What New Disease Does Adam Have?

I was hoping to create a Buzzfeed survey, instead of writing here.  It would have been a fun way to tell everyone.  "I have _______, and I'm also apparently a smokey Gouda."

So....here goes.

Last week, I was diagnosed with Lupus.

No.  Seriously.  It's Lupus.

I'm not kidding.  

A couple of months ago, my health started taking another downhill turn.  I went to my primary physician, and had a crapload of blood work done.  Turns out, my C-Reactive Protein levels were through the roof.  CRP is an indicator of inflammation or infection in your system.  It shows up most often in the event of Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Another indicator for Lupus called a DNA antibody came back positive.  Since I tested negative for Rheumatoid, it leaves really only one possibility.

When I had some testing done a couple of years ago, it tested positive for Sjogren's.  I didn't realize until looking at the results again, that it was positive for SECONDARY Sjogren's.  That means that the Sjogren's is caused by another autoimmune disease or disorder.  Unfortunately, the rheumatologist I was seeing at the time never bothered to dig deeper to find the underlying cause.

I was expecting this diagnosis for some time.  It's a relief of sorts to know (albeit three years later) what is happening to me.  It's still a kick in the balls.  

I'm not ever going to get better.  I'll have the occasional period of remission, but the way I feel right now is pretty much as good as it's going to get.  I'm doing my best to keep a positive attitude about the whole thing.

Oh, in the event you were keeping track, I now have Tourette's, PTSD, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, small fiber neuropathy, radiculopathy, a Chiari Malformation, a massive cyst in my brain, three failed spinal surgeries, Sjogren's Syndrome, Type 1 Diabetes, and Lupus.  Fucking Lupus.