Medications (Life After The Army)

After a couple of follow-up calls I finally received my medications in the mail today. I was a little surprised because it is in much larger quantities. Now I don’t have to stress out about running out of meds. I mentioned previously that I’ve also been doing some alternative treatments like the chiropractor and massage therapy. I also received my green card from an alternative doctor. In addition to taking some extra supplements such as magnesium, fish oil, and turmeric I’ve also started using a cannabinoid therapy cream. My wife rubs that stuff on my neck, shoulders and upper back. Once that is on there and sits for a bit, it all starts feeling better. Surprisingly it helps my wife’s hands as well, they recover much faster from giving me a massage.

I still have good days and bad days. They seem to come in waves…I’ll have a few good days in a row when the pain is tolerable and doesn’t impact my daily life much at all. I can take some pain meds and I’m feeling better…not to say the pain is gone, I’m aware of it…but it doesn’t keep me from going about my daily activities as I normally would. Then there are the streaks of bad days where it seems like no matter how many pain meds I take the pain is very severe and it’s hard to get anything done.

The pain meds the VA has prescribed me are Vicodin (Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen) which is what they are having me try instead of Percocet, which is what the army prescribed me for my moderate to severe pain. The Vicodin seems quite a bit weaker when compared to Percocet. Instead of taking just one Percocet, I have to end up taking multiple Vicodin and the relief isn’t as good. I guess it’s better than nothing, but I may see if I can get something a bit stronger next time I go in.

I’m also taking Flexeril (Cyclobenzaprine) which is a muscle relaxer. I usually only take this on an as needed basis and at nighttime because it makes me pretty tired. This is the exact same muscle relaxer I was prescribed while in the army.

Finally the VA doctor wanted me to try out something called Gabapentin. I take this 3 times a day and it’s supposed to help relieve neuropathic pain. I’m hoping it does something, I’ll take any pain relief I can get. On the packaging it says not to take any magnesium, so I’ll quit taking that particular supplement my alternative doctor recommended.

JAG - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 259

Headed to morning formation in ACUs because I had a 0700 appointment with my PCM. Once accountability was over I went back to my car and quickly ate breakfast. I then went to my 0700 appointment with my PCM. I let her know I was doing pretty good except for the 3 day spell earlier this week. I had her put in prescriptions as usual for my pain medication, then left. I had a 0800 acupuncture appointment at the pain clinic. This went as usual, first walking on the hard plastic rocks in my socks and then laying on my back and getting poked in my forehead, wrists, hands, shins, ankles and feet. One the needles were all in, the relaxing music was on and the lights off, I pretty much just relaxed and slept for most of the time.

After my appointment, I headed to my chiropractic appointment which was pretty quick. The doc just had me lay down while he did his manipulation on my neck. After that was over, I headed to the hospital pharmacy and picked up all my refills and prescriptions. The pharmacy was of course busy, I had to wait for a while…luckily I had my iPhone to keep me entertained.

I had lunch in my car and then waited for my 1230 physical therapy appointment for my positive profile. This is something that just appeared out of the blue on my appointment sheet. My NCM said it was located on the 8th floor of the hospital, but that was all I knew. I wandered around for a bit until someone finally showed me where the office was located. Once there I spoke with the physical therapist for a while. We went over all of my issues, then she took measurements on my range of motion with my legs, arms and neck. She also did some resistance test and logged everything in her computer. I guess I’ll get an updated positive profile in a week or so. A positive profile basically states what I can do versus what I can’t do.

After this appointment I headed back to my car and took a nap. I then went to the JAG office. While in the waiting room I received a text from my squad leader stating that I had to do staff duty on Monday. I really hate this place and I hate staff duty. This just really pissed me off. I did find out later that I would only have to do it from 0800 to 1600, this is much better…but I was still pretty pissed. I hate the short notice and I also hate that I was told that everyone only has staff duty about once every three months. I just had one about a month ago, so this really sucks!

At JAG I spoke with a lawyer that specializes in the medboard process. My PEBLO suggests that everyone have JAG look over the findings and make sure everything looks good. I was fine with my findings and the lawyer just wanted to make sure I was fine with getting out of the army…of course I am…I can’t wait…I’m done with all this stupid shit. After JAG gave their blessing I went straight to my PEBLO and signed all the paperwork. I was going to wait until Monday which was my final day, but after the staff duty text, all I wanted to do was get this process started and get the hell out of the army.

