Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2008. This was five months before Mattie was diagnosed with cancer. That weekend we took Mattie to Roosevelt Island. This was a space we went to often with Mattie. He loved walking through the woods, climbing on rocks, and also collecting branches. As you can see from this photo, Mattie was holding a huge stick he found on the Island in his right hand. Whatever sticks Mattie found, always came home with us. Mattie had a large stick collection in our commons area. But over all Mattie liked to collect things in nature... stones, acorns, pine cones, sticks, and shells.
Quote of the day: If you are not your own doctor, you are a fool. ~ Hippocrates
Hippocrates was ABSOLUTELY correct. If you are not your own doctor and advocate, then you surely will be left in a quandary in our health care system. Since November, I have been dealing with costochondritis, which is inflammation of the ribs. It is very painful and it limits your desire to move, breathe, bend, etc. I developed this condition after having a mass removed from my breast. When I saw my doctor about this, I was put on an anti-inflammatory drug for two weeks. This drug helped but then the prescription ran out and the pain was still there. So when I went back to the doctor's office, I was given a different script for a long lasting anti-inflammatory called Voltaren. Initially when I started taking it, it upset my stomach, but then that feeling passed. Yet after the second week on the drug, I decided to call the doctor back because I was developing other symptoms such a muscle twitching in my arms and legs and compounded headaches (from the ones I already have each day). At which point my doctor's office took me off of Voltaren and re-prescribed the original drug I had been taking.
Needless to say, I was so concerned about the symptoms, that I decided not to take any more anti-inflammatory medications. What my doctor did not tell me is that one shouldn't just stop taking Voltaren, but instead taper off of it. Since a large percentage of people get withdrawal symptoms. Mind you when I consulted my doctor's office about the symptoms I was having, they were quite certain it wasn't due to the medication. REALLY? Shocking when the data is out there!
My symptoms have been getting worse over the last two weeks. Everything from muscle twitches, numbness in my legs and hands, headaches, light headedness, dizziness, vomiting, intense anxiety, and being in a mental fog. It has been very difficult to function most days. So I started researching withdrawal symptoms from Voltaren. It is significant enough that there are support groups on-line to help people cope with the withdrawal. So why a doctor's office doesn't know about this is scary.
Several people on-line complain of the same symptoms as me, and also feel like their lives are miserable and are over. This drug seems to do a great job at playing with your emotional stability. In any case, the FDA reports that 100% of people get withdrawal symptoms if on the drug for less than a month. Research seems to show that if you are on the drug long term, then there are no withdrawal symptoms reported after stopping it. In addition, women are more likely to get withdrawal symptoms in comparison to men and my age group is the most likely ones affected. However, the withdrawal symptoms do not seem to go away in days. Some people report months! I can attest to two weeks so far and counting. I am hoping for relief soon because it truly is so debilitating it is hard to function and get anything done.
When I tell you it literally took me hours to get washed and dressed, I am not kidding. But now that I feel like I know what my issue is, I made a point to walk!
were having a ball.
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