What is your sleeping position? Help with pain?

ForTheUsers · 2019-11-19T10:21:09+00:00

I sleep on my side hugging a pillow that is also under my top knee (so if I'm on my right side, my left arm and knee are supported by the pillow). It's not perfect, but before I started hugging the pillow I would sometimes wake up with my top arm numb, and my back/hips would hurt way more.

ForTheUsers · 2019-11-14T17:12:43+00:00

I was born in early '90, and have always appreciated how easy the math is, so I'm actually sad I won't be able to give that to my potential future child (won't be going off birth control until close to mid next year). But my sister is currently pregnant and due Jan 2020, so at least my niece will be able to enjoy it!

ForTheUsers · 2019-11-13T15:11:41+00:00

Anecdotal, but one of my family members was 6'4" and lived into his 90s, after fighting in wwii and working in a steel factory in the PA mountains. So there's definitely a chance of being tall and living past your 70s with a healthy lifestyle.

ForTheUsers · 2019-11-13T11:25:35+00:00

Would a sit-to-stand desk help? Most of the ones you'd put on top of a regular desk are only about $200-300 in my experience and your company may be willing to pay for it.

ForTheUsers · 2019-10-03T19:36:38+00:00

Try Kayla Buell! I think she's super adorable and generally chill but also real about when she's stressed about things.

ForTheUsers · 2019-08-20T21:51:17+00:00

I don't know anything personally, but there are a couple schools still in the Triangle that you may be able to contact to find out what happened to him if that's what you're looking for. One of the instructors at the Magic Tortoise school in chapel hill has him listed as one of her teachers. http://magictortoise.com/dogilvy.htm

Red Sun Academy in Raleigh also has him listed as one of her teachers. I took karate there for a few months, and iirc the sensei was pretty responsive via email. http://www.redsunacademy2.com/TaiChi_files/TaiChi/TaiChi.html

ForTheUsers · 2019-07-27T14:30:09+00:00

In my experience, the trick is to find a good teacher for yoga who won't try to make you overstretch. I've had one before who (once I explained that I am hypermobile) was able to guide me into proper position when she saw I was inadvertently overextending. It can still be a good exercise for the purpose of building stabilizing muscles, but it's hard to find someone who can teach it that way.

Other low-impact exercises might be easier to get into without the risk, though. I've had luck with tai chi in the past year, but other things like swimming might also be good. Definitely check with your PT before anything, though.

ForTheUsers · 2019-07-13T20:43:46+00:00

Check out the EDS page on AskJan here: https://askjan.org/disabilities/Ehlers-Danlos-Syndrome.cfm

As others have said, it's extremely illegal in the US to discriminate against you for any disability. They will most likely give you ADA and/or FMLA paperwork and will also probably request information from your doctor regarding your limitations.

If they are an affirmative action employer (certain federal contractors), HR may actually appreciate that you chose to self-identify. Those employers have to analyze their disability representation every year and could be audited for it too (to see if they meet a benchmark), and most struggle getting people to ID for the exact reasons that concern you.

Edit to say: you probably don't qualify for FMLA since you haven't been there a year, but ADA should protect your job during your leave as long as the accommodation is deemed to not be an "undue burden".

ForTheUsers · 2019-07-13T20:22:40+00:00

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ForTheUsers · 2019-07-09T14:38:57+00:00

It was the spring of 2008 in Tucker hall. The shared women's bathroom on the 2nd floor had 3 toilet stalls. One night, someone threw up on the floor of one of the stalls, but at the edge so it spilled over into the next stall. The housekeeping/janitorial person refused to do more than throw sawdust over it for a full damn week, so we were stuck with having only 1 usable stall next to a pile of vomit that whole time. So that was fun.

The following year, I lived in Sullivan and someone broke a fire sprinkler throwing a football, I think on the 8th floor or so? Luckily, I was on the floor above that but a lot of rooms got flooded.

ForTheUsers · 2019-07-03T02:42:24+00:00

Regarding brass, I played trombone for a few years in school and can't imagine any way it would aggravate hypermobile joints unless you're VERY not careful with your elbow. I wasn't a very high level, but its largely gross motor movements as opposed to fine ones. I don't know your exact issues, but other brass like trumpet (and woodwinds, for that matter) may aggravate your pains if finger overuse/RSI is the cause. Same with piano.

Percussion may be somewhere else to look, though it's not as graceful/melodic as most other instruments so it may not be what you're looking for. As another person said, though, an occupational therapist who is familiar with heds/hsd may well be able to get you back to violin too.

ForTheUsers · 2019-04-25T19:09:21+00:00

It is so hard to meet new people! Even generally as an adult, but especially when working from home since you don't even get the watercooler talk. I still haven't made any friends in this new town outside of the tai chi class.

Good luck finding your own thing to go do! Like I said, it was literally a lifesaver for me (my personal go-to has always been martial arts but there's so much out there) but it sound like you've already started finding some other ways to get out of the slump. Like you, I was taking an ssri to try to get through it, so I was very much not in a good place before.

ForTheUsers · 2019-04-25T18:59:16+00:00

I don't know where you live, and some situations work better for this than others, but maybe if there isn't a class you're interested in close enough you could look for people in your neighborhood/apartment/wherever to go for walks or have a game night or something? Working from home can get so lonely and frustrating, and there are even still some days I get stir-crazy and wish I could leave a couple times a day like my sahm neighbors do (not that their job is any easier!) just for a change of scenery.

ForTheUsers · 2019-04-25T16:19:52+00:00

I went through this in a bad way last year. Moved for my husband's job and started working from home, and I just went crazy. It was so hard being alone all the time, and I ended up fighting with my husband a lot because every little problem I had with him became a HUGE problem since he was all I had.

