Facial Nerve Injections?

Waiting to hear back on a referral to see a Neurologist and Pain Specialist, probably also ENT doctor.  Hoping that I can finally get the MRI I have been waiting years for. Depending on what they find, there might be some treatment options to help with the Trigeminal Neuralgia as far as injecting the nerve or other procedures.  Getting the injection in my wrist tendon is painful enough. I can't even imagine how much an injection to a facial nerve is going to hurt.  They seriously better gas me to do it, because I know for a fact I will feel this through any local or topical they use on me, and it will trigger my neurocardio stuff in a bad way.  Feeling like a skewered piece of meat as a giant needle is jabbed into your jaw socket.  Awesome!

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Stress Flair, Reef Scare, Art Share

Stress Flair

Having an autoimmune attack relapse thanks to some unnecessary stress regarding being out of $500 from my service dog/medical fund, but we'll talk about that in detail later if the money doesn't magically appear by this Friday.  My body is having an absolute fit. Face is swollen again from angry glands and blocked draining.


Reef Scare

Woke up from pain early AM to discover to my horror that my reef tank temperature had dropped to 73F.  It's supposed to be 80F.  I just replaced the old heater with a brand new one with a gift card from Petsmart, because it was showing signs it would go soon.  So here I go deliriously flailing through pain and medicated stupor, thanking the gods I hadn't thrown the old one out yet, digging out the other old one I use for water change heatups to try and bump the temperature back up before anything died off.

Unfortunately it looks like one of my SPS propagates is toast.  Half it already slothed off and bleached out, the other half tissue necrosis and slothing starting.  I fought with this species since I first got the frag from father in law's tank as a rescue. If the tissue bed isn't thick enough it self destructs at slightest change. That's how I realized the old heater was starting to go, the temp wasn't holding stable and it showed signs of distress from it.  Thankfully I still have a thick patch growing nearby and it looks okay. Sometimes the colony will recede into the structure and might come back with time, and a lot of luck.  Otherwise I will try and transplant some onto the coral bone and hope it takes hold.  Because, science!


Art Share

I have gotten used to the new medication enough to where I think I can get back to detailed art work without making a total foobar of it.  I have a few long overdue pieces I will be sharing for winners of contest ages ago, and I will be working on the happy dog painting, streaming more of the progress with it, probably starting some tonight if I can get this swelling to go down a tad more so I can see out both eyes clearly.  I will post the stream link once it is set up and live when I do work on it, though may just randomly work since I can't predict how angry my body will get.

Hoping everyone else is having a better kickoff into 2017.

ER Visit, Trigeminal Neuralgia

Thank you to everyone for their thoughts and concern over me having to go to the ER yesterday.

ER finally confirmed what I have suspected for a while -  I have Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN). And it is probably directly caused by my Sjögren's Syndrome.

They gave me a new medication that tries to target TN nerve pain, and it was finally able to break through the agony late last night/early this morning.

I went to bed with the lower left side of my face swelling ( inflammation related ), and when I woke up today the entire left side of my face was swollen and eye watering from the puffy around it, making it hard to see out that side.  Using an ice pack on it, so will see if that helps reduce the swelling.

Otherwise I am stable, still in pain but new med is helping. Follow up with primary doc and Neurology Monday.  I am a zombie, will be while getting used to this new med.

Recap on what led to this point:

I was in so much pain, I hadn't been able to sleep for days ( worse than normal ) because the pain always gets insanely worse at night.  I have an extremely high tolerance for pain these days, and my Gaba med normally takes enough edge off that I can "ignore" it ( just suffer through it ).  On the second day it was getting to where I couldn't tolerate it anymore. Aunt tried to help by getting me all sorts of ice/heat packs and OTC stuff to dull pain.  It got so bad that night/early morning that I almost called an ambulance ( my aunt was asleep and she can't drive at night so only way I could have got to ER is that way or call cab and I was worried Medicaid would not cover ambulance ride and had no way to verify at 2am ).  It was weekend, no way to speak with Medicaid people to see what was covered, I just decided to suffer through it.

On the third day of insane pain I went through my entire daily dose of Gaba in 3.5hrs and it did nothing.  I knew it would only get worse again come evening and I didn't think I could deal with it again without wanting to destroy something from how much it hurt. For pain to hurt me bad enough to make me give in and go to the hospital or ER on a weekend, you know it is seriously bad.  So neighbor took me that evening since aunt can't drive at night ( thanks again so much! ) and dropped me off.

