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SOME QUICK ADVICE:
Before automatically deciding that you're a vampire, PLEASE get yourself
checked out medically to make sure you don't have a real disease like
Lupus, Porphyria, Celiac Syndrome or some other disease that can have
similar characteristics (light sensitivity, food intolerance, etc.).
Why? So you can get proper medical treatment, or at least find out if
there's really a mundane cause behind all the problems you're having.
Minimum testing should include a CBC (Complete Blood Count) "with
differential", and a Chem20/Complete Metabolic - this gives a general
overview of health and basic organ status - any additional testing can
be done once these results come back. Get copies of your labwork results
and look up what each item is via LabtestsOnline
so you have a good explanation of each one. (The site doesn't give the
proper ranges because they vary by lab, but if you have copies of your
results, the reference ranges will be included on the sheets.)
Many diseases - or drugs, prescription or otherwise - can give you
similar "symptoms" such as sun sensitivity (Porphyria, Lupus,
and many others), inability to eat many foods (Celiac Syndrome - gluten
sensitivity - or Chron's disease, or even just influenza), excessive
thirst (diabetes) and so on.
You don't have to mention "the V-word" to the doctor(s),
only say that you've noticed <fill in the blank> problem(s) ("Gee
doc, I've noticed I'm starting to sunburn more easily these days"
or "Can you run a few tests and find out why whatever I'm eating
just doesn't seem to agree with me as well anymore?" just as a
couple examples) and you want to get yourself checked out to rule out
the possibility of disease or drug-based side effects. Some diseases,
left untreated, WILL eventually be fatal.
WHO SHOULD YOU TRUST?
As vamps we need to feel we can talk to others and share what we believe
with people who will listen. The newbies fall victim to people promising
them things they can't give or can't do, while running the risk of becoming
a statistic (rape, murder, theft, catching AIDS or other diseases, just
to name a few) to the criminally minded by meeting someone they've *just*
met a few days ago on the 'net but they feel "close to" or
that "they can trust them because they know everything about me."
Guess what? Most of that knowledge is either a lucky guess (based on
social norms or psychological common factors - i.e., 99% of teenagers
feel alienated at one point or another, chances are likely you will
too, so talking about feeling alienated is a common factor) or they've
been eavesdropping on your cordless or cellular phone conversations
if they happen to live close by.
The only thing I can do is give you advice to search for yourself and
compare personal experiences. Only YOU, personally, can find out who
and what you are. Nobody else can do that for you. Nobody. There
are no "quick fixes" or shortcuts because only you
can decide what path best suits you. You make your own path to discovery.
In short, the only one you can truly trust - 100% - is yourself, despite
what anyone else may say.
WHY I USE THE TERMS THAT I DO:
I use "blood vamp" and "psi vamp" as general terms
- referring to the main feeding styles - because it makes what they
refer to easy to distinguish. The primary goal of this site is to provide
help and support; if I use nonspecific or ambiguous terms (no matter
how interesting or "classy" or unique they are - and I'll
admit I've seen some much more interesting terms than the ones I'm using)
it makes it more difficult for inexperienced people to find what they
need.
Yes there are vampires for whom both terms would be applicable, not
just one. Articles geared specifically towards these types will likely
be in the "general articles" section, but ones referencing
specific feeding styles will be under the apropriate "blood vamp"
and/or "psi vamp" sections as well, so feel free to look around.
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