Upcoming Attractions

2012

I’m really excited about some things that may be happening in the not-so-distant future and so happy to share them with you!

First off, my wonderful designer April from April Showers Blog Designs is going to help me spruce things up around A New Kind of Normal! I’m really excited to freshen up a bit! My design as stayed somewhat the same through the last several years and while I don’t want to completely abandon the current design (such as the colors which fit me perfectly) some change will be a good thing. So here is where I need some opinions from you beautiful readers – Keep the illustration in the header or ditch it? Any other suggestions, such as ways to make the design/layout easier to navigate, are welcomed!

The second awesome thing around the bend is Endomteriosis Awareness Month! We have 27 days until the kick-off on March 1st and we are hoping to take the blogosphere by storm! I am working with a couple other lovely bloggers to create a Blogging For Endometriosis Awareness campaign and we would love for you to be a part of it!

If you would like to take part in the planning process, drop me an email! Otherwise, we will be posting all of the events as awareness month draws closer! We hope to kick off the month by turning social media yellow for Yellow Shirt Day on March 1st! Don’t have a yellow shirt? Sounds like a great opportunity to shop! You can also grab the badge on the sidebar to help spread the word!

Filed Under: blogging, chronic illness Tagged With: blogging, Endo Awareness Month, endometriosis

Choosing To Fight

2012

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If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that I had a not-so-hot doctor’s appointment yesterday morning. This past weekend was the worst flare I’ve had to date. I was in bed pretty much from 5pm Friday until 7am Monday. Nothing, I mean nothing, seemed to be helping the pain. Even my prescription medicines were not touching it so on Monday I started calling doctors. The pain clinic was my first call and since prescriptions cannot be changed over the phone, the nurse set up an appointment for 8:15am yesterday. I also called my rheumatologist who tweaked my dosages of my medications for fibromyalgia (we had discussed the possibility of needing to up the dosage at my last appointment so we both felt comfortable with phoning in the change versus needing to drive an hour for an appointment). I see my primary doctor next week so I knew there wasn’t a point in calling because there was no way I would be able to be seen before my scheduled appointment.

The visit to the pain clinic was supposed to be a short one which turned out to be not the case. Thirty minutes after my scheduled appointment time, the doctor finally came in and being as I was the only patient there I was already frustrated. The gist of his response to my pain-filled weekend was to be thankful that the flare didn’t last any longer than it did. I just need to come to terms with major flares being a part of my life and be ok with not having medications to treat the pain. He did not want to increase my dosage (although we had discussed the possibility at my last appointment) however he agreed to give me a extended release pain medication to help prevent pain from waking me up in the middle of the night. The catch (there always has to be a catch, right?) is that for now he wants to go back to seeing me every 30 days versus 90 for drug tests and pill counts. On the way out the door, he let me know that I was overweight.

Needless to say, I left the appointment angry, frustrated, and defeated. I was angry that it seemed that he had no concern for my quality of life as a patient. I was frustrated that, even though it was never said, he seemed to be thinking that I was exaggerating my pain in hopes to get more medication. I was defeated as it was if the prescription he handed me said really said “give up hope for ever having a normal life.” The twenty minute drive to work seemed to last an hour as I attempted to process everything that had just happened. When I pulled into my parking space, things changed.

As I took the keys out of the ignition, I looked down and saw the word “fighter.” It served as a powerful reminder and I made the conscious decision to not go down without a fight. I am not going to accept that my life is over and any hope of relief is gone. I am not going to allow one jerk-faced doctor take my dreams from me.

I can and I will fight. I will fight knowing that my God is bigger than my pain and He will provide strength to press on. I will fight knowing I have an amazing family loving me through it. I will fight knowing that I have strong and inspiring women who are traveling the same road fighting alongside of me.

Filed Under: chronic illness, health Tagged With: endometrioisis, fibromyalgia, IC, pain, self-esteem

Day 26: 5 Years

2012

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Day 26: Think back to how you were 5 years ago. How have you changed since then?

When I think back to January 2007, I can definitely see a lot of changes that have occurred over the last five years.

Five years ago, I was planning my third surgery at the Center for Endometriosis care in Atlanta where I could be seen by one of the top endo specialists in the country. We had already had several unsuccessful rounds on fertility drugs (Clomid and Femera) but we still had that hope that we weren’t out of the game yet. The statistics were in our favor. After the recovery from surgery, we were going to step up our treatments to IUIs. Five years ago, I am pretty sure The Girldfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy was still on my nightstand so that I could be ready when the good news came.

Five years ago, I also think I was a lot more optimistic that the pain I was in was only temporary. I had already been diagnosed with fibromyalgia in addition to the endometriosis but there were still many options to try out at that point so with that coupled with the hope of relief promised by the upcoming surgery, I counted down the days until I would be pain-free and hopefully pregnant.

I will admit that I am probably a little harder now than I was then. I wouldn’t say that I am a pessimist as I do believe there is always hope, but I think I would consider myself more of a realist. Maybe caring less about what the statistics say and caring more about being heard by my physicians when I tell them that I am not better. Maybe caring less about dishes in the sink and the house not being perfect and caring more about the precious moments with my family. Maybe caring less about having all the answers and caring more about the hope that I can only find in Him and learning to walk by faith.

So have I changed in the last five years? Absolutely. Have I changed for the better? I think in some ways, yes. The last five years have most definitely been a challenge but I think that how we respond to the challenges molds and shapes us into the people that are we meant to be.

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