The EJGH staff was AMAZING. First person we were met with was security, and he stopped me when he saw Ember.... I was seriously ready to destroy someone/something at that point from the severe pain and I was having worried flashbacks of the horrible experience I had several years ago with the security douchebag at LSU hospital ER trying to deny me access if I didn't show him "proof" Ember was a real service dog ( this is against the law ).  Thank the gods, this lovely gentleman was far better trained and considerate. He noticed her vest and the patches clearly defining what she was, smiled and said nevermind and told me to go ahead. I heard other hospital staff whispering as we wandered past, all saying "its a service dog" to each other, sounding as relieved she was the real deal as I felt that they recognized what Ember was. They were tons more professional and knowledgeable.  That's why I chose to use EJGH general practice doctors for my care, and their conduct in the ER only reaffirms I made the right choice.

Compared to the LSU ER horror, getting in to the EJGH ER was quick and rather painless.  I was worried it would be crowded on a Saturday evening, and while there were enough other people, the staff had a nice system set up for intake and directing patients. They brought me to an exam room in a wheelchair to avoid me going full syncope due to the pain I was in, worried to make me walk that far down the hallways.  I was thankful for that.  Ember got to show off what a well trained dog she was and that made her happy.  She's been so worried over me the past few days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nurse helped me into the hospital bed and Ember took her place beside it to wait. I got to watch some HGTV while waiting for the doctor.  We don't have live cable anymore so it was a treat to watch.  The wait for the doctor was brief. She went over my history and current symptoms, I explained I had experienced this problem numerous times before but this was about the worst it had ever been. After a quick examination she agreed based on my history that
Trigeminal Neuralgia was most likely responsible, probably directly caused by my Sjögren's causing irritation/swelling/pressure against the nerve bundles somehow.  She wrote me a new prescription to try Carbamazepine, got an additional referral to Neurology for me, told me to follow up with my primary Monday, and that was that.  They discharged me with paperwork and took me to wait for a cab in the lobby, and were kind enough to make the call for me and inform them I had my service dog with me.

It was while waiting I noticed some tightness in my face on the left side, the effected side.  I was still in a ton of pain and rather out of it, but realized after poking at it gently that it felt like swelling, and not realizing it was there before I got a nurse to ask the doctor.  Unfortunately since they had already discharged me, it meant I would have had to have gone through the whole intake process again, and my cab driver showed up at that time.  Not wanting the poor gentleman to wait or have come out to get me for nothing, I decided it was probably from my
Sjögren's attacking the glands or something. I have had milder swelling where the salivary glands are before, figured that was it and decided it wasn't worth the trouble to wait around for them to likely not do anything else for me anyway.  Couldn't be medication related because I hadn't started the new medicine yet, so clearly it was inflammation.  I figured if it got worse, I could go back.

The cab driver was very nice and considerate, thought Ember was just amazing.  He called her a Rougarou ( Louisiana folklore / French for Werewolf ) when we first got in and told his dispatch he had "Miss Brittney and her Rougarou".  That made me all sorts of happy and geeky, and when I responded showing I knew what the term meant, he was just as delighted.  It was a pleasant drive home with good conversation, as much as I was limited to talk at the time.  Much thanks to Metry Cab and Mr. Jim!

My aunt was able to drive me to the 24-hour pharmacy just down the block, since it wasn't too far and well lit with street lights. Had to wait forever for the new med to be filled.  Finally got home. Took meds. Became a zombie. Finally got some rest.  Took me way too long to write this so it makes sense.  The end.

Physical Therapy, Autoimmune Flair Stuff

I have been pretty sick since last time I updated. I started physical therapy again the week before it hit really bad. It's a flairup caused from over exerting myself, and amplified by the weird changes in the weather here.  Haven't been sleeping well to begin with, so getting up to tend to puppy stuff wasn't as much an issue.  It got bad enough that I almost had a full syncope attack during my physical therapy, and probably fully would have if Ember hadn't alerted me in time so I could stop what I was doing and get to a safe position and warn the staff just in case.

To make matters worse I ended up falling during some hardcore pre-syncope roller coaster rides at home. Bruised myself up pretty good and was sore as hell.  Only to have to go right to the radiology appointments and be asked to contort myself in weird ways and get poked and prodded so they could do the scans, which further pushed my pain threshold.

