[hautemess]

Getting more depressed while struggling with my chronic illness. I'm trying to stay positive about getting better but I feel like my body is betraying me. I feel broken and maybe worthless.

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[brkn2ice]

Originally Posted by hautemess

Getting more depressed while struggling with my chronic illness. I'm trying to stay positive about getting better but I feel like my body is betraying me. I feel broken and maybe worthless.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well. Not sure what you mean as to what the chronic illness is but I can relate to always feeling bad and wondering if there will ever be an end to the sadness and pain and a start to a new happy beginning . I have seen through the dark many times to know you will eventually see the light at the end of the tunnel .

[Fizzyo]

Originally Posted by hautemess

Getting more depressed while struggling with my chronic illness. I'm trying to stay positive about getting better but I feel like my body is betraying me. I feel broken and maybe worthless.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Hautmess,

I'm sorry you're struggling with long term health problems.
I too have a couple of long term conditions which limit me physically and cause pain.

I can relate to your sense that your body is betraying you.
My conditions will not go away, I have to manage my body daily and think about how I do everything.Sometimes I feel as if it punishes me for a lapse in discipline or attention.

I hope you can make peace with your body in some way (as I strive to do with mine) so you can have energy to look after your mind too.

[A Mothers Heartache]

Dear Chronic. Here is what I've learned I'm an epileptic and my spine is crumbling. they say I will be in a wheelchair in less than 7 years. I suffer from {now mild} depression which use to be exceedingly bad coupled with anxiety. After my sister died I was hit with paranoia concerning death. I use to be all doom and gloom. Until one day I was thinking and I remembered where I use to work as a night shift manager for people who had what they call developmentally disability. That meant that their brains didn't function well. One of my clients was a paraplegic. This paraplegic use to take a pencil in his teeth and draw some of the most beautiful pictures I'd ever seen. Please remember, he had NO mobility. Each line he drew, the shading and highlights, everything took him an excruciatingly long time to do. But he did it all by using his teeth, his tongue and his lips. Absolutely unbelievable wouldn't you say? But I'm telling you the truth. What I'm about to tell you may seem as though I have no sympathy for you whatsoever. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, there are those who have it far worse than we do and yet, like my client, they kept fighting the good fight, and kept winning. Please try to find that something that will help you to continue to fight the good fight and win. Your chronic illness may never go away like mine but what we can do is try to focus less on that and more on what joy we can find within us and around us. Somehow, our pain both mental and physical as well as emotional somehow seems less more often than not. My client from the past gave me hope for the future. My hope for you is that you can find the same. Best wishes. ~D~

[convalescence]

Hautemess, I have been there before. I'm managing better now, even with this "flare up." You are not worthless. I don't know what you have, but it's never your fault for what your body is doing to you. Never ever put the burden on yourself. It's hard not to, but it's possible. Nobody asks to be sick.

I hope that you find the strength to fight this!

[Marla500]

I wish I had some specific advice, but I am just starting to experience this to a degree myself. At least know you are not aloneI hope you will find a way to feel better soon

[dexter]

So sorry you are going through this hautemess. I have several chronic illnesses since childhood and it was a new one cropping up around 2005 that was a contributing factor in my onset of depression... I developed arthritis that severely limited my ability to enjoy my hobbies and the things I love.

Chronic illness can lead to depression and I also believe that depression can impact the body's ability to heal itself. My chronic illnesses are all immune-system related and therefore stress related so it can be a vicious cycle.

Wishing you relief from both your illness and your depression. Any source of help you can find with one is sure to help you deal with the other, so I hope you can find some solutions.

[Fizzyo]

❤️

[Fuzzybear]

[EnglishDave]

Originally Posted by hautemess

Getting more depressed while struggling with my chronic illness. I'm trying to stay positive about getting better but I feel like my body is betraying me. I feel broken and maybe worthless.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can understand your Depression, having to deal with recovery from as rare and serious a condition as Guillanne-Barre Syndrome. Did you ever get a dx as to the cause of your infection?

I have read up on Prognosis, and it does depend on so many factors relating to the severity of the original illness, but I am hoping you are in the category that will see a marked improvement between 6 and 12 months.

In the meantime, do see your GP regarding possible treatments - Therapy, meds or a combination - and come here for immediate support and advice.

Dave.

[Fizzyo]

Hautemess,

Did I gather correctly from the previous post that your illness is Guillain-Barré syndrome?

I used to work as a physio, (physical therapist in American English) specialising in Neurology. I have worked with a few people with Guillain-Barré syndrome, (we had a cluster of people affected in our area). Its a most terrifying illnesses!

The prognosis is generally good, even though fatigue and other factors can set you back temporarily (you probably know all this so apologies if you do).

Many if not most people make a full recovery, though it can take months, sometimes stretching into a year or, for a few unlucky ones, a bit longer. Some people find that long term their coordination or fine motor skills and not quite as sharp as they were, due to the way the nerves remyelinate themselves, but this doesn't stop them leading almost as active life as they had before, maybe less sporting prowess and a tendency to fatigue, and a few do slightly less well longer term.
All the people I saw got back to walking (and I only saw them at an early stage while still in hospital). The one who did a little less well had a rare variant of the syndrome.

If you are not seeing a physical therapist and you feel you are not progressing as well as you should, it may be worth getting a review from one who specialises in neurological conditions and s/he will be able to guide you how to get the best recovery and prevent complications. They will have a better idea than a general doctor.

In the uk, a specialist physio will often monitor someone's recovery, and treat them when necessary for months after they have gone home from hospital, until they have made their recovery.

This is an extremely frustrating time for you, especially if your recovery is slower than you had hoped. I really hope you find you gradually take more steps forward and fewer backwards as time goes on.

I wish you the very best of luck.

Originally Posted by hautemess

Getting more depressed while struggling with my chronic illness. I'm trying to stay positive about getting better but I feel like my body is betraying me. I feel broken and maybe worthless.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes it sucks when your body betrays you, but it's unfortunately something we have to deal with, either in old age or earlier. Try to find something you can do that brings you joy or relief of some sort and find meaning in that. We all have value and that doesn't change when our bodies are broken.

[EnglishDave]

Yes Fizzyo, Hautemess is recovering from GBS.

I always have a quick scan of people's Profile, especially if they are new, before answering Posts in case I can glean relevant information or insights.

Dave.