I recently saw my new EDS rheumy(rheumatologist)
For people with EDS, the rheumy is the top of the food chain when it comes to our long list of drs and medical professionals we see regularly.
He is the guy who is the EDS expert, the one who understands what EDS is, how it works and how it affects our different body systems...that's when we are lucky enough to finally find a rheumy who specialises in EDS!
The EDS rheumy is the wedding planner of our medical care. He coordinates all the other drs, decides what should and shouldn't happen and pulls all the other drs' tests, work and ideas together to get a full picture of what is going on in the EDS body. He then rolls out orders to the GP (family dr) to refer the eds patient to new specialists if needed, order more tests, start new or change current treatments and keep him up to date with what is going on. He will also contact other specialists working with the eds patient either directly or through the GP to discuss current treatment with the aim to either stop proposed treatment/surgery (an orthopaedic surgeon may think ligament tightening surgery will stop a joint dislocating but a EDS specialist may suspect that it will not with this patient), suggest treatment or avenues of investigation the other specialist hasn't thought of, or simply just to keep uptodate or create a new network with the specialist for future patients.
My previous EDS rheumy was one of the country's (and world's) leading EDS/HMS experts. Professor Howard Bird has made some of the most important discoveries and moved the research and treatment of eds/hms forward massively since he began taking a special interest in the condition in his early career.
His retirement shook the eds/hms community and the proposed closure of the specialist clinic that he had set up in Leeds, UK was feared.
I had been lucky enough to have been a patient of Prof Bird for 1 year before his retirement. Although I had received my diagnosis in 2007 I hadn't received any real treatment so was finally refereed to Prof Bird in December 2009 where I received a thorough assessment. It is here I found out how bad my body was affected, how much my joints had deteriorated due to lack of treatment and how I had developed scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and osteoarthritis of the SI joints (where the spine meets the pelvis.
It was also Prof Bird who noticed the obvious EDS characteristics in my Mum and due to taking such a detailed family history we discovered that both my parents had the EDS gene. My mother very affected, my dad only mildly. My mum has since gone on to receive treatment for pain and physio and is now waiting her initial appointment with my new rheumy.
So back to my new eds rheumy.
I had been given his details before my final appointment with Prof Bird by a fellow member of the Hypermobility Association (HMSA) who recommended him highly. I knew that with Prof Bird's upcoming retirement I would have to find a new rheumy experienced in EDS.
I was told Dr S. was a great dr and Prof B agreed that he would be the best rheumy for me.
My 1st appointment couldn't have gone better. Dr S. and his staff were very welcoming and pleasent and it didnt take long for me to relax and laugh at an unfortunate gramatical error on a recent discharge note with him.
We covered my current EDS issues, mainly my ongoing gastointestinal deteriation and
a new set of symptoms that some drs are suspecting could be indicative of Postural Orthostatic Tachychardia Syndrome (POTS), a form of Dysautonomia that can occur in EDS (see links at bottom for info on POTS)
I was in with Dr S for over an hour! I had to apologise profusely to the lady following me but she didnt mind 'at least he's thorough' she said. That he certainly is.
I then had lots of bloods taken.
I received a copy of the letter Dr S wrote to my gp within days.
He has requested a referral to Prof Aziz in London for my GI issues with a referral to a local GI consultant with knowledge of EDS for long term monitoring.
He has also requested that I have a number of tests done before I see my endocrinologist at the end of January. These are to look for other causes of my dropping blood pressure and raised heart rate that suggest POTS just in case.
Finally Dr S has requested copies of all correspondence from physio, orthopedics, pain clinic, endocrinology, past GI investigation and recent xrays, mri (hips and spine) and an endoscopy I am due to have next week. (To see if there is anything non-EDS causing my upper GI symptoms).
I will not be having regular follow-up appointments with Dr S as I already spend at least 1 day a week at hospital with appointments. Plus Dr S is trying to set up a eds/hms clinic and it is not financially viable to offer regular follow-up appointments to all patients.Instead Dr S said I can phone up and ask for an appointment if I have any serious issues or I can arrange a phone appointment.
I am looking forward to seeing the eds/hms clinic taking off with Dr S as it is very much needed in the North East of England.
Dr S admits he may not have the knowdlege and expertise of Prof Bird, after all he is only young and just starting his work with eds/hms patients, but he is very open and the most important thing is that unlike some drs, he will take the patient's suggestions and concerns when deciding on appropriate progression of treatment.
I am really looking forward to working with my new rheumy for the coming future and hope that as one of his patients that he will learn something from me.
links for further info :
Postural Orthostatic Tachychardia Syndrome (POTS) - http://www.dinet.org/pots_an_overview.htm
Showing posts with label hms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hms. Show all posts
Sunday, 26 December 2010
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Freedom and Sorrow
Well I've had a rollercoaster of a month with all things bendy.
