Boring medical update, blah blah blah
I figured since I posted all of my recent medical drama on here I should probably follow it up with an update. Good news, folks. I'm not dying!
I still don't have any real answers but I am feeling good as new. Or I would be if I could just get over this bronchitis junk. But don't read that as a complaint because holy moly, I am feeling like a million bucks compared to last week!
I met with the infectious disease doctor Tuesday and he went over some of the test results (apparently I was tested for everything under the sun...but don't ask me to tell you any of them because I have no idea what they are). Other results won't be back until later since they have to culture longer, but he was able to tell me a lot of good news. There was nothing in my spinal fluid that would indicate my immune system is being attacked at the moment. The west nile virus is dormant and I contracted it 6 months ago or longer. They want me to participate in a clinical study for patients with the virus since there isn't a lot of data out there about the long term effects. But I left feeling reassured that hopefully I won't have any chronic issues since I didn't have a severe case when I contracted it however many months ago that blasted mosquito bit me.
As far as the MS goes....I don't know what to think about all of it. So far I have not had any test results come back that would give me a "positive" diagnosis (although there is no such test for MS, just a lot of red flags accompanied with symptoms that would form a collective assumption that the disease was present). I would like to think that all of that means I am in the clear. But for some reason my neurologist wants me to do another test next week that specifically looks for MS as well. It's called an evoked potential test and doesn't really sound like buckets of fun considering it involves half a day of being hooked up to electrodes and being shocked. Ha! I think at this point I am just tired of all of the tests and anxiety of wondering if there is something serious looming out there and while I appreciate a thorough doctor versus one who is quick to blow you off, I don't see the point of having the test done right now. Worst case scenario: I have MS. But it's not preventable and my symptoms are not affecting my quality of life at this moment. If they continue to get worse then maybe I'll reconsider but I feel like chasing a diagnosis is what is truly affecting my quality of life right now...especially considering I was just miserably sick for 3 days and hospitalized all because of one stinkin' test!
Best case scenario: I'm completely healthy and super grateful to be feeling good...and this is the scenario I'm choosing to go with. :)
I still don't have any real answers but I am feeling good as new. Or I would be if I could just get over this bronchitis junk. But don't read that as a complaint because holy moly, I am feeling like a million bucks compared to last week!
I met with the infectious disease doctor Tuesday and he went over some of the test results (apparently I was tested for everything under the sun...but don't ask me to tell you any of them because I have no idea what they are). Other results won't be back until later since they have to culture longer, but he was able to tell me a lot of good news. There was nothing in my spinal fluid that would indicate my immune system is being attacked at the moment. The west nile virus is dormant and I contracted it 6 months ago or longer. They want me to participate in a clinical study for patients with the virus since there isn't a lot of data out there about the long term effects. But I left feeling reassured that hopefully I won't have any chronic issues since I didn't have a severe case when I contracted it however many months ago that blasted mosquito bit me.
As far as the MS goes....I don't know what to think about all of it. So far I have not had any test results come back that would give me a "positive" diagnosis (although there is no such test for MS, just a lot of red flags accompanied with symptoms that would form a collective assumption that the disease was present). I would like to think that all of that means I am in the clear. But for some reason my neurologist wants me to do another test next week that specifically looks for MS as well. It's called an evoked potential test and doesn't really sound like buckets of fun considering it involves half a day of being hooked up to electrodes and being shocked. Ha! I think at this point I am just tired of all of the tests and anxiety of wondering if there is something serious looming out there and while I appreciate a thorough doctor versus one who is quick to blow you off, I don't see the point of having the test done right now. Worst case scenario: I have MS. But it's not preventable and my symptoms are not affecting my quality of life at this moment. If they continue to get worse then maybe I'll reconsider but I feel like chasing a diagnosis is what is truly affecting my quality of life right now...especially considering I was just miserably sick for 3 days and hospitalized all because of one stinkin' test!
Best case scenario: I'm completely healthy and super grateful to be feeling good...and this is the scenario I'm choosing to go with. :)
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