Doreen's Health And Wellness Journey and Other Things

Category: health

July 9, 2024

Check Up
July 5, 2024

CRAP!

When you realizes that some of the Crap that happened in your life was not your fault, you become less frustrated.
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