Posts Tagged With: Neurologist

11 Years Ago…

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Nahleen

I still grieve.

Or maybe I’m finally grieving.

I don’t know.

I thought I didn’t remember the exact day my life changed forever.

AND THIS MORNING IT HIT ME.

Sounds so hokey to say that. But those are the judges in my head saying that it’s hokey. I don’t think it’s hokey and so what if it is.

It was November 22, 2002. I was 25. I was moving full speed ahead. Sure I had gone through 6 months of extensive testing to try to figure out why the bottom of my feet were constantly tingling. Sure I had gone through many phases of FEAR about what could be wrong with me. Yet, EVERY test I had taken till then had come back inconclusive or all looked good.

So why would my first MRI be any different?

BUT IT WAS. IT WAS DIFFERENT.

I entered that hospital to get the MRI on the evening of November 22, 2002 and left a piece of me behind back there. I never did go back to that same area where I had it done to retrieve that part of myself. Not only was the MRI more terrifying than I expected but the LOOK that Technician gave me when I was FINALLY taken out of that God-awful tube made a part of me vanish in horror. In her eyes, all I could see was DEATH. It’s taken me all these years to find the right words to describe her look. That’s what it was.

DEATH.

I was 25. I wasn’t thinking about the END. I was thinking about the BEGINNING. This was it. I had just been a Production Assistant for a couple of short films, I was going to be an Associate Producer of another film, I was working 2 jobs to make some extra money, my full time job was in Television and I was gonna make it big no matter what it took. I had an awesome kitty and a wonderful boyfriend (who is now my awesome husband) and life was VERY UP. That was the reason I left my life in NH to go to LA right? I was gonna do this.

BRING IT ON.

Hmmm. I didn’t say BRING ON MS. Nope. That’s not what I meant.

That next morning after the MRI I was admitted into the hospital for 3 LONG DAYS of HELL. They thought maybe I had a brain tumor. No, maybe it was some kind of infection in my brain. No maybe perhaps, but probably not, but maybe, I had MS. I felt like I was living in a nightmare. My sister who was here visiting (poor thing–this was her visit. But the timing is not a mistake.)

After that it was a Thanksgiving family reunion that I don’t remember much of at all and RIGHT after that I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.

Something REALLY was wrong with me.

4 Days after that I had my first FULL BLOWN EXACERBATION. No surprise.

All symptoms I could ever have ever, you name it, happened in my body.

AND…

AN ANXIETY ATTACK.

AND…

A HORRIBLE, MEAN, ABUSIVE NEUROLOGIST WHO SAID IT WAS ALL IN MY HEAD.

AND TOO MANY STEROIDS…

Still don’t know how I survived what I found out later was a major overdose of steroids.

AND MY LIFE AS I KNEW IT WAS OVER.

…

…

And yes, my life is getting better. BUT it is not how I pictured it would be. In a lot of ways my life is better than I ever thought it would be. I’m forced to live more in the Present. And the Present can be a wonderful place.

And I still grieve…

I grieve over that life I thought I would have BEFORE that terror-filled MRI night. I grieve more now over it because I guess I’m ready to.

And that’s where I am today. I couldn’t figure out what exactly that dark cloud was that had been following me all week and was almost suffocating me this morning. Every year I seem to block out just what day it was that this all happened over a decade ago.

AND IT HIT TODAY.

GRIEF.

and

GRATITUDE.

Both can exist at the same time.

I never thought I could make it past that night but I have. One day at a time. That’s all I can do. Sometimes it’s one moment at a time. And that’s what I’ll take today. One moment at a time is enough.

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Diagnosis Part 5: MRI

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Nahleen

I looked back on the last time I wrote a part of the “Diagnosis” story of my life and saw that it was on 05/17/12. It has been over a year since I wrote about the story of my diagnosis. That is how painful and hard my story is and how excruciating this next chapter is.  I had to be so ready to write it that I was bursting at the seams! Lately I have found it very challenging to come up with the words. I am a writer with too many words and no words. I truly believe there are not enough words in the English language to describe so much of what I’ve been through.

BUT IT’S TIME. IT’S TIME TO GET IT OUT. IT’S TIME TO TAKE ANOTHER STEP TO BE FREE OF THE TRAUMA.

As you can tell from the title, my focus will be the first MRI that changed my life. THE MRI.

Here goes. I know you’re all here with me so I’m going to jump in. I can already feel the adrenaline of anxiety rushing throughout my body. The emotions are rising to the top. Those really really hard emotions. I can do this.

It’s November 2002. I’m 25 at what I believe is supposed to have been the Prime of my life. Or at least I “believed” it was supposed to be. I gotta admit, if that year was the Prime of my life then I’d have nothing to hope for. That year my family had decided to have a family reunion of sorts with my Mother’s side of the family for Thanksgiving. We were all going to meet at my Grandpa’s up north in Monterey, CA and it was going to be a grand ole time! My sister had planned on visiting me in LA for the first time the week before Thanksgiving and we were supposed to hang out and cause some trouble before the family shenanigans started.

Looking back I’m not sure what I was thinking when I scheduled my first MRI to be at night on the first night my sister was visiting. I mean, I know why I scheduled it at night. I had to work during the day. My sister and I met at a small mall for lunch and she was going to hang out for awhile before I could get out of work. I was scared that day but on top of the world. I can remember feeling so proud and so “up”. My sister was visiting MY WORLD. I was going to show her MY WORLD. I had seen HER WORLD before in the past but this was mine. She’s older and I was so proud to show her LA, to show her I was “making it” out here. Still not sure what “making it” means but I digress. I can remember walking down the sidewalk at this mall and looking for her and thinking it was a pretty day and oh by the way, I had lost almost 50 pounds so I couldn’t wait for her to see that too. Weight has always been a challenge for all of us in the family so the idea that I could even lose 50 pounds was AMAZING!

