Exciting News!

Programming Note: If I post a poem this week, it will be on Friday, because there’s a lot going on this week.

As you all know, I developed trigeminal neuralgia after I had an abscessed tooth about eighteen months ago. Because of this, wearing my CPAP at night has been continuing to damage my trigeminal nerve. I am in pain any time I put the CPAP mask on, so I’ve been trying for nearly a year to get approved for an Inspire implant that would do the same thing as my CPAP, sort of a pacemaker for my throat, and the only outward part would be a small remote control that I’d use to turn it on when I go to bed and turn it off when I wake up. Back on December 8, I had a new sleep study which qualified me for the implant. My original sleep study showed that my sleep apnea was too severe for the implant, but sleep apnea can be greatly improved by a 10 percent weight loss. I have lost over 25 percent of my total weight, and after the news sleep study, my sleep apnea had improved enough for me to qualify for the Inspire implant.

With that hurdle passed, I went to see an ENT doctor for a consultation about the Inspire implant. I found out from her that I had one more hurdle to cross to qualify for the Inspire therapy: a sleep induced endoscopy, technically a laryngoscopy because they’ll be looking at my throat only, not my stomach. In this laryngoscopy, I’ll be put to sleep so the doctor can see if my throat closes front to back or from side to side. If it closes front to back (I think that the right one), then I’d be qualified for the Inspire surgery.That ENT appointment was on January 10, and I have been waiting to be scheduled for the laryngoscopy. Finally, the ENT’s office called and scheduled the laryngoscopy for the morning of April 29. My boss will take me down to the hospital and bring me back.

I have to see my doctor for a pre-op physical, and so, I called my doctor’s office to schedule the physical. I have a regular physical schedule for May 4, but I need a pre-op physical no later than April 25 because of the laryngoscopy. Sadly, my doctor is booked, but I will be seeing one of the other providers. They’d suggested one, but I told them no, that I would not see her. I’ve had issues with this particular nurse practitioner, and I refuse to see her again. Considering that she always seems to be the one with open appointments and that the office doesn’t even blink an eye when I say I won’t see her, I’m guessing others have the same complaint. So, they scheduled me with another nurse practitioner. I’m not happy that I can’t see my doctor, since he knows my medical history best, but it’s just a physical.

I feel like I have been waiting so long, and I guess, I have. Please pray that I can get over this last hurdle and get the implant. It will take a few more months after the endoscopy for the implant surgery, but things finally seem to be moving along.

I’m still packing and getting ready for the movers to come at 8 am tomorrow. So much to do before then…