After 12 years and more medical visits than I care to count, I don't have a new normal. I don't know if I will ever have a new normal. (I think that is just a pile of crap - saying that you get to a new normal and 'tada' its over, you are done. A nurse said to me when I was diagnosed with breast cancer that it would be a year of my life to get through treatment and then I could move on.) Sorry, it didn't work that way.
12 years out from a breast cancer diagnosis I now have rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, a bad back (degenerating disks, dessicated disks, and a bone spur in my neck), two bad knees, cancer twice before 50, had my gall bladder out for gallstones, and a hysterectomy before breast cancer because of fibroids, and more.
I can't do much for fun these days because I end up paying the price - whether its 30 minutes of gardening followed by a two hour nap or a trip to the gym followed by off my feet for the rest of the day. A day at the beach is usually followed by a day in bed. I over plan my life to allow for rests and naps.
I used to be fairly shy about talking about bodily functions but with all this medical crap going on I think I can ramble on about a lot of different things simultaneously - there is not much that is too icky to discuss at this point.
Because of my medical history (do I hate that term or what?) I am not eligible for things like life insurance, clinical trials, newer biologic treatments, surgeries which might help me in the shorter term, etc.
So where does this leave me? I think I have the equivalent knowledge of a medical degree in some areas because I live with all of it. I prioritize my health first at all times. I can be very whiney when forced to do more than I am able. When I say 'no' I really mean 'no'. I only selectively listen to my doctors because they all contradict one another or tell me to ask a different specialist about something they can't answer.
And most importantly my emotional health is just as important as my physical health - that really took me a long time.
With my stellar health under my arm, I go from one medical misadventure to the next and drag along all my baggage. But I'm still here, between naps.
