Eff Being The Sick Girl

That was my motto today.
I managed to get out of bed and actually do something productive.
Made two calls; one to sort out paying back grant money to school, the second to set up the lovely urology procedure I need because of an evil nurse who apparently hated her job. I could've had it fixed in-office, but I prefer anything that might raise the pain level to be done under sedation/anesthesia. And finally, to top things off, I biked for 3.6 miles.
Take that, EDS!

...and then I slipped and hurt myself trying to get into my (brother's) lofted bed. I should really ask my mom again why the able bodied kid gets to sleep closer to the floor. Then again, when you're 22 and living at home, it's not a choice they give you (I don't even have my own room, haven't since I was about 15-16. Meh.)

Let's have a lighthearted post :)

These are the guinea pigs my roommate and I share, playing around in the bath. Feel free to repost at will :)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, First Week of 2011 Edition

The Good:
I left for Nebraska on New Year's Day, drove ALMOST 7 straight hours, with an hour nap at a rest stop in between. I made it safely, and was so happy to see my friend. I was only supposed to stay for two days, but I ended up staying for five. We went to various places, and she introduced me to new food, like Phở, a Vietnamese noodle soup. I even helped her treat an abscess in one of her rats. All in all, it was a great time, and I made the 7 hour trip home in one go, and got back safely.


The Bad:
When I got home, my legs were super stiff, and I was exhausted from all of the driving. I also discovered I had an abscess of my own (unrelated to me treating her rat). I also received a call today from my apartment's management company, saying I hadn't paid rent (totally forgot) and then they threatened eviction. I paid the bill online almost immediately. This was absolutely nothing, though, compared to...


The Ugly:
My first day back, I got a letter from my school. I knew it was coming, but it still hurt like nothing else. I received a one year academic suspension, effective immediately. This is because, for more than one semester, my GPA has been below 2.0. Now, I do realize that part of this is my fault, but some of it can be attributed to my health and also to some shady stuff in one of my classes, and a worthless instructor in the other. The letter stated that I could file a petition for reinstatement, but with my record, it's probably about a 10% chance they'll reinstate me. I am devastated, I have been giving it my all this year. I finished filling out the petition today, and will have to drive up and turn in it by the 12th.


All that said, I am looking forward to try #3 at having a 22nd birthday party for myself, which is going to be this Saturday. I'm hoping for good weather, and NOT another blizzard! 


Hope you are all well, Happy New Year, and I wish you guys the best!

Birthday Party Called on Account of... Blizzard?!

Last week I turned the big 22. Normally I wouldn't make much of a fuss about it, but being as I'm living in an apartment with my awesome friend/roommate (totally a no-no, but so far we're coexisting very well) I decided that I could throw myself a party. So I hop on the Facebook, and set up an event. Put in all the details, invite everyone I want. People start responding, lots of maybes, a couple for sure. Then comes the day....

And the biggest friggin' blizzard in almost 20 years hits! 

Just my luck.

The storm was so bad that MNDOT pulled all the plows OFF the roads!

And so the party was cancelled. This was in the top 5 of my list of crappy birthdays, and the second official time my birthday has been snowed out. Normally I don't whine about presents, I always get a few, it's not so huge of a deal to me, but I only got two this year. One from my roommate, and another from a friend of ours. Sad, indeed. Either way, makes for an interesting story. Hope everyone is well!

Sick again, oh joy!

Wednesday my roommate, myself, and a friend of ours went to the Mall of America. We had a pretty good time, then went to Old Country Buffet for dinner. I went to bed content.

Thursday morning I wake up early to work on a project, and upon waking, I realize I have a sore throat and no voice. Emailed my professor that I couldn't do my speech, then went back to bed. I slept on and off for a good 36 hours.

Friday I missed class, slept more. That night I was feeling super crappy, so I went to my parents' house for the weekend. I was running a fever, totally out of it, with a laundry list of symptoms.

This morning I went to the doc. Verdict? Sinus infection. Since I've only been sick two days, he said it was probably viral, then gave me a list of over the counter crap to take. So far I haven't slept in almost 24 hours due to the fever hot/cold issue, plus my arthritis acting up on top of it all. I'm hoping this goes away soon :/ I'm already super behind on schoolwork, I don't need to get any further behind!

