How I Balance Advocating For Myself as a Patient with Avoiding Hypochondria

September 14, 2019 ~ endingmagicalthinking ~ Leave a comment

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and none of this is meant to provide medical advice. This is just my personal experience.)

I struggle with being my own patient advocate and not being a hypochondriac. I know that having OCD means that I have a tendency to catastrophize and this includes imagining worst-case possible illnesses or medical situations. I know when I’m at my most mentally ill that I can see an aneurysm instead of a migraine or some other catastrophic illness in a simple flu or cold.

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What Living with Functional OCD On a Daily Basis Is Like

April 27, 2019 ~ endingmagicalthinking ~ 2 Comments

To begin, I’d like to take umbrage with the term “functional.” I think that means something different to everyone and I don’t want to judge others for what they can or cannot do. What I mean here is OCD that is medicated and at a level that I find acceptable on a daily basis.

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Prioritizing Rest and Self-Care While Traveling

April 15, 2019 ~ endingmagicalthinking ~ Leave a comment

This last week has been a combination of fatigue from jetlag and reducing my medication again. I’ve had to get more sleep and rest more after appointments and work. I’ve had to work harder to prioritize rest and not over-schedule myself.

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Secondary Pain: Trying to Avoid Pain But Causing Other Pain

April 1, 2019 ~ endingmagicalthinking ~ Leave a comment

I spend a lot of my time lying down. One of the things I love about working from home is being able to work lying down. I also relax lying down. The existence of laptops means that I can literally work with my computer on my lap every day. Sitting or standing for too long triggers pain throughout my back. Often sitting and working at a desk makes my upper back (between my shoulders) scream and shout—I feel deep stabbing pain and long-drawn-out soreness. Standing too long triggers my lower back and makes it ache and ache.

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My Surgery Story

November 11, 2018 ~ endingmagicalthinking ~ Leave a comment

I was talking to a new doctor the other day: explaining my surgical history. You see, I’ve had the same surgery twice. I first had reconstructive surgery when I was thirteen years old. My spine was an S-curve: both curves around 85-90 degrees. My right lung was collapsing and my heart was being squeezed. I had to have surgery to stay alive. I was and still am grateful to my surgeon.

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