Tuesday, November 26, 2013

My Current Health Status

Three months ago today I was discharged from the hospital after being admitted for metabolic acidosis and severe dehydration.  In the weeks that followed, I ended up back in the ER for fluids, rapidly changing blood pressure readings, and was admitted for a second time just over a month ago.  I dropped close to twenty pounds in that time and spent more time sleeping than awake.  Through this whole thing, I experienced a level of frustration I had never quite experienced before.  There are previous blog posts about all that and, quite frankly, I'm worn out from trying to explain myself.

On November 4th I had the absolute displeasure of seeing an endocrinologist.  I won't recap that.  Again, on the blog for your reading enjoyment.  So, last I posted about this, I mentioned that I had some lab work done.  The endocrine doc was pretty confident that everything would come back normal.  The lab results were posted and everything came back within normal limits, except for my ACTH levels.  In the weeks to follow, I received a letter from the doc.  He mentioned my insulin test results and seemed to be pretty proud of himself that they were indeed normal.  No mention of the ACTH results.  A phone call to his office was never returned.

In addition, I was referred to a nutritionist.  I saw her the same week I saw the endocrinologist because they all still think this is nothing more than an eating disorder, so a nutrition therapy referral was only appropriate.  I was lectured on the lack of protein in my diet, but was still able to prove through food records that I was not starving myself.  She put in a note to my doctor that she wanted my iron and some vitamin levels checked.  That was November 6th.  The lab orders still have not been put in and I have no more appointments scheduled at this time.  Not that I'm going to complain about this because I did swear off needles for the rest of 2013.  I am certainly no wimp when it comes to this stuff, but enough is enough.

As far as how I'm feeling, I have felt amazing the last few days.  I worked 81 hours in two weeks and it was the first time since this began in August that I have not missed any work due to illness.  I can tell I have put some of the weight back on.  Not all, but my clothes are starting to fit better.  Unfortunately, the better I have felt, the more I've been doing and I have realized how much muscle I have lost because simple activities are making me incredibly sore.  If this is the end of whatever this was, I certainly have a long way to go to get my body back to functioning at the level it was a year ago.  Like I tell the patients I work with, change doesn't happen overnight.  This wasn't a few days of the flu, so it's going to take more than a few days to bounce back.  And, I have been told I have the patience of a saint, so it's all good, right?

From the research I've done on ACTH deficiency, depending on what the cause is, this may not be over.  I have seen how fast I can go from top-of-the-world to can't-get-my-butt-up-so-I'll-just-complain-on-Facebook, so I know this current "high" could be short-lived.  I'm still checking my blood sugar "as needed" and occasionally check in on my blood pressure and heart rate.  I haven't been seeing the extreme numbers that I have had and I've only had my blood sugar in the low fifties twice in the last two weeks.  It's still a struggle to stay hydrated, but sadly I have become used to that.

It has been over a month since I've had to go in and visit all my friends in the ER.  I'm going to try and keep this trend going.  As a matter of fact, I wrote a letter to Santa and told him that all I want for Christmas (aside from the compression socks and motorized scooter) is to not have to go back to the ER/Urgent Care/Express Care for a LONG time.  I believe in you, Big Guy, so don't blow it!!!

No comments:

Post a Comment