Tag: medication.

Posted in Archive, June 2016

Hospital Investigations

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Since I last blogged things have been hectic. I have spent the majority of my days either at the hospital having various investigations carried out, or on the phone to them chasing down followup appointments. This week I have had more bloods taken and an MRI of my brain, eyes and spine with contrast performed. Tuesdays MRI experience seemed a bit surreal. It took 35 minutes, three medical personnel and 7 attempts before I was successfully cannulated as my veins were up to their usual disappearing act. This time allowed for me to internally become quiet anxious at the thought of being in the MRI machine for a minimum  of an hour – in the end it was about one hour twenty. I am generally not a claustrophobic person, but this machine brings that fear out in me, this is most likely exacerbated by the fact that I have to be strapped to the table to ensure my spasms cannot move me around to much and distort the images.

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Taken just after escaping the MRI machine

My stress levels have been through the roof this last week. I have fought so hard over the last four years to be put on a medication regime that allows me to have more control over my body again, and live a relatively normal life. The mere thought that my body may become more of an issue again is distressing. However I am lucky that I have a good support system in place, my family help keep me distracted, my boyfriend is great at talking through my concerns with me, and my councilor has been a fantastic space for me to vent and explore my frustrations at my faulty body.

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Relaxing in Costa after a long day of tests at the hospital

I get the results of my MRI on Monday. So I shall know then whether more investigations need to be carried out or if it is MS.

Posted in April 2016, Archive

Curve Ball

Posted on by dystoniaandme

You would think after almost four years I would have fallen into sync with the pattern of my botox cycle. I would know when to expect the good spells, and be prepared for the out of control moments. Perhaps it’s simply misguided denial that has resulted in me still being unable to predict these moments, it wouldn’t surprise me really.

Up until this evening  I had been enjoying a really good run. My body had been on very good behavior and as usual when I’m in this part of the cycle I had been making the most of every blissful pain free second. This evenings turn hit me out of the blue. I had been feeling slightly off whilst getting ready for a night out with my friends but hadn’t been able to quiet put my finger on why, so had decided to just ignore it and carry on laughing.

It wasn’t until we started making our way to our first destination of the evening that I realized what was wrong. Sitting down I had not noticed that the top of my back was slowly contorting. Each step I took was agonizing. My body simply twisted and further muscles joined in.

I’m not a naturally quiet person, I only generally quieten down when I’m in pain. The fact that I was virtually silent alerted my friends quickly that I needed to go home. So here I am now, lying down, arguing with myself, dressed up for a night out.

But hey at least I recognized I needed to come home.

Posted in Archive, March 2016, September

An Exciting Month!

Posted on by dystoniaandme

This month is full of opportunities that I never expected to experience. Towards the end of the month I’m going to Amsterdam for a few days with the university, followed by three weeks as an inpatient in the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Stanmore. It is an exciting time to say the least.

The publishing trip to Amsterdam shall not only be an insightful opportunity for my course, but shall also allow me to explore how my body will react to travelling. Visiting other countries was a luxury, that when I first became ill in 2012, I thought would have to be swept under the carpet and not thought about again. However, in comparison to four years ago my bundle of conditions are extremely well controlled, instilling me with the confidence to explore this opportunity further. To help ensure that I am as safe as can be my neurologist agreed to administer my Botox a week early to knock unwanted spasms on the head.

Back in 2013 this was me; reliant on a wheelchair with monthly ambulance trips to A&E.

Three years on I’m incredibly lucky to have a regime of medication and injections that enables me to live life to the full. I still need my wheelchair every now and then, but it is no longer a necessity for daily life.

12575854_826427370816377_1942932212_nLess than a week after I return from the trip it is off to RNOH I go for three weeks of intensive rehabilitation for my EDS Type Three. I have been on the waiting list for this stint for almost a year and a half, so I’m a bag of excitement and nerves in anticipation for my admission. My time there should enable me to carry on life with better habits when it comes to using my joints, hopefully that will mean less over extending, and help strengthen the weaker muscles and ligaments.