I headed home after signing everything. I was told the next step will have me put into transition processing. Once this is done I’ll get a call from my PEBLO and she will give me a date for my retirement brief that I’ll attend. At this brief I’ll find out all the steps that I’ll need to do before getting out. The max for getting into transition processing is 30 days, but my PEBLO said it can be as short as a week.

Tonight just my girls came over to stay the weekend, my son has the flu and is feeling pretty sick. We had a great homecooked meal and then watched a couple of movies that arrived via Netflix. The first was Charlie Bartlett, which was a comedy about a rich privileged student who gets kicked out of private school and must attend a public school. It was pretty good and kept my girls entertained. The second movie of our double feature was Untraceable, which was a thriller about an FBI agent who is trying to track and capture a villain who is killing people and broadcasting it live on the internet. This movie was also decent, it kept everyone entertained.

TCM Headache and Sleep - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 249

This morning morning formation was at Keeler Gym, I came in ACUs because I had an appointment at 0800 with my NCM. All those with appointments fell out to the rear and had the first sergeant ask each person when and where their appointment is. The guy next to me showed her his appointment slip and then complained “how come I’m the only guy who shows his appointment slip?”. The funny thing is everyone else just stated when and where their appointment was and the first sergeant moved on to the next. The guy before me said when and where it was and held up his appointment slip. The first sergeant took it and closely examined it before moving on to me. I just verbally told her I had my NCM appointment at 0800 and she moved on. I did have my appointment slip in my pocket, but I’m not going to pull it out for examination unless I’m asked.

After formation I headed to my car and drove to the WTB parking lot, then ate my breakfast, pulled up my blanket, and tried to relax. I had a real crappy night trying to sleep last night, so I thought I might fall right asleep, but for some reason it just wasn’t happening. Maybe it’s meant to be that I’m going to this group class for headaches and sleep. I headed to my NCM appointment at 0800. Her computer was down so she couldn’t input any information or print off a new appointment sheet for me. I just had one printed off though yesterday after all that mess at the appointment desk in the pain clinic. I’ve already input all my appointments into my calendar. I use my iPhone calendar for pretty much everything…it helps me keep everything straight.

After my NCM appointment I headed to the pharmacy and picked up my muscle relaxer refill, surprisingly it wasn’t too busy yet. I then headed up to the pain clinic for my Traditional Chinese Medicine Headache and Sleep group class at 1000. When we all walked in, we found a chair for each of us along with a tub, a towel, and a handout. We were told to fill up our tub with hot water and then come back. We all lined up at the sink and then filled up our tubs one at a time. Some were better than others walking it back without spilling. The instructor put some Epsom salt in each tub and had everyone take off their boots or shoes and start soaking their feet. The instructor is the other acupuncturist in the pain clinic. They rotate teaching this class each month. As we were soaking our feet the instructor went over our handout pointing out all the various places on our feet and hands that can be used for acupressure. Applying pressure or massaging certain spots on our hands and feet will help with headaches and sleep. We are supposed to try this at least 3 times before out next class in a week. I already do the foot soak in Epsom salt about 5 times a week on the advice of my acupuncturist, so I’ll just add in the pressure points. It would be nice if it helped with sleep and my pain. Time will tell I suppose.

I drove home and ate lunch, then did schoolwork. Now I have the rest of the day off to just kick back and relax!

The Pharmacist - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 230

A view of Mt. Rainier during our ferry ride

This morning I headed to morning formation in Winter PTs. I had an appointment this morning, but appointments at the pain clinic can be in the PT uniform…in fact most people that go to the pain clinic are in their PT uniform. After accountability I headed back to my car, pulled out my blanket, turned on the radio, ate breakfast, and then just relaxed for a while.

At 0800 I had an appointment with the pain clinic pharmacist. This is one that my pain clinic nurse case manager setup for me. The folks in the pain clinic just want their pharmacist to go over all the medications that I’m taking. We went over each of the medications, why I’m taking it, how often I take it, and the possible side affects.

