alternative medicine.

today we went to the chinese acupuncturist and herbalist. the whole day, i made jokes about my mom going back to her roots for wanting to take me. her coworkers had rave reviews about how the herbs and acupuncture has helped with there ailments, and my mom said she'd do anything to find what makes me feel better. so this herbalist. dr. chi's office was in a tiny room in a building in chinatown. as soon as you walk in, the scent of all of the herbs just smacks you in the face.

he gave me a contract to read and sign, which made me panic. reading the side effects of acupuncture and the wording of his contract freaked me out completely. after we established i was not interested in the acupuncture aspect of his practice, we went into an even smaller room and started the consultation. i told him about the fibromyalgia, asthma, migraines, anxiety, and lack of sleep; he asked a bunch of questions and wrote everything down in chinese. he checked my pulse on both wrists-- his finger movements reminded me of accordion playing. he wrote some more things down in chinese, then he started shuffling through the wall of drawers behind his counter. 

dr. chi gave me two bags of a mixture of herbs, which would last me for four days, along with very strict instructions on how to cook them. he said the cooking method is very important. he gave us an example: there's an herb to relieve constipation that needs to be cooked for five minutes-- if it's cooked for thirty minutes, you'll get the worst case of diarrhea.

these are some of the herbs he prescribed. i actually asked him to write them down for me, but he said he doesn't know their english names.

so these are the cooking directions (i'm writing it as it is printed, so excuse the improper spelling/grammar:

cooking for the 1st time: empty herbs from the bag in a (ceramic/glass/stainless steal) pot. and 40 oz. of cols water, cover the lid. high fire, bring to boil. turn fire to medium, simmer for 45 minutes. shut off the fire, and pour out the tea. should have about 10 oz. of tea. remain the herbs in the pot for the 2nd time cooking.

cooking for the 2nd time: add 20oz. of cold water into the remaining herb from the first time. high fire, bring to boil. turn fire to medium, simmer for 30 minutes. shut off the fire, pour out the tea. should have another 10oz. of tea. put in refrigerator to keep fresh for the next day use. 

drink direction:

drink the herbal tea 1 hour after lunch. or 1 hour after dinner (3 hours before bed time). never drink the tea on an empty stomach. always drink when it's still very warm. be careful do not get burn. never drink the tea when it's cold.

so we followed the directions and this was the result. this was absolutely the most disgusting thing i've ever ingested, but at least dr. chi put a brown sugar cube in the bag to cook with the tea.

my mom was prepared to dish out a hefty amount of money, but since i didn't get the acupuncture and only bough herbs, she only paid $21: each bag of herbs was $8, and he charged $5 to check my pulse.

i drank the tea about two and a half hours ago, which is why i'm awake writing this post. as exhausted as i am, i'm trying to follow these directions and not sleep until three hours after drinking it. i did some homework for my illustration class, made three bracelets, and started a new strand of waist beads before starting this. 

i'm sitting in my living room, watching chopped champions ondemand, in a world's worth of pain. my left foot is ridiculously swollen, along with my right hand. my left wrist with the cyst, hips, and shoulders are throbbing. i'm hungry, and everything hurts. i just want to eat and sleep.

no more meds.

shocking, i know, but it's been a little over a week, i think, and i'm completely off of any medication given to me by the doctors. i honestly felt better when i was taking the savella, minus the nausea and what not.

the exhaustion has gotten to a new extreme. i always fall asleep on the train in the morning on my way to work. tuesday, i was so exhausted, i didn't even bother to get off at my stop. i was awake once the train got to penn station, but i was just so exhausted, i couldn't move. i got off at the next stop and walked back six blocks to my office.

last night, i took one of the rozerem sleeping pills dr. jhagroo gave me. my body despises sleep at night! you'd think that after taking a sleeping pill that once used to knock me out for three days, i would at least sleep through the night-- nope.

this is just getting too much for me to handle.

exploring new methods.

so yesterday's appointment with krishnamurthy: it was a whirlwind, to say the least. 

i told her about the heart palpitations, the lack of sleep, and the hot flashes. she explained that savella boosts the endorphins, and those side effects are a result of that. the nausea and brain fog have only gotten worse, and even though the medication has been controlling the flares, i still experience pain when my pressure points are touched. i also have been having flares since monday morning. with taking all of that into consideration, she decided to take me off of savella. she lowered my dosage to one pill a day for about a week to gradually get me off of it, since i'll go through withdrawal if i stop taking it suddenly.

