Sometimes, we don’t see our health issues until someone else points them out. Have you experienced this? A user asked the forum, “What did you think was normal about your body until someone pointed out that it wasn’t?” Here are the top responses.
JAWS POPPING
“My jaw pops whenever I open my mouth. I thought it was normal for your jaw to ‘unhinge’ because how else could you open your mouth wide? Turns out, nope.”
WISDOM TEETH
“That I had eight wisdom teeth grow into the extra space in the back of my jaw (two for each side, top and bottom) that all grew just fine after 20, only to find out on my last trip to the dentist that I have eight more growing inside.
The normal amount of wisdom teeth is 4. Not 16.”
PRECORDIAL CATCH SYNDROME
“This is the opposite. You know when you’re breathing like usual, and suddenly, when you inhale, you get this sharp pain in one side of your chest, at the ribs behind your pectoral muscle?
Plus, every time you try to inhale further, it returns, then goes away entirely after a few minutes.
Yeah, that’s called precordial catch syndrome.
Doctors don’t know what causes it, but the running theory is that a nerve near your ribs occasionally gets pinched when you inhale, and it takes a few moments for your body to dampen the signal from that nerve. It’s widespread and does not indicate any underlying or dangerous medical issues.”
ASTHMA
“I thought I was bad at running because my throat would seize up and get painful whenever I ran for more than a minute. I mentioned this to my doctor when I was 30. Turns out I have asthma.”
BAD ANKLES
“I have bad ankles. I once asked my mom if bad ankles run in our family. She told me that nothing runs in our family. I asked her, ‘Because of the bad ankles?'”
HYPERACTIVITY
“That your brain never stops is not normal. It’s a sign of hyperactivity. The first time I took medicine, I only thought of one thing at a time. Overwhelming.”
VISION DEFECT
“Thought I had great vision until I tried glasses and found that everything was sharper and more vivid! My left eye has a vision defect, but my right eye learned to compensate, so I never realized!”
CATAPLEXY
“Cataplexy, I lose the ability to grip/hold things, chew, and sometimes even stand when laughing. My muscles mess up whenever I start laughing too hard.
My sister and my dad have it. My sister has even dropped her children because of it (don’t worry, it was more of a gradual release than a full-blown drop, and no one was hurt).
I grew up thinking it was entirely normal, and my mind was blown when I found out it was not. I asked the next ten people I saw, friends, coworkers, and drug dealers, if they got weak while laughing, and they looked at me like I was crazy.”
SEIZURES
“The petite mal seizures I remember as far back as six years old. It wasn’t until I was ten and had a grand mal seizure that I understood. I should have said something before then, but I was embarrassed.”
BIG HEAD
“I have a big head. I’ve never once found a hat that fits. Not even a toque.”
PAIN IN STOMACH
“Pain in your stomach and esophagus when you’re hungry. That’s acid reflux, not hunger.”
SNEEZING
“Feeling the compulsion to sneeze when seeing the sun.”
DERMATOGRAPHIA
“Dermatographia. I have really sensitive skin with an overactive histamine response. When gently scratched with a blunt object, I get a hive shaped like a scratch. I can write my name in hives on my forearm.”
APHANTASIA
“Aphantasia or the absence of a mind’s eye. I was amazed when I learned that people can picture stuff in their heads. I was also 45.”
SENSITIVITY TO WHEAT
“I thought it was normal for your body to just stop liking foods after eating it consistently (maybe once a day) for two weeks or so. I thought that’s what food poisoning was.
I’m really sensitive to wheat, whey, and soy, in addition to about 107 other things, on top of general Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). My health has improved after a complete diet overhaul.”
EHLERS DANLOS SYNDROME
“I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS). All my joints are hypermobile, which is why I have chronic pain. I wish I’d known sooner.”
HYPOGLYCEMIA
“I discovered I was Hypoglycemic because I went to the doctor after conversing with someone.’ You know when your whole body gets hot, but your blood feels cold, and you get dizzy?’ They did not know that feeling, so I went to the doctor and got blood work. Sure enough.”
FOOD REGURGITATION
“Food regurgitation. I didn’t think anything of it. Eventually, food got caught in my esophagus, and now I am learning how this is not normal and harmful.”
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This article was originally published on Mrs. Daaku Studio.