Orchid Thriving, Debra NOT

This orchid has been in my kitchen for 1 & 1/2 years. It started blooming recently.

Another visit to my doctor.... Nothing has improved since the last visit. In fact, things are worse in several ways:

1) Some of my muscles in my digestive tract are completely, permanently paralyzed, and there is no treatment. Combine the digestive problems with chronic functional hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) , and I am in a constant struggle to keep the body fueled. I am losing the battle with this.

2)I have also had more frequent, longer lasting, migraines than ever before. Bad enough to wear sunglasses at night, if house lights are on. Certain smells are intolerable.If anyone comes near me with perfume, I am immediately overwhelmed with dizziness and weakness. My eyesight is also effected my the migraines. Forget about cognition! Probably, my I.Q. has dropped by about 40 points!

3) My upper body muscles (head, neck, shoulder, arms, chest and upper back) are all in a Charley-horse type freeze. I can barely hold my own head up. My DR said,"Usually when the muscles get this bad we use steroids. But with your condition they may be too harsh."

4) I am in a prolonged cycle of insomnia, waking up *suddenly* every 20-160 minutes. Exhaustion has set in.

All the above amounts to this: for the first time since acquiring this illness in 1979, I've had to submit to a program of pain management. I have avoided pain meds all this time. But I can no longer function. This makes me feel like I've lost some kind of fight.

My Dr, her intern, my husband, and I spent our time together trying to work out a treatment plan. We even discussed medical marijuana

I am feeling very heavy-hearted at this point.

Thanks to the recent health care reform passed by Congress, the Senate and signed into law by President Obama, I will be able to go deeper into testing my body without fear of losing my health insurance coverage. This fear had limited how my Dr and I approached diagnostics and testing for my illness. My health care facility still isn't set up to test for XMRV, and I cannot afford to pay for the test out of pocket.($600- $800) The lab took 7 vials of blood for all the tests my doctor ordered. Now we wait.