Saturday, September 5, 2009

Wow, it has been a while! :)

Things got so hectic and busy for a while that it has taken me a while to get back to blogging. I had to wrap up everything and prepare to move back home, and then a month after moving back home I got to move out to Illinois. So, everything has been busy, and I haven't had the time or energy to post anything.

But, it would be nice to begin to post again, now that I am settled in!

One thing hasn't changed (if you check out the time stamp), I am still quite the insomniac! :)

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Where have I been for 10 days???

I don't know... I was hoping someone could tell me?! :) LOL

Seems like it hadn't been that long since I last posted!

Let's see...

~ Finally got a hold of everyone I needed to... it took FOREVER!!!

~ I am off the Florinef, because it caused me to lose water weight (opposite rxn) and blood sugar spikes (with wonderful reactive hypoglycemia crashes).

~ Went to derm. for irregular hair loss pattern- not helpful at all, just another wham, bam, thank you ma'am... URRRGGGHH!!!

~ Went to rheumy... they didn't have me scheduled when I got there and fit me in, but dr. said I had been on her list when she looked a few days ago... Thanks random people for just canceling my appmt. and sticking someone else in my place! Appmt. was ridiculous. She was one of those drs. that starts out the appmt. in a very positive fashion and tells me EVERYTHING that she will not do, and that she will only look at rheumatology issues. NO big picture... well that is WHAT I AM HERE FOR!!! UUUUURRRRGGGGG!!!!!!

~ Now have a rheumy appmt at the Cleveland Clinic- I HOPE that this one will be much more beneficial!!!!

~ I also FINALLY have my Dr. Grubb in Toledo appmt. scheduled!!! HOORAY! :)

~ Sleep has now been better for a couple of days. But, it was awful for about 2 weeks. Not fun!!!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Trying to stay awake, so why not UPDATE?! :)

So... I am trying to stay awake to call a drs. office this morning, and as you can see from my previous post I have been reading (but, hey enough is enough!). :) So, to keep myself busy I will update, after having fallen behind with so many days/nights with little sleep.

I have two appmts. this week. The dermatologist in regards to the odd hair loss pattern (neuropathy or not?) on my legs, and the rheumatologist. YES! I FINALLY got an appmt. with a rheumatologist, after that one secretary taking over a month to more or less pass on the referral baton. She never made an appmt. so finally the PCP made the appmt. That whole thing was just ridiculous!

I started Florinef a little over a week ago now. I have had mixed results on it. The biggest side effect has been weight loss (10 pounds), which I don't mind so much, EXCEPT this med is supposed to make you retain water and in turn gain weight. So, yet again I am having the exact opposite reaction. So, that is why I have to stay awake, is to call that drs. office. I called Fri. EARLY, but they never called me back!!! ERRRR!!! And I called back two or three times later in the day, but it went directly to voicemail. So, time for round two!

Sleep is still an issue. I FINALLY got FOUR solid hours yesterday during the day, and woke up to not knowing what day, time of day, or where I was. It didn't take me long to figure it out, but I was sleeping pretty hard! I then got another 1-2 hour nap in, and ran a couple of errands. Came back had dinner etc. I then got another 1-2hours sleep, and woke up wide awake unable to go back to sleep and have been awake since. Now I am getting tired and want to go to sleep, although I likely would have a difficult time... At least the storms of last week have gone through, it has gotten cooler, and the humidity is down. With the neuropathy one of the things that makes sleep the most difficult is humidity. I just can not get comfortable, and it continues to wake me up.

On Friday after 3-4 phone calls and having to wait a week for an answer, I finally got the answer from the cardiologists office that YES, I am supposed to be on both of the medications at the same time. My PCP had questioned this and made me call them, then earlier in the week they told me that NO according to the records I was only supposed to be on one of them, but that they would check. I never heard back, and had to make multiple calls, and talk to multiple people before I could get an actual answer! They had me worried that I had been taking the wrong meds for FOUR months! :(

I READ a book!!!

Okay, it is now TWO books! But, it just seems like such an accompishment. Sounds REALLY stupid I know! BUT, for years I couldn't even keep up with required reading for school, so I did not do much leisure reading. Then, since being on all the meds etc. I have tried to read books a few times. I believe there was only one stretch of time, about a year ago, where I was able to SIT down and read a book!

