The story of Valeska
Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune disorder that involves blistering and sores of the skin and mucus membranes. They are basically open sores that won’t heal on their own because your body is killing the protein that holds your skin together. I mainly had it in my mouth so eating was very painful. Systems first appeared in my early 30s, the doctors were baffled and it took over a year to get diagnosed. During that waiting period I lost so much weight and all my muscle that I could barely carry a gallon of milk. The fatigue was so bad that I would sleep for 12 hours straight. Finally, I ended up at the University of Miami Dermatology Center were the doctors laid out a treatment plan for me with a regiment of corticosteroids. A local Dermatologist in the Fort Lauderdale area administered the plan and is still my go to doctor. The UM doctor explained to me that I was lucky because most people didn’t get diagnosed that early because the disease was so rare to the medical community. There was a time when most patients end up dying of hunger or infection. Today PV is much more recognized in the medical community, diagnosed earlier and treatment has improved in only a 10 year period.
After a few years of PV treatment I was not gaining much weight and finally was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) which is disease that causes inflammation to the large intestine. This causes difficulty with food absorption, therefore struggled to reach a health weight. Most women around me wanted to lose weight while I struggled to gain weight. Every time I would hear comments about how lucky I was to be skinny I wanted to slap the person and sadly it was always a female. Young ladies I am telling you right now it’s the same struggle being underweight as it is being overweight. You have no energy and the process of change you want is a crawling slow pace, which takes a lot of diet changes and dedication to your goal.
It has been a long journey of doctor visits, various medications, strict diet changes and exercise to reach remission (2 years now). I still struggle with fatigue and minor flares but at least I am still able to maintain a healthy weight and be active within my circumstances. I am thankful for my loving husband and family continued support.