Week 19 Recap: The Road Ahead

The week started out with more trembling and fluttering than I care to deal with, particularly because it worsened at night and often lasted till morning. If you’ve been following this blog, then you know that I found a possible connection between these bizarre symptoms and PPI (Prilosec) withdrawal (or any drug withdrawal, for that matter). Once I figured this out, I knew it would pass and determined not to take any more drugs for anything, if it can be helped.

I saw a dermatologist during the week with regard to the rash on my right wrist/forearm which I have had for almost six years now (possible dermatitis herpetiformis), as well as the rash near my left elbow which showed up about a year ago. She did not say what she thought of either rash, other than the one on my right wrist is clearly quite aged. She proceeded to take a biopsy of each, and I left her office with an unexpected six stitches, three in each arm. It will be interesting to see what she finds, if anything.

Toward the end of the week the night-time trembles began to die down in intensity, and other than being extremely busy sewing costumes for an upcoming talent show in which my dancing girls were participating, there were no new symptoms or return of any old symptoms. In spite of the exhaustion that comes from very little sleep and too much to do, it was a good week.

I tried to maintain my “physical therapy” even during this very busy week because it is the one thing I am not yet willing to trade-off for more time. I have to take care of my body, and the physical exercise is probably the biggest and best thing I can do right now. All of my treadmill walks went very well (walking 18.8 miles), and I feel my heart has finally reached a significant point of healing. Though I still get a heart palpitation about once a week or so, I have had none during any treadmill walks, nor have I had any chest pain of any kind.

I was not as successful in maintaining Pilates during the week (only 30 minutes), probably because it is usually the form of exercise I do last (in the evening) and all my evenings were absorbed in sewing and fitting costumes. I did, however, keep up the weight-bearing exercises on the Pilates Reformer (110 minutes)—which I know will continue to benefit my bones.

ODD THINGS THIS WEEK:

• Stomach ache again followed by same symptoms as usual-- kind of like a huge caffeine buzz-- nervousness and inner trembling.
• Discovered vertical rows of tiny bumps on my fingernails, most noticeable on my ring fingers. They are not the vertical ridges (which I also have), but tiny oblong bumps. Since they run the entire length of the nail I am guessing they have been there for a while. The dermatologist did not seem to know what they were and was unsuccessful at getting a good photograph of them.
• During one night, I felt strong muscle tremors in neck-- so much so that it woke me up. I remember making a mental note of it.

From where I stand now, the road ahead appears to be a good one.  I am not even so sure I want to "test" myself with gluten because I am doing so much better now, even though it has been a long time coming.  Yet I know the dreaded "test" must probably be done at some point in the future so I have a certain answer, one way or the other, as to what was/is making me sick, and so I know how to react in the future should I be "contaminated" in any way.

I can only say that prior to last year, I had never been sensitive to any foods, nor any medications whether it be over-the-counter or prescription.  I do know that I suffered a traumatic event when my husband suffered a massive heart attack, and though it was the hardest thing I had ever had to deal with from all aspects of my life up until then, I felt it was behind us.  And then there was the added stress of the "heart attack fallout" -- no money, no way to pay the bills, and watching my credit that I had worked so hard to build take a nosedive.  As if that wasn't enough, dealing with my husband and his erratic mood swings was apparently more than my body could take.  I felt I was on the verge of a major breakdown almost every week... turns out, my body did breakdown-- it just wasn't mental, it was physical.

All these events may have very well served as the catalyst, the trigger that set off the illness that slammed me down late last fall.  Interestingly, celiac can be triggered by just such events.  Though some people will not believe I have celiac, and though I have tried to dismiss it myself, I can't -- no matter how badly I want to -- and so life moves on.