This is an organization that will FLY anyone seeking reproductive healthcare and gender affirming healthcare. Please share far and wide. It is a good resource for folks to know about.
Anyone else in health care being gaslit by the government, society, and their institution into feeling survivor’s guilt because even if things are crappy for you, they’re crappier for somebody else?
Really feeling for my primary care/family medicine, critical care, emergency/urgent/acute care, and mental health colleagues at the moment. This pandemic has been going on way too long, and no one seems to care about the fact that even when things were reopening, you were all still being worked into the ground (and through the crust of the earth into its molten core) by all the ripple effects of this pandemic uncovering the systemic inequities and BS that was just lurking in the shadows before 2019… All the stuff that health care workers, in general, managed to barely keep at bay from their sense of altruism and dedication (now obligation?) to their patients. If I’ve learned anything from COVID-19, it is that everyone will do their best to take advantage of you, and short of doing your job well, you actually don’t owe them anything.
You really do gotta take care of you first, otherwise this system will beat you down to nothing before you even realize it. “Resilience” is great and all, but it’s really just the system shifting all responsibility for surviving its BS onto its victims.
This system has been sick for a very, very long time. It’s gonna need a lot more than a bandaid and some yoga to rehabilitate it.
Monkeypox is very difficult to catch from someone carrying the infection and is mostly caught from infected wild animals in west of central Africa.
The initial symptoms include a high temperature, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, shivering and exhaustion. A rash will usually appear after a few days, beginning on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disease characterized by profound fatigue, sleep abnormalities, pain, and other symptoms that are made worse by exertion.
This audiovisual describes in detail the life cycle of the Onchocerca volvulus and its role in causing blindness in Ghana. Clinical examples of persons afflicted with this disease are shown to elucidate the effects of the disease. According to the presentation, the disease is transmitted by the bite of black flies of the family Simuliidae. The method by which the flies acquire the organism is carefully outlined, as is the process by which the infective larvae enter the wound and develop into male and female worms, which mate and cause a tissue reaction in man. This reaction produces fibrous nodules which often appear externally as lumps. If ocular invasion occurs, blindness can result. Treatment of the disease by surgical removal of the nodules or by administration of the drug diethylcarbamazine is discussed. Measures to control the breeding grounds of the flies with DDT are also noted.
Study: Leaded gas caused American adults to lose 825M IQ points. Leaded gas was banned in 1996, but exposure to the poison cost Americans born before then several IQ points on average, researchers estimated.
There are many ways misinformation about diabetes affects us, directly and indirectly. The diabetes punchline, exemplified in the divisive L'il Diabetes meme (which I will not post because it is potentially harmful for people with eating disorders) and others like it demonstrate how misinformation about diabetes can be hurtful psychologically, and can contribute to the higher rates of both depression and eating disorder seen in diabetics. But there are other ways in which false stereotypes can be dangerous and damaging, and why I think we should fight them. Those of you in the United States who are struggling with soaring insulin prices and wondering where the public outrage we saw over Epipen price hikes was when it came to diabetics might want to read this case study on the perfect storm of societal ignorance and manipulation, and the deadly combination of capitalism and healthcare.
1. Our culture falsely equates physical health and morality (I’m looking at you, “clean” eaters). 2. Our culture is scientifically illiterate. 3. Drug and insurance companies have taken advantage of these facts and pushed the false narrative that diabetes is a “lifestyle” condition, leading people to blame diabetics for their condition, and can now collude on prices without fear of public outrage. http://harvardpolitics.com/united-states/how-insulin-became-unaffordable/
#Book 16 in #22booksin2022 #challenge Successful to Burnt Out by #KarlettaAbianac This was an interesting glimpse into the lives of people in the spectrum and a sneak peek into the #healthcare system in #Australia Can’t help but wonder how many females, especially BIPOC continue to not get diagnosed w/ autism because people still equate it to a boys/males only phenomenon. #22booksin2022challenge #reading #autism #autistic #aspergers #aspie #asd #reading #burnout #selfcare #adhd #neurodivergent #lategram https://www.instagram.com/p/CdjSQW9PMLN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
i am an advocate for finding the right doctor, but seeing a bunch of doctors say “but there are good ones! you just have to find them!” is proof that they are so far removed from the reality of what people (especially marginalized people) experience when going to physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc.
people die because of how doctors treat and dismiss them. poc are constantly treated like they’re lying. fat people do not get listened to because every symptom must be due to weight. addicts are regularly treated less than human or like their health doesn’t matter. women get told they’re exaggerating or are weak. mentally ill people get pills thrown at them after a 15 minute psychiatry session.
i’m not saying people should not try to find a good doctor or that good doctors aren’t out there- my current psychiatrist is fantastic. but a bunch of medical professionals acknowledging how shitty the system is in passing and telling people to just ‘keep trying’ shows how little they understand that patients are too exhausted, too traumatized, and too poor to go from doctor to doctor, hoping one actually takes them seriously.
