Great visit today with Dr. Bateman - my CFS/FMS doc in Salt Lake. This was almost an annual check-up - it's been ten months since my last appointment - it's a bit of production and expense to get from Anchorage to Salt Lake. So no monthly visits for me.
Anyhoo, we covered the ground of the last ten months. I've made huge improvements since last October. So the big question is what contributed to that improvement. In my case, I had an interesting event - in early January, I'd been feeling as crummy as I had for over a year. No real improvement since I'd seen Dr. Bateman in October. It had taken awhile to get the entire regimen she prescribed in place. It really didn't happen until mid-December. But in early January, all at once, in the middle of the day (January 7th) within the space a few hours, I felt better. And not just a little better - way better - 75% better. And I haven't fallen below that spot since. Pretty amazing.
Well - I had thought the B12 and B100 complex were the major contributors. She thinks it was the gamma globulin. She has a subset of patients for whom gamma is a life saver. I think I fall into that class. Evidently it is becoming somewhat rare - the only docs that prescribe it are old fashioned docs and CFS docs. Well, I'm happy I'm getting it.
She also wants me get serious about getting my blood pressure up to 130/80. Anything lower, with my orthostatic condition, is not good. So more V8 for me. Isn't this bizarre? I've spent my whole adult life avoiding sodium and taking pride in my 105/70 BP. But that orthostatic thing is a real problem and really contributes to my fatigue.
We also discussed Wellbutrin and Neurontin. The Wellbutrin is antidepressant (but not a Serontin based drug). It's what Dr. Bateman refers to as an "activator". It helps with fuzziness and fatigue. If I take it, it would definitely be a morning drug. The Neurontin is a mild anti-anxiety drug and would be taken at night (at low doses for the wimpy Slat Rat). This is a tough one to admit, but over the past few years, I have developed definite problems with anxiety attacks. They're no fun. So Neurontin is definitely worth consideration.
Overall, Dr. Bateman is very pleased with my progress. She thought I'd worked hard and is very proud of me. Awwww....But I have question - how can you not work with this stuff? If you don't work, you sink into a hellacious oblivion.
And finally, Dr. Bateman stated the obvious - she said that I have a real tendancy to overdo it. If I am not recovering then I need to back off. Easier said than done. But I'll try.
8:16:35 PM 
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