This is a thread for people with disabilities of any sort (social, cognitive, physical etc.) to vent their problems, discuss coping strategies, or even just to meet people with something in common. This is my first thread, so I'm sorry if this isn't much. I'll try to add more to it as time goes on.
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Disability-Age
- Thread starter RawPower
- Start date
At 23 (I'm now 37) I woke up one morning and had completely lost hearing in my left ear. Over time, my right ear has diminished to a factor of 70% hearing loss. I wear a hearing aid in my right ear so I can at least hear conversations and such, but its not an easy life when people dont understand why you've asked them to repeat themselves a third time.
I have chronic tinnitus in both ears that never stops. Hasn't stopped once since the day I lost my left ear.
I have chronic tinnitus in both ears that never stops. Hasn't stopped once since the day I lost my left ear.
Mr Nightman
Banned
very good idea for a thread. I guess I'll start it off. I am 21 years old, and have been diagnosed with duchennes muscular dystrophy since I was 6, and have been in a chair since about 13 or so.
I started a new thread a while back about my frustration with a short job I had, and now being docked my ssi checks for making too much and not telling them I had gotten a job (didnt know i was supposed to). So I guess my frustration is financial, and being soo job limited being in the chair. But oh well I just go on, and enjoy me some battlefield 3
I started a new thread a while back about my frustration with a short job I had, and now being docked my ssi checks for making too much and not telling them I had gotten a job (didnt know i was supposed to). So I guess my frustration is financial, and being soo job limited being in the chair. But oh well I just go on, and enjoy me some battlefield 3
echoshifting
Banned
Awesome idea! I will definitely participate. Most of my story up to last year is in my tag thread, I'm just subbing the lazy way for now...
Thanks everybody. As for what I deal with, I have autism/Asperger's, obsessive compulsive disorder, and ADHD. This has made it exponentially harder for me to relate to other people, make friends, find work, or do well in school. Symptoms of this even tend to seep through what I write on the internet. Some people I meet tend to think that I'm either mentally unstable or just really shy or not confident. The latter two (shyness and low self-esteem, that is) are generally true, but naturally it's far more complicated than that. All of this has, at times, made my life pure hell.
echoshifting
Banned
What kind of medication do you take for your OCD? I've got that one on my list as well though I don't consider it as disabling as my other issues. It was hard to live with for a long time but a good counselor helped me "integrate" it which made a tremendous difference.
Don't answer if you consider that too personal. Just trading notes. That has to suck combined with those other two. That sounds like a nasty combination.
Don't answer if you consider that too personal. Just trading notes. That has to suck combined with those other two. That sounds like a nasty combination.
I take Paxil and Sertraline for it. I would say that my case is more on the extreme side, as I have ritualistic and habitual tendencies (which I would rather not disclose here) that make it hard to even open a door without having to go through all of this rote bullshit. It's not an easy thing to explain either.
echoshifting
Banned
Ah, yes, I am very glad not to have to deal with too many of those sorts of habits, though a few tend to register when my PTSD/general stress level flares up. Mostly I am a lister/obsessive organizer, to the point where I sometimes buy things for the sake of sorting and organizing them. It's ridiculous, but whatever.
Definitely makes me a bit nervous about my newly-acquired LEGO habit. ;p
My doc is trying to get me to go back on Sertraline/Zoloft, but I'm reluctant to add another med to my long list.
Zoloft made it so I couldn't take my eyes off the ceiling. I'm not even kidding about that. I hope you have much better luck with it than I did.
QisTopTier
XisBannedTier
Muscular Dystrophy fucking sucks. That is all. -.-
mysocksarepink
Banned
Sorry to all to those (and to my above) that are affected by such things.
I have a very close friend who was in a car accident, has had 4 surgeries on his spinal cord, and can hardly walk.
He's on a laundry list of painkillers and it's shocking to see the amount of pills he takes.. only so that he can get out of bed in the morning.
Also have another friend who suffers from Crohn's Disease... another friend who has a laundry list of painkillers. Seriously, the amount of pills these two could take could take down several elephants. o_o
I have a very close friend who was in a car accident, has had 4 surgeries on his spinal cord, and can hardly walk.
He's on a laundry list of painkillers and it's shocking to see the amount of pills he takes.. only so that he can get out of bed in the morning.
Also have another friend who suffers from Crohn's Disease... another friend who has a laundry list of painkillers. Seriously, the amount of pills these two could take could take down several elephants. o_o
JeTmAn81
Member
...at least it doesn't prevent you from being godlike at fighting games
. I don't have too many things, other than an anxiety condition stemming from my discovery of something called Marfan's Syndrome which can lead to sudden cardiac death and my subsequent worry over the alarming number of symptoms indicative of said syndrome that I show. But so far, my body seems to be healthy.
My wife has a chronic pain condition, though. It's kept her from working or driving a car, among other things, for the last 2+ years.
My mother has this actually. It was a rare side-effect from a medication that she didn't even need to take. Now she hates to be anywhere that is silent because she notices it that much more.
JeTmAn81
Member
I want to make a joke about this, but it's a serious thread. It's too bad about your mother.
echoshifting
Banned
Fuck long-term side effects from medication, man. Still dealing with the fallout from cymbalta which I have been off for several years and was required to take for a full year before they'd put in my implant. By my insurance company. Fuck them and fuck the authority they've been given over us and our doctors.
