Another week passes

Well, the two day headache made itself into a four day one last week.  On Monday I had a regular visit to my family doctor for my regular prescription refills and one new one.  He decided to try me on Tramacet for the headache pain as regular Tylonel and Maxalt have no effect on Chiari headaches. We also discussed my surgical options at Toronto Western and he is confident the TWH is the best place to have surgery.

Monday night as my headache raged, I took 2 Tramacet.  Warning: Do not take this drug if you need to perform any of the following: drive, walk, talk, think, speak or move!! WOW!  I was sitting on the couch waiting for it to kick in, but it had already kicked in.  I wanted a drink from my glass not a foot away on the side table but I thought if I moved my arms they would fall off.  Yeah, it's strong.  But it did help the pain.  And Tuesday I felt hung over, but I didn't have any pain.  Not a bad day, all in all.  Next time, I'll only take 1 though and see if that is enough.

So where am I at in my decision about surgery?  I've decided I want the decompression surgery.  I've had to give up more and more activities lately because doing them causes terrible headaches.  Now, I'm trying to decide if I want to have it done in Toronto by Dr. Gentili.  I'm weighing all of the information I have carefully.  And I'm investigating one more option: the US.

I've read about and contact the Wisconsin Chiari Center in Milwaukee, WI.  I know the costs would be well more than we can afford without winning the lottery, but I had to inquire.  They were very nice and wrote back to me to send down my MRI and reports and they would review them and let me know if I need more testing. They ballparked a surgery cost too - $75k to $100k US.  Anybody have some extra pocket money lying around??  I will apply to OHIP for preapproval to see if I was to go to the US if they would cover any of the costs.  I see my family Dr. on Thursday to see if he will agree to sign the request.  Wish me luck.  IF I'm preapproved I would like to at least have the opinion of a true Chiari specialist - Dr. Dan Heffez - who coincidentally trained in Montreal.

I had to make a tough decision this week as well.  I had to give my notice at the pool.  Just teaching the one aquabics class a week leaves me with a headache for anywhere from 1 to 4 days.  It's just not worth it for the 45 minutes and $19.  When I'm better, after surgery and recovery, I would love to go back to teaching.  It has been a big part of my life - taking it for the past 14 years and teaching the past year.  I am still going to yoga on Sunday mornings until Christmas - it's free with a donation to Christmas Cheer and they are all easy, beginner classes.

So, time, a little more of it, will tell what OHIP says, and whether or not I can pursue going to Milwaukee for a consult.