Hello again, dear friends. When I made my Bloggyville comeback appearance last week, I tried to be upbeat and lighthearted. It’s never easy leaving a place you love for a while then returning later only to be greeted by a lot of new faces who look right through you because you’re a stranger and not seeing some of the familiar old faces you used to love. The same is true of taking a lengthy break from the blog as I did.
The fact is, while I often see things that either make me think they will be the subject of my next short story or the subject of my next blog post, the life I was living didn’t allow my body to go much beyond just having the thought to do such tasks. It’s been quite a roller-coaster ride since I was diagnosed with Lupus in 2016, not to mention the couple of years before that with the host of medical problems I was experiencing and getting no answers from the numerous doctors I saw.
I thought that once I was diagnosed and finally had a name for what ailed me, things would start getting better. That was not the case. Keep in mind that I’m also dealing with Gastroparesis caused by my Lupus, so that means I still vomit more days than not, and I’m very limited in what I get to eat and keep. My family has started saying, “Are you going to eat that meal or just rent it for a while?” Gastroparesis typically occurs in people with diabetes, and what happens is the food they eat does not digest past the stomach, and since it doesn’t move along as it’s supposed to, it can cause their blood sugar to spike even hours after having eaten their last meal. In my case, my gut gets so inflamed, the food just sits there until it hurts so bad I have to get rid of it in the only way I know how. Which is a visit to hug the porcelain god.
I took steroids daily for more than 2 years to try to get everything under control, not to mention chemo for 4 months. Because of all the poison I was eating in the form of “medicine,” my skin thinned to the point I can see my veins, and just scratching an itch can make me bleed or have a “hickey” that lasts for weeks. The slightest bump into something can make me get a large, ugly, violet bruise. All the meds made me lose even more of my already-falling-out hair along with other unpleasant side-effects.
But my body was still in such excruciating pain, I saw no quality of life.
And then my rheumatologist announced she was leaving her practice to move to another city. Fast forward a few months until I got in to see the new rheumatologist who took her place. The new doctor’s husband is diabetic and has Gastroparesis. What this meant for me is that (even though this G.I. affliction was out of her scope of treatment) I finally had a doctor who actually understood at least part of what ailed me.
But worse than tossing my cookies (oh, how I wish I could really have cookies!) 5 or 6 times a week, I just hurt! Everywhere! I typically have a pretty high pain tolerance, but this was too much to bear. I mean, it was like this (and this is factual… not embellished for comic relief): My 10-pound cat would try to sit on my lap, and I’d scream in agony because it was as if my femurs were being broken in half. I’d knock on my son’s door to call him to dinner and I’d recoil because it felt as if I’d dislocated every knuckle. I’d roll over in my sleep and wake up crying out because it was as if my ribs were cracked. I’d sit on a kitchen chair and grimace because it felt as if my spine and my tailbone had been fractured. In reality, my problem was this: MY SKELETON HURT! Every. Single. Bone. I had no better way to describe it.
My new rheumatologist, because she understood better than most about Gastroparesis, realized that I was losing nutrients during my frequent time on my knees, and as it turned out, my Vitamin D was acutely deficient. (Your levels are supposed to be between 30 and 100 and are optimal between 40 and 80. Mine was 9!) And when your Vitamin D is low, you don’t absorb the calcium you also need to help keep your bones healthy and strong. Turns out that the steroids and chemo I took are known to deplete Vitamin D, the anti-malarial I still take daily to preserve my organs is known to deplete Vitamin D, and my unwilling pastime of barfiness also depletes the Vitamin D. Additionally, I haven’t eaten any of the foods rich in Vitamin D (milk, fish, eggs) in more than a year because they make me puke. And because of the Lupus, I can’t get out in the sun which is another source of Vitamin D.
(Side note: when I had the iron and B-12 anemia, that caused pain and total exhaustion, but that pain was nothing compared to this.)
So, I was put on a prescription level of D3… If you take an over-the-counter supplement, you will either take 7,000 or 14,000 IU’s in a week’s time. I was prescribed 200,000 IU’s a week for the first four months, and now take 100,000 IU’s a week for maintenance. And I finally feel so much better! Oh, I do still get the aches and pains from Lupus, but those are nothing compared to the deep bone pain in every bone from the low vitamin supply.
I’m also still dealing with the puking, but at least now when I lose my meal, I don’t feel as if my kneecaps are being bombarded with nun chucks as I kneel to do so. So, half of my battle is won, and I can’t tell you what a relief it is not to live with that kind or that level of pain in literally every bone in my body.
