Tips From A Sick Girl

The medicines are finally starting to kick in after a week of pure hell. I'm still probably a day or two away from probably being able to get back into a routine, but I can tell it's not too far away.

This is one of the few times I have been really sick that I have tried almost every single suggestion thrown my way because I was desperate, folks.

Some things worked, some things did not.

If you find yourself in the midst of sinus congestion hell and looking for relief, any type of relief, try it.

Neti Pots (or the like)
These little watering pots for your nose will never not gross me out. They don't work for me because I have a deviated septum, but if you don't have a broken nose, try it out. Apparently the people love them,  even if flushing out snot is as gross as it sounds.

Simply Saline
Ah, I wanted this to work so bad, but again, with a deviated septum, it really wasn't doing anything other than making my nose feel like I was spraying needles into my sinus cavity. Check out their website before heading off to the store, you might be able to save $1 off.

Cool Eye Mask
This has to be one of my best suggestions from a dear friend on Twitter. Take one of those gel eye masks and place it in the refrigerator (or freezer) and place it on your face. Straight from the freezer was way too cold for my face, but out of the refrigerator was just right. I liked to use a wash cloth with cool water to kind of surround it. As much as I would have loved to replace the eye mask as soon as the gel became room temp, it made my face very raw, so its probably best to just give your face a rest for awhile in between uses. However, this was hands down the best thing that helped, even if it didn't really do anything to the pressure.

Whatchu look'n at Willis?

Hot/Cold Wash Cloth Compresses This was another thing that kind of took the edge off just a tiny bit. It didn't really do anything to the actual pressure on the inside, but on the outside, it was nice to either wipe my face with a hot or cold compress. Make sure you wipe your face down with lotion in between uses to keep the skin from being too irritated. 
Vicks Waterless Vaporizer Vicks normally helps when you're not feeling very well, but I think this mucus was just too thick for the mighty Vicks. The waterless vaporizer will run you less than $15 and you don't have to deal with the water or a big vaporizer. 
Throat Lozenges  I've never been a fan of cough drops, but the back of my throat was soooo raw I needed some type of relief. I can't stand Halls, but the Ricola and Burts Bees are bearable. NYEBoy swears they smell horrible, but I could barely taste them, much less smell them. The problem with cough drops is that after awhile you can find yourself dealing with the rebound effect, so you may find breaking that up with hard candies to be better. I tried Jolly Ranchers, but they were too tangy for my sore throat, but the hard peppermint candies worked wonders.
Steamy Showers (or baths) Another popular suggestion by everyone was to take a hot steamy shower or bath. Again, not sure if it was because this mucus was super thick all up in my nasal cavity or what, but it didn't do shit for actual pressure. But, it wasn't all for nothing. It's nice to wash off your body in between fever fits. 
Hot Tea (with Honey) Ah, this actually helped a tiny bit. It only lasted a few seconds at a time, but it was nice for my throat. My only complaint is that I only had fruit flavored hot teas, and the taste after I swallowed made me want to gag. Lol I tried hot water, but that was worse. Ha.
Gargling Salt Water I did this a few times a day. I'm not sure if it helped, but I can't imagine feeling much worse than I have this week. 
Staying Hydrated & Eating The only things I pretty much wanted to drink were ice cold water, apple juice, or coconut water. Occasionally, I would have some sprite for the carbonation, but not much. As far as eating went, hot soup was good, but I also enjoyed cereal cups for the cold milk/crunchy factor. With my taste buds being shot, it was nice to have a crunchy option. Plus, cereal cups mean no dishes. Also, with taking a lot of antibiotics and steroids, I found it good to have fresh fruit cups, bananas, and simply go-gurt on hand for quick things to eat with medicine.
Vaseline and Lotion Vaseline in/around nose helped with making sure my nose didn't get too raw. Same thing with my face, except I used lotion (Lubriderm Intense Skin Repair) If you don't find yourself using a lot of lotion or vaseline in your day to day life, you can just pick up the travel sizes to have on hand. 
Kleenex Tissue (with lotion) I am a huge fan of having boxes of tissue with lotion on hand. I normally get Kleenex, but during the back to school frenzy, Puffs had the prettier boxes and I made the stupid decision to buy them. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Kleenex (with lotion!) is a lot softer on the nose than Puffs, hands down! Trust me, when you're sick, $3 a box isn't anything to fuss about. 
Hand Sanitizer  Get one for your purse for when you're out and about and one for where you spend most of your time so you can wipe your hands down a few times a day. 
Sick Station Set up a sick station and don't be afraid to sleep upright. I slept upright for six nights before I was able to lay flat, but I'm probably going to end up sleeping upright again tonight because the pressure has been worse today. Just get some rest. The housework can wait. 
So, there you go, tips from a sick girl. And now, I am going to go lay back in the chair and get some more sleep.