Anyway, we met up, had lunch, I took her on a tour of my workplace and I was so so proud to do that. Look Lori, I work at a television station! I’m really starting to do what I came out here to do! Those were the thoughts in my head. Isn’t it weird how we can bring ourselves back to our past mindsets and know they’re familiar but almost not recognize them? That was over 10 years ago. I have been through so much since then. My mind even feels different.

I don’t remember much until I showed up at the hospital in Burbank with Corey and Lori and had to fill out the paperwork. Actually, much of that is a blur. I was so nervous. I’m sure I had decided to just have the MRI then because I had to wait weeks for my HMO at the time to process all the red tape to even approve an MRI for me so I just wanted to get it over with. Plus I had had sooooo many medical tests by then that had come up with NOTHING that I might as well get this done. If I didn’t do it then then I’d have to wait till after Thanksgiving. On a side thought, I wonder if that would’ve changed much of the course of events?

I then remember being called by a lady to “Come on in and we’ll get you started” and she lead me through white hallways. Please tell me, why must all hospital hallways be white or yellow? Why can’t they be calming colors or fun colors? And I know they’re supposed to be sterile but some decoration of some sort would be nice. And about the fluorescent lights…PLEASE GET RID OF THEM!

So the next thing I know I’m being sat down at a small table to the side in the middle of the hallway it feels like (at this point I was so not used to being in a medical fishbowl and everything felt like it had to be a secret and why were we sitting in public–even though no one was really walking by or anything) and this nice lady with long dark hair (blurred out everything else) sat me down, pulled out a pile of paperwork and a pen and proceeded to ask me questions I could not answer. That was the first day/night I ever heard about fibromyalgia. The who the what now? That was the first day/night I ever heard I could have symptoms of fatigue and that they were real. That was the first time ANYONE had ever asked me if I felt any real pain and where and did I have any other autoimmune diseases? What are those? Why was she bringing them up to me? That was the first time for so many things. I think I was a medical virgin or something. It was all so surreal.

Back then, the MRI machines (this was only 10 years ago) were very different than they are now. They were long tubes and they were dark and they were skinny. Here’s my thing. I was so much skinnier and yet I felt cramped in there. How could anyone bigger than me fit in there at all? I don’t remember much of the process just yet but I know I was hardly wearing anything. I had to take off all metal, all jewelry, my bra with the metal underwire, my pants with even a hint of a metal button (don’t think the button was metal actually). To be honest I can distinctly tell you what I was wearing that day. So weird. So much of it is a blur but what I was wearing is clear as a bell still to me. I was wearing my favorite navy blue long sleeve button down shirt that I had just bought in a size smaller due to my weight loss and I was so proud of me and of it. I was also wearing khakis that I don’t think I’d be wearing now. Not that I’d even fit in these clothes now but still. At the time I was wearing contacts so I didn’t have to worry about not seeing and feeling vulnerable that way and I had to wear a very thin white hospital gown. I felt so vulnerable and I also knew I was claustrophobic but I didn’t know how much because luckily I had never been put in that situation before.

These days I have had much better experiences with MRIs. I usually have one a year. I believe I’ve had at least 15 MRIs but if I count any that have been done in a row in the same session (meaning 4 in a row with all kinds of machinery and equipment locking me down and in and not being able to move for OVER 2 HOURS) I’d say it’s close to 20 by now. Each time they’re different. Fortunately, the technology is so much better and the MRIs I have had have been shorter, a bit wider, some of them have music and I don’t have to take off much of anything. The ONLY thing I usually have to take off is my bra still but that’s it. Why? Because they are usually only interested in my brain to see where lesions are for MS. Why did I have 4 in a row once? Well I was at USC where they have state of the art equipment and my MS Specialist Neurologist at the time wanted a whole picture of me. The technicians usually ask me if I want to take a mood enhancer drug of some sort to help me not care about the experience and I have told them No. I like being with it afterwards. Then again, if I EVER have to do such extensive MRI tests AGAIN that make me stay in one position for 2 hours then I will have to take a drug. I WILL NOT DO THAT AGAIN COMPLETELY CONSCIOUS. I was in so much pain from not moving and I was told that if I moved even a little bit then they’d have to start over. Plus it can be extremely hard to get my head out of the “tunnel mode” and back into the big wide world with no tubes enclosing me. Oh and I have had an Open MRI before but to me it was worse because there’s no tube BUT it’s like they put you inside a sandwich of a top and bottom of a machine and you can see out the sides but it’s not like you can move your head to see them and all I kept thinking about was how it was going to crush me or the machine would eat me or something. But I digress.

You know, A LOT of people knew what was going on with me at that point and a bunch of them had had MRIs before and they all had different ideas of what they were like and some told me that they were awful and some told me that they were easy and so on…However I will tell you this, if you have never had an MRI before I will not tell you what it’s like for you. I will only tell you what it was like for me if you ask. I will however tell you that I’m sorry you have to go through that and wish you all the best. My experience was different than that of anyone else who told me what their experience was like. In fact it was so unique and traumatic that it’s so hard getting over it still which is why it’s so important for me to share with all of you what happened and to get it out.

