More and more I've been getting the feeling that I'm backed into a corner. I'm 29 years old. Diagnosed with psoriasis at 18 and PsA at 27, although I've had symptoms for longer, looking back. Since the diagnosis, it's been getting more and more severe, as if my physical ability is in a slow and progressive decline. The pain has become more frequent, and it is now permanently there. It has also become sharper and harder to ignore. The fatigue, too, has become more intense. It feels like I have a hangover every time I wake up. Some days, it feels like I drank a little too much the night before and got beaten up by the bouncers. Sounded funny as I typed it, but now that I read it it's kinda sad, because I could actually get beaten up in martial arts practice a few years back and wake up just fine... But I guess the past is the past, and all we got is the present. And in the present it's becoming harder to do everything. When my symptoms started getting more apparent I decided to switch jobs. I knew I'd need to work from home, and that's what I did, but now even that has become quite difficult. I had to cancel a class the other day (I'm teaching from home). Got sick, presumably because of the new treatment I'm on. Oh yeah, I'm sure everyone here experiences this, but now when I get sick I also get an extra dose of pain! Fun times. Anyway, canceling a class isn't too bad. But then only 2 weeks ago did I recover from the side effects of a medication that I'd been trying out and have since stopped. And before that I'd been out of commission for another 2 weeks because of a very intense flare up that made me feel like a very achy and creaky zombie. And so it's dawning on me now: I'm becoming unable to do much of anything, and I haven't even turned 30 yet. What'll the next few years be like? I know for sure I can't count on receiving any sort of disability pension. I live in a third world country and they'll only give you anything (and barely enough to afford to eat) if you've been hit by a train or if a polar bear has chewed all of your limbs off (and even then it might take you a decade to go through the bureaucracy!). How have you guys been dealing with this type of shit? I know for sure I'm not the only one here with this story. Sorry for the rambling post, I'm just feeling like shit and had to get it out of my chest.   submitted by   /u/tyetye4040 [link]   [comments]