I NO LONGER SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
I was diagnosed with lupus and
antiphospholipid antibody syndrome
in the winter of the year
2000.
My road to diagnosis was very
long. I suffered with severe fatigue
and joint pain throughout my college
years. My parents were constantly
taking me to different specialists
to find a diagnosis. At 21
an autoimmune specialist told us I
had chronic fatigue syndrome and
Epstein Barr due to having mono
in college. He also said there were
no treatments and I have to learn
to cope. So, that is what I did for 6
more years.
I became pregnant at 27 years old
with my son. It was horrible. I was
beyond exhausted, every piece of
my body hurt (including my hair),
my balance was terribly off and I
felt so sick. I knew this couldn’t be
normal. While reviewing my
blood work at a routine visit my
OB very matter-of -factly stated,
“Oh and you have lupus.” She
said they would monitor me, but
everything would be ok and not to
worry.
32—iPain Living Magazine
I had never heard of lupus and had
a million questions. She was very
dismissive and sent me on my
way. I spent the rest of my pregnancy
under the care of her group
and trusted her. That was a mistake.
By my third trimester I was
rapidly gaining weight, filling up
with fluid and my blood pressure
kept rising. The group was consistent
in telling me, “All of this is
normal and everything will be fine.”
Three weeks before my due date
the baby hadn’t moved in hours.
He was normally very active so I
became concerned. I called the
office and they had me come right
over. I saw an OB I had never seen
before. She took one look at me
and knew something was wrong.
After her evaluation she told us I
was pre eclamptic and needed to
be induced that day.
My delivery was like something
out of a horror scene. I began to
hemorrhage and all hands were on
deck. I had never seen so many
people in a room at one time for
one patient. Thankfully, they controlled
the bleeding. My beautiful
baby and I were going to be ok.
Two days later my husband took
us home.
About 4 days after the birth of my
son something started to bother me
in my leg. The doctors sent me for
an ultrasound. They found a blood
clot in my leg. I was told this was
normal after giving birth. I was put
on coumadin and checked daily to
make sure the clot didn’t travel to
my heart. At this point I trusted no
one and began a search for a rheumatologist
to explain lupus to me
and what the rest of my life would
look like.
I found someone amazing upon a
friend’s recommendation. He did a
ton of bloodwork and a very extensive
evaluation at my first visit.
He was so kind and understanding.
I was sent home with so many resources
and information to keep
me busy until my next visit where
we would go over everything. I
was like a sponge absorbing every
piece of information I could get
my hands on.
At my next visit I received my diagnosis,
lupus and antiphospholip-
By Danielle Turco