Tag: cauda equina syndrome

Random 710

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, blogging, depression, mood disorders

My therapist was wicked talkative today. I don’t know what got into her. She just was very inquisitive today. It made the session go by fast. We talked about a situation I am in with a certain person. I don’t know how to handle it. My therapist prefers that I don’t but I fear the longer I don’t have contact with this person, the worse it will be. I had to laugh because she kept on saying stuff that indicated stigma. I wanted to bring it out to her so I might give her the blog with what she was saying. She also was asking when will I be mailing her the letter I wrote and I blanked out on her. I totally forgot about the abuse letter I wrote the other night. I might work on it tonight and then mail it out tomorrow. That will be next week’s topic.

I figured out why the Otterbox didn’t fit my phone. It’s the wrong one and because I have had it so long, I can’t return it. So I am trying to sell it. If anyone needs an Otterbox for an S5 ACTIVE phone, let me know. I really should read when I buy things. Now I don’t have a case for my phone. I am tempted to use the box until I sell it but it is such a pain getting the phone in and out of the case! I am not going out today but might tomorrow. I will have to use it to protect it. I finally transferred my ringtones to my phone. My therapist’s ring is now the old one instead of the generic one I had. The sad part is that I don’t have my Star Trek tones in the folder. I am going to have to download the app again to get it. It annoys my mother when the communicator beep goes off for my text messages.

It’s a really damp and cold day out. You would think June would be warm but it’s fucking cold! I like it but it makes me sleepy and want to go back under the covers to get warm. Like predicted, I am sore as all hell from the 2 mile walk I took yesterday. My back, hip, and calves are hurting me. I have been resting most of the day, except to go down to the cold kitchen to make something to eat. My kitchen doesn’t have good installation so it gets really cold in cold weather. You might as well be outside.

I had a bowel attack while I was having therapy today. It was not fun. I don’t understand why, as I had already gone like an hour or two before. I think even though I have seen my therapist for years, I still get nervous talking to her and that brings about a bowel attack. Luckily, I didn’t lose it. I don’t know how, probably because the stools were hard. That has been my saving grace. Got to love CES, Cauda Equina Syndrome. NOT.

I’m still in a depression so have decided to stay off of FB as much as possible. I left a status saying that I will be on Twitter if anyone cares. Some of my friends are on Twitter so I know they will talk to me if they need me. I am just tired of the idiotic postings on FB. Especially of the poor dog that had tape around his muzzle. That really disgusted me. I had to remove the post. I don’t understand why people have to post things like that. There are very few things that get me but posting a sick baby with tubes all over him/her is one of the creepiest pics. Okay, we get your kid is sick. No need to post it to the internet, because I will just gloss over it and keep scrolling. Or report if for gross content. There were some porn covers from books that I had to report to remove them. You wants to see a couple having sex on the cover is just gross. I will not buy that book. Not like I am into that thing anyway. I am too much of a nerd to be interested in that kind of erotica. Speaking of books, I just realized, I haven’t gotten my latest shipment. I gave away my last book so needed more so I could send it to my former therapist.

Today would have been my parents 43rd wedding anniversary. They have been divorced for at least 20 years. I don’t know why it still bothers me but it does. I understand that it had to happen. It is one of the main reasons why I started going to therapy. Tomorrow is my favorite Uncle’s birthday. He would have been 101. I miss him very much.

Burning up

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, chronic physical pain, depression, mood disorders

I’ve done my errands for the day. Now I can take my pain meds for my ankle. I don’t have to drive anymore. Today is National Burger Day so I am thinking of ordering my favorite burger from my pizza place. It has avocados in it and I love it. But the rest of the Chinese food that I had for lunch really filled me up and the heat is making me sick. I don’t know if I could eat anything right now. Maybe later. It’s close to 90 degrees in my room. I have to bring that temp down if I am going to be comfortable. I feel like I am burning up.

I was talking with a fellow blogger today. We get a long really well. I hope the situation she is in gets better. She suffers from depression, like I do and it’s interfering with her getting well, or at least doing stuff around the house. I just want to tell her to leave it, so it doesn’t stress her out but I understand how things can pile up and then become unmanageable. I did some cleaning around my room today, which made me feel good. If the recycle bin wasn’t already overflowing, I would throw out what I have collected. It’s just old water and powerade bottles that have missed the basket. I didn’t realize I was such a bad shot until I moved stuff around so my brother in law can install the AC. Good thing I don’t play professional basketball! I’d stink like yesterday’s garbage.

Meeting with my father was interesting. He was in an aggravating mood. Damn guy just wouldn’t keep his hands to himself. Kept fake punching me or moving his papers so I couldn’t see my phone. God, he is so fucking annoying. But he needed to have his blood drawn today. I probably will get results hopefully tomorrow. I hope they are normal. Last time they were high. Before that, it was low. I give up. I just do what they tell me and then relay it in child speak to my father. 83 going on 5. Bastard is probably going to live to be 100. And why not, he has me doing all his medical stuff for him to keep him alive. I bring him to the best doctors (aside from his PCP, who is a jerk). But to him, I am just his secretary. Next week starts his other stuff that I won’t be too happy about. Every Thursday in June there is a medical appointment for him. God help me.

