Get that thing off your chest... Now...

[Victoria Jennings]

Oh my god my cramps agh ow adsklfjadsk so painful ; ^ ;
WHY ; n ;
I didn't used to have cramps, why do I have them now ; 0 ;

[Ionait]

Oh my god my cramps agh ow adsklfjadsk so painful ; ^ ;
WHY ; n ;
I didn't used to have cramps, why do I have them now ; 0 ;

I concur! Bodily changes are stupid! Just like one day waking up having an allergy to something and nobody believes you/think being lactose intolerant is a "cry for attention." Eff youuu mother nature.

(Oh, not saying the allergy thing has happened to me. It has happened to people I know and, no matter the age of the person or their peers, the peers always end up turning it into gossip that the person is "faking". That's dumb.)

[Sapphi]

Oh my god my cramps agh ow adsklfjadsk so painful ; ^ ;
WHY ; n ;
I didn't used to have cramps, why do I have them now ; 0 ;

I concur! Bodily changes are stupid! Just like one day waking up having an allergy to something and nobody believes you/think being lactose intolerant is a "cry for attention." Eff youuu mother nature.

(Oh, not saying the allergy thing has happened to me. It has happened to people I know and, no matter the age of the person or their peers, the peers always end up turning it into gossip that the person is "faking". That's dumb.)

My boyfriend is allergic to everything on the planet. Some are the scary throat-swelling shut immune reactions (nuts, shellfish, horses), some are the common plant-based irritants (grass, tree sap) and most others are mild to severe digestive intolerances (even trace amounts of egg). On top of it just sucking for him in general ("Hey, want some of these baby carrots?" "No, I don't have anything to eat after them to keep my throat from itching"), most people including food service people are very poorly trained and/or freaking irresponsible. There have been like three separate times we've gone out for ice cream and asked if the item contains eggs, been told no by a ditsy high school girl, and it turns out that it did (per his reaction and web research). Additionally, he was recently in the hospital for surgery and wore an arm band listing his relevant allergies, eggs being one of them, AND AT BREAKFAST THEY SERVED HIM SCRAMBLED EGGS. IN A HOSPITAL. MY HEAD ASPLODE

Oh, and. When the topic of his allergies comes up, people like to make bright suggestions like "Have you ever thought that it might just all be in his head?" MY HEAD REALLY ASPLODE

Speaking of lactose intolerance, I have it. I stopped drinking milk at age 5. AFAIK it's my only intolerance, but it's enough to know I'd like to punch people in the face when they prance around with their perfect bodies and try to suggest that digestive and immune responses are self-caused.

And now I'll end this angry post with a picture of my new best friend.

[Mink]

Now I'm reminded of how the fact my sister's lactose intolerant has never stopped her from consuming dairy products (no, she doesn't take anything for it; she just eats/drinks/whatever it).

On that note, who's allergic to apples (and various other fruits, via pollen allergy)? THIS GIRL. AND I LOVE APPLES. FFFUUU-! Also, I'm allergic to sulfa medicines. Me and only about 3% of the general populace. Joy.

[LateWhiteRabbit]

Speaking of lactose intolerance, I have it. I stopped drinking milk at age 5. AFAIK it's my only intolerance, but it's enough to know I'd like to punch people in the face when they prance around with their perfect bodies and try to suggest that digestive and immune responses are self-caused.

It's kind of cool if you think about it. Being lactose intolerant means you have a more ancient gene sequence than other people - from a time when the whole human race was lactose intolerant. There are actually three different gene sequences in regards to milk and lactose tolerance. Some people are lactose intolerant - i.e. their ability to digest lactose goes away when they reach weaning age. Other people have conditional lactose intolerance - sort of a middle step, where as long as they don't ever stop drinking milk from childhood on, their body can digest lactose, but if they ever stop for an extended period of time, they become full blown lactose intolerant. Then there are the third group - the freakish mutants who have the relatively new (historically speaking) gene sequence that lets them digest lactose without problems, regardless of how often they drink milk.

If I were Mink's sister I'd totally do the same thing and drink milk - in fact, I'm allergic to gluten, but I eat the hell out of it. Sometimes a little bodily irritation is worth it. I thank my lucky stars I'm in the freakish mutant category, because milk is one of the three favorite foods, right after steak and before potatoes.

I have read that some food allergies can be prevented in childhood (i.e. if the reaction isn't too severe or life threatening, you keep giving the kid the food and their immune system learns to chill the hell out in regards to that substance) but once you've reached adulthood, you're pretty well stuck with whatever you have. It is the same reason you can have no seasonal allergies where you grew up, but if you move to a new state or country, suddenly you'll have seasonal allergies. It's because when you where a child, your body learned not to freak out over those particular kinds of pollen it was encountering all the time.

