Flourishing in the face of autoimmunity

Posted on March 29, 2019March 28, 2019 Posted in autoimmunity, dermatomyositis, dermatomyositis, lupus, treatmentsTagged autoimmune disease, autoimmunity, caroline wozniacki, cushing's syndrome, dermatomyositis, kim kardashian, kristy mcpherson, lupus, maria callas, rheumatoid arthritis, selena gomez, shawn lane, toni braxton

Autoimmune diseases can leave sufferers feeling alone and vulnerable. To our friends, we sound like strangers spitting out words they have never heard. We try to get someone, anyone, to understand that every day, we walk a tightrope made taut by modern medicine over a 10,000-foot drop to oblivion. If and when we fall, doctors cast us lifelines. Sometimes, we lose our grip. Sometimes, the lines break.

The rarer the condition, the more anxious and more depressed its leaves the afflicted. We visit doctor after doctor and wander the world in search of charlatans who have answers to the darkest of questions: Why me? What caused this? Did I do this to myself?

Seeing talented sports stars, actors, singers, and musicians flourish despite their conditions inspires those of us battling autoimmunity.

We have to remind ourselves daily that diagnosis is not the end. Most autoimmune diseases have been thoroughly studied. Though few, if any have cures, many have multiple treatment options. Most treatments are safer and more effective than they have ever been. And in the twenty-first century, many autoimmune patients live long, productive, even happy lives.

Staying on top of their game: sports stars with autoimmune diseases

Pro golfer Kristy McPherson was told by many doctors she would have to give up sports after being diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis at age 11. A rheumatologist at the Medical University of South Carolina told her that even with the disease, she could still do whatever she wanted.

Pro golfer Kristy McPherson refused to give up sports after her doctors diagnosed her with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and told her she would never be able to run or jump competitively again. [Chris McGrath | Getty Images]

“All I needed was that one doctor to tell me that,” McPherson said. “That’s when I went back to playing sports.”

Months after becoming the world’s top tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

She explained: “You start asking yourself questions: What does this mean? Does it mean I can’t get in as great of shape as I was before?”

Though she initially struggled, she bounced back to win the 2018 China Open.

“[Wining in Being] meant so much to me,” Wozniacki added. “It also gave me the belief that nothing is going to set me back. I’m going to work with this and this is how it is, and I can do anything.”

Both McPherson and Wozniacki now speak with young people about living with the rheumatoid arthritis.

Having an autoimmune disease doesn’t mean you can’t be beautiful

Kim Kardashian’s makeup-free selfies have encouraged many others to acknowledge their psoriasis and helped me feel better about flare-ups on my face.

“The disease can cross all socioeconomic lines,” Randy Beranek, CEO of the National Psoriasis Foundation, told The Atlantic. “If someone as famous and visible as Kim Kardashian can have it, it doesn’t make your disease feel so isolating.”

Last December, Kardashian even polled her fans on Twitter about effective medications.

Celebrated singers and musicians have autoimmune diseases

Actress and pop singer Selena Gomez a few years ago revealed she has lupus and in 2017 informed her fans on Instagram about her life-saving kidney transplant.

Few 24-year-olds probably understand what it’s like to have their bodies threaten their lives. To deal with the psychological pain, Gomez checked into Arizona’s Meadows rehab facility. She then faced backlash from fans and from media, who thought she was being treated for drugs or alcohol addiction.

Like Kardashian, revealing her condition to the world opened up mainstream and social media discussions about lupus: What is it? What does it mean for Gomez’s career and for others living with the disease?

Singer Toni Braxton also has refused to let lupus derail her career or her commitment to her family. One of the most decorated pop singers in American history, she has won seven Grammy Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, seven American Music Awards, among numerous other accolades.

As a guitarist, I find Shawn Lane’s story most inspiring. Widely regarded as one of the greatest guitar players ever, Lane struggled since he was twelve with psoriatic arthritis. His condition not only caused itchy, painful rashes on his skin, but also stiffness in his joints, making it increasingly difficult to play his instruments.

Shawn Lane psoriatic arthritis guitar player — Guitar player Shawn Lane played his entire career in spite of stiffening joints and skin rashes from psoriatic arthritis. His playing and compositions continue to inspire guitarists even after his untimely death in 2003.

Worse, Lane developed Cushing’s syndrome from his long-term use of cortisone to treat his skin and joints. He had to stop playing guitar and died a few years later after developing breathing problems.

