A Very Perplexing Situation

It’s been the same every year. July/August is the time I catch a flu every year. At other times of the year, I can get sneezed at, or coughed at, nothing would happen. But come July/August, no matter how I try to evade it, it will come out from an unexpected corner, shout ‘BOO’ and strike me.

This year was no different. 

The mother of all flu struck in mid-August. I did not have any sorethroat at all this time and only had a very mild fever. By one week I was well again. And it didn’t end up in a cough! No cough at all this year. I thought that my immune system must have gotten so much stronger. How wonderful I had thought.

I started to have terrible joint and muscle pains. But then again, all these viruses cause joints and muscle pain. But it got so severe that I was having trouble walking. I went to the ER and the doctor did blood tests and swabbed for influenza as it was ‘influenza season’. Everything came back normal and he said that I most probably had a post-viral myalgia. The doctor told me to get more rest and wait it out.

As time went on, I started to have more pain. My bladder hurt to the point I thought I was down with a severe bladder infection. And then my back hurt where the kidneys are. Every movement hurt so much. Once again, I went to the ER. They again did blood tests and this time for the kidneys and liver too. They also tested my urine. All results came back excellent! I was in ‘perfect health’!! The doctor said if I was worried, I could take some antibiotics for a week. I decided against it as all the results were excellent. I thought it could be my ‘voiding dysfunction’ which was acting up due to me being ill.

And then I started jumping up from my sleep in the middle of the night from pain. I felt as though fire was coursing through my veins. And then a fiery itch would start. My muscles were so weak and my joints felt as though they were ‘locked up’. My bones felt like they were corroding. I couldn’t walk down the stairs without feeling as though I could break my ankle at any point of time. Climbing up the stairs was even worse. It became so difficult to even bend my knees. 

The fatigue was terrible and I started feeling like I caught some bug.  I started feeling feverish but yet I had no fever. 

As the haze this year was so very bad and extra toxic, I thought it was the haze that was affecting me. I had gone to the hospital twice and twice the blood tests at two different times came back excellent. 

And then the intensity reduced and I thought I must have fought off whatever bug that had invaded me. I continued to move and walk as much as I could. 

It was then that I suddenly noticed some red dots at the bottom of my legs. They didn’t itch or hurt. And they were just a few little dots. So I just left it but observed them. Soon they became bigger than dots and started to spread to the back of the bottom of both legs. And they turned dark red and then became purple. 

I then went to see a doctor about it. He said I had musculum contagiusum virus which spreads by contact! Where did I get that from? Could it be from the holiday? The doctor had no idea too. He told me that I would be fine after a few weeks or a month. He also said that it is a self-contained virus. I came home and threw away my razor and bath scrub. I was worried about spreading it to both the guys that I told them not to hug me or even touch me. I thought my immune system was really screwed to have contracted such a virus. 

And then the stomach pains came. They were not gastritis or even reflux pain. The pain felt so different. Something was really not right. By now, the red spots had spread to my knees and thighs and to my arms. Funny that my body and face were spared. It was only the legs and arms. Which virus does this?!

By this time, I was in so much pain that I felt as though I had arthritis, fibromyalgia and rheumatism all at one go. The 1 to 10 pain chart that the hospital used to gauge pain could be thrown out of the window. I was on Richter scale 9 to the point tsunami had wiped out everything. My joints, nerves, bones and muscles were in chronic pain. I could barely walk by this time. I was shuffling. Every movement took great effort. 

I became delusional. I thought finally Death had caught up with me. I managed to evade Death for 10 years and now my time is up.

I thought I had lupus, or even multiple sclerosis. Maybe I even have what Stephen Hawking had! Or worse, Parkinson’s.

I thought maybe in my past life I was a murderer or rapist or even a psychopath serial killer. And karma has caught up with me. 

Or maybe I had cancer and I was in my last days. 

Maybe I was imagining all of these and that I was actually losing my mind.

It came to a point that I was ok with dying. 

I slapped myself mentally and went to see another doctor. He said I had folliculitis. I told him that I had used up every single steroidal cream in the house. Hydrocortisone, Elomet, Fucicort, Beprospan. You name it, I’ve tried it. If it was folliculitis as the had doctor said, it would have stopped it. He said sometimes oral antibiotics are needed plus a soap with sulphur to stop it.  I told him to write me a referral to see a dermatologist as I wanted everything to stop. I then asked him about this fiery pain coursing through my veins. This extreme pain that I was in. I felt like I was Elizabeth Sherman from Hellboy. I felt like I was doused with kerosene and set on fire. He gave me vitamin B12 to help the nerves.

I made an appointment to see the dermatologist that very same day. And when I saw the doctor, and after she saw my legs and heard me explain the whole history of what had happened, she smiled a very sad smile and said,

“You have vasculitis.”

What?!? 

What on earth is that?!? 

“It’s an auto-immune disease and your body decided to attack itself after an illness.”

I had disbelief on my face. 

“Did you fall sick?” 

“Did you get joints and body aches?”

“Did you get bad abdominal pain?”

“And the spots started only at the bottom of your legs!”

Everything was a yes. 

“It’s confirmed - you have vasculitis!”

Shit.

I still couldn’t accept what she had said. 

“Your immune system attacked your blood vessels and they became inflamed and burst,” she continued. 

She said my immune system had fought off the virus but was so over stimulated that they continued fighting even when the virus was already defeated. They turned and attack myself. 

The bad news was that vasculitis could attack the organs too and cause severe damage. The dermatologist sent me for blood tests and urine tests. When I went back to see her the next day, she said the blood results were fine. My kidneys and liver were still functioning well. My red blood cells were still good. That meant I wasn’t bleeding to the point of being anaemic. I was still ok. Since I was still ok, the doctor decided not to put me on steroids. But I was to return the following week to have blood and urine tests again.

