The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey 💜
Where chronic illness, resilience, advocacy, and hope come together. Sharing stories. Building community. Inspiring hope.
autoimmune-disease
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 The Truth Behind “I’m Fine”
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 The Truth Behind “I’m Fine”Dear Diary, “How are you feeling?” It sounds like a simple question. Most days, I give the simple answer: “I’m…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 The AIP Diet—Helpful Tool or Restrictive Hype?
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 The AIP Diet—Helpful Tool or Restrictive Hype?Living with autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s and Myasthenia Gravis often leads to unsolicited dietary advice, particularly regarding the Autoimmune Protocol…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 IBD vs. IBS, Part 2 — Wait…You Can Have BOTH?
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 IBD vs. IBS, Part 2 — Wait…You Can Have BOTH?After sharing Part 1 about the differences between IBD and IBS, my friend Steph sent me a text: “Your blogs…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Finding Your Tribe Is Finding Home
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Finding Your Tribe Is Finding HomeIn a world that does not always understand chronic illness, finding people who see you, believe you, and accept every…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Same Diagnosis, Different Journey
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Same Diagnosis, Different JourneyTwo people can share the same diagnosis and live completely different realities. Symptoms, limitations, and treatment responses aren’t one-size-fits-all. Someone…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Who Holds the Strong One?
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Who Holds the Strong One?Being the strong one often means carrying everyone else’s burdens while quietly hiding your own. This reflection explores the strength…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 When Fatigue Isn’t Just Fatigue
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 When Fatigue Isn’t Just FatigueFatigue isn’t always “just being tired.” Living with both Crohn’s disease and Myasthenia Gravis has taught me that one drains…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 The Weight Behind the Smile
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 The Weight Behind the SmileSome days, “I’m fine” carries more weight than anyone realizes. This reflection explores the invisible burdens behind the smile, the…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 The Test That Finally Believed Me
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 The Test That Finally Believed MeThe anniversary of my MuSK-positive Myasthenia Gravis diagnosis isn’t a celebration of illness—it’s a celebration of finally being believed. This…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 You Are Not the Burden
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 You Are Not the BurdenLiving with chronic illness may mean carrying heavy burdens, but needing help does not make you one. My diagnoses, symptoms,…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Why Me?
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Why Me?This morning, I asked God a question I’ve carried more than once: Why me? Why Crohn’s? Why Myasthenia Gravis? I…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 The Pictures That Matter Most
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 The Pictures That Matter MostI used to worry about looking good in pictures. Now I worry about the pictures my doctors are looking at.…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 When Sleep Became a Breathing Test
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 When Sleep Became a Breathing TestWhen sleep became a nightly struggle to breathe, I learned my exhaustion wasn’t just fatigue—it was my body fighting to…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 COVID-19, Myasthenia Gravis, and the Search for Answers
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 COVID-19, Myasthenia Gravis, and the Search for AnswersLiving through the COVID-19 pandemic while managing Crohn’s disease, I never imagined another autoimmune diagnosis was waiting. This diary explores…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 You’re Too Young to Be Going Through That
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 You’re Too Young to Be Going Through ThatSometimes the words “You’re too young to be going through all that” are meant with love—but chronic illness doesn’t care…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 She Had No Idea
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 She Had No IdeaShe thought her biggest challenge was deciding what to wear on Friday night. She had no idea life would become…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Can Nightshade Vegetables Trigger Autoimmune Flares? Separating Fact from Fiction
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Can Nightshade Vegetables Trigger Autoimmune Flares? Separating Fact from FictionCan tomatoes really trigger autoimmune flares? Before you clear out your kitchen, let’s separate fact from fiction. Explore the science…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Learning to Travel Again
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Learning to Travel AgainA weekend in Las Vegas became more than a getaway—it became proof that healing sometimes looks like slowing down. Join…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Most People Fake Being Sick. I Fake Being Well.
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Most People Fake Being Sick. I Fake Being Well.Most people fake being sick. I fake being well. Living with Crohn’s Disease and Myasthenia Gravis means smiling through pain,…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Crohn’s Disease and Myasthenia Gravis: More Than a Coincidence?
