I am often asked what chronic illnesses I suffer from. Rambling off a list of rare diseases is usually not helpful so I created a list for you.
I included the date of diagnosis, but symptoms of the disease sometimes started years before.
- Polymyositis 1986
- Myasthenia Gravis 2001
- Lupus 2005 which was later changed to Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease 2013
- Recurrent Acute Pancreatitis 2005 (Docs now believe it’s a form of autoimmune pancreatitis). This has caused a dozen hospitalizations, at a minimum.
- GERD 2005
- Hiatal hernia 2005
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome 2005
- Osteoporosis 2005 (from long term effects of corticosteroid use)
- Adrenal Insufficiency 2013 (from long term corticosteroid use)
- Gastroparesis 2013
- Dysautonomia/P.O.T.S. 2014. My form of POTS fluctuates from very low blood pressure for extended times & tachycardia to hyperadrenergic POTS with high blood pressure & tachycardia.
- Fibromyalgia 2015
- Ehlers Danlos Syndrome 2017
- Mast Cell Activation Disease 2017
- Sepsis from Gall bladder infection 2017. This nearly killed me. Had to wear a drain from my gall bladder for several months until strong enough to have gall bladder removed.
- Sepsis (#2) from port infection 2017. Had port removed.
- Sepsis (#3) cause unknown 2018.
- Multiple hospitalizations from feeding tube complications 2019.
- Sepsis (#4) cause unknown 2019
- Osteoarthritis 2019
- Non-essential tremors
- Chronic Migraines
- Chronic Anemia
- Chronic Pain (neuropathic, generalized, muscular, joint, Epi-gastric, coat hanger pain, cramping, – take your pick!)
- Depression and anxiety
- Other things to consider: heat intolerant, exercise intolerant, many food intolerances and intermittent brain fog!
- Currently under testing for avascular necrosis of both hip joints and both shoulder joints (from long term corticosteroid use)
