Health-related prayer requests

[anlptgtsg]

You need to eat more. You need more nutrients. Praying as well

[Sheenar]

Thankfully my appetite has started to come back. But on those days I didn't eat much, I couldn't eat. I felt sick trying to eat. That is why I didn't eat much. To just say "You need to eat more" isn't very helpful. I wasn't eating because I could NOT. I would have given anything to be able to eat.

[Sheenar]

Felt better and went back to work last week.

Then yesterday morning, woke up with sore throat and runny nose. Then the chills and aches started. Then a high fever (101).

Fever broke overnight, but has come back.

I feel AWFUL. I want to curl up and cry, but crying makes my nose run more.

Fevers are bad news for me. Please pray that the fevers go away and don't come back. This is how my last progression happened and it is scary. I don't want that to happen again.

Drinking and trying to eat. My appetite is gone. I ate some toast this morning with Sunbutter. Will try a sandwich for lunch. I feel sick when I try to eat very much.

[Sheenar]

Whatever that virus was has gone, but my bacterial infection has come back with a vengeance.

Had to go to the ER last night. Now on another round of antibiotic (the same one as a few weeks ago, so not terribly hopeful that it will kill the infection since it didn't work last time --obviously --because my infection came back so soon after finishing the last round).

Something weird is going on with my body. It's pretty unusual for me to get sick and get infections back to back like this.

I see my main dysautonomia doc in December. Will ask him about this. I'm concerned that the steroid I'm on long-term may be causing weird things with my immune system.

Please pray that this infection goes away and doesn't return. It is pretty painful and feels miserable.

[Sheenar]

The good news is my infection went away --and it's been a few weeks, so I think it is actually gone this time. That's a relief!

I had a CT scan last week of my inner ears cause I've been having some long-standing issues and have been set up to see the "ear super specialist" (wonder if he'll come into the room wearing underwear on the outside of his pants and a cape) the first week in December.

Also have another medical diagnostic procedure coming up that I'm not looking forward to as when I had it before, it was uncomfortable and embarrassing and just ugh.

I'm hanging in there. Been doing fairly decent for the most part. Having (more) issues with home health aides not showing up to work and a rotation of people in and out of my home, but that should hopefully be sorted out soon.

See my dysautonomia specialists the 2nd week of December. The CareZone app is really helping me track my blood pressure/pulse, pain, mood, etc. As for bp, the medication regime I've been on has really been helping. My numbers have been pretty good --not pretty low like they were for a long time --the steroid has some side effects, but not passing out is nice! I'm still having some pre-syncope symptoms, but they aren't as severe as they were before and are much more manageable. I'm so grateful!

[Okami]

I know I don't speak much in your thread Sheena, but know I am often praying for you!

[Sheenar]

Thank you, Okami! That really means a lot.

Had my appointment with the ear super specialist today and I will be having a surgical procedure on Feb. 1st to remove the vent tubes from my ears and plug the holes in my ear drums (vent tubes are placed in the ear drum to ventilate the inner ear in people with eustachian tube disorders) --but mine have been in for 4 1/2 years and the doc said they were waayyy past due to be removed. So we'll do that and let my ears heal up and see how things go. Hopefully I'll be able to wear my hearing aids again! And have less ear infections. I may have to have another procedure to put new tubes in, but we'll deal with that if/when it comes up.

Have 2 appointments downtown next week (cardiologist and neurologist --the 2 doctors that make up my dysautonomia team) and an uncomfortable diagnostic procedure the week after.

After that, I shouldn't have any appointments other than counseling for a while (I finish my allergy shots this month) --not until I have to go consult with the anesthesia people downtown within 2 weeks of surgery cause they are insisting that I do so to make sure surgery and anesthesia will be okay (though this wasn't done with my last 2 surgeries --the last 2, they just had my dysautonomia doc sign off that I was okay to have surgery). But I'm grateful they are being thorough --it shows they care!


Other than that, I'm looking forward to going to Austin the week after Christmas to visit my best friend. Will be taking a Greyhound again --will definitely insist they put the scooter under the bus (it comes apart easily) and not put me on the bus sitting on it so that there is no repeat of the scooter flipping over while turning incidents. XP

[Sheenar]

The appointments with my dysautonomia team (neurologist and cardiologist) went well! I'm actually doing much better than the last time they saw me and they are very happy with the progress! I'll be continuing on my medication regimen. One med, the dose has been bumped up a little, but I have seen a LOT of improvement since starting it a few months ago.

And there has been an answer to prayer! We finally found a place where I can go do aquatherapy that accepts my insurance! Yay! I'll be going for my eval on Wed. this week, then will likely be starting therapy sometime in January.

[Kraavdran]

Great to hear some good news for your health journey, I will continue praying!

[anlptgtsg]

Praise God. Will pray for continued improvement.

[Kaori]

Hi Sheenar,

I don’t think I have ever stopped in here before, but I am praying for you regularly, and I’m very happy to hear your good news.

[Sheenar]

Thank you, you guys!! Your prayers mean so much to me!

