Just over the past 3yrs it's amazing just how much my body has begun shutting down on itself. I can see this so clearly, but don't get why the Dr's aren't putting all this together. I've gone from being someone with NO physical health issues to them continuing to pour in, and I'm still baffled that the Dr's aren't questioning this continual decline. Some just refer to it as getting older, but it's not that. I can say that with absolute certainty mainly because age doesn't have anything to do with what I'm experiencing, but I am confused why it's happening now.
All this began when it was diagnosed that I had a bad mitral valve which was causing mini strokes for me, but no one knew that's what they were until the bad valve was discovered. That took 3yrs and about 30 mini strokes in itself to figure out. The valve had been bad for 38+yrs, but was only just discovered in Sept '13. Talk about a shocker. On the bright side, learning about this and the issues it causes was such a relief to identify because finally there was actually a reason for the struggles I noticed when I was a kid. (Mainly with running)
Six months after discovering the bad valve it was time for surgery to replace it. What I didn't expect during that surgery was my aorta dissecting. It's an exceedingly rare complication that can come from heart surgery. Leave it to me to experience such rarity. There is no pain associated with the dissection (it's still dissected), but scary enough is the fact that there are no symptoms to let me know if it's actually getting worse. The only way to tell how it's doing is via a cat scan.
John Ritter (the actor) passed away from his aorta dissecting. It went un-diagnosed with him, and when it finally blew all the way he was on set. Those who were around him when it happened said he was in a LOT of pain when it happened. Sounds like something to look forward to, doesn't it? (Rhetorical question) Due to this issue, keeping my blood pressure in check is a must cuz it can actually make the dissection worse (high blood pressure also resulted immediately following the surgery while I was still in the hospital.), and I'm not allowed to do any major lifting anymore. I found this especially grievous for the simple fact I've always loved to challenge myself in that respect. Now I can't anymore.
Then in Feb this year I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and as such was started on yet another med for that. A friend of mine who is extremely well educated with autoimmune issues told me a few years ago that I have the disease. I didn't dismiss her. Guess I just didn't fully understand it all. Well, when my thyroid went bad a different friend encouraged me to have them do the test for autoimmune cuz apparently they can do that when testing the thyroid. I asked them to do that test, but they refused saying there was no reason for them to check that.
Then just a month ago I was diagnosed pre-diabetic, and it's quickly headed towards diabetes 2. What's weird is that I used to drink soda all day everyday for 23yrs, and was never even diagnosed pre-diabetic. Now I take much better care of myself than I did back then, but this is happening regardless. Apparently I do experience narcolepsy from all this now, too. It actually wakes me up in the middle of the night sometimes. I realize diabetes 2 can for the most part be prevented, but I'm not confident of that in my case. Knowing my life has been full of the unbelievables, and the fact that I exercise a lot and stay away from sweets (most of the time) and the simple carbs it's still happening regardless.
In these 3yrs alone I've gone from being on NO meds to being on 14 of them. That's been a really difficult adjustment in itself because I absolutely hate meds. However, part of the 14 is the 3 meds I'm now on for mental health reasons. My mental health has really gone on the decline, and not just cuz I've experienced 4 major trauma's in 2yrs but the continuing decline of my health has contributed greatly to it, too.
Three years ago, right before the bad valve was discovered, I was also diagnosed with arthritis in my lower neck. Most people will experience this in their lower back, but not the neck. Again, leave it to me to experience the less common things. During this 3yrs I've also been diagnosed with diverticlosis. It's not the 'itis'. That would mean an infection is present which is not the case - at least right now.
I'm thankful the only pain I experience is from the arthritis, and even that's not all the time. The narcolepsy is as annoying as hell, but now I'm beginning to experience some pain in my feet as well. I have an appt in a week to meet with my primary doc (at her request), and I'm really tempted to ask her to take a serious look at all the sudden health issues I'm facing, and to tell me what she thinks of it because I know it's not all associated with getting older. I'm only 46, so I'm not all that old.
