Celebrate The Small Things -- June 27

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating doing normal things...like washing dishes and loading the dishwasher, doing laundry, vacuuming, cooking, and other various house chores.  I know this may seem like weird things to be celebrating, but over the past few days I've been able to do more than I have in a while.  With all my post-op ankle problems, doing "normal" things, like housework, makes me feel useful.  It's easy to sink into depression when you are in pain...and when you can't do the things you normally do, the depression just gets worse.  I've felt very useless lately (despite my husband assuring me I'm not), and this week was a little boost of happy for me. 

Let's all pray that this is the beginning of more normal days ahead and not just a fluke!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

New Pain Medicine Routine

I don't know why, but over the past couple of weeks my arthritis has really been flaring up.  I've lost a lot of sleep and finally got tired of feeling so terrible.  My doctor that I see for my neck pain had originally prescribed this new medicine and I decided that I should give it a try.  It's a non-narcotic pain med called ConZip, which is really a slow release Tramadol.  I've been using it for my overall arthritis flare ups and it helps take my pain from a 5-6 to a 2-3...which is a huge difference.

I still get localized pain in my ankles if I'm on my feet too long, and in my neck/shoulder area because of my occipital neuralgia.  For these areas I have compound cream that has been helping take the edge off.  The cream I have for my ankles is a bit stronger and I'd like to try it on my neck, but it's super greasy.  After twenty minutes of absorbing into my ankles, I wipe it off with a wet washcloth otherwise it's too sticky to even get my socks back on.  I'm afraid of getting it into my hair and not being able to get it out if I try it on my neck...I'd have to be super careful.

Ankle cream ingredients

side note:  When I got my new ankle cream a couple of weeks ago it came in some very impressive  packaging.  There was a cold block in there (I guess in case it got too hot during shipment) and it was cushioned to the max.  Seriously, look at the big cushion that was in this thing.

The cushion was bigger than my 10 year old...

Also, I got 3 containers of it.  Does it get used that quickly that I need this much???  I guess we'll see.

Anyway, this has been the routine for about two weeks or so.  ConZip in the morning, Celebrex (anti-inflammatory) and Soma (to keep my back spasms at bay) at night...and cream on various body parts as needed.  It has helped keep the pain in check enough that I was able to take part in cleaning the house in anticipation of my family visiting, and I was able to enjoy the time with my brother when he was here last week.  Let's just hope this all continues to help and that I don't die of kidney or liver failure by the time I'm 50!

Bee Therapy?

As I was getting my weekly acupuncture treatment today, my acupuncturist, Tuan, told me about how he suffers from chronic pain in his shoulder due to several injuries to it in his younger years.  He said he had seen a few doctors, and three different doctors told him that he needed surgery on it to relieve the pain.  Even though I've been seeing him for 5 years or so, I've never known that he suffers from chronic pain because he has always seemed in good health.  Tuan told me that for many years now he has been doing bee therapy, also know as apitherapy, to help with the shoulder pain and that he only has to do it every six months or so to find relief.

Bee therapy is exactly what it sounds like...you get stung by honey bees.  Chinese medicine uses the bees to sting the patient on various acupuncture spots.  Tuan says that bee venom has been used since ancient times, going back to the Egyptians.  He uses it on himself, my other acupuncturist, and has had other patients that have found relief with this practice.  The bee venom causes the body's immune system to react strongly, which is what helps patients find relief.

Tuan told me that he just performed a treatment on my other acupuncturist, Thuc Dan, this past Saturday.  He treated her with only five stings, since she is much more sensitive and reacts more than he does.  Tuan says that since everyone's body reacts differently, people will have varying results and require treatments at different rates.  After speaking with Thuc Dan, she told me that after the treatments she feels like she has the flu for a couple of days, with the day after the treatment being the worst.  To feel a bit better, she took some anti-histamine, which helped to relieve some of the symptoms she was suffering from.

This isn't the first time Tuan has told me about bee therapy.  He mentioned it a few years ago when he told me about a patient of his that suffered from multiple sclerosis.  He had been treating her for years and she had found great relief with the treatments.

