The 411 on Life Lately

[+] I had a septoplasty on July 7th in Kalispell. I was really blessed to have people to stay with the night before and the night after the surgery as well as people to sit with Jon while I was in surgery and to pray with me before I went in. I had an AWESOME anesthesiologist with a sense of humor and actually very little pain for the first three days after the surgery.

[+] We got stuck in Browning with a coolant issue on the way home from Kalispell and happened across some awesome guys who fixed things enough for us to get home… for $20. (This is about 1/10 of what it would have cost to take it to our mechanic.) When we did take it in, there were simple fixes: a new coolant reservoir and a new jumbo fuse which also made my horn, my radio, and a few other cool things work for the first time since I bought the car. Score!

[+] I spent the week of surgery off of work (on my boss’ advice) and it was a time of sporadic sleep (it’s hard to sleep after a septoplasty because you have so much crud in your nose) as well as getting stuff up for Day of Blogs (the alternative blogathon that I’m helping to organize and blogging in next Saturday).

[+] I had my sutures and splints removed in Kalispell last Tuesday which was excruciatingly painful because of all the nerve endings in the nose as well as stuff getting hung up inside my nasal cavity. I’ll refrain from describing the other scab/blood/snot removed from my nasal cavity except to say that I’m amazed at how much can fit in there. Having to have the impressions redone for my night guard was easy in comparison even though not being able to breathe through my nose made me vomit.

Update on the Nose

I can sneeze again!!!!

Tasting and smelling are still problems (thanks congestion and crud stuck in there) but hey… I can deal with that!

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Prayer Request for a Fellow Sister

As much as I’m having some success in fighting the migraines, Sue is just having frustration and has been fighting this for 3 years now.Â? She’s a pastor and has had to take a medical leave of absence because the pain on a normal day is comparable to what it was on one of my bad days.

So… please lift up some prayers for her.Â? She has been one of my big supporters since the doocing of 2005 and having gone through this for a month, I can’t even fathom how she’s made it for 3 years.

Results of My Neuro Consult

I saw the AFNP at the neurology office yesterday and let me just say that I hadn’t realized how much anger I had at the ENT for just brushing me off on someone else with the migraines — I mean… it was like… he didn’t tell me what to expect or anything.Â? I also didn’t like what my PCP told me that sometimes they just change patterns.Â? So… I went into my neuro appointment yesterday completely and utterly terrified.Â? I’m talking “balled up in a waiting room chair and shaking” terrified.Â? A parishioner had prayed with me before I went in and I finally called Jon to pray with me and my pulse was still 106 when they measured it.Â? (Normally, I’m around 70-72.)

Finally, the AFNP walked in and let me just say… prayers were soooooo answered with her.

-She was warm and actually shook my hand and told me about herself.
-She complimented how I’d filled out the forms.Â? (Stroking my ego is always appreciated.)
-She spent a good hour going through EVERY possible angle of things with me and let me ask anything I wanted without making me feel stupid.
-She gave me the right to say “yes” or “no” to possible treatments and ideas.
-She let me talk without interrupting me.
-She talked to me while examining me.
-We made the treatment plans TOGETHER instead of her dictating to me.

So… she doesn’t agree with the Topamax and thinks that a beta-blocker would be better because of my anxiety (especially as my pulse did eventually drop after she had sat with me for awhile).Â? I suggested doing the change after surgery and she totally agreed (also complimenting me for my good sense there).Â? She also thinks that a lot of this is TMJ-related and once we get that a little more under control, I need to keep a headache diary.Â? (I actually was able to spell off a migraine today.Â? Go me, especially as I’m forbidden to take any anti-inflammatories for the next week or so because of the impending surgery.)Â? I see her again in 3 months and if the headaches aren’t better, we’ll do an MRI and re-evaluate other treatments.

I saw my PCP today and she’s in complete agreement with all of this (and has talked with the AFNP and asked me for her name so that she could maybe refer others to her).

Coupled with Confession on Saturday, I really feel like some weights have been lifted off of me.