People With Autoimmune Diseases | Can Ask Meh?

You look normal. Are you really sick? Can you be cured? Should I pity you?

These are some of the questions that people with autoimmune diseases answer on this episode of ‘Can Ask Meh?’.

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[MISSpiggiie]

"I don't really like being pitied, but I prefer being pitied rather than having my problems brushed off. Because at least if you pity me, it means you feel sympathy for me. So you understand that I am going through something that is a bit bigger than what other kids my age go through."

I love her maturity and depth :')

[idiotstupidboy]

Sometimes I re-watched a lot of these "Can Ask Meh?" videos to reflect on my life and be thankful for many things that I take for granted

[XxNekoxX]

Joanne is such a sweet lady. I love how cheery she is and her desire to help the less fortunate. 😭

[nic]

Having autoimmune disease makes it a daily mental struggle against feelings of inadequacy and envy toward peers. So glad to be able to have some light shed on such conditions! Thank you :)

[franzsee]

Thanks for giving us autoimmune illness sufferers some air time... Hopefully this goes towards building more awareness.

[PollyannaShuminLIU]

Surprised yet happy to see that you chose a male representative for SLE. Since this is already a rare disease and it's more commonly seen on female than male, it could be even harder for guys to accept and get through it. Full respect for standing up and speaking for the rare of the rare.

[rachelchan]

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when I was 14. Having an automimmune disease really takes a toll on your mental health, and it’s a long journey till they actually find a drug that will help to keep your symptoms under control (remission period). It took me 5 years till things have stabilised that i’m actually not relapsing anymore (21 y/o now). Multiple times during flare-ups I questioned myself why did it have to be me and also thought of dying regularly (the stomach cramps were insane and I run to the toilet 7-8 times a day), but on the outside nobody knows what I’m going through hahaha I just look like a lazy person who falls asleep more in class (chronic fatigue from diarrhoea). Now I’m in a happy relationship and my illness is quite well-controlled and I’m glad that my partner accepts me for who I am. I’ve voiced to him multiple worries of what if I flare up next time cos honestly for us ppl with these diseases we never know when it will strike again and that i’ll be such of a burden hahahah. Oh wells just living in the present right now, glad that life has been good to me for the past 2 years. Thank you for shedding light on people with these diseases because we just suffer so silently and people just brush it off as us being lazy :’) For others out there with autoimmune diseases jiayous❤️

[priyarewa]

I have hashimoto disease. Since young I had goitre and it did affect my physical appearance. The turning point came, when I wanted to settle down but could not find any suitable partners. Years passed and I met my husband who is a medical practitioner. He understood my condition, accepted me and took really good care of me especially when I was pregnant. I feel blessed.
Joanne is so positive and I see myself in her. You just have to keep going and yes! we are no less capable than any normal person. In fact, most of us are better. It is all in your mind.

[TanshiKhaitan]

"You look normal, are you really sick?"
The saddest question one could ask a person suffering from an autoimmune disease.
I myself an ITP patient can confirm that.
I feel like breaking people's faces when they ask that or comment about my facial hair/hair loss/weight gain due to medications.
Be kind to people. You never know what they are going through.🙂

[guanguanpudding]

"I feel like everyone thinks having a transplant is a cure-all but they don't realised that a transplant is the option the doctor only gives when you've reached end-stage. Like when it is really bad enough that nothing else will work."

I can relate to this on so many levels. I do not have any autoimmune disease but my cornea was seriously infected and was under treatments for 2 years. My cornea right now is perfectly free from infection, but there is a scar on my cornea that has blurred my vision. The hope that doctor gave during previous sessions crushed during the last check up as the doctor said there is nothing else they can do and advice me to go for a cornea transplant. I was stunned and my mind went blank as I recalled when I was first diagnosed with this, my doctor has listed out several treatments and it expected result, with a slight chance of worst case scenario, which is to go for transplant for it to just HAVE A CHANCE to be fully recovered. Can you imagine how scary is that when the worst case scenario that you have worked hard to try to avoid from it has became your only option right now?

[zuoannchan]

Thank you OGS for providing this platform for allowing our voices to be heard.I believe not many know what autoimmune disease is all about. I hope I can play my part in creating awareness that we may be the rare, the silent suffers but we are the strong fighters! Life can be beautiful for everyone, appreciate/cherish what you have.

[stephanie]

rheumatoid arthritis gang gang anyone? I was diagnosed 2 years ago. The thing about autoimmune diseases is that no one can visibly see what you’re going through, but the pain you feel serves as a constant reminder.

This was comforting to watch, thank u OGS for bringing more awareness💜

[skogenclaire]

Very very mature answers. “I rather you pity me than brush me off....”. Hugs love and God bless you all greatly

[Alice]

Auntie Joanne, I like your cheerfulness. I hope you find someone who loves you for who you are soon. Perhaps, you can volunteer to give tuition to low income students in our own homeland.

[lydial]

I suffer from Alopecia Totalis and losing my hair totally crushed my self confidence and esteem. People do not understand that even though I show no obvious symptoms or that my disease is not life-threatening, it still affects one emotionally and mentally. I now suffer from mental health conditions in addition to this autoimmune disease. Thankfully i have a bunch of best friends who stood by me all the way, helped me step out of it and accepted me for who I am. I am still paranoid that my wig would fall off or people would despise me if they knew about my condition. But i guess the first step to recovery/moving on is always self love and acceptance.

To everyone struggling with an auto immune disease, hang in there. We will be ok; slowly but surely.

[kaiyanchong]

This episode is not just about autoimmune diseases. It’s about life, and being a better human. Thank you for your sharings! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[behzhaohong]

I actually have a friend who is suffering from a number of Autoimmune diseases. She is diagnosed with fibromyalgia, depression, Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD, TMJD), migranines and irritable bowel syndrome. As a result, she cannot work and earn a living. The worst part that happen to her life is that none of her close families show their understanding, care and love to her. She told me her psychologist and psychiatrist told her the main reason why she got fibromyalgia is due to the "toxic environment" she has to endure when she stayed with her close families. She is currently staying away from them and has to live alone on rent.I hope more of her friends can care for her but it is really hard. She also shared with me how people whom she thought are her "close friends" started to block her in social media. I felt heartbroken. I hope as a society, especially in sg when we are living on a fast pace, we can pause for a moment and instead take a step forward in showing more understanding to our families and friends who are suffering from Autoimmune Diseases, because we might seriously need others to show us more understanding and care one day.

[andy_n]

I received a chronic illness diagnosis recently, and this was so comforting, especially the words shared by the man in the navy shirt with the plus signs on it...I feel less alone after watching this.

[ShinyiChin]

This was a great episode! I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis 7 years ago - shoutout to RA people :) And no, it is not Osteoarthritis, they are NOT the same thing. The answers by these brave people really resonated, I'm glad there are more awareness about autoimmune diseases.

[checulinary]

I have Graves Disease. Been suffering so many symptoms for many years but i have been just diagnosed last year. I just thought i had many allergies due to urticaria. I always wondered when i was sibgle why i needed afternoon power naps to get on for the rest of the day. I always wondered why am i tired with just so little effort? And with this exhaustion always comes pain? So many more to mention.

The very sad and frustrating part other than the daily things u cannot do, when people dont understand why u need to rest because they dont see any visible symptoms. People dont understand even if y say u are in pain every single day.

My heart and prayers go out to the people who have autoimmune diseases too. We hang in there. The Lord will sustain us :)