Feeling a little bit better.
2005-06-05 3:41 p.m.
Good News: my blood pressure is back to normal (with medication) and I'm starting to get some movement back in the left side of my face. The right is completely recovered so I'm hoping that I'll look like a normal person by next weekend. Another fun side effect, I lost ten pounds last month. I spent the morning trying on all my skinny girl pants and skirts and finding that everything fits. It's not the way I wanted to lose weight for summer but hell, I'll take it.
I would say I'm planning on going to work tomorrow but every time I type that I end up getting hospitalized so I'll just say I'm going to play it by ear and see what's what. My new supervisor is being cool and doesn't really care. She just wants me to feel better and take care of myself.
Constitutionally, I'm starting to feel better. I'm a little stronger and less shakey feeling. I'm not up to doing a lot of housework or exercise but I'm doing a little more during the day. I think part of the reason I'm feeling better is that I'm tapering off these blasted steroids. They've put me on prednisone three times in the last six weeks. It keeps me from sleeping and makes me feel icky. Bleach. I'll be super happy when I'm off all these meds and back to normal.
3 People have tried to sell me ViagraTag team needle treatment.
2005-06-02 10:51 p.m.
My acupuncturist is in Texas this week so I went to see his wife, my former acupuncturist and leader of the Wu Wu Girl's Club. I went to her house which was quite chaotic. She led me into the guest bedroom and propped me up with pillows. Her 2 and 1/2 year old played nurse and handed her the needles (still wrapped in plastic) and counted them as they got stuck in my ankles, legs, wrists and face. A tiny chihuahua jumped on and off the bed occasionally licking my face. A gigantic black lab periodically came into the room and placed baby toys on the bed. The baby woke up and my acupunturist worked my energy while breastfeeding. Eventually my best buddy, kitty cat Sikka* discovered that I was in the house and jumped up on the bed, yanked out the needles in my right wrist and proceeded to purr and rub all over me. Talk about tag team treatment. I had three people and three animals all working on me at once. If that doesn't make me better than nothing will. I go back tomorrow for the same treatment. The best part - no charge. My checkbook can breathe a sigh of relief. I think I've spent over $400 in medical bills this month. Augh.
*Sikka is Blackfoot Indian for black foot because she has, well, black feet!
1 People have tried to sell me ViagraGiving 'boy your ass is hot' a whole new meaning.
2005-05-31 8:50 p.m.
I called in sick to work today. I was up all night feeling pretty sure that I was dying of some horrible disease. Argh. Living alone is a bad thing when you're sick. All you do is sit up all night and freak yourself out.
I did find an interesting journal article on Sjogren's and Bell's Palsey ocurring together. It seemed to make sense to me, I kept telling the ER doc that I felt all my symptoms were due to the same thing. My HMO is very western mediciney about treating all symptoms separately. Each specialist will treat one symptom and then write me off. I feel like everyone has dropped the ball with me. On the up side I got an appointment with another ENT on Thursday.
Now for more TV talk. For the record, Samurai Champloo is the coolest anime show in the world. I want a Samurai sword and a floral print kimono to wear around the house, because I'm strange that way. I'm also enjoying s-CRY-ed and Paranoia Agent as well. I'm not so sure about Fooly Cooly yet.
Yeah, all I do is watch Tivo and sleep. Okay, that's not entirely true, I did do two small loads of laundry today and washed some dishes. I also play with the cats and comb them, which reminds me, I need to trim their claws, the vicious little hellions. I went out and bought a heating pad for my lower back. Trinity fiigured out the whole heating pad thing real fast. When I'm done and throw it on the couch she immediately jumps on it and warms her ass up. She gets angry at me if I turn it off. I can't believe I have to share my heating pad with my cat's ass.
Comments are turned on for Diaryland Users only for right now. Offsite cats can still use the guestbook. Drop me a line, I'm a bored shut in!
7 People have tried to sell me ViagraHere we go again.
2005-05-29 10:01 p.m.
