Question: I have had symptoms of an Auto-Immune Disorder since 1987. I believe it was triggered by a car accident, emotional trauma due to high school issue & I came down with CMV & Epstein-Barr in XXXXXXX 1987. I had to drop out of college for a semester & get well. It was later that summer, August 1987, when one day I woke up & was FATIGUED all day. It was the first day (now looking back) that my horrendous Auto-immune problems started. My college years were plagued with bad headaches which turned into migraines til now - I'm 47 yrs old. I coped & managed CHRONIC INFECTIONS FREQUENTLY: i.e., sinus, bronchitis, female vaginitis (I haven't been in a body of water in 20 years), bladder infections (had surgery in Feb. 1990. I coped & managed for 25 years of a CAREER - NOT A JOB! I had to leave my extraordinary career that I LOVED because my body has completely broken down. I have always had a Neurologist since learning of the migraines & the one who really tried to figure out WHAT THE ROOT OF ALL MY PROBLEMS WERE WAS IN XXXXXXX Hills, CA - he admitted me to Century City Doctors Hosp for an entire week & did as much as he could - 2 spinal taps, blood work, they thought I had menengitis, so they had me in Quarantine. My Maternal side of the family has shown 3 generations of Auto-Immune diseases: i.e., sjogrens, myasthenia gravis, rheumatoid arthristis, Lupus, Guillon XXXXXXX etc... There are many cousins & it's like one person in the family has an AUTO Disorder - however, the Dr's over the years have never been able to DX me!!! I was labeled CFS/Fibromyalgia in the 90's with chronic migraines til now, but when I hit my early 40's my body started going downhill fast. I've taken GALLONS of ANTI-BIOTIOTS my whole life b/c I am CHRONICALLY sick with any one of the earlier mentioned infections. I now live back in VA, with my elderly parents b/c I have no where else to live. When my career collapsed & I had to move home I was bedridden for 3 years. Without insurance - VA wouldn't transfer my BC/BS from California. Now I'm in full-blown menopause (hysterectomy 2012 - I was able to get XXXXXXX @ VCU/MCV & I told them to take EVERYTHING OUT!!!) That did help my chronic abdominal pain & PMDD menstrual cycles, but now b/c I'm so CHRONICALLY PAINFULLY FATIGUED from whatever is THE ROOT OF MY MEDICAL PROBLEM - which has to t/b auto-immune related, a DR. I found who is helping me with relief of symptoms, RX'ing: antibiotics, pain meds, muscle relaxers, IBS med & sumatriptin (which the generic for IMITREx's BARELY Work @ all - it's awful.) Now my Dr. has started RX'ing PREDNISONE for me b/c when I get sick or have a "bout" or "episode" where my body feels like I have the flu X 100!!! I mean every part of my body is in EXCRUTIATING PAIN FOR DAYS. So now, PREDNISONE is what is helping me get thru these episodes, but I know how horrible that steroid can be & I can just see the writing on the wall that that will be my only option for the rest of my life. I actually found this site b/c I was looking up NUMB TIP OF THE TONGUE & it sent me here to this site. I'm in hell. I have no way to get in-depth work-ups b/c my financial situation is in ruins after 24 years of trying EVERY IMMUNE BOOSTing or preventative herb, supplement that came on the market. Is there any hope for someone like me? I have more problems & symptoms, but I think what I've written gives you an idea of how my life has been - CHRONICALLY ILL & COPED UNTIL MY BODY COLLAPSED IN 2008. I don't know what to do & it looks like steroids are the only thing I can afford that help to get me better for a few weeks until I have another 'episode' or 'bout.' If any of you Doctors actually read all of this, I want to tell you THANK U VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE. My email address: YYYY@YYYY