Chronic diseases are no joke. Anyone who has ever had to deal with long-lasting illnesses knows how much it impacts their daily life. Your physical, mental, and emotional health all suffer. But there’s an empathy gap between you and others. Some folks don’t quite understand how serious your condition can be.
Chronic patients took to a brutally honest AskReddit thread to vent. They revealed the most ridiculous, absurd, and delulu pieces of advice they’ve ever gotten from people that were supposed to ‘cure’ their debilitating illnesses. Think lemon for migraines and meditation for epilepsy are bad enough? Well, they’re just the tip of the iceberg of awfulness.
#1
I have osteoarthritis in the lumbar region of my spine. The amount of people telling me I should see a chiropractor and get “adjusted” is crazy.
I mean, those vertebrae look like a freaking crown in x-ray and you want me to let someone try to crack my back?
I’ll stick with my physical therapy thank you.
Image source: LeftatOrion
#2
I have Type 1 diabetes. I’ve been recommended all sorts of things, including green juice mix, pink(?) Smoothies, “gut health” vitamins, and what have you.
No, I have never considered any of them. The only thing that works–that has ever worked in the 35 years of my disease,–is daily insulin injections (I’m on a pump now that tests my blood glucose and auto-injects insulin when I need it. That’s pretty snazzy tech.).
Image source: FortuneTellingBoobs, EyeEm
#3
I have an autoimmune disease that causes severe fatigue and widespread pain, as well as a spinal deformity that causes chronic back pain. The amount of times I’ve been told to try yoga is staggering. When I was so depressed I couldn’t even shower, I was told it was all in my head and I just needed to go for a walk. Everybody acts like these things can just be willed away by meditation and positive thinking.
Image source: Put-A-Bird-On-It, EmilyStock
#4
Don’t know how much it counts as an illness, but I have insomnia that sometimes nothing can help. The amount of meds I take daily are enough that most people would be incapacitated, and still sometimes ill try taking benadryl with it cause I can’t sleep.
The number of people who find this out and ask if I’ve tried melatonin is insane, I’d say 99% of people ask me that, very seriously.
Image source: errant_night
#5
When my kid got Type 1 Diabetes, an in-law who had lost a lot of weight on her own sent me a message about how the right diet cures diabetes and I just need to change her diet. I had to educate her about the difference between Type 2 and the autoimmune disease called Type 1.
A second relative said something really similar, saying that my kid wouldn’t need insulin anymore if she just followed this health food book he gave me. I also had to educate him about T2D vs T1D.
Image source: InterruptingChicken1
#6
Endometriosis. My doctor suggested I get pregnant…at 19 years old.
Image source: rudepigeon7, rosshelenphoto
#7
I once had someone tell me that if I went vegan, my Rheumatoid Arthritis would “go into remission.” I had been vegan for about 5 years by that time.
Image source: calipithecus, pressfoto
#8
Not me, but an ex-classmate of mine told me that his pastor was taking his own son to South America for some shaman to exorcise the son of autism. Classmate was soliciting classmates for money. Also, the child developed autism from vaccines, of course. I shot that conversation down fast; I worked for our local health department’s vaccine clinics and he knew that.
Image source: nanasnuggets, Andrej Lišakov
#9
Cancer, twice. I had an aunt try and convince me on everything from coffee enemas to colloidal silver. She got breast cancer and tried all these remedies until it was too late and it spread to the other breast. She’s now working with my oncologist.
Image source: fren2allcheezes, Ivan Samkov
#10
I was told that fasting would cure my endometriosis.
Image source: neoncats1960, pvproductions
#11
Meditation.
I have epilepsy.
Image source: Prestigious-Syrup836, EyeEm
#12
GLUTEN FREE!
Gluten is so evil, did you know it causes every single problem you have, acne, dry hair, itchy eyes, seasonal allergies, period cramps, arthritis, gall bladder disease, CANCER!
All you have to do is stop eating gluten, and you’ll be cured of everything!
