dabbling in seshing for the first time in a while & i love to listen to music while at my desk colouring or writing postcards. songs that would be suitable for a little bedroom groove are also readily appreciated. i feel like you guys would have spectacular music taste!
one of my favourite songs for this is iPod Touch by Ninajirachi
took these comparison pics in May but it’s whatever. still got a ways to go (& a lot more strength training to do 😭), but man, the last year has involved some changes i never thought would happen. i need to go shopping for a new bra though, desperately!
this was about 9 months of trying to focus on treating not just PCOS, but other chronic health conditions i have. i’m happy to answer any questions or help however i’m able to. :) i do recommend more consistent strength training though, because i don’t think i’d have lost my butt if i incorporated regular strength training earlier!
i’m getting into Postcrossing as someone with health issues limiting accessible hobbies, & i’d love some fun / funkier postcards than just the ones you can find at the post office! people seem to especially enjoy postcards that are unique to your state / city, so any places that stock uniquely Adelaidean postcards is also appreciated. small scale postcards are also very appreciated. 🙏
thank you!
no doctor will treat my subclinical hypothyroidism, despite having it for years, because it’s “not bad enough”. my levels have ranged between 5.2-9.5 for 4 years, except for February this year when it randomly went into normal range (& we never figured out why). per my most recent bloods, my TSH is 5.23 mIU/L & my FT4 is 24 pmol/L. i realise it’s unusual for T4 to be elevated alongside TSH.
i’m confused, overwhelmed, & frankly afraid that something my doctors haven’t caught is wrecking havoc on my body. i am incredibly unwell. i’ve had severe hair loss & dryness for years, attributed to my PCOS diagnosis, but no PCOS / hormonal medication has ever helped; i am constantly exhausted & frequently have to lay down during the day; i feel ‘dumb’ & like everything’s hazy; i am in near constant severe musculoskeletal pain — & received a fibromyalgia diagnosis for it because we haven’t been able to find a cause. i struggled to lose weight for years & kept gaining (even when i was essentially starving myself) before i went on Wegovy for my insulin resistance.
my current GP is amazing, but i have a grocery list of issues, & consequently some things get forgotten about. the subclinical hypothyroidism is one of those things we keep an eye on, but never really discuss. what do i do? is it time for another endocrinologist referral? i already require referrals for rheumatologists, neurologists, specialist physicians, sleep specialists ect so it wouldn’t be hard to request an endo referral, i’m just hesitant because my last endocrinologist was genuinely traumatising. i don’t think i can handle somebody listening to my concerns & telling me to eat >800 calories a day again.
does anyone have any advice, any tests they’d recommend i pursue, or even words of encouragement? 😕
edit: other bloods that might be relevant —
Ferritin: 143 ug/L
Vitamin D3: 79 nmol/L
Active B12: 97 pmol/L
sorry mods, i wasn’t quite sure what to title this as. i saw both a few people wanting to see that part of MIB’s new video garnering criticism without giving her views, & also a few people trying to defend or justify it so thought i would share here.
the clip is from the main subreddit & i did not crop this clip myself.
i want to really start honing in on strength training, obviously involving the addition of weights. i know that these movements are some of the pivotal exercises for hitting the gluteus maximus, but both of these exercises are incredibly painful on my back :( i have fibromyalgia & pretty severe chronic pain even with mobility work, manual handling by a physio, painkillers ect. hip thrusts are the worst because they aggravate my traps alongside my back, but glute bridges also hurt (even when i am consciously tucking in my pelvis).
are there any exercises i can use as a substitution to these movements? i want booty gains, but i don’t want to give myself a horrible pain flareup to do so because that feels totally counterintuitive. :/ thanks guys
my dermatologist told me i should use this sunscreen instead of what i was presently using, which was Cancer Council Day Wear Face Matte — she told me to swap because apparently the Cancer Council one doesn’t have UVA & UVB protection, which i was confused by because it says on the tube that it does, but with all the drama last year about unreliable sunscreens i decided to take her at her word.
