Back on Land

My nephews Drake and Grant give me a hard time about my texting habits. Apparently I initiate conversations and then, after a few texts, I just fade away. It's like I'm done talking, even if they're not. I had NO clue that I do this to them.

I'm there, and then --  in an instant -- I'm gone. I'm not sure why I slink away, but I do. So I'm trying really hard to finish conversations and not leave anything unsaid -- and I'm taking that same approach to this blog. And trust me, it's not always easy to share the complete story.

About a month ago I posted that I'd been feeling woozy. This was something entirely new, and it scared the crap out of me. I went to U-M twice but each time left with more questions than answers. There was no inner ear issue. It wasn't my medications. During the second visit my doc examined me and then said "well, it wasn't a stroke." A stroke? I know that kidney disease puts me at a higher risk for stroke, so the mere mention of the word was scary.

More time went by, and my symptoms remained. I felt like I was rocking on a boat, plus I had major stomach issues. And there was no obvious answer as to why. This wasn't related to my kidney disease, but it had to be caused by something.

I was sleep deprived, cranky, frustrated, angry, and tired of feeling woozy.

That's when I had my epiphany: this had to be psychological. I've been under an intense amount of stress, and I wondered if these symptoms were the result of stress manifesting itself physically. As I read and researched more, it became obvious that my symptoms sounded an awful lot like anxiety. So I created my own course of action:

therapy
acupuncture
massage
journaling

Guess what? I'm now back on land. The symptoms have slowly gone away, and I'm back to feeling normal (or, at least normal for me!). I'm so relieved -- not just because I feel better, but because I was able to know my body well enough to know what it needed.

So that's how the "woozy" story ends.