Give Me A Break

I am going to start this post the same way I started the last post. "Yes, I know I have been an absentee blogger. I am sorry...." Well, this time I had another really good reason. You see, I have been in the hospital since Sunday evening. I began wheezing really bad on Saturday while we were camping and by Sunday evening it had only gotten worse. My Bub insisted that I get in the car because he was going to take me "home." The next thing I knew we were pulling into the Sevier County Medical Center ER. After 3 breathing treatments, a steroid injection and 8 hours in the ER, I was admitted to the hospital for further treatment. And that is where I have stayed until today.

The final diagnosis is still a BIG ?.

Possibly I contracted a viral infection that really did a number on my lungs; or I might have an acute case of adult onset asthma. I am being referred on to a lung specialist for follow-up testing and diagnosis. But the reality is that I might not ever know what caused this. Oh well, I guess I will just have to make sure I keep an inhaler handy from now on so that I don't end up in the same mess again.

Obviously, I am a just a little beat so I am going to close for today. Hopefully, I will have a little more energy in a few days. Stay tuned.........

Rough Week

As I have written before, I have issues. Well, this week has been a rough one for me. You see, brilliant me let my prescription for Cymbalta run out. Oh, I don't mean the one little bottle of "keep Momma happy and pain-free pills" I get each month; oh no - the entire prescription. I noticed last week while I was in Macon that I had enough medication to make it through until I got home, but then I would have to call in a refill. Then, I looked closely at the bottle and noticed that I didn't have anymore refills. I remained hopeful that once I got home I would be able to get in to see the Doctor quickly; therefore, averting any crisis that might me lurking around the corner. Well, with the excitement and craziness of returning home and planning/preparing for the in-laws anniversary party, I forgot to call the doctor's office on Friday. I didn't panic, yet, because I had enough medication to last through Saturday and I figured a call to the doctor on Monday would take care of everything. Well, guess what? I was wrong, again. When I called the doctor on Monday, I was informed that they couldn't get me in until Thursday (today).

I have to be honest, I was a little concerned about waiting that long to get the prescription refilled - not because I thought I would end up collapsing in a heap in the living floor - but basically because I know you are not suppose to quit any type of anti-depressant cold turkey. Well, since the doctor's office obviously wasn't concerned about this, I convinced myself that it must be ok.

Today all I can say is that probably the doctor's office should re-prioritize working in patients that need a prescription refill. I have had a terrible week. And of course it is the same stuff I went through before being prescribed the Cymbalta. I have had absolutely NO energy and my head has felt totally disconnected from my body. I haven't been able to concentrate or even think straight which has culminated in a splitting headache for the past two days. With all of this going on, I haven't wanted to do anything other than sleep, which means I have stayed on the couch or in bed. Now this morning I awoke with severe pain in my back, hips and legs; oh and the headache has yet to subside.

All I can say is come on 2:00, so I can get my medicine back. And to think, I had begun to think that I didn't really need that stuff anymore. Well, I have changed my mind on that one.

Drugs are good; drugs are my friend.

I Want My Mommy!!!!!!!!!!!

O.K. so here I go.
I can do this!
I shouldn't be so nervous.
Everyone does it.
Why am I so freaked out?
There's nothing to it.
It'll be o.k.
NO, I can't do it.
I'll just wait.
I know, I have to do it now!
But, what if it is terrible?
I'll be fine.
Oh, I'm so scared.
I don't want to look silly.


Yes, I am totally freaked out. Why, you ask? Well, because I am going to get my hair cut tomorrow. You're probably wondering why I would get so up tight about a haircut. Well, it's like this. My mom, my grandmother and my step-mom were all hairdressers and they were the only people that cut my hair up until I was in my mid-20s. Had it not been for logistical problems, I would have never changed our little arrangement.

All I can say is that in the past, for the most part, my experiences with non-relative hairstylists have gone really BAD. I will give credit where credit is due, though. When I lived in Nashville, I had a great stylist, but again, the whole logistics thing prevents me from continuing the love/love relationship we had.