but man, the Dry Touch just sucks. although it feels gross to put in because it dries so quickly, i actually like the consistency because it doesn’t make me oily at all — however, it always leaves me with a white cast, & with…. i don’t know, almost a film? like if i were to rub at my face an hour after applying it, i would have sediment rub off onto my fingers. it feels like i would have to use an inadequate amount of sunscreen each time to avoid the white cast. i’m really disappointed about this, because the sunscreen is so expensive. now i feel so confused about what sunscreen to try next, & don’t really trust my current dermatologist at all (she told me to keep using Cerave cleansers even though i told her they made my skin red because they’re ‘cheap’ + told me there’s nothing we can do for rosacea/oily skin & it’s impossible to treat, which is just a straight up lie? i had to find finacea gel on my own & also looked up studies indicating that PCOS & rosacea are commonly seen together, but i digress). i’ll need to hunt for another one in the meantime, but man, it sucks to spend a lot of money on a product & it’s just not working out.
has anyone else experienced similar using this product?
took these comparison pics last month but it’s whatever. still got a ways to go (& a lot more strength training to do 😭), but man, the last year has involved some changes i never thought would happen. i need to go shopping for a new bra though, desperately!
i dunno. i’m on anti-androgenic meds (quite a few of them) & high estrogen birth control; i take spiro, dutasteride, yasmin BC & oral minoxidil (plus metformin for insulin resistance). but sometimes it feels like my hair sheds more on this birth control, & spiro gave me a huge shed that never seemed to cause regrowth, despite being on 100mg for 2+ years now. & i have a lot of bleed throughs on these medications (starting dutasteride triggered a month long bleed), so i dunno, it just seems like clearly something’s off with my hormones.
i have PCOS, & i believe i have had it long before i ever struggled with hair loss, so i just don’t know. i used to be on high androgenic birth controls (like the depo shot) & my hair was great. sometimes i feel like i’m an anomaly who experiences the rare adverse side effect of hair loss from spiro & yasmin; simultaneously, it’s terrifying entertaining the idea of going off these medications & potentially triggering even worse shedding & hair loss.
i’m going to be chasing up an endocrinologist referral with my doctor — i’ve had horrible experiences with endos in the past, so i’ve put it off for a while — but all the hormonal stuff is so confusing for me.
i have fairly severe musculoskeletal pain that really saps my energy & ASD/ADHD with the usual ASD/ADHD issues. i have morning teeth brushing down packed, in part because it’s when i have the most energy from medication / sleep. i struggle a lot with evening routines, however.
i would like to work on my oral health, & whilst i understand both flossing & nighttime brushing are optimal, it’s just not feasible for me at this time. i think focusing on one of these activities instead & really ensuring it becomes a habit would be more beneficial for me, before i then move onto the other oral health habit. so, theoretically, which is the better habit to develop first: flossing or evening brushing?
thank you guys!
edit: guys you don’t understand, part of why morning teeth brushing is down packed is because my morning routine is down packed; adding something new or extra to the routine like flossing will be a whole overwhelming process because it’s ‘disrupting’ the established morning routine. it doesn’t make things any easier for me to try implementing flossing in the morning & brush at night
24f, with fairly severe musculoskeletal pain that really saps my energy & ADHD with the usual ADHD issues. i have morning teeth brushing down packed, in part because it’s when i have the most energy from medication / sleep. i struggle a lot with evening routines, however.
i would like to work on my oral health, & whilst i understand both flossing & nighttime brushing are optimal, it’s just not feasible for me at this time. i think focusing on one of these activities instead & really ensuring it becomes a habit would be more beneficial for me, before i then move onto the other oral health habit. so, theoretically, which is the better habit to develop first: flossing or evening brushing?
thank you guys!
