Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

I’ve had chronic pain for the past 18 years, and I’m finally learning how to speak up for myself and use accommodations so that my pain doesn’t have to flare every single day.

My mobility scooter was purchased a week ago. Reminder: I’m 28. 😂 So naturally, the number one thing I wanted to do was figure out how to make my scooter look a little less like it was made for an elderly person and a little more like it belongs to someone my age.

I got a stroller caddy that holds my phone, my Stanley, disinfectant wipes, extra medications, etc. I also upgraded the basket to a bigger one because when I use my scooter at work, I need it to hold my laptop—and the baskets that come with mobility scooters can barely hold a folder. 😂

Today, I already went on a less-than-quarter-mile, VERY slow walk to get my dog outside. Before the walk, my foot was at about a 7/10 pain. So, following my doctors’ instructions, I sprayed the crap out of my entire foot with lidocaine.
Mind you, the lidocaine spray only numbs my foot for maybe 10 minutes. So by the time my walk was over, I was back up to an 8/10.

I really need to go to the grocery store today to pick up some things I’m out of. I’m also visually impaired and don’t drive, so I usually walk to the store. I was thinking about trying to use my mobility scooter for the first time.

And I am SO nervous.

I know the doors at the store aren’t automatic, and I haven’t had any practice opening doors while navigating a mobility scooter. The store also ALWAYS has boxes in the aisles, so navigating around them could be challenging.

I also live alone, so I don’t have a partner who can come with me and help me figure out the challenges of using the scooter for the first time.

And, honestly, the last thing I want to mentally deal with today is someone making an unnecessary comment about how “young” I am to be using a mobility scooter.

So… any suggestions? Words of wisdom? Tips for navigating a grocery store on a mobility scooter? Or, most importantly, any witty responses you’ve used when people make comments about your age?

#MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicPain #HypothyroidismUnderactiveThyroidDisease #HashimotosThyroiditis #Uveitis #Blindness #Glaucoma

In relationships, I’ve been told many times that I check off all the boxes (kind, compassionate, family-oriented, loyal, and so on). But the one box they never wanted in their life was chronic illness.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. I feel like the world we live in needs to understand that literally anyone can develop a chronic illness at any point in their life.

For me, my chronic illnesses started showing up in childhood. So, in some ways, I’ve had a lot of time to learn how to cope, adapt, and figure out what life looks like for me and of course I’m still working on it.

But I don’t think people always understand that chronic illness isn’t something that only happens to certain people. Mental health conditions can appear at any point in someone’s life. Accidents happen. Injuries happen. Illnesses happen. Bodies change. Life changes. Someone can wake up one day and suddenly find themselves navigating a reality they never imagined for themselves.

Not all chronic illnesses are the same, but the emotions that come with receiving a diagnosis and knowing it’s lifelong can be surprisingly similar: grief, fear, anger, uncertainty, loneliness, and the feeling that you have somehow become a burden to the people around you.

But you are not a burden.

You and your chronic illness are not baggage.

Your chronic illness is a bouquet you get to carry every day. Sometimes we carry it gracefully. Sometimes our flowers are blooming. Sometimes they’re wilting, and we’re just trying to make it through the day.

And when they wilt, we don’t throw the bouquet away. We refresh the water. We tend to the flowers. We give ourselves the care we need and try again tomorrow.

Your chronic illness does not make you less worthy of love. It does not make you less deserving of a relationship, a career, friendships, adventures, or a beautiful life.

It is a part of your story, but it is not the entirety of who you are.

And maybe, with time, we can stop seeing chronic illness as baggage someone else has to carry and start seeing it for what it really is: a bouquet we’ve learned how to carry.

Sometimes with grace. Sometimes with both hands. Sometimes with a little help from a friend.

But we carry it.

#MentalHealth #Depression #Fibromyalgia #Lupus #Uveitis #Blindness #Glaucoma #ChronicPain #Anxiety #AnkylosingSpondylitis #Arthritis #HypothyroidismUnderactiveThyroidDisease #HashimotosThyroiditis

Here it is early in the morning and I am thinking about stress, and stress triggering my immune diseases. I went to my dentist today and I asked about what the effects of micro plastics, specifically my year plus of wearing Invisalign braces, what effect that has on my auto immune system. “There aren’t any studies, so who knows,” was her response..Meanwhile, I keep thinking about triggers for autoimmune diseases, in my hyperactive autoimmune system. I think I should see an immunologist, to at least get a better understanding of it all..Also, should I be on an immunosuppressant since I have a sixth autoimmune disease diagnosis?! I’m also asking for some sound advice, from The Mighty collective. This is really bothering me..It’s making me sad and depressed. I keep thinking about my immune system attacking my body. It’s not suppose to work that hyper-vigilantly. #AutoimmuneDiseases #HashimotosThyroiditis #LichenSclerosus #Psoriasis #PsoriaticArthritis #Diabetes #lichenplanopilris #Depression

I went to a new Dermotologist yesterday, after waiting five months to get the visit! I thought the skin reaction on my head was due to scalp psoriasis, but because I’m not a doctor I was unsure. It turns out I have another auto immune disorder! A rare type of skin disease (scaring alopecia) known as Lichen planopilaris.
I started crying in the Dermatologist office! Damn stressful. I have several different autoimmune diseases now! Many of them are skin related. I pictured myself bald as a cue ball and I couldn’t help but cry..
The Dermotologist said I’d had it for a while because of the front hairline loss. It’s at the rate of about a 1/4 inch a year! I swear I just noticed the odd patchy redness on my scalp, and scales at the hair follicles back in May.
I thought it was perhaps stress related.? We moved to a new community in 2023, and we were doing so much construction daily on our home.
I also thought of the stress my daughter has created within me, by estranging us three years ago. (She has stage four cancer, so I have no idea.Her cancer is definitely part of her estrangement of me and her dad.)
According to the internet:
“While stress isn't the sole cause of lichen planopilaris (LPP), it is considered a potential trigger which can exasperate the condition..”
It helps me to be able to write about this. I’m trying to clarify my feelings and emotions regarding having yet another autoimmune disease.
I told my husband I felt like my body was eating me from the inside out!

My name’s Rudy (they/them). I’m a 24 year old queer person with endometriosis, autoimmune issues and C-PTSD. Would be wonderful to find some like-minded people who identify similarly to me and my diagnoses. If that could be you, pop me a message! :) #Endometriosis #PTSD #HashimotosThyroiditis

Stress. Food sensitivities. Hormonal shifts. Even old viruses.
Missing Claritin brings back the hives. Processed food drags me down.
Some triggers I can control, some I can’t — but every flare reminds me to listen closer to my body.
#HashimotosThyroiditis #MentalHealth #mighty

I’m a survivor of intimate partner violence and currently living with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, chronic migraines, and neck injuries. For a long time, I felt silenced — in relationship, in medical rooms, even in my own body. Writing has been a way for me to process, reclaim my voice, and connect with others who understand what it’s like to fight battles both seen and unseen.

I’m here to share, listen, and maybe find a little healing along the way. Thank you for having me. #PTSD #HashimotosThyroiditis #Migraine