Auto Immune conditions

Roli Terway details a harrowing first person account of being affected with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, where doctors had to fight long and hard to keep her alive. Read her struggles with repeated lung collapse and progressive paralysis. I was a happy, hyperactive, gregarious 13-year-old school kid. I used to love climbing trees, doing cartwheels and jumping off heights. I was also a Bharatnatyam dancer and a hockey player. Who knew a common flu would snatch all the…

Rheumatic conditions like Lupus, Anklosing Spondylitis, Scleroderma and Sjogren's Syndrome affect people in a myriad ways. These often create body image issues and impact self esteem. We spoke with patient leaders Kirtida Oza, Neetu Wadhwa, Vachasamrita, Ami Shah and Mental health therapist Arouba Kabir on the common issues faced by persons with Rheumatic Conditions and how they can reclaim their self esteem. Kirtida, founder Sjogren's India Neetu Wadhwa, co-founder Scleroderma India…

Urmila Margi, diagnosed with vitiligo as a teenager, says her eye-opening moment was when she met a senior executive at a multinational firm who had vitiligo which made her realise that looks really don’t matter if you prove yourself at your work. When were you diagnosed with vitiligo? It was around 15 to 18 years of ago. How did it affect your daily life? Initially…yes it did affect my life tremendously as I was just 16 – 18 years old when my vitiligo patches first appeared. Did you face any…

A handy list of resources for living with the coronavirus and managing your chronic conditions. Just look for your condition below. If you don't find what you are looking for, please leave a comment and we will get back to you.     We must live with Covid-19 pandemic for a while. For people with chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, rheumatic conditions, pulmonary conditions, it is even more essential to manage these conditions better. For e.g. a…

Kavita Chaddha has multiple issues which she handles in the course of a day wth proper medication, a healthy diet and the right exercises. She talks about how she juggles her life, home and work in the course of a day Hi! I am Kavita Chaddha, diagnosed with Scleroderma (an autoimmune disease) in 2009 by a rheumatologist.   I am bipolar too. I am also a working professional (Librarian), a wife and a mother of a 9-year-old girl. I am a doctoral student too. My life is four-dimensional –…

This webinar held on 30th March, 2020 was an informative session with Dr Sapan C Pandya on how patients who are living with a rheumatological conditions can manage their condition during this current pandemic and lockdown period. Are people with Rheumatic diseases more vulnerable than others to the COVID infection? There is no evidence that people who have immunosuppressant diseases will get the corona virus infection more than others. They may be more susceptible for complications once they…

Usha Ravi Eppaturi, 49 has been living with Lupus for a long time and it took a while for her diagnosis. She talks about Lupus as well as other challenges with which she lives but remains undaunted. Please tell us a bit about your condition Identified with auto immune condition Lupus, with a relapse of AVN (Avascular Necrosis) which has left me with 3 artificial implants i.e. both my hip joints and right shoulder joint. When were you diagnosed? Diagnosed in September 1986 when I was 16 years…

K.S. Sangeetha, 29 from Chennai has been living with Lupus last 14 years. She even had to go through with a kidney transplant last year. Sangeetha talks about how she handled both conditions. Please tell us a bit about your condition I have a condition called lupus which is an auto immune disorder. I was diagnosed in 2005. What were the early symptoms? Early symptoms of Lupus were extreme hair fall, fatigue, persistent fever, swollen joints and severe joint aches. We also have no history of…

Lata Vaswani, who has a condition called Scleroderma, shares her daily routine to show us how meditation and exercises help her cope with her daily activities and a job that provides satisfaction. #ADayInTheLifeSeries Morning My day starts with Meditation and showing my gratitude to the supreme power, God. I meditate for around 20 minutes in the morning, which not only energizes me but gives me enough strength and positivity to handle the day to day issues. This session is followed by light…

Payel Bhattacharya was born with VHL or von Hippel-Lindau, a rare genetic disorder, and has multiple other issues, which have made her life a constant battle with medicines and surgeries. She recounts here how she spends a typical day at home, with her mom and pain being a constant companion, when she is not admitted to a hospital for treatment. #DayInTheLifeSeries About me: They told me that I was born with little hands and little feet. My father played with my little hands with fondness,…