So, how crazy is this sounding to you?  If you are a regular, “normal” person, you probably think it sounds nuts.  And it sounds crazy to me too...but it also seems like something that I may be open to.  Suffering on a daily basis sucks, plain and simple.  If I could find something that would relieve my pain on a temporary basis...even if it sounds completely nutty...well, why not try it at least once?

Dear Readers...Have I lost it completely?  Or do you think this may have some substance?

Celebrate The Small Things -- June 20

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating having my brother and his family over for the week.  My little bro lives several states away, which equates to a 20 hour car ride, so we don't get to see each other too often.  I'm loving having him here and visiting with my adorable niece and nephew...they are too cute!

Below is a pic of my son and my nephew watching tv together...they look the same :)

I'm also celebrating good medicine.  My arthritis has been going crazy the past couple of weeks and so I've been taking my newest pain medicine, ConZip (extended release Tramadol), almost every day.  It has really helped take the edge off.

Also celebrating my orthotics...I think they may be helping a bit and I'll take anything I can get!

My brother just reminded me...celebrating old school music that makes you dance in your car like a crazy person.  We heard "The Humpty Dance" twice in three days!  Woot!  Special thanks to Sirius XM radio's 90's on 9!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things -- June 13

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating the fact that I don't have to commute for work.  Twice this week I've commuted from a few towns away and it's taken me over an hour to do a 20 minute ride home and a 30 minute ride home.  If I had to deal with that kind of traffic everyday I'd be a very grumpy person!  I've been a stay at home mom since my daughter was born and am very thankful that I am blessed with that opportunity.  While I have gone a bit crazy at times being a SAHM, I'd be even crazier if I was a commuter!

I'm also celebrating my brother coming to visit this week coming up.  He lives many states away, so I don't get to see him too often.  Can't wait to see him and his family!

Happy Friday the 13th...13 is a lucky number for my family, so I think I'll celebrate that too :)

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Should I Move To Arizona?

The weather this week, so far, is killing me. It's been humid, muggy days that call for thunderstorms at any moment and my arthritic body has not been a happy camper. As much as I love where I live, it's times like these where I entertain the thought of moving to Arizona! But moving to a more dry, desert like state would mean that I'd have scorpions and snakes to deal with. I think I prefer the monster size mosquitoes of DC :)

It took a long time for me to fall asleep last night because of all the aches and pains, and I felt like a truck hit me when I woke up this morning. Seeing as I promised my daughter that I would take her out to lunch after we got her allergy shot, I got up and lathered on some of the pain cream my pain management doc had prescribed for my neck. My shoulders have been the bastards of the week, so I greased them up, along with my neck, and took a ConZip (slow release Tramadol) and layed back down in my comfy bed and watched tv. All these meds needed time to kick in.

Just a couple of hours later, I feel much more like a real person. Not pain free, but manageable for now. I leave soon to spend a little munchkin-mommy time with my girl. Prayers that my “real person-ness” lasts the afternoon!

Total Ankle Replacement 1 Year/6 Month Update – Good News And Bad News

Yesterday I made the trek into DC to see my surgeon for my 1 year (left ankle) and 6 month (right ankle) check up.  My original appointment wasn't for another month, but considering the pain I've been in, and the lack of progress, they wanted to see me earlier.

If you've been following along with my progress, then you know that I've plateaued in the past few months.  Since March, I haven't been able to do more than 10 minutes on the treadmill without being in a ton of pain.  Seems like 10-15 minutes on my feet is the absolute most I can do, and by then I'm hurting like a mofo.

 

 

The Good News

My ROM (range of motion) is great.  And looking at some newly taken x-rays, it seems like the implants are healing up nicely.  Everything concerning the ankle joint is perfect.  My surgeon was very happy with his work :)

I explained to my doc that I still can't be on my feet for more than 10 minutes without being in pain and asked why that would be.  And then came the bad news...

