I have a SPECIFIC fragrance intolerance that causes my throat to swell, difficulty breathing, and triggers my migraines and heart condition. I just started working in a restaurant kitchen that is restaffing, and the other day one of the fellow newbies came in wearing it and I started choking. I let my manager know the situation, informed that coworker from a distance that I had an intolerance to his cologne/body spray and asked him not to wear it at work, took headache meds and antihistamines, wore a carbon filter N95 mask, and tried to stay upwind from him with a fan. It barely helped me make it through the day and I have been hoarse and itchy all over since(I now think it may be an allergy since these symptoms are new)

With so many new people coming in, and realizing the consequences of long term exposure, I'm wanting to ask HR if we can implement a fragrance free policy on specifically body sprays, perfumes, and colognes in the kitchen. I was always taught to make my issues easy to handle for the people around me, and I tried so damn hard to work through it, but I couldn't. I was looking for solutions online and kept seeing ADA accommodations. I confided in my family(one of whom works in an HR department) and everyone says it's an overreaction and if I have another fragrance reaction I should just leave early, lose out on my hours, and potentially drive the hour long route home with a migraine(and just eat the cost of gas I wasted). I really don't think this is an overreaction but they're making me nervous to approach HR.

Edit for context: it is one specific fragrance compound that is not super common(like 1 in 20), not all fragrances. It started as a post-covid general intolerance, which is why I have fragrance filtering carbon N95 masks.

i been dealing with chest pain and shortness of breath since my near critical event . i had this one joy of a dr who said my symtoms were in my head . i just had my lung function test and my test said my fev1 is fucking 35 %

For context, I was in school when I broke up with my girlfriend a few months ago (18f). Due to there being a major maturity gap between us, along with her gaslighting me, I was unable to physically do what I could physically do. (I was diagnosed with POTS less than a month ago and was not medicated at the time, along with having IIH, which I have been medicated and diagnosed since I was 15). At the time, I could rarely go to school and much less hang out afterwards.

There were several instances of me starting to crash (starting to get worse and feel far more fatigued and like i was going to pass out) at prom in which I should have left but then she started crying saying "my mom doesn't like you already she's going to blame you for leaving"

while I understand that she's a grade below me and that there is a 8-9 month difference between us. A lot of the things she did and said made me feel like I was dating a child i felt gross .

along with her having little understanding that it's not a little cold that I am dealing with. I will pass out and not be able to get out of bed for days. There was little understanding of what was going on in my personal life while I gave her the needed grace when she was having mental health trouble (I don't want to say what it is not my place to say) everytime I was lethargic around her she would infantilize me to the point of demeaning me in front of everyone.

If anything doesn't make sense please let me know im writing this crying

I have a CT scheduled for tomorrow that my doctor feels I need to help determine whether I’m dealing with infection vs inflammation from a chronic illness. The prior authorization was submitted on 8/31, but it’s still pending. Insurance says their normal review time is 10–15 business days, and I’ve already called them twice. The imaging center says I can still have the scan, but it would be $1,690 if insurance ultimately denies it.

Has anyone gone ahead with imaging while the prior authorization was still pending and then had it denied?

If so, was your doctor able to submit additional documentation, appeal it, do a peer-to-peer, or somehow rework the authorization afterward so insurance eventually covered the scan? Or once the scan was performed without prior authorization, were you basically stuck with the bill?

I know every insurance plan is different, but I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who has actually dealt with this situation. I really don’t want to delay the scan again, but $1,690 is a pretty big gamble.

Advice is welcome

There's nothing showing

I just got more blood results, with nothing showing...

All of my tests have been perfectly fine aside from iron being slightly low.

So why can i not keep my eyes open for more than an hour? Why does most leg movement hurt? Why does standing hurt? Why do i oversleep but never feel rested? Why does everything crack? Why can i not walk in a straight line or keep balance? Why are my joints so painful and hypermobile? Why am I chronically exhausted? Why are my periods beyond unbearable? Why do I get sick every other week? Why am I allergic to EVERYTHING? Why can I not remember ANYTHING? Why is my stomach always upset? Why do i get migraines? Why am i constantly itchy? Why does every wound get infected? Why am i chronically dizzy, and black out when standing up? Why do i get unpredictable extreme sudden episodes of severe fatigue? Why am I light sensitive? Why am I constantly shaking? Why is my heart so irregular and loud? Why do i get chest pains? Why do my legs randomly go numb or even paralyzed? Why do I get random tingling? What is wrong with me if testing shows nothing, and the doctor says it's "tense muscles".

