Wednesday, December 19, 2007
A departure from the norm......
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....but good info I pass on to you all. I've been asked to write about my personal health experience these past few months. And actually, it's been about 3 years, give or take. My spiritual mentor says it might help a few of you out there. And I've re-read this and it is written in my own inimitable hairy-carey chaotic style.....sorry. But first, LONG story short, BAD snowstorm (out of the northeast and my Daddy says "ain't NOTHIN' good comes out of the east" - related to weather), no DSL, no phone, completely disconnected with the world. Really strange. Got back early yesterday, but doc appt. with small son's thumb (completely healed, no tumor in site!!), no time, I'm back. Ok, now the medical revelation. And I will TRY to keep it short, but this is fairly involved and convoluted (like a Tom Clancy plot line), so bear with me. It just might save you untold misery and doc bills!!! About 3-4 years ago, I started experiencing swelling in my right ankle. Just the right one. Sigh. Weird stuff starts to happen to you when you're getting close to 50, so I just assumed that. Also, Daddy side of family has horrible vascular problems, just thought my 'inheritance' was kicking in. Now, the swelling was not constant, nor was there any rhythm to it. No cyclical "that time of the month" answer to it or anything that easy. Flash forward to this August. I started working. Standing on my feet sometimes 8 hours a day. NOT something I did in my 'retirement' years of being home. Well, at least not constant, I'm sure you all understand. HORRIBLE swelling started. The kind that doesn't go down just by sleeping it off all night. I finally got scared enough, actually thought it might be my heart. Went to doc. Then the 'testing' started. He told me some very educational things that helped me piece this puzzle together. Because, folks, what the docs said or did was NOT what "cured" me. It was my OWN investment in my health, my OWN research, some input from my spiritual mentor.....and alot of God. By now the swelling had gone over to the other side of my body. But I had other things going on also. My 'arthritis' that a doc found on films (also about 3-4 years ago) showed RA in my wrists and fingers.....and she was at a loss to explain it. In the past 3-4 years, I had experienced more depression than I ever thought possible for one person. Rightly so, we had alot of stuff going on in our lives, but honestly....... And then, there were the mood swings. Some related to "Aunt Maude" and some not. I remembered what my spiritual mentor (and spiritual and medical "guru") had told me about swelling. During PMS. That if your legs are swollen, and your eyes are puffy and you feel 'groggy', chances are your BRAIN is swelling also.....which causes mood swings.....DUHHHH. She learned this when her SON was suffering from non-cancerous brain tumors, not a 'cycle' time in sight for him. Hmmmmm. So, I layed off the salt. Yes, I have always been a 'saltaholic'. My mother used to tell me my 'blood was going to turn to brine'. Didn't help. Hmmmm. Swelling ALSO can cause joint problems. Did I REALLY have the dreaded RA???(Rhuematoid arthritis). Ok, during the initial visit to my doc, he took a blood test. We go back (I drag hubby to everything now so he 'believes' what is said), he nearly faints and has to really restrain himself (he's almost shouting), and tells me my hemoglobin is SO low he can't believe I'm upright. Checks my eyes. THEN explains how low iron/hemoglobin/anemia can cause swelling. Here's where it gets convoluted. Seems the iron in our blood acts as a sponge and absorbs fluid. If we don't have that protein, the excess fluid our body collects daily has to go somewhere.....and that somewhere is in our TISSUES. Explains the swollen ankles. Does NOT explain why it was happening. My doc was CONVINCED I was bleeding internally somewhere. Did I have heavy monthlies? Well, yes, but my gynie doc told me this was completely 'normal' for my body, since my mother had them also.....and most girls end up being like their mothers. PLUS, since I am 'that' age, I am not having NEARLY the 'monthlies' I was having say......5 years ago?? How could that possibly be a factor?? Did I have black, tarry stool? No. Did I have blood in my stool? No. Do I ever cough up blood? Good grief, NO. Was I sure?? SURE??? Yeah, I think I'd notice if I harked up a lung or something. Did I have stomach pain? Well, technically, no. He never asked about heartburn. For which, I began taking these little pink/store brand/generic 'acid reducer pills'. And I'll be honest with you. Over the past 3-4 years, I had to keep upping the dose. To where I was finally taking 2 of those 3 times a day. Sometimes more. Up to 'prescription strength' now, since I knew most OTC meds are about half the prescribed strength. My blood pressure was low, it always is, but it was NOT as low as 'normal' for me. Hmmmmm. Everything normal. Well, medically speaking. After my doc scheduled me with my first 'test', and I must say, he must have called in some favors and been REALLY worried, b/c I was in hospital in less than a week, I decided to take my medical concerns into my own hands and "google" low iron/hemoglobin. Good grief! What I learned. But one little paragraph from Mayo clinic changed my life. Here it is. ***An inability to absorb iron. Iron from food is absorbed into your bloodstream in your small intestine. An intestinal disorder, such as Crohn's disease or celiac disease, which affects your intestine's ability to absorb nutrients from digested food, can lead to iron deficiency anemia. If part of your small intestine has been bypassed or removed surgically, that may affect your ability to absorb iron and other nutrients. Some medications can interfere with iron absorption. For example, regular use of prescription-strength stomach acid blockers called proton pump inhibitors may lead to iron deficiency anemia, although this is unusual. Your body needs stomach acid, which these products suppress, to convert dietary iron into a form that can readily be absorbed by the small intestine.