My Diagnosis of Sick Sickly

I relate to the title of Sick Sickly also! As I told you, in the about me section, or will tell you depending on whether or not I have published it yet, when you read this, I relate to many things!
In a past life, which is what I like to call past experiences (so to speak), periods of time in which I was something and someone else at  different points in my journey, (if that makes any sense?) someone that I was close to in one of these points in time, had always called me sick sickly, and it was true, as much as I hated to hear it back then. I was always sick in one way or another whether it had to do with my illnesses that at that point I had been diagnosed with and some of them that I had not yet been diagnosed with, or it was just my weak immune system playing games with me and I caught every single bug, flu, or virus known to man throughout my entire life!





So, going way back to when I was 14 years old, I had become pregnant. I was average size back then 120 pounds and 5'2, because I did not have much guidance, in well most things in life, I didn't have it in my pregnancy either (I will get to the story of that in my earlier years my journey in the about me section at some point and tag it there). At six months pregnant I was barely even showing and so because I didn't really know much about being pregnant and we didn't have google back then I started to eat, I ate in excess thinking that my baby would start to grow and then be ok. It was my mission to eat like crazy in order for my baby to start growing like crazy and be healthy. Not only the fact that I was a child carrying a child, but I had also put on an unhealthy amount of weight in my pregnancy in such a short time, I think that and the delivery took a large toll and put too much pressure on my body and system and that is what led to all of the health problems I have today. At least, this is what I believe, it quite possibly could have been written in my genes this way, one day I am sure I will know for certain.

Shortly after the birth of my first and only child, I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism, it was not easy to get diagnosed. I was gaining weight excessively, having a hard time losing it, and my hair was falling out by the handful in each shower. So I scooped my hair up and put it in a zip loc baggie and brought it to the doctors with me. This doctor never really took me seriously, regardless of how sick I was, his only ever answer to me was that I had to change my diet and exercise and that I should really lose weight after all, that is the answer every doctor gives, this is what they get paid for to give us the advice to lose weight, right? I was not even put on a medication for my hypothyroid. After quite some time of this doctor not listening to me, I got fed up and started to see a new doctor. She suggested that I see a surgeon right away because I had very large goiters on my thyroid. So from there, I went to see a surgeon, who at first said this mass in your neck can NOT be your thyroid! He was in shock, it seemed by the size of my neck! At that point I was having a really hard time swallowing and choking bread even, I had gained an excessive amount of weight, I was feeling lousy all of the time, my hair was continuing to fall out. So, the surgeon, who was a really great surgeon I might add, set me up for an emergency surgery and  I had a complete thyroidectomy in 2004.

This is me and my sister after my thyroid surgery in 2004, you can somewhat see my incision, which over the years has healed and scarred beautifully!

Shortly after having surgery I had gotten shingles, I had told my doctor what I felt that it was and of course they did not listen to me. Since they did not catch it in time I had developed post herpetic neuralgia. I then went on to see an Endocrinologist for the first time after struggling with this condition for many years! Almost ten years of dealing with terrible symptoms from my hypothyroid and the first doctor I was seeing never even referred me to an Endocrinologist, I didn't even know what one was! She was an amazing doctor! I would have highly suggested her to anyone. She ended up diagnosing me with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome and also after the surgery and testing they realized that I had Hashimoto's Thyroiditis as well. I also have issues with my Pituitary gland and at one point there were talks of having surgery on the gland.

Of course, through all of this, I had always had pain in my back, which was nothing at that point that I could not handle. I was also always sick, my immune system was so weak that I would catch anything that was going around or anyone around me had! I was then diagnosed with having a weak immune system and of course, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is also an autoimmune disease. I wish I would have taken my health into my own hands back then and had not been so nieve to think that the doctors were paid to do a job and that they would do it well. It was shortly after that, though, that I started to do my own research on my own symptoms and start to research my own medical conditions because doctors I guess really just don't have the time to worry about their patients on such a level, either that or they simply don't care enough to!

I started to have more and more pain as the years went on and was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, my aunt had it so it was not a shock to me to be diagnosed with it since she had been telling me all along she thought I had it. I, however, did not want to accept the diagnosis for the longest time, and I did not accept it! I went on to be diagnosed with some other conditions throughout the years such as gastritis, arthritis, ADHD, and due to a tragedy, that I had suffered in my life, that I will touch base on in other posts, PTSD, social and general anxiety. I also have a bad nervous system and stress highly exasperates my conditions, due to high-stress levels in around 2008 I had developed bells palsy and half of my face went paralyzed. I was lucky and it only affected me for about a month and there were no lasting side effects. Also, recently after being tested I have had a high SCL-70 a few times which is a marker for Scleroderma. Although, I do not yet have a diagnosis of it because my Rheumatologist says I do not have enough symptoms of it as of yet. She expressed that does not mean I do not have it, just that it has not yet progressed enough to tell which type I might have. I may have left a few things out here and there, but I just wanted to give you all a general idea of what I am dealing with here as far as my health goes.

Some day's I swear I am a walking talking ICD-9,  which is the standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management, and clinical purposes. But, despite all of my diagnoses and what I have been through, I am still me. I am a stronger person of course despite my illnesses and all that I have been through, even though sometimes they make me feel weak and less than human!