Where to begin with all that's happened?

Ahhhh - The Breakfast of Champions!

I've been horribly lax in keeping up this blog, as well as keeping up my personal journal, and in keeping in touch with my loved ones and friends. I can't, nor will I post an excuse - I really don't have one other than those you've heard a thousand times before.

So - let's catch up, shall we?

My last post about a fatty liver wasn't well received by a lot of people. I sort of sprung it on everyone, and just let it sit. I didn't call anyone to tell them about it, and I didn't go beyond that post much because so much is up in the air. Update on the fatty liver - I'm going in on the 11th of May to see the liver specialist up at the VA and possibly have a biopsy done. I'll know more then. I do know that this certainly signals the start of a new life of diet and exercise. The good news is that Chris wants to do this together, so that will be more helpful.

Where am I now? Well, I've been flaring with the wave-like pattern of stormy weather we've been having, which has quite nicely done two things to me: First, it's caused me to have to take more meds that I like, resulting in excessive fatigue, and irritability. Second, it's made me even more determined to get to the bottom of my diagnosis, and get on track to getting my life back.

OK - here's the new stuff: The doctors at the VA have taken extensive x-rays, performed a CAT scan, and an MRI of by spine and lumbar, and hips and pelvis. From all appearances, they have concluded that aside from some arthritis is my back, it would seem I am AS free. This is awesome! But at the same time, it's disconcerting, because AS seemed to explain the pain, stiffness, energy loss etc. The latest shot in the dark is going to follow a two fold track - first, they're going to begin MEGA doses of vitamin D - of which I have a severe deficiency. Apparently, a severe Vit D deficiency can cause your bones to lose calcium - well, my body can't absorb calcium from my food etc, so it's been robbing my bones for it. The doctor said this could account for the extreme bone and joint pain. In addition, they've told me that the initial sarcoidosis attack that started all of this SEVEN YEARS AGO, likely caused my body to develop a case of Fibromyalgia (FM). So, they plan to treat the bone loss, and Vit D. deficiency, and attack the FM with some of the latest meds they've come out with.

Now, many of you will ask, "Why haven't you said anything about this!? This is exciting!?" Well, I know it sounds corny, but I didn't want to believe it could be so easy. After all these years and tests, for it to come down to a vitamin deficiency and FM, just seemed to miraculous. And frankly, I didn't want to jinx things by saying this is what it is. Unless you've been here, you may not understand that one... Frankly, I'm having a hard time believing it too. I'll have to see how I feel after the mega vitamin D gets here and I start down that path. It's almost too much to hope for that I could again lead a normal life - mostly free of pain, and fatigue! It's just almost too much to even hope for!

So - the fatty liver may or may not be a problem. It could be controlled through diet and exercise, or, it could be controlled by dropping some of the many medications I hopefully won't need in the near future. I can't imagine how hard my liver must be working to process all the narcotics and chemicals in my system... ugh! The doctor said that some people live all their lives with a fatty liver and it never harms them. Hopefully, we've caught this in time and there's no lasting damage!

There you go. You're caught up. To those I've hurt by being so unavailable, I offer my sincere apologies. This is what happens when you're living my life and taking my journey. Thanks for being patient. Below is an apology recorded just for you!