Simply Norma

Watching the news yesterday on the Sandy hurricane that is passing through the United States east coast, I was shocked to see people standing close to the edge of a boardwalk playfully “teasing” the water as they walked back and forth to the edge to try to avoid the splashes coming on shore.

I didn’t get it. With all the warnings to evacuate or stay indoors, “hunker down” is what they called it, I couldn’t understand why these people felt a need to “tempt” fate.

Today we know that lives have been lost. Some of those lives were of people who did “hunker down” in their homes but trees fell on their houses killing them.

One could say it doesn’t matter — that fate will get you either way. Yet for the ones who died accidentally most people would mourn. For those who stand on the edge tempting fate, had they died, most would say they deserved it.

Life is precious. When we don’t heed the warnings then we suffer consequences, sometimes. And when we heed the warning we are safe, sometimes.

And as unpredictable as life may be, I still choose to heed warnings and do all I can to keep myself safe. For there will come a time when not heeding a warning could truly make the difference between life and death.

Brrr … its cold outside this morning but I had a chiropractor appointment so I forced myself out of my warm bed. Looking outside, the leaves still look a little wet from the recent rain we’ve received. Rain that, unfortunately, will still not get us out of the drought we’re in.

I enjoy going to see my chiropractor. He was referred to me by a masseuse that I go to every now and then. I trust her and her healing hands truly help me with my stiff neck. Just recently I asked her if she knew of a chiropractor that might work with lingual nerve damage and she said she knew of one who worked with laser treatment on nerves that might be able to help.

That’s how I found my chiropractor. He was a good listener from day one and suggested that the laser treatment he uses just might help as it helps with other nerve problems.

Initially I went to see him twice a week. The first laser treatment I received made me believe I was definitely going to be healed of this lingering problem (caused by a dentist trying to numb my mouth during a root canal).

The laser they use is an Avicenna laser. It is supposed to help in stimulating deep tissue healing. Although the chiropractor had never tried it with lingual nerve damage he was optimistic enough for me to say “let’s try it.”

Almost 6 weeks later I can say that I have definitely noticed a difference on the left side of my mouth. My tongue doesn’t have a continual burning or discomfort/pain most days. The laser treatment I receive is very simple. They point the laser on my face where the lingual nerve connects to the rest of the mouth and for 10 minutes they move the laser back and forth. After 10 minutes, I open my mouth and they point the laser inside my mouth towards the lingual nerve and work that area for another 5 minutes.

I’ve read other blogs of people who have this problem and no one has yet suggested this remedy. I was on the verge of going to see my oral facial surgeon to see if there was anything that can be done. From internet reading, the lingual nerve “might” heal itself in 2 months or 20 years. That’s a LOT of time to be in pain and I’m already at 1 year and 7 months.

I am thankful that I can try this FDA approved laser treatment and hope that it will speed up the healing of my lingual nerve sooner rather than later. It certainly seems like I’m well on my way.

I’m not sure if this is covered by insurance though as my insurance doesn’t cover chiropractic visits so I pay out of pocket and reimburse myself through the Health Savings Plan.

Has anyone else tried this kind of therapy for lingual nerve damage? I’d be interested in hearing from you.

Update: March 22, 2013

The laser therapy had worked very well and my lingual nerve problems had completely gone away by the beginning of 2013. Because I had also had problems with TMJ, the chiropractor referred me to a dentist he knew so I could have a proper mouth guard made. TMJ, according to the chiropractor, can exacerbate the lingual nerve.

However, when I became sick with bronchitis in February, the lingual nerve started acting up again. I will be heading back to the chiropractor next week.

The chiropractor had also explained that inflammation in the body can prevent the lingual nerve from healing so I should be careful with what I ate and he recommended removing sugar (except for occasional honey and pure maple syrup), gluten and dairy from my diet. At first, I was hesitant to do this because I didn’t think my husband would go along with it.

When my son came to visit in December, he decided he wanted to cook for us and in January started us on a paleolithic diet which is gluten free, dairy free (except for eggs) and sugar free. Funny how life has worked things out.