Nonetheless, as readers can find more about here, Shawn Lane lived as full of a life as possible, playing in spite of the pain, and producing some of the most beautiful instrumental music of the last thirty years.

Laurence Olivier and Maria Callas: living with and dying from dermatomyositis

As I mentioned here, heralded actor Laurence Olivier and legendary soprano Maria Callas both battled and eventually died from dermatomyositis. That never stopped either of them from prolific careers.

Olivier has been called the most definitive actor of the twentieth century. He lived to be 82, dominating the British stage and starring in more than fifty films.

Callas had a vocal range just below three octaves and is still one of the best known and influential opera singers of the twentieth century. Despite her disease affecting her voice in her later years, she still performed. Forty-plus years after her death, Callas’s name still sells albums.

Dermatomyositis and dentistry

Posted on March 11, 2019March 10, 2019 Posted in autoimmunity, dermatomyositis, dermatomyositis, lupus, treatmentsTagged dentist, dermatomyositis, hygiene, plaque, treatments

I hate the dentist. The mere thought of the pick scraping my teeth and gums drives me wild like a dog forced to endure a high-pitched whistle. The memories of the drill hitting a nerve the dentist thought she numbed causes me to cringe like a child being force-fed once-boiled, week-old brussel sprouts. If ever you put a committee into a room and asked them to think of ways to torture human beings, most would suggest the dentist’s chair–picks, drills, giant needles into the cheek and all.

Taking medications to keep my immune system in check has forced me to return to the dentist at least twice in the next month.

Because of this, I have spent much of my adult life taking care of my teeth, brushing daily, twice yearly cleanings. The best I could ask of myself is to floss more frequently. Between my hygiene and being subjected to numerous municipal fluoride experiments, my teeth have been largely impervious. I’ve had maybe six cavities my entire life–most of which were during my teen years, when my parents paid the dental bills and a toothbrush was as foreign to me as bathroom cleaner.

I returned to the dentist Thursday only to find out I have five cavities, including a nasty deep one that will require removing the tooth’s root. My dentist was so surprised by the decay he asked me: Had I changed my diet? Was I taking some crazy medication? Had I stopped brushing in protest of the Trump administration?

Immunosuppressants and oral health

Six months of immunosuppressants have desiccated my mouth like border patrol to the Arizona deserts and leaving my teeth to the mercy of the bacterial cartels.

Dental plaque (a bacterial mass) loves to hide in the canyons, ridges, and crevasses in between my teeth. A healthy mouth can better fight them. The immunocompromised, which now includes me, have to stay vigilant.

I’m now paying the price for those times I was too tired or too lazy or too busy to floss. The cost: a root canal, a crown, and five fillings. This amounts to over $2,000 in dental work and four hours in the dental torture chamber.

Autoimmune diseases and oral health

Interestingly, this may not be my fault alone. According to Colgate, dermatomyositis itself could be the cause. Their one-pager on autoimmune diseases and oral health points out how these diseases can cause trouble with eating, swallowing, and dry out the mouth and lead to more cavities.

Dermatomyositis dries out the mouth and causes trouble swallowing, leading to more cavities.

That said, as my dentist and hygienist explained, the solution is better oral hygiene. Three or four cleanings per year could also help. That and spending the ides of March in the dentist’s office having my teeth repaired.

Being reminded how rare dermatomyositis is

Posted on February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 Posted in amyopathic dermatomyositis, autoimmunity, dermatomyositis, dermatomyositis, lupus, symptomsTagged amyopathic dermatomyositis, antinuclear antibodies, autoimmune disease, dermatology, dermatomyositis, house md, rare disease

Last week, at my annual check-up, my internist reminded how rare dermatomyositis is. He told me he had not seen a patient with the autoimmune disease in his 30-year-plus career. That includes his stint as a pharmacist.

He also relayed my dermatologist’s reaction when he first diagnosed me: “You won’t believe what this guy you sent me has.”

Like my internist, my dermatologist has been in practice almost 30 years and has not seen more than a couple cases of dermatomyositis. That was why it took him about two months to come up with the correct diagnosis. If not for the woman with him that day, it may have taken him longer.

Interestingly, legendary opera soprano Maria Callas had dermatomyositis. So did four-time Academy Award winner Lawrence Olivier, who many regard among the twentieth-century’s greatest actors. See him in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1948) above.

An Opinion from a Consulting Dermatologist

The day he diagnosed me in July 2018, another doctor was present. I cannot remember her name or her specialty. My internist last week explained she was some sort of a consulting physician on rare dermatological diseases.

