Compassion

Here I am after being a shavee for a St. Baldrick‘s Foundation fundraiser for children with cancer on September 22, 2011.

A couple days ago I looked in the mirror. I desperately need a haircut. (I’ll be seeing @mafiahairdreser for that next week.) I remembered doing a fundraiser for St. Baldrick’s a couple years ago.  It got me thinking.  I am feeling the love for others. I want to do something more for such worthwhile organizations. I don’t plan to have my head shaved again for a while. I have a love for health issues and social services so probably it will be one of those. One I am considering is St. Jude. This organization gets to my heart so much! there are so many great organizations that I love! I am open to ideas if you know of any in Chicago area who need my help. I have a few websites that I will watch for good opportunities too.

This is me today.

Hugs and <3 to you,

AM

People, please! There is no substitute for a physician!

I am really pissed off right now with some of these gimmicks being sold on TV. I’ve had enough of seeing commercials for “natural” treatments for medical conditions. Yes, my dear friends, skin tags ARE a medical condition! Sure, skin tags can be harmless. But this commercial is showing more than just skin tags. Small, brown moles are also being treated as “skin tags” because they are protruding from the skin the way skin tags do–right?! Oh, come on! Listen, have you heard of a dermatologist? You know–a doctor who specializes in treatment of skin conditions? I don’t fricken care if you don’t have psoriasis! If you want any part of your skin removed, you need to see a dermatologist! They are specially trained in identifying skin markings, shapes, and characteristics and will know if there should be cause for concern in how it looks or with the treatment. Now, I do believe that nature can be of substantial benefit to us in treating some problems–as long as done safely and with medical physician approval. You may think that because something is “natural” that it must be safe but that is often not the case because of food or drug interactions, and because of dosing, and your own health conditions. Even natural and herbal products can interact. I can’t believe how many people harm themselves because they want to think they know best. I’ll be honest with you. YOU DON’T! Don’t fall for some gimmick trying to treat yourself for something. Not even insomnia. Check with your doctor. Many doctors have advanced training in herbal and natural treatments too. Ok. I’ll get off the soapbox now before I get started on sharing medications.

Many thanks, Doc

God bless my primary care doctor. He takes a lot of “abuse” from me. Thing is, he really cares.  I love that about him. He puts up with so much, he’s willing to go that extra mile. Sometimes I wonder why he does what he does. He is great with people and truly, genuinely, cares about others. He is great at his job and gives more than his best. I am lucky to have a doctor like him. I sometimes joke and say what did he ever do in med school to ever deserve a patient like me after. But I am glad he is there and knows how to help me, and is willing to do what it takes, all with a sense of humor. I appreciate all that he does and how much he cares for his patients. Thank you, Doc.

Waterlogged

I skipped my usual dose of Lasix in the morning yesterday because I had an appointment with my primary medical doctor and it was such a long commute– and the CTA doesn’t have bathrooms! He was excited how much I was able to get the swelling down by doubling up on the water pills. Awesome! Continue the water pills and come back in a month to recheck.

Within hours of seeing my doctor I could feel some pain from a little swelling around my ankles. I took a Lasix. Shortly thereafter I started to feel wheezey. My breathing continued to get worse. Within six hours of my doctor appointment I checked the swelling level in my legs. It was 3+ to 4+ edema! That’s seriously not good! I didn’t feel good. I took two more tabs of Lasix. If I didn’t already have these water pills I would have had to go to the hospital last night. It was almost a little scary how I felt. I still have a great deal of swelling but my breathing is much better.

Moral of the story: This obviously means that when I have my next doctor appointment I *WILL* take my water pills that day and not skip no  matter how long the commute!

Pitting edema photo

Check out this photo of a sock imprint around my ankle that I took the day of my doctor appointment. The photo was taken a few minutes after taking off my sock and, believe it or not, the swelling had already started to fill in a little.

Doctor appointment update

I saw my primary care doctor yesterday for follow-up on my swelling. As usual, my weight was checked. I lost about 4 lbs in 5 days being on the “water pills”! I still have quite a bit of swelling and he increased the dose from 20mg to 40mg. He did a brief EKG in office and also ordered a CT scan to be done before my next appointment in 1 week.

I got the CT scan scheduled for next-day and went to Evanston Hospital to pick up the iodine dye prep kit. On my way back to Chicago I got a phone call from the hospital, NorthShore University Health System, REFUSING to do the test because I have no insurance and money to pay for it! Sure, they will do a payment plan–as long as I have at least $500 to pay up front–and they will collect payment before the test. I turned in papers for financial assistance for the medical group and hospital just a week ago–and according to the person from the hospital who called me yesterday refusing the CT scan, those won’t cover the test because of the dates. I emailed my doctor and told him about what is going on. He is an excellent doctor and patient advocate! He is working on his end now to try and figure something out. With my PTSD issues I will get anxious if I am forced to take care somewhere else. I’m not sure if I could even do it because I am so sensitive to how doctors interact with me. It could blow my anxiety level and emotions through the roof with even just one “simple” thing! My doctor is great with me and understands my needs. He really cares for all his patients. If only medical/hospital bureaucracy did too.

