If you read no other post, read this.

What if I told you all I had cancer?

You would be shocked. Depending on how close to you I am, your heart might drop, you might cry. It would be devastating. You would have sympathy, perhaps empathy, want to help out however you could. You might go do one of the walks in support, understand the financial burden. You would tell me to rest rather than push hard. You would be slightly closer to understanding what it is I'm going through because you've heard all about cancer.

I don't have cancer.
But I do have Myasthenia Gravis, POTS/Dysautonomia, Lyme Disease, Bartonella, Candida, Adrenal Fatigue, a blood clot disorder, an immune deficiency and back problems, among other "smaller" things.

So why is it that many of us with any of those conditions often feel like people don't get it, don't believe us, don't understand the seriousness of the condition, and sometimes even don't really care?

I think a major answer to that question is awareness. And diving even deeper through that is why isn't there awareness? That answer in itself flares off into many different directions. We need to stop believing the lies and start doing our own research. We need to stop doubting the people going through these conditions and believe their word and show support. We need to treat everyone with the empathy, care and grace we show to those who have cancer, whether or not we have any illness at all.

I am not downplaying the seriousness of cancer. Rather I am trying to educate you on the seriousness of other illnesses that are out there. I'm focusing on the ones I have because those are the ones I know, and they keep adding up. The more we are aware, the less ignorant we are and the more we can relate to others which can be followed by helping others. And I truly believe, it is in giving that we receive. Bless to be blessed.

So... quick summary for no reason other than to educate, promote awareness, remind others of what it is we deal with each and every day even though it is invisible.

Myasthenia Gravis- an autoimmune neuro muscular disease. Our body mistakenly attacks our own body- particularly the connection from the nerve to the muscle. The more we use a particular muscle, the more it attacks, thus the more we use a muscle the less we are able to use that muscle. Opposite of exercising,  which is why exercise is bad for us. Along with using the muscle, heat, stress and many medications can do the same thing and make us worse. The best thing to do is rest and small amounts of activity at a time with conservation of energy. This can affect arms, legs, core, neck, vision, smiling, talking, chewing, swallowing and breathing. It is serious and it can be life threatening. It doesn't slowly progress or slowly get better, it is different every day, every hour, sometimes every minute. This is hard for people to understand, and therefore believe. No cure.

Dysautonomia particularly POTS- POTS is a type of dysautonomia. Dysautonomia is dysfunction of our autonomic nervous system. This means at any particular time any of the automatic functions of our body may go haywire- blood pressure, heart-rate, digestion, respiratory, temperature, vision, gi functioning/motility, muscles, balance, etc. POTS specifically is when standing your heart-rate skyrockets, and typically your blood pressure drops. Because of this a large number of other symptoms come along and many times people will pass out, sometimes people will have seizures. It's often times important to get some form of exercise but its also important not to stand in one place because all the blood will pool to the legs and the body will give out. Fluids and salt are some of the most important things for POTS, as well as compression socks. Some people can barely function, others have many decent days. POTS is a syndrome so there is usually an underlying condition that brought it on but very often that condition is unknown. No cure but sometimes it will go away.

Lyme Disease- As I'm just starting to learn about this, I'm seeing the extreme controversy over it and due to research very much siding on the more controversial side, the side you won't hear on the news or from the doctors, the side you will probably only believe if you walk in the shoes of someone who has it. Lyme is extremely serious and can be extremely disabling. It is caused by a tick bite. You might never see the tick or know you were bitten, you may not even get the classic bullseye rash. It can affect just about any system or part in the body, affecting you both physically and mentally. It can hide and be very hard to attack. Blood tests can be pretty much worthless, and it is important to find an LLMD- a lyme specialist, often they don't take insurance because of the controversy behind it. In short, it's a nightmare. Whether there is a cure or just remission is also controversial, but to reach either is quite a struggle.

Bartonella- Also starting to learn about this one. People may think of it as the cat scratch disease which it can be but then often much more mild. My key symptoms were extremely hot feet and a rash that looked like scratches. But this also affects you very strongly/negatively both physically and mentally. This is most likely what is causing me to have mood/personality changes. Very scary. Also very hard to get rid of.

