Some history to this story.
This past year I was treating some low back and hip pain that was giving me grief again through Chiropractic and Physical Therapy when I was asked to see a doctor to get some imaging ordered. The middle of September I met with my orthopedic doctor who after reviewing the X-rays, ordered an MRI and a blood test for some auto immune disorders. I left feeling relieved but unsure what we would find. At this point my lower back had calmed down but I was dealing with neck pain from painting our house the previous week. I had been dealing with headaches in the evening but they got worse as the week went on. I had been treating it with chiropractic and ibuprofen. The following Saturday my eye started acting like I was getting pink eye but didn’t have the typical symptoms.
Monday Sept 30. Tired of the headache and eye pain, I made appointments with my chiropractor and eye doctor. The visit to the chiropractor did not help relieve the pain in my neck and in fact I got worse as the day went on. An hour later at the eye doctor I noticed that I was having a hard time reading my phone. I discussed the symptoms I was having and he concluded it was a migraine but that I also had inflammation on my iris. He wrote down the diagnosis and a treatment at my request. I looked at the paper and couldn’t get my brain to even comprehend what I was trying to read. He said he would have someone call me tomorrow to see how the treatment was working. I was barely able to check out with making the appointment to return in a week. I called Keith and told him how I was feeing and what was happening with my eyes. I cautiously drove to Walgreens with my horrible brain fog and eyesight and then feared how long I would have to wait for my Rx to be filled. I walked in and asked how long it would be. I have a feeling they could tell I was miserable and said it would just be a few minutes. I sat and closed my eyes and within 2 minutes I had my medication and was calling Keith to tell him I was headed home. He was concerned and wanted to come get me but thought I could make it home. So off I drove whimpering and crying the whole way home. When I got home Keith met me at the door and we immediately started with ice and heat to try to calm my headache down. I was getting desperate and knew that I had received an anti-inflammatory drug from the orthopedic Dr. So I asked Keith to get that so I could see if it worked. I had not had ibuprofen so I knew I could take the new meds. After about 2 hrs the headache was not getting better but worse and I no longer was able to see anything or really answer much for questions other then I don’t know.
By 2pm Keith decided we needed to get to the Dr. I don’t remember much after this but I remember him putting my shoes on and leading me out to the car. We ended up at urgent care where I was led in and remember 2 bodies coming out to ask me something and I couldn’t understand what they were saying. Then we were headed out to the car again. I don’t remember what happened after that but I was brought to the ER. I vaguely remember my clothes being removed and questions being asked that I didn’t understand. Suddenly I was hearing an awful loud noise and felt like I was having a nightmare. I knew I was in an MRI machine then and remember thinking they weren’t kidding it was noisy. My head hurt and I tried to push myself out of the tight tube I was in. I later learned that it was quite a funny situation when I returned to the ER room early. When questioned by Keith, the tech said “Yeah she crawled out of the machine?†There were lots of tests done in a short amount of time. I don’t remember any of them or the many visits to the restroom. I remember being very cold and unable to think clearly.
By 4pm Keith said I started to come around being able to answer questions and I could see some images on the TV and remember seeing Keith texting on the phones. I ended up with another MRI before I went up to my hospital room where I remember them stuffing earplugs in my ears and earmuffs on top. Keith said when I got up to my room I told him I had fallen asleep during the scan.
By about 8:30 I was getting settled in my hospital room and I was still cold. Keith left late that evening to go with the kids and he told me so even though I was not awake, I understood where I was and that the kids were safe and that he was going home and would be back in the morning.
I woke up about 3 am the next morning with a clear head and feeling much better. They told me my tests all came back clear. I slept a little longer and mid morning after Keith came back, they did and EEG which also came back clear. After the test we were visited by our pastor and another friend. It was such a blessing to have them visit. The doctor came in and pretty much said all looked ok and that I had a complex migraine. I could go home and resume life as normal but to be safe not to take the new medicine till I was healed up. We really didn’t have much for answers.
The next morning I hurt all over mostly my neck and my face. I slept most of the day till my Dr appointment with my General Practitioner. He basically showed us that the tests all came back clear and said yes its a complex migraine.
When we arrived at home we got a phone call from the orthopedic Dr from my appointment the week before. She was calling to tell us that my blood test results came back with indicators for Rheumatoid Arthritis and HLA-B27. This was such a shock. I wasn’t ready to hear this but yet we were almost relieved to finally have a reason for all the pain through the years and this past week. We didn’t have answers yet and we were still in shock. We cried, we prayed, and picked ourselves up to go get our kids from church. We were able to share with a few close friends what we were facing. That night was another hard night of fears, anxiety and a slight headache. My mom had drove up and got to our place about them time we got back home. We tucked the kids into bed and I told my mom what we learned.
Thursday was spent trying to pick up where life and left us, trying to pick up the house. Actually my mom did most of this. Accepting what we had just heard the night before and then realizing my eye was not getting better and was getting foggy. We contacted the eye doctor but didn’t get a reply till the next morning. We were able to get in to have my actually eye doctor look at it. At the clinic she confirmed with the knowledge of the RA that this eye stuff was related to it. She explained for a long time the relationship with inflammation and health. She explained ways to treat inflammation with diet and different types of drs. It was a lot of info but so much that we needed to hear. She has been such a wonderful resource and guide to us the past two weeks.
We are still treating the eye for inflammation and I have had headaches up until this past Friday. Thankfully the headaches are not very bad and i have not been in pain. There have been a few aches and pains that creep up but as of this week they have been very minimal.
We give God credit for this but also because he has put my eye doctor and chiropractor in our lives to guide us into treating this with diet and rest. We have learned a lot about how food and rest and limiting stressors help reduce inflammation. Because of this we have had to totally change my diet and we feel that is helping a lot. We are still waiting for the rheumatologist to schedule me but a at least now we have somewhat of a game plan rather than just waiting.
I am so grateful for the people God has put in my life during this time. Many doctors visits who take the time to listen and let me cry and ask silly questions over and over. I am so grateful for our church family and friends who are praying so much for me. I have never felt more loved and cared for. I am grateful for the thoughtful gifts to comfort, help me and feed my family. I am grateful for my mom coming to help pick up my messy house and to help me get through those first few nights. I am grateful for all the phone calls from family who care so much to tell me about the things i should be considering or looking into.
But most of all God has blessed me so much with my husband who has been there for me for so many years but mostly the last two weeks. He has taken this medical situation and done research for me to know what we are facing. He has become my personal chef and accountability person for the diet we are doing, he is doing it along with me. He is always there to comfort me in the middle of the night when the anxiety is so great that I can’t sleep. He is the hand I can hold wherever we go out of the house and I get nervous, scare, or just need to know he is there. He is the father to my children when I don’t have the energy to be mom. He is not only my caretaker when I’m ill but my best friend. I love him so much and couldn’t do this without his help.
I thank God for all the blessings he has given us in this crazy two weeks.