I know you can normally find Mindfulness Monday here each week, I tried, but I haven’t been able to write much and I thought I’d explain why. (it has taken me many days to write this post, so bare with me…mmmkay?)
You may recall that I had De Quervain’s tenosynovitis in my left wrist/thumb earlier this year (you can read about it here), but you may have missed that I now have it in my right wrist. The left wrist was treated with a cortisone shot and since then I’ve had no problem. I’ve had 2 cortisone injections in my right wrist and I’m still in pain. (you can see pictures from the first injection here) I had the second shot on my birthday (July 2nd) my wrist felt better the first day after the injection, but by the second day I was back to the original symptoms and by the 3rd day it was actually worse. When I went in for the second injection he gave me the option of having surgery or trying the injection again, he told me that if it didn’t work to just call and schedule the surgery I didn’t even need to come in again. So I chose to try the injection again, to say those injections are not pleasant is a huge understatement, but I was really hoping to avoid surgery. After a week, when it was evident that the shot didn’t work, we called to set up the surgery and were told that it was too soon after the injection, I have to wait 4-6 weeks. I was not a happy person. I have a lot of limitations because of this issues; I can’t write or draw, I have extreme difficulty brushing my hair, typing, cooking, picking things up with my right hand, swimming…I’ve wearing a brace that holds my wrist and thumb stable, if I don’t wear the brace, I can’t do much at all…unfortunately the brace has started to cause issues on it’s own, 
so I have to stop wearing it. The good news is that the surgery is almost always successful, and it’s very minimally invasive, in fact they often do it with local anesthesia. (I will admit I’m a bit intimidated by that, I don’t want to see them cut on my arm…ewww, but I also hate going under general anesthesia, so we’ll see) I was having a hard time accepting that fact that they were making me wait for the surgery, honestly I was pretty pissed; then I remembered that the way to happiness is acceptance. I decided to look at the whole situation differently. It’s only a few weeks difference, they aren’t saying I have to be stuck like this forever. I stated taking extra supplements that are supposed to help with joint and inflammation issues, hopefully this will reduce the swelling and some pain. (if you’re interested I’m taking extra turmeric, collagen, glucosamine..I think that’s all) Even though I’ll still need surgery, if the swelling is down, it should help with recovery. Accepting this situation made life a bit happier.
On another note, I’m having increased migraines, often with migraine associated vertigo, and cluster headaches. When we first got here my head actually felt better, but that didn’t last long. Bright lights are a big trigger for me and it’s really bright here, more than that, now it’s monsoon season so the barometric pressure has been all over the place with crazy storms almost every day, my head is definitely feeling it. 
I’m also having a lot more cluster headaches and I don’t have anything to help them. I saw a new headache specialist about 3 weeks ago, I wrote about it here. I felt optimistic after that visit, but I haven’t received the gammaCore that he prescribed, it was supposed to arrive in about 5 days. We called to find out the status and no one called back, so we called again, and still no call back. I know that the office was moving but that doesn’t excuse them from paying attention to their patients. **Update** They called late yesterday and it seems that the doctor didn’t have us fill out a form that he should have, so it delayed everything. The nurse who called said she’s fill it all out and we could sign it the next time we are there, so the gammaCore is now on it’s way! I should receive it by the end of the week! Thank goodness. (the gammaCore treats both cluster headaches and migraines! again, Thank Goodness!!
So that’s what’s been keeping me away….along with other stress, but that’s for a different day when I can actually type without being in intense pain. Hunting and pecking with my left hand is not fun. 🙂
“Accept – then act.
Whatever the present moment contains,
Accept it as if you had chosen it.
Always work with it,
Not against it….
This will miraculously transform your whole life.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
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My mother told me this often. I particularly remember her telling me this when I was in college. I was the first in my family to graduate from college, when I was attending there were a few times that I doubted myself. I was going through a very rough time undiagnosed with Bipolar disorder. I was misdiagnosed for a long time. When I was in college it was a very rough time, but my mother always believed in me. It has always meant a lot to me to have that belief. I have found that the people who touch me on my blog believe in me and I believe in them. This is a great support system. This is very important when you have a chronic illness. This quote is very important. Remember, I believe in you.
Picnic with Ants 