I was diagnosed with.....

Asthma. This past Tuesday I had my doctor's appointment. He referred me to the Lung Clinic to have a Pulmonary Lung Functioning test. Surprisingly I got a call the very next day from the Lung Clinic, they were able to get me in for six p.m. I arrived for 6 pm and was taken to a glass chamber. It was very creepy. The technician went over the equipment and the tests we would be doing. I had to do several different types of breathing tests. After the breathing tests, I felt dizzy and very tired. I went home and slept.

The next morning I received a call from the doctor at the Lung Clinic. He started off by saying "I don't normally call, but I was just reviewing your tests results before sending them to your family doctor and your tests results are extremely concerning. Your lung function is very poor, you have very severe Asthma. I want you to see your family doctor today, to get on a puffer. I will also call your doctor to make sure you get in today." I was surprised, and thanked him for calling me so promptly. I called my doctor's office when they opened. I said "hey it's Jared calling." She replied with "hey I was just about to call you." They got me in that day, they scheduled me for 5:15 pm, fifteen minutes after they close.

I arrived at my doctor's office, the ladies working the front were super friendly and welcoming as always. I was taken too a room and my doctor showed up a few minutes later. He started off by saying "good thing we kept doing all those tests." I said "yes it is, it makes sense why I was so tired all the time." He gave me a prescription for two inhalers and I went to the Medicine Shoppe next door. Before I went to the Pharmacy I asked him could the Asthma because the weird numbness in my face and the weakness in my left arm and leg. He gave me a weird look and said "who knows, we will have to wait and see." I am assuming that is a probably not.

I love my pharmacist, he is amazing. He knows my name, remembers a lot about me. He asked me how my Vitamin D was doing, I told him after a year it is finally up to normal. He asked me why I was all of a sudden being prescribed inhalers. I told him about the fatigue and shortness of breath that I have been having since September. I told him about the breathing test and that it came back I have severe Asthma. He got the inhalers and showed me how to use them. He said you see the directions on them, I said yes, he said your not going to follow what the doctor told you. The doctor told you to take one to two puffs twice daily. I want you to take two puffs, four times daily for two weeks and then the one to two puffs twice daily. That way we can get the Asthma under control. He then wanted to update my file, to make sure everything was up to date and accurate. He printed off all the test results I've had done since August and went through them. He noticed my magnesium as on the lower side of normal, so he recommend I take a magnesium supplement. He's a great pharmacist.

I started taking the inhaler last night. I really hope it helps with the fatigue. I want my life back, I want to be able to hang out with my friends on a regular basis. I want to be able to work full time.

Doctor's Appointment Today

I had my Doctor's appointment today. Tests results for the Exercise Stress Test and Sleep Apnea Test Came back. Exercise Stress Test: negative. Sleep Apnea Test: negative. The Sleep Apnea Test Results said I had mild difficulty breathing while sleeping but not enough to have obstructive sleep apnea. I told my doctor that's probably because I sleep on my stomach with my face jammed in the pillow haha. He just gave me a side eye look. One day I will make him laugh, one day. So I still don't know what is causing my extreme exhaustion and shortness of breath. He is going to send me for a Pulmonary test and a CT Angiogram.

It's really frustrating because I finished my group therapy program in September and was ready to move on with my life. I have been taking Celexa for depression; between the group therapy and the Celexa my mood has been great. I want to feel healthy and be functional. Just have to keep trucking along. If it wasn't for the group therapy, I probably wouldn't be advocating for my health like I have been. I have been going to the doctor regularly for the past three months, trying to figure this out. Hopefully we will figure this out soon,I really don't like sleeping my life away.

Tired....

Tired of being tired. Tired of being short of breath. Tired of sleeping all the time. Tired of the weird numbness and weakness. Just tired of feeling broken. Tired. That is all.

Maybe it's MS... I don't know

I have been feeling extremely frustrated lately. I know I previously wrote about the weird symptoms I have been having, but I feel like I need to write about it again because I am feeling angry and frustrated. Starting in September I started having issues with fatigue. It is so bad now, I feel like I am sleeping my life away. I sleep 4-6 hours in the afternoon and then I have no problem sleeping my normal 7-8 hours a night. I become short of breath easily and feel exhausted doing something as simple as laundry.

