February 3, 2024
Will discuss my physical health diagnoses, really break down what they are, how they affect me, and how they are affected by my mental health.
As previously mentioned in my second blog, my physical health issues far exceed my mental health issues. The number of physical health issues though is indicative of the amount of trauma I have dealt with in my life, which will be discussed in later blogs. The brain cannot deal with all this trauma and instead it becomes stored in the body and physically affects it.
Some of my physical health issues are just random, some I was just born with, but most are from decades of trauma that I was never able to really treat until now. The traumas had manifested themselves in my body as my brain tried hard to just stay alive.
I am a twin and we began to miscarry at 5 months, then born early at 8 months. I was sickly from the start with ear, nose and throat (ENT) issues as well as eye problems. I had chronic sinusitis which has stayed with me and tonsillitis 3 plus times a year until they were removed in my preteens. I had regular ear infections that have also stayed with me as well as chronically itchy ears. For the past 20 plus years my right ear has had Tinnitus which has some hearing loss now, and the left ear is a trigger point for the Trigeminal Neuralgia that peaked in June 2004 and it too still causes daily pain. My eyes would crust over as a baby but that went away, however, and although I have 20/20 vision, I am minutely near sighted in one eye, minutely far sighted in the other and have slight astigmatism in my left eye, all of which most probably as a result of stress related vision impairment and/or physical injury which I sustained pretty regularly. It causes me night blindness plus I deal with vertigo which could be caused by the vision impairment. I have always been hypersensitive physically and emotionally to everything which also caused asthma, eczema, and allergies (sensitivities to everything). Plus, I have always been hyper vigilant with chronic headaches including cluster headaches since at least the age of 15, jaw clenching, physical tension throughout my body, IBS, GERD, restless leg syndrome, chronic insomnia, and fatigue. And obviously hyperactive, ADHD. For over a decade I have also been dealing with planter fasciitis, Fibromyalgia, and now in middle age, perimenopause which has brought back the hypoglycemia I had as a teen, and now arthritis, obesity, pelvic floor issues, and has escalated most, if not all of, my other health issues.
List:
Trigeminal Neuralgia; left side of face and head
Fibromyalgia: right side and middle of body most often but travels around
Arthritis; all joints, esp. spine (base of skull, shoulder blades, lower back/tailbone), hands (esp. right), knees, feet
ENT infections; chronic sinusitis, itchy ears, ear infections
Tinnitus and hearing loss right ear
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Eye issues: slightly, near sighted in one/far sighted in other, astigmatism in left and vertigo
Hypersensitive; physical (sound, site, touch, smell), emotional (overwhelmed): causing asthma, eczema, allergies (sensitivities for me, to everything)
Hypervigilance: jaw clenching, constant physical tension, restless leg syndrome, planter fasciitis, nervousness, worry, easily startled, state of high alert, anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue
Hyperactive (ADHD)
Perimenopause
Hypoglycemia
Obesity
Pelvic floor issues/pain