Problems I'm experiencing--long

January 18, 2003

Hi everyone....

Thought I'd reach out to everyone...needing a little support right now.

As you know, my life has been extremely stressful since I got laid off over a

year ago and got this miserable little job with a dysfunctional family with a

coke head for a boss...well, I don't know if she is a coke head, but if she

isn't she's definitely bi-polar or psychotic or something.

For the last 4-6 months I've had some physical things developing:

a.. No memory...tell me something and I've already forgotten it

b.. Extreme joint pain in all joints...sometimes the joint pain will flare up

almost instantly followed by chills...I actually shiver and have to use my

heating pad to wrap around my joints one at a time until the shivers go away.

c.. Muscle aches....they ache all the way to the bone...feels like I've over

extended myself physically

d.. Tender/sore spots in several areas of my body....don't hurt unless I apply

pressure to them.

e.. No energy....legs feel like they are filled with lead

f.. Fatigue like I've not experienced before and can barely function by

afternoons

g.. Brain fog but not like with tx....this is different, it's like my brain is

on vacation

h.. Not sleeping well, I go to sleep but never seem to really fall

asleep....always aware of being in bed and any sounds. Don't wake up enough to

open my eyes, just don't seem to be able to fall all the way asleep

i.. Either constipated or have diarrhea

j.. Something is very wrong with my coordination...I keep falling and weave

when I walk

k.. Blurry vision

l.. Look about 5-6 months pregnant...not gaining weight anywhere else so don't

know if this is fat or ascites.

m.. Tingling and numbness in my hands has greatly worsened

n.. Those spider thingies we get on our chest that are a sign of hep c....they

are now also all over my face.

Okay, no insurance because this civilized country doesn't really give a hoot

about the health of the poor. So after talking with my pcp whom I can't afford

to see without insurance and telling him what I've been experiencing, he said I

had to see a doctor....that there were several things that could be happening to

me....and of course the stress I've been under could be the underlying factor.

Today went to the clinic at the country hospital. Did the all day waiting thing

to get an idiot " god type " doctor who spent all of 10 minutes with me. He

ordered a complete kidney blood panel for my hep c. Dah, wrong organ, moron. And

then sent me to the clinic shrink because I am obviously a hypochrondriac (is

that the right word...when people think/say they are sick but aren't) because

what I said I am experiencing is impossible. He didn't listen to anything I said

because when I read my copy of the report it said that I had not been taking my

synthroid for a year....I'd said I'd been getting my synthroid from Canada for a

year because I couldn't afford US prices. It also stated that I said I was

hyperthyroid, not hypo which is what I am and what synthroid is for. So he

didn't listen to what I was saying....just seemed to pick and choose from my

words to make it be what he wanted it to be....psychosomatic (in my head).

This memory thing and the fact that I can't seem to make my brain function is

very frightening to me. I can't read...can't focus or concentrate. Even when I

watch tv I couldn't tell you what I just watched. Sure a lot of these things

could be depression, but I'm on prozac (thanks to the Lily Cares Program that my

pcp got me in) so I don't buy that one. Prozac has been my mainstay for a very

long time.

Bottom line....what do you think is happening to me. Am I losing my mind or are

these things I'm experiencing real and associated with the hep or one of those

lovely things we are prone to?

Anyone got any ideas? I will do the county clinic thing again next week and try

for a different doctor. But doctors always stick together and don't contradict

one another. I did finally get this guy to order the LFTs....but only after a

huge fight where I informed him that I'd forgotten more about hep c than he

obviously knew and anything starting with hep has to do with the liver while

renal has to do with the kidney. He didn't accept that he had made a mistake

when filling out the lab request well....and we didn't part on good terms.

Course, I am not the best of patients and I have *no* tolerance for doctors who

think they are god.

Obviously it was a very frustrating day for me and I really don't think I " m

losing my mind. I am experiencing these things and they are scaring me. And it

really scares me that I go to a county clinic and get someone who obviously is

more concerned about being god than finding out what is going on.

Blessings

Tatezi

January 18, 2003

From: " Tatezi " <tatezi@...>

Hi everyone....

Thought I'd reach out to everyone...needing a little support right now.

Bottom line....what do you think is happening to me. Am I losing my mind or

are these things I'm experiencing real and associated with the hep or one of

those lovely things we are prone to?

Hey Tat-

Nah-you're not losing your mind. You sound so much like CFIDS/fibro plus

hypo thyroid to me. Is the Synthroid dosage enough I wonder-that could

account for the terrible brain fog, the water retention, and the aching of

the joints. The CFIDS/fibro is really the immunological side effects of the

Hep C. It also could account for the tender spots, the joint pain, the

crummy sleep-which in turn could be a cause of the terrible brain fog, lack

of energy and possibly the poor coordination and balance. The blurry vision

is probably your dry eyes-even if they are not quite dry enough to feel (or

you've gotten used to the dry feeling), our eyes need the proper amount of

coating to be able to focus. The diarrhea/constipation cycle sounds a lot

like IBS (irritable bowel synrome) which often goes hand in hand with

CFIDS/fibro. So much of what you describe is what I went through myself.

I have been able to work out a supplement regimen-it is not without cost.

The most absolute helpful (and also cheap on-line through Immunesuport.com)

is the Malic acid/magensium combo. It costs me around 15.00 a month (that

is including the shipping) and it was the first real breakthrough in my

supplement tryouts. Malic acid at the health food store is rather

expensive! Flax seed oil and L-Theanine are two more breakthroughs-not as

cheap as the malic acid. I know you eat the flax seeds themselves, but I

think the oil itself would give you more. I would guess that you would have

to eat a lot of seeds to get about a tablespoon of oil! I take not quite a

tablespoon three times daily.

One good thing about your day at the clinic-if the Synthroid dose needs to

be adjusted perhaps they will be able to do that for you.

Take a look at the site of Immunesupport.com-no I don't work for them, in

fact, I use only one of their products. I go there mainly for

information-VALUABLE information. You will also see that you are not alone,

and that there are doctors out there that are waking up to the

CFIDS/fibro/immune dysfunction connection. I get the majority of my

supplements from Vitaminshoppe.com or i-herb.com.

gail

January 18, 2003