Evil Virus of Doom. Maybe.
About a month ago, I made a Facebook post to explain to the people I see everyday why I had dropped off the face of the planet. I've backdated that post and re-posted it to my journal so I can explain what's going on now. You can read the other post for full details, but the short version is that I've had some kind of (possibly viral) illness that's severely laid me up since mid-September. Time has marched on, and I wanted to touch base and give the LJ world an update as well.
I went back to the doctor just before Thanksgiving, as it had been five weeks by then and I still had all the energy of a slug. The good news is still that my labs were all marvelous, with no indications of infection or cancer or any other underlying major illness. The verdict of the moment is still, therefore, an Evil Virus of Doom.
My doctor did, though, talk about other possibilities if I don't get better in another few weeks. One theory is that it might possibly be some of my various medications interacting with each other. This would make sense because the number of medications and supplements I take every day has certainly piled up over the years. I already have some cognitive function issues because of my migraine medication (which I put up with because, well, no more migraines), so I can certainly buy the "meds may screw you up" theory.
Another theory came up after talking to me about my symptoms. He said that the way I described my symptoms, especially how I felt about the way I had to manage every exertion, sounded like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients he'd had. My symptoms do fit enough of the criteria, except for really crucial one that I haven't had symptoms nearly long enough. If I don't improve in a couple of months, though, he'll probably send me to a rheumatologist to explore the possibility of CFS. Hopefully it won't come to that, it'll be just an EVoD and I'll get over it in due time.
I would be lying, though, if I said I wasn't a bit worried about the CFS thing. I wasn't able to drive Grace to school at all on Thursday, and on Friday I completely exhausted myself by trying to sit upright at the desk computer for a couple of hours. My day is spent conserving my energy so I can drive Grace to school and get up and down the stairs enough times to feed myself (rather like my cats, now that I think about it). I'm managing fine over the short term, but if this becomes a long-term issue I'm going to have seriously re-adjust my lifestyle.
The good news is that I'm feeling pretty good otherwise. I invested in a light box, and it seems to be helping a lot as the days get shorter. Maybe it's just a placebo effect, but as it seems to be a really effective placebo, I don't much care. So, even if I'm worried, I'm still fairly cheerful and I feel that even if this turns into the worst-case scenario, I can figure out how to cope.
You can also read this entry at my Dreamwidth journal. There are
comments there.
I went back to the doctor just before Thanksgiving, as it had been five weeks by then and I still had all the energy of a slug. The good news is still that my labs were all marvelous, with no indications of infection or cancer or any other underlying major illness. The verdict of the moment is still, therefore, an Evil Virus of Doom.
My doctor did, though, talk about other possibilities if I don't get better in another few weeks. One theory is that it might possibly be some of my various medications interacting with each other. This would make sense because the number of medications and supplements I take every day has certainly piled up over the years. I already have some cognitive function issues because of my migraine medication (which I put up with because, well, no more migraines), so I can certainly buy the "meds may screw you up" theory.
Another theory came up after talking to me about my symptoms. He said that the way I described my symptoms, especially how I felt about the way I had to manage every exertion, sounded like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients he'd had. My symptoms do fit enough of the criteria, except for really crucial one that I haven't had symptoms nearly long enough. If I don't improve in a couple of months, though, he'll probably send me to a rheumatologist to explore the possibility of CFS. Hopefully it won't come to that, it'll be just an EVoD and I'll get over it in due time.
I would be lying, though, if I said I wasn't a bit worried about the CFS thing. I wasn't able to drive Grace to school at all on Thursday, and on Friday I completely exhausted myself by trying to sit upright at the desk computer for a couple of hours. My day is spent conserving my energy so I can drive Grace to school and get up and down the stairs enough times to feed myself (rather like my cats, now that I think about it). I'm managing fine over the short term, but if this becomes a long-term issue I'm going to have seriously re-adjust my lifestyle.
The good news is that I'm feeling pretty good otherwise. I invested in a light box, and it seems to be helping a lot as the days get shorter. Maybe it's just a placebo effect, but as it seems to be a really effective placebo, I don't much care. So, even if I'm worried, I'm still fairly cheerful and I feel that even if this turns into the worst-case scenario, I can figure out how to cope.
You can also read this entry at my Dreamwidth journal. There are
comments there.