During my interview for the treatment we discussed what I would like to focus on strengthening, my first answer out of the several I was allowed to give, was my jaw. The combination of EDS and Dystonia means that my jaw comes out of place extremely easily, which inflicts a severe amount of pain. Knowing that jaw physiotherapy will be possible is huge news for me, as this issue is the main factor behind my seizures. Anything that will decrease the amount of subluxations and dislocations for my jaw has the potential to make an incredible difference to my life.

Needless to say I’m counting down the days to go!

Posted in Archive, September 2015

Another Referrel

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Eye-chartSitting back in the upright, green leather chair, I stare straight ahead at the wall with my left eye covered up, where supposedly I should be able to see two rows of letters. I can’t see a thing. Not even there outline. I can see a white blurry box on the wall but that’s about it. The optician is quite frankly horrified at the deterioration of sight in my right eye. It has only been eight months since my last appointment, this dramatic result shocks us both. I thought my glasses prescription just needed a slight tweak. As it turns out new glasses cannot fix this issue. By the end of the examination she murmurs a simple sentence that chills me. “I need to refer you to the hospital, the muscles in your eye are not working properly”. What?! This was meant to be a routine appointment.

I questioned whether it could be my Dystonia, and while it was a possibility, she was not convinced it was. She explained the three different medical specialists I would most likely see at the hospital, the last being a neurologist. It always seems to end up there.Can I just have a new brain? As it always goes with these things it shall most likely be a wait before I am seen. In the meantime the possibility of another intruder controlling my body, my sight, hangs in the air. If it turns out to be Dystonia then other than piling me with more medication there is very little they can do, as they are unable to inject these particular muscles.

Over the years I have always been told that my left eye has compensated for my right. Its doing this now more than ever. With both uncovered I can see, things get blurry now and then but generally I’m okay. Cover up my left eye and the words in front of me are blurry, I cannot even focus on my own hands! It’s times like these that I want to take the faulty parts of my body out, line them up and just yell at them. Realistically I know it’s not going to get me anywhere, I’ve also banned myself from googling my symptoms, I know it will just tell me I’m  going to die, it’s one of the things google does best! I’d rather wait for hopefully a much more optimistic diagnosis from a Doctor.

So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s not the Dystonia, and that it is a condition that they can easily treat! It would make a nice change.

Posted in Archive, August 2015

Taking Dystonia on Holiday

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We recently got back from a beautiful family holiday on the coast. The weather was fantastic, and there is something relaxing about waking up to the sound of the sea lapping against sand. Going on holiday with Dystonia requires a fair amount of preparation. Every medication I’m currently prescribed has to be brought with us, just in case of an emergency, so that we can try to ‘contain’ the amount of spasms and deviation my body endures. Even though I can walk, both my walking sticks and my wheelchair were also packed. In all honesty I thought that packing the wheelchair was overkill, but then I have never enjoyed being it, I used to quite literally bum shuffle around the house rather than use my chair.

As many of you will be aware I have recently had a change in neurologist. At my first consultation with him he declared that he would not be following my old injection routine and that we would be switching from 6 weekly to 10 weekly injections. My objections to this change fell on stubborn, deaf ears. Due to his determination I spent my holiday, and the weeks either side of it, unable to consume solid food. Smoothies and soup were my saving grace. Chewing led to rather painful jaw spasms. It made sense to switch to soft/liquid foods in order to trigger the spasms less.

I spent several hours on a couple of separate occasions functionally blind whilst we were away. My eyes had spasmed shut. This was a complete shock to the system, my condition has been incredibly well managed for so long. It is my arm and jaw that I am used to contending with; not my eyes. I don’t think I’ve felt as thankful for my wheelchair as I had in that moment. For once I did not begrudgingly sit in it, I clambered in thankful that it enabled me to still be out with my family whilst lessening the risk of injuring myself. My family were fantastic, describing the sights in front of them to me so I could conjure up in my mind’s eye my own version. My brother amused us all by whizzing around the aquarium with me clutching on to the wheelchair with fear and hilarity.

