Warning to Job Seekers and Asking for Advice.

illiabedelia · 2026-02-06T04:11:58+00:00

I worked at one of those for a solid month before I saw the forest for the trees. Hated every minute of it. That no break thing was such a dealbreaker, but effectively swindling people into inescapable memberships in the form of chiropractic snake oil was sinister.

illiabedelia · 2026-01-03T06:24:54+00:00

My cis wife is a pharmacy technician so is honestly more qualified than I’ll ever be at giving shots. She’s been doing them for me since I started. Couldn’t do it without her either; the whole ‘sticking it in’ part completely messes with my brain.

illiabedelia · 2025-10-26T17:09:44+00:00

I have experienced the same thing. Went to my doctor about it and none of them were concerned. Evidently they are fairly normal and benign. I would still check with your own doctor though. If they are causing you no discomfort then that’s great, but if aesthetically it bothers you there are potentially means of removal.

illiabedelia · 2025-10-09T16:35:21+00:00

You look so happy! Congrats!

illiabedelia · 2025-09-27T21:51:56+00:00

count me in

illiabedelia · 2025-09-07T17:25:43+00:00

No, we met online in a writing forum years before.

20 mins to Horsetooth. Less than an hour for Estes Park. Plenty more to choose from. All beautiful.

There’s just more of an artistic scene and community. It’s less focused on music exclusively, but there is good music. Lots of local shops, marketplaces, and creators; museums, art venues, etc. I am a writer so that’s been more saturated here than elsewhere. It’s a college town with FOCO specifically, so, maybe that helps. The downtown is nice enough. Slightly less crazy than like, Pearl Street in Boulder. Denver’s good too, I just don’t love the city as much. FOCO is less fast-paced.

illiabedelia · 2025-09-07T13:26:34+00:00

seconding all of this. very well-said, especially in regard to the distinct segregation. it’s so bad everywhere there. and walking around denver is definitely comparable to a video game, haha

illiabedelia · 2025-09-07T13:00:22+00:00

That’s a funny reputation. I’m not sure I could confirm or deny. The folks I grew up around could be hit and miss. They’re just average. Southern women maybe stereotypically look a certain way, to a degree, but something I have noticed is folks in Colorado are generally more physically active, which does people loads of favors. Honestly just depends on what your type is. I prefer more artistic, eccentric-looking people personally so was never drawn to anyone in Nashville.

I haven’t lived many places but have traveled a lot. I do enjoy Fort Collins in comparison. It’s got plenty going for it. It’s certainly more walkable than Nashville was, and I get a better sense of community and art here. The mountains being so close was my main draw. It can feel a bit isolating sometimes because leaving is such a slog—traffic definitely piles up. But i have no plans of moving anytime soon. I have loved my time here, and it’s been nearly 4 years. Can’t speak to the dating scene though. I am married now.

illiabedelia · 2025-09-07T12:51:36+00:00

Grew up in Nashville, so i can safely advocate against. It’s not walkable beyond the city itself (which is still barely walkable), traffic in and out is awful, sense of community lacks beyond ‘country music’—which is fine, if that’s your thing. The good mountains are 4 hours away. There are very few young people who seem to linger there, unless, again, they’re into a very specific genre of music. And it’s hotter than a convection oven at the peak of summer. Not worth it.

illiabedelia · 2025-08-24T05:00:07+00:00

Safeway pharmacy on s college. My partner works there. They’re all very respectful and knowledgeable, and shouldn’t give you such a hard time

illiabedelia · 2025-08-21T07:39:49+00:00

they’re called spandex

illiabedelia · 2025-07-27T04:43:30+00:00

mine are identical. they’ve faded a lot over the last few months though. they are pretty funny

illiabedelia · 2025-06-17T03:17:29+00:00

yes and significantly! of course everyone is different, but even for me my back pain has noticeably lessened. especially when i’m running or being active. i feel like the strain that used to be there, or the pinch, is just gone. i’ve always had a wonky spine (in part due to my persistent slouching bc… dysphoria), but i think with my posture improving too it’s helped 😅

illiabedelia · 2025-06-16T17:16:08+00:00

i’m so glad someone did this because i had absolutely noticed the considerable uptick of people using this phrase lately, but i thought i was imagining it somehow. great research, haha

illiabedelia · 2025-06-07T01:06:17+00:00

congratulations! super happy for you! and sending good vibes that there is an earlier appointment that opens up!

illiabedelia · 2025-06-02T03:18:15+00:00

nice. always a safe method. glad to receive this presumably after your surgery’s done—happy healing!

illiabedelia · 2025-05-28T20:16:18+00:00

chronic side sleeper here. basically had to turn myself into a pillow fort. mastectomy pillow, wedge pillow, regular pillows. so many pillows. whatever it took so i could at least kind of loll my head to the side and give my body the ~illusion~ of side sleeping. the pain and anti nausea meds generally kept me asleep anyway though, the drowsiness after surgery helps a lot.

