Day 4 of UT Dr. Trip – Diagnosis 1
24 Aug
Today I went to Church with my Parents and older sister Maren and her daughter Megan. It was fun to see all the people I grew up with while I lived here. They were all excited to see me and asked me all sorts of questions. It felt good to meet with them again. 
After Church I had an appointment with a lady in the ward who is an RN. I listed out all my symptoms with her including my Anxiety and Stress related issues. She gave me some suggestions in relation to the physical symptoms that would be good to get checked out with the Dr. but she also brought up a VERY good point, which validated the feelings I had after meeting with my Therapist the other day. She said that when dealing with Anxiety and Stress un-managed, the brain being the core processor of the entire body – chemicals like cortisol are sent throughout the entire body that heightens the intensity of the Stress+Anxiety and can have some REAL physical affects – like illnesses and pains and aches. Diarrhea being a physical reaction to Anxiety. The majority of Anxiety and Stress – the physical reaction centers within the gut and where the majority of my symptoms reside in the gut area – it makes sense. She also mentioned that having traumatic experiences in the past, the recorded memories and feelings during and after those experiences can affect the rest of your life, but doesn’t have to run your life. She asked about my history and I shared with her the most traumatic experiences that I’ve gone through, which are:
- Traumatic Birth (I had pnemonia and had to stay in the ICU for nearly a month, etc)
- Jr. High — I was threatened in school that if we ever had to use the bathroom there would be consequences. So I ended up holding it the entire day, after school my bus was the first bus and when I got off the bus I would have to walk a mile uphill to get home and often times I wouldn’t make it all the way home.
- High School — My best friend killed himself. After his death I went quite a while in deep depression and developed destructive eating habits, i.e.: Anorexia & Bulimia
- Not that it’s seriously traumatic : having had consistent therapy ever since my best friends death, and then moving to an entirely new area several miles from family + now having gone a year and a half with no therapy = very stressful. It was VERY refreshing meeting with my counselor on this trip
She explained to me that an experience like I had in Jr. High – where some people it doesn’t make any difference to them having to go to the bathroom or not- for me taught my mind that going to the bathroom is a sensitive issue. Especially having the accidents like I had were very traumatic to my body. When I have heightened stress in my life – it inflames my Anxiety which heightens sensitive issues from past traumatic experiences. Going to counseling and managing these stresses will help teach me the tools to quiet the emotional side of my brian and teach my logical side how to manage the emotional side.
She highly recommended doing two things:
- Go to a Dr. and get some blood tests done: Thyroid & CBC to check and make sure that something physical inside isn’t going on. She didn’t discredit that it COULD be a Gluten Sensitivity, it COULD be Endometriosis, it also COULD be Thyroid. But these blood tests should show if it is.
- Going to a special kind of Therapy, EMDR. They specialize in training the logical side of the brain to quiet down and manage the emotional side of the brain. They approach the Belief, Emotional and Physical side of past traumatic experiences to where they don’t disrupt daily life.
She strongly believes that Anxiety is the major influence of my present symptoms. Seeing how I made a major move a year and a half ago and not that long after – new and disruptive symptoms arose to the surface and past symptoms became more intensified is too much of a coincidence.
It feels SO GOOD to hear this. It’s like with each appointment I’ve had on this trip, a piece of the puzzle is coming together.
Clark’s Scavenger Hunt Day 4
Remember when we watched ‘a certain movie’ 5 times in the Theater? The majority of those 5 times was with your Mom & Dad. It was SO FUN! What was the most fun, was watching this movie with the surround sound that we helped your Dad set up downstairs. THAT was a fun time setting it up and pulling up the carpet hoping your Mom would never know. HAHA!!!See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2GuK0kshNo&feature=related
***
Find Today’s Treat… Clue: “Clark could you reach up and get that _____ for me?”
Dinner: BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Corn
Activity: 24, Alias or whatever movie is on TV… Read your favorite book
He sent me this picture today (this picture crack’s me up!!! hahaha!!!):
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wow! Sounds like you received a lot of good information today. I hope that this will really help in finding a solution to your troubles.
Love the expression on your hunny’s face. He’s like,
“SCORE!!!”
I am so lovin’ your husbands personality through his scavenger hunts! I like that he was dressed and went to church and I’m glad that you are finding validation in your concerns.
I’m so glad that you were able to meet with that lady in the ward. It sounds like she gave you a lot of great information to go on. I really hope that you’ll start feeling better soon. Therapy is such a wonderful help-when I met with a psychologist awhile back, I learned so many life-changing things. I’m so grateful help is available when we need it! It helped me see things from a “healthier” perspective and be able to be happier with who I am.
I’m glad all the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.
Mikki, Mother Goose, Stephie:
Thank you for all your continued support!
*My husband is pretty great, isn’t he?
He’s such a fun man!
I love that you post so many details about your life and your trip. It’s like I’m getting to know the real YOU, with nothing held back! It’s great!