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Wendy Williams Takes Time Off From Wendy@Home Due to Grave's Disease Fatigue

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What Happened: Wendy Williams is taking a break from her talk show (currently taping at home) due to her chronic illness. “Recently, Wendy has been dealing with symptoms from her Graves’ disease which is causing fatigue. In consultation with her doctor and as a precautionary measure, she will be taking some time off as she continues to receive treatment,” a spokeperson told Deadline.

  • What is Grave’s disease: Grave’s disease is an autoimmune condition that causes overactivity in the thyroid (hyperthyroidism), eye disease and skin issues, according to the American Thyroid Association.
  • Managing chronic illness: Fatigue is a major symptom in many chronic illnesses, and it can be debilitating, as Williams knows. In 2018, the talk show host took time off to manage her Grave’s disease symptoms.

The Frontlines: You’re not alone if chronic fatigue impacts your ability to work or manage everyday tasks. One study of older adults found that 70% of participants reported feeling fatigue. Researchers also identified five different types of fatigue — two mental and three physical — highlighting that fatigue can have a major impact on many areas of your life.

A Mighty Voice: Our contributor, Linda White, explained that it was hard to accept the impact of fatigue on her life. “I lost a lot of time by being in denial. I could not accept my limitations and struggled against them constantly. If I had a window of energy, I threw myself into activities I’d been unable to do. That depleted the energy quickly, and I paid the price in increased pain and exhaustion.” You can submit your first person story, too.

From Our Community: 

I’m experiencing…

Add your voice: Join The Mighty’s Spoonie Life Hacks group by downloading our app or comment below. … Or sign up for our No Shame newsletter.

Other things to know: If you’re struggling with fatigue, you’re not alone. These other Mighty articles may help:

More helpful thinking: Need some ideas for maximizing your spoons when your fatigue is taking over? Check out these five practical tips from a fellow chronic illness warrior that can really help.

Header image via WBLS / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)

Originally published: May 19, 2020
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