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If you are new to PATM read this
Ok so this entire post will help you understand patm and hopefully will help you go back to normal as soon as possible.
Basic terminology
Patmer == someone who has patm
Reactions == Usually the symptoms that are associated with patm like runny nose, sneezing, clearing throats, etc.
Cure == you should never really trust someone who brings you a "cure" because they substitute the word cure for something that alleviates reactions
TMAU == Trimethylaminuria aka fishy odor syndrome
Homeopathy == A pseudo-scientific / (not real science) system that basically says that something that causes a disease in healthy people cures sick people... https://youtu.be/8HslUzw35mc is an interesting video about Homeopathy and the channel is pretty cool too
Sufferers == Someone who suffers/has patm
What the community is like
The community is kind of all over the place because some people claim that they have the cure to patm and some are sharing their stories and some are just trying to find someone to talk to. The community is generally very understanding and empathetic towards anyone else who has patm as we are all sufferers of the same disease. Although some ideas may be crazier than others, you have to let it slide because people with patm have mentally declined because patm really messes up your life after years of having it. Most of the people i have met are very nice and are very open to new things.
The current theories
There are 2 major theories and 1 that shouldnt be taken seriously right now which are:
1. Patm stems from your gut and curing your gut will also cure patm(Most Popular Theory)
2. Patm stems from the sebum or oil you produce on your skin
3. Patm is an illusion and that somehow our mind is the key to solving patm(some people may have a mental illness that makes them believe that they have patm but they dont)
I personally believe the second theory because of my own experience but many people believe the 1st one too. You dont really have to pick a theory because some people lie in the middle where they dont want to take a side or claim anything but instead they state things that work for them. I will be writing an in depth post about the two theories and if we can prove if one is actually correct or if both are correct to a certain degree.
What you should do
This is a little more complicated because it depends on the individual but generally you should:
-Find someone you can talk to in the patm community or your friends or family
-Figure out what works for you and what doesnt(there is a section further in the post for this)
-Stay strong and remind yourself that everyday we as a community get closer to figuring out how to fix patm for good
-Potentially go seek medical advice although there have been stories about patmers ending up getting checked for their mental health but that might be because of the way they presented patm to the medical professional(there is a section for this further in the post)
- You may need to research this further than i have, but if you can or are willing to cut out dairy and things that contain a high amount of choline(not chlorine) then that will help reducing reactions
-Keep up with the patm community(it doesnt have to be everyday which is discouraged)
-Exercise and meditate because it helps your mental state
What to expect
I dont want to sugarcoat anything so im just going to be honest with you. Dealing with patm is hard, really really hard, your whole life is flipped upside down and now it feels like you have been unjustly wronged and you will probably feel hopeless and you will feel sad but like everyone else in this forum, we are here for you and we all share the same experience with patm. You will definitely reduce the intensity of patm significantly, for example i went from making the whole room cough and sneeze to only people in a 3ft radius and when im outside i sometimes forget i have patm. You will have challenges ahead of you but its nothing you cant overcome.
How to figure out what works for you
This process is a slow but effective process because the results will be apparent to you. So there are some different ways you can go about testing out what works for you so i will go over some of them
The first way is to try one thing at a time but try it for at least 2-3 days and then you can judge if it works or not
The second way is by trying 2 or more things at a time which can give you less clear results but it still works if you are smart about it. The way you test out 2 or more things at a time is by trying things that dont interfere with one another for example drying your skin to get rid of the sebum and also trying to cut out dairy and things that contain choline in it, this tests 2 things at the same time but if in actuality the diet worked but the drying didnt, you will be left believing neither worked which is what leads to some bad results. Another way you could test out 2 things is for example trying a different shampoo on different sides of your hair and see which side is less oily. There is a post from alex_gu256 that lists all the different ways to dry your scalp and his posts try to explain the theory that oil is the cause of patm but sometimes the post gets confusing which is why im going to write my own post. There are plenty of diet posts that go in depth and tell you everything you need to know.
How to seek medical advice correctly
First of all you have to understand how the medical professional may feel because even though we know that patm is real, it might be hard for someone else to believe its real because of the absurdity of the situation which is why some patmers have gotten mental health checks instead of actual help. You just have to be honest and say that this has been affecting your mental health and to show credibility, you can bring up the fact that there is a whole community of people suffering with the same thing. If they say that its out of their expertise you will have to bring up the two theories and say that its either related to sebum or with your gut, so you can ask for a Gastroenterologist or a Dermatologist.