Poor Ember has been hyper vigilant like she always gets when I get a flairup this bad. Unfortunately she has gotten to a point where it is increasingly difficult for her to do anything for me anymore. There have been several times where she lost her footing while counter balancing me and I almost fell down or into something. I haven't been using her for the balance and bracing assist as much because I don't want to hurt her or myself, and that has only made the flairup that much worse because of the added strain on my body.

I am getting to where I can use my hands again, now that the random painful skin splitting,bleeding, and other pleasantries that come with these flairs is calming some. One tiny scratch I got on my pinky morphed into a huge gash and kept refusing to stay closed and heal even with bandaids, ointments, and finally going as far as using liquid bandage to hold it together. It was very painful. A similar split formed on the corner of my thumb and has been almost as challenging to convince to stop splitting open and start healing.

Even still, I have managed to get 15 ceramic bowl dishes formed and drying as greenware, to be bisqued, glazed and fired to finish, a commission intended for office holiday gifts.  I also have full intentions to work on that dog portrait painting, even if I have to fully bandage my hands to do so.  I will stream while working on it, aiming for this Friday 16th around 8pm CST for anyone interested.

Moar Flares

Well, seems like I got my wish for cooler weather.  But along with the sudden change came a flareup of astronomical proportions. Everything is ANGRY. Migraine triggers with aura and halos, ocular distortion and blurred vision. I moved wrong and my lower back and hips aggroed and went out aaaand the icing on it all, my De Quervain's Tenosynovitis has flared up so bad I will probably need to get another corticosteroid injection.  But at least it's a little cooler out.  It's nice. But it would be nicer if my body didn't behave like it was the end of the world every time the weather changes.  Trying to be extra careful about how I move, but I refuse to let it slow me down again after I was just starting to recover from the last flare. Lots of Gaba and pain creams all over. I shall smell of menthol!  Excuse me while I go electrocute myself with my TENS.

Autoimmune Flairs Suck

I have been dragging through the past two months or so with a Sjögren's flair up. I get them regularly and stress and weather conditions, alongside complications from my Ehlers-Danlos and other conditions, can make them worse.

Been having a horrible time with my tooth and jaw issues.  The nerve pain has gotten so bad I have had to increase the amount of Gabapentin I am taking and taking it to near maximum daily allowances just to get relief. It's gotten so bad I have had to blender things I eat and stick to eating soft stuff. It's insanely frustrating because the pain is so bad at points between it and the Gaba I can't think straight or get anything done. I have a whole mess of updates and things to share for Chakotay that are back logged, among other things.

This is one of the first days the Gaba has been able to control the pain enough for me to sit and type some.  I also have some medical updates but that will come in a different post and may wait till Monday since I have an appointment with my Rheumatologist.  Hope everyone else is fairing better and doing well.

Disability Claim Denied, Appeal Time

The Social Security Administration denied my Disability claim.

Despite the overwhelming evidence I submitted.  Probably because they didn't bother reading any of it. Not surprising. Their job is to deny everyone.

Time to appeal and fight back.  It'll go to hearing before a judge. I knew it would happen this way, I was expecting it.  My current plan is to represent myself. I have already been formulating a best method of approach. I will probably be contacting people to request testimonies and witness statements as evidence for the court case.

I will need help and support through this difficult process. My life depends on this having a positive outcome. That may sound dramatic, but it is the truth. Without aid, I have nothing.  I am out of options.

Murphey's Law Kinda Week

This week has been utterly insane in the amount of flail worthy happenings.

One thing after another, little things adding up at first, and then some big things that left me cursing Murphey's Law.


Hard Drive Crash

The icing on that cake was one of my main hard drives just suddenly... dying.  It was from my old system, along with another drive that I thought actually had problems and was cautious not to put anything important on, even naming it "iffy drive".  But nooope, it is still working for the moment.

Instead the drive I had all my Steam games, saves, mods, etc on and a plethora of other stuff I hadn't fully copied ( I was running out of room on my portable drive -- which also might be going bad )....all poof!  No warning. It was fine when I went to bed, woke up the next day and tried to access something from it and got an error that the content didn't exist at that location. Which made me click on something else, getting the same error... my heart sinking as I opened my system info and the hard drive was no longer listed.

It sucks, but it's not as bad as some hard drive crashes I have had. I didn't lose every single thing. That only happened once when I was younger and first getting into computers, and after that, I religiously backed up everything multiple times if I could.  Because, with my luck, this sort of thing always happens.  Mike was kind enough to order a new hard drive to replace it, as part of my birthday present.  I need it for art stuff and Skyrim and Fallout offer me some happy when I am not able to do anything else.

