Be the change you want to see…

I visited with Doc Foster and the Entourage (coming to a medical facility near you!) on Feb. 9. It was a visit I wasn’t necessarily dreading but one I knew would bring me news of a vision change.  Here’s the short version as to why:

I had received a call from the retinal specialist who noted my white blood cell count was low. As a result, she took me off the CellCept to give my body a break. In the interim, the only immunosuppresent I was (still am) on is zenapax.  Ten days off the CellCept there was a marked change in my vision.

Simultaneously, I had reintroduced wheat back into the diet and was awaiting the Celiac test. The wheat reintroduction was a disaster – I had a list of blatant physical reactions from eating wheat, whether it was cookies or Triscuits. Yet, I found myself craving it after reintroducing (another sign of food sensitivity).

Ah, but I digress. Back to the Feb. 9 visit.

After an initial exam, tests were ordered (the dreaded fluorescein angiogram) and it was clear that the macular edema and vasculitis in both eyes was, as Doc Foster put it, “ferocious.”  The old flatterer.

I’m due for the next round of zenapax this Thursday, Valentine’s Day, and am trying to figure out if I will actually go through with the three straight days of recommended solumedrol (IV steroids again) to “kick start” the zenapax. What’s a gal to do?

Meanwhile, the mystery for me is the food aspect. I’m told that with wheat intolerance, the body cannot process the wheat protein and somehow perceives it as a foreign body that needs to be eradicated.  Thus, an autoimmune response is triggered. Is it then fair to assume that my eating wheat again, for ten plus days prior to my Feb. 9 exam, had a hand in the vision degradation?

I feel like I’m in the middle of a science experiment gone wrong. Or perhaps this is payback for not paying attention to Mr. Fedak’s 10th grade biology lessons…

Regardless, the ride sure is an interesting one.