Medical Conditions Found After Others Noticed Symptoms

Ever thought something was perfectly normal about your body, only to find out it's actually a medical condition? You're not alone. Recently, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to share medical conditions they didn't know they had until someone else pointed out a symptom — and their stories prove that sometimes, the most important medical observations can come from the people around us, not only doctors. Here are some of the most eye-opening responses:
"I know it's a common issue, but I had a friend say he thought I was depressed. I thought, I'm not sad, therefore I'm not depressed. It took me years after that comment to learn he was right and seek help. Now I'm happily on antidepressants and doing so much better than before."
—madds2016
"One of my friends posted about her recent Hashimoto's diagnosis and shared an infographic with a list of common symptoms. I ran down the list and found myself checking a lot of boxes. I went to my primary care doctor shortly after to have labs run, and sure enough, I had the exact same condition! That friend indirectly saved my life in a way."
"When I was in college, I mentioned to a teammate on my cross country team that I couldn't sleep because my mind would race — just so many thoughts that kept me up. She suggested I had ADHD. My twin brother has it, and it's genetic. He was diagnosed around age 6 or 7. I was 29."
"Now I'm medicated and sleep like a rock (mostly) every night."—madds2016
"Since I was a teen, I'd tell people I was allergic to the cold. My skin would get super itchy and come out in blotches and dry patches. Everyone laughed when I said I was allergic to a temperature. I'm 31 now. Two years ago, I went to the doctor for something unrelated. He saw the patches on my skin and immediately diagnosed me with psoriasis, an autoimmune skin disorder. And guess what? Cold temperatures make it worse."
"Hormonal dysfunction. I'm a woman who, since puberty, had severe acne and heavy periods — like changing a pad every two minutes. I also needed way more food to feel full. I went to a gynecologist at 15, but he said it was normal, so I believed him. When I was in my 30s, my mom saw my (very hairy) unshaven legs and said, 'THIS is not normal!' We ran tests. Turns out, I had way too much testosterone. For reference: Women's levels should be between 0.08 and 0.48. Mine was 0.54."
"I'm now on birth control and life has never been better. I never realized anything was wrong because it had always been that way — the periods, the hair, the acne, the appetite. I even thought I just didn't have a waistline. Nope, it was hormonal weight gain. I have one now."—mudda8139
"Autism. Everyone said my son was just like me when I was little. He had already received an autism diagnosis, so I had myself tested too — and I'm autistic as well."
"Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome! I had someone gently suggest that I get checked out (after years of unexplained symptoms) and boom, I was a textbook case."
"ADHD. I didn't know I had it until my daughter was diagnosed as a teenager. We were discussing her symptoms, and I realized, 'Hey, that sounds like me.'"
—abourque
"I thought everyone had TV static vision. Nope. Turns out I just have Visual Snow Syndrome. I figured it out when I randomly read an article about it, and I was like, 'Hey, wait a minute…' It was like the internet pointed it out to me."
"My wife and I did foster care for 10 years. When one of our foster kids came through with severe food insecurity issues, my wife explained all the signs we needed to watch for. As she went through the list, I realized I had all of those issues myself. My wife inadvertently diagnosed me with food insecurity from my childhood."
"I was having really bad back pain from an unrelated injury, and during an X-ray, the medical team noticed spots on my lungs. At first, they thought it was lung cancer, which scared the crap out of me. After a lung biopsy, the doctor showed me pictures of my bronchial tract and said, 'See all those white dots? That's supposed to be pink.' Without that observant radiologist spotting something completely unrelated to what I came in for, I might never have known I had sarcoidosis."
—abourque
"I always thought I was allergic to my own sweat and working out, since I would break into hives! I didn't know what was happening until a medical professional diagnosed me with spontaneous urticaria — an autoimmune issue where my body produces too much histamine. It turns out I'm triggered by sudden temperature changes, not sweat. If it's a really hot day and I jump into the ocean, I'll break out. If it's a cold day and I'm wearing a coat but my legs are exposed, my legs will break out! I have to get injections every month."
"When I was younger, I had some GI issues. The radiology reports showed my appendix was on the left side due to genetic malrotation of the colon. The doctor didn't bother telling me, but I overheard him tell his nurse. A few years later, I had pain on the left side and they suspected chronic appendicitis. But when they did surgery, the pathology reports showed my appendix had endometriosis."
"Many years ago, when I was experiencing severe migraines, I had several scans done on my head to rule out any internal cause. When the results came back, the doctor asked if I had ever hit my head and lost consciousness. I said no, not that I recall. Apparently, I must have had some kind of brain trauma I don't remember, because they explained that my right frontal lobe was atrophied. The migraines eventually went away on their own, but that doctor's observation about my brain explained a lot about my impulse control issues that I never understood before."
—christines442ed4b4e
"I had what they call 'silent' endometriosis. It's far from silent now, but I had absolutely no symptoms for years. I only found out because a surgeon discovered it unexpectedly when I went in for a completely unrelated procedure to get my tubes tied."
Have you ever discovered a medical condition after someone pointed out a symptom you didn't realize was unusual? Share your story in the comments below! And remember, if someone's ever pointed something out, or if something feels off to you, it's always worth asking questions. You never know what you might uncover.

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As research advances—especially in digital therapy delivery and neuromodulation—there's more hope for more personalized, accessible and effective treatments for people with TS. [1] Irwin, R. S., Glomb, W. B., & Chang, A. B. (2006). Habit cough, tic cough, and psychogenic cough in adult and pediatric populations: ACCP evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Chest, 129(1 Suppl), 174S–179S. [2] Egolf, A., & Coffey, B. J. (2014). Current pharmacotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of Tourette syndrome. Drugs of today (Barcelona, Spain : 1998), 50(2), 159–179. [3] Whittington, C., Pennant, M., Kendall, T., Glazebrook, C., Trayner, P., Groom, M., Hedderly, T., Heyman, I., Jackson, G., Jackson, S., Murphy, T., Rickards, H., Robertson, M., Stern, J., & Hollis, C. (2016). Practitioner Review: Treatments for Tourette syndrome in children and young people - a systematic review. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 57(9), 988–1004. [4] Kohler, K., Rosen, N., & Piacentini, J. (2025). Description, Implementation, and Efficacy of the Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics as First-Line Treatment for Tourette and Other Tic Disorders. Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology, 35(3), 126–134. [5] Morand-Beaulieu, S., Szejko, N., Fletcher, J., & Pringsheim, T. (2024). Behavioural Therapy for tic disorders: a comprehensive review of the literature. Expert review of neurotherapeutics, 24(12), 1181–1191. [6] Billnitzer, A., & Jankovic, J. (2020). Current Management of Tics and Tourette Syndrome: Behavioral, Pharmacologic, and Surgical Treatments. Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, 17(4), 1681–1693.