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Growing up, many people had an impression of invincibility. My hearing will never deteriorate, it’s fine to get by on five hours of sleep a night and a sedentary lifestyle will never get to me! Well, if it all works out for you, congratulations, but it’s generally better to learn from others' mistakes than your own regrets.
People online detail the things they now regret putting their bodies through at some point in life. So get comfortable as you scroll through, remember to stand at for around fifteen minutes once an hour, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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#1
Not what I did but what I didn't do. Take care of my teeth. I should have gotten orthodontic as soon as I started working. I am 65+ have crooked teeth and cavities and cannot afford dental because medicare does not cover it. Fixed income and old age [is bad]. TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH!
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#2
Didn't protect my hearing starting at dances in junior high. Now I live with the scream of tinnitus on a daily basis that I would do anything to get rid of.
#3
Pushed through the pain. I thought intense pain was just part of intense exercise. Turns out, I had an undiagnosed connective tissue disease, and am now a wheelchair user at 50. Pain is your body telling you something, and that message should never be ignored.
Bored Panda got in touch with the netizen who posted the question and they were kind enough to share why. “I had an orthodontic procedure done that resulted in detriment to my overall health. In the process of having braces put on, the orthodontist suggested that I extract 4 premolars, and this is what caused a lot of my health problems now.”
“It is unfortunate because even if I am willing to pay a lot of money just to have my mouth returned to the way it was before, there is just no concrete process to reverse the damages that have been done and bring my body back to how it was before the procedure. Therefore, I posted the question to gauge whether or not there are others who have health problems or bad body procedures that not even giving one's entire lifesavings or a lot of money will be able to bring back their bodies to the optimum health of before.”
#4
Not loving it and enjoying it.
All I could think was “I’m too fat” “I’m too ugly”. “I’m not good enough”. Now I’m much much bigger, I was hit by a drunk driver so I’m also disabled and when I look back I can’t believe I thought that about my body at that time.
#5
Having breast implants for 23 years caused the scar tissue that interfered with muscle function. Implants removed in 2019 and now 5 plus years later and thousands of dollars on physical therapy not covered by insurance I can actually put my own hair into a ponytail!! Anything you put in your body will create scar tissue! Don’t do it. Learn to love your body as is and find someone that loves the natural you. Today’s society has no idea the amount of long term pain and physical damage they are doing to themselves in the name of vanity!!
#6
In 2010 after years of fighting against depression , i tried to commit s*****e by self immolating myself.
Results?: While i didnt die (thankfully) i got burn injuries on 50% of my body and spent 4 months in hospital and underwent 14 skin transplants surgeries. Despite the painkillers the pain was so intense that i prayed god countless time, to let me die because i coundn't take it anymore. When i got released from hospital, i started my rehabilitation journey that just like my time in hospital was extremely painful and my depression got even worse after i saw what i had done to my body. 15 went by and while depression is something i will always have to live with, i regained confidence and i'm working hard to achieve my goals.
To all the people who are suffering and think to end it all: Please talk to someone. As long as you're still alive there is always hope.
We were also curious to hear their thoughts on why the post was so popular. “I have not considered this. However, many people took their precious time to post their incidents for sharing. Therefore, readers can learn from others' experiences or converse with someone who has a similar predicament as them. Great team effort to share knowledge, joy, encouragement, and very real life situations with effects lasting an entire lifetime.”
#8
When i was 21 I fell asleep while driving and flipped my jeep, I broke 3 vertebrae in my back and 2 in my neck. It's amazing I wasn't paralyzed. Dr said I would have significant back problems when I got to around 40. I'm 44 now, still working without any restrictions, but I have spent a lot of time in my life now stretching and exercising my back to prolong my working ability and quality of life. I put everything i can afford in my 401k, I would definitely give up my 401k to not be crippled later in life be it sooner or later.
#9
Wearing high heels (4+ inches) everyday for work in my 20s. Did a number on my knees in my 30s - they would hurt when I do activities I enjoyed like hiking.
Now in my 40s, the knee pain got better after switching to zero drop, minimal footwear, but would still hurt at times. I’m hoping it doesn’t get too bad when I get older….
