Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

29 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

What do you mean "Invented"?  The Hitchhiker's Guide is a product of Megadodo Publications on Ursa Minor Beta.

I thought they were bought out by Infinidim Enterprises.

[mlooney 3,417]

9 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

What dosage have they got you on? Mine's 5mg. I can't remember ever experiencing dizziness from it.

10 mg.  At least for now.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

1 hour ago, mlooney said:

10 mg.  At least for now.

That's a rather high dose for them to start you on, yes. Be careful with it.

[mlooney 3,417]

5 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

That's a rather high dose for them to start you on, yes. Be careful with it.

After yesterday's morning, you can bet your [redacted] butt I am being careful.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

I don't think I'll be repeating this elsewhere, for those of you who know the man behind the shadowy avatar, but I had a simultaneously scary and embarrassing thing happen to me about an hour and a half ago.

I fell, and I couldn't get up.

Hey, you! Yeah, I saw you back in the corner over there. Stop laughing. This was the real deal.

I'd just finished a bowl of soup and got up to take it back to the kitchen. I caught a foot in the computer cables next to my coffee table. I had too much momentum going to stop myself, and nothing to grab onto to keep myself from hitting the floor. I went down, knees and forearms first.

I tried to stand from that position, but my left knee wouldn't take the weight. (I've lost a lot thanks to the Topamax, but I'm still at 339.) My right knee hurt too much. Flipping over onto my back was no better. The only thing I could do was pull myself back into the living room with my arms and try to get to the phone, which I eventually did after what seemed like a lifetime.

I called Mrs. Prof, who was working out of her office today. I apologized, then used the infamous phrase. Her response? "You're kidding." I said no, then explained the situation. She packed up and came home, to find me leaning against the sofa and in a lot of pain (my back issues weren't helping any). First thing I asked for was a hydrocodone pill, since it was past my 10am dose time.

She checked out my injuries, asked me a few questions, and for the first few moments was generally unhelpful and still slightly pissed that I'd called her home. She came to the conclusion that I needed to call an ambulance, then she complained that it was going to be expensive if they didn't take me to the hospital. Gee, thanks.

No way was I giving up that easily.

I flipped back over on my stomach and crawled to the corner of our sofa (it's a sectional), then asked her to bring me something spongy for my knees. She brought towels. I managed to get my knees on top of them, grunting and screaming, but couldn't push off of the corners of the sofa. She finally jumped into action and extended an arm. I grabbed it with one of my arms and pulled. Together, we finally got me upright and off of the floor.

I immediately slumped back down onto the sofa.

Since then, we've gone over the details of my injuries a bit more closely. I skinned my right knee. There's a large bump forming beneath the skinned part, which is dead center above my kneecap. My left knee has a bump growing to the lower left of its kneecap, just slightly smaller. I also scraped a 1" x 3" area on my right forearm that brought blood. I also seem to have hurt my left big toe in some way—it's numb and it hurts to bend it, but I can't describe it beyond that.

I called my primary doctor, but he's booked, and Mrs. Prof can't drive me to any appointments until Friday (and I've already got one then). The whole situation is FUBAR. However, partially to help with my back pain (which is still getting worse despite the hydrocodone) and partially to help with the injuries, she's ordered a walker from Amazon that will be here today (Same Day Delivery).

This is going to be a continuing saga. Stay tuned for the next installment.

[The Old Hack 2,448]

1 hour ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

This is going to be a continuing saga. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Ouch. I am very sorry to hear. *sigh* The blows just keep coming, don't they. Dammit.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

38 minutes ago, The Old Hack said:

Ouch. I am very sorry to hear. *sigh* The blows just keep coming, don't they. Dammit.

Yeah, they do. I'm officially an old fart and a fall risk. Lovely.

Mrs. Prof's got to do cat volunteer stuff in about 30 minutes. I asked her if she trusted me alone. She half-jokingly said, "No."

The walker is going to arrive from Amazon while she's gone, most likely. I don't know if I'll be able to lift it and bring it inside. The package in toto is always heavier than the walker frame itself, and with my back plus my new injuries, I'm not going to be able to wrangle the box over the doorstep. It'll have to sit outside and wait until she gets home.

I'd laugh if I didn't require the hydrocodone just for my back and Chronic Pain Syndrome. Now it's got to serve a triple purpose.

