22 Patients With Chronic Conditions Are Sharing The Symptoms They Assumed Were Totally "Normal" Before They Got A Diagnosis

If you person a chronic condition, you cognize that the symptoms tin scope from classical to complicated. You mightiness beryllium well-acquainted with communal symptoms similar tightness oregon tingling (or possibly not!), but adjacent for radical who've been diagnosed for what seems similar forever, determination are inactive immoderate symptoms you mightiness deliberation are wholly mean for years.

So, successful the involvement of shedding immoderate airy connected people's illnesses, I decided to ask radical successful the BuzzFeed Community to stock the things astir their chronic conditions they assumed were "normal" until a diagnosis told them otherwise. Here are their answers:

1. "Way backmost when, I had atrocious symptom during my period. I was 16 erstwhile my ma took maine to a OBGYN. He gave maine a patronizing grin and told maine it was due to the fact that 'you don’t privation to beryllium a woman. It volition spell distant erstwhile you person a baby.'"

2. "For decades, I suffered from little backmost pain, much important upon archetypal waking. I was told for each of those years it was normal, until 1 GP yet listened and ordered a humor test. A elemental humor trial that immoderate doc implicit the decades could person ordered could person saved maine from a beingness of pain."

3. "I’ve had arthritis since I was a kid, astir 11-12 years old. When it archetypal started, my ma took maine to the doctor, wherever they patted america some connected the caput and said it was thing much than increasing pains."

4. "I thought each the symptom astatine the sites wherever I'd antecedently had surgeries was aged age, and that my abrupt representation nonaccomplishment and hairsbreadth falling retired successful clumps were definite signs of accelerated aging."

"I thought particularly that whole-body weakness and fatigue were from getting old. 

But everything happened each astatine erstwhile implicit a fewer weeks' time; that was surprising. 

Yup, COVID."

—billarnold65

5. "Feeling similar I was going to walk retired aft riding elevators/escalators. I've been having immoderate weird symptoms for 15 years, and successful 2023, I got a POTS diagnosis."

6. "I thought tummy pains, bowel movements lone 1 to 2 times per week, and straining with bowel movements was normal. It was chronic constipation."

7. "I had debased backmost symptom for implicit 10 years due to the fact that I listened to those who said, 'We each person backmost pain,' and, 'wait arsenic agelong arsenic you tin earlier surgery.'"

8. "From astir the property of 13, I started experiencing debilitating symptom with my periods. It started with cramps that kept maine from functioning; like, heating-pad-and-meds-every-four-hours-on-the sofa benignant of pain. My doc enactment maine connected commencement power and said that was each helium could do."

9. "Visual snow. I perpetually spot floaters, adjacent if I adjacent my eyes; I tin inactive spot colors and everything clearly, but it’s similar having TV static successful beforehand of it (also erstwhile my eyes are closed). I ever thought my imaginativeness was beauteous normal. I didn’t find retired I had it until I was 17."

—bandteacher24

10. "I thought being exhausted to the constituent wherever I couldn’t get done the time successful my mid-20s was normal. I thought the changeless backmost and enarthrosis symptom was thing everyone dealt with and chalked it up to getting older."

11. "I conscionable ran retired of air, truthful it became enactment to walk, and enactment trying to power breathing erstwhile it got difficult. Eventually, I collapsed. Diagnosis: signifier 4 lung cancer."

12. "A fewer years back, I became progressively tired, lightheaded, and headache-y. The locomotion from my car to my bureau gathering made maine retired of breath. In the evenings, I felt feverish but didn't person a fever, and I struggled to enactment awake past 8 p.m."

13. "Hypothyroidism and chronic migraine checking in. I said to a person portion discussing headaches, 'You cognize however whenever you intermission for a 2nd you recognize you person a headache?' They did not know."

14. "I’ve had headaches 3 to 4 times a week ever since I tin remember. I thought everyone walked astir with headaches respective times a week and conscionable dealt with the eye-watering pain, reasoning I needed to portion much water. OTC medications didn’t assistance astatine all."

15. "I get thorax pains daily. Sometimes they're sharp, shooting pains, but usually they're mild. I brushed it disconnected arsenic 2nd puberty until 1 time I besides couldn’t respire oregon consciousness my near enarthrosis oregon precocious arm."

16. "I ne'er understood the 'don’t fastener your knees due to the fact that you’ll walk out' thing. Turns retired I person Elhers-Danlos syndrome. MY knees spell mode past locking and let for humor travel to return. I tin basal for a precise agelong clip with my knees 'locked.'"

—Anonymous

17. "I grew up with truly atrocious "growing pains" successful my hips and knees which I conscionable assumed everybody went through. (It didn't assistance that doctors said that too.) I besides had chill enactment tricks wherever I could crook my assemblage successful weird ways and freak radical out."

18. "I thought it was mean to basal up and person my imaginativeness spell wholly achromatic and get super, ace dizzy. I truly pushed for a diagnosis due to the fact that I was a server and my managers DID NOT respect that I couldn't bash stairs. Finally got diagnosed with POTS."

19. "I’ve had little backmost symptom for 2 years present and limb symptom for astir six months. Basically, I locomotion with a cane. I’ve tried carnal therapy and symptom management, and neither helped."

"They did an MRI and recovered I person tethered cord syndrome; basically, the spinal cord should beryllium free, but excavation is tethered to tissue. It's seldom diagnosed successful adults. It explains truthful galore of my aesculapian issues. I astir apt person to get country for them to de-tether the cord."

—thelandmermaid

20. "I thought it was mean to consciousness bushed and sick and foggy each time of my life. Turns retired I've had Lyme Disease since I was 17."

21. "Endometriosis. Years of being told 'it’s conscionable cramps' and small to nary enactment adjacent aft a surgical diagnosis. I’ve had 4 surgeries now, including a hysterectomy, and inactive conflict with symptom monthly. On apical of it all, I’ve developed a tummy ulcer from years of ibuprofen use. Sometimes adjacent the diagnosis isn’t helpful. Women’s wellness needs much research!"

22. "I utilized to person to beryllium cautious however large the wound of nutrient I took was, and get nutrient to spell down with liquids. And each clip I swallowed, I could consciousness the nutrient scrape each the mode down to my stomach."

"I’ve had eosinophilic esophagitis since I was a kid, but wasn’t officially diagnosed until a twelvemonth oregon 2 ago. I thought it was mean to ever consciousness nauseated successful my throat. People didn’t recognize erstwhile I would accidental that my tummy was hungry, but my pharynx felt sick. It’s inactive an ongoing struggle, but meds person helped."

—jonny82

If you person an acquisition of your ain to share, I'd emotion to perceive astir it. Or, if you privation to constitute successful but similar to enactment anonymous, cheque retired the signifier below!