Let the Rare Side Effects Begin...

The Lovenox injections are no fun. I've given myself 4 now and they all sucked!! I'm getting better, but still cannot "dart" the injection. I guess one bonus of being numb in the "saddle area" is that I can't always feel the injection until after I'm done when it starts burning from the alcohol wipe, although, it is creepy to watch the needle going in. Unfortunately, even though diarrhea isn't listed as a side effect until the very bottom of the list of possible side effects, I'm experiencing it. Normally that wouldn't be so bad, but when you can't control your sphincter muscle, diarrhea is even worse than normal!! I call my PCP's office and they tell me to stop the stool softener I was taking with the Percocet, and to try the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast). The items on the BRAT diet tend to constipate you (so does the Percocet) so hopefully that should help to offset the diarrhea side effect of the Lovenox. I just need to make it through the weekend until I can see my PCP on Monday morning. Thank goodness I upgraded our Netflix account to get DVDs and we have lots of Castle to watch so that I can keep my mind off of things!

Home Again...

I wake up early at 6:30, because the night nurse has come to give me my next injection of Lovenox. Since this is the third time I've been woken up (4 o’clock to take blood, 4:30 to take my blood pressure) I decide I might as well get up. I arrange the chair so I can read until I'm able to order some breakfast (which the hospital actually does pretty well) and wait for Cody to get up. I havethe same daytime nurse again and she lets me know that I have to be able to get my blood thinner filled, and be able to give myself injections before they'll discharge me, so I know what the goals are. I check online with my ipad and the blood thinner is covered. It's normally $1450 for 7 days worth of the brand and $660 for the generic. Luckily, because the surgery caused me to meet my maximum annual out of pocket I won't have to pay for it. They call it in, so it will be ready, then the nurse comes to teach me how to do the shots. When my mom was learning how to do shots, she got to practice on an orange; I get to practice on me! So the nurse makes me watch as she gives me an empty injection (nothing in the syringe) then she makes me do it to myself. I'm kind of slow, but it goes in. The nurse does it again, explaining that I need to make sure I pinch hard and rub hard with the alcohol because that will direct the "pain soldiers" somewhere other than where I'm actually sticking the needle. She also tells me that I need to "dart" it, do it fast. She asks if I would like to try again, and I tell her no thank you. I check to make sure it is okay I keep taking my birth control, she says yes (and it is listed in my paperwork as medication that I am continuing). She also tells me I'll need to make an appointment with my PCP to check my blood levels for the injections, that I should do this on Monday. She gets the paperwork ready, and I get to go home. We stop and Walgreens and get alcohol wipes, 14 generic Lovenox injections, and the new blood pressure medication that my PCP had just put me on (Metoprolol ER 50mg). After we get the prescriptions I realize I'm missing coumadin. They told me I would have to be on Coumadin and Lovenox at the same time. I call the nurse at the hospital and she says that is something that my PCP will give me a prescription for. We continue having an okay day, until after I eat and I get ready to give myself my first injection of Lovenox. I take a look at my abdomen and HOLY COW!!! I have an enormous bruise; I don't remember getting one, what the hell, where did it come from. I think maybe something is wrong, so I call the nurse and she said that I had it when we were practicing injections (I don't remember seeing it). Okay, thank you. I give myself the first injection, I still can't dart it, but it’s done, only 13 more to go! :(

Here is the bruise on my abdomen from the injection the nurse gave me at 6:30 am HUGE