For years I’ve heard stories from my chronically ill friends of loved ones who abandoned them or who refused to believe that their illness was real. So, I wanted to write a letter to the friends & family of chronically ill people.
Tag: autoimmune disorder
How Mast Cell Activation Disorder Changed My Life
CN: extensive and detailed discussion of chronic illness symptoms such as nausea, brain fog, and difficulty eating; discussion of weight loss One day, after taking a short walk, I had a strange health episode. I was incredibly exhausted, totally disproportionate to the amount of walking I had done. I sat down in the chair in the kitchen as soon as I got in, too tired to go all the way to my bedroom, and then …Read More
Why Chronic Illness Makes It So Hard to Leave Home
My chronically ill friends and I joke about the medicine cabinet worth of supplies we take with us on any trip that’s longer than an hour because we never know what we’re going to need. But why is such intensive preparation required for a simple outing? Why does chronic illness make it so hard to leave home, even for a few hours?
I Can’t Fix Myself But I’m Supposed To
CN: chronic pain, medical neglect, fat-shaming, discussion of specific health issues and their symptoms Today’s guest post is written as a follow up post to Sunflower Punk’s piece, “Broken,” on her blog on The Orbit. The article covers her life-long struggle with chronic pain, living 6 years with an untreated broken ankle, doctors blaming her health problems on her weight, inaccessible housing, and juggling all of those while also raising a kid as a single …Read More
What’s Living with Celiac Disease Like?
Though I’ve never been formally diagnosed, my symptoms match the condition of celiac disease so well that it’s the easiest way to communicate my level of gluten-sensitivity to a stranger. But of course, my experiences living with celiac disease didn’t start when I cut out gluten. They started when I was a child with no idea what was making me sick.