The “New” Symptom

I know I am supposed to be finishing my “big bang” story here today, but that can wait until I have nothing new to add…lol.

Yesterday was the first relaxing day I have had since I discovered that Achmed was tagging along for the ride: had Breakfast; checked e-mail; did the blog thing; went to lunch with my parents; ran into Andrew, a hockey buddy of mine who is hooking me up with some meditation stuff (for an active mind like mine, this should be interesting); hit the gym; played my guitar; watched a couple of movies; and hit the rack early… well, early for a Saturday night. I kind of sound like I have no life when I look at it like that, but I actually did have a couple of invitations to do things last night, I just wasn’t feeling particularly social enough to hang out with strangers at the plethora of events that I was invited to… ok, a very small plethora, but still multiple.

Apparently going to bed with a relatively well rested body and a lot of stuff going on in your head (figuratively speaking) makes for a very brief nap, making me tired to begin with so today started off not nearly as fun as yesterday. For starters, I woke up to the phone ringing at 10:30 and it was Melanie (my ex for those of you who don’t know). And contrary to what many people might think and expect about ex-spouses, we have developed (or re-developed I guess) a great friendship and she is one of my biggest supporters and fans. Anyway, the fact that it was her wasn’t the problem, the fact that the first thing I did today was pick-up the phone and speak to an unknown entity was. As many of you know, I am really not a phone person. I have always looked at phones as a tool to arrange actual physical get-togethers. My point is I never had time to become awake before I had to function, and when I started to function I realized that I am in for a bad day… well, still on this side of the dirt, perhaps I should say an uncomfortable day.

One of the symptoms that Achmed causes is Acute Neuralgia. I have had this problem for the past few years… basically it is a continuous shooting pain from the side of your head down your jaw line and into your neck, which can be almost debilitating when it flares up. I have always thought this was related to some tooth problem I might be having, but every time I saw the dentist he would tell me that my teeth are fine. Now I kind of wish it was a tooth problem. Today is my first flare-up since I have known about Achmed. The pain is no worse than it used to be, and I am sure that by tomorrow it will be gone again for a while.

There are two problems (I mean opportunities) with it: 1) it seems to be getting more frequent; 2) and now I actually know what is causing this head throbbing. In the past I have been able to block out the pain because I knew it was temporary and I had things to do, this time I have come to realize that it is not temporary at all and serves as a constant reminder of the little ball in my head we have all come to love and know as Achmed. By all accounts in our research to date, Achmed is going to be with me for life as I am opting for the “management” treatment as opposed to “cure”. I expect that some of the symptoms I currently experience may also be with me for life, although hopefully less severe. On the bright side, it will be a constant reminder to Live Life and not get too caught up in existing that I miss out on living.

There are much worse things in life than occasional reminders to enjoy yourself.

From Achmed and Me… Live Life!