Here's a rant, I've been losing a shocking amount of weight in 2015 when I stopped responding to Cimzia and had to switch to Remicade. It's not quite doing the trick and I'm getting smaller and smaller and weaker and find out that I also have Crohn's disease. My doc said this explains a lot and that my treatment for arthritis has been "masking" my Crohn's until this recent bad flare. I know people all over struggle with body image issues, so if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it is my motto. This week some lady I work with said "You are so skinny it makes me sick". Wow. So, I'm sick and worried about my health and I get this crap from the peanut gallery. I said, "Actually, I'm so sick it's making me skinny, I have Crohn's disease" and I walked off. To her credit, she followed me to apologize, but really? Some people need to learn to control their pie holes....also, I'm cranky! LOL...
That’s never okay. Plus, if she is someone that you work with, I’m not certain that there is really any acceptable way to talk about changes in appearance. Good for you, your response to her!
I’m sorry that you’re going through this. Hopefully you’ll start feeling better now that you know what’s going on and can treat it.
OMG, what a mean thing to say! But, when I read that it brought back memories from my teenage years--I always say I was "grossly skinny" and I'm sure I got that impression of myself because people would always say the exact same thing to me as they said to you!!!! And then, their next sentence would be "you should be a model"! But, the first remark, "you're so skinny it makes me sick" sticks and it HURTS! Or, it's "OMG, you're sooooooo skinny!". Now that I'm heavier and slightly above my ideal weight, I still have a very bad self-image!!!!
Mel, I'm sure your coworker had no clue she would hurt your feelings by saying that--I can't believe any intelligent person would make that remark if they thought or knew you were thin because you're ill. Yes, it's a stupid thing to say--nobody ever says to an overweight person, "you're so fat it makes me sick!", (except a really mean person) but I think skinny is so desirable they mean it as a compliment.
Anyway, good comeback!
Jeez, Mel. What a mean person. She's probably currently still flossing pieces of the soles of her shoes from between her teeth. She needs to learn from Grumpy Cat: 
So do you think she meant 'you're so skinny that I'm green with envy'?? 'Cos that's what this would most likely mean in my neck of the woods, but maybe in the US it has different connotations(?)
I've lost a lot of weight in the past due to disease / meds and I didn't like it. I'd have looked okay at that weight had I been healthy, but that wasn't the case. Weight loss associated with ill-health is unnerving. I can imagine you must feel cranky right now, that is so understandable. Maybe, just maybe .... this person will understand now and feel genuine regret about her thoughtless comment and that way you'll have someone at work who actually gets it, once the dust settles from this unfortunate incident? That would be a good outcome.
I am so very sorry that you had to deal with such an insensitive co-worker. One of my favorite T-shirts says "Just because it comes into your head doesn't mean that it has to go out of your mouth." Up until a few years ago I was also abnormally thin for my height and frame. I constantly got comments about my weight, and I chose to simply smile and say "Thank you!" as though they had just paid me the greatest compliment. Unfortunately, even though television ads have brought the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis into the main frame consciousness via biologics with sports and celebrity spokespeople, it's just another disease to most viewers, they simply don't understand the severity and impact. It's hard to do, especially when we're hurting, but remember that most people are just concerned or jealous...one is okay, the other not so!
I think we go through life having to deal with all manner of thoughtless, insensitive and often inappropriate comments from all kinds of people. Some years ago I was telling a friend about a co-workers comment and she told me that in these situations she always responds with "why did you say that?". I've tried it a few times over the years, it's actually an incredibly powerful retort.
Great responses all! I think it was one of those days, the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak. I'd had numerous other comments leading up to that, maybe envious but rude at any rate. "Oh my god, you have no ass." That was a special one, I replied, "That's really rude." She shut up, but still, ouch! Another lady invited me to lunch because she was worried that I wasn't eating enough. An intervention from someone I barely know? Argh. I think I will go with "why did you say that" because if I don't, who knows what I might say next!
Almost my entire life people have felt free to comment on how ugly my feet are. I actually find that quite shocking. I quite like the rest of me so maybe they're just jealous of my stunning good looks LOL!
My rheumy is far too professional to say 'Yuck, look at the state of those!', unlike some (ex) friends. But he did say 'they're very damaged aren't they?' Oh yeah ... that would be the PsA then! I don't suppose flagging that up would have made any difference over the years even if I'd known .... sad, mean people will still be sad, mean people.
Sybil, you are right about that with regard to sad mean people. My feet no longer match each other, (surgery on one, not the other) and my toenails lifting has been a constant problem. The cosmetic appearance of my feet is now the least of my worries, but I too am shocked at the things people feel comfortable throwing out there. Sometimes I think I should brush it off, but other days I feel like telling people to bugger off.