I hear similar things about the “raw diet” too – I have a family member who was just diagnosed with stage 3 cancer, and they think they can cure it by eating raw carrots and broccoli.
Image source: Walmartian_Beta, freepik
#13
Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
“Calm down. There’s nothing to worry about!”
Why didn’t I think of that? /sarcasm.
Image source: TALieutenant
#14
Am paralyzed, was told by one of my friends parents who came to see me in the hospital that if I wanted it enough and if I thought about it hard enough I would be able to walk again. Guess I didn’t want it bc 18 years later still can’t walk lol. ( there was literally no chance of it, I have a complete injury, not just a damaged spinal cord completely crushed).
Image source: Househipposforsale
#15
My very first therapist told me to eat a big bowl of pasta before bed to cure me of my (lifelong) insomnia. Because carbs make you sleepy!
Image source: BillButtlicker21, Elena Helade
#16
I’m celiac and I’d say 50% of the time it’s brought up, I get told I should just go to Europe so I can eat gluten there. Gluten is gluten no matter where you go.
I am not going to listen to someone who has zero experience with the disease I live with.
Image source: WavyLady, pvproductions
#17
Celery juice to cure Crohn’s I was in hospital at the time waiting for surgery to remove a severely damaged part of my bowel. I didn’t even consider it because 1. I absolutely hate celery, and 2. I was so sick of being sick and in pain and knew removing the culprit was going to give me that break I needed. If it took 4 biologics to achieve remission, no amount of “alternative medicine” was going to be more effective. It makes me quite angry because there are people who will be sucked in by these ridiculous promises and end up with complications, including death, that could have been avoided.
Image source: zieaendaire
#18
Upon my first visit with a new GP, he told me I just needed to get my rage out and then proceeded to kick a trash can. For my crippling anxiety disorder.
Image source: TreeBranchImpalement, DC Studio
#19
Our neighbours were told to take their daughter to a specific church to cure her Tumour 🥲.
Image source: otterpretzel9
#20
ADHD and had a fellow nurse tell me I just needed to tell myself to focus. Why didn’t I think of that?! .
Image source: brightdark
#21
Severe anxiety and frequent panic attacks as well as severe depression. I had a doctor tell me to stop drinking milk before bed. Apparently any other time of day was fine, but he was convinced that my problems were caused by milk before sleep. Except I wasn’t drinking milk before bed, or much any other time for that matter.
Image source: Spoopy_Scary
#22
Chronic migraine, was told to rub a lemon slice on my forehead.
Image source: amrob22, freepik
#23
When I told my parents that I started taking antidepressants my dad suggested that I should eat one clove of raw garlic every morning instead. Didn’t even know what to respond.
#24
Severe depression. The 2 most absurd “cures” recommended to me?
#1 is “Just cheer up/smile! You’ll feel better!”
#2 is “Get some exercise! It’ll make your depression go away!”.
Image source: Phonic-Frog
#25
Misdiagnosed with MS, and after 10 years of horrendously expensive, uncomfortable, daily/weekly injections, pills, infusions…found out it wasn’t (instead is: Sjogren’s Disease + Rheumatoid Arthritis…joy. /s)
Anyway: acquaintances, relatives, and colleagues would tell me to “eat clean”, do LOTS of hot yoga (uhmm, xtra bad advice for MS, btw…), check out so-and-so celebrity vitamins (ugh), “have kids– it will *totally cure* the MS!” and to just “will myself to good health”. Riiiight.
Image source: Wrong-Sock1752
#26
Fasting, prayers, and returning to the LDS religion after leaving it in adulthood. And no, I did not consider it lol.
It didn’t work for me then, so why would it work now?
Image source: noclassbrat
#27
I get random nosebleeds because I’m in blood thinners. Once it happened at work and wouldn’t stop so my manager told me to tape a penny to my chest because copper will stop it. I did it to appease them and what do you know, it eventually stopped.
