Does everyone live with low key conditions? Does my life sound annoying?

[wrinkleydink]

I'm mid 50s and for as long as I can remember I've had stuff wrong with me. It started as hormonal problems as a young teenager then progressed to migraines then chronic widespread bodily pain. I had a stomach ulcer as a teenager as well and had to go on medication. I've always had bladder problems as well.

Over the years there's been no letup and I'm now having interstitial cystitis which means I can't eat and drink many things, including any alcohol or fruit juice. I have gallbladder disease which restricts my diet. I have hypermobility and I fall over and injure myself. Chronic allergies which mean I can't wear any makeup and my corneas are damaged due to my condition. There's something wrong with my nose and sinuses and I get really painful sinusitis. I can't wear normal shoes or slippers and have to wear special shoes and orthotics to deal with foot problems. I have back pain and joint pain all the time. I have autism and I get very tired and can't do stuff like go on holiday or even just overnight trip as something will flare up and I'll end up in pain. Over the last week/10 days I've had a viral bug, a gallbladder flare up, sinusitis and I fell over and injured my elbow two days ago. This is how my life is now and it gets me down. I'm not a hypochondriac and I don't talk about this to friends or anything. I eat a healthy diet, but I find it difficult to exercise due to my mobility.

Is this just how it is for people? Every day is spent trying to manage these painful, albeit stupid, conditions. This isn't normal, right?

Sounds really tough OP. Must be horrible being in pain on a daily basis and then ailments coming and going with no warning.

You mention hyper mobility. Sometimes these are known as comorbid conditions which present with other conditions such as chronic pain, fatigue, autism etc. Sometimes it's hereditary so you've just had bad luck really.

I can only give advice to keep up the healthy eating and don't push yourself too much on your off days. Sometimes it's better managing long term conditions to give yourself planned rest days and don't plan too many activities back to back so you have plenty of rest in between. Maybe take up some low energy hobbies for these days like reading or crafts. It works for me because on my better days I'm able to go on walks and enjoy the sun we've been having. Rainy days are officially rest days in my life.

Perhaps you could look at reducing your work days or having reasonable adjustments made if you think this would help manage your conditions.

Have you ever done physio for your hypermobility? My dd had back pain caused by her hypermobility and strengthening the muscles to help support her joints has really help her painwise.

Hypermobility and ehlers danlos can have links to neurodiverse conditions. Look at MCAS as well.

Sounds rough. I’ve had periods of illness. I had a burst stomach ulcer in my 20s (following years of digestive issues which were dismissed as IBS), I’ve had my gallbladder out after health issues linked to that, I used to get migraines but they are sorted, I have Raynards and am being investigated with some potential complications linked to that and I’ve just had a third lot of surgery on a troublesome cyst. Add perimemopause to that and I totally understand how you feel, like that there’s no let up. I don’t smoke or drink and I’m a healthy weight so it feels like I’m doing what I can. However, I do appreciate that on a day to day basis I’m largely ok and have had long spells of feeling well. I thought niggles were normal but my husband has barely had anything wrong with him ever so he thinks I’ve been very unlucky.

I have an autoimmune disease and then various other minor ailments though less severe than yours. I also have hyper mobility. I do a lot of strength work and pilates, however recent private blood tests have shown I 1. Don't digest protein very well due to stomach enzymes and 2. Have very low testosterone. It's takes me forever to build muscle and progress and it's hugely frustrating.

As I get older I really do believe it's a mixture of luck and genetics. Unhealthy lifestyle may exacerbate or act as a catalyst for some conditions but I've always been in to health and wellness and it's not done much for me tbh. My mum lived a very healthy lifestyle and died horribly of cancer, my dad on the other hand has been a functioning alcoholic all my life at least and lives off ready meals, never had any issues and still going strong.

You’ve been dealt some bad genes there. That’s not a normal life.

I was actually going to ask if you're autistic before I read it , because I am and I have all those things too!

Except gallbladder and cystitis issues sorry. But I have additional things.

No nothing, just a bit of wear and tear arthritis. Just good or bad luck.

Thank you for all the replies, it's given me something to think about and I agree that I need to get some exercise to strengthen things. I used to do pilates, so I'm going to look at this again. I'm also going to try and lose weight because this isn't helping either. I think I'll have to go back to see the gp about the gallbladder too. They've scanned it twice and there's no stones, but there's obviously something wrong.

I just work part time as a one to one support worker so I don't find work too bad. I factor my difficulties in to day to day activities so I try not to get too tired, but I do slip up on their management sometimes then get a flare up. I lose track with their management though as I get distracted.