SUMMER updates

So, I haven't posted in a long time but I have quite a few updates!!!

About a month ago I underwent a full scale of autonomic testing at Stanford with Dr. Geradeh (forgive me if I spelled that wrong). This included a sweat test, tilt table, and several others. Basically they confirmed I have POTS/Dysautonomia (which we pretty much already knew). However, we also discovered something. When the tilt table went up I began to have extreme pain in my legs and feet. The doctor said that the more I felt the pain the lower my blood pressure dropped until I almost passed out. They had to stop the test prematurely for my safety... But this led to the diagnosis of neuropathy. Which SUCKS.

In other news, I recently saw my neurologist at UCSF. Dr. Strober is always hilarious honestly and he has great manners with being considerate of patient wishes and treatments. I was taking a medication called SPRIX (as needed) for my migraines. Basically it's a liquid torridol nasal spray. Loved it. It kept me from getting hip injections thank God. But unfortunately the makers of SPRIX have stopped producing it so I went in to see about other options. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory pain medication and told me that if the migraine doesn't subside that instead of hip injections (because I have confirmed POTS) I really should be doing an IV with a bag of fluids EVERY migraine. Now this worried us just because I already have quite a bit of vein scarring from IVs but hey, the docs orders will be followed.

I had a migraine (ironically) on the way back home. A whole 4 hour car ride. Perfect. So we went straight to the urgent care facility and I got hooked up to an IV. Honestly, the pain meds kicked in a lot faster with the IV vs the injections. And I didn't have to deal with the bruising or cramping sensations for days after. The fluids helped A LOT, I think. Usually I feel dazed the next day and have dry mouth and am extremely tired, but the next morning I was pleasantly OKAY. That's new. Me likey.

In other news: I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. Yes, I did it. Diploma and all. I got to walk at the ceremony even in the 100 degree heat and I had my wheelchair to sit in during the speeches so that my back wouldn't go out on me. I'm officially DONE. And it feels oh so good! I plan on taking a semester off next school year and instead volunteering my time at the local middle school helping with their musical. I really just need the semester to focus on healing and strengthening my body.

Speaking of strengthening, I have lately been attempting to go to the gym and actually eating right, gasp, I know, big shocker. But, I really do think it's time I took hold of my health and started working towards a stronger body. Maybe with more muscle tone I won't have to worry about dislocations as much. And hey, if I can fight through the pain to get in shape, I can do anything! So, here's to trying!

That's about all the updates my fingers can get typed out for now. I'll try to be more current with my updates! Thanks for reading!

Yours truly,
Broken but Beautiful