My docs have been surprisingly busy over the holidays. Here’s the current status:
* Most of my blood work came back normal, including my B12 levels. However, several tests related to B12 metabolism (like homocysteine) came back way out of whack. The current working theory is that even though my B12 levels have always tested normal, my body isn’t making proper use of it for some reason. I’m going to be prescribed daily intramuscular shots of B12 for a month to essentially flood my body with B12 and see if that stabilizes the associated tests. I hope I can convince my doc to let me do the shots at home myself as they are not hard to self-administer. It would be a lot more convenient than going to the doc at 8 AM every day for a month.
* That abnormality in my brain MRI turned out to be a growth in my sinus – probably a cyst but impossible to say for sure from the images. It’s probably a result of my lifelong tendency to catch every head cold that comes through town. And here I’d imagined all sorts of terrible things that might be wrong with my brain. Still, it means more fun medical procedures. I have to go to an ENT soon to have it endoscoped and possibly biopsied to ensure that it is truly a benign cyst. Depending on the outcome I’m looking at possible surgery to remove it.
* My neuro still wants to do the lumbar puncture test just to be sure nothing is missed. I’d hoped to get out of that one given my blood and MRI results but my docs are nothing if not thorough.
It’s not entirely clear why my B12 levels test normal but the B12 isn’t actually making it into my cells. It could be related to my diet – I’ve been veggie off and on for a long time and consistently for about 6 years. It could be a metabolic deficiency. There are a few of those that are not that uncommon. It’s possibly been an issue for a long time and is only apparent now that a threshold of neural damage has been reached. We’ll dig deeper if my homocysteine & related tests don’t show rapid improvement.
Physically I’m having good days and bad days. Sometimes I feel almost normal save for needing much more sleep than I used to. Some days the numbness will come back to my hands or my legs, or I’ll lose coordination while walking, or I’ll feel new strange electrical sensations in my spinal column. For the most part I can keep up with everyday life as long as life is pretty tranquil. Things will be a bit rougher when I start looking for a new job in January at the same time as I’m dealing with all of the upcoming medical procedures.
It’s been a hell of a ride the past few weeks, from getting sick to going through a huge battery of tests and receiving a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, to having more tests and a finally new, less-scary diagnosis of B12 deficiency. Even though there are a lot more treatments for my current diagnosis it definitely isn’t a trifling issue. It’s caused nerve damage that may or may not heal and it needs to be alleviated ASAP to halt the escalation of that damage. I won’t have a clean bill of health until after several months of B12 therapy and stabilized blood tests, a clean lumbar puncture, and a resolution to the thing in my sinus that is hopefully just a benign cyst. Odds are good that all of these things will work out OK but there’s a lot of work left to reach the end of this road.
As always, thanks to all for your love and support. Have a safe and joyful New Year!
