I’m officially home for the first time in a few weeks, so I can get back to blogging regularly! It will be even easier when the laptop that I ordered gets delivered and then set up, so that I don’t have to sneak time on my father’s computer, but it will do the trick for now.
My appointment at the pain clinic went surprisingly well! It was one of those rare times when you see a doctor and she actually believes everything that you are going through and recognizes Fibromyalgia as a serious illness, especially when combined with the other conditions that I have piled on board. She praised me numerous times for how proud I should be of myself, as I managed to get an education, keep a good attitude, and strive towards goals, despite all the problems that have been heaped on top of me so far in life. There were numerous times that I thought I was going to break down and cry, just because I’m rather hard on myself, and it was so wonderful to have someone notice all of the work that I have put in to get to the place in life that I am now. I may not be totally happy with my situation, but I’ve found some peace, which took many, many years of hard work to accomplish.
Her recommendation was to not rock the boat that is my medication cocktail until the poor weather passed (as it plays such a role in extra pain), and then in the summer we could look at starting methadone (as it apparently works on pain in three different ways…) and reducing the gabapentin a little bit. In addition, she was going to refer me to a professional who could help me find the best options for what I could do with my education, without jeopardizing social services assisting me with my medication costs.
I was worried the night before that I was going to be dismissed by yet another specialist, as it is something that so many of us go through, and instead I was pleasantly surprised. My doctor was smart, caring, kind, tech savvy (she wants to do video conferences to save me the trip!), and had great ideas. I’m so lucky to get to add her to my arsenal of doctors. I finally feel like I have a team who could help get me to where I’d like to be.
Do you have any great doctor stories? I’d love to hear them!
xoxo,
Annie
Wow, Annie, she sounds great. I especially like the idea of the videoconferences.
My GP once leant me the DVD of ‘A Beautiful Mjnd’. He must have thought somehow it might help with what I was telling him. It did. In my thank you note I said perhaps doctors could prescribe films as part of the healing!
Wow! How wonderful! I’m so happy you found such an amazing doctor. I have a very very good rheumatologist who totally gets my pain and fibro but he doesn’t sound quite as warm as your new doc! You should be proud of all you’ve accomplished – when often just getting through the day is a struggle! Anyway glad you’re blogging again and I hope your new computer comes ASAP! Your blog makes me feel happy and less alone. Thank you!
Wow. I’m so happy for you Annie!! I know what a big difference that can make.
I write about my amazing doctors a lot on my blog, so I just redirect you there. But, I have to say, even though they haven’t been able to wave a magic wand yet, having a professional who actually takes the time to understand what you’re saying and be with you in the moment??????? It’s amazing (and so rare.)
I love being validated and being told that I work very hard (and don’t need to be too hard on myself.) Somehow that’s always a problem.
Abigail
Denise, Alison, Abigail – thank you all for such lovely comments!
It’s so nice to be validated for the work that I do, as I’m always hard on myself that I’m not doing enough (when in reality it is the illnesses not allowing me to work as hard as I’d like)!
Alison – movie therapy would be amazing! I love art therapy!