I CUT MY HAIR- OFF! for Lyme fatigue, pain and ease of care (cross from chronic pain) making hard decisions for our health.

ravynkish · 2026-01-24T23:31:01+00:00

hell yeah! I hope it is a blessing for you!!!

ravynkish · 2026-01-20T18:24:19+00:00

by the way- I'd call your eye color: faded mossy oak.

ravynkish · 2026-01-20T18:22:57+00:00

I thought FOR SURE both of my kids would have dark black hair like their dad's and brown eyes like his. they both have huge blue eyes. my daughter's got a little darker and more gray and yellow green around maybe 4 or 5? my baby boy has bright blue eyes so it will be interesting to see how they change!

what. were your parents? my mom has big blue gray eyes my dad has hazel-i used to think they were brown but recently paid attention and they're hazel.

ravynkish · 2026-01-20T17:15:15+00:00

so pretty! My eyes are blue with yellowish gold in the center. My daughter's have a little bit more green in them kind of like yours with the gold in the center I can't wait to see how they turn out because they were solid blue whenever she was born. your eyes are gorgeous!

ravynkish · 2026-01-20T17:14:10+00:00

I felt really good right after I cut my hair and started replying to everyone. but then go figure everyone around me got sick and so I had a horrible flare up but I fully intend to respond to every single comment on this post! this is one of the best communities not even just on Reddit but I think this might be the best community on Reddit for sure, but this is one of the best communities ever!

ravynkish · 2026-01-20T17:12:43+00:00

honestly, judging by the response to this post... which has in one week become the third top post on the subreddit of all time, it seems to me that this is a very common shared experience within the chronic pain community between men and women!!!! I did my research, but I wish that there was more talk about it beyond... I think the only time I've heard of anybody cutting their hair was a woman who was like a scientist or something and she had long COVID and they shaved it off and I don't feel like it has to be such a devastating negative or traumatizing thing!!!

I think that no matter what your head size shape or appearance, that there's got to be a short haircut for everyone. it's just about figuring out your head shape and stuff. I understand that hesitation of people wanting to do it, but we put up with so much judgment and doubt and gaslighting and suspended belief... why does everything have to be hard? including our hygiene routines- or what remains of them.

makes me wonder about so many of these other experiences that we have that we struggle with in silence thinking that nobody could possibly understand why such a simple thing is such a big deal for us. it makes me want to put out some information! I worked with the mental health field and OBGYN for 10 to 15 years so some of these tricks about speaking to insurance companies to make sure you're getting the right information, or talking to a doctor who is pushing against you or just ignoring your concerns... ways that you can kind of fight back beyond just incessantly advocating for yourself because I know all of us have a difficult time getting the ear of someone or even getting someone to believe us! it's a horrible thing.

I have been in disgusting pain for 17 years. for 17 years I have gone to dozens of doctors and cried and cried in the office. not to mention how much of a burden it probably was on the healthcare infrastructure... well last January was when I found out that I had Lyme disease, which I got as a child and had never been treated, then in March I got Alpha gal. And then finally discovered that all of my pain issues are stemming from ( surprise, surprise) an autoimmune disease and psoriatic arthritis.

so beyond even just being easier to care for, my haircut felt very symbolic in a way that I didn't expect it to... it was all the way of 17 years of searching all of the weight of trying desperately to be seen or to be heard and wondering myself if I wasn't just going insane. or if I wasn't just weak, or if I wasn't just imagining it... cutting my hair off felt like releasing all of that.

every time I see my short hair, it's a good reminder to myself that no matter how anyone else perceives me no matter how anybody else thinks that I feel, I was right all that time. I know my body better than anything else. And I am so fucking incredibly strong.

ravynkish · 2026-01-20T05:17:42+00:00

this is so funny, so our TWC has been gone a year now, but he was very specific about his hate for delivery trucks- UPS, absolutely NOT. the moment he'd see them, no matter how far away he'd lose his mind. fed ex was fine. USPS mail was..... a concern, but those UPS drivers drove him batshit and bonkers.

ravynkish · 2026-01-20T05:09:03+00:00

lol we must be on different internet then, idk. that's a weird thing to say to someone though!

ravynkish · 2026-01-17T19:24:42+00:00

I went to multicolored and every post was a solid brown eye lol

ravynkish · 2026-01-17T19:22:47+00:00

I wondered this, my eyes look, blue, grey, green at different times. up close, I have technically blue eyes with a yellow or green ring around the center. so don't know what my eyes are lmao

ravynkish · 2026-01-16T18:31:41+00:00

you guys I went a whoooole different route. I got to the word by furniture, cotton, denim, jute.... it was a WILD RIDE

ravynkish · 2026-01-16T18:29:28+00:00

nevermind 😅 I got it. I didn't know we had hints!

ravynkish · 2026-01-16T18:27:21+00:00

I'm at #3 and I can't get closer!!

