Neurology Follow-Up

Well, I couldn't even make it through 3 minutes meeting with my neurologist, Dr. Snook, without crying. Actually, I think the guy felt pretty bad for me. Even with being done with the Decadron, I'm still having anxiety problems! And, on top of it, I had bad swelling and pain/drainage in my right ear from the atypical meningioma, which if you will recall, ended up getting part of the beam on it. It hurt back at the end of June and then when we redid the fields, the ear canal wasn't part of them. But I almost immediately had to go on Decadron anyway, so it probably hurts now because I was weaning off it. Now I have some ear drops from Dr. Snook and all is better. Geesh!

He's helping me with the ear, and we've added Lyrica to the mix. Apparently, it's good for nerve pain (I've been having sharp, stabbing pains in my head every now and then). But even more annoying, it's hard to sleep on my right side. It's like it's completely bruised and it feels like there's some pressure there. Lyrica is also good for seizures, which should be a good backup to the Keppra. Hopefully Lyrica isn't something I have to be on long-term. I really hope not. The less drugs the better.

Here is an example of a recent day: I went to acupuncture last week, and then got a bite to eat with my mom. We were going to do some shopping for some new drapes. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's so exhausting and overwhelming at the same time. That's the only way to describe it. And it happens every day, at some point in time. I'm even tearing up right now just thinking about it. It's just very hard to explain.

I feel like every day is Groundhogs Day. I try to get outside and walk, and I'm good for a certain period of time, then I'm done. And when I'm done, I'm totally done. I told Dr. Snook we were planning on taking a trip to Maine in the middle of August. And while I'm totally excited to get away - we NEED to get away - I am petrified of traveling. Of noisy airplanes - and worse - noisy airports. I told him that I just want to get something that will help me not crawl in a ball and cry in the corner. I've got some drugs and some earplugs, but I'm seriously thinking of investing in some Bose noise reduction earphones. It would also be good for work, too.