I finally got my new wheelchair, the ferrari of the wheelchair world. Its a K4 sports chair, designed for wheelchair sports so is ultra light and extremely nippy around town. Even with my pathetic muscles I can push myself in it for hours. The mere idea of popping to the shops for some milk and to post a letter required at least 2 days notice in the past. 1 day to book a friend to carry shopping or push me, 1 day to rest in preparation for the half hour on my crutches or 15mins in the Boneshaker-my other wheelchair, name says it all. But now the only preparation needed is deciding which wheelchair gloves go best with my outfit!
I didn't realise until now just how restricted and isolated I had become. Now I can spend a few hours browsing round the clothes shops or getting 10 tasks done in one outing.
Its taken just 1 week for me to build enough muscle in my arms and stomach to deal with the uphills and uneven surfaces. I haven't mastered doing wheelies down steps yet but I'm already able to tip enough to get up kerbs and can even wheelie on the back wheels while getting 3 or 4 quick pushes in. It won't be long before I'm grinding down the handrail near the war memorial with the skater kids!
I feel like I have some of my life back. I can go out on my own to do the important things like pay bills, get shopping etc. More importantly I can get out on my own to spend time just being outdoors, going to the library and being able to carry books home, getting on the bus on my own! I am so lucky to live in a country where health care is free and even more lucky to live in an area where people like me can be given such high quality performing wheelchairs for free from the NHS (long term loan).
As well as this amazing gift, I have also started developing a social life! 'What, with people?' I hear you say!
Yes!
I've found a church full of wonderful people who already offer to drive me to services and social events. I am terrible at asking people for help so it's so fortunate that they offer before I have to ask. Last week I even made it onto the beach for the first time in over a year, for a birthday party. And even more fortunate that there was a very strong guy who pushed me back up the steepest hill in the world to the carpark at the end of the day.
All this freedom and positivity is having such a good effect. My pain has been worse the last month and my energy is still non-existant, but when you are genuinely happy (as in not faking it so people just think you are happy and coping well), it gives you motivation to push yourself that one step further to get out of bed. This week I went to a bible study group even though I was in more pain than usual and doped up to the eyeballs on painkillers. Normally I would just get into bed and try to sleep through the flare, but I didn't. I got dressed and went to the group, and even though for alot of it i had no idea what was going on because of how ill I felt, I still felt very pleased that I went because I got to laugh more than I've laughed in a long time at the bizarre unrelated tangents we often end up going on.
But as most Bendys know, When there is a positive, there is always a negative following closely behind.
I found out last week that I have a double curvature of the spine. This is quite common in people with Hypermobility Syndrome/Ehlers Danlos, due to the instability of the spine. I had hoped that I had been lucky not to have this, and had been wrongly told by my gp that the x'rays Id had done before Christmas showed my spine to be fine. But unfortunately its there and it's there with a vengeance.
The curvature is causing the lower spine to move in a way that it shouldn't. It's putting all the movement onto the left sacroiliac joint (SI joint-where the spine joins the pelvis). This has caused the joint to grind itself down to the point where it is quite badly damaged. Arthritis is the result of this damage and is irreversible. I understand now why the pain in that area has gotten so bad.
I normally just quickly deal with the next hurdle HMS/EDS brings but this one has knocked me more than usual. It's the long term effect and the problems that could occur that that worry me. It was less than a year ago I had an xray and MRI scan on my spine that came back normal, no curve, no visible damage to the SI joint. So the curve, which is very obvious in the latest xray, and the extent of the damage to the joint has happened in a very short space of time. So where will I be in another year?
Surgery is a big possibility in the future to stabilise the joint and the spine but how soon could that be? Will I need to start splinting/bracing my spine to stop the curve from getting worse? Is it too late for physio to have any effect? Will I be able to walk at all in a years time?
So many unanswered questions.
But to leave on a positive note. After a year of my nurse trying to get a dr to agree to let me use a new treatment to manage the effects HMS/EDS has on my digestive system, we got a 'yes'!. My Rheumatoglist (the bendy dr) has agreed that the only way to manage this part of the condition is to use an expensive and still controversial management treatment. My nurse has said for a while now that my current treatment is running out of 'effective time' and that the only option available is this new treatment. But no other dr would agree to it because they failed to understand (and sometimes believe) that HMS/EDS can have severe effects on the digestive system.
The treatment is one that I will be taught to do myself at home but will be hard work to get used to to begin with. I'm not expecting miracles and I know there are alot of complications that can happen at first but I'm happy to deal with these if it means finding even just a slight improvement of this part of the condition and a definite improvement of quality of life.
All in all this month has had its ups and downs, as is every month when you have a complex multi-system condition. But I have learnt more than ever that it is always better to focus on the positive things and to go to bed smiling, even on the bad days, than it is to allow the bad things to dominate your life.
