After three doctors, 14 months of illness, and something like 10 vials of blood and two ultrasounds, I sort of have a diagnosis for what illness is dogging me. It’s an as yet unnamed autoimmune disorder. That’s right, more tests ahead. Oh, joy.

It could certainly be worse. But the suspense, if not the illness, is killing me.

Still worse, every medication except for one I was given to relieve the symptoms was making the illness worse!

Now that I have given enough blood to feed a vampire for a week, my condition has been narrowed down to something that attacks my liver, enlarges same, fatigues me, and raises my cholesterol. Ugh!

And the itchy skin which was the first sign of the problem? That’s still going on.

In a way, I am annoyed with my body. In the past, my mind was more vulnerable than my body. And I was fine with that.

An autoimmune disorder is a lot like an allergy, except instead of your body going on the attack against an innocuous outside substance, with an immune disorder, your body attacks itself. Hey, body, stop hitting yourself!

Apparently my body is like a rebellious teenager. It’s not listening!

Still, the most recent ultrasound of my liver did not show any permanent damage. And autoimmune disorders can and do go into remission.

I am trying to rest when I feel fatigued, and to lower my stress, while working two and a half jobs, being a mom, and going to grad school.

My biggest worry is I might not be able to keep all this going. But I am trying. Now if my body would just cooperate! I am hoping once I have an answer to exactly which autoimmune disorder I have, there will be some sort of treatment available.

Either way, I intend to persevere. What else can I do?