Date Night: Pitch Perfect & Looper

Pitch Perfect isn't out for a full release until next week, October 5th, so you can imagine to my shock when our not-so-big town was apart of the limited release this weekend. The only thing I can think is that it's because we're a college town? Who knows.

I know I've been sick as hell this week, but the one thing I have been good at, is sitting in a chair. Lol NYEBoy and I went to go see it. (No worries, we sat away from everyone else to limit my little germies from spreading. Ha.)

The beginning of the movie, was, a little slow? but it picked up towards the middle to end. If I had a voice, I would have sang along. I might have to go back when my voice is full back so I can get my sang'n on.

NYEBoy even liked it a little bit, even if this wasn't his type of movie.

Rebel Wilson, Anna Kendrick, and crew really were pretty damn funny. I really hope they make a sequel!



We went to go see Looper after the football game. Yay for my Noles for being 5-0!!




Although NYEBoy and I had seen the trailer for this movie several dozen times, I wasn't exactly sure what the story line of the movie would be about. It wasn't what I was expecting at all, but it was still a good movie. There was several parts that left us looking at each other like, "WTF?"

Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt kept us entertained for sure.

Let me know if you plan on going to see either of these movies, or if you did, let me know what you thought about them!

Back To The Doctor

Last night was the fifth night in a row of sleeping in a chair, for less than an hour at a time. I'm pretty much at my breaking point. I can't tell you how frustrated I am with not being able to get any sleep on top of being sick as hell. Imagine holding your nose for five days straight, not being able to breathe out of it, while your throat feels like a ring of fire, and then imagine someone punching you in the cheek. In two words--pure hell.

I called the doctor this morning because the right side of my face was swollen now and the congestion is getting into my chest. Thankfully, they were able to work me in this afternoon.

It looks like I have a double ear infection now, and she didn't really like the sound of my chest. She gave me another steroid shot--that makes the second one this week. She also put me on a zpack on top of the antibiotic I'm already on. She also gave me a script for prednisone and an inhaler. She says hopefully this will do something by the end of this weekend. I hope so, because the last thing I want to do is end up in the hospital.

My blood pressure was pretty high today, too, 146/101. One more thing to have to keep an eye on.

I'm exhausted and I am ready for a break.

I tried some hot tea with honey earlier this morning for my throat, and it helped for about 15 seconds. Lol I also bought some hard peppermint candies, and those seem to be doing the trick at making my throat a little more bearable.

Anyways, we'll see what these meds do. I'm about to go make some chicken noodle soup and take my next dose of pills and syrups.

Also, a dear friend of mine, EndoJourney is in the hospital and she's a little less than 10 days shy of viability. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She's an amazingly strong woman and mother and I want so bad for her and her husband to get through this. My heart is breaking at how unfair it is. Prayers and good vibes for her please.

Anatomy of a Sick Girl

This cold is beating my ass. I don't really care if anyone thinks it's complaining, because I don't feel good and guess what? This is my life and if you don't like it, stop following me.


Now, off of my soap box, and back to my chair.

I haven't been able to lay flat and sleep for several days. If I even try, it makes the pressure even worse and I am not even sure how that is physically possible. So, I've set up camp on the living room in one of our chairs that reclines back.