*** A few things jumped out at me. And btw, this paragraph was BURIED under all the cancer related anemia info. So ladies, READ EVERYTHING. First, small son was diagnosed with a FORM of 'celiac disease' when he was 5. They originally thought it was Crohn's, but blessedly, it was not. Did I have some kind of latent form of such?? THEN.....the last two sentences. "For example".......after that, it ALL started making sense. I had been not only over medicating MYSELF by taking those 'acid reducers'....I was causing ALL these problems I was having from depression to mood swings......to the swollen ankles. Here's what I KNOW. Swelling externally means something is swelling INTERNALLY as well. Your brain sits in a sort of water barrier/cradle.....and can be affected by SWELLING. Which, ladies, CAN cause serious personlity issues. Screaming, yelling, moodiness. Just lay off the salt for a while before each monthly and see. Swelling of the brain can cause major mood shifts and untreated swelling can, I believe, lead to DEPRESSION. I am not a doc, just putting 2 and 2 together , and since I'm not very good at math.....just read for yourself. Swelling ALSO puts undue pressure on JOINTS. Makes them ache and swell. Hurts to move. Just like arthritis. Just read all the recommendations for arthritis. They ALL tell you to lay off the sodium. And can we talk about TRYING to lose weight and not being successful?? Could water retention have anything to do with that???? I also believe most mainstream docs are NOT going to agree with you if you bring this up or tell you this might be part of the problem. WHY??? I have one of the greatest docs around. He will literally do anything I ask him to. Run any test. And he LISTENS when I tell him what's going on......HOWEVER......he did NOT believe me when I told him he would not find any internal bleeding. INSISTED it was 'chronic, slow bleeding' from SOMEWHERE internally. I believe this to be part of the medical professions 'covering their own behinds' philosophy of health 'care'....which is a misnomer in itself.....but don't get me started on that. Again, when they found NOTHING in the upper/gastro area (THERE were aghast, I was NOT) and after they scheduled the dreaded colonoscopy.....I kept saying "you are NOT going to find anything.....I told you what I thought it was and have taken steps to fix it".....meaning I went COLD TURKEY off all OTC meds I had been taking.....up to and including the nasty iron that made me sick that they said would change my iron count....which did NOT even after 3 weeks of quadruple doses. YUCK!!!!! It has been 2 months now since this fiasco began. I quit working, which I prefer. We brought small son home to home school.....which I prefer. But everything else is the same in my life. Same husband, same stress, same scenario at home, except a different home which IMPROVED the stress level, once we got moved. Yesterday, I stopped by the home of my spiritual mentor and medical guru and showed her my ankle. COMPLETELY down to normal. I even had a pair of shoes on that I thought I was going to have to get rid of because there was NO WAY I could even get them on a month ago. She told me I should share this medical journey with everyone I can. She is going to put it out as a devotion on her website. I am posting it on both my blogs. Think...... HOW many women (and men) might be out there unnecessarily taking anti-depressants or arthritis meds (which can cause even GREATER, WORSE and eternal problems, such as heart diesease, addiction, etc) , when it just MIGHT be the over the counter acid stoppers they're taking?? I mentioned my story to a lady who had just had a major hip replacement and she just sort of started looking at me funny. Seems HER hemoglobin was EXTREMELY low before surgery and her doc was just as baffled as mine.....but, she said, it must not be what I've discovered, b/c they GAVE HER "Priolesec" while in hospital......can you say DUHHHHH?????? Makes you wonder just which organization is in cahoots with who, hmmmm? Now, I'm aware that there are other causes and problems that can cause the problems I had. SERIOUS ONES that need checked out. And that there is a 50/50 chance it IS something else, so everything needs to be checked out. But before that.......if you ARE taking an OTC acid blocker/reducer......how easy would it be to STOP taking it for a month or so before seeing a doc?? Or even go in and have a blood test first, then stop the meds, THEN take another blood test?? And reassess how you feel?? You might be surprised. And your doc might be also. I have yet to have a follow up appt. and get my newest blood count, both docs 'out of town' until after the first of the year. However, after the last procedure, which was 3 weeks AFTER I stopped taking the otc meds.....my hemoglobin had gone from 7 to 8.9 (and I had QUIT taking the iron by then)......a rather significant jump. And THAT was a month ago. I'm wondering how high it will be next month?? Now, is it easy giving up that crutch of a drug that allowed me to eat anything I wanted??? NO, not on your life. BUT......my clothes fit better now. I'm a nicer person, mood swings not so 'swingy' and I no longer want to get rid of everyone and everything in my life. My JOINTS feel better. I can wear some rings I had pretty much written off, even the joints in my hands are 'down'.......AND...... I have no more headaches......which caused me to take almost lethal amounts of ibuprofen, that I talked myself into thinking it not only helped my head, but my joints also. Do I have to watch what I eat??? Uh, yeah. I think most of us should by this age anyway. I just wonder how easy it would be to help symptoms of depression, PMS or arthritis by examining your lifestyle and med routine FIRST before running to a doc for even MORE meds???? So, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. And please, if anyone has any questions or examples of this same type of experience in YOUR life, please feel free to email me. Or Google......whatever symptom you're having and read PAGES of info.....lots of good stuff out there is buried. Could be interesting to see how many others out there may have the same problem. Denise aka The Domestic Angel |
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - Untitled Comment
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Posted by Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - Untitled Comment
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Posted by Vicki Thursday, December 27, 2007 - Untitled Comment
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