Sickness Strikes in a Big Way

I've got some SERIOUS catching up to do here on the blog!

We've had some major things happen in our family over the past two months....so, we'll start with the topic of HEALTH.

February 1st brought quite the unexpected turn of events.

I awoke around 5am with a completely numb right side and incredibly confused brain.

I was so confused and scared, and walked around for a minute to try and get my bearings.

I walked into our bathroom to grab a drink of water from the sink, and the next thing I know, Brett was holding me carrying and me to our bed.  Turns out, I had passed out... leaving a hole in our bathroom door... and an even more confused ME.

I had no recollection of the past few minutes and was still numb and very disoriented.

Brett rushed me to the ER while my mom came to the rescue to watch the boys.

The ER consisted of lots of labs, a CT scan, and the beginning of a rough headache that was treated through my IV.  Of course, these stroke-like symptoms are not new for me...but, the passing out element added an element of seriousness to the situation. 

Luckily, the CT came back ok... and they only found a UTI and incredibly out of whack thyroid?!?

Such a lovely picture taken by my sweetheart.

Following this episode, a crazy series of doctor's appointments and tests begun.  

I went to an idiot doctor, then changed doctors, and began a rat race of testing crazy theories to determine my problem.

In the meantime....

Jack got bronchitis.

And, then Tucker got an ear infection and the start of pneumonia. 

Oh... and Brett stepped on a nail and needed a Tetanus shot.

Such great times.

Three weeks after my initial episode, things got hairy again.

I found myself battling a different sort of headache I had ever had before.

For 4-5 days, I had a pretty good headache right behind my left eyebrow...and then, the headache escalated to the absolute WORST experience of my life.  I experienced pain I had never even come close to feeling, and absolutely nothing helped it.  No stroke-like symptoms... just excruciating pain.

This landed me back in the ER again...with more tests, and lots of pain management.

At this point in time... my level of fear was immeasurable.  

What was causing these episodes and me to feel so horrible?

Would they find something serious?

During February and March I endured the following tests:

CT Scan (2)

(brain)

EKG

(heart)

Holter Monitor of Heart

(heart)

EKG with Bubble Study

(checking for hole in heart)

Tilt Table Test

(finding cause of fainting)

EEG

(checking for seizures, tumor)

My tests always came back looking good.  This was frustrating as it seemed like we'd finally find a realistic explanation...only to be told that it wasn't my case.

Finally... after working with a neurologist... it would seem that we have a conclusion.

My heart is healthy.

My brain is healthy.

I have no seizures, no tumor, no cancer.

What I do have is chronic headaches... migraines, and what are called cluster headaches.

This is part of my genetic makeup...and our goal here is to manage them rather than cure them (since this isn't an option).

Another huge aspect to why my symptoms get so out of control is the fact that I have incredibly LOW blood pressure.  This explains my frequent wooziness..and my fainting.  It also contributes to my pain being magnified and my stroke-like symptoms.

So... we are managing that with medication and eating more SALT (who knew)?

So... at the end of the day....

I feel relief.

It's not fun to wonder when one of these episodes may strike...but, I have an incredible amount of comfort in now knowing what is happening to me, and the steps we need to take to treat it.

I'm not dying.

And, I'm really happy about that!