Since moving back to East TN, I haven't been able to find a stylist that can work with my "challenging" head of hair. You see, I was cursed with the hair genes (or lack there of) of both my parents. Dad's been sporting a comb-over since he was in high school and Mom has the transparent variety of hair. We kindly refer to it as "frog fur". Our hair is VERY thin and VERY fine. If I don't go to someone that is acustomed to working with my type of hair, things go very wrong.

For the last 5 years, I have been trying to time my haircuts around my trips to Mom's in Georgia, or her trips to Tennessee. Or, I have used Mom's stylist in Macon; she is good and knows how to work with my hair-type, since she does my Mom's hair, also. Unfortunately, this time my (our) timing is a little off. Mom isn't coming up this way until the first week of June. AND, as you all know, I will be at the beach then. So, I am being forced to go to a complete stranger and entrust my unfortunate head of hair to him. The stylist does good work (on other people) so I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will do the same for me.

If everyone could just pause for a minute and say a little prayer for my new do and send me lots of good karma, I would be most appreciative.

P.S. If I am wearing a hat in, or missingfrom, all of the pictures that are taken at the beach, you will know that things didn't go well.

My Little Chickadee!

Occasionally there are such monumental things happening around our house that they deserve being mentioned on both Blogs, Kaylea's and mine. Most of the time, I try to keep the Kaylea stories isolated to her Blog, but this one deserves a look see by all of our readers. Check out the latest goings on in my crazy little mixed up world at this post on Curiously Kaylea.

Basically, I guess I am just being lazy because it is a really long story and I don't feel like retelling it.

Gotta go - my little chickadee and her Calamine Lotion are calling me.

Smile Through The Pain

Some of you are not aware that I have been suffering from chronic pain and fatigue for several years, now. I have seen many doctors concerning my problems. With each visit I am hopeful that I will finally get an answer; however, that has yet to happen.

The pain can be unbearable at times, usually when I am on my feet too long or over exert myself. For example, yesterday I worked at the Duck-Duck-Goose sale sorting clothes for donation and/or pick-up. I was on my feet for 4 hours; subsequently, when I left my hips were aching and the pain was radiating around my midsection and shooting down my legs through my knees and into my feet. The pain is not always triggered by standing or walking, though. Sometimes it is brought on if I get too cold; if the weather changes; if I sit too long; or for no identifiably reason. When the pain gets this bad, the only way I can get relief is by taking medication and going to sleep.

Since, I also suffer from chronic fatigue, sleeping is always welcome to me. Unfortunately, if I were in bed everytime I was hurting or felt sleepy, I would sleep my life away. You see, it takes very little for me to get exhausted. I can push myself by getting up and staying up without taking any naps during the day. But, usually, I will have a BIG crash after several days of this. When I crash it is not uncommon for me to sleep 18 - 20 hours a day for a couple of days at a time.

I have undergone various tests; however, we currently do not have a medical diagnosis. The doctors have said that I appear to have arthritis; however the rheumatoid arthritis test came back negative. I have also had every type of blood and hormone test run; underwent a Dexa Scan of my spine (since I shrunk 2" in a little over a year); and consulted with a Chiropractor. All to no avail.

About a year ago, my current Doctor prescribed Cymbalta to try and alleviate the pain. He also thought it might help with the chronic fatigue I was experiencing. He was unsure if the pain was causing the fatigue or if the fatigue was causing the pain. (You know, which came first - the chicken or the egg?) Cymbalta is an anti-depressent that is also useful in treating the pain and fatigue associated with depression. He asked me if I was depressed and I wasn't really sure. I told him that hurting and being tired all of the time didn't make me feel that great (emotionally), so I was willing to give it a try. Basically, my Doctor thought this would be a good place to start in trying to break the cycle of pain =sleep=pain.

I can say, on a positive note, that the medicine does help with the day to day pain that I use to experience. I am feeling a lot better than before; however, I do still experience the fatigue. I am o.k. with being fatigued as long as the pain isn't as bad. I would hate for it to be the other way around.