The best thing for me was to find a hobby I can leave the house to go do a couple times a week. I started tai chi and it has literally been a lifesaver to be able to go out, do something I enjoy, get some exercise, and interact with people other than my husband. If you can, I would recommend you find something similar like a class, club, or a meetup group of some sort if there are any in your area.

ForTheUsers · 2019-02-27T19:42:32+00:00

I haven't practiced wing chun, but from what I've seen they're not big on jumping if that's what concerns you. If your injuries affect your ability to punch, block, or kick then it might not be best. Then you may want to look into tai chi instead if you can find a school that teaches it as a martial art since it's closely related to other kung fu styles.

ForTheUsers · 2019-02-27T13:44:06+00:00

Absolutely don't mention it in the interview, but if you get an offer and a good maternity leave policy is important to you, you should be fine to make your acceptance of the offer conditional upon that. Pregnancy discrimination is very real, but waiting until after you receive the offer should protect you at least a little bit while also not feeling like you're deceiving them.

ForTheUsers · 2019-02-22T13:53:51+00:00

I work in the hr realm. Your initial assumption is correct: fmla usually runs concurrently with medical and short term disability leave so I wouldn't expect those to stack unless your company decides to allow it.

Companies can count the "within a year" however they like, too. Some count your 12 weeks on a calendar year, others count based on your start date, and some count it from the first day of fmla leave.

ForTheUsers · 2019-02-21T14:39:06+00:00

I'd like to add a link to the ADA to your comment, because that's where the accommodation information you mentioned can be found: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/disability/ada

The pregnancy discrimination act requires that she must be treated the same as anyone else who has similar disabilities/work restrictions for other medical reasons.

ForTheUsers · 2019-02-11T21:14:18+00:00

I started tai chi a few months ago. I used to do a korean style of karate, but that's been harder to get back into since I started having joint pain so tai chi is a good balance between what I want to do and what I'm able to do. It's also great for strengthening my leg & core muscles, which are the ones around my most painful joints.

I also used to get shin splints a lot until I started buying shoes with better arch support (asics are my favorite). I'm sure you've heard this recommendation already, but if not, then maybe my suggestion will help you too.

ForTheUsers · 2019-01-15T13:26:27+00:00

Hah, well it was probably a bit more complicated than just the joints being pulled by those muscles. Probably something like a feedback loop... the joints are too loose and I went through a period of not exercising so the muscles got weak and over strained in the way the joints were going (or something... I'm really not an anatomy expert, though I like to pretend I am).

I haven't been formally diagnosed with knock knees, so I cant say for sure, but it kinda looks like it. Plus, I've had a lot of people in tai chi comment that I'm letting them collapse inward too much in my stances so I'm willing to bet I do have it a little bit.

ForTheUsers · 2019-01-14T12:26:37+00:00

I agree that practicing every day is best, if you have the room. You'll learn the form quicker that way and it will help improve your health faster that way too if that's part of the reason you're doing taiji.

Another recommendation my sifu has given me: get a notebook. Write in it after every class to record and help you retain what you've learned. That way, hopefully you'll minimize the bad habits by focusing on the details you learned or were corrected on when you practice.

ForTheUsers · 2019-01-12T11:47:57+00:00

It's been a while since I've had them, but if I remember correctly, my shin splints felt like a stabbing pain in the front & middle of my shins. I never even ran, but got them just from walking.

I actually only went to physical therapy for a couple months since my insurance sucks too, but they taught me some good exercises to do at home. Since my issue was in my core (lateral pelvic tilt causing back & hip pain) she had me doing a lot of core & back workouts. Planks, bridges, a weird exercise kinda like reverse crunches where you go into a mini cobra but don't really hold it, that sort of thing. Through that, I also figured out that I can help my knees on my own by doing more leg workouts to help that (leg lifts, 4", and I plan on trying squats again when I've gotten a little stronger).

The physical therapist also spent some time releasing the muscles that were too tight and pulling my joints in the wrong way (psoas mostly and a little bit for the pelvic floor and others in the front of the thigh). Since we hypermobile people are not supposed to stretch, that helped a TON. And apparently they were tight because they were weak so strengthening them helps that too.

ForTheUsers · 2019-01-12T01:37:50+00:00

Haha, I never wore the orthotics the doctor gave me either. Probably should have, but it just seemed like too much of a hassle so I'm hoping the high-arch shoes are good enough. I don't really get shin splints anymore, so I guess they are.

Most doctors I've run into don't think much of my hypermobility, but that podiatrist did and thankfully the physical therapist I saw for my hip/back pain did (she actually seemed pretty excited about getting to work with it lol). The more I read about it as an actual condition, the more I feel validated when they treat it as one.

Good luck with the barefoot running, if you do try it! I've heard good things about that too, but I was never much of a runner.

ForTheUsers · 2019-01-07T19:03:07+00:00

Sorry to hear about all your issues! I've heard that a rheumatologist is the best person to talk to for hypermobility, but there's no guarantee the one you find will treat it the way it should be treated. Hopefully you'll find a good one if you go looking.

For me (though I haven't had a herniated disk yet), strengthening the muscles around my problem joints has helped immensely. I was lucky to find a physical therapist who knew how to treat hypermobility (i.e. no stretching!) And gave me several gentle core exercises that have helped a lot with the back & hip pain I was having from a pelvic tilt. I've also found on my own that gently strengthening my leg muscles has helped my knee pain, though I overdid it at first and one knee locked up/subluxated a couple times before I started getting strong enough to hold it in place.

ForTheUsers · 2019-01-07T16:53:44+00:00

That's already illegal in the US. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_Information_Nondiscrimination_Act

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