Muscle Inflammation Part 1

The doctors have no idea what is the cause of my condition or even what my condition is, but the only thing they can say is that my muscles are inflamed. I have muscle weakness in my upper legs (bi-lateral) and upper arms (bi-lateral) and my lower back. They call these areas proximal because they are all inner joints that connect. The muscle weakness makes it hard for me to sit and stand without help, raise my arms up, or even to lift items, I can't bend over and raise myself up. I can not walk very well and I use a cane at times as well as a mobile scooter when out and about. If I fall or get on the floor its the most difficult to get me up as I don't have the strength in my legs to help raise myself up. So I try to avoid falls at all cost but sometimes they do happen. I have seen rheumatologist, neurologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, internal medicine doctors. I mean you name them I have probably seen them.

I am a 42 year old wife and mother of 6, (well 5 now, will discuss in a later post) and a grandmother of 1. I have a great support system, my mother is in her 60s and my stepfather is in his 80s, they both help and support me. My father is in his 70s and he helps me as well. My oldest daughter, and my husband are all here for me and support me. They do so by taking me to my appointments, watching the kids or just coming over to help me around the house. So let me start where I think it all began.

In 2013 my husband and I went to see a Naturepath who changed my diet and diagnosed me with having Leaky Gut and Candida Yeast overgrowth. I had went to see the Naturalist because I had some other issues going on at the time like abnormal liver function test, gallstones, digestive/bowel movement issues, really bad allergies and probably some other stuff I can't remember at this time. I changed my diet per her instructions, started working out and as a result I lost a lot of weight and was feeling good, then boom I get pregnant for the 5th time. It was during this pregnancy that I noticed some things starting to happen or maybe they started before the pregnancy honestly I can't pin point because when things started happening I just started adapting and finding work arounds (at least this is what the doctors tell me I did). I was struggling to get out of chairs when I sat down, walking became difficult, and I begin to get really bad swelling in my legs. My OB at the time said that the swelling was not normal as pregnancy should not make them swell that bad. So I went to see my primary care physician that referred me to the lymphedema clinic at Anne Arundel Medical Center. I was treated by them for the lymphedema but as my pregnancy progressed it became uncertain if the pregnancy was keeping the swelling from completely disappearing. So the lymphedema specialist referred me over to there physical therapy group. I also during the pregnancy went off of my new diet plan because it was kind of hard to stick to it when you have cravings and need to feed that growing baby. I had my son in June of 2015 and it was a normal vaginal delivery. After the birth of my 5th child I noticed certain things were happening, like if I sat down on the couch it was now a struggle to get up. I could do it on my own but it was difficult. As my son grew older it became more difficult to walk and hold him, I had to get one of those baby straps/carriers that you attached to your body in order to walk and hold him. If I didn't have the carrier then I would have to sit down and hold him. I couldn't trust my arm strength to hold him and walk around. Going up and downstairs now took longer. I could do it but not like before. It became difficult to raise my arms up to reach the top cabinet. After my maternity leave I went back to work and I resumed my workout schedule at work like before but now stepping on and off the treadmill was difficult. If I bent over on the mats to stretch now it was difficult to raise my upper body up or even to get off the floor. Then before I knew it I was pregnant again. My 6th and final child was born in June of 2017. During this pregnancy my condition really got worse and this time when I went on maternity leave I didn't return to work. I couldn't, my job was in an office environment that required a lot of walking, bending and lifting. Which was now impossible for me to do. So now I am out of work at home with my youngest child trying to figure things out.