Surviving my first FESI

I've been a bad blogger lately... mostly due to the monotony in my life: work, PT, back pain, work, PT, back pain... you get the picture. Anyway, yesterday was my first eventful happenstance of the new year, so I thought I would share. Ready? It's going to be fantabulously boring, I promise!

So I was referred to a spinal surgeon last month because PT has not been doing much for my back problems. The new doc gave me some pretty grim news.... There isn't much that can be done other than surgery (but he doesn't recommend that until I can absolutely no longer keep functioning without it because we're taking about a level 2 fusion, i.e removing my L4/5 and L5/S1 discs and fusing them with a bone graft) or just plain old pain management... which up until now has consisted of PT (not working) and drugs that tear up my stomach and/or can only be taken at night because they knock me out, yet leave me in oodles of pain all day at school/work. AWESOME.

He did however, mention one more thing we could try, a Fluoroscopic Epidural Steroid Injection (FESI). While not permanent fixes, these can sometimes provide a few weeks to months to years of pain relief IF they work. It's not a given that they will, but always worth a shot... especially when faced with my options. So we set up that appointment and off I went on my merry (or not so merry, depending on the day) way.

Yesterday was the day. I've had cortisone injections in my foot before and they were pretty unpleasant experiences... My back pain is of the nature that besides the radiating pain/numbness/burning down my right leg, I also have some REALLY sensitive spots that can barely be touched without me howling in pain. Guess where the big bad ESI needle was going to be placed? Oh yeah... at the trigger points of my L4/5 and L5/S1 discs. That combined with my prior knowledge of what my foot steroid injection felt like (it hurt... bad) well, let's just say I wasn't the calmest person in the prep-room. Sedation is recommended for this procedure but still the patient's choice, so when they said my heart rate (in the 140's) and BP ( I never saw) was really up they highly suggested that I let the doc give me some Versed. I happily said, "Yes please!" :)

They got me set up on my tummy, hooked me to a vitals machine, and then went back and forth for a few minutes about how to prep me (antiseptically) because I'm allergic to Iodine and Chlorhexidine, as discovered after each of my Endo surgeries. In the end they went with the Chlorhexidine because he was already going to inject me with Iodine contrast dye (for which I had been given Prednisone and Benadryl to take starting 13 hrs previously) and promised to wipe it all off with alcohol in the end. I was cool with that. Better a rash than an infection, in my book. So after I was washed and prepped, the lovely Versed was pushed through my IV port and within seconds I was happily drooling on my pillow and slurring my words. It did not knock me out though, I can remember everything. However, it mellowed me out just enough to where I could still answer questions (He had to make sure he was in the right spot and whether or not I felt pain was the indicator, so I had to be able to speak) but was not all tensed up. The worst part was the numbing, honestly. That burned like the dickens, but was over with rather quickly. I then felt a series of clicks and increasing pressure as he slowly inserted the needle while checking its placement with the dye on the Fluoroscope (Xray machine). Uncomfortable but not painful, per say. Once he was satisfied with the placement (that took a few minutes) he told me he would be injecting the steroid solution and asked me to confirm it I felt any pain going down my leg. I did. Bingo! Then he readjusted the needle and tried another spot. Pain? Yup! Bingo again! More steroid solution went in.  Then there was the sudden release of pressure and they were swabbing me down with alcohol, slapped a band-aid on and it was all over. Seriously? That was it? Yup, that was it. From start to finish the whole thing took about 10 minutes. Not bad. I was pleasantly surprised.