Anyway, the drive came yesterday and I went to install it.  Rebooted. Nothing.  No new drive showing.  Which led to a hours of troubleshooting to conclude that thanks to Murphey's Law, I received a brand new hard drive that was DOA.

Seriously, what are the chances?  I am sending it back for a replacement.  We're hoping it is only that the new drive was also dead.  Otherwise the only other possibility is a motherboard problem.  With this brand new motherboard in this new system.  Which is going to make me flail to epic proportions because going through the warranty replacement process for that, having to take the whole computer apart and basically rebuild it and reinstall Windows... nope.  Not looking forward to that at all.


Osteopenia Confirmed, Dental Blarghs

In medical news I am still waiting to hear from SSA. Saw my Rheumatologist yesterday, and he did mention he'd just gotten something from SSA and hadn't had a chance to see what it was yet.  So we'll see what happens with that.  I told him about my fall and ankle/shin injury and how I was still having pain from it. He wrote me a prescription for some sort of topical that is different from the one for my wrist.

He also changed my Gabapentin prescription due to some issues I have had with the low income charity pharmacy giving me a hard time refilling it this week (because I blew through a 3 month supply in a month due to increasing problems with my teeth and jaws) and I had actually run out. It's not a medication you can just stop taking cold turkey.  I had to argue with them and beg to have their staff ask my doctor there to give me enough to cover until I could see my Rheuma this week, since I wouldn't be able to get an appointment soon enough with her.  My teeth/jaw have gotten so bad I actually had to finally resort to putting stuff in the food processor to make it more manageable since I can't really chew much of anything with my damaged teeth, without feeling excruciating pain.  Nerve pain is horrid and unforgiving.

I showed my Rheumatologist that Mayo Clinic radiology report that the fill-in doc ( who took over when my awesome doc left for his fellowship) totally fucked up on.  He confirmed it does show Osteopenia in my lumbar spine.  Though at first he didn't see it, and did the same thing I think the Mayo doctor did.  The hip values were okay and the info runs together.  He glanced right over it until I pointed right at it and he went back and more carefully read the values and went "Ahh, yep. Osteopenia."   So he wants me to get a bone density scan done as soon as I can, which will be when the Medicaid expansion hits hopefully in July.  It could be what's partly causing my lower back problems. Plan is to get lab work done to see if my blood calcium levels are abnormal/high without the supplement. See if there is any change in the spine scan, and go from there.  Just hope another two months or more doesn't make a huge difference on top of the 3 years I didn't know.  Everyone makes mistakes. It just sucks when a doctor does it and it could risk such a damaging and life changing condition becoming worse from not knowing soon enough.  Same reason I need to get that MRI done to rule out MS and some other neurological concerns based on certain symptoms I have had.


More later.

All Things Medical And Dental

Apologies for the recent radio silence. Been having a real rough go at it the past week or so. My teeth/jaws have gotten worse and the changing weather makes them flair real bad. The nerve pain I get from it is overwhelming.  My Gaba meds just manage to take the edge off. But then breakthrough pain hits and I take more Gaba to beat it back. Once enough is in my system, sedating effects kick in and I am lucky if I can manage to remain awake and coherent to get anything done.

On top of that, Wasabi has been sick recently and unexpected vet bills popped up. He is stable for the moment and on a new special diet, but may need surgery for teeth and other stuff. Really uneasy about putting him under with his age of around 12 years old ( he was an adult farm rescue estimated at a year or so old when I found him ).

I had Chakotay in two training classes, but had to drop one to get the refund because his next round of vaccinations are due and I didn't get money I was supposed to for that because of other drama. The only reason we can remain in the other is because a friend/fellow trainer is kind enough to let us sit in on a puppy class she has as an assistant trainer so Chakotay still gets the exposure and socialization. Really need to generate more money for service dog purposes.

Still waiting to hear back from SSA.  Have a doctor's appointment on the 12th with my Rheumatologist.  Trying to find out about getting in for oral surgery somewhere so I can FINALLY get these horrible teeth taken care of.  They need to come out and I need implants, which is going to cost a small fortune ( insurance does not cover implants normally, even if I had insurance, which I do not). Because of my EDS and other medical quirks, I can't do dentures. The longer I wait, the worse it gets and I am risking more serious bone loss and complications in my jaw and facial structure. I am already in constant pain and having major difficulties chewing/eating and talking for extended amounts of time.  It is miserable, but there isn't much I can do without the money.

