Maniac Monday

So, today I want to talk about government and Pain. We know that the government is a pain in the ass sometimes but this is flipping ridiculous.

Yesterday I went to my pharmacy to pick up medication for my stomach and because they know me they pointed me to a flyer on changes they are making starting tomorrow on medication containing hydrocodone. I guess before I get into this I should tell you a little about me.

I joined the USAF at 19 and soon after (December 1999) I broke my back in 2 places during a training exercise. I had compression fractures at T-12 & L-1 from landing on my butt after a 20 foot fall from a repelling tower. And it hurt like hell but no one x-rayed the break so it was January before we knew the extent of the damage.

So, ANYWAY, we can fast forward tot he present day. I have degenerative disk disease and fibromyalgia all from this accident. I have only a small portion of the disk at L-5 and S-1 left and severe arthritis in my back. I cannot take Ibuprofen, NSADIS, Aspirin, or oral steroids at all so no Celebrex or Aleve is allowed. I am also allergic to gabapentin, Lyrica, & Cymbalta which are prescribed for Fibromyalgia. I went to a Spine Specialist who told me that surgery only works 50% of the time so he advises me to wait until I get much worse to attempt it. He sent me to a Pain Specialist. Now being in pain for 18 years changes your tolerance and perception on pain. I am told what would be a 10 fahking kill me now worst pain you have ever had for normal people lands at about a 6 for me. Kidney Stones are the only pain I seriously fear besides re breaking my back. The pain Doctor told me I have several options and we started out with Butrans pain patches and Norco for breakthrough pain. It isn't perfect but it makes the days more tolerable.

Beginning tomorrow I can only get my pain medication filled 1 month at a time with no refills allowed. It has to be written on a special prescription pad and has to be filled within 21 days or writing. Considering that I don't see the Dr but every 2-3 months, this is a pain in the ass. So now I have to drive to the Doctor, pay a copay, drive back to the pharmacy and pay for the prescription. All because too many fahking idiots have abused the system. There is no consideration for those of us who really need the medication to do simple basic functions. I served my country and I played by all the rules and this is the thanks I get? It really sucks. I don't yet know if this is only my pharmacy or if it is all of the pharmacies in TX but I guess I will find out during my next visit.

And this concludes my RANT on Pain Medication Regulation for patients with a documented need.

Blake Shelton - "Lonely Tonight" (Ft. Ashley Monroe)

It's no secret I love me some Blake.  But, oh my cookies, I adore Ashley Monroe (of Pistol Annies fame).  Her voice is what I hope some of the angels sound like in Heaven (you know, her and EmmyLou and Joey Martin and Lee Ann....I could go on and on).  Plus this song is on a little cd called "Bringing Back the Sunshine".  Hello, I am Sunshine.  It's like Blake made this cd just for me.

Sing Along Sunday with a yummy and easy appetizer or Football food

Sausage Squares

Crescent Sausage Bites

Ingredients:
1 lb. sausage (pork or turkey)
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese...
2 packages crescent rolls
Dash salt & ground black pepper

Directions:
In a saute pan, brown sausage; drain. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Blend in cream cheese until the cream cheese is melted.
Unroll one package of crescent rolls and place on a baking sheet. With your fingers, gently press the seams together to seal them. Spread the sausage mixture evenly over the crescent roll dough, leaving about a 1/2-inch border along the edges.
Unroll the remaining package of crescent rolls and place on top of the sausage mixture. Press the edges together to seal. Gently press the seams together.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until crescent roll dough is golden brown.
Cut into small squares and serve. (A pizza cutter makes really quick and easy work of the cutting.).

Savory Saturday- Turkey Taco Soup

It isn't cold here yet but this is my favorite recipe for Fall/Winter.


This is a great soup which for us was better the 2nd day!! The recipe is very versatile and can be made as hot or mild as you like it and probably even vegetarian. One of the things I like about it is that it is easy on my stomach and full of great protein! Which is great for a 9 wk post op Gastric Bypass patient. The other side of that is my family loved it too! SO I will give you the recipe and then let you know what we added!

TURKEY TACO SOUP

Serves 5

1 1/4 lbs ground turkey

1 medium onion (chopped is fine or diced if you are trying to fool your kids)

1 can (15oz) crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) Rotel & tomatoes (here is where you can really adjust your kick)

1 can (15 oz) black beans undrained (very important not to drain)

1 can (15 oz) pinto beans undrained (very important)

1 cup frozen corn

1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix

1 pkg dry taco seasoning mix


DIRECTIONS

1. Brown turkey and onion in soup pot or dutch oven. Turkey can burn easily so we did a tsp of olive oil to help that.

2. Add everythng else.

3. Cook over medium heat 30 minutes and serve.


HINTS:

I added Low sodium chicken broth because I wanted soup and it was more like a chili. Plus, I added a bag of mixed frozen veggies to ours so the we could get more of those in there.

Rotel at our Kroger was only in 10 oz cans so we used 2 cans of mild in our soup.It had a bit of a kick at first but at the end of cooking it was more flavor that heat. And day 2 was a flavor sensation. We also added a can of stewed tomatoes and could have added one more, but we are tomato crazy in our family.

Finally my husband served his with tortilla chips on bottom and cheese on top. I don't eat much in the way of chips but some 2% 4 cheese mexican blend was yummy on top and just adds to the protein.

Penis eating, war for oil and the mighty Red Sox

A couple of quick things and then I have to hunker under the covers some more because my imaginary illness Fibromyalgia is trying to kill me.  So we'll call this a WTF Friday Five..a day late.  And it might be Friday Six.  I DON'T NEED YOUR RULES, Y'ALL.

1.  WTF is up with men wanting to chop off their penises (penii?) and then cook it up and either eat it themselves or serve it up to other people? One dude charged people a whopping $250 dollars to eat his no-longer-in-service-little-general.
2.  WTF is up with gas prices?  They dropped like $0.10 around here right after King Obama* dropped bombs in the general vicinity of the Middle East.  When Bush did it was that we were going to war "for oil".  I have yet to hear someone accuse Obama of that.
3.  WTF is up with little shitheads drug addicted bastahds finding ways to abuse non-narcotic pain medication to the point the FDA steps in, rules it a controlled substance and people like myself and fibro-warriors all over the country can no longer get their hands on a medication that is generally ruled extremely helpful for helping to keep your body from feeling like it's going to kill you?**
4.  I may have to go back to #1 for a minute.  That one really puzzles me.
5.  WTF is up with sports reporters claiming the Sox/Yankees rivalry is "dormant"?  I called my mama a dirty Yankee lovah, just last week.
6.  WTF is up with Ray Donovan?  Did y'all see the season finale?  OH EM GEE Y'ALL.

*My reference to King Obama and politics solely represent MY opinions, not those of the entire Sistahood.
**I don't want to hear one single person rant at me about the disease of addiction.  Shut your pie hole.  Also, do not DARE lecture me for one second on dietary changes, exercise, or herbs.

Friday Five.... Late

Five things I like about Friday

1. I love catching up on SVU with my husband on the couch.
2. I love hanging out with the boys without having to hound them about homework.
3. Every other Friday my older boys come for the weekend. I love having them and I try not to be sad that our time is running short as Red turned 15 last Sunday and Gamer is right behind him at 13 3/4.
4. I love how relaxed my husband is when he gets home.
5. I love celebrating another week on earth with these gifts that are my family and my greatest weekends.

The little boys were off today so we had a frozen yogurt date and talked Doctor Who. It might get better than this but I don't think so.

Love, Peace, & Harmony to you all!!!

Wordless Wednesday