u/MostFortune1093

Do any of you feel deeply saddened by how difficult LM Montgomery's life was?

I made the mistake of trying to learn more about her as a person and now I kind of regret it in a way.

The thing is that I'm reading these books as a way of escaping reality. I have debilitating chronic health issues so I'm basically home bound.

I live vicariously through books and movies/TV shows

I feel like,alongside the Little Women book series, the Anne books have brought me the greatest comfort.

Now I'm starting to realize that in a way, maybe her own books were a sort of escapism for Maude too.

Just like they are to me. They have everything I crave. Happiness and wonder. Loving families, great friends, rewarding work, cozy homes, nature...now I realize that she probably created her ideal life on these pages, while I assumed that these books were very loosely based on her actual life (I know the first one was).

And while her suffering makes me feel more connected to her, I feel so sad for her. I feel heartbroken, really...as overdramatic as this might sound.

I'm sorry if this all doesn't sound very eloquent, English isn't my first language (though I am reading these books in English).

Hello name enthusiasts

I thought I'd share a name with you that most of you probably don't know but many of you might like.

I think there are many names with a similar vibe that are popular nowadays.

The name is Ilona. It was my grandma's name. She was a great lady, though I didn't get the chance to get to know her very well.

The "I" in Ilona is pronounced the same as the "I" in the word "tin".

It's a name of Hungarian and Finnish origins but it's also used in a few other European countries.

If any of you are looking for a name that's unique, classy and has a nice meaning (light, joy) then I can highly recommend this one.

Urgh...

I don't even know where to start. I'm not even sure the admins will allow this post.

This post isn't really about RA (rheumatoid arthritis) but I want people with this condition to read it all the same.

I've had OA for around 14 years. I'm pretty much homebound because of it, and every minute of every day I'm in pain. I'm only 35.

In the past couple of years I got into the habit of learning about chronic illnesses and disabilities I don't have, because I want to be able understand what other disabled people/chronically ill people go through. I realised I can't expect people to understand my suffering if I don't make an effort to understand theirs.

So I've learnt a lot about various conditions, including autoimmune conditions.

Then I started discovering something very alarming.

The autoimmune community, specifically the RA community is working hard on spreading a lot of misinformation about OA. Though they don't do it on purpose, I don't think that makes it any less vile.

Basically they constantly complain about being lumped together with people with OA. Referring to it as just aches and pains, "arthritis your grandma has" etc. They want the name Rheumatoid Arthritis to be changed to Rheumatoid disease which is fair. But the way they are trying to achieve that is disgusting.

Every video I come across about RA has comments like this. Every one. The same thing over and over again. RA sufferers are offended when someone tells them they have arthritis too, because it's "only" osteoarthritis. And of course that's no big deal.

Yes RA is more than arthritis. It causes organ damage and thanks to that, it got enough research funding that there are now life changing disease modifying treatments available. Yes they don't always work. Yes they have side effects.

But OA research is decades behind. We get nothing. Only pain relief that also causes organ damage. The barbaric joint replacement surgeries...but only when we are old enough of course.

I have access to socialized healthcare. They won't do a thing for me though. Every treatment (like arthrosamid or even hyaluronic acid injections) have to be accessed privately. If I had RA id have treatment for free. Instead I get told to lose weight and excercise. I even had to pay for the MRI to get a diagnosis.

I have had nothing but constantly increasing pain and disability for the past 14 years. And in that time, nothing has changed in the treatment of this horrible disease. But it's not big deal at all. It's only arthritis. Like the one your grandma has.

I live in England in the West Midlands. I'm a youngish osteoarthritis sufferer who now also has MCAS.

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I used to take nsaids and co-codamol as needed which worked well for me (especially the nsaids) but now thanks to developing MCAS I can't take these meds anymore.

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I'm now housebound. I'm only 35.

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I have done some research and found that tramadol could potentially be a good option for me, since it's a synthetic opioid so I might be able to tolerate it.

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Except I don't know how to convince my GP to prescribe it.

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I don't want to take gabapentin or amitriptyline. I know they will insist that I try one or both before even considering tramadol and I don't feel comfortable with that. The horror stories I've heard completely put me off and I genuinely don't think these meds would do much for OA pain.

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I don't know what would be the best way to convince my GP to let me skip these meds and go straight to tramadol.

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I don't want to gain more weight, feel more dizzy or even pass out (I have suspected POTS too), I don't want to have brain fog and memory problems when the only part of my body that still functions is my brain. I don't want to deal with the horrible withdrawal symptoms that will inevitably occur if I try to come off them.

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I'm also not a native English speaker so having memory issues would affect my ability to communicate in a foreign language which scares me.

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I would also consider going to a private pain management clinic but I won't pay hundreds of pounds for a consultation if I have to deal with another anti opioid nut.

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I really don't know what would be the best way to go about this.

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Any advice would be appreciated.

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I got diagnosed with osteoarthritis at 21. My world fell apart of course but back then I was still a very optimistic person so I was determined not to give hope .

Soon enough articles about scientists finding a way to regrow cartilage in mice caught my attention. It led me to believe that a cure was on the horizon and I might have a future after all.

I am now 35 staring at the ruins of what my life once was. I have osteoarthritis everywhere and my life is over. And yet over the years I have seen many similar articles about scientists regrowing cartilage in mice.

While I'm happy for these mice and their healthy supple joints, when the f*ck is it our turn?

I'm sick and tired of seeing articles that give me false hope. I can't take opioids or antiinflammatories and can't afford hyaluronic acid injections or anything similar.

I should have been born a mouse, clearly.

I feel at a loss.

I'm 34 years old and have widespread osteoarthritis.

I have had it since I was 21. It started in my hips and knees, now it's everywhere.

