Health is temporary

Precursor

In 2023 there were multiple points where I inexplicably got sick. My partner, Ash, never once caught what I had. This is a little hard to believe since we both work from home and generally spend most of our time together under one roof and we still wear masks in public.

I had to reschedule multiple plans because of suddenly coming down with headaches, nasal congestion, lethargy, muscle soreness, and more. Not once did I run a fever, though.

After having to stay home for Thanksgiving due to another bout of unexplained illness, I never quite recovered. I’ve had some amount of baseline pain every single day since late November 2023, plus debilitating flareups.

The beginning

Early on, I was being treated under the assumption that I had a lingering sinus infection. I was put on a 2 week course of an antibiotic medicine. I don’t remember if this helped at all, but it did give me an upset stomach (big surprise). When my problems weren’t fixed… I was given a different 2 week antibiotic course. This also didn’t fix my problem.

I believe at that point the doctor had screened me for clenched jaw and migraines, both of which I said didn’t affect me (more on this later).

I had never been sick this long before, and it began weighing on me heavily. Eventually I even went to urgent care based on unexplained chest pains and difficulty breathing. I had an EKG scan which determined my heart was doing just fine. What a relief. Also, the nurse was super cool and nonbinary. Just a fun little detail that made the stressful appointment a little better. The doctor told me to focus on breathing, relaxing, etc. Honestly, just hearing that my heart wasn’t failing me was enough to bring my anxiety back down a lot. She prescribed an anxiety medication I could try, but the one time I did I basically fell asleep instantly lol. The strong sedative effect kicked my ass so hard I haven’t tried it again. Usually a weed gummy works better for me anyways.

Nose

In early 2024 I had surgery to attempt to alleviate my chronic nasal congestion (inferior turbinate reduction + frontal sinus balloon expansion). I still struggle with congestion, especially in the mornings.

I’ve tried all manner of nasal irrigation, nasal sprays, steroids, antihistamines, etc. It seems like the biggest issue is keeping my nose moist enough to drain all the gunk that builds up, so this Xlear saline spray with xylitol has been the product I’ve stuck with primarily in recent months.

Migraines

Living life with chronic headaches has been extremely challenging, especially when looking at computer screens (central to my job and my hobbies) makes it worse.

One of the ENT doctors I saw said I probably have chronic migraines, and the problem could stem from the trigeminal nerve. Apparently migraine is a broader term than I thought, because my symptoms don’t fully match up with the stereotypical migraine symptoms. I tried gabapentin (a nerve pain drug) for a while, but it didn’t seem to help.

I need to see a neurologist next. When I finally got the appointment scheduled, it was for a date over half a year in the future. I will finally see a neurologist on 27 March 2025.

Teeth

I’ve had a lot of bad luck with my teeth since I was a teen, with dental work performed on most pre-molars and molars, including multiple root canals. I’m not sure why it took until I was 34 to figure this out, but during one dentist visit about tooth pain… my dentist pointed out that my bite is wrong on my teeth. I actually have an underbite, the kind where my front teeth touch tip to tip. This apparently increases the strain on your molars. Who knew!

What’s worse is that I didn’t realize I’ve been clenching my teeth. See, I thought that “clenching your teeth” meant going 😬 really hard. Apparently if your teeth touch at all while you’re in a neutral posture, that’s considered clenching. Fuck. I had a root canal recently and noticed the tooth still hurt a month later… even though a root canal removes the nerves from your teeth. Well, that was actually fucking jaw pain because I clench my teeth all the time haha FUCK.

I had braces as a young teen, at which point I presumably didn’t have an underbite. Since then my permanent bottom retainer broke… and I didn’t opt to replace it (they’re super annoying for flossing).

I’m going to be getting clear aligners soon to fix my underbite. Even with the idea of wearing aligners forever, it only needs to be permanent at night as a removable retainer. Clear aligners seem lightyears beyond nasty metal braces I had as a kid, and I’m looking forward to fixing my mouth!

My dentist also mentioned I should seek physical therapy for my mouth issues.

Tongue

Are you aware of where your tongue is right now? Is it along the roof of your mouth. It should be. That’s… perhaps never been the default resting place of my tongue. I’ve kept it… pressed up against my front teeth, which were touching. Or along the bottom of my mouth. The physical therapist I’ve been working with told me that the tongue is the “abs” of the mouth: it’s the strong core that ties everything together. Well, my tongue “posture” sucks, and my tongue is too weak to do its job since I’ve never used it right. One reason my jaw might hurt is that I’ve been overcompensating for my lack of tongue fitness with the other weaker muscles in my mouth. I mean, the tongue is basically pure muscle, after all! So I guess it makes sense. But nobody tells you you’re doing this stuff wrong. I mean, nobody knows what’s going on inside your mouth while it’s closed, really.

What’s next?

I’m continuing with physical therapy for my mouth.

I’m getting clear aligners.

I’m doing my best to keep my nose moist and clear.

I’m waiting to see a neurologist about my headaches.

I’m trying to look at screens less (challenge level 999 for me seriously).

That was a lot

I should write about this stuff sooner, because that was a lot to cover in one post. And I’ve got two more hot on the heels of this one.

I want to journal more on my blog going forward. I’ve traditionally leaned more towards tutorials / advice / explainers rather than just talking about my life, and I want to change that. Considers this one large step in that direction.