I am so proud to participate in the 5th annual RA blog week.  Today’s topic is:

Dealing – How do other diagnoses impact your RD and its treatment?

When I was diagnosed with Graves disease my endocrinologist told me, “Once you get one autoimmune diagnosis, you are likely to get a few more.”  I didn’t believe her. I learned the hard way.  At this point, I am living with spondlyarthropathy, Graves Disease, fibromyalgia, DSAP (disseminated superficial actinic porokerotosis), rosacea, and hypertension.  I’m quite a mess!

This past summer, I had some serious stomach issues.  I went through tons of tests to rule out both autoimmune and other medical issues (gallstones, etc.)  It turned out that the rosacea medication I was taking really messed with my stomach.  While going through testing, all I could think was “Can I handle one more thing?”  It’s frightening to watch my body do things that I can’t control.  It’s difficult to add one more treatment/medication/therapy into my daily routine.  I often feel overwhelmed and defeated. I need time to shift my brain into a new way of thinking, and there are days when I have to dig in deep to keep going and not breakdown.

I have determined that in order for me to survive my body, I had to do things that make me happy.  My dog Georgia is my main source of happiness.  She is also my main source of stress due to her medical needs, but her snuggles keep me going.   I also love to read, listen to music, binge watch Netflix, and to treat myself to mani/pedi when I can.  I’ve also learned that it is okay to cry and breakdown as long as you can pick yourself up again.  I can only fix so much when it comes to my body and I’ve slowly learned to deal with the impact it makes on my life.  That only happens one day at a time.