Taking the Good with the Bad or vice versa!

So I am really enjoying all my new meds. They really seem to be working well. The patches fall off easily, so I can't really put them on really active parts of my body.

The little machine that stimulates my nerves with electricity works well, it can get a little uncomfortable, but well worth it!!

The Lyrica is a God send... I love it love it love it... except one thing... It's called sleep. For some reason I can't sleep at all at night time, but when I do fall asleep around 3 am - 5 am, I'm out. I don't wake up until 11 am. Some people would say that makes sense. However, even nights like last night fell asleep around 11:30 pm I would say. I slept until 9:30 am (nature called) and fell right back asleep. I got up at 10:30 am. While I was typing at my computer, I kept doing the chicken neck thing. Yep I was falling asleep. I literally found myself with the letter "B" almost inhaled into my nose when I woke up. So I ate a little when Bill got home, but I still kept falling asleep. So I thought just a short nap.. almost 3 hours later... I still can't wake up.

Bill got the mail and there were lots of interesting things I wanted to look at. In the middle of a conversation and doing something with the mail, I fell asleep. I can't keep my eyes open or stay focused. I fell asleep so many times it was funny. But the weird thing, my mind didn't think I fell asleep. It kept on with what I was doing. I honestly felt I was still talking to Bill and thumbing through the mail, only to wake up drooling and the mail falling out of my hand.

So, I guess this is a new side effect of them upping the dose of my Lyrica. Please don't be offended if I fall asleep in front of you, on the phone, via emailing back and forth. Please don't be hurt if you want me to go somewhere in the morning and I say no. I'm in no shape to be driving anywhere, anytime soon... so don't ask me to drive or meet you somewhere, I won't be able to. While Bill is in Poland I will be a huge homebody.

So although many of you would love to sleep as much as I do... It's very hazardous and annoying how it happpens. I guess I need more starbucks LOL!

::HUGS::

Why are things getting busy again??

Okay, Christmas is over... why are things getting busy again???

Today I have some catching up to do on a few things (if I could just wake up)

Tonight - A friends 60th Bday party and taking Ryan to Beowulf

Saturday - making Chocolate Covered Cherries for an order, starting a very tiny and very detailed bracelet using small swarovski crystals and sewing it all together. Taking Ryan to Martins for more video game madness, going out on a date for the first time in almost a year.

Sunday - Military Table goes out at church, we are meeting with the deacons, have church, then at the meeting after church they vote on us being members or not. (I have a feeling they will vote Bill in but not me LOL). Try to catch the tail end of the Charger game. Then back to working on that bracelet.

Monday - working on the bracelet and preping my house for guests.

Tuesday - more of the same, (take Ryan to youth group) (Oh by the way it's Michelle's Bday)

Wednesday - is my and Bill's Anniversary!!!! 15 YEARS!!!! (also my sister's bday) I hope Bill planned something for us to do... If you have suggestions for him, his email address is wsipes@san.rr.com

Thursday - Dan & Donna come to visit and bring us Christmas presents from Chicago!!! Prepping for Party at my house on Friday night.

Friday - Dan & Donna visiting. The men are going to the movies while we ladies have a spa party. We have a few close friends coming over to relax (in our pj's), and talk about God.

So that's the week, are you tired?

Voting

Since when did voting become such a chore?? I remember when I was 16 wishing I was old enough to vote. I remember going over my mom's absentee ballot and talking about the issues. Then I was old enough to vote and I was excited!! I read up on everything, tried to make sure I was informed, and proudly walked in to vote.

Now, granted here in San Diego we have almost been voting every year it seems. We constantly had special elections... maybe that helped sour me.

Our primary is coming up and I still don't know who I am voting for, and I really am not looking forward to voting. So much legal speak in the descriptions of the props and too much fluff in the candidate profiles. No real answers there.

Debates are just grounds for points on who can interrupt and slam the other candidate better... oh and lets make sure the less known candidates aren't there or use so much of the main candidates time that no one gets to know all the rest.

