I've called it. I will not be going back for my last semester of grad school in the spring. I am just too sick or hurty or whatever word fits. I had thought my TN pain was under control with medications, only to be replaced by the worlds WORST sinus infection, with horrid, evil nasal burning that had me thinking "Man, this feels as bad as TN." Well folks, I am an idiot. It was/is my TN pain, just in a different location than I am used to. So now I am on the strangest mix of medication: max gabapentin, max baclofen, and a tiny bit of tegretol. We are trying to switch me from baclofen to tegretol, but we don't want to do anything sudden during this time of attack (or something).
Man, the tiny bit of tegretol plus all these other meds is giving me such a terrible tummy!!!! I could't even leave the house to go to the grocery store for a 10 minute shop without getting sick. I've been on tegretol before, and I adjusted to it, so I know it isn't an allergy or anything (I actually thought I was allergic because of nervous hives, and did an "oral challenge" at an allergist office). I just have a sensitive stomach. I have been drinking ginger tea, ginger ale, and having rice and soup.
The neurologist has now told me for the fourth time I need to go talk to a neurosurgeon at Mass General Hospital. I guess it is time to just see what they have to say.
I am just so sad not to be going back for my LAST semester of graduate school. It is a semester with a lot of work, so it isn't like I was DONE. But, I was close. I am going to miss my 6th graders (I was student teaching). But I KNOW it is the right decision for me. I am in so much pain all day, and now having a bad tummy all day too. There is no way I could be in the classroom teaching. It is a shame. But I know that life works out the way it works out. Something nice will come out of this. It always seems to. I met my husband out of a "disappointing" situation like this. I was supposed to study abroad in Italy, but it fell through. I ended up meeting MBHiker during the time period I would have been abroad. So I know that life works out. This will too. I just have to remind myself of that!