Went back to the doctor this afternoon. She went over my blood work results, EKG, and spirometry (lung function). Everything in my blood work looks great, except my vitamin D levels. There's a small possibility that is related, so she said I should start taking 5000IU of D3 daily. I picked some up on the way home. Need to do a quick search to see if it's better to take that at night or in the morning.
The lung function came back as severely obstructed. The print out says my lungs are like that of a 78 year old! I've never smoked, but 2 of my brothers have asthma. I have had problems on and off with breathing while playing soccer and breathing in real cold weather. So maybe there's something wrong and perhaps I'm not getting enough oxygen. It would fit, since I yawn a lot and I could see being more tired if I'm unknowingly struggling to breath. So she gave me samples of an inhaler and I'm to take 2 inhales twice a day for 3 weeks. I got back 3/27 and we'll see if things have improved at all. I'm hoping that this will fix it all, but we shall see.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Heading Back
Heading back to the doctor tomorrow. This latest cluster of bad days is still with me. So we're on day 12 with no end in site. Starting to affect my mood and I find myself exhausted pretty early each night. Got all my bood work back online and everything looks good. It's really nice to actually see my results and be able to sit and look at them, as well as research a little what the numbers mean. Vitamin D is low, but that shouldn't cause dizziness. So I'm going to ask about my back tomorrow. Taking in all of my previous scans and she's going to have a neuroradiologist look over all of them.
Weaning James is not going well. We are down to 3x/day, but those are now all long, ~10 minute nursing sessions. And they are in the morning, at nap time, and right before bed. I have no idea which one I would even start to cut first. So hopefully we choose a different path to investigate before going that route. I had planned for him to be done at 2, I hope he'll be ready by then.
Here's hoping that we can find something tomorrow, because this is getting bad. Carolyn will be 4 in less than 6 weeks. That means I have been dealing with being dizzy for about 4.5 years if we count the dizziness I had while pregnant. There has to be some sort of explanation!
Weaning James is not going well. We are down to 3x/day, but those are now all long, ~10 minute nursing sessions. And they are in the morning, at nap time, and right before bed. I have no idea which one I would even start to cut first. So hopefully we choose a different path to investigate before going that route. I had planned for him to be done at 2, I hope he'll be ready by then.
Here's hoping that we can find something tomorrow, because this is getting bad. Carolyn will be 4 in less than 6 weeks. That means I have been dealing with being dizzy for about 4.5 years if we count the dizziness I had while pregnant. There has to be some sort of explanation!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Horrible day...
And it's only 9:15! When I got out of bed, I almost fell over. I grabbed the wall to steady myself, used the sink to get to the bathroom and then back to bed. I felt like I was on a boat while James nursed (Jon gets him from the crib). Haven't felt right all morning. I just wanted to be sure and note this in here.
Hoping driving to Carolyn's soccer goes okay! Eating breakfast didn't seem to help, I don't know what's up. I'm hoping this will decrease as the day goes on. About time to leave now, here goes nothing.
Hoping driving to Carolyn's soccer goes okay! Eating breakfast didn't seem to help, I don't know what's up. I'm hoping this will decrease as the day goes on. About time to leave now, here goes nothing.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Here we go again
Went to a new doctor this morning. Spent 1.5hrs in the office, actually with a doctor or nurse for at least 75 minutes of that time. Felt I was listened to. I took a list of tests that have been run with me and they asked some questions about them. The PA said she's not sure if they can help me since the other specialists couldn't find anything. But she's going to try.
After taking my history, they did an EKG, lung capacity test and drew some blood. EKG was, surprise, normal. Blood work will be the standard stuff, a thyroid panel, and check some hormones. I am to bring the CDs of all my scans to my next appointment along with the reports. So will have to get over to the hospital before next Tuesday.
She suggested I start weaning, so that they can check if it's a prolactin tumor issue, something related to the pituitary gland. I was planning to start 3/1 anyway, so that's fine. Now to spend the next couple times figuring out how many times a day James is currently nursing so I can figure out how to cut down.
If she's unable to figure anything out, she mentioned going to the Mayo Clinic. So there's that option there at the end of the road. We'll see what the next few weeks bring.
After taking my history, they did an EKG, lung capacity test and drew some blood. EKG was, surprise, normal. Blood work will be the standard stuff, a thyroid panel, and check some hormones. I am to bring the CDs of all my scans to my next appointment along with the reports. So will have to get over to the hospital before next Tuesday.
She suggested I start weaning, so that they can check if it's a prolactin tumor issue, something related to the pituitary gland. I was planning to start 3/1 anyway, so that's fine. Now to spend the next couple times figuring out how many times a day James is currently nursing so I can figure out how to cut down.
If she's unable to figure anything out, she mentioned going to the Mayo Clinic. So there's that option there at the end of the road. We'll see what the next few weeks bring.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Bad night
So it's been a while since I wrote, I've just kind of accepted this as normal. But I recently found out that there are others out there battling these same issues and coming across this blog. I can't believe it's been almost 3.5 years since I started seeing doctors! And I remembered the dizziness while pregnant as well, so about 4.5 years with symptoms.
I haven't been to any doctors lately in regards to this. The recent MRA didn't show anything new. The neuro I saw (new one) suggested I take dramamine (or the equivalent). It made things WORSE, so I didn't do that for long. I decided just to live with it, hoping that once James is weaned (June 1), my body will settle down.
