Bionic Woman

I'm home now. Well, I'm at my moms and have been since probably lunch time on Thursday but boy has this been a wild ride. Check in time was 6:30 AM. I am not a morning person. At all. Stayed with mom the night before and bathed with the hibiclense the night before and the morning of. Got to the hospital, checked in and waited in the cath lab waiting room with mom for probably 20 minutes when the nurse came and got me. She put the IV right above my thumb. They don't like putting it in the bends for comfort and they wanted to put it on the side with the device. They also had me pee in a cup to check for pregnancy. Then they put on numerous sticky patches that they used and some they didn't (ECG) in case one set/site fails, plus the defibrillator patches on my front and back. Once in the lab I scooted over onto the bed/table thing and they put the arm tables and then put arm restraints on me so I didn't move or grab the doctors or anything. Then they gave me versed and fentanyl for conscious sedation. That's the last thing I remember. Mom said I was awake when she got back to recovery but I don't remember anything.

The pain meds they gave me and the zofran barely took the edge off so I was getting morphine every 2 hours and as such I spent much of my hospital stay nauseated and asleep. For some reason pain meds make me ill. Either my sugar drops or my bp or I get super nauseated. It's no fun. I'd brought my phone and headphones with hulu, a word search, sudoku, everything. All I did was sleep. I had the TV on in the room but the volume all the way down. I have so many marks on me it isn't funny. The IV stopped working in my thumb so all in all I was poked 4 times with 2 IVs. My night nurse was super nice and handsome. Figures you see nice looking people when you look like a trash heap.

Anyway, when I got home I still slept for like 2 days off and on. Today is the first day I haven't slept for hours during the day too. Today is also the first day I woke up and felt half way human. I took the big main bandage off like they said, I wonder how long until the steristrips will take. The area between the bandages to my right shoulder is bruised, the IV sites are bruised. But I'm finally on the mend. I did however discover I've been having (or developed after the surgery) non sustained ventricular tachycardia. The nurse ran in and checked on me but said it was only 5 beats. I'm not sure what that means.

Then not last night but the night before I started running a low grade fever, chest pain and shortness of breath etc. I went to the ER because I feared infection or blood clot (familu history). My d-dimer was positive so I had to have a CT scan which was clear as well as the chest xray was normal. They said it was just musculoskeletal pain. Yesterday my back locked up and I spent the day on the couch but today I feel much better. I just wonder if and when its working and what it feels like.

Neurology and Migraines

It's been two weeks (on the 4th) and I still have a bruise. So 12 days and it's still clearly visible. The one the IV stayed in is nearly 100% gone. If not completely. I don't know what in the world happened but that is ridiculous. I don't think I have EVER bruised that bad for this long!
In other news. My neurology appointment was today. She increased my topamax to 75 mg twice a day, which both boo and yay. Hopefully it helps but boo because now I'll be taking 6 25 mg pills a day. (I'm guessing it only comes in 25 and 50, could be wrong but the nurse said that's what she was calling in.) 3 per dose. I had a headache in office so the nurse (per doctors order) gave me a shot of 60 mg Toradol in the hip. I barely felt it as opposed to the IV. It also didn't 100% cure the headache (85-90%) and it's already coming back less than 3 hours later. I'll take a nap when I'm done writing. See if that helps.
She gave me a booklet on Xyrem and wants me to think about it. I told her I would but I don't think I could with the kids. JSmiley stayed up until 2 last night and I had to get up with Big Daddy at 5 (wake him up for work) then actually get up at 5:40. Big Daddy could sleep through an earth quake so even though I'm the one dx with Narcolepsy, I'm the one who has to be responsible for everyone. Even my neuro said that isn't fair, and it isn't, but I have to do it.
I also convinced her to order a test. She didn't want to because apparently she was under the impression I had frequent flier ER miles (when I've only been 3 times for migraines). And also under the impression that my ER actually did any tests. Nope, I knew what was going on (though not why) and my ER just treats and streets so after a little discussion she agreed to check my chart to see if I'd ever had a CT and order one if not (even though I said I rarely go, I suffer in silence and the only testing I'd had was when I'd fallen, at 4). But I guess she checked because after I got my shot and was checking out the receptionist said it was ordered they just had to get a prior authorization from my insurance to schedule it and they'd be in touch. The only sucky part is, it's without contrast and my medical friend said that's their quick emergent go to, to check for head bleeds. I guess something is better than nothing but if the CT w/o contrast shows nothing will she pat my hand and go "See, it was normal." To placate me. Like all my cardiologists did, or order further tests, just to be sure. I mean she was SURE I couldn't POSSIBLY also have Narcolepsy on top of every thing else. I'm not inviting trouble but we all know every time the doctors stop at basic tests "I'm fine" but once they do the "There's one last test we can do." My dx list gets a little bit longer. We shall see.