I am feeling really down today.
I received some bad news on Tuesday and as it turned out, my eye problem is only a taste of a bigger health issue. I had hints and clues of this problem for many years now but I kept dismissing it as a common back pain. Now it has a name.
Ankylosing Spondylitis.
And what an ugly name!
When I was a child, I remember my mom having these back and hip pains from time to time. She never had it checked, so eventhough I'm pretty sure I got it from her, I am not sure of anything else. She is fine and mobile up to this day. She never had the Iritis. Does that mean mine is worse?
Now, my dilemma is whether or not to go on these treatments that the doctor is proposing -- Enbrel or Remicade.
I have no idea. The side effects sound worse than the disease.
And how about having a baby? How is this going to affect that?
I feel sorry for my husband. We are only married two years and just getting started on a family. And here I go with my health issues.
Too many risks to consider. My head hurts.
I'm afraid.
Showing posts with label My Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Story. Show all posts
Inching my way out of the woods...
Last eye exam went very well. My doctor was pleased that I'm responding to treatment quite nicely. And I'm very grateful that my resilient little eye is doing a great job in bouncing back to health.
But I'm not quite out of the woods yet... we have to slowly inch our way out. We have to gradually taper the med dosage every week. I'm down to 3x a day now. This is good considering I had to start with 10x a day. Like, every two freaking hours!
I know these eyedrops saved my eye, and I'm forever thankful, but I won't miss them when it's over. And I wish never to have this eye trouble again.
But I'm not quite out of the woods yet... we have to slowly inch our way out. We have to gradually taper the med dosage every week. I'm down to 3x a day now. This is good considering I had to start with 10x a day. Like, every two freaking hours!
I know these eyedrops saved my eye, and I'm forever thankful, but I won't miss them when it's over. And I wish never to have this eye trouble again.
How it all began...
It was our first time to go on a cruise.
We were in New York City and supposed to board a ship docked in Manhattan Port that afternoon for an 8-day cruise to the Bahamas. We never made it to the ship.
A week before our flight to New York, I was diagnosed with a "pink eye". But only on my left eye.
For a few days, I religiously put my prescribed eyedrops. I wanted my eye to get past it before our trip. Saturday morning, when it was time to leave, I started to feel better and off we went to NYC.
My “pink eye” turned out to be a more serious eye inflammation that affected my vision.
Sunday night, I was in so much pain that my husband had to rush me to the Emergency Room. They put some pigment on my eye to look for any abrasions but they did not see any. The doctor sent us home with just another eyedrop prescription.
I woke up the next morning, unable to see anything with my left eye.
We sought an eye doctor. Somehow, in this busy city where we did not know anybody and without a laptop, my husband was able to find me one who would see me right away.
The good doctor tried to tend to me between his appointments. After a couple of hours of multiple eyedrops and eye examinations, he told us that this is a serious condition called Uveitis. We started crying in his clinic (and I still can’t recall this story without crying). It was the scariest moment of my life!
We had to go to a Retina Specialist immediately. This type of Retina Specialist is rare, comprising less than 1% of eye doctors, but our good doctor called up his colleagues and got us an appointment on the same day. We felt we were in New York City for a reason.
The specialist did several tests, prescribed us a bunch of eyedrops and pills, and advised us to stay in NYC so they can watch it closely. They only released us on Thursday, after they confirmed that I was out of immediate danger. The good news was that my right eye is fine, and my left eye seems able to bounce back. The bad news was that it would take 6-8 weeks for my vision to return to normal.
They found me another specialist in Columbus to monitor my progress, and another critical point would be after 8 weeks when they try to get me off the medicines because it may come back. Right now, some vision on my left eye has returned – it’s like looking at a fogged up mirror. I have to constantly check if it is getting better or worse.
On top of our medical crisis, it was also a bad week to be in NYC. Hotel room prices skyrocketed due to a couple of conventions and we had to move to a different hotel almost every night to get a more affordable room. And finally, we had to re-book our flights back to Ohio, and ended up flying to Dulles first and then Pittsburgh for a two-hour drive to Ohio.
But after all the chaos and the confusion and the many specialists, the main question remains... what caused this eye problem?
We were in New York City and supposed to board a ship docked in Manhattan Port that afternoon for an 8-day cruise to the Bahamas. We never made it to the ship.
A week before our flight to New York, I was diagnosed with a "pink eye". But only on my left eye.
For a few days, I religiously put my prescribed eyedrops. I wanted my eye to get past it before our trip. Saturday morning, when it was time to leave, I started to feel better and off we went to NYC.
My “pink eye” turned out to be a more serious eye inflammation that affected my vision.
Sunday night, I was in so much pain that my husband had to rush me to the Emergency Room. They put some pigment on my eye to look for any abrasions but they did not see any. The doctor sent us home with just another eyedrop prescription.
I woke up the next morning, unable to see anything with my left eye.
We sought an eye doctor. Somehow, in this busy city where we did not know anybody and without a laptop, my husband was able to find me one who would see me right away.
The good doctor tried to tend to me between his appointments. After a couple of hours of multiple eyedrops and eye examinations, he told us that this is a serious condition called Uveitis. We started crying in his clinic (and I still can’t recall this story without crying). It was the scariest moment of my life!
We had to go to a Retina Specialist immediately. This type of Retina Specialist is rare, comprising less than 1% of eye doctors, but our good doctor called up his colleagues and got us an appointment on the same day. We felt we were in New York City for a reason.
The specialist did several tests, prescribed us a bunch of eyedrops and pills, and advised us to stay in NYC so they can watch it closely. They only released us on Thursday, after they confirmed that I was out of immediate danger. The good news was that my right eye is fine, and my left eye seems able to bounce back. The bad news was that it would take 6-8 weeks for my vision to return to normal.
They found me another specialist in Columbus to monitor my progress, and another critical point would be after 8 weeks when they try to get me off the medicines because it may come back. Right now, some vision on my left eye has returned – it’s like looking at a fogged up mirror. I have to constantly check if it is getting better or worse.
On top of our medical crisis, it was also a bad week to be in NYC. Hotel room prices skyrocketed due to a couple of conventions and we had to move to a different hotel almost every night to get a more affordable room. And finally, we had to re-book our flights back to Ohio, and ended up flying to Dulles first and then Pittsburgh for a two-hour drive to Ohio.
But after all the chaos and the confusion and the many specialists, the main question remains... what caused this eye problem?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)