I don't have any autoimmune conditions, previous injuries, or joint hypermobility.

My condition forced me into poverty, which forced me into living in a place with mould.

I developed allergies which were diagnosed as MCAS.

Now anti-inflammatories and opioids will be unsafe for me for life.

I'll have to cook most meals from scratch for life.

My joints aren't bone on bone but already cause constant, debilitating pain.

I am facing endless years of ever increasing agony and major surgeries without proper pain relief.

I know opoids are hard to get as it is but where I live it isn't quite as bad yet as the USA. Except that option is gone forever.

I really feel like the level of pain im facing in a few years time will be essentially incompatible with life.

I've tried cannabis oil before (the proper one, not CBD) it didn't work.

I'm not willing to go on gabapentin and crap like that because it isn't effective for this kind of pain and it will just add more problems to my life.

I cannot afford hyaluronic acid injections or prp injections or anything like that.

I have tax funded healthcare where I live and they won't fund any decent treatments for osteoarthritis. I even have to have my MCAS managed by a private specialist.

I'm essentially left to die by the health care system.

It's ridiculous really.

I really don't understand what people like me are supposed to do.

My joints, all of my joints are beating eaten away by osteoarthritis and there is nothing anyone can do.

It's most likely caused by bone misalignments because I've always had wonky knees and X shaped legs. Also an overbite (I have it in my jaw too).

So I suspect that's behind the problem.

Honestly this is worse than being terminally ill because I'll be left to deal with this crap for decades and I can't get access to existing treatment options because my condition isn't life threatening, and they aren't considered "cost effective"

I am a lesbian woman so I don't really have experience with men.

Is it really true that many women won't date short guys?

Seriously the amount of b*tching I see on this app about how short men have no chance of ever getting a woman is insane.

Is there any truth to this?

Because when I was in high school, most short guys had zero problem getting girls. Basically if they were reasonably handsome, funny, kind or confident they could get pretty much any girl.

I am in my thirties and grew up in Hungary though... while most of these guys complaining about this height discrimination are presumably American.

So I don't know if this is a country or generation specific thing.

Interestingly I'm a woman who is freakishly tall (188cm) and spent my teenage years having guys shame me for it.

So I get the frustration but I still think these guys on here are making a mountain out of a mole hill. It's pathetic.

Native English speakers, what are your favorite names from non English speaking countries?

Non native English speakers, what are your favorite English names?

Mine are Elizabeth and Samuel (although there are many others I like).

Does anybody know about any AC units that don't require a window?

We live in a flat and the downstairs neighbours do nothing but vape/smoke/ smoke weed all day and the smell is constantly pouring out from their open windows and balcony door.

We can't have windows open for more than a few hours a night as a result, which is making our flat unbearable to live in.

I have a condition that causes heat sensitivity so this goes beyond just being unpleasant. I'm worried about our dogs overheating too.

There is no point talking to the neighbors about it, we have been trying to get them evicted (for various reasons like excessive noise, threats etc) for over two years in vain.

We are at our wits end and I feel like ill end up hospitalised if we get a worse heat wave later on in the summer:(

If you could choose any actress to play Anne (including the ones that now would be too old for the role)who would you pick?

I will likely never own my own home and it's been a long time since I lived somewhere that wasn't just a roof over my head.

All the same, I love daydreaming about owning the home of my dreams.

I'm curious to know what everyone's dream home would look like.

I don't want to go into too much detail but mine would include a beautiful view to fields of flowers and grazing livestock and the sea in the distance. Cherry and apple blossom in the garden. Mature trees and flowers too. Inside a fireplace, wooden floors, relaxing pastel colours and lots of natural light. A garden visited by birds, butterflies, foxes and deer. Nothing but birdsong, the rustle of the wind and the distant rumble of the sea to be heard.

I have lived in the UK for around 9 years and I feel like I'm experiencing some kind of strange burnout from all the anti disabled sentiment here.

My partner works but I don't, and I have always felt so anxious when people ask what I do for a living.

There is no good answer and I can immediately see their demeanour changing when I say I don't work.

I'm the worst kind of immigrant. The kind no one wants here. People automatically assume I claim benefits as well when I never have.

The worst part is that I have hated living here the whole time. My partner is British and I moved here to get away from family abuse, just before Brexit was finalised. We decided to stay because it just seemed like the safest, most sensible option at the time. My partner only speaks English and getting a work visa in the EU now would have been borderline impossible for her...and my country isn't that LGBTQ friendly ( we are a same sex couple).

But all throughout these 9 years we have been living in a social housing property that is truly hell on earth. Mould, leaks, horrific neighbours, weed and cigarette smell...all have made everyday life a misery.

I've developed MCAS and even pet allergies as a result of this and now I have to re-home the dog that I had even before moving here.

I have young onset osteoarthritis and now the pain relief that had helped me all these years isn't safe for me anymore due to MCAS. I'm 34 years old and waiting to die. I just feel so angry. And so stupid.

Before moving here, I knew the UK was LGBTQ friendly which was a big plus. I somehow thought that they would also be disabled friendly and I thought medicine would be more advanced here as well. But now every treatment that could help me isn't funded by the NHS and is absolutely, impossibly expensive.

We can't sue our housing association so we could get some help with the costs of these treatments either, since on paper, they have done nothing wrong.

Im not sure where this post is going. I suppose I was wondering how all of you UK based chronically ill/disabled people cope with it all.

I'm convinced that poor housing conditions actually heavily contribute to the high disability rates in the UK. But no one seems to actually acknowledge this, instead able bodied people insist that many of us are fakers and claim benefits fraudulently etc (and assume that every disabled person is on benefits).

Have any of you named a child or a pet after one of the characters? If so, which one?