It's been a while since we talked about the dismal state of my physical affairs, no? Well, let's have at it.
Some shit went down in August and I have avoided discussing this. As a wee lawyer, I am paranoid about the idea of defamation (regardless of whether truth is a defense), so I'm just going to leave it alone. I will simply say that some stuff wasn't right. The stuff has been adjusted.
So I'm seeing a new doctor at the Fibro and Fatigue Center. Her name is Dr. Alina Garcia and I heart her. She seems to tolerate my particular brand of crazy well enough during appointments. I saw her for the first time in early September and I wasn't in particularly good shape. She made some adjustments to my medications.
We recently did some blood work and I went back on Thursday. The appointment was a relief in many ways. I was becoming wary and uncertain if I should continue my treatment there. I spiked early on and felt great. Then, due to a variety of missteps, I got worse. Now, we are trying to get back to better. (Even during the periods where I felt worse, I didn't feel as bad as I did in December/January.)
So, here's where we are. My thyroid is pretty much functioning as it should now. So I am weaning off of the thyroid meds to see if I can sustain that. My adrenal gland is also functioning normally now, so I am also weaning off of Cortisol. My DHEA levels are great now. The only thing that hasn't come up enough is pregnenalone. My dr thinks that my whacked out stomach may be part of the problem since it doesn't seem to absorb things (like my pregnenalone supplements, food and water, etc.).
This is all great news. Number one, I'm thrilled to be off of some more meds. Number two, I'm glad that my body is learning to do its thing all on its own.
Two issues remain. I can't sleep for shit. Seriously, it's hell. I constantly look like I've been in a bar fight. Fortunately, no one can tell since I wear glasses. If nothing else, the insomnia is gone, for the most part. I just wake up 210 times per night.
And, after years of blank sleep, dreams are back. I assure you, you don't want to have the same dreams I do. Nightmares are perhaps more accurate. Usually, I'm being chased. Or there are scary law dreams. But they are all scary. Since I am a light sleeper, I'm always acutely aware that I am having an annoying dream. So I wake myself up and attempt to start again. But, lucky me, the dream usually starts where it left off. So I wait for the rats to gnaw off my ankles or to file the brief days late and receive thousands in sanctions. Fun times.
I am tired.
The other major issue is the Epstein Barr virus. The two months of valcyte did work a bit. Of course, due to my body's refusal to accept needle type invaders, I was unable to tolerate the super viral IVs. The doctor showed me the numbers from the first set of blood work and there is a definite drop. But not enough. It's still there. It's still really high. And it's reactivated or something. (in other words, I'm still a non-contagious mono fest.)
We tried me on a strong dose of Valtrex and that made me vomit nonstop. So we are now playing with that dosage to see how much I can tolerate without inducing vomiting.
I am also on celexa now to see if we can calm the CRAZY during this period.
New goals: Sleep. Kick virus ass.
(There's a jack-o-lantern bat staring at me right now. How am I supposed to address serious health issues in these conditions?)
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