Tuesday, September 28, 2010

It's a Pain in the AAAAAAA---ARM!!

So I've never had a flu shot or a pneumonia shot before, and this really is germane to what follows.

Yesterday when I saw my doctor, she wanted me to get both shots.  Of course, she's the doctor, I am a good patient (most of the time anyway) so I agreed to get the shots

If I'd had one or both of the shots before, I would have known that getting them both in the same arm was not exactly the smartest thing a person could do.

What frustrates the crap out of me is that Justin--the nurse who gave me the shots--is supposed to know stuff like this, and shouldn't even have given me the option to have both shots in one arm. 

The situation was exacerbated by the fact that I am right-handed and the injections were made into my right shoulder. I use my right hand to do just about everything, and I like to sleep on one side or the other (not my back).

I got these shots around 11:00 am; by 4 pm I was in agony.

I went to bed around 9:00 pm but failed to fall asleep until hours later.

Rolling over in bed was horribly painful and I'm not sure that I didn't scream a few times; I do know that I moaned and groaned and swore and complained about the pain.

While I was laying down--trying and failing to sleep at around midnight--one of my cats made the mistake of stepping on my sore shoulder and I literally threw him off the bed. He hasn't been near that shoulder since.

Today I went to my co-ag (coagulation) appointment and I mentioned to Charlene (the co-ag nurse) that I wanted to rip my arm off and beat Justin with it because it hurt so bad.  She asked me why and I told her that I'd had the two shots in the same arm.

She had me roll up my sleeve so she could get a good look at my upper arm, and compared the temperature of that arm to my left arm.  She immediately had the doctor  prescribe antibiotics. 

My upper arm is swollen, hot to the touch, and red as well as being sore, and she said that Justin should have known better than to give me both shots in the same shoulder.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Latest Doctor Appointment: GOOD NEWS!!

I would say today's doctors' appointment was all good news.

1) There are no liver abnormalities or other problems in my abdomen. There is some fatty infiltration of my liver and that is what is causing the elevated liver enzymes. It turns out that high cholesterol can be treated with niacin (my late father treated his high cholesterol with niacin).  Niacin is much less dangerous for the liver than medications such as Lipitor.

2) Currently I am only using oxygen at night.  The oxygen provider will come in and do an overnight oxygen saturation test, and if my levels are high enough then I will be off the oxygen altogether.

3) I have lost 8 pounds since August 12, 2010.  Now that I am a bit more active (walking and using the exercise bike--up to 10 minutes a day so far on the bike) I hope to increase the weight loss to 2-3 pounds per week.

4) I was seeing my doctor every two weeks; my next appointment is in 3 months.  I think that is progress.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Amazon Fall Deals: Home Improvement and Tools

If you are thinking about sprucing up your home or doing those little (or not so little) projects around your house, look for the products and tools you might need for DIY projects in the Tools & Home Improvement Project Center at Amazon.

Included: tools, project ideas, and much more.

In addition to project ideas, Amazon is featuring a number of sizzling deals in September, such as an extra 25% off eligible American Standard faucets  sold and shipped by Amazon.com, including kitchen sink faucets, bathroom sink faucets, and shower and tub faucets, while supplies last.

In October, Amazon's Get Your Home Ready for the Holidays page will feature items to help you prepare for upcoming company.

You'll be able to find ideas for refreshing the bathroom, making the kitchen sparkle, and sprucing up the front entryway.

Also featured will be great savings on select power tools up to 40% off and select designer lighting by Candice Olson up to 25% off.


Also look for deals in these areas of Amazon:

    * Tools & Home Improvement: lamps and light fixtures, kitchen and bath fixtures, flashlights, door hardware and locks, tools, building supplies, and more
    * Power & Hand Tools: cordless drills, saws, grinders, multifunction power tools, knives, multitools, tool accessories, and more
    * Deals & Bargains: hot deals on everything from plumbing fixtures to tools
    * Reconditioned Tools: wide selection of factory-reconditioned tools from top brands

Check it out here:

http://www.amazon.com/b?node=2245445011&tag=mystemail-20

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Where I'm Waiting For Payouts (September Edition)

Lady of the Links: waiting 129 days for $9.14

Polar Bear Clicks: waiting 32 days for $6.42

Offshore Mails: waiting unknown amount of time for $5.00

Brat Mails: over $16.00 and the PO has been MIA since March 2010

Calendar Days: after waiting 3 weeks for Alert Pay, switched to PayPal, waited another 51 days and gave up, redeemed for surfer hits

Who Has Paid Me in September 2010

Old Amsterdam Post: $4.78
All My Money For You: $4.24
Pinecone Research: $6.00
Poker PTR: $4.26
PT Party: $4.96
Hot Rods PTR: $2.04

Total for September 2010 (as of September 15):  $26.28

Who Paid Me In August 2010

A little late but better late than never!!

