Copied from Jenn @ Project Jennifer. I love reading and filling out things like this, at school there was a craze for a few months where people would post these up on MySpace all the time. Not about illness, obviously. 1. The illness I live with is: seronegative inflammatory arthritis! so basically no one really knows for sure 2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 2009 3. But I had symptoms since: 2009, i was lucky to be diagnosed straight away 4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: it was difficult to get used to the idea that there was something wrong with me, after being incredibly healthy all my life 5. Most people assume: that there's no way i could have an old person's disease 6. The hardest part about mornings are: oh i just hate mornings, always been a night owl!! 7. My favorite medical TV show is: i dont really watch them but used to love ER when i was younger. 8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: erm..in arthritis terms.. my laptop? without it i wouldn't have found the support i needed during my diagnosis 9. The hardest part about nights are: i like the night time! 10. Meds: 2 pills a day 11. Regarding alternative treatments: I believe in eating well and exercise and sleep. Maybe other things do work but I'm not disciplined enough to try elimination diets or things like that. If it works for you then go for it though :) 13. Regarding working and career: My work is very supportive, and luckily my condition rarely affects my work for now 14. People would be surprised to know: i guess people would be surprised to know i have a serious long term illness. i look like im in the prime of life ;) 15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: that the illness is progressive in most cases. i still think i'm a bit in denial about that part 16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: erm.. ive done 2 long distance bike rides since my diagnosis, the most physically demanding thing i've done in my whole life. i think i did it to prove something to myself 17. The commercials about my illness: we dont have those in the UK 18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: just this wonderful freedom and invincibility of youth where you think you can do anything and there won't be any consequences. i still do stupid things all the time but there's always that worry in the back of my mind that i might push myself into a flare. also i miss not taking medication, it's such a pain even though i'm lucky and take very little 19. It was really hard to have to give up: oh actually i have just given up something - going on arthritis message boards and wasting hours reading about my condition. I was getting obsessed. now im just sticking to the blogs :) 20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: ive got really into cycling, love it! 21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: i'm lucky in that i feel normal most days now that my arthritis has settled down. every day i thank my lucky stars that i can walk and work and enjoy myself. i try to take every opportunity and live in the moment. i worry less about money and saving. i just try and enjoy myself 22. My illness has taught me: that i am quite resilient 23. One thing people say that gets under my skin is: erm, i dont know. what annoys me a little is that none of my friends really ask me about my illness at all anymore. not that i want them to ask me all the time but i think they are scared they might upset me or just assume im all better. but then i get annoyed when people say/ask stupid questions too so maybe it's best not to say anything at all haha 24. But I love it when people: listen 25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: the trick is to keep breathing 26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: i'm not sure. i think i'd just listen. that's what my friends did with me, i screamed and cried and ranted and raved at them all for a few months and got it all out of my system until there was nothing more to cry about and then i just had to get on with it as best i could. 27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: that so many other people live with invisible illnesses. having something in common with them has opened up my eyes to what people go through on a day to day basis and given me much more sympathy and understanding. i had no idea before, ive discovered a whole new world. 28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: come to the hospital with me and kept me company when i had a steroid injection into my finger. i was pretty scared but my friend put me at ease and distracted me 29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: it's good to talk about things 30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: stalked? ha. no just kidding. thanks for reading my ramblings