Wednesday, August 23, 2006

My New Hero and Update On Us

I came across a blog today that truly set me back on my heels. It was a blog I needed to see because I've been sitting here feeling sorry for myself lately. Then I found Ruben. Ruben's blog Each Day Counts is an amazing display of an amazing man and his life. He is my new hero and I am so glad I found his blog. Please be sure to visit and encourage him as he fights for a much needed liver transplant among other things. I am very humbled right now.

Our update- On Monday I went to my six week check-up with the rheumatologist and really can't complain. To be honest, I didn't think he had much of a personality before but now he's not half bad. I may even end up liking him. lol

He has finally given up on the whole Elavil for fibromyalgia thing and we are going to try Cymbalta 120mg daily (60mg twice daily). Cymbalta supposedly has had good results on fibro pain and even though it didn't work when the pain specialist tried it for my nerve damage, I'm willing to give it a try for fibro. Oh who am I kidding? I'd give just about anything a try right now for this pain! :)

We discussed the stress factor again and he was pretty dismayed. I told him that I am to blame in part because I have always been a very stressed out person. I learned that at a young age and it has stuck with me. He told me again that lowering my stress levels is a must because the more stressed I am the more I am going to hurt.

Friday- Big B and I had appointments with Dr M. Big B's appointment was a follow-up to check his acne and see if the med he is on for it is helping. Dr M gave him a prescription for 500mg of the tetracyclene three times daily and told him that his acne is looking much better. YAY! Big B also told Dr M about his insomnia the last few months. Dr M decided to do thyroid bloodwork to make sure everything is okay there. I feel like a moron because I didn't think of that sooner (hypothyroidism can cause insomnia). :( So we'll see how that turns out.

During my appointment Dr M addressed the stress thing too. He then referred me to a psychiatrist that deals strictly with teaching people how to deal with chronic pain. This new doctor will teach me little ways to help myself ease the pain from the fibro and maybe that will help me feel a little less stressed. I figure it's worth a try (aren't I very agreeable at this point? lol).

Dr M also raised the Neurontin to 1800mg daily and we can go as high as 2700mg. I'm really hoping we find a dosage that eases the neuropathy because it would be great to go through even one day without having to constantly rub my hands. It sounds like such a small thing but when you are constantly rubbing your hands (I'm even doing it as I take breaks from typing. lol) even something insignificant like not having to rub them is a big deal to you.

So higher dosages on meds for Big B and I, new med for me, and a referral for me.

Still trying to get Sis into physical therapy but now they are saying she has to go to this dental specialist who will then refer her for therapy. *eyeroll* Unfortunately this falls under our dental insurance instead of medical insurance and that means it will cost us around $300 for that dental specialist. Yeah, we'll just pull that money out of our asses too. *sigh*

4 comments:

Mom O Matic said...

Have you gone the holistic healing route yet? I've mentioned that the Dr's are a little stumped with my pain that's like fybro but without the painful touch points. And now my hair is falling out. Someone suggested an overabundance of yeast and suggested I try some anti-yeast herbals. Gonna give it a shot. I'll let you know!
Keep on keeping on brave woman!

Kat said...

I'm so glad you're getting support from your doctors and partner about managing your stress. The last few posts I read, the image I had of you was someone whose head was about to explode with everything you're having to manage! And honestly, I've been silently worrying about you and your family.

Have you tried meditation? Some people find it very helpful (I'm not one of them but that might just be because I'm sleep deprived and tend to doze off about 5 seconds into it).

The bit about your preteen reminded me of a book that just came out here called The Princess Bitchface Syndrome and is written by a psychologist with a sense of humour. A guy at work said his (older) teen had the shits one day and he turned to her and said, "Two words. Princess Bitchface." She didn't like that at all but I think it shut her up, which is always less stressful. Hehe..

Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you, Vin and the kids.

BTW, thanks for the link! :-)

clara* said...

hello! i saw your comment on my 43 things regarding my thyroid cancer. thanks for the encouraging words, i will say a little prayer for you and your family. i'll check in with you from time to time to see how things are going. and maybe vent a little about my own treatment. heh. later!

Cristina said...

You said that Ruben is your new hero. Well, you are my new hero. I can't believe how courageous you are in the face of your pain and illnesses. You make me realize how petty I am for complaining about the little things that go wrong in my life. You are truly inspirational.

(thanks for commenting on my post the other day. i'll add you to the ROFL awards e-mail list.)