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| I Wish this Were My Butt |
This is a bit of a sensitive subject, for after all, I will be speaking about an area of the body that's a tad taboo in polite circles. It's also about sensitivity in the literal sense - not the figurative sense. It's about the act of actually feeling, not feelings. Oh, let me cut to the chase here and tell you it's about my butt cheeks.
Butt cheeks and peripheral neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy is a common complication in those with Sjogren's. The neuropathy can be of the large nerve fiber type (those surrounded by an insulator called the myelin sheath) and/or of the smaller nerves closest to the skin. At the present time, I have been diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy and am awaiting another test to see if my large fibers are involved or not.
But, whatever its source, this neuropathy is painful.
It sears.
It burns. It aches. It stings.
It crawls. It zaps. It zings and pings.
It is both ice cold and blazing hot,
predictable is what it's not!.
And it's creeping up on me.
It started on the bottom of my feet and tips of my toes and stayed that way for a few years. But within the last nine months, it has begun moving at record speed. Sensitivity in my toes came first, followed by the entire top of my foot. My ankles and shins got quirky, sending a strange zapping feeling whenever they were touched. There are patches on each of my knees that are extremely painful to touch; the same is developing on my elbows. And now, I fear, on my butt cheeks.
Yes, the outside edges of my butt cheeks.
I can tell you right now, that if I ever attempted to kneel with the sensitivity I feel on my knees I would scream in agony. Sheer agony. And now a sneaking burning sensation is starting to appear on my buttocks when I sit. Can you even imagine?
How on earth will I live life without sitting? For it has been said that sitting (and drinking wine) is what I do best!
