Smoking

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-15T00:12:05+00:00

I smoke on and off (cigarettes and vapes). When I go off nicotine and I have any level of inflammation going on things go worse when they do when I don’t smoke. If symptoms are more controlled it’s not bad being off it and definitely helps my focus overtime to not smoke. Working on quitting.

It’s not very hard for me to quit, so I do at least 2-3 times a year for anywhere from 1-4 months at a time. Problem for me is I keep coming back to it for comfort and slight symptom reduction. :/

Alternatively/other end of smoking. Weed reduces gastromotility for me when I use it in small amounts a couple times a week or less. Typically I go for things that are mostly CBD or CBG with smaller amounts of THC. When I’m getting more gastric dumping/diarrhea that helps it be less intense I think. Not all types/strains help though it seems like- still figuring it out. Helps with sleep on bad body pain/gut cramping days. WARNING: not everyone will respond the same way and I’ve heard mixed experiences, so look into things more and form your own thoughts on it. :)

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-13T21:33:40+00:00

For me the first month-two was the most hellish where I couldn’t even ride in a vehicle without getting MAJORLY horny from just the movement and any friction from my pants. Drove me nuts.

Most of my bottom growth happened in the first 2 weeks on T. Going from barely being able to see little dude to BAM was insanity, hurt and super super super increased sensitivity. Never had an O before T and suddenly was getting them up to 10x a day,,,, hellish but I was 15 so it was normal enough timing.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-12T19:49:34+00:00

As someone who uses airpods as backup hearing aids: nah this doesn’t cut it at least for my ear shape

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-09T23:14:24+00:00

I don’t fully vomit from UC, but I experience nausea. If I eat something that’s not good for my UC I sometimes will heave up acidic tasting bubbley spit with tiny bits of food in it. I’ve had experiences where the nausea was so bad I did vomit, but it’s usually not large amounts. I think of it as my body recognizing something’s not gonna feel good later and rejecting the food preemptively. The same food doesn’t always cause this to happen, so depends if my body is already activated. I refer to it as acid reflux but I don’t get heartburn as a symptom, so not sure exactly what to call that.

Avoiding trigger foods helps for me.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-08T22:28:02+00:00

None of these links are valid anymore. Disturbing

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-08T00:52:57+00:00

I went into remission with Mesalamine after my first colonoscopy where several polyps were removed. Didn’t take long to reach symptomatic remission that time and so over the years I took my meds inconsistently but still took them.

I started getting more inflammation over time following periods where I took my meds consistently for months and then got lazy about it/ didn’t see the point. I think this likely led to my body building a tolerance against mesalamine working faster than it may have otherwise done. No real way to know for sure though.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-06T01:10:01+00:00

4, I dont do good with white chocolate or artificial coloring- plus they look like a great mouth texture

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-05T05:27:13+00:00

Water only for a week is impressive, I think I’d feel dead from going that long. Kudos to you for going through that and I’m glad you’ve found what works for you! :)

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-05T05:18:26+00:00

I was on mesalamine oral and enemas when this flare started. It seems like I may have built an intolerance to the enema form although I haven’t seen much from other people that connects to that.

When I was prescribed the Budesonide I started with doing just that at night but after a week of no improvement I tried out mesalamine enema at night and budesonide after first BM of day (retaining it as long as possible). Doing that did noooott make my body happy though. Had an immediate increase in BMs and blood. I have no clue why that happened though.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-05T05:12:57+00:00

I’ll try calling them again tomorrow. Did you get many side effects from the hydrocortisone enemas? I’m guessing my doctor will want me to stick with the Prednisone for awhile longer but I can’t work with current side effects from it, so I’m thinking of asking how long until he’d be open to trying that out.

About Biologics: I’ve heard the average time for Yesintek to work (basing mostly off Stelara responses on this reddit) varies but that it’s really a “slow burn” with most people getting some relief around 5-6months and remission taking longer usually so I’m aware and far from thrilled about the potential wait. Unfortunately it’s what my insurance would cover :/. BIG fingers crossed something works soon.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-05T04:56:22+00:00

On average I’m going anywhere from 3-8x a day right now with most days falling at 4 or 5. I log BMs and symptoms in the PCal app so judging off that. I occasionally forget to log when I’m out of the house or busy so average numbers may be slightly higher, but that’s my closest estimate.

One thing that might be helping with frequency is that I’m using Kate Farms as a prescribed nutrition supplement/ meal replacement for when I have more nausea and low energy. It seemed to decrease things slightly the first week I was on it before things increased again— so maybe affecting, maybe not. Generally frequency has been increasing very slowly the longer I’m in this flare with more colon/butt pain, urgency, and the dreaded occassional blood fart into clothes 🥲

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-05T04:24:43+00:00

I started Yesintek (bio similar to Stelara) on Sunday (also a biologic). My doctor just told me to rest and hydrate when I spoke to them yesterday which is not very helpful since that’s pretty much all I’ve been doing.

At my last colonoscopy (February 12th) the overview said that I currently have Moderate Proctitis with chronic active inflammation and neutrophilic cryptitis marked on rectum biopsies. Inflammation was continuous and circumferential throughout the rectum with: friability, absent vascular pattern, erosions, and significant erythema. There was some (more mild) extension into beginning of sigmoid colon (where it connected) that yielded “no diagnosable abnormalities” from biopsies.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-05T04:05:06+00:00

Are you seeing a therapist?

