The changes were subtle at first but they were definitely there…
Bloating, tiredness, aching pain throughout my body, my hands turning blue, stomach spasms…
Sometimes, the spasms were so painful, I’d collapse and end up in hospital. It had all begun in 2003, when I was 37 years old, but I knew there was something wrong.
I went to see my GP countless times, took myself to A&E and was prescribed various medications – steroids, antibiotics, even HRT, all of which seemed to exacerbate, rather than help how I was feeling.
After two long, frustrating years of being misdiagnosed, I finally saw a private rheumatologist who sent me for blood tests, and in 2005, I was told: ‘You’ve got Diffuse Systemic Scleroderma, also known as Systemic Sclerosis,’ he said. I…
