Great article in New Yorker on dealing with autoimmune disease

[Suslew]

Hi,
I really enjoyed this article.  You might check it out ...it's about the journey of a woman as she gets ill, goes through diagnosis and dealing with the effects of her disease.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/08/26/whats-wrong-with-me

[wildforwater]

Great article.  Thanks!

Maria

[susanep]

Thank you Suslew, I am going to go read it now. I always appreciate any new article that folks on here pass on to us.

susanep

[Carolina]

The best lines:

A common symptom of autoimmune diseases is debilitating fatigue. Complaining of fatigue sounds like moral weakness; in New York City, tired is normal. But autoimmune fatigue is different from a sleep-deprived person's exhaustion. The worst part of my fatigue, the one I couldn't explain to anyone—I knew I'd seem crazy—was the loss of an intact sense of self.

Boy we all know this one.

Hugs, Elaine

[Winona2]

Thank you for sharing this!! What a terrific article... her last paragraph made me cry.

[Thea]

Me, too, crying. I'm really struggling today. Reading that article is a bit of confirmation that it's okay that I can't always "soldier on."

[warmwaters]

Thanks - one of the best articles I've read about the "journey" of autoimmune disease.  Very honest about the emotions.  I'll be sharing it with friends and family.

[Carebear]

What an excellent read.  I too will be sharing this with family and friends.

[jazzlover]

"Still another way is to say that it began in February of 2012, on a windy beach in Vietnam; my boyfriend and I were reading by the water when I noticed a rash on my inner arm?seven or eight vibrantly red bumps. At home in New York, three days later, I had a low fever."

Sure hope she got checked out by an infectious disease doctor.

[Suslew]

Jazzlover - you're comment made me laugh, but I hope she did too!

Carolina - isn't that description perfect?  Loss of an intact sense of self.  Pre-DX, I truly felt lost, fogged, unable to choose and persue an idea or solution, even though the desire was there I felt like I was trapped in the proverbial paper bag.  I told someone just before my diagnosis that I felt like I was spinning my wheels.  It was so sad, In retrospect, my work suffered horribly as I tried to soldier on.  But now, while I'm not better, I'm certainly better at dealing with it all. 

Carebear and WW - I will be sharing as well, so much of what she's written really speaks to me.  I'm so glad that you enjoyed it and will put it to good use. 

Winona2 and Thea - this disease takes so much, hang in there!

Susanep - I hope you got something out of it!

[gmomjuju]

This really spoke to me!!  Especially today!

Judy