Thanks for the good wishes. I'm sure I will do well with the first one this Friday. (He has to do one side of my lumbar region at a time, so I will have the other one the following Friday, July 20th, I guess.) Right now, though, until I get the nerve blocks done, I use Tylenol/Codeine for pain (can't take NSAIDS like aspirin or sulfa drugs - allergic because of past history with severe asthma), Flexiril, which is my muscle relaxant, and Lidoderm patches at night that numb the hurting back with lidocaine.
When you go for the chemo tx, ask the doctor if there's a better position he can put you in so that it doesn't put so much pressure on your back and knees, but still allows him to get at the site that he has to inject the chemo meds. Your son and daughter-in-law are right, you DO HAVE TO STICK UP FOR YOURSELF!! If you don't have someone who can help by being your health care proxy to advocate FOR you, you really SHOULD learn that it's okay to let the doctor know you're uncomfortable! It's NOT COMPLAINING, it's just simply communicating to your doctor what your comfort zone is!!! It's YOUR BODY and you have the right to be treated as comfortably and compassionately as they possibly can while treating your conditions!!!! So don't be shy about speaking up!!!!
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Posts: 701
Re: Tkr
It seems like, if it's not one thing, it's the other. With the epidurals, if you can take a couple of days "off" from work and life in general, it's best to allow the cortisone to work its magic. It's not contained within a joint like a knee injection, so it's best to limit movement after the epidural. Fingers crossed it helps.
Ain't that the truth! Believe me, I plan on doing VERY LITTLE over the weekend after getting my first round of nerve block injections this Friday, so I can, as you mention, let the cortisone do its thing!! I usually respond pretty quickly. (As I noted in a much earlier post that I felt better TWELVE HOURS after getting trigger point cortisone injections for a back spasm in January.) Granted, those injections were done via the muscles surrounding the spasm. Getting NERVE block injections are a whole different animal! (Has to be done under x-ray so the doctor knows exactly where to place the needle without doing damage to my spine.) I'm having a friend drive me even though the doctor said it won't numb my legs. Same thing with the second round the following Friday 7/20.
I have plenty of books to read, so I should be able to just chill out while the cortisone works its magic!
Will let you all know how it goes, and how much and how quickly the injections help.
Regards,
Carol
Last edited by ldy12; 07-09-2012 at 11:42 PM.
Reason: punctuation
Hi Carol--
How did your nerve block go? I hope it is giving you some pain relief.
I met the Dr. as I was entering the building last Tues. and told him about the position making my back worse. He said, "Tell the nurse not to put you in room 7 again." So I did, and the nurse put me on their "newest" chemo table. It was better, but still having disabling pain. I hope it's not permanent, as I've had to spend most of the time in bed or recliner this week. I think I'll ask the next time if I can sit in a chair.
I've been having nausea all week since chemo #3. Maybe it's having a cumulative effect?
All the best to you.
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Posts: 701
Re: Tkr
Please, please ask for the best anti-nausea drugs you can lay your hands on! After my ALIF, I would get nauseated, with my entire body shaking and feeling hot all over. The two times this happened in the hospital, they gave me IV Zofran and I felt soooo much better almost instantly. Zofran is a common drug to give for chemo nausea, and I think that they can give even stronger meds if Zofran doesn't. You need to keep up your strength, and I hope you're feeling better.
Please, please ask for the best anti-nausea drugs you can lay your hands on! After my ALIF, I would get nauseated, with my entire body shaking and feeling hot all over. The two times this happened in the hospital, they gave me IV Zofran and I felt soooo much better almost instantly. Zofran is a common drug to give for chemo nausea, and I think that they can give even stronger meds if Zofran doesn't. You need to keep up your strength, and I hope you're feeling better.
Thanks, Sweet Pea. I have had IV Zofran after surgery in the past, and it does help. In my current circumstances, with severe back and leg pain even the thought of going somewhere to get an IV is intimidating. Walking is so painful. Friends who would ordinarily drop me off close to an entrance are either away on vacation or having health problems of their own (worse than mine!), so I'm trying to make the best of a difficult situation.
