Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge- POST 2- Introductions

Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (HAWMC)
Post 2
Introductions
By Rachael May Ralston


I live with several chronic illnesses. I have been ill my whole life, we just never had a name for all of my problems. I was undiagnosed until I was 9.

The first and biggest diagnosis I got was Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. I have a mixture of types. Type 1 which is classical, Type 3 which is hypermobility and Type 7 which is Arthrochalisia. I seem to be more like Type 7 but I also have crossovers of the rest.
Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) causes the body to produce bad collagen. Collagen is in around 90% of the body. It is the 'glue' that holds you together so when it is faulty you, literally, fall apart from the inside out. I could write a book about EDS and the symptoms but if I was to narrow it down to 5 things this is what they would be:
1. It causes chronic, debilitating pain in every part of the body.
2. It can and in most cases does cause dislocations, multiple times a day, every day.
3. It is more than just being 'a little bit flexible'.
4. According to WebMD it has over 200 symptoms - I believe that!!
5. You can still lead a great life, have great friends and people with EDS have feelings just like you

The next condition I was diagnosed with was Hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is a condition where the body cannot produce enough of the thyroid hormone. The five things I would tell you about Hypothyroidism are:
1. You can control Hypothyroidism with medication. In most cases the medication needs to be used for the rest of the persons life.
2. It doesn't matter how well the Hypothyroidism is controlled the person will always be living with Hypothyroidism.
3. It can cause extreme tiredness which some people may perceive as laziness.
4. It is an invisible illness, you cannot tell from looking at the person how sick they really are.
5. It can be diagnosed by a simple blood test.

The next condition I was diagnosed with was Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The five things that I would like you to know about CFS are:
1. The tiredness a person with CFS is the same as the tiredness a normal person would feel if they stayed awake for 72 hours!
3. CFS is more than just tiredness. There are many other symptoms.
4. It can make functioning normally very hard. Some people with CFS cannot manage to work or may need to cancel plans at the last minute.
5. It is another invisible illness.

The next condition that I was diagnosed with was Dysautonomia. It is where the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The five things that I would like you to know about Dysautonomia are:
1. There are many forms of Dysautonomia. The most common form is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia (POTS)
2. Some people are only mildly effected while some are left completely bed ridden and disabled.
3. It can be difficult to diagnose.
4. It can have many underlying causes such as Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
5. there are some medications that can help but Dysautonomia can never be completely controlled.

The final (Yep! I am FINALLY almost done!) condition I was diagnosed with is Gastroparesis. It means that the stomach is partially paralyzed which makes the food remain in the stomach for a longer time than normal.
The five things that I would like you to know about Gastroparesis (GP) are:
1. It can begin at anytime of life. You can be completely healthy and then have GP for the rest of your life. Most of the time the cause for it starting is never known.
2. A lot of people with GP may  have a feeding tube but not all of them.
3. Adjusting your diet can help.
4. There are a few tests that can diagnose GP but many doctors fail to do them.
5. It is an invisible illness and it can be unpredictable.

I hope this has helped some people