I believe that the lingual nerve is better because of the diet, i.e. it’s not as bad during this recurrence as it was initially when it first started.

So I’m hoping that this is a minor setback for me as it took almost four weeks for me to recuperate from the bronchitis which is a big inflammation causer.

Really? A TSA Museum?

What’s next in our crazy mixed up world? I was reading a blog recently called View from the Wing and the museum is in that blogger’s town.

It’s really sickening to me. I’m not a fan of TSA. Oh, and get this — the museum is not open to the public. Yeah, okay government. Spend our money and don’t give us access to what you spend it on.

More government waste!  I think the political ads must be getting to me of late must be getting to me.

Last year, on our wedding anniversary, we drove past the Franconia Sculpture Park on the way home from our getaway. This year we went for a drive in the country and stopped at the park again since they usually change the sculptures there.

The weather was absolutely beautiful with the sun shining high in the sky. It seemed like people may have thought this was our last beautiful autumn day as the road was crowded with cars and lots of motorcycles.  People were pulling over to see the changing colors on the trees. Everything looked so peaceful. Even the St. Croix River looked stunning.

Parking was almost full when we arrived at the Franconia Sculpture Park but we were able to find a spot in the grassy area. The sculptures were indeed different than the last time we were here — so original and, shall I say, interesting? I didn’t realize that they had signs with the artists’ name on them until I was halfway through the park. Check these out!

 This one is made out of “fragile” crates.

Pretty interesting, eh? There are so many and I didn’t get a picture of all of them. Here’s a few more but if you’re in the area you should stop by and check them out. Seriously!

Here’s a close up of the picture above … It looks so cool!

Okay so, now I’ll show you the ones that I was able to get the artists’ name for (yes, I know, never end a sentence with a preposition ….)

Translation for Las Puertas de Orion is The Doors of Orion.

Hey! There’s a man in the picture! I asked him to pose for me so that I could show you the size of the sculpture.

 The one below is one of my favorites. I guess I just like “reclaiming” things.

This next one seems appropriate for the area — farm country.

And last, but not least …

I hope my nervous doesn’t look so, well, nervous.  hehe

A nice thought provoking walk through the park.

This past Friday I saw my massage therapist. She is so good! She does “regular” massages but also includes cranialsacral work in her therapy. Every time I’ve gone to her I always leave feeling a lot more relaxed which leads to quicker healing.

After detailing my history of the “virus” I supposedly have, she had me lie face up on the table and proceeded to “hear” my head. This sounds weird, doesn’t it? Over ten years ago, when I lived in Seattle, I went to a cranialsacral clinic because I had severe vertigo and had tried everything else to help cure myself since the doctors had no suggestions. Back then, the cranialsacral treatment didn’t work either.

After the therapist had put her hands on my head and “listened,” she told me that there is little movement on the right side of my brain. That is not good. Movement is essential to good health. Anyway, she continued treatment and found I had two swollen mastoid lymph nodes. Those nodes (in lay terms) help with drainage. In trying to research them I didn’t find much information on them except for blogs where people have had similar symptoms to mine. In all cases that I’ve read thus far, the doctors say “it’s fine and will go away.”

The massage therapist would not work on the areas of the lymph nodes because of the swelling. She continued her treatment and ended with a quick Swedish massage to my back. I felt pretty good when I left although the right side of my head is still sensitive to touch.

This morning, I went to see my chiropractor. I originally went to see him because the massage therapist told me that he has a laser that can possibly help with the lingual nerve problem that I’ve had for over a year and a half. And he has helped with that! He is also using this laser treatment on my left wrist — the one I fell on last winter, and again, the laser treatment is helping.

But I digress as I think of my body falling apart …

The chiropractor felt both lymph nodes and said they are both still swollen but he believes that this is due to the virus that I am fighting off.

I am feeling better. The jabs of pain that I had last week are down to one every couple of hours or so.

I think I’ll do a little leaf sweeping this afternoon as it is too gorgeous a day to be indoors. Fresh air should help with healing my body, no?