The dermatologist also said that once a person has vasculitis, it is for life. It doesn’t go away. And one would never know when it would strike again. She said it’s like having asthma. No one knows when asthma could strike or when it could just lie dormant. 

I felt numb upon hearing this. I have fought so well for the past 10 years and had gotten to a place where I could actually have bites of outside food here and there. I could tolerate food with high salicylate levels so much now. My health had improved so much that I only fall sick once a year without consuming supplements where else people who eat supplements fall sick so many times a year. I was at a good place in life and this shit had to happen. And of all things, it had to be an autoimmune disease. 

I was still in so much pain. 

The pain peaked the following day to the point that I had to shut my mind off in order to survive the day. By night time, I decided that I couldn’t wait until the following week to see the doctor again. I went to the ER the next day. I was in so much pain that I begged the doctor for steroids!!!! The word ‘pain’ was an understatement. I was in the lowest level of hell where the demon called Pain had overtaken my body. I told the ER doctor that I wanted a gun to blow my brains out. ( I now think that chicken pox pain is a walk in the park!)

He again confirmed that I had vasculitis and he said it causes pain to such levels. He said it also causes abdominal pain. That was what I had been having. He referred me to a rheumatologist. And they took blood again to run more tests. 

They injected Tramadol into my veins to give me some relief. 

Since Tramadol causes nausea and vomiting, it is usually administered together with an anti-vomit medication. But I have bad side effects to anti-vomit medication. It causes a feeling of doom and a panic attack for me. Besides, I don’t get nausea or vomit with Tramadol. So I did not take the anti-vomit medication.

The rheumatologist said that it’s definitely vasculitis that I was having. She believed that it was virus induced. My blood tests came back excellent again. And I tested negative for arthritis. And based on the blood tests results, it wasn’t lupus too. She said my nerves had become so overly sensitive from the viral sickness. They had become heightened. So she put me on LYRICA to help settle the hypersensitivity of the nerves while the body slowly overcomes the vasculitis attack. Steroids is the last option if the body is unable to overcome the vasculitis attack. 

Right now LYRICA is heaven sent. The pain has reduced so much. But the side effects are drowsiness and dizziness for me. I’m currently trying to adjust the timing of the medication so that when it wears off, I’m able to at least function for that period of time. The rheumatologist said that it causes brain fog too. Brain fog is better than pain anytime. 

Looking back at my food diary where I noted down all that was happening for these 1 1/2 months, everything now makes sense. The pain, feeling ill, the fatigue and the rash. Right now I am unable to feel anything. I just feel numb. Maybe partly it’s due to the medication - brain fog. Maybe it hasn’t sunken fully yet into my brain that I have vasculitis. Maybe I’m just exhausted from fighting the pain. I’m currently still feeling terribly ill from the vasculitis. I'm just going to rest and stay numb and blah until I can find it in me to decide what's next. 

And then I’ll try to rise up again. 

P.s. I have written posts for this blog until mid-November. 

An Unforgettable Trip!

We went for a holiday to the beach about a month back. The six of us (my parents, my brother and the 3 of us) had looked forward to the break very much.

Sunset on the 1st day.

Grocery shopping was done on the second day. On the way to the mall downtown, I saw this:

The Tsunami Village Cafe!

Once we arrived at the mall, the 5 of them went for lunch. I decided to go for a walk around the mall as I had my lunch in the car. The supermarket and the bookshop are the two places that I usually head to whenever I go to malls.

I started to have a very bad backache and felt as though my brain was in a fog. I thought it was the usual monthly hormonal phase. I felt very cold too. Ever since the gynaecologist said that I've started to enter the peri-menopause stage, I have tried to walk more. Thus, I walked floor after floor to help ease the backache and foggy brain. This time there was no relief. And then I started to feel hot. I told my dad that this month must be the mother-of-all-periods.

We bought groceries and then we headed back to the condo.

The journey back to the condo took about half-an-hour. I started to feel severely nauseated. And then I felt feverish and ill. It was really odd. I've never fallen sick in this manner. Something was definitely not right.

The moment we got back, I tested my temperature. I was burning at 38.8C (101.8F)!

How can it be? I did not have any sorethroat or flu. I've never felt like this before. I decided to shower to bring the temperature down.

"OMG!" I exclaimed when I took my clothes off.

I had chicken pox!

Joel had passed the virus to me! He was down with it two weeks back. A classmate of his was down with it. And then Joel and a few of his classmates caught it.

Suddenly everything made sense.

A week before we left for this trip, I started to have really bad sleep. I had nightmares. I would jump up from my sleep with my heart racing with severe anxiety attacks. I had thought it was my salicylates bucket that had overflowed. My scalp then started to itch to the point I thought I had head lice. It then felt like my scalp was on fire. I thought that I had somehow developed some allergy to my normal shampoos. I attributed it to the peri-menopause. I used Pinetarsol to soothe the itch. I went to my pharmacist and bought Elomet lotion for the scalp. They gave temporary relief. But then the scalp-on-fire symptom would return.

And then I developed severe joint pains. I even went to the ER thinking I had somehow contracted dengue. The dengue test came back negative but the blood tests said that I had a viral infection. So they did a full blood picture test as my platelet count was low. The results were fine but showed that I had low platelet count and a low WBC reading. Again, it showed that I had a viral infection. But I did not have any sorethroat. No flu. The doctor told me to go home and rest and to drink plenty of water.

The day before we left for the trip, I had chest pains. I thought that I had pulled a muscle while I was packing.

