As someone living with a rare autoimmune disease, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease I fully understand how confusing the beginning of this journey can be. At first people think you're crazy. They think you're exaggerating when you say you woke up in agonizing pain from head to toe. When you can barely walk due to joint pain and muscle weakness. When you're covered in rashes all over your body with no explanation as to where they come free. When you're so weak you can't bear the weight of a pencil or cell phone in your hand. Doctors will make you think it's "all in your head". They will tell you tell you to simply get more rest or you're just "getting older". The reality is that autoimmune disease can be difficult to diagnose due to doctors feeling the symptoms are exaggerated or the result of something else that is milder and easier to treat. What happens when you you finally find a doctor to run a full blood panel on you? When they finally confirm you are not crazy at all but are living with unimaginable pain and severe symptoms and a cure is said to be "impossible"? What do you do then? These are questions I had back in 2023 when I first got diagnosed with Mixed Connective Tissue Disease or MCTD.
MCTD is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by a unique "overlap" of three distinct conditions: systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), scleroderma, and polymyositis. The immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue, causing inflammation, organ damage, and chronic pain. In addition to the conditions that fall under MCTD I also have rheumatoid arthritis and I show symptoms for almost a dozen unique autoimmune conditions. So you can imagine my symptoms and suffering I endured while trying to figure out what was going on with me. With mention of the fact that MCTD is a progressive illness meaning symptoms typically worsen as time goes on. This gruesome disease completely stripped me of my normal life. I looked different, I sounded different (still do), I loss a ton of weight, I could no longer go and hang out with friends, and was barely able to work. I needed help with every single thing, I could no longer function on my own. I felt hopeless, I cried everyday for months just asking God "why me?". I couldn't understand what I done that was so bad that I deserved that have my life ripped out from under me. I even recall a doctor letting me know this disease was slowly killing me. This was one of the darkest periods of my life.
One day after having tried all the pharmaceutical drugs prescribed by my rheumatologist with little to no relief, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I began reading holistic books and speaking with holistic doctors regarding natural healing options. I read every book and article regarding my illnesses that I could get my hands on. I tried to gather as much knowledge as I could. Once I felt confident that I had gathered enough information, the journey began. So here are some of the things I wish I had someone to tell me when I was first diagnosed with MCTD:
- Healing is NOT linear. What worked for someone else may not work for me. What may have worked for them in 2 weeks may take 6 to 8 weeks to work for me. I learned not compare my journey to any one else's and keep track of my own healing journey.
- If you do not keep track of your triggers you will not see any progress. You have to write down EVERYTHING. What you ate that day, if you walked more than normal that day, if you sat in the sun, how you felt afterwards. If you took any medicines or herbs and how you felt the next day. Tracking is everything on your journey. My autoimmune healing and support bundle comes with a progress tracker so it is easy to keep track of your daily activities to see what works and what does not.
- Your biggest focus needs to be on reducing your overall inflammation. The inflammation is triggering your symptoms and reeking havoc on your organs. Reducing overall inflammation is where you will see the best results. As the inflammation comes down you will notice less joint pan and fatigue and you will start to see less swelling and increased mobility.
- Dissect your blood panel results. Work on your liver if it struggling, liver and kidneys go hand in hand so work on both of these. Once you take a look at the parts of your body that are struggling the most, go one by one with healing them. Detoxing them and getting them strong and as close to normal again as possible.
- Keep your stress levels as low as you possibly can. Stress is one of the worst things for any illness but autoimmune diseases in particular literally worsen under stressful conditions. I learned this the hard way. You will have to learn natural ways to calm your nervous system. I have linked my nervous system reset guide for chronic illness here if you want to know the methods I use to manage my stress and keep my nervous system calm.
- Your diet is the #1 issue that will keep you sick. It is not optional, you MUST change your eating habits. This will feel overwhelming at first because it can be very restricting. You will have to see which foods you tolerate well and which ones you do not. Added sugar is a huge NO NO. The only sugar you need is from fruits. Processed foods will worsen your symptoms. I have linked my autoimmune healing and support bundle which includes the food list I live by. It includes a detailed grocery list as well as some recipe ideas.
- Herbal teas and supplements are the way to go. There is an herb for just about every health issue there is. Whether you take the herbs in supplement form or in the form of a tea. They will be a game changer for your natural healing journey. In my autoimmune healing and support bundle I also give a detailed list of all of the supplements I use on my journey and what they're good for.
- This is a game of consistency. You need to understand that it took you years t o get sick and it may take months to years to start to see real progress, but stay the course. Do not give up because you don't see results quickly. I too wanted to give up but I am so glad I did not. I am happy I stayed consistent because my health has improved immensely. I can function on my own again and do alot things MCTD took from me in the beginning.
In closing I will say that the biggest thing you will need on this journey is community. A group of individuals who are living with autoimmune disease themselves and who will allow you to vent on those not so easy days, judgement free. That's where born2blossomm comes in. I want to be a safe space for you to vent on your rough days and share your amazing progress on your best days. I welcome you to join the community by following us on our social media sites and be sure to engage. Always look for the red flower as the main photo.
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