In October, I woke up one morning and had numbness on the left side of my face and my left arm felt slightly weak. I went to work and got off at noon. I went to Arby's and I was sitting in a booth eating my food. All of a sudden my hands wouldn't do what I wanted them to do. I was trying so hard to pick up the sandwich. I couldn't pick up the sandwich. I was trying not to cry, I didn't understand what was happening. I finally sort of picked up the sandwich, I tried to bite it but my mouth wouldn't work, I could barely bite and chew. All of a sudden my hands and mouth were working but then I felt really dizzy, nauseated and out of it. I drove home and walked in the door. My roommate looked at me and asked what was wrong. I knew what I wanted to say but the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. I finally spit out my brain isn't working. My roommate looks at me concerned and says what happened. I try to tell her about the Arby's incident and my hands not working. My speech is slurred and I am struggling to find words and talking slow. My roommate says I think your having a stroke, I'm taking you to the hospital. They kept me in the hospital overnight for observation. They did an MRI and CT scan and I didn't have a stroke. They did a whole bunch of blood tests - everything is normal. The Senior Neurologist says your probably having a Migraine with Aura. I say but I am not having headaches. She tells me that can happen. She tells me to go back if the symptoms don't go away or if they get worse. Two days later I go back because the numbness has spread into my ears, scalp and left side of my neck and the nausea is really bad. The doctor gives me an anti-nauseant and migraine medications through an IV. The symptoms get better, I just have a little numbness in the left side of my face. He gives me a prescription and sends me on my way. I'm driving home and the numbness comes back with a vengeance. It's in my jaw, I can barely move my mouth. Fuck the medications made it worse. I am angry and go home to bed. The next day I get up and I decide to fill the prescription, hoping it will help. I take the medications for a few days and it just makes things worse. I stop taking them. I meet with my family doctor, tell him what happened and he prescribes me Flunarizine a migraine medication they use when other medications don't work. I take it for two weeks - it doesn't help at all. He tells me to stop taking the medication. At my last appointment, this past Tuesday I tell him I really don't think this is a Migraine with Aura - I am not having headaches and this is going on almost 2 months now. I tell him my hands keep tensing/seizing up, I am finding it really difficult to do simple tasks like remove a paperclip or button up a shirt. I tell him my left leg keeps tightening up / moving.  He looks at me and says I'm sorry I don't know what this is. I ask him should you refer me to a neurologist? He says honestly, not right now, you just had an MRI and CT scan they won't do another one until it's been at least three months since the last one. He tells me to rest. That's all I do is rest!! All I do is sleep! I am so angry!

I ask him about the tests we did to figure out why I am so fatigued and short of breath. He checks my results for the Exercise Stress Test and Sleep Apnea test aren't in. I have an appointment next Tuesday to follow up for that. He told me if the Exercise Stress Test comes back normal, he will send me for a breathing test to see if I have asthma.

The reason I am angry is it feels like he is just giving up. I realize there is only so much he can do, and he is trying his best. But at the same time, it does not feel reasonable to say to me "just rest". The symptoms are affecting my quality of life. I keep freaking out that I have MS. Whenever I research my symptoms MS comes up. My hand's keep seizing/tightening up, same with my left leg. I have dizzy spells, heat makes my symptoms worse. I was in a hot tub with my friend and the numbness started spreading and my entire body went extremely weak. I have never had an issue with hot tubs before. Same thing happens if I have a bath. I find it difficult to concentrate and my memory has been crappy. Quite a few times when I go to speak I have difficult saying my words - comes out all garbled. I know symptoms can be similar for several diseases. I am just so desperate to figure out what this is. Not knowing has been worse than dealing with having hiv. Hopefully I will figure this out soon. Thanks for listening to me rant.

Health Update - Fake stroke and falling asleep while pooping

I had my latest appointment with my HIV specialist a couple of weeks ago. CD4 cells were 640 and my viral load is still undetectable. YAY! I was on Atripla for over a year, but I couldn't handle the side effects anymore. I kept having such vivid, intense dreams every night it felt like I wasn't sleeping at all. In August I told my doctor and we switched my meds to Truvada, Reyataz and Norvir. I haven't been having crazy dreams and my sleeping has been much much better. Going through group therapy made me realize, I need to learn to speak up. Just because I have HIV doesn't mean I don't deserve to have a good quality of life. I've spent a lot of time feeling guilty for contracting HIV and group therapy has helped me learn how to forgive myself.

In other health matters, things have not been going so well. Starting in September I started having fatigue. I assumed that it was from being in group therapy four hours a day and once I was done I would start feeling better. I finished group therapy at the end of September and the fatigue has been getting worse and worse. I am extremely exhausted every single day. Thankfully I am still on medical leave from being in the group therapy, so I am only working 4 hours a day. I work from 8 am to 12 pm and it feels like I worked a sixteen hour shift. I go home and nap for 4-5 hours and then I have no problem sleeping my regular 7-8 hours a night.

Everything I do makes me tired and short of breath. Walking to the basement to do laundry, makes me tired and short of breath. It's ridiculous. A couple of weeks ago I shovelled the side walks and thought I was going to die I was so tired and out of breath. I went in the house (I can't believe I am going to share this) and had to go to the washroom. I was sitting on the toilet and...... I fell asleep! Yup that is correct, I fell asleep while pooping. WTF?! Who falls asleep while pooping? Not normal. I told my doctor about all this and his response was that it was probably my depression that was making me so tired. He suggested I go back on an anti-depressant. I told him I wasn't feeling depressed, I told him that I don't feel sad and I'm not withdrawing from friends and family. He said to just give the anti-depressant a try. I filled the prescription for the Celexa and after a few weeks, I let him know my mood was really great on the Celexa but I was still feeling exhausted and sleeping a lot. (My friends said I seemed so cute, happy and jolly - tee hee) I had also been to the hospital in that time because I was having troubles breathing and having chest pains.