Image source: EnigmaVariations
#28
My MIL told me my son’s autism was my fault for teaching him his letters “and stuff” too early. A random customer when I worked at Borders told me I could cure him if I made him take baths in a certain kind of clay.
We never did any of that. Autistic or not my son is a wonderful, kind, smart, funny person and I wouldn’t change him for the world.
Image source: featheredzebra
#29
Watched a vegan tell someone with leukaemia they should switch to a plant based diet.
This was at a time when they were struggling with weight loss from the treatment.
Image source: Fattydog
#30
I’ve had an autoimmune condition since early childhood.
My mother is…… eccentric and doesn’t exactly believe in modern medicine. She has suggested a wide variety of unusual things over the years, and perhaps one of her strangest suggestions was Ozone therapy.
Ozone therapy has been deemed illegal and extremely unsafe by the FDA. I responded by literally copying & pasting the verbiage from the FDA website in a message to her. Shut her up pretty quickly.
Image source: disjointed_chameleon
#31
Someone suggested that I could cure my food allergies by going to a special clinic in California that fixes allergies with special tolerance diets. It’s really expensive and they only treat under-18s, and when I looked it up the founder was very secretive about his methods and apparently it only works for SOME people.
I did not go to the clinic. .
Image source: junkdrawertales
#32
Eat mangos to help with my arthritis. Im severely allergic to mangos, and the person pushing this was well aware.
Image source: GloInTheDarkUnicorn
#33
Chronic depression and insomnia.
I just need to close my eyes and not think about things and I’ll fall asleep!
Or I just need to accept god and not the mark of the beast and I’ll be healed.
What actually helped were anti-depressants, three different ones at the same time, therapy, and two stays in a psychosomatic hospital. And meds for my endometriosis.
Image source: CorInHell
#34
I have severe psoriasis (hospital level). A lady once suggested I rub olive oil on it to cure it. I curtly replied that I’d just returned from Italy and that despite my best efforts, olive oil definitely wasn’t a cure for an autoimmune condition….
Image source: missbohds
#35
Lime juice for Narcolepsy. Lime juice.
What are you gonna do, put it in my eyes? 🤔 That might wake me up for a while. Elaborate. Please.
Image source: Rivers9999
#36
Cutting out gluten and sugar to cure my children of their adhd. It’s totally a dietary issue. You know. Also, from my ex’s family: they’re just normal kids! You’re overreacting. It’s all in your head.
Letting my child outgrow his developmental coordination disorder because, “My nephew was uncoordinated as a child, too, and it just went away when he grew up.”.
Image source: SleepoDisa
#37
The advice wasn’t necessarily ridiculous on its own but it my situation it absolutely was. When I was in high school, I started sleeping 12-15 hours a day, every single day. I’d come home, go right to sleep, and wake up for school the next day. A sleep specialist with a Phd and board certification told me that I just needed a ‘better sleep schedule.’ Turns out it was a neurological disease, to the surprise of absolutely nobody.
Image source: marswithorbit
#38
My husband had stage four cancer. A family member told him to drink beet juice and stop chemo.
Image source: seekingseratonin
#39
Ditch my prescriptions medications (one of which is a hormone my body doesn’t produce enough of) for Himalayan pink salt.
Image source: ranch_life_1986
#40
“Your pain is all in your head. You just need the willpower to rise above it!!!”
…. I have Scoliosis. I did not consider “willpower” as a more effective treatment than the back brace I was there to ask for.
Image source: poke-hipster
#41
My best friend is a wheelchair user and gets all sorts of weirdness. The usual people praying over them and stuff, but this one guy who worked at their local supermarket in Italy got completely obsessed and tried to convince them to come to Senegal with him for an exorcism. He even took their phone out of their hands and called himself so he would have their number to keep harassing them about it, ramping up in the spring which was apparently “the best season for exorcisms”.
