“What is life like for people living with autoimmmune disease from day to day?”
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There are as many as 80 types of autoimmune disease and many of them have similiar symptoms which make them very difficult to diagnosed. But despite of our diagnosis, the most common symptoms among patients with autoimmune disease are chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and “brain fog”.
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Autoimmune and chronic fatigue go hand in hand. If you struggle with chronic fatigue - like I am, you’ve likely been in situation where you’re trying to express how you feel and a healthy person responds, “Yeah, I’m a bit tired, too. Hectic day, right?”. But the problem is our “tired” was a healthy person’s extreme mental and physical exhaustion. It’s not linear comparable.
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Pain is our daily companion, too. It is especially for people who also diagnosed with #Fibromyalgia . On a scale of 1-10, my daily pain level is between 3–4. During a flare up, the pain level increases to 7–8. Pain level of 7 and above are consider as “severe pain”. And it being said that pain level of 8 is comparable to childbirth or a real bad migraine headache.
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We also often complaining about “brain fog”. Brain fog isn't a medical condition itself. Brain fog is a general term for dysfunctions in focus, learning, and memory. This cognitive state can also make it difficult for us to remember and understand information or spoken language, focus on the task at hand, plan your day or for a task ahead, and so on.
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We’ve all had those moments from time to time if not everyday, and it is important to be your own health advocate if you’re experiencing this condition, because people should know what we’ve been going through a lot, not for their sympathy, but to raise awareness. Remember that you are not alone in effort to embrace this illness. So, don’t suffer in silence!
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#journalife #InvisibleIllness #BrainFog #ChronicFatigue #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #AutoimmuneDisease #autoimmunewarrior #readJL1