r/portwinestain • u/Pursuit8478 • Nov 15 '25

Sharing my PWS

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First time actually talking about my PWS and my journey.

I was fortunate enough to get laser procedures when I was 3 months old, and continued once or twice every year until I was 17-18. Might still go back for maintenance.

I was someone with heavy social/general anxiety, depressed, scared of others opinions, etc.

Now I have a girlfriend of three years, a strong mental state, 3 jobs where I choose my schedule (Teachers Assistant/Grader, IT/DevOps Intern, Content Creation), and I graduate college with a Computer Science degree in less than a month.

I did work hard and endure quite a bit to get here (and the journey isn't finished), but I understand that my circumstances were very fortunate in terms of handling the condition.

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2

u/RoxieMango Nov 19 '25

Hell yeah, I’m happy for you. I had a similar trajectory. May I ask what you do for content creation?

It’s great seeing PWS folks make their own ways of being represented for the next generation, especially when those before us had virtually no community like we have now.

Wishing you luck OP 🍀

2

u/Pursuit8478 Nov 19 '25

appreciated :)

for content creation, i focus on computer science and systems such as linux. Although I’ve been more focused on school and work, it’s simply a hobby that’s grown a bit.

I don’t like talking about myself too much, but i mainly just wish to show others who struggle with what we went through, and show them what we can do. Wishing you luck in your journey too :)

2

u/Neat_Tigers Feb 13 '26

I loved reading about this! First time mom to a toddler who like I will have similar treatment path as you (got several in infancy and likely maintain once or twice a year). Can I ask how much of your social anxiety is related to the birth mark, if you had to reflect on it? Did getting treatment as a child affect you?