Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Looking on the Bright side

Some say I am a hypochondriac (Sean) and some tell me that I 'Neeeed to go to the Doc Stat!' (Mom)... either way, I always end up there.

I went and saw Dr. Gonzales yesterday, an amazing Doctor, a Mayo Clinic original. As all great doctors are, he is busy, but always takes the time with me to go through everything quite thoroughly. He owns a clinic called MNCOME (Minnesota center for obesity metabolism and endocrinology). As some of you may know I was having some endocrine issues in Mid 2008 following my oral surgery, so he is the perfect doctor for me to see, when it comes to being my general practitioner.

As most of you know, atleast those who have spent any time with me this past month, I have been dealing with some weird symptoms. Dizziness, lightheadedness, almost like the feeling you get in your head when you have the flu minus the nausea, I feel like I am going to pass out all the time. I am not really a quiet person, so whoever hung out with me got to hear all about it :) (that was something that Dan didn't like much about me, I don't really have a filter, I tend to say it like it is).

Dr. Gonzales' response to my symptoms, 'That is easy... You are Pregnant!'. I laughed and told him that it is a mere impossibility, unless God is performing some kind of miracle!

Then he proceeded to ask me, 'Have you heard of Addisons disease?'
I said, 'Are you being Fecicious!?'
His response was the notorious puzzled look on the face...
LOL, seriously Doc!! This is what I have been trying to get you to test me for for the past 5 months!!... he kept reassuring me that I do not have Addisons (during these past 5 months), so because he asked me this question... I was a little irritated! I know, I know, we are all human. He is a busy guy.

So, I have an appointment for Wednesday the 14th to go in in the morning and get some labs done to check for Addisons. Yay! Finally... It will be interesting to see the results. I just want to feel better. Since I have had Madi, I just haven't felt the same!

A couple other things that were concluded yesterday:
  • I am Vitamin D deficient (but who isn't in Minnesota - Lack of sunlight). The doctors want you to be somewhere around 100 (40 is a definite minimum), and I was a mere 15. I asked him for a prescription to go Tanning and he laughed. His reply was that I would indefinitely need to take a weekly Vitamin D supplement.
  • My Blood Pressure yesterday, as usual, was low: 90/50. It is always running very low, so he prescribed me some medicine to raise my BP, he thinks that that could be causing some issues as well.

Funny facts about Addisons disease (Check, Check, Check and Ummm... ya, Check):

  • Blood pressure is low and falls further when standing, causing dizziness, or feeling that you are going to pass out;
  • Restlessness (I was just telling Mom, I forgot to ask for sleeping pills, even though I am exhausted most of the time, I still find it nearly impossible to fall asleep at night!)
  • Constant Fatigue... Hello, is this me or WhAt!?
  • Addison's disease can cause irritability and depression;
  • (This is a funny one because it is SOOO ME! Those of you who know me, you will laugh at this one) Craving of salty foods;
  • Because the symptoms progress slowly, they are usually ignored until a stressful event like an illness or an accident causes them to become worse. This is called an Addisonian crisis, or acute adrenal insufficiency. In most patients, symptoms are severe enough to seek medical treatment before a crisis occurs. However, in 25 percent of all patients, symptoms do not appear until an Addisonian crisis (when I was hospitalized following my oral surgery they defined me as having an Addisonian Crises).

My doctor told me that I need to make an appointment to see the ENT. My mouth is weird, I never know what is normal anymore though, as I am sure that it is still healing, it hurts all the time and it is pretty hard to eat lately.

So long for fasting yesterday, allll day until my 4:40 appointment... I wasn't able to eat the subway that our employer bought for everyone but me yesterday. Dr. Gonzales didn't even do labs yesterday, LOL, so it was a waste that I fasted anyway. He said that my labs need to be done first thing in the Morning... So, needless to say, because I didn't go to the bathroom yesterday it was not pleasant going this morning.

I am tired as usual, my Mini-Me-Madi is teething so she had a hard time sleeping. Poor baby! She has 2 cute little bottom teeth now, she worked hard for them, so of course, I am proud!!

Looking on the bright side... I bet you were waiting for this, sorry it took so long, but I try and save the best news for last! Philipians 4:13 "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." All of this is just my journey in growing, growing closer to a God who heals, restores and gives Me strength.

I think that I am going to start labeling these blog posts as the 'Health Chronicles'.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

You had me laughing! You're hilarious!

lace1070 said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and I pray that you find some answers from your blood work.