TMI (too much information)?

I have come to realize that a lot of people think health issues are "TMI" - too much information. People don't want to hear about health problems; they find them scary or unpleasant. I guess this is understandable at some point. . . People don't like thinking about illnesses and ultimately their own mortality. Everyone has something wrong with them (nobody's perfect) and everyone dies someday so what is the big deal? Also I am confused why certain health problems are less "taboo" than others. For example people can sit at the dinnertable and discuss diabetes or cancer treatments, but when you bring up EDS they get all weird and uncomfortable. I wonder why this is? Is it because people are afraid of what they don't understand? I keep trying to educate friends and family members about EDS but I keep running into this issue. They get really quiet, say something embarrassing, or change the subject. Worse yet they will imply that you don't really have EDS and you must be crazy, overstressed or imagining things.

I'm not sure what the solution to this problem is other than to keep trying to educate people.

I keep thinking that we need some famous person to "come out" with EDS. Then it wouldn't be such a stigma attached to it. We could say "You know that famous acress/model/musician/etc. who has that unusual condition? That's what I have." I think that would help out a lot. Roseanne Cash was publicized as having Chiari. But what famous person has EDS??? I am waiting for someone to step up.

Cool EDS site

http://edsers.com/Home.php

I feel for this lady; she has a lot of the symptoms I have, but way worse :( I'm happy to see more of us getting the word out about EDS.

My first Crohn's flare?

I am scratching my head here. I just had the most bizarre set of health issues pop up suddenly, and I'm trying to make sense of it all. Then I remembered CROHN'S!

Backing up a bit. . . I had a very stressful December and January. I was in PT for my left shoulder and my left knee had been out of whack for some time. When they found out my meniscus was torn in my knee, and I'd need surgery, that sort of ratcheted up my stress levels even more. Then my grandma got sick and died right before Christmas! I was pretty stressed out then; my knee was getting increasingly worse but I didn't want to miss my grandma's funeral. I managed to attend the funeral OK and was grateful I got to go. It was a whirlwind 8 hr. drive, one day there, and 8 hr. drive returning home on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile I was downright upset that I had sacrificed and worked so hard to go to the funeral, exhausting myself when I could barely walk, but others didn't seem to try that hard to make it. I thought this would be a really special event for the family, to see relatives I hadn't seen for literally 17 years.

Then right after that was my knee surgery. Again I was kind of upset that not many people noticed I had surgery at all - maybe it was the holidays and people were busy, and I don't like being in the spotlight, but I was a bit disappointed. I got one gift bag from my co-workers and that was all. No flowers, cards, nada. This left me a little more disturbed but I tried to ignore it.

Then about a week or so after my surgery I was just barely beginning to hobble around again when we were invited us to a family gathering a good 6 hr. drive away. I was a little perturbed that they expected me to be able to ride in a car for 12 hrs. so soon after surgery. Plus they were going to some museums. I said, "There ain't no way I'll be able to walk through a museum!" (I have better grammar than this, but you get the point :) I would have needed a wheelchair or scooter.) The point of this gathering was to celebrate a birthday and then they sprang a big "SURPRISE WE ARE PREGNANT"! I was so glad I didn't go because that would've been the last straw!! After 9 years of infertility I hate those surprise pregnancy announcements. I try to put on a fake happy face but it's hard for me to be happy when they are oblivious to my ongoing pain, both physically and emotionally.

Last week I started feeling really icky. Nauseous, tired, and my intestines were going crazy. I would get chills, then I'd be burning up, then chills again. I couldn't eat and then I'd be ravenous. I even let the "P" word enter my brain because I was a week late starting my period. Then I finally started thinking about all the stuff I'd been through in the last couple months and even more specifically WHAT I WAS EATING . . . I ate a lot of irritating foods last week! Tomatoes for several days because spaghetti sauce was something easy that would last my family for days. Then feeling too icky to make anything else. We also went out for Mexican food on Tues., and I ate a spicy yet delicious packet of Indian food on Thurs. Some potatoes I had cut the black spots off of. . .some sugary cupcakes. . .The list goes on! I had been eating all the wrong foods for my tummy while still dealing with all the emotional and physical stress of the 2 months before! So I finally figured it out. However I'm not sure I want to visit a gastroenterologist just yet; we still have bills to pay from the MRI, the PT and the surgery on my knee. I'm going to stop eating my bad foods for a few weeks and see what happens. What a wild couple of months this has been.

Drug interaction checker

I think this is a pretty nifty site: http://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.php

When I went back for my post-op check, the doc mentioned that he had gotten a "memo" about me. "Oh really?" I said. "Yes," he said - he got a memo that the pain med the nurse had called in for me (Ultram) could interact with my Flexeril and cause seizures. (LOVELY!!)

After that I went into this site and double-checked all the meds I'm on. I don't like being on meds, but at some point I had to accept the fact I'd need to take them for pain control. Luckily enough I found that the only med causing the interactions was Flexeril - a muscle relaxant I don't think works for me anyway. In fact it makes me feel kinda yucky. I think my solution will be to quit taking Flexeril.

This incident kind of scared me to think that such a drug interaction could happen so easily. I thought maybe the pharmacy would let me know, or the doc would call me and tell me to stop taking Ultram. Weird! I also Googled all the vitamins and herbs I'm on. The good news is the rest all seem to be fine.