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I would much rather have not had to fight my Dystonia whilst I was away, but in hindsight I’m glad I had no option but to do so. Not only did it create some great memories, but it gave me the strength to not back down when I visited my new neurologist this past Wednesday. I stood my ground and managed to get him to agree to seven weekly injections and back at my normal dosage. This has left me feeling optimistic and far more relaxed about my upcoming move to university.

Posted in Archive, July 2015

Three Years of Benedict

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Today marks three years since my life got a good shake up as my Dystonia alien made its presence known. So much has happened over the last few years that it’s hard to keep track, I’ve had a handful of operations, countless x-rays, far too many ambulance trips, and appointment after appointment with varying Consultants. I have also gone from being reliant on a wheelchair fulltime, to being able to walk with the aids of splints!

It has been an incredibly emotional journey, and I think that’s a naturel response to everything that’s happened. I’m finally at a place in my life where I feel like I am climbing the mountain that is Dystonia, instead of tumbling down it. I still have days like today, where it’s more like I am stubbornly camped out on it, refusing to fall. This morning I woke with my jaw in spasm, and my neck spasming on and off. So naturally I have spent a section of this afternoon lying on my living room floor, as the support that position gave my neck and back was the only way I felt comfortable. A year ago doing this would probably have left me feeling annoyed that I had resorted to doing it, today I was simply laughing, though maybe I am simply losing the plot.

Battling this condition has become second nature, nowadays I always have medication on me, and sometimes there’s even a TENs machine in my handbag. It surprises me how quickly Benedict has become accepted into everyday life without a second thought. This is a bittersweet realisation. It’s fantastic because it shows we are managing, that we are not drowning under the pressure the condition puts upon us. However a part of me feels sad that it has become so second nature, simply because who wants it to be part of their routine to remember to take one of their many pills or injections?

I’ve always kept score against Benedict. I think this year I finally got even.

Posted in Archive, May 2015

Treating Dystonia

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There are a number of different options sufferers are offered when diagnosed with Dystonia ranging from Deep Brain Stimulation to botox injections/ medication, and  physiotherapy and psychotherapy. Unfortunately depending where you are in the world this can be a bit of an insurance or post code lottery. Each of these different treatment options has it’s own list of pros and cons, and they are not always the same for each suffer just because it helped another.

Deep Brain Stimulation can help significantly improve the symptoms of Dystonia, which in turn improves a persons quality of life. I know I would jump at the chance of having the surgery if I was eligible, but unfortunately like many others I am not classed as being ill enough for it. There is also no guarantee that it would improve symptoms, there is a chance of a negative complications during surgery or if an infection occurred post-op.

Injections, medication, physio and counseling also can help sufferers manage the symptoms and get about with their day to day life. However their is no guarantee how long the improvements will last. For example, over time its possible to develop antibodies and grow resistant to botox injections.

Treating Dystonia generally involves a combination of all of the above. One treatment alone often is not enough. however every individual is unique and there is always an exception to the rule.

Posted in Archive, May 2015

Medication Minefield

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When diagnosed with Dystonia there is a minefield of medication surrounding you. One wrong move and your limbs are distorting and spasming at a rate that threatens to hospitalise you. A medication that works rather well for one person may have dire side effects on another. Keeping a diary of what medications you have tried and your reactions can come in handy.

Botox injections is a widely used treatment for Dystonia, and in many offers a degree of relief from their symptoms. In the majority of sufferers the injections are administered every 3 months. Personally for me, I find that the injections only last around 5 to 6 weeks so my neurologist administers my injections every 6 weeks.

Medication can be very hit and miss, so finding a dosage that works for you is important. For example, Diazepam is a commonly used muscle relaxant to treat Dystonia. For me if you give a very small dose as a one off I will be fine, in fact I will sleep fantastically well. However if you give me a second dose that same day, or the next day I will have a psychotic break. The last time this happened I seriously thought that if I had my leg amputated I would be cured of Dystonia. It makes no sense, but at that time I was convinced.

