Tired of Being a Freak of Nature...

I had an interesting experience at the dermatologist's office yesterday. I went because my Guttate Psoriasis is not really going away and because I had some new red bumps that don't look the rest of my body. Turns out the bumps are bites of some kind, so please bless that we don't have bed bugs or something freaky. I can't remember if I've posted on my rash since the initial post, but I have two different skin conditions going on. On my face and in my scalp I have a scaly/flaky rash that is red and makes me look flushed, and on the rest of my body I have skin lesions that are reddish/white and look something like chicken pox scars (aka Guttate Psoriasis). Anyway, the doctor was looking at my face and felt like maybe it was time that we biopsied the lesions on my face. She found a lesion that was in my hairline and decided to biopsy in my hairline so that she wouldn't scar my face. Now, a biopsy typically takes just a couple of minutes. They give you a shot of Novacaine, tear off a little chunk of skin the size of a pencil eraser and give you a couple of stitches. No big deal, right?

I need to digress for just a moment to remind you that I don't respond well to anasthestia. For example, I don't go numb at the dentist. Every time I have had a cavity or a root canal drilled, they spend forever trying to get me numb but I end up feeling the entire procedure. When I had my c-section, they gave me a spinal block to numb me and I took FOREVER to get numb to the point that they would start the procedure. When the doctor began the incision, I yelped because I could completely feel his blade slicing through my skin and muscles. I still feel pain where the incision was made.

Now that you have the background information, you understand that I was apprehensive when she told me I would feel nothing during this biopsy. I informed her of my inability to numb and she gave me double the amount of Novacaine just to be safe. When she tore off the skin sample I felt everything and jumped. She couldn't believe that I felt anything, and gave me another shot of Novacaine because she needed to stitch me up now. However, my little head would started bleeding out of control. All of sudden I felt blood pouring down my face and seeping all through my scalp. The doctor and medical assistant were both extremely surprised by the amount of blood coming from my head. So, the doctor tried stitching the would together, but I could feel every single poke of the needle. So, she kept giving me Novacaine and I kept feeling her sewing my skin together. Because I was bleeding so badly, she had to use a machine that sent an electrical current in the would to staunch the bleeding. This wouldn't be a big deal if I couldn't feel anything, but I still wasn't numb so I could feel the maching burning me. Betweeen the burning machine, her stitching my skin together, all the shots of Novacaine, and all the pressure of them trying to staunch the bloodflow, I felt pretty crappy by the time I left the doctor's office. They had given me SIX cc's of Novacaine which is enough for an entire surgical procedure, and the entire thing had taken an HOUR. Now my dermatologist can join the long line of doctors/dentists who have told me that I don't "present like the norm". From my extra bones in my feet to my weird skin conditions that don't respond to treatment to my inability to numb, I guess I am a walking freak of nature. Maybe I should join the circus and capitalize on my weirdness. Ha ha. I feel much better today and at least now we'll know definitively what's going on with my face.