Feeling Some Hope

Feeling Some Hope

 

I wonder when my life became a revolving door of doctor’s appointments, nausea, fatigue, chronic pain, migraines, and the list goes on.  I spend my time managing my life around my illnesses.  I have a no more than one doctor appointment in one day due to the crappy chairs in the waiting rooms that cause more pain, doctors falling behind because it always happens.  I have a few doctors that I get in right around my appointment time.

I’ve had to have a few doubled up appointments because my Pain Care doctor wants to have me try Low-dose naltrexone or LDN.  I’m a good candidate but it entails having all my doctors aware and on board so that we can work quickly if any complications arise.  What is LDN?  Well, the short answer is it’s a smaller dose from .05 to 4.5 mg compared to the 50 mg dosages that are given to persons going through opioid withdrawal.  The LDN is what’s called off-label because they’re still doing studies on it.  Yes, I feel like I’m part of a study, I’m not but the process has been hard fought.

What is low-dose naltrexone and why is it important?

Low-dose naltrexone holds great promise for the millions of people worldwide with autoimmune diseases or central nervous system disorders or who face a deadly cancer.

Source:  http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org

My conditions of Lupus, Depression, Hashimoto’s, Fibromyalgia, are just a few of the conditions that LDN can help.  I’ve also read that it can help with migraines.  I’ve lost three years of my life so far to the storm that my body has gone through.  I’m currently seeing a General Practioner monthly, my Pain Care Doctor (anesthesiologist) weekly for therapeutic nerve injections, Psychologist and Psychiatrist both vary between every 4-6 weeks (it was at every two weeks), my Rheumatologist, I see quarterly now but I can call if I need to see her sooner and then last but not least is my Endocrinologist who I see twice a year but I went in to see him three months early so that we could get this LDN started.  I also supplement my doctors with massage, chiropractic and essential oils.

My Endocrinologist has applied for a FreeStyle Libre Glucose Monitoring system.  The fears are that I’ll end up in more hypoglycemic episodes in addition to the high sugars.  I think it’s a product that I’ll love.  So please cross your fingers that I get approved for this device.

In between all these doctors appointments, I try to keep up with something in the house be it dishes, folding laundry, sweeping up dog hair on top of my chronic pain, nausea and almost always present migraine.  My daughter has gotten me to the actual cinema a couple times and the new lazyboy recliners are any spoonies friend for a three-hour movie.

I’ve been more “lupusy” of late, I basically fell asleep on Thanksgiving at the table and then slept for two more days.  For me, the lupusy feeling is more achy joints, constant headache, more nausea (is that possible?), itchy and low-grade fevers, basically the feeling like having the flu but it doesn’t ever go away.

This week on deck, my shots aren’t until Thursday and I have a 2nd Dr appointment that day.  I have only one other this week so I’m feeling like it’s a slow week.  I have a pile of lab work to get done but the majority of the vampires are on strike and the couple times I’ve gone to the other labs, they closed really early because well everyone needs bloodwork.

I had a good day with my daughter

I feel like this blog post was so technical but for me, it’s exciting that all my doctors are on the same page, I may be on the LDN soon.  Now back to the regularly scheduled chaos of getting our house back to pre-flood, my daughter and her friend painted the first coat in the family room and it looks good.

Journey with me … mini2z

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After The Storm

After The Storm

Somewhere, in my memory box is a poem called After The Storm that I wrote. I haven’t found that box and hope it survived our flood.  It also makes me think of the poem, After a While by Veronica A. Shoffstall and the blog I wrote featuring it titled: Hopeful.  

What does this have to do with After the Storm?  Well, I will find the poem but the storm for me has been my health but more recently we experienced a catastrophic rainstorm.  We had almost seven inches of rain in less than three hours.  As a result of this storm, we flooded, in our yard and then in the house.  We also got rain from the roof that leaked as a result of the catastrophic windstorm in March.  (that’s another rant)

Photo from the Windsor Star – link on photo
What the Ditch/Drain is like normally

We have this check valve or back up valve that is installed so we don’t get water.  Well, the valve failed.  At first, the water was just in the yard, on the street but then it came rushing up the drain in the floor.  When we moved into this house, it was covered with tinfoil.  The only water we’d had in 22 years was when the hose broke on our washer when we were out at a birthday party.  We have a wet/dry vacuum but it would fill in seconds but our son brought home a sump pump, then our son went to my grams to get her spare sump pump.  We had two pumps going in the basement and we were able to keep it to about 3-4 inches when our neighbours had a foot to a foot and a half of water.  On top of all this, we were getting leaks in the bathroom and kitchen.  The kitchen isn’t so bad but the bathroom is another story.  Our insurance company, Allstate, has been great.  Our basement is covered to our maximum allowed and because we did so much of the hauling of the wet and severely smelly carpet, boxes and clothes out to a bin we ordered, we will not have to pay the deductible.  The roof that was supposed to be replaced after March is now going back to the insurance company to reassess the damage because it now includes water damage that shouldn’t have been there.  We are waiting on that.  After the storm, we already have the cheque from Allstate and can start to put this part of our life back together.

