A Little Under The Weather

Today is Thursday, October 19, 2023 and it hasn’t been a fun week. Actually, the past couple of weeks haven’t been that great for me. الحمد لله it’s nothing serious, I hope, but I’ve just been feeling more fatigued than usual, my body feels weak and I’ve developed this joint pain that’s so uncomfortable, particularly in my knees. On Sunday of this week I had my two-week bloodwork appointment at Amiri Hospital then I met with my doctor to discuss how I’ve been feeling lately, especially since we’ve been tapering down my cortisone medication. I told her about all the symptoms I’ve been feeling and she said let’s wait to see what the bloodwork shows us then we can move from there. My results came out on Monday and thankfully my uric acid was normal and my CK level was actually going down even more which is fantastic! However my protein, as always, was still low, but there still wasn’t an explanation from the bloodwork for the way I was feeling.

My doctor suggested that I try to do my follow-up EMG that was originally scheduled for mid-November as early as possible, just to definitely rule out that the inflammation isn’t starting up again in my muscles. I attempted to go very early on Tuesday morning to get that done but they asked me to come back on Thursday instead. I went super early to Ibn Sena Hospital this morning to do the EMG and after waiting, and waiting and waiting, it was finally my turn. The technician started with the nerve conduction test then the doctor performed the needle electrode part of the test. I’ve done this EMG twice before, so I knew what to expect…But for some reason today was so painful and uncomfortable. I was holding back my tears throughout it. Preliminarily, the results show that the nerves and muscles are normal with no inflammation الحمد لله. But still, no explanation for the way I’ve been feeling.

Back on Sunday, when I had mentioned to my doctor that my hair loss was another issue that was troubling me, she suggested that I contact my dermatologist and get her opinion on that. My dermatologist reassured me that my ferratin levels weren’t that low to be causing this hair loss but that it didn’t hurt to start taking an iron supplement every other day. She said that the hair loss was most likely a symptom of my condition or caused by the medication I’ve been taking. In the meantime she requested that I do a CBC test and share those results as soon as I had them. Once I got my CBC results today I could tell something was off…There were too many highs and lows that didn’t look normal. I immediately shared it with both my rheumatologist and dermatologist and my rheumatologist confirmed that it seems I have a viral infection. Light bulb moment! The explains my constant fatigue and why I’ve been out of it lately. Hopefully a little rest is all I need and I’ll be back to normal in no time.

As you can imagine, this slump I’ve had has played a psychological role on me as well. Seeing how great I was feeling and doing just a few weeks ago compared to how I’ve been feeling lately has really been bumming me out. I understand that with every recovery it’s not always a straight line in an upward direction but these set backs along the way are frustrating. My weekly sessions with my therapist are really helping me cope with everything I’m going through, so thank God for her. But also, thank God for my family and friends who have been nothing but supportive and understanding on a daily basis throughout this process. Their patience with me is something I’ll never take for granted and I truly appreciate their presence in my life. I will get through this.

اللهم ارضنا بقضائك وبما قسمته لنا، واجعلنا من الحامدين لك في السراء والضراء، اللهم يا من لطفه بخلقه شامل، وخيره لعبده واصل، لا تخرجني وذريتي وأهلي وأحبابي من دائرة الألطاف، وآمنا من كل ما نخاف، وكن لنا بلطفك الخفى الظاهر.