TMI on the tooth blood? Gross - but I win!

It's been awhile, so this could be long.

Well, I'm back down to 22mcg.  Things were going great, I felt fine however I noticed that my gums were bleeding - a lot.  I would wake up in the morning, and spit blood... noticed blood in my mouth throughout the day.  Enough that it was totally grossing me out, and in the mornings I would feel a little nauseous from waking up to blood in my mouth.  Gross right?!

I called Multiple Support who instructed me to call the MS Clinic, who in turn sent me for a blood test and told me to change the dose back to 22mcg.  The nurse at Multiple Support was amazing as usual.  She went through all the information on side effects and couldn't find anything on bleeding gums so she told me that she would contact someone else, and email me.  Sure enough, my Blackberry alerts me to an email today where it stated there were a small small amount of reported cases similar to mine, but not enough that they were noted on side effects.  Of course, only I would get the one side effect that nobody else gets.  I get none of the super common ones, and only get the super strange one.  Regardless, it might not even be associated with the medication.  We haven't figured it out yet!

My blood test came back completely normal, so I'm waiting to hear back from my neurologist regarding whether or not I'm supposed to go back up to 44mcg or what the deal is.  In the meantime, I was instructed to go to a dentist and get checked out.

Convenience is not always the best reason to choose a dentist.  I learned that the hard way today.  There is a dentist office in the same building as my office, so I booked an appointment for a cleaning and check up/exam for my lunch hour.  1.5 hours later I'm still sitting in the chair and only had xrays done (and a ridiculous amount of them at that).  The doctor came in and told me that my teeth where in terrible condition.  This is ridiculous - I have great dental hygiene and have never even had a cavity in my life.  He then proceeded to tell me I'm grinding my teeth down to nothing and my enamel is shot and I need some super expensive retainer to prevent any more damage.  What a crock of you know what.

I told them I had to go back to work and would have to skip the cleaning.  They scheduled me an appointment for Friday, which I agreed to but planned on cancelling and never going back.  Well, when I got back up to my office and looked at the bill (which I already paid) I noticed they had PRE BILLED me for the appointment on Friday.   By this time I had already found a good dentist (based on online reviews) and booked an appointment with them on Thursday.  This new dentist office actually called the one I went to today, cancelled my Friday appt for me and transferred all the xrays over.  I had to call my insurance company and tell them not to approve any claims because I DID not have an exam, I only had xrays!  And now I have to go back to this place tomorrow to get a refund for the exam that they pre billed me for.  THE WORST!  I did not need all this aggravation right now - not to mention that I have to switch my days off around and take Thursday off to go to this new appointment.  I am NOT enjoying being an adult right now hah 

Other than all that crap, things are going pretty well.  My energy levels have been pretty much normal lately with no Alertec!  I'm not sure if I'm getting more restful sleeps or what the deal is, but I'm not complaining.  Perhaps the best news is that my team for the 2011 MS Walk in Vancouver is KICKING BUTT!  We have raised $865.00 as of writing this post!  Our original goal was $500.00 and we've blown that out of the water.  Our new goal is $1500.00!!!  If anybody is interested in pledging me, you can do so at the following page:

http://msofs.mssociety.ca/2011walk/Sponsor.aspx?PID=1267890&L=2

Any donation, even $1.00 TOTALLY helps and goes to a great cause.  Hopefully one day this disease can be cured, or prevented. 

I also want to take this time to thank those who have pledged me, and to those who have pledged my teammates!!!  You guys are amazing!!!!   I couldn't ask for better friends, family, and even strangers!  Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!!! Oh yeah, THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!!!  <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

The MS Society called me yesterday and gave me some very unexpected news.  Apparently there was a draw that took place which included all the Team Captains for the MS Walk this year and my name was chosen!!!  I never win anything, so this is very exciting to me!!!  My prize is a new Kobo reader.  I have wanted one of these since they came out, and I actually bought my lovely boyfriend one for Christmas.  I was VERY jealous of his, and now I have my own.  THANK YOU MS SOCIETY!!!  This was very unexpected (I didn't even know there was a draw!!!) and VERY APPRECIATED!  Very cool - thank you so much!!!!

And now for the super fun part - I'm going to Vegasssssss!  My boyfriend and I love Vegas, and we went a couple times last year.  He's planned a trip for us in May which includes an overnight cruise, and 2 nights in Vegas!  I can't wait!  The only thing I'm nervous about is travelling with my Rebif.  My doctor said I could skip it, but honestly I don't want to skip a dose if I don't have to.  Does anyone have experience travelling (specifically flying) with your Rebismart??  I'd be interested to know how it went, and what you brought with you!

That's all I have for now, I'm runnin out of gas and my dog is giving me the "ok enough already it's bedtime" look.  Good night!

~Sarah