Anyway, when the paperwork was finally done and I already was so nervous my heart must’ve been beating out of my chest at that point and I was in the paper thin white gown, I was lead into the room with the MRI. I remember the room being a yucky yellow and I saw this big machine and a little circular opening into darkness was there. I knew right away this was the MRI. It’s fight or flight right? My head was running away so fast yet my body stayed put. I’m sure I tensed up all over the place. I’m sure my breathing was labored. But I toughed it out. I could do this. Oh yeah and the room was cold because the machine could overheat fast. Plus it was already so so loud in there just from the monster machine. So they had me lay down on the thin flat cold table and locked my head in telling me not to move it. They put earplugs in my ears or headphones on (don’t remember), asked me if I was OK–UM does anyone see the logic in this? I still have technicians doing that with me. They block my ears and lock my head in so I can’t turn and can barely interact and then they ask if I’m OK. WHAT????? Did you say something? My instinct is to move my head. And then panic, oh wait I can’t. GEEZUM! Someone’s gotta tell them that makes no sense. Perhaps walking us through some hand signs would be helpful or something. Eye contact with me directly over where my head is locked in would be good too.

The next thing I know the table starts moving and I’m sent into the dark tube. The tube I could barely fit in. And they kept sending me into the darkness. Oh thank goodness the MRI machines I go in now are white and have a lot of light. I kept trying to remember what my Rheumatologist had told me. Look straight up and you’ll see a mirror that reflects the window to the room where the technicians are. Look at them if you need to. She reminded me that I’m not stuck in there. I could slide out if I wanted to. However all I could picture was panicking and trying to sit up and knocking myself out because I’d hit my head on the head cage or the tube or both. She told me I could wiggle my fingers if I crossed them on my stomach (really not too comfortable for all that time) and I could see them in the mirror so I’d be aware that I hadn’t detached from my body somehow. However, I was still sooooo scared to move. I didn’t want to have to do this over again. I just wanted it done with.

Meanwhile I’m aware that Corey and Lori are in the Waiting Room. I think it was in that dark long squished tube where I got a glimpse of how vulnerable I really was. I was locked in. I was taken away from my people. Yes I had watched too many movies, TV shows and read too many books but I’m not convinced “weird” stuff doesn’t happen. How do I know? I started thinking about how they were looking at my brain. I started thinking about how I had a brain. Hey, I really had a brain! What were Corey and Lori doing? Wow, this machine is really loud even with my ears blocked. Oh my goodness I have an itch on my nose. How much can I wiggle my fingers? Can I move my feet at all? Doesn’t any movement of my body move the rest of it? As I looked in the mirror into the other room, I wondered, how I had not seen that room when I came in? Where was it? What were they seeing? Why were there so many people in the room? Dang it! Breathe! Oh my goodness I’m in a dark long tube! How long has it been? Why aren’t they talking to me? Can they please not talk to me? Can they please not tell me how much longer? Wait why is it so silent? What do the sounds mean? What does my brain look like? Oh my goodness this tube is long. I hope there’s not a monster just waiting to grab my head in the part of the tube I didn’t enter. Why am I so far in? Didn’t Dr. S say I wouldn’t be pulled all the way in? Uh oh. Why the silence? That’s a long silence. I can do this.  Really I can. Uh huh. I got this. Soon enough it’ll be over and I’ll be on my way and Lori and I can have our visit. Why is it taking so long? Or has it been long? I’m feeling cramped. I’m so hungry! UM DID THEY FORGET ME? Why does this machine vibrate too? No one told me about that part? WHAT IF THERE IS SOMETHING REALLY WRONG WITH ME? WHAT IF I HAVE MS? The mind loop was endless and I worked so hard not to get worked up that I was so stuck in my head. Did I have a body anymore?

So then I feel the table start sliding me out. I must be done. OK. I can do this. Phew! I’m done! Wait, that long haired lady is back and she has a serious look on her face. Does she have a serious look on her face? What is she doing? Shouldn’t she be pulling me out? I’ll ask her. Where’s my voice? Why can’t I say anything? Did I forget how to talk? Can I move? AM I DONE? What is she doing with that needle? WHAT’S HAPPENING?! No. No more needles. I’ve had enough needles and blood taken from me in the past 6 months. (Little did I know it was only the BEGINNING…).

I really don’t know if she told me she was putting “Contrast/Dye” into my veins. I just remember thinking that I felt like a specimen and some kind of experiment. I must be a part of a horror movie right now. Wait! I don’t remember being told I’d have this done. Why is it happening? She asked me what arm was best for veins and I told her I wasn’t sure. So she just tried. (I now know it’s my left arm just on the outside. Otherwise, my veins hide and don’t like being bothered. They’re busy.) OW! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! The shooting pain was abominable. I was strapped down. I think I jerked and she tried to hold me down and apologized and said she had missed it and would have to try again. I asked her what she was doing anyway I think finally and she said she thinks they might have seen something (ummmm not a good idea to tell me this and aren’t they supposed to keep their mouths shut?) and so they are putting ink in my veins to find out.

FREAK OUT BUT STAY STILL!

STAY STILL?! STAY STILL?!

OH MY GOD! WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME?! SOMETHING WRONG? WHAT DO I DO? I can’t have something wrong with me. My sister’s here. I’m supposed to be tough for her. I’m not supposed to show any weakness. And then she moved to the other arm. Yes, I’m still locked in. I have a ridiculous force of will to stay in one place because honestly my head had me sprinting out of there so fast and yelling and screaming down the hallways. GET ME OUT OF THERE!