The Bad News (with a little Good News (sorta) sprinkled in)

The bones in my feet are shit!  Because of my condition (SED—aka: shitty bone disease) I have severe arthritis in my feet.  I'm looking at future surgery on fusing a few of these bones in order to help with the pain.  When I heard the word “fusion” I freaked out.  At first I thought he was talking about fusing my new cyborg ankles that I just busted my ass for a year to get to work right.  But he assured me that it's not my ankles he's talking about, but my feet.  Apparently ankles and feet are separate things...duh! :P  Doc says that fusing the bones in my feet won't affect my ROM because any ROM that I would have had in these bones is already gone.  I asked if my walking would be affected and he said that it would probably be better since I won't be in pain.

The circled pen marks are the spots where he'd do the fusions.

Now, he won't really get into the knitty gritty of the surgery just yet.  He wants to see me back in 6 months for my one year anniversary on ankle #2.  If I'm still having pain at time, then I'm thinking this foot-bone-fusing discussion will happen then.

So I'm looking at another surgery in the near future, but it should help with my pain...that's the sprinkle of good news just in case you missed it :)

What do I do now for my feet pain?

He's hoping that my new orthotics will help relieve some of my pain.  Since I've only had them a week, it's still too early to tell.  My husband asked how long it would take to see some improvement with the orthotics and Doc said for a “normal” person it usually takes about six weeks...but for me he thinks I'm looking at a couple of months.  Either way, this is a longer time frame than Ryan (the orthotics fitting dude) gave me.  Oh well.  Fingers crossed!  Anyone else have orthotics?  If they've helped, how long did it take for them to start helping?

Doc is also prescribing some compound pain cream to rub on my feet twice a day.  I have some pain cream that I use on my neck (to read about my neck problems click here) and this sounds like a similar cream.  The cream I have helps with my neck, so hopefully this new one will help with my feet.

I'm also supposed to start actually taking my Celebrex twice a day as it's prescribed.  On the bottle, it says to take one pill once in the morning and once at night.  Well, I try to take as little medicine as possible so I usually only take it at night.  I guess now I'll change it to twice a day and just suck it up!

Figuring it couldn't hurt to ask, I asked if cortisone injections would help at all with the foot pain.  Doc basically laughed out loud.  Apparently my bones are so shitty that they'd react to cortisone with a "bitch please!"  Oh joy!

At least I have some answers now as to why I haven't been getting any better.  It's always worse when you don't know what's wrong.  Don't you think?

______________________________________________________________

To read about my full ankle replacement journey, please click on the Total Ankle Replacement tab.  

I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have.  Please comment below, or email me privately at:  thecyborgmom@gmail.com

Celebrate The Small Things -- June 6

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating my in-laws and all of my husband's extended family and good friends.  I am so lucky to have married into an incredible group of people who are kind and generous to me and are great role models for my children.  Having spent last weekend with most of my in-laws, I have to say that it's never something that I don't look forward to.  I may get anxiety, but that has nothing to do with the company I'm keeping...but more to do with how I'm feeling about my medical problems or personal stuff going on with me.  I'm so very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life and in the lives of my children.

Also, I'm celebrating Denino's pizza.  Pizza is my favorite food, and Denino's is my most favorite pizza.  Visiting my old neighborhood last weekend allowed me the chance to enjoy a few slices of heaven :)  Thanks to my hubs for picking it up for me!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

My New Custom Orthotics...The Jury Is Out

I got fitted for my custom orthotics a few weeks ago (you can read about my fitting here) and was finally able to pick them up this week.  Figured I'd get pictures before they get all gross and stinky.

Here they are with my Easy Spirit sneakers in a size 6, which is a half size bigger than I normally wear.  They easily go in and come out.

The top of the orthotic (the black part) feels soft.  The part where the toes are is very flexible.  The rest is pretty rigid.

This is the bottom...the white part is the heel.  

They feel kind of weird, but not bad...just different.  I have to give them some time before I come to a decision about them.  The only other pair of shoes that I've tried them with is my Sketchers sneakers, which are my usual size, a 5.5.  They fit inside them okay, but my feet fit really shallow.

The good news is that "right" and "left" are printed on the bottom, along with my name...so I feel a little bit like a kindergartener :)

I go to see my ankle surgeon this Friday for a post-op check up and to see what's going on with my lack of progress.  I'll do an update post next week to keep everyone informed!