Earlier this week I went to see my neurologist. This time he listened to me when I said that I was in significant pain. Sadly I think the fact that the smaller portion nodded in agreement when I explained that I was waking the household shrieking in the small hours had something to do with the neurologist deciding it was time to do something to alleviate the pain.
So he prescribed new, and expensive, medication. It will cost me nearly $100 a month. Ouch. I don't yet know how much of that I will get back from my health fund. Less than 50% I expect. I have started taking it. It doesn't eliminate the pain, but it does take the edges off. A good start. It also turns me into a space cadet. My brain is full of fog. And if I move suddenly the world turns with me. Other effects that may or may not emerge to delight me are nausea, vomiting, weight gain, constipation, diarrhea, suicidal thoughts. Oh joy, oh bliss. All things I can do without. And I love the way the pharmaceutical company hedges its bets on what to expect. Sigh.
So, because I am a firm believer in the virtues of denial I waddled/wobbled into the garden. We have had a few days of glorious sunshine and unseasonable warmth. Things are springing out of the ground everywhere. There is not much in bloom yet, but there is the promise of many, many glorious things to come.
Some of you may remember that I was seduced by this Brazillian Edelweisse, and now it has started shooting. Excitement.
And outside, everywhere I look, things are poking through the ground. There is not much in flower yet, but a heap of promise for the weeks to come. More excitement.
And while I was wandering round with my camera, I was being observed.
Two galahs, separated by a pair of corellas. And when I came inside, they came down and squabbled over the feeder.
So sorry you pain has been so bad. And you gotta love the pharmaceutical companies covering all their bases in the information. I have yet to find one that doesn't mention, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea as possible side effects - joy oh joy.
ReplyDeleteHope you get some relief and no more side effects. So glad you can find some joy in your garden. xxx
i'm so sorry you are in pain! that is the worst... and the meds...bleh... i hate the junk they give us for pain control... mostly because it makes us woozie without doing much for the pain...
ReplyDeleteblooming things... how fun!! when i was reading your post i was thinking - unseasonable warm, blooming... where does this woman live!!?? hahah
once i looked, i remembered right a way... haha DANG MS ... so forgetful... but on the other hand, things are exciting and new all the time :P
i hope your pain subsides some for you....
Sorry to read you are in so much pain. I hope the new medication does more than just take the edge off, perhaps when your body has adjusted to it? With less brain fog too.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to miss having a garden. I'll take a handful of small potplants with me.
I'm so sorry that you are in so much pain and do hope the meds will help, as expensive as they are and with no side effects :( Seeing things start to grow in the garden always makes me smile and I love watching the birds. You have some delightful ones out there.
ReplyDeleteI certainly can appreciate what it's like to have back pain, as mine is still going strong, even a week later. I keep reading that exercise is helpful, so I'm doing it and avoiding pain meds. I love seeing your new spring shoots coming up as we enter full-on summer heat. Thanks for the great pictures. And tell Jazz to lighten up!
ReplyDeleteSo I have this rule, which you are more than welcome to adopt, that it isn't whinging when it's totally justified! It's righteous kvetching. :-) I too am extremely sorry to hear you're suffering so much, and that the drugs are a less than ideal answer (as they usually are!) :-( It isn't fair, and I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it go away. But this is the closest I can come to doing that. (Can't hurt, might help! It sure helped me!) I hope you get major relief soon! I'm glad you're made of tougher stuff and it hasn't kept you from getting out there and taking lovely photos to share with us. It's so odd to see all your signs and talk of spring, while here there is a decidedly fallish nip in the night air (and sometimes in the day air!), and all the talk is of summer ending and impending Autumn. It's nice to have a friend in Australia, it means it will always be spring and summer for one of us! :-)
ReplyDeleteI especially love your photo of the galahs (that's another new one for me!) and corellas on the wires. They look like a musical staff with the birds as the notes! I wonder what the tune would sound like if you played them on a piano? :-)
I sure hope you feel better soon, and I'm sending you healing thoughts!
Isn't it annoying that some people (doctors) don't think MS causes pain! I live with it every day. The docs have offered various pain meds or anti depressants (which are supposed to help the pain). I can't take them. The side effects are worse than the pain for me. I hope you get some relief soon.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is sprouting up nicely! The galahs are such a pretty bird! I had one as a pet when I lived in Oz. It was a rescued bird.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Cheers
What a horrible choice - enduring pain vs brain fog and waiting for possible side effects, one nastier than the next! I do hope the benefits of these new meds outweigh the drawbacks and you get some relief soon, EC! It does sadden me that doctors can be so unreceptive to complaints of pain (especially from a woman?) unless there is someone else (preferably male?) to confirm it. I agree with Laloofah - it's not whinging! And even if it were, feel free to let loose. We're all friends here. Enjoy your garden and winged visitors. If anything can alleviate pain with no ill effects, it's Mother nature in all her glory! Have a good weekend, you.