Yesterday I had less nausea and was able to eat a little more, and although haven't eaten anything yet this AM, I don't feel nauseated, just no appetite. Not much appeals to me. So unless I'm actually vomiting and losing fluids and electrolytes, I think I'll be able to tough it out for another 3 weeks. With my kidney situation, dehydration can send me into acute renal failure--did once in the past, so have been warned to keep myself hydrated. One of my sons called me long distance this AM on his way to work, asking if I'm drinking enough water--my reply, "I'm trying." So to keep my word, I'd better go down some more water now! :-)
Again, thanks for your good, timely advice. I love your screen name--reminds me of summers in my grandmother's garden enjoying the lovely fragrance of her beautiful sweet peas. :-)
The first lumbar nerve block injections on Friday (7/13) went very well. Within about SIX HOURS afterward, I started feeling better on the right side!
He's doing the left side injections on Monday, 7/23, and I'm sure I'll have the same positive response. (I wanted to get it over with this coming Friday, but the Pain Mgmt. doctor didn't have any openings that date.) Doesn't matter. It's only another few days till next Monday. I've suffered this long. I think I can handle waiting a couple of extra days!
In the meantime, my stupid sacroiliac nerve "went out" on me again this weekend! So my knee surgeon is sending me back to his partner who's the spinal specialist in the practice on July 26th.
I meant to tell you to ask for IV anti-nausea drugs during your chemo treatment.
Because I had such a heavy duty post anesthesia nausea reaction after last year's TKR/left arthroscopy surgery, I asked my Ortho surgeon to PLEASE have Anesthesia give me something for nausea during my left TKR this past March. They did and it worked like a charm! (I only had a moderate nausea and dizziness reaction to the Oxycodone painkiller they gave me immediately post surgery. They had to switch me back to my usual Tylenol with Codeine, which my stomach tolerates much better.)
It is possible the chemo is having a cumulative effect which is why you're having the nausea issue at this point. As for maybe being allowed to sit up for the next tx, that might be a good thing to ask about, in addition to the anti-nausea meds!
I do think, though, that since it's cutting things a bit close for you regarding having the TKR in August, if I were you?, I would postpone the TKR for a couple of months, at least to give your body a rest after chemo.
TKR surgery IS MAJOR SURGERY, and given your complex medical issues, you really should wait till the chemo is out of your system so it doesn't interfere with all the meds you'll need for the TKR, including HEAVY-DUTY PAINKILLERS via IV the first few days!! This is NOT a light undertaking, so think it through and talk to your Ortho surgeon BEFORE you go ahead with the TKR next month. He might even agree with you that it's best to put it off till October at the earliest!!
Let me know what you decide. And hope you're feeling at least a bit better today!
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Posts: 701
Re: Tkr
Hi Grammie -- Zofran's available in pill form, too. Please ask your doctor for a prescription for something to help you. My understanding is that each dose of chemo erodes a little bit of stomach lining, because it affects cells that grow quickly. Each successive dose might be having more and more of an effect, unfortunately. I also read an article (in one of those in-flight magazines) about how nausea can be self-reinforcing, due to the unpleasant taste in your mouth. The suggestion was to eat or drink anything with a mint flavor, so it might be worthwhile to add in a little mint iced tea from time-to-time. Mint itself can be very soothing for a sad stomach.
I'm so sorry that your normal helpers are out of the area. Do you have a placard? If not, you might ask your doctor about a temporary placard, if not a permanent one.
Carol -- I'm so glad that your lumbar injections are going well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you can get relief without surgery!
My parents nicknamed me sweetpea as a baby, since they put me in the same pajamas as Popeye's baby. When thinking about my screenname, my legs were in so much pain (radiculopathy from my back), the only other alternative was "OwMylegs!" I grew sweet peas from seed last year, and they smelled divine. This year, the gardenias are going gangbusters, so I didn't want to compete with their fragrance.
