Lots of pain and other happenings

I haven't updated because not much new has been happening. My left leg continues to ache, but the pain relief regime is helping a lot. Unfortunately, my right leg now aches. So I am doing the same things for that leg.

My GP did an Xray to rule out a fracture, and as expected, nothing was found. GP is taking a month break. I have enough meds to see me through until then, but I admit I like knowing that he is around when I need him. I will see him again after I see both the dermatologist and oncologist, which happens in early November.

I am basically at theraputic level for my light treatments. The last one was 5 mins and 48 secs. 5-6 mins is thought to be my limit. I will know for sure after my dermatology appointment.

Other news is that we have 60 days to find a new place to live. The owners are selling our house, and we can't get a mortgage. I don't need the stress and pressure this involves, but there are positives too. As Girl Child says, "Just think of it as an adventure." It sounds like solid advice.

Being Compliant

I have the memory of a gnat. I keep all appointments in a diary. I carry a notebook in my purse. If I don't write it down, it doesn't exist or happen because I will never remember.

Being compliant means remembering to take meds and apply ointments. Not great when you don't remember stuff. So I now have alarms set for all my meds during the day. So far, so good. If this doesn't work, I will have to go to one of those pill sorter things. I ain't ready to go to that... yet.

Pain Relief for My Aching Left Leg

I did get to my treatment on Friday.  I wasn't sure, but we loaded everyone up in the car.  Brendan drove me. Treatment lasted a whole total of 4 mins and 29 secs.  Boy Child wasn't impressed.  He wanted to go on the train, and I don't think the light booth was as cool as he hoped.


I also had an appointment with my GP in the afternoon. I am proud to say that I drove myself.  For some reason, Girl Child came with me because she asked if she could.  Pain Relief was the only topic of conversation.  I have a list of other questions I want answers to, but I gotta get this leg pain under control.  I can't live my life because of it.


He asked me how my week was with the pain.  I told him the truth.  He did another physical exam of my leg.  Nothing he could find out of the ordinary.  He wants me to get an X-ray; not that he thinks that he will find anything, but he will would not be a good doctor if he didn't definitely ruled out a fracture.  That happens on Monday or Tuesday, just a matter when I have time and/or help to get to the place.


Since the Panadeine wasn't really doing anything about my pain, he stopped that and instead put me on Panadol Osteo SR 665mg.  It is slow release so it should last longer and it is stronger than regular Panadol.  I still take  Ibuprofen 400mg as well.  I am also to keep up with the heat and the support bandage.  I have to call later in the week to discuss the X-ray and if I need to come in to see him.


I take all my 'scripts to the Chemist (or a Pharmacy). I remember that sometimes when Panadeine couldn't kill my migraines that sometimes Mersyndol would work.  So I picked up some of that too, and yes, I listened to all the advice and warnings about taking it with the Panadol Osteo.  Mersyndol has Panadol (parcetamol) 450mg, Codeine 9.75 mg and something called Doxylamine Succinate 5mg, which has a calmative/sedative effect.  


My leg was killing me when I got home.  I took a Ibuprofen and 2 Mersyndol. After a half hour, the pain was gone.  Completely gone.  It was amazing.  About an hour after I took it, I had a 4 hour nap.  I was so sleepy; I couldn't stay awake.  With this med, I have the choice of being awake or being pain free.  It will be used in emergencies.  I still have to tell my GP that I am taking it.  


I started on the Panadol Osteo and Ibuprofen combo today.  So far, it does help.  The pain is still there, but it isn't as bad.  The real test will come on Monday when the kids need to go to school and I will need to go to treatment. 

My List of Meds with Pics!

Some older person in my life used to say that the older you get, the more medicines you have to take.  I believe them.  I take a handful of pills every morning.  Then I take 3-5 pills at noon and at bedtime.  I did this list to help me keep track of everything, but I thought you might be interested too.   This list includes everything I take for all my diagnosises: depression, anxiety and the cancer (I can't think of a better word at the moment, sorry).

If the pics are all messed up, let me know.  I am trying to get then fixed ASAP.