First of all, the chairs suck. I absolutely loathe them, but they are NYEBoy's dads and all that jazz, so whatever. So, to make them more comfortable, I have placed two pillows on the back side by side, for side support, and one above them length wise for head support. I placed a comforter over the pillows to kind of keep them in place. Then, I have a blanket and a pillow for my lap, and two small pillows that go under my legs to kind of elevate them.

And then I have a side table set up with almost everything I need.

• A box of tissues (Kleenex with lotion is WAY better than Puffs with lotion, FTR! I can usually get through a whole box of Kleenex with a cold before my nose starts to get aggravated  but I barely made it through half a box of Puffs. So, back to Puffs I went. Kleenex, please make prettier boxes!!)
• Lotion (Your nose is going to get raw, whether it's after half a box or a whole box, but you'll want some lotion to rub on your nose and face. Your face will get raw from the hot/cold compresses you try a few times an hour.)
• Tervis 16 oz Tumbler (Filled at all times with water, coconut water, orange juice, or apple juice)
• iPad, cell phone, and a charger (You have to have a phone charger hooked up to an extension cord when you spend most of your time in a chair because the cellphone and iPad will go dead pretty fast. I guess I could use my laptop, but I really don't want to deal with something that big.)
• Medicines: Antibiotics (kick in already!), Benadryl (Apparently this is supposed to help and make you sleepy, it does neither for me), Robitussin DM (Again, it is supposed to help, but I don't see it making much of a difference), Simply Saline (People swear it works, and it probably would if I didn't have a deviated septum, but I keep giving it the good old fashioned try any ways. It feels like I am spraying needles in my nose it hurts so bad.), Advil (A MUST!!! It helps the pressure a TINY bit, and it helps keep the fever from hitting 103 again), and Chlorespectic spray (Another MUST!! It works, even if only for a minute or two at a time.).
• Hand Sanitizer  (You're going to be hacking, sneezing, and coughing--let's minimize the germ spreading.)
• Throat Lozenges (Ricola Honey & Lemon are okay. Burts Bee's Honey & Lemon taste even better. But, a friend said to try Jolly Ranchers because of the rebound affect of using too many cough drops, so I picked up some of those to try, too.)
• Thermometer (To keep an eye on the fever.)
• Treats (I currently have a bag of m&ms NYEBoy sweetly picked me up on a run for contact solution, but I haven't opened them yet. Also, I was craving a cookie, so I ordered one with my lunch, but when it got here, I didn't want it. But, they are there.)
• Trash Bag (On the other side of the table, is a small bag. It's easy to toss those tissue bunnies that seem to appear when you're sick. Minimizing the germ spreading and for tossing away the cough drop wrappers.)

The doctor told me I should notice a change 24 hours after the shot/antibiotics, but I am currently about 55+ hours after the shot, and I can't handle much more. The sinus pressure is killing me, and causing migraines from hell. I can't break up the pressure much and I've tried everything I can think of and everything everyone else has suggested. It's got to give soon, right?

Sleep is pretty much non-existent. I'm pretty much sleeping less than an hour at a time still. Not being able to breathe out of your nose when you're trying to sleep is a pretty claustrophobic feeling.

I can't wait to be able to LAY down again and to breathe out of my nose. 

Soon, right?

Right?

RIGHT??

What Else Is New?

Oh, you know, just being SICK. Again.

Ear aches? Check.

Body Aches? Check.

Fever? Check.

Sinus Pressure from hell? Check.

Stuffy, then drippy, then stuffy again nose? Check.

Raw throat? Check.

The pressure in my head is killing me. We don't have comfortable chairs, so even laying in the reclining chair, I have to put a bunch of pillows around me, but all my body really wants to do is lay down. So, I lay down, but then I can't breath. I try propping myself up with pillows but a short time later, my low back and ass start complaining.

After a second night of no sleep, I begged the nurse to work me in. I can't deal with this for several more days. Thankfully, she was able to get me in. Let me just tell you, driving an hour away when you can barely keep your head up, is hard. (And likely very dangerous.) But, I had no choice. I needed to get seen. I called my grandma and she kept me from dosing off.

