Rheumatic diseases awareness

Rheumatic diseases awareness

Rheumatic diseases affect joins and muscles. The cause is most probably given by combination of genes and environmental factors. Some of them occur most likely in older age and some in younger. The second case is less known and that is what I would like to talk mostly.

An autoimmune disease is a condition where your autoimmune system respond to your own body as it would be foreign body. It generally attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. These diseases include for example celiac disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, sclerosis, rheumatic arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus, SLE).  

Compared to Lupus (SLE), systemic sclerosis is more rare and less known. There is no cure for that. The diagnosis is really difficult since the symptoms differ from person to person, and they come and go. There are common signs and symptoms: chronic joint pain, muscle pain, fatigue. Another signs continue with a low white blood cell count, Raynaud's phenomenon, kidney disease, skin problems and other. About 70 per cent of people suffer for skin symptoms, including classic butterfly rash, or thick red patches on the skin. 

All patients with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) will develop some kind of skin changes, such as tightening of skin around the fingers, dryness and irritation, broken blood vessels, calcinosis. 

All those things are well written on an internet and I do not want to copy anything of that. I will try to describe the things from my point of view, from my experiences. Mostly that people may understand what people like me go through, also to know that many diseases are not visible and people can suffer, and also what I hope the most, that I can help someone. 

Many times I feel frustrated, without seeing the light in the end. 

You know, there is always the light in the end :-). But the everyday pains, which come and go, bleeding tips of my fingers, tiredness, headaches are so real, pulls down my energy. The everyday fight doesn't start in the morning. It starts in every moment of the day and there is no relief. I can take painkillers, but they help only shortly and not all the pain goes away. It is like having some kind of monster behind my shoulders. 

I will explain my situation by this picture. And let me know what do you think about it.