A Rough Start to the Year

Hello everyone!

I’m currently working on a different post that will be a little more fun, but it’s taking quite some time. I’ve been having an extremely rough start to this year, and it’s showing in literally everything I try to do. I’ve even started to appear sick, which is worrisome because normally I don’t look sick or tired (except facial expressions) on a regular basis – but now there are dark circles forming under my eyes, and my eyelids are always a little too pink and puffy.

It’s easiest to post on Instagram regularly, since I don’t need a computer and computers can cause me migraines. I would recommend following me on Instagram to get updates the fastest: findinglifessilversun on Instagram.

Here’s some of what’s been going on with me:

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Ended up in urgent care today. (Long explanation below) . I have been sick off and on since the middle of December, but yesterday and today I was really sick. Today, my body was 100% rundown and hurt and I kept shivering and I had no appetite or thirst reflex. I knew it wasn't fantastic. My neck and head hurt too. . Last night, I had a systemic allergic reaction that was really scary and I almost went to the ER for – but I could breathe. My entire body was itchy, my hands and feet were on fire and swollen, my mouth felt like I'd been holding scalding water in it, and I could feel every single bit of sensory input possible. I took liquid Benadryl but it wouldn't improve and just got worse. Obviously, I had a full meltdown and started crying. Then I was crying so hard I was gasping for air and I started coughing. Then, suddenly, I was being stabbed in the gut. It was the worst abdominal pain I think I've ever had (and I've had some doozies). I ended up on the floor in a ball screaming and kinda flailing around. Eventually, it subsided a bit, but I was still itchy. I had Dan give me another 1/2 dose of Benadryl and stuff calmed down to a more tolerable level and we went to bed (it was 2am at that point). . About 3:30a I woke up and woke up Dan and was telling him to "do the sleep stuff." We had been asleep and already did all the "sleep stuff." We were both confused, I was struggling to get my thoughts out properly, and eventually we just ended up going back to bed. This was much more than a "I woke up from a dream and can't think straight." . Then, today, the urgent care doctor said I probably was in anaphylaxis last night. 😱 That's not okay. So I'll be making an appt with my allergist ASAP! . The urgent care did flu and mono tests, both negative. My abdomen was extremely painful too. So he prescribed prednisone for five days, and got some bloodwork drawn (results pending). The doc thinks I have a nasty virus and my body is freaking out. . But as of right now, he doesn't think anything right this second is life threatening. I have had a less-than-fun day today.

A post shared by Elizabeth Bulfer (she/her) (@findinglifessilversun) on

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Thursday night we (Dan came with me) spent most of the night in the ER. The cold/virus/crash that I went to urgent care for Tuesday night? Yeah, it decided to wallop me quite soundly. . Wednesday, I struggled to consume enough fluids, but was still able to drink and eat a semi-normal amount. . Thursday, I couldn't take more than two sips of anything without getting dry heaves, and eating was almost impossible. I did a decent job given the circumstances, but as the day wore on I knew it wasn't going to be good. THEN I got slammed with horrible GI upset and started losing water quickly (not throwing up). In 36 hours, I'd lost 5 pounds – primarily fluids. By 9pm, I was dizzy, exhausted, couldn't talk properly, and my lungs were so dry it hurt to breathe. So, we made the decision to go to the ER. . The ER actually did a FANTASTIC job of listening and believing everything I had to say! It was such an amazing experience, I got so lucky! . My abdominal pain was directly over my appendix, so I got a CT. Thankfully, no appendicitis, but they told me to keep an eye on it because apparently it can start with symptoms before anything image-able happens. . My dehydration was actually visible in my bloodwork, and my urinalysis showed some ketones (apparently, also indicative of dehydration). I was flabbergasted that it was actually visible and quantifiable 😱 . My bloodwork also showed elevated WBC (white blood cell count). I had gotten my urgent care bloodwork back Thursday morning (drawn Tuesday), and between Tuesday night and Thursday night my WBC had almost doubled 😱 Not good, and not fully explainable with prednisone. . No diagnosis other than "stomach bug" BUT they took amazing care of me! I got 2 liters of fluid, 2 doses of IV zofran, and some Tylenol to help my exhaustion headache. I definitely felt better Friday morning (not healed, just not dead feeling). Being listened to was really amazing! … #ChronicConditions #ChronicIllness #ChronicIllnessWarrior #InvisibleIllness #Dehydration #Dysautonomia #StomachBug #ERvisit

A post shared by Elizabeth Bulfer (she/her) (@findinglifessilversun) on

Since the ER visit, eating and drinking has still been a challenge. Things have improved slightly, and I’m able to eat a bit better, but I’m still not able to eat or drink enough to properly sustain myself and get my energy levels back up.

We’re not sure what exactly is going on with my body, but I have just been in a slow decline since the middle of December, and it’s quite worrisome.

And, to top it all off, my body decided to add a sinus infection into the mix. I woke up yesterday (1/18/18) with a sinus infection. Most sinus infections are viral, so I won’t be going to my doctor specifically for it as no medications can be given for a viral infection. However, I see my primary care doctor next week for the urgent care and ER visit follow-ups and will be talking to her about the sinus infection as well if it hasn’t gone away by then.

I just wanted to let you all know that I’m still alive, even though my body is doing its best to make that not true 😉 I’m just having to do everything a lot slower right now!

As always, thank you so much for being loyal readers! Hopefully, I’ll be able to get back to my regular posting schedule soon!

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