Why is it such a hard task??? For one, the sitting still part is difficult. Due to a multitude of reasons. Restless Legs Syndrome, blood pooling causing the need to move around and fidget a lot, low blood pressure when sitting still, decreased blood flow to brain causing it to be difficult to understand and retain the information presented in a book. Not to mention the ADHD making a task that requires one to sit still and FOCUS on a book with words. I could probably handle a picture book, but I think I am past that point!!! Another thing that make reading difficult is migraines and their auras... I sit there reading and every few minutes I see spots out of the corner of my eye, something on the floor, or some other fun visual disturbance. It takes away the concentration from reading, makes one lose their place, and can make them see something else that they want to do across the room, and lose all attention towards the book they were reading. All this is without ANY significant pain, with any migraine pain, I do not try to read. It is too hard, and makes things worse!

How is that for an explanation on why being able to read a book is such an accomplishment?! :)

And I started my THIRD this morning!!!

YAY! For not being able to sleep! :)

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Thought of the day...



I need some retail therapy (and a smile), so I thought this was a cute picture to post! Aww! They are adorable! Shopping in Petsmart for their treats and toys!

I'm not going shopping today because of lack of sleep, temp/humidity, and allergies. But, I am ready to get out and do something fun! (if I had the energy) :)

I did have a really good mail day (week really), so that is fun!!! A few magazines and a lot of samples. Free Magic Eraser, YAY!!! :)

Oh, and I did manage a little sleep!!! :)

Friday, May 1, 2009

I am ANNOYED!!!!!!!!!

Well, I know it doesn't take much to annoy me, but...

SOOO... I am still exhausted from being very much an insomniac for over a week. I did get pretty good sleep yesterday during the day for a few hours and did NOT want to wake up. But, those few hours can't put a dent in my exhaustion and lack of sleep for so long. During many of the days the past week I haven't even been able to sleep well during the day, if I do sleep it is not very restful. I FINALLY started to sleep 1-2 hrs this morning before I had to get up to make phone calls. I made the calls, BUT does anyone answer? No... I have to leave messages. Does anyone return these messages? No...

I am not sure what I am supposed to do... I am losing my patience. I really just want to get somewhere positive healthwise... Not sure which way is up anymore, or what I am supposed to do?

My PCP made me call to check with the cardio. to whether or not I am supposed to be on both of these meds at the same time... I had understood when I went on the newer one, that I was staying on a smaller dose of the second at the same time as starting the new. NOW four months later they are telling me I am NOT supposed to be on BOTH! But, can I get any clear answers???? NO... It has been a WEEK!

And this is just one of my current frustrations!

I had wanted to do things in the real world today, but I don't have the energy, patience, brain power etc... Why can't I just get somewhere on some of these issues? Why does it have to be so hard?

I NEED SLEEP! :)

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Spring Cleaning Continues...

So, I did FINALLY get a 5-6 hour "nights" sleep yesterday (Mon.) during the day. I had planned to do things during the day, but I finally was able get some decent sleep about an hour before I was going to get up. So, I decided I needed the sleep and turned off the alarm. :) So, all my "plans" did not go so well!

I woke up not all that energized, but worked to get food, meds, water, etc. in me. I was still exhausted so I went back to bed and slept about 3 hours. I had hoped to sleep in later and be on a more normal schedule, but no such luck!

So, since then I have been doing pretty good at being productive. I put away all the clean dishes and put all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I also cleaned the kitchen counters and floor! YAY! It's clean!!! :)

I also got my last fan cleaned of about a pound of dust!!! Even more clean now!

Since then I have been catching up on small tasks I have been needing to do... I get annoyed when you go to pay bills and the site is not working right or whatever!!! It is such a hassle!

AND the pharmacy gave me the wrong lancets for my new glucose meter! SO annoying!

Good news!!! I moved into a new purse!!! YAY! The other one was annoying me! And this one is big enough to carry water etc. around now that it is hotter out. :)

Now I am working on making a GREAT breakfast! Biscuits and soy sausage patties!!! :)

Later I have to catch up on a bunch of phone calls... Yesterday I was expecting two calls I never received! Hopefully at least the one gets answered!!! Or somebody will be calling back and not too happy about it! ;)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Dreaming of Ice Cream!!!

Well, I guess I will get fussed at yet again for the time of day in which I am up and writing here... BUT, I have a good reason! I was dreaming about ice cream! So, yes it means I was able to sleep for a bit (2-3 hours)! But, then I couldn't stop thinking about ice cream while sleeping so, I am now up... I did get some ice cream (non-fat frozen yogurt actually), and it tasted good! :)

Yesterday (Sunday) I did start taking Florinef. It hasn't been too bad so far. I had a little stomach upset and palpitations, but nothing too bad. I am starting on it slowly to hopefully avoid any issues.