While my experience has soured me on the current state of America’s healthcare system and the bureaucratic “rules” that go along with it (because no other doctor I saw went out of their way to even recommend a simple, inexpensive blood test that literally could have saved me from months of torture), it also woke me to the idea that there must be an inordinate number of people in third-world countries (and likely even closer to home) who don’t get enough to eat or at least quality nutrition, and they must live as I did every day – with their skeletons hurting. And that thought hurts my heart.
Let’s chat: Have you ever experienced a broken or fractured bone? Have you ever experienced a severe vitamin deficiency? Did you ever realize that a mere missing vitamin could cause such severe pain? When you are diagnosed with something out of the ordinary, do your thoughts ever turn to how someone else in the world might be dealing with a similar condition but for a different reason?
#LupusAwareness #GastroparesisAwareness
A passionate post, young Rachel and most informative. Today I learned of something I knew little of. A fine post indeed.
Yeah, I learned a lot the day I learned that one missing vitamin could cause so much chaos. 🙂
I have spinal stenosis and copd, but it’s all bearable and my doctor insists on blood tests every time I turn around. I tell her, my numbers are all perfect – what are you looking for?
Ouchies! I send you oodles of my best wishes! 🙂
My point was, I get too much attention and you who need it – doesn’t get enough. It somehow has to fall back on the question of money.
I guess so… More so, I think it’s the current insurance laws. So many doctors that I meet feel that their hands are tied by what insurance says they can and can’t do.
Rachel, I’m so sorry to hear about the pain you experienced! It sounds like you’re somewhat back on track. I hope that continues for a long while!
Thank you so much! Things seem to be looking better now that we got the right blood work figured out. 🙂
Here here! ♥
I had hoped when you returned that much of this was behind you. I’m sorry that you have to go through this, but some of it sounds positive. Every grain of knowledge could lead to improvement.
Thank you, Craig. That’s so true. Once we hit on the Vitamin D the first time, they got my levels up then took me back off — which quickly led to the same pain. Now, they keep me on a constant regimen, and it’s added so much to my quality of life. 🙂
I’m so sorry you’ve been in so much pain, Rachel! My daughter also had a dangerously low vitamin D level. Apparently that’s common with Lupus (and women in general). I’m glad your doctor caught that, and that you’re feeling a bit better.
Thank you, Merril. Did your daughter have a lot of pain as a symptom of her deficiency? (From what my primary care doctor says, that’s not a prevalent complain among those deficient.)
I don’t really remember. I think maybe she had been feeling rundown and the deficiency was picked up in blood work?
Luckily they caught it before it got too far out of hand. With your delicious cuisine, it’s difficult to imagine anyone ever being vitamin deficient. 🙂
Hahaha. Thanks and yes. Both my daughters are married and make their own delicious cuisine. 🙂
It’s fortunate that you came upon this wiser doctor, Rachel. May you continue to find solutions.
Thanks, Mark. I agree, this doctor was a blessing. I appreciate your sweet wishes. 🙂
Glad you found someone who could help with the pain!
Thank you! (So am I.) 🙂
Hello Rachel. Welcome back! I am so sorry to hear you have been ill, but glad that you have found some relief.
Since I was reading your blog regularly, my son has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He also has had to take chemotherapy drugs, which knock his immune system to nothing, but will delay the progress of this horrible, horrible condition. Vitamin D depletion is implicated also in MS, although nobody quite understands how. He is also taking supplements and has left London to live in Seville so he can absorb Vitamin D through more sunshine. MS occurs most frequently in cold, northerly latitudes, like Scotland and Canada, where there is less sunshine. I’m sorry to hear you can’t absorb Vitamin D in the natural way, but glad to hear you have supplements, and a rheumatologist who understands your condition.
Are you writing? I’m trying to place The Novel (historical, based in Poland during the Solidarity period) and pushing short stories all over the place. I’m still doing my stuff with the Association of Christian Writers. Er-hm. We have a 300 word flash competition running at the moment. See http://www.christianwriters.org.uk/competitions if you feel like entering.
Good to see you again!
Thank you and I’m so sorry about your son. I had no idea MS was more prevalent in colder climates. I’m getting back into the writing game now that I’m feeling so much better. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for your work. Best wishes! ❤
Keep going, Rachel.
Thank you! You, too! ❤
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I’m so sorry you’ve been dealing with all of this. Health issues are the absolute worst It sounds like you’ve turned a corner – and that’s really really good.
Thank you, Leesha! I hope you’re feeling better these days, too. You don’t realize how valuable your own health is until it’s compromised. ❤
Agreed!! And thanks so much!
Btw I’m so glad you’re back! I’ve missed your blog so much!!
Thank you! I’ve missed being here, too! 🙂 xoxo
So happy to see you back my friend! Missed you! Sending you big ((((((Hugs))))).
Thank you, dear friend, and big hugs back at ya! 🙂 ❤