What Helps Susy, 54, With Acromegaly

With our ongoing “What Helps Me” series, The Mighty is leaning into what sets us apart from other health sites: We aim to provide real health advice from real people who live it.

In this spirit, we asked our community for the best insights and tips they’ve developed for managing their conditions. As always, they responded with their unique health stories and we are happy to pass along their well-tested resources to you.

Today, we meet Mighty member Susy. She is 54 years old and lives with acromegaly.

Susy, what helps you?

THE MIGHTY: What helps you most when your condition affects your physical health?

SUSY: Remembering not all days are going to be bad. Giving myself permission to rest. Eating properly. Hot soaks in either a shower or bath to help alleviate the pain. Remembering it is alright to take pain relief medication. It is “normal” to need help once in a while.

What helps you most when your condition affects your mental health?

Journaling my feelings to allow myself to recognize what it is that I’m actually feeling. Being around loved ones. Doing something I enjoy, like reading or knitting. Going outside even just to sit for a while if I’m not able to walk far.

How do you cope when your normal self-care isn’t working?

[I] take things in small pieces instead of looking at a big task. If I can’t do all the laundry, then doing one load of essentials is better than not doing any. [I wash] dishes when I am done using them so they don’t pile up. [I give] myself permission to rest as much as necessary to get back on track — even if it means [resting] all day.

Thank you to Susy for her contributions to our community. Did you find this helpful? Add your gratitude in the comments.

If you want to tell us what helps you, you can complete our survey here.