Still pretty good...

It's only been in the last week or so that I've gotten noticably worse. The pain is only a little worse, but it's all over my left shoulder, and in the back and sides of my neck. I'm still pretty flexable and have good range of motion, but my head is not only turned to the right, but being pulled down towards my left shoulder, and my left shoulder is being pulled up. It's a really awkward position, but I'm still functional enough to keep working.

Since I stopped drinking my favorite Starbucks drink - the one that had caffeine but they told me it didn't - the Zanaflex is working better. The Tizanidine is still pretty ineffective though, but since I don't have much more of it, it's not a problem.

My depression has been getting a little better. I'm not sure if it's because I'm sleeping better, or because I'm adapting better to having dystonia. Whatever the reason, it's nice to not be quite so miserable all the time. I'm still bothered by the fact that I look freakish, though. Hopefully it won't take much longer to adapt to that.

It's also nice to be able to treat the pain with just a couple of aspirin and a microwaveable herbal hot pack!

So far, so good - mostly

I'm still doing pretty good as far as pain goes. It's only a problem when I work, and then it's not a major problem. I probably won't need more Botox until August, or *maybe* September.

My insomnia is finally getting better. I found out that my favorite Starbucks drink - the Grande Blackberry Green Tea Frappuccino - has about as much caffeine as a small cup of regular coffee! I'm kinda pissed off about that, because they told me it had no caffeine. I got the information from other websites that talk about Starbucks drinks. Now I drink their fruit drinks and blended creams.

I'm also taking 18mg of Zanaflex at bedtime, and it's starting to work. It now takes me about 1/2 hour or so to fall asleep, then I wake up 90 min to 2 hours later. Then I fall asleep after maybe 30 - 60 min, and wake up again after about 90 min (that's actually an improvement!). Then I'm awake for 2 - 3 hours and fall asleep briefly before getting up a little tired. I'd love to eliminate that 2 - 3 hour break!

The deviation is getting pretty bad when I walk, but I can sit, and stand still, without holding my head very much, and I don't need to use any pressure - I just put my hand at the side of my neck, and barely touch it with my fingertips. I'm very pleased with that. My flexibility is still really good due to the Baclofen. I have an appointment on the 19th, so I'll find out then if I'll be taking Zanaflex or Tizanidine at bedtime.