It was the chicken pox virus that had been incubating inside me. Chicken pox did not cross my mind at all as I have had chicken pox when I was 19 or 20. But I had it really mild. At that point of time, I did not realise that I had chicken pox. I thought it was insect bites. That was how few blisters I had. I didn't have fever. I thought I just caught a cold. After that I had shingles. Again, it was a really small patch at the collar bone and I did not know I had shingles. I went to our family doctor for something totally unrelated and she told me I had shingles when she saw my neck.

She then asked me, "Did you have chicken pox recently?"

It was then that I only realised that I had chicken pox!

Thus, chicken pox never crossed my mind at all when I had all those symptoms. Night came and the fever spiked. And the chest pains came back with vengeance. I checked the hospitals which were nearby and decided on the one to go to. I'm glad that I listened to the voice in my heart. The doctor at the ER was very well versed with allergy. He said that at my age to have chicken pox is terrible as the symptoms will be 100 times worse. My face would swell up like a balloon. I would wish I was dead as the pain would be so unbearable. I would be literally covered in blisters from head to toe. I needed to have the anti-viral (Acyclovir) drug. As I've never had it before, I took one tablet in the ER and waited for an hour. I had no allergy reaction. I was prescribed 50 tablets of Acyclovir. By the time we went back to the condo, it was nearly 1 am.

This second round of chicken pox was so different from the first time. The fever did not break for 3 days. Even after standing under the shower for half-an-hour, the fever did not budge one bit. And I burned till 39.8C (103.6F).

*picture taken from HERE

The pain was horrible. I've never felt pain like this before. My cousin who had chicken pox in April, totally understood what I meant when I messaged him that I wanted to die from the pain. When he had the chicken pox, he was in so much pain too. I was moaning and groaning in pain. It felt as though my limbs were being wrenched out and then I was thrown under a steam roller which rolled over me over and over and over again. I asked every one of my family to kill me and to put me out of the misery and pain.

Usually people say that the chicken pox itch is terrible. My itch was minimal. But the pain was over the charts. And the nausea reminded me of the severe morning sickness I had when I was pregnant with Joel.

I was so glad that I had these two to use for my daily shower. It helped soothe the blisters.

Showering was a pain as there were blisters everywhere! I even had them on my gums, my tonsils, inside my ears, EYES and even the anus. They were everywhere. From top to bottom. But showering was a must. One must be hygienic as the blisters can get infected. I was so concerned about the blisters getting infected. I did not want to further burden my system with antibiotics. The doctor gave me a bottle of Calamine lotion. It helped a bit with the blisters. Developing encephalitis and pneumonia were also a main concern. 

I couldn't sleep. I was a wreck. My appetite was so poor. I was in so much pain. One blister was on the tip of my bottom lip to the point my mouth swelled up. I looked like those fish with fat lips. It was truly an unforgettable holiday!

Thank god for my family who took turns to take care of me. By the end of the holiday, I could stand a 400km ride back home. 

Even though it's been almost 4 weeks since the chicken pox episode, I am still exhausted and have not gotten my strength back yet. I tire easily and the pain still comes now and then. During the first week after the chicken pox episode, every evening I would feel very ill, feverish, nauseated, terrible pain in the body, cold, excruciating pain in the lymph node at the right side of the neck, skull pain and have severe anxiety attacks. It would come every evening at the same time without fail. It has gotten lesser in frequency now but this phase still comes on certain days. I've been sleeping a lot to recuperate. If I had not slept as much as I did, I don't think I would have recovered at all.  

The marks are still there. It will take awhile for them to go away. I am fine with the marks taking their time to go away. The only concern I have right now is boosting my immune system to tiptop condition again. 

*picture taken from HERE

*picture taken from HERE

*picture taken from HERE

*picture taken from HERE

Can't Keep Calm!

So the flu ran its course. It's been already two weeks!

I felt better.

Or so I thought.

I started to spit bloody mucus out. The fever came back with vengeance. And then I started to leak bloody mucus from my nose. I became worse as the day went by. The pressure in my sinus was so bad that it caused a migraine and teeth pain. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I was so miserable.

Damn.......

A sinus infection. I had only one sinus infection and it was about 12 years back. I have never had any problems with my sinus.

I called my ENT up and went to see him the very next day.

He said my sinus was severely infected. My ear drums were dull. I had laryngitis. I had a severely raw throat. The insides of my nose were completely swelled up and clogged with mucus.

He said I had to have antibiotics. I had caught a secondary bacterial infection. Augmentin is the best for sinus infection. And I had to have it for one week.

I have not had antibiotics for about 4 to 5 years.

It was horrible as it made my digestion go haywire. I was hungry all the time. My intestines were churning and very gassy. I was nauseated. My mouth had a metallic taste all the time and there was a layer on my tongue. And it caused me to have morbid thoughts about dying. I felt that I was going to die a horrible death. I had anxiety attacks and became depressed. I felt doomed. (It was very different from the feeling of doom before I had the anaphylactic attack 10 years ago.)

Click on LINK to read about the side effects of Augmentin.

During the 2nd or 3rd day, rust-like liquid flowed out of my nose. The ENT doctor said that it was stale blood.

Gross......

Today's the 6th day and things have improved very much. Hopefully my immune system will get stronger and be able to be in tip-top condition for another year(s)!

*picture taken from HERE

*picture taken from HERE

Behold the Flu!

This is the third year.

Every July/August I will succumb to the flu bug. Even when the people around me fall like flies or have a cough-a-ton, I could withstand it all. But come July/August, I will be the one who will be the flu-zombie.

Currently red-nosed, tearing and puffy eyes, having sneeze-a-tons, cough-a-tons and using up boxes of tissues.

