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Long term health conditions >> Women 19-23 >> Lynsey - Interview 14 >> Her primary school accommodated all her needs and made sure she was included. At secondary school some people teased her for taking drugs, which was h

Lynsey was diagnosed with Cystic fibrosis at birth and says that her parents and now her husband are most supportive. She and her husband would love to have a child and they have discussed all the implications involved in such a decision.

Long term health conditions >> Men 16-18 >> Joseph - Interview 17 >> After his diagnosis he went back to school in a wheelchair. The school and classmates were supportive but he thought he was now known as 'the one with

Joseph was diagnosed with Enthesitis Related Arthritis at the age of seven. After initial remission his condition flared up again and it became more difficult to control. He was started on a new drug, Enbrel and has been on remission for the last two years.

Long term health conditions >> Men 16-18 >> Tomas - Interview 09 >> His PE teacher seemed not to realise the seriousness of his asthma and would sometimes ask him to take part in physical activities even when he was no

Tomas has had asthma since he was six months old. Apart from asthma, Tomas has developed various allergies and he attends a specialised hospital clinic. He says that the work that Asthma UK does at schools has helped to improve the understanding of the condition among teachers and children.

Long term health conditions >> Women 16-18 >> Lucy - Interview 05 >> When she moved school she initially had a bad experience but her teacher encouraged her to give a talk to her class about her diabetes. Her new group

Lucy has had type 1 diabetes for 11 years. Two years ago her mother was also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. There was a period when her diabetes control overall wasn't very good. Lucy has been working with her consultant at improving her overall control by setting an action plan, like for instance 'losing weight'. She is feeling much better now.

Long term health conditions >> Men 19-23 >> Rollo - Interview 11 >> When feeling ill he becomes emotional and tends to cry. His fellow students at his all male school found this 'weird'.

Rollo thinks that what triggered his ME/CFS was an overdose of vaccinations that he had received at school prior to travelling to Asia. Following this he started having joint pains and became very emotional. He was diagnosed with ME/CFS by an 'alternative practitioner' a few years after getting ill. Says that ME/CFS affects different people in different ways and that doctors should learn to recognise that.

Long term health conditions >> Women 16-18 >> Charlotte - Interview 10 >> Her epilepsy affected her memory and it was hard to do her Spanish A level course. Some of her teachers have been very supportive. She is now doing an

Charlotte was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 13. She sees her consultant every three months and feels well supported by her. Her main problems are the frequency, till recently, with which seizures have occurred and the fact that her memory has been affected by the frequent incidence of her 'absence' seizures. Until three months ago Charlotte was having seizures twice a month and sometimes, even as frequently as once a week.

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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