Today, I'm going to write about me. I wanted this blog to be more than just about trade days and the items I am creating for that. I want it to be about me and my life. It could be about anything that pops into this head of mine, which could be scary now that I think about it! ;) So today, I am going to write about a milestone I hit yesterday. It is a huge one for me, and I even joked about throwing a party. I have no idea how to even throw a party for such a mile stone, but I'm sure we could figure it out!
First, the back story.
You see, I have a medical condition called Dystonia. It is a muscle movement disorder that falls into the same neurological group as Parkinson and torettes. It is actually treated in much the same manner and by the same doctors. Mine is stubborn and complicated and doesn't like treatment. It appears simple, on the outside with only a little visual symptoms to give itself up to on lookers. But internally, its going full force and makes my life, daily, a pain filled living hell. I was not living. I was nonfunctional. The most major issue is muscle twitching and cramping. My muscles move when they shouldn't, and they move so much and so hard that they actually bend my bones. I'm lucky, in that my muscles move in short little movements, for the most part... feels like ants crawling under my skin all the time. Most people with Dystonia have full on huge muscle twitching with arms and legs going in all directions. I have that occasionally, but only during a Dystonic Storm. I count myself very lucky. So for years, I have been over whelmed by this and trying treatment after treatment that just didn't work. I would get worse, crash, end up weeks on end in bed unable to do daily things because my body was just too weak to function. You know when you excersize, when your done you get this shaky feeling that actually feels pretty good right? So, think about when you overdo it, and you start to feel sick and maybe dehydrated? Now, Imagine running 10 miles, full on at top speed, 115 degrees out up a hill, with no water... yep, thats about how I felt just getting out of bed every day. It sucked.
But... Things got better. Finally. 3 months ago, we finally found a combo of meds that work. The trick was treating my cluster migraines, which we hadn't tried yet, and upping the parkingson's meds that I am on. And now, I am living. I am actually up every day by 6 am... and that is insanely crazy not like me at all. No joke, Not like me at all, ever! I feel like for the first time in my life, I am actually living a real functional life. But, that is not the milestone I hit yesterday. That is just the back story. I had to tell the back story, so that you could understand why the milestone was such a big deal. Because its the back story that made the milestone. It is the living now. The getting up and moving, the existing, the moving, the doing, the being a real person that doesn't live life from her bed anymore!
Yesterday I broke the 200 pound mark. I am now 199 pounds and I have not been under 200 pounds in over 5 or 6 years. I haven't been under 230 in 5 or 6 years! Since starting the Topamax 4 months ago, I have lost over 50 pounds. Yes, I was over 250 pounds, and admitting that here on my blog, online is a bit intimidating, but there ya go.. its here. Its me. Its life, and real. When I stood on that scale yesterday and saw those numbers, I didn't even know what to think. I just stood there for a few, then walked out to the family and told them we all needed to throw a party. And I'm not kidding. Its exactly how I feel. I never thought I would ever see the bottom side of 200 again, ever. I never thought I would get out of my bed, either. So, I think a Coming to life party is in order here. Sort of like a coming of age party. But better!
ValeriGail