ReplyDeleteHope you feel at ease and out of pain soon.
ReplyDeleteLovely bird shot!
Hiya!
ReplyDeleteYour garden is growing nicely.
Hope you adapt to the new drug and loose the zombie effect. I usually do after about a week.
Jan
Sounds like this medication has too many side effects and not enough pain relief. Your garden is growing nicely, its going to be well worth the fantastic effort you put in :-).
ReplyDeleteSuicidal thoughts?! Good lord. what fun for you.
ReplyDeleteI don't like to use the word 'hate' but I gotta say I do hate the fogging head feeling.
*sigh* I am WAY jealous of your blubs
space cadet! I do enjoy reading those disclaimers in the medications box. tiny teeny font promising everything but actual efficacy. ya gotta laugh.
ReplyDeleteget a damn fine single malt for the same cost, and sip sip sip gently but constantly for a much more agreeable effect no worse than making pfizer a fortune.
Love that you have all the scented flowers - violet, narcissi, wallflowers. spring magic - breathe deep.
Thank you one and all. Sorry my hands are not functioning well enough to reply to you all individually.
ReplyDeleteSherri: At least the MS memory thing means we can reread books.
Laloofah: I am a firm believer in give us this day our daily whinge, but sometimes feel guilty for inflicting it on others. The music you would set corellas and galahs to would be a cacophony of clashing chords. Pretty they are. Musical they are not.
Kymulyin: Welcome and thanks. I hope to lose the space cadet soon (and to get more relief). Just impatient.
I am feeling that pain more and more lately. I did not have pain with MS earlier in my life....now the meds do have a lot of side effects. I hope your meds work for you. Love the flowers.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to read of your pain, hope that the new meds help you blossom like the beautiful foliage of your garden x
ReplyDeleteKim: Welcome. When I was first diagnosed I just had the reduced sensitivity caper. Now I have both. It sucks doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteDonna: Welcome and thank you to you too. Fingers crossed that the medication settles in and helps. And hopefully, in a few weeks, the garden will be ablaze with colour and scent.
I am so sorry you have this terrible pain I hope soon things will improve.
ReplyDeleteYou have reminded me that spring is an exciting time of new growth and promise of future beauty. Here we are in the declining time of summer when things begin to turn brown and die, everything is busy setting seed just as I am trying to maintain bloom. I know it's a losing battle, but I keep hoping to make it last just a little longer.
Jeez I know where you are coming from my dear. I no longer know what's wrong with me from what side-effects of what pills or maybe it's something else or am I going nutty mc nuts. I'm VERY glad it's taking the edge off the pain though. A small joy for all the rest. Having all that lovely greenery and nature around you is sooooo good, my advice is stare at it all and dribble. (Dribble is optional but maybe you can catch Jazz's head and get the bugger back). x
ReplyDeleteAnne: I too run around at the end of summer trying to put off the inevitable.
ReplyDeleteAll Consuming: Yeah, sometimes the drugs are as bad as the disease (if not worse). I LOVE the idea of dribbling on Jazz who got me up this morning by reaching under the bedclothes and slashing and then pulled books out of the bookcase too. He is often a super cute cat - but he needs to be.
Like your namesake, EC, you are being spanked for no good reason at all.
ReplyDeleteIf we could change it for you, we would all change it for you.
As we can't, we can encourage you to whinge, howl and berate fate. As you should.
Frances: Thankyou. I really like that you know where my alias originated. I grew up with him, and could recite lots of it by heart from an early age. I frequently feel guilty moaning about my lot because I know that other people have worse things to deal with. Knowing that doesn't however reduce my pain by one iota.
ReplyDeleteI wish you were not in pain. That's awful. What about the marijuana thing Snow is trying for his pain. Have you ever tried that?
ReplyDeleteHaven't had much internet access lately, so late to the party, but I too am sorry to read about the pain. I hope you find a good way through the pain versus the side effects. xx
ReplyDeleteYour garden does look glorious.
Strayer: Thanks. I smoke marijuana for a little while years ago - these days you could use me as a sniffer dog at the airport. Even a small whiff of the stuff makes me want to hurl.
ReplyDeleteTracy: Thanks on both counts - re the pain, and the garden which is certainly one of my antidotes.
whinge away!! sounds awful (needless to say), i hope the medication will help or that something else will turn up that will. it's good to have a garden to help alleviate pain, and furries (when they're not in attack mode). the garden looks lush and pretty and peaceful.
ReplyDelete