There Went My Last Wit.
Yes, it’s true: I’m at my wits’ end. For 18 days — count ‘em, 18! — I’ve dealt with little red dots randomly appearing on my chest, back, stomach, upper arms and upper thighs. I’ve itched. I’ve scratched. I’ve whined. I’ve prayed. I’ve bathed in baking soda, oatmeal, cornstarch and so many other ingredients that, frankly, Emeril could only dream about finding a piece of meat as tender and savory as I am right now.
I’ve had a temperature of 103. I’ve had a temperature of 96.6. (I didn’t know one could live with a body temperature that low!) I’ve gone from having a runny nose to one that’s so stuffed, so clogged that I don’t even make the slightest noise when trying to inhale through either nostril, then back to the runny nose again. I’ve dealt with a sore throat, a scratchy throat, a hoarse throat and now one that feels like it’s surrounded by stuffing. I know no better way to describe it: my throat feels thick.
I’ve had weird twinges in my lower abdominal quadrants — both right and left — followed by constipation. Then its exact opposite and back to constipation again. I’ve had two days of puking followed by a week of being ravenous, then back to puking no matter how bland, how light or even how liquid my diet has been. Mostly, though, food hurts — because it takes so much effort to swallow with my throat feeling thick as it does.
My breathing has gone from fine to shallow. If I breathe deeply I cough. At first it was a dry cough, but lately it’s been productive — icky brown stuff you don’t want to know about. My mouth’s constantly dry, probably because I can’t breathe through my nose, and my lips are chapped and cracked, no doubt for the same reason.
I get tired walking up or down a mere flight of stairs. I’m exhausted by the short walk from my bed to the bathroom, and the walk to the kitchen actually requires a rest in advance. I’ve been in bed most nights by 9:00, although most nights I wake up by VH’s bedtime thanks to all that itching. When that happens, I have a hard time getting back to sleep. I itch everywhere. Scratching makes it worse. My legs get restless and I start tossing and turning until I realize falling asleep is much like having thin thighs: something that once came easily, but which I can only wish for these days.
And, meanwhile, I can’t figure out why.
My doctor (well, actually, my former doctor) initially said “Oh, it’s chicken pox!” But my “pox” haven’t had pus in them. They haven’t scabbed over. Instead, I get these little red dots that appear, itch like crazy, then fade into dark red and purple spots that look like they’re deep down in my skin. Only they’re not. And, once they start fading, they don’t hurt. Unlike chicken pox, my spots haven’t crusted over, haven’t burst, and they haven’t grown scabs. But, hey, adult chicken pox is often different than what kids suffer, or so I was willing to believe.
Until I hit day 16 and still had a brand-new, fresh round of spots appear on my chest and back. That’s when my left ear started bleeding (thanks to one of these spots being in there, it turns out) and my cough turned from dry to pretty damn phlegmy. Went back to the doctor and he diagnosed pneumonia as a complication of chicken pox. Well, that, too, happens with adult chicken pox… only by the end of my appointment he wasn’t so sure it was chicken pox after all.
Huh?!? You mean during these past, oh, nearly 3 weeks I could’ve been treated for whatever the hell it is?
So. I have a new doctor now. As of this afternoon, he doesn’t believe I have pneumonia. He’s not even convinced that I have chicken pox, since there’s no pus and no scabbing, and since each spot that appears is gone within three or four days, turned into a dark red or purple dot that eventually fades and disappears. Unfortunately, he has no idea what the hell it is that I do have.
In fact, nobody does. Least of all me.
At least I’m pretty sure it’s not dengue fever. (A fact which probably only Beth can appreciate.) But for now, feeling as truly awful as I do, I have to confess that blogging is very, very low on my list of priorities.
I just want to feel better.
Good God. Cold comfort: unknown though it may be, apparently it’s not *dire* unknown, no matter how dire it feels. “Dire” would’ve killed you off by now. Get some more doctors.
Honestly I don’t think anybody feels like blogging. Much. January is just a slow, crap month, I think. Except for wits like Goldstein who decide to come *back* to full-time blogging in the slowest month of the year.
Yes, indeed. That’s cold comfort.
The only up side to this — if there is one — is that I can now finally point to something physical and say “I’ve SAID it wasn’t a mental thing. I’m sick! I’ve been sick! There’s something WRONG!!!!” And that’s what it feels like — like all these different problems I’ve had for the past 2 years might all be tied together, with these itchy bump things as the most recent manifestation.
Then again, here’s some even more cold comfort: end state liver or kidney failure, as well as Stage IV Lymphoma, all produce these kind of bumps, too.
If I confessed how down in the dumps I am right now, and how hopeless it feels trying to figure out what’s wrong, y’all would be sending those little guys in the funny white suits.
Babe, you need a couple of specialists, as soon as possible. I don’t know what the medical state is like out there, but somebody’s got to be able to pull a House on this garbage. Slightly warmer comfort: you do not have either end-state liver or kidney failure. In my thoroughly non-medical opinion and wild speculation based on half-remembered anatomy information, liver failure would turn you yellower than a sodium-arc light, and kidney failure … well, you’d know about that earlier than the liver, no?