When I got back in the room, I tried sitting up and waiting, but the pressure in my head is so bad, I had to prop my purse up and lay over it. The doctor came in and apologized for the wait. After a quick chat and exam, she told me I have an ear infection, and a swollen throat. No, shizz. She gave me a shot in the ass and called in some prescriptions. I'm to keep with the warm compress on my face, gargling salt water, drinking a lot of (coconut!) water, resting (as if I could really do anything else), and taking my meds. She said I should start to notice a difference in about 24 hours of so.

All I've got to say, is thank God for modern medicine. I'm going to try to keep the complaining to a minimum for the next 24 hours. I really can't wait for some relief though.

Neighbors Are Moving

On my way to pick up breakfast this morning, I decided to get the car washed and fill the gas tank up before heading back home. The local car wash offers an early bird special during the week from 8-10 or something like that, so I finally managed to save a few bucks on a car wash. And, the gas tank was on empty again. (NYEBoy HATES filling up the tank. "It takes too long," he'll say.)

When I arrived back home, I was greeted to a big ole moving truck. My neighbors are moving. Yes, those neighbors. Part of me is sad to see them go, but part of me is happy, too.

My selfish side is excited because that opens up two more parking spots. My infertile side is happy because the weather is beginning to cool down, which means they will probably be bringing the twins out to play a bit more soon. And now, I don't have to worry about walking out side of the house to see them.

Infertility can be such a tight rope to balance along at times. Children, in general, aren't triggers for me. Sure, my heart aches when I see a child A's age or something like that, but that's not my infertility side hurting, that's more related to the custody case. Babies, however, are always gut-punchers for me. Oh, and pregnant bellies.

What about you? Do you find yourself able to handle preschoolers and bigger children a bit easier than babies, or do children of all ages cause triggers for you? Do you live in an area surrounded by children, or are you and your spouse live near mostly adults?

Dishwashing Secret

It's no real secret that NYEBoy isn't a huge fan of cleaning. He works long hours, both away from and at home, and the last thing he wants to do is clean or take the trash out. I think he's cleaned the dishes twice since we've been together, and taken the trash out, maybe five times.

But, he's not a "the woman has to do it all" person either. His solution is that we hire someone to come in and clean the house once a week, but I can't take him up on that offer. And actually, he'd love to pay someone to come get the trash and take it the 100 ft trip to the trash dumpster, too.  It sounds wonderful in theory, but for some reason, I just can't make the phone call. I will soon, though. More on that, later.

For the past two months, we haven't used our dishwasher. I know, I know. What? You have a dishwasher and you don't use it? Yep! There are several reasons.

First of all, the piles of dishes. We seemed to have two piles of dishes: dirty dishes waiting to go into the dishwasher, and the clean ones ready to be put away. It's kind of like the washing machine and dryer.. they only work if you put change the loads and put them away when they are ready!

Also, our dishwasher sucks. It's not quick nor efficient. I've tried several different ways to clean the inside of the dishwasher, but they haven't really changed the way the dishes come out. Also, it takes forever. Like, three hours forever. That's a lot of hot water and electricity to be using a few times a week, just to wash some dishes.

So, I invested in a KitchenAid dish drying rack. Just like the "good ole" days.

Now, I can wash our dishes a day or two at a time, they can either dry on the rack over night, or I can dry them by hand and put them away. The funny thing, is that we typically use the same dishes over and over, so I can usually get them off the rack the next day without even having to go to the cabinet.

Today was the first time I used out dishwasher in two months! I'm proud of that. I wouldn't have used it today, except with these muscle spasms, I'm trying to lighten my load the best I can and it was easier to run a load than it would have been for me to stand and clean by hand.

Now, who wants to put the dishes away for me?

Do you use your dishwasher or wash the dishes by hand?

I've found that if I wash them every day or two, I really don't mind washing them much.

Date Night: For A Good Time, Call...

