Jun
22

TMI Argh

Posted in Interstitial Cystitis, tmi | 7 Comments
The problem with having a chronic illness go into remission is that you have a tendency to forget what it’s like when it’s here. I’m assuming that’s a defense mechanism of the body – which sort of makes sense. I think I read somewhere that the body cannot actually remember pain. I mean, you can remember feeling it, but when you remember it, your body doesn’t flare up where you stubbed your toe. (And things like Phantom pain aren’t really in the same category.) Anyway, I’ve started the beginnings of an IC flareup. Noticed something was off the other night. I wouldn’t call it a bladder spasm, exactly, but I knew when I hit the bathroom before going to bed that something wasn’t right. I have a tendency to try to pretend it’s not happening – and maybe that works for a day or so (and sometimes I’m lucky and… Read more
Mar
24

Drugs Are Bad, Mmmkay?

Posted in back pain, drugs, grumpy as fuck, tmi | 7 Comments
I can easily admit I’m the Queen of Chronic Disorders. I’ve got several. I’ve been on a lot of medications with varying degrees of success – everything from low-grade antidepressants for pain to full-blown anti-seizure meds: Elavil, Neurontin, Vicodin, Voltaron, OxyContin, Flexeril, Xanaflex, Celebrex, Elmiron, Lexapro and my new favorite, Ultram ER. Now, I’m used to a fair amount of side effects. Most of the pain killers or anti-depressants would give me a nice form of cotton mouth or make me a bit sleepy, at least until I got used to them. (And I’m not on any long term drugs at all at this point, so lucky me), but the two worst offenders for me were the Lexapro and the Ultram. I went on the Lexapro at one point last year for anxiety issues – something fairly low dose, and I did notice that I immediately felt a bit more… Read more