Is it a sex blog? A mommy blog? A bitch & moan blog? Um, . . . yeah. This is my place to be totally honest. In my real life, I feel like I'm always lying to somebody about something. Here, I am totally honest. Brutally so. However, no matter what bad things I say about my kids, I adore them and would never ever really, say, sell them on Ebay. The husband, often referred to as Spousehole, is another story. Oh yeah - if you are under 18 (or if you are my husband), please leave now.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Paging Dr. House

I am becoming a female Dr. House. No, I didn't go to med school when I wasn't blogging. Yes, I've always been something of a sarcastic, self-centered bitch. The change? I now carry Vicodin everywhere I go and sometimes feel I'm gobbling it down like the leftover Halloween candy.

At the ripe old age of 44, I've come down with shingles. Herpes zoster. Chicken pox - the sequel.

If you have the choice to develop shingles or not, GO WITH NOT. Seriously. If you've had chicken pox, get the shingles vaccine. Your insurance may not pay for it until you're 50 to 60 years old. If that's the case, lobby the insurance company or just knuckle down and pay for it out of pocket (the price is coming down and your local pharmacy may actually have it cheaper than your doctor). Shingles is THAT miserable. You may still develop shingles after having the vaccine, but it will be far less severe than without the vaccine.

Here's the thing: if you've never had chicken pox, you can't develop shingles. If you or your kids haven't had chicken pox, get the chicken pox vaccine. Yes, a parent of an autistic child is advocating vaccines. (Vaccines DO NOT cause autism. Don't listen to Jenny McCarthy)

God, I'm a preachy bitch, aren't I? Sorry. I just really, really don't want anyone to go through this misery. The pain is ridiculous (they thought I had kidney stones or appendicitis until the rash finally appeared, trailing the pain by almost a week). The treatment is no picnic. The anti-herpes drugs can make you nauseous (Valtrex & Vicodin, in my case) and the Lidoderm patches that help immensely are pricey and not always covered by insurance. My insurance covered the patches, but my co-pay for 3 was still $30. Depending on the pharmacy they run $100 to $200 PER PATCH (3x3").

Otherwise, things are not horrible. Marriage remains sexless, but Spousehole has been good to me while I've been suffering. Kids are cute as all get out and doing great in school. Two cats died in six months, but they were older and it wasn't wholly unexpected. Remaining cat is a sweetheart who has really come out of her shell since the boys died. A rabbit fell into our laps soon after cat #2 died, so the cat has a furry friend. A furry female friend who nonetheless likes to mount and hump the poor cat. Hopefully spaying the bun will allow them to remain platonic friends.

What have y'all been up to?




To blog is a self-invasion of privacy

7 comments:

Alfro said...

Damn, sorry to hear about the shingles. Thats a bitch.

Other wise, glad to hear you and the kids are fine.
Still don't understand Spousehole, and the no sex thing..... but.

Take care of yourself, and keep us up to date on yourself.

Craig said...

Bunny!

Sheesh. . . Nine months without posting, and then nine months before that. . . I'll mark you down for next August. . .

Ugh; so sorry about the shingles. That's just miserable. I've had one or two of my friends go thru that, and they give about the same account of it as you do. . .

La-la, how the life goes on for us, mostly like it always has. Kids are growing up and moving out (only three of 'em still at home); Jen & I are still madly in love (but I had to get off statins for cholesterol; yer hubs doesn't take those, does he? 'Cuz, like, things were gettin' reeeeaaaallll, um, frustrating for a couple weeks until I figured it out and stopped takin' 'em).

My dad died this past summer, so we're working thru that (Thought of you once or twice, driving back & forth a few dozen times). . .

Glad the kids are doing well. Hang in there. . .

Sailor said...

Dang, that sounds awful, sorry to hear it.

Sorry to hear about the cats, too, older or not, still hard to say goodbye.

Anonymous said...

Holy shit! You posted! I thought I lost you forever!

Shingles suck...that is all!

What have I been up to? No good as usual.

For your blog maintenance purposes: Flyinfox's Inner Musings no longer. I killed it. Come see me at my Joker blog...it's a laugh riot. And if you are not on Tumblr...you should be.

Val said...

Hmmm, computer burped & deleted my comment!
Maybe that tells its own story, but sorry to hear about your misery. Hopefully the worst is behind you now.

Unknown said...

The more you shall honor Me,
the more I shall bless you.
-the Infant Jesus of Prague

trustNjesus, dear, the Only Way home.
God bless you

Unknown said...

The more you shall honor Me,
the more I shall bless you.
-the Infant Jesus of Prague

trustNjesus, dear, the Only Way home.
God bless you