My name is Jennifer

My name is Jennifer.

Since possibly the late 80's I have been suffering from Hidradenitis Suppurativa.
Believe it or not, I did not have a name to this disease until finally July 19th, 2010 when I was sent to a general surgeon. A few short weeks ago.
I had seen my family doctors, dermatologists and many urgent care facility Physicians about this matter.
Now, I could research it and see blogs from people with cases similar to mine.
I was amazed to know that others deal with this and that it is a disease. I am also still more surprised at the fact that my friends, relatives, and strangers have confided with me the same problem once I became verbal about it.
I decided that I should blog my experience. This is my first "blogging" attempt.  You must all be forgiving as to my mistakes. I feel that if this blog can "enlighten" just one person suffering then it was all worth while!
Even in the truth of my embarrassment of the experience, I cannot express how painful H.S. has been for me. I have learned to try to ignore the pain..... just so that I could continue to function at work, home and play. The truth be known, I just pretended that I was not in the terrible pain that I was in mostly on a daily basis. I faked the fact that my pain was unbearable and that it kept me from concentrating as well as usual on my job and usual daily responsibilities.
I never grew a tolerance for the pain but I thought I had to live with it because it was a "closet disease" for me and I felt ashamed to talk about my "infectious boils" with others. I did expose the disease to my loved ones at home and they tolerated me on days when the pain was unbearable. I finally did expose my infections to my work "family" by showing the underarm boils just so they could understand. They did understand and have sympathy. But after all we still had a job to do.
I believe that in knowledge there is power.
In the power of knowledge, you can make informed decisions. I decided to be brave. I seen the blogs, gruesome photo's and read painful testimonies of those who chose surgery before me. I have to tell you that it was one of the scariest decisions I ever made to agree to end this torment with surgery. I cannot live with the hazy fog of pain any longer. I want to live to my fullest potential and cannot do so with this horrific disease.
Please do not live with this disease full on myths just to keep from your own embarrassment. If a disease can be healed, heal it, and find yourself lucky.
I will try to post the pictures I have taken from the beginning to the end. Wish me luck on learning how to do just that!