Relapse, remission. Relapse, remission. Relapse.

Right off the bat, I want to say I’m not looking for a slew of sympathetic comments or anything like that.  A lot of us deal with chronic health matters.  It just helps me to put this out there, on here.  It helps me feel less alone.

A couple Wednesdays ago (the day I went to the Grant Bar & Lounge in Millvale, two blogs back) I had a pretty serious relapse. To be fair, I’ve been dealing with “long covid relapses” almost daily for months; but they usually just last a couple hours before winking out until the next day.

This last occurrence… I came home from that outing, lay down to take a nap, and woke up with the left side of my head & face in a good amount of pain.  It’s pretty much been a lot of inflammation and burning in the eyes & mouth since.

(Also the smell of burnt oatmeal—which isn’t as bad as the smell of diesel fuel a year ago, but it’s still unsettling.)

I had a telemeeting this week with my neurologist, told him I was aware this affliction is chronic and can last a couple years, but it’s been 17 months now and I am wiped out. 

He said “Douglas… who told you it would resolve itself in 2 years?”  I said I read that in an article published by the BHS.  He said he was not aware of this having a finite lifespan, and that he has others with post-covid conditions that have lasted longer than mine.  This was most depressing.

He told me they believe it settles into “compromised” parts of the body, and brought up mine.  I have a dark area on the left side of my brain that used to be the source of headaches & seizure activity when I was younger.  And a few years back, my jaw was in pretty bad shape from TMJ. 

(I recovered from TMJ in 2021, but my masseters have never been the same.  That’s what hurts a lot now.)

He didn’t have any real answers for me either, other than avoiding stress and ultra-processed foods which can cause inflammation, sleep 8 hours daily, avoid alcohol & tobacco products.  He said “I’m convinced Naproxen could help with the inflammation, but you can’t afford the spikes in your blood pressure.  You know ibuprofen is dangerous for you, right?” 

He asked if I would consider meeting with a therapist (psychologist) to share my feelings.  No.  I do enough of that here on my blog, and a little at the senior center, but mostly with my good friend Diana.

Here’s a recent photo of Diana at Bruce Canyon in Utah; she recently traveled there to visit her son & daughter who both reside in Salt Lake City

She really has been a terrific friend and insists I don’t owe her anything but I do.  She recently retired, but keeps busy writing a weekly column for her local paper, organizing events for her church & community.  I’m surprised how much time she makes for me.

(I actually have a funny story involving Di, myself and a space heater, maybe I’ll write about that next time.)

Well, that’s all I have.  All I can do now is wait for the next remission and hope the relapses weaken over time.  A couple days ago I woke up and made a promise to myself to go to the Lutheran Center that day, regardless of discomfort. 

Made it there and saw my friends, and had this wonderful lunch below—turkey & smoked gouda sandwich, potato salad, Mediterranean vegetable soup, grapes, chocolate donut. 

You can’t ask for much better than this.