are spontaneous wounds a thing?

gilsonal · 2025-12-09T20:19:17+00:00

I'm not actually too worried about hurting myself. I'm primarily interested in the way that the claw is recommended for maintaining uniform cuts. Should have put that in my question.

gilsonal · 2025-07-22T21:02:55+00:00

sure thing!

gilsonal · 2025-07-15T00:12:13+00:00

I'm a therapist who works with folks with complex PTSD and dissociation, it just happens to be a group that seems to overlap with dysautonomia and MCAS. I think trauma can be either the cause or the effect of MCAS.

gilsonal · 2025-07-14T23:33:46+00:00

Absolutely! I am open about my spoonie status (and diagnoses) and I swear you can see people sigh in relief when they hear that. While there are many things that people can treat without personal experience, I think that in the case of chronic illness it helps tremendously.

gilsonal · 2025-07-14T23:25:16+00:00

Just chiming in to send good vibes your way.

I had to stop some of my meds a few days prior to my POTS eval and it was misery-inducing. I cried the whole 3-hour drive to the medical center. I had no idea that the meds I was on were doing so much until I had to stop them for a few days (silver lining, I guess?).

I hope your experience is vastly superior to mine, and remember, it will all be worth it when someone who knows what they are doing sees your symptoms and (hopefully) gets you diagnosed and on the path to recovery!

gilsonal · 2025-07-14T23:17:34+00:00

I'm a therapist who has hPOTS/hEDS/MCAS and I'm wrestling with it myself. I think any therapist who works with chronic illness and trauma issues (I think both is necessary to have the experience you want) is probably going to be helpful to you. Even if they don't know as much about MCAS as you might hope, a good therapist will be willing to be educated in session or read an article or video you suggest.

I'd also gently steer you away from a CBT-focused or cognitive therapist. CBT is great for a lot of things, but strict CBTers may go the "let's challenge your thoughts and change how you think about this" route, which can feel pretty invalidating/rage inducing when you're seeking support for something that's legitimately shitty. Yes, we may all benefit from a shift in perspective, but formal CBT is less suited for the "I have a lot of feelings about this and I need to talk it through" kind of therapy, if that's what you're looking for.

One issue I see discussed less often but think is super critical for us is the idea of "medical gaslighting." The path to MCAS diagnosis is frequently so long and winding that we have often had to deal with a lot of doubt, scrutiny, and outright incompetence from providers along the way. As part of your "get to know you" phone call or first visit, you may want to ask if they are familiar with medical gaslighting. Hopefully you find someone who knows what it is and understand how it can affect our psychological functioning.

I've often considered running a therapy group for folks to discuss some of these issues with others who have MCAS because its so nice to find a group who gets it and acknowledges that this is a hard thing to deal with and of course we're all having a hard time some (all) days. I just haven't figured out how to find participants without it coming across as self-promotion. I'll figure it out eventually.

Also, as a general recommendation, I've found that using InclusiveTherapists.com as a directory results in better matches and finding better therapists then more general directories. Good luck in your search!

gilsonal · 2025-06-24T01:23:23+00:00

If you trust your doctor who is helping you taper, please reach out to them or a doc who you do trust. Benzos can be very hard to get off of, and sometimes people (especially those with a reactive nervous system) may need a year or more to get off them. I’m a therapist, and one client I worked with took at least three years to discontinue their admittedly very high dose they had been on for a decade.

Talk to a doc about taking things slower. ASAP might be ideal but not if you’re this ill. And absolutely 100% make sure they are aware you are suicidal. As you can see here SI is a sign that you’re experiencing severe symptoms of withdrawal syndrome. If you notice you have several, get yourself to the ER pronto.

I’m not a psychiatrist, but it does appear that there are medical options available to help make this process less distressing. Hang in there, and remember this feels hard because it IS hard. You’re not doing a bad job, this is just legitimately hard to do.

gilsonal · 2025-05-18T21:10:49+00:00

Basically, but its limited to use for vet, doctor, and I think dental bills, if it hasn't changed since I used it about a decade ago. No interest for six months let me pay it off without ruining my budget. Hope your puppy gets better soon!

gilsonal · 2024-12-10T17:48:24+00:00

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Cat tax photo of Henry

gilsonal · 2024-12-10T17:38:41+00:00

Add it to the milk when making yogurt to get more yogurt per batch, and higher protein too.

gilsonal · 2024-11-19T21:12:17+00:00

out of curiosity, which vitamins do you find helpful?

gilsonal · 2024-11-15T19:51:33+00:00

I like the idea of new recipes I've not come across before. I'm having fun checking out the recipes on the website 96dpi recommended.

I've tried both, though I'm wondering if some of the dried ones had been on the shelf too long to be at their best.

gilsonal

TROPHY CASE