How would you react?

Have you ever wondered how you would react if you were given a diagnosis that would change your life? I never gave it a thought until it happened.

My diagnosis brought a sense of relief. I suffered for 3 months prior to diagnosis so I was relieved to finally have a name to attach to my symptoms.

So you may wonder, "What is myositis? ". Myo refers to muscles and itis is inflammation so myositis is literally inflammation of he muscles. Muscle inflammation can have many causes and is normally only temporary, but there are a group of inflammatory myopathies that are believed to be auto-immune in nature.

My specific diagnosis is dermatomyositis. Derma refers to skin, so in addition to muscle inflammation, I have skin involvement. I had patches of dusky pink and purple skin over several joints and the "butterfly rash" that is commonly seen with Lupus and other auto-immune diseases.

The rash was unsightly, but I was very lucky to have it. I'll explain in my next post.