Derrick's ongoing journey

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Photos of me in Hawaii

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Somehow my wife talked me into zip lining. We took the quick tour which consisted of only 3 lines but it was still a lot of fun. I have had a fear of heights as long as I can remember. I ended up doing very well and didn't experience much fear at all. Our group consisted of me, my wife and 4 cute Canadian girls, all in their early 30's and all single. So I was completely outnumbered and they made me go first. My wife mentioned to me afterwards how pretty all of them were. I was completely honest and said to her, "Really? I wasn't even paying attention." :biggrinjester:
Seriously though, my wife was still prettier but what's in the water up in Canada? Seems all the women are beautiful up there.
Zip line photos:
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I took some amazing photos of my wife but I haven't asked for her permission yet so I can't post them yet.
At one time or another in our lives we all dream about something, being an actor, a baseball player, a singer, or whatever it is you dream of. Well I have had many dreams but the one that stands out lately is being a sports illustrated swimsuit photographer and my wife is the model I am photographing. While that certainly will never happen, my wife was kind enough to role play with me. I took her to a more secluded beach right at sunrise one day and we got dozens of spectacular photos. Furthermore, she even agreed to go again another day for some sunset photos. Those turned out amazing as well. All professional shots, nothing distasteful.
I really do believe my wife and some of the photos I took of her are worthy of Sports Illustrated. She really likes some of the shots too so that in and of itself is a huge accomplishment for me in my young career as a photographer. I was so surprised and happy she did that with me. It was a lot of fun and gave me such a valuable learning experience. I'm really starting to gain confidence with my camera and my ability to compose shots.
 
I got my second cortisone shot in my neck this morning. That should be the last one. I have been feeling moderately manic and nervous/anxious lately from the shots and also from forgetting my medicine a couple times a few weeks ago, as well as going a few nights without sleep. One of those times was because I had to take my daughter to the Emergency Room because she had severe stomach pains. It's kind of a long story but she is fine. We didn't get home until 5 in the morning. Just one of those things can really mess with a bipolar's "balance" and knock everything out of whack for weeks, months or even worse. I'm getting better at knowing what is going on with me and how to attack these sorts of problems. I talked to my doctor's office this morning and they are going to call me back with some suggestions.

Nothing going on in the exercise department. It's been somewhat slow at the farms as we have been trying to avoid the heat. Things are about to get very busy though.

That's all for now. I really need to get back to the gym. I know if I can just lose a few pounds and get back into the 190's it will really motivate me to get serious about losing weight again. I hope everyone is doing well.

Derrick
 
AThanks IrishPrincess. This is the first time I have posted since my post above. I'm really bummed out about the new format. Maybe it's my fault for not taking the time to get more comfortable with it.

So, this morning Tanita said:
200.5 lbs
17% body fat

However, I didn't get there by ideal means. I was sick for 9 days, hospitalized for 5, with an infectious disease I got from a tick, called Ehrlichiosis. It tried its best to kill me. I battled 101 to 103.5* fevers for a week, uncontrollable chills, profuse sweating, my spleen doubled or tripled in size, I was beginning to develop pneumonia, I hurt everywhere, I couldn't walk under my own power, I couldn't sleep more than 1 or 2 hours at a time, my white blood cell count was low, my blood platelets were low, my liver enzymes and bilirubins were high, my resting heart rate was above 100 all week, my blood pressure was as low as 97 over 50 (very low for me), I had intense head and ear aches, joint pain, low back pain, could barely talk one day, became very dizzy and disoriented and panted for air for a 48 hour stretch when my spleen was swelling. How's that for a run-on sentence?

I'm sure I missed a few, such as severe constipation, dehydration and complete loss of taste and smell. I came home this Tuesday, 3 days ago. I am doing well, still taking the Doxycycline to finish killing the infection. I still have nausea and something is messed up with my left arm. It might be inflammation from the IV. I hope it's not a blood clot or my ruptured disk acting up.

So in all I went from 208.5 to 200.5 and from 27% to 17% body fat. I don't believe any of the body fat numbers, neither the before or after. Right now I look decent so I'll try to eat well so I don't gain back all that weight. One other odd thing is my back acne, which I've had for over 3 years, has been destroyed for the time being. Go figure.

The ER doctor was the first to guess what I had. He may have saved my life. The disease is fatal in only 3% of cases but double or triple that for people with weakened immune systems. That would be me. Furthermore, my body was not doing a very good job of fighting it on its own. Who knows what would have happened. I'm just happy to be alive and home.

