Pain - We can handle it

Been home since Monday. It’s Thursday now, and I think I may finally have an effective strategy for handling the pain meds. Yesterday I received a visit from a home health nurse who is the first person who ever suggested that I might be able to manage my reaction to the opioids by taking them with food. She also suggested that I try taking half a dose if I was still skeptical (I was). I did that last night, this morning and mid-day today and it worked like a charm. I have a no-salt rice cake (sounds awful, I know, but they’re good with strawberry jam on them) that I can eat along with 1/2 a Tramadol and feel no nausea or dizziness. What a breakthrough!

Speaking of the visiting nurse, it was a strange experience to have someone introduce herself to me on my doorstep, step inside and immediately ask me to stand on the scale she carried in with her. It was a challenge to my natural stand-off-ishness, but I’m glad I got over myself. Not everything she said was useful, but she really did help me with the medication problem, she answered a few questions I had, and I was happy to have someone reassure me that my incision looks good and that I could use ice for the swelling. 

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