Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The wonders of Cymbalta
One of the drugs I have been put on for my many diagnosis is Cymbalta. It is to help with my body aches but also helps with depression. I have found with my medicines that I don't realize how much they are helping until I don't take them. I recently had the opportunity to go without my Cymbalta for a couple of weeks. It was time to refill the prescription, but had no money to refill it. It is my most expensive medicine costing $70 after insurance. I quickly learned that $70 is a small price to pay for the relief it gives me. My body quickly started feeling stiff and sore. My joints ached like I had just started working out and my body stiffened to the point I could barely move. I never realized the medicine was doing that much for me. I had went to the doctor for a checkup and was telling him about my symptoms. He told me not to go without my Cymbalta. It really is an important part of my daily medicines.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Feeling better and making progress
I have been so sick for so long, I feel amazing right now. I have had numerous setbacks since my successful surgery on October 31. I know I have gotten behind on keeping my blog updated, so I will try to give a brief recap of the past 5 months.
I had my surgery on October 31 to remove my right adrenal gland and egg size tumor. It was a successful surgery and luckily the tumor was not cancerous. I had my surgery on a Wednesday and was released to go home on Sunday. I was sore from the surgery, but felt pretty good other than the expected pains. On the way home from St. Louis I started getting sick. I was vomiting and felt tremendous pain. I ended up in the emergency room the following evening in Springfield. I was having adrenal insufficiency. The next several weeks was a whirlwind of ER visits and hospitalizations. I was very sick. Ended up being transported back to St. Louis a couple of times.
I now have a list of illnesses that I suffer from : Cushing's Syndrome, Diabetes, High blood pressure, Chronic pancreatitis, gastroparesis, 2 or 3 herniated discs in my back, arthritis, and chronic pain throughout my body. Luckily, I was recently able to get a doctor to listen to me and they put me on Fentanyl patches for chronic pain and I have a prescription of morephine for breakthrough pain. This has made it possible for me to actually have some time without pain. That is amazing to me.
I have applied for Social Security Disability and was denied. I will be getting a lawyer to appeal this, of course. I want to go back to work, but I am limited on what I can do because of my pain. I also still have my seizure like episodes and that would not be safe for me to be working while suffering through one of them. The doctor also told me that I cannot drive as long as I am on my pain medicine, so I will be trying to find something through the Missouri Career Center or Vocational Rehab to see if they can help me. I want to feel like I am an active, vital member of society.
I am being referred to the Chronic pain care center in Springfield to see what we can do to maintain the pain under control. I guess only time will tell what will happen. I will continue to blog and learn more about my illnesses. I have learned that anxiety disorders and panic attacks are part of my Cushing's Syndrome. That was comforting to figure out so I don't feel like I'm totally losing my mind.
I had my surgery on October 31 to remove my right adrenal gland and egg size tumor. It was a successful surgery and luckily the tumor was not cancerous. I had my surgery on a Wednesday and was released to go home on Sunday. I was sore from the surgery, but felt pretty good other than the expected pains. On the way home from St. Louis I started getting sick. I was vomiting and felt tremendous pain. I ended up in the emergency room the following evening in Springfield. I was having adrenal insufficiency. The next several weeks was a whirlwind of ER visits and hospitalizations. I was very sick. Ended up being transported back to St. Louis a couple of times.
I now have a list of illnesses that I suffer from : Cushing's Syndrome, Diabetes, High blood pressure, Chronic pancreatitis, gastroparesis, 2 or 3 herniated discs in my back, arthritis, and chronic pain throughout my body. Luckily, I was recently able to get a doctor to listen to me and they put me on Fentanyl patches for chronic pain and I have a prescription of morephine for breakthrough pain. This has made it possible for me to actually have some time without pain. That is amazing to me.
I have applied for Social Security Disability and was denied. I will be getting a lawyer to appeal this, of course. I want to go back to work, but I am limited on what I can do because of my pain. I also still have my seizure like episodes and that would not be safe for me to be working while suffering through one of them. The doctor also told me that I cannot drive as long as I am on my pain medicine, so I will be trying to find something through the Missouri Career Center or Vocational Rehab to see if they can help me. I want to feel like I am an active, vital member of society.
I am being referred to the Chronic pain care center in Springfield to see what we can do to maintain the pain under control. I guess only time will tell what will happen. I will continue to blog and learn more about my illnesses. I have learned that anxiety disorders and panic attacks are part of my Cushing's Syndrome. That was comforting to figure out so I don't feel like I'm totally losing my mind.
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