If you have any other questions i can answer them to the best of my ability and if you need to talk to someone about patm or anything you can talk to me about it.
Basic terminology
Patmer == someone who has patm
Reactions == Usually the symptoms that are associated with patm like runny nose, sneezing, clearing throats, etc.
Cure == you should never really trust someone who brings you a "cure" because they substitute the word cure for something that alleviates reactions
TMAU == Trimethylaminuria aka fishy odor syndrome
Homeopathy == A pseudo-scientific / (not real science) system that basically says that something that causes a disease in healthy people cures sick people... https://youtu.be/8HslUzw35mc is an interesting video about Homeopathy and the channel is pretty cool too
Sufferers == Someone who suffers/has patm
What the community is like
The community is kind of all over the place because some people claim that they have the cure to patm and some are sharing their stories and some are just trying to find someone to talk to. The community is generally very understanding and empathetic towards anyone else who has patm as we are all sufferers of the same disease. Although some ideas may be crazier than others, you have to let it slide because people with patm have mentally declined because patm really messes up your life after years of having it. Most of the people i have met are very nice and are very open to new things.
The current theories
There are 2 major theories and 1 that shouldnt be taken seriously right now which are:
1. Patm stems from your gut and curing your gut will also cure patm(Most Popular Theory)
2. Patm stems from the sebum or oil you produce on your skin
3. Patm is an illusion and that somehow our mind is the key to solving patm(some people may have a mental illness that makes them believe that they have patm but they dont)
I personally believe the second theory because of my own experience but many people believe the 1st one too. You dont really have to pick a theory because some people lie in the middle where they dont want to take a side or claim anything but instead they state things that work for them. I will be writing an in depth post about the two theories and if we can prove if one is actually correct or if both are correct to a certain degree.
What you should do
This is a little more complicated because it depends on the individual but generally you should:
-Find someone you can talk to in the patm community or your friends or family
-Figure out what works for you and what doesnt(there is a section further in the post for this)
-Stay strong and remind yourself that everyday we as a community get closer to figuring out how to fix patm for good
-Potentially go seek medical advice although there have been stories about patmers ending up getting checked for their mental health but that might be because of the way they presented patm to the medical professional(there is a section for this further in the post)
- You may need to research this further than i have, but if you can or are willing to cut out dairy and things that contain a high amount of choline(not chlorine) then that will help reducing reactions
-Keep up with the patm community(it doesnt have to be everyday which is discouraged)
-Exercise and meditate because it helps your mental state
What to expect
I dont want to sugarcoat anything so im just going to be honest with you. Dealing with patm is hard, really really hard, your whole life is flipped upside down and now it feels like you have been unjustly wronged and you will probably feel hopeless and you will feel sad but like everyone else in this forum, we are here for you and we all share the same experience with patm. You will definitely reduce the intensity of patm significantly, for example i went from making the whole room cough and sneeze to only people in a 3ft radius and when im outside i sometimes forget i have patm. You will have challenges ahead of you but its nothing you cant overcome.
How to figure out what works for you
This process is a slow but effective process because the results will be apparent to you. So there are some different ways you can go about testing out what works for you so i will go over some of them
The first way is to try one thing at a time but try it for at least 2-3 days and then you can judge if it works or not
The second way is by trying 2 or more things at a time which can give you less clear results but it still works if you are smart about it. The way you test out 2 or more things at a time is by trying things that dont interfere with one another for example drying your skin to get rid of the sebum and also trying to cut out dairy and things that contain choline in it, this tests 2 things at the same time but if in actuality the diet worked but the drying didnt, you will be left believing neither worked which is what leads to some bad results. Another way you could test out 2 things is for example trying a different shampoo on different sides of your hair and see which side is less oily. There is a post from alex_gu256 that lists all the different ways to dry your scalp and his posts try to explain the theory that oil is the cause of patm but sometimes the post gets confusing which is why im going to write my own post. There are plenty of diet posts that go in depth and tell you everything you need to know.
How to seek medical advice correctly
First of all you have to understand how the medical professional may feel because even though we know that patm is real, it might be hard for someone else to believe its real because of the absurdity of the situation which is why some patmers have gotten mental health checks instead of actual help. You just have to be honest and say that this has been affecting your mental health and to show credibility, you can bring up the fact that there is a whole community of people suffering with the same thing. If they say that its out of their expertise you will have to bring up the two theories and say that its either related to sebum or with your gut, so you can ask for a Gastroenterologist or a Dermatologist.
If you have any other questions i can answer them to the best of my ability and if you need to talk to someone about patm or anything you can talk to me about it.
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