Such Pain
This has been, by far, the worst day in April for me.
I'm not sure what happened. I'll start with Sunday and maybe some of you can identify what I did wrong. Because, I was mostly fine on Sat. I had worn some trousers that were too tight, and they caused problems. But, halfway through the day, I switched them out for some sweat pants and I was fine after that.
But, on Sunday I overslept. Well, not really. I slept in short bursts. I didn't have anything really planned. I did some work on London Fires. I've got most of the event done, but am having trouble with the wrap up. I worked on it, or napped, or worked on it.
Then, around 4 in the afternoon, I went to get some grocery shopping done. I was smarter this time. I got a buggy. And, I took three trips to get everything out of the car. I didn't carry anything heavy this time.
But, I did realize that I hadn't taken any pain medication all day. I felt good that I hadn't really needed it until doing the shopping. I took 600 mg of ibuprofen and then had dinner.
And, it was around 6 that the pain hit me. It has been awful. It is just a huge pressure / burning pain from my belly button to my groin. It's horrible.
At 9 on Sunday, I took a percocet. I'm not supposed to. By now, I'm supposed to be managing the pain with ibuprofen. But, it was just too much. I felt fine while I got caught up on Heroes, but by around 11 the pain was coming back. I took some ibuprofen and went to sleep.
When I woke up this morning, I was in pain again. I ate some breakfast and took 800 mg of ibuprofen before leaving for work. At work, I could barely walk. Sitting still was ok, but standing and walking was excruciating. At noon I took 600 mg, another 600 at 4:30, another 600 at 9. And, I'm still in pain.
I've changed my bandages twice, so I'm sure there is nothing wrong there. But, I did have a thought at 11. I changed my bandages again, but this time in addition to using Vaseline to keep the area moist (as instructed) I mixed in some triple-anti-bacterial cream. I thought that maybe somewhere along the line something got inside the area.
That felt better for about half an hour. Then, the pain started to return. I took another 600 mg and went to bed.
I woke up an hour later, at 12:30, nearly doubled over from the pain. Even just laying still hurt me. I took a percocet and am waiting for it to kick in so that I can get some sleep.
I had about a dozen pills yesterday, so now I have 10, maybe only 9. I really hope that I don't need to take one a day.
I'm hoping that what happened is that I accidentally purged my system of the ibuprofen. I took 600 mg on Sat at 9 pm, and then didn't take any until around 5 pm on Sunday. Maybe I just need to get it back into my system to bring the level of pain back down to a manageable level.
I hope so.
I'm going to work tomorrow. I only have 10 days off for the rest of the year, and I'm certain that I'll need at least 5 of those for the next stage of the surgery. I know that if I call in, I'll be excused, but it will still use one of those days. I also know that it won't be a surprise to anyone. Everyone commented on how bad I looked today.
It was kinda funny. "How are you today?" they would say. I would reply, "Awful." So, they would either ask what was wrong, or comment that I didn't look good.
You know, you kinda have to pick and choose who to be honest to when people ask, "How are you today?" Some people really want to know. And, some people don't. And, when they don't, they feel burdened when you say, "I feel horrible. Every step is filled with suffering and pain." At least I always stopped myself from saying (although I thought it often) "You know how when you get a tack in your shoe, it hurts every time you take a step? I feel like that. Only - in my pants."
But, I digress.
I'm feeling a little bit better. My belly still feels sore, but not hurty. I'm going to lie down and hope that sleep will come and take all of the little pain demons away.
Theno
I'm not sure what happened. I'll start with Sunday and maybe some of you can identify what I did wrong. Because, I was mostly fine on Sat. I had worn some trousers that were too tight, and they caused problems. But, halfway through the day, I switched them out for some sweat pants and I was fine after that.
But, on Sunday I overslept. Well, not really. I slept in short bursts. I didn't have anything really planned. I did some work on London Fires. I've got most of the event done, but am having trouble with the wrap up. I worked on it, or napped, or worked on it.
Then, around 4 in the afternoon, I went to get some grocery shopping done. I was smarter this time. I got a buggy. And, I took three trips to get everything out of the car. I didn't carry anything heavy this time.
But, I did realize that I hadn't taken any pain medication all day. I felt good that I hadn't really needed it until doing the shopping. I took 600 mg of ibuprofen and then had dinner.
And, it was around 6 that the pain hit me. It has been awful. It is just a huge pressure / burning pain from my belly button to my groin. It's horrible.
At 9 on Sunday, I took a percocet. I'm not supposed to. By now, I'm supposed to be managing the pain with ibuprofen. But, it was just too much. I felt fine while I got caught up on Heroes, but by around 11 the pain was coming back. I took some ibuprofen and went to sleep.
When I woke up this morning, I was in pain again. I ate some breakfast and took 800 mg of ibuprofen before leaving for work. At work, I could barely walk. Sitting still was ok, but standing and walking was excruciating. At noon I took 600 mg, another 600 at 4:30, another 600 at 9. And, I'm still in pain.
I've changed my bandages twice, so I'm sure there is nothing wrong there. But, I did have a thought at 11. I changed my bandages again, but this time in addition to using Vaseline to keep the area moist (as instructed) I mixed in some triple-anti-bacterial cream. I thought that maybe somewhere along the line something got inside the area.
That felt better for about half an hour. Then, the pain started to return. I took another 600 mg and went to bed.
I woke up an hour later, at 12:30, nearly doubled over from the pain. Even just laying still hurt me. I took a percocet and am waiting for it to kick in so that I can get some sleep.
I had about a dozen pills yesterday, so now I have 10, maybe only 9. I really hope that I don't need to take one a day.
I'm hoping that what happened is that I accidentally purged my system of the ibuprofen. I took 600 mg on Sat at 9 pm, and then didn't take any until around 5 pm on Sunday. Maybe I just need to get it back into my system to bring the level of pain back down to a manageable level.
I hope so.
I'm going to work tomorrow. I only have 10 days off for the rest of the year, and I'm certain that I'll need at least 5 of those for the next stage of the surgery. I know that if I call in, I'll be excused, but it will still use one of those days. I also know that it won't be a surprise to anyone. Everyone commented on how bad I looked today.
It was kinda funny. "How are you today?" they would say. I would reply, "Awful." So, they would either ask what was wrong, or comment that I didn't look good.
You know, you kinda have to pick and choose who to be honest to when people ask, "How are you today?" Some people really want to know. And, some people don't. And, when they don't, they feel burdened when you say, "I feel horrible. Every step is filled with suffering and pain." At least I always stopped myself from saying (although I thought it often) "You know how when you get a tack in your shoe, it hurts every time you take a step? I feel like that. Only - in my pants."
But, I digress.
I'm feeling a little bit better. My belly still feels sore, but not hurty. I'm going to lie down and hope that sleep will come and take all of the little pain demons away.
Theno