Friday, December 29, 2017

The Anti Update I Wish I Wasn't Writing

Today's news is a little less happy.

When I thought about writing this post I thought that I'd jokingly start it by saying that I should have been more specific with my prayers.

I prayed that I would be better for Christmas and I got my wish.

Maybe you can see where this is going.

Does anyone remember "Sadie frowns?"  They actually
predated Grumpy James.  I'm breaking one out
for this post.
By the third day after the antibiotics ended I had a feeling that things were going in a negative direction for me.

I told myself that it was just psychosomatic, and that I was only feeling tired because I was worried that it was coming back.

By the next day it was a little bit clearer that it was more than that.

And yesterday I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck.

I called the doctor's office and asked to make an appointment with my doctor.  I was informed that my doctor didn't have any appointments until February.  I asked to make one in February, and thought to myself that it was likely that I'd still be feeling like this, then. Actually February was out too because... he was retiring.  I actually cried then, tears, because I felt like he was the only person at the office who actually believed me.

The receptionist, bless her heart, went above and beyond in convincing me to make an appointment, since I was more of less ready to  give up and curl up in a corner somewhere and wait for whatever was going to happen next.

A Maggie Frown too?
I don't think Maggie Frowns were ever a thing around here.
Paul, tired of listening to my lamentations about whether this doctor (his doctor) would believe me, came with me to the appointment (assuring me every ten seconds that yes, he would), after I asked him if maybe he could fit it into his schedule a half dozen times (a big deal since he hasn't taken off time to even come to an OB appointment in about five pregnancies).

When the doctor arrived he went over the chart briefly, and asked a few questions and pointed out that I'd come in for a fever and here I was without a fever, because of course when I got to the office it was one of those moments when the generally low fever ended up measuring 98.5.

I lasted a solid ten seconds before I broke down in tears, managing to explain that I was crying because at this point I I'd been sick for so long and after the last appointment I really felt like no one believed me and everyone thought I was just crazy coming back over and over for a cold.

It took me so long to find a picture of Patch not smiling that I began to wonder
if one actually existed.
And I calmed down and told him about the filling and the 105.2 fever, and the thirty days of fever before my smart thermometer stopped working, and showed him that data in my phone from the smart thermometer, and told him that before this I was running seventy minutes a day and felt great and now I can barely stay on my feet a few hours a day and then I have to lay down and curl up in a ball to recover from the little that I've managed to do.  And while everyone else might be toasty warm I'll be in layers of socks and pants and two sweaters and five blankets and I'll still be shaking and shivering... which isn't that unusual but I am more cold than I used to be.  Much more.

"And when the other doctor ordered the Z-Pack, I know it was just to humor me, and she said not to take it," I half gasped the words, since I was talking so fast, "but of course I did, because I was desperate, so desperate, for anything, and it made me better, so much better and I was up and running around and I felt like myself all day long.  And then I finished them.  And now I'm sick again.  And everything hurts."

I'm not as tired as I was before, but it gets worse every single day.

I knew James wouldn't let me down with a frown (or a hundred)
to lighten the mood.
He said that he suspects an infection, and while he can't be certain, he does specifically suspect a blood infection, because this all started the day after that four hour filling that was below the gum line with lots of bleeding.  Besides that there are little things, my spleen's enlarged, some elevated liver counts, but almost everything else has been normal.

So now we're waiting on the blood culture they took tonight, along with a lot of other blood work, and a referral to infectious disease to try to work out if this is some sort of bacteria in my blood from that filling back in November.

Tess also doesn't really frown because she has her thumb.
So after looking through hundreds of Tessie pictures... this is as close as it gets.
I think that's a good thing.
He did stress he does believe me (probably remembering that I started the appointment bursting into tears very much fearing not being believed after the previous appointment), and that this most definitely isn't normal, something is wrong, now that we're going on two months since whatever it was happened that took me from running around feeling healthy, training for races, halfway through a 5k to 10k program, working on increasing my speed to... how things are now.

And that is the latest.  I guess that was a long way of saying I am sick again and would love and appreciate your prayers.

The last weeks break was lovely... and I wish I was not writing this.

11 comments:

  1. I so hope they find the problem soon!! (((hugs))) And Cami... you have 5 kids with the various issues and appointments and still were managing to get out and run!! I bow to you, I have no excuse.

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    1. I've been so lucky lately in that first I had the buses taking the kids to school and then my parents got here and have been doing so much of the heavy lifting. In terms of beings sick this couldn't have come at a better time in terms of surviving it.

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  2. Ugh, I hope they get this figured out for you soon. Four years ago I had a bad strep A infection from getting my finger caught and cut in the car door. They thought I had a blood infection and the team of infectious disease doctors were freaking out (I was pregnant at the time). But I do recall them telling me that blood infections are a big deal because if it turns into staph it will attack the heart valves. And they also had said that to treat a blood infection, if it was the one they suspected, it would require a month of iv antibiotics where I'd have to go somewhere once a day to get them, fortunately for me they were wrong about the blood infection and it was just a contaminated blood culture. I'm praying they get this all figured out for you.

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    1. Thank you so much for the prayers! I think everything is so amplified when pregnancy is involved too. I know with both Patch and Tessie, when I was pregnant and got sick I ended up on really powerful antibiotic drips. Being not pregnant with this they were much more hesitant and Paul kept questioning that because he was so used to the opposite reaction where I was being put three different antibiotic drips for four days to zap everything instead of a "wait and see" approach.

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  3. Hi Cammie, this sounds like me last winter. From October until April I was constantantly sick and on and off antibiotics finally my pulmonologist did a test that showed my angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) levels were elevated. I have had Sarcoidosis for years. It was dicovered accidentally on a CAT scan. I never had symptoms. For some reason last year it became active. I was put on a stronger antibiotic and prednisone for a couple of months. I have been much better since then. I am not suggesting that this is your problem but because it is so often overlooked I thought I would mention it. If you are of Northern European ancestry you have a higher risk of developing it. I am Scandinavian and Polish. I will pray they find an answer for you... it is horrible to feel sick all the time.

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  4. OH my gosh, how terrible for you! Praying all will be cleared up soon. Perhaps the dentist should be notified, so this does not happen to someone else? Christ's peace!

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    1. Thank you for the prayers, they're so appreciated! It sounds, from talking to the doctors, like it's just a freak thing that can happen sometimes that isn't really anyones fault from the conversations I've had so far. I'm sure I'll learn more from the infectious disease guys if I ever get into see them though.

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  5. Hi Cammie - I'm going to put this out there, and it doesn't necessarily mean anything... But the symptoms you've described are similar enough in my own experience if not directly personal that I'm feeling seriously anxious for you. Please consider having them test you, if they have not done so so far, for leukemia. Fatigue, constant fevers/infections, shortness of breath, paleness and slow wound healing (don't know if you have that one) are all classic. With much love and many prayers that it really is just one of those things!

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    1. The one really good thing that I think ruled it out is that my white blood count has been consistently six through all this, without budging. I only know because with the fever so long, googling, of course that and lymphoma were the most frequent suggestions but it looked, at least to my laypersons eye, like the blood counts that my doctor kept taking would rule that out. Thank you so much for the prayers (and the concern!)!

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  6. Could it be infective endocarditis? Praying for you!
    Grace

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  7. I just commented about endocarditis but forgot to mention"subacute endocarditis" specifically!
    Grace

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