Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required) (Content TV-MA)

[Don Edwards 572]

2 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Next, he said he was going to call in some oral steroids for me to make the rash go away. I told him I can't take them because oral steroids give me heart fibrillations. He then said he was going to give me a topical steroid. I told him it would have to cover 75% of my body. That's when he told me to go to the ER, so I could get IV steroids instead.

Do I have this straight? He wanted you to take steroids, you explained why you can't, so he recommended steroids, and when you pointed out a problem with that he told you to take steroids?

Sounds to me like what you really need is a different doctor.

[mlooney 3,733]

55 minutes ago, Don Edwards said:

Sounds to me like what you really need is a different doctor.

That does sound like the case.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,351]

1 hour ago, Don Edwards said:

Sounds to me like what you really need is a different doctor.

Thankfully, he's only the doctor on call, and not my regular hematologist.

[mlooney 3,733]

6 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Thankfully, he's only the doctor on call, and not my regular hematologist.

On call doctors, at least in my experience, don't seem to have the same patient/doctor relationship as your normal one would.  It's almost like they know they aren't gonna see you again.

[mlooney 3,733]

The universe fucking hates me.  

For the 1st time in 3 weeks, my brain, and body are all on one page as to things I can do.

All of my body apart from my left kidney. It decided it needs a pet rock for the next week or so.  Sitting upright in the office chair is OK. Any bending is NOT OK.  I've taken what drugs I can. If it gets worse, I'll slow go the 3 blocks to the clinic and see if I can get a stronger painkiller that isn't a NSAID.

FML

[Darth Fluffy 364]

1 hour ago, mlooney said:

The universe fucking hates me.  

For the 1st time in 3 weeks, my brain, and body are all on one page as to things I can do.

All of my body apart from my left kidney. It decided it needs a pet rock for the next week or so.  Sitting upright in the office chair is OK. Any bending is NOT OK.  I've taken what drugs I can. If it gets worse, I'll slow go the 3 blocks to the clinic and see if I can get a stronger painkiller that isn't a NSAID.

FML

You have my sympathy. I had a very tiny 'stone' in my bladder once, many years ago. It was painful and annoying as F#$%.

I got a tight meshed sieve to pee through, which, fortunately, was all I needed; I had to go within an hour, and afterword, no further problem. The actual 'stone' was much smaller than a grain of sand.

I think diet is a factor in getting them, but I don't know what to avoid.

 

[Don Edwards 572]

39 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I think diet is a factor in getting them, but I don't know what to avoid.

"Your diet is very simple. If it tastes good, spit it out."

[mlooney 3,733]

33 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

The actual 'stone' was much smaller than a grain of sand.

That's about the size, maybe a little bigger, but smaller than a grain of rice.  I have Cystine stones, which is hereditary.  The major cause is not drinking enough water, which I really haven't been the last week.  My bad, and I'm paying for it now.  Thankfully, I get the small version, but they can get large enough that surgery is needed.  I've only had one bigger than 2 mm and that almost put me in the hospital, and did put me on strong drugs for a week or so.

Anyway, off to drink some fluids.

[Darth Fluffy 364]

I've heard of a projected ultrasound technique to break them up without surgery; maybe that's a real option?

[mlooney 3,733]

7 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I've heard of a projected ultrasound technique to break them up without surgery; maybe that's a real option?

Too small for that.  They normally pass in 3-5 days.  It's if they get big or don't pass that I need medical intervention.  Right now, all I need to do is drink a lot.

[mlooney 3,733]

Walking to the kitchen sucked. I need to drink a lot more today, so I got a mug of tea, a can of Dr Pepper and a bottle of tonic water, the bottle of bitters, and a glass. The plan is to sit up right in my chair and drink all these things. Then rinse out the tonic water bottle and fill it with normal water and drink that. That will put me at 2.7 liters for the early afternoon, which is more than normal for me, but I need to drink a freaking lot over then next few days. And I have to pee a lot, so drinking diuretics isn't an issue.

[mlooney 3,733]

Getting out of bed to make breakfast damn near broke me.  Not sitting in the office chair after I finish breakfast, gonna go back to being flat on my back in bed.  Life sucks, and not the good way.