And something in my head told me to try to calm down. Let’s just get this over with. It may be nothing. They had told me that before during this journey of finding out what’s wrong with me. They thought they saw something and I’d freak and worry and lose my mind and then I’d found out it was nothing or that oh so fun medical word, “inconclusive”. Oh the things I could do with that word…

So she tries my other arm and she just couldn’t get the vein. She didn’t just stab me this time but squeezed my arm so tight and had me clenching fists and FINALLY I think she got it. Meanwhile, the other arm was still screaming. She had gotten the ink in my muscle. Who knows what that did to me. I still wonder. Before she sent my head into that dark tube she asked me if I had anyone there with me  in the Waiting Room and I told her yes and who they were. She said she’d tell them it was taking longer than expected.

So she says, OK, this shouldn’t take too much longer and she sent me back into that dark tube abyss…to be in my own head…to freak out…to be so horrified and think I was living in a nightmare…Did anyone really tell Corey and Lori why it was taking so long? What did they say? Did they know more than me? A part of me knew, I KNEW, that something was really wrong with me. What it was was terrifying me. The possibilities were endless. Would I find out right away? Would I have to wait forever to find out? What now? This should be done with me! I want out! Get me out of here! I was clearly wound up with so much stress I could barely stand it. I don’t know how I did actually. I guess a survival instinct took over. I was so worried about what Corey and Lori were thinking and that this shouldn’t have had to happen while she was here and now what and my head just kept exploding with crazy thoughts.

FINALLY…

THE MRI MACHINE STOPPED…

AND I WAITED FOR-WHAT SEEMED LIKE-EVER FOR SOMEONE TO PULL ME OUT OF THAT TUBE.

I had tensed up so much I could hardly move. I was so in my head I could barely function. This time the person taking me out was a blonde older woman with curly hair and glasses and she looked directly over me where my head was and I’ll never forget her eyes and the way they looked at me and kept staring at me as she unhooked my head and loosened it all up around me.

SHE LOOKED AT ME AS IF I WAS GOING TO DIE.

DIE.

I still have those eyes of her’s so stuck in my memory that I don’t think they’ll ever come out. So as I’m still laying there and I now have my ears clear, she asks me all kinds of questions. How am I feeling? What are my symptoms? When did they start? Do I have anyone here with me now? And I can hardly talk. I try to sit up really quick and I almost fall off the table I’m so dizzy and out of it. I’m so traumatized. I’m 25. I’m invincible remember?

I also was incredibly tense with MS and didn’t know and probably lupus and didn’t know that for so many more years after that that it’s a wonder I didn’t have a major attack/exacerbation/flare right there on the table or in that room. She kept those “You are going to DIE eyes on me the whole time.” I felt violated and so alone. I just wanted to get out of there. And in that same tone with those eyes, she said, “Now I need you to call your doctor right away in the morning. It’s too late now because you’ve been in here so long.”–Oh it wasn’t just me thinking it was long? It REALLY was that long? Poor Corey and Lori! I was so used to trying to please everyone and entertain everyone that I couldn’t be anything but that strong person. How was I going to show myself? I didn’t even know what they had said to them. They must be so worried.

So I tried to sit up and that wasn’t happening very well. I almost fell off the table. I had “freaked out dark tunnel scared to death” head. Horrifying. Why didn’t I wake up yet? Worst nightmare ever. Especially those “death” eyes of her’s. She caught me as I teetered to the side and held me upright and still looked at me as if I was going to DIE right there on her. I wish I could be exaggerating here about how she was looking at me but to this day with everything else I’ve been through, I have yet to see “THOSE DEATH EYES” on anyone else. So she told me to just sit there for a bit and she’d go out into the Waiting Room and tell Corey and Lori I was done and coming out soon. She came back in and asked me if I was OK getting up.

YES! GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW!

And I jumped up. Ooops. I stumbled and almost fell. Get me away from this woman please! She’s scaring me! Where was my voice? Did I even know how to talk? I had hidden me away somewhere deep into my brain. I was protecting me. I think I was a shell at that point. So upon seeing that I’m stumbling and clearly my legs are jello she tells me I’m going to have to ride in a wheelchair out into the Waiting Room and she’d be back.

WHAT?! A WHEELCHAIR?! I’M STRONG! I CAN WALK! I’M OK! I HAVE TO SHOW EVERYONE I’M OK! I CAN’T BE WEAK! PLEASE! NO!

I think I mumbled to please not do that but if she heard me she ignored me. All the while those “death” eyes on me as much as possible. I’m surprised she left me alone at all.

So she helped me a little too much into the wheelchair. By that time I had more of my bearings and was entering my body a little bit more from my hiding place in my head and I gave her a look like, “I GOT IT!” and forced myself into that chair. And then horrified, I was wheeled into the very bright Waiting Room where I saw Corey and Lori. As she’s rolling me she’s on a constant loop of telling me to call my doctor and not to ignore it and it was very important and when I finally found a voice to ask her what was wrong she told me she couldn’t tell me but that it was so very important and oh my goodness.

I was mortified that Corey and Lori would see me in a wheelchair because I mean really, I had only had an MRI. I was fine. I could walk. What the heck? I couldn’t look weak. I got this. Really. So still struggling to find my words, I try to get up out of the wheelchair ASAP and that blonde woman was STILL THERE! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE! DON’T TALK TO THEM! I HEARD YOU! I’M RIGHT HERE!

