Adopted and Illness

Being adopted has placed a variety of obstacles in my path over the years but none as powerful and as frustrating as my medical background. Every time I visit a doctor or have to have a test at a hospital, I cringe with the question 'Is there a history of this in your family?'. 

In recent years, the Province of Ontario has opened all the sealed adoption records. Allowing 'adoptees' like me to apply to get birth records and medical histories. The problem lies in that most birth mothers were not so 'open' with their family histories and/or medical records to adoption agencies etc. It's even worse when it is a single parent adoption like mine. My birth mother did not divulge a name for my birth father and with that no history, no medical information, just a large empty frustrating void.

At 44 this has become a more critical situation for me as my health has taken a huge twist and answers would ease a great deal of stress surrounding my illnesses. Finding out if they are genetic or spontaneous would help not me but my daughter as well. Being able to tell my daughter that my illnesses are a fluke and that she isn't destined to be stricken with Meniere's, Fibro, Osteoarthritis, Hypoglycaemia and Depression. 

The journey is going to be a long one I'm sure but all I can do is press on and hope that there are answers out there for me. 

the quest continues......

Living Within the Chains of Chronic Pain

It's been a very hard and long road to get me this far. Hundreds of doctor appointments, countless exams, x-rays, medications and blood samples to figure out I suffer from Chronic Pain Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. On top of those, I am already contending with Meniere's Disease, Osteoarthritis, Hypoglycemia, IBS and chronic depression.

Having to stop working full-time in 2007 was a huge set-back and an even harder mental adjustment. I still struggle with the fact that I can't do the things I used to do years ago. I was an avid dancer, a jock who enjoyed tennis, football, baseball, volleyball (you get the idea) and now I'm relegated to the sofa or bed because the pain is so bad.

The constant intake of medications for everything makes for an interesting morning cocktail. 15 pills to give me the ability to get out of bed and be somewhat functional.

Functional these days, is being able to wash my own hair or stand alone in the shower. My constant dizziness and frequent falling makes bathing alone difficult at best. Even the heat of the water can cause me to fall and pass out.

I struggle with mobility the most. Getting around is extremely painful and walking just to my mailbox can be insurmountable task. I use a cane and have a walker for when it's really bad. Lately, I've been looking at scooters and wondering when that is coming.

So many people just look at me weird when I say I have 'Fibro'. Most don't understand how negatively it can impact your life and the lives around you. My husband has been beyond supportive and I'm sure that my inability to do things as easy as being on the back of his motorcycle, concerns him greatly. Never mind the disappointment when we can't go somewhere because I'm bed ridden.

After fighting so long, I'm forgetting what life was like before I fell into the pit of perpetual pain and anguish. I wish there was more tolerance and understanding for those of us who suffer from Fibro and certainly wish there was a cure.

Who knows, maybe the cure will come before my daughter gets afflicted too.

For now, we just keep struggling along and making people aware that a healthy life should be cherished and encouraged.