After reviewing my case file, she examined my rashes. I told her and my dermatologist about the trouble breathing and my blood tests, which showed elevated antinuclear antibody. I mentioned my internist’s suspicion I had lupus.

She then asked if I had trouble walking up the stairs. I said no.

She again examined the rashes on my fingers, neck, and shoulders. I now know what she was looking for: Gottron’s papules and a shawl rash–both diagnostic indicators of dermatomyositis.

She then walked back toward the computer and exchanged words I could not hear with my dermatologist. Five seconds later, they approached the front of the exam chair and suggested dermatomyositis.

“What in the world is that?” I asked them.

Too Rare—Even for Dr. House

Being an insatiably curious House, MD fan with an Internet connection, I had heard of most common and obscure autoimmune diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to sarcoidosis to Behçet’s.

Dermatomyositis is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks your skin and muscles. It is among the rarest autoimmune diseases on the planet, affecting 16,000 people in the United States and as few as five in a million people worldwide. Dermatomyositis with little to no muscle involvement, such as mine, presents in only 5 percent of those cases.

Dermatomyositis makes only one appearance in all eight seasons of House: a passing suggestion from Dr. Lawrence Kutner when the team tries to figure out what killed former team member Dr. Amber Volakis (Season 4, Episode 16, “Wilson’s Heart.”). Of course, Dr. Kutner is wrong. I can’t help, however, thinking the writers missed a great opportunity for a final, correct diagnosis for another episode.

Hydroxychloroquine staves off dermatomyositis symptoms

Posted on January 9, 2019January 10, 2019 Posted in autoimmunity, dermatomyositis, dermatomyositis, lupus, symptoms, treatmentsTagged autoimmune disease, dermatology, dermatomyositis, hydroxychloroquine, lupus, plaquenil, rheumatology, treatments

Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) staves off my dermatomyositis symptoms far better than I thought.

Hydroxychloroquine is cheap, relatively safe, and controls the heart and muscle inflammation associated with dermatomyositis.

Hydroxychloroquine controls heart and muscle inflammation

This past weekend, I ran out of hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug used to treat autoimmune diseases. By Monday, my heart started racing and palpitating. My lungs felt constricted. Both felt like they were on fire. My throat seemed to be closing, as though I had a piece of food stuck in it.

Doctors call these symptoms myocarditis and dysphagia, respectively. Basically, along with my skin and skeletal muscles, my immune system is attacking my heart, diaphragm, and throat muscles. Oddly enough, clinical tests show nothing. My resting heart rate is a healthy 55 beats per minute. My breathing tests were normal.

I also could hardly concentrate. Much like when you have the flu or are weight lifting, all you can think about is your body’s stress and pain. Much like when you feel anxious or drink too many double-shot espressos, your racing heart makes it tough to read and write.

I forgot all of these symptoms and have not experienced most of them since I started treatment in August. Because I mismanaged how much hydroxychloroquine I had left, they returned within 24 hours of exhausting my supply.

When refilling a prescription is worse than managing a proposal

Trying to understand refill procedures with my local pharmacy is like trying to communicate with project managers building the Tower of Babel.

Speaking of the ancient world, to remedy the situation, the pharmacist sent my rheumatologist a fax for the refill.

As a Denver Broncos fan, I know all too well the dangers of faxing in the 21st century, so I sent my rheumatologist a message through his online portal Monday. No response. I called the office Tuesday. His medical assistant’s voicemail says she will call back within 24 hours. She did not.

By Tuesday evening, I gave up and phoned my dermatologist, who is always on top of things. Within 45 minutes, the pharmacy cleared my refill.

Treating autoimmune diseases with hydroxychloroquine

Today, after taking 200 milligrams of hydroxychloroquine last night and this morning, my body is returning to normal. No more heart and lung issues. My throat feels less swollen. I will not mismanage my prescription again.

First developed in 1955 for treating malaria, hydroxychloroquine is the first-line treatment for dermatomyositis and lupus. Compared to other immunosuppressants, it has few side effects and is so safe pregnant women can and do take it. Better still, it costs next to nothing; even without insurance, a month supply is less than $25.

The only downside is long-term use of hydroxychloroquine can be toxic to your eyes. To make sure nothing like this happens, I take the recommended daily maximum dose and have an ophthalmologist as part of my care team.

