Hi.
So I have posted probably a gazillion times in the past week, and it just dawned on me: I never told these people who I am.
Oops.
You can call me Derrie. I'm a thirty-year-old single, professional woman living in Montana. I love the outdoors, wild places, reading well-written prose, pretending to know how to fix my bike, my dog, and thrift store shopping. I also express my creativity by cooking-- I'm vegan, and I especially enjoy figuring out how to make old favorites without the meat and dairy. I drink a cup of herbal tea every night, no matter what, because it is the most comforting thing ever.
My generally upbeat nature has been sorely tried these past seven months of mysteriously appearing and disappearing symptoms (that I did my best to ignore), and I finally realized I should probably see a doctor about them again. In February, I experienced some tingling in my extremities, and I saw a neurologist in my former hometown. After a slew of perfectly normal blood tests and a normal brain MRI, one blood test showed an elevated B6 level. I was deemed to have B6 toxicity, which can cause paresthesia, and sent home with instruction to stop taking my multivitamin.
A month or so later, the symptoms faded, leaving only the mildest tingling.
Fast forward six months, and I'm starting a new job -- my first job since receiving my law degree! -- in a new town, and the tingling starts up. Worse. With awful, awful pain. And rubbery legs, some fatigue, etc. And tingling in my face. All that. I try to ignore it for a few weeks, and I finally give in an see a neurologist here.
After a pretty long (90 minutes!) exam, in which the neurologist noticed weakness in my left leg and brisk reflexes (for about half the exam, I labored under the delusion that "brisk" was a good thing and was quite pleased with myself and my snappy reflexes), he told me there was almost certainly something wrong on my spine.
"MS or a spinal tumor," he says.
Well, gee, thanks-- what great options.
I went home with a large bottle of gabapentin and a schedule of MRIs and follow up appointments. He said he'd likely want to treat me with steroids soon, but didn't want to give them to me until after my MRI.
So I'm in limbo, which I don't really like, but I am wishing like mad that this is something as innocuous as that B6 toxicity that I was first diagnosed with. I don't know what's wrong with me, but y'all are amazing at helping me navigate my appointments and symptoms, that I felt like sticking around, even though I fully plan not to have MS.
I can totally wish it away, right?
So I have posted probably a gazillion times in the past week, and it just dawned on me: I never told these people who I am.
Oops.
You can call me Derrie. I'm a thirty-year-old single, professional woman living in Montana. I love the outdoors, wild places, reading well-written prose, pretending to know how to fix my bike, my dog, and thrift store shopping. I also express my creativity by cooking-- I'm vegan, and I especially enjoy figuring out how to make old favorites without the meat and dairy. I drink a cup of herbal tea every night, no matter what, because it is the most comforting thing ever.
My generally upbeat nature has been sorely tried these past seven months of mysteriously appearing and disappearing symptoms (that I did my best to ignore), and I finally realized I should probably see a doctor about them again. In February, I experienced some tingling in my extremities, and I saw a neurologist in my former hometown. After a slew of perfectly normal blood tests and a normal brain MRI, one blood test showed an elevated B6 level. I was deemed to have B6 toxicity, which can cause paresthesia, and sent home with instruction to stop taking my multivitamin.
A month or so later, the symptoms faded, leaving only the mildest tingling.
Fast forward six months, and I'm starting a new job -- my first job since receiving my law degree! -- in a new town, and the tingling starts up. Worse. With awful, awful pain. And rubbery legs, some fatigue, etc. And tingling in my face. All that. I try to ignore it for a few weeks, and I finally give in an see a neurologist here.
After a pretty long (90 minutes!) exam, in which the neurologist noticed weakness in my left leg and brisk reflexes (for about half the exam, I labored under the delusion that "brisk" was a good thing and was quite pleased with myself and my snappy reflexes), he told me there was almost certainly something wrong on my spine.
"MS or a spinal tumor," he says.
Well, gee, thanks-- what great options.
I went home with a large bottle of gabapentin and a schedule of MRIs and follow up appointments. He said he'd likely want to treat me with steroids soon, but didn't want to give them to me until after my MRI.
So I'm in limbo, which I don't really like, but I am wishing like mad that this is something as innocuous as that B6 toxicity that I was first diagnosed with. I don't know what's wrong with me, but y'all are amazing at helping me navigate my appointments and symptoms, that I felt like sticking around, even though I fully plan not to have MS.
I can totally wish it away, right?
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