I tried going through LSU dental school but haven't heard back on the new referral in months and last I asked they claimed they didn't do them anyway ( which I find odd since you know, where else is a dental surgeon going to learn to do the procedure? ). They told me I'd have to find somewhere else to go.  So now I am searching for an oral surgeon locally who might empathize with my situation and be willing to somehow work with me before this becomes more serious than it already is and requires more extensive corrective surgery of not just dental structure, but entire jaw bone structure.

Happier updates with puppy pictures and art stuff later.

Fall Down, Go Ow

Apologies in advance for excessive use of vulgar language here, but pain warrants it.

I fell and hurt myself. I was on the floor almost 20mins waiting for it not to hurt as much. My ankle/shin front hurts like a fucker now. My elbow is split open, it caught most of the fall and slide.

Think I sprained it, high ankle sprain. Doing laundry, fucking washcloth I didn't see, slipped against tile floor, I tried to recover and locked legs to balance, I think it twisted, then I felt a sharp intense pain and leg buckled, went down hard and hit elbow going down, caught self on edge of bed. Landed right between bed and puppy kennel.

Ember was right on me seeing if I was okay and then puppy started bawling and pawing at me through the kennel. I was literally seeing red it hurt so much and knew if I got up too fast I'd pass out, I could feel it. So just lay there with the dogs and cats worrying at me till I felt safe to sit up and crawl to desk to reach my cell.



Keep ice/elevating it and put on ankle stabilizer and ACE bandage. It hurts real fucking bad just sitting here no matter how I rest. Hurts more if I bend it a certain way.  Constant throbbing burning, and hurts to bear weight but I can walk on it. If I put any pressure against shin area it hurts like a fucker. Even uncomfortable with ankle brace and ACE bandage against it.

Going to try and force to walk on it though because if it is tibia/fibula that is bad place to get weakness, and feels like it is.

I just don't want my other parts to get angry and fucked up because of it. Knee and hip will be next and hip on that side was already snarky. But pain in shin/ankle has brain totally ignoring rest. Then the other side of my body is going to get angry for compensating and working too much to make up for the injury on the other side.

Ugh. So much for being as productive as I wanted to be.

That's what I get for trying to clean the house more than I normally do.

Don't want to call or text mom or aunt because not much they can do. They are both 2hrs+ away right now. Aunt went to visit friends for the weekend so I am home alone with the animals.

I don't want to go to the damned ER. They are such shit here and don't think I can comfortably drive myself let alone get to ER I went to last time because there is no parking and there is no way I am walking that far on this.

Would have to probably go to one in Metairie 30mins from here. All they are going to tell me is do what I already am for it probably, besides taking xray maybe.

Was hurting enough that I said fuck it and took two Aleve ( I am on Meloxicam so really only supposed to take that once a day and nothing else ) and Gaba. Not sure how long it should take to kick in.

Going to sit here with a Grumpy Cat look on my face and shake my cane.

Back Gone Out

So. Much. Pain.  I somehow managed to hurt my back over a week ago and could hardly move when it first happened. After a few days of TENSing, pain creams, Gaba, and resting and hobbling in crazy ways to stay comfortable, it finally felt a little better yesterday. Then today I had to go to the dentist. And it hurt, a lot. The numbing agent they use doesn't work on me, and even taking two Gaba before I still felt it ( though probably less than if I had not taken Gaba ). Ember was worried sick as she lay over in the corner watching and I had to reinforce her stay a few times because she was concerned if I was okay and sensed I was in pain and having pre-syncope symptoms. My hip was bothering me earlier from subluxing, but I finally popped it back into place and felt okay for about 30mins after.  I don't know if it was tension from the dental appt or having to drive that did it, but now I can hardly move or bend or twist/turn again without horrible pain. Doesn't matter if I sit or stand or lay, still hurts. I have already fallen behind in my schedule for getting stuff done because of it and because of the insane bad weather that passed through this area last week.  I am waiting for an ortho back brace to come tomorrow, and hoping it offers some kind of relief or at least support so this damned thing heals.  I can't stand not being able to do anything without feeling this kind of pain, on top of the nerve pain I already feel from my stupid teeth.  Don't mind me, just need to vent and write about it so I have a record and reminder of it I can look back at later.  There is other news medical and back related that may not be good, that I ironically came across while getting everything ready for the disability case.  I haven't wanted to say until it's a pretty sure thing, and only a handful of people know about it.  I really need to get XRays and an MRI, but this shitty excuse for GNO citycare doesn't cover that kind of thing. Having to wait till June/July or after and pray the Medicaid expansion really does FINALLY go through thanks to the new governor overruling the old asshole's block on it.....it can't come soon enough.  I'm not sure if I can wait if this doesn't let up, but I don't really want to have to go through the horrid local ER system like I did before with my wrist and get absolutely no help and waste time and energy I don't have doing so.  So in the meantime I will flail ineffectively and smell of menthol as I electrocute myself.  Hope everyone else is doing well.

