u/angelofmusic5

Hi, I’m new to learning about the Friends community. I’m a 31yo female, married and living with a disability. I was raised conservative evangelical by a very abusive mother. Once I got away from her, I have been deconstructing and reexamining my beliefs. I believe in God, I believe Jesus is divine and my Savior. I believe the demonic is also real. This is all from personal encounters and experiences with Him and other spiritual experiences, not just from upbringing. I’ve rejected the polarization and corruption of most organized religion. I don’t agree with how rigid and judgmental most evangelical Christians are. All I want to do is follow Jesus’s direct teachings in the New Covenant and live as close to His instructions as I can. I love living a simple, quiet life with my family and my cats and I believe all people are made in the image of God and deserve respect. I believe we should take care of others, be pacifist, protect the earth, and avoid unnecessary drama and strife. The Quaker teachings really spoke to me, and I want to learn more if I’m going to become a part of it.

I don’t want to be called “conservative” as a Friend because I believe in Jesus though. Conservative has a very negative connotation these days and I don’t want people to believe I share the harmful side of those views, because I very much don’t. I’m working hard to distance myself from my upbringing and go back to what I truly believed before being brainwashed. I know that there are Quakers of other religions and non theistic Quakers, and it’s no one’s job to tell anyone else how to believe, which is great. But does anyone know how I can express being very strongly for Christ in my own walk, without using the terms evangelical or conservative? Would it just be Christian Friend or Christian Quaker? I hope I can be welcomed in, I’m also looking for meetings to join as an attender so I can begin the process of becoming a Friend. Is there anything I should do first? I feel very called to this and I want to make sure I’m being respectful as I’m new to all of this. Thank you!

-a very hopeful future Friend

Hey friends, I have a combination of UCTD, hypermobility spectrum disorder, and functional neurological disorder. Recently over the month of July and August, I have gradually started having more and more stomach and GI problems. Now, I can barely keep anything down. Im waking up and immediately throwing up stomach acid. I either have constipation or diarrhea and there’s no in between. Sometimes I see blood after bowel movement. I’m pretty much living on crackers and Sprite frozen in popsicle makers because that’s the only way I can keep my meds down. I was wondering if anyone else started doing this and how it was handled? I don’t know which of my conditions is to blame, since all of the above can cause GI issues. I’m also concerned it might be one of my meds.

I’m on hydroxychloroquine (4 months on it), Prozac (7 months on it), baclofen (7 months on it), promethazine (one month on it, and it’s not helping at all) and I just started a once a week dose of methotrexate and daily folic acid two weeks ago. I would have blamed the methotrexate cause nausea is a known side effect, but this has been going on for over a month before I started taking it. And this is more than nausea, I’m constantly dry heaving and can barely keep water down. It’s worse in the mornings, I can usually get down a very small bland meal in the evenings. Usually a bit of chicken soup or a few bites of mashed potatoes. I know I’m not getting enough nutrients, but my stomach immediately reflects vegetables, meats, even most grains. And even when I keep it down, I get horrible pain and GI problems an hour later.

I’m terrified to eat. My GI doctor says my x rays look normal, I did a gastric emptying scan and it showed rapid emptying, which matches some of the symptoms but not the digestive ones. He says to “just manage it with diet,” but how do I do that if I can’t keep anything down? I’m waiting for the results of a Sitz marker test, but there are no more tests planned. I also have endometriosis which might be spreading to other areas and causing problems. I’m really at a loss as to what to do. I’m very afraid it’s my FND causing a disconnect between my brain and stomach functions, and there’s no confirmed way to fix that yet. Does anyone have any suggestions of what tests to ask for or where to look next?

Hey friends, I have a combination of UCTD, hypermobility spectrum disorder, and functional neurological disorder. Recently over the month of July and August, I have gradually started having more and more stomach and GI problems. Now, I can barely keep anything down. Im waking up and immediately throwing up stomach acid. I either have constipation or diarrhea and there’s no in between. Sometimes I see blood after bowel movement. I’m pretty much living on crackers and Sprite frozen in popsicle makers because that’s the only way I can keep my meds down. I was wondering if anyone else started doing this and how it was handled? I don’t know which of my conditions is to blame, since all of the above can cause GI issues. I’m also concerned it might be one of my meds.

