Cassandra Hill thought the sky was the limit.
Arriving at college in 2000, the bright-eyed student was excited to dive into her schoolwork. But within her first term, the then 19-year-old was wracked by something unexpected: shooting pains in her legs that seemingly came from nowhere and lasted for a few hours to a day.
‘The pain would come while I was just walking to class or the library,’ she told Daily Mail. ‘I would get this sharp pain out of nowhere.’
Hill initially brushed it off, feeling there was no need to worry because it did not stop her from functioning in her daily life. However, after graduating in 2006 and joining the corporate world, her symptoms accelerated.
Over the course of six years, her pain went from occurring once every other month to multiple days a week. It began to linger for longer periods of time and became more intense. At times, it was so bad that she found herself unable to walk and suffering from crippling fatigue.
In 2007, she married her partner and became pregnant, but had a miscarriage at four weeks. She said her doctors were not concerned, and told her it this was a benign occurrence for some women’s first pregnancy.
However, she went on to suffer four more miscarriages over the next three years, and in one case lost twins.
Doctors were unable to explain why she kept losing the pregnancies, but she told the Daily Mail they didn’t seem worried because she was able to get pregnant.
Cassandra Hill (pictured) was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and lupus after spending 14 years seeking answers for the cause of her chronic pain
Hill (pictured), 45, lost five pregnancies before doctors finally diagnosed her condition
Throughout her pregnancy struggles, Hill continued to endure pain. She had seen several doctors in three different states, but all were stumped by her symptoms.
Some suggested she might have anemia – where the body has too few red blood cells to supply enough oxygen to cells – and prescribed her daily iron supplements. But it did not help.
‘All those doctors I went to didn’t do enough,’ Hill said. ‘And, at times, I just felt like my pain couldn’t have been as serious as it really was.’
But her health issues and repeated miscarriages took a toll.
‘It was stressful for me,’ Hill said. ‘Definitely. My marriage was very difficult, and maintaining a career through all that was very challenging.’
In 2013, the couple divorced, and Hill, originally from Arkansas, moved to Atlanta, Georgia. She wanted a fresh start, but the pain in her joints continued to plague her several times a week.
In Atlanta, she got a job in gerontology, which involves caring for older adults, and felt she was adjusting well to her new life.
But in the fall of 2014, a turning point finally came.
Hill woke up one morning after a nap to find she could not move. Her pain was intense and had spread up from her legs to her back, shoulders and torso. She felt like it was gluing her to the bed.
She told the Daily Mail she remembers laying there – unsure of how long – before finally pulling together the strength to shuffle down the stairs on her butt and climb into the car. Then she made a painful drive to the hospital.
‘It was just widespread,’ she said. ‘My back hurt, my everything hurt – it just felt like a constant sharp pain that wouldn’t go away.’
Based on prior research, Hill had a hunch that she might have an autoimmune condition where the body attacks its own cells.
Her doctor had given her an anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) test about a week before to detect whether any hostile immune cells were in her blood, but she was still waiting for results.
In the emergency room, she told doctors her predicament and asked for another ANA test. They issued a battery of other assessments, too, determined to find the source of her pain.
When the results arrived, Hill, then 33, received the diagnosis she had waited 14 years for. She had both fibromyalgia (a chronic pain condition) and lupus (an autoimmune disease).
Hill (pictured) was treated using chemotherapy drugs. But after reading about autoimmune conditions, she decided to go on a detox, too. Two years later, she was declared in remission
Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of last resort, issued by doctors when they have ruled out other potential causes of pain. About four million Americans suffer from the condition, according to the CDC, which can be caused by genetics, emotional stress, poor sleep and other health conditions.
Lupus is a serious autoimmune disease that affects about 1.5 million Americans, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. The foundation’s data states it mostly affects young women. The condition causes pain in the joints, among other symptoms, but doctors warn that it can also trigger fibromyalgia, often diagnosed when pain from lupus spreads in the body.
Doctors warn that lupus raises the risk of miscarriage and blood clots forming in the placenta, which can interrupt the supply of nutrients to the fetus.
Hill was thrilled to finally get a diagnosis, but also wary of the long road of treatment ahead, for which she moved back to Arkansas.
Initially, she received chemotherapy. Hill took a daily pill, which doctors said could boost levels of pain-reducing chemicals in her brain.
Chemotherapy drugs are not normally used to treat fibromyalgia, but they may be used to treat lupus because they can calm an overactive immune system that is attacking the body.
She also started receiving blood transfusions twice a month, which doctors say can help reduce levels of antibodies attacking the immune system’s blood cells.
Hill said the drugs made her feel worse initially. She was hospitalized repeatedly while taking the chemotherapy medications, which made her nauseous and unable to keep down food.
Unemployed at the time because of her illness, she began to fill her time by attending an alternative medicine course, which led her to start pursuing her own treatment.
Hill (pictured) has remained in remission since and has trained as a master life coach, author and speaker
In addition to heeding her doctor’s medical recommendations, Hill stopped eating meats, sodas and sugary foods – instead prioritizing fruits, vegetables, water and smoothies.
She utilized essential oils from doTERRA, which studies suggest may reduce pain and inflammation, and took Juice Plus+ dietary supplements containing dehydrated fruits and vegetables that can help someone boost nutrition levels. Studies suggest better nutrition can also reduce inflammation and pain.
Gradually, her pain began to ease, and two years later, in 2016, doctors declared she was in remission from both conditions.
Hill, now 45, has become a master life coach, author and speaker, and has dedicated herself to helping women empower themselves.
She has remained in Arkansas, and said that despite being in remission, she does not plan to try to have children again.
‘For the person who is battling this monster, don’t give up,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘Just keep believing that better days are ahead.
‘Oftentimes, what we believe becomes our reality. So if you believe that healing is possible, then it can become your reality.’