As I grew up, through my teen years into my college years, my illnesses became more apparent. I started to become more and more fatigued as I came closer to my college graduation. It wasn’t only from the usual lack of sleep that is normal in the college years, but my body was starting to behave strangely. I was going to the doctor more to ask more questions, and as usual, I was being dismissed.
One of the ways my body started changing that was becoming more apparent to me was that my periods were starting to last longer, and they were heavier. Because of this, my ob/gyn just threw a variety of birth control pills at me that could possibly control my menstrual cycles. The problem that I had with any type of birth control that I was prescribed was that it messed with my other systems. When my periods lasted too long and were heavy for months at a time I ended up as an anemic.
Another way that my body started to change in a major way was with my gastrointestinal system. It was difficult to eat any kind of food that would leave my stomach and bowels feeling ok. In college I didn’t have a large income to spend on food, so I did what I could to eat food that didn’t cause problems. My weight was blamed for these problems just on sight. The doctors don’t even ask any questions about what is being consumed or anything else, they make assumptions, and tell anyone who has a BMI above the ideal that they need to make a change.
I didn’t learn what all of these problems actually were for many years, and it took many doctors and many arguments with many doctors.
SLE Reality 
Leave a comment