Apparently current research suggests you should raise kids dirty, coated in pollen, and eating anything that doesn't kill them if you want a healthy adult!

[Sapphi]

Now I'm reminded of how the fact my sister's lactose intolerant has never stopped her from consuming dairy products (no, she doesn't take anything for it; she just eats/drinks/whatever it).

That's... interesting... but through trial and error, I have found I can have some things considered dairy and some not. Anything with relatively straight milk, including instant pudding, cup pudding with real milk, white gravy, or really milky alfredo sauce is out. I have to make easy mac and all those other packet stovetop pasta guys with water instead of milk. But I can have cheese (to an extent), yogurt, kefir, etc. without trouble. Ice cream is weird and iffy. Soft serve causes me far less problems than the hard kind in the carton. In fact, I tolerate it so well that I'm beginning to doubt there is much milk in it at all. The absolute worst is the "Heavy Cream" ice cream. It makes me feel soooooo sick. It's a feeling that doesn't really have a good comparison for description purposes either.

Being lactose intolerant means you have a more ancient gene sequence than other people - from a time when the whole human race was lactose intolerant.

Lactose intolerance... the new hipster trend?!

If I were Mink's sister I'd totally do the same thing and drink milk - in fact, I'm allergic to gluten, but I eat the hell out of it. Sometimes a little bodily irritation is worth it.

Isn't that really bad for you in the long run though? I heard that if people with gluten allergies keep eating gluten, their intestinal walls will become raw and damaged, and they won't be able to absorb other nutrients.

Apparently current research suggests you should raise kids dirty, coated in pollen, and eating anything that doesn't kill them if you want a healthy adult!

Sounds legit

[Ionait]

-no longer relevant-

[LateWhiteRabbit]

Isn't that really bad for you in the long run though? I heard that if people with gluten allergies keep eating gluten, their intestinal walls will become raw and damaged, and they won't be able to absorb other nutrients.

Well - I don't have an allergy to gluten so much as I have an immune system condition that gluten cause to flare up. So - not the gluten itself so much as the side effects on something else I have. But gluten is in like . . . everything. In fact, because cows are grain fed, gluten is in dairy milk, pickles, hot dogs, cold-cut meats, twizzlers, soups, beer, sausages, salad dressings, almost all cereals, corn dogs, muffins, cookies, pie, donuts, rice, crackers, fried chicken etc. So I say - screw it. I'm eating the stuff. If gluten was so damn horrible the human race would've died out by now - some populations of humanity live on almost nothing but gluten packed foods. In my case I just have to put up with occasional burning and cracking skin.

But I follow the Cave Johnson school of philosophy:

So I'll eat those gluten foods and tell my skin to stop being such a baby or I'll eat some more gluten just to punish it!

Now we're just in the habit of holding out a long time and dealing with illness at home. The kids are fine but it means I always get exposed and always get whatever illness right after they do. @_@

You know, it wasn't until a little after the 1900s that your chance of being helped by going to the doctor versus being HURT actually tipped over to 50/50 odds. You STILL have a 20% chance of going to the doctor actually making you WORSE than if you hadn't gone at all. Basically, if you can get by without going to the doctor you should, and rely on them for things like surgery and mending bones and major illnesses.

Sapphi mentioned earlier that her boyfriend who is allergic to eggs and had a wrist band to that effect was served eggs in the hospital. Basic errors and mistakes at the doctor's office can kill you, and advanced as our medicine is, sometimes they are still just guessing or shooting in the dark with some treatments. So minimizing your exposure to doctors can be healthy in moderation!

EDIT: This is why in old books and plays characters consider going to the doctor or fetching the surgeon to be a death sentence, and why historical figures like George Washington refused to call on them until at death's doorstep - everyone knew your chance of surviving once the doctors got involved dropped dramatically. For a while, poor people stood a better chance of surviving illness than the rich people, because the doctors wouldn't stop trying to save the rich people and kept making things worse! (I.e. "I've drained some of his blood and he still isn't better! I'd better drain some more! Anything I can do to save my rich patron!")

[Sapphi]

So I'll eat those gluten foods and tell my skin to stop being such a baby or I'll eat some more gluten just to punish it!

“I think my liver is diseased. ...I am perfectly well aware that I cannot "get even" with the doctors by not consulting them. I know better than anyone that I thereby injure only myself and no one else. But still, if I don't treat it, its is out of spite. My liver is bad, well then-- let it get even worse!”

So minimizing your exposure to doctors can be healthy in moderation!

Unless it's this one, because you can never have too much of him. *swoon*

EDIT: This is why in old books and plays characters consider going to the doctor or fetching the surgeon to be a death sentence, and why historical figures like George Washington refused to call on them until at death's doorstep - everyone knew your chance of surviving once the doctors got involved dropped dramatically. For a while, poor people stood a better chance of surviving illness than the rich people, because the doctors wouldn't stop trying to save the rich people and kept making things worse! (I.e. "I've drained some of his blood and he still isn't better! I'd better drain some more! Anything I can do to save my rich patron!")

