July 28, 2014

• frickin awesome Monday

  Will I rise to my own challenge?

  

  Saturday- Everyone agreed nearly 100 degree heat & over 80% humidity won't be the way we spend the next burrito birthday party. Scott loaded and unloaded vehicles after driving a loaded pickup all over creation without AC, then stood in the blazing sun cooking hot dogs over a real fire, which made me really nervous. He's always been comfortable with heat, and was a happy guy mowing grass in 106 degree heat a couple of years ago, but suddenly went into a scary acute vasculitis flare that took over a month to calm down with heavy steroid doses, so it's hard for me not to walk on pins and needles through the late summers now. I'm going to borrow a friend's birthday cake pic because I think it looks cool.

  

  Sunday- We were all exhausted, but it was Scott's turn for birthday, so despite not doing anything special at all, burrito and her mama came over to give him birthday cards and we spent a few hours visiting. Aside from catching up the laundry and cooking supper, I refused to lift another finger since I'd made it to the party the day before to help, against all good sense and medication heat warnings. This cake is from eight years ago.

  

  Today- I get to spend two hours at the dentist prepping for a new crown on a tooth that has been broken for at least eight months but has never yet gotten a cavity because I'm such a freak about keeping my mouth clean. Just getting my teeth cleaned for a few minutes triggers nasty fibro spasms around my neck and jaw for several days and last time I wound up with a cluster headache, so today I'm expecting no less than nasty headaches and spiky pain going in all directions after I hold a pose with my head at an odd angle and my jaw open for much longer than that. I'm allowed ONE pain pill a day, so I'm planning very carefully when I take it, since I have to wait 24 hours to take it again. If I take one this morning, I can take another one when I get up tomorrow, but if I wait until it's all over to take it, I'll be able to sleep better, but then I can't take another one until tomorrow afternoon.

  

  People who have never been through spinal flare ups and a painful liver condition at a young age from meds probably think this is an easy problem to solve. Pop some pills and enjoy an adult beverage. See, that's how I got here in the first place. A guy on twitter recently announced he has cirrhosis of the liver, but the lucky skunk doesn't have any pain with it. I've been living with a scarred liver since my 30's, and my liver swelled up and made me very sick for months when I got a simple virus in my 40's that many people toil through for a week thinking they have the 'crud'. My doctors take me very seriously. If that virus flares up again it could kill me. Enjoying adult beverages and popping pills will only expedite the liver fail process. SO. I am planning for a rough couple of days. I'm really good at getting through pain nowadays, but I might have to put a caution sign on my forehead so Scott will know to dive out of the way when I open my mouth and 20 foot flames shoot out.

  

  A nice side effect of not popping pills and enjoying adult beverages is that people don't realize I'm this old. I don't wear makeup because I'm allergic to citrus and nuts (both of which saturate the beauty industry) so I can't fake it like the ladies in that link who have more money than I have do, and about 9 months ago I passed a stress test on a treadmill as if I were in my 20's. I hydrate well and eat lots of veggies and extra protein. I don't take more than a multivitamin, and I get my probiotics in yogurt and prebiotics in my whey mix. I'm super high risk for several cancers, and since my mom died of rampant diabetes destroying her brain with hundreds of TIAs and major strokes, I take very seriously what I put into my mouth. If I go by average age in my family history, I have about 10 or 15 more years to live, if I'm lucky, because I obviously have even more medical challenges than they did. A doctor told me in my 20's that I'd be blind and in a nursing home by 40. Thanx to new developments in pharmaceuticals happening right around the time he said that, I'm still living at home and still have my vision.

  

  These are all the things that go through my head before I do something big that I know will spike my pain levels through the roof. I'm pretty sure the trigeminal pain in my left ear will feel like an ice pick stabbing into my brain for several hours or maybe even a couple of days after I see the dentist today. I decided last week that I'm taking this week off. THIS WEEK IS MY VACATION. I might just be turning off the tech and redecorating my house staying busy. By redecorate I mean excavate and tear down curtains to wash and plow through rearranging drawers and stripping floors, and God help us all if I start washing windows.

  • 7:15 am
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