Here is a list of my current medications I’m taking and what they’re for:

Amitriptyline: originally prescribed as an anti-depressent for patients, but helps with neuropathic pain over time. This is why my PCM prescribed it to me. I take a dosage of this each night, because one of the side effects is drowsiness. I can’t really say if this drug has helped at all. I think it may play it’s part in helping bring down my average daily pain levels. I say I’m not sure because I’m also doing less to aggravate my injuries and I think the pain clinic is also helping.

Oxycodone: Also known as Percocet. I take this when the pain is getting pretty bad.

Tramadol: This is also a pain reliever, I take this when I have moderate pain. It’s nice to have two different pain meds as well, because I can alternate using them to help space out how often I take a certain pain medication.

Rizatriptan: Also known as Maxalt. This is used to treat my migraine headaches. I don’t get migraines too often, but when I do this has proven to be very helpful!

Cyclobenzaprine: Also known as Flexeril. This is a muscle relaxer. I take this when I’m in quite a bit of pain and know I have a while I can sleep. This drug makes me pretty drowsy, so I usually only take it at night. This drug will allow me to sleep when otherwise I would either have a hard time getting asleep or staying asleep because of the pain.

Indomethiacin: This is an anti-inflammatory drug. I usually take this along with one of the pain medications mentioned above.

After going over each of these the pharmacist said everything looks pretty good. I’m not taking anything that’s unnecessary, I’m not taking too much of anything, and he didn’t have any additional recommendations for me. He wanted me to be aware of certain side effects if I started taking a lot more. After that we just chatted about the time I was stationed in Germany. He had been there for a few years during his career and enjoyed it as well. I’m glad he was OK with everything I’m taking. I hate it when people question what I’m taking for pain, I only take them when I need them…and I’d be pissed if they wanted to cut something out. I’ve tried quite a few other drugs which didn’t do much of anything for me, so I’m happy with what I’m taking now.

When we left his office, the chiropractor just happened to be walking by. I had an appointment with him later on today, but he asked if I wanted to take care of it now. I followed him into his office and he did his manipulation on my neck, then slapped on a little lotion or oil of some sort and proceeded to give me a neck massage. He could feel how tight my neck was while doing the manipulation. This felt awesome, I woke up sore and had been pretty sore all morning. After my visit to the chiropractor I was starting to feel better.

I headed down to the pharmacy where I picked up all my refills. I had called in refills at the start of the week and my PCM put in refills for me yesterday for some of the others. Once I finished at the pharmacy, I headed over to the SFAC to check my army email. I emailed the navy to let my co-worker know my schedule next week. I also emailed my PEBLO just to check in now that AKO officially says I’m over a week past the army average for receiving my VA results. I think I’ll email her to check in at least once a month. I don’t want her to forget about me…and maybe she’ll have some news for me.

Here’s today’s results for my medboard status on my AKO:

218 days remaining
Start Date: 6/26/2013
Goal Finish Date: 4/17/2014
Estimated Finish Date (No Appeal): 8/2/2014
Estimated Finish Date (W/ Appeal): 8/30/2014

My current step in the process is VA Ratings. My actual time waiting for ratings is 150 days. The army average is now 142.78 days. Current days I am over the army average is 7.22

I ate a quick snack from my car, then went to my 1100 acupuncture appointment at the pain clinic. I took off my boots and walked on the hard plastic rocks in my socks. I then laid down on my back on the exam table. For some reason today as I was being stuck with the needles, it was a lot more sensitive. Usually I don’t feel much of anything when I’m getting stuck, but I felt everyone of them today. I got one in my forehead, each wrist, both ankles, and on the top of my feet. I then listened to the relaxing music, relaxed, and did my slow breathing. The acupuncturist, turned out the lights and left. I fell asleep a couple of times while she was gone for the 15 minutes.

After the appointment, I signed up for an acupressure class for sleeping and headaches at my acupuncturist’s request. The class meets once a week for three weeks. After that I headed home and did my schoolwork for the day. When my wife came home we headed to the ferry so we could go watch my daughter’s basketball game.  

Back to Ft. Lewis - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 201

At Madigan near the WTB clinic. No description or anything around it, 

but I thought it was pretty cool

This morning our morning formation wasn’t until 0800, but I had an appointment at 0800 with my NCM so I just headed straight to my appointment. The actual appointment went as planned. I answered all the usual questions and nothing is really new. My NCM wanted me to give her a call later on today and let her know how my appointment with my PCM goes. I headed to my car, ate breakfast, and then pulled my blanket up over me and took a long nap.

