Hmm

I'm not sure what to think, do, or feel at this point.  I saw my doc for a follow-up to the test I had done last week.  Last week the doc said we'd talk today about options because he felt I wasn't a surgical candidate.  Today he gives me a new drug and tells me he's going to run me by the surgeon to see if he'll fuse just one of the discs since he feels it's that disc causing my leg pain.

There are SO many pros and cons to consider.  If I have L5-S1 fused what will happen to L3-L4, which is also bad and causing consistent pain too?  What will happen to the good disc L4-L5?  I just don't know what to do anymore.  I don't know what will help or will make things worse.

Do I try the fusion and hope it doesn't make things worse?  Or do I sit around and just wait for the bad discs to completely disappear and then live with worse pain?  Or will the fusion make the pain worse?

I see the surgeon in a few weeks I guess he'll lay out the the what ifs and will decide if he thinks I'm worth operating on.

I really hate this life sometimes.  This choice is a crapshoot and I won't know until a year or more out if it was the right decision if I do have the surgery.  I've failed every conservative treatment and drug so far.  Good grief, I've been on a neuro drug that sidelines as a treatment for nerve pain and it doesn't help.  I'm on 24/7 pain meds, doesn't help.  I have to try a pain/muscle relaxer drug now and I have no idea what it's going to do, or not do.  I feel like pain and drugs for that pain are in my life forever at this point.  I'm angry, so angry at this.  Why can't it be an easy fix? 

I did accomplish one thing I've been wanting, a handicap parking sign for my car so I don't have far to walk from the store, that's the worst, having to walk forever to my car after having been in the store.  I'm usually near tears by the time I'm walking out of the store, once I get to my car I just fall into it and pull my legs in with my hands.

Sometimes I wonder what I did to earn this pain and suffering.  I know it's a pitypoorme thing but.. really sometimes it feels like I earned it somehow.  I want a reason for why I have this "disease".  Why is my back falling apart?  Why?  Will I ever get my life back?  Even part of it?

Options? What Options?

I go see my pain doc a week from yesterday to go over the results of the lumbar discogram done Tuesday this week.  I am not a candidate for surgery-no fusion no fix because I have a good disc in-between two very naughty discs.  So we will discuss "options".

I'm trying to be open-minded and hope he has something new to offer.  Up til now it's been surgery or drugs.  Now, it seems to me the only option is "or drugs".  I'm already on drugs that aren't working well, I've already got an implant that doesn't touch the pain.  I really would like to avoid adding stronger or more drugs to the cocktail I'm already on.  I'm already focus/concentration challenged and sleepy as it is.  I don't want to be mistaken as a zombie, people will run away thinking I want to eat their brains when all I'm really doing is trying to formulate a sentence.

But S tells me to keep an open mind, don't shoot the doc down until I hear what he has to say.  So I'm trying but it isn't easy.  Right now I have an extremely limited number of spoons to spend on my daily life.  Want to know what I'm talking about?  Google "spoon theory" or "but you don't look sick" for a very well written explanation of what it is like living with chronic pain or illness.

There is a trade off to living for me.  Shower, dress, eat, all cost spoons (energy).  Go to an appointment or a social event, costs more spoons (energy).  The trade off is that with every spoon I use I have less to use and each spoon used requires energy rebuilding (or washing the dishes) aka sleep in my case.  If I've spent all my spoons for the day and borrowed from the next day or two, I've hit the "wall" and my body says "We're done, we're sleeping NOW".  And I will fall asleep as soon as I stop moving or I won't be able to wake up because my body is recouping the energy it needs.  While this is going on, I'm missing out on Life, on my life and those around me.  It really sucks and I was hoping to have it fixed somehow so maybe I would have a few more spoons to add to my supply. 

I don't know what the future holds but I sure hope it includes more spoons so I can live instead of having to live with what I consider to be an expensive trade off.

Fair Chances?

I feel like my 'crazy' behavior has screwed everything up to the point that The Boss and S aren't able to give me a fair chance and won't ever be able to, despite verbal reassurances that they will.  They both jump on me every time I say something, they view my every word or behavior through negative filters all from the past.  It may be recent and yes it's my fault, but I need a fair chance if I'm going to make it.  Having my past behaviors thrown back at me or used to beat me down is going to keep me spiraling down.

