Just for Laughs

If only 
A xxxx

Lovin' it, Audrey!!

How you doing, girl?  Looking forward to an update from you soon. No pressure - just hope you're still the horse.

Love from Tigerlily xxxx

Oops, sorry, Audrey, of course I meant "on" the horse!

TL XX

Tigerlily, that was funny!   I read it and thought that maybe 'still the horse' was one of those British things I didn't understand.  And then I was hoping you weren't calling me a horse!    I had a nice giggle over of it all!!    Thank you for that.   

I am very sorry I have not been on here for so long.   I think of you all often and wonder how you're all doing.  Seems that with the warm weather there's just too much to do all the time.   I will have to get busy here and read all of the other posts to get caught up.   I hope everybody is improving!!

I'm still trudging along, wishing I could find a doctor who knew what was going on with me, and who could fix me up!!    Counting my dentist and optometrist, I now have 12 doctors who I see regularly.    I go for bloodwork a couple of times a month most times.   Not easy keeping track of all these appointments and tests!    Between me and my 2 aging cats, seems like we're always running off to an appointment.

I'm still horribly exhausted all of the time.   The needles and pins I had in my arms, hands, lower legs, and hands improved GREAT after refusing to take Cipro any longer.  For a few months I had no needles and pins anywhere except my hands and that had greatly diminished.    Then last week I started getting extremely sharp, stinging, pains in my toes and a couple of my fingers.  

Also about a week ago, I started getting an extremely intense, deep itching sensation on the bottom of my left foot that never stops, no matter how vigorously you scratch it!    This is agony!!!!!     Then it started in the toes of my right foot 2 days ago.    I never realized this, but after this itching started in my toes, I remembered that I'd been having trouble with this in my left index finger for a few years.   It itches way deep inside of the end of my finger.   I usually start biting it as hard as I can to try to stop the itch, but it doesn't stop.   And I have some very strong cheek and jaw muscles!!           From what I can find through my research, this is nerve damage, and I am unsure why it is worsening rather than improving if it was caused from the Cipro.    I'm wondering if this is being caused from still improperly treated hypothyroidism.   Actually, I think my thyroid levels look good now.   I'm thinking it is the iron deficiency that might be keeping my cells from utilizing the thyroid hormones, causing me to continue to have many hypothyroid symptoms.      

Speaking of the iron deficiency, my ferritin was 11 in March.   In June it was up to 35.  That was after iron supplementation for 3 months.    I just had my ferritin tested again today.  I don't have the results yet.   I have read and heard that optimum ferritin for a woman is 70-90, so unless mine has increased a LOT in the past 2-1/2 months I've still got a long way to go.

The nonstop twitching all over my body that bothered me for 3-1/2 years has stopped!!!    It gradually started to resolve after I stopped taking the Cipro.    Every now and then I will feel slight twitches in my calves for a few minutes, but the ones in my eyelids, face, arms, and thighs have stopped!    YAY!!!!

Still having trouble with my stupid ears!     My ear canals itch VERY intensely nonstop!!    This too is agony!   I HATE to itch!!!    The canals also peel constantly.    In the past year I have had 3 ear infections, and I think I have determined what is causing this.    I think I'm infecting them from so much constant scratching, with bacteria on my fingers.    Also, iron deficiency causes a person to have frequent infections, so that's not helping either.     I think I have found a way to stop the infections in their tracks now though.     A few weeks ago, I felt the left ear starting to hurt again.    I started using my homemade ear drops consisting of alcohol and vinegar.  Works like a charm!   After 3 days it was cleared up completely.     This recipe was give to me when my daughter was a child.  She always had trouble with her ears from swimming so much.   She still uses it, and she now uses it on her daughters.   This stuff is amazing!! 

The  UTI situation is looking better!      I was getting UTIs every 2-3 weeks for several months.   I had 7 UTIs in 6 months!     I don't know if it is the estrogen cream or the increasing ferritin level or both, but I'm going on 8 weeks now without one!     I hope this continues.    I felt like I was getting an infection 3 nights ago.   I took 2 AZO tablets to kill the pain and started taking oregano oil to kill bacteria.    Right now it feels GREAT!  No sign of infection.   It might still happen, but for now, all looks good!

So, I'm still not well, but I just keep reminding myself of all the things that have improved and keep looking for answers.  

Oh, and that crazy itching problem we had here that was driving me and my cats crazy since January, has FINALLY improved!!  There are many days when my face doesn't itch at all, and the cats will look good too.   They no longer walk around shaking there feet or shaking their heads.  That was pitiful to watch!    I still think it was the wool fibers from that new area rug that caused all of this!     We had our ducts professionally cleaned.    I swabbed our new furniture and sent the swab to a lab to be analyzed.   They found a very slight trace of fiberglass on the swab.   I have no idea where that came from, but if you recall, 9 years ago we had a terrible problem with fiberglass here in the house, after 1 of my little cats had been sleeping in fiberglass up in our hung ceiling in the basement!!    This itching problem we've been recently dealing with felt EXACTLY how the fiberglass felt, but they said there wasn't enough on that swab to be causing a problem this time.     My beautiful, new area rug is rolled up and stashed in a spare bedroom.     I guess until the cats are gone, I won't be unrolling and using it.    I'm really thinking it was the cats who spread the fibers all over the house, because the fibers were clinging to their fur.      What a mess!   I'm just glad it's finally improving!!

I don't have time right now to read all of your posts, and this weekend will be a busy one for us, as it is a holiday, but I promise I will be back soon to catch up with everybody.      I think of you all very often and hope you are doing well!!!

Love,
Audrey