The Black Phoenix
Bronze Member
Ok, so I haven't had the best two weeks, so I've been hiding in my hole and not posting much. BUT I thought it might be helpful to others to talk about some of the many health problems that I have been found to have, that turn out to be related to trauma. I've learned all this the hard way, and have spent an enormous amount of money on doctor's, specialists, and tests to find out nothing. Some of these might be exclusive to CPTSD or developmental PTSD, and many have been no doubt discussed in previous threads, but I'll mention them anyway. Here are some of the goodies:
- Really absolutely awful immunity, rather lack thereof: In 2001 at the age of 21 I ended up in the hospital for a week, with a very small white blood cell count and a dangerous case of sepsis. After more tests than I care to remember, and six months of oncology followup appointments I was found to have absolutely nothing. Doc's chalked it up to a virus and stress. Since then I've gotten every sickness that's passed me on the sidewalk, and even the most minor cold can knock me out for weeks.
- Asthma: I came up with a bizarre case of adult onset asthma. Apparently trauma can be related to long term breathing problems.
- Hyperacusis: This one is super fun. It's extremely rare, and is usually tied to tinnitus (which I don't have which is even more rare). In normal auditory processing, the brain focuses in and amplifies sounds that are important; so if I'm having a chat with a friend, my companion's voice will be slightly louder than the surrounding sound. In hyperacusis that brain process misfires, and amplifies unimportant sounds, like water running, change going into a cash register, finger tapping etc. It can actually cause physical pain, and I spent a great deal of time having to wear ear plugs.
- Neurological Symptoms: "conversion disorder" or functional neurological symptom disorder, is almost always tied to past trauma. I have lost the ability to control my hand to the point I had to buy a special mouse. I went numb on the majority of my body, so much so that I took a nasty spill in a parking lot, brushed myself off, and thanked my lucky stars that I didn't do any damage, only to find I was gushing blood by the time I made it to my car. I spent thousands of dollars on tests and neurologists only to find nothing wrong, and I'm grateful, but I'm still partially numb. On the plus side, my cats claws don't hurt when they nail me, and I can take toast out of the toaster without discomfort.
- Vision Problems: I was having problems with blurry vision, so I went to an eye doctor, I was prescribed eyeglasses based on the exam. The next time I went to the eye doctor I had 20-20 vision. Blurriness comes and goes randomly.
- Semi-catatonic states: Had these. Not quite enough to be considered clinical catatonia, but enough that I become unresponsive.
- Extreme disorientation and memory lapses: These typically occur when I am highly anxious or after an anxiety provoking event. When stopping at a drive-through window, I went to leave but had forgotten what gear I needed to use to move the car (I have an automatic so this isn't hard). I had to try everyone until I found one that would make me go. I have been to the grocery store (and other places) and forgotten where I am and what I'm doing. I have forgotten my social security number, name, phone number, address, and birthday.
