Long overdue update

I saw my neurosurgeon this past Thursday and honestly, I wasn’t all that impressed with him. First of all, the place where I had both MRI’s (of the brain and then the second one of the cervical spine) only sent the MRI of the brain so he couldn’t even address the chiari malformation diagnosis. He basically said that he was going to need to look at the MRI of the cervical spine and have me get a third MRI of the thoracic spine so that he could make sure I didn’t have a cyst on my spinal cord which I guess can happen with chiari malformation. I’m not excited about having a third MRI considering I’m not made of money and Greg suggested going to see another neurosurgeon for a second opinion which would be a heck of a lot cheaper than a third MRI. I’m considering it, especially since this doctor just didn’t see all that great…he rushed me through the appointment and seemed bothered by the few questions I had.

I also saw my gynecologist Wednesday. We are still on the hunt for the perfect birth control product. When I developed this last migraine, one of the first things I did was take out the nuvaring I had been using. I was in my second month with it and was desperate for anything to stop the migraine. Since being diagnosed with chiari malformation, I asked my gyno whether it was the nuvaring at all and she couldn’t say one way or the other, but thought it was time for us to just discuss an IUD. She has recommended Mirena because it doesn’t use any hormones and she thinks it will help the most with preventing the uterine lining from developing (which is the main reason I need to get on something to regulate my cycle). With PCOS, you can go months without a period which means the endometrial lining just continues to build up each month because it isn’t sloughed off. This can increase your chances for uterine cancer which is why most women with PCOS need help getting regulated. Anyway, we have to see what my insurance is going to pay because apparently the device costs $800.00. I’m double insured so hopefully one will pay what the other doesn’t, but I still may have a deductible to meet. Apparently you can only have it installed while you are on your period which is pretty disgusting…I don’t exactly relish the thought of having anyone fiddling with my vajayjay while I’m menstruating but I guess they are used to it.

Speaking of being double insured…I won’t be that way for much longer. I am actively trying to get the paperwork to make my divorce final. Apparently, we can go down to the law library, pay $12.00 for the paperwork, fill it out, run around making copies, getting stuff notarized and with another $299.00 we can make it official. This is something that has been on my “to do” list since the beginning of the year. Yes, my venture into the dating world kind of got the ball rolling in my head, but we all know this divorce is WAY past due. I haven’t been married in my head or my heart since Erik and I formally split back in 2007. Even though we’ve been living together, it is nothing like a married couple only sometimes, the lines still get blurred (mostly when it comes to finances). Formalizing the divorce isn’t going to really change any of that. We still plan on living together for the time being although more and more, I’m really getting to a place where I kind of want to be on my own. Then I feel selfish for feeling that way because I know how hard it will be on Tanner if we physically split the household. As long as Erik and I can get along, I just can’t see splitting the household up to suit my needs. I realize some might feel differently, but I have to do what feels right in my heart and for now, this is the right thing for Tanner and he is my number one priority.