Day 1 of Solu... what?!

Solu-Medrol. It's after midnight and my sister Norma, just got done flushing my IV line with Heparin and she's finally heading home after spending 4 hours monitoring my IV/medication. My home health care nurse Karol, came by earlier and did my infusion and taught Norma what she needed to do to administer Solu-Medrol into my IV over the next 3 days. For the past 4 1/2 weeks, I've been running around to doctor's appointments and doing labs/tests, all in hopes of finding a diagnosis for my latest health issues. My neurologist and his PA believe that I have MS, so they ordered me to be on Solu-Medrol and to have a Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap), which I went in yesterday to do at the hospital. I hope the results for the LP will be negative for MS (just to prove them wrong). I've told all my doctors that I thought I have circulation issues (possibly some form of neuropathy due to my diabetes that their tests were unable to detect) and pinched nerves. But three of my MRI's showed that I have White Matter Disease in my brain, a lesion in my neck/cervical area and some disc extrusion (no big deal!). Maybe it's stress from having to deal with Dallin's health and everyday family matters and this is how my body copes with it. I don't know, but it is bothersome and I can't ignore my symptoms. We'll have to wait until next week to find out for sure... I still believe it's not MS! Seriously, I've grown tired of being poked, visiting with doctors and paying for co-pays and medications. I've had so many appointments that I completely forgot to take Dallin to his doctor's appointment at the Children's hospital last week. I felt so bad. I've got to re-schedule his appointment for his doctor's next available opening.

Karol showing Norma how to flush and change my line.

The Solu-Medrol left a weird metallic taste in my mouth. I tried eating a few pieces of chocolate during the treatment and it tasted gross. Could you believe that? I actually thought chocolate was gross! In fact, everything I put in my mouth tasted awful, with the exception of some Cracker Barrel peppermints from Norma, which was a welcoming taste. Shortly after the treatment, I came down with the chills and dozed off for a few minutes only to wake up sweating. On top of my usual pain, I'm now dealing with insomnia, a slight heartburn, a dull headache (I'm glad it's not my usual migraine), and lower back pain from yesterday's LP, has set in and I can't seem to relax. I wonder if I should contact my Neuro tomorrow and ask for some zzzzzzz pills and more pain killers. My diabetic nurse called earlier to tell me to stay on top of my sugars, so I'm trying to adjust my insulin pump to help stabilize my "sanity". Right now, I have the urge to get up and start cleaning, but my infusion is stinging and uncomfortable and I'm on the verge of yanking it out. But, I know it's not worth having Karol come back out tomorrow to re-insert it again. It took her quite a while to get it in the first time because my vein flattened quickly when I became tense. I had to try my best to relax and get rid of my anxieties. That was hard.
Anyway, I'd like to thank my awesome sister, Norma, for her help. She's so wonderful and caring. Her first husband died from colon cancer, so she's used to changing IVs and colostomy bags, etc. Since I have trypanophobia, I would not have gone through with this without her. The only other person I'd ask to help me would be my fabulous mother-in-law, Marla, but she has to work. What a blessing it is to have them nearby. Oh, you're probably wondering where Scott is in all of this, right? Well, he actually holds my other hand while trying to watch the little kiddies. He's my sweet supportive hubby. Also, thank you to all my wonderful and caring family and friends for your love and prayers. I have felt them and I appreciate them so much.

A few of Norma's children and a couple of mine raided my bedroom and wanted to know what all the crying was about... yes, I did cry... just a little. lol ;)