bc i want to get an mri of my back and i need pt to do that #bc american health insurance even in massachusetts kinda fucking sucks #also it almost definite that he has a girlfriend but like we're not thinking about that #k mumbles #or partner im not gonna assume #chronic pain with katie

[maaarine]

Hormones and their Interaction with the Pain Experience (Katy Vincent and Irene Tracey, 2008)

"One of the most striking physiological differences between men and women is in sex steroid hormones, both the absolute levels and the occurrence of cyclical fluctuations in women.

These hormones are known to be responsible for the embryological development of a male or female phenotype and for successful reproductive function after puberty.

More recently, observations such as the marked differences in pain symptoms between males and females in the period between puberty and the menopause, and the cyclical variations in many clinical pain symptoms in women have suggested that they may also have a role in altering the pain experience. (…)

With the onset of regular ovulation and menstruation, it can be seen that a number of clinical pain conditions show variation in symptom severity across the menstrual cycle.

Clearly the pain of dysmenorrhoea is, by definition, associated with the menstrual cycle, however, the symptoms of temperomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Interstitial Cystitis (IC) and migraine can also show cyclical variation.

The greatest reports of pain symptoms appear to occur at times of low or rapidly falling estrogen levels and the use of the combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) to give a more constant hormonal level can improve these symptoms. (…)

From puberty onwards, men have significantly higher levels of testosterone and its metabolites than women.

Testosterone appears to have an analgesic effect protecting against the development of painful conditions such as TMJ pain.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients (both male and female) have been shown to have lower androgen levels than sex-matched controls, and androgen administration improves their symptoms, whilst female workers with lower testosterone levels have more work-related neck and shoulder injuries.

However, investigation of the specific effects of testosterone are complicated by the fact that much is metabolised in vivo to estradiol by aromatase, and this is therefore an issue which needs to be addressed in future studies.

Perhaps one of the more intriguing studies to be published recently explored the effect of systemic hormone administration to both male to female (MtF) and female to male (FtM) transsexuals (n=73) during the process of sex reassignment.

They observed that approximately one third of the MtF subjects developed chronic pain during their treatment with estrogen and androgens, and even those that did not, reported a decreased tolerance to painful events and an enhanced sensitivity to thermal stimuli (both warm and cold).

Of those FtM subjects who had chronic pain before the start of treatment, more than half improved after commencing testosterone treatment, reporting reduced numbers of painful episodes and shorter lengths of those that did occur.

Clearly, psychological effects cannot be ignored in this group of subjects, however, this is the only situation where the hormonal milieu in humans can be ethically altered to that of the opposite gender and therefore gives us interesting insights. (…)

In addition to its sensory aspect, pain is an emotional experience.

It is therefore of interest that the life time patterns in pain symptoms in men and women are closely mirrored by those of mood disorders, though with the addition of a perimenopausal peak in mood disorders.

Comparing post-puberty with pre-puberty, rates of significant depression increased two-fold for boys but more than four-fold for girls.

In Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMD), there is no evidence that abnormal levels of hormones occur (unlike in depression associated with thyroid or pituitary dysfunction), rather, it appears that some women are more sensitive to the mood destabilising effects of these hormones.

It is not inconceivable therefore, that a similar situation may exist for pain."

#article #health #weaker sex #pmdd #fibromyalgia

[sammyisfat]

My dad had 3 surgeries on his kidneys, one died, one is functioning at 10% and he had a massive heart attack. All in the last 2 weeks, we are prepping him palliative care. Just keeping him comfortable.

So as mindless thing I started watching Vanderpump Rules, and I didn’t want to pay for the Hayu subscription. So in Feb I watched season 3-10. And seeing Katie, who is not a perfect victim, who suffered from PTSD and TBI from falling through a skylight and be in a relationship with someone like my ex has been very triggering for me.

But seeing Katie’s growth has really inspired me. As someone with ptsd, bpd, clinical depression, adhd, and chronic pain. And being in an abusive relationship with someone who saw me at my lowest and took advantage but couldn’t handle when I decided to start healing myself and putting me first and coming out my fog from a manic bpd episode caused by trauma from my hysterectomy.

My ex cheated, he lied, he gaslit me, he was awful to me but he was the Schwartz type. So good at making you think oh, he’s just a poor awkward puppy. But he had a dark side, the things he would say in heat of moments or even out of no where was insane to me and genuinely scared me. And I had never been in a relationship with someone like that. It was terrifying in hind sight. Seeing someone say they love me to treating me how Schwartz would Katie and then yell she deserved it because she was being tequila Katie.

