Rating names/terms for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome:
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: 10/10 Lawful neutral, itâs the official terminology, lets you know whatâs up
EDS (in all caps): 9/10 Sometimes confused with other unrelated conditions and acronyms but usually works
EDs (âSâ is lowercase): 2/10 Usually refers to erectile dysfunction or eating disorders, which causes a lot of confusion.
Ehlers Danlos: 8/10. Good shorthand while still knowing whatâs going on.
Earers Danielâs Syndrome: 1/10. I have only heard this once, from an ER doctor. He said it to me as he turned away from his screen (which was pulled up to the Web MD page for EDS) and proceeded to mansplain my condition to me inaccurately. At least he tried.
âEyers Danââ *waves hand around*: -5/10 Iâve heard this one a lot from medical professionals. I just know Iâm about to be malpracticed and am already planning the quickest way out of the situation.
Zebras: 6/10 I like the imagery, I like mascots, I like the story (when doctors are in med school theyâre told âif you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebrasâ but them zebras are missed) however, I have two criticisms: a) more rare conditions are out there, and zebras technically refers to any rare diseases, not just EDS b) I feel sad when I think about how it basically calls EDS the âI was medically malpracticed diseaseâ
EDSers: 8/10 a cute lil shorthand for âpeople with EDSâ. Easier to explain than the zebras thing
hEDS/vEDS/cEDS/including subtypes: 7/10 I like the idea of being able to know what your subtype is and find people in your sub community, HOWEVER my only concern is that it can feel (and used for) invalidating people without a genetically confirmed subtype because of inaccessibility. I havenât had gene testing because I canât afford itâ but I have clinically diagnosed EDS, which has been confirmed at multiple hospitals by multiple specialists. I score a 9/9 on the Brighton, meet all major criteria, and meet almost every other minor criteria for EDS on top of that. But I donât know my subtype yet. I donât hate/dislike people who use this term and I donât discourage it, but I do encourage mindfulness about genetic testing accessibility and privilege of access.
Bendy disease: 10/10 a silly goofy joke I say with friends âI cannot walk up stairs on account of my loosey goosey bendy diseaseâ which is always funny to me. Even with my serious things like âmy life threatening cardiac conditions are rapidly progressingâ you add âon account of my bendy diseaseâ and bam theres my coping skill.
Ehlers: 3/10 a step in the right direction, but it sounds like âyellersâ and dismisses half of the team that described the condition
âDouble jointedâ: 1/10 I was told my whole life until I was 18 that I was just âdouble jointedâ for starters, itâs medically inaccurate. Youâre hyper extending, subluxing, or even dislocating joints whenever youâre âdouble jointedâ in a joint. There is not two joints there (unless youâve had x rays and for some reason genuinely do have two joints in that spot). I honestly hate this term and itâs incredibly dismissive of the pain that happens with EDS while also making it seem like a super power that weâre encouraged to do
Contortionist: 1/10 [NOTE!!! some contortionists DO NOT have EDS and can just bend like that. Some have benign joint hypermobility. But many contortionists do have EDS.] In the context of people with EDS, I hate this term. Itâs often the first thing people jump to when I explain my condition. They see my crippled ass in my wheelchair/powerchair or limping around with my cane/crutches/rollator, usually in multiple braces/supports (and thats just external noticeable-to-everyone things, let alone if you hear any aspects of my daily life) and their first thought is: âwow!! So you can entertain me like itâs a freak show!â And not âholy shit dozens of dislocations per day and countless subluxations per day must be excruciatingâ. I did contortions when I was younger to get praise and due to peer pressure. Fuck that noise I will not be your ugly law era freak show creepy cripple p0rn. Fuck everything to do with that actually.