Health Update!

It's been awhile since I've given a health update, and this next week is going to be a big one, so I figured it was about time.

My eye is getting better! It seems less and less swollen each day (though in very small increments!). I also have been noticing that the numbness in my left cheek/nose/upper lip is changing. I can't really describe how - it just feels different, as if parts of it are regaining feeling again, which is good. And my teeth that are connected to the trigeminal nerve (the one pinched by my eye swelling that feeds the nose/cheek/upper lip) don't hurt nearly as bad or weird.

We made a pain medication change on Monday. Before, I had been taking some sort of painkiller every 4 hours, which made for quite the planning and inconvenience, and I had to eat every 4 hours with the medication, thus plan when and where I would be. There were a few times I had to be in pain for a bit until I could get some food in my tummy. Last week, though, I noticed the Tramadol was only lasting about 3 hours, when on the label you're only supposed to take it every 5 hours. I had been taking it every 4 hours, but when I told my MD it only worked for 3, he suggested we switch to Ultram, which is an EXTENDED RELEASE version of Tramadol. Why is that in caps?

Because that means it releases over a long period of time, as in, 24 hours. As in, I only have to take in ONCE a day. Just once! Amazing! No more waking up at 4 am to take meds, then again at 8, etc. No more worrying about whether I had food for my next dose! And it's worked pretty well. I'm still allowed to take a vicodin every now and then if it gets bad, but I only had to do that once this past week. The Ultram was more expensive ($90 bc it's name brand - generics under my insurance are only $2!), but it's SO worth it. I haven't slept fully through the night yet, but I know it's coming!

I also received a letter from my MD with my recent ANCA lab results - they've improved! Basically the ANCA marker is used to determine the autoimmune activity in individuals with my disease. The letter didn't say what the actual number was, but when I read it I just knew that it was the Lord's process of healing me. In addition, I have been on a steady decline on my Coumadin dosage (blood thinner). A few months ago, I was sailing steady at 15 mg/day, but now every time I get my blood checked, it's too thin so we decrease the dose. I'm now down to 2.5 mg and 5 mg alternating days! Just another sign that God is in the process of healing me completely and fully from this!

So on Tuesday I travel back to Houston to meet with the oculoplastic surgeon. He said last time that if my eye isn't better at the next visit, he would refer me to a rheumatologist he works with there. Based on the above and how I'm feeling, I would say that's probably not going to happen! My prayer is that he would come into the room and be amazed that there is no disease or inflammation anymore! I would be healed! So excited to see what God's going to do!