Completing and Remembering 2009

What was your biggest triumph in 2009?
Diagnosing and treating my adrenal fatigue.

What was the smartest decision you made in 2009?
To take over managing DH's medications that he cannot safely manage himself.

What one word best sums up and describes your 2009 experience?
Rollercoaster.

What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2009?
I must put my own health and happiness at the top of my priority list. Fit your own oxygen mask before helping others or you will suffocate!

What was the most loving service you performed in 2009?
Staying awake with my husband when he was in lots of pain, unable to sleep, and therefore suicidal.

What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2009?
Decluttering our house - it now has 7 years of accumulated clutter.

What are you most happy about completing in 2009?
My stint as a work at home mum. The managing director of my firm decided it was time for all us far-flung workers to return to the offices he pays rent on. This only happened the week before Christmas, and already I have been much more productive... and content!

Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2009?
My husband - he always has the greatest impact!
My new friend T - she has been on her own rollercoaster. We have held each other's hands and screamed and cried and laughed through our journeys together.
My counsellor, R - helping me keep on the straight and narrow, and agreeing with me about the adrenal fatigue.

What was the biggest risk you took in 2009?
Taking my husband's medication away from the house without his knowledge. (So it would be harder to access.) I actually snuck out of the house to do this while he was distracted talking to my parents. The risk was he would get very angry with me and I wouldn't cope.

What was the biggest surprise in 2009?
My husband started to realize that his daughter wasn't anywhere near as difficult as he thought she was... as long as you don't rant and rave.

What important relationship improved the most in 2009?
The relationship with my son improved. I believe he knows he can tell me anything now, but we'll have to test that theory over the next year.

What compliment would you liked to have received in 2009?
It's amazing how well you manage things and still keep your sanity!

What compliment would you liked to have given in 2009?
To my husband: You are the dearest, sweetest, most loving and sexy man, and I'm so glad you're all mine! (I'm going to send that to him on Skype right now!)

What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2009?
2009 was a difficult year. I'm glad it's over, and I have come through it stronger, and more loving than ever.

Thanks to Sandy MacGregor's Mind Matters News for these questions.

Lice, tonsillitis and pink eye. Oh my!

Does anyone want my family?

• DD has lice. (Not again! That's it. I'm chopping her mop to short curls. I can hardly get a brush through it, let alone a nit comb.)
  
• DS went on camp and came back with tonsillitis, which he gave to me. (Yay, I'm still on the antibiotics)
  
• DD now has conjunctivitis, most likely viral (or it could be impetigo as she seem to have that too!!!). I haven't got rid of the lice yet! Oh well, at least she has a better reason for staying home from school.
  
• DH has run out of (good) painkillers and is spending half his day in bed, the other half asking me to keep the kids quiet, while I'm trying to work as a professional software developer.
  

Hang on, two positives:

• At least we haven't got the Swine Flu. (Touch wood!)
• Oh, and the kitten is recovering beautifully from her desexing the other day.

He's run out of painkillers again....

DH normally takes oxycodone for his pain (from fibromyalgia). He is only allowed enough medication to last a month at his appropriate dose (which we will be increasing next week).

When DH runs out of his normal painkillers we have two issues: unmitigated pain and opiate withdrawal symptoms.

The unmitigated pain causes him to become extremely depressed. I have rung his GP to get a script for an alternative pain killer (tramadol) which does not require authorisation from the government; of course, it also doesn't work as well as the oxycontin he normally has, but it's much better than anything else we can get until Tuesday when we see the GP.

From Wikipedia:

The symptoms of oxycodone withdrawal are the same as for other opiate based painkillers and may include "anxiety, nausea, insomnia, muscle pain, fevers, and other flu like symptoms."

Well at the moment, as well as depression, he also has anxiety, nausea and flu like symptoms. Fortunately, these are manageable with the tramadol.

I hope the higher dose is more effective so he can stop running out before he is supposed to. And my depression / anxiety are now very manageable, so I think it's time I took the drugs back and dole them out to him. And keep track of how long each pack should be lasting. We'll get there!