What's going on.

You may have noticed lately that I've only really been posting the Saturday Dishes link party.

I've had plenty of other things that I've wanted to share:
LDS General Conference highlights.
Little Dudeman's Sonic the Hedgehog Halloween costume.
Yummy recipes.
FHE ideas.
MOPS highlights.
Our Valentine's dinner.
Family updates on our sweet kidlets.
& much, much more...

But something has prevented me from blogging regularly
& I'm not quite sure what it is.
Whatever it is has impacted my thought process & creativity quite a bit though.
Even this post has taken me a couple weeks to write.
Not cool.

Since so many friends have been asking me for updates on what's going on
I figured it would be best to just put the facts in a post.

I have been living with a constant brain fog since roughly October/November.
It takes every ounce of energy that I have to concentrate & focus at times.
I have been having headaches almost daily.
Some mild.
Some severe.
I've been experiencing frequent dizziness.
I've been having occasional bouts of debilitating heartburn that gives me an intense headache.
I'm smelling unrecognizable smells that my husband doesn't smell.
My circulation reminds me of third trimester pregnant circulation.
I've been losing a lot of hair lately
& although that could be attributed to just having a baby
I found a decent sized bald patch this morning behind my left ear.
Those are the main symptoms
but there have been other weird things as well...
Like the pads of my fingers feeling like they were smashed by a hammer one at a time,
switching fingers every day or two for a couple weeks.
I can't remember all the random things right now,
but you get the idea, right?
Weird stuff.

In addition to all these symptoms
I've had some abnormal blood work...
First, a positive ANA
which led to a referral to a rheumatologist.
I have an aunt with lupus so we thought it could be that,
but at the visit the Dr said that from what she could tell it didn't look like an autoimmune thing.
She had me get some more complex lab work done just to be sure
& most of that came back normal
but there were some tests that came back with an abnormal clotting factor.
My IP-CH50,
dRVVT ratio,
& Dilute Viper Venom Time
all came back high.
I'm supposed to have repeat labs done in May.
If things are still wonky I will be referred to a hematologist,
but if they're fine I just follow up in one year.

I also saw a neurologist for my headaches & dizziness.
He wants me to track my headaches to see if perhaps it's just migraines.
I've been tracking for a few weeks now & am no closer to finding any triggers or patterns.
Some of the symptoms make sense for migraines,
but for the most part they aren't as painful, long-lasting, or severe as the one definite migraine I had in Sept 2013.
I can't even pinpoint what part of my head they are originating from.
Meanwhile, the brain fog seems thicker & the dizziness is becoming a more frequent daily occurrence.
I've been having extra anxiety since I don't know what's going on
& I'm sure that isn't helping the headaches.
I've requested an MRI to rule out some of the more scary possibilities for piece of mind,
but the process of getting said MRI has proven to be a lengthy one.
I got a call yesterday morning saying that the neurologist has ordered a couple things:
An EEG & an MRI of the brain with & without contrast.
Hopefully the hospital will call me to schedule those soon
so we can either get answers or rule some things out.

I recently discovered that I have some maternal relatives with hypothyroidism.
Although my TSH came back within normal limits
it was on the lower end
& the Dr didn't check the T3 or T4.
When I called my primary care doctor to see if those tests could possibly be ordered
I was told that it was unlikely I had a thyroid problem since my TSH was fine
& my symptoms are a mix of both hypothyroidism & hyperthyroidism in addition to other things
so I guess they figured it wasn't worth looking into further at this time.
If we don't get any answers with the neurologist they may revisit that idea.

So in other words...
I don't know what's going on.

I've been trying not to make a big deal about it because I don't want it to be a big deal.
But I've come to the realization that since it has affected me
every. single. day.
for quite a few months now,
that no matter how severe or minor this is
I need some extra prayers, support, & uplifting thoughts.

I'm extremely grateful for my family & friends that have already shown me so much love, support, & help with the kids.
I really am doing my best to stay optimistic about this whole thing
but that isn't always easy,
so thank you for being understanding & patient with me.

xoxo