Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A Pain That I'm Used To

Today is physical day.  Whoo-hooooo.

I don't assume they will be telling me much I do not already know.  As you can see, I got my blood work draw weeks ago, and thanks to a patient portal, I have already seen my lab results.

The lab I knew would be an issue was - my HDL. It's always low.  But the rest of my cholesterol is right on track.

The Nurse Practitioner caught me off guard with a phone call before the results were published to tell me my potassium was low and I need to eat a banana, raisins or nuts everyday.  

Yes, bananas and nuts to a gay man.

But since I wasn't expecting the call, I didn't think to ask her what the actual result was, but assume it must really be low for them to call.

Normal low 3.4.  Blobby's result 3.3.  REALLY?  That warrants a call?

But oddly enough, I have had a banana a day since - and I'm not even fond of them.

As it turns out, the trip today couldn't come at a better time.  A few times per year, usually only for a few days, parts of my body (usually top of head or my arms) becomes painfully sensitive to the touch. Actual human touch isn't a problem, but having a shirt or coat sleeve touch it can get up to 6 or 7 on the pain scale.

Right now, wind is hurting my left inner arm, along with any shirt.  Honestly, yoga is the only time it doesn't hurt because I can wear sleeveless shirts.  And it's not warm enough yet to wear short sleeves....so I've been doomed to pain.

Naproxin doesn't work.  Ibuprofen doesn't work.  Capsaicin doesn't work.  Nor does Solarcaine.

A quick WebMD search will tell you that I am 100% sure I have Fibromylagia.....or possibly Tactile Allodynia.  Self diagnosing is soooo important and soooo dangerous.  It is a truly easy way to tick off the doctor too.

But I gotta go in with something.  Unlike most times, this malady has lasted way longer than normal. The pain has lasted longer than a week now and it is just becoming horribly problematic on every level.

....and just because I can, I filmed my entire blood draw.  But I couldn't get it to load, so if you're squeamish about needles or blood consider yourself spared.



Song by:  Depeche Mode

4 comments:

anne marie in philly said...

I have friends with the fibro; it is not a pleasant condition in which to find oneself.

please let us know what happens.

Birdie said...

I get what I've called "neuralgia" on my arms and face occasionally, usually for about a day or so. Yeah, nothing works to minimize it. Tight sleeves are better if you must have sleeves--they don't brush across the skin so much. I can't imagine living with it non-stop. I'm glad it's rare for me. No known cause.

Erik Rubright said...

Oy. You had to post the needle picture. I almost skipped the post due to nausea. Ironic, no?

So, do you take a vitamin B-complex at all?

Ur-spo said...

it is far more important to compare your stats to your previous stats for changes rather than measuring them to an average. Treat the patient, no the labs - is a good motto.