Lastly, we wanted to know if they had any favorites from the responses. “I actually saw a comment from someone who had the exact same situation as me, and that person shared that they spent an obscene amount of money to try and reverse it, but it has not been achievable in returning the mouth to the way it was before.”
#10
I had a wart on my hand that was there for years and I could never get off the shelf medications to work.
So I got some strong vinegar and repeatedly applied it with a damp piece of cotton ball. Over time the skin in the area started to get really damaged but I kept going even though there were open sores/wounds on my hand because I wanted to nuke the wart too.
Turns out that all I did was create permanent scarring on my hand *surrounding the wart* but the wart was still there. Ended up going to a doctor to freeze it off which is what I should have done in the first place. I was raised in a household with parents that were deathly afraid of doctors and thought they should be avoided as much as possible.
#11
When I was 9, I got water stuck in my ear from a beach trip. None of the usual tricks to get it out were working, so I plugged my nose and blew as hard as I could. I completely decimated my eardrum which has resulted in countless infections and hearing loss. Don’t do it!!
“Another example is when a health professional prescribed the wrong dosage of medicine to someone and after taking the medication there were horrible lifelong side effects. Each life situation shared is a gem, and I recommend each and every one when time allows for reading,” they shared.
#13
Get a procedure to fix my TMJ dysfunction. It's very rare, and now I'm an example in a medical journal. The botox they injected into my TMJ travelled in a nerve and paralysed/damaged my soft palate. I sounded like a speaking deaf person for 4 months, and I feel my speech regress when I'm sick. It's never gotten better. That was 5 years ago.
I still struggle with eating and drinking because my soft palate is damaged.
#14
Having had a double mastectomy/top surgery right after I turned 20. It’s almost 11 years later and I wish I hadn’t surgically altered my body. I regret it and I’m forever stuck this way now, I wish I had listened to my therapist about doing treatment for my multiple years worth of sexual abuse based PTSD, I was already a self harmer for years at this point and thought I knew what was best for myself with transitioning but I ran so hard with it must be gender dysphoria. … It didn’t fix my issues, I masked it with something new, my body dysphoria is still persistent as it’s been my whole life, I still take testosterone to this day but.. I just wish I could go back and help younger me that just wanted to feel safe and okay. I miss my old body and who I was.
#15
Drinking every day.
I started drinking every day because I could not deal with the stress from the pandemic. I tell myself that I really had no other outlet - cant smoke w**d due to asthma making me hack my lungs out whenever I breathe in anything other than air; did not want to try anything harder because they are illegal. I just wanted the pain of every day to go away.
4 years later I'm drinking at least a third of a handle of vodka every single night and barely feeling a buzz from it. I want to stop, I truly do. Its so hard. Alcohol is so much more addictive than people think. And going cold turkey can legitimately k**l you, which makes me want to try tapering off. Every day I think to myself "I'm only going to pour one shot an hour. That's all I'm allowed to drink." And every night I end up pouring myself more somehow.
If you want to drink alcohol, that's fine. Do it socially. Do it with friends. Don't do it alone, don't do it every day.
I don't even want to think of what my liver looks like right now.
“Each person has hardship; no one is spared. Therefore, it is imperative for each person to be grateful for each day and each natural aspect of life and to not take anything for granted-- it sure makes living a whole lot easier and joyful with this mindset.”
#16
I insisted on a vaginal birth instead of a c-section when I was struggling to deliver my son. They ended up doing an episiotomy and using forceps after I pushed for 8 hours. Ended up with a 4th degree tear, muscle atrophy, and lifelong damage that will get worse when I hit menopause.
I was so stubborn. I wish every day that I either didn't have an epidural or that I had a c-section.
#17
Had Botox injections in Bangkok, in a clinic that was located in a shopping mall (MBK Center).
I have no idea what they injected me with. It gave me horrible allergy and constant 24/7 itching. At first, it was located only in the injection region. I literally had to press my fingernails there and slightly scratch, otherwise it drove me insane, as it never stopped.
And after a few weeks, these itching particles started to travel to other places in my body like 24/7 itchy stardust. So now it wasn't just my wrinkles above my nose that I felt the need to press my fingernails into, it was my full body.
Being completely allergy free for the first 35 years of my life turned into MCAS in less than a week and taking 3-4 antihistamins daily. I take them ever since, otherwise the itching in my body becomes unbearable.