Diagnosis confirmed: amyopathic dermatomyositis

Posted on August 28, 2018January 9, 2019 Posted in amyopathic dermatomyositis, autoimmunity, dermatomyositis, dermatomyositis, lupus, symptoms, treatmentsTagged amyopathic dermatomyositis, autoimmune, autoimmune disease, dermatomyositis, prednisone

After three weeks, seven vials of blood, one vial of urine, and a computer tomography (CT) scan, my doctors have once again confirmed I have dermatomyositis.

Yet in true House episode fashion, this is an atypical presentation of dermatomyositis, called amyopathic dermatomyositis. In this instance, my skin itches, burns, and aches from the rashes on my arms, shoulders, and chest. But my muscles have not wasted enough to diagnose me with myositis.

Underneath my skin, my aldolase levels are still elevated. My breaths are sometimes shallow. I lost some muscle weakness. (But this could just as easily be all the corticosteroids I have been taking.) And my creatine kinase levels, which would indicate systematic muscle destruction, are within normal range.

Apparently, my body has decided having a very rare autoimmune condition does not make me special enough. According to Callander, Robson, Ingram, and Piguet, amyopathic dermatomyositis affects only 5‒20 percent of dermatomyositis patients. Doctors have only known about the condition since the early 1990s.

Good news at last

For the most part, this is great news. Exagen’s AVISE^® test confirmed I do not have lupus, which can affect multiple organs. My urine and blood tests ruled out any kidney or liver damage. Functional muscle strength means I can maintain the quality of life I want.

However, amyopathic dermatomyositis is more likely to affect my lungs. Since my CT came back normal, for now, my doctors are not concerned. But interstitial lung disease remains a possibility. My immune system may also decide to begin attacking my muscles more severely.

My doctors and I will continue to monitor my disease. My rheumatologist has prescribed hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), an antimalarial drug used to combat autoimmune diseases. He has also started tapering down my steroids. And my dermatologist gave me a large tube of fluocinonide cream to keep the itching at bay.

Sometimes, being medically special is a good thing. A smile has returned to my face.

Becoming your own House episode

Posted on August 8, 2018January 9, 2019 Posted in autoimmunity, dermatomyositis, dermatomyositis, lupus, symptomsTagged antinuclear antibodies, dermatomyositis, diagnostics, house md, interface dermatitis, labs, lupus

Six months have passed since scaly, irritating rashes first appeared on my elbows and knees. Based on my family’s medical history, my doctor thought it was psoriasis.

Two months later, a much larger, much more painful blistering rash appeared on my left arm. Another massive rash formed across the crest of my shoulders through my lower neck and across my chest.

This third rash—called a shawl rash by doctors—is characteristic of dermatomyositis. Add in what look exactly like all these other rashes along my joints (called Gottron signs), the results from two skin biopsies and from my blood tests, and I thought my dermatologist correctly diagnosed me.

However, yesterday’s visit to a well-regarded Phoenix rheumatologist put me right back where I was a month ago. We know I have an autoimmune disease. But after looking at the pathology reports and examining me, he hesitated to jump to a conclusion.

This is the point in an episode of House, MD, where the title character stares at his patient while his body fails him. Family demands to know what’s wrong. House replies, “I don’t know.”

Turns out, my skin biopsies only rule out psoriasis and fungal infection and confirm my immune system is attacking my skin. But as I mentioned in an earlier post, there are probably more quarterbacks capable of winning a Super Bowl than there are dermatopathologists who can differentiate dermatomyositis from lupus under a microscope.

Blood tests, at this stage, are also inconclusive. My labs show elevated aldolase—an enzyme that helps convert glucose into energy and points toward muscle damage. But all the tests for antibodies associated with myositis came back negative, except for one, which was barely detectable.

The rheumatologist also thinks my antinuclear antibodies are much too high for a typical dermatomyositis case. He also doesn’t think my muscles are weak enough.

All he is willing to conclude is I have interface dermatitis and dyspnea—that’s Greek for a complicated rash and shortness of breath.

This is the point in an episode of House, MD, where the title character stares at his patient while blood appears in the urine bag. Family members demand to know what’s wrong. House replies, “I don’t know.”

“I need answers, not tests, people,” I want to scream.

He re-assembles his team around the glass table, writes “kidney failure” on the white board and pours himself a cup of coffee.

“I need ideas, people,” he barks at his hand-selected team of doctors.

No, my kidneys are not failing. And yes, my doctors know much more about my condition than House’s team does 33 minutes into an episode. But like House, my rheumatologist ordered more tests. I need a CT scan of my lungs. I need my urine analyzed. And my blood has been sent to a lab specializing in detecting antibodies and other biomarkers associated with autoimmune conditions.