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Co-morbidities?
Colleen’s question about my speech (not yet given) has nudged me to post a short update here. Let me see if I can do this succinctly instead of giving everyone a blow-by-blow account of how it all went down.
I have begun having brief bouts of muscle tremors. The first one was in my right calf back in late November. It was as if I was trying to use the calf muscle and it was so weak it could barely function, and it was mildly trembling with the effort. The second time it happened was with my right forearm a couple of months ago. Imagine doing 50 push-ups and then jumping up to grab a glass of water and hold it out at arm’s length. Imagine how your arm might tremble with the exertion of trying to hold the glass? That’s what it was like. The third time was a couple of weeks ago in my left forearm when I was doing nothing more taxing than sitting in my rocker and holding my iPad.
So I went to the doctor. This is a new symptom, and I wanted to see if it was just normal aging or indicative of something. I’m also having a lot of trouble with intermittent but frequent vertigo nowadays. And intermittent nausea. And an awful lot of headaches. I’m retaining fluid constantly so I now use diuretics very frequently. And my skin is itching ALL over, but I can’t trace it to anything.
Doctor did some bloodwork. Results say I have MGUS: monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. A pre-cancer that in most cases does not progress to cancer. If it does, it could be multiple myeloma or lymphoma or any one of several other non-cancerous but gnarly conditions. Doc says not to worry; just watch it with repeated tests every 6 months because I have no symptoms. Says I: “WWHHhhaaaaattttt??????” Not only do I have the symptoms I mentioned to him, but I have others that I did not mention because I had no idea they might be related to anything. Reading up on MM and lymphoma, I can see that maybe they are relevant after all. No response from doc.
My d-dimer is 1077; top of normal is 500. Doctor not too alarmed about it. Hematologist also appears not to be concerned, even though I EPIC’d him to say that it appears Eliquis is not working for me and I think we need to switch me to something else. My right calf (historic site of my DVTs) used to be about 1/2″ or 3/4″ larger around than my left calf. Today it’s about 1.25″ larger around. Some pain there, but not much. Could the size reflect my heart failure (with preserved ejection fraction) and the poor return of fluid that settled in my legs and feet? Or is it a “quiet” DVT? Enquiring minds want to know.
I have concluded that modern Western medicine is an idiot-savant. It has islands of extreme giftedness, accompanied by vast stretches wherein it operates like an idiot and shows little sign of realizing this or wanting/trying to change it.
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5 Replies
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Hi @brenda-denzler, I’m sorry you are having such a difficult time. These symptoms you experience are not there for no reason; there has to be a cause. How frustrating this must be …once again. I don’t know how you get through the days after being dismissed by these doctors.
I mean, your experience with multiple different doctors could easily cause anyone else to lose it. I certainly can understand your distrust of Western medicine. These are scary symptoms that many would show up at the ER with, and you were just dismissed again. I’m so sorry, my PHriend. I worry about the quiet DVT and also multiple myeloma and lymphoma.
Big hugs and extra love coming your way; add a few quarts of ice cream. 🤗
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Jen, thanks for the ice cream. I’m trying hard not to become a grouchy, surly old lady, but it’s hard. I think ice cream will help. 🙂
Hey, and I’ve found something to eat that you can feel semi-virtuous about. It’s a type of Greek yogurt. So it’s healthy…..right? Well, this is made by Cabot, and it’s their three cream vanilla Greek yogurt. OMG! OMG! OMG! 10% milk fat, and I don’t care!
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@brenda-denzler you’re entitled to feel grouchy, not just because your body is turning against you, but because you seem to have found all the ijit savants in the medical field.
You deserve ice cream.
That Greek yogurt sounds divine. I would think the 4 different types of probiotics (all of which have live cultures that have incredible health benefits) — plus the 11 g protein — don’t even need to cancel out the fat content (all of which comes from healthy ingredients). I just wish it were available where I am.
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Darn! Do I need to buy a bunch of dry ice and a styrofoam cooler and check on shipping rates?!! LOL!
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That’s sweet of you, @brenda-denzler . My craving isn’t bad enough yet. If it ever gets to that point, I’ll BillPay you enough for several tubs, dry ice, cooler and postage.
They’ve got the unflavored Cabot that’s full fat. If I get desperate, I’ll try adding vanilla to see if it satisfies the craving. 😃
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