[mlooney 3,733]

I just took a pee. The stone moved, and that hurt. It's a catch 22. I have to pee, a lot, to get it out, but that makes it move, which hurts. ACA is doing squat and it 3 hours before I can take another dose. FML

[ProfessorTomoe 1,351]

My currently prescribed pain medication, Dilaudid (hydromorphone), is currently unavailable in the area in which I currently reside due to a current nationwide shortage of Dilaudid (hydromorphone). Therefore, I am currently not taking it and instead am being prescribed Methadone 10mg 4x a day in its place. I do not know if this is a large or small dose. I do know I felt a bit woozy about 30 minutes after taking my first dose of it, though. I will watch a bit more carefully for side effects at my 1800 (6pm) dose.

[mlooney 3,733]

Assuming “House” is correct, drinking anything alcoholic while taking Methadone is a Very Bad Idea.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,351]

Aaaand, no sooner do I take my first dose of methadone do I get a phone call from the pharmacy where I tried to get the Dilaudid (hydromorphone) filled, telling me they now have the Dilaudid in stock and ready for me to pick up!!!

AAUUGGHH

Mrs. Prof picked it up for me this evening, sometime after my second dose of Methadone. I'll go back on the Dilaudid when it's time for my midnight dose (in about 10 minutes). Everything should go back to normal at that point.

[mlooney 3,733]

Right now, I wish I had something stronger than OTC painkillers.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,351]

Saw the dermatologist on Friday. He froze off a couple of "pre-cancerous" spots on my face and shoulders with liquid nitrogen. Said they were nothing serious since we caught them in time to prevent them from developing into anything nasty. As for the rash that I developed after the iron infusion, he agreed that it's probably in retreat, but gave me a cortisone cream just in case - told me to mix it with a 16oz tub of CeraVe and apply it to the rash areas then (not to apply it straight from the tube).

I also showed him a rather large lipoma that I've had growing on the back of my upper right leg for many years now. It's quite unsightly, and something I normally don't talk about. Well, in the true spirit of "Dr. Pimple Popper" (he even recognized her when I brought her up), he agreed to remove it. So, on the day after Christmas, I'll come in to his office and get the full "numb up" treatment so that I can get it cut out and removed. My "Boxing Day" present, if you will. Fun.

[mlooney 3,733]

Flat on my back with ACA at full strength right now, and I'm only sorta in pain. Tried sitting in the office chair this morning and it's not happening today. Gonna stay in bed and read the Cepheus Engine rules and my current Edge rules.

[mlooney 3,733]

I tried sitting in the office chair for breakfast. This was A Bad Thing, so I got a light lunch that I could eat in bed around 11.  Despite being 450 calories, it wasn't very filling, so 30 minutes or so ago I made a plate of asparagus spears with blue cheese dressing, which is only 175ish calories, mainly from the dressing, but has enough bulk to be filling.  Any way, this involved sitting in the office chair for about 10 minutes.  This started out OK, better than the morning, but ended up being A Bad Thing again.  So I'm back in bed until it's time to take nighttime meds and eat at least 350 calories for them.  I'm not looking forward to that.

[mlooney 3,733]

I'm fairly sure the stone just passed. No kidney pains anymore, and there was that weird “something solid” feeling in the stream.

[mlooney 3,733]

I'm at that stage in a migraine where the drugs are working, more or less, but I still know I have it. I feel this “pressure” on the left frontal side of my head, but it doesn't hurt, exactly. Normally, this stage lasts a few hours and either the pain returns in a soul crushing way or I go into postdrome. Hoping for the latter, fearing for the former.

[mlooney 3,733]

5 hours ago, mlooney said:

I'm at that stage in a migraine where the drugs are working, more or less, but I still know I have it. I feel this “pressure” on the left frontal side of my head, but it doesn't hurt, exactly. Normally, this stage lasts a few hours and either the pain returns in a soul crushing way or I go into postdrome. Hoping for the latter, fearing for the former.

Yay!  In postdrome.  I have body aches and am a bit queasy, but the headache is all but gone.

[mlooney 3,733]

Bolt out of the blue, migraine.  Going to go to bed now.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,351]

Saw my knee surgeon today to get my left knee looked at. The pain and swelling around my replacement knee joint has been really bad lately, especially today. He went ahead with his promise from the last appointment to "aspirate" (i.e., stick a big honking needle into and drain fluid from) the joint. He used what must have been a two-inch-long needle and a pair of syringes to pull a total of 25 milliliters of blood-red fluid out of the joint. The insertion hurt a bit, but the aspiration itself didn't hurt that much. It was just a bit unnerving to watch all that fluid come rushing out of my knee. Anyway, my knee has been sore all day afterward, so I don't know if it did any good. We shall see tomorrow, I guess.