A Shot In The Dark, So To Speak.

So.

My stomach is trashed.  Each morning when I gobble down my pile of vitamins, herbal supplements, thyroid enhancers, mood elevators, and antibiotics, I get this raging sour stomach that lasts for about an hour, sometimes up to 3.  It feels like a cross between nausea, hunger and cramps.

It has gotten worse, the harsher my antibiotics have gotten.

So Dr. Lyme wanted to get one more round of oral abx in me before upping the ante. I just finished up, and it's on to Bicillin injections.  Twice a week.  Via a needle.  Into my ass.  To top it off, there was discussion about "doing them at home".

Wha?

Yep.  Seems people like to take their drugs home, and jam needles into their own asses.  Or, they allow a loved one to do it for them.

Sky King?  Not a fan of needles.  Gets fully creeped out.  FULLY.  So, he was not at the top of my list.  Instead, one of my sister-in-laws had volunteered.  But I really wanted a back-up.  So, I of course went where I usually go for support: Facebook.

Me:  Good news--no more oral antibiotics to trash my stomach!

Bad news--they want to shoot them in my butt, instead.

Any nurse-types wanna come hang out twice a week? I will feed you, and show you my butt!

(And THIS is what I was treated to...)

• Rotten Friend #1---Anal
• Rotten Friend #2---Is it safe to say it won't be the first time?
• Rotten Friend #3---Aimee, I love your sense of humor. Thanks for tee'ing that one up for us.
• Rotten Brother---Eewww my sister needs anal twice a week lol
• Me---For once, I was serious :::smh:::
• Me---Thank you all, most supportive people of FB. Wow. Sky King has agreed to take his aggression out on me, and will be learning how to torture me next week
• Rotten Friend #3 (again)---Just make sure he pokes you parallel to the direction he's poking you. 

  So.  Sky King agreed to go and learn how to do the shots--we had spent some time online looking into techniques (the bicillin is thick, so a larger gauge needle is required. Also, the medicine goes into the muscle of the buttocks, and can make the area sore for a while).  He is typically needle-shy----can't stand to see needles going into skin, so it was kind of a big deal when he said he would do the shots for me.
  
  When we go in, we are armed with so much knowledge that Sky King is visibly nervous, and I am anticipating a painfully horrible experience.  I check in, and ask what the cost is to get the today's injection done there, with Sky King as a learning witness.  The cost?  $6. 
  
  Sky King hears this, whips out his handy-dandy smartphone calculator.  
  
  "23 weeks, 2 shots per week, that's 12 times 23, for a total of $276.  Done.  I will be the driver."
  
  You see, the shots are $70 per shot.  Plus $6 injection fee.  Sky King?  Totally down for the $6 extra per shot.  He barely made it through the tutorial, watching a three inch needle getting jammed to the hilt into the fleshy part of my upper hip.  So he figures, if $700 a month doesn't break us, $60 more per month to have the whole thing done by a professional is the least of his concerns.  
  
  But why shots? 
  
  Well, as I said before, the stomach is torn to shreds.  Also, my neuro symptoms are still pretty bad.  There seems to be a small amount of progress, but the shots get into the system better, they have a much higher absorption rate.  And so Dr. Lyme feels the neuro stuff will improve quicker, with the higher concentrations being in me all the time, without me being all passive-aggressive and refusing my meds when my stomach hurts. So, even though my energy is leaps and bounds better than it was, I still have a long road to getting my neurological stuff sorted out.  
  
  So, shots.  Twice a week.  Hopefully, less side effects.  :::crossing fingers:::
  
  Meanwhile, I have been enjoying a more normal existence, and haven't been blogging as much. Also, I have been working on being more positive and eliminating things that stress me out.  Turns out, ranting about other people being assholes is less stress-reducing than one would think. Which means I have less funnies to share.  
  
  I hope to work out a better life balance soon.
  
  Peace.