Good Vibes

Thanks for sending good vibes my way Barbara!! I think that did it!! They didn't tell me my level on Friday, but they said I could stop taking the shots, stick with the 8mg of coumadin, and not get my blood drawn until next Friday (11/2)!

Thanks everyone for all the vibes, prayers, good thoughts!! I love that I don't have to take shots for the next week - here's hoping I won't have to ever again!!

:)

Trouble in INR land...

So, you have to have an INR level of any number between 2-4 and this is your level of coumadin in your blood (aka blood thinner).  Every morning, I give myself a shot of blood thinner (in my stomach!), which I've strangely gotten really good at.  Every evening, I take 6mg of coumadin.  I had to stay in the hospital until my coumadin levels had been between 2-4 for 2 days in a row.  I went off the coumadin (but stayed on shots) for the surgery last Friday, and now I'm having trouble getting my levels back up to speed.

[Behind the scenes look at coumadin: it takes 3 days to get into your system and the shot takes effect right away... I went of the coumadin for surgery, and then started the day of surgery since it wouldn't be in my system for  little while....clear, right?]

This week, I had my blood drawn on Monday and it was 1.5 - then blood drawn on Wednesday and it was again 1.5... so upped the dosage of coumadin to 8mg!! We'll see what happens tomorrow when I get my blood drawn...

Word to the wise, for any doctors or nurses who read this... if you walk into a room, muttering to yourself "this isn't good... hmmmmmm.... not sure what we're going to do about this," you're not really instilling a lot of confidence in the patient - you've actually now freaked them out - thanks for that.

So, here's hoping and praying for those levels to go up!! :)

Belated Post Surgery Update

Sorry for the delayed update.  I thought Weeza had done it, but I forgot to remind her (oops!).  I had surgery on Friday and they removed the filter from my neck... I wasn't completely out for it (as I had been led to believe) and at the end, they showed me the filter and it had 3 clots in it! Glad it was doing its job, but I'm a little worried about what that means now...

I was sore on Friday and was given a little bit of meds in the am, but no meds in the pm... I was supposed to lie down and not do anything, but that clearly didn't happen (I've got stuff to do!! ) and I made it worse... I know, silly Julia... but patience at this stage of the game hasn't been working out for me.  I was in bed, but I was doing in work in bed - I thought it was a decent attempt at cheating the system, but not so much.

I was really sore Saturday morning (apparently should've gotten better, but I didn't completely follow doctors orders Friday, so there you go).  I couldn't turn my head completely to the left or right and my neck was VERY sore to the touch.  But I didn't do ANYTHING on Saturday and felt a lot better on Sunday :)  I even went to church.  Though I realized on the drive in, why I wasn't supposed to drive - it's hard to change lanes if it hurts to move your neck... but I safely made in and out of town, and today I feel great!

Though, the wound itself looks like I got bitten by a vampire (I pick Eric).  No, Robin, I DO NOT pick  anyone from Twilight... I can't remember anyone's name... Edwin? That's not right and I'm okay with the fact that I can't remember.

I got my blood drawn today and my INR level is 1.5 - which isn't good - but no freaking out yet! I just have to take both the coumadin and shots until my INR level comes up! I get my blood drawn again on Wednesday, so here's hoping!!

Been awhile, but I'm still doing okay :)

After much scolding from smaller people (Team Thurlow's children and Team Failmezger's children), I am writing again after a bit of a break...

I am doing much better.  I still tire easily and am most frustrated with this aspect, but word on the street is that recovery is going to be a longer road than I had bargained on.  I went to Summerton this past weekend because I was cleared by all my Doc's to go... but Saturday realized I had overdone it and ended up sleeping at Amanda's house (Thanks, Amanda!!) for 3 HOURS!! Yikes!!

SO, I'm going to chill the rest of the day...

But for the sake of smaller people begging to be included on the blog (see above :)  ), I went to see Dawn & Chris when I first got into town and then I stayed with the Failmezger's on Friday night and had a DELICIOUS dinner with the fam and loved seeing Shea, Emma, Harmon, Teige, and Sophie :)  (THERE - you got a shout out!!) :)

Saturday I got to see Wyatt & Mckenzie Simpson, Trina, Shannon, Amanda, Robin G, Neath, Jen, & Team Thurlow. (And stayed with the wonderful Team Thurlow Sat & Sun nights.) Sunday I got to see and visit with St. Matthias peeps and had a Birthday party for all of Team Thurlow and myself AND went to the Goat with Team Thurlow (love).
Monday = all of CHS students and faculty - except some who were not in their rooms when I went looking for them and people who were on field trips when I visited! (What??)
And Trina & Melissa - thanks for giving me shots all weekend :)

So, now that I'm done with the shout outs...

Had the echocardiogram this afternoon - I still don't like those very much because my heart and lungs are still pretty sore... it went well as far as I know, but I won't get the real report until Friday.

I have surgery on Friday (10/19) to get the filter out and possibly something else (may have missed exactly what the doctor said...) - I'll get my dear sweet sister to update the blog on Friday after the procedure, since I'll be sleeping it off (and not able to move my leg for 4 hours afterwards!!)

Last but not least - my INR levels have gone down to below 2-4 (1.8 or 1.9... can't remember).  I'm currently on shots to bridge the gap before the surgery (can't be on coumadin right before the surgery).  After surgery, I have to continue with shots & coumadin to get my levels back up (I am NOT a fan of the shots... but they leave a little bruise the size of a small dot - and i'm organizing the dots into a picture, because it's more fun that way.)  (I know, a little sad, but when in my position, it's the little things.)

Getting back to Normal

I went to see my pulmonologist last week and I was cleared for work this week - but I was nervous about Monday because it's such a busy day for me and I tend to get wiped out after 2 hours of an activity (and then have to take a big nap to feel normal again), so I'm going back tomorrow (Tuesday) for what will end up being more like a half day and we will see what happens!

I will get my blood drawn every week to check my INR levels and my next big appointment is next Thursday (10/11).

Next big thing to have happen is to get my filter removed (= the umbrella-like-thing that is catching my clots) and it's supposed to be removed in 4-6 weeks, so they're looking at late October.

I will keep you posted on how things are going, but with my going back to school, everything seems to be returning to normal :)  I'm just hopeful it will stay that way.  I want to go on a (small) road trip next weekend (10/12-14), but I'm not sure if I will be up to it, so we will see...