If you ever get a tick on you, get that little bastard off within 24 hours!

Derrick
 
Sorry to hear about everything that you went through....

Welcome back & hope everything turns out for the best!
 
AThanks! I'm feeling a little better each day but my left arm has some nerve issues and I'm still losing weight every day. I'm down to 197.5. It might be from the pain pills. I just hope there isn't something else going on.
 
Hi everyone. I'm not sure how many people are here that I know these days but I thought I'd post an update. I posted a couple entries above about an infectious diseases I caught from a tick called Ehrlichiosis. Unfortunately that was just the start of it. Just a couple weeks after I appeared to be recovering from Ehrlichiosis, I developed Viral Meningitis and Viral Encephalitis, which is the swelling of the outer and inner membrane of the brain. It can kill you.


Four separate occasions my brain swelled and I forgot how to talk. Each time my right arm also went numb. One night my wife had to call an ambulance because I was unable to stand or talk at all. I was drooling, my lip was drooping and my head hurt severely bad. While I was on my way to the hospital my head hurt worse and worse. It hurt so bad I thought for sure I was going to die. I was screaming in pain non stop. So much so that I almost passed out from lack of oxygen. I did not understand what was happening to me. I had heard of Meningitis but I did not understand what it was. I spent the next 48 hours in Intensive Care and I don't remember much. Meningitis is more common than Encephalitis but only about 3,000 to 5,000 people in the U.S. get Encephalitis each year. Lucky me!


I ended up making at least 5 more trips to the ER. I spent 6 weeks vomiting off and on, somedays as much as 8 times. I also had four lumbar punctures, three MRI's, three CT scans, one chest x-ray, over 20 IV lines, over 20 blood tests and over a dozen stomach shots.


I was admitted for 6 days last week at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, MO. The first day I was there I was in poor health. I vomited 17 times, the last one appearing to be 100% blood and a lot of it. That night I only vomited one more time and then the next day I only vomited six times. After that I did not vomit anymore. As the week progressed I began to come out of my sickness. I was lucky I did not suffer brain damage. I am sure I have suffered some but it appears I have not suffered a lot.


The doctors ran numerous tests but were unable to find out where the Meningitis and Encephalitis came from. The last three days they treated me with steroids.


I currently have 14 more days of steroids and 25 more days of doxycycline. I am hoping to make a full recovery. Due to the fact that the source of the illnesses were not discovered, there is always a chance they could come back. I'll have to have faith they won't.


Derrick
 
Hope you get better Derrick, luck just hasnt been going your way recently it seems, and as you said, hopefully they wont come back, best of luck man!
 
Holy Derrick, you are lucky to be alive. Man you have been through your share and more. It is funny the things we go through in life. Some good and some bad. You deserve to have some good things come your way now!! How is everything else been going with you besides the health? How are the wife and kids? I haven't been posting as much- still haven't gained any weight or anything so that is good. Life just got so busy all of a sudden. I am still running - not as much as I was but still getting out there. I ran my 1/2 marathon and will train for a full marathon in Vancouver starting in January as the race is in the first week in May next year..


I haven't been on this site much lately as you are right most of the ones I conversed with are gone. I don't know how they are doing but I hope they are all doing well. I hope you have some good things coming your way as you deserve them. My thoughts are with you!! Take care of yourself
 
Hey Derrick,


Not sure if you still get the updates sent to your email so I'm not so sure if you'll get this. Hope you're doing better this year. It's already March almost April. You overcame a lot last year and to read your last post, well, I just hope everything is good your way.
 
AI am still alive! Yea for me! :-D It really does get old though, all the $hit that's come my way the past 7 years. I haven't even mentioned the worse of it but I can't do that anyway. Y'all get the point by now and y'all are probably as sick of hearing about it as I am telling about it. Nonetheless it's been over 6 months so I'll post a little update.

-Last Fall I became a medical marvel and got something called "Post Ehrlichia Meningoencephalitis". I doubt you'll even find that with a google search but you can try. I survived with the help of Prednisone.
-Prednisone did what the doctors said it would, reset my immune system and put 25 pounds on me. I'm back up to 220. Lucky me!
-I've had a significant amount of leg and neck pain since gaining the weight. L2/L3 and C3/C4 based on MRI and Myelogram. Surgery was and still is being considerd but the epidural shots are helping a bit. I get another on Thursday.
-So I basically give up. I am smoking again, especially pot, drinking hard liquor every night and eating Cheetos and ice cream, gooey butter pancakes, chocolate banannas and coconut lasagna every day.
:-D. LOL.
-Oh and I still crack myself up! That's a big reason why most of the above isn't true. Unfortunately I am smoking again. Oh, and i cant resist the coconut lasagna either. :-D Am I the only one that thinks that is funny?
-For real though, I am down quite a bit. I have definitely been fighting depression. I recognize the early signs so I'm trying to avoid falling into the abyss that is depression. Fitness wise I'm sort of stuck in limbo until my neck and leg pain go away. No worries. I'll persevere like I always do. Yeah, it really is getting old but, for the hundredth time, bring it on!

