Glimmer of Hope

The last year or so, I have kept to myself quite a bit with my neck pain.  In the last 4 months, my pain has increased significantly and after taking over a year off of any attempts to seek treatment/healing, I felt God telling me that it was time to begin again. Phil and I sat down and laid out a 'plan' of action...who/what we would try first and go from there...my first 3 choices on the plan of action either fell through, or I couldn't be seen for months, so I went on to my fourth choice. (Don't tell that doctor he was my 4th choice--Ha!)  I went back to my "shot doctor" that I had seen a couple of years ago as he had written me a note out of the blue that he had some ideas and new training that might help me. I met with him and he tole me he was working with a team of doctors that they have had great success treating those with chronic pain that other treatments alone had not helped.  The odd thing...the Dr. was a dentist.  I've tried so many odd things through the past 10 1/2 years that it didn't really phase me and I said, let's go for it.  So...I saw this dentist at the end of May for a consultation.  He told me he saw enough red flags that he wanted to pursue doing some tests with me to determine if he thought he could help me.  At this initial visit I have to say that I was BEYOND impressed with the Doctor and his office staff.  I have NEVER been to an office where I felt so welcomed, taken care of and understood.  He went through my entire 10 1/2 year history in detail with me and really listened to me.
So...we set up a "next" appointment to have some extensive (and expensive) testing done.  Below is the overview/update/plan of action from that appointment.

Some have been waiting patiently for this blog, others did not even know it was coming...I will try to keep it concise but a 2 1/2 hour appointment with a doctor has SO much information to pass on!
The appointment started with a battery of tests...measurements of my mouth, placement of jaws, pictures of all that, pics of my posture from all angles, pressure points of pain on my upper body, a cat scan from the shoulders on up, strength tests, including a "chronic pain test" to test whether I truly had this pain or it was in my head (he didn't tell me ahead of time on that one or I might've flipped out!) and much more. With this chronic pain test, he did something that was very good for me emotionally...if you want to know details of how he did it, I can tell you but I will leave it out as this is a long one.  Anyway, at the end of the test he got down to my eye level and said to me "You have chronic pain." He paused as I looked confused and thought.."Duh, that's why I'm here!"  He then told me what I was thinking and said he just did a test that has been proven 99% of the time accurately to show whether a patient is truly suffering from chronic pain and it isn't mental and he said it was beyond obvious that I AM in chronic pain.  He is really only the 2nd doctor to ever say these words to me.  I cried and he teared up...
Then he analyzed all of the data they had collected with me, step by step, to show me and explain to me what they had found.  The simple explanation....He believes that my neck pain is not the actual injury point (which is why in 10 1/2 years, they can't find anything truly wrong with my neck), but believes my neck pain is a result of my body compensating for other injuries over time.  He believes there are multiple injuries in my body, but wants to focus on what he calls the primary injuries. He believes my injuries are: Jaw injury, foot injury, lower back injury, along with a deviated septum in my nose which is causing an inability to breathe properly (which contributes to the jaw problems).   So, what's the plan?  Our big focus was on the physical treatment, but we also discussed whole health of body, mind and spirit/emotions.
THE PLAN--
1.  I will be fitted Monday for mouth guards that will be worn 24/7...a bottom guard to be worn during the day and a top guard to wear at night. I have a temporary generic one right now that is not going well...I keep gagging on it it because of it's design...so pray that my real ones come in quickly!
2.  I will go back to my "shot doctor" on Monday afternoon for him to work on my foot. This doesn't necessarily mean shots to my foot, as he does other things too.  Oh...and the foot injury...I had no idea my foot was injured but he did a pressure point thing and I about came out of the chair because of the pain...he did the same on the other foot and no pain at all.  Very bizarre!
3.  The deviated septum problem will be analyzed by a ear/nose/throat specialist who also specializes in sleep issues.  Before going to him, I will be taking an at-home sleep study test for him to analyze.  They do not think I have a sleep problem related to the deviated septum, but want to be sure.  I do not wake up rested, but he feels strongly that is because of my pain, not because of a sleep problem.  He wants to be sure that is the case.
4. He has asked me as a whole health approach to go gluten free, sugar free, and dairy free.  This is partly because these foods have inflammatory tendencies and we want to rid my body of that so that it can heal more effectively.  But the idea of simply "eating and being healthy" can only promote feeling better and working with my body to heal.
5. This is a process...I will not feel better overnight once all of this begins.  He reminded me I have suffered for 10 1/2 years and it likely started before that even...my body is going to take time to recover, heal and move forward.
Soothing salve moments-->
1. Acknowledging I have chronic pain and tearing up with me.
2. In our discussion that he thinks that I CAN be helped and feel better after so long, we both got emotional and he had to step out a minute. When he returned he told me that my story has really touched him and he wants so desperately to help me and was so thankful that the tests came out how they did so that we can keep moving forward.
3. He talked to me about how good of a "faker" I have become, as I fooled him in my first visit as well about the level of my pain.  In fact, very few people at my schools this year have any idea that I suffer from pain.  Only the few that I felt necessary to tell.  He talked with me about how I fake it all day long to everyone and that he bets I even fool my family and they don't realize how badly I feel some days, and talked about how he bets that I come home from work and want to curl into a ball and hide from the world and have nothing left to give my family.  At this point the tears were rolling down my cheeks.  He encouraged me to try to be a bit more "real" with my family especially so that they can see the changes (hopefully) that are taking place...he also told me (which I knew) that "faking it" is taking a huge emotional toll on me and that will hinder the healing.
4. He told me that each time I come I will re-hear what is going on with me, what they are currently doing and what they will do next.  He said that he knew my mind was going all over, especially with questions of why this hasn't been discovered before and that I can't process it all at once because of this long journey.  He encouraged me to not think about all of the past treatments and how they didn't work and question why, but to simply move forward and look forward with him and work whole-heartedly on the NOW.
5. There are more, but my mind can't think of them all...have I mentioned that I LOVE this doctor???

So, I am hopeful.  The treatment is very expensive and they are out of network (of course) so most of it is going to be out of pocket...insurance has said it will pay 'up to 50%' but the office manager told me that my insurance usually does not pay well with other patients they have had and to plan on managing it on our own. But Phil and I feel like we have to do this...we have to try it.  To have someone believe in me, believe it is possible to be healed after all this time, to be encouraged and understood in such a way...if nothing else, emotionally it has been amazing.  As I look back and think this was choice number 4 on our action plan, I am so thankful that the first 3 didn't work out, as it could've been months or even years before I reached this doctor.  Pray with me that this is it!!!!  But more importantly, pray with me that I can continue to give the honor and glory to God and receive His strength and hope first and foremost.

Sorry for the incredibly long post...I only scratched the surface believe it or not...send me an email or facebook if you want to know more details or have specific questions.  Thank you for sharing this journey with me...God is amazing and is doing GREAT things...I just KNOW it! :)