There’s a tipping point. It’s the moment when you feel something odd in your body and just assume that it’s related to your chronic health condition. Before the tipping point you question what it could be. But after that point, you just assume.
Of course, sometimes it’s a medical problem that has nothing to do with a chronic illness, like an injury or the cold that’s been going around.
But sometimes it isn’t medical at all. And then don’t we feel a bit silly? It’s a good reminder, though, that not every odd bodily feeling is part of a chronic illness.
The other day I was really cold. My body doesn’t adjust to temperature changes well. I also have Raynaud’s, and my hands were very white with tinges of blue. I was starting to feel lethargic. For a while I wondered what I had done to stress my thyroid or adrenal glands. But eventually I noticed that my radiators were cold. I checked the temperature in my apartment and it had dropped. I emailed my landlord and, sure enough, there was a problem with the heat that they were working to fix. Huh. I was looking for thyroid and adrenal triggers and it was really a busted boiler. Oops!
Sometimes my vision gets blurry. I used to always worry about what could be causing it. All sorts of terrible scenarios would run through my head and I’d be very nervous. Now I know better and I immediately check the two most likely culprits: it’s always either a smudge on my glasses, or I forgot to switch my reading and distance glasses when I walked away from the computer. Oops!
What about you? Have you thought you were having some horrible symptoms only to find out that it was something completely benign and non-medical, like a smudge on my glasses? Please share in the comments! I think we could all use a little comic relief and the reminder that not all “symptoms” are medical.
Chronic Rants 
I used to wake up in a pool of sweat in the middle of the night – I figured it was related to my ulcerative colitis somehow. My husband and I have separate rooms due to his snoring and my illness. Came to find out that he was turning the heat up after I went to bed because he’s very thin and refuses to put extra blankets on his bed. Now, I just shut the heating vent in my room, wear lighter jammies, and use less bed covers. Problem solved for both of us.
Oh no! That’s funny now, but I’m sure it wasn’t at the time. I’m glad you got it figured out!
I could have figured it out sooner, but he also gets up earlier than I do, and he would turn it back down again. Sneaky devil.
Oooh, very sneaky indeed!