Hey there, hi there, ho there!

Havin’ a bit of fun today with this tongue in cheek article. I was just thinking about all the things that can potentially hurt me-that wouldn’t hurt a “normal person.” The list was pretty funny so I thought I’d share them with you. I try and see the funny side of my illness. Nothing like a bit of comic relief!

Breathing

Breathing is vital to our survival. However, many people with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome suffer from a condition called Costrochronditis. It kind of feels like your having a heart attack and can make breathing very painful.

Eating

Again vital to our survival and yet, many of us have serious trouble with eating. Eating the wrong thing can cause pretty horrible side effects such as Tachycardia. If you suffer from Mast Cell Activation Disorder (MCAD), something you have been previously been able to eat all of a sudden causes an allergic reaction. Then there’s  Gut/Bowel Dysmotility and Gastroparesis…

Sleeping

Many people with EDS suffer from Chronic Fatigue. We will spend weeks sleeping like we are hibernating for the long night. Then there are weeks where we suffer with insomnia. Our sleep patterns tend to be all over the place and we tend to be night owls in general.

Drinking

I’m not talking specifically about alcohol here. No, even drinking a glass of water can cause issues. We do have difficulty swallowing so sometimes we will either cough and splutter while the water goes down. Then there are times when the water goes down the wrong way or even cause us to bloat so badly that we look pregnant. As for alcohol? Yeah….just no. Tachycardia, MCAD flare, nausea, vomiting, THE APOCALYPSE.

Moving

Moving is like an extreme sport to us. Even on our good days we are afraid to move for fear we might injure ourselves. We are clumsy AF so there’s a pretty solid chance we are going to walk into a wall/table, trip over ourselves or trip over literally nothing.

Exercise

Working

“God, it must be so great not having to work” *insert eye roll here* We would love to be able to work, some of us can and that’s brilliant for so many of us our working lives are over long before we even get our first grey hair. Being stuck at home is not all it’s cracked up to be, you know?

Sex

Yep. Even sex can be detrimental to us Zebras. Ever dislocated a hip while having sex? Um…no…me neither…

Yawning

Yep, simply yawning can cause pain. Anybody with TMJ Dysfunction will know this.

You: “What was that?!”

Me: Oh just my jaw popping out of place.

You:

Stretching

You’ve finally managed to have a good night sleep, you wake up, have a lovely big stretch and then….POP, POP, POP, POP.

Sneezing

See above.

Laughing

Side effects of laughing include:

Headaches

Dislocations/subluxations

Fatigue

Your funny bone may get tickled but it also might pop out of place.

Bathing

Yes, even bathing cause some pretty nasty symptoms such as our POTS and Hypotension to flare up. Do you really need to wash your hair today? Like, is it a special occasion?

Hobbies

I’m not talking about bungee jumping or horse riding here, people. I’m talking about sitting on your butt, watching TV and KNITTING. Yep, even knitting can cause an injury. Dislocated wrists will put you off knitting for life.

Taking our meds

Never mind the difficulty having to swallow giant pills or multiple pills. Most of us can do that dry after awhile but when the side effects make you feel worse than the symptoms you are actually treating, you know you have a problem.

The weather

Is it hot and humid? Pain in the muscles. Cold? Pain in the joints.

Have anything to add to my list? Let me know below!

Until next time,

Z.M

x

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