The kitten gets regular checkups and we’re working on his vaccinations
The birds get regular checkups
This human however has not been to a doctor since she stopped needing the mandatory physical exam for high school sports like 7 years ago because I hate going to the doctor haha
A lot of people in the US are super worried about the Supreme Court axing Roe v. Wade, but what they might not know is that some states have laws in place that will protect the right to reproductive choice and abortion if that happens. One of these states is the state of Illinois. In 2019, a law was passed that protects abortion rights within the state even if the federal right to an abortion falls. This means that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion will still be a protected right in Illinois. Even before Roe, Chicago was a haven for safe abortions- you just called and asked for Jane.
Now, safe abortion access is the law of the land in IL, and there are several groups who can help you. This post is long, but I think it’s worthwhile. Even if you don’t read all the way through it, maybe save it for later. You or someone you know might need it. If you want to stop now, the TL;DR is this:
f you’re a minor and you can’t tell your parents, get a waiver of notification from the IL Judicial Bypass program.
Schedule your appointment.
Contact abortion funds to get financial aid. Your home state might have s fund, and the Chicago Abortion Fund can help.
Secure housing for the procedure through the Midwest Access Coalition or by talking to the intake staff at the clinic of your choice.
I’d like to start by saying that the closer to home you get your abortion, should you need one, the easier it will be for you… probably. It depends on your individual situation AND your safety. If I still lived in Indiana and I needed an abortion, I’d probably leave to get it done, even though there are abortion providers in Indiana, because Indiana is super hostile and there’s lots of clinic protestors- for example, when I was taking my GRE my senior year at Notre Dame, the testing center was in this little strip mall in Mishawaka next to Planned Parenthood. Despite the fact that the PP in Mishawaka does not provide abortions, there were protestors who yelled at me for going in there. I wasn’t even going to PP. I’d like to say that I said something devastatingly cool but I just ran in flustered. Point being: It really, really would have sucked if I was there for healthcare instead of a standardized test for graduate school. And that’s a very tame, mild situation! Real abortion clinic protests are often much more devastating!
ANYWAYS. The less you have to travel, the easier things tend to be, if it’s safe to get an abortion where you are and if your state will have protected abortions if Roe is overturned. If you’re not sure what might happen in your state in that case, this map has a clear, succinct overview of the legal status of abortion in each state and all US territories. You will want to click through to that link, because this image isn’t interactive.
[ID: a map of the US with states and territories sorted by their legal protections for abortion into four categories: expanded access in the case of Roe v. Wade being overturned, protected, not protected, and hostile. IL is highlighted.]
So let’s say you live in any of those red states. (Yellow and blue are safe- abortion access is protected there.) Let’s say, worst case scenario, Roe gets overturned and you get pregnant and you want to terminate. You will be able to do that in IL, and it’s relatively easy to do that in Chicago for a relatively low cost and with the benefit of a robust support network of people who want to reaffirm your reproductive choices.
First, if you’re a minor and you don’t want to tell your parents because it’s not safe for you to do so, get a judicial waiver of parental notification. The IL ACLU has a judicial bypass hotline. This will come at no cost to you. Do this ASAP, because it takes time to get it set up! You can do this by calling the hotline at 877-442-9727, texting 312-560-6607, or emailing [email protected].
Next, you need to get an appointment set up. You could get a referral from someone local to you, but this can be tricky- 87% of counties in the US don’t have an abortion provider, and google can lead you to a crisis pregnancy center. They will not help you. If you have a local Planned Parenthood, call them. Even if they don’t provide abortions, they can refer you to someone who can. If you’re coming to Chicago, which this post… kind of assumes you are… you can call any of these groups to talk about your options and what clinics can help you. I recommend starting with FPA or PP; those are two actual clinics. MAC and CAF are funds- they can direct you but they can’t schedule an appointment for you.
You might want to shop around and see which clinic costs the least, and is the most practical for you to get to. FPA has a lot of patient resources, as does PP. Don’t be afraid to ask for financial assistance. The people staffing those organizations have extensive networks and deep compassion for their patients- if the clinic can’t help, they might know who can.
Once you’ve made an appointment, now’s the time to start gathering financial aid. Some insurance, including IL Medicaid, covers it. If yours does not, or if the copay is still too much, this is where abortion funds come into play. Many states have their own abortion funds for state residents, so you might have to look around to see who can help you. I’d start with the National Network of Abortion Funds.
