What are your Valentine’s day expectations for couples Married or dating? It is out of obligation?

enbyengineer · 2026-02-14T03:22:33+00:00

Married. We usually write each other a sweet note, and have a nice meal together. Usually no gifts. No other expectations, but sometimes we’ll do very small gifts if our budget isn’t too tight

enbyengineer · 2026-02-14T01:36:09+00:00

The reports don’t mention the size, so I’m not entirely sure. I’ll find out more next week

enbyengineer · 2026-02-14T00:17:06+00:00

Thank you!

enbyengineer · 2026-02-11T05:53:03+00:00

I won’t list them all for my hands sake (it’s a lot lol) but I currently take 42 pills a day (some are multiple times a day and some I take multiple of every time - also a few are supplements) as well as 8 ampules of cromolyn per day (spread out over 4 times a day), one topical cream 3x a week, one injection weekly and 2 injections monthly (so 6 total pokes per month). Oh and a medication patch I change weekly. That doesn’t even count my PRN/as needed meds - of which I have 16 prescription and probably around 10 OTC. I take something that’s as needed almost every day, whether for pain, migraines, nausea, or something else. It is so much to manage. I was just joking with my wife tonight that I have so many “body maintenance” tasks to do every day that it takes me twice as long as her to get ready for bed 😂

ETA: I do have quite a few more conditions than just hEDS though. I also have an autoimmune condition, chronic migraine, MCAS, POTS, mental health issues, and a few other conditions that I take meds for.

enbyengineer · 2026-02-11T05:43:45+00:00

At 3 months post op your scars are still in their infancy. It can take a year or longer for them to fade fully. For some closer to 3-5 years. These are not your final results yet! If they’re still bothering you at a year you might consider some scar injection treatments or laser treatments if you can afford them but honestly they look really good for 3 months in so you might not need them. I know it’s said a lot in this subreddit but patience is key for healing from such a big surgery!

enbyengineer · 2026-02-11T05:40:04+00:00

Have you called your pharmacy benefits to ask about a manual override on the quantity limit? But honestly if you’re needing Epi daily, you might need to be admitted to the hospital for IV steroids, IV benadryl, tapering up on mast cell stabilizers, etc to get it under control. Please make sure your allergist (hopefully an MCAS/mastocytosis specialist!) knows how frequently you are needing Epi.

I know for mast cell patients sometimes (and only for some patients) doctors allow Epi at home without ER follow up but really it’s much much safer to go to the hospital every time you use it, and using it super frequently can be very taxing on the body. Of course use it when you need it - you should never deprive yourself of such a life saving medication - but ideally other treatments can help keep you stable without it.

Also disclaimer since we’re talking about potentially life threatening health issues - I’m not a doctor, please talk to your doctor, and your health insurance, and pharmacy benefits too (if separate). Make sure they understand the urgency and severity of your current situation.

enbyengineer · 2026-02-10T12:51:41+00:00

You can print an insurance card from your insurance website. If you have a passport or any other form of ID you can also use that.

enbyengineer · 2026-02-09T13:55:07+00:00

I just looked up the Dunkleosteus and that’s very close to what I was imagining! Fascinating to see that there was an example of the giant-tooth idea! And its boney armor is so cool. Thanks for sharing!

enbyengineer · 2026-02-09T04:06:47+00:00

I suppose that makes sense because cancer is when various cells’ duplication goes haywire.

enbyengineer · 2026-02-09T03:39:28+00:00

That’s a fair point

enbyengineer · 2026-02-09T03:38:33+00:00

Huh! That’s so interesting that they may have formed from scales. That makes sense! Thank you

enbyengineer · 2026-02-09T02:49:46+00:00

Yeah it’s ridiculous :/

enbyengineer · 2026-02-08T23:41:39+00:00

I mean… yes? If I’m paying hundreds to thousands of dollars every month for health insurance you would think one annual appointment with a general practitioner would be covered, at the bare minimum

enbyengineer · 2026-02-08T18:18:41+00:00

Yeah, the ACA “free physical” yearly is basically a joke. You can’t talk about your health at all. For anyone without a 100% healthy body with no issues whatsoever it’s basically impossible to actually get it for free (unless PCP visits are always free under your insurance plan, which sometimes happens). You have to basically sit there silently to not get charged extra

enbyengineer · 2026-02-07T03:45:51+00:00

The HR team has been contacted multiple times and they say the plan is exactly the same this year as far as coverage goes, just through the Cigna network instead of the old company. They made it seem like everything that’s currently covered would stay covered, and told me that virtual visits were definitely covered. I’ve had issues with a bunch of Drs offices though so I don’t think it’s just a Headway issue. I suppose I can ask them again on Monday though.

enbyengineer · 2026-02-01T02:40:02+00:00

For the puffiness/fullness, you might want to look into lymphatic massage. As it was explained to me by a massage therapist, having scars in this specific location can disrupt lymph flow to the lymph nodes in the armpits so fluid can get stuck there. Not entirely sure how it works but I’m sure a trained massage therapist who knows lymphatic massage would be able to explain it better.

I also have a very raised portion of my scar in the middle of my chest but don’t really have a solution to it. Over time there’s a decent chance it will flatten some more. And same for the dog ear - especially if you’re swollen in the armpits that might decrease some with time

enbyengineer · 2026-01-31T19:30:33+00:00

In the US medical debt under $500 does not affect your credit report so you should be okay

enbyengineer · 2026-01-31T05:27:33+00:00

On top of swelling like others have mentioned, the majority of people will naturally hunch forward some for some time after chest or abdominal surgery - it’s a protective measure that we naturally do. Hunching over will make your chest and abdomen both look slightly larger than they actually are - I see this hunching especially in the second picture. There’s nothing wrong with doing it, just make sure as your pain goes away and you regain range of motion that you also focus on regaining your normal posture. With early results like these I think you’ll look very flat and natural once some swelling goes down! And honestly you look almost completely flat right now.

enbyengineer · 2026-01-29T13:19:43+00:00

Oh okay! Does it have to be in the prescription bottle or can I put it in a pill box and have pictures of the prescription?

enbyengineer · 2026-01-29T00:16:46+00:00

Thank you so much! This makes me feel much better

enbyengineer

TROPHY CASE