The Journey: a Health Update

If you are new; Welcome! here is some background on this update: Not a Summary: Part 1

This morning I had my third appointment with my neurologist-ophthalmologist to check out the pressure surrounding my brain; which he does by taking a picture of the back of my eyes. It's pretty cool actually, and slightly creepy looking ha

I was a little nervous for this one because I've only lost three more pounds as opposed to the five last time. I really do not want to go on medication and he won’t make me, as long as I keep losing weight. 

This past week has also been a bit rough and it felt like my symptoms had gotten worse. It didn’t help that my blood pressure was up to 157/92. A good blood pressure is 120/80. So, needless to say, that ‘old’ fear reared its head and I had to do some serious work on that last night. However, I had the opportunity to sing at Fusion (our church's youth group) last night and the song - Holy Spirit - itself helped calm my spirit. After that, I asked two of my friends to pray for me and I headed over to my parents to check my blood pressure; this is usually an indicator of how things are doing in my brain too ha

The first check was pretty bad; 160/94. My doctor has mentioned that if I’m consistently around 150/90, I need to come in. So I tried to focus on my breathing and on my Jesus. Then my dad suggested I try Belladonna (a homeopathic drop). I did and 4 minutes later I checked my blood pressure. It was 133/85!!! Now, the homeopathic doctors often say if it’s the right drop, it should work in minutes. If you're skeptical, I'm now happy to be able to confirm that! I took it once more and fifteen minutes later checked again and it was 124/74 :’) This was a huge blessing as I was now able to calm down a bit and go home to sleep.

I took my little girl with me to the appointment this morning because 645am is just too early to ask for a babysitter ha! And it was actually super wonderful. Normally when I take her with on things like this it stresses me out a bit (for no reason, she’s a very super child) and makes me extra exhausted. Not today :) This also tells me I’m getting better and it makes me so happy! She was wonderful company. Lots of talking, singing and dancing on the drive and of course she made all the nurses and doctors smile. She was happy as could be despite me waking her up so early! I love that I’ll get to do things together with her for the rest of my life <3 

My neuro-opthamalogist had good news for me; no medication needed!! There is still pressure so I have to go back in a month but, as I am losing weight and coming in for follow-ups, he will spare me the meds. I am so very grateful. 

For those of you that kind of skimmed this whole thing because blood pressure numbers are fairly boring (I am not offended :P), here is a summary:

-I am still not on medication. This is risky, but still a good thing as the side effects were no good

-I have lost 16 pounds. I have 19 more pounds to lose until I hit the neurologist’s goal

-I have more energy but am not yet back to normal

-I still see sparkles often but have had no blackouts or vision loss (WOOHOO!!)

-I go for blood tests for my thyroid in a few weeks to see if it’s working better

-The neurologist and I are still expecting a full recovery once the weight has been lost :)

 

Thank you for continuing to share in my journey; whether it’s been keeping up here, praying, sending good wishes, or being understanding when I need to rest. You are all amazing <3

Ps. This was the sunrise on my way to the appointment this morning. A good sign :)