Friday, March 30, 2012

DAYS 24 & 25 - Recovery

I actually feel like I'm getting back a bit of energy and stamina, albeit just a bit. We were out and about today and yesterday and I don't feel totally wiped out.  No longer having the pain in my right lung yesterday I was able to work on some upper body strength by setting bricks that weigh 6 lbs each (I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 lbs) in sand on the greenhouse floor.  Okay, so I can't do very many at a time, but a few every day or so and eventually I'll have wrapped up a project.  Last night we enjoyed some burgers and one-dollar pint PBR's at one of my favorite Irish pubs.  I'll be so glad when my taste for food returns in full.  I was so nauseated most of the first week after surgery that I couldn't keep much down except for some fruit and Ensure milkshakes and since then food doesn't have the same taste that I remember and expect.  It's getting better, but I still have a long way to go especially with wine, which I have absolutely no taste for, and chocolate.  What a bad case of timing I had last night.  I was walking down a hallway when returning from the ladies' room at the pub and there was a girl standing to the side talking to someone. Not knowing I was coming up behind her, she swung her arm back and hit me square in the chest.  I'm so frail, it almost knocked the wind out of me and the impact pressed the metal zipper of my hoodie right into my incision.  Ouch!  

Today after a medical appointment at the lab to get an INR reading for Coumadin, the blood thinner I'm taking, we ran some errands and did a bit of shopping.  I'm still taking Namenda, a drug used for treatment of Alzheimer's disease as a prevention for Post Operative Cognitive Decline.  After today I'm doubting its effectiveness.  This was the first time since the surgery, and it's been almost six weeks, that I had some obvious mental confusion and believe me, it was scary.  I was directing Darryl to a farm supply store that I clearly know the location of and yet I gave him the wrong exit number and didn't realize I was on the wrong road until we had driven several miles out of our way.  Then at the store I became confused about the items I had special ordered.  Last night was the first time I'd had alcohol since the surgery.  Could one beer have interacted with some of the meds I'm taking and caused a mental problem the next day?  I'm also concerned about the lack of mental energy I have for reading and writing.  I also have a feeling of what I can only describe as disassociation or a lack of feeling connected to some things.  I hope all this is temporary and I can soon get back to being and feeling like myself again. 

Meds:   Coumadin, Azithromycin, Furosemide, Bupropion, aspirin 81mg, Namenda, Metroprolol, Zantac, multivitamin, vitamin D, I-Caps, 2 bananas (potassium) 

2 comments:

auntie said...

One step at a time there girl. Sounds like the one beer may have not been a good idea. I am so glad that you can feel some progress. Prayers are still coming your way.

ThomasinaTRP said...

Peggy, I have never heard of post operative decline. Perhaps it is similar to "chemo brain", where folks getting chemotherapy have some "fuzzy brain" issues. Your body has taken a beating, and it does need time. Time with the animals and time outdoors I think will be your saving grace. It is hard to feel down when you see goats frolicking. I think goats are so amusing. My last two hens are gone, and so are my green colored eggs. It just isn't the same getting eggs from the store :(
Craig and I took the kayak out yesterday and we saw an eagle with a fish in its talons. cool stuff.
When asked how she is doing, GMa Lang. says, "Not so good" She is now 91 or 92. Aunt Caroll, Mark's sister visited two weeks ago, and said that she didn't think that GMa would make it through the year. Such a grande woman; I will miss her when she is gone.
Hang in there Peggy. The recovery sounds incredibly painful and slow, but the ability to function normally certainly is worth pursuing.
Teresa