When Life Gives You Lemon... Make Lemonade: Bell's Palsy: Oct 16, 2011

Sunday, October 16, 2011

TQ Ms W

16 October 2011

Dear Ms W,
I stumbled into this e mail of yours only today !
Yes, more than 1 year later....
I'm hoping to clean up my act a bit (which includes spring cleaning my e mails)... the energy is there & I'm about 90% back to my normal self, I think.
Anyway, TQ for dropping me a note !

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Salam hormat,
DSHA

*when life gives you lemon... make lemonade*
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Quoting fw on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:40:22 -0700 (PDT):

Dear Dr D,

I happen to stumble upon your blog When life gives you lemon...make lemonade: Bell's
palsy(http://dsha-bellspalsy.blogspot.com/) while i was searching for latest information on the 15th ICOT in Belfast.

I love what you have been doing with your research on neurobiology. I'm also very much interested in that aspect to pair them with many other leads especially in education and handedness. But only as a hobby and quest for knowledge and deeper understanding of that 3 pounds mass of neurons inside us. Looking forward to see more new and exciting posts from you.

Have a low "cortisol" weekend :)

Regards,

Ms W
MML, DMMP
FMHS, IPTA

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COLLECTION OF UNIQUE WISHES

ALHAMDULILLAH, I've been showered with doas, kata perangsang, wishes & the likes. Some came in through sms, e mails & other modes. I sincerely appreciate every single one of them. TQ / Syukran! I would like to highlight some of those words of encouragement :)
A) My love for you sis is like a blanket around you now. I want you to fly - not walk to reacovery
B) Salam, dear sis Prof D. Sorry to hear news of your ill health, but ALLAH loves you too much. Now given privilege to be close to ALLAH. My humble advice to you, my sis, speak to ALLAH first & always, then to Insan (even your hubby, parents, kids). Remember the good times, Syukur Alhamdulillah, now tough times, Sabar Alhamdulillah. Jaga Amalan Ibadah. Banyak Dakwah Kebesaran ALLAH & Alam Akhirat kpd your visitors. Try not to complain about your health to visitors. Jangan lupa makan ubat. Sedekah, tolong orang mana boleh. Redha Takdir Ilahi. Doakan keselamatan seluruh dunia, ummah. InsyaALLAH, your ill health just a short phase now, patience is the need of the Hour. Please try to meet Prof Wan Azman, seek his counsel. Anything I can help, please don't hesitate. Take care of yourself & family. My 2 sen advices actually for me & just to share with you, my sis. Pls doa for me & my family. Your doa makbul as a patience patient. Your bro in Islam.
C) Cut down on talking, more urut-urut exercise muka yang kena buat tu
D) Doa banyak-banyak sebab doa dalam keadaan macam ni dimakbulkan ALLAH. Kehidupan orang mukmin adalah kehidupan akhirat. Dengan ujian ALLAH ampunkan dosa, tingkatkan pahala & darjat. Sabar. InsyaAllah, you pilihan ALLAH di antara kami semua. Ameen.
E) U jgn sebuk risau pasal kerja orang!U just make sure u remain unstressed & get well for the sake of your family! If any of us visit you, u'd better be telling us ur plan of action on how ur going to get over this penyakit. Acupuncture ke... sinseh ke... increased medication ke. Not work! Not....
F) Innalillahi wainnailaihiraajiuun... I read yr journal with great interest & wonder. To be honest, my first read ever, of a person I actually know. Knew nothing about Bell's Palsy - teka-teka aje bab Palsy tu. And the info included is helpful, in particular the prednisolone - my 2nd, Ei'jaz is taking now. D, how are you today? Tks for sharing. I pray for yr speedy recovery, insyaAllah... p/s you may hv already read this, if not, La Tahzan ( Don't be sad) by Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni is a good read...
G) I have faith that u will recover soon for sure =) Take care & rest well. *Kae Ling said electrotherapy can increase the recovery rate (*survisor of Bell's Palsy episode)
K) BTL TP D UKUP ATW PKAI AIR PNAS KMUDIAN D TU2P DG KAIN TEBAL BIAR UAPX TDK KLUAR SMP MENGUAP LALU D PAKAI SI2R RMBT PKAI D YG BNGKOK SI2R D MUKA YG BNGKOK BRLAWNAN
N) So sorry, InsyaAllah, akan semboh. My eldest got the same due to chicken pox. Alhamdulillah, recovered makan ubat & ikut nasihat doktor
S) Kami keluarga di Ambon turut berduka & sedih atas musibah yang dialami. Semoga dapat sabar & mengambil hikmah. Sakit yang terkait dengan saraf, disebabkan karena kurangnya istirahat saraf & relaksasi. Harus cukup istirahat
Z) Yeay!!! PP OMBAK ~~~

24 JUN : TIPS : KESAN SAMPINGAN PREDNISONE

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/prednisone-side-effects.html

Info from the article which I find relevant:

- Prednisone’s side effects are legendary in both the medical & patient communities. Patients usually ingest this non-synthetic corticosteroid drug orally.

