Saturday, February 9, 2013

Highs -n- Lows Living with the Disease

Saturday, February 9th

I am almost a 51 year old female(my birthdays in March)...who has a nasty, rare connective tissue disease named Dermatomyositis...

Dermatomyositis if left untreated could cause death within 3 - 5 years...

I started the traditional therapy of steroids....although the medication helps to reduce the inflammation and clear up the rash it has side effects...after several months of being on steroids I experienced..puffiness in my face & eyes, eye drainage, weight gain, inability to concentrate or think clearly, facial hair growth, abdomen distention, muscle weakness, tingling and numbness in arms, hands, legs and feet...

Also as a result of these drugs and the disease I felt overweight and disfigured - my self-esteem became low...I was desperate to find beauty somewhere within this foreign body...others would comment on these changes...I had difficulty getting up from a kneeling potion unless I held on to something...the cognitive problems such as poor concentration, brain fog and word mix up were getting worse...my eyelids turned purple and started to droop...the blood vessels popped out...the sun and light exposure worsened the rash...hair loss and thinning...my scalp is very itchy...I became nauseous and experienced ringing in my ears...I got shingles and the flu from the lower immune system...I've seen so many changes taking place this last year...

I started searching within myself and discovered something much more important than physically beauty - I no longer see the flaws only the inner beauty...I am now at peace with myself and have nurtured my soul back to health...

Another great day!

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