When you're given the message that you're not worthy and haven't changed and won't change, over a long enough period of time it becomes your truth.  In my case I begin to question the sense in continuing to try to get some control of the 'crazy' or trying to have relationships with either of them.  Sometimes my give-a-damn is busted and I just want to quit.  Yeah I know, sappy, whiny, poor me. Suck it up, walk it off, just deal with it. That works well; not.

I am feeling bad about me today.  I've been in a downward spiral for a couple of days. The negative reactions from The Boss and S, plus possible back surgery, plus a definite move to an apartment that won't hold half the stuff we have is all tearing me up.  It's almost overwhelming.  I'm officiating at my sister's vow renewal at the beginning of July, I don't know how I'm going to be able to do it if I have back surgery, the first month is spent laying sown, no sitting, standing, or activity.  I'll need a gurney to even be there.

I've hit that emotional wall and I can't take any more.  I am feeling depressed and like all the cards are stacked against me.  The Boss and S were the biggest part of my mental health support team, I think I've lost that from them.  In addition to everything else it's just another drop in the bucket of crap hanging over me.

How can I get a fair chance?  If I can't get that chance how can even I begin to prove myself to them?  Whenever I bring this up with either of them it ends in a fight of some sort, and somehow I'm always wrong.  My perceptions are incorrect, it's all in my imagination, etc.  In other words, since it isn't their truth it isn't true.  Talk about a mindf*ck for a crazy person who doubts her own thoughts, memories, and reality already.  The mother pulled this same crap on me and I still don't know if what I remember is real.  It's a real crappy thing to do to someone, that's for certain. :-(

Just when things were going well...

Just when things were going well, I'd had no manic episodes in weeks (?), I'd been in a positive mood and mindset, and aside from the occasional road bump I was on the way up.

Then today happened.  I was cranky, angry, difficult to please, didn't care-I had to be ordered into the shower, in short I felt like my unmedicated self.   It felt awful and I had to consciously force myself to not lash out at the Boss or anyone else.

I took my shower and the Boss took me to get some dinner and then I went from feeling manic/angry to feeling jumpy/panicky/and overwhelmed by all the noise.  This wasn't very pleasant either but at least I have something to help with that.  Finally I calmed down to "normal", this would be my new attitude/behaviors where I'm nice, pleasant, myself, non-violent, moods are level and stable, and I'm fun to be with.  The rest of the evening with the Boss went well and I even got to snuggle up on the floor in front of him on my new cushion and reveled in head rubs.  I LOVE it when he rubs my head, it doesn't feel sexual, it just feels affectionate and the 'Big me' and 'lg' love it.

Anyway, I'm nervous.  What if I'm metabolizing the medication and it won't work at this dose any longer?  What then?  I'm tired of the medication tango.  I'm trying to not get ahead of myself but I've been at this point so many times within the last 8-9 months that I'm understandably skittish.

The Boss and I, and even S and I, are just starting to make some positive changes and progress.  I do not want to become the thing I was and tear all the good stuff down because I'm a psychotic jerk.

I'm hanging in there and waiting to see what the next week holds and I see the "team" for evaluation and updates.

I'm still working on me and taking baby steps in hopes of becoming the Boss's collared slave again-maybe "again" isn't the right word to use.  This is a new and different relationship we're building.  Still M/s, still power exchange, but stronger with a steady foundation.  I plan to be a whole person bringing a lot to the table this time around-hence all the work I'm doing.  The only way either of us will be successful as any type of couple is if we come into it with eyes wide open, full knowledge and understanding of what we want to create, and an understanding of the difference between day-to-day M/s and fantasy M/s.

Yes I'm getting off on a tangent but it's like 5:36 in the morning and this is not my usual time to be awake so I'm prone to rambling.

One of my big errors was going into both M/s relationships with an eye to being owned and being in service.  I had no idea what type of service I could or wanted to provide.  I didn't know what kind of slave I wanted to be.  I didn't know how they viewed M/s and I certainly didn't know what they really wanted in a slave, from me.  I made a lot of assumptions instead.  The Boss reminds me that I also forgot rule #1-Obey.  He says as long as I Obey, I can't go wrong, get in trouble, or disappoint him.  Makes sense huh?  It's so dang simple that it took me a little while to actually understand the concept!

