I had my appointment at the pain clinic yesterday, and did not see Dr. S. I did see a very nice nurse practitioner who seemed to be really on the ball with everything. The MRI revealed mild degenerative disc disease in my back and scoliosis. I've known that this was what the MRI was going to reveal, I can feel the degeneration in my back, and the curve is getting worse as well. I can not sit straight, nor can I stand straight. One hip is higher than the other, and you can tell that my back is very messed up. I showed my back to two nurses the other day and they both were surprised at how it looked. The curve is much more pronounced than it was before. But, we had to discuss both the issues concerning my back and the issues with my bladder and pelvic pain.
The first Hypogastric Plexus Block proved to be ineffective. I have received minimal relief from it. Dr. S did say that it may take two or three shots before I would notice a difference. While I am willing to go through things to get some relief, it is difficult for me to go through these procedures. It takes me quite awhile to recover from sedation and I also need fluids and glucose at times. I am unable to eat or drink anything six hours prior to the procedure on, which is normally just fine, but when I do not eat or drink I tend to become hypoglycemic and need glucose to get my body back to baseline. It's not uncommon for people with Mitochondrial Disease to experience this, and I have had hypoglycemic episodes before, so I do know what I need to do for myself. The nurse practitioner urged me to schedule another procedure in February, so here I go again. Maybe this injection will do me some good. I can only hope and pray that is the case.
The nurse practitioner did a decent examination and discussed the results of the MRI with me. I explained to her that I injured my back the prior night helping one of my residents into bed (this, by the way is a true story, in case you were wondering...). I am not a baby when it comes to pain, I have been in pain constantly for the past three years or so, so it's something I have a high tolerance for. Well....this was pretty intense pain, I could hardly bend. Thankfully I had some pain medications on hand and took it so that I could function and get to sleep. It was a late night, I only had about four hours of sleep and had to wake up early. She told me that she wanted me to be fitted for a back brace. Sigh...I knew this was coming. It's something I know will help me in my job so hopefully my discs will not degenerate any more than they already have. I have at least three years left of being a nurse's aide.
In other news, my 21st Birthday is coming up. That makes me feel weird. For starters, the idea that I am going to be able to drink legally blows my mind. It also makes me realize that high school wasn't just yesterday and I am truly at the age of being an adult. I've been an adult intellectually and maturity wise for a long time. My age is beginning to catch up to my mind. And I'm really not sure how I feel about it. I no longer feel like I have all the time in the world. Something in my mind has changed, and I can't really put my finger on it.
But for now, rather than trying to complicate my life by thinking deeply about things, I will simply be.
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