“Please make sure you talk to her doctor tomorrow OK. It’s so very important. You really need to do that. You can’t waste any time.”–as if I’m not there and I’m not understanding what she means and she gave them those same “death” eyes.

HERE’S MY QUESTION  TO HER OVER 10 YEARS LATER:

WHY DID SHE NOT MAKE SURE SOMEONE CALLED MY DOCTOR THAT NIGHT NO MATTER WHAT IF IT WAS SUCH AN EMERGENCY TO HER?! WHAT AM I MISSING?!

So she walks away and Corey and Lori are looking at me like I need to be treated with gentle hands. That’s what I felt like. Now I know they were looking at me like they were concerned and worried and they were allowed to be. They got those same EYES from that woman that I did about me. Scary! So as I start bawling and Corey’s telling me it’s OK and I can stay in the wheelchair as long as I need to and ALL I WANT TO DO IS GET THE HELL OUT OF THAT WHEELCHAIR! I CAN WALK! I CAN GET UP ON MY OWN! LET ME!

I still had a bit of a hard time talking especially with the crying and finally he understood that I wanted to get OUT OF THAT FRIGGIN’ WHEELCHAIR and into a regular chair and I wanted to throw that wheelchair as far away from me as possible. Somehow FINALLY I found my way into a regular chair and I bawled and bawled. I think I left a piece of me in that MRI room. I lost a lot of innocence that day. I found out I was mortal. I found out I wasn’t invincible.

I was human.

HUMAN.

We sat in that Waiting Room for a long time while I regathered myself a little bit more. When I look back on that night I think about how Lori was there and Corey was there. I wasn’t alone. That was no mistake. That was why I had scheduled the MRI for that night. I needed my Sister. Corey needed my Sister too I think. My Sister and I were still struggling with our relationship then and I had to be me with her the next few days. ME. And that was OK.

And one side note: I’m not surprised I couldn’t stand that wheelchair. It turns out I get very dizzy in them or I used to even up to a year and a half ago. I don’t know about now and I’m very fortunate not to know. I’m so grateful I can still walk. It’s weird. I’m OK with others in wheelchairs (well as OK as I can be considering these people are having a hard time in some way) but I felt like I couldn’t be in one. However, I now know that it’s hospital protocol. The last thing they want is me falling on their watch because uh oh I might sue. Oh poor things…

That’s it for now. I’m glad I got it out. As you can tell, I didn’t DIE. I haven’t DIED  yet. I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. I’m too busy living.

And what happened after that?

ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE! So much so that I need to recover from this post in order to write another one. I hope it doesn’t take me over a year because I think it’s ready to come out and I can tell already that I’m more healed from finally writing this.

Therapists have now told me that I am still suffering a bit from PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from just that one experience and that there are separate episodes to work through too all connected with this one. I believe it. I wish there had been enough sensitivity at the time to really see what I was going through. I feel it in my heart that we all need to see Therapists at some point in our lives but when going through such trauma as medical tests and the limbo part before diagnosis and then the diagnosis of the Chronic Illness along with maintenance care throughout–we should be REQUIRED to see a Therapist. To not talk about it is poison and can only make our health worse.

Medical Journey Trauma (I think I just came up with a new term) is REAL. And we all deserve to talk about it, process it and move on with our lives.

Oh and how do I feel about MRIs these days????

THEY STILL SUCK!

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I can LIVE. I can FUNCTION. I can DO.

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Nahleen

A week ago today I was in the ER TRYING to get some answers about why I felt digestively HORRIBLE!

TODAY: I feel sooooooo much better!

AMAZING!  I am truly grateful.  It means so much to me to be feeling better.  Sure, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop (you know, that infamous shoe that is always hovering and just waiting with baited breath to drop) but it hasn’t happened yet.

I definitely still have recovering to do BUT I can eat.  I can LIVE.  I can FUNCTION.  I can DO.

ACTUALLY:

Despite the absolutely miserable week I had last week until about Friday, I have received 3 VERY GOOD PIECES OF HEALTH NEWS that I feel I MUST pass on to you.

1. I heard from my Rheumatologist that all of my bloodwork came back really great and stable and that she firmly believes my lupus has gone into REMISSION.  It doesn’t mean I won’t have symptoms BUT it does mean that all of my organs are healthy and I am stable.  There is definitely no sign of a FLARE of any kind.  I’ll take it for as long as I can!

2. I had an appointment with my MS Specialist Neurologist today and he told me he felt like my MS was under control and that despite all of the crap I had been through in the past week (or even in the past 2 months digestively overall) that I am doing extremely well and my physical well being according to an MS standpoint is BETTER than it was in July!  He’s very happy with my progress.  Now this is with having a VERY early appointment this morning, hardly having time to shower, and rushing to eat (and thank goodness I could even do any of that–not sure how I would’ve gotten there had I felt any worse but I digress and think about things I don’t need to), and being half asleep the whole time.  WOW!  It usually takes me about 4 hours every day to really feel like maybe I can get through a day.  It’s just the way it is.

3. And now it seems that getting a 2nd opinion from a different Gastroenterologist paid off for me.  It’s all about new input and different experiences.  My 1st Gastroenterologist has been really integral in getting my health where it was until about a few months ago.  I do believe it’s time for a change.  This new guy might just be my choice.  He saw things a bit differently, approached it on a different path and convinced me to JUST TRY (he really emphasized that because I was so against more medications) this new medication treatment and see what I thought.  If it didn’t work, then he’d try something else.  Come to find out, my Primary Care Physician’s newer Physician Assistant knew of this specific specialist and was pleased to hear I was seeing him.  She said her experience is that he is VERY GOOD and an expert with what I’m dealing with.  Well OK then.  Guess it was the right choice.

