The day before

It's the day before leaving.  My list had 5 stops and I was determined to make all despite another terrible night.  Not sure I mentioned I have chronic hives also.  For the last three years.  Many people have asked is it related to your back?  Don't know.  I do know for sure they started about two months before my surgery in '09.  A lot of friends and family was thinking it was something they had me taking after surgery but they were there before.
More on that later.


I got about 4 hours sleep last night.  A couple of the areas of out break were really bothering me and for some reason my elbows were just hurting to the point I couldn't get comfortable and forget about them.  I don't know if people understand what my back pain feels like but my husband has knee pain.  I'm guessing that what my elbows felt like was what his knee felt like?  IDK, for some reason I kept thinking about D and his knee when they were driving me nuts.  So...between my hives and the elbow thing I just couldn't go to sleep.  Last time I saw was 2am.  Alarm set for 8 and when I say "drug" I mean it literally.  I didn't not want to move.


My rheumatologist said some years ago I had beginning stages of fibromyalgia.  I've been hurting in some weird places and all over so I'm starting to believe him.  I can remember the doctor I worked for stating once that fibromyalgia was a diagnosis doctors gave all the "crazies" that they couldn't find anything wrong with but yet they hurt everywhere.  I wanted so bad to say, guess you have a "crazy" working for you the last 6 years.  And btw, my mom is a "CrAzY" too!  


I'm sure if anyone ends up reading this they'll have all kinds of suggestions for the hives.  I promise you, I've tried them all.  Seen the dermatologist, allergist, ENT, and primary doctor for that specific condition.  Lots of detailed tests and blood work.  NOTHING.  I've recently heard it could have something to do with your thyroid?  Not enough time to check into now but after I'm healed from surgery I'm going to check into that.  I did email my GP to ask if my yearly blood work included checking that and she said that in 2011 my TSH was normal. But an article I read on it said there were 4 things besides TSH that had to be checked.  If you google Hives and Thyroid together you get tons of information.  How have I missed this information and why haven't my doctors mentioned.  They can be painful at times.


So I better get back to packing.  I really needed a break to pick my feet up.  Praying I get some sleep tonight so I'll feel better for the ride tomorrow.  My husband is really good about stopping as much as I need to move around.  We have to bring Dallas to doggie day camp first then off we head on our way to Ft. Walton.  I wish my grandkids could be with us I know they'd love playing at the beach.  Maybe one day.  

Hope everyone had a great day and looking forward to the Friday to be here to start their week end. 

Rainy Wednesday

Today did not go as planned at all.  Awake most of the night hurting in the strangest

places.  Should have known rain was coming I just didn't think of that.  When I quit

fighting and got up to start the day I just couldn't do it.  It hurt to even walk on my feet.

Turned out it was a good day to cancel plans and stay home.  Dallas boy (dog) is quite

fearful of the bad weather.  We recently had to start sedating him when its a bad thunderstorm.

Let me clarify, it is a sedating tablet, but he's like his mommy, hard to put down.  It does

help calm him down.  He has kept prince charming and I away for 3-4 hours in the middle of the night before.

Another reason was today was the 1 year anniversary of my dads death.  Doesn't seem like it has been a year.  Wow, it has.  With the weather, my pain and my crazy manic dog I felt like it was a perfect mourning day.  Not a day to be out and about and like I said, my body was just not working with me.  I hope I feel better tomorrow because pain or not I have to go out to take care of some business and then come home and pack to leave Friday am.

Last night I wrote about 2005 and what was going on.  In 2006 I saw a different chiropractor (a friend of my husbands) to give that one more try.  The only time it wasn't really nagging me by then was when I was in the pool.  I guess because you are weightless I wouldn't feel that nagging weight, pressure and burning feeling that was hanging around even more and more.

I never really said to to many people at this point how bad it was but I was starting to realize that there were no more "good days"  

I had a cleaning job I did for extra money when I was single on the week ends.  It usually took me 2-3 hours.  I kept it after we were married because I enjoyed the "mad" money but by this time what was happening when I got home on Sunday I had to lay down for mostly the rest of the day.  I couldn't even clean my own house.  I was also cleaning the office at work on Friday mornings since we were closed on Fridays.  I hung on to that another 6 months or so but then I had to give it up also.  Same thing happened.  I'd be hurting so much that I couldn't do any personal errands or shopping I had to go home and use heat or ice to jump start my back again.

