Eff It. Let’s Do Stims (a.k.a. Updates from My Most Recent Round of Doctors’ Appointment

I have been holding on creating an update post for quite a while now because of things being in limbo. But, I think it’s finally time to talk a bit more depth about updates from my most recent round of doctor visits.

Nearly a full month ago at this point, I had a follow up appointment with my neurologist. We discussed how things were going with my sleep disturbances and the things she had suggested I do to study and try to improve it.

Basically, my neurologist had suggested that maybe some of the problems with my fatigue were because I wasn’t getting quality sleep at night. She also discovered a severe vitamin D deficiency and started me on pills for that. There was hope that doing this would help the fatigue since vitamin D deficiency can also lead to fatigue.

As I mentioned in my last post, looking back now with the help of people on the outside looking in, I realized that those two changes probably did help a little bit. I do have slightly less fatigue. The problem is that I still have a lot of fatigue and it’s still very severe.

I still wake up tired, struggle through the day, and get very little done. I talked about this a bit in depth in a previous post.

So, the doctor decided that the next step would probably be to try stimulants. She prescribed me a pill designed for those with sleep disorders like sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and trouble with their circadian rhythm.

But, my health insurance is yet to approve the medication. It is still currently pending approval. I’ve been fighting to try to get it approved, but I haven’t gotten anywhere so far.

I contacted the pharmacy. The pharmacy told me to follow up with my doctor. I reached out to my doctor and haven’t heard anything back. I also contacted my health insurance broker to see if they could find out what’s going on. My last update from them said they hadn’t heard anything back either.

About a week ago, I had a follow up with my primary care physician. I explained to her how things were going and what my neurologist had prescribed. I also explained that the health insurance had yet to approve it.

I must say that this experience with covid has also led to a love-hate relationship with my primary care physician. At several points, I have become incredibly frustrated with her. But at other points, I’ve been really grateful for her. This is definitely a moment where I felt very grateful.

My primary care physician mentioned that she had also attempted at certain points to try to prescribe the drug that the neurologist was trying to put me on and she had run into problems with health insurance providers as well.

She suggested that perhaps I should try to get on a different kind of pill that also had a stimulant in it.

We talked about the other issues that I have been having including my issues with neuropathy (stinging and burning sensations), my issues with my mood, and my issues with focusing and attention.

She suggested that perhaps I should get on a pill for ADHD and an antidepressant that also treats neuropathy. Both pills are also stimulants. So, in theory, they would treat these other issues as well as help with my fatigue.

I agreed with the plan and she ordered the prescriptions. One is now pending insurance approval, just like the pill the neurologist prescribed. But the other was actually approved and I went and picked it up today.

I reached out to my neurologist after my appointment and let her know about my primary care physician’s plan. I asked my neurologist if she also concurred with the plan and I’ve yet to hear back.

I’m hesitant to start these pills without hearing back from the neurologist. But, I am hopeful and slightly excited to have my hands on a pill that could help.

If this works, I could possibly go back to work. I still have issues with brain fog and I need to do some experimentation to see if I would be able to work a full day as I am right now with my brain fog issues.

But, the brain fog has been improving over time and the fatigue was one of the main reasons why I had to take leave. So if I could find a way to stay awake, maybe I could return to work.

#covid #treatment #stimulants #longcovid #medical #chronicfatigue