How does one continue to cope with the apparent never ceasing onset of continual physical health issues? I'd always been healthy till all this. I find myself understanding less and less as time moves on, and I'm frustrated and discouraged.
All this began when it was diagnosed that I had a bad mitral valve which was causing mini strokes for me, but no one knew that's what they were until the bad valve was discovered. That took 3yrs and about 30 mini strokes in itself to figure out. The valve had been bad for 38+yrs, but was only just discovered in Sept '13. Talk about a shocker. On the bright side, learning about this and the issues it causes was such a relief to identify because finally there was actually a reason for the struggles I noticed when I was a kid. (Mainly with running)
Six months after discovering the bad valve it was time for surgery to replace it. What I didn't expect during that surgery was my aorta dissecting. It's an exceedingly rare complication that can come from heart surgery. Leave it to me to experience such rarity. There is no pain associated with the dissection (it's still dissected), but scary enough is the fact that there are no symptoms to let me know if it's actually getting worse. The only way to tell how it's doing is via a cat scan.
John Ritter (the actor) passed away from his aorta dissecting. It went un-diagnosed with him, and when it finally blew all the way he was on set. Those who were around him when it happened said he was in a LOT of pain when it happened. Sounds like something to look forward to, doesn't it? (Rhetorical question) Due to this issue, keeping my blood pressure in check is a must cuz it can actually make the dissection worse (high blood pressure also resulted immediately following the surgery while I was still in the hospital.), and I'm not allowed to do any major lifting anymore. I found this especially grievous for the simple fact I've always loved to challenge myself in that respect. Now I can't anymore.
Then in Feb this year I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and as such was started on yet another med for that. A friend of mine who is extremely well educated with autoimmune issues told me a few years ago that I have the disease. I didn't dismiss her. Guess I just didn't fully understand it all. Well, when my thyroid went bad a different friend encouraged me to have them do the test for autoimmune cuz apparently they can do that when testing the thyroid. I asked them to do that test, but they refused saying there was no reason for them to check that.
Then just a month ago I was diagnosed pre-diabetic, and it's quickly headed towards diabetes 2. What's weird is that I used to drink soda all day everyday for 23yrs, and was never even diagnosed pre-diabetic. Now I take much better care of myself than I did back then, but this is happening regardless. Apparently I do experience narcolepsy from all this now, too. It actually wakes me up in the middle of the night sometimes. I realize diabetes 2 can for the most part be prevented, but I'm not confident of that in my case. Knowing my life has been full of the unbelievables, and the fact that I exercise a lot and stay away from sweets (most of the time) and the simple carbs it's still happening regardless.
In these 3yrs alone I've gone from being on NO meds to being on 14 of them. That's been a really difficult adjustment in itself because I absolutely hate meds. However, part of the 14 is the 3 meds I'm now on for mental health reasons. My mental health has really gone on the decline, and not just cuz I've experienced 4 major trauma's in 2yrs but the continuing decline of my health has contributed greatly to it, too.
Three years ago, right before the bad valve was discovered, I was also diagnosed with arthritis in my lower neck. Most people will experience this in their lower back, but not the neck. Again, leave it to me to experience the less common things. During this 3yrs I've also been diagnosed with diverticlosis. It's not the 'itis'. That would mean an infection is present which is not the case - at least right now.
I'm thankful the only pain I experience is from the arthritis, and even that's not all the time. The narcolepsy is as annoying as hell, but now I'm beginning to experience some pain in my feet as well. I have an appt in a week to meet with my primary doc (at her request), and I'm really tempted to ask her to take a serious look at all the sudden health issues I'm facing, and to tell me what she thinks of it because I know it's not all associated with getting older. I'm only 46, so I'm not all that old.
How does one continue to cope with the apparent never ceasing onset of continual physical health issues? I'd always been healthy till all this. I find myself understanding less and less as time moves on, and I'm frustrated and discouraged.
