Popping Pills...a lot of them!!!

I met another neurologist today. She was quite thorough, and she just came across as very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. She didn't seem sad like some of the other medical professionals I've come in contact with....sad meaning they feel bad that this is happening to me. She was more of a "let's get down to business and figure this out"...I liked that a lot.

I gave her my list of symptoms, prefacing them with the statement that I am NOT a hypochondriac, despite what it my list might indicate.

Her thoughts on the intense pain problem mirrored my husbands....nerve pain. I had a lot of nerve pain a few days after my mastectomy. I was given a medication called Neurontin, actually something they give to people with epilepsy. The pain gradually went away, and after a few weeks, I was able to stop taking it completely. Let's pray that the medicine works the same with this new pain. I hope it works quickly as well because although I can't remember exactly how I felt on the medication, I remember saying that the Neurontin was making me neurotic!

I am on so many different medications right now it's just crazy! I finally started writing down each pill I took because I kept forgetting throughout the day when and what I had consumed.

As an example, here's what I took today.

6AM
Tylenol...for my headache.

8AM
Zoloft...so I'm not so crabby.
Indomethacin...for my headaches...what the first neurologist prescribed to me when the migraine shot of Imatrex did not work. If after tomorrow if the headaches aren't better, I can discontinue this prescription.

2:30PM
Vicodin--for head pain and all my other pains. Today my back was hurting more, as was my ear. This pill makes me very sleepy, but works fairly well for the pain.

4:40PM
Neurontin--for my nerve pain...what we hope will stop all this pain. This is my new medicine that I pray works. It also makes me sleepy. This will be great at night, but all these "may cause drowsiness" drugs are going to be difficult to deal with during the day.

5:00PM
Tylenol -- for headache.
Multi-vitamin

6:20PM
Indomethecin-- as stated above, for headaches.

8:30PM
Nystatin--a mouthwash for sores on my tongue. I'm supposed to do this 4 times a day, but I keep forgetting.
Neurontin--as stated before, for the nerve pain. Normally my two doses will be spaced out more, but I didn't get them from the pharmacy until later today.
Vicodin--as stated before, for pain.

As you can see, I'm taking a lot of medications. Just another reason why I am so incredibly thankful that I have my husband to help me figure out how safe it is to take the drugs and the combination of them. I would think I was overdosing taking all these different pills, but having him to supervise my intake of medicines puts me at peace that everything will be just fine.

But my combo of Vicodin and Neurontin makes me VERY SLEEPY. I can barely keep my eyes open as I write this post. So with that, I think I better publish my post and get some much needed sleep.

Goodnight...and gold stars to everyone who thought about my problem today!!!! Thanks for the input!

Getting through another day

Well, I survived another day...excuse the pun!!!!!

Here's the problem right now. I wake up feeling fine and normal. Get me my cup of coffee and all is good. But then I have all these drugs I have to start taking, to keep swelling down, and to prevent more seizures, and those drugs are just messing with my head. I exist through my entire day in a daze...and I hate it! I go through the motions of doing everything, but I don't actually "feel" anything. Which is just a wierd state to be in. Kinda funny too. As I'm at Target with my kids, them eating lunch there, it completly doesn't bother me that they might be acting all loud and crazy.

I do feel bad that I seem to be avoiding people around the neighborhood. But right now, I just can't be social. I'm still feeling some anxiety, but it is disappating, so that's good. I do so continue to appreciate the dinners and treats everyone has been dropping by for me! So kind! I I jut need to get off these meds and get back to normal.

Now in my hazy state today, I brought Max in to meet his preschool teacher this year. They changed a bunch of stuff around on me already with teachers and the program I thought I was putting him in, so already I'm on edge about him starting the year. I'm giving it a month.

Cameron got to meet his teacher today and he found out some of the kids in his class. This will be the deciding year as to whether we keep him in public school or find something to push him further along.

Oh, and have I mentioned that I havent' washed my hair in a week! I can't until the staples come out....Friday! I'm sporting a pretty nasty, smelly due!!!!!!!!

Which pill do I want today?

I hate taking drugs. Well, unless you're about to have a baby, then I say BRING THEM ON! But other than that, I usually try to do without taking extra pain killers, cold medicines or other medical and natural remedies.

But today I have taken the following:

Zoloft...for obvious reasons.

Decadron...this is the steroid that is supposed to be reducing the swelling around my tumor, which is causing all the pain. It doesn't seem to be working very well. It keeps me up and wired, but the pain is still there.

Tylenol...right now I'm taking some extra strength stuff, but it's not working. I might be switching to some Vicodin or something stronger tonight, but I really don't want to be all drugged out.

Keppra...this is anti-seizure medicine. There is concern that until the tumor is out and all has settled back in, I could have convulsions or something. This is actually the same medicine that was prescribed to Cameron last year when he had that lone seizure. I'm so glad we decided to take him off the meds, because this Keppra is some strong stuff. On the good side, it seems to have counteracted the jitteriness of the steroids, but on the flip side, it makes me lightheaded and a bit dizzy. No driving for me obviously.

At least I can seem to relax abit now with the Keppra added. I so just want to be fine for my kids. Right now I have shuffled them off to a friends' house for a few hours, but really, I don't want to keep doing that. Melvin and I still need to talk about what we're going to tell the kids, as they have no clue yet what's going on. We have quite a few appointments next week as well, doing testing for surgery, and also looking at other options down at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, just to get a 2nd opinion and to cover all our bases.

But I feel the Lord getting things in place for us, and I know he will not abandon us.

"Nay in all things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." Rom 8:37