Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my health so today’s Wednesday Wishes have to do with them.
My health tends to always be on my mind since I’m always in some sort of pain and trying to think of a solution. There are no solutions to the pain it seems.
(Quick background for all my new readers: I broke 5 ribs in July 2012 but we don’t know why or how. No accident, nothing. My blood results and bone density/scans were all good. I was in pain for a year before they figured it out. Now it seems that there is permanent nerve damage in my rib area which I am being drugged up for).
I have an appointment with my pain management doctor on the 10th. The medicine I take requires I come in to see her every 3 months. Luckily I don’t worry too much about the medicines I take. My worries lie in the fact that I still have very painful days.
The bigger worry is that the medicines I take are not compatible with pregnancy. Which means that when Thomas and I decide to start trying (and if I get pregnant accidently) I have to stop taking the medicine. I depend on the medicine to not be crippled in pain. I’m still in pain with the medicine, without it I can’t function.
What will happen when I get pregnant and can’t get through the day? I worry about having to take time off work in order to make it through the pregnancy. I worry about the fact that it would mean that we would have less income coming in. (I have to look into getting Aflack or Colonial Life for supplemental insurance to cover this period, but that is a monthly cost).
On a different health note – for the past six months to a year, whenever something happens in my life – whether it is buying a car or now refinancing my house – I get what I think are tension headaches. For some reason I always leave my Excedrin at home and Tylenol does nothing to subdue the pain.
So my wishes for today are that my health improves. I wish that the hormones that pregnancy brings will help with the pain and I’ll be able to work and have a nice pregnancy. I wish that I can eventually wean off some of the medication. I wish that this headache side effect to life events goes away, they suck!
What are your wishes today?
I have never broken ribs and I have never been in constant debilitating pain from such a trauma. However I had a syndrome where my body releases too much relaxin into my system. Google the hormone. It basically allows your body to stretch adequately during pregnancy. However, I have an abundance even when I am not pregnant. Because of this I dislocated my pelvic bones during both my pregnancies and that was PAINFUL. Especially when they would grind together because one would 'fall loose' . . . anyway, the point I am getting at is that pregnancy in and of itself is painful. When you have other health factors it can be downright intolerable sometimes. Because your pain is so severe without meds and your meds are not pregnancy friendly I would be more worried about a potential pregnancy causing MORE pain because as the baby grows it presses against ALL your organs and ALL your bones and ALL your nerves. Is there a specialist you can see? An obgyn who specializes in potentially high risk pregnancies (due to pain management) . . . I wish you the best of luck in finding answers :) OH and ICE! Go to Walmart or Walgreens and buy a gel pack with velcro for your face. Freeze it and when you get your tension headaches put it on and close your eyes. You can wear it over your eyes as intended or if your headaches are in the back of your head and neck you can wear it backwards. Ice restricts blood flow and closes overly expanded arteries/veins so that the blood isn't gushing and causing your headaches (I have long suffered migraines so I feel kinda like a pro . . . haha)
ReplyDeleteKristen is so right about the ice! It helps my headaches so much!
ReplyDeleteAs far as your pain and pregnancy, I wish I could offer some sort of advice or suggestion. I can offer prayers!
I do hope your health improves!
ReplyDeleteI hope that you find improvement in your health very, very soon - especially with the pain! I don't have any answers for you, but I will say that I used to have horrid, debilitating migraines. Several a month. As soon as I became pregnant, they stopped. Who knows why? So maybe you will find the same with the tension headaches!!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I seem to get the headaches at work so no ice there :( Thank you so much for your prayers - they mean a lot!
ReplyDeleteMe too!!! Thank you so much for you thoughts!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness that sounds horribly painful! I really hope that it won't cause more pain because I don't know what I would do in that case. Thank you so much for your advice, it really means a lot that you would spend your time to share all this with me!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! This is what I need to hear! I am hopeful that pregnancy hormones are helpful to me!
ReplyDeleteI can not even imagine the pain you are suffering. I wish there was an easy cure all to alleviate the pain and suffering. Is there another medication that would be safer for you to take if and when you get pregnant? Thinking of you and wishing you an end to your pain and headaches!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I appreciate the sentiment. I'm going to have a more in depth conversation with my doctor in a week and ask. I'm going to write down the answers so that I don't forget what she says (I tend to do that). ;) Thanks.
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