When I watch Katie, I see with the right support system, with patience, and self love. I can heal from those things, I can move forward. I will find joy again, I will be able to accept the mistakes I’ve made and grow from them. Even if others want to throw my mistakes in my face.

I’ve been taking DBT so seriously, and I’m 8 weeks in. And I’m seeing the benefits and fruits of my labour by trying. And I know it’s just a show. But as a women who has gone through what I have, it’s nice to see her come out on top.

#mental health #me #personal #tw abuse #tw abusive relationship #tw death #tw sick parent #vanderpump rules

[jedimastre-archive]

I wanted to publicly admit that I am the reason @wornkindness and I can never have nice things because I am always coming up with ways to ruin even our nicest thing which is our happy ending au.

Where I saw this post and was like, what if Obi-Wan literally had a war injury that he neglected, nothing festering or an open wound. But like something more deep that caused increasing chronic pain until one day he just collapses.

Yeah. Katie does not get paid enough of me just finding out ways to burn or lightly toast anything nice we have.

#* out of character. #wornkindness #at least she buys me mcdonalds still.

[flockofdoves]

today was really really bad. was in the middle of cleaning my roommates cat shit off the floor today in preparation for our landlords inspection tomorrow that my roommate never responded about helping out with when my roommate got home from work. and of course she did her usual thing of trying to ignore me and running upstairs but i repeated her name a couple more times til she was forced to acknowledge i was there and when i said 'hey can we please talk for a little bit' she said 'haha no thats okay thanks though!' with a weird mocking tone while not looking in my direction continuing to walk up the stairs

and i started fucking panicking i walked outside for a bit with my gf and couldnt stop myself sobbing and hyperventilating and shaking once we were back inside which my roommate obviously could hear.

and i just didn't have the energy to clean up her mess anymore when i was so emotional right then and kept coming back to wanting to Really Well express my feelings even though i knew it wouldn't amount in anything and she never responds to texts anyway unless she stands to benefit from it

but just so i wouldn't push down and stop feeling my emotions and so i could let out my energy in an effective way i spent the last 2 and a half hours writing this all out

and of course when i went to text it it wouldn't deliver so i'm sure she blocked my number in preparation after that lol. but i also emailed so like whatever

katie —

i acknowledge that texting or emailing a giant wall of text is not really an ideal form of communication. there are some things i have hoped to express for a while, and i don’t want to pile it all on, so i hope despite the format i can do an okay job at expressing my hopes and needs without making this overwhelming to read or anything.

today jacqueline and i spent the whole day cleaning downstairs. as me and jacqueline are hoping to renew our lease here, i have been scared that if the apartment isn’t clean enough for the inspection that was going to be tomorrow (as of an hour ago moved to saturday instead) that we would have no housing in a month from now.

i feel drained in our current living situation. it is upsetting to smell months old moldy dishes in the sink every day, or to find the source of the fly problem in an old fermented cup of coffee full of larvae. but i get that you probably feel similarly, and it wouldn’t be productive to tie up my emotions surrounding that into blame, and i hope i can word things here in a way that makes it clear that i am writing to express my needs and where i am at, and not to simply leave you to handle my emotions or anything.

i have had times of my life where keeping things clean and sanitary has been hard, and even if i don’t know your specific situation, i empathize with that struggle a lot. i know that (beyond of course combatting structural issues in society and health issues that can often contribute to that sort of struggle) the way out of that struggle is in support and help from the people around oneself. we may not know each other that well, but i would like to be able to help in some form.

it isn’t sustainable for me though for the form that that help takes to be for me and jacqueline to deep clean everything every few months once it gets really bad again. i have a physical disability that causes me chronic flare ups of extreme joint and muscle pain. i have been in the middle of a flare up during this week leading up to the inspection, making cleaning a very slow and draining process for me. i’m sure that between being busy with work and any other situations i am not aware of that you clearly have a lot on your plate as well that is making doing stuff like cleaning a struggle too.

obviously there is no ideal solution to stuff like that when all parties involved are struggling and there aren’t enough external resources, but i believe from past experiences that the best thing that can be done to improve the situation as much as possible for all involved is for people to work collaboratively, communicating openly about what they might need help with, lessening the strain on them when the other person is able to do more, reciprocating the same when they can, and finding a compromise to push themselves a little and equitably share the strain when things are hard for both people but stuff still needs to get done.

even if i, for example, do not feel like i am at a point in my life where i have the time and resources to consistently take care of a cat and didn’t expect to have to worry about that responsibility, i would be much happier if you communicated stuff like for example, ‘hey would you be able to scoop her litterbox this week, things are really busy right now and i’m struggling with doing it myself’ as opposed to the current situation where it technically isn’t my responsibility, but it still needs to get done and i’m not sure if it will happen. i want to help you and kitty, and having stuff like that explicitly communicated would make things a lot easier for me.

