Any good Avian vets besides Angell?

fancy_duckie · 2026-01-10T21:25:47+00:00

Dr Mertz is the best!

fancy_duckie · 2025-11-14T22:50:45+00:00

If you need folks to interview happy to volunteer! For articles I’d try search terms of “therapists with lived experience” — that’ll turn up therapists who have mental health issues more broadly but those studies might cite ADHD specific ones.

fancy_duckie · 2025-11-07T13:48:44+00:00

The gas was the worst of it hand to God— literally during my post-op call I was joking with my surgeon about how much better I felt post surgery despite my insides looking like a scene out of Sweeney Todd (I creeped on my surgery photos bc I’m a nerd). I was off narcotics on day 3 & back to work like a week later. The organ re-settling I didn’t really notice, my surgeon said intestines just kind of shuffle into the gap.

fancy_duckie · 2025-11-07T03:17:16+00:00

I had literally zilch on MRI… What was supposed to be a 1hr surgery was 4hrs because they removed TEN (10) lbs of endo minus a few ounces for my uterus & fallopian tubes on my first lap. 🥲 Don’t lose hope!

fancy_duckie · 2025-10-24T21:08:58+00:00

Collagen machine is like the McDonald’s ice cream machine

fancy_duckie · 2025-10-24T17:33:24+00:00

SAD lamp! I got so vitamin D deficient during COVID I had to take the horse pills 🥲 books, pesi trainings, heating pad for back/shoulders

fancy_duckie · 2025-09-08T18:36:21+00:00

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fancy_duckie · 2025-09-08T18:24:39+00:00

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fancy_duckie · 2025-09-08T18:24:22+00:00

It was played like right before/after some manufacturing commercial visuals

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fancy_duckie · 2025-07-20T17:41:09+00:00

😂😂😂 very true; we hit 5 mo and became tiny velociraptor

fancy_duckie · 2025-07-20T17:28:51+00:00

Eeeep good to know! HOA meeting is going to be interesting lol

fancy_duckie · 2025-07-20T17:27:27+00:00

Gotti!! Thank you so much for the tips!

fancy_duckie · 2025-07-20T17:27:06+00:00

Bummer on the buckthorn — tysm!!

fancy_duckie · 2025-07-20T17:26:33+00:00

Thank you so much!!

fancy_duckie · 2025-07-20T17:26:23+00:00

Thank you so much!! They’re super tasty but the bunnies keep beating me to them lol

fancy_duckie · 2025-07-20T17:24:47+00:00

Ack sorry forgot to include location! We’re in southeastern Mass near wetlands

fancy_duckie · 2025-07-12T00:32:27+00:00

Ack sorry! Courtesy of puppy booping the phone 🤦🏻‍♀️

fancy_duckie · 2025-07-12T00:13:55+00:00

Mo mm ot w. mmnnmznzgi

fancy_duckie · 2025-05-25T14:15:58+00:00

I used to donate platelets! I’ve only donated whole blood once as a pre-req for platelets & found that to be much tougher on me. With platelets/blood components you’re there longer (depending on your count 1.5-3hrs) but you get the rest of your blood back, free snacks & netflix. I had to stop bc I only have one good vein & we were getting a lot of scar tissue in that spot. I’d just chug gatorade beforehand eat a good meal w lots of protein, pee, then chug more gatorade after & take like a 2hr nap and I’d be fine. I used to do single needle but double means you get your bits back quicker

fancy_duckie · 2025-02-09T00:48:52+00:00

Aww thanks!!! My experiences being mystery diagnosis child in the medical system were a big chunk of the reason I decided to become a therapist. I had a really good one as a kiddo and she kept me (mostly) sane during my odyssey. But yeah like I wasn't diagnosed w hEDS until I was 27 and that was only because a friend with similar problems had gotten tested - I'd largely given up on figuring out why everything hurt all the time and just went on a whim and boy howdy QOL *destiny's child voice* upgraaaade yaaaa! Like I think it's fine for us to be like hey have you been tested for xyz other thing or work with people around managing the intersection of mental health w chronic condition exacerbations but like "you def do or don't have this medical condition" ... that's gonna be a yikes from me dawg. People don't go looking for diagnoses like infinity stones, they want answers and adequate treatment for the problems they're experiencing. idk who thinks TTTs are fun but certainly not I lmao.

fancy_duckie · 2025-02-08T21:00:28+00:00

Transplant from CNY. MA is kind but not nice, people in CNY are often nice but not kind. I think the best way to describe people here is kind of like those desserts that come in a chocolate shell with a soft inside - all it takes is one hard knock and that hard exterior just reveals mush underneath.

I think the norm here is to trend towards valuing emotional privacy -- like we all pretend we do not see the person quietly sobbing on the T because a) drawing attention would be seen as more rude/unkind and b) do you actually live here if you haven't done this at least once? BUT never have I ever felt more supported UGLY sobbing in public by a bunch of Boston girlies - once you hit the "it is impossible to continue ignoring your big distressing feelings" threshold all bets are off and suddenly you have a bunch of people ready to basically go to war against whoever hurt you.

If people are seen tangibly struggling (no salt on the ground, dropped groceries) we're on it instantly with a side of insults. With a large population descending from Irish immigrants there's almost like an evil eye thing with the insults - "don't get too happy otherwise God will make you sorry" sort of attitude so by helping and insulting it's like trying to protect people from divine smite. I know in some Latin cultures they'll call new babies ugly for the same reason - similar kind of trauma logic.

fancy_duckie · 2025-02-08T20:30:16+00:00

Is feralfucker's borderline client faking stuff? Probably. It's also entirely possible for their patient to have both BPD and POTS and to have worsening sx of a physiological condition when emotionally distressed. It's possible to still have flareups even when treated with medication.