I made my way up a little early for my PCM appointment. This place is dead today. The parking lot is half empty and there is hardly anyone wandering around the hospital because of the holidays. There was nobody at the WTB clinic, so I was let in early to see my PCM. I asked her about alternative solutions such as massage therapy, chiropractic and acupuncture, because I am really ready to give anything a try. I know massage therapy will help because when my wife massages my tight shoulders and neck, I always feel better. I have constant chronic pain and it’s really keeping me from actually enjoying life. When my head is killing me, I don’t want to do much of anything! My PCM said all of that is done through the pain clinic and she’ll put in another referral for me to see them. I had a referral before, but the pain clinic wanted me to see neurology before I saw them. Now that I’ve finished with neurology, I can now see them. I also had my PCM give me refills for my pain medications. Usually I have a few left by the time I see her, but I’ve been completely out for a couple days now.

I went down to the pharmacy after our appointment and picked up my refills. I then headed home and did schoolwork. Once finished with the schoolwork I just laid down on the couch. I feel like my head and neck are still in a very fragile state, it seems like it doesn’t take much to trigger a lot of pain for me. Laying down on the couch with the heating pad and taking it very easy seems to help somewhat.

NCM & Pharmacy - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 191

This morning I had to wake up early and head into Ft. Lewis. I put on my ACUs and left at 0445. I don’t mind the actual commute at all, but paying a toll and paying for gas kind of sucks. Mentally I always get a bit depressed anytime I have to head into Ft. Lewis though. I’ve already mentally checked out of the army a long time ago and anytime I have to put on the uniform and head into Ft. Lewis I get a little down. Morning formation went by semi-quickly, those of us in ACUs who had appointments fell out behind the formation and an NCO checked with each one of us asking what our appointment was for. I guess they have to baby sit everyone like that or else nobody would stay for PT. I’m glad they didn’t ask for an appointment sheet though because this appointment isn’t even on the one I have.

After formation I headed back to my car and ate breakfast. At 0800 I had my NCM appointment and we went over all the usual weekly questions. Nothing has changed and I don’t need anything extra. After the appointment I headed to the SFAC to check my army email and pass the time until the pharmacy opened up at 0900. I headed over to the hospital pharmacy and picked up a refill for my muscle relaxers. I use these anytime I have pain before going to sleep. They pretty much knock me out and help me sleep through the night without any interruptions from pain.

My neck has been pretty sore lately, all I want to do most of the time is just lay down on my back and rest it. Right now I don’t want to waste the time here, I just want to get out of here ASAP. I made a quick stop by the commissary and grabbed a few things, then headed home. The only nice thing about going into Ft. Lewis is that I’m usually back home by a decent hour and have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. I did my schoolwork first, then just had a lazy day around the house…watching a college basketball game and then miscellaneous items on TV. 

PCM & Refills - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 170

Yup...that pretty much sums it up (at least army PT anyways)

Headed to the morning formation and boy it’s starting to get cold. Even though I was in full winter PTs, I could still feel the cold air all over. After accountability the first sergeant released us by platoon. Everyone else headed in except for our platoon. For some reason our platoon sergeant wanted to stay out in the cold and do our stretches and exercises. I don’t care too much for when we get released by platoon because I can’t easily sneak off when we are released and just leave.

Once we finished our stretches and easy exercises we were supposed to walk around the WTB complex a few times, but I just headed straight to my car…I was getting pretty cold by this point. A lot of the exercises we did earlier to get the blood pumping were ones that I just can’t do…a lot of us couldn’t do because of the various injuries that brought us here.

I ate breakfast in my car, then went into the SFAC to check my army email. I then used their bathrooms to change into my ACUs. Once changed I hung out for a while in the lobby just to stay warm until my next appointment. I headed to my monthly PCM appointment and we went over how I have been doing. For the most part I’ve been doing pretty good. I’ve been using the traction device nightly and I have been taking less medication as a result. I still get pain and headaches, but they seem to be less frequent and less severe than before which is a good thing. I had my PCM get me refills of my pain medications, then headed to the pharmacy to pick them up.

After that I hopped in my car and headed home where I finished up the day doing schoolwork.

