|
|
| Mitch |
|
This has been a great help finding this site. I had a series of symptoms that seem to mirror many of the stories on this web site. I am 45 years old, married with 3 children and am self-employed in the insurance field.
Around February or March of 1999 I started to get horrible headaches. It reached a point where I was taking 20 aspirin, Advil or Tylenol a day. It felt kind of like an ice cream headache or when you drink something cold too quickly. Take off the high-end sharpness and that was the pain I felt. I was unsteady and had vision problems. My memory went to heck as well, to the point where I could no longer juggle 10-15 things at once I found myself struggling with one task at a time. My small staff of 5 people started to notice that I was having problems before I noticed. The doctors thought I had a pituitary microadenoma (brain tumor) as it was affecting so many things at once. My speech would stop mid sentence at times. I had trouble reading, my speech slowed up and many other motor skills were affected. A big thing for me is the positive aggressiveness I used to have being in sales, now I don't push as hard as I used to. This is not a good thing in my line of work.
Cutting to the chase. I went through all the tests and the doctors found I had two detached retinas, which they fixed, high blood pressure, which now is under control. A degenerative disease and viral encephalitis, and before this I was a guy who was hardly ever sick. I was used to working 14-18 hour days. Now I am tired, stress with family at times affects me worse than work. Noises get to me and I think I am going nuts at times. I look good, so nobody seems to understand what it is I am going through.
The doctors said it would get better in six months, it has not! I am tired and still stumble like a drunk when tired or stressed. My handwriting looks like a child's when I am tired. The encephalitis comes and goes, so some times when I see the doctor I look reasonably good and then boom I get hit again. No one seems to have any answers as to length of time effects will last.
I have retained my keen sense of humor. My family just does not understand nor do they look to find any information about this illness. I feel alone.
I am so glad I found this site and realize others are struggling like I am. I think I am going to ask my staff that work with, to write how I am affected and what is going on recently so I can take information to the doctor. The doctors gave me medicine for my high blood pressure, it works. No medicine for viral encephalitis they said, but they did give me some drug effexeril saying it might help my sleep patterns and make me bit more clear headed. This medication is also used for depression though I am not depressed, although highly frustrated.
I still work, but cut back the hours greatly, delegate a lot more now. Some family act as if I am mentally ill. I retain my intelligence, just have difficulty getting it out at times and communicating that's all.
|
Mitch
Anytown, U.S.A.
Posted: June 30, 2000 |
|
|