Candida- Talk about controversy, starting to wonder if I got all the controversial illnesses just so I could get the word out about them. Anyways, candida exists normally in the body in a normal amount. But antibiotics, sugar, yeast, processed foods, inhalers, steroids, etc. feed this. When it receives too much of that "food" it takes over. This again can affect just about any part/system of the body causing serious illness. Most recognized as well as mild would be thrush on the tongue. But that is nothing compared to a full blown candida infection. Blood tests are often unreliable and doctors may claim this really isn't a problem. When you've been on 50 medications in 9 months, it's a problem. I'm not claiming this to be true as I'm not 100% certain but I have read candida is what decomposes your body after you pass. So if that's true, if you have an overgrowth of candida while alive, think about what it may be doing to you. Another very very hard one to get rid of. The best way to get rid of it is to eat a clean diet of no sugar, no yeast, no processed foods, stay away from antibiotics and other medications as much as possible, and take probiotics. If it's out of control you need high dose probiotics.

Adrenal Fatigue- I honestly haven't done much research about this. What I know is my adrenals don't quite work as they should. So any stressor- whether it be physical, mental, emotional, chemical (such as fumes), allergens, sensory (noises/visual), adds up. Normal people have an empty cup and with all these stressors the cup never even reaches the top. They can handle it. With adrenal fatigue my cup is already half full or more. Each of these stressors brings me closer to the top and time and time again overflows. My body feels like it is giving out on me, I have no energy to function. I have no choice but to rest. Resting means a quiet room, most likely not a lot of noise or visual stimulation, doing absolutely nothing to allow my body to recover and be able to work again. Some people can get adrenal crisis which is a medical emergency and can be life threatening.

Blood clot disorder- the one I have means my blood clots too easily. This means I'm at higher risk of a blood clot and pulmonary embolism- life threatening blood clot in the lungs which I've already previously survived. This means I must walk every 2 hours. If I'm taking a long trip, in the hospital or getting surgery I will need to receive or give myself shots as blood thinners to help prevent the clotting.

Immune deficiency- My deficiency is in protection against pneumonia, strep, ear and sinus infections. Normal people fight these things with their immune systems. Well my immune system is a little bit broken, ok probably more than a little. I really can't fight these illnesses if I encounter them. So my only prevention is staying away from sick people. I also take vitamin c, probiotics and other supplements. Awareness of this is important because it is soooo helpful if people wash their hands, sneeze/cough into a kleenex or your shirt (not your hands!), not go out in public if you are sick, and clean/disinfect your homes. Allergies (which I have very badly to environmental stuff as well as extreme allergy to cats and some dogs) can turn into a respiratory problem which can easily turn into pneumonia for me. "Going out" isn't so easy for me.

This is my case and everyone is different, but many of us have more than one illness, and many times they don't work together. In my case, having Lyme and Bartonella right now are making my MG and POTS flare up. The medications I have to take can make them flare up also. The medications also make candida worse. For POTS, I'm supposed to get some exercise, but exercise makes MG worse. I have to move around because of the blood clot risk, but too much again makes MG worse. It's a crazy vicious cycle. For the most part, I "look" normal, but I'm far from normal. What drives us who have these conditions crazy is hearing people say "So other than MG (and/or POTS, Lyme, etc) you are healthy?" Excuse me/us? No. MG/POTS/Lyme in itself is enough but add them together, good grief, that's far from being healthy. It's an every second invisible struggle! Yet we must continue to overcome. Overcoming means getting through another day. Sometimes merely laying in bed breathing, other days blessed to be able to get out- but we never know which day we're going to get.

I guess that wasn't very quick, it also wasn't very detailed, but it's what came to mind tonight. I recently read if you want to be a writer you have to write. It's obvious but often times ignored. So, I wrote, and I hope this helps someone out there better understand these conditions. I am very glad I don't have cancer, but what I do have isn't any better.

I know October is breast cancer awareness month. Everyone knows that. But did you know October is also Dysautonomia awareness month? Please do what you can to help all of us who suffer from it. Just pass this on. Or visit this website to learn more-
http://www.dysautonomiainternational.org/page.php?ID=34

Thank you and God bless.