Well. Here I am.
I decided to give blogging a shot, in the hopes that maybe (just maybe) something I write as I progress through my days will connect with someone out there, and that maybe (just maybe) I would be able to help said person in some way.
So, before anything else, I should probably share a few details about myself and my life, in case any of you are curious as to why I would think that I could have the chance to help someone else.
First things first, I am a teenager. You will hear me talking about high school in general, classes, social dynamics/ situations, and probably more random things as well.
However, with that being said, I’m not exactly your average girl. I have several medical conditions, most of which people have never heard of, that can make life a little… interesting at times. (And difficult. They do like to make my life a little difficult.) I suppose that the worst part of it all is that I don’t have many outward manifestations of my conditions, so people either think I’m faking them for sympathy (which I can guarantee you, I’m not) or they just flat out don’t believe that there’s anything “real” going on with me.
Now, in case anyone out there has heard of any of these (or even has one or more), I’ll tell you all a little about the major conditions that I have.
The first one I’ll talk about is called dysautonomia. Its a condition in which your autonomic nervous system is not as in-sync as it should be, so it will either fail to regulate what its supposed to, or it will send altered signals to the brain, causing the wrong types of things to happen. It can cause things like unstable blood pressure, lightheadness, tachycardia, and more.
The next one I should probably talk about is called AMPS, or Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome. To put it as simply as I can seem to find it, AMPS results from an abnormal short circuit in the spinal cord that sends pain signals both to the brain and to the autonomic nervous system. (Hey look… the autonomic nervous system again.) There are several different forms of AMPS, and I have the “Diffuse pain” form- basically, constant and total-body pain.
Next, I’ll move on to another, more recent diagnosis of mine called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Its classified as a connective tissue disorder that results from a defect in the structure, production, or processing of collagen or proteins that interact with collagen. EDS comes in many different forms that range in severity. Thankfully, I’ve been diagnosed with one of the less severe forms that mainly affects the joints, making them more elastic and hypermobile.
So now you guys know some of the reasons why my life can get to be different than most of the other kids I come into contact with. There are a few more as well, but I’ll probably end up sharing them in subsequent blog posts, since I think I’ve typed at all of you enough for today.
Thank you for reading, and hopefully you’ll be coming back here again at some point to keep going with whatever I may have to say.
Almost a Memory 