64 posts tagged “health”

My mommy posted in her LJ and her VOX...
Her blood work is in and it seems to answer why her MRI was abnormal.  And it's not MS nor is it Sarcoidosis! 

It's Pernicious Anemia so she gets to get B-12 injections.  Still gotta say that sounds better than MS or Sarcoid so I'm calling this good news :)

Politics:
Hmm Insomnia posted yet another interesting post, I'll just let you read his post here instead of ranting about it myself as he rants far better than I do ;)   But basically, it seems that voters in predominately black areas of NC received calls explaining they only needed to sign and return their voter packets -- WITHOUT VOTING, to be eligible to vote.  In other words a. they clearly think these people are stupid and b. this woman's organization targeted mostly black voters trying to suppress their votes.  I'm a news junkie and haven't seen it on mainstream national news yet so, errm... wtf?

In other political news, mom once wanted to nearly disown me because I liked the Clintons.   That was before Hillary ran in this election.  Hillary has now convinced me that she's a closeted Republican so I no longer support her and with Edwards gone I support Obama.  My sister has taken up my to be disowned spot by announcing she'll be voting for Hillary in the Oregon Primary, heh.

Dutch:
I have picked up my Dutch books only to, as predicted, read the first few chapters, again!  BUT, I also have Pimsleur beginner Dutch CDs and have listened to lessons 1-6 (of 10 lessons I think) during the last few days.  So far, since it is beginner stuff, it's a lot of hello, how are you types of things.  Which is good, I know to spell those things I'm hearing.  Lesson 6 has moved onto the would you like something to drink types of things.  Eeek.  I always said the Dutch letter g scared me, and it does.  But hearing the word "graag"  eeek.  *hides*  I know it's nowhere near the worst, but it's the first gr word and multiple letters g word I've heard.  Oh man if I tried to say that in front of a Dutchie they'd be laughing for a year.  Guess I have to go back to being an American now.

Health:
So I slept on and off from 4 am until 4pm yesterday.  We've been having record high temps for this time of year.  It's finally supposed to drop down now... to record lows possibly.  Ugh.  My body doesn't like when the weather jumps all over the place.  Especially not when record highs start early in the year.  Brain aliens in full effect.  Pain alien been around.  Exhaustion alien.  MS IS NOT HAPPY.  MOTHER NATURE MAKE UP YOUR MIND ABOUT THE WEATHER!  In fact if I get extra ranty or mess up lots of words, yeah, brain aliens around, sorry.

Brian lives with me, he knows MS makes life less than pleasant.  And though Sarcoid never has really been an issue for me, having two chronic auto-immune diseases = one messed up immune system.  He's still got a slight cough but can't figure out why this cold has made me so ill.  I reminded him my body is not normal.  I guess it's a compliment that the only person who sees me daily and sees me a lot forgets I'm sick even if he sees some of the struggles daily.

That said, I went to bed thanks to Nyquil this morning and slept from about 10 - 3, went back to sleep, woke up at 5.  But now I'm just so weak and in so much pain, I think I'm gonna take some Nyquil again and sleep more.  This cold is nasty.

I was flipping channels and found, on accident, that Steve from Jerry Springer has his own show now.  Something else was actually listed on the channel guide.  Not sure how it's doing in ratings since I never even heard of it (though I don't exactly follow daytime talkshows),  but it seems to be all about telling bad / abusive parents just how pathetic they are.  Not who is your daddy.  Not I cheated on you with your brother.  Just what you did or are doing to your kids is disgusting, you need help, and stop giving me your excuses.  I've known some people who needed someone as big as Steve yelling that in their faces before.

I'm dizzzy and lightheaded, but the sore throat and cough seems to be fading.  Brian's in about the same position.  It seems to be the next phase of the cold.  It's almost worse than the sore throat.  We both spent the day walking around like zombies, he even asked me something like "it's affecting your head now too?"  Usually we'd go for coffee today, he was in no shape to drive.  I somehow managed to boil eggs without breaking any but have dropped several other things today.  Argh!  Oh my body can't decide if it's hot or cold.  Which I guess is ok, I didn't realize it was either a record breaking Easter weather day or at least the hottest one in decades or something.

Watched the next part of John Adams, which I would comment on but have typed enough.  Hurt.  All blending together.  Gonna go watch tv and decide if I need sleep or not.  Not tired but too woozy to be doing anything productive.

Brian woke me up at 11 to have me call the dentist to reschedule for two Saturdays from this weekend.  It seems to be a law that on holiday weekends (or breaks of any sort) someone at work must infect him with a nasty cold.  He was of course nice enough to share.  So we were both up last up coughing thanks to a dry sore throat from hell.  He thought it would be short enough lived we'd both be feeling well enough to go today, he woke up feeling differently. 

Friday while out getting cold meds, some guy yelled across the parking lot "I like your hair"  I turned around as it was a small parking lot so we were pretty sure he meant me, he did. He then added something about pumpkin or pumpkins we couldn't hear as clearly, so Brian announced "Ok, let's go Pumpkin".  No pics yet, I feel too crappy.

