another stimulator trial

So I have a date for my next stimulator trial – the trial for my lower back. It will be on September 10th at 12:30 p.m. Soon! I’m excited and hopeful. If I’m being honest, I’m not entirely looking forward to trying to wash my hair/shower with it in. BUT a small price to pay for the information we’re going to get.

Another update

Hello lovely readers – is anyone there?

I’ve been telling you about the Occipital Nerve Stimulation (ONS) and how that was the next thing I was planning to try. Well the approval finally went through & my trial has been scheduled. The wires will go in on August 5th & we’ll try it out for a week or so. After that, we’ll see! Where we go depends on if it helps or not.

I am hopeful and really just can’t wait to get the trial started, to know if it will help or not.

(Paris pictures coming soon…really!)

Anticlimactic

So after all that, we didn’t actually do the RFA procedure today. I know! I can hardly believe it, myself.

After looking at my diagnostic results, my doc said that my insurance wouldn’t cover the procedure. Of course, they haven’t rejected it, so we have to work with them on the whole thing. Get a rejection, appeal, get their approval, whatever.

So, long story short – no RFA today. Hopefully RFA in the future. Even though the insurance company won’t cover it, my Dr. believes that it could have some real therapeutic benefit. Would it get rid of my headache? No, probably not. But it could cut a lot of pain out. So we proceed forward in trying to get coverage.

Meanwhile, we reviewed previous medications (from my stint a couple years ago @ the pain clinic), and are going to try out a few things that may or may not help. So for now, we try another long-acting opiate drug, to see how that pans out.

I’ll let you know when I hear more about the procedure. Thanks for your support!

All systems go…

Well tomorrow is the day for my RFA. Spencer’s coming with me, and is looking forward to watching them poke me with needles. I’m hopeful and yet trying not to expect too much.

Please keep me in your thoughts tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. I’ll blog about how the procedure went as soon as I’m able.

Here’s a video that makes me smile. I’m a pianist, and love music, so it may make me happier than most. But here is a fun video about music and taking the stairs…

2nd diagnostic today

Well today I’m going to make a more timely update.

Today was my second diagnostic at the pain clinic. This is a diagnostic for the possible radio-frequency nerve ablation. Today we did the same procedure as last week *except* they used long-acting anesthesia instead of short-acting anesthesia. Today it went better than last time, I think because I knew how difficult  it would be. Last week I wasn’t expecting it to be so painful. I’ve had some sustained pain relief today – not all the pain, and (again) not as much relief as I expected.

Maybe the theme here is that my expectations are too high?

I’ll call the doctor later this week and tell him the results of the procedure. From there he will help me to decide if that amount (and duration) of pain relief is good or not. That is, if the results would indicate success for the RFA or not. I’ll update when I have that information and have made a final decision.

Cooking…

Well friends, I have a question for you all! I like to cook – maybe liked to cook is closer to the truth?

The last year I’ve had a really hard time cooking DINNER because I can stand for 10 minutes, but 15 minutes of standing and my back is starting to spasm.

So I’m hoping that you, my friends, will have some great ideas for me. I can do some prep and then put it in the oven, but most of the recipes I know and have used in the past are prep and then standing over the stovetop for 20 minutes or so.

I know you’ll come through for me, right?

*fingers crossed*

Books of 2009

I kind of forgot about this list – but then I found it again! Here are all the books I read in 2009, in general chronological order. And of course I had to look at last year’s post along the same lines. It looks like I read fewer books in 2009, which surprised me. And I have to mention a few favorites; the Uglies series, The Time Traveler’s Wife, A Christmas Carol, and Unexpected Blessings.

If you want to read my thoughts on each book, find me on goodreads.com! I’d love to be friends. Goodreads is awesome because I get so many ideas for books to read. And more importantly, I have a list so I don’t forget what I want to read!

