Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

My white blood cell count is down, from 15.2 to 11.9. I'm going home today, barring any last minute screwups. End of line.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

I am home, with home-based intravenous antibiotics. We start infusing through a Tunnelling PICC line in the upper right corner of my chest Sunday morning shortly after 10am. Wish us luck.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

I would be totally freaking out facing what you are facing. I admire your courage, and wish you well.     \\//, Live long and prosper.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Thanks for the kind words. I did this several years back, and it was a bit intimidating, but neither Mrs. Prof nor I freaked out. This time around it's like an old labcoat - you just put it on, and it fits. I'm about midway through my first infusion, which is vancomycin, the short infusion (just over an hour). Once it's done,  Mrs. Prof will hook me up to cefepime, which is the long infusion (supposedly around 4 hours). Fortunately, I'm not pinned to my seat while the infusions are going on. I can get up and walk as long as I carry the infusion balls with me. Much fun. 

[Darth Fluffy 302]

47 minutes ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Thanks for the kind words. I did this several years back, and it was a bit intimidating, but neither Mrs. Prof nor I freaked out. This time around it's like an old labcoat - you just put it on, and it fits. I'm about midway through my first infusion, which is vancomycin, the short infusion (just over an hour). Once it's done,  Mrs. Prof will hook me up to cefepime, which is the long infusion (supposedly around 4 hours). Fortunately, I'm not pinned to my seat while the infusions are going on. I can get up and walk as long as I carry the infusion balls with me. Much fun. 

Lab coat sounds like a variant of the basis for 101 Dalmatians. They're going to be watching for you at the rescue shelter.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

5 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

They're going to be watching for you at the rescue shelter.

/* wonders if he should make a joke about this */

/* lays off for once */

[Darth Fluffy 302]

4 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

/* wonders if he should make a joke about this */

/* lays off for once */

Sorry, I did not mean that to be stressful. Hope Christmas day goes well. I saw grand kids today, going to be with family tomorrow as well.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

1 hour ago, Darth Fluffy said:

Sorry, I did not mean that to be stressful.

No worries! Stress comes with the job right now, thanks to osteomyelitis. You have fun on Christmas day yourself, ya hear? 

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

The first three infusion sets have passed without problems. I've taken in two infusions of vancomycin and three of cefepime. The vancomycin takes twice as long as advertised, while the cefepime takes less than a quarter of the expected time. Go figure. Mrs. Prof is as good as a professional at administration of the IVs. All I have to do is sit back and avoid getting cold (hey, you would as well if you were getting 37 degree F fluids infused into you). We're settling into a routine now.

[mlooney 3,417]

I just got a call back on my labs that I had done Tuesday. My thyroid levels were a bit high.  Was told to stop calcium and vitamin D.  I get about 50% of my daily calories from milk.  This is going to change my diet a lot probably for the better.   

[mlooney 3,417]

My knees still hurt due to weather. I just stood up took a step and twisted my left ankle. Limped to the bathroom did bathroom things then took pain meds, limp back to bed. The universe doesn't want me to get out of bed.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Now that you mention knees, it's time to bring you up to date on a situation with my own, that being my left replacement knee. I got up to get something out of the kitchen about 10 days ago, and I damned near didn't make it. My left knee felt like it was going to go through an explosive disassembly on me. I grabbed my cane, made it back to my chair, and sat down, but the pain didn't subside - it got worse, climbing up to a 9.5 on the 0-to-10 scale. It made me sick to my stomach and drew tears.

I managed to get an appointment with the knee surgeon's office two days later. They didn't see any structural problems on the X-ray, but they were able to tell that the joint was loose when they gave it the side-to-side shake test. They suggested doing surgery to put in shims to tighten up the mechanical joint, to which I agreed. They've already called to schedule. I've got a cruise-convention that I can't miss at the end of March, so the surgery won't take place until April 2nd. Until then, I'm using the cane 100% of the time, as opposed to just outside of the house before the incident occured.

[mlooney 3,417]

That sucks.  Makes my "my knees hurt and I tripped a sprained my ankle" seem like minor issue. All I had to do was take an OTC pain med and keep off my feed for about 36 hours.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

What started out as a seemingly simple procedure turned into a trip to the emergency room Friday afternoon. My home health care nurse had received orders to remove my PICC line from my chest. She started the procedure by removing my sutures, then went on to try and pull out the line. She couldn't - it was hung. She stopped immediately and tried to get a doctor to come out (they wouldn't), then told me to go to the emergency room to get it pulled.

I showed up and was immediately given a room - not many patients were there - and a doctor came back and saw me at once. They told me that I didn't have a normal PICC line, but rather had a kind of "central line" that leads through the veins to my heart. Unfortunately, they needed doctors at the "interventional radiology department" to do the removal, and they were gone for the weekend. In other words, they couldn't remove the line. So, they undid what the nurse did, told me to call a doctor and get orders for removal for the line at the hospital, and just wait out the weekend. Joy.

Thus I sit, with the central line in my chest, requiring flushes on Saturday and Sunday, waiting for a doctor's orders on Monday. Have fun with that little situation.

[mlooney 3,417]

That sounds less than optimal.

[Don Edwards 548]

That sounds like crucial information that didn't get passed on when it should have been passed on.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

I feel lousy. End of line.

[mlooney 3,417]

I'm not doing so well today either.  Had a dizzy spell this morning and have migraine.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

I'm finally going to get this damned PICC / central line removed today at the hospital. Going to get into the shower in a few minutes, then we'll be headed to Baylor Lake Pointe in Rowlett, TX to have it taken out. I'm hoping for a quick and painless procedure.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

My line was removed, at last. It was neither a quick nor entirely painless procedure, but it didn't take too long and it didn't hurt too bad. The line was stuck in there pretty good, so the doctor had to get the lidocaine out and pull rather hard. There's a 1mm x 2-3mm ring around the line inside the vein (a "collar") to help keep it in place, and in my case some scar tissue had grown around it - maybe 6-7mm square of scar tissue. Once he got it loose, it just slid right out. Quite gnarly.

I'm not supposed to do anything with my arm for the rest of the day, including raising it over my head. After that, I'm a free man, able to lift more than 10lbs once again. Yay.

[mlooney 3,417]

I got a flu shot and pneumonia shot today.  My left arm hurts and I expect to feel like crap tomorrow.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Two things:

After removing the gauze from the area where the central line was, I noticed that there was a stitch left behind. I don't know if the doctor put one in or if he didn't take one out. In any case, it's one more thing to worry about.

I noticed a significant amount of cat fur collecting around the ball of my left foot. Didn't think anything of it until Mrs. Prof noticed blood on my sock. Turns out I have a bleeding ulcer. I've got a podiatrist appointment tomorrow to get it treated.

[mlooney 3,417]

As expected I feel like crap.  

[mlooney 3,417]

I fell of the stoop yesterday (had issues with getting the bike out and closing the door) so I have a bruise on my right hip and left shin.  My left arm still hurts. It's raining so I have knee issues. Going to go back to bed in a few.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

On 3/5/2024 at 6:37 PM, mlooney said:

I got a flu shot and pneumonia shot today.  My left arm hurts and I expect to feel like crap tomorrow.

Seriously worth it. I'm looking for a Novovax COVID shot this weekend. Got my RSV shot two weeks ago.