Another day 25 Oct 2011

I got a headache. The headache went into a migraine and no meds that I had would take care
of it so off to the ER and two shots later (and some serious med prescriptions)
I was out of there and back home. It took four days of just drugs to keep the
migraine away, but the headache did not, so it was to the VA and to stock up on
more Imatrex. Of course I never have just one issue going on, so while the
others are still having appointments with specialists, my two had this ooze and
puffed up. I don't know what I did to it, but it must have been something. I
felt more tired that normal, having to actually sit down after sweeping part of
the floor. Even walking to the couch from the table was exhaustive. Something is
wrong and I feel off. There is a normal sick for me and this was not it, it was
something else. So I go to the walk in clinic and when I am seen by the nurse
she asks if I called my PCP nurse first. No, why would I do that? Then I am told
that this is the new policy to call the nurse and speak to her about what is
going on and I might not have to come in and be seen. Ok, I can understand this
for certain issues, but I had been soaking the foot, it was getting worse, what
the hey. Also I needed to talk to see if there was something other than Imatrex,
since that only worked sometimes and it only helped reduced the migraines to
headaches, I wanted something to take it all away and not be drugged for four
days to get that result.

I like my doctor, and I like my nurse, because they know me. They know that I
hate being at the VA and if I am there, there is a serious problem. This nurse
is acting like this is just a stubbed toe and just get another prescription for
Imatrex. So she goes and talks with a doctor and comes back. I have two options,
come back at 3 (it's 11 and I was there at 9 for the walk-in), or I can be given
a list of things that could help my headache. What? Really? Like I don't have
access to the same information about my headache? Like in the past 20 years I
don't know all the ways that can help, and haven't tried them until I walked in
there? So as she gets the book out I say that I'm coming back at 3. She asks
"really?" I am thinking, yea, if that really was not an option way was it given?
She then tells me that since the ooze is clear that there isn't really anything
wrong, it's not infectable, it's a good ooze. What? I know about any of you, but
when any part of my body is leaking when it's not supposed to, that is a
problem, and since it had been going on for awhile (I am already on a daily
anti-biotic), there IS something wrong. Then I get the "ok" that says "you are
just wasting our time and it's not that bad." This always makes me want to
scream "do you know how much pain that I go through every day just to stay
functionable? Do you realize the meds I do not take because of not just the
side-effects but taking them makes me a zombie? Do you realize that some of the
meds that I take, their side effects cause the same service connected symptoms
disability? That I would rather be anywhere but here? And that I did not ask or
do anything that caused the disabilities that I have, they were done to me?" Oh
I could go on and on.

So I go back and I actually see my doctor, unusual on a walkin, but I am happy.
We gets more ideas for meds for the headaches/migraines, we get another
prescription in for Imatrx, and I get a prescription for a "harder" across the
board antibiotic. My doctor sees something very wrong with my toe oozing clear
or not, especially when I am already taking an antibiotic, along with the other
systems of still having a headache and being exhausted. We talk about how to
deal with the toe and if it does not start to get better I should come back in
for more tests.

So I go home and my throat begins to hurt, in the back of my throat there are
little white bumps, that grow over the night and red, and strep or whatever, so
I call and talk with my doctor's nurse and ask if the new med will help whatever
it is that I have and she says she will talk to the doctor and if I need to come
back in she will call, no call (YEA! Can't stand being in the VA).

So I backtrack, where could I have picked this up at? Nobody in my house is
sick? I don't go anywhere. Ok, the only place that I have been that would
coincide with the ER trip, I go in with a migraine, come out with strep, what my
luck.

So now dealing with bunches of stuff, but my head only tingles, not really a
pain, and I am not holding it and wanted to slam it into the wall to stop the
pain.

I am optimistic, I will recover from this to move onto another problem, totally
optimistic. There is some new information about another possible help for the
migraines and also the headaches, so I will be talking that over with my doctor
when some other thing happens and I am back at the VA.