Police in the United Kingdom are using data from period tracking apps and mass spectrometry tests conducted on blood, placenta, and urine to investigate patients who have had “unexplained” miscarriages.
Though abortion is legal in the UK, there are TRAP laws in place requiring certain conditions to be met first, paramount of which is that two separate doctors need to agree that the patient meets the criteria of the 1967 Abortion Act before any treatment can go ahead. Self-managed abortion is a criminal offense with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment in the UK, as is any abortion performed after the pregnancy has progressed passed 23 weeks and six days, unless the patient is at risk of serious physical harm or death, or the fetus has severe developmental anomalies.
Why is everyone acting like you NEED to use an app? Paper calendars work just fine
Simply: you shouldn’t have to worry about medical data being shared with anyone without your consent, no matter if you use an app or tell your doctor.
You probably “agreed” to it on page 27 of the user license agreement you didn’t read. Along with god knows what else.
Oh, I agree. That doesn’t change reality, though. We can fight for our rights and still find a work around. In this case, by using paper that can’t be tracked by the government
What bothers me is the all-or-nothing mentality people have. If something changes work around it until it can be fixed. I definitely don’t mean “just give up” I mean- find alternatives until things are set right
I have ADHD and cannot keep track of one more paper anything. I record it as something boring akin to a bank transaction now that I fear the government snooping but an app with bright blaring notifications kept me sane and only pregnant when I wanted to be for a decade. I’m mad that I don’t feel safe using it any longer.
I have ADHD, too. I have the calendar hanging on the wall in the kitchen with a red pen underneath it. I just put a red dot on the day it starts. It’s tiny so no one would know what it is except me
People can have severe forms of ADHD. It’s typical to not be able to use a calendar.
So if I have ADHD and I can use a calendar just fine, my way is irrelevant because other people with ADHD can’t?
ETA: if your ADHD is so bad that you can’t make a dot on a calendar then enlist your caretaker to do it for you.
Someone says they can’t handle a paper calendar because of their ADHD.
You said although you have ADHD you can use a paper calendar.
I said most people with ADHD can’t use one.
Your conclusion is I said your way of using a paper calendar is irrelevant?!
Yeah, have you tried just… being @rosymind@leminal.space ? Their experience is obviously superior, why would you want to be anybody else? /s
Most adults with ADHD don’t have ‘caretakers’ and have to find their own strategies that meet their own needs. Yours works for you, great, other people have different needs though.
That’s so cool you have your own kitchen!
I’m sorry that you have to eat out of a garbage can. There might be some soup kitchens around that’ll be willing to help you out! You’re right. I should be ashamed of myself for… checks notes… cooking
I think you misunderstood me. It’s great you have a place where you can leave stuff and it doesn’t get messed with. I don’t have that in my life so if I want something to be the way I left it, I need to keep it with me like on my phone. I’m glad that you can use a calendar for your purposes and you have a safe place for it but not everyone has that so quit shaming people for having different coping strategies than your own.
And there you misunderstood me. I wasn’t trying to shame anyone. Rather I was genuinely confused why people couldn’t use a calendar.
When I first got my period that’s how I learned to record it. If some emp comes along and wrecks everything all our data will be lost- but I’ll still have my calendar (maybe). Menstruating people would have to learn to cope!
I just can’t wrap my head around people’s inability to adapt to changing circumstances. I’m not shaming them for it. Just surprised by the inflexibility and unwillingness to adjust
Edited out: “pulse” because it’s redundant
Because a paper calendar isn’t a viable option for everyone, which is how I started…
It’s not being inflexible to understand that a particular option isn’t going to work for you, or others. I’m thrilled a paper calendar works for -you- but for people like me it’s not a viable option and calling us inflexible isn’t helping.
Ok, fair, but there are alternatives as well. They have little pocket calendars, or you can scribble the date on a piece of paper and keep it in your purse/wallet/under your bed. Even the regular calendar on your phone can be used for this purpose- just put an emoji on the start date, or write a word like “appointment”. If you have a pc or laptop there should be a calendar you can use, a word-type document or sticky notes. Or you can write the start dates on the inside of a box of tampons or pads if you use those.
Like… I totally understand the frustration that comes with losing something you’re used to, but the world changes whether we like it or not. We have to adapt to the society that we live in, it isn’t going to adapt to us. Again, that doesn’t mean I think we shouldn’t fight for change if we deem it necessary, but it won’t benefit you to just be angry at it and lament what was lost
Some apps have a degree of machine learning that can predict next periods very well. My ex sometimes had delayed periods due to a health condition. Clue was still able to predict her dates pretty accurately. Idk if there are any open source alternatives that’ll work as well.
paper calendars work ok. apps are better at collating and predicting based on past data, and therefore giving you a better idea when and what to expect and whether it’s “normal”.
apps can help you provide a condensed report, which helps when seeking help from a doctor. it shouldn’t work that way, but at least in my anecdotal experience, the Dr who dismisses handwritten notes for 3 months, was more reasonable when it was “data collected via app”.
I stopped using an app a few years ago, because of privacy issues, but there are absolutely good reasons people still use them when a calendar works.