If we do the Handfasting/Rose Ceremony I envision for our 25th anniversary of being together, I'd like to work the word 'Obey' in somewhere for me.  We used to joke around about the word 'Obey' being in our original wedding vows.  I swore up and down it wasn't, he swore up and down it was.  This way, there would be no doubt because I'd write it in there myself. ;-)

As a short aside:  I am in the process of creating a secondary journal.  It will be kept for the sole purpose of documenting my journey through Mr. Jack Rinella's book BECOMING A SLAVE: The Theory & Practice Of Voluntary Servitude.  Each chapter, including the introduction, has post-reading activities/questions.  I see these as a chance to hammer these new thoughts and lessons into my brain, I learn best if I write as well as read.  Somehow it gets into my long-term memory better.

So watch this spot for the announcement when that goes live.

As for the rest, I will survive.  I'm making plans for the near future, activities, things that will get me out of the isolation cycle I tend to fall into.  Psychologically I do tend toward the antisocial and as such, I tend to isolate a LOT, this computer being my only contact with the outside world for long periods of time.  Changing old behaviors is just one step toward a better 'me'.  :-)  Cheers!

Fixing Me

So we all know I battle depression and panic/anxiety (if we didn't know this we know now). I've been trying for a long time to heal myself and pull up out of the mire of mental illness. My methods weren't working. Since August I've been getting (I believe) progressively worse.

I've had more bouts of what I call mania, Sir calls it obsession. I get this manic energy and latch onto an issue and I can't seem to let go despite knowing my behavior is out of control and not wanting to be that way. It isn't me. Sir has said that it isn't me many times, I agree, it is so not me or the me I want to be.

So I'm trying Sir's way in the hope that he's right and it will work. I trust him and see the way he reacts to everything and want to be able to react with such a positive attitude and outlook on life.

So I'm currently reading a book called Don't Sweat The Small Stuff: and it's all small stuff It could have been written by Sir, I swear there are phrases in there he's said to me more than once. It's eerie but that tells me he's onto something and I need to listen and pay attention. I'm trying to put it into practice as I read it even if I'm not always successful. I feel calmer and more positive on days when I am successful. I like who I am on these days and this is the person I want to be every day. Calm, respectful, unruffled by the small stuff, relaxed, and happy. Most of all, happy.

In addition to the book(s) I'm reading, I'm also seeing my shrink and therapist more regularly and I have support to help keep me honest. The support feels good and isn't at all the nightmare I thought it would be (past issues). We're also working on creating a daily schedule for me, which includes time for meditation, slave devotional, exercise, and hobby/fun stuff. It also includes some things to get and keep my physical health on track too. I thrive with structure despite fighting it at times. I would have done well in the military had I not had an authority issue. ;-)

I'm about 50% in line with the schedule but it has only been in effect since Wednesday. I will get 100% in line within the next week. I need to because my mental and physical well-being, as well as my relationships, depend on it.

If I were to have a message it would be don't neglect your mental health it will affect your relationships whether they be vanilla or M/s. It's really difficult to be submissive when your mind is cluttered with chaos.

During my out of control periods I have hurt my Masters deeply and it's not something you can take back no matter how much you wish you could.

New Beginnings

For the last few months I’ve been battling ulcer-like pain and it has been horrible.  The medications are barely helping with the pain.  The ulcer is tiny but the doc doesn’t think it’s the problem.  She feels its the fact that my pouch (bariatric surgery term for the new tummy after gastric bypass surgery)  is 2x too long.

This translates into me producing too much gastric juice, hence the pain.  Also a reason behind my not losing weight as I should have.  So, within the next month I should know whether or not I’m having a revision to shorten my pouch.  I’ll have better information Tuesday after my follow-up appointment with my surgeon.

I’m just thankful that an end to my pain and illness is in sight, and that my weight loss should start again!

I’m not looking forward to basically going through the entire gastric bypass surgery again and a recovery, not from laparoscopic surgery this time but from an open surgery.  It’s going to hurt much, but again, should be worth it to fix this problem and hopefully prevent future problems with ulcers.

At this point Master is worried about me, my health, and our finances while I’m off recovering.  HRS may be concerned about me but she’s masking it with concern that there won’t be enough cash flow for the new school year.  *sigh*

I can’t please everyone, all I can do is take care of myself.  I can’t do anything with or for anyone when I’m in pain so debilitating I’m writhing around and whining.

So that’s where I’m at today, trying to take care of me so I can take care of them.