And am I throwing away my vote like they say on TV... If you don't vote for Obama or Clinton... or if you don't vote for McCain, Romney or Huckabee, you are throwing your vote away. When people hear that, then they vote for the big names, cause they want their vote to count. Why is the press allowed to say that? I mean if I want to vote for a Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, Edwards or some other hardly in the polls candidate... why should it be considered throwing my vote away?

Why do candidates pull out of the race two states primaries into voting?? There are still 48 states left!!! They spend all this time and energy, not to mention money, to quit 1 week into the primaries!!

Why does the press call a winner when only 30% of the vote is in?? I was told in school that even one vote can make a difference... but that's not true anymore, is it?

I'm tired of the big battles between the people who have enough money to run. When did this become a millionaire's race? It should be about who can do the best job, not who has enough money to last through the whole campaign.

I can see why some of my friends/family don't vote. I can see why my son hasn't even started looking into who to vote for.

They start programs like Rock the Vote, and try to get voter turn out... the best way they can get people to vote is to make it fair, make every vote count... stop telling us who are the main contenders and that the little guy doesn't even have a chance, or that if you vote for the little guy you are wasting your vote. Take away the money issue, and talk about the real issues.

Who are these people running for President. What are they going to do about the things that effect us most? Are they qualified, do they understand what the job of President is? Do they understand that they represent all the Americans, not just the rich, not just the poor, and not just those of their party?

I don't know who I am voting for... maybe my vote will be thrown away... or maybe I'll vote for one of the popular ones, and my voice will be lost with all the others voting for that guy or gal.

Are you going to vote? Do you know why? Do you feel your vote will be thrown away?

Ryanism

We were sitting at the table and goofing around playfully slapping each other... Bill playfully slap Ryan on the back of the head. Ryan slapped him back saying, "That's for making me lose more brain cells... now I'm down to negative one!"

Good News Today!!

Many of you knew that I had my pain specialist appt. (finally) today at 6 am. Let me start off by saying how impressed I am with Scripps Memorial Hospital. If only Balboa could be half of what they are. That being said, here is how everything went.

We woke up early and got to the hospital on time. I was told to fill out the paperwork, which there was plenty of. We were next put in a small ER looking area and I was on a bed filling out paperwork. A nurse came by and said, would you like some coffee or tea? I said, ummm tea? She said we have honey... anything you want in it? I said I usually take sugar or splenda in it.. She said we have splenda.. she came back with hot tea with splenda in it. Would you like a blanket? Yes please. She grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around me (I was sitting up). Later I was laying down and got cold again, so we put my jacket on top of the blanket. A male nurse walked by and said, would you like another blanket. I said please. When he brought the blanket it was toasty warm!!! All the staff smiled and was nice. No one was in the corner complaining!

Then I got to meet the doctor. He was looking over the paper work and when he got to no NSAIDs, he underlined it three times! Wow!! Okay now I like him... and not just because his voice sounds like Brad Garrett :-) So the doctor looks me over and asks me traditional questions. I tell him about physical therapy, some of the problems we've been having. He asks who diagnosed me (what type of doctor) when I told him a general practicioner, he said, I'll put in a referral for a rheumatologist! (I have been wanting that for like forever!) He said he wants the diagnosis to come from a rheumie! He looked over my medical history and my families and stated that later on he may want me to do a lombar MRI (checking for MS to rule it out). He acts like everything I'm telling him is pretty standard. I'm thinking we are going to have to fight this guy too? But he is laid back, cause he has seen this all before....

So .. he prescribes me these medicine patches to wear 12 hours at a time on the painful spots. He also gives me and Empi TENS. The Select TENS^TM Pain Management System is designed specifically for the relief of chronic, arthritic and post-surgical pain. This portable device, which can be used at home or on-the-go, integrates site specific, preset treatment programs that make it convenient and easy-to-use, ensuring that the patient receives appropriate treatment protocol for the applicable condition and treatment site.
We are hoping TriWest will allow me to have it. It's a very expensive machine and it will cost me $300.00 if TriWest doesn't cover it. I have already used it on my lower back and it works!!! Pain relieved!!!! It's portable too!!! I'll probably wear it to church.