I really am feeling low and sick. Heat is not my friend. Since my nerve injury, I have grown intolerant to high temperatures. I hope this doesn’t mean I am stuck in my house until the heat wave is over, once the AC is in. I will venture out for my mocha. I think it’s going to be cooler next week. I hope so anyways. It’s not even June yet and it’s humid and yucky out. So shoot me if I am the first person to complain about the heat. Least there is a cool breeze now and then. I have my window open to try and air out my room and get the air circulating. I am really miserable.

I called my therapist today and asked her to answer my text about the abuse and whether I should write about it to her. She still hasn’t answered me. I hope she got the text. Both our phones have been acting up lately. My phone is having trouble answering phone calls. I ordered a new phone today. I will get my glasses next month. I need a lifeline and it is my phone. If I can’t get phone calls, what the hell is the purpose of the device? Today I was trying to call my father and the damn launcher crashed. I couldn’t do anything until it went through it’s shut down phase. Then things were alright again. It just kills me that this is happening just three years after my last upgrade. I guess the phone is only as good as the OS (operating system). I know they came out with a newer Android OS. It is on the newer phones. My cousin has the S5, which is what I will be getting. I can’t wait to use it. But it won’t come until possibly sometime over the weekend of next week. I had to order it because they didn’t have the phone in stock. It was kind of a hassle because they wanted me to “lease” the phone and I didn’t want that option. I wanted a 2yr agreement. Turns out I saved a dollar by ordering it in the store rather than online. Too funny. I complained about the customer service being not too friendly with my request. I hope that I have everything the same as I do. I know that I will be paying a little more each month with the new upgrade, but to me it’s worth it. It’s my phone and I can do what I want with it. I just hope I can do what I want with it, like putting music on it and such. The phone is going to have a 64GB external SD card so I can load my pics and music. I should probably do that tonight so I don’t have to do anything when the phone comes in. Just plug in and hope it all works!

Therapist just got back to me. I have some writing to do that is not going to pleasant. Writing about past abuse rarely is pleasant. I won’t go into graphic details because that could be triggering. And I am already a little post, PTSD with my foot. Because I couldn’t move my toes the other day, it set me off big time. My anxiety was through the roof. I just am now back to my “normal” level of heightened awareness. Plus, bruising my last toe pretty good really got me freaked out. I think I will wait a few days. I don’t have to have this done till at least Tuesday. That should give me time to think about what I want to write and stuff. I just hope it is helpful to me. I also know that I don’t have to do this. My Ativan supply is limited until I get a refill next week so I really have to think about what I want to write. Ativan is the only med that helps with my PTSD symptoms, which is mostly anxiety and overthinking. I used to really be on guard every time my foot swelled up and I couldn’t move my toes. I would think that I was getting CES again but I would have no other symptoms such as numbness, pain in the legs/back, loss of bowel/bladder, etc. But I would just go nuts and flip out. The Ativan has helped me so much that I don’t flip out as often anymore. I don’t take it all the time, just when I need it. The funny thing is, it really is just my brain on fire when the symptoms of PTSD occur. I really have to ground myself with distraction, or talking with the voices (mostly because my agitation level is up) or I have to take pain meds to quiet the pain flare. It doesn’t happen as often anymore, but when it does, I am a wreck. I have to continually tell myself it isn’t going to happen. It’s hard because the brain wants you to go crazy and you are fighting yourself with not going crazy. I hope this makes sense.

Ankle Woes

by Midnight Demon, posted in blogging, chronic physical pain, depression

I love Grubhub. I just ordered dinner, as a treat to myself because I have been in pain the past few days. I have been hardly eating because it’s painful to go down the stairs. While I was downstairs washing what is left of my hair (had a haircut today), I stubbed my last toe on my good foot. It’s pretty swollen but I don’t think I broke it. I put ice immediately on it. I now have the ice pack on my bad ankle as it’s swollen too. I did too much today. I went to my doctor’s office and they screwed up my prescription for my blood pressure medication. I was supposed to get a hard copy and instead they sent it to the mail in pharmacy. I didn’t want that because it costs too much. The retail pharmacy where I filled it at was just $1.72! For a month’s supply. Last month I paid $10! I don’t get it. It is made by the same manufacturer but I don’t care. I saved big time. But while I was waiting, I had to stand for a good twenty minutes, which just aggravated my poor ankle. I came home to my foot and ankle swollen. So I am glad I have the ice on it now. I hope it will ease some of the pain, too.

I really wanted to get pad Thai and spring rolls from my favorite Thai restaurant in Boston but I didn’t want to wait around. I was already hurting and I forgot to call before I got my haircut. I love my haircut. It is a military crew cut. My mother is going to flip but I don’t care. If she says anything about being a boy, I will tell her I am one! I am tired of being the one getting hurt by the comments. She always has to snicker in these snide remarks and makes me feel like an asshole. I am not giving in to her snide remarks this time.

