Hi love bugs! Happy Monday! Todays blog post is not your normal fashion post, but I get asked all the time about how I manage my autoimmune diseases. Since I haven’t given yall an update nor really explained what I do to keep my symptoms under control I figured I would make this post!

So for those of you that don’t know or are new here I was diagnoses with Mixed connective tissues disease, Hypothyroidism/Hashimoto’s ,and Dysautonomia in 2018. Recently, I have been diagnosed with Hyper-mobility (which has to do with the connective tissue)

Just a few pictures form this journey!

I was having an EKG done at my cardiologist appointment

Below I will link information on the diseases and conditions I mentioned above:

Now I want to say that these articles I linked give you a brief summary of the diagnosis, treatment, symptoms and more. Autoimmune diseases are tricky and everyones symptoms are different.

MAIN TREATMENT

Physical Therapy

I don’t know what I would do without my physical therapist! My physical therapy mainly treats my Dysautonomia and headaches. This has been a game changer. I usually go 2-3 time a week, depending on how I am feeling. We have been doing more treatment for my hyper mobility too and it has been helping a ton!

Medication

So I am on medication to treat my MCTD, Heart condition and thyroid. I am not going to go in depth on what they are or anything. I was just recently put on iron pills for low iron and we added a second does of my heart medication at night.

HERE are some other things I do to hep manage my diseases at home:

Diet:

So when I was diagnosed my Rheumatologist made it very clear that I need to clean up my diet. I was already Gluten free at the time so that wasn’t the hard part. Giving up dairy was the hard part. Dairy causes inflammation in the body and it was making my joint pain and symptoms worse. Sugar is another big one that I try to stay away from. Dont get me wrong at 22 years old avoiding all three is hard! but I know that if I cave I will feel it the next day and to me it is not worth it.

Next up is……drum roll please………

Hydration:

someone with Dysautonomia needs to drink a lot of water, but their bodies have trouble letting them know they are thirsty. lol it’s a constant game I play. Ive gotten a lot better at getting my ounces in. I try to make sureI drink either a liquid IV, or complete hydration everyday. Basically they are a healthier alternative to gatorade.

now onto the third thing I do

SLEEP:

So this is a big one. I HAVE TO get 8 hours of sleep. If I don’t my symptoms will catch up to me. Also my fatigue is a 1000’s times worse when I do not have 8-9 hours of sleep. This is hard being a 22 year old and wanting to go out with friends, but I try my best.

Exercise:

Lastly, this is one that I have struggled with since I was diagnosed. Due to my Dysautonomia and my heart condition, physical activity is very hard. But I have to stay active so my muscles don’t continue to weaken. Ive been doing barre and pilates along with going on 3-4 mile walks and doing a bit of cardio! This is something I struggle A LOT. But there are so many things that effect my ability to move my body, but I am making it work!

Now Those are the main things I do, I have some other things I have, or do to help manage my symptoms as well,

Other things I do to manage:

Shower chair, I have heat intolerance, so I lose feeling in my legs and would fall in the shower (also just recommend these in general! its amazing)! lol
Handicap card: I have this one because there are times where I am having a bad heart day or am feeling very weak. My mom was concerned about me walking to classes by myself and so was my doctor.
Compression socks, I have blood polling in my legs! Let me tell you they don’t make these very cute!
I constantly have snacks in my purse and eat periodically during the day due to low blood pressure.
Neck brace and body pillow. The brace is to continue at home therapy and the pillow all help support my joint at night
Ice packs. I use these for everything, form joint pain, headaches, or when my body is overheated.
Apple watch to monitor my heart rate. I use the watch as a guide to monitor my heart and I also have the fall protection on, so if I ever pass out my mom and Josh get an alter.

Autoimmune diseases look different for each person. Meaning I might have one symptom and a person with the same condition might have never had it. So keep that in mind. I hope this was helpful and gave y’all an idea about how I manage the diseases and conditions. If you have any questions please feel free to comment and I’ll try to answer them! I also did a Q&A on my stories that autoimmune related. Its saved to a highlight!

I just wanted to say to any of my friends you are struggling with autoimmune disease, or someone you know or love has been diagnosised, I am sending gentle hugs your way!!

XOXO

TOTALLY TORI