A nice dose of encouragement

/
Liver problems due to medication. Joint problems when I have to stop that medication. Medication confusion for my neuro supplement (which was resolved with my doc agreeing I shouldn't take the generic). Broken foot from a silly accident.

Yep, I’ve been in need of encouragement lately. God has been faithful to provide that through His Word, prayer, and friends.

And I have been encouraged by The One Year Book of Encouragement by Harold Myra as well. It has 365 stories from great models of faith – C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham, D.L. Moody, Henri Nouwen, Charles Spurgeon, Amy Carmichael, and Gary Thomas, to name a few – followed by a brief prayer and a verse to reflect upon. At first I wasn’t sure I liked that format, but – because the prayer and verse are the last things I read – I walk away mediating on that verse and continuing that prayer silently. That works better for me than ones that begin with the verse and leaving me thinking about the story instead of the Word of God.

I’m not ashamed to admit that this is my new bathroom book. (C’mon, admit it. You have bathroom books too. And if you don’t, I truly think you’re missing out on some good reading time.) I used to have a Moravian devotion there, but it’s time for a switch.

I hope the folks at Tyndale House don’t mind that their book is in my bathroom. Its proximity to the toilet is in no way a reflection of my opinion of the book, and I am thankful that they provided it for my honest review.

AWANA patriotic night

/
Or...

Alternate title 1: The one in which we still haven't moved our pile of wood from part of the tree falling.

or Alternate title 2: The one that explains why the gym childcare worker asked yesterday - a week and a half after patriotic night - if Jocelyn's hair was turning a little red. (Um, no. The dye just hasn't come off her scalp yet.)





(Don't you love the last one? Silly faces, plus a photobomb from the little dude. Good times.)

Sigh...

/
If I have learned any practical skill from my health issues, it would be this: I am darn good at medical research.

It doesn't hurt, though, that I have access to medical journals by being a grad student.

Anyway, I've been having weird tingling, numbness, and lack of feeling in my hands and feet. It comes and goes, but in one instance I picked up a hot pan and the burning didn't register until I had blisters. So, yeah, it's more than just an annoyance. We've done tests, and - long story short - my neurologist has prescribed a supplement called Metanx (research it if you want all the deets, but it's basically a mix of folate and B vitamins that helps with peripheral neuropathy, which is my diagnosis, and can be used for other reasons too, like folate absorbency issues). Well, technically it's a medical food, which is different because medical foods are semi-regulated by the FDA and allowed to make claims about disease treatment (whereas supplements are not). I got it filled today and was optimistic, especially about treating this without adding more crazy chemicals into my system.

And before I took it, I did some research. (Of course. Because that's what I do!) And I'm not taking it tonight. Not because there are any red flags for Metanx; I researched that a few days ago when my doc wrote the script. The red flag is the generic I was given.

I was given Neurpath-B. On the Metanx website, though, I found this. It's a letter to pharmacists and other medical professionals from the folks at Metanx saying that Neurpath-B isn't the same and is mistakenly linked as a generic. I am a bit skeptical, because it is in Metanx's best interest if generics aren't used, but I found a lot of info about the makers of Metanx successfully fighting another so-called generic, Folast, earlier this year.

Well, Folast was made by Brookstone. Neurpath-B is made by Acella. And...drumroll, please...Brookstone changed its name less than a year ago to Acella.

So quick summary here: the medical food product Folast used to be considered a generic for Metanx, and PamLabs (Metanx makers) fought to have removed as a generic. Now the makers of Folast have another so-called generic for Metanx. And that's the one I got.

So in the morning, I'll be calling my pharmacist and my neurologist. I'm not just blinding trusting the interwebz. All this could be misinformation. Once I have any updates, I'll post 'em on the blog and link up here.

Advocating for my health is a part-time job, one that I've gotten pretty dern good at. A lot of people don't know, though, that patients need to be their own advocates and researchers. I love my doctors - and it is a huge blessing to say that, because I have several specialists but not one bad apple - but they have a lot of patients and I don't expect them to know every detail of my complex health mess. That's my job. And it's my job to hold them accountable as a partner with them in my health. In simple terms, their job is to know their specialty, and my job is to know mine, which is my health.

I do it well. I just wish that it wasn't necessary and that it was a bit less complex. 'Cause, you know, there are other things I would rather spend my time doing.


(P.S. - I'm pretty sure only I could come home from an appointment with the neurologist about lack of feeling in my hands and feet and then drop a piece of furniture on my foot and fracture it. That's what I did Monday. And now? I have plenty of feeling in my foot, just not the type of feeling I was going for. I do appreciate the irony of the situation, and I'm glad God has a sense of humor.)