Sunday I also continued to do a lot of cleaning. My room is now cleaner than it has been in at least a year. I put away some laundry and caught up with other tasks I had been needing to do for months! It feels good to get caught up on these things! I did get a 2 hr nap or so and slept the best I had in a week or so! That was nice! :)
I think I just got 3-4 hours of fragmented sleep overnight Sat. into Sun. But, finally I am able to get some sleep!!! I even felt good enough to go out in the heat Sunday to take out the trash and get the mail! Wahoo!

Saturday I spent a lot of time trying to sleep and a lot of time on the computer. I have been spending a lot more time on Facebook recently for whatever reason... Probably because of lack of sleep and energy.

I have also been working to figure out what kind of abdominal compression is for me, and have been wearing that on and off. My thigh high compression arrived I believe, but at my parents house, so I won't actually get it for a little while longer. I did get my exercise bike!!! I like it!!! It is quiet (which was important), can use for arms and legs, multiple resistance settings, and stays put while using it. I used it Friday and Saturday. It kicks my butt, especially when I use if for arms.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

The Spoon Theory




Here is a link to The Spoon Theory. It is a good story/description of invisible chronic illness. It's purpose is to try to help others understand what it is like to live with an invisible chronic illness on a daily basis.

www.butyoudontlooksick.com/the_spoon_theory

WANTED: Sleep!



Ain't she cute? Aww!!! She looks how I feel! :)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

An Attempt at an Update...

As demonstrated by the time stamp on this post the symptom that has been the worst recently is insomnia. The night before last I managed to get maybe 2 hours of fragmented sleep, last night was about 1.5 hours in the early night and could not get back to sleep until very late. I managed to get about another hour of fragmented sleep before I had to get up. So, my lack of sleep of course makes other symptoms worse. I did take a 2 hr. nap this afternoon, because I didn't think I had much choice... And even though I truly am exhausted for whatever reason I just can not sleep. As soon as I start to (every time) I hear things or startle myself awake. This type of "sleep" is more exhausting than staying awake. Who knows? Like I am reminded all the time I am WEIRD! :)

OTHERWISE... In an attempt at an overall update. I will start the Florinef soon (haven't decided when). I went to see the allergist last week. It was FUN!? I had to wait so long in a humid hot room that I had to sit with the door open and lights out. Finally I told the nurse I was about to pass out... she helped me lay down etc. They were quite nice. They took my vitals, blood sugar, etc. Then they pulled my drs. resident out of the other patient room to come and start my history and everything. I got to feeling a bit better (the best I would in that environment)and managed to get through the first part with the resident, wait for another 30 min., and FINALLY get to see the dr.

Thankfully, BOTH were very familiar with POTS and its correlation with Mast Cell Activation Disorder (MCAD). So, we discussed a variety of things, and they did a basic allergy screen and some of the markers that can indicate MCAD and related issues. I got the results back, and from the allergens they tested I am NOT allergic. Wahoo! I still am allergic to some things though... just not real sure what. I am not sure on the MCAD stuff yet, but I don't think much showed up on the blood work. BUT, or less you are having an attack, not much appears on these tests. So, I still really do not know...

Friday I had an appmt with my primary care dr. Pretty much same old stuff. I think I am FINALLY getting a rheumatologist appmt. Which I should have already been seeing one for the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Talked about sleep problems, allergies, and arm and knee pain.

This is long enough, and I should probably try to sleep... :)

Happy WEEKEND!!!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Thought of the day...



Don't make either of these dogs mad!!!

Or

Careful how you pick your friends. One may have a much larger mouth, but the other has all the energy in the WORLD!

The zebras are annoying me!!!

I know the zebra pics/slideshow are messed up and the one only shows its better half... But, it has a mind of its own! When I left my attempt to add a zebra pic or two the other night none of the slideshows were working etc... So, I had one nice picture. Overnight it turned into zebra heads and rear ends of all shapes and sizes! I will maybe get to fixing it one of these days... :)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Thought of the day...




Help me! I'm stuck and I can't get out!!! :)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Cookies are GOOD!!!

I made the cookies last night, and they are sooo good! I have to stop eating so many of them! I crave sweets so much more now with current meds etc. It is crazy! I used to be able to take or leave all sweets, cookies, cake, ice cream etc... I would go years without ice cream! Now almost all I crave is sweets! Not so good for a diet or blood sugar! :)

I am still really mad that my main lamp that lights the room I spend the most time in exploded and burnt up the other day!!! It leaves everything in here darker and not illuminated properly. It is weird, but without the right amount of light throughout a room it can really affect my symptoms and ability to function. So, I have to find another lamp of same wattage, height, etc. that can go were the fried one once lived.