I actually think "OwMyLegs" would have been a more ironic and fun screen name for this board! Especially because it's been so true of most of us who are on here all the time! But, hey, "SweetPea" is okay too.
You are right about using mint to settle the stomach. The other TWO biggies to settle nausea are REAL Cocoa Cola syrup and ginger ale! Ginger ale in particular is great at battling nausea if sipped SLOWLY, not guzzled! The Cocoa Cola syrup which comes from the same beans that cocaine is derived, has been proven effective as an anti-nausea remedy. (I've known about this one since childhood, believe it or not - our family doctor used to tell my parents to give my brother and me cocoa cola syrup when we had stomach bugs and were vomiting endlessly!)
As for my nerve block treatments, can't WAIT to have the left side done next Monday! As noted in my last post, the right side injections worked within SIX HOURS after I got them!
I WON'T be needing spinal fusion surgery for this lumbar problem. My Orthopedic surgeon who did both my TKRs, took that idea off the table because he said that, since I also have significant spinal stenosis, a spinal fusion surgery might actually make my condition WORSE!!! He'd rather have me treated conservatively with the nerve block injections, probably twice a year PLUS the chiropractic treatment he sent me for. (I had a couple of people suggest chiropractic tx to me in late May/early June, and once I had seen my knee surgeon's spinal specialist partner and we knew what the problems were, I asked my regular Ortho surgeon - the TKR guy, if he had any objection to my going to a chiropractor. Not only didn't he object, but he actually referred me to someone REALLY GOOD whom he trusted with my care!) I do have to go back to the spinal specialist partner next week about my sacroiliac issue, which is separate from the lumbar spinal problems. Since the Spinal specialist partner is NOT in my BC/BS network, my regular TKR Ortho surgeon (whose practice this really is) is having me go to his partner anyhow, but billing the visit under his care. (Not to brag, but, my TKR Ortho surgeon has repeatedly called me his "A-#1 Favorite Patient, and I get the feeling that he doesn't know any other area Ortho spinal specialist in my insurance network that he could entrust with my care. That's why he tells his partner to please see me as a courtesy. It's just the kind of rapport I've established with my TKR Ortho surgeon over the past almost two years, and I think he feels responsible for making sure that ALL my Orthopedic issues are addressed and treated by either himself, his partners, and/or other specialists that he knows and TRUSTS!) I've repeatedly noted on the threads of this message board, that this is why my Ortho surgeon who did such a wonderful job on my TKRs over the past year, is really my MEDICAL HERO!!! He has been giving me back my life WITHOUT PAIN for the first time in SEVEN YEARS, and is the MOST KINDHEARTED SURGEON I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!! (And I've had 13 surgeries now over my lifetime for one thing or another. Most of those surgeries were one shot deals that did not require extensive follow-up with the actual surgeon. I was usually turned back over to my primary doctor or appropriate specialist depending on what the surgery was for. My two corrective eye surgeries as a child were the ONLY ones til last year that required me to stay under the care of the ophthalmologist who did both surgeries.) I did have a short follow-up last October with my knee surgeon's partner who did my endoscopic carpal tunnel release surgeries on both hands three weeks apart. But it has been my TKR Orthopedic surgeon who I've had to have the most follow-up with because of the major nature of rehab following each of my TKR surgeries. (And will continue with on an annual basis after my left TKR six month checkup in September.) As you probably are aware, one MUST go to their Orthopedic surgeon on an ANNUAL BASIS for the rest of his/her life to have the prosthetic knees checked for integrity (making sure they're still intact and not dislodged in any way, and to make sure that no pieces have broken off and gotten into the bloodstream or the patient's body.) Besides, as he said to me on a recent visit, they'll MISS me when I'm down to the once a year checkups, so I'm welcome to stop in just to say hi!!! (Although, they're waiting for the Ortho Unit of the hospital where I had both TKR's to set up the volunteer program that I had offered to do back in January. I said I wanted to help his future TKR patients get through their hospital stay as a way of "paying him back" for all he's done for me. He was delighted to accept the offer of my volunteering. I just have to wait a few more months though, since apparently other issues are taking priority in the unit. But they KNOW I want to do this, and promised they'll call me when it's all set up.)