Something cool! : I met the lady I will be doing aquatherapy with at the sports medicine center and she has a few other dysautonomia patients, so she is familiar with it! Yay for having someone who I don't have to explain what my disorder is, but who has experience with it!

[ClaecElric4God]

Hey, Sheena. Just wanted to let you know I'm praying for you, and I hope all is going well.

[Sheenar]

I meet with anesthesia tomorrow morning in preparation for a minor outpatient surgery on 2/1. I'm currently in week 2 of battling some type of bug that I picked up somewhere. I'm hoping it will resolve before surgery --cause having surgery while sick isn't good and most likely my surgery would be rescheduled --which I just want it done and over with.

I'm hanging in there. Feeling super melancholy this week. I don't do being sick well. And my poor dog is going stir crazy.

[Sheenar]

I had my outpatient procedure on Monday. Everything went well. The staff was amazing at the hospital downtown. I had a bit of trouble waking up fully from anesthesia (it took a long time), but I did and was discharged later that day. Pain is not bad at all and I follow up with my ENT on Tuesday for my one-week post-op appointment.

I've been doing aquatherapy once a week --I missed a couple of weeks --one due to being sick and one due to a medical transportation issue. I went on Wednesday and it was fun, but kicked my behind. I've been sore all over and wiped out since then. I'll be going once a week for the next 4-5 weeks at least. Please pray that this will help me get stronger, have better core strength (and thus be more stable when sitting/standing/walking and have less subluxations and rotations of my joints), and that my body will adjust to the requirements of therapy.

I have had to step down from my part-time job due to medical issues (I've missed a lot of work) and the increased workload which I can no longer keep up with. The Lord will provide! Things will be tighter, but it will be okay. God will continue to meet my needs as He always has. It's a bit tough emotionally to have to stop working after 2 1/2 years at my job --that's the longest I've ever worked somewhere. My body just cannot keep up with the demands anymore. This will open up new opportunities, though! I'll now have more flexibility and who knows what the Lord will bring in the future!

One last thing: I have an appeal hearing coming up on March 7th. It is for a state program to help with community supports and habilitation to help people continue to live independently in their community. I came off the wait list, but was denied. My service coordinator and others who work with me feel I would really benefit from this program and that there is a great need for it in my life. So they are working to present my case at the hearing in hopes that we will win the appeal and I would be granted access to this program. Please pray for favor in this situation. It is my goal to be able to continue to live in my own apartment for as long as I can. I just need to learn new skills for daily life activities since my abilities have changed.

[Mullet Death]

Praying Sheena! We love you around here, by the way. You should definitely be allowed to retain independence and live in a home of your own, so let's keep things that way. Sorry you had to step down from that job, but I am happy you're optimistic about it.

[Sheenar]

Thanks, Mullet! I really needed that reminder that I am loved. That made me smile today.

[Kaori]

Hi Sheenar,

Thanks for the recent updates. Glad to hear the procedure went well, and I hope that despite the setbacks that you are having in terms of your job and so on that God will bring you something better than what you could have imagined.

Wanted to mention again that although I don't comment in here very often, you are in my prayers every day.

[Sheenar]

Thank you, Kaori. That really does mean a lot!

My follow-up appointment went well --I see my ENT again in 3 months to see if the holes in my eardrums close by then. I'm having an issue with my right hand from them putting the IV in --my primary care doc thinks they hit a nerve or something and it's just really irritated. So am on a course of steroids with instructions to come and see my PCP again in about 3 weeks. It's my dominant hand, so it's a bit annoying to not have full grip strength and to have trouble holding things as well as the pain. Hopefully it is minor and will get better in a week or so. Doc seemed confident that it would get better.

I'm doing pretty decently otherwise. I was able to make it to church on Sunday and to the Super Bowl party that night with my ABF class. And made it to both of my weekly CR meetings this week.

[Kraavdran]

Glad to hear some good news, although I imagine that irritated nerve in the hand is quite frustrating. Praying that you continue to get good (or better) news!

[Sheenar]

I had a bad fall last week on Thursday night. I was leaving a meeting at church and was walking to my friend's truck --and didn't see the concrete stopper thing (the things that stop the vehicles when they park) and I went down hard, landing on my hands and knees.

I have been in a lot of pain since then. My pelvis is rotated and my joints got pretty jostled up. Nothing broken, thankfully, but some soft tissue injury is suspected. I go to get x-rays of my pelvis and left knee (the same knee I had surgery on 10 years ago) on Wednesday next week. If x rays come back good and further imaging isn't warranted (may need MRI depending on results), I' was given a referral to physical therapy and will start that if imaging comes back okay.

Please pray. The pain is really getting to me. It's not well controlled at all. My doctor that I saw didn't prescribe anything for pain. I am using some medication left over from my surgery in February --taking one at night to help with the pain enough that I can sleep some. It's really painful to sit up, to stand, to walk, to lie down.

[Kaori]

Praying, Sheenar.

[ClaecElric4God]

Praying for you, Sheena. Sorry I haven't kept up with this recently. I really hope you get some relief.