Blame the thyroid

I was so hopeful that this third neurologist would come through for me.  After all, I had two names to drop as referring me to her.  A mutual friend and a doctor.
It was awful.
I should have known it was off to a bad start when a resident walked in the room first.  I appreciate [...]

What to expect: Muscle Biopsy

So you’ve got unexplained leg weakness that no one can diagnose and you’re having a muscle biopsy, your second biopsy in three months!
I thought there was a lack of information about thyroid biopsies when I wrote my posts about that.  There is a severe lack of information about muscle biopsies on the web. So, here [...]

Are you a responsible patient?

I know my expectations for my physicians and am fairly certain of my physicians’ expectations for me.  But what about my personal responsibility to other patients?
There was a time in my life when I was less likely to be a persistent patient. When my thyroid treatment stalled, I jumped out of the car and hitched [...]

AFO Update

This blog is getting quite a few clicks from search engines for the strings “shoes AFO”; “Shoes ankle foot orthosis” ; and “AFO Helps”.
I’ve had my ankle-foot-orthosis (AFO) for officially one month.  Here’s a breakdown of my experience.  First off – please note that I wear an AFO for transient weakness in my left leg [...]

The Wolf and the Chronic Illness Mindset

The Boy Who Cried Wolf is a well known Aesop’s fable.  What you may not know is this fable has imposed a long-term grip of fear on me.
I believe that if I seek out help for a medical problem and it turns out that I’m just fine – I am essentially crying wolf.  This [...]

Grownups don’t quit

As I sat down to write the latest installment here, I thought about Susan.
Susan is my friend who commented on my last post.  I went to her blog so that I could highlight some of the information she shared.  I was surprised to find a new post from her.  Her last post was in [...]

A patient’s point of view

I tried my new approach.  I didn’t offer up much before the doctor coughed up her opinion.
The result was still largely the same.  It’s my thyroid.
Well, that’s not the total story.
I had a visit with my new ophthalmologist.  She didn’t hesitate to tell me what she thought just by looking at me.
I have dryness, [...]