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Who else here is in their 20's?

M

maggie3

Messages
84
Are there many of you out there in your 20's??

I am in my mid 20's and I guess just am hoping to feel less alone in my own age bracket

Not that this disease is any more challenging for anyone of a certain age but I am really struggling mentally as all of my friends are traveling/starting careers/living carefree/moving etc.

Ive been told by many doctors that me/cfs disproportionately effects people who are a bit older and in "real life" the only people who I have been able to connect with who have me/cfs are much older than me.
 
Rebeccare

Rebeccare

Moose Enthusiast
Messages
9,066
Location
Massachusetts
Not anymore--I'm in my early 30's now! But I first became sick when I was 19, so I've been in your shoes. It was very lonely, and In some ways it was scary to see all of the things my friends were doing and think: "I'm not living. My life has ended before it's begun. I'm never going to have a life." I saw everyone heading towards bright futures, while mine looked like a big black hole.

One important thing to remember is that very few people are living as carefree as they appear (especially if they're appearing on social media!). Everyone has problems: emotional, financial, physical, etc. Those friends who have such wonderful vacations may be drowning in debt, and those who are moving or starting careers may be struggling with deep depression. You can't always see other people's problems. Some people may even see you on days when you're feeling good, only see how well you're functioning on the surface, and envy whatever life they think you have.

I spent a lot of time mourning my young adulthood. I still do. I wish I could have traveled, hiked, and adventured. I thought that when I got out of college my life would be like what I saw on TV shows like Friends. In the end I had to throw out the expectations of what I thought life would be like after college and create a life that worked for me. And I'm happy with my life most of the time, even though it's not what I had envisioned or wished for before I got sick.

It's not always easy on emotional level to build a life in the ruins of your expectations, and I'm fortunate enough to have friends nearby who have stuck with me and don't mind that my definition of a crazy night is getting pizza, baking brownies, and watching Project Runway together (although now that we're in our 30's most of my friends now share that definition!). I hope that your friends are supportive of you, and that you are able to figure out fun activities you are all able to do together, even when you're feeling ill.
 
JinZ

JinZ

Messages
96
Location
SoCal
maggie3 said:
Are there many of you out there in your 20's??

I am in my mid 20's and I guess just am hoping to feel less alone in my own age bracket

Not that this disease is any more challenging for anyone of a certain age but I am really struggling mentally as all of my friends are traveling/starting careers/living carefree/moving etc.

Ive been told by many doctors that me/cfs disproportionately effects people who are a bit older and in "real life" the only people who I have been able to connect with who have me/cfs are much older than me.
Click to expand...

I'm in my upper 20's. We're fortunate as there's been more news and progress relating to CFS ME compare to years ago.
 
sb4

sb4

Senior Member
Messages
1,661
Location
United Kingdom
28 here, started when I was 20. I have come to accept that I will be at least in my 30s before I can get back to working condition. It is rough but if we can get significantly better by early 30s we are still in with a shot of living a normal life.
 
JinZ

JinZ

Messages
96
Location
SoCal
sb4 said:
28 here, started when I was 20. I have come to accept that I will be at least in my 30s before I can get back to working condition. It is rough but if we can get significantly better by early 30s we are still in with a shot of living a normal life.
Click to expand...

I'm fortunate to be able to continue to struggle and work full time. Unfortunately that is literally my life, Sleep, Work, Nap, Eat, Sleep. Repeat. Would like a piece of normal life back anytime soon as well : ).
 
sb4

sb4

Senior Member
Messages
1,661
Location
United Kingdom
JinZ said:
I'm fortunate to be able to continue to struggle and work full time. Unfortunately that is literally my life, Sleep, Work, Nap, Eat, Sleep. Repeat. Would like a piece of normal life back anytime soon as well : ).
Click to expand...
Yeah that was me until I hit 25, I suppose what I meant to say was a healthy level such that this disease only affects your overall life mildly.
 
C

ChrisD

Senior Member
Messages
475
Location
East Sussex
Thanks ornament making this thread, I’ve been thinking about doing the same for a while.

Things started going wrong for me at around 24, then I got CFS/Fibro while still working at 25, then crashed into full ME mode at 26 and now I’m 28.

It’s really tough missing the best part of your 20s with this. I try to be really grateful for having an active teenage years and doing lots of cool stuff from 18-24 as others are not so lucky.

And I fully plan to get well and have an epic 30s
 
M

muso94

Messages
42
24 and fatigue with unknown cause, nobody can agree so probs CFS yep. Getting sick of not being able to hold a conversation without coming across as either slow or distractable or both...

And so sick of the resulting insecurities. Took me so long to realise this is one of the key reasons I struggle in social situations.
 
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M

muso94

Messages
42
ChrisD said:
\

And I fully plan to get well and have an epic 30s
Click to expand...

I love this plan and it is my plan too. I feel like this fatigue has been there and slowly started getting worse way back since end of high school.
I also love how I used to be the most motivated person despite everything because I love what I do, and all of a sudden when I couldn't push myself through the mud anymore I 'just need to motivate myself'.
 
S

S-VV

Senior Member
Messages
310
Jackb23 said:
What did you do to screw with it?
Click to expand...
Hahaha good question.
First I tried antibiotic herbs to get rid of SIBO. After I damaged my microbiome I took probiotics, which produced an inmunological reaction that triggered ME/CFS
 
C

casino_4

Messages
25
I'm 26, came down with CFS 2.5 years ago.

I struggle a lot with this too, I'm a student and although I am still able to study parttime, that is pretty much all I'm able to do. And I see all my friends partying, traveling, doing sports, and just enjoying life, all things that I miss a lot.

But I try to tell myself that within now and 5 years I will be healthy again (although there are days where I heavily doubt this), so I just have to sit through this, and like was said before, catch up with life in my 30s.

Let's hope!
 
JinZ

JinZ

Messages
96
Location
SoCal
casino_4 said:
I'm 26, came down with CFS 2.5 years ago.

I struggle a lot with this too, I'm a student and although I am still able to study parttime, that is pretty much all I'm able to do. And I see all my friends partying, traveling, doing sports, and just enjoying life, all things that I miss a lot.

But I try to tell myself that within now and 5 years I will be healthy again (although there are days where I heavily doubt this), so I just have to sit through this, and like was said before, catch up with life in my 30s.

Let's hope!
Click to expand...

To be completely honest, I just don't think about the future or past that much. It'll start getting depressing real quick at least for me.
 
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