Good Health Praise God

I’ve had many people ask me this question.

Scleroderma and Myositis are both auto immune diseases. No cure for either, but remission is possible

I got diagnosed about 3 months ago when I first met my doctor and then she admitted me straight to the hospital to start treatment.

Unfortunately as I mentioned in my previous post, when getting diagnosed with one you can potentially have another.

That was the case for me.

What is Scleroderma?

It affects the heart, lungs and kidneys. Skin related symptoms are tightening of the skin. It can effect the hands, feet, face and fingers. Early signs of skin thickening can cause swelling and itchiness. Some people can have small red dots called telangiectasia on their hands. There mostly located on the finger tips.

Raynaud’s Phenomenon

It’s like Scleroderma. The phenomenon occurs in emotional distress, fingers and toes become cold. When it’s too cold, hands and feet can turn white, blue, red and feel painful or numb.

What Body Parts Does it Affect?

Scleroderma affects the heart and lungs. Symptoms can be shortness of breath, decreased exercise intolerance and dizziness. Unfortunately, it can cause scaring in the lungs and if not taken care of, can lead to lung disease and a new lung transplant.

What is Myositis?

It attacks your immune system and your muscles. It can cause inflammation and make your muscles feel very weak and cause pain. It can affect the way you move your body as well.

Moral of Explaining

Unfortunately I have/had all these symptoms. As of right now, medication is working properly to help my body and I continue to hope for that as this process continues. Unfortunately I’ll be on medication for about 2 years because of how severe it got. It took a little over 2 years to even get a diagnosis, but that’s only because there’s a broad spectrum of auto immune diseases. Thankfully a doctor at Virginia Mason Hospital knew exactly what the concern was.

So no, it’s not the flu, it’s not a cold. It’s a disease that I have to learn to live with. I’m not explaining this for people to “feel sorry for me” that’s not at all my reason. I’m explaining so people have a better understanding of what I went through and what I still have to deal with. People get confused and ask questions and that’s why I chose to explain more in depth.

Thankfully, most of the symptoms I had I no longer have issues with, but others come and go like the Raynaud’s, decrease in exercise and dizziness. I do have to manage my stress because it leads to other symptoms coming back and that’s something I’ve been working on. I do have scarring in my lungs, but my hope is that it doesn’t worsen.

Can I still live a normal life? Absolutely, I just have to be careful.

Can I have kids someday? Yes. My doctor reassured me that it is possible to have healthy kids when I’m older.

I’ve been sick for most of the time I’ve been alive, so it’s not really a bother to me to be sick. I’m so used to being on medication that it’s basically been my life. Yes the symptoms suck. I’ll admit that. But I’m just glad that I know what’s going on now. I’m especially glad that my body is under control now and that I’m not struggling as bad as I did 🙏