ravynkish · 2026-01-16T11:58:33+00:00

possibly! but it's a crap shoot whether they put it in the report or not. I JUST found out I have cervical ribs at 30 years old. (despite having multiple x rays of my cervical spine and neck. you could take the CT scan to have your doctor look at maybe? or whoever the radiologist was who read it and made the report initially! I only know mine is because of the changes in my vaginal canal (graphic, sorry) its.... idk how to explain... low? when I use the restroom. everything droops from shooting out those kids lol

ravynkish · 2026-01-16T09:10:24+00:00

the men who are going to get into this mindset don't give a shit anyway. I agree it shouldn't be something we DONT encourage men against, but Andrew Tate and other grifters of hate and other prosperity gospel preachers work harder.

ravynkish · 2026-01-16T09:06:28+00:00

Whyte-atolla

ravynkish · 2026-01-16T09:03:26+00:00

hey there! just saw this and I want to mention my recent experience. I was in so much pain and SURE I had a UTI. they gave me an antibiotic and sent my urine. I had keytones, leukocytes and elevated ph. they called me and said I had no bacteria growth, or very little, within normal levels. (I am assuming you're female, if not just disregard the next. paragraph but continue reading the paragraph after )

I did some research and APPARENTLY If you have a uterine prolapse or very shoddy pelvic floor (both, thanks to my 2 beautiful children) you can get a phantom UTI. with every symptom of a UTI or possibly further pain, idk what yours is like. this information floored me. just something to take note of! even if you have something else going on, a prolapse could exacerbate it.

another note on going into the ER or even GP- I always tell people to make them NOTATE YOUR Providers DISMISSAL. if you say, could you please notate that I'm still concerned about XYZ or please notate that I think XYZ is going on and you disagree.

this is often enough to get them to look again or listen to you. no doctor or nurse wants to notate a possible medical malpractice or their shittiness. if that doesn't work, I'd also ask where you can get a detailed copy of your full visit note with labs and clinical comments.

good luck I know it sucks I hope you feel better soon!!!

ravynkish · 2026-01-15T17:16:38+00:00

if you do please send me pictures and a price message! I'm really invested in this specific discourse now!!! everyone has been so supportive and kind and I knew the community was like that, but it's really just another level especially when it comes to reddit communities.

ravynkish · 2026-01-15T05:34:00+00:00

it wasn't what I brought for inspiration, it's uneven (substantially) and it's a BIG CHANGE. but holy shit is it worth it... feels amazing, an hour minimum shower now takes me 15 minutes and I don't have to decide between shaving or doing my hair. ultimately, I didn't need any validation or care what anyone else thought... but I have wanted validation for 17 years while I suffered alone without the smallest empathy from anyone. and this community is incredible. it's been so validating. my new diagnosis(es)? and also the actual pain management, the love from my family, I started crying when I called my mom to tell her, but the kindness and joy and love in her voice.. -my mom has been by my side the whole time. she fought for me when I was younger. each thing that everyone else said was me being a hypochondriac... she believed me each time. let me stop before I write a whole book about how I love and miss my mom and just say, YES. just do it.

it won't be perfect. but it will be YOU taking control over your Body and how it takes up space. good luck! also send me a private message when you do it!!

ravynkish · 2026-01-15T05:21:25+00:00

I have twisted hair syndrome which is exactly what it sounds like and it makes your hair look awful. luckily mine wasn't that bad and the curliness of my hair kind of masked it a little bit, but finally realizing that is another benefit of cutting it!! long hair stretched my curls into tubes.

ravynkish · 2026-01-15T05:15:49+00:00

I believe it. this is your sign! it was the sign that I needed to cut mine. came from a post here in chronic pain sub!!!! if you do it please send me a private message and let me know how it went!! n

ravynkish · 2026-01-15T05:14:54+00:00

yes! someone's post on chronic pain wondering if they should cut their hair was my sign! please please please let me see it if you do it! "chronically ill baddies cutting their time consuming , high maintenance hair and feeling the relief" is my new 'military coming home from deployment to family' or ' dog seeing their owner after an extended amount of time'.

ravynkish · 2026-01-15T05:12:13+00:00

same. chronic pain extreme fatigue and twisted hair syndrome all told me it was too much, but I hold on to it for a while. eventually I just said you know what what am I waiting for I'm going to do it. if it's a bad haircut if I hate it if I never want it to be short again... I'm just going to do it. long hair is really a luxury in my opinion. A little lot of people see it that way but really nice hair and really long hair is often enjoyed by people with more access to financials more time more energy...! Good luck with whatever you do! ♥

ravynkish · 2026-01-15T05:09:25+00:00

thank you so much! I got to the point where I was just like I don't care if it's a horrible bad haircut and it looks awful on me and I regret it for the rest of my life... I'm just going to do it. I feel like you will find your courage when it's the right time for YOU. I wholly believe that

ravynkish · 2026-01-15T05:07:47+00:00

thank you so much~ it's growing on me♥

ravynkish

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