[The Old Hack 2,448]

52 minutes ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

I'd laugh if I didn't require the hydrocodone just for my back and Chronic Pain Syndrome. Now it's got to serve a triple purpose.

Heh. Yeah. This is the sort of thing where you find yourself growing numb from all the punches. I am really sorry. But we are still with you and I believe you can still find a way to hold on and eventually get better. I have faith in you, and I have faith in Mrs. Prof.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

34 minutes ago, The Old Hack said:

Heh. Yeah. This is the sort of thing where you find yourself growing numb from all the punches. I am really sorry. But we are still with you and I believe you can still find a way to hold on and eventually get better. I have faith in you, and I have faith in Mrs. Prof.

As always, I am truly grateful for your support.

Update as of 4:18 p.m. CDT:

• My left knee is a bit unstable, especially upon standing. It wants to buckle to the outside, which generates more pain. This is at the spot where the knee is swelling.
• The big toe of my left foot hurts worse to bend now, and if you could see it, you'd know why. It's turning purple on the top, side, and bottom, back to the ball of my foot. I'm suspecting a joint issue.
• The right knee still hurts where I skinned it (and where the swelling popped up beneath), but I'm having trouble separating that pain from the back/hip/leg/foot pain from the spinal nerves.
• The hydrocodone is relatively useless at this time. I've tried to "sleep off" the pain from the injuries, but I can't get comfortable enough to fall asleep. No nap for ProfessorTomoe.
• My lumbar caudal injection procedure is next Tuesday. I don't know how all of this will affect it. Anxiety and worry are starting to creep back into my brain.

To add insult to injury, I'm getting a sore throat. I may have to beg Mrs. Prof to drive me to a CareNow urgent care clinic to get it treated before the procedure.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

11:32 p.m. CDT: another quick update.

• I have to put a hand on the outside of my left knee to keep it from buckling outward. Not a big buckle, mind you—just enough of an instability to cause a surprise shooting pain.
• Mrs. Prof finally got to look at my left big toe. She took pictures, which she hasn't posted anywhere yet. Her opinion is that I may have broken a bone higher up in my foot, not just in my toe.
• Swelling continues on both left and right knees, although I think the right knee has gone down a bit.
• The walker that Mrs. Prof ordered arrived. With all of the cat toys and computer paraphernalia/connectivity on the floor of a 1298 square foot house, we've decided that the walker would be better used outside of the house where I don't need the agility to dodge things. I'll continue to use the cane inside the house. Using the walker would be like using a steamroller through the house (add in the fact that we had no cat in 2010 and that Mrs. Prof had cleared paths through the house).
• I did manage to finally get a bit of sleep by lying on my left side instead of my right side. Can't watch the TV from that angle, so I may need to switch to the love seat and try to sleep on that part of the sectional tonight.

No idea when I'm going to be able to get to a doctor for all of this. It depends on what Mrs. Prof can work out with her work taskforce Tuesday.

[mlooney 3,417]

It seems that my dizzy spells are a morning only thing.  I can live with that.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

11:53 a.m. CDT, Tuesday, May 9th, 2017. Mrs. Prof has managed to get off of her taskforce, for which I am grateful. I now have transportation to a 7:45 a.m. appointment set for tomorrow (Wednesday) with my primary care doctor. I'll be discussing, in the following order:

1. Yesterday's fall, including a possibly broken bone in my left foot (not just in a toe), my injured knees, and my scraped arm.
2. The sore throat I've developed since going on (and stopping afterward) the nebulizer, along with the change in the cough status (it only really acts up if I'm laying on my back). I'll also be discussing whether or not I should still see a pulmonologist or change that to an ENT specialist.
3. A rash that has developed under my right arm (minor by comparison).

The appointment nurse couldn't fit everything into the appointment box on her computer system. I warned her to just tell my doctor that I'm gong to be there for a while.

More updates:

• My left foot (not the movie by that name) has swollen up tight. I've put ice on top of it and under it, but I can't elevate it since I'll start a coughing fit when I lie on my back.
• I woke up at 3:30 a.m. CDT having trouble telling which pains were being caused by what injuries. I took my hydrocodone 30 minutes early and went back to sleep, sort of.
• I woke up again around 7am or 7:30 a.m. in extreme pain from my right hip and my left foot. We're talking level 9.9 or level 10 pain here—it was that bad. Said "screw it" and took one of the extra hydrocodone pills that the spine doctor allocated me.
• 8:30 a.m. CDT. Woke up to the news that Mrs. Prof would be able to drive me to my primary care doctor. Made the appointment for tomorrow, since he's booked for today.