Happy bending
CX
I finally got my new wheelchair, the ferrari of the wheelchair world. Its a K4 sports chair, designed for wheelchair sports so is ultra light and extremely nippy around town. Even with my pathetic muscles I can push myself in it for hours. The mere idea of popping to the shops for some milk and to post a letter required at least 2 days notice in the past. 1 day to book a friend to carry shopping or push me, 1 day to rest in preparation for the half hour on my crutches or 15mins in the Boneshaker-my other wheelchair, name says it all. But now the only preparation needed is deciding which wheelchair gloves go best with my outfit!
I didn't realise until now just how restricted and isolated I had become. Now I can spend a few hours browsing round the clothes shops or getting 10 tasks done in one outing.
Its taken just 1 week for me to build enough muscle in my arms and stomach to deal with the uphills and uneven surfaces. I haven't mastered doing wheelies down steps yet but I'm already able to tip enough to get up kerbs and can even wheelie on the back wheels while getting 3 or 4 quick pushes in. It won't be long before I'm grinding down the handrail near the war memorial with the skater kids!
I feel like I have some of my life back. I can go out on my own to do the important things like pay bills, get shopping etc. More importantly I can get out on my own to spend time just being outdoors, going to the library and being able to carry books home, getting on the bus on my own! I am so lucky to live in a country where health care is free and even more lucky to live in an area where people like me can be given such high quality performing wheelchairs for free from the NHS (long term loan).
As well as this amazing gift, I have also started developing a social life! 'What, with people?' I hear you say!
Yes!
I've found a church full of wonderful people who already offer to drive me to services and social events. I am terrible at asking people for help so it's so fortunate that they offer before I have to ask. Last week I even made it onto the beach for the first time in over a year, for a birthday party. And even more fortunate that there was a very strong guy who pushed me back up the steepest hill in the world to the carpark at the end of the day.
All this freedom and positivity is having such a good effect. My pain has been worse the last month and my energy is still non-existant, but when you are genuinely happy (as in not faking it so people just think you are happy and coping well), it gives you motivation to push yourself that one step further to get out of bed. This week I went to a bible study group even though I was in more pain than usual and doped up to the eyeballs on painkillers. Normally I would just get into bed and try to sleep through the flare, but I didn't. I got dressed and went to the group, and even though for alot of it i had no idea what was going on because of how ill I felt, I still felt very pleased that I went because I got to laugh more than I've laughed in a long time at the bizarre unrelated tangents we often end up going on.
But as most Bendys know, When there is a positive, there is always a negative following closely behind.
I found out last week that I have a double curvature of the spine. This is quite common in people with Hypermobility Syndrome/Ehlers Danlos, due to the instability of the spine. I had hoped that I had been lucky not to have this, and had been wrongly told by my gp that the x'rays Id had done before Christmas showed my spine to be fine. But unfortunately its there and it's there with a vengeance.
The curvature is causing the lower spine to move in a way that it shouldn't. It's putting all the movement onto the left sacroiliac joint (SI joint-where the spine joins the pelvis). This has caused the joint to grind itself down to the point where it is quite badly damaged. Arthritis is the result of this damage and is irreversible. I understand now why the pain in that area has gotten so bad.
I normally just quickly deal with the next hurdle HMS/EDS brings but this one has knocked me more than usual. It's the long term effect and the problems that could occur that that worry me. It was less than a year ago I had an xray and MRI scan on my spine that came back normal, no curve, no visible damage to the SI joint. So the curve, which is very obvious in the latest xray, and the extent of the damage to the joint has happened in a very short space of time. So where will I be in another year?
Surgery is a big possibility in the future to stabilise the joint and the spine but how soon could that be? Will I need to start splinting/bracing my spine to stop the curve from getting worse? Is it too late for physio to have any effect? Will I be able to walk at all in a years time?
So many unanswered questions.
But to leave on a positive note. After a year of my nurse trying to get a dr to agree to let me use a new treatment to manage the effects HMS/EDS has on my digestive system, we got a 'yes'!. My Rheumatoglist (the bendy dr) has agreed that the only way to manage this part of the condition is to use an expensive and still controversial management treatment. My nurse has said for a while now that my current treatment is running out of 'effective time' and that the only option available is this new treatment. But no other dr would agree to it because they failed to understand (and sometimes believe) that HMS/EDS can have severe effects on the digestive system.
The treatment is one that I will be taught to do myself at home but will be hard work to get used to to begin with. I'm not expecting miracles and I know there are alot of complications that can happen at first but I'm happy to deal with these if it means finding even just a slight improvement of this part of the condition and a definite improvement of quality of life.
All in all this month has had its ups and downs, as is every month when you have a complex multi-system condition. But I have learnt more than ever that it is always better to focus on the positive things and to go to bed smiling, even on the bad days, than it is to allow the bad things to dominate your life.
Happy bending
CX
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Social Services and Care Support
I have just found out from my social worker today that a care plan has been approved for me to provide me with a carer to support me with personal and social tasks.
Social services have approved the following support for me:
1 hour 3 times a week for a carer to come and give me a bath and get me into bed.
2 hours twice a week for a carer to take me to do my shopping or go to appointments.
4 hours once a month for social stuff eg going for a night out, going for a girly shopping spree with my mum or friends etc.
