Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Folks, I'm getting screwed.

On Monday, I'll be going into the hospital for surgery on my left big toe to fix a condition called "hammertoe." The podiatrist will be straightening the bones, fusing them together, and inserting a screw  to keep the toe from bending back out of shape.

I'll be going under full anesthesia for the procedure, so I'm going to be pretty damned loopy all day Monday. And I do mean all day - the hospital wants me to report at 6:30 a.m.! No fun there whatsoever. At least it's an outpatient procedure, so I get to go home when it's done.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

15 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

At least it's an outpatient procedure, so I get to go home when it's done.

"Outpatient" is over rated and over used at the insistence of insurance providers

Having dealt with both my parents coming home several times with bad reactions to Outpatient surgeries, it would have been much easier if they just stayed overnight in the hospital for recovery and observation in the first place

I really hope you have a "normal" reaction to the anesthesia and that there is someone at home for you who knows what they are doing

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

7 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

"Outpatient" is over rated and over used at the insistence of insurance providers

Having dealt with both my parents coming home several times with bad reactions to Outpatient surgeries, it would have been much easier if they just stayed overnight in the hospital for recovery and observation in the first place

I really hope you have a "normal" reaction to the anesthesia and that there is someone at home for you who knows what they are doing

I've been through so many surgeries that Mrs. Prof is an old hand at handling me by now. I should be fine.

[Don Edwards 548]

Kudos and sympathies to Mrs. Prof.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

I have returned from the hospital, in more or less one piece. The surgery on my big toe was successful, but the doctor forgot that the hospital didn't stock surgical boots. So, we had to go by his office to pick up a surgical boot after I was discharged. By this time, I'd started to bleed rather noticeably, so Mrs. Prof hurried me home so I could get my foot elevated and so I could get one of my pain pills inside me (I'd forgotten to take them before the surgery - d'oh). One elevated foot and a short nap later, and I felt a bit better. My bleeding more or less stopped as well, so I figured it was time to get up and hit the web.

I'm probably going to be on a slow ooze that will require another trip to the surgeon's office for a re-wrap in a couple of days. No big deal. In the meanwhile, I'm going to limit my internet time and keep elevated most of the time, monopolizing the television in the process (Mrs. Prof will love that).

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

1 hour ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

I'm going to limit my internet time and keep elevated most of the time, monopolizing the television in the process (Mrs. Prof will love that).

If it bleeds, it leads

That is true for TV News and the TV Remote

[mlooney 3,417]

2 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

I'm probably going to be on a slow ooze that will require another trip to the surgeon's office for a re-wrap in a couple of days.

Better needing a rewrap than having having it on so tight it causes pain in its own right.

[mlooney 3,417]

I'm going in for a bone density scan tomorrow and a colonoscopy on the 14th.  Not too worried about the scan, as it's passive, but really not looking forward to the system purge before the colonoscopy.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

38 minutes ago, mlooney said:

really not looking forward to the system purge before the colonoscopy

I have but one literary work published in this world. Its title? "How Not To Prepare For A Colonoscopy." Trust me, I will be feeling your pain.

I'd link you, but it's only published in dead tree format.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Ack.

Every once in a while, my big toe flexes on its own, without my prodding.

This is not a pleasant experience.

[mlooney 3,417]

5 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Ack.

Every once in a while, my big toe flexes on its own, without my prodding.

This is not a pleasant experience.

That does sound less than optimal.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

15 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Every once in a while, my big toe flexes on its own, without my prodding.

This is not a pleasant experience.

Darnitol!

When you tell yourself to relax and be lazy, that order is for EVERY part of yourself

But there always is that one jerk who decides to do something while everyone else is taking the day off...

[mlooney 3,417]

I just finished a 3 hour visit to the local hospital for a bone density scan. The actual scan took like 10 minutes, registration and filling out paperwork took maybe another 15 minutes, most of the rest of the time was spent waiting on my ride home to show up. Not their fault, when I booked the ride I didn't know how long the test would take and went with a later time than was really needed. Most irritating thing was that their coke machine had Mr. Pibb instead of Dr. Pepper and the bottles were Dr. Pepper red. The were turned so I couldn't see the name until I bought the soda. It's not the end of the world but slightly irritating nevertheless. Next visit to the hospital will be much worse as that's when I get my colonoscopy. As I understand it, it's the day before that really sucks, not the day of the procedure.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Turns out I had toe surgery while I had a sinus infection.   I started getting post-nasal drip and a sore throat late Saturday night. Symptoms continued to get worse during the day Sunday, with stuffy ears, swollen glands, and sinus pain joining the fray. I took some decongestant which helped alleviate things to the point that I felt good to go for surgery on Monday, but when I got home, my sore throat came back in spades. I wound up at the doctor today and received my diagnosis.

To make matters worse, when I walked into the doctor's office, I got hit with another bout of a long-standing heart problem: Premature Ventricular Contractions, or PVCs (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/premature-ventricular-contractions/symptoms-causes/syc-20376757). Those are what initially knocked me out of work and into disability retirement. The doctor verified that I was in the middle of a bout. He asked if I'd taken any decongestants, which, of course, I had. He then told me to stop taking them since they were the likely culprit that was messing with my heart. In their place, he told me to use plain Mucinex and a saline nasal mist. I'm trying that now and will see how the combination works overnight.

