health – Page 4 – Doreen's Health And Wellness Journey and Other Things

July 4, 2024

My Success

As a young person, my thoughts on success were much different. Thank God, my perspective on success has evolved. In my high school years, I aspired to emulate the success of poet Nikki Giovanni. My ambition was to achieve significant book sales and be invited as a guest on Phil Donahue’s talk show. I envisioned substantial…
June 28, 2024

Happy Friday
June 27, 2024

MY RA

Not that I should be moving any furniture, but I did. Again, I realized that I was not the person I used to be before the RA. I am not even who I used to be six months ago. However, I am blessed because my son came over to move the furniture after I bruised…
June 21, 2024
June 13, 2024

My RA

I haven’t blogged about my rheumatoid arthritis recently due to the effectiveness of the medication I take.However, the last few days have been physically challenging. My muscles have been achy, and my hands and fingers are hurting. My body is a mess! I believe anyone with a chronic illness understands the many challenges that are…
June 6, 2024

Dear God

I am here this morning praying to you for my mental health. Today starts with challenges that I do not want to submit to. So, I am asking you for the strength necessary to deal with these demons. I am asking you today for my sanity. I love you very much. Doreen
May 28, 2024

When my grandson came home from school last week, he wanted to know what was wrong with my eye. I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I jumped up, looked in my mirror, and saw something red in my left eye. I was like, WTH!I gave my grandson my phone and told him to photograph my eye so I could see what was going on. When he returned my phone, I could clearly see the blood clot in my left eye. The clot was so sizeable I thought it strange that I felt nothing.Again, I was like, WTH! I went to Google, where I saw several things a blood clot in the eye could mean. Retinal artery occlusion(RAO) can come from having diabetes and high blood pressure. This condition can cause permanent eye damage if left untreated. I also read something about an eye stroke, the narrowing of the blood vessels in the retina.I didn’t understand most of what I was reading, so I decided it was best to see a doctor. I went to an urgent care clinic that evening. Besides the blood clot, I shared my other symptoms with the doctor. I told her that I had been having headaches, jaw discomfort( which could be my TMJ), and temple and scalp tenderness for a few days. I thought I was having a tension headache because the above symptoms were signs of a tension headache.During my examination, the doctor explained that my symptoms were also classic for Giant cell arteritis (GCA). GCA is inflammation in the blood vessels. This condition, if I had it, needed to be treated promptly, which is why she wanted me to go to the ER. However, I didn’t want to go to the emergency room. She insisted that I see an eye doctor the next day. I agreed. Why wouldn’t I?Before I left Urgent Care that evening, the doctor gave me a prescription for 60 mg of prednisone. This large dose would reduce any inflammation going on. The next day, I saw my primary care doctor. She wasn’t as concerned about the blood clot in my eye as she was about the other symptoms I mentioned.She was skeptical about sending me for labs because anything that would have shown up probably wouldn’t because of the prednisone I took the night before. I spoke with my primary care doctor today, and she told me my lab results were good. However, if I get another blood clot, I can come in and be reevaluated. As always, until the next blog, be blessed.
May 18, 2024

Mental Health

May
May 8, 2024

To take Ozempic or not! #2

I went to my daughter’s house Sunday for dinner and ate like I didn’t have type 2 diabetes. Despite my shot of Lantus that evening, my numbers weren’t great when I tested my blood sugar in the morning. It doesn’t matter what kind of meds I am on. If I don’t eat properly and exercise,…
April 20, 2024

Water, really?

I went to bed with a bothering in my chest; I brushed it off because I was tired. When I woke up the following day, I was in much pain. It wasn’t my typical RA pain, but what else could it have been? I stayed on my couch all day taking medication, believing it was…

Category: health