The 5 People

A friend of mine recently posted an interesting quote on Facebook.  Now that’s certainly nothing to write home (or write blog) about – every day we see dozens of quotes meant to make us think introspectively for a second and then keep scrolling.  Usually, we skip the introspection and just scroll on.  Occasionally we comment and move on, but the point is that no matter what we do, we scroll past it and don’t give it a second thought.  I made a comment – half joking/half sarcastic, and scrolled on, as we’re supposed to do.  But this time, it stuck with me.

All About Awareness

It’s Arthritis Awareness Month!  This is a big month for me – not only does this month focus on multiple conditions that I have, but it does so with the support of multiple organizations that I volunteer with.  So without further ado, let’s talk about arthritis!

For starters, the most important thing to be aware of is that arthritis is an umbrella term that covers over 100 different conditions.  Yes, that includes your grandmother’s bad hip – that’s osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disease caused by wear-and-tear.  But it also includes things like carpal tunnel syndrome, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  And then there are my issues. 

Back in 2007, I started feeling like something was wrong, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.  My body ached everywhere – a deep, immobilizing pain as if I’d just done an intense workout.  I felt an indescribable fatigue that no amount of sleep (or coffee) could defeat.  I had headaches and stomach aches daily, and often felt dizzy, nauseous, and weak.  In 2008 I was sent to countless specialists for countless tests, but the doctors had no answers for me.  They suggested I was “just depressed” or worse yet, making it up.  After two separate nurses (parents of clients, not actually treating me) suggested that it sounded like fibromyalgia, I began to do my own research.  The more I learned, the more I knew that those two nurses were right.  Still, the doctors continued to dismiss me, to disregard my suffering and deny my pleas for help.  It took another four years before I was officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia.  Treatment does reduce the symptoms a bit, but what meant more than anything was the validation that what I was feeling was real.  That’s why Fibromyalgia Awareness Day (May 12) is so important – it lets other people suffering with this condition know that they are not alone.

As bad as it is, I wish I could say that fibromyalgia was my only ailment.  Sadly, it rarely acts alone; fibromyalgia patients often have a number of overlapping conditions. In 2011 I developed new symptoms: unbearable pain and swelling in my feet and ankles, and rashes on my legs.  Though these didn’t fit with what I was sure was (still undiagnosed) fibromyalgia, they were visible, which meant the doctors could no longer say it was all in my head.  I was told it was “some kind of arthritis,” that it was autoimmune/inflammatory, but the doctor didn’t know exactly what type.  Over time, it progressed, so that my hands often swelled and nearly all joints became painful.  It took another four years of rotating misdiagnoses and failed treatments before we finally figured out that the inflammatory arthritis and other symptoms were part of a rare disease called sarcoidosis.  Like with fibromyalgia, the confirmation of a definitive answer after years of only questions was a huge relief.  Also like with fibromyalgia, the treatment helps to alleviate the symptoms somewhat, but I still have pain and fatigue every day, and a bad flare can knock me out of commission for days or weeks at a time.