patcher of fics, namer of horses

Restarted TotK yet again, kind of enjoying it this time.

Started watching all of The Good Place again.

Have spent the last few days mildly stoned on pain meds.

Restarted TotK yet again, kind of enjoying it this time.

Started watching all of The Good Place again.

Have spent the last few days mildly stoned on pain meds.

It’s histamine, not histamines.

I know it might be confusing because there are different types of antihistamines, but that plural refers to how the drugs interact with the receptors in the body, not the chemical itself.

Different antihistamines target different receptors in the body to address specific issues. So, for example, Zyrtec targets h1 receptors which primarily mediate allergic reactions related to the respiratory system, while h2 blockers, like Pepcid, target the receptors in the GI tract. When combined, people are finding they can help alleviate PMDD which is great.

There is not, however a different histamine that affects your sinuses and another that affects your gut. It’s all just one chemical, but it can be picked up by different pathways in the body, hence why we have h1 and h2 blockers. (We also have h3 and h4 receptors and probably more I’m forgetting about right now that can be targeted by different medications. Neat!)

Similar to how the body has different histamine receptors, MCAS is not exclusively a histamine issue. It can be the main issue for many people, but it is rarely the sole issue.

There are hundreds of chemical compounds contained in a single mast cell and when those cells degranulate, it’s the equivalent of taking a Molotov cocktail to the immune system. Histamine is merely one of them.

Telling someone with MCAS they must have something else because eating low histamine isn’t helping them, is not only arrogant, it is shockingly ignorant and frankly fucking insulting.

People with this disorder know more than you.

Navigating gender dysphoria? Be heard and be counted in the science.

[pt: DO NOT TAKE THIS SURVEY]

Pick a topic you like, and that's what you're going to read about. Set a minimum word count, and read until you get to it. Start small. Smart easy. First try, it might actually be agonizing.

That's it for the day. Just hit the word count.

Next day, read to the word count again. Read something new! It will be easier today.

And easier the next.

On top of being scammed, receiving accurate medical treatment relies on you knowing how to do your own research, and too many doctors take illiterate patients less seriously.

If you become a victim of a crime or are accused of a crime, you need to be able to read the papers a cop or lawyer puts in front of you. They can happily take advantage of your ignorance if you give them a chance.

This list goes on! Landlords, real estate agents, accountants, car mechanics, bankers, phone companies, customer service, contractors, childcare workers, e.g. any other human you rely on just to live your life will expect you to be literate and capable of making smart decisions. It is not their job to supplement your ignorance. It is not any well-meaning individual's job to make sure you paid attention in the same classes they did. And most of them know this and will not wait for you to figure things out.

It turns out the visit was NOT a waste of time because it got me referred to a surgeon and let me just tell you.

If it routinely feels like you're sitting on a golf ball and it hurts like hell.

You need to go to the doctor and say that.

Because you can get a giant abscess in your ass.

For no apparent reason.

And because it can apparently hide from the common and cheap imaging tests, you need to be persistent about getting help.

Anyway I had one surgery about a month ago and I have a second one scheduled for late May. For a problem that had been plaguing me since late 2024.

This diagnosis change is something many IBD patients experience, because there are many types of Crohn's, and they tend to look like other diseases at first. And Crohn's colitis can look a lot like ulcerative colitis.