All about that fish
August 11, 2015 8:06 PM Subscribe
I have trimethylaminuria and I'm following a low choline diet and taking several different kinds of supplements as per medical advice. However, I'm treated as though I'm incompetent, and I don't know if I'll be able to become a physician or practice medicine because of my disease, or even if my life is worth living. Do any of you have any recommendations?
I know the standard advice for suicidal ideation is "get help" or whatever, and that's all fine and good if the only problem is depression, or OCD, or whatever. However, with TMAU (body and halitosis), there is no cure, and my reduced choline diet, regular baths and showers, and the like, have not done much to reduce my symptoms. Medical doctors don't seem to know much about it, including dermatologists, and I am at a crossroads: I get ridiculed wherever I go, my family does not talk to me, I have no friends or social life to speak of, and it's hard to leave my apartment due to the bullying. This happens at airports, scientific research conferences, classes, grocery stores, etc.--there's just no escaping the disorder. I'm reasonably intelligent, nice, empathetic, and so on, but nobody ever gives me a chance, and it seems that my life is doomed. I would like some advice on coping strategies for dealing with this disorder, beyond the trite "work from home" or "see a psychiatrist." FWIW my psychiatrist also noticed the smell, and referred me to an endocrinologist, who informed me of my TMAU diagnosis. It's hereditary, and there is no cure currently and probably won't be one for a long time, as it's not really a moneymaking priority for big pharma or an issue of national attention for the NIH/funding bodies.
I'm sick and tired of being treated poorly because of my BO. It seems like I'm cursed, and I just want some strategies for dealing with people. For example, should I tell job interviewers that I have this condition at the interview? Should I go ahead and kill myself? Should I dedicate myself to research in this field, provided that I'm able to get through the clinical years of med school and residency training that necessitates "offending" people with my BO? I just don't know what to do, and it's really sad. My life is basically over at 23, and I haven't even gotten started.
I know the standard advice for suicidal ideation is "get help" or whatever, and that's all fine and good if the only problem is depression, or OCD, or whatever. However, with TMAU (body and halitosis), there is no cure, and my reduced choline diet, regular baths and showers, and the like, have not done much to reduce my symptoms. Medical doctors don't seem to know much about it, including dermatologists, and I am at a crossroads: I get ridiculed wherever I go, my family does not talk to me, I have no friends or social life to speak of, and it's hard to leave my apartment due to the bullying. This happens at airports, scientific research conferences, classes, grocery stores, etc.--there's just no escaping the disorder. I'm reasonably intelligent, nice, empathetic, and so on, but nobody ever gives me a chance, and it seems that my life is doomed. I would like some advice on coping strategies for dealing with this disorder, beyond the trite "work from home" or "see a psychiatrist." FWIW my psychiatrist also noticed the smell, and referred me to an endocrinologist, who informed me of my TMAU diagnosis. It's hereditary, and there is no cure currently and probably won't be one for a long time, as it's not really a moneymaking priority for big pharma or an issue of national attention for the NIH/funding bodies.
I'm sick and tired of being treated poorly because of my BO. It seems like I'm cursed, and I just want some strategies for dealing with people. For example, should I tell job interviewers that I have this condition at the interview? Should I go ahead and kill myself? Should I dedicate myself to research in this field, provided that I'm able to get through the clinical years of med school and residency training that necessitates "offending" people with my BO? I just don't know what to do, and it's really sad. My life is basically over at 23, and I haven't even gotten started.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Hey there, sorry you're in a bad place. This question isn't going to work out - I'm sending you an email. -- restless_nomad
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