#5208
Post
by Morhighan » Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:44 pm
Warning: ....uhhh medical stuff.
Hi there, this is Morgana/Mystery Corgi. I am doing a write up in this document so you know what’s going on with me as of late.
My first condition/set of conditions is/are kind of tricky, as none of the many doctors I've visited since 2013 can come to a conclusive diagnosis. The main symptom is that I have chronic pain that occurs all over my body, in my nerves, muscles, and joints. I am sometimes so exhausted that I sleep for 12-18 hours a day. I have all the symptoms of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus but my blood tests say I'm very healthy. Which I really don't feel or agree with. While my doctors agree that it seems to be autoimmune in nature, none of the tests are very conclusive, nor do they seem to stay consistent result-wise. So I've been told it could be Lupus, or Fibromyalgia, or Hypothyroidism, or Cushing's Syndrome, or that it is all "just in my head." Either way, it makes it incredibly hard for me to maintain employment. Miraculously, I've been working since May 22. I really enjoy my job, which I thought I could do, since it's in a call center. But no, my chronic pain and fatigue had to rear their ugly heads.
If that wasn't bad enough...I have some other issues. I do have a confirmed diagnosis for my second set of conditions. I have endometriosis and uterine fibroids. It's kind of a sensitive subject to talk about, but basically my uterus is acting like a "cancer" (but isn't actually cancer, don't freak out) in the rest of my body. The uterine cells spread all over the place, like my bladder (for example), where uterine cells are NOT supposed to be. And when I get my period, those cells decide "hey it's a great idea to do my natural thing and bleed" which gets blood in all these horrible places it's not supposed to be. When there is a lot of this blood, it tends to act as a "glue," called an adhesion. Which then sticks my organs together. It's very painful and I've had surgery for it. But it's come back just 3 years after my last surgery. So I went to the ER and had an ultrasound and pelvic exam, both of which were extremely painful, when honestly they aren't supposed to be. The ultrasound results revealed something else: I also have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. So my ovaries are covered in painful cysts, on top of my uterus causing me horrific pelvic pain. My doctor, an OBGYN and experienced surgeon, agrees with me that I need surgery. But there's a catch. My surgeon says he won't do surgery until I lose weight, due to the risks of doing surgery on a morbidly obese patient.
Since I got sick in 2013, I went from 150 pounds to 340 pounds in about a year and a half. My BMI is over 55. I am considered to be dangerously obese. I have worked since 2015 to try to lose this weight. Whenever I start exercising regularly, I experience stroke-like symptoms. But either way, until I lose weight, I can't get treatment.
This relapse into my illnesses started on August 29th. I've been to the ER and various clinics nine times since then. I have only worked 9 hours in the last two weeks despite being scheduled to work 64 hours during that time period. But every time I do go to work I end up at the ER.
Additionally, on September 9th I started to experience chest and back pain when I breathed, but it was more of an annoyance in comparison to the agony I was experiencing everywhere else. Finally it got bad enough for me to go the ER on the 16th, a week later. They did an X-Ray and found nothing, so I vowed to stop being a hypochondriac and go to work. My mistake, as that landed me right back in the ER the next day, sunday September 17th.
I work as a customer service representative for an inbound call center. Part of my job requires that I read a legal disclosure at the end of every sale, so that customers know their rights. The disclosures vary in length, but generally are broken up into about 5 or so small paragraphs, two or three sentences in length. I can normally get through one or two paragraphs, going at a slow pace, in one breath. On Sunday I started to have trouble. So I slowed down. I started doing one sentence per breath. Then I started having trouble doing even half that. I took several breaks, going way over my workplace’s paid break time limit. I did not improve. I started to have trouble getting words out, even to tell my supervisor that I had to go to the ER. At the ER they did a CT scan and found that I have a small tumor in my lung, about 3cm or 1.2in in length. They say that it does not appear to be cancerous as of yet, but due to my breathing difficulties they need to monitor it over the next 6-12 months. They also are going to be putting on a Holter monitor to observe my heart for 48 hours on this thursday, the 21st. They seem concerned with the palpitations I have been experiencing.
I swore to myself that I would go to work on Monday despite this, determined to drop off medical paperwork and perform my duties so I can hopefully avoid termination. My nighttime thrashings have been so violent that I kicked my fiance out of bed, so we are sleeping separately. The couch is a good option because by putting two pieces of it together, I can prevent myself from hurting myself or throwing myself onto the floor. So, after a fretful night on the couch, I awoke at 4AM. I decided to stay up, fearful of sleeping through my alarm again, which I had done the day prior. I took my medication. I browsed the internet. And when 6AM rolled around, I got up to go to work. I started to walk out of the room. And then I woke up several hours later, exhausted and disoriented, situated halfway on the couch. I had blacked out. And I was way too late to go to work on time. Additionally, my fatigue was so severe, I was pretty sure I couldn’t drive to the clinic. I got up, got a drink, and told my fiance I that I had passed out. Then, overcome with an exhaustion I can’t even describe, I lost consciousness again. This time I remember making it to the couch as my eyes started rapidly flicking back and forth as though I was entering REM.
Today, Tuesday the 19th, I am feeling a bit better. I haven’t blacked out. My pain is only about a 7 on the pain scale. (For those who don’t know, a 7 on the pain scale equates to: “I see Jesus coming for me and I'm scared.”) Today is the third day I have experienced evidence of internal bleeding, which does have me a bit concerned. Breathing still hurts, too. But I’ve got to make it to tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Wednesday September 20th, I am getting legally married to my fiance, who I have been with since 2012. This will allow me to get on insurance. I just hope it will be in time. I hope I get to keep my job. And I just...feel sick of being sick, and tired of being tired.
But I am seeking treatment. I am hoping to maintain employment. And I above all I want to finish AIdol.
Thank you for your patience with me in these trying times.