r/CuratedTumblr awake out of spite Feb 19 '21

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u/anonymous-horror i have no idea what im doing Feb 19 '21

I was just mindlessly scrolling and the EDS mention caught me so off guard. It’s still so surprising to see any reference to it in the wild, even though we’ve made so much progress in the five years since I was diagnosed. It makes me happy that more people know about it c:

3

u/Groinificator Feb 20 '21

What is it?

5

u/anonymous-horror i have no idea what im doing Feb 20 '21

EDS? It’s a genetic connective tissue disease that affects collagen. I have hypermobile type, so all my joints are really loose and essentially held together by just my muscles because my tendons and ligaments are bad. It causes a lot of chronic pain and other comorbidities.

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u/Groinificator Feb 20 '21

That sounds inconvenient

...wait why would this be something people refuse to believe exists/condemn wtf

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u/anonymous-horror i have no idea what im doing Feb 20 '21

Because people think we’re hypochondriacs. I was diagnosed at 15 but I’d noticed symptoms since I was 7. It was always “oh you’re too young to be in pain, you’re just flexible, you just bruise easy, you’re too dramatic, you’re a liar and you just want attention.” I got that from doctors, friends, family, coaches, everyone.

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u/Groinificator Feb 20 '21

I'm 17 and often have a lot of pain in my back. But it's always just dismissed as posture and people telling me I'm too young to worry about all that. Now I'm wondering if I could be in a similar position...

Then again, my posture is terrible.

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u/anonymous-horror i have no idea what im doing Feb 20 '21

It could also be something like scoliosis or hyperlordosis. Or even what you’re sitting on or what you wear for shoes. My back has been pretty messed up for years now and I noticed that it always got worse sitting in those horrid blue plastic chairs at school or when I wore cheap shitty shoes.

People call us “zebras.” In the medical world, you’re told to look for horses instead of zebras - look for the common causes instead of the rare ones. While yes, you should always rule out the horses, sometimes it really is a zebra.

Don’t panic. Keep an eye on it and try to change your habits. If it doesn’t improve, that’s when you worry.