Anti-depressants to the Rescue

Greetings once again, 

From a cranium that for almost ONE WHOLE MONTH, has been spared:

-the unrelenting melon-vice
-the stabbing knives/guitar strings shoved into the ears
-the sunburnt scalp and painful hair
-the unreal intense cyclic-vomiting (of bile, leading to electrolyte imbalances)

Yes, friends out there, Season's Greetings, from a body that has been so thankfully free of:

-the extreme weakness in all muscles, (enough to make me winded after just a few meters)
-the vertigo
-the impaired/garbled speech
-the total disruption of the digestion system
-the gunshots of everyday noises and the retina-searing of every day light

And this is all because of an ole-skool tricyclic antidepressant called Amitriptyline. It was discovered to also be useful in treating migraines and chronic pain, in low doses.

I've been on this end-of-tunnel light as a migraine-prophylactic since October 2nd and for the first time in many excruciating years, I have been migraine-free for three+ weeks!

Still can't believe it.

Still kinda drunk on the thought of no more regular torture sessions.

Still experiencing many of the visual disturbances that have become normal since the big crash in '13, but they no longer seem to signal a cranial assault on the horizon and---just------YAY!

WHY THEEEE HELLLLLLL DIDN'T I SEE A NEUROLOGIST SOONER????

Because I just trusted my docs and their acute-treatment methods.

And because it's just incredible what we can get accustomed to over time.

And with this bit of promise, I shall soon head out into the rainy day to get this lil licorice stick walked.

With thanks to this lil puppy too, for all the times he lay beside me in the dark as I shuttered and weeped through the seemingly endless hours of impossible hurt.

Hope this entry serves as some major hope for anyone else out there living through all too regular bouts of migraine hell.

Just in time for Christmas, too, heheh...

Have a good one, All.

as always, ++++++vibes,

: J

Golden Oils, Black Lightning Bolts

And holy free holies, I haven't made a post in here since LAST YEAR.

And much has happened, from new paintings to experimentation in new, (to France), pain killing methods, to a new beautiful rescue pooch named Nino--renamed Dino, who has been raising hell and lowering BP's since February.

He is from Reunion Island, (near Madagascar where strays are a huge problem) and when he barrel-assed into our home at 4 months of age, he had already lived with multiple foster families--added to that he was born on the street and remained there for some time before being saved by the association: http://www.revesdechiens.fr for those sweet ani-hearts interested).

Here's the clever mid-sized black Dingo with moi just the other day, following his maiden voyage into river waters:

For a dude with webbed feed, he sure ain't keen to get 'em wet.

So there's one new awesome-tacular thing.

Then there is the interesting CBD experimentation as of late--with high hopes of it actually, juan day, taking the place of tramadol.  Here is info for those not yet privy to the powers of cannabinoids.

After trying it in varying doses (minumum 1000mg CDB/mL, to 2400mg), both sublingually and via oral capsules, I quickly ascertained that my particular pain needs make the required dose, (150mg minimum for 2+ hours max of relief), just not economically viable.

(There is no medical cannabis in France and the CBD oil component of the plant only recently became available here.)

But all is not lost, as yesterday I discovered what I HOPE will be a more potent and much more bioavailable form of CBD than what I have tried so far and if it does indeed kick the pain-ass it's touted to, I will certainly be back here blogging about it.

In art news, I managed to crank out a few since last writing as well as make some international sales of prints of them, with high-fives again to the clients.

This is a wee one in acrylic at 20x20cm on canvas board called, "478":

I still can't BELIEVE I actually managed to paint this not a month after Dino arrived.

Now onto MPA & CKD news: I'm super-pleased to share that all is STILL stable, five crazy years post-crisis and hospitalization.

Somehow, the immunosuppressive effects of the last infusion of Rituximab are still at 100%, with this lil bod showing zero CD19 cells.

I've discussed this a bit with my Professor and he said that there are a pocket of patients like this and it's not understood why.

In other news, I've also been keepin' busy with a mineral gemstone bracelet biz I called, "WRISTWORLD".
This is one of my fav's, in 8mm Garnet and 925 Silver:

So voila, time to wrap this up with hopefully, a new post coming soon singing the praises of this "bioactive" CBD paste.

So far, the company is already on the plus side with:

-a smooth-running site

-tres responsible cultivation and extraction practices, (eg: they only use the tops of their plants)

-excellent customer service, (I had a very positive one-on-on exchange with one of the owners)

'Til next time, +++vibes,

: J