Demyelinated not Destroyed

This time of year tends to get hectic as the holidays have a habit of bringing together loved ones and all of the the social events that go along with them. While I have had some of that sort of busyness over the past few days, I’ve also had other things requiring my attention.

Last Wednesday, I had to make a trip to the doctor to get antibiotics for a sinus infection.

Last Friday, I had a neurology appointment. The numbness, tingling, and reflexes are getting worse but my balance and strength are still doing well. I learned that sinus headaches are now being considered migraines because they both irritate the same nerve. As can be expected, my sinus infection has been giving me bad headaches. Since I have a history of migraines in general, my neurologist sent me home with samples of several different migraine medications to try.

Last Sunday, I strained my ankle. I had been sitting at my computer desk, typing, for several hours. I have a habit of curling my legs up underneath me whenever I sit down. The numbness and tingling I experience constantly causes me to lose all feeling in my legs rather quickly when I do this. Usually when I stand up after sitting like that for awhile, the feeling returns fairly quickly once I start walking. That didn’t happen on Sunday.

I went to take a step with my left foot. My body moved; my leg moved; my foot didn’t. Essentially, I wound up tripping over my foot. I caught my balance fairly quickly and managed to make it to the nearby couch by sort of lunging at it. Looking back, I probably should have just let myself fall. Because I didn’t, I put a lot of weight on the top part of my foot, which is probably what led to the muscle strain. The swelling has gone down but I have to admit, I was shaken by the experience. It’s the first time something like that has happened to me. I hate being reminded of what my limitations are.

Earlier today, I had an interview at one of the many nursing homes in the area for a CNA position. I don’t presently hold a CNA certificate, however they are giving free classes and will pay for the certification exam, which is awesome. The downside is the only available shifts are in the evening and overnight which would seriously restrict the amount of time I have to spend with my husband and children. So, I have some thinking to do over the next several days about whether or not the job would be right for me.

I had the beginnings of a migraine when I got home, so I decided to take one of the samples my neurologist had given me. I also took some Benadryl at the same time because my allergies were starting to act up. Boy, am I ever glad that I did! The sample I took had naproxen in it. One of the brand names for naproxen is Aleve. Naproxen is also derived from aspirin. I’m deathly allergic to aspirin.

About a half hour later, I was on the phone with my husband when my inner ear and scalp started to itch really bad. I mean, insanely bad. After a moment, it registered that I had had a similar reaction to aspirin several years ago. Immediately, I went to check the sample and discovered that naproxen was a main ingredient. Right about then, I started to cough, which is my body’s way of telling me that I’m having an asthma attack. I took some more Benadryl in an effort to counter the allergic reaction. Thankfully, it worked.

I know I should have gone to the hospital but I was home alone. Driving myself to the hospital wasn’t an option under the circumstances and I was loathe to call an ambulance unless I absolutely needed to. If the added Benadryl hadn’t worked, I would have.

I’m extremely careful whenever I buy over-the-counter medications. I know all the various names for aspirin and it’s various derivatives. I always scrutinize the ingredients list to make sure it’s safe for me to take. I didn’t check the sample because I thought my doctor would take my allergies into account when giving me the samples. Although, now that I’m thinking about it, his medical assistant is the one who got the samples for me. At any rate, I’m definitely going to read over the ingredients of any samples given to me from now on to prevent something like this from happening again.

Hopefully, that’s all the excitement I’ll have for this week!

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Demyelinating Disease of the Month - Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy or CIDP. More info can be found here.

Read the Blog of the Month - CIDP And Me

Help spread the word, fund research for a cure, and support others by donating to the Charity of the Month - GBS-CIDP Foundation International

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