I just now got the MRI results from my doctor: normal. Which rules out some of my worst fears; that I had something structurally wrong up there, or that the mice had chosen that site to put up a playground (I’m picturing an exercise wheel, here).
All of which is good news, in that it relieves my wife from imagining me dying from brain cancer and the like. It doesn’t put me much closer to The Answer, though: what the hell is wrong with me*? I’m thinking one of these: visual issues (my father has a whole laundry list of things he thinks I ought to have checked, little of which I’ve even heard of before), some kind of attention disorder that’s not related to vision, or clinical depression. I think we’ve ruled out any sort of brain dysfunction that might show up on MRI and hypothyroidism (which a few in my family have had). It used to be that I’d stay up late at night doing work-related things, or tinkering around with OS and code, or doing mechanical or electrical repair, but now it’s just staying up late until my brain is so exhausted that my eyes won’t stay open.
And sleep doesn’t really change the landscape much. I’ve considered that I might need a cycle-breaker, but I can sleep when I decide to. The most frustrating thing about this is I don’t have the slightest clue about what’s going on with me. It’s been a strain on the marriage, sure, but more from the uncertainty. Pain would be easier to endure than the uncertainty. Yes, the wife would be absolutely overjoyed if all of a sudden I could be organized and tidy, but I think she’d settle for me being incisive and present again. And of course there’s a fear that things could get worse with me, or even that the current situation would continue long enough for it to affect my ongoing contribution to the various projects I work on.
In the meantime, though, I’m continuing to improve my personal fitness, which if it doesn’t help directly, certainly couldn’t hurt.
And that about wraps up the Slartibartfast status update.
*I’m not who I want to be.
I am sorry to hear your having health problems Slarti, good luck. Regular exercise, even just a little bit, coupled with a decent diet can work wonders. Most people also underestimate how important a regular sleep cycle is.
in all seriousness, i wish you well.
have you considered environmental contaminants?
sorry to hear that.
If it’s been worse lately consider SAD.
SAD
Preview is your friend.
Best of luck.
If you snore, make sure you are not having any apneas.
SAD isn’t usually as much of a problem in Florida, and I never suffered all that much when I lived in the Great White North. But thanks for bringing that up.
I do snore, but not awfully. Apnea is something to consider, though, that I hadn’t. Thanks for that. I’ve known people who suffered from that and they tended to be both grumpy and semi-comatose at work.
I’m getting a strong consensus for exercise, it seems. One of the things I see as something that might have worked well for me is that I used to swim quite a lot, sometimes several miles a day. In the course of doing that, your mind is doing a) constant assessment and adjustment of stroke mechanics, b) keeping track of where you are so you don’t crash into walls, people, or lane markers, c) counting laps, d) monitoring level of expenditure and pain, e) rehearsing races, and f) doing a lot of thought, both structured and unstructured. I think this last actually was…maybe not thereapeutic, exactly, but provided some sort of release for my head to do whatever it would for rather long stretches of time.
I’ve also cut way back on beer (mostly because of the calories), and am considering cutting caffeine altogether.
Thanks for the ideas, everyone.
It used to be that I’d stay up late at night doing work-related things, or tinkering around with OS and code
I can’t get Windows CE to format a 2 gif CF as 16 bit FAT, which should be possible. (It can be done shuffling between DOS AtaInit and Win2K and back to DOS for a final format – and WinCE recognizes it.) I thought if I did a FormatStore and then CreatePartition with the registry profile
“04”=”FATFS”
that would do it.
But I always get partition type 0x0B. I’m tinkering with fatutil.dll, and I have wanted to have a fully cached 16 bit FAT to avoid FAT thrashing, which I think might be a problem with 1 gig+ files that we collect for 24 hour EEGs
I know this is off topic, but it applies to the Sleep studies that we do as well.
Double amen on the apnea, by the way, don’t rule it out. My CPAP machine saved/changed/whatevered my life four years ago. No kidding, no exaggeration. It was like walking out of a ten-year fog I didn’t even know was surrounding me.
Hey, good luck.
Wishing you more and better health, and more and better sleep.
I know that when I’m stressed about *anything* my sleep patterns go wonky: which of course tends to exacerbate my stress. Going to bed tired out does help. As does a hot bath, a drink of hot milk before bedtime with a couple of aspirins, and other homegrown remedies that you’ve probably already thought of.
My sympathies. It is terribly irritating to be hanging halfway between “Well, at least whatever it is isn’t whatever-lethal-thing-they-tested-for-and-know-it-isn’t”, and “But what is it?”