Free Turkey - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 166

This morning I headed into Ft. Lewis. I received a message earlier in the week from my squad leader telling me that he put me in for a free turkey and that I need to pick it up today. I guess a free turkey is worth a drive to Ft. Lewis. I headed to morning formation, or what I thought would be morning formation, but nobody was there. I never got a text or anything telling me that the formation was somewhere else or cancelled, but it is definitely not at the usual spot so I head back to my car. It's so cold that even with my blanket I can't sleep. I do stay in for a bit and eat my breakfast, but at 0730 when the SFAC opened I headed inside where it's warm.

I checked my army email and then played games on my iPhone to pass the time. After a while I headed to the pharmacy refill area and picked up some prescription refills I had called in last week. I waited in the hospital waiting area for a while, just because it's so cold outside. I played a few games on my iPhone, then proceeded out into the frigid air. I headed back to the WTB and checked in with my nurse case manager. The quick check in is required and is pretty much the same every week (how am I doing, do I feel like hurting myself or others, what is my pain level today, do I need any medications, have I heard from the medboard yet?) Once finished with my NCM check-in, I headed to another building in the WTB and picked up my free turkey. It was a pretty fast and easy process. There was a civilian standing in the multipurpose room next to a table with some frozen turkeys on it. I walked up, he checked off my name, and I picked a turkey and headed to my car.

I then headed home and did some schoolwork. Later on I watched some college basketball. I am actually pretty excited that the WatchESPN app is now on my AppleTV. I now have access to all the ESPN channels and can even choose to watch certain college basketball replays. This is pretty cool!

Getting Out of Training - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 132

I headed to the morning formation in ACUs because I had an appointment at 0800. During the formation we were all told to head into a training room for some mandatory suicide prevention training. When we all get in there we find out that the movie we have to watch is going to last over 2 hours. Since I will have to leave before it ends, my squad leader says I can just leave now before they get started. Unfortunately they are waiting until the end of the training to pass around the sign in sheet, so I know they are going to want me to watch this suicide movie at some point in the future. For now I'm going to leave and hope they forget.

I head to my car and eat my breakfast, then just hang out and listen to the radio until it's time for my appointment. My appointment was an MOU follow up. The MOU is my school and the internship I'm doing with the navy. Most people do either one or the other, but I'm doing both! The appointment went pretty fast, the lady I had to see just wanted to make sure everything was going well and if I had any questions or concerns.

I headed back to my car and relaxed for a while until my 0930 appointment with my PCM (Primary Care Manager). We go over how I've been doing. No real changes, but I do make sure to get a couple new prescriptions of the medications I'm running low on. Once finished, I head to the pharmacy and pick up the meds. The pharmacy is as crazy as ever…luckily I'm in uniform, so I get a special ticket. Even with the special ticket, it still takes a while, I can't imagine being a retiree or dependent trying to get something at this pharmacy…they must wait half the day there.

Back in my car I do some schoolwork, listen to music, and eat my lunch. In the afternoon I have another hydro-massage appointment, which is pretty awesome. I would love to have one of those things in my house! I could get used to one of those every day for sure! After that I headed home, then picked up my kids from their grandparents. We all headed out to my hometown and watched my high school football team play my wife's high school. It was cold, but a lot of fun. It turned out to be my high school's homecoming game which added a little more entertainment to the mix. My high school also beat my wife's…so I was able to give her a hard time.

NCM - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 46

A photo of the Madigan Pharmacy. You can see some of the stations with 

the current numbers they are helping...along with the last few that have been called. 

Even in uniform it's usually a pretty long wait.

This morning for PT we did a very light workout, then walked a few times around the WTB complex. I then headed to my car and ate breakfast as usual. I headed to the gym and changed before heading to the SFAC to check my army email. (still no word on my household goods).

I had an appointment with my NCM (nurse care manager). She informed me that she'll be going on vacation for two weeks and introduced me to her backup. She then got my occupational therapy appointment. This will be where they can get the process started so I can go to school or do an internship, then I will not need to stay around for the evening formations. She then made my appointment for physical therapy for my knee. She also checked on my prescription for tramadol and saw that it had actually been sent to the pharmacy.

I headed to the pharmacy and picked up my prescription, then headed to the SFAC where I ate my lunch. The rest of the day was spent at the library where I did my schoolwork and dinked around on the internet to pass time. Finally I headed to the end of day formation just to hear that they had nothing for us…I headed home.