I have Situs Inversus, the condition of which all internal organs are on the opposite side, AMA

Do you ever look at a mirror and say "Wow, that's what I would look like without Situs Inversus?"

Everyday

One day if a doctor is trying to get a heartbeat from you and they put the stethoscope on your left side and they can't find a heart beat you should look up slowly at them and say "I'm dead, wake up" or something of a similarly scary nature :P

Haha I'll do that! They do always get confused

If one of your organs crap up, how big is the chance of getting a replacement donor?

Ive never looked into that! I imagine quite hard, kinda scary to think about lol

You would need a donor with the same condition, and it can be 10+ years for people with organs in the normal places, so...

Oh christ! I had some thing like Henoch Schnolein Purpura when I wS younger that I think affected my kidneys, good thing I didn't need a transplant..

Have you considered getting "SITUS INVERSUS" tattooed on your chest, in case of an emergency where you are incapacitated?

How about like labeling yourself with the positions of your organs?

Yeah! Always thought of getting the tattoo when I was younger and definitely considering it now

Is this simply a passive condition, or does it have repercussions on your health/life?

For me, passive, although there is like a 5% more chance of heart disease but that's nothing. Although there is a high change of having PCD which isn't fun from what ive heard

I was born with mal-rotated intestines, and let me tell you it was not fun finding out. I had stomach pains and went to the hospital and had my appendix removed, they started on the right side of my body, but didn't find it and had to go to the left side of my body! LOL, really tripped them up!

Years later the same pains, and the doctor said I was misdiagnosed as a baby and when I had my appendix removed, so they fixed it and put my guts in the right place. Very painful...

Omg!! I hope you're okay now?

I'm good now, limited mobility and a bit stiff in the midsection, but otherwise I'm going to be okay.

Ah no thats a bit suckish :/ hope it all gets better though!

Oh I thought you meant they were physically located outside your skin and bones! Lol but now I get you meant on opposite sides inside your body?

Oh haha! Yeah just on the inside! Not that interesting xD

It's unfortunate this AMA didn't get more attention, it sounds really interesting.

1. I know a lot of bodily complications tend to go hand-in-hand with others, is that true with yours? To clarify, do people with situs inversus often also have a lot of other health concerns?

2. Beyond the minor things like having to tell a doctor what side your heart is on, are there any/many daily implications? Or is it just a fact about your body, in the same way that I had only my bottom wisdom teeth?

3. What about major implications? Are your organs actually different? Say you need a transplant for your liver, would someone else's work? What about a kidney, would they have to use one from the opposite side?

4. Do you find yourself ever having to reverse things in health-related literature? For example, I remember reading an article that described the advantages to sleeping on different sides of the body; for you they'd be reversed. Are these sorts of references more common than we to whom they don't matter might realize?

Thanks in advance for whatever you can share

I feel like I shouldve learned more about it myself before doing an AMA haha!

There is a high chance of getting PCD which is apparently similar to cystic fibrosis

No daily implications :)

Not sure if any organ would work, I'll have to look into that and let you know :)

Also not sure of that either but I've always assumed so lol

Wait, so is your left hand actually your right hand?

Haha never thought of that, I have heard of alot of people with SI being left handed but im right so i dunno haha

alot

He can't help it; he has situs inversus.

She's a she. I first suspected based on the prevalence of "haha" and "lol" in her sentences, and I later confirmed it by seeing a couple of pictures of her face she posted.

EDIT: also, she points it out here.

Could it also be that they have 'Holly' in their name?

I don't know how people miss that one lol

How were you diagnosed? How many doctors have you tripped up with it?

I was diagnosed as a baby, they took me from my parents saying something is wrong with my heart but they dont know what - cant imagine what my parents went through haha

And pretty much every one I see lol, was in an ambulance recently as id cut my eardrum or something and it come up in a conversation we were having with this old doctor and he got this massive smile and looked like a kid on Christmas, and asked if he could please do a scan as hes always been interested but never seen it before, its always made me feel like a freak but aww you shoulda seen his face haha

Are you male or female? I hear men with situs inversus totalis are often infertile. Is that an issue?

Both the situs inversus and the infertility are connected to problems with cell mobility due to genetic mutations.

