Feels Like the First Time

I finally realized yesterday and today that I've done something I haven't done in quite awhile.

Ladies and gentlemen....I've made progress.

Progress. PROGRESS!!!!

In my struggles with IC/PFD and vulvodynia I have found very little to be helpful other than just not doing anything...and even that is not helpful. This weekend, though I had bouts of pain and fatigue, I finally realized that I'm not in the same ballpark of pain that I was before. I was able to have sex and not be completely debilitated afterwards. And while that may be personal and not a big issue to some, it's a HUGE issue for me.

I think the combination of everything I've been doing is FINALLY helping. Here's what I've been doing that I feel contributes to my progress:
1. Physical therapy. Without it, this progress would be nonexistent.
2. Switch from Lyrica to Neurotonin. I've had relief much quicker.
3. TENS Unit. I actually decided to get a home unit and I'm using it quite a bit--every other day or so. It helps a lot.

I'm nowhere near done with this and there will be setbacks along the way, but it's so nice for ONCE to be moving forward instead of backwards. It's a small step for some, but a giant leap for Mekind.

Now if I could only move forward in other health-related areas. This is inspiration though.

Tense about TENS

I am testing out a TENS unit "at home" (I'm at work really) today. TENS=Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator.

Basically, what it looks like is a generic white box the size of an older palm pilot that can clip somewhere on your clothing attached to some wires which then hook onto some electrodes, mine are placed on the lower back. The little electrodes send out this wave of stimulation which feels neat, and is supposed to relieve pain.

If that wikipedia entry I cited above is true, it may not, though. This BBC article also sheds some light on the subject.

Like I said, it feels nice and we've been using it in PT, but I haven't noticed any long lasting effects from using it. So I'm going to test it out more today (since I already have the electrodes on) and see where that goes. This seems to be the common theme:

Please keep in mind that TENS is not effective in curing pain; it can only to treat it and make the pain more tolerable.

Well, I guess that's good too. We shall see. The above picture appears to be the exact model I'm testing out.

Physical Therapy Results

I'm about two and a half weeks into PT now and I'm starting to feel some results. They're small, but I can tell you that I'm less sore today after I had PT yesterday than I have been any day after PT yet.

It may not sound like much, but that's progress to me. And I'll take what I can get.

My ultimate goal is to be ready to start walking and/or going to the gym in a few weeks. Because I can't handle that now.

Music to my ears...

I had my appointment with Donna, the nurse practitioner at the WISH program at Beaumont. I cannot recommend this program enough. She thoroughly went through my health history and non-health history to put together a timeline of not only my symptoms, but perhaps some causes. She also did a brief exam and gave me some solutions.

Two medical things she did for me--gave me a prescription for a lidocaine ointment for the vulvodynia and gave me a prescription for Lyrica for the PFD and the vulvodynia.

I have to be honest, I haven't used the ointment yet. I think I'm kind of scared of it. I also kind of feel like if I'm not doing anything down there, I'd rather not numb it up.

I have tried the Lyrica. (I thought it sounded familiar and I was right--it's the commercial with the woman that I can't stand her slow and deliberate rate of speech.) As promised it makes me a bit woozy. It does not, however, make me sleepy. It just kind of makes things less focused. I took one last night and it did help me sleep and then I took one this morning before I realized that it was why I overshot my alarm. The first half of the day at work was a bit out of focus. And I don't mean that in the "I can't focus today" kind of thing, but the "the screen looks fuzzy" out of focus.

But, I can tell you that I think it works. Though I'm about to start my period any moment now and usually that would have me doubled over in pain, I was fine throughout the day. I started to have some pain at the end of the day and took another pill when I got home and I was fine.

And in other good news, I start physical therapy on Friday. Though I was told the waiting list was going to take a couple of weeks, I got a call yesterday and I'm in on Friday. Beautiful.

So all in all, some solutions are coming.

In PCOS related news, I am thinking of switching endos. As much as I like my current guy, I have issues with him and it's impossible to get in. I got an e-mail from the Southeastern Michigan Cysters yahoo group talking about an endo out of Henry Ford. That's the other thing--I'd like to keep everything in Beaumont. But if he's going to work, then I'm all over it. I'm going to call tomorrow if I get a chance.