Sep 22 “Our wounds are often the openings into the best and most beautiful part of us.” ~Richo

I traveled back to Mishawaka for more prolotherapy on Friday.  In the past I had gone no more than 8 weeks between treatments. This time it had been 11 weeks.  My body, especially my neck and jaw were telling me it was time, but I still felt pretty encouraged because I was doing better than I thought I would after 11 weeks.

Anyways, my Dad and I took off Friday morning. When we got to the office, I filled out my paperwork, had my vitals taken, and was taken back. Dr. Cantieri and I caught up. He checked out my blood work that he ordered the last time I was there. He noticed that my Testosterone levels were on the low side (Testosterone helps with the healing process) so he decided to add a teeny bit of Testosterone to my prolotherapy solution this time around.  I explained how my jaw and upper neck have really flared up since I’ve gone back to school.  Dr. Cantieri suspected that I have been doing quite a bit of clenching. He told me about a dentist in South Bend who is a firm believer in OMM, prolotherapy, and that everything in the body is connected. He wondered if I would be interested in seeing him since I tend to have a lot of jaw and neck issues. His thinking was, if we can calm down my jaw, it could definitely calm down my neck.

Made sense to me.

Dr. Cantieri also thought it may be worth it to have the dentist check out my bite splint, to see if the one I already have, is doing what it is supposed to be doing.  I am always open to new suggestions, so I agreed that I would definitely be interested in seeing what he had to say. I just told him I wanted to wait a little later into the school year before making an appointment.

We also talked about Dr. Lavallee, my EDS doctor, and I admitted to him that I cried when I got his letter that said he was leaving South Bend to go work in PA.  Dr. Cantieri started to write down something on a small piece of paper while I was talking, and when he handed it to me I realized it was Dr. Lavallee’s new email address. He suggested I email him, touch base, and see what he had to say about still being my doctor. Well, let me just tell you…When I got home I could not get to a computer fast enough.

Anyways, back to the shots.

After chatting, I got into my gown so we could get to work. I started sitting up while he did prolo on my upper back/ribs. That part went fast and I was soon laying on my stomach so we could attack the rest of my back and neck.  I always just talk and talk through the shots; one because I like to talk, but two, because it helps me forget what is happening and is a good way for me to forget about the pain. We talked about football, school, Dr. Cantieri’s family, my family, and I don’t even remember what else. I just remember laughing a lot which is a beautiful thing when you are being poked a zillion times. I ended on my back with shots in my jaw, and after about an hour and a half it was a wrap and I was getting ready to return to Michigan.

When I was leaving, we came up with the plan that the next time I came, the office would arrange for me to see the dentist in the morning in South Bend, and then I would come to Mishawaka for shots later in the day.

One last thing.

One last BIG thing.

When I got home I emailed Dr. Lavallee. About an hour later I received a response that said he would be honored to keep me on as his patient and we would work on getting my records transferred to his new practice in York, PA next week.  I was so relieved. So happy. So grateful for the team I have in place.

The pain didn’t seem to quite matter much at that moment.

The only picture I got this time of my injections (besides my jaw), but it pretty much shows where I got most of my shots.