Spring is in the air...????

Well, supposedly it's springtime.... It's warmed up ever so slightly.....instead of being in the low 20's.....it's in the high 20's. We have a winter storm watch in effect starting tonight....supposed to get about 3 inches of snow....or so. I'm pretty sick and tired of this weather.....My pain level has been making me crazy....I have cabin fever....I am frustrated with just about everything.... I have been having my "nightmares" that I used to have a long time ago.....I started out having them and I started going in for therapy and I was on meds......and after about a year, they gradually went away... I haven't had one in close to 2 years I think.....but now they have started back up. Not every night like they used to be....now I get one, about twice a month. I still don't like the fact that they are back, even though they aren't as frequent. I had been going in to my VA doc and my family doc and over the last year or so, my blood pressure has been higher than normal....Now, I know that part of it can be due to the pain....but my blood pressure seems that it's higher than it should be, regardless. So, the last time I went in to my family doc, I spoke to her about it.....We basically came to the conclusion that what I'm going to try to start doing, is to loose some weight. Since my TM onset, I've gained a good 30lbs or more....and I know that's not good for the blood pressure. So.....I am going to start working diligently on losing some weight. I've been wanting to do that anyway. I don't have too many clothes that fit me very well anymore....So...I am going to work on dropping a good 30lbs or more. On top of the blood pressure.....I also had blood work done and over the last year, my testosterone level has dropped significantly. My doc says that a drop in the testosterone level like that can affect a few things....one of them is my blood pressure....and another is my fatigue. I've had no energy lately...and I know that my sleeping habits definitely have an affect on my fatigue and energy...and there isn't much I can do about my sleep habits seeing that those are determined on my TM and how bad my legs ache during the middle of night, which ends up waking me up between 2 and 3 am. It's no fun getting up that early except for the fact, that the house is nice and quiet. No noise from anyone else... I take the dogs out to potty....I make some coffee and take a pain pill....and then settle down on the couch and find something entertaining to watch. The dogs go back to sleep....I drink my coffee.....I usually fall back to sleep for a half an hour or so.... So, anyway I know I can get testosterone injections at the VA....so I will probably be calling them in the next couple of days and see about setting up an appointment to go in and get started on that. I have an appointment with my family doc tomorrow so I'll let her know what I have planned. Otherwise.....I saw my pain neuro in February and we made the decision to switch me back to MS Contin and Vicodin and took me off that Oxycodone. The MS Contin and Vicodin do seem to help a little bit better.....although he did raise the strength of the Vicodin. The pain just drives me nuts sometimes.....It seems that I used to be able to deal with the pain better than I am now...and I don't know if I am just letting wear on me or what...but I get some bad episodes at times... One interesting thing that's happened in the last couple of weeks....is that I got an email from the folks at the United Spinal Association.... I've been a member of them for quite awhile.....they are an organization that works on activism for folks with spinal cord injuries. Each year in June they have what they call....the Roll On Capitol Hill. They bring in member representatives from just about all the states, to Washington D.C. The first day they have keynote speakers that go over some of the programs and so on, that the government is working on, regarding disabled folks... The second day, they tr to arrange each of us members to have some one on one time with our own State Representatives, to talk to them about any things that may be of concern to us. So, this sounds like it might be an interesting venture for me to get involved in.... I am going to hit up my state reps to see about getting them to sponsor a bill to take to the House of Representatives and try to get a National Transverse Myelitis Awareness Day. If we can get a National day passed, we won't have to worry about working on this state by state, like I've been doing it. So.....I guess that's about the majority of things that have been going on..... I'll post again once I start getting the Testosterone shots and also working on loosing the weight..... For my music post this time......Something from The Troggs...They were most known for their hit song "Wild Thing".....but I'm going to post one of their other hits...."Love Is All Around".....this is a tribute to Reg Presley...he was their vocalist and just passed away last month.... Till Next Time......

Well....it's only been about 4 months since I've updated this thing...