Brian came out and hung up the phone, then watched a SNL skit with me.  If you saw the SNL that Tina Fey hosted, it was the skit about an old man selling dvds his wife had had his grandsons edit to explain the movies to him.  There's a part where they say something like no grandpa don't go to answer the phone, it's in the movie.  The phone sounds like ours.  Brian had gone to answer ours.  When he realized it he announces "I just got pwned by SNL".  He's been walking around in shock ever since. HAHAHA.  He really doesn't find SNL funny so he seemed rather shamed that they got him :P

Bush keeps saying the economy is just fine... WTF?  Clearly he doesn't shop, etc.  Gas prices = stupid, we all knew that.  I buy soy milk which I must say is pretty much always on sale one brand or the other 2 half gallon cartons for $6 and has been that way every week for a year now.  So while we notice our grocery bill going up up up I didn't notice just how bad things have gotten until I bought something I buy only a few times a year:

Eggs

Same-Sex Marriage Advocates Ready For State Supreme Court.  That's right boys and girls, the issue goes before the court tomorrow.  There's a link in that story for live streaming coverage that will be available at 9 am Pacific time for all who are interested.

Brian asked me to reschedule my root canal for next Saturday, so I did.  He was worried that me coughing up phlegm this morning could be bad news, he was apparently worried I'd cough at a bad time and bite the dentist's finger off, heh... I forgot to ask him why he wasn't worried about what could happen to ME if I coughed at a bad time with a DRILL in my mouth.  He was probably worried the dentist would bill him if injured and I wouldn't :P

Managed to get out of robe and into clothes long enough to go get coffee

Came straight home and have been laying around in robe ever since with kitties trying to "take care of me" as I lay curled up crampy, dizzy, and overall blech.  Those of you who have kitties probably know, they mean well but their  idea of helping or taking care of you is not always so helpful.  As Brian put it "I know what it's like to be stalked by the paparazzi, I have cats"

On a positive note it's sprinkling, not raining (we've already gotten something like 3 times the rain we got all of last year).  Sprinkling is nice.  Pouring rain is not.

So dizzy I can't even follow these political shows!  It's not a dizzy like the room is spinning dizzy, it's more erm... ugh wish I would explain, but words fail me so back to being curled up and doing nothing I go.

Sooo... mom apparently tricked them into telling her over the phone what they're looking at based on her MRI results as she can't really afford a doctor visit co-pay at the moment.  She's a copycat!  They suspect MS based on her MRI and want her to have  spinal MRI based on what they found on the two head MRIs.  She doesn't  want to go have it done as she knows what an MS diagnosis means: the shots (which she'd likely decide against),  medications for symptoms (which she can get without a diagnosis), and a diagnosis aka a pre-existing condition making her un-insurable.  Her line of work means she could lose her insurance at any time and then be re-insured, etc.  Pre-existing condition then is bad.  So now she knows she might have MS but can't really find out or it could be more trouble for her than the diagnosis itself could be.  Welcome to the American health care system.  Don't get sick my friends and if your body betrays you through no fault of your own, good friggin luck.  We're now at three in my family with neurological issues.  Eeek.  Me with definite MS, mom probably, uncle with unknown causes.  If someone in your family shows up with these probs pray you're adopted :P

You know if it weren't for the internet, who knows where I'd be.  I woke up at 5 friggin AM crying out in pain from leg neuropathy.  This first happened when I was a teenager.  My family doctor then chalked it up to a fluke she couldn't explain as only pregnant women get woken up with severe leg pain and I'd not even had sex yet so it clearly wasn't THAT!  She said if it happened again to come back, it didn't until I was in my 20s.  It's happened a handful of times hough I have "neuropathy" pain (tingles, etc) often this is way way beyond that.  This is if I were a loud person not afraid to wake the neighbors I'd scream a nice horror movie scream, as it is, I woke up Brian.  He thought it was a leg cramp so suggested I stand up and walk it off or whatever.  We were both too asleep for me to remind him it's not muscles and oh yeah I can't MOVE. 

So I looked up Neuropathy stuff again and found this stuff on Sciatica.  Hmm I've vaguely heard of that before, so my question is how did my doctor not know to consider that when I was a teen?  My symptoms fit it to a tee.  And hey systemic diseases can be the cause and since I have lesions on my spine and MS is a systemic disease and my knee IS weak enough they've done x-rays and found no causes, it's probably all related.  DUH!  Of course I already knew it was "neuropathy"  because when I was diagnosed the first time my doctor said if I looked back I'd find MS related stuff going back to my teen years likely, etc.  And that was the only thing that stood out. 

Thanks internet, you've made me smarter than some of my old doctors.  Still, since it's so rare I'll probably forget to ask the neuro when I go to my next appointment in July.

Anyway, I went back to sleep until noon and have been a zombie all day between pain and just not sleeping well.  Ugh.   But tomorrow is possibly the last Clinton / Obama debate so w00t!

Subject says it all.  Alive and mostly well.  Sleep a mess.  Exhaustion levels a mess.  Laziness level high.  Didn't get to work on blog / website at all this weekend.  Brian had to work.  I've been up since 6 am.  Now I am sleepy.  I am beyond sleepy.  If Brian can get Friday off we're gonna go stay at the Queen Mary overnight if the special Star Trek tour hotel package isn't booked.  I'm no Trek fan but he is and we both want to stay a night at the Queen Mary.  So we'll see. I haven't even pretended to skim journals the last few days.  If you're not known as Brian, Dutchie, Lister, Mijn Favoriet, or T I haven't followed you in days or longer as my brain has been mush.  I'll try to catch up soon or at least start reading your journals etc soon.   zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 
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