Also, in my previous post I linked to some wishlists. Don't worry, I'm not soliciting anything from anyone, I just thought it'd be fun to put them up, thinking maybe a friend would surprise me with something. Sorry if I offended anyone!

Record breaking low pressure system in the Midwest...Help!

I feel like I'm being ripped apart.
Since last night, the weather has been getting progressively worse. The temperature has dropped from near 70°F over the weekend, to 39°F this afternoon. It's raining with the occasional ice crystals. The wind is insane, and we are under a high wind warning until 7pm tomorrow. The lowest pressure point in this system is currently over Minnesota...Where I happen to reside. Crap.

I guess it's time to cuddle up under a pile of blankets and avoid the outdoors.

Oh, and if anyone is interested in enhancing my warm, comfort time, feel free to check out:

My ThinkGeek.com MN weather wishlist

And in case I don't post again before it, Happy Halloween :)

An update on life, and how you can find friends in odd places - like pain rehab

Pain Rehab kicked my butt. It chewed me up, spit me out, and had me not quite sure which way was up...But I survived, and gained some things. Obviously I gained knowledge of how to deal with the pain. I gained strength from PT. The best part, however, was the fact that I gained a friend. She's 23, and basically me...With a few differences. It was so great just to have someone my age to talk to, who wholly understands the pain issues, and is also living with the same, and wanting some of the same things, mainly some semblance of normality. She doesn't live near here, but the wonders of the internet let me keep in contact with her, and for this I am grateful.

My first activity post-rehab was the Warped Tour. For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it's a summer concert tour, of mostly rock, pop-rock, screamo, electronica, punk, and ska music. It's outdoors, and has upwards of 50 bands playing on about 6 different stages. I've been going every year since 2004. A friend of mine, who also went, told me she was glad that I came, because July was a very difficult month for me, and I needed something fun. Oh, and it was fun! Despite the 90+ degree weather, I met up with and hung out with friends, saw my little cousin enjoying her very first Warped Tour, and saw/heard some amazing bands. It really did start August on a high note.

August 3 I had surgery to remove the plate in my left leg. My surgeon, whom we'd begun to dislike following my first surgery after he took over for my previous surgeon, proved that his ego is more developed than his bedside manner. After beginning to backtrack on plans we'd made months prior about this surgery while I was in pre-surg, I knew this was going to suck. Post-op in the PACU, they could not get the pain under control. They started with Dilaudid, 5mg doses, every 5 minutes, with a max of 500mg. They maxed me out, and I was still extremely uncomfortable. So, again, 5mg, every 5 minutes, with a max of 500mg. When they finally got the pain under control, I had received a FULL GRAM of Dilaudid. Keep in mind that I am a 144 pound female with no history of drug use/abuse. My surgeon then didn't decide for several hours whether or not to admit me (it was supposed to be a same-day surgery, but it never is for me, because I have complications). When I finally was admitted, it was 6:30pm, and the hospital kitchen was CLOSED. I couldn't get anything more than a turkey sandwich, and when you haven't eaten since 12am, a sandwich isn't gonna cut it. Thankfully, me being a resourceful college student, who attended school in the area last year, I knew of a good order online Chinese/Cambodian place, and we got food from there. The rest of my stay in the hospital included talking with many of the nurses who remembered me from my previous surgeries, and getting increasingly angry with my surgeon. He doesn't know it, but at my 6week follow-up appointment. He's getting fired. If I ever have to see a doc at that hospital again, it will not be him.

Anyways, I'm still healing, and my body likes to shoot my temp up to 99° and sap my energy, so it's off to bed with me. Hope you're all well!

Doctors: Throwing every test they have at me, and seeing what sticks.

My day was, to say the least, eventful. Even though it was a normal visit to my primary care doc, some of the things that have been going on with me recently concerned him enough to bring in the big guns.

He agreed with the diagnosis the Mayo Clinic doctor made of Fibromyalgia. This was a diagnosis that sort of sneaked up on me. I knew it was probable, but I really didn't want to hear it confirmed. However, that's what happened. Thankfully, because of this, he agreed to switch my pain meds from Gabapentin to Lyrica, which I am excited to try.

We addressed my current new symptoms, and they could possibly have several origins. We also discussed my random occurrences of tachycardia, and I am wearing a Holter monitor for the next 24 hours. Hopefully that sheds some light on those issues.