We made a complaint to the supermarket and the next day, my friend’s friend – also a wheelchair user but looks COMPLETELY different, has only one limb and is slim with long dark hair vs my friend who’s super pale with short curly hair and all expected limbs accounted for, and also this other girl didn’t speak a word of the language – gets pounced on in the supermarket by the manager, called into the office and they’re all apologising profusely in Italian like, we’re so sorry about the exorcism guy!!! And she’s like….. What. And comes knocking on my friend like “wtf did you do” 😂
(We could only guess that guy decided that God’s power is limited – he can make someone with two legs walk again, but he can’t stretch to growing two whole new legs…).
Image source: everyoneis_gay
#42
A lady saw my insulin pump in line and proceeded to scream at me about how drinking alkaline water could cure my T1D. When ignored her she proceeded to scream *much louder* that I deserve my condition for my ignorance…okay crazy lady.
Image source: ReasonableLemon8
#43
Severe depression, couple of anxiety disorders, PTSD, scar tissue on both of my ovaries, permanent injuries from a car accident….have been told by several people that getting pregnant and having a baby might just cure me!!! 🫠.
Image source: SugarStunted
#44
Genetic hypermobility disorder. A chiropractor was absolutely confident that he could fix my faulty genes with a few adjustments.
I didn’t consider it because the same chiropractor had dislocated my elbow in the last session I attended. My parents made me go when I was a young teenager, but I rebelled after the elbow incident and refused to let him fix all my problems with a little joint cracking. Silly me.
Image source: thirdonebetween
#45
My dearly departed FiL, whom I adored, always told me to put bleach on a burn. This advice was taken under consideration, and not ever used. Lols. .
Image source: lizthestarfish1
#46
Chronic fatigue: Got told to hold onto an electric fence so I did. Twice. Surprisingly it didn’t cure me.
Image source: anna0lgy
#47
I had gout since I was in my early 20s. It’s not fat or alcohol but hereditary, at the time, and in good shape. My father had it, too. He sprayed WD40 on his and swore by it. I did it because it hurt so bad I figured why not. It felt better, but I think it was the cold compressed air.
Still laugh at that.
Image source: Big-Property-6833, ocean yamaha
#48
I have chronic fatigue. People LOVE to tell me to “just wake up earlier”. Like let me get this straight, you think my “always tired, never gets restful sleep, sleeps through alarms” disease will be cured by…. waking up earlier?
Had a legit doctor tell me at a doctor’s appointment I paid for to “just go outside and look at nature” and “Try eating vegetables” to cure my fatigue. Like I hadn’t gone outside or eaten a vegetable in 10 years.
Hilariously enough yoga is a real thing that can help, the experts recommend keeping a regular sleep schedule, watching your caffeine intake, and light to moderate exercise to increase stamina, and yoga fits the light to moderate exercise bit. .
Image source: Its_Curse
#49
Force yourself to stay awake. I have extremely bad fatigue bc of PMDD and other issues. And exhaustion can trigger seizures. 💀.
Image source: junker-boi
#50
I have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and apparently, celery juice can cure everything.
Image source: justboringme1993
#51
I have asthma, my grandma cut a lock of hair and nailed it at my height to a door jam. Supposedly it would be cured when i grew past it. She also bought me a chihuahua bc it would take my asthma from me. And fed me vicks vapor rub too cure cold.
Image source: Icy-Control9525
#52
I have a strange illness that makes doctors go “well we just don’t know.” One doctor told me, maybe if you believe hard enough, your symptoms will go away.
I asked my symptoms to go away but they didn’t so I guess believing they could didn’t work
I say doctor, but she was a newly graduated nurse practitioner who had done all her coursework on mental health and wellness… Bless her little heart.
I’m still sick, I cannot work, I have no friends anymore, my life is empty, and doctors still don’t know.
Image source: adhdgirl_
#53
I had a doctor tell me that the Mediterranean diet would cure my chronic migraines.
Image source: jeanies9
#54
Turmeric. I said the only place turmeric has in my life is on chicken.
Image source: writesandthrowsaway
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