I have removed wheat from my diet and I was hoping that this would solve it. But tonight has been a rough night. I fought through getting my work done. But I will probably head to bed early, after I finish everything else of course. I don't use caffeine, never liked coffee or coke much. I have been eating super healthy. One thing I think I might try is to get more salt into my diet. Apparently when going low carb this can be an issue. I don't think it's related, but who knows. If I'm not feeling better by the end of the summer, I'm going to go see a new doctor. I heard of one in the area that suggests things other than meds, really looks at everything. So we'll give that a try if need be. I'm not really sure what life was like without worrying about dizziness.
I haven't been to any doctors lately in regards to this. The recent MRA didn't show anything new. The neuro I saw (new one) suggested I take dramamine (or the equivalent). It made things WORSE, so I didn't do that for long. I decided just to live with it, hoping that once James is weaned (June 1), my body will settle down.
I have removed wheat from my diet and I was hoping that this would solve it. But tonight has been a rough night. I fought through getting my work done. But I will probably head to bed early, after I finish everything else of course. I don't use caffeine, never liked coffee or coke much. I have been eating super healthy. One thing I think I might try is to get more salt into my diet. Apparently when going low carb this can be an issue. I don't think it's related, but who knows. If I'm not feeling better by the end of the summer, I'm going to go see a new doctor. I heard of one in the area that suggests things other than meds, really looks at everything. So we'll give that a try if need be. I'm not really sure what life was like without worrying about dizziness.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Blood work normal
This is all too familiar. Blood work came back normal... so it's not thyroid, I'm not anemic, not diabetes, nothing that is seen in any of the tests they ran. I've scheduled an MRA for Tuesday at 4:30.
And once again, I'm terrified. This dizziness, exhaustion, headaches, and pain are too much for me this time. I got dizzy laughing at my children this morning. Who expects their 3 year old to say "Mommy, I'm learning how to squish gently!" My husband was teaching her to "squish" her brother on the couch, something he likes. If I can't even laugh, then everything starts to become not worth it. Sorting the clothes to see what James has outgrown (he's in 18m clothes already!) took a lot of effort and I had to stop a few times. I stayed up late last night for Bunco, perhaps that's why today is so bad. But I got ~6hrs of good sleep. So it shouldn't be this bad.
James has been cuddly/clingy lately. And Carolyn wants me to do everything (not Daddy). They always say kids know things innately. I've been trying not to show them that I'm struggling, so they must be figuring it out on their own. What is going on with my body?
I'm feeling nauseous this morning too. No headache, just feel like I'm spinning, sometimes the room seems to be moving as well. Jon took the kids to the park so I can rest. So I'm off to lay down. I just thought it would be important to note how bad things feel this morning.
Dear God, I know you won't let me deal with more than I can handle. But please, I'm at my limit. I just want to enjoy my family and feel normal. No pain, no dizziness, just run and play with the kids without worrying that I'll pass out. Be with my husband as a wife should, without being so exhausted that I just collapse into his arms at 8 at night. To feel normal again and function normally. I just don't know how to get there. And I pray that brain surgery isn't going to be the answer.
And once again, I'm terrified. This dizziness, exhaustion, headaches, and pain are too much for me this time. I got dizzy laughing at my children this morning. Who expects their 3 year old to say "Mommy, I'm learning how to squish gently!" My husband was teaching her to "squish" her brother on the couch, something he likes. If I can't even laugh, then everything starts to become not worth it. Sorting the clothes to see what James has outgrown (he's in 18m clothes already!) took a lot of effort and I had to stop a few times. I stayed up late last night for Bunco, perhaps that's why today is so bad. But I got ~6hrs of good sleep. So it shouldn't be this bad.
James has been cuddly/clingy lately. And Carolyn wants me to do everything (not Daddy). They always say kids know things innately. I've been trying not to show them that I'm struggling, so they must be figuring it out on their own. What is going on with my body?
I'm feeling nauseous this morning too. No headache, just feel like I'm spinning, sometimes the room seems to be moving as well. Jon took the kids to the park so I can rest. So I'm off to lay down. I just thought it would be important to note how bad things feel this morning.
Dear God, I know you won't let me deal with more than I can handle. But please, I'm at my limit. I just want to enjoy my family and feel normal. No pain, no dizziness, just run and play with the kids without worrying that I'll pass out. Be with my husband as a wife should, without being so exhausted that I just collapse into his arms at 8 at night. To feel normal again and function normally. I just don't know how to get there. And I pray that brain surgery isn't going to be the answer.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
It's back
And really, it's worse than ever. Each morning, about 1.5-2hrs after I get out of bed, I start feeling dizzy and it stay with me pretty much the whole day. I also seem to be having quite a few headaches. I'm able to drive, play soccer, go for walks pushing the stroller up hills. But if I take a break or sit down, I feel horrible. So on Tuesday I'm heading to the doctor. Starting with new one, at a primary care office. Perhaps there are things we didn't check out last time. Maybe some simple vitamin or hormone imbalance, I don't know. But the last few days have really sucked and it's sapping my energy. Taking care of 2 kids (1 and 3) is really hard right now. Hopefully I'll get some answers this time around.
Of course my worst fear is that what the last neurosurgeon termed an incidental finding was more than that and has grown in the past 2.5 years. I guess we'll find out over the next few weeks.
Of course my worst fear is that what the last neurosurgeon termed an incidental finding was more than that and has grown in the past 2.5 years. I guess we'll find out over the next few weeks.
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