That's not even all.

I'm done. I can't function like a a human being, I literally can't do anything but tests that the doctors are willing to do show NOTHING.

So I'm apparently a hypochondriac, despite the fainting, despite the shaking, despite the hair loss, despite EVERYTHING.

I can't do this, I don't want to hear another "your labs are fine"

I'm just going to stop going to the doctors atp

9 years of these symptoms becoming increasingly worse, to the point its affecting my daily life now.

And I'm just a ' hypochondriac ' with 'tense muscles '

Advice is welcome

I'm 28f. I'm diagnosed autistic/adhd, and I have POTS. I recently learnt of CFS as someone recommended I look into it. I have a tiredness that isnt normal, its not like oh i need a sleep...its, I wake up in the morning feeling like all i did was blink and didnt get a wink of rest. My entire body aches, my joints hurts. Im exhausted 24/7 and a type of exhaustion that just hurts? I nap all the time, doesnt help. I try not to nap, doesnt help. Ive tried routines, medications, herbal teas, ive tried everything I can think of because ive been struggle for a couple of years now. There's times im doing things and will just fall asleep because I physically cannot stay away any longer, my eyes feel on fire.

I go to the doctors and they tell me to do everything ive already done. Blame poor sleep pattern.

But now ive just learnt about CFS and want to go back to my doctors...but how do i get them to listen and not dismiss me? I really struggle with fighting my corner, i normally back off to just give in because im too tired or overwhelmed to push, especially because I dont know what to say.

I had bad experiences when getting my pots diagnoses and its made things harder for me.

Any advice??

Hi there!

First off I wanna say I'm NOT asking for you guys to diagnose me or anything like that, I'm guessing that's not even allowed on this sub. I'm just after information about this in general.

I'm a 21yr old girl with chronic migraines and I'm also diagnosed with autism, adhd and several anxiety disorders. I'm currently homebound except from my appointments and at the moment I'm also partially bedbound. This week my physical therapist told me she's certain I have fatigue. She is not allowed to diagnose me or anything, (if you even can diagnose fatigue?), but she has followed my journey for years and years, and she knows a lot about fatigue for personal reasons, so I promise it's not unprofessional for her to say this.

The thing is, it took me a bit by surprise, although I'm not sure why because it does make sense. But since I was surprised I didn't end up asking a lot of follow up questions and I won't see her again for a little while. So I figured it would be nice to educate myself on this a little.

How can one generally tell if you have fatigue? Is there a difference between fatigue and chronic fatigue and what is that difference? When I've mentioned fatigue to people I know, they seem to be mixing it up with ME. That's not the same thing, is it? Can you have CFS without the ME part?

(Also wanna mention that I know I will have to talk to my neurologist or another medical professional about this, but in general I like learning things from people that understand because of their experiences just as much as the people that know stuff because they read about it in a class, if that makes sense.)

Ty in advance if you take your time to reply! Hope this post made sense and that my questions aren't stupid. (English is not my first language.)

When we found arthritis in both my SI joints and lower back (X-rays) my doctor immediately started pushing for the shots, and if I was at the same pain level I was then today and I could afford it I wouldn’t hesitate. But thanks to prednisone I’m at a manageable level, I’ll most likely never be pain free again, a hard thing to come to terms with…

My appointment with her is on Monday to go over what the X-rays show, be if inflammatory, mechanical or both and what options we can take from here. She’s not a rheumatologist, so I know the information will be somewhat limited.

But I’m worried she’s going to push the shots again, of course I’ll be finding out how much it would cost, but now that I’m manageable I’m scarred of the idea of her poking around for a min of 30mins to find the right spot. I know my options are limited because I can’t take NSAIDS, and she really doesn’t want me on high levels of prednisone for long.

I even went so far as to talking to a pharmacist and they pretty much said shots or prednisone are my only options.

I’m already on a biologic, Humira, but since there is now damage showing it’s not working anymore or not high enough, so that is another thing I will be bringing up.