The rest was an EKG, blood tests (cholesterol, liver enzymes, thyroid, inflammation levels, CBC, vitamin D, potassium, and anything else he wanted), making me set up an appointment for the brain MRI I've been avoiding, and x-rays for the toe I ran over with the bathroom door.

Just another day in my life.

Tomorrow I get the Holter monitor taken off. Next week I have a meeting with my doc to go over the results of all the testing, and the day after that I have my MRI. I have a feeling this summer will be interesting.

Oh, and finals and moving are next week, as well. I'm petitioning the scholastic committee to have my grades scrapped for this semester, because my GPA is so low that if they don't, I will be on academic suspension. I know I should've taken medical leave, but I was stubborn, and I'm paying for it.

First week back, revisited.

The first week back at school was difficult, I won't lie, but I survived. Here's a recap of how my week went:

Sunday: My family helped me move back in. It took two trips and a little bit of yelling, but we made it.

Monday: Martin Luther King day, no class. Spent the day sleeping, relaxing, and watching TV.

Tuesday: First day of classes. My only class was at 1:15pm, on the East part of the other campus. I made it, only a couple minutes late.

Wednesday: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are my busy days. I had to get up at 7:45am to make it to my 8:30 class. I got an hour and fifteen minute break before I had to get on the bus to make it to writing. Immediately after writing, I had to walk a block to my Math class, in a huge auditorium. I sat at the top because there was no making it down those stairs.

Thursday: Two classes. First I had my lab for my Animal Science class, followed soon after by my peer led math discussion. After classes, I went to the poster sale that was being held at the student union. I ended up leaving with three different House posters.

Friday: Basically a repeat of Wednesday, only we actually started working on things and I had two assignments due. I took a nap between Animal Science and Writing, but for some reason, my alarm didn't go off. I was almost 30 minutes late for my 50 minute class. Thankfully my writing teacher is pretty awesome, and he let me slide. Math peer discussion was uneventful.

When I got back to my room, I found that I'd missed a phone call, and the caller had left a message. As I listened to the message, I realized that this could be the biggest coincidence in a while, but that's for another post.

Recap, back to school.

So, after a nice, long Christmas/New Years holiday, and 2 surgeries in under two weeks, today I must return to school. I am not looking forward to it. My lovely new dental implant hurts like nobody's business, my foot and leg are still not even remotely up to par, and I get exhausted at the drop of a hat.

I, for a fleeting moment, considered filing for a medical withdrawal this semester, but realized how much further behind that would put me.  So tonight, with considerable help from my wonderful family, I will be moving back into my dorm room.

C'est la vie.

Finals week is evil

It's 4:30am here in the frigid Midwest, and I'm still awake.
Why?

Because I have finals tomorrow. Two of them. One is bad enough, but two in one day is torture. One is comprehensive, the other only covers the past 7 lectures. I'm not sure at this point whether I should stay up, my first final is at 10am, or attempt to get an hour or two of sleep.

Either way, I'm gonna hurt later.
Gotta love college

Let It Snow

It's snowing tonight in Minnesota.
Actually, it's been snowing all day, and it shows no signs of letting up. Schools and businesses are closing left and right. Unfortunately, college rarely gets canceled. This means I'm going to have to get my arthritic butt up at 9am and attempt to hobble to my classes without falling, hurting myself, or dislocating anything. Joy.

My whole body rebels a bit more with every degree drop in temperature.
But, that's life I guess.

Moving day is coming...

That it is.

This Wednesday (also known as tomorrow) I will be moving into the place I will call home this school year - my dorm room. I've been packing for the past couple of days, finally went shopping today, and have been all-around neurotic. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it, but I have to push forward.

It hasn't helped that my back and fingers have been acting up, making packing and getting everything done rather difficult. I've been downright exhausted. I have to say goodbye to my beloved doxie, Oscar, and my cats. The whole idea of going away for school, the money it's going to cost, the effect it's going to have on everything, just drives me crazy.

It definitely doesn't help that I now have to transfer all of my healthcare to a new city. I have to find new doctors, explain my condition a million times, answer the same questions and hope that they listen to me. I have to register with Disability Services, which I'm doing on move-in day, so they know what's up and I can get help from them. This whole thing is a gigantic pain in the arse...but I'll live.

I know that the first few weeks are going to be a mess, but hopefully it will mellow out after that.

Who knows, maybe, under all the stress and panic, I'm just a little excited.
:)