What are the next steps your new doctor plans to take?
*hugs*
Right now it’s “watchful waiting.” He prescribed an excellent antihistamine — I haven’t itched once since taking it! — and I’ve got a follow-up appointment on Wednesday. If it’s chickenpox, it should certainly be gone by then.
There *is* a blood test we could take to find out for sure, by my insurance only covers 25% of it. I just had to write a check to the old doctor today for the various blood tests from last month which insurance didn’t cover, so that wiped us out. Ergo, I agreed with him on waiting until next week to see if it goes away.
If it doesn’t, well, blood tests, skin scrape tests and a biopsy are in my future. And — even though it goes against my desire to lose weight — if eating isn’t less painful for me by then, they may very well hospitalize me since I haven’t been doing too good a job of getting the right nutrients. (But, hey, I lost 9 pounds this week!)
So, in addition to the antihistamines, I continue to take the Cymbalta the previous doctor prescribed. I’m also using a hydrocortisone 1% lotion on the itchy spots, taking an OTC decongestant for the sniffles, and taking tepid baths every 4 hours with baking soda.
And whimpering.
With Tricare Prime, I have to get a referral to a rheumy, and the new GP probably won’t want to do that until he’s exhausted all of his ideas. But I do agree with you and Anwyn both: if he can’t fix it, it’s time for a specialist.
I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV… But I would suggest seeing a Rheumatologist (sp?) soon. While that attempt at humor was incredibly lame, I do hate that you’re so miserable right now. Hope you feel better soon and that they can give you some answers to easy the worry.
Anwyn beat me to it. I was going to make a clever joke along the lines of “it’s neurological, it’s viral, it’s environmental, no you all are idiots it’s Obscurus Disease, and I figured that out when I went to Chuck-E-Cheese and ordered a pepperoni pizza”.
Oh well. Feel better.
The same virus that causes Chicken pox causes Shingles. It is more serious, last for a longer time, and can be extremely painful.
Ask your new doc if it could be that. For your sake, I hope NOT! ! !
The sucktitude which is TriCare. This is how we take care of our Vets and their families.
And this is why I’m looking for after service work which includes insurance. If one doesn’t cover it, hopefully the other will.
Honestly, Kate – Call Tri-Care and see if they can switch you to a doc at the clinic – I love Dr. Bergstrom. They have Saturday hours, and all the blood work is FREE!!!!!
He diagnosed my shingles a few years ago when I went in on a Saturday because I was so miserable – I switched to him immediately. And, since he is a civilian doc, he will be there forever. My husband switched to him, also, and we are getting much better treatment than we did before.
Also, there are several auto-immune diseases like Lupus, etc., that can cause rashes. They really should check for those, too. And how about your thyroid? Have they checked your blood levels?
Sure hope the new doc can find out what your problem is,,,definetly sounds like you are one miserable puppy!
Have you googled the side-effects of Cymbalta?
I know when I was on (different) anti-depression medication a few years ago, I had a horrible case of hives (that term really doesn’t due justice to the misery I suffered), among other things. It also took several weeks for the side effects to manifest. (Also, on some medication, I would have the exact OPPOSITE of the most-common side effects — i.e., a medication that generally caused insomnia would knock me out for hours within 30 minutes; luckily, my doc knew that was an infrequent, but documented, side effect.)
As I’ve aged (forties), I find that I am much more susceptible to side effects.
Something to consider.
Left a commemt on wrong story.
Kate,
Have you been checked for Hives? Sounds like the same symptoms. Red spots, itchy, disappear then reappear. – Elliot
Go to the doc and tell him you have rocky mountain spotted fever (spots, flu symptoms, abdominal pain etc) that should expedite some blood work.
Hope you feel batter soon. Being sick sucks, being sick with kids in the house is ten times worse.
It’s chickenpox. No charge, Dr. Hook out.
Seriously, I hope you’re feeling better soon.
Sounds like you’re having a lower level allergic reaction to something. (in other words – you aren’t in the hospital unable to breathe) Could be medication, could be something you’re eating.
And because it’s been long term and low level, it knocks down your immune system. I’ll bet you have picked up something else too by way of virus causing the coughing and sore throat and fever.
Honestly – the hive type reaction along with the thick throat and the relief with anti-histamines… it screams allergy. This is a serious deal because with an allergy you could have a life threatening reaction – far worse than hives – at any time.
If possible – wean off the meds you’ve been taking (not the anti-histamines!) cut your diet back to a beginning allergy diet and start from there to add things in. It’s a long boring annoying process – but it will tell you if something you eat is causing issues.
Remember – allergies build on each other so if you are allergic to more than one thing – they will increase the reaction when they come together.
Start here:
http://www.food-allergy.org/
If it’s not food allergies – then all you’ve done is waste a bit of time and had a bit more difficult menu for a while. If it is food allergies – you’ll feel better quickly.
Remember though – food allergies generally take some time to appear. For instance – foods that cause my migraines take about 24 hours to cause symptoms.
Good luck!