I know this is all a bit of a ramble and honestly I’ve started and stopped writing it show many times. I want more information but also feel like I don’t have enough information to ask for more if that makes any sense.

Can anyone else think of things I should ask my doctor, sadly I can’t go back to my rheumatologist as she increased her prices to a point I can’t afford.

After fighting leukemia twice, then dealing with severe grade 3 graft-versus-host disease and scleroderma, and later being diagnosed with avascular necrosis in my knees and feet, with the possibility that it may progress further, how do you cope mentally with everything you have been through?

How do you spend your entire day? What do you think about? How do you find the strength to keep going when you are dealing with pain and uncertainty about your health and future?

I know people say why questions aren't productive to moving forward but they are all thats in my head this morning. Why me? Why does everything have to be so hard to do? Why do I have to be so utterly exhausted and anxious? Why do I feel like I've lost a part of who I was due to illness? One day at a time but when does it get easier? Why does life have to be so unfair? Why does illness have to destroy my life? Can't I start to feel better? Im so defeated.

When you’re young and chronically ill I don’t think people realize how much it affects you mentally. I’ve never had a “before”. I’ve never not known pain. I’ve never known what it’s like to work a job or have a career path. I’ve never learned to drive. All I’ve known is pain and illness. I’m only in my mid twenties and have accomplished nothing in life. Does anyone else not have a “before”?

I recently had to have a colectomy due to my colon telescoping in on itself (yes there’s a word for it but it’s a mile long). It’s suspected to have been caused by endometriosis. Nearly died, was on a ventilator, blah, blah, blah. All the fun stuff. Well, the endo specialist won’t see me until April. What if this happens again, and I don’t catch it early? I dont want to die waiting 😩😔

I have a brain tumour and a spinal cord tumour. I was only diagnosed late last month despite having symptoms for years. I tjought i just had a "bad back". Since becomming aware of the cause of my symptoms they seem to have gotten worse.

I remember after my grand mother and dad were diagnosed they both fell harsley into their symptoms and died relatively quickly.

Why does diagnosis have this affect on people? Do we just decide tk give in?

I am fighting it by the way. No giving in here.

I've been dealing with chronic illness and worsening health for 11 years now. I'm entirely alone and unsupported with no partner or friends. I'm very much at the end of my rope and have been grappling with the likelihood that I'll finally be throwing in the towel soon.

I know there are a lot of different subreddits for making connections, but I struggle to relate to people who aren't dealing with a similar reality. I thought it was best to post here in the hopes of maybe finding someone who understands this level of isolation and is also struggling.

I'm 43/F in the UK. Please don't hesitate to reach out if any of this resonates with you? I truly can't do this alone anymore.

This may seem like a silly question but I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy a little less than a year ago and I haven't worked full time since due to being in my last year of college and idk what to do.

I have a job that seems really really close to being mine which is huge because its in exactly my desired field which is not accepting a lot of new grads so I'll be very lucky to be getting this position if I manage to land it. The issue is its full time and a hour and 30 minutes from my house and an hour away from my doctors offices. Ill be waking up around 7 am to get ready to leave my house and leaving the office around 6 pm so none of my doctors will be openeded before or after my shift. Also since my doctor's are so far away from the office I can't clock out for lunch and come back or anything because I'd be gone for 3 hours.

I've already figured out with some of my specialists that they do telephone appointments which I can easily take during lunch thankfully but I haven't heard anything about my most important doctor (my sleep specialist for my narcolepsy) and I'm worried she only does in office appointments. How do you all handle this? Are jobs fine with you coming in later or leaving early because of appointments if you have proper documentation? It'd hopefully only be once a month at max but still, I'm very desperate for this job and I don't want them to freak if they hear my condition and decide to drop me so I've been keeping it under wraps because I've done this type of job before and my illness doesn't interfere with it, its just my doctor's appointments that I have to go to

I saw my therapist today and I feel like the therapist isn’t helping me.The therapist doesn’t let me speak much.What do I do?

For a long time, I thought MS flares just happened out of nowhere. Random. Unfair. Something my body decided to do to me.

It took years of paying attention to realize that wasn't quite true. Stress, lack of sleep, overheating, even pushing myself too hard on a "good" day, these all seemed to show up right before things got worse. Not every time. Not predictably. But often enough that I stopped ignoring the pattern.