My mind gets a bit fuzzy after that, thanks to the extra hydrocodone and the extra pain. I know Mrs. Prof cooked some frozen biscuits and dressed them up for me with some of the exotic jams I have in the fridge (wild blueberry, golden plum (Mirabelles)). I also know I took my 10am dose of hydrocodone, probably around the same time. I passed out again shortly afterward, then woke up just before I started writing this update. I almost fell asleep while typing, so if there are any major errors, blame the hydrocodone. I had coffee to try and fight it.

In fact, I think I'm going to go get another cup right now. Bali Blue Moon is good stuff.

 

[The Old Hack 2,448]

11 minutes ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

In fact, I think I'm going to go get another cup right now. Bali Blue Moon is good stuff.

Cheers. Long live a good cup of coffee. As my wife would say, down the hatch!

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

1 minute ago, The Old Hack said:

Cheers. Long live a good cup of coffee. As my wife would say, down the hatch!

You said it, good sir. I even got it myself, since Mrs. Prof had to get on a conference call. Didn't trip on anything or pass out during the round trip!

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

What I'm drinking:

https://www.freshroastedcoffee.com/bali-blue-moon-organic-frc-cup.aspx

... although, if you need Keurig 2.0 compatibility ...

https://www.freshroastedcoffee.com/p/325-Bali-Blue-Moon-Organic-Single-Serve-Cups.aspx

Very nice. A good kick in the pants for any time of day.

[The Old Hack 2,448]

I especially like that with these last posts, coffee is officially considered medicinal on these forums.

[Don Edwards 548]

10 hours ago, The Old Hack said:

Cheers. Long live a good cup of coffee. As my wife would say, down the hatch!

Seems like if it's a good cup, it won't live long.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

5 minutes ago, Don Edwards said:

Seems like if it's a good cup, it won't live long.

Ah, but the memory of it will live on for hours.

[The Old Hack 2,448]

56 minutes ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Ah, but the memory of it will live on for hours.

And the concept of it will be with us for as long as we live!

[mlooney 3,417]

Seems my dizzy spells happen as a result of going from laying down to standing upright.  As of the last 48 hours or so, I have a 100% hit rate.  Getting up out of chair, no problem. Getting up from bed? Be prepared for possible face plant.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

1 hour ago, mlooney said:

Seems my dizzy spells happen as a result of going from laying down to standing upright.  As of the last 48 hours or so, I have a 100% hit rate.  Getting up out of chair, no problem. Getting up from bed? Be prepared for possible face plant.

It's screwing with your vestibular system response—lift, in this case. A wild guess says all axes of motion are affected. I'll bet if you were to roll or yaw your head quickly you'd get a similar response. (Not saying you should try!)

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

6:18 a.m. CDT. Been awake since just after 4am. Ate breakfast, had two cups of coffee, and took all of my pills before Mrs. Prof woke up. Now waiting for Mrs. Prof to "get some coffee in her" so she can help me take a shower. We've got a shower stool left over from a previous injury, but I'm going to need help with moving clothes into position, pre-placing of soaps and toothbrushing requisites, getting dried off, getting dressed, and so on. It's not going to be an easy shower, since everything below the waist is kaput (we miss you, Madeline Kahn).

She needs to hurry, since we need to be out of the house by 7:25 a.m. CDT to make the 7:45 a.m. check-in time. I'm going to freak out the doctor, that's for sure.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

10:00 a.m. CDT.

Home.

Wearing a support boot that covers my left calf down to my left toes. Waiting for a podiatrist to call to set up an "urgent" appointment.

The line of bones leading to my left big toe are fractured in "five or six" places, according to my primary care doctor. I even have a blister forming over the top of one fracture that is close to the skin. Unknown at this time whether or not I'll need surgery to repair things.

It is now doubtful whether I'll be able to go through with the lumbar caudal injection on Tuesday. I'll have to ask the podiatrist.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

14 minutes ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Wearing a support boot that covers my left calf down to my left toes.

Those boots are NOT for walking.

It doesn't matter how sick or healthy you may otherwise be.  If your feet hurt, you hurt.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

My podiatrist appointment is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Thursday. I guess I'll find out then if I need surgery to fix the bones in my foot. I'll also find out if I can have the back procedure on Tuesday of next week.