Hello, Hello, Hello Everyone... I'll make no excuses as to why I haven't updated...I just haven't. So.....where to start... The last time I updated I had posted that I was making a change to my meds because I had been on the MS Contin and the Vicodone for so long....so, I made a change to Fentanyl Patches and Oxycodone.... I've been on those now for a little more than three months.....and the whole time....I just wasn't feeling right... I felt that they weren't working the way the should...and the weather was starting to get colder because winter was getting ready to set in.... So.....I had an appointment yesterday with my pain doc. We talked quite extensively about the meds he put me on versus my old meds.... and we came to the conclusion that I was going back to my old meds... I started taking them yesterday afternoon.....and I started to feel better almost immediately. I even slept in a little bit this morning.....(When I say sleep in....I meant 4:30am....which is good compared to a normal time of 3:00am. We'll see how tomorrow morning goes... Let's see...what else...oh,last month I had an appointment at the VA to pick up my pedal exerciser that they ordered for me... This is the one they ordered for me... http://www.activeforever.com/p-24956-pedlar-pro-pedal-exerciser.aspx This enables me to work my legs and my arms too.....It has an adjustment on it to increase the tension so I can gradually make it harder for me....to hopefully got to the point where I'm increasing my strength... I don't know what else to post right now..... I do know that I has said I was going to post more often, the last time I posted.....and I sure missed that one.... I'll truly try to make it a priority to post more often.... I have to get in the habit of jotting things down that I want to post about....that way, when it comes time to post....I'll have a list of everything I want to cover..... So.....to post my music posting for this one..... A great old song from the legendary Van Morrison.... A song called ....Days Like This... Thanks so much everyone. Till Next Time......

It's been over two months again......geez.

Yep, over 2 months since I posted last.... I don't know what is keeping me from making regular posts here.....I guess it could be a combination of laziness, staying busy with my Facebook TM group and also we now have a new puppy that I've been working with, to try and potty train her..... Here's a picture of her passed out in bed... So....let's see, what's the latest news.... Really, for the most part everything is status quo.....No major changes for the better or worse. I suppose that's a good thing....except for the fact that the weather changes and now the cold weather is starting to play hell with the legs again....and it seems moreso this year, than in years past. Why that is, I don't know. I had an appointment with my neurologist pain doc a couple of months ago, and we made the decision to make some changes to my meds... I had been on MS Contin and Vicodon for so long that they were basically doing nothing any more... So, he put me on Fantanyl patches that I change every 72 hours (3 days) and also Oxycodone. These meds seems to help some but just not as much as I had hoped..... I think that my pain tolerance is going down hill....I used to be able to tolerate pain quite well....but, not so much anymore. Also, the one thing with these meds, is that they make me incredibly sleepy.....or actually, I think that they are just expounding my fatigue.... I get tired out much quicker and my body just feels worn out all the time. I'm still having the sleep issues.....My legs get to aching so bad that I am usually up between 2 to 4 AM every morning... I'll take a pain pill and get up and move around some, and after about an hour or so, my legs feel a bit better....at least they don't ache so bad anyway. So, I don't know....All I do know, is that I'm not looking forward to winter time....and the snow and ice. I had an appointment at the VA back in August, to get some new shoes ordered and to also get another pair of the orthotic inserts for my shoes.... My feet have been another thing that drives me nuts....between the pain, especially in my heels, and the weird sensations....my feet are making me crazy.... Well, I was lucky enough to get a nice orthtotist and she had 3 pair of the orthotic inserts made for me....so now I have 3 brand new pair of the inserts and I can use them in my every day shoes, my slippers and have an extra pair... But....I am still waiting on my new pair of shoes. Apparently they are on backorder. Something about the end of the fiscal year ending and new funds being released at the beginning of the fiscal year. I'm supposed to call her around the middle of October to check on my shoes..... I'm not holding my breath. Don't get me wrong, the VA has been great as far as helping me out with various things but there is some kind of issue when it comes to getting shoes....I had this same type of problem with this last pair of shoes I got from them. Well.....I'm sitting here nodding off....I don't want to fall asleep on all of you....so, I'm going to cut this off for now.....and I promise I'll post again sooner this next time..... To finish off....as always....a little music post... Sort of an "oldie"..... The band was The Marmalade...with this song, Reflections Of My Life. Till Next Time......