That's all for now.
Will keep you guys posted on my spinal treatments!
Don't know how hot it is where you are, but here in Westchester, NY, it is close to 100 degrees with humidity!!! (Supposedly until Thursday.) If it doesn't look like rain in the morning tomorrow (Wed), I'm going in my co-op pool to cool off for an hour or two!!!! I have no appointments for a change tomorrow!!! (And it's too hot to go food shopping. I'd be afraid that things would spoil in the heat once I got home and it takes time to get everything inside and put away in the fridge or freezer!)
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Posts: 701
Re: Tkr
It's gotten cold and rainy here; I think the high was 59? I live in a warmer area, but work in San Francisco. I have an outdoor pool, and I use it regularly for repeating the therapy exercises I learned. Water exercise is fantastic for recovering from all sorts of injuries.
I try to bag my groceries myself. I put the pantry items together, the fridge items together, and the freezer items together. I know the bags aren't too heavy (the checkers never listen!), it takes less time to put stuff away, and I know which bags can be left in the car if some body part hurts too much to do everything.
You're right that water therapy is the best thing for what ails you orthopedically! Thanks for the suggestion about bagging things myself. You're right - the cashiers ALMOST NEVER LISTEN to what I ask them to do in the way of dividing the weight evenly and putting the fridge stuff together and same with the freezer stuff. How annoying is that?! Half the time, the cashiers in the supermarkets here in NY are gabbing back and forth with each other between their registers and not really paying attention to the customers! If they do that, I will tell them this ISN'T A COFFEE KLATCH and I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY FOR THEM TO FINISH RINGING MY ORDER UP!! I tell them they can yak on THEIR OWN TIME!!! They'll look at me like I just grew another head, but at least then, they "snap to" and finish helping me a little faster!
Well, I think I hear some thunder, so not sure if I'll get to go in the pool in the morning. If not, I will just go to my PT facility and do my machines for rehab on my knees. (I'm on member status on a monthly basis now since my insurance stopped paying for my left knee TKR rehab at the end of May, since I met my rehab goals.) I prefer sticking with my rehab facility in case I run into any problems with either knee and I have the security of being under the supervision of my physical therapist. I won't go NEAR any commercial exercise place because they really are NOT designed for people with TKRs and besides, probably would not touch me with a 10 foot pole without my signing a waiver! Plus, there is NO long term contract to worry about at my PT facility. I pay $50/mo and can go as many times as I want. Plus it's month to month, so I could skip a month in the winter, for example, if the weather is really bad.
Good tips! Recently I take my walker into the store so I can sit down when my legs/back give out. Walker has a basket, rather small, but I can get a few items at a time that way, and not too much to put away when I get home. Just have to go more often--but the supermarket is not far away--about 5 minute drive, and there is convenient handicap parking.
I have the same problem with checkers making bags too heavy--sometimes I say to myself, someday many years from now these young folks may have to cope with these problems and then they may think "Oh, now I understand". Just like I do now when remembering things my mom did that puzzled me--like wearing socks to bed. The last few years my feet get cold, and when I put on socks at bedtime, I think of my mom! Wish I could share my new discoveries with her....
You're right - someday these young people WILL understand how difficult getting old is when EVERYTHING HURTS ON A DAILY BASIS and there's very little, even AFTER surgery, you can do about it!!! I like your little story about the socks! I can't think of any particular thing either of my parents did when I was young that I didn't understand why they were doing it, but I sure there were plenty of them. And yes, the proverbial light bulb DID go on when I became an adult and finally understood why they did those things! (And tried to emulate them.)