Jaw Dislocations

So however long ago it was that my jaw got stuck open that one night where I couldn't close it, and had to pop it back in place, apparently my jaw has been dislocated all this time since!

Which must be why the grinding/popping stuff got so much worse, and was hurting more, I could hardly chew or open my mouth fully.  It started bothering me real bad the past week or so.  I tried flexing and massaging and pushing at the area for some relief.  I popped it the other night and had a sharp pain at the hinge area the past few days. Been taking Gaba, and the nerve pain in the jaw hinge finally let up and I noticed today I could chew mostly normal. I was just able to eat a hamburger for dinner mostly normally for the first time in goodness knows how long!!  There is still popping sensations like I had prior to the dislocation, but not nearly as frequent or as painful. Trying to be extra careful with it.  Fingers crossed it behaves itself.

Snarky body

My body has been throwing a fit ever since I stopped working Journey.  The more time passes without the help of a dog, the worse I feel.  I haven't really been out anywhere in nearly two weeks but I finally had to go pick up a few groceries. So sore and exhausted afterwards. My hips, knees, back, and ankles are seriously on the warpath and my normal exercises are not helping. Soaking in a warm bath or TENS is only temporary. Gaba helps for breakthrough, but I am having to take it more frequently to control things during the flairs which increases fatigue and cognitive difficulties.  Changes in weather probably aren't helping either.  Migraine keeps coming and going.  I hope one of these organizations will accept me to receive a new assistance dog. Otherwise I am not sure what I am going to do. One day at a time.

Migraines suck

Of course it figures that tonight when I decide to try and do things, since I gave myself time off to recover from the jewelry show outing last week, my body doesn't agree.  Migraines suck.  Felt it starting earlier and tried to fight it off, but it's gotten to eye socket stabbing proportions. I will take more Gaba, sniff tiger balm, and hope it will ease up so I can do a few more productive things tonight. If not, there's always tomorrow... or the next day.... or the next day.

Body, behave

Having a real snarky flareup since last month that won't stop. Starts off like a sinus infection with migraines and feeling fatigued like having a constant flu, but it's not bacterial or viral in nature ( at least to the point of being contagious to others ). Sore throat, "raw" feeling tongue and inner mouth with ulcerations. One moment nasal drip choking me, the next so stuffy I can't breath except through mouth and my Sjögren's makes it worse because I dry out so easy. Weak body and balance disturbances leave me running into walls/door frames and random objects and bumping things because I feel detached from my body when its this bad. Riding my personal roller coaster dizzily swaying about. Everything hurts, esp lower back/hips. Swelling in legs and puffy small joints, sore glands. So bad the other day I had to resort to using cane and I *hate* doing that. It starts to let up a little for a few days so I try to get things done that I couldn't do while I was worse off and being mindful not to overdo. I thought I had kicked it, but then it comes back strong. Body can't decide if insomnia or hypersomnia is better. This is the worst I have ever been since I got Journey and he is beside himself, not sure how to respond. He's been extra pushy and bothersome, acting out repeatedly. Still trying to fine tune his responses and how fast he moves ( normal, he's still learning ), he gets a little carried away when he is particularly worried or senses I am not doing well, which has been worse the past week or so. Haven't gotten as much done as I have wanted on account of being sick and lacking the coherency and energy to do most of it. Don't mind me while I blob about.

Tooth pain

So much for being productive tonight. Having issues with some teeth ( old fillings came out, etc ) and no coverage, no money, so keep having to put off getting them fixed. The pain has been... eh... there, but somewhat tolerable for months.  Until tonight. One spot must be exposed, because I got nerve pain jolting and since I reduced my Cymbalta oh gods does it hurt. Drowning myself with Anbesol and Orajel and hoping maybe the weather we're expecting is to blame and it lets up because I can't afford to get it fixed.  Sucks, but is what it is.