Day 9: A Question from the Crowd

On 9 May 2016, a Facebook friend had a specific question. I have shortened names from the original post to initials.

Yesterday, A asked me about the original onset of my Lupus.

As I mentioned on Day 3, the trauma to my immune system because of exposure to toxic mold is believed to be what caused my Lupus to be activated. As such, it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish which symptoms I experienced as a result of the mold, and which were a result of the Lupus onset. However, I’ll try and be clear about it.

In 10th Grade (Year 11), I started at the senior high school for my local area. Within the first month, I was constantly stuffy and sneezy, and in October my pediatrician said I had the worst rhinitis he had ever seen. It took us a while to figure out that I was allergic to something in the school, so I continued to be exposed.

Off and on throughout that year, I had some wrist and ankle pains. However, I had (through dance) broken my ankles multiple times, and my wrists had both been injured within the previous 12 months, so we didn’t think much of it.

In early May, a few months after I turned 16, I was in Chemistry lab doing a vinegar titration, and suddenly felt dizzy, weak, and was struck by a sudden, severe headache. I remember my friend B helping me downstairs to the nurse’s office, and she then sent me outside for some fresh air.

The headache continued for about a month. I was sent for a lumbar puncture to rule out meningitis, and I remember how much better my head felt because the draining of spinal fluid relieved pressure. I also started to have joint pain, and my energy was very low. Joint pain became the most pervasive symptom for the following years. I missed three months of 11th Grade because it was so severe. (I had started a new school.) Other symptoms didn’t appear for much longer– GI symptoms when I was 19, mouth and skin ulcers at 21, hair loss at 24, photosensitivity, malar rash, and eye issues at 27. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about why it took 11 years to reach a diagnosis.

I am happy to take and answer questions from any of my loyal readers this year, too! Just comment, use the private contact form on the About page, or PM This Isolation Life’s Facebook page or Instagram!

Wondering what’s going on with these posts? Check out my explanation HERE!