Some People Don’t Want To Hear This But Sometimes Accessibility Is Not Sustainable Or Eco-friendly.

what are your thoughts on ibs diagnosis

78% of people reporting to ERs due to IBS have chronic gastritis.

population studies on microscopic colitis are rare, but have found that rates are much much higher on a population level than previously assumed

the symptoms labeled as ibs (diarrhea and constipation with no obvious flags for inflammatory bowel disease) are often treated as an issue of simple dietary intolerances, or as a psychosomatic condition, and people with ibs are told to follow various diets, or to "reduce stress."

these diets tend to be high fiber, which could literally kill someone whose actual issue is gastroparesis, or could severely aggravate microscopic colitis. i know that when i was trying to eat high fiber, my symptoms were completely unmanageable, and switching to a low fiber diet is the only thing that's helped at all. the food intolerance stuff can be really helpful for people who do have rare food intolerances, but for people who actually/also have autoimmune gastritis, it wastes time that could be spent monitoring for gastric atrophy, metaplasias, and precancerous lesions.

the worst part of this is that things like microscopic colitis and h-pylori related chronic gastritis are treatable, either with steroid medication or antibiotics to kill the h-pylori. but if you're dismissed with "dietary changes" or "reduce stress," then you're not getting treated for conditions that can cause really serious tissue damage and increase your cancer risk.

basically ibs is a "fuck you get out of my office" diagnosis

𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

Medical Binder

You need a three ring binder. And sheet protectors. And tabs. “Why?”

‘Cause you need a medical binder.

What is a medical binder? A place that you store your medical information paperwork. All of it.

Why should I have this? Documentation. Insurance and medical care are all about documentation. If it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen and doesn’t exist. Why can’t you do it electronically? Because the internet can be compromised. No one can hack a piece of paper from a thousand miles away. Having a copy of your medical records means you have easy access to talk to a new doctor and get them up to speed.

For my fellow chronic illness people, this is what keeps you from going batsh*t insane if you see a new doctor or need to go to the hospital.

What should go in it?

Medical Records: This is a copy of whatever records you have from whatever appointments/visits you go to. Have a check-up? Get a printed copy. Have lab work run? Get a printed copy of records. ER visit? Printed copy. Surgery? Printed copy. Vaccine? Printed copy. I recommend having documentation going back at least five years. Include lists of any medications you’ve taken, along with start/stop dates. This is ideally a catch-all of everything you would want to tell a brand new doctor so they can immediately pick up where your last doctor left off. If you have chronic illnesses, this is where you want to include a history of it. Diagnosis, medications and treatments that have worked and not worked, and all symptoms/progressions you’ve noticed.

Medical Bills: Did you pay a bill? Print a copy of the receipt? Did you get a bill? Save it and then add the receipt after you pay it. Collections notice? Financial Hardship paperwork? Payment plan agreements? Print and add here.

Insurance Paperwork A copy of your ID card, a copy of your summary plan document, and any copies of your claims. Print it and save it.

Misc. Anything else related to your healthcare/bills that you could need. If you think in five years there is the remote possibility you could need this specific piece of paper, print it and save it.

These documents are important to have. If you're in an accident and you have everything on hand (or can have someone bring you everything), you're already ten steps ahead. Otherwise, your new doctor has to have you sign a HIPAA form for every single doctor you've ever seen so they can send your records to be reviewed blah blah blah. The main point is that process is time consuming and frustrating. Save everyone (and yourself) the headache.

Thyroid Awareness Month! Waking up and feeling like a normal human being is always a gift that is never taken for granted.

Alexithymia sucks. This chart helps!

How are you feeling? You don’t know? Me neither! So I look at this chart several times a day (got reminders set on my phone) to check in on how I’m feeling throughout the day. I’ve been doing it for a few months, and it’s actually getting a lot easier to identify how I’m feeling.

Pro tip: some people have to rely more on how their body feels to tell them what they’re feeling emotionally. Work on trying to identify how certain emotions feel in your body. Work in broad strokes at first, before working on identifying more specific emotions. For example, try to notice how sad, happy, angry, and afraid feel. Where in your body do you feel them? What physical sensations go along with the emotions? It’s different for everyone!

The more often you practice, the better you’ll get at it. This is all straight from my therapist and it’s how I’m finally feeling my feelings after years of dissociation.

𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃

𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞 : lexi / 24 / gad & ibs

𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬 : chronic illness / disability / invisible disability / gut health / mental illness / advocacy