"Normal" People Are Lucky.

I am still waiting for the results of my sleep study. I know my symptoms and have been dealing with them for months.  Things are only getting worse. Most days I'm really tired, but the days that I fall asleep driving are the worst. I am pretty convinced that I have narcolepsy. If it's not that, it definitely has to be some form of neuro disorder. It is NOT normal to fall asleep driving to work after 9 hours of sleep. There is so much anxiety while waiting for these results. I don't want to lose my license. I have no idea how they treat this. AND, I'm set to start my Remicade infusion on Tuesday. I feel like there are so many things piling up against me. I'm barely holding on. I'm pushing myself at work, yet they have no idea what I'm going through. I just want to cry, and feel sorry for myself. I've been to my doctor 3 times to tell him how depressed I felt. This last time, he finally prescribed something for me. How do people live like this? And function? My only goal is to make it through the day not falling asleep, and to have controlled pain.

I'm Not A Doctor, I Just Play One While On WEBMD.

Working in healthcare, I always tell my patients to stay away from the internet. Diagnosing oneself can lead to much anxiety.

I have followed a RA blogger for quite some time. Arthritis Ashley is well known in the RA and online world for her positive notes and resourceful links about health. She has recently written a new book, a memoir. Currently, I am more than half way done with it. It's a easy read, but with my fatigue it is taking longer than normal to finish a book. She shares about her diagnosis, symptoms, and getting through life with a autoimmune disease. While reading it today, I had a AH-HA moment. She was talking about her diagnosis of Chiari. I've heard her speak of this before online, but have never really known what it was. So, doing the patient thing, I googled it. The next thing I know, I'm emailing my doc asking for a MRI. My neurologist has never evaluated me for this and I have had many of the symptoms for years. Just last week, I was at a PT appointment and they asked me to stand on my tip toes. I nearly fell over. I have zero balance. My headaches are almost a daily occurrence, and the neck pain at the back of my head feels like I can't move my head left to right. And, lets not talk about the fatigue. I fall asleep driving home at 4 in the afternoon. What the heck?! Although, we never want a serious diagnosis, we always strive for answers. Something that makes sense. If I have this disease, then the symptoms would feel like they fit.