July/August is usually a time where it is extremely dry, hot and hazy.

I guess the immune system is much better now to only succumb to the flu once a year.

I hope to be able to last longer the next round.

P.S. : It's been 100 days of being Nexium-free. No reflux/IBS unless I eat high FODMAP food or overeat. Could even go H2/Zantact-free for weeks at times.

Shit Happened (Part 6)

I had to fast for the blood tests and was off Nexium for two days. I had tried numerous times to wean off Nexium but it had always failed. I did the cutting-the-dose-down slowly but yet I still could not wean off it. (The same thing happened with Xyzal!)

This time after two days, the gum swelling and teeth pain disappeared. Not only that, my mouth and throat burning was gone! I was always tasting blood. The every morning and everyday reflux cough where I had loads and loads of sputum/phlegm disappeared too. This was the first time I had a breakthrough since god-knows-when. I can't even remember. I decided to persevere. I had to. Nexium/PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) had weakened my stomach to the point that many food which I could eat were now giving me problems. I get stomach upset/diarrhoea/stomach problems so very easily. It became a every month affair. And then it progressed to a few times a month. My stomach was never like this.

I made a small bottle (approximately 500ml) of baking soda plus water to rinse my mouth and also to gargle with consistently throughout the whole day. This was to protect the teeth, gums and throat from the acid reflux that was coming up to the mouth. I sipped the water once or twice when it got a little too acidic. As baking soda is high in salt, people with kidney problems and on a diet with strictly-limited salt should consult their doctors before drinking this. Too much of baking soda water can also cause diarrhoea! Click on LINK to read about the side effects of baking soda.

I restricted my food to really bland and steamed food. I adhered to the low FODMAP diet in order to not trigger the IBS as IBS mimics acid reflux for me. I ate so frequently to the point that I became afraid of food. But things slowly improved.

Day 4 was bad as every fibre and atom in my body were screaming for Nexium! But I could persevere on as I had been through this before while weaning off Xyzal. I knew how bad a withdrawal from a drug could get. I was much more prepared than I was when I was weaning off Xyzal.

I started to develope a withdrawal headache. But I knew this would be part of the process. I trudged on.

And then Day 6 came. Hell arrived and I could have spat acid out from my mouth and wherever the spittle would have landed, it would have melted whatever it was. By evening, I took one Zantac/Ranitidine which is a H2 Receptor Blocker. People who try to wean of PPIs gradually and slowly usually downgrade to H2 before slowly weaning of the H2. My gastroenterologist adviced me to do so.

To understand the difference between PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) and H2s (which is actually a histamine blocker) and how they function, click on LINK.

Also click on LINK to view on the difference between a PPI, a H2 and an anti-acid.

Ranitidine worked within 1/2 an hour and I felt such GREAT RELIEF! Oddly, a very mild version of the reflux cough returned.

P.s.: My blood test results came back fantastic. Everything was fine.


.... to be continued 

Shit Happened! (Part 2)

Since things began to settle down, I felt that I had found the cause to the whole December episode. It was the rice bran oil that triggered the whole December disaster. I felt relieved and began to feel better as the symptoms started to go away as the days went by. I felt that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Boy, how wrong I was. 

The light at the end of the tunnel was a high speed train headed towards me at 430km/h. I was caught like a deer in the headlight. 

WHAM!

The gods of pain came crashing like meteorites. 

The pain at the abdomen was so horrible that I thought something must have ruptured. I had excruciating heart burns (that if I did not know any better, I would have thought that I was having a heart attack). The pain from the heart burn travelled to my back (which had never happened before in my 40 years of life). I had acid 24/7 in my throat and my mouth to the point I could only taste acid and acid alone. It went up to my nostrils and sinus. It affected my ears. And I had such painful gums and teeth that I had to send a SOS message to my dentist. I had my teeth checked and X-rayed. I had healthy teeth and gums there was nothing wrong with my teeth whatsoever. 

I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. But yet I still persevered on. 

I tried going back to really basic food like I did 9 years back when I had the anaphylactic attack. It worked for a day. And then WHAM! It came back with vengeance.

I took Nexium (and then doubled the dose). Relief came for a day. And then WHAM again!

I changed the PPI to Pariet which the ER doctor prescribed. It worked for a day. And again, WHAM!

I remembered what my new gastro had told me last year: sometimes, IBS mimics reflux. So I tried all the meds that I have: Buscopan, Dupastalin, Meteospasmyl. And then I tried Ganaton, Motillium and Gaviscon. (I know, my insides resembled a mini pharmacy.) 

NOTHING WORKED!

Zilch!

That was when my soul and spirit crashed. I felt really shitty. 

I made an appointment to see Mr. Gastro. 

...to be continued

Shit Happened! (Part 1)

It started somewhere in December last year.

I coughed up some rust coloured phlegm. But it was only a one time incident.

A few days later, I felt that the back of the mouth and throat were raw and burned. When I brought Joel to see our ENT, I asked him to take a look at my mouth and throat. He said they look pink and it wasn't from being sick. Most likely I was having a GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) episode. He prescribed PPIs for me.

Towards the end of December, I had a little itch at the throat and some light coughing. Within days, it became a full-blown cough with difficulty breathing. I thought I had contracted some viral or bacterial infection. I tried gargling. Drank more soup. Went to bed earlier and slept more. Continued to walk. But nothing worked. And then it happened. I jolted up from my sleep in the middle of the night gasping for breath. It was as though I had an asthma attack. But I'm not asthmatic. Have never been. Can I suddenly develop asthma at the age of 40? I calmed myself down and tried not to get into a panic attack. Tried to breathe in and out calmly. I could breathe but it wasn't breaths where I felt relieved or satisfied. I had to breathe multiple deep breaths in order to get some slight relief.

