Where will the journey take me?

If you're wondering why I haven't written anything in a little while, it's not because I've given up.  But I started this blog to talk at getting better, and I realized that I wasn't doing a whole lot of getting better.  The journey continues, though.  I just don't know where it will take me at this point.

I had a very good appointment with my primary doctor the other day.  I wanted to discuss all of my updates with her and get her advice on where to go next.  I was concerned about taking competing blood pressure medications (one to raise my BP and one to lower it).  She agreed that this could be an issue, especially since I was having more dizzy spells.  She suggested I give the new med (that lowers BP) another week to see if it helps the tinnitus, and then stop taking it if it's not helping by then.  I love that she told me that I need to be my own advocate, and if I don't feel like something is right I need to speak up.  (Not that I didn't already do that.)

We also discussed my extreme fatigue, and running to all of these doctors.  I asked her for some direction on where she thought I should focus my energy.  She suggested that I have 2 consults: one with a Lyme specialist, which is scheduled for January 10th, and one at the Fibromyalgia Center.  After hearing what each of them have to say, I may be able to get better direction with one of those places.  It's one thing to treat the pain with physical therapy, the migraines with a neurologist, etc., but it would be really nice to get to the root cause of everything and treat it all together.

In the mean time, Megan was sick for several days so we postponed our plans to visit family for the holiday.  I was supposed to take off from work on Monday and Tuesday, but now I rescheduled to go in on those days.  And, as luck would have it, I'm coming down with something today.  After spending a long, relaxing weekend snuggling with my sick girl, I have body aches, a cough and a cold sore - just in time for work tomorrow.  It would be nice if my office would close due to the snow, but I highly doubt that will happen.  At least the office will be quiet since most people are on vacation.

OUCH!

I had another facet injection today.  Well, technically I guess it would be considered 2 injections, since the doctor did both sides of my neck at C-5/C-6.  I had this appointment scheduled before the pinched nerve happened earlier this week, so it was good timing.  Unfortunately, this time around the injections were more painful than last time.  Maybe because it was both sides - I'm not really sure.

Even with the numbing medication, I could feel some pain when he was through.  And from past experience, I know I will be in a world of hurt once the numbing medication wears off (it's starting to already).  This is totally expected, although last time it wasn't too bad since it was confined to one side.  But I also know from experience that this will provide a lot of relief soon.  It usually takes 3-4 days for the injection to really start to work, but once it does I will hopefully be able to take advantage of some pain-free time and go back to my strengthening exercises.

For now, I'll ice and rest and think about the relief that is on its way.

Paging Dr. House...

In the words of some good friends of mine, I need someone like Dr. House to review my entire medical history and figure out what is wrong with me.  I received more inconclusive results last night.  But from my research, they do give a little more direction.  I sent them to my primary doctor to review, but I have a feeling another specialist is on the horizon.  We'll see.

I'm just tired of bandaiding all of the symptoms.  I want to solve the problem.  The latest, in addition to still being completely run down, is a pinched nerve in my neck that is causing constant pain in my upper back, and pain when I turn my head or move my arms.  This is a set-back for PT because the therapist wants me to focus on strengthening and stability, but told me NOT to do any exercises while I have pain from this.  So, now I have to take more anti-inflammatory meds and hope this gets better quickly.

When will I start getting better?

I'm trying to do all the right things, but I keep ending up right back in the same place.  Worn out, run down, aches and pains, and with whatever virus is going around.  I started off yesterday with a sore throat and upper back pain.  It only got worse as the day went on.  So today I am home, resting.  I feel like the only thing I can do is give my body time to heal.  But I'm going in circles.

I finally got the results from my MRI, which didn't show anything.  I'm waiting for the ENT to get some blood work results and then he'll let me know where we go from here.  In the mean time, my left ear still bothers me on a regular basis, and the tinnitus is always there - sometimes worse than others.  The dizziness has continued also.

I do feel like PT is helping me make some progress though.  My last appointment was on Monday, and they continued with the Graston Technique (which leaves me with nasty bruises, but seems to be helping).  When I left there, I actually felt great.  I had lots of movement in my neck and shoulders without pain, except that where the therapist works with Graston is painful to the touch.  Unfortunately, by later that day I started getting a lot of muscle pain in my upper back between my shoulder blades.  That pain still continues today.  I'm supposed to be doing a lot of exercises at home.  The problem is that there are not enough hours in the day, and not enough energy in my body!  I tried making time for exercising in the morning before work.  No luck.  It's hard enough getting out of bed as it is.  Evenings are even worse since I'm wiped out from the day, yet I have to help with homework, dinner, baths, etc.  In the mean time, my Short Term Disability claim for the first 2 weeks (prior to surgery) was officially denied.  They don't see that I had a problem that required me to stop working.  Looks like I have to write an appeal letter.

Off to take a nap!

2 naps today

I think the title pretty much says it all.  I am totally run down.  This can't keep happening.  In addition, I've had more dizziness and ear pain in the last 2 days.  When does the fun end?