Twitch 2: Electric Bugaloo (Part 1 of…)

In July I went to Denver and was told by two crack neurosurgeons that my Chiari malformation did not require surgery. It was reassuring…as close to a clean bill of health that somebody as messed up as I am can get.

Ah well…America loves a sequel.

I started feeling really lousy earlier this Fall. Some days have been better than others, but by and large I’ve felt generally “meh”.

Then, last week was purely miserable. I had a headache basically sunup to sundown every day last week and all weekend long. There were times when it was sufferable but never really good.

So today I saw my primary care physician and told him about my meh-feeling, about the headaches, about things the Denver docs told me to take notice of–such as trouble swallowing, weakness on one side of my body, and–I can’t say it enough–headaches.

The doc told me that an MRI I had gotten recently revealed that the ventricles in my brain are swollen, possibly due to an obstruction. When he first said “ventricles” this song entered my mind:

This right here? This is the real sickness!

Anyway, he recommended I communicate this to the Denver docs which I will do. I’m gonna talk to Regional West and see if they can send the MRI to Denver Health. I’m not saying this is a big deal, but it’s certainly worth getting them in the loop.

I’ve also noticed trouble breathing lately, which may be due to pets in my apartment building or may just be a sign of aging. By and large my ashtma is much more of a concern in cold weather season than warm. I’m getting a nebulizer so I can suck my way to better breathing.

The important thing is that I get feeling better in the short term…it’s a big week at Radio City and not a week to be sick. (Last week wasn’t a particularly marvelous week to be sick either. But I have years of experience at wheezing and stumbling through bad days.)

I have a marvelous array of pharmaceuticals coming my way in the next hour or so. I’m crossing my fingers that one or more of them change my status from “meh” to “not bad.” (“Not bad” being a vast improvement over recent weeks.)