I know that my condition affects my whole family. Bub is wonderful and always supportive of me. When I get "down" (in both definitions of the word), he is always there to pick me up. I feel guilty that he has to deal with all of this at our "young" age. This is the type of thing you expect to experience later in life. I also worry about the affects on Kaylea. I am hopeful that when she gets older, she will remember all of the fun we have together and not that I was always tired and/or sick.

My inner voice can get pretty brutal at times. I will catch myself thinking, "I am just lazy!" and asking, "What is wrong with me?" But then the rational part of my brain provides comfort by acknowledging that I am not laying around watching TV day in and day out, like someone who is "lazy" would do. I don't think a "lazy" person would be able to sleep 20 hours at a clip for 2 days straight. Maybe I am wrong; maybe they can. It's just that I have never known anyone that can sleep as much as me and I have known many a lazy bum in my life.

I wish I knew all of the answers to my questions, but I may never get them. I guess I will have to just smile through the pain and take lots of cat naps!

The Test Came Back Positive

...and no it wasn't a pregnancy test. Bub, who is feeling much better, drug my sorry butt to the Doctor this morning and they gave me a flu test. Well, SURPRISE SURPRISE! It came back positive for "Strand B." And to quote my doctor, "There are two strands, A & B, with B being the worst. Naturally, you have strand B." Ya know, this is just my luck. I can't even catch a break and get the lesser of the two flu bugs.

Hopefully, the Tamiflu with kick in soon. I can't take another night like last night. No sleep! High Fever! The sweats! The chills! Aches and aches and aches!

Bah humbug to the flu!!!!!!!!!!

If You See Us Coming, RUN!

Just call us Mr. and Mrs. Sickly McSickle. On Thursday night, we ate dinner at ThiThi's and when we got home Bub was chilling and running a fever. Through the night his fever continued to climb and got up to 103. He actually argued with me about going to work on Friday, but finally conceded to staying home after he took his shower and realized that his head might actually explode if he didn't lay back down. Bub is one that never complains or misses work, so when he agreed to call in , I knew he was REALLY sick! In his typical gentlemanly style, he kept a good distance between himself and me and Kaylea so as not to pass his crud on to us.

I'm not too sure that his plan was successful, though, because Friday when I woke up I felt like crap. I wasn't running a fever, but I was chilling and totally exhausted. I slept from 10:00 pm Thursday night until about 10:00 am Saturday morning. All the while, I was chilling and just feeling terrible. Bub's fever broke during the night Friday and he was feeling a little better by Saturday afternoon. I, on the other hand, started feeling really nauseous and got sick to my stomach. We managed to go to the Ron White (i.e. Tater Salad) show last night, against my better judgement. The tickets were a Christmas gift to Bub from ThiThi and Mr. Bob and we had been planning on making a big "date night." Kaylea spent the night with her Auntie M and Uncle Bob, so we had the whole night to ourselves. Whoo Hoo!!!!

The show was really good. Ron White was a hoot; I laughed so hard at the show that I managed to upset my stomach even more. By the time we left, I felt like I was going to puke. (Boy, that's an endorsement for Mr. White's show if I've ever seen one). After making a pit stop at ThiThi's for a bathroom break, Bub and I made it home by about 10:00 pm. Yes, our "date night" was over by 10:00 pm; we are just too exciting.

When we got home I drank some Diet Coke and managed to get my stomach settled and then we each made our respective nests, one on the love seat and one on the couch, and off to sleep we went. Well, Bub did, at least. I couldn't sleep because I started sneezing which in return made my head start pounding.

As of this morning Bub is feeling great and I feel like doo-doo. My head is stopped up tighter than a drum; my nose is running; and I can't stop sneezing. Oh, and I still feel nauseous. So pardon me for signing off, but my Zicam, Mucinex and Motrin await. After all, I have to get to feeling better because I am scheduled to sub tomorrow. (The first day in a month, wouldn't you know it!)

Oh, by the way, so far (KNOCK ON WOOD), Kaylea is still healthy. Let's all say a little prayer that she stays that way!