Today I am having a FANTASTIC day!!!!!!!!

The only bummer about the day so far is the fact that I went to vote and realized that I didn't have my driver's license with me, so therefore I couldn't vote today. That makes three times that I've been there and haven't voted yet. Oh well. Another day.

What has made this day fantastic is the fact that I paid $2.85 a gallon for gas (isn't it sad that I'm excited to pay $2.85?). But wait, that's not all.

I have had horrible pain everyday since the middle of June. Sometimes all day, sometimes just when I feed Andrew. Four very long months. I had mastitis once for a few days, but that cleared up with medicine, but the pain did not stop. I have continued to feed Andrew anyway, and I must admit, sometimes I have not been very happy about it. I knew that if I just gave it up I would be more unhappy though, so I stuck it out. I talked to a nurse yesterday, and she said it sounded like Raynaud's Syndrome. I had no idea what that was, so I did a little research. It turns out that I probably have had Raynaud's Syndrome for a long time - like twenty years or more. It is a disease that makes your body act all wonky when you get cold. The capillaries shut down and your blood flow is restricted, so you have pain. It usually manifests itself in your hands and feet, but can be other places too. I have always, at least since high school, had problems with cold hands and feet. In the winter I have to put on gloves before I go outside because if the cold hits my hands they instantly hurt. Sharp, knife stabbing, kind of pain. I found out through my research that sometimes you can get it when you breastfeed and it affects the blood vessels and so there is the same sharp, stabbing pain. While I was reading about this study, I just was crying and crying. It was such a relief to know that it is a thing, and that something can be done about it. I immediately picked up the phone and called my doctor for an appointment. I went this morning. I told her what was going on, and showed her the articles I printed off of the internet about this study. She had never heard of such a thing and wanted to talk to some of the other doctors in the practice. She did so and they all agreed that it was something wonderful that many of their other patients would benefit from too. It said in the article that you can take a very low dose of a medicine that is a calcium channel blocker and it doesn't pass through the milk and the relief of the pain is almost immediate. She gave me a prescription and wants me to come back on Tuesday to see how it's working. I SO HOPE THIS WILL WORK! The study included 12 women and it worked for all of them. I will be so wonderful to not have pain all the time, and it is extra great to know that maybe my research can help other women too. I'll let you know how it goes.

Plus, I have a no kids date with my husband tonight. We are going out to dinner with my parents and all my brothers and sisters and their spouses. My brother, Scott, is home for a couple of weeks from Afghanistan, so we are having a night without kids so we can visit and have a good time without all the noise and disruptions. Should be fun!