What's wrong with Gerri?

That's the question without an answer.  For years I have had illness after illness with no real reason as to WHY.  You name it, I've probably had it to some degree.

Let's go back in time for a quick rundown of my medical history as I can recall it.  Now keep in mind my memory doesn't always serve me right so I might forget or leave some things out, but I think this will give a good time line on my health...or lack of:

Age 6-15 (ish) - I can remember I was always sick with a cold or not feeling really well.  My mom took me to the pediatrician often and he never could pin point why and I believe just told her "it's the way she is"....even to this day my mom mentions how I was a "sickly child"

Age 15 - Diagnosed with Mononucleosis AKA "mono" or "the kissing disease" - This is a very common disease that is caused by the Epstein Bar Virus.  If you want to know more about this, here is a great link with info about the disease.  Mononucleosis/Epstein Bar Virus

Age 18 - Had Viral Meningitis which was diagnosed via a Spinal Tap - This was the sickest I had EVER been - I remember I was living on my own and my boyfriend came over one night - I had him take me to the ER as I knew something was terribly wrong with me - sure enough......little did I know this would be the first of several times that I would deal with this infection in my lifetime.

Age 18-25 - various colds, flu, strep, bronchitis and what not but more than what would be considered "normal" - at one point I had been diagnosed with "panic attacks" and "chronic fatigue syndrome" which I believe is also a common "side effect" of EBV and Mononucleosis - Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition of prolonged and severe tiredness or weariness (fatique) that is not relieved by rest and is not directly caused by other conditions and isn't something that can be diagnosed by a blood test - it's more of a "symptomatic" diagnosis which sounded good to me at the time my Dr diagnosed it.  The panic attacks just so happened to come pretty badly around the time Glenn and I were planning our wedding, so the Dr attributed those to all the stress of that.  At present, panic attacks are no longer present

Age 25-35 - over the course of these years I faced another bout of Viral Meningitis as well as numerous colds, flus and bronchial infections.  Again, nothing "new" I was always the one who would get sick and be sick longer than normal than most people - just "how I am" I guess

Age 35 to present -  Another bout of viral meningitis, Encephalitis, several colds, flus, bronchial infections and a really weird rash that covered my left thigh and left forearm.  This rash was under my skin, non painful and pretty ugly...once again, nobody would figure out what it was or why I had it.  Most recently I had bronchitis which turned to pneumonia, then I suffered from "vertigo" along with constant feeling of being dizzy accompanied by debilitating headaches which were considered "migranes" - at present I am still experiencing headaches but not as constant and extreme fatigue that I battle on a daily basis which can be chalked up to the CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome).  On a daily basis I just feel "blah" and have no real energy to do anything.  It has been suggested that I get out and exercise to increase my energy level, however, that just makes me even more tired.  I feel like I'm going in circles and need answers.

So as you  have read, I have had my share of illness over the years and at this time am ready to dig into all this and try to figure out what is going on.  Currently I am doing a lot of research and have actually come upon some information that I think might  just be the tip of the iceberg - I think I'm onto something here.

Once again let's take a little excursion but we're only going to go back to 2005.  It was April or May that year that I attended our annual Convention in New Orleans where it's held every year.  That particular year it was just after hurricane Katrina had hit the area.  I stayed with a friend for a few days while there and the rest of the time stayed in the hotel, The Marriott on Canal St.  I distinctly recall that year having been biten, or rather "eaten alive" by what I thought were fleas - they were very small bites all over both my calfs from my feet to my knees.  I'm pretty sure I received these bites at my friends house as she did have cats at the time, however I can't be certain, it could of been while out walking around or even in the hotel, but that's irrelevant at this point in time...the fact is, that I had these bug bites in mass quantity all over both my legs. I really thought nothing of it other than what a pain it was because they itched SO bad.

Now jump ahead to when I returned from that trip.  A few days after returning home I began to feel ill.  Developed a rash on my chest, flu like symptoms and then a week later was in the hospital with, what the Dr said was Encephalitis - I was fricken sick, let me tell you.  The Dr who treated me didn't do a spinal tap as they felt I was more than likely on the downhill side of the virus at that point - based on the fact that I had reported the bug bites, they also said they would call it "west nile" if it were the season but felt pretty confident that it was a meningitis/encephalitis related and I would just have to "ride it out".

Encephalitis can be caused by West Nile (transmitted by insect bites, primarily mosquitos or fleas) as well as numerous other viruses such as the "epstein bar virus", "lyme Disease", "Rubella" and "shingles" to name just a few on the extensive list of potential causes for the illness - now mind you, most people never get meningitis once, let alone several times and all these times I've had these serious illnesses, not one Dr has ever really questioned WHY - and honestly up until now, neither have I.  I guess it just takes getting to the breaking point for someone to stop and ask why, and start to dig into what could be going on that is causing these things to happen.  That is where I am today....I'm at my breaking point.  I want to know WHAT is going on inside my body that is causing me to have these major illnesses every 3-5 yrs.  WHAT is it and WHAT can be done about it.  I'm sure whatever I find out is going to be something that I'll have to manage forever, but at least I'll know and can do what it takes to help me feel better.....anything is better than how I feel now.

Well I think that's it for today, that's a lot to absorb.  My next entry will dive into the research I've been doing and what I personally think is going on.  I could be totally off base but I think if nothing else, I'll get the attention of my Dr. and hopefully start on the path to figuring it all out.

My appointment with my primary care physician is on Nov 30th - that's the day this journey really begins.