1 hour once a week for a carer to clean my flat and do my ironing.
There is also a contingency fund so that if my condition deteriates at times and i am stuck in bed they will send a carer to get me out of bed, dressed (if possible) and give me a meal and then come back in the evening to get me back into bed.
I am so happy i can't believe how much support they have said i will get. At first it was only going to be 2 hours twice a week to go shopping and give me a bath. I really hope that getting all of this support will make a big difference. I especially feel hopeful that it will get me back out there and getting a social life back. Iv lost alot of friends over the past year due to my condition deteriating and that is the one thing that i have found hardest of all. I have one friend who visits me regulaly and takes me out in my wheelchair but as he has a milder form of the same condition, he is finding it harder to push me. I also hate my friends having to push my wheelchair or having to rely on friends to go to the bar to get drinks, or help me find a disabled loo, carry my shopping etc. To be honest, I hardly see anyone now so I don't even have the chance to ask them to do these things for me.
It will be great if I can get out more and start spending time with friends again knowing that I won't have to ask them to do anything for me other than just enjoy our time together.
My social worker has spoken to the care agency and they have carer in mind who they said should really suit me. I don't know anything about her yet other than she is young which is what I wanted. That way when we go shopping or out on a night out it will just look like I am with a friend rather than a carer or an older relative.
I feel like this is a massive breakthrough in my region as I don't think there is anyone else with hms/eds who gets care support , or at least to this level. I'm hoping that with them approving this amount of support for me it will make it easier for others with hms/eds to get better support in the future.
People with hms/eds find it extremey difficult to get this type of support due to the lack of understanding of the severity of the condition. It makes it even harder to get support becuase the condition can fluctuate so much within such a small amount of time. This often means that when people with the condition do ask for help, it is refused becuase it is assumed that they can function much better than they can. It is also hard for service providers to provide care on the basis that the support is helpful becuase it PREVENTS deteriation and injury rather than it being as a result of deteriation or injury.
Of the few hundred people I know with hms/eds from the www.hypermobility.org.uk forum and facebook, only a very small handful recieve any support with care. Those who do either have another condition that has justified they need for support or they are at the extreme end of the spectrum being completely dependant on others for even very basic tasks. They often also have children with the condition so the support they recieve is often more support for them to be able to care for their family.
I know of a few people in my town alone, and more in the surrounding area who would benefit from some kind of support from social services, either in terms of care support, or simply with loan of equipment such as bath seats, electronice raising beds etc. I feel positive that with the local social services accepting and approving this level of support for me, that it will mean that others in the area will find it much easier to get the support they need too.
Big step forward for recognition of hms/eds in the care system today!!
Social services have approved the following support for me:
1 hour 3 times a week for a carer to come and give me a bath and get me into bed.
2 hours twice a week for a carer to take me to do my shopping or go to appointments.
4 hours once a month for social stuff eg going for a night out, going for a girly shopping spree with my mum or friends etc.
1 hour once a week for a carer to clean my flat and do my ironing.
There is also a contingency fund so that if my condition deteriates at times and i am stuck in bed they will send a carer to get me out of bed, dressed (if possible) and give me a meal and then come back in the evening to get me back into bed.
I am so happy i can't believe how much support they have said i will get. At first it was only going to be 2 hours twice a week to go shopping and give me a bath. I really hope that getting all of this support will make a big difference. I especially feel hopeful that it will get me back out there and getting a social life back. Iv lost alot of friends over the past year due to my condition deteriating and that is the one thing that i have found hardest of all. I have one friend who visits me regulaly and takes me out in my wheelchair but as he has a milder form of the same condition, he is finding it harder to push me. I also hate my friends having to push my wheelchair or having to rely on friends to go to the bar to get drinks, or help me find a disabled loo, carry my shopping etc. To be honest, I hardly see anyone now so I don't even have the chance to ask them to do these things for me.
It will be great if I can get out more and start spending time with friends again knowing that I won't have to ask them to do anything for me other than just enjoy our time together.
My social worker has spoken to the care agency and they have carer in mind who they said should really suit me. I don't know anything about her yet other than she is young which is what I wanted. That way when we go shopping or out on a night out it will just look like I am with a friend rather than a carer or an older relative.
I feel like this is a massive breakthrough in my region as I don't think there is anyone else with hms/eds who gets care support , or at least to this level. I'm hoping that with them approving this amount of support for me it will make it easier for others with hms/eds to get better support in the future.
People with hms/eds find it extremey difficult to get this type of support due to the lack of understanding of the severity of the condition. It makes it even harder to get support becuase the condition can fluctuate so much within such a small amount of time. This often means that when people with the condition do ask for help, it is refused becuase it is assumed that they can function much better than they can. It is also hard for service providers to provide care on the basis that the support is helpful becuase it PREVENTS deteriation and injury rather than it being as a result of deteriation or injury.
