#34 Time doesn't always Heal

A couple of months went by, and I was no better, back wise. Everything was a struggle, as I tried to get about my place, make a meal, clean up. I bought a swivel type bar stool so I could sit in the kitchen for meal preparation, cooking and doing dishes.

I was having difficulty swallowing my pills and I felt like my ‘choking’ spells were happening more frequently.

This scary thing started that had to do with my breathing. I could be lying in bed and feel the rhythm of my breathing change. It was almost as if it forgot how to do it, and I had to make a conscious effort to keep it regular. It didn’t happen all the time, maybe when I was feeling more stressed and fatigued.

I was also experiencing bouts of chills, whole body chills, which was odd in the middle of summer. I was used to having isolated ‘chill’ feelings down my leg, but this was different. They didn’t last long, but were uncomfortable for the duration.

And then there were the hives. A couple of years ago I had had a recurring bout of hives, sometimes a rash, where my eyes would feel puffy and my skin itch. I thought it was food but could never get the same reaction to the same food.

I went back to the doctor, my family doctor, because the back pain was getting me down. My mobility was compromised and I needed to know what was what. I’ve had joint pain all my adult life, so living with pain was nothing new, but this was worse than anything I’d put up with before. I was depressed and my coping ability had reached a new low.

I wanted help because of the back, but my doctor was more concerned about the breathing and swallowing. Of course she was, duh, those functions are controlled by the brain. And hey, I had lesions in my brain.

Guess what? I was going for another MRI.