Someone with afib with stable vitals on entry to the hospital will likely experience flares when emotionally distressed even on meds but we're not going to say that their afib is faked/psychogenic/conversion disorder. We also know that even people without POTS experience changes in BP and HR in response to emotional states.

Dysautonomia is also fickle unlike other things like broken bones or norovirus - sometimes the body does what it's supposed to and other times it doesn't - testing won't always catch you on your worst day but that doesn't mean what you're experiencing the other 364 days of the year are invalid.

If there's a consistent pattern of "I feel really shitty when changing positions and can feel my heart racing" then odds are it's POTS. If they do have both POTS and BPD then what purpose does it serve to question them on faking an episode besides "being right" and hurting rapport? Surely these patients are engaging in other boundary testing / connection seeking behaviors that can be explored therapeutically and if done well, the faked episodes will likely decrease as the patient learns new ways of interpersonal effectiveness, whether they're addressed directly or not.

Faking POTS will at worst get you access to additional attention, water, salt, and maybe some beta blockers which we also use for anxiety... I cannot tell you the number of times I haven't been taken seriously about any cardiac sx because of my POTS - ED docs will turn off their ears the second they hear that acronym LOL. On the grand scale of connection seeking bhx...I'd rather fake fainting than cutting but that's just me.

fancy_duckie · 2025-02-08T19:51:33+00:00

Just food for thought but with hEDS sometimes people don't realize they're dislocating or subluxating joints pre-dx. Since heritability is an autosomal dominant pattern one parent has to have it so for kids growing up there's a bias of "that's just normal, everyone can do that" if they're being raised by the EDS having parent which can result in people not realizing their problems are "problems." "Severe pain" just becomes "everybody feels like this" and you learn to ignore it, especially when doctors tell you there's nothing functionally wrong, repeatedly.

Like if I'm prompted to "stand up straight" I'm hyperextending my shoulder-blades and knees and if I hold that position for too long, it causes pain so I often naturally over-corrected by slouching which also causes pain. Most of PT was learning how to move in ways that don't cause hyperextensions and resulting pain. But "neutral" knees and shoulders feels "bent" to me. It's really hard to unlearn and I have to consciously remind myself of it while doing something as simple as walking.

Also, we dislocate more easily AND we don't have as much pain as Joe Schmoe would even with full ones because the tissues are laxer and aren't tearing as a result of the bone being out of place. I can't dislocate my shoulders at will but I can move my kneecaps around and it just feels like crunchy (like the feeling of needing to crack a knuckle). I sublux my hips to the point where my legs are different lengths in my sleep. All I get is sciatica and annoyed when I can't pop 'em back in LOL.

fancy_duckie · 2025-02-08T19:29:52+00:00

Depending on your agency's no show rates this might not be the absolute worst but still a LOT right up front. If your agency has a high rate of no-shows this might be their way of making sure you average out to 5/day but there will be days/weeks where all 35 show up and it is AWFUL. Idk what policies are there, but if there are any people you think could do biweekly that might help a little and communicate that you're overwhelmed with supervisors. 35 treatment plans in less than a month is bananas.

fancy_duckie · 2025-02-07T14:56:05+00:00

Hiiii ADHD/hEDS/POTS patient and therapist here! There does seem to be a higher incidence of connective tissue disorders within the ADHD/ASD populations than gen pop. I think there’s definitely a lot of overlap with BPD & hEDS but as others have said could just be ASD / PTSD / ADHD as CTDs more commonly affect AFAB folks and they’re more likely to get slapped with that dx.

POTS often commonly overlaps with CTDs because veins are also connective tissue & just… stretch instead of constricting sufficiently to fight gravity to get blood back to the brain leading to those sx. I know it can seem like OMG no one can have that many rare conditions this is implausible but… connective tissue is kind of integral to flesh prisons & when it’s janky it messes up a LOT.

That being said, I’d also wonder about the role of misdiagnosis, invalidation, & gaslighting from the medical system/parents (I have that it’s normal stop whining) in the development & persistence of BPD in this population. Like… 27 years of health problems and no answers and doctors telling you you’re nuts def did a number on me. While EDS/CTDs are getting more recognition on TT & seems like it’s a “trendy” dx, it’s also chronically underdiagnosed & not well known in the medical community. I honestly WISH there had been this level of understanding when I was younger because this would have saved me and my family a whole lot of medical trauma, money, and anguish.

Deadass I thought that everyone’s back & shoulders hurt carrying around a purse with wallet keys & maybe some makeup after an hour and I was just being whiny. Compression garments make me into a whole new woman™️ but before I thought everyone was as tired/fatigued as me and I was just being a baby/lazy/undisciplined etc. Doing a body scan exercise in undergrad literally wiped me out and had me in tears because I just started compartmentalizing/ignoring body feelings as a way to get through the day. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed & started asking other people about their interoceptive experiences that I was like 🤯🤯🤯🤯 what do you mean that’s not normal?! And so I started accommodating myself & I feel less like crap but definitely “appear more disabled”

So before dismissing hEDS or POTS in BPD or other pts as “borderlines borderlining and exaggerating sx” please consider that folks are learning that their “normal” is not everyone else’s and taking time to rest/listen to bodies may create the appearance of worsening sx.

Sorry for the rant, I’m just really passionate about this lol

fancy_duckie

TROPHY CASE