Of the few hundred people I know with hms/eds from the www.hypermobility.org.uk forum and facebook, only a very small handful recieve any support with care. Those who do either have another condition that has justified they need for support or they are at the extreme end of the spectrum being completely dependant on others for even very basic tasks. They often also have children with the condition so the support they recieve is often more support for them to be able to care for their family.
I know of a few people in my town alone, and more in the surrounding area who would benefit from some kind of support from social services, either in terms of care support, or simply with loan of equipment such as bath seats, electronice raising beds etc. I feel positive that with the local social services accepting and approving this level of support for me, that it will mean that others in the area will find it much easier to get the support they need too.
Big step forward for recognition of hms/eds in the care system today!!
Sunday, 25 April 2010
What is Hypermobility Syndrome/Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
Before I start blogging about living with Hypermobility Syndrome/Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (hms/eds) it makes sense to explain what the condition is about.
Alot of people have never heard of hms/eds and those who have, often don't understand what exactly it is, after all its a very complex condition that even most drs don't even understand.
(added 2010)---
Hms/Eds is pretty much the same condition. Previously Hypermobility Syndrome and Ehlers Danlos were thought to be different conditions (with Ehlers danlos being more severe). However Drs have now agreed they are in fact the same condition, or there is so little difference between them, that people with either 'diagnosis' need treating exactly the same. So they are now seen as the same condition. Ehlers Danlos:Hypermobility Type. This is why often a person who is diagnosed with hms often hears drs refer to their condition as eds.
---
So in this blog I will use the term hms/eds. (in later entries I will refer to it as simply EDS).
They are connective tissue disorders which basically mean there is something wrong with the person's connective tissue, Collagen. You are born with hms/eds, it is not something you suddenly get, although some people (like myself) have very few problems until they reach their 20s). It is an inherited condition which means at least one parent will usually also have the condition however it often becomes more severe each time it is passed onto the next generation.
Collagen is a protein based material that has the basic job of allowing body parts to move. Collagen is present in the joints, mainly the ligaments, tendons and muscles, organ tissue, and skin. Its job in the joints is to allow the joint to stretch and move but also stops it from moving too much. If our joints didnt have a 'stop' point then our joints would not be able to support us and basic movemnets would be impossible. Our joints would fall apart. This is basically what happens in hms/eds. In people without hms/eds, the collagen is made up of fibres that stretch like an elastic band. If you stretch an elastic band eventually it snaps back to its 'unstretched' state which stops the elastic band from snapping. In hms/eds the fibres are like chewing gum rather than an elastic band. If you stretch a piece of chewing gum you know that eventually it tears and you end up with sticky gum all over your fingers! This is what the collagen is like in people with hms/eds. The collagen stretches and stretches but does not snap back. This means the joints stretch and move but move and stretch past the point they are supposed to. They are very bendy and wobbly and don't snap back into place and eventually when a joint stretches past the point its supposed to, it dislocates. Ouch!!
In hms/eds the main symptom is joints that dislocate on a very regular basis, often many times in just one day.
When you have joints that dislocate easily and joints which are bendy and wobbly, they don't do a good job of keeping you in one piece. Your body becomes very weak and unstable. Just trying to stand up can be impossible as you may have knees and hips that don't lock and wobble all over until you end up in a pile on the floor. This makes walking pretty tough too.
If your spine is unstable it makes it difficult to sit up straight and also contributes to the problems with standing and walking.
In the upper body, bendy joints in the shoulders, elbows, wrists and knuckles make it difficult to lift things, push yourself up from a lying position, and use things like cutlery, a toothbrush, a pen and even the crutches and walking sticks that help you to stand and walk become difficult to use.
Because of the bendiness of the joints, a person with hms/eds will use their joints over a 1000 times more in one day than a regular person. This means their joints grind and rub against the ends of their bones many more times than someone else of the same age. As a result the joints and bones get worn down very quickly which results in a very early development of osteoarthritis. People with hms/eds usually develop osteoarthritis as a result of degeneration of the joints as well as inflamation of the joints often before the age of 30. They also can develop osteoperosis, where the bones become weak, very early on.
Becuase collagen is present in organ tissue as well as the joints, people with the condition can also have problems with their organs, in particular, organs that are designed to move. The bowel and intestines work by muscles contracting to push food and waste through them. Because the muscles in hms/eds are much laxer(more relaxed and stretchier), they don't contract as well so in the bowel and intestines, the muscles don't do a very good job of moving food and waste along. This means that people with the condition often have alot of problems with the intestines and bowel, in particular ibs, slow transit, incontinence and other similar problems.
The same goes for the bladder too.
In women with hms/eds, the womb has to contract much harder during her period in order to shed the unused lining (this is basically what a period is). This results in very painful and very heavy periods. It also makes it difficult to maintian a pregnancy and many women with hms/eds experience more miscarriges and problems conceiving.
The heart is another organ that can be affected due to the amount of movement it requires to work. In certain types of Ehlers danlos, the heart can have serious issues such as heart murmers, slow and irregluar heart rates. People with the vascular type of Ehlers Danlos are at great risk of anurysisms and heart failure due to the rupturing of the blood vessels. The same with the brain which can result in stokes.
