But you get used to it, don't you?

Get used to constantly feeling drunk, nauseous, exhausted, dizzy, light-headed, like my heart is going to jump out of my chest, my joints that don't know how to stay in place and constantly hurt, and all of the other lovely things that go along with POTS and joint hypermobility syndrome?  Unequivocally NO!!

This post came about from a conversation I had with my mom last night.  She has been hit with a pretty severe stomach virus (although she's feeling better now), but was complaining about how she feels so weak and swimmy headed.  Of course I empathize with her feeling so lousy, but then I mentioned that I feel like that every single day, and it might get some better occasionally, but it would never go away, she responded, "You get used to it, though, don't you?"  I wanted to scream at her, but I didn't, because at least now she has an idea of what I deal with on a day to day basis and isn't trying to completely minimize and dismiss what I'm dealing with everyday.  She is coming around, but I suspect that it will take a lot longer for her to understand as completely as someone without these illnesses can.

And that's all I really want from her, understanding.  I want her to understand that when I don't get out of bed until noon, it isn't because I'm lazy, that I take my meds because, even though it does cure anything, it does make the symptoms somewhat better to deal with, that I go to the doctor all of the time not because I'm a hypochondriac, but because I'm actually sick.

Ok, rant over.  I'm going back to sleep.