ibflee's Journal

this will be short as i have a migraine that is making me feel bad. i have not had a migraine in ages. i think this might be stress related. otherwise, i am feeling great overall. the specialized dental work i am going through is working fantastically. i could not ask for better pain relief. i am so close to the end of my treatment. dr. seymour and his staff are just amazing. they have been sent from heaven to help people with chronic pain live normal lives. this wretched migraine (today) reminded me just how bad my pain used to be, and how i used to live through this on a daily basis. i wonder how i even had a life. on top of the daily migraines, having to suffer with the TN, and fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, etc. right now, i feel like i am about 90-95% back to being 'normal' without pain. i actually feel like a real person that has a real life, with real energy. i am actually able to work two jobs now without too much of a problem. sure i am tired, but anyone would be after working a 12-14 hour day.

speaking of work, my new hospice job has been going spectacular. i LOVE it. i've been on my own for a week now. i think i am blowing management away with my capability. i am able to manage a lot more then they thought. with about a week of orientation, i have a caseload of 27 and am covering for 2 RNs who are out. i am doing pretty much everything correctly. i did miss one form, but that was not critical, i filled it out later that day and know to fill it out next time. otherwise, everything is going very well. funny, there are two other RNs in our sister office who have been on orientation for over two months and they still have no clue how to do the job. odd. anyway, i just like to be out in the field working with my patients and their families. i already had one death and i am going to her funeral tomorrow. :o( as for the second job, i am about to tell them to f off. i went from being a consultant to director of health services. not sure how that happened because i am only PT. but lots of problems there with staff not doing their jobs. i have done so many write-ups for failure to follow safe work procedures. my head is spinning. i need to write out more tomorrow. i am in the process of hiring more staff and about to fire current staff. the administrator has the attitude that nothing is his problem because it is 'my department' but when i  come up with a solution, he tells me i can't implement it. well, since he is out of the office for the next two weeks, i am going to implement whatever i want for my department. :o)

i hope you all are well. i apologize for not having time to write to everyone individually. i am working 2-3 14 hour days a week, on top of my regular FT schedule. please send me a message when you have time. *HUGS* 

as far as pain goes, i am doing very well. my pain level is back down to a 1-2 out of 10 at max. i had a slight increase the week after the 4th because that was the week he first added the new guidance systems and i had to adjust to the additional height. after my last dentist visit and adjustment, i am still on track to be done with treatment by september! i am also no longer in pain. i am more than thrilled. i am also seeing more and more (daily) how this TN nerve is so affected by just such a micron of imperfection in the bite. with every adjustment to my splint, the dentist takes off just as much as a layer of ink and i notice it in my bite, which is detected by the trigeminal nerve. it is amazing. it is also wonderful how quickly the pain just melts away when the right bite is found and your jaw is happily aligned with your teeth. ahhhhhhh. if you have not had a chance to check him out, dr. seymour can be found here: http://www.chronicpainsolutioncenter.com/Chronic_Pain_Solution_Center.html  in other good news related to this, my insurance company has picked up some of the bill. so far they have paid $506 of the $1000 billed out and are reviewing the other charges pending additional information. This means i will of course contact the insurance commissioner and get this paid for. but, it will be mostly paid. so, yippee!

on the career front, i did put my notice in last monday. it was difficult to do for many reasons. i did request that i be paid for my extra hours and unpaid vacation since i am putting in extra time to make the transition easier for everyone involved. not sure if i will get paid for that or not, but i am doing that because that is just the type of person i am. i have nothing bad to say about my soon to be ex-employer. this is my last week there. i am waiting to get my written offer from the new place. there was a hold up with my drug screen. my one rx med showed up in the sample and i had to call walgreens to have them fax the rx to the medical review md. well, i called the med review md and walgreens had not faxed anything and i was furious. so, i called back, spoke with a pharmacist, and told him he needed to do this NOW so i could pass this drug screen, and obtain employment. i had him do it while i was on the phone. i called the med review board md back and they received the fax. so now my drug screen was finally marked as negative. they are no longer allowed to ask for meds ahead of time due to HIPAA regulations. it sure would have saved a lot of time though. but i do value my privacy and now my employer doesn't know i take any meds, but they are probably assuming i am since it took so long to clear. duh. anyway, i am excited to start my new journey. it was nice to talk to my current supervisor and several coworkers and have them be supportive and hear how much i will be missed. i was terrified that i would make people angry and i didn't want to do that. now that everything is okay at work, i am okay.

i have been working several nights a week at my per diem job. that is a fun place! i get to help the FT RN organize her stuff so she is not working 16 hour days. i also do training and auditing. i don't do direct resident contact and that is wonderful. i have enough of that in my day job and don't need more responsibility. i am not there often enough to be involved in any drama and my boss is more like a brother. it all works out and the money goes to pay my dental bills.