The past several months I have felt miserable. Exhausted. Unable to think or concentrate. Couldn't breathe (but thought that was just a result of my chronic allergies).
I have to thank one of the nurses at the allergy clinic for taking care of me and actually believing there was a problem and addressing it. My shot nurse Lisa suggested I go upstairs and talk to someone when I complained to her about my stuffy nose and ridiculous fatigue. I had talked to my primary care's office in December (exercise more and maybe we should sign you up for a sleep study!) and my weight loss clinic (we'll do blood work on your iron when the Protocol says we can...that'd be February!), to no avail.
Tina at the allergy clinic is MY HERO!
I sat in the chair next to her last Wednesday morning, mouth breathing defeatedly. She took one look and said, "Oh! Something here is not right."
Huh? You mean I'm not crazy? What?
After taking a thorough history, she looked up in my snoot and the next thing I know, I'm heading to the CT scanner. Thank GOD! Turns out I had a raging sinus infection and that was the beast behind my exhaustion. Who knew? I was under the assumption that because my drainage was clear, it wasn't an infection.
But it was. My maxillary sinuses were so blocked that nothing could get in or out. Just sealed off festering pockets of goo. Lovely! No wonder I felt like crap!
She made a To Do list of aggressive therapy: steroids, Afrin, antibiotics. Within hours I was feeling better and after a full night's sleep, I was feeling significantly better. I started to realize just how crummy I was feeling, once I began to improve.
I just wanted to say thanks to Tina and her expertise. It was so nice having someone who listened to me and helped me. Unfortunately, half the time my docs just up my antidepressants when I go in with complaints. It was refreshing to have someone validate that it wasn't in my head (even though technically it was), and that there indeed was a reason that I felt bad and yes, I really did feel bad. Not faking it.
When it feels like so many doctors just push you through assembly style, don't listen and don't even seem to care, it is so exciting to have someone step up to the plate and do what they were trained to do.
Who knows, now I might actually have the energy to exercise! Dear Diary!
2 comments:
Welcome back. I'm ready to start doing things instead of wishing I had the energy to do them. Even if they don't turn out the way I had planned.
I've been gulping done the osteobiflex and NOT gulping down the carbs-and I hope to be up and moving soon.
Isn't it wonderful when someone HEARS you?
It's INCREDIBLE, Debra. I'm so accustomed to being ignored by my doctors. I was so thrilled with Tina's concern that I could have kissed her! Like the Na'vi in Avatar . . . you HEARD me!
I've been being a good girl working my neti pot into my morning routine to keep the caves flushed. At least now I know what this feels like, so if I start to feel crappy I can nip it in the bud.
Right now, I'm just a tad manic now that my neurons are firing again. I'll let things settle, but I'm ready to get back to doing the things I'm SUPPOSED to be doing with my life, now that I have some energy. Go figure.
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