We went to the midnight showing of For a Good Time, Call tonight. It was hysterical. NYEBoy and I both laughed the whole time. It's definitely something you wouldn't take your prude mother too, but if you have a girlfriend or spouse with a sense of humor, go see it!


Ari Graynor and Lauren Miller are fabulous together. Also? Justin Long is the perfect gay best friend.

A must see, if you like to laugh, whether you go to the movies or wait for the DVD.

Up and Down, Up and Down

It's 4 in the morning and I am up because I can't manage to get the pain under control again. I am so over this shit.

About three weeks ago, I went in to the ER for chest pains and we found out I had low potassium. Last week, my doctor couldn't see me until this week and the nurse told me to go back in. The potassium had gone up, but was still low. This week, I had a scare of red/orange urine and what I thought was kidney pain. That, turned out to just be dehydration and low potassium again.

Yesterday, I finally managed to get to see my doctor. My blood pressure was 155/104. The nurse was very concerned, but I told her the blood pressure had gone up and down a lot and it usually was when I was in a lot of pain.

After doing an exam, the doctor thinks there is something going on with my magnesium and potassium. She is testing both of those and has given me prescriptions for both as well. She should get the results back at the beginning of the week and we'll go from there.

I was in bed around 11 last night, and I was up every 30-45 minutes from the pain. This sucks so bad. It's hard to even function at times. The trouble I'm running into is trying to find a balance of not being on the strong medications, and staying on top of the bad times.

Oh, and I used to have really good veins. I think between the miscarriage last year, and getting my liver checked every month, plus all of these other random things going on, my veins have been poked to death. They can rarely get blood from my arms any more, and I've been stuck in my hand about ten times in the last three weeks alone. So annoying.

Has anyone else had issues with their potassium and magnesium? I'm over these muscle pains. So over them!

Terrible Lies

One of my new favorite songs is Some Nights by Fun.


It wasn't until about three minutes in (four minutes on the video) that the song stopped me in my tracks.
"My heart is breaking for my sister and the con that she calls "love" When I look into my nephew's eyes... Man, you wouldn't believe the most amazing things that can come from... Some terrible lies..."
If you replace nephew with niece, this is completely expresses something I've never been able to put into words about my sister and niece. 
Despite the picture people try to paint about my sister, A's dad, and this new guy in her life, their arrest records alone, speaks volume about what's really going on--about the things people are trying to keep from me. No matter how much they try, the truth will always come out. 
My heart does break for my sister. It kills me that she doesn't love herself, her daughter, and now her son, enough to make better life choices. It kills me that people feel the need to lie about the truth, like they are some how protecting her. When in reality, it's doing more harm than good, for everyone involved. 
One thing is for sure, I don't know how K can look into her daughter's eyes and not want better. She's one of the most amazing things that has come from such terrible lies. 

Let's Talk About My Period

As painful as my cycle in July was, I was really excited it had finally come back since the miscarriage. I was also excited it had come 35 days after my weird spotting started.

In August, I had a day of spotting around the time I might have ovulated, but nothing ever arrived. I was happy I didn't get a BFP at the time, because I was on a bunch of medicine, but I was also bummed my cycle didn't start back up.

Well, about two hours after I got home from the hospital, on top of all the other shit I am dealing with, my cycle decided to start.

It's been about two months since my last cycle and about a month or so since that day of spotting.

I'm not really sure why it's so wonky lately.

So far, one day out, my cycle appears to be a good one. Nice red blood and no clotting. The cramps suck, but they are manageable.

We'll just have to see how it plays out and what my body decides to do next month. I'd like to get back on track with 30-something day cycles.

For those of you who had miscarriages, how long did it take for your cycles to get regular again after your miscarriage?

Kidneys Or Not

Monday afternoon, I had an appointment for a follow up for my low potassium issues.

Monday was also the anniversary of our miscarriage, so around 9 am, I decided to call and cancel the appointment. I had been feeling a little bit better over all, only minor aches and pains. So, I really didn't feel the need to spend half the day driving and visiting the doctor.

I fell down the stairs after I woke up from a long nap. (Keep this in mind.)

