Chronic Illness Diaries: Symptoms I Experience That You Can't See

Ash
2 days ago
2 min read

Hi friends! Lately, I've been sharing a lot of my health updates over on Instagram, and I thought, why not repurpose that for my blog too? You never know who might need to hear/read it.

So this is my chronic illness diaries, and this blog is dedicated to all the symptoms I experience that you can't see. I've added in a few more things on here and put my IG photos for you too. Make sure you stay till the end, as there are a few relatable memes.

#chronicillnessdiaries #hiddendisabilities

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Chronic Illness Diaries: Symptoms I Experience That You Can't See

Tachycardia - often my heart rate goes up really high when standing and walking. Walking, it can get up to 170; just standing, brushing my teeth, or doing my hair is about 120 - 135. My resting heart rate is around 65 - 70.
Brain fog.
Dizziness.
Excessive sweating (this is usually in combination with a high heart rate). I am drinking a lot of water and have medicine to help on days when I need it.
Pre-syncope/syncope - feeling like I am going to faint and fainting (fainting doesn't happen very often, though, so I don't think this one is too dangerous for me re driving).
Palpitations.
Shortness of breath.
Chronic fatigue.
Post-exertional malaise (PEM) - feeling like you have the flu without having the flu after exercise/doing too much.
Parathesia - tingling in hands and feet, but with pin-prick feelings (it's like someone has stabbed me with a pin/needle there).
Blood pooling.
Chronic back pain and sciatica from my slipped disc. I was doing really well at managing this with weight training, but I can't do that anymore.
Essential tremors in hands (not from anxiety, but anxiety can cause this too).
Random bouts of nausea.
The feeling like someone has punched me in the face.
Chest pain.
Tinnitus.
Whole body aches.
Nerve pain.
Shoulder pain (I am not sure if this is "coat hanger" pain or if my shoulder is being weird.
GI Issues (obviously IBS stuff, but it's horrible).
Sleep issues (insomnia, oversleeping, nightmares - probably from the cPTSD).
Mood changes that are way more intense than they used to be.
Temperature dysregulation.
Exercise intolerance (I hate this one, I wanna be active AF).
The occasional headache/migraine.
Random numbness in my hands (could be due to carpal tunnel syndrome). I drop so many things.
Rosacea on my face (although I've always had this).