I’m Home!

Wow, what a trip! We packed alot into one week. The midwest is gorgeous! I must say, though, if I never see a cornfield or a red barn again, it will be too soon.

We headed out last Friday and gave ourselves three days to get there. I wasn’t sure how well I would do in the car and it turned out that we did need to stop often for me to get out and walk around.

The Mayo Clinic is MASSIVE! The doctors there were very nice. They spent 4 hours with me, going over my symptoms and doing exams. They told me they do not think my problem is the Hashimoto’s Encephalopathy. If I do have it, it’s a very slight case of it and they wouldn’t treat it at this point. They do feel that my symptoms are related to my fibromyalgia. Unbeknownst to me, fibromyalgia can progress. One of the doctors said that he has some patients that are completely crippled by it. Thankfully, I’m not to that point. Because I was still on the steroids, they did not want to run any tests due to the risk of false negative results. The plan is that for the next six months, I am going to do eveything in my power to get as healthy as I can. I’m not going to let things stress me out. I’m going to relax, eat healthy, take my vitamins and exercise. Yes, they said I HAVE to exercise. Even though I am in pain, have “pins and needles” in my limbs…I have to work out. It will help me in the long run. I’m also going to try hydro-therapy…which is basically working out in a pool. It’s alot less stress on my muscles and joints. I have to lose about 40 pounds, (which I already knew!), and I have to try and get back to my normal routine. MUCH easier said than done. If, after 6 months, the neurological symptoms have not improved, they want me to head back out there for further testing. They did tell me, however, that the symptoms might be permanent.

I have to say, I was pretty frustrated after the appointment. For multiple reasons. I was very happy that it wasn’t the encephalopathy, since then I didn’t have to worry about seizures or death. Always a good thing. The fact that they told me it was my fibromyalgia, however, aggravated me. To say the least. First of all, fibromyalgia has such a stigma around it. I know it’s ridiculous and it just comes from ignorant people who don’t know all the information but it bothers me. I just knew that I would come home, tell people that it ws my fibro and then I would get “the look.” You all know what I’m talking about. The eyebrows go up, the eyes kind of roll and you get the “Oh.” Yeah. I hate that. So many people think fibromyalgia isn’t real or that it’s just a disease doctors slap on you when they don’t know what’s wrong and that’s simply not true. It is horrible and painful and difficult to deal with.

My father asked me, “Really, what answer WOULD you have been happy with?” I guess just one: “Here ya go! Here’s a pill and you’re completely cured!” Which of course, isn’t going to happen. Not in this system. So now comes yet another adjustment period. I know I’ll get through it. But it will be rough for awhile.

The rest of the trip was great, though. We stopped at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museums in Wisconsin and South Dakota, since I have been a fan of her work since I was a child. We also stopped at the Mall of America, which is INSANE! We had a really good time and it was nice having the support of my family. My mom did the driving and Isaac kept me laughing. I couldn’t have asked for more! It is definitely nice to be home, though. I missed Mike SO much! And Sophie, too.

It’s back to reality now. Here I go…