My day went fairly well, despite being held up by an incompetent medical assistant that can’t read. My psychiatrist had to cancel the appointment this morning so that went well for me as I didn’t have to rush around. I don’t see her till next week. I am tempted to give her an update but something keeps holding me back. I don’t know why, I have given her updates before our appointment so she knows ahead where my head is. I think it’s because I am afraid she might tell me to go to the emergency room for the pain I have been experiencing and I don’t want to do that. There is nothing they can do for me, other than to rule out a clot or something. I know I don’t have anything broken. Hell, my foot isn’t even red, despite being swollen. My little toe on my right foot hurts more than my regular pain right now. That is the toe I stubbed in the kitchen. It got snagged on one of the kitchen chairs. And it hurts big time. But with the ice, the swelling has gone down a little bit so I don’t think I broke it.

Therapy went smooth. I didn’t talk most of the session. I did bring up the abuse that has been running through my head the last few days. I just have difficulty talking about it because she keeps telling me it’s not my fault when I know that it is. If I had “listened” to my mother, I wouldn’t have been abused. It’s a long story that I don’t wish to publicize on this blog. Time ran out conveniently when we were arguing about this. She wants me to write it in my journal and I may just do that. I just wish some people on Twitter would have the decency to censor what they tweet about childhood sexual abuse. Just mentioning, triggered back memories I was happy not remembering.

It is so damn hot in my room. I need the AC in by tomorrow. This is getting ridiculous!! If I didn’t hurt my foot, I would have my brother in law install it tonight. But I can’t move the stuff I need to because I can’t stand. UGH, another night in a sweltering room. Even my sheets are hot, like they just came out of the dryer or something. I so wanted to take a shower tonight but between pain in both of my feet, that is kind of impossible. I just want to fucking scream. Sox better win tonight or I really will be an unhappy camper. They lost last night, 2-1. Buchholz got no run support, again. Story of the season, I tell ya! It sucks!!!

Pain and suicide

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, cauda equina syndrome, chronic physical pain, depression, suicidality

I started off my day in pain, around 0400. I hate waking up in pain. I stayed up for a little while and finally gave in to taking pain meds around 0800 when I just couldn’t take it anymore. I texted my therapist and she gave me a time for today. I really need someone to talk to. I feel like I am losing my mind with this loss of sleep. I went back to sleep after I had breakfast and the pain meds kicked in. I had weird dreams about my psychiatrist. We were on a boat and she wanted to give me a cortisone injection in my hip. That was the first dream. The second dream was also on a boat but other than that, I don’t remember much. What was weird, is that when I woke up, my hip was hurting me. I think I need to go back to physical therapy to get it looked at. It has been bothering me for some time now, since November of last year. I sneezed and pulled my back out. It took me a month to recover and then I sneezed again right before Christmas and took it out again. I have been limited in what I can do. Today I walked to Walgreens which is only a block and half from my house. By the end of the block, my hip was in agony and I didn’t think I was going to make it but I pushed through. It got a little better by the time I reached the store. I only went in for a couple of items and by the time I reached home, I was still sore. I haven’t done any lifting or sneezing the past few days so I am not sure why my hip is bothering me so much. I know it’s muscular because if I rub where it hurts, there are knots there. I just hope that it’s not the beginning of getting my nerve condition again. I have no other symptoms, like radiating pain down my leg or increase in loss of my bowels or bladder to make me think I am in trouble. But the thing with CES, Cauda Equina Syndrome, things can escalate quickly and without warning. The main reason I don’t want to make a fuss about it, is that I know most physical therapists don’t understand nerve injuries. Yes, muscle pain is common in back injuries but my back muscles have been injured because of nerve damage. That is why my hip goes out when I have a horrific sneeze attack.

My foot still hurts. It has been hurting more since I came back from the store. I can’t stand that I am still having trouble walking after all this time. Last night, I had swelling, severe pain, and the veins popped out in my foot. I don’t get how this is not CRPS, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. I know the skin changes are not that drastic. But then when I see a doc, I don’t have the worse pain of my life. I might be a 3-5 on a scale of 1-10 when I see a doc. What annoys me is that my PCP doesn’t believe that I have this condition, even after three doctors have told me I have it. It just makes me want to kill myself in frustration. Severe pain always brings out the suicide part of me, not like it isn’t already there to begin with. The pain just gives me the little push I need to think about it more. I just feel trapped. I know that if I kill myself, more than 115 people will be crushed. The people most devastated will be my family and psychiatric team (therapist and psychiatrist). It is this reason why I haven’t attempted. I think that if I had a place to go to, I might be more willing to try. I don’t want to kill myself at home because I don’t want my family to find me like that. But I can’t afford a hotel room and I can’t risk someone finding me in a public place, like a park or something. I can picture myself going through with any of my methods that are running in my head, but I just don’t have the guts to actually go through with it. I am pathetic.