GRINNING LIKE A CHESHIRE CAT

Had another visit with my doctor this week.

i have been really struggling with a sharp increase in joint pain and stiffness over the past 3 weeks.
primarily my hands/fingers, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and feet.
i guess, suffice it to say, just about every joint has been affected.
to say the pain has been unbearable would be an understatement.
i have spent the past 3 weeks gobbling down pain pills like they are candy...and at best, what i've been using has only knocked the edge off the pain.
i need something stronger.
i WANT some heavy duty pharmaceuticals!

i have never been a fan of using pharmaceuticals....says she who has a picc line in her arm.
oh the irony!
i loathe putting "pharma-chemicals" into my body
always have
even now and even before i got LD
prior to getting LD, i was so anti-drug that i even opted for natural child birth with all 3 kids
no drugs.
no pain management.
no big deal (okay, admittedly my longest labor was only an hour - but, hey, it was still labor and resulted in a 9 pound baby!)

pain is relative
mind over matter.
or
so i used to say.

i changed my mind this week.
i want drugs.
thank you very much.

off for a visit to DR A
where i was frank and to the point;
"i hurt real bad. i want drugs."

now he's a compassionate and lovely fellow
but he is also a responsible doctor
so before pulling out his magic rx pad
he spent some time examining my swollen, red joints
and of course we had a little chat about drug options
unfortunately my choices are somewhat limited because of my current toxicity issues
and then there is the minor problem of the whole tricky factor associated with LD
tricky as in
often many drugs have little effect on symptoms if they are LD related

but there are some viable, non-addictive options
anything is worth trying at this point

so DR A wrote me a prescription
god bless him
and
he also gave me some FREE samples to try

my friend Tina, who often chauffeurs me around to my various appointments, was waiting for me when i excitedly came hobbling out of the office

"what's going on?" she asked with brow raised suspiciously, "you're grinning like a cheshire cat!"

"i got drugs." i giddily replied. "i even got some for FREEEEE!"




so that was tuesday.
too early to tell if they are working yet.
last couple of days i've had better joint mobility and less pain
whether that is just because of the natural waxing and waning cycle of this disease
or
that the drugs are actually helping
i couldn't tell you
only time will tell.
until then
when i feel the need to smile
i look at my little boxes of narcotic freebies
and
grin like a cheshire cat.