People always comment on my clothes, my hair, my makeup, my shoes, etc. How I always look put together and presentable. No one can guess I’m sick and that’s my exact goal! It may seem silly, but for me, its important for people to see ME and not my sickness. The first time I meet someone, I want them to notice the small things, like how I always smile. Or the fact my eyes are a funky color. Not the fact my hair is falling out, I’m missing parts of my eyebrows, and my body is covered in bruises. “You don’t look sick” is what I hear all the time and that is GREAT! Who wants to look sick?!?!
“You don’t look sick”
This disease controls so much of my life from the gazillion doctors to the fact I can’t eat my favorite foods. It has even taken away a lot of my favorite activities! Every where I go, and everything I do I have to be careful not to over do it, think about germs, and make sure I get rest. That is not the most fun at all! I need some control to be in my own hands, and making sure people can’t tell I’m sick, is something I can control! That allows me to tell people when I’m ready, and if I don’t want people to know, that choice belongs to me too! When I’m having a bad day, the last thing I want is pity so I normally keep it to myself. Sure my hair and makeup look great and I’m rocking new clothes, but underneath that I’m miserable and in pain. But for a few minutes, I’m able to forget the pain. I can pretend I’m normal when people treat me like I’m normal! I can’t stand when everyone looks at me with pity and expects me to explain in front of all my friends how horrible I feel. That’s not me!! I know it’s important to share, but it has to be on my terms. I don’t want everything the defines who I am as a person, to know define a person with a disease.
This isn’t temporary, but something I have to live with for the rest of my life. That is what many people do not understand about an autoimmune disease is that there is NO cure, NO getting better, NO remission, NO end in sight! This is a lifelong disease that causes many people to become severely depressed on top of being very ill because it’s a miserable way to live, being sick EVERY day. Most days are bad, but others are just downright scary and you pray you will make it through the night. At only 29, and with 3 young kids under the age of 6, I prayed that many nights. It caused major anxiety!
Weird and alarming symptoms come out of no where, especially on your few and far between “good” days. A check in at the doctor turns into hours and lots of tests. This is my new normal and what I have to endure for the rest of my life. Autoimmune diseases are not temporary, there is no cure, and for most people they just get worse over time and you get MORE autoimmune disease. It’s one of the top ten leading causes of death, and yet there is hardly any knowledge, research, or attention brought to it.
So yes, my hair and makeup are always done these days, even when I’m super tired. No, I’m not shallow or high maintenance. I’m just a person fighting a disease that is destroying my life and trying to find the person I use to be before I got sick. I want THAT person to be the one the world sees first!
How do you do it im in the same place has you but those most days i cant get myself to do my hair and makeup so people get me with hair in ponytail and no makeup yes they get cheerful and smiling happy me cause i don’t know how not to be that way in front of people otherwise.but to get up the strength to shower and do my self up probally would help me in a world of good but after showering im in so much pain cotos to u with those young kids mine are grown and out the house and still cant get myself to do it
Hi Patricia! I totally get it! I have a few tricks to help me. I take a shower the night before because If I have too much to do in the same day, I’m exhausted before the day has begun ha! I also do a 5 minute makeup routine. And a lot of times I sit down on my bed while I do that, or I also have a chair in the bathroom. Dry shampoo has also been a huge help as it allows me to just do my hair twice a week….sometimes once as I wear hats lol. Hope this helps and remember you are fighting your body so that in itself is a lot of work! Hugs to you!!
You are pretty awesome Dana. I dont think I would be as strong as you had I been in the same situation. I have hashimoto’s and to top it off I am severely ADHD. My youngest has a severe allergy to dustmites and due to this she breaks out in hives and as a result, she lives with raw skin. She looks like a hairless cat! Its horrible. No matter what I do, it never goes away. I spend countless hours wrapping her in wet wraps, ointments, creams, lotions, but nothing stops it from itching. I say all of this to let you know that I understand. Her face is clear and that’s about it. So she wears really cute bows and clothes that cover her from head to toe. You wouldnt even know her skin was on fire! No one sees the piles of skin I sweep up daily from her scratching. Or the countless doctor visits where I’ve had to hold her down while they prick her 52 times. Or the endless nights where I have to hold her arms down while i rock her to sleep so she doesnt scratch. I dont want people to see that so I work hard to make her look as normal as possible. I thank you for sharing your story. It helps to know your not alone. I 😏😊
Savannah, that is so hard!!! We went through that with my son. We went all non toxic and started working on his gut health and it helped a lot. Feel free to email me if you want to chat!