(Age:
37 years, female)
I am 37 years old and female. I was 35 when I was diagnosed.
I can remember being extremely irritated as a young child (ages 4-5), a lot of dental problems. My baby teeth were removed in pieces by the dentist, not a pleasant experience.
Around age 7, I had a lot of cankers and continued to have episodes of them until I was diagnosed. I remember it was age 7 because they were so severe I was taken to the doctor and received a medication to try and clear them up.
I was always considered tall for my age and very thin. At age 16, I was diagnosed as “anemic” and was told I would require iron supplements forever. During my late teens, I did seem to finally have some “extra” weight but that was only from age 17 to about age 20.
In hindsight, I suppose I was “late” developing, as I did not get my first period till I was 13 ½ years old. My energy levels seemed OK when I was a teenager, but I recall having a lot of bloating and “stomach noise” while in high school.
During my 20’s till the time of diagnosis, I seemed to be fatigued a lot and this was very stressful.
In the year prior to being diagnosed, I had two severe episodes of cankers on my tongue. I could hardly eat for a week each time. The first episode, I saw a doctor who “burnt” the cankers, and prescribed a mouth rinse. The second occurrence was exactly six months later and on this occasion a different doctor just prescribed the same mouth rinse. Due to the painfulness of these episodes, I put myself on a diet of jello and porridge, as these were the only foods I could stand to eat.
Also in the year before my diagnosis, I had a severe reaction to a hornet sting on my index finger. Having had no prior reaction to any types of stings, I was shocked when my whole hand became hot and itchy and swelled like a balloon. It took a week to recover from this. Benadryl and bed rest was the treatment.
I thought I had the flu in the weeks before I was finally diagnosed. I had diarrhoea for several weeks before I went to my doctor. I was told to have only liquids for a few days (to rest the bowel) and to provide a stool sample for the lab. Ten days later my lab results were fine but I was much weaker and still having diarrhoea. My doctor got me into the specialist in less than forty-eight hours.
I was diagnosed immediately.
My weight over the last year had gone from 130 lbs to 105 lbs. Presently, my weight is 116 but it seems difficult to keep it up to that level.
During the ten years prior to my diagnosis I had severe leg cramps, especially at night. I wonder if others experience the same thing.
