Medical worry (and general happiness)

[beowabbit]

[No, this is not filtered. This is the sort of thing I think it’s useful to be open about.]

So as I alluded to earlier, but haven’t talked about in a lot of detail, I’ve been concerned for a while about constant exhaustion, memory and attention problems, and various other concerns. Lately I can add breathing problems (both at night and, more recently, sometimes during the day). A lot of it looks very much like sleep apnea although there are some things that seem inconsistent with that. I talked to my (then-) doctor about that a couple years ago and at the time she was pretty sure I didn’t have sleep apnea, but since then the symptoms have gotten a lot worse. My daily exhaustion is greater and more consistent. It feels a lot like being jet-lagged: I’m outside and it’s a bright and sunny afternoon, but I feel like it’s 3:00am and I should be asleep and in bed and it should be dark. When I came home from work this afternoon (early, since I wasn’t really functional), I opened the door carefully so the cat wouldn’t get out. It’s been a long time since I lived in a house with a cat. Yesterday I got off the T a couple stops early on my way to work. It wasn’t that I thought I was at my stop yet, it was just that the train stopped at the station and that bit of my autopilot that controls what you do when the train stops kicked in before I bothered to think whether this was where I wanted to get off. I’m only 40 (well, 39 for another couple days). I’m not due for this yet.

So I’m really glad that I finally found a doctor who was seeing patients, got things straightened out with the insurance company so I can go see him, and made an appointment for September 12. I really hope this is easily treatable, whatever it is. (If not, cathijosephine, you may get your chance to feed me my strained peaches during visiting hours at the nursing home sooner than planned. :-)

All of this is on my mind because I just finished writing up my medical history and an overview of my current complaints to send to my new doctor. (I haven’t sent it yet because I want to run the family-medical-history stuff by my mother first.) I don’t angst about this all the time. :-)

All of that said, my life is pretty wonderful. I have lots and lots of good friends, a new lover, some other people who don’t seem to mind smooching me now and then, a good relationship with my fabulous ex, a good albeit long-distance relationship with my other fabulous ex, and a house I love in a town I love and whose mortgage I can even (albeit just barely) afford. And it was a sunny day today.

I have some stuff I’m frightened about, but in many ways I am blessed.

PS — Lest any of you worry that I’m going to keel over tomorrow, these issues have been going on (and slowly getting worse) for years. I’m sure looking forward to my appointment, but this isn’t an acute, sudden thing.

Comments

[mud-puppy.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you found a doctor and made an appointment. Oh, and I know you know this already, but I have sleep apnea. I was diagnosed something like 6 or 7 years ago and have gone through a hate/hate relationship with the Squid (aka: CPAP). That has totally changed now that I have Ambien! Better living through chemistry :)

Anyways, I feel so much better when I use it that it's turned into more of an annoyed/love relationship. I used to wake up exhausted most mornings and achy. My legs hurt and I was always sleepy and foggy-headed during the day. I think it was even negatively effecting my mood.

I was also wondering if you could have food sensitivities or allergies? Have you ever had allergy testing or been tested for Coeliac disease? It might be something to ask your doctor to test for. I'm pretty sure it's just a simple blood test. Oh, and if you want a referral to a good allergy doc, let me know!

My allergy doc is at the Marion Center and he has really helped me change my life around. I have more energy in the last year than I can ever remember having, that and my digestion and allergies are so much better. I often find myself being surprised that sometimes that I feel good most of the time.

*hug* I'm glad you're getting this checked out! And no strained peaches through straws! At least not until we're all old and gray poking about in our wheelchairs :)

[samsarra.livejournal.com]

Celiac disease is only one form of gluten sensitivity, and the only one with a test. So if you test positive you know what the problem is, but testing negative only means that you may or may not. I know way, way too much about the testing from having to prove in a divorce that my son was gluten sensitive.

If you want to investigate the food sensitivity thing, the best route is to go on a restricted diet for a few weeks or a month and see if there's an improvement.

Apnea is a good guess, and easier to manage, so I'm hoping for that, personally. :-)