A little after the fall, I went to the bathroom and noticed I had reddish/orange urine. It scared me, so I flushed really quickly.

I knew there wasn't much the doctor could do until the next day, so I waiting until morning. When I called, they said they couldn't see me until Friday.

Well, Tuesday afternoon I decided to lay down and rest because my body was hurting and I was tired. When I woke up, I couldn't lift myself up because of the pain.

So, the physical pain was worse (touching the back, lifting, etc) but going to the bathroom didn't physically hurt and the urine was a little wonky color wise, but not nearly as bad as Monday night.

At the urging of smart people telling me to go to the ER, because if it was kidneys it could be serious, I listened and packed some ribbon and thread and headed to the ER.

Seven hours later, five of which were spent in the waiting room, I finally got back to a room.

And then guess what happened?

My urine was completely fine. Yes--FINE! No blood, no lukes. Perfectly content urine, even if it was a little off-colored.

So, the doctor starts pushing around my lower back/kidney area and realizes that it's muscle pain, not kidney pain. He said kidney pain would have been deeper, and not superficial.

Ah ha! So, we talked a little bit more, and we realize the pain is probably from the fall and he wanted to check my potassium to see what it was like because I am still having some spasms and he said if it's low, that it usually starts in the low back before you feel it in arms/legs etc.

And guess what?

My potassium has dropped again.

So the pain/swelling is from fall/low potassium, not a problem with the kidney. Although, I am apparently not drinking quite enough so he said I need to get better at drinking water more often to help the kidneys dilute the toxins and stuff.

I was given another prescription for muscle relaxers and something for pain. Since I am still on potassium from last week, he said to just wait to see what my doctor wants to do about that on Friday.

I am SO glad it's not kidney related, but the low back pain totally feels like I've been sucker punched in the kidneys!

I guess I am back to sucking back coconut water and bananas. We need to find out why my potassium won't stay up, though. This is crazy.

11 Years After 9-11

To all of the men, women, and children who died 11 years ago today,

To their friends and family's lives who were forever changed by their loss,

To the people on the ground, the rescue workers who risked their lives and their health,

To my country,

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

366 Days Ago

366 days ago, I began one of the most painful things I have ever experienced.

I had been praying for you, and willing you into this world for over seven years.

And yet, we lost you before we even got to know you.

You should have been the first of three babies born to our family this year, but instead, you'll be the one  who gets the least acknowledgement.


A few bloggers had babies around the time you would have been due, and it's a painful to read their blogs now. It's a reminder of what could have been--of what should have been.

There will be no picture of a positive pregnancy test from a year ago. There will be no memories of the shocking moment we found out we beat the odds. Instead, all I have memories of, is the pain, the blood, and the soul-crushing heartache.

I want so bad to have you in our arms again. I want so bad to be complaining about sleep deprivation and breast feeding. I want so bad to be planning for your first Fall and Winter holidays.

For whatever reason, you briefly entered this world and forever left a mark on my heart.

I miss you more today than I did yesterday, but not nearly as much as I will tomorrow.

I'm sorry you're not here with us today. I would have given anything to have you in our arms, instead, I'll keep you in my heart.

Unapologetic About My Grief

There are certain times of the year where grief is going to be a part of my life. Some times, it may even be the center of it. I am unapologetic about this. It's not up to anyone else to tell me where I should or should not be on this path to healing.

A year and a half ago, I had to hand over a piece of my heart on that cold February day, on the side of the high way, and drive away. 

Six months later, I flushed another piece of my heart down the toilet. 

Each of these, on their own, is enough for one person to try to overcome. Both of these things, within six months of each other, is unimaginably painful.

A year and a half out from one, and a year out from the other, I am slowly starting to get used to my new normal, but grief is like a minefield. You can be walking around life, and then come across a trigger, and those raw, painfully gut-wrenching feelings come flooding back whether you're like or not.

After these waves of emotions pass, it's some times just as hard to allow yourself to feel okay again. It's not like you're at peace with it per say, but some times you have to surrender your lack of control to the situation. Otherwise, the grief can spiral out of control. It doesn't mean you care any less. It just is.