4. BONUS: I just had to add this because my goodness, I just brought up all these titles of medical professionals in 3 paragraphs.  I think I need to get some credit for being able to come up with their names when my head is so tired.  Phew!  Rheumatologist (and how on earth would anyone know how to spell this if they hadn’t seen it written out tons of times?), MS Specialist Neurologist (so specific), Gastroenterologist (took me forever to figure out there was an “e” there and not an “i”–not sure why there isn’t an “i” but anyway), Primary Care Physician, Physician Assistant…WHOA!  I AM TRULY GRATEFUL TO HAVE ACCESS TO SUCH TALENTED PROFESSIONALS IN THEIR FIELDS who are so proactive with my health and were completely available for me in just 1 week!  In fact, if you count my first Gastroenterologist, he was also available to me, I just didn’t agree with what he was thinking about my health situation at the time…

So all very very good things are finally happening.  It is about time.  I’m going to cherish them as long as I can because as we all know, everything can change in an instant.  Now about cures…  You know, I stopped expecting cures for anything I’m going through a long time ago.  I’m really just looking for relief and to feel better with a much more improved quality of life.  Waiting for a cure would make me STOP living and I am doing everything I can to LIVE.

IT IS ONE HARD JOB TO LIVE BUT I’M DETERMINED TO DO IT!!

P.S.  I’ve been quite reflective lately about all I have been through.  I think a lot of it has to do with my 10 year MS diagnosis Anniversary coming up.  10 YEARS…I think that speaks for itself.  I feel a very personal Blog Post coming in the very near future.  Stay tuned.  Right now it’s all still processing.  It will be direct from my heart.

LOVE TO ALL!!!

*And special thoughts go out to those affected by Crazy Storm Sandy.  Wishing for peace and relief for all of you!

 

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I GOT OUT!

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Nahleen

I did I did! I got out, had lunch with a friend and I didn’t have to cancel! Yippee!!!!

Yes it was 100 degrees today and yes my MS was still upset with crazy heat fatigue, BUT other symptoms seemed to have calmed down. I was able to get up earlier and stay up, pull myself together, get out into the hot car and hot sun and make it to lunch!

The lunch was yummy at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery (and the tables were freezing–never had that before), the conversation was fun and the friend was so easy to talk to and be with (as usual–you know who you are wink wink). It was lovely! We ate from the lunch specials and got to save some money, we dealt with an overeager and very bored waitress (who hounded us about what we were going to order and did we have any questions and and and and…she was really like that), I had a refreshing berry limeade drink thingie and then we walked around the mall right next to the restaurant. The mall was quiet and relaxed, we overwhelmed our noses with fragrant fall candles at Bath and Body Works (some crappy–I swear a whole table was set up just with crappy ones….some wonderful–I swear a whole table was set up with wonderfully accurate fragrances of fall like “leaves”), looked at shiny things, giggled about gummy bear shaped earrings (totally cute) and about how the ’80s are so back in style with fashion accessories (can you say Madonna gloves from “Like a Virgin”?) and gabbed, gabbed and gabbed.

Then sadly she had to leave. I’m not sure where the time went. I stayed at the mall and walked around some more, poking, looking and trying oh so hard not to buy anything. I was a good girl. I didn’t buy one item. It was hard. Some of the sales were really great. Then again, it was so hot I doubt I’d be able to be comfortable trying on clothes anyway so it worked out. Before I left, I sat for a bit and just took in the ambiance. I haven’t had that much fun in a mall in a long time.

It was so nice to get out, see my friend and to be able to do ANYTHING in this dang heat. Sure, I’ll need to recover now but my mind/soul are happier. And my Neurologist would be thrilled to find out that I had some fun. His orders a couple of months ago were to have more fun. OK. I did.

And now I need to make my Rheumatologist happy and get some rest.

My body will be happy with that idea too.

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You’ve Come A LONG Way

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Nahleen

Helloooooo!!!!

First of all before I forget, I want to welcome all of my new followers!  Thank you thank you thank you for joining me on this crazy journey of life with chronic illness.  It means so much!

Hope you all are starting your week off alright.  I got to start my Monday first thing with a “Fasting” appointment with my Primary Care Physician’s Physician Assistant this morning.  I tell ya.  The fun I have.

These “fasting” appointments always get me extra tense because well, who wants to go to a doctor appointment and not eat when they’re body is yelling for food?  Aren’t we told to eat 3 healthy meals a day and to be sure to eat breakfast?  Well, we can’t eat breakfast when we go to a morning “fasting” appointment now can we?  These doctors want accurate blood test readings for cholesterol and blood sugars levels and such.  Yeah, well, tell that to my body who decided to wake up this morning and be INCREDIBLY hungry!  Isn’t that always the way?

Sure I’m pleased that my body was hungry because 2 years ago at this time I was trying to teach my body how to eat and ACCEPT food again after being so severely ill I had to start on a basic diet of chicken broth and then build to applesauce and go from there.  BUT when I “fast” I can’t take my morning medications with an empty stomach so that waits too and my whole body gets screwed up.  And it was 2 years ago in June when my body started going into a huge shock of what we all believe (NOW) was part of a major lupus flare (had no idea at the time) that all started with a basic “fasting” appointment for an appointment with who was my NEW doctor at the time so he could get BASE levels of bloodwork for me.  Well, that “fasting” and then running to work and then running through the rest of the day was too much for my body to take and I became severely ill with vomiting, etc.  So of course I still take that baggage of memories with me to my appointments now.  I’m working on letting that go but it is VERY SLOW.