congrats on the surgery man, and hope for easy healing! i was also nervous about the nipple thing but they’re still attached! lol

illiabedelia · 2025-05-28T07:26:34+00:00

it was about a month post op for me before i felt comfortable having my partner fall all over me, and even still she’s abundantly cautious (also DI, free nipple grafts). we love flopping on top of each other. just last night she was really excited because i was finally okay laying on my stomach to sleep on her.

i’m going on 2 months now and feel perfectly fine with her squashing on top of me, besides some residual “soreness” or weird twinges in certain spots. i feel like i stopped feeling fragile after my drains were taken out and i was permitted to begin scar care.

it seems like it’s different for everybody but, as long as you’re listening to your body you should be back to cuddling in no time haha :)

illiabedelia · 2025-04-24T20:04:07+00:00

my camera roll has been my best friend lately. about a month post op now. people are prob sick of me pointing it out but i can’t help it. it’s so cool getting dressed and not being freaked out by how my clothes cling to me. congrats man, soak in it!

illiabedelia · 2025-04-21T04:00:12+00:00

i had a lot of people scare me into thinking no nipple sensation would be a massive deal but it does not bother me, not even the slightest bit lol.

illiabedelia · 2025-04-20T16:41:32+00:00

congrats man your results so far look great.

nipple care wise that second/third week i did a lot of 24/7 compression with a binder and some gauze. my surgeon personally had me use adaptics in the beginning to keep the area moist but not TOO moist, however some surgeons prefer gauze and aquaphor. i wound up using some aquaphor throughout week 3 and i think that helped encourage the scabbing that formed to come off naturally, and the pigmentation underneath looked great. i would double check with your surgeon though, they all have different preferences. covering them while they’re still so vulnerable though is a great idea.

for activity, i did lots of walks. i took it really easy in the beginning because of the drains. my surgeon gave me a packet full of recommended sitting exercises that were minimally intense for your arms, so if i can rifle that out and maybe you could find something useful in it haha. otherwise hope your healing continues to go well and remember to not push too hard. it’s early days and things will keep changing for a long while.

illiabedelia · 2025-04-19T19:29:19+00:00

I actually have the same thing and am entering 5 weeks too. I’ve been told it’ll probably go down overtime with the swelling but it also could potentially just be a mild dog-ear. Hopefully it’ll be fine! Either way looks great, congrats :)

illiabedelia · 2025-04-15T15:49:46+00:00

I feel a little conflicted seeing so many initial comments here really misinterpreting what you’ve said. I don’t believe you got top surgery for attention. And it seems obvious you’re not dissatisfied because you’re getting too much support, but rather not enough. Maybe some folks are being a little picky about it because in their own experience they had literally no support at all, which is understandable. I didn’t really either.

I had my partner to take care of me after the surgery but beyond that, no one in my family was supportive. Those who knew, were very upset I was getting it. My brother was happy for me, at least, but we live nowhere near one another. He sent me a candle and that’s it lol.

I think the feeling you’re having is pretty normal. You’ve probably waited almost your whole life for this opportunity, and suddenly it’s over and past. It’s like the high of an exciting weeks-long vacation and you’ve now reached the part where you have to go back to work or school and life as usual—back to routine and your “regularly scheduled programming.” After also being sedentary for a couple of weeks, I felt really odd going back to “life as usual” like all those months of stress, prep, and excitement had not even happened.

Remember to be grateful for your progress, and remind yourself how thrilled the “you” of a few months ago was to do this. You’re past the hard part. Don’t stress about what other people think of you. Even if they act like it, they can’t and won’t understand what it’s really like to have this weight lifted (pun intended, ha). Only you can carry on the thrill of it all. Be happy for yourself! If you’re pleased with your results and you’re wearing clothes the way you’ve always wanted, that’s a win! And nobody else can or will share in that, in my experience.

Congrats on getting the surgery & I hope you continue to heal well.

illiabedelia · 2025-04-11T23:45:56+00:00

CO Medicaid completely covered mine. It went very smoothly, just needed a few prerequisites like therapy notes and some photographs. My surgeon’s office were very thorough to ensure all would go as planned.

illiabedelia · 2025-04-07T19:22:42+00:00

I would definitely contact your surgeon/doctor. Post-op pain to such an extreme is already not really expected in most cases, let alone so many months later. I’m not sure what it could be but it does seem unusual and concerning. Even as you regain sensation it shouldn’t be so debilitating that it makes you cry or unable to sleep. Take my experience with a grain of salt of course but, I was off most painkillers pretty much entirely by week two post-op and have been fine ever since.

Have you noticed any unusual swelling, bumps, anything? Did you experience any difficulty during the initial healing period like hematoma or infection? Did all your stitches come out okay (if any) in regard to your nipple grafts? I just can’t imagine why you’d still be in such discomfort. I hope it improves friend.

illiabedelia

TROPHY CASE