On Friday we had several errands to get done. Felix worked hard the day before at Sam’s, and was tired. Plus I’m trying to get used to going out without him more, as my eventual plan is to not need a service dog anymore. When Felix retires, I will take a break from service dogs for a while now that I have Tam who can be my service human (Brad can’t be my service human because he is too tired to go everywhere with me that I need to go).
Tam drove, and we had to take a load of donations to the hospice thrift store that were already in her car, so there was no room for my wheelchair. So not only was it a no-dog day, it was also a no-wheelchair day.
Our first stop was the hospice thrift store. We dropped off our donations in the back, and then spent a bit wandering around the store. We had a lot of fun and found a few small things we wanted. Our total was $2.58 for three things– a gift bag, a trivet, and a bra.
Next, we headed over to Sam’s Club. It was turning out to be a very bra filled day, because yesterday at Sam’s, I bought bras that were too small and I needed to exchange them for the next size up. I went to the member services counter while Tam went to get the larger size bra. They said they needed the larger size to do an exchange. So I let the people behind me go in front of me.
Just as that person was getting done, and I was clearly standing in line to be next, a couple cut the line in front of me and went up to the counter. Tam was about 30 feet away, so I figured no big deal, that she wasn’t there yet, and they couldn’t possibly take that long. So I just let them cut the line.
Well literally 20 minutes later, I was regretting my decision as the lone customer service agent was being totally monopolized by them. The line of people needing help grew and grew until it was 6 people long behind this couple taking up all the time.
I literally had enough time to leave Tam in line while I walked across the entire store, used the bathroom, and came back. And we still had to wait after that!
We stood in line for 20 minutes until another associate came over and was able to help us. Our exchange took less than 2 minutes, and we even got to check lost and found for Tam’s ring (it wasn’t there).
By that time, we were almost running late for my GI appointment. All the tests so far have come up negative. When I see my GI, I’ve never actually met a doctor. I only see the people that are in training. They come in, talk with me, then go confer with the doctor, then come back and tell me what he or she said. So I see a different training person every time.
Last time I was there, the training person told me the HIDA scan was the last possible test to run, and if it came back negative that I would just have to live with nausea for the rest of my life.
This time, the guy was much better. He decided to run a test on my parathyroid, which no one has done before. The parathyroid is right next to the thyroid (4 glands right on the thyroid, actually), but they don’t have anything to do with the thyroid. Instead they manage levels of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in the body. Apparently if your parathyroid is messed up, you can get nausea. So I have to go back to LabCorp on Monday for another blood draw, yay. He also asked if I had any recent imaging done to my head, and I did have an MRI a year or two ago for my neurologist, so he said that was probably all good there. He wants me to come back in a couple months if the blood tests are negative to discuss how the nausea is doing.
Oh, and he also prescribed a different nausea drug. Originally I was on 4 mg of zofran taken as a pill, and that didn’t do anything. I asked for an increased dose of it, and instead they gave me promethazine. Which it turns out also does nothing. So he this time gave me 8 mg zofran in dissolvable tablets that will go into effect in about 15 minutes! Yay! And he told me about a supplement I can take for my stomach that doesn’t interfere with my medication! So I will be ordering that for sure!
By the end of that appointment, we were very hungry, so we decided to use up a gift card Tam had to Firebirds, one of her favorite restaurants. We sat inside for the first time ever (it is still pretty chilly out). We got a booth made for 6! We had the server take a picture of us when we sat down, then we took individual pictures of each other. In Tam’s individual picture, she is stabbing the bread like a murderer LOL! This time I’m the one in black, and Tam is wearing a maroon plaid shirt.
Unfortunately, my decision not to use a service dog caught up with me at Firebirds. I got extremely anxious and almost had a panic attack. Luckily I was able to get to my valium in time. And eat something, which helped. I think I started getting anxious in the doctor appointment, as Tam had to tell me to stop squeaking my shoes so much as I was clenching and unclenching my toes. But I didn’t notice it until it was at near crisis levels in the restaurant. Felix would have noticed. Oh well, at least I had Tam and medication to help me through it, and I ended up surviving.
We both ordered the Durango burger, which is an absolutely awesome hamburger. We try not to eat a lot of beef, but we do get it occasionally when we go out to eat. And both of us were in the mood for a burger! One of us got fries, and the other tater tots, so that we could each have half fries and half tater tots. Our food was amazing! It was soooooooo tasty! And we had so much fun talking while we ate.
We decided to get dessert, which was a cherry chocolate bread pudding, which was a wonderful Valentine’s special (so Tam says we had to get it!). It was supposed to come with chocolate sauce, but they gave us caramel instead. So we asked about it, and they brought out chocolate sauce too. Having both sauces was amazing! And the dessert was really yummy and a perfect size for sharing. We got pictures of our food.
Then we had fun taking pictures afterwards, too. We got a picture of Tam with the takeout bag, a couple of really bad selfies, and another picture from the waiter.
Pet Supplies Plus was right next door, and I had a free $5 to spend there, so I ran in and got a new pink puppy nylabone that my dogs love so much. Unfortunately the smell in the pet store was overwhelming and I was instantly nauseous. Luckily I was only in there like two minutes.
Then we headed to Walmart to do our pickup order. That was quick and easy. And we got to watch some geese while we waited for them to come out! And finally a stop at the drive through pharmacy on the way home to pick up my zofran.
We were very happy to get home, and very very tired! I got to try my higher dose of zofran for the first time, and I think it worked? It’ll take some more experimentation to see for sure. But it also made me very tired. So I slept through most of the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
I’m very happy that Tam came with me for my errands on Friday. We had a great day together and a lot of fun. It was also nice to prove to myself that I could do a long outing without Felix. I did have an issue, but Tam and meds helped me through it, so I know I can keep going on my journey towards not using a service dog in the future. Overall it was a really great day. But now I’m looking forward to a few days of not going anywhere LOL! Tam says she’s very proud of me and looks forward to more special outings together!