Now I know why celebrities accidentally overdose on meds. Some celebrities will "doctor shop" and get meds from multiple docs, under multiple aliases from multiple pharmacies. So unsafe :-S At some point, I'll have to request more breakthrough meds from my family doc and then ALL my prescriptions will be with ONE doctor!

Bladder is better!

Much to my suprise my bladder problems have resolved!! I had been experiencing recurring UTIs and burning. I started taking nettle for my respiratory allergies (dust, smoke pollutants, etc.). Nettle was part of the "D-Hist" supplement I tried, but then I switched to a different brand and took the nettle separately since it was only $6. Then I got tired of paying $25 for D-Mannose (a good treatment but expensive)!! So one day I ran out of D-Mannose and lo and behold! The pain was gone and I've not had any UTIs in nearly a year :) I was suprised to read that the Nettle was helping me with several issues. It's even supposed to treat arthritis.

I think D-Mannose would still be good to have on hand if I do have an actual infection; it was the only thing that made my trip out east tolerable. As long as I kept taking it I was able to enjoy the trip and not run to the bathroom every 20 min.! I would not wish those nasty UTIs on my worst enemy.

Osteo Bi-Flex

I went back to the doc again today for my follow-up and he said the knee looks good and I don't need therapy unless it continues to hurt after a week or two. Everyday I am able to walk better and better and with less pain. Today the swelling is pretty minimal too. He said the ACL was loose but that might just be normal for me. Ummm YEAH! That's what I'm trying to tell ya! :)

He recommended for the arthritis that I take a supplement called Osteo Bi-Flex. http://www.amazon.com/Osteo-Bi-Flex-Advanced-Triple-Strength/dp/B00180S4RC

Active ingredients are Chondroitin, MSM Complex and other joint factors, such as Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid. A key ingredient is a potent extract of Boswellia serrata called 5-Loxin®, which is 10 times more concentrated than typical Boswellia extracts and helps with joint flare-ups.

I'm going to have to research all these ingredients. But I'm willing to try it. Plus, Walgreens was having a buy-one-get-one free special so I saved over $30 buying two.

Arctic Ease cryotherapy wraps

Today I am trying something new on my knee - Arctic Ease cryotherapy wraps!

http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Ease-Cryotherapy-Wrap-Inch/dp/B003R2OPWW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294841298&sr=8-1

These things are pretty cool. Funny enough, I got samples at a trade show for retirement communities. I have a lot in common with our elderly residents! But all the staff from the different communities liked these samples too. I got several free samples to try.

I've been back to work for 3 days now. I feel pretty good as long as I stay at my desk. Walking around is still extremely slow. However by the end of the day I'm pretty tired and my knee has puffed up to twice its normal size :( That's why I decided to try the wrap today, to see if I could alleviate some of the swelling. The nice part is it makes your skin feel cold without ice and messy drips or leaks! I'm not sure if I'll order more but it is pretty interesting. I wonder what they are made of. I found they also have a site with FAQs:

http://dev.visitthelab.com:8080/arcticease/faq.php

Arthritis

Well now I need to research another ailment: Arthritis!

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, autoimmune disease. It is an inflammatory type of arthritis which affects the joints. The disease also may have systemic effects, affecting other organs of the body. Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include joint pain, joint stiffness, joint inflammation and joint deformity. Fever, malaise, severe fatigue, and morning stiffness lasting more than one hour are also common symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

About 80 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients test positive for rheumatoid factor (detected by a blood test). Approximately 20 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients are classified as having "seronegative rheumatoid arthritis" because they lack rheumatoid factor.

With rheumatoid arthritis, there is a symmetrical pattern of affected joints. For example, both knees of a patient are usually affected rather than one knee.

- From http://arthritis.about.com/od/rheumatoidarthritis/ss/pictures_photos.htm

What I suspect is that my hypermobility has made me more prone to getting arthritis as well. The photo the doc printed off showed the inside of the joint to be fuzzy - like a fuzzy white blanket. He trimmed that out, but I'm sure it will grow right back and is growing in all my other joints!!! I will be asking him about this on Thurs. when I got back for a checkup. I'm back to my normal routine today, just walking extremely slow!

Knee surgery: Success! I think.

Well I made it through knee surgery just fine! The procedure itself was a piece of cake. . . I was not nervous at all, and they wheeled me into the surgery room and next thing I remember I was back in recovery!! Pain was minimal because they gave me a "femoral block" I think it was called. I was sooo dizzy at first but they wanted me to be up on my knee right away! I hobbled into the car and my hubby drove me home and got me propped up on a recliner with ice on my knee. I was so amazed that they wanted me to WALK!

The doc. found a piece of floating cartilage which was removed and also my ACL was too loose and looked like it had been previously torn. Also I have the beginnings of arthritis forming :(( I'll have to do some research on that. On the pictures he gave me, the arthritis looks like fuzzy patches on the joint! Very interesting! So when I go back, I'll need to ask him what to do about all that. I'd always suspected I was starting to get arthritis but sadly this is confirmation.

Pain has not been bad at all except the Tylenol with Codeine made me incredibly nauseous. They also gave me something called "Meloxicam" or "Mobic," apparently some type of NSAID. I'm calling the doc. and asking him for something different. Vicodin causes me to throw up, Percocet makes me itch, and Darvocet is no longer available. I wonder what they'll give me??

Just resting up and hopefully I can hobble on into work on Monday :)