Forums » Smalltalk » Chronic illnesses

I was looking in the small talk forum a couple of days ago, and I could have sworn I saw a "chronic illnesses" thread but I couldn't find it anywhere upon later exploration, so I thought I'd make one myself!

By that, I mean that I'm looking to find other people who suffer from illness like me (I'm about 8 months out from when I was treated for sepsis, during which time I've been plagued with plenty of kidney problems...) as well as people who I can talk to about said kidney problems who understand the struggle.

I'm interested in hearing how others have been affected by illness and I also want to let this be a thread where people who have suffered illnesses can identify each other and establish contact with each other.

Feel free to leave your stories of illness down below, or DM me directly! I'm always looking for new friends, so definitely hit me up if you're interested!

Hello. I have Fibromyalgia [with complications] and a lot of it's fun friends. It's left me as an ambatiry wheelchair user, but despite that and my forever uphill struggle with my health I'm thriving and even a competitive Athlete.

You might be recalling an AMA thread from the site's annual Living Library event. I believe there's always some folks who share about some form of chronic illness - we have quite a few, and quite a variety.

Myself, so far I've just got a little collection of mostly mental things, and all pretty well under control at the moment, I think (with a mix of meds, ongoing therapy, limited work hours, and some hope that I'm making progress on a more stable living situation). Everything is also all individually at levels that make it really easy for me to slip through the cracks. Like, sure, I technically have epilepsy, but even without meds, I'd go years without any visible seizures; and I'm considered to have only minor ADHD even though I can't drive because of it.

I also have to try not to worry too much about the future; I'm genetically predisposed develop macular degeneration and diabetes at some point, and am in just a "heightened risk" category for some other things from family history and environmental stuff. For some of it, I've been informed of ways to reduce risk a little or try to delay development, but there's still limits to what I can actually do. But I think I should still have at least another decade or more before any of that starts really looming.

Graves' Disease here (an autoimmune disease). They technically dissolved my thyroid with radioactive iodine, but I still struggle. I have to take a thyroid supplement for the rest of my life, and my thyroid levels fluctuate. Causing hormones to fluctuate. It's nothing as serious as when I was truly suffering from the disease, but it's a real pain in the butt to deal with. I get flare-ups with severe brain fog and exhaustion.

Besides that, I have chronic mental illnesses, mainly major depressive disorder and anxiety. I'm in therapy and take meds, but sometimes it still gets pretty bad. We're all just doing the best we can. Chronic illnesses don't define a person; they are just...something we carry, something we have. But they aren't who we are.

If anyone needs someone to talk to about health or mental health stuff, because let's face it...it can be really scary, overwhelming, and challenging. My inbox is always open.

I reinjured myself a week ago and unlike in the past it isn't healing at all...
And it has my pain receptors flaring so little things like bumping my knee have me gasping in pain, and it's triggering a depressive episode....so lots of fun on my end. And just as the brain tumor was reregulating with the meds again.

I suffer from chronic migraines. Idk if that counts. I'm finally on some medicine that helps me not have them daily. But I still get them a lot. It sucks worst when I'm pregnant because I have to go off my good medicine.

Plus, after four kids, I have chronic back pain. Exercise helps a little since it strengthens it. But, I might look into some pain management one day. My physical therapist has helped me as much as she said she can and that now I have to look into pain medicine.

I also have an antixey disorder and my doctors are worried I also have a mood disorder.

Oh, my people! Haha.

I have chronic pain, and it just sucks up all my energy. If I push too hard, I crash. Even if I feel good, I still crash. It's so frustrating because I'm young-ish. People expect me to hold a job and I just can't. I'm tired of being told to just push through or suck it up. Just because you can't see my pain doesn't mean it's not real.

I know exactly how this feels, my partner is same, chronic degenerative joint-pain leading to total exhaustion in a minimum of time. 🦓

I myself am lucky, just a simple chronic lifetime issue with breathing, I'm asthmatic, if I don't have medics I suffocate.. 🫤

So real man, I'm 17 and have to put up with muscle weakness and it feels so awkward to try and explain. Getting a job is something I'm working at too and I had a friend reference me, and to let him actually mention that I'd been ill and had less physical ability worried me because I was nervous that it would hurt my chances of being considered.

Aye m8, been three years sick and counting with some kinna stomach/kidney problem that absolutely no doctor can diagnose. I've had cat scans and MRIs and dozens of tests and nobody can tell me what's wrong with me. Just sick of it and so tired- I've had much better luck with just treating it myself and I'd like to think that I'm almost through with it, but it's been a journey lemme tell ya.

I understand this one so hard. I have chronic pain too and get fatigued easily, plus a fainting disorder. I'm 17 and feel like I'm not understood. Adults with pain and chronic pain just say "oh you think it hurts now, wait till your older" and undermine it or brush it off, and other teens just don't seem to get it bc they don't experience it themselves.

Additionally, I'm supposed to be back in physical therapy, but my perants haven't set it up yet. Ugh.

Also, where I live, I can't even set up my own appointments, even for just my general dr. And my perants suck at setting up my appts. So just for me to get a dr note for school or something becomes a whole thing that it doesn't need to be.
I wanna start looking for a job next month-ish(summer job), but I'm gonna have to get a note to show documentation of my issues so that I'll be able to get a reasonable accomodations, like a stool to sit down. And I already know it's gonna be a painnnn. Assuming I even get a job after asking for accommodations.

It sucks, and it hard. Sometimes I feel kinda lonely in my struggle bc no one in my IRL life can really get it.

I feel this so hard, I was diagnosed at 19 but had sypmoms back in HS that where burshed off by eveyone. I'd like to say it gets better but it doesn't. It does get easier to handle however.