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Long term health conditions >> Women 24+ >> Catherine - Interview 02 >> She lacked basic information about epilepsy and its treatment. It was only when a new doctor changed her medication that she found out more.

For many years Catherine stayed on a treatment that was not successfully controlling her epilepsy. And as a teenager she didn't know much about the different medications available. In her early twenties her new consultant put her on new medication that has improved the overall management of her condition.

Long term health conditions >> Men 24+ >> Clint - Interview 26 >> He does not complain about the side effects of his HIV treatment because he is grateful for the opportunity to live.

Clint was infected with HIV at the age of 17 from a partner and, at the time he lacked any knowledge of HIV. Clint rapidly developed the symptoms of the AIDS defining illnesses. Although it was initially suspected he had cancer (a common kind of presentation for AIDS), he in fact had a positive HIV result.

Long term health conditions >> Women 16-18 >> Sarah - Interview 29 >> She needs regular blood tests to monitor her liver function because the drug she takes can damage the liver. Also she can't drink much alcohol.

Sarah was diagnosed with a localised form of a skin condition called morphea in which there are well demarcated plaques of fibrosis restricted to the skin. In her case this affects the right side of her nose and the top of the right side of her forehead. Recently she has had surgery in which fat from her stomach was injected into the right side of her nose and her forehead and the cheekbones. Doctors have explained that she will need several similar operations before they reconstruct her nose an

Long term health conditions >> Women 24+ >> Catherine - Interview 02 >> Only when she saw an epilepsy specialist was she given effective drugs. Since then she could learn to drive.

Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Katie - Interview 23 >> She is worried about the side effects of long term use of steroid cream. She uses it only when her eczema is very bad.

Katie was diagnosed with chronic eczema at the age of 11 but her eczema began to get worse in her teen years. She has had lots of different treatments for her eczema and has learned from experience what works and has improved her symptoms. She said that sleep is important as well as drinking plenty of filtered water.

Long term health conditions >> Women 16-18 >> Sarah - Interview 29 >> At the age of thirteen her consultant told her that she couldn't get pregnant while on medication.

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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full list of topics

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