Withdrawal Symptoms Suck

I am trying to wean myself off of Dilaudid, mostly because I don't really have much pain, only some muscles that keep wanting to tense up from my right shoulder blade, to my right shoulder, down my right arm, forearm, and hand, ending with tingling and numbness in the right hand.

The left surgical side hardly has any pain. So time to get off the Dilaudid. The nurse at Dr. F's (the local surgeon) feels that maybe I'm trying to do too much right now and maybe I shouldn't go off Dilaudid just yet. But I think it's time.

Since I started going to Dilaudid every 10-12 hours, I've had a headache. I also had a leg cramp in my lower right calf early Friday morning. I get hot flashes and woke up from one my cat naps last night sweating. I also got felt sick to my stomach after lunch - like right after it. We drove home from Portland and I felt sick the whole way. I came home and napped off and on for about an hour.

All but the headache are official symptoms of withdrawal, according to websites. But the plastic surgeon in Portland and the regular surgeon felt the headaches were Dilaudid withdrawal symptoms.

Dr. F's nurse suggested Valium to help with the right shoulder blade/shoulder pain. Then, a friend in Australia, V., also said Valium was used to help her wean from a pain medicine. So, I asked Dr. F and received a prescription for Valium last night. I just took the second dose. We'll see if it helps with the headache. It's okay if I don't move my head too fast. I am going to try to stay with Dilaudid every 12 hours for a day or two and then try to decrease it again.

In the meantime, I will make an appointment locally with my physical therapist about the lymphedema in the left arm. Dr. F wants to wait and see what happens with the lump on the breast bone for another couple of weeks, but if treatment doesn't shrink it, I will be looking at another surgery soon. Also, Dr. F will take out the catheter/port in my right arm since I don't really need it.

Dr. T at OHSU felt that the wound might have skin over it in another two weeks. The hypergranaulation, which occurs in several spots in the area, is causing the healing to go slower, but it's going. It even looks less red to me. I see the wound care nurse again this afternoon.

Today, I've got class and I will also meet with a candidate - right after lunch and for dinner. But I might have to skip dinner depending on how I feel.

Have a good day everyone.

Lazy Saturday

Today was a lazy day. I didn't change out of my jammies until noon. I watched movies this morning. I also had a headache - a slight one - that extended from my neck to my temples and up on top of my head. Even now, into evening, I can still feel the headache. Not sure why.

I also didn't go to Urgent Care to change my dressing - I think it can wait until morning. I will see when I change out of my shirt and see how much bleeding there was. It'll be the first time since I was in the hospital that I haven't had the dressing changed daily. That's a good sign, that things are healing and I don't need to change the dressing as often.

This morning, I said on Facebook that I needed to grade papers and pay bills. I also thought about cleaning my bathroom and washing my sheets. But in the end, I didn't do any of those things.

I did take Eddie to Wacky Bounce. It was tough until I could sit on the couch. It was a little uncomfortable in the tall stools. I am trying to keep my left arm elevated because of lymphedema.

After dinner, Eddie and I went to the park for about an hour. It was getting a little chilly and windy by then, but the fresh air did me good. I even forgot about the headache.

Now, I have a bit of a headache and I keep tensing my right arm. But it was a good lazy day. I guess that's okay since I only got about 7 hours sleep the last two nights. I nap a little in the evenings, too. But overall, I'm doing okay. I love lazy days.