A moment of medical self-reflection

[annathepiper]

I went in for my semi-annual checkup with my endoc this evening, the last holdout of my adventures with the BFFN. Which went well, as expected, though I had to sheepishly explain to Dr. Kohn that I was ragged around my edges thanks to dental surgery AND fighting off a cold. And on the way out, I added to her that I had learned from all my experiences with cancer how to tell when my pain tolerances were maxed out, and that I’d be heading home to lie down.

Which is all true. In the last couple of years I’ve gotten way better at telling when my system has been overloaded due to pain–which historically I’ve always had a problem with. I’m usually able to shrug off minor pain, until it builds and builds and eventually suddenly POW, I’m tired and cranky and nauseous and out of cope. That kind of pain is almost more draining than the blatant, outright agony of something on the scale of oh, say, breaking my arm (still my benchmark for Worst Pain I’ve Ever Been In).

All of which is a roundabout way of me deciding I should probably ask my dentist for a refill of the painkiller. My personal supply of cope has been stressed this week, even with preventive measures of working from home for two days in a row so I could continue to recover but keep working at the same time. I’ve been fighting off that cold, which impacts my reserves. And we’re about to head into an Excessive Heat Warning situation starting tomorrow, which is also not fun for my reserves.

So yeah. Surgery recovery + cold + high heat = I’d better call the dentist in the morning and ask for more painkiller. A decision part of me is chagrined about even with my more mature self-awareness about my medical limits–even with that, there’s an instinct of “I should just be able to handle the pain! I’ll be OKAY!”

Even now, it requires swallowing a bit of pride to be able to let myself say, “Actually, it’s OKAY to admit that I’m in pain and that I need a bit of assistance managing it. That is, in fact, the wise thing to do!”

This post goes out to all my Internet friends who face similar changes on a daily basis, or to those whose loved ones do so as well. This is me saying yeah, I hear you. And also, take care of yourselves and your loved ones! Especially if you’re in the Seattle area, and you have no air conditioning, and you’re joining me in facing the 90F+ heat adventures tomorrow.

Mirrored from annathepiper.org.

Comments

[prettyshrub.livejournal.com]

*gentle smack on the back of the head*

Just take your damn pain meds. *HUGS*

For the heat, I have successfully used an ice pack wrapped in a towel to stay cool enough to sleep.

Take care of yourself.

[annathepiper]

*giggle* Yes! Better living through chemistry!

solarbird is very, very good at managing the temperature in the house, through appropriate timing of opening and closing windows at need--we don't have AC but we DO have a house that ventilates well. For tomorrow though we will very likely break out the tiny portable AC unit we have, just to make it through the worst of it. We'll see if we need it.

Our forecast is putting us at 91 tomorrow, we'll see if we get there. It'll probably be right when I'm commuting home from work, so the real cautionary measures I'll need to take will be not walking too fast back to my bus stop, and making sure I have water.

[prettyshrub.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, that part is going to be sucky.

My car doesn't have AC, and I agreed to meet a friend for dinner over in Bellevue. Not looking forward to that drive.

[marzipan-pig.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the reminder(s)!

[annathepiper]

You are welcome! :)

[annathepiper]

Ugh yeah! But at least there'll be tasty dinner after the annoying drive!

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

sorry you're having to deal with this (i hear you too)

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

It's such a fine line. You don't want to get soft, but you don't want to crack, and only you are able to make the call - and you have to make it under duress. You're absolutely right to trust yourself, because nobody else knows.

[callibr8]

Any possibility of finding a room air conditioner? Having a less-heat zone might help, methinks.

Be wise, and listen to your body. Trying to "tough it out" is for dummies, and you are *so* not that!

[callibr8]

If you have a sport bottle or somesuch to put a cold beverage in, that would be a good addition to your bus-commute cope kit.

[prettyshrub.livejournal.com]

Yummy noms!

[gerimaple.livejournal.com]

If you have a freezer at work, then fill said bottle half-full with water when you get there. Put the lid on LOOSELY so air can escape as the water expands, and prop the bottle up in the freezer at an angle, so instead of only filling the bottom half, the waterline is a diagonal. When it's time to go, grab the bottle out of the freezer and top it off. Voila, ice water for the trip home.

[annathepiper]

Thank you! Though all things considered, compared to other medical crap I've gone through in my life, this is practically cake. I'm grateful for that. :)

[annathepiper]

I'm glad I worked from home for two days--I felt quite a bit better going back into the office today, though I still wasn't quite back to normal yet. My coworker remarked to me on the way to lunch, "How are you feeling? You look like you're on drugs."

I laughed and said, "I'm not on drugs YET."

Our lead snickered and said he liked that "yet".

But yeah, I got my scrip refilled this evening and yeah, it was the right thing to do. I felt okay up until I had to walk in the heat, and then I could feel weariness and pain sneaking up on me. Came home, dosed up, and felt better. A few more days of proper rest and I'll be fine. :)

[annathepiper]

We have a small portable AC unit here, and Dara set it up in the media room this afternoon. As I type this we're camped out here, all drowsy, and I'm reluctant to head upstairs for bed because this is where the coolness is. :)

[annathepiper]

I don't! But I may take a cold beverage on my commute home tomorrow. I felt the lack of one today.

Or at least, I may make a point of stopping for cold beverages at appropriate points along the walk. That IS an advantage of my evening walk taking me through Pike Place Market, plenty of places to stop and buy water or other cold tasty drinks!

[annathepiper]

Yay! NOMS! I'm for them!

[annathepiper]

Nice. :) I don't have a bottle, but that's a good trick--I'll remember it next time we have a longer heat wave! This one's supposed to blow over after tomorrow.