Friday, March 12, 2010

A nicely non-eventful day

Well, it wasn't completely non-eventful but it was not traumatic or stressful, mostly. My husband delivered me to the hospital for my injection. As planned I was there early and had time for breakfast - yogurt and banana - before heading for my appointment. I told the nurse (both nurses remembered me - I think I am a frequent patient or something) before hand that I was hoping to avoid the previous outcome where the back of my leg hurt and I left in a wheelchair.

The injection itself is okay. They clean off your lower back and then inject a pain killer so you don't feel the needles. This can cause a little discomfort but not really. Then they stick in a big needle full of steroid which can produce amazing amounts of pain down the back of your leg and across your hip that goes away in about 20 seconds. Then they stick in a second needle full of synthetic cartilage which hurts briefly as it goes in. And then you are done. They bring you back out to sit and make sure no adverse reactions - in my case, I got to take a lap around the post op area - and they send you home with an authorized driver to bring you.

My sister drove me home and I took a recommended pain pill and did a little work before we took her dog for a walk. My (lack of) brain cells allowed me to set off the car alarm trying to get my cell phone out of the car, bring a shopping bag so I could buy cat food but forget any money to purchase it, and spend the balance of the day watching TV and crocheting on the couch. Eventually I made it back to Trader Joes for the cat food but that was it.

This morning I am relatively pleased by the lack of pain level in my right SI joint but it will take a few days. I am slightly displeased by the pain in the back of my leg but will follow the instructions and wait two weeks before calling them back with how I am doing. They want you to wait two weeks because the short term effects can be much different than the long term ones and those are more important. So I will go back to being the patient-but-whiney-patient for the duration.

Today I need to get my butt in gear and go to work this morning. I then have a busy afternoon of meeting a friend for a walk and then getting a manicure. I just need to decide what color...

2 comments:

Ash_WebMD said...

Hi Caroline. Glad to hear that today went well. You mentioned you were looking for others living with Breast Cancer, we currently have a live discussion on our WebMD Breast Cancer Exchange with Experts from Duke Medicine, this may be helpful. Feel better! http://exchanges.webmd.com/breast-cancer-exchange

G. Out said...

Thyme is also chock full of flavonoids, such as apigenin, naringenin, luteolin and thymonin, which act as antioxidants, scooping up those nasty free radicals which can damage your cells. This pungent herb (lit as incense in ancient Greek temples) happens to be packed with minerals such as iron, manganese and bone-building calcium.
Thyme is an oral deodorizer and is frequently included in natural mouthwashes, so your sweetie may appreciate the thyme to kiss with confidence.

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