This category is for introducing yourself and explaining what medical conditions you have and how they affect your life or whatever.
Looks like no one else has tried this category out yet, so I’ll start.
I had stroke afteraffects (enough to be unable to drive to work and back), type 2 diabetes, excess coughing, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and congestive heart failure.
The stroke afteraffects cause the most problems - I’m no longer able to live alone safely.
Maybe depression also - diagnosed but symptoms don’t seem to match.
Ok, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and an enlarged prostate in 1997 and started meds. In march 1998 I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I was diagnosed with depression later on… I also have had allergies since the early 70’s and have had to deal with that for many years. In 2009 I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer and am still dealing with that.
I have five autoimmune diseases/conditions: 1) I have Celiac Disease (and other food sensitivities), so must follow a gluten free diet as well as avoiding soy and corn. 2) I am hypothyroid. 3) I got Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, now in remission, at 12 y.o. That left me vulnerable for osteoarthritis. 4) I have Pernicious Anemia, requiring weekly B12 injections and Hcl/enzymes with meals. 5) LADA/Type 1 Diabetes. Of course 4) and 5) are both terminal without treatment, so what else – I treat! And live a reasonably normal life with the help of family, friends, dogs, and TuDiabetes. Thanks Manny for TuD, and pinkyspurse for this new group.
Greetings Earthlings, if that is what you are…
I am Paula (hello!). In live in western NC (US) with my partner of 21 years, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and some fish. I am an author with one published book and some published articles and short stories. I used to be a potter, a Respite program coordinator, and a hot dog vendor. One of my dogs is my retired service dog and another is in training.
Let’s see, I have:
hypertension
hyperthyroid
Type II diabetes
mild spina bifida
clinical (chronic) depression (no shit, really?)
and the biggie, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, hypermobility type (genetic mutation but no super powers, dangit).
EDS has caused:
degenerative disc/disk disease
spinal stenosis and nerve pinching in C5-7, T2-4, most of L and S
osteoarthritis
fibromyalgia-like symptoms (there are some linking between the two disorders)
and chronic never ending go the hell away pain
the C5-7 causes major headaches and arm weakness, the thoracic disks cause some nerve impingement that grabs sometimes, making it hard to take a breath, and the L and S mess has been around for so long, I’m not sure where it stops and starts!
I need to lose weight and am working on that. Slow progress is best but sometimes it seems to crawl.
My diabetes has been chaotic but recently I started a new medication that I think may be working. My blood sugar is a roller coaster from highs of over 200 to lows of less than 60, all within the span of just a few hours. The better I eat, the bigger the swing. When I was diagnosed, my fasting blood glucose was 235 but my A1c was 4.7.
I wasn’t surprised to get diabetes. If it is a genetic thing on either side of my family, I have it. Only my family understood why I cheered when my younger brother got diabetes first.
I’ve had Type 1 since age 3. I struggled with that disease(plus I hated shots) for many years due to lack of the intricate knowledge and not having the D-Life experienced People to talk to. Yay! DOC! 
I have had a heart murmur forever.
I was dxd. with Hypothyroidism(had lots of the symptoms) in the mid 90’s and was on Levo-thyroxine and Dur-K for about 2 years since my Endo moved to T.O. then. Years later, my next and present Endo has done every test and the results show that I do not have Hypo. I’m thinking maybe I was at the border line and the meds bounced me back to normal but it may resurface again? IDK.
I’ve had Raynauds disease for many years but only once was I Really bothered by it.
I was dxd. with severe Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 24. It continually worsened even with meds. Vicious disease, that one. My Rheumy recommended that I quit my job since he knew what was coming. I went into a deep depression about 6 years later and was a moment away from suicide one evening. Thank God something unusual but so simple happened to zap me out of that state of mind. I was put on an anti-depressant prior to which didn’t help much, just made me more tired. I went off the anti-depressant about 10 years ago. I feel down occasionally but so do healthy People. There was only once more that I was Really depressed about 6 years ago when my Hubby had to carry me down the stairs in the morning because the pain was excruciating again. He wanted to stay but I said, "Just give me my drugs, my shots, a juice and my cell, I’ll be okay(even though I couldn’t move so HaHa, I would have been crispy crunch if the house decided to burn down that day). I wished I was dead. Out of the 17 meds I have been on, only Indo, Vioxx(discontinued), Myochrisine, Imuran and steroids(Pred., Cortisone and Depo Medrol) have put me in remission for a couple years here and there. I try to stay upbeat, look after my Diabetes, am at peace with my God, take care of our Pet and Family, stay social, get at least one laugh a day, try new things to keep me positive like a new hobby(I’ve just applied for minimal Volunteer work) and I look forward to what Good things the FUTURE BRINGS.
I forgot, I also have had Asthma for about 22 years which is under control.
Welcome!
Murphy Paula! You have waay more than your share going on there. Congrats on your published book and articles. Best of Luck continuing your efforts and weight-loss.
I want my Vioxx back! It worked. The joint pain was minimal and nothing before nor since has even come close.
Laughter is the best medicine and I surround myself with as much positive good stuff as I can. I don’t watch the news, I barely read the headlines with Google news, and I avoid the people who would bring me down.
I’m not a whiner about it, not too often anyway. There are days though, you know, when you just want to curl up into a ball and tell the world to go to heck.
Hi PaulaO. Have you tried Celebrex? I use it for my arthritis and would hate to give it up.
Celebrex works great for rheumatoid arthritis. But for osteoarthritis, it really doesn’t come close to what Vioxx was capable of. I’ve tried Celebrex several times but ibuprofen does better for me. Thanks for the suggestion, though!
Me neither and Yes, I know. I was on Celebrex but it caused me stomach issues so my Rheumy took me off of it.
(I forgot some things here so I’m redoing this). Hi, I’m the founder of this group! This group actually started on another website and I have tried to simplify things as much as possible to make this userfriendly. I accept all friendship requests and feedback.
I’m going to list my conditions randomly. I have had PCOS symptoms since I was 9, have been diagnosed with prediabetes last December, L5 Sciatica, a pinched trapezius nerve (which was misdiagnosed as tennis elbow earlier), and my stomach empties itself slowly. I recovered from PTSD (which was previously misdiagnosed as ADD and I took the wrong prescription for), had a brush with what looked like breast cancer, and had at least 1 miscarriage. I also tend to get anemic and dehydrated from time to time. I get migraines easily and had head trauma when I was little. I’m also currently trying to lose weight because I was obese when they diagnosed me with prediabetes. I also have had a Still’s heart murmur since I was a child; it’s dominant and genetic in my family because everyone I know of that’s related to me by blood has it. I had a bad herpes infection in my right eye, which left me with scar tissue on my cornea. They threatened to give me a corneal transplant at one point, but later told me it wasn’t necessary (although the scar tissue changed my right eye from being nearsighted with astigmatism to farsighted with astigmatism). The eye doctor says it’s safe for me to drive in spite of the fact that the scar tissue means I’ll never have perfect vision ever again, even with corrective lenses.
I am married with 2 sons and (currently) 6 cats, which is a long story (see my cat blog for a more detailed explanation about my cats). I am a stay at home mom partly by choice and partly by neccessity. The last official job I had was lead courier, which helped make my back worse due to the fact that I was lifting 100+ pound bags as part of my job. I also used to be a professional level ballerina. My current hobbies include cooking, crochet, video games, and giving free advice/ support/ encouragement to those who need it. Let’s all work together to make this a helpful group for everyone!
Ummm…I’m linda, and my baggage includes diabetes of course, then…asthma, migraines, high blood pressure, irregular heart beats, gerd, gall bladder disease, Raynauds, neuropathy, arthritis, allergies to cats, environmental allergies and allergy to calcium channel blockers, and some crazy problem with cramps in hands, feet and legs. There!!!
Hello Linda…Welcome!! I have an allergy to cats also, so I’ve had/have different types of Pets since my feline Friends are gone.
As far as the cramps in your hands, you may have Trigger Fingers. I get a weird thingy also which is painful and frustrating. When I am reading a newspaper or book, my thumbs will totally stick to my pointer fingers. I do not think this is Trigger Fingers though since they do not get stuck in a bent position which is a symptom. It certainly sounds like you have some trials going on too. 
A hand therapist told me once that the worst thing you can do to your hands, even healthy ones, is hold a book the way most of us do: with the thumb on the inside of the book.
Thanks for the reply Terrie and Paula. My doctor doesn’t seem to think it’s Trigger Finger…the symptoms are somewhat different. Nevertheless…I still don’t know what it is!! Sometimes you just accept it because you’ve tried to get answers and it’s like banging your head on the wall. It’s not life threatening, and only mildly painful…but it’s a bloody nuisance. Like the frequent nose bleeds I get. Always from the same nostril, not dire…and have 3 cauterizations so far…so what’s the sense of going for another!!!
I’ve seen chimps holding books the same way that I do and they are known to be quite intelligent. 
That’s a surprise! How else is a Person supposed to hold a book or newspaper(not including a stand)?
YW Linda!
I have searched the net up and down and haven’t found anything scary for my(perhaps yours also)thumb/finger locking, toe/foot spasms but tons of People get them. Here are some given reasons:
-fatigue(applies to me like most Folks)
-low potassium
-low magnesium
-low calcium
-low sodium(me)
-some other vitamin/minerals deficiency
-due to RA(I keep forgetting to ask my Rheumy but I think any Arthritis/Fibro would cause it))
-cold extremities(not always)
-too much exercising
-wearing high heels for too many years(guilty many years ago)
-just Life(for sure )
-there were a couple more but I forgot them
Anyways, I just walk out the spasms in my feet if I was sleeping(like I used to during a charley horse in my calves). If it happens during my wake time and can’t walk it out, I put 3/4 of hot water in the hot water bottle(remove air) and roll my feet on it firmly while standing or sitting and while distracting my attention from it until the spasms are gone. As for my thumbs, I run them under warm water. I also try not to point my toes down for any reason or to reach for something on my tippy-toes. Doing easy foot/hand exercises helps me some. I also make sure that I usually consume enough vitamins/minerals. My sodium was low on my last test since we’ve been trying to eat less of it for quite some time. Ugh! You can’t win! Any other suggestions, please mention them.
Now nose bleeds would be most annoying also. I hope that it is not serious Linda.
Hmmm…I shouldn’t have put the word scary in my last comment. Any Arthritis can be scary and it was a possible reason given.