So much drama, and so much going around and around, but I guess that’s the joy of being chronically in. I swear, we should all write passages for a book called, “Chronicles of the Chronically”. This week my pain levels have hit a new level of horrible, and since I can’t really take narcotics without having to worry about potentially having a seizure, I’ve basically just had to suck it up and deal. This has meant a whole lot of showers, heating pads, and surprises. Surprises? Well, for example, one day one set of joints will hurt, the next day, a whole different set will flare up. Yesterday my feet opted to get in on the fun, which I wasn’t really aware of until I got out of bed. Every step, you could hear cracking, and it felt like bones were breaking.
My ex, being the wonderful piece of garbage that he is, has decided that, rather than just go through with the divorce as we agreed, he wants to get a lawyer, disagree with everything, and force the proceedings into court. He doesn’t realize that this will drag things out even further, and worse, cost him a whole lot of money. I’m hoping I won’ get slammed with court fees because I’m disabled and he should have to pay my fees, but we’ll see how it works out. For someone who wanted this over and done with, he sure picked a stupid thing to do. Of course he’s one of the stupidest people I know, so that’s not exactly a huge surprise. He probably figures, since I can’t make it to court, he’ll get a default agreement, or get what he wants. The idiot forgets that I am severely ill, and have a fantastic lawyer. one doctors letter, and boom, I’m officially excused from court proceedings for at least six months, and it also makes him look like an ass because it clearly states I haven’t been able to work, and will continue to be unable to work.
It doesn’t mean the news that he was pushing it to court didn’t stress me out. I found out he’d done this shortly before I found out we were officially moving onto chemo. As far as he knew I was already doing chemotherapy like treatments, which I was, so in his mind I probably wasn’t as sick as I truly am. My misfortune has become his misfortune though, since his girlfriend is due in February. If he truly wants the baby to be able to get Tricare, he can’t have a wife as a dependent, who isn’t the mother of the child. I’ll be doing chemotherapy until mid-April, so unless they want to pay out of pocket for the appointments and birth, he’s going to need to stop being unrealistic.
I think the hardest thing for me has been knowing that he’s supposedly expecting a child with this young woman, and may be losing the ability to have a one myself. The odds on my regimen range from 60-70% in terms of ending up infertile. Knowing that leaves me 30-40% is comforting, but not really as comforting as having eggs frozen just in case. I found out this week that freezing my eggs isn’t an option. My doctor doesn’t want to delay the start date, and we’re talking about starting next week if the infusion center has an opening. We did talk about Lupron, but there isn’t a ton of clinical evidence it works, and she’s concerned the side effects of menopause could mask whether the Behcet’s symptoms have started to abate. There is also some concern about hormones again, and how that impacts my disease. Would putting me into menopause, then pulling me out of it, end up making me flare immediately after we reverse it? I did have a lot of flares concurrent with my menstrual cycles.
The guy, for his part, has been supportive, joking about whether there is anything sexual that can be done with bald heads, and chatting with me about wigs. He’s also repeatedly told me how he’s here for me, despite my concern that I may vomit and he may hear me. Other friends have come out of the woodwork, too, and it’s nice to know that I’ve got people. Most can’t physically be here, but I know they would if they could. I did cry because I have lost a lot of friends being sick. I was talking about it with the guy, and I told him I felt lonely, a lot, like my illness drives people away, and then on top of it, it prevents me from making new friends. Being introverted just magnifies the effects.
My shitty insurance, while it covers things financially, often only offers me shitty providers, and in terms of mental health providers that’s majorly clear. I liked my counselor, but the doctors regulating my psychiatric meds have no clue what they’re doing. It’s scary when you’re looking into black market ways to keep yourself plugged into society because your doctors have gone crazy themselves. (I’m talking getting backup meds from a friend, not street meds, though there are a lot of drug deals going down as of late.)
Who would I talk to about this stuff besides other sick people though? The guy asked if I thought about looking for support groups, and while it’s a good idea, I also had to chuckle because any support group for the chronically ill, is bound to have a lot of absenteeism. I know I’ve folded under pressure lately, feeling like crap, and wanting to just sleep a little longer. I force myself to wear actual pants to the guy’s place, but the truth is, I’m in pajamas so often ,buying a few more pairs seems like a good investment. (Note: long legs = buying mens pajama bottoms to be cost effective. Victoria’s Secret works, but is the cost worth it, really?)
So chemo. Legitimate chemo. My mother oh-so-kindly pointed out that it’s not real chemo, like cancer chemo…even though it’s the same drug. True, my schedule is less rigorous and involves less drugs, but the side effects, and dosages, still make it a shitty thing to look forward to. As the guy has said, though, I can think about it and prepare for it, but I also need to think about and plan for the end of it. Remission. Vacations. FUN. I had to postpone my trip to Mexico, sad, but I didn’t she the funds anyhow. I’m determined to get to a nice hot tub, somewhere it snows, at some point during the treatment, maybe around New Year’s. I can take a real vacation once it’s all over. I’m also kind of hoping my hair just falls out at this point. Post Cell Cept and steroids, it’s just falling out and breaking constantly. I don’t know how I have any left except that I had super thick hair before hand. My scalp has hurt lately, and more hair has been coming out, so I’m thinking with chemo, it’s bound to just abandon ship.
Coping With Behcet's one day (and smile) at a time 