You also need to figure out transportation and housing while you’re in the city to get your abortion. This isn’t super necessary if you’re just coming for the pill abortion, but if you’re coming for a d and c or other surgical procedure, you will be staying for a couple of days. THIS is why I’m writing this up, because abortion funds typically only are able to help cover the financial cost of the procedure. It’s expensive to stay somewhere and it can be absolutely terrifying if you’re on your own! Navigating while you’re in pain from the procedure can be an absolute devil of a time, too! However, Chicago has MAC (contact info above), which is a practicalaccess fund, which means that they help pay for transportation to the city (bus tickets and train tickets) and around the city (volunteer drivers or volunteers who take rideshares with clients), food, aftercare medicine (painkillers, etc.), and housing, and there’s also free access to emotional support staff throughout your stay. This is not just open to IL residents; it’s open to anyone coming to the city for an abortion. ALSO if you go through FPA, they have a partnership with the Hampton Inn a block away from their location where their patients get a discount. If you go that route, just talk to FPA about housing and they’ll hook you up. This can be super helpful if you need some evidence that you’re on a “business trip” or something like that- if you are in a position where you need an excuse for your safety, that might work well.
Hopefully you won’t need this post- but if you do, I hope it helps. Feel free to share it around. If you have anti-choice opinions and you feel the need to share, don’t. This isn’t the space for it; you will be blocked and your comments removed. And then remember that criminalizing abortion won’t stop abortion. It’ll just stop safe abortions. Also, increased access to abortion, funnily enough, tends to be the thing that lowers abortion rates, because increased access to abortion comes part and parcel with increased access to birth control and general health and sex education.
Reblogging this because it’s always relevant… and because an administrative decision by MAC’s incredible leadership means they don’t just do bus and train tickets anymore. They will also help pay for airline tickets if you need to fly. If you are in the US and need to come to Chicago for an abortion, MAC’s got your back.
Also, if you find yourself in a situation where you can’t travel, and you catch it early, you can do a medication abortion at home. This can either be clinician supported through telehealth or it can be a self-managed abortion (SMA). Either way, you can do this entirely online without ever having to go into a doctor’s office or clinic.
Now, this only works early in a pregnancy (up to 11-12 weeks), so if you’re in a situation where you suspect you may become pregnant and you don’t want to be, test early and often if you can. The various help lines can also help you figure out how far along you are.
More resources: https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org/- this link is a good resource for talking about your legal options. If you’re a pregnant person of color, immigrant, or low-income (and using Medicaid) in an abortion-hostile state, I HIGHLY recommend talking through your legal options because you are absolutely targeted by politicians and the US legal system.
You can print these on sticker paper at home if you have it. It’s a good way to get the word out.
As of… thirty minutes ago on Monday, 2 May 2022, Politico got hold of Justice Alito’s draft statement on Roe. It’s not good. We’re probably gonna lose Roe vs. Wade in two months, and that means if you live in a red state, you’re VERY probably going to lose the right to a safe abortion.
I know this is a long post, but if Roe is overturned, it’s not going to stop abortions. It’s just going to stop safe abortions. Abortion access is reproductive healthcare, and a lot of states are going to get really restrictive. Indiana, my home state, has already put a woman in jail for having a miscarriage. Oklahoma lawmakers would rather let women with ectopic pregnancies die than allow lifesaving medical procedures. This is bad, but! Underground abortion networks did exist before Roe vs. Wade, and now we have the internet. We have robust networks in place to help people that the government would rather see dead or imprisoned. Even if Roe is overturned, some states will be safe havens for abortion. Travel to these states can be difficult, but not impossible– that’s what abortion networks and abortion funds are for.
Please save as much of this information as may be relevant to you. And if you’re “pro-life” and feel the need to comment on this post? Don’t. Your opinions and input are neither valued nor wanted. Abortion access is a vital, necessary part of reproductive healthcare.
Catholic Healthcare (based in New South Wales) wants to install a café in the heritage-listed chapel of Villa Maria, which is a functioning parish in Brisbane attached to a nursing home. The laity are saddenedandangered that we have been kept in the dark and our parish priest was not consulted until the eleventh hour.Construction boards are already up.
it supports a body of evidence she’s been gathering over decadesthat indicates that many more people might be at risk of serious health complications from infections than our available data gathering methods can detect - and that dysfunction in the immune system, pre-existing or not, might play some role in post-acute infectious syndromes.
Never back down from a debate. Let it get heated. Let it drag on. Let your debate partner give you every argument they’ve got. Let them hear everything you have to say. This is how we learn about controversial topics. We learn how to refute opposing views and we learn how our views can be refuted. We learn how to communicate with people on “the other side”. We learn how to understand their perspective, and how to make them understand ours. Don’t get personal. Don’t get defensive. Pay attention to what is said and ignore who is saying it. Fight ice with ice. Don’t tell me “it’s not worth the effort”. Understanding the barriers that exist between members of our society is the first step towards overcoming those barriers, and debate is the mechanism through which that understanding is most effectively achieved.