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Tuesday I had the weirdest pain sensation in my head — an intermittent stabbing sensation that felt like small tremors. The stabbing happened a few times every minute and each time it was severe enough that I grabbed my head and yelled “ouch.” At times like these I’m glad that I never was one to use curse words or my language would be very unladylike.

I bit the bullet and made an appointment to see the doctor Wednesday. No more homemade remedies that don’t seem to work.

I arrived 5 minutes early for my appointment. Forty minutes later I got called into an office and was seen by the nurse. Blood pressure — high. I knew that my blood pressure would be high as it always is when I’m sick. The nurse told me the doctor would be with me in a few minutes. Not so.

A few minutes later a different nurse knocked on the door and told me she was taking me to another room because my doctor had to deliver a baby at the hospital. More waiting. I hate waiting when I’m on time.

Shortly I heard another knock on the door and a cheerful female doctor walked through the door. “Shhh, you’re too loud,” I felt like telling her.

The doctor listened to the history of my headache pain. She looked at the bumps on my nose and said “At first they looked like shingles to me but I believe you’re right, they’re cold sores.” Uh, that’s good, I thought to myself. I haven’t heard too many good things about people who have shingles.

After the doctor listened to me breathing, she looked in my ear and said that the inside was “pink and pretty.” No ear infection.

When I told the doctor that I could press on a muscle in my neck and almost pass out she told me “You’re having neck spasms that are causing the headaches.” Hmm … did I just diagnose myself? Then she proceeded to write a prescription for me for a muscle relaxant called flexeril. She also prescribed an anti-viral medication. I specifically asked her if the pills were large but she aid “No, they’re small, you’ll be fine.” She was wrong and since I have trouble swallowing pills, I have to cut them in half.

My brain was foggy though so I didn’t think to ask any other questions. I drove to the pharmacy where I hoped the prescriptions would be ready but they weren’t. Since I had another appointment I told the pharmacist that my husband would pick up the prescriptions later.

When I got home the pain had started getting severe again. Stab, wait a few minutes, stab, wait a few minutes … that’s how the rest of my afternoon went.

When my husband came home with the medications he showed me the receipt and said “I hope this works.” The anti-viral pills (which were to last for 7 days) were $139! Had I been at the pharmacy I would have given them back until I spoke with the doctor again to make sure they were absolutely necessary.

But, my husband doesn’t like “confrontation” so I have two different pills to take. I’m not sure which one is causing the dry mouth but both cause drowsiness and I certainly have been sleeping plenty.

In the meantime, the leaves continue to fall. I am now “behind” in yard work although what I was planning on doing was scheduled (in my head) for next year. I so much wanted to get a head start though — without the bugs and the heat.

Oh well. Next week looks promising weather-wise and if I’m better I’ll head outside to work in the crisp, sunny Minnesota days.

I remember telling a doctor once “I can tell when things aren’t going well in my body.” He then gave me a strange look. Aren’t we supposed to know our bodies?

Last week, I started getting a dull pain behind my right eye. By Friday, the whole right side of my head hurt and yesterday I could barely hold my head up. At first I thought — migraine. But no, it’s not a migraine. I’m pretty sure it’s an ear infection of some kind.

The pain radiates from the middle of the top of my head to the right side of my neck. I almost went to the emergency room yesterday but decided to wait. I took two Tylenol and lay down for a couple of hours without moving. The lack of stimulation to my brain really helped.

This morning I saw my chiropractor and he used a vibrating instrument on my neck which took most of the pain away. So far today the “edge” has been taken off but every now and again I get a quick pounding that let’s me know I’m not out of the woods yet.

I also woke up with a few large bumps on my nose — blistery looking. At first I thought that they were fever blisters but I haven’t had a fever that I’m aware of. Very very odd.

Looking out my window I see a dreary looking day which matches my mood.

The chiropractor said that most ear infections resolve on their own without antibiotics but if I should start feeling really bad then I should see my doctor.

Good advice.