Cortisone is the devil

So, here's an update to everything.

As far as the IUD goes, I have the surgery to remove it scheduled for February 20th.  I've gotten my pre-op physical and spoken to my thrombosis doctor about when I need to stop my warfarin, so I THINK I'm good to go on that one.

I was also able to get the contrast MRI done on my left hip a couple of weeks ago.  The procedure itself was relatively painless, considering how awful it sounded when described to me.  I went back to a room that had a portable X-ray unit that was very specific...it looked like this:

So, they wheel this think over to the stretcher that I was laying down on.  The anesthesiologist came in to describe the procedure, which included washing/sterilizing the area, preparing the sterile gown, a topical (very similar to what you'd receive when you go to the dents).  Once the area was numb, he would then inject the needle, add more numbing medication, and then the contrast dye.  I'd then walk back to the MRI machine and get the images taken.

Now, I'm NO fan of MRI machines.  I think this is the 3rd one I've had in my life, and I hated them all, but this one was the most pleasant of the 3.  I'm EXTREMELY claustrophobic, so putting me in a big metal tube is about the last way I want to spend my morning.  Anyway, they're clearly prepared for nut jobs like me, because the technician had warm blankets, a washcloth to put over my eyes, and noise-cancelling headphones to help block out all of the knocking from the MRI.  She was even kind enough to put some "zen" music on in the headphones to help me relax.  All in all, it went pretty quickly, and I actually fell asleep near the end, as I woke myself up by my own snoring!

I met with the orthopedic surgeon the next day, and he confirmed that there is a small labral tear in my hip.  I could go into specifics, but it's really not necessary.  At this point, he gave me 3 options:  cortisone shot, a surgery that would have me on crutches for 1 week, and another surgery that would have me on crutches for a month.  Now, I don't know about you, but I can't imagine being on crutches during a Minnesota winter, particularly THIS one, so I decided to hold off on the surgery until it was warmer an try to find some relief with the cortisone shot.  I'd never had one before, and I'm not a fan of any steroid, but the surgery just wasn't an option this time of the year.

I had the cortisone shot this past Wednesday.  It was a very similar procedure to getting the contrast MRI, just without the MRI.  All went well...it was a little painful when he injected the cortisone...kinda felt like he hit a nerve or something because there was a shooting pain through my butt and down my leg, but it subsided rather quickly.  All was well, or so I thought.

On Thursday, I had a breakfast meeting in St. Paul, and then a customer meeting in Hutchinson, which meant a decent amount of time in the car.  I noticed that I was feeling a bit "thicker" in the middle, but kinda pushed it aside.  When I got home at the end of the day and took my boots off, I noticed how swollen my legs (especially my knees) were, as well as my torso.  I was cold and worn out, so I decided to soak in a hot tub since no one but me was home yet.  While in the tub, my face started itching a bit, but I just figured that was because the change in temperature.  I was mistaken.

The next 24 hours were pretty much awful.

This picture was taken Thursday night.  Do you see that my face is kinda flushed?  Yeah, it felt like it was ON FIRE!  I ended up getting up in the middle of the night to get a cool washcloth to put over my face, and to take some Tylenol.  The swelling that was occurring was putting SO much pressure on my sinus cavity and my jaw....so painful!

The next morning was worse:

Very red, and VERY swollen (especially through the bridge of my nose).  I was just completely miserable.  It was very hot to the touch, and painful to do much movement.  This was pretty much the only relief I had:

Now, I realize that this doesn't seem like a big deal, and in the end, it really isn't.  It's just that, every single thing regarding my health is like this.  This really shouldn't have happened, especially since it was a shot in my joint.  I mean, if I was taking oral cortisone (is that even an option), then yeah, I'd think something like this could happen.  My body CLEARLY recognizes the devil that a steroid is, and went into hyperdrive.  I had my pre-op physical yesterday, so the doctor checked everything out.  My sugars have been skyrocketing, so she ordered an a1c to see if everything is OK there, but otherwise I just need to wait it out.  If it doesn't subside in a week, THEN I should be concerned.  So that's that.

It's much better this morning than it was yesterday, so hopefully it was a quick reaction, followed by a quick recovery.

Today, I'm off to spoil myself by getting a pedicure with a new friend, while Izzy has a playdate (said friend's daughter) and Joacim stays home with them.  :)

Clinical Trial - Infusion #3

No photos from today...probably because I was so freaking tired.  I was probably worse than a drunk driver this morning on the road, and it's not as though I didn't sleep last night.  It just seems that, in the last 2 months, there is no amount of sleep that helps anymore.  I'm ALWAYS tired, and it's now gotten to the point where I can fall asleep almost anywhere within a couple of minutes.  Anyone that really knows me has heard me say that I'm not a "napper", but I guess I am now.

Once I got to my room for the infusion, I laid in the hospital bed, spoke to my doctor quickly and he examined me.  We changed up my meds a bit to try to remedy some of my suffering...cut back on one of my blood pressure meds, as my bp was 95/63.  He also told me to take my diuretics at 2:00pm now because I mentioned that I've had to get up a couple of times a night to pee, and that's a pretty recent development.  Apparently the diuretics last for about 6 hours, so changing it to 2pm will hopefully get all the water out that's possible before I go to bed.  After they put the IV in, I fell asleep.  Apparently, it was such a deep sleep that I didn't even know that my doctor came back in to check on me before he headed to the airport.  Yikes!  Not only am I a napper, but I'm a pretty sound napper!

My swelling is awful right now, and I DO have pictures of that.  This is actually quite embarassing to show, but I think everyone needs to see it....to understand why I complain about it all the time.

I couldn't even bend my knees when I went to bed last night, which might explain why I didn't sleep all that well as I'm a fetal sleeper.  This used to go away with a night of putting my feet up, but that's not working right now.  I wake up like this and go to bed like this, and all-day long I'm horribly uncomfortable, and sometimes in a decent amount of pain.

This has always gone away in the past, and I'm hanging onto that teeny tiny thread of hope again, because this is REALLY getting to me.  I'm depressed, no doubt about it.

I also had an MRI today to check out what's going on with my hips.  While the pain has gotten better, it's not gone yet.  I've had an MRI in the past, but it was an open-sided one.  I'm EXTREMELY claustrophobic, so this part of the day freaked me out.  When I laid up on the table, I immediately put in the earplugs they give you and shut my eyes before I actually went inside the tube.  I kept them closed the entire time...I was afraid that I'd completely freak out if I opened them, and they'd have to repeat the image.  I don't remember it being so ridiculously loud!  I just laid there, my mind wandering (as it does most of the time).

I had to fill out a survey right before my infusion...a normal part of a clinical trial.  Geesh, I think acknowledging how crappy I feel made me feel crappier.  I feel very remote....like I'm watching my life happen but not living it right now.  I can't figure out what to do to make it any better.  The arrival of spring (FINALLY!) has helped, but only minimally.

I found out last week that 4 people I know are expecting babies.  While I'm absolutely THRILLED for these ladies (they're truly wonderful) it makes me sad, as it's just another reminder of what this damn disease has robbed me of.