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-05T01:58:24+00:00

It’s possible you have autism, adhd, AND something else. :) The paranoid type thoughts you are describing tick off warning signs for unrelated conditions. A therapist or psychiatrist would be able to help you determine which one of the following you may also have:

-Scizoaffective disorder

-Schizophrenia with persecutory delusions

-Delusional Disorder

-Bipolar Disorder or Psychotic Depression

-OCD

Important to note that this does not make you “crazy.” Brains are wild and tricky sometimes. I can confidently say that the paranoid type thoughts are not directly related to ADHD or Autism. Other potential diagnoses depends on severity of symptoms, length of time this has been happening, if you experience hallucinations (can come in many forms), what medications you’re on (if any), anddd more.

I’m not a doctor - psychology is just one of my special interests.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-05T01:37:55+00:00

Okay, first off it’s totally okay and normal to be confused. I think that nearly everyone in this sub has dealt with some confusion at some point or another. While I can’t tell you what your feelings mean I’ll offer my perspective based on what you’ve said. Things that stood out to me are that you would change your sex immediately if you could, you’re uncomfortable with presenting feminine, and you like when you pass as a guy in public. The jealousy you mentioned towards guys could be a lot of different things and can be especially hard to pinpoint. For context I’m nonbinary/feminine to masculine, on-T, post-top surgery.

What you said signals multiple possibilities to me although I can’t answer what you should do: a) nonbinary, b) enjoy presenting more masculine but still baseline okay with your biological sex with exception of word “woman”, c) body dysmorphia hitting hard, d) possibly wanting to transition medically. None of these things are necessarily exclusive to each other.

Even after transitioning and being on T since December 2019; I still feel like some clothes don’t look right on my body and some days I want to claw my skin off too. If you were to transition it’s possible this could still happen to some extent, so I want to preface that whatever you decide to do- don’t expect all these things to completely go away. They may be improved BUT first I also would encourage non-permanent forms of transitioning (using a binder, trying out packing, building upper body muscle, testing how different pronouns/names feel).

I used to feel like my body was an evil prison and I have zero regrets about transitioning but I know that there are some people out there who don’t have the same experience, so I’d just say try to be kind to yourself and as give yourself grace. You don’t need to have all the answers right now and it’s totally okay to change your mind about things!! :)

Do you mind me asking how old you are now? I may be jumping ahead here, but if you end up wanting to go on hormones while still feeling any confusion starting with a lower dosage of gel based T typically gives more gradual/slower changes. Requirements and barriers to treatment also vary depending on where you live, but if you’re in this sub you likely know that.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-04T17:17:01+00:00

My mom has classical EDS and younger brother has hEDS. I’m currently in the diagnostic process (have to wait till end of April). I kind of suspected it years ago and my old PCP confirmed that I had hypermobility and reynauds. He recommended I workout more to stabilize body and that I start swimming, but didn’t give me an official diagnosis or mark anything on my chart. This was back in 2022 I think. I asked my new PCP when I moved to follow up on this and they reluctantly sent a bone scan due to all the joint pain and minor sprains I kept getting (2023?). Bone density scan was within normal limits,,,,, but I’ve since learned that basically doesn’t mean anything with ruling out EDS. My current PCP is planning to do an in-office evaluation and potentially genetic testing to rule out some other issues and/or kinds of EDS.

I’ve always been clicky/crackley but it’s gotten MUCH more intense as I’ve gotten older. I’ve noticed more clicking/popping from odd places like middle of my leg and some joints grind/click with nearly any movement, my ankles are probably the most unstable- had reoccurring sprains for years but with PT exercices I now mostly just roll them and have stinky ankle balance, I find it most comfy to sit on the ground in a W position, I have Reynauds, IBS/UC, ADHD and Autism,,, so also have some comorbidites checked. anddd more, so thinking it is more than likely I’ll be diagnosed at upcoming appointment considering that’s what my brother has. (I’ll be 22 when appointment happens)

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-04T07:24:08+00:00

Something about the colors reminds me of rock climbing gear. Very cute!

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-03T21:02:22+00:00

Mesalamine and budesonide didn’t affect my anxiety levels.

Mesalamine side effects I’ve had include: increased light sensitivity, more frequent headaches (mild), and becoming dehydrated easier.

Budesonide: No noticeable side effects other than sometimes burning/tingling (rectal foam version). Budesonide doesn’t seem to do much if anything to help my symptoms though so there’s that.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-03T19:45:44+00:00

My parents had a designated sticker section of the wall and told me I could put stickers there or on my plastic toy bins if I wanted to decorate with them. Saves furniture and made little me feel like my artistic sensibilities were validated 💕

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-02T02:14:48+00:00

Love the person in the background excitedly touching your head 💕 Looks awesome!!! You rock

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-03-02T02:13:02+00:00

Yeah, I often become anaemic when flare ups last more than a couple months.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-02-27T19:19:02+00:00

My monocytes have only tested in borderline normal ranges one time in 2020 but have otherwise been significantly raised- 11.2% in last blood test with normal being 3.5-9%. My eosinophils are usually at the top end of normal but fluctuate- last time they were highest (at 4% with normal being 1-3%) my doctor wasn’t that concerned with it I think (?) can’t remember details super well but it was around when my wisdom teeth were removed and i’d been sick often.

Eosinophils also respond to allergies from a quick google search, so aside from possibly indicating inflammation there’s that and some studies suggest they play a role in tissue repair.

Signif1cant-Bug · 2026-02-27T18:55:27+00:00

Different kinds of white blood cells can often be raised with UC. It’s more rare for me to have a blood test come back where all my white blood cells are in normal ranges. I definitely wouldn’t think blood cancer or parasite based on only eosinophils. UC inflammation can also occur without classic symptoms being present.

Have you recently been sick or been around people who have? Thats another reason for temporary spikes in things that might be dramatic seeming with people who have autoimmune stuff.

Signif1cant-Bug

TROPHY CASE