P.S. I apologize for not posting in anyone else's journal. I hope you are all doing well and I hope to find time to visit them soon.
 
Derrick!! Long time no talk too. Sucks you have been having to deal with all that crap. Man, you have been having a rough time of it lately. I think it is pretty normal for you to be depressed- I know I would be. We are still here for you. I know it is only online support but really it sounds like you need to get yourself healthy and then that may help with the depression. How is the wife and kids? Concentrate on the blessings in your life and don't dwell on the negative stuff. I know it is hard some days but things will get better. We all go through stuff in our lives- I know this is going to sound cliched but it really does make us stronger. We all get in ruts - whether it is outside forces or ourselves who get us there. We just need to continue on. I know you know all this shit but thought I would tell you again-LOL. You can and will get back- I know you will.


Take Care.
 
Good to hear from you, Cowboy. And thanks Trusylver. How have you two been? Still running, Cowboy?


Hey, I got a Cervical Nerve Root Block shot last week and it has really helped so far. That's a start.
 
Adoing well here, got a bit lost for a year but back on the horse now :)

it is good the shot is helping
 
It's been over a year since I have posted in my diary so I guess I'm overdue. I'm fluctuating between 221 and 228.5 so let's call it 225 I guess.

I have been getting physical therapy almost every week for the past year. I have arthritis in my left shoulder which causes me pain and decreases my range of motion, especially when lifting over my head. One of my new doctors finally figured out what has been causing my leg pain over the past 4 years. It's from my sacroiliac joint, which is tilted because of my scoliosis. That causes my muscles to spasm and irritate the sciatic nerve. In addition to that I still have spinal stenosis at L2/L3 and L4/L5. I take anywhere from 8 to 12 Advil a day for the inflammation and I also have a Zynex e-stem machine which I put on my right butt cheek basically. It helps me fall asleep because after 15 or 20 minutes the pain goes away.

I got a cortisone shot in my left shoulder and I had an allergic reaction to either the numbing medicine or the cortisone. I started to have symptoms similar to those when I had meningitis and encephalitis. The right side of my face and my finger tips were going numb and I was having trouble with speech. I sat in the ER parking lot for an hour debating wether to go in. After the symptoms subsided I chose not to. I really didn't want to be admitted to a hospital again and undergo MRI's and such. The next two days I was in agony from the shot in my shoulder. I couldn't move my arm four inches upward. I was even making make shift slings. Ten days later total pain relief finally came. However, just two months later the pain is coming back. I can't keep getting cortisone shots all over my body and physical therapy hasn't helped as much as I hoped.

I am getting surgery in May to clean out a deviated septum and remove my uvula. I've been choking at night and in the mornings because my uvula is blocking my airway.

My basement was recently finished and I have a nice exercise room. One of the reasons I came here was to check my diary posts to see what I was eating when I was successfully losing weight. My wife and I are doing well and my kids are 7 and almost 3.

My wife has a lot of joint pain (wrist, forearm, leg, foot) and is often low on energy and tired. She had her primary doctor run some tests and one of them came back positive. It can indicate Lupus but we are not jumping to conclusions because she also said there are many other reasons it could be positive, including a false positive. So she now has to go to a Rheumatologist for further testing.

My daughter is a challenge because she has ADHD and possibly a mild version of Asperger's. It's taken a toll on the whole family, especially my wife who works endlessly with our daughter's doctors, her school, researching, etc. etc. It's emotionally frustrating.

My son still has a very strict and limited diet due to food allergies and he often gets sinus infections because of low immunity.

Financially we are fine so at least that is good. We aren't dying and we are enjoying life despite all the challenges that continue to come our way. So I can still say I am doing well, all things considered. Hopefully I can come back here at least once a month with some positive news to log. Weight wise I'm going to shoot for 219, then 209, then 199. From there I'd still like to get to the mid 180's but man has that proven to be nearly unattainable. I just need to stay healthy. I know I have the brain power and the will.

Derrick
 
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