Today marks the end of my final two weeks of continuing edcuation time for this year. I've been doing plenty of reading and relaxing - not a bad idea given that it's full speed ahead from now until Easter. I'm sermon-writing today, which explains the first blog post in a month. Seriously, show me one preacher who doesn't have a long list of "Look, Shiny!" distraction tactics. I like to think of it as a way of opening up that creative energy. Or maybe I'm just procrastinating.
I spent the first two days of my study leave in Toronto at the pain clinic. Same as last time: about 25 injections of Medicinal Botox. We also had a lovely visit with our son who lives out West for most of that week as well, which was great.
The first thing people tend to ask me after I return from the clinic is "Did it Work?" This is such a tough one to answer. It depends entirely on what one means by "work". The direction of the question is always a hopeful one. Kind and generous hearts are hopeful that once and for all, the pain is completely and permanently gone.
The answer is no.
On the other hand, after each treatment I get 3-5 months of greatly decreased intensity and frequency in the pain department. For me, at this point, that is what I call success. Is the pain gone entirely? No. Is it easier to cope with day to day? Yes. Do I still have bad days when light and sound, and frankly everything, makes the hot spike in the side of my head fire up a little more than usual? Yes. But not as often as I did before my clinic visit.
The good news: I can only have Botox every 4 months because, while approved for treatment, it is still a toxin. However, my pain doc has invited me to come back in between treatments as needed to receive a series of trigger point injections with lidocaine to tide me over. She used lidocaine for the first round to determine the location of my major trigger points and I had about 2 weeks of relief. In any case, it is good to have a back-up if that four month time frame is looking and feeling a bit too long.
Enough of that.
Because I didn't have to be up early in the morning for these weeks of study leave, I was able to catch my favourite band as they made the rounds of the late-night shows to coincide with the release of their second video.
First, there was Leno (apparently both Vanessa Hudgens and Daniel Radcliffe - they were the guests that night - are Evanescence fans and were quite starstruck). The song "My Heart is Broken":
Well, the Leno video isn't allowed in Canada, so I'll try the actual video...
Then there was Conan - "Made of Stone":
and a Conan bonus - "The Other Side" - they closed the Nashville show with this one.
Ok, back to sermonizing. Have a great day everyone!
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5 comments:
That's so great that the Botox helps you!
Do you experience any side effects from the injections? And are they shooting you in the neck, too, or just the head? I had one round, it went horribly, and I've been nervous to try again...
Steph, I get 100 units in total with about 25 separate injections. Side effects include a little bruising here and there, but I bruise easily at the best of times.
Also, the more treatments I get, the more my eyelid droops on the right side (where my referred pain is at its worst, in the temple area).
I get roughly 1/4 of the total 100 units in the two main nerves in the right occipital area. The rest are in my main trigger point problem areas - a few in the sternocleidomastoid muscle, some above the temple (thus the droopy eye) and a few more above my right eyebrow.
If she has any leftover at that point, she puts it in the left occipital and left eyebrow area to cover that 10% of the time that my pain is on the left side instead of the right.
Oh, the other thing I've read recently and the doc confirmed it, is that the results are cumulative. In other words, the longer you continue treatment, the better the results.
Obviously, that has to play out over a long period of time since I can only receive Botox every 4 months, but still, it helps with that decision about whether to go back for more.....
Sue, so glad the Botox had a positive effect! I still haven't come to terms with being in pain the rest of my life; it's something I need to do. Reading this inspires me to work towards that acceptance.
But enough about me (seriously), I'm thrilled that this makes a positive change in your pain -- I've been hoping that you'd find something helpful! You deserve it.
Thank you so much Emily!
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