i get that it is hard to communicate, especially when you’re in a bad situation, and i know i have been awkward in my communication as well, but no matter how hard it is i think it is still crucial for fostering a healthy environment where none of us feel too burnt out.

the same applies to a lot of other situations. if you are struggling with having the resources needed to get enough food for whatever reason, i want to be able to help you out, and if you ask i’d be happy to give you any food you want, no further questions asked. i also love to cook and share meals with people. but i feel upset when i allow myself in my budget one snack to look forward to, only to see it gone with no notice, or when my mom bought me a snack box when i was going through a hard time, only to find it empty out on the deck. what is important to me in these types of situation is the communication, i would be happy to share stuff if you asked.

i would really like if we could be more communicative with each other in our last month living together. while i totally respect if you wouldn’t want to, and its not at all in my expectations for what our household dynamic should be, i also would be happy to maybe even have movie nights and stuff like we talked about when we first moved in together. while there’s other small things that have built up that would be nice if they were resolved but i totally respect if they can’t be (ex. if by any chance you didn’t throw out me and jacqueline’s dishes that were on the deck i would love to have them back so i can wash them and use them again, or if you have the money to, our electric bills every month have been over the $70 you pay for electricity and its been a bit tight for me and jacqueline to pay your remaining portion of electricity after subtracting for the wifi if you can afford to compensate us) but the only thing i really want out of this last month is for us all to be able to equitably share the work of keeping the house sanitary and the cat healthy, and for there to be communication whenever you might need extra help, and then i would be happy to do it. please of course let me know anything i can improve on as a roommate too, i want you to have a good environment to live in too.

i know every sentiment i wrote out here jacqueline also shares too.

thank you for reading, chiara

#cpost

[runawaycarouselhorse]

‘Cousin Helen was white and tired, but her eyes and smile were as bright as ever. She was delighted with the flowers which Katy presented rather shyly.

"Oh, how lovely!" she said; "I must put them in water right away. Katy dear, don't you want to bring that little vase on the bureau and set it on this chair beside me? And please pour a little water into it first."

"What a beauty!" cried Katy, as she lifted the graceful white cup swung on a gilt stand. "Is it yours, Cousin Helen?"

"Yes, it is my pet vase. It stands on a little table beside me at home, and I fancied that the Water Cure would seem more home-like if I had it with me there, so I brought it along. But why do you look so puzzled, Katy? Does it seem queer that a vase should travel about in a trunk?"

"No," said Katy, slowly, "I was only thinking – Cousin Helen, is it worldly to have pretty things when you're sick?"

Cousin Helen laughed heartily.

"What put that idea into your head?" she asked.

"Cecy said so when I told her about your beautiful night-gown."

Cousin Helen smiled again.

"Well," she said, "I'll tell you what I think, Katy. Pretty things are no more 'worldly' than ugly ones, except when they spoil us by making us vain, or careless of the comfort of other people. And sickness is such a disagreeable thing in itself, that unless sick people take great pains, they soon grow to be eyesores to themselves and everybody about them. I don't think it is possible for an invalid to be too particular. And when one has the back-ache and the head-ache and the all-over ache," she added, smiling, "there isn't much danger of growing vain because of a ruffle more or less on one's night-gown, or a bit of bright ribbon."’

(What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge)

For further context, this is what they expected Cousin Helen to be like, simply because she’s paralyzed and chronically ill.

‘Still, Katy's first feeling was one of disappointment. Cousin Helen was not at all like "Lucy," in Mrs. Sherwood's story. Her nose turned up the least bit in the world. She had brown hair, which didn't curl, a brown skin, and bright eyes, which danced when she laughed or spoke. Her face was thin, but except for that you wouldn't have guessed that she was sick. She didn't fold her hands, and she didn't look patient, but absolutely glad and merry. Her dress wasn't a "frilled wrapper," but a sort of loose travelling thing of pretty gray stuff, with a rose-colored bow, and bracelets, and a round hat trimmed with a gray feather. All Katy's dreams about the "saintly invalid" seemed to take wings and fly away. But the more she watched Cousin Helen the more she seemed to like her, and to feel as if she were nicer than the imaginary person which she and Clover had invented.

"She looks just like other people, don't she?" whispered Cecy, who had come over to have a peep at the new arrival.

"Y-e-s," replied Katy, doubtfully, "only a great, great deal prettier."’

#What Katy Did #Susan Coolidge #children’s books #vintage illustrations #classic literature #illustrations #books #I left mine at home I think I’ll read the last three chapters online