before photos were taken late May 2025, recent pictures were taken 21 May 2026. 😌 this is incrediblyyyy vulnerable for me, if you recognise me, no you don’t. 24 years old, 153cm/5ft, 99kg to around 68kg-69kg, with the loss occurring within the last 8 or so months (september 2025). same bra & underwear in all photos. was an obese kid, then a very fit teen, then a disabled morbidly obese adult, now just an overweight disabled adult. sorry for any rambles below, if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask!
advice wanted!
losing weight has been very difficult emotionally this time around, as i was always pear-shaped with a fat booty prior to gaining up to 99kg & i’ve been losing my thighs & ass. :( i really want to regain a big lower body (& try to reduce how saggy my legs & butt are), so i’ve been considering trying to enter maintenance despite still being an overweight bmi & focus on weight training (& having a dedicated quads & glutes day) for a while. i wanted people’s thoughts on this? i used to be very knowledgeable when it comes to strength training, but now that i’m disabled, progressive overload & training looks really different for me. i have to keep weights fairly low & stable for a few weeks before increasing the weight/reps, so i’m unsure if maintenance would be too many calories for such slow progress?
what i did
some relevant conditions i am diagnosed with include PCOS, fibromyalgia (with severe full body musculoskeletal pain), neurodivergence & C-PTSD. although never diagnosed, i believe i struggled with binge eating for most of my life, especially from 2022-2025. my severe chronic pain means i cannot do traditional progressive overloading. i built up to strength training 3 times a week prescribed by a physio over this year, focusing on alternating full body exercises (2 upper body, 2-3 lower body, 2 core). i have mostly done this at home with body weight / 2kg dumbbells & resistance bands, but have recently begun to transition to the gym. an example of one of my strength sessions would be single arm bicep curls, single arm overhead tricep extension, RDLs, glute bridges, step ups, toe taps, bird dogs.
i ensured i was adequately medicated for PCOS & started aiming for a more “Mediterranean Diet” approach as it’s one of the diets recommended for PCOS; lots of plant-based proteins like beans & tofu, tuna & salmon, complex carbs, healthy fats. prioritised (but never tracked) protein & fibre. i was never strict though. i did not calorie count, nor track macros. in the past, counting has made me unhealthily obsessive & actually resulted in severe binges. i wanted to prioritise building a sustainable habit of eating well before involving calories.
also started daily walks with a minimum of 30 minutes in september 2025, ensure i drink at least 2.5 litres of water a day, & incorporate mobility days for my fibromyalgia when i’m not doing strength training (lotssss of thoracic work & hip work). perhaps most importantly, i changed my mindset. for so much of my life, i wanted to train & lose weight because i wanted to be thin & attractive. i hated myself & wanted to utilise my physical appearance to help me be accepted by neurotypicals. this time around, i shifted my desire to wanting to become strong & healthy because i deserve it.
i believe i am losing weight too rapidly for my preferences. going forward, i will begin to incorporate calorie counting & protein tracking; my country has a nutrition program for anyone who’s overweight, & i think i will sign up for it & let them know my goals around gaining muscle. i’ll be getting a rheumatologist referral to eliminate the possibility of arthritis or ME/CFS, will most likely do some elimination diets with my doctor to gauge sensitivities, & will work on transitioning to the gym. fingers crossed in a month or two i will be able to progress from full body sessions to a dedicated 3-day split.
again, sorry for the long ramble of probably quite niche information, but i really hope some of this is helpful especially to anyone else who is disabled / struggling with chronic conditions!
Belair, SA. a fairly big boy, larger than the pacific black ducks & very friendly (came up to nibble my shoelaces & let me pet him).
i would just like some outside confirmation that he isn’t a native before i report to the park rangers (&/or a farm rescue) that a domesticated duck has possibly been dumped in the national park. thanks all!
Belair, SA. a fairly big boy, larger than the pacific black ducks & very friendly (came up to nibble my shoelaces & let me pet him).
i would just like some outside confirmation that he isn’t a native before i report to the park rangers (&/or a farm rescue) that a domesticated duck has possibly been dumped in the national park. thanks all!