The hospital ran a lot of blood tests, checked my thyroid, checked for infections, all came back normal. They took a stool sample (the highlight of that was when the nurse yelled down the hall to me - while I was waiting to get my chest x-ray) - she yelled "Jared is this your stool sample in here?" Yup, thanks for letting everyone know, I crapped into a container. All the tests and chest x-ray came back normal, they sent me home. Most recently my doctor sent me for a sleep apnea test and stress test. I have an appointment with him on Tuesday to review the results.

Then I have been having weird, creepy stroke symptoms. A few weeks ago I woke up and I had this weird numbness on the left side of my face and my left arm felt a little weak. I went to work and joked with my co-worker that I was probably having a stroke. After work I went to Arby's, I'm sitting there eating my sandwich and my hands won't work. I am trying to pick up the sandwich, I know how to pick up a sandwich, but my hands just won't do what I want them to do. I am freaking out, trying not to cry. After a couple of minutes I finally manage to get the sandwich into my hands,  but my mouth won't work. I am trying to bite and chew but my brain says nope, not today! The food just falls out of my mouth. After a couple of minutes my hands and mouth start working again but now I feel dizzy and really out of it. I keep thinking to myself, I need to get home, need to get home. I get up and drive home. Thankfully I made it home safely. I walk in the door and my roommate (my friend of eleven years), can instantly tell somethings wrong. She looks at me and says "what's wrong." I'm trying to respond but I can't find the words, all I can get out is "my brain won't work." "Umm what happened" she responds. I try to tell her about the Arby's incident, later she tells me I was talking really slow and slurring some of my words. I tell her about my hand's and mouth not working, she says "umm I think your having a stroke, I am taking you to the hospital."

Off to the hospital we go. I had to wait an hour to get in, which is extremely fast compared to the time I had appendicitis and had to wait seven hours to be seen. The triage nurse is asking me questions, it's taking me forever to respond. She asks me to spell my name and I just stare at her blankly. I get brought in and they do some neurological tests. My left arm, hand and left leg are considerably weaker than my right side, which worries them. They shine light in my eyes and I want to punch them in the face it hurts so much. The week before when I was in the hospital, they put the light in my eyes and I didn't even flinch. They give me two chewable advils and tell me they are going to send me for a CT scan. I see the head doctor in the distance, my he is good looking. I am wheeled to the CT scan and the CT technologist is also quite good looking. I think to myself, is this Grey's Anatomy? They complete the CT scan of my head and send me back. The guy taking me back is very cute. Do they schedule all the good looking people to work at the same time? Or is my stroke making everyone seem good looking? Who knows. My friend and I wait and wait and finally the neurologist comes.

CT scan came back normal, which is good but a CT scan won't always show if there is a stroke. They want to do an MRI but can't do one till morning, so I was admitted and had to stay overnight for observation. The next morning I have my MRI. Oh my lord, the MRI machine is loud. It sounds like someone is doing construction right next to your head. Is this machine from 1935? After thirty minutes the MRI is finally down. Back up to my room I go. The head neurologist comes up and says my MRI has come back normal. Definitely not a stroke. She says they think my symptoms are being caused by a migraine with aura. I respond with "but I don't have a headache." She tells me that can happen sometimes. I look at her skeptically. She asks me how the numbness is and I tell her it's still there but not as bad as the day before. She said that's good, that they are going to send me home. She tells me if it doesn't go away in a couple of days or get's worse to come back to the ER.

Well two days later it's worse. My hand keeps seizing/locking up, the numbess is in the left side of my neck, my ears, and the back of my head. I am nauseated off an on. I go back to the ER, wait three hours to be seen. The doctor says they are going to give me some migraine medications via IV and an anti-nauseant via the IV. I get my IV, I get my meds and the numbess starts going away. Yay, maybe it is just a creepy migraine with aura with no headache I am having. The doctor writes me a prescription and I leave. WELL! I am driving home and the numbess comes back with a vengance. It goes from my left temple, my left ear and to the bottom of my jaw. I am angry and refuse to go back to the hospital. I go home and go to bed. The next day, I decide to fill the prescription, maybe it just needs a few days to work. NOPE! Medication was definitely making it worse. I stopped the medication and went to my family doctor. I told him what happened and he looked at me with a WTF look. He prescribes me a different migraine medication - Flunarizine. I fill that medication and start taking it. I have been on it for two weeks now and no improvement. On the plus side it hasn't made things worse. If this truly is a migraine with aura with no headache, is it then the longest migraine ever? This past Friday my symptoms were really bad. Numbness on the side of my face, my left hand kept seizing/locking up, especially when I had to do things at work like remove a paper clip. It's been extremely frustrating and scary. Whenever I google/research my symptoms, MS always comes up. Whatever it is, I hope we figure it out soon and hope it's treatable.