I’m relieved to hear of this — congratulations on the MRI results.
“..but now it’s just staying up late until my brain is so exhausted that my eyes won’t stay open.”
Who knows why? But, same here. Age may be a factor. I calculate (by dividing the distance between Florida and my place by the number of epiphanies Donald Rumsfeld has had) that you are 10 or 12 years younger than I am. My brain goes into sleep mode at 10:00 p.m. now regardless of everything. I can’t relate to it. Ten o’clock at night until not too long ago use to be when I came alive, for fun, for creativity, for productive activity (such as it was).
We could hope for massive and regular blood transfusions from Hilzoy. Also, less beer and common sense, but I wouldn’t know anything about that.
“…what the hell is wrong with me?” My wife is in exactly the same place. MRI results clean as a whistle. Mice in good shape, But her symptoms (numbness and tingling in knees and arms; onset sudden; less now) persist. The markers for the truly horrific stuff are nowhere to be found. She’s in amazing shape;
maybe it’s a pinched nerve. But she is improving. As you will.
“… strain on the marriage” O.K. Everyone cut that out right now. Talk, but not too much, because too much talk in a marriage can be stressful.
I have much illness in my side of the family and I’ve observed that people who don’t feel well become by necessity very self-centered and talk about nothing but their bad news. After a while, it brings out the worst in the healthy folks around them. All very odd, but there it is.
“I’m not who I want to be.” Who do you want to be? Were you once that person? Sometimes when I read your posts about your handiwork around the house, I want to be you. But then someone else would have to be me, and I don’t have the heart to pass that affliction on.
What do you find funny? Go to it. Giggle.
I will join the chorus wishing you the best, but will stop short of making any suggestions.
But, to reinforce what Jes said, knowing something is wrong, but not being able to identify it is a very uncomfortable place to be. And when what is wrong is affecting the sleep patterns, the not knowing just tends to exacerbate the problem.
Judging from your input here, even though I frequently disagree, I would have to say your mental faculties have not been diminished.
Good luck.
I’m glad to hear you’re all right, but sorry to feel that you aren’t feeling good. I’d love to be able to give incisive and helpful advice, but good wishes are all I can come up with.
I don’t know what your other symptoms are, but have you considered your caffeine intake? Drinking many cups of coffee per day can totally wreck your sleep, your attention span, your emotional equilibrium, and your ability to focus. In severe cases, it can also create strange ideation and delusions (rarely pleasant ones).
Feel free to ignore this comment (or to clue me in a bit more about your condition) if this isn’t helpful.
Ah, I see you have thought of the caffeine. I’d be curious to know more.
I’ll only add that the above (except for the delusions) is directly based on personal experience from back when I was drinking around 12 cups a day. Cutting back was hell, but very much worth it.
Goodness, Slarti, I had no idea. Good luck and God bless.
And yes, cutting out the caffeine (at least for a while) is an excellent idea. I’ve gotten strung out by it before, though never to your extent, and had to quit it for a month or two. Works wonders.
The most frustrating thing about this is I don’t have the slightest clue about what’s going on with me.
This is the most stressful part. 7 years ago, I was in an insane amount of pain for weeks, until finally a visit with my doctor revealed that I had Rheumatoid Arthritis. As he told me I smiled, sighed and said, very graciously, “Thank You!” He was a bit taken aback, until I explained now I know what the hell is going on and I can try and do something about it.
Cutting back on caffine has certainly helped me to some extent. Now green tea is my only source of it.
Here’s hoping that you get it figured out soon, cheers!
I’ve lightly struggled with sleep for a long time and find that waking up at the same time every day helps. If I let my body pick its own schedule I end up going to sleep an hour later every night – but if I set one alarm and obey it, I tend to wake up before it goes off and then manage to be alert most of the day.
Another mood-related behaviour modification I’ve made over the years is to have something to snack on available for those times I get headachy or cranky or blue from low blood sugar. And _not_ eating late in the evening helps get me into bed at a reasonable time.
Then there’s that exercise thing – not a light struggle.
…and am considering cutting caffeine altogether.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that my tolerance for caffeine has gone way down. Amounts that used to be normal now put my system all out of whack.
And sleep doesn’t really change the landscape much.