And I will never be sorry about that.

Close To My Heart

I've only worn my necklace NYEBoy got me last year a few times. The chain was too small for liking or comfort.

With the one year anniversary of our miscarriage looming, I decided I had to have the chain right now. Well, at least the next day since that was the fastest they could get it.

It was waiting for me when I woke up today and I promptly put it on.

I don't get to hold my baby in my arms, but he or she will forever be in my heart.

The Difference of a Year

It's true, some times it is amazing what the difference a year makes.

Three hundred and sixty five (plus one, every four years) days.

A year ago, I was on the eve of a miscarriage without even knowing I was pregnant.

This weekend, a year later, my sister, whom I was in a custody case with 19 months ago, is having her baby shower. 

Life is so cruel some times. 

So bitterly, painfully cruel.

It's hard to not ask myself, why her and not me?

I know life doesn't really work that way.

One day, we'll be having a baby shower to celebrate our baby.

Maybe a year from now, maybe a few years from now.

Slowly, But Surely?

I can't remember when it started, but suddenly my muscle spasms went from painful, to almost unbearable some time Sunday or Monday. It was way worse than last week even though about being. In fact, if the muscle spasms hadn't been in my left chest/upper back area last week, I wouldn't have even gone to the hospital. 

The muscle spasms had no rhyme or reason. Left leg, right leg, abdomen, left arm, right arm, lower back, upper back. Some times it would last almost a minute, other times only a few seconds. They would come in clusters, every few minutes, but never going away for more than 45 minutes to an hour.

Monday was a holiday, and I really didn't want to go back to the hospital, so I waited it out until Tuesday. I barely got two hours of sleep on Monday night. Tuesday morning was pretty mild, a few in my hips or legs, but I called the doctor shortly after I left my friends house. While I was on hold I had a couple. I ended up having to call the doctors office back because I was driving and on hold forever. But, by the time I got home, things were kicking up again, just like the day before. 

I called the doctors office back, and told them I needed to get seen. The girl on the phone told me my doctor moved last week, so I would have to see the other doctor and she was booked until next Monday. I stressed to her that I did NOT think there was any way I could wait until Monday because my potassium level was low at the ER and I was almost a week out from that point and the pain level was worse this week, than it even was last week. She told me there was nothing she could do, so before I got off the phone I told her to have the doctor call me asap. 

Around 6, I finally got my call back. At that point, I had gone through almost 6? more hours of near constant muscle spasms that were getting increasingly worse. It wasn't the doctor on the phone though, it was the nurse. She knew who I was, and as I was telling her what was going on, she got upset. She told me the lady over the phone should have told her it was an urgent call and told me to go back up to the ER to get my blood drawn to see what was going on with the potassium levels because drinking 8+ servings of coconut water and 3-5 bananas a day should be helping the levels come up, thus decreasing the muscle spasms. She told me to come in tomorrow (today) and I told her the lady told me she had no openings until next week and she said "You tell her *I* told you to come in" Yes, ma'am. 

I was really upset when I got off the phone because it had been several hours and I really was EXHAUSTED at that point and NYEBoy had already gone to bed because he worked the night before and had just gone to sleep a few hours ago. I decided to wait it out because they can run my blood at the doctors office. I decided the best thing for me to do was to go lay down and try to go to bed. 

I slept off an on for 3 hours, waking every 30-45 mins with the spasms. Around 10, I got out of bed because I couldn't handle the pain any more. I could barely walk. I knew it was time to head on over to the ER to get some blood work. Every muscle felt like it had been exploded by a bomb, like a charley horse muscle spasm, but WAY worse, ALL over.

When I got to the ER, they put me through the urgent care type area since I just needed blood work. The doctor comes in on his little rascal chair and goes over my medical history and what is going on with me, and then he says "Well, I just think it's anxiety." What, WHAT? I just explained to you that a week ago I had LOW potassium, and the muscle spasms have continued to get worse and you're calling it ANXIETY before you even check the blood work? WTF? He tries to deny me blood work, but I insist on having it done. 