Sat up in bed and tried to think what could have triggered this?

Nothing came to mind. I did not have any allergy reactions. Did not have any anaphylaxis symptoms. It was truly perplexing. But something was definitely wrong.

I went to the ER the next day. I told them I had difficulty breathing and they took me in immediately. After checking my medical history and what I was allergic to, he listened to my lungs. He said my lungs sounded constricted. The doctor gave me a nebuliser. This was the first time in my life I had a nebuliser. After the nebuliser, I had blood tests done and a chest x-ray.

The chest x-ray showed that I had inflammation in both my lungs. The blood test showed that I was in excellent health. No virus or bacteria infection at all. The doctor was perplexed to what was causing the chronic coughing and the inability to breathe properly. I did not fall sick recently. I did not have fever. I don't deal with foreigners. I don't smoke. I did not go overseas for holiday. In fact, I did not go anywhere! I have never been asthmatic. Nothing.

The second ER doctor who attended to me, suggested to me that I took some antibiotics just in case it was a bacterial infection which never showed up on the blood test. Things like this do happen. I hate antibiotics as they mess up with my digestive system. I declined and said that I would monitor and see how things goes.

As the nebuliser did give me some relief, they sent me home and told me to monitor myself closely. If I was to have an episode like this again, I was to go back to the ER immediately.

Well at least they didn't admit me. If not I would have spent New Year's in the hospital.

It was at this time I noticed that I had started to regurgitate big chunks of food up. Tons of acid too.

A few days later, I ended up in the ER again. The same asthma-like-attack came back. I rushed to the ER and had a nebuliser again. Blood test was done again and this time they did a influenza swab. Everything was perfect again. No inflammation, no virus, no bacteria and no influenza. They sent me to see a physician. After asking the same questions which I was asked at the ER, he said I most likely had a GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) episode and proceeded to give me PPI (Nexium) and also Aerius and Singular to help loosen up the phlegm. I went home.

It happened again. I felt very ill, coughed very violently and had difficulty breathing. I had to ask hubby to come home to take me to the hospital.

Again, blood tests and MORE blood tests. Again, all was normal. I was in great health according to my blood tests. Lungs were no longer inflamed. There wasn't any more constriction. Oxygen saturation was 100%!

The ER doctor said that he was 99.9% sure that it was my GERD acting up. I told him Nexium was useless. He gave me Pariet instead. And he told me to go back to see my gastroenterologist.

I went home with the wheels in my mind spinning nonstop at top speed. What was triggering these attacks? What have I been eating? Could it be the washing of the air-conditioners which used acid (chemicals) to clean that triggered this? I had switched on the aircon with opened windows for days with no one inside to get rid of it. But inhaling chemicals has never triggered GERD. This was something I have been eating. Could it be the new place where I was buying my free range chicken? Could they be unscrupulous business people which have been adding something to their chickens? Could it be the pork that I was consuming? Could it be the vegetables that I have been buying? Could it be the haze? Could it be something that was sinister lurking in my system?

Could it be this?

Could it be that?

WHAT COULD IT BE???????

And then it struck me like a thunderbolt.

This:

I had bought this Rice Bran Oil from the organic shop to try (it's low salicylate and also low FODMAP) and have been using it since the beginning of December. Brown rice always gave me problems and this oil is from rice bran!!!!!!! And it was extra oily.

How could I have overlooked this?

I wanted to slap myself. I was kicking myself mentally nonstop. I could not believe that this happened. How utterly careless of me.

When I did realise, we had finished all of the oil! (I bought a 1L bottle instead of the bigger bottle in the above picture. Imagine if I had bought the bigger bottle!)

A few days later, the cough began to lessen. The asthma-attack-like episodes lessened. The reflux lessened. I was relieved. I thought things would get better.

Boy, was I wrong.

...to be continued

Sugar in Hospitals!

Many patients who face malnutrition are fed with protein shakes to help boost their daily calories. The problem with the shakes are that they are loaded with sugar, sugar and MORE sugar.

To read about this, click on LINK.

An Update

Today's is the 82nd day off Xyzal!

I finally fell sick in July. Caught the flu bug which was going around the Klang Valley. The last time I fell sick was one year ago. The doctor told me that it is good to finally fall sick. The immune system can be strengthened.

As a result of falling sick (also had ulcers on my tonsils at the same time, not eating and sleeping well, coughing to the point, I think my lungs were almost expelled out a few times), the reflux problem came back and I had to be on PPIs for a few days. Then it was back to building up the gut again.

Food wise, I have been able to eat small amounts of spinach, okra, broccoli and turmeric with no issues. These are high in salicylate.

I'm still taking it slow and easy! But it's good to be able to eat healthy food!

The beginning of this journey: 1000 Kilometres and Candida

The second part of this journey: Candida & Dr. Yadav

The third part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part One)

The fourth part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part Two)

The fifth part of this journey: The New Hell Called Steroids

The sixth part of this journey: Onward, Forward, No Looking Back

The seventh part of this journey: Moving On

The eighth part of this journey: Trekking On

The Biggest Mistake Ever!

It's almost one year since we moved to our new place. Time just flew by.

We got a HE inverter front loading washing machine as it saves water electricity and detergent. Since it uses so little water, it needs to be 'washed' every month. Soap scum tend to get clogged much easier for the HE machine. I have never owned a HE front loader prior to this.

The HE front loading washer.

Recently, the laundry started to smell not-so-fresh and they didn't look clean after coming out of the washer. Many times, they had a stale smell.