Then I broke down and did what people had been tell me to do.  Go see an orthopedic. I decided that 5-6 years was enough trying other things.  I made an appointment, which I would wait 3-4 weeks for.  I remember being hopeful that finally someone would tell me why my back hurt so bad.  I knew my husband was getting tired of hearing me say. "my back hurts".  I saw him, a lot of history taken then all he said was I need an MRI to see whats going on.  Lets get that done then I'll see you after that.  Ok, more waiting....two weeks later MRI appointment after for him to review.  I had a bad disc at L4/L5 that was bulging, but not bad he said.  Shouldn't be hurting you as much as you say.  So he recommended that I see a rheumatologist to rule out any autoimmune disease.  Obviously, he didn't find anything but I really liked him a lot. First doctor I saw that seemed to really care that I was dealing with pain on a day to day basis.  Every appointment he asked me to make I did and every blood work up he asked for I did.  I'm still seeing him today. (the rheumatologist, not the orthopedic)


During the time I was seeing him I was also still doing the acupuncture, no chiropractor and stretching.  Stretching every morning before work.  I had done a lot of research on line about how to heal your own back and stretching kept coming up.  I will say it kept me going for 2 years or so.  It didn't completely make the pain go away but a lot more manageable.  Cut back on the ibuprofen.  After my stretches my back would feel good for several hours so I was grateful for that. So....if you aren't  bored enough yet I'll fill you in tomorrow on what happened next. 

We miss you dad :-/

Put a fork in Tuesday

Made it through another day.  After therapy I decided to take a day of rest.  For some reason yesterday was just on extra difficult day pain wise.  Not much sleep either.  I did manage to get 5 loads of laundry done, so not complete rest.  I had to move on starting to prepare to leave town on Friday.


In 2005 I married my husband, D.  AKA Prince Charming. (Gag....from my daughter, lol) She
always hated our mushy talk when we were dating.  Of course I was Cinderella. The only negative I can think of during those fun times of dating years (2001-2005) was that my back was really starting to effect my life.  We flew to Hawaii for our honeymoon and I remember being worried on the way there that our entire honeymoon would be ruined by how bad my
back was starting to hurt durning the flight.  I can't tell you how bad I wanted to get off of that 
plane.  While Dru and others were sleeping I was getting up as much as possible and constantly going to the bathroom just to get up again.  On the way home it was even worse.
We were tired and dreading leaving such a beautiful place.  I tell you it was so depressing waiting for our flight know the honeymoon was over but mainly that I had to sit in that seat again for so many hours.  


The first experience I remember having a "backache" was around 98-99.  It was an on
and off thing that would put me in bed, visit the chiropractor and then good to go again.
By the time Dru and I married I was seeing the 3rd chiropractor, (there would be one more)
pretty often.   Within a month I sold my home, got married,  moved to a new town, changed jobs and was starting to notice drastic changes in my life.  I assume that my husband was starting to see a side of me that he hadn't seen either.  The dentist I changed to had a chiropractor he had been seeing for his own treatment and over the years had referred his staff there. 


His diagnosis was different than the others.  They all had a different reason my back 
hurt me.  Arthritis, bulging disc, degenerative disc disease.  This last doc insisted I have
a bone density test.  My x-rays concerned him.  No kidding, I've been having problems for the last 6 years.  OBGYN said, low but nothing serious and nothing that would cause you pain.
Come back and check again in a few years.  Ha, come to think of it.  I haven't done that.
If you'd see, and I know plenty of you out there know what I mean, all the back doctors and other specialists I've seen since my surgery in 09 you'd know why I haven't thought of having
that test again.  I added in some acupuncture and decided it was time to learn to swim.  Anything to keep myself off the operating table.  


Oh my, its late.  Eyes getting heavy.  Pick up tomorrow where we left off.  Hoping I feel decent tomorrow so I can run some errands to get ready to head out of town.  Getting in and out of car wears out my back fast. 

Good night all.