Goodbye Lyrica

Oh no - I let the month of April slip by without even one post! I said I would always try to post at least one time each month.

I have one more week of work until summer break begins. Ah... 10 weeks off with pay. I'm really looking forward to it. It seems as though every year at this time just before summer break begins, Tom has a mild setback - it's like clockwork. I hope this summer will be different.

In my last post I wrote about Tom's trouble talking, and simple signs of what I believed to be a mini-stroke. The talking trouble seems to have been an isolated event. However, the numbing remains.

At the suggestion of his neurologist, Tom slowly stopped taking a medicine (Lyrica) that is supposed to manage pain from nerve and/or joint damage. He took the last pill 12 days ago. Now, we don't know if this is a side effect or not but he has been very tired and light-headed, seeing floating spots (floaters) on occasion. Last night he had trouble walking. I practically dragged him up the stairs to bed. He was so panicked and worried (which rubbed off on poor Katie). He started feeling a little better and watched some tv. In the middle of the night he had to use the bathroom. I helped him get there and walked him back. Now, I'm not talking about holding his hand; I'm talking about seriously supporting him over my shoulder. At one point on the way back to bed we both fell to the floor. I told him to crawl and he couldn't do it at first. He got very angry - not at me, but at his situation. He finally managed to get back in bed.

Today he is just not feeling very well - depressed, tired, light-headed. He says he's a four on a 1-10 scale. I think he's experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the drug he recently quit taking. His body is resisting but it will be "back to normal" (whatever that means) soon. No pain, no gain.

Each week, Tom tries to get out of the house every day, which is usually just a trip to the grocery store. He's been cooking dinner lately - fajita burritos are his specialty! He has also grilled fish a couple of times...mmmm... He cooks about three nights per week. Near the end he becomes exhausted - standing up and shuffling around can really wear him out. I love walking in after work to find dinner already under way.

Some folks from IHG (Tom's employers) brought lunch to our house a couple of weeks ago. Tom really enjoyed their company. It gave him a much needed boost. You know, when you have been out of work for as long as Tom has and you still have people from the office come visit, that says so much about them.