The machine needed to be washed. I have not washed it for one year.

How to wash?

I went to a hardware shop nearby my place and was recommended this.

This was to be poured into the drum directly and washed in the highest temperature.

Worst. Mistake. Ever.

My whole house smelt as though it got 'nuclear bombed' AND 'atom bombed' AND 'torpedoed' by artificial fragrance. I choked and started tearing. Joel who has never been affected by smell said that both his ears and neck felt like they were breaking out in hives. He started itching.

We opened all the windows and switched on all the fans in full blast.

The smell left the house but the laundry room was a disaster. It smelt like a chemical perfume factory. I wanted to cry. My laundry room is just next to the kitchen. And I spend almost all my time in the kitchen. By the end of the day, the smell would permeate the whole house again.

My mouth started to burn. I started to feel ill. I swallowed two Piritons that day to be on the safe side.

Every load of laundry after that smelt of that horrible toxic fragrance smell.

I tried baking soda.

It didn't eradicate the smell.

I couldn't wear my clothes as they were saturated with the chemical perfume smell. It made me very ill.

WHAT TO DO????

And then the voice in my head said, "Vinegar".

I bought this from the hardware store:

Of course I had reservations regarding vinegar as vinegar has always been my worst enemy. Highest in salicylates.

Shockingly, this vinegar wasn't pungent. And I wasn't sickened at all by the smell. I had no reaction.

I poured 400ml into the washer and set it to the highest temperature. And I did this three times.

Hallelujah.

All hail Lord Vinegar. Praises be heaped upon Lord Vinegar.

The toxic fragrance smell was gone.

I then washed my clothes with the vinegar in the highest temperature. The sickening fragrance smell was gone!!! I then washed my clothes in my usual fragrant-free detergent. They all smelt normal again.

What a great relief!

This was a pricey lesson as the Tide machine washer cost RM60+ per box. I cannot exchange it as I've used one sachet. Hmmmmm.... I wonder who would want it. Hehe.....

For future washings for the machine, vinegar will be used as the tub is now so clean and fresh. And the clothes look bright and clean again. Smells great too.

Thank god for Lord Vinegar! Long live Lord Vinegar!

Formaldehyde Poisoning

Who would ever guess that this family was being poisoned by formaldehyde which was from their books, magazines and newspapers?

Click on LINK to read more.

The Sickening, God-Awful Haze

It came back and schools have been closed for two days.

I'm down with a viral fever and have been knocked out flat since Friday night.

It's really depressing at this moment right now. Sick and no fresh air available.

The Crippling Pain Again!

Sometime after the 19th of September, the crippling pain came back. It didn't just come back, it came back with vengeance. It was as though the talons from hell were strangling my bowels, bladder and womb.

I thought that it could be my voiding dysfunction had returned or I simply had caught a bad urine infection. Or something was wrong with my womb.

It was so bad that I went to the ER to find out what the cause of the pain was.

The doctor was worried about kidney stones. (Why do doctors keep on concluding that I have stones in my kidneys??? Are kidney stones really so rampant?)

And then she wanted to IV painkillers into me! NO WAY!

She insisted on giving me an IV for fluids.

They then did all the usual tests; blood, urine and ultrasound.

Everything came back normal but there were some cysts that were in my ovaries and cervix (which I had already known from the MRI two months ago). And they are harmless.

So the ER doctor called one of their gynecologists. She wanted to put me on a ten-days antibiotics course to cover base (just in case I had some pelvic inflammatory disease or STD)!

WHATEVER FOR??!!!!!!

She did not even see me. My results were perfect. And she wanted to give me antibiotics. No wonder the bacteria are mutants!

And I was supposed to see her on Friday (the next day, Thursday was a public holiday). I had to sign a consent form stating I rejected all medications.

Friday came and I made an appointment to see ANOTHER gynae.

Everything was fine. Cervix, ovaries, uterus. All were fine.

This gynae too was perplexed about the pain. He sent me for some blood tests to test my hormone levels. (I got the results yesterday and they are all fine too.)

I went to see another gynae the following week as the pain became worse. He was a very nice doctor but was as perplexed like the rest. He concluded that my pain could be psychosomatic and that I could be lacking of attention (hubby was there and said he overdoses me with attention! HAHA!). He also said that all the tests do not lie (MRI, blood tests, scope, ultrasounds). He suggested that I was so highly strung that all this stress caused this phantom pain to come about. He then suggested I seek help from psychiatrists with hypnotherapy expertise.

I did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

I haven't been highly strung ever since Joel moved to the new school. I no longer need to rush like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. I would have agreed with the gynae on his stress-theory if we were still at the old school. But my stress level has dropped so much that even my reflux and esophagitis are healed!

I know that I am not imagining this pain. Why anyone would imagine to be sick perplexes me. I have been fighting for six-an-a-half-years to be healthy. To be healthy and wanting to be so desperately sick is something I am not. I am the other way around.

He then suggested that I might consider returning to work part-time seeing Joel is such a big boy now. Maybe at the back of my mind, I am resentful at not being able to work......

He also said that if the pain was so crippling and debilitating, I would not have been able to go painkiller-free. (He definitely does not know what iron will I have. If you were me (being allergic to painkillers/NSAIDs), would you take the risk in ingesting something you're allergic to? And if an anaphylactic attack were to happen................

So the session ended with him not wanting to give my pain new names or be a groundbreaking doctor to discover an-undistinguishable-new-disease. He also told me to go to gym since the haze is so bad that I can't have my usual walks. Also told me to go for yoga!

But he was really sincere in his belief. He wasn't sarcastic or awful like the other doctors who belittle their patients. He spoke from his heart. He did not belittle me. He took my allergies and sensitivities seriously. A very meticulous doctor. He just couldn't give me an answer to the pain that I have.

