A Day in the Life of Recovery

The strange thing about my condition is how suddenly it changed everything about me and my daily experience. Four months ago, though I was sick, you wouldn’t have known it—unless you happened to notice me nodding off in class, day after day, after consistent eight or nine-hour nights of sleep—or if you noticed the ever-increasing amount of dents in my car from suddenly not being able to tell where the edges of my car were. But now, with one look at me trying to walk across a room, it’s extremely obvious that something is going in my brain that I have no control over. Welcome to my new world of PANDAS.

One of the hardest things about recovery is learning to be honest with yourself by being willing to admit how hard everything still is. It’s often difficult for me to explain to my friends and family just how challenging each day can be, so I decided that instead of explaining, I would tell you about what it takes to get through a typical day…

Continue reading “A Day in the Life of Recovery”

I Officially Have PANDAS!

So I went to see a PANDAS specialist this week, and I’ve finally been diagnosed with PANDAS.  My doctor was wonderful and finally took my symptoms seriously.  She even said my mysterious illness from 2006-2007 may have been Rheumatic Fever. And unfortunately, she told me I’m not just having tics, but also chorea, which could explain my strange falls when I walk.  The best words my doctor said were, “You’re going to get better.”

Continue reading “I Officially Have PANDAS!”

Is Looking at My Medical Records Really Too Much to Ask?

This week, I’m going to be seeing three neurologists including one PANDAS specialist. As you can imagine, I’m very nervous but also excited about the possibility of figuring out what has gone on with me for the past eight years. In order to prepare for the appointments, I’ve been trying to get my hands on my own medical records for awhile—with little success.  Forgive me, because I need to vent… Continue reading “Is Looking at My Medical Records Really Too Much to Ask?”

Takin’ Roids

I’m no doctor, but recent developments have shown I almost certainly have PANDAS or PANS.

A standard way to see if symptoms are autoimmune-related is to do a steroid burst for five days. The theory is that if inflammation is the culprit, the symptoms will improve with the steroids. Continue reading “Takin’ Roids”

“You’re Just Tired”

So I tried Xyrem for a week, and I did sleep like a baby. It was actually wonderful—I would wake up in the morning feeling completely rested and not feeling like I needed twenty more hours of sleep. I hadn’t felt that way for eight years. But it upset my stomach so badly that I lost even more weight because I was unable to eat anything. I’m down to a hundred pounds. I was around 111 before this summer…

My doctor is just plain flummoxed by my strange reactions to meds, so he made me stop everything over the weekend—even my anti-depressant. As would be expected, I felt horrible in every way. But one of the worst parts was what someone said to me about how I would be off my meds: Continue reading ““You’re Just Tired””