Yup.
I was relatively active, coherent, capable, and on top of things....especially my health.
The last few years, though, I have felt increasingly powerless as I've lurched from condition to condition, and have grown ridiculously tired of feeling like complete and total crap on a cracker.
So today, at approximately 10am I grabbed the proverbial bull by the proverbial b***s and decided to start swinging it around a bit.
First up was a call to my family doctor to make an appointment for what I am assuming is either allergies or an inner ear infection. The entire left side of my head, neck, and shoulders is a hot mess, and I am guessing that this is the cause of me feeling so seasick and woozy. I also want her to lay eyes on me, since she is the very best physician I've ever had and will quarterback the team back into order in no time.
Then I called my dietician and discussed one of the new meds they started at d. Once again, I kinda woke up and realized that my symptoms were almost exactly in sinc with the start of this med, and as I did more and more research, I realized that I am probably reacting to it poorly and it needs to be changed. So tomorrow they will try the new med and we'll see if that might have been a problem.
And my final call was to my thyroid guy, so he can weigh in and maybe order some labs that will reveal if my poor little one remaining parathyroid is fritzing out, or if all of the above is the culprit.
At 1:00 I will visit with Dr Melfi, and I will tell her that I might have just turned a huge corner mentally, and my old self is in there and waking up.
So the lesson for the day, Dearies, is to be proactive with your life. Speak. Up. I guess I have been held hostage for a bit, worrying and fretting over what might be wrong and just accepting that I'm going to not feel well for so long that I gave up on trying to feel good. And, in a completely ridiculous turn of events I stopped speaking up because I didn't want to sound like a high-maintenance hypochondriac all the time.
Speak up.
Advocate for yourself, and do not settle for just stumbling through your days hoping it will eventually get better. Complain and investigate and learn and push and poke until you know you've done everything you can to feel as good as you can.
End of rant.
So now that I've got the bull in my hot little hands, and I'm swinging him around with impunity, methinks it's time to put this iPad thingie away and get a needle in my hands! You and I both know that me not stitching is about 98% of the problem, and only I can solve that one.
Cheerio! I hope if you've got bulls b***s in your hands that you're swinging them around a bit too! Come tell me all about it!
You go girl!
ReplyDeleteI also have thyroid issues and had to fire my first endocrinologist. Good for you to have such a great team!
ReplyDeleteI am very proud of you! Thank you for being aware! Sometimes a medical journal is very helpful--just in case you forget when things started, how you felt/feel and what meds you are/were on. You are doing great! Yeah!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHear hear! We all have to advocate for ourselves!!
ReplyDeleteYay for you! I also have scheduled some appointments I put off due to the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteGlad to read that you are actively seeking improvement for some of the illness. I totally get that sometimes it feels easier to suffer, but in the longer term, you need this.
ReplyDeleteGood for you!! I hope they are able to get you feeling better asap!
ReplyDeleteI like the attitude!!
ReplyDeleteThat's right, if you don't take care of yourself no one will. Good luck with all your doc appointments. Feel better.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend with MS, and he has taken the attitude that as that is the short straw he has drawn in life he can't have any other medical problems. All symptoms have been blamed on MS. Using that screwed up logic he hadn't bothered with his regular 'preventative medicine' tests over the last few years and in the last 9 months has had both a heart attack and bowel cancer! Probably both could have been picked up and prevented with appropriate testing.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you have realised quickly that new symptoms might have a completely different cause and you can't blame everything on your kidneys.
Good for you Coni! Reading this has made me realise I too need to grab the bull's hoohaas! Thanks for the encouragement :)
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad you have come to this point. Although as much work as the battle for a new kidney has been, I have always thought you were a fierce fighter. Your persistence is why your blog first resonated with me. I’ve been there. Guilted by constant health issues making me feel like a failure and a hypochondriac. I went from a little powerhouse teacher who ran five miles every other day into my mid 40’s to spondylolisthesis (vertebrae out of place) endometriosis and adenomyosis = hysterectomy, carpal tunnel and both shoulders rebuilt from years of conducting and hard piano playing, a 6cm thyroid tumor = WEIGHT gain, both knees replaced because they were bone IN bone, and, and, and... I’m embarrassed to say 19 surgeries. Many diagnoses and procedures delayed because of feeling stupid. In the long view I/you/we deserve care to give us the best quality of life. Ask for it and fight for it. It’s also been a good role model for my daughter who has fought scoliosis that has led to IBS, migraines and fibromyalgia among other things. At 32 she is strong, functional and her own best advocate. Sorry I’m so long winded but you really hit my nail on the head this morning!! HUGS!!
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad you have come to this point. Although as much work as the battle for a new kidney has been, I have always thought you were a fierce fighter. Your persistence is why your blog first resonated with me. I’ve been there. Guilted by constant health issues making me feel like a failure and a hypochondriac. I went from a little powerhouse teacher who ran five miles every other day into my mid 40’s to spondylolisthesis (vertebrae out of place) endometriosis and adenomyosis = hysterectomy, carpal tunnel and both shoulders rebuilt from years of conducting and hard piano playing, a 6cm thyroid tumor = WEIGHT gain, both knees replaced because they were bone IN bone, and, and, and... I’m embarrassed to say 19 surgeries. Many diagnoses and procedures delayed because of feeling stupid. In the long view I/you/we deserve care to give us the best quality of life. Ask for it and fight for it. It’s also been a good role model for my daughter who has fought scoliosis that has led to IBS, migraines and fibromyalgia among other things. At 32 she is strong, functional and her own best advocate. Sorry I’m so long winded but you really hit my nail on the head this morning!! HUGS!!
ReplyDeleteWell done on taking the bull by the ****s and taking care of you! Glad you have appointments to see your medical people, Coni. Thinking of you!
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ReplyDeleteConi, I so admire your fortitude. I get your blog through my Bloglovin feed and have been trying to figure out how to subscribe directly. Bloglovin dropped you from my feed for awhile and I missed hearing about your adventures. Keep swinging that bull!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Going to look for a bull!
ReplyDeleteBig Attagirl!!
ReplyDeleteBully for you !! lol.... the idea of self advocacy came up twice in conversation yesterday and others are witnessing their light bulbs igniting to offset the lethargy these past months has produced.... You are the only one, Coni dear, who can identify what YOU are feeling then leaving it to the experts to set you in the right direction toward the solution.
ReplyDeleteWhat you have in your favor is a willingness and determination
to meet the challenge and run the course. Praying you the stamina and mental sneakers toward the finish.