Saturday, February 12, 2005
Checking in briefly....
It was a long day yesterday, but I got through it.
Stayed up until 1am last night because I was putting ice on my neck once an hour 20 minutes at a time. I've learned from past experience that even though this is a hassle, there is a very good reason for the doc wanting you to do this. Today I have much less swelling than I would have if I'd just slept unstead of applying the ice.
I slept sitting up on the loveseat recliner, and took some Ambien to ensure I could sleep through the pain. I will probably do this for the next two nights. The reason I'm being so cautious is that I already have chronic lymphedema from the knees down and don't want to take any chances of developing inflammation problems anywhere else.
I won't lie; this does hurt. Like anything else, you take for granted how much you use a certain part of your body until the time you try not to use it. I'm being careful what I eat because it hurts to swallow, and figured out I have to lay on the bed to put in my eyedrops, and forget about coughing or sneezing!
Probably will take the maximum dose of pain medicine all day today and then switch to half doses tomorrow. Wish I could knock the pain down all the time, but I only have one medicaton I can tolerate, and it loses its effectiveness quickly if I take it too often, so I must adapt accordingly. I guess the only time I can be completely out of pain is when I'm unconscious.
But I will follow the doc's orders to the letter so that by the time of my follow-up appointment on Thursday, I'll be fully recovered. I watched "Groundhog Day" and "While You Were Sleeping" on DVD with Dan yesterday, and I have a house full of books, so at least I have entertainment. I probably won't spend a great deal of time on the computer, at least for awhile.
One thing: my neck itches terribly! I'm doing my best to ignore it.
Probably should go heat up some gluten-free soup.
Pain level: 4
Fatigue level: 8
Stayed up until 1am last night because I was putting ice on my neck once an hour 20 minutes at a time. I've learned from past experience that even though this is a hassle, there is a very good reason for the doc wanting you to do this. Today I have much less swelling than I would have if I'd just slept unstead of applying the ice.
I slept sitting up on the loveseat recliner, and took some Ambien to ensure I could sleep through the pain. I will probably do this for the next two nights. The reason I'm being so cautious is that I already have chronic lymphedema from the knees down and don't want to take any chances of developing inflammation problems anywhere else.
I won't lie; this does hurt. Like anything else, you take for granted how much you use a certain part of your body until the time you try not to use it. I'm being careful what I eat because it hurts to swallow, and figured out I have to lay on the bed to put in my eyedrops, and forget about coughing or sneezing!
Probably will take the maximum dose of pain medicine all day today and then switch to half doses tomorrow. Wish I could knock the pain down all the time, but I only have one medicaton I can tolerate, and it loses its effectiveness quickly if I take it too often, so I must adapt accordingly. I guess the only time I can be completely out of pain is when I'm unconscious.
But I will follow the doc's orders to the letter so that by the time of my follow-up appointment on Thursday, I'll be fully recovered. I watched "Groundhog Day" and "While You Were Sleeping" on DVD with Dan yesterday, and I have a house full of books, so at least I have entertainment. I probably won't spend a great deal of time on the computer, at least for awhile.
One thing: my neck itches terribly! I'm doing my best to ignore it.
Probably should go heat up some gluten-free soup.
Pain level: 4
Fatigue level: 8
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