My Chronic Illnesses

Hello Readers-

Today I will be discussing my Chronic Illnesses. So I have 5 diagnosed chronic conditions. This number is likely to grow over my life as most of my conditions are autoimmune which means my body is attacking itself. So my main chronic conditions are Addison’s Disease, Hashimoto’s Disease, Gastroparesis, and POTS. I also have anemia and am currently seeing a rheumatologist for a joint issue. So let’s separate my conditions into the doctors that I see which would be an endocrinologist, a gastroenterologist, a nutritionist, a cardiologist, and a hematologist. I see my Endocrinologist for Addison’s Disease and Hashimoto’s Disease. Addison’s Disease is a condition where the body doesn’t make or can’t make enough adrenal hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. My Addison’s Disease is autoimmune so that means that my body attacked my adrenal glands and now my body doesn’t make enough cortisol and adrenaline. This can be dangerous when I am sick as cortisol regulates blood pressure and blood sugar as well as affects most parts of the body which means my body can go into an adrenal crisis. I take prednisone and fludrocortisone to manage my hormone levels. Next is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis which is an autoimmune hypothyroidism. this means my body has attacked my thyroid and now it can’t make enough thyroxine. thyroxine controls the body’s metabolic rate as well as heart and muscle function. I take synthetic thyroxine called levothyroxine to manage my thyroxine levels. So next I see a Gastroenterologist and a Nutritionist for my gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is a condition where the nerves and muscles in and around the stomach become paralyzed. This makes digestion more difficult. I see a gastroenterologist to mitigate my symptoms. The Next Doctor I see is a Cardiologist for my POTS. POTS is an Acronym that stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. POTS is a circulatory condition that causes my heart rate to rise when I sit up or stand. My Heart Rate rises when I stand because my blood gets stuck near the bottom of my body. I see a cardiologist to monitor my symptoms and my heart.

Thanks for Reading - Morgan