I’m on hydroxychloroquine (4 months on it), Prozac (7 months on it), baclofen (7 months on it), promethazine (one month on it, and it’s not helping at all) and I just started a once a week dose of methotrexate and daily folic acid two weeks ago. I would have blamed the methotrexate cause nausea is a known side effect, but this has been going on for over a month before I started taking it. And this is more than nausea, I’m constantly dry heaving and can barely keep water down. It’s worse in the mornings, I can usually get down a very small bland meal in the evenings. Usually a bit of chicken soup or a few bites of mashed potatoes. I know I’m not getting enough nutrients, but my stomach immediately reflects vegetables, meats, even most grains. And even when I keep it down, I get horrible pain and GI problems an hour later.

I’m terrified to eat. My GI doctor says my x rays look normal, I did a gastric emptying scan and it showed rapid emptying, which matches some of the symptoms but not the digestive ones. He says to “just manage it with diet,” but how do I do that if I can’t keep anything down? I’m waiting for the results of a Sitz marker test, but there are no more tests planned. I also have endometriosis which might be spreading to other areas and causing problems. I’m really at a loss as to what to do. I’m very afraid it’s my FND causing a disconnect between my brain and stomach functions, and there’s no confirmed way to fix that yet. Does anyone have any suggestions of what tests to ask for or where to look next?

Please help, I’m a 31 year old female with a bunch of weird stuff. I have hEDS, undifferentiated connective tissue disease, metabolic associated liver disease, functional neurological disorder, and endometriosis. Today I got diagnosed with Rapid Gastric Emptying. The problem is, my symptoms don’t match. I’m constipated way more than having diarrhea, but the test clearly showed my stomach emptying too fast. I do have bad hypoglycemia and I have the fatigue and upper abdominal cramps after eating, but then it turns into worse lower cramps and constipation. After a couple days of struggling, THEN I’ll get diarrhea.

I’ve always had weird stomach symptoms, but I always assumed it was IBS or MCAS. But since I hit 30, everything has gotten much worse. I can’t eat more than a few bites at any meal. I can’t eat vegetables, eggs, or meat except for a tiny bit of chicken now and then. It just causes horrible stomach pain and comes right back up. I don’t have acid reflux though. It’s just a cycle of vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, and back to the beginning. My only actually known allergy is pork, which I avoid. I’m surviving on mashed potatoes, crackers, applesauce, cheese and bread and I can only eat tiny amounts of that. Prior to this, I was on a clean anti-inflammatory diet, and before that, vegan and gluten free. I got worse while trying to eat as healthy as I possibly could, and now I can’t eat barely eat at all.

The gastric emptying scan was the first test I’ve been sent for. From what I’m reading, the blood sugar drops and stomach cramps sound like RGE, but the constipation indicates there may be an overlapping problem in the colon. My mother also was positive for ulcerative colitis, and I have lots of abnormal autoimmune labs that don’t fit into an exact box. I also haven’t had any stomach related surgeries. I’ve been checked for pre-diabetes and was fine. Does anyone have any advice on what tests to ask for, or what questions to ask the GI specialist?

Help…. I’m 30, diagnosed UCTD but I’ve had positive ANA IgG, dsDNA, Sjogren’s A and B, plus constant joint pain, inflammation, neurological symptoms, awful fatigue. On top of that I have severe hip impingements and functional neurological disorder. Between all of it, I can’t walk, I can’t work, I can barely do household tasks. It’s hell. My rheumatologist will not diagnose lupus even though I have enough symptoms. She says my tests aren’t high enough and will only give hydroxychloroquine, even if I was diagnosed lupus. Hydroxy is great but it does nothing for symptoms. I’m getting worse by the month, my liver is now enlarged. Pain is constant, fatigue is unbearable, and I’m only getting through the day by using Delta-9 gummies.

Prednisone provides a lot of relief. The inflammation goes down, my energy comes up, it’s possible to actually enjoy my life. No one will prescribe it, except a dosepak once in a great while. I’ve seen three rheumatologists, they all follow that same protocol. All of them say “we only use hydroxychloroquine now, you’ll have to go elsewhere for pain management.” Pain management tells me to go to therapy. I talk to people in UCTD support groups who are prescribed regular prednisone for UCTD, so I know it’s possible. Everyone says “you just have to find a rheumatologist who will do it.” So far I can’t find one. Has anyone ever tried getting prednisone from those online pharmacies, like TelyRX and Helix? Will they really let you order it or do they block it if you can’t “prove” you need it?

I know prednisone has risks, but so does living like this. I know people who have taken prednisone for 30 years and sure, it causes some issues that they take other meds for, but it definitely made her life much more livable. It’s my body, I am more than willing to accept the risks of prednisone in order to be able to get out of bed. If anyone has had success with online pharmacies and prednisone, I’d love to know which were the safest and cheapest. Thank you all and good luck to all the autoimmune warriors out there :)