During the process, more symptoms would slowly begin to arise, from unexplained sores
and rashes to blood in
my urine, and eventually
blood in my stool. I
bounced between
gastroenterology and urology to hematology and ultimately rheumatology. This, of course, wasn’t without a few more trips to the ER in the midst, due to some symptoms worsening at times. The blatant disrespect at times, and failure of some physicians to acknowledge there truly is a problem became a prominent issue, and I imagine a lot of people go through that. Many are quick to assume that you’re simply drug-seeking, or you just want attention. I remember blowing up angrily because not once did I ever ask for medication, nor was I someone who frequented the emergency room. They could clearly look in my medical history, and see it had been years since I had been to the ER prior to my visit at the end of summer. Still, they assumed I had an agenda for meds.
Once I finally began to see Rheumatologists, it all began to make more sense. As they did more specific testing, it became clear that more things were elevated and positive in correlation with Lupus. As crazy as it sounds, it was actually vindicating in a sense as I read some of the tell-tale symptoms, and could cop to having those symptoms for months prior. It was more like saying oK, you’re really not as crazy as they think you are. While I’ve had some minor flare-ups over the past year or so, the journey after that process has actually been a lot better. I’ve been able to learn what things I could easily change to make things better for me health wise, and it’s slowly becoming an opportunity for me to educate people on something that isn’t so common amongst men.
This article is definitely the start of something that will continue here at U.G. Digital. Periodically, we’ll have pieces here with people who are affected by Lupus, and show how they are dealing and maneuvering through life.
Do you know someone with Lupus, or have you recently been diagnosed with Lupus? We would love to hear and publish your story. Feel free to submit to [email protected]