status update

well, i've been doing the supplement routine for a full week now, and so far the only difference to report is that i am super crabby! could be due to other things going on right now, actually. but boy have i been in a bad mood. ugh.

the thing that i am finding hardest is getting adequate sleep. there is always "one more thing" i need to do before i retire. or, i find myself "too tired" to get up off the sofa and go to bed properly. last night i made sure to get at least some of the things that delay bedtime (i.e. making coffee for the next morning) done before dinner, so i wouldn't get lured back downstairs after i put on my pyjamas. that helped. the more i can get done when i'm in kitchen-mode, the better.

my hands have been driving me crazy though.

that reminds me: i need to set up a reminder on my computer at work to think about my posture! all day every day!

trying trying trying trying trying

ok after a horribly depleting saturday (10 phials of blood! 10! after fasting and sitting in a waiting room forever!) i've started the supplements. fish oil tastes nasty, no surprise. and right now i have a sinus headache. i'm trying to think where i can find time to practise some tai chi and other stretching/nerve-flossing/etc., but it's really difficult to squeeze any more minutes out of the day. maybe i'll head to the park at lunch and try not to be too embarrassed by the stares.

oy, what a morning

i had a load of blood work to do this morning from the pain specialist! it hat to be done on day 19-20 of my cycle, and required 12-hours' fasting. so i was feeling pretty lousy when i got to the lab this morning, and then had to wait over an hour, and pay out of pocket for some of the tests - a hundred dollars! my insurance had better cover it. just had a late breakfast of a boiled egg and marmalade toast eaten with a knife and fork, since i'm still having trouble eating post-braces-adjustment. now that i've had all the tests done (ten vials of my blood! ten!!) i'm going to start all the supplements he recommended - fish oil, magnesium, more iron, etc. but right now i just want to have a nap!

oh also i can't remember if i posted that i broke down and asked my ortho how much longer - he guessed four to six months, which is not too bad! i just hope they're off before my birthday.

zzzzz

what a week. i realise now just how much i rely on sleep to deal with pain. that is, how much i rely on sleeping ridiculous amounts, like 12 hours a night when i can usually once or twice a week, to ease my back pain. because the pain is kind of manageable if i can just sleep all the time! but, the past few nights, i haven't been able to sleep. i get to sleep ok, and then i wake up. this morning i got up before 2 o'clock and couldn't get back to sleep, in part due to tooth pain (got my braces adjusted again yesterday) and i think hunger (because i couldn't eat post-braces).so, tonight i napped for a couple of hours as soon as my husband got home, set the alarm to get up at 8:30 to eat (tinned salmon and mayo - not exactly gourmet! - but nutritious, lotsa calories, and chewing not required), and will be heading back to bed soon, after giving husband strict instructions that he is to sleep on the sofa and keep his snoring away from me!

Updates

So I saw the pain doc last week! He asked some very interesting questions and did some very interesting tests, and really seemed to take my concerns seriously. He is also a big fan of my physiotherapist (Angus) which was good to hear. He is sending me to a naturopath and to have a whack of bloodwork done, and also ultrasounds on my shoulder and arm, and testing for something called “Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.” Of course I googled it and thought “whoa, this is so me!” All of my symptoms, even the vertigo and tinnitus and chest pain can be associated with it. and some of the work I did with Angus—“nerve flossing” is what he called it, but now I’ve seen it called “nerve gliding” as well—is specifically recommended as a treatment for TOS. So, you can bet I am going to be doing more of that on my own!

I’m really feeling positive that I can get “fixed.” Finally someone who listens instead of saying “maybe it’s just stress” or “maybe you’re just like this.”

Oh but one thing I forgot to mention to him, which comes and goes but was particularly awful yesterday, is pinna pain—specifically stabbing pains in the anti-helix. The pinna is the outer cartilage-y shell of the ear. It is very difficult to get people to understand when I say “my ear hurts” that looking inside is not going to help!