but you don't LOOK sick...
Oct. 7th, 2011 10:29 amI forgot to post this on DW and cross-post to LJ when I posted this yesterday, so I'm posting it on its own now.
Apparently it was National Invisible Illness week a few weeks ago. I missed it, but I'm doing this anyways, because I think it's important.
30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
1. The illness I live with is: chronic major depression, anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), asthma, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea.
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year:
Depression - about 2001 or 2002
Anxiety - a few years after the depression
PTSD - officially, last month. But I knew I had it before that
PCOS - about 2000 or 2001, but I don't have an official diagnosis
Asthma - I don't remember
Sleep Apnea - 5 or 6 years ago
3. But I had symptoms since:
Depression - since about 1988 or so (about when puberty hit)
Anxiety - a few years ago
PTSD - since I lost my job last December
PCOS - since I was 16 or so
Asthma - all my life, though I've only had a couple of attacks ever.
Sleep apnea - since my late teens.
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: learning to sleep with a CPAP is really the biggest thing.
5. Most people assume: That because I'm overweight, it's all because of that. That because I'm overweight, I'm dumb, lazy and can't do anything. And that if I lost weight all my problems would go away. And that I can just decide not to be depressed anymore and turn it off like a tap or something.
6. The hardest part about mornings are: just getting myself out of bed. Despite using the CPAP, I still rarely feel like I've gotten enough sleep.
7. My favorite medical TV show is: House and Grey's Anatomy.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: my iPhone. That thing is seriously my second brain. I program things into it and then it beeps at me and tells me to do stuff. I would lose my headif it wasn't attached, but this thing keeps me together. Somehow, I rarely forget my iPhone. LOL.
9. The hardest part about nights are: Nights aren't difficult for me, generally.
10. Each day I take __ pills & vitamins. 2 meds, in the form of 4 pills. My fluoxetine (generic prozac) doesn't come in a 50mg pill, so I have to take 2 20s and a 10. I also take triazide for my high blood pressure.
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: I respect most of them, but I don't think they would work for the issues I take meds for. I use alternative stuff for things I choose not to use meds for, like the anxiety (I deal with it with deep breathing, etc. instead).
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: Sometimes I thinkit would probably be easier to have something that was visible, so that people wouldn't automatically expect me to be totally "normal".
13. Regarding working and career: I work full time, mostly because I have no choice. If I could, I would probably do much better not working full time.
14. People would be surprised to know: How hard it really is dealing with the depression on a daily basis.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: That I can't do everything I want, all the time, no matter how hard I try, I do have limits.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: be happy most of the time. But I am. :)
17. The commercials about my illness: I don't watch much TV, and haven't seen any commercials related to any of my issues.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: Curling up anywhere and taking a nap, without having to worry about my CPAP.
19. It was really hard to have to give up: See 18.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: I don't think there are any major new hobbies. I've probably picked up new crafts and such, but I'm not all that different since my diagnosis.
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: not applicable. This IS my new normal.
22. My illness has taught me: I am very resilient. I can get through just about anything.
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: "Buck up". "Get over it". "It's all in your head." "If you just lost weight, all your problems would go away".
24. But I love it when people: Ask how I'm doing, pay attention to how I answer, and truly care about me.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: It's my own words, but "it's only temporary" is my motto these days.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: It gets better. You don't have to put up with this. Ask for help, because there is help available.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: How ignorant and dumb some people can be.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: This goes beyond just "wasn't feeling well", but probably when![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
melspeth and wulfstan invited me to stay with them for the weekend after I lost my job last December. If it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't be around now. Yes, it was that bad.
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: to quote <"lj user="nonnycat">Uh, well, I missed it but I'm filling this out just for the hell of it. Because I think that this sorta thing shouldn't be limited to one week. And cause I'm bored.". And because I think this sort of thing should be known.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: If you read all of this, you're awesome and I love you. :)
Apparently it was National Invisible Illness week a few weeks ago. I missed it, but I'm doing this anyways, because I think it's important.
30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
1. The illness I live with is: chronic major depression, anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), asthma, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea.
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year:
Depression - about 2001 or 2002
Anxiety - a few years after the depression
PTSD - officially, last month. But I knew I had it before that
PCOS - about 2000 or 2001, but I don't have an official diagnosis
Asthma - I don't remember
Sleep Apnea - 5 or 6 years ago
3. But I had symptoms since:
Depression - since about 1988 or so (about when puberty hit)
Anxiety - a few years ago
PTSD - since I lost my job last December
PCOS - since I was 16 or so
Asthma - all my life, though I've only had a couple of attacks ever.
Sleep apnea - since my late teens.
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: learning to sleep with a CPAP is really the biggest thing.
5. Most people assume: That because I'm overweight, it's all because of that. That because I'm overweight, I'm dumb, lazy and can't do anything. And that if I lost weight all my problems would go away. And that I can just decide not to be depressed anymore and turn it off like a tap or something.
6. The hardest part about mornings are: just getting myself out of bed. Despite using the CPAP, I still rarely feel like I've gotten enough sleep.
7. My favorite medical TV show is: House and Grey's Anatomy.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: my iPhone. That thing is seriously my second brain. I program things into it and then it beeps at me and tells me to do stuff. I would lose my headif it wasn't attached, but this thing keeps me together. Somehow, I rarely forget my iPhone. LOL.
9. The hardest part about nights are: Nights aren't difficult for me, generally.
10. Each day I take __ pills & vitamins. 2 meds, in the form of 4 pills. My fluoxetine (generic prozac) doesn't come in a 50mg pill, so I have to take 2 20s and a 10. I also take triazide for my high blood pressure.
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: I respect most of them, but I don't think they would work for the issues I take meds for. I use alternative stuff for things I choose not to use meds for, like the anxiety (I deal with it with deep breathing, etc. instead).
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: Sometimes I thinkit would probably be easier to have something that was visible, so that people wouldn't automatically expect me to be totally "normal".
13. Regarding working and career: I work full time, mostly because I have no choice. If I could, I would probably do much better not working full time.
14. People would be surprised to know: How hard it really is dealing with the depression on a daily basis.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: That I can't do everything I want, all the time, no matter how hard I try, I do have limits.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: be happy most of the time. But I am. :)
17. The commercials about my illness: I don't watch much TV, and haven't seen any commercials related to any of my issues.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: Curling up anywhere and taking a nap, without having to worry about my CPAP.
19. It was really hard to have to give up: See 18.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: I don't think there are any major new hobbies. I've probably picked up new crafts and such, but I'm not all that different since my diagnosis.
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: not applicable. This IS my new normal.
22. My illness has taught me: I am very resilient. I can get through just about anything.
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: "Buck up". "Get over it". "It's all in your head." "If you just lost weight, all your problems would go away".
24. But I love it when people: Ask how I'm doing, pay attention to how I answer, and truly care about me.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: It's my own words, but "it's only temporary" is my motto these days.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: It gets better. You don't have to put up with this. Ask for help, because there is help available.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: How ignorant and dumb some people can be.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: This goes beyond just "wasn't feeling well", but probably when
melspeth and wulfstan invited me to stay with them for the weekend after I lost my job last December. If it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't be around now. Yes, it was that bad.29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: to quote <"lj user="nonnycat">Uh, well, I missed it but I'm filling this out just for the hell of it. Because I think that this sorta thing shouldn't be limited to one week. And cause I'm bored.". And because I think this sort of thing should be known.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: If you read all of this, you're awesome and I love you. :)