Depo's Done!

After what felt like a very long and annoying time, I was finally able to get my Depo (medroxyprogesterone) shot today.  It was a bit of a twilight-zone day for me filled with mistakes by the drugstore (like not putting the prescription I had just paid for in the bag), me having to drive to and from the doctor's office and drugstore twice, and some odd people along the way, but at least it's done.  It should have been a frustrating day, I have had more than my fair share of screw-ups by insurance, pharmacies, Medicaid and even PennDOT, but if you know me, it's not really in my nature to do a lot more than just laugh at the stupidity of it all.  I mean, what else is there to do?  It's a habit that got reinforced in college when my roommate, H, and I used to just laugh at the idiocy that would occasionally surround us.  I have had so many bizarre screw-ups after I've done everything correctly at my end that I think I HAVE to last or I would just go crazy.  At least for the first time in 15 years, my driver's license has my last name on it correctly.  Maybe in another decade other things will get straightened out?

Catch-Up

The blog post that I wrote yesterday felt very meaningful and important for me to share.  I saw that I only had about a third of the normal amount of page views so I am going to hold off on posting more until tomorrow with the hope that people will read yesterday's post.

Thank you for reading!

Thoughts (Breast Cancer and Endometriosis)

I didn't really know what to title this post.  It feels intensely personal.  It's just some thoughts and observations I've been having as I deal with endometriosis and as I also watch my mother deal (bravely) with breast cancer.  It is wonderful how much support and how much of a sense of community they try to give to these women when they are newly diagnosed, as well as throughout the process.  I've been impressed and surprised along the way with how much generosity there is for women with breast cancer.  She has access to a nutritionist, to breast cancer gatherings, even to a garden, I believe.  My mom received a hand-made blanket to have for her chemo treatment.  These blankets are made by hand and donated to the hospitals for chemo patients.  She received a free wig, which I have seen online at a cost of hundreds of dollars.  Since losing your hair is one of the biggest fears for someone going through chemotherapy, I know a wig doesn't alleviate that fear but having someone available and not having to worry about cost are two less things to worry about and that's huge.  There are even small handmade items throughout the process.  Knitted caps, handmade bookmarks and bracelets. 

Amazon Smile

I don't know if many of you are aware of Amazon Smile.  I know I was not until I got a birthday gift from Amazon from my sister which included a card that said "A gift has been made in your name to the endometriosis society."  That was just as good as a gift and very cool!!  When I asked about it, she told me about Amazon Smile.  If you have an account with Amazon.com, you find a cause you care about, pick one of the societies or foundations associated with that cause, and when you purchase anything from Smile.Amazon.Com, a donation will be made to the charity or cause you have chosen.

Article

I will post news articles occasionally just to give you more to read and learn.  I do not write these news articles, so I trust you to use your own judgment when it comes to how much merit they deserve.

An article I came across at HuntingtonNews.net: Researchers to present at the World Congress on Endometriosis in Brazil.

Endometriosis: A Key to Healing Through Nutrition

(buy this book!)

I recently got a book from Amazon (here is the link) entitled Endometriosis: A Key to Healing Through Nutrition, written by Dian Shepperson Mills & Michael Vernon.  I had decided to look into nutrition, so this seemed like a good purchase for me.  I was expecting lots of recipes, in-depth diet tips, etc.  I have to say, it is not exactly what I had been expecting (there are some recipes), but I think it's a great book nonetheless.

If I were just beginning with endometriosis, this would be a book I would want to read.  It provides a solid basis of understanding to a lot of the early questions that I had.  It is written a lot like a textbook and I was impressed with the depth the book was able to go into while still covering the scope of the disease.  There are also helpful chapter summaries that will give you the important points covered in the chapter.  I have already used quite a lot of post-its on my copy!

Fear

ALGOPHOBIA: Fear Of Pain.  Fear is something that I've touched on in other blog entries but have never fully-fleshed out in terms of my meaning.  With endometriosis (or, I would assume, with most chronic illnesses), fear is a very real thing.  

I have dealt with a lot of different fears since even before learning I had endometriosis.  I had the fear of pain from the beginning.  Not paper cut pain but pain that was so pervasive, it makes it so you can't even think right.  Pain that consumes and haunts your entire life.  I had PAIN at the very beginning, before getting proper medications and before having surgery.  The memory of that type of pain is scary.  I do not want to go back there.  I know I have had very few days of pain like that since I have had proper medications, a knowledgeable doctor, and surgery, but I now notice every twinge and in the back of my mind I am hoping that twinge is not signaling the start of pain.

Article

I will post news articles occasionally just to give you more to read and learn.  I do not write these news articles, so I trust you to use your own judgment when it comes to how much merit they deserve.

An article I came across in The Spokesman Review: "House Call: Often painful, endometriosis affects millions."

And no, I do not know what The Spokesman Review is, but another take on endometriosis is always helpful.

Common Misconceptions about the Chronically Ill

The following is an awesome article I was sent by a friend of mine. (Thank you, K).  I read it and really connected to all the points, having had people around me hold these misconceptions, particularly numbers 1, 4 & 5.  This is an article originally published December 5, 2013 by Toni Bernhard, J.D.  I take absolutely no credit for any of what is posted below.  The original link is here.

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Six Common Misconceptions about the Chronically Ill

What those who are healthy rarely understand about those who are sick or in pain

Published on December 5, 2013 by Toni Bernhard, J.D. in Turning Straw Into Gold

More often than not, chronic illness and chronic pain go hand-in-hand, so when I use the term “chronically ill,” I’m including people who are in chronic pain. My hope is that it won’t be long until these common misconceptions become uncommon ones, as people become educated about what life is like for those who suffer from chronic illness (130 million in the U.S. alone).

Personal Choice

Personal Choice.  It means a lot of different things.  In this country, our personal freedoms are taken very seriously.  In this blog, I am talking about having control over decisions about my health, as well as the health insurance company that goes by that name.  I think I could honestly rant about my insurance company and many like it on a daily basis but I'm choosing today.  Yesterday I basically spent 6 hours exchanging emails with my doctor's office, calling my pharmacy, and trying to figure out why it was taking so long to refill prescriptions.  I have come to the conclusion that for anyone with a serious illness, Personal Choice is the only insurance to have.

Perfection Found

It's not often that I find a quote or picture that jumps out at me and makes me want to throw my fist in the air yelling, "YES!!!"  But this one did it for me.  I actually want a t-shirt made up with this image or slogan.  I thought seriously about going back and editing all of my posts to include this image somewhere in them, but that seemed a bit like overkill... plus if you already read those posts, you wouldn't see the wonderfulness that is this image.  I cannot express how perfect this is to me.  I can think of so many times, places, people where I WISH that I had uttered these simple words.  

Think I'm exaggerating about pain:

Think I need a new doctor because you've assessed my symptoms from your armchair or your computer and I'm just not progressing fast enough:

You get the picture.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it!  I do not celebrate religiously but I have always had family gatherings.  When we were little we would do egg hunts.  Even at home, the Easter Bunny would leave us Easter baskets and eggs and if my sister or I had trouble finding them, my parents would somehow have directions from the Easter Bunny and be able to help guide us so no eggs were missed.  

No family gathering this year though.  My mom began feeling the side-effects of her chemo three days after the treatment and since her family lives about an hour away, we'll be missing it this year.  I have to say, of all the holidays to miss, I guess Easter isn't so bad, but it is always nice to see family, so to everyone else who will be gathering, I wish you a wonderful holiday.  For those of you not celebrating Easter, I just hope you have a wonderful day!  And for those of you with endometriosis, I wish you a day of health, love and support!