I Was Sick, But Now I’m Well
I Was Sick, But Now I’m Well
In September and October, I had a string of medical issues. It magically resolved itself but it was pretty weird and scary.
Starting in early September, each morning and evening I had terrible joint pain and muscle weakness. For example, I was completely unable to hold my big 32 ounce mason jar glass of water with one hand like I normally do. A few times in the late evening when Megan asked me to take the baby I refused, doubting that I had the strength to hold her. Scary! I found myself walking a lot slower on my commute, swinging my legs like lamb-chops. Everything hurt!
Then in mid-September, my legs puffed up with edema and red spots. I gained 10 pounds in water weight. Below my calf, everything tingled all day and I had trouble feeling some of my toes. My ankles were so stiff each morning that I walked ridiculously. To not move my legs was uncomfortable so I had to walk around and wiggle my legs. I went to the doctor after this kept up for a few days and my balance was suffering. I remember the moment walking down stairs needing to hold the railing lest I fall.
My doctor ran two batteries of tests. She knew I had elevated liver enzymes and decreased hematocrit (how many red blood cells I had) and she ran more tests which only told her I didn’t have what she was hoping I didn’t have (hep c, an autoimmune disorder, some vitamin deficiencies…) The end result of all the tests and the doctor’s opinion was, “It’s probably viral. It should start getting better soon. Call me if it doesn’t.”
That’s it? Yipe. Well, happily, it was already starting to get better and over a few weeks I returned to full capacity. But it was full-on-scary to be told, “Dunno.”!
My theory: a rare tropical virus made the rounds in Kensington
July: my niece and her boyfriend went to Vietnam. When they came back, they both complained of backaches and headaches.
August: My wife started having bad headaches. We went to the hospital twice, once because the headache was just so bad, and a week later because it seemed like she was having a stroke (!!!). All the fancy tests showed nothing abnormal and she was ok in a few days and better in a few weeks. Doctors said, “It’s probably viral.”
September: my shenanigans. My doctor said, “It’s probably viral.”
That is scary! Glad everyone is better.
Glad it passed. A piece of advice for another viral malady with different symptoms. I caught Shingles after a stressful period of my life a couple years back. Its miserable to endure and very common. There’s a vaccine but it costs about $150.. Once you are over 50 a lot of insurances will pay for it. Aren’t you nearing that number?
Ugh, I’m getting there. A couple more years though. It’s nice to hear from you. Call/email/whatever between Dec 15 and Jan 25 while I’m on school break!