DAY 5
Having COPD at 24 is really hard.. It makes me feel so isolated. No one my age really understands why I have a hard time going out or doing everyday activities. Just a walk around the block can have me hunched over trying to catch my breath as if I had just ran a mile. I try to explain by saying it always feels like I need to take a deep breath or to catch my breath but I just can not do it no matter how hard I try. It's frustrating, I always feel so tired and worn down.
Day 1
my name is Jess, full time single mom and a full time college student on her way to becoming a doctor. I have hypermobility ehlers-danlos syndrome, a rare connective tissue disorder. I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia which some research suggest is just another sub type of ehlers danlos syndrome. I also may have some other things going on so I have brain and cervical spine MRIs in two days 😰
@Weepingwillow14 Hello as someone else with EDS III (and of course symptoms of fibro)!! Good luck with your MRIs. They can be so continious and grueling when you have EDS... Hopefully they reveal some useful information that can help you relieve some of your symptoms. 
Day 2
how has EDS and fibro affected my life
well I can't do what I used to be able to do because everything is just getting worse. I'm a 22 year old in a 50 year old body...I have arthritis all over, my joints constantly literally just fall out my head is too heavy and shit I could go on. I used to be a gymnast, a star dancer, a competive cheer leader. I'm small but I had/have A LOT of endurance and strength. But now I can't dance anymore. I can barely keep up with my toddler. It's destroying me...to not be able to dance anymore is the most devastating feeling I've ever have felt. My body is not my own, I am not the true me, my body won't allow it
Day 3
after I graduated high school I started trying to get a hold of my health. I made appointments with the OBGYN for the cysts and a Rhume for my knee and joint pain/loose joints. He diagnosed me with hypermobility-ehlers-danlos syndrome but I was also at a dark place in life and didn't take it seriously. I partied instead which lead to my friend raping me which led to me meeting a gang biker criminal who lied and said he was a marine to get me close which turned into 1 1/2 years of sexual and physical abuse and rape and also the both of my amazing son. Here I am today a million times worse and I can feel it just getting worse everyday. But at least now I am seeing specialists and getting the proper tests and care
@Weepingwillow14 Wow. I'm so sorry. That's so much to go through. Unimaginable. I wish you the very best and hope life somehow treats you better now. 
Day 7;
I would say the vast amount of doctors and nurses who haven't heard of POTs (what did they study in uni?!) and also how close minded people can be about chronic, invisible illnesses.
Day 29
What helps me cope with the stress of my lifestyle and the drastic changes I made to it are
- thinking about how much better off I am: before I really was just going through the motions and I was pretty disconnected because of how exhausted and sick I was.
- the support of my husband: it really helps that when I start thinking about possibly working or doing more that he encourages me to take it easy and just start small. He knows me well and he can see when I start to have a few good days I really want to run with it and start thinking about doing big things. He softens that blow of when the bad times hit by not letting me run with those big thoughts too much.
Day 8;
I would like to be in the career I want to be in and hopefully my health would be stable, not any worse.
My name is christina I have asthma, allergies primarily but also have seizures and tachycardia. Most of my problems didn't start until age 7 and 12 i also have chronic pain and chronic hives.
@placidPineapple63
Yikes, that's a lot to go through! Sounds just like what people I know with mast-cell diseases experience. Good luck and hoping the best for you!
Day 5 (a bit late, but oh well): How does your chronic illness make you feel?
Physically, my illnesses make me feel very ill, fatigued, and very painful at times. Emotionally, I generally handle them alright; however, I do have days where it cruches me to know I have these problems that I can't help and very few understand. I feel like I'm always making excuses though I realize there's not really anything I can do. I realize it's not my fault, but I am still saturated with guilt.
Day 9;
Not really. I've tried yoga and meditation but I just stick to the medications I'm given as they usually do the trick.