One discovery I made recently, while reading Dement’s The Promise of Sleep, is the sheer amount of sleep debt most of us carry. I had thought that if I was still tired, listless, or unfocused after spending a weekend sleeping in, that my problem must not be sleep deprivation. It turns out, however, that the average sleep debt is high enough (30 hours? 40 hours? I don’t have the book handy.) that it can take weeks of getting extra sleep to reach the point of being caught up. I spent about 3 weeks getting 10 hours of sleep per night and I’ve felt much better since.
I’ll affirm the recommendation for exercise that everyone else is making. I find it hard to stay focused on code when my body is all twitchy from not getting enough exercise.
Good luck. I hope you’re feeling better soon!
I’m sorry to hear that they can’t point you at a cure, but am glad that they’re ruling out more bad things all the time. Best wishes for a thorough recovery.
Slarti,
Sincere best wishes and good luck finding the cause.
I have my own sleep problems, without much success in treating them, but they have a known starting point (stomach).
I’m sort of the opposite; when I was a tender lad of about 20, One cup of coffee could get me from Dallas to Chicago. Now one cup of coffee barely fazes me, and I pretty much don’t drink any at all past 9:30am or so, so giving it up will probably involve a few days of grump. I’ve been much more caffeine-addicted in my life: I chose the middle of a proposal effort (80-hour weeks for a couple of months) to kick caffeine, and I was a mess for a couple of days after. But then, I was chain-drinking coffee.
Hmmm…I’ve always thought you can’t get caught up. That’s worth another look, I think. I do stay up until 2am a couple or three nights a week, and I’ve been doing that for a while. Maybe I’ve just gotten used to feeling this way, and it doesn’t feel like tired to me.
Plus, it would explain that glossy black horse I see sometimes see traipsing through the office rather neatly.
Maybe we can swap. That way, we can say to one another “I feel your pain” and actually mean it.
Slarti, best wishes and take care.
I am so glad the MRI was negative. Interesting your father suggested ADD and ruled out visual disturbance: it’s been suggested to me that I have visual problems! (I’m getting that checked out soon.)
I have a recommendation — easy for me to make, the NHS really came through for me on this in a way it doesn’t always — see a really good clinical psychologist plus if possible an open-minded psychiatrist, ideally, working together. They can rule in or rule out “atypical depression”.
(And what rilkefan said; low blood sugar makes me feel terrible, up to the point of panic.)
I’m relieved to hear the MRI is a source of relief, Slarti. Especially as the symptoms that you describe are similar to something that’s been happening to me recently. And I don’t know what the cause is either. Sitting in front of a monitor all day, possibly?
Sleep deficit is a definite possibility, esp. since you’re so used to 3-5 hours per night, you think the boiled-eyeball bit (and hallucinogenic equines) are normal 🙂
But I’d definitely check out the apnea issue, too. One of my coworkers is taking her son in for a tonsillectomy, even though he hasn’t had an issue with chronic sore throats, because the doctor says his tonsils are so big that they are probably already interfering with his night breathing.
I had never heard of implicating tonsils in apnea, but it makes perfect sense now that I think about it. If you still have yours, see if your doctor agrees that could be an issue.
Some suggestions – swimming is good, both for fitness and due to the mental state that you mentioned. In addition, when I used to swim a mile, I could fugue out for 3/4 of it; I would come back to awareness with my hand slapping the edge, my mind saying ’38 (laps)’, and my watch indicating the correct elapsed time.
Caffeine – I’ve also found that the short-term effects are reduced with age and chronic cafeine consumption, but the long-term effects are not. I don’t have caffeine after 5 PM, unless I’m very, very tired, or know that I’m in for a late night. So seriously cutting back might help.
Red convertibles – many men have found these to help a lot, once they hit middle-age.
Sleep patterns – at a certain age, unless you’re lucky, you just can’t get away with playing the games that you did when you were younger. Finding a schedule that works, and forcing everything else to conform, might be necessary.
I really think we need to computerize diagnostics. Database symptoms, pathologies, diseases, syndromes;feed data in, get possibilities. My mother was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, except it wasn’t; tracheal milesia, except it wasn’t; and several more explanations as to why she couldn’t breathe. It was really was the story of the blind men and the elephant.
I do not blame doctors at all. There is too much for generalists or internists; and specialists have enough trouble keeping up with their fields. And of course the vast majority of diagnoses are trivial. But I have seen too many neurologists who knew little about pulmonary symptoms to believe something better couldn’t be developed.
A long-time lurker and first-time commentor chiming in.
Slarti, I can’t remember all the symptoms you’ve noted in the past, but I recommend a psych eval (with a psychiatrist or psychologist, not a therapist or counselor).
