My life has been riddled with tragedy since I was four and lost both my parents. When my grandfather died when I was 12 I fell into a depression and started losing weight. Over the next two years I lost 20 lbs and started having sever pain in all my joints and could not eat.
Finally my grandmother took me to a new doctor that started running tests. After months and months of blood tests and scans they diagnosed me with MCTD with characteristics of RA, dermomyositis, and SLE. I was put on plaquenil and prednisone.
After two and a half years and 100 lbs of weight gain I got of the yucky prednisone. I still have pain everyday and have deformed hands and feet now. My disease has also made having kids difficult. We lost our first daughter and the two that have survived were premature. My youngest was 15 weeks early and is still in the NICU. I also have ventricle damage to my heart and have had one mini stroke so far. Unfortunately, I can’t afford medical insurance and am currently not under any care. I just try to stay as healthy and active as I can and just ignore the pain. I just hope my girls don’t end up with this too when they get older. 18 years of this has sucked. I would love to be normal again.
Aimee
California
Submitted 09/02/2013
The informational content of this article is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.
This story is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.
