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sensibleLion2304
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PathStep 17 Compassion hearts39 Forum posts5 Forum upvotes18 Current upvotes18 Age GroupAdult Last activeOctober, 2025 Member sinceSeptember 19, 2025
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Coping with chronic pain and Disability
Disability Support / by sensibleLion2304
Last post
 November 5th, 2025
...See more Hello All, I am new here and want to share my story, so if anyone else is dealing with something similar, they won't feel so alone. I am a 30 year old female who has been attempting to find answers to my many medical issues since I was 14. It started with lower back and knee pain, and gradually over the years has turned into widespread muscle and nerve pain. Since I was so young when I started having these issues, it was chalked up to "growing pains" and was dismissed by doctors until I was 17 and had slipped a disc so badly in my lower back that it rendered me unable to walk for weeks (I literally had to crawl everywhere) and the parental units refused to take me in to see a doctor due to me "just wanting attention". My back eventually healed as well as it could on its own, but I continued to fall into a depression while attempting to find anyone who would help without dismissing me. The depression became so bad that when I was 19, I did try to end everything by overdosing on my Anti-anxiety medication. I did not get medical assistance for that either due to the same issues with my parents. Not getting treatment for this has ended up in me suffering from drug induced epilepsy. Since that day, I chose to advocate for myself. I fought for answers and finally was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis around 5 years ago, and recently have also been diagnosed with chronic Fatigue syndrome, and Fibromyalgia, and Peripheral Neuropathy. It has been a very long and enduring struggle, but I eventually got the answers I was looking for.  If you are also struggling right now, please know that I understand what you are going through, and you will get there eventually. Please know that it is just a short period in your life. My advice is to advocate for yourself, especially if those around you doubt the issues you face, or don't understand what you are going through.  It WILL get better. 💗
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