Medical Update

I’ve had two doctor appointments this week: a new rheumatologist and my  primary care doctor. Both are very concerned about the swelling in my legs. I have really bad pitting edema as shown below.

Yes, I am on a “water pill” but so far it doesn’t seem to be doing much. I  go back to my primary doc this Wednesday, the 19th, and will see the rheumatologist on February 16th. The rheumatologist wasn’t much help when I saw her this week, and decreased one and took me off another pain medication due to my swelling issues. Pain management isn’t easy for me as I am allergic to most narcotics. In fact, there are no narcotics that I can even get as an outpatient. I can’t take acetaminophen (Tylenol) due to the potential for liver issues. So I am quite limited.

I’m not sure what else to mention at this moment so I will end this here. Hopefully it won’t be so long between blog posts. I will make extra effort to improve this in the future. Many thanks for following me. XOXOXO <3

Misbehavin’

Oops. Sorry, LOL! My apologies to a certain case manager at Northwestern Satellite Clinic. I sorta know him from Twitter and I’ve tweeted him a couple of times (or “perhaps” more, LOL) since becoming a client. Its a No-No! Ok, so I get impulsive and have to say something sometimes. I understand why and all that and I expected it when I became a client. But like I said, I do get impulsive. If I can get some medication again for ADD that may help the issue. I kinda have to laugh because of my misbehaving. Yeah, my bad. I am a rule-breaker. Its hard to keep out of trouble this way when I am impulsive. Medication should help that. I’ll have to ask about it if the new psydoc doesn’t offer first. I really would like to focus better on things like I used to when I was medicated for ADD. Life was better. Well, it was better until I started working at a certain place that triggered my PTSD because of memory of a certain homeless person who stalked me and…more. He knows who he is. He is still a major trigger. I was warned by the psych people against having any contact with him–even on Twitter. They are cautious. I view my newly following him as an exposure therapy, plus I feel it is fair and appropriate that anyone who needs and wants my help can get it. I will not get in the way of a legitmate request from someone seeking help–I don’t care who it is or what I think of the person! Everyone deserves a chance to get help they need! This brings up a future blog topic about social services agencies that ban a person from getting ANY and ALL services–including food pantry and clothing closet…

Is “padschicago” pregnant?

There is discussion lately among “Padites”, as the homeless around here call ourselves, that I am pregnant. Well, first of all, its none of your damn freakin’ business if I am pregnant! Second, if you want to know, why don’t you just ask me? I am actually laughing at this even though I shouldn’t–and I’ll get to WHY in a moment. Everybody has to know everything going on! People want to know all the gossip! Let things rest people, and let’s just LIVE.

Now, do you want to know WHY I am laughing? NO! I am NOT pregnant!! I may have looked a few months pregnant recently due to some medical issues, but I can certify that I am NOT with child. LMAO!!!

Doctor, tell me it ain’t so!

I saw my kind and compassionate primary care doctor yesterday. We needed to talk about pain issues because Vicodin just hasn’t been long-acting enough to cover my pain. I have been on it for a long time. So in I went.

If you don’t know by now, I give my doctor “friendly harassment” via email. All off the record. Due to rules he cannot reply. The creative genius that my doctor is, he has come up with an alternative: changes to my electronic record and the doctor schedules online. Its up to me to interpret.

Among my usual physical problems, I have been itching a lot. Coincidently, my pain and use of the Vicodin also had gone up. Instead of Vicodin my doctor prescribed a couple weeks worth of Ultram to try. So far, it could be better. The Ultram is in addition to other regular non-narcotic pain medicine that I am on. So…I went online to check out the doctor’s office website and seek out if there have been any changes. YES. My codeine allergy is now “opiod analgesics”. Allergies to morphine and hydromorphone remain unchanged.

I have long suspected a possible developing hydrocodone allergy. I think denial has made me unconvinced. Because of my health issues and narcotic allergies, there isn’t much of anything at all left that I can take for pain!! That is quite a motivator, I think, when it comes to feeling pain. So I have some itching. So I have now started to get a slight rash, not much of one for most people to even consider a possible allergy. But sadly, yes, I know that a drug rash does not necessarily need to be wide-spread. It could even appear as just a couple dots in the same location every time a drug is taken. If I truly am allergic to hydrocodone, I pray something–ANYTHING–happens that will improve my pain issues. He said I could use physical therapy but that is another expense and I have no insurance or Medicaid. Still working on trying to get approved for SSDI. But for now, there is nothing else. I am not happy.