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30 Things About My Invisible Illness That You May Not Know

1. The illness I live with is Fibromyalgia.

2. I was diagnosed with it in the year 1996.

3. But I had symptoms since 1990.

4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is slowing down.

5. Most people assume that I am a strong person.

6. The hardest part about mornings are getting through the first hour of the pain.

7. My favorite medical TV show is House.

8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is my computer.

9. The hardest part about nights are being able to sleep through the night or rolling over during the night.

10. Each day I take 34-36 pills & vitamins.
11. Regarding alternative treatments I I do take supplements.

12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose visible.

13. Regarding working and career I really miss the fact that I had to quit working and cannot work outside the home.

14. People would be surprised to know just how much I really do suffer on a daily basis.

15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been having limitations.

16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was reach out to others.

17. The commercials about my illness are not realistic.

18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is working.

19. It was really hard to have to give up my last job.

20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is blogging.

21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would go parasailing.

22. My illness has taught me that I am stronger than I ever thought I really could be.

23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is "Have you tried..."

24. But I love it when people show support.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is "tomorrow is another day".

26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them to surround themselves with loved ones and develop a support system.

27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is the number of people who have the same illness and understand where I am at.

28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was help me with Maddie and give me time to rest.

29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because I feel that it is important for people to understand how to help their loved ones through the rough times.

30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel hopeful that you can reach out to someone you know with an invisible illness with a little more love and understanding.