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Becoming overwhelmed with many chronic illnesses

Tony49xxxx
Community Member
I’m becoming overwhelmed with so many chronic illnesses 10 years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and whilst having x-rays for that they also noticed I had bladder cancer and I had multiple operations for both a little time after that I found my kidneys were failing functioning fair at the moment and then I was told I have glaucoma which I’ve been treated for and now I’m struggling to get around I need a knee replacement everything is just getting on top of me I live alone haven’t got any family and I want to talk
3 Replies 3

Sophie_M
Moderator
Moderator
Hi Tony,

Welcome to the forums. It sounds like you've had a really tough journey this last ten years and we are so sorry to hear that you've been struggling with these health issues. It must be really difficult. Please know that you've come to the right place for some support.

Our forums are a safe supportive space to talk about what you're going through with the community, where many members may have gone through something similar. However, sometimes it can take a couple of days to get a response, so we just wanted to let you know about some options for more immediate support if you're needing to have a chat with someone tonight.

MensLine Australia is a free 24/7 telephone and online counselling service for men. You can contact them on 1300 78 99 78 or https://mensline.org.au/

Lifeline is a national charity providing all Australians experiencing emotional distress with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services. You can call them 24/7 on 13 11 14, or chat with them online 7pm-midnight AEDT - https://www.lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat/

Hopefully a couple of our members will be by to welcome you over the next couple of days. In the meantime, please feel free to take a look through the recent threads.


 

Croix
Community Champion
Community Champion

Dear Tony49xxxx~

I'm afraid it has been a couple of weeks or so since you posted and I'm glad that in the meantime you met Sophie_M who has good advice. I can imagine what it is like to post asking help and not being answered. Sadly the system does not always work as we would like.

Please rest assured it is nothing to do with you, or the subject of your post.

While I do not have the same physical problems you do I have enough to affect my life quite seriously and have some idea of the utter frustration and feeling trapped you must go though. It shrinks one's life down simply due to the inability to get around, and on top there is the added burden of not knowing what is going to happen.

In my case there is ongoing pain to manage, perhaps there is in your life too.

I've no wonderful fixes in my own case, so can only tell you what I try, which does in fact help me cope. Actually it is a matter of coping, I doubt either your problems or mine are the sort (apart from your knee) can be directly fixed.

I do push myself - which many or may not be wise -and travel around dealing wiht a swag of voluntary duties. These, even if they have to be an exercise in logistics, give me interest, distraction and a sense of accomplishment. This carries through to what I do at home, which is along the same lines using a computer or phone.

I also am in contact with other people that way, and I think this is very important. Trying to deal with things in isolation is very hard indeed. Even if you do not take others into your confidence over your conditions simply human interaction is a balm.

My interests which are Mental Health related activities, computers and books will not be the same as yours. I'm sure you will have your own interests, even enjoyments.

Do you think the methods I've used would be of any use to you?

Croix

geoff
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hello Tony, your comment is a sad one, but hope you are still able to get back to us, so we can try and help you.

I'm really sorry bt hope to hear from you.

Best wishes.

Geoff.