It doesn't have to be serious all the time, I hope. If I couldn't laugh at my condition now and then I wouldn't be able to handle it.
I also have a (completely debilitating) chronic pain condition, and I've had it for about seven years now...if you ever want to trade notes on treatment strategies say the word, or shoot me a PM if you don't want to do it here. If she hasn't already done so, I would urge you AND your wife to read The Pain Chronicles, by far my favorite book on the subject.
I didn't even notice what the joke would be until I read it again!
I would HOPE that was not the case!
JeTmAn81
Member
I get what you're saying, but when it comes to sensitive topics I feel sometimes it's best to restrict myself to jokes which concern only myself
. Thanks for the recommendation on the book, I will check that out. Have you ever gotten a diagnosis on your pain condition?
echoshifting
Banned
Probably about a dozen over the years. My doc and I are sticking with "chronic pain disorder" for the time being, and that's what it says on my disability application and all that kinda stuff, though certain recent developments have suggested RSD. I try not to think about it too much and just deal with whatever the day puts in front of me.
What are you suffering from regarding Cymbalta? My mom is on it and swears by it. It's helped her depression and her pain somewhat. She thinks it's a miracle drug.
echoshifting
Banned
Some people experience a withdrawal symptom which is very difficult to describe, commonly referred to as "brain zaps," which can come and go for years after getting off the drug. I have been dealing with a particularly nasty attack since Friday. It makes it very difficult to do anything at all, even turning my head too fast causes an extremely unpleasant full-body "shock" feeling. It's not painful, per se, not the way my CPD is, but it is uncomfortable and disorienting. And I'm pretty damn bitter about it because nobody told me about it before I started in with the drug and I didn't even want to be on it in the first place. I just wanted the implant.
Worth it, ultimately, but yeah. Bitter.
Google "cymbalta withdrawal brain" or something like that and you will get a ton of info/personal stories on the subject. It is excruciating for the first few weeks, and pretty common at that stage, but it can sometimes stick around for awhile. Omega 3 (fish oil pills) helps considerably.
QisTopTier
XisBannedTier
...at least it doesn't prevent you from being godlike at fighting games
Haha yeah, but it does prevent me from ever picking up a stick again. x.x
Baron_Calamity
Member
Sometimes I think it would be easier to list what don't I have.
1. tetralogy of fallot - congenital heart defect
2. Cerebral Palsy and right side hemiplegia via brain damage from the result of a stroke shortly after birth as a secondary effect of my heart defect
3. Hypothyroidism
4. Arthritis
I have nothing to vent about. I'm currently on Zoloft to treat panic attacks which were caused by all the trauma I experienced during long hospital stays as a child dealing with my illnesses. I'm feeling much better these days.
1. tetralogy of fallot - congenital heart defect
2. Cerebral Palsy and right side hemiplegia via brain damage from the result of a stroke shortly after birth as a secondary effect of my heart defect
3. Hypothyroidism
4. Arthritis
I have nothing to vent about. I'm currently on Zoloft to treat panic attacks which were caused by all the trauma I experienced during long hospital stays as a child dealing with my illnesses. I'm feeling much better these days.
Baron_Calamity
Member
Small world. To this day I still run into doctors and other medical professionals that have no idea what it is. Was your's corrected?
Yeah, it was corrected when I was a baby. I'm actually due for another surgery within the next five years or so, to replace the stent in my pulmonary valve. It was last replaced in the year 2000.
I also have a pretty loud heart murmur. It's audible without a stethoscope.
I don't know if that counts as a disability, but it can be a result of the problems described in here. It's sort of a grey area, in my opinion.
Thread revival. Here's a good article on autism, which I have.
http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism
http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism
Sorry, but this is not a disability.
I absolutley think its a disability since it hinders your everyday life in such a way (of course depending on the severeness of the depression.
echoshifting
Banned
It is hilarious to go back and read this. Yeahhhh I was wrong on this. They think I might have MS; they don't think it has anything to do with the cymbalta withdrawal.
What if I'm disabled AND a jerk?
.Also, not being able to re-map things like focus attack in SF4 from two medium attacks to two heavy attacks is horseshit.
JeTmAn81
Member
good news! In spite of my financial situation being shit, I managed to finally get my own van for my wheelchair. Was able to borrow 1000, from my step dad, and am pretty damn happy about it :-D. Given I cant drive it myself, just having a wheelchair hauler is great. Heres some shots of "The Great White"
Its kind of a beater, but I didn't need anything extravagant, all that matters is it has an 4.9L inline 6 300 motor that runs great. Plus the previous owners upholstery work it unique, complete with the southwestern pattern on the ceiling haha. I plan to add some fog lamps, and a ladder to the side. I mean if I'm cruising in a van might as well make it look badass
Cool. I'm pretty sure getting the cover of an 80's metal album painted on the side is now mandatory.
echoshifting
Banned
You must provide pics when you do this...you must
Definitely!
Sounds pretty serious to me. D:
Interesting thread!
I have several eye problems, basically nystagmus and many of its associated conditions, which includes a 20/200 eyesight and seeing duplicated images unless I'm very well rested.
Oh well, at least it gave the perfect excuse to play lots of videogames when I was a kid
I have several eye problems, basically nystagmus and many of its associated conditions, which includes a 20/200 eyesight and seeing duplicated images unless I'm very well rested.
Oh well, at least it gave the perfect excuse to play lots of videogames when I was a kid