So anyway, back to the appointment this morning.  Sorry for the tangent.  I was able to see the original Physician Assistant who is now back in the office after being on her own Medical Leave of sorts that included Maternity Leave for what seemed like FOREVER, and it was really great to see her.  How cool is that?  It was felt really good to see a medical professional again.  I really think she is THE ONLY MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL I currently see who DOES NOT make me NERVOUS.  I put those words in caps because that is how nervous I still get around almost all medical peeps.

This woman is probably younger than me (hmm, seems to be happening A LOT lately and I’m not THAT OLD) and has been so caring, supportive, compassionate, has always listened to me, been calming, loving, has always paid attention to detail, is really smart and knowledgeable, has a great memory, and has ALWAYS made it a point to ask me so thoughtfully how I’m doing when she walks in the room and I know she means it.  What I remember most along this very slow and at times VERY DARK 2 year journey with her is how she ends each appointment with me telling me how far I’ve come and really making sure I understand that and give myself credit.  I can remember one appointment when she was telling me how happy she was that I was “feeling better” and even though I may have a long way to go to hopefully feel “good” one day, that I have come so very far and she was starting to cry.  I was pretty much in disbelief.  I almost wondered why she was crying and then I realized she was crying about me!  She REALLY connects.

So the appointment today went really well.  And wouldn’t you know my blood pressure was “normal”.  CRAZY.  It has not been normal lately ESPECIALLY when I have been to see my Rheumatologist for lupus and my Neurologist for MS.  It has been quite high.  I have known for quite a long time that I have “white coat syndrome” but this just proves it to me.  I saw the one medical professional I feel the most comfortable with and my blood pressure was normal.  I was nervous but not anxious around her.  There is a direct connection.  So now if she could be with me wherever I go that would be great.  Do you think she’d go for that?  To be my constant moral support everywhere?

To be honest, I’ve considered changing to a different Primary Care Physician than the one I’m seeing now (this lovely PA I speak of currently works in his office) because I don’t know that he’s a good fit for me anymore.  He’s not a bad doctor at all.  In fact, he has helped me immensely.  There have just been some issues that I have with his medical care that I don’t necessarily like and it may be time for a change.  However, after seeing this PA today I’m not so sure.  I see her every other appointment and I have to see him all the other times.  Is it worth it to stay with this office (really GREAT office staff!) and deal with the Doctor I don’t exactly like in order to see her half the time?  Not really sure so I guess that means it’s not the right time to make that decision yet.

Only time with tell what decision I make.  Luckily I don’t have to know that answer right now.

So just for today, I am satisfied with the appointment with a medical professional who really “gets it” who sent me on my way at the end of the appointment today with, “You’ve come a LONG way, Nahleen.  I’m very proud of you for all the work you’ve done.  You deserve to feel better.  I hope you give yourself credit for that.”–and AGAIN, I know she means it.  It’s not just part of her script.

Oh and by the way, it’s currently 6pm (Monday) and I’m doing okay.  Nothing horrible has happened because I “fasted” this morning.  Sure it messed up my body’s schedule, but thankfully my body can take it today.

 

…Guess I HAVE come a long way.

 

 

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Smartypants

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Nahleen

Guess what??

I saw my cute Neurologist today annnnddddd:

My multiple sclerosis is STABLE!

Great news!!! Turns out the lesions I have are the lesions I’ve had FOR-LIKE-EVER and they’re not active! No new ones to speak of. Just the ones that seem to have taken permanent residence on my brain–you know–for kicks and memories I guess. I won’t lie. I sure would like those old lesions to get the heck on out of my brain, BUT I’ll take what I can get.

As my doctor says, “Guess what? You have a beautiful brain!”. Hmm. Thanks…I think?

He’s also pretty darn thrilled with my physical improvement since I first met him almost 2 years ago and he gives me and the oral MS medication, Gilenya, A LOT of credit for that. As for Gilenya, there was a time earlier this year that he was worried about the reports of deaths while on it. Turns out, none of those deaths look like they are connected to Gilenya AT ALL (so sorry these people died BUT so relieved to hear it wasn’t Gilenya) and if there’s even a hint of a connection, they have nothing to do with my clinical make up and he is VERY HAPPY to keep me on it! Well OK then!!!

This Neurologist continues to be my favorite Neurologist so far which is saying A LOT since I have had crappy luck with these specialists in the past and I think he’s my 9th Neurologist in 10 years. It’s not just because he’s cute either. REALLY. No really. He’s knowledgeable, patient, compassionate, takes the time to talk to me, answers ANY and ALL of my questions, asks me about ALL of my health issues because he believes his MS patients can’t be truly healthy without taking care of the WHOLE body, his Assistant rocks it in the Assistant Department (and could give classes about how to handle Patient and Doctor demands), he responds very quickly to phone calls, he’s personable and quite humorous, pays attention to detail, he was very understanding when I had to cancel an appointment due to being sick, he’s proactive, and apparently he’s one of the top MS Specialist Experts in the country. You’d never know that from him. He doesn’t talk about that at all. I hear it from his colleagues (all the other doctors I see who work with him). Oh and did I mention he used to be a JAZZ MUSICIAN in a past life??? How crazy is that? How does that happen?–First a Jazz Musician, then a Doctor, then a Neurologist, then an MS Specialist??? When I asked him about the connection, he said, “I’m a Nerd.”

