Roller Coasters

Ask my husband or kids and they will all tell you that I am a huge roller coaster fan. I am the first in line and the last to cry uncle. G Man is my roller coaster buddy - when the ride is over we run around and get in line again. D and G are good for one ride and they are done and RJ is still too short so he is undecided but G Man can always count on me to ride until we drop. I started writing about roller coasters this morning because I decided yesterday on my way home from the 5th doctor I have seen since December that I feel like I am on a roller coaster and for the first time in my life - I WANT OFF!

In the last update I gave, my Neurologist had found my only physical problem to be a B12 deficiency so we started B12 shots given to me lovingly my G every month. Up roller coaster. In a follow up visit with the Neurologist he decided that he was not altogether comfortable with the B12 diagnosis and suggested that I see a Neuro-Ophthalmologist and possibly get a spinal tap to completely rule out MS. I put this off for as long as I could until I had an afternoon of Vertigo. That scared me enough to call and make the appointment. Down roller coaster. So off to see my 4th doctor, the Neuro-Optho...she conducted a visual field test in which the results verified the loss of vision in my left eye and a slight loss starting in my right eye. After a couple of hours with her she informs us that she thinks I might have Glaucoma. Finally! A possible diagnosis that makes sense. When I got home I looked up Glaucoma on Wikipedia and there it was - a picture of how a person with Glaucoma sees and it looks like an exaggerated version of my vision. The N-O doctor schedules some more eye testing with yet another doctor (the 5th doc) and sends me on my way. When I left her office I had a strange sense of relief for someone that had just been told they might have a disease that is the second leading cause of blindness in the world! I was just glad to possibly finally have an answer. Up roller coaster.

To shorten this story (a little) the eye doctor visit yesterday ended with the doc telling me that he doesn't think I have Glaucoma. As a matter of fact, he doesn't see any physical reason in my eyes that I should have the vision loss that I have. He recommended tests on my brain at which time I informed him that I had already pretty much every test on my brain known to man - and some of them twice! He then told me that sometimes we have physical problems that cannot be explained medically. He said doctors don't really like that explanation any more than patients do. Down roller coaster.

It's not that I wanted to have Glaucoma, it's just that I wanted some answers. I am afraid that I will go blind and never know why. And there you have it.

I have a follow up appointment with the N-O doctor on Monday to see what she has to say about all of this. I am praying that she won't give up until we have some answers and can bring the ride to an end.