DAYS 10 & 11 - Recovery

It's days like yesterday that make me wonder if I'll ever feel good again.  I was so totally miserable - extremely weak, short of breath, very painful lungs, and nauseated. I carried a barf pan everywhere. That's not a fashion  accessory that will ever catch on.  It took all my strength and energy just to walk across a room, yet we had to be on the go all day. 

The Coumadin check was our first stop.  I've taken none of this blood thinner since Monday, yet my blood remains dangerously thin.  I was told not to take any until Sunday and then only a half dose and return Monday for a recheck.  If they can't get my blood thickness to say within the desired parameters with this drug, I'll have to take twice daily injections.  

From there we drove to SC to meet with the hematologist. I've seen more than my share of medical offices , yet I've never seen one as well run as this one.  They have an on sight lab with several technicians and the whole thing was run like clockwork.  There was no waiting.  The hematologist found that I have a rare blood clotting disorder which puts me at high risk for blood clots leading to strokes.  Women with this disorder usually have multiple miscarriages.  I've had five.  This hyper clotting was the cause of the blood clots in my lungs after the surgery.  Even though they had me on a boatload of blood thinners, it wasn't adequate to cover the hyper coagulation.  This isn't the news I wanted to hear because this means I'll need to be on blood thinners the rest of my life.  This genetic disorder may be the reason so many of my relatives die of strokes.  The hematologist wrote me a prescription for some anti-nausea medicine so I got some relief late in the day. This drug makes me so drowsy I can't stay awake, but if I can hold down my food maybe I can start gaining back some of my much needed weight.

Our last stop was at a diagnostic center to have chest x-rays in preparation for my follow up visits with the heart surgeon and lung doc next week. 

Today was a great improvement over yesterday. Although the pain in my lungs was resistant to the pain meds and I was short of breath with much coughing, I was able to do some household chores.  I walked here, plus I did 3/4 mile on the outdoor track. The last quarter mile was a killer, but I have to keep pushing myself if I'm going to see continuous improvement.  The track has a resident eastern bluebird.  We saw him last time and he was there again today sporting his rosy breast and intensely blue feathers.  He perches on the back of one of the benches and watches the walkers go by.  

3/10 Meds:  Multaq, Bupropion, aspirin 81mg, Furosemide, Namenda, Metroprolol, Zantac, potassium, multivitamin, vitamin D, I-Caps, Tramadol/Apap, Promethazine
3/11 Meds:  Multaq, Bupropion, aspirin 81mg, Furosemide, Namenda, Metroprolol, Zantac, potassium, multivitamin, vitamin D, I-Caps, Promethazine, Mucinex