One of the issues I have discovered since becoming ill is persuading Drs to play around with medication. Often this can unsettle them, especially when treating a condition such as Dystonia that many have not come across before. Due to this I have found many Drs unwilling to change medication or try different combinations, it has often resulted in me battling before they agree to try. It is sad that this is the case. I have said it many times before and I will say it again, the more awareness there is the better treatment we Dystonia sufferers will receive.

On Wednesday 6th May a Dystonia Awareness message will be sent out Via Thunderclap. The more people that sign up for this the further the reach of the message. So please sign up at the following link https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/24206-dystonia-awareness-week-2015 .

Posted in Archive, February 2015

Out of Control

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I’m not sure where to begin. There is so much pain and if I am quite honest it is making everything extremely cloudy. After months and months of being seizure free I think today I had one, the memory loss that I seem to be experiencing confirms it. The devastation this causes is hard to put into words. I’m scared to leave the safety of my bed in case I have another, as one fall will be all it takes to pretty much guarantee an ambulance trip to the local hospital. After spending the last two days there (one planned trip, one unplanned), I don’t particularly fancy going back again so soon.

One of my Dystonia symptoms is a strong twitch/jerk, in my left arm. It flings my arm out rather violently to the side, it is completely out of my out of my control. This has been controlled by 3600mg of Gabapentin for the last two years but this no longer seems to be enough. It started off with just my shoulders jerking, I should have gone to the Drs then but instead I ignored this symptom. It’s got to the point now where my arm is flinging itself out to the side every few minutes with such a force that it causes horrendous pain when it collides with something, which it often does. I have had to resort to wearing a splint on my wrist to protect it as it had become rather swollen from the several times it has hit door frames, walls, hospital beds, etc.

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My GP has decided to up the amount of Topiramate I take, which is an old antiepileptic medication to see if that will help. I take Topiramate to control my migraines but as my GP pointed out old antiepileptic medications such as Topiramate and Gabapentin often have many uses. So fingers crossed it works as I’m really struggling to cope. In all simple truth I just want someone to hug me but as I told my mother earlier I’m to scared to let her do so incase I hurt her.

I’m scared of my arm, the pain its causing and how my body irrationally responds to pain. This situation is impacting my life already – I daren’t walk into a shop now I’d break their stock – and I refuse for my life to be put on hold yet again! I really hope my little Dystonia Alien can hear me. I hope he is trembling in his tiny boots. As eventually my fear will give into rage, and I sincerely hope that the Alien has the sense to uproot and leave than do battle with me yet again.

Posted in Archive, January 2015

Mallet Finger or Dystonia?

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Last Friday I attended an outpatient Hand Therapy appointment. I thought this would be a simple check up on how my finger is healing, splint it back up and send me on my way home. What I forgot to factor in is that with my body being rather dysfunctional that would all be a bit too simple! I saw a lovely woman who after assessing my hand decided that my previous diagnosis of Mallet Finger was incorrect and the Dystonia is in-fact in my whole left hand. After questioning and examining my hand for a while she came to the conclusion to that the Hand Dystonia was pre-existing and was most likely covered up by the Neurological Lyme Spasms I had been experiencing previously in my hands.

I was rather thankful that I did not go alone to the hospital appointment as the diagnosis came as a bit of a blow.  Being accompanied to appointments no matter what your age is something I think is rather important. An appointment may seem like a routine check up but you never know what conversation you will have to have and support is vital. Sometimes just having someone else to listen to the conversation so they can make a note of anything you miss is a huge help. For me having someone I trust listen to me panic afterwards and help calm me was exactly what I needed. Being a Reflexologist, obviously using my hands is vital, however the hospital have advised me to be on hand rest till the end of February when they will assess the splint need again, I will have been on hand rest for almost 3 months by then.

Thankfully in the meantime I am seeing my lovely Neurologist at the end of this month for my Botox injections and to get his opinion on my hand. I am on countdown to seeing my neuro as my Botox last month did not take and I have been in agony since. My GP yesterday gave me some new muscle relaxants to try so im keeping my fingers crossed that these will offer me some relief until then.