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Last Friday I had my second Radiofrequency Ablaition; completing both sides of 5 levels in my lumbar region. I have two my sessions over the next month for those in my SI area; that area is currently fairly good with the steroid shots I got there is April.

Today was the first time I actually was able to notice a major difference while doing something. I made dinner and did some prep work of cutting up 8 pounds of chicken breasts, I did parts of it standing and the majority of it sitting on a barstool. I could feel changes in how my back was feeling to change what I was doing; but I didn't end up in horrific pain and was able to finish. I have appointments with both my Physiatrist and Pain Dr after completing these treatments so I can understand my limitations and make sure that I can enjoy the full gift of this without causing further injury to my back.

The thought of doing certain things without them leaving me writhing in pain is so incredible; from what I've read the first treatment is supposed to give the best results and it can last 6 months, 2years, or possibly longer depending on how fast I regrow nerve.

So happy,
Susan

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I don't even know where to update now, health has been challenged and to reduce the load I reordered things and moved and settling is taking its time. We are in a great house, I almost said little but It's like 2500 sq feet and has a double garage, work shop, deck, large front porch, and is sitting on a double lot so little doesn't fit. The best way I can describe it is that we have 11 cats and you rarely have very many around at a time, they love the stairs and especially the landing at the top under the skylights.

My health hasn't really gotten better, but they have diagnosed a few more things that make it all sort of make sense. Hoping to catch up on here in the next few days, Susan

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Ok, I had my appointment today with the new guy, he's certified in both Psychiatry and Neurology. It was as I figured, I'm atypical-either Depressive or Bi-Polar NOS it didn't really matter. He said I have what used to be diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and is an atypical depression. He upped my Neurontin to 2400 (he said that at the lower dosages you just get the side effects and that dosage can go up to 6000 a day which I didn't know). He said that I needed something to raise my level of Noraepinephrine and changed my Prozac (which he said was near it's 3 year limit for working) to Pristiq. I had had problems with Effexor, but he said with Neurontin to balence it that this should do what we want. He also changed my Provigil to Nuvigil which is a longer lasting version of the med. I think those were the main changes and something related to B12.

Here's hoping these changes get me more awake, let alone energetic.

Also, Monday my Pain Dr said the magic Fibromyalga word and added Lyrica to my Neurontin.

I guess I really don't care what they call anything, if they can just get me feeling better. But really, they could have done CFS and FM 8-10 years ago. I can see them not catching the Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, it is fairly obscure-but it answered so many questions they hadn't been able to.

I would love to be healthy; or at the least some energy and less pain. I'd also love to get a hand on the various chronic issues that have come up; I've always credited much of the weight gain to too little energy and pain and the weight is interrelated to the thyroid, low HDL (39), high LDL (111), prediabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, sleep apnea, and who knows what else.

I have seen the issues my mother and grandmother went through and would like to have friskiness into my 90's like my Aunt Mable as opposed to diabetic neuropathy and cortical loss that left my mom immobile in her late 70's and my grandmother's artereosclerosis took her mind in her late 80's and she lived till 92 or so. But then again at my age my father had had a brain tumor that the treatment for left him bedfast for the next 30 years of his life: he could walk but had tunnel vision and would pass out and drop without warning.

I will hope and try for better health; but try to be true to what both my parents taught me. Be thankful for what you do have and enjoy life. When asked how he is, my brother answers with 'above ground' and is happy.

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First off, the good news is Peg's 1 year recheck on the MRI of her brain shows no noticable change. I was mentioing it on an Ehlers Danlos list I'm on and reminded to contact someone at NIH about this as he's been doing some research into a possibility of these lesions being related to EDS. I contacted him and he's written me twice this weekend from out of the country. I ran down all her dr's and testing done to see what all he wants me to have sent to him to review. I hope he is able to bring further understanding to it all.

Poor kid had testing all summer for some midsection distress, it isn't gall stones but the nuclear scan shows her gallblader doesn't function properly. It comes out on Wednesday, I hope it all goes well.

Thursday Kit is off for Mass and Smith, I hope that all goes well for her and that it is the right time and place.

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Kit, my 22 year old child, is to have surgery at 7am. They are going to lengthen the achilles tendons on both of her legs.

Comments from a couple of her specialists recently have been about her having mild CP. They talked about botox to relax the tendons, but it has to be repeated often. She'll be off our insurance soon and wanted to take care of it while home for the summer. She is so excieted about the prospect of being able to touch her toes and do so many things she's never been able to. I am hoping for better mobility and possibly less pain. Since they are doing both, she'll be off her feet for 6 weeks-should be fun. I picked up a wheelchair for her today and she's going to be in the hospital bed we had for mom.

Other big thing for her was when the neurologist was going over her to check on her migraines, she found her thyroid was enlarged. They did her nuclear scan last week and we find out middle of next week. Hoping it goes well.

It has been so nice having great support from her doctors to try to get things taken care of during the summer before her transfer to Smith in the Fall. I hope she is really ready to get the most out of this environment. Her current major is Women's Studies which should be good at the largest Women's College. I hope it all falls into place, she has grown and learned so much about herself and the world in the last 4 years when she would have initially gone. She'll get 3 years and theoretically this is the only one we pay for based on her age. Now to figure out how to get everything paid for...fun.

Off to bed,

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I just watched Obama's acceptance speech. I have such high hopes for what is to come. I take comfort in knowing we will have a President who actually knows the Constitution.

Peg attempted suicide with an overdose of Xanex (58 of them-we had just refilled it) on Wednesday night. Thankfully she realized that even with how bad her struggle is that she didn't want to die and came and told me. We were at the ER for 19 hours until we finally found a psych hospital with room for her. She likes it far better than the other 3 she's been in. I so hope they are able to help get her stable and stop the rapid cycling and mixed states she has. We go see her tomarrow.

It is going to be so strange with her not home. I'm going down to see Kit, my older daughter, at college and she is taking me to a Pink Floyd tribute band doing The Wall-one of my absolute favoite albums ever. It will good to see her and time to catch up, it'll put me on the road for about 400 miles and it is about 70 miles to Peg's hospital. Hope I hold up to all of the driving. Rebecca, I hope I can see you one of the times I'm over in Fayetteville.

Off to bed,

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I have a new addiction/timewaster-a Sidekick.

http://www.sidekick.com/skdemo.aspx

The girls got them when we did new phones that I just had to have one once I realized how much you could do on them-expecially with the Dr office waiting and other waiting I do for Peg. It is so portable and functionable.

My current quest is to find sites designed for mobile browsing, having a hand held web browser is sooooooo cool-now to find places that are easier to read. I'm somewhat bummed that You Tube doesn't support them yet, but eventually I will be able to waste time there too. If you know of any good sites designed for mobile devices, please share. Currently I have Google's iGoogle as my homepage with weather at the top under the search bar and then various daily links-so I can easily navigate things to look at while waiting around with nothing to do otherwise.