I went to my neurologist’s office today to have my bloodwork done. I’ve been putting it off for a while, and my appointment with the neurologist is in two weeks. On top of that, I’m tired of feeling sick the day after my injections.

My MS has been kicking my ass lately, and I had to tell my boss that today. It’s the change in the weather. The extreme heat came out of nowhere, and that’s not good for me. So I need to take it easy and take care of myself a bit. It’s one of the things that sucks about having MS. The worst part of it is that there isn’t really anything we can do about it. I just have to rest so that it doesn’t get worse.

My trip to New York has me concerned. I need to take some time while I’m there to just enjoy myself. My original plan was to get tattooed while there, but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea right now.

We got an e-mail at work today telling us that we’re changing our health insurance plan. The premise is that everything will be better and that the transition will be incredibly smooth. Everything will be automatically transferred over they told us. Immediately after reading the e-mail, alarm bells were going off in my head. My prescriptions cost thousands of dollars every month, and I can’t afford to pay retail for these.  I also know that I have two prescriptions that require prior authorization.

Trying not to panic, I walked down to see our benefits coordinator and explained the situation. She wasn’t entirely familiar with the prior authorization process, and I explained that waiting two weeks for this to be processed can be a bit of a hassle. So she made a few inquiries and found out that we would have to go through the process again with the new insurance. The good news is that we can start the process now.

I don’t like it when people fuck with my healthcare. Fortunately, I work for a company with good People. Christina has already bent over backwards to help me through this. We’ll make it.

My doctor’s office called me today. My MRI results and bloodwork came back. My general health is good. All of my tests came back normal except my cholesterol. It was low at 106. Yes, I said it was low. That’s certainly a good thing.

The MRI, on the other hand, shows some white spots, which appear to be in line with having multiple sclerosis. They want to see the results of past MRIs if possible. Monday, I have to contact my past two neurologists to get their records, specifically radiology reports. I think it sounds a little more serious than the nurse told me. I won’t know for sure until I see the neurologist in early April.

Oh, and my HIV results are still negative. This is very good.

My paycheck hasn’t been posted to my checking account yet. It’s always here by noon on Wednesday. I’m trying to be patient.

Tomorrow, I’m off to the dentist. It’s my regular cleaning. Then I’m meeting with the dentist himself. Tooth #10 needs to be extracted and then an implant done. The crown is currently hanging on, but it won’t last too much longer. I’ve been waiting to get the debit card for my flexible spending account for healthcare, and it should be here in the next week or so. So tomorrow, we’re going to kick off that process.

I took today as a sick day. Last night was rough. I was up most of the night tossing and turning.  It was really hard for me to get comfortable. I kept moving between the couch and the bed. Poor Reggie kept moving with me. About 3:00, I hadn’t fallen asleep yet, so I grabbed my laptop and e-mailed my boss, telling him that I wasn’t coming in.

I slept in. It was wonderful. I spent most of the day on the couch. I did a few errands around the house, but mostly, I stayed on the couch, watching the planes taking off from Logan.

I got my eyes checked today, and the results weren’t too bad. My prescription had changed slightly, but nothing serious. She also told me that I was a candidate for contacts. So I’m wearing my first pair. They said that getting them out was the hard part. I call bullshit. Getting them was the hard part for me. Getting them out is a snap.

This afternoon, I took them out to take a nap. It took me an hour to get them back in. They say the first few times is the hardest. I sure hope so.

I’m scheduled to have my eyes checked tomorrow at noon. I haven’t had my eyes checked in about 18 months. Last time, my prescription changed quite a bit, and I’m due for a new pair of glasses. Lets see how this goes. If possible, I’d like to see about contacts, too.

My sister only gave me a few days’ worth of the herbal tea, so I had to run to GNC today to get some more. This time I got the lemon flavored stuff. It cost me $12 for a two month supply. Oh, the price of regularity.

You know, I must be getting old when I talk about my regularity.

This entry talks about shit, literally. You may not want to continue reading. You’ve been warned.

One of the side effects of one of my meds is that it tends to slow down my GI system. Slow down is putting it gently. My regularity is anything but.

My sister, the visiting nurse, is aware of the problems with my meds because some of her patients are on the same meds. She suggested Laci Le Beau Super Dieter’s Tea from GNC. Since Saturday, I’ve been drinking a cup of this tea, hot, before bed. Good god, you can’t imagine how much shit, literally, my body has purged.  It’s really gross. But I guess I’d rather purge that than carrying it around in my colon. 

A few years ago, a doctor gave me a prescription for Xanax for travel anxiety. His point was to help me sleep on a long trans-Pacific flight. I’ve found this very useful for insomnia. I don’t take it all that often, nor do I take it during the day. My Xanax is to help me sleep. Until today. For the first time, I took a very light dose to help cope with some anxiety I was facing.

I have a lot on my mind. Right now, I’m carrying no credit cards. If our payroll is late tomorrow, I’m screwed. I’ll be halfway to London without much money. I’ll be seriously fucked.  We were having network problems today, and one could visibly see the stress in our payroll supervisor’s face. Our payroll is rarely late. I explained the situation to Bob, and he told me not to worry. But it’s easy to worry about this.

My car insurance hit my account early, meaning if my rent check hits between tonight and tomorrow morning, I could be in trouble.  Again, there isn’t a whole lot I can do, so I worry. By tomorrow morning, everything will be fine. It’s just the uncertainty that’s tough.  So yeah, I took a light dose to help me get through the commute home.

I just have to get through tonight and get myself going tomorrow.