, , Personal Stories
, , Personal Stories
, , Personal Stories
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This is a reply to Sandra Padilla. I was diagnosed with severe polymyositis in 1970. I went through a lot of painful tests and I was in severe pain and could barely walk or move my arms, especially to raise them even to shoulder level. I was in the hospital for a month and treated with hydrotherapy, prednisone and lots of bedrest.
I spent the first couple of weeks feeling extremely sorry for myself and asking that age-old question ” what did I do to deserve this”. The answer is “nothing”. When I decided to start thinking positive and telling myself everything would be fine, things started turning around.
I am now 76 years old and have been able to do most of the things I have wanted to do all these years. My energy level has always been fairly low, my muscles get sore if I over do things and I have had chest pain, etc over the years.
The hardest part has been that it is a fairly rare and not well understood condition. Most of my doctors have down played the seriousness of it and one or two have told me “you don’t have polymyositis”. Well, excuse me, but I live in my body, and I know how I feel.
My best advice is, get plenty of rest, exercise, eat healthy, stay hydrated, avoid alcohol, only take the medications you absolutely need to stay healthy, and most of all – believe in yourself and stay positive. There is a saying that “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, either is true”. I choose to think I can!