The entries here thin out, as there are no major changes from day to day. The big issue remains pain management. There are a thousand things that control pain, or are supposed to, from homeopathic birch bark to morphine, and they all either have side effects or potentially bad interactions with other medicines, and the never-ending quest is to find a reasonable balance.
And so yesterday, with sodium level holding steady at a low but not dangerous 131 (even with a lot of liquid), Dr. Misakian starts tinkering. Reduce the amount of Norco by 1/4 since it can have adverse liver effects. Eliminate Vicoprofen entirely, since it may be causing nausea. Add a couple of new things, one for the main pain and one for soothing a potentially-irritated stomach lining. Come back in two weeks for more fine tuning.
Next week, Feb. 2, is the first post-op visit to the surgeon, Dr. Hu. Remains to be seen how much, if anything, she will have to say about pain. She's a 'cutter,' not a medicine woman, but she's also a compassionate lady.
The spine remains fine. The two 18-inch incisions are already starting to fade, although if Marina ever appears in a bikini, she will have an impressive 36 inches of scar to display.
Focusing on healing is Marina's full-time occupation. This is not a time for socializing or chit chat, either in person or by phone or Email, although short visits are usually OK, but sometimes not. (Check with care manager Fran Cooper, as previously announced; francooper3@aol.com.)
Thanks for checking in. More after the visit with Dr. Hu, or if there is any news before that.
Posted by John Bear
at 12:26 AM PST