It's been a busy couple of days, to say the least.

[mlooney 3,417]

2 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

It's been a busy couple of days, to say the least.

And the understatement of the week award goes to The Professor.  Tell his what he has won John...

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

My throat and my heart are calming down, but now my left leg above my big toe is complaining. The surgical boot is rubbing it raw. I think I'm developing an ulcer on the skin. I've got an appointment with my podiatrist/surgeon today, so we'll take a look at it and figure out what to do about it.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Here we go again. I've been admitted to the hospital for complications from my big toe surgery.

I had the stitches taken out on Friday. At that time, my toe and left leg above and below the gauze wrapping looked extremely swollen, like a tourniquet had been wrapped around the middle part (the technical term is "pitting edema"). However, that was all that was wrong - there were no signs of infection. The podiatrist sent me home with instructions to wear a compression stocking starting Saturday (yesterday) and to elevate the foot.

My wife put the compression stocking on my left leg yesterday morning. I wore it up until about 2pm, at which point I was in the middle of a nap when a sudden wave of pain woke me up. My toe was being hit by throbbing, stinging pains. I took off the compression stocking and saw that my toe was red and swollen, and when I pressed on it, it stayed red - signs of an infection. To make a long story short (too late), I was told by a doctor on call to go to an emergency room. I went to the one for the hospital where I had the surgery in the first place.

Once there, the doctor quickly verified the infection, and furthermore determined that it was running up my left leg. (Since that time, my left hand has started to swell, as have my lymph glands under my jaw.) She admitted me to the hospital and began giving me IV antibiotics, four different ones in all. Right now, I'm on dilaudid for the pain in my toe and leg, which makes typing this up rather difficult.

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. As Bill the Cat used to say, "Ack oop phbbtt."

[mlooney 3,417]

That really sucks.  Hope you get it resolved as soon as possible.

[mlooney 3,417]

It's the calm before the storm right now.  Tomorrow I do the cleans before the colonoscopy.    Really not looking forward to it.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Hospital Update Monday 7/12/2021:

I spoke to my podiatrist's partner doctor this evening (my podiatrist himself is on vacation), and he described my toe as "very angry." To make a long story short, he's going to run a white blood cell scan on me. He said that's where they take some of my white blood cells, "tag" them (I'm guessing radioactively), and then inject them back into me and trace where they go. If they concentrate around my toe, then there's a strong possibility that I might have a bone infection, which would mean they'd have to remove the screw they implanted to fix my hammertoe and try to get the thing to heal naturally. On the other hand, if the white blood cells *don't* concentrate around my toe, then it would mean I just have something called "cellulitis," or a soft tissue infection, which they'd treat just as they're treating it now.

In either case, they're going to have to scan me with some sort of equipment to see where the tagged white blood cells go. That'll have to be done over the course of a couple of days, so that means I'm not leaving the hospital any time soon.

In other news, somewhat related to the above, I'm going to have something called a PICC line inserted into my left arm tomorrow morning. That's a larger version of an IV line that stays in your arm for a longer period of time and allows the doctors/nurses/techs to draw blood as well as give fluids and medicines from the same site. It hurts like hell going in, but in general it's slightly more comfortable than an IV once it's inserted, plus there's the added benefit that you don't have to get poked every time someone wants to draw blood from you. It's more or less worth it, especially over a long period of time.

Speaking of blood, there is one other issue that the doctors are checking into. As it turns out, I'm anemic. I've also got an iron deficiency. We don't know why I'm anemic, but it sure explains why I've been so tired lately (aside from the infection). My wife has been cleared to bring up my multivitamin-plus-iron supplement from home so I can take it while I'm hospitalized, but that alone isn't going to fix the anemia or the deficiency. The podiatrist partner, who is taking point on my treatment now, says he may call in another doctor to take care of this problem. We shall see.

Sorry for the long update, but it's been a very busy couple of days. I'll have more info for you as I get it. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who bought a copy of my "Ant Farm Melee" song since yesterday. I really do appreciate it!

[mlooney 3,417]

While no where near as bad as The Prof's issues (which I hope he gets over as soon as possible) in about 6 hours I start my colonoscopy prep.  Good taste prohibits me from posting the details of that openly, so only open "spoiler" text from me today if you really want to read about poop

Just checking spoiler tags still work

 

[mlooney 3,417]

I'm getting the stomach growls when it's time to eat something.  I start my prep in an hour so eating isn't on the table.  Drink more tea and hope that helps.
 

[mlooney 3,417]

Taken my first Dulcolax.  Not expecting any results for an hour or so, at least.  2nd dose in 3 hours, then 3 hours later the hard stuff.

[mlooney 3,417]

Just had my first poop, however it's about the time of day for my daily BM so not sure if laxative caused or not

[mlooney 3,417]

Just took my 2nd Dulcolax.  No movements so far, other than one at my normal time.  3 hours until I take the hard stuff.