All it took was one injection session. Aaanndd... everything completely wrecked. And it wasn't even doing anything to my muscle nerves, so it's a mystery what they actually injected. I have a photo with "the doctor" but cannot add it here.
#20
Heavy d**g use between ages 14-21, really set my developing self up for some problems I'm currently dealing with still today at 28. Clean since 21, bar a little bit of devil's lettuce here and there.
D***s really f*** you up, especially when you use them to cope with trauma from a*****e family members and the like. At least in my experience..
#21
Started vaping. I had never struggled with addictions before, and I liked the social/sharing aspect. 4 years later, I have issues with circulation to my fingers and toes, a constant dry and itchy nasal system, and random shooting lung pain. I quit cold turkey 13 days ago after the lung pain got really bad and scared me, but I can't believe that despite that I am still craving it whenever something goes slightly wrong or I have a drink with friends. I hear it gets easier though.
#22
Eating myself into obesity following a breakup. I was 75kg prior ate myself into 130kg. Now sitting at 110kg. I'm ok in life but with working odd hours I don't commit to a healthy lifestyle and it just didn't need to be this way.
#23
Got surgery to improve my vision, but developed a post-surgical infection and ultimately lost my vision in the eye I was trying to fix.
#24
“Powder brows,” which are just face tattoos that they lie and say are semi permanent. They turned black/gray after a few days (never faded at all) and I’m pale and blonde. Waited years to remove them because I was too scared to ruin my face even more. Just had my fifth laser removal session. They are orange now because removal takes forever and the ink slowly fades from black to red to orange to yellow. Then, you may not be able to get rid of yellow. Powder brows are such a scam. Also, I wish I didn’t get my other two tattoos.
#25
TLDR; ALWAYS DO YOUR ANNUAL EXAMS
dark humor tldr; my a*****e husband who tried to k**l me leading to our divorce actually played the homicide long game with me by cheating on me while I was pregnant, giving me HPV from it, and me getting cervical cancer from it.
I had a nodule on my cervix after I had my last child. I did not find it until after my ex husband and I became intimate again when it was safe after birth. I went to the gyno. I was 24. I told her I felt the bump, it wasn’t there before I gave birth and not after birth that I knew of either. I told her my husband was certain that “it must be something related to giving birth…” like it wasn’t our third kid 🙄 and…my stupid a*s didn’t really believe him, which is why I went to the gyno to make sure. She made me feel gross about noticing the nodule “how did you even feel your cervix? What do you mean? How do you know??” And she basically forced me into admitting that my husband and I were doing a bit of mutual side by side fun when I felt it. She humiliated me. She said I’d already had my pap for the year, and if I *really* wanted to have another one I “could, but you’ll have to pay for it out of pocket.” She made me feel humiliated, and said it was basically no issue, and blew me off and made me feel disgusting. It made me afraid to go to the gynecologist again, and *my ex convinced me that there was no reason to continue my annual check ups because “there was nothing wrong, and we we’re monogamous, so nothing would ever come of it*”
Welp. In the fallout of my a*****e divorce, it was found out that he had cheated on me. I got tested to make sure he didn’t give anything to me, but I NEVER GOT A PAP OR INTERNAL EXAM because he had s****************d me, and I was traumatized as f***.
After years of therapy, I finally got up the courage to go in for a proper annual; internal exam, pap, and all. It came back with abnormal cells. This was 9 years after I found that nodule. NINE! I had to go for a biopsy. As I walk in, the NP says “don’t worry, it’s only deadly if we don’t catch it fast. Like if you’ve had it for 10 years.” I say “…it’s been 9…” and we were all just kinda somber after that.