Bird Crazy Mail $3.04
Fire Cracker Email: $6.38
Matrix Mails: $5.79
Hogs Hollow PTR: $1.14
Polar PTR: $1.94
Pinecone Research: $3.00
St Cash Unlimited: $1.13
My PTR: $6.21
Dream Mails: $2.24
Midnight Clicking: $1.65
Neobux: $3.01
Speed Earner: $2.03

Total for August 2010:  $37.56

Monday, September 13, 2010

I Really HATE Being Sick!

http://suellenjillroley.blogspot.com/2010/08/backing-away-from-ptr.html

Some things are looking up while others have gone right into the toilet.

The things that have improved:

1) I have lost 5 pounds in the last month
2) I am getting more exercise
3) I am eating a lot healthier than I was
4) My INR (a measure of how fast or slow my blood clots) is up where it needs to be
5) I have been released to use my exercise bike and/or start walking which will help with continued weight loss and continued lowered blood sugars
6) My blood sugars are back down at non-diabetic levels (with medication).
7) I have no more pain in my chest
8) I went grocery shopping last week and for the first time in probably 30 years I didn't get any frozen dinners or anything else that needs microwaved.
9) Shortly after I returned from the hospital, my name was drawn for the Oregon Health Plan so most if not all of my medical bills and prescriptions will be paid for by the state of Oregon
10) I have a lot more energy now and can complete more than one thing per day

The things that have gone into the toilet:

1) my blood pressure was elevated in the hospital and has remained elevated since I returned home. The first time they took my blood pressure at the hospital they wouldn't even tell me how high it was because it was so bad.  It has dropped since then but not enough, so I am now on yet another medication; this pill is to reduce my blood pressure. They increased the dosage from 10 mg to 20 mg today.

2) My cholesterol is elevated but they don't want to treat it right now because I also have elevated levels of a certain enzyme in my liver.  The medications that are used to treat high cholesterol have a known history of causing liver problems.  So Wednesday morning at some godawful hour (8:00 am to be exact about it) I have to go have an abdominal ultrasound to see what is wrong with my liver. Of course I have to fast (no food AND no water or other beverages for 10 hours) before the ultrasound.

3) I have rampaging insomnia. I've only had 2 nights of sleeping at night since I started the blood pressure medicine.  I sleep all day, and because I usually sleep right through lunch I don't eat enough to even maintain this weight (the actual weight btw is none of anybody else's business ROFLMAO!!)

4) I need to start pricking my finger and testing my blood twice a day. YUCK!!

5) I need to start monitoring my blood pressure at home.  At least my father or stepmother had a portable blood pressure monitor so I won't have to buy one.

6) I went from taking no pills at all to taking seven pills a day every day. I take two Metformin (one with breakfast, one with dinner) for the diabetes, one iron pill (with breakfast) for my anemia, one Citalopram (with breakfast) for my depression, one Warfarin (at 5:00 pm, with or without food), and two Lisinopril (with dinner, although it can be taken with or without food) for my high blood pressure.

7) Getting my diabetes medications and testing supplies has been a real hassle. The health insurance first wouldn't approve the testing supplies -- Walmart never called me to tell me that they had finally been approved; I finally went in a week later and got them -- and then there was an issue with the Metformin refill since I just brought the bottle in (they want a prescription on tamper-proof paper).

8) I am still on oxygen, although at my next doctors appointment they plan to test me walking using room air, so I might be able to stop using the oxygen.  The oxygen is a pain because it dries out the inside of my nose and then the inside of my nose forms scabs like crazy

Amazon's Fall Blowout

Start the fall season off right with great deals on thousands of items featured during Amazon’s Fall Blowout Sale. The event will include sale prices on a great selection of items, including electronics, sporting goods, clothing, home furnishings, and more.

These specials will only be available for a limited time so hurry to the link below and check 'em out!!

http://www.amazon.com/Outlet/b/?ie=UTF8&node=517808&tag=mystemail-20