I have good news...

But first!

No! No "but", just tell us!

No, I can't. There's a but and its first...

Gabapentin... it has a few slight side effects that I can live with- but they're worth mentioning. After I started taking it twice a day, I noticed that I get a slight headache from it. But, that seems to have passed, so it may be a temporary thing. And by that, I mean that for the last two days, I haven't had a headache after I take the morning Gabapentin dose.

The other side effect seems to be the dry mouth. Don't bother making suggestions, they don't work for me (I've tried them all, including "Biotene" which tastes awful and doesn't work).

I also seem to get inexplicably cranky and unmotivated about forty-five minutes to an hour after I take it. It doesn't last, but its annoying. And who can tell "mild crankiness" from "peri-menopausal mood swing"? I can... but I live in my body and you don't.

So, two mild side effects... and crankiness. overall, not that bad.

Now on to the good news...

Finally! Geez, lady!

But first... NO!... I'm kidding, here's the good news...

It seems to be working. I've been taking it for two weeks (Friday morning will be two weeks and the day I start taking it three times a day) and in those two weeks, I can't recall having that under-the-skin itching that I routinely get, especially with the weather changes. As each day has gone on, I've felt less fatigued and far less sore than usual. (isn't that sad? That "all-over body pain" has to become "the usual"). The true test to this was this week, really.

You may have heard how America was "crippled" by this massive snowstorm. And some places have been. Some places have been slaughtered by snow for the past two months and this just adds more on top of it. And some places aren't used to this kind of snow and it really does cripple their towns. Well, for us in Southern Wisconsin- that is to say, away from Lake Michigan because I heard they got more snow than us- its just winter. This storm didn't seem any more rough than any other winter storm we've had.

Anyway... Obviously, I didn't shovel the snow. No way, no how. I did my time shoveling in the first ten years we lived here. Its their turn now. (and by them, I mean the disabled guy and the boy- who will be 19 on Tuesday). But, I did trek outside and take loads of photos. I know you didn't expect anything less.

After a few "ooh, look at the snowdrift" shots, I waded out into the big drift in front of our house to see what would happen. I got to about mid-thigh before I got stuck. So, while there, I took some photos. Then I had to un-stick myself and go back up to the house. All the photos from this ridiculously labeled "Snowpocalypse 2011" that I took are available at this link...

And if you don't want to go through the 106 photos and three videos that are in that set, below are the "me stuck in the snow" photos I took.

This is when I realized I was stuck in the snow...



My legs-are-stuck shots...







My legs, covered in snow...





The Disabled Guy and The boy-



So, why is this important?

Because last night, when I'd sit down for an extended period of time, I'd stiffen up. Just like "normal". When I woke up this morning, I could barely move. I was stiff and sore and achy, as if I'd been shoveling. I even mentioned it on the joint-replacement message board I frequent. It was around mid-morning when I realized something... I had to go to the bank to pay some bills and thought, "I gotta take my camera..." so I could go to the park and take some winter photos... And it was then I realized I didn't hurt anymore. I didn't ache all over like I did a few hours earlier when I woke up.

This medicine is working. I still ache and the end of the day is still the tired-achy end of the day... but it isn't ALL DAY and that's what we're going for!

I took some photos of the river. It was cold and I had to trudge through some snow to get the shots. Those photos are in that linked-to set above.

But here's my favorite from today-