-------------------------------------------------

Thursday was my appointment with my urologist whom I've not seen in 1 1/2 years.

Since it wasn't urine infection, kidney stones, STDs, prolapsed womb, twisted ovaries, IBS (colon spasms), there was only one answer.

The voiding dysfunction was back and it was back with vengeance.

So Mr. Urologist saw me and sent me for the uroflow test.

My flow was so very bad. In fact I had no flow.

He wanted to do a scope. And he wanted to do a surgery for my sphincter which has actually tightened. (This condition was actually triggered by giving birth to Joel.) Thus, the pain and the god-awful spasms. The sphincter and the bladder muscles have not being in sync with each other. But I would need to go under GA (general anesthetic) for this surgery. He would 'manually dilate' my sphincter.

(Fear actually shot up my spine when he said that!) At that point, I was really STRESSED! I had cold sweat.

I told Mr. Urologist that I wanted to back on Xatral (the prostate medication which he gave me the last time). He too said he wasn't keen on operating on me and agreed with me on this course of action.

So I am to be on Xatral for six weeks. It's not a nice medication to be on as it causes dizziness and postural hypotension. Mr. Urologist warned me that I can blackout if I get up too fast from a sitting or lying down position. I have taken this before. It will take me a week or so to adjust to the medication. Then I'll be fine.

The scary thing is that I'm his only female patient on prostate medication. And I'm also his youngest patient. Hmmmm.... Maybe the nice gynecologist was right in some of his deductions? Maybe I do NEED yoda yoga.


P.S: I'll be writing on my improvements where the salicylate/chemical sensitivity and food adventures in another post soon! Stay tuned.

Recovery Process...

I was hungry 24/7 at every second. It came to a point where I was having cold sweat, severe shaking, tremors, plunging BP to the point of blacking out, blurring of vision and terrible nausea. Something was wrong with me. My calves became so swollen that they were rock hard and I had difficulty walking.

It got so bad one night that I went to the ER. 

The doctor who saw me the previous week when I was down with the bacterial infection became worried as cases like mine could lead to inflammation of the thyroid.

So I had blood tests for the thyroid and kidneys.

All blood tests came back negative.

The doctor said that I could be having post-illness syndrome. He told me to rest. But he told me to see my gastroenterologist if this continued.

I couldn't take it as the severe hunger pangs would just strike at anytime of the day. Having chicken porridge caused my BP to plunged to the point I could only lie down as the dizziness and fainting spells were horrible. I was feeling so down and desperate.

I saw Dr. Rockstar last Friday. 

Dr. Rockstar said the antibiotics had screw up my digestion. Everything became haywire and it could take up to one month for my system to return to normal. I am currently on pancreas enzymes. It's called Pancreatin. It's digestive enzymes. 

There have been 'pockets of relief' here and there. I have to eat even smaller meals and have more protein. 

The good news is I am able to take yoghurt (which my stomach couldn't digest) and also sprouted wheat bread (which was an experiment). This means that all this while I lacked the enzymes to digest certain foods.

It is certainly interesting to see how things are unfolding. I have a follow-up meeting with Dr. Rockstar next week. Let's see what he shall say then. 

13 Months!

It was a stellar record. To me at least it was.

For 13 months I managed to fight every virus and bacteria germ that I came across.

I finally succumbed to a very nasty bacterial infection last week which saw my tonsils swell up twice their size. The pain was so excruciating. Not only that, I had ulcers in my throat. And the hacking cough that would not let up made the pain worse.

The infection was so bad that the doctors thought I had dengue as my platelet count dropped drastically.

Thank god it was only bacteria and not viral.

One week of antibiotics cleared the infection.

So it's now back to building the immune system and gut system up and maybe hopefully I can stay strong for TWO years now?? Hopefully.

12 Things You Should Never Say to Someone with a Chronic Health Condition

This is a MUST read!

Click on LINK.

The Demon Named Influenza A

Last year it was Nightmare On Influenza B Street. This year it's his brother the Demon Influenza A. If you thought that you've seen it all, been through it all and know it all after an experience with Influenza B, you're sadly mistaken.

1. Your Brain is Just One Big Blob of Goo
Nothing makes sense. You see A and B are supposed to go together, but somehow you can't even put them together. Your brain is jammed. Its simplicity just bamboozles you. No matter how hard you try, you can't even tell which is your left hand. Your brain is just in the Cloud up there.

2. Six-Packs, Eight-Packs, Quadruple Packs
You'll have all those packs above in no time with all the pulling and stretching that your body has to accommodate for those hours and hours of never-ending-marathon-coughs. You'll instantly turn into Mr or Miss Body-Building-Machine unlike some Mr-I'll-Be-Back who took years and yet could never come back somehow... Eeeeeewwwww... I'd rather choose Wolverine over Arnie any day. *sigh* Wolverine....... *drools* *SLAPS SELF!* Forgive my foggy state of mind. It's the virus that's turned my brain into this blob of goo drooling over some silly nonexistent mutant.

3. Casper the Ghost
You know how Casper tries to makes friends with everybody but ends up scaring everybody out of their wits? That's how you will feel. Even the reflection of your own hand will cause you to jump 10-feet out of your skin. I was constantly being frightened by any sound and everything that moved. I would have been a good candidate for a ghost movie. I would just jump and scream even if they moved the camera.

4. A.L.I.E.N
Yup. You read that right. Alien. The one that drips acid saliva and has the never-ending-fond-habit of bursting out from human's rib cages or abdomens. That's how you'd feel when you're coughing and coughing and coughing endlessly. You'd think that the violent, never-ending spasmodic coughs will cause your insides to finally explode out giving birth to a tiny 'cough-alien-baby'.

