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Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> Says that doctor's language is 'over the top' and thinks that some can be insensitive and impersonal.

Elizabeth was diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 16. She now works for a Department of Health funded project. She says that as a teenager she 'rebelled' against her condition and stopped taking her painkillers. Her attitude now is to work with her condition rather than against it. She takes regular exercise and does a lot of walking.

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> She goes regularly to the gym and does at least 40 minutes walk everyday but says that she is self-conscious about her shoulders and does not go to th

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> Has a diet that is rich in calcium to help keep her bones healthy. Is careful about her calorie intake to control her weight and avoid too much pressu

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> She is 22 years old and finds it useful to take her parents along to the consultation because she says it is easy to forget to ask all the questions y

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> She feel very well supported by her GP but receptionists can be a problem when she needs to see or talk to him. She has learned to be persistent witho

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> It would have been helpful to see the same consultant when she went to the hospital. She should have been told that her scoliosis was a long term cond

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> She went through a phase of not wanting to take painkillers for her scoliosis but found the pain unbearable.

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> Her scoliosis affects her social life because she often can't do the things her friends are doing. It also affects other everyday activities like carr

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> She has had problems with her friends because she is not always able to go out. It is good for friends to see you when you are not feeling your best s

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> She says that pacing and accepting her condition and limitations have helped her cope better with it.

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> She has a few ideas about how schools could help young people with chronic conditions not to miss their education. Thinks that it is a good idea for n

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> Her physical symptoms gradually deteriorated from sixth form to university. She found it hard to apply for the DSA because she didn't see herself as a

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> She describes how in a previous job her colleagues had been unsupportive and had made unhelpful remarks.

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> She has scoliosis and says that what worked best for her was to look for flexible hours or jobs where you can work from home. She recommends the NHS a

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Elizabeth - Interview 01 >> Says that her mum worries about her because she's a mum but that she also knows when to back off.

Publication date: October 2007 Last updated: February 2012

Review date: February 2014

Various long-term health conditions can occur in young people. We interviewed 30 young people about their experiences of different chronic illnesses. Select from the key topics below, choose from the full list of topics on the right hand side of this page, or explore all the interviews by clicking on people's stories below.

Sophie says: “I've had a good weekend despite my lungs not feeling too good. My boyfriend's training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro so we have been hiking!”
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