If the brain MRI was subsequent to experiencing symptoms like dizziness, vision problems, or severe headaches, I imagine you’ve had a physical exam, full eye exam, and a complete blood workup. As others have noted, sleep disturbances can be improved by altering patterns: No caffeine after the mid-afternoon (and decreased intake, period); going to and arising from bed at the same nightly/daily times regardless of quantity or quality of sleep; taking a sleep aid (recommend prescription, not OTC)– if these fail, then a sleep specialist (usually an internist) may help, especially if apnea is the culprit.
I experienced all these symptoms; some disappeared (dizziness), others remained (sleep problems, migraines). After many years since the onset of insomnia (which I finally cured by simply waiting until I’m utterly exhausted)and the migraines, I understandably became extremely irritable (and subject to sudden rages), and my brain processes — concentration, memory, follow-through — were diminishing. I blamed the sleep disturbances (although I experimented with the alterations); I blamed lack of exercise (although I got plenty of daily exercise, just no longer enjoying it); I blamed poor eating habits (although I was eating healthily enough). All the exams and tests, including a brain MRI and an intake with a sleep specialist, came up negative, but both brain processes and emotions continued to go awry.
Finally, I was diagnosed with depression (not so difficult a diagnosis by that time); I was told that my narrative of symptoms was a classic tale of depression — how people never think of it as the problem; it’s always “something else.” Eventually, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (experiencing phases of energy and “feeling good,” even if that energy didn’t result in being productive in any useful way, such as enthusiastically starting projects and finding it difficult to complete them; and, in my case, an addiction to the internet and blogs!).
Obviously, the medical problem may not involve a mental disorder, but a psych eval can either diagnose or preclude any such illness.
I apologize for this lengthy comment, but it can be dangerous to simply wait, blaming the symptoms on other, yet-to-be-determined problems or hoping things will get better if only you “do this” or “change that.” Especially if you find it difficult to accomplish the doing or changing, or, because the symptoms don’t disappear, you blame yourself for not doing or changing the “right way” — and end up feeling self-disgust at the failure.
Good luck, Slarti.
I’m not who I want to be.
None of us are, though I expect that’s no comfort. I hope you find out what’s ailing you. (I remain blissfully ignorant of my own myriad faults.)
Incidentally, I was just down in your fine city for a one-night stay that turned into an unexpected two-night stay as a deposition dragged on and on and on and on into the night. Resolved:
1. The Westin downtown is a thousandfold better than the Marriot at the airport;
2. Don’t get the elk at the Chop House (it’s not gamey, just stringy);
3. Coming from 73 and sunny this morning in Orlando to 33 and sleeting/snowing in Indianapolis is a bit of a let down.
I’m back in Orland this coming Sunday and Monday. Probably won’t have any time to meet but, if you’re around, send me an e-mail.
Hmmm…I’ve always thought you can’t get caught up.
Here is a quick list of sleep facts & fallacies. Note fallacy #1.
I do strongly recommend Dr. Dement’s book if you have a chance to pick it up.
Slarti, except for your last sentence, your post seems to discount depression or anxiety as causes of your problem. However,I hope you will give those possibilities some thought. I take a small dose of zoloft daily, mainly because I can’t sleep without it, and the lack of sleep leaves me with no enthusiasm for anything.
Another thought: allergies. I remember being frustrated with myself because I felt lousy, slightly dizzy, and depressed for a week or so. Then suddenly one day my ears popped! My ears had gradually plugged up, not to the point of hearing loss, but enough to effect my balance and my outlook on life. It was pollen season and my sinuses were a mess, so amid the sneezing, sore eyes, etc., I just didn’t notice my ears were affected until they suddenly cleared up.
Weird how little things like that can throw you off.
Anyway, good luck!
Get thee to a good otolaryngologist, see if there’s a sinus issue. It’s amazing how much difference that can make. Deviated septum or minor allergies can really fog you up. Apnea, too, though you need a sleep specialist to confirm that.
I assume you’ve checked for hypothyroid, diabetes, and hypoglycemia?
Slarti – I am sorry to hear that you are having health problems. I read through all the comments, and there are some excellent suggestions there. I second the sleep question. Then I read your footnote to the following post. Whew! Man, you take on_way_ too much for one human being! And that could be at the root of your problems. Just say, “NO” to some of those jobs, or hire someone else to do them. Give yourself a break, and become merely human like the rest of us! Seriously, do take a look at the list and see if you can’t shorten it a bit…Do you have to repair yard sprinklers this time of year? and so forth. Good luck. I hope things soon improve for you.