First off, I'd like to say a big f - u to loana who spammed my diary comments over fifty times with useless website links. Go to hell you skanky ass ho. Comments are turned off as I'm still getting crap in my in box as I type this. You can still sign the guestbook.
That said, I'd like to say OH MY GOD HOLY FUCKING SHIT I HATE MY LIFE. I was just discharged from the hospital. Again. It seems that since the right side of my face was getting better my left side was feeling left out and decided to get paralyzed too, just out of spite. Okay, the doctors didn't say it was out of spite, that's just my interpretation. So, just when I thought I was getting better life kicks me in the ass and says "ha ha, no you don't." I am so tired of feeling sick and tired. I want to be able to eat again. I want to be able to drink out of a cup again. I want to look like a normal person and not an eighty year old stroke victim.
Once again I was dressed in a ugly backless gown with big pastel triangles on it. Why can't they make hospital gowns in basic black? Or even something festive like red or sequins. The really strange thing was I knew the guy who came in to give me my EKG. Now, if you're a well endowed woman and you've ever had to get an EKG done, you know there's some serious man handling of the left boob that goes on in order to get the electrodes in the right place. He was all apologetic but at this point I was utterly defeated. Like I care who sees my boob. The entire ER was welcome to see it and cop a feel, big mammary deal.
My blood pressure was very high and my heart rate was 154 (aerobic, I was burning fat right?). The doctors were trying to downplay the whole thing but the nurse holding the defibrillator paddles and whistling non-chalantly next to me, kind of gave the whole thing away. The doctor on staff was flummoxed, he'd never heard of migrating Bell's Palsy before. He called the ENT on staff and discussed, apparantly the ENTs see it in the clinic from time to time. It's very rare (again I win the geneic freak code lottery) but it happens. I was discharged with even more medications including tiny blood pressure pills. Dear Lord, will I ever be well?
1 People have tried to sell me ViagraMy tiny world.
2005-05-28 10:14 p.m.
Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I pride myself on near daily entries but frankly, there's not much to tell. I've been home sick and spend most of my time sleeping, snacking and taking medication. It's a pretty boring existence.
I'm going back to work on Tuesday which will be a huge freaking deal. I'm excited to see my work friends again and to do something productive. Watching Tivo and obsessively checking my vital signs is getting old.
It's been hot in Portland. Yesterday it was in the nineties and I was on the verge of heat stroke. Francesca saved my life by taking me to a movie theatre. You can always count on air conditioning at the movies. We saw 3 Iron (Bin-Jip). It was an interesting story about a man who breaks into people's houses when they're away and lives there. He doesn't take anything but does their laundry and fixes things that are broken. He breaks into the mansion of an abused wife and they run off together. Even though there were subtitles, the movie was pretty much wordless.
My parents came down on Thursday to visit me. My mother called today apologizing for not realizing how sick I was "you kept telling me over the phone but I thought you were just grousing." I have no idea what grousing is. Bitching? It was nice hanging out with the parental unit. We went out to dinner - I can eat in public now - and then I made them take me grocery shopping. I've been too weak and lazy to go on my own. Now my fridge and freezer and filled with food. Nice.
Let's see, the right side of my face is about 75% better (I was paralyzed - read here). I don't have even function, I still can't wink with right eye but I can almost smile an even smile. I'm having some difficulties with the Sjogren's Syndrome. Dry eyes and mouth is still very bad. When I try to eat, everything tastes weird. I end up pushing half my food away because of taste. I'm still losing weight but I'm not going to worry about it until I start nearing 100 pounds.
I'm looking forward to the Law and Order SVU marathon tomorrow and the original Law and Order marathon on Monday. You see, my life revolves entirely around Tivo, my cats, my pills and my couch. Speaking of television, is anyone else watching House? I love this show, Hugh Laurie is amazing and the last two episodes have been incredibly entertaining while giving us all the background information. I want to go to medical school now.
3 People have tried to sell me Viagra