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Responses (sorted by date)
clrclady: Thanks!!! (5/7/09)
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Kathy switched jobs and we had to change insurance companies so the year of taking care of Rod was slightly postponed until we got new insurance coverage and cards. With my new insurance card in hand I went to see the ophthalmologist yesterday. I saw him in November and received a new prescription for glasses and started treatment for glaucoma. I have been unable to read, particularly in the mornings, and my glasses have become almost useless to me. So much so that I take them off to read which requires holding the book three inches from my nose and giving myself a pounding headache for my trouble. So I asked the doctor if this was a side effect of the glaucoma and he said it was most certainly not and then tested my eyes again. I don’t use my left eye and can only see the big E on the board or possibly I have just memorized the fact that it is a big E, but with my right eye I could only see the fourth line down and made a mistake on one of those alphanumeric things–those darn E’s and 8's can get so confusing. So the doctor was ‘concerned’ and wondered if the dramatic change in my prescription in just five months time was due to other problems like possible diabetes or some other medical condition. He wrote me a prescription for new glasses and told me to go see my family doctor which was my next appointment.
My family doctor pulled out the lab work from my recent tests and told me my blood sugar was higher than she wished it was but was not so high as to be causing eye problems or anything close to diabetes. She told me she was not happy that I had a ‘severe vitamin B12 deficiency’ and ordered me to take a 1000mcg’s per day. The good news was that everything else in the blood work was really good. My cholesterol was extremely low and my good cholesterol was appropriately high. She asked if I had seen the neurosurgeon yet and I told her I was scheduled in a couple weeks. She asked me about the weakness in my legs and I asked, “What weakness?” She said I was unstable and had balance issues and made me walk heel toe again along with some other stuff I never do in real life and then said, “I think all of this is related to your c-spine issues and perhaps if they do the neck surgery your eye problems and vitamin deficiency issues will all disappear as well. The crucial thing is to see the neurosurgeon. We know the c-spine issue is causing your ulna nerve problems, but we can’t begin to know what else it is affecting.” She told me she would write a note to my neurosurgeon expressing her observations, concerns, and recommendations and told me to make sure to keep the appointment.
She asked if I had seen the pain clinic doctor recently and I told her no and that it seemed a bit moot until after I had seen the neurosurgeon. She laughed at me and told me to make an appointment soon. When I asked why she told me ‘because he is giving you Vicadin and Cymbalta and Lyrica and the effect of those drugs on you needs to be constantly monitored’. So I will make an appointment today.
I am really tired of the pain and the weakness and the loss. The doctor told me she could see it in my eyes. I chatted with my little sister last night. She knows chronic pain in ways I have yet to imagine and hope I never do. She told me, “Take some pleasure in each day and live the hell out of it as best you can. Oh, and don’t forget to weep your losses, too.”
So, all you who struggle: “Take some pleasure today and live the hell out of it as best you can. Oh, and don’t forget to weep your losses, too.”
Rod |