L-R, Backyard Lake, Flooded Road, Flooded basement, first pile of wet, soggy basement items, The Sasso Bin with load #2, the Red Sky at Night After the Storm

 

I’m also working on my health.  My health storm isn’t over but I’m choosing to find the balance.  I’ve become a doTerra Wellness Advocate to save money on essential oils for my personal use but it’s become so much more to me.  I can look in every room of the house that and see doterra products, be it oils to shampoo, to soap to a diffuser or two.  Slowly, I’m adding more and more natural, healthy for me items into my life.  I’m excited about doterra and the direction it’s heading for me.  I have my now too small box of oils, a larger one is on my Amazon wishlist!  I have doterra products all over the house now, hand cream that is not greasy, soap and shampoo in the shower.  I plan on making my own bath bombs because the store bought ones are just too strong for me.  I have lemon and wild orange on my window sill for adding to water.

I’m still getting nerve block shots in my head, neck, back and SI joints weekly.  The hope is to be able to go every two weeks soon.  I have scheduled the appointment to see my Endocrinologist so that we can all work to trying the LDN. I have every doctor on my team visits in the next two weeks, after trying to only schedule two per week.  It is actually exhausting getting ready, getting there on time only to wait for long periods of time.  I have been really out of sorts and finally figured out that I was doubling my iron pills and not taking my antidepressant.  Yeah, that was a really stupid thing.  Lesson learned, look at the actual label before filling up your Pill Drill for the week.  Our new mattress set will be delivered on Friday, so we are hoping for a great night’s sleep.

Sleep, I need sleep, it’s just been so exhausting.

mini2z … journey with me

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Chronicles of Professional Patient

Chronicles of Professional Patient

In one of my brain fog moments, I thought that this would be a good feature to share with you what the path my journey has been taking.   I see at least one doctor a week and sometimes several in a week.  I try my best to only schedule one appointment per day as more than one really knocks me out with exhaustion and pain.  I’ve tried to write so many blog posts lately but they never seem to get finished.  I get really good ideas and get on a writing roll and then I can’t seem to finish them.  I have seventeen, yes, 17 drafts in my folder.  I was pretty shocked by that!

Therapeutic Nerve Block

Chronic Pain

I’m in week 16 of a 12-week trial of pain care trial.  I’m going to guess that I get to stay with the program.  The doctor I see is actually pretty awesome.  He’s so awesome that I want whoever is my driver to come in with me to meet him and sometimes his pretty awesome wife is working along with him.  My mom, my kidlet, my hubby and even a sister=in-law have met him and all of them talk about how personable, informative, attentive and caring he is.  What started out as a few shots in my lower back has morphed into back, neck and migraine treatments.  I’m getting Therapeutic Nerve Blocks and Trigger Point Injections in many nerves and muscles in my back, neck, hips and head.

 

Therapeutic Nerve Blocks involve local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory medication injected near a specific nerve or group of nerves to relieve pain.

A New Symptom

I’m having some sort of seizure and syncope episodes.  Syncope is the medical word for fainting.  Seizures explain what’s happening at times when I faint but at other times I just seem to be shaking.  During these episodes and after, I have lost some hearing, some memory loss and injured myself.  I’ve had all kinds of tests to my heart with a heart specialist and I’m waiting on more tests to be scheduled.  Since we don’t know what it is, I’m being safe and not going downstairs if no one is home and I won’t shower if there isn’t someone home either.

 

Low Dose Naltrexone or LDN

My Pain Care doctor brought up Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) with me this past week and asked me to research it in relation to me.  On WebMD, there is a definition of Naltrexone is the drug that is commonly prescribed in the 50mg doses for narcotic drug addiction.  There are not any definitions for the Low Dose Naltrexone.

One of the big things is you need to be off of any narcotics for two weeks before starting with LDN.  This is a big concern because my migraine medication has a narcotic in it.  So the pain in my body that’s not being alleviated by the Therapeutic Nerve Block would be helped by LDN. The thyroid medication I take for my Hashimoto’scould need to be monitored and reduced as well.  I have done a lot of reading, in thanks to Donna at xxx for all the articles she’s shared.  What I’ve learned is:

Pros:  helps my pain, reduces my thyroid medications, improved sleep

Cons:  No medication for migraines, detoxify from current pain medications

Will I try it?  Yes. Why? Well, that’s easy, I want to be me again!  I miss me and who I was!

 

I miss me and who I was! Click To Tweet

 

My Wellness Journey

I became a doterra wellness consultant.  The simple reason was the discounts on the oils that I was going to get for my own personal use. If I can help anyone else while I’m on my journey, then that’s a bonus.  I’m learning so much about the oils and their uses and really could kick myself that I didn’t try this before.  I’m learning as I go and I have a great team that I can ask questions to as well.

I’m going to do a monthly blog Chronicle of a Professional Patient at the beginning of the month.   I’m back to setting goals for myself and pulling myself up to continue to heal.   I hope you’ll continue on this Journey With Me!

mini2z

 

 

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