They then wheeled me out to the recovery room where they monitored my vitals for 30 minutes, made sure I wasn't having a reaction to the Iodine, gave me some Sprite and crackers and I was good to go! I was still quite unsteady from the Versed so Ben helped me get dressed, and they wheeled me out to the car and that was that! We got some food on the way home because I was starving since I'd been NPO (nothing to eat/drink) for the procedure, which wasn't over until about 3:30. By the time we got home though, the local was wearing off and I was starting to hurt. Things kinda went downhill after that and I got the shakes really bad for a few hours every time I stood up and tried to move. I guess that's normal but Ben was freaking out that I was maybe having seizures, LOL. In the end, because I was so uncomfortable on the couch (too low) and couldn't quite make it up the stairs, we decided to take up my mother-in-law's offer to come over and have me rest there for a few hours. Best decision ever, thanks Erlene & Mike! I was hurting so bad at that point (this was normal though, my doc warned me that the pain would get 10x's worse for a few days before it got better... same thing happened with my foot) that I went ahead and took my pain meds and muscle relaxant, though I was a bit worried about what that would do on top of all that Benadryl  and Versed in my system. The Nursing student in me kept freaking out about my heart rate  and respiration dropping too low, so as I lay on my lovely ice pack on Mike & Erlene's super comfy high bed, I kept taking my pulse every 30 minutes or so between brief catnaps. Obsessive, I know... but I do this at work with all my patients so it's just kind of ingrained. My normal resting HR is in the mid 80's to 90's. It got as low as 52, which isn't horribly bad but I kept checking  until it was back in the high 70's. At that point I let myself relax a bit more and finally fell asleep for a few hours. Paranoid? Absolutely. :)

Today I feel a bit better. I still hurt worse than normal, but not as bad as yesterday/last night... thank goodness! The shakes are gone, so that's nice too. Doc said to take it easy the next 2-3 days, take my pain meds on schedule, and ice ice baby! Oh how I  love my ice pack!!!

That's it I guess. What a way to start the new year, but hopefully it will prove to be helpful. I guess only time will tell. However, if I do need to have a 2nd or 3rd, at least I now know that it's not that bad. I guess it didn't help that on Thursday I spoke with someone who had just had this done and said it was the most excruciatingly painful 20 minutes of her life... she was not offered sedation. So yeah, I was totally freaked out. Thankfully, my experience was nothing like hers! So to all my readers (well... to all, what... like 3 of you? LOL) if you ever have to have this done, ask for sedation!!! Well, if you're a weenie like me ;)

PS> if you actually made it to the end, you deserve a medal... knuckles!

Merry Christmas! (and other things to catch up on)

So I just had to post this, it's just so dang cute! 'Tis the reason for the season!

Also, for my mom (and others) who haven't seen my new hairdo... tada! I haven't had bangs (on purpose) since I was in elementary school! The disaster haircut about 6 years ago doesn't count and left me traumatized. LOL. My friend Kim also gave me some layers for a whole new look... I was a weeeee bit nervous, but I'm so happy I just let her do her thing!

Anyway, hope you are all doing well and having a wonderful holiday season! We were super lamo again and never got around to sending Christmas cards, but we hope and pray for the very best for you all in the year to come!

Dulce de Heaven.. uh, I mean Leche

I've recently learned to make alfajores (the Uruguayan type) and so have been obsessed with finding/making the perfect filling for them... dulce de leche. For those of you unfortunate souls who have never had the opportunity to enjoy this sumptuous treat, my condolences. Dulce de leche is like caramel but SO much better! It's spreadable or you can eat if right off the spoon if you prefer, which I do! SO so good... seriously.

Anyway, the best dulce de leche in the world is this stuff:

My family in Uruguay owns part of the company, so I may just be a teeeensy bit partial, but still... most of Uruguay will agree with me, this is the best of the best!

Since I can't get that here, I've tried a few alternatives. The first was a ready-made dulce de leche my mom told me about. She warned it it would never live up to my expectations, but I decided to try it out.  This stuff:

She was right, it fell way below the bar... In consistency its just about right, but the flavor is all wrong. Yuck.

