Numb · 6:05pm Jan 29th, 2021
I have a post I've been working on for over two months. It's the hardest thing I've ever written. This isn't it.
I miss when this was my fiction output, not my me.
This is a medical update about something not good. (I apologize if this causes distress.)
I'm progressively losing sensation all over my body. So far it's touch, pressure, and pain, but not temperature. I have no idea why this is happening, and I know an awful lot about medicine for a laywolf. I suspect it's been happening gradually for months and it just took that long to realize my body's been gaslighting me. It may have started the same time I developed ME/CFS. I know it wasn't pronounced before this, because prior to the pandemic I did electro pretty regularly all over my body, so I would have noticed any sensation loss.
Random areas of my flesh feel numb, and the parts that go numb don't come back (and seem to spread). I first noticed numbness at the base of two toes on my right foot, so I thought it was nerve damage from stereotypies, but now it's other places too: just below the knee on one side of my left leg is the most numb place, there's less sensation on the back of my left hand, a piece of my right shoulder, a small spot on the top of my girlcock, my lower back seems a little numb, and so on. I think it's happening almost everywhere, but it's been hard to tell because the progression has been very slow (so far). The part below the knee, however, is 100% numb most of the way down my leg in a strip a couple of inches wide. Once I noticed that one I realized this is not just in my head.
It's probably not something horrible, fortunately (er, unless you want me to suffer and die—I forgot that applies to some of my followers). I thought brain cancer right away, but even cancer in the postcentral gyrus wouldn't lead to a loss of sensation in the peripheral nerves, much less appear all over the body at the same time (even if it could explain some of the ME/CFS symptoms), and I don't think spinal cancer could do this either. Any other kind of cancer playing with me would produce sudden effects, not gradual ones appearing in different places at the same time. Most disorders leading to death would affect my muscles first.
It could be an immune disorder, but most polyneuropathies that are immune-mediated either come with muscle weakness or inflammation. My muscles seem perfectly fine so far, and there's no weakness at all (just the tiredness from ME/CFS). It could be from a toxin, but I haven't changed anything in my diet substantially, and as a precaution a couple of months ago I told my doctor to order labs (it's cool he knows I'm smart) for half a dozen specific metals I selected to rule out any effects that might contribute to my ME/CFS symptoms (in the rare event my kratom stash had been contaminated, but it would have to be hella contaminated because I don't take much). I stopped taking kratom a week ago just in case, but I trust the supply chain I use and nopony who takes kratom gets these symptoms so I may go back on it soon if there's no change. Prion disease is highly unlikely because I only eat food that is mass-produced (I don't hunt) so this would have affected more people than just me, and I've actually been eating less anyway due to the ME/CFS and Adderall (I've lost weight).
If I had to guess, I'd say it's autoimmune. ME/CFS may be autoimmune (some suspect, including me), and I've had severe allergies to environmental stuff my whole life as well as a susceptibility to aphthous ulcers. But again, no muscle weakness, and even if I did have that symptom, the priors are very low (Guillain–Barré and related diseases are rare).
Who bucking knows, though. None of it makes any sense. I predict another exciting vacation to Mayo Clinic is in my future.
Sorry to hear this is happening to you Trick.
Oh goodness. Here's hoping there's a simple explanation and treatment.
Hey Trix, keep us posted, that sounds really scary.
Sorry to hear this is happening to you. Hope they can figure it out asap.
That's super scary! I hope things improve and please keep us updated. Love being sent your way <3
Scary. Hope you get it sorted out soon.
Indeed please keep us posted
Guillain-Barré?
(It sounds like it should be The Spy's real name)
Hugs <3
Damn... I hope the doctors can figure it out and you'll be able to nip it in the bud soon
*Hugs* Please know that positive thoughts are with you, Trixie. I know you'll been seeing your doctor, so please keep us updated. If there is anything I can do, please let me know.
...Huh. Oh, dear. Well, I'm glad it isn't worse (I definitely do not want you to suffer and die), aye, but I'm sorry you're now having to deal with this too. Good luck; I do hope things improve for you soon.
Please take care of yourself! Sending as many positive vibes to you as possible!
Well, that sucks. If you don't mind my asking, which metals did you order tests for? I ask because I do know that about 20 years ago or so there was a panic over thallium poisoning in Ohio ( https://web.archive.org/web/19990427121500/http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/dwh/t-ioc/thallium.html ), which produces similar symptoms. It's unlikely to have remained latent that long, but if you somehow stirred up a deposit of the stuff...
At any rate, I hope things work out for the best. You know how to get hold of me if there's anything I can do.
That sounds crap. Could it be medication related?
Here's hoping they find some way to deal with it.
5444903
I had him check Manganese, Mercury, Selenium, Arsenic, Aluminum, Nickel, and Lead.
I didn't think to check for Thallium as exposure is rare unless you're working with it or in an underdeveloped country, I haven't noticed hair loss, the loss of sensation isn't localized to the extremities, and it's only numbness rather than pain. It's very unlikely to be from the local environment because I haven't been outside and my only exposure there could be something leeching into drinking water right where my house is, which I could have absorbed cutaneously in the shower but then Jewel would probably also have been affected. The kratom supply chain I use feeds a large number of Americans who consume much more kratom than I do, so that's also likely safe.
My concern was that sub-clinical levels of the more common toxins might have something to do with the ME/CFS. It might be a good idea to check for thallium, though, so I appreciate the tip.
I hope this proves to be something straightforward to identify and resolve.
Man, that's shit.
I'm praying for you Trick.