The skin is another major body part that is affected by hms/eds. In particular it is often very stretchy and soft which makes it more fragile. This makes it prone to tearing very easily and very poor at healing. People with hms/eds often have alot of scars that look like they are from serious injuries when in fact they can be from something as simple as a scratch. The skin also bruises very easily, often from simple things like kneeling on the floor or getting a hug from someone.
Because the joints in hms/eds are very unstable, the muscles around the joints have to do all the work to keep them held together. This means that most of your energy gets used up by the muscles. This means that people with the condition suffer really badly from exhaustion and very poor energy levels. Something as simple as walking up the stairs can exhaust the person so much that they have to lie down for 30mins to recover. This means that alot of people with the condition are also diagnosed with CFS/ME. Having such poor energy levels makes it even harder to do basic tasks such as dressing, washing etc.
For some reason, people with hms/eds are much more prone to alot of other conditions. Some conditions occur for obvious reasons to do with the weakend collagen and energy issues, other conditions occur but don't seem to have an obvious reason why.
The related conditions that people with hms/eds tend to also have include:
Fibromyalgia, flat feet, raynauds syndrome, insommnia, curvature of the spine, kyphosis (a hump at the top of the spine), hernias, neuropathy, carpel tunnel syndrome, premature aging of the skin, strokes, heart murmurs, rheumatoid arthritis, automic dsyfunction (a dysfuntion of the body's ability maintain normal function of systems such as blood pressure) and much more.
Hms/Eds varies massivley in severity. Some people may have very few problems and lead normal lives, able to do the same as people without the condition. At the other end of the scale, some people are seriously affected by the condition resulting in severe disability. They may depend on a wheelchair, they may need help to dress, bathe, change position in bed etc. In some cases, a person with hms/eds may become bedridden for periods of time due to the severity of the condition. People who are effected badly may not be able to work and rely on the help of others to get through the day. And of course in the case of Vascular EDS, the condition can often be fatal.
Because hms/eds is caused by a defect in the collagen fibres, there is currently no cure. Treatment concentrates on keeping the joints as strong as possible to delay the onset of degeneration. Physiotherapy concentrates on building the muscle strength around the joints. Occupational therapy looks at aids that can help make tasks easier.
Pain is a major symptom so becomes the main focus for treatment. Pain in hms/eds is difficult to control becuase it can fluctuate easily. But in alot of cases, medications such as tramadol, codiene and even morphine are used to help manage the pain. It often does not take the pain away but only brings it down to a more mangeble level.
Sometimes surgery is required to stablise joints but this is done less and less now as drs are aware now that operating on a joint just makes the other joints more unstable. Steroid injections are used more and more now to stablies joints by reducing inflamation. Steroids are injected directly into the joint which is extremely painful and doesnt work for everyone.
Other treatment focuses on stablising the joints with splints and braces so a person with the condition may wear various splints on their wrists, elbows, knees and ankles. They may also wear splinted supports to stabalise the spine, hips and shoulders. And of course the related conditions need to be treated. So someone who suffers from the hms affecting their bladder may need to use catherters and incontinence products.
Becuase the joints of a person with hms/eds are so unstable and dislocate so easily, alot of the time they go back into the right position very easily so people with the condition often learn fix to dislocated joints themselves. Sometimes however they do need to go to hospital as a result of a bad dislocation. People who suffer from the effcts of severe hms/eds often spend alot of time in hospital reciving intensive physiotherapy and pain treatment. They often have many drs from different areas such as rheumatology, endochronology, gasteonterology, etc and can have a hosptial appointment every week sometimes more than once a week!
Hms/Eds is becoming more recognised as a seroius condition by drs. Many people with the condition spend years trying to get drs to take them seriously and to get a diagnosis. Even then treatment can be very difficult to get. This is still the case in alot of places and as a result many people with hms/eds have to travel alot to recieve treatment and care from specialists who have more knowledge of the condition. There are currently only around 4 hms/eds clinics in the UK!
One of the biggest problems people with hms/eds face is the lack of understanding from friends, family and collegues. A person with hms/eds may appear to be fine, especially if they can walk. Often a person with hms/eds may be able to do something one day but not the next such as pouring a kettle or walking up the stairs. So it becomes difficult for others to understand just how difficult the condition can be. Even those who use wheelchairs or crutches to walk can experince problems with people not understanding. This can make relationships and friendships difficult and often a person with hms/eds becomes isolated as friends slowly disapear. Often a person with hms/eds has alot of bad days where they are unable to get out of bed or to go out. This means that friends often only see them on a good day so they then think that this is how the person is all of the time. They often don't comprehend how bad the bad days are.
Hms/Eds is a very complex condition that can affect the person's life in many ways. The condition often affects social and work life and can even greatly affect quality of life. Becuase of the massive range of issues the condition causes, people with hms/eds often struggle with many things that others take for granted. The lack of understanding of the condition and due to how it can fluctuate on a daily basis leads to the person finding it difficult to maintain friendships and to recieve emotional support from others.
