On our way back to Ann Arbor for follow up apts. three of them back to back. My back is going to be my biggest challenge, well that and the ever present migraine. Luckily the migraine has been much more manageable the past couple of days but its presence still makes concentration difficult. Weather looks good for most of our trip though so that is a blessing.
Dr. Lake, the pain psychologist: It was his voice on the relaxation CD that helped get me through some tough times. I really enjoyed visiting with him again. I feel like I can truly speak freely and tell him about what is going on in my life…the good and the bad. I also got to try a little bit of biofeedback to see what it was all about.
Andrea, the physical therapist: She did some hands on stuff and discovered that a major trigger point for me is in my temple region. She prescribed Ethyl Chloride spray to help relieve the pain for a brief period. She also helped me with doing stairs since my back was still in pretty bad shape after back to back Blood Patches.
Dr. Arnaldo DaSilva, neurologist, head pain specialty: On this visit I just met with Gail, the PA and decided to keep all of my meds the same since I had just gotten out of the hospital 2 days ago. She also thought I had thrush in my mouth, so she prescribed an antifungal in case I needed it.
So apparently when you use Biofreeze to sooth post IV arm pain it is not a good idea to put a hot rice bag on afterwards. It was several hours and the Biofreeze didn’t do much. Oops. Off to ice it now! The red did finally go away but the pain remained. Nothing could touch my entire forearm on the top…it was pretty awful.
my family's new normal 