Not at the age of 21.
But I know how you feel. I'm 22, and in the past 2 years my health has taken a serious turn for the worse. I have always had allergies and stomach problems, but then in 2001 I developed very very severe dry eyes and it has threatened my vision on more than one occasion. I am in constant discomfort and a lot of times pain from the dryness, and NOTHING that my dr and I do works. Also at the age of 22 I was diagnosed with gallbladder problems and high blood pressure. I think the high blood pressure is because of my weight and the fact that every time I had it checked over the past few months, I was in the middle of an extremely painful gallbladder attack. I was admitted to the hospital for 5 days on May 16th of this year, and rather than being able to wait until after my college graduation to remove the gallbladder, I had to have it done as an emergency. I also had to have several other procedures and tests done because of the gallbladder. So between my allergies, my gallbladder problems, my stomach problems, my high blood pressure and my bad eye problems, I feel old at the age of 21.
Health problems can afflict anyone at any age. The problems that you are describing don't generally start at a certain age. You have allergies. Some people, including me, have them since birth. Also, sometimes as we get older (not that you are OLD, you are just OLDER than you were 5 years ago), the body chemistry changes and we become allergic to things that we never were allergic to before. My mom developed allergies for the first time in her life at the age of 50. So age has nothing to do with it. It's just a really bad allergy season. Even people who DON'T have allergies are suffering.
As for the eczema, well... children can have that. It's not an age thing. And Cystic Acne, I've got 2 friends who have had that since puberty and they are both 23 now. Health problems can come at any age. I'm depressed too. I think the reason I am depressed is because of my health problems. And my depression makes me want to eat, so I am overweight. Does any of this sound familiar?
There are some diseases that only strike people in their twenties, thirties, forties, etc... But I don't think that's what you have. What you are describing can happen at any age.
I don't think that your health problems are a result of your age. Your age has nothing to do with it. You and I are both way too young for our health problems to be a result of old age. But I do agree that having health problems at such a young age can make one feel very very old and depressed. Only old people are supposed to have high blood pressure, right? No, my brother has it too and he's only 27. My friend is 31 and she has it too. I'm 23 and I was just diagnosed with it too. I know plenty of young people who have a lot of health problems. It just really sucks that we are young and we can't be carefree and have fun.
I'm glad you posted that topic. I think that age is a state of mind, and right now I just FEEL old! If you'd like to talk more about this, I would like to as well.
Elyse
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Do health problems start at 21?
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