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Chronic Illness

The Difficulty of Weight Change Caused by Chronic Illness

by Joanna No Banana July 18, 2020

Chronic illnesses can affect the body in an extremely wide range of ways, but the one that seems to get a lot of attention is weight…

Chronic illnesses can affect the body in an extremely wide range of ways, but the one that seems to get a lot of attention is weight changes. Weight loss and weight gain can severely impact not only the way that we view ourselves but also how others perceive us. When someone’s weight changes due to their chronic illness, it’s very likely that their weight is not within their control. Medicine, birth control, restricted diets, and much more are linked into this complicated situation. Something to note is that this is a common experience for those with chronic illnesses. Whether you lost or gained weight outside of your control, it’s a difficult experience, especially when those around you react in certain manners.

Personally, my chronic illnesses have caused me to lose weight. My mast cell activation syndrome heavily crossed out many foods on my safety list. I have allergic reactions to most foods. My histamine intolerance further decreased that list. My SIBO makes it difficult to even drink water sometimes. My weight loss isn’t pretty or inspirational. It’s a lot of pain, both physical and emotional. It’s being proud that I was able to eat something without any reactions but then my stomach wanting to throw up. It’s eating food that should be safe, but then having an allergic reaction. It’s not being able to go to any restaurants due to airborne reactions that can put me in a flare for a week or even longer. As someone who has dealt with an unhealthy relationship with food in the past, this experience has been extremely emotionally triggering. Those old disordered thoughts of “not being worthy of food” creep their way back into my mind. So when I have someone point out my weight loss, especially as an accomplishment, you can only imagine how much it further allows my mind to creep into that narrative. Whenever this happens, especially if someone knows that I’m sick, it feels as if they’re saying that my worth as a slimmer figure is better than the much healthier body that I used to have. In my heart, I try to explain to myself that’s not the case, but it still hurts. It’s a struggle for me to keep my weight up. It’s a struggle to not faint from lack of calories. I’m trying my best every single day to help my body thrive as much as it can. My chronic illnesses that cause my weight loss aren’t “lucky” or something to be desired. It’s a constant physically and emotionally straining struggle.

For those who gain weight due to their chronic illness, they’re also treated in a way that hurts them. Pointing out something that they can’t control, especially talking about it in a negative manner, is extremely damaging. I took certain medications that I needed to be able to function at all. Guess what? I gained weight daily from them no matter how little I ate. That’s just how some bodies respond to certain medicines. Stop pointing out what you think is wrong about someone else’s body. Even if you’re not doing it to be inherently rude, it’s still likely to come across in a harmful manner. Not everyone is able to follow some sort of weight loss plan, especially when chronic illnesses are involved.

A lot of people deal with chronic illnesses that affect their weight and other aspects of their appearance as well. Weight is an extremely sensitive topic for many people. Calling those whose bodies are forced to lose weight as “lucky” or those whose bodies are forced to gain weight as “not trying hard enough” promotes extremely problematic ideas about the worth of human beings equating to how slim they can become. Your weight doesn’t determine your value. In general, especially when you don’t know the person extremely well, it’s best to not point out changes about their bodies. Allow people to embrace their bodies as you never really know what someone else is going through.

July 18, 2020 1 comment
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What small victory would you like to celebrate? 💛

No small victory is too small!

It's so important for us in the chronic illness community to cheer each other on when we complete tasks or try to complete tasks which may seem overly easy to those outside our community.

We know how difficult seemingly small victories can be to achieve.

Whatever your victory might be, I'm rooting for you! 🥰

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Celebrate your wins no matter how small they may s Celebrate your wins no matter how small they may seem to other people! 💛

It’s advice I give so often to others yet forget to take myself most of the time.

So hi, this is me celebrating going outside. Something that’s difficult for me to do both physically and mentally.

What would you like us to celebrate that you did? Comment below! No win is too small for us to celebrate! 💛

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Double tap if you can relate! 💛 Chronic illnes Double tap if you can relate! 💛

Chronic illness affects the way we exist in this world.

Some of our past dreams are so inaccessible to us that we are forced to let them go. 

Other dreams can still be pursued with accommodations, but that's not usually as simple as it sounds.

Something I've had to pursue with accommodations is exercise. All three of the trifecta (MCAS, EDS, and POTS) play big roles in how I can and can't safely move my body. I'm excited to start exercising more again and share that process with you. 