- Medical professionals prescribe prednisone for many medical conditions. Prednisone turns into the steroidal product prednisolone after the liver has processed prednisone following administration. Its most common use is as an immunosuppressant that acts on almost the entire immune system. This makes it very useful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases.
(Prednisone = blue colored small pills of 5mg each)

- The usual adult dose at the beginning of treatment ranges from 20 to 80 milligrams per day.
(I started 30mg for 3 days & then asked to increase to 50mg. Since I reached 1 month, I've reduced my intake to 40mg.)

- The side effects of prednisone include adrenal suppression, which can occur with periods of prednisone use to surpass 7 days, Adrenal suppression refers to the body’s inability to synthesize natural corticosteroids, resulting in a dependency on the prednisone taken by the patient.
(My side effects started in the 2nd week of my treatment till today)

- Doctors don't recommend the cessation of prednisone when the patient has taken it for longer than 7 days (that's me!). They reduce the dose gradually over a few days in the case of short-term prednisone use, & over weeks or months in the case of long-term treatment. Stopping prednisone treatment abruptly can cause the life-threatening Addison’s disease (oooiii..), in which in the body no longer produces sufficient amounts of adrenal steroid hormones.

- Doctors treat these side effects of prednisone symptomatically, since it is not always feasible to stop prednisone administration even when severe side effects occur. These are situation where they have to weigh the disadvantages of using a drug against the advantages & make an informed decision. One must remember that while prednisone definitely does give rise to many side effects, it is also a life-saving drug.
(This was mentioned to me, I mean the importance of continuing on with prednisone... no matter what! I do wish I was given a list of situations to look out for so that I could be ready & take necessary actions ASAP)

SIDE EFFECTS of prednisone use include:

a) High blood glucose levels, most commonly in patients that are already has diabetes mellitus or is using medications that increase blood glucose.
(Yesterday, I found out that I now have this! My blood glucose = 21. So, now I'm taking gliclazide / diamicron 40mg @ 2 x a day. Alhamdulillah, I discovered this 'early'. Today, the value = 14.3. Not ideal, but better!)

b) Insomnia / sleeplessness
(YES, most days I slept at 3-4am & would be up latest by 6.45am...)

c) Euphoria / hyperactivity, in some cases, even mania.
(NOT mania... but the way I interrupted doctors, etc doing their jobs... I definitely am more hyperactive than my normal hyperactive self! However, I've heard cases that some people get depressed. I guess, it depends on personality of person. )

d) Unnatural fatigue or weakness
(YES, this effect showed itself once I walked into my abode. Home sweet home...)

e) Abdominal pain
(Don't think so, Alhamdulillah... tapi might be developing...)

f) Can affect the eyes as well; the most common side effects in the context are glaucoma, cataract formation & blurring of vision
(YES! YES! YES! I'm most affected by this, because it hampered my reading-writing-smsing-enjoying TV-etc.)

g) Peptic ulcers
(YES, given Losac & Omesec/Omeprozole 20 mg for this. Lots of angin... nausea, etc)

h) Infections
(Nope, Alhamdulillah)

i) Pain in the hips or shoulders
(Yes, in the shoulders. A massage at Thai Oddsey works to reduce this pain.)

j) Osteoporosis
(Taking calcium for this!)

k) Occurrence of acne
(A few popped up on my face)

l) Increase in appetite... thus, weight gain
(DEFINITELY, YES! Seemingly always hungry... & this lead me to having high glucose pun. So, now, I only take air kosong & lots of salad-vegetables-sedikit lauk + sedikit nasi!)

m) Stretch marks on the skin
(Ha... ha... Already have them before this Bell's Palsy Episode)

n) Swelling in the face
(Definitely YES, after 2nd week)

o) Nervousness
(It's not really nervousness, more easily agitated... excited, I think)

p) Easily bruised -- info through self experience & confirmed by a physician
(Mine showed itself on my 1st day of work when I was holding on to my course files to get them ready for AD Bil 10. So shocked to see my palm thumb area bruised. Showed it to Dr Mona for confirmation. A very senior colleague, Prof YHS told me he had this experience when he was taking prednisolone.)

q) Blood pressure increasing / decreasing
(My blood pressuse shot up to 170/100 & with pulse being in the rate of 100... I was given Micardis / Telmisartan 40mg for this. Prof YHS had his BP reduced so low when he was taking prednisolone.)

r) Pulse increasing / decreasing (?).
(Mine certainly went up... bordering around 100. Taking Casprin for it. Can feel my heart pumping... So, this is how sportsman who takes steroid feel...)

s) Upon withdrawal of prednisone after long-term use, patients also suffer from depression
(Hope this won't happen to me, InsyaAllah. Susahlah pulak... )

t) Usage for long periods can cause side effects, e.g. Cushing's syndrome, weight gain, osteoporosis, glaucoma & type II diabetes mellitus.
(Hope this won't happen to me, InsyaAllah)