Yesterday Casey and I were busy all day! At 10:20 I had an appointment to get my new military ID card! It’s been quite some time since I’ve had one of those! I can’t wait to go to the commissary again sometime! I guess their PX isn’t as big here as the one in Ft Benning, though. Oh well, at least I can save on groceries. The PX (for those non-military) is more like a department store, whereas the commissary is more groceries.
After I got my military ID, we headed to the mall to see if my new boots had arrived at Sears yet. I have been looking for a new pair of boots (fashion, not winter) for about 3 years now. I don’t want to spend a lot of money, and the last time I bought a new pair I didn’t spend a whole lot of money and they were great and lasted for years, so I would expect to find a low-cost pair and love them now. The ones I ordered are:
I’ve only worn them around the house, because I’m worried they’re going to be too tall, as I am really quite clumsy! I haven’t even wobbled in them so far, so I think they’re going to work.
After I got my boots I headed over to the hospital campus for my next appointment. There’s a building connected to the hospital that has nothing but doctors offices. My appointment there was with an ear, nose, and throat specialist. I think I may have mentioned in a previous post the ringing in my ears. It started during the pregnancy, so I thought it would get better by now, but it hasn’t. The doctor said everything looks normal, I have slight (about 20 decibel) hearing loss in my left ear, but that was unusual because my symptoms are in my right ear. He’s sending me for an MRI, which I will have Monday afternoon.
He did say it can possibly be connected to my PCOS, and that’s one of the things he’ll find out by doing the MRI. I forgot already if it’s something specific he’s looking for, or if he’s ruling something else out. If it does turn out to be related to my PCOS, then I may have a decision to make soon. I first started birth control at 15 to help regulate hormones. When I was diagnosed with PCOS I changed to a different kind of birth control because the hormone works better for patients with PCOS. Then of course I got off the pill to become pregnant. It was after that my symptoms started, and so if I have to treat the PCOS to make my ear go back to normal, I am pretty sure that will derail my plans to go back to nursing. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
After I left there, I went to the Orthopedic doctor about my carpal tunnel. They took some X-rays and asked when I last had an EMG done, which is the test to diagnose CTS. I told them it was sometime between 2002 and 2006, but unfortunately that’s not recent enough. I guess they’re wanting to skip anything and go straight for surgery. That’s great, as long as I can get it in before the end of the year, while we can afford it. We’ve met our out of pocket maximum, so if they have to do it now’s the time. But there are, what, 6 weeks left this year? And the holidays right around the corner? What are the chances of getting 2 surgeries, 2 weeks apart, before the end of the year? Anyway, in order to get the surgery, they have to do another EMG. I remember it being a painful test for me last time, and my hands are a LOT worse now, so I’m taking Ronda along just in case I need her to drive afterwards… and I need someone to watch Casey while I’m getting the test done… and I trust her to watch him as long as she’s not by herself. Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve smelled alcohol on her breath… maybe having a grandchild has helped her, as we hoped it would.
When I got the call today to schedule the EMG, they said their first available time on the schedule wasn’t for 3 weeks! I told them I couldn’t wait that long, because of the amount of pain I am in, and I have a child to care for and can’d be in this kind of pain all the time. There are a lot of times lately it hurts too much to even hold him or his bottle. I have to lay him in his glider to feed him because if I try to hold him it makes my hand fall asleep and then it starts to hurt badly. The times I can feel my fingers it’s either tingly or painful. I don’t care if surgery ends up getting put off but I have got to have some kind of relief in at least my right hand if not both. Actually, I really need it in both not just the right one because, although the pain is worse in my right hand, I am left-handed and can’t write a whole lot right now because of the pain. Anyway, they said they’d call around to see if there was somewhere else I could get the test done, and called me back a while later with an opening for tomorrow afternoon.
That’s about it for this post… time for me to go to bed! I’m not proofreading this either, so sorry if any of it came off as rambling. I like to ramble sometimes. 🙂
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