One big dream for me is to get back into boxing. I know my wrists can't handle it now as my joints are too unsteady but that's a dream I'm slowly working towards. I'm hoping to get my EDS under control with exercise, Vitamin C, and whatever else I can do to help it.

What dreams have changed for you? (Can be in terms of loss or any other changes) Comment below! 💛

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What makes the biggest difference for you in terms What makes the biggest difference for you in terms of managing your POTS (or other forms of Dysautonomia)? 💛

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Having the same chronic illness as someone else ca Having the same chronic illness as someone else can be an opportunity to connect with someone who experiences similar struggles, such as similar symptoms, which is extremely helpful in feeling less alone in our struggles with chronic illness.

That being said, there will likely still be some differences as everyone is a unique individual on their own path. 

Some people will have certain comorbidities. Others won't.

Some people will have support from a partner, family, and/or friends. Others won't.

Some people will have good insurance which allows them to see proper doctors and get their medicine for a fair price. Others won't.

Even the way in which that chronic illness two people have in common can vary in terms of the symptoms themselves and how they affect the daily living of both individuals.

That's why it's so important to not compare our chronic illness / health with others!

All you can do is to do your best, learn from each other, and help each other out however we can. 💛

Remember that social media is mostly a highlight reel for the strong majority of people. 

Personally, even as someone who tries to showcase both the highs and lows, it's oftentimes difficult to showcase the lows at that moment due to other things taking priority in those moments. 

Also some symptoms can be really traumatizing so I don't showcase certain symptoms (such as throat closing due to anaphylaxis) because I don't want to traumatize others. If I was to ever showcase anything like that for educational reasons, I would make sure that it had proper warnings.

It's not easy to show an accurate representation of highs and lows, but we all try to do our best to speak our truth. 💛

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Double tap if you can relate! In what way do you Double tap if you can relate! 

In what way do you experience grief in terms of your chronic illness? Comment below!

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Which of these flavors do you want to try out the most? Comment below!

For this recipe, I simmered Daring’s 100% plant chicken (Original flavor) in olive oil.

Then I added a heavy hand of taco seasoning.

After that, it’s just putting all the ingredients together! Shredded lettuce, cheese, and sour cream on a gluten free flour tortilla. (You can also substitute the butter, cheese, and sour cream for non-dairy versions if you want a fully dairy-free meal!)

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Happy Valentine's Day! ❤️ I hope your symptom Happy Valentine's Day! ❤️

I hope your symptoms are at your baseline or even lower if possible. I hope you're having a lovely day! ❤️

If that's not the case, as it often tends to be during holidays and special occasions, I hope you find a way to celebrate whatever Valentine's Day means to you in a way that's accessible for you and fills your heart with love and joy! ❤️

I used to get so upset when my body didn't cooperate with my plans, especially on some sort of special occasion, but I've learned to just celebrate when I can. 

The holidays that last for a day for most people last a month for me! (One of the fun things is to find all the sales while I'm still celebrating after the day when everyone else celebrated already.)

I encourage you to join me in celebrating V-Day all month long! ❤️

How would you like to celebrate the Valentine's Day season this year? Comment below!

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Celebrating Valentine's Day season with some nut-f Celebrating Valentine's Day season with some nut-free chocolates from @vermontnutfree ❤️🍫

With tree nut allergies, it can be extremely difficult to find chocolates which are fully nut free (including not made in a facility that processes tree nuts.) However, @vermontnutfree offers a very wide variety of tree nut and peanut free chocolates! 

These chocolates are also absolutely delicious! 😋

Thank you so much to @vermontnutfree for sending over some delicious samples! #Gifted

What's your favorite product from Vermont Nut Free? Let me know! 🥰

If you haven't tried it yet, which products would you like to try? Comment below! ❤️

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Life with chronic illness tends to be unpredictabl Life with chronic illness tends to be unpredictable. 

It's difficult to know what we will have the resources to do in the very near future so planning ahead is oftentimes overwhelming.

Personally, the way I go about solving this problem as much as I can is by being extremely flexible with my plans in terms of timing, what I will do, how much of it I can do, etc. I set small goals first. If I reach them, I might go for more. If I don't reach the small goals, I'll likely try again in the future especially if it's something important to me.

How do you manage to deal with the unpredictability of chronic illness? Comment below! 💛

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About Me

About Me

My name is Joanna. I’m a 24-year-old chronically ill and disabled blogger whose goal is to help build our wonderful community.

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    Imposter Syndrome: Dynamic Disability Edition

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    The Difficulty of Weight Change Caused by Chronic Illness

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