Everyday Meds:

For Depression:

Prozac (Fluoxetine) 20 mg

1 capsule daily

For Anxiety:

Valium (Diazepam) 2mg

 1/2 to 1 as needed

For Nausea:

Maxolon (Metoclopramide) 10mg

1 tablet 3 times a day as needed

For the Red Spots:

Mometasone Furote 1mg/g (Elocon Ointment 0.1%)

Apply to affected areas 2 times a day

For Pain:

Brufen (Ibuprofen 400mg)  

1 tablet 3 times a day

For Pain:

Panadol Osteo SR 665mg  (I take the brand name so this is it)

2 tablets 3 times a day

Sometimes Meds:

Temazepam 10 mg

1 tablet as needed

Mersyndol 

The magic bullet of pain relief, but not approved by my GP... yet

Pain, Pain and More Pain

I have been taking my GP's recommendations, but I am not sure how effective they have been.  The heating pad has been the best.  The ibuprofen has had some effect, but I have been taking Panadeine at the same time. The codeine has been making me loopy; not sure how much pain relief it is offering, but I don't seem to care.

The support bandage got annoying and itchy after a while.  I wore it for days, even when sleeping.  Yesterday, I gave my leg a rest from it.  Today my leg aches more, so I will have to endure it for a while longer.

Girl Child (and to a lesser extent Boy Child) has been sick, and I have been unable to drive anyway.  Both kids have stayed home for the past three days.  I have a psychologist appointment tomorrow, so kids will be at school tomorrow, provided they feel better.  I don't know how yet, but I will get it done.

Treatments are also something that I haven't been able to get to.  I can't drive, and Brendan has been going into the city for his lawyering activities.  I can take public transport, but I have not been sure how I was going to handle standing/sitting around waiting for trains and buses.  Some stops have benches, but not all.  I could be in a lot of pain by the end of it, and I have been too afraid to find out.  Friday is my deadline.  I have to get to my treatment by then.  If I am in lots of pain then, I will have all weekend to recover.

I have been thinking of doing short summaries of what PPD and MF (both of my conditions) are, treatment options, prognosis, maybe even pics and other assorted stuff that comes to me OR anything you would like to know.  If you are interested, please let me know by commenting or letting me know on FB.

Speaking of FB, there has been so many people sending their love, their well wishes and their prayers to me.  Thank you so much for all the love and support!!  I love each and every one of you.  Knowing you are there for me is helping me a lot.

Pain Relief

My leg has ached for days.  The only thing that I was doing that was any help was using a heating pad and taking Panadeine.  The heating pad was more help because the Panadeine was making me more sleepy than anything.  Sure, it is taking the edge off, but I am currently loopy from taking Panadeine earlier.  It is like operating in a fog.

I saw my GP on Friday morning.  Brendan came with me.  He had strict instructions to make sure I stayed on topic of my leg hurting.  I was in a Panadeine fog for the appointment too.  So I gave my wonderful and patient GP a rambling, somewhat confusing account of my leg hurting.  Then I told him I wanted some pain relief, and asked, "So, you got any questions?"

He did have questions.  Did I remember injuring it? No.  What kind of pain was it?  That one is a bit more difficult to answer.  It aches constantly like a toothache, and the joints ache like arthritis pain.  He asked some other things, but I forget what they were.  There was questions about it being connected to the MF.  He also commented that I probably knew more about my condition than he did.  That is somewhat true.  I have been doing a lot of research.

He did a physical examination of my legs, and he was impressed with my flexibility.  I was proud of that; all those Dana-modified yoga stretches are still doing their job.  He seemed to accept that an injury had not occurred.

Then we began talking about MF and how this was probably a symptom of it.  That is what I suspected from the beginning.  We discusses compression stockings.  (They are really expensive.  Around $120 seems to be the going price.)  He didn't seem to think the expense was worth it at this point, and he suggested I get something he called "Tubigrip".  He also gave me a prescription for Ibuprofen 400mg to take 3 times a day.  I also got a sleeping pill prescription because the pain is messing with my nighttime sleeping.  He also told me to keep doing what I was doing: heating pad, resting my leg and Panadeine for breakthrough pain.  He wants me to talk to my dermatologist to make sure the pain isn't a side effect of the narrow band UVB treatments.

Off to the pharmacy and I put in my scripts. When I asked about the Tubigrip, the assistant had no idea what it was either.  After a brief description (that I stole from the doctor), she showed me a similar product. I am modeling the beauty of the thing in the previous post.

So far, the regime seems to be working.  I am in less pain that I have been in days.  I hope the pain is only a short term annoyance, and it will go away soon.