My clinical neurological tests during the exam went okay. I think I had some issues. He knows I’ve done those tests a bazillion times so he tries to trick me and ask me what I ate a week ago (not last night or this morning but a week ago). He tries to pull questions out of thin air and ask me what I don’t expect. When I answered the spelling of “orange” correctly (kinda hard to spell with your eyes closed–you should try it), he said, “OK Smartypants. Let’s see what else you can do”–and after he had me do a few more tests he told me to spell “orange” backwards…and then giggled about it. Yeah ha ha. Thank goodness I’ve always been a good speller and visualizer. Now you try spelling orange backwards with your eyes closed. HARD RIGHT????

So that’s that. My MS is probably just acting up because it wants to and because it’s been hotter. AND it takes nothing for me to get hotter when it’s extra sunny. And wouldn’t you know, he says I have a case of the “Double Whammy”…hmm…sensing a theme here. Isn’t that what my Rheumatologist said about lupus and MS last week???

So to end the appointment, he told me to “stop being so hard on myself.” He pointed out that I have multiple sclerosis AND lupus. Enough said I guess. I don’t know why that can’t stick with me more and I can’t accept that as ENOUGH.

Guess I just want to live a “normal” life WITHOUT multiple sclerosis and lupus.

BUT since that doesn’t seem to be in my near future (an obliteration of any disease at this point), I’ll continue to practice this “RESTING” thing that is all the Rage with doctors these days and TRY to be gentler with myself.

I’LL TRY.

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Diagnosis Part 4: “9 Times Out of 10”

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Nahleen

In October of 2002 I’m guessing I was out of my mind.  I must’ve been.  What was I thinking?  I was working a full time job, I had just finished working as a Production Assistant on a “B” movie that I never heard about again, I was still working out and eating really healthy and then I decided that I needed to get a second job because I just wasn’t making enough money.  Hey, I was 25 and I was invincible right?

Wrong.

It was October in Los Angeles, CA so I’m guessing it was quite hot.  It usually is at that time of year.  I wouldn’t have known because I was too busy running around.  I worked full time at my day job in television which had its own stress.  I walked every day during lunch and worked out at least three times a week.  I ate well and I had lost almost 50 pounds.  My second job consisted of working in a linen store and running around lugging big bed spreads and other bed linens up tall ladders and dealing with customers.  Things were going well…I thought.  Yeah sure it was a bit hard on me but it would be on anybody.  I could do it.

Somewhere along the way as my feet continued to tingle on the bottom, I started feeling that dreaded tingling symptom travel up my left leg.  Then it traveled to my left arm.  Then my left hand.  I denied it.  I ignored it.  It couldn’t be happening.  An echo of a memory of my Primary Care Doctor’s voice rang in my head from months before, “Is the tingling going anywhere else up your leg or in your arm?” and I told him no and asked him why to which he replied, “Oh no reason.  It could just be more serious if it ever happens”…”ever happens”…”ever happens”.  Those two words rang in my head but I pushed them away.

Did you know it’s really hard to push that tingling symptom away when it doesn’t go away?  I waited two weeks until the tingling sensation then jumped from my left hand to my right hand and then I admitted it to me and somehow told Corey about it.  I wanted to be in denial.  I wanted to believe it wasn’t happening.  If I didn’t talk about it it would go away.

So somehow I got over myself and called my Rheumatologist to make an appointment.  I sat in that exam room and I told her about these new symptoms.  She looked at me long and hard and kept her facial expressions very still.  Then she said she wanted to order an MRI for me.  I freaked out.  An MRI?!  BUT it’s just tingling.  That’s all.  MRIs are to check for serious things.  I only had tingling.  That was all I had been told by how many doctors till then?  Somehow I got out the words and I asked her, “Why an MRI?” and she beat around the bush a bit and said, “Well your symptoms could be indicative of many things.  9 times out of 10 it’s not MS but it’s always good to check just in case.”  And she also made some comments about the lack of attention from my previous Neurologists and how she couldn’t believe I hadn’t had an MRI before then but that she’d get it taken care of.

MS????  What did it even stand for?  I didn’t know it stood for multiple sclerosis.  Why would I know that?  It’s not like we learn about all of the diseases out there during our normal lives.  What was that?  It sounded awfully serious.  All I could picture was those poor celebrities we had seen in the limelight who were in wheelchairs, if anything.  Then again, why would it be MS?  I hadn’t been diagnosed with anything else so there was no need to jump to any conclusions now.

So how did she calm me down?  Well she talked to me about her health problems and how she had just had to have an MRI herself and she told me the tricks of where to put my hands and how not to feel too claustrophobic and what to do when I was in the tube, etc.  She tried to show me how she could relate and some of what she said still sticks with me now when I have to have follow-up MRIs as part of my multiple sclerosis healthcare plan.

You know I somehow knew I had MS.  I don’t know how or why but something about it clicked for me.  I spent a lot of time contemplating it and talking about it with Corey while I waited for my HMO to go through the horrible rigamarole that was “necessary” to get me approved to have an MRI.  I had to wait at least a few weeks to be able to schedule my MRI let alone have one.

And you know all of this didn’t stop me from keeping up with my crazy full schedule.  To me I had no reason to slow down and stop.  Not yet anyway…

 

The next Blog will be about my 1st MRI experience.  It was a truly traumatizing and life changing experience for me that deserves it’s own Blog entry.

 

Thank you for reading my story.  It is so very hard to write but so necessary to express and share.

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