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Crohn’s Disease and Myasthenia Gravis: More Than a Coincidence?When I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 2006, I never imagined I’d later develop MuSK-positive Myasthenia Gravis. Could it…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Why Did It Take So Long? Understanding Why Myasthenia Gravis Is So Difficult to Diagnose
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Why Did It Take So Long? Understanding Why Myasthenia Gravis Is So Difficult to DiagnoseAfter months of unanswered questions and normal test results, I finally learned why Myasthenia Gravis is known as “the great…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey🌻 The New Normal…Again
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey🌻 The New Normal…AgainWhat happens when your “new normal” keeps changing? In this heartfelt reflection, I share how Crohn’s Disease and Myasthenia Gravis…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Food for the Soul
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Food for the SoulSometimes the greatest nourishment isn’t found on our plates but in the people gathered around them. Food for the Soul…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻Living or Resting? The Battle I Fight Every Day
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻Living or Resting? The Battle I Fight Every DayAs I prepare to board a red-eye flight home to Washington, D.C., I find myself caught between two competing thoughts:…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜What Is Really Causing Our Autoimmune Symptoms?
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜What Is Really Causing Our Autoimmune Symptoms?What causes autoimmune disease? From hidden triggers and midnight Google searches to questions about COVID-19 vaccines, living with Crohn’s disease…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜The Things People Don’t See
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜The Things People Don’t SeeLiving with Crohn’s disease and Myasthenia Gravis means carrying invisible burdens that most people never see. From chronic pain and…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜Different Season. Different Race. Same Determination
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜Different Season. Different Race. Same DeterminationLiving with Crohn’s disease and MuSK-positive Myasthenia Gravis has changed what movement looks like for me. From completing a half…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey:🌻From Surviving to Thriving
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey:🌻From Surviving to ThrivingHave you ever been so focused on surviving that you forgot it was okay to dream about thriving? In this…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜Your Immune System Was Meant to Protect You… So What Happens When It Doesn’t?
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜Your Immune System Was Meant to Protect You… So What Happens When It Doesn’t?Did you know there are more than 100 recognized autoimmune diseases? Most people can name only one or two, yet…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜The Hardest Person to Convince Was Me
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜The Hardest Person to Convince Was MeFor years, I shared the polished pieces of surviving chronic illness. The victories. The resilience. The hope. But there were…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜The First Answer Isn’t Always the Final Answer
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜The First Answer Isn’t Always the Final AnswerJust when I thought I knew exactly why my thumb had swollen after my port removal, I discovered that living…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 The Day I Refused to Cancel My Plans
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 The Day I Refused to Cancel My PlansLiving with Crohn’s Disease and Myasthenia Gravis means every outing begins long before you walk out the front door. What…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 💜 My Energy Isn’t the Same Every Day
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 💜 My Energy Isn’t the Same Every DayI did not choose to have fluctuating muscle weakness. I did not choose chronic fatigue. I did not choose autoimmune…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Disability Pride Month: We Matter
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 Disability Pride Month: We MatterJuly is Disability Pride Month—a time to celebrate disability identity, culture, community, and advocacy. In this deeply personal entry, Kia…
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💚 Before MG Awareness Month Ends: What I Want You to Know About Myasthenia Gravis (Bonus Diary Entry)
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≻: 💚 Before MG Awareness Month Ends: What I Want You to Know About Myasthenia Gravis (Bonus Diary Entry)What exactly is Myasthenia Gravis, and why is it often called the “snowflake disease”? As Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month comes…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries|Kia’s Journey: 💜The Story Before the Story: The Prequel to The Dual Diagnosis Diaries
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries|Kia’s Journey: 💜The Story Before the Story: The Prequel to The Dual Diagnosis DiariesA journey through childhood symptoms, family history, missed clues, and the decades-long path to understanding Crohn’s Disease and MuSK+ Myasthenia…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Who’s Is That?
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries | Kia’s Journey: 🌻 Who’s Is That?After a long and exhausting day, Kia pushed through fatigue to support a friend pursuing her dreams in a new…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: ❄️ No Two Snowflakes Are Alike: Understanding Myasthenia Gravis
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: ❄️ No Two Snowflakes Are Alike: Understanding Myasthenia GravisJune is Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month, and today I want to talk about one of the most meaningful descriptions I’ve…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: The Parts We Don’t Talk About: When Autoimmune Diseases Get Messy
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: The Parts We Don’t Talk About: When Autoimmune Diseases Get MessyLet’s be honest. Crohn’s Disease sucks. There. I said it. Not the polished version. Not the inspirational version. Not the…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: All My Life I Had to Fight: From Survival to Healing
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: All My Life I Had to Fight: From Survival to Healing“All my life I had to fight.” — Sofia, The Color Purple Recently, I was talking with my best friend…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: Just Strong: Maybe the Universe Was Sending Me a Message
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: Just Strong: Maybe the Universe Was Sending Me a MessageThis morning, during my usual scroll through Facebook, I came across an advertisement looking for Just Strong Ambassadors. For those…
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The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: I’ve Been Strong for Too Long
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≻: The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: I’ve Been Strong for Too LongI was never a crier. I prided myself on being strong. I showed up for the people I loved, even…