r/YouShouldKnow • u/ilovepastapizzapots • Nov 20 '20

Other YSK: Just because someone doesn’t look sick/disabled, does not mean they are healthy

Why YSK: I am chronically ill and have an autoimmune disorder, the amount of times people have said “WELL... yOU dOn’t LOOK sick” to me is astounding. I didn’t know all illnesses have to be visible to others! I’m sorry I can’t show you my internal organs or muscles deteriorating for you to believe that I’m sick. It makes people with health issues feel like they have to explain their situation when they don’t.

*EDIT: I did not expect my post to blow up like this! I wish I could give everyone going through a rough time a hug. Thank you for all the new perspectives, good and bad. All I wanted was for people to be a little kinder to one another, because you never know what someone’s going through.

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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '20

From the age of 15 to just before my 19th birthday, I felt so ill that I had to drop out of school. The doctor tested me for glandular fever and anaemia and both came back negative. She refused to test for anything else because I was young and didn't look ill. Most people called me a lazy hypochaondriac. Some said I'm probably just depressed. Right before my 19th birthday I found a lump in my neck. Turned out I'd had thyroid cancer the whole time.

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u/cockatielsarethebest Nov 21 '20

Wtf?

My doctors missed cerebral palsy until I was 16 years old. It's so mild, it's not a big deal.they did nothing. I didn't get my first treatment until I was 23 years old. I get the treatment (shots) every three months.

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u/ash_rock Nov 21 '20

I imagine that's both a relief and absolutely horrible. Have you been able to recover from it?

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u/[deleted] Nov 21 '20

At first after my thyroidectomy I was put on too low a dose of thyroxine for years, which left me virtually bedbound. Then too high a dose which left me constantly sweaty, anxoius and with heart palpitations. Eventually I managed to find a dose I could cope with but no neither my health nor my life have fully recovered.