And Ibs Otter, Which I Made Mostly For Me Lol. I Really Want Her Name To Start With Cy…. Cypres….

friendly reminder you dont need a diagnosis to be in disability spaces, as an example im in constant pain and fatigue, have migraines every week and my joints hurts to a point I can't write, but since familiar gaslighting/medical trauma and the fact that im an indigenous, brown skin fat man a diagnosis is fucking hard (but im in my way! :)) , but i still deserve a safe space to talk about my experiences and to feel valuable and supported.

never feel like youre interrupting someone's space or that you shouldn't be here cause you dont have a diagnosis, disabilities existed before diagnosis

Do people know about Vocational Rehab? If you're USAmerican they have this in every state.

It's a program that helps disabled folks access education, training, and employment. For FREE.

You only have to be disabled to qualify (autism, ADHD, mental illness, physical illness, etc) and they cover very broad categories of disability. You do NOT have to be officially diagnosed yet when you walk in - they will even help pay for your diagnosis if you are struggling w disability.

I applied with my suspected autism and fibromyalgia, and they paid for 100% of my formal autism assessment.

Once your disability is established they will give you career counseling to learn about your interests and skills, and depending on the plan you create with your caseworker they will then help with school or finding employment. They paid for 100% of my college tuition and books, and even provided a laptop for me to use.

You do not have to pay anything for this program. If you make above a certain income, you will have to contribute to educational costs but will still receive assistance.

They will also help with the cost of things like mental health counseling while you work towards your goals, clothing for interviews, etc.

They cannot discriminate based on your race, gender, or sexual orientation.

They won't make you do excessive meetings.

They will allow you to do meetings with your caseworker remotely.

They will not drug test you.

They want you to succeed.

I'm sure that individual experiences vary but my caseworker was exceptionally easy to work with and very kind.

Vocational Rehab is a phenomenal resource every disabled person should be aware of. Here is the list of offices in every state:

anyway here's to disabled people who are not healing. disabled people who are not recovering, ever. people with disabilities that only get worse and worse over time. people who cannot access treatment for their disabilities or whose disabilities simply aren't treatable. people who know they'll only get more and more disabled as time goes on. people who know their disability will kill them sooner or later. you are seen, you are important, you are not dead weight, and you deserve support.

April is IBS Awareness Month. If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you are not alone – IBS is common with prevalence estimated at 10% to 15%. Yet many people remain undiagnosed and unaware that their symptoms indicate a medically recognized disorder.

It's too hot to exist. 🥵

Stay safe, SpoonieStrong fam. 💙🥄

Another free Notion template! This one is a digital medical binder to keep all your medical information in one place, to make the medical system easier to deal with. A minimalist and mobile friendly version coming soon!

Gumroad

Aesthetic Digital Medical Binder Notion Template

This Notion template is meant to help organize all your medical information to help make navigating the medical system easier! It contains t

PSA as we go into spooky season and people start using activated charcoal to make foods look spooky.

how to get rid of nausea (or at least reduce it)

ok y'all so it's almost 1 in the morning and i can't sleep so i figured i might as well make use of my time. these tips are from what have personally worked well for me as a person who's been dealing with ibs and gerd since basically birth. of course these might not work for everyone, this is just what has helped me the most :)

first, make sure you've taken your meds!

sip on some cold water. preferably with ice.

get some cool air. whether that's through a window or just a fan.

drip some cold water onto the veins of your wrist. i know this sounds kinda weird, but my dad said it's a trick he learned in the military to help nausea. it's worked pretty well for me, personally. though the effect is temporary.

sip on some cola or another fizzy pop. carbonation helps you burp, and you honestly might just have some trapped gas. you'd be shocked how just one good, trapped burp makes you feel like you need to projectile vomit. drink in small, frequent amounts, not large gulps(for the love of god don't take large gulps. please). this is honestly one of the best tricks for nausea for me, it helps within minutes or sometimes a bit longer.

sniff some rubbing alcohol. again, kinda weird, but it works pretty well for some reason.

drink some pepto bismol. a life saver honestly.

take some tums. i highly recommend the peppermint flavored ones. tums are usually for acid reflux/gerd, but the peppermint really helps the nausea part for me. that's why i usually get these bc i'm killing two birds w/ one stone lol

sleep at a high elevation. this helps stomach contents from coming back up. there's been many times where i've had to sleep at a 90° angle. get out your pillows and stuffed animals to make one giant mountain if you have to (that's what i do at least).

sleep on your left side. if you really want to sleep on your side, sleeping on the left keeps the stomach contents down the best.

distract yourself. either watching your favorite show, playing a game, or, hell, even working. this might be a bit tricky if the nausea is overwhelming, though.

avoid strong smells. rubbing alcohol is the exception here, but strong smelling things (esp food) has always made my nausea much worse.

avoid spicy/punch-to-the-face type food. eat simple foods like toast, saltine crackers, or applesauce. my personal favorite is dried seaweed (salted)!

sit upright; try not to slouch. sitting upright helps you digest food properly and gets rid of any trapped gas as well.

don't move around a ton. of course, some simple stretching is beneficial, but i'm just suggesting you don't go run for a few miles when you're feeling like shit <3

[Text ID: "Just in case you needed to hear it, you deserve to be treated by a medical professional who listens to you, believes you, who never makes you question yourself, and who dies everything they can to help you."

By: chronicloveclub

End ID]