Good Health Praise God

If there is anything that the Lord has been teaching me these past few months, it’s to not judge a book by its cover. Ever since I got diagnosed I’ve been learning that just because someone looks fine on the outside, doesn’t mean they’re 100% on the inside. Please show kindness even when it may be hard, you never know what someone may be struggling with that you can’t see ❤️

If you don’t know what it’s like to have an auto immune disease, here’s a little insight to help you understand the struggles.

It’s not a cold or the flu, you will never get better, and not even a nap will help. Sleeping 10 hours doesn’t make you feel well rested, ever. Achy joints and bones, breaking hair, dry skin, mood swings + depression are the tip of the ice berg. You are prone to having more than one when getting diagnosed. The “put together on the outside” rarely matches the raging battle on the inside. Last minute change in plans because that “just got ran over” feeling. Just hitting the gym won’t slim your face or get the pounds off.

When I wasn’t on medication it was mentally and physically a battle every day, and it still is. With medication, some things are better than others, but I still struggle with the symptoms. I have to take so much medication just to keep my body under control.

I got diagnosed with 2, Myositis and Scleroderma.

My body was filled with inflammation and my muscles were extremely weak. My body was attacking itself. My skin started to tighten and harden around my fingers and feet. My hands were inflamed/swollen and I couldn’t bend them and I didn’t have strength for the longest time. My feet were extremely callused and they had many cuts. I tried healing my feet with cream but not even that made them go away, it only masked the pain and bleeding. My feet have a sensitivity when it comes to cold. They turn blueish purple so I’m constantly wearing socks. I have hot flashes often so my entire body can be sweating but my feet can be super cold. If I do “too much” throughout the day I get extremely tired. I have to take breaks often because my energy runs low. If I cry or socialize for too long I get a migraine that can last hours and it’s painful. I get lightheaded when it’s too cold and food/water doesn’t help.

I look physically fine on the outside, but still can’t work because of how I’m doing physically on the inside.

When people ask how I’m doing I always say “I’m good” or “I’m alright” because I don’t know how to explain to people what I’m going through. To me, it’s not worth taking 20-30 minutes to explain to people what I’m dealing with when they have problems of their own.

If you have an auto immune disease or are learning to live with them like me, you aren’t alone and I understand what you’re going through ❤️