In the year and a half that we’ve been together, I’m managed to keep this part of me hidden from my love. It wasn’t a conscious decision for me to hide it from him it just turned out that way. He just happened to catch me in mostly good spell. And while I had occasional flare ups outside of his company, I had never showed signs of my movement disorder, dystonia, in front of him. That’s not to say … [Read more...]
The last couple weeks have been landmark ones for me in terms of marking progress in my healing journey. Last week, I began the move into my first home away from my parents in several years. This past Wednesday, I made a trip to the DMV and came away with my license to drive again after 3 1/2 years. These two things alone are huge indications that, after a harrowing journey that sometimes seemed … [Read more...]
Last Tuesday night, I was filled with the kind of bubbling anxiety that reminded me of the night before a big trip. I preferred thinking about it that way, as if I was heading off to a distant and unknown land and I needed to be prepared for the long journey ahead. I went to make the next day’s lunch and put together my breakfast so that all I would need to do was add almond milk and water to … [Read more...]
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its latest Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) watch list, which comes out every quarter and identifies potential signs of serious risks or new safety information on drugs. Sixteen drugs turned up in the AERS database during the last three months of 2011, including milnacipran, or Savella, which is a drug used for managing … [Read more...]
In January of 2010, I met dystonia head-on for the first time. I was going to teach at a primary school, and I remember feeling a little out of sorts when I left the house the morning—sort of as if I had a migraine aura, but amplified. As I walking into the building, I remember a parent calling out to me, “Are you okay?” Her voice was less concerned and more accusatory. I think I waved her off … [Read more...]