“People Have No Idea”: 70 Medical Issues That Ruin People’s Lives

High-functioning, high masking autism; what used to be called Asperger’s. Behind the masking and the functioning, a lot of very difficult stuff is happening behind the scenes and in private.

OCD is joked about a lot but it’s absolutely debilitating if you actually have it.

alittlepixie:

OCD. My OCD is debilitating and takes over every avenue of my life. People think of it as perfectionism/tidiness while I'm fighting with myself to not get out of the shower to make sure my door is locked for the third time.

Anemia and iron deficiency. Freezing cold, exhausted, fainting, light-headed, depersonalization, cold-sweats, etc.

I hate to complain but rosacea can be so annoying. It can be painful and embarrassing. It’s hard to be outgoing when my face can get red at a moments notice. And then the comments- “why is your face so red?” So it gets redder.

Autoimmune diseases. Chrons and Ulcerative Colitis. It’s not just what the ads mention. Theres so much more it affects, like your joints, the extreme fatigue, the vitamin deficiencies…it goes on and on. The constant scopes and biopsies and medications and side effects, ER visits and hospitalizations. Your entire body is affected, and you can’t eat normally. Even thinking about eating at a restaurant is a massive accomplishment at this point.

I have long covid. I dont think people understand or take this seriously. It is far worse than my covid was and has altered my life and future in very negative ways. I don't tell people though because they dismiss it.

**Anything that messes with sleep** _mild sleep apnea, chronic pain, allergies, reflux.
On paper it sounds “manageable.” In real life it slowly wrecks your energy, memory, patience, productivity, and mental health. You don’t notice it all at once… until you’re burned out and don’t know why.

Epilepsy. Even if seizures are controlled by medication, most of those medications have heavy side effects.

Vertigo. I fell down two flights of stairs, and as a person who did public speaking for a living, had more than one instance of gripping a podium for dear life and hoping no one noticed that to me, it felt like the room was spinning while the floor was buckling.

Narcolepsy. "Well maybe if you got a good night's sleep you wouldn't fall asleep all the time" or "is that like where you'll fall asleep in your soup?" Or my personal favorite, "why do you go sleep in your car at lunch?" "Because if I don't choose when I sleep, my body will and it often picks a REALLY bad time to do so...".

Sleep apnea.

No, it’s not just something that makes you snore.

Your airway collapses and you *stop breathing* repeatedly throughout the night. Your body gets less oxygen and you get little to no REM sleep every night.

This has a snow ball effect on all aspects of your health and everyday life; far more than the most obvious symptom of a total and debilitating lack of energy (because you don’t get any REM sleep).

Sleep is SO important. If you think you may have sleep apnea, talk with your doctor. Sleep tests are very easy: they’re done at your own home and just involve a finger tip sensor.

Keratoconus.

It’s the thinning of the cornea which causes the eye to become slightly pointed, sounds very minor.

Vision slowly degrades over time and nothing can fix it. it’s basically astigmatism on steroids. It’s soo bad that reading a computer screen becomes hard as letters can overlap. And glasses can’t help it.

I had an operation done called Corneal Cross linking. And as my university had never heard of it and as I didn’t have to stay in hospital overnight. They just assumed it was minor. I was in intense pain and couldn’t look at my computer yet still had to make a presentation.

It’s got to the point now that if I want to see anything outside with no pain. I have to use eye drops (dry eyes are a side effect of the condition) and sunglasses so the light of the sun doesn’t make my vision blurry white.

I’ve mentioned it before but Trigeminal Neuralgia. It’s brutal and not as understood as it should be.

OMG! This one is finally for me.

Being urinary incontinent and having to wear diapers 24/7 as an adult. Over the years, Ive gotten used to it. But still impacts my daily life.

Fibromyalgia. Many practitioners have told me it's a "trash can diagnosis" for when nobody knows exactly what's wrong. And I agree. But whatever is going on, it is devastating as far as day-to-day functionality.

Geanois:

This isn‘t „just pain“. It‘s your body going completely haywire, usually coming with lots of comorbidities and flare ups which come and go as they please. You never know how long the flare will last. My current one started after a severe erisypelas in July 2025 and is still going on, hitting the pain scale at 8 to 10+.

SHINGLES. I had no idea until it happened to me.

bad_goblin:

Worst pain of my life!!!

Menopause/having any low estrogen symptoms. Absolute hell, and not just because of the hot flashes.

Also pregnancy and childbirth. Sure, billions of women have done it, but that still doesn't mean it isn't life-threatening and often absolute misery.

“Bad knees.” I’m in my late 30s with osteoarthritis. I had two knee replacements in three months last year. Before my first knee replacement, I had to rely on my husband’s help just to step down from curbs. I look fine but have had to give up so many things, much much sooner than I ever thought. Eventually I’ll be able to walk, swim, and bike without much pain, but right now physical therapy is hard and I feel like I’m 85 years old every time I get out of bed or need help standing up from a chair. I don’t have it that bad and I am extremely fortunate to have a great surgeon and a wonderful physical therapist, but it just weighs on me a lot.

Ear pain and gastritis.