This blog is intended to allow people to understand the daily issues living with hms/eds causes. It also is intended to highlight the strength and determination people with the condition have to get on with their lives and the ongoing fight they have to recieve appropriate treatment, and more importantly, understanding.
Alot of people have never heard of hms/eds and those who have, often don't understand what exactly it is, after all its a very complex condition that even most drs don't even understand.
(added 2010)---
Hms/Eds is pretty much the same condition. Previously Hypermobility Syndrome and Ehlers Danlos were thought to be different conditions (with Ehlers danlos being more severe). However Drs have now agreed they are in fact the same condition, or there is so little difference between them, that people with either 'diagnosis' need treating exactly the same. So they are now seen as the same condition. Ehlers Danlos:Hypermobility Type. This is why often a person who is diagnosed with hms often hears drs refer to their condition as eds.
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So in this blog I will use the term hms/eds. (in later entries I will refer to it as simply EDS).
They are connective tissue disorders which basically mean there is something wrong with the person's connective tissue, Collagen. You are born with hms/eds, it is not something you suddenly get, although some people (like myself) have very few problems until they reach their 20s). It is an inherited condition which means at least one parent will usually also have the condition however it often becomes more severe each time it is passed onto the next generation.
Collagen is a protein based material that has the basic job of allowing body parts to move. Collagen is present in the joints, mainly the ligaments, tendons and muscles, organ tissue, and skin. Its job in the joints is to allow the joint to stretch and move but also stops it from moving too much. If our joints didnt have a 'stop' point then our joints would not be able to support us and basic movemnets would be impossible. Our joints would fall apart. This is basically what happens in hms/eds. In people without hms/eds, the collagen is made up of fibres that stretch like an elastic band. If you stretch an elastic band eventually it snaps back to its 'unstretched' state which stops the elastic band from snapping. In hms/eds the fibres are like chewing gum rather than an elastic band. If you stretch a piece of chewing gum you know that eventually it tears and you end up with sticky gum all over your fingers! This is what the collagen is like in people with hms/eds. The collagen stretches and stretches but does not snap back. This means the joints stretch and move but move and stretch past the point they are supposed to. They are very bendy and wobbly and don't snap back into place and eventually when a joint stretches past the point its supposed to, it dislocates. Ouch!!
In hms/eds the main symptom is joints that dislocate on a very regular basis, often many times in just one day.
When you have joints that dislocate easily and joints which are bendy and wobbly, they don't do a good job of keeping you in one piece. Your body becomes very weak and unstable. Just trying to stand up can be impossible as you may have knees and hips that don't lock and wobble all over until you end up in a pile on the floor. This makes walking pretty tough too.
If your spine is unstable it makes it difficult to sit up straight and also contributes to the problems with standing and walking.
In the upper body, bendy joints in the shoulders, elbows, wrists and knuckles make it difficult to lift things, push yourself up from a lying position, and use things like cutlery, a toothbrush, a pen and even the crutches and walking sticks that help you to stand and walk become difficult to use.
Because of the bendiness of the joints, a person with hms/eds will use their joints over a 1000 times more in one day than a regular person. This means their joints grind and rub against the ends of their bones many more times than someone else of the same age. As a result the joints and bones get worn down very quickly which results in a very early development of osteoarthritis. People with hms/eds usually develop osteoarthritis as a result of degeneration of the joints as well as inflamation of the joints often before the age of 30. They also can develop osteoperosis, where the bones become weak, very early on.
Becuase collagen is present in organ tissue as well as the joints, people with the condition can also have problems with their organs, in particular, organs that are designed to move. The bowel and intestines work by muscles contracting to push food and waste through them. Because the muscles in hms/eds are much laxer(more relaxed and stretchier), they don't contract as well so in the bowel and intestines, the muscles don't do a very good job of moving food and waste along. This means that people with the condition often have alot of problems with the intestines and bowel, in particular ibs, slow transit, incontinence and other similar problems.
The same goes for the bladder too.
In women with hms/eds, the womb has to contract much harder during her period in order to shed the unused lining (this is basically what a period is). This results in very painful and very heavy periods. It also makes it difficult to maintian a pregnancy and many women with hms/eds experience more miscarriges and problems conceiving.
The heart is another organ that can be affected due to the amount of movement it requires to work. In certain types of Ehlers danlos, the heart can have serious issues such as heart murmers, slow and irregluar heart rates. People with the vascular type of Ehlers Danlos are at great risk of anurysisms and heart failure due to the rupturing of the blood vessels. The same with the brain which can result in stokes.
The skin is another major body part that is affected by hms/eds. In particular it is often very stretchy and soft which makes it more fragile. This makes it prone to tearing very easily and very poor at healing. People with hms/eds often have alot of scars that look like they are from serious injuries when in fact they can be from something as simple as a scratch. The skin also bruises very easily, often from simple things like kneeling on the floor or getting a hug from someone.
