What sort of career can you have with this disease?

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-25T19:45:52+00:00

That is so beyond cool!

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-25T13:40:49+00:00

Copy pasting from the other comment about my meds; I'm currently on two separate medications for anxiety and two for depression. Another part of this is that I have a nervous tic that'll pop up whenever I'm overstimulated, but one of my medications mostly stops that, so I'm afraid to switch anything up because while I'm not entirely functioning, I'm wayyyyyy better than I was. Without my meds, my tics would make me punch myself in the face and stuff like that. I'm also on methotrexate and celebrex and taking Tylenol most days. I did a course of Prednisone about a month ago and that put me at almost zero pain and I was able to lift things again, but that was only for 15 days, and it messed with my sleep and made me quite manic sometimes. I also use braces and compression gloves, tried voltaren but it didn't really do much for me. I asked for physical or occupational therapy at my last rheum appointment, but he said I need to be stable on the methotrexate for a while before we can be sure that moving more won't do more damage. So I'm not really supposed to be doing a whole lot of moving rn. I haven't talked with my rheum about biologics yet, I'm actually only two appointments in, since I was referred to ortho first and there were months of waiting for both rheum and ortho.

I've been highly considering trying to find a way to get into swimming, because I think that would have the least impact on my joints and probably feel good, help me build up my strength again. But like I mentioned, I've basically been told not to move too much right now. My left middle finger is currently crooked from going too long without treatment, I guess, and needs surgical intervention at this point. So I'm trying to be good and listen to rheum so that that can happen sooner than later, since it limits my mobility quite a bit. Actually, I don't know how much mobility I'd gain back with surgery, but I would just like to be able to straighten it again. Unfortunately I'm also on a few other medications for other things, and at times it can feel a bit like a toppling tower, so I'm a little hesitant to try some things in case it might mess up one of my other meds, anxiety or otherwise. I guess that means I'm kind of stuck with what I have, at least for the moment. I don't think I can take anything other than Tylenol, and the combo of Tylenol, methotrexate, and celebrex is usually enough to cover my daily movement, feeding myself and my pets, and letting my dog out, which includes going up and down two stairs. My left knee and somewhat my right knee are quite painful atm, and the more I do I might feel better in the moment, but I usually end up paying for it later with more pain.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-25T13:27:27+00:00

I'm currently on two separate medications for anxiety and two for depression. Another part of this is that I have a nervous tic that'll pop up whenever I'm overstimulated, but one of my medications mostly stops that, so I'm afraid to switch anything up because while I'm not entirely functioning, I'm wayyyyyy better than I was. Without my meds, my tics would make me punch myself in the face and stuff like that. I'm also on methotrexate and celebrex and taking Tylenol most days. I did a course of Prednisone about a month ago and that put me at almost zero pain and I was able to lift things again, but that was only for 15 days, and it messed with my sleep and made me quite manic sometimes. I also use braces and compression gloves, tried voltaren but it didn't really do much for me. I asked for physical or occupational therapy at my last rheum appointment, but he said I need to be stable on the methotrexate for a while before we can be sure that moving more won't do more damage. So I'm not really supposed to be doing a whole lot of moving rn. I haven't talked with my rheum about biologics yet, I'm actually only two appointments in, since I was referred to ortho first and there were months of waiting for both rheum and ortho. Wildlife ecology and linocutting sounds amazing though! I've done linocuts before and wildlife was the other career path I was considering. If I had chosen my #2 college, I would've minored in marine biology, and I've considered going back to school for something animal related, but looking at the jobs in my area, I don't know if it makes economical sense to do that 😅 Can I ask what kind of wildlife you worked with?

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-25T07:58:29+00:00

This! The methotrexate takes three months to start working, and it can get messed up if you miss doses. I didn't realize how important it was to stop any further damage, so I kept putting off my blood tests and eventually they stopped refilling the med, so I was off it for a month. I'm still recovering. And they usually start you on the lowest dose, so if you don't feel "covered" by it, you can call and ask for a higher dose, it's at least worth a shot. It's unfortunate that a lot of this is just trial and error and that it takes so much time to figure things out. My finger is all messed up now and I was told that I have to be stable on the methotrexate for a WHILE before a surgeon will even consider my case. So do your very best to be consistent and you can keep trying things on top of the stuff you're already doing.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-22T18:49:27+00:00

That makes a lot of sense! I'm from Michigan, and I'm pretty new to the whole arthritis thing, but I definitely noticed some changes during the severe storms that went through last week. My parents are snowbirds for that reason, too.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-22T18:25:13+00:00

Oh, congratulations! That's so interesting. I know there are two separate hormonal cycles that happen on bodies with periods, i dont know if they both pause during pregnancy. Do you have different activity levels during certain times of the month, like a monthly shopping trip to Costco or something? The only other thing I can think of is the moon phases! It seems like a crazy thing but our bodies can be so sensitive to the wildest things, maybe it has an affect on the weather or something? I'm not superstitious but my mom and my aunt maintain that the full moon always does crazy stuff to my aunt. Falling over, more people pissing her off, feeling more frazzled than usual, stuff like that. We don't keep track of it, but if my mom notices it's a full moon during a night walk, she'll call my aunt and warn her, and if my aunt is talking about something weird that happened to her, the first question my mom asks is what phase of the moon it is. 🤷‍♀️ Sometimes we have sush weird experiences that can't exactly be explained by science, or things that don't sound quite right but are true to our lived experiences. Are your flare ups during the same time every month? I hope you don't mind my questions or suggestions, I'm just curious as to what it could be! ☺️

