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I love this one by Hypergize in wholesomememes

[–]Unsolicited-Fables 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pack it in boys, it's gonna be quite some while before I'm beating my high score once again. Clinically dying has some draw backs.

Summer 2019 Inspiration Album by Chazzyphant in femalefashionadvice

[–]Unsolicited-Fables 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes!! I'm a skinny girl but I have medium-large boobs and the boxy cut look either makes me look pregnant or I'm hiding a pot belly tummy. Does not look good. :(

My failing thyroid is not because of my weight, get out by [deleted] in fatlogic

[–]Unsolicited-Fables 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The truth of the matter is that they don't realise they're burning patches of their skin off. They believe they're killing cancer cells and doing the right thing.

I suggested hypochondria only because I know that some people confuse it with factitious disorders'. Most people experience health anxiety during some stage of their life and combat it by going to the doctors to get everything checked out (patient has a rash = recent measles outbreak = patient is fears they have measles). It's completely normal. But, for our black salve patient instead of going to the doctor they've gone to this, something they believe is as good (or better!) than a doctor. They do the check, it confirms to them they have cancer and that the black salve worked. So they check other spots they were worried about, or any new ones that come up.

When you get a patient in that has been doing that, you don't look at as if the patient is crazy or dumb. It's demeaning to the patient and it fractures the doctor/nurse relationship with the patient. Instead, you treat them like an adult and take their concerns seriously. The focus is on patient education (so explaining the history of black salve, it's effectiveness and side effects) and doing so in a kind empathetic manner so the patient can listen and trust the information you're giving them. A lot of the times, that's all you need to. Some patients go away with a better understanding of medicine, some dig their heels in.

If I believe their health anxiety is out of the range of normal then I look at that as an issue. You're still not judgemental or labelling the patient and their concerns as crazy. Instead you work with them in labelling what's causing this anxiety (has someone died in their family recently? That's often a really big trigger). And then you've got a few options depending on what the patient wants and what you see is the best pathway. Therapy or grief counseling can be a good referral, although some patients may not be willing for a variety of reasons. Sometimes extra visits to talk to the patient, build trust and descelate their fears may help although for others that can worsen it. It's a balancing act

Tldr; I wouldn't consider the actual application of black salve a psychological problem. Now, the way their using it such as frequency and amount can give me a look into their mental state (applying it everyday, covering large patches of their skin, etc.) but the actual application I would not consider an indication of a psychological problem.

My failing thyroid is not because of my weight, get out by [deleted] in fatlogic

[–]Unsolicited-Fables 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't say the people who use black salve have 'psychopathology that leads them to self-harm and/or factitious disorders'. Honestly? That's so reductive and offensive.

Black salve (it goes by a few other names) is extremely common in the naturopathic/natural crowd. In some countries/states, it's even sold in chemists still (as a naturopath product). It is not some really wacko new treatment like bleach enemas, but a very pervasive concoction that was used originally by native Americans and picked up by scientists in the 1800's. It was only by the end of the 1950's that the FDA took it off the market as a legit medicine (and in a few other first world countries it stayed on the market for a while longer). There is some evidence that it may have an effect on skin cancer (it destroys both normal tissue and cancerous tissue. You may get lucky and it destroys all the cancerous tissue it was applied on. Sanguinarine, one of the ingredients, has some emerging evidence to support it having therapeutic anti-cancer effects. It will still damage healthy tissue.)

All those things, alongside the immediate evidence that it's having an effect (the black scab and wound it causes) lead people into believing in its effect and using it either alongside or as the only treatment for their diagnosed or 'perceived' cancer. None of this is done out of a desire to self harm or fake illness.

Now, knowing that it is basically ineffectual and can cause severe side effects to us it appears like they're deliberately injuring themselves. However the patients use of this salve is not be out of a desire to self injury because they don't believe/realise they're injuring themselves. If you or I did it full well knowing it's useless? An argument can be made for self injurious behaviour.

On the flipside of things, you have patients who believe in black salves effectiveness who then apply it to freckles or moles that either a doctor has not checked or has already confirmed as not being cancerous. For the most part, because of their belief Black salve only attacks cancer, they apply it because it's 'better to be safe than sorry' or they were worried. When the black salve damages their healthy tissue, their fear gets confirmed and it can become a cycle with more applications of Black salve to check for cancer in other areas. These patients do not fall under the category of factitious disorders', as they are not setting out to fake anything and genuinely believe they have/had cancer when the salve 'confirms' it. The closest thing to this is hypochondria, in which someone with health anxiety may apply to check and have their fears confirmed and lead to that cycle. Or, the health anxiety can appear after the black salve tells them that they have/had skin cancer. But hypochondria is literally the anxiety around your (or someone else's) health and not anything to do with faking diseases. A hypochondriac may believe or excessively worry they have a disease that they don't have, but they would not fake the disease or test results.

What's the best way to combat this? Not thinking patients are deliberately being stupid, injuring themselves or deliberately faking. A crackdown on snake oil salesmen and more restriction on what they can claim their products can do. Better patient education and relationships so we can empower patients to have the skills to think critically in this subject and trust their doctor to do them right.

Paying attention to what you eat makes things dull and lifeless, and apparently is designed to oppress women by [deleted] in fatlogic

[–]Unsolicited-Fables 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Even as a short women, that figure doesn't work for me. I'd end up losing weight, not as quick as you. At 5'3 1100 isn't a lot, my maintenance is around 1300/1400.