1. Papa Married a Mormon
2. Mamma’s Boarding House
3. A Much Married Man
4. Giovanni’s Room
5. The Red Badge of Courage
6. Life is Just What You Make it: My Story So Far
7. False Impression
8. The Importance of Being Earnest
9. A Christmas Carol
10. The Code of the Woosters
11. Mozart’s Ghost: A Novel
12. The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness
13. Uglies series
14. Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain
15. The Strangler
16. No Country for Old Men
17. Something Borrowed
18. Black Boy
19. But for a Small Moment
20. The Body Broken: A Memoir
21. The Wednesday Letters
22. The Time of Our Singing
23. The Killer Angels
24. Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time
25. Patience With God: The Story of Zacchaeus Continuing in Us
26. Unexpected Blessings: Finding Hope and Healing in the Face of Illness
27. Pay It Forward
28. Inés of My Soul
29. To Siberia
30. The Lost Garden: A Novel
31. The Westing Game
32. Thirteen Reasons Why
33. The Time Traveler’s Wife (a re-read)
34. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
35. The Wet Nurse’s Tale
36. In Cold Blood
37. Speak
38. Their Eyes Were Watching God

Nausea — any ideas?

Hi guys! I’m rolling along with the same old here. There have been storms every day (seriously!) for the past week. I haven’t been feeling the effectiveness of the Botox. I’m hoping that’s just because of the weather.

But in other news, my nausea has returned over the past month. What a bummer! It was basically gone, we found a medicine that helped and I had hardly any nausea. Now….it is back. It seems I’m nauseated unless I’m eating. 10 minutes after I eat I’m pretty good, too. Ay yi yi. I don’t like to drink soda (so 7up and ginger ale are pretty much out), but I do drink club soda with lime juice or ginger tea.

I have nausea meds but I don’t feel think it’s a good idea to take them everyday. Anyone have any other good ideas?

Least favorite Christmas song…

I think this year it’s gonna have to be Christmas Shoes.

Anyone have any songs grating on your nerves?

I’ve been too long absent

I’ve been out of town for a week (visiting my parents) and catching up at home. Finally my husband came home last night. He was on a tour of sorts, going to a conference in Brazil (I know!), Chicago, and Michigan. He’s a man in demand.

I was listening to this song the other day and found it really inspirational. I think it’s about a breakup, but parts of it really spoke to me regarding pain. It’s by Lizz Wright – a fantastic alto jazz singer. You can check her out on Amazon, I love their song previews. Here are the lyrics…

Trouble :
Trouble in the air
I don’t want it
But I have to breathe
It´s coming through the door
Behind the shadows that surround me when I sleep
Somehow I know
that I can´t pray this away
I´ll keep my head down and get up on this train
This train

I´m gonna ride this pain like a wave
Lord, make me over I don´t want to b e afraid
And when my time is come and gone
I don´t wanna be the one who can´t let go

What if I get lost
I call out to you and you don´t save me?
The water comes too close
I don´t have the time to give
what you gave to me?
Well, as long as my name don´t change, I´ll be the same
I loved you more than time
Forever can´t take that away
Can´t take that away

Just let me ride this pain like a wave
Lord, make me over I don’t wanna be afraid
And when my time is come and gone
I don´t wanna be the one who can´t let go

There is a river
Running by the train
It ain´t troubled
It´s just laying there, wading in the wind

Just let me ride this pain like a wave
Lord, make me over I don’t wanna be afraid
And when my time is come and gone
I don´t wanna be the one who can´t let go

Let me ride this pain like a wave
Make me over I don’t wanna be afraid
And when my time is come and gone
I don´t wanna be the one who can´t let go
I´ll move on

…I’ll have to give more updates later, to be honest not a lot is going on with me. I have my evaluation appointments at the pain clinic coming up (for my back). I want to stop taking Neurontin b/c of the side effects (fuzzy head, tired) but also because it’s not helping the nerve pain (coming from my back).

But I have so enjoyed having some time with family, and now I’m really glad to have my husband back. I think that’s the longest we’ve ever been apart.