Good luck, Slartibartfast.
So many well wishers slarti. If this doesn’t register as heart warming –that you have so many posters caring about your health and continued presence here, then maybe you do need the help Dawn talks about: real humans and not merely characters representing them.
But that’s all I’ve got (not like von and perhaps others).
There are easier things to do than make this assessment: I am not well. Especially here in a public forum that is not reknown for its sensitivites or attentions to personal health.
Your candid remarks show not only uncommon trust but also light the path for those of us less sure, less brave and less confident about which way is up.
Thank you for that.
All the best. And my sister, who (unlike me) was good at competitive swimming, used to say: “swimming irons out your mind.” Which I’ve always found to be true.
“So many well wishers slarti. If this doesn’t register as heart warming –that you have so many posters caring about your health and continued presence here, then maybe you do need the help Dawn talks about: real humans and not merely characters representing them.
But that’s all I’ve got (not like von and perhaps others). ”
You don’t understand – Solstice is coming, and the Gods of Dark and Cold can’t be appeased by a weak and sickly sacrifice. We need Grade A Prime ‘long pig’ on the altar 🙂
Glad to hear that the real bad stuff is out of the picture, but indeed it can be very frustrating to NOT KNOW what is wrong.
I definately second the recommendations for sport & sleep. I also find that keeping my bloodsuger at more or less the same level makes a difference so I eat little bits in between.
In addition: I lost 65 pounds this year and that has quite an impact on how I feel too (much more than I thought). And I had my B12 levels checked and I don’t synthesize it well so I now have B12 shots every month.
John Tullen: I did not have anemia or weightloss, but I had mental problems and tingling in hands and feet.
Grand Bohemian is a nice place, yes. The in-house restaurant is worth doing, and they have what I consider the second-best Sunday Brunch in the area. First best being, of course, at the Grand Cypress*. I’ll be there New Years’ Day. The bar there is pretty decent, too. I took my wife there for her birthday last spring.
Never been there, but elk this far from elk country would never have occurred to me.
It’s a letdown for us, too; it’s been in the 80s.
I’m up for it if you can break loose. I live only about fifteen minutes away, and work isn’t much further. I’ll try to email you on Monday. Or you can look me up in the phone book; you know my name. I’m listed. Probably you’ll be dressed a whole lot better than I if we meet during business hours.
*I don’t get out all that much, but those two places I’ve been to and they’ve both gotten consistently high ratings in that area in the yearly entertainment guide.
For some odd reason, this reminded me of God is an iron, which is, IIRC, something Spider Robinson used to throw around.
“God is an iron”
Like, a five-iron? Or a steam iron?
I’ve heard it claimed that Iron Maiden is God, but never v.v.
Get well, Slarti. Many of your comments annoy me intensely, but that keeps my blood circulating, and I need that at my time of life.
No health advice except to “third” the recommendation for CPAP if needed for apnea. I thought I had it; I didn’t, but my wife did, got the machine, and it improved her life dramatically. Go figure.
First-time commenter, long-time lefty lurker — my best and sincerest wishes for good health. It’s unsettling to have one’s body, that familiar and reliable machine, suddenly break down. It’s deeply unsettling, even unhinging, to have no idea what’s causing the breakdown.
Excellent news that the MRI was negative.
I thrived on — prided myself on — five hours sleep a night, and less than that for days at a stretch, well into my thirties. And then, I just couldn’t do it anymore. Even if you’re wired for it, that both-ends-burning is all about youth, which is why it’s so hard to give up. If your body is telling you to stop, listen.
Yes, absolutely: physical activity will help you, directly or indirectly. Swimming sounds ideal for you. If that’s not practical on a regular basis, try something else, e.g., machine-time at the gym, or regular walks with Mrs. Slarti.
As others have said, sleep apnea can take subtle forms. If the insomnia persists despite exercise, etc., you might consider that as a factor.
I’m wondering why your father suggested clinical depression as a possibility. Sleep disruption can be one sign but it’s certainly not be most obvious one. Is there a family history of depression? Are there other signs and symptoms he knows of that would point to that diagnosis? I’m not expecting answers in this forum, or anywhere else.
Again, you have my best wishes.
Just to cleear some things up:
God is an iron:
What the hell is wrong with me? I’m not who I want to be.
