Laura Pontes Autoimmune Story

MEET LAURA

Hi, I’m Laura, I’m 18 years old. I live in Portugal and I’m studying medicine. I have two beautiful sisters, I love my family so much! They give me strength when I feel weak and make everything they can to help me and to make me happy. I also have a beautiful boyfriend, he makes me feel so much better every time, supports me and hears me when I’m super happy or when my world is falling, I definitely don’t know how could I fight this without him in life.

 DIAGNOSIS

When I was young, the hospital was my second home, I had severe asthma and a lot of allergies so I frequently needed help. I grew and learned to control it and to take care of myself.

Last September I moved to Lisbon, and the “nightmare” started, I started felling dizzy, super tired, bloating, humor swings, skin problems, pain everywhere and on and on. I went to the doctor and he said I had my ovary messed up, but nothing more.

Unfortunately it just got worse, the disease was taking me, I couldn’t even walk for more than 15 minutes alone. Tests, tests and more tests, doctors said I had autoimmune oophoritis, and I started taking high doses of corticoids, however it wasn’t enough, and I went back to the hospital where they found I had adrenal burn out, so I started taking also hormone therapy. But my body didn’t respond very well, so I had to stop a lot of treatments when I was a bit more stable. Nowadays, I started showing new symptoms like petechiae, loss of hair, super tired again, a lot of bruises appearing from no reason and doctors have no answer, so I’m undiagnosed, just living day by day…

 LIFE CHANGE

My autoimmune illness changed everything! From my relationships to my body. Some people(even doctors) didn’t believe what I was saying and because of it I started thinking I was getting crazy, and I had a lot of mental breakdowns. My body reacting to treatment was so bad. I just learned to manage my energy, my grades are not what I wanted, but it is the best I can do…

 HEALING

Yoga, yoga, yoga and more yoga. It makes me feel so much better.

 STRUGGLE

Actually I’m undiagnosed so that is not easy for me, I’m afraid this disease is out of my control. Furthermore I’m still trying to accept my condition and learning to live with this.

INSPIRATION

“After a storm comes a calm.” -Matthew Henry

I always believe that everything is going to be okay so for me it is really important to remember it even when my world is upside down.

Find Laura | @lauraponteess