FAMILY FROM OUR WEDDING

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

A QUESTION OF HEALTH

Before I get started today, I just wanted to thank each of you that emailed or commented on my last post thanks very much... I love those comments..
Hopefully the hair situation will be resolved either by Friday or next week at the soonest..and I am praying that my make up guy will do as he said.. BE THERE.. I am going to call him tomorrow to verify .. and then call him a few days before the wedding to verify again... I simply just do not trust anyone I guess LOL..
Now on to business... A QUESTION OF HEALTH ... Today I went to the Southern Pain Specialists. In hopes of developing a program to help relieve a good bit of my pain... I am starting with some PT for my neck and deep tissue massage and pool work. Then after the wedding should I need more help I will do the facet joint injections here is the link to the center so you can the choices I have. http://southernpain.com/

If I go the route of the injections these involve steriod treatment... and the major risk for me.. is weight gain.. because your appetite is increased.. Okay .. perhaps to most folks this would not be an issue when you balance the pain against the weight ... the side effects are temporary ... water weight gain is possible and increased appetite is a given.... these things.. for me.. right now.. are HUGE RED LIGHTS... I am not ready to go this route... I opted for the PT and also visiting with the pain psychologist to help develope better sleep habits.. My sleeping is always interupted by pain... ... Hopefully these things will help... along with weight loss.. and EXERCISE... I was told that if I have these injections it might put me in a better light to exercise minus the pain... so thats tempting.. but I would rather try and go with out any injections... YES I AM NEEDLE PHOBIC and we all know why... MYLOGRAM. ... I know the situations are different.. never the less I am not wild about needles of ANY size going in my spine any time soon... When I go so my regular doctor... in october for a check up I am going to ask what he thinks about this... as well... I know in my heart I have worked so hard to lose this weight... since January... and then I had that proverbial brick wall in June... still... I want to go the simplest route possible to continue losing weight... I know the folks at SPS must be good.. but I also know I don't want to do the needles not yetl.. just not ready... the idea of immediate relief sounds good even if it is not long term.. however, still the idea of steriods no matter how small a dose.. just bothers me still... and there are no guarentees of course either... ... BY the way I have been in chronic pain for 9 years and 1 month. So it has taken me a while to come to this point... Pain management while not a new field has new treatments and thats the area where these folks specialize in.. finding the nerves that cause the pain.
A QUESTION OF HEALTH incorporates not just my physical health but my emotional well being as well.. Over all I feel good ...minus the pain... I just want to get the next 50 off... thats what I want... ... Pain can be a huge road block... I try to go around it.. I try to go through it... Mostly I just deal with it.. they have said I was managing my pain well at the SPS. I just need to get this toned down a bit so I can forge ahead...
So thats where I am trying to just forge ahead.. ONWARD AND DOWNWARD..

Wish me well
Wish you well too

4 comments:

Too Fat To Fly... said...

Awww, Honi,

I really can't imagine how it must be for you to have been suffering with this pain for 9+ years.That's awful for you.It must be mentally draining as it is physically.....

Still, it sounds as if you have a few more options open to you yet. I guess it's a case of weighing up your best options and then going from there.

I wish you all the very best. Look after yourself...

xx

Mouthy Girl said...

Here's to hoping that you're able to conquer the pain in the manner you wish.

Steroids can be scary, especially in the needle form. Ouchie.

I hope the pain management regime you decide on with your doctors is the smoothest road to recovery possible. You deserve it.

I'm proud of you!

Ann(ie) said...

GOOOOD for you, girl. I totally wish you well! I cannot imagine dealing with that and trying to stay positive.

Let us know how it goes, okay?!

cadbury_vw said...

you asked me to email you about acupressure - here's a link to a book:

Acupressure's Potent Points

and a website:

http://www.geocities.com/jrh_iii/acupressure/

i ask where it pains - i touch the skin until i find a muscle that is in spasm - i can feel it - or there will be a little sort of nodule/lump under the skin

when i press (lightly) on the spot the person i am doing it to will tell me if it hurts or not and most importantly if it refers to other points in their body. if i am pressing on their back and they can feel it in their toes, or vice versa, then it is working right

do that - sometimes it can take 20-40-60 minutes for a spot to let go. sometimes the pain is almost unbearable - from a light touch - but it will stop - and the muscles will eventually let go

therapeutic acupuncture works in the same way - just with needles. i was pretty touch and go with the idea of having someone poke me with needles - but i thought i would give it a go - the acupuncture guy i went to was a friend who is an MD who studied acupuncture in China after becoming a doctor.

i always considered acupuncture to be a little flaky and new age - but it relieved pain (torn muscles after a car accident and later fibromyalgia) that drugs and physio never could. i am now a firm believer

email me and i will answer other questions if you like