Lost friends since telling them about small vessel disease

They send us thru neuro triage first. No one mentioned it at all focus has been on ldl, bp, and genetic test to make sure they did not cause stroke. But now that it has happened again I am going to ask them because i dont have the three things they were concerned with , ldl does run a little high but not now. Also they check for afib with no luck there

Oh, absolutely. Sick folks being ill, losing friends? Extremely common. And it is not just lesser known diseases. The fact is, regular cancer patients, they also have plenty of relatives and friends walk away from them.

When you get sick, that is when you discover, just how selfish so many folks really are.

For me? I don't discuss the details of my illness, except with others who have very similar problems. I have severe asthma, so I mention that. The more complex stuff? Most folks just use that as an excuse to walk away from us.

And, I compartmentalize friendships. With one guy, I will only talk sports...nothing about illness. With some relative who has the emotions of a 4 year old, I only stay positive.

Otherwise, you wind up with zero friends and zero family who help you out a bit.

Just have to do the best you can with the new reality we face.

Take care...

Some people only have a sense of self that is reflected back to them from other people. So if they are with “pretty people” they feel good about themselves and see themselves in the image of who they are with.

Therefore, being with someone who is struggling means they absorb that image too. And predictably they choose to avoid the other person.

So its not your flaw - it is theirs. But
it’s a very entrenched personality disorder. Try to forgive them - for their malady is much worse than yours.

Hi @red79, I wanted to check to see how you are doing. I see you posting in other discussions, kindly offering support to others. How are YOU doing? What made you smile today?

still waiting on neurologist appointment.the thing that made me smile today was stroking my house rabbit.

Yes, after my stroke I lost my job and friends disappeared. The world gets real small - really quick. Still trying to figure out my "new normal"

Please check out my YouTube channel about my stroke recovery journey.
I would welcome any input/feedback.
Thank you.
https://www.youtube.com/@srlucado/videos

While I struggle with this daily, my immediate family behaves as though my worries and fears are of no importance.

In my family, I am alone.

I know it doesn't help much to be told that this is a common situation, but at the very least you are in an online community where there is support.

Please let us know -- what can we do to help make your life easier? How can we ease your difficulties?

There's no substitute for actual contact, but we're here.

It sounds like you do not have people in your life who care. I find doing what I can and surround myself with positive people. Hope that helps.