After he leaves, he talks to the nurses about my eyes.. "Have you ever seen ....?" "No." "Well, go over there and look at her eyes." No, I am not going to be  your fucking medical teaching moment when you're being a dick and discounting why I am here. 

He finally sends someone in to draw my blood--four tubes! She looks at my hands and arms and tries to find an un-bruised spot since the guy last week tried three times to get my blood. I ask what they are testing for and she says something about anemia and I say "and potassium, right?" and she kind of brushes me off. While she was drawing the blood, she had one finger barely holding the needle in place, and the other one holding the tube. When she pulled the tube out of the little plastic thing, it fell hard and knocked the needle out of my fucking vain and she goes "Oops, I didn't mean for that to happen." WTF is wrong with these people?!?!?!

A little while later, she came in to discharge me and I asked about my potassium levels. She said "Oh, he didn't want to order that." W.T.F.?! I told her I wasn't leaving until I got the potassium checked because the nurse TOLD me to come in for that. She came back into the room and said "Oh, I guess it was in one of the panels. I guess it's low." No. Shit. 

They finally gave me a script for potassium and a different type of muscle relaxer since the Flexeril just made me tired, but didn't really relax the muscles much.

I really hate this hospital. They were the same ones that told me during my miscarriage to go home and take birth control last year. But, I only went there because they are typically faster and I really only needed the blood work. 

The potassium is over 3 now, but still low and not within the normal range yet. I was going to call the doctor for an earlier appointment, but I ended up sleeping most of the day (twice!) and the spasms and tingling have been very mild compared to the last few days. So, I'll just take the potassium and muscle relaxers to see if they help until Monday. If they get worse, I'll call the doctor back. 

I'm really not sure what is causing the potassium to drop because I don't really have any of the issues associated with the normal causes. I guess we'll see what the doctor says on Monday. I'm really hoping I am finally on the upswing of these muscle cramps. It's very exhausting and painful to have constant muscle spasms! 

Crazy Week

I don't think I've managed to go four weeks since Feb without having to visit the doctor. Last week, was no exception.

I had plans on having the announcement ready for September 1st, but on Wednesday, while we were getting ready to go to dinner, I started having really bad chest pains. It was a lot tighter than anything I have ever experienced. At first, I thought it was just a muscle spasm along my open heart surgery scar, because it was going from the left chest, all the way around to the left upper back area, which is right along the scar line.

The Advil helped some, but on the way home, it was getting hard to drive, so NYEBoy and I decided to go to the ER to get an EKG. Better to be safe than sorry, right? When I arrived, my BP was 142/105. Considering I hadn't done much physical stuff during the day, that was a bit alarming. They did a urine test to check for a pregnancy (hahahahaha), an EKG, chest x-ray, and they took some blood.

First of all, needles don't normally bother me. Yeah, they aren't exactly the most fun thing in the world, but usually after the prick is done, it's not so bad. (You know, until the pull the needle out.) Well, this guy SUCKED ass at taking my blood and putting the IV in. He tried twice, before finally getting it right the third try. Ouch.

Six hours later, they determined my potassium levels were low (under 3, supposed to be between 3.5-5) and they gave me some potassium, muscle relaxers, and pain meds.

As we were leaving the hospital, something happened that I can't blog about because it's an on-going investigations, but let's just say, between my hospital trip and what I saw as we were leaving, I was shaken up for several days, both physically and mentally.

After a few days, I finally started being able to get some real work done on my new business venture. I thought I was going to be able to announce it at the beginning-to-middle of the week, but it really most likely won't be ready until the weekend because I have so much stuff to make and take photos of. Plus, our car is having some radiator problems and I need to run that by the mechanic, which I am sure will take several hours.

Other than the above, I'm doing okay. I'm still having pretty bad muscle spasms and nerve pain in my left thigh, so I'll probably have to go by the doctor this week to get another blood draw to see if the potassium is coming back up.

I hope you all had a relaxing holiday weekend