If you looked blindly at my medical chart, you'd picture a 70-year-old woman. Actually, I’m a 44-year-old cisgender dude, but at this point in my life, my immune system and my skeleton are fully ignoring my genetics. As I've stated before, I have plenty of medical issues. I'm not shy nor ashamed of that; it is what it is. One thing I was not prepared for in my rapid spiral into complete disability was the ever-increasing list of predominantly female-related illnesses that I am afflicted with. Let me tell you!
I have multiple sclerosis (MS). According to WebMD, the ratio of women diagnosed with MS vs. men is 4 to 1. I think it would be safe to say that MS is a predominantly female-oriented disease. I was first diagnosed back in 2018, and this was the ultimate reason for my departure from the Army. MS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects everyone differently and is underpinned by common symptoms and disabilities. For me, I have a lot of the mild to moderate hallmarks of the disease, such as debilitating fatigue, numbness and tingling, visual problems, pain, etc.
I actually have a pretty funny story about how I was diagnosed, so if we ever cross paths, feel free to ask. It involves a groundhog and a bike on a rainy day. MS sucks. It really does, but I and millions of other ladies out there are making the best of it.
I have fibromyalgia. Another female-dominated disease. According to the NIH, "It is most prevalent among middle-aged women, encompassing 75%-90% of those diagnosed." Wow, that's an even higher prevalence than MS! I guess my parents really should've named me Hailey despite my apparent birth as a male.
Fibromyalgia is basically just a pain disorder. I have pain all the time. No big deal, I'm used to pain, which makes this disease manageable, if not psychologically secondary to MS. It is often difficult to decipher what is causing what sensation at any given time, so I don't give this one much thought even though it's part of my medical history. I know some folks who get absolutely wrecked by this one, and there is no judgment here. They just so happen to all be women. Girl power!
I have Raynaud's disease. This one isn't as large of a gap, but damn it, I'm going to use all the ammo I have to make my case. Again, according to the NIH, "Community-based surveys estimate Raynaud's may be present in 5-20% of women and in 4-14% of men." Wow, I suppose I should get my estrogen checked! Actually, I have, and I have normal levels... for a man, hmm.
Raynaud's has to be the most annoying of all of my afflictions. It's a vascular disease that also makes the furthest reaches of your body turn magical colors, lose all blood, and then throb for hours on end. In my case, I also develop ulcers on my fingertips in the winter. Neat! Raynaud's can eat a bag of dicks. In case you can't tell, I really hate this one, as I've been presented with no treatment options for it.
Finally, this leads me to the real reason for this musing. Today, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. WTF. I'm a 44-year-old dude, or at least I thought I was. The NIH is banging out some hits! They state that "osteoporosis is four times more common in women than in men..." putting it on par with MS in diagnosis prevalence. I'm still learning about this one, but the current options offered to me are a daily self-injection of magical bone grow for 2 years, followed up by a maintenance med that I would take in perpetuity.
This particular affliction has been a specific pain in my ass for years. I break a lot of bones. Apparently more than the average Joe, as I have logged 18 fractures over my lifetime. Apparently, this is what some in the medical community call a problem.
The real red flag is when I broke my foot in two places last year by walking and subsequently fractured both knees in November because I went for a light jog... twice. So, bing bang boop, I got a DEXA scan at the Women's Health clinic (no bullshit, that's where they sent me), and several months later arrived here today with osteoporosis at the age of 44.
So, because of the totality of the circumstances, I believe that I am indeed a 70-year-old woman, at least by medical history. I would almost guarantee that any doctor looking at my history without specifically knowing my sex would be like, "Wow, this lady has many problems!" The frustrating part about all of this is I actually follow medical advice! I exercise regularly; I don't have a stupid diet like a vast majority of Americans; I try not to drink too much; I follow all the prescription protocols given to me, and I don't smoke! What gives! I'll tell you what gives: absolutely nothing. My genetics just have a dark sense of humor. Can I identify as a 70-year-old woman?
Chronic disease has become a big part of my story. What I've experienced throughout the medical community as a professional patient is that we are not all treated the same based on the diagnosis. I have often found that most of the aforementioned maladies, when researched, are predominantly based around women with the disease and not men. That's fair considering the disproportionate amount of women diagnosed with these things, but it doesn't do a lick of good for individuals (men) like me. For example, most resources for MS are geared specifically to women and the age-related problems of being a woman.
I guess what I'm ultimately trying to say is that gender discrimination or bias can affect even a cis white male like myself. (I hope I said that correctly.) I won't say it's eye-opening because if you aren't a complete piece of crap, you can recognize that other people go through this all the time based on different factors, but it is humbling to experience it yourself even when it isn't overt or intentional. I have to go pee in a jug for 24 hours and somehow keep it refrigerated without making my family vomit when they open the fridge.
Dad out. 
Here's some slop for ya! I fed this post into an AI and had it generate this image. Thanks, Google, you're hilarious.