Vampire

17 November 2007


A few weeks ago, I panicked because I felt numbness in my feet, especially my left foot. My rheumy (Rheumatologist) advised me to note every and all changes that I feel in my body. So being the hypochondriac that I am, I went to my Nephro to seek his advise. I suspected that the numbness was because of my kidney nephritis.

It turned out that I was having hypocalcemia – my body needs more calcium. One of the side effects of taking steroids is that the body becomes deficient in calcium. I noticed that aside from the pain in my joints and muscles, I also suddenly had very sensitive teeth. Previously, I had no problems eating and drinking cold food and drinks. But now, I feel sharp, stabbing pains or pangingilo. My doctor also warned that I should monitor my bones and eyes since steroid use also causes osteoporosis and cataract.

He prescribed Calcium supplement (1,000 mg). But when I told him that I am already taking Calcium with Vit D supplement, he said that my body might not be fully absorbing the calcium. He said that I should go out and bathe in the sunlight – early morning sun. He even commented that I looked pale, and that I should not live like a vampire.

A vampire… I think that’s what I’ve become the past months – taking in more liver in my diet (because of my anemia), shying away from the sun, hiding from people.