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AffyAvo
132 805,283 M Meaningful Journey 13
PathStep 2,719 Compassion hearts43,591 Forum posts10,986 Forum upvotes18,960 Current upvotes18,960 Age GroupAdult Last activeNovember, 2026 Member sinceDecember 5, 2014
Bio

Pronouns - She/Her

I prefer to be called Affy, and will also respond to AffyAvo and Avo (although it can be confusing in group chats). Please no other hypocorisms or terms of endearment without asking my permission.

I'm married, in my 30s and trying to live well with hereditary angioedema and multiple other chronic illnesses.
I'm a scientist and am a believer in science based medicine, while being open to plausible medical treatments that have minimal evidence as that's a big point of having science - to find out what is true! I do see pseudoscience for what it is, mostly scams.


I am an IV drug user. I am tired of the stigma that IV drug users are addicts. I do IVs on myself (although preferably at least have a helping hand!) so that I can be a bit healthier. Learning to do this was a big challenge for me so I don't need anyone to dump on this.

This is a series of images of someone (not me) with HAE facial swelling, to show the type of swelling that I fear and deal with, although mine tends to be internal:
https://www.haeimages.com/shop/index/17

HAE is what brought me to 7 Cups years ago, but since then I have discovered I have other rare illnesses as well. Getting to the point of diagnosing some of these involved trauma from the medical system.


If you are supporting me, please do not misdiagnose me or suggest my illnesses are not real. Getting proper diagnoses has been exhausting and at times painful. I have seen many medical health professionals, including those who primarily deal with mental health so I do not need your inexpert opinion that my throat attacks are not actually HAE but rather are panic attacks - they AREN'T! Yes, living with multiple serious illnesses leads to anxiety. Anxiety that I experience does not manifest as symptoms of my serious illnesses.

Please forgive typos, I have medical issues affecting my vision and it's not consistent. I am using my phone instead of computer a fair bit when the computer screen appears to blurry and I make a lot of mistakes tapping on my phone.











Recent forum posts
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AI images of Women
Women's Issues / by AffyAvo
Last post
 11 hours ago
...See more Is anyone else disturbed by all the AI images used in the dating ads here? All too often we aren't treated like actual people but instead are objectified and reduced. When computer generated digital objects are literally being used to advertise dating sites I think it really shows a lack of equitable relationships.
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Why can't we rate listeners who ghost?
Safety & Knowledge at 7 Cups / by AffyAvo
Last post
 October 11th
...See more Why can't we rate listeners who have ghosted us? (Ie. Sent 1 message or never pick up when status is online) Or at least have a way to indicate ghosting occurred in a way that affects profiles (share the response rate to make it positive). It seems like this is a long term problem but is there any indicator admin has to know how frequent it is?
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Ads blocking chat options
Site Updates / by AffyAvo
Last post
 September 24th
...See more @GlenM Under the chat option, I can't send out a general request with all the new therapy ads. The option has dropped off my screen. This is using mobile browser, on Android.  There is a workaround, I can do so from the forum main page (but this is the less expected option for connecting with listeners).
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Forum Post Count
Site Updates / by AffyAvo
Last post
 September 10th
...See more How long does it take for a forum post to appear on someone's stats on their profile?
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Forum changes
Site Updates / by AffyAvo
Last post
 August 6th
...See more Can we get some information about forum changes? I've seen the order of nestled posts change, it's a bit confusing when replying to multiple posts, especially when unexpected. 
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What are your plans for Disability Pride Month this year?
Disability Support / by AffyAvo
Last post
 July 9th
...See more Are you planning on doing anything? Is there anything in your area? Disability Pride Month isn't completely ignored where I am but there aren't exactly events from what I've seen. There's an inclusive concert with a focus on disabled artists I might check out - in September. I think the only connection to disabilty pride month is to use it to help advertise. Otherwise I'm uncertain for my plans, but I guess this post is a start!
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Male Listeners and Women's Issues
Women's Issues / by AffyAvo
Last post
 May 21st
...See more I find there's quite a few men who have included Women's Issues as a topic on their bio and have starred it for Direct Lived Experience.  This is the information for Direct Lived Experience: Direct Lived Experience means that the listener has personal experience with an issue, not experience as a friend or family member. To be able to offer peer support, you need to be a peer. As a family member or friend, you can be a peer to other family members or friends who are trying to get help. I don't want to exclude people who are trans or gender-fluid but do wonder if people should be able to have both Women's and Men's issues starred. I also wonder about the star aligning with the identified gender (and there is also LGBT as a topic which one may star). I have personally seen a number of bios identified as male who make sexist comments or are trying to *** with women or sexually harass members and have Women's Issues starred which to me is opposing what Women's issues is here to support. Any suggestions as to how this can be managed?
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Fitness Groups - Outside the Niche
Healthy Living / by AffyAvo
Last post
 May 13th
...See more I've joined some groups in the past where I'm not the targeted demographic and have recently signed up for a set of classes like this again. Has anyone else done this? What types of classes/groups have you joined? The targeted group I would actually fit is too niche, so I joined others at times and make them work. 
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