Next he says he is going to prescribe me some pain meds! (Wow!!) Three solutions in one day?? I'm so excited. He then has me sign a paper that says from now on he is in charge of all my pain medicines and that no other doctor will be allowed to prescribe me pain meds, but him. That makes him my Fibro Doctor... if TriWest will approve more visits. So now Dr. Kim is there for routine stuff and colds LOL! Rite Aid, Balboa Pharmacy & Dr. Kim all have to sign that same paper acknowledging that he is the only one allowed to handle my pain care.

So now we leave the office happy and full of hope (that's when I text messaged some of you). We grabbed some starbucks and food and headed off to Balboa Hospital. While there we went to drop off the prescriptions... however the doctors name and license number was not on them and we couldn't get the medicine (not happy). So we went to the records department to have them mail copies of my file to me, so I can take it to my next appt. Then we went to Dr. Kim's office to get her signature and she wasn't there. The stupid guy at the doctor's information desk, didn't even know how to find out when she would be in the office next!!! ::sigh::

So then we came home... Bill was on hold with the pharmacy at Balboa for an hour before someone helped him!! He fell asleep twice!! He got no where with them. Now he is talking to the Doctors office again and they are telling him something totally different than before...

So we are happy with all the options and the moving forward... but we need prayer to get all the red tape out of the way and to have TriWest approve everything.

So I am happy! It is still good news and will be great if we can get TriWest and the Pharmacies to cooperate!!

Quick Fibro Update

Medicine - Lyrica has been raised to 150 mg twice a day.... Loritab is being prescribed for pain until I can see the pain specialist.

Physical Therapy - Starts Feb 1.

Acupunture - Still not scheduled

Pain Specialist - After tons of red tape and pushing over the phone, Bill finally got TriWest to do their job. I will be seeing the Pain Doctor this coming Tuesday at 6 am.

Dentist - the day before the pain specialist for two fillings... go figure!

Ryan's Belated Birthday Party

Although Ryan's invitation stated that his party was to start at 1 pm.... at 10 am, before we had even gotten the cake, there was a very loud bang, followed by ringing at the door. Opening the door we see this very tall, skinny soon to be 13 year old and all his gear.

"Hi Mark... are you hear to drop off your stuff for later?"

"No the party starts at 10!"
"No it doesn't."
"Yes it does, I saw it on the paper."
"umm no it said the party ends at 10 am the next day."

The argument continues, until I produce an invitation...
"oh, I only read the last thing. Should I go home?"

Of course we didn't send him home. Ryan had already prepared the game room, so everything was ready. Mark felt bad, but we cheered him up!

Bill came home and we ran to find goal posts for the cake. (Baskin Robbins didn't carry them, even though they were on the picture). We grabbed those, grabbed the cake (I grabbed a vente) and headed home.

Just a few minutes before 1 pm, we had our next guest, Alex. He looked happy to be here and ready to hang out with the guys. Shortly after, Conner arrived... the gang was all here, it was time to get the party started...

Bill loaded the young men into the jeep and took them to play lazer tag. From my understanding they were all on the same team, playing against two other teams. The first time, they lost.... the second time they won, and Alex was 1st place over all three teams (38) people, including adults... bet you are proud William H.

The guys came home a little sooner that I had expected, but that was okay.. We sat down and opened gifts. I heard the following conversation...

"I brought a gift, you only brought a card?"
"Yeah but that's a thick envelope, anything could be in there."
"Not anything!"
"Maybe it's a huge wad of cash!"
"Oh that would be cool."

The first present Ryan opened was from Alex. Ryan read the card and then dug into the bag. Chargers calendar... how did Alex know??? Wait dig deeper, "Oh Yeah!" it's a Chargers hat! Ryan was in heaven!!!

Next Ryan opened his card from Connor.... "Oh man, it's a WAD of CASH!" "EVERYONE STAY AWAY FROM MY WAD OF CASH!"

Ryan then opened his card from Mom & Dad which played Mr. Roboto, one of Ryan's favorite songs. He already got his Bday gift from Mom & Dad in November, but he got a Chargers shot glass as an extra.

Then Ryan opened his gift from Mark... LEGOS!!! Oh yeah, you can't go wrong with Legos. The guys seemed interested in getting that box opened as soon as possible.

