Tag Archives: neurological issues

Late Night Update

August 7, 2014 D.A. Adams 10 Comments

So, yeah, I haven’t posted an update in quite a while.

I guess the easiest way to do this is just to come out and say it: my neurological stuff is back with a vengeance. It started rather subtly about 9-10 months ago, and I honestly thought it was just the stress and strain of dual enrollment causing a few symptoms to flare up. I was already about 90% committed to resigning my position before the symptoms came back, and as I felt worse and worse, I knew I couldn’t physically handle the teaching load any longer. In the back of my mind, I kept telling myself that as soon as I got out of the stressful environment, I would feel better. All I needed was some time outdoors working in the sun. The semester ended officially on May 11, and for the first few days, I rested and relaxed but didn’t really feel any better. I’ve written before about how much I love working outdoors on the property, so I tried to dive back in and work myself back into football shape, as I like to say.

For the first few attempts, I noticed that my overall strength and endurance had declined quite precipitously, and I figured I had just gotten out of shape because of the harsh winter. I pushed myself a little harder but couldn’t get my body to cooperate. No matter what I did, I felt weak and fatigued, and the neurological symptoms continued to worsen. Also, I kept noticing that I couldn’t focus or concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. I’ve written five full novels and dozens of short stories; concentration has never been an issue for me before now. All through May and June, I kept telling myself that I just had to get back into good shape and I would start to feel “normal” again. Last summer, I had promised Finn I would build him a fort to play in this summer, so in June I tackled that project. This time last year, I built my home in seven weeks, working mostly alone all day every day. Even though I was tired, I didn’t feel broken down. Just putting together that simple child’s fort, which is in no way elaborate, I felt completely desolated, and my forearms hurt in a way they never have before. Then, at the end of June, I went to get the boys for our summer time. First, the trip to Jacksonville and back nearly wiped me out completely. I’ve made that trip several times, once in a single day. This time, it took me three, and I was absolutely spent when I got back here with the kids. Trying to play with them became more than I could manage. Still, I kept telling myself that I just needed to get back into shape.

My eye-opener came on Independence Day. When the boys are here, I like to do it up right: a big cookout, fireworks, and lots of shenanigans. It’s our thing. I spent seven straight hours that day setting up, grilling, lighting fireworks, and cleaning up after. When I got into bed that evening, I twitched and trembled worse than I ever had before. The next day, my arms and legs literally hurt from the trembling. I don’t mean I had muscle soreness. That’s something with which I’m quite familiar. This pain was something else, and it’s the first time the neurological stuff has been truly painful. That’s when I had to accept that my symptoms haven’t been from the stress of my job or that I was just out of shape. The neurological stuff is back, and this time it’s worse than before.

I saw a neurologist last week, and we’re waiting for authorization for a new MRI before we proceed. At this point, even though a lot of things are up in the air, I’m hopeful that we can find the right diagnosis and get me well. I’ll try to post updates on what we learn and what’s in store. As for now, please, send some positive energy my way.

General Posts

Saturday Afternoon Ramblings

August 4, 2012 D.A. Adams 3 Comments

It began as a small tremor in my left hand, nothing major, just an occasional annoyance. Over time, it morphed into a severe cramp that drew the fingers of that hand into a tight knot, not as painful as one might expect but certainly unpleasant. Then, I started having difficulty with balance and walking. Sometimes, I would fall for no apparent reason, and just walking from my office to the classroom took every bit of concentration I could muster. I started having random, bizarre muscle twitches all over my body. Sometimes they lasted a few seconds, once nearly an hour. By mid-October of last year, an overwhelming feeling of death descended on me. I wasn’t in pain, but I felt as if my body were failing. From these symptoms, I feared the worst outcomes: MS, Lou Gehrig’s, Parkinson’s, or a brain tumor. Of course, I sought help and started seeing a PMC physician and a neurologist.

Let me say most importantly, from the beginning, Dr. Kenneth Justice of Parkway Medical treated me with compassion, concern, and understanding. Each visit to his office, he reassured me that we would find an answer, and he never once made me feel like a hypochondriac or someone faking an illness. Even as test after test revealed nothing, he continued to believe that what I was experiencing was real. I am grateful for how he treated me throughout the ordeal. He even called me one evening, after office hours, just to see how I was doing.

The same cannot be said for Dr. Karen Mullins at Knoxville Neurology Clinic. Never in my life have I met a doctor and a group of medical “professionals” so unconcerned for a human being’s health. After reading her dictations, I am convinced that she never once took me seriously and dismissed my issues as either imaginings or some attempt to scam the system, despite my repeated claims that I only wanted to find out what was wrong with me, never once asked for any kind of medicine, and insisted that I had to get well enough to function in my job. If you ever need medical assistance for anything, don’t waste your time with Knoxville Neurology Clinic or Dr. Karen Mullins. They are the worst collection of half-assed, pretentious, unprofessional jack-wagons I’ve ever encountered. At some point in the near future, I will be writing their office a letter expressing my disdain for their incompetence, and it will not be a pleasant correspondence. I was desperately ill and needed help, and they ignored the totality of what I was experiencing, instead focusing on some nerve damage in my left arm, an issue I’ve lived with for years without complaint. If a damaged ulna nerve can cause muscle spams in the abdomen, I guess I really don’t know anything about the human body. Yes, I’m bitter and pissed off at how they treated me when I was scared out of my mind that I was quite literally dying.

