"You are too young to be this ill." (OK, tell me something I don't already know after I pick you up off of the floor for saying that to me....) That statement came from a pain management specialist. I fired him, told him why and now see another more compassionate doctor within the same practice.

I guess we all get the same sort of comments and I find I'm damned if I do or if I don't.if I manage to actually put make up in and get the store in the same day then I really here "you don't look sick"and then without make up and feeling at my worst i here-you look really sick are you ok.cant win.

Tie.... "are you serious?" With the most sarcastic look on their face or.... "is that even a real thing?" Actually No... I just made it up right now while I was talking to you. I made it up and fabricated medical articles and studies and posted them online just right now.

To be quite honest the most hurtful comes from my mother.... "it's mind over matter. You just have to decide your not going to be hurt and tired and just get up." She has also thrown in I think I probably have that too, I just don't let it bother me like you do.

The "Maybe its this or Maybe it's that" statements. A lot of the people around me can't seem to grasp that I have fibro.

I have a co-worker who only sees me at work. When I say something about needing lots of sleep or something because of my Fibromyalgia, she says, "I just don't see it," like she should be able to see that I'm in pain or exhausted or can't think straight because I'm exhausted. She doesn't see it because I work really hard at being normal at work and then take the evenings and weekends to rest up from my week and get ready for the next one. So frustrating! I just try to consider the source and realize that she doesn't and can't know how I feel, but I do.

- "You're just a young spring chicken! How can anything be wrong with you?" That's the most common one I've heard from people over the years.

- "Well you were just fine yesterday!" or "I've seen you do it before, I'm sure if you just try you can do it today, too." (my husband has said that one)

- The worst one was being accused by my ex and his mom that I was a "hypochondriac"! They repeatedly told me that if I would just get help for that I would be treating the "real problem"! On top of that my ex constantly tried to convince me that I was crazy ( mentally ill) and needed to seek help for that as well!

- Had a doctor one time tell me to my face that he doesn't believe in fibromyalgia and is therefore discharging me from his care!!

A persons perception is limited to their reality. If they don't live it, they don't understand and they don't want to. You can't control what others think or how they feel. But you can control how you react.

My father who used to be a medical reporter said (when I finally revealed what was happening with me), "I don't believe in it. I read an article in the NY Times {his Bible}."

Talk about supportive parent (not). Luckily my Mom and sister have always been caring.

I don't get upset or irritated by statements or questions. If you don't live it you cannot understand....it's not their fault they don't understand. I came to this realization when my best friend had cancer (then died). I said the wrong things all the time though I was very well meaning and cared and wanted to help. She was very kind with me, never got angry....and just explained things to me.

I hear: "You look to good to be sick" and "But, you're always smiling," (said by my boss and co-workers).

And, my favorite...... "Just exercise," said by my husband one too many times. He hasn't said it since.

Oh, I forgot about my mother-n-law who is always sending me e-mails, texts, cutting out newspaper or magazine articles, and telling me to watch Dr. Oz because they talking about how to cure my illnesses.

She's always telling me, "If you would just try this......." "I have you heard of this cure...." "Look into this treatment, it might help......."

Okay, I will stop now! You can see this one bothers me the most!!

"You're fine. Nothing is wrong with you."

"You're too young to have health issues this bad"

"You're over-exaggerating"

"It doesn't hurt THAT bad"

"You're just weird"

My all-time most hated comments, because even with FM I was (until my hip gave way) athletic....

"It's probably too much junk in your diet" (I eat vegetarian from scratch no processed foods, so you can imagine how I want to scream)....

and that all-time classic

"Maybe you should get in better shape."

*mushroom cloud* 15 years of yoga, a lifetime of healthy eating and (until my hip got destroyed) walking 5K a day----yeah, I'm in *horrible* shape. Oh. Em. Grrrrrrrrr.......

Since I am still a teenager, I think the most annoying question I get about both my FM and my RA is "But you're so young! How old are you, 80!?" and "You're probably faking it to get attention. Everyone knows you can't develop that kind of stuff until you hit your 40s!". I even get that stuff from adults, which really hurts and makes me feel even more excluded than I already am. Another one that bothers me is "I don't care if you're in pain, do ___ or you're in trouble!" or something along those lines. It's bothersome, really.

Being told that I have more problems than someone's 80+ year old grandma is always super fun.

General disbelief gets pretty annoying after a while.

A friend of mine has had multiple surgeries on her back and spine, including having titanium rods and screws put in. You can see the scars and how messed up her back looks. People still don't believe her about her pain or says she's too young to know about "real" health problems.