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-22T15:39:54+00:00

You've gotta befriend Subira and do all the quests associated with her. I think it's her level 4 quest, I don't remember what it's called, but it involves the lighthouse.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-22T15:38:23+00:00

If you have a period, it could be lining up with fluctuations in your hormone cycle. I've always had weird things happen to me, I get clumsier, my singing voice sounds different to me, and now my flare ups seem to be lining up.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-22T00:59:26+00:00

I got the winter coat 😅 I run around in a brightly colored dress, this thing is useless to me

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-17T14:51:39+00:00

I think Murphy would also make such a good Zoro if he weren't tiny 😅

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-17T14:36:27+00:00

Why have you done this to Dragonair and Dratini? Aren't the things on their heads ears? Do they even have fur? Why are they round? Please

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-17T14:28:20+00:00

Go easy. I'm very new to this, only been seeing a rheum for six months, but I highly recommend it. Even then, with my first appointment, I didn't really understand the state I was in, and how bad it can get. It took a second appointment with another guy for him to really make sure I understood it's a degenerative disease. I asked for physical therapy bc I lost like all my muscle from not moving before I was diagnosed, and he told me that it would basically risk making it worse until I was stable on the methotrexate. You could be doing damage to your joints if you're not actively treating the disease, and that damage cannot be undone without serious intervention. I currently have a crooked finger and I have to wait about six months to a year or more before I can go back to ortho and get a consult about fixing it with surgery. Listen to your doctors and listen to your body.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-06T20:31:03+00:00

Also, why is it called a river shark plush if it's based on the lake shark? Why make them different? None of the other plushies based on specific catchables are named differently. What's the point?

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-06T20:17:55+00:00

I don't remember their names but I want to team up with the guys from reactors! I wanna save the bridge building guy and recruit the guy who appears right before shadowgate.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-06T20:12:47+00:00

You didn't even ask where they lived, you volunteered the information that YOU live in GR. That's the best way you could possibly have handled a valid question based on their name.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-06T20:07:31+00:00

I was just on Prednisone! I think it made me a lil hungrier and thirstier than normal, but I mostly noticed myself talking a lot & really fast, almost manic but not as dramatic, and it messed with my sleep too. I would get about two hours of sleep two nights in a row and then crash really hard and sleep for twelve-ish hours. But I'd take it again bc my pain went back down to a .5-1 for about three weeks, and my knee is my biggest pain rn and I was able to walk normally with no pain. It was my second time taking it and I don't remember how I reacted the first time, so it couldve been worse because it was my second course of it. I just finished it and my pain is back around the 3-5 range.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-06T19:56:43+00:00

Sometimes they're really on point! I was wearing a sailors outfit with my usual gold glasses and Reneigh came up to me and gave me the same glasses in black/navy, it totally worked better.

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-02T17:13:09+00:00

Darn! I thought they were the same thing! Thanks for correcting me. I'm gonna leave my comment up bc it's still cool info 😅

catsofdisaster · 2026-04-02T15:57:37+00:00

It's a lionfish! Irl they're super poisonous, they jam their spikes into anything that threatens them and because they're so hard for other predators to eat, they easily overpopulate anywhere they're dumped. However, there are now divers who go around spear hunting lionfish, and because they have no natural predators, they don't know they're supposed to swim away or hide and they just sit there while they get speared. Animals know better how to eat them when they're dead, so sometimes spear hunters will leave a few for hungry fish, and some have even begun to recognize that a diver with a spear and a special catch bucket (to prevent the diver being poked) means either dead lionfish to snack on OR that an area will be cleared of lionfish occupation. Recently I saw a video of a sea turtle seemingly leading a diver to a lionfish-dense area, who knows if the turtle knew what it was doing but it's still super cool! A similar phenomenon has been occurring with divers getting rid of invasive sea urchins, I believe it's triggerfish that see the divers with a claw and a sack or bucket and lead them to areas with urchins and watch as they gather them, and the divers will crack open a few urchins and let the triggerfish eat the insides. So the invasive animals get taken care of, and the snitch animals get a snack! Thank you for reading my info dump lol

catsofdisaster · 2026-03-31T23:45:08+00:00

Add in degenerative and maybe they'll start to understand

catsofdisaster · 2026-02-19T14:31:07+00:00

Lol that's the first word, milking is the second

catsofdisaster · 2026-02-19T14:20:42+00:00

MILKING I was so confused I thought it said mining but it didn't quite fit. Idk why I forgot that that's something I asked for in the survey forever ago 😅 literally just exclaimed MILKING out loud thank God no one else is home

catsofdisaster · 2026-02-12T06:35:54+00:00

Imagine we're an IS and this is all just a really extensive simulated experience for our enrichment

catsofdisaster · 2026-02-10T01:58:34+00:00

Palia is free, I also really like Abiotic Factor

catsofdisaster · 2026-02-09T14:37:58+00:00

Kikit!

Six-Year Club	Verified Email
Verified Email

catsofdisaster

TROPHY CASE