another two doc day

[navydad]

Saw the shrink today,, she said why in the world arent you on disibility,, (they all say that), she said you have lost more weight,, you look horrible,, told her I ust came in from work and a two mile walk through asphalt parking lots that have my feet and legs burning,, along with my arms,, so we talked a bit,, and she said lets try cymbalta,, ( i like when specialist jsut give you meds from there own speciality and not look at the whole pictured),, then it was off to see the surgeon whos going to do the muscle biopsy,, he also sid,, you look horrible,, you have almost no reflexes,, and why are you wearing a work shirt,, why arent youo n disibilty,, (I had just come there from work,, hence the work shirt,, and had to drive myself, almost plowing into a few vars between feet that dont work and eyes that are so sore and bloodshot,,
  Well he explained the procedure to me,, looks like next wed,, and they are sending it to John opkins of Cleveland,, apparently we dont have any kind f electron microscopes in Pittsburgh,, guess we wtill use a old type microscope an d acandle to see specimens,,
  the drive hmoe was interesting,, every aqngle of the sun hitting me or my legs made me have to put a flannel shirt over the part getting hit by the sun,, I am home now,, at least its cooler in here,, but i;m sad,, sad that I dont dare go out in the heat or th sun,, it burns to bad,, sad that they need to cut on me again,,  that old,, (your a complex case),,
I need to get in about 3 more days of work to be able togo out on disibility again,, at the rate i;m coming apart,, I dont know whats worse,, going back on disibility or watch mny quality of life slip furthr and further,, on a happy note,, my wife and oldest son are th4e best of friends,, going shopping together,, doing all kind of stuff together since dad cant handle the sun,, or just about anything,, miserable disease,,,
to those of you that have gotten disibility,, good for you,, to those that have only the dry mouth and dry eyes,, I pray it never gets worse,, to those who have periphal neuropathy,, infections,, trying to work, well I have a special plae in my heart for you,, we deserve better,

[Poochie]

Navydad,
I sure wish there were someway to help you.  I pray you get some satisfaction soon and do apply for disability.  You deserve it.

Pooh

[ruby52]

I'm sorry your going through so much.I read your posts but never feel saying I'm sorry or God bless you is enough.I wish you well and hope they can find a way to end your suffering soon.I hope venting on here among those of us who understand and care gives you some measure of comfort.Thanks for the update.
                                                                                 Ruby

[Scottietottie]

Hi Navydad

I hope the Cymbalta helps. Some people in here seem to have had some success with it. I just don't understand your system over there. From everything you've said plus two doctors saying you look awful, it's just ridiiculous you need to put in any days of work.

Good that your son and wife are getting along well.

I just hope you get a break soon - and I don't mean a broken bone!

Take care - Scottie 

[Patze]

Oh Navydad,

I'm sorry that you are hurting so bad my friend, and I sure hope that you can go out on permanent disability soon - you deserve so much better have to slug it out trying to make it every day.

I'm also glad to hear that your son and wife are getting along better, and that has to make you feel just a bit better.

Good luck with the Cymbalta, I sure hope it offers you some relief.

Take care and hang in there, okay?

Patze

[irish]

navydad, I had a muscle biopsy about 4 years or so ago. It is an extremely complex test. Needs to be done by a very competent surgeon. My doc referred me to a surgeon who did all the muscle biopsies for her department. They also sent the muscle specimen away and it took about 4 weeks before they got the results back. Not much to it for us as they put you to sleep and it is over quickly and not much aftercare.

Sorry that you are feeling so rotten and hope that the cymbalta will help your mood. Being ill does make us feel beyond blue and discouraged. I am glad that your wife is able to enjoy the company of your son. When I have felt rotten my hubby goes his way and I stay home. No sense both of us staying home and as long as he can go he might as well.

I guess I don't get too upset over him going as he has been gone a lot during the past 44+ years and I have been physically not so good for so many years that I never had the energy to do much running around. Thank goodness for cable---even though with all those channels there still isn't much to watch.

Hope that you can get some diagnosis that will help them know how to treat you. It is really the pits with these autoimmune diseases. Too bad the docs just can't figure out all at once what is wrong instead of a little at a time. Save us all a lot of misery and money. TAke care now. Disability is probably coming again for you. Irish

[Crabcakes]

Cymbalta is supposed to help with pain, as wella s being an anti-depressant. I hate ALL meds, but am thinking of asking for it when I ever get to my first rheumie appointment. I called to day after getting the refferal approval and I have to wait untill July 20! I really want to discuss this with the rheumie and am very disaapointed with the delay.

[gsmraxe]

Navydad,

I hope you can get on long term disability and your doctors can help you out.

Best wishes and I hope you feel better!

[ktfabian]

NavyDad-

I'm so sorry you're in such a rotten place.  For what it's worth, Cymbalta really did help me "deal" with my pain and discomfort better.  I'd been on Paxil for several years before we made the switch, and it really made a difference. And at the time we made the switch, my therapist didn't feel I was depressed (have been, big time, in the past) but he and my doctor agreed that it was worth trying it since it was designed for people in pain.

I'm on disability - the permanent SSD.  After getting over the initial loss of my career and the part of my identity that was tied in to it, being on disability did actually improve the quality of my life.  I got disability because of a back injury that had already required several surgeries by the time I applied in 1994.  While I was still working, even when the doctor said I could only work part time, every ounce of energy I had went into that job.  I came home and there was nothing left for my two small children or my husband.  As you can imagine, our relationships were pretty poor.

Things didn't turn around magically once the disability was approved in 1994, but like I said, one I finished grieving the loss of my job, I had more energy to enjoy my family.  I was able to go to some of the kids' events or out to dinner or shopping with my husband.  I've since developed sjogren's and the whole list of ailments that go along with it, and I'm even more glad that I no longer have to force myself to get out to work everyday.  When I mentioned looking for a part time job when my husband was laid off in March, he said no way. 


Going on disability permanently doesn't have to mean the end of the quality of your life.  Maybe you'd be able to go one some of those outings with your wife and son, instead of feeling left behind?  Right now, I hope you get an answer to what's going on.  When you have it, you might want to talk to your doctors and shrink about permanent disability and how it might improve your life.

All my best to you, navyDad, and I'll be saying a prayer that all goes well next week,
Tracy

[Pisces24]

Sorry you are having such a rotten time of it NavyDad. Not the nicest bedside manner telling you that you look horrible.  And on top of it, fighing you on disability. Geesh.
Gosh my late mother "got the feeling" from a couple drs before that is "was all in her head" too. I knew my mother tooo well so I ended up getting after new doctors for her.  I HATE it when you know you don't feel good and the drs want to just give you a pat on the head. I used to kid my mother that I was the bulldog sitting beside her and ain't nothing gets by the bulldog. LOL       I guess the bulldog is the marine mascot though?

That is how I learned to be proactive with the doctors. It was win-win for my mom. She could be pitied because she had such a PIA dau or congratulated.    I've been through that wringer of: disability, medicare, medicaid, programs, etc for my folks so I can understand your frustration.  Hang in there and keep plugging away.
I know you Navy guys are pretty determined and disciplined. I got cousins in all branches of the service.