If anyone is interested in this particular subject (as I am), Bernard Shaw's essay/play The Doctor's Dilemma is a critique of the medical profession in Britain circa 1910. It is a very entertaining read.

[Mink]

Unless it's this one, because you can never have too much of him. *swoon*

If Black Jack was my doctor, I would constantly make up excuses to go see him. <3

[AnthonyHJ]

Ah... Food intolerance, my old nemesis...

Right now, I am not sure how I am eating anything at all. I have IBS (you'd be amazed how often I hear that it is all in my head or just stress) and any little illness that affects my gut causes damage and steps up my IBS. Permanently... So, when my dad came to visit last October, with some odd puking issue, I got upset with him. There were hints that I was being ungrateful, over-reacting, etc. My family had driven almost 2 hours (in the UK, that's a bigger sacrifice than it would be in the US) to visit us, so telling them that they should have just turned around when he started to vomit (he started halfway here) was not well-received.

Luckily for him, 24 hours later, my dad was fine again. I, on the other hand, was in bed for two weeks, had to be rushed to hospital at one point and spent six weeks recovering from his '24-hour' bug. As usual, my symptoms got worse and I this time, I became lactose intolerant. Just as I had almost recovered, I went to a children's birthday party and... new stomach bug. I missed Christmas; couldn't eat, could barely walk, constantly sipping rehydration solution and trying to get a doctor on Christmas Day of all times when my gut went crazy and I was curled up in a ball for half an hour...

Right now, I am just about surviving. I can't have gluten, milk, coffee, tomatoes, alcohol, more than two portions of fruit a day or do any vigorous exercise. I have not gone jogging (not that I have the energy any more) in months, I eat like a horse and I still lose weight. The only good thing is that going completely dairy-free freed me of the anti-nausea tablets I was taking with every meal just to keep food down. The doctors think some of the damage to my gut might heal (perhaps all of it), but my days of pizza (gluten, tomato, milk) and tiramisu (coffee, alcohol, milk, gluten) could conceivably be over thanks to my parents not understanding that my reminders to 'not come if you are ill' were not a joke...

[Mink]

It sounds like something's in my wall. My dog is staring at it unblinkingly.

...I'm scared. 8C

Edit: Okay, I guess whatever that was is gone. Thought I'm contemplating grabbing a machete knife, just in case. I'm not paranoid, I believe in being PREPARED.

[Sapphi]

Unless it's this one, because you can never have too much of him. *swoon*

If Black Jack was my doctor, I would constantly make up excuses to go see him. <3

Me too.
"You fell out of a window and broke your arm... again?"

The doctors think some of the damage to my gut might heal (perhaps all of it), but my days of pizza (gluten, tomato, milk) and tiramisu (coffee, alcohol, milk, gluten) could conceivably be over thanks to my parents not understanding that my reminders to 'not come if you are ill' were not a joke...

That is really sad...

It sounds like something's in my wall. My dog is staring at it unblinkingly.

...I'm scared. 8C

Edit: Okay, I guess whatever that was is gone. Thought I'm contemplating grabbing a machete knife, just in case. I'm not paranoid, I believe in being PREPARED.

Scary... a year ago I had this mouse that kept coming into my room. My room is on the second story, and was far less full of food than our kitchen, so I have no idea why it kept coming in. I like mice, but I was very upset that it was here, since wild mice can carry hantavirus and my bed is a mattress on the floor. I was so scared to sleep in here, lol. Normally I would have kind feelings towards a mouse since they're cute and I like them, but I sincerely wanted to murder this one. It kept creeping out while I was on my computer late at night and making scary little scritching sounds... then when I turned around and saw it, it scampered away. I tried to bring my useless cat up here to hunt it but she just went to sleep. XD Finally I located a small hole between the wall and the floor and stuffed a bunch of plastic bags into it. The mouse never came back, so I think it's safe to say that's how it was getting in.

Edit for clarification: Upon just researching it, I found out that while deer mice have been found to carry hantavirus, nobody seems to think house mice do. Since mine was of the latter variety... it would have been cool to know this comforting fact a year ago XD

[Argeus_the_Paladin]

Unless it's this one, because you can never have too much of him. *swoon*

If Black Jack was my doctor, I would constantly make up excuses to go see him. <3

Me too.
"You fell out of a window and broke your arm... again?"

You guys do know that Black Jack charges an arm and a leg - sometimes literally - for pretty much everything he does, do you?

[Mink]

Maybe he'd let me pay him back by working as a nurse for him, because I think I'd be okay with that. Toxicology student, nurse. Same thing, right?

Edit: this image is totally relevant.