angela medical update with some significance

well, i do have a bunch to tell about my LA trip last week... but right now i have medical stuff weighing on my mind, and folks asking about it, so i'll get that out of the way now. i had my first appointment (today) at the Kalamazoo Anesthesiology Pain Clinic. i was very happy with the docs i met and interacted with. first they sent me in to the pain psychologist, he does just what it sounds like, he helps you emotionally handle the pain you are going through and what it is doing to your life. then i saw one of the pain specialists. he talked with me forever in addition to doing a basic pain exam. it was nice not to feel rushed out of the office! they dont believe all of my pain is related. they think there may be 2 or 3 different things going on, but they are going on all at once, so some docs are getting confused trying to find one diagnosis that covers everything. so what this doc is going to do is, try to relieve at least 1 portion of the pain ( i think just which ever one subsides with treatment ) and we hope that if one of the pains will go away, it will help to figure out what the other pains are and how to diagnose and treat the leftover pains. does that make sense to you? it makes sense to me... but i was also in the office for about 2 hours talking this all through! so, this is what my schedule looks like:

(today) tuesday 8th for pain clinic consultation

(tomorrow) wednesday 9th drop of KaiYin to the vet surgeon in ft.wayne for her 6th cancer surgery

thursday 10th if all goes well, bring KaiYin home from post-op

friday 11th appointment has been rescheduled for monday 14th
friday 11th i have my first appointment for "lidocaine infusion" iv. i'll be learning more about this and i guess it's not as scary as it sounds. ( but i'm still kinda freaked about it )

monday 14th i have my first appointment for "lidocaine infusion" iv. i'll be learning more about this and i guess it's not as scary as it sounds. ( but i'm still kinda freaked about it )

wednesday 16th i see the pain psychologist for about an hour, then after him i see the occupational therapist who should be giving me a TENS unit.

thursday 17th i see the pain doc for an "occipital nerve" block injection ( direct injection to the nerve in the lower back right side of my noggin ) as well as "trigger point injections" for the pain spots. yay.

tuesday 29th i again see the pain psychologist

meanwhile, pain doc prescribed me with "Elavil" to help me sleep. but pharm is closed so i wont have that until tomorrow. for the appointments when i am getting iv and injections, they gave me paperwork with strict rules that i must have a driver or my appointment will be canceled. i havent been driving anywhom, but i especially wont take any chances with all of this going on.

so, this is all i know. they dont have a diagnosis for me since they dont know what pains are related to each other or what caused them. i could go on and on about all of the things i've been going through since what seems to have been the onset in april, as well as new issues that have arisen, but i wont bore you all with the details. i'll try to keep this simple until we know more. pain doc mentioned that if all else fails, then we might discuss the Cleveland Clinic or Mayo. but that ( i believe ) is going to be a last resort kinda thing.

thanks to all of you for the well wishes, love and support you have given me! i really appreciate it! even if i dont write updates or return calls or emails right away, please know that i am thankful for all of you!
take care of you and yours.
be well.
~angela

( i'll try to post an LA update in the next few days! )


*updated* 10 sept 09 at 128p
my appointment for tomorrow (friday 11th) has been rescheduled for monday 14th. also, last night was my first night taking the Elavil for sleep. yeah, it didnt really work. i took it about midnight and was wide awake at 230a. blargh. i was in and out of sleep all night/morning. it is only 10mg and doc said i can take more than 1 if i think i need to... for those of you that know me, i despise taking meds. especially for things that i think should just be natural. i dont have problems going to sleep... i have issues staying asleep through the pain. so, that is my update for now. thanks again for all the well wishes. i'll keep updating as i know more. *hugs*

Angela's Nine Inch Nails / LA Itinerary

there are sooo many things that i want to do while in the LA area! we are actually staying on the Hollywood side of LA. i found an outstanding deal at a hotel over there that i just could not pass up. i am 100% going to visit a friend at Forest Lawn Cemetery. a friend that i never got to meet in person, but he inspired and inspires me in so many ways... Pablo Thrailkill Castelaz.
i want to hit up the comedy store since Pauly Shore has always been sweet and replied to every email i have ever sent him in request for LA advice. (unfortuantely Pauly wont be in town when i am). we also want to see the Hollywood Sign, Chinese Theatre... and all that jazz. i'll be sure to keep you updated! and if you have any advice or suggestions, please let me know! email me at imaginebttrfly@yahoo.com or hit my up on my cell, text or call, if you are fortunate enough to have my digits. i'll post as many photos as i can from my phone while we are there... you can follow real-time updates i post from my phone via my twitter http://twitter.com/imaginebttrfly or you can check out my photos only, here.

so here is our itinerary:

Tuesday September 1, 2009

Leaving our house about midnight Monday/Tuesday since
the drive to airport is about 3 hours.

DEPART : Chicago O'Hare 5:15a (6:15a MI/IN time)
Flight # 180 Airbus A320

ARRIVE : Phoenix PHX 6:46a (9:46a MI/IN time)

DEPART : Phoenix PHX 7:30a (10:30a MI/IN time)
Flight # 24 Airbus A320

ARRIVE : Los Angeles LAX 8:55a (11:55a MI/IN time)

Then we pick up our rental car and head to the hotel!

Hollywood Heights Hotel
http://www.hollywoodheightshotel.com
( i found a really great deal that was
less expensive than reserving directly
through their website or by phone )

Concert #1
Wednesday Sept 2nd
Nine Inch Nails
Hollywood Palladium
6215 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Concert #2
Saturday Sept 5th
Nine Inch Nails
The Wiltern Theatre
3790 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90010


Sunday September 6, 2009

DEPART : Los Angeles LAX 4:20p (7:20p MI/IN time)
Flight # 500 Airbus A320

ARRIVE : Phoenix PHX 5:43p (8:43p MI/IN time)

DEPART : Phoenix PHX 6:47p (9:43p MI/IN time)
Flight # 9 Airbus A320

ARRIVE : Chicago O'Hare 12:13a (1:13a MI/IN time)

And then we will be zombies...
gather our luggage...
roam the parking lot looking for our car...
drive another 3 hours - arriving at home approx. 5:00a
and sleep A L L day monday!

angeLA vacation

hey there punks and kittens~~
i know, i know, that was a cheesy subject line...
but i thought it was clever--or cute...

i am attempting to plan a trip to lovely los angeles, california. i have never been there. my roommie is going with me for the last leg of the Nine Inch Nails tour.
arriving tuesday september 1 and leaving sunday septmber 6th.
(please see more details on the map below)

if you are in the LA area or know anything about LA, please by all means, dont hesitate to fill me in on ANYTHING that you can think of !!!

we will be renting a car. i think that'll be the smart bet.

stuff i (we) would like to do while in LA:

visit Pablo! (and Dangerbird)
Nine Inch Nails shows (of course, that's why we're going!)
Comedy Store and any other great comedy you can suggest.
Music!
Hollywood Sign
Chinese Theatre / Walk of Fame
Farmer's Market

i'm sure there is much more that i have not thought about yet... so if you think of anything, send it my way!

thanks in advance for all of your help and suggestions! much appreciated!
much love.
be well.
~angela