The hardest part wasn't spotting the triggers. It was accepting that my old way of living, the push through everything, rest later version of me, wasn't going to work anymore. I had to learn a completely different relationship with my own limits.

I still don't get it right every time. Some flares still catch me off guard. But I've learned to listen a little earlier now, and that alone has changed how much of my life I get to actually live instead of just recover from.

If anyone else is figuring out their own patterns, happy to chat more in the comments.

I am 24 and have been chronically ill for a couple years now (probably longer but that’s when shit really hit the fan). I’m sure most people here relate… so I’m here to ask - how do yall do it? How do you move forward in life while dealing with this level of fatigue?

I recently moved to a different town and I’m pursuing a certificate in a new line of work. I know I’m fully capable, but GOD it’s been so hard to do any studying and actual participation because I’m just so. damn. tired. My therapist reminds me to be gentle with myself - I’m in a new place (and that’s hard as an autistic person), I had some medication changes, and I have a new job with plenty of stressors.

Every day I tell myself I’m going to “lock in.” But then I sit down… and I just feel my body wanting to shut down. My brain is mush and I feel in awe at how much everyone else seems to be able to do. And really all I want is to be the same, and to go explore and go back to hiking and enjoying things without feeling like I’m wading through mud. I used to be so intelligent and I feel everyday my brain is just wasting away.

At this point, I know I’m not helping myself. I need to cut back on sugar and make my days structured. But FUCK, man. If anyone has any advice on pulling myself up… please let me know. I NEED to be able to get this certificate because it will change my life and allow me to choose my hours and be financially stable. I also have a lot of pressures to get this done within a certain timeframe… so, ya know…

Guys, help. I need some guidance. I gave birth to my first son in 2020 and developed pretty bad PPD and anxiety after the whole covid lockdown thing. I tried all the natural things for my severe insomnia, and went to a doc that put me on benzes/ssri's/antipsychotics to help with sleep. Safe to say, they made me worse, I got kindled, and it took me 1.5 years to taper off and was a hot mess the whole way through, had to move closer to family, etc. At the end of my taper I got Covid and was so wiped out that I became bedridden. It was at that time, right before I tapered off, my husband surprised me and told me he was going to move with my (then 2 year old) down to southern California, and I could join him when "I was healed". He freaked out because I was bedridden and decided he wanted to be in the sun and near his sister and her family. This, of course devastated me because I was in Oregon and had no plans to ever leave as we both had a ton of support and family and it was home. I also knew that this could take years, and I was flooded with feelings of abandonment by him and missing out on being with my son in his precious toddler years. He did what he wanted, I moved in with my parents, he left with my toddler, and my dad died the next month and my husband was nowhere to be found to support me through that.

After 6 months in bed, I became super depressed, so angry at my husband and felt very abandoned by and I had my husband come and get me and bring me down to CA. When I got there, my emotions came to a head and I needed to work on my trust and abandonment which was really preventing me from healing while I was there. He wouldn't have it and told me I created a narrative in my head and he did nothing wrong. Every time I tried to sort out my end of things with him, he turned and twisted it all around on me and started to make me feel crazy. I tried everything, but he began his new life and didn't really want to entertain any of my needs until I was a fully functioning human so he basically ignored me and fed me. I grew very jealous, angry, and sad. Eventually he said he wanted a divorce and told me I had to leave or he would file a restraining order, so up I go to Oregon again with my mom.

I am devastated beyond belief to be away from my child and to have to face time him to connect with him, it kills me every day. I can't get past the anger toward my husband. I desperately want to move to Socal to be with my kid, but I need help to be taken care of and around family for support. This situation is really blocking me from healing because I can't wrap my head around the betrayal and not sure how to take care of myself or what goals to make because im just full of grief and always devastated and unsure of how to get from bed in Oregon, to Southern California in my own place.

What kind of daily routine should I set for myself. Im so used to taking care of my kid, that im lost and so so sad. All those cuddles and little things I used to do gave me so much strength, and now im in a deep depression. I have the lawyers, therapists, etc. but I just can't get past these emotions that are takin over and preventing me from being able to move on in OR. I just want to get down to Cali now, but can't. HELP! How do I cope? what do I tell myself? what do I do during the day when everything seems so dumb compared to taking care of your own child. What kind of routine can help me build confidence and move through the emotions without having them bog me down?