[I]t’s been way too long since my last entry. For those who may not be aware of it, Derek and I moved to southwest Missouri in late February, and we’ve spent the better part of the time since then integrating into our new day jobs as part of SkyWatch TV. Derek is the general manager and co-host for the flagship program, SkyWatch TV, but he also serves up daily news updates with insights into geopolitical aspects of Bible prophecy. We are currently living in a cute bungalow owned by the station’s owner, Tom Horn, but we hope to close on our final home (or so we believe, but the Lord has surprised us before…) within a few days. It’s been a crazy and sometimes exhausting ride over the past few months, but the Lord’s in it, and that’s what matters, so we lean and learn.
Leaning upon the Lord’s mighty shoulders is something I find myself doing a lot this week. Moving to a new job also meant switching health insurance companies, and that has impacted my life dramatically. Our new company is loathe to pay for Lyrica unless my doctor complies with a series of ‘step-up’ therapies that are cheap and often less effective. I’ve been taking Lyrica for fibromyalgia for about 6 years, so stopping ‘cold turkey’ is a challenge. If you also suffer from fibro or neuropathy, then you may also be taking Lyrica. I’ve decided to write about my withdrawal experience for anyone who might also need to discontinue the med.
Lyrica acts upon the nervous system by ‘dulling it’ down, which helps to quiet the itching, tingling, coldness, and even sharp pains (pin pricks or electrical ‘flashes’) that sometimes manifest in my limbs and across my scalp. Most people assume fibromyalgia is only a muscle disease, but it can also affect sensory nerves. I have been dealing with these symptoms for about fifteen years, so finding almost instantaneous relief with few side-effects from Lyrica was like a miracle! Now that I”m not taking the drug, the old itching/tingling/pain sensations are back, but this time I’m looking to the Lord to modify the problem–perhaps even heal it, if that is His will.
Today, is Day 4, and I finally slept well last night after two previous nights of restlessness and a wakeful mind. I’m taking St. John’s Wort along with Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin D to help my nervous system to adjust and learn to cope without Lyrica. Today, I have a mild headache which might be due to the change in barometric pressure and overnight rains. It’s cool and dreary here today, and the rain hasn’t let up for hours! I also have a very mild, upset stomach. Both the headache and mild GI upset are typical of withdrawal from Lyrica, so I’d been expecting this. My overall mood is better today. Yesterday, I felt like screaming most of the day, which makes me lousy company. Derek is wonderful. He bought me ice cream on the way home last night. For some reason, ice cream helps–maybe it’s the calcium and fat, or perhaps it’s just psychological. Either way, my hubby rocks!
In 1887, Elisha Hoffman and Anthony Showalter wrote a hymn that resonates in my mind today. Showalter had just learned that the wives of two friends had died, and he wanted to share God’s promises through song, penning the chorus and tune, which he then asked Hoffman to complete. The song has been a staple at camp meetings, revivals, and countless hymn nights since, and its appearance in a Micky Rooney film in The Human Comedy in 1947 granted the hymn its own revival, and it’s been one of my personal favorites since childhood. I have been ‘leaning’ on His arms for days now–weeks actually. As Derek and I settle in and finalize the purchase of a new home, as we learn new skills and help build a ministry, as we find ways to help our own ministry to grow and serve Him in new ways–during these life changes, both of us are leaning on His arms. Thank you, Jesus, for your unflagging strength and mercies!
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain:
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain
