A VERY HOPEFUL ME

Good evening, my darlings! I hope you are all doing well, staying safe and living life joyfully.

I wanted to update you all with some of my progress regarding the spinal cord stimulator. I mentioned last month that I would be trying a temporary one to see if it helped. It did WONDERS! I thank the Lord for this blessing. I was able to feel my foot for the first time since the bleed. I nearly cried.

My roommates said I walked better and I noticed that I didn’t feel like I was going to fall over. The permanent one gets inserted on July 9th and I’m ecstatic!

Knowing that I have hope to diminish the constant pain has boosted my spirits to no end. Although it won’t take away all the pain, I’m looking at a 70% reduction, at least.

God is good to me all day and every day. I’m sorry I ever went through a period of doubting His love for me.

If anyone else has good news to share, I’d love to hear it!!

ITS BEEN A MINUTE

Hi all! Guess who’s back? I haven’t been on in over a year, so I figured I’d do a quick update.

First off, I want to apologize for being away for so long and I appreciate those of you who remain. 😊💖

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The past year has been something else. I’ve had ups and downs, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I’ve been pushing forward more as far as advancing iny stroke recovery. I’d hit some pretty low points at times where I’d become so depressed that I’d basically give up for a while. Luckily, I have good friends and roommates watching my back.

I’m also blessed because I’ve found my “forever church home” and couldn’t be more thrilled. Praise Jesus.

I’ve consulted with one of my pain management specialists about the constant neuropathic pain on my left side. We’re going to try a spinal cord stimulator to see if that helps. I avoid narcotics for the most part. Not a fan. I’ll be praying for good results. If the temporary works, he’s going to insert a permanent one.

How are you all doing? I’d love to hear from you.

 

Medical Marijuana Part Deux and Update

 

Good morning fellow WordPressers! Can you believe it’s been a year since I’ve posted on this blog? The time has flown and I have no excuses other than life.

I want to update you all on what’s been going on with me over the past year but that’s going to take a few posts. I will say that a new friend who read my story told me she was touched by it and has inspired me to come back to blogging.

Since it’s been so long, everything on this site has changed, much to my detriment. I’ll have to re-educate myself.

The main focus on today’s post is to follow-up on last year’s post,  Medical Marijuana and Me. For the past nine months or so, I have officially been a card-carrying member of the Medical Marijuana Club. I have both a vape and the tincture (which I drop under my tongue). It tastes horrendous but it helps and has nearly eliminated the need for any narcotic medication, even the low dose pills. Granted, there are some days, like yesterday that my pain level was through the roof and I don’t get much relief but that is rare now. I think I flared so badly because of the brutally cold weather.

My vape has a high THC level so I can fall asleep better at night and my tincture has a high CBD level so I can get through my day.  This works well for me since I stopped smoking cigarettes last summer. Since receiving the vape, my psychiatrist, Dr. K has taken me off sleeping pills (which didn’t really work, to begin with). That’s one other med dropped. For anyone who suffers chronic pain, I can’t say enough. Get it if you can.

Dr. K and I are still working on my depression and anxiety. I get some relief from the cannabis but not enough. I’m not trying to get high. I’m trying to function. So I’m still on meds for that. Fluoxetine for depression and Buspirone (again) for anxiety. Remember when I was originally on Buspar and had urges to punch people in the face?? Not anymore. I guess he gave me a lower dose.

All in all, it’s been a decent year. I plan to make this year better and drop some more meds.

For those of you who’ve stuck by me and continue to follow me even though I’ve been a bad blogger, thank you. You mean the world to me.

God bless.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND ME

Good afternoon, fellow bloggers. It’s been a while, for sure. I’ve had a lot going on over the past few months (story of my life) but a lot has been for the better.

Most of you know about my struggles over the past few years since my hemorrhage and subsequent stroke. A large part is due to the chronic pain I experience on a daily basis. Of course, we know that increased pain equals increased episodes of depression. I’ve had more than my fair share of battles with depression.

I want to talk about my most recent visit to my new pain management doctor, Dr. T, and our consensus that medical marijuana looks like a great solution for my pain. I’ve never been a fan of opioids and anyone that’s followed me over the past few years will recall how I weaned myself of a Fentanyl patch when I was living in Pennsylvania. My former pain management doctor was a great guy but didn’t like to listen. I never wanted the patch, just something to take when the pain was absolutely unbearable. That’s neither here nor there at this point. The point is, I think I’ve found the light at the end of my tunnel.

What, exactly, is medical marijuana?

Medical marijuana comes from a family of cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are chemicals related to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana’s main mind-altering ingredient that makes people “high.” The marijuana plant contains more than 100 cannabinoids.

The main cannabinoids that are of interest from a medical standpoint are THC and CBD.  THC can help increase a patient’s appetite, help with nausea, decrease pain, inflammation, and muscle control issues.

CBD, on the other hand, doesn’t give you the ‘high’, and still helps control pain, epileptic seizures, and possibly even mental illness and addictions. I would be in the CBD department and that’s good for me.

I know there are a lot of arguments for and against marijuana use for pain relief. I think a lot of people mistake marijuana for a ‘gateway drug’ to other, more powerful and addictive drugs. Personally, I disagree. No one has ever died of an overdose of marijuana and statistics show that prescribed pain medications are what generally leads to illegal opioid use and addiction.

I’m interested to know what you all think of this new development in my treatment and your overall opinion on medical marijuana use in general.

#CTST – MISSED YOU ALL!

Hey everyone! It’s time for another posting of Celebrate the Small Things brought to us by LEXA CAIN.  Post anything in life that you’re celebrating, no matter how small or big, on your blog.

Sign up by clicking on the image, hop around and celebrate with others.

Make sure your blog post has a link to the sign-up as well, so other bloggers will be able to sign-up and hop around too. 

This is such a simple and easy blog-hop, and it also happens to be one of my favorites.  After posting the things you have to celebrate, please don’t forget to visit and thank Lexa and her awesome and amazing co-hosts for the wonderful job they do:

 

LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge   and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits

 As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve been off the grid for several months. I think this may have been the longest yet. Since this hop is about the positives, let me bring you guys up to date as to what’s been happening.

• I was approved for the Orange County Paratransit Service so I can get out more and go to doctor appointments without having to rely on Vivi or cabs.
• I’ve been getting out more in the evenings and making some new friends. The physical toll it takes is so worth it though.
• My daughter gave me my early Christmas present on Saturday… VIP tickets to see Melissa Etheridge in concert! We were there early for sound check and a photo-op with her. Totally awesome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best of all, I’m STILL ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE GRASS!! Yeah, Baby!!

What have you celebrated this week?