Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Cannabis arrives along with Hail, Snow, and Poppies

Can you believe it *snowed* here in Be'er Sheva? Hailed, too!
Things have sure been tough.
This weaning off the Fentanyl is awful. I'm getting there, though, I'm getting there.

After skipping 10 days of lowering a dose because I just couldn't bear to put myself through it yet again, I did it this past Sunday, and am now at 31mmg. That makes only one more dose lowering (in two weeks b'ezrat Hashem) until I get to 25, which is the maximum dose I can be on to begin Cannabis. After that, I can overlap them [if I want], and continue the rest of the way going off Fentanyl, ultimately to completely finished.

And on those lines, there is *good* news: I got approval for the medical Cannabis. Faster than I was told to prepare to wait. It came in three weeks. So, I am almost to the dose of Fentanyl where I can start the Cannabis if I want. I have a "training session", to learn the ins & outs of using medical Cannabis this coming Monday (March 2nd). I have to go to Bat Yam for that (near Tel Aviv). Good thing is, that Bat Yam is where Dov learns, so we'll get to see him after the meeting.

This morning I had two appointments which I had been waiting for for quite some time. One was with a surgeon (which I wrote about in the last post) to investigate the worsening pain in my right hip, and the other was with a neurological physical therapist.

The surgeon appointment was useless. I had to tell my whole story, and he also said he remembered me from the hospital when I had NF. I didn't remember him, though. All he did was check to see if I have a hernia on that side. We already knew there was no hernia there from having done the ultrasound. I wanted him to order an MRI or CT scan to investigate more, and he didn't. All he was interested in it whether it is an immediate surgical issue or not. While it may be, he told me to go see my orthopedist, that from his  point of view (a general surgeon), it's not his department.

The earliest appointment I could make with the orthopedic oncologist is in mid-April. They had nothing sooner. So, I'll wait till then, what else can I do? If it gets worse fast, I'll go back to my GP and see if she has any ideas. I have a theory about what this might be.... I am hoping my theory is wrong. That being that I am suspicious of having PVNS in the right thigh joint. It is not unusual to have it bilaterally, and I have had it in the left, as we know. The strange thing is that the pain I have feels like a mirror image of what Gapey feels like on the left. It goes from the groin to the upper part of my hip, radiating outward. That is exactly what Gapey is (and oh, so much more). I am quite sure it is the same nerve, and I felt this when I had NF (in the few days before they knew it was NF). It is so strange. I remember describing the pain to the doctor, in the days while I was in hospital before the NF was discovered, that it goes to my upper hip. The surgeon from the NF said that he realized, after the fact, that he "missed" the issue of referred pain I was having. I am feeling that same referred pain in my right side now. I understand that nerve path, that is for sure! Strange. Really feels like a mirror image. It may "just" be the impingement getting worse- the impingement in the right thigh I was planning to have fixed last summer, and the surgery got shut-down when I had the allergic reaction to the antibiotic. That issue (impingement) is still there, so maybe that is just getting worse, and it's not PVNS or anything scary or new. We won't know until I have an MRI, and I can't get that ordered until my appointment with the orthopedist in April.

In the meantime, I am trying to juggle all of this with... life. The weaning, the pain, the doctor appointments, the kids, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. The weaning-induced insomnia is at it's peak now because I just lowered a dose four days ago. UGH. As I said in the first line, not a very easy time these days.

Cannabis on Monday. I'll write about that afterward. If nothing else, it's interesting, right?

Through it all, we had out-of-town guests today, and I took them to see the famous poppies of the Negev. This, after a night of insomnia and two doctor appointments in the morning, mind you. I'm exhausted, but I pulled through! Had a nice time before the headache hit, on the drive home.

Me, Azriel and Shifra with poppies all around us.
The red flowers are a big festival here in the Negev desert every winter. Can you believe they make a festival centered on growth of red flowers every year?



Wheat fields, too!
peek-a-boo

13 comments :

  1. Congrats on lowering your dose yet again. That's a major acheivement.

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    1. Thank you for that recognition, Michele. You are such an appreciative person. I appreciate that about you! ;)

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  2. hmmmm... sounds like you might become verrrrry popular :)Just kidding. You are almost under 30! omg amazing!

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    1. Jane, I'll bet Avigayil doesn't make *those* sort of cupcakes!

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    2. gosh i hope not yet. I'm not ready for that discussion.

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    3. i think you should write the next post WHILE you are trying it. now THAT would liven up the party.
      Jane

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    4. I'm not meant actually to get a "high" from it. The type I will get has the chemical that is responsible for the high mostly engineered out of it. I do have a car to drive and kids to take care of!

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    5. you can drive a car when you take it? interesting.

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    6. The chemical which is engineered out of it (although not fully) is called THC. Look it up.

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  3. Dear Sarah. God bless you using God's medicine for pain next week, may you get some peace from it.

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  4. Call me over when you make brownies.

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  5. Sarah dear, I'm so happy you're finally trying that! Pls let me know how it goes. Hug
    Shulamit

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  6. Lots of articles about kosher marijuana lately. I hope it works like you want. The flowers in the Negev are incredible and certainly deserve a festival. Have a great Purim.
    Tzippi

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