On Thursday, I received absolute confirmation of what I’ve known since late January/early February. I have a sensitivity to gluten that created a myriad of neurological symptoms because of my immune system’s attempts to fight off the reaction to the protein. I’m not a doctor and won’t attempt to describe the complexity of how this works, but my blood work confirmed that I have this issue. The good news is that since I’ve eliminated gluten from my diet, most of the symptoms have completely vanished, and the ones that linger are much diminished. I need to thank Dr. Limas Adams for taking me seriously and identifying the issue. I also need to thank my cousin, Janette, for pushing me to consider gluten as the culprit. Without them, there’s no telling how bad and permanent things could have gotten.

Today, I feel pretty healthy. As I’ve said before, I certainly don’t feel nearly 40. My balance, which has been an issue ever since my head injury, is as good as its been since the accident. My typing is much improved, though I still have some issues with fine motor skills. Overall, I feel pretty good. Sure, I miss certain foods, like pizza and chicken wings, but if eliminating those from my diet is what it takes never to feel the way I felt last fall, I think I can endure the sacrifice. If you have unexplained medical issues and cannot find any answers, please consider looking into gluten sensitivity, sprue, or Celiac. Some doctors are more knowledgeable on the subject than others, but Dr. Adams is an expert. If you’re in East Tennessee, I highly recommend him. Below are a couple of links to get you started learning more about this issue. There are plenty more if you do a simple Google search. That’s all for now. I have a book to finish before the semester begins.

http://www.csaceliacs.info/

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/celiac_sprue/article_em.htm

General Posts

Thursday Morning Ramblings

April 26, 2012 D.A. Adams 6 Comments

Anyone who has suffered a severe head trauma can attest that sometimes, especially during high levels of stress, insomnia can be unrelenting. For me, when it hits, all I can do is either take my prescription that knocks me out or simply endure the sleepless nights. Starting Saturday night, because of the stresses of the last couple of weeks, my insomnia hit me with a vengeance, and from Saturday night until yesterday, I got about 20 hours sleep total. Unfortunately, my prescription ran out, and I haven’t had the opportunity to go to my doctor for a refill. All I could do was lay in bed, stare at the ceiling, and hope for sleep.

For me, when it occurs, my mind races out of control. No matter how hard I try, I can’t slow the wave of thoughts surging through my brain. Usually, these thoughts are about books four and five, imagining scenes and prewriting major plot points. I tell myself the alarm will be sounding in six hours and I need to stop, but the scene keeps replaying, over and over. I have to get up in five hours, but the story keeps gnawing at me. Four hours, no relief. Finally, sometime around 3:00 AM, I’ll drift off into a fitful doze, and when the alarm sounds at 6:00 AM, I feel as if I’ve not rested at all.

Some nights, like Sunday night/Monday morning, I give up, get out of bed, and attempt to be productive. Monday, I got to the office before 4:00 AM and graded 20 essays before my 8:00 class. By noon, I was so exhausted I could barely stand myself, so I went home and napped for about three hours before getting up and starting the whole maddening process over again. It’s frustrating to be completely exhausted, hardly able to function, yet lay in the dark room with a racing mind unable to drift off to sleep. During these episodes, a few times I’ve attempted to write, hoping that would ease the insomnia, but the quality of writing is pure rubbish, so much so that I often have to discard all of it and restart fresh.

I’ve lived with these bouts since 1989. For the first few years, they happened quite often. Then, I discovered that my natural sleep pattern post-accident is from about 4:00 AM to around noon. Something about the trauma shifted my internal clock, so for many years, I taught mostly night classes and wrote from midnight to 3:00 or 4:00 AM. While I was able to maintain this schedule I rarely suffered an episode and usually slept a regular 7-8 hours most nights. Unfortunately, today, my work schedule doesn’t allow for this. I have to be to work by 8:00 AM most days, so I have to be in bed and asleep by midnight to get at least 6 hours of sleep. Most of the time, I can do it, but I’ve found over the last 3-4 years that I’ve had many more frequent bouts with insomnia, especially when stress levels get high.

To further complicate matters, when I don’t get enough sleep, my neurological symptoms flare up as well. Since February, the worst of the issues have mostly subsided, but after a sleepless night, all of them come back. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I shook, trembled, and stumbled around all day. It was like reliving October, November, and December all over again. Today, after a good night’s sleep, I feel much better, and most of the issues have eased off. I’m hoping to get my prescription refilled next week and not have to suffer through another bout of this any time soon. That’s all for now. Hope everyone gets plenty of rest tonight.