However, it was time for the cake. We didn't sing Happy Birthday, we just dug in and had Rootbeer with it. Conversation was had, tummies full, ready for games.

Wait, what's going on? Loud noises? From 11-12 year old boys? No Way! They are full of energy? You would think they just had a ton of sugar! Put video games on hold... you guys are going to the park! With Basketball and football in hand they were off to the park.

10 - 15 minutes later, I hear bouncing and lots of loud chatter. The door flies open. Well that was short lived... they were back to play video games.

Nope now they want to play torture each other in a small room with nerf guns... LOL! They calm down and start playing video games...

Every 10 minutes Connor comes to visit us in the living room/den/kitchen... "Connor are you bored?" "No, I'm having fun"

A little bit later we hear....
"Let's go play in your backyard"
"We don't have a backyard"
"Well let's play in the front yard"
"I don't want to play outside."
"Yeah let's play outside"
"It's getting dark"
"Ask your parents if we can play outside"
"You're the one who wants to go outside, you ask"
"Mr. Bill can we play out in the front yard?"
"Yes only in the yard."
"Let's go, your Dad said we could play in the front yard."
"In the front yard? Really?" (we have never allowed Ryan to play in the front yard without an adult outside)

3 minutes later, it gets real quiet... I peek out the window... I see two boys throwing something into the street as cars are passing by, one child looking deep into a bush, and another one kicking the bush.

"What are you guys throwing at cars?"
"Berries"
"What are you doing?"
"We can't find the football"

Mr. Bill to the rescue... it's dark out, he brings the flashlight.... reason for kicking the bush... needed to get the football out the bush has those prickly things... (kicking the bush bring the ball out, how?)

Back into the house where, they just start the game and Pizza arrives! A discussion arises in the game room about whether that was Papa Johns, Pizza Hut etc. For the record... Papa Johns! The boys scarf down pizza and settle into the room for some gaming.

A little later a snow white Mark comes out asking for Tylenol. He has a headache and is going to throw up. We offer him to go home, he refuses. He looks like a ghost, but instead lays on the bed as the boys play. He refuses to go home. A call goes out to Dad, but Dad is okay if he stays if we are. Mark falls asleep, but is off limits, because he is sick. (This is very important later!)

Bill and I decide to watch our netflix, thinking the boys will remain in the gaming room & Ryan's room. We watch Gallagher and Robin Williams stand up... We are visited by Connor every 5 - 10 minutes, for water, to see what is happening, for water, was going to the bathroom and just walked in... We had to keep pausing the videos everytime he walked in the dining room because of the swearing and content.

Bill finally gave up, allowed water to be in the rooms and pretty much roped the boys off into the area before the dining room. LOL!

Then it happened... a very pink and healthy Mark arrived in the living room. "Miss Cyndi, do you have makeup? All the guys are asleep but me." The nap had done him well and he was looking and feeling good. I handed him my theatre makeup and he was off.

Alex got the worse and slept through it. Connor and Ryan woke up when Mark tried to prank them.

The boys took turns falling asleep and waking up all night/morning long.

In the morning Bill left for work and told me all the boys were awake. Every 5 minutes they got louder... what are they arguing about?

"No I was only asleep for 2 hours tops"
"Yeah well I watched you fall alseep all night"
"I was the first one to wake up this morning"
"Well I didn't sleep all night"
"I only slept for an hour"
"Nuh uh, you slept longer than that"

1/2 hour later I decided to tell them that there are like 5 different kinds of breakfast on the table and parents are on there way to pick them up.

10 minutes later, they finally decided to eat, and I hear this...

"We should do this again, all together..."
"Like today... let's do it again today"
(from Cyndi) "But not in this house!"
::giggles::
"Connor, lets do it at your house."
"no"
"Let's do it at Alex's house."
"hey he didn't say no!"
"you know what would be funny... if we all just showed up at his house later today with our stuff."

Alex's dad arrived and Alex and Connor left. Mark will be taken home after I write this blog and post pictures.

The boys had a blast. Check my pictures (on myspace) for Ryan's Party photo album for all the pics, including Alex with makeup!