Female, heard about the infertility and that scared me for a while but then found out its just men

Thanks for taking the time for responding. I studied neurobiology so I find this really interesting. Since your brain is mirrored also (or is just the heart?), do you notice anything in the way you perceive or interact with objects?

I've been told part are shifted so its like harder to learn languages and things like that, which is a bit annoying as I'm trying to learn French so I can move out there haha

Oh, well thats ok then... 4 u :(

Yeah I know, it did make me feel bad but also lucky

All your organs?.. So really what you're saying is that you're an alternate universe version of yourself? Spill it! What did you do with the real hollys241!?

But really.. So on the outside everything is 100% normal? I'm not really medically trained but it sounds like with something as large as what happened to you, you being healthy is extremely lucky.

Well I am an ugly fuck but I think that's just genetics and nothing to do with it haha, nah im fine.. I did hear a story once of a baby who was born with is and the docs didnt know what is was so they operated and it died, that shook me up, coulda been me

Have you ever defeated an opponent because their Hokuto Shinken techniques didn't work on you?

Oh all the time!

What color is your toothbrush?

Blue!

Do you have a picture? Like, an MRI or something? Because that would be cool to see.

Nah, I have thought about getting one cause I thought it would be cool but not sure how to go about that one

and i always thought situs inversus was more like what inside out boy had

Haha oh no imagine. . That would suck :(

If you're American, do you put your right hand on the left side of your chest, or your left hand over your heart when reciting the pledge of allegiance?

Im in England, but if I was American I'd probably put my left hand over my right, surely that would be more respectful? I dunno lol

Does this mean your brain is reversed? So the side that is right and controls the left side of the body in normal people is reversed in you? Does that affect your art skills and language ability and motor skills ect ect?

I have been told its harder for me to learn languages but whether thats true or not.. haha

?ylisae seye ruoy htiw siht daer uoy naC

!Reisae yllautca staht haey

Do you have a goatee? Follow up question, are you plotting to take over the world?

Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you are - it's not like you could do much worse than the people currently running things.

Im a woman but yeah that sounds like me! Hah

Follow-up question. Do you ever fear your original self will escape the mirror dimension you imprisoned her in?

Oh definitely! But I've prepared for that day..

My uncle has this too. Do you have a hard time eating things like cabbage? Also, do you know if it is hereditary?

I dont like cabbage so I don't know haha, and I have read that ill pass it down to grandchildren but not 100% on that

How'd you react when you found out?

I was diagnosed as a baby so it's always just been normal for me

So... your heart would be on the right, not the left?

Yeah :)

... Can we get a picture of what someone with this condition looks like? Specifically, your picture? You know.. For science.

I tried uploading a pic to but it didn't work.. heres my instagram yolo swag hashtag http://instagram.com/hollysandersonx

lets say you had a family member who for some totally tragic and not self-inflicted reason, needed a liver, would your liver work, or is it just shaped too differently/something else?

Im not too sure, one of them actually might soon so I'll let you know!

have you ever considered that you're normal and most everyone else has the condition you've been diagnosed with?

Haha thats so wierd.. probably lol

Have you ever fucked with a doctor by letting them do an exam before you tell them?

Haha yeah I have - their faces are priceless

Whaddup Fellow Situs Inversusian! Have you ever gotten an X-ray and tripped out the technician because they thought they screwed up, I did that once it was pretty jokes! Anyways hows it like having the condition, do you have PCD?

You have it too!? I always feel less of a freak when I hear of other people with it! Id love to one day meet someone with it and feel normal haha, and yeah I've done that!

And I don't know, never looked up on it really or got checked, I probably should haha, what are the symptoms? :)

So your dick is where your butt should be and vice versa?

Haha my ladygarden but yeah thats how it is

If you're in the U.S, what hand do you use for the Pledge of Allegiance?

Im in sunny ol England :)

So even the weather is reversed for you? :-)

Yeah I know fml

So you're a completely normal person with a medical condition that has no effect on your life?

Why exactly did you think an AMA would be a good idea?

I dont know haha some people suggested it even though I agree it is boring haha

Dick move. I'm finding this AMA really interesting. Now if you don't mind, I have some lurking to do.

Thanks :)