Because the joints in hms/eds are very unstable, the muscles around the joints have to do all the work to keep them held together. This means that most of your energy gets used up by the muscles. This means that people with the condition suffer really badly from exhaustion and very poor energy levels. Something as simple as walking up the stairs can exhaust the person so much that they have to lie down for 30mins to recover. This means that alot of people with the condition are also diagnosed with CFS/ME. Having such poor energy levels makes it even harder to do basic tasks such as dressing, washing etc.
For some reason, people with hms/eds are much more prone to alot of other conditions. Some conditions occur for obvious reasons to do with the weakend collagen and energy issues, other conditions occur but don't seem to have an obvious reason why.
The related conditions that people with hms/eds tend to also have include:
Fibromyalgia, flat feet, raynauds syndrome, insommnia, curvature of the spine, kyphosis (a hump at the top of the spine), hernias, neuropathy, carpel tunnel syndrome, premature aging of the skin, strokes, heart murmurs, rheumatoid arthritis, automic dsyfunction (a dysfuntion of the body's ability maintain normal function of systems such as blood pressure) and much more.
Hms/Eds varies massivley in severity. Some people may have very few problems and lead normal lives, able to do the same as people without the condition. At the other end of the scale, some people are seriously affected by the condition resulting in severe disability. They may depend on a wheelchair, they may need help to dress, bathe, change position in bed etc. In some cases, a person with hms/eds may become bedridden for periods of time due to the severity of the condition. People who are effected badly may not be able to work and rely on the help of others to get through the day. And of course in the case of Vascular EDS, the condition can often be fatal.
Because hms/eds is caused by a defect in the collagen fibres, there is currently no cure. Treatment concentrates on keeping the joints as strong as possible to delay the onset of degeneration. Physiotherapy concentrates on building the muscle strength around the joints. Occupational therapy looks at aids that can help make tasks easier.
Pain is a major symptom so becomes the main focus for treatment. Pain in hms/eds is difficult to control becuase it can fluctuate easily. But in alot of cases, medications such as tramadol, codiene and even morphine are used to help manage the pain. It often does not take the pain away but only brings it down to a more mangeble level.
Sometimes surgery is required to stablise joints but this is done less and less now as drs are aware now that operating on a joint just makes the other joints more unstable. Steroid injections are used more and more now to stablies joints by reducing inflamation. Steroids are injected directly into the joint which is extremely painful and doesnt work for everyone.
Other treatment focuses on stablising the joints with splints and braces so a person with the condition may wear various splints on their wrists, elbows, knees and ankles. They may also wear splinted supports to stabalise the spine, hips and shoulders. And of course the related conditions need to be treated. So someone who suffers from the hms affecting their bladder may need to use catherters and incontinence products.
Becuase the joints of a person with hms/eds are so unstable and dislocate so easily, alot of the time they go back into the right position very easily so people with the condition often learn fix to dislocated joints themselves. Sometimes however they do need to go to hospital as a result of a bad dislocation. People who suffer from the effcts of severe hms/eds often spend alot of time in hospital reciving intensive physiotherapy and pain treatment. They often have many drs from different areas such as rheumatology, endochronology, gasteonterology, etc and can have a hosptial appointment every week sometimes more than once a week!
Hms/Eds is becoming more recognised as a seroius condition by drs. Many people with the condition spend years trying to get drs to take them seriously and to get a diagnosis. Even then treatment can be very difficult to get. This is still the case in alot of places and as a result many people with hms/eds have to travel alot to recieve treatment and care from specialists who have more knowledge of the condition. There are currently only around 4 hms/eds clinics in the UK!
One of the biggest problems people with hms/eds face is the lack of understanding from friends, family and collegues. A person with hms/eds may appear to be fine, especially if they can walk. Often a person with hms/eds may be able to do something one day but not the next such as pouring a kettle or walking up the stairs. So it becomes difficult for others to understand just how difficult the condition can be. Even those who use wheelchairs or crutches to walk can experince problems with people not understanding. This can make relationships and friendships difficult and often a person with hms/eds becomes isolated as friends slowly disapear. Often a person with hms/eds has alot of bad days where they are unable to get out of bed or to go out. This means that friends often only see them on a good day so they then think that this is how the person is all of the time. They often don't comprehend how bad the bad days are.
Hms/Eds is a very complex condition that can affect the person's life in many ways. The condition often affects social and work life and can even greatly affect quality of life. Becuase of the massive range of issues the condition causes, people with hms/eds often struggle with many things that others take for granted. The lack of understanding of the condition and due to how it can fluctuate on a daily basis leads to the person finding it difficult to maintain friendships and to recieve emotional support from others.
This blog is intended to allow people to understand the daily issues living with hms/eds causes. It also is intended to highlight the strength and determination people with the condition have to get on with their lives and the ongoing fight they have to recieve appropriate treatment, and more importantly, understanding.
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