FWIW, I have a nearly identical suite of problems, and went through a myriad of diagnoses much like Dawn’s. [Partly worsened by my own imbecility; f’rex, at age 27 I pulled a minimum of one all-nighter every week for 15 consecutive weeks.] Although I never found a satisfactory diagnoses (let alone treatment), I’ve got a daily regimen that (kinda) works for me and my problems appear to be predominantly in remission, which is really the best I can hope for.
Here’s to hoping you find what you need, which may even be what you’re looking for.
That helps although the connection from Hilzoy’s “swimming irons out the mind” to Spider’s “God is an iron” hits me with some apprehension.
Yes, and the lyric to a song I don’t know (like this person, slarti, I don’t know) turns me back to that suggestion of a swim.
Maybe just fresh air. A hike in the cool air. Refreshment, not the beverage, is not always easy to find, let alone renewal.
This does sound like more than recharging your batteries Slarti. Time to tap those friends you haven’t seen in ages.
Failing that, I’d visit those places where young people are still laughing and crying as they make their way through the day’s adventures. Yes go to the park and pose as a bird feeder.
The moms will get used to you. Works for me.
Slarti:
Aaargh. It looks like a no-can-do. I’m working on Sunday and my deposition looks like it won’t be done until after 5 p.m. — at which point I’ll need to dash to the airport so that I can catch my 6:55 flight. I’ll e-mail you on Monday is something changes, i.e., I miss my flight.
Yup, I’ve eaten at the Boheme pretty much every time I’ve been in Orlando the last couple years — which has been quite a few times. Good food, slow service every time.
And Slarti: in addition to tapping the friends you haven’t seen in ages, don’t forget the friends you’ve never actually seen at all, but who are there for you nonetheless.
I’d like to add to what LizardBreath said at 12:01 PM, but only the person I’d like to be has more at this moment. (And this moment, too. And this moment, too. And at this one, too. And this one.)
[Insert appropriately Manly physical gesture HERE]
Slarti:
Long time viewer but this is the fist time to comment.
First, was this your first MIR? If so you may want a second opinion.
Do not have more than one cup of coffee per day with Caffine.(Perferably in the morning) Switch to Salada Decaffeinated green tea. This is a antioxidant supplement as well. Do you have Migraines?
Topomax is a Migraine preventor and will help with your sleep problem taken at bedtime.
Exerise is best in the morning if you can work this in. Lifting weights combined with walking or riding a bike. This will also help your stess level. I was told to walk in the morning in the brisk cold air but I find it to be difficult so I stay with the weights.
A healty diet and plenty of sex with whipped cream and cherries. This should make your wife happy.
When people start bringing you down, visualize a curtain around you that cannot be penetrated. Try to stay away from negative people. They are NOT healty for you.
Good Luck and God Bless.
Slarti, belated get well thoughts.
Since this has a open-y thread feel, I’ll note that I have some gmail invites that are languishing (bout 30 or so, I think). Write to me if you’d like one.
Slarti: Sorry to hear you’re not feeling well. From what you’ve written, sleep apnea and depression sound like likely explanations. If you’re looking for more exotic diagnoses, you might consider vitamin B12 deficiency. If you have a history of pancreatitis or cancer runs in your family, you might want to get tested for pancreatic cancer. It can, very rarely, present with depression as the first symptom. Before you start having nightmares, let me emphasize that depression due to pancreatic cancer is very rare whereas sleep apnea and spontaneous depression are common. But given that you’re getting MRIs to work the problem up you might as well rule out other wierd possibilities too.
On rereading I see that I only referred to B12, without the vitamin. Fortunately Dianne corrected it 🙂
B12 deficiency gave me the werid personality/depression symptoms, though I did not have the anemia that usually accompagnies it. But I did have the tingling in hands and feet, and numbing of toes that is one of the symtoms too and that reminded me of John Tullens’ wife’s symptoms.
Again, thanks for the kind thoughts and expressions. We’re going to try an experiment for a couple of weeks: to bed by 10pm. Just in case, you know, I’m doing it to myself via voluntary sleep deprivation.
I just hate sleeping my life away, but it’s possible that by keeping myself up until the wee hours for so long (months, possibly years) that I’m to blame for all of this.
We’re going to try an experiment for a couple of weeks: to bed by 10pm. Just in case,
Even if it does not provide a cure, it can never harm 🙂
I do hope you will feel in better control of things soon.
Good luck.
Our family tree has lots of hypothyroidism — one member had classic symptoms for three years before anything turned up on the blood tests. Might want to keep testing at regular intervals. Good source of brain fuzz, depression, etc.