Those who have been following my most recent health saga on Facebook know I\u2019ve been having horrible itching for weeks now. We\u2019re in the second week, going on the third, and though it\u2019s a little bit better than the first week, it\u2019s NOT getting better. I stopped a medication we think might be causing the problem, but still no improvement. I find I want to just dope myself up and go to sleep and sleep through it\u2013wake up and hope it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n
We might have figured out the problem, which has something to do with mast cell activation\u2013we\u2019ll be doing some testing for that. But I have to say, itching is the absolute worst torture you can go through. I\u2019d rather have pain than to itch like this. Three nights this week, I\u2019ve been in tears, begging for the itching to stop, wishing to be put out of my misery. This is absolutely horrible torture.<\/p>\n
My legs are super swollen, my hands are puffy and tender, red and feel awful. I feel awful. Add to that that I currently have this double chin\/swelling going on with my face, having trouble breathing (wheezing and low sats) and trouble swallowing\u2013it\u2019s like a full-blown\u00a0anaphylactic shock type of reaction, but a slow one instead of an immediate one. This all really does indicate mast cell activation too.<\/p>\n
Sigh.<\/span><\/p>\n Then to make matters worse, Thanksgiving had me up in the kitchen and working at the table all day, and that caused my feet to swell up badly. I originally wasn\u2019t going to put this image up, because I didn\u2019t want people to misunderstand what I usually look like, but at the same time, I\u2019ve sort of promised my readers here and myself full disclosure and truth\u2013and the truth is, sometimes being sick isn\u2019t pretty.<\/p>\n And so, here are my legs. These are about three times the normal size of my legs when I\u201dm not swollen with fluid. As you can see, there are lumpiness and swelling at the ankles and the feet and the shins\u2026 well, that swelling goes all the way up the leg. It\u2019s in my face too. I was considering going to the ER, but I was going to tell them, \u201cYou know, I\u2019m a big girl, but usually, I have a neck\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, for the past few days, I haven\u2019t had a neck. And my cheekbones, high as they usually are (thanks for the good genes, papa!) are now nearly swollen up into my eyes, making it hard to see. My eyes are leaking fluid. My legs are leaking fluid. My belly and chest is full of fluid.<\/p>\n It sucks.<\/p>\n But here we are, Sunday after Thanksgiving, and FINALLY, the fluid is starting to release. I take Bumex, a very potent diuretic, to keep the fluid down, but it dehydrates me big time. I end up losing potassium and have a hard time keeping it up. I deplete magnesium too. Both of these things make it hard on my heart and make it hard to function without feeling really, really tired and worn out. Like bone-weary, fuzzy-headed, can\u2019t think, can\u2019t breathe tire.<\/p>\n To make matters worse, with the allergic-type reaction, and then all the extra fluid, my throat swells up, my chest seizes up, breathing is hard, sleeping is hard, then I don\u2019t get enough rest, which makes it all worse than it has to be\u2026 and the vicious cycle begins all over again.<\/p>\n A HOLIDAY TIP!<\/strong><\/p>\n So I have to say something to you all. It\u2019s a known fact in the medical field that those with health conditions\u2013particularly those with breathing and heart conditions\u2013that the holidays are really hard on their health. There are multiple reasons for this, and I\u2019m going to address them in my next blog.<\/p>\n In the meantime, I hope you\u2019ll all realize that as bad as holidays can be, they are tough on those of us who are suffering with health issues, and maybe we can all agree that just being with each other is more important than fancy meals or presents or \u2018traditions\u2019 and maybe we can all just relax and enjoy ourselves more.<\/p>\n I\u2019m still not fully recovered from the holiday.. it\u2019ll be a couple of more days still. And then we\u2019ll turn around and do it all over again for Christmas. Ah, well!<\/p>\n But man, was the food ever so good!<\/p>\n So yeah, for those wondering, I\u2019m still alive and kicking, just kicking with swollen legs and itchy hands. But it will take more than that to keep me down for too long!<\/p>\n I love ya all!<\/p>\n Love and stuff,<\/p>\n Michy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Those who have been following my most recent health saga on Facebook know I\u2019ve been having horrible itching for weeks now. We\u2019re in the second week, going on the third, and though it\u2019s a little bit better than the first week, it\u2019s NOT getting better. I stopped a medication we think might be causing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\n