Call me a moron

Let's start at the beginning. I forgot to blog yesterday. Completely forgot. It slipped my mind completely. But I do have an excuse, we had a small college reunion here yesterday afternoon and I was busy getting ready.

I also am a moron because I lost one of my favorite earrings yesterday at the party. I am still scouring the house  as we speak and hope it will turn up but not very optimistic because it is a small stud earring, but relatively valuable and sentimental as well because my husband gave me the pair.

Next on the list on Friday morning I thought I had a refill on my Tramadol (breakthrough pain medication) but when I went to refill it, the pharmacy told me that because the law changed (and I was supposed to know that how?), it can no longer be automatically refilled because it is one of those kind of medications (meaning it has 'street value' - all good drugs have street value. So I called my pain management doctor and begged to have a refill called in on Friday so I didn't run out over the weekend - this would have made me very cranky for said party.

Usually on Saturday afternoons, my big project is to refill our pill bottles and make sure we are both set for the week. I didn't do that yesterday because of the party. This morning I got up and my first task was to fill our pill boxes. This is when I realized that I don't have enough Lyrica to make it through the week. In fact I have enough for 2.5 days. This is a problem. Lyrica withdrawal is nasty. I did it once before and it was two weeks of hell.

I get Lyrica through mail order because of the cost. It is expensive. Normally it takes at least a week to get a mail order refill. Crap. And its Sunday. So here is my plan:

Step 1 - switch from 2 tablets daily to one a day. That will get me to Friday.
Step 2 - called my pain management doctor again and made another begging phone call to ask for two months supply to mail order AND a five or ten day supply to my local pharmacy for an expensive bandaid to carry me over.

But I won't have an answer until tomorrow to see if I can keep my fibromyalgia under control and avoid Lyrica withdrawal...

I NEVER mess up my meds. I always have a week's cushion built in so I don't run into these problems. 

Yes you can call me a moron for all of this. But I can also blame chemo brain, fibro fog and what ever else I have.

And if you happen to find the earring I lost yesterday, please feel free to let me know.

Call me a moron

Let's start at the beginning. I forgot to blog yesterday. Completely forgot. It slipped my mind completely. But I do have an excuse, we had a small college reunion here yesterday afternoon and I was busy getting ready.

I also am a moron because I lost one of my favorite earrings yesterday at the party. I am still scouring the house  as we speak and hope it will turn up but not very optimistic because it is a small stud earring, but relatively valuable and sentimental as well because my husband gave me the pair.

Next on the list on Friday morning I thought I had a refill on my Tramadol (breakthrough pain medication) but when I went to refill it, the pharmacy told me that because the law changed (and I was supposed to know that how?), it can no longer be automatically refilled because it is one of those kind of medications (meaning it has 'street value' - all good drugs have street value. So I called my pain management doctor and begged to have a refill called in on Friday so I didn't run out over the weekend - this would have made me very cranky for said party.

Usually on Saturday afternoons, my big project is to refill our pill bottles and make sure we are both set for the week. I didn't do that yesterday because of the party. This morning I got up and my first task was to fill our pill boxes. This is when I realized that I don't have enough Lyrica to make it through the week. In fact I have enough for 2.5 days. This is a problem. Lyrica withdrawal is nasty. I did it once before and it was two weeks of hell.

I get Lyrica through mail order because of the cost. It is expensive. Normally it takes at least a week to get a mail order refill. Crap. And its Sunday. So here is my plan:

Step 1 - switch from 2 tablets daily to one a day. That will get me to Friday.
Step 2 - called my pain management doctor again and made another begging phone call to ask for two months supply to mail order AND a five or ten day supply to my local pharmacy for an expensive bandaid to carry me over.

But I won't have an answer until tomorrow to see if I can keep my fibromyalgia under control and avoid Lyrica withdrawal...

I NEVER mess up my meds. I always have a week's cushion built in so I don't run into these problems. 

Yes you can call me a moron for all of this. But I can also blame chemo brain, fibro fog and what ever else I have.

And if you happen to find the earring I lost yesterday, please feel free to let me know.

Cancer treatment decisions

When faced with a cancer diagnosis, there are decisions to be made - surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, oral treatment options, alternative medicine, etc. Doctors do their best to direct their patients toward their preferred options. Most say yes, but some patients say no. Of those patients, some reconsider and later go with their doctor recommendations.

Yes there are stories about people who opted out of treatment and are still alive 20 years later. But there are many other stories of those who refused traditional treatment and succumbed shortly after.

I know of at least one other story right now of a mother and 17 year old daughter, the cancer patient, who have refused treatment and the state of CT has gone after them to legally require them to allow their daughter to have treatment. The pair was last seen in south Texas and it is not sure if they are in Mexico.

I have conflicting feelings with this.

• I believe that we are all entitled to do what we think is right for our bodies.
• I strongly oppose any legal authority tell me what I must do in treatment.
• But I do agree there are some people who believe that modern medicine, whether eastern or western, is bad and will not have anything to do with it.
• Finally, yes there are idiots out there who will not hear anything they do not want and need to be protected from their own failed logic.

Some medical treatments are not fun. And honestly, no one really wants to have surgery. But if its going to (or I should say 'if it should') save your life, isn't that in your best interest?

Standing up to the idiots

Okay I finally have a real resolution for the new year. I feel I can sum it by saying 'standing up to the idiots'. What I mean by this is that I no longer feel the need to politely step aside and keep my mouth shut when idiots try to tell me what to do.

With my health, I get lots of  'advice' on how to 'cure' myself or to rest up so I can participate in an activity. Now I feel the need to stop being polite and to speak up and politely tell them to be quiet. For example, if I have a back procedure, it is not going to cure my back. Its going to relieve some pain for a while. I repeat, it is not a cure. There is no cure for me. I am stuck with my health the way it is.

My goals are to slow progression of my RA, keep my fibromyalgia under control, and hope there is no cancer reappearance. I think I have real expectations for my health.

The idiots don't understand. I don't get to go to a lot of events and do things that involve much standing or walking or much of anything. Their frequent advice on maybe resting up ahead of time doesn't work for me. If I do too much, I pay the price by resting for a few days to recover.

It is time for me to stand up to the idiots. Maybe I would do better if I consider it educating them.