tinyvirgo

My hopes have always been to continue my career as a licensed veterinary technician, but nearly every aspect of my job makes my symptoms worse. I'm not ready to give up entirely - I will always have the desire to help animals, but I have had to decrease my hours to what my body can realistically manage. What's the deal with my health? Buckle up! NARCOLEPSY TYPE 1: After years of chronic fatigue, I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy Type 1 in 2021. To get there, it took a LOT of medical testing, including sleep studies. I take several medications to help me function, but its still a daily battle. When I experience strong emotions, especially stress, I lose muscle strength in my hands. I am unable to coordinate/hold/grip what is in my hands and drop things. If I don't remove myself from the stressor and try to fight it, it moves to my legs and they wobble. This is called Cataplexy, which most people associate with full body collapse - and isn't always the case. It is different for everyone and can be as minimal as drooping of the eyelids/head/neck, slurring words or mumbling. When it first started happening at work and I couldn't hold syringes steady anymore I thought my career was over. Thankfully my medications mostly manage my cataplexy attacks and I avoid stressful situations as much as possible, but that's hard to do in vet med unfortunately. CHRONIC BACK PAIN: I have been experiencing chronic back pain for nearly a decade. Initially I was diagnosed with Scoliosis, but in 2024 I had a new Ortho doctor recommend an MRI since physical therapy and medications just weren't doing enough and my quality of life was being seriously affected. The MRI found Facet Arthropathy, 2 Tarlov cysts on my Thoracic nerve roots, and one (8.9 cm) in my Sacrum. Since my Ortho doctor doesn't address these cysts he referred me to a Spine & Pain Intervention specialist. Some people have cysts that are asymptomatic, and there isn't a lot of helpful information out there other than what I've found in some support groups. The new specialist did a thorough exam of my spine while looking at the MRI and confirmed that the Thoracic cysts I have are indeed symptomatic and the culprit of my pain. Even though the cyst in my Sacrum is a lot bigger, I would be having more urinary/bowel related issues if it was symptomatic so I'm pretending its not there for my own sanity haha. He recommended a Thoracic facet injection for my symptomatic cysts and if that helps me, they can do a radial nerve ablation to keep that pain from constantly flaring. Removing/draining the cysts are evidently way too risky and there are only a few specialists in the US that will do it. I have my follow up appointment in April to discuss the next steps. Since my injection, my pain has been more of a 1-2 than a constant 5-6 and 8-9 on my worst days before I had it so I'm hopeful! CHRONIC JOINT PAIN: Over the past couple of years I have developed chronic pain in most of my joints. First were my knees, and I was diagnosed with Chondromalacia in both. My elbows were next, then my hands/fingers. I saw Ortho doctors first, who then referred me to a Rheumatologist in 2022. She was initially suspicious of Psoriatic Arthritis because my mother has it, but the tests were not conclusive at that time and I didn't have Psoriasis. She suspected I have a Connective Tissue/Hypermobile Spectrum disorder, and said that I was doing everything possible at the time to manage it - physical therapy, avoid overuse, anti-inflammatories. We didn't get very far because of stupid insurance issues and I had to stop seeing her/ended up owing over $300 to that office. I have mostly just been trying over the counter things like Biofreeze or Diclofenac gel as lotion on my hands and elbows, but there are moments where I can barely bend my fingers/close my fist. It has made it hard for me to play video games so it's been pretty depressing to nearly lose a hobby. I'll be seeing a new rheumatologist in the near future, for reasons I'll talk about in the next section and I'm hoping they can figure out something for my hands soon. CHRONIC ILLNESS: My immune system has been garbage for the past several years. Narcolepsy is an autoimmune disorder so when I catch a virus it hits me harder and takes longer to recover than most people. ALSO inconveniently, one of the medications I take to control my cataplexy makes me more susceptible to upper respiratory infections... so not ideal. This same medication has interactions with pretty much everything so I have to be VERY careful about what medications I take. When I first started it, I ended up in the ER because I took a Zofran for nausea without realizing it has major cardiac complications. Back to being sick all the time - my most recent visit for a virus that knocked me out for 2 weeks had my primary care recommend doing a basic autoimmune panel. One of the values was slightly elevated for someone my age, but she couldn't really give me much info other than to refer me to see a new Rheumatologist. The first availability for the one she referred me to is DECEMBER2024/JANUARY2025. So I have been working on getting an appointment at another rheumatologist sooner to address the worsening pain in my hands/elbows, and my frequent low grade fevers that I get after exertion. CONCLUSION: Seeing so many doctors and doing so many tests (sleep study, radiographs, bloodwork, MRI) really adds up. Most specialist visits are $70 and the Spine specialist is $100 each time. My ADHD medication is $92 a month and my financial/medical debt is a little over $5000 as of April 2024. Some days existing with chronic illness just feels too expensive. The stress of financial debt on top of all of my physical stress is heavy, so anything to help alleviate some of that helps so much. 💜

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