krishnamurthy is stressing this aerobic activity thing. she told me to walk for five minutes as soon as i get home from work to get it out of the way. according to her, i may not feel the results the first week or two, but i will.  i'll give it a try. my friend dana swears i need to do thirty minutes of yoga on the weekends, so i'll try that to. 

once the medication is out of my system and i get into the habit of exercising, after about a month or so, we'll decide from there if i need to try another medication, like lyrica or cymbalta.

i asked about "self medicating" using marijuana: from a medical stand point, she's totally against it. she said it's only a short-term relief, and people who use that method tend to not want to do anything, "amotivational syndrome" she called it. she also said it's a harsher smoke than cigarettes on the lungs. this is definitely something i need to think about. 

i'm currently at my desk, in pain. my legs have been going numb, off and on, since yesterday morning. i'm leaving work in about three hours to meet up with darrel to go to another doctor's appointment; this time, it's for the neurologist to address this lack of sleep issue. 

i just want to be better already...

sorry i haven't been updating so frequently, things have been kind of crazy. let's see if i can do a quick recap of the past few days:

• the side effects have been subsiding. the brain fog hasn't been as strong, i'm not as nauseated as i used to be, and my appetite is coming back. unfortunately, the sleep is still what it is.
• friday i went to dc to visit my alex for the weekend. we got facials at the aveda institute and got cupcakes at red velvet cupcakery in china town, and went to a natural hair meet-up at a great italian restaurant, vapiano. they actually have a location in  new york city, so i'll definitely try to check that out. i did a lot of shopping =]
• my medication schedule was thrown off over the weekend. i definitely need to work on getting it back on track.
• today the doctor's office called, which completely pissed me off. if i called you last week to tell you that i'm having heart palpitations because of the medication, why would the nurse call me to see if the doctor called me back? this was four hours ago. the damn doctor still hasn't called me back.
• my mom's begun this extensive research on homeopathic remedies for fibromyalgia. she wants me to go see a chinese herbalist.

that's about it, in a nutshell.

savella: day nineteen

i can't stomach anything but soup. not even thick soup.
the brain fog has gotten intense.
the heart palpitations have been occurring more frequently.
i'm having hot flashes and sweats like a 60year old woman.
i woke up nine times during the past two nights of sleep.

sleep is the cousin of death.

is that why i feel dead every single morning?

monday night: i woke up at 2a, 3a, and 5a.
tuesday night: i woke up at 12:30a, 3a, and 4:30a.
wednesday night (last night): i woke up at midnight, 2a, and 3:30a.

it's not getting any better. i was so tempted to call out from work. i'm at my desk, feeling like shit.

i want to go home. now.

and i just got smacked with a heart palpitation. great.

savella update.

i'm alive!


so so sorry i've been gone. i'm trying to get used to the new savella and develop a routine with it.


here's a little more information on the savella (taken from webMD):

This medication is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) that works by helping to restore the balance of certain natural substances in the brain(neurotransmitters).

Dosage is based on your medical condition and response to treatment.

To reduce your risk of side effects, your doctor may start you at a low dose and gradually increase your dose. Follow your doctor's instructions carefully. Do not increase your dose or take this medication more often than prescribed. Your condition will not improve any faster, and the risk of serious side effects may be increased.

If this medication has been used regularly for a long time, withdrawal symptoms (such as mood swings, headache, tiredness, sleep changes, and brief feelings similar to electric shock) may occur if you suddenly stop using this medication. To prevent withdrawal reactions, your doctor may reduce your dose gradually. Consult your doctor or pharmacist for more details, and report any withdrawal reactions immediately.

Nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, constipation, loss of appetite, dizziness, increased sweating, headache, or hot flashes (flushing) may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, tell your doctor promptly.

Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.

Tell your doctor immediately if any of these unlikely but serious side effects occur: fast/pounding heartbeat, changes in sexual ability, decreased interest in sex, painful/difficult urination.

so i've bolded the issues i've experienced while taking savella. it's only been ten days; the last three days, i've been taking the 50mg dosage. i wake up in the morning and take it before 6am, then between 7:30-8:30 right before i get ready for bed. it helps me fall asleep a bit.

i tend to get really scatter-brained and foggy, especially at work, since that's where i am for the greater part of the day. and the nausea?! it's ridiculous sometimes! and i get extremely exhausted. i honestly do believe it's the medication. but i'd rather experience that than the pain of fibromyalgia. since taking it, i've been able to take every day as it comes. i was actually able to enjoy my vacation! i'll save that for the next post...