I'm Falling Apart
Okay, here are some disorders that plague my life:
Rheumatoid Arthritis -- Chronic and (it needs to be pointed out) symmetrical. This is, as most of you probably know, a painful inflammation of the joints. It's actually an immunity issue that causes the inflammation, and can go on to affect organs. This only flares up now and again, and usually it's not too bad. It'll hit my wrists, or my fingers, or my knees, or my ankles, or my toes. And it always hits both knees, or all my fingers... At one point (Lindsay will remember this), it hit everything at once. This was during a sales conference -- I couldn't walk up stairs! (Rheumatoid Arthritis affects 1% of the population, usually starts between age 40 and 60, and typically hits more women than men.)
Scoliosis -- Mild. This is a sideways curvature of the spine. I also have two fused vertebrae, and I'm sure the two things are related. Although this kept me from walking for a week when I was about 16, it doesn't hurt as often as it used to. This is a good sign, because scoliosis can be degenerative, and leave people looking like hunchbacks. (Scoliosis affects 2% of the population.)
Restless Leg Syndrome -- Chronic/Moderately Severe. RLS is a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move when at rest in an effort to relieve these feelings. RLS sensations are often described by people as burning, creeping, tugging, or like insects crawling inside the legs. It flares up every few days for me -- usually when I'm trying to fall sleep, but often in the car, at a movie theatre, on planes... It also results in my legs twitching when I sleep. This is a big contributor to my regular insomnia, which I needn't list as a separate disorder. (Restless Leg Syndrome apparently affects anywhere between 2-15% of the population.)
Things that aren't disorders, exactly, but nevertheless plague my life:
Grey hair -- This has gotten to the point that yesterday I found a grey eyelash. My freakin' eyelashes are turning grey!! Dear God!
Bad Joints -- I normally chalk this one up to having gone through my growth sprurt too quickly. I think I was about 6'0" in Grade 9. I've dislocated my knee twice, my ankle once, and my jaw once. I don't play sports much anymore -- when I do, inevitably, I end up in the hospital.
No Enamel -- I have no enamel on my teeth. This is my own damned fault, as far as I can tell -- I burned it off with an acidic diet. I could be wrong, though -- my dentist was amazed about it. Crunchy things and cold things hurt to eat. When I rinse out my mouth after brushing my teeth, I use hot water.
Floaters -- These started developing a number of years after I had laser eye surgery to correct my astigmatism, but apparently aren't directly related. Floaters are normally little specks that appear in the field of vision, and are usually only visible against a light background. I've got a couple that are quite large, and look like bugs floating around in front of me. They're always there. Sometimes I play with them (because they don't exactly track the movement of the eye -- they're located deep within the eye, not on the surface, and float around in the vitreous fluid of the eyeball). Apparently these can be a bad sign, but after they first appeared (last year), they haven't really gotten any worse.
That's about it -- maybe I'll add to the list later when I think of more such things that plague me. How about the rest of you -- what disorders or proto-disorders plague your lives??
Rheumatoid Arthritis -- Chronic and (it needs to be pointed out) symmetrical. This is, as most of you probably know, a painful inflammation of the joints. It's actually an immunity issue that causes the inflammation, and can go on to affect organs. This only flares up now and again, and usually it's not too bad. It'll hit my wrists, or my fingers, or my knees, or my ankles, or my toes. And it always hits both knees, or all my fingers... At one point (Lindsay will remember this), it hit everything at once. This was during a sales conference -- I couldn't walk up stairs! (Rheumatoid Arthritis affects 1% of the population, usually starts between age 40 and 60, and typically hits more women than men.)
Scoliosis -- Mild. This is a sideways curvature of the spine. I also have two fused vertebrae, and I'm sure the two things are related. Although this kept me from walking for a week when I was about 16, it doesn't hurt as often as it used to. This is a good sign, because scoliosis can be degenerative, and leave people looking like hunchbacks. (Scoliosis affects 2% of the population.)
Restless Leg Syndrome -- Chronic/Moderately Severe. RLS is a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move when at rest in an effort to relieve these feelings. RLS sensations are often described by people as burning, creeping, tugging, or like insects crawling inside the legs. It flares up every few days for me -- usually when I'm trying to fall sleep, but often in the car, at a movie theatre, on planes... It also results in my legs twitching when I sleep. This is a big contributor to my regular insomnia, which I needn't list as a separate disorder. (Restless Leg Syndrome apparently affects anywhere between 2-15% of the population.)
Things that aren't disorders, exactly, but nevertheless plague my life:
Grey hair -- This has gotten to the point that yesterday I found a grey eyelash. My freakin' eyelashes are turning grey!! Dear God!
Bad Joints -- I normally chalk this one up to having gone through my growth sprurt too quickly. I think I was about 6'0" in Grade 9. I've dislocated my knee twice, my ankle once, and my jaw once. I don't play sports much anymore -- when I do, inevitably, I end up in the hospital.
No Enamel -- I have no enamel on my teeth. This is my own damned fault, as far as I can tell -- I burned it off with an acidic diet. I could be wrong, though -- my dentist was amazed about it. Crunchy things and cold things hurt to eat. When I rinse out my mouth after brushing my teeth, I use hot water.
Floaters -- These started developing a number of years after I had laser eye surgery to correct my astigmatism, but apparently aren't directly related. Floaters are normally little specks that appear in the field of vision, and are usually only visible against a light background. I've got a couple that are quite large, and look like bugs floating around in front of me. They're always there. Sometimes I play with them (because they don't exactly track the movement of the eye -- they're located deep within the eye, not on the surface, and float around in the vitreous fluid of the eyeball). Apparently these can be a bad sign, but after they first appeared (last year), they haven't really gotten any worse.
That's about it -- maybe I'll add to the list later when I think of more such things that plague me. How about the rest of you -- what disorders or proto-disorders plague your lives??