5. Your Bed is Out to Kill You!
I can't emphasize this point enough. It's sole purpose during this time of unfortunate illness is not to comfort you or give you some relief from the sore, aching body.

You see the virus can be akin to the Mafias. They are both the same. Sadists in the fullest sense. First they beat you up. Then they pull out a tooth here and there. And then they use pliers to pull your fingernails out. And then they 'try' to drown you for 5 minutes while they continue to beat the shit out of you. And then they slowly electrocute you to death. And when you're about to die, they resuscitate you and throw you in your cell to only continue the torture the next day.

So you think the cell is a welcomed relief. But NOOOOOOOOO! You can feel every contour, every crack, every shape and everything. You try to position yourself into a more comfortable position to try to get some relief when suddenly it feels like a sinkhole has appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the cell and it is sucking you in! And then it's GONE! Out of nowhere the cell is suddenly filled with thorns. It is hurting, tearing your skin apart, causing you more pain. When you try to get that bit of rest that you so desperately need it will come back in full force to make sure you don't get that. You then twist, you turn, you curl up, you sleep like a scarecrow, you do whatever it takes to get a teeny-weeny bit of relief. The cell will NEVER give you that. It has formed a pact together with the Mafia (a.k.a Influenza A) and the devil to make you wish you had died before they resuscitated you for tomorrow's round 2.

The cell is YOUR BED.

Influenza A Positive

By afternoon hubby came down with a temperature. And I started one again in the afternoon which was 99.6 that soon spiked to 102.3.

Shivering, severely nauseated and blacking out I knew I needed to get to the ER again. And I knew that I had some sort of an influenza.

I almost collapsed upon reaching the hospital and they immediately dripped me and gave me the anti-vomit medication and stomach medication through IV. 

They took some blood for tests and swabbed me again. And this time it's Influenza A positive. The other day was a false negative as it was only the first day. 

I'm home and the fever is low-grade again. Still fighting this. Such an exhausting time it is.

It's 1.40am and I am currently trying not to cough out my lungs.

A classmate of Joel's AND his parents are down with high fever and cough too and flat on their backs too. I don't think they've gone for any test yet.

ER

I was burning at 104F and it wasn't going down. I was dizzy and on the verge of passing out. Hubby brought me to the ER and they placed me on a drip and sponged me. Some blood tests were done and it is a viral infection. I have some bacterial infection too. The doctor said I must be too weak and am a magnet for viruses and bad bacteria. It's not dengue or Influenza.

They had to IV an anti-vomit medication as I was on the verge of throwing up. That medication gave me palpitations but I could eat something that night.

The fever broke somewhere early in the morning but has currently returned though it's low grade.

Coughing seems to be preoccupying most of my time. Joel too is coughing and hacking like a barking seal.

It seems there is an outbreak of HFMD at our area and Joel's school just sent a mail stating that there is a kid with this virus.

Thank you for your positive thoughts and prayers.

A Diarrhoea-Ful Day!

Yesterday was the day that the car needed to see its doctor for its 3-monthly checkup. I had an 8.20am appointment. Well, I left the house at 7am. I would be early. Or so I thought.

Of all mornings, it decided to POUR! I mean, the heavens just opened up and POURED!!!! Oh well, I was still early. (Yeah, right!)

I got caught in a jam for 1 1/2 hours! It was so frustrating!

But the beautiful sun which was slowly emerging from the dark clouds put a smile on my face!

And then I started to feel some mild rumblings in my bowels. Well, that's normal. Sometimes it happens.

I arrived at the service centre at 8.30am! By then the intestine rumblings got louder. I thought they were doing some Mambo in there.

After registering the car, I took a seat to wait.

Before my bum could even heat the seat up, the Mambo dance became a frantic war dance. The war cry was just too strong.

I got up, went to the toilet and appeased the war cries.

That was it! (Or so I thought!)

Frantic war dance became a wretched soul's howling cries. It was so disturbing that I had to run to the toilet and appease whatever that soul was screaming.

That was done! (Not so, said the bowels!)

It progressed to the howlings of a banshee. It then evolved to a battleground in WW1. It then promoted itself to WW2. And it went on to even WW3.

I think I had even purged my lungs out by the time I was done! I could not even FEEL that I had any intestines left in me. I had gone to the toilet for 8 times!

I could not wait to get home.

But I had a very strong prompting in my heart to ask my hubby to how he was feeling. He too said he had much rumblings in the bowels. If the both of us have this, then Joel too must be going through the same thing! And he was in school!!!

After I got my car at nearly 11am, I sped to his school.

True enough he had purged twice in school and had gone to the infirmary.

I then had another excruciating battle at the school's toilet.

We left school and headed for the ER. Joel was nauseated in the car.

The doctor said that we have some stomach bug. We were given anti-diarrhoea medication, anti-nausea medication and ORS (Oral Rehydrating Salts).

I drank a glass of the anti-diarrhoea medication the moment I arrived home. I was so weak, exhausted and dehydrated. I could barely stand. It was a miracle we made it home without having to stop at some petrol station!

But the episodes continued at home. He purged. And I purged. By the time night came, I don't think I had any bowels left. I had gone to the toilet for 11 times!

Joel was on MC today. Unfortunately I do not have any MC. Hubby came home after lunch. I was spent.

I could only stomach this horrible looking porridge.

This was Joel's. I could only take a quarter of this amount. YUCKS!

Sleep was so disruptive last night. Joel too had very disruptive sleep.

And then a sore throat crept in today. Oh boy....