On a more positive note I am excited I got more dusting done, and all but one of my fans are clean!!! Some had like a quarter inch of dust on them!!! The air is much nicer now!!! I can breathe, I can breathe!!! :) And one of them was one I rehabilitated back to work. It was running, but not spinning, but I cleaned it up and FINALLY it WORKED!!! WAHOO!!!

AND my couch is now CLEAN!!!

I am doing good at spring cleaning!!! :)

Now if the trash would only magically take itself to the dumpster!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

I got a TON of cleaning done!!! (for me anyways)

Today I did not get an early start... My alarm kept going off and I kept resetting it! :) But, I finally got myself up and together enough to make a couple of phone calls (made a bit of a fool of myself trying to call less than an hour after waking, but I was afraid the offices would be closing and I wouldn't get a hold of them).

Then, I started with those stupid baby steps again, and started to get more cleaning done. I vacuumed the rugs, DUSTED!!! :), vacuumed the WHOLE apartment!!!, and neatned up and put a bunch of stuff away!!! It is the cleanest in here that what it has been in a LONG time!!!

I also got the water pitchers and bottles filled (which sometimes is about all I can do in a day), took care of the trash in here (not taken out yet), AND I finally remade my bed with clean bedding!!! I am excited now that so much is CLEAN!!! :)
But, I will likely pay for it tomorrow! :( :(

Best part??? I MADE COOKIES!!! (bake and break, but hey they are cookies!) :)

It was a much more productive day!

I guess I missed a couple of days... Whoops!

Sunday was a rainy and not so productive day... Probably because I paid for doing quite a bit the day before. :) I think I got a tiny bit of cleaning done and worked on the computer. I did get to the library though!!! Wahoo! So, the DVD's are finally back! And I had to pick up a dinner treat on the way back! ;)

Monday I did a little better and I got the dishes done. I got a tiny bit of cleaning done again and worked on the computer. My sleep has been really messed up with the weather, plain 'ole just me, etc... I have been doing better at keeping my meds on schedule and have been taking my vitamin, magnesium, and Vitamin D every day like a good girl! ;) I tend to let those slide after having to down the normal 10+ pills a day. AND I did some baking!!! So, I have biscuits and breadsticks!!! :) (Trying to make room in the freezer)

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Yesterday... I didn't feel like posting.

Yesterday started out rough. I think because the day started out cold and got quite warm. It was like a 50 degree difference. So, I had difficulty sleeping and then felt like crud when I got up. I took it slow and actually got more than I thought I would done. It was actually quite nice. The only thing was I didn't feel up to going out and driving etc... So, the library dvds did not go back! :(

Midafternoon I did get some energy and started with baby steps of trying to get things done... brushed teeth, picked up and cleaned the kitchen (minus the floor and dishes), tried abdominal compression, worked online, picked up the bathroom, and searched online and found the exercise bike I wanted to get and finally ordered it!!! I also searched and found the compression hose that I am going to try and ordered that as well! Online shopping is great! It just stinks when it is all health related stuff!!! :) It actually became quite a productive day for the way I was feeling originally. I just had to take things slow. It sounds so silly to list everything out like this, but it is the way that we have to think about and plan our days. I think it also helps to demonstrate to others that someone like myself is not able to just clean the apartment in two hours on the weekend etc.

I am excited that I got the bike and compression ordered! It takes a bit off the to do list!!! And I tried the abdominal compression... semi-uncomfortable, not sure I noticed a difference... it is probably not the best one for me. But, I am learning! :)

Then, the storms started to roll in... (well the front anyways... my head could feel it!). I got a little sleep between 11:00 pm-1:30 am. Got up for a while... Slept another like hour and had to go to bathroom and my head was still throbbing. Took motrin and tried to go back to bed. Finally fell asleep sometime after 7:00 am and was able to sleep and not want to get up till 1:30 pm. Crappy schedule, but I needed sleep after my head pounding all night! :) Fun times!!!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Why Invisible Zebra?

Seems random and odd, huh? Am I hallucinating? No, I wanted to come up with a fun and meaningful title that at least somewhat describes me. The zebra part comes from the saying "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras." As in, just because that is what is taught in the medical field, does not mean that is the way it is ALL the time! I am a zebra in this case, because I have accumulated so many rare, out of the box diagnoses.

The invisible part refers to having an invisible chronic illness. I may not look sick, or like to think of myself as such. But, I can not change what is on the inside. My symptoms can't often be seen by the naked eye, but does not mean they are not there. One of the hardest things with an "invisible" disorder is that it is invisible and others do not know or understand what you are going through. They think that you are making it all up or are giving them a hard time.

So, that is why this is called "Invisible Zebra".