Ah, what a tangled web...

Isn't it amazing the various different layers and turns life has and takes?! I could spend an entire day just watching life happen in complete amazement. There is always something going on in my life, not necessarily drama, but just a lot going on. It's been several weeks since my last post and I cannot believe how time just slips away. I did go to see an ENT and had a rather interesting appointment. I took yet another hearing test so they had their own results and then got to meet with the doctor. I went to the appointment fully prepared...medical history I wrote, notes from the Otoneurologist (dizzy doctor as she calls herself), MRI images, the works. I do think he was impressed with this because he did take time to read through the medical history and notes I brought for him to keep. I was able to tell him the history, what was going on with my ear and expressed my frustration with no answers. He did respond in agreement with the Otoneurologist and doesn't think I have Meniere's Disease. What blew my mind was that he actually thought the pain/pressure in my ear could be related to clenching my teeth. He recommended aleve twice a day and a bite guard at night. I said I would try it, but after trying to get the bite guard with my FSA card with no luck....I had to wait until I had money and then ended up with strep & 2 ear infections and am just now to a point I think I can actually use it at night (even though there is only 2 weeks to my next appointment). I did, however, start the aleve twice per day as he suggested. This has helped a little bit. I also was able to see a dentist later in the week and brought up what the doctor mentioned and they checked my teeth and jaw....said there is NO sign of clenching or biting. The more I thought about what the ENT doctor said, the less it made sense....this pain/pressure has been happening off and on for the last 5 years. Surely if I had been clenching my teeth that long (even just at night) there would be some kind of wear on my teeth and jaw that a dentist could easily see. So this leaves me in a state of confusion (yet again) and I have every intention of discussing this when I see the ENT doctor again in a few weeks. Another thing that is frustrating with this ear thing....is that I do have hearing loss, but it's not decible/volume hearing loss. It's inability to make out sounds (known as discrimination) and throw background noise in....forget it! For some reason, it doesn't seem to be showing on the tests they do and it's also frustrating me. I feel that my thought process is logical....if I'm constantly needing people to repeat themselves and they have to do it a little louder, how in the heck do I not have hearing loss? Clearly, it may not be severe, but it doesn't seem like they care to help address that my hearing is NOT the same as it was and is not at a normal level for a 28 year old....think I will be brining that up at the next appointment as well. I would really just like a friggin answer so we know how to fix it....but the more I continue on this mission, the more I am convinced that is much more of a challenge that I originally thought. But, never-the-less, I will continue to have hope!

As for my son.....ah my sweet boy....we did get to see a psychologist. It was funny because within the first 10 minutes of the appointment, he asked if I'd ever been told I have AD/HD...I said yes, but not officially diagnosed and he just smiled. I was expecting an answer more like "well consider yourself diagnosed" LOL. It was a really good appointment, we were there for 1.5 hours. In the end, he decided to leave the dosage for the AD/HD meds the same, but add something called Tenex to help because my son does probably have a little OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and fully has ODD (oppositional defiant disorder). He said it would take several weeks for the medicine to really show any progress for the ODD and we will meet with him again in one month to review everything. It has been several weeks and while not all the defiant behavior is gone, it is certainly less and that is impressive. Instead of my son fighting 10 times about something, he will drop it after 2 times. I continue to hope that this works really really well. I now am going to start down a path of reading some recommended books and look at what tools he has been given at school and in therapy that I can reinforce or remind him of at home. I think that these 2 meds along with tools, will make things soooo much better for him :)

As for my health insurance.....UGH (still)....Yes, I am very thankful to have health insurance, but I don't feel it's right when it sorta screws the ones that need it most. I have had a battle or two with them and in the end, I'm the one that is screwed. They are "still working" on the stuff with my son's therapy and that looks like it "should" be okay. However, my prescription co-pay is stuck at the outrageous amount of $250/month. Now, this upset me greatly and prompted me to call and see if there was any other assistance out there for people like myself. Luckily, I received a call from the Chronic Disease Fund and qualified for assistance so my co-pay will only be $10/month....that lifted a load of bricks of my chest...phew! Even though I'm very relieved, it is clear to me that my new health insurance and pharmacy both suck and I'm just going to have to deal with it....I continue to have problems with them both, but am too tired to go into detail at this time.

Those are the main updates I wanted to share since my last post. However, that is not even close to what all has happened in the last two weeks. I will try to get back on and write more tomorrow as I want to make this a more frequent event, but for now, I must go to bed and get some rest.

Until next time....