Everything Hurts: Living With Autoimmune Diseases

In the winter of 2014 my hands started turning a dark blueish-purple whenever I would go outside. When this would happen they'd become almost unusable - it was as if my hands were paralyzed. When I'd come back inside they would tingle so bad it was painful. When I would arrive to work in the mornings, I'd have to wait 10 minutes before I could write or type. It finally became so uncomfortable that I went to see my doctor. I showed her a few photos and she immediately diagnosed me with Raynaud's Disease.

Raynaud's disease is a disorder of the blood vessels that causes them to narrow when you are cold or stressed. Because of this, blood can't reach your skin and it turns blue. As blood flow returns, the skin throbs. The sensations usually occur in the hands and feet.

A few months after my diagnosis my legs started going numb. I assumed this was related to the Raynaud's and ignored it. In May my energy suddenly plummeted. I was so tired that I could barely make it through my work day. In fact, the only way I could was to find an empty office to take a nap in during my lunch hour. I would spend my weekends trying to "catch up" on sleep. No matter how much I slept I continued to feel exhausted. Then came the hair loss. Lots and lots of hair loss. I was convinced I was going to become bald! The last straw was an overwhelming feeling of not feeling well but having no specific symptom. I called my doctor.

Unfortunately, while she could tell something was off (anyone who looked at me could), my GP couldn't figure out what was going on so she referred me to Mayo Clinic. I went to Mayo Clinic almost monthly for a year with no success in determining the issue. To some degree I learned to live with my symptoms and accepted this as my new normal.

When I became pregnant with Grady my energy plummeted even more and my hair loss increased. I mentioned it to my OBGYN and she said, "That sounds like a thyroid issue, let's get you tested." When the results came in my OBGYN sent me immediately to an endocrinologist for low thyroid.

(Low thyroid is easily diagnosed with blood tests. There is no reason I should have spent two years experiencing my symptoms. If you experience any symptoms of thyroid disease ask to be tested.)

My endocrinologist has now diagnosed me with Hashimoto's Disease. Hashimoto's is when your immune system attacks your thyroid, a gland in your neck that produces the hormones that coordinate many of your body's functions.

I am currently being treated with hormone therapy, vitamin D and B12 injections. Hashimoto's is very frustrating in that your medicine dosage must be constantly monitored and adjusted, and numerous other things can cause your body to readjust and your prescription to be out of whack. In fact, after I had Grady I started noticing that I was having difficulty swallowing so I called my endocrinologist and he had me come in right away. When he read my blood results he told me that I should be dead. It was absolutely horrifying to hear as I sat there holding my newborn.

Today, everything seems well balanced but that does not mean I go without symptoms. I still experience more fatigue than most and my hair is very brittle. For me, the next steps are adjusting my diet to see if that helps. If you have any questions regarding Raynaud's, low thyroid, or Hashimoto's please ask. I am not an expert but I had quite the journey to reach my diagnosis and would love to help others avoid that.