Our Newest Hurdle

I would like to apologize for not being more active on here as well as my FB page. I wanted to explain why, but deciding to share something so personal takes a while to work up the courage to do.

I debated on whether or not to share this with you all. I mean, technically I don't know all of you personally and I've not even told my closest friends yet. In fact aside from my immediate few family members and my docs, no one knows.

It isn't anything truly awful I suppose, but just like when you're diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I'm sure I will hear it all....your diet did this, or you should've lost weight sooner, or something along those lines. With my type 2 diabetes though, it was genetic. Simply put, no amount of great diet, or weight was going to stop it from getting me!

Over the last few months, I've been getting more and more exhausted, despite having my blood sugar under control and eating a more controlled diet. I didn't understand why though, I was even angry at myself for being so tired. Well, after months and months of that exhaustion level rising and rising and rising and this uncomfortable feeling under right rib, getting more and more uncomfortable, it finally turned to pain this last Wednesday. Enough, after 2 days to drive me to the doctor, and I don't generally go, unless forced to.

Thursday afternoon, I received a call from my doctor's office, telling me that I have second stage liver disease, aka NASH (Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis). What this means is that for some reason, my liver has begun to store fat and is now enlarged. This is the uncomfortable feeling I've had under my rib for the last year or so. They (the doc's office), is working through some insurance red tape to get me in for a biopsy to determine how far into NASH I am.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that if I can give my liver a break as it were, from processing any high fats, chemicals, etc. I can work my way back down slowly or hold my liver here for a while. So, I am learning and working with a wonderful group of individuals who have NAFLD (Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) or NASH or whose children have it. Some of them have had to have transplants, others have slowly worked their livers from toward the end of stage 3 to the beginning and other have held their's where it is, in NASH, and done so successfully for years.

I share this because, I've shared everything about our lives here. I've tried to give you an honest look into what is becoming more and more, a typical blue collar home. The more our life is out there, the more people may talk about Autism, Tourette Syndrome, Dyspraxia, SPD, etc. The more it makes those of us with all these things in our lives feel less alone. So, I shared this in the hopes that maybe a little light will get shone on this as well. I read an article that said something like 1 in 10 have this and do not know. There are no signs, until the exhaustion starts and that can be any number of things. They said two things that struck me: One, that I have had this for years, most likely a decade or more and didn't know. And two, that I am lucky, that most people don't come in until there is already cirrhosis of the liver!

I shared this not for sympathy, in fact this is the reason I haven't told any of my friends - I'm not a big fan of sympathy. I shared it because, this is our life and most likely the lives of many others out there. It also explains to you and me, why sometimes I just haven't the energy to get to doing all the bloggy things I used to do all the time. I'm working on this though and hopefully will have good news to report eventually!

My nephews are coming over today, so I've got to tidy up and get breakfast going around here. I hope that you all are having a great weekend!