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?
Ok, so I went to see my doctor, Dr. K, on Tuesday. I know I said I was going so I should post a summary. Basically, it went exactly how I thought it would go. I am going back for my follow-up appointment in 4 weeks, rather than my regular 3 months, due to the stressors that have loomed large over the past month or so. At that point, I will hopefully be feeling better, but if not, she said she would likely recommend trying Lupron. Lupron is a drug that essentially fools your body into thinking it has hit menopause. I've avoided it and not wanted to take it due to the many horrible side effects (hot flashes, irritability, mood swings, mental breakdowns, any and all menopausal related side effects) I've read about, but Dr. K said she would feel pretty good about it now because it is always accompanied by hormone replacement therapies. Also, since I have been getting a hormone injection already which lowers my estrogen levels, the change would not be as drastic as it would be normally. Honestly, I still am not all that excited about the prospect and I would prefer feeling better in a month, but if she recommends it, I will probably do it. I haven't regretted any course of treatment she has suggested/implemented so far so she's earned my trust. Plus, pain sucks, so if I feel bad in another 4 weeks, I will probably be interested in anything. Lupron is a federally regulated drug that I have to apply for through my doctor's office (or they apply for me) and I would need approval to start it. I did not know that part until yesterday. For now I just got my regular hormone/birth control injection. That does sometimes help with pain management when it kicks in, probably at the end of the week.
Tomorrow I go back to the doctor (who I call Dr. K, since I have no idea if she wants her real name used in a blog, but I like her a lot). When I first started seeing her, I would go every two weeks. The staff and I know each other on a first-name basis. Now I am going every three months. Definite progress there. I was hoping my mom would have surgery this week so I would have something definitive to say about how I've been feeling pain-wise and whether it's stress related, but since that's not happening, I may just schedule an appointment in one month to reassess.