Biopsy came back bad. Had to go to a special oncologist. He wanted to do another internal, and sees the nodule, which is not where the biopsy was taken from. He asks about it, and I tell him the above story. He says “eh, it’s probably benign, but we’ll take it for testing just in case.” When it came back, it was “the worst affected area…it’s had to have been there for years.” That nodule is what made me need to have a conical biopsy, so I could never effectively carry kids again if I wanted. It also caused me to need a hysterectomy, which makes the prior point moot anyway. I had a weird autoimmune reaction to having the biopsies that caused my ovary to swell to the size of a baseball. I was on bedrest for months to not get tortion from the ovary. I was in and out of the ER throughout to be ruled out for emergency surgery for the d**n ovary multiple times. I spent months thinking I was going to die at any wrong turn, literally. Like, if I turned wrong, I could twist it and die. !Oh, totally forgot to add, they thought with the timeframe that the cancer may have moved to my ovary, especially because of the crazy ovary symptoms I was having, taking my potential survival chances after surgery and radiation down to 15%. So, that was fun.
I then had the hysterectomy. Finally. I got home after hospital recovery…and bled out. I literally almost died. I bled half my blood volume into my abdomen.
All in all this entire debacle lasted from a February to the actual hysterectomy in June, to not being released from hospital until early July, to being bedridden during recovery from the blood collection and a follow up infection there til late August. I also had to keep following up with hematology because I kept bleeding like crazy without anyone really understanding why. I wasn’t “normal” and able to move normally again until October-ish. If I recall correctly, walking around for Halloween with my youngest was still a bit of an issue.
If I had just stuck to my gut when I first felt that bump. If I had just insisted I needed that pap and paid out of pocket. If I had just listened to my gut and gone back for my annuals. If I had just sucked it up after the r**e and gone in for a proper f*****g r**e exam. If I had just gone to ANY annual after that. If I had known that STD panels DONT COVER HPV; you need a g*****n pap for that. If I had just known, or been braver, or angrier, or f*****g anything it all could have been avoided. If I could have hated him the way he hated me. If if if if if.
I spent months with doctors telling me I could die at any moment and my issue was “urgent…but not *emergent* until you are actively dying, so we can’t do the surgery yet.” All while on bedrest. All while getting more biopsies and s**t thrown at me. All as an *only* parent to three, not single parent. My mom had to move in with me temporarily to help me with the kids because I literally wasn’t allowed to do anything but walk to and from the bathroom. It scared *the s**t* out of my kids. It scared the s**t out of me. It scared the s**t out of my moms and my dads. And it all could have been avoided if I just did my d**n annual gyn exams and got my paps.
#27
When I was younger I was climbing walls on a castle and lost my footing, so I jumped down 25ft and smashed my heels. I had recently been approached to join a football teams academy so my life would possibly be way different if that never happened.
Edit: I was 15yrs old at the time. Myself and a group of friends had walked a couple of miles outside the village to this castle because at the time, there wasn't really much to do for people our ages. I spent two weeks in hospital after the accident. My bedroom got moved downstairs because I was in a wheelchair for 6 months afterwards and crutches for about 5 months. It now hurts a lot being on my feet so I need to try and get regular breaks and sit down or I start limping. I am now 36, there's a high chance that I will be needing a cane to walk in the next couple of years. I do play football now and then but nowhere near the ability I had and the impact on my feet means I do limp for a couple of days after.
Edit 2: I want to say thanks for the upvotes, this is my most upvoted comment ever.
#28
Yeah putting on weight. Don’t do it guys, there’s irreversible damage, real self hatred sometimes and it restricts either what you can do or what you’ll allow yourself to do. You’ll hate pictures of yourself and despise when people want to do a group photo, you’ll talk yourself out of opportunities and it’s so hard to shift the weight. You’ll also never be able to be taken fully seriously at the doctors, the first thing they’ll do is to tell you to lose weight as if it’s a miracle cure to everything.
#29
Started picking at my skin. It started with the little bumps on my arm, developed over the years to my whole body. I learned years after I started that I actually have OCD. Eventually started pulling and plucking hairs too. Now I have full blown dermatillomania and trichotillomania about 10ish years after I started :( I don’t know how to stop, it’s a bad combo of the OCD compulsions and habit.
#32
I’m covered in tattoos, which I started getting at 18 because I was a part of that scene. Now I’m a very humble, outdoorsy person that doesn’t care about being perceived as cool. I don’t regret them all but wish I wasn’t so heavily tattooed now.
#33
Joined the US Military. I do not recommend it unless you're prepared to destroy your back and knees (at minimum) and potentially deal with a lifetime of PTSD. The US military is so good at traumatizing people that they don't even have to deploy you to do it!
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