Health Rundown

Lately, I've felt a little like a health project.

At the end of August, I had minor surgery on my elbow to try to correct numbness in the fingers in my left hand. The surgery is called cubital tunnel release. The recovery has been pretty fast, but the numbness is pretty much the same. It can take up to a year for the numbness to subside, or it can stay the same. Thing is, without the surgery, I was risking further numbness and wasting to my hand, so I had to try it.

Tomorrow, I have an EMG for both of my hands because of pain and more numbness. I had had a carpal tunnel release in 1997 in my right hand which seemed to help for a while. Apparently, though, carpal tunnel syndrome can return. Or something.

So there's that. A few days ago, I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy because I have had constant heartburn and acid, no matter what I ate. I already know I have a hiatal hernia, which I had been diagnosed with over 20 years ago. When I woke up from the procedure, the doctor told me I have a small ulcer in my small intestine. Why not, right?

Aside from all this, I have an upcoming appointment with an orthopedist to check out my neck. I've talked before about the issues I have with compressions on my vertebrae or whatever I have. My neurologist has not been a tremendous help. In fact, I can't get an appointment with my neurologist at all, just the nurse practitioner. Not to minimize nurse practitioners, but I am not convinced she knows what to do with this condition. She keeps changing the information about it; it's serious, it's not. It can affect this, it can affect that, no it can't. I just don't think she knows. The office won't let me see the doctor. Just weird. So I'm going to an orthopedist. Let him check out the situation.

And I am going to go to a pain management center for my fibromyalgia. I have also been seeing that nurse practitioner for the fibro, but, well, same story. She's also been monitoring my migraines. The pain center should be able to handle that as well.

The balance issues have been status quo, I suppose. Don't move my head fast. Don't let myself get too hungry. Don't bend too quickly. Stuff like that. It is a part of me.

That's my wobbly life for now.

long time...update

it's been a long time since I've updated this blog.

things were kind of the same for a while, so I guess I didn't have anything to say.  I was going around most days not really dizzy, pretty much avoiding things that would make me dizzy.

day in, day out, I felt like a prisoner of my inner ear.  I still do.

it got to a point where I said enough is enough.

I hadn't been driving for, what 3, 4 years?  it was time.  so I just started.

first it was out of necessity.  a little here and a little there.  my daughter needed a ride to school or a ride back from drama.

then, it suddenly became part of our routine.  ha.

I also got a job. a tiny little part-time job, but a job nonetheless.

I did discover that I can't see at night to drive.  at least not now.  I made an appointment to get my eyes checked out, but I suspect that might be a permanent problem.  I never was a good night driver.

the eye doctor I am going to see also is a neurologist, so hopefully he will understand my balance issues and my convergence issues.  it's always an adventure when I go to a new eye doctor, so I don't know.

on top of this, I've been getting more and more arthritis, and the other day, I suddenly couldn't walk on my ankle.  it got so bad, my partner insisted I go to the ER (I was just going to go to an orthopedist, but she insisted). they didn't see a break, so I'm thinking it's probably part of this arthritis ridiculousness.

at the ER, they prescribed Vicodin and a high dose of Ibuprofen for my ankle.  I've been taking it for a couple of days.  I've been careful to be conservative in how much I take since I already take other meds on a regular basis.  however, I have been getting dizzier than usual, and I can only assume that it is side effects from the medication.  also, I learned that trying to walk on the crutches the hospital gave me was a complete no-go and made me off-balance and spacey as well.

I'm going to an orthopedist the same day as the eye doctor, so we'll see what he has to say.  I feel like I'm falling apart.  just when I'm making a few steps in the right direction, poof, things go to crap. oh well, gotta keep on keeping on.