# 85 Actual Symptoms That People Wish They Discovered Earlier Weren’t Just ‘Weird Quirks’
Nearly every period, I would get a terrible pain in my backside, like a stabbing pain which would make me stop wherever I was. I also had a twisting back pain on the left side of my back. The doctors dismissed it as “periods are painful” and “there’s a wide range of normal”. Finally had an MRI in my 30s and I have Stage IV endometriosis with deep infiltrating lesions. Adhesions had stuck my bowel to my uterus and also strangled my left ureter so that my kidney couldn’t drain properly and was swollen. On the mental health side, I got so used to feeling like I was a hypochondriac with a low pain threshold that, to this day, I automatically assumed I’m being melodramatic when I’m ill.
Growing up, when I got my first period at 15/16 they were extremely painful to the point I would pass out and couldn’t walk properly. My dad refused to talk about periods and my mum and sister said I was exaggerating and that I was making it up so I figured it must just be me. Fast forward to today and five GPs later who didn’t take it seriously, turns out I have endometriosis.
To find out how this thread started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user u/minbye, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda about what inspired them to start this conversation. “I myself have a few health issues that influence my day to day life, so I think about them a lot,” the OP shared. “For one, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety three years ago. Now I’m on medication and going to therapy to work through my problems,” minbye continued. “Even though I’ve been in therapy for so long, I still learn a lot of new things. And the topic of my thoughts, feelings and reactions being just symptoms, and not actually me or my ‘quirks,’ is a big one in my life.”
Constantly got yelled at by teachers for not listening and got spanked at home for it. Everyone thought I just didn’t care or that I was stupid. One day, a doctor decides I need a hearing test, and it turns out there is a bunch of fluid built up in my ears, and without tubes, I’d be completely deaf. The only person who apologized to me was my mom, and that took 15 years.
“I found out that it’s very important to understand the difference [between quirks and symptoms] in order to be successful in battling the problem,” the OP continued. “So as I was trying to fall asleep, I was just reflecting on my day and thinking about this when I thought that it might be interesting to hear what others have to say about this. I honestly didn’t think I would get so many answers.”
I could hear my eyeballs move in my head, it sounded like light sand paper. I could also hear other body noises, such as digestion and my heart bea. I was medicated for decades due to my ” hallucinations.”Turns out I had a little hole in my skull between my inner ear and my brain. It caused a “third window” that amplified my internal body noises. After surgery, I no longer hear my eyes move, and I’m no longer on medication.
Repeating words in my head since I was a child. Then one day I went to the ER and I was extremely anxious and the doctor gave me an anti-anxiety pill and I noticed that ended the repetitive thought and words.
We also asked minbye why they believe so many of us assume our health problems are actually just quirks. “We often normalize the things we live with — being scared to talk on the phone, not having the energy to get out of bed, regular migraines or even lack of appetite,” they noted. “I often see posts where people share their stories saying, ‘don’t we all?’ about the things that they do or feel, and learning that they are not actually a universal experience,” the OP continued. “As Dostoyevsky said, ‘Man grows used to everything, the scoundrel.’ For that reason, I find it almost impossible to understand that something’s wrong even if it’s obvious, as long as it’s not a sudden change.”
As a kid I wanted to be carried everywhere (like piggyback rides, etc) for way too long. Like I was an almost 5’ tall 8 year old asking to be carried on vacation. My feet hurt after walking more than like, two blocks. My mom took me to a podiatrist to prove there was nothing wrong with me and it turns out I had severe fallen arches and plantar fasciitis and needed corrective insoles to fix my gait. She took me for ice cream after that appointment.
My inability to focus in school on subjects I didn’t care for, chronic lateness, poor impulse control… ADD, of course. Unfortunately, no one considered that possibility when I was young, because supposedly “only boys had that.” 😐
“Reading the answers to the question was actually a great experience — seeing the stories of people changing their lives after finding out what’s wrong, sharing their experiences with each other and realizing they’re not the only ones,” the OP shared. “I still think about many of the answers, but the one that really stands out for me is the comment by u/lemonlemoncherry. They told about how they would always have irregular periods and didn’t think much of it. Turned out they had a brain tumor,” minbye noted. “Thankfully, it was benign and shrunk with medication, so they’re fine now.”
When I was about 13/14 I used to complain about stomach aches and sore throats A LOT. My parents thought I was faking it to stay home from school and the doctors blamed everything on anxiety/periods.Turns out I have a hiatal hernia. My stomach acid was leaking into my throat when I was lying down at night and was starting to damage my oesophagus.
I would let all my friends feel “the ball in my boob” in high school. One day I told my mom – she immediately called the doctor. Fast forward the next month and I had surgery to remove a tumor. It ended up being benign.
The OP also says that they’ll be more willing to book doctor’s appointments after reading through all of the experiences on this list. “I was always quite anxious about my health, but now I can’t stop thinking about tumors and stomach problems,” they told Bored Panda.”I’m genuinely glad I posted that question,” minbye added. “I learned a lot myself, and I watched people share important information with each other in the comments, so I really hope it helped someone.”
Sometimes if I was really tired or jetlagged I’d wake up and for a few seconds the room would look larger than it actually was or I wouldn’t recognise things that were totally familiar even know I knew they were things I’d seen before (jamais-vu, reverse Deja vu). Turns out I had epilepsy without realising for years. I later developed other types of seizures.
We also were lucky enough to get in touch with Senior Emergency Physician Dr. Shahina Braganza to hear her thoughts on this topic. She shared a few odd quirks that can sometimes mean medical issues are present. “For example, extreme flexibility or hyper mobile joints [can be] part of a connective tissue disorder (e.g. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) or episodes of odd behavior (e.g. Temporal Lobe Epilepsy that manifests not as jerky limb movements but affects a part of the brain related to memory and emotion),” Dr. Shahina explained. “Or beige cafe au lait skin spots, which can be related to a condition called neurofibromatosis.”
Rehearsing conversations and their potential branches before speaking to someone, being obsessed with textures and touch, *needing* to shave every hair from the neck down. Otherwise, I could feel them being moved and compressed by my clothes.. oh, and using quotes and references in 90% of my conversations. Turns out they’re not ‘quirks’, and coupled with my ‘issues,’ they make me rather autistic. I wish I knew 20 years ago!
“These quirks can be interesting on their own, but if they are connected to a diagnosis, they can be related to other concerns,” the doctor continued. “For example, people with connective tissue disorders can be prone to organ or blood vessel abnormalities. Because each human body is so wonderfully unique, there are no real trademark signs.”
My toenails used to frequently split. One time my wife witnessed this and said “that’s not normal” which led to being diagnosed with iron deficiency. I have nice thing to say I no longer have the cravings for certain non-food items anymore
Below are more stories of symptoms or peculiar quirks that seemed insignificant but turned out to be significant signs of underlying medical issues:
– I ate a lot of ice cubes for a year. It was intrusive, and I had a cup full of ice cubes at all times. It felt like an addiction. And then I got a blood transfusion (about 2 pints needed) because I was severely anemic. I’m also Type 0 positive, with a host of autoimmune issues. I waited for hours in the hospital until they found blood they could give me. Turns out I was anemic because of andenomyosis, my uterus was 3x the normal size, and one of the worst cases they’ve seen. So I also got a hysterectomy. I haven’t chewed ice cubes since.
– I could say words over and over again because they “didn’t feel right coming out of my mouth” I would repeat a word out loud or under my breath until it “felt right.”
– My friends and I thought my basement was haunted but I was the only one who really believed it, because I had seen figures there…
– Sensory issues and selective mutism as a child were diagnosed as Generalized Anxiety Disorder when I was an adult. Guess who got diagnosed with autism at 36?
– I would always sit with my legs in the shape of a W. Turns out that is also a sign of autism.
– Sensory issues and selective mutism as a child were diagnosed as Generalized Anxiety Disorder when I was an adult. Guess who got diagnosed with autism at 36?
– I would always sit with my legs in the shape of a W.
This is just a small portion of the 85 poignant real-life stories shared in the thread. All of the symptoms people dealt with point to the same conclusion—sometimes, the smallest quirks can be powerful indicators of more significant underlying health issues. After all, it’s always better to seek medical attention when in doubt, as these stories demonstrate.