I started looking online for easy to make homemade recipes, knowing that the traditional way of making it was going to be a pain. If all else failed I would have to do it, but there was still another option left to try. Tinkering with this stuff:

If you pour this out into a pie plate and bake it long enough, it turns into ooey-gooey caramel! While it was good tasting caramel (seriously good) it didn't taste exactly like the dulce de leche I love. Consistency turned out pretty close though.

Alas, after all these failures, the time had come to go the whole hog! I was rather hopeful but still dreading the process, as I've watched many of my aunts and family friends spend long hours over the stove making this stuff. My dad tried it once... it wasn't pretty... The disaster stories had been enough to deter me until now, but when you're on the quest for the Holy Grail of dulce de leche, you just have to do what you have to do, right? So I rolled up my sleeves and got to work:

 

This is about an hour in. Basically just whole milk, sugar, vanilla beans, and baking soda bubbling away.

 This is 2 hours in... notice the slight color change!

This is 3 hours in... definite color change now! Starting to thicken up.

 This is 4 hours in... crucial point when timing is everything. The longer it boils at this stage, the thicker it will be. However, let it go too long and it will harden as candy, NOT what you want...though it would taste great!

 TADA... the finished product! As you can see (or maybe you can't, I don't know... depends on how you like your DDL) I didn't let it boil long enough, GRRRR!!! It's got the consistency of pourable caramel. I was aiming for thicker (like spread) but I was afraid if I let it boil any longer (4 1/2 hours seems like an eternity when you're hovering over a pot constantly stirring) it would be rock hard when it cooled. Alas, I chickened out. However, the flavor is SPOT ON!!! Hallelujah! 

So... the verdict? Homemade is definitely worth it when it comes to taste! I bet if I did this enough times I could get the consistency down really well too, but since this takes about 5 hours to make, it's hard to know when I'll next be able to make another batch.... I won't be able to use this for my alfajores, but it will make for some good toast-spreading delight! :)

Yup, it's that time again....

What time, you ask? Why, the time of year when it is no longer a crime to play Christmas music!!! (Ok, ok, so I'm a day early... shhhhh!) And you all know what that means, right? Heehee...

As per usual, here is a link to my original post regarding the awesomeness that is my favorite Christmas song. And in case you don't feel like clicking or the link doesn't work (or whatever, but mostly because I love posting this video) here it is! Enjoy! ;)

Deathly Hallows- Part 1 (Spoiler Free)

Gosh, it's been a crazy weekend... can't believe it's taken me this long to do my movie review! Work, my back, and Sirius's injury (more on that later) took precedence. Oh well, here we go!

My sister-in-law and I went to the midnight showing last week and stood/sat in line for almost 5 hours. Thanks Tiff for keeping me company! ;) Was it worth the wait? HECK YEAH! Deathly Hallows (part 1) was absolutely, unequivocally, refreakingdiculously AMAZING!!! Every movie has, as expected, continued to get darker and scarier and this one was no exception. For me though, it had a different feel to it, definitely not a "kiddie" movie anymore... and not just because of the scary parts. I won't get scene specific here, but I cried, and laughed, and cried some more... It was intense, tender at times, and of course full of intermittent comic relief delivered superbly by the Grint and the Phelps twins!

Some things were added that weren't in the book and other things were left out... of course this happens in all book to movie adaptations, so it wasn't a huge deal for me. At times it bugged a bit, but it wasn't anything plot-altering. Many critics are harping on how "slow" it gets during the middle, as the trio wanders. HELLO, newsflash: That's how JK Rowling wrote it! I believe her intention was for us, as readers, to feel some of that sense of desperation and impatience alongside HarRonMione. I believe the movie accomplished just that. I wasn't bothered by it one bit. In fact, I felt that the wandering was rather quick and not as drawn out as in the book... but again, this is a movie and there are time constraints and all that mojo so oh well.
All in all, I give this movie 2 thumbs up and a great big smile! I LOVED it and cannot wait until next year to see the conclusion of this most beloved series! 

So... now its your turn? What did you think? CAUTION: comments may not be spoiler free!