Another Day, Another Doctor

I haven’t been posting a lot of personal stuff lately, largely hoping to avoid whinging too much about pain and such.

I saw the new pain doc today, though, and I really like this practice much better than the first one. The doctor actually did an exam! (I did have to giggle when he asked if I’d been a gymnast when I was younger, based on my flexibility and posture.)

He’s switching me from morphine to methadone, as he says his fibro patients have generally had more consistent pain relief with the methadone. He also changed the muscle relaxant to something stronger, prescribed lidocaine patches, a TENS unit, hydrotherapy, and a great mess of x-rays and MRIs to update my medical records.

He and the nurse and other staff were obviously very familiar with fibromyalgia, including knowledge of fairly recent studies. He seems to be the doctor of choice for the local FMS/CFS support group members, and now I know why.

I had a bit of an anxiety attack when I arrived at their building and saw that the only obvious parking was in a parking garage with a 7 1/2′ clearance. The van won’t fit in such structures. Fortunately, I called and one of their office staff guided me around to well-hidden auxiliary parking behind the building. I would have been out of luck without the handicapped parking permit.

In other happy news, it seems that my insurance does not require evaluation by a physical therapist before the doctor can prescribe a scooter or chair. The rheumatologist is supposedly mailing me a prescription for one, after which I can begin really shopping. I need to call around local places to see if anyone around here has a Featherlite Deluxe that I can test and compare to other models.

My second sleep study, for CPAP titration, was Monday night. I wasn’t able to tolerate a CPAP mask, which wasn’t a surprise. I did warn them that I’m claustrophobic! Happily, the nose thingie didn’t provoke a panic attack. I slept most of the night, so it must have helped. I don’t like the restriction of being hooked up to a machine, much less the constant noise it makes. I’ll certainly use the thing if it helps me to sleep better and have less pain/better functioning, though.

I just want Sam to be able to go and have sleep studies and get one of those things for himself. I know he has sleep apnea, and I worry about him.

I finally got the title for the van from the state, which means that we should be able to wrap up the insurance claim from the accident tomorrow. We haven’t found a replacement vehicle yet, which presents logistical problems.

I really would like to have an extra vehicle in the family again, to cover these kinds of situations for us and other people. I’ll miss the van in some ways, and it would be a great “spare” rather than something to drive every day. I figure we’ll have another one, someday.

I’ve been researching vehicles listed for sale at upcoming auto auctions. I have to say that CarFax rocks. If we figure out this whole auction thing and the prices are as incredible as they’re rumored to be, we might even acquire a car for Sam before long and end up with the truck as a spare again.

Katie began attending a transition-to-high-school summer school program this week. She’s enjoying it so far and was really upset about missing class today due to a migraine. As long as we can get the tuition worked out for the fall, I think she’s found her school. She’s getting signed up for fall dance, as well. It looks like she’ll be in classes 4 nights a week again unless she drops something. We already know that she’ll be much busier with being in school again, especially high school, so that is worrisome.

I just got stuff in the mail from Southern Poly, wanting me to submit my tax returns for verification for fall financial aid. Um, like I’m going there again? Not likely. I’ve been admitted to the University of Missouri-Columbia, and am going over all the “this equals that” transfer credits with them now. I don’t know if this will be my final school “home,” as there are some financial aid aspects that aren’t exactly as I’d prefer, but I’m not thinking of returning to SPSU right now.

Cyn is Rick's wife, Katie's Mom, and Esther & Oliver's Mémé. She's also a professional geek, avid reader, fledgling coder, enthusiastic gamer (TTRPGs), occasional singer, and devoted stitcher.
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