Hi everyone! Iām feeling better today. I had a really bad flare yesterday, my husband really helped me calm down and fall asleep.
However, if you have health OCD I feel like you probably shouldnāt read this post unless you are in a good head space. I do not have health OCD.
So, Iāve been dealing with a lot of symptoms and health issues that have led me to alot of doctors visits, I have several different doctors that specialize in specific things and now go to an internal medicine doctor. My doctor thinks I have an autoimmune disease, so Iām running alot of tests for several different autoimmune conditions. My OCD has been dormant for a while. I would still deal with it sometimes, but it was way easier to manage. Iām not medicated for OCD. However, I do use arthritis cream and was prescribed muscle relaxers, I have not yet taken the muscle relaxers. So I had a really bad OCD flare last night, specifically Relationship OCD. My husband has just seen parole and Iām super excited for him to come home, but my OCD was trying to convince me otherwise. I also have a new nephew that was born on the 22nd. So I am out of state and was watching my niece for my sister in law. A lot of exciting things happening at once. Iām assuming that triggered my OCD. But Iāve been swelling in my face and dealing with a little bit of body pain as well. Autoimmune diseases come in flares like OCD.
I have done some research on autoimmune diseases so I can know what I need to do in order to keep it under control if thatās what I do get diagnosed with. I learned that some autoimmune diseases are linked to OCD, or can even cause OCD because of inflammation in the brain. & It gave me a glimmer of hope honestly. Could my OCD have started because of an autoimmune disease? Could I get better by treating it? My OCD didnāt kick start until I was about 19. I am now 23. I did have symptoms of OCD at 17 though, I went through a period of time where I was compulsively praying and in a cycle of intense anxiety. So I probably had it since I was 17, but I donāt know.
My symptoms of autoimmune disease didnāt start until about a year ago, but it couldāve been longer. I couldnāt get rid of a UTI I had for MONTHS & didnāt know why. I had to see a urologist, I was 21 when I kept getting UTIās. I had to get a procedure done, I had pus build up in my urethra that was almost completely blocking off my urethra. I do not know how the infection got that severe.. especially because I took antibiotic after antibiotic. I felt like Iād get better for a few days, then boomā¦UTI symptoms once again. So.. that couldāve been the start of autoimmune symptoms. With an autoimmune disease, your immune system is pretty trash. You donāt fight off infections or illness as easy as others. I remember how Iād get sick after everyone else in the house would get sick, but Iād get it so much worse and have the illness for much longer than everyone else. Surprisingly enough, I never got COVID. My whole family had it & I didnāt get it. Unless I did and just didnāt have symptoms.
Anyways, I never thought I would say this.. but I hope I do have an autoimmune disease that caused OCD so that I can treat the autoimmune disease and keep my OCD dormant for as long as possible. I forgot what it was like to deal with OCD.. it was so bad lastnight, I remember feeling that type of anxiety and itās the worst.. š
If you took the time to read, thank you! I seem like a charity case lol.. I never thought by 23 years old Iād be like this.