my Ana tests were positive and they are concerned about scleroderma due to my skin issues/inflammation and scleritis. The fatigue just seems to come with an auto immune disorder. I have learned to listen to my body and set up boundaries to protect myself. I also have used a point system that was developed by St Joseph hospital in London Ontario. It was developed for concussion patients to help them pace themselves. It is called Parkwood Pacing and can be found on line. It gives points for daily activities ie getting up and dressed is 3 points, talking on the phone is 2 points... when you reach your ceiling (mine was max 12 points when I started,)it was time to shut down and go to bed. Also helped with friends and family when I could say I had used up all my points for the day and needed to go to bed !!! As far as diet goes I concur with @larson10's emphasis on how important our diet is. I read " The Grain Brain" by Dr Permutter and it set me on a path to better diet and improved health. In short the grains of today are not the grains that our grandparents ate and we need to get back to the diet that they used. Food today is over processed and damaging to our gut. I eat fermented foods, organic foods and drink kambucha. I am grain/ gluten free. The paleo diet and no sugar no grains (nsng) movement also have great ideas for eating healthy. My b12 and iron levels have improved and my heartburn has disappeared. If I eat unhealthy food my rashes/fatigue/inflammation and heartburn return so eating healthy has made a big difference. I still suffer from fatigue if I get stressed or ignore my Parkwood points !! Would love to get a more specific diagnosis but in the last 6 months of eating healthy, avoiding stress and resting I have not gotten any worse. !!

You are an inspiration. Medical diets require great self discipline. Celiac Sprue has been such a life changing diagnosis. I always say if your life depends on eating a certain way it is a no brainer. But really not many have any self control because the American diet is completely addictive to say the least. Get Jennifer Esposito's new cookbook. It is full of information and all of her many years of the best recipes for all ways of eating great foods. Keep spreading the word!! So many never associate diet with these 300 symptoms of autoimmune disease.

Thanks for the recipe book info. Everyday is a battle to get out of bed but I find I am having more and more good days. Self care is soooooooo important. Learning to slow down and relax and advocating for myself has been hard. Realizing that I need peace and quiet and standing up to the opinions of those who don't understand auto immune challenges has helped a lot. Stay strong !!!

You are at the top of your game in this battle!!! Go with the day...no two are anything alike. The trick is to not tackle every little thing that comes along. Stay focused on yourself and that alone gives you the energy to help others.