There is no magic cure for Scleroderma, but I believe that with prayer, hope and perseverance I can live a full, rich and rewarding life.
My name is Sarah Bates and I have CREST. I am 50 years old and was diagnosed in July of 1992. I have been wanting to write my story for some time but was not sure if I could do it. I was telling my doctor about the "I have Scleroderma site" and how I had cried after reading the different stories; about how it seemed that a lot of the problems that others were having were caused by the side effects of the drugs that they were taking. You see, I believe in natural medicine and my current doctor is a naturopathic doctor. She encouraged me to write my story, so here it is.

During the spring of 1992 I was having problems with swelling and aches in my joints. I was pretty sure that it was some type of arthritis so I made an appointment with a rheumatologist. After checking me over he said that he wanted to run some blood test, but he was pretty sure what it was - Scleroderma. When the tests came back he told me that I had CREST. He wanted me to take some medicine for the Raynaud's and predinsone for my joints.. Well, I went home and checked up on the side effects of the drugs and decided that the side effects were not worth it because he had said that there was a chance that they would not help and that they treated the symptoms and not the problem.

Toward late summer I started getting excruciating pains in my hips and legs and shoulders. They got so bad that I it hurt to walk or stand or sit or move, etc. I had to sleep in a recliner, although it hurt too bad to get anything more than a few minutes sleep at a time. I got him to give me some pain pills, but that was all that I would take.

This continued until finally, in March of 1993, I found out that there was a naturopathic doctor in town. I went to see her, and I thank God every day that I did! She had me start taking some herb and vitamins and gave me a diet to follow. (I am still not quite following the diet like I should) About three months after I started seeing her, she asked how the pains in my hips and arms were. I had to stop and think and I realized that they were GONE! I have flare ups every once in a while and when I do, I just double up on the herbs and they back off.

Probably the biggest problem that I am having is with the Raynaud's. When I get chilled my fingers will turn white and my feet feel like I am walking on ice cubes. But I try to always dress warm. Also, I am trying some different herbs to see if they will help.

Last fall my doctor had me go for a checkup with the rheumatologist and also had me see a cardiologist and a pulmonologist because my lab work showed that the Scleroderma was pretty active. Also, my blood pressure was higher than normal. The results were really heartening! My heart is in good shape. I have lost a little breathing capacity, but the pulmonologist thought that it was due to the fact that until about 8 months ago I had been a smoker. He did not think that the Scleroderma had caused it. We have been trying some new herbs and vitamins for the blood pressure and so far it seems that it is staying down where it should!

I am really lucky as far as work goes. I am a computer programmer and I do contract work, so I set my own hours and work as much (or as little) as I want and when I want. I do get tired easily, but since I work out of my home, I can take a nap in the afternoons. I feel that I am really blessed in dealing with this disease. My doctor and I are working together to try and control the disease. I am an active participant. Oh, I also go to massage therapy once a week. There the therapist works on my hands, lower legs and feet, arms and upper